Earning Serendipity

Four Skills for Creating and Sustaining Good Fortune in Your Work

By Glenn Llopis

We speak of things like “overnight success” and “a stroke of luck” as though they are shrouded in mystery. Yet, most changes in fortune—those outside of betting luck—are no mystery at all. They are the result of a rare combination of four skills employed on a regular basis. Not every fortunate person is aware she is employing these activities, which explains why most experience good fortune only rarely and randomly. But those who learn to employ the quartet on a regular basis discover a reservoir of power greater than self-knowledge, greater than intuition, and greater than experience. And they thus tap into a reservoir of potential most never reach. The ability to earn serendipity will elevate a career or company quicker than any single force. If sustained well, it yields a tradition of success.

At times we witness one who seems to be in the midst of a lucky streak. But what appears to be one opportunity, one windfall, one great experience after another is actually the natural byproduct of certain skills applied on a continual basis....Read More

Vision is Everything

By Dave Berkus

I love absolute statements. And this is one of my favorites.  You’re at the ignition stage of a new business venture.  Of course you have a vision for what that business will do to change the world.  And this insight is directed to you in an attempt to stress test that vision and sharpen it further to help insure your success.

Let me address those whose vision may be limited and who will be happy with a successful local dry cleaning enterprise or small restaurant around the corner.  Although many of these insights will help you succeed, you are not the target for this epic effort to help entrepreneurs build great businesses that do change the world.  Take what you can from these bursts of insight.  I wish you well in your endeavors.

For the rest of you who want to change the world, I am with you and happy to offer all the help I can to reinforce your opportunities for success....Read More

Which VARs will survive and prosper...

By Global Technology Finance (GTF)

Which VARs will survive and prosper during
a period that many channel executives
view as one of high financial volatility and
disappearing credit?

This prospective predicts a life-and-death struggle for the solution provider channel, beginning in the near future.

There are those who predict only a slight impact on VAR revenues and profits in 2008, but it would be foolish to ignore the accumulating evidence to the contrary. In fact, the notion that the channel is impervious to a general economic downturn might very well be as flawed as the positions of many of the world’s leading economists last fall who concluded that the sub-prime U.S. loan problems would affect only the housing asset class. For instance, there are already reports from corporations such as CDW that indicate many firms have begun to delay spending on IT projects.

The likelihood of a domestic fiscal crisis that is greater than just a “slowdown in domestic growth,” as stated by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is driving the legislative and executive branches of The Federal Government to work together and take radical steps to prop up the economy and prevent a destructive slide toward recession....Read More

Find Your Teacher-Customer

by Dave Berkus on Mar.10, 2010, under Depending upon others, Finding your ideal niche, Growth!, Positioning

Your customers know what they want more than you do.  Find one to teach you.

This insight came from personal experience and from a good friend who advanced the notion of the “teacher-customer” years ago.  I internalized this phrase, recalling the many times I had partnered with customers to design new feature-functionality into my hotel computer system back when such systems were brand new to the industry.

It was an ideal partnership between my growing company, as it approached one hundred employees on the way to almost two hundred fifty, and selected special customers anxious and willing to spend time telling us of their pain points.  Together we would work out solutions in the form of new functions, new controls, new reports, and new safeguards.  The customer would be the first to receive the new functionality in a new release....Read More

Which VARs will survive and prosper...

By Global Technology Finance (GTF)

Which VARs will survive and prosper during
a period that many channel executives
view as one of high financial volatility and
disappearing credit?

This prospective predicts a life-and-death struggle for the solution provider channel, beginning in the near future.

There are those who predict only a slight impact on VAR revenues and profits in 2008, but it would be foolish to ignore the accumulating evidence to the contrary. In fact, the notion that the channel is impervious to a general economic downturn might very well be as flawed as the positions of many of the world’s leading economists last fall who concluded that the sub-prime U.S. loan problems would affect only the housing asset class. For instance, there are already reports from corporations such as CDW that indicate many firms have begun to delay spending on IT projects.

The likelihood of a domestic fiscal crisis that is greater than just a “slowdown in domestic growth,” as stated by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is driving the legislative and executive branches of The Federal Government to work together and take radical steps to prop up the economy and prevent a destructive slide toward recession....Read More

Vision is Everything

By Dave Berkus

I love absolute statements. And this is one of my favorites.  You’re at the ignition stage of a new business venture.  Of course you have a vision for what that business will do to change the world.  And this insight is directed to you in an attempt to stress test that vision and sharpen it further to help insure your success.

Let me address those whose vision may be limited and who will be happy with a successful local dry cleaning enterprise or small restaurant around the corner.  Although many of these insights will help you succeed, you are not the target for this epic effort to help entrepreneurs build great businesses that do change the world.  Take what you can from these bursts of insight.  I wish you well in your endeavors.

For the rest of you who want to change the world, I am with you and happy to offer all the help I can to reinforce your opportunities for success....Read More

Earning Serendipity

Four Skills for Creating and Sustaining Good Fortune in Your Work

By Glenn Llopis

We speak of things like “overnight success” and “a stroke of luck” as though they are shrouded in mystery. Yet, most changes in fortune—those outside of betting luck—are no mystery at all. They are the result of a rare combination of four skills employed on a regular basis. Not every fortunate person is aware she is employing these activities, which explains why most experience good fortune only rarely and randomly. But those who learn to employ the quartet on a regular basis discover a reservoir of power greater than self-knowledge, greater than intuition, and greater than experience. And they thus tap into a reservoir of potential most never reach. The ability to earn serendipity will elevate a career or company quicker than any single force. If sustained well, it yields a tradition of success.

At times we witness one who seems to be in the midst of a lucky streak. But what appears to be one opportunity, one windfall, one great experience after another is actually the natural byproduct of certain skills applied on a continual basis....Read More