Consider the examples of a customer, a colleague, a spouse, an employee and an employer. Each relationship is different but certain principles remain important. As well, it is critical to enter each of the above relationships with the right attitude. In others words don't try and enter a relationship with the "What's in it for me" philosophy, the potential for success for both parties will be much greater if you use the reverse. Tonight for a little fun I will elaborate on the customer example.
To begin to understand the level of respect your existing and potential customers may have for you, consider your answers to the following questions under each category
Intelligence (I)
Do you ask the right questions to allow you to understand their problems? Do you understand how their processes work? Do you know where their real pains exist?
Do you demonstrate a superior knowledge of your products and services that allow you to effectively map problems with solutions?
Can you be creative when determining ways to service your client?
Can you identify strengths and weaknesses in your customer's system and adjust your process to optimize service potential?
Don't forget the basics. The reason a customer calls on you is because they need help - something isn't right. They recognize their pains but they may not recognize the problem. As a vendor you need to use strategies and creativity to address their problems in a manner that is both helpful to them and appropriate to their position. So don't write every patient the same prescription.
Morality (M)
Are you upfront and honest with your customers? Do you clearly identify items such as deliverables, pricing, and schedules in a manner that they will understand and agree with?
Can your customers receive support when they need it? If they contact your company, how long does it take for someone to address their problem? Are the available channels appropriate to their needs?
Are you genuine with your customer or are you just looking for a quickie? How will your customer be treated AFTER the sale has been made? Will they be hesitant to make future purchases? Will they recommend your product/services to others?
Do you give your customer an opportunity to express how they feel about their service?
Do you keep your promises?
Do you make negative references about your competitors or do you let your performance do the talking?
Never underestimate the insightfulness of your customers. If you start to cut corners and bend the rules, they will notice. Your customers make your business a business - don't forget that. Be sure to communicate clearly with them and in a manner that is appropriate to their needs. In other words don't set up a support centre that is available during your working hours but not theirs. Don't use technology that your customers don't understand to track issues. Make sure they can express their problems, and make sure you can address them. If you don't intend on addressing certain things (maybe it's not appropriate), let them know that before they sign up.
Balance (B)
Do you take time to listen to your customer explain their pain or do you presume to already know everything you need to know?
Do you allow yourself to learn from each new experience?
Do you review your performance regularly to identify potential areas for improvement?
Survival of the fittest? Definitely - but only when you accept that the fittest is the party that continually adapts to a changing environment and never stops evolving. You can't stop learning and never presume to know everything. Every situation holds something new to learn. If it doesn't then you weren't paying attention. Make sure you always look back and ask yourself, could I have done anything better - then make sure you ask your customer the same. You may sometimes be surprised by the answer.
Work Ethic (W)
Will you do what it takes to deliver on time and on budget?
Will your customers refer to you as a leader or a follower?
Do you cut corners and reduce quality in an effort to increase profits?
Do you make sure all meetings with your client go ahead as planned? Do you attend them or make last minute substitutions?
I don't believe that work ethic is something someone can learn but I do believe that it is something anyone should be able to understand and recognize. Before taking on a task for a customer you should evaluate whether or not you have the resources to deliver what you are promising. If you don't, then get them. Never stand a customer up. Whether it's by not replying to an email, not returning a call or canceling a meeting to attend a golf game - you should never stand a customer up. Whether you have 2 customers or 200,000, treat them with the respect they deserve because you NEED them.
Positivity (P)
Do your services provide a benefit to your customers? Do they express this to you?
Are your customers happy to hear you call? Are you happy to hear from them?
Do your customers return for repeat purchases? Do you offer any rewards for them doing so?
As mentioned already, a customer comes to you because they need help. Therefore you need to make sure that you are actually meeting that need. Your customers should be benefiting from your services , if they are not then you need to address this. Your customers are important to you and you should let them no this. Never take them for granted and like your mother always told you - don't forget to say please and thank-you.
There is a mutually dependant relation between trust and respect, therefore a relationship cannot grow or succeed without one or the other. Now that you have an idea how much your typical customer respects you, its time to determine if they trust you?
Honesty (H) & Ethics (E):
Are you upfront with your customers? Does everyone get a fair deal or just those that ask for it?
Do they know what they are getting when they buy your products or services? Is your service consistent across the board?
Do you try to hide things in the "fine print"?
When times get tough, do you offer the same level of service as when times are good? What about the reverse?
