Learning that her elderly grandfather had just passed away, Katie went straight to her grandparents’ house to visit her ninety-five-year-old grandmother to comfort her. When she asked how her grandfather had died, her grandmother replied, “She had a heart attack while we were making love on Sunday morning.” Horrified, Katie told her grandmother that two nearly hundred-year-olds having sex would surely be asking for trouble.
“Oh no, dear,” Grandma replied. “Many years ago, realizing our advancing age, we determined that the best time to do it was when the church bells were starting to ring. It was the right rhythm. Nothing too strenuous, just in the Ding and out of the Dong.” He paused to wipe away a tear and continued, “I’d still be alive if the ice cream truck hadn’t come.”
So what does the above have to do with choosing the right mobile phone?
It’s about doing it right. Mobile phones are such an integral part of our business lives, with which you have the ability to communicate with anywhere in the world. You can make each member of your organization your ambassador, creating new paths to market. Therefore, choosing the right mobile platform for the company is something that should be considered wisely.
Over the years, I’ve worked with companies where teams used five or six different types of mobile phones, which is fine – individual choice in choosing a mobile phone is one way to do it. But then there are all the ancillary parts that come with phones: various power cables, charging systems, cases, different apps on the interface, lens quality, and data and information storage methods.
Who hasn’t yelled on the floor of a workplace, “Who’s got a Nokia charger?” And that’s the day that everyone who made it to the office despite the train strike has an iPhone. So there is a case for a company to have their entire team use the same mobile phone/platform.
Mobile phones can make your business life a misery or they can be a complete joy. The wrong phone and the wrong type of contract can add gray to your temples faster than any old lady. So which mobile phone is best for your business use? A platform that works for one company may not be compatible with another, but you know that, right?
Can you take it too far? A company once told me that they didn’t just want the same phone, the same color, and the same memory capacity. And that all the apps should also be in the same place. Wow, that has to be the Hilton Hotel of mobile phone interfaces. I can see your point, the reason being that each and every member of the company knew exactly how to use the phone: the company had essentially eighty-nine experts, all on the same phone.
So if someone said, “Where’s the app for futures markets?” for example, I can tell you now that the app was top left, two down. The shorthand of the mobile phone interface is a good thing, but we like to give them our own character. For example: my skype app is in just the right place, right side two up – this is the length of my right thumb and I can access the weather app from here. I’ll have it here. Or how the green of my travel app looks great next to the red and white of the YouTube app, all the technical stuff.
BOOM, it’s ready and I’m going to take all the phones we have and trade them in for a bulk iPhone 7 order. Nope; hold on to your mobile phone until it dies. Keep using the phone until it can’t be repaired or there are no more updates for the platform it’s on. Then, when it’s ready, give it to your children or to a charity (WWF is a good one).
Tips for when you get closer to your contract date:
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Consider this: When it comes to contract end time, make a list of things you want from your mobile phone: Make sure the mobile phone platform (iOS, Android, etc.) fits your needs and not the reverse.
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Don’t get into a mobile contract just because the iPhone 7 looked good on the tube sign. What’s better for business, a smartphone or a dumb phone? It is difficult to download a malicious application on your company network through a dumb phone.
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Some industries and government institutions only require dumb phones, for security reasons, they don’t have a camera and they are substantially cheaper.
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Pricing: What is the best value for the company, a two-year or three-year contract? What length fits your staffing or expansion plans?
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Right before you update your phones, will everything sync? Check if moving dollies will create any electronic dead ends in your office.
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If you decide the grass is greener and you’re going to switch to another deck, it’s not too difficult, it just takes careful planning. There are many apps and the cloud to help you exchange information carefully.
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And finally, if your cell phone has bells and whistles, make sure they don’t all ring at the same time. You want to be ninety-six, don’t you?