It is hard to believe that the “unofficial” end of summer has come with Labor Day. In reflecting on the meaning of the day, it brought me to the realization that in the Document Management industry we look to take the mundane labor out of your day and empower skilled workers to be more productive. In a time when organizations find it difficult to find and hire qualified people, document management has become more relevant than ever.
How many times have you heard the expression work smarter, not harder? There are still many organizations that ignore this mantra and continue to push paper through antiquated processes. Rather than striving for a paperless workplace, they continue to find reasons not to deploy technology and proven techniques for solving this issue. Moreover, the consequence? Less efficiency, lower productivity, decreased customer satisfaction and an unhappy workplace.
As a vendor of document management solutions, I sometimes find myself frustrated when I know we can help an organization to be more efficient and save money. I struggle with why a company would not want to move forward with technology to better itself. As I try and reconcile this in my mind, an unlikely piece of inspiration unfolded this week’s news.
Earlier this week, Nike made a controversial decision to sign Colin Kaepernick to an endorsement contract. The result, people, burning Nike apparel, cutting out the swoosh logo from the products they own, and a drop in their stock price. Today, they released their first marketing video of the campaign. If you take two minutes and six seconds to watch and listen, I believe you will find a powerful message. Without intending to get political, we need to remind ourselves that people with dissenting views and opinions are what created this country in the first place. With that said, the video sends a powerful message to push yourself beyond your wildest dreams to be the best.
I believe that this attitude extends to our jobs and the organizations that we work or associate with. No one seeks out a losing team or organization to work for. Moreover, with all of the jobs available today, workers can choose to work for companies that embrace change, modernize processes and strive to be better than their competition. By nature, people take pride in what they do and expect their company to provide the proper tools for them to succeed; even if that means the company needs to change or evolve to accomplish this.
Streamlining processes, eliminating paper, providing outstanding customer support are all things that employees covet. Companies that embrace these core beliefs succeed, not only because they are more efficient, but because their employees take great pride and work harder for them. So, if you have the authority to institute change, and have not adapted document management and created a paperless office, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to make a difference and succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
If you are interested in viewing the Nike “Dream Crazy” video, you can do so by clicking here.
Jack Arnston is a Principal at The Priton Group. You can reach him at jarnston@pritongroup.com.