Learning new software is a wonderful time to practice, living in the present.
There area many books out about "living in the Now" and "focusing within". I remember when I used to demonstrate software and I could feel myself "being in the zone". Time would go away while I was in a contractors office showing them a software program. I would focus on their questions and make notes and show them the software. I got very good at knowing my success rate by the time I left their office. I could feel the connection we had made, or didn't make in some cases. I could assess their needs and concentrate only on them. When this was happening, I lost track of time. Sometimes the demo would take 3 hours, sometimes 45 minutes. It really didn't matter, what mattered was that I was there at that moment, living in the Now.
Life is so busy, offices are so busy. It is very hard to do your present job as well as implement new software. It is especially hard if you don't have a plan of action for how it will happen and if you cannot focus on that plan. Your focused hard work will make your job easier in the near future.
Focusing within means giving attention to the task at hand and to yourself. Be good to the person who has to do this task "You". Give yourself time to read, concentrate in a quiet place, not answer the phone, just to breathe and relax. You deserve the chance to fully grasp what you are doing in the workplace. Someone at your office decided that now was the time to implement new software. Based on that decision, you can decide that "Now" is the time you will give your undivided attention to your needs in order to learn and perform this task.
As quoted in "The Power of Now" by Eckert Tolle, there is an Eastern saying "the teacher and the taught together create the teaching". I can say from experience, that a successful implementation are when both the teacher and the taught are focusing in the present moment.
Happy Learning!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Networking
I have always valued the benefit of networking. It is a challenge to decide what networking opportunities are the most time effective. There are a limited number of events per month I can manage to participate in so deciding which will benefit my business the most is a marketing decision I struggle with each month.
I am a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and have been for 30 years, longer than I have done anything else, including raising my children.
My business is a member of two Chambers of Commerce, both Manatee and Pinellas Park in Florida. I am on the small business committee of the Manatee chamber which meets once per month for an hour in the morning.
When I was in Michigan I was a member of the Construction Association of Michigan and the Associated General Contractors. I have not re-joined any construction associatons other than NAWIC since being in Florida (now 3 1/2 years) but am considering making that move soon.
There are network associations popping up all over the place these days. They are private and local to your specific area. In these associations, the members refer the other members of the group to each other and everyone they know. Some groups have only one of each kind of company in an industry so your competition is not a member of the group at the same time you are. But...you cannot miss meetings, if you miss your meeting, another company, possibly your competitor will take your position. If I refer someone to one of my clients or a friend or my family, I want to know they are good at what they do. I don't want to refer someone just because I'm in a group that requires me to do that. I understand that the theory is to grow your business, but I'm not sure yet if these groups are for me, although I'm sure there are very skilled people in the group that I would be happy to refer.
With the Internet, we network no matter what we do. The world sees us, blogging, writing articles, what colleges we attended and who our friends are (my space, face book).
It is important to say what you mean and stand behind what you say. If we aren't sure of something, we must state up front that it is an opinion or we shouldn't say it at all. My mother taught me and I taught my children "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I guess after all these years, this still holds true.
Oh and one more thing, Blogs are almost always "opinions"!
Happy Networking!
I am a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and have been for 30 years, longer than I have done anything else, including raising my children.
My business is a member of two Chambers of Commerce, both Manatee and Pinellas Park in Florida. I am on the small business committee of the Manatee chamber which meets once per month for an hour in the morning.
When I was in Michigan I was a member of the Construction Association of Michigan and the Associated General Contractors. I have not re-joined any construction associatons other than NAWIC since being in Florida (now 3 1/2 years) but am considering making that move soon.
There are network associations popping up all over the place these days. They are private and local to your specific area. In these associations, the members refer the other members of the group to each other and everyone they know. Some groups have only one of each kind of company in an industry so your competition is not a member of the group at the same time you are. But...you cannot miss meetings, if you miss your meeting, another company, possibly your competitor will take your position. If I refer someone to one of my clients or a friend or my family, I want to know they are good at what they do. I don't want to refer someone just because I'm in a group that requires me to do that. I understand that the theory is to grow your business, but I'm not sure yet if these groups are for me, although I'm sure there are very skilled people in the group that I would be happy to refer.
