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Rest in peace, Steve Jobs

Posted by: tim in steve jobs, reflection on Oct 6, 2011

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs

When a person, like Steve Job's must leave this world the only light that can be found for those of us left is cast in the genius and inspiration his life inspired.

I write of the personal inspiration Steve Jobs has given in my life and the life of our organization. At one time, Apple too, was a small technology firm, with an idea and dreams. In the success of technology, like Apple and Steve, lives are forever changed in ways that we might never imagine. With the impact of genius, like Steve carved into the lives of so many, with a masterful hand he shaped a global culture.

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How High Tech is Your City?

Posted by: admin in travel, reflection, funny stories on Jul 27, 2011

blockbuster2Like to travel? There are tons of lists out there curating the world’s most tech savvy cities. If you’ve been to Seattle or New York, you’ve probably marveled at the blanket of free wifi and the sprawling campuses that house some of the world’s biggest high tech firms and internet leaders – Microsoft, Amazon, Google, etc.  Asia is no slouch either. Anyone who’s been to Tokyo will have been floored by the incredible efficiency of the train system and how the city seamlessly combines ultra-modern innovation and architecture, endless shops packed floor to ceiling with gadgets, games and electronics AND traditional shrines and gardens.

The thing is, despite all those breathless write-ups and images of super high-tech cities of the future, a lot of small centers are still hopping onto the bandwagon. While you can use your cell phone to wirelessly pay for bus fare and taxis in Europe and Asia, in most small towns wireless debit machines are just starting to make an appearance.

And while everyone online is talking about Netflix and streaming video as the future of content delivery, in small and medium sized cities the local Blockbuster is still doing brisk business.

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Have You Found Your Personal Best for 2011?

Posted by: tim in strategy, reflection, challenge, 2011 Business Boot Camp on Feb 24, 2011

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The "boot camp" of starting a new year for your business, was, of course, a metaphor. We spend much of our lives working "at" our business and jobs, instead of being engaged "with" the meaning and purpose of the activity we undertake.  This is true, especially so, when the nourishment of business, cash flows, new sales, ongoing productivity and loyal customers seem to be waning.

So with our boot camp, the emphasis wasn’t so much on what you were going to physically accomplish, but the new awareness you would gain. What we really wanted you to do was sit back and think about your business – realizing with the right amount of determination and a good plan, you could transform it.

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4 Business Resolutions for a Successful 2011

Posted by: admin in strategy, reflection, business on Dec 21, 2010

noisemakerThe New Year is the perfect time for reflection. Possibilities are laid out before you – only limited by your imagination and the effort you want to put into achieving your goals. Here is a list of some of the most popular business resolutions to inspire you. No matter what your industry, no matter what the state of your business, or how successful you are, these goals are something everyone can agree on.

  1. Do more, for less: Even if your business runs perfectly fine, it’s probably not running at maximum efficiency. With the New Year fresh, it’s a great time to challenge your staff and yourself to evaluate how your business runs and see if any improvements can be made to save you time, inventory or money.
  2. Work Less, play more: Everyone wants more time to do the things they love. Consider training someone to help you with your work, streamlining or even automating some of your business. Time is the one thing you cannot buy more of – use your time wisely to do the things that are important to you.
  3. Expand your horizons: Opportunity knocks every day – even in a tough economy. There are people who want what you’re selling, but you may need to look further or advertise a little smarter to find more customers like your best ones.
  4. Connect better to your customers: The key to real business success is understanding your customers: what they want, and how you can provide it to them. Consider working with your customers and clients in 2011 to see how you can not only retain their business, but turn them into brand evangelists for you. A loyal, dedicated customer will always be worth more to your bottom line than even the best advertising.

Need a little help making your New Year’s resolutions a reality? Want to learn how you can connect better to your customers, expand your market, work less and yet still do more and make more money? The Connected Market Coach could be the tool you need to make 2011 your most successful year yet.

That’s it for 2010. The CMAEON blog will be back in 2011, with more tips, advice and connections for you to explore. Have a great year.

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Posted by: admin in reflection, funny stories, Christmas on Dec 15, 2010

5233234979_03f14616deNote: This blog post was written by Kathleen, CMAEON’s resident blog editrix and all around comic relief. The advice inside is not to be followed under any circumstances.

Ah…. Christmas. A time to spend time with your loved ones, and remind them of how much their friendship and support means to you. With presents.

Coming right out and saying it now – Christmas shopping sucks. Whether you’re getting everything wrapped by November 1st, or scrambling at the last minute on Christmas Eve, there is much humming and hawing to do as part of the gift selection process, most of it pointless.