Maybe some companies can make a quick sale by pulling a "fast one" on a customer but is that any way to treat the person who keeps your business a business? Customers appreciate honesty and will come back to you for it. We have all been down the road of dealing with those that like to hide things in the finer print but we also know that once someone has proven themselves to be dishonest, no one wants anything to do with them. Your customers are no different. Be honest and respectful to your customers and make sure your team does the same. However I have also learned that being upfront and respectful with a customer in the beginning creates a special bond that can easily withstand any adversity that may pop up along the way.
All of these items affect the strength of your relationship with your customers and determine the longevity of your business. A customer has hired you because they require your expertise or services however remember they are the experts on what their pains are. Don't presume to know this. Always communicate with them and never ever betray their trust. Trust isn't an easy thing to ever get back once it's lost, and neither is a customer.
Note some of these are pre-PDC / Official Announcements but still have good content so I am including them anyhow:
Channel 9 Videos
PJ Hough and others - First look at next version of SharePoint
Rob Lefferts - Sharepoint Services and Workflow
Bil Simser
PDC Day 02 (Here comes the fire hose)
Eli Robillard
SharePoint v3 Collaboration and Tracking Features
The Business Data Catalog
Dustin Miller
SharePoint "V3.0" Features (This one got linked A TONNE)
Mike Fitzmaurice (Kudos to Mike for the Best Titles)
Ghosting, Schmosting!
The Kimono Is Open, The Veil Is Lifted, The Gags Are Removed.....
Mart Muller
Design improvements in Sharepoint V3
Patrick Tisseghem
SharePoint day at PDC
Greg Hughes
Business workflow coming up in SharePoint and Office 12 servers v.next
Angus Logan
SharePoint vNext has a built in scheduler
Bill English
Update: What's new in Office 12? (An oldie but a goodie)
Joris Poelmans
Enhancements in SharePoint V3
Renaud Comte
Office 12, SharePoint v3 slides
Mark Bower
Just how important is SharePoint to Microsoft?
Arpan Shah
10 great things about the next version of SharePoint Products and Technologies and CMS
Penny Coventry
Office 12 at PDC
Portals & Integration Blog
SharePoint v3 uses masterpages!
The SharingPoint
New SharePoint Features
Got any more links you want to share with the world? Send them to me and I will post here.
]]>Table support is a big win for me. The lack of tables tended to be the end point of me working in OneNote on a report or proposal. In all my documentation, I tend to use a lot of tables to break up information. The fact that I couldn't use them in OneNote limited by ability to use the product for everything - which is what I would prefer to do.
Dragging and dropping of pages and sections is also nice. I have put a lot of thought into the organization of my OneNote files and I have always wanted this ability to move things around easier.
Chris's blog always offers a nice behind the scenes perspective of an interesting team working on a fairly new product. It's now wonder his blog is as popular as it is.
]]>I sure hope Shane remembers how cool his birthday gift from me was this year. :-) *cough* HINT *cough*
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RSS.
Everything about sites, lists, libraries, etc., can be syndicated via RSS automatically.
Blogs and Wikis.
Templates and features in the box.
Content Types.
These aren’t just like SPS 2001’s document profiles. They define sets of metadata, but they also contain view information. And associated workflows. And events bound to them (synchronous or asynchronous). And you can have more than one in the same list/library.
Workflow.
Windows Workflow Foundation is embedded in WSS. It’s used everywhere.
Recycle Bin.
We did it. It’s scoped to a site and captures deleted documents, items, etc. It has a user restore and an administrative restore.
Per-item security.
Even on list items
Improved Frontpage Usage.
FrontPage has evolved into a feature set that makes it truly a SharePoint site designer. (Ghosting’s still around, but it won’t be a problem anymore.
Forms services in Office “12” servers.
That’s right — design a form in the InfoPath rich client, publish it as a SharePoint site, and it can be either viewed/filled out in the full smart client or in a browser as HTML.
Search. Better APIs. Better results. Alternate search suggestions (misspelled words,etc.). A highly customizable default Web-based UI.
Office 12 Servers.
Office “12” servers will also contain a Business Data Catalog, a facility that registers LOB application data and Web services. Once that’s happened, BDC-aware Web Parts can pull data from them, we can index them, and a lot more. Office “12” servers will also be able to take a spreadsheet published to a SharePoint site and reneer it as an HTML application.
