It's Worth Noting

Do you provide good instructions?

I recently got a new table saw made by SawStop and have spent several hours over the past few days assembling it.  Although it's taken a some time, it was a pleasant experience because the instructions and packaging were so well done.  Unpacking sheets were at the top of boxes, hardware was package with color coding/numbering and instructions were on large color sheets with easy to read text and pictures.  There's a lot to assemble, but by simply following color coding and numbering schemes that matched across instructions, packaging and hardware, assembly was a pleasant experience. 

This got me thinking about all the terrible experiences I've had assembling or setting up purchases, from furniture and DSL service to opening routine plastic packages (thank you Amazon for trying to fix this).  Companies are paying a little more attention to assembly and setup design today, but it's still woefully inadequate.  They go to all this trouble and expense convincing you to purchase a product, but give little thought to the experience you're going to have trying to use it for the first time.  Do they care if they waste your time or make your blood boil?  You've made the purchase and you'll fight through like the good little consumer you are.

I believe the tide is turning here, but only market innovators realize this and are getting ahead of the curve.  Consumers will increasingly lean towards products and services that are easy to open, setup and assemble because their access to reviews and purchase options continue to expand.  (I'm reminded here about how I used to go to the library to look through magazines for product reviews before making a purchase.  Wow.)

No matter what type of product or service your company provides, consider whether you are an innovator in this area.  Are you dramatically leading rather than frantically following?  Are you letting a competitor, maybe even an unknown start-up, differentiate themselves at the expense of your market share?  Time is not on your side.  Consumers are not on your side.  If you make the first use of your product or service unnecessarily challenging, consumers will find someone else to purchase from.

Gather a small team at your company to investigate, strictly from the consumer's perspective, how enjoyable and effortless getting to the first use of your product or service really is.  Listen to their feedback, make needed changes and transform this critical interaction into an experience consumers will praise.

By the way, for anyone looking for a great table saw, and one that has an amazing safety feature to reduce the risk of injury from the most dangerous piece of equipment in a wood shop, I definitely recommend that you take a look at SawStop's line of table saws.  You'll love the saw, it could save your fingers and it won't raise your blood pressure during setup and assembly.

Tether your AT&T Blackberry Bold to a MacBook running Snow Leopard

I had to look through a number of forums to get this figured out and wanted to post the easy solution here.

 1. Copy the BlackBerry_3G_CID1 modem script to /library/modem scripts on your Mac
 2. on BB: Setup -> Setup Bluetooth -> ...
 3. on BB: set device name for pairing, click OK, then Listen, it will start waiting for connection
 4. on Mac: System Preferences -> Bluetooth -> Setup new device -> ...
 5. on Mac: choose your mobile phone name, click Continue
 6. on BB: enter passkey which will be on your Mac screen, click Enter
 7. on BB: choose Yes, and check off Do not ask again
 8. on Mac: Bluetooth Mobile Phone setup screen will ask for data
 9. on Mac: Vendor = Other
10. on Mac: Model = Blackberry 3G CID1
11. on Mac: Check off Enable error correction and compression in modem.  Leave other defaults.
15. on Mac: Username = wap@cingulargprs.com
16. on Mac: Password = CINGULAR1
17. on Mac: APN = wap.cingular
18. on Mac: Click Continue
19. on Mac: Click System Preferences ..>Network to connect your new Bluetooth DUN

Cloud Computing Guide for Churches or Nonprofits

If you represent a church or nonprofit, you know all to well that financial resources are limited.  You have real technology needs, but the strain on capital makes the investment in server hardware and software a real challenge.  Even if your organization is large or well funded and can afford the investment, it means precious capital is tied up in technology rather than in your direct mission.

Today, these challenges can be easily overcome by moving your organization's technology to the cloud.  This simply means that the servers reside in third-party data center and you access your data, applications, etc. via the web or a local application that syncs.  If you use gmail, you're emailing in the cloud, so it's not as unfamiliar as you might think.

Most nonprofits need the following core technology to further their mission: email, calendar, address book, document creation/management, contact/task/donation management and a web site.

