Despite the fact that Wal-Mart is known for its advanced technological capacities, Walton believed that a computer would still never be able to substitute for getting out in his stores and learning what was going on.
This is true of any technology to me. No matter how "wired" we get, technology can tell us what we have done, as Walton said, “a computer can tell you down the dime what you’ve sold. But it can never tell you how much you could have sold.”
Technology can also tell you what is being bought, but it can't tell you what people want to buy; that's something that communication within a company can only tell you, as you dig deep into what consumers are telling your people.
If technology was ever going to be the deciding factor in the success of a business, how could a company get a competitive advantage. As soon as one technology comes along, another one will be right next to it doing the same thing. About the only thing that can happen is a company gets a slight, temporary lead by instituting the technology before a competitor.
It's an important tool, but a tool nonetheless. Even if our business is strictly an Internet business, we still need to know beyond metrics what is going on. Again, all that can do is tell you what's happening, not what could potentially happen.
We still need to check the pulse on what's happening with our customers and workers. Nothing does that better than showing up and snooping around. It's those that have a strong grasp on their market and know what's happening now and what people are leaning toward in the near future that will have the upper competitive hand, not those that think technology is the answer to everything.
A recent study even shows that those that do receive data don't really know what to do with it once it's read. No matter what technology does to help us, it can never replace the potential that we can find by knowing where our business is going. The only way to find that out is to see it with our own eyes.
Other Walton Sources:
The Most Underrated CEO Ever The legendary Sam Walton
Sam Walton: The Power of Persistence
Sam Walton Business Quotes for Ya
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