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Right Person, Right Seat

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/wJKWn98LKWs

So, you’ve started a company. Great! Now the hard part; finding people to run it. Many companies look at their employees as nothing more than bodies in a seat. Once a seat is empty, they’ll look for anyone to replace it. But running a company is more than just ensuring that seats are filled. Your company’s mission statement and culture not only tell your story, it tells your employees who you are, what you value and how they are a part of your vision. It’s important that you hire people who possess more than just the skills or education needed to do their job. Find people who care!

Establishing the culture of your company is crucial in hiring the right people. Many individuals may have all the qualifications to fill a needed position. But if they’re not a good fit for your company culture, hiring them will only hurt them and your company. When you talk to potential new hires, make sure you make your company culture clear. How do you operate? What do you value? How do your employees and executives interact and communicate? Pay attention to a candidate’s approach and demeanor. They're not the right fit if they don’t align with your company culture.

Your mission statement needs to be clear and unique. Find your “it.” How does your “it” make you the best at what you do? Mediocre and generic mission statements make for mediocre and generic passion from your staff. Live that mission statement every day with enthusiasm. Attitude is like a wildfire. It spreads to everyone, including new employees. When your staff talks to their peers about your “it,” they attract people who clearly understand the kind of company you are and how they can fit in. You’re attracting new candidates who share your values.

As your company grows, your staff may have to adjust. The roles and responsibilities that once marked their performance will shift. It is essential to talk to your team about the changes. This may lead to some uncomfortable conversations, and some people may choose to leave. It may cause you to be short staffed for a while. However, the last thing you want is to fall into the proverbial, shoving a square peg in a round hole. Allow your employees to excel in work that they enjoy. Forcing them into a position they don’t want will only cause for an unhappy work environment. Your staff will lose their passion and leave you to pick up the pieces.

Major corporations will always be a threat to your small business. Right now, everyone is feeling the strain of employee shortages. Make no mistake; those corporations will be happy to poach your staff. They’ll offer more money and benefits that you may not be able to match. But you still have an ace up your sleeve - you’re a small business. When an employee is offered a position from these big companies, take this as an opportunity to talk to them about your unique benefits. Small companies don’t treat staff like an unrecognizable cogs in a big machine. They value their employees. Often, you know them as a person. You know their families, what makes them laugh, what makes them tick. No big corporation can compete with that! People are more apt to stay in a company they love, not the one that pays the most.

Right seat, right person - it’s more than placing a warm body to fill a position. It’s finding people who share your vision and are excited about the role they play in your success. Your team is ready! The roster is yours to create.

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.

Talk Like a CEO

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

Last week, our focus was talking like a CFO. This week, we’re tackling how to talk like a CEO!

You might have heard the phrase: one throat to choke, one back to pat. Well, that’s the CEO of a company. They are responsible for their company in the good and the bad, for better or worse. CEO is a title that a lot of people want, but it comes with a lot of weight.

As an MSP, when you’re talking to your clients in a meeting, the CEO might be trying not to fall asleep. Don’t take this personally, their focus is just mainly on the success of the company at large.

With that information in mind, there is one sure-fire way to get the CEO on your side. Make them look good. Yep, it’s that simple. Let them know how your products and services will make their company excel.

More than half of the CEO’s job is politics — essentially, making their company look good and being responsible with their decisions. They are looking for success, which means you need to let them know how your products and services are going to bring that success.

One thing to keep in mind is that success looks different for every CEO. Just like finding success with a CFO, talking to your client’s CEO is how you can determine how success is measured in their company. It is going to be a moving target, really. You can not take one thing that is important to one CEO and assume that it is going to be the same target that the next CEO is shooting for. Having conversations with each CEO will allow you to aim for the right things.

Another important tip is to get a grip on what the company’s culture is. Knowing what the culture is will allow you to get to the table in front of the CEO seamlessly. Some companies are hierarchical where there is an order of people that you must talk to or go through in order to chat with the CEO. Go through that process and be respectful of the way their business is structured. Other businesses are more of a level playing field and it’s okay to go directly to the CEO or upper-level management. Just be aware of that culture and go through the process of communicating accordingly. If you don’t, the CEO will be much less likely to meet with you at all, or they will choose to skip any meetings going forward.

The last tip we have for you is to learn the CEO’s vision for the company. The CEO is constantly going back to the basics of what the mission and vision of the company are and how you fit into that. Figure out what that vision is and put what you’re bringing to the table in that context.

