Storage Executive Commentary

71. It's Time To Rebrand Your Sales Team 2/19/2015

    Recently a co-worker of mine forwarded a WSJ article addressing why it’s so hard to fill high paying tech sales positions. The article came as no surprise to me, as the sales positions I have been trying to fill the last couple of years have presented challenges. It’s hard to fathom why, in this economy, folks aren’t jumping at the chance to earn $75K+, right? 

72. The Year Of The Services Provider: 5 Ways To Avoid Security Breaches 2/19/2015

    A new security breach seems to hit the news every week, and services providers must take proactive steps to make certain that they — or a partner provider — don’t unknowingly add an organization to the growing list of victims.

73. Ask Coach: Making Your Team Part of Strategic Planning, Part 1 2/19/2015

    How do you invite your team to be part of strategic planning? Coach: Instead of “invite,” “engage.”

74. How Resellers Can Excel In Today's Service-Driven Economy 2/10/2015

    From cloud-based computing to Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS) and the Internet of Things (IoT), new technology trends are bringing new opportunities to the value chain. While product sales will surge, the services associated with these trends are where the most profit and potential lies for manufacturers and their channel partners.

75. How To Apply The Principles Of Effective Metrics 2/6/2015

    A few weeks ago, I wrote about the “Quest for the Holy Grail of Metrics”. In that post, I talked about some principles that I recommend using to build a set of metrics to help in three critical areas. Those areas are customer satisfaction, profitability, and employee engagement.

76. Using Opportunities In Your PSA To Track Leads 1/27/2015

    The most common business issue we hear in serving our HTG peer group members is far and away: “How do we generate more business?” The marketing and sales functions are viewed as a necessary evil to people who get more excited designing, building, and fixing technology solutions. We all know the lifeblood of a business is generating new opportunities from prospects as well as our existing clients. It is critical to the success of the business.

77. Four Steps To Casting A Clear Vision 1/15/2015

    Vision casting is one of those topics that most people tend to run from. It seems mystical to many. The reality is that not only is it a discipline, but a very important skill to have and implement if you want to succeed both personally and professionally.  Scripture says it most clearly when it says in Proverbs 29 “where there is no vision, the people perish.” Many small businesses today flounder around because the vision has not been defined even by the leaders and certainly has not been shared with the team in a way that compels them to want to participate.

78. Ask Coach: Tap Into The Power Of Your Team To Set A Strategic Path 1/15/2015

    How do I set a strategic direction for the company? The “how” is a relatively simple process. The implementation of the process is the hard part — but more on that in a minute. Procedurally, I’d recommend something like the following steps:

79. Your Top 5 New HR Habits For 2015 1/14/2015

    Happy 2015!  The start of a new year brings so much hope, promise and excitement for us all, both personally and professionally. And while many business owners and managers have spent the last few weeks focused on strategically planning execution of their 2015 business plans, I would suggest few have given much thought to their HR strategic plans. So here’s my shortlist of HR “habits” every leader and company, big to small, needs to incorporate into their 2015 plan (and every year thereafter).

80. Israel's Bookshelf: New Year's Edition 1/14/2015

    If I am completely honest with all of you, I buy way more books than I read. On average, I probably buy three or four books a month. In addition to those books, I normally get three or four a quarter sent to me from publisher and marketing friends in hopes that I will be part of the social media team that will help promote the book. I say all of that to make the point that the books that I suggest in this column are the ones that I don’t simply read, but that I engage with … books that significantly impact my thinking.