Core Values Part 3 - Make Things Better

Earlier this year we held our summer company party. At that party we take time to recognize team members that best personify the 5 Core Values of Newmind Group. Those 5 core values are: Be Awesome, Get Stuff Done, Make Things Better, Make Mistakes, Rest and Reflect. This is the third article of our Core Values series, written by Newminder Dan about Making Things Better. Enjoy!

We should all strive to "Make Things Better." In the day-to-day scramble of getting stuff done, it’s easy to lose focus on why we do what we do. Taking a moment to dive deeper into our daily tasks can open up opportunities for improvement and make us indispensable.

At Newmind Group we try to pay attention to everything we do, and to always get better at it. I’m a marketer and as such I have many tasks that can be measured and improved. One of which I’ll use to illustrate this core value - increasing traffic & engagement with our website.

So, let's get to the "Make Things Better" cycle.

1) Know Your Goals

The first step toward making things better is knowing your goals. Being able to define why you are performing a task and knowing what to measure will help you stay focused. Answer the following questions to help understand the task you are trying to improve:
Why are you doing it?
What should you measure to show it’s being done well and improving over time?

My goal is to create content that is valuable to our clients and website visitors. I know our clients expect the best from Newmind Group, and high value. The more value I can provide in our content, the more our clients and online visitors learn. The hard part is understanding how to measure that - what metrics show that the content I create is valuable? I can count pure visits, unique visitors, pageviews, and a plethora of other data. For this specific goal I use 3 metrics: repeat visitors, pages per visits and time on site.

With each revolution of the cycle, be sure to redefine your goals and reevaluate what metrics you are using. Over time you may find that the reason you are doing something changes and that different metrics provide you more meaningful insights into your performance.

2) Do Something

This step is really simple. Do the task you are trying to improve. Don't forget to implement your measuring techniques.

Before I write and publish new blog posts I have to be sure I can track the 3 metrics I defined above. Google Analytics helps me out there. Now I just publish new content and let Google do the tracking.

For more information check out "Getting Stuff Done".

3) Measure

You know what to measure and have already completed the task you're looking to improve. Record your measurements in a safe location, in a repeatable fashion, so that you'll be able to go back and see changes over time.

I publish at least 1 new article a week, so I measure my metrics once a week. As Google Analytics does all my tracking, all I have to do is log in and start digging into the numbers.

You may find that the metrics you want to employ may not be measurable or that your measurements are inaccurate. Leave yourself a note about why, and what needs changing, so that the next time you reach step 1, "Know Your Goals," you can address the issues, change tactics, and implement better measurement techniques.

4) Learn

Optimally, this is best to do after a few weeks or months of recording measurements, because over time you'll be able to spot trends and pull insights from the numbers. If the task is completed daily you may be able to see a trend after only a few days, but if the task is only performed monthly, you may need to wait a while before you can extract any worthwhile insights.

I’ve been writing articles and tracking data for our site for about 6 months and can learn a lot from the metrics I follow. Here’s how I use my numbers:

• Repeat Visitors - Over time if there is a trend of this increasing, then the content we are providing must be seen as valuable and is resonating with those repeat individuals
• Pages per Visit - Visitors will only visit more than one page if they believe that there is something of value on the page they are clicking to. The more pages per visit, the more valuable the content is.
• Time on Site - Website visitors today are very keen on recognizing valuable content and will click away if the page they land on is not valuable. If I can increase the time on site then I know that the content I am creating is worthwhile.

A quick note about learning from your metrics - never use singular metrics to answer larger subjective questions like “value”. If I only look at “Pages per visit”, this number could mean web site visitors are not finding the content they want and are exploring the site trying to find it, but when this is coupled with returning visitors and time on site a larger, more complete picture is painted.

That's it. At first, pick an easy task to measure, and one that repeats quite often, like “how long does it take me to clean and respond to emails in my inbox.” This will force you to go through the cycle often and practice picking metrics (like length of time, number of emails responded to), measuring and pulling insights. Over time you'll make little improvements and get better at your job, relationships, or really anything you apply this process to.

Other Notes

Just going through this cycle will show you where you can improve, but sometimes we don't always have the answers on how to improve. To continuously come up with new ways to improve, be sure to read a lot, use social media to follow others (especially those that are more advanced than you or industry leaders), connect professionally (either online or through professional networks), and be sure to find time to relax and let the mind wander.  Good ideas come at the most unlikely moments. 

