Stone Rings

Interesting information regarding E911

2011-07-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Only 17 or so states have implemented enhanced 911 features and the critical driver is public safety. Saved lives because we have the best information and ways to locate those in danger, with health problems or injury victims. How long will it be before there are GPS systems installed in people? Science fiction may be closer then ever.

We have laser surgery, global navagation, xray technology advances, space exploration and even space flying machines are being devised. Maybe we can protect children from abuse, catch criminals before the act is committed, locate the missing pet, as well as continue to navagate the world for entertainment or commerce.

In the next twenty years it will be interesting to see where we go with public safety and privacy issues. And where lines will be drawn on both.

VOIP

2011-06-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Voice over the internet...why do some people sound like they are living in a barrel.
Voice over IP that is not installed correctly for one thing. Infrastructure is important and the larger the company the more important it is for the voice to sound good. Telephones are not obsolete and the voice reflects the image of the person and the company. Sounding "tinny" is not good!

We are off the track with dress code, image of employee, image of business and technology gone awry. Cleavage, flip-flops, short dresses, too much jewelry are not appropriate for the workplace environment. Cell phones are everywhere, texting is at an all time high and when are people working?

Dumming down America

2011-05-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

Why do I have micro chips in my kitchen appliances...I think I can operate a washing machine, a refrigerator, a stove and everything else that should be electro mechanica. As we increase the chips we also increase the opportunity for whatever the chip is in to not be disposed of porperly. This impacts negatively the landfills, the environment, the air (breathing poison), the ground water (eventually it will seep into the ground) and many animals.

Why does some design engineer think it is beneficial to not be able to change the cycle on my washing machine? Cars talk, GPS's talk, and toys talk...why when people can not keep from running their mouth do we need "things" to talk too?

Dummying down America, again.

2011-05-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you sir but I do not need a washing machine with a chip as in silicon valley type chip in it. The engineers have gone too far. Then when it breaks and needs to be destroyed the "chips" can leech into ground water and kill or contaminate a few animals and people. Chips have up to seven deadly chemicals or were you aware of that while making millions each year? And another thing, why did GE not pay taxes last year? If we want to eliminate the deficit why do so many corporations get tax breaks...just an idea the Congress is not serving anyone but themselves, again. Surprise, surprise.

Back to the washing machine. Someone in GE's engineering department decided to make sure if I change my mind about how I want to wash a load of clothes I can not change the cycle choice mid-stream. I have a brain and I know how to use it just fine. I do not need chips in refrigerators, washing machines, or other kitchen appliances. Where will man's stupidity stop? Why do we need electronics running our lives? I do not have an answer to this, only sadness at the condition we will leave this world for future generations.

treking into problem solving

2011-04-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

We have a communication problem and no one wants to talk about it so my question is this...if we don't talk about the problem (s) will they just go away? Resolution to any problem and the relationship building is still important. Letting someone know your values, know your interest, show you care, it all adds up to solving the problems and acting with integrity, ethics and caring about the other persons values too...solving the problems can only be through careful dialogue. Respectful of all factors and human components alike.

Helping a friend

2011-03-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Over lunch today the discussion was "what is bandwidth?" Trying to explain a complex industry and the matrix of fiber, ring topology, diverse routing, acronyms, carrier switches, points of presence, data/voice configurations and all that over lunch. Confusing stuff for the unexperienced...remembering when I was solving problems for a carriers clients...they were clueless about orders, provisioning, process, methodology, outside plant, engineering, work orders, flow and most of all their inability to communicate internally and certainly externally!

Fortune 500 companies are the worst at communication as well as some of the government agencies including military. Battle is one thing, electronics within the carrier world is a different animal entirely. Understanding the basics about human communication is so simple, if we just DID it...

Technology and Social Structure

2011-03-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Technology and Social Structure when considering where we currently are today.

I see three issues in the market place, the social media places, the social interactions:
1) Are we losing the relationship?
2) Are we losing the unspoken communication i.e. non-verbal language because the percentages change depending on the author but non-verbal language makes up a tremendous part of our intent, our feelings, our beliefs all through our body languare.
3) Gadgets are gadgets...A young entrepreneur I know told me they're business is all about the relationship. His words "we are a relationship businesss and I think we are going back to relationships in business." People are so much more important than things.

Just some thoughts to share.

CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times

2010-12-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I am teaching a course this fall to about 17 undergraduates, mostly sophomores and juniors, and they did pretty well on the first exam. I asked them if they had seen President Obama on the Letterman show and only a few did. Television may disappear – we are not there yet – it’s still a few years away. It will be interesting to see how all this evolves with technology. These students are leaving their footprints everywhere.
One day I said something about an Etch-a-Sketch and the students just looked at me, and then someone said it is now called a Magna Doodle. I enjoy having older students in the classroom. They have a slightly different perspective, and they get my jokes.

Excerpts from the book.

This is amazing

2010-10-12T14:07:00.001-07:00

Digeus has an amazing blog tool SnapIt Screen Capture 3.7 and it is highly effective.
Not sure what other products and services they offer but the blog software is cool!

Humans and creativity is amazing to me. What gifts God gives us is humbling too.

Dallas hotel

2010-10-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

STC is a professional organization I am a member of and recently enjoyed the fall conference in Dallas. The OMNI Mandalay Hotel was the place of choice for the conference. What a gorgeous, clean place and comfortable rooms with white linens, down pillows and delicious food.

Customer service was unbelieveable too.

CEO Speaks

2010-09-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

This is the last Stone Rings blogs at least for awhile. I am starting a new blog about the book I just published CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times.

Thanks for rreading this for as long as you have. I truly appreciate the support for technology information seekers and other issues.

CEO Speaks excerpts

2010-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

The book released June 10th is now on the web and soon to be on Amazon. These CEO's typify the ethical, the intelligent and the trusted to do what is right now, for employees, for companies and for America's growth. Miami to New York, Ft. Wayne to Dallas, St. Louis to Nashville, Dayton to Sarasota these men and women tell about their passion, their purpose and educate from their point of view. They would not be CEO's is they were not smart!

A quote from the book "People will not necessarily remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel". David Pursell, Farmlinks

Farmlinks is a beautiful resort, golf course, hunting, fishing and more about 45 minutes south east of Birmingham, Alabama. The beauty of nature comes alive when you drive onto these gentle rolling lopes of lush grass with animals on either side.
Long horns from Texas and angus cattle are closed in with a natural fence. A must see for anyone wanting to get back to nature.

CEO Speaks book

2010-08-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from interviews with the CEO’s in CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times released June 10, 2010

Sustainability is a mind set. Innovation creates value, strategy captures value, and human beings deliver value. The human being is the one delivering the value: people to people, business to business, in the community, in the neighborhoods. When people talk about sustainability and growth, I come back to mindset and the human being who chooses to consistently deliver relevant value or not. The global meltdown has been a reality check. Everything is connected to everything else. We are literally one degree of separation. As a people, we are connected on this planet. It is important to recognize no matter the time, the distance, the geography, the culture, whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Sustainability is a mind set, an attitude and outlook on life.

Edith C. Varley, President, The Varley Group, St. Louis, MO

During our interview Shelley shared by writing African and American on the back of an envelope. By separating the words with a line the message become, I Can. He also shared the message he presents to children through a video of prison stories and lost lives. Shelley does not tout race. Shelley promotes education.

Afr ican
Amer ican

Shelley’s mother was Mattie C. Stewart she was killed when his father knocked her out of a two story window in a drunken state. Shelley was one of four sons. One died in the Korean War, one died in prison, one died here after Shelley brought him home to die. Hence, Shelley’s passion The Mattie C. Steward Foundation began as a way to keep students from dropping out of school. Shelley’s passion is education, keeping children in school and keeping them out of prison. This is written in his life’s story. Shelley’s program exhibits a school bus with the back simulating a prison, the front a school room.

Shelley Stewart, CEO, O2 Ideas, Birmingham, Alabama

Serving as an expert witness can be nerve wracking. The attorney’s job is to win the case so they come up with things you never think would be addressed in those environments. Our firm concentrates on mentoring others. Our focus is to be the best and we are well respected among other accounting firms.

Kelly Todd, Senior Partner, Forensic Solutions with offices in
Birmingham, Alabama, Los Angeles, California, Dallas, Texas

Give me someone who has Emotional Intelligence, someone who has gone through the school of hard knocks, a student of life with American ingenuity. I like people who like get things done, a person that can accomplish what ever their goal is, what ever the job is; I like a scraper. I have a good family life, a good business life and a good community life.

