Tony's Blog

Getting Back to Common Sense?

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:18:57 GMT

Thomas Paine anonymously published Common Sense in 1776 as a way to introduce the idea of American independence to the common people. Paine wrote the pamphlet in a style that anyone could understand, leaving out the traditional Latin references of the time. He managed to put into words what the colonists were already thinking but were too intimidated or unorganized to voice.

I have longed believed that the political parties today don’t represent the opinions of most of us (the common men and women). It seems like the politicians typically express their own views, not those of the average citizen. As I travel across America, I find that many folks feel the same way. I think this is one of the main reasons why many people don’t vote.

I believe it’s time for a party that represents the views of the majority. I know that sounds too idealistic, but I think we would get more participation and therefore better results.

Now, I have voiced this idea in a few social circles, mostly to opposition to the idea of a new party. Some have also suggested that the majority of Americans – you and me – are not smart enough to understand the issues and vote in the best interest of the country. I totally disagree and believe that the role of the politician should not be much different than that of Thomas Paine.

What do you think?

The Battle of the Bulge

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:00:59 GMT

I was hanging out by the pool this summer, and unfortunately I caught my reflection in the window. It wasn’t pretty. I knew I had gained a few pounds over the last year but clearly wasn’t paying attention to just how many. So I got on the scale, and BAM! There it was: 10 pounds more than my fighting weight. I guess I had been in denial about it. I noticed that most of my pants were getting tighter, but I blamed it on that dry cleaning fluid that supposedly shrinks clothes.

It is time. Time to acknowledge that what I am doing – or not doing – is not working. My weight loss strategies have always worked in the past, but I guess my metabolism is slowing down – one of the great parts of getting older. I’ve been forced to get out of my comfort zone and change how I manage food and exercise.

My shock at the number on the scale reminded me that companies aren’t much different. It’s human nature to latch onto a process or approach and think it will work forever. We fall into that comfortable “because we’ve always done it this way” mentality. But we all know that nothing lasts forever, especially in business. That’s why successful organizations are constantly coming up with new ideas and ways to meet their goals.

Here’s how I look at it:

We have to constantly measure the business (get on the scale).
We can’t just rely on financials to gauge how the company is doing; we need to look at customer satisfaction and other operational measures (are the pants too tight?).
We have to try a new approach, change a process, or try communicating in a different way (lose the weight).

I know with a little focus I can lose those 10 extra pounds, or I’ll be forced to keep my shirt on (and buy new pants).

Painting by Numbers

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:22:05 GMT

My wife and I are expecting a baby girl in November, and I decided to paint the nursery. For the record, the project was three rooms: the nursery, a vanity and a bathroom. Now, I am not particularly handy by any measure, but I decided that I am good enough to paint. I think I was trying to save money and impress my wife all at the same time. In the end, I don't think I accomplished either.

We are painting each room a different shade of pink. Sounds reasonable, but the walls were all green. Several days before painting, I primed the walls, but I didn’t get all of the corners, especially in the bathroom. So it's Sunday morning, and a friend of mine comes over to help. He has some skills.

After five long hours of painting, we realize we aren’t going to finish before my wife comes home from being out of town. So we make a plan to take the last two hours and get one of the rooms perfect. Unfortunately, after seven hours total we have three unfinished rooms with green showing through in the corners where I didn’t prep.

The next day, I called a professional to finish the job, mostly because I could hardly walk from the work the day before. Clearly, a humbling moment. The painter looks at the three rooms, laughs, and says, “It looks like you did a great job.” He finished all the rooms eight hours later and they looked great.

In the end, I realized that I was doing what some businesses do when evaluating consulting firms. I found someone who had limited experience (me) and tried to save money, only to have to hire a real professional and pay them to do what they do best after I couldn’t get it done right. Lesson learned!

Learning to Let Go

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:04:30 GMT

I have longed believed that running a company is not much different than being a parent. When the company is younger, you are scared and nervous about everything, especially the thought of events or milestones that haven’t even happened yet. You aren’t sure if your direction is helping or if the team members have the resources they need to succeed and be happy. After time, as the company (or the child) gets older, you start to relax and just see it unfold.

