New Groups Formed for HTG

I get excited when we are able to finally get new groups into the HTG family and yesterday that happened as we started HTG12 and HTG13 here with their initial meeting in Iowa. HTG12 is a group of companies that primarily were in the online program last year and are being led by Erik Thorsell from Minneapolis.

HTG13 is being led by David Cooksey from St Joseph, one of the founding companies from way back in 2001. His group is also filled with great companies with a lot of diversity in their business models. Both groups were out to the technofarm last night here at HTS for some bbq and good old Iowa hospitality. We always like to start new groups out with a trip to the farm.

There will be another set of groups beginning in October, so if you are interested or know of a company that would be a good fit they can apply at www.htgmembers.com by filling out the survey there.

Free E-Book

Stuart Crawford has released a new ebook - Connecting the Dots - via his blog link. It is a short read which I was able to take on the plane ride back from Redmond this weekend. I encourage you to download it and take a look. He builds on a number of ideas that I have written on in my business triangle view of the world - his dots probably a little clearer and his thoughts very nicely defined.

Change is coming - this ebook is a good place to spend a little time thinking about what that change may involve. Get it here:

http://blog.itsuccessmentor.com/connect-the-dots

Thanks for making this available to the community for no charge Stuart. It is great to have access to thoughtful information that will help us all prepare for the future.

HTS Recieves CRN Fast Growth 100 Award

HTS was honored this past week by being named to the CRN Fast Growth 100 Awards list for 2008. We were recognized on the 2007 list at #67 but this year have climbed to #24. We are honored and blessed by the good things that have been happening at HTS. We recognize that this is a team award - that management may guide the ship - but there are 85 professionals that are touching and serving our clients every day that make growth possible. The team at HTS has made this award possible, and we are grateful for each and every one of them.

Check it out online at http://www.crn.com/it-channel/209600540?pgno=3. You can learn all about the Fast Growth 100 online at CRN as well. This is a very prestigious award for us to recieve two years in a row. Part of the celebration will be a day in Chicago mid October where we will be able to connect with others on the list and learn from those who have achieved much in their companies as well.

We never quit learning, which is why the Heartland Tech Groups are so important for us. Part of the credit for this award has to also go to the many companies in HTG that we have learned from quarter after quarter. We may be one of the largest in the organization, but we certainly don't have it all figured out and learn continually from each of you as we share our businesses and lives together. Thanks to each of you for your impact, encouragement and participation.

We also recognize that our key vendors - Microsoft, HP and Sonicwall - have made this possible by providing us with great products we can build solutions and services around. And of course our distribution partner Ingram has been a huge part of our growth and success not only by delivering products on time but by investing in our company through many avenues - most importantly connecting us with great people.

None of it could happen at all if we weren't surrounded by fantastic small and medium businesses who entrust their networks and IT needs to us every day. Our team continues to go out and find ways to help our clients succeed which is really the end game for all of us.

So while I am humbled by the award and position we have been given, I also know it took a village, if you will, to allow us to become what we are today - a small business VAR (or solution provider, or system integrator or whatever you want to call us) in the middle of an Iowa cornfield. It didn't happen without the investment of very many people and to each who have been part of that journey I say thank you!

Is Your DNS Patched?

In case you have been living under a rock for the past month like I have, you may not have heard about the DNS cache exploit recently discovered by Dan Kaminsky. I was on Microsoft campus this week and had several of the developers verify this is the real deal and patching needs to happen asap if you have not done it already. You also need to verify that WSUS got it done for you. This might be one of the most severe flaws discovered as it was cross platform affecting everything from Windows to Linux, UNIX, Cisco IOS etc.... It was so big in fact that all the major vendors worked together to get the patch issued on the same day. The flaw would allow an attacker to insert a malicious DNS record into the cache. As an end user you type in Internet address and rather than get the proper IP address the cache delivers the malicious IP address sending you somewhere else. You can find out more on the details of the flaw at Dan's blog.

You should make sure that you are patched. Make sure that your upstream ISP DNS servers are patched by calling them or using Dan's DNS Checker at the top of his website.
So why all of a sudden a rush to ensure you are patched? Well the patches issued by the vendors have been reverse engineered and exploit code has been published!

