‘Tracking’ to Success
Years ago, we participated in a dog sport called Tracking. This was a sport where the dog was tasked with following a ground trail of items via nose scent, usually a glove, a scarf, some type of clothing item. It is often the first step in training for K9 Search & Rescue. We did not fare so well in its execution as my Barbet air scented, nose up in the air, not down on the ground.
We ultimately no longer participated in the dog sport, we didn’t have the right ‘tools’ in our box. It was best to acknowledge the defeat and try another sport. I was reminded of this experience when encountering an epic Information Technology or IT fail recently surrounding Microsoft Word Tracking. Ah, the many parallels in the canine and human world!
I was working on a project with two other women service professionals. None of us had a dedicated IT service. The reason? Such services often come with a hefty price for a sole proprietor. It is often too costly and the choice is made to forego it. Much like our experience in Dog Tracking, this approach resulted in an epic fail.
Our project among the three of us required the use of sharing a Word document and the use of the ‘Tracking’ feature in the software program. This is where each participant makes changes and Word tracks those changes using different colors and comment boxes for each individual making changes. It is used in many industries and often, quite successfully.
Our particular project saw one of the participants using an Apple Mac Computer, a second using a PC only, and a third had access to both. The participant with the Mac was unable to successfully’Track’ their changes to the other two devices. It created a problem worked on for hours by all three, with no formal IT Support. We were unable to resolve this, and, ultimately, we pieced together the changes manually. Like our dog tracking experience, this Word Tracking experience left us deflated.
We have mentioned previously in our writing that an IT Specialist should be considered for your circle of trust advisor list. But the cost, which at times can be too hefty for sole proprietors, can truly be a barrier to entry. The biggest take-away here for all of us involved was to make sure in any future project we inquire as to the technology owned by each participant upfront and ensure or test for communication success.
PC to PC or Mac to Mac seemed to be the only approach without issues. We failed to evaluate this seemingly inconsequential issue upfront. We would not do that again.
The lesson here, whether Tracking in a dog sport, or Tracking in computer software, is to make sure your methods work. My air scenting dog was not a match for ground scenting items. And our trio of sole proprietors did not have the proper equipment to Track Word Documents among different types of computers.
Learn from our experiences described here. Engage in activity that you are properly equipped or suited for. And test for compatability at the beginning of a project.
We all ultimately want to ‘track’ to success and we need the proper traits or equipment or tools to do such. It is clearly time for the three project participants to reconsider the importance of an IT circle of trust advisor. Sometimes, you just cannot place a price on the smooth execution of your work.
Be well.
