As a valued attendee of the 2007 Worldwide Partner Conference you receive a special discounted registration rate of $1,395 ($400 USD off the $1,795 standard price).
The alumni rate expires tonight (4/28) so take advantage of this offer and register by 11:59PM PST.Once you're registered, you will also be able to use a session preference tool to view session abstracts and vote for the 10 sessions you would like to attend.
Register today! If you have already registered, you can still select sessions by going to https://www.wpc08commnet.com/ and login with your registration credentials.To take advantage of this alumni offer, please follow these easy steps:
1. Visit https://partner.microsoft.com/global/trainingevents/wwpartnerconference
2. Register to attend the conference.
3. During the online registration process, you will be asked if you are alumni and you need to answer "yes" to qualify for offer (No code needed).
4. Note that the special alumni registration rate expires on April 28!
I will be in Houston all week and we will have a number of HTG events during the week as well, starting with an HTGALL session on Sunday July 6 from 3-6 pm at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. See you in Houston!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
And finally - the last of the firsts
Here are the closing thoughts on firsts for HTG at Summit:
1. The announcement of our first international groups. Based on demand and the need to tailor groups to local regions, we met with a group of Canadian partners on Sunday night to discuss formation of a Canadian HTG group. Stuart Crawford has stepped up to lead this group provided we get the right participation. There was discussion of a Canada East and West group, but we will see how the application process goes. Dave Sobel has stepped up to lead the formation of our first European group, HTG England. So we are going international and this fits right into our vision to grow to 20 groups. It is important to have some worldwide representation as we work with vendors to make a difference for them.
2. We recorded our first audio CD. Those who had written chapters in the HTG Peer Power book were interviewed and their wisdom captured for a CD we will release. Scott did a great job of collecting their thoughts and making it relevant to the book chapter they had written. We will be working on the next book sometime soon. Scott is pondering that along with 1,000 other ideas as you read this.
3. We produced our first video snippets with the help of TCC and Hardlines. Pat and his team from TCC captured a lot of video footage and posted it to YouTube, so we are in the hip generation now. There are 5 different videos from the four days of SMB Summit. It was our first attempt, but we have lots of great footage to work with and edit into videos we will use for future release. These guys – Pat and Aaron – had the vision to do this and just made it happen. True HTG initiative at its finest. Thanks guys!
1. The announcement of our first international groups. Based on demand and the need to tailor groups to local regions, we met with a group of Canadian partners on Sunday night to discuss formation of a Canadian HTG group. Stuart Crawford has stepped up to lead this group provided we get the right participation. There was discussion of a Canada East and West group, but we will see how the application process goes. Dave Sobel has stepped up to lead the formation of our first European group, HTG England. So we are going international and this fits right into our vision to grow to 20 groups. It is important to have some worldwide representation as we work with vendors to make a difference for them.
2. We recorded our first audio CD. Those who had written chapters in the HTG Peer Power book were interviewed and their wisdom captured for a CD we will release. Scott did a great job of collecting their thoughts and making it relevant to the book chapter they had written. We will be working on the next book sometime soon. Scott is pondering that along with 1,000 other ideas as you read this.
3. We produced our first video snippets with the help of TCC and Hardlines. Pat and his team from TCC captured a lot of video footage and posted it to YouTube, so we are in the hip generation now. There are 5 different videos from the four days of SMB Summit. It was our first attempt, but we have lots of great footage to work with and edit into videos we will use for future release. These guys – Pat and Aaron – had the vision to do this and just made it happen. True HTG initiative at its finest. Thanks guys!
And on they went
More HTG firsts:
1. Our first public discussion of the vision of HTG. Saturday night at HTGALL I shared a glimpse of the next steps for HTG. The leadership council is helping define the how to’s, but the vision is something like this – to create 20 groups of elite partners who build a community that can change the industry. We will be leveraging current HTG members as leaders of the next 11 groups. If you have a heart to help people, let me know. You don’t get paid much to facilitate beyond the ability to give back and make a difference in some people’s lives.
2. Our first announcements of what will happen with the online groups. We have completed the first session of online HTG groups. We learned we went too fast for people to be comfortable and be able to succeed. We will be starting some new online groups using the same 6 topics but will spread those out over 12 months. For those who completed the course, we will spin up the sophomore year of content and allow them to continue on their path to growth. Here is another place we need HTG members to step up and lead a group. This one takes less time and no travel, so if you want to give back and would like to lead a group of newbies in the HTG Online freshmen class, or some who are a little further along in the HTG Online sophomore class, please let me know. We will need leaders for the online groups too – so email interest.
3. For many, your first time presenting to an audience. HTG provided an overwhelming amount of the content from this weekend. For some, it was old hat and you have done it many times before. But for many, it was your first try at being a presenter and sharing some of what you have learned. Thanks for taking the risk and stepping up to share. We need many more that are willing. We will be building a content library to use for the online groups and need a lot of contributors. So if you are willing to do a live meeting training on a topic you have passion and experience about, please let me know.
1. Our first public discussion of the vision of HTG. Saturday night at HTGALL I shared a glimpse of the next steps for HTG. The leadership council is helping define the how to’s, but the vision is something like this – to create 20 groups of elite partners who build a community that can change the industry. We will be leveraging current HTG members as leaders of the next 11 groups. If you have a heart to help people, let me know. You don’t get paid much to facilitate beyond the ability to give back and make a difference in some people’s lives.
2. Our first announcements of what will happen with the online groups. We have completed the first session of online HTG groups. We learned we went too fast for people to be comfortable and be able to succeed. We will be starting some new online groups using the same 6 topics but will spread those out over 12 months. For those who completed the course, we will spin up the sophomore year of content and allow them to continue on their path to growth. Here is another place we need HTG members to step up and lead a group. This one takes less time and no travel, so if you want to give back and would like to lead a group of newbies in the HTG Online freshmen class, or some who are a little further along in the HTG Online sophomore class, please let me know. We will need leaders for the online groups too – so email interest.
