Hey friend, welcome back, or welcome to the Trend Report. I'm excited that you've joined me for today's conversation. I'm Sid Meadows. I'm a business advisor, coach and longtime student of the office furniture industry, and my goal is to always share information with you that will help you grow and your business grow, and to help you move forward each and every day. And I'm really excited for today's conversation as we dive into literally what I believe to be one of the most complicated topics in our industry technology. And I'm excited for today's conversation as we dive into literally what I believe to be one of the most complicated topics in our industry technology. And I'm excited to welcome our guest today, Kari Anderson, with UX, and Kari and the TechBox Collective, and together we're going to try to break this topic down a little bit, maybe demystify some of the things out there, so that we can all understand where we are and where we're going with this really important topic.

Sid:

Keri, welcome to the show. How are you today?

Kari:

Hi, Sid, thanks for having me. I'm doing fabulous. How about you?

Sid: 

Oh, I'm doing great, thank you. We planned this some time ago. I think you've been on my calendar for like two and a half months or whatever and I didn't remind you, but you showed up, so that's really good.

Kari: 

After a holiday weekend, I know right.

Sid:  

And this is like one of your most favorite topics tech right, Because that's kind of what you do. And so, with that, tell us, Kari, what is it that you do today?

Kari: 

What I do today so, as you mentioned, I have two businesses. What I do today so, as you mentioned, I have two businesses. So UX&Kari is my one-on-one coaching. I call it my personal fitness plan. 

I entered back into the industry seven years ago six years ago but I had started the industry as a commercial interior designer. I spent over two decades as a commercial interior designer at a major dealership in Minneapolis. Here I went back to school for UX. It was such a fabulous transition for me because designing physical space to me is so similar to looking at our digital space and upon graduation of my course, I was going you know, going to totally leave the industry. 

Sid, you know I exhausted what every typical that I could create or turned over too many chairs in my life, but I had noticed that there was a need in our industry, that we have many tech-based people but there was nobody really focusing on that user experience, bridging that gap between the user and our tech partners and our software. So that's where UX&Kari came from. So I spend my time there, working one-on-one, primarily with the manufacturers in the industry. I do work with a lot of our software companies too, to bring in that user experience perspective. To bring in that user experience perspective In my second business's tech box collective, I had found after my first couple years of consulting that I was having repeat conversations one-on-one with individuals which brought me to that mindset of, hey, let's do a group fitness together, let's work on and discuss technology amongst groups of manufacturers Because, honestly, the technology is not their competitive advantage, their data is not their competitive advantage, it's their sales and marketing and that's what differentiates them.

And instead of trying to build and come up with their own practices, we are having actually conversations together now that can help build and grow that industry standards.

Sid:  

So business number one is basically one-on-one coaching, slash consulting. I've worked with you in that environment before and then business number two is basically group sharing, bringing coming together as a community specifically for manufacturers to talk about all things technology.

Kari:

Yeah, those topics that, yeah, we can Google them. Now I mean Google and whatever GPT engine you're using. Out there you can get a lot of information. But specific conversations, those topics of whether it's CIF XML, what's a category, those topics of whether it's CIF XML, what's a category, that's what TechBox we address, those topics that are not necessarily discussed across the whole industry.

Sid: 

Well, and I think it's important to talk about things in groups, right? Obviously, that's what the collaborative network is formed for to have those kind of group conversations, share best practices, what's working, what's not working. Oh, I tried this new tech, or we found this new tech, and this is what it does, so you're sharing with the people that understand it the best way, right? So why is it? Kerry? It seems like this is one of the most misunderstood topics within our industry, and every time I turn around, I feel like I'm getting an email or a phone call from somebody with the new, latest and greatest and greatest tech, specifically for our industry. Why do you feel like our industry is ripe for new technology? Or why do you think we need so many new technologies? Or are we just keeping up with what's happening in the world?

Kari: 

First, we are trying to keep up with what's happening in the world. Are trying to keep up with this happening in the world Because, if you look outside, in your personal life I'm not sure all the texts that you use, Sid, but I know around in my house I have adopted, I have Siri, I have Alexa, I've automated so many things. So I have expectations on my daily life. Even when you get into your car, right, Look at the technologies that are provided you just to get from point A to point B, and then when we go into our workday, we're still dealing with challenges. 

