Next week is the big show, at least for Microsoft partners. We all migrate to Houston in July – some rocket scientist picked that spot to assure us we won’t be hanging around outside but will be in where the sessions and trade show are going on. In order to get ready, join a discussion about being prepared on Small Business IT Radio. Stuart Crawford is putting on a special show on Thursday, right before the 4th of July, to help Small Business partners prepare for WPC. Join industry leaders as they discuss what to expect this year and how to prepare yourself. WPC is a huge event and a little overwhelming for those who are attending for the first time.
Visit http://sbsc.itsuccessmentor.com/?p=94 for more information for this July 3 at Noon Eastern/9 AM Pacific special edition of Small Business IT Radio. Getting value from WPC requires a bit of preparation ahead of time or you will be totally overwhelmed in a sea of people. I know, my first year was very unproductive because I was totally unprepared and ended up wasting a lot of time just trying to figure out what was going on. So I encourage you to invest a little time if you are heading to Houston and listen to some of your peers share their thoughts on how to be ready to make the investment very worth your time.
See you in Houston!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Gazing into the future
This week I had the opportunity to join Stuart Crawford on his blogtalk radio and discuss what I see for the future of MSP providers. I have been working on this concept for some time, trying to gaze into the crystal ball and determine "where the puck is going" if you will, for our SMB clients and their needs. I have settled on this diagram to define my current thinking.
Stuart dubbed this the business triangle - that works for me. You can download the audio of our discussion from his site at this link: http://sbsc.itsuccessmentor.com/arlin.mp3. No guarantee that I am any more right than anyone else when looking into the crystal ball. But my gray hair should tell you I have been wrong more than most and hopefully have learned something from those experiences. One thing I will guarantee - it is going to change. What we do today to serve our clients will not be the solution to their needs in the years ahead. So start star gazing, and make some plans for what your company will look like 3-5 years down the road. This is where I believe we need to head.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Got 5 Minutes?
Microsoft has a short 10 question licensing quiz up on the partner site. My guess is that few have actually taken it but who knows. It is informational and helps you get a little clearer on some licensing questions. Check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/oem/english/licensing/mslicquiz.mspx. Who knows, you may win a PC for your time but you will certainly be a little wiser on the licensing front.
Don't delay - it ends June 27. So get after it.
Don't delay - it ends June 27. So get after it.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Just Say Yes
My good friend Stuart Crawford posted a blog yesterday about the power of saying yes. (http://www.stuartcrawford.com/). I replied to his post, but want to encourage you to check it out. Often I think we lose sight of just how powerful that word can be.
We are all busy, and can find an excuse to not do anything we are asked. It can become our habit and lifestyle - to just say no to everything. I have been there, particularly in my parenting. But the reality is that if we want to make an impact in people's lives, we have to say yes. And that carries right into how we do business. It is seldom that saying no to a customer request will create a deep and lasting relationship. Sometimes it is the right and only answer, but at the very least, we need to ask for time to evaluate their request before issuing a resounding no.
Are you saying yes to the things people are asking of you? Starting at home with your spouse and kids? That is where we build a lot of our relational habits. We need to be sensitive to the things they ask us and consider the impact of the word no. I am not advocating we become blind "yes" people. I am encouraging each of us to make sure we have not adopted the negative.
We are all busy, and can find an excuse to not do anything we are asked. It can become our habit and lifestyle - to just say no to everything. I have been there, particularly in my parenting. But the reality is that if we want to make an impact in people's lives, we have to say yes. And that carries right into how we do business. It is seldom that saying no to a customer request will create a deep and lasting relationship. Sometimes it is the right and only answer, but at the very least, we need to ask for time to evaluate their request before issuing a resounding no.
Are you saying yes to the things people are asking of you? Starting at home with your spouse and kids? That is where we build a lot of our relational habits. We need to be sensitive to the things they ask us and consider the impact of the word no. I am not advocating we become blind "yes" people. I am encouraging each of us to make sure we have not adopted the negative.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Another New HTG Group
This week we started another chapter in the HTG playbook as we began a new peer group in cooperation with Ingram Micro. As a part of their focus on the SMB Alliance program they offer their VAR's, Ingram is starting to roll out the HTG peer group experience to their membership. They are helping drive the recruitment and making investment in the members that join through their program. This is a happy day for HTG and particularly the channel.
