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It's Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over CoffeeHelping business owners explode their business growth Author: The Complete Approach
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Five Questions Over Coffee with Dr. James A. Robertson (ep. 119)
Thursday, 20 March, 2025
Who is James?James Robertson is a seasoned consultant specializing in diagnosing and resolving organizational challenges related to business information systems. His expertise encompasses a wide range of systems, including ERP, CRM, AI, WMS, and TMS, which are integral to the operations of many organizations. James's ideal clients are CEOs who are frustrated with their substantial investments in these systems, which often fall short of delivering the intended value. Within just two days, James guarantees to pinpoint the root causes of performance issues, articulating them in clear, understandable language. He emphasizes that, contrary to common belief, these problems are rarely technology-related, helping CEOs navigate and overcome obstacles in a non-technical fashion.Key Takeaways00:00 Help CEOs frustrated with underperforming business systems.05:56 Hour's diagnosis, then deeper two-day analysis.09:33 Robust RFP process ensuring accurate, fixed agreements.12:10 Executives poorly define and start projects strategically.16:11 Join newsletter for updates and participation opportunities._________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletterFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page :It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)SUMMARY KEYWORDSrocket science, coffee, ERP systems, CRM systems, engineering, human side, business information systems, CEO, technology issue, operational level, executive level, ERP configuration, information systems, management information system, desktop PCs, strategic decision support, strategic requirements, procurement process, IT service providers, strategic view, diagnostic consultation, system remediation, IT manager, system upgrade, cloud, SaaS, business disruption, newsletter, LinkedIn lives, strategic business value.SPEAKERSJames Robertson, Stuart WebbStuart Webb [00:00:31]:Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I'm delighted to say I have my coffee in front of me. I probably had far too much of this already today, but we keep going because that's the name of the show so I must drink it. But I'm delighted to be joined by James Robertson. James is an engineer, with 30 years experience who now is applying his massive engineering skills to understanding the human side of things like, the systems, these ERP systems, CRM systems that we all have to use, and trying to understand exactly how the human side sometimes interacts with those hard IT things, which don't always work. So, James, welcome to the show. Looking forward to our conversation enormously.James Robertson [00:01:23]:Thank you, Stuart. I'm looking forward to it.Stuart Webb [00:01:26]:So tell me a little bit about the sort of person you're trying to help with these problems that they've got.James Robertson [00:01:33]:Stuart, my ideal customer is the CEO of an organization that is frustrated with the business information systems. And as you said, that could be e r e ERP, CRM. It could be even AI for that matter. WMS, TMS, any any of these big business information systems that run part or all of an organization. If the CEO has just not getting the value that they expected when they signed up for what is generally a very substantial investment, I can come in and in 2 days, I guarantee that I will tell you exactly why it's not performing, and I'll tell you that in language that you understand. And I will tell you that 99% of the time, it will not be a technology related issue. Although most people would see it as a technology issue.Stuart Webb [00:02:27]:That's that's that's quite a it's it's quite a, well, it's an it's a it's a fascinating area to dive into, James. It's quite a quite a a bold claim to say that you can do it in 2 days. So I wonder what is the what is the problem the the the thing that the CEO has probably been trying to do? How long have they been wrestling with this issue before they come across somebody like you?James Robertson [00:02:50]:Sometimes for years.Stuart Webb [00:02:52]:Yes. Yes.James Robertson [00:02:53]:Just to just to elaborate on the point that you made, the reason I'm so bold about my claim, if you go to a general practitioner, doctor, medical doctor, they'll ask you 2 or 3 questions. They'll take your pulse. They'll maybe mesh measure blood pressure. They might take your your your temperature, and they will they will stack those, readings up against years of experience and massive knowledge, and they will say, okay. Take your aspirin and call me in the morning, or don't do anything. I'm calling an ambulance now or anywhere in between. I'm much the same. I will come in.James Robertson [00:03:29]:I will ask you some key questions. I will listen very attentively for some key words that you may use, and I will then say, right, this is how you fix it or it can't be fixed at all and we need to set about, procuring a new system and anywhere in between that.Stuart Webb [00:03:47]:And and the and the as you say, the CEO, the CFO, many of the key leaders in the organization probably struggled with these issues for many years in an attempt to sort of get to the bottom of things, and they're doing it, well without the knowledge you have and from a a position of, well, this thing was supposed to do this, so let's keep trying until it starts to do it. And that's often a a highly detrimental state to be in, isn't it?James Robertson [00:04:13]:Well, absolutely. I mean, I'm just thinking now of, an investigation I did for a major listed company. And chatting to the CEO, he said, you know, we've got this big ERP. It was under the big brands. And it says at the operational level, it's doing 90% of what we want. At the executive level, it's doing 10% of what we want. And he had 