

By Alex Kress

 There is a popular urban myth that humans only use 10% of their brain...

The 2014 movie Lucy explores the possibilities of what might happen if we actually used more or even all of it. Over the years (and it’s been a few) I see the same trend with how businesses use their software solutions, on average it borders on 10%.

 If you are a fan of (or have at least seen the movie) you’ll remember as Lucy used more of her brain she began obtaining certain benefits. She gained some pretty impressive skills, like being able to read minds, control physical objects, and transform her features. I won’t spoil the end of the movie for those who haven’t seen it, but it is a pretty strong and significant ending.

 "If you are using 10% of your software’s capabilities then you are missing out on some very powerful features that you may not realize you have"

Your Business Using Software

The same principle can be applied to using your software tools. In the rental industry today if you are using

 Features like service records, maintenance schedules, asset location, customer retention rates, and employee discounting are all very important but are widely underutilized.10% of your software’s capabilities then you are missing out on some very powerful features that you may not realize you have.

In the movie Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) predicts when one uses ~40% of their brain's capabilities, they would gain the ability to control people around them.

Although you won’t actually take control over anyone, when you are using a larger percentage of your software you would gain the ability to access information from anywhere in the world. Tying your data into metrics from other similar or even dissimilar companies and giving you a better understanding of what your next move should be.


 How do you use your tools more effectively?

Unlike the movie where the increase in Lucy’s brain activity is accredited to a new drug accidentally added to her system, you will need to train.


 The best place to find out what you should be doing and how to do it?

Reach out to your solution provider, they should have tools to help you identify how much of your system you’re using and make recommendations about how to gain more value from your software.

As a side note, I also recommend asking about what new technologies they are working on that will help your team. Currently, we are working on projects that when I started working with the rental industry nearly 20 years ago, we would have considered superhuman abilities.

So when your solution partner talks about consulting, a business review, or a Health Check (this is what we at Texada Software call it), don’t be afraid. The cost of a one-on-one review of how you are using the tools and a fully documented plan of how to use them better will be dwarfed by the benefits you will see.

So keep in touch, follow them on the popular social media channels, visit their website, and if you are really old school like me, call them and ask about what is new. At Texada, we have recently created a customer experience team along with customer user groups that any of our customers are welcome to join, provide their input, and even participate in beta testing.

The moral of this rant, you have the tools and if you are fully utilizing them you aren’t getting the full reward, so reach out, stay in touch, and never stop learning.

Tags: Industry Best Practices