Daniel Proczko has been working with organizations and individuals to build & grow the entrepreneur community of Kalamazoo, MI. From organizing TEDx events, hack-a-thons, and documentary screenings to engaging with business leaders, Dan strives to inspire individuals with new ideas and better thinking.

Having always been interested in tech and understanding the value of innovation through IT, communicating the importance of strategic IT thinking is one of Dan's primary goals within Newmind Group.

Core Values Part 1 - This is an Awesome Blog Post

Earlier this year we held our summer company party. At that party we take time to recognize team members that best personify the 5 Core Values of Newmind Group. Those 5 core values are: Be Awesome, Get Stuff Done, Make Things Better, Make Mistakes, Rest and Reflect. As we get closer to the end of this year we’re going to showcase those Newminders and their stories as only best they could, in their own words. Enjoy!

Hi, I’m Ben. I was rated highest for the 'Be Awesome' core value. I know what you’re thinking. Yes, it is a big deal.

I am awesome in large part to my exuberant hilariousness (second only to my sincere humility.) Everyone, of course,  is awesome in different ways. There are ways to be awesome besides God-given natural talent. I have compiled some ways to exude awesomeness in your life.

Be Happy

“When things go wrong, don't go with them.” - Elvis Presley

Being positive and happy gives your customers, the people you work with and yourself a better experience. You can’t go wrong with positivity. Smile when you are talking to people whether face to face or on the phone. The difference is amazing.

Part of being happy is understanding that you have control over your own happiness. It is not just people with great lives, tons of money and Chevy Astro’s that are happy. ‘Happiness experts’ say that 40% of your happiness is in your control. I do not know what that means or how they figured that out. I do know that we can choose to be happy.

Ben with his Chevy Astro

Be Kind

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” - Dalai Lama XIV

Being kind is what good people do. It helps you as well as making life better for others. Kindness has been scientifically proven to make you happier. Every time you perform a selfless act your brain produces serotonin. Serotonin eases tension and lifts your spirits.

Treating people well also helps you to deepen your relationships. When dealing with people it is easy to judge the situation from your point of view. A good way to find kindness in a situation is to put yourself in their position. I find this especially helpful when dealing with customers about anything technical. What I deal with 40 hours a week should seem simple to me, not the customer.

Be Thankful

“Rest and be thankful.” - William Wordsworth

One of the simplest and most powerful things you can do in your life is be thankful. The simplicity lies in how many options there are. In today's fast paced world it is increasingly less common for people to reflect on their life. It should only take a second to think of something to be thankful for. I am typing on a computer. I am thankful I have a computer (a pretty sweet one too). I am in a house. Bam! I am thankful for shelter. I have coffee, food, family, a car, insanely good looks. See how easy it is!

If you are feeling sad about your life get perspective. You  are probably going to eat today. Some people aren’t. Access to this post means you are among the richest people in the world. See where you fall here: www.globalrichlist.com. Understand how great you're life is.

Reflect on how you can be thankful to others. I am sure we have all spent a decent amount of time reflecting on how horrible people are. I think it is only reasonable to spend at least as much time on how great people are. Never miss a chance to say thank you.

Be Humble

“A great man is always willing to be little.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here at Newmind I am surrounded by people that are brilliant. Leaders, tech masters, customer relations experts and more. The ability to see my faults and be awestruck at others’ proficiency is good for me to appreciate not only their greatness but my shortcomings. Knowing that there is so much that I can improve upon keeps me humble.

Self glorification and competition to assuage your ego is anti humble. Do everything you can well because it is who you are. Not for some gratification or reward and you are a humble zen master.

Go Be Awesome

These are all big ideas and I am no expert on any one of them. You don’t perfect being happy and move on. The important thing is to have self awareness of how awesome you are and always push yourself to become more awesome.

Writing this has challenged me to be improve on these facets of my life. So to recap... I was happy writing this, you are all awesome, thank you for reading, and I expect no rewards.

Continue to the second article of the Core Values series: Get Stuff Done

Ben Morris is the reigning Funniest Newminder (yes that’s a thing), a father, and is a new member of Newmind Group's Google Apps team. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Western Michigan University and is determined to uncover the secrets of how humor can help organizational communication.