I can't get my audio to hook up. Zoom meetings are not connecting. I'm still manually editing or auditing pricing. Like I feel as though I step back 20 years in my life sometimes when I go to work in my day-to-day business. So, specifically with our industry, we have some I'm going to use the word antiquated processes of getting business done right, and we're in a very complicated industry. If you think of what it takes to design, specify, quote, order, ship and install a single chair. It's kind of a miracle, isn't it. 

That they're in one piece and we're also able to bill and invoice that.

Sid: 

So it's funny. I was explaining to somebody that was not in the industry how complex our industry is, and I used a chair as an example about how many different options there were for just like a side chair. You know, you could do the frame. You got the wood finishes. There's probably 20 or 30 wood finishes. You could paint it. Then there's the upholstery. You could do the seat in one color and the back in another color. Right, there's nail heads, there's welt cords, all this thing, and this guy that I was talking to you could just see his eyes glaze over like I had no idea how complex what you do actually is, which is, I think, the case for a lot of people, and technology is supposed to make our life easier. You mentioned things you're using at home. Yes, I got a whole bunch of techs. I need to take an inventory of the tech that I use. It's really interesting. I don't know, but it's supposed to make our life easier. Is the suite of products that we have today? does it really do that or is it making our daily jobs more complicated?

Kari: 

So our suite of products one by one may be making that task easier, but I think a biggest challenge that we have right now is those suite of products do not connect or communicate to each other. So we use one tool and then to get to the next tool, we may need to recreate the content. Or if you're collaborating with different individuals, they're creating different artifacts and that artifact does not integrate into my process or my technologies and tools. So right now, from a super high level, I would say that's probably one of the challenges.

It's not necessarily our technologies. You brought up the comment earlier about there's new technologies coming into the industry and I love that. A lot of these technologies, too, are from outside of our industry. Right, they understand tech from a different perspective, but they maybe don't know the nuances of how our part numbers are created or lead times or warranties or things like that. But those technologies are not integrating into our process and how we do things, how the dealership may be interfacing with the rep group, with the manufacturer and client.

Sid: 

So let's use an example, a very practical example. So I'm working with an interior designer at ABC Interior Design Firm and that designer is using Revit to draw out furniture and lay out what they want. I'm a dealership and it comes to me and I start to draw it. I don't use Revit, I use a furniture specific software, whether it's CET or Sincli or some other tool right, and then when I go to order it, the manufacturer is using a completely different software. In the case of Steelcase, they're using Hedberg, Hayworth uses something else and XYZ uses something else. So really, the biggest challenge we're facing right now is the three examples. There's no link to where they talk to each other all the way, and that's one of the initiatives that you're working on correct with the TechBox Collective is creating industry standards so that things can talk to each other all the way down, so that, as a dealership seller or dealership designer, I'm only having to do my job one time and not multiple times. Is that pretty accurate, Kari?

Kari:  

It's very accurate. And specifically when you started with the architectural side of it, the A&D side of the business, they're creating the visual graphics. When we think of Revit, Revit is a BIM-based software. Bim is Building Information Management. So we initially had started our industry way back in the AutoCAD days, but now, having the capability of our visual graphics to have data assigned to it so that you know that part number, you know that manufacturer. 

But we have not bridged the gap between those visual and the data side, from A&D to dealership. So the dealership is recreating the drawing, they're creating the drawing for the visual perspective and they're recreating the specifications for it and ideally that specification rolls into a quote. That quote then rolls into the manufacturer to manufacture it. And the Tech Box Collective is working on initiatives. Specifically there's one called the Data Collective and it is currently being led by some thought leaders of our industry. We have some major manufacturers, open line manufacturers, technology supporters there that are working on these data standards so that we can ensure that the data will flow across no matter where you're entering into the industry.

Sid:  

How can that content easily flow through to the next user and ultimately to that manufacturer so that we can manufacture the product deliver, ship, install, so that we can manufacture the product deliver, ship, install Well, and the simplicity of that sounds amazing, but it also sounds like a huge undertaking, like trying to get everybody to come together because there's over 3,000 plus manufacturers in our industry, right, and trying to get, and who knows how many different software options there are, right, trying to get everybody to come together to agree on a standard and use that standard. I mean talk about you're climbing a mountain, Kari.

