Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2022 Karl W. Palachuk
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One of the great movies of the last sixty years is The Graduate, with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. As the movie opens, Hoffman's character has just graduated from college. Lots of people want to give him advice. One relative sums it up in one of the most famous lines in the movie: "One word. Plastics."
And that was pretty good advice in 1967.
So what's the "one word" for 2022? Cybersecurity. I know this is a not surprise to anyone. And I'm sure everyone reading this newsletter has thought a lot about cybersecurity. I want to encourage you to dig a little deeper and think about three ways cybersecurity will affect your business in 2022.
First, the government's response to cybersecurity will affect your business. And by "the government," I specifically mean CISA ( https://www.cisa.gov/) and NIST - specifically, the Computer Security Resource Center at NIST ( https://csrc.nist.gov/).
Both of these organizations have been publishing specific advice and guidelines for IT professionals and your clients. In other words, they're talking about you. But they're doing it publicly, so you can easily find out what they're saying.
Action step: Just as a financial advisor has to read the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg news, you need to track what's coming out of CISA and NIST.
Second, the insurance industry is in the middle of a true reckoning when it comes to cybersecurity and how to insure it. They carelessly sold millions of cybersecurity policies, starting about a dozen years ago. And they never really had to pay out . . . until the ransomware crisis.
As the evil writers of ransomware got more money, they were able to hire better programmers and charge higher ransoms. Then, once they figured out that insurance money is involved, the ransoms went through the roof. In 2022, the insurance industry is going to figure out a concerted response to this problem, which they are largely responsible for creating themselves.
Action step: I'm not going to ask you to subscribe to the Insurance Journal, but you do need to tune in to the real stories behind the never-ending flood of headlines. Pick a source you trust. And when they have a longer story on cybersecurity and insurance, read it. Get past the first paragraph and try to understand the true business side of the story.
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Third, take advantage of the fact that your clients are all going through the same pain as you. Their cybersecurity insurance rates are skyrocketing. In some cases, they can no longer buy a rider on a standing liability contract. In some cases, they can't get insurance at all.
Take this opportunity to have regular discussions with them. Perhaps create a Zoom webinar for all of your clients, like the free example I posted at www.mspwebinar.com. (See "Cybersecurity 2022.")
Action step: Take this opportunity to do security audits and hold regular client roadmap meetings. There's no bullshit or trickery here. This is an honest opportunity for you to step up and become your clients' business and technology advisor. This will take your relationship to a new level and make you a key part of their team.
The bottom line: With the government, insurance companies, you, and your clients all paying attention to cybersecurity in 2022, we might actually have a year in which the incidence are less severe than the year before. I'm not saying we'll "solve" the problems of cybersecurity, but perhaps our industry will begin to get a handle on it.
Luckily, many vendors have developed effecting ways to actually prepare for attacks instead of constantly being in response mode.
Comments welcome.
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Greetings!
Just a few notes I'd like you to add to your To-Do list.
First: Please register now and join us for the National Society of IT Service Providers All-Member Meeting.
February 9th
9:00 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
Info below.
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Second: If you missed the big launch of the IT Service Provider University, you should watch it now.
And you should absolutely take the free Foundations course. It's the prerequisite to all certifications - and a great introduction to the programs we offer.
And then . . . Please do yourself a favor and register for my all new course on Customer Service for IT Professionals. As you can imagine, I have a different approach than you are likely to have heard before.
See info below.
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NSITSP All-Member Meeting - February 9th
Please Join Us!
We have a very active Board of Directors and five very active committees. In this meeting we will give an update on our progress.
A major highlight will be the presentation of the organization's Mission, Vision, and Values. The Board met in special session every other week for two months to settle on these simple but powerful statements.
As always, the NSITSP is committed to transparency. We want to present what the Board has come up with and get your feedback/discussion. It is our belief that these statements will help people who are "on the fence" to commit to our group and join as Professional members.
Join us - and give us your feedback.
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Board of Directors Opening
There is an open seat on the Board of Directors. We are re-opening the application process for this.
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I had a VERY busy January.
and in 2021, we worked hard to add massive content to the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community, and make major upgrades to all of our web sites. Plus, I founded the NSITSP, which required yet another major web site.
So my goals for 2022 are simple:
1) No new web sites. Fix. Fine tune. Update. But no major revisions!
2) Write one new book. At least. But that one for sure.
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Please take a second and check out our great sponsor - Field Effect! They've even set up a landing page just for you. Check it out.
Thanks.
Have a great week.
- Karl P.
:-)
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All-New Course for 2022!
Starts Feb. 15th
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All New Class!
Customer Service for IT Service Providers
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk, Author and Coach
- Five Tuesdays - February 15 - March 15, 2022
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
Features
- What is Customer Service and Who Delivers It?
- People: Clients and Employees
- Consistent, Scalable, Reproducible, Amazing C.S.
As I always remind people: Customers just call it service. Among other things, that means "customer service" cannot be bolted on to your business after the fact. It also means you can't assign it to one specific person or department.
Customer service should be built into every piece of you business, from marketing and sales all the way through service delivery and invoicing. We'll walk through this wholistic approach to great service an show you how to build - or rebuild - your business with customer service as the ultimate profit center for your company.
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Great customer service doesn’t just happen. It’s built from the bottom up with great processes, people, and programs. In this course, you’ll learn how to build a system that provides excellent customer service while keeping your company profitable. Most companies don’t design a customer-focused service delivery with intention. We’ll show you how to attract new clients based on your service delivery.
We use a framework that focuses on people, processes, and programs. “People” includes your employees, your clients, and your vendors. And that makes clear why you need to build a customer service system that’s totally consistent with your brand.
