Archive for October, 2009

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6 Steps to Prevent Software Piracy in Your Business

Friday, October 30th, 2009

If an auditor were to walk into your business, could you prove that all of the software in your business has been purchased legally? Are you certain all of your software is legal? According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) software piracy results in $47.8 billion in losses to the software industry each year. The fine for piracy could be as much as $150,000 paid to the vendor. Can your business afford that fine?

Software is protected by U.S. copyright law.  You are allowed to create a copy of software for disaster backup and recovery purposes, but that’s about it. Piracy occurs when more software licenses are in use than were purchased. Sometimes the piracy is innocent; an employee wishing to help you out brings software from home or purchases the software at a great price from someone who appears reputable, but isn’t. It also occurs when an employee takes software you paid for to their home or another company.

As a small business, you don’t need to invest in expensive infrastructure to prevent software piracy.  Here are a few simple things you can do:

1)      Communicate and enforce the company policy concerning software purchasing and installation.

2)      Lock down employee computers to prevent unauthorized software installs.

3)      Store all software installation discs in a secure place to prevent them from walking out the door.

4)      Centralize software purchasing and installation.

5)      Maintain a software asset inventory. It can be a pencil and paper list of who has what software installed, when it was done, etc.

6)      Conduct an annual software audit. In a small environment, this isn’t too arduous. Simply compare the software asset inventory to each computer in the business. If you find discrepancies, resolve them.

Each of these steps could be a complete post.  There are other steps you can take the more sophisticated your IT environment. If you need help, check with your IT service provider or the BSA.

Wishing you safe passage through the IT Minefield!

____________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Leslie Knight is a small business consultant with over 20 years of experience in Information Technology management in Fortune 500 companies.  She applies her experience in Corporate America saving them millions to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield.

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Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Security | 3 Comments »

Trust is a Choice: Authentic Trust vs. Forensic Trust

Friday, October 30th, 2009

In the “Gift of Trust” (http://bit.ly/aPvCB), I alluded to the difference between authentic trust and forensic trust. Forensic trust requires evidence before trust is bestowed on someone. You’ve probably said it before, “When so-and-so can show me they can be trusted to do _______________, then I’ll trust them.” or even “Trust has to be earned.”

Does trust have to be earned? I don’t think so. Any time a leader works with a new team he has two choices: 1) Trust them without proof. 2) Wait for proof. The one who waits for proof will run himself ragged doing all of those tasks he is unwilling to entrust to others.

Authentic trust is a choice. It is an action, a verb, and not a feeling. It requires creativity, courage, commitment and communication.  Therefore, it can only be conveyed by an authentic leader.

-          Creativity because you are inventing something new in a relationship.

-          Only courage will allow you to declare to the team that you are willing to put yourself in their hands, knowing full well that you may be disappointed. Only courage will allow you to express your disappointment, “I am disappointed that ___________ did not happen. What can we do to make it work next time?”

-          Commitment. Conveying trust is not a drive by experience where you wave sprinkle fairy dust, wave your wand and say “I trust you” and the next day you take it back.  You are committing to the team and the individuals to stay the course and continue to convey trust when times get difficult and failures and disappointments occur.

-          Communication. The recipient of your trust must be willing to accept your trust, able to perform in the way you are expecting and in agreement with the results and accountability. You can’t get there without effective communication.

As I lead various teams, my appreciation of the value of authentic trust continues to grow. As one who has been a recipient, I know it lifted me to new heights in my early 20’s. As one who tries to always convey authentic trust, I see its results in teams, friends and family.  It builds up the recipient. It empowers them to explore their potential. It frees them from a fear of failure, knowing you will still continue to trust.

Best wishes for you and your teams!

_____________________

Though I have experienced and conveyed authentic trust for many years, the concept did not originate with me. These concepts were expressed 4 years ago by a dear friend, Scott Degraffenreid. For more information, you can purchase a copy of The New Art & Science of Acknowledgment by Scott Degraffenreid from www.necessarymeasures.com.

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Posted in Business, Team, leadership | 3 Comments »

A Shining Example of Customer Service

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Good customer service is so hard to find that I have to brag on it when I do! Enjoy!

