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Recipes for Success

June 11, 2008

Using unique experiences to reach out to customers…. is the theme of a recent WSJ article that featured John Bostick, executive chairman of LUCRUM, and also President and CEO of dbaDirect. The article talks about how different small companies create unique opportunities to meet with their customers. The article was published on Friday, May 30, the very day after I attended one of John’s classes up at Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield, Ohio (another exercise in unique customer experiences - they have every imported food you never knew you needed ‘ 6 acres of food under one roof’ http://www.junglejims.com )_
The class I attended was called ‘Hot Thai Summer Sizzlers”. John prepared some wonderful Thai dishes, and Jim Hennessy showcased several unusual beers that enhanced the flavors of the food (except for the Paulaner Heffe - beer and clove are not good flavors in beer, in my opinion!). In the class, John prepared and discussed the origins of many of the exotic dishes he was preparing, but in an easy to understand and appreciate manner - demystifying many otherwise exotic dishes and convincing me that just maybe I should try this at home sometime. Everything was delicious, and while, a few offerings were too spicy for some of the attendees - don’t say he didn’t warn you about the peppers! - the different beer offerings were a great way to ‘cool the palate’. Several LÛCRUM customers and their family members attended, and as the WSJ article discussed, it was a great way to get to know people outside the normal business environment. John and I both share the common experience of having worked for IBM, and are rooted in the belief that ‘people buy from people they like’. So, having the opportunity to get to know our customers in a more relaxed environment is something ingrained in us, starting with our days at ‘Big Blue’. The best testimony to the value they received from the class is the number of folks that were signing up for the next class! - Obviously, it was an enjoyable, informative session.
Just like trying new foods and beers can provide an enjoyable experience, trying new business offerings and concepts can also lead to a positive experience. For example, one of the offerings that is unique to Lucrum is our ‘Strategic Alignment Session’. Using a guided methodology, our consultants facilitate sessions for customers - taking them on a journey - starting at the beginning, and discussing their history (which quite frequently, everyone has a slightly different recollection of!), and using that shared history to guide the participants on the journey, resulting in a shared experience, mutual goals and ways to achieve those goals. These sessions are one of those things that you just don’t fully appreciate until you’ve actually observed, participated in, or spoken to someone about. I sat in on one session during my first weeks with Lucrum, and was impressed by the way our consultant (Eric Duell, in this case) led a diverse customer group at a local chemical firm through this process as they attempted to design a new customer pricing system. In the past few months, Eric has conducted sessions for 2 of my customers - both in very different businesses - one, a large financial institution, where we helped an off-shore firm develop a new sale and marketing plan. And then most recently, we drove a few hours north and used this same process with another custom in the non-profit sector, bringing together a very diverse group including marketing, IT, creative, and education departments, resulting in a new vision for a major website re-design for their institution.
In both instances, there were participants who walked into the session, thinking “this better be good, they convinced me to give up 2 days (or 2 - ½ days) of my time”. By the end of the first session, or even sooner, you could see that their impressions had changed, and they were eager participants in the process - and walked away from the sessions with a new vision and ideas on how to lead their organization through the next phase of their business plan. And, some were even ready to ‘sign up again’ for more sessions - to utilize this process in other aspects of their business.

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Written by SuzanneLorch · Filed Under Business & Leadership | Leave a Comment 

Marketing in the Recommendation Age

May 15, 2008

“Why on Earth would your company want a blog?” “Aren’t you afraid of what people might say?” “What about your brand?” As the guy who championed the idea of the blog at LUCRUM, and regular blogging evangelist, I am asked this question almost daily. My answer is simple. “I trust our people to do the right thing.”

My coworkers at LUCRUM are smart - much smarter than I am. I know that when they talk about technology, they are passionate about it. They speak from experience and they speak from the heart. They are sincere, and that is different. They are interesting. They are real. They are the essence of “The Brand.”

I also trust the readers of the site. They can smell disingenuous corporate speak from a mile away. Yeah, I could hire professional writers to put together a brand strategy for our blog. We could toil endlessly on the exact wording of every phrase - but why? It would not be real. It would not be different. It would invisible.

Thankfully, it is real. And… it is really fun to be involved with.

Just today, we were contacted by a talented IT Professional who was so moved by Andy Erickson’s LinkedIn profile and the honesty of the blog site that she sent in an amazing letter with her resume expressing her desire to join the LUCRUM team.

This is the result of conversation.

What we hope to achieve is not just conversation, but also recommendation. In this day and age reputation is so important. What you do is far more important than what you say you do. What you do IS the marketing. It is about customer service, employee relations, innovative thinking, and delivering real value for Clients each and every day.

