SMB Community Podcast

I met Allen Edwards all the way back in April of this year. I've already seem him at events in two states. We even shared a beer (or two) in Albuquerque. Allen help IT Professionals create great processes.

Allen Edwards began his I.T. career in 1994. He founded his first I.T. company in 2002, and in ten short years led his firm through a transition from break/fix to MSP, from custom ticketing to AutoTask before moving to ConnectWise Manage, and a final sale of the business.

A sought-after MSP and Process expert, Allen helps Business Leaders and their teams while building meaningful, growth-centered relationships that support next level performance.

Link: https://EurekaProcess.com

Enjoy the video interview:

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Ryan's off to Scotland this week, but Dave's back from New Zealand. So Dave and I enjoyed a casual conversation about travel . . . and other Summer topics.

In 2008, Brooke Ferguson, MBA packed up her business consulting practice and moved it online. Her objective was simple: keep growing her business while she saw the world.

Brooke spent a number of years traveling, while keeping Thailand as her "home base." Eventually, she realized that she wanted to make beautiful Krabi, Thailand her home. She has since set up her business beachside, and helps others from around the world discover their own personal and business alignment.

I don't normally post photos this grand, but look at that landscape!

Here we talk about Brooke's newest book – The Levels. This is, basically, her approach to using the laws of the universe to understand our personal universe AND how we can use this understanding to influence our success. She uses the language of physics to describe our relationships, our business, and our general activities.

Then she connects this to the world of self-awareness and even meditation.

Best quote: "No one's going to argue with the person who's angry and wants to take a few minutes."

Follow along with Brooke's journey at https://www.businessbackpacker.com and get on her mailing list for upcoming deals and discounts for her new book, The Levels

Sign Up

Enjoy the video interview:

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Dave was off to New Zealand when we recorded Episode 13. So Ryan and Karl took on three topics on our own. Dave will be back next week.

We kick off with a discussion of social media moderation. In particular, why does one social media outlet (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) leave material up while another one takes it down? In addition, we touch on the spectrum from obviously fake to deep fake content. How much can AI help Facebook and others deal with content moderation? AND is this a free speech issue? And if so, does Facebook have the right to regulate our speech?

Feedback welcome (form below).

Speaking of Facebook, we moved to a discussion of Libra, FB's new cryptocurrency. With 1.7 billion users without bank accounts, FB is hoping to be the "best" way to exchange money. Can we trust Facebook with our money when we can't trust them with our data?

There are many good things about the new FB currency model . . . but also some serious questions.

Speaking of security . . . Ryan poses the question of whether it makes sense to have an MSSP (managed security service provider) that is not an MSP (managed service provider)? At what point is this just "outsourced IT?" Or perhaps we're all MSSPs. Or maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.

:-)

I caught up with my brother Manuel after he returned from a triumphant tour of Europe and the UK. He's got some cool things going on the second half of the year, including a big Coaches Mastermind event at CompTIA's ChannelCon.

We talked about Manuel's coaching and consulting, and then did a deep dive into a few topics.

First up: Culture!

How do you create culture on purpose? And what happens if you let it grow by itself? I love Manuel's assessment that it has to grow from the top down . . . or else it will grow from the bottom up.

Second: Manuel is organizing a "Coaches Mastermind" opportunity at ChannelCon – Free to attendees. This is a limited event due to the size of the room. First come, first served. To make sure you don't miss it, sign up for Manuel's newsletter here: https://manuelpalachuk.com/

Enjoy the video interview:

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We start off arguing about whether to investigate and breaks up some of the big online services. Listen for Dave's challenge to the listeners!

Next up, we jump into the following article from the MIT Technology Review: Revising DNS to include Blockchain.

Questions include: Is there a problem that needs to be solved? Does anarchy and secrecy create additional issues? Perhaps the for-profit market can fend off these issues.

Finally, we revisit the question of whether a pizza (or burrito) will be delivered to our homes first by robot or flying drone. The referenced article is about Amazon's announcement that Prime members can expect drone deliveries "within months."

See https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/amazon-debuts-its-new-delivery-drone-says-it-will-begin-n1014371

Where do you stand in the bet of Drone vs. Robot?

Well, we think it's more interesting to debate whether we're creating more jobs than we're eliminating.

