Wireless Addiction: A Business Fable

As the founder and president of a fictional management consulting firm, I take great pride in helping our clients "find a better way." Funny thing, though—we like to "find a better way" to do things ourselves. Several months ago, my vice president (we'll call her Bonnie) came to me with an idea—"Hey, we need to start using BlackBerry handhelds within the firm. They permit us to have instant access to e-mail, calendars, web sites, and other resources, regardless of whether we're working in the office, at a client location, at an offsite meeting, or at home. And the best thing is this—we don't have to be wired! All of this happens over the airwaves! I see a lot of business benefits to us and to our clients!"

So, Bonnie and I consulted our "alpha geek” (we'll call him Brent) about BlackBerry. Brent's response—"Yes, they are very cool! Messages are received and sent via highly-secure Triple DES encryption, each handheld is uniquely identified, it runs various types of applications, it can serve as a cell phone and text messenger, the handheld comes with a web browser, ..." I then intervened: "Okay, Brent, I get it. You've both sold me on this. Let's get started!"

Bonnie and Brent then shifted into high gear, obtaining handhelds, airtime, server software, software documentation, various training materials, and contacting Research In Motion (maker of the BlackBerry) to become a business partner. After everything was provisioned and installed, the moment of truth came—Bonnie and Brent presented me with my own BlackBerry. I looked at how nicely it was designed, how it fit comfortably in my hand, and how small and thin it was (even with its "thumbboard"), given the many functions performed by one device. (The various combo PDA/phones have a lot of catching up to do...) Suddenly, the BlackBerry vibrated—I had received my first mobile e-mail! Excitedly, I clicked the thumbwheel to open it. After reading it, I pressed the thumbwheel and—voila!—a context-based menu appeared, with my desired action "Reply" already selected. I thumbed in a quick reply, brought up the menu—which again defaulted to the desired action "Send"—and I was done. This was the start of my wireless addiction.

Since then, my usage of the BlackBerry has steadily increased. I even went so far as to reply to a church-related e-mail using it, prompting a reply from one of my pastors (let's call him Jay) counseling me to a self-study 12-step program called "BlackBerry Addict Devotees Anonymous, Self Support", which has a rather curious acronym.

I have become addicted to these benefits: ¨Having instant access to e-mail first thing in
the morning, allowing me to adjust my day to address any issues that arose since the
previous evening. ¨Permitting me to have the applications most critical to serving our clients—my e-mail, calendar, address book, and group calendar— available at all times, in virtually any place. ¨Allowing me freedom to go virtually anywhere with up-to-date information.

I've even begun using my BlackBerry for longer correspondence. My wireless addiction continues. Next hit, please.

Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld


Todd Herman Associates...Find a better way.