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Not long ago, much of the business world still ran on Rolodexes, fax machines and file cabinets. Today, most of those once indispensable tools have been rendered obsolete and replaced by modern technology that has redefined the way we work. This integration of technology into all facets of business operations is widely known as Digital Transformation (DX), and its happening across nearly every industry today. In fact, 74% of organizations now consider DX initiatives a top priority, with global spending projected to hit $3.9 trillion by 2027. While modern tech solutions offer significant benefits, the race to keep up with emerging trends can overwhelm decision-makers and lead to costly mistakes. But technology doesnt have to be daunting. By asking the right questions of your team and vendors, you can identify, vet, and implement solutions that deliver real ROI for your business and customers. The following framework will guide you in developing a strategy to cut through the noise, mitigate risk, and empower your team to make technology investments that set you up for long-term success. So, whether youre just starting, stuck in neutral, or somewhere in between, read on. The Wrong Solution Can Create New Problems This may sound elementary, but its critical to understand your problem before investing in a solution. For example, AI can drive efficiency by automating manual work, but its useless unless you know where to deploy it. So, audit how your team spends its time. Data is helpful here, but frontline team members can also provide invaluable anecdotal feedback on productivity bottlenecks that automation could solve. Plus, engaging your team early on builds the buy-in necessary for smooth implementation later. That audit might also reveal multiple issues, but that doesnt mean you can or should try to solve them all at once. Instead, create a road map to help prioritize the most pressing challenges and then systematically work through others as time and resources allow. Once youve determined a problem, define the specific outcome you aim to achieve by implementing technologylike increasing role efficiency by 25 percent or decreasing cost per order by $1. Precision is key here, as vague objectives can lead to misguided investments in tools that fail to deliver results. Research Possible Solutions Now, you can start solutioning. Begin by reviewing potential vendor solutions and understanding their commonalities versus differentiation or even how industries outside your own address similar objectives. Though you work in fintech, you might be surprised by what you can learn about predictive analytics by studying how logistics service providers use data to lower shipping costs and improve efficiency or looking at how retail brands leverage AI to create hyper-personalized customer experiences. Keeping an open mind will always pay off. Make Data-Driven Decisions Next, conduct comprehensive due diligence on each potential solution. Go beyond the marketing materialsunderstand how the features apply to your specific problem, weigh costs against expected ROI, clarify what implementation support youll receive and consult team members who will use the tool. Arming yourself with all relevant data will help mitigate risk and drive buy-in across your organization. Product fit is just one part of the equation when investing in third-party technology. These solutions often address long-term opportunities, meaning you might work with a service provider for several years or more. If you sense any misalignment between your team and the service provider, trust your instincts and continue your search. Buying Versus Building Youll also need to decide whether to buy off-the-shelf technology or develop a custom solution in-house. Enterprise-level organizations with extensive technology teams may have the resources to build in-house, while SMBs often find ready-made tools perfectly suitable and far more cost-effective. Regardless, factor in the total cost of these options, including employee onboarding, systems integration and tech support, as these expenses can add up quickly. Whether buying or building, most technology isnt plug-and-play at scale. Thats why a detailed implementation and change management plan is essential. While making time for thorough employee training and troubleshooting may seem tedious, these steps are critical for achieving alignment and maximizing the solution’s impact, so dont skip it. Continually Measure Success Once the initial implementation is complete, measure success against your goals. Ramp-up may take time, but if the solution doesnt deliver results within six months, collaborate with your team and the service provider to identify issues and adjust course as needed. Tracking progress also helps maintain stakeholder supportproviding updates on outcomes and celebrating milestones can keep the team engaged and help secure resources for further investment. Lastly, as your business evolves, dont let this step slip by or stagnate your approach. Regularly revisiting and refining your review process as your needs change will ensure that a solution continues to deliver ongoing value over the long term or make clear when its time for something new. Investing in technology isnt just about acquiring toolsits about solving problems that empower your team and deliver long-term results. If youre new to this world, be patient with yourself and your team as you navigate the learning curve together. Mistakes are inevitable, but taking time to align solutions with clear objectives, evaluate vendors carefully and implement effectively will help mitigate potential risks and drive meaningful results for your team and business.
