This past week we also hosted our second HTG CEO Forum in Denver. Our initial meeting was talked about here. We had 14 companies represented and we had an amazing time together. Our time began with a checkup on goals from the last session. Some work still to be done there, but folks are working hard to make that transition to the CEO role. It is a very big change of mindset and thinking for most of us.
We had a special visit from Colleen Abdullah who is CEO of WOW – an Internet, cable, telephony provider. It was a very engaging hour and a half as she shared her transition into that role and the success she has had as she created a culture of being focused on the customer – both internal and external. That is the secret sauce – paying attention to people. Colleen is a great role model as she took over a company that was doing $9 million and today is doing many times that in revenue – over $500 million as I recall. She has done it by excelling in the people business. She admitted that her products were not all that different or unique – hard to differentiate in a market where everyone pretty much has the same tools and offerings. But where WOW wins is in the hearts of their customers and people as they provide a level of service and caring that is unique to their industry. They “WOW” their employees and end users and win in the markets they serve.
She also challenged us to stay close to customers and our teams. Her approach is to take time monthly to ride in the trucks and be on the phones with her staff. She stays connected to what is happening. She is also active in the association representing smaller cable providers. A great lesson here – we need to be engaged with our industry in watching legislation and other influences that will impact us. Silence is not golden when it comes to lobbying the legislative process.
We shifted gears after that as my son Pete shared about the importance of process. He taught us about Six Sigma and Lean as tools that can be used to help create standardized methodology and take cost out of our businesses. These are enterprise level tools but they contain many facets that will work effectively for us in small business. We just need to learn and understand how to use the things that fit to help keep us competitive in the marketplace. As commoditization ramps in managed services and cloud solutions – efficiency and taking cost out will be the name of the game. These types of skills will be important for us to compete effectively.
Day two was spent with Ryan Morris from MMP. He led us through a full day workshop on strategic planning – one of the key roles a CEO needs to fulfill. Ryan broke things down and helped us understand the basics of strategy. It isn’t necessarily rocket science, but rather a persistent and total focus on a single objective. Not the scatter gun, throw it up on the wall and see what sticks, hope I guessed right, sell to whoever will write a check kind of approach. Those don’t work as you grow a company. He assured us that we will not always get it right, but we need to set and then monitor and change our strategy on an ongoing basis.
The reality is that strategy is really only effective with about a 3 year look forward. Beyond that it is more of a general goal. His guidance is a detailed 6 month plan, followed by an 18 month set of objectives that point to a three year strategy. It must be evaluated and tweaked every quarter and is not failure if it needs adjustment. We learned that key factors that impact our strategic plan – like resources and external factors – are outside our control and will change. Sometimes that change will require us to tweak our strategy and we need to be on top of it so we get that done.
It was a great combination – discussion around strategy and process – as those are the two keys to running a successful long term organization. Both need to be on the radar of the CEO. They both are a lot of hard work, so job security is built in. But as we listened to our trainers, and to our guest expert, we had to have heard those words a few hundred times. Success is not accidental. Luck and timing can play a part for sure – but success happens when leaders plan and execute and tweak and execute and revise and execute. If things are not going well in your company – time to go look in the mirror. You may need to have a talk with yourself!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
HTG Vendor Peer Groups Kick Off Successfully
As announced by The Var Guy a week or two ago, this past week we hosted our inaugural vendor peer group. Seven of our HTG sponsor vendors answered the bell and we had a great couple days together in Denver. A special shout out for IBM, SonicWALL, CA ArcServe, Great America Leasing, ConnectWise, E-Folder and Xerox. Lisa Jenkins from Xerox won the best practice contest. Each company had two participants in the room, and we gave them as much of the HTG experience as possible. It was a very exciting couple of days.
As is always the case, everyone was a bit tentative leading up to the meeting. The first time a new group meets is like going on a first date. People start out with some tentative positioning and want to make sure it all comes across the way they want. After all, this is far from the way their day jobs have been – sitting in a room over two days with folks who at some level could be considered competitors. Not what most are accustomed to. But after we did introductions and people began to share a little about life – important facts like being on the hunt for a husband or having 13,000 emails in their inbox – the laughter broke down the walls and people moved past their fears and the ideas and sharing began to flow.
We tackled issues that were specific to their roles in working with partners. How do you engage and activate partners? How should they communicate effectively without overloading our inboxes? What does a good partner program look like? It was great learning as ideas were shared and best practices exchanged. Everyone came prepared and ready to share – homework was done – which already sets this group apart from their solution provider peers. We struggle to get HTG members to get that homework done and posted – so thanks to our vendor group members for keeping that bar high.
It was enlightening to me to be able to facilitate and be part of the idea exchange. I was able to interject the voice of the partner and offer some tips and ideas that will hopefully help share the landscape for these companies as they interact with the partner community. That is part of the value – we all learn from each other when we spend time together – and I certainly learned much from this group.
Some may be wondering why we would create a peer group for vendors. One of the things we find about our HTG peer groups is that unless you experience them, it is extremely difficult to understand the value of a close knit community that becomes invested in each other. So we decided to create this group to help deliver that experience for our vendor sponsors – to let them be part of what we do every quarter – and to create the same kind of close community that can share life together. We are using most of the same objectives and goals as we have for HTG – planning and goals and execution and accountability – it is all part of this program.
So what was the outcome of the two days? The feedback was extremely positive and everyone who attended is ready to proceed and meet in Q3. But the best way to share how things went is to hear from one of the attendees himself. Ted Hulsy from SonicWALL shared this: “Ever since my first ‘seat at the table’ with an HTG group, I realized that working with peers is one of the best ways to learn and change. Now that I am in HTG, I feel so fortunate to be working with peers who have passion for their work, are trusting, and are willing to share the secrets of their success.”
That is what it is all about. Becoming part of a community that you can share with and help one another achieve more than you can do on your own. We believe in our mission. Get involved in a community – be it in your industry, your church, your community – just find one and get involved. It will change your life if you let it!
As is always the case, everyone was a bit tentative leading up to the meeting. The first time a new group meets is like going on a first date. People start out with some tentative positioning and want to make sure it all comes across the way they want. After all, this is far from the way their day jobs have been – sitting in a room over two days with folks who at some level could be considered competitors. Not what most are accustomed to. But after we did introductions and people began to share a little about life – important facts like being on the hunt for a husband or having 13,000 emails in their inbox – the laughter broke down the walls and people moved past their fears and the ideas and sharing began to flow.