A great way to do that is to go to your client or potential client’s website and write in your own words what you believe their vision is. In your meeting with the client, ask the CEO to take a look at it and make sure that what you wrote is correct. This will let the CEO know that you understand them and desire to make them look good with your solutions.

The CEO’s opinion is important, so have a listening-focused conversation, learn their measure of success, get a grip on their company culture and understand their CEO’s vision for the company. If you do all of that, you’ll be talking like a CEO and bringing success to you and your client in a heartbeat.

Holidays

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

The holidays are here and that means that you might be figuring out who has to work over this time and who gets time off. If you’re an IT professional, you might be hoping to get a moment of peace and quiet in an empty office over the holidays. 

As IT professionals, we want to celebrate the holidays, but there are always projects that can only be done over a day off. Take Thanksgiving for instance. You can eat with your family on Thursday but then come in on Friday to do a major rollout on things like phones or swap out a couple of servers. This is sometimes the ideal situation for IT professionals. You can still celebrate with your loved ones, but you also get to really get stuff done without interruption or calls coming in. A quiet office is also a great break from those loved ones after a holiday spent together.

Say you came in on the Friday following Thanksgiving and got lots of stuff done. This allows you to monitor that progress over the weekend and fix any bugs or problems that might take place without interruption still. 

These holidays can become like custody battles. While many professionals are trying to get time off for the holidays, IT professionals are typically debating over who gets to work certain holidays or periods of time following the holidays in order to get done with everything they’re hoping to. 

This is called change management, which is super important in the IT world. The holidays are generally where we center this change management. Weekends work alright, but holidays are the best time to make big changes and implement new technologies.

Holidays can be a conflicting time as well. The personal side also comes into play. Family is very important, and spending time together is what the holidays are all about. Balancing this family time and also getting stuff done for work can be a complicated game to play. If you absolutely love your job, this becomes even more difficult. But, if you can learn to balance these two things, the holidays will be both a special time of togetherness and a time of solitude work. 

There is another aspect to holidays that most people don’t think about, and that is the fact that, worldwide, we all celebrate different holidays. Some holidays are universal while others are very specific to a region and it is important to keep these in mind when deciding when to work and when to take a break. You might also be able to let another take care of what you’re trying to accomplish if they are in another region and working when the United States is celebrating a holiday.

If you’re a business professional, it could be beneficial to have a conversation with your IT staff and figure out if they actually want the time off over the holiday season or if they would benefit from working one or two days in order to work in a quiet office, uninterrupted.

Inspiration

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

What are you inspired by? How does that inspiration play into your day-to-day life? Start thinking about those questions as we jump into our topic on innovation and inspiration.

First, let’s look at some definitions.

Innovation is a new method, process, idea, etc. Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. Now, how do these two words relate to one another? Innovation comes from inspiration. Innovation comes from weird areas — sometimes laziness, hubris or impatience. But, when we challenge the status quo and do something different, we create inspiration for a variety of projects or passions.

Let’s look at space exploration as an example. The latest space trip involving billionaires and non-scientific people is the latest and greatest thing in all things space exploration. This type of travel is not easy and is not as simple as someone might assume. There is a lot that has to go into this flight and massive amounts of innovating and problem-solving are necessary. So, how did this end up becoming a reality? Innovation.

Lots of research went into solving this problem, which resulted in not just more accessible space travel, but Tesla became a well-known car brand. Tesla was created with the goal to make a vehicle that was battery-operated and durable enough to go to space. So, the car was created out of innovation with space travel being the inspiration. Crazy, right?!

Another thing happened through space exploration: demand for battery-operated vehicles grew. Tesla has dramatically changed the landscape that every automatic manufacturer is working on. Because Tesla showed that electric cars are possible, the company inspired manufacturers. Tesla wasn’t created to sell more cars, it was created to make more demand for batteries. And this all stemmed from billionaires wanting to go to space and do something crazy.

The changes that are being made in our world today are not always market-driven — they are inspired by the idea that we can do something better than the current way of doing things.

Ultimately, there are a lot of benefits of trying to reach beyond your comfort zone.

So, for your business, how long have you been in a rut? How long have you been doing the same thing? How are you going to innovate and inspire entrepreneurship inside your organization?

In order to make positive changes in your business, you must challenge the status quo and do something that might not seem possible.

Business Shiny Things

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

Last week, we talked about shiny things in IT. This week, we’re bringing you the business side of shiny things. Let’s dive in!