. . . Just another fast-pace podcast. Please give it a listen and leave us your comments and questions.

:-)

Topics here include technology in schools, Windows 7 EOL, and SpaceX.

Technology in schools has become more important than ever, but the "digital divide" is getting worse. Some districts have amazing, cutting edge programs while others are struggling to teach basic skills. As a consultant, it's easier to sell into the education market. But finding people to help people learn the tech remains a challenge.

From there Dave rants on technicians who are irate about the end of life for Windows 7 - TEN YEARS after it was introduced. That leads to a discussion of transitions in general and expectations in particular. We finish with the surprising note that Microsoft is more interesting today than it has been in a very long time.

Our final topic is the coolness of SpaceX's launch of 60 satellites at once, and the future of their low-orbit Internet offering. The potential goodness from this venture includes universal access to the Internet and all the cool stuff that comes from massive bandwidth. Once again, access with bring opportunity to developing nations. And the badness? Well, 12,000 low orbit satellites will be visible to the point of interfering with star gazing.

Please give it a listen. Share with your friends. Subscribe. And give us your feedback below.

:-)

 

A follow-up to the topic we started last week.

We kick off with a discussion about ethics in emerging technology. Ethics need to be both internal and outward-facing. And the sooner ethics enters the discussion, the better.

Inventors don't normally consider the evil possibilities in their creations right from the start. At what point should they?

Referenced article: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/24/tech/tech-morality-max-levchin/index.html

Are you have these kinds of high value discussions with clients and vendors? One point of view: You only need to do that if you want more money!

From there we pivot to charitable giving by high tech entrepreneurs.

Finally, we take a look at subscription services that are delightfully surprising. What subscription services you are surprised by?

Dave notes that subscribers will only subscribe to a limited number services. This is a huge argument for bundling your services!

Please give it a listen. Share with your friends. Subscribe. And give us your feedback below.

:-)

 

We kick off Episode 9 with our pet peeve slides from the front of the room. Give us your feedback: If you could eliminate one slide forever, what would it be?

... Wherein Ryan admits he has used more than his share of data slides ... leaving fewer slides for the rest of us.

From there we pivot to "The Dark Side of Emerging Technology." Technology is super cool ... until something goes wrong. We touch on accidents, mistakes, unintended consequences, as well as malicious actors.

We conclude with a nod to a future topic: Building ethics in technology and into our consulting business.

Referenced show: Netflix series "The Blake Mirror."

Please give it a listen. Share with your friends. Subscribe. And give us your feedback below.

Ryan sent us a blog post that just didn't hit home with him. Dave breaks it into three pieces and then shreds it. Wherein we note that The Google can't lie.

Then we slip into a very serious discussion of business models and business model generation.

Book: Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

They define the business model based on nine things (all of which contribute to value):
- Customer Segments
- Value Propositions
- Channels
- Customer Relationships
- Revenue Streams
- Key Resources
- Key Activities
- Key Partnerships
- Cost Structure

Taken together, all of these define your value proposition. But, we seem to argue with each other, most of us don't have a clear focus on the most important elements of a business model when we use the term "business model."

Question: Do you buy into your own value prop?

Final analysis: Don't use the term "Business Model" to mean some small subset of what's important in your business.

. . . Then we segue . . . to who's who . . .

Is it useful to create a menagerie of the IT industry? Wherein we explore the ways that we all use labels and titles and categories? How do we get a big picture of the universe when we KNOW that most of the universe is invisible to us?

. . . And then, suddenly, we move to a discussion of the Gartner report on what we need to pay attention to.

See https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2018-10-15-gartner-identifies-the-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2019

Gartner's The Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019:

• Autonomous Things
• Augmented Analytics
• AI-Driven Development
• Digital Twins
• Empowered Edge
• Immersive Experience
• Blockchain
• Smart Spaces
• Digital Ethics and Privacy
• Quantum Computing

For comparison . . .

Here are Comptia's Top Ten Emerging Technologies for 2019:

• Internet of Things
• Artificial Intelligence
• 5G
• Serverless Computing
• Blockchain
• Robotics
• Biometrics
• 3D Printing
• AR / VR
• Drones

Please give it a listen. Share with your friends. Subscribe. And give us your feedback below.

:-)