We are working on building a tribe. A loyal group of eager participants, fully engaged in the experience of LUCRUM. We want to create evangelists. We aspire to deliver greatness. That aspiration lives in each of us, and thus the blog serves as the platform for sharing our honest hopes and dreams for the firm. It is a metaphor for the business as a whole. It is about being “recommendable” or perhaps more properly put “remarkable.”

Are we there yet? Nope. But we have taken the steps necessary to start the journey. Each and every day we learn. Each and every day we evolve. Hopefully, we listen, we grow, and we improve along the way.

Why blog? Well if what we do is to solve business problems by using technology, than why not embrace technology to identify those problems and uncover the solutions? Why not engage our people to drive innovation at every level of the organization? Why not give everyone, including our clients and the world at large, a voice in the conversation. Why not become recommendable?

Check out the link below for a great article about marketing in the recommendation age.

Marketing in the Recommendation Age | Small Business Solutions - TheStreet.com

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Written by DAVIDeBOWMAN · Filed Under Culture | 1 Comment 

Get a handle on Unstructured Data

May 8, 2008

One of the big topics in data management these days is Unstructured Data.  What is it?  Word documents, spreadsheets, video, images, email, and instant messaging are a few examples.  How does one harness the wealth of information contained in these non-standardized formats, IF you are trying to capitalize on your existing data management infrastructure?  Microsoft has attempted to answer this question with its upcoming release of SQL Server 2008 (SS2008). 

Due out later this year, SS2008 provides built-in support for Unstructured Data through the FILESTREAM functionality.  FILESTREAM combines the power of a relational database platform with the storage flexibility of a NTFS file system.  This is accomplished by storing references within the database to binary large object data (BLOBs) residing on the file system.  In this fashion, SS2008 manages access and interaction with the information, but is not responsible for the direct storage of it.  Unstructured Data can be accessed through typical Transact-SQL statements or via Win32 API calls.  FILESTREAM is a good option to consider when objects being stored are larger than 1 MB in size and is limited only by the volume size of the underlying file system.  If objects are <1 MB on average, you’ll get better performance by using the Varbinary(max) data type directly within the database.

From a security standpoint, FILESTREAM fits neatly into the database.  If a user has permission to query a table and column containing FILESTREAM data, they are able to access the Unstructured Data.  This access however does not carry forward at the file system level.  Only the account running the SQL Server service account has access to the files at the file system level.    

Is this only way to deal with Unstructured Data?  Of course not, but it is an option.  There are some limitations when using FILESTREAM with other SS2008 functionality.  Special consideration needs to be addressed when utilizing Database Snapshots, Mirroring, Replication, Log Shipping, and Clustering.

Continue to browse through other blogs on www.thefuturevalueofbusiness.com to see conversations on SharePoint 2007 and its role in taming Unstructured Data.

Dave

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Written by Dave Cordas · Filed Under Information Technology | Leave a Comment 

Dashboards for Dentists

May 1, 2008

This week I had my bi-yearly checkup with my dentist. I have never really minded going to these appointments. For the most part, other than always being gently scolded for not flossing regularly (come on, it’s a pain to do!), my visits are routine and without surprises. Over the last 10 years or so, one item I have always puzzled about is the WALL of patient files that exist behind the receptionist’s desk. How many patients’ records exist in that wall? How many are active patients? How many versions of x-rays exist per folder? What happens if the office goes up in smoke or is the victim of water damage? Does the history of the patient disappear?

Well this visit was a bit different, let me explain. I sat down in the chair and my hygienist explained it was time for x-rays. Ok no problem…put on lead vest…open wide and bite down on film…absorb some radiation…print out x-ray…review x-ray on white screen. To my surprise, my assumed process stopped at “absorb some radiation”. Instead of printing out the x-ray to film, the results of my x-ray immediately displayed on a LCD monitor next to my chair within “Dave’s dashboard”! My dentist had recently installed a new system and was in the process of converting the WALL into the digital age.

So what did “Dave’s dashboard” include?

  • A repository of x-ray films. This allows the dentist to quickly move between versions of films and allows him to monitor changing patterns in the mouth (tooth gaps widening/shrinking, jaw alignment, etc.)
  • Historical view of past visits. Included were procedures performed, costs associated, insurance company billed, future scheduled visits, etc.
  • A graphical representation of all the teeth in MY mouth. It showed my incisors, my molars, etc. But the neat part was that if something was “special” about a tooth, that “special” was represented in the graphic. Fillings were shaded grey. Cosmetic work was green. Areas “being watched” were blue. I was told areas with potential enamel problems would be another color.
  • A bunch of other “tabs” of information that I wasn’t able to view (couldn’t ask, mouth was full)

How cool is that? All information about a patient was online and accessible in a concise easy to read format. A format that can be shared directly with the patient to help them understand why their tooth is hurting or what their teeth may look like “after” a cosmetic change.