3. For many, your first time presenting to an audience. HTG provided an overwhelming amount of the content from this weekend. For some, it was old hat and you have done it many times before. But for many, it was your first try at being a presenter and sharing some of what you have learned. Thanks for taking the risk and stepping up to share. We need many more that are willing. We will be building a content library to use for the online groups and need a lot of contributors. So if you are willing to do a live meeting training on a topic you have passion and experience about, please let me know.
The firsts continued at SMB Summit
More firsts for HTG.....
1. Our first series of focus groups. Overall we held about 15 focus groups for a half dozen vendors which were overwhelming filled with HTG members. The feedback I got was this: “we talk with a lot of partners around the world, but these people are at a very different level. They understand solutions and just get it.” The feedback was extremely positive and we will help guide a number of things with the time you invested. I did hear that most of these groups were actually very good as well. I worked hard to make sure they were on the right track and while I didn’t hold my breath, the vendors stepped up and made them worth your time. But again, thank you for risking some hours to participate. I have asked the vendors to let us know what they do based on the feedback provided.
2. Our first church service at an industry conference. I don’t know of any other conference where a worship service has been held. Jeff Wood, Brad Schow and Jonathan Warrey led a fantastic worship experience that had over 60 attendees on Sunday morning. While we all came together to grow our businesses, to be honest, that is only part of the story. Life is about a lot more important things than how much money we make and these guys created an atmosphere that focused us on things that matter – people.
3. Our first conference prayer meetings. Each morning we had prayer time at 7 AM in my suite. Throughout the weekend across the four mornings, over 40 different partners came together to pray for the events of the day and the people in attendance. Many were there all four days. The spiritual part of life is a very important consideration as it should guide how we build our leadership plan and ultimately our business plan. If you didn’t know about this aspect of the event – I put out a daily email for folks that talks about scripture and life. Just email me and let me know you want to be added to the list. You can also read the scripture part of that (about 1/3 of what I write in the daily email) at asorensen.wordpress.com.
1. Our first series of focus groups. Overall we held about 15 focus groups for a half dozen vendors which were overwhelming filled with HTG members. The feedback I got was this: “we talk with a lot of partners around the world, but these people are at a very different level. They understand solutions and just get it.” The feedback was extremely positive and we will help guide a number of things with the time you invested. I did hear that most of these groups were actually very good as well. I worked hard to make sure they were on the right track and while I didn’t hold my breath, the vendors stepped up and made them worth your time. But again, thank you for risking some hours to participate. I have asked the vendors to let us know what they do based on the feedback provided.
2. Our first church service at an industry conference. I don’t know of any other conference where a worship service has been held. Jeff Wood, Brad Schow and Jonathan Warrey led a fantastic worship experience that had over 60 attendees on Sunday morning. While we all came together to grow our businesses, to be honest, that is only part of the story. Life is about a lot more important things than how much money we make and these guys created an atmosphere that focused us on things that matter – people.
3. Our first conference prayer meetings. Each morning we had prayer time at 7 AM in my suite. Throughout the weekend across the four mornings, over 40 different partners came together to pray for the events of the day and the people in attendance. Many were there all four days. The spiritual part of life is a very important consideration as it should guide how we build our leadership plan and ultimately our business plan. If you didn’t know about this aspect of the event – I put out a daily email for folks that talks about scripture and life. Just email me and let me know you want to be added to the list. You can also read the scripture part of that (about 1/3 of what I write in the daily email) at asorensen.wordpress.com.
HTG firsts continue
At SMB Summit we had .....
1. Our first meeting of MS-HTG Online members and their inclusion in our HTGALL open space time. We graduated 65 people from the HTG online course and they met face to face for the first time on Saturday night. We then opened the wall and both groups were involved together in an open space discussion about three topics:
a. Web 2.0 and social networking
b. How to survive in tough economic times
c. Disaster Recovery – what you are doing and what you need to do
The data collected will be sent in a future email, so watch your inbox for the summary of those notes.
2. Our first vendor technology product test. Altigen, who hosted a focus group for a dozen HTG partners, offered to provide equipment for a couple of HTG members to test on behalf of HTG and evaluate its fit for our membership. Altigen is a VOIP provider and while we certainly are not committed or even recommending their product today, it just sort of happened as we went through the meeting. An idea came up to have a small group of expert HTG telephony partners put it through the paces and give a thumbs up or down on this product. Expect to see results from this solutions in written form, along with a potential webinar to help you onboard more effectively if the results are positive. Look for this practice to be repeated and spread to all kinds of vendor solutions as we move forward.
3. Our first vendor trade show. Ken Shetler, who worked for HTS as a contractor, brought together almost 40 vendors for 6 action packed hours on Sunday night. I realize I was asking a lot of you to be in the rooms and engaged, and many of you attended sessions you weren’t all that interested in but took one for the team. Thanks for being willing to be part of community to make this succeed. The vendors were blown away by the HTG members and quality of partners we brought to the table. We have set the stage for bigger and better things in the future.
1. Our first meeting of MS-HTG Online members and their inclusion in our HTGALL open space time. We graduated 65 people from the HTG online course and they met face to face for the first time on Saturday night. We then opened the wall and both groups were involved together in an open space discussion about three topics:
a. Web 2.0 and social networking
b. How to survive in tough economic times
c. Disaster Recovery – what you are doing and what you need to do
The data collected will be sent in a future email, so watch your inbox for the summary of those notes.