I have a favorite burger chain that I visit somewhat frequently. I order the same thing at about the same time of day. The bartender knows me and I know her.  When I call in my order, she announces, “This is Molly. What can I get for you?”  “Hi Miss Molly, How are you this week?” She continues, “I’m doing great. Do you want the usual Miss Leslie?”  “Yes, Molly, please”. “OK. See you in a few”. My order is always coming off the grill when I arrive…cooked the way I want it.

Now, Molly and I have developed a relationship over time. She knows when I’m out of town and I know when she’s AWOL (my order isn’t perfect). We chat when I arrive early. Over the course of conversation we discovered that we’re both Pepsi drinkers…the establishment serves Coke. Oh well.

One day, I came in. She pulled down a glass and poured a Pepsi. I laughed and asked “What’s up? Did you guys convert back to Pepsi?”  She laughed and said, “No. We had a meeting the other day about customer service and keeping our good clients. Several of us have special, repeat clients, each with different preferences. So the manager set up a small fund. We’re each allowed to do something for these clients on an ad-hoc basis. So I bought a Pepsi.” Wow! I was surprised and impressed.

The manager created the opportunity for his people to act and expected they would use their best judgment and common sense. What would it do for your organization if you trusted your people enough to act in the company’s best interest? When we trust our team, they will rise to meet our expectations.

I’ll admit I can buy a cheaper burger somewhere else. But I go back because of the service Molly delivers.

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Get More of What You Want – Express Appreciation

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

As leaders we sometimes miss an obvious opportunity to acknowledge our employees or the members of our teams. Yet any time we see them, we have an opportunity to express our appreciation.  Appreciation is a sincere compliment, freely given and clearly expressed. A compliment, no matter how sincere, will fall flat if it isn’t what the recipient wants to hear. If you complement Sally on her neatly organized office and miss that her financial projections are always dead on, you are going to insult her.

Take the time to ask each member of your team, “What do you want me to notice more about your contributions to team?” Then be on the lookout for an opportunity to express appreciation. You always get more of what you acknowledge. People are thrilled when you acknowledge something for which they want to be known and will produce more of the same behavior. You must express interest and really listen for appreciation to work. The only way you can fail is to ignore what they told you.

If you want to do something that will surprise your team, call a team meeting. Then ask each person to express to the team what they want the team to appreciate about them.  You’d be amazed at the shift that occurs in each person as they reveal how they wish to be known to each other. The relationships within the team begin to change almost immediately as they begin to express their need for acknowledgment. Once the need is expressed it can be met.

I’ve done this a couple of times with teams that were stuck in storming. They moved quickly out of storming and into norming (http://bit.ly/3iQlcg) as their awareness of each other and respect for each other grew. This simple exercise jump-started the process.

Don’t be surprised when the team asks you, “What do you want us to appreciate about you?” It is a humbling experience. Be prepared to give them an answer.

Best wishes for your success!

Leslie

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Who is ITMinefield?

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

Special thanks to Roy Atkinson (Twitter @RoyAtkinson) for helping to create this post.

ITMinefield is the Twitter name of Leslie Knight, oldest child of Larry F. and Joan, sister to Larry G. and David, sister-in-law to Michelle and Karen, aunt to Mitchel, Meredith and Nicki and companion to Precious (the 4-legged friend).DSC02583

Leslie grew up during the height of the feminist movement and was somewhat influenced by it but—like Margaret Thatcher—feels she owes more of her success to her parents and God than she does to the feminists. She enjoyed a variety of sports growing up and now enjoys golf (she has a 10 handicap).

As a teenager, Leslie showed a strong aptitude for math (except for principal and interest problems; she never really got those), logic and related disciplines, though Computer Science was not a degree program in most schools (yes…she really is that old…but very well preserved).  While she didn’t know she would be working with computers, she knew she would be working closely with men as a respected peer.

Upon finishing with a degree in Math and Computer Science (fell in love with computers her freshman year), she started working with Amoco, Inc. (later absorbed by British Petroleum) as a systems programmer, reading hex dumps, writing operating system level code in Assembler and telling IBM how to fix their code. Those were heady days…being 20 something and responsible for the entire mainframe complex of a multinational company.  The men she worked with were old enough to be her father and respected her skills…she was doing what she knew she would be doing as a teenager.