Success for all of us is dependent on VAR's and disty/vendors partnering for success. Part of the key to that success is helping us grow as solution providers in our business skills and giving us tools for success. Ingram is stepping up to help begin that investment in the channel. A majority of us began life in either a sales or technical role. We were good at what we did, got some customers and then decided we wanted to be our own boss. So we started a company and began to have success. Pretty soon we were hiring a person or two and then we had a small group we were responsible for. About that point panic sets in. We have not capitalized our business properly, we just had a few bucks and started doing business. We have no formal business education, particularly around HR and finance. So the value of being part of a peer group to help get answers to questions and realize we are not facing a bunch of unique problems is huge.
We were fortunate to have a couple Ingram folks in the room as resources for our two days. They were able to answer questions, email out documentation on different programs and services, do email intro's to people in different parts of Ingram's huge resource team and just make things happen as we walked through our agenda. A special thanks to John, Janice and Erin for helping partners leverage the resources Ingram has available. So many things are built for us as partners by disty and vendors that we fail to use - primarily because we are too busy to find out they exist. The interaction with people on the street as part of the peer meeting was huge in that the information was timely and enabled us to put it to work immediately. So a big thanks to Ingram for seeing the value and making the investment. I look forward to many great things in the days ahead as we partner together to grow the channel.
Success for all of us is dependent on VAR's and disty/vendors partnering for success. Part of the key to that success is helping us grow as solution providers in our business skills and giving us tools for success. Ingram is stepping up to help begin that investment in the channel. A majority of us began life in either a sales or technical role. We were good at what we did, got some customers and then decided we wanted to be our own boss. So we started a company and began to have success. Pretty soon we were hiring a person or two and then we had a small group we were responsible for. About that point panic sets in. We have not capitalized our business properly, we just had a few bucks and started doing business. We have no formal business education, particularly around HR and finance. So the value of being part of a peer group to help get answers to questions and realize we are not facing a bunch of unique problems is huge.
We were fortunate to have a couple Ingram folks in the room as resources for our two days. They were able to answer questions, email out documentation on different programs and services, do email intro's to people in different parts of Ingram's huge resource team and just make things happen as we walked through our agenda. A special thanks to John, Janice and Erin for helping partners leverage the resources Ingram has available. So many things are built for us as partners by disty and vendors that we fail to use - primarily because we are too busy to find out they exist. The interaction with people on the street as part of the peer meeting was huge in that the information was timely and enabled us to put it to work immediately. So a big thanks to Ingram for seeing the value and making the investment. I look forward to many great things in the days ahead as we partner together to grow the channel.
Friday, June 13, 2008
A Little Pet Peeve
I just got back from another HTG trip to Albany for HTG2. Great couple days of meetings. We also had the service managers there in a second meeting space and a big thank you to Nathan from MyTech who facilitated that group. Two very powerful days for two groups.
One of the things I depend on when I travel is wake up calls. Last week in DC, I was at the Marriott and had a very nice room. The check in process was great - they met me as an Elite member of their program and got me to my room in record time. Part of the process was finding out what welcome treat I wanted and what time I wanted my wake up call the next morning. I told them 5:30 which is my normal time (even though you eastern people are really getting me up at 4:30). Well, no wake up call. I awoke purely by accident at 7:09 and was supposed to be ready to go by 7:30. I was not pleased. I hurried and it all worked out even though I didn't get any breakfast from the concierge lounge like I had planned.
This week, at HTG2, I stayed in a Hilton property and deja vu - same experience. Check in was smooth - they took my wakeup time - no call. This time I woke up a little earlier - 6:15 but still not as planned and it screwed up my day. I am a pretty focused guy - schedule driven and planned. Minutes matter to me. Not denying the sleep was good, but it really did get me off on the wrong foot.
