Not that you asked, but I have some things to say.

Sometime between September and November 1621, around the time of the fall harvest, a group of 53 European pilgrims gathered in the New World to celebrate. They were joined by members of the Wampanoag tribe, native Americans that had helped the settlers survive the previous winter. They were there to celebrate the fact that they had plenty of food stores to survive their second winter there. When the settlers left Europe, there were 102 of them. When they celebrated a successful harvest, a little over a year later in the fall of 1621, there were only 53 of them left. Almost half of the settlers had perished along the way. Yet, they gave thanks. It seems a human truth, that we appreciate our blessings more when framed by our adversities. Giving thanks inherently has an either/or component to it, it seems. When we are thankful for what we have, we must take into account the possibility of not having it. We frame our blessings with our adversities. I have very few adversities. My ch...

I've had discussions with my co-workers, specific to the marketing power of words. What we call a thing, how we phrase the things we say, and the industry terms we either use or try to introduce as terms to become part of the vernacular...they matter. What we call a thing helps define it. This brings me to Veterans Day, the day set aside to honor all veterans. Memorial Day is to honor the fallen, and I make sure to stress that on Memorial Day, that Veterans Day is for all Veterans...Memorial Day is for the dead. It's important we never mix the two, and the names of the days help guide us towards that understanding. But, what about Armistice Day? The origin of the Nov. 11th tradition, honoring that moment in time that called for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, World War I. "The 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month." 1918. A time when, as written by my favorite author Kurt Vonnegut, "millions upon millions of human beings stopped...

I was recently in a meeting with the CIO of a healthcare operations company, specifically long-term care and assisted living facilities. We were speaking of different technology trends, with terms like 'Cloud' and '____ as a service/aaS' peppered throughout the discussion. We expressed excitement, seeing several true paradigm shifts that are changing the world of technology, but with both of us still being a bit weary from our years in the industry. We expressed something that I see often in veterans of the tech world, we were looking for something to excite us, to inspire us, to wake us from the day-to-day grind, and show us a brave new world that we can harness to change the way that world works. We expressed that, simply put, we were tired. We wanted a revolutionary change to sweep us up into it, and make our world the sort of fun that only world-altering technology can. It was then that the CIO interrupted...we should, he reminded me, never lose sight of t...

In conversation with a colleague, the question was asked: "What makes you {your company} different?" This question has been something of a new hobby of mine. I started with "Different than what?" It is my belief that our business model is unique, and have seen little evidence to the contrary. I want to constantly challenge that belief, seeing this as the only way to ensure the belief is true and continues to be so; comparison must be a diligent and never-ending part of our message. Of the several competitors listed by my colleague (technically someone who could compete with me in certain circumstances), I easily differentiated our offering. But, stressing the "Different than what?", I quickly moved from comparative offerings and steered towards a less tangible "what?"Our approach was different; our mindset, our essence. I found myself asking the question "What do we serve?"mm My industry is filled with examples of passionate pe...

I've been dreaming lately, not the sort of dream that comes with sleep, but the wide-awake kind. It's a dream related to my business life, and that's all I need to say about the sort of dream it is. I consider this my business blog, and while the below may not seem to have anything to do with business for some, it very much does to me. When I hear or say the word 'dream', generally two things happen. My thoughts go in two completely separate directions; directions that can, if not properly harnessed, become quite debilitating. More on that later... Direction #1: The heavens, sky, to soar, to fly. Ethereal. That place, so precious, but so easily destroyed. Like a balloon untethered, it will float away for no other reason than that no one held the string. Direction #2: Down to earth, grounded. Tangible. That place so solid and necessary, but with a gravity to contend with; every step in life, soil, the path we walk and the foundation of life, but the place th...

I recently read a social media post from a business associate, let's call him Alan. It was an excerpt from a famous quote, from a very famous American business icon, and then a summary of the quote from Alan's point of view. The summary, as Alan saw it, was that the second a person identifies as an expert that they no longer are useful, that they lose the drive that led them to the possibility of even identifying as an expert, and that from there it was nowhere but a downward spiral. The implied message was that by claiming to be an expert, a person would no longer work towards greatness, no longer continues to press forward, that they would find themselves in the stagnant position of resting on their laurels, and no longer "trying to do more." (that last part is a direct quote, and will play in heavily to my point). I couldn't disagree more. I checked the validity of the quote, and it was spot on. I checked to make sure the general intent of the quote was cap...

Disclaimer : The topic of this entry (POTs lines) was specifically requested by a business partner. When I discuss POTs lines, I get confused looks, and typically even confused responses in that discussion. "Why are you dealing with POTs lines?" It's the lowest common denominator of the telecommunications industry, but only as a product. The need it solves is the core of this blog entry. My ask is that you disregard the "widget" ( an ask that is often a challenge for many of the "widget" minded folks I know) and focus instead on the business problem associated with the consumption of this particular technology.  Let's start with a quick definition...the below is the first hit when you Google POTs lines: Short for  plain old telephone service , which refers to the standard telephone service that most homes use. In contrast, telephone services based on high-speed, digital communications  lines , such as ISDN and FDDI, are not  POTS . The main dis...