If you Google her name, you’ll find several papers Leslie and professors co-authored on the subjects of genetic algorithms and NP-complete problems which are published in prestigious journals.

By this time, you may have correctly guessed that she was and is a geek or a nerd (holds a Masters in CompSci)…but she is one who talks to her clients in their own language.

Sometime during her career, the best supervisor possible came into her life, Keith Ruter.  This was true though neither of them knew it at the time and both were dreading the prospect. He took the young systems programmer and let her know there was more to her than technical skills and she could use those other skills to go much farther. It was during these years that her leadership skills were further honed and came to the forefront. Leslie says of Ruter,  “Wow! What a mentor and a friend. I still owe you a lot, Keith. My teams know dynamite comes in small packages.  Keith took the dynamite and turned it into a shaped charge.”

Leslie Knight later accepted a position with Gartner (www.gartner.com) working with clients to define their total cost of ownership (TCO) of computing. She advocated on behalf of the CIO and IT Department to the CEO and CFO. Her analysis often resulted in savings and the realization that spending on IT was not adequate to support the business strategy.

That brings us to the present. For the last few years, she has been the “sorcerer’s apprentice,” working with mentors to develop new skills and taking skills developed in IT beyond the IT arena. She is emerging from that phase as a trusted advisor to small business owners, in areas strategy development and execution, team development, leadership and operations management.

So what prompted her first book, Navigating the I.T. Minefield – Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise? Well, she was tired of walking into small businesses and seeing the malpractice that has been foisted upon them: lack of basic processes, documentation and practices. “I want business owners to be able to make informed decisions about IT and hold their service providers accountable. I want IT service providers to treat small businesses with the same care as a large business.”

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Permission to Lead Denied! When a Team Member is not Accepted as a Leader.

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

During the storming development phase, team members develop a sense of their relationship to the leader and each other.  As the members grow in their appreciation of each other’s talents and expertise, they begin to express a willingness to accept leadership and direction from others within the team and the storming subsides.  At various times within a High Performance Team, leadership will shift as tasks unfold so that the team takes advantage of each member’s strengths.

Unfortunately, there are times when the team simply does not respond well to a member and refuses to accept their leadership.  In fact, the team will often ignore the person which leads to more storming. Sometimes the problem is that this person isn’t really an expert in their area…and the team knows it.  Sometimes the one desiring to be recognized as a leader self-sabotages. They lack the skills (or are unaware of the skills needed) to create the environment where members give their permission to lead.

How do you help these members and move your team through storming?

-          Remind the team of basic leadership principles.

  • The privilege of leading others stems from the permission of those you would have follow you. Your ability to influence is more important than seniority, position or authority.
  • Permission to lead is granted only after others perceive you as:
    • Authentic.
    • Genuinely interested in them.
    • Willing to follow, serve or share power.
    • One with integrity to lead.

-          Respect their expertise and defer to it when possible. I’m not suggesting that you placate anyone, but that you model respect.  It isn’t necessary for teammates to always like each other, but they do need to treat each other professionally and with respect.

-          Remember that leadership is a set of skills that can be developed. As the leader, you may need to guide the team member to an appropriate leadership development program or commit to mentoring the member.

Unfortunately, there are times when you simply must remove the team member, particularly if they are not willing to accept responsibility for their own development for the good of the team. When that happens, ask yourself, “What about my hiring practices caused me to place the wrong person in the team?”  That’s a subject for several future posts. Include your own thoughts in the comments.

Have a great day!

___________________

Leslie Knight is a trusted advisor to small businesses. She has over 20 years of experience in Corporate America which she applies to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield – Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

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Posted in Business, Team, leadership | 2 Comments »

The Key to Picking an I.T. Service Provider

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Last week we talked about the 5 Qualities of a Great I.T. Professional (http://bit.ly/UXpCs). It is easy to allow “techno-speak” to influence your decision about an I.T. service provider. We think, “Wow that person sure knows what they are talking about!” The key to ensuring you have found that Great I.T. Professional is to talk to their references.