We tackled issues that were specific to their roles in working with partners. How do you engage and activate partners? How should they communicate effectively without overloading our inboxes? What does a good partner program look like? It was great learning as ideas were shared and best practices exchanged. Everyone came prepared and ready to share – homework was done – which already sets this group apart from their solution provider peers. We struggle to get HTG members to get that homework done and posted – so thanks to our vendor group members for keeping that bar high.
It was enlightening to me to be able to facilitate and be part of the idea exchange. I was able to interject the voice of the partner and offer some tips and ideas that will hopefully help share the landscape for these companies as they interact with the partner community. That is part of the value – we all learn from each other when we spend time together – and I certainly learned much from this group.
Some may be wondering why we would create a peer group for vendors. One of the things we find about our HTG peer groups is that unless you experience them, it is extremely difficult to understand the value of a close knit community that becomes invested in each other. So we decided to create this group to help deliver that experience for our vendor sponsors – to let them be part of what we do every quarter – and to create the same kind of close community that can share life together. We are using most of the same objectives and goals as we have for HTG – planning and goals and execution and accountability – it is all part of this program.
So what was the outcome of the two days? The feedback was extremely positive and everyone who attended is ready to proceed and meet in Q3. But the best way to share how things went is to hear from one of the attendees himself. Ted Hulsy from SonicWALL shared this: “Ever since my first ‘seat at the table’ with an HTG group, I realized that working with peers is one of the best ways to learn and change. Now that I am in HTG, I feel so fortunate to be working with peers who have passion for their work, are trusting, and are willing to share the secrets of their success.”
That is what it is all about. Becoming part of a community that you can share with and help one another achieve more than you can do on your own. We believe in our mission. Get involved in a community – be it in your industry, your church, your community – just find one and get involved. It will change your life if you let it!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Roundtables4Roundtables Part III
One of the obvious facts from my couple days in NY with other mastermind group organizations was that the issues members face in every case are very similar. One might be tempted to think that doctors and dentists have it easy. They charge high fees and drive fast cars. But they still have to deal with the one common wildcard – PEOPLE. I have said a few thousand times before that if I didn’t have to deal with people my job would be perfect. That's not really the case but some days it sure feels like a good option. I wouldn’t really have a job any more, but somehow all the pain points would have vanished and boredom would have set in. PEOPLE are part of our current situation and will be part of our future. It is the way it is so we might as well accept it.
So what are some of the common issues that businesses face and these peer groups tackle:
So what are some of the common issues that businesses face and these peer groups tackle:
- Life – work balance
- Hiring and managing people
- Delegation and creating a leadership structure
- Becoming a sales and marketing organization
- Developing process
- Plan and set measurable goals
- Have financial accountability and controls
- Have an exit strategy
- Train their team
- Communication in every form
The list is much longer but these areas are certainly ones that are cross every roundtable peer group. These are all PEOPLE issues. No where do you see any mention of learning to be a better technician or eye doc or dentist or personal trainer. Those things get done because most owners already have a passion for them. They started their business by being good at that stuff and they continue to enjoy it. The problem is that no one likes the things on this list so they want to ignore it. After ignoring quits working – they want to push it on someone else without giving any guidance.
The sad fact is that many small businesses fail because they just don’t deal with these items. After all they were in business yesterday so it will be the same today. Right? Well that is true most days. And the reality is that the problems they ignored yesterday will be there when they show up for work today and tomorrow and forever until they get frustrated and quit or the business self-destructs. You cannot ignore PEOPLE stuff forever and get away with it. Things will blow up in your face. The day will come when you have to become a grown up and meet the challenges head on.
That is one of the dilemmas we face. No one ever told us we would have to deal with all this stuff when we started our business many years ago. After all, we were good at what we did. We fixed things and made it happen. It seemed so easy to hire a few more good people like ourselves and make this thing called a small business grow. That works for a while – the honeymoon period can be really fun – but one morning reality will call and then the issues have to be addressed. Peers are the best way to address them along with a steadfast commitment to be accountable to execute. As Edison said: “Vision without execution is hallucination” and there is a whole lot of hallucination going on in every vertical or small business.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Roundtables4Roundtables Part II
This is part II of an ongoing report from my time spent in NY. We were hosted by Cleinman Performance Partners in Oneonta who focuses on optometry organizations. Their focus – help build business skills into the docs who run these practices. Hmmm….that sounds vaguely familiar. That tended to be THE common theme across all groups. In every case the people who run the businesses they serve were primarily technicians – be they docs or dentists, builders or health care trainers – or in our case IT technicians. Same stories – they were good at what they did and one day woke up running a business and leading a team of employees without any idea what that really meant. So they struggle with sales, marketing, HR, finance, training, service delivery, management and on it goes. Same list with a few different focuses, but still the same list.
So the common ground was huge – we all need to help our members (and every one does refer to their clients as members) build their business acumen and skillset. No one has time to do that – they are all working IN their business rather than ON it. I get lots of pushback from our HTG members that they are too busy to really focus on leading their business. They are billing and generating income. “C’mon….you can’t ask us to stop that just to take time to have a sales pipeline review or write up a business or leadership plan”. It is worse in some of the other industries. Other organizations get told it costs 5K a day in lost billing when they “waste” their time doing “office tasks” rather than billing. Wow….that really sounds familiar….at least the last part. There aren’t many IT companies who have people generating 5K a day in revenue but the issues are the same. Time is money and most people running a business feel that making money directly through billing a client is far more important than making money by running their business. After all – they hire people to do that don’t they?
Actually some do hire people to do that and then expect them to figure out what “that” is and means by some sort of osmosis. No one takes time to define what the business is to be. No one tells them how to use the systems that are there. There are few if any written policies or procedures or processes. It should just “work” because the owner spent a few bucks hiring someone to do that. Maybe they even hired a team to do it. Owners don’t have time to be bogged down with the details – they are billing and making money so they can pay these folks.
