A shopping mall, Wall Street, Bay Street, The Chicago Merc: the financial hub in any city.  Broadway (the theater district), Rue de Bouche, Little Italy, Chinatown, Restaurant Row, The Garment District, 5th Avenue, Rive Gauche, Rodeo Drive, Soho, Madison Avenue.

Names of places so familiar we instantly get an image in our minds eye, what they stand for when we hear one of these places by name.   We know where they are – where to go when are visiting a city.  These are the collective business voice, the “brand” of a type of activity business does.  It’s where to go, where to be, where to see and be seen.  These are places about what happens and where it happens – the “buzz”.

We go there to find out the best restaurant, fashion trend, hot show for an evening out.  When we travel we might go sightseeing as traders bounce about  a floor, or stroll down.  It’s the movement around a sector of a city where things happen.  Like constellations, its where the stars align and add up to become a business hub.

Business social is where business is done, and what businesses do and say.  The “Buzz”, the mathematics that add up – go to New York, London, Paris, Toronto, Montreal – you’ll find these spots any city where businesses have come together to add to the activity, the voice. 

When we want food, we go to the hub – or try to find the latest little bistro on the fringe. If we want to see protests, as of late, about the economy, a stroll down Wall Street (or rather a video search) will show where people GO to get their message heard – as we’ve seen in the recent “Occupy” protests.

Our culture and society has naturally gathered around common themes about where we work, how we spend our lives, where we buy.   In short, what we’re doing and where we flock. 

When we’re hungry we go where the restaurants collect.  When we’re marketing we look to Madison Avenue.  When we’re thinking about investing its Wall Street, Bay Street or the like.  When we are shopping it’s the shopping mall, or a chic trip to Rodeo Drive or Rive Gauche.

This is “Business Social”.  The Internet offers an experience – like our lives, when we leave the house and travel about to work or on a trip to the store.  The net takes us somewhere, where we can find out what’s up.  Humans are “social” creatures.  We “follow” trends, we congregate around common activities and interests that we “like”.  This is what has driven Facebook and Twitter so rapidly to unimaginable heights. 

Business social is about what businesses do, say, function, trade – it is the hub where everything adds up: The Business Voice™.  When we work, when we search, when we discover, when we think about what we need to know, we add up all of the information in our minds – then we DO.  It’s how we’ve built our cities.

Business social is the business vibe, the voice and the facts about business – all in one place. Launching on 11–11–11.

Bizabacus will arrive 11-11-11
The Voice of Business™

When a person, like Steve Job’s must leave this world the only light that can be found for those of us left is cast in the genius and inspiration his life inspired.

I write of the personal inspiration Steve Jobs has given in my life and the life of our organization. At one time, Apple too, was a small technology firm, with an idea and dreams. In the success of technology, like Apple and Steve, lives are forever changed in ways that we might never imagine. With the impact of genius, like Steve carved into the lives of so many, with a masterful hand he shaped a global culture.

One cannot help feel empty and at the same time grateful. Steve will always continue to be an inspiration to those of us that strive to build, innovate, connect and believe in the business of technology and a connected global culture. Steve Jobs, in creating Apple, has challenged us to think and believe that we can be more and better every day. Whether we use his creations for living, work, entertainment or connecting – or, like our company, we work to invent new ways to connect in this world, Steve will always be remembered because of his inspiration.

Steve Jobs genius will continue to carry the world forward. For those of us left to still find new ways to invent, we will always look to his life and his mastery as the purest of inspiration and passion. This is a beautiful legacy for a life from a man that has shown us how to be bigger than we, perhaps believe possible at times that prove most challenging.

Thank you Steve – God speed on your next journey in a better place….

Father’s Day 2012

I awoke this morning to a wonderful gift awaiting me in my email inbox, perfectly anticipating Father’s Day. My eldest sister, who currently resides alongside her husband in Thailand, had forwarded me a blog post entitled “Living Life with Open Hands“. Her link led me to a beautiful piece of writing which described precisely how my time spent amongst my youngest children makes me feel. It reminded me that I might forget how my wife and children may be feeling when I’m too immersed in my work to fully participate in the joys of life with them. It reinforced for me the reason I work so hard, but more than that, the story reminded me that being with my family, and ensuring that is my top priority, helps me to be not only a better father and husband, but also entrepreneur, leader and ultimately, a better person.

When I find others of a similar mind, those who believe truly that family comes first, whether in the business world, academia, or any field for that matter, I instantly bond with them. It is always easy for me to enjoy working with people who love their family because they understand when difficulties arise in business, like at home, there are right and wrong ways to “parent”. Those that never learn this lesson at home, whether with children of their own, or as children themselves, can act juvenile, behave like bullies, and well, all partake in those actions which damage business and bring negativity to our world. We’ve all had enough of that.

This brings to mind my partner I have in our latest business adventure. Through our collaboration with Michael, our company will provide the only purely Canadian Private Cloud in North America. But what I love about working with Michael is not the opportunity we have in bringing our organizations together. Rather, it is the fact that the first thing we talk about every day is our families. Then we think about our employees that have families – how they are doing, in particular, those who might be having some difficulty with their health or challenges at home. Only after these topics of discussion do we get down to business. This is what you’d expect from a man who has been happily married for 35 years with a family he adores.

The man who sticks it out with his family – who acts as a Dad who understands and listens to his children at all stages of life- this is the man who will listen, understand and be successful in all facets of business and life. As is to be expected, in this new venture with Michael, we face the typical challenges that come with constructing and completing a massive project like Canada’s Private Cloud. Of course, we must discuss and come to agreement on these issues. Business will always present challenges – as will family. I connect with Michael because we both would always prefer to focus on what really matters: why we are here as fathers, parents and family. This is the true “Zone” in life we share when we become fathers.

If you have followed my blogs, or the emerging philosophy behind the 1to1REAL Cloud for business, you’ll already be familiar with the Four Pillars of Process for every business endeavor that 1to1REAL helps build and keep on track. If you have been engaged with 1to1REAL, you will have already been involved in a BIPED (Business in Process Enterprise Design).