MS08-037 - Vulnerabilities in DNS Could Allow Spoofing (953230)
KB953230 - Vulnerabilities in DNS could allow spoofing

Go. Read. Patch. Now.

Small Business IT Radio

Join Stuart Crawford tomorrow, Friday July 25, as he hosts Greg Davis, the DELL Channel Boss on Small Business IT Radio. Hear the show live at Noon Eastern. It will also be available via download afterwords.

http://www.smallbusinessitradio.com

Iron Chef Video from WPC

At the WPC event in Houston earlier this month I had the opportunity to do a presentation with Erik Thorsell, Ric Opal and Glen Lowe to help create a little interest and understanding about the new Windows Essential Business Server that will ship this fall. If you aren't up to speed on this product - you need to start getting familiar.

We didn't do a normal presentation at all - it was a takeoff on the Iron Chef TV series and we had some fun. I made a little snafu in the presentation but overall I hope you find it enjoyable. There will be more tools coming very soon for you to evaluate your readiness for EBS, but take some time for a laugh or two and begin thinking about how you will add EBS to your portfolio going forward.

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=665414301&k=X5EZ3Z64P4ZM5ACEWFY2WW

Send any feedback via this blog. Would love to hear what you think.

SBS RC1 is Official

A great milestone has happened for those of us selling SBS as it has now entered the home stretch. RC1 has been signed off and we are inching ever so close to release later this fall. The team that builds this product is a great bunch I have been blessed to know and work with for a lot of years. They really want to get it right for us as partners, and want to build a product that is able to shed the cloud that the name "Small" carries with it. So it has to be better than it's big brother Windows and after a little bumpy start with 4.0, they have achieved that. The 2008 release will blow that wide open as SBS comes to the table with what I think are superior features and value to the channel.

As good as the product is, the celebration of the signoff is what I want to highlight. Sean Daniels captured a great moment in the product development cycle. This is the important stuff - not those code breakthroughs that solve world issues - it is the team interaction that makes SBS what it is. I have come to really appreciate Kevin Kean who leads the team in building this product. He is a great guy and has been able to deal with his NY roots pretty well. :-) Check out this video where the team enjoyed a little fun at Kevin's expense. This is a sign of a great manager - to be willing to take one for the team. Next time you guys should use a little food coloring in the mix, or some chocolate on top, but way to dip him deep. I only wish I could have been there to see it in person. How come Chris Phillips didn't have to take a dive too? Maybe I can help make that happen....take one for the partners Chris?

http://sbs.seandaniel.com/2008/07/sbs-signs-off-on-rc1.html

Thanks for all the hard work to date and know the partner base is really looking forward to getting our hands on a fantastic product for our joint clients this fall. Keep after it!

Thoughts on Customer Service

I had the chance to fly Southwest airlines this weekend to a one day meeting in Chicago. Two flights in 24 hours. I used to call them the cattle herd airline because they really made flying a bit of a challenge with no seat assignments and chaos in the airports as people lined up for an hour prior to boarding to get a better position in line. I was one of those who would camp out in line sitting on the floor to get a good spot. I didn’t like it, but always felt it worth it so I could get a good seat. I really prefer exit rows and so the earlier in the boarding process the better for my chances for those seats.

If you haven’t flow SWA recently you may not know that they have moved away from chaos to a much more orderly boarding process. The trick now is to get checked in at the 24 hour prior to departure timeframe to get your seat in line. They now have created an orderly self managed boarding system where people group themselves into groups of five and board in the order they received their boarding passes. This system is great if I have access to a computer 24 hours ahead, which is not always the case. But on these flights I was a little late so in the A40’s both ways.I was delighted to get exit row seats on both flights – actually my choice seats – one on the aisle on the extra wide side and the other the seat without any seat in front of it on the other side. Homerun on all accounts.

But the thing that set apart my trip was the fun we had doing the mundane. The flight crew sang, did their work in poem and rap, they made the boring stuff fun. Before, during and after the flight they were focused on delighting us captives on their plane. That is the way I see a lot of the folks that work at SWA. They think different. They think customers and fun. They are about the experience. The tools they have to work with are the same – seats too close together, overhead bins too small, lousy peanuts and the same old drink list - but they make it work in a different way than their competition. On my last flight they went to extra lengths to make sure to stuff every last bag overhead so people would not have to gate check. They didn’t have to do that – but they did. They came by twice to make sure we had all the drink we needed – probably not in the job description – but they did. Customer experience is something we all need to work on. It needs to be consistent and enjoyable. People do business with those they like. People like to be appreciated and have a little fun. We need to figure out how to make technology fun and create that awesome customer experience each time we interact. It can be as simple as our VM message to a note or email telling people hello but we need to make it happen.