You can do all of this for free, with some limitations, using the two cloud solutions below:

Step 1 - Google Apps: For email, address book, document creation/management and a web site, you can sign-up for the Google Apps nonprofit edition (technically the education edition now).  You'll get access to an enterprise class cloud platform to manage your email, create/store documents, spreadsheets and presentations, share calendars and contacts and host websites.  You can do all of this using your own domain name and for free for up to three thousand users.  Learn more here.

Step 2 - Salesforce: When you're ready to start managing contacts (volunteers, donors, etc.), tasks, workflow, donations, build customs apps and integrated websites, you can setup Salesforce's nonprofit edition.  Salesforce, like Google Apps, is an enterprise class cloud platform.  You can customize the platform for your organization and most of it is free, or very inexpensive, for up to ten internal users.  The sky's the limit with Salesforce in terms of using it to host sites and custom applications, so the solution scales well as your organization grows and its needs evolve.  And, since Salesforce and Google Apps integrate nicely together, you'll end up with one integrated solution, which will make life easier on everyone. Learn more here.

You may also find the tech toolbox presentation I've put together helpful.

A new Texas roadmap for must stop BBB joints & Cafes

I've always thought it would nice to have a map to reference when traveling across Texas to find the must stop BBQ joints and cafes.  I couldn't find one, so I've created it.  I'm just getting started, but I'll continue to update and am open to suggestions.  These spots are all worth a slight detour when you're traveling anywhere nearby.

http://www.itsworthnoting.com/blog/texas-roadtrip-bbq-cafe-map.html

Some tips & tricks for fellow road warriors

If you're like me and spend time on the road traveling for business or pleasure, you're happy to find anything that makes the experience a little easier. This is especially true if you need to stay connected and take your technology along for the ride. I enjoy reading suggestions from other travelers and hope this brief list proves useful for you.   

• Checkpoint friendly laptop bag: I like the Checkpoint Flyer from Tom Bihn, but most laptop bag manufacturers make similar models. These bags let you get through airport security by laying your bag flat on the x-ray belt instead of taking your laptop out. In addition to being quicker and less frustrating, you're less likely to forget your laptop on the belt. Just saw someone do that last week.
• Organized Itinerary: If you're still carrying a paper folder full of reservations and maps or trying to keep them in one folder on your laptop/phone, an app like Worldmate can be very helpful (free and paid versions). You forward reservation emails to Worldmate and the app compiles it all into a trip timeline that is accessible online or on your phone. It captures map locations, phone numbers, etc. and providers you with alerts, weather forecasts and other information you request. You can also manually add items like office locations, etc. so it's all in one place.
• Taking notes: If you need to take some notes on the road, I recommend Evernote (free and paid versions). Works online, via an app on your laptop or on your blackberry or iphone. Let's you sync and record text, image or audio notes. Evernote makes it really easy to rely on your phone for note taking on the road without fretting over how you'll organize or share it all when you get back to the office.
• Power Adapter: An all in one AC/car laptop and usb power adapter is essential. I only bring this one power adapter with me since everything besides my laptop can be charged with a usb cable. The car charging option has come in handy many times and is essential for being able to charge your phone/gps, etc. while in the car without having to bring other power adapters. I use a model from Targus.
• Cables: I carry a single retractable usb cable with necessary tips to let me connect/charge everything I bring with me (via the power adapter above). I also carry a retractable VGA cable so I can hook-up my laptop to a TV in the hotel room (to play DVD or streamed movies) or a projector. The retractable cables are lightweight and don't get tangled up in my bag.
• Speakers: I carry a mini amplified speaker, which charges via USB, to plug into my laptop or phone to play music or movie audio.
• USB powered light: This is helpful if your laptop doesn't have a built-in light or lighted keyboard. Also helpful if you travel with your spouse and want to read at night in those hotels rooms with limited light options.
• Preparing for failure: I carry a keychain USB with copies of presentations, etc. in case my laptop goes crazy. I recommend that you or your IT person setup your laptop with recovery options and that you carry a BartPE recovery CD for system recovery on the road (remember your slim CDROM/DVD if your laptop doesn't have one built-in).