2. Our first vendor technology product test. Altigen, who hosted a focus group for a dozen HTG partners, offered to provide equipment for a couple of HTG members to test on behalf of HTG and evaluate its fit for our membership. Altigen is a VOIP provider and while we certainly are not committed or even recommending their product today, it just sort of happened as we went through the meeting. An idea came up to have a small group of expert HTG telephony partners put it through the paces and give a thumbs up or down on this product. Expect to see results from this solutions in written form, along with a potential webinar to help you onboard more effectively if the results are positive. Look for this practice to be repeated and spread to all kinds of vendor solutions as we move forward.
3. Our first vendor trade show. Ken Shetler, who worked for HTS as a contractor, brought together almost 40 vendors for 6 action packed hours on Sunday night. I realize I was asking a lot of you to be in the rooms and engaged, and many of you attended sessions you weren’t all that interested in but took one for the team. Thanks for being willing to be part of community to make this succeed. The vendors were blown away by the HTG members and quality of partners we brought to the table. We have set the stage for bigger and better things in the future.
HTG Leadership Team
One of our firsts is the creation of an HTG leadership team. We announced the members of our HTG leadership council who have been selected to help create HTG 2.0 in the coming months. This is a collection of partners from all the HTG groups who first met with Michael Park from Microsoft in Feb in Minneapolis and are now working on several committees to help define what our next iteration of HTG will look like. Your representatives are:
HTG1 – Dan Hay – Organizational Structure
HTG1 – Dan Shundoff – Business Plan
HTG2 – Steve Knudson – Business Plan
HTG2 – Lyf Wildenberg – Organizational Structure
HTG3 – Brad Schow – Business Plan
HTG3 – Erik Thorsell – MVV
HTG3 – Stuart Crawford – Vendors
HTG4 – Garrett Brucker – MVV
HTG5 – Robert Lindley – Infrastructure and Tools
HTG6 – Robert Lamm – Infrastructure and Tools
HTG7 – Alex Ziogas – Infrastructure and Tools
HTG8 – Kevin Torner/Mike Brogan – Vendors, Organizational Structure
HTG9 – Chris Chirgwin – Business Plan
HTG1 – Dan Hay – Organizational Structure
HTG1 – Dan Shundoff – Business Plan
HTG2 – Steve Knudson – Business Plan
HTG2 – Lyf Wildenberg – Organizational Structure
HTG3 – Brad Schow – Business Plan
HTG3 – Erik Thorsell – MVV
HTG3 – Stuart Crawford – Vendors
HTG4 – Garrett Brucker – MVV
HTG5 – Robert Lindley – Infrastructure and Tools
HTG6 – Robert Lamm – Infrastructure and Tools
HTG7 – Alex Ziogas – Infrastructure and Tools
HTG8 – Kevin Torner/Mike Brogan – Vendors, Organizational Structure
HTG9 – Chris Chirgwin – Business Plan
Some HTG Firsts
The next few days I want to review some of the exciting firsts that happened at SMB Summit for HTG members. Those of you who are not involved, well you can read and be amazed. HTG consists of over 100 partner companies who get it - who are connected through community and committed to making a difference in each others businesses. Here are the first of our firsts:
1. Our first broad joint meetings. Five HTG groups met simultaneously ahead of SMB Summit and one group following. It was good to be able to mingle and share lunches yet keep our meetings focused on our own groups. We were able to share some joint resources and leverage the power of numbers to our benefit. Expect to see more of that in the future where we will centralize and align meetings to help keep facilitator travel to a minimum and costs down while connecting partners across groups where there is a fit.
2. Our first conference joint sponsorship. This was our first foray into being on the hook for a conference at any level. We have helped with content at some events, but never had to sign contracts and send money. Thankfully we had a good turnout as our average attendee fee payment was over $130 less than our cost of food per person alone. With that scenario, volume isn’t all that good and it is hard to make up for a price miscalculation with volume. Some of you have learned that selling more of something that is losing money doesn’t make for a good bottom line. So our tail was saved by the vendors paying to be in the vendor fair. Otherwise this would probably have been our first and last event.
3. Our first HTG ALL vendor relationships. We announced the special agreements we have in place with Agility Disaster Recovery Services (thanks to Jeff Wood and HTG2) and Cymphonix. Both have come forward with special HTG pricing and opportunities. You will learn much more in the coming months and can expect to see much more from them as they engage to help partners succeed.
Check again tomorrow to see the next set of great things that is happening with HTG.
1. Our first broad joint meetings. Five HTG groups met simultaneously ahead of SMB Summit and one group following. It was good to be able to mingle and share lunches yet keep our meetings focused on our own groups. We were able to share some joint resources and leverage the power of numbers to our benefit. Expect to see more of that in the future where we will centralize and align meetings to help keep facilitator travel to a minimum and costs down while connecting partners across groups where there is a fit.
2. Our first conference joint sponsorship. This was our first foray into being on the hook for a conference at any level. We have helped with content at some events, but never had to sign contracts and send money. Thankfully we had a good turnout as our average attendee fee payment was over $130 less than our cost of food per person alone. With that scenario, volume isn’t all that good and it is hard to make up for a price miscalculation with volume. Some of you have learned that selling more of something that is losing money doesn’t make for a good bottom line. So our tail was saved by the vendors paying to be in the vendor fair. Otherwise this would probably have been our first and last event.
3. Our first HTG ALL vendor relationships. We announced the special agreements we have in place with Agility Disaster Recovery Services (thanks to Jeff Wood and HTG2) and Cymphonix. Both have come forward with special HTG pricing and opportunities. You will learn much more in the coming months and can expect to see much more from them as they engage to help partners succeed.
