Archive for February, 2010
How quickly do you do your job? I don’t mean shuffle papers, I’m asking how long customers have to wait to receive deliverable product from your office. We live in a world where just about everything is available with the click of a button. You order books online. You order groceries online. You perform in-depth research with a mouse in a few minutes rather than with a pencil and a few hours.
I make no secret of the fact that I’ve moved my website hosting from one server to another over the years. Some hosts are too restrictive, others are too expensive. Right now, I host all of my sites through 1and1 Internet, and until last week I was happy with the service.
The other day I was asked a very good question – “what makes someone an expert?”
Considering web-based media is moving into newer fields and industries, it’s hard to define expertise along the lines of professional certifications and documented qualifications. An expert accountant will have his CPA. An expert manager will have her MBA. A doctor has an M.D. A professor has a Ph.D. These are certifications of expertise issued by recognized authorities that state quite clearly: this person is an expert.
There’s often a disconnect between what we spend our “paid” time doing and what we spend our “free” time doing. It’s this disconnect that makes so many people despise their jobs or rejoice for the weekends — our professions are not the same as our passions.
When building a new business relationship, about 50% of the legwork is done during the first handshake. Your goal should be to make a good first impression, whether you’re the client or the consultant. Taking five minutes to review your objectives for the meeting will help you keep your focus and make sure that first meeting is productive.