Professional Networking is a group of proactive business executives that are committed to assisting fellow members grow and expand their businesses through quality lead generation, strategic relationships and on going education.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Join us April 22 for our open mixer!

Who: SLO Professional Networking Group 
What: A business mixer open to all SLO County business owners and press. 
When: April 22nd, 2010 5:30pm - 7:30pm 
Where: Cerro Caliente Cellars, 831-A Via Esteban San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. 
Why: Cause you can never meet enough smart business people and drink good wine.
For more information call Charity Boulton at 805-594-1880

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Thrive in 2010!

by Eric Hubbs, Collaboration

I want to challenge each and every one of you to sit down, right now, and put a 2 hour block into your calendar to go through the attached exercise, designed to help you Thrive in 2010.

Plan to go to a coffee shop, a library, or your deserted office and really focus on this planning. It’s only two hours.

The worksheet takes out all the stress of knowing what to think about and how to plan. Just run through it! It’s simple and fun! I think you will all be amazed how good you feel when you complete it. It is designed to work for business owners and employees!

So, remember, put a two hour block on your calendar between now and December 31st (do it now) and Plan to Thrive for 2010!


THE POWER OF MOMENTUM
SEVEN STEPS TO REACHING YOUR POTENTIAL IN 2010 !


Did you know that 95% of the people who set New Year’s resolutions never follow through? The reason is that most people don’t understand the process of how to produce lasting results—and they never take the first steps. The following process will walk you through how to get started and create the momentum that will drive you to follow through. By doing it, you will gain clarity about where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you want to go. It will also help you create a simple plan to set up your new year so that it truly compels, excites, and drives you.


SEVEN STEPS TO A FULFILLING 2010 !

1. Get Clear.
2. Get Certain.
3. Get Excited.
4. Get Focused.
5. Get Committed.
6. Get Momentum.
7. Get Smart.


STEP 1: GET CLEAR


To begin, you must first gain clarity about where you really are now…

1. What did you love in 2009?

A. What were some of your Magic Moments? What was magical and extraordinary?

B. What did you accomplish in 2009?

C. What are some of the things from 2009 that you want to duplicate in 2010?


2. What did you hate in 2009?

A. What was challenging this past year?

B. What do you not want to have happen again?

C. What did you learn by going through these experiences?

Why were they incredibly valuable?


3. What decisions did you make in 2009 that were empowering for you?

A. What were some of the most important decisions of this year for you?

B. What decisions might you make next year as a result?


STEP 2: GET CERTAIN

Once you know where you are, you need to create certainty about your capacity to take anything you can dream about and make it real.

1. Write down anything in your life that was once merely just a goal, dream, or desire. What are some of the big and little things that at one time seemed extremely difficult or impossible to achieve or acquire?

2. Circle the two or three items on your list that seemed the most difficult or impossible to achieve.

3. For the two or three items you circled, write down the steps you went through to turn each one of them into reality. You may not have done it consciously, but it’s likely something stimulated you to want them so much so that it may have become a magnificent obsession for you. Then, did you focus on it continuously? Put a lot of emotional charge into it? Then what? Did you actually create a plan? What were the steps you went through?


STEP 3: GET EXCITED

Now that you are clear about where you’ve been, and you have certainty about your ability to make your goals and dreams real, it’s time to decide where you want to go…

1. In a peak state, write down every goal you think you’d like to accomplish in the next 20 years. Be sure to include ANYTHING you want to do, be, share, create, have, give. Include financial goals, personal development goals, physical goals, relationship goals, contribution goals — anything you’d like to learn, enjoy, or do. No matter how silly or outrageous it may seem, this is your chance to dream without limits. Be sure to keep your pen moving as fast as possible!


STEP 4: GET FOCUSED

1. Out of your list of goals (from step 3), circle your top four one year goals. Out of your entire list, what do you want most? What are the top four goals that, if you could achieve them this year, would get you up early and keep you up late with excitement?


STEP 5: GET COMMITTED.

1. For each of your top four one-year goals, write a paragraph about why they are ‘musts’ for you to achieve them. What are the reasons you absolutely will achieve this no matter what? Remember, reasons come first, answers come second! Why do you want to do this?

2. What are some of the things that you may need to do that you don’t want to do in order to achieve these goals? If you have enough passion, you can get yourself to do anything, but first you must be certain about what “anything” might entail. Let’s look the tiger in the eye!


STEP 6: GET MOMENTUM.

Never leave the site of setting a goal without taking some action toward its attainment. You must take immediate action.

1. Decide now: What is one small thing that you will do immediately toward achieving one of your top goals (e.g., making a phone call, booking a meeting, getting on the internet to research, signing up for a seminar, getting a coach, etc.)?

