Should I Get Engaged... to my IT Partner?

In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, till death do us part...

WOAH! SLOW DOWN MR. PROSPECT! We just met... I thought we were just friends. It's not you, it's me. It's complicated. I think I need some time to myself to think this through.

Sounds eerily similar to what you see in relationships, right? You can see the how getting married is similar to  selecting a professional service IT partner and is something you don't want to rush into without feeling 100% sure that this the right decision.

And just like in the dating world, no one is forcing you to be in a relationship. You have the option of going about it by yourself, but there are major benefits to partnering with another in the business world.

Here are the top things to consider when determining whether or not you should "engage" with a "partner:"

Are you where you want to be? Each year you set out this fiscal year with goals in mind. How far on or off track are you with these goals? Are you spinning your wheels trying to pin-point exactly where you are out of sync? Engaging with a partner can provide that unbiased, outside perspective and help you determine the best ways to get on track.

Do you have the experience to get it done? If you think about the DIY approach, or Doing It Yourself, there are a number of benefits including: low upfront cost, you gain experience with on-the-job training, and you get to see for yourself how easy or hard something is to accomplish. The biggest downside to this approach is RISK. You are having to learn something new, and there is high cost that is delayed till the mistakes and inexperience causes you to have to regress and possibly start over. Working with a partner with a lot of relevant experience can get the job done in a much quicker fashion and often times provides a return on the upfront investment, without having to factor in potential cost of not completing or having to correct.

Do you have a handle on the butterfly effect? When you start a project or work on an existing system, you may have a game plan and a road map, complete with milestones and deadlines. But have you correctly identified the impact it has on operations and other systems? These issues usually arise down the road, similar to the DIY approach, where inexperience of not having the right foresight can cause interoperability and systematic conflicts. A good partner will have the resources and perspective to understand the connectivity of systems and makes sure the plans are accounting for the proper scope of work with consideration for the unknown.

Sometimes people need to feel fall down a few times before they realize they need to work with a partner. And sometimes it doesn't hurt to try, so understand even with simple projects, even consulting with a partner can benefit your decision making process. Setting up an interview can verify your findings or show you the things you haven't considered.

Be sure to know your options, date around a while, and after interviewing at least three companies, you can determine whether or not to pop the big question to your vendor, "Will you do business with me?"

John Boyer

Why you shouldn't quit Netflix

I've been a Netflix subscriber for a long time. I've seen them grow from a small company to a large, publicly traded Blockbuster-killer.

The original reason we joined Netflix was for convenience. Even though we had a Blockbuster on our corner, we didn't like the hassle of due dates, return by noon, late fees, charge by the DVD, driving to the store, having to keep you Blockbuster card on you, no Internet ordering, and competing for the new releases on a Friday night.

Netflix solved all of these issues. Not only that, it was easy, a good value, and very convenient.

That is why Blockbuster is now Box-buster, looking like a vending machine rather than a video store.

Netflix built a lot of loyalty over time when people started using them more and more. Their popularity grew and grew through word of mouth and some clever campaigns.

They introduced online video for your computer, which started out as an hour of online video watching per dollar spent with Netflix, $10/month would be 10 hours of web video.

Then they went to unlimited viewing.

The movies went from B-list to now having more and more A-list movies and now TV shows.

Netflix clearly is moving away from DVD's to the web.

So they are drawing the line in the sand for the users. video discs are a premium, online is the value.

So I have to ask anyone who has complained over the last week: What would you do if you have never been a Netflix customer... would you still buy online streaming with discs in the mail? Does the $20-$30/month make sense still?

Look at your options:
- Amazon Prime has less than 25% of the movies available from Netflix
- You are stuck with streaming all content (granted streaming quality is getting better, but it isn't 100%)
- If you want discs, you have to go back to the old ways you got away from in the first place, such as driving, late fees, in stock or not, etc.
- You can do DVR, OnDemand, Xbox or PS3 movies on demand, Vudu, Hulu, AppleTV and anything else!

