Unified360's own Kimberly Kelly wrote a blog a while about Big Brother always watching us. Today I ran across this article that seems to resemble a bit too closely Steven Spielberg's Minority Report about a dystopian future.
What do you think? Is technology that closely tracks the public everywhere they go a smart step in security measures, or just down-right creepy?
Tara Young, Marketing Coordinator
Unified360
Rest in peace, Google Wave... we hardly knew thee.
Less than a year after launching Google Wave (which I blogged about here), Google is pulling the plug. The messaging program was intended to be a near-replacement for e-mail, which Google said had "grown tired".
Danish brothers Jens and Lars Rasmussen said their goal with Wave was not only to create an outstanding product that would change the nature of online communication but to prove that innovation is still possible at a massive corporation like Google.
Google senior vice president, Urs Hölzle, said on the company's official blog "Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked."
I have to admit, although I blogged about it and encouraged Full Circle Feed readers to try the Wave, I never jumped on board. Turns out my feelings were similar to many others' in that it seemed complicated and confusing and I just didn't want to bother with it.
While some say that Google Wave was DOA when it launched in Fall 2009, others say that Google pulled the plug too soon. Any thoughts?
Tara Young, Marketing Coordinator
Unified360
The announcement was just made... the long-rumored BlackBerry Torch just went live on the AT&T site TODAY. It is offering customers a chance to sign up for a notification of when you can actually by the gadget.
Major features include: 5 megapixel camera with flash, full QUERTY on a portrait slide, 802.11n support, BlackBerry 6 with an all-new browsing experience and a host of other features that will no doubt make this a booming success.
It also boasts 4GB of storage onboard paired with a 4GB microSD card in the box, 512MB each of ROM and RAM, a quadband 3G radio that'll travel well around the globe, a 480 x 360 touchscreen display (same resolution as the Bold 9700) measuring 3.2 inches, the typical optical trackpad down below, and an interesting new Media Sync feature that'll let you sync your media library right over WiFi -- something various third parties have tried over the years, but has rarely been offered as an out-of-the-box capability.
My question to you is, are you eager to buy now ($169, available August 12th) or will you save your money and wait to make sure we don't have another "Storm" on our hands?
Tara Young, Marketing Coordinator
Unified360
Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer has recently released a statement indicating that the company is urgently working with its partners to unveil a host of tablet computers running Windows 7. The success of Apple’s iPad has Microsoft scrambling to get their own product in the game of tablet computers.
Referring to Apple’s iPad, Ballmer recently said "they've sold certainly more than I'd like them to have sold."
Ballmer also mentions that the task Microsoft faces is similar to the early days of the Netbook, when many of those machines were Linux-based. "We have got to make things happen," he said. "We're in the process of doing that as we speak. We're working with our hardware partners. We're tuning Windows 7."
For those who own an iPad and enjoy all of its innovative qualities, there are some very obvious missing functions that are crippling the device and need to be improved upon.
First of all, it’s got to have the ability to run Flash. Despite all the arguments, without Flash browsing is limited and renders one of the iPad’s basic functions useless. Other inhibitors include limits on memory expansion, no USB port or HDMI connector as well as no built-in camera.
If Microsoft can adapt its Windows 7 operating system for deployment on tablet devices, and improve upon the limitations of the iPad, then it very well could be a game-changer. UI Centric is a company that is in the process of developing a device that pushes the capabilities of Windows 7 with a tablet codenamed Macallan. Take a look at an early version below.
Overlaying the Windows 7 operating system offers native multitasking, Adobe Flash support, USB and memory card support and camera/video chat functionality.
What do you think? Is the UI Centric Macallan tablet Microsoft’s best chance at competing in the highly-scrutinized tablet space? No matter what, Microsoft’s urgency is palpable. Though Ballmer famously canned a Microsoft tablet project that had been in the works for almost a decade, the success of Apple’s iPad has certainly changed things. Many analysts are predicting that the tablet space will be one of the fastest-growing technology segments this decade, right up there with smartphones.
Would love to hear some feedback in our comments section!
Tara Young, Marketing Coordinator
Unified360
This past week I was fortunate enough to be invited to an executive leadership group meeting with speaker Simon Sinek who wrote the book Start with Why. The experience was enlightening to me as it helped to frame up thoughts that I have been challenged with which I believe apply to many business leaders.