Kari: 

I'm climbing a mountain. I'm not doing it alone. r

Sid:  

Right we don't want to, we don't want to. We need ropes and picks and all these other kinds of things if you're scaling a mountain, right. So you've got a whole team of people that are in groups to come together to do this.

Kari: 

Yeah, you know, even when I practice as an interior designer, I was not always the smartest one in the room, but I always found the smartest people out there that could help build and support me, which is the data collective. We are bringing the smart people from the industry into the room to come up with these standards. We have manufacturers like our majors. They have 40 plus years of data standards and that's what we also hear from our open line manufacturers. Hey, whatever the majors are doing, just tell us to do it and we will do it. So with the data standards, now we can actually have some published content because it is tribal knowledge. Whether you are a dealership and there are some dealer principals that are retiring, right, we lose some of that tribal knowledge. Whether you are a dealership and there's some dealer principals that are retiring, right, we lose some of that tribal knowledge. 

Sid, you've hosted how many podcasts on these topics? Or even at manufacturer levels, we're dealing with that same thing inside of our data standards, of our industry. We've got some people that have been keeping our industry together. That potentially could be and I hope they do retire in the next few years, but we need to capture that content One as our baseline, but we need to innovate. That's where we're still being challenged by those new tools and technologies that are coming into the industry here. So it is a pleasant balance climbing that mountain, climbing it together and then weaving together. How can we future-proof to ensure that we continuously grow and improve our data standards?

Sid: 

So you mentioned future-proof, so let's talk about the future for just a minute. Thank you for that explanation. By the way, what role is AI playing in all this? Because I was listening to a podcast this morning on my walk and the guy said something relative to in this phase of AI or something to that, and the way it was insinuated was like AI had been around for 10 years. And I literally said out loud on my walk dude, that's barely a year old, like you're talking, like it's 10 years old. It's like barely a year old. So we're all still scratching the surface with what the heck this thing is. How do we use it? Is AI playing a role in what you're doing there and, if so, how?

Kari:  

AI has been playing a role in our lives more than a year. Like we've been using AI, we didn't even know that we've been using it right. 18 months ago, TechBox hosted a webinar on AI and I had some really great people that came in and shared some insight, but there wasn't a lot of conversation about it because we weren't openly talking about it. At this past Neocon in June, ai was probably the number one topic. Now, obviously it's very important. My ear is hearing it. I'm prompting the conversations with it. So we are seeing inside of manufacturers, they're using AI, whether they're creating their own chatbots, pulling their data together. I'm seeing our software developers using AI, not to replace their staff, but actually to ensure that they're getting those mundane tasks done. They still have a human in the middle. You're not just using AI and then releasing that content out there. You need the human in the middle 100% you do.

Sid:  

So what I find interesting about this is you said we've been using AI for years and you're not wrong. Whether, if you're Googling something, you're using AI. Talking to Siri, you're using AI. Right, Talking to Alexa, you're using some version of AI. I think what's new about AI is the consumer, direct-to-consumer facing versions. When ChatGPT came on the scene, all of a sudden here come dozens of other ones Claude Gemini, all these other things and all of a sudden now it's like face in front of us, Like, oh, now everybody can use this, when before we were using it as a consumer, but not using it as a tool. We weren't generating, if you will, anything from it, we were just using it. So it's the Wild West, isn't it? Just a little bit.

Kari: 

For sure is yeah, I would say in the past six months, even a year, is when people have become more comfortable using those generatives, like going and seeking that business to consumer. That's a great way to explain it, and they're just scratching the surface, because now, to even be more successful at it, you have to be trained on it. It's not the same as interfacing with Google, like you need to treat AI differently and prompt it to get that prompt engineering getting your information back in the format that you want.

Sid:  

So my favorite thing to do with I use ChatGPT predominantly. I use Grammarly, I also use Otter. I'm sure I'm using others, but ChatGPT is the one I use daily, if you will, and my favorite thing to do with it is to brainstorm with it and to like say hey, I'm working on an article about our blog, about this topic. Here's the framework of what I want to talk about. Then I ask it to interview me and I'll say ask me a series of no more than 10 questions about this topic. And then it will start asking me. It'll ask me about a story of how I encountered something to this or whatever, right.

