Million Dollar Baby is one of my favorite movies. It’s definitely not one of those feel good flicks, but you are reminded of many life lessons, including protecting yourself at all times. In an instant, Maggie went from the future of her wildest dreams to no quality of life and an early death.
In technology, employees very rarely die from workplace accidents. However, people get hurt by losing their jobs, missing data, or going out of business. Just like you try to prevent seeing your doctor or lawyer, customers and technologists should follow these basic technology rules:
- What else are you affecting? It’s basic cause and effect. If you can’t answer this question, then leave things alone.
- Can you put it back? This is usually the mistake made by cocky rookies, complacent veterans, or the average Joe who just doesn’t know any better. Having a backup is often not enough. Not taking steps to quickly recover will just compound the problem, increase the difficulty of the solution, or prevent resolution.
- Don’t blindly believe. Technology is wonderful and you may be too smart for your own good. Those instructions from the Internet may not be correct. That user may not really know what they did or are just embarrassed and won’t tell you want really happened. Your fix probably didn’t take, so you should definitely test the solution and other normal functions.
Take ego out of the equation and an hour is a general stop time when you’re over your head. A little Google research and rudimentary tasks are fine. However, customers should contact a professional, especially for advice before major projects. Technologists should also know when to say when and call the manufacturer or developer.