Hope this list is helpful. If you have additional tips & tricks, please share by commenting on this post. Thanks

Make a purple cow: customer centric web and app development

I've worked with a lot of web developers over the years, from solos to mid-size and larger.  All have left something to be desired, which is probably why I've tried so many.  I've talked with peers about this and their experiences are the same.  Why are web and app development customers so consistently dissatisfied?

I believe the central problem is that most web and app development companies are staffed, run and owned by technicians.  These folks know how to program/design, but they are fish out of water when it comes to being customer centric.  Customers are a problem or annoyance to be tolerated or managed, not the focus of everything they do.  This is similar to how folks view auto repair shops.  Expect the worst: poor dollar/time estimates, unnecessary technical jargon, one excuse after another and consistently unmet expectations.  Rinse, repeat and switch when you can't take it anymore.

Whenever there's an "always" that can be applied to a product, service or industry, there's an opportunity for someone to do it differently and stand out from the crowd.  This is true in the web and app development world.  If someone was willing to make every interaction and experience customer centric, they could be the purple cow in the herd.  For the technicians, this is difficult to imagine and more difficult to execute, so few even try.  Will you?

Below are my top ten recommendations for transforming a web or app development company into a customer centric organization, which will retain customers and convert them into evangelists instead of antagonists:

1. Don't take clients that have an insatiable appetite for being dissatisfied.  They're bad profit and tips 2-10 below won't make any difference to them.
2. Develop a customer interview process that ensures you understand the business objectives (e.g. a site isn't the objective - web marketing is) and a key decision maker or influencer.  Help them translate the technical task into a business objective with an assigned value.  If someone jumps in halfway through the project and disrupts things, your interview process failed you, not the customer.  Improve your process or toolkit.
3. Following the interview, and as part of your written statement of work (which you should be doing if you're not already), put the business objectives on paper.  That becomes the goal post - the project is just a means to that end.
4. Storyboard sites and apps.  Don't waste time or money programming/designing something that can be sketched, flow charted or mapped out first.  Seek the feedback on the front end, not after all the heavy lifting is done.  Ad agencies don't record commercials and then pitch them.  They storyboard, seek feedback, obtain buy-in and then produce.  You should do the same.
5. Develop a time/module matrix that allows you to track and communicate where the project stands at any moment in time.  Update the matrix daily based on % of work completed for each module and share it with your customer.  This will force you to prioritize the work, will introduce accountability and will improve communication.  If you and the customer can't accurately assess where a project is at on a daily basis, you cannot consistently meet deadlines or know whether you can take on more work.
6. If your customers ever email or call you wanting a "status update", you've failed in your communication.  They're not the problem - your communication practices are to blame.  If a customer wants status updates daily, direct them to the matrix, but never go more than a few working days between contact for an active project.  Setup a system to handle this and make it easy for you execute day in, day out.
7. Get on the phone.  Email is efficient, but it doesn't build relationships like face to face or telephone conversations do.  If it's just about the project for you, it'll just be about the deadlines and budgets for them.  If you build a relationship, you'll build some cushion for rough spots and increase the likelihood of repeat business and referrals.  It's also more fulfilling.
8. Speak up.  You're being hired to execute a project to move the ball forward on a business objective.  If you're perplexed by a request, don't know why it's not being done a simpler or more cost effective way, say so.  If you don't, your customer won't get the full benefit of your perspective and expertise and you're likely to waste some of your time and their money.
9. Don't assume.  I once had a home builder tell me that I should have caught a framing mistake.  I told him that's why I was paying him to build the house.  He just shifted blame because he assumed and developers consistently do the same.  Be mindful of the information gap.  Develop a set of questions or techniques to assess whether what they're saying and what you're hearing are the same thing.  They're frequently not and it's not their job to correct this - it's yours.  Good communicators listen intently and ask inquisitively to understand what someone means, not what they've said.  The point isn't to hear words, it's to understand why they're being spoken.
10. Don't permit you or your team to complain about customers anymore, whether internally or externally.  It's cancerous.  If they are a challenge to deal with, you've most likely failed to adhere to one or more of tips 1-9 above.

