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?

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.

Join us October 1 for our Mixer!

Clever Ducks featured in top national trade magazine!

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.

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

  www.cleverducks.com

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

  www.cleverducks.com

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.

 

Click here to follow  ONLY HUMAN

                                The HR blog for thinkers.

 

Strengthening customer relationships in times of crisis

by Mark Cox

During times of economic crisis, organizations struggle to communicate unfavorable news, from lower earnings and shrinking market share, to cuts in service and increases in prices. The conventional wisdom is that bad news damages customer relationships and breeds mistrust among consumers. However, a new Simplicity Survey from global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale finds that delivering bad news is an opportunity -- if done in the right way -- to strengthen customer relationships and lay the foundation for increased trust and loyalty when conditions improve.

"It's important to communicate facts clearly, but clarity is not enough," said Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. "In order to strengthen relationships with customers, organizations must commit to open, transparent communications that respect people's intelligence by offering complete, relevant, and insightful explanations of bad news. People are tired of self-serving platitudes."

Siegel+Gale examined a wide cross section of customer communications likely to appear in the average consumer's mailbox, and tested four representative examples, anonymously, in an online consumer panel. The examples tested included a:

1. Charge card company letter - announcing an increase in late fees

2. Major bank letter - announcing a credit card interest-rate increase

3. Not-for-profit institution letter - announcing budget cuts and soliciting donations

4. Mortgage lender pamphlet - explaining a new mortgage summary document

"We tested communications using six criteria: comprehension, clarity, credibility, relevance, usefulness, and engagement," says Lee Rafkin, Siegel+Gale's Global Director and Practice Leader of Simplified Communications. "We found that even though customers didn't like the bad news they were receiving, they still respected and trusted those organizations that clearly communicated the reasons behind the bad news."

The communications that scored the lowest on measures of credibility and engagement did very little to offer comprehensive, credible, and contextually relevant explanations. For example, the letter from the bank announcing a credit card interest rate increase gave as its explanation that it was raising rates "to maintain profitability." Predictably, it drew this comment:

"It feels like the bank wants to squeeze me for all they can. They're not interested in me as a loyal customer; I'm just a number to them."

The letter from the charge card company announcing an increase in late fees gave absolutely no reason at all for its change. "This is even more offensive to consumers than a dubious or incomplete reason," said Rafkin. "In a vacuum, consumers will 'fill in the blanks' and invent their own, sometimes much more damaging explanation," as represented by this comment:

"This company just wants average customers like me to compensate them for losses they've suffered due to their own poor business practices."

The letter from the not-for-profit was both comprehensive and relevant in the detailed explanation it provided. It used 2 pages to explain the impact of the economic climate on revenues and fundraising, detailed how and why it was cutting its budget, gave an overview of its plans, and reaffirmed its commitment to its core mission. The response from consumers was dramatic. This letter scored twice as high as the bank and credit card letters on factors including trust and loyalty. Respondents appreciated the organization's efforts to justify their actions:

One comment was: "This organization seems honest and upfront. They are forthcoming and direct with their information, which is always good."

Siegel+Gale's Simplicity Survey found that when communicating in times of crisis, respect trumps even clarity and comprehensive explanations. The communication that tested best overall was the pamphlet from the mortgage lender. It explicitly stated its commitment to transparency and easy-to-understand descriptions of loan terms and costs. It was judged to be most informative, balanced, and direct, and made respondents feel most loyal to the company. One typical comment was:

"This pamphlet makes me feel the mortgage lender is being straightforward and inviting me into their financial institution. I feel very good about this company."

The company's conclusion is that if customers believe that organizations are forthcoming, provide an appropriate level of relevant detail to support their actions, and show they value and respect their customers, people are not only more accepting of bad news, they are also willing to show such organizations deeper loyalty down the road.

ConnectIT
29-July-2009

Floral Art after Dark!

Do you want to see some great floral masterpieces?   Check out The Art Center this Friday evening for Floral Art after Dark. This is part of Art after Dark and I expect this to be a very interesting and showy good time! The winner of this will move on to the Top 10, a state competition for floral design.   I hope to see all of you this Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. I will be there from 6 till around 8 to answer any questions. If you can not make it the Art Center Friday evening then check it out sometime over the weekend. (See The Art Center for hours)   Thanks!!   Sprigs N Things