If it weren’t for the fact that everyone loves seeing my happy and smiling face at work I think I could really get into telecommuting - well except for the fact that my daughter seems to think the world lives to give her attention…

That aside, where else can you work in PJ’s, wear bedroom slippers, and sip on a latte while relaxing from your arm chair? I don’t have bedroom slippers, so I suppose I would have to expense those. But other than that - I got this gig down:

I have remote software on all of the servers, remote software to access any desktop or notebook I need, a VoIP handset to talk, e-mail for managing the tasks, instant messenger (IM) to chat, and a BlackBerry for errands. I’m all set.

Seeing is Believing:

People don’t see me, and what most people don’t see they don’t believe. Sure, many of us ‘technologists’ get it. We are mobile professionals on the road - and we judge performance based upon the results - right!?

Do the Benefits Outweigh the Perception?

Many organizations, including government, has turned to telecommuting as a cost-friendly way to maintain increasing demand for results. The benefits of telecommuting are wonderful:

1. Higher productivity: More relaxed attitude and less office distractions.
2. Lower overhead: lower expenses related to facilities costs.
3. Other perks: lower fuel costs for the employees can equate to a raise for a creative manager.
4. The list goes on…

The perception, however, can be a much different thing.

Perception is Reality:

I would venture a guess that most of you reading this blog are technologically - well, shall we say - progressive. You thirst for knowledge, to connect, to create… Sadly, you make up a smaller percentage of the workforce.

Thus toots the train of thought many executives travel upon.

“It is not the spoon that bends …

… but you that bends around the spoon,” as the quote goes. In essence, you have to see your way around the wall that is common misperception regarding telecommuters: that is they are hard to manage, hard to communicate with, and can be lazy.

I like to think of myself as a progressive leader, and make no mistake, that is what it takes to buy into a modern day vision of the mobile worker. However, I was recently bitten by a telecommuter for a SharePoint project I am working on that had the makings of a nightmare.

At the outset of the project, I had spent over a week trying to connect, but due to schedules it took us quite some time. Then there was the business of setting access and signing contracts. After these items were settled in, it took us another few days to connect - and to my dismay we only connected via IM - well after business hours?

Well, we discussed this and that, and this developer had a seemingly wonderful grasp upon some of the nuances of SharePoint development. I was promised a statement/estimate of work, and thus we were off.

Then a week came and went - no statement of work - no visible results. Then another week began to pass, and I initiated contact only to find no response, no work, nothing.

So it is that I, the progressively-minded leader, was bitten. I should’ve heard the alarm-bells, no the sirens, of project mismanagement missteps across the board - but I allowed myself to deviate from my standard management practices - all in the name of telecommuting.

So, there is a lesson somewhere inside, or else I will just feel miserable having wasted 4 weeks of my project portfolio’s time.

Telecommuting; the Brutal Truth:

What was my mistake? Not remembering that telecommuting is no different than comparing wired to wireless networks. Both have their places, but telecommuting is simply a medium of transport. Have some faith in the fact that belief does not have to be determined by sight alone.

We all love making exceptions to our processes. Sure we know there are going to be exceptions to our rules, but to work in a role supporting a high-touch organization might be so much so that I might liken it to an exercise in continually asking asking someone to stop kicking you in the backside only to find out after the 20th time you’ve been sporting a “Kick Me I’m Stupid!” sign on your back.

Wow, that was a bit harsh… but let me draw a parallel here from the industry within which I work: Does it not strike you that just about every sales person in the copier industry is wildly egotistical - at least the good ones are, don’t you think? It’s not like they are mean people, nor are they out to get everyone. No, it is just a simple matter of forgetting the sun, moon, and stars don’t really revolve around them - or did the rest of us just miss something?

