Our culture is collectively enamored with technology’s promise of solving everything. I hear it all the time here in the San Francisco Bay Area; technology people look at every problem and assume technology is the solution. Do you remember the quote, “if all you have is a hammer; everything starts to look like a nail?”

Technology does have the potential to provide incredible return on investment (ROI) and value but never by itself. I loved the article that ran recently on WhatTheyThink by Wayne Lynch, Is Strategy Necessary? Because he brought up a key idea; any technology you buy is also available to your competitors. The purchase of technology doesn’t get you differentiation; it’s what you do with it. Wayne Lynch convinced us rather brilliantly that strategy matters. I couldn’t agree more. Once you have a strategy, you need enabling technology, and then you need the thing that actually does differentiate you – people who can execute. Strategy, plus technology, plus people is real differentiation.

The technology has been democratized; virtually everything based on the digital economy is deflationary (getting cheaper year over year). So if technology is democratized (accessible to all) can it still be a differentiator? Yes, but it’s not the tools; it’s how you use them. All contractors use a hammer; yet they deliver a wide range of service levels. All accountants use calculators. All printers need technology to enable their online business, their manufacturing operations, and their business financials. The differentiation comes in how you execute with those tools; execution is about strategy, people, and processes.