My boss is a tight arse and our systems are collapsing. Help!

Hi,

My boss is a tight arse. We have old computers, our server keeps crashing and our systems are under huge strain. Fortunately things have been a bit slow, but as things pick up I predict wholesale disaster.

Already it is affecting the service we deliver to clients and I know that I will be blamed when the inevitable collapses happen. How do I get the message across that we need to spend more on IT and setting up processes before disaster hits? I know money is tight as we are not that old. What should I do? I am not a very good communicator.

Over it,
NSW

Dear Over It,

There are about five main reasons that young businesses fail and technical failure is one of them. Businesses can’t deliver the promised functionality when they have promised it. Technology these days is not a discretionary spend by geeks. It is core to the business.

Make a list of the core components that have to be done and get quotes for the work. Prioritise the list according to risk. List the consequences of not carrying out the task with a time frame, ie “in one month’s time we should reach ‘XX’ and the server is expected to collapse completely with the following consequences… ”

Then book an hour with the boss, sit him down and deliver it to him straight.

If you follow that procedure it is pretty straight forward and even a geek can carry it off.

Good luck,

Your Aunty B

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