Charles Collat, Chairman Emeritus, Mayer Electric Supply
Birmingham, Alabama

I find that one of the pitfalls of talking about this is that it can come across as self-righteous or aggrandizing or somehow pious. It is important for me to find the right language to use, to your point about communication when you are speaking with someone. When you are delivering a message, you have to deliver it to the person you are speaking to in a language that they understand. You do not want to water down what you are saying so much that you become a chameleon just for the purposes of getting someone’s approval. I do think it is important to be able to frame the concepts that one is talking about in the language of the audience to whom you are speaking.

President of Williamson Auto Group, Trae Williamson, Miami, Florida

In 2008, TransAction—as staff to the Neponset Valley TMA—was selected by the Federal Transit Administration in a competitive bid process to manage the National Rural Technical Assistance Program (National RTAP). Working for the Federal government for the first time can certainly be challenging as a small company, but we report to two women who have truly been supportive and helped us work through the process.

Cindy Frene, CEO TransAction Solution, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts

Each chapter in the book ends with Sage Advice in highlighted form from each interview. The following is an example:

Sage Advice

- Emotional Intelligence is important –

- Serve in nonprofit if you are a for profit business -

- Care about others-

- Nurture is as important as structure -

- Accept yourself and accept others -

- Connection is better than separation -

- Unity is better than individual separation -

- Make a meaningful contribution in a compassionate way -

- Life has many treasures including our planet, our earth, our world -

- Words do not have inherent meaning –

Written communication and publishing

2010-08-13T13:15:00.001-07:00

When this idea came to me I thought how will I find 40 CEO's to interview? Well, live and learn...an analytical friend found some errors...I am not perfect and obviously neither are the people that transcribed, edited, proof read, etc. the book.

It was a great accomplishment and learning a valuable lesson (again) in having 10 people re-read...as a dear friend said today, "I didn't find any errors, I was reading for content". Hopefully most people feel the same way. I can live with an extra preposition here and there.

To finish this in one year took 10 hour days, flying around the country, asking and moving forward with it all.

Interesting results with Google

2010-07-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

When I typed in my maiden name some strange stuff happened as well as some interesting coincidences...name of an uncle popped up as well as many physicians and other professionals and many in science or science related topics and careers.

Blogging about the new book CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times released in June 2010 brings up more interesting topics...attempting to properly underline the name of the book, well, no way not with Yahoo wanting to add Spanish...sorry guys not my language. Nothing wrong with speaking Spanish but I do not. Can America stay American very long...I doubt it in this crazy times.

Yahoo will never be half of what Google is and the reason is simply they try to control everything from your email to your blogs...as soon as this contract runs out I am leaving ATT because they use Yahoo for their email. Bad decision guys...probably was less money since they are all about the money.

Interactive Intelligence

2010-07-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Boy do these people have their act together. Size matters with technology but for the little guys this is so cool...not so sure it will help the big boys with their communication needs but the little guys are in luck.

Independence has become a way of life in America but I'm still concerned about the cell towers and the honey bees...

The younger generation has no idea what their need for technology is doing to the bee population and that means food supply like fruits and vegetables!

Man's diet is poor enough so leaving out the veggies and fruit is not good!

Re-living the horror stories of companies relocating

2010-05-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Relocation can be a dounting task when employees are without land lines and email is down there is no communication with clients. Last year an interview with a friend, client, customer all wrapped into one she was recalling the horror stories of being disconnected in 2007 and beginning 2008. With sixteen employees and no lines or email this could have been a business gone out of business. They are a graphics company too.

They did survive, thankfully and is continuing to grow even in this economy!

SIP is awesome

2010-05-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to me to be out and about and see business people in the grocery, the library, the bank, at meetings and all are connected to their offices via cell phones and technology. We can move in every direction. In Tampa in January my niece sells real estate and it was amazing the number of calls she received in 3 days. The freedom to be with family and still do business. Ya!

Finally finished the book

2010-05-10T14:42:00.001-07:00

CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times is done...edited copy is at the publisher and I am so eager to get my life organized again. I truly feel in awe about the entire project because nothing went awry. Not one road trip, one hotel mishap, not one delayed flight...this was just an amazing project. Thank you Father!

cell bills going up?

2010-04-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

A colleague recently shared a story about a corporate audit where she saved the company over 8K dollars a month. The culprit was text charges...employees think that's the way to communicate but it not acceptable when a company is paying the bill. Voicemail may go by the way side but email and voice calls are still the way to do business...sorry twenty somethings. Texting is expensive and I resent customers costing me money because their lives are organized enough to understand it is not appreciated.

SIP and technology made easy

2010-04-27T17:39:00.001-07:00

Following a SIP presentation I was impressed with the vendor and the knowledge of making the product work. There was two small issues not covered in the presentations.

1) Power outages and yes they do happen. Last night a technician in a CO in Venice Florida took a circuit down for about an hour. I was cut off a call and when I called the party back could hear ringing with no answer.

2) What about SIP trucks and security? Hackers are pounding away at fire walls constantly and consistently waiting for the right vulnerable moment, that is a guarantee.

So answer all the questions even the ones not asked!

cell phones

2010-04-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

A business associate is focusing on cell phone audits. After doing so for one clients she saved the organization 1/2 the cost they were being billed...when companies provide cell phones for employees do not expect employees to text. No texting and no International roaming either. As one associate said it is about the client and saving them money in this economy...we can help do that. Our network of people have thousands of years of experience doing just that...saving clients money
through reducing expenses.

We are the best!

Auditing

2010-04-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

During the days of layoffs and low profit margins has companies evaluate the number of access lines they have...the providers would probably say something like, "you're under contract, you can't change that now. My question is do you know when your contract expires? Providers do not tell you when your contract expires nor do they call you and say, "would you like to re-sign"? No, they automatically put you into another contract or a month to month situation.

It isn't in their best interest to communicate with their clients. Especially since we have learned to use computers so we do not have to talk to people...how absurd we are in the field of technology. We're putting computers in everything and "dumbing down" society. As one writer put it we're educated to the point of imbecility.

CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times

2010-03-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

Nine months into this project and already I feel a sense of relief knowing I can concentrate for marketing my consulting skills and the book. Within a month it will be finished...an exciting project, a wonderful experience, meeting wonderful people through networking with people that knew my integrity and level of faith plus confidence helped too...I can do anything I choose to do with class and completeness.

Engaging, trusting the CEO's came forward, only one questioned me and I did not know him so that is OK and his prerogative, it was his interview, his time, his credibility and his name. As one CEO said his grandfather told him, "Son, all you have in life is your name". Good advice...do you think Wall Street forgot? Because no one with millions in bonuses and a sense of entitlement in the millions of bonuses has a good name, we are on to you now and the taxpayers money is at stake. No more bonuses for bad behavior, no more rewarding and taking from the American people, no more Congressional screw ups, no more political games...vote everyone out of Congress, House and Senate. American's let us clean house, literally in November every time we vote, let's take back our country from dirty money, in and out of Wall Street and Washington no more lobbyists money...and while I say that can we give Obama some support for attempting to help instead of bad mouthing and coming up with fabrications on his religion plus other garbage. Bush II almost destroyed our country with all his cabinet and I voted for him, shame on me.

We have supported many Presidents without a good reputation and causing shame on a country, to a country, to their family, to the world. Change is needed and it is still an election process that allows the sequence to perpetuate upon it's self. If this nonsense does not stop soon it may be too late, if not already. Supporting self interest while in Congress is not what was to be done by our founding fathers. Serve in Congress means served for life for those there. Not right, not moral, not ethical, not anything but self serving...end of story

Re-read article on phone company charges

2010-03-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Which I have seen on dozens of bills...it is an ongoing problem for businesses and yet one account the two people made 19.2 million. A bit of cash wouldn't one say.

Again, as reported in the Washington Post the some of the companies turn their heads to the charges. Interesting way to care about one's client, those paying...small business and big business alike.

Wireless plus

2010-03-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Termination fee on cell contract are stiff without any reason yet it is all in the fine print...

Wireless is responsible according to science for messing up the bees solar system...they can not find their way home to the hive...

Cramming is very real and resurgent wave is growing for tiny charges the phone companies have on their bills...no answer for where the charges come from...according to the Washington Post cramming can be a very good way to make a living...

The crooks always find a way to ride on the coattails of society...entitlement to be a crooks...the question is who parented these people!!?

wireless and honey bees

2010-03-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Cavaet: I am not a scientist nor is research in nature my full time job, I simply care about future generations. Is there a way to stop the demand for wireless toys?

