Yes.

Are output studies and assessments being used to illuminate a client’s non-management of a significant chunk of their overhead? Are output assessments helping to generate a win-win partnership of common understanding between provider and client?

Yes.

The business of assessments is a business unto itself these days. There are those selling you “how to run a proper assessment” kits. There are those selling clients on “objective assessments” to prevent any skewing of facts or figures (as if non-bias is even possible when dealing with a quantitative and qualitative study). There are even those simply giving the assessment away for a chance to present their facts and findings to the executive board.

All have their place, but all have their objectives as well. Ideally, the end result is to benefit both the client and the provider –which they often are. However, one might view the “assessment” as generally in the providers best interest.

While this is not entirely an unpredictable thought-track, managed services at their core have a “win-win” strategy at heart; both the provider and client must share in the success while both understand that they must also sacrifice some in order to maximally benefit from the relationship. The overall hope would be that the client can gain the efficiencies of the managed service provider (MSP) while also increasing focus on its core competencies (which is not optimizing output fleets – or they would’ve done it already).

So as a provider, let’s spill the beans and clear the air. Most want to know:

1. How do I place more units?
2. How do I sell more aftermarket?
3. How do I gain market share?
4. How do I anticipate demand and market trends?

… and as clients – you WANT your provider to be interested in these things so they can be around tomorrow to deliver great service and support to your organization. Say it with me… SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP.

So in response to these queries, I’ve identified four pillar-concepts of a managed services engagement:

1) Used car sales tactics don’t work and there is only one Wal-Mart in the world.

In other words, customers don’t buy from sleaze balls and you can only go so low on your price before you can’t compete with the “Wal-Mart” of your industry anymore. So, unless you are the Wal-Mart of your industry – don’t even try to go there (see K-Mart).

However, customers will buy from those they trust (trust = sales accelerator) and they will buy what they need. It is important to note that they will also buy what they think they need, but if they find out they don’t need it they will be angry at somebody and generally this is you (the sales person or provider).

You place more units by understanding your clients needs. Thus ON-GOING assessments are necessary – better known as Account Management – but think not only quantitatively (data) but qualitatively (supply meets demand).

2) Gillette doesn’t make money on the razors. It makes money on the refill blades.

Inevitably there is margin in aftermarket. Why else would we make devices that consume toner, ink, etc? Think of a world where the provider now has insight into everything their customers are printing (friendly and foe)! So, think past assessments and get into the operation and management of a fleet.

The four objectives of management of the fleet are:

1. Continually fill the sales pipeline (account management / supply meets demand).
2. Meter collection (billing – and quantitative data).
3. Service call automation (increased customer retention & decreased service costs).
4. Supply order automation (implementation of Just-In-Time inventory = reduced inventory costs).

Think “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

3) Now, you have the trust of your clients…

(also read: “reference accounts”), and price becomes less of a factor (but still important). You help manage your clients fleets, and naturally this begins to grow – with concerted sales efforts – translating into increased market share. Through trust, the client comes to you for every output related question. You become their trusted advisor.

• “Should I buy…”
• “Should I install…”
• “What do you think of…”

4) Anticipation of  the outcome is derived  from understanding the reaction to your influence.

By having on-going reviews with your clients, and given the trusted relationship, you can now cash these points with your clients to ask for their input on new and exciting offerings “the company” is planning. And get this, they now feel important and are part of the process helping you sell to them – and their industry colleagues.

Gee, let me see. Would I rather have consumers standing in front of a wall of computers to choose from, or would I rather them call from the comfort of their own home and ask me what they should buy? If I told my circle of influence to buy a certain type of computer system (and I do), because of reasons X, Y, and Z wouldn’t they listen to their adviser? (And they do.)

It’s a powerful place to be – but you can’t mass produce it… you can build a program around it though! You can build a program that incents the proper behavior to influence the desired result.

Image courtesy of spoon.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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As a father, new in my appointment, I began my first years with both trepidation and uncertainty of action. I loved my daughter more than life itself, but was unsure of when to push, when to pull, and when to let well enough alone.

As a manager, I struggled with my team’s performance; each individual was highly talented, but the sum of my team’s parts were certainly weaker than each stood individually. For many months I struggled with the why. As a father, my angst-ridden decisions played out in many arguments with my wife just as my need for consensus was crippling my ability to manage.

And then I realized my team was ineffective because of my ineffectiveness as a leader; I wanted my team to like me so much I thought their approval was of the utmost importance.