We’ll show you how to create a never-ending loop of brand-building, employee management, and customer management. And we’ll do all this with in a way that maximizes profitability.
And of course, all of this is presented in the context of an IT consulting business.
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Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk, author and coach. Karl has built and sold two successful managed service businesses in Sacramento, CA. He is the founder and president of the Sacramento SMB IT Professionals Group, and author of more than twenty books, including Managed Services in a Month.
This course Includes five weeks of Zoom webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor.
This course is intended for business owners and managers, but is very useful for every single employee in your IT business. This course has an associated professional certification exam and may be applied to specialist certifications in Management, Sales & Marketing, Service Manager, Technician, or Front Office.
Class Content
Unit 1: What is Customer Service and Who Delivers It?
Unit 2: People: Clients and Employees
Unit 3: Processes for Success
Unit 4: Customer Service programs and automation
Unit 5: Consistent, Scalable, Reproducible, Amazing Customer Service
Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print |
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Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
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SBT Technology Community News - February |
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: Almost 800 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 330+ SOP videos
- 250+ Relax Focus Success videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Thanks for the great meetings! |
We've enjoyed having lots of new members join us on our weekly meetings.
For "older" members, the new link is at the top of your dashboard. For new members, the link is always at the top of your dashboard.
We meet every Thursday at 9:00 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern via Zoom.
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Our monthly newsletter comes out on the last Friday of each month. So look for it on the 28th.
Here's the January news video.
Available by clicking the thumbnail on the right.
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Our February Roundtable will have a great guest whose books many of you have read.
Don Crawley Featured on the February SBT Roundtable
Please join us for this amazing Members-Only event! Author, speaker, and coach Don Crawley will be our guest on the February SBT Roundtable.
Join Us:
February 3, 2022
9:00 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
Don has written many technical books (see https://doncrawley.com/). He’s also written a couple of great customer service books:
The Compassionate Geek: How Engineers, IT Pros, and Other Tech Specialists Can Master Human Relations Skills to Deliver Outstanding Customer Service by Don R. Crawley. In paperback or Kindle.
and
The 5 Principles of IT Customer Service Success by Don R. Crawley. On Audible or Kindle.
We’ll talk to Don about what it means to be “compassionate” in an IT business and get his thoughts on how we can improve service altogether.
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Thank you!
:-)
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What the ... what?
I haven't seen a blue screen in so long, I wasn't sure what it was at first. Luckily, the mini dump was enough to put me on the right trail, although I suspected the culprit from the start.
My T-Mobile MiFii device can provide connectivity via USB-C or wireless. I had it connected as an ethernet adapter and disabled the regular ethernet adapter to guarantee that the speed test (390mbps) was going through the 5G device.
Bottom line: I may have played a role in confusing the computer. Nevertheless: The rule stands. Two bits of memory cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
:-)
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What's Here?
This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
Of course: Everything here is subject to change based on Covid. Click the links for the latest details. Please send updates so we can post them.
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Cyber Threat Intelligence Summit & Training
Jan. 27 - Feb. 5
Bethesda, MD
IT Nation Evolve
January 31 – February 4, 2022
Phoenix, AZ
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February
Cisco Live
Feb. 7-11
Amsterdam
Cannatech Expo
Feb. 8-11, 2022
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
ASCII Success Summit
February 16-17
Houston, TX
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
February 17 - 18, 2022
Singapore, Singapore
NerdioCON
February 21-23
Cancun, Mexico
Xchange+
February 27 - March 1, 2022
Dallas, TX
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March
Cloud Expo Europe
March 2-3, 2022
London, UK
ChannelPro SMB Summit
New Jersey
March 9th
Comptia Communities and Councils Forum
March 14-16
Chicago, IL
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
March 23-24
Kansan City, MO
Cybersecurity Expo, IoT Security Services Association
March 30-31, 2022
Austin, TX
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April
Channel Partners Conference & Expo
April 11-14, 2022
Las Vegas
SMB Techfest
April 14
Anaheim, CA
KB4-Con
April 20-22, 2022
Orlando, FL
ASCII Success Summit
April 20-21
Chicago, IL
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ACES Conference
Online - Karl is the Keynote Speaker
May 5th
Join Me Live Online!
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ChannelPro SMB Summit
Chicago
May 5th
Ingram Micro Cloud Summit
May 17-19
Miami Beach, FL
ASCII Success Summit
May 24-25
Boston, MA
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June
RSA
June 6-9
San Francisco, CA
ChannelPro SMB Summit
Texas
June 7th
Women in Tech Global Conference
June 7-9
Location TBD
Cisco Live
June 12-16
Las Vegas
Channel Evolution Europe
June 14-15
London
ASCII Success Summit
June 15-16
Long Beach, CA
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July
SMB Techfest
July 21
Anaheim, CA
ASCII Success Summit
July 27-28
Toronto, ON
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August
CompTIA ChannelCon 2022
August 1-3, 2022
Houston, TX
More Info: Coming after ChennelCon 2021 ;-)
ChannelPro SMB Summit
Charlotte NC
Aug 9
Channel Company xChange
August 21-23
Denver, CO
ASCII Success Summit
August 23-24
Miami, FL
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September
Channel Futures’ MSP Summit
Sept. 12-15, Orlando
ChannelPro SMB Summit
Baltimore
Sept 13th
IOTSSA Cybersecurity Expo
Sept. 14-15 --> was January 18 - 20, 2022
Phoenix
ASCII Success Summit
September 28-29
Parsippany, NJ
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October
ASCII Success Summit
October 4-5
Dallas, TX
SMB Techfest
October 20
Anaheim, CA
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November
ChannelPro SMB Summit
So Calif
Nov 3rd
IT Nation Connect 2022
November 9 - 11
More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/connect-na
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. |
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. |
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