The phrase "the art of the possible" can mean different things to different people. For those of us in the information management business, it has come to mean "achieving what we can (possible), rather than what we want (often impossible)."
For me, it's an optimistic view of the future rather than a fearful acknowledgment of our challenges and difficulties. The "art" part is where the magic happens; as we allow ourselves to explore the boundaries of what information technology permits us to achieve and how those capabilities move the needle in terms of transformation, innovation, and organizational performance; indeed pushing back those boundaries with a new, more forward-looking approach.
That is the subject of my new AIIM On Air interview with John Woolley. John is Director of Professional Services for Iron Mountain and a member of the AIIM Leadership Council.
"The biggest opportunity today is change," says John. "The six most expensive words in business are 'we've always done it this way.' You need to take what you know isn't really working and bury it, and then replace it with something else."
Iron Mountain provides solutions for records management, data backup and recovery, document management, secure shredding, and data centers. John's focus is on building high-performance teams for businesses that are either working in startup mode or have become stuck and need to evolve.
"We need to look at the entire lifecycle of information," says John. "It's an end-to-end discussion. That is the biggest differentiation. We have to think wider. We can't plan for everything...but we have to plan for everything with a focus on supporting rapid change."
In the end, the "art of the possible" is about recognizing the options that are available to us and turning those to an advantage that makes a difference. Listen to John Woolley on AIIM On Air for more important advice and perspective.