I am preparing for a Nortec Management and Sales Conference and reflecting on what drives success. In a post a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the value of staying focused. This is important. However, first you must determine what you are going to focus on. What drives you? What is it that you want to accomplish? All too often I get caught up in the doing and don’t take the time to step back and reflect on what it is that I want.
Last year, I dealt with a lack of vision regarding my health and fitness. Although I was not completely out of shape, I sporadically exercised and was about forty pounds overweight. I created the vision of a healthy fit version of myself and set out to create a plan to get there. I decided that I would exercise every day first thing in the morning for 30 – 40 minutes alternating between cardio and weight training. By exercising every day I would give myself the ability to skip one or two days a week when my schedule would not permit exercising and still have a viable plan for fitness. I combined this exercise program with an improved diet by eliminating bad foods and eating smaller portions.
In the last nine months I have struggled with the weight. I am down about 10 pounds so I still have about 30 to go. I have done better on the exercise program with only a few lapses usually when on a vacation or when I am not feeling well. Key for me was doing my work outs first thing in the morning in my basement or on the street running. This allows for just one shower a day. I like to be efficient. This also alleviated “the need to exercise” from hanging over me the entire day.
The bottom line is that anyone can accomplish whatever it is they focus on. Clearly, like losing the weight for me, some things are harder to accomplish than others. You will test your discipline since ultimately it takes discipline to accomplish anything. Since humans are creatures of habit I think it is easier if you can build the disciplines into routine. Create the vision and use your passion to drive your discipline to be that person you dream to be.
Oh, one other motivator for me was my realization of my mortality and that if I don’t do something now … well, I may never get a chance in the future – Carpe Diem!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
"Getting Things Done" by David Allen
I attended a presentation by David Allen last week the author of “Getting Things Done”. His presentation was straight forward and to the point. I came up with four keys to getting things done based on his presentation:
1. If you have an action that needs to be done and you can do it in less than 2:00 minutes go with the Nike strategy, “just do it!”
2. Create and constantly update your things to do list. Carrying around a list of things in your head is prone to forgetting and is a constant burden that interferes with your effectiveness.
3. Take one of three actions on emails: delete, file, or put in an action folder. Maintain an empty email inbox and clean desk.
4. Review your to do lists and action folders at the beginning of the day. Prioritize what you need to do and then schedule time if necessary.
This is my take away from what he said and the plan I am now implementing. For more details, and a better explanation of how to get things done, I would suggest reading the book. David Allen also has this simple test that can help you determine how effective you are in getting things done – It takes about 2:00 minutes:
http://www.gtdiq.com/
1. If you have an action that needs to be done and you can do it in less than 2:00 minutes go with the Nike strategy, “just do it!”
2. Create and constantly update your things to do list. Carrying around a list of things in your head is prone to forgetting and is a constant burden that interferes with your effectiveness.
3. Take one of three actions on emails: delete, file, or put in an action folder. Maintain an empty email inbox and clean desk.
4. Review your to do lists and action folders at the beginning of the day. Prioritize what you need to do and then schedule time if necessary.
This is my take away from what he said and the plan I am now implementing. For more details, and a better explanation of how to get things done, I would suggest reading the book. David Allen also has this simple test that can help you determine how effective you are in getting things done – It takes about 2:00 minutes:
http://www.gtdiq.com/
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Windows 7 Launched Today
Microsoft released Windows 7 to the market today. So far the product looks terrific – everyone I know that is using it is very happy. Amazon announced yesterday that it was the number one pre-ordered product ever, out performing Harry Potter! If this is any indication, it will be a hit.
Here is a brief description of Windows 7 from the Nortec News Letter:
Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. The new user experience is really something to get excited about; thanks to elements like peek through, a whole new taskbar and some common sense simplifications, Windows 7 has a more usable UI and will run even faster than the previous release of Windows, a first for Microsoft. Developed based on feedback from actual customers Windows 7 offers faster and more reliable performance, and great features like Home Group and Windows Touch to make new things possible.