2. What is one big thing that you resolve to do immediately to achieve this goal (e.g., making a decision, throwing out all the unhealthy food in your house right now, giving something away, etc.)?

STEP 7: GET SMART.

To make sure you follow through, you have to get smart and measure yourself consistently. Remember, most people set some New Year’s goals, have no plan or direction, take no action, and then measure again next New Year’s! The more you measure something the better it gets. You must resolve now to measure your specific progress daily, or at least weekly.


Thursday, October 22, 2009

What's your BHAG?

By Ellen Curtis, Creative Commander, Whizbang

I saw an article in Fast Company about BHAG. (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).   James Collins and Jerry Porras coined this phrase in a book "Built to Last". They define BHAG as "clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort, often creating immense team spirit."

Microsoft's BHAG, for example,  is " A computer on every desk and in every home, all running Microsoft software."

In the spirit of sharing, I offer my BHAG for Whizbang:

The marketing whizs of the Central Coast with 288 business people engaging our services in 2010.

What's your BHAG?

Thursday, October 8, 2009

PN Mixer is a Success!

Over 50 business professionals came together for Professional Networking's first open business mixer. Lawrence Dieter, Dr. Backman and Professional Networking's Vice President said, "Our mixer was 1st class, from the weather, the seating outside.....the food, wine, and a myriad of significant business connections reported".  Chef Elizabeth Eggen of Mix It Up supplied the scrumptious food and the perfect venue. Amy Bakes Cupcakes supplied the fantastic cupcakes.  Claiborne and Chruchill supplied the delicious wine. Professional Networking's Erin Momburg, Sprigs n Things supplied the incredible flower arrangements. The rest of the Professional Networking group supplied the amazing conversation and the perfect environment for making new connections.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Join us October 1 for our Mixer!


Friday, September 18, 2009

Friday, September 11, 2009

Weathering Economic Turbulence and Preparing for Economic Upturn

The current economic downturn has challenged many business owners to re-evaluate existing business models, operational efficiencies, and capital expenditures.  Many forward thinking organizations are finding unique opportunities and looking past near-term challenges to position themselves for success when market conditions calm and return to vibrancy.
Doing More With Less
A critical role information technology firms play in uncertain economic times is to help clients manage costs and identify inefficiencies.  Taking advantage of technologies that are already owned can create returns through reduced management costs, more effective compliance with regulations, and increased efficiencies in operational execution.  Cost savings and efficiencies free cash flow for investments and capital expenditures that competitors may not be positioned to leverage.
Clever Ducks applies best practice solutions that are unique and optimized to our specific customer’s needs.  IT is not a one size fits all business and through investments in technology and people we are able to deliver unique strategic solutions, exceptional customer service, and timely technical support.  Our Clever Ducks Flight Plan customers benefit from having quarterly business reviews in which strategic roadmaps, efficient application of technology, business process evaluation, and budgeting considerations are taken into account.
 Down to the Nuts and Bolts
Clever Ducks uses sophisticated tools to create efficiencies and to deliver services and support in a deliberate and consistent manner.  Software upgrades and Windows patches are often applied through automation in the evening; removing the labor, expense, and operational interruption of having a technician visit workstations and laptops.  Our tools are designed with early warning indicators that alert us to potential problems with workstations, servers, and networks so issues can be resolved before work interruptions or failures occur.  Additionally, secure remote access tools enable us to troubleshoot and resolve 80% of problems remotely eliminating extended system outages, downtime, and the expense of an onsite technician visit.
In 2008 Gartner released a study of the total annual cost of ownership of workstations and laptops in an unmanaged environment versus a managed environment.  The study took into account all direct (hardware, software, support consumables, network-related costs, facilities, and administration) and indirect costs (downtime, suboptimal functioning, user-induced problems, user-to-user support costs, non-business computer usage, time spent customizing desktops, time spent researching technology purchases, getting quotes, and dealing with vendor problems).  The cost savings on a well managed workstation was nearly $2,500 annually while the savings on a laptop was nearly $3,000.   These are real cost savings for companies, achieved by minimizing time spent by employees trying to make their systems work, minimizing downtime, and extending the life of equipment through proper maintenance. Ultimately, as the Gartner study show, well managed technology not only saves money, but provides you the freedom to manage your business. 
Where do we go from here?
If your organization is not realizing the cost savings and efficiencies that our Clever Ducks Flight Plan service provides, please contact us at 805-543-1930 to learn more about how we can help your business become more successful during these uncertain economic times.  Additionally, we welcome referrals of colleagues, friends, and customers that are struggling with IT.  Together we can harness technology to control costs, and make technology as asset to your organization.