A Discussion About Blogging

Yesterday I had the delight of visiting with Larry Julian who is the author of a great book called "God is my CEO". You can get a little glimpse of the content at http://www.larryjulian.com/books/ceo.asp. Larry has a new book coming out in January and wanted to talk about blogging and the new Web 2.0 technologies and how they might help him reach a broader audience. He connected with me via an email sent to him by John Pritchard, a member of HTG1 and owner of Catalyst Systems in Sioux City. What a miracle the communication and connection networks are today. John shared a bit about me in an email - Larry checked out my blog and stuff on the web and discovered we thought along the same lines - and next thing you know we are communicating via email and then by phone. What a small world we live in.

He identifies the clash that many deal with trying to keep the spiritual side of life separated from the business side. I tried to live that way for many years but it just is not possible to do that and really feel good about life. When we have a real spiritual relationship with God, it is part of our inner fiber and controls all that we think and do - at least it needs to and trying to act any differently is just acting as a poser. Larry calls out the conflict like this:





I think he has a pretty strong list that captures the struggle that many of us have in dealing with business and our spiritual relationship. I gave up trying to separate the two a few years ago and have to admit my fear of how people would respond was unfounded. People want to do business with someone who is real. People appreciate transparency and openness. People want to know the foundation of those they work with. Time for us to stop pretending and really live life. We need to know our purpose, mission, vision and values and live with those as our guide. Anything less is just posing and pretending. For me, I align pretty closely with Larry's view of the world.

Larry asks these questions: 'Can I do what's right and be successful in a competitive, bottom-line world?' and 'Can I be both ethical and profitable?'

I agree with his answer: "If you trust in God's principles, have the courage to live them, and have the patience to wait on His timing, then I believe the answer to these questions is 'Yes." Biblical principles and bottom-line success are not opposites. Yes, you can do what's right and be successful. Yes, you can be both ethical and profitable. And yes, you can honor God, serve others, and fulfill your professional obligations.

I believe it and have lived it. It isn't easy - but it is the most fulfilling life we can live. Aligning purpose with business makes it fun to get up in the morning!

Advisory Councils - Do They Matter?

I am in Orange County to meet as part of the HP SMB advisory council for a couple days. This is my first meeting with this group of great partners and HP execs. I do serve on a number of these groups in our industry, and have learned there is great value in participating in the process.

Companies like HP spend a ton of money to make this event happen. Not by paying for our travel - we do that ourselves - but by the people they make available and the time they invest. Not only do they lock into a room with us for a day - they have to deal with the outcomes that are discussed and go back and evaluate the feedback and put it into action where it fits. That is the difficult part - the execution. My experience with vendors are they really do want to know how to engage the channel more effectively. They all spend a lot of money building programs for our benefit, and it is in everyone's best interest to have those fine tuned as much as possible. It is no easy task and there are so many different variables that have to be considered.

My role is to serve as a representative for partners in the SMB space. So don't hesitate to send me things that you believe should be addressed. Obviously I am looking for positive ideas and suggestions that can improve things - not the complaining and negativity that we sometimes allow ourselves to fall into. No vendor is perfect - nor will they ever be - but I do know that many are listening like never before and we need to take advantage of the opportunity to shape the programs of tomorrow. So rather than talk about what should be - drop me a mail and let me take that to those who can make it reality. That is the kind of partnership that we all need to work toward. It is the good insight and suggestions that can really make life better for all of us in the channel. Let's make it happen!

WPC is wrapped

The week is done and I am glad - pooped out and ready to go home for some rest. WPC 2008 was a great event. I have to admit that meetings took up most of my time. I did make a couple keynotes but normally I was in the Connect area with another partner or Microsoft blue badge talking about the future or the past. There is no place like WPC to connect with people that are part of this industry. Great place to talk with other vendors and media too - most of the relevant technology players are in town for this event every year.

