I recently read a book titled; REWORK, by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson, and found many of their chapters entertaining and sometimes practical. For the past year we have been in the process of assessing and purchasing and implementing a new ERP system for SVF as part of our plans for growth and to link with our continuous improvement plans.  

Essentially an ERP system (or any of the many computer based tools we use in business) provides the templates, pages, tabs, links, math and reporting that our business can use but along the way I was reminded of that famous data base quote..."Junk In, Junk Out". Indeed any tool that one uses is only as good as the user makes it. This requires a commitment to learning the in's and out's and a promise to master the navigation, but more important it must be used as only a part of a grand plan to be efficient, responsive, enlightened and successful.

Here is an excerpt from that book.

Tone is in your fingers

Guitar gurus say, "Tone is in your fingers." You can buy the same guitar, effects pedals, and amplifier that Eddie Van Halen uses. But when you play that rig, it's still going to sound like you.

 Likewise, Eddie could plug into a crappy Strat/Pignose setup at a pawn shop, and you'd still be able to recognize that it's Eddie Van Halen playing. Fancy gear can help, but the truth is your tone comes from you.

It's tempting for people to obsess over tools instead of what they're going to do with those tools. You know the type: Designers who use an avalanche of funky typefaces and fancy Photoshop filters but don't have anything to say. Amateur photographers who want to debate film versus digital endlessly instead of focusing on what actually makes a photograph great.

Many amateur golfers think they need expensive clubs. But it's the swing that matters, not the club. Give Tiger Woods a set of cheap clubs and he'll still destroy you.