Whoa Nellie…..this model doesn’t work. Not in IT, or optometry, or dental, or health clubs, museums or remodelers. If the owner doesn’t lead….there is nothing to follow and the children end up playing in the creek and weeds totally missing the goal that the owners never shared in the first place. Why do we do that? Why do we think that people can read our minds and just figure it out. They can’t, they don’t, they won’t – just like you spouse can’t or won’t or doesn’t. The way information like that is transferred is called communication. This is another area all of us talked about – we have issues here amongst the ranks that need some help.
If you feel like I am talking to you specifically – I am. You are a PEOPLE. You have problems and you need help. That is why roundtables are so successful. We all need each other. We need to share our issues and learn from folks who have been there and done that before. There is no reason for each of us to make every mistake on our own. We will still make plenty of those, but we don’t have to make all of them. So gathering in a safe community to share and learn is a shortcut. It takes us to success faster and with less pain than going it alone. So many small businesses fail without ever discovering the power of their peers. So many focus on running their business in secret so a competitor doesn’t figure out what is going on. Hello – have you seen the Internet? In 15 minutes it is pretty easy to get most of the information your competitor cares about. And a few bucks and hours spent with a former employee can give them the rest. Competition is a reality in business. Get over it and get on with learning from peers.
If you believe for a minute that you have some secret sauce (OK McDonald’s may have since they advertise it in their commercials: two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun) you are delusional. Sort of sad that I have that memorized isn’t it? There is someone out there doing it faster, cheaper and better than you. If not today, then watch over your shoulder because they are rapidly approaching. So quit worrying about protecting what you believe you have and start focusing on what matters – building and growing your business faster, better and cheaper than the competition. That is the secret sauce. Learn to leverage the power of peers to get to the new things that are going to change your world faster than they do - technologies, methods, tools, services etc. I believe competitive advantage is most significant when it happens in how the business is operated – not in what it does. Those are the things that really matter.
So the common ground was huge – we all need to help our members (and every one does refer to their clients as members) build their business acumen and skillset. No one has time to do that – they are all working IN their business rather than ON it. I get lots of pushback from our HTG members that they are too busy to really focus on leading their business. They are billing and generating income. “C’mon….you can’t ask us to stop that just to take time to have a sales pipeline review or write up a business or leadership plan”. It is worse in some of the other industries. Other organizations get told it costs 5K a day in lost billing when they “waste” their time doing “office tasks” rather than billing. Wow….that really sounds familiar….at least the last part. There aren’t many IT companies who have people generating 5K a day in revenue but the issues are the same. Time is money and most people running a business feel that making money directly through billing a client is far more important than making money by running their business. After all – they hire people to do that don’t they?
Actually some do hire people to do that and then expect them to figure out what “that” is and means by some sort of osmosis. No one takes time to define what the business is to be. No one tells them how to use the systems that are there. There are few if any written policies or procedures or processes. It should just “work” because the owner spent a few bucks hiring someone to do that. Maybe they even hired a team to do it. Owners don’t have time to be bogged down with the details – they are billing and making money so they can pay these folks.
Whoa Nellie…..this model doesn’t work. Not in IT, or optometry, or dental, or health clubs, museums or remodelers. If the owner doesn’t lead….there is nothing to follow and the children end up playing in the creek and weeds totally missing the goal that the owners never shared in the first place. Why do we do that? Why do we think that people can read our minds and just figure it out. They can’t, they don’t, they won’t – just like you spouse can’t or won’t or doesn’t. The way information like that is transferred is called communication. This is another area all of us talked about – we have issues here amongst the ranks that need some help.
If you feel like I am talking to you specifically – I am. You are a PEOPLE. You have problems and you need help. That is why roundtables are so successful. We all need each other. We need to share our issues and learn from folks who have been there and done that before. There is no reason for each of us to make every mistake on our own. We will still make plenty of those, but we don’t have to make all of them. So gathering in a safe community to share and learn is a shortcut. It takes us to success faster and with less pain than going it alone. So many small businesses fail without ever discovering the power of their peers. So many focus on running their business in secret so a competitor doesn’t figure out what is going on. Hello – have you seen the Internet? In 15 minutes it is pretty easy to get most of the information your competitor cares about. And a few bucks and hours spent with a former employee can give them the rest. Competition is a reality in business. Get over it and get on with learning from peers.
If you believe for a minute that you have some secret sauce (OK McDonald’s may have since they advertise it in their commercials: two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun) you are delusional. Sort of sad that I have that memorized isn’t it? There is someone out there doing it faster, cheaper and better than you. If not today, then watch over your shoulder because they are rapidly approaching. So quit worrying about protecting what you believe you have and start focusing on what matters – building and growing your business faster, better and cheaper than the competition. That is the secret sauce. Learn to leverage the power of peers to get to the new things that are going to change your world faster than they do - technologies, methods, tools, services etc. I believe competitive advantage is most significant when it happens in how the business is operated – not in what it does. Those are the things that really matter.
Can't Miss Events for 2010
We are just about a month from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, and I thought it would be a good time to remind you why events like this are so important to us as partners. I wrote an original post on this topic in 2009, and have updated my thinking here based on my focused role as CEO now. There are only a few events on my “cannot miss” list any more:
1. Quarterly HTG meetings
2. ConnectWise Partner Summit
3. Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
4. CompTIA Breakaway
Certainly there are a number of other quality events that occur in the channel each year, but to be honest, if I don’t pick and choose I will be attending an event or two every week. And as my role has matured, it has become more important to select the events that will make the largest impact on our company from my seat as CEO. There is a real cost, and a significant opportunity cost to be out of the office, on the road attending events. So why are these my picks and what has changed?
First, let’s talk about roles and how that should impact the events we attend. From my perspective – there is a vast difference between the role of CEO and President/GM. I am finally figuring that out. The CEO role should be heavily focused outside the company – on relationships and industry – externally looking. The President or GM is more internally focused and responsible for the day to day management. CEO’s are strategic while President’s are responsible. Those differences should drive the types of events we attend. Another role we have within companies as they grow is managers. These are the folks who carry out the tasks and make sure the work gets done. They own execution and need to be in the weeds figuring out how to make it happen. As a CEO I stay out of the weeds as much as I can. That is not where I belong.
That said I realize that maybe as many as 90% of the people reading this post don’t have the model of CEO and President as roles split between different people. I know that the singled-bodied CEO/President/GM has to serve many masters. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary at HTS, we have finally moved to a place where we have a different person responsible for strategy vs. operations. I remember all too well how it was when I went to events as the lone leader with strategic and operational focus. So understand – my focus is now from the seat of strategy – that of a CEO.