The BIPED approach brings technology alive, and explains the psychology of technology. BIPED helps to explain the reasoning behind structuring an organization with Business Process Management, as opposed to the linear, failed approaches of typical systems of yore, which relied on obsolete CRM, and ERP technologies. The paradigm has shifted in a connected world, and businesses now must learn to be more like an involved parents in their markets. Unfortunately, MBA’s, accountants and lawyers have not been taught that being open and understanding is the best way to run a business. What we are left with is a challenge to adapt to these new conditions. Where better to start than with the kind of philosophy that makes a great Dad?

The Four Pillars and BIPED are about connections and processes. Like being with our kids, if we’re connected, even the toughest teenage years can be a rewarding challenge. What truly keeps us more on top of our game and connected than family? What really tells more about a man (or person) than their relationship with, and efforts for their children and their spouse, and “social” network of true friends (not just Facebook friends – the kind you sit and talk to face to face)?

I am a blessed father. I have five beautiful children – with ages ranging nearly twenty years apart. I have learned more from my children (and of course, my beautiful wife) about the type of person I wish to be, and what I want them to see in me, than I could have ever learned any other way. Fatherhood continues to be a moving experience – and has encouraged me to find better paths in my entrepreneurial career and business life.

My eldest son I have watched emerge as a talented, brilliant man. This coming September, he will be on his way to John’s Hopkins University to work on his Ph.D. He will spend his time there theorizing and writing about our troubled political world, examining the philosophy behind humans as social creatures. His studies will focus upon where mankind has failed itself in all the structures from war to society that we’ve invented.

His sister, only two years younger , has grown into not only a beautiful young woman, but a masterful honour’s student at McGill University. Her grasp of language, how she is able to mold descriptions of the texture of life, have earned her top marks in university. She has been utilizing these skills as co-oping with me this summer here at CMaeON, helping as we continue to build the Cloud Market Enterprise On-Demand for entrepreneurial thinkers.

What are the elements that have formed my life as a man who is a father of five? “What did you do right?” is a question I often get asked these days. As I continue to be amazed at these accomplishments which lead two these brilliant people (who happen to be my kids), I have three more young children to watch grow and emerge into their own lives. Knowing what I did right is easy: I stuck it out, I paid attention, I learned more about myself so I could understand more about the world – I kept in mind the legacy I wanted my kids to have. In short, I learned the hard way to get my head out of the sand and start being present every day – no matter what.

If we consider our lives as parents, and as leaders in business, as people who work in the business world, we must examine the factors which makes us individuals. Rather than looking at the “profit or pay-check”, the net worth statement, focusing on the false signs of success that can be so damaging, we must focus on the human factors. Who do we love, what do we love to do? What at the end of the day makes us feel most fulfilled- a closed deal or a tight armed hug from our children? When we look for the real answers, we will not find them buried in the numbers and figures. Yes, for practical purposes the numbers matter, but the consideration of the loved ones around you matter more. Acknowleding this is how we can all become better leaders – in our lives, with our children and families.

Others will learn from the actions and steps we take, “If” (as Rudyard Kipling wrote), we are lucky enough to lead well. Sometimes those people will follow in the steps we leave behind. People may follow us for many reasons. We may count ourselves fortunate if they take pride in stepping in the footprints we leave behind us as guides. No one is a wise father, or a conscious leader, in their nascence, fresh out of the womb. It takes time to gain wisdom and knowledge. This journey is necessarily, a process.

I’ve dedicated the last few decades of my life to unraveling the mystery of the “process” approach in business. I believe now that my journey has been defined by my own experience as a father. I’ve come to the crucial realization that it is the psychology of technology not just the technology that optimizes the way people truly work and learn. We can see this more than ever before with how readily our children are adopting the amazing technological devices we have created.

I believe that what has been missing in business is the leadership and compassion we find when we think of family. Our responsibility in our careers, as leaders, is to be fathers or mothers, all of the time. A good parent listens and learns a lot more than he teaches.

Greed and blatant self interest alongside disregard for others in business, is what lead to the one of the most erroneous statements ever made, “It’s not personal, it’s just business”. A foolish idiom, the philosophy behind this claim has lead to many law suits, greedy acts, and thefts, such as that we are currently experiencing, of our software and intellectual property by an arrogant CEO. It is a sad situation created by men who never understood their responsibility to others. These are the people (men and women alike – there is no gender here), that the tabloids are filled with – families, as well as businesses, are devastaed by their actions.

The truth is, “If you’re a jerk, careless in your business life, you’re a careless jerk” Work is where we spend much of our lives. Whether you are the coach, or part of the team, “If” you’re not working with the team – “If” it’s just a J.O.B. (as I’ve written before) to you, as an owner, the boss, a manager, worker, or, a father, – where your own “space” and time, profit or paycheck, is all that matters, “If”… “it’s just business…” to you, and you feel justified to act that way, well, you’re not connected to the reality of life and you’re probably not living a good one.

As I read the wonderful post which catalyzed my thoughts about what makes a father, and as I consider the works of Rudyard Kipling written over 200 years about in 1895 – I realize, we have had plenty of time to learn these lessons. I imagine all those things that made me most happy with my children, most proud as a Dad and Daddy –what makes me smile the most at home and at work, is when I am in touch with the people around me.

Our mission to tie these two inextricable parts of life together is manifest within the Four Pillars of Life for 1to1REAL Business &1REAL Family. Why is this our mission? Because our lives are bound between what we do for a living, to make a life, and who we live it with. Our family, our friends, our society, our responsibility – that is our work. There are only really Four Pillars we need to remember in life:

The Four Pillars of Life:

• Family
• Work
• Fun
• Freedom

Family: What is our “Zone of Excellence” – what makes us who are at the most fundamental level? Family. Think about it – without a family, you would not be here.

Work: This is where we collaborate, we “Huddle with our Team” – our workplace is where we make a living and a life with the others in our organizations and the society we affect.