Recently, one of our clients in Dallas was in Tampa on business, and we met for a quick update. Randy is the CEO and wanted to discuss our business relationship and how Tribridge can help him stay focused on his company’s core competency. He went on to share how some of the projects went, mostly pretty good, but he had some constructive comments as well. I really appreciated the feedback.

The thing that stood out the most is the way he talked about one of our team members, Russ Smith. Russ has been with us almost 10 years, and Randy could not stop saying great things about him and the way he serves his company. I left the meeting just like any proud parent, wanting to find Russ and tell him all about it.

Lunch with a Good Friend

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:04:14 GMT

A few months ago, I shared my top 5 tips for entrepreneurs starting out. The first (and I believe most important) item on the list is passion – a true love for the business. I was reminded of this recently when I had lunch with my good friend, Geoff.

Geoff and I have known each other for over 20 years. He’s a great guy and up until recently worked for a number of companies, mostly in sales roles. Early last year he launched his own business. He has wanted to take the plunge for some time and finally made it happen.

During our lunch, Geoff was telling me about what is going on with his business – some good and some bad. However, the energy was incredible. He is so passionate about what he is doing. He knows that everything he does has an impact on those around him and that he must persevere through any issue to be successful. But the reward of doing what you love far outweighs the stress and risk.

I think he was hoping to get some advice or feedback from me, but I mostly just listened. I received much more from him. The whole time he was talking, it was reinforcing and motivating me on the spirit of being an entrepreneur. It is something you can’t describe, only experience. I’m glad Geoff is living his passion.

A Global Winner!

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:46:20 GMT

I know that I haven’t blogged in awhile, but there couldn’t be a better time to get back to it. Last week Tribridge was named the Worldwide Microsoft Dynamics Partner of the Year. It is quite an honor to win, and we all feel pretty lucky.

A few people have asked me how you win a global award when you are primarily a U.S. company. I always make a joke at first about our offices around the globe, but upon reflection it is pretty simple.

We have always focused on providing great service to our customers above all else. During both good and bad times, people recognize that the quality of our team and our approach is truly a differentiator. Microsoft has thousands of firms to pick from, but they have chosen Tribridge not once, but twice in the past three years! They solicit feedback from customers as part of the selection process, and our firm was recognized as the best.

I want to say a special thanks to our customers and to all the great team members who made this happen!

Cloud Computing – is it all Vapor?

Andy Swenson — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:07:01 GMT

So when I listen to IT people talking about cloud computing I am fascinated by the number of completely different opinions about what it is. I’ve heard it called “Outsourced IT” and compared to what EDS did with Data Center outsourcing. I’ve heard it compared to Hosting, where an organization simply pays someone else to run its application in a hosted data center. I’ve heard people say it is Software as a Service (SaaS) a-la Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) or SalesForce.com’s service.

Others refer to Microsoft Azure or Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which is a series of Web Services deployed on the vendors’ platforms to ensure reliability and rapid scalability. Others talk of Private clouds, where a company simply builds their own dynamic infrastructure that can rapidly scale and change as needed.

When I talk to business people about cloud computing, they all seem to have a common opinion of what it is – less complicated and less capital intensive than traditional IT. That is the allure of cloud computing. Businesses don’t have to own servers and software – no big capital outlay. Businesses don’t need a bunch of geeks with completely different vocabularies to keep operations running. Pay someone else for that on an as needed basis. Business growth: no problem, just provision more capacity. Business contracts: reduce your usage and your bills go down. Easy, right?

The irony is that they are all correct and perhaps all wrong. Cloud computing has become a marketing term to describe anything virtual. If I can’t point to one server and say that is my XYZ application it must be cloud-based! The problem arises because it is not simply a plug and play process. It is evolving and there are some real benefits to a well thought out strategy, but it is different for every organization.

