ICCA tour

Last night I had a great evening having dinner with Erick, Stuart, Matt, Karl, Dave and their wives at King Street BBQ here in DC. Mmmm, mmmm good. That was after a day of sessions at the ICCA conference. Good stuff as each presented on their areas of expertise and gave the attendees some good info. We had a van tour of the national park at night - first time ever for me. All I can say is WOW. We saw all the big monuments which I saw as a teenager and then again a few years ago - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln - but we saw several that I had seen pictures of and never been able to visit in person before.

I was most impressed by the FDR monument. What a tribute to a great president. The area is huge, but it had many of his quotes on the walls and just was well done. I also got to see the Korea monument with the larger than life soldiers moving toward the enemy. The Vietnam memorial was so powerful with so many names along that long wall. And the Iwogima memorial was overpowering as those 5 men planted the flag. One note of interest was the additional hand on that monument. Tour guide Matt explained that the artist had put an extra hand in the design to represent the hand of God. What a powerful message. The WWII memorial we saw from a distance, but it too was so significant in our history. I am greatful that our country is continuing to make investment into remembering the past. Too often we take so much of our freedom for granted. One of the quotes I saw somewhere last night really struck me and I am not sure which memorial or monument it was on but it was "freedom is not free".

Many have sacrificed all to make this a free nation. That is what gives us the ability to chose to have a job like we do - making technology work. That freedom also allows us to move freely about the country, to assemble at events like this ICCA conference or more importantly to worship freely each week in our churches. We need to never forget the cost that has been paid that makes our country what it is today.

The notable thing about my trip here to DC this week was that most everyone had their wife with them except me this time. Nancy is usually the lone wife on a lot of my trips. That is really what enables me to keep the travel schedule I do - her support and willingness to be part of our work and my passion. We have a shared vision to invest in people and make a difference so we do it together. This weekend it was time for some mom and daughter sewing time as Laurie wanted a new look in her apartment. So I was on my own. I missed her greatly and wish she could have shared in the experience. But I know what she was doing was more important. I do encourage you to find ways to travel with your spouse. It makes life so much better and is key to staying connected and healthy. I realize that kids complicate that significantly, but where there is a will, there is usually a way. So ponder that and involve your spouse in your passion.

A Dream Team Panel at ICCA

I had the privilege of serving on a panel this afternoon at the ICCA conference in Washington DC with some of the best in our industry. Dave Sobel (HTG5) was our moderator. The panel consisted of Erick Simpson (HTG1), Stuart Crawford (HTG3), Karl Palachuk (HTG13) and Matt Makowicz (gonna get you soon). We were in front of the audience for 2.5 hours and it could have gone longer but we had to shut it down for the welcome reception.

The ICCA is the Independent Computer Consultants of America. http://www.icca.org/ This group has been around quite some time - over 30 years and is focused on serving independant consultants in the technology industry. My distinguised counterparts are all presenting a session over the next couple days of their conference. They are tackling some key issues facing our industry. Check them out on the web. They have local chapters in some of the major US cities and may be close to you.

Our panel focused a lot on what success looks like for consultants in the coming years. We shared some of our success habits, things we have learned and our vision for the future. The discussion was spirited and the questions very engaging. As always, serving with this dream team always gets my juices going. There are so many brilliant people in our industry, and attending an event like this and sharing thoughts always gives me a lot of things to go home and take a hard look at. The real learning is that there is so much to learn from each other. I am always amazed at how quickly a conversation can provide me a great thought to consider and take back to HTS. That is the value of community - we can learn from one another and not have to learn it all the hard way. I love letting others make some of the mistakes - I used to do it all by myself.

So get involved with community. Karl has a document that teaches you how to engage with the many groups that exist today. There really is no excuse to run your company in isolation any more. The tools are there to connect no matter where you are based, even the middle of an Iowa corn field. Get involved.

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.