I recently read a statement by Victor Frankl from his wonderful account Man’s Search for Meaning that asks a question that goes something like this – Are you hear to make a living, or to make a life? It is not what we expect from life, but what life expects from us that makes us matter as we walk this earth.

Fun: Taking a “Time-Out” at any time, a moment during your work day, a weekend, a vacation – just a laugh in the middle of the day, when there seems to be only crisis, seems to solve many a problem. Fun is our true recycle bin for our energy – for living more fully.

When we release ourselves to the magic of living, to enjoy a moment of our children’s lives, or to sail on the water, rush down a mountain on skis, throw a ball or just run wildly or lay on the grass, we find the fun in life. Enjoy the magic of nature. The world is amazing, and it is why we most desperately need to protect our environment for our children.

Fun is what keeps us creative and alive. Always have fun and, even at the most stressful times, the release will emerge in the magic of being alive. Again, Victor Frankl’s had thoughts on this – as a man of extreme circumstance having survived the Holocaust, Frankl taught how, in a place where there was no “fun”, only tragedy and death, even a moment’s view of the sun can create a reason to live.

Freedom: Stop. “Re-Group” – look around. Do this as often as possible. Whether it is meditation on a daily basis, or just a moment once a month in solitude. To discover the meaning of true freedom, the freedom to choose our next step, the freedom to be who we are (no matter how difficult our circumstance), the respect and understanding that we give that others in the world, this is the end game of understanding.

When we stop long enough to understand where we have been, we can’t help but make better decisions on what it means to be free and to choose our steps most wisely.

I wanted to write this on the eve of Father’s Day because, as a father who has been a driven entrepreneur and worked “too much” on many an occasion, I’ve only recently been able to find my own Four Pillars of Life. I’m working on this more and more each day.

Of course, my hope is that my life’s work, 1to1REAL, particularly its most recent Cloud capable version for businesses, and, perhaps, a variation called “1REALFamily”, will connect with working people with all parts of their lives. My goal is that it will be able to assist who need a better way to plan and balance those most important events in our lives, we will begin to find the true integration where the technology that we carry in our smart phones, our notebooks and laptops, will help us begin to support our Four Pillars of the “Process” of “Life”.

Call your Dad, hug your Mom – shake the hand of the men you know who are fathers (and all the Mom’s out there who are both mom & dad).

Happy Father’s day!

Tim

PS: And, to my Dad, where ever you are up there, I miss you and love you Dad. Thanks for giving me this life

Ok – So I’m not the world’s BEST blogger – I write, then I don’t, for a while. But, I’m not the world’s worst either (that’s the one who thinks about writing a blog but NEVER does a blog).

Why don’t I write more frequently? The pundits of blogging and social media will perennially advise you to write consistently, every day. To be constantly saying “something”, to get your written presence out there, no matter how underdeveloped it is. Therein lies my grievance. I tire of useless chatter – of hearing and seeing inane material and, well of media pollution in general. And thus I’ve decided to not join in a crowd I’m not comfortable with. Unlike the ruling class of bloggers, who, working on a circadian basis, push out prepackaged, perfunctory philosophies hardly worth scanning- I’d rather think. I prefer to mull things over. And after my abstract ponderings become concrete ideas- after I’ve jotted them down, revised them, perhaps more than once; after I think things through and find something I believe to be truly of relevance; something that can offer value to readers – I do what writers do. I publish, post, and get it out there.

With this disclaimer in mind, I offer to you a recent thought of mine. Not long ago, I sat at my desk at our Cmaeon Team’s head office- watching the playful dance of planes, boats and small crafts as they navigated the waters surrounding my home and work place, beautiful Victoria, BC. As I observed my environment, a strong parallel emerged on the forefront of my mind. The lone kayaker, negotiating the tides was not unlike an entrepreneur facing unaccompanied a sea of challenges and opportunities; the giant ferry, floating along seemingly unburdened by its hundreds of cars and passengers, was like a massive enterprise of the sea; the lucky float planes who managed to transcend the busy waterways and reach the more exclusive sky were reminiscent of those scarce but spectacular stories of overnight success. I soon realized these vessels, despite their significant differences, all in some way had to interact with the control tower. Similar to a conductor of an orchestra, the control tower choreographed for these vehicles a melody of safety, through which the players could still function in their unique ways.

So, one could muse, if it is possible to guide this smorgasbord of watercrafts from atop a control tower, why doesn’t a similar structure exist, to provide guidance for businesses and organizations of all sizes? It does; and that’s why being part of the creation of this software; this dynamic, sentient system we call 1to1REAL has been the most rewarding professional achievement of my life. 1to1Real is a business control tower for not only my personal business, but for my customers and clients as well. It organizes and automates operations, and ensures the security and success of your business- just like the control tower ensures a safe path for a kayaker, an open dock for a ferry boat, or a smooth take off for a float plane. That’s 1to1Real- that’s how it works, that’s what we’ve built and what we’ve done.

1to1REAL is the Control Tower for your Business – It’s a “Symphony”

Allow me to elaborate. As I have hopefully helped you visualize, we are fortunate to have an strikingly beautiful view from our windows at CMaeON. We’re located on the famous Fisherman’s Wharf- just a short harbor-ferry ride away from Victoria’s Inner Harbor on Vancouver Island. Our building, Shoal Point, resides adjacent to the Canadian Coast Guard; and sits below the control tower of one of the busiest harbors in the world. .

The control tower with which we share our view looks to the skies and surveils the water, all the while ensuring the seascape remains serene.

A while ago I realized, the ability to act as if in a Control Tower; watching the radar, monitoring the gauges and activity, and gazing out the window to see clearly all perspectives; that was what was missing for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a passenger, or the pilot, the captain or part of a crew, the ultimate goal remains the same: a successful journey. 1to1Real, like a lighthouse keeper guides a ship in the night, provides solutions for your current problems and a direction for your future course. From the “Cloud” to the sea of activity, 1to1Real helps orchestrate your business and reach your final destination. .