What can be a great idea for one company can be truly horrible for the next. It comes down to business requirements, careful planning and execution. What are your thoughts? Let me know.

Andy weighs in

Tony DiBenedetto — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:04:59 GMT

I’d like to introduce my first guest blogger, Andy Swenson. Stay tuned for Andy’s thoughts on one of the biggest topics affecting business today, The Cloud…

Cash is King: I learned that the hard way

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:45:09 GMT

Follow-up to my post last week on tips for entrepreneurs starting out… Many folks have asked me to talk about some failures I have had as an entrepreneur, so here goes.

Back in 1990, I started a small bagel and pizza place. It was my first and last retail start-up. I did the traditional business plan. I tried to think very hard about all the costs involved, I had spreadsheets and all kinds of formulas to calculate potential revenue. I had a few articles back then about lowering your estimates fairly dramatically in doing a retail business plan – the difficulty in trying gauge how many folks you could reach, how many would buy how much in your store, etc. By the end of the process, I felt like I had cut revenue expectations dramatically. So I launched in February 1990.

I was closed by year end and feeling pretty defeated. The biggest lesson I learned was that I didn’t have enough cash to fund the growth of the company. Sounds simple, but because my revenue assumptions were never close and my costs were very close, I ran out of cash before I could get past the Mendoza line. Oh I was making great progress, but I simply did not plan enough cash to adequately ramp the business.

I am asked to review business plans for future entrepreneurs all the time. They are almost always more optimistic on revenue and light on cash. As I mentioned last week:

Having a great idea for a new business isn’t enough. You need a well capitalized plan with plenty of cash. Take the time to think through the business model and what the costs truly are. Go into it with low expectations of revenue while you ramp up.

5 Tips for Entrepreneurs

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:37:02 GMT

My friend Anand Pallegar asked me to share my top 5 tips for entrepreneurs starting out. Here are some things I’ve learned along the way from personal experience:

1. Passion. You have to really love the product or service you are selling. Starting a business is a 24/7 job and can put a lot of stress on your relationships. Also be prepared to get turned down – rejection is part of it. Passion for what you do will help you overcome the personal obstacles.

2. Good People. Whether you need 1 or 300 employees, you’ve got to be able to attract talent. What will make someone take the risk in joining a start-up? Some people are attracted to the business idea itself, for some it’s leadership and for other it’s compensation. I would start with people who share your values and then evaluate their skills.

3. Cash is King. Having a great idea for a new business isn’t enough. You need a well capitalized plan with plenty of cash. Take the time to think through the business model and what the costs truly are. Go into it with low expectations of revenue while you ramp up.

4. Differentiate. Find an underserved market, and distinguish yourself from the competition. Even if it’s a large market, you can still identify a need or a gap that needs to be filled. You have to want to make the product or service better than what is already out there in order to truly differentiate your business.

5. Relentless Pursuit and Retention of the Customer. In a start-up you have very few customers, so it all begins with marketing the business and turning that awareness into leads, and then the ability to turn leads into sales – it’s one big process. However, you must make sure every customer experience is outstanding, from the quality of the product or services to the way you handle customer service.

Squirrel Survival

Tony DiBenedetto — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:17:40 GMT

As I was driving to work today, I saw this squirrel darting across a four lane highway. He got past the first two lanes no problem. As he entered the third lane a white truck was zooming down the road. I was behind the truck and thought, oh boy the squirrel is not going to make it. The truck clearly did not see him and kept going. As the truck went over him, I could see that he dodged the first tire and then bounced off of some point of the undercarriage of the car. Much to my surprise the squirrel came flying out of the side of the car and kept running. I was impressed that he was able to handle all the obstacles he was facing. Then I realized the squirrel and I are a lot alike.

1 + 1 = 3

Tony DiBenedetto — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:34:32 GMT

My daughter recently asked me if “knowing someone” can really help you get into a school. My quick answer was if you want 1 plus 1 to equal 3, then yes. At first we laughed, and then we started talking about how important relationships are in life and certainly in business.