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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. When assessing home price momentum, it’s important to monitor active listings and months of supply. If active listings start to rapidly increase as homes remain on the market for longer periods, it may indicate potential future pricing weakness. Conversely, a rapid decline in active listings could suggest a market that is heating up. National active listings are on the rise (up 24.6% between January 2024 and January 2025). This indicates that homebuyers have gained some leverage in many parts of the country over the past year, with some markets even feeling like balanced or buyers’ markets on the ground. However, nationally, were still below pre-pandemic active inventory levels (25.3% below January 2019), and some resale markets still remain tightbut, thats not the case anymore in many pockets of the Sun Belt and Mountain West. Here’s how the total January inventory/active listings (according to Realtor.com) compare to recent historic levels: January 2017: 1,154,120 January 2018: 1,043,951 January 2019: 1,110,636 January 2020: 951,675 January 2021: 531,775 January 2022: 376,970 January 2023: 616,865 January 2024: 665,569 January 2025: 829,376 Click here to view an interactive version of the map below. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the controversial environmental lawyer turned public health critic, is set to find out on Tuesday if he has cleared the first hurdle to become the nation’s top health official when the Senate Finance Committee votes on his nomination.Democrats are still raising concerns about Kennedy’s potential to profit from anti-vaccine advocacy and lawsuits, but Republicans appear to be rallying behind President Donald Trump’s health secretary nominee. On Monday, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican once viewed as a possible “no” vote, announced he would back Kennedy.Kennedy needs support from all but three Republicans if Democrats uniformly oppose him. What will doctor and Republican Bill Cassidy do? One key vote remains in question: Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana physician who sits on the finance committee that will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation. Last week, during Kennedy’s hearings, Cassidy repeatedly implored Kennedy to reject a disproven theory that vaccines cause autism, to no avail. He ended the hearing by saying he was “struggling” with the vote.“Your past, undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments, concerns me,” Cassidy told Kennedy.On Monday evening, Cassidy told reporters that he had “very cordial” conversations with Kennedy over the weekend but was “still working through” how to handle his vote.Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are all seen as potential no votes, too, because they voted against Trump’s defense secretary nominee and have expressed concerns about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine work.In a CBS 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday, McConnell declined to say how he would vote on Kennedy’s nomination but reiterated “vaccines are critically important.” Democrats still have questions for Kennedy Democrats, meanwhile, continue to raise alarms about Kennedy’s potential to financially benefit from changing vaccine guidelines or weakening federal lawsuit protections against vaccine makers if confirmed as health secretary.“It seems possible that many different types of vaccine-related decisions and communicationswhich you would be empowered to make and influence as Secretarycould result in significant financial compensation for your family,” Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote in a letter sent over the weekend to Kennedy.Kennedy said he’ll give his son all of the referral fees in legal cases against vaccine makers, including the fees he gets from referring clients in a case against Merck. Kennedy told the committee he’s referred hundreds of clients to a law firm that’s suing Merck’s Gardasil, the human papillomavirus vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. He’s earned $2.5 million from the deal over the past three years.As secretary, Kennedy will oversee vaccine recommendations and public health campaigns for the $1.7 trillion agency, which is also responsible for food and hospital inspections, providing health insurance for millions of Americans, and researching deadly diseases. Who are the wild card votes? Kennedy’s allies are still holding out hope that they could entice a Democrat or two to their side. A pressure campaign has been focused on Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who has expressed support for Kennedy’s push to make American foods more healthy. Pennsylvania’s Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has also been a focus, although he told Fox News Channel this weekend that the nomination was “challenging.”A Democratic-led opposition campaign, built around Kennedy’s anti-vaccine advocacy and influence in Samoa during a measles outbreak that left dozens of children and infants dead in 2019, has also narrowed in on Republican Sen. John Curtis, who represents Utah, home to one of the nation’s largest Samoan populations. Tuesday’s vote is just the start The Senate finance committee, made up of 25 senators, will vote on whether to recommend Kennedy for a vote on the Senate floor, where all 100 senators will have the chance to vote on the nomination.The committee vote will be a strong indicator of where things are headed for Kennedy, but it’s not necessarily the final word. Even if the committee votes against his confirmationseemingly unlikelySenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could still push for a floor vote.If Kennedy gets the committee’s recommendation, he could still have work to do to win over Collins, Murkowski, and McConnell. Cassidy also could potentially vote against Kennedy’s final confirmation even if he votes in favor of him Tuesday. What is ‘MAHA’? Kennedy, a longtime Democrat, ran for president but withdrew last year to throw his support to Trump in exchange for an influential job in his Republican administration. Together, they have forged a new and unusual coalition made up of conservatives who oppose vaccines and liberals who want to see the government promote healthier foods. Trump and Kennedy have branded the movement as “Make America Healthy Again.” Amanda Seitz and Stephen Groves, Associated Press
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