A Moment of Truth:

I tried my hand at sales many years ago, selling timeshares with the Marriott of all things. Not only was I not enamored with my product and felt about as slimy as a slug in the dead of summer, but I found out I couldn’t stomach all of the “No’s”. You know, it wasn’t even all of the “No’s” either - it was the vitriol that spewed out of people’s mouths… like some busted pipe of venom. It was not a fun job and I knew that industry and sales was not for me.

So it takes a certain bravado, I suppose, to get through all of the objections customers may try and throw at you. I give you that.

But what I don’t get is how a simple process that has been proven to make your sale go smoother, make the the customer happy, and keep everyone sane can prove to be such dramatic show-stopper month-in-and-month-out?

Do you live in a high-touch environment where you service customers that are high-touch? It might not be sales people - it might be lawyers, doctors, or Ph. D.’s at a university. In other words, do you work in a place where “the talent” has to be coddled and pampered to maintain a certain order of things?

Balanced Chaos:

There has to be balance. In my previous post, Meet Me at the Intersection of Passion and Process, I waxed poetically about the fact that organizations need both passion and process. I used to believe only process was needed, but found that the coin of business had 2 sides.

It can be a death knell for a company to have all process and no passion. This leads to the company becoming disconnected to its lifeblood - the customer.

What is arguably more dangerous is to allow passion to override logic and a proven process and forge ahead on bravado and testosterone alone. The all too familiar syndrome of “over-promising and under-delivering” is the hallmark of this corporate culture.

In a high-touch environment, exceptions are the norm. However, you must have a system in place to allow for certain deviations from the critical path, but not allowing for wild variations that might cause the company, customer, or associates harm.

In other words, exceptions can be allowed to become the rule only when there is a culture of understanding when passion is warranted and when it must be reigned in, when process is needed and when it becomes stifling.

What are some of your thoughts on exception handling? How do you and your company deal with exceptions?

Walking a tightrope over a pit of hungry alligators while juggling flaming torches.

I work in a high-touch, sales-driven, customer-centric industry, company and position. This is the image that sums up my day on average.

How do you deal with a change of direction?

• Are you the type who quickly loses their temper when the “plan” quickly jumps the tracks, or do you find yourself knuckling down and rowing the rapids?

• Are you the kind of person who enjoys systems and processes, seeking order in the chaos?

• Do you look for the edges of the puzzle first and work your way in?

The job is not for everyone, that is for sure. It almost wasn’t for me; Let me tell you, it almost got me.

I spent the formative years of my career in very large organizations - the United States Marine Corps and a manufacturing division of a worldwide company with offices in the US and UK. So one of my employers was the 911 force of the world; I supported a 2000-Marine air group. The other was publicly traded company focused more on providing a 25 cent dividend to its shareholders each quarter than trying to increase revenue. Both were large, impersonal, and riddled with systems and processes just for their own sake.

The owner of my current company hired me some 5 years ago to bring focus to a group in  a company that had been successful “doing it the old school way”. My job was to seed in new ways of doing business while trying to work within the boundaries of almighty “culture”.

My job was to seed in systems and process in a company that ran by the seat of its pants: very little formalized process with lots of gusto and bravado.

I began by trying to hit the wall full-steam-ahead, and got one nasty concussion after another. After 2 years of hitting my head against the wall, and gaining inches not yards, I sat down. I opened my eyes, ears, and mind to some key mentors and learned how to work within the system.

It began working so well that something odd happened - the fire started to go out. The process began to take over and - where was the passion? Where was the fire in the belly I had loved about the company when I first started? In those years, I discovered that systems and process have their place, but not without passion and commitment to the people around you. In the Marine Corps, we had a saying,

It’s not the Corps that takes care of Marines, it’s the Marine standing next to you that takes care of you - and you that takes care of him.

And then it all began to click…

• Process is to bring sanity to the confusion, and offer consistency to your customers.

• Passion is to connect you with each other, and breeds loyalty from customers.

… and it is there where the magic is found - for me - for my company. Each of you may have your own recipe for success, but success for me is at the intersection of passion and process.

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.