The problem is: they are all very expensive comparatively and are limited in selection.

Please feel free to commend if there are better options that carry the same if not more first run titles where you can watch a movie a week, tv shows from all seasons, at a low fixed rate and still manage DVD shipping.

Netflix, you are still my vendor... but don't price yourself out of the market.

Ask for help

Is asking for help a good thing or a bad thing?

Good:
Asking for help means you get the information you need, you validate your opinion and thoughts, you save time by having to figure things out on your own.

Bad:
Asking for help also means you are revealing information you don't know, you are opening yourself up to possible scrutiny, you may diminish your reputation or credibility.

So how do you decide whether or not to ask for help?

The worse option is faking that you know the information, as it could hinge on others making decisions and can snowball into a chain of bad information and poor quality work. I blame the old system of test taking, where teachers discourage anyone asking for help answering questions for you. You were disciplined and called a cheater.

In the business world, it's called teamwork.

I think there are two important things to consider.

1) Your attitude
2) Your relationships

If you act high and mighty about the things you know, you will most likely be torn down for the things you don't know. Having a good attitude about always wanting to learn will enable you to ask for help more easily and, more importantly, people will be willing to help you.

Which takes me to the next point, relationships. When you are new to a workplace or trying to do a better job with your current workplace, establishing open communication will only help your team perform better. Everyone is expected to know certain information about how to do your jobs, or at least know how to find the information to get the job done.

I would suggest to help build a team mentality by opening it up to everyone to have mind share. Offer that you would help with anything they need help, and at the same time they will help you be a resource of information. Create a safe-zone or open door policy for exchanging information by focusing on the total cohesiveness of the team.

You can't know everything. So don't be afraid to ask.

John

New Adventures

Today is the first day of my new YouTube channel, most appropriately called, John Boyer's Channel. What you will see are videos that include topics for better ways to get the job done, whether it is for IT, sales, or a personal goal.

The fun thing about trying something new is overcoming risk. People have a natural reaction to protect themselves against the unknown, and often times it limits what can be experienced in life and career.

People ultimately decide to branch out into the new and unknown when they perceive the benefits outweighs the risks.

So, it's show time! I challenge you to do something new today and experience more to life than be limited by a fear of risk.



John

Does visualization work? Yes, if combined with hard work.

As a high school athlete my coach, Rick Martinez, said to always visualize your performance to the very last detail, including seeing yourself finishing ahead of the competition.

As a business person, my sales managers have told me to imagine myself having made a sale or completed a transaction that will help not only my family but also the company. He also said to envision the impact of morale on co-workers, family members and own self-esteem.

Even typing this up I get positive feelings that are motivational and feel good.

But how do thoughts translate into reality?

There have been a few audio CD's that I've listened to, an original recording by Earl Schoaf and another called Be-Do-Have, that talk about having crystal clear thoughts and they will materialize into the real world.

Doesn't this sound a little unrealistic? Your thoughts materializing into something tangible?

This is how I interpret these messages: Having positive thoughts and crystal clear vision affects your attitude. Your positive attitude and thought process will lead you to make better decisions. And over the long runs, these new decisions will give you the resources, ability, and connections to bring anything from your mind into reality.

There is a message from another book, Compound Effect, that describes having goals and slowly and steadily working towards them. What you need is a combination of the two messages: vivid goals and vision combined with a plan that is FRONT OF MIND on a daily basis will ultimately take you to the promised land created in your mind.

You should make a plan to protect your intense visions because distractions can play their way into your head and take you off of your path. Keep your vision fresh in your mind every day, and have clear next steps to take. If you get off track, make sure you start anew the next day. The longer the streak, the closer you will get to the vision.

The dreams and thoughts in your mind will in fact materialize.... it just won't happen in a magic genie/"Poof!" sort of way.