Warning: this post is written by a recovering crackberry addict.
I knew things were bad when I was in Las Vegas last summer and my friend was getting stitches in the emergency room (don’t ask!) and I was furiously typing emails and instant messages, oblivious to nearly everything going on around me (including my good buddy’s agony).
In the maddeningly fast paced world of global business, “on demand” has gone from being a tagline from an old IBM commercial to a mantra throughout all rank and file in the business world. I think entry-level college grads are even being given Blackberry’s as some kind of cruel, “thrown to the wolves” corporate initiation so that they can be pawns to their new bosses sadistic Sunday afternoon work whims.
My friends at Research in Motion (RIMM) are going to be gunning for me now (I’ll split the price on my head with somebody).
“Crackberry’s” and their ilk, epitomize the perverse notion that we can make everybody happy all the time. The novelty effect is huge (did anybody ever get more done with “daytimers” or Palm Pilots?). At any rate, here are five reasons that I have come up with to help show you the light in ditching your Blackberry and the entire business paradigm they represent.
1. Your productivity will improve
“On Demand” business just doesn’t work for entrepreneurs. If you work for Big Blue, than so be it - bind yourself to the corporate leash. But, if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, take it from me, the more you condition your customers/clients, suppliers, employees, shareholders, etc. to expect instant results from you - the moment you fail do deliver that instant gratification will mark the beginning of your fall from grace.
There is a mistaken notion in today’s business climate that instant service = good service. This is not necessarily the case. Often, if you have more time to think about a problem or situation, you can put together a better, more thought out response that will end up making you more money.
2. You will see some of your sanity come back
If you’ve ever heard of the stories of wives divorcing their husbands or relationships going into counseling because of crackberry addiction, they are probably all true. Rarely have I seen someone who owned a crackberry who had a good sense of balance (or even a sense of self about them).
When you are constantly ‘at the office,’ the lines between work, family and fun begin to blur. You are always at the office, even if it’s 10:30 on a Tuesday night or 7:30 on a Saturday morning. Not knowing where work ends and where you begin will slowly turn you upside down and inside out.
3. Your thumbs will feel a lot better
Although you may burn a few extra calories as you furiously scroll and type, your thumbs will be glad you saved them the numbing feeling of keying endless emails (who really reads them anyway?)
4. You will definitely look better
The crackberry as a fashion statement is a non-starter. Always has been. Always will be. Men shouldn’t accessorize in the first place, but when you throw the leather crackberry holster in with the business casual ensemble you just look like a guy straight out of ‘geek-fest’ magazine.
**For those of you crackberry heads out there, stop thinking you look important by having your crackberry buzz 50 times with incoming messages during a meeting and then furiously scrolling and glaring at it after the meeting lets out–spare me!!!**
5. Your business will likely improve
This one is from personal experience. When you stop thinking ‘instant response’ and instead think “quality response” you will see your level of customer satisfaction increase significantly. I am now better able to handle client responses in a thorough manner while at the same time being much more productive (getting more done in far less time) than when I was hooked on crackberry.
**Bonus** 6 - Your cell phone bill will decrease
Since we should try to look at all angles, I guess this one should have made the cut for the Top 5, but I didn’t like it as much as the other ones, so I added it here as a bonus. This one is really a no-brainer, because crackberry service puts additional cost on your monthly service plan and also puts you out the higher fees for purchasing the device.
Ahh…now, there it is…I feel much better. It’s theraputic to get things out in the open. As I turn around I am looking to be doused with ‘hater-ade’ like John Madden after a Super Bowl Victory. Let the debating begin and the comments reign in - I am ready.
(Just don’t offer me a free dose of crackberry)