I’ve been asked what we do at CMaeON with 1to1REAL and our 1to1 technology groups for nearly a decade and a half now. Ironically, it only just occurred to me how to explain that we provide the Control Tower of operations for any size business.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a single kayaker who’s only view of the world is right from the water surface, or the yacht captain with his sophisticated gear on his dashboard (we see some pretty amazing yachts sail by as we’re working at CMaeON:-). The guys up in the tower watching the interplay of traffic, and direct it like a maestro. The Control Tower is all important. It keeps people alive – safely moving toward their end goal, whatever that may be – a landing, a smooth ride on the waves, or crossing the finish line first.

We have the exclusive ability to build and operate control towers like the Coast Guard tower that watches over our busy harbor, or those which manage bustling airports such as JFK or Chicago O’Hare, or even the USS Eisenhower I had the opportunity to board and cruise with it’s 5000 sailors a couple of years ago – I watched as that crew and Tower aboard the 4 1/2 acre warship, a true “city on the sea”, directed over 60 fighter jets, helicopters and recon planes lifting off and landing, one after another, or even, simultaneously.

What is it that has allowed us to make air traffic safer than ground travel? We still accept that the failure of small and medium sized businesses is just a fact of life – with 85 – 90% failing in their first three years of operation? Why are we still guessing about work flows, financial capabilities, marketing results? The same questions come to mind when we think about the disconnect in health care from costs to treatment – why don’t we see the problems before they happen, the collisions that could occur so they can be avoided? In a world of travel where Control Towers and dashboards have become so sophisticated on airplanes and in the control towers, why can’t businesses, and industries like health care figure it out?

In the modern world, across the globe, we nearly all carry a dashboard literally in the palm of our hand (look down at your iPhone (or smart phone) what can you do and see right there? Yet, we sit at our desks staring at computer screens that are only a part of the picture; we use the isolated applications that sit on our computers, that can’t even integrate with one aonther. Business is looking to the “cloud” – but the cloud alone isn’t the control tower that a business needs to operate. We will launch the Canadian Private Cloud next month – which provides a backbone – alongside the 1to1Real solutions, the dashboard, the operations, from workflows to marketing to sales, the control tower that is on the “cloud” will be available to every sized business – just like our Harbour Control Tower is available to every size and shape of transportation using the water to carry passengers and captains alike. Whether you’re on a crew, or sailing your own ship – you need the Tower and the tools to do it right.

Yet, unlike the world of aviation and shipping, the physical world of movement, where we’ve succeeded brilliantly in having efficient vehicles carry lives along with them safely, we have not been able to achieve the much simpler task of managing our information. Until now.

Today it is possible, and it starts with every business owner who realizes that the world is moves too swiftly to jump in and succeed without a controlled approach and platform. Once this obvious logic is seen and understood, strategic business owners will be able to maximize their speed to market and within their respective markets,become leaders, while minimizing risks. This is what 1to1REAL Symphony and our Canadian Private Cloud “CPC” delivers. With the single business owner whose wish it is to change the odds from the 90% failure, into 100% success, and the insight of CEO’s of a major organizations that must connect their staff and teams, stakeholders, customers – or the health care and financial industries that must connect patients health, investors wealth with better information and the professionals, we’ll begin to see the “cloud” emerge with control towers to manage this. Just as our airports globally have evolved, we’ll see the infrastructure of business change and operate more logically, safely, and ultimately, successfully.

It’s not so very difficult – but it takes a bird’s eye view – like the view I can see from my window, and share with the Coast Guard’s Tower.The ability to provide better information and run a better business exists – it’s here now. And that’s what we do with 1to1REAL, at CMaeON – we provide the control tower, the cloud, the platform for a successful business journey – no matter how businesses chose to travel.

Getting started with your 1to1REAL Dashboard is easy with our Free iPhone App. Visit 1to1Real.com to set up your free 1to1REAL Account on Symphony – our latest version release. Download your iPhone App and get your Control Tower wet up to help you control your business on the Cloud – if you need help, we’re always here to make sure you have smooth sailing – just let us know. As always, feel free to contact me – I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Tim

Founder & CEO of 1to1REAL & CMaeON – Cloud Market Enterprise On-demand Solutions

It has been seen time and time and again. Beautiful, well designed web pages with flash and media, that cost the
equivalent of a Ferrari are delivered, deployed, the companies and executives are excited. It rolls out like a brand new red Ferrari slowly backing out of the garage. Then – nothing! It sits there.

Where are all the visitors? The neighbors come by and ohh and ahh. The proud owners stand by the car, jump inside, show off the bells and whistles – this video does this, and look at our virtual tour. Cool huh? But, very soon the customers leave, the neighbors (clients) are bored. The proud owners don’t really ever start the engine. Then something gets them going about their regular day. They shut the car door and walk away – expecting it to drive itself. But it just sits there.

The difficulty of marketing today, and using the web is that it is a business within a business – it requires expertise (a lot of expertise), discipline and an entirely new level of thinking. Marketing has never been easy. But with all of the Conversation Marketing – actively engaging your prospects and turning them into customers – keeping them as loyal clients, is more difficult than ever.

Unless the web enabled tools available are used diligently, and over time, the metaphorical ‘Ferrari’ just sits there, with all of the power under the hood and it never gets seen by more than a few. It never gets to rev up the engine and drive sales, drive leads and deliver profits.

Here is a hint – it doesn’t take a ‘Ferrari’ – just an active and well managed, well thought out (strategized messge) and consistent conversation will do.

To find out more information visit www.1to1REAL.com

Habits – they begin to be imbedded through observation of others when we are young. Our parents try to teach us throughout our youth what is acceptable, what is minor, what is major. By the time we’re adults, we’ve formed routines for everything, whatever they might be: coffee, alcohol, tobacco, working out, meditating, brushing our teeth or even checking our email… we are naturally creatures of habit and our routines become the paths of our lives. The more the habit affects our health, our time, our personal or professional life, the higher the stakes and the more serious the outcomes are for us and the people around us.

But what are habits really? Your work ethic, your best practices, your spirituality, exercise routine… all of these are habits, or more accurately – Life Processes. They are the things we do over and over again whether it’s for happiness, peace of mind, duty, business success, keep yourself healthy and fit… As individuals we naturally form these Life Processes to help us maintain and automate what we need to do. The problem with habits is always the same – changing a habit, a process, an instinct – it’s a lot of WORK!

