GIGO

Of course you’ve heard that acronym a million times… garbage in, garbage out.

And I continually remind my missus of it when she complains that her PC or digital device ain’t doing what it should! “It’s only as good as the instructions you feed it,” I tell her (which of course she instantly ignores… blaming it is ever so much better than self punishment).

But even the digital natives need to be reminded of it as the following episode makes crystal clear.

So there we were.

My mate, and expert in all things digital, Terry Brock, along with partners and assorted others had been out for dinner.

As we left the restaurant and stepped out onto the street, about half a million vacant cabs went rolling by. So, I started to hail one.

“No, no,” Terry said, “I’ll get one on uber and show you how good it is.”

After quickly tapping the required info into his phone, “It’s just four minutes away,” Terry said with assured techno confidence.

Five minutes, ten minutes and about seven thousand cabs went by but no uber cab appeared despite Terry’s assurances that, “It was here,” which clearly it wasn’t.

Vigorously tapping at his phone (and maybe shaking it in disbelief) as the minutes and vacant cabs went by, Terry discovered the problem.

“I got the wrong street, the cab is around the corner.”

And so it was and our journey was back on track.

But the lesson?

Quite simply, no matter how plain or sophisticated the technology, how old or new fashioned, it’s only as good as the operator.

Garbage in means garbage out!

Maybe we all need to remind ourselves of that occasionally!

 

“Cornerstones of Success” contains extracts specially selected from a fantastic longer program by Wayne Mansfield whom Winno has known and respected for his unique, practical and pithy insights on business for many years. In this sampling you will hear simple crucial solutions to some of those problems in selling that Winston believes cause many people to stumble in making the sale. They are really “must know” approaches that will help you nail the business. Get it here. Part of the Winno’s Wise Words series.