That said - I do want to say that the most important stuff happened in a couple of areas sort of disconnected from WPC. The first was around community. HTG members gathered here Sunday to start a next level of our peer program. And throughout the week I was blessed to spend time with a number of HTG members and participate at parties, celebrating birthdays, praying together - lots of interaction with people that are part of the community. The yellow lounge was a long way from the action this year and it really hurt connecting from my perspective. People love community and come to this event to experience some of that. I hope next year the lounge for SMB and SBSC can be much closer to the action and really let us connect again.

The most exciting thing for me was the few spiritual activities that happened. While some may say we have to separate our spiritual life from our business life to be politically correct - I don't think that is true or even possible really. Life is about a lot more than EBITDA and certifications. We are made up of our physical, emotional and spiritual parts and to try and isolate it and pretend it doesn't exist just doesn't cut it for me. Sunday morning we had a small gathering for HTG members who were in early to discuss the life of Joseph. Brad Schow led the discussion. Tuesday morning a group of us met on the second floor of the convention center to pray. And then on Wednesday - we had our first annual Partners in Christ prayer breakfast. Over 50 in attenance which is a great start and will be continued next year. Rather than share the details I encourage you to check out Mark Crall's blog where he captures it well. http://sbsc.techcareteam.com/ is the link to not only get another perspective but also some notes on the speaker for the day.

WPC was an awesome event. The party at Minute Maid stadium was loud and filled with games and food - but the real value of this event is the people. Lots of great introductions, plenty of reunions and refreshing discussions - people are what the industry really is all about. I am glad to be able to participate. See you in New Orleans in 2009!`

Digital Forum at WPC

One of the opportunities presented to us this week was time with the Digital Forum - a content delivery provider. They offered some free video time and editing and we captured some footage and had them help create a video we hope can be part of your webpage to help explain HTG to your customers and friends. Check it out:

http://www.digitalforumtv.com and search for HTG

Always looking for a way to inform prospects and others who want to learn more about the power of peers, so share those ideas. Take a look and talk with the guys are VarVid.com if you want help learning how to incorporate video into your website or blog.

The week at WPC

Over halfway done with WPC. What a whirlwind. Meetings, keynotes, sessions, receptions, parties - busy from 6 AM til 9 PM every day. Glad to get back to the hotel to fall into bed and crash so I can possibly get up in the morning. There have been lots of new things to focus on: Essential Business Server, SBS 2008, Virtualization, S + S and on it goes. Presented three times in breakouts and been in meeting after meeting with partners and Microsoft. It has been a fantastic value and great use of time, although I will have used up 2 weeks of time in this one week here in Houston - things are that full and busy.

One of the great things that happened this week was the launch of VarVid by Aaron Booker and Pat Dolan. These guys are doing a great job of capturing the activity of the week and managed to catch me. Check this out:



Video: WPC Video - 13 Arlin Sorensen

I am excited about the potential for video and what it can do for our interaction. Check out all their videos at www.varvid.com. Thanks guys for the great work!

Keynote Info from WPC

Great news for SBS partners. Michael Risse announced this morning that 5000 free SBS2008 exam vouchers would be made available. Send a request to askcorp@microsoft.com to request one.

He also announced November 12 as the ship date for SBS/EBS. Sort of a surprise to me and others in the room. Product has been moving along nicely so I am unsure what that date really means at this time. May be when things are going to be available through the channel which is different than availability through some forms of access.

Great start to the week here at WPC. If you aren't here this year, you really should consider it for next year. There is no other event where you can get the pulse and access to MS as you do here. This is definitely a partner focused event. Join us in 2009!

HTG 2.0 Leadership

One of the things we announced yesterday as part of the change coming for HTG is a shift in how the group is led. Since 2001, HTG has been something that first I led and then as HTS grew, the management team there became the leadership of HTG. Seemed like a good plan, and was for many years. But last fall the team put their foot down and said we needed a time out. I had overloaded pretty much every part of the HTS organization. Managment team members were facilitating 9 groups, HTS was funding almost all the activity, HTS staff was doing all the back end admin work and logistics. It was a daunting task and was killing the team. So we halted our growth to regroup.