With some evidence suggesting a correlation to wireless and loss of honeybees are the geeks in the world eventually going to kill off mankind? Without the bees there is no pollination! Without pollination there is no fruit and vegetables. This is serious information to consider.

Listening to the words

2010-02-10T08:28:00.001-08:00

Attending a business venue this morning I am always amazed at the poor listening within an audience and a person. Others are talking and we fail to hear the words or interpret the meaning within us vs. meaning intended by the speaker. In business I am sure millions if not billions of revenue is lost every year due to poor listening.

After the key note speaker opened the session for questions someone in the audience asked a question that had been answered during the speech. I was amazed the person had missed the comment. The speech was on energy and we do not have turbines for power in the southeast due to wind verbosity needed to make the turbines produce energy which is 30 miles an hour.

In telecommunication electronic orders have codes for any service to be installed. If one code is incorrect orders (then installations) stagnate for days, weeks and even months if communication does not flow between companies. No communication, no service, no revenue, no application, it is that simple. We all need to become better communicators.

Technology just a different sort

2010-01-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Manufacturers please stop and think...what do packaging engineers and design engineers and geeks have in common? They think consumers don't have brains. Bought a new coffee pot Monday and after washing, drying and cleaning with clear water run through I needed a flash light to read the buttons. There is no stop and go button or on and off
buttons...no words that make it easy to turn it on and turn it off, we have to figure all that out on our own. The design team wanted all the gee whiz components but not have it eligible in a straight forward method.

Why does everything have to have gee whiz? I just want to make coffee. I do like the pre-set features so if we get up at 5 or 6 am the coffee is ready. But I really just want some simplicity in my life instead of difficulty especially in my home? Does anyone understand that?

Writing and the quigmire of words

2009-12-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

So often writing is a reminder that words can be intent-ed to convey one meaning and yet another is interpreted. So is telecommunication and all the possible problems associated with installation for access and hardware. An order flows and upon reaching a certain spot is deadlocked with no movement...stopped. Why? electronic orders that flow between carrier and local retail provider or carrier to carrier can have dozens of fields. Each field has a code. The stop? Wrong code in conflict with yet another code on the same order. These problems have a tendency to clog up the process; delayed installations and other communication flowing. So often those issuing the order send an email to "resolve" the clogged order. Email is NOT a way to solve any problem. Telephones are just tools to eliminate distance but it still takes person to person communication, over the phone sometimes, to eliminate the problem (s). Non-verbal language studies convey over half the meaning of language conversations, so how many non-verbal cues do we get from type written words? A pause for thought.

I can not stress this enough. Communication is critical for success in relationships, in corporations between department, in working successfully to the benefit of all, in building bridges between customer and provider. Talk may be cheap but it is also why we have a voice.

Applications again

2009-12-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

After almost 30 years in a business one would think there is little non-touched about an industry yet unique challenges are on the horizon. A new application for learning, which is a quest of mine, sought or not, I find learning a love relationship. The brain is challenged into strategic mode, analytical processes surface, creative mode rises and yet another(learning) curve bits the dust...always learning, always a challenge, another feat mastered...or at least lessened to a fraction of the formidable science of selling, consulting and coaching so everyone walks away feeling better and adding money to the end result; company and person. The Great American Dream is alive and well, one only must embrace the negative, ignore that which we can not control, continue to march into positive solutions and be all we can be, here and now.

All that said...this holiday season...for anyone in the reading audience...

My heart goes out to people in need, those without hope, needing food and shelter, abused, neglected, hungry, angry, yet I can not heal those I do not know. My prayer this holiday season is to touch some one's life...someone cares...computer access or not...touch someone in your environment to heal this nation in distress, a nation of people needing to know someone cares. A gentle touch, a kind word, a violation forgiven, to say "I care about you". God Bless all those who read this message.

Technology speaks again

2009-12-10T11:35:00.001-08:00

Researching a unique process for an upcoming project I have found a wonderful source
for information. There is nothing so unique and informative as someone with different life experiences then ourselves. Those born into another culture, living in a different country, experiences beyond our scope or focus are rich sources of information. Especially when we need that information to apply to our livelihood. Reaching out to touch another person is extremely rewarding. Recently having the opportunity to hear several people speak that were from other countries and I walk away with my cup filled and overflowing. One such person has began publishing a magazine called 4Love. During the conversation with one of the co-owner he said everyone talks about love and yet few write on the subject. Very true.

Mergers and Acquisitions

2009-11-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Talking with a former colleague recently we discussed the industries giants and Wall Street. Talking about how Wall Street had moved one company to a buy position that earlier in the year was in trouble financially. Seems as if the reverse has happens among those still forging ahead. Too many mergers and acquisitions, too maybe hostile take overs, too much money wasted on poor executive or board decisions and the bank comes calling. Telephony has seen enough corruption and prison sentences to last a very long time. This industry not unlike health care, energy, mortgages, savings and loan (almost a distinct word not) and on and on and on. Corporate America needs to take care of the good ethical people they employee instead of filling the coffers. Companies need to make a profit and executives need to be rewarded but rewarding executives with millions while lay off workers is very poor judgement on the part of Boards responsible for this recent lack of insight...shame on you.

Only in America can people be so greedy and entire financial system is hurt. As one CEO recently said "the government can't solve it's own problems how can they solve ours (in business)? Leaning on the taxpayers and taxing businesses is not smart. Legislators should have term limits of two terms just like the President. No one deserves a tax free income for 30, 40 or 50 years and the combined health care plan totally free for life when the average worker is paying the tab. We have a very poor legislative system that needs an over-haul.

Understanding the inside of telephone companies

2009-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

The ordering process is quite difficult and complicated. Forms have dozens of fields and if 1 code is wrong the entire process gets delayed by having the order go back to the originator. Someone has to pick up the telephone and solve the problem. Very few have the skill set to solve the problem which involves talking to the end user many times to find out what they wanted. Then the next hurdle is finding exactly what is holding up the order. The process flow is days and days of electronic feeds while engineering is done from three or four different engineers on both ends of the order including the central office. If the request is big two or three project managers are needed on the receiving end, the equipment end, the central office (s) depending on the path the circuit is taking. The more complex the order the more engineers are involved prior to the electronic mapping in the network. The bigger the pipe, the more complicated the process, the more people are involved including the end technician.

New construction brings even more variables into the picture...but that's another blog.

Creative Musings

2009-11-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

Holidays are not fun. With children miles away and no other family in town for holidays even invitations to friends from outside the US where there is no celebration goes to the beach, unable to come upon invitation understandable indeed. Just once if I could hear my sons laughter over a holiday it would be a blessing and joy.

So after the turkey and dressing, five or six vegetables, relish dish, cranberry salad, homemade rolls and apple dumplings served with hot lemon sauce very full tummies I just may blog Thanksgiving day. Christmas will start with prayer followed by modest gifts and another fun feast, without family. Really a ball around here these days with both of us working 10 - 12 hours a day sometimes 14 hours a day.

Holidays without family, suck! Without friends it is a disaster. Some how this will all have a happy ending...all things do, eventually.

No it is not about technology. Who cares, it is from the heart, it's my blog.

Finishing book by year end

2009-11-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

As this project ends I am looking forward to more time to blog on my industry and writing other publications. One for my myself, one for my family, but also some more creative ideas. Before all that I need some personal time cleaning this house, finishing some outside projects, resting and enjoying family. With the 2009 holiday season approaching it will be good to reflect on the perils that involved in the many intentional and probably some un-intentional actions that ended poorly or that led this country into the past messes these last few years. I live in a county where two dozen people have gone to prison for brides and all sorts of wrongs including using tax payers money the wrong way. Thinking about how we behave when no one is looking is something to consider especially when raising children. Somehow, somewhere these criminal minds came from some messed up humans called parents. As someone said during these interviews "if God didn't take care of that...I recall it was Susan Mason and I talking about food and theft in her business. This is all so simple. If you can not raise children with morals please just pass on parenting.

Consulting and jargon uses in communication

2009-11-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Interesting about industries, from law to medicine to electronics we all have a vocabulary full of acroymns and phrases sounding confusing to those who do not know the meaning of a term. I try so hard to remember my experience and my background are quite unique from most business people. Understanding all the pit falls in dealing with the arena I call innocent ignorance. We do not know what we do not
know. Nothing is more of a mistake or blunder to assume someone outside the industry can understand telecommunications, the technology, the vocabulary, the acroymns or the workings that cause failures, miss installations, missed due dates, and incorrect billing. Being confusing in this industry is dangerous for end users (clients). Consideration is needed when talking or emailing. If no one understands your verbiage clients may look elsewhere.