Windows 7 is much smarter than its predecessor, Windows Vista. While Vista’s memory manager devoted the same amount of RAM to each open window, performing as if each open window was visible and full screen sized even if they were minimized or in the background, Window 7’s memory manager doesn’t operate that way. Therefore, users can run Windows 7 with 1GB of RAM, unlike Vista which requires at least 2GB. With application crash resiliency, Windows 7 is also smarter when it comes to unstable apps and errors . If an application crashes multiple times, Windows 7 learns how it should run to avoid crashing. Further, the new Problem Steps Recorder makes error reports useful by generating a detailed error report in plain English.
Here is a review done on you tube. It was recorded about 5 months ago on Windows 7 beta version. I like it because it gives a good and quick introduction to the new features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jsx-gf-z2U
Here is a brief description of Windows 7 from the Nortec News Letter:
Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. The new user experience is really something to get excited about; thanks to elements like peek through, a whole new taskbar and some common sense simplifications, Windows 7 has a more usable UI and will run even faster than the previous release of Windows, a first for Microsoft. Developed based on feedback from actual customers Windows 7 offers faster and more reliable performance, and great features like Home Group and Windows Touch to make new things possible.
Windows 7 is much smarter than its predecessor, Windows Vista. While Vista’s memory manager devoted the same amount of RAM to each open window, performing as if each open window was visible and full screen sized even if they were minimized or in the background, Window 7’s memory manager doesn’t operate that way. Therefore, users can run Windows 7 with 1GB of RAM, unlike Vista which requires at least 2GB. With application crash resiliency, Windows 7 is also smarter when it comes to unstable apps and errors . If an application crashes multiple times, Windows 7 learns how it should run to avoid crashing. Further, the new Problem Steps Recorder makes error reports useful by generating a detailed error report in plain English.
Here is a review done on you tube. It was recorded about 5 months ago on Windows 7 beta version. I like it because it gives a good and quick introduction to the new features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jsx-gf-z2U
Friday, October 16, 2009
Staying Focused
I am coaching hockey with my brother, Peter, this year and really enjoying it. Peter is a very seasoned coach having coached many teams including being a paid High School Coach. I have plenty to learn. I asked him what the most important thing is to coach the kids. He said that it is keeping the "main thing" the main thing – staying focused.
In business today, it is hard to stay focused for three reasons:
1. We have so many things coming at us (information over load) that it is hard to stay focused. We are constantly being pushed to look at this product and that product.
2. The entire information technology industry is a moving target. The “main thing” may change. This makes staying focused on the “main thing” really hard!
3. Human desire to seek out new exciting things – bored with “the main thing”
If you are bored with what you are doing. Spice it up and suck it up. If you want to be great at anything you will have to do it over and over again. Is there anyone who does not think Tiger Woods is not tired of swinging a golf club? Look for ways to make it fun by turning everything into a game and seek small incremental improvements. Make it fun!
Re-evaluate the main thing and prioritize. Do not rush to add more and more things that will allow you to lose focus. If you think there is a fundamental change you may have to dramatically change your focus but you will still need to focus.
One of the key differentiators for Nortec is that we are entirely focused on IT infrastructure and primarily around Microsoft. There was a CIO panel at the Microsoft Partner briefing and everyone of the CIOs said they prefer partners that are focused and not one partner for all IT.
Stay focused and be the best of the best in your niche.
BTW – The main thing when coaching kid’s hockey is skills.
In business today, it is hard to stay focused for three reasons:
1. We have so many things coming at us (information over load) that it is hard to stay focused. We are constantly being pushed to look at this product and that product.
2. The entire information technology industry is a moving target. The “main thing” may change. This makes staying focused on the “main thing” really hard!
3. Human desire to seek out new exciting things – bored with “the main thing”
If you are bored with what you are doing. Spice it up and suck it up. If you want to be great at anything you will have to do it over and over again. Is there anyone who does not think Tiger Woods is not tired of swinging a golf club? Look for ways to make it fun by turning everything into a game and seek small incremental improvements. Make it fun!
Re-evaluate the main thing and prioritize. Do not rush to add more and more things that will allow you to lose focus. If you think there is a fundamental change you may have to dramatically change your focus but you will still need to focus.
