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Recently, in the esteemed company of some 119 other CEOs of the fastest-growing companies in Canada, I attended the Profit 100 CEO Summit, at the Granite Club in north Toronto.
I came away from the event enlightened, yes. But also baffled.
Here’s the thing. All of us so-called “top CEOs” have demonstrated that we’ve figured this entrepreneurship thing out, at least to a certain extent. We’ve paid our dues, climbed our ladders, smarted at our failures, relished in our successes.
And so it is that I am forever amazed at how many rapidly growing, apparently flourishing companies continue to function on “islands of data,” when a more comprehensive continental approach would put them so much more meaningfully on the map.
These firms, compensating wildly for an absence of operational cohesiveness, rely on a piecemeal system held together by sticky tape and spit. It might function-but not nearly so efficiently as it could.
I’ll be the first to admit that replacing an internal business system is comparable to root canal without anaesthetic. But the cost of going without is pretty agonizing, too. And being a person who likes to help businesses integrate under a tight, neat, all-in-one database, I am mystified as to why more people haven’t put themselves under the knife.
How do these companies account for their inefficiencies, I wonder?
How do they accurately acknowledge every dollar earned and every hour billed? Are they making errors in manually transferring data from one system to another? Are they employing resources to do menial jobs that could be focused on more strategic tasks?
I remember one client who came to us with 14 different accounting systems-the baggage of multiple acquisitions-that we streamlined onto a single common platform.
That one little bit of dental surgery (which was, in fact, remarkably quick and easy) has set them up with a robust business and financial management software solution that will make the integration of any future acquisitions into their midst a breeze.
I think that companies should take advantage of these somewhat decelerated times to focus on improving processes within their organizations so that, when the tide turns, they can manoeuvre their crafts more effectively-and leave the islands in their wake.
To book an appointment with one of our business systems integration specialists, and discover how you can streamline your operations and increase your bottom line, please give us a call today.