“Where’s there’s mystery, there’s magic” as the saying goes.

IT has held a position of sway in many organizations since mainstream business began integrating technology with their lines of business. In today’s economy, it is unthinkable to detach technology from your business. I think most would agree, while the headcount can be hotly debated, there is a lot of job security for the technologist’s position within a company.

However, IT has been known to be a little myopic in their approach in support of the overall business and its needs. In other words, IT has a bad rap for being tactical in offering solutions, often retreats to methods of control rather than seeking understanding, and would rather play with toys that dig into sticky cultural issues.

The Throne:

Many small-to-medium businesses (SMB’s) across the U.S. have created the position of IT Supervisor or IT Manager. This designation often times indicates a position that is integral in “supervising” or “managing” the various technology systems and programs in place within the business, in support of day-to-day operations. This position is often thought of as a tactical support position, executing strategies set by the “business-side” of the business.

Well, what about businesses who have CIO’s?  This is supposedly a position of influence, directly able to impact top line growth, bottom line savings, or both. Studies indicate that more CIO’s are now reporting down the “food-chain” to COO’s and CFO’s.

Last year, 45% of those responding to a survey by the Society of Information Management said the CIO in their organization reported to their CEO. This year, that number is 31%.

Position or Philosophy:

Why would the position of the key technology player in a business even matter? There are 2 key reasons:

1. The position can indicate a company’s perspective on how technology impacts the business.
2. Reporting directly to the CEO offers some level of political clout, and allows more autonomy in setting holistic and strategic agendas for the business.

However, position alone is not truly important. Technologists within a company can be successful in many different reporting structures. The key to understanding whether IT is valued within an organization is understanding that IT must value the organization, and bring value to the organization.

Too often, IT spends its time toddling around with the proverbial blinders on, does not seek to understand the business, and keeps the culture at arms length - to be dealt with, not embraced.

This study indicates that CIO’s know they need to change:

[CIO's listed their] top three concerns—staffing, business/IT alignment, and building up business skills—are all human resource and skills related and that those issues were cited by more than 40% of respondents.

Gatekeeper or Bridge:

In a previous article, Is IT a Gatekeeper or Bridge, I detailed 4 skills every technology leader should embrace:

1. Align yourself with business units
2. Listen and don’t be defensive
3. Innovate
4. Offer customers choices not obstacles

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:

1. Do you know what your business is in the business of?
2. Do you find ways to help increase sales?
3. Do you find ways to help spend less? - and I’m not talking about ordering 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB with your new laptop.
4. Do you welcome people into your office or quickly pick up the phone and pretend to be in a deep discussion?
5. Do you understand the goals and challenges of each of your business’s leaders?
6. Are you looking to help your business leaders achieve their goals and overcome their obstacles?
7. Would you rather be at your desk deciding whether DameWare or VNC works better, or out talking with your customers to see what you can improve in their work lives?
8. When your customers see you coming, do they smile and waive, or do they look down and sigh?
9. Do you wear shirts with slogans like, “I read your emails” or “I H8 U”?
10. Do you point fingers or pull the thumb? In other words, so always look to blame someone else, or seek to carry the burden on your shoulders and solve the problem at hand?

Consultant to the Culture:

My point here is not to disparage the technology advocates and enthusiasts within the organization, nor to undermine their vital role in supporting the day-to-day operations. No, this diatribe is pointed squarely at those claiming to be in leadership positions who slough off their responsibilities of stewardship.

IT Supervisors, IT Managers, and CIO’s, once they understand the business, must understand they should be a chief consultant to the business - seeking to blend technologies and cultures; they are both the cheerleader and critic, painting a portrait of how things could be sprinkled with some seasoning of reality.

Wake up! IT has to get out of the business of being in IT, and into the business of running the business.

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.

But did you know it’s an actual plan based on a work of fiction?

If you’ve read the book, or have seen the movie, it’s based on a very simple but profound idea. An idea that can generate a world movement. An idea for world change.