As many readers know, we brought Brent Snyder in as our CEO at the beginning of the year. Our leadership team was struggling and we knew we needed someone to come in and help us get back on track and surge ahead with our business. The fact is, we had just reached a threshold in our company, similar to what many businesses reach on their growth curves, where we had stopped focusing on the “why” and began spending all of our energies determining the “how” and the “what.”
In Sinek’s visit, he shared the success stories of people who understood and stayed focused on “why” they existed personally and why their organizations existed. It may sound confusing but as he was laying the concept out there, I really started to understand the importance of what Sinek was teaching. How many times do we get caught up in what needs to happen and how it needs to happen instead of starting with why it needs to happen? This chaos keeps all of us doing “busy work”, leading many of us (definitely myself included) to 10-14 hours days of spinning our wheels and getting nowhere. We are task-saturated to the point where we have no time for the things important to us.
As I began to think about the “why” for Unified360, I remember the conversations my partner Paul and I had about creating more value-focused, long-term partnerships. We spoke of providing our clients solutions that truly helped their businesses—not just technology for the sake of technology but solutions that brought desired results and eliminated problems. Why? Because we enjoyed and seized the opportunity to help people with their business.
As I am still learning to understand the “why”, both personally and for my professional organization, I’d also like to extend a challenge to all Full Circle Feed readers to join me in reading Sinek’s book “Start with Why”. Let’s get ourselves refocused on what is important to us by knowing why we are all here. In fact, send me an email at jbarker@unified360.com and I will get you a copy of the book.
Jim Barker, CSO
Unified360
This blog came to me after an interesting discussion with a friend of mine from the seemingly blacklisted Class of 2010. We spoke after one of her job interviews, and since Unified360 is
preparing to hire newcomers as well, I thought it was a rather relevant topic.
As one prepares to hit the job market, résumé in hand and an impressive new suit that will inevitably take the first paycheck from whatever job you end up landing, you might run into a few snags here and there. It seems my aforementioned friend has hit such a snag pretty early in the game. Maybe it's the economy or maybe the problem has always been there, but what do you do when an employer asks for a little too much information during the interview process?
I was slightly taken aback when she told me that after a second interview, the employer emailed her asking several specific, targeted questions about the company and their website. While it's okay to offer a few ideas and really show-off what you've got, you shouldn't go into an exhaustive overview. After all, you're not working for the company yet, and you don't want to give away all your ideas without getting paid for them.
It's the age-old saying that your mama always taught you-"Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?" The same goes with interviewing for a job. It's up to you to protect your IP, or your intellectual property. Patents and copyrights aside, understand that your ideas and your time are yours and they are worth something. Don't turn them over without the assurance that you're getting paid what you're worth.
Mitch Beck, president of Crossroads Consulting was once quoted saying "I would tell people if you want to hire me, hire me and I'll fix it... I am firmly against people giving away something for nothing".
Don't get me wrong, it's great to offer original ideas in job interviews and really showing the employer that you have what it takes to do the job well. But throwing everything you have into the job interview is giving away too much. What happens if they choose to hire someone else? You're left jobless and idealess.
The solution is to give a couple of ideas, but without going into the entire thinking behind them. If the employer presents you with a problem (and you think they might be looking for a quick-fix, unpaid solution), provide them with some examples of how you have handled similar situations in the past. Instead of fixing their problem, show them you are capable of fixing it by relating it back to your previous experience. Whatever you do, NEVER accuse the employer of trying to rip-off your ideas; otherwise you can kiss that job goodbye.
To conclude, remember that you're not going on a job interview to solve a problem, you're going there to show them you can think. Show the employer that you are the best qualified and that your ideas are worth something.
Tara Young, Marketing Coordinator
Unified360
Per the request of our
CEO, Brent Snyder,
Unified360 employees recently finished a book called
Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service. Written by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles,
Raving Fans follows the journey of a newly appointed Area Manager and his "fairy godmother", Charlie, who teaches him about the competitive edge of customer service.
The primary take-away from the book is that satisfied customers just aren't good enough. Unless your clients are raving fans of your business you've missed the point of customer service. When we meet the Area Manager on his first day of work, panicked and sure of failure, Charlie comes in with this advice: "Your customers are only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing better. Just having satisfied customers isn't good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create Raving Fans."
