Cyclical Storage Logic (Personal Data)
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@Dashrender said:
I'm not coddling them. I inform them of why these are bad decisions every time a discussion comes up. The only thing left for me is to drop them.
Do you make it clear that they are not following the most basic of business practices - like listening to the hired experts? Do you make it clear that you see them as "playing" at business and not taking it seriously and operating like a hobby? Because that's what I mean - letting them go home and night and not feel embarrassed.
It's tough love, but if I let clients go home feeling like their ridiculous decisions aren't being laughed at and that we don't see them as "children playing at business" I'm just making it seem socially acceptable to keep doing that. I make it clear that I don't take them seriously any more as they clearly don't take themselves seriously.
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@BRRABill said:
Everyone cuts corners somewhere and makes it work.
It's not cutting corners, that's a horrible mentality because it enables it.
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@BRRABill said:
They stay in business by being shrewd.
Good IT is always shrewd. What we are talking about is being reckless or not being smart. Very different things.
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@BRRABill said:
These are people all of whom have been in business for 20+ years.
Tons and tons of businesses do poorly for forever. Doctors offices are a great example. It's easy for a doctor to earn enough to have a "failing" business that they prop up for forever. They'll never earn anywhere nearly what they could have - they pay for the business out of their own income. I see this with nearly every doctor that owns a business. They could be rich, but prefer to "play" at business and be only middle class.
They stay in business indefinitely, but the business itself is always losing.
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@BRRABill said:
Everyone cuts corners somewhere and makes it work.
You need to define "it worked." The biggest aspect of IT is managing costs. When I see these companies, they are always bleeding money on IT. Saying "it works" when IT costs way too much is misleading. That's like saying that towing wagons with Ferraris works. Sure they burn out and you have to replace them constantly. Sure you spent 1,000x what you should spend. Sure they don't do a good job pulling. But far too often in IT we'd excuse that waste of money as "well it worked."
We need to change our definition of what "it worked" means. It's too often the opposite of doing well and is often used to mean "got lucky."
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What I mean is...
There are many things any company is sold on, be it insurance, benefits, rent, whatever, that they have to make risk and reward type decisions.
We are in IT. We think it's the most important. But there is probably an insurance forum somewhere called chocolatefrappe.ins that is bashing companies for not having a full insurance policy or something. Or an alarm company that thinks it's crazy not to have the bells and whistles alarm vs. the basic. Every industry think theirs is the most important.
I'm not saying it is right. i am just saying I see it all the time, and from other MSPs I talk to, it's all they see. Very few people get IT, or easily accept what is needed.
Does that mean IU'll stop preaching it, no. Just saying it's very prevalent.
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@BRRABill said:
What I mean is...
There are many things any company is sold on, be it insurance, benefits, rent, whatever, that they have to make risk and reward type decisions.
We are in IT. We think it's the most important. But there is probably an insurance forum somewhere called chocolatefrappe.ins that is bashing companies for not having a full insurance policy or something. Or an alarm company that thinks it's crazy not to have the bells and whistles alarm vs. the basic. Every industry think theirs is the most important.
I'm not saying it is right. i am just saying I see it all the time, and from other MSPs I talk to, it's all they see. Very few people get IT, or easily accept what is needed.
Does that mean IU'll stop preaching it, no. Just saying it's very prevalent.
See, no where did I say IT was the most important. I would be wrong if I said that. I said I drop clients that do not see IT as critical to the success of their business.
Most things are critical to the success of a business, if that business wants to actually succeed.
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@BRRABill said:
We are in IT. We think it's the most important.
Certainly not. You can't be good at IT and think that. IT always exists within the scope of the business and making money. That's why good decisions for IT are always good decisions for the business - because they are one and the same. IT without a business context is just "playing with computers."
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@BRRABill said:
But there is probably an insurance forum somewhere called chocolatefrappe.ins that is bashing companies for not having a full insurance policy or something. Or an alarm company that thinks it's crazy not to have the bells and whistles alarm vs. the basic. Every industry think theirs is the most important.
I wouldn't be surprised - but that is because unlike IT, those are NOT business-aligned fields. They have one job - to sell things to customers. That's it. They make things to sell. They are not part of the business.
IT is part of the business. That's why we are always talking about how businesses are overspending, how they are wasting money or being reckless. Often our job is to stop the business from spending on IT where it doesn't make sense or to spend wisely, not to spend more.