Big deal? Not really in the grand scheme of life. However, in both cases, an extremely positive experience 99% done right was tarnished way over 1% by lack of follow through. I often worry about this when I have a flight to catch, like this morning when I had a 3:30 wake up call which came on time today. But I set the alarm because I no longer felt I could trust the hotel. It is the little things in business that sometimes make a big difference. Had these little mistakes caused me to miss a flight, the tone of this blog would have been much different. But that is the key - we never know when our failure to pay attention to detail will be the straw that breaks the camel's back - if you know what I mean.
Those who know me are probably getting a chuckle out of this because a detail person I am not. If life depended on my ability to even notice details let alone make them happen, I would be dead. Fortunately God blessed me with a partner in my bride who helps take care of those things. It doesn't excuse my lack of attention, but she can cover my you know what pretty darn good after 30 years of practice. That is the other part of reality we need to get - when we are weak in any area - we need to admit it and surround ourself with those who are able to do what we are unable to get done well. That is the secret of HTS - we have a team of brilliant folks who are stars at what they do. They make it happen. It sure isn't about me. So pay attention to the small stuff - don't sweat it - but make sure you get it done!
One of the things I depend on when I travel is wake up calls. Last week in DC, I was at the Marriott and had a very nice room. The check in process was great - they met me as an Elite member of their program and got me to my room in record time. Part of the process was finding out what welcome treat I wanted and what time I wanted my wake up call the next morning. I told them 5:30 which is my normal time (even though you eastern people are really getting me up at 4:30). Well, no wake up call. I awoke purely by accident at 7:09 and was supposed to be ready to go by 7:30. I was not pleased. I hurried and it all worked out even though I didn't get any breakfast from the concierge lounge like I had planned.
This week, at HTG2, I stayed in a Hilton property and deja vu - same experience. Check in was smooth - they took my wakeup time - no call. This time I woke up a little earlier - 6:15 but still not as planned and it screwed up my day. I am a pretty focused guy - schedule driven and planned. Minutes matter to me. Not denying the sleep was good, but it really did get me off on the wrong foot.
Big deal? Not really in the grand scheme of life. However, in both cases, an extremely positive experience 99% done right was tarnished way over 1% by lack of follow through. I often worry about this when I have a flight to catch, like this morning when I had a 3:30 wake up call which came on time today. But I set the alarm because I no longer felt I could trust the hotel. It is the little things in business that sometimes make a big difference. Had these little mistakes caused me to miss a flight, the tone of this blog would have been much different. But that is the key - we never know when our failure to pay attention to detail will be the straw that breaks the camel's back - if you know what I mean.
Those who know me are probably getting a chuckle out of this because a detail person I am not. If life depended on my ability to even notice details let alone make them happen, I would be dead. Fortunately God blessed me with a partner in my bride who helps take care of those things. It doesn't excuse my lack of attention, but she can cover my you know what pretty darn good after 30 years of practice. That is the other part of reality we need to get - when we are weak in any area - we need to admit it and surround ourself with those who are able to do what we are unable to get done well. That is the secret of HTS - we have a team of brilliant folks who are stars at what they do. They make it happen. It sure isn't about me. So pay attention to the small stuff - don't sweat it - but make sure you get it done!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Dell Just Doesn't Get It
I have been vocal over the last few years about how a channel friendly vendor acts in a particular way, and that certainly is not how Dell thinks. They continue to infringe on partners while telling them out of the other side of their mouth that they want to be channel friendly. It just ain't so. Jeff Anderson from Bulletproof Networks in HTG10 wrote a very strong and accurate email about the reality of Dell and what they are doing. Take a read. The landscape continues to change at the same time as they are trying to convince us they want to work with partners. Baloney. Here are Jeff's words:
"We’ve been reselling Dell for nearly 5 years, and it’s been great right up until a few weeks ago when we were moved into the Partner Direct team. Now, they’re refusing to quote on any deals larger than 2 or 3 PCs unless we tell them who the end-customer is, and if the end customer has ever done business with Dell directly then we have to register the deal. By “register” they mean supply all the details and ask for permission to sell to this customer. I’m almost okay with that, since it protects us too by preventing the customer from shopping the deal around to get the best price, but it turns out that they won’t approve a deal unless it’s valued at $25K+ ($50K+ for non-profit or government). Maybe 20% of my deals will exceed $25K in Dell hardware.
