Risk....Care....Dream....Expect

Robert Lindley had a post on his blog that I thought was worth sharing. While there are conflicting sources for this quote - it seems most often to be credited to Claude Bissell.

RISK more than others think is safe

By getting out of your comfort zone a little bit, it helps you grow personally and professionally. Each time you do that, it does two things for your life. If you risk more than others think is safe, you experience growth. Remember that it is also a risk to ask for help when you need it – and critical to a successful future.

CARE more than others think is wise

More than anything else, it is the time spent with people that you care about that will matter to you when you are sitting in your retirement easy chair. It is not the day-to-day successes that matter in the end, but rather the quality of the relationships you share with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers that will define how happy you are with your life. As you take your life journey, take the time to nurture the relationships in your life.

DREAM more than others think is practical

Life will consistently offer you small opportunities to take if you want to. Each opportunity that you take builds on your previous experiences. Having big dreams helps you to see the opportunities that may fit with your goals.

EXPECT more than others think is possible

Dreams become expectations by writing them down as goals, both professional and personal. If you take a few minutes to write down some things that you expect to see in 5, 10 and 20 years and look at it once a month, you will be amazed at how fast you will get there.

Risk....Care....Dream....Expect - all part of the peer group experience. We risk as we trust others with our information. We care as we share our insight and guidance for them. We dream as we talk through where we intend to lead our company. And we expect each quarter for everyone to perform and achieve their goals and go to the next level.

HTG is about helping each leader learn to take the right risks, develop discerning care, chase big hairy audacious dreams, and hold people accountable as they meet expectations. We need to go further and do more to lead the pack!

An Upcoming Live Meeting Opportunity

Arlin Sorensen, CEO and founder of Heartland Technology Solutions and HTG peer groups, will be hosting a live meeting on March 24th for Microsoft as part of the 5W25 series on four plans to provide a well rounded look at life and business.

The plans we will discuss are:
- Business plan
- Leadership plan
- Life plan
- Legacy plan

Joining for the live meeting will be Jamison West from JWCS and Brad Schow from Compudyne. The event is code WES36PAL and it will be held at 9:00 AM Pacific that day. The session is titled Four Plans That Can Change Everything and that is exactly the potential outcome from the session.

If you learn to use these plans, you can change the result of your life and business. Without planning, you leave things up to chance and quite honestly have far less opportunity to achieve your dreams or succeed. We often spend a lot of time focused on our business plan but neglect the things that may be more important. Never forget your life will leave a record, a history and a legacy. Planning can help make sure those turn out as you would like.

Invest an hour and join me for this webcast. To register go to www.mssmallbiz.com/training and select the appropriate session. There are many other great sessions available as well. Hope to meet with you online that day!

Who Are the 150 Most Influential People in SMB

Harry Brelsford from SMB Nation is looking for the 150 most influential people in SMB. I am not sure when the voting ends, but you can enter once only, so make it count. Who influences you. Take the survey here.

You can vote for up to ten people, including yourself. Who do YOU think are the top influencers in our space? Take a few minutes (literally - this is quick) and enter the names of those who influence you on a regular basis.

Time to give recognition to the folks who really make a difference. Less than 5 minutes if you type with one finger. Don't miss this chance to recognize those who are influential in your life!

CompTIA Sponsored Security Bootcamp - Dallas

CompTIA is sponsoring a Pre-Day Security Workshop ahead of the MSPU Dallas Boot Camp!
It will be held at the Omni Dallas Park West on Tuesday, March 16th. Following will be MSPU's
IT Solutions and Managed Services Sales & Marketing and Service Delivery Boot Camp on March 17th-19th.

Lot's of good training coming to a city right in the heart of Texas. Check out the details here and get registered to participate!

Three Fantastic Marketing Campaigns - Money to Drive Business

Did you catch the news? The SBSC program has released more funding that can be used to market your company. Up to $2000 is available and it is simple to take advantage of. Check out the details:

Offer #1


The More, the Merrier: SBSC Members Can Get up to $2,000 in Combined Marketing Development Funds Now!

This new offer is extended to all SBSC partners: Act now and you may get up to an additional $1,000 back on your Ready-to-Go Marketing investments in campaigns, events, or services. In addition to the SBSC1000 offer that has been in market since October, you are now eligible to apply for an additional $1,000. Use promo code 2010 when submitting your rebate to claim the 2010 promotion. Hurry! Offer is valid only while supplies last.