With the Internet, we network no matter what we do. The world sees us, blogging, writing articles, what colleges we attended and who our friends are (my space, face book).
It is important to say what you mean and stand behind what you say. If we aren't sure of something, we must state up front that it is an opinion or we shouldn't say it at all. My mother taught me and I taught my children "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I guess after all these years, this still holds true.
Oh and one more thing, Blogs are almost always "opinions"!
Happy Networking!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Document your Business Process
Every business needs to document the process of how things are done in their business. If you don’t state in writing what you what to happen within your company it just won’t happen, especially in the way that you expect.
Just like instructions to do a task, a business process states how things are to be handled at your company, in brief form. It doesn't have to be as detailed as a procedure or policy manual. Think of your business process as "the big picture" that helps to explain how your business functions. What you do in your business will determine how detailed the document is and what form it takes on.
It may take the form of a gantt chart or it could take the form of a flow chart. If that is too elaborate for you just put it in writing, it will be referred to often. It may become a jumping point for creating employee training instructions (saving you time every time you hire someone), company referral charts (where do we buy this, who do we call to refer that service, etc) and many more documents that together may be come your company policies and procedures.
Wouldn't it be nice if the next time an employee says to you "how do we do backup" you can just say "did you look first?" in the documentation!
For more information on "Documenting your Business Process" go to http://www.successif.biz/ and click on Articles and Links.
Just like instructions to do a task, a business process states how things are to be handled at your company, in brief form. It doesn't have to be as detailed as a procedure or policy manual. Think of your business process as "the big picture" that helps to explain how your business functions. What you do in your business will determine how detailed the document is and what form it takes on.
It may take the form of a gantt chart or it could take the form of a flow chart. If that is too elaborate for you just put it in writing, it will be referred to often. It may become a jumping point for creating employee training instructions (saving you time every time you hire someone), company referral charts (where do we buy this, who do we call to refer that service, etc) and many more documents that together may be come your company policies and procedures.
Wouldn't it be nice if the next time an employee says to you "how do we do backup" you can just say "did you look first?" in the documentation!
For more information on "Documenting your Business Process" go to http://www.successif.biz/ and click on Articles and Links.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Marketing for a non-marketing professional
Marketing has got to be the biggest time drain on my business, along with keeping up with technology. I've been doing marketing work this week. Making changes to my website, talking to other professionals who can offer services that are compatible with mine, net working in general.
I try to market on a tight budget. It's tough to know what will work and what won't and just like any small business owner, it's 9pm at night and I'm still working.
I finally posted some articles on my website. I'm trying to offer free information so people can get to know me. Not just junk, but really good stuff. I need ideas for topics, please send some!
That's another subject: the web definition of an article. It's the big thing these days, "get your articles published on the web". Funny thing is, what "they" call articles are about 3 or 4 paragraphs. People don't have time to read much. It's amazing what a time warp you can get into when you get on the web, so articles are kept at a minimum. We all need time for our other life; reality: those who give you a kiss every now and then when you aren't pecking away at your computer.
I try to market on a tight budget. It's tough to know what will work and what won't and just like any small business owner, it's 9pm at night and I'm still working.
I finally posted some articles on my website. I'm trying to offer free information so people can get to know me. Not just junk, but really good stuff. I need ideas for topics, please send some!
That's another subject: the web definition of an article. It's the big thing these days, "get your articles published on the web". Funny thing is, what "they" call articles are about 3 or 4 paragraphs. People don't have time to read much. It's amazing what a time warp you can get into when you get on the web, so articles are kept at a minimum. We all need time for our other life; reality: those who give you a kiss every now and then when you aren't pecking away at your computer.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
A day in my life
Recently I spent a day with one of my new clients. I spent the day with them in their conference room along with their chief estimator, vice president and their controller. We looked at their new software and viewed screens within the software and discussed their current business process and how it would fit into their new software.
