Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Traveling by horse in the era of cars By Maeng Tabije, MBM Tuesday Notions
WHEN personal computers (PCs) starting being available in the market in the decade of the '80s, I enthusiastically tried to convince my boss to buy a PC. But he was unimpressed. "Ismael, we were able to build numerous huge projects for decades just using typewriters," was how he dismissed my appeal.
I thought then, that that was the mindset of one who is slow in seeing the future -- basking only in the glory of yesterday and today. It's not any different from one who, at the time the telephone was invented said that he doesn't need one as he was able to communicate just fine by human couriers all those years; or one who, at the time the car was invented said that he doesn't need one as he was able to travel just fine with horses all those years.
Try saying those today and you'll be labeled as insane, right?
It's the same with information technology. Today is the information era, when information technology has taken control of our lives. Don't agree? Try doing away with your cellphone, digital camera, Internet connection/email, digital music players and similar things. Unimaginable, right?
The misfortune that I see is that so many things that could be done using the Internet are still done the old cumbersome and time-consuming way. Samples: sending money to anyone in the world or paying your bills or investing in the stock market can now be done right in your office or home with a few clicks of your computer keys so why waste your time going to the bank or to your stock broker's office?
You can now use a computer with Internet connection for calling anyone anywhere in the world -- for free, unlimited time. Want to talk virtually face-to-face with your business associate in Japan? No sweat, just put on the web camera of your laptop, dial your computer phone and you can see each other in your monitors and talk as long as you like, again for free.
Want to look for suppliers of your products from other countries? Or prospective buyers of your products in other countries? Just open your Internet connection and you can research the whole world, and find what you need in minutes. Going to America or Europe and you don't have a street map of that small town you are going to? In minutes you'll be able to download it from the Internet.
Want to fly to Timbuktu or any place on earth? Know the flight schedules and plane fares to those places in minutes. You can even book your flight and hotel and pay right there in your computer. You can even choose your hotel by looking at pictures of their lobby, rooms, restaurants, pools and other facilities.
The possibilities are almost endless. What a waste that they are not used by most people.
A few months back, I was discussing with someone the disgusting situation where so much more efficiency and cost savings in the world of commerce could be achieved if only companies and people embraced information technology more comprehensively. I said then, that the problem is this: most business owners or top executives, the ones who have the final say in company decisions, are people in their 40s, 50s and 60s. They are largely computer illiterate and so deathly afraid of computers.
No matter how much their younger computer-savvy staffs want to embrace new IT systems, their companies remain in the dark ages of office operations because their owners or top executives are ignorant and unwilling to learn--of the possibilities.
In a manner of speaking, they still travel using horses because they are afraid to learn how to drive the new motor cars. Much easier for them to just whip and steer the horse than learning how to use the accelerator, clutch, steering wheel and stick shift.
I'll tell you something -- with the right tutor, it's much easier and faster to learn how to use the Internet than how to drive a car. No kidding.
I tried to study why senior executives and professionals are not enrolling in Internet literacy seminars. My finding -- all the schools that offer these courses have young people attending. I can fully understand how utterly embarrassing it is to be the only 40/50/60 year old in a class of computer-savvy teens or yuppies.
After finding this out, I decided that some kind of especially designed Internet literacy seminar needs to be offered exclusively for these professionals, businessmen and executives who are computer illiterate. Birds of the same old feather learning together.
If you are interested, my first "Internet for Computer Dummies" seminar will be on October 4, 2008 (Saturday) to be held in Davao City. Call Honey Royo at telephone no. (082) 222-6822 for more details. Invite your friends and colleagues, it's going to be more fun learning with them.
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Ismael D. Tabije, MBM, is an international consultant to the WB, the UN and the EU. One of his passions is Internet marketing. Visit his website, BestManagementArticles.com or email comments to: idtabije@gmail.com.
