Labor Day marks the end of summer for most of us, and it's far enough behind us we have to admit the push to the end of the year has begun. Whether or not your business relies heavily on the holiday season for survival, like retail stores and companies that service them, the end of the year causes higher blood pressure for all of us.

Let me outline three tips to reduce technical troubles in the last quarter. These tips help anytime, of course, but during this time of year little mistakes tend to become big problems. Successful businesses keep small problems small and don't let them impact business.

First of all, change little. If you can change nothing about your computer and technology foundation during this season, that's wonderful. Remember the old saying, "don't change horses in midstream"? That advice saves you from getting wet or possibly drowning. Changing anything critical in your technical systems during your busy season may well drown your profits if not your entire business.

Almost every technical change requires process changes. Software upgrade? A function you regularly use in that software may change. Even if the change improves things -- at best a 50/50 chance with most software lately -- users must change as well. Every change to a process increases the chance of a mistake, and a heavy workload magnifies mistakes.

When you do have to change, change carefully. If you must upgrade software (which happens when vendors give you little choice like Microsoft's Automatic Updates), incorporate the changes into your process. Figure out exactly what the changes mean to your regular routine, and train users to handle the changes. Those changes may be minor, so a sticky note on the monitor may be enough of a reminder. If the changes are major, take time to properly retrain users.

Ah, I hear the groaning already. "No time for training! We're in our busy season!" Let me reference Philip Crosby, author of the groundbreaking book _Quality Is Free_. It came out in 1978 and was the first to teach systematic quality processes in language regular people understand. My favorite quote from that book still sticks in my consciousness from over twenty years ago. Actually his quote is a question, which I'm reciting from memory so it may not be exact.

James Gaskin writes books (16 so far), articles and jokes about technology and real life from his home office in the Dallas area.