What Are You Trying to Accomplish?
Technology conversations often begin in the wrong place. Someone says, “I think I need cloud storage,” “I need a bigger hard drive,” “Should I buy a NAS?” or “What backup program should I use?” Those sound like reasonable questions. But each one has already jumped ahead to a possible solution.
There is a more useful question to ask first: What are you trying to accomplish?
I have spent much of my career working with technology, and one lesson has remained remarkably consistent: starting with the technology is usually starting too late in the process.
Before I want to know what computer you have, what storage you own, or what service you are considering, I want to know what you are trying to accomplish.
You Don't Need to Know the Technology
You should not have to understand cloud storage, NAS systems, backup software, networks, or storage technology before you can ask for help. You only need to be able to describe what you want.
For example:
- “I have years of family photographs and I don't want to lose them.”
- “I am replacing my computer and want everything important moved safely.”
- “My files are spread across several computers, phones, and external drives. I want to get them organized.”
- “I run a small business from home. If my computer fails, I need to be able to continue working.”
- “I want my photographs available on my television without keeping my computer running.”
Those are useful requirements. None requires the person asking the question to know the technology needed to accomplish it.
Start With the Objective
Consider this statement: “I think I need cloud storage.”
Before recommending a cloud service, I would want to know why.
Perhaps the objective is to protect photographs. Perhaps it is to share files between several devices. Perhaps it is to access information while traveling. Perhaps it is to protect information if a computer fails. Perhaps it is simply to free space on a computer.
Those are different objectives. Cloud storage might be appropriate for some of them. It might be unnecessary for others.
The same applies when someone says, “I need a NAS,” “I need another hard drive,” or “I need a backup system.”
Maybe. But first we need to understand what problem we are actually trying to solve.
Sometimes the First Answer Isn't the Objective
The first way someone describes a problem may not reveal the actual objective. That is normal. A little discussion can change the requirement considerably.
Someone may initially say, “I want to back up my photographs.” But what they really mean may be, “I want to make sure my children will still have these photographs after I'm gone.”
Those are not the same requirement. The first points toward backup and recovery. The second may also involve long-term preservation, organization, file formats, access by another person, passwords, account ownership, documentation, and what happens when today's hardware or service no longer exists.
Likewise, “I need a new computer” may eventually become “My current computer has become slow when I'm editing photographs.” A new computer is then only one possible path. Memory, storage, software, workflow, or something else may be the actual constraint.
You don't need to know what questions to ask. That's part of what you're coming to me for.
One Objective May Have Several Paths
Suppose the objective is: “I don't want to lose my family photographs.”
There isn't necessarily one correct answer. One approach might use external storage. Another might include cloud storage. Another might use network storage. A combination may provide better protection.
Each path can have different costs, risks, complexity, maintenance requirements, recovery capabilities, advantages, and disadvantages.
That is where analysis becomes useful.
The objective tells us where you want to go. Technology provides possible ways of getting there.
Don't Buy the Solution Before Understanding the Problem
Technology companies naturally talk about products: buy more storage, subscribe to a service, upgrade the computer, add another device, install another application.
Sometimes those are exactly the right answers. Sometimes they aren't.
I am not opposed to buying technology. I buy technology myself when it solves a problem or provides something I value. What I question is buying it before we know why we need it.
A newer product may be faster. A larger drive may hold more. A cloud service may be convenient. None of those facts tells us whether it solves your problem.
Buying technology before understanding the objective can create more complexity without actually solving the original problem.
You may end up with more devices, more subscriptions, more passwords, more places containing information—and still not have confidence that what matters is protected.
Objective → Requirements → Available Paths → Risks and Tradeoffs → Decision → Technology
Technology comes near the end of that process, not the beginning.
You Bring the Objective
This is particularly important with everyday technology. You are not expected to diagnose the technical problem, know the terminology, or research every available product before asking for assistance.
If you can tell me “This is what I want to accomplish,” we have enough to begin.
From there, the technical questions can be developed. What information is involved? Where is it now? What could go wrong? How important is it? What needs to remain available? How much complexity is reasonable? What alternatives exist? What are the risks of each?
Only after those questions are understood does it make sense to start talking about specific technology.
The Value Is in the Answer
I don't believe you should have to pay someone simply because you don't know the technical words for your problem.
Tell me what you are trying to accomplish in your own words. That is enough to start.
The value I provide begins when I take that objective, understand the environment, identify realistic ways of accomplishing it, and explain what each path means—including the risks and the things you may not have considered.
I may recommend the direction you originally had in mind. I may recommend something different. And sometimes the best recommendation may be to buy nothing at all.
My job is not to make the decision for you. My job is to give you enough understanding to make a better decision.
If you decide that you want help putting that decision into practice, that can come next.
Start Here
You don't need to begin with: “What technology should I buy?”
Begin with: “What am I trying to accomplish?”
Tell me where you want to go.
I’ll tell you the available paths.
I’ll tell you the risks.
Once you choose, I’ll help get you there.
That is where a useful technology conversation should begin.