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How Every Marathon Runner Wins the Race

Posted by: tim in strategy, sports, reflection, new york on Nov 25, 2010

I was recently in New York during the famous NYC Marathon. The city was packed with runners from all over the world.  What struck me was that many of them didn't look like they could walk to the end of the block, much less run a marathon!  Yet, there they were, ready for a grueling 26 mile race.

In the elevator of my hotel, I overheard two runners talking after the race.  There was a sense of relief and euphoria in the lobby of our hotel; so much so that I was energized as a mere casual observer of all of these people.  The conversation was about the second place women’s finisher, a woman who came in just 40 seconds behind the winner.  Consider how tiny a 40 second lead is after a 26 mile race.  Wherever they finished personally, these two runners were ecstatic. They were just happy to have finished the race. One runner who was a bit rotund, and didn't look at all like a marathon runner said to the other sleek gentleman, "I kept thinking after the 10 mile mark about my friend who told me 'pain is temporary, losing is forever".

This situation is such a far cry from 30 years ago when Katherine Switzer snuck into the Boston Marathon in 1967 registered as K. Switzer.  During the race, an official tried to pull her from the pack as women weren't allowed to run marathons, they were thought too fragile!  Whoever made that rule had clearly never met my wife (or my four daughters, two sisters, Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton or [fill in the blank yourself]).  Times were different then, but what hasn’t changed is people - women (and sometimes men) are determined. If someone wants something badly enough they can do it – they can push through 26 miles, or gain a mere 40 seconds to win a race.

Business today is a lot like running. Entrepreneurs are pushing harder than ever to succeed, and there are more people than ever going it alone.  It doesn’t take an MBA or a fat bank account to start a business -most are started with nothing but pure determination.

However, unlike running, where the situation is the same for everyone, much of today's technology was designed for existing operating companies, not ones just starting out.  I received an email the other day from a friend that said, "well I tried Salesforce CRM, it was disappointing and hard to use, not even as good as Goldmine.  I'm going to try Sugar CRM." This friend is just like the thousands of would be runners who never made it to the NYC marathon.   They run and run, imagining that they could run a marathon, but never commit fully to the effort it takes to be a real participant.   When running a race or a business, choosing a goal and seeing it clearly, finishing something and sticking with it - that is what makes up a real participant, an entrepreneur and a winner.

The one thing about every runner in the NYC Marathon whether they were 40 seconds away from first place, stuck in the middle of the pack, or just happy they finished, is that they all had a gold medal performance that day. Everyone had done their personal best and shown up.   Everyone had achieved something that differentiated them from the rest of the world of runners - a dream to run in one of the biggest, toughest competitions in the world.

When I think about entrepreneurs, business owners, small and medium sized businesses and talk to our customers and users, I see the same type of determination those runners have.  They don't just run down the same old roads, they connect to a cause that they have chosen - and run toward that with a passion.  Every one of the companies in the Connected Market Space is unique and a driving force.  They are overcoming the limitations of disconnected ideas and technology, and connecting with their market.  Some will be at the front of the pack, some will be the pack, some will be happy to have completed the race.  All are unique because they do their personal best and their customers love them and connect to them for that reason.  No matter what size their business is - they are connected.

My friend is one of the millions looking for a CRM solution that will never work for his business.  He will struggle, not understanding that he doesn't need a sales force – he just needs to get connected to his core business - his core mission and dream.  Those two runners made it across the finish line because they understood something that many people never get - it's about the steps, the pace and the commitment to train.  Success isn’t about the fancy running clothes, watching videos or going to clinics about running technique… Each and every one of those participants did one thing the same: they ran, they put in the endless effort and they had a goal.  That makes them different and unique from most of the rest of the world, and runners in the world.

In business, what you do differently and what you’re willing to commit to drives your success.  It's not about dressing up in new features (like new running garb) as the software firms would have you buy.  It's about getting into the market, with social networks, with connections; it's about getting on the road and running.

Think of the Connected Market Space in your home town, your market of customers.  It’s like the road you run down to train for whatever you goal is, be it just good health or a marathon in the future.  We built 1to1Real so you can run down that road with confidence and with us behind you as support.  1to1Real works like your personal trainer; we help you so you can become the best in your Connected Market.  If you have a goal in mind, and you’re running toward it, on the right path, with the right commitment you will succeed.

