Mike Campbell CFO

Leadership Lessons from Coach Tony Dungy

2013-12-26T15:57:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of hearing Coach Tony Dungy speak a couple months ago. This holiday season, I was going through my idea notebook and found my notes from this experience. Without much prose here are my notes:

Keys to Winning: (1) Hard Work, (2) Team Work, and (3) Accountability.

Peyton Manning is not only a great talent, but he helps teammates.

Being a leader means being disciplinary, being a psychologist, and more. You have to be different roles at different times.

Champions don't do the extraordinary; they do the ordinary well.

You win with fundamentals, but don't forget the first three letters are FUN.

Your job is important, but it is not the only thing. Take time for your family.

Coach Dungy shared the inspiring story of Derrick Brooks, who started the Brooks Bunch Charity. Mr. Brooks would take low-income children on trips that they would never have been able to go otherwise. The children had to meet certain educational and behavioral goals to attend. Many lives were changed through this program.

This was a conference for business leaders and he encouraged us to grow our companies, but make your communities better.

He then took questions from the audience. In context of Peyton Manning being release from the Colts, how do you make tough staffing decisions? Coach Dungy said that staffing are the hardest decisions in coaching. He said that, first of all, he would pray about it. Second, he said he would take the personal out of the equation. Finally, he would base the decision on what is best for the team in the long run.

You can have an impact anywhere you are. For example, most people do not know Brock Huard. He was Peyton's backup quarterback. He led team Bible studies. He kept an eye on the whole team. He helped the coaches help other players. He made a big, positive impact on the team even though he was not in the starting role.

The key to motivating individuals is meeting individual needs. Motivating, encouraging, teaching. Coach Dungy kept a notebook. For example, he joked with Marvin Harrison about dropping a pass and Marvin did not think it was very funny. Coach jotted the experience in his notebook.

He ended with this quote:
"Talent is God given, be humble.
Fame is man given, be grateful.
Conceit is self given, be careful."

Finally, he accepted no money for the speaking engagement and simply asked for a donation to his charity, All Pro Dad (allprodad.com). Great families --> Great communities --> Great cities --> Great countries ...

Image Credit: Wikipedia commons

The Progress Principle book summary

2013-07-01T22:23:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading the book "The Progress Principle" by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer. It is a must read for any business leaders whether or not you have subordinates. We all lead in some way whether is direct reports, projects, or co-workers. This book examines over 12,000 diary entries provided by 238 employees in 7 companies. The results are the most comprehensive, logical treatise of motivation, happiness, and engagement in the work place.

Inner wok life consists of employees' "emotions, perceptions and motivations" that affect your "creativity, productivity, work commitment and collegiality". Inner work life is affected by leaders, co-workers, and company culture.

The Progress Principle states, "Of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most powerful is progress in meaningful work". Even small wins can greatly improve inner work life. "The 'progress loop' refers to how progress and inner work life fuel each other." Catalysts and nourishers create positive inner work life whereas inhibitors and toxins prevent progress.

The catalyst factor consists of (1) setting clear goals, (2) allowing autonomy, (3) providing resources, (4) giving enough time but not too much, (5) help with the work, (6) learning from problems and successes, (7) allowing ideas to flow. Doing the opposite are inhibitors.

The nourishment factor consists of (1) respect, (2) affiliation, (3) emotional support, and (4) encouragement. The opposites are toxins.

Finally, the book strongly encourages utilizing a "Daily Progress Checklist" to ensure progress and positive inner work life. The authors spend a lot of effort selling the use of checklists. They reference the book, "The Checklist Manifesto", which states, "Good checklists get the routine and obvious tasks out of your mind so you can instead focus on the hard stuff."

More from my blog:
"People are internally motivated by intrinsic drive. The accomplishment of the task is the reward. Personal growth and progress are the reward." (ref. Drive by Dan Pink)
http://www.mikecampbell.biz/2010/02/lessons-from-undercover-boss-corporate.html

"Author Geoff Colvin in his book Talent is Overrated states, 'only by choosing activities in the learning zone can you make progress. That's the location of skills and abilities that are just out of your reach.'"
http://www.mikecampbell.biz/2010/02/lessons-from-undercover-boss-corporate.html

"[P]rogress is the most important motivator." (HBR January 2010)
http://www.mikecampbell.biz/2010/05/drive-and-motivation-autonomy-mastery.html

"Happiness is really just about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and vision/meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself)." Tony Hsieh
http://www.mikecampbell.biz/2010/09/culture-of-happiness-profitable-or.html

How To Be Exceptional - book review

2013-04-06T14:22:00.002-04:00

"Exceptional leaders are not perfect. Nor are they moderately good at everything. Instead, they are really outstanding at doing a few things well. those strengths far outweigh any weaknesses they have.
"It's clear that if people spend all their time focusing on fixing weaknesses, they will never turn their potential strengths into profound strengths. It is that shift in focus -- from trying not to be below average on anything to being outstanding at relatively few behaviors -- that makes such a huge impact on others and causes these leaders to be viewed as exceptional.
"Why? Because there is a huge mound of data that proves that the people who have profound strengths produce the best results. Performance data from 24,657 leaders from a global database shows that as the number of profound strengths increases, the overall assessment of a leaders ability also increases. However, it is clear that going beyond five strengths cease to make much of a difference." (1)

This is the best business book summary that I have listened in a long time. The book goes on to explain why focusing on strengths is more effective. Without going to detail, we enjoy our working on our strengths. Studies show you can improve strengths 87% whereas you can only improve weakness 35%. In other words, you can make a strength exceptional whereas you can make a weakness merely mediocre.