Check again tomorrow to see the next set of great things that is happening with HTG.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Our friends at TCC have posted video footage from day four of SMB Summit 2008. My hats off to Pat, Raymond, Al and the team at TCC for their commitment to the channel and the community of partners that gathered at Summit. Check out what happened on day four.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy6xnqfM5wA&feature=user&fmt=18
See you at Summit 2009!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy6xnqfM5wA&feature=user&fmt=18
See you at Summit 2009!
Monday, April 21, 2008
SMB Summit is over - success
SMB Summit 2008 has come and gone. It is all over except the clean up. We had over 470 people that were registered and with the day passes over 500 that were involved. What a show! There was a lot of very hard work by the SMBTN leadership led by Jim Locke, our conference director Mike Iem from Ziem Group, and the HTS team. Of course, HTG and SMBTN members jumped in and did a multitude of tasks and presented content and engaged vendors and just made it happen. It took a village to make this event a success - and the great news is - the community responded.
I had a chance to talk to a few more vendors today - and they are still very pleased. "Best show we have ever been too" was my favorite line. I heard the same from many of the attendees. We had a strong half day of great content again today. I have the privilege to moderate a great panel of four partners on growing your business. We never got past the first slide. The questions started and kept coming for an hour and a half. But it was spot on and exactly what they wanted - answers to their questions. You can never go wrong with that.
The MS - HTG online graduation was great. We had 65 graduate and Lane Sorgen, central region VP presented a very compelling commencement speech on the partner of the future. Aanal Bhatt from the WESS team in Redmond presented the graduates with their copy of SBS2003 R2 and Scott Scrogin who led the program presented their certificate of graduation. We can be very proud of these companies that effectively worked their behinds off to pass.
The town hall meeting closed the event. We heard a lot of very good suggestions to make a pretty darn good conference even better in 2009. Thanks for all the positive comments and suggestions, and the accolades to the team for a job well done. I pass mine along as well. It went well, we were blessed, and everyone left happy and ready to get after it.
I was able to hold prayer meeting in my room each morning from 7-7:30 and over 40 different partners came and prayed at some time during the week. It was a great way to begin each day and something I intend to continue doing in coming events.
Thanks for your support and participation. The next event I will attend where many of you may participate is Microsoft's WPC in Houston in July. I look forward to seeing you there!
Remember, vision without execution is hallucination. Go back and take your learnings and put them to work. Do it now!
I had a chance to talk to a few more vendors today - and they are still very pleased. "Best show we have ever been too" was my favorite line. I heard the same from many of the attendees. We had a strong half day of great content again today. I have the privilege to moderate a great panel of four partners on growing your business. We never got past the first slide. The questions started and kept coming for an hour and a half. But it was spot on and exactly what they wanted - answers to their questions. You can never go wrong with that.
The MS - HTG online graduation was great. We had 65 graduate and Lane Sorgen, central region VP presented a very compelling commencement speech on the partner of the future. Aanal Bhatt from the WESS team in Redmond presented the graduates with their copy of SBS2003 R2 and Scott Scrogin who led the program presented their certificate of graduation. We can be very proud of these companies that effectively worked their behinds off to pass.
The town hall meeting closed the event. We heard a lot of very good suggestions to make a pretty darn good conference even better in 2009. Thanks for all the positive comments and suggestions, and the accolades to the team for a job well done. I pass mine along as well. It went well, we were blessed, and everyone left happy and ready to get after it.
I was able to hold prayer meeting in my room each morning from 7-7:30 and over 40 different partners came and prayed at some time during the week. It was a great way to begin each day and something I intend to continue doing in coming events.
Thanks for your support and participation. The next event I will attend where many of you may participate is Microsoft's WPC in Houston in July. I look forward to seeing you there!
Remember, vision without execution is hallucination. Go back and take your learnings and put them to work. Do it now!
Day Three Video Summary from Summit
Pat Dolan and his team from TCC sent this link of video from day three. Check it out. Make sure you tell Pat and Al and others from TCC thank you for their dedication to capturing the magic of SMB Summit. And Aaron Booker - you were the guy who really drove this - so thank you too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzvgmSyIXcw&feature=user&fmt=18
Make it an awesome day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzvgmSyIXcw&feature=user&fmt=18
Make it an awesome day!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
SMB Summit Day Three
One word describes day three - HOMERUN!
It started with a great worship service. I had many thank you's for having church as part of this event. Over 60 people were there and another 20 or so said they missed it - mostly because I failed to announce it as planned on Saturday. But a special thanks to Jeff Wood and Brad Schow for leading that worship and the testimony from Jonathan Warrey and music by Brian P from Jeff's company. Those guys did an unbelievable job and the message to touch people by serving them is so absolutely true. I am sure they made God smile!
The sessions for day three were also outstanding. We had three tracks of content that was unparalleled from any conference I have attended, and that actually is quite a few. There was great preparation and presentation, and the takeaways were very strong. Thanks to all the speakers for the hard work and willingness to share what you know.
There were a number of focus groups throughout the day and the vendors were very pleased with the feedback. The number one comment I heard was that you expressed yourself clearly and made positive suggestions. As always, you were vocal and opinionated, but you did it professionally and in a helpful way. That makes me smile.
This evening we had a fantastic vendor fair. I spoke with almost every vendor on the floor and the response was overwhelming. They were blown away by the quality of the partners at SMB Summit. They were blown away by the quality of your companies and you as individuals. I was blown away by your commitment to making this time worthwhile. I recognize that all were tired, had spent three days locked up in a room, and just as easily could have made a quick run through and headed off to the hot tub. But you didn't. You stayed engaged, you went to the sessions, you did what you do best - you demonstrated why the partners in HTG are a cut above the rest. You have integrity, you are executers and you are accountable. I am extremely grateful to get to rub shoulders with you all. And there was plenty of shoulder rubbing going on - the place was active and busy for 5 plus hours. What a fantastic group of people.