Mobile views of SharePoint lists.
That’s right, a way to render a list on a mobile device.
RCM Technologies is a leading provider of comprehensive of Information Technology solutions for customers in the Financials Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Communications, Entertainment, and Pharmaceutical markets is looking for a Business Systems Consultant for a project in the Beverly Hills area.
This is initially an 8 week project. There is a high likelihood of extension after the initial phase is completed.
This project is slated to start ASAP.
Job Description
Responsible for providing business solutions to enterprise-wide technology initiatives. Candidate must be a self starter with excellent communication skills. Background in web testing and training on web based systems. Formal classroom experience is not mandatory.
Acts as a liaison between business/user and the technical developer
Plan and analyze business initiatives to be solved with business systems.
Provides technical expertise in identifying, evaluating, and developing effective procedures and systems requirements that meet business requirements.
Works with business user to provide assessment of developed system in respect to the user’s needs. Also provide training and resolve issues and questions.
Participates in validating existing design features with specific system requirements and specifications.
Initiates systems testing.
Acts as internal consultant within technology and business groups by re-engineering technical processes for greater efficiencies with significant impact to the business.
Required Experience or Knowledge of the following technologies/functions:
MicroSoft Sharepoint 2003 – Candidates must be expert level in Sharepoint
.net development
Sharepoint implementation/migration experience
If you are available, please send your resume as a Word document. You may also reach me at the number below.
Thank you,
Ruth Lozano
RCM Technologies
Anaheim, CA
800-972-6269 x220
ruth.lozano@rcmt.com
www.rcmt.com
-------------------------------
Note the above listing is strictly posted as a service to anyone that might be interested in such an opportunity - I am not directly affiliated with the organization.
We will be listing more job opportunities on our community site that we are getting ready to launch but in the meantime I thought I would start to post some here. If you are looking for a SharePoint position, let me know as I have multiple contacts that are actively seeking skilled SharePoint resources (all over the globe) and I might very well be able to help you out.
I have been Beta testing this product for a while now and they are getting ready to launch a public Beta next week. If you need a records management and retention solution in your organization (as many do), then I recommend giving this product a whirl. And the best part is...the final release of the product will be free. This is quite impressive really given the high cost typically associated with such products.
What is 80-20 Compliance Server for Microsoft SharePoint?
For organizations using Microsoft SharePoint that need to manage the retention lifecycle of electronic documents and email, 80-20 Compliance Server is a free enterprise software solution that automates the retention process by applying information retention policies as part of everyday business processes.
80-20 Compliance Server enables organizations to index, link, store, search, access and ultimately disposes of records stored in SharePoint over their complete lifecycle.
Why is it Free?
Yes, not only is this Beta download free (of course), the final released product will also be free.
Many companies think you should pay substantial license fees for a comparable records management capability in SharePoint, so why is 80-20 offering it for free?
80-20 is a provider of enterprise Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) solutions. We believe that in providing the Compliance Server software solution free of charge to the SharePoint community, it will promote interest in 80-20’s wider enterprise GRC solutions amongst large scale enterprise users.
Kudos to the Stones for a great show. Kudos to Mick Jagger for taking the time to acknowledge all the Newfoundlanders, Nova Scotians and Prince Edward Islanders that made the journey to Moncton to see the concert. It would have been easy to strictly pull a "Hello...Moncton" moment but they really proved their professionalism and experience by making the entire audience feel welcome.
Also kudos to the local RCMP for really doing an amazing job at keeping everything in order and controlling the massive crowds while keeping us all safe. Every officer I came in contact was extremely helpful and pleasant which is impressive given the huge crowd and potential madness that could have taken place. Great job guys!
The evening ended with a 5km walk to our car where we were stuck waiting for about 3 hours till we got out of the parking lot and headed back to our hotel. That experience really could have been annoying but the day had been so flawless that I really couldn't feel like complaining.
As I was sitting there I couldn't help but think of our brothers and sisters affected by the horrible hurricane. Here I was experiencing the greatest night of my life while many of them were left hungry and waiting for word on just how great their losses from the hurricane were. People have lost family members, friends, jobs, houses and lives. I find it hard not to be affected by this. I feel extremely helpless and struggle with how I can even begin to make a difference or reach out to help. Shane posted about how we can get started. Right now the first step is to reach into our hearts and pockets to give what we can to make a start. It's easy to sit back and wait to see what the millionaires of the world will offer but there are A LOT of us "average wage" folks out that can offer something as well. A simple donation made by the millions of us that lack the funds to make the major headlines can make a tremendous difference. In the meantime, I offer my thoughts and prayers to those affected by this horrible disaster.
