Technology advice for small and medium sized businesses

By Andy Bailey

There’s a reason people refer to the office as a “sandbox,” because some folks refuse to act like adults. And, if the level of childish behavior rises to tantrum pitch and the culture becomes toxic, there’s no chance for communication or growth. But the office is not a playground, and we’re not children. So it’s important that we enter into an “adult agreement” when we walk through the doors at work and begin our day.

When I work with companies looking to improve their business, one of the things we start with is our adult agreement. It informs the work we do for the entire day, and hopefully beyond.

Here are three agreements to make sure you’re acting your age in the workplace:

Don’t shoot each other down.

When a colleague brings an idea to the table – even if you disagree with it – don’t shut them down just to be “right.” If we want to be collaborative, we’ve got to consider that those around us have something valuable to offer. If you make it a habit to cut people off or discount what they’re saying out of hand, you’ll not only guarantee that they won’t share their ideas with you again, but you’ll likely miss out on insights that could help you and your company.

Own up to mistakes and bring them to the table.

Nobody is perfect – not you, not me, not Bill Gates or Mark Cuban or anyone you might admire in business. We all make mistakes, and the worst thing we can do is deny that they exist. Instead, own up to your mistakes and let everybody know what they are. We only grow and learn when we’re vulnerable with each other. Admitting error is often considered a risk, but it’s really an opportunity. Our mistakes let others understand who we are, what risks we’re willing to take and what lessons we’ve had to learn. Share freely to engender trust and understanding among your teammates.

Don’t hide problems.

Maybe you want to stay focused on the positive and don’t want to highlight “problems.” Wrong. You’re not a negative person just because you bring problems to light or point out conflicts where they might exist. More likely, you’re finally saying what everyone else is thinking and is afraid to say. Or you’re bringing something up that’s important for everyone to understand in order to improve and move forward. Put problems up for discussion and brainstorm solutions. Hiding problems only makes them grow.

As you seek to master these three steps, remember one more thing: adults don’t crush each other just for acting like adults. We’ve got to support each other in our efforts to be truthful and vulnerable. A team is only as strong as its weakest link, so it’s critical that we lift each other up.

When we act like adults – especially in the sandbox – we all win.

Andy Bailey can cut through organizational BS faster than a hot knife through butter, showing organizations the logjams thwarting their success and coaching them past the excuses. After all, as he tells his clients, 100% annual growth is only 2% growth every week. It’s not easy. But possible. Andy learned how to build great organizations by building a great business, which he started in college then, grew into an Inc. 500 multi-million dollar national company that he successfully sold and exited. He founded Petra to pass on to other entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders the principles and practices he used to build his successful enterprise, which are rooted in the Rockefeller Habits methodology.

http://petracoach.com/office-adult-room/

The evidence is piling up that sitting all day is bad for your health. Though not perfect, Varidesk offers a compelling solution.

On the plus side, The Varidesk sets up right out of the box – no assembly required. With its weight-balancing system, you don’t need any hardware to fasten it to your desk. And it features an attractive, sturdy design. You can lean on it and your monitor won’t go crashing to the floor. Springs and levers make it easy to raise or lower it to one of 11 preset levels.

The main flaw is that when you raise it, it also moves forward – a problem if you’re in a tight space. All in all, though, it’s worth looking at, especially if you have a wireless keyboard and mouse – and enough space in your office or cubicle to back up a bit.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2153720/varidesk-single-review-this-sit-stand-desk-has-a-few-ergonomic-issues.html

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Efficient Escrow of California was forced to close its doors and lay off its entire staff when cybercriminals nabbed $1.5 million from its bank account. The thieves gained access to the escrow company’s bank data using a form of “Trojan horse” malware.

Once the hackers broke in, they wired $432,215 from the firm’s bank to an account in Moscow. That was followed by two more transfers totaling $1.1 million, this time to banks in Heilongjiang Province in China, near the Russian border.

The company recovered the first transfer, but not the next two. They were shocked to discover that, unlike with consumer accounts, banks are under no obligation to recoup losses in a cybertheft against a commercial account. That meant a loss of $1.1 million, in a year when they expected to clear less than half that. Unable to replace the funds, they were shut down by state regulators just three days after reporting the loss.

Net result? The two brothers who owned the firm lost their nine-person staff and faced mounting attorneys’ fees nearing the total amount of the funds recovered, with no immediate way to return their customers’ money.

