A few weeks ago, I was talking with a local owner about growth. Like many owners, he was feeling the pressure of competition. New competitors seemed to be everywhere. As we talked, he said, “I compete on price. It’s what everyone competes on.” I’ve thought about that conversation several times since then. Price does matter, as does quality. But if those are the only two ways you compete, you’re playing a very hard game. There will always be someone willing to charge less, and, eventually,...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Recently, I was talking with someone about technology adoption and how they could better integrate Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft 365 tools into their daily workflows. As we talked, I showed her several features and shortcuts that I use regularly. To me, they seemed completely ordinary. But over and over, her response was “I didn’t know you could do that.” It reminded me of a quote that’s been attributed to several people: “What’s ordinary to you is extraordinary to others.” The same...
2 months ago • 2 min read
The Cost of Silence Several years ago, I went through one of the most difficult experiences of my professional career. A few weeks before Christmas, our CEO informed my boss that an outside IT consulting firm would be coming in to help evaluate our technology operations. At the time, I was the IT manager. The announcement raised a lot of questions. Why were they being brought in? What were they evaluating? What would happen afterward? Unfortunately, very few answers were provided. Weeks went...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Over the last two weeks, we’ve discussed meetings that run the business and improve the business. Today, let’s examine the third category: meetings that build the team. Before we do, I’d like to share a story. One summer morning at 2:00 AM, our team received an email that would turn into one of the largest technology incidents the world had ever experienced. Nearly every server and computer at our organization and others throughout the world would not power on. As people woke up, they began...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Meetings That Improve the Business Several years ago, our team was dealing with a frustrating login issue. About one person each week would be affected, and the disruption typically lasted only a few minutes. The team responsible for resolving the issue was actively working with the vendor. We held problem-solving sessions, investigated possible causes, and provided daily updates through email and Teams messages. The work was being done. People were understandably frustrated and wanted the...
3 months ago • 3 min read
"Why are so many people in this meeting?" I remember asking myself that question after attending a 90-minute committee meeting early in my career. Before that role, I had worked with an organization that was intentionally reducing the number of meetings employees attended. Meetings became shorter. Agendas became clearer. When a topic required deeper discussion, only the people who were directly involved met afterward. At the time, I assumed that was normal. Then I joined another organization...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Organizations often miss out on ROI because they struggle with using technology. Not because of lack of availability or training, but because of lack of adoption processes. One of the most effective ways we’ve seen organizations enhance adoption and increase technology usage and ROI is by building a Systems, Automation, and Technology (SAT) Committee. What is a SAT Committee? A SAT Committee is a cross-functional group made up of: Power users (the people who live in and are experts with your...
4 months ago • 1 min read
The last couple of weeks we have talked about pull systems and how to set them up in Microsoft Planner. This week, let’s discuss how to decide what work needs to be done next. When deciding what to work on next as a team, it’s important to assess strategic alignment, business value and return on investment, technical feasibility, resource availability, risk profile, stakeholder support, timeline/urgency, and regulatory and compliance areas. One can do this by considering the following...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Last week, we talked about how using a pull system helped us get more work done. This week, we’re making that idea tangible by showing you how to build a simple Kanban board in Microsoft Planner, a tool you likely already have if you subscribe to Microsoft 365. 1. Open Microsoft Planner Sign in to Microsoft 365 (https://www.office.com). Select the App Launcher (grid or waffle icon in top left) in the top-left corner. Click Planner (it might be under More Apps > All Apps) 2. Create a New Plan...
4 months ago • 1 min read