Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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Always finding new fun things . . . |
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I like finding things that are what I was looking for AND a lot more. The Internet is awesome for that.
Here's my new favorite place to find "explainer" sketches. Not all are great, but most are pretty good.
I found that because I was looking for (and found) a graphic for Goodhart's Law. You can find that one here:
In addition a fun resource, this site is also a great example of the online-gig economy that has emerged in force in the last ten years or so. The artist puts up these resources with the full intention that you will download and share. You can even download a very high quality version to print off - for free or for a donation. Or you can buy him a cup of coffee via Patreon.
I paid two Pounds ($2.72 USD) for a hi-res version of Goodhart's Law. I could have downloaded it for free, but why not throw the guy a few bucks?
It's an interesting time to be connected to the rest of the world. Even if you only get a dollar here and dollar there, the potential is amazing when the whole world is your potential audience!
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National Society of IT Service Providers Update
I know everyone's busy - But NOW is the time to fill out the application for Board Member or Committee Member positions for the National Society of IT Service Providers.
The Board of Directors has set a deadline of August 31st. So if you are interested, PLEASE fill out an application. We have several Board applications, but we could use a lot more Committee applications.
We sent an email to everyone who put their hand up as a volunteer.
I anticipate sending out a big email update on Monday (today) or Tuesday to the NSITSP list. If you're not on it, please register at https://www.nsitsp.org - or just keep checking the "News" menu there. We'll post info as quickly as we can.
Thank you to everyone who's volunteered.
(And if you're on the fence, at least look at the application form.)
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Will You Join Me In Providence?
I am offering FREE attendance at the Providence SMB Roadshow on September 16th to my newsletter subscribers.
I know it's impossible for many people. But I also know that it IS possible for many of you.
Enter code
Providence2021
to take the price from $299 to FREE
The SMB Roadshow is 100% ON for September 16th in Providence, RI. And it features GREAT new content - and a game show.
Please check out the details and plan to join me in Providence.
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About Goodhart's Law
Charles Goodhart is an economist. He noted, in 1975, that “Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes.”
I mentioned he was an economist, right? So, Marilyn Strathern famously clarified his "law" as:
“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
This seems simple, but it's a hugely powerful tool for understanding a lot of behavior, including LOTS of bad business decisions and bad customer service. As we know from our business, measuring how quickly a service ticket is closed works . . . until "time to close" because the way to evaluate technician performance.
Goodhart's law is an extension of the law of unintended consequences. But we see it a lot in the world of technology because we love to measure things. And we have the technology at our fingertips to measure a lot of stuff. So we tend to measure, and off we go down the slippery slope.
One final example, although you'll see them everywhere once you have an eye out. A few years ago, some colleges were accused of manipulating their behavior to achieve a higher score in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Some colleges counted every postcard or other casual contact as an application - because US News counted total applicants as a measure. Then they rejected students for Fall admission because low acceptance rates were desirable - even thought they admitted those students for the spring semester.
I went looking because I'm writing a piece on Key Performance Indicators. If anything screams beware of misuse, it's KPEs. Almost anything you measure (tickets closed, time on ticket, or even customer satisfaction) will be manipulated under certain circumstances. The problem is: You want to get a good measure of what's actually going on in your company; but when you make this a "measure" with a goal, you encourage behavior to manipulated the data.
I would love to hear your examples. And I would really love to know how you've avoided problems once you publish a KPI.
. . . There's never a dull moment as a business owner.
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Just One Calendar Update: IoTSSA Cybersecurity Expo
IoTSSA are bringing an all star line-up to Charlotte in September! A cybersecurity event structured for everyone on your team! Sessions geared to keep your entire organization at the forefront of cybersecurity. From the current attack landscape and the ever-evolving bad guy to business development and new opportunities for IT Service Providers.
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That's it for now. Please send me those updates when you hear about new in-person events for the calendar.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Right now:
The Unbreakable Rules of PSA
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Updated for 2021!
