AutoGov

Running Ahead

Humorist and showman Will Rogers said “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.”

This quote is the epitome of our technological world. Small businesses must keep trying to out run, out think, and out maneuver the corporate big dogs or risk getting run over.  Doing the best today isn’t going to be good enough for tomorrow.

Working for AutoGov, I have firsthand experience with continuously striving to be bigger, better, faster etc. The necessity for innovation and change is ever present and is the heartbeat of the small business.

AutoGov is a prime example of a successful company because we continuously mold and transform into what is needed. We aren’t stagnant and you can’t put what we do into a box. We determine the needs of our clients as well as our potential clients. We use our resources wisely. We stay up to date on trending technology and new innovations in our marketplace and use this information to create new and improved products and ideas.

With all of this said, you can’t have a successful company without a successful team. Independently, we are all strong but when a core group of people get together and brainstorm, implement action, and create a finished project, that’s when the company is at its best and a force to be reckoned with.  

I wanted to take the time to express my gratitude to everyone behind the scenes at AutoGov. In response to the quote “Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there”, I say, we are the leaders of life's marathon and keep on running team!

AutoGov at the University of Alabama's Business Analytics Symposium

Be Your Own Backstop or How to Handle Chaos

When the going gets tough or you have no idea what to do next, too often we see folks looking around for help.  Finding none, some people are willing to throw up their hands and walk away.

Walking away - especially from a client need - is the worst thing a small business (any business) can do!

AutoGov met last week to begin the process of developing standard operating procedures or SOP's for every facet of our business, ranging from the simple and mundane to the complex. 

We began with one that I thought would be simple - "What to do when you have no idea what to do."  This was subsequently named the "Chaos" SOP by the participants.  Far from being simple, we spent hours following every rabbit trail we could think of and put each possibility through the Chaos flowchart.

Walking away from an issue? Not likely.  Everybody learned that it is critical to be your own backstop even when chaos ensues and nobody is there to help you except you!

Naming Conventions Make for Good Manners

As AutoGov grows we're finding that almost everything we do requires a written procedure. Otherwise every day is ground hog day -- a terrible resource waster.  We're striving to avoid the curse of small business where only one person has the key to the mailbox.

Today we tackled how to establish standard methods for naming our files.  Scintillating, I know.  But let's tell the truth here.  How many valuable heartbeats have you wasted searching your email attachments, your C Drive, that extra jump drive you carry around, your old laptop, blah, blah, blah -- looking for that document you swear that you have somewhere? We just want to be able to find our stuff!

So off we went, launching our "Naming Convention" work session.  Thirty minutes later we were done with the job.  And we had reached consensus on how to name our documents, the categories for cataloging and electronic filing processes.  Surprisingly this seemingly dull task gave rise to some interesting suggestions and the result reflected the wisdom of the group. It was a thoughtful thirty minutes. 

I liken some of these mundane office processes to good table manners.  Table manners are only really important to us when you're stuck eating with a real slob.  Miss Manners 911.  Same is true at work.  Being able to readily retrieve information is never more critical until you have spent half your day searching for that detailed flowchart "we already did" that you just have to have for the client deliverable that is due in two hours,

 Be kind to yourself and your co-workers.  Embrace the mundane!