I’d like to tell you a story about a young man who lost his way on his path to success and happiness.
Since he was a child, Brian always had a knack for how things worked. He would annoy his parents by taking apart their electronics constantly, but would always figure out how to put it back together.
His analytical mind could quickly calculate all the possibilities for a solution, and eliminate the wrong answers just as fast, ultimately finding the best way to solve any given problem.
When Brian turned 14 years old, his parents bought him his first computer – and he immediately knew he had found his calling. He took it apart and re-assembled it hundreds of times - He was always asking for new computer parts for Christmas and birthdays.
Soon, he was an expert on seemingly everything technology related that you could think of: he was constantly a source of expertise for friends, family and even staff members at his high school who were experiencing technical difficulties. Rewiring network infrastructure or removing viruses were a walk in the park at this point.
As you can probably imagine, when Brian graduated high school he followed his passion and studied Computer Electronics & Information Systems at the local community college. He loved every second of it; Surrounded by like-minded people who shared the same appreciation for technology and electronics as he did.
Not only that, but many of his professors turned out to be great mentors who helped him along the way to graduating with High Honours, at the top of his class.
He quickly received many exciting job opportunities from prospective companies, and he accepted an offer from Daigle & DiPietro, one of the largest accounting firms in the city – a very prestigious organization, ranked #1 in the region by most experts.
At lunch on his first day at work, he decided to visit the rooftop of the downtown skyscraper his company resided in. As he basked in the panoramic view of the city he thought:
“This is it, I’ve finally arrived. All those years of focus and preparation have pai-“
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by his manager’s beckoning voice:
“Brian, who told you to turn your cell phone off? You’re on call, and our executive team’s copier has a paper jam – Get down there right away, we have a big presentation in one hour!”
Eager to please, Brian sprinted downstairs to the executive’s suite to have a look at the jammed up copier. His years of schooling never taught him what to do in the case of a severe printer jam caused by an overstressed Executive Assistant who tried to scan too many pages at once - but he was able to figure out the solution after a few minutes nonetheless.
He returned from the paper jam to his “regular” work which he enjoyed immensely. However, after a few days he started to notice a disturbing pattern:
Every time he would be gaining momentum, feeling like he was on the cusp of figuring out an annoying problem or completing an important project – a copier, printer, fax machine or scanner would always seem to break down – and it was always his job to go figure it out.
Brian hated working on printers. With a passion. He thought they were dirty, noisy, expensive – and most of all, a complete waste of his expertise. That being said, he kept his head down and kept responding to calls.
Of course, he was soon known as the best printer repair guy at the company. This only lead to more and more printer related calls as his reputation for being a "Paper Jam Wizard" spread across the organization.
He was no longer “Brian, master information technology specialist” in their eyes or his own for that matter.
He was now: “Brian, the printer guy.”
(Authors note: No one wants to be called the printer guy, trust me I’ve been there. Does anything sound less cool than being "the printer guy"? C'mon, I think "sewage sanitation specialist" or "cockroach exterminator" would generate more engaging small talk at a party than my take on the latest HP LaserJet. But I regress...)
Brian hated being called the printer guy as well, and he grew depressed in his new role. His initial excitement and enthusiasm gradually faded into the dull gray of the monotonous working day, wasting his hard earned skills on menial tasks that could easily be handled by a Managed Print Services provider.
He mentioned the benefits of Managed Print Services to his IT Manager, who immediately responded:
“Why would we sign up for an MPS Program when we have you? You’re the best there is – heck, they even started calling you the printer guy around here, have you noticed that?”
Dumbstruck, Brian plodded back to his desk and placed his head inside his palms as he tried to dissolve his frustration. He kept thinking:
“Doesn’t my manager realize all the benefits of Managed Print Services? Not only will it free me up to do my actual job, the firm will actually save money on toner and other supplies in the process. Some MPS providers I’ve seen even secure your price to protect against inflation for up to 5 years! How can you beat that?”
As he began to dread going to work, Brian considered all the other great opportunities he had been offered after his graduation – law firms, healthcare clinics, and manufacturing facilities alike all clamoring for his services. Naturally, he started to test the waters with a few of these companies and ask questions about the job requirements for the different roles.
A well-established law firm, Gilmour & Lafleur, was quick to make him an offer when they heard he was interested, as they remembered his quick wit and expertise from their initial interviews, not to mention his perfect GPA.
Brian was hesitant at first, as his first career move had ended in disaster. He asked the partner:
“You aren’t going to make me fix printers, are you?”
Mr. Gilmour chuckled to himself and responded:
“No, of course not. We aren’t going to waste your advanced skills and years of schooling on fixing copiers, are you kidding? We have a Managed Print Services provider who takes care of all of that”.
This was music to Brian’s ears. He accepted the offer from Gilmour & Lafleur and issued his 2-weeks’ notice at Daigle & DiPietro the next day.
His previous employer was stunned and confused by his resignation. As he stepped onto the awaiting elevator that had brought him up to the roof on his first day full of hope, he looked back with a shrug and said:
“I guess you’ll have to find a new printer guy, sorry about that”.
Brian went on to a enjoy a successful run at that law firm for many years, building up his knowledge base and becoming an integral part of the team. He outgrew the firm eventually though and proceeded to the role of CIO at a Fortune 500 company.
Not bad for a guy who specialized in paper jams at his first job, huh?
Ok, so what did you think about Brian’s story?
More importantly, do you have any “Brian’s” working for your company - Brilliant minds with advanced training, who are stuck fixing printers and installing drivers all day?
If so, I may have a solution for you in the form of Datarite’s Managed Print Services program.
We are not a good fit for every company out there by any means, but when we do take on a project with a client our average results are a reduction in printing costs by 20-30% and most importantly an increase in the production of their IT Department.
To arrange a free, no obligation “Printing & Document Imaging Analysis” for your business please contact me today:
scroft@datarite.com / 1-902-456-9380 / @stevecroftsales on Social Media
This free assessment will give us the data required to establish if your company meets the criteria to benefit from Managed Print Services. Your free report will include information such as:
Average monthly printing costs broken down by location, department, and individual user to give you transparency into your costs. How many executives reading this know how much they spent on printing expenses last year?
- Your “cost per page” for every piece of printing hardware in your offices, which will identify inefficient devices that could be sucking up your money like a greedy vacuum cleaner as you’re reading this sentence.
- Insight into your document workflow processes, highlighting areas of redundancy.
Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post. Time is our most valuable resource in this world, and I truly hope I gave you an honest return on your investment with me today.
If you enjoyed this article, I really appreciate you “Liking & Sharing” it with your friends and colleagues. It might be just a click for you, but it really helps my self-esteem… just kidding…kinda.
See you all next time, keep an eye out for my latest articles coming soon!