Business Advice

  1. Surefire Ways To Differentiate Yourself From Your Competition 7/5/2016

    Although it was over 25 years ago, I will never forget the words of my Introduction to Marketing professor when asked to describe the three things it takes to succeed in a marketing place: “Differentiation, Differentiation, Differentiation!” But how to make your organization stand out in a competitive landscape filled with white noise and awash in the notion of “me too” isn’t as easy as it sounds. However, there are some surefire ways to stand out from your competitors.

  2. Considering An Exit Strategy: A Business Legacy Conversation 7/1/2016

    We’ve been reviewing some of the information around business valuation and legacy. Part of that includes evaluating how you begin planning for your exit from the business. It will happen someday.

  3. Coach's Corner: Great Expectations 6/29/2016

    Dear Coach: I struggle with some people on my team not living up to expectations. It’s as if they are not even listening. I’m really getting tired of this and ready to clear the decks and start over. Am I being too hasty?

  4. Prepare For The 4 D's: A Business Legacy Conversation 6/27/2016

    Part of planning and preparation means being ready for the unexpected. There are four D’s that can drastically reduce the value of a company.  It is true for a sole owner, but obviously the likelihood increases with more people involved.

  5. Preparing For The Unexpected 6/24/2016

    Dear? Is that a deer?  Legacy Planning – Preparing for the Unexpected.  What to do now?

  6. Uncovering Business Insights Through Cognitive Search 6/23/2016

    Big Data. It’s among the most pressing challenges — and opportunities — for today’s solution providers. Enterprise data, be it structured in databases and enterprise applications or unstructured textual data from documents (including contracts, letters, emails, newsfeeds, websites, and more) or videos and images, contains a wealth of content that, if searched and analyzed with cognitive intelligence, can deliver valuable insights for the customers you serve.

  7. Unique And Original Ideas To Provide Value To Your Customers 6/22/2016

    A key part of any successful business that scales well is an ability to differentiate that enterprise from its competition. This is simple to do if you happen to be an early mover in a particular field. As the market matures, this becomes more difficult. Simply doing what everyone else is doing leads to competition based on price which is not optimal.

  8. How To Overcome HSM Cost Objections 6/22/2016

    Cryptographic keys truly could be called the keys to an organization’s digital kingdom and that’s why they must be protected, both at rest and in use. Hardware security modules (HSMs) were created to do just that. HSMs act as both a locked box and a secure management platform for cryptographic keys — because the fact is, however powerful and flexible a crypto system may be a breach of cryptographic keys destroys its integrity. Consequently, HSMs have become the default foundation of security for any modern crypto system.

  9. What's Your Number? A Business Value Conversation 6/22/2016

    In the April HTGWAY, I talked about two legacies that we’ll leave as business owners – a personal legacy and a business legacy. Both are critical and obviously related. But let’s focus on the reality of how most of us view our business in regard to provide a legacy – it is a major (if not the major) source of funding four our retirement and future. It’s that simple for most, if we miss in creating enough value in our company we will fall short in having enough dollars to fund our lifestyle in retirement the way we wish it to be.

  10. Maximizing Your Business Valuation 6/10/2016

    The old adage most IT businesses were started by techies, not business people still rings true. But when it comes time to sell, potential buyers will be savvy individuals who grasp the details of business valuation. So let’s focus on maximizing your business valuation by developing and documenting processes and procedures, building client relationships, learning your tools, and living by your numbers.