I am proud to be associated with the SMB Summit and particularly HTG membership. I am humbled to be able to lead the three groups I do, and look forward to continuing to grow with you to new levels of success and personal achievement. Thank you for being committed to one another and a part of the community.
It started with a great worship service. I had many thank you's for having church as part of this event. Over 60 people were there and another 20 or so said they missed it - mostly because I failed to announce it as planned on Saturday. But a special thanks to Jeff Wood and Brad Schow for leading that worship and the testimony from Jonathan Warrey and music by Brian P from Jeff's company. Those guys did an unbelievable job and the message to touch people by serving them is so absolutely true. I am sure they made God smile!
The sessions for day three were also outstanding. We had three tracks of content that was unparalleled from any conference I have attended, and that actually is quite a few. There was great preparation and presentation, and the takeaways were very strong. Thanks to all the speakers for the hard work and willingness to share what you know.
There were a number of focus groups throughout the day and the vendors were very pleased with the feedback. The number one comment I heard was that you expressed yourself clearly and made positive suggestions. As always, you were vocal and opinionated, but you did it professionally and in a helpful way. That makes me smile.
This evening we had a fantastic vendor fair. I spoke with almost every vendor on the floor and the response was overwhelming. They were blown away by the quality of the partners at SMB Summit. They were blown away by the quality of your companies and you as individuals. I was blown away by your commitment to making this time worthwhile. I recognize that all were tired, had spent three days locked up in a room, and just as easily could have made a quick run through and headed off to the hot tub. But you didn't. You stayed engaged, you went to the sessions, you did what you do best - you demonstrated why the partners in HTG are a cut above the rest. You have integrity, you are executers and you are accountable. I am extremely grateful to get to rub shoulders with you all. And there was plenty of shoulder rubbing going on - the place was active and busy for 5 plus hours. What a fantastic group of people.
I am proud to be associated with the SMB Summit and particularly HTG membership. I am humbled to be able to lead the three groups I do, and look forward to continuing to grow with you to new levels of success and personal achievement. Thank you for being committed to one another and a part of the community.
SMB Summit Day Two
What a great day we had yesterday. The content was brought to us by Microsoft and we really were given a great overview of EBS, the new mid market server offering for us later this year. This product is what we have been waiting for. SBS like with its design and laser focus, it allows us to move up in the customer chain and serve the core mid market customers from 50-300 seats with the same confidence we have been able to serve our SBS customers for many years. Now is the time to get ready. Seeing the content here gives you a big leg up on all the other partners. But it only helps if you take action. It only matters if you execute. There will be a lot of content coming in the next few months to guide you toward building an EBS practice. So be ready to put some focus and attention on it. It is very much worth your time and effort.
Here is a little of the flavor from yesterday. Enjoy and see you at the Summit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWG-Buuz3cg&feature=user&fmt=18
Here is a little of the flavor from yesterday. Enjoy and see you at the Summit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWG-Buuz3cg&feature=user&fmt=18
Saturday, April 19, 2008
SMB Summit Day One
We had a great day at the Summit yesterday. Over 350 people in the audience at the start and a strong crowd all day. Microsoft shared about SBS2008, and there were lots of aha's and applauses throughout the day. This event is made possible by our vendor sponsors like Microsoft and HP, who have not only helped provide great products and content, but have provided financial support, equipment, people and a host of other things. Make sure you remember to thank our vendors for what they do. They don't "owe" us anything. They make choices to invest where it makes a difference in their success. So let's show appreciation to 35 or so vendors who are supporting SMB Summit, first by selling their stuff, but secondly by being grateful and telling them.
The meals and service yesterday was stellar. The Omni is a great place to be. Internet is a bit challenging, but what can we expect with 400 plus technology people in the place. Today we move on to EBS and a brand new opportunity for partners to consider. The sun is up and it is a beautiful day in Dallas. Pat Dolan and the TCC team have created a couple Youtube videos on the night before and day one. If you are at the summit - don't download the internet in your room, but here are the links. Tell Pat and his team thanks for making the investment. Stuart did his radio show from the Summit as well, check that out too. This event is about community and we have the best people in the world as part of this family of partners. See you at the meeting!
The meals and service yesterday was stellar. The Omni is a great place to be. Internet is a bit challenging, but what can we expect with 400 plus technology people in the place. Today we move on to EBS and a brand new opportunity for partners to consider. The sun is up and it is a beautiful day in Dallas. Pat Dolan and the TCC team have created a couple Youtube videos on the night before and day one. If you are at the summit - don't download the internet in your room, but here are the links. Tell Pat and his team thanks for making the investment. Stuart did his radio show from the Summit as well, check that out too. This event is about community and we have the best people in the world as part of this family of partners. See you at the meeting!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The evening before Summit
Well it is 10 PM and I am tuckered out. We have put the finishing touches on the SMB Summit program for tomorrow. It is going to be a great event. There will be some warts, some imperfect things that happen. We won't have enough power plugs, enough Internet speed since everyone is used to these high speed pipes at home and the office. But we will have good content and great people gathered together in community. Focus on the people - not the other stuff. This is your chance to connect with folks and LEARN. If you are coming to have a perfect experience, let me appologize in advance. Since I am involved, perfection is not possible as I am far from perfect. But if you are here for the right reason - to share and give to those around you - and listen and learn from the experts - you will leave satisfied and happy. That is the goal - to send you back ready to hit the ground running with SBS and EBS as your target. This is a readiness event for two products that should be like gold for most of us the next few years. So make the investment - spend the time - and learn.