I have really not spent any time attending operational meetings for a while now. It didn’t fit my job role even as President. That is where we need to start as we determine how to make investments in meeting attendance. I may be unpopular with some because of these views. Everyone wants to attend every meeting. Every meeting sponsor wants you at their event. But it just doesn’t make sense to do them all. So what will I be doing for the balance of 2010?
HTG quarterly meetings are the backbone of my community involvement. At those meetings each quarter I get updated on our business. Connie now owns the responsibility to prepare and present as President but I try to sit in and check out the benchmarking numbers that show how we did relative to the group we participate in, HTG as a whole, and the industry. This also gives me a big batch of fresh ideas to evaluate, as well as a quick pulse on the industry and marketplace which is becoming increasingly important for my role of strategic leader. I also am able to bounce ideas off the best and brightest about pending business model hurdles and required changes – like the cloud – a sort of think tank environment to help solidify thoughts and directions because of deep relationships and an environment that is tailored for those kinds of activities. The days spent at HTG are the best investment I can make in terms of working on my business from a strategic vantage point.
One of the new wrinkles for HTG this year has been the CEO Forum where a handful of companies are gathering every 6 months to focus solely on strategy and the role of CEO. Our next meeting is next week in Denver – and we will be diving deep in to strategic planning and preparation for the next big thing in our industry. I find the chance to sit in a room with 18 brilliant other CEO’s as stimulating and valuable as it gets.
Since ConnectWise is the platform we run our business on, attending their partner summit is a no brainer. There is no one single thing that can impact my business as deeply and quickly as tweaks made to the PSA tool we use. So attending their event, rubbing shoulders with the other users there, and learning how to get the most from that product is a great investment of time. But realize that my time is spent primarily in advisory council, presentation, vendor meetings, press and other modes – while we have other members of the HTS team there focusing on the actual utilization of the product. ConnectWise is the operating system of our business, and I need to be close to all aspects of that eco system to assure success in our business. We need to have a strategic relationship with the company on as many levels as possible as no other part of our infrastructure has the impact that ConnectWise has.
Microsoft WPC – the next large scale event I will attend – is all about building relationships broadly across a large organization. It would take weeks of time on campus in Redmond and airplanes flying back and forth across the country to be able to see and meet with the number of people I am able to connect with during 4 days at WPC. There is no other gathering where I can get access to the quantity of a vendor’s staff that Microsoft provides at WPC. Mornings allow access to executive keynotes that provide a roadmap for the future. Afternoons are filled with breakouts, but sprinkled in all of the open spots are one on one’s and small meetings with program managers, product folks, field team and a variety of others from Microsoft. If you just attend WPC for the content delivered from main stage and breakouts, it is a good value. But if you really take advantage of the time to connect with people, it is an unbelievable opportunity to build relationships with key people across that organization that can be fantastic resources for you to leverage and work with to grow your company.
CompTIA is a new focal point for me as I sit in the the role of CEO. CompTIA provides a lot of great content, but the reason I feel strongly the need to connect is all the things they focus on in an advocacy role for our industry. They are working in politics and thought leadership and will be a significant force in defining what the IT industry looks like. I want to be involved and part of that process. I see it as a significant part of strategy.
HP and SonicWALL are also key partners for HTS and thus on my list of must attend events except when they either don’t hold them or lay them over other events that are more strategic. This year SonicWALL has not held an event, and HP held theirs right on top of the HTG Summit so I skipped it in lieu of what I felt was far more important. That is happening more all the time which forces us to make choices and the need to change how we spend our time. And that is really the message of this blog – you have to really think about what you are going to invest your time in and not just attend an event because it is offered.
Distribution affinity groups like VTN are bubble meetings for me as a CEO, but must attend for those in the day to day roles within a company. I attended VTN for many years, but now have passed that torch to my management team in most cases today.
So the real question is – which events are on your “must attend” list? Mine has changed over the years as my company has grown and my role has changed. My advice is to take a hard look at what your job really entails for your company and then be sure to send the right people to the right events to get the information first hand they need to achieve their job success. Sometimes, often in fact, that is not likely you. I realize it is hard for many to send an employee to a conference or training. Who will monitor them and make sure they are actually doing what they are supposed to? How can I be sure they won’t sleep in or make the company look bad? You can’t know, but if you hired the right people that is not an issue.
1. Quarterly HTG meetings
2. ConnectWise Partner Summit
3. Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
4. CompTIA Breakaway
Certainly there are a number of other quality events that occur in the channel each year, but to be honest, if I don’t pick and choose I will be attending an event or two every week. And as my role has matured, it has become more important to select the events that will make the largest impact on our company from my seat as CEO. There is a real cost, and a significant opportunity cost to be out of the office, on the road attending events. So why are these my picks and what has changed?
First, let’s talk about roles and how that should impact the events we attend. From my perspective – there is a vast difference between the role of CEO and President/GM. I am finally figuring that out. The CEO role should be heavily focused outside the company – on relationships and industry – externally looking. The President or GM is more internally focused and responsible for the day to day management. CEO’s are strategic while President’s are responsible. Those differences should drive the types of events we attend. Another role we have within companies as they grow is managers. These are the folks who carry out the tasks and make sure the work gets done. They own execution and need to be in the weeds figuring out how to make it happen. As a CEO I stay out of the weeds as much as I can. That is not where I belong.
That said I realize that maybe as many as 90% of the people reading this post don’t have the model of CEO and President as roles split between different people. I know that the singled-bodied CEO/President/GM has to serve many masters. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary at HTS, we have finally moved to a place where we have a different person responsible for strategy vs. operations. I remember all too well how it was when I went to events as the lone leader with strategic and operational focus. So understand – my focus is now from the seat of strategy – that of a CEO.
I have really not spent any time attending operational meetings for a while now. It didn’t fit my job role even as President. That is where we need to start as we determine how to make investments in meeting attendance. I may be unpopular with some because of these views. Everyone wants to attend every meeting. Every meeting sponsor wants you at their event. But it just doesn’t make sense to do them all. So what will I be doing for the balance of 2010?