Reimbursements done through this "2010" promotion are valid for third-party reimbursement for campaigns (purchases done through http://www.mspartnerdirect.com/), services (purchased from a vendor listed at www.mspartnerdirect.com/services), and events (that are set up on http://www.microsoftpartnerevents.com/), up to $1,000. See complete Terms and Conditions here.

Free money to be used the way you want to market your company. All you have to do is be in SBSC – if you aren’t currently – this should be reason enough to get that done – and work with one of the vendors on the Microsoft site to execute. Submit the invoice and get paid. It doesn’t get a lot easier. This is one of those partner friendly programs where you get to determine what to do and how to do it and then get reimbursed for the marketing spend. HTS and their newsletter service is one of the approved vendors. If you don’t currently have an e-newsletter, I encourage you to leverage this offer and get started today!

Offer #2

HP and Microsoft want to thank you for your ongoing interest and support of the Frontline Partnership program. And they are doing it with money – up to $2000 here too!

The Frontline program is pleased to invite you to consider running a tailored marketing campaign focused on HP and Microsoft solutions, that will produce revenue for HP, Microsoft and for your company. ROI requirement is 20:1, but that really is not all that hard to hit if you focus and market your event correctly. To submit an application for FLP market development funds please complete the form found here, http://www.hpmspartnermarketing.com/doc/funding.doc, and send to: hpmssolutions@hp.com. They will gladly consider your custom campaign proposal. Until the current SBSC offer above, this was always the most flexible program out there.

Offer #3

HTG has worked hard to build meaningful programs and interaction with Microsoft. And I am pleased to announce, that with the help of our Microsoft Champs carrying your message, there are some great things that are available to you as a result. The HTG Flex Fund marketing program gives you an opportunity to apply for $500 of marketing funds which can be used by you to drive business around Win 7, Office 2010, BPOS or Exchange 2010. It is being managed very much like the popular Frontline program marketing funds -- you submit a plan -- execute -- report on your success -- and get a check for up to $500 for your marketing. It is flexible in that you determine how to use the money. The requirement is to drive a minimum 10:1 return, so you need to sell at least $5000 in Microsoft licensing to get the full reimbursement. That really isn't a difficult proposition . . . so apply today. The flex funds overview and request form are on the HTG - Microsoft SharePoint site under shared documents --Flex Funds folder. Funds are limited so there is not enough for every HTG member company to be included. You can apply for multiple grants. First come first served -- so execute!

These offers are limited:
Offer #1 only to SBSC partners in the Microsoft program
Offer #2 only to Microsoft/HP Frontline partners
Offer #3 only to HTG members

But all up here is $4500 that you can use to drive you business. Someone will use this money. Don’t let it slip out of your hands!

The Power of Community Shines

Nancy and I are in Washington this week to meet with folks at Microsoft. As part of our trips, we often try and have dinner with the HTG members from the area, and tonight we met with a dozen or so HTG member companies in Redmond for some food, fellowship and sharing. We have built into our peer groups non competitive membership within each group. So inside our small communities of 10-12 companies, we work to make sure there are no conflicts from competing in the same market. But since we now have 22 groups, we have many markets that have numerous companies that serve that market. Seattle is one of the places we have a large concentration of HTG members.

A few years ago there was a lot of concern about having folks from the same market belong to HTG. Some were upset believing they owned a market and could serve all million or two or ten million people. But as our members have caught the Go Giver mentality and see the value of working together, there is a lot less concern about the other HTG members in their market. We see more and more members that were once competitors working together to help grow their companies. Tonight in Redmond we had a dozen HTG member companies from the same geography spending time sharing and learning from each other. They weren't sharing financials, but they were sharing things about their businesses and comparing notes on how they serve their customers. It wasn't panic about letting the silver bullet out of the bag. HTG members have figured out there really aren't any secrets in our business any more, and it is better to build relationships with those you can learn from than to isolate oneself from the world and try to go it alone. The power of community will always win out.

There was also some sharing of life which is part of our HTG values. I won't rat on the guys who stayed a little long so they could escape some parenting duties - that isn't part of life-work balance. But it is amazing how the sharing goes as friends sitting around the table. We find that not only are we facing the same issues with business, we are facing them at home too. Kids are kids everywhere, just like employees and customers are the same for all of us too. There are far more similarities than differences as we run small IT companies and live life. That is why HTG works. People helping people - giving and sharing life together - as we serve each other in community. It was a great night of sharing, laughter and life. Thanks to all the folks here in the Seattle area for some hospitality and making us feel at home.