Time is so precious

2009-10-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Voice over IP or VOIP may make sense in some cases but not every case. When testing this choice of access for your business try calling a VOIP referral. How do they sound? Can you hear crisp conversation? Do they sound like they are in a tunnel?

One of the best ways to check for technology is to make sure you understand what customers are going to experience. I always smile when I hear about large companies being awarded a kudo for customer service knowing full well their customer service stinks. If sound quality is an issue how does that stack up with customer service?

Lesson Learned

2009-10-24T15:19:00.001-07:00

If you are without a PC and you are using a hotel internet to update your blog, caution is best...blog when you are unlikely to have a buddy from the seminar you are attending sit down and start chirping. People are engaging and I always fall sucker to chirping people if they are engaging. Yesterday waiting to interview a colleague for the book I'm writing this happened to me.

Another lesson learned was flying out of any airport close to Washington the plane will be late, quaranteed. If you know otherwise I'd love to know what airline you used. I may not be in Baltimore for another ten years but leaving BWI yesterday on my favorite airline was a pain...yup, the W stands for Washington as in DC. The interviews are coming to an end so no more travel.

CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times will be on my website by year end 2009.

Technology Overload

2009-10-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

Attending a seminar recently in this industry, I became painfully aware of the rapidity of technology liquidation or maybe evaportation? The changes in technology are becoming so quick is there a human being that can keep up with one quarter of it all let alone the entire industry. Perhaps if we had more collaboration.

The magic of listening

2009-10-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Listening to customers is critical for understanding the needs of employees, customers, management and shareholders. Communication is such as basic principal and we do it so poorly. I have not seen a job ad in years that does not say interpersonal skills or good communication skills needed. Companies want to to communicate and good communication solves people problems. Developing communication skills should be a part of all education including college. Reading develops vocabulary. Listening should be as important if not more so then talking.

Relocation Blues Go Green

2009-10-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe the economy is in the dumps but there must be some companies surviving the turmoil. Companies are still relocating, investments are still being made in property and in people. One of the best advantages to relocating is correcting the building codes for GREEN inventions made in recent months a chance to hire fresh employees for those not wanting to relocate. Plus an opportunity to evaluate equipment, furniture and rid the waste from file cabinets. Every city and every state has a culture, a beauty, great ethic restaurants, local goodies for consumers and corporations. Relocating can be a boom for motivation too. Discovery was never a man's quest, it's the excitment of finding something new that drives humans to discovery.

One more time

2009-09-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

The number of stories are amazing about offices not wired correctly, vendors not showing up, vendor communication failure and recently our financial planner's office moved, upon stopping by to say hello and the wiring mistakes come forward. This was a national office and the project was run from 3000 miles away, they were not authorized to use my service. All I could do was help by making my book available.
It helped the person in charge of her operations which is selling, motivating and managing. She said it helped so much because she was asking intelligent choices via reading the book...we're going out to lunch this week so I'll get the whole story.

After making lunch plans she wants me to go to the company, get hired and protect the other offices everytime relocation happens. We'll see. How about project management called sub contracting?

Relocation Nightmares

2009-09-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

Blogging about this is a fascination I have because people to not understand how wrong things can go. The bigger the company, the bigger the problem can be. People do not understand time frames. They have no control over the electron order, the process and the lack of communication within the chosen vendors systems.

Note: I said systems in other words, multiple systems. These orders flow and one hiccup in the process can add delay, upon delay. New construction is the biggest problem but in older building existing conduct can be full. True excavation would replace the conduct. This does not happen, why? People don't know it has to happen. Full conduit? Where is the new fiber, new cable going to be placed?

One of the biggest problems is those at the helm do not understand, therefore communication is delayed, errors are made, the electronics are not installed...tomorrow another story to prove the point.

Headlines in the paper

2009-09-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

The local paper yesterday had an article about the dits of the construction industry and the lack of growth. I know one company in the software industry that is growing. One company in commercial advertising that is growing and an energy company relocating. So there are signs of growth, people making money, jobs happening and good business being done. There is hope and we will survive the insanity. Hopefully we will be wiser as a nation, as a people and not allow greed to overcome the financial sector again.

Opportunity to change

2009-09-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Relocation is the perfect time to change the configuration of lines, stations (phones), new system and get it all right not based on vendors but based on the needs or employees and customers. Businesses make mistakes all the time by not allowing non objective sales people to sell based on what's in the warehouse. One particular popular equipment manufacturer is extremely expensive and they will suck you into certified, certified and lock you in for years. They also make a very feature poor system. VOIP may save money but it isn't the only game in town. Applications, needs, employees and customers should drive what is purchased.

Interviews continue

2009-09-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

Interviewing for a book I'm compiling has been an interesting process. Somehow during the process I continue to find the hot buttons, the angst question usually is the key. An innocent inquiry into a Thank You note received and bam! An engagement party and 50 thank you's in person but no time to write it out and mail a formal thank you note. Yes, it matters. Emily Post is not dead. She may be literally but the manners still matter...visiting other countries, read the book, The Ugly American. Global economy? Culture matters, manners matter, knowledge is strength, reading is knowledge, understanding tradition matters. Send the thank you, read about their culture, care to learn and learn to care. It will show and be appreciated.

Incredible Experience

2009-09-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Tracking a website is interesting when you realize people in other countries are looking at your site. The interesting part is when you're scammed and buy into it all. The internet definitely has a dark side for all the goods things that happen there is definitely a potential for the negative things to happen too. A website, a blog, an on-line resume, it's all intented to be good but opens doors for the other. That's when we understand the firewall protection, website protection, passwords protection, server protection, intellectual property protection and credit protection plus banking assurances that all is safe. For individuals and companies safety is a must. Be careful in cyber space. Technology has a dangerous side.

I'm back on the ethics kick

2009-09-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

There are ethical CEO's, I know, I'm interviewing them. People need hope and these CEO's talk about all the basic principals for solid business. I won't ruin the idea behind the book but I'm starting to hear the same words from all walks of industry.
CEO's that care about their employees, that listen to their employees, that want to provide salaries and benefits for their employees and are grateful to be able to do it for their employees. These are humble ordinary people with good core values. These are ethical people from all walks of life. There is hope and we can overcome.

Attitude, attitude, attitude. We can be strong, we can overcome, we can be entrepreneurs, we can be valuable and are valuable. Even in a crunch we can survive and treat others with respect, be examples for those needing hope and help.

Small but mighty

2009-08-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

Another CEO mentioned a friend out of service because a T1 wasn't connected. Come on vendors the small may not be important to you but you impact their business, their revenue bad enough and long enough and your little customer base will go play in another sandbox. The big boys may own all the infrastructure but poor customer service will bite back. This world is about social responsibility not the opposite.

Small business, technology and bandwidth will change the needs so much in the next 10years infrastructure may never be totally without demand but this wireless age and the brains behind inventions will threaten the very core of existing telecom companies. Small business with the on-slot of entrepreneurs will impact especially if ill treatment by vendors continues.

Blogging takes bunches of time.

2009-08-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

CEO Speaks, Sage Advice During Turbulent Times is going to be worth the read. This is not about technology necessarily. This book is about ethics with some far sighted people on the technology side in all aspects of business. How do we use technology to help our clients and customers? CEO's ask themselves questions like that and then they impliment the answers. That is in part the vision of the job. Ask God and you will receive. Ask CEO's and they accept. These men lead lonely lives apart from family and truly personal friends. I have yet to have one refusal from a CEO and so far I'm at about twenty five interviews, committed, on the calendar, etc.

When I get my first refusal, I let you know. Who and why...I promise.

Toll Free Service

2009-08-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Please don't pay unnecessary charges on the telephone bill. What am I talking about? Have your webmaster put your company's local number on the website. No one wants to pay for local calls and without the number on the website they may not be able to reach you. Companies move, the internet is not always correct.
Yes, I've blogged about this before and yes, sometimes the local number is on the website but not on the home page. The general public nor your local customer's do not mind read. As amazing as this information, it just doesn't happen...I'm off to write more in my book...

Preparing for CEO Speaks and interviewing a financial planner

2009-08-18T13:17:00.001-07:00

The financial planner asked about the real profession and we chat about telecommunication, the next thing I know I'm solving a problem, yep, equipment and line issue again for a friend of his. Now, when we finally talk he's had the same problem for 7 years since they built the building. The moral to the story is don't put yourself through the misery of allowing vendors to miss represent, make up the wrong reasons for using their ideas, equipment, line to station configuration, etc.
Get professional help. We're knowledgeable the consultants are usually ethical people with lots and lots of experience. Work takes up the majority of our life it is too important to not have a tool work correctly. It's your business at stake.

