On April 3, 1973, a guy named Marty Cooper made a phone call while walking down a New York City sidewalk — and people stared. Not because he was saying anything outrageous, but because he was holding a 2.5-pound plastic brick to his head. It was roughly the size of a shoe.
That was the world’s first mobile phone call. And Marty had that phone because, being one of the brightest engineers at Motorola, he and his team created it. That prototype took 10 hours to charge but produced only 30 minutes of talk time.
Shaped like a walkie-talkie that swallowed a box of crackers, and practically needing a small-pet carrier to lug it around, it wouldn’t win any design awards.
But it worked. For the first time, someone placed a call without being tethered to a wall or a car.
So today is effectively the cell phone’s birthday. And that got me thinking…
In business, we talk a lot about “game-changing tech.” It’s tempting to think of that moment of transformation as something sleek and dramatic (cue the soundtrack). But in reality, the newest tech often looks a bit goofy. It’s can be a little clunky – the hardware equivalent of a bad hair day. And it’s usually something that’s hard to justify or explain to your staff, your accountant, or your spouse.
I’ve been there. You’ve probably been there too.
Remember Your First Tech Leap?
The first time I signed up for a cloud-based file system, I was nervous. My computer guy (me) told me it would “streamline everything,” but the whole thing felt like walking a tightrope without a net. What if the files didn’t sync? What if I couldn’t find something during a client call? What if the whole thing just disappeared into the internet void?
But it didn’t. It worked. And as the technology improved, I wondered how I ever operated without it.
Sound familiar?
New Tech Always Looks Weird at First
Here’s the thing: progress usually doesn’t arrive in a perfect package.
Your first CRM probably didn’t do half of what you wanted it to do. That first AI chatbot you tried probably gave you weird answers or had you circulating in an endless loop. Your first VoIP call probably sounded like talking into a tin can during a thunderstorm.
But you kept trying, didn’t you?
Not because you’re a tech lover (though if you are, welcome to the club), but because you saw the upside. You recognized the potential.
And that mindset — openness to trying the weird before it becomes (eventually) wonderful – is often the difference between a business that grows and one that falls behind.
Why April 3 Matters
The story of that first mobile call isn’t just a trivia fact. It’s a reminder.
Marty Cooper didn’t wait for perfection. He and his team developed that phone in just 90 days. Then he walked down the street with a gaggle of reporters tagging along, stuck his neck out (literally and figuratively), and showed people what the future looked like, even if they couldn’t recognize it yet.
I’ll bet there’s a version of that moment happening in your business right now. Maybe it’s that new security tool that wasn’t originally in your budget. Maybe it’s the AI helper your team doesn’t quite trust yet. Maybe it’s realizing that loyalty to legacy software is also loyalty to a legacy mindset, and it’s probably time to switch to something more adaptable, more productive, more 2025-ready.
You don’t have to embrace every shiny object that hits the market. But if you wait for technology to be perfect before you try it, you’ll always be trailing behind the businesses that don’t.
Everyone Has Made Tech Mistakes, and That’s OK
Let me level with you: not every tech leap I’ve made has been a winner in the long run. In fact, I often find that a future generation of it is much better. But by not waiting, I get a two-year jump on competitors who are waiting for that better model. When the newer version comes out, I can use my experience to hit the ground running while others waste time fitting something new into their workflow and aging software.
It’s always true that what’s cutting edge today becomes junk drawer clutter tomorrow. But that’s the natural evolution of technology. Somewhere in my house, there’s an iPod with a playlist from 2011, but my music is in the cloud today. One of the people in my office says she has “more retired Kindles than unread books.” And everyone I know has a few old phones in that box with all the extra cables.
Here’s what I’ve learned about all of this:
– Waiting doesn’t make change easier. It just makes the eventual transition more painful.
– Early adoption gives you an edge. You get to shape how the tool works for you before your competitors catch on.
– Most “failures” aren’t really failures. They’re experiments that help you do better. You try, you learn, you improve.
And when you land on something that clicks, saves time, boosts sales, or strengthens your systems, you get to ride that wave while others are still thinking about dipping their toe in the water.
Find Your Inner Marty Cooper
So here’s a reminder from April 3: Innovation doesn’t need to look cool to be powerful. It just needs someone willing to try it before everyone else is comfortable.
In your business, that someone is you.
You don’t need to become a tech guru or stay glued to industry blogs. (That’s my job). But you do need to stay curious. Ask questions. Test things. Work with tech partners who help you think through how innovative systems will work for you and your business.
Because let’s be honest: tech is no longer a department or a line item. It’s your infrastructure. In many companies, it’s becoming your assistant, receptionist, customer service agent, and file cabinet. Before you know it, tech will also be your security guard, operations manager, and business partner.
So, treating technology like a burden or something to figure out later is like trying to drive a modern business with one foot on the gas and the other in a bucket of nostalgia. It’s setting yourself up for higher stakes later, probably with less time to find a solution.
A Final Thought
The next time someone on your team proposes something new and weird, like a tool you haven’t heard of, an automation that seems unnecessary, or technology that’s “not what we’ve done before,” pause before you shut it down.
Maybe, just maybe, that’s an opportunity worth consideration.
And if it turns out to be a bust? That’s fine. It’s still forward motion. You’ll learn. You’ll be more prepared for whatever comes next.
The real risk isn’t in choosing the wrong tool. It’s in standing still while the everything else keeps moving.
Pictured: Can you hear me now? The first portable cell phone needed a shoe box, not a pocket.
