Measuring and analyzing activities and results, recommending courses of action after considering, and reviewing a variety of options is the core of day-to-day life of most business managers and executives. It is what they do all day long. But it’s not just business people who do this. So too do many others in professions. Consider the Medical Doctor. A patient arrives, describes some symptoms and based on examination, conversation and perhaps some research, the M.D. diagnoses the problem and proposes a treatment regimen. Good managers and good doctors do this day in and day out...their entire careers.
But analyzing events and data so that you make the right decision is never easy. On network television, no one better demonstrated how difficult that decision making can be in such an environment than the character of Dr. Gregory House who worked at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH) in New Jersey. House, the TV series ran on NBC for 177 episodes from November 2004 through May 2012. It was a top ten show for many years, won lots of awards and was distributed to 66 countries.
While Dr. House had some very peculiar character flaws including an addiction to pain killers, a propensity to argue with almost anyone and a preference for flouting of hospital rules and procedures, his approach to making medical diagnoses was very unique. Gregory House typically used the differential diagnosis method to analyze patient’s issues. This mean that for all issues raised, a list of possible causes were listed out and then by process of elimination, logical reasoning was used to diagnose an illness. Patients did not always make it easy for Dr. House. Too often they concealed symptoms or their correct medical history.
Dr. House was unique—a real character—clearly not directly lovable as an individual, but undoubtedly gifted in his profession and sought after for his passion, drive, intensity and desire to solve the problem. Overall, the key thing Dr. House did was to continually ask questions of the patient, of the hospital administration, and of his colleagues. He is famous for saying: "I get to ask the questions. I've found you look a lot smarter asking the questions than dumbly not answering." House often solves the problem, correctly diagnoses the key issue, out of the blue, when he hears a passing remark from a sub character or sees something in the media—the key that is the final piece of the puzzle.
So, what does Dr. Gregory House have to do with choosing the right provider of IT services for your organization? Well, we would not advocate that you find a provider that demonstrates personality characteristics similar to that character—let’s face it, he is a misanthrope! But we would highly recommend that you find a provider that has the team, skills, brainpower, determination, passion, and commitment to help your organization solve problems and improve productivity by using the right technology for your needs.
Most importantly, we suggest that you find an IT provider that is a good listener and one that asks a lot of questions. Why is that important? Because when that is done, a problem is more likely clearly uncovered and thus no misdiagnosis occurs.
IT Radix prides itself on being such a provider of IT services. We try to listen and ask lots of questions. We tend to think through a host of options before recommending a course of action. We know each situation is unique. We seek out solutions that are cost effective for our clients because we know their resources are precious. Like Dr. House, we employ our entire team when needed to help solve client issues.
We do all of that, plus, we are nice! Technology powered by nice! How’s that for a tagline? Working with accomplished professionals who are also nice is a great way to go!
First published in our March 2016 IT Radix Resource newsletter
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