Blackberry heaven yet still needs help.

2009-08-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

This new blackberry is sweet but the instructions a bit arcatic, instead of a nice video to walk one through the instructions, the more complex ones, or maybe I should say hidden applications, instead we receive a DVD in print. I've been reading since 1st grade! My question to manufacturers is this why do you assume your users are not paying for ease. No, I'm not lazy, in fact, I work very hard. From starting the day exercising, working all day and weekends include physical work, yard work, deep cleaning, etc. so it would be nice to have technology the serves me not me serve the geeks design, marketing departments package, etc. This statement includes any corporation, organization that's dependent on electronic gadgetry and we all are dependent. The marketing has designed that too.

With all the niceties it would be great to move deeper in the customer and consumer needs.

CEO speaks...from a typical Type A personality

2009-08-11T17:51:00.001-07:00

I'll edit Alaska tomorrow, I promise, it's on the To Do List, a daily concern.

The type A means; I mean well and screw up with technology or at least computers. I know stuff about fiber, communications and installation. I help clients resolve problems, their problems, and get stuff done for them when it comes to telecommunication. The bigger the better for this scenario. If I can help BIG government and BIG companies, I can help any business in installation issues, application issues, equipment matching needs, etc.

Alaska will be another day.

2009-08-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

Oh well another time...it has been a crazy week...more on the book later. Hoping to interview a CEO from Alaska for the book. The response to this has been overwhelming. So far no one has turned me down and the days are flying. These people are concerned for this country and for future generations. We all need to pray for our leaders, for the ethics to move back into a strenth position and citizens to have strong morals, we have continued to decline in moral fiber as a nation. Not sure what this has to do with technology other then some technology vendors need accountability too!

Audits, Issues and Ignorance

2009-08-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

Interviewing a CEO today, for a book I'm compiling, the CEO's are writing the book via the interviews, he shares the value of learning. I agree whole heartedly. There is a world of knowledge that continues to expand almost at a geometric speed. As technology, as people, as populations explode, knowledge comes forth, a gift, a curse is happening. We are becoming slaves to technology yet we buy more gadgets.

The other side of the coin is the technology that is hidden from us. That master wizard of programming that writes an complex code so deep in the stack we can not or do not comprehend the mythology or methodology to understand. What to use, how to use, want to use, just can not figure out WHAT are you wanting Mr. Wizard? This is when everything becomes a mystery. This is what occurs when programming, tariffs, FCC regulation, SEC regulation and legislation go awry.

The CEO was not being trite, he was serious when repeating another CEO's verbiage about a telecommunication problem, as preceived. Preception, reality, technology is a master in the making. It needs to be clearer as does most issues or maybe just the way we confuse everything in innocent ignorance, which is not a bad thing just un-informed, especially with billing errors, oh yes, they exists galore, they are everywhere. Part of the answer is in-put. Who is giving the information to the order entry department?...this could go on for hours...call me if you need help...I know stuff.

Internet gremlins

2009-08-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

I've decided the internet is a good and bad thing...computers are in the same arena. Technology is an interesting aspect of our lives today. I thought to add the word...modern...sounded a bit trite in this day and at this time with technology everywhere and in all aspects of life...video, cameras, daily life, business must, on-line, email, united communication, ACD's, VRU's, you name it, it is there! No it is everywhere. It is so convenient to have recipes on line, conversations with family in all areas of the country, business interviews, meetings, all those wonderful people in my life...the internet is a curse and a blessing. Trust me!

The Trust Deficit

2009-08-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

While reading this book today I thought about a statement in the book and some recent conversations. Talking with a professor at a local university, he teaches business ethics, he said he didn't think any CEO's were ethical. I disagree, in fact John mentions statistics in his book about opinions on trust for executive in large corporation and traverses seven disciplines that are shocking. Only 3% of executives have public's confidence. Today more then ever we need to incorporate discipline, trust, honesty and all good merit of character for ourselves, our clients and all those we deal with in every avenue of our lives. The other component is how can business ethics be taught except in very young children?

Technology and Intelliect

2009-08-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Geeks are smart people but some of the programming they do is an insult to anyone with solid intelligence. The example today is on-line prescriptions: I attempted to log in electronically and could not get passed the required...no hints given...needed information and I'm fairly computer literate! Then I called in to renew the prescription and the voice response unit repeated the same information two, three and four times. The entire process took about 20 minutes. As a business person I work 12 to 14 hours a day and a health care /provider corporation just wasted 20 minutes of my time. The other question I'm posing is why do companies assume we're idiots by treating us like we are? My hearing is not impaired, I listen, I have a degree in communication and I take offense to being treated like a child, idiot, whatever.

When it comes to programming the web site or the order processing voice response unit have a CEO or Vice President or Marketing guru, as a minimum requirement, go through the prompts when testing the effectiveness of time wasted. The one that really gets me is when the vendors do the programming and go through the entire menu of employee when a company receives an incoming call from a potential customer, client, vendor, etc. No one cares how many employees you have nor does anyone want to listen to the menu. Again, it's a waste of time. A suggestion would be to use your brain instead of leaving it up to a vendor's geek. Better yet is verify the equipments capability on the front end and dictate your desires on any programming before buying equipment! It matters what marketing image is for any one calling a company, big or small.

Ethics and Marketing Games

2009-08-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

A blackbox manufacturer in the electronic/computer/server/router game has an aggressive marketing strategy. The problem is American are gullible, yes gullible.
We know someone, they believe in their product also known as brain washing, or maybe they just want to make lots of money, your money. So, they continue the aggressive marketing and win business. Their product in some arenas is poor, over priced, while leaving clients with interior applications and features. Just because a name is well known in through a good marketing department and sold by thousands of vendors this criteria is not smart, worthy of your corporate dollar while doing an injustice to the company where you work, specially if you talked the head honchos into buying the equipment. Think about a little research and going to a trusted ethical source prior to e-purchased and no I am not talking about on-line. I'm talking about electronics.

I'm on an ethics mission

2009-08-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Understanding the damage of improper disposal of technology products is scary business. I have blogged about it before but some readers only read the days blog.
Disposing of electronics in a safe way will help recycle, eliminate pollution and be good for the environment. Caution is necessary because there are company's claiming best practices without the follow through. Seven deadly chemical exist in electronics, all electronics. Ground water needs protection and allowing un-responsible disposal is a sure way to damage the soil and the water.

Still out of service

2009-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

What does it take to get a line fixed in this country. Still is not rocket science.
Since the 16th of July we have not had a land line that works, this is day 18.
When people start hearing these stories they quickly come up with their own horror story about being out of service for days or weeks and it's always a mystery as to what, how, when, where it all began. Not sure the technicians know how to solve those mysteries either. Rainy weather always brings interesting issues to telephones. Water in the manhole, water in the line, cables and wire break. Last year the same pattern occurred. 18 days was the magic number then too. Well, maybe one more call to the provider. After all it's just a customer, why should we care.

Let the computer think for you.

2009-08-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

First of all, computers do not think. Computers are programmed. People are programed by their own shortcomings to think the computer is smart. Computers are dumb machines, people are smart, well sometimes. Programmers are commonly called Nerds, Geeks, etc. even Best Buy has the Geek Squad, why? It's a popular play on words. Geeks and Nerds are smart people fascinated with the workings of a machine, development process of machines, networks and how to make them work, etc. Geeks are usually not the best communicators so why do we use trust them to develop this stuff called networking, processing, data, voice, technology, etc. They develop things the way THEY think, not necessarily the way non-geeks think. Computers need power/electricity to run so as telephones evolved into computers, which is the current state, they need power to run. Be sure to questions vendors about power options prior to signing the contract for new systems. Install dates are too late for changing plans. Know options on the front end to save your company from vulnerable experiences.

Audits, Telephone Bills, New Technology and Energy

2009-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

There's a fine line between the title subjects. Audits of bills are critical, who is watching before and after. Electronics and energy have close correlation and a great example is VOIP or voice over internet protocol and having no electricity for powering the phone units. It's really all a computer and they do not run without power. So the backup unit helps power when the supply is gone but how much does it all costs to be connected to your customers and revenue. Monitoring the costs of energy as well as the quoted price is important. Look at the power bill for the past two or three years, is there a correlation? It's a scam by some vendors. Check the quote, the bills, the accounts payable, etc. Hold vendors responsible.