The matter of fact is Charlie brings up a good point; customer's expectations are so low these days that as long as the abuse isn't any worse than they expected, they consider themselves satisfied. He points out that most company's customer service slogan should read: No Worse Than the Competition. That's why satisfied customers are NOT good enough.
As the book dives further into the reality of what customer service has become, Charlie takes the Area Manager to meet five business owners who got it right. Leo, Sally, Bill, Dennis and Andrew give the Area Manager the three secrets to creating Raving Fans and show us how strategic customer service practices gave them the edge over their competition.
Reading through the pages, I found myself slightly mind-blown at some of the different ways these business owners went about creating raving fans out of their customers... I couldn't think of a single business that would go to such lengths just to please someone else. It all seemed a bit far stretched and exaggerated until I visited the Vera Bradley store yesterday afternoon. Having never been to Vera Bradley and, quite frankly, having written the brand off as something "little old ladies" buy, I was blown away at how well I was treated while in the store.
Upon arriving, I was greeted by a friendly salesperson (wearing her own Vera Bradley pocket purse over her shoulder) who asked if I had ever been there before. When I said I hadn't, she welcomed me and let me know about some great sales they were having on the colors and styles that were soon to be retired. She helped me find some cute bags within my price range that fit my taste and style. While I wasn't planning on purchasing a bag, I was so pleased with the experience that I marched my top pick right up to the checkout counter. There, I was put on a mailing list for other great sales and coupon offers. The saleswoman walked around the counter to hand me my purchase, now neatly packaged in a gift bag with tissue paper to send me on my way.
It was nothing too over-the-top, but I am so used to bad customer service and having to chase someone down if I need help that I felt like a queen at Vera Bradley. And now I am a raving fan... this blog is just one way to prove it.
I highly recommend the book Raving Fans to anyone in the business world. It's an easy read and definitely opens your eyes up to what customer service should look like. We could all stand to improve the way we treat our customers and the book gives some great, competitive guidelines on how to go about doing that.
Are there any Raving Fans out there? Tell me your story! Already read the book? Let me know what you learned from it! I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Tara Young, Marketing Coordinator
Unified360
Congratulations to all of you who received flowers, gift cards, breakfasts-in-bed, hugs, kisses, and other celebratory gestures for Mother's Day. It is a day that you honor your mother's contribution in your life. Mother's Day is such a festive day in many countries around the world and continues to be the most celebrated day in the US. While you celebrate this day with your dearly hearted, you should also not forget about the people in history who had worked hard and sacrificed to memorialize this day. Let me take you down memory lane.
"Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."
On May 9, 1914, President Wilson made this proclamation for Mother's Day to be a national holiday. This popular day was duly campaigned by Anna Jarvis.
Anna spent many years in Philadelphia caring for her ailing mother. Anna's mother died on May 9, 1905. Anna saw the neglect that children often showed while their mothers are alive. In 1907 with the support of her friends, Anna started campaigning for a mother's day to "honor mothers, living and dead." Anna realized her dream on May 9, 1914, with the declaration of 2nd Sunday of May to be observed as Mother's Day.
Anna actually continued her mother's (Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis) perseverance to improve sanitation through her so called "Mother's Friendship Day." Starting in 1858, Ann Jarvis worked to heal the nation during and after the Civil War. She led a continuing mission to fight for better sanitary conditions for both sides of the nation and to teach women in her Mothers Friendship Clubs on the basics of nursing and sanitation. Ann saved thousands of lives through her unselfish endeavors.
Ann Jarvis's work also influenced a notable social activist Julia Ward Howe. Julia drove for peace, motherhood, and womanhood during the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. In 1872, She reached the international stage by promoting in London a "Mother's Day for Peace" to be celebrated on June 2nd. In Boston, Mass., she started this Mother's Peace Day and was practiced for at least 10 years. Her continuing efforts reached 18 cities but failed to establish a formal recognition of a Mother's Day of Peace.
Howe wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Remember this song...
"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!"
How many of you have just thought to yourself "Oh yeah! That song!"?