Person A does a good deed, or a favor, for person B . As payment or ‘payback’ person B does a good deed, or a favor, for 3 more people. Then each of those 3 people repeat the same action. Then those 9 people repeat the same action as the first. Whether you’re any good at mathematics or not, you can see the endless number of people this can potentially affect, and the lives this can impact.

At it’s very worst, 1 person can have a positive impact and effect on 3-9 people. At it’s best… 1 person can have a positive impact and effect on hundreds, even thousands… possibly millions.

It’s a simple act of faith. Faith in one person’s ability. Faith in the general consensus that all men (& women) are good-natured.

Hmmmm…

So is everyone you meet good-natured and genuine?

Therein lies the problem with the plan.

I wonder what kind of world this would be if we all could grasp this simple concept.

We as a society (whether we like to admit it or not), find it very easy to follow the concept “an eye for an eye”. Yeah it’s a dark and evil connotation. This idea spawns from a wrong-doing done to you or someone you love.

I know when I think of those acts we do not like to speak of… when I think about my family, my wife, or my close friends being harmed, I start to get that really bad feeling in my gut; You know, those harshest of crimes, like rape, murder, excessive violence, hate crimes, etc.

How would you react if that happened to someone you love? Would you let it ‘roll off your shoulders’? Or

would you let the arm of the law take care of the injustice done to you and yours???

I scare myself thinking about what I may or may not do. I start to shake.. And well.. Let’s just say that I would become a very, not-nice person.

So why is it that we feel so passionately about an unjust wrong, but we can’t repeat and mirror that passion when something good comes our way?

Why can’t we extend and enhance a good deed or a favor? Why can’t we stay positive throughout our tough and stressful days?

Why is it so easy to seek revenge?

Why is it so hard to pay it forward?

Do you pay it forward?

Carpe Diem

As proponents of technology, salespeople will always gravitate to the tools that enable us to communicate more effectively.  This is true of virtually every modern communication system such as telephones, facsimile, email, web, or text messaging.  In many respects, sales have driven adoption of these tools across a broader spectrum of business.  In the document output industry however, where the core product is the printed word, we often neglect a basic form of communication - the personal touch of a handwritten note.

To be clear, there is no way or reason to replace new methods of communication.  They are often much more functional and effective than handwritten letters would ever be, and their use is essential to many business operations.  Instead, the reason to consider a handwritten note to a prospect or customers is that it entails a sincere interest in the recipient.  This interest can’t be denied because, regardless of the content, you actually spent the time to write it, stuff it in an envelope, and then mail it.  Most people will appreciate this and remember that you took the time to write it.

The obvious times to send a card are when a customer has made a purchase, or someone referred you to another company.  A thank you card is a great way to show your appreciation.  Less obvious are the times such as after an impromptu meeting with a key decision maker while cold calling.  For example, you are cold calling an office building and you happen to meet a business owner who takes a few minutes to talk with you about their business.  What better way to cement the new relationship than with a card expressing your thanks for their time?

Still, there are other ways in which you can utilize a personal card besides saying thanks.  Like duct tape, a handwritten note has many uses and applications, particularly for the salesperson seeking to build long term relationships with their customers.  One use is to write a card after a service call (or series of service calls) to ask the customer if they are satisfied with the result, and to let them know you are concerned about their business.  A letter beginning with, “I was reviewing your account and saw that you had a service call yesterday…” would have a profound effect on any customer.

A handwritten note is an excellent prospecting tool as well, especially for warming a new potential customer.  It sounds a bit cliché, but the number of salespeople writing cards to prospects is so few today that it will definitely garner the attention of your prospects.  The key in this type of note is to make it relevant to their company.  Send a card that references an article that you read about their company, and how it could relate to your business.  You could also consider a card of congratulations.  For example, many business newspapers display employee promotions for local companies, or if a company has recently been awarded a big contract.  Heartfelt congratulations for their success will always be reciprocated.

