PitchIT Volume 1

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/cZnUQXv1mPw

Get ready to share your innovation with the world. Whether your solution solves a need in IT, finance, business operations or sales, it is up to you to make sure that your business has the resources and structure for you, your colleagues and your clients to get the job done.

This week we have a great guest speaker, Sean Lardo of ConnectWise. With so much ground to cover, we have a two-part podcast coming your way!

So many of us have found ourselves in a time when we did not have the right processes or technologies to simplify workloads and make scaleable business models. When this happens, everyone suffers. We may not always have the answers or solutions to ensure that these processes are in place. Sometimes, the right answer is, “I don’t know.” Take this opportunity to learn, make connections in your industry and get excited about the possibilities on the horizon. Teach this to your colleagues and employees. They may not have all the knowledge, but encourage them to ask questions. Take the time to educate them about your industry and get them excited about your mission and the work you do. When people are passionate about your vision, they become a sponge to soak up knowledge! Talk to people in a language they can understand. Not everyone knows the lingo or work of your industry. Get on their level, and they’ll rise to the occasion.

We focus on conversations, not presentations. Sure, a presentation can be helpful and informative. But how do people really connect and retain what they’ve learned? How many relationships have you built solely on a slide show? Probably none. That’s why it is so important to add that personal touch by taking the time to talk with people. Open communication and conversations with your clients and colleagues make you a better leader and innovator. There’s a lot of passion in building relationships. Bring that passion to your team and your business!

When bringing your vision to fruition, it can feel a bit overwhelming. There are a lot of things to think about because we all know that a well-laid plan means nothing if you don’t have or provide the tools to execute your ideas. For example, if you’ve created the best firewall that’s ever been made, it will not go anywhere without a great sales team to bring in new clients and a crew of staff to keep your operations running smoothly. Sometimes looking at the big picture is not the best idea. So many things to do. So little time to do it. One of the best ways to deal with a huge undertaking is to take a note from the great Sherlock Holmes - keep a clean attic. Clear your head, cut out the unnecessary noise of information and make room in your brain for the context that helps you connect the dots and build. Remember, there’s success to be had when you are the architect with a vision instead of a micromanager who loses sight.

Enjoy the ride! The world is ready and eager for your innovation.

The evolution of Entertainment

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/f3VfzE4CSW4

Entertainment and business - do the two of them go hand in hand? Absolutely! This week, we will talk about the entertainment industry and how to apply it to your business.

It is easy to fall into the old idea that the streams of work and play should never cross. But that is not necessarily true. If you think about it, our society is driven by entertainment. For you to be successful, you have to pay attention to what is going on in the entertainment industry.

When you are at work, what tools do you usually utilize? Do you use messaging platforms like Slack or Discord? Do you host virtual meetings with your clients or staff? You can thank the gaming industry for that. Think back to the 90s and early 2000s. Games went from platform leaping side scrolls to remote play. Suddenly, we were able to play games and connect with people all over the world. Next came VR. Now you can share virtual worlds, games and sports with people from the comfort of your own home. Whole companies and businesses have been created using what they learned from gaming messaging platforms and applied it to develop tools that organizations of every kind use on a daily basis.

Need more evidence? Look at crypto-currency. It’s not something you can put in the wallet or purse, but it’s definitely got value! They have turned graphic cards into something that is more than just something cool to look at. It’s an actual form of currency.

Our world is always changing. What engages people, what pulls people in - like it or not, it has to be entertaining. If you want people to lean into your message, they have to enjoy it. This means you have to pay attention to the ongoing trends. Check out the latest YouTube videos or what’s trending on social media. What are people tuning into? What are they watching? What online games are popular? Why? Now, put yourself in your clients’ shoes, answer those questions and help them implement plans to push the envelope and keep them fresh. The same goes for you and your business strategy. Keep up with the times and keep your audience entertained! Your impact will be much stronger when people have fun.

So, how does the formula to success in entertainment match a business model? The answer is simple: When demand increases, so does the value. When the value increases, there’s money to be made! Learn what makes a business tick. Whether it’s you, a client or MSP, it’s up to you to keep things moving. Success is essentially a gaming model. You start on level one, master it and then move on to the next level. It’s up to you to ensure that each level is mastered before moving on to the next.


Now, that’s not to say that everything “old” is obsolete. There’s a whole market for people who still listen to music on cassette or records for the “right” sound. But trends come back! When you know what is happening and what is driving people to engage and tune in, it helps you understand what people value.