One of the key differentiators for Nortec is that we are entirely focused on IT infrastructure and primarily around Microsoft. There was a CIO panel at the Microsoft Partner briefing and everyone of the CIOs said they prefer partners that are focused and not one partner for all IT.
Stay focused and be the best of the best in your niche.
BTW – The main thing when coaching kid’s hockey is skills.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
IT Changes to Reduce Costs
This year IT Leaders are under pressure to reduce costs. Businesses need to improve cash while increasing operational efficiencies. These demands will cause fast changes.
The shift to virtualization this year has been very swift. IT Managers are now moving from 1.0 issues (What Servers to Virtualize) to 2.0 issues (How do I mange these virtualized servers?).
There is also a shift to cloud computing and hosted applications. This is a very disruptive shift and happening a little slower. The value proposition is very compelling in these times of cost reduction. Businesses can completely offload the infrastructure capital purchase and the management. This is very good for the business cash position.
Gartner points out that outsourcing is anti-cyclical since it is done in growth periods and sometimes more in down turns. They also present moderate results:
"Even during stable economic times, outsourcing has some specific drawbacks. It often delivers moderate (for example, 10% to 20%) cost reduction in exchange for moderate levels of satisfaction (typically 5 on a scale of 1 to 7, in which 7 represents the highest level of satisfaction), low levels of flexibility (4.8 — the lowest satisfaction score on Gartner outsourcing surveys), while causing high levels of lengthy renegotiation (more than 60% of deals are partially renegotiated in the course of their term)."
- Predict 2009: Recession Accelerated Shifts in IT Services, Gartner Report
Clearly there will be a shift to cloud computing but there will be a hybrid model for many years for most businesses. IT department will need to develop new process and methods to manage the hosted applications. Since hosted applications are fast to turn on, IT Departments will also need to manage more applications and have a strategy to stay compliant.
The shift to virtualization this year has been very swift. IT Managers are now moving from 1.0 issues (What Servers to Virtualize) to 2.0 issues (How do I mange these virtualized servers?).
There is also a shift to cloud computing and hosted applications. This is a very disruptive shift and happening a little slower. The value proposition is very compelling in these times of cost reduction. Businesses can completely offload the infrastructure capital purchase and the management. This is very good for the business cash position.
Gartner points out that outsourcing is anti-cyclical since it is done in growth periods and sometimes more in down turns. They also present moderate results:
"Even during stable economic times, outsourcing has some specific drawbacks. It often delivers moderate (for example, 10% to 20%) cost reduction in exchange for moderate levels of satisfaction (typically 5 on a scale of 1 to 7, in which 7 represents the highest level of satisfaction), low levels of flexibility (4.8 — the lowest satisfaction score on Gartner outsourcing surveys), while causing high levels of lengthy renegotiation (more than 60% of deals are partially renegotiated in the course of their term)."
- Predict 2009: Recession Accelerated Shifts in IT Services, Gartner Report
Clearly there will be a shift to cloud computing but there will be a hybrid model for many years for most businesses. IT department will need to develop new process and methods to manage the hosted applications. Since hosted applications are fast to turn on, IT Departments will also need to manage more applications and have a strategy to stay compliant.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Windows 7 Launch
Microsoft Windows 7 Launch is just 10 days away! Most of our engineers are already running Windows 7 as well as several on the Nortec Sales Team. I am waiting for the official launch and will get a new PC with it pre-loaded in a couple of weeks. The good news is that the PC doesn’t actually need to be new and Windows 7 will run faster than Vista. Windows 7 can also run fine on most computers running XP. Microsoft has designed the Windows 7 operating system to be very quick. Unlike Vista, Windows 7 will be a brilliant success.
Nortec will be hosting Microsoft Launch Events for Windows 7, Exchange 2010, and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the Mid-Atlantic – DC, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Here is a link to the events scheduled so far: http://www.nortec.com/launch.asp
Microsoft has done a great job with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 from everything I have seen. Exchange 2010 also looks good. Microsoft has incorporated voice mail to email conversion and much needed archiving features just to name a couple of features..
The rest of this year and 2010 will be a great time for making improvements to your desktop and server infrastructure!
