In my recent post, Walmart: Our Soul - Less Money, I responded to a post by Corey Smith. Evidently I raised a few hackles when I stepped up on my soap box, and I loved the comments. They were both challenging and insightful…

So I wanted to respond to a few.

Tsudonimh, writes:

I take issue with the idea that competitive pricing is eroding the soul of America. I think Liberalism, Communism and Too-much-governmentism is a much larger threat. As far as manufacturing in the U.S. I’d say Labor unions have been a much greater detriment than Walmart could ever be… Perhaps the US should continue to strive for knowledge based jobs and allow markets to regulate themselves. Labor unions have bargained their way out of a job in many cases and I don’t blame Walmart at all.

Tsudonimh, first let me explain that I firmly believe in both self-governance and accountability. I do not believe that individuals or societies should do anything in excess; History has classically demonstrated that when over-indulgence or under-availability is at issue this often leads to a societies ruin in the end.

The term capitalism was coined, oddly enough, by Karl Marx to illustrate a distribution of power, wealth, and influence to a controlling minority. Now I know you do not believe in government, and we have had these discussions from time to time, but the opposite “extreme” cannot be pleasant either. Why? Because this would wreak of dictatorship.

So, America has found ways to accommodate a fairly stable economy by taking a middle road between total intervention and none whatsoever. The US Department of State, via About.com had this to say:

…the United States and many other countries have intervened in their economies to limit concentrations of power and address many of the social problems associated with unchecked private commercial interests. As a result, the American economy is perhaps better described as a “mixed” economy, with government playing an important role along with private enterprise.

Furthermore, unions were a response to unfair labor practices during the early industrial revolution - where government (read, a government for the people by the people) would not intervene. While I would agree I think the Unions have become as bloated as the pork-barrelling politicians on Capitol Hill, they originally served a purpose; however, it has now reached its zenith due to, yet again, excessive overtures by its members.

Walmart is not a detriment to the American way - in fact it actually underscores raw capitalism at work (at least as close as you can get in a regulated economy). In point of fact, I think “selfish-ism” is eroding the state of America to be frank… the “what’s in it for me” attitude coupled with blatant disregard for others’ well-being.

People often use “it’s just business” as an excuse to trample over everyone and everything in their path. They become myopic and loose site of the grander vision of the human experience. Admittedly, this ‘human experience’ is, and should always be, unique to each and every one of us.

Does this allow for employees of a company to have free reign over the company, taking payment and not rendering services? Certainly not. Again, it is a partnership between provider and consumer, business and employee - a symbiotic relationship to be sure.

So the real question about Walmart’s practices is not a question of good versus evil, rather it is a question of which ecosystem do we want to be a part of? The local community where we shop down the street, the national community where our goods may come from other Americans, or a global community where our goods, and services, might come from anywhere else?

Now, most have decided, via their purchasing decisions (their vote), that they would prefer to be part of a global ecosystem. The only rub there is that while we are hungrily consuming goods imported from other ecosystems, the foreign entities are not consuming any of ours because they can produce it themselves or find it on the global market much cheaper.

So how do you intend to keep paying for your supply, if your products or services are not in demand?

Sure the market will regulate itself, but are you willing to go hungry while it does so?

As Greg Walters said, “…once again, this is not Rocket Science, it’s Economics…”

Photo credit to Dayaran.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: Corey Smith, Economics, Greg Walters, Tsudonimh, Walmart

Corey honored me with a nice little jab on his blog regarding a comment to his post on loving Walmart.

In my opinion, Walmart is soulless - but not a bad business. Corey seems to think it’s because Walmart is SO incredibly big, that they are a target now… That sounds like a whiny excuse to me…

Maybe there is some truth from the driveling masses who might shop there, but Charles Fishman (FastCompany) had a few other ideas about Walmart,

Walmart has also lulled shoppers into ignoring the difference between the price of something and the cost. Its unending focus on price underscores something that Americans are only starting to realize about globalization: Ever-cheaper prices have consequences. Says Steve Dobbins, president of thread maker Carolina Mills: “We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world–yet we aren’t willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions.”

Charles writes an extremely compelling argument detailing the simple fact that Walmart has one mission:  “To bring the lowest possible prices to its customers.”

How noble, right? Some might say so. Walmart vendors would credit Walmart as a quick paying account, but one that expects year-over-year pricing decreases for products it commonly sells. If you as a vendor can’t supply the massive quantities they require at the prices they require, they’ll outsource to an overseas supplier who can.