The authors go on to list universal leadership strengths, how to improve, where to start, how to sustain, fatal flaws vs weakness, and building strengths at work. One final tip, when deciding which strengths to focus on, consider your company's needs.

Theses concepts fit nicely with other concepts that I have explored in my blog:

The Pareto Principle, or 80-20 rule. Your time is finite. You have to choose your time wisely. You get 80% productivity from 20% of your activities. Applying this concept to choosing between focusing your time on strengths or weaknesses, you will get much higher ROI from focusing on your strengths. Spend 80% of your time improving you strengths.

Value Disciplines. To be a successful company, it must choose to be exceptional at two of three value disciplines (operational excellence, customer intimacy, or product leadership). Again, focus on your strength, but be acceptable in other leadership areas.

Deliberate Practice is what separates the good from the great. Deliberate practice is specific and repeatable. And it isn't much fun. Picture Michael Jordan in the gym shooting the same jump shot over and over and over. Then picture him hitting a last second shot to win the game. Now picture Shaquille O'Neal practicing free throws. His teams won four NBA championships while his free throw percentage was around 50%.

(1) "How To Be Exceptional" AudioTech Business book summary.

Companies With Strong Cultures Outperform Those Without

2013-03-25T20:30:00.001-04:00

It's only been a couple of years since Dan Pink extolled the benefits of a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). I was very critical of his book, Drive, in my review. Just recently, Best Buy's CEO, Hubert Joly, ended its ROWE environment calling it, "fundamentally flawed" in February and wanting to "restore accountability". Marissa Meyer made headlines by declaring a no-working-from-home policy at Yahoo.

Most impressive is Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappo's, comments in a recent interview. Hsieh wrote the book, Delivering Happiness, in which shared his study of the science of happiness and how he applies it to his company, Zappo's. He is widely known for creating culture and attributing Zappo's success to culture. Where other companies seek to create happiness by giving employees freedom and space, Hseih creates culture by bringing people together. For me, his comments cannot be overlooked:

"Research has shown that companies with strong cultures outperform those without in the long-term financially. So we're big, big believers in building strong company cultures. And I think that's hard to do remotely.

"We don't really telecommute at Zappos. We want employees to be interacting with each other, building those personal relationships and relationships outside of work as well.

"What we found is when they have those personal connections that productivity increases because there's higher levels of trust. Employees are willing to do favors for each others because they're not just co-workers, but also friends, and communication is better. So we're big believers in in-person interactions. (BusinessInsider.com)

Habit Frees Your Brain So You Can Do More

2013-03-02T13:01:00.002-05:00

I recently stopped reading the book The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Although I stopped reading the book about 75% into it, I highly recommend it and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The book opens with several really interesting modern studies on habit. Eugene Pauly had a disease that destroyed his short-term memory. Although he could not remember events from just 20 minutes prior which severely limited his ability to learn, he was able to function for many years. This gave doctors a chance to learn about habit and the brain.

Habit resides in one of the most primal areas of the brain. It is almost like instinct. Eugene would go for a walk and return home safe. However, if he got interrupted by a friendly neighbor or mail person, he would could not find his way home. By creating habits, he was able to live life at home after suffering major brain damage.

Other studies show that once a habit is formed, brain activity decreases during the action of the habit. While learning the habit and practicing, brain activity increases. Habit enables us to get much more accomplished than if we had to think through everything we did such as brushing our teeth, driving a car, and eating.

In a corporate environment, habit enables companies to become lean and efficient. Every activity can be broken down into manageable chunks. Then these chunks can be taught and practiced. To quote W Edward Deming, "If you can't describe what you're doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing."

Growth Necessitates Change. Not All Change Is Growth.

2012-09-08T17:26:00.002-04:00

Change has two characteristics: progress/regress and organized/disruptive. In other words change can either move you forward or backward and be either welcome or painful. This can be presented in a change matrix with four quadrants:

	Growth	Decline
Organized	I	III
Disruptive	II	IV

The goals, therefore, are to create orderly, progressive change internally that adds value to your customers. This may cause dirsruptive, damaging change for your competitors. In other words, you want to be in quadrant I while putting your competition in quadrant IV.

For example, the change from portable CD players to Apple iPods was an easy and welcome change for customers, but a very disruptive for competitors. The change from film cameras to digital cameras was embraced by consumers, but catastrophic for Kodak.

If you find yourself losing market share and adapting to competition, make sure you are in quadrant II, not quadrant IV. You won't survive long in quadrant IV, like Kodak or Blockbuster.

The worst place to be in is quadrant III. This is caused by change for change sake. If it's not broke, don't fix it. If you find yourself in this quadrant, you have a leadership crisis and you need to move to quadrant II. You need short-term disruptive internal change for long-term health.

How do you create orderly internal change that propels your company forward? Creativity, communication, consistency, and common sense. Develop a strategic plan. Set SMART goals. Be disciplined. Stick to a communication plan. Reign in mavericks. Remove cancers. Get everyone aligned.