What we did in that meeting was so important to the success of this company.
What we did in that meeting was so important to the success of this company.
- It was important that the meeting was attended by the key players and only those players (although there are times when all players should be involved).
- It was important that all of us dedicated that time to the meeting un-interrupted with no phone calls, only a break for lunch.
- It was important that the software was used as a guide for how things would be done and who would do what and what sequence of events would be followed.
- As the process for the implementation of new software was unveiled, notes were made about how to perfect the existing process in the future. IE: potential problems in the current process were uncovered that came up as a result of creating the new process.
- It was important that we documented the revised process right there in the meeting as a part of the meeting.
We all came out of that meeting with a clear process in writing of how their company would function using the software to it's fullest potential.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Keeping up with the Blog
I know it's been some time since I posted here and I appologize for the delay. Many companies decided that 2008 was the year to get new software and that thrills me, and it keeps me very busy. I am always happy to see the progress companies make when they implement new software. It's like cleaning out your house and repainting, sending all the old clothes to Goodwill, buying new furniture and appliances and learning how to finally program the DVD player, all at the same time. What a task, but how rewarding when everything is set up, organized and the employees truly understand why they are doing what they do and everyone understands how to read the reports.
January 26th my daughter married her sweetheart who is a wonderful young man and I couldn't be more proud. The wedding was in the hills of Texas in a beautiful large log cabin. The weather was perfect and the guests were even better.
So it's back to work, meeting with my peer group and working on my website and classes and helping clients understand the world of financial software.
I sure do love my work. I hope you do too!
January 26th my daughter married her sweetheart who is a wonderful young man and I couldn't be more proud. The wedding was in the hills of Texas in a beautiful large log cabin. The weather was perfect and the guests were even better.
So it's back to work, meeting with my peer group and working on my website and classes and helping clients understand the world of financial software.
I sure do love my work. I hope you do too!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
How can I get more Oomph out of my computer?
Do you ever wonder what all those terms really mean? RAM, HD, CPU, Motherboard?
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. For those of you who aren’t computer gurus, this is the memory available when your computer is in the “on” position. This is what helps you open (access) many (random) windows at one time and run several programs at once with items minimized on your task bar. RAM is easily upgraded. RAM is sold in increments of 64MB (Megabyte) up to 512MB, then in increments of 1 Gig (equivalent of two 512 MB sticks) sticks. Every computer has a different type and speed of RAM so you have to know what you need when you ask for more memory. To find out what type and speed of RAM you need, you can “Google (www.google.com)” your computers model number and read up on the type of RAM your computer takes.
HD stands for Hard Drive. A hard drive is a physical item in your computer that stores data. The size of a hard drive is referred to in megabytes so many people think of it as memory but it’s really not considered memory. It is considered “storage”. Hard Drives can range from 1 Gigabyte up to many hundred Gigabytes. It is hard to know how much hard drive storage a user will need but an average person who doesn't save games or movies may use less than 40 GB (gigabyte) of storage. With the storage of movies and games, some people need larger hard drives. A larger hard drive will not necessarily speed up the processing on your computer.
CPU: Stands for Central Processing Unit and this is a tiny brain in your computer which sits on your Motherboard along with a little fan which keeps it cool. CPU’s usually last the length of your computer and unless you have a very high end computer, they are not always worth replacing. Many times a computer user keeps their computer so long, that is it just not cost effective to replace a CPU. It’s more cost effective to buy a new computer. CPU’s come in two major brands, Intel and AMD. It’s like Buick and Chevy, some people like one brand or the other. The confusing thing about CPU’s is the way they are measured when trying to compare apples to apples. Be sure to have a good sales person fully explain how they compare before purchasing your next computer. CPU’s are usually the most expensive component in your computer and also one of the smallest components.
