The Prisma team working hard for you over the last 3 weeks.
I was once told by a mentor to "celebrate the small wins [because] you might not get the big ones." It sounded pessimistic back then. But now I can see how acknowledging whatever progress you’re making lends to endurance. I can also see how right now, it's impossible not to encounter unforeseen challenges. So, we might as well just try to focus on the positives.
As CEO of Prisma, I'd like to share three "good problems" we've had here and what we learned from them.
A good problem to have #1: a smooth transition to working from home meant confronting the universal work-from-home distractions sooner
At Prisma, the transition to working from home happened quickly and without issue from a staffing or technological standpoint. This is a credit to our flexible team members who are well-versed at working collaboratively in our Boston and Montevideo offices, as well as remotely from home thanks to our company’s organizational structure. It felt so normal, that we went straight into phase two - struggling with the universal at-home distractions (e.g. juggling work & home life with loved ones, resisting the temptations of a well-stocked refrigerator, etc.), missing having lunch together as a team, and finding creative ways to continue having "hallway conversations" through technology. Now that I take a pause and look around, I can see how fortunate we are. As a small and young technology company, we have the mindset and the technology required to work remotely, and adapting to change is part of our culture. I’m not saying it was easy or perfect. There's a lot to learn. Yet, it's progress and a small win I celebrate
BBC interview video from 2017 that predicted what would happen to all of us. But now that we are in the same boat, maybe we can relax more about it.
A good problem to have #2: we know exactly what we have to do, which means there’s no time to speculate or take a break.
It took our team one week to "recalculate" and find our True North again. In this time, we re-did our planning and investment scenarios, connected meaningfully with our customers, and came up with something that really resonates with the new context. I won't lie to you, there were days we just wanted to sit and watch Netflix or nap. So we did some of that too. Because each person
has to figure out what he or she needs to be physically and mentally healthy, every day. For us, taking care of our team members so they can be productive for our customers right now is first and foremost. This means staying safe and staying home. So, another win to celebrate. We know what we have to do to continue serving banks and credit unions (more on "Prisma Flash" coming out soon).
(Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash)
A good problem to have #3: our current clients have the highest expectations from us and are putting Prisma to the test.
They have our cellphone numbers. They call us over the weekends. They leave us long voice messages. They’ve told us,
"We’re really counting on you. This needs to work."
"Remember that electronic signature flow we've been working on for months? We need it for Monday.”
“You know that onboarding process we had for 200 accounts per month? We'll have to do it for 20,000 accounts due to a government mandate.”
“How soon can we put a landing page together with new email funnels to ease the wait times with our customer service line?"
Again, I won't lie to you, it isn’t easy to adjust so quickly to change, and we’re not nearly through. We can't even promise we'll get everything right. But we’re fully dedicated to doing our best. Apart from staying healthy, serving is all that matters right now. We’re honored to be called to step up and help your bank and credit union be there for all of those who need it.
All right, this ended up being more profound than I intended, but honestly, it's tough to know what to write about these days. I hope that you can relate to some of these reflections, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.
Let's keep up doing our part and celebrate whatever small win we can.
Be well.
Image credits: Prisma Campaigns, unsplash and youtube