From Derek's Message:
I am very excited to announce the first ever Atlantic Canada CodeCamp to be held Saturday 15 October 2005 in Moncton, NB. A CodeCamp is a community-driven, all-day event for developers. Speakers are local or regional developers. Topics are based on community interest. Sessions are original and feature a heavy technical focus (no marketing fluff). And best of all, it is FREE!
We are looking for speakers from the Atlantic region to submit session proposals for this unique and exciting event. An official Call for Speakers with a submission template will be coming very soon. In the meantime, if you are interested in presenting or know someone who would be a great speaker, please email me at CodeCamp@ardentdev.com.
We will also have an online registration process in place soon. Until then, it would be a tremendous help to hear back from you with a response (Yes, No, or Maybe) to the question "Will you attend the Atlantic Canada CodeCamp on October 15?" If your answer is "No", it would be great to hear why you are not interested in attending. Thanks so much!
For more details, watch the Web site at http://www.atlanticcodecamp.ca/. We hope to have times and location nailed down later this week.
Steve found this post today when he ran into the same problem setting this up. Not a whole lot of documentation on the issue so I figured I would point to this post as well to pass the word.
SYMPTOMS
After you have installed and configured the SQL Report Pack for SharePoint on a SharePoint Portal webserver and started extracting the WSS and IIS logfiles, you encounter the following error when running the DEP tool RPDataExtraction.exe.
Copying data from the staging database to the reporting database... Data extraction failed at 99/99/9999 99:99:99 AM
Details:
System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException
String or binary data would be truncated.
The statement has been terminated.
CAUSE
This problem is caused by some field size truncation of temporary tables when they are initially created and rows are inserted that exceeded the size of the field. Specifically, it can be traced to two stored procedures inside the dbSPSReporting database:
The usp_Insert_FactFileStorage stored procedure creates a temporary table called tblTempFileStorage_toFactStorage where the field FileType is wrongly defined as nVarChar(25). It needs to match the DocType field from the dbSPSReporting.dbo.tblDocs table.
The usp_Insert_FactWSS stored procedure creates a temporary table called tblTempWSS_ToFactLoad which have 3 fields that are defined incorrectly. The WSSDate, WSSUser, and WSSDoc fields need to match the corresponding fields from dbSPSReportingStaging.dbo.tblWSSLogData table.
RESOLUTION
To resolve the issue, edit the stored procedures that are causing the error inside the dbSPSReporting database
Modify usp_Insert_FactFileStorage
In line 48, column 20, modify the field size definition of FileType to be 255
Modify usp_Insert_FactWSS
In line 45, column 11, modify the field type definition of WSSDate to be smalldatetime
In Line 47, column 20, modify the field size definition of WSSUser to be 255.
In line 48, column 20, modify the field size definition of WSSDoc to be 255
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Also as a side note, I'd be interested in hearing from some of you that have set this pack up on how useful you have found the sample reports. Or more especially if you have been developing any of your own. Let me know.
FeedDemon
Bloglines
RSSBandit
Omea Pro
Attensa
Pluck
So I guess I have a bit of testing to do. Both FeedDemon and Bloglines come highly recommended as they were the most popular suggestions by far that I received from those who emailed in past 24 hours. But I want to work my way down the list and try them all.
Once I get through the list I will report back on how my experience went. It might take some mind shifting for me to get used to a web based aggregator although part of me feels that might be exactly what I need.
Also I have to give credit to Newsgator for following up with me within 24 hours on the trouble I reported that I was having with their product on my blog. Nice to see they are keeping that close a watch on the pulse of the community. I respect that. I also didn't realize they had purchased FeedDemon until some others told me about it. Perhaps I need to pay closer attention to what is going on. :)
Thanks again everyone! With my comments disabled I was after forgetting about how great a conversation can be through a weblog.
]]>You have until August 28th to get your topic in or vote on the sessions you would like to see. Please don't procrastinate and miss the deadline.
I really encourage those of you in the development and SharePoint communities that are registered to attend PDC to get involved. It's a great way for you to be a part of an amazing conference and lead a discussion on a topic you are passionate about.
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