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Business Lessons from the Movies

Posted by: cmaeon in reflection, CMAEON on Nov 3, 2010

Most people probably think the dull, buttoned up business world shouldn’t make great movie fodder. The thing is, business is dramatic, exciting and influences our lives like nothing else. With Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps and the Social Network out this year, business movies are proving again that they can be just as exciting and engaging as movies centered around explosions and scantily clad women (ahem... Michael Bay... ahem).

Movies can teach every entrepreneur a lot of great lessons about how the world works as well. While most movies are just intended to be entertaining, there are some great ideas in them, and the espouse some of the most profound business truths out there. Doubtful? Here are CMAEON’s top five business lessons we learned from movies.

1. Office Space - Creativity and boredom are a terrifyingly powerful combination

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1to1Real: 50 years in the Making

Posted by: tim in tim vasko, reflection, connected market space on Sep 15, 2010

I just received this email. Names withheld to protect the innocent…


-----Original Message-----
From: [redacted]
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 11:25 AM
To: Tim Vasko
Subject: Get Your Free Sales Assessment Today!
We’re revolutionizing how busy sales professionals find
and buy software with our FREE online assessment for sales team managers!
By completing the free, online Sales Software Needs Assessment we can connect you with prescreened, sales software companies that offer products matched to your needs!
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Spend more hours selling and less time doing every-thing else.
• Could your reps be squeezing more sales out of their territories?
• Are they scheduling as many calls as they could?
• Do they up-sell and cross-sell when they should?
• Do they call the right people at the right time?
• Do you sometimes think, “We could do better!”?
Get a 5-10 page customized report – free of charge!
We can match you with our Pre-Screened vendors no matter what you need:
-----

Looking at the content of this email - the list of questions being asked and the choice of solutions being offered… it suddenly becomes easy to answer the question of what the Connected Market Space is, and what 1to1Real is.

All of the questions in that email are just about sales. It conveniently forgets that running a business is about sales, managing people, creating a good marketing message to get the leads and buyers for your sales staff (if you have a sales staff - many of us wear that hat too) and keeping track of the bottom line.

In the world of this email, once you've answered the question of the day you get to sort through a host of solutions that promise to solve your problem of the day.  But who has the time to evaluate dozens of software solutions and try to figure out what solution(s) might work for them?   It's a never ending circle - what problem, what solution, how much should you spend - will it work? Getting tangled up using a different technology solution for every one of your business “problems” is no solution at all.

I was caught in the technology tangle years ago with my businesses. I thought to myself, "isn't technology supposed to help me?  Why do I find myself doing more work at night trying to keep up with data entry, than I did before when all I had was paper?" I had found plenty of “tools” that needed me to do more data entry just to keep up.  They didn't help me answer the questions (like those in the email) for my market, my prospects, or even my staff when I was busy wearing one of my many hats. They solved one problem and created others in their wake.  Once I used a solution to improve my email marketing, I was left with too many contacts that I wasn’t responding to well enough to...  So, I need another "tool" to fix that problem… I was caught in a trap – a never ending spiral – the technology tangle.

However, when I realized I was caught, I noticed that everyone else was too. So, I set out to do something about it.  I imagined software – an actual solution - that would do some of the work for my business, instead of making more work for me.  I wanted something that once I set it up and said "go" - it would take the load off of me and my business and my staff, something that would connect me to my market and my customers. I’ve worked with hundreds of companies and thousands of staff over the last 10 years, and they’ve all had the same problems:

1) Wearing multiple hats
2) Getting your story to the market in a crowded marketplace
3) Keeping the message going out
4) Keeping the leads and business coming in
5) Using technology to manage the process

1to1Real is the solution to all of these problems. It’s the Connected Market Technology I imagined. 1to1Real is a process engine; it’s a robot - a sales, management, and messaging engine – it’s an automated marketing machine. It’s THE solution that actually connects you to your market and your customers, actually saves you time and actually does the work for you.

So, here it is - the week I turned 50.  I didn't think it would take a decade of my life to create!  It’s been a huge investment to create 1to1Real and deliver the Connected Market Space to people.  I can't say I've always loved the journey.  However, I can say I've always been fascinated about the possibility of a solution.

Creating 1to1Real took the CMAEON team tens of thousands of hours of work, all while working with real companies who had tenacity and faith along the way to share the dream having of solutions that actually worked for them.  These loyal customers helped us forge and invent and pushed us to think out of the box.  They helped us create 1to1Real - the next generation’s model for creating market connections, managing business processes, messaging, marketing and measuring how current and potential customers work with organizations.  I am grateful for every hour, all the input and even the toughest of challenges - I look forward to all the ways 1to1Real will help with the entrepreneurial success and struggle.