At CMaeON, our leader, Tim Vasko decided to use technology to solve the habit problem, as there are more than enough self-help books out there. He wanted to invent a way to let any business BUILD their best practices, best habits and best processes into their organization – a way that allowed businesses to improve from where they are and make adopting new habits automatic and painless.

What has been discovered along the way and can, in fact be regarded as one of the most critical inventions CMaeON has, are the Process Flow™ and Process Flow Chain™ – the practices (habits) that affect how we do our work and how we use technology to help us do the best work possible. The Process Flow™ and Process Flow Chain™ have been broken down into the Four Pillars of Success:

While looking for some “new blood”, really engaged, smart, talented people – you know, the few really bright and “full of life” people to help us take the magic we’ve created with our Connected Market Hub platforms, I started thinking, during some of the interviews what the difference between people seeking J.O.B.S. and the people who want meaningful W.O.R.K. looks like.

We’ve been at this for some time (our 15 year birthday is coming up this year) ! I can certainly say I’ve seen brilliance come through the doors at CMaeON over the years. I’ve seen the dreamers who can turn ideas into action, and action into magic. And, like in any company, I’ve seen a lot of people who just wanted J.O.B.S. Those who showed up, but just really never engaged. You know, the folks who were ok with J.O.B.S. “Just Ordinary Boring Stuff” – no matter where they hung their hat for a while. These folks are the ones who we added as we got busier, who we eventually let go to explore more of the J.O.B.S. market – or who, with their own lack of enthusiasm, just faded out, as the natural cycles occur for those with J.O.B.S. in a business that’s only about a paycheque.

I’ve thought long and hard about the J.O.B.S. seekers in the world, verses the people who want to have a Life’s W.O.R.K. Then I thought about growing old. We all should, at some point in our life, think about that, getting old one day – the earlier the better ☺.

We make better decisions, a few less mistakes, when we think about things like what it will be like to be old, sooner rather than later.

So, based on all these thoughts, I dreamt about my future grand children. We have a choice, really, about the kind of person we want to be when we are talking our grand kids. These kind of people who have a Life’s W.O.R.K. – and the kind that have J.O.B.S. Now that we’ve beeen around, for quite some time, inventing and “making our dent in the Universe” as Steve Jobs (certainly a person not one to settle for J.O.B.S. ) said once upon a time. Maybe this story will help you reflect on life – a bit more, a bit earlier.

Are you a of J.O.B.S. type of person, or a Life’s W.O.R.K. person? What will you tell your grand kids about your life while they sit on your aged knee peering into your eyes? What sounds better to you? Imagine you are telling your grand-kids, years from now, how you spent your life. When your grand daughter asks, “Grandpa, what did you do when you were young?” How will you answer? Will you tell this story?

“Well, I had a number of J.O.B.S.” – you start. Your granddaughter says, “What are JOBS?” You think about that query. You reflect on the choices you made, the places you showed up at every day to collect a paycheck, to pay the bills – knowing, in your heart, there’s not much excitement at all in what you have to offer this little darling girl who is just starting to learn about all the possible wonders of the world. After your pause, you say (not wanting to diminish her dreams from your years of living through job after job just to pay the bills), “Well I worked for a while as a programmer, then I did some work on the actual computers, then I tried [fill in the blank]… Just Ordinary Boring Stuff honey…”

The conversation ends there – that’s your life. Or, does it have to be like that?

I have a friend, who I’ve know all my life – we were haveing a few beers one night, and he said to me, “you know what I want my last words to be on my death bed?” “Whats that?”, I said. “Ta Daaa”!

Here is the difference, in your story, when you “engage” your time in a Life’s W.O.R.K.

By nature, entrepreneurs are passionate. Successful entrepreneurial minded thinkers, accomplish, win, face difficulties, take risks, adjust, come back. Because, when they sit down with their grand kids they can say this -

Your grandson asks, “Grandma, what did you do when you were young?” You respond, “I had a wonderful, exciting life honey. My W.O.R.K. was such a big part of my life. I met and was surrounded by interesting people from all over the world ! We changed the way people thought about business, and lots of stuff. We used computers and we invented new things and new ways to use technology, those things you use every day and take for granted – well I was there when it all started. And I helped make it happen” ! You smile and continue as the memories flood back, “It was rewarding and fun. Sometimes it was tough and disappointing. I remember being scared, thinking I (we) couldn’t do it. But, you know what? It was at the toughest times I found out who I was. And, so did the people I worked with . We found out who we were together too. And, because we cared, because we so believed in what we were doing, we made it W.O.R.K. We stopped being scared, we just went to W.O.R.K. together and figured it out – no matter what.”

You pause. Then you get the biggest grin yet, “ You know what – I wouldn’t trade a minute of it – I’ve had a great life !”

Now your Grandson is engaged and not about to let you off the hook ! “What is W.O.R.K. Grand Ma?”

You respond, “Work stands for “W” – Wonderful – “O” Opportunity – “R” Rewarding and “K” – Kickin…that’s what we said, back then, when something was really cool or awesome or what ever you kids say these days …” – “Wierd…”, he says. “LOL … we didn’t think so…”

You continue, “Work is when you wake up in the morning, or in the middle of the night, with great ideas. You can’t sleep your so excited, or challenged, or confused, scared , it’s all those things. No matter what, you can’t sleep because you have confidence and love what you’re doing and you just know you have it in you to figure it out”, as you finish that sentence all those memories become alive again and your back there for a brief moment, with all of that energy you had to make of life what you wanted it to be ! You say, “When you love what you’re doing, it’s like waiting for Santa on Christmas eve, almost every day ☺”

“That sounds cool Gran Ma … really cool…”, your grandson says. And you get to say, “Yea it was honey … it was Kickin’”

“You’re a Cool Grandma…”, he says. “Life is too short go live it …” you say. “Huh…grandma?”, confused now he looks at you. “Never mind, you’ll figure it out …let’s go for a cookie … “, you say

Before you read the next J.O.B.S. post – can you find out what it is that will makes you able to tell this story to your grand kids? Can you find your Life’s W.O.R.K., before you take another one of those J.O.B.S. ? Ask yourself which conversation you want to have with your grand kids, your kids, friends and family. Read the Book “Zen and the Art of Making a Living”. Make your life an art – afterall, you’re the artist.

