We are nearing the end of the year, so you know what that means: it’s time for 2022’s Lessons Learned. Lessons Learned is an opportunity for an MSP (or any business!) to discuss the actions they can take to either mitigate a problem or increase success. It’s best conducted at the end of the year so that you can thoroughly analyze everything that happened during the previous 12 months.

You’re probably assuming that Lessons Learned focuses on mistakes made during the year, and what you learned from them – hence, “lessons learned.” While pitfalls are definitely a central topic of discussion, the successes of the year are equally as important to talk about. When things are going well, do you understand why? You need to pinpoint the key to the success you have reached so that you can continue it into the new year.

Many MSPs have this problem where their employees prefer to work in their own silos. They would rather come into the office, work independently on a ticket, and call it a day. However, when everyone is working in their own silos, it diminishes the opportunity for those employees to build relationships with each other or with their clients. What could happen within your MSP if the team adopts a more collaborative approach?

Last week, we introduced the concept of “wasting words” and discussed the ways that people are being wasteful with their language. This week, author Sean Mahar joins us again to address how people can have better conversations and stop wasting their words.

You’ve explained the idea of wasting words to your employees, but how do you actually change their mindset about conversations? It can be difficult to adjust your conversation tactics so that you are talking with people rather than at people. Instead of talking at people, try to accomplish something with your conversation. This is your opportunity to make a difference.

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/YWobWj0OcGU


Every single person is super unique, but we all have one thing in common: a need for rest and recuperation. You may be convinced that you can work and work and work with no breaks. In a world that is so fast-paced, we reward people that are hardcore and refuse to step back or take a deep breath.

Although hard work is great and should be rewarded, it’s also pivotal that you take breaks. You can only work efficiently for so long without resting. The longer you work on something with no break, the more mistakes you will make.

You’ve probably been in a situation where you’ve tried to solve a problem or fix something and the longer you stare at it, the harder it seems to come up with a solution. Contrary to popular belief, that problem will not magically become clear by spending more time staring at it. The best thing to do is put it away and come back to it in a little while. You will most likely find that time away makes the solution easier to figure out—maybe even obvious!

Your brain needs time to work stuff out and process. It is a muscle and should be treated with the same respect and care that you treat the rest of your body. Give it time to relax and put good stuff in so you can get good stuff out. Take working out for example. You can’t do your maximum lifts every single day or you will wear your body out. You have to give your muscles days to do light workouts in order to come back the next day and work hard. You also wouldn’t put the heaviest weights on and expect to be able to lift over and over without feeling completely tired and burnt out. And, after a workout, you have to stretch your muscles to allow the best recovery—basically, you have to take care of yourself.

Even if your company offers unlimited paid time off, it can be hard to take advantage of that. You want to get stuff done and you probably think the harder you work, the more you’ll get done. When you’re tired, your body goes into autopilot and simply plays the part. You may feel like you’re being productive when really, you’re getting as much done as you could.

Your brain needs a change of scenery. That doesn’t mean simply slowing down on work; it means you need to switch up what you’re doing. Find something that you enjoy like reading, playing video games or going for a walk to give your mind a much-needed mini-vacation. When you return to your desk, it will be easier for you to focus on the tasks at hand.

Vacations don’t just mean taking a week off and traveling. Taking 30 minutes or 2 hours every day to focus on something else or rest will help you put your distractions on hold. There is a value in dedicated away time that includes unplugging from your work, your phone and anything that might cause you stress.
You may think that this topic doesn’t pertain to you. But, if you find yourself snapping at people, eating or drinking more or having a hard time sleeping, then you are out of balance and your body is trying to overcompensate for your lack of energy. It’s time to take a vacation, trust us!

You should definitely still take that awesome family vacation in the middle of summer. But, make sure that isn’t your only vacation this year. Take time every single day to do something that will make your brain relaxed and make work more enjoyable. Humans were not created to constantly work. Relax and give your body time to recharge and focus!

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

The borders of the network have disappeared, and people have moved out of the office with minimal focus on securing their remote environment. Ransomware events are increasing in both frequency and amounts demanded. Compliance and certification is getting more focus as governments move to support cyber security initiatives. The news is full of talk about security concerns. 

Despite all the trends favouring cyber security related services, the gap is still growing between the real value of cyber security Services and their perceived business value. 

In this article we go after why MSPs still seem to be struggling to articulate the business value of higher cyber security standards, creating proper business development plans and capturing the market opportunity. That leads to all kinds of problems for clients, including not being protected. Bad executive decisions mean MSPs cannot monetize cyber security services and end up hurting their bottom lines.

There are many tools and best practices out there to streamline, and automate technology conversations with RMM integration, ticket reports and asset management functions. The reason is that as most MSPs by starting their QBR processes they simply try to run faster to the wrong direction. The common mistake we see is they try to streamline a technology focused tactical conversation (important for them) rather than elevate themselves with strategic-business focused QBRs (important for clients). Let’s see the 3 reasons why it is the case, 3 impacts taxing these MSPs and the 3 steps to fix this quickly.

Most MSPs enjoy great personal relationships with office managers and technical contact people because of their regular work together. As executives are not part of the operation it is very important to know them better, understand them better and build strong relationships with them through the only touchpoint you have: Quarterly Business Reviews.

In this article, we check the 8 most important areas you can cover with your executives to get more engagement.

Throughout the pandemic and these times of uncertainty, we’ve seen various industries defaulting to panic mode. They don’t know what to do or what’s coming next, so they hold their breath, make decisions in the moment and hope for the best. Moving from one thing to the next without strategy has left these employees increasingly tired and unmotivated. 

In the technology world, we have a phrase for this practice that we hear multiple times a day: Firefighting. Firefighting means you’re spending your day putting out one fire after, always moving to the next issue with no time to plan ahead or create solid solutions for the future.

Being stuck in this firefighting mode comes with a big problem: burnout.  Always having something to do is fun at first; it feels like you’re coming in as a hero and fixing the problem. Then reality hits. You aren’t getting anything done, you’re just bouncing around from one thing to the next and creating recurring problems.  Fortunately, there’s a way to stop this, and that’s where Lessons Learned comes in.

The narrative is about to change now. With the recession coming only high-value and proven partnerships are going to last. All fat is going to be on the chopping block. High-value strategic relationships with technology providers will be critical for all organizations. In this blog I teamed up with Rich Anderson to probe some thoughts on the opportunities and conduct a practical walkthrough with inspiration on how to actually do it.

The industry is changing, you need to evolve or be left behind by your clients. The next step to MSPs is vCIO, but how do we get there?

I have spent the last few years coaching MSPs on how to create successful vCIO programs. There is a consistent message across every single MSP:

“We want a vCIO program but have not been able to get it going”