One underutilized way to use cards is to ask for your prospects help after you lose a sale.  A card like this asks the customer to give advice on what you could have done differently to win their business.  A card that reads something like, “So that I can improve my sales skills, is there anything I could have done differently to win your business?”  The effects of this type of card are so strong that they can change the course of the lost sale, and cause the customer to re-evaluate their decision.  If this happens once in your career, it will be worth every card you had sent.

In summary, technology is always improving the speed and manner in which we communicate.  Professional salespeople must adapt to these new technologies in order to remain competitive and in sync with their customers.  However, don’t neglect the obvious - people buy from people, and that writing a basic, handwritten note of appreciation will put you above all other competitors and be a foundation upon which you can build a relationship with your clients.

Need more help writing a personal note?  Read Business Notes by Florence Isaacs.

Jeff Pitney is a long time veteran of the document imaging industry and has worked in both sales and sales management capacities for manufacturers and independent dealers alike. Jeff also runs Pitney Application Design, building websites and custom integrations for web-based solutions.

We always hear the terms “work-life balance” and “quality time”… Is there such a thing as balancing work, as if it wasn’t part of our life? Is the time we spend doing ‘one thing’ somehow less valuable than other times spent doing ’something else’ ?

Like many of you probably do, I attempt to attain a balance in life. However, this is my focus - my drive.

Have you ever attempted to hold water? It slips through your fingers and around your hands, defying your attempts to restrain and constrict it. Much like water, I seek to wrap myself around the rocks and ground, seeking the base of it, deconstructing the very way in which I encounter the world.

Water has always held meaning in my life; I somehow identify with this element of nature. Be it in the form of a soft rain, a booming river rapid, or a trickling pool of water… it always finds its way to its basest form; swallowed by the oceans or scooped up by the sky, only to be released upon the world in some shape or form once again.

This is the way of water, the circle of its life. It finds a state of balance by its very nature.

Mike St. Pierre, spoke on work-life balance at his blog the Daily Saint. He goes on to say:

… what is work-life balance?  Simply put, work-life balance is the art of maintaining the integrity of both your labor and your love.  Someone once said that a job is what you’re paid for and a vocation is what you’re made for.

Certainly, those that have families can empathize with this saying. Quite interestingly, family and work should ideally contain components of each: both labor and love. In fact, all things worth having in my life, to date, have consisted of labor and reward, subsequently increasing the value of what was attained.

Mike goes on to quote Julie Mortgenstern, a fellow writer of David Allen at BusinessWeek:

Work-life balance is not about the amount of time you spend working vs. not-working. It’s more about how you spend your time working and relaxing, recognizing that what you do in one fuels your energy for the other.

This simple concept seems to elude so many, and truthfully escapes me at points as well. When I am stressed and focussed on achieving a singular goal, when I loose focus on the broader context of life by which I should be framing that singular goal, balance slips through my fingers like that water I try so very hard to be…

However, when I am calm, when my mind is like water, when I have found my balance… then, and only then, am I prepared to tackle the objective at hand.

Life does not consist of two sides to an equation: work and life. No, life has many more facets and cannot be so narrowly defined or constrained… It is like that water I so strive to be like, always flexing, always changing, always seeking the answer to that question of balance.

I have grown up around technology, and have a love for all things that have electrons flowing through them. I do not, however, understand them by 1’s and 0’s, rather I see them as abstract concepts - puzzle pieces that fit together seeking to fulfill a purpose.

So it is that I have spent my life in pursuit of ways to connect people with technology and found that sometimes you have to get the technology out of the way and understand the person and their need in order to successfully apply technology to make their issue ‘better’.

Empathy is what brings our endeavors humanity and sets us apart from those machines we so love to throw at our problems. It reminds us we are individuals in a sea of other individuals - in need of an outstretched hand.

