Every Problem has a Solution!

I was reading a facebook post from a family member this last week and there was disdain for the media and all the negative news being reported and my sister-in-law was asking herself why she watches the news any longer? 

I believe we need to keep an eye on what is going on, but that we should not allow ourselves to get “Stuck in a Moment”.  The moment is the problem, we should not fixate ourselves on the problem.  This is easier said than done.  We have plenty of challenges (problems) and each one deserves our attention.

To that extent, I attended the Economic Breakfast being held at the University Research Park in Madison this last Thursday.  Three presentations were made, that being:

1.  The mission of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.  This is unique to the central part of the United States as it is the only facility of its type not found on the east and west coast.   Our state is one of the leading contributors to R&D in the country and our state receives roughly $1B in federal research grants putting us in the top 3 in the country.  The mission is to improve medical science.  Two thirds of the investment capital  to build the facility did not come from the taxpayers of our state.  The co-founders of Cisco Systems (UW Madison) graduates donated the first $50M.   http://discovery.wisc.edu/discovery

2.  The R&D effort taking place by Vestas, a leading provider of Wind Energy Solutions which is headquartered in Denmark.  They have two R&D facilities in the United States.  They recently opened a R&D facilty in Madison and Texas.  They want to make energy systems to put wind on par with oil and gas.  Why UW Madison? It is a thought leader in Power Electronic Converters, Electromagnetic Designs and the Design of Controls for Power Electronics and Machines.  http://www.vestas.com/

3.  The BioAg Gateway being planned in Madison, WI http://www.bioaggateway.com/

Significant contributions from many organizations in the greater Madison area exist, for instance Orbitec a private sector example.  Orbitec has performed and delivered contracted (funded) research to NASA and the Department of Defense is an anchor for the facility.  These are two examples of things they are working on:

• how to grow food in space (or other controlled environments)
• how to replace Kevlar with materials that offer greater protection to our service personnel.

There was a lot of negative news about the use of corn in ethanol driving up the price to the consumer.  Getting past the currnet pain, image food crops (like corn) being grown for use in energy creation or new pharmaceuticals and the food being grown in giant warehouses that are 40 stories high allowing food to be grown year-round?  Imagine solutions that allow this to occur without it impacting existing food crops grown for human consumption?

These are many examples of the work being done to solve problems we have and it is only the beginning.  

Imagine a country where each insurance company is regulated by one federal agency versus being regulated at each state.  We regulate the stock market with the Security Exchange Commission yet we let each state regulate insurance.  I believe momentum to change that from the states to federal is one that can make the playing field equal for all companies and help the consumer.   This is not the federal health insurance agenda, but the agenda of reducing the costs of being in different markets.  Wisconsin is a strong player in the insurance sector and I believe it would be better for our companies to enter new markets if we did not have all of the BS from each state regulator to deal with.  How can you create large efficient companies, when every market you enter has so many unique rules you need to understand?  This is one of the areas that  makes fiscal sense, but never gets discussed in the grand scheme of things.  Wouldn’t this burden, with one oversight agency cost less to operate and supervise, than what it costs each of the 50 states to do this today?  Let’s see the cost-benefit ratio for the taxpayers on this one? 

I’ll stop my blog post at that!  I believe every problem has a solution, and we need to focus all our efforts on the solution.  We can do it!

 Special thanks to the inspiring lyrics from U2 and the song “Stuck in a Moment”  selected lyrics pasted below:

I’m not afraid
Of anything in this world
There’s nothing you can throw at me
That I haven’t already heard

I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
Through your eyes I can see

And if the night runs over
And if the day won’t last
And if our way should falter
Along the stony pass

It’s just a moment
This time will pass

Ringing in 2010: Economic Forecasts from a Dozen of Your Peers

December 22, 2009

As we turn the page (enthusiastically) on 2009, IB thought it wise to seek out the 2010 economic forecasts of local business executives and leaders. Unfortunately, only moderate consensus about a turn-around has developed here, despite more optimistic predictors such as the recent First Business Bank economic study and encouraging retail numbers from early in the holiday season.

http://www.ibmadison.com/trends?id=339

Jim Blair, managing partner, Aberdean Consulting:
“I am optimistic about the coming year for both our region and nation. Our country has faced much adversity in the past, and I do not consider the current situation to be any different. The circumstances are different, but we should know by now that the more things change the more they look the same.