Ben loves the great outdoors and spends his time outside of work camping and boating with his wife and three children. Contact him at ben@newmindgroup.com.

IT at the Small and Growing company

This post was originally published to Daniel Jefferies' Medium blog feed.

“A company this size can’t afford mistakes.”

For the last 13 years or so I’ve been working on IT with great folks in small, mid-sized and large organizations all over the country. In that time I’ve noticed that just as businesses change as they grow so do the IT departments that serve them. As the business changes, the IT challenges change. Sometimes the IT department keeps up with these challenges and sometimes they get stuck in the ways of the past. I want to start today by looking at the IT needs of Small and Growing businesses which many times have no IT department of their own. In future posts I also plan to cover lessons learned in working with IT in Mid-Sized and Scaling businesses as well as Large and Transforming organizations.

Impact Athletic builds quality work surfaces and storage equipment for Athletic Trainers.

Impact Athletic builds quality work surfaces and storage equipment for Athletic Trainers. I’m a entrepreneur at heart. I love to meet people that are starting something new. Kevin Mcleod and his company Impact Athletic are great examples of this type of small and growing company. Like most small organizations they have no IT department of their own.

“I love tech, I love shiny new things, but I was absolutely frightened by what we had to tackle in IT.” recalls Kevin.

Like many small companies, Impact started out using whatever consumer technologies were at hand. Personal email accounts, a copy of Quickbooks and whatever hardware seemed to be the best deal at the local big box electronics retailer or online. This approach works great at the very beginning but as the company grows this “just use what you have” approach begins to breakdown.
Kevin realized very quickly that he needed an IT partner to get him set up with the right tools so his team could “move fast.” Kevin selected Newmind to be that partner and in Kevin’s words Impact had “infrastructure overnight.”

When I asked Kevin why he had chosen to invest in an IT partner he said, “A company this size can’t afford mistakes.”

I really like working with companies like Kevin’s but not all small companies his size make the smart decisions he did. I’ve noticed that they usually have some common challenges and some make common mistakes. Here are the challenges and mistakes that I have observed other companies making in IT during their small and growing phase.

3 Challenges

1. Can’t afford the IT help that they really need.
2. Need good IT to stay productive and win against larger competitors.
3. Often the owners of the company aren’t strong on IT and feel frustrated having to make decisions without advice from a trusted and experienced advisor.

3 Common Mistakes

1. Most business owners wait too long to find an IT partner that can be a trusted advisor and take the IT workload off the owner’s shoulders.
2. Many small companies develop defacto IT people. Sarah in accounting knows a bit about IT so all the questions go to her. Before you know it she is spending half her time on the accounts payable and half on IT. Her accounts payable workload is suffering and the IT work isn’t getting done very well either. She’s probably frustrated as well and thinking of leaving because no one appreciates all the extra work she is doing.
3. In the early stages companies tend to work harder not smarter. They hire more people to do labor intensive manual tasks rather than getting IT help to make the people they have more productive. From a cost perspective they end up spending much more than they would have if they had made a larger investment in IT at an earlier point in time.

3 Recommendations

1. Find an affordable IT Partner early in the life of the business.
   Your people will be more productive and happy and you will have more time to grow the business and fewer IT headaches to distract you.
2. Invest in the right tools for your team.
   Many small business owners have tight budgets. When it is time for a better email system, a customer relationship management (CRM) system or other tools they tend to drag their feet because of the cost. If you have an IT partner as a trusted advisor early on this can help you make an informed decision. They will probably tell you that to attract the right people you need the right tools. Failing to invest in the right tools can create a frustrating environment and make it difficult to retain your best employees.
3. Stay flexible.
   Look for an IT partner like Kevin did and sign a flexible agreement with them. Choose IT tools that are flexible and have short term commitments, a la carte pricing options and trial periods. Your business is growing fast and you need to be able to make changes quickly if needed. If you are a small business owner or manager I hope some of the information in this post validates some of the great decisions that you’ve made regarding your IT. If you see some mistakes you’ve made I hope I’ve given enough information to help you make corrections. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me by leaving a comment or on twitter @heydjeff.

Daniel Jefferies is the founder of Newmind Group. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Newmind Group began as a small, regional IT company in 2003. Since then, we have opened offices in Charleston, Minneapolis, and Silicon Valley, and have grown in scope and size to become a national provider of cloud computing solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our specialty is moving legacy systems to more cost effective and reliable cloud based systems hosted by Google, Amazon, and Rackspace.