We also had one of our newest sponsors, Quosal join us for dinner. A few of us spent some time this afternoon at their office reviewing their product and plans for helping us build the HTG community. It was great to have time with Kent and see his vision for Go Giving align with the HTG mission of sharing and building community. How wonderful when there is tight alignment between all facets of the program. Great days are ahead for all of us when we take on the challenges as part of the community!

Happy Hello and a Fond Farewell

It is with great joy I can tell you that Brad Kowerchuk has accepted our request to join the HTG advisory council. Brad brings a vast array of experiences from his business in Canada to our council. Beside the wonderful success and growth he has achieved in his company since joining HTG, his facilitation and hard work as an HTG4 member and advocate make him an obvious selection to help direct our program for the coming years. I am excited he has decided to join our team and look forward to introducing him to everyone face to face in Dallas. Brad joins other council members Brad Schow, Dan Hay, Lyf Wildenberg and Robert Lindley who provide the HTG team strategic direction and feedback.

With Brad's appointment, we bid farewell to Stuart Crawford who has served on the advisory council since its inception a few years ago. Stuart was part of HTG3 before moving to help us begin our first international group in Canada, where he facilitated HTG10 for a year and a half. Stuart has a passion to help people, and caught the Go Giver bug in ways that became contagious. He leaves us to pursue his passion around social media and the web. He is consulting for businesses in his hometown of Calgary and around the globe as he serves people and their desire to learn how to leverage the communication tools of the 21st century. Thank you Stuart for your hard work and contributions to helping HTG become what it is today.

As always, I am grateful for each of you and your passion to serve. That is what makes HTG what it is today – Go Givers who keep on giving. The measure of our receive is based on how well we give. Let’s keep it up – Brad will be a great addition to that cause!

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference Awards

Have you delivered innovative customer solutions built on Microsoft technologies? Submit your company’s nomination for the annual Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2010 Awards program today! http://www.digitalwpc.com/awards Deadline is April 2.

Why not tell the world about the great things you are doing with Microsoft technologies in serving your client's needs. Not only can you submit an application for these awards, you can also create a case study around your nomination and use it for marketing to your current and prospective clients.

Every partner has delivered value that is worth writing about. Far too many never tell a soul, and miss one of the greatest tools you have in your arsenal, customer success stories. Take some time and apply for these awards and then repurpose your efforts and create a valuable marketing resource you can use for your clients.

Don't wait - do it today. Time goes quickly. http://digitalwpc.com/awards

The Next Three Years For HTG

I was blessed to spend a couple days this week with the HTG team and advisory council in a strategic planning session in Phoenix. Our mission was to step back and take another look at our course and make sure we were on track. It was a great exercise as we turned over every aspect of the HTG program and took a look at where we were, and more importantly, where we were going to be in 3 years.

After all, we continually press our members to do strategic planning. That has to drive every part of our businesses. It comes down to answering the "why" question. Why do we do what we do? What is the driving force - the end game - the desired outcome? Far too many businesses and organizations go through their lifecycle without ever really knowing why. They get up, go to work, take on risk, hire people, go through the motions day after day without ever really answering the question of "why". That is not the case for HTG.

HTG has a very clear answer to that question. It is the same answer we have had for a number of years: "HTG exists to help our members experience business and personal growth driven by execution". That is our mantra - our ONE GOAL - our castle on the hill. We will have succeeded if we are able to get ALL our members into a continual cycle of growth that aligns with their plans. That growth happens in many ways, at different speeds, across many different facets of our members. But the key is to identify where you want to go, to pursue it with passion, and to reach that goal only to set the next one that will define how you live and lead for the next period of time.

HTG identifies the need for that growth to happen in four areas: business, leadership, life and legacy. That is why our FOUR PLANS will continue to be central to helping us achieve our mission. We are not content to help members drive EBITDA alone. We want people to not only succeed in business, but to also have success in their relationships, in their personal lives, and in creating the future impact of their life driven by their legacy. This differentiates us from most other peer programs who focus on driving bottom line income. We don't ignore that need - it is primary in our mission - but to have a fantastic business without a balance - to lose the important relationships in life because of a single focus - well to us that does not define success and certainly will not produce happiness. Without life/work balance the money really is unfulfillng over time.

