InsideAutotaskEditorsNotebook

1. Session On Crystal Clear Communication Closes INSPIRE 2016 2/3/2016

   “The greatest power you have is to talk with your people during times of change and uncertainty.” That’s how Dr. Robert Bies, the keynote speaker for RSPA INSPIRE 2016 in San Diego, began today, the final day of the conference for leaders in the retail IT channel.

2. Innovation Is Job #1 On Day #2 Of RSPA INSPIRE 2016 2/2/2016

   “Innovation” was one of the trending words at NRF’s Big Show a couple weeks ago and I’m hearing it over and over again at RSPA INSPIRE 2016. The conference for executives in the retail IT channel is taking place at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in San Diego, CA.

3. 6 Words Most Heard At NRF 2016 1/26/2016

   NRF 2016 was in my rear view mirror when I caught a late shuttle bus Jan. 19, but it’s taken me a full week to assemble and analyze my copious notes from the event. I just quickly searched what I jotted down, and these six words appeared the most often.

4. RetailNOW 2015: Distributors Focus On Managed Services, So Should You 9/3/2015

   When BlueStar and ScanSource, the two most powerful distributors in the point of sale and data collection space, commit significant resources to an initiative, everyone in the channel better pay attention or risk falling behind.

5. A Managed Services Tsunami In POS/Bar Coding Is Coming. Don’t Say You Weren’t Warned. 8/7/2015

   We interrupt our regularly scheduled Business Solutions channel content for this message: Resellers in the point of sale and data collection channel need to embrace managed services soon or their business will suffer, maybe even die in the next decade.

6. RetailNOW 2015: Initial Impressions 8/4/2015

   With much of RetailNOW 2015 still to come, a great deal has already happened at the retail and hospitality IT channel's most important conference.

7. Top Quotes From “Retail Survival Of The Fittest” 6/23/2015

   I’ve learned quite a bit from reading business books, but here’s something I realized when my nose wasn’t stuck between pages: Less-known authors with vertical market knowledge can provide VARs just as much value (if not more) than general business best sellers. Recently-published Retail Survival Of The Fittest: 7 Ways To Future-Proof Your Retail Store, is one of those books.

8. From ASCII Chicago: 5 Hiring Don'ts 5/27/2015

   I was honored to kick off the ASCII Success Summit today at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago with my hiring best practices presentation titled “Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer.” It’s always great to connect with solution provider executives and try to solve important small business problems.

9. RSPA INSPIRE 2015: Heath Says Channel Leaders Need To Find “Bright Spots” 1/27/2015

   If it’s true that great conference speakers cause the attendees to act constructively, then Chip Heath, the featured presenter at the RSPA INSPIRE 2015 Conference in Maui, HI, has proven to be a great speaker. Many of the 100+ channel executives attending this conference said Heath has taught them principles and actions they told me they will implement at their businesses.

10. RSPA INSPIRE 2015 Preview: Best Quotes From Heath’s “Decisive” 11/18/2014

    When the RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association) announced that Chip Heath, co-author of business best-sellers Switch and Made to Stick, would be the featured speaker for the INSPIRE 2015 conference, I was super excited. To be able to spend a couple days with one of the world’s leading minds in business is a rare opportunity. And to do that at the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui makes it even better.