I’m not much into J.O.B.S. – never have been. Guess that’s why I love the entrepreneurial minded people who are at CMaeON. Those who have stuck it out and are still here today, who have faced the deamons, and stuck it out. I see those that are new here, and I can feel the vibe of their passion, and how they bring new ideas and energy to this Life’s W.O.R.K. we’re about here. I believe in those, want to be around those, who have the excitement, long term. The people who have the fortitude to go pave a path while others want to walk on an already paved street. These are the types of people that would rather brave a river, or climb a mountain, than settle for a park bench where the time passes ever so slowly.

It takes the test of Will, and Spirit and Giving – and it takes time, to find and build your part of a Life’s W.O.R.K. with others. In the memorable words of Steve Jobs on W.O.R.K., rather than on J.O.B.S., “It takes a very long time to become an o

ver night success …” it took him twenty (20) years. If you’ve read the book on Steve’s life, he never lost his passion – vision – or, what some would refer to as abrasive “arrogance”. That’s what brought us Apple, the iPhone, the iPad and APPs – a little abrasive “attitude” made one a hell of a gift to the world.

At CMaeON we’re a Company of individuals out to change the world. If you’re a win, lose or draw person, and areready to help us – while you build your part in a “Kickin…” career contact us, contact me. Where there is energy, sprit and your brand of brilliance, we will always find a way to build W.O.R.K. together.

Well be 15 years old later thisyear – and we’re better than ever, closer than ever to changing the world for ever. We’ve invented some really Kickin stuff that we’re ready to take to the world, and had our hard knocks along the way. We’re more passionate than ever before, I can feel it – find out more about what we’re up to here where it’s “… like you can’t wait for Christmas morning …”

We’re not into J.O.B.S. – we’re looking to make our Life’s W.O.R.K. “dent” this universe – then, we’ll all have a great life’s reason to say “Ta Daaa”

Here’s to hoping you find your Life’s W.O.R.K. – ’cause,

“…life is to short not to do something that matters…”

By: Tim Vasko, Founder &
Createor of CMaeON & The Connected Market Coach

Join our Life’s W.O.R.K. | 1to1REAL | Bizabacus | Talk to Tim

This image of “wisdom” is from my daughter (seven years old) written last spring with her crayon and muse on her shoulder.
We don’t have to wait to be old, or to have grand kids, to help us understand how in life, there is wonder and beauty – or to remember to keep our passion that gives life meaning.

Small Business Master or Disaster: Which Are You?

Our good intentions actually become the cause of our failure.

Paradoxical Intention, Victor Frankl

How can you avoid becoming a casaulty of “paradoxical intention” in your business, projects and goals?

We all start our projects, set our goals, and define our mission with the best of intentions. We intend to succeed. We seek to acquire the best tools to assist us, and put all of our energy towards efforts to “make things happen” – this statement is cliched for a reason. Whether on the football field, at the kitchen table of a small business owner, or in the steely boardroom of a coproration, the means may be different, but the lusted-after end is the same. We all are driven to succeed in our respective fields. But with all this desire for success, why do the statistics of failure continue to hold strong decade after decade? Why are our good intentions, our most sincere efforts, never enough?

“Every year in the United States, 40 million people change jobs, 600,000 new businesses are formed and 500,000 companies fail. Companies with less than 500 employees make up 99 percent of businesses. 50 percent of today’s start-ups will be out of business five years from now.”

Dr. Alex Pattakos, author of “Prisoner of our Thoughts” puts it like this:

“We all know how it works: our nervousness and anxiety about getting it right keep us from getting it right. The higher our expectations about something, the more disconnected we are from the actual process…”

95% of business’s now believe that technology is the key determinant of success. And yet, most end up senselessly chasing technology, never bothering to actually consider what system may be best suited to their needs. For example, I recently had a CEO of an investment firm that has struggled with everything from legal regulations in the financial industry, to a lack of cash flow state to me that “I can do everything I need to do with technology for $19 a month…”. This is only one laughable example of the kind of irrational thinking that makes the aforementioned statistics so pervasive. When you’re managing anything, any size business, does it make sense to try to do it for less than you’re spending on your weekly lattes? This is the same CEO who spares no expense with for instance, his office’s physical location, paying astronomical rent for fancy downtown offices. So why does he believe that when he elevates his business to the Cloud, he can do it succesfully for $19 a month?

The myth of the internet era is that it would be a space which would be “free”. And although the evolution of the Cloud and technology hosted upon it has opened the doors for smart small businesses and start-ups to compete with the giants of industry unlike ever before, the idea that it is cheap or free or easy to do is what keeps 99% of the small companies from succeeding. That being said, spending millions, even if you have it as a large organization, doesn’t necessarily ensure success either. 70% of all ERP and CRM implementations fail at the enterprise level to meet objectives or achieve a return on the investment associated with their cost.

Technology, especially Cloud Business Operations (I’ll call them “CBOs”) need, more than ever, to have a process based approach – a guiding mechanism which functions in line with “HOW” you plan to get there. Most of us know the “why” – we pretty much all want to succeed. It’s time to stop asking “why” and start focusing on “how”. If we didn’t know “why” we wanted to achieve something, we’d never start in the first place.

There are Four Pillars of Process that define “how” we achieve every goal, whether it be business or personal. When the Four Pillars are clearly understood, we can avoid the “paradoxical intention” that leads to failure. With this understanding, instead of focusing on the anxiety a situation causes, we can focus on the situation itself. When we are free of our anxiety, we can focus on what we should be doing and how we can collaborate with others in order to optimize our performance. With this knowledge, we will better understand when it’s time to take a “Time-Out” to reflect on how we are doing. When we remain conscious of ourselves and our surroundings, we are focused on the present moment. Only in this “Zone” can we better understand the efficacy of our choices.