HTG will continue to drive our groups and members to leverage their peer relationships. The most important part of HTG is the peer group meetings each quarter. The QBR format (quarterly board review) with deep feedback from fellow peers is key to helping our members really grow. It is that accountability that keeps every member on course. We all face plateaus in our growth process. It is a lifecycle when running a successful business and to be able to lay it on the table and allow others to provide their guidance and share their wisdom is very valuable in driving growth. Benchmarking our financials through our partnership with Service Leadership, and building deep profiles and scorecards will take us to the next level in our reporting and feedback focus.

HTG will work more strategically with vendors and our distribution partner (Ingram Micro) to drive business and member success. We have had some great progress with a few of our vendor partners - notably ConnectWise, IBM, Microsoft, SonicWALL and HP - and we will be focusing on finding ways to work hand in hand to build methods to drive business for all. The good news about this environment is that it is very much a shared goal and in everyone's interest to drive more business. This becomes critical as we begin to deal with the transition that cloud computing will bring to our industry. We need deep partnerships and the ability to leverage the intelligence, data and direction of those who define what our industry becomes. Our partnership with Ingram Micro and CompTIA will be a key part of guiding us through the transition ahead.

There are many more details that will be shared in Dallas in April at our HTGALL lunch on Monday, and in the peer group meetings that will happen that week. But the reality is that our direction remains the same. We have more clarity about the details than ever before, and we will review those as we lay the plan out for our members in Dallas. HTG will remain focused on one thing: business and personal growth driven by execution. We are about helping our members go from good to great - to removing the roadblocks to their growth - and providing an environment through our program that allows us to build the premier set of business leaders in this industry. We are well on our way. Our pursuit of that goal will continue and our team is passionate about getting us there. As Edison said, "Vision without execution is hallucination". We are not hallucinating - we are on course and heading for the end zone. We are looking for a few good partners who want to join the journey. Only those with a passion to grow need apply. http://www.htgpeergroups.com/ for the application.

Beyond Facebook - Where the rubber hits the road with Social Media

IT Professional turned Social Media and Online Marketing consultant, Stuart Crawford is hosting a special Microsoft 5W25 seminar on Feb 24th at Noon Eastern/9 AM Pacific. Register today at http://www.mssmallbiz.com/training/.

Stuart promises this to be an action filed 60 minute webinar and will not be a "death by PowerPoint" type of webinar. He promises to get down and dirty about why many of us in the IT industry need to start looking seriously at the role social media plays in our overall communications strategy. Yes, that is right, once just thought as a marketing activity, online services is now critical to our overall corporate communications. How we communicate with clients, prospects, the community and even our staff.

Check it out on Feb 24th.

Do You Have a Newsletter?

Microsoft currently has two sources of funds for select partners to spend on RTG (Ready to Go campaign) Marketing Services:

For “Managed Partners” only ( i.e. those who have a Partner Account Manager or Tele-Partner Account Manager)
$1,000 rebate offer, expires March 31, 2010
Promotion code: 2010
Please note terms and conditions page at: www.mspartnerdirect.com/2010

For Small Business Specialists (SBSC) Partners only ( i.e. those who have the Microsoft SBSC Certification )
$1,000 rebate offer, expires March 31, 2010
Promotion code: SBSC
Please note terms and conditions page at: www.mspartnerdirect.com/sbsc

HTS' popular e-newsletter service is one of the options for partners to use these funds toward. There are rules - see the links to the t's and c's - but it is really very painless to participate and get your newsletter service under way. Feel free to call Mary Petersen at our Harlan Office - 712-744-3619 - and ask any questions you may have. To get details on the Microsoft partner portal about the e-newsletter service - go here.

Do You Have Your Plans Ready?

I will be hosting a live meeting on March 24th for Microsoft as part of the 5W50 series on the four plans that we use in HTG to provide a well rounded look at life and business. The plans we will discuss are:

- Business plan
- Leadership plan
- Life plan
- Legacy plan

The event is code WES36PAL and it will be held at 9:00 AM Pacific that day. Register at www.mssmallbiz.com/training. The session is titled Four Plans That Can Change Everything and that is exactly the potential outcome from the session. If you learn to use these plans, you can change the result of your life and business. Without planning, you leave things up to chance and quite honestly have far less opportunity to achieve your dreams or succeed. Invest an hour and join me for this webcast. To register go to www.mssmallbiz.com/training and select the appropriate session. There are many other great sessions available as well. Hope to meet with you online that day!