Sign up today. Catch up.
And Join Manuel live tomorrow.
The Unbreakable Rules of PSA
Course 5W11
Taught By: Manuel Palachuk
Five Tuesdays
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
You're guaranteed to learn something that will make or save you the price of admission!
Everyone needs a PSA - Professional Services Automation tool. But in addition to simply having a PSA, you need to set it up correctly and use it wisely.
In this course, you will learn how to double your value to clients and increase your profit with these powerful golden rules of PSA Service Ticket Systems.
Coach Manuel focuses on the direct connection between your service delivery system, the value you give your clients, and your profit, and how to maximize each. He also gives an overview of Agile Service Delivery, an emerging method you must learn to stay competitive.
Whether you’re a one-person shop or have fifty employees, to be consistently profitable, you must have guidelines for how to break down the work in an organized fashion and how you will communicate with the client along the way.
You don’t have to be an MSP or even use a PSA to work efficiently and be profitable, but you do need a system and a method. These "golden" rules can be the seed for your own system if you have none, or you can adopt them in whole to enrich your existing methods. Either way, this is your opportunity to take your service delivery and your profits to the next level.
The course includes a thorough discussion of the unbreakable rules of service tickets as well as covering quality communication with every client. It will be time well spent!
Whether you're a new "Computer Consultant" or an experienced Managed Service Provider, you need to create successful processes that will propel your company forward. Nothing is more critical to making profit than having the right processes and procedures in place!
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Only $299 per student
Delivered by Manuel Palachuk, author and business coach.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download. All classes include suggested "homework" that is totally action-focused and intended to move your company's marketing forward.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for Service Managers.
A Few Details . . .
- Each course will be five one-hour Zoom webinars
- There will be handouts and "homework" assignments
- Class webinars will be recorded and made available to paid attendees only.
- All calls start at 9:00 AM Pacific Time
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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:
Relax Focus Succeed:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
The Cheeky Sales Coach Podcast / Video - New episodes drop every Wednesday
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Create a Good Quoting Process |
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Note: We started auto-posting the podcasts to YouTube. Those are not listed here as YouTube Videos since they're listed under the podcasts above.
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: More than 750 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 300+ SOP videos
- 100+ Relax Focus Success videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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Small Biz Thoughts Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Stephanie Chandler on the SBT Roundtable |
On the "first Thursday" of every month we have our community Roundtable. And I *always* get an email from someone who raves about the content and informs me that they consider it the best thing about our Community. |
Our September guest is Stephanie Chandler.
Stephanie is a LONG time friend, mastermind member, and co-conspirator. We have had several business ventures together, including co-authoring a book.
Two years ago, we published the Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan. You can find it on Amazon.
But Note: Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community members can download this book for FREE inside the Community. I made Stephanie a deal on publication: I gave her all the royalties and profits if she allowed me to give it away to everyone in my Community.
. . . I wish I'd known that it was going to be a legit best seller. Oh well. No regrets. :-)
Anyway . . . Stephanie is a great community builder. She built the biggest, best, most successful networking group on MeetUp in Sacramento. She actually gave it up because it got so successful that it was taking time away from here "real" job.
Stephanie founded and runs the Nonfiction Authors Association, the Nonfiction Writers Conference, and several training programs. But that's not her real job either. Stephanie's primary "gig" is publishing nonfiction books by authors who want to establish themselves at authorities in their field.
(Side note: In order to look for the URL for the Nonfiction Authors Association, I entered "nonfiction authors" in the Google machine, found the result below.)
She's an awesome entrepreneur, author of more than a dozen books, a community builder, and a very smart person to get to know. Don't miss this Roundtable!
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The September Community Newsletter will go out Friday the 27th. Don't miss it!
The September news video will be out at the same time. It is open to everyone. The more detailed news is members only.
