CRN Power100 Women in IT

CRN released their list of the 100 most powerful women in IT. I am unsure of their criteria, but there are three that definitely belong on that list from HTS/HTG. I have been privileged to work with all of them closely and have experienced their excellence and solid leadership.

A month or so ago, HTG hosted our second CEO Forum in Denver and had Colleen Abdullah who is CEO of WOW as our speaker. She was dynamic and extremly engaging. One thing she said I have not forgotten was this: "If you want to succeed in the business world today, you need to have some strong women on the management team". May be paraphrased a bit, but the message was clear. The days are over of male dominance in the board room. It is time to leverage the current generation of female leaders and leverage their skills as part of a successful management team. I can validate that statement completely.

Connie Arentson has worked at HTS for some 15 years now. She began as a field engineer, quickly moved up to become service manager and held that role until June 2009 when she was elevated to the position of president at HTS. That is one of the best decisions I have ever made in running the company. Her passion to succeed and attention to detail has propelled us to growth even when the economy was down. We had to make some tough decisions last year, but it was done with grace and consideration for all our team, and no one lost their job as we consolidated some offices. I can honestly say that had a guy been sitting in that seat it probably would have looked different. Connie is a humble, steady leader who just gets it done but never forgets about the people and relationships that make HTS a success.

Jane Cage is the ultimate partner. She came to HTS as part of a merger back in late 2002 when her Connecting Point store joined SCCI to form HTS. There is no person I know on this planet who can do magic with data like she can. Our back office has been revolutionized by her ability to make numbers talk and sing together. She is the cautious part of our leadership team, and always asks the pesky questions like "why are we doing that"? But over the years (and I am not really saying this out loud) I have come to appreciate her caution and discipline even when it slows things down some. Jane has a heart of gold and knows most of the known world, and her experience and relationships have been a blessing to our company over the years.

Christy Sacco came to HTG to help us get events right. It didn't take long with me trying to manage details that I knew we had to have help and fast. (For some reason her picture is not in the slide show, but if you go to the entire list she shows up on the list on page 15). Christy is like a never ending bundle of energy. She makes me tired just watching her, and I am usually considered the maniac of getting things done. There isn't a detail she hasn't conquered and no problem that causes her to lose too much sleep. But her biggest attribute is she is an event planner extrordinaire because she understand the channel and partners very well. She is a relationship person who knows that first and foremost it is about people. Her experience and expertise have caused HTG to have awesome events ever since she came to us. And the real challenge is how to make it better in the future when she has already produced near perfection. Of course that is me speaking - she has a whole list of details to take us to the next level.

Bottom line is that HTS/HTG has three of the Power100 women in this industry. We are in pretty good company when you look at the list for other companies that can say that. Am I proud of these women? You bet I am, and blessed to work beside them every day. It takes fantastic people in the seats on the bus if you want to really hit it out of the park. We are blessed with these three, and a whole lot more on our team. You can only expect bigger and better things from HTS and HTG as we experience the power of teamwork. The best is yet to come because our management team (which also has some amazing men) is hitting on all cylinders.

Thanks to all who allow us to serve you or call you friends. It has been a great ride for the first 25 years, and we are just getting started. Connie, Jane and Christy - I am proud of all three of you and look forward to being kept in line for some time to come. When my bride enters this mix I am surrounded on every side with no where to run or hide. Guess I will just get back to work......

This and That

Congratulations to IT Matters for their award last night at the CDN Magazine awards gala. They won the award for Best Collaborative Solution in Canada. You can read about it at http://www.stuartcrawford.com/

How about this economy in your patch? We have seen some projects held but overall no major issues yet. But I think the impact is yet to come as companies try to get financing and credit in 2009. Craig Zarley from CRN did a good article I was fortunate to participate in on the subject. You might check it out at http://www.crn.com/it-channel/211600223.

At our HTG1 meeting this week we took a block of time to talk politics. That is way outside what I normally allow in these meetings, but based on the proximity to the election and the potential impact. There was lively discussion and the main outcome was that many wished there was a "none of the above" option for many of the races that are coming. The key is to get involved and VOTE. You shouldn't complain if you aren't part of the process!

Make sure you are guarding your credit with your lendors, distributors and vendors. It is a lot easier to lose it than get it back. Pay those bills on time and guard the credit you have with diligence. I believe those with credit will have significant opportunities in 2009 to grow rapidly as others are stymied in their business.

CRN Fast Growth Awards

I have been in Chicago the last couple days at the CRN Fast Growth 100 awards. HTS was fortunate to be #24 on the list this year, up from #68 last year. We spent the day in general sessions and in executive boardrooms and to be honest, it felt a bit out of my comfort zone. The combined revenue of this group is 10.9B, and our mere 17M doesn't even move the needle in comparison to the aggregate. But it is good to rub shoulders with those who are ahead, far ahead of the place we are. And this event was filled with those kind of people.

The big discussion was definitely around the economy and credit. Growth is fueled by capital and credit and this group of companies is concerned and feeling the pinch already. The learning for me was that I need to be very diligent in managing our cash and working hard to build even more credit capacity before we need it. I need to be proactive with our distribution partner, with vendors and with our banks. I need to make sure we have relationships with leasing and financing and floor planning companies so in the event we need it, credit will be available.

I believe there will be opportunities in the next months for growth and acquisitions like we have not seen in a while. The key will be having your financial ducks in a row so you can take action while the opportunity presents itself. That means preparation and planning. Never forget that cash is king. M&A is certainly a good method to growing. Most of the companies here this week have gotten where they are through those methods. But there is much to a successful transaction and being ready when an opportunity presents itself is the first step. So use this downturn as a wakeup call to get your credit capacity in order. If you think you have enough today - ask yourself what happens if you acquire someone just like you are and need twice what you use today. I think that is a logical goal and few of us are really ready for that.

HTS Recieves CRN Fast Growth 100 Award

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

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

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

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

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

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