5, senior chartered accountants. When I say senior, the company cars were in the CDC class, and they were spending all week all month, every month preparing the board back because the he couldn't get what he wanted out of the ERP.James Robertson [00:04:51]:And the reason he couldn't get the information out of the ERP was that the ERP was just so badly configured. So he could've he could fix that problem. It would've probably taken 6 to 9 months to fix the problem, but the problem was fixable. But he was looking at the technology and blaming the machine when it was the people using the machine that was the problem.Stuart Webb [00:05:12]:Interesting insight. James, I think you excuse me. I think you've got a, an offer that might be useful for some of the, some of the people who are currently listening to or watching this. And I'm showing that on screen. This is a free consultation you offer, and I don't know if you wanna give us some details of this, but it's, if you email james.robertson@thehyphenerphyphendoctorsontcom. That's james.robertson@the hyphenerphyphen doctor.com, and those, that email address will be in the show notes. James, do do you wanna just tell us a little bit about, you know, the sort of thing that happens during that consultation so that, you know, hopefully, we can encourage a few people to take that offer?James Robertson [00:05:56]:Stuart, it absolutely would. What I'm thinking in terms of is probably about an hour. It could be more. It could be less. I'm not stuck on the hour. And I will ask some of those questions that I just mentioned to you, and I will make an initial headline diagnosis of what I think probably are the issues. It'll be a tentative diagnosis. I would then need to come in and spend a day or 2 days with your people, look at the system, look at the data, talk to a few people who are experiencing the problems at the level of the c suite, and I will then either be able to confirm that diagnosis or refine it or maybe find that the the initial diagnosis was off the mark, although I'd be surprised if that happened.Stuart Webb [00:06:41]:Brilliant. James, tell us I mean, you're you're obviously a huge amount of experience. You're an engineer with with great qualifications. What what brought you? Was there a particular program, a a book, a course? What brought you from, from an engineer to somebody who's now hooking at much more human centered issues and systems?James Robertson [00:07:05]:Have you got all day?Stuart Webb [00:07:08]:We have as long as you need.James Robertson [00:07:10]:Stuart, the there are couple of key milestones in getting to what I do now. First was, when I finished my PhD research, I had a lot of data. I'm talking now 1981. My dad bought me one of the first desktop PCs on the market. I learned how to use it. I computerized his business, and in the 1st year, he was able to double his turnover because he could do things that nobody else could do. He was an investment consultant. So from that, I learned that, a, I had an apt to do for doing clever things with computers, and, b, that you could add huge value to an organization by doing those clever things.James Robertson [00:07:52]:I then moved on. I worked for an engineering company. And as a side hustle, if you wanna call it that, I took over the IT function, and I project managed and partially architected the design and development of what in those days we called a management information system. I'm talking 19, 87. Today, that product is an ERP, and, again, very dramatic benefits to the business. I then went out on my own because I thought I'd got this attitude. I started speaking at conferences, and what started happening was chief executives, presidents, etcetera, would come up to me during the break and say, doctor Robertson, we're having problems with our systems. We really like what you're saying.James Robertson [00:08:34]:We're not getting anything like that. And I would start going in, and I found that in in 1 to 2 days, I could tell them why, the the system was not working, and I could tell them how to fix it. And I've been doing it ever since. And then I've developed, other things in terms of strategy, etcetera, and helping, rigorous procurement process and and so forth that go hand in hand with that.Stuart Webb [00:08:59]:Do you know the, the concept of the rigorous process for procurement, I think, is probably as important as anything, isn't it, James? Because one of the problems that we often find with these things is it's it's the expectation at the beginning that has been set which causes the issues. I I've been involved in a number of these situations where people will say, well, we thought it was gonna do this, or we had asked for this. And, unfortunately, it's very often the case that that was never going to be possible, and that's where the the problems came in and came from.James Robertson [00:09:33]:Absolutely, Stuart. So the process that I've got, I've got a a very robust request for proposal document about, depending on the client. It's sort of 45 to 60 pages, and it closes all the loopholes that are traditionally used by IT service providers to negotiate change in scope. I then do a strategic definition of what the requirement is, and I take the the the the the process through a rigorous process of scanning the market to find the most appropriate software and to find the most appropriate implementer and then lock that down into a very watertight contract and a very strong, achievable fixed price. And I then manage that whole process through that. But part of it is, again, knowing what the typical shenanigans are, if I can use that word, that are used by implementers to go in with a low price and then push the price right up, and and, to also to make sure that the definition of what's required is properly documented because so many people go out to procurement with just a long wish list of anything that they can think of. And what I do is I bring it down to 7 critical requirements weighted in terms of the relative importance, and then I design the entire