“I do anticipate more volatility for the future due to the continued convergence of technology and information. We will continue to see innovation; this is something our region will continue to benefit from, and in my opinion even more so in the future. I do believe we are faced with new demands placed by more volatile economic cycles which require new rule sets, or a rule set ‘reset.’ This is not our grandparents’ world any longer, and we need to rethink our conventional wisdom and practices.

“The rising costs of health care need to be dealt with; for instance our company is facing premium increases of 29% for next year and this is lower than some increases I have heard in the 36 to 46% range from other executives I have spoken with recently. While that can be intimidating, it does not mean we should not challenge conventional approaches. I believe our society, from someone in the information technology sector’s vantage point — if it were compared to software development cycle — is at a point we need a major version upgrade. To accomplish this, we need to challenge conventional approaches.

“I believe if businesses continue to engage their employees in solving their respective problems, we can make our local economy stronger. Part of the challenge is the strength to allow others to provide input into the process; that is the only way to get the best out of people. You have to appeal to the belief that everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. That is a common strength we have at our core foundation, and because of this I believe we will see growth in the New Year because leaders in the business community have been reminded in the current economic cycle to rethink their way of doing business. That message has taken hold in the last year.”

Windows 7 is Awesome!

I was at a networking event recently where another IT firm was attending and the topic of Windows 7 came up.  The person from the other firm spent five to ten minutes talking about his skills and how he is an early adopter of the technology and that if this person wants to use Windows 7 they should have someone who knows what they are doing install and set it up for them.

It was interesting to hear, but there was no substance to the whole dialogue.  When he finished, I went on to rattle off some of the awesome features found within Windows 7.   This is not the first or last time I heard an awkward explanation of a new technology.  The last time, it was on a touring Microsoft Technology trailer they use to show off new technologies.  The Microsoft representative was showing Vista to a small group of people and he did not actually tell anyone any benefits they would get from using Vista.  The irony this time though was the truck driver, who was paid by Microsoft to drive the trailer to each exhibition stepped in and shared with the group how his granddaughter was using Vista. 

This gets back to why I posted this in the first place.  At Aberdean, we will provide you insightful new benefits without all the fluff when you want to know about something new.  We normally take a stand on new technologies to wait until the first Service Pack is out.  With Windows 7 the key considerations is to see if your line of business applications can run in Windows 7 as that is the final determination.

What you will like in Windows 7 is some of these awesome features:

• Snipping Tool – cut and paste from any page you have on your screen.  This is a huge timesaver.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/snipping-tool
• Sticky Notes – these are post it notes you can leave on your display.  You can view all, or go back to work and know the message is going to be there until you delete it.  My desk is a lot cleaner now that I am using Sticky Notes.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/snipping-tool
• Problem Step Recorder – this is a handy feature that will allow you to capture all pages you view and the key strokes (other than text) to get to that page view.  This tool is to help your IT person better troubleshoot your problem by you actually recording it and sharing it with them.  Another side benefit of this tool is the ability to create custom documents for users providing instructions/helpful tips.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/How-do-I-use-Problem-Steps-Recorder
• Remote Desktop – With Windows RDP 7.0 for Windows 7 you can work remotely and span your monitor to multiple monitors. 
• Jump Lists – this is an easy way to setup commonly used applications and documents you use frequently.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/windows-xp-mode
• Windows XP Mode – this is a virtual XP computer you can run in your Windows 7 computer.  If you have some apps that will not be supported in Win 7 you can use them in this mode.  It is like having 2 computers in one.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/windows-xp-mode
• Windows Snap – this is an easy way to look at 2 different pages on a display at the same time while you are editing them.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/snap

Check out the Microsoft Win 7 Compatibility tool:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/default.aspx

Compatibility Matrix published by Brett Schuppener October 21, 2009.