Part of that process was reaching out to a group of veteran HTG members to see if people were as passionate about the mission of HTG as we were. And as I expected, they not only were, they wanted to be part of making this organization move to the next level. One aspect of that involves getting people assigned to different tasks that need to be executed against. We have settled on two levels of leadership.

Assisting me with the routine decision making is an advisory team that will be the sounding board for our future. These guys are assigned an overall area to help drive forward within HTG. We quickly learned that having a group of 12-15 prevented us from making decisons because there were too many great ideas to even process. So we have this small team that will assist me to drive the day to day business of HTG. They are:

Brad Schow – Membership
Dan Hay – Finance
Stuart Crawford – Vendors
Lyf Wildenberg – Platform
Scott Scrogin – Operations

Someone asked yesterday about terms and job descriptions etc - we are not that far along yet. But the task of this group is to drive HTG to implementation of 2.0 and begin planning for 3.0. We are nowhere close to being done yet. Connect with these folks, offer your assistance where you are able and get involved.

I will post about the leadership council in another post. That is a broader group that will provide the real teamwork we need to get things done. These five areas will be our focus, and while we have a few members already on the team, we will be looking to add more as we grow. There are lots of ways to serve. My request is to get involved!

HTGALL at WPC

We had a fantastic meeting this afternoon to introduce HTG 2.0 to our membership. About 50 HTG members were in the room and another dozen or so online. The atmosphere was charged. We have the best set of partners in the industry in HTG and it showed today as we went through the agenda.

To much to share in one post, so the information will be broken down to make sure people are able to digest and my fingers are not wore to the bone. The first area to discuss is our Mission, Vision and Values and what HTG is really all about. Those who have been part for a while won't be surprised, other than we actually have written it down. But it is important for all new members and those who watch from afar to have this stuff nailed and the team that did it were fantastic. I applaud them for their hard work and insight. This effort was led by Scott Scrogin, Erik Thorsell, Garrett Brucker and

Here are the different facets of our MVV statements:

Our T-shirt slogan

Execution driven by accountabilty

Purpose
To make a continual difference in each member’s life, and to encourage members to live their lives with a balance between family, spirit, health and work.

Mission
To operate communities of peers who meet regularly to plan life, leadership and business goals, review performance, demand execution, enforce accountability, share best practices and achieve work-life balance.

Vision
Our passion for excellence in leadership, execution and accountability will drive us to become the leading community of technology partners.

Values
· Excellence through Execution
· Accountability through Self-Leadership and Responsibility
· Community through Trust, Honesty and Integrity
· Growth and Balance between Work and Life

Code of Conduct
All members will operate their companies and themselves in a manner consistent with the purpose, mission, vision, and values of HTG.

HTG Membership Requirements
· Members commit to attend meetings and participate in all activities related to their peer group and HTG. 10,000% success = 100% attendance X 100% preparation and participation
· Members commit to mentor their peers and openly share best practices.
· Members commit to build meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with vendors that align with their plans.
· Members commit to develop, set and achieve goals aligned with their business, leadership and life plans.

Quote
“I am not all I can be until you are all you can be.
You are not all you can be until I am all I can be.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here is a weak attempt at a graphic to capture the ecosystem around HTG. Can use some graphic help making this really good, but it may give you an idea. HTG is about the intersection of three key areas: life, leadership and business planning in an environment surrounded by vendors, distributors, consultants and media but never forgetting that ultimately we are in business to serve our clients and employees.




These are the defining guidelines for HTG. It explains what we are about and how we will run this organization and live life. Know it and share it within your organizations. It needs to be our battle cry and will be the filter for everything we do. Make sure you hold us accountable to stay the course and make it happen!

Last Minute News Flash

Here is the exact location of the hotel for tomorrow's HTG meetings:

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
1810 BELL STREET
HOUSTON, TX 77003
1-713-652-9400

It is just two blocks from the convention center. Registration opens for the WPC event at 10AM. We hold the HTGALL session from 3-6 at the Holiday Inn Express. It will be live via live meeting - details at http://varvid.com/htgmembers.html.

Hope to see you in person or across the wire.