Monday, August 24, 2009

August BizEd Lunch- Blackberry Tips and Tricks: Your first steps to becoming a Blackberry master

Presented by: Clever Ducks and Collaboration LLC 
Amy Kardel, of Clever Ducks, will help busy professionals optimize productivity when using the tool most at hand every day: the Blackberry. By gaining control and learning some insider tricks, you will get better business results while reducing stress and staying in sync with the flood of information that comes your way. RIM Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said 80% of subscriber additions in the latest quarter came from consumers and small businesses, rather than corporate users. That's up from 60% a year ago. RIM has introduced a slew of new devices, and there are a lot of tricks for mastering how to use them effectively in your business.
Although these devices serve as your primary access to calendar events, emails and other tasks, they often become a distraction because of the amount of information that is thrown at you. By effectively leveraging the Blackberry, you will find it is possible to stay on task and sort through the clutter. Amy can help make life simpler by setting up some systems, using some tricks and understanding some advanced functions of your technology.

Amy Kardel Bio
Amy Kardel brings over fifteen years of proven results and professional experience in the operations of international and high tech business to the job. She is the COO of Clever Ducks - Computer Network Services, a San Luis Obispo-based IT solution provider. A serial entrepreneur, she grew and then recently sold Global Accent Translation Services, a translation agency that provides technology, business and government with foreign language services. Amy loves to speak with other business leaders and share tips to help others grow their businesses.
Ms. Kardel completed degrees in UC Berkeley and Washington University, as well as graduate course work in at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Ms. Kardel returned to her native San Luis Obispo, California from Europe in 1993. She is active in the SLO Chamber of Commerce and Rotary. She enjoys living locally on the Central Coast while working globally with her husband Peter and four children.
When and Where?
  • Friday August 28th, 12:00pm-1:00pm
  • Cost of this seminar is FREE
  • Lunch will be provided by Clever Ducks, so please RSVP so that we can plan accordingly
  • Seminar will take place at the Collaboration Training Center
    3196 S. Higuera, Suite D, San Luis Obispo
Please RSVP to the program to http://www.collaboration-llc.com/august-bized-lunch/
From: Amy K. Kardel
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 11:35 AM
To: 'pro.netwrkng.post@blogger.com'
Subject: Visit Tech Brew, September 14, 2009
Keep up on what's new on the Central Coast in a casual, social atmosphere. Join us for a cash bar, appetizers and lots of time to talk to other technology professionals. Santa Barbara's best networking event for technology professionals has found a regular home in San Luis Obispo. This is a standing event on the second Monday of each month.
We meet at Mother’s Tavern in downtown SLO from 5-630 pm. See you there!
Check out pictures from the March Tech Brew when Kyle from iFixit demonstrated how to replace the battery in an iPod.
For more information, e-mail us or call Clever Ducks 8050.543.1930. You can also find us on Twitter and LinkedIn

  Amy Kardel, COO/Business Development
  1413 Monterey Street
  San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
  main 805.543.1930
  direct 805.547.2361

Visit Tech Brew, September 14, 2009

Keep up on what's new on the Central Coast in a casual, social atmosphere. Join us for a cash bar, appetizers and lots of time to talk to other technology professionals. Santa Barbara's best networking event for technology professionals has found a regular home in San Luis Obispo. This is a standing event on the second Monday of each month.
We meet at Mother’s Tavern in downtown SLO from 5-630 pm. See you there!
Check out pictures from the March Tech Brew when Kyle from iFixit demonstrated how to replace the battery in an iPod.
For more information, e-mail us or call Clever Ducks 8050.543.1930. You can also find us on Twitter and LinkedIn
  Amy Kardel, COO/Business Development
  1413 Monterey Street
  San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
  main 805.543.1930
  direct 805.547.2361

Monday, August 17, 2009

Want a Job in SLO Government?

Are you following the saga of the stupid in SLO county government? Is it making you crazy and are you reordering your anti-depressant meds like I . . . I mean, like others I know? Have you wondered how you could get a job paying $200k where you could have an affair that destroys confidentiality and creates a huge conflict of interest and where you could also send very personal and explicit emails back and forth with your boss? Geez, when most of us steal our employer’s time we’re just shopping online.

Maybe we should start a pool? How many times am I going to say: “Oh my God – what were they thinking??” before this – pun alert – affair is over? I counted 14,382 such outbursts during the Bush Administration.

And I sure wish I was still broadcasting my radio show, “The Wonderful World of Work”. There is certainly enough material here for a dozen “Stupid Employee Tricks” and “Bad Boss of the Month” segments.

 

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