So the upshot of all of this is that if I have a deal for a server and half a dozen new workstations, and my client happens to have ever dealt directly with Dell before, then I won’t be allowed to sell it. In fact, Dell won’t even give me a quote.
I’m way beyond pissed off right now - I’m actually enraged. And, yes, I could probably lie to Dell about who the end user is, or maybe split up my purchases so that I stay under the radar, but that kind of thing ’s just a bullshit waste of my time. Oh, and my first question upon learning about this forced deal registration nonsense was to ask how we get out of Partner Direct… And the answer? We can’t.
So much for Dell becoming “channel friendly” since they hired (former Dell Canada President) Greg Davis to develop a formal channel program. The irony is that I suspect that he actually thinks the new program IS channel friendly, but didn’t take into account the affect on smaller partners like us who live on smaller deals…
I’ve directly done about million dollars in business with Dell over the past few years, and probably influenced half again that much. I’m curious how much volume we have as a group, and if the rest of you are experiencing pain since moving to Partner Direct. If so, maybe together we do enough business to get someone at Dell to listen to us and remove these ridiculous restrictions, or maybe we should be seeing how interested HP would be in picking up all of that business instead."
Well said Jeff. I appreciate your willingness to let me share it. Sounds channel friendly to me.....HP you have another opportunity to get it right and connect with partners. They keep serving the opportunity up on a silver platter. How about becoming easy to work with so partners don't feel forced to sleep with the enemy. Most don't want to do business with Dell. They just can't figure out how to work with HP.
"We’ve been reselling Dell for nearly 5 years, and it’s been great right up until a few weeks ago when we were moved into the Partner Direct team. Now, they’re refusing to quote on any deals larger than 2 or 3 PCs unless we tell them who the end-customer is, and if the end customer has ever done business with Dell directly then we have to register the deal. By “register” they mean supply all the details and ask for permission to sell to this customer. I’m almost okay with that, since it protects us too by preventing the customer from shopping the deal around to get the best price, but it turns out that they won’t approve a deal unless it’s valued at $25K+ ($50K+ for non-profit or government). Maybe 20% of my deals will exceed $25K in Dell hardware.
So the upshot of all of this is that if I have a deal for a server and half a dozen new workstations, and my client happens to have ever dealt directly with Dell before, then I won’t be allowed to sell it. In fact, Dell won’t even give me a quote.
I’m way beyond pissed off right now - I’m actually enraged. And, yes, I could probably lie to Dell about who the end user is, or maybe split up my purchases so that I stay under the radar, but that kind of thing ’s just a bullshit waste of my time. Oh, and my first question upon learning about this forced deal registration nonsense was to ask how we get out of Partner Direct… And the answer? We can’t.
So much for Dell becoming “channel friendly” since they hired (former Dell Canada President) Greg Davis to develop a formal channel program. The irony is that I suspect that he actually thinks the new program IS channel friendly, but didn’t take into account the affect on smaller partners like us who live on smaller deals…
I’ve directly done about million dollars in business with Dell over the past few years, and probably influenced half again that much. I’m curious how much volume we have as a group, and if the rest of you are experiencing pain since moving to Partner Direct. If so, maybe together we do enough business to get someone at Dell to listen to us and remove these ridiculous restrictions, or maybe we should be seeing how interested HP would be in picking up all of that business instead."
Well said Jeff. I appreciate your willingness to let me share it. Sounds channel friendly to me.....HP you have another opportunity to get it right and connect with partners. They keep serving the opportunity up on a silver platter. How about becoming easy to work with so partners don't feel forced to sleep with the enemy. Most don't want to do business with Dell. They just can't figure out how to work with HP.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Can you spell virtualize?
