I’m not sure who first coined this phrase, but you hear it a lot in the CRM world (and in lots of other technology arenas, as well).
The concept, in a nutshell, is that for any technology project to be successful, you have to have the right mix of people, processes, and technology. For example, if you’re 100% dependent on the technology for success, you’re likely to fail, since the people using the technology and the processes used with the technology are very important.
I was reminded of this recently when reviewing the results of a non-scientific survey I did of AMS vendors. I asked them three questions about the challenges their customers face when using their technology. (You can read all about it here.) What struck me as that the issues they raised all related to people and processes. Of course, these are technology vendors, so it’s not like they’re going to point at the technology as the challenge.
But there’s something very important in what their responses said: If you don’t have the right people in place, and you aren’t executing the right processes to really leverage your technology and achieve your objectives, then the best technology in the world is not going to help you.
So it’s about people, process, and technology. How does your mix look? And where are you dedicating your resources?