To Skype or not to Skype, that is the question.

 So I was recently asked to Skype.  

I thought to myself I don't think I am set up to do that.  I knew my business workstation could not but I turned to my right and looked at the applications on my Mac and low and behold there is something called Facetime.   So I turned it on and there is a little window on my laptop watching me in real time and presenting me back to me.    So I said "eeuuuu that is awful".    It reminded me of the time I first heard my voice on a recording and was shocked only much worse.   I resisted the urge to turn it off and remove the application never to be opened again.  So I said to myself let me make this tiny window a bit bigger, that must be the problem, but alas, it was the same scary person looking at me that I did not recognize at all.   So after sitting and contemplating this phenomenon all the while watching this stranger in front of me that was actually me, I decided to try it on the big dog 27” Mac Thunderbolt with the best resolution and real life colors blah blah blah screen, because obviously if it is scary on the laptop, well, making myself bigger is bound to turn me into a movie star!   Right?   Well think again…..

So I sat back and had to think about this whole concept.   Is this where we are headed?   Is this part of the one world, no borders concept I keep hearing about?  Is this the next step that will remove more of the touch and feel and fresh air of relationships but in doing so bring us closer to other countries thousands of miles away from the safety of our own reclusive office?   Is it possible to be close and yet so far?  Yes, I do realize that FB and email and other networks have already brought us close but this is pretty big step. The beautifully sexy eloquent woman who is really a pot bellied, beer drinking, farting, middle aged man will become so passé.   

We as in My Company, used to do business on the phone and fax.  We entered our orders on dos workstations and still did a lot of our accounting manually.   This was a good way to me because I gave good phone and I knew numbers.    I could always make friends and make sales while I was at it and I knew the company finances because it was all in my head.   I remember well when our biggest clients started to send faxes and we were to respond back via fax.   I thought to myself aahh, smart, the big corporate guys are trying to take the personal away so it will become all about cheapest price….   Ok, we are lean and mean, we can do that.   We could deflect any blow corporate America would send us right back at them.    We could quote cheap and buy cheaper because we were the best.   So this fax game worked well.     They then turned to email.   You would think email would be the very same thing as the fax, sell cheap, buy cheaper.   Well no, email enabled the buyers to add more and more vendors so they could make a few clicks and send a mass email to a private much larger group of vendors.   This invisible competition made the market stiffer and stiffer.    It became a contest of fastest and cheapest quotes.   So now not only did we have to be cheap we had to get to the buyers FAST.   This meant short lunches and no breaks.  The volume increased and the pressure to buy fast was on, as soon as a price point was met the purchase was made.   As usual we zigged and zagged thru the race like a Cheetah after its prey and consistently came out ahead.   Over the years many things have happened to make our business scary but interesting.   This is what happens when a scrappy little sales company is chasing business at the biggest high tech corporations.   Cell phones had a hand in ruining personal relationship because the reception was so bad, but it enabled us to work 24/7 which has its benefits in customer satisfaction.   Our buyers started working from home and then our buyers started working in other countries.   This was particularly upsetting because there went all of our great relationships to some strangers in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, India and who knows where.  These people did not know how amazing we were or how to speak our language.   Now we are ruined….oh woe is us….  Much to my surprise and a bit of chagrin the foreign call centers were people just like us.   They had senses of humor and were also under pressure and stress just like us.   

I worked at a bank when I was young.   I dressed for success every single day.   I was in the heart of silicon valley.   My customers were today's high tech giants only they were young and scrappy in blue jeans working out of their garages.   Yes, Steven Jobs was a customer among many others.    For the last 30 years tho I have been removed from customer face to face and have been able to wear jeans and a pony tail to work.   I could even smoke a joint which I did while my mind was sharp enough to handle removing a bit of the edge.   Today never,   I do not have enough of an edge left to get high and be productive.  Since I have a home office I can work on my laptop from bed, or at my desk in my pajamas. I could walk off and make breakfast while checking back and forth for business. I can see that this Skype thing is eventually going to set me back 35 years to the days of banking when I had to be presentable.   I am going to totally miss my whole work from home in my pajamas, messy hair, no makeup, I think I will go make some toast, routine. 

So I have decided to leave it on, Facetime that is, in all its glory, or rather my 55 year old morning, glory and see if there is ever a side of me that is presentable for the big screen.  So far it is a work in progress.

Today at work we do conferences and screen shares with teams around the world.   I am getting used to that and it is helping to bring us closer to the people we do business with daily and if you are in sales that is always a good thing.     We are going to come full circle back to the days of face to face with customers and I guess I need to be ready.    When will we/I need to Skype for business?  I know many of you already do.   I have always loved being amazing in business behind the safety of my computer.   Now it may be time to come out and I can thank Bri Gitte my new FB friend for gently giving me that shove.  I am not sure if I am happy about that or not.   

Epilogue: I no longer give good phone, in fact I never use the phone and if I do it is poor reception and I have become a bit bitchy in my old age and I cant keep that out of my phone voice,  Also, I no longer know numbers because I have not had to know them for a long time.  I just push buttons and the answer is there.   If it wasn't for dog shows I would never wear a dress or suit.   Make up?  What is that?  I am rusty and out of practice.   I would like to kick back and coast or better yet retire but I suspect I will continue to be pushed on by the machine being steered by Lady Luck.   Thank goodness she has been with me and hoping she continues to want to hang out.  

©Ciera Reflections