And then out of that I get a much better, more detailed framework of a blog. Rather than me saying to it hey, which so many people do this? Hey, write an 800-word blog about X, y, z with these points in it. They click enter. Within a minute, you got an 800-word blog. They copy, paste it and post it, which is, to me, the wrong way to use an AI tool. But I like to go back and forth with it and talk with it, so I think that's a fun thing.

Kari: 

I think that's an entry level of using AI Write a email for me here's the body of the email that I need and then going to that next level is exactly what you had described and specifically, Sid, you and I were solopreneurs. We've got a lot of colleagues and friends in the industry, but sometimes I just don't have that coworker that I used to look over the panel cubicle panels and say, hey, can you help me out with this? So AI to me, whether it's GPT, Gemini, or if you have named your own AI agent. Have you named your GPT?

Sid:  

So it's really funny. I was about to ask you that question. I have not named mine. Rex Miller has named his, and I forget what he told me the name is it's a girl. Have you named yours?

Kari: 

I have not named mine. I'm a Gemini based one too. But if I was to brainstorm right now, when I think of Gemini, I'm like, oh wait a minute, that's a Zodiac sign. That's immediately where my brain goes.

Sid: 

So I did see a prompt. This was months and months and months ago. I saw a prompt that somebody posted like on Instagram or something, where you could ask ChatGPT to introduce itself to you and then go through a prompt for it to tell you what its name was. And I did that, but then I don't know what I did with it and I don't remember what it was a girl. What she said her name was to me. But it's interesting that people like it's like their best friend, like hey, Susie, how you doing today.

Kari:  

It totally is. That creeps me out a bit, Sid, though. If I was to ask and it gave me a name, that's like a bad sci-fi movie.

Sid:  

Oh my gosh, that's great. All right, I don't want to stay too much on AI, because we could stay here forever. But, Kari, you talked about something that I'm super passionate about I want to kind of go back to, and the word you used was education. So in your businesses, you're providing education to our communities in order to help, maybe, clear the mud up with this topic. So tell us, what kind of topics is it that you teach on or train on or educate on?

Kari:  

Yeah, you know, primarily I work a lot with our open line manufacturers, whether they're stateside in Canada. I've worked in Mexico and I have a lot of connections that I've worked with over in Europe and Asia too, which is really great, because how would you have the visibility into what we are doing here? So if you also then look at Sid, you have these similar people that you're working with. It typically is a VP of sales, vp of marketing, that wears multiple hats. When we're talking these open line manufacturers, so not only are they trying to keep their sales and marketing focus, but they're launching new products and coming with that. Launching of new products includes publishing their catalog data, which means, you know, going into our specification and design software, right. 

So where do you learn about this If you've never used these tools? You're being told by dealerships that you need to be in there. So that is the education level of one understand our industry tools. So how can you talk with your rep groups out there of when they're doing their lunch and learns? I don't train, I do talk about the process. So for an open line manufacturer, specifically for them to understand the process, what does it take from getting their product data into a design and specification and effectively ordered. I really think it's very important for them to understand their data, to own their data and the accuracy and the impact it can do for increasing their sales and business and save them time.

Sid:

So thank you for that and we'll link to the websites that everybody can see coming with some of the stuff that you do. But I had a flashback memory when we worked together and I called you and said, hey, I'm going down this path for this initiative and I need somebody beside me to help me make decisions about things I know nothing about. And you would ask me this question or I would call and say, Kari, what is this? Will you please break this down for me? What is a source of truth? I've never heard that term before and I've been in the industry for 25, 30 years and somebody says, oh, you need a source of truth. I'm like what's a source of truth? So, just for practical, explain that we're not going to go down this rabbit hole. 

But I'm just saying that to say that the things that you taught me through that process were invaluable and really helped to educate me, to shine a light on what some of this stuff is, because I'm a front-facing guy, right, I'm a sales, a marketing guy. I'm out in front of the customer, whatever, like I'm out front and there's so much I'm gesturing. If you're watching on YouTube, I'm gesturing behind my back. There's so much stuff that happens behind the scenes, that some of us just have zero concepts. So, for simplicity, what's a source of truth and what does it do? So, for simplicity, what's?