Motherboard: This is the board inside your computer that everything else in your computer connects to. Your CPU must be compatible with this board. Different boards go with different CPU’s. Your RAM is plugged into your Motherboard. Your hard drive and other peripheral devices (like CD Rom Drive, DVD Drive and USB Ports) are plugged into the motherboard. If your Motherboard goes bad, it can be replaced but sometimes other things which are connected to it may be affected by the bad motherboard. Sometimes your operating system will need to be reloaded as it is licensed to the Motherboard.
To increase the speed of your computer, the most efficient thing to do is increase the RAM in your computer. If you need more storage space, adding a Hard Drive to your computer is not a bad investment if your computer is working fine otherwise. Replacing your CPU or Motherboard is often not cost effective unless your computer is very new, and in that case, they probably are still under warranty.
To check out your own computer, right click on My Computer, and then left click on Properties. Here you will see the following:
System: the version of Windows operating system that is loaded on your computer
Registered: who the operating system is registered to
Computer: The size and type of CPU you have in your computer as well as the amount of RAM in your computer. To check the size of your Hard Drive, left click on My Computer, then right click on the drive you want to know the size of (usually your C drive), left click on properties of that drive.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. For those of you who aren’t computer gurus, this is the memory available when your computer is in the “on” position. This is what helps you open (access) many (random) windows at one time and run several programs at once with items minimized on your task bar. RAM is easily upgraded. RAM is sold in increments of 64MB (Megabyte) up to 512MB, then in increments of 1 Gig (equivalent of two 512 MB sticks) sticks. Every computer has a different type and speed of RAM so you have to know what you need when you ask for more memory. To find out what type and speed of RAM you need, you can “Google (www.google.com)” your computers model number and read up on the type of RAM your computer takes.
HD stands for Hard Drive. A hard drive is a physical item in your computer that stores data. The size of a hard drive is referred to in megabytes so many people think of it as memory but it’s really not considered memory. It is considered “storage”. Hard Drives can range from 1 Gigabyte up to many hundred Gigabytes. It is hard to know how much hard drive storage a user will need but an average person who doesn't save games or movies may use less than 40 GB (gigabyte) of storage. With the storage of movies and games, some people need larger hard drives. A larger hard drive will not necessarily speed up the processing on your computer.
CPU: Stands for Central Processing Unit and this is a tiny brain in your computer which sits on your Motherboard along with a little fan which keeps it cool. CPU’s usually last the length of your computer and unless you have a very high end computer, they are not always worth replacing. Many times a computer user keeps their computer so long, that is it just not cost effective to replace a CPU. It’s more cost effective to buy a new computer. CPU’s come in two major brands, Intel and AMD. It’s like Buick and Chevy, some people like one brand or the other. The confusing thing about CPU’s is the way they are measured when trying to compare apples to apples. Be sure to have a good sales person fully explain how they compare before purchasing your next computer. CPU’s are usually the most expensive component in your computer and also one of the smallest components.
Motherboard: This is the board inside your computer that everything else in your computer connects to. Your CPU must be compatible with this board. Different boards go with different CPU’s. Your RAM is plugged into your Motherboard. Your hard drive and other peripheral devices (like CD Rom Drive, DVD Drive and USB Ports) are plugged into the motherboard. If your Motherboard goes bad, it can be replaced but sometimes other things which are connected to it may be affected by the bad motherboard. Sometimes your operating system will need to be reloaded as it is licensed to the Motherboard.
To increase the speed of your computer, the most efficient thing to do is increase the RAM in your computer. If you need more storage space, adding a Hard Drive to your computer is not a bad investment if your computer is working fine otherwise. Replacing your CPU or Motherboard is often not cost effective unless your computer is very new, and in that case, they probably are still under warranty.
To check out your own computer, right click on My Computer, and then left click on Properties. Here you will see the following:
System: the version of Windows operating system that is loaded on your computer
Registered: who the operating system is registered to
Computer: The size and type of CPU you have in your computer as well as the amount of RAM in your computer. To check the size of your Hard Drive, left click on My Computer, then right click on the drive you want to know the size of (usually your C drive), left click on properties of that drive.
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