Most of the time, we don’t ask for references and when we do, we assume that because they gave us the reference that they must be good. Do your due diligence! A bad I.T. professional can hurt your business!

Your interview with a reference should cover 10 topics. We’ll talk briefly about 4 of them.

1)      Experience. Typically we equate years in business to experience. From a reference’s perspective, you want them to talk about the provider’s problem resolution skills. Are problems resolved quickly by the provider or his employees? Or is your business their training ground?

2)      Stability. Do you see the same few employees each visit? Or does it appear the vendor is unable to retain good talent? Some variety is good, it means all of the knowledge of your business does not reside within a single individual…if they leave, their replacement will not experience a steep learning curve.

3)      Relationship. Does the provider spend time with you understanding your business strategy and needs? Do they recommend solutions that are consistent with your business strategy? Do they stay abreast of trends and problems in your industry?

4)      Conflict Management. How does the vendor handle your service complaints? Are those conversations amiable, with the vendor showing respect for you and your business? Or are they punishing, leaving you feeling drained and dreading the next encounter?

References will be brutally honest about the shortcomings of their service providers.  No provider is perfect.  They’ll shine in one area and be a lackluster performer in another. You will have to decide which qualities are most important to your business.

Wishing you safe passage through the I.T. Minefield!

__________________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Leslie Knight is a small business consultant with over 20 years of experience in Information Technology management in Fortune 500 companies.  She applies her experience in Corporate America saving them millions to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield.

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Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology | 2 Comments »

Windows 7: Should You Upgrade?

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Windows 7 is now generally available to the public. You can buy it at your favorite store or online or purchase a computer with Windows 7 installed. After the Vista debacle, most small business owners skipped Vista and are still running XP. Now they are skittish and asking, “Do I really need to upgrade? And if so, when?”

According to PCWorld (http://bit.ly/4qnWK), XP will still be available for delivery on some computers through June 2010. Support for XP, in the form of security patches, will continue until April 2014. Bug fixes will only be available for businesses that have signed support contracts with Microsoft (most small business owners don’t have this type of contract).

So, do you need to be in a rush to upgrade? No. When should you upgrade? Sometime during the next four years. I’m not trying to be flippant. You can probably wait six months to a year, to allow other bugs to be discovered. Here are four things to consider when deciding when to upgrade to Windows 7:

-          Cost. The cost of an upgrade is $299 per computer for Windows 7 plus the cost of any software that must be upgraded. The hidden cost will be for hardware. Do your computers and servers have sufficient memory and hard drive to support the upgrade? If it has been a while since you purchased hardware, you may need to upgrade.  This is an additional cost for which you will need to plan.

-          Effort. Unfortunately, if you are running XP, you can’t just buy the Windows 7 upgrade and install it. You must backup you data, wipe the hard drive and then install XP. This is not a task you should undertake lightly.

-          XP Bugs. If you run into a bug in XP and you don’t have a support contract with Microsoft, their response will be “You need to upgrade to Windows 7.” If the bug is an annoyance, you can delay the upgrade. However, if it is preventing you from conducting business, you should upgrade soon.

-          Critical applications. When do you plan to upgrade mission critical applications? Do these applications require Windows 7? Or more importantly, do you have a critical application that you can’t upgrade (e.g. software vendor went out of business) and won’t work with Windows 7? Windows 7 has an XP mode that will allow many of these applications to continue to work or you can leave that PC out of the migration.

-          Features. Does Windows 7 possess features that will create a strategic advantage for your business?

If you don’t have a compelling business reason to upgrade, you can wait and plan the upgrades. It is not necessary to upgrade all of your computers at one time. You can upgrade them as finances allow. If you have any questions, contact your I.T. service provider or feel free to ask ITMinefield on Twitter.

Wishing you safe passage through the I.T. Minefield!

__________________________________

Upgrading hardware and software are discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Leslie Knight is a small business consultant with over 20 years of experience in Information Technology management in Fortune 500 companies.  She applies her experience in Corporate America saving them millions to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield.

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Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Recommendations, Windows | 4 Comments »

4 Steps to Secure Your Wireless Network

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Wireless networks are so simple to install. No holes to drill in the walls. No cables to run through the walls or ceiling.  Just install wireless network adapters in the company computers, pull the wireless access point or router out of the box, follow the directions and poof…you have a wireless network in your office. Then you go to each computer in the office and connect it to the network and voila, you’re wireless.