Windows 7 64 bit compatibility:

Program	32 bit	64 bit
Autocad	Yes	Yes
Peachtree 2006	No – upgrade available	No – upgrade available
Peachtree 2007	No – upgrade available	No – upgrade available
Peachtree 2008	Yes (vista) no info on 7	Yes (vista) no info on 7
Peachtree 2009	Yes (vista) no info on 7	Yes (vista) no info on 7
Peachtree 2010	Yes	Yes
Quickbooks 2006	No info	No info
Quickbooks 2007	Yes	Yes
Quickbooks 2008	Yes	Yes
Quickbooks 2009	Yes	Yes
Quickbooks 2010	Yes	Yes
Norton AV 2006	No – upgrade available	No – upgrade available
Norton AV 2007	No – upgrade available	No – upgrade available
Norton AV 2008	Yes	Yes
Norton AV 2009	Yes	Yes
Norton AV 2010	Yes	Yes
Norton AV 360	Yes	Yes
Trend Micro Internet Sec v.16	Yes	Yes
Trend Micro Internet Sec v.17	Yes	Yes
Trend Micro 2009	Yes	Yes
Trend Micro + Anti Spyware ‘09	Yes	Yes
Trend Micro Security v.1	Yes	Yes
Trend Micro HijackThis v.2	No – info coming soon	No – info coming soon
Adobe Acrobat	Yes	Yes

Supported Microsoft Windows® Operating Systems (9)

	SolidWorks 2008	SolidWorks 2009	SolidWorks 2010
Windows 7 32-bit (2)	No	No	Yes
Windows 7 64-bit (2)	No	No	Yes
Vista 32-bit (3)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Vista 64-bit (3)(4)	Yes	Yes	Yes
XP Professional 32-bit (5)(1)	Yes	Yes	Yes
XP Professional 64-bit (4)(1)	Yes	Yes	Yes

*copied from http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html 

Sage Timberline Office

Supported Operating Systems

• Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition
• Microsoft® Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP2
• Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition SP2
• Windows Server 2003 R2
• Windows Small Business Server 2003 SP2
• Windows XP Professional SP2
• Windows Vista (Business and Ultimate) SP1

*copied from http://www.sagecre.com/products/system_requirements/timberline

Sage Master Builder

Operating System Requirements

Server, 32- and 64-bit Operating Systems	Client/Workstation, 32- and 64-bit Operating Systems
Microsoft Small Business Server 2008	Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Microsoft Windows Server 2008	Microsoft Windows XP Professional (SP2 or newer)
Microsoft Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 (SP1 or newer)

The Version 14 release is no longer supported on Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional servers and workstations.

Sage Master Builder and/or its components do not run on or do not support some operating systems. Do not install Sage Master Builder to computers running these operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 98
• Microsoft Windows NT Server
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation
• Microsoft Window 2000
• Microsoft Window 2000 Server
• Microsoft Windows XP Home
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

*copied from http://www.sagecre.com/products/system_requirements/master_builder

MAS 90 and 200

Symptom

Sage MAS 90 and 200 Version 4.20 are now supported on computers using Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. Users must install Service Update 4 or later for compatibility with Windows Vista.

Resolution

The following program will correct the problem.

PvxCom.exe

*copied from http://support.sagesoftwareonline.com/mas/query/index.cfm?action=tipdetail&tip_id=1754

Losing the battle, but winning the war!

I probably need to stop using military terms in these blogs.  This is about technology and business, or so that is what I agreed to commit myself to doing when this started.

This morning started out as any other morning.  I read my daily quote of the day, today’s quote, courtesy of www.success.bz stated: 

“Some defeats are only installments to victory.” – Jacob A. Riis

My experiences of the day, today, continue to reinforce this powerful notion. 

Every time we have stumbled as an organization, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves (and each other) off and start moving forward.   What we have learned though, is to apply that knowledge to what we do everyday and utilize those experiences to create shared experiences for our clients and fellow team members.