Marketing Efforts Do Not Warrant Smart Decisions

2009-07-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

The good ole girl club or the good ole boy club is not the best source of information on vendors or manufacturers. Just because the referral sheet indicates a competitor, friend or like business does not make it the industry expert for a good buying decision. Some vendors, manufacturing presentation, manufacturers and popular equipment suppliers touting an electronic brand does not enrich the features, in fact one brand is feature poor. It takes a professional with insider information, no I'm not talking about stock, I'm talking solid competitive information to weight the benefits, vulnerability, applications, needs analysis and understanding how an organization operations run to know what to recommend. Just because you know someone in a social circle does not mean knowing equals quality. When did aggressive marketing efforts get rewarded by popular demand? It may be a house hold name, industry recognized name, whatever, it still does not constitute a sound decision. Anyone understanding consumer reports knows quality wanes and one years product does not indicate quality continues forever. Being safe when needing to rip or replace is important, consult with an unbias source, especially with electronics that can zap the energy bill.

Nortel and other manufacturers

2009-07-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Being aware of industry trends with technology is critical for businesses. Making choices for equipment now are more important then ever. Nortel filed for bankrupcy in January. The projected collapse of this one time industry giant will be soon and with 80,000,000, voice ports this company is being sold off in pieces. Any corporation or non-profit with Nortel equipment will soon be in peril for communication with clients, customers, vendors, suppliers, etc. Support for products are projected at 6-12 months by industry experts. Mayor portions of this company will be disbursed throughtout other companies, those successful in the bidding, in 3-6 months. Carrier networks of at least two major players are at risk.
End users need to strategize and come up with contingency plans now.

Electronics break. Anyone experiencing a laptop or desktop harddrive dying knows full well the risk. Telephone systems are computers and they do not last forever.

Strategies need to be in place now for companies to survive the crash, it is a matter of time.

Ethics and Vendors

2009-07-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

Listening to a CEO being interviewed today I was touched by the humbleness, the realness, the ethics, the knowledge of no customer service this man had for himself and his business. I called on a credit union today, the one I've been banking with for almost 25 years. Not only could I not get to the CEO for an interview meeting, I couldn't get a problem solved without great pain. We still have no land line service from ATT. The land line has worked off and on, mostly off since July 16th.
Received a call from my sister the 26th, on the land line! Now, the question is simply a residential line can not be fixed in 13 days and ATT thinks I would recommend a consultant client to them? I don't think so.

When the technician came to our home to fix the line on July 24th, not only did he not find the problem, he wanted me to report the problem again. Why is my DSL still working as well as the telephone downstairs? The ring cuts off as soon as someone calls but I can still pick up and get dial tone. The technicians are not trained to really know the real problem. Corporate America you are a sad excuse as a picture of capitalism.

Stepping out of the box; email regarding Nortel bankrupcy

2009-07-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

There will be inventory around for a while. Ericson will be picking up the maintenance...consider this, some carrier networks have huge switches made by Nortel. Someone will have to pick up the remaining equipment. Just be careful when selecting a vendor, any vendor.

ATT is not what BellSouth was to customers. Unfortunately this business has become the used car sales of the 70's & 80's. Example: My landline has been down since July 16th...still out of service today...it may be another week or so. In August 08 we had no landline for 18 days. They were so generous and gave us an $10 credit!!

Sadly, corporations only care about the bottom line. Well customers are the bottom line, it is their money and there are people talking. At the rate they are going ATT may be in peril soon too. Customer want to dump them because the intelligence has retired, been laid off. Customer service has be delegated to a voice response unit.

Telephone Repair for Out of Service Condition

2009-07-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

July 16th a thunderstorm rolled into town. As the rain came down the telephone began to ring, one ring, hang up, one ring, hand up, one ring, hang up. No one was touching the phone. A neighbor was attempting to call to see if we were having the same problem she was experiencing. Reporting the trouble promptly I was informed it would be fixed July 24. Sure enough July 24 I received a call on my cell phone. The repairman insisted the line had a short and the short was inside the structure. I was informed to call again so a repairman could be dispatched to fix the short inside the house.

Inside repairs cost more but not sure that was the repairman's motive, probably just incompetence. Upon returning to town July 26th, Sunday evening a call came through on the land line. The transmission was clear on the line. Today, we have static so bad the telephone line is useless.

Maybe all the competent telephone repairmen have been laid off? Maybe this company needs to make another acquisition or merger to gain competence in the repair department? Maybe they'll give us a $10 credit like we received when the telephone was out in August 08 for 18 days? All this time the DSL is working fine.

Telephone Repair from the biggest vendor in America

2009-07-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

July 16th a thunder storm rolled into town, as the rain came down the telephone land line began to ring. One ring, hang up. One ring, hang up. One ring, hang up...and no one was touching the phone. The DSL continued to work. July 24 received a call on the cell phone, the repairman was on the property and insisted "a short is on the line and it's in the house. When you get back into town report the problem again."

So why did I receive a call on the land line upon returning to my home Sunday, July 26th? Out of service for over one week, the repairman insisted we have a short on the line, definitely inside the home yet the DSL is working and today the land line works too. No one from the telephone company has been in our abode. Well, the line is working if you can hear through the static on the line.

Now I'm wondering if the repairman even knew what he was doing. Have all the competent repairmen been laid off from one of the largest companies in the US or at least they once were? Need to buy another company soon? Maybe the next company purchased has some younger repairmen that have had some good training. Oh, well maybe there isn't any other company to buy. Makes you wonder about all the acquisitions, mergers, competent training, corporate competence while continuing to pay the bill for this pitiful service. Just maybe we'll receive another $10 credit like we did when we had no service in August 08.

Distance from Serving Wire Center

2009-07-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

Caution when buying property far from the telephone company's central office or serving wire center. Distance equals dollars especially if fiber facilities are needed. Fiber is needed for any access above a DS1 or commonly referred to a T1.
Heavy data needs larger facilities then T1 and ways to measure traffic needs exist.
Check with consultant or vendors for correct amount of access for traffic configuration.

Refurbishing old buildings

2009-07-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

My nephew has been investing in real estate and starting to refurbish old buildings.
Remember if this is your forte, if multiple tenants are moving in check beyond the walls, ceilings, plumbing, electricity, etc., also check for conduit runs as well as conduit paths into the structure from the feed source/property line/manhole. When buildings are sold and tenants leave for refurbishing/renovation efforts, conduits are forgotten. Therefore conduit may be packed with old wire and cable, not allowing additional space for any telephone or electrical wiring to replace the long forgotten cable. Tenants do not remove these components, in fact often times not only are conduits filled, sometimes equipment and wiring remains long after the tenants have left. Replacing these conduits after renovation will be expensive so the best opportunity is knowing what to look for on the front end of new refurbishing construction.

This is going to be short...it has been a long day

2009-07-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today while interviewing for a new book I'm writing, I realized the importance, once again, of ethics, morality, responsibility, and real principles that are alive and well in some people. The question was to a CEO..."What gives you angst?" The book will be out in January, it will be their words, it will be about ethics, it will be about trust, it will be about our current situation, how we can make it better and many other interesting issues in smart peoples minds.

Side note: This CEO is 69 years old. This CEO is not technology smart. He can use a cell phone, a computer, a telephone (desk) and understands how to use google.

He is also the most wonderful person, CEO, I know...he's my brother.

Entertainment, Electronics, Energy, Energy, Energy

2009-07-21T05:57:00.001-07:00

Good grief, when does this all end...halls are lined with electronic picture frames, each room filled with TV's, telephones, printers, music players, computers. This is a home.

In the office there's mega printers, mega computers, servers, routers, blackboxes of sorts, every desk has a laptop, every laptop has printer. Conference rooms are filled with electronics, video equipment bringing the world into a room, conference calling capability galore, abilities to capture 250 people from across the globe. We bring the world to us at a touch. We go to the world at a touch.

Three days ago I bought the latest in recording gadgetry. Record, video, and write all in one application. Store 1 or 2 gig of data, I chose 1 gig. At a touch.

Piano Lessons

2009-07-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Remembering when I was young and taking piano lessons. My parents couldn't afford lessons until I was in highschool. By that time I had lost interest. The instructor was not a great help either. She wanted to spend more time with my sister and her voice lessons.

Technology, applications, electronics, energy consumption remind me of paino lessons. It's more difficult to understand the complexities of technology when we age as opposed to the youth that grew up with all things digital, even their toys.
Technology doesn't need to be intimidated by technology choices and making the right decisions for you, your budget, your company. It's ok not to know how to make it all work for you including the method for operating, understanding devices, making the right choices. One size does not fit all.

