I’m always thinking about Darren – the poor, underrated bastard who works harder than anyone, never gets a day off, holds the business together and, of course, never gets a pay rise.
Darren is all the technology you use in your business.
He sends and receives all of the emails, he has every single one of your files in his briefcase, he makes sure everyone gets paid.
He knows all of your staff intimately and he knows every one of your customers, too.
If he’s been trained right, he’ll also know exactly how all your processes work and how to run the so-and-so manufacturing machine.
Darren works 24 hours/365 days a week. He never gets a day off to improve himself or just shut down and get refreshed.
You pay Darren peanuts; in fact, you haven’t paid him any more than you did 5 years ago.
Sadly, as long as Darren keeps on working, you don’t give him a second thought. You certainly don’t think of Darren as being crucial to the team.
One day, Darren isn’t feeling too well. He starts forgetting files and begins to send random emails. What Darren has is terminal (‘scuse the techy joke). Darren sends his last email, forgets to pay anyone, shuts down, and dies.
It’s not good. Doctors (expensive ones, of course) appear from nowhere. They warned you that Darren was aging and that he needed bits chopped off and new bits put on but you ignored them; you left it too late.
Now your business operations are in disarray and you desperately wish you’d done something about Darren’s health sooner. You wish you’d listened to those who know Darren (anyone at Rocket IT, as it happens) and given him a bit of a facelift, a day at the spa, a vital operation before it was too late.
It’s only now that you realise this Darren guy is pretty important eh? Actually, without Darren we can’t run our businesses…
When was the last time you checked in on your Darren? Hard-working, always on, dedicated Darren? Is it time you has an expert come in and give him a health check?
I think we need an International Darren Day. Let’s hear it for Darren!!
#IT #business #businesscontinuity #businessnz