HTG quarterly meetings are the backbone of my community involvement. At those meetings each quarter I get updated on our business. Connie now owns the responsibility to prepare and present as President but I try to sit in and check out the benchmarking numbers that show how we did relative to the group we participate in, HTG as a whole, and the industry. This also gives me a big batch of fresh ideas to evaluate, as well as a quick pulse on the industry and marketplace which is becoming increasingly important for my role of strategic leader. I also am able to bounce ideas off the best and brightest about pending business model hurdles and required changes – like the cloud – a sort of think tank environment to help solidify thoughts and directions because of deep relationships and an environment that is tailored for those kinds of activities. The days spent at HTG are the best investment I can make in terms of working on my business from a strategic vantage point.
One of the new wrinkles for HTG this year has been the CEO Forum where a handful of companies are gathering every 6 months to focus solely on strategy and the role of CEO. Our next meeting is next week in Denver – and we will be diving deep in to strategic planning and preparation for the next big thing in our industry. I find the chance to sit in a room with 18 brilliant other CEO’s as stimulating and valuable as it gets.
Since ConnectWise is the platform we run our business on, attending their partner summit is a no brainer. There is no one single thing that can impact my business as deeply and quickly as tweaks made to the PSA tool we use. So attending their event, rubbing shoulders with the other users there, and learning how to get the most from that product is a great investment of time. But realize that my time is spent primarily in advisory council, presentation, vendor meetings, press and other modes – while we have other members of the HTS team there focusing on the actual utilization of the product. ConnectWise is the operating system of our business, and I need to be close to all aspects of that eco system to assure success in our business. We need to have a strategic relationship with the company on as many levels as possible as no other part of our infrastructure has the impact that ConnectWise has.
Microsoft WPC – the next large scale event I will attend – is all about building relationships broadly across a large organization. It would take weeks of time on campus in Redmond and airplanes flying back and forth across the country to be able to see and meet with the number of people I am able to connect with during 4 days at WPC. There is no other gathering where I can get access to the quantity of a vendor’s staff that Microsoft provides at WPC. Mornings allow access to executive keynotes that provide a roadmap for the future. Afternoons are filled with breakouts, but sprinkled in all of the open spots are one on one’s and small meetings with program managers, product folks, field team and a variety of others from Microsoft. If you just attend WPC for the content delivered from main stage and breakouts, it is a good value. But if you really take advantage of the time to connect with people, it is an unbelievable opportunity to build relationships with key people across that organization that can be fantastic resources for you to leverage and work with to grow your company.
CompTIA is a new focal point for me as I sit in the the role of CEO. CompTIA provides a lot of great content, but the reason I feel strongly the need to connect is all the things they focus on in an advocacy role for our industry. They are working in politics and thought leadership and will be a significant force in defining what the IT industry looks like. I want to be involved and part of that process. I see it as a significant part of strategy.
HP and SonicWALL are also key partners for HTS and thus on my list of must attend events except when they either don’t hold them or lay them over other events that are more strategic. This year SonicWALL has not held an event, and HP held theirs right on top of the HTG Summit so I skipped it in lieu of what I felt was far more important. That is happening more all the time which forces us to make choices and the need to change how we spend our time. And that is really the message of this blog – you have to really think about what you are going to invest your time in and not just attend an event because it is offered.
Distribution affinity groups like VTN are bubble meetings for me as a CEO, but must attend for those in the day to day roles within a company. I attended VTN for many years, but now have passed that torch to my management team in most cases today.
So the real question is – which events are on your “must attend” list? Mine has changed over the years as my company has grown and my role has changed. My advice is to take a hard look at what your job really entails for your company and then be sure to send the right people to the right events to get the information first hand they need to achieve their job success. Sometimes, often in fact, that is not likely you. I realize it is hard for many to send an employee to a conference or training. Who will monitor them and make sure they are actually doing what they are supposed to? How can I be sure they won’t sleep in or make the company look bad? You can’t know, but if you hired the right people that is not an issue.
Someone Else Who Gets It
I write often on the importance of working strategically and through partnerships with vendors. HBR (Harvard Business Review) posted a great piece from Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, that made me stand up and cheer. Zappos sees it the same way as HTG does. Vendors are not the enemy and need to be treated like our best friends – as partners we cannot live without – as keys to our success – as critical components to a winning strategy. This article entitled “A Lesson From Zappos – Follow the Golden Rule” really hits the key points and says it better than I – so take the time to go and read this in full.
I do want to call out a few key statements in this article:
I could not have written this article any more clearly than Mr. Hsieh has done it. We truly grow and succeed based on how well we are able to build and maintain and nurture our relationships. We want to focus on the customer, but I am here to scream that there are equally important relationships with our vendors and distribution partners. And the sooner you learn that – the sooner you will start to truly grow and succeed. If you don’t get it – as the article states – you will like find the “death spiral” most retailers find.
Relationships matter; and few are as important as those you build with your key vendors. Get them right, invest in them wisely, and they will take you far. Fail here and you can start planning for your next job!
I do want to call out a few key statements in this article:
- Ultimately, each party is out for the same thing: to take care of the customers, grow the business, and be profitable.
- We found it much easier to create alliances when partners aligned themselves to the same vision and committed to accountability
- It all begins with the Golden Rule: Treat others as you'd like to be treated
- We realize the importance of communication, and if our partners are trying to reach us, we need to be responsive
- If we created true transparency in our business, not only would they help us, they'd benefit as well
- Negotiations at Zappos are a bit different as well. Instead of pounding vendors, we collaborate
- We know there’s no way we could’ve achieved our success as a company without our vendor’s commitment and passion, so every year, we like to show a little gratitude
- All of this is because of the trust we’ve built….we respect and value our relationships
I could not have written this article any more clearly than Mr. Hsieh has done it. We truly grow and succeed based on how well we are able to build and maintain and nurture our relationships. We want to focus on the customer, but I am here to scream that there are equally important relationships with our vendors and distribution partners. And the sooner you learn that – the sooner you will start to truly grow and succeed. If you don’t get it – as the article states – you will like find the “death spiral” most retailers find.