I finally grasped that my fathering skills were crippled not because of my lack of love for my daughter – but  because I didn’t love her enough to say, “No,” when it mattered most.

As a manager and father, my objective was not to be a friend, but to be a leader, a mentor, and servant. I could not, nor can not, exist on an equal plane with those I would lead, mentor or serve – not because I am greater or lesser than a single individual, but because I cannot afford myself the luxury of caring whether I am liked.

As a leader, I must stand apart from them to offer them perspective when they are unable to see what they need alone. As a mentor, I am there to offer guidance and support when their mind and spirit are thirsting for answers. As a servant, I am there to do those things they are unable to do for themselves – humbly and willingly.

It is this realization, in both leadership and fatherhood, that now sets me apart from - while aligning me most closely with - those whom I care for most, would sacrifice myself for, and have grown to respect immensely.

What sets you apart as a leader?

Image courtesy of Ground Zero.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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As we get dressed in our nice slacks or cinch up our new tie, we go through our day in a generally sedentary manner. Sure we move, sure go walk around, but in general we do not expend more calories than we take in.

Now I bet you are begrudgingly thinking just about now, “I don’t need another lecture on weight or diet.”

You would be right! You don’t.

Instead, I want you to take a few moments at the end of your day and observe if your shoulders have slowly climbed to your ears. Take a breather in your day and gauge whether you are using your full lung capacity. Take a look at yourself and see if you are furrowing your brow. Get up and walk around the office, and toss a ball - see how that makes you feel.

I bet you are like most people, unconsciously amassing stress throughout your day and week. What do you do about relieving it?

Try expending some energy for a change if you aren’t:

• Do you work out before or after work at least 2-3 days a week?
• Do you get out in your yard and work up a good sweat?

If I might share with you there are times I allow my workout routine to suffer because of work- or life-related excuses. I find I am much more susceptible to encumber unnecessary stress when I allow this to happen. I often don’t allow myself enough time to sleep, and tend to have only moderately healthy diet. As such, stress finds me even more easily when I find excuses not to work out - either in the gym or the yard.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but I really find the more I sweat the better I feel. Outside of that, physical labor can really help you stay humble and in touch with feeling like you have completed something in earnest.

How about you? How do you avoid stress?

Image courtesy of Bug-a-Lug.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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How many of you are presently a leader? How many of you have lead or would like to be a leader someday?

Interesting difference isn’t there? – The weight of each word carries distinctly different emotional overtones for you, I would suspect: 

Manager.

Leader.

While some may be thrust into positions of authority, the accompanying respect does not find its way to the surface quite so easily. Often you must earn the respect of those given to your care with blood, sweat and tears. It is this ability to seek out how to earn and instill an intrinsic trust for all that look to you which defines you as their leader.

In looking to my past, I replay my first attempts in building a team. They were abysmal attempts to manage through my lack of confidence in my own sense of direction. I did not have the appropriate level of relationship with my team members, I attempted to lead by consensus rather than seek counsel from my experts and make a ruling, and made poor decisions regarding team fit.

The net result was that I frustrated high capacity performers and brought them into an organization at which they bristled. Ultimately, my missteps lead to the natural reciprocal - a poorly performing group, frustrated team members, and lots of wasted time and effort.

Lessons learned are sometimes hard-won. These most certainly were, but I will cringingly recall those days as mortar to again cement my resolve to serve my team, but expect no less from them return. There is no silver bullet to being an effective manager or admired leader. But when you stumble through your first round of mistakes, you may just find your second wind.

Image courtesy of Rodrigo Soldon.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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“Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
- Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), novelist and poet (1832-1898).

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a meeting with our MPS team discussing prospecting, sales strategy and what we were encountering in the field, and I had a thought. Cost savings have been the cornerstone of MPS value and, based on current economic condition, things should continue this way for some time.

The question that came into my head was,

How will MPS be received when the economy turns around, businesses get into growth mode and the sprint to cutting costs dies down?

Struggling to Make Ends Meet.

From what I’ve seen, it’s much easier to get in front of a CFO now than it was 24 months ago. And from speaking with those executives, the interest is a result of the slow-down. So logic says when the economy picks back up, access to those executives will slow down as well (that is if we keep using the same strategy).

I really struggled with the question. My company in particular has built our current strategy upon the cost savings talk track because it has been effective. It even played into hiring decisions. For me, it’s not so much a question of “if” this will happen as much as it is “when” it will happen.