I had a great birthday party this weekend, with many generous and wonderful friends.  Coming toward this day, my insightful wife asked me, "what are the top quotes that have shaped your life?"   I thought about that question for just a moment.  It was easy to answer because, every decade I had inspiration from a discovered and cherished statement that struck me and carried me along - like a blast of wind filling my sails to catch a flowing tide, a philosophy always seemed to arise at the perfect time in life to send me onward.

Therefore, this is a wonderful week for me to finally deliver a version of 1to1Real that has an automated sign up. Now any business owner, manager, entrepreneur, sole proprietor – anyone, can use 1to1Real connect their inspiration, their dreams, their vision, their products and their services to their market. No matter what is on your list of your questions for your company, I believe 1to1Real can help. I've seen it help so many, for so long so I couldn't be more excited to share this next journey with you, with 1to1Real and our related product categories for specific industries.

Enjoy, and try 1to1Real - tell us what you think!  We are relying on you to tell us how you use it. Help us invent the next decade for small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs.

I think we can all agree the future is in the hands of those of us who venture to run our companies with our teams. The recent failures of big enterprise has shown us that the road ahead lies in the connections we forge at the real level of entrepreneurship - the businesses that employ, deliver and drive the Connected Market Place and the economics the big guys just can't seem to understand.

Thank you to all for all your lessons and support - I look forward to what the next decade will bring as I sail from 50 to new challenges on new, changing seas.

"Life is short,
decades come and go,
But lessons and love last for all eternity."

Tim

PS - If you care to have a copy, here are my Top 5 Lessons. You're free to enjoy.

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Building IKEA

Posted by: tim in reflection, connected market space on Aug 31, 2010

I spent the weekend helping my daughter move into her first apartment and get ready for this year at university.  We visited IKEA to furnish the place.  From the parking lot to the playground inside the store, the entire place was packed.

I’ve only been to IKEA a few times, but I’ve always been fascinated about the concept and how IKEA connects with their customers, anywhere in the world.  I was in the IKEA in Montreal this weekend; however, I’ve seen IKEA not only across Canada and the US, but in Europe as well.  Why do I see IKEA in all the places I seem to go?  Because you can’t help but see an IKEA - they are connected to the high traffic areas of their markets.  They are always ready  for customers (this weekend with back to school you could see students and boxes all around the student areas of Montreal), so it’s no wonder IKEA’s owners are some of the most wealthy in the world.

How does every IKEA work – and why is it such an “off-line” great example of The Connected Market Space?

First, each and every IKEA is connected by location.   Always off of a busy highway, you can’t help but see the place.  From Montreal to Malaysia, it’s always the same connection to traffic.  The volume of eyes from the highway racing by knows exactly what IKEA looks like and where they are located.

Inside, they're always bustling.  Directly in front of me were stairs up to the showroom.  We found the beds and bathrooms and all manners of home furnishings in between.  Cool, cheap, and organized so we could easily grab our slip and jot down what we needed.  The “shopping” experience was good (I’m not a shopper by nature) because IKEA tracked us right where we needed to go and we set about discovering whatever was on our minds, “bookmarking” it along the way (rack and bin number noted).

Down the stairs, into the back end warehouse – we became our own warehouse staff.    All IKEA warehouses are the same. Searching for the inventory I wanted was easy and IKEA had just saved a ton by having us act on our own to pick and pack products onto our cart.

Finally checkout: self serve tills lined the isle, but we weren’t on our own. For the few items that were too large, there was help to move those larger boxes after we had scanned and paid for the items.

How IKEA has connected with their market is by having the right prices, great looking stuff and a flow that allows their customers to self serve and save money.  IKEA is a perfect example of a connected market space.  It’s easy to see how IKEA connected their warehouse, with a brilliant visibility and showroom strategy, with the internal track of how customers flow through the store to find what they need.

It’s not so easy to do this on the internet though. Your warehouse is the back end data of your website, and your showroom is your web presence. The track your customers follow through involves virtual images and communications rather than a colourful line.

That said… what if you could build a presence on the web that allowed your market to connect?  Imagine that customers that pass by on a highway notice your presence, so they can stop by when they need what you have to offer.  They're served automatically – by just visiting your store.  They can do whatever they want to themselves and they can even check out on their own, or ask for help.   What if you gave your market exactly what they needed to find from your inventory in the back end: access to your data that represents your “warehouse floor”?