Why do you annoy your customers and prospects?

Why is it that when a friend invites a guest to their gym, the gym is committed to annoying everyone by making the guest jump through endless hoops and listen to sales pitches just to try out their product?  They could make it easy: (1) have guests sign a simple waiver, and (2) let them enjoy the facilities with a member who already thinks it's worth paying for.  Seems like a recipe for success until management starts worrying about free riders and the lost opportunity to make an annoying sales pitch.

My advice to the gyms: do whatever you can to make members want to bring guests and make guests want to come back.  Reasonable restrictions are okay to maintain the desired member experience and prevent abusive free riding, but that leaves a lot of room to make favorable impressions and to move your members from being mere consumers to being your most effective marketing arm.

Consider whether your company annoys customers and prospects.  If they say you do, then you do.  Fix it.

p.s. Sam's and Costco, consider applying the same lessons to your "theft prevention" procedures.  Every other retailer has figured out how to mitigate theft without accusing every exiting customer of being a thief and forcing them to prove otherwise.  Your parting interaction with members is annoying and unnecessary.  What about putting someone at the door that says, "We really appreciate you being a member and look forward to you returning.  Have a great day."  Sounds a lot better than, "Let me check that receipt [you thief]."

The confusion over pre-existing conditions

The Speaker took issue this week with how Republicans are addressing the issue of pre-existing conditions. I'd like to take issue with how she's distorting this issue to create confusion instead of clarity.

In most states, group plans only restrict care for pre-existing conditions if there's been a gap in coverage for a month or more. In these situations, treatment for pre-existing conditions is usually restricted for just a year.

Individual plans are another matter though. With individually underwritten plans, carriers can frequently just deny coverage if they don't like your pre-existing conditions. If they don't deny you, they can simply make it too expensive or force you to sign waivers. In most states, however, once you have individual coverage you can't get dropped. So, if you obtain and maintain coverage before conditions develop, you don't have an issue after the fact (aside from the issue group and individual policies have - premium inflation).

So, individual policies present some problems, which I think a freed up market can resolve. For group plans and for those who maintain continuity of coverage, the issue is minor. Let's stop creating confusion and fear by suggesting that the problem is more widespread than it is. It's sensational when you tell the story of a person it impacts, but in perspective, it's not the biggest problem we have.

Our biggest problem is that we've not allowed the healthcare market to operate freely to control costs and improve value/quality. If the government promotes competition and sensible regulations, insures can be incentivized to compete even for those with pre-existing conditions. Insurance is risk shifting, so the known risks matter, but it's an opportunity for an issuer if the competitive and regulatory environment are properly aligned.
Levi

Sent from blackberry

Can you leave work for five days?

If you or your colleagues believe you can't leave work for five days without important responsibilities being neglected, you all have a problem.  Unfortunately, many employees work hard to make sure they're irreplaceable and their companies encourage and support this behavior.  The problem is that this suggests both are investing time and energy into developing responsibility silos rather than developing scalable and replicable systems and processes.  Make yourself irreplaceable, not by ensuring you're the only one who can do something, but by repeatedly developing systems and processes that can be executed by others.

A healthy company leverages its employees to amplify the effect of its systems and processes.  An unhealthy company uses employees as a proxy for systems and processes, so when one of the employees is gone, so is the system and process they represent.  This makes it difficult for employees to take time away from work, planned or unplanned, and makes it difficult for companies to replicate and scale.

Can you take five days off without you or others worrying about everything that's going to be neglected?  If the answer is not a resounding "Yes!", figure our where you're missing the mark and develop systems and processes to sure things up.  You and your company will be healthier for it.

Latest Read: The Reagan Diaries

Just finished reading The Reagan Diaries.  I recommended it for anyone who is interested in Reagan or the Presidency.  It was a fascinating look into the day to day activities of the President.  Reagan came across as genuine, personable and engaged.  Whatever you think of his policies, accomplishments or shortcomings, the diary entries expose the human side of a very public life.