If you feel that IT is the most important aspect of the business, you should probably not be in IT. That's not a healthy view that anyone in an IT decision making role can have without causing damage to the business.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
I'm not coddling them. I inform them of why these are bad decisions every time a discussion comes up. The only thing left for me is to drop them.
Do you make it clear that they are not following the most basic of business practices - like listening to the hired experts? Do you make it clear that you see them as "playing" at business and not taking it seriously and operating like a hobby? Because that's what I mean - letting them go home and night and not feel embarrassed.
It's tough love, but if I let clients go home feeling like their ridiculous decisions aren't being laughed at and that we don't see them as "children playing at business" I'm just making it seem socially acceptable to keep doing that. I make it clear that I don't take them seriously any more as they clearly don't take themselves seriously.
No, unlike you I don't have the stones to flatly look someone in face and say those things to them in general. Mostly because of the financial aspect of saying those things. Nor have I know any consultant or MSP who would either (with the exception of you).
I have to ask @art_of_shred If any NTG consultant said that to a client, would you as the owner/manager be OK with that?
I would think it would only be OK with saying something like this if you are basically giving the client a last chance before you fire them as a client.
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No don't get me wrong. I WANT to say those things to them. I want to make them understand how foolish I feel they are being in an attempt to save a few bucks, and give them the best setup for their dollar.
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@Dashrender said:
Nor have I know any consultant or MSP who would either (with the exception of you).
You know one at least.
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@JaredBusch said:
@Dashrender said:
Nor have I know any consultant or MSP who would either (with the exception of you).
You know one at least.
are you speaking of yourself? And if so, where you ready to fire that client when you said it to them if they didn't agree?
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@Dashrender said:
@JaredBusch said:
@Dashrender said:
Nor have I know any consultant or MSP who would either (with the exception of you).
You know one at least.
are you speaking of yourself? And if so, where you ready to fire that client when you said it to them if they didn't agree?
Yes, and Yes, in fact I did fire said client.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
I'm not coddling them. I inform them of why these are bad decisions every time a discussion comes up. The only thing left for me is to drop them.
Do you make it clear that they are not following the most basic of business practices - like listening to the hired experts? Do you make it clear that you see them as "playing" at business and not taking it seriously and operating like a hobby? Because that's what I mean - letting them go home and night and not feel embarrassed.
It's tough love, but if I let clients go home feeling like their ridiculous decisions aren't being laughed at and that we don't see them as "children playing at business" I'm just making it seem socially acceptable to keep doing that. I make it clear that I don't take them seriously any more as they clearly don't take themselves seriously.
No, unlike you I don't have the stones to flatly look someone in face and say those things to them in general. Mostly because of the financial aspect of saying those things. Nor have I know any consultant or MSP who would either (with the exception of you).
I have to ask @art_of_shred If any NTG consultant said that to a client, would you as the owner/manager be OK with that?
I would think it would only be OK with saying something like this if you are basically giving the client a last chance before you fire them as a client.
It's my job to be honest, not to lie to the customer and act like bad and reckless decision making is a "viable choice." How could we be a professional firm if we didn't do this? How could we take ourselves seriously? Sure, you can always find plenty of people willing to be yes men for cheap. I'm not saying that there isn't a viable business model there. But it isn't our business model.
We are seriously enough about it that I write articles to link to. Partially I do this so that we can distance ourselves from the accusation a little. "Oh, the article isn't about you, but you should take it to heart." Because technically I wrote it before the situation arose, but it was about someone just like them.
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@Dashrender said:
@JaredBusch said:
@Dashrender said:
Nor have I know any consultant or MSP who would either (with the exception of you).
You know one at least.
are you speaking of yourself? And if so, where you ready to fire that client when you said it to them if they didn't agree?
I've definitely called @Minion-Queen and said "their fired" before. Especially with doctor's offices, they tend to be among the least professional, on average, firms to deal with. Not all, of course, but everyone fears having to deal with one.
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@scottalanmiller said:
I've definitely called @Minion-Queen and said "their fired" before. Especially with doctor's offices, they tend to be among the least professional, on average, firms to deal with. Not all, of course, but everyone fears having to deal with one.
Agreed.
I hear dentists are the extra worst.
BTW: are all these posts Googable?
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I'm definitely saying anyone should be a yes man, but assuming you're not ready to fire them, you explain the situation, then do what they they ask. If the ask causes you to fire them, then so be it.
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@JaredBusch said:
@BRRABill said:
BTW: are all these posts Googable?
Yes.
Note to self:
watch what you say!