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Grab your discount code in the Community and register for free. Strangers pay full price; members always free.
The Providence, RI show is September 16th and registration is open now!
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Members get free classes! New members - remember that you get massive discounts on our classes over at Great Little Seminar. Monthly subscribers save $200 per student. Annual subscribers attend for free. Grab your discount code in the Community and then head to GLS to register for class.
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
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Keeping it "old school"
I went to a concert in the park. The band (Todd Morgan) was playing 1960's rock - Elvis, Beatles, etc. - and I noticed that he had three people walking around with these big cameras.
Turns out, these are Super-8 film cameras.
Turns out, you can still buy Super-8 film.
He was recording the concert and obviously planning to make some "videos" with very realistic-lookin B-roll from the Super-8 film.
What's old is new again. Always.
:-)
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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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August
IT By Design Build IT LIVE 2021
Aug 30 - Sept 1
Jersey City, NJ
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
Aug 30 - Sept 1
Gold Coast, Aus
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September
IT Nation Connect APAC - Tentative - Stay Tuned
Sept 1-3
Gold Coast, Australia
CEDIA Expo
Sept 1-3
Indianapolis, IN
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Sept 2, 2021
Boston, MA
Cisco Provider Elevate
September 14-15
Join me Online!
Managed Services Summit Live
Sept 15th
London
SMB Roadshow - Providence, RI
Sept. 16th
Providence, RI
Join me Live!
Techcon Unplugged
September 17-19
Chicago, IL
Midsize Enterprise Summit+
September 19-21
Dallas, TX
Channel Live
Sept 21-22
Birmingham, UK
ASCII Success Summit
September 22 & 23
NY / NJ area
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
San Diego, CA
Sept 23-24th
IT Partners
Sept. 29-30
Disneyland, Paris
IOTSSA Cybersecurity Expo
Sept 19-30
Charlotte, NC
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October
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Oct 6, 2021
Raleigh, NC
DTX 2021 (Digital Transformation)
Oct. 6-7
London, UK
DattoCon 2021
Oct 11-13
Seattle, WA
SMB TechFest
October 13-14
Anaheim, CA
SMB IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Postponed!
. . . Maybe next year
Sherweb Accelerate
Oct 18-20
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://info.sherweb.com/accelerate.html
Channel SEC London
October 19th
London, UK
Kaseya Connect IT
Oct 19-22
Las Vegas
Channel Company NexGen
October 24-26
Anaheim, CA
Join me Live!
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
October 25-27
Miami, FL
ASCII Success Summit
October 27 & 28
Orlando, FL
I'm hoping there's a trip to the Gold Coast in my future. Stay tuned.
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November
Channel Partners Evolution
Nov. 1-4
Las Vegas, NV
Managed Services Summit Live
November 2nd
Amsterdam
Kaseya Connect Europe
Nov. 2-4
Amsterdam
ASCII Success Summit
November 2 & 3
Washington, DC
IT Nation Connect North America
November 10-12
Orlando, FL
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
November 15-19
Sydney, Aus
Managed Services Summit North
November 16th
Manchester, UK
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Nov 16, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
Women of the Channel Summit West 2021
November 16-17
Palm Springs, CA
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
November 18-19
Schaffhausen, Switzerland
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December
Women of the Channel Summit East 2021
December 6-7
New York, NY
ASCII Success Summit
Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
December 8-9
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
Dallas, TX
Dec 9-10th
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If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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January
Send us your updates!
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February
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
February 17 - 18, 2022
Singapore, Singapore
Xchange+
February 27 - March 1, 2022
Dallas, TX
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March
Cloud Expo Europe
March 2-3, 2022
London, UK
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April
Send us your updates!
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May
Send us your updates!
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June
Send us your updates!
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July
Send us your updates!
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August
CompTIA ChannelCon 2022
August 1-3, 2022
Houston, TX
More Info: Coming after ChennelCon 2021 ;-)
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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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