Don’t get me wrong, there are always people that will respond to the cost savings talk track, but the larger market will lose interest once there is enough growth to distract them.

So what do we do when the economy turns and business takes its focus off of cost cutting? Where does MPS go to find compelling value that resonates at the executive level? And make no mistake; you need to have an executive audience.

Where’s the Value?

I’ve heard many attempts to find value in MPS. Things such as increased information security, compliance, workflow improvements and others have been thrown around. Some I agree with and others I just don’t buy. If I struggle to see the value in a certain area an executive would find it laughable in most cases.

So what’s the answer? Simple: be able to offer something more than a cost-per-page. If all you have to offer is a lower cost-per-page, faster response times or better supply delivery, you are going to struggle. We’re headed for a time when you can’t use the “I can save you 20-30%” line on every prospect and expect it to work. You will have to do your homework and understand your prospect in order to get in…otherwise you won’t get in.

Those who fail to find new ways to deliver value to prospects, and do it at the right level (the purchasing agent doesn’t count), will be fighting a losing battle. See the copier industry for your future:

• commoditization
• margin erosion
• account churn

Execute or Be Executed!

Those who have a strategy to go beyond boxes and clicks have an opportunity to prosper regardless of the economic climate. When you move beyond the physical act of printing there are countless opportunities to deliver more value to prospects. It’s simply a matter of adjusting how you sell based upon the current climate. These companies will have the opportunity to thrive now and later (they just have to execute).

So, is this as good as it gets for you?

Shawn Robison is a managed print analyst with Datamax in Coppell, Texas. Datamax helps executives improve company financial performance by streamlining operations with its Managed Services offerings. Shawn is an active blogger on all MPS related topics and welcomes your thoughts and opinions. He can be reached via email or phone at 972-432-2300.

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The tag line caught my attention at the rental store, “They took his daughter. He’ll take their lives.”

That is exactly what the movie is about. They make no bones about what you get when you buy a ticket, rent the movie from your local video store, or stream online; brutal, unadulterated ruthless destruction of anyone or anything that prevents him from getting to his daughter.

Do You Deliver on Your Promise?

So how often do you state exactly what your clients will get? Do you even know where your own ship is headed?

The fact that I read this tag line and knew the overall direction didn’t diminish my interest in the product. In fact, it reinforced it. I wanted to see a brutal, no-holds barred run at anyone that would dare steal my daughter - uhmmm - his daughter.

So one of the very first questions you have to ask yourself is whether your offering reverberates with your client or potential client. If it doesn’t, you might try asking why not, but perhaps a more revealing question might be, “Do I understand my client’s needs?”

Obviously, marketing and branding play a key role in this little dance, but more than anything, substance is at the heart of this matter. I mean really - do you spend long hours pining over the DVD box cover like some teenage school girl crushing on the latest boy-band? For those of you who might be confused at this point, the answer is, “No.” (for the majority of us).

Needless to say, if you don’t understand that basic principal, the rest is rather pointless. In the end, surrounding your product or service in a tightly wound shroud-of-mystery so many sales-types seem to prefer, doesn’t result in much trust and can often end up deflating the relationship when the proverbial air is let out of that tire.

Promise what you will deliver. Deliver on what you promise.

It is often taken for granted, but following these simple steps religiously will earn you, and keep, the trust of your clients time and again.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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While I don’t know whether anyone has actually landed a job from using LinkedIn, it is a great way to stay connected with clients and business colleagues alike. In this fast-moving world, keeping up with changing e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and the who-knows-who game can be daunting. LinkedIn seeks to make that easier.While most everyone knows LinkedIn for its Bacon-esque Connections feature and it’s recent launch of groups and applications, I was surprised that many I talk with know very little about the recommendation feature – or worse – are intimidated to ask for a recommendation.

Recommetiquette:

Let’s look at some LinkedIn recommendation etiquette. Quite simply put, if you feel you are worth a recommendation, ask for it. Don’t wait for someone to think of it for you. Trust me, they are thinking about a million other things than you.

This doesn’t mean that a warm and friendly request by you won’t get read. Generally, people you are connected with respect you. So ask.The worst case is that you won’t get the recommendation, and the best case is you get a glowing review from a respecting colleague or client. Lastly, always change the generic message to something more personal (but not too familiar, mind you). More on this later.