What the web is striving to be a connected market space.  All you have to do is look at IKEA.  If you can replicate that experience, your customers will be happily carting away your products or services – happily building them for exactly what they needed in their lives.

My daughter’s apartment is all set up, and I’ve said good bye.  I won’t see her for months.  I’ll miss her as she sits in her new kitchen on the new bar stools I put together.

Building IKEA.   Somehow it makes me still feel closer – feel connected.

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Reconnected - Back on Blogging

Posted by: tim in tim vasko, technology, reflection, connected market space on Aug 24, 2010

connectionsIt’s great to get back to blogging after being “disconnected” for 10 days.  I want to thank Kathleen for keeping information flowing on the blog and the 1to1REAL and PedBot Team for their work at staying connected while I was unwinding.

There are times to be connected and times to be disconnected. We should all know this (a great thing to teach our kids too. I am teaching my daughters moderation in technology).  I thought a lot about that as I had turned off my email, iPhone, iPad & laptop – I was “off the grid”.  I played checkers with the kids and was amazed as my 9 year old started challenging me in chess – the real kind on a board with wooden pieces (not the iPad version)!

But what happens with your company when you’re turned off ?

That’s the challenge of staying connected…  Just because you’re off (which I highly recommend to rejuvenate and stay creative and energized – BTW), does not mean the rest of the world is – in fact they most likely aren’t.  Who is minding your store when you’re away?  How do you deal with a global economy or time zone economics?  I’m an early riser: 5am most days.  But, even at that I like to have time away from the phone and email, but by 6 the East Coast is buzzing and fully perked up on Starbucks.  The REAL world always connected, and you can’t be connected all the time … or can you be?

This has been a dilemma I have faced throughout my career.  I’m the key spokesperson, entrepreneur and visionary; I’m the guy that drives our Connected Market Space and 1to1REAL, who connected to industries and customer and sells products at CMAEON.  This is why I decided to build 1to1REAL in the first place.

I realized a decade ago that the world was going to be more informed and more on than ever before.  In order to speak to my customers and our market, I would need a system to keep up.  Unfortunately, in order to assemble those systems:  email marketing and responses, CRM, web sites, social networking, AdWord advertising, data and list building, new lead acquisition… and then filter through all of that information to our customers, I became overwhelmed.  I was already working 15 hour plus days – how could I keep up?

That was when I first started thinking about this Technology Tangle we weave for ourselves.  Where does productivity start and where does it fail?  That was the beginning of 1to1REAL. New staff was not the answer.  Then, not only did I have a training issue, I had added overhead, which can kill any business.  Spending money to chase new revenues with additional staff, while taking the hit on time for training and money – that is every small business’ dilemma.

I reviewed CRM and contact management software. They were a piece of the puzzle, but unfortunately beyond the big learning curve of all of the features, they just didn’t do any real work for me.  I still had to have fingers on the keyboards constantly to make these tools work (a fact that most sales people, CEOs and Entrepreneurs despise).  I found once I learned a system, I had to keep it up to date for it to be useful – taking up even more time.

The promise of technology was not a promise at all. It had become a difficult path.  And so, 1to1REAL was born with a “robot” to take some of the tasks off of my hands and stay connected while I was either completely disconnected, or focused on exactly what I do best to make my business successful.  That is why, after nearly eleven years in business I still don’t have, or need, a huge sales force to run a substantial company and business.  1to1REAL, through all of its versions, was really about how to extend the vision and talent I had personally and help leverage those into my business so it could sell itself.
Today every company of any size is trying to do more with less.   With small companies that has always been the case – it’s just tougher in a tight market.  I felt that if technology were a solution, it had to be affordable, effective and actually DO work automatically once I set it up.  Today we talk to over a million people regularly.  We serve thousands of users.  We bring new installs and users in daily.  Yet, I’ve been able to keep the staff count and overhead low – and still answer my own phone and do the work I love to do – working with entrepreneurs and businesses to improve their connections and build their connected markets.  It works for me every day – and I’ve seen it grow every other business that has adopted this use of technology and market connections.

I had to create an automated marketing, sales and customer relationship team – so 1to1REAL was designed to do just that.  Because today, whether I’m on holiday, or on the phone, with an important key customer, or thinking about how to build a better business – the world is always on – with 1to1REAL we are always open for business.  Answering what our PedBot Auto Drive can answer – and jumping in when it is the perfect time for a personal conversation to sell and close a new account.

Great to be connected agian – thanks to everyone for staying connected and for the comments and questions ….

Tim

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