Communication Matrix

2012-07-08T20:13:00.001-04:00

My inbox has gotten out of control. Email is so overused. Email etiquette no longer exist. Inbox zero is a never-ending pursuit. There must be a better means of communication. There are so many communication tools today. Stop using email for everything.

Email has been around since 1982; telephone since 1876; mail since 6th century BC. Advances in technology coincide with advances in society and communication. The hunter-gatherer age used smoke signals; the agricultural age used mail; the industrial age used telephone; the information age used email. And now the knowledge age has the vast array of social media communication tools. As we move from information to knowledge, communications are moving from information to conversation.

In this age of knowledge, we must start using a mix of all communication tools. Before sending that next email, ask whether it is the best method of communication. Ask whether it is informational or conversational. If trying to start a conversation, don't send an email. Is this tactics or strategy? If it is anything more than tactical, don't send an email. How disruptive it is to the end user? If it's disruptive, schedule a meeting. Phone calls and drop-ins are the most disruptive. Keep them to a couple minutes and use them to schedule a longer call or meeting.

Experiment. Don't be afraid of trial and error. Depending on your team and your company, some methods will stick, some won't. You will never know until you try.

Leadership Paradigm: Who You Are & What You Do

2012-06-09T14:49:00.000-04:00

Trust
I don't trust my wife. Now that I have your attention, let me explain. When it comes to character, my wife is the most trustworthy person I know. She is honest, transparent, selfless, patient, and kind. I trust her with my feelings, with my kids, and with my life. But I don't trust her to do our taxes.

Character + Competence = Trust [1]

Trust is comprised of both character and competence. Competence consists of education, intelligence, training, and experience. Since my wife has never completed a tax return, never taken a tax class, and has absolutely no drive to do so, I do not trust my wife to do our taxes.

Here are a couple more examples. I trust my attorney to write our will, but I don't trust him do my taxes. I trust my CPA to do our taxes, but I don't trust her to write my will. I trust my parents to watch kids, and so on.

Google's dictionary defines trust as "Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something." In order to rely on someone to do something, they must possess both truth and ability, integrity and strength, character and competence.

Performance
The NBA finals are going on right now. I haven't watched an NBA game in years. I lost interest after the strike and after watching a couple of live games. It was frustrating to watch the greatest basketball talents in the world lolly-gag up and down the court for three quarters only to take it up a notch the fourth quarter.

Motivation + Competence = Performance [2]

With over 80 games a season, I can't blame them. I can also understand their motivation. It seems there is an unwritten respect among the players to reserve their energy for not only the fourth quarter, but the traveling to over 80 games. But when the game or trophy is on the line, they 'step up their game'.

How does one 'step up their game'? Is competence greater during the last five minutes? I'm reminded of some of Michael Jordan's incredible finishes. I can't believe that his competence increased during the final ticks of the clock. It must be that drive to win a championship, that motivation to finish the game with the most points. Motivation increases performance, whereas demotivation decreases performance.

From Maslow's hierarchy of needs to Reiss' 16 Basic Human Needs, the study of human motivation is becoming more tangible and making its way into business management. Tools like the Predictive Index can improve hiring decisions, employee engagement, and corporate leadership by accurately predicting human behavior.

There are universal needs such as respect, appreciation, understanding, trust, and value. Then there are basic needs that each of us have in varying degrees that make up our unique personalities: power, independence, knowledge, acceptance, order, money, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, competition, romance, eating, physical activity, and tranquility. [3]

Virtue
I learned the above two concepts independently. As I reflected on them, I noticed the common link of competence. Having three characteristics to work with, I put them in a Venn Diagram. I needed to fill in the overlap where motivation meets character. I wrestled with this for a while, but settled on virtue.

Motivation + Character = Virtue

Everyone needs food. Stated another way, food motivates everyone. We can obtain food in basically three ways: grow it, buy it, or steal it. Those with bad character will lie, cheat, and steal as a means to obtain food. Those of good character will be honest, hard working, and diligent to obtain food.

Virtue is defined as a "behavior showing high moral standards". Every major religion has a list of virtues, but virtue is not religious. There is a universal code of ethics that can be discovered through right reason. It is a natural law that all humans are bound by and must live by.

Sean Cover puts it this way, "It’s a natural law or principle. Just as there are principles that rule the physical world, there are principles that rule the human world. Principles aren’t religious. They aren’t American or Chinese. They aren’t mine or yours. They aren’t up for discussion. They apply equally to everyone, rich or poor, king or peasant, male or female. They can’t be bought or sold. If you live by them, you will excel. If you break them, you will fail." (emphasis added) [4]

Virtue is a behavior, or an action. Performance an is an action. Trust is an action. Character, competence, and motivation are who we are. Together, they make up the total person. Persons lead. Leadership is the development, growth, and maturity of individual persons.

Notes:
[1] Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
[2] Predicitve Index Workshop at The Oliver Group in Louisville, Kentucky
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation#Intrinsic_motivation_and_the_16_basic_desires_theory
[4] The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey, Location 615, Kindle edition.

Not Just Bean Counters: CPA.CGMA

2012-05-26T09:31:00.000-04:00

What do CPAs do? That was a question I posed on Twitter. As expected, the most popular response was taxes. It is the one tangible for most people. Other responses were accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, and bill payment. Ironically the one service not mentioned was audit, which is the one service only CPAs can perform. Other services not mentioned were estate planning and succession planning.