Entertainment is successful because it is constantly evolving. It tries something new, releases it to the public and tests the waters. It may not always work, but when it does it can lead to big wins. Businesses do the same thing and like entertainment, they have to change in order to stay relevant. Switch on, power up and be entertaining!

Opportunity Preparation and Failure

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/1NypPGLGvW0

As a business owner, you probably spend a lot of time planning. Generally, your plans probably don’t happen exactly how you thought they would—but, when they do then all the time you spend prepping is worth it. That’s exactly what this week’s episode is all about. Opportunities, preparation and failure.

Engineers have a more difficult time getting used to the concept of strategy and having a plan for the future. If there is a piece of technology that is broken, there are steps to take in order to fix it. The fix is also right there in front of you as is the solution. Once you fix the problem then you close the ticket and call it accomplished and feel the satisfaction of starting a solving a problem quickly and seeing results instantly. The effects of your efforts are visible.

For businesses, it’s not the same. Business owners have to spend time coming up with a general idea of where they want to be in the future and figure out how to get there over time.

This prep work is super important. If you have no aim for your business, then what are you really trying to accomplish? Wanting to make money is not a good enough reason to be in business. You have to have a strategy for how you will actually be successful.

It all comes down to making a plan, working that plan and then reviewing that plan. First, you need to access what the goals are for your company. What are you currently doing and what do you hope to be doing in 1, 2 or even 5 years? Have a vision for the future of your business. Then, get everyone in your company on board. If only one person knows about what your goals are, then they will not be achieved. When everyone is on the same page, start looking at current and future opportunities and match up those that will line up with your vision. Be careful not to spread yourself too thin. You can’t and shouldn’t say yes to everything just because it’s available. That will set you up for failure. Be okay with saying no to things.

If saying no is really hard for you, then think through this process any time you are considering an opportunity. Look at your goals and who your company is. Does this opportunity match who you are and will it help you get to where you want to be? If you answer no to either of these questions or don’t know, then it’s safe to say no to that opportunity.

The last piece of prepping your business is learning from failures. There are going to be opportunities that you take that will not pan out. There are going to be situations that you didn’t prepare for or prepared incorrectly. Do not beat yourself up or get frustrated with your business plan. Look at these things and learn what you could have done differently. Adjust your goals. Move forward knowing that you will most likely make that same mistake again.

To sum everything up, Look at the opportunities ahead of you, match those up with the vision and goals for your company and then make preparations for those goals. And just know that you will never get to a point where all your goals have been met and you’re done. You’ll always be adjusting and changing as you grow into a better version of your business.

Dumb Mistakes

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

We all make dumb mistakes — it’s just a part of life. Some of these mistakes might stick with you and haunt you to this day. The important thing to pay attention to is how you will respond when you make silly mistakes.

We here at Humanize It have made our share of dumb mistakes. We get it! But, we have learned a lot and grown from those mistakes. The ability to look at those mistakes and celebrate what you got out of them is really important.


As a business owner, if you notice your MSP making little mistakes that should be avoided, you should check in with them. Make sure that they are doing alright. Based on personal experience, sleep deprivation can be a huge cause of making dumb mistakes. Make sure your MSP is not overworking and is getting enough sleep in order to have the right amount of energy for the tasks they have ahead of them. If they are getting enough sleep, look deeper. See what the cause of these mistakes could be and if there is anything you can do about it. If there isn’t anything that can be done specifically, you might just need to express the need to be more careful and mindful with the work they are doing.

The most important aspect of making mistakes is being able to learn from them. And, in order to do that, you have to be open about your mistakes. Engineers, this one is for you. If you are prone to hide your mistakes instead of bringing them into the open, you will not be able to learn and grow from those mistakes. You need to be open about what is happening or the problems you’re experiencing. This will allow other engineers and MSPs to be open as well. People look up to the engineers, and being open and leading by example will only help the team as a whole.

If you’re a business owner, it is critical that you invite mistakes and allow your team to fail in order for them to grow. If you cultivate a culture of fear of failure, people will walk on eggshells when something goes wrong. Investigate the culture of your work place and make sure that you allow people to open up. It is also great for you to lead by example, as well, and share your mistakes and what you have learned from them.

The last thing to know about mistakes is there is a difference between dumb mistakes and incompitancy. If you notice one of your engineers is consistently making the same mistakes over and over again, they might not know what they are doing. Check in with them and see what is going on. If you find out that they don’t know how to do the job fully, it is time to either train them in that area or find someone that knows how to do the job better.