Let’s say an executive goes to a Microsoft Conference and learns about a bunch of new technologies and software. Then, this business executive likes the sound of them and signs up for a bunch of new things. This is all exciting and new to the business professional because it has the potential to bring new productivity to the office and streamline everything. The problem is, this business professional gives it to the IT professional and expects it to be implemented in order to make their business better. This brings a lot of work to the IT department and may not work well with the existing systems, making it necessary to rework the entire way of doing things.

The other issue is that the business professional bought shiny things without an understanding of how the shiny things will actually help the business. Great ideas are fun, but they don’t always work very well, are expensive, and require lots of upkeep. Basically, it’s bad to invest in shiny things without the demand already there. 

The latest methodology or frameworks can be overly complicated and might not work for your business. And, the more complicated the system, the more difficult it will be to implement. Even if something looks great, it just might not be the best option for your company. 

Look at your framework as a playground. Have people do things the way they want to, then, when “recess” is done, have everyone line up at the door together. This way of doing things allows for people to feel comfortable in how they go about working, but still keeps things streamlined for your business. As long as you line up at the door, you can do things the way you would like. 

The biggest question to ask yourself when looking at new, shiny business things is this: what business practices fit into what I am already doing? It should feel like implementing new systems does not take much effort and allow a slow and natural move. 

Back in the day, Palm Pilots were all the rage. People bought them hoping to be better organized in their day-to-day lives. The issue was that you already had to be organized to have the Palm Pilot work for you. If you already struggled to be organized, then a Palm Pilot would not help you. Or, if you’re not already using a day planner, then an electronic day planner will be no help to you. 

Think about how you already think and work and find new technologies that will fit into that and make your business more efficient. Also, think about your employees. Every single person is different and new systems will not always work for every single person. 

Augment things that you already do and allow shiny things to drive your business instead of confusing and overcomplicating. Make sure that the shiny and cool technology has a practical purpose that you can implement and support. 

Shiny IT Things

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

Shiny things: we love them, we hate them and sometimes they ruin our day. But, what are shiny things exactly? In the IT world, it is any new technology or systems that aren’t useful, but very exciting. 

New technology isn’t a bad thing, but there is always something new — how do you decide to implement this new technology or use the systems that are already in place? Generally, older IT people have had to update technology multiple times, so new, shiny things mostly mean more work than anything else. Or, some technology used to be so cool, but now serves no purpose. 

With that being said, you can see why some older IT guys get a little cranky. Younger IT professionals may get excited about new technology because they have not had to install that new technology six times. Shiny things are fun, but can become less fun over time. 

Although they can become less fun, shiny things are not completely useless. If you can make something look cool and have it function very well, then that is a huge bonus. When creating things for clients to use, you want it to look professional and put together. Something that looks good and feels good to a client is a good thing. So, making something shiny while still being functional is like putting the cherry on top of a moist piece of cake. 

Shiny things go beyond just technology too. It can be the latest trend, the next best thing or a way to achieve some sort of status. 

Let’s take AirPods for example. They have become a really popular item to show status, popularity or income. This has become such a sought after item, simply for the status that it brings. People have begun cutting the wires off of their wire earbuds, getting rid of all functionality whatsoever, simply to look the part. 

We spend so much money and time on shiny things, when we should be really asking ourselves how our money could be better spent. Are there other things that would be a better investment for your money? Do you want this item or do you need it? 

Appearance is important, but should not be the only reason something shiny is purchased. Look out for new, shiny technology and make sure you ask yourself if you really need it before purchasing. 

Drinks with IT -  August: For the Love of Coffee

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

Drinks with IT is our series of episodes where IT professionals guest star on the podcast, we crack open a cold one and let the conversation flow naturally. Our goal with these chats is to let you be a fly on the wall during our conversations so you can get an idea of the types of things IT professionals talk and care about. 

Here are some things we talked about!

• Types of Coffee ⇨ Whether your go-to drink includes a pot of coffee, french press or a trip to Starbucks, most people drink some form of coffee to start their day. Adam has always loved plain, black coffee, but Skip introduced him to a whole new world of coffee possibilities. 
• Community ⇨ Having a coffee pot or machine creates community in your office or work space. It’s not just coffee, though! Having a stocked fridge with red bull, gatorade, tea or soda can be a great way to build up your office. 
• Show You Care ⇨ As an employer, you have the amazing opportunity to treat your employees with the utmost care by doing small, simple things to make their days better. This might include keeping a fridge stocked with their favorite drinks or getting a good coffee pot. Bring in donuts every so often and create a space where people feel excited to come to work and do their job.
• Litmus Test ⇨ Try this exercise at your next job interview to see if the work environment is healthy and if the employer or company takes care of its employees. Just ask for a cup of coffee and see what the response is. If you are handed a bitter cup of cheap coffee, it might not be the best place to work. If you are handed a hot cup of creamy coffee, maybe the employer has put a little extra money into taking care of the employees in the building. 