What do CFOs do? CFOs oversee all of these functions inside one company. CFOs are also strategic leaders helping to establish the vision and mission, executing broader objectives, and aligning financial strategy to meet these organizational goals. It requires cross-functional collaboration and leadership. CFOs are also responsible for budgeting and forecasting, banking and financing, risk management, compliance, and designing financial systems.

Many CFOs are CPAs, but are as CPAs in business and industry, or management accountants, as opposed to CPAs in public practice. Now there is a designation, CGMA, that helps to differentiate the two. Chartered Global Management Accountant is the new designation resulting from a joint venture between the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and London-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The purpose of which is to "elevate management accounting and further emphasize its importance for businesses worldwide." [1] The CGMA acknowledges the strategic role and leadership role that CPAs perform inside companies.

Tom Shreridan at Maryland CPAs wrote, "Modern accounting goes way beyond the numbers. Business today is global. The really good CPAs add context to the numbers . . . and help their organizations navigate an ever-changing world. In short, CPAs and management accountants today are more than number-crunchers. They're strategic business partners. Now, they have a designation that reflects that role." [2]

“The new CGMA is the culmination of a longstanding effort to help companies experience maximum integration between financial and non-financial information to drive a business’s growth, and to include that information in the financial reporting process,” AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, said at the launch. “CGMAs will accomplish that by managing change, risk and uncertainty; promoting operational efficiency and effectiveness; and protecting corporate assets.” [3]

[1] http://www.cgma.org/AboutUs/Pages/default.aspx
[2] http://www.cpasuccess.com/2012/01/new-cgma-designation-puts-cpas-on-a-global-pedestal.html
[3] http://www.cgma.org/Magazine/News/Pages/20125084.aspx

From Competence to Excellence Through Deliberate Practice

2012-05-04T07:46:00.000-04:00

Everyone is good at something. Everyone has something that they excel at over everything else. When one discovers that talent, they enjoy it because they are good at it. Since they enjoy doing it, they do it more and practice it often. Practice makes one better which further increases enjoyment. In other words, we enjoy that which we are good, we practice what we enjoy, and we get better at what were good at.

Deliberate practice, however is what separates the good from the great. If one truly wants to excel at that which they are good at, one must practice the fun stuff AND the not-so-fun stuff. It requires hard work, focus, and discipline.

In his book, Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin defines what deliberate practice is and is not. He writes that deliberate practice is specifically designed, repeatable, highly demanding, and it isn't much fun. He also acknowledges that it is much easier to design practice for professions such as golf or music, but it is much more difficult in business leaders. He helps to identify practice models that business leaders can apply to raise level of performance from good to great.

Most people quit when the practice doesn't increase competence to a level that feeds back into enjoyment. This is where goal-setting and perseverance sets the excellent apart from the mediocre.

Seven Principles Every Business Leader Should Know

2012-04-09T15:47:00.000-04:00

Pareto Principle - "Also known as the 80/20 rule ... states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes." [1] Most commonly used in business to describe the amount of revenue derive from a set of clients or customers. That is, 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers. The rule also applies to time management in which 20% of your time yields 80% of your productivity. The key takeaway is to find the activities that yield the most results and focus on them. It requires focus and discipline.

"Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is, and how each person relates to every other person." [2] Success in business is the result of building relationships with customers, vendors, superiors, reports, and colleagues. There is a limit, so choose wisely.

"Hick's Law describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a result of the possible choices he or she has."[3] Every option you add for your customers or employees degrades the existing options. Less is more. If you have more than three priorities, you have none. Look at the typical Apple product or Google product.

Theory of Andragogy (or Theory of Adult Learning). Lifelong learning is the number one key to success, in my opinion. Never stop learning. We learn differently as adults than when we were kids. Malcolm "Knowles theory states that adult learning is based on experience, is problem-centered rather than content-oriented, and adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives" among three other assumptions. [4]

Motivation Theories. In his book, Drive, Daniel Pink popularized intrinsic theory of motiviation. Personally, I subscribe more to Reiss' Intrinsic Motivaiton & 16 Basic Desires Theory. To be your best self, you must know yourself. Personality profiles like Predictive Index, DiSC, and Meyers-Briggs accurately assess your personality, because, let's face it, you're simply answering questions about yourself. These tools help you better understand yourself and others; and how to communicate more effectively.

Theory of Natural Law. The theory that humans are bound to a universal and immutable law that is known through reason. Business is built on trust. Contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on without trust that each party will honor the document. Day-to-day we have meetings, emails, and conversations in which we trust our colleagues, vendors, and customers will do the right thing. Honesty, prudence, and justice are just a few examples.

Nash's Equilibrium Game Theory. Stephen Covey popularized this theory as Habit #5 Think Win-Win. John Nash is the real-life mathematician the movie A Beautiful Mind. As a part of decision theory, if you know the outcome that both parties seek to attain, you can arrive at a decision that benefits both parties. In Nash's matrices, two participants can choose an action that equally benefits both, equally harms both, or benefits one while harming the other. It is the difference between an abundance verses scarcity mindset [5] [6].