I attempted to ask my dentist about the software to get a feel for what technologies were used to create this. Obviously he didn’t have a clue, but it was running in Windows Vista and appeared to be client/server in nature. Not only did this appear to make the dentist and hygienist’s job easier from a paperwork perspective, but now this vital information was easily maintained, backed up and tucked away in the event of an office disaster. The reliance on the WALL was subsiding. So in a world where businesses are consistently trying to improve themselves, exposing the same old information in new exciting ways may just help turn on a light bulb to a new way of thinking or acting/reacting…even a dentist.

If I ever need to change dentists, I now only have to request my records be forwarded electronically to my next dentist. I don’t plan on doing so anytime soon though. I very pleased with my current one and he’s getting hip with the times and using software/technologies that I have expressed interests in.

Now where is that floss…

Dave

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Written by Dave Cordas · Filed Under Featured, Information Technology | 1 Comment 

Still Standing

April 30, 2008

Before I became a LUCRUM employee I heard a lot of rumblings about LUCRUM .   My friends in the business were concerned about the mistakes LUCRUM had made in the past and the challenges that we faced moving forward.

When confronted with that, I asked my peers and I will ask you – what technology firm isn’t facing these challenges?  Who do you know that hasn’t lost money in one of the last 10 years? Is there a group out there that hasn’t had layoffs, turnover or tremendous organizational shifts and changes?
I sure can’t think of one right now,   I am betting not many of you can either.

But all this change is ok.  Change isn’t comfortable for a lot of people but it is OK.  One thing LUCRUM can proudly say after 15 years in this crazy industry is that WE are still STANDING.
Go back through your old contacts.  I bet you would be shocked to see how many places that were well known in the industry 10 even 5 years ago that don’t even exist any longer!

I know of several firms that bit the dust.  I was actually employed by one of them.  THAT firm was one of the great ones in Cincinnati during the mid to late 90’s.
THAT firm had a growth rate of 50% per month for a very long time.  Anyone that worked there made a lot of money and we were very proud to tell others where we were employed.

Where is THAT firm now?  Well the first iteration has LONG been gone.  After a multitude of acquisitions and name changes and leadership turnover THAT firm declared bankruptcy.
Within a blink of an eye our stock plummeted from 80 dollars a share to just around 4 cents a share.  Just last week the second coming of THAT firm failed again and abysmally at that.

So as an employee or a client or a potential client please remember that LUCRUM survived.  We survived the .com implosion, the 9/11 catastrophe, the Iraqi war (God Bless our Troops), the downturn in the economy and the exponential increase in foreclosures.   We survived.
As a LUCRUM employee, I have a great place to come to work every day.  LUCRUM hasn’t been through a dozen name changes or had a multitude of mergers.  LUCRUM still has clients that have been with the firm for 15 years.  THESE ARE GOOD THINGS!
So, whenever you wonder how is LUCRUM?  Remember this – LUCRUM is still standing strong – 15 years and counting!

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Written by ChristyRollyson · Filed Under Culture | 1 Comment 

The Tuesday Model

April 29, 2008

Tuesday, not as bad as Monday, and not as good as Wednesday. Its a forgotten day to most people. If you have an average and dull life, then you could say that your life is a bunch of Tuesdays I guess. Is there any way that Tuesday could mean…a little more…here’s something that I use to get me through the Tuesdays of my life.

I have been at LÛCRUM now for about three weeks, and one of the first projects I have been asked to participate in is concerning customer loyalty. So I thought to myself, customer loyalty, how to get it, and obviously how to retain it, when it hit me….Tuesday!

What does Tuesday have to do with customer loyalty, and what is the Tuesday model, you ask? The Tuesday model is a little bit of advice that was given to me by my mentor in College. A successful venture capitalist, and entrepreneur, a man that I respect. Anyways, one day we were out at dinner and I was picking his brain about business, life, etc. when he told me this. “Andrew, all relationships, business or personal, are based on three criteria. Expectations, understanding and trust.” E.U.T or T.U.E the prefix of Tuesday as a way to remember it. “These are the building blocks of relationships” he explained. His logic was that, once expectations are not met, then understanding becomes clouded and thus, trust falls apart. Naturally he concluded “that trust is the backbone or all relationships.” I listened to my mentor and it made sense, moreover, this was a man that I respected and I could see he was great a forging strong ties in every aspect of his life and this was the secret ingredient behind his success.