Our good friend Dave Sobel is trying to address the world of virtualization. Once something only for the enterprise, it is now definitely something that fits SMB and we need to learn it and embrace it as fast as we can. He has offered to help drive information to the community through his blog. He writes about what a consultant wants to know about virtualization. Check it out, learn and most of all provide feedback. Dave is a great partner in HTG5 and will be leading HTG11 for Great Britain.
http://www.evolvetech.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=1
The best way to learn is to leverage community. Read it and give him some feedback. He is looking for something to do. :-)
http://www.evolvetech.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=1
The best way to learn is to leverage community. Read it and give him some feedback. He is looking for something to do. :-)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, June 6, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, June 2, 2008
HTG(10) Canada is underway
Today we marked a new chapter in HTG, an international peer group. Stuart Crawford is leading 8 companies as founders of the newly formed HTG10 group, formed from all Canadian partners. I had the privilege of joining them for a few hours of their meeting this afternoon and for dinner this evening. We have the other four slots already spoken for from what I understand, so we have already filled our first international group. This allows the group to focus on things unique to doing business in our friendly country north of the border as well as interacting specifically with vendors focused on that market. One thing I have learned is that shipping stuff across the border is not all that easy, and doing business cross border is even more difficult. So this makes sense for everyone.
Dave Sobel is working on HTG(11) Great Britain which will be holding a get acquainted session at WPC in Houston. So that is coming along nicely. We have interest from Australia now too, so this international thing is starting to take shape quickly.
HTG12 and 13 are the new groups in the US and both are almost full. So the HTG train is running down the tracks at full speed and there is a lot of momentum going on. If you are on the train - remember that the key is execution. Execution driven by accountability - that is what we have to continue to focus on. Let's make it happen!
Dave Sobel is working on HTG(11) Great Britain which will be holding a get acquainted session at WPC in Houston. So that is coming along nicely. We have interest from Australia now too, so this international thing is starting to take shape quickly.
HTG12 and 13 are the new groups in the US and both are almost full. So the HTG train is running down the tracks at full speed and there is a lot of momentum going on. If you are on the train - remember that the key is execution. Execution driven by accountability - that is what we have to continue to focus on. Let's make it happen!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
SWOT Done
We completed our SWOT for IT Matters this week in Calgary. Nancy and I are now taking a few days in the Canadian Rockies here in Banff to relax and enjoy the wonders of this world. We saw the Columbia Ice Fields yesterday and took the drive up toward Jasper which is astounding. What an amazing world we get to live in. Tomorrow HTG10 starts in Calgary and I will be joining the folks there for some of their time in the afternoon. Stuart Crawford is leading the charge on this new group and I am excited to spend some time with them looking at their businesses and into their future.
So what did we learn from the SWOT this week. First of all, as is almost always the case, those of us on the team go home with probably more learning than those we came to serve. There is nothing that helps business owners and leaders define their own positions, evaluate their own companies, more than when sitting in a room in the position of helping others take a deep look at their company. I know that many of the things we identified for IT Matters to address are things I need to work on at HTS. So there is always a list of things for us to take back and get after in our own business.
I also learned just how darn talented members of the HTG family are. Brad Schow and Dan Hay are two guys that have their act together and provided fantastic value to the IT Matters team. It is a lot of work to prepare for, sit through, and follow up on a SWOT. That is why we have to do a very limited number of them for very specific purposes. But these guys really dove in and uncovered some key areas that will be valuable for the IT Matters team for years to come. Both of them will tell you they didn't really do anything, but that would be completely wrong. The value we all have for one another is really pretty simple. We need to listen, evaluate, apply our experiences, share our perspective and provide accountability for execution. That is what a SWOT is all about - a more formal way to live like we should live in our key relationships every day. These guys did it well and will be part of future SWOT engagements when it fits their schedules. I will gladly take them, or any of the others who have helped on previous SWOTs - Phil Kenealy, Lyf Wildenberg, Jeff Howard, Ken Shetler - hopefully I didn't forget anyone - it isn't rocket science but it is a willingness to share life and perspective at a deep level that makes a difference.
I do have a new nickname for my two amigos - Bubble Boys. They spent their free moments between sections or appointments addicted to the game on their Windows Mobile phones. Someone needs to write a cases study on the impact of games on WM6 users. Here are a couple you can study as it was good for laughs and competition. I am so pathetic at games like that I haven't even figured out how to play it.