Dumb mistakes happen to everyone. Look at the people making these mistakes and see how they are doing. Are they aware they are making mistakes? How are you dealing with these mistakes? Is your environment conducive to learning and are your employees taken care of? Ultimately, there is an opportunity to let dumb mistakes make you smarter!

Operations Vs. Strategy

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

If you’re an engineer then you might not like to talk about strategy. We get it! But, strategy is super important in any successful organization. This week, we are going to focus on how strategy is a component that we need to focus on as well as operations.

The simple fact is, strategy is not just simple planning; it’s a larger item that shows where your organization will be going someday. If you’re technical, you might not understand this. You might be someone who hears a bunch of strategic ideas and instantly thinks that none of it can be done. You might be thinking that the ideas are crazy and completely impossible.

The important thing to keep in mind is that none of these strategies and tactics need to be done tomorrow. These are ideas that are going to take time and very small steps forward. Strategy is where your organization is headed. You don’t have to get there by the end of the week!

Where your company is currently and where you will be in the future will look drastically different. You just have to focus on what you’re doing right now and then build to that future company bit by bit.

Look at strategy as the goal that your company is aiming towards, and operations are how you will get there. Strategy should be done in steps and you never have to know what the future step will be. If you’re on step 2, then do what is necessary for step 2 and slowly, step 3 will work its way to your understanding and become clear to your company. Once you’re on step 3, that can be your focus until step 4 begins to form and take place.

Another important thing to keep in mind is, while strategy is important, it’s not everything. Some people get too lost in strategy and nothing ever gets done. Those are the people that engineers hate. Their heads are always in the clouds and nothing ever happens. Operations are the day-to-day tasks that allow strategy to be accomplished. Both strategy and operations must work hand-in-hand.

The frustrating thing about strategy is you most likely will not see the fruits of your labor for months if not years. Results from operations can be seen by the end of the day. This doesn't make one more important than the other — it simply means that you have to be patient and know that both are very critical to your organization no matter the length of time it takes to see results.

In order for both of these to work together, there must be trust. People in strategy need to understand that their engineers will have the ideas and the operations people will be able to accomplish it. The people in operations need to look at the strategic people and know that they have great direction and know where the company is headed. When both work together, that’s when success happens.

In order to understand if your strategy and operations are working together, look back at your company and where you were a couple of years ago. Have you accomplished what your strategists thought would accomplish with the operations help? If not, be honest and make changes based on what you see that is working. Essentially, don’t just take steps to take them. Take steps to get where you’re trying to go.

The moral of the story: strategy is where you are going and operations are how you get there.

How to Fire your client

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd 

Last week, we talked about how to fire an MSP. This week, we are discussing the equally uncomfortable task of firing a client. 

First things first, you want to make sure that firing your client is actually the best solution. It takes about 7 times more resources to obtain new clients than it does to maintain existing clients. You’ve spent a lot of resources and time to obtain this client in the first place. Is it really worth it to cut ties completely? 

The best way to determine if your client needs to go is to list your pain points with them. If there is a solution to one of your problems, then do that instead of firing them and see if the situation improves. If there isn’t a solution, then it is time to fire them. If you found that one of the problems comes from one engineer specifically, try switching their client to another MSP and determine if that solution solves the problem. 

When it comes to actually firing a client, there are two different scenarios that you will fall into. The first is the client is actually a good client, but you cannot service them the way that another MSP could. Say your MSP has developed a niche market for dental offices, but you have one client that does not fall in that category. The best solution is to check what you were supposed to be doing for them, refer a different MSP to take over that has that area of expertise and get everything ready for when that new MSP will take over. This can be a smooth and beneficial transition for both you and your client. 

If you are in a more difficult situation and dealing with a toxic client, the first solution is probably not going to work. If this is where you are at with your difficult client, it is important to be clear but polite. Come up with an exit date, print out everything necessary for them to look at or sign, tell them you are enacting clause 6B and nicely layout the reasons that you are leaving. Again, you want to do this without causing a scene or throwing a fit because that could give them a reason to make you do more work. Make sure you take a deep breath, slow down and be methodical. 

Hanging on to an unhealthy client is not good for your team. If you are needing to fire someone, be intentional and fire them without dragging it out or raising their price in hopes that they will leave on their own. It’s best just to politely rip off the band-aid. 

Before you get to this point, it’s healthy to regularly go through your client list and make sure things are running smoothly. This can be a great way to avoid getting to your breaking point with clients. Along with regularly looking through your client list, it is great to talk to your engineers and account managers and see what they think of each client. Ask them which client they would fire and see what they say. This can give great insight into their experience and give you the information you need to determine if a client needs to go. 