Honorable Mentions:

Gestalt laws of grouping "are a set of principles in psychology, first proposed by Gestalt psychologists to account for the observation that humans naturally perceive objects as organized patterns and objects. These principles are organized into six categories: Proximity, Similarity, Closure, Good Continuation, Common Fate, and Good Form."[7]

Fitts's Law is the amount of time it takes to select a target depends on the size of the target. It seems like common sense. The bigger the button, the easier and quicker it is to select. Click here for more.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hick's_law
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_grouping

Be Your Best Self

2012-03-13T19:28:00.000-04:00

"To be a better you, you need to understand who you are and how you got where you are today."(1) Do you have a personal timeline? Are there are certain, specific events (or non-events) that have shaped your life?

Did you have a teacher or coach who pushed you to new limits, gave you a break, or shared words of wisdom never forgotten? Were there struggles or difficulties you overcame like getting cut from a team or beating illness? Are there major achievements like winning a tournament or setting a personal best? How did your first job, first love, firstborn, and first loss influence your life?

Each major event in our lives shapes our character. They define the paradigms or principles by which we live. These life lessons provide us with key takeaways to apply to the next major life event and day-to-day activities. David Novak writes, "It’s crucial for every great leader to know who they are and where they’ve been."(2)

In chapter two of his new book, David Novak provides three steps (be yourself, know yourself, and grow yourself) and two exercises (personal timeline and 3x5 exercise) to improve oneself. The personal timeline "is an invitation to take a hard look at your past and think about the events that have most deeply shaped you, your values, and your goals."(3) The 3x5 exercise answers the questions, "What I am today? How can I be even better tomorrow?" (4)

(1) David Novak, Taking People With You, Kindle edition, Location 587
(2) Ibid, Location 581
(3) Ibid, Location 583
(4) Ibid, Location 606

Image taken from Location 583 and Mr. Novak's timeline included in his book as an example.

How To Get Your Clients To Pay Quicker

2012-03-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

Simple: Send the invoice quicker. I'm going to repeat something that I heard a long time ago, but have never found it documented anywhere.

If is obvious that if you wait 45 days to send an invoice, it takes at least 60 days from time of service to receipt of cash. However, it actually take 90 days.

Psychologically, people send the check in the same expediency (or lack thereof) in which they receive the invoice. In other words, if I receive an invoice 45 days after the service, I feel like I have 45 days till I need to pay it.

On the flip side, if I receive the upon delivery of the service, I'm more likely to pay it in the next payment cycle.

If anyone can prove or disprove this, I would love to see the documentation.

Matt Nathanson & Rachel Platten Concert

2012-02-25T09:13:00.001-05:00

Matt Nathanson opened for Train and Marroon 5 in Louisville last August. Nathanson's album Modern Love has been my favorite since seeing him open. Tonight we saw Matt headline and Headliners in Louisville. It was a sold out show and he put on another great show.

Rachel Platten opened for Matt Nathanson and she joins a long list of awesome openers I've seen. Rachel's set was high energy and great music. Although all the songs were new to me, they were immediately catchy. Rachel connected with the crowd and was very gracious to a screaming crowd.

My wife drags me to these concerts. Don't tell anyone, but I'm glad she does. (: This was another great show and I highly recommend both artists. You can hear their music on 102.3 FM.

Belkin Keyboard Folio for iPad 2

2011-09-28T20:39:00.003-04:00

This is a great product. Here are my pros and cons:

Pros

Great keyboard. It's is the same width as the iPad compared to theTargus which is slightly wider. The keys are spaced well and have a great 'clicky' feel.
Keyboard shortcuts. The keyboard is designed for iPad and has keys for select, copy, cut, paste, home screen, search, iPad controls, speaker control, and arrow keys.
Easy setup. Pairing with the iPad was simple. Turn on bluetooth, turn on keyboard, and enter code.
Dual use. The case is designed well to be used on lap without keyboard and on desk with or without keyboard.
Adjustable angles. The iPad simply sits on the folio and the material 'sticks' so you can adjust to various angles easily.
Good case. It appears to be a very durable, but attractive case.
Pair to two. You can pair the keyboard to two devices. It has a function key to toggle easily between the two.
Sturdy. The case design provides a very sturdy stand positions. There is no risk of pushing the iPad over when tapping the screen.
Screen protection. The keyboard does not rest directly against the screen as some other designs do. This protects the screen.

Cons

Bulky. It definitely adds weight and size to the iPad. When it was in the box it felt about twice as heavy as the iPad itself. It is about twice as thick too.
Closure. It doesn't stay closed. Not a big deal, but not the best design. It also doesn't use the magnetic on/off like the smart cover.

Other considerations

Price. If you consider the price of an iPad case and the cost of a separate keyboard, the price is competitive.
Awkard to carry. Some reviews complain that the keyboard is shorter that the iPad and the case conforms to this. While this is true, just set your iPad on top of your other books. I don't find it awkward.
Velcro. I like the velcro that holds the keyboard to the case when not in use. It is small velcro and not terribly noisy to open.

Update 8-Sep-2012: Belkin change its design and the keyboard now rests against the iPad screen, which I do not like. After using it for a year, the edges have become worn and does not look very professional. Finally, the awkwardness of unfolding and folding it gets old after a while.

I now recommend the Zagg/Logitech keyboard case. It is sturdy, easy-to-use, and utilizes the magnetic on/off. http://www.zagg.com/accessories/logitech-ipad-2-keyboard-case

Image credit: Belkin.com

I first saw the product at Target and purchased it from Amazon.com.