Technology moves fast. So does business. But, with the ability track our own movements and activities, as well as that of our team, we can begin to create a Hub of Understanding™ – a place where activities currently in process are monitored and displayed. We designed the 1to1REAL Cloud to help direct a path and learn the process of what individuals and teams do best. When we re-group, and take time outs – it is like looking at ourselves from the sidelines, or on video. In his book, Dr. Pattakos calls this “looking at yourself from a distance”. When we seek to understand the the steps we have taken, our process can be seen, defined and improved upon.

We all have a unique way of approaching things – that is our unique “Zone”, where we are our most genius. However, we must put a process around those unique approaches and find the technology that can match our approach – rather than attempting to match our approach and goals attempting to technology. The problem is, historically, that’s not how software development has worked. Typical software delivers “functionality and features” defined by engineers and designed by software architects. The problem? Software has attempted to be “all things to all functions” with a specific goal. We can not add leverage to our best efforts with technology, until we can have technology that understands our best efforts. Unforutnately that approach does not often match the way traditional software has been delivered and designed.

I’ve studied business success and failures, alongside technology for well over fifteen years. One of the missions I had in building a piece of software for the Cloud, a dozen years ago, before it was called “The Cloud”, was to stop the crazy approach where a technological platform was dictating how things must be done. Most people do things best with their uniqe flavor. Most successful business have a “secret formula” – almost like their own Coca Cola secret recipe.

So, just as a professional athlete combines their natural talents with the skill they’ve acquired through practice, a successful technology should take into account your organizations strengths as well as its weak points, and begin to structure itself from there. Just as an athlete must practice more those shots which they would typically miss, in business, we must find a system, a piece of technology, designed to assist us in the areas we require improvement, and perfect the areas in which we generally succeed.

Take Michael Jordan as an example. The arena, the rules of the game, the other players, were all the moving parts that increased in complexity as he moved from the backyard to the NBA. Just like a growing business – Jordan had to focus on his natural process to improve it. What Jordan was doing with all those hours and hours spent repeating the same action, was consistently improving in his “Zone”. He also worked with his team making sure that they were included – which brought in win after win. It was a process that created the maximum results. Nike would have you think it was the Air Jordan’s, but Michael learned how to leverage his talents with a team and the resources around him

When approaching our business’s, when moving onto the Cloud, we are simply changing the arena. We need to think of the Cloud as our new “office building in the sky” – it is the place where we will spend our time, pay our rent and meet with our customers, as well as work with our team, play our best game. The magic of the Cloud is that it scales to any size business operation – the software platform you choose needs to do the same. Every basketball court, an NBA arena, or a grade school gym, has the same court. But the processes surrounding them are totally different. With 1to1REAL we built technology to support any size game- whether rookie, amateur, or professional. We discovere “how process” and match the tools to the goals.

Our mission is to deliver the services of the 1to1REAL Cloud we’ve spent over 1.5 million man hours to build, to change the odds of the game in the favor of small and medium sized business – with the Four Pillars that every business can use to find their How – right Now. The present intention of every business and entrepreneur should lead to success, and help avoid the paradox of hyper-intention that can, and too often, leads to failure.

Tim Vasko

The Cloud Market Coach

Founder & CEO – 1to1REAL Cloud Solutions

“We can not solve the significant problems we face today, at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them”

Albert Einstein

I was just thinking today about the new discovery that there is something that travels faster  than the speed of light – the Nutrino, now confirmed by a second study conducted in Italy

Why is it that in our world people would rather look at genius as a thing to attack, then as a foundation from which to grow?   Many of the recent articles surrounding the discovery of the Nutrino have a voice from the media that deliver headlines something like …  looks like Einstein was wrong ….  Was he?  Really?

I suspect, that Einstein suspected, that there would be a number of new discoveries as he left us the things for science to ponder, discover and grow from.  I suspect that, just as his famous quote for solving problems and THINKING relays, we can never stop reaching and thinking.  Let’s think and thank the world for genius that gets us to contemplate beyond where we were at, where we might be in the future.

Relativity was Einstein’s fertile soil of thought and genius that allowed the way for new discoveries.  Thinking beyond our ingrained habits and thoughts will always drive new possibilities – so long as we strive, as humans and individuals, to never stop exploring – in good times, in adversity, across time.  Change won’t happen at the speed of light or faster – but it will happen.  May each of us do our part of our contribution to the positives of change, even if we can’t all be Einsteins.

That which Einstein, and all gifted thinkers respect the most is the creation of new knowledge.  Some reach out to think outside the box – at the risk of criticism, skepticism and ridicule.  But they don’t care – they just invent.  That is the fruit of every element of creativity – from art and science to entrepreneurship.  What brought us to where we are is such innovation. And, it is the energy of inspiration that will take us where we have yet to go.

For me, I respect those innovators, challengers of conventional thought and paradigms the most.  From Einstein and as I navigate the biography of Steve Jobs written by Walter Isaacson, it is the inventors who’s time in our lives, set up the future and pass the energy along with the responsibility for those left behind.  Isaacson interestingly starts his book on Jobs with a quip about how he was ‘…just in the middle of writing about Einstein, had just finished Franklin, when Steve asked me to write a book about him in 2004 …’  The other thing that separates genius from mediocrity, beyond doubt and criticism, is the set of beliefs we have in ourselves and about what we can do as individuals.

Steve didn’t stop asking author Walter Isaacson to write the book.  And, eventually, he wrote it.  Einstein didn’t stop having new thoughts, opinions and ideas until he left this world.   Both of these individual spirits have passed into a new era of relativity, leaving us to continue, from the perch on their shoulders to discover and reach outside our thoughts of yesterday to find tomorrow.

Let’s do that – keep learning and discovering regardless of the challenge.  God knows we need it more than ever!  When we respect the learning and lessons of yesterday – we’re more likely to find a way to build a better tomorrow.