Newmind Summer Party 2013

Thank you Laura for taking the time to craft these amazing
Minion cupcakes! 

Throughout the year Newmind Group brings together employees, family and friends for retreats to build friendship and community. Our time together is used to meet new friends, share stories, and recognize hard work.

This summer we gathered in Covert Park, MI and spent a weekend enjoying the Lake Michigan Beach!

For some of us, the retreat started with camping that included cooking over open fire, stories around a campfire, and a short midnight torrential downpour.

James Duke brewed homemade soda and grabbed
inspiration from historical soda labels to create custrom
Newmind Orange Soda!

The rain didn't drown our spirits and the next morning we awoke to enjoy friends and family!

Newminders from our Minnesota and South Carolina offices even made the trip to enjoy the camaraderie, tasty grilling, awesome desserts - like Minion cupcakes (Thanks Laura!) - Newmind Orange soda, and awards.

One of the most important aspects of the Newmind Group summer retreat is the unveiling of the results of the Newmind Group Peer Review. Every year Newminders rate each other in 5 areas measuring productivity, innovation, reflection, work/life balance, and teamwork. This is also an opportunity for Newminders to award each other with custom awards.

Congratulations to this year's "Co-Newminders of the Year"
Ryan Hawkins & James Duke.

The Newminder with the highest score in each category is recognized and the Newminder with the highest overall score is crowned "Newminder of the Year" - affording them bragging rights for a year and few other confidential perks!

Companies and organizations hold yearly gatherings for different reasons, but usually they're meant to help with bonding, team building, or maybe even management showing they care about their employees. At Newmind Group, we like planning regular gatherings and retreats because they give us time to Rest & Reflect. We get to joke about the past year and keep perspective.

Thank you for a great year and here's to more fun working together!

BYOD vs Standardization - Understanding Your Mobile Strategy Pt1

Mobile devices, collaboration & mobility, seem to be a hot topic recently. In just about everyone’s pocket is a device that gives them instant access to the Internet. A Nielsen study recently found that “66% of Americans 24-35 now own a smartphone.” With so many users owning their own mobile devices and bringing them to the workplace, its not surprising that IT departments and employees are clashing over ownership, data access and privacy.

Misconceptions

Employees aren’t waiting for IT & management approval to bring their devices to work. According to a CTIA study, “60 percent of IT professionals believe 25 percent or less of their employees are accessing work related information on their smartphone or tablet, while 57% of users said they access work related information on their smartphone or tablet at least once a week.” This may be why “smaller companies, with fewer than 500 employees, are less likely to communicate to their employees about BYOD and security.” Misconceptions about the workforce drive IT departments to prioritize the importance of strict mobile device policies, defaulting to device standardization. Standardization circumvents the grey areas of privacy and personal property, but comes with its own pitfalls.

Range of Device Standardization

Where does your organization currently stand?
Where do you want to be?

High device standardization
requires that everyone use the same type of PC (laptop vs desktop, Apple vs Microsoft vs Linux vs Unix), the same mobile phone (iPhone vs Android) even so far as to require the same model and software version (iPhone 4S or HTC ONE running Android v 4.1.2). This level of rigidity allows IT departments to specialize in a few devices and provide deeper levels of support, internally developing business operation platforms to obtain competitive advantage. High device standardization carries high device purchase costs and high technological debt, causing some enterprises to run outdated software.

Low (or zero) device standardization, BYOD, is essentially the exact opposite. Employees are able to use any device they like, creating an atmosphere that may have over 15 different types of devices, from different manufacturers, running different versions of software. This makes it difficult for IT employees to cultivate a high degree of proficiency in every device. Although IT staff may not be experts in all device types in an organization, this atmosphere opens the door for employees to create user groups and organize genius bars. The most important aspect of low device standardization is the high accessibility of data, which leads to greater gains and efficiencies, that we’ll explore in a later article of this series.

The Tipping Point is Mobility & Collaboration

As you’ve probably deduced, the conversation isn’t BYOD vs Standardization, but instead understanding the culture & needs of your workforce. If a high degree of mobility & collaboration is needed, then your data will need higher accessibility via more devices.

