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Tech Trap No. 2 — New is Always
Better (Chasing Big Bertha)
Editor’s Note: Following is the second of our ten part series called “Technology Traps
and Mishaps,” by Fred Ode, CEO, chairman and founder of Foundation Software.
I hate to shop! Given the choice
between a visit to the mall and
a visit to my dentist, I’ll take a
root canal (and the consequential
drilling) any day of the
week. I have only one exception to
my shopping aversion, and it involves
golf club purchases, especially new
drivers. For example, last summer
I “invested” in the TaylorMade® r7
Quad™ driver—the pro model with
interchangeable weights that allows
millions of possible configurations.
How could I resist!?
During the second round of golf
with my shiny new driver, I was
telling my good friend and regular
golf partner that I was hitting the
ball at least ten yards farther and
much straighter than ever before. My
friend was quick to point out that I
said the same thing about the fifteen
previous drivers I had purchased
over the years. By his accounting, I
should now be leading the PGA tour
in average driving distance by over
fifty yards! It all began with my first
“high-tech” driver, Big Bertha, which
increased my driving distance by at
least ten yards. I’ve been chasing
after new and improved Big Berthas
ever since.
My guess is that I would still be
shooting the same score if I had
upgraded only two or three times
since Big Bertha. Which brings us
to Tech Trap No. 2—“New is Always
Better.” New can be better, but not
always…and at what point is it no
longer cost-effective? Let’s look at
two cases that illustrate this point.
(Please note that names have been changed to protect the innocent!)
One of the things I do to keep current within the industry
is to attend a number of construction and professional
trade shows—World of Concrete (WOC) and the Annual
Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA)
Conference, for example. At the WOC in January, the new
controller (we will call him John) who works for a $15
million highway contractor stopped by our booth. He was
dissatisfied with his accounting software and attended
WOC specifically to start the search for new software.
John outlined his main complaints: lack of percent
complete, over/under billing and production reporting,
in addition to the inability to track equipment usage on
jobs. These were critical items to successfully run their
business, and John hoped to rectify the situation with
new software. In addition to accounting software, he
was also searching for estimating software specific to
heavy highway construction. John’s company had been
using spreadsheets for years, and it was time to move to
the next level. Their current accounting software was a
higher priced application than ours, but one with which I
am familiar. It is a competitor that I hold in high regard.
During our conversation, I asked John if he was going
to stop by his current vendor’s booth, a couple of aisles
over from ours. He had no intention of doing so; he was
“through with them.” My suggestion to John was to stop
by their booth and discuss his issues or to at least contact
the vendor upon returning to his office. I explained that,
to the best of my knowledge, his current software did
address his concerns; I would have been surprised to
find otherwise. I explained that it was very common for
a business to underutilize their software due to a lack of
awareness and/or training. Furthermore, on the assumption
that his accounting software was up to the task,
his need for industry-specific estimating software was a
much greater priority in which to invest his time and
money.
John did visit with his vendor and was told that the
software was specifically designed to handle each and
every concern he had. A consultation and training session
was scheduled with the vendor, and within two months,
John had the capabilities his company required. In fact,
he discovered some new reports and functions beyond
what he originally was looking for and is now a reference
client for my competitor.
Make no mistake about it—in a head-to-head comparison,
I honestly believe we are a better solution for John’s company. However, they had their
software and were already heavily
invested in it in terms of time and
money. With only a few days of consulting/training, John gained the
knowledge on how to more fully
utilize his software.
In John’s case, he could have purchased
“new and improved”…but at
what cost? New was an option, but
not their best solution. Now let’s look
at a similar situation where “new
really is better.”
I met Mark (not his real name) at a
trade show last year. He is the owner
of a $6 million electrical contracting
company, and he was absolutely fed
up with his software vendor. Mark
had been using their software since
1993 and had always been happy with
it. It had some limitations, but it gave
Mark what he needed to successfully
run his business. However, the software
vendor’s support had completely
deteriorated. Although response time
was never great, it was acceptable.
Now, it often took one or two days to
get a return phone call, and even then,
the quality of the support was weak.
Furthermore, his vendor had been
acquired recently, and it appeared
that there was no strong commitment
to future enhancements. Finally, in a
direct comparison, our software and
service provided a multitude of benefits
over our competitors.
Ultimately, Mark invested in our
product and company. In the short
term he ended up light years ahead of
where he was with his previous software.
In the long term, he partnered
with a company that has a commitment
toward the future. Clearly, in
Mark’s case, new was better.
Over the years, in my quest for
the ultimate driver, I finally came to
see that new is not always better. In
fact, I do not plan on replacing my
TaylorMade Quad driver any time
soon. I really do not believe I can
buy an extra ten yards—I am over
my illusion. However, I am inspired
by Phil Michelson’s victory at the
Masters where he used two drivers.
My thinking is that I may have a new
custom-fitted driver made for me that
has a higher launch angle and shorter
shaft for better control. I can use this
as my “go-to” club on tough driving
holes. I am convinced that “new will
be better” under this scenario. And if
not, who cares? At least it will have
kept me out of the shopping mall!
Fred Ode is the CEO/chairman of
Foundation Software, developer of construction
job cost accounting software
called FOUNDATION for Windows. For
further information on FOUNDATION
for Windows, visit www.foundationsoft.com.
Fred Ode can be reached directly
by phone at 800.246.0800, or e-mail
fred@foundationsoft.com.
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