Sessions on Monday at WPC for the Small Biz Track

Monday is our day to shine at WPC. While we no longer have a specific pre-day like we have in the past, we have graduated to an entire track this year and Monday is filled with a bunch of HTG members presenting, including myself. Here is the agenda and what I know for sure about HTG members presenting:

9:00 - 9:05 Welcome Remarks George Bush Ballroom B
9:05 - 10:55 Executive Keynote: Michael Risse George Bush Ballroom B
10:55 - 10:45 Keynote Speaker: Peter Hillary George Bush Ballroom B
11:00 - 12:10 Breakout Sessions

SMB-PF01
Marketing Ideas that Work: Plan, Execute & Report for Marketing Success (Larry Hedin)
George Bush Ballroom B

SMB-PF02
Goal Setting for Business Success (Stuart Crawford)
George Bush Ballroom A

1:10 - 2:15 Breakout Sessions

SMB-PF05
Marketing Ideas that Work: Plan, Execute & Report for Marketing Success (Larry Hedin)
George Bush Ballroom B

SMB-PF06
Selling solutions creates greater revenue and closes deals faster (Arlin Sorensen)
George Bush Ballroom A

SMB-PF07
Proactive Community Membership: What’s in it for me? Getting the most ROI from the Small Business Specialist Community. (Mark Crall)
Room 310 BCEF

2:15 - 2:30 Break
2:30 - 3:35 Breakout Sessions

SMB-PF09
Real-World Performance Indicators and Business Intelligence to Run Your Company (Michael Cocanower)
George Bush Ballroom B

SMB-PF10
Solution Selling creates greater revenue and closes deals faster (Arlin Sorensen)
George Bush Ballroom A

3:45 - 4:15 Microsoft Keynote Speaker: Michael Risse Town Hall Meeting

4:15 Closing Reception George Bush Lobby

So if you are at WPC, be sure to come hear Larry, Stuart, Michael or me and bring that HTG spirit - maybe a chant or two. Be sure to wear your button all week!

Good stuff coming at WPC

I am speaking for a number of sessions at WPC next week. Want to highlight what I consider to be a real focus for this years event - the huge attention that will be paid to SBS2008 and EBS2008. We are going to get some major air time and attention and finally get our due. That said, I hope you take time to attend a number of sessions around those products and get involved with all the ancillary activities that will be happening.

I will be doing a fun session with Erik Thorsell and Ric Opal ala The Iron Chef. Here is the info on that session on Wed afternoon at 4:30.

Multiply Your Success (and Have Fun): Watch three partners compete and give you prescriptive guidance on practice building in the Windows EBS “Iron Chef” competition. Cast your vote for the winner. Prescriptive Guidance to add EBS to your practice session on Wednesday, July 9th – 4:30pm-5:30pm, Room General Assembly Theater C

There are also a number of other things happening, including some contests. Check this out:
Multiply Your Winning Power: Enter to win Windows Home Server and many other cool prizes
Visit the Information Counter or go to www.multiplyyourwinningpower.com to find out how.

Multiply Your Fun: Join us for the exclusive partner launch party for Windows Essential Server Solutions on Tuesday, July 8th, at 5:30 PM in the Wireless Lounge. This one is going to be especially fun.

There also are Facebook groups for SBS & EBS too - come join the social networking amongst SBS & EBS partners:

EBS - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16942574025
SBS - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12683314018

This is where you can sign up for all things SBS/EBS for WPC so get logged on and connected.

HTG ALL Webcast Info

Here are the details for the HTG ALL Webcast this Sunday at 3PM Central. We will be discussing a number of enhancements to the program and letting people know what the future holds. Plan now to join us. It will be recorded if you are unable to join.

Come to the Webcast Launch Page on Sunday at 2:45pm to watch the webcast of the HTG ALL meeting from Houston, TX. Links will be live at that time…

http://varvid.com/htgmembers.html

If you have questions – please email Aaron Booker at aaronb@hardlines.com

Introducing HTG 2.0 (times are estimates only)

2:45 Webcast links go live at http://varvid.com/htgmembers.html

3:00 Welcome

3:15 Vision, Mission and Standards of HTG

3:30 Organizational structure for HTG

Introduce leadership committee and advisory board

3:45 HTG business plan for 2008 – 2009

Proposed membership costs for 2009

4:15 Infrastructure plans

4:45 Vendor focus and strategy

5:00 Introduce Vendors who have signed on

5:30 What can we build together?

5:45 Where we go from here?