leveraging technology

Technology allows us to do things with greater precision, more efficiently and faster than ever before. Today, computers can process data and calculate results that needed hundred and thousands of man-hours. Similarly, the internet can provide access to information that would have taken hundreds of hours to research and collate.

Emails, modern telecommunications and internet have revolutionized communication. These technologies, when mastered, give leverage in terms of quality and speed of decision making— and they help save time and effort, thus resulting in huge cost savings. They are also impacting how we network, socially interact and conduct our businesses. To create wealth in today’s world, one has to master leveraging these new technological advances.

To use this leverage, you have to be open to technology and buy the best of what your pocket allows.

I was privileged to be able to hear Bill Gates lecture at a conference in the early nineties. He emphasized on the importance of computers in our lives, especially that little extra technological edge that our children receive in this competitive world. At the time I had a computer at work, but not one at home. I was planning to buy one, but the high cost prohibited me from doing so back in those days. I was continuously delaying my decision to buy—the prices were regressing with every passing month and I was waiting for the appropriate moment to buy.

After attending that Bill Gates lecture, I went straight to a computer store and bought a PC for our home use—it was the best decision I ever made in my life! That PC not only helped me leverage my time and knowledge, but also gave my children an opportunity to grow up with the technological edge.

Since then, I have developed a habit of upgrading technology at home and at work: computers, mobile devices, communication systems, access to fast speed networks, etc. Access to information and sharing it with your customers provides the best possible leverage, in terms of customer relationship, sales and profits.

I have given an example of information technology for the ease of understanding, as it affects our day to day life; there are many other machines that replace human functions more efficiently and at a much cheaper cost. For instance, robots are able to assemble cars with more precision and in much lesser time than human beings. The fastest growing companies on our planet are those that are making technological breakthroughs on a regular basis in their respective fields. Apple is one such company.

Technology leverages work only when applied productively. There are people who waste time surfing the net endlessly, playing video games, socializing or using it only as source of entertainment. Nothing wrong indulging in such activities because we all need to keep informed and entertained – the problem is when we lose focus and become obsessed with it and spend endless hours wasting time on on the internet.

Leveraging technology can be more effective than employing people. There is saying that machines cost lesser and give lesser trouble as compared to humans.