The main thing to keep in mind is to make firing decisions that are in your team’s best interest. Have a transition strategy and plan and be deliberate and straightforward. If you do this, then firing a client will be much easier and your team will thank you. 

How to Fire Your MSP

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd 

Today, we tackle the uncomfortable task of firing an MSP — something that must be done but isn’t fun. Since this is such a daunting task, we’re giving you three tips to make it the smoothest transition possible. 

Tip 1: Have the keys to the kingdom. 

If you are frustrated or unhappy with your current MSP, then it can be scary to think about firing them considering they have so much power over your technology. If you have a good MSP or someone who is easy to work with, it would cause no problem to transition to a new MSP that works better for your business because that MSP would help with the transition. But, if you have an MSP that you are nervous about withholding information or sabotaging your business, then it is time that you get more access to your passwords. Essentially, you need to be the one with the most control. 

If you don’t currently have all your technology’s passwords plus an overarching master password, then you need to get access to those things. 

Let this be a test for your MSP. You may have a great MSP, and that means that you already have access to all passwords and have total control over your accounts and systems. If you don’t, then maybe your MSP is not the best fit for you. 

So, the first thing to do when you are going to fire your MSP is to get all your passwords and confirm that they are accurate. 

Tip 2: Have a transition plan. 

Like anything within your business, you want to have a plan for what the transition to a new MSP will look like. When picking a new MSP, look at all the things that your current MSP is struggling with and make your decision based on some of those aspects. It is best to have a new MSP picked out so you can give them passwords and authentication information so they can start preparing to take over. 

It is also a good idea to have a risk audit done and get that information over to your new MSP as well. 

Do not let your current MSP know what is happening until the day you are letting them go because they may struggle to finish up projects in a timely manner or continue to do their job fully. 

Tip 3: Transition at a convenient time. 

Be aware of what your business is doing and make sure you plan to transition to a new MSP at a time that is most convenient for your business. Don’t choose to switch your MSP provider during a product launch or in the middle of a massive project. It is best to wait until the summer or a non-busy time to make this transition go well. 

The last thing to keep in mind is that it is okay to look at other MSP offers, even if your MSP is amazing. It is not a bad idea to know what all your options are and compare those options to what your current MSP offers. 

Pick an MSP

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

Making the right choice on an MSP could be a make-or-break decision for your company or organization. We’re here to help you find the perfect MSP that will help accelerate your business’s growth. 

There is a right choice and a definite wrong choice as far as MSPs go, but it might not always be easy to decipher between the two. People don’t set out to be bad MSPs, but bad habits can develop bad traits and cause a lot of problems for someone looking for real solutions. 

A good MSP should be a great resource and help you understand how technology can benefit your company. That’s the first big bracket to look at: education. Your potential MSP should have a good grasp of technical things. They also have to work with a company to educate on solutions and tactics they offer. 

With that being said, education in technical solutions can not be the only thing an MSP has going for them. Some MSPs are striving to be the best technical support possible, but that isn’t going to fully help your business. As a business owner, if you’re only looking for an MSP that knows your area of work, you might be missing out on the full range of possibilities in the technology industry. 

Knowledge is important, but it is not everything. Some MSPs offer the world, but can’t deliver on their promises. These MSPs are ultimately salespeople trying to sell the services that they wished they offered. 

You are the expert in your field, so you shouldn’t need someone else to tell you how to run your business. You need an MSP that is going to look at your company and its goals and come up with the best solution for you based on that technical knowledge. It shouldn’t even matter what type of technology you have; your MSP should be able to dive into that technology and come back with results-driven specifically for you, not just for their own personal product offering. 

But, how do they get to the point where they can implement their technology skills? Asking you, the business owner, questions!

The second bracket to look at when deciding what MSP to go with is their ability to talk, ask questions and understand your business. You want to find someone that cares about your business, understands your needs and then displays their abilities. It is good to have someone that understands your technology, but it’s even better to have someone that aligns with your growth. 

Look at the difference between a good and bad MSP like the difference between jiffy lube and a mechanic. Jiffy Lube is all about process and quick fixes and getting people in and out as quickly as possible. A mechanic will assess your whole car and see what has gone wrong in the past and what has to be fixed versus what could be a potential fix for the future. 

Ultimately, if a prospective MSP is not trying to hear you out and learn about your company, they probably won’t be a great fit for you. Find the solution that has your company’s best interests and you won’t go wrong!

The Future MSP

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

This year, we are diving into all things MSP: what is in store for MSPs in the future and how you can level up your organization through proper MSP practices.