My Favorite Tech Tools

2011-07-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

Recently, I started accumulating some of my favorite tech tools in Evernote. So let's start with that:

Evernote (free) - online note taking software. I use the basic features, which is simply taking notes. Very quick to jot notes when working on PC. Evernote has the best iPhone and iPad apps, too. All three sync seamless to the cloud. It keeps me organized with folders, tags, and search. Microsoft OneNote comes in at a close 2nd.

Dia (free) - Dia.exe is an awesome Visio clone. Visio is far superior, but Dia gets the job done well for free. I use Dia for flowcharting and brainstorming.

SQL Server Management Studio Express (free) - Thanks to Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes book, I write most of my own SQL scripts. It is the most efficient way to extract data for data analysis. Then, after connecting Excel to the database, I copy the script in data import and use Excel as a reporting tool. Every CFO should talk to their IT department to get access to the DB. Don't take no for an answer.

SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) (free) - We use Deltek Vision for our and it uses SQL Server Reporting Services. I can create custom reports and deploy them inside the Vision application.

Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express (free) - Build your own dynamic web-based reports quickly and easily. With drag and drop features, the non-IT person can build VB, ASP reports and deploy them to the web or intranet.

Notepad++ (free) - Sometimes you just need to see the code to fix it. This is the best code viewer, especially for part-time hack like me. Notepad++ color codes the most common languages including html, xml, vb, sql, etc. For an iPad source code editor, try Textastic.

FileZilla (free) - The free FTP solution. Now that 'the cloud' has become mainstream, I don't use this often, but it's the best when I need it.

Dropbox (free) - What can I say about Dropbox. It is the best thing since sliced bread. Use you PC and windows file folders as you do everyday, but have them backed up to the cloud. Then access them from anywhere with any computer.

Join.me (free) - Bare bones, simple web meetings. Join.me just works. The best thing is that there is NO download for the end user. You download a very, very small app to share you screen. Since it uses flash, there is no download needed to see your screen.

Screencast-o-matic (free) - I can't tell you how many video turtorials I have created. Instead of writing out a page of step-by-step procedures, just throw together a 2-minute video. Web-based, so there is no download.

Vimeo (free) - I use YouTube to share personal videos with the world, but I use Vimeo for work. Vimeo has the easiest security feature. Simply password-protect the video and restrict it from search.

MovieMaker (free) - I've never used a Mac, so I can't compare, but MovieMaker gets the job done. My most-used feature it the split edit tool. I use the Windows built-in sound recorded to add voice. It's also easy to add background music, which I highly recommend.

Keepass (free) - I take password security very seriously. My pet peeve is that 90% of passwords are written in text within 3 feet of the computer. I just can't take that risk with the financial and personal data that I keep. So, I use Keepass. Not only does it encrypt my passwords, it form-fills my web sites with two clicks.

FoxIt Reader (free) - I love the annotation features of FoxIt Reader. I make all my tick marks and comments using this pdf tool. I recommend a dual-monitor system, though.

Paint.net (free) - This is a step about MS Paint. The two features I use that MS Paint does not have is the magic wand and layers. The magic wand highlights all empty areas. Then hit delete to get rid of the white space and create transparency. You have to save it as .png, though. This is great for embedding signature in letters and pdf's.

RunningAHEAD (free) - This is the absolute best running log on the web. I love the dashboard, custom reports, and Garmin upload.

FileMakerGo ($20 iPhone $40 iPad) - This is the most inexpensive way to develop your company's first iPhone app. Typically, companies just need to publish reports and information to it's employees. Build you database in FileMaker or sync it with SQL and build you layouts. You need the desktop app FileMaker ($299).

FreeMind (free) - Organize your thoughts with this free, easy-to-use mind mapping software.

ZixMail (free) - My bank forced me to start using this 3 years ago and I love it. I bought the annual subscription because I liked it so much. Never send an unsecure email again. More and more of my banks and financial institutions are using this tool. I should invest in the company, because it is most likely to become the standard.

These are my favorite tech tools that I use daily. What are your favorite tools?

[Image credit: umpqua via Flickr] My first computer (:

Where In The World Is Mike Campbell

2011-07-01T22:01:00.001-04:00

It's been three and a half months since my last blog post. Why the hiatus? Recently, I accept the position of Chief Information Officer in addition to my role as Chief Financial Officer. It was a natural fit because I was already performing all of the IT functions in the Firm. However, we decided we need to formalize the role and put an emphasis on developing custom applications.

My career in IT began probably as far back as high school when I signed up for a basic computing class. Coding came easy to me and I enjoyed it. Even though my college degree is in accounting, I still used those basic programming skills to streamline accounting processes by writing VBA macros in Excel. This lead to a role of selling, installing, and supporting MAS90 (an enterprise accounting software) while in public accounting. With the help of an esteemed colleague and mentor, I developed skills of working with Windows Server and developing custom applications and reports for clients.

When I started with the Firm, we had no full-time IT staff, and I assumed all of the responsibility. To this day, I am the first and only full-time IT staff (with the help of outside vendors). I have built a network infrastructure utilizing the public and private cloud, which has kept IT costs down, while providing the tools we need to provide the best customer service in the industry.

In order to free my time to step up this new role, I have been busy training my staff to take over much of the accounting responsibilities. I have also been reading a lot of technical books and white papers looking for the best solutions to solve business problems.