Nortec will be hosting Microsoft Launch Events for Windows 7, Exchange 2010, and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the Mid-Atlantic – DC, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Here is a link to the events scheduled so far: http://www.nortec.com/launch.asp
Microsoft has done a great job with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 from everything I have seen. Exchange 2010 also looks good. Microsoft has incorporated voice mail to email conversion and much needed archiving features just to name a couple of features..
The rest of this year and 2010 will be a great time for making improvements to your desktop and server infrastructure!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Exchange 2010 Release To Manufacturing
Here is the announcement on Microsoft Technet today:
The big news today is that Exchange 2010 is now code complete. The senior leadership team has signed off on the final code, and it has been sent to early adopters for a final look before its public release. This Release To Manufacturing (RTM) milestone means we are well on our way to general availability and launch at TechEd Europe in November. For those of you attending TechEd in Berlin this year, be sure to visit the Exchange booth and tell them what you think of the product. I caught some of you on video with Crystal Flores at TechEd US earlier this year…Crystal will be looking for more of you in Berlin in a few weeks. If you can’t join in person, tune in via the Web (www.thenewefficiency.com) to be part of the launch.
Tags: Exchange, exchange 14, exchange 2010
The big news today is that Exchange 2010 is now code complete. The senior leadership team has signed off on the final code, and it has been sent to early adopters for a final look before its public release. This Release To Manufacturing (RTM) milestone means we are well on our way to general availability and launch at TechEd Europe in November. For those of you attending TechEd in Berlin this year, be sure to visit the Exchange booth and tell them what you think of the product. I caught some of you on video with Crystal Flores at TechEd US earlier this year…Crystal will be looking for more of you in Berlin in a few weeks. If you can’t join in person, tune in via the Web (www.thenewefficiency.com) to be part of the launch.
Tags: Exchange, exchange 14, exchange 2010
Driving Business in the New World
I attended an event last week held at the Googleplex in Mountain View, California. The event was "Driving Revenue in the New World" put on by the IT Network and Media Network of Young Presidents Organization. We had great guest speakers including several from Google and a panel including leadership from Youtube, Linkedin and Facebook.
I am a neophyte when it comes to marketing in the online world. I have been investing time in trying to understand the best approach to using social media in business this year. This event reinvigorated my passion for online marketing and the best practices. The event also opened my eyes to the need to create an entire online marketing plan from search engine optimization to Ad Words and banner ads online. Paid online advertising was not something I really looked at very seriously and now realize this is worth investigating further.
One piece of wisdom found was that the online strategy is not something you can just delegate. Leaders need to embrace this and understand all that can be done. I have a certain fascination with online marketing and social media so this reinforced what I was already thinking. The world of online marketing is completely different then the old world of marketing and just when you think you have it figured out you discover another entire dimension. This can be very exciting and possibly frustrating! You must thrive on learning.
If you are a business leader or an IT leader I believe you need to be reading and investigating the impact and the fundamental business changes your organization needs to be implementing to grow in the new world. The message of this event was that adopting an online strategy for marketing and interacting with customers will be necessary for business survival! So if you do not have a plan, now is the time to get one!
I am a neophyte when it comes to marketing in the online world. I have been investing time in trying to understand the best approach to using social media in business this year. This event reinvigorated my passion for online marketing and the best practices. The event also opened my eyes to the need to create an entire online marketing plan from search engine optimization to Ad Words and banner ads online. Paid online advertising was not something I really looked at very seriously and now realize this is worth investigating further.
One piece of wisdom found was that the online strategy is not something you can just delegate. Leaders need to embrace this and understand all that can be done. I have a certain fascination with online marketing and social media so this reinforced what I was already thinking. The world of online marketing is completely different then the old world of marketing and just when you think you have it figured out you discover another entire dimension. This can be very exciting and possibly frustrating! You must thrive on learning.
If you are a business leader or an IT leader I believe you need to be reading and investigating the impact and the fundamental business changes your organization needs to be implementing to grow in the new world. The message of this event was that adopting an online strategy for marketing and interacting with customers will be necessary for business survival! So if you do not have a plan, now is the time to get one!
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