The goal is not to decide for your organization what level of mobility & accessibility is needed, but rather allow the organization and its members to dictate the level they require. Here are a few questions to help start to evaluate your organizational situation:

• Does your organization have employees spread geographically? 
• Is there a specific type of device the members of your organization already lean toward? 
• Do the software platforms and data formats in use require a particular device or platform for access?

Use the questions above, and form other questions, targeting value-driving processes within your organization to gather data about your company’s environment & attitudes toward personal devices & data access. Use those insights to create a BYOD & mobile device policy and IT data access strategy that will be easier and more positively viewed by your workforce.

In the next installment of this series, “BYOD to COPE: The Mobility Spectrum ”

Daniel Proczko has been working with organizations and individuals to build & grow the entrepreneur community of Kalamazoo, MI. From organizing TEDx events, hack-a-thons, and documentary screenings to engaging with business leaders, Dan strives to inspire individuals with new ideas and better thinking.

Having always been interested in tech and understanding the value of innovation through IT, communicating the importance of strategic IT thinking is one of Dan's primary goals within Newmind Group.

Get Your IT Project Approved

At a tech event I attended recently I asked a room full of IT Directors if they would say that internally marketing and selling a technology project to their leadership was one of the main hurdles in keeping their company’s technology infrastructure healthy. The feedback was a unanimous yes.

This topic comes up over and over with IT Directors I come into contact with.

How does an IT Director go about getting a technology project approved by Operations and a budget allocated from Finance? And all within increasingly shorter time frames so that productivity gains can be made without falling significantly behind competitors who were quicker in snapping up [insert your favorite technology game-changer here]?

Current Environment

The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that, according to a Gartner CIO survey, since the 2002 dot-com bust IT budgets have been flat to negative and for 2013 are expected to shrink. IT departments must also wrestle with lean human resource allocations and nothing to speak of as far as the luxury of an IT team member who is well-versed in sales and marketing and can create the business case for a technology project.

The scenario I see over and over is that the IT team knows how to select a solution and plan a project that will have favorable ROI results for the company, but not the time/expertise to articulate it to leadership.

Needing a Paradigm Shift

What it really boils down to are the non-IT people (aka the Operations and Finance folks). More often than not they still view their company’s entire IT budget as pure cost, which is why they want to cut it every year because in their mind technology dollars, like keeping the lights on, the roof repaired and the trash taken out is all about minimizing cost. Just find the cheapest option and we’re good.

The truth is that while a portion of an IT budget is to keep the phones ringing and the computers booting, increasing percentages of IT budgets are really strategic spends, not cost at all. By recognizing and allocating strategic IT dollars they enable the IT team to find, select, and implement technology that will increase the overall productivity and efficiency of the entire organization. If spent correctly a strategic IT budget can mean that for every dollar spent, two or even three dollars can be realized in efficiency benefits.

Wearing Someone Else’s Shoes

As IT actions become more important to the strategic success of companies, the IT team needs to be better at communicating to other departments.

One example that comes to mind is a client, that I’ve been helping over the last couple of months, who was looking for a new messaging and collaboration system to replace their aging Exchange environment.

After working with the IT Director to choose the right solution we both sat down and planned out the “sales plan” to make the case to the CFO. We worked together to create and provide the CFO with end-user demos and feature overviews of the solution, ROI calculations of the new solution (Google Apps for Business in this case) vs alternatives (a new Exchange server or Office365), a change management training plan, and a budget.

Because the right solution was chosen by the IT Director, the evidence that the analysis and collateral pointed to was a pretty straightforward “yes,” that the CFO was able to deliver with confidence, and the project was able to move forward.

Best Practice

When getting approvals from Operations and Finance for a technology project take the time to give them what they need to be able to confidently say “yes”. Concentrate on metrics that matter to them, ROI calculations, compelling feature-sets, comparisons of alternatives, provide them with the change management plan and scaling expectations of the new solution to meet the needs of the organization over time.

Michael Jefferies' passions include volunteering at orphanages in Asia to brainstorming with other Newminders on how to make workflows better. He is happiest when problems are being solved and work is becoming more fun and efficient.

Since joining Newmind in April 2012, Michael has been consulting with clients to discover their organizational objectives and working alongside them to identify, analyze, and implement technologies that can help take them there. He believes that IT budgets are not merely a cost of doing business, but instead an opportunity to increase fun, efficiency and profitability.