For instance, the promise of social media is in the hope to touch lives we otherwise would not have met - to break through geographical boundaries. Or perhaps it is to reach across the fence in our backyard to a neighbor we might not have otherwise acknowledged with anything other than a nod or a waive of the hand.

Technology is a tool, like any other, to be used or abused. However, it is empathy that helps us connect; empathy is bridge connecting people - not technology.

This post was inspired by David Armano’s post When Marketing Feels Shallow, Go Deep. His blog, Logic & Emotion, is a wonderful read.

Photo credit to Dayaran.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately. The specifics aren’t relevant to this conversation, but I would venture a guess that if you reading this you 1) Think a lot, and 2) want to think a lot because you like being exposed to new ideas.

I’ve been trying to get better about two things:

1. Telling stories to interact with the other person(s)
2. Being empathetic and seeking empathy from the other person(s)

In telling stories, I am finding it easier to connect with people - which is the point of empathy. But you know what I found? To be empathetic to my audience, I have to seek commonality.

This doesn’t mean I have to imitate them, far from it. What is does indicate is that I have to be able to share experiences with people in order to relate. This translates into me living: I must live to have experiences from which I can empathize.

So in order to empathize, I always have to be learning new things. Wow, what a great way to connect to people - through learning!

Image courtesy of Becky Carroll

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.

It’s good enough, flying right below the radar of the CXO… the program, or team, or individual is doing - OK. It’s not doing well, and it certainly isn’t that bad enough to draw unnecessary attention.

If It Ain’t Broke…

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the saying goes.

Well, rubbish.

Let me tell you friends, ‘good enough’ is a dangerous place to be, and if you are asking yourself “Why?”, then you should really read this.

In a past post, Culture is King, I spelled out human behavior in a nutshell:

People by their very nature are experiential. This is to say that they must generally experience a great deal of pain or pleasure to enable the catalysts for change to take root. It is my submission that change only occurs in any form of permanence with the former as it takes an increasing amount of pleasure to perpetuate lasting change (see economics 101: the law of diminishing returns).

Just good enough can lull you into a false sense of security, thinking that everything is alright. You should be constantly running through SWOT analysis on a regular basis. If not, it’s like figuring out your tape backup routine wasn’t working so well after the fire, or realizing you should have had a security system when the burglar is standing in your living room.

Simple truth… look at Pearl Harbor and 9-11, both very shocking and close-to-home events that shocked America into action. While the very truth of these actions are not pretty to behold, and the world we faced after these events seemed much more dangerous than before - at least now we know what we face. At least we have opened our eyes and seen our enemy standing before us.

The [Brutal] Truth Shall Set You Free…

How else are you going to know how to deal with your fears, your weaknesses, those evil things in the world wishing you harm unless you get brutally honest with yourself?

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, coined that phrase, “brutally honest”. What is it that we fear about the truth, about facing what is real and many times ugly?

Folks, get real with yourself and be honest. Don’t get down on yourself or beat yourself up - just be honest.

In so doing, you will find that you have the resolve to deal with issues, or know what you are not able to accomplish and bring other resources to bear in achieving your goal.

Apathy IS the Real Enemy…

Apathy is one of the worst things a leader can deal with. In a previous post, Apathy, The Culture-Killer, I said:

Much like darkness is the absence of light and cold is the absence of heat, apathy is the absence of concern. … It shows a total disregard for you as a person and for the ideas you are attempting to convey if you encounter this in one of your presentations. Worse, it can mean poison to your company culture if it is allowed to fester and spread.

If you think terrorists are evil, apathetic employees are worse. At least terrorists believe in something, whereas the apathetic simply glaze the day away - going through the motions - warming a seat.

The only way to deal with apathy is to cut it out, like cancer - and make sure you are giving your people something to believe in… People need a cause to fight for. That’s what Pearl Harbor and 9-11 have in common - they created a sharp spear to be pointed at our attackers.

Are you sharpening your spear, or are you lazily watching the trees roll by?

Image courtesy of Fir0002 & Wikimedia Commons

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.