*1-880 if you’re calling from Jamaica. You’re welcome.

Post Script:

The XM Radio call center is based in Jamaica. Portmore no less. I used up valuable international minutes (as much time spent holding as talking to someone) while calling across the street. I should have just jogged over there or asked for the dude’s cell number.

It has become so frequent that when a person hears it they become numb because they know that this brick wall will stop any further progress with their particular issue. The problem here is that it seems people have forgotten exactly what a system is. It’s not just the computer sitting on the desk or the server in the back room. It’s the people, resources and processes which come together to give a required result. Each entity taking something in, contributing in its own way, and passing it on until the final outcome is achieved. The proliferation of technology has led people astray. They have forgotten what comprises the fundamental elements of a system and have instead resigned to the idea that technology is the be all and end all.

A system may depend on your computer to get a particular task done, however when the computer is down the system itself should continue to function. When a customer is on the line who needs to get his business done, he shouldn’t be left without options simply because a server isn’t responding. The system needs to mitigate downtime by providing alternative routes for information flow and transaction processing.

How else can a CSR get the information that this customer needs? Can data be captured via more low tech means and then batch processed when the computers are back online? These are questions that should always be asked from the initial design phases of any system. The possibilities are dictated by your particular situation, but alternative processes should always be hard coded into any system and persons proactive with their use.

We need to have a clear separation between the system and the technology that sits below it. Technology should be an enabler for efficient delivery of your service, but it cannot be the show stopper. We have to move away from the chain design concept where a broken link renders everything else inoperable. We have to employ a methodology of ensuring communication flow regardless of the lack of availability of any single resource. That is the core of an efficient system; fault tolerance. Being able to reroute information the moment a resource is unavailable and remain operational. Before there were computers this was the norm. No one person had the combination to the safe. There was always a backup for the backup for the backup.
We have to, while still ensuring a measure of control, enable fault tolerance in our online systems the way we used to when they were driven by pen and paper. A full appreciation needs to be had by everyone involved that regardless of the circumstances the show must go on, and it has to be reflected in the polices and procedures that guide your business processes. When that happens, we’ll be that much closer to dumping the “system is down” cliche and moving on productively with our lives.

If I could be granted one wish from the gods of financing it would not be for more money, but rather for keener skills in money management. I long ago ceased to gripe about salary and it has indeed been many years since I’ve last uttered any word about a raise of pay. I don’t live within my means by any stretch of the term but I’ve at least recognized that as the key to being wealthy.

The number one truth when is comes to building wealth is this: Wealth comes from the proper management of money, not the excess of it.

The facts are these: I make significantly more than I used to at my last job, and many times my salary of just a few years ago. In my attainment of what some would consider “decent” compensation, I have only managed to plunge myself further and further into debt. I’m not about to file for bankruptcy anytime soon, but the point is only to show that the increase in monetary intake doesn’t equate to a proportional increase in wealth and can in fact have the opposite effect.

Over the years I’ve made great strides in my quest to achieve financial freedom and then some. My aim is to live a life that grants me all the time in the world to sleep and eat Ox Tail (my absolute favorite dish next to ripe bananas). Again, due to my frivolous lifestyle and uninspiring work ethic, I’ve not been able to quite get there. Notwithstanding, I was clear on where and what I was trying to accomplish. Something I call Perpetual Income. In essence it is income that, from it’s mere existence, generates more income. This is something that most of us enjoy through the passive investments made in commercial banks and the like, however the generated income tends to come from a fluctuating rate which almost never goes beyond single digits percentiles. While this is the essence of the principle, for persons with less than stellar investments it may prove to be an insignificant endeavour; certainly not one that could solely maintain a lifestyle of eating and sleeping without an exchange of sweat equity. Given this, more proactive investments mechanisms are needed of which there are many. This isn’t an investment tutorial so I wont go on any elaborate analysis of the pros and cons of the different scheme. You need only understand that the right combination of investments, leveraged with a frugal, budgeted lifestyle can give you the sleepy eyed, meat devouring days and nights that I so long for.

I say again that the (somewhat obvious) advice given above is not followed by yours truly. This is a “do as I say, not as I do” moment. Had I the willpower to dispel this penchant for impulse buying and fine liquor I could very well be talking to you from the other side of the fence, but I wont let my dire situation prevent me from spreading the good word.

I’ll probably revisit this topic in the future. There’s much more to tell and I just wont sleep well at night unless I know that someone out there is doing the right thing even though I can’t. I’m off to find some Ox Tail.