Avoid Getting Blindsided

While hacks against the big boys like Target, Home Depot and Sony get more than their share of public attention, cyber-attacks on small and medium-sized companies often go unreported, and rarely make national headlines.

Don’t let this lull you into a false sense of security. The number of crippling attacks against everyday businesses is growing. Cybersecurity company Symantec reports, for example, that 52.4% of “phishing” attacks last December were against SMEs – with a massive spike in November. Here are just a few examples out of thousands that you’ll probably never hear about:

• Green Ford Sales, a car dealership in Kansas, lost $23,000 when hackers broke into their network and swiped bank account info. They added nine fake employees to the company payroll in less than 24 hours and paid them a total of $63,000 before the company caught on. Only some of the transfers could be canceled in time.
• Wright Hotels, a real estate development firm, had $1 million drained from their bank account after thieves gained access to a company e-mail account. Information gleaned from e-mails allowed the thieves to impersonate the owner and convince the bookkeeper to wire money to an account in China.
• Maine-based PATCO Construction lost $588,000 in a Trojan horse cyber-heist. They managed to reclaim some of it, but that was offset by interest on thousands of dollars in overdraft loans from their bank.

Why You’re A Target – And How To Fight Back!

Increasingly, cyberthieves view SMEs like yours and mine as easy “soft targets.” That’s because all too often we have:

1. Bank accounts with thousands of dollars.
2. A false sense of security about not being targeted.
3. Our customers’ credit card information, social security numbers and other vital data that hackers can easily sell on the black market.

If you don’t want your company to become yet another statistic in today’s cyberwar against smaller companies, and your business doesn’t currently have a “bullet-proof” security shield, you MUST take action without delay – or put everything you’ve worked for at risk. The choice is yours.

Here are three things you can do right away:

1. Remove software that you don’t need from any systems linked to your bank account.
2. Make sure everyone with a device in your network NEVER opens an attachment in an unexpected e-mail.
3. Require two people to sign off on every transaction.

Let Us Help

When it comes to defending your data, whether it’s bank account information, customer and employee records or proprietary intellectual property or processes, Do NOT take chances. Our experience and track record in keeping our clients’ data safe speaks for itself:

We are offering our Cyber Security Assessment at no cost through the end of December to 10 companies in the [Your City] area. Call me at [PHONE] or e-mail me at [E-MAIL] TODAY because we can only offer this valuable service to the first 10 companies that apply.

Who was the 38th President of The United States?

Correct answer: B) Gerald Ford

Being “smart” isn’t just for phones and TVs anymore. Soon, Microsoft’s Cortana will be able to see inside your fridge. With cutting-edge, fridge-safe technologies, Cortana can identify the foods you place there. After spending some time with your fridge’s contents, Cortana learns your food preferences. It can even offer up recipes or shopping lists to make your life easier. While other smart fridges have cameras that show users what’s inside without opening the door, the Cortana version actually helps you keep your fridge stocked. By the time this fridge hits the market, it will have captured thousands of photos of food packages from around the world. And that means you may soon have a smart new helper when it comes to shopping and fixing meals. TechCrunch

Ditch the meeting, get more done. The average manager spends 30%-50% of their time in meetings. And most feel 67% of meetings are an utter waste. So what can we do to stop killing time? Quit having meetings. Here are three ways to tell if a meeting is worthwhile. 1) Compare cost to benefit. Take the number of folks attending times their average pay rate. Multiply that by their time spent meeting. Is the desired outcome worth it? 2) Will this be a one-sided affair? A dead giveaway is the conference call when the boss puts everyone else on mute. 3) Is the meeting a guise for “communication”? Instead, send an e-mail, point to a website or suggest someone to consult with. Now you’re talking… Entrepreneur

Want earbuds that last – and sound great? Bragi’s new earbuds, named simply The Headphone now have “bragging rights” on both battery life and sound quality. At six hours of battery life, these buds shred all competition. That includes Erato’s Apollo 7 and the Earin buds – both of which wimp out at three hours. Bragi’s Headphone also delivers a crystal-clear sound that beats most Bluetooth and WiFi earbuds. And they let sounds come through from whatever space you’re in. They also receive phone calls and respond to voice commands. Plus, all of this is 100% wireless. They even include a sleek-looking lanyard-style carrying case. All that being said, The Headphone is well worth a look if you’re looking for a great pair of earbuds. DigitalTrends