What does that mean for you and I? Well, we get low prices but at what cost? That’s a tough question and one that MasterLock had to answer:

Randall Larrimore, a former CEO of MasterBrand Industries, the parent company of Master Lock, understands that contradiction too well. For years, he says, as manufacturing costs in the United States rose, Master Lock was able to pass them along. But at some point in the 1990s, Asian manufacturers started producing locks for much less. “When the difference is $1, retailers like Walmart would prefer to have the brand-name padlock or faucet or hammer,” Larrimore says. “But as the spread becomes greater, when our padlock was $9, and the import was $6, then they can offer the consumer a real discount by carrying two lines. Ultimately, they may only carry one line.”

In January 1997, Master Lock announced that, after 75 years making locks in Milwaukee, it would begin importing more products from Asia. Not too long after, Master Lock opened a factory of its own in Nogales, Mexico. Today, it makes just 10% to 15% of its locks in Milwaukee–its 300 employees there mostly make parts that are sent to Nogales, where there are now 800 factory workers.

Larrimore did the first manufacturing layoffs at Master Lock. He negotiated with Master Lock’s unions himself. He went to Bentonville. “I loved dealing with Wal-Mart, with Home Depot,” he says. “They are all very rational people. There wasn’t a whole lot of room for negotiation. And they had a good point. Everyone was willing to pay more for a Master Lock. But how much more can they justify? If they can buy a lock that has arguably similar qual-ity, at a cheaper price, well, they can get their consumers a deal.”

It’s Wal-Mart in the role of Adam Smith’s invisible hand. And the Milwaukee employees of Master Lock who shopped at Walmart to save money helped that hand shove their own jobs right to Nogales. Not consciously, not directly, but inevitably. “Do we as consumers appreciate what we’re doing?” Larrimore asks. “I don’t think so. But even if we do, I think we say, Here’s a Master Lock for $9, here’s another lock for $6–let the other guy pay $9.”

Is it wrong to pay less? Is it wrong to ask someone to accept less money than I would take so I can pay less of my money? Not necessarily, but in the end where does this lead? Are we leveraging our soul so we spend less money?

Corey, yes they are big, but is that why they are a target?

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: Capitalism, globalization, Walmart

For those of you who enjoyed my Managed Print Services: the Theory, the Tools, and the Targets series, and those of you who would like a more portable format, I am posting the series in one, easy-to-download PDF document.

Take it with you, share it with friends and colleagues. Help your company to help make your customers’ lives just a little better and enjoy.

As always, I am am happy for any feedback or suggestions.

Download Managed Print Services: the Theory, the Tools, and the Targets series in PDF format.

Tags: Download, Managed Print Services, MPS, PDF

With the advent of having a cell phone in not every household, but seemingly in every hand in every household in the U.S., the accompanying ringtones and wildfire of personalizations that come with such a viral spread of communication really speak for themselves.

Nielsen Ringscan broke out some US ringtone figures. There were 220 million ringtone purchases in 2007 resulting in sales of $567 million, and ringtone sales spiked 22 percent in the last week of the year (mocoNews.net, January 2008).

In corporate culture even, ringtones seem to say something about a person and evoke immediate reactions from not only the people around you but the owner of the phone himself or herself. For instance, I knew someone who set a personal ringtone to play the Darth Vader introduction every time their boss called in. Now what emotion do you think that evoked?

Being in the “IT” field, we often run the middle line between managing growing fleets of disparate mobile devices but offering some level of flexibility to our customer. In larger organizations this can indeed be tough, but are the small things life like ringtones important morale boosters that help deliver on your bottom line?

That’s hard to say, but I have a BlackBerry and I would share with you that I relish the feeling of connectedness that a mobile PDA device gives me. It allows me to the flexibility to know when I need to react and when I can sit back and let someone else handle the ‘heat’ for awhile.

Due to a recent hardware failure, I had to replace my BlackBerry. First, Verizon Wireless was quite nice about that portion of things and even apologized for the inconvenience. Of course, what we are paying a month for our corporate account, they should bend over backwards - but I digress…

Needless to say, I had to go through and set up my calling profiles again, how the phone behaves when in vibrate mode, when in my holster, etc. I must say this is a rather nice feature I have not seen on other devices. I decided to try this little e-mail notification file called “sonar”.

It sounded just like the name, like a submarine pinging something underwater. After awhile, the tone began to really grate on me. I don’t really know why, but I began to detest getting e-mails on my BlackBerry. Last night I switched to a much more upbeat sound - and now… I smile a little smirk when an e-mail comes in.