Helping Companies with Energy, Electronics and Environment

2009-07-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

Waste in the corporate world shows the demise of sea life, well maybe human greed, insatiable appetites, money, money, money. When will we realize a balance in nature, in the beauty of life, of the earth, of the need to be respectful of all humans and nature. We need to save our planet, educate the under privileged, throw out consumer materialism, save energy, cut gadgetry from our lives, incorporate humans, relationships, embrace values, get back to basics. Working together we can save ourselves, and our babies future. Yes, this should be Green Chatter but again, the handshake is so important.

New book for Release January 2010

2009-07-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

CEO Speaks, Sage Advice in a Turbulent Time, this is for business owners, grad students, masters programs and any one wanting to understand CEO perceptives in a market swollen with an Economy of Fear, Economy of Distrust, Angst about 401K's, corporate benefits, and most of all, Ethics. Speaking with a former CEO of a non-profit recently she left, resigned due to lack of responsibility of the Board of Directors. People want recognition but no work, they want to be a hero for serving without any service. She also shared about another local CEO that's a gossip, good heart but a gossip. Gee whiz Charlie Brown, let's get back to being real, caring, having self esteem and reaching out for the benefit of others. This world is begging for Truth, Kindness, Caring, Responsible, Ethical behavior, NOW. It all starts with us, one at a time.

This is not about technology it's about ethics

2009-07-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

Meeting with a CEO today, interviewing him for a new book I'm writing and we both hopped up on the soap box briefly regarding ethics, level playing fields and what has occured in his industry, the banking business. This is part of the book but his analysis seemed to be right on the mark. CEO's are not only well groomed, often good looking people, smart, savvy, great memories, the good ones know how to be humble. He spoke about serving the community, internal and external. Yes, he makes the ultimate decisions, but he talked about the best of the best in his company.

He spent a great deal of time talking about ethics. Serving community, employee programs that are helping employees during the day with quality programs at work and helping them live longer with programs for healthy living every day. This man loves his work, his bank and cares about his employees as a CEO. Impressive! I can't wait to spend time with his referrals in the future and hopefully more time with him.
We need more ethics in business, more people with passion about serving and wanting to do it right. Just a side note. Tomorrow will be about how crooks are using technology to SCAM us.

Ethics, Vendors, Corporations, Business Standards

2009-07-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Starting project on publishing a book and interviewing CEO's talking with a dear friend today explaining process, purpose and connecting ethics, with ROI, all industries, big and small. Friends response was about local banker with body guards!
What a shock to know the ethics behind the firm. Sad we can't seem to learn from history, recent history at that. Have we not seen enough Enron, HealthSouth, MCI, Wall Street, mortgage, and investment debacles? People need to get back to the basics. This corporation cut employees benefits while giving CEO a bonus. Nice ethical behavior, the hell with the worker-bees, let's reward the CEO. I so respect companies that the CEO stops receiving all the accolades while punishing employees.

Ethics, Vendors & Consulting

2009-07-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

For a positive person with ethics it becomes very difficult in this Economy of Fear, Economy of Distrust, Economy of CEO's and Board of Directors, Economy of Greed, Economy of Broken Promises, Economy of Political Wrongs, well you get the picture. It's all around us everyday. Talking with several dozen people today the resounding issues were all outlined. Research for a new book I'm writing the passion for moral standards is alive and well. Big business needs to pay attention because people are catching onto the antics. Not training customer services representative properly is causing more anger. How many client will you cheat before the word gets out? One company was going overseas and was told you have unlimited access on your card. Well why with unlimited access did they receive a $32,000 dollar bill? Consultants in my field share information and vendors beware. We are ethical and we share information daily. If it isn't right by our clients, we know about who, what, why and how you are treating our customers/clients. The word gets out on the street.

Proactive Strategy for IT, Telephony & Energy

2009-07-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

When taking a proactive approach to company growth, new technologies, corporate planning, marketing programs and any activity impacting employees, customers or vendors think about strategy. That same impact is also on equipment, procedures, processes, applications all dealing with installed equipment. Look at the history, check for future opportunities, and look at the moment. What is impacting your business now? Believe it or not some companies are making money, growing, expanding, positioning for the future and doing it all now.

Strategies work and sometimes we adjust. Years ago with I was selling equipment I remember sales training that said "don't fix what isn't broken". We all have to gauge timing. Good leaders know this, do it, observe processes while fixing only that which is broken. What does this have to do with technology and decisions? Everything. Companies are not closed environments, they are dynamic, constantly moving, adding, changing. It all works together.

Plain and Simple Communication

2009-07-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

When corporation fail to train on communication techniques they are wasting money daily. I have proof of Fortune 500 companies not talking to their employees and the results were wasted time and money. Big money! One very gray area for any form of installation is a starting point for documenting revenue loss. The proof part is all the stories I have for government agencies and corporations when installing fiber. The order were invariable wrong because sales people did not understand why 1) addresses needed to be accurate
2) contact names correct
3) verify vacation time & holiday schedules
4) have alternate contact
5) verify phone numbers
6) verify reliable employee
7) verify dates
8) verify complexity
9) verify availability
10) verify costs regarding location, graphics, distances from equipment to cable to buildings from SWC or serving wire center
The list isn't complete, it's a starting point for complex installations. Today my example was poorly written directions for installing a washer & dryer...time is money with any installation, technical or not.

More Data and IT Information

2009-07-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Knowing these are facts is pretty scary:
100% of disk and tape drives eventually fail
34% of companies test backups of those who do, of those wo do, 77% have found failure
60% of companies lose data will go out of business within 6 months of disaster
1/2 of corporate data reside on unprotected PC desktops and laptop
O Other percentages for data loss:
78% of hardware or systems malfunction
11% human error (of course, we mess up)
7% of software is corrupt (ask my husband how he felt
about vista in 2007)
2% of computers
1% other (whatever other is...?)
25% of users do not back up their computer files
22% backing up PC is on to do list
30% companies report not a disaster recovery program
1 in 25 notebooks are stolen, broken, or destoryed each year
500 times more data stored on drives then a decade ago
30% chance of corrupted file in one year
We continue to be vulnerable even when we know the facts.

Just plain ole communication

2009-07-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

Talking with a dear sweet person today, a friend, a fellow technology person, a fellow person in this little church we attend, I tolded a story about installing an OC3 for a government contracter wrong info...It is my mission to help people, save companies money, help people. OK, this is a short blog. We lost a friend today.

Lobbists and legislation mess

2009-07-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Law makers are still being bought by lobbists and not helping the consumer when laws are passed and the legislation knows little about what an industry needs. Talking with a Public Service Commission employee I found out one of the largest providers for telecommunication is now unregulated in a specific state. Why do law makers want to mess things up especially when they know nothing about the bad effects on people, on industry, on consumers, on business. I agree with one Congressman, no more long terms for legislators, no more lobbists.

Company Provided Cell Phones and PC's

2009-07-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

Who owns the device? It is the corporation's or the individual's. The deciding factor is ownership. Are passwords part of the programs and who owns the password? Most databases are not up to date. Did someone get paid from an expense account? Or was the expendure corporate acquistion? Databases are not keeping up which can be a security issue. When a promotion or transfer in internal are passwords and access removed immediately for databases no longer part of the employees responsibility? Are databases secure? This is one arena not to cut back on when it comes to security. One friend has a security company and frequently breaks into computer systems to show how vunerable her clients are on security issues. To use her words, "act like to know what you're doing the employees never question the motives". Her clients are usually banks. Scary right! Ever heard of industrial esponoge

Technology Myths

2009-07-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

The sub title is true to some extent but when you remove the people, remove peoples needs, remove departments needs, you're removing the entire purpose. Ask employees what their needs are when making decisions. Ask department heads how their department work with clients? Who makes the buying decisions? Saving time a criteria? Is it a committee? The CFO? The accounting department? Likely it will change based on the organizations structure. I know I'm harping again but computers to blackberries they are tools to use not to be married too. Human need should come first. One e-conference recently had a case study how to make life easier and patients safer based on technology. I can't think of a better example then the health care industry because it isn't always but it is a life and death situation.
Time is money and sometimes a life. Physicians and nurses need the right application, the right equipment, and saving time is huge for this profession. The technology exist for transcribing patients records by voice command. Time a critical component in the heath care industry plus accurate communication.