Recommendations in a nutshell:

LinkedIn makes recommendations extremely simple once you make a connection. By simply clicking on Recommendations under the Profile heading, you are presented with the option to choose which job title for which you would like to seek recommendations.

As you can see in the example above, I have a few recommendations for two of my positions. The “thumbs-up” icon to the left indicates I have at least one recommendation, and I can choose to manage or ask to be endorsed.When asking to be endorsed, it is a simple 3 step process (see below).

1. Step 1 is confirming the position you wish to be recommended for.
2. In step 2, you must decide who you’ll ask.
3. To complete the process, simply create your message. You can choose to leave the default subject and body of the message intact, but I strongly recommend you make this more personal. (Tip: It’s always great to include something personal, e.g. “It was great to see you at the last lunch n’ learn.”).
4. (Optional): Wring your hands as you wait by your computer for a response.

What goes around comes around:
Once your colleague or client completes the recommendation, you will receive a message in your inbox inviting you to approve or decline the recommendation. This is a great way to ensure the recommendation meets with your high standards, right?Perhaps the best feature about this recommendation process, in my humble opinion, is the fact that LinkedIn really believes in returning the favor. As such, you are immediately taken to a screen that asks you to write up a recommendation, in kind.

For those of you who understand recruiting practices, this is genuinely the best opportunity you will ever have to ask for a flattering recommendation. So, if you receive a request for a recommendation – make sure you take a little time and pay it forward. You never know, the very next e-mail in your inbox might just be that recommendation you have been waiting for coming right back to you…… and there’s no better time than a recession to get that feel-good you get from a LinkedIn recommendation!

Originally posted for Louis Gray.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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The consensus is, everyone is under fire to do the same job with less headcount, and some cases being tasked with growth on top of that, The current business climate dictates we must be creative in our approach to tackling typical staffing. Traditional market pressures are trending towards substantiating a business’s existence on less revenue, so most are left with the dour prospect of reducing overhead.

Let’s face it - some industries, like IT, have been under fire for years to increase productivity and reduce headcount. But with the driving forces telling us to do more with less, where does less become your loss?

Project Management 101:

In project management, most know about the project management triangle, which describes that all projects abide by 3 constraints:

1. Time: The time available to complete the project.
2. Cost: The allotted budget available to complete the project.
3. Scope: Defines what must be done to complete the project and attain the project’s end result.

A side of the triangle cannot be altered without impacting the remaining two sides. As illustrated in the image above, a fourth constraint is now observed by many project managers, that of quality. In essence, this constraint separates “quality” from “performance” aspects since quality could be impacted from any or all of the sides of the project management triangle.

These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.

- wikipedia 2009

While all of us reading this article can sit here and rationalize one thing or another about why, businesses are meanwhile filling your desk inbox to the brim, your e-mail inbox is overflowing, and your smartphone is barking at you telling you there is not enough memory left to complete another task.

Invariably you must make the choice about what your priorities are by use of what I term as a decision rubric, apply focused time management techniques, and challenge yourself to not only have a strong “No,” but an even stronger “Yes.”

Ultimately, the workload doesn’t appear to be getting any lighter from where I stand, so how do you deliver superior results, on time, and under budget?

That’s a trick question; don’t even try… if you are part of a team, ask for help and don’t be afraid to delegate. If you are flying solo, pick and choose where you spend your time wisely. After all, doing more with less can often land you with a deficiency in one or more of the legs of the PM Triangle…

… and when that happens, more with less will turn into your loss, your company’s loss, and your client’s loss.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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• In 1998, Google’s index contained 26 million pages.
• By 2000, the index reached 1 billion pages.
• This year, Google announced its engines have discovered over 1 trillion unique URLs.

As if you needed more evidence, U.S. companies produced over 4.3 trillion pages from document output devices last year alone. Information is being produced and consumed at staggering rates.

Recently, one speaker I heard commented on the last century’s rapidly spiraling rate of information growth.

He stated the amount of information up until 1900 could be measured as a 1 inch bar on a graph. He went on to say the information gathered from 1900 to 1950 could be measured as a 2 inch bar on the same graph, while the information presently available would measure as high as the Washington Monument. That would be 6,665.5 inches, or 555 feet, 5.5 inches tall.

Connecting the Dots:

I have discussed some of these trends in the technology and business worlds – and specifically how the ever-increasing amount of information has become hard to digest:

The true winners will be those who are able to connect the dots and fund innovations geared to lessen the visible complexity, enhance efficiencies, and/or create real-dollar cost savings.