Does someone love me that much to send me an e-mail? Well, I wouldn’t go that far - I’m not that desperate! It’s just another blanket invitation to another seminar on virtualization or disaster recovery, or the bestest (yes that’s right - I said best-est) MPS program just launched to help make my company a ton of money!

Oh well, I can’t tell you my ring tone will help make the company more profitable or me more excited than I already am to check an e-mail, but there is some truth in “wanting” to be there in mind and body.

Someone’s calling, are you there?

So what gets you excited? What small thing, be it a ringtone or something else, gets you motivated to do what you do?

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: BlackBerry, Cell, Mobile, PDA, Ringtones, Smartphone, Verizon Wireless

This weekend, the weekend before our celebrations begin in honor of our independence here in America, I found a lost feeling I had somewhat forgotten.

This weekend started on Friday much like any other, but instead of coming home to a rushed spouse and quick peck on the lips as she darted off to class, instead I came home to a wife and child eagerly welcoming me to the dinner table.  You see, this has not be the norm in my household for over a year now, and it seems odd to see this type of event now that I have grown accustomed to the distance.

We proceed to finish our dinner. After dinner we, as a family, lounged all over each other on our over-sized leather sofa while watching a wonderfully fantastic adventure, nibbling on popcorn and sipping a drink of our choice. The movie offered some scares and wows, each offering my wife and I opportunities to smile a smile of knowing love at each other only parents might know.

Friday soon passed, and Saturday morning came as usual: My wife running off to school and my daughter running into to use me as her ad hoc jungle gym. After lounging for a bit, my daughter and I managed to find our way to a friend’s wedding where my we enjoyed many smiles and excellent food. We came home to find our cozy beds and sweet dreams, to awake the next morning.

I was greeted by the banging of my daughter on our bedroom door; this has become the norm in lieu of a doorbell, I suppose. The family readied for church and had a wonderful time taking in a great lesson on patience. After service we found ourselves in the typical rush, ironically as it would seem. One might wonder if we actually paid attention.

After lunch, we parted ways as my wife made the 2 hour round trip to pick-up our monster-, aahumm, mother-in-law. I tidied up the house a bit.

At around 6 pm, we toddled on over to something our church was putting on called the “County Fair”, filled with carnival rides, great music, and free hot dogs! Several thousand people were there enjoying the festivities, and parents and teenagers alike were braving the lengthy lines in order to step onto a ride or two.

We managed to find our way through the crowds, and even met some friends and exchanged smiles and handshakes.

As nightfall began to close in, we found our way to a plush, grassy hilltop in preparation of the coming fireworks. And soon they started; booms and thunder ensued. We snuggled close to one another and covered our heads with blankets as the rain began to sprinkle our foreheads.

And in that instant, we found something digital mediums have subtly offered and still attempt to provide - a connection. It was a weekend full of emotion, both good and bad; a weekend of connections - of relationships.

You see, the digital divide is in truth just that. We have allowed ourselves to succumb to the lure of efficiency and mobility. And yes response-time, or up-time, or whatever “-time” you may want might be markedly improved. However, what I would offer is it might have come at the expense of plain ole’ quality time.

Twitter - check! FriendFeed - check!, BlackBerry - check! iPod Touch - check!, GPS navigation system - check! overly-connected - check!

Tonight I traded the noise on the net for the screams of excitement in the crowd of fair-goers; Tonight I traded the dim glow of my computer screen for the explosion of fireworks against the night sky; Tonight I found out that being disconnected is where true connectivity begins.

In the quick pauses between thunderous explosions and nibbles of cotton candy an experience is reborn anew, the human connection.

Tags: BlackBerry, connection, FriendFeed, GPS, iPod Touch, Social Media, Twitter

A friend at KnowTheNetwork, wrote a rather interesting opinion regarding liberty and freedom. Tsudonimh wrote:

Liberty - 1: the quality or state of being free: a: the power to do as one pleases (Merriam-Webster)

What does it mean to be a free society? Or for a citizen to possess freedom?

Liberty allows you the free will of action and speech up to the point that you infringe upon another’s liberty. The ideal of liberty is uncomfortable and uncompromising and belief in such an ideal makes me a radical in most every circle.

My response is as follows:

Tsu, I would agree with the very principal of your belief. I have become a little more jaded in the simple fact that people have forgotten a very primary component of Liberty - the responsibility and accountability that accompanies such a power as being free.

Freedom, in my humble opinion, is much like love. I can be selfish and call it love - but true love is a relationship where both partners are committed to the other selflessly. This creates restraint and borders where both parties can feel completely protected. Why? Because each party has the other’s best interest at heart.