project around those seven factors. And those factors are determined in consultation with the, the CEO and the rest of the executive suite.Stuart Webb [00:11:07]:That's brilliant. I I think JamesonJames Robertson [00:11:09]:I think one of the things that's different about what I do is I always start with the CEO, and I work top down from the executive suite. So I make sure that I understand the strategic view of what this thing is supposed to do. And the same with diagnosing the problems. Yeah. Yeah.Stuart Webb [00:11:27]:That's great news. James, there must be one question at the moment that you're thinking. He hasn't asked me about this, which is the real key thing. And so, therefore, I'm just gonna sort of ask at this stage if there is a a particular question that you think I should have asked by this stage. And, obviously, as you know the question, you then have to answer it for us. So what's the key question that I haven't yet asked you?James Robertson [00:11:50]:Why is it that so many systems work fine at an operational tactical level, but are absolutely useless from a point of view of supporting strategic decision support?Stuart Webb [00:12:06]:Interesting question.James Robertson [00:12:08]:And I've WhatStuart Webb [00:12:09]:is the,James Robertson [00:12:10]:what is the answer? I've touched on that I've touched on that fleetingly a couple of times already in this in this talk. It's basically that people do not know how to start a project at the executive level and define the strategic requirements at the start and then build the entire solution from that point of view. Or if you're remediating a situation, if the things that I've talked about, the same applies that you go in at the executive level, you understand from an executive point of view what the issues are, and then you cascade that down into the nuts and bolts of how the system runs. Mhmm. And one of the thing one of the things that goes horribly wrong with so many projects If the CEO says, I don't understand IT and delegates to the CFO or the CIO or the COO or the IT manager or whatever, and those people do not have the it's not their responsibility to have the overarching strategic view of the business. So they start with a finance bias or an IT bias, and I and I hate to say this, but a lot of IT people are so focused on the g wiz of the technology that they do not have any comprehension of what strategically so you'll find a an IT guy saying, yes. We must go with the latest upgrade. We need correct answer from a strategic point of view is, you know what? This is doing the job.James Robertson [00:13:45]:We don't need to go with the latest upgrade, for example. And that's a that's a hot topic at the moment.Stuart Webb [00:13:53]:And I think you're referring to the fact that certain systems at the moment are now getting to the stage where they need to be upgraded to the latest version, which in call which involves quite a lot of cost and quite a lot of effort, but may or may not end up delivering the value that the business requires.James Robertson [00:14:11]:Absolutely. You know, the technology now is very mature. The bulk of the systems out there, the ones that have been around for the last 20 years, are mature. They're stable. They're getting the job done. We're now going into a mode where those vendors are coming and saying, well, we've got the new latest and greatest, biggest, and best, and it's we're gonna move to cloud, and we're gonna move to SaaS, and we're gonna do this, and we're gonna do that. Oh, and by the way, it's gonna cost you a £100,000 or £1,000,000 or whatever the case may be, and it's gonna take, 9 to 18 months to to implement it. And we don't really wanna talk about it, but there's gonna be a whole lot of business disruption while you do that.James Robertson [00:14:56]:Profits are gonna take a bit of a knock while we do it. And at the end of the day, we're not actually sure what the strategic business value is going to be. And I'm now saying to people, you know what? There's a little known legal principle which allows you to say to that vendor, you know what? I'm not gonna take that upgrade. And, that's, the secret sauce that we can talk about on that call.Stuart Webb [00:15:26]:That's a really brilliant cliffhanger on which to end this series. I presume, it's series 2. We'll start with that answer and move us on to other answers. James, thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us and giving us those insights. I really appreciate you spending some time with us. I'm gonna take a little moment now just to sort of, do a bit of a plug for myself. I send out a a newsletter every week, which just says who's coming up on the podcast in order for you to join these LinkedIn lives and to be able to ask questions of people like James, and I'd love you to join that newsletter. So, would you please go to this this link, which is httpscolonforward/forward/link.thecompleteapproach.co.ukforward/newsletter.Stuart Webb [00:16:11]:That's link.thecompleteapproach dotco.ukforward/newsletter. Join the newsletter. Get an email, just, once or twice a week with who's coming up, what they've got to say, and at least, be able to get in on the conversation so that you're able to get the answers to the questions you've got. James, in the meantime, whilst we wait for people to, get all of that down and to, to reach out, I'd really like to thank you for coming on to the show today and talking about this very important topic. And I do hope that you're able to, once again, help more businesses get more value out of the systems they've invested a lot of money into, but somehow don't quite manage to do everything they need them to do. So thanks for coming on and telling us about it.James Robertson [00:16:57]:Stuart, it's been a great pleasure. And the interesting thing about it is you can take a system from down there to up there sometimes quite easily. So, I look forward to hearing from your listeners.Stuart Webb [00:17:10]:Terrific. Thank you, James. 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