Kari:  

a source of truth and what does it do? So a source of truth and I'm going to speak specifically for data is that your source of truth is fed from. Typically, it should be in your ERP system, so that is everywhere that you have all your products, your pricing, your descriptions, everything that enables your business from a furniture manufacturing perspective. So that being that source of truth when you distribute your data to any platform in our industry. So, whether that is CET spec worksheet, if you're working with a Syncly company, even going to my resource library, that is a set of data. If your source of truth is not feeding in basically a digital twin across all of the industry, we have some issues right, we have inaccuracies. So finding whatever your source of truth is inside of your business. So, whether maybe that's your ERP system, maybe it is your website, because a source of truth is also those digital pieces of your JPEGs, not just your product specification data. So own that source of truth and then being able to distribute that accurately, timely, consistently across all of those industry platforms.

Sid: 

So basically, it's the one tool that talks to everybody and shares your specific information, your product-specific information, to everybody in a way that they can all read it. And I don't want to keep going down that hole, but I do want to go back to a little bit of the very first of our conversation. So this is a complicated topic and it's a topic that changes every day. Tech changes every day, right? My wife's in technology. She's always talking about the tech things You're in it. So, Kari, how'd you go from being a designer to like saying, okay, I love me some tech, I'm going to get into the middle of this and try to help people understand user experience and break it down and create all this kind of stuff? How did you get to from drawing boxes if you will, I'm simplifying drawing boxes, mind you to like I'm going to be a tech person?

Kari:

It happened early in my career. So I went to university. I mean, if you add up the numbers, I've been in the industry for 30 years and AutoCAD was really just a new tool when I was at university. So a year after I graduated from university they asked me to come back to teach AutoCAD because our instructors it wasn't native to them. So I think that was my initial spark for me of really understanding and enjoying technology as that tool that's going to empower me to do my job better. 

So throughout my career as an interior designer, any new tool or technology that came about, I was that first adopter. So it just naturally transitioned with me and I think that's also what sparked me to go back to school for user experience design. And I think that's also what sparked me to go back to school for user experience design Because being an interior designer I mentioned this previously too like I've specified so many six-pack workstations that thrill was over for me. So I just really enjoy technology. I see how it enables our designers to do better, to work harder and faster. The same thing with our salespeople across the whole industry.

Sid:  

And that's really what tech is supposed to do, right, it's supposed to simplify things, make things easier, make things move along the process faster. We just got to get through some of the noise of all the different tools out there and which ones do I need? Why do I need it? How's it going to benefit me? And that's what I think. In my opinion, whether you're a dealership, a design firm or a manufacturer, you have to ask yourself the question what tools are best for my business that will help my business move forward today? Because you can't take on all the tech tools that are out there, because then you'll just be drowning in technology integration. You've got to take on the ones that are going to help you today and then make a path, if you will, to what will help you in six months, nine months, 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, whatever it is down the road that's going to help your business streamline and move forward. I think that's also relative to AI. The same thing, right?

Kari:  

Well, I think let's take it back to even our personal lives. How many apps have I downloaded in the past year? Right, I take on all of these new tools and technologies. So, really coming back to an essential standpoint too. So just because a new, bright, shiny tool or technology comes out there does not mean that you need to adopt it. Does it work within your process? If it works within your process, how do you train yourself to be more efficient at using it? So I think there's more to than just technology. It is also the adoption rate of it, it is the training of it, and ensuring that you can collaborate with it across our whole industry is very important.

Sid:  

Do you think that manufacturers and dealers need a tech person on their team?

Kari:  

Absolutely so.

Sid: 

A tech person is really a vague description right, I didn't know what else to call it. Sorry, Kari, you need a techie on your team, right?

Kari:  

Yeah, you need a techie on your team. Maybe that's somebody in your IT department that is ensuring the safety and integration across it. I played a strong role as our change management leader when we adopted technology into our dealership, so that was really big. When CET came about, I was an early adopter of CET and helped with the change management not only inside of our dealership but across our whole industry I worked with. Steelcase was my primary manufacturer. My line manufacturer I worked with. It was Steelcase was my primary manufacturer, my line manufacturer that I worked with, and we had a dealer design advisory group. So whatever we were doing in our dealership, we were also talking with other dealerships across the North American it was just not US. So I really thank Steelcase at that time of taking a look at how do we adopt new technologies into our whole ecosystem.