Extend my argument to liberty: You are correct in that your freedom ends where it will infringe upon another’s liberty - but who is to decide this? The problem here is liberty works only in a society where its members are focused upon an attitude of service and selflessness - protection for each other.

Every argument in a marriage - every argument - comes from one party doing, saying, or acting in a selfish manner. As such, every conflict in history stems from another’s belief in something that is opposite from another and an unwillingness for compromise.

One thing that people have forgotten is that government is supposed to be the people. We in point of fact, live in a more socialistic culture where we have traded our rights of freedom for creature comforts - traded our liberty as currency to pay for the outsourcing of our hassles and worries.

Some efforts by our “government” have been good, but most have been stretched and twisted - resembling something wholly different than the original spirit of law intended.

Keep in mind, legalizing everything is not the answer, excusing irresponsible behavior is never the solution. Successful societies hold to the covenant of some standards - and agree to live by this social contract. Why? To preserve the greater good, to perpetuate humanity itself.

I admire your idealism, and I once to held to a standard that everyone could self moderate, but what I have been sadly made aware of through experience is that so many people do not - or worse - will not self-moderate their behavior.

What is truly sad to me is that these same abusive and selfish individuals claim it is their “right” to act in such a way as not acting in this fashion would impose upon their freedom. If you need any grander social experiment as proof, I would encourage you review a little thing called Woodstock 1967… Great ideals, but a miserable failure exemplifying self-indulgence and excess which resulted in soulless physical exchanges, malnutrition and disease.

No my friend, we are not mature enough to handle a “no holds barred” society.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: Change, Culture, knowthenetwork.com, opinion, Politics

In David Allen’s book Getting Things Done, he explains the “Natural Planning Techniques” as having five distinct phases. These phases are both necessary and are part of everyone’s decision making process in some shape or fashion.

These five phases are: purpose, principals, vision/outcome, brainstorming, and organizing. As I have said many times before, I believe one of the keys in the decision process is defining purpose, or asking “why?” David goes on to say:

 

Here are just some of the benefits of asking “why?”:

• It defines success.
• It creates decision-making criteria.
• It aligns resources.
• It motivates.
• It clarifies focus.
• It expands options.

David believes that everyone wants to win. While I believe this to be generally true, I believe there is a much more fundamental reason: I believe everyone wants to know “why?”:

• Why do I need to write this new syllabus?
• Why do I need to spend time doing the dishes?
• Why am I here and why do I exist - what is my purpose?

In other words, we seek validation - validation for many things, be it something simple like, ”Am I doing a good job on a new project I’m working on?”, or something more complex such as, “Am I being the best father I can be?”

While there are many sources we look towards for validation, and each of us focuses in differing levels of consciousness on the “why” question, fundamentally we all want to know why we are doing something or why we should do something - but for some reason it doesn’t always make itself clear to us.

But is “why” good enough?

Sure you are getting data by asking why, but are you gaining actionable intelligence? The information is now in your hands to assimilate and apply. In other words, the application of your gathered information directed towards a desired outcome is required for success - required to win.

That means you not only have to know how to ask “why” questions, but why you need to ask why. You see my friends, “why” questions can help you uncover your purpose, but asking why is academic unless you are willing to trade fanciful philosophy sessions for rubber-meets-the-road execution.

Those who want to know “why” want to win. In defining purpose, we awaken to realize we are standing on a very dangerous precipice - between action and inaction; and there is a choice to be made. Should we falter in not taking action, we will most assuredly fall into the category of the loser. Asking “why” does not dictate successful outcomes but I believe David Allen said it best:

People love to win. If you’re not totally clear about the purpose of what you’re doing, you have no chance of winning.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: David Allen, Getting Things Done, Why, Winning

A friend of mine just launched a new, clean look to his website, KnowTheNetwork.com. Tsudohnimh, has been working on the new look and feel for a good while now, and I am floored by the new layout.

 Here’s a little about KnowTheNetwork:

This change has been a long time in coming and I’m thrilled to have you. I hope that you find the site more readable and inviting. There are more features on the way and you can expect new posts 3 times a week. Whether you are an old friend or just finding this site for the first time allow me to give you an overview of the best content…

Stop by and say hi, or just enjoy the great reading. It’s an odd mix of technology tricks and political opinions, but somehow it works. I trust you will enjoy the opinions as much as the facts.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Tags: KnowTheNetwork, New Website, Politics, Technology

In Mark Evan’s post, Did We Get Suckered by Firefox 3?, he asks a very pointed question. Firefox topped 8 million downloads in a 24 hour period, which reports are stating could be a new world record (Chattahbox).