I was recently working on a recommendation for a client, specific to a process improvement we were looking to implement. This suggestion had been made to the client half a dozen times and had, outside of agreeable nods, gained minimal traction. I felt myself playing a bit of metaphorical pinball, bumping against the silos within the clients corporate culture (nothing new here), and realized if a bridge was to be made between the silos, I would need to build that bridge. I contacted a senior-level Project Manager (PM) who served a critical role in the process we were evaluating. This person, within the initial discussion, showed to be incredibly passionate in their role and truly dedicated to the success of that role. I explained the suggestions we were making, and looked for input. What was given as response was disappointing. This person, who was just seconds ago a shining example of attitude and aptitude, began explaining their role with more focus on what they didn'...

In my last blog, I mentioned the recent trend of merger and acquisition deals in the telecommunications industry. This M&A fever is one of the answers I give when, say at Thanksgiving dinner, people that have some form of understanding of my industry asks "So, what's the big new thing???" Now, I've seen the adoption of MPLS to replace Frame Relay, I've seen token ring replaced by ethernet, I've seen Internet become the driver of a new economy, I've seen VoIP and SIP discussed for years (without much real adoption for the first decade of the discussion) but TDM is finally beginning to phase out (don't fret old-timers, I still have clients with hundreds of POTs lines...a few with pagers...and I'm not kidding about the pagers).  I've left the Cloud discussion for later. There is so much room to editorialize there, I'll leave that for its own entire blog. At one point in time, the response to any of the above evolutions in technology ...

The past few years have seen multiple mergers and acquisitions in the telecommunications industry. I would be hard pressed to name one that hasn't had some form of M&A action, buying or merging with a competitor generally focused on B2B services (AT&T being a bit of an anomaly, their acquisition strategy seems more focused on content and the consumer market). I've seen these happen, over the decades, and generally see a stronger more capable company emerge...at some point...in time...after much, well, pain. For a long time now, I've called it the Tele-Merge Flu. It's cyclical, and I've seen a few iterations over my career. They all seem to have a bit of the following: Disparate systems, painfully complicated to begin with, will now be merged (or attempted to be merged) with generally a Frankenstein's Monster result, a broken shambling, groaning thing, with the local residents always on the verge of storming the castle with torches and pitchfork...

When I began my career in the telecommunications field, it was a sexy industry. I worked for WorldCom, who owned UUNET, one of the original big boys of Intenet Service Providers. We rode scooters, had egos, and were the future of technology. We were the internet. Oh, and about WorldCom...you probably remember them. "One of the largest corporate scandals, ever." heralded the cable news hawkers, and various publications. They made Enron look like choir boys (Enron caused around a $74 Billion loss/impact to the shareholders....WorldCom was $180 Billion in loss/impact. Tyco often gets mixed in when discussing corporate scandals of the late '90s/early '00s. Tyco's impact was around $150 Million...lightweights). The scandal created a crater within the telecom indsutry that we, to date, are still trying to climb out of. The telecom industry lost its luster, pivoted often to a "low-cost/zero-sum-game" approach, and spent the next 20 years losing relevance ...

I mentioned in a previous post a transition in my career, one from sales person to consultant. Now, let me be clear, the act of selling is what generally pays for my consulting (the carriers pay me for the business I bring them, although I do have a fee based set of offerings...let's focus on the grander theme). But, I self identify now as consultant. How did I transform to this new height? Simply put, I just decided to. I found myself in a new role that allowed me to embrace the transformation, allowed me to self-define, allowed me to truly be the franchise that I've been working to become for years. I suppose that I'm being a bit too simplistic. My transformation took the better part of two decades to come to fruition. I possess a wealth of knowledge that can only come from the amount of OTJ (on the job) training, that the better part of two decades brings in my field. Blood, sweat, and tears. Trial by fire. Drinking from the firehose, again and again and again. A...

"First, open a trouble ticket via the 800 number...work directly with the engineers to make sure you don't have a breakdown in translation. Then get the trouble ticket number to my team, and we will break out the whips and bullhorns." The above is an example of a repeated script, used throughout my entire career. Roughly 15 years working in the Telecom/Carrier world, on the Direct sales side of the house. I am now on the Channel sales side of the equation. Nothing has changed in the above scripted response. I spoke with a client the other day, a division of a rather large company here in town, and he seemed baffled by the channel sales model. He posited the following: 1.) "Won't the carrier get mad because I bought if from you instead of them?" 2.) "How can you represent multiple carriers all at once, and still have my needs in mind." 3.) "Since they have to pay you too, will the service cost more?" These questions were excep...

There are a lot of moving parts within any organization. Often I find myself collaborating with other departments to get the things I need. In my specific case; Finance, Legal, Engineering, Marketing, Product, Customer Care. I often reach out to these groups with a specific and defined need. A bullet-point-style item, or list of items, with a simple request..."Go get me these things. Please, and thank you." Other times, it's not so clear cut. Sometimes I may go to a department with an undefined need. I know what I want as an end result, but may not have a clear cut process on exactly how to get there. Typically, in these examples, all parties will provide input. They will define their roles, and understanding the goal of  the request, offer suggestions or guidance. Something along the lines of "You can't get that here at X department, but if you go to Y department they can provide Z." Guidance....the sharing of tribal knowledge on how to accomplish a...

