I don’t recall the network I was watching, but at some point last year I channel-surfed across a program about Japanese sword making from around the 13th century. Hearing about the intricate process that was developed more than 700 years ago really sucked me in.

Making swords less brittle.

The swords that the show was covering were made of steel that, despite its inherent strength over other metals, if struck at a certain angle by another sword or object, would actually break. The process used to give steel its superior hardness at that time also brought with it a rather limiting side effect: brittleness. The conundrum of the day was finding a way of making a stronger steel sword without that nasty brittle weakness.

The Japanese sword makers found a solution.

Without exposing the ancient secrets of sword making in this post, I do want to share a concept I derived from part of the sword making process that I believe applies to the use of technology for rep communications and training. The process that caught my attention was referred to as “folding” and I haven’t been able to stop using it as an example when brainstorming new digital projects.

Japanese sword makers developed a method for combining layers of steel of varying hardness by hammering them out to very thin layers and folding them back onto themselves. Reheat, hammer and repeat. Reheat, hammer and repeat again, and again, and again. You get the idea. The end product was a sword whose new found strength came from the lamination of varying types of steel that contained thousands of layers. You’d have the durability of hard steel combined with the flexibility of softer steel bonded together with the strength of lamination . A lethal weapon consisting of unified layers and multiple strengths.

Using folding for digital planning.

In the GSW Digital Wave group we are constantly solving digital information and communication problems for our clients. In some cases it’s creating a digital “playbook” that let’s sales reps educate themselves on what digital and print resources  are available to them (let’s call this solution A), other times it’s introducing new products or materials to them using interactive multimedia to deliver the information with more impact and retainability (solution B.)

Other solutions we’ve provided ensured that the reps are always up-to-date on pertinent information and events that are imperative to their day-to-day activities (solution C.) In a final solution scenario, we’ve had to create a means for making resources available offline so that they could still review materials when they were not connected to the Internet or a company Intranet.

Quite often, given timelines and launch schedules, solutions are developed rapidly and released out in the field. First comes solution A, then a month later B, C and finally D a few months down the road. When the next digital solution need arises, we develop it and release it. Build, release and repeat. Build, release and repeat again, and again, and again.

Stop.

Instead of creating more and more individualized solutions with limited uses, why not create a tool that combines the connectedness of the web and the impact of rich media with the immediacy of a desktop application? Combine these digital solutions into a unified platform that can grow or shrink in line with the real-time information needs of your brand and sales teams. Fold your digital content investments back onto themselves, taking the best features of each technology and combining them with the strengths of the others. Push your content out to reps when they are connected and remove outdated content automatically, all without the rep having to sort through files and hunt for updates on disparate and lifeless SharePoint sites.

Standardize your digital solutions with a dynamic digital content container that functions as a scalable communications portal and can simultaneously handle the delivery of your rich media interactive training materials and simpler digital documents. Why not deliver the new sales resources and training at the same time, through the same tool, allowing your team to access their resources and accompanying educational material on their own schedule? Invest in a consistent delivery platform incrementally with the release of each new piece of digital content rather than incrementally investing in individual and unrelated projects.

Standalone single-purpose solutions are limited in their shelf-lives and usefulness. They are brittle tools that are quickly broken and discarded as your business needs rapidly evolve.

Start practicing Technology Folding today and increase the ROI on your digital projects.

Curious? Our digital sword makers are standing by…