Animals

Cast back to your younger years (if you have them:-) , perhaps to the time you took your driving test, and you might remember, like me how much you feared that examination. Once it was over, and you were (hopefully) successful it was a fear that you had conquered, and one that you would hope never to encounter again.

We can all cope with some of our fears, but there is always that special nagging dread that comes back again and again to haunt us. In some people (like my wife) it is still spiders. That might be a rational fear in the African continent or Australia, but in the UK there just isn't any spider that would offer any harm at all to humans. Similarly many people fear snakes, more likely because they are reptiles and because they seem to be (although in reality they are not) cold and slimy.

Many of these fears are irrational in the context that we experience them, and by careful management we could, if we wanted to, overcome or at least work within the limit of our fears.

Many of the major airlines offer a fear management course for those who cannot face boarding a passenger jet. Psychoanalysts have analyzed the anxieties that aircraft noises and functions create in sensitive passengers and through sympathetic education people can explore their phobias that prevent their decision to go flying. They are supported throughout the course by cabin and aircrew; specialists who help them to control and alleviate their fears.

Without the right technology, a business' growth will be stifled, yet I still encounter the following fears in people I meet.

1.They fear talking to their own or other technical specialists. This fear is borne from a lack of confidence in their knowledge of the subject, and because these specialists couch what they say in jargon.

2.They fear writing down what they need the software or technology to do for them. This fear is borne from the belief that their writing will be judged to be inadequate or unable to convey their needs.

3.They fear speaking to others about the technology they use in their business. If they do speak, they hide behind vague and inaccurate statements that insulate them from the technology they want to use.

4.They fear networking with groups of technical specialists because they are apprehensive that they will be lost in the technicalities and will not understand the decisions they are making.

O.K. this sounds like me! I can hear you say, so what can I do about it.

Well just like those airline cures, there are people who can help you through this.

It's a fact that specialists hide behind the jargon that they develop in their community, because they want to insulate themselves and build a wall around their specialization.

It doesn't have to be that way. You can learn to control your fear by taking one of the following actions.

1.Some specialists fill the gap. They can translate the technical world into analogies that you can understand. These specialists have the confidence in their subject to be able to try different ways to shepherd you through your crisis, so that you can understand the decisions you are making.

2.Never allow a moment to pass where you have not understood a technical point that someone is making. If you don't understand, then make appoint of asking for the point to be clarified. You might be surprised how often the specialist stumbles over a simple complete description of the issue.

3.Never allow a specialist to waffle. If they are not speaking clearly and without ambiguity then they are doing you no favors.

Has fear has held you back from making effective software decisions? It doesn't have to!

Author:Rob Wendes Msc in Internet Technology (with distinction)

Bio: For the last 20 years Rob Wendes has been helping Business owners and professionals to improve their software development. http://www.robsabloggin.com

posted by chameleonsbsevbe  # 5:57 PM