Relationships matter; and few are as important as those you build with your key vendors. Get them right, invest in them wisely, and they will take you far. Fail here and you can start planning for your next job!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Roundtables4Rountables Part 1
I spent the last few days in scenic Oneonta, New York. It is a small town in upstate NY – middle of farm country – with a down home feel and a wonderful view. Our trip from Albany was about an hour through more trees than there are in the entire state of Iowa I think. If we leveled the hills a bit, took off the trees, and put pigs where the dairy cows were it could be home. I will be posting a series of blogs on this topic over the next days. It was a very enlightening couple days.
My trip was to participate in the roundtables4roundtables forum. It was a group of groups – a mastermind group for those who provide mastermind groups. There were six companies represented at this event. What makes this group unique is that each organization focuses on a specific vertical – so unlike the Vistage/Tec/C12 model where business decision makers cross industry meet regularly to share – these organizations all focus on a specific vertical with very narrow focus.
We had orgs that served dental, optometry, home remodelers, museums, health clubs and of course IT which I represent. I had some concern going in that there would be too much difference between us to get enough value from the time and expense investment. Boy was I wrong. As is almost always the case in life – 80% of what we all do is pretty much the same – and the 20% that is unique to our industries was still close enough to add value.
In the end we are all dealing with the same thing – PEOPLE. That is the challenge for all organizations. People that are too busy, don’t execute, fail to get things done on time, are slow to pay, have life issues, struggle getting buy in from partners and staff, don’t take time to plan or set goals…..you know the drill. It is you and me. All of us struggle in a lot of ways which is why wisdom sharing/roundtables/mastermind groups/peer groups/affinity groups/bull sessions – you pick your term of the day – it is the fact that we are people with all those needs that make these groups so powerful and necessary.
One thing that was unique about this group is that the HTG experience of 10 years made us one of the youngest companies in the room. That is not something I get to see often. It didn’t make me one of the youngest guys – just leading one of the younger organizations. But there was a big wealth of experience as we shared with each other. Some of these folks have been doing this over 20 years and there is nothing that replaces experience in getting great advice to help a business grow. So I was really blessed to be part of this event and learn from some real pros.
Bottom line – we all have problems. We can learn a lot from one another by being transparent and sharing life together. If you are trying to go the journey alone – you are missing the greatest tool available to you – the power of peers and community. It does make a difference if you let it!
My trip was to participate in the roundtables4roundtables forum. It was a group of groups – a mastermind group for those who provide mastermind groups. There were six companies represented at this event. What makes this group unique is that each organization focuses on a specific vertical – so unlike the Vistage/Tec/C12 model where business decision makers cross industry meet regularly to share – these organizations all focus on a specific vertical with very narrow focus.
We had orgs that served dental, optometry, home remodelers, museums, health clubs and of course IT which I represent. I had some concern going in that there would be too much difference between us to get enough value from the time and expense investment. Boy was I wrong. As is almost always the case in life – 80% of what we all do is pretty much the same – and the 20% that is unique to our industries was still close enough to add value.
In the end we are all dealing with the same thing – PEOPLE. That is the challenge for all organizations. People that are too busy, don’t execute, fail to get things done on time, are slow to pay, have life issues, struggle getting buy in from partners and staff, don’t take time to plan or set goals…..you know the drill. It is you and me. All of us struggle in a lot of ways which is why wisdom sharing/roundtables/mastermind groups/peer groups/affinity groups/bull sessions – you pick your term of the day – it is the fact that we are people with all those needs that make these groups so powerful and necessary.
One thing that was unique about this group is that the HTG experience of 10 years made us one of the youngest companies in the room. That is not something I get to see often. It didn’t make me one of the youngest guys – just leading one of the younger organizations. But there was a big wealth of experience as we shared with each other. Some of these folks have been doing this over 20 years and there is nothing that replaces experience in getting great advice to help a business grow. So I was really blessed to be part of this event and learn from some real pros.
Bottom line – we all have problems. We can learn a lot from one another by being transparent and sharing life together. If you are trying to go the journey alone – you are missing the greatest tool available to you – the power of peers and community. It does make a difference if you let it!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Bob Burg on Ulistic's Orange Files Small Business Podcast
A great friend of HTG - Bob Burg of Go Giver fame - will be doing a webcast this week. Join Stuart Crawford from Calgary's Internet Consulting firm Ulistic with the Go Giver himself, Mr. Bob Burg. Stuart and Bob will discuss the latest book in the Go Giver series "Go Givers Sell More". Released in 2010, the "Go Givers Sell More" book reviews the concepts that Pindar shared with Joe in the classic "Go Giver" book. It is no secret that the Go Giver mindset allows people to achieve great successes in life, become a trusted resource in the business world and also provides you the ability to achieve more in your life.
You can't miss this special webcast. Listen online this Thursday, May 27 at 11 AM Eastern. Not to worry, if you miss this special webcast, you can download it or get it through iTunes.
You can't miss this special webcast. Listen online this Thursday, May 27 at 11 AM Eastern. Not to worry, if you miss this special webcast, you can download it or get it through iTunes.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Lessons from the Folks Down Under
I was blessed to spend a week with our HTG21 friends from down under a few weeks ago. As expected - when we boil down the real issues facing partners in ANZ (Australia-New Zealand) it starts to look extremely familiar to those facing partners in the US, UK and Canada. In fact, it is just almost the same list. Here are the challenges I believe face all of us if we want to be ready for the coming changes cloud computing brings to the marketplace.
1. We have to become sales organizations. Gone are the days when technical genius will win - we will have to sell some things before we ever get a chance to show that we even have any technical talent. Nothing happens until the sale is made.
2. We have to learn to manage a sales team. This is not like managing engineers. It is not about utilization, nor is it rocket science. But for many it is very unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory that must be conquered.
3. We have to learn how to market. Sales people only take us so far. Good ones require a solid marketing plan driving opportunities into the pipeline for them to close. That means we need to spend time and money on reaching out to new prospects. It is not magic, nor are vendors going to hand them over to us on a silver platter.
4. We have to learn to build repeatable processes. Margins will shrink and the only game in town will be volume and driving every last dollar from the deals we sell. That happens when we have process, procedure and discipline.
5. We have to build leadership. The days of one person leading an entire company to success are coming to a close. This will require teamwork, practice leaders, C-level partners that can get things done. They don't magically appear - we have to train and build them.
6. We have to build relationships. With vendors, with distibutors, with customers, with other partners - I am convinced the truly successful will have this one nailed. It will be the differentiation that will separate the winners from the rest of the pack.