Sid:  

So the short answer to my question is yes. A dealership and a manufacturer both need a technology-related person in their business so that that person is the. If you will, I'm going to quote, unquote the source of truth as it relates to everything technology-wise that can then teach other people how to use it, make sure it's being used effectively. You brought up a word that two words are really important. One of them is safety and security. Right, to make sure that tools that you are you're using aren't doing bad things to your systems. Right? Or spamming through emails. We've all gotten that kind of nonsense right. I mean through emails. We've all gotten that kind of nonsense right. 

And then the second thing is and often overlooked is change management. And what does what has to be done, what change needs to be implemented into your business? Because you said I'm going to start using this tool and there's a whole thing there related with that that I hadn't even thought about as it relates to what we're talking here. But yeah, so you need a tech person that understands, that can teach and educate and then help manage the change inside of your organization. And I know that dealerships specifically have a lot of different people on their staff. They have this person, this person, that person and having a tech person is not necessarily revenue generating, but it sounds like to me. Especially the way the world is changing today, it's probably one of the most mission critical positions that you should have on your team. Would you agree with that, Kari?

Kari:  

Oh, definitely agree with that and whether it's the change management person. But I think this is everybody, this is everybody, like if we were all to put our hands in the center and say, hey, I'm in, I agree is the accountability to the adoption of technology or using of technology. I think is also something that we lose sight of 100%.

Sid:  

So, Kari, I'm not really sure how long we've been talking because I lost track and I do not have a counter. But I have one last question that I kind of want to ask you about. When I saw you at Neocon, inside the Lofaw Showroom, you were kind of doing a little tech meetup and you asked me, along with several other people that were there, what's your biggest technology challenge that you're facing today. I would love to know what some of the things were that our community shared with you, that these are my tech challenges. Can you share with us?

Kari: 

Yeah, some of the tech challenges the ones that I shared for myself out there was subscriptions so right, subscriptions and hard drive, and I was going down a rabbit hole, and so that for me, was on a personal level but actually impacts my business. So when I was talking to individuals, it did split between that personal and also on their business side of it. So from a business side, when I talk about these open line manufacturers are, hey, we just don't know what to do, we don't have support, we don't have the financial fundings internally right, we don't have the financial fundings internally right of being able to invest into that. And also, where is their source of truth? When you have multiple conversations with people that come knocking on your door, hey, I got now something new to sell to you. I even experienced that at Neocon is like, how do you warrant that this person that's trying to sell you a new piece of technology is what you should be investing into. So I really think that that was a big conversation. Managing data was another issue that I'm hearing. A lot that came up across at Neocon.

AI was definitely another big conversation, and then the hardware perspective. I know I had brought that up, but there's big changes going on with hardware. One, we have to look at our accessibility. Right now there's a cost to it due to what's going on globally to access those technology pieces. But also, where do you get the resources to help you out If you do not have that tech IT person and outsourcing that and being able to invest into that? I know we're you know what a couple months for year end. But as manufacturers or even dealerships, when you're looking at your 2026 spend, what dollars are you putting towards your technology investment? What should you be looking at doing? And I think these are just all really great conversations that we should be talking about together. Let's get some of the wins from those that maybe invested well they felt like last year and how can people look forward and start doing some of those best practices?

Sid: 

So that's really great insights. And you said something that hits the nerve with me the blooming hard drive. If I get one more notice from Google, please don't be listening to me, google, about my Google Drive is 80% full. You're just trying to sell me more storage, google, but please stop it. I mean it's like, oh my gosh, more storage Google, but please stop it.

Kari:

I mean, it's like, oh my gosh, and, by the way, google heard you and you are going to have six emails when you hang up here.

Sid:  

Okay. So, google, if you're listening, I tried to create a shared drive to share for our collaborative group, where I would have all of our stuff in one location, called our source of truth. Gary, I have the highest level Google One membership, but that membership doesn't get me the shared drive. I have to go get an educational membership. I'm like Google, what the heck Like? I just want to create a shared drive for us to use, rather than a shared folder, and I'm on my soapbox now. But that goes directly to what you were talking about at the very beginning, about the user experience. I mean, sometimes things it's just so bad that you can't find things that you need. You can't figure out how to do something. Literally, I had to Google how to get how to create a Google shared drive, because nowhere inside of Google did it actually tell me in my drive, tell me how I could create one.