I think about the fact that when I was working at Arthur Andersen I met Tom Wallace, and through that relationship he gave us the confidence and seed capital to start Tribridge. It’s hard to say if that would have happened anyway… I had 100 ideas prior to asking Tom and we did not launch. Tom not only invested, but he has become a great board member and an even better friend. I certainly got more than 1+1 equals 2.

Our business, like most, is about trust. Anytime you can help build that trust through another relationship, it tips the scales in your favor. Mike Brennan is a good friend of mine at Ernst & Young. Mike has given me great recommendations to his clients and introduced me to countless others. This has made a direct impact to the success of Tribridge. It would difficult to quantify the revenue, but it too would add up to more than 2.

Rigid Agility or Agile Rigidity?

Tony DiBenedetto — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:48:41 GMT

Interesting concept posed by Tribridge’s own Damon Auer… What happens when a tested but rigid methodology is forced out by a tight deadline with huge legal penalties attached? Check out this blog post by Vinnie Mirchandani, deal architect and friend of the firm. Among the lessons learned… “there is no substitute for smart, flexible program leadership – you can accomplish just about anything with the right people.” I like it.

http://dealarchitect.typepad.com/deal_architect/2009/11/the-real-deal-damon-auer-and-bob-glynn-on-rigid-agility-or-agile-rigidity.html

Price vs. Quality

Tony DiBenedetto — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:46:51 GMT

Last year we had a few quotes to remodel our bathroom. Unfortunately I picked the quote that was substantially less money (much to the chagrin of my wife). The project did not go well. It took twice the time, but the price was still considerable less than the firm that came highly recommended from a friend but was higher priced. Several months after the project, I noticed that water was accumulating around the drain. It turns out the floor of the shower was not installed correctly. Unfortunately, I had to hire a different person to fix the problem, and it cost me a fair amount to rip up tile and redo the floor. The project was still less money, but I have now noticed that I am having other issues with the tile in the bathroom.

As a professional services firm, we have been challenged by customers, prospects and sales folks to cut corners, lower prices, do less. We have resisted this temptation over the past 12 years, sometimes losing customers or prospects over this issue.

This week we have had two clients return to us that previously were seeking lower priced alternatives. In both cases, the clients thought they could get a cheaper price from some other firm. One of the clients had asked us to bid on something 5 years ago. 5 years later they have not solved the problem and we are bidding again. In the other case they used another firm for 6 months and decided that we are a better firm.

I understand how some of our clients or prospects feel. Hey – there are many firms that can do this work and there is a lot of competition, so why can’t we do it for less? Just like my bathroom project, the projects we work on are vital to the success of our clients. We have invested over 20 years in developing an approach to ensure success on very difficult projects. The way many firms lower the price is by not taking all the necessary steps to make sure you are successful. We will not do this.

Our strategy has always been to provide the highest quality service, and we have had faith that customers and future customers would see it and believe it. We have invested the dollars into recruiting and retaining the best folks in the industry and building a world class service organization. After 12 years it is hard to argue that we have not taken the best path.

Career Launch - Never too Early to Start

Tony DiBenedetto — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:24:08 GMT

Thought I would pass along this blog post. It's a result of some of the cool stuff we are doing for kids through the TBTF Foundation. The Foundation has donated over $1 million in computer equipment, software, instruction, etc. to Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay. The clubs collectively serve over 1,000 kids every day and offer programs like Computerrific, which is closing the digital divide for our young people...

My Summer in the Computer Lab

Hello my name is Damian I’m 12 yrs old and I attend Zonta Boys & Girls Club. This summer in the computer lab I completed Career launch. During my Career Launch experience I learned how to fill out a job application, resume, and a cover letter on the computer. I also learned job interviewing tips. I got some free time on the computer to play games, look for back to school shoes, and listen to music on the Boys & Girls Clubs of America website myclubmylife.com.

Read more about this and other great stories on the Computer-rific blog.