If you or your I.T. service provider installed your network using default values, you are vulnerable to an attack by a freeloader (someone who just doesn’t want to pay for wireless access) or an eavesdropper (someone who just wants to show they can access your network). These intruders drive around neighborhoods and business areas looking for unprotected wireless networks.   They are generally not malicious, but if enough of them access your network, it will slow down your network.  Many other intruders are malicious and they will take your network and business down.

Why are you vulnerable to attack? The default values are widely known and easily available to anyone with internet access.  Don’t believe me? Do a google search on your favorite hardware provider (e.g. “Linksys default SSID”). To secure your wireless network, change the default settings to a unique value for the following 4 areas:

-          Administrator id and password. Most networks have a web based interface which is easily accessible to a hacker. If a hacker knows your admin id and password they can access your network and lock you out. Save the new id and password in a safe place. Don’t lose them.

-          SSID. The SSID identifies the name of your network.  Choose a unique name.

-          SSID Broadcast should be set to “No” or “Off”. Broadcasting the SSID makes it easy for friendly computers to find your network. However, it also makes it easy for the intruders to find.

-          Encryption Keys.  All access points use some type of encryption to protect your data transmissions. The easiest way to change a key is to come up with a passphrase (similar to a password) and allow the software to generate a new encryption key.  You will share the passphrase with users you wish to allow access to your network. Since all computers have the same encryption methods, a new computer will be able to generate the same new encryption keys.

If you’re uncertain about these settings, contact your I.T. service provider or the person who installed your network for assistance.

Wishing you safe passage through the I.T. Minefield!

__________________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Leslie Knight is a small business consultant with over 20 years of experience in Information Technology management in Fortune 500 companies.  She applies her experience in Corporate America saving them millions to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield.

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Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Network, Security | 2 Comments »

5 Keys to Control Website Development Costs

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

One of the first things a small business owner does is put up a company website. They engage a designer or a design firm and the next thing they know, they’ve spent more money than planned, the website isn’t complete and the designer isn’t going to release the site until the bill is paid in full! Now the business owner is stuck.  He doesn’t have a functional website and he’s out of funds. What’s worse is that all of this could have been avoided with a little planning.

You can keep money in your pocket and have the website your business needs if you will do the following:

1)      Before talking with a designer or optimization firm, define the role of the website in your business strategy and the results you expect. These impact the cost. What role does your website play in your business:

  1. Glorified yellow pages ad?
  2. Marketing?
  3. Sales?
  4. Creating community?

2)      Establish a budget for the project.  What do you expect to spend? Understand that the more functionality you expect or need, including optimization, the more expensive the site becomes. Most designers will work to deliver maximum functionality while staying within your budget.

3)      Interview several designers and their client references. If their references are not getting the results they expected, walk away from that designer.

4)      Clearly communicate your design requirements and market strategy to the designer. If you leave your site to the designer’s imagination, you will spend a lot of money and not get what you expect.

5)      Establish a process for managing change. Once you and the designer agree to the specifications and cost, the designer expects that you will not alter them very much.  Each change from the initial specs will cost extra to implement. If changes are needed:

  1. Establish a process within your business for submitting and approving changes to the site.
  2. Request a quote for the change from the designer.
  3. Impress upon the designer that changes will not be made without approval from a person you designate. This is important particularly if you have several people involved in the design.
  4. Agree with the designer on the cost of the change.

It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of launching a website with your business.  A little planning will go a long way to preserving precious capital.

Wishing you safe passage through the I.T. Minefield!

__________________________________

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Navigating the I.T. Minefield: Straight Talk for the Small Enterprise. To purchase your copy, please visit http://bit.ly/SNL4W.

Leslie Knight is a small business consultant with over 20 years of experience in Information Technology management in Fortune 500 companies.  She applies her experience in Corporate America saving them millions to smaller entrepreneurial enterprises. She is also the author of Navigating the I.T. Minefield.

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Posted in Business, IT, Information Technology, Website Development | 4 Comments »

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