Kari:  

Isn't that crazy. We live off, yeah YouTube videos right Frequently throughout the day. I'm constantly Googling how to figure something out, so we are fortunate for that. But which ones do I trust, like?

Sid:  

I can't guess. Oh, that's such a great question.

Kari:  

Yeah, I don't know if I can trust that, but you brought up an interesting point is that's cloud based storage. Yeah, we, I have, we both, because you brought that up. We have how much content shared out into the cloud space. And I specifically also brought up hard drive, because in our industry so many of our tools are hard driven, hard drive based. So there totally is that balance and we are collaborating. I mean, if you take a look at our manufacturers, our dealerships, our dealerships are expanding. They're not just centrally located in one city, one state, they're connecting all across North America, for an example. So they have to be on a network base. How many of us have a P drive out there? We remember having those P and K drives and to be able to connect those data.

Sid:  

And you saying that reminds me of something you said to me a long time ago is that as our industry migrates to the cloud, so I think people, even me, just assume that because I use the cloud, you use the cloud, everybody in my family to the cloud. So I think people, even me just assume that because I use the cloud, you use the cloud, everybody in my family uses the cloud, that our industry is on the cloud, but technically we're not really on the cloud because we still have so much hard drive data that we have to have access to, to the P drive and other things you mentioned right. So I think we have a long way to go as it relates to because it's going to change on a regular basis, but I'm grateful that there are people like you helping to guide the way and break down the complexities. Though I don't know that we demystified anything today, but I did have a really good time talking to you about this and hopefully we shared some really good insights to the listeners about what's happening, what they need to know, where they need to be looking, and I guess I'm going to offer my advice. 

I'd love for you to offer the last piece of advice about this. I would say to anybody listening don't overcomplicate technology, don't take on too much at one time, and if you're confused about what to do, you need to hire an expert like Carrie to help you maneuver through the minefield that technology is today, because there's so many options out there for you. So, Kari, what would you say is like a piece of advice you want to leave everybody with today.

Kari: 

Yeah, piece of advice is do not run away from technology, even whether that is five minutes a day. Just challenge yourself, Try something new, figure it out, innovate, grow. And second is I am not a technology expert. In the whole industry there is a huge team much like where you just asked it should a dealership or manufacturer have a technology expert? I just fit into one little gear into this huge moving process of the industry.

Sid:  

So if I don't know it.

Kari:  

I know somebody else that does.

Sid: 

I was going to say that I guarantee you. If you called Carrie with a question, or called Carrie to say, hey, can you help me with this and she it's not her basket of tricks if you will, she's going to say I can't, but here's somebody that you can talk to that'll help you. And that's one of the fun parts about being a consultant, right, and be collaborating with each other is being able to refer to oh well, I don't do that, but I know somebody that can help you with that. I mean, I love that part of it being a connector.

Kari: 

Yeah, totally that networked and that's also. I networked when I was at a dealership level too right, I didn't know and do everything. I was not a healthcare expert, but I knew somebody that could do it really well.

Sid: 

Kari, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate you being here sharing all of your insights. If our community would like to get in touch with you, what is the best way for them to do that?

Kari:  

There is a couple different ways to contact with me. So one is email, Sid, I know you'll prepare and share that information, but definitely check out techboxcollective.com. There is an open lobby area there where you can engage, ask questions and learn from others individuals. I think that's always just like a really great start from a community base. And then, yeah, directly connect with me, love to chat with you, answer any questions and hopefully we can work together.

Sid:  

So Kari is really active on LinkedIn. You can find her there as well. Be sure that email addresses, websites, LinkedIn address are all down in the show notes. She's always posting about like events, that she's hosting trainings and other things that are happening and stuff she's doing with Alexander Steffos and others in our industry sharing insights about technology. So please go follow Kari over there. Just remember that if you do connect with her or reach out to her, please let her know. You heard her here on the Trend Report and that's why I reached out. Kari, thanks again for joining us.

Outro:

Thank you for hanging in for this important conversation about the ever-changing world of technology. Go out there and make today great and we'll see you right back here in a couple of weeks. Take care everyone. Bye.