cloud applications
Posted on General

Getting All You Can From Cloud Applications

Recent discussions and work situations have caused me to think a lot about cloud applications.  This pondering has included research of varying degrees into dozens of these sort of solutions.  The good and bad news is that there are more options than ever before.  That being said, it is time to examine ways that we can make the most of this overabundance of choices.  Of course, your options will vary based on your situation so let’s look at the different approaches. Start-Up Mode The first (and most comfortable) situation is when you are in start-up mode.  This situation is where you have no legacy concerns and nothing that ties you to any particular product.  We see this occur when a... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Perseverance – A Critical Key To Success

When we talk about skills that are important for success, some have a higher value than others.  History has shown us that perseverance is one of those that is the most significant.  Nearly every successful business was created by someone that experienced more than a few failures before that success.  That ability to get up after getting knocked down is perseverance. Bound To Come Some Trouble There is a song lyric about life and the struggles we will see.  There is “bound to come some trouble” in our lives no matter how we live them.  This includes almost every project we decide to take on.  I will allow that somewhere out there someone is cruising smoothly through a project.  However, I... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Planning For Fun and Recreation – The Meaningful Life

I think that we all strive for a meaningful life.  We do not want to breathe our last breath and look at missed opportunities.  That concern goes beyond something as narrow as a focus on professional success.  We all have an inner child that occasionally needs to come out and play.  It is just the case that our inner child plays in different ways for each of us and as we age. A Meaningful Life Requires Intention All work and no play not only makes Jack a dull boy, but it also reduces our productivity and joy in life.  This is a challenge for everyone.  However, those of us that love our job and have found our calling are more... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Cord-Cutting – Easier Than Ever

Cord-cutting is one of the trends of the last decade or so that the Internet has led to.  This is the situation where someone cuts the “cord” of cable or satellite television through a provider and manages their entertainment options. Better Than Ever Cord-cutting used to mean that you were mostly giving up visual entertainment other than movies.  This option almost guaranteed that you would always be behind the curve in keeping up with the latest releases.  Although this option was not a hard one to choose for those that are not fans of network TV, there was a challenge in keeping up with news and world events. You might have noticed that this is far from the case in... Read more

sales skills
Posted on Become a Better Developer

The Value of Sales Skills for IT Workers

Much like marketing, sales skills are useful to everyone.  This is also an area that is pervasive throughout life.  It has far more than just business applications.  There are two sides to sales.  The soft side is where you see people able to sell ice cubes to Eskimos.  On the other hand, you have the statistical part of relationship management, pipelines, and even contracts.  We will focus on that second side for now because that is where technology can provide the most value. Customer Relation Management (CRM) is becoming so important that the related applications are almost a commodity.  You can find core CRM features in a calendar, desktop database, and even e-mail applications.  These scratch the surface of what can be... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Side-hustle Arguments – Pros and Cons

There are not a lot of articles that include side-hustle arguments.  All of the ones I come across start from the position of any side-hustle being a good thing.  Then, the story shows us how to embrace and succeed in that area.  We are easily lured into seeing only positive side-hustle arguments as the end is examined without much regard for the journey.  I think this sells us short on deciding how to live our life.  Therefore, let’s step back and determine whether all this extra work makes sense for us. Focus related side-hustle arguments The obvious potential for success or failure is whether a focused approach or multi-tasking is better in the long run.  Many factors come into play when we... Read more