In fact, IBM would say most of their customers are concerned with consumability: the abstraction of complex technology to the end-user, while surfacing only enough of the interface necessary to help the end-user achieve their objectives.

Perhaps you have heard the phrase, “I don’t care how the car starts, I just want to stick the key in and be able to go get my latte.”

What You Were Looking For:

How do you find what it is you need on the web?

Of course I started this article with one of the most prevalent ways in which people search for information, Google. Google has brought such an impact to our world in the last decade, the company’s name has become a verb – synonymous with search.

While there are perhaps many examples of how complex technology is helping you, one recently caught my attention - that of social media.

While Google found an unserved opportunity in search, the long tail of software has evolved from dozens of markets with millions of users to that of millions of markets with dozens of users (source, IBM GTO, 2008).

Social media is the logical conclusion of all of the voices attempting to be heard, to be found, and ultimately seeking resonance.

And so conversations continue across media outlets, blogs and the Web-space in general - proliferating with exponential frequency. Content is being created, being expanded upon, and being echoed back.

Turn Down the Volume:

Simply searching through Google, or the like, just wasn’t enough. Even early adopters would even have trouble scouring such a wide swath of content in search of meaning and connection.

With such a volume of information, more refined mechanisms of search had to be created; more meaningful conversations could only be had when people were connected to one another, and those involved would need to be able to dial-up or dial-down the amount of information being consumed – based upon individual need or desire.

What I have witnessed is one writer beginning a thought while another finishes it – without even knowing the other had started the conversation in the first place. In another instance, you might see a small community of bloggers holding almost identical conversations to one another without knowledge or thought of the other.

The Connection:
All it takes is a connection – something or someone to draw a line between the dissonant parties. Thus the power of the web, and social media specifically, are realized in small but meaningful chunks.

With the advent of services such as Twitter and FriendFeed the momentum of discovery has accelerated, and even new bloggers like me are able to gain access to meaningful connections after only a relatively short time.

There remains much work to be done before these services can satisfy the needs of the masses, but the foundations have been laid. After all, the Web is a big place; but with your help, your voice, your connection it can become just that much smaller.

(Originally posted for LouisGray.com)

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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As with any project, however, I have yet to see where one of the three finite aspects of a project does not suffer to some degree - those being schedule, budget, and quality. For instance, when schedule is compressed typically either quality is sacrificed or budget overruns are experienced; when budget is constrained quality is sacrificed or schedule is extended.

In my particular case, I become hyper-aware and focused upon time management techniques, like the time management matrix by Steven Covey (left). However, it really amazes me how long it takes my mind to kick into gear… almost as if it were in shock due to the sudden jolt of activity overload.

Bandwidth is a buzzword I have taken to lately, defined in technological terms as the speed of data transfer. In other words, how much information can you stuff down a pipe of a given size before you can no longer shove any more through that pipe?

A few key techniques I utilize (from the school of hard-knocks) are:

1. Create a Decision-Rubric: Priorities change often and come in many different categories. You need to understand your strategic (long-term) and tactical (daily) goals. This helps you craft a “decision-rubric”, allowing you to prioritize your decisions against the long-term goals and short-term emergencies. This also has the added benefit of helping you decide which projects and tasks to undertake and on which ones to pass.
2. Keep communication channels open: Open dialogue is key to helping you, your teams, and your customers stay current on what you are working on. For high-capacity producers and performers, lots of communication is needed. For those who have bosses or teams that don’t understand this or don’t care, you will find this adds a great deal to your stress levels.
3. List realistic goals to complete for the day: I hate lists. However, I use daily lists of realistically achievable goals to keep me focused. This is not to say my list doesn’t change throughout the day, but at least I know I will have something to do for tomorrow. Items requiring a hard deadline stay at the top of my list.
4. Always assign next steps: It’s critical that you understand each tasks very next step, GTD-style. Without this key ingredient to your project management tool bag, you will often flounder as you attempt to find footing on uneven ground. The added benefit is your monumental meal become manageable bites.
5. Follow-Up: Follow-up if you complete your assignment, if you are waiting on something or someone, and especially if you aren’t going to make your deadline. People appreciate you completing your work, but are usually very sympathetic if you are truly busy and let them know.

These are just five techniques I leverage in an attempt to keep me sane. I am not always 100% successful, but it serves me well in the end. As for you, what tools or techniques do you employ to help you manage your time?

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.

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