I didn't need to go to Australia to come up with this list - but by going - it certainly has verified that the challenges are the same no matter where folks are doing business in the IT space. It is just a matter of the size of the issue and where companies are in addressing them.
It is good to be back on the farm again. Now we can tackle the next set of issues and get ready to put the cloud to use!
1. We have to become sales organizations. Gone are the days when technical genius will win - we will have to sell some things before we ever get a chance to show that we even have any technical talent. Nothing happens until the sale is made.
2. We have to learn to manage a sales team. This is not like managing engineers. It is not about utilization, nor is it rocket science. But for many it is very unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory that must be conquered.
3. We have to learn how to market. Sales people only take us so far. Good ones require a solid marketing plan driving opportunities into the pipeline for them to close. That means we need to spend time and money on reaching out to new prospects. It is not magic, nor are vendors going to hand them over to us on a silver platter.
4. We have to learn to build repeatable processes. Margins will shrink and the only game in town will be volume and driving every last dollar from the deals we sell. That happens when we have process, procedure and discipline.
5. We have to build leadership. The days of one person leading an entire company to success are coming to a close. This will require teamwork, practice leaders, C-level partners that can get things done. They don't magically appear - we have to train and build them.
6. We have to build relationships. With vendors, with distibutors, with customers, with other partners - I am convinced the truly successful will have this one nailed. It will be the differentiation that will separate the winners from the rest of the pack.
I didn't need to go to Australia to come up with this list - but by going - it certainly has verified that the challenges are the same no matter where folks are doing business in the IT space. It is just a matter of the size of the issue and where companies are in addressing them.
It is good to be back on the farm again. Now we can tackle the next set of issues and get ready to put the cloud to use!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Upcoming Webinar From Our Friends at Trend Micro
Join our friends from Trend Micro for a very informative webinar on May 12. This will give you the background on just how easy it is to migrate to Trend’s offerings in the security area.
Are you offering substandard security to your customers because it's easy or included in a management package you are using today? Trend Micro's Worry-Free Business Security is designed to meet the needs of your small business customer. And as an HTG member you can take advantage of exclusive pricing.
Meet your Trend Micro contacts! Join our security experts T.J. Alldridge, Product Marketing Manager; Ryan Delany, Systems Engineer; and Lili Bender, Distribution Channel Manager on Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM PST for a live and interactive webinar. The speakers will provide an overview of Trend Micro's Worry-Free Business Security and will discuss the huge margin opportunity you can make as an HTG member. Migrating to Trend Micro is easier and more profitable than you think. Register today!
Learn more about:
• Who Trend Micro is and what makes the Worry-Free product family different.
• How to easily migrate your customers to Trend Micro.
• How to take advantage of the exclusive HTG pricing.
• How easy it is to deploy Trend Micro products to remove AVG, Symantec, McAfee, Sunbelt and more.
• Trend Micro's Worry Free Remote Manager (free product to manage your customers remotely).
This is an online event. You will receive an email confirmation with joining details immediately after registration.
Are you offering substandard security to your customers because it's easy or included in a management package you are using today? Trend Micro's Worry-Free Business Security is designed to meet the needs of your small business customer. And as an HTG member you can take advantage of exclusive pricing.
Meet your Trend Micro contacts! Join our security experts T.J. Alldridge, Product Marketing Manager; Ryan Delany, Systems Engineer; and Lili Bender, Distribution Channel Manager on Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM PST for a live and interactive webinar. The speakers will provide an overview of Trend Micro's Worry-Free Business Security and will discuss the huge margin opportunity you can make as an HTG member. Migrating to Trend Micro is easier and more profitable than you think. Register today!
Learn more about:
• Who Trend Micro is and what makes the Worry-Free product family different.
• How to easily migrate your customers to Trend Micro.
• How to take advantage of the exclusive HTG pricing.
• How easy it is to deploy Trend Micro products to remove AVG, Symantec, McAfee, Sunbelt and more.
• Trend Micro's Worry Free Remote Manager (free product to manage your customers remotely).
This is an online event. You will receive an email confirmation with joining details immediately after registration.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
A Lesson On Customer Service
The Harvard Business Review daily email last week had some comments on Strategy's Golden Rule. I found it rather intriguing. They stated that:
The single most common competitive mistake investors, CEOs, and entrepreneurs alike make is this: striving to do slightly better what their fiercest rival already does incredibly well. The result is usually a muddled, incoherent mess of a strategy — one that fuels not disruptive, explosive differences between a firm and its rivals, but their very opposite: bland, boring similarities. Most companies are competitively challenged — and the Golden Rule of Strategy is how I triage them. It says:
"What your fiercest rival does badly, do incredibly well." In difference lie the seeds of disruption. In similarity, only obsolescence, and decay.
HTG just finished a week of meetings at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Los Colinas Texas. We had a fantastic week there, due in large part to a staff that understands customer service. The Omni practices the idea of being really good at what many of their competitors don’t do well at – exceeding customer expectations. To be totally honest, the venue is busting at the seams when we are there. But the service is so good and our experience has been so fantastic that we continue to come back and have our expectations exceeded year after year. Customer service is about the customer and that is what the folks at the Omni seem to really understand. They do all the things you would expect any decent hotel venue to do – nice rooms, good food, clean etc. But they go above and beyond which is what really sets them apart from my perspective. Here are a few of the little things that really caught my attention.
We arrived on Saturday a full day ahead of our event. We were greeted with a couple 20 ounce bottles of Diet Mountain Dew (DMD) and boxes of Junior Mints. If you know me at all – DMD is my drink of choice and Junior Mints my wife’s snack of choice. We have not stayed at the Omni for a full year and they remembered those items and made sure we had them in our room. Not just any snacks and cold drinks – the ones we really like. Not only was DMD available at check in – but during the event there were random bottles of DMD among the Coke products that are the norm at the Omni. That is customer service and exceeding expectations.
I recall my first stay at the Omni I had informed the coffee shop that Chai Tea was really my preference over Starbucks regular coffee drinks. I always ask for that everywhere I travel – Chai is just better than coffee to me. They didn’t have it there the first day a few years ago, but they tracked me down the second day and on every subsequent stay since they always have Chai Tea. I have no idea if it is part of their normal menu, but when HTG is in the house they certainly do. I travel extensively and can tell you that few hotel Starbucks carry Chai, and no other hotel has ever offered or made the effort to have it in their coffee shop or DMD in my room due to customer request. Except the Omni – they exceeded my expectations again.