We are persistent in our quest to improve what we do and how we do it!   What is uncanny though, is although we have a high winning percentage when you compare new prospects to converted clients, it continues to amaze me that when we have lost out on an opportunity, it somehow magically reappears, one year, three years or in one case earlier this year, eight years later and Aberdean has only been around for six of those years. 

The longer we pursue the goals we set out to achieve the more rapidly they are approaching us!  This is because we are fortunate to have great clients with whom we have mutual respect and admiration!  

It is also because you only lose when you quit or give up on an idea/goal. 

Our clients are small business owners, who have committed everything they have to their personal goals for their respective businesses.   They are people who are bold and daring.  It can be scary at times to be a part of something new, something unproven, that is human nature.   As a colleague of mine at Aberdean commented the other day, a little adrenaline gets survival instincts kicked into high gear and when this occurs people tend to see things they have not seen before.   There is no mystery to this, but we do see this light going on at many organizations because survival was taken for granted, or never questioned. 

To sum it up, we have been knocked down, counted out and yet we continue to succeed.  We do not take anything foregranted!  And to that extent, August 2009 was our best month in business and the 4th quarter will be our best quarter ever. 

On  a grading scale, we are significantly better in terms of operations than what we were when people put their faith in us 5-6 years ago.  Although we are orders of magnitude better, we see many more orders of magnitude enhancements we want to make to help our clients succeed at what is their most precious possession, that being their small business.

 

 

 

Reinventing the Future

My thoughts on our current economic situation are very simple, we need to reinvest and change many of our preconceived notions of how things are, and how things can be!

I was reflecting on the investment of the high-speed rail initiative announced the other day between Madison and Chicago and really felt this is clearly one example of the kinda change we need to make!  It is big, bold and costly, but the benefits can be far reaching.

We recently engaged with a local school district to look at how technology can change the way they educate and serve the students and community.  The school is a public service (utility) for the students, teachers and is something everyone (all taxpayers)  in the community should benefit from.  We believe there will be profound changes in the way technology is going to be procured in the future.  Some day,  schools may provide every student and their families with a virtual PC that can be used anywhere the student can access the internet.

One thing is clear, we do need to reinvest in our future.  The initial project this school district is pursuing is being funded by Federal Stimulus monies and the impact to the school will be far reaching.  We estimate the total capital expenditure to be 30% less than how technology was procured there in the past.  We also will see a nearly 60% reduction in energy costs in the long run, once the transformation is complete (multi-year process) can be up to 7-8 years to realize all the impacts of the new investment due to legacy investments that need to be consumed before replacing.

We also have estimated that as much as 90% of the time the technology coordinator spends on maintaining computers on the network will be saved.  What will happen with the savings is yet to be determined?  What we do know is the new environment will require more proactive oversight and could allow the coordinator to expand his services to the school to better serve the educators and students.

The total outcome will not be realized until we move ahead, it may very well end up differently than what the original objective was, due to how things change over time and the design is being implemented over 6-8 years due to how things are funded today.  What I do know is this, now is not the time to wait for the perfect decision (perfect outcome), we have to move forward and adjust and react to changes that present themselves along the journey.

We will not always make perfect decisions, but we do need to be able to change when change is required.  That is something I learned a long time ago as a young army reserve officer.  When you are in charge, you cannot always wait to make a perfect decision, so you have to collect as much information and make an educated decision and adjust as you learn new information.  I commanded a unit of 185 personnel for a period of 3-4 years when I was 25-29 years old.  The biggest challenge to change can often be the ego of the leader in charge and not willing to admit a mistake.

The challenge in our world today, is far more demanding than that of the world we lived in 25 years ago.  The basis of this rule remains constant, we have to make informed decisons and adjust accordingly.  Despite all the negative news, this is an exicting time to live.  We have an opportunity to change our world for the better.  We just need to see the current problems as opportuntiies, and with opportunities there are many challenges.  We also need to look at what we have, to determine if it is still relevant, or if it needs to change.  We all have these challenges in our lives and businesses, hopefully be sharing this information with you, you get some better insight as to how we operate.

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