Can’t sleep?  Why?  What gets me up and out of bed? 

Ideas I want to capture that came to me after a bit of rest.    I write them (long hand) down in my Moleskine – doing drawings. 

There is something still about the feel of paper that helps me think better – I love a good pen (Mount Blanc).  The ideas seem to flow a bit more rich when  I use paper and pen.  It’s peaceful to have a light shine down on the page in the morning rather than shine at me from a screen while I sit in my study to capture an insight that emerged from the unknown scribe that visits in my dreams.  

It’s what “vision” is – the beauty of what makes us able to see how to navigate our futures.   I often scan these writings and drawings to extend them to the screen.  Especially those thoughts I want to share with my team – to take some action on next.  I find paper works well if it can be “enabled” next by technology and collaboration with my team.

After a my writing, I was completing my morning (contemplating going back to bed) – but I flipped through the world news using Bizabacus  – our newly launched bit of magic that tells what the business world is doing, thinking saying.   I’m not too into Facebook or Twitter (I guess you have to have friends or something J to be enamored with those).    In fact, I’m a bit of a “social media” misfit – I’ve architected a new social machine for the voice of  what I call “business social”, and designed the code to run any entrepreneurial minded businesses globally.  But, when it comes to my personal preferences with “friends” I “follow” I’m more into the “analog”.

I really love to sit and have a coffee or beer with a friend.  I’ll continue to drive business on line as it’s the way to connect globally.  And I’ll savor my meanderings for those personal conversational ways at a Starbucks or local java haunt to spend my time catching up.  Paper, beautiful writing instruments and face to face conversations – there’s a bit of magic in the combination of “analog”.

Perhaps, that is why, when it comes to business – I’m all about screens and connections.  I don’t want a business in my personal “social space” with my friends.  But I do love business – all kinds, talking, thinking, understanding how people drive the economy, their ideas, their lives in our connected world.  I love to understand the ways connections work.  I like to be able to go from the ideas and opinions of one business or source to another, then back to my business and make all of the connections.   It’s like a high stakes living game of connect the dots.   Really, isn’t that what we’re compelled to do now to make a living as entrepreneurs?  Connect the dots to figure out how to build, prosper or even survive in a challenging economy.

As I pondered this, I felt like a quick run through the world – so from the Bizabacus home page I clicked BBC.  Then I traveled to the “followed” Financial Times from London, thought about the global economy and jumped on The Economist  Bizabacus space.  The third tweet down caught me – sentiment on business is worse now then in 2008.   So I clicked and read the article.  

I wonder – why is it worse.  Things have changed, but is it really worse, or are we just tired of dealing with the change?   It’s been a tough three plus years – tiring, stressful, demanding.  And the banks (don’t get me started … no time for that now). 

But will it get worse?  Call me an optimist, but I don’t think so.   I think we’re all just a bit tired and looking for some new energy, new insights and perhaps the motivation to get back into the visionary leadership that has brought us so far in the world, in our own careers, in technology.

Here is my global economic sentiment.  Entrepreneurs will prosper in 2012.  They will be too busy delivering new life, new power, new models with new vision to the global economy to worry about “worry”.

From solo SOHOs to SMB’s – the backbone of innovation and re-birth of prosperity and success starts one entrepreneur, one intrapreneur and one individual at a time.  Just like the global market was built in the first place.    It’s about change and uncertainty driving us to a “bad sentiment” or “new ideas” .  That’s why I’m so thrilled to have launched Bizabacus last week in  Europe and North America.  Tough times bring out the best in tough minded people who refuse to follow “sentiment”.  Generally, we call these people entrepreneurs – and there are more of us out there than ever before. 

Entrepreneurs start things and envision things out of necessity, passion and vision.  More often than not, it takes coming from personal difficult circumstances  and experiences to wake us up to our potential and bring new ideas to the world.  Today, the entire world has this “leverage” to birth new opportunity.  But, only a few will actually do anything with it.

What happens when entrepreneurs get into tough times.  Companies like General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gambel and Disney , in fact  “…sixteen of today’s Dow 30 companies were founded during a recession or depression…”  according to the book “Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain” by Ryan Blair (who talks in his book about his hard times and motivation to change).   I’ve not read all of Ryan’s book (just used Jeff Bezo’s invention from Amazon, my Kindle, to get the sample).

I love being able to find things quick for inspiration, business, new ideas.  I love to share quick to (when I’m working in a quickly changing economy and world – connecting  with the rest of the world).   That’s where you’ll find me online.  Surfing Bizabacus to find out about finance, or technology or world events.  I’ll  jump to the Wall Street Journal, or Financial Times.  Then off to the world on the BBC – today, on the Economist this business sentiement Tweet caught my eye in my global business and world news travels.   Off to the article on the sentiment of  business now that captured me to write this blog post (and kept me from crawling back into bed on Sunday morning). 

Time for a coffee (I make it on the stove with a traditional Italian coffee pot – analog there still too).  I’ll go sit on the couch, enjoy a quite morning.   Maybe go jump on the paddle board if the ocean isn’t “too” stormy. 

There’s a way to be connected and quick .  You can ‘run with the big global machine’ – and help re-create in a world that has an ever evolving appetite for new ideas and creations.  Or “stay on the porch” of business as usual.  Problem is, usual isn’t around any more – so you’re pretty much on the porch alone.

There’s a way to connect locally, globally  and directly with your vision and business goals.  View the world economy from many perspectives.  For me, there will always be a place for that local comfort of friends, the coffee shop and pub, the use of pen and paper – innovation of “social” needs a mix – just like business needs to keep pace.  But, I live on an island – so I need to connect outside my local community and coffee shop.   I suppose that’s why I launched Bizabacus – so I didn’t feel left out as a business guy in the social media evolution and could do business anywhere and travel the world – and I could do it from the spaces  on “the island” at my office & home.

The world of passionate entrepreneurs and businesses needed a place to meet, talk and share their voice.  Now they have one with Bizabacus J 

Go on – Innovate in 2012 -  The world looks fabulous from Bizabacus  !