We had one setup snafu on the first day of our peer group meetings. We discovered it about 20 or 30 minutes prior to HTG3 starting – and within 15 minutes a team of about 10 folks turned that room and had us ready for action. That included some of the management staff – they didn’t just assign it – they dove in and made sure things were as expected. Part of great customer service is the ability to correct things that sometimes don’t go as planned. That happened and expectations were met.
The banquet team fed us too well, but their serving a group of 300 plus is an art form. The food was hot, it came quickly and they were not disruptive to our packed agenda. One of the waiters pulled me aside during a lull in the action and shared a little of the shenanigans that happen among the staff there. Seems he hid in the bathroom and scared a fellow teammate early one morning before things got started. It is those little personal things that make the relationship real and alive. The food exceeded expectations, particularly the fact we had BBQ on the menu this year!
Before I left the week I was privileged to have a drink with Chad and Terri who are part of the sales team at the Omni. They called and personally invited me to spend a little time reviewing the event, asking what could be done better, and pondering things we can do to take it a level further next year. They didn’t need to do that. We have already signed the contract for 2011. But they made time in their very busy schedule to again exceed my expectations by listening to my feedback, sharing ideas and updating me on the roadmap for improvements at their hotel over the next couple years. It was a valuable time and sincerely appreciated.
To say that the Omni team understands customer service doesn't really capture it. They go beyond - taking advantage in areas their competitors don't - to do the little things that differentiate their hotel. All of the major brands do the basics pretty well. In a market like that - it then comes down to the little touches and personal attention to detail. We can learn a lot from that for the IT space. As we move into the transition to the cloud, when the services are commoditized and differentiation will be difficult, it will be the little things, the personal and small details, that will cause people to not only remain loyal customers but also become raving fans.
The single most common competitive mistake investors, CEOs, and entrepreneurs alike make is this: striving to do slightly better what their fiercest rival already does incredibly well. The result is usually a muddled, incoherent mess of a strategy — one that fuels not disruptive, explosive differences between a firm and its rivals, but their very opposite: bland, boring similarities. Most companies are competitively challenged — and the Golden Rule of Strategy is how I triage them. It says:
"What your fiercest rival does badly, do incredibly well." In difference lie the seeds of disruption. In similarity, only obsolescence, and decay.
HTG just finished a week of meetings at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Los Colinas Texas. We had a fantastic week there, due in large part to a staff that understands customer service. The Omni practices the idea of being really good at what many of their competitors don’t do well at – exceeding customer expectations. To be totally honest, the venue is busting at the seams when we are there. But the service is so good and our experience has been so fantastic that we continue to come back and have our expectations exceeded year after year. Customer service is about the customer and that is what the folks at the Omni seem to really understand. They do all the things you would expect any decent hotel venue to do – nice rooms, good food, clean etc. But they go above and beyond which is what really sets them apart from my perspective. Here are a few of the little things that really caught my attention.
We arrived on Saturday a full day ahead of our event. We were greeted with a couple 20 ounce bottles of Diet Mountain Dew (DMD) and boxes of Junior Mints. If you know me at all – DMD is my drink of choice and Junior Mints my wife’s snack of choice. We have not stayed at the Omni for a full year and they remembered those items and made sure we had them in our room. Not just any snacks and cold drinks – the ones we really like. Not only was DMD available at check in – but during the event there were random bottles of DMD among the Coke products that are the norm at the Omni. That is customer service and exceeding expectations.
I recall my first stay at the Omni I had informed the coffee shop that Chai Tea was really my preference over Starbucks regular coffee drinks. I always ask for that everywhere I travel – Chai is just better than coffee to me. They didn’t have it there the first day a few years ago, but they tracked me down the second day and on every subsequent stay since they always have Chai Tea. I have no idea if it is part of their normal menu, but when HTG is in the house they certainly do. I travel extensively and can tell you that few hotel Starbucks carry Chai, and no other hotel has ever offered or made the effort to have it in their coffee shop or DMD in my room due to customer request. Except the Omni – they exceeded my expectations again.
We had one setup snafu on the first day of our peer group meetings. We discovered it about 20 or 30 minutes prior to HTG3 starting – and within 15 minutes a team of about 10 folks turned that room and had us ready for action. That included some of the management staff – they didn’t just assign it – they dove in and made sure things were as expected. Part of great customer service is the ability to correct things that sometimes don’t go as planned. That happened and expectations were met.
The banquet team fed us too well, but their serving a group of 300 plus is an art form. The food was hot, it came quickly and they were not disruptive to our packed agenda. One of the waiters pulled me aside during a lull in the action and shared a little of the shenanigans that happen among the staff there. Seems he hid in the bathroom and scared a fellow teammate early one morning before things got started. It is those little personal things that make the relationship real and alive. The food exceeded expectations, particularly the fact we had BBQ on the menu this year!
Before I left the week I was privileged to have a drink with Chad and Terri who are part of the sales team at the Omni. They called and personally invited me to spend a little time reviewing the event, asking what could be done better, and pondering things we can do to take it a level further next year. They didn’t need to do that. We have already signed the contract for 2011. But they made time in their very busy schedule to again exceed my expectations by listening to my feedback, sharing ideas and updating me on the roadmap for improvements at their hotel over the next couple years. It was a valuable time and sincerely appreciated.
To say that the Omni team understands customer service doesn't really capture it. They go beyond - taking advantage in areas their competitors don't - to do the little things that differentiate their hotel. All of the major brands do the basics pretty well. In a market like that - it then comes down to the little touches and personal attention to detail. We can learn a lot from that for the IT space. As we move into the transition to the cloud, when the services are commoditized and differentiation will be difficult, it will be the little things, the personal and small details, that will cause people to not only remain loyal customers but also become raving fans.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
HTG Recognizes Members With Awards
HTG just finished its annual HTG Summit in Dallas Texas. Part of the festivities included recognition of a set of members and sponsors who have gone above and beyond in their participation and service to the HTG community. We recognize these award winners as the cream of the IT channel crop and are proud to be associated with each of them. The 2010 HTG award winners:
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