I would be remiss in mentioning that Nancy spent the two days locked in the room with us recording all the interaction. She captured our questioning as well as the responses as that gives us the information to help us provide a clear set of recommendations. The outcome of a SWOT is just that - we did a one hour all staff meeting where we addressed issues we identified and suggested a course of action that needs to be taken by the ownership team. There were a dozen or more items that will be focused on and changes made based on what we shared. The team gets a direct line to the SWOT team to get things clarified and we now begin the task of providing accountability to Rob, Stuart and Tony to get things done. There is nothing worse as an outcome than to fail to perform after that report is presented. All teams get jazzed about the process and the pending outcomes, so it has to happen. That is why the process doesn't end when we leave, it really only just has begun.
Do you need someone to provide some outside perspective on what you are doing? Often it is pretty amazing how quickly people can see things that you have fallen over for weeks, months or years. It may not require a process as deep as the SWOT we do - maybe just inviting another business owner in to take a look for a hour or two will jump start your thinking. But it is important to not run your company in a silo. HTG is designed to help break us out of that tendency to think we need to do it alone. We don't, shouldn't and really can't. Not and achieve the real success we all want. So get involved, get creative, but open up. Often the hardest part of anything like this is admitting things need change. Here is a secret - I already know you are not running a perfect business - so get over it. We all need help. The key is you need to admit it and ask for it!
So what did we learn from the SWOT this week. First of all, as is almost always the case, those of us on the team go home with probably more learning than those we came to serve. There is nothing that helps business owners and leaders define their own positions, evaluate their own companies, more than when sitting in a room in the position of helping others take a deep look at their company. I know that many of the things we identified for IT Matters to address are things I need to work on at HTS. So there is always a list of things for us to take back and get after in our own business.
I also learned just how darn talented members of the HTG family are. Brad Schow and Dan Hay are two guys that have their act together and provided fantastic value to the IT Matters team. It is a lot of work to prepare for, sit through, and follow up on a SWOT. That is why we have to do a very limited number of them for very specific purposes. But these guys really dove in and uncovered some key areas that will be valuable for the IT Matters team for years to come. Both of them will tell you they didn't really do anything, but that would be completely wrong. The value we all have for one another is really pretty simple. We need to listen, evaluate, apply our experiences, share our perspective and provide accountability for execution. That is what a SWOT is all about - a more formal way to live like we should live in our key relationships every day. These guys did it well and will be part of future SWOT engagements when it fits their schedules. I will gladly take them, or any of the others who have helped on previous SWOTs - Phil Kenealy, Lyf Wildenberg, Jeff Howard, Ken Shetler - hopefully I didn't forget anyone - it isn't rocket science but it is a willingness to share life and perspective at a deep level that makes a difference.
I do have a new nickname for my two amigos - Bubble Boys. They spent their free moments between sections or appointments addicted to the game on their Windows Mobile phones. Someone needs to write a cases study on the impact of games on WM6 users. Here are a couple you can study as it was good for laughs and competition. I am so pathetic at games like that I haven't even figured out how to play it.
I would be remiss in mentioning that Nancy spent the two days locked in the room with us recording all the interaction. She captured our questioning as well as the responses as that gives us the information to help us provide a clear set of recommendations. The outcome of a SWOT is just that - we did a one hour all staff meeting where we addressed issues we identified and suggested a course of action that needs to be taken by the ownership team. There were a dozen or more items that will be focused on and changes made based on what we shared. The team gets a direct line to the SWOT team to get things clarified and we now begin the task of providing accountability to Rob, Stuart and Tony to get things done. There is nothing worse as an outcome than to fail to perform after that report is presented. All teams get jazzed about the process and the pending outcomes, so it has to happen. That is why the process doesn't end when we leave, it really only just has begun.
Do you need someone to provide some outside perspective on what you are doing? Often it is pretty amazing how quickly people can see things that you have fallen over for weeks, months or years. It may not require a process as deep as the SWOT we do - maybe just inviting another business owner in to take a look for a hour or two will jump start your thinking. But it is important to not run your company in a silo. HTG is designed to help break us out of that tendency to think we need to do it alone. We don't, shouldn't and really can't. Not and achieve the real success we all want. So get involved, get creative, but open up. Often the hardest part of anything like this is admitting things need change. Here is a secret - I already know you are not running a perfect business - so get over it. We all need help. The key is you need to admit it and ask for it!
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