Don’t worry. You’re not reading a 30-year old blog post on technology. Come to think of it, it’s not even a post about technology.
Fax machines are one of the most reliable pieces of equipment in offices in the past decades. Even with today’s technology, fax machines are still used because of its security, reliability, and convenience.
Security – unlike emails, fax transmissions do not have attachments carrying a risk of introducing viruses or malware into your network. Its transmission is also almost impossible to hack and to intercept relative to emails.
Reliability – sending a transmission to another fax machine ensures that the receiving party will be able to access the transmission. There is no guesswork on what type of reader or application is needed to open the attached document, similar to email attachments.
Convenience – transmissions over fax is instant. No need to print a document, fill-out, scan, then attach to an email to send to another part. You can easily transmit the physical document you have in your hand through fax.
So, why are we talking about the great benefits of this staple office equipment?
We all have our own specific traits and skills that make us unique entities in our organization. Our education, experiences, and strengths make up our overall value in the company. As useful as fax machines are, fax machines are useless on its own. Without another fax machine for it to transmit to, it’s just a piece of equipment taking up space in your office.
If you’re a marketer, your marketing playbook would be useless if you don’t have great products to offer, or a fulfillment area to take action on sales. If you’re in accounting, your ledgers and spreadsheets would be empty if it’s not for the sales people producing revenue for the organization. If you’re a technologist, you’ll need input from your frontlines to tell you what your customers are like and what they would need in an app. You may be an astounding visionary as a leaders, but what’s the point of having profound visions if you can’t get the rest of the organization aligned to that vision.
Be like fax machines
We all need to realize that we need to collaborate with others in the organization. Your talents and skills are irrelevant if you cannot connect with others, supplementing your skills with theirs. At the same time, we need to recognize that there will be others much smarter and more talented than we are. Learning from each other is key to sustained growth and success.
Imagine a network of fax machines working in harmony. Securely with trust, with confidence due to reliability, and with ease due to the convenience of every interaction.