So that's where I've been. Last year, I was reading a lot of leadership books, which gave me a lot of ideas for blogging. Whereas this year, I have been reading a lot of technical materials, which makes for boring blog posts. I also don't want to give away any trade secrets or competitive advantages.

Choosing a Great Wellness Program

2011-03-17T22:51:00.001-04:00

I am a big fan of corporate wellness programs. Our HR Director and I were sold on a program three years ago. We pitched it to the other executive team members and implemented it soon after.

We have watched the biometric screenings improve year after year. We have heard numerous testimonials of employees coming off of blood pressure medication, avoiding knee surgery, and general improvement energy, motivation, and mood. It has been well worth the money.

I am sure there are those in the company who don't appreciate it and can relate to the above video. But the point of the video is that corporate wellness is important and it is effective. This company claims they can make your wellness program not cheesy. Maybe they can maybe the can't. But it's worth a try.

So check them out at RecessWellness.com. Also check out HealthyWorksite.com, TriWellness, Principal Wellness, and Wellness Council of America.

Leadership Books Are Bunk

2011-02-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

Last year, I blogged a lot about leadership. I read a lot of leadership books. Then I just got completely burnt out on leadership theories. The more I read, the more I realized it's all just one writer's opinion. Very little of it is based on fact. So much of it is contradictory.

I came to the conclusion that all this leadership literature is at the same time bunk and beneficial. There are as many successful leadership styles as there are leaders. There are as many company cultures as there are companies. Theses styles and cultures are fluid and dynamic. They must change to react to both internal and external changes. Today's style might not be effective in tomorrow's world.

However, in order to find your individual style, it is beneficial to read lots of books, blogs, and magazines. Your leadership style may be improved through leadership books, biographies, business books, faith-based books, and so on. But most importantly, you leadership style will be formed by your day-to-day decisions and your ability to accomplish goals. Finally, if you want to be a great leader, hire a great team.

Small Fish In Big Pond Or Big Fish In A Small Pond

2011-02-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

I had the fastest recorded 800-meter and placed third at the state meet in the 800-meter race in high school. As I discussed my college options with my track coach, she said it comes down to this: Do you want to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?

Although running a half-mile in under two minutes is a big accomplishment and did well in Kentucky that year, it was mediocre at best. At the college level, everyone one can run a 800 meters in under two minutes. My track coach's point was you can win a lot of races running for a small college or you can be in the middle of the pack at a Division I school.

The business takeaway is that, when it comes to business success, it matters most what race you choose. You can pick a race with a bunch of mediocre runners and win or pick a race that's full of tons of great runners and finish in the middle of the pack. Pick a race that nobody is in and win.

For example, Tony Hsieh founded Zappos.com on that very idea. There was nobody in the online shoe retail business. "Footwear was a $40 billion industry...and 5% of that was being done by paper mail-order catalogs", but nobody was selling shoes online. His company became one of the fastest growing companies in America and quickly grew to $1 billion. He won a race that nobody was in.

However, that was sill only 50% of the potential of the $2 billion of mail-in catalog sales. Some want to credit Zappo's return policy, excellent customer service, culture, or fast delivery. But look at who he was competing against: snail-mail paper catalogs. Seriously, who buys via catalog anymore!? Online footwear retail was the the mediocre race with the fewest runners.

Tony Hsieh used the analogy of a poker table rather than a running race in his book, "Delivering Happiness":

I learned that the most important decision I could make was which table to sit at. This included knowing when to change tables. I learned from a book that an experienced player can make ten times as much money sitting at a table with nine mediocre players who are tired and have a lot of chips compared with sitting at a table with nine really good players who are focused and don't have that many chips in front of them.
In business, one of the most important decisions for an entrepreneur or a CEO to make is what business to be in. It doesn't matter how flawlessly a business is executed if it's the wrong business or if it's in too small a market. (HuffingtonPost.com)

How To Use UNION to Add a Total Line to a SQL Query

2011-01-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

I searched and searched for a way to add a total line to a report using SQL. I needed a way to provide a single total line to a report that sums total projects per employee.

The easiest way was to add 'with rollup' to the group clause:

select Office, Employee, count(*)
from Projects
group by Office, Employee with rollup

Unfortunately, this adds to a sub-total to each office, which is not desired.

Then I discovered UNION while searching for another solution. UNION combines two tables with like data.

select Office, Employee, count(*)
from Projects
group by Office, Employee
UNION
select 'Total', '', count(*)
from Projects

Office	Employee	Projects
Louisville	Mike Campbell	7
Anywhere	John Doe	3
Total		10

Use Gmail As Journal, Notebook, Diary, and more

2011-01-16T16:02:00.001-05:00

I used to write a daily journal. It helped to clear my head and gain clarity to my thoughts. There is just something about putting pen to paper or expressing one's ideas.

I moved from journaling to blogging, but there are times when I want to express my thoughts in private. I searched 'journal' and 'diary' on the web and app store for a suitable solution. I came full circle back to a product I use everyday -- Gmail.

I found this idea somewhere on the web. Forgive me for not giving credit, but it's simply using common Gmail functionality of aliases.

Gmail alias gives you virtually unlimited email names in one account. Simply add +alias between your username and @gmail (e.g. yourname+journal@gmail.com).

Now to set up your journal. Open Gmail and create a new label (ie folder) called Journal.