I am not a complete and total freak about this, but am very happy making a general and pretty stringent statement.... It is ALWAYS better to stand up and go to a lobby, or the bar area, or the foyer when taking or placing a call.  Now, I'll admit....I've taken a call while at lunch, in a discussion, etc. Almost invariably it is to pass along a tidbit of pertinent information and then promise a return call. When the act of removing myself to take the call is more disruptive than the VERY quick transaction, I'll do it.....quietly, and as an aside.....and always with thanks or a brief apology. But....and not only is the action cliche, the complaint has become so.....If you are going to have a discussion, a conversation, a full transaction....GET UP and go to a logical location.  It's interesting to think, but if I were to walk up to your table, take a seat and strike up an interrupting conversation with you while ignoring your guest ....I would be thought a ...

My Dr. Suessian title points out something I've noticed....when listing items, one gravitates towards three. Think about this for a second, and answer honestly....have you listed two things, and then wracked your brain for a third? Drafting an email, pounding with furious purpose, and then spending ten minutes trying to come up with a third item on the "To Do" list? It just seems like a thing one must do. Two adjectives, attributes, action items.....just not enough. Bullet pointing requires a triumvirate of tasks, a trio of trends...a....a....damn. I can't alliterate in threes....but you were expecting it....weren't you? See what I'm saying? So, maybe we should ask why? What is the benefit? I've listened to a Mayor, a CIO, and a homeless man all make their pleas in threes (seriously, the last one just happened the other day). And what I've noticed is the power of bullet pointing your agenda, and you must have three. There is a recognizable ca...

I almost never endorse a specific product, service, website, etc. and I'm not now...not exactly....I'm simply commenting. At Startup Vitamins one can find all sorts of brutally honest, no-nonsense, real-world motivational products. I like it, and will be buying a specific mug that I love....but this is not an endorsement. Not exactly.....it's commentary, and here's why... I love the quote "The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference." I believe the folks at Startup Vitamins have embodied this quote exquisitely. There has been a trend for decades of motivational posters and paraphernalia, with one truly stand out example....it stands out because it sort of sucks....I won't be naming it, but you know the one. Platitudinous pablum, offered up as profundity. Silver linings, soaring eagles, mountains.....you've seen them....you've rolled your eyes at them....you may have one hanging in your workplace. And then...the backlash. A p...

I suck at math, so please view the title of this post as symbolic and literary in nature. I've read or heard the term 'counterintuitive' a lot lately. I like how it puts the spotlight on perception....a lot can be uncovered. But, it may say more about our biases than anything else...see definition below. coun•ter•in•tu•i•tive  (ˌkaʊn tər ɪnˈtu ɪ tɪv, -ˈtyu-) adj. counter to what intuition would lead one to expect. So, I read the above and ask one question.....Who's intuition is the accepted baseline? Isn't it possible that when someone says "Hey, that seems counterintuitive." it could be easily viewed as "Hey... I have a less evolved, less informed, and biased, outlook... so I didn't expect that outcome." A few examples: "That member of an ethnic class didn't live up to my stereotype." or "My simple view of the world didn't expect the more complicated results the experiment showed." or ...

I work with some pretty smart people....partners, colleagues, clients, a team of fine folks. We train weekly....sales process, technology changes, best practices....sharpening the saw. Many of us are curious by nature, so we seek out new things naturally. Trade rags, articles on new developments and recent trends, white papers, what have you. But I've noticed something. No matter how good we are or how hard we try, we run into a peculiar problem...there is only so much knowledge contained within a group.  We have shared as much info as is contained within a particular group. We look around and see that what was once a series of shared discoveries is now communal knowledge. Occasionally we hit a ceiling. Being relevant has a finite expiration date, without knowledge growth. We have, often, had to look hard to find new things to learn. It's uncommon, as there is so much change within my industry. But it happens. When it does, it's time to have lunch....or coffee.......

The Bormioli Rocco Fido Glass Canning Jar. Simply made, seemingly anachronistic, perfectly engineered. It's a great symbol of quality that balances efficiency, economy, and function in a sublime manner. I get wound up over strange things, I admit. But stick with me... In the aisles of mass-produced plastic crap, the Fido stands out. Whatever you are storing, you care about it. You want it sealed in an air tight manner. You trust glass as the perfect medium to neither impart nor allow entry from outside tastes (ever tasted ice that tastes like garlic....that's infused from the fridge....think of food products that work similarly). Spices, some a minor investment, find these little homes perfect for their overall demeanor. A marinara made with real San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, and garlic deserve to be stored in a Fido. Now...you may be wondering my point. Go to your pantry. Look in. Is there any foodstuff there that you would deem worthy of the Fido? Eliminat...