Physical Security Executive Commentary
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Ask Coach: How To Connect Better With People (In Particular Your IT Solutions Provider Staff)
4/8/2015
Q: How can I better connect with people (and in particular, my staff)? Coach: What do Maxwell Smart’s shoe phone and the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding have in common? Both teach valuable lessons on effectively connecting with others.
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8 Top Traits To Look For In An Employee
4/6/2015
I am asked this question from time to time, and the quick answer reads a little bit like the Boy Scout credo: honest, thrifty reverent, etc. The full answer is a lot more complicated because the “perfect employee” is someone who fits into your organization and stays around for a long time as well. There is a great deal riding on your hiring, and companies that hire well typically thrive.
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How To Quickly Integrate A New Salesperson Into Your IT Company, Part 2
3/30/2015
In the first part of this series, I shared some strategies around onboarding a salesperson into a new industry. This article will focus on the second question of how to immerse a new hire in your company culture and expectations.
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How To Quickly Integrate A New Salesperson Into Your IT Company, Part 1
3/30/2015
I was asked by one of our peer group members to provide some advice as it related to the hiring and onboarding of a new salesperson. The potential hire did not have an IT industry background. So my advice to him was twofold, focusing around how to get the non-IT person up to speed and how to quickly integrate the new hire into their company.
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How IT Solutions Providers Can Strategically Plan A Benefits Package
3/30/2015
All IT companies are facing a shortage of qualified workers, and this is especially true for SMB owners. It seems as though the “big boys” have the competitive edge when it comes to compensation packages, perks, and benefits. In addition, the changes brought about via the Affordable Care Act have frustrated many employers, forcing them to reevaluate their benefit packages by dropping some benefits, adding additional benefits, or modifying the plans themselves.
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Stuck On Your IT Services Business Strategic Plan? How A Coach Can Help Jump Start Progress
3/24/2015
I heard Verne Harnish speak at a conference a few years ago. He said many great things but the most impactful (to me at least) observation he shared was around coaching. He shared how Tiger Woods, who at this point was at the pinnacle of his career, was impacted by a coach.
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IT Solutions Providers: Which Lake Are You In?
3/24/2015
When I was in college, I spent my summers working at a YMCA camp. I was responsible to keep all the trails, playing fields, and general areas mowed. I also did some general maintenance stuff around the camp as well. Occasionally, I would get to do some work down by the lake. It was here that I would witness hundreds of kids get in a canoe, many of them for the first time.
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Which Characteristics Do You Look For In An Employee?
3/19/2015
There are many reasons for hiring a new employee. Maybe your business is growing and you need addition resources to help with the increasing workload. Maybe you had someone leave your team or company and you are backfilling the vacant position. Or maybe you have the misfortune of having to let an employee go for whatever reason and now you are filling the position.
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How IT Solutions Providers Can Maintain A Quality Standard
3/18/2015
An intern working on a research project was asked by his professor to submit a report within a week. The intern did as directed but the report came back quickly with a question, “Is this the best you can do?” Knowing he could have been done better, he worked on it some more before submitting again. The professor returned the report with the same question. The intern amped up his efforts, started from the beginning, and worked on it feverishly.
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Top 5 Access Control Trends
3/18/2015
After decades serving as a steady and predictable segment in the physical security market, access control is becoming an adaptive and dynamic market in its own right.