Also recognize that this event is made possible by a lot of great partners. Microsoft and HP are the keynoters, but there are 40 other vendors who are here to make this event possible. Make sure you are in the room on Sunday afternoon and evening listening to our vendors and showing appreciation for their support. Without them, this event won't happen. Without us, they have no one to sell their products to. We need each other. That is what community is about.
Make sure you participate fully and enjoy your time in Texas. I look forward to shaking your hand.
Also recognize that this event is made possible by a lot of great partners. Microsoft and HP are the keynoters, but there are 40 other vendors who are here to make this event possible. Make sure you are in the room on Sunday afternoon and evening listening to our vendors and showing appreciation for their support. Without them, this event won't happen. Without us, they have no one to sell their products to. We need each other. That is what community is about.
Make sure you participate fully and enjoy your time in Texas. I look forward to shaking your hand.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Are you ready for Summit
Today we had our first day for the HTG peer group meetings here in Dallas ahead of the SMB Summit. People are arriving and activities are picking up. We had an HTGALL reception tonight at the Texas Grill and had a great time connecting with each other. Each of the five groups met individually all day today and will repeat the tomorrow. We heard from HP - Dan Smith and Pradipta Dutta - over lunch and then in HTG1 this afternoon. There are some exciting announcements for SMB partners that were announced last week. Things are looking up. We sent these guys back with a list of tasks that would make working with HP a little easier for us as partners. If you have feedback, please send it to me. As I sit on the HP SMB advisory council, I want to be your voice to our friends at HP.
Far and away the funniest thing I heard today was from Alex Ziogas, HTG7 member from Chicago. Alex is such a timid young man but he provided the analogy of the week, month and maybe the year. Pay close attention to what he said: "Buying from Dell is like being married to a wife that cheats on you all the time". Maybe not exactly verbatim but you get the drift. HP is far from perfect but at the end of the day they really are our choice in the channel. OK - IBM and Lenovo and a few others fit the bill too, but Dell - now that is like loving a cheating woman. The one thing that was so obvious from the discussion - very direct and somewhat heated at times - is that doing business with HP is too difficult. If they can just get that part fixed they can own the channel completely.
Sonicwall is here doing a CSSA training. Part of the challenge today was the offer to give a free firewall to anyone who smoked one of the units. Of course, one of the creative HTG members was able to give everyone a good laugh with his digital smoke. Check out the photo of Eric Adkins and the SW he was working on.I want to alert you to the HP cocktail party that is being held on Friday night - opening night at the Summit. It will be held from 7:00 - 9:00. Drinks & Desserts will be served in Salon C. Hint - there will be a ticket for this in your badge holder so don't lose it!
See you in Dallas!
Wednesday in Dallas - SMB Summit is around the corner
Today we begin the HTG peer group meetings for 5 of our groups - first time we have done things this way in a common setting. We will have some interaction over lunch and dinner and connect people more deeply. HTG is all about community. The peer movement is the recognition that everyone has something to give of value to the group. What HTG does is enable that to happen. Our goal is to build these communities of 12 partners and allow them to live their lives and businesses together. None of us is as smart as all of us together. No one person has all the answers, in fact not anywhere close to all the answers. So it is a strong competitive advantage to be in community with your peers. There are many ways to do that - user groups, SBSC, IAMCP, Vistage, and on it goes. You do need to get involved in something. Don't just right the battle alone every day. Connect and allow others to help you succeed. Become part of a group that has a culture of accountability and get under that authority. Yes I understand you run your own business because you want to do it your way. But let me assure you that there are better ways than your way, and the beauty of peer groups is that their better way can become your new way. It is that sharing that is the magic, coupled with execution.
SMB Summit is an event by partners for partners. It is not anything else. The value you will get is based on how involved you get and how much you give. The more you give, dive in and interact, reach out and help, the more you will take home. And it won't just be knowledge, it will be a great bond with others like yourself who get up every day and wonder what they will do now. Make it a great week interacting with your peers. Learn but most importantly SHARE. That is what life is truly about - investing in others and giving away what you have. See you in Dallas!
SMB Summit is an event by partners for partners. It is not anything else. The value you will get is based on how involved you get and how much you give. The more you give, dive in and interact, reach out and help, the more you will take home. And it won't just be knowledge, it will be a great bond with others like yourself who get up every day and wonder what they will do now. Make it a great week interacting with your peers. Learn but most importantly SHARE. That is what life is truly about - investing in others and giving away what you have. See you in Dallas!
Monday, April 14, 2008
NASCAR is Alive
The setup of our NASCAR SBSC site is under way. I wanted to let you see the work as it comes along. http://hts.49car.com/ is the link to the HTS site. It is personalized and makes it look very nice. Still some work to occur with a video and a few other wrinkles but very nice. If you haven't taken advantage yet, you might want to check it out. Here is what our car looks like:
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Servant Leadership
My buddy Stuart Crawford writes in his morning blog today about the leadership triangle. It has been a while since I read, studied and taught the lessons on leadership that are brought to light by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges in their book "Lead Like Jesus". I taught their material to several groups a couple years ago and found it to be very valuable and so very true. Our church has hosted their simulcast a couple times and they have announced the event for the fall of 2008 to be held on October 17 and broadcast all over the country. I would encourage you to mark that day and try to join a simulcast somewhere in your region. Ken Blanchard teaches much about the concept of servant leadership. I had the discussion yesterday with one of my sales people as he shared the success he was having by serving customers rather than trying to first see what he can get from them. He shared a story of how he followed the principles of giving (as I shared a few weeks ago from the great little book called "Go Giver") and made sure he provided far more value to a former customer (who had decided to purchase a solution from a competitor who failed to implement it correctly) than this customer deserved. We have won back this customer and will make far more money cleaning up the mess than our original proposal, plus we will have them for life now. When we serve and give to people, we will succeed. Sure some will take advantage of us and take all they can. But most will appreciate our honest desire to serve and give, and they will then become customers or actually transform to be clients for life. My definition of a client is one who no longer is looking around to be sure he is being treated well. Servant leadership and living the giving principle will make that transformation happen sooner than later. It always works. We will succeed based on how well we learn to serve others and give what we have been given. Life is not at all about how much we can accumulate. It is about how well we take care of what we have recieved and then give it away. Are you a servant leader? Are your customers and clients at the top of your upside down triangle. Believe it or not, life is not about you or me. It is about others. We need to lead and live like that!