Google’s Chromebook Pixel may have faded into a high-resolution sunset… But the good news is, some great new challengers will soon take its place. The Dell Chromebook 13, for instance, sports a 1080p touch-screen display, aluminum chassis, glass trackpad and a (very fast) Intel Core i3 processor. Meanwhile, weighing in at just 2.9 pounds, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 delivers nearly the same performance as the Dell. Yet at a full two pounds less, you’ll appreciate its light weight. And the new kid on the block, the Acer Chromebook 14, offers a high-end feel and near top-of-the-line specs for just $300. Any of these challengers will fill the bill for you if you love the low price of a Chromebook, but want something a little more premium. AndroidCentral.com

By Darren Hardy

As I’ve considered what some of today’s greatest achievers – Richard Branson, Maria Shriver, Arnold Palmer, Tony Hawk, John Wooden and Colin Powell, among many others – have accomplished in their lifetimes, I’ve thought about why many of the rest of us work harder and put in longer hours without achieving the same big results. What makes the difference?

After a great deal of thought, I realized the key is not to do more or work harder; the key is actually to find ways to do less and think more, to be less busy and more productive. In this, I have struck upon the very secret to what separates the super-achievers from the rest of us.

I’ve started applying this strategy in my own life and work. And I’d like to share with you three of the principles I have found to move from stress-filled “success” to super-achievement and a more balanced lifestyle filled with joy, harmony and personal fulfillment.

Learn to Stop Doing

Reevaluate how you spend your time and stop doing the time-wasters. The only way you can gain more time is to stop doing something. If you don’t like what your life has become, you need to figure out what to stop doing so you can concentrate on activities that bring better results in your life.

Consider: if you spent just 40% of your time on your high-value activities, you could double your income. Spend 60% or even 80%, and you could multiply your income by four times.

Create and Protect Your Boundaries

For a workaholic, these are dangerous times. The natural boundaries of time allocated to work, personal and family have been obliterated. Technology has penetrated the walled garden separating these important segments of our lives. This breach provides for constant intrusions into our attention, keeping us constantly connected and at the mercy of a stream of information and demands.

Put a junk filter on your life. To filter incoming requests, you must first become clear on what you want.

Who are you? Who do you want to become? What is most important to you in life? What direction do you want your life to take?

What are your three most important goals for the year? This month? This week? Today?

After identifying your values, goals and priorities, put a junk filter on everything else and keep it out of your in-box and off your to-do list.

Don’t Just Learn…

Knowledge isn’t power; it’s the potential of power. What you do with knowledge is where the power lies.

Don’t just read a book and put it down. Read it, summarize the key ideas, then write out how you’re going to implement those ideas in your life. Now act, review and improve. Stick with the ideas in that book until you realize a desired transformation.

I hope you’ll take time to stop and examine your life and incorporate these principles into your daily routine on your journey to super-achievement. Remember: it’s not what you know; it’s what you do.

http://www.success.com/article/accomplish-more-by-doing-less

The Sith Lord is about to strike – this is no time for an ordinary lightsaber. Time to pull out your own hand-made custom lightsaber…

You’d be hard-pressed to find an imaginary weapon as iconic as the Star Wars lightsaber. Haven’t you (or someone you know) ever secretly yearned to wield one against an evil warlord? Well, in case you didn’t know – you can. And, with your own custom-made lightsaber, you’ll be well-armed.

These are no ordinary Hasbro plastic toys. In fact, the features and choices available at some of the top-rated lightsaber shops could well leave you “starstruck.” From “flash-on-clash” to blade color to heavy, medium or light battle-readiness, to custom soundboards and circuitry, the choice is yours.

If you’re a diehard do-it-yourselfer, complete kits are available. You can even get a double-bladed or cross-guard-type lightsaber. Prices range from about $400 on up. For more details, check out http://www.ultrasabers.com/.

Choose well, young Padawan.

Sources

http://www.ultrasabers.com/
http://genesiscustomsabers.com/?page_id=819/
https://www.saberforge.com/
https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/32rtuc/an_introduction_to_the_world_of_custom_lightsabers/
http://technabob.com/blog/2016/05/01/ultrasabers-custom-lightsabers-review/
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=205712/
http://www.dailydot.com/debug/lightsaber-buyers-guide-star-wars/
http://www.cnet.com/news/singapore-startup-sabermach-makes-lightsabers-you-can-fight-with/
https://www.fastcodesign.com/3028505/how-the-star-wars-lightsaber-was-designed/

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