Mark wasn’t too pleased with Mozilla, and immediately points both barrels and fires:

Everyone likes something shiny and new so it didn’t come as much surprise to see eight million people download Firefox 3… While Firefox is becoming more popular, the reality is people who enthusiastically downloaded as soon as it was released into the wild may have been suckered.

Why is it that Mozilla has this mystique of greatness, anyway?

I’m not so sure anyone got “suckered”, and I’m not of the opinion Firefox is some messiah of browsers. For that matter, I’m certainly no fanboy of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

I get the impression that many almost feel as though Mozilla has some underlying obligation to fix world hunger or bring peace to the Middle East. I mean, come on! The fanatics that follow Apple or tout Google act as if they are some ’dynamic duo‘ out to stop the evils of Corporate America too.

It’s easy to get caught up in the positive spin of a company, but let’s cut the hype… Firefox is a browser just like IE, and just like Safari. I am a user who wants to surf the web, read e-mail, and conduct my business and personal affairs in a connected world. 

I will tell you that I have worked with FF 1 and 2 with no great applause. They’re OK, but interoperability with other suites in my line of business applications have been spotty. I was truly hoping FF3 would fix some of that, but it appears that in fixing some issues others have arisen.

Now that’s a shocker: a software company that has bugs in their code? No, not Mozilla. They’re curing AIDS in Africa with each download - aren’t they?

The black and white of browsers:

Listen folks, I don’t mean to downplay world events - or more importantly anyone’s role in helping others. I’m all for that. However, let’s look at this just like a business. These companies are in business. I love the competition that both Firefox and Safari bring to the table because it helped Microsoft get a clue and clean up some (I said some) of their crap code in IE.

Now speaking of code, FF3 has been all but working smoothly since I downloaded all but less than a week ago. My trusty RoboFormssoftware isn’t working properly and completely disappears at times - and let me tell you keeping track of all the passwords I have is a hassle without it. AJAXey sites don’t function very well that I can tell, like Plurk. Now who knows if that is truly Firefox or the A-Team just goofing with their code base again, but IE7 doesn’t seem to hiccup very much.

Well, maybe these are all tweaks, and maybe not. However, if I put on my, “I’m just a normal user” cap, I don’t care. I want my software to work, out of the box, with no customization. I know, call me lazy - call me idealistic, but don’t call me unrealistic!

The bottom line:

Mozilla isn’t on some grand crusade to make the world a better place by downloading their code. They are a business looking for market share. I’m sure they would be the first to tell you that if you generally want to make a difference in the world, sitting in front of their browser is not the place to be.

Oh well, I’ll wait for a .1 release to fix some of the hiccups along with my software vendors releasing some updated code as well. Until then, I’ll probably kick back to my trusty IE - sorry boys and girls.

Oh well, this is my rant on Firefox 3 for now, do you have a beef with it, or just with what I’m saying? Speak up - because I can’t hear you!

Tags: apple, Browser, Firefox 3, Google, IE, Mozilla, Safari

My wife and I were going through some things in the attic yesterday. We happened across a box full of keepsakes that we had placed out of sight and out of mind. We brought the box down and found some interesting things each of us had stored away.

I happened on some old Boy Scout patches and merit badges, various ticket stubs to memorable events, and some old shorts and poems I had written some long years past.

My wife took some and began to read. She handed me a crumpled page, asking if I remembered when I had written it. Instantly memories I had put away came flooding back at seeing the poem I had written to read at my Mother’s funeral.

As it is nearing her birthday, I thought I would share this with the world. Her passing left me with a weighty feeling - simpler times were gone forever. While I have found joy in the new life since her passing, each thought of her brings pangs for yesterday’s life.

Simpler times are not remembered, they only linger;

simpler things cannot recall these times of pain and words of comfort.

With whispered words within my heart,

I reflect upon and walk beneath my shaded feelings and hollowed cries.

These thoughts called to mind have now called to light

my memories of yesterday and better times.

Bathed in sunlight and its golden glow are things of joy and living hope:

A Mother’s kiss and outstretched arms,

simple words not knowing harm.

Her soul sings songs of living on, now giving light to that beyond.

It is these simpler times I now remember,

these simpler things that offer me comfort.

In times of pain my heart rejoices,

as I think of thoughts and dream my dreams of yesterday and better times -

things my Mother’s kiss and outstretched arms

- simply gave to me.

One thing in life is constant, and that is change. My life has been, and always will be, changing; the road I travel leaves me both wiser and richer, but sometimes scarred. May peace be with you, and may God’s blessings light a path in your darkest hour.

Sincerely,

Ken

photo credit to isa13