Another Education Opportunity
SMB Summit is next week, so I hope you will be joining us in Dallas for that event. But if you are unable and are looking for educational opportunities, you might check out the ICCA (Independent Computer Consultants Association) conference in Washington DC on June 6 - 8. I will be speaking there on a panel at 4 PM on June 6 with Stuart Crawford, Matt Makowicz, Karl Palachuk and Erick Simpson. Poor Dave Sobel has been tasked with trying to moderate the 5 of us. We will be talking about successful habits that make a successful consulting business. On Saturday and Sunday there are a couple full days of content and these four plus many others will be delivering their wisdom. I won't be speaking but rather have to head back to the farm to get ready for the next thing which will be our HTG2 meeting in Albany. More facts and the registration information are at www.icca.org.
Friday, April 11, 2008
HTG ALL Details
I wanted to update those in HTG with some information on the upcoming HTGALL session in Dallas next week. We will meet on Saturday evening from 6-8 PM in the Mandalay room. We will hear from a half dozen key vendor partners about their HTG specific offerings, and Connectwise has stepped up to be our sponsor for the evening in terms of providing our food and drink needs. There will be some open space discussion on three topics as well that evening which should give us some great interaction. We will spend a portion of the evening with members of the HTG online groups as we discuss those topics.
Mark you calendar for Houston and our HTGALL event there as well. We will be meeting at the Holiday Inn Express Convention Center on Sunday afternoon July 6 from 3-6 pm. This will be a time of discussion and interaction following some of the open space style activites as well as an update on HTG all up. We picked a time that hopefully will allow you to get to Houston and still be able to do something Sunday evening if you wish. Look forward to seeing you there.
Mark you calendar for Houston and our HTGALL event there as well. We will be meeting at the Holiday Inn Express Convention Center on Sunday afternoon July 6 from 3-6 pm. This will be a time of discussion and interaction following some of the open space style activites as well as an update on HTG all up. We picked a time that hopefully will allow you to get to Houston and still be able to do something Sunday evening if you wish. Look forward to seeing you there.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
New Product Announcement from Sonicwall
SonicWALL is pleased to announce a revolution in network security appliances – the brand new Network Security Appliances (NSA) Series. Built on a high-speed multi-core processing platform, the NSA Series enables deep packet inspection without adversely impacting the performance of mission-critical networks and applications. Come learn about the exciting this new breakthrough in network security performance and inspection capabilities.
Hear about their promotion!!
As an added benefit for our loyal customers who elect to upgrade from a previous generation SonicWALL PRO to a new NSA solution, our resellers will be offering an instant trade-up allowance of up to 10% off MSRP and we will even transfer remaining security service subscriptions to the new NSA for free (offer expires on March 31, 2008).
Webinar dates to choose from:
Event Date: April 8, 2008 Event Time: 10:00 AM (Central Time)
Event Date: April 9, 2008 Event Time: 6:00 PM (Central Time)
Register here.
Hear about their promotion!!
As an added benefit for our loyal customers who elect to upgrade from a previous generation SonicWALL PRO to a new NSA solution, our resellers will be offering an instant trade-up allowance of up to 10% off MSRP and we will even transfer remaining security service subscriptions to the new NSA for free (offer expires on March 31, 2008).
Webinar dates to choose from:
Event Date: April 8, 2008 Event Time: 10:00 AM (Central Time)
Event Date: April 9, 2008 Event Time: 6:00 PM (Central Time)
Register here.
Free Microsoft Response Point Training
Microsoft has announced that the registration fee has been waived for Response Point SP1 Training. It's important to take this...!!! The 12 city training tour on Microsoft Response Point SP1 training kicks off in two weeks.
Please use the registration promotion code - RSPFW01 - to register at no cost, a savings of $95.
Taking this SP1 training will prepare Response Point Specialists for the upcoming Response Point Assessment cirriculum that is currently under development and planned for summer '08 deployment.
Information on the Response Point SP1 training can be found at this LINK.
Please use the registration promotion code - RSPFW01 - to register at no cost, a savings of $95.
Taking this SP1 training will prepare Response Point Specialists for the upcoming Response Point Assessment cirriculum that is currently under development and planned for summer '08 deployment.
Information on the Response Point SP1 training can be found at this LINK.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Hotel location for WWPC
Registration opens tomorrow for Microsoft WWPC in Houston July 7-11. If you have never been before, the key is to register early so you get a hotel room close to the convention center. I suggest you do it tomorrow. HTS has rooms booked at the Holiday Inn Express Convention Center. I always book rooms the day the convention is announced for the next year. That is a best practice for next year. Our HTG ALL session will be held at the Holiday Inn Express on Sunday afternoon July 6, so keep that in mind and plan to come into town in time to attend that. WWPC is a day longer officially this year. It really isn't, they have just put the pre-days as part of the event and made it four days. So no more SBSC pre-day, it is a small business focused day 1 agenda which is pretty much the same thing. If you have never attended before, this is a great event to attend for content but primarily for networking. And what better place than Houston in July - it shouldn't be more than 120 degrees with 100 percent humidity. That is one way to keep us all inside and off the golf course. So book your rooms early - like tomorrow. Remember that during April there is a discount for those who have attended before, so don't miss that. Here is the official word:
Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 Registration Opens April 8 Beginning April 8, register to attend the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Houston, Texas, on July 7-10. The WPC provides a forum for Microsoft partners to connect with thousands of other partners and expand business opportunities through essential partner-to-partner networking. By creating an intelligent network of shared ideas, you can gain strategic advantage, build alliances, and gain key business knowledge to position your organization for success.
Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 Registration Opens April 8 Beginning April 8, register to attend the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Houston, Texas, on July 7-10. The WPC provides a forum for Microsoft partners to connect with thousands of other partners and expand business opportunities through essential partner-to-partner networking. By creating an intelligent network of shared ideas, you can gain strategic advantage, build alliances, and gain key business knowledge to position your organization for success.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
New Site for SBSC Partners
Stuart Crawford has put up a new SBSC site at http://sbsc.itsuccessmentor.com. It is targeted primarily at the Canadian SBSC crowd, but as always, there are plenty of things that cross the boundary and apply to us in the US or anywhere in the world for that matter. So you should stick a favorite on you browser and check this one our on occasion, or better yet get the RSS feed and have it delivered to your inbox. Stuart is a fountain of information and gives you a lot of different perspectives through his prolific writing. Check it out.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Check out the Radio Show
I was privileged to talk with Stuart Crawford today on his SMB radio show which can be downloaded at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smb. With me on the call was Karl Palachuk, Erick Simpson, Dana Epp and Brad Schow. We talked all things SMB Summit. Not only are all these guys rock stars in the IT industry, they are all speakers for the upcoming Summit. Most have books that are featured on the www.smbsummit.com website as well. Karl is doing a pre-conference event with Matt Makowicz which you want to consider. Make sure to hear Dana's presentation on security at the Summit, and if you haven't checked out Auth Anvil lately, it is time to take a look. More and more security is becoming a problem for all companies, and Dana is a security MVP that understands the business side of the equation. Check out his offerings online. Erick Simpson is the guru of managed services and will have his wisdom in a session on that topic. Brad Schow is speaking a couple of times and his experience around M&A will be a highlight of the show. Make sure to ask lots of questions before making all the mistakes yourself. Of course Stuart will be sharing some on work life balance with Karl in their session, and will be there doing other things along the way as well. BTW - Happy Birthday Stuart. We are down to our last 60 spots for registration so it is time if you have been waiting. Mike Iem has done a marvelous job orchestrating the event, and the guys from SMBTN are all over the registration and logistics stuff. It has taken an army to pull this thing together, so I hope you join us. Check out the recording today to get more details. See you in Dallas.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Another option tomorrow
Friday at noon eastern (April 4th), Stuart Crawford is hosting a discussion about the upcoming SMB Summit on Blogtalk Radio. Check it out as I will be on with him to discuss the latest information.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smb/2008/04/04/SMB-Summit-2008-Why-you-need-to-be-there
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/smb/2008/04/04/SMB-Summit-2008-Why-you-need-to-be-there
Catch the EBS discussion tomorrow
Tomorrow, Friday April 4th, there is a 5W50 overview of Essential Business Server being presented by Nick King. This is a great way to get a little background info on the upcoming release. Here is the link to register:
https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/register.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=241723?site&61;US&lang=en
Take a listen and hear it from one of the guru's on campus. Join this call at 9:00 AM Pacific!
https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/register.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=241723?site&61;US&lang=en
Take a listen and hear it from one of the guru's on campus. Join this call at 9:00 AM Pacific!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Still Time for SMB Summit Registration
We have hit 413 registrations for the upcoming SMB Summit in Dallas April 18-21. http://www.smbsummit.com/ There is still time and a few slots left for you to consider joining us. There are four days of great content lined up on SBS2008, EBS2008, and business, technical and sales topics. But the real kicker is this padfolio that will be given to all attendees that go to the Friday and Saturday readiness sessions. I know none of you would ever go to an event just to get the stuff they give out, but this is a really nice gift that is going to be given to those who attend the sessions. There will be something you have to do to recieve it and you must be present to find out what that is, but just know that the sessions will be good and this gift is icing on the cake. In addition, your attendance at those two days will get you entrance into the Microsoft party on Saturday night too. It's gonna be a great event! Put this gift alongside the trinkets you will be able to pick up from the 40 vendors in the trade show area and you will have birthdays and Christmas covered for your family in one weekend while you learn! Anyway - if you haven't registered or planned to attend, maybe this pushes you over the edge. :-) See you in Dallas in a couple weeks.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Happy April
In case you missed it, some very important news hit the web today:
A new internet search engine will deliver tomorrow's news today, airline passengers willing to stand can buy cheap "no chair fares" according to April Fool's Day reports.
Google's contribution to April Fool's Day headlines was the announcement of a new feature giving computer users access to news in advance, including share prices and sports results.
The company quoted one delighted user, Daryl from Victoria, as saying: "Wow, I just put a grand on number seven in the fourth at Flemington tomorrow and bought my girlfriend a gift with the money I'm going to collect. Thanks Google."
You never know.......enjoy the day! Make someone laugh (but be nice).
A new internet search engine will deliver tomorrow's news today, airline passengers willing to stand can buy cheap "no chair fares" according to April Fool's Day reports.
Google's contribution to April Fool's Day headlines was the announcement of a new feature giving computer users access to news in advance, including share prices and sports results.
The company quoted one delighted user, Daryl from Victoria, as saying: "Wow, I just put a grand on number seven in the fourth at Flemington tomorrow and bought my girlfriend a gift with the money I'm going to collect. Thanks Google."
You never know.......enjoy the day! Make someone laugh (but be nice).
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