Yesterday's blog about internet providers

2009-07-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Not all vendors are playing by the rules, or maybe they are playing by rules, their rules. Working from home, they immediately say "Oh, you are a business account so we can charge you more" or they block ports so certain applications are not available to you. Thanks FCC in 1996 for messing it up so bad to allow a entire batch of unethical businesses to operate in this industry. Not even to mention their unethical rules. "We can charge you more or limited your access to application by not allowing open ports". Applications which would make your business life smoother.
Competition is wide open as are corporate decisions to make things harder for some small businesses.

Vendors and providers give us so much to blog about. Practices that are hurting small business people so please don't start a small business campaign if your big business practice is hurting small businesses from ease of use. Limiting their customers is a sure way to hurt your own business especially for the big boys. See how many long term contracts you lose, if that I hope you're tracking those.

Not too sure of Internet Providers

2009-07-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

As part of a nationwide network as well as international network I find professional information valuable. As consultants we collect data on equipment, vendors, applications and are able to share this information on line through email. Protecting our clients by knowing how to protect them is great. Poor vendors, poor practices, poor manufacturing are shared through knowledge of hundreds of consultants. New technology not working properly? Again, shared resources discussing applications. E-seminars are available with excellent knowledge shared about industries, applications for the industries, energy consumption guides for voice and data. In this country we have a new word in our vocabulary, unfortunately, the word(s) is trust deficit. It's true today as always a few major thieves ruin the world of trust and break people, hearts, and families sometimes lives.

Making It Work for You and Your Company

2009-07-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've blogged about this before but this is so important for success with electronic choices. While many vendors are wonderful, their job is to sell what their company has in the warehouse. What the manufacturer they represent makes. Then they train for using the product their sell people sold. It is that simple.

There are ways to analyze what you need as an organization. Begin the purchasing of telephones and lap tops with your criteria. Find out from department heads who in the department would be a good investigator. That someone will ask workers good questions such as how can this ________ do something that makes calling, typing, a better instrument for your productivity during use? Help your customers? What type of compliants do you receive? Customer service, sales, or any department that has intensive tasks for the tool. It is a tool, make it work for you, not you working with the __________. My motto, application counts. One size does not fit all. Your organization desires the proper applications to make the day less stressful, cusatomers happier, revenue making easier.

Putting Ethics Back Into Business

2009-07-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Today is special for many Americans. We love our country, our food, our traditions.
We love our families and friends. We love to celebrate our holidays, our independence. Most of us are good, solid, citizens with ethics and caring hearts. We celebrate our freedom. Putting ethics back into business, taking precaution in buying electronics and making sure vendors are being straight up about energy consumption will make our world a better place. A better place for doing business today and tomorrow while helping save our country's as well as the world's resources.

SCAMS, SCAMS, SCAMS

2009-07-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

SCAMMED back in April I'm still attempting to get the PC working properly. Adobe buries some reader capability deep in the stack and still my pdf files can not be viewed. All I receive is code when opened. A colleague tried helping with an Uninstaller program. I spent the 35 dollars and received the download but not can not use because they want a source code or key without providing one with the download. People are finding more and more ways to cheat others out of money. 35 dollars is not a huge amount unless these smart theaves find lots of takers. I'm thinking about publishing the name just so others can protect themselves if not the bank account. Corporations are not ammune either. The word safety has yet another meaning in cyberspace.

Size is not an issue with outages

2009-07-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

A mutual friend introduced me to a friend...that category I call, friend of a friend.
Today we met for breakfast and while we talked he shared who is vendor is for lines and equipment. Just when his office was about to open I offered to go over to look at the termination point and verify what he had been spending. He also had shared a brief, 3 day outage, no lines, no DSL. Financial planners need constant internet access. That's the way they stay on top of their clients investments. Three working days with no way to stay on top of the market. He also has a partner and several employees. There is a conflict between what I saw and what he thinks he has in lines or access as we call that in the industry. We'll get it straight. Vendors please be honest with customers...because someone will find you out eventually. I've known this vendor is not a good vendor for years. Maybe now I can prove my suspicions.

Combined Green Chatter and Stone Rings Blog July 1

2009-07-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Speaking with an local IT company today one of the people told me when he was hired 3years ago the company was throwing PC's in the trash. That is so negative on the ground water and soil for years to come. People poo pooing environmental issues remain ignorant because the research has been done. Any electronics has chemicals that are harmful. End of story. The bigger the equipment and more chemicals. Operating companies center offices, data centers, call centers are full of toxins.
Humans do not fair well with toxins especially if they are being trashed including being shipped overseas. That is not recycling, it's just killing foreign people. These are the same people that have families that love them. Children that need healthy parents and if it is wrong in the US, it's wrong every where.

Industry and the World

2009-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Attending a seminar today at a local university I observed so many interested parties at the event. This program was started to reach out to the business community and connect education and business partners. Samford University is an elite small university with a pristine group of students and excellent teaching staff. As part of their curriculum they have a Business School with undergraduate and masters programs. Another unique program within the Business School is an Entrepreneurial coursework for those wanting to become small business owners. This year and perhaps before we are offered an opportunity to attend International workshops. Today the workshop was on Guanajuato, Mexico. In the center of Mexico, this state has started an international reach bringing industry of all types into a eager, young and willing workforce. Technology is, of course, one of the focuses for this area. COFOCE headed by Luis Ernesto Rojas Avita, Director, helps through partnering , connecting and mentoring companies interested in this type of environment. Two railroads as well as highways intersect there for transporting goods and services as well as raw materials. COFOCE assists companies in all ways to connect with partners for the successful development of this area and the incoming organization. Blogging about this as information for interest of any readers.

Rip or Replacing Telephone Equipment?

2009-06-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

How secure are the servers, passwords, and access into systems? When replacing equipment, make sure your vendor tests everyway hackers can break into your systems.
This can take hours of time, however, the loss of data via a security breach can cost millions. Losses can cost months of time to replace critical mission information. The costs of possible customer database information, customer information loss impact revenue, employee time and employee personal information impact security, database security, human resource damage, just to name a few. Even training material can be lost...proceed with caution and diligence.

IT and Telecommunications Again

2009-06-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

OK, it's your departments money, allocation of corporate funds, 2009 budget, projections into 2010 budget, whatever you name the source, it is the allocated funds, use them wisely. IT and telecommunication are not the SAME! They do shakehands, they touch, the analogy is a brush. It is not a complete embrace, ask IT if they understand access or even know what the word means? Does IT even get close to your accounting department? Who pays the bills, IT or accounting? Who makes the decision IT or C level management, it so, who reads the contract to know the quoted price? Is IT checking the contract for telephone expense? Is cellular costs lower or raising? Mr. C level, please stop assuming IT is the place to throw telecommunication, it's a handshake not a marriage. Be smart, give telecom a department head that knows telecommunication and can help your bottom line. IT is not the place. Sorry to shake your world but that is not good management of money, time or decisions. While you're in the thinking process, who is asking you to be certified and locking you into their revenue stream, FOREVER...THINK, that's why you have a brain.

Connecting the Dots Between Effective Communication and Productivity

2009-06-27T04:32:00.000-07:00

This isn't a new topic but an important one with the correlation between human effectiveness, accurate and simple communication plus what we spend on technology to help us make money, spend money and be effective in our organization. Whew, that's a sentence. Making technology work for you, your company, your employees as well as return on investment. Sounds simple when in practice it is a difficult measurement.
When implementing new equipment from a telephone to an expense piece in the lab, are you getting what you need? Are employees using the equipment the way it is designed to be used? Was training good without industry jargon confusing instruction? Is there savings projected and who is measuring the savings? How often are reports compiled and received? What were the predictions on savings; productivity or money or both? Is there an effective motivation for proper use?

We spend billions each year for the biggest and best in every profession. Are we getting the hard or soft rate of return promised by the manufacturer or the vendor?
Answers to the questions on the front end may help with buying decisions in the process and evaulating impact along the way as well as strategy on capital outlay then measurement for validation 6 months down the road, recurring every 6 months for long term validation. Measurement is simply impact on productivity or business improvement.

Training on telephones

2009-06-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Whether you're buying soft phones, desk top phones or new laptops ask for some training to go with the purchase for the corporate environment. Someone may question why I occasionally touch personnel issues. Because corporations are not closed environments. All departments just like a family, impact on one another. When we start thinking we're a closed environment is when you might as well lock the doors and throw away the key. There are times this is difficult to remember especially when things are going very well or not so well.

Our youth is great at training especially on new technology. Their entire life has been spent with gadgets, maybe they don't have expertise in a lot of ways, but they are savvy with our e-environment.