Next, create a new contact for Journal with the email address above.

Finally, set up a filter to move all emails to yourname+journal@gmail.com to the Journal folder.

There are tons of uses for Gmail aliases:
yourname+spam@gmail.com - use this to sign up for stuff online.

yourname+twitterid@gmail.com - use one email for multiple twitter accounts.

yourname+clippings@gmail.com - for web clippings or interesting articles you've read.

yourname+bookmarks@gmail.com - for collecting bookmarks

Okay, you get the idea. Combine this with Backupify to you can ensure that you have a backup of your journal.

A Touchdown To Remember

2010-11-20T09:51:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I thought I'd share a feel-good story for Thanksgiving week. A friend and co-worker is from Jasper Indiana and shared an inspiring story after spending a weekend at her hometown. She went to a Jasper High School football game and got to see Zach Beckman play a few downs.

Zach Beckman is a high school student. "He is very involved in school activities and sports, and just happens to have Down Syndrome." Everyone in town knew his story and when he entered the field, the crowd cheered. Zach was such a dedicated team manager his freshman, sophomore, and junior years that the coaching staff "let him dress out in uniforms" and gave him player status.

With the agreement of opposing coaches, Zach was allowed to run a few plays. Zach's teammate volunteered to be Zach's buddy on the field. Zach was too vulnerable to take the ball so he stood near the sidelines with the wide receiver while the team ran a running play in the middle.

On the last regular season game, an away game at Mount Vernon, Zach lived out a dream and scored a touchdown! His sister put together this YouTube video as a thank you to the coaching staff and players that made his dream come true.

Being Friendly verses Being Friends At Work

2010-11-14T09:09:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Okay, I admit it. I watch Dancing With The Stars. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this in such a public forum, until I realized that it a means of building relationships.

For example, I called my mom tonight. We didn't have much to talk about. Fortunately, life is has been pretty stable and slightly on the uptick for the past few months. So, we talked about Dancing. Who we liked. Who we didn't like. And so on. On the surface, it may seem trivial to gossip about the stars. However, by listening to likes and dislikes, we learn a little more about each other.

Furthermore, I don't want to take it for granted that my mom has the cognitive ability to shoot the breeze. My wife's mom does not because she is suffering from Alzheimer's. It is a terrible disease. At first it was the little things like forgetting how to fix coffee or use the remote control and kitchen appliances. Then it progressed to inability to remember current events. At this point simple conversations ceased. It has been a wake up call to not take those water cooler talks for granted.

Now to bring it back around to work for a little takeaway. Show at least a little interest in your staff and co-workers. There is a fine line between being friendly and being friends. I think Zappo's take it too far in wanting co-workers to be friends, support systems, and weekend buddies. But it's a mistake to be all business all the time. There is tremendous value in the water cooler talks.

Water cooler talk help build relationships. It may seems trivial, but those friendly conversations build trust and commadery. That goes a long way to establishing a foundation to getting people to say yes to your ideas and initiatives. 'Friendship is the first and most powerful trigger to yes', according to author of the book 7 Triggers to Yes. It's cliche, but nobody cares how much you know until you show how much you care.

Corporate Culture v Recession

2010-11-06T21:05:00.000-04:00

Image by ShashiBellamkonda via Flickr

It's been over a month since my last blog post because I got burnt out. I did not get burnt out on blogging, but on leadership theories because they are all bunk.

It started with the book Drive by Daniel Pink, then Delivering Happiness by Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, and finally the book Rework by 37 Signals founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

I blogged my criticism of Drive. Although the book does a good job of popularizing motivation theories, it falls well short of an accurate and useful analysis or application of these modern psychological theories. Steven Reiss' book The Normal Personality is much better, but not near as readable nor marketable.

I really enjoyed Hsieh's book, Delivering Happiness. It was interesting to learn how he risked it all to bring Zappo's back from the brink of bankruptcy. The book was also very autobiographical and vulnerable. He wrote the book himself and I like his writing style.

Rework also grabbed and held my attention. Again, the founders wrote the book themselves and I like the writing style. They get right to the point and don't waste a bunch of words.

Rework and Delivering Happiness were in direct opposition with one very important topic: company culture. Tony Hsieh's whole book revolved around developing a culture of happiness because it leads to profits. On the other hand, Rework states, "You can't create culture. It happens. Don't force it. You can't install culture." Whereas Hsieh spends tons of money manufacturing culture, 37 Signals allows culture to emerge from daily operations.

At the end of the day, none of it matters. Cultures are nothing without profits. The quickest way to erode culture (and happiness) is to erode profits. Nobody is happy when your company is losing money and laying off people.

Furthermore, there are as many leadership theories as there are leaders. 37 Signals could never implement Zappo's culture and vice versa. My criticism of Zappo's culture is that I doubt the corporate culture in Vegas filters outside the city limits and down through all departments. Each individual's culture experience is based on his/her relationship with their boss. Each supervisor determines the culture of his/her department. There is no such thing as a company culture. Company cultures evolve and change over time, anyway.

There are 16 common motivators, but each individual has a unique set of motivators. Whether your primary motivator is family, money, prestige, exercise, curiosity, food, order, or power, there is one common denominator -- money. All basic desires require money to meet these desires. The bottom line is the bottom line. Money might not buy happiness, but it's one hell of a down payment.