We loved chatting about these topics and more! Listen to this week’s episode of Humanize IT to get the full conversation. 

Travel and Technology

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

Technology is wonderful, but have we become too dependent on it when it comes to traveling and our everyday lives?

When you do not have technology, what do you do? There are huge areas of the world that always have signal and internet connection. What happens when technology doesn’t support us in the ways that we expect it to? All of a sudden, we are at a loss and are left to find other options. 

We have become solely dependent on technology to the point where, if something isn’t working, everything kind of stops. This is a huge problem in business, but it also affects travel too. Here’s an example.

Let’s say you are vacationing in a new country where you do not speak the language. This is not an issue because of technology that provides translation tools that help us communicate. But, if your phone dies or you lose signal, you no longer have a means of communication. What do you do then? Most people wouldn’t know what to do, meaning that technology has taken over that area of travel and made it seem like other options are pointless. 

Technology isn’t bad per se, it has made traveling much easier and more accessible. But, when you are at a loss or when things come to a standstill when technology malfunctions or can not work, then that is an issue. 

With that being said, technology has advanced how people travel and has made lots of improvements to people’s experiences.

There are apps that read and translate signs, making driving and getting places easier than ever before. Entertainment on flights! Wow, people now have options for movies, better internet connection and an ability to track the flight as you go along. Translation tools also make communicating much easier so you can get around and be more assimilated into the culture of where you are traveling to. 

Like anything, with the positives of technology also come negatives, making it really important to practice taking detoxes from technology. 

We’re not over using technology, but if we are at a standstill because of a lack of technology, then that is a problem. We need to recognize in our personal lives that you need to have other options outside of the technology that you generally use in order to be prepared. 

Processes can simplify when it comes to using technology. It does not have to be in every single aspect of our lives. It can be refreshing or easier to use a non-augmented option — it might give you some self-confidence, too! 

Technology is not bad. It has made traveling much easier. Just make sure you are not solely dependent on it for all areas of your life — especially travel.

EpISODE 164: Complexity is the Enemy

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

Having a simple solution is better than having a perfect solution. People are constantly in danger of over-complicating solutions. Here is how you can simplify things and make them more elegant and easier to understand. 

The world is complex. When creating a project or coding a system, it is super important to document your work. Commenting and reminding yourself of certain tips and tricks is helpful for you down the road. You should put 2-3 lines of comments for every line of code to make it less complex and increase your ability to return to the code later on and still understand how to use it efficiently. Plus, if you comment as you’re creating, the code will be fresh in your mind and make more sense than it will at any other point in time. 

We can make things a little over the top. We’re human — it happens! 

The best way to know if you have over-complicated a project is to explain it to someone. If you launch into a long narrative and need to explain every little detail in order for the person to make sense of what you have created, then it is probably too difficult to actually implement or be used in your business by other people. If so, it is time to step back and rework your project in order to be simple and easier to understand. 

It’s easy to get distracted by the possibility of creating something cool and forget to ask yourself if the process needs to be automated in the first place. 

Look at your process. Can you explain it in less than 30 seconds? If not, it might be time to take the big, complicated process and take steps to simplify so your business can more-easily manage the system. 

Understand the ins and outs of your process so you can let your company and other employees know what it is and how it is solving problems. Once everyone understands the process or system being used, your business will flourish. 

Have your IT professionals take a look at the process your business professionals are using and vice versa. There may be an easier solution or tool that can simplify both profession’s ways of doing things in order to make everyone more efficient.

Once things are easier, you can sell more, onboard new clients and have more time to dedicate to other, more important things. 

The best thing to keep in mind is the plan that is going to work is the one that you have in front of you. You will not always be able to make your process simple right away — you might have to use a complicated system if it is the only one available to you. But, there is always the ability to go back and simplify over time. 

Complexity crushes our ability to talk to people and it takes up time. Write down what you’re doing as you’re doing it, explain it to someone else so that they understand what you’re doing and know that you can always go back and simplify as you learn and grow with the system.