In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey the HAL 9000 was the most reliable computer ever made and controlled virtually every aspect of the mission.

Does your business need HAL?

Dave: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Dave: What’s the problem?
HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.

I think instinctively we all seek to find the “HAL” solution that can help us complete all the tasks we face each day. We even have several names for this: we search for the “Magic Bullet”; we’re trying to find the “Killer App”; our heart skips a beat at the mere mention of “Breakthrough Technology.”

But can the HAL syndrome sometimes hurt a company instead of help?

Take the hard working marketing manager of a small business who has the sole responsibility for all the marketing activities. Her days are very busy with copy writing for the company blog, developing email marketing campaigns, and producing great looking proposals for sales.

One day she comes across a new software system that she thinks could really save her time and help her create better email campaigns. After testing the free trial she’s excited because it’s super easy to use and has features that could help workflow activities with other departments too.

Armed with a proposal detailing costs and expected benefits she requests approval for purchase of the system at the weekly managers meeting. After her presentation she was happy to see that everyone agreed it would be important to move forward.

The president asked the IT manager to review the technical aspects and the final approval would be confirmed at next week’s meeting. Little did she know that the HAL syndrome had just been set into motion.

Of course, most of you know what came next. The IT manager returned the following week with an elaborate plan to implement a new CRM system. He said, “It will do just about everything the other system will do and more! The big system will generate great reports once we get everybody trained.”

A year and a half later, the big system training finally complete, our marketing manager struggles to keep up with the additional work now required by the new system. She’s skeptical of its benefits and has never seen a decision based on those pretty reports. She thinks back fondly to that simple system she proposed…

Free People To Do!

Savvy business leaders are embracing a new breed of software and techniques that empower the workforce. These new techniques are summarized well in the Enterprise 2.0 approach which was first presented by Andrew McAfee currently at the MIT Center for Digital Business.

Sure there are all types of E2.0 systems competing in the marketplace – generally for larger businesses – but it’s not about the software it’s about attitude. The best businesses find ways to embrace helpful technologies instead of excluding them.

It’s hard to avoid the HAL syndrome, I know because I’ve done it myself. I’m not saying these big systems should be avoided but sometimes simple solutions can be as effective or better at improving the bottom-line.

Energize your company by changing the “Thou Shalt” to “You Can Do!”

HAL: Let me put it this way, Mr. Amor. The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error.

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