Historically, MSPs have just kept the lights on. They would come in, fix the problem or make it go away and that was that. But, when was the last time an MSP sat down and asked an organization how they could help with your profit margins or increase the return on your technological investment? That’s what we’re going to be talking about this whole year! How MSPs can truly make a positive impact in their client’s companies.

It used to be that an IT guy could do everything from desktop support, to the switch, to the route. As technology did its thing and expanded, it really became too much for one individual to master. The growth of technology allowed MSPs a chance to develop specialties and become skilled in certain areas, which ultimately makes them a much better resource. 

Basically, MSPs are evolving and changing. If you’re an MSP, you can branch out and bring in different resources unlike ever before. It’s not too much of a change to think of yourself as a management company that manages a lot of different resources. 

If you were to start an MSP today, it would be best to have no engineers. Hire consultants that are able to ask important questions like, “what kind of company are you and what do you need?” Then, your job would simply be to manage those concerns and goals for them. Have your clients pay one monthly fee and you take care of all the other resources that might be needed. 

The most important thing to keep in mind if you’re an MSP is that you should always sell your client the best solution for their company and not the other way around. If you are only ever offering cut-and-dried solutions, then you aren’t being a good resource. This will give your clients the things they need rather than trying to fit their needs into your offered in-house skills. 

In order to move forward as an MSP with absolute success, create custom solutions to meet specific needs. Since the industry has become a hybrid model split between technical and business consulting, MSPs need to be solutions experts. You don’t have to be business experts — your clients are already filling that role. You just have to listen to their difficulties and their goals, then you can give them the best solutions based on your technological knowledge. 

Ultimately, embrace the changes that are happening in the MSP industry in order to have the most success. Change is going to happen very rapidly. You can either ride that wave or get sucked underwater. The MSP world is moving toward a more consultative practice than an operational one. Part of that change is measuring the success of that business and seeing where they are going in order to offer solutions that are going to make them ride the wave successfully.

What you are doing wrong.

This is the big fear of many leaders. This is why clickbait posts titles in the negative we are all afraid we are doing things wrong or missing out on something. 

The dirty secret every leader needs to know is that we are all doing things wrong...all the time. So is everyone else.  It is how we learn. The difference between success and failure is not whether you get back up but how you deal with failure. How do you deal with making a wrong decision or a poor one?

Some people deflect: A bad decision is made and an excuse is given then we move forward. Sure you don't give up, but did you learn?  Maybe you thought "Oh I just won't do that again".

Some people adapt: A bad decision is made and they steer it in a new direction. Call it a pivot, call it an adjustment, whatever you want. 

My favorite is the do-over. A bad decision is made, parameters are changed and we try again.

Which method is wrong?  Personally I have always seen deflection as the worst decision you can make as a leader. It is the laziest and easiest to get away with.  You feel like you learned something and you have a takeaway "Dont do that". However, is this really the best way to grow? A series of negatives in life.  You burn yourself on a stove so you just stop using a stove. 

This is over simplistic, but is it any different than trying to release a new service or product that doesn't show a profit? We try, it doesn't work and we say "Well lets not do that thing again".  However, the real problem isnt how you deal with bad decisions, it is how you deal with ALL decisions.

We talk about this pretty consistently here with the Humanize IT process.  Other IT departments talk through the "Iterative Process".  This is the process of taking what you are doing and consistently improving things. An easy way to think about the iterative process is to make what you are doing to day look like crap tomorrow.  

This is what most business leaders do wrong. Bad decision or not your goal is to improve what you are doing.  This is where most business leaders fail, they do something that works, and they never improve it.  They do something bad and they make adjustments all the time via one of the methods mentioned above.  However they are not improving everything else. This will always result in mediocraty, because you are only tossing out the worst parts of your business. Leaving mostly average items and a few high performing assets.

How do we avoid this? We apply the same methodology to ALL areas of your business as we do failures. In this way, everything improves,  your bad decisions become mediocre assets and your mediocre assets become high performers. This continues for as long as you are leading the company. 

You know you are succeeding at this when you start saying things like "remember when we thought that was successful?" or "Our high point last year is our bottom of today"  Maybe landing one $1500MRR contract today is considered major success.  Then next year you are considering raising your minimum contract to $1750MRR because you have so much business. This is the iterative process and we want to keep this up for as long as possible.  This leads to successful companies.  

If you are not following an iterative process across all areas of your company you are failing.  This is more than process improvement, it is growth across the board. So go forth,  make the best you do today look like crap tomorrow!