Not really on EDI this one, but it is about business.
I have got to say I am not a great one for meetings. I like them to be brief, to the point and to have an outcome. I find, if not carefully controlled, a lot of business meetings are not like that, they are long winded, meander and there is no follow up; but you do get nice biscuits and coffee.
Today was different. I had a meeting with one of our non executive directors, one of two I class as a mentor. The agenda was mainly focused around marketing and product development, which should amount to one and the same. I have been shut away in a darkened room recently working on marketing materials, product direction and adding more value to the EDI experience for our customers.
I have been working sometimes in isolation, sometimes with colleagues and sometimes with external organisations such as customers and software developers. It has been an eye opening experience. Sometimes you can just get too close to the workings and never get your head up to look around you. This gave me a chance to look around.
What has come out of this is several pieces of literature around how companies benefit from Outsourced EDI, looking at trends such as EIPP and information on business process improvements from EDI. We have also developed specifications for several enhancements for our outsourced EDI solution aimed entirely at adding value for our clients and their trading partners.
So, having done all this work I took it to my mentor, the non executive director I mentioned above. Some people just have a clarity of vision. Yes he has many years experience in software companies and has been very successful in his own right, but I am still impressed how he can take an idea, grasp it and take it to the next level.
I came out of that meeting buzzing. We had taken the work of myself, my colleagues and outside companies, improved it, set a path for the next stage of developing the ideas and defined a clear set of next actions. If you are running a business and looking to grow that business then I can really recommend either non execs or mentors.
There was only one downside; All the actions are allocated to me. I have no idea how that happened. I think I still have some things to learn.