There are many other historical moments that celebrated a mother's day. Ancient Greece honored the Mother of Gods, Rhea. Early Christians celebrated the mother of Christ, Mary. England expanded this day to be "Mothering Sunday" to allow poor servants a day off to return to their mothers.
I am sure many other societies have their own versions of a mother's day. For me, this is a day that my children should recognize the sacrifice that their mother endured in their daily lives. This day also recognizes the sacrifice my mother, my wife's mother, my mother's mother, my wife's mother's mother, and so on. These are the women that made this world as I see it today. So, I take this moment to honor these women.
So if I ask you again "Did you forgot Mother's Day?", will your answer be different?
Tim Hoang, Director of Operations
Unified360
Whether at work or in your personal life, positive actions will always create positive results. This is true whether they are realized immediately or over time.
Committing yourself to taking positive actions each and every day is challenging, as these are not always easy to lay out for yourself like planning an outfit for the next day. And whether or not you have a perfectly laid out plan for taking on the day, there are many obstacles that can stand in your way and throw you off course. There are times when an individual may spend hours, days, weeks or even years waiting for those positive results to show up.
The challenging part is being able to identify positive actions that you can manage daily and stick with. You know that obstacles may, and will arise throughout your day, so you may need to make adjustments along the way in order to succeed. Each day, set aside 5 minutes or so to create a reasonable list that you feel is achievable. This may come in the form of prayer, meditation, a written list, a journal entry or maybe just a deposit it in the memory bank.
Sometimes the thought of trying to find even 5 MINUTES for yourself in a day seems like a lot; we have kids and families to care for and demanding jobs to do. But whether you get up a few minutes earlier than usual, turn the radio off on the way to work, or just take some time for yourself while enjoying your cup of coffee, create the time... the results will be fruitful.
Set a goal to learn something that will allow you to excel at work; help a friend who's going through some challenges; volunteer for a church activity; spring clean; say hello to 50 people you do not know; give a sandwich to the man on the corner holding up the sign (maybe even sit and eat with him); set your goals and decided to do something different by making a difference. These are all positive actions that can lead to those positive reactions.
If you are not able to complete all of your goals daily, put those on tomorrow's list... those that you did achieve, and those that arose that may have been unplanned that you participated in can have more of an impact on others than you ever thought and may just open a door to pay it forward.
Be proud of yourself and your actions - you never know how far the Butterfly Effect could reach!
John Garite, Business Development Representative
Unified360
Our
CEO , Brent Snyder often says this around the office here at Unified360, and he is constantly challenging us to think about what that means. To me the saying is similar to that of "you are what you eat". Meaning that if you feel fat, and all you eat is fatty food, well there you go, and if you're skinny and fit and all you eat is healthy food...I think you see where I am going with this!
Maya Angelou said, "If someone shows you who they are, believe them!". So who are you? Who are you showing people you are? Who do you want to be? Is who you are, who you want to be? And can you REALLY change, if you are someone you do not want to be?
Who you are is defined by the spouse you pick, the people you date, who you surround yourself with, and what you do with your time. When you truly define who you are it shows in every aspect of what you do. As I think about what defines me and what I spend my time doing, my thoughts can't help but drift to how much our careers define us. For those of us who work, we spend the majority of our time in our careers. Does your job reflect who you are? Does your company define you? Do you want it to? I like to think that work does not define me, but I define it, and I think that is true for the most part. What makes me enjoy working at Unified 360 is that fact that it is a young, fun, and innovative company, all adjectives I would use to describe myself. I look for things that challenge me, encourage me, support me, and make me a better person in life; why wouldn't I want the exact same things from the company I work for?
Is what you do reflected in who you are? You bring who you are to what you do. For me, I bring honesty, hard work, fun, loyalty, and other things to the table in my personality and in who I am, and I'm lucky enough to work in an environment where I can be all those things and they can be utilized in what I do and my company wants to do. Who are you? Do you bring who you are to your company? Does your company let you be that person and utilize you are in your role? I think too many people are unhappy with what they do because who they are, mixed with what they do, do not coincide. They don't even come close. Companies today look for credit reports, and believe that how you spend your money and pay your bills reflects exactly how responsible you will be in your employment. Who you are, is who you are. Are you being the best you can be? If you find yourself wanting something more, it may just be that you are not in an environment that lets you be who you are!
Amber Davis, Account Manager
Unified360