New Way to Watch TV

I watch a lot of stuff through TiVo. The ability to time-shift, to cut out commercials, and even to save my episodes on my computer have made our TiVo unit almost indispensable.

The other night I was intrigued by an offer that TiVo was advertising on the main screen. In concert with Amazon.com, they were offering free previews of the pilots for many of NBC's new programs. Lisa and I thought one or two of them looked interesting so went ahead and ordered.

It took most of an evening to download the episodes, so we didn't get to watch them that night. They were of a higher quality than TiVo can usually record, so that was nice. We ordered three shows, "Journeyman" (OK, but felt a little too heavy for us), "Bionic Woman" (I'll probably catch an episode or two, but it was way too intense for Lisa), and "Chuck" (Our favorite by far. Just the right blend of adventure and humor).

I'm not going to claim that this was a revolutionary new way to watch TV, but it does give you glimpses of what the future might bring. You've also got to hand it to NBC, TiVo, and Amazon for at least trying new things. So many times, we see companies who spend all of their efforts just trying to protect the status quo instead of innovating to put themselves in front of the curve.

I know in my business it's pretty easy just to continue doing the same old things -- especially if it is still bringing in money. Let's face it, though, current techniques and technology can go the way of the horse and buggy pretty darn quickly. The challenge for me is to be aware of this fact and to devote a certain amount of time to updating my products, services and skills to continue to support my clients as their needs change.

So, how are you keeping up to date and pushing to develop new skills in your business?