Since that day I have implemented the Tuesday Model into everything relationship I in my life; family, friends, work and girlfriends. It helps you empathize, which fosters understanding and clarity. I have also amended the model itself. Trust, Understanding and Expectations is how it was originally conceived, but a sub note to expectations is communication. Only if communication is clear can expectations be derived and met. Of course this screws up the acronym but it’s worth it.

So now that I have acquainted you with my philosophy (something that I will do a lot if you let me), it is time to implement the Tuesday Model with my tasks here at LÛCRUM. Going along with the theme of Tuesday, you can find further “rants” if you so desire every Tuesday from here on out. If you agree with me great, if you have anything to add, I’m all ears, or perhaps you think I’m insane, either way, discourse is always welcome.

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Written by AndrewHamann · Filed Under Business & Leadership | 2 Comments 

Business Intelligence, Country Music, Peter Drucker and You!

April 27, 2008

I get a lot of emails every day! I got this one that I didn’t delete and then felt strong enough to comment on it.
“In a recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), nearly 80% of executives said that a Business Intelligence strategy would improve their company’s ability to enhance customer service and react quickly to market changes. However, fewer than 15% felt their organization has applied best practices to its use of business data.”
I love music. I love all types of music. I am not a Country Music fan though. I am a fan of Country Music Song Titles. There’s a title to a country music song (no music yet!) that I made up about the business problem that is one of the biggest problems in the entire economy. Here’s what it is: Companies go to great lengths to hire top notch people. Then they give them business responsibilities and the authority to act on the business responsibilities. Then, they don’t give them the complete tools to get the right analysis to get to the “right decision.” So, here’s my song title:

“You don’t know what you have done by the time you’ve already done it”

Is that right out of Nashville or what? Decision-makers and categorically speaking, Knowledge Workers” are nowadays tasked with making a lot of very timely and important decisions. After we have them on-board with what famous business professor, Dr. Peter Drucker, says is the 20% unique aspects of the business (he professed that 80% of all businesses are the same)…once they really gain expertise and experience in the business, we don’t necessarily give them the right tools to analyze their data and the general performance of the business. Perhaps another song title goes like this:

“I know she knows, but I can’t get it out of her”

Certainly, what we mean here is that the data is in the system. The person just doesn’t know how to get it out!” Conceptual thinking skills are not the norm in the Information technology world. Operating software systems, running networks, ensuring security, closing double-entry book keeping systems, and the normal “run the business” part of IT constitutes a majority of the activity. How’s this for another song:

“His left brain won’t talk to his right brain, so he won’t answer the door.”

OK, perhaps that one didn’t work….

The lack of relevant facts or real understanding in the decision making process is so apparent to person trying to sort through all of the data that surrounds them. Recently, I read 2 more statistics:

• More information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the previous 5,000
• Corporate data is doubling every 3 years

I am myself, “what happens to all of this data?” Another song title?

“I spent too much time looking for my data when the decision timeframe has come and gone”

Gartner calls it the “Fact Gap.” It’s kind of a “decision gridlock” which even with gas at $ 4.00 per gallon or higher is what we are going to see this summer on the construction-laden highways!

So, how do you figure out whether there is a Fact Gap in your organization or business? Perhaps there’s truly is a Fact Gap in your business? Here are some potential symptoms for this:

Excessive discounting
• Expensive marketing programs that do not result in revenue enhancement
• New product introductions are less successful than expected
• Low inventory turns per year

From a knowledge worker viewpoint, you can start to see symptoms where decision making that is unscientific resulting in …

• Inefficiency in production
• Missed opportunities
• Inability to react proactively
• Lost market share
• Excessive expense
• Lost revenue and profits
• Customer dissatisfaction

Perhaps one last song title will provide a summary of my topic:

“She turned data into information and he didn’t even know he had the answers!”

If we can turn data into information and empower business decision makers with the information they need to run the enterprise, there’s certainly a true opportunity to gain competitive advantage.

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Written by JohnBostick · Filed Under Business & Leadership | Leave a Comment 

Eat our own dog food!

April 25, 2008

It’s great to see LÛCRUM eat our own dog food! That may sound negative but it’s really a very positive statement. I heard this phase regularly from a former manager. What this means is if a product or procedure is good enough to recommend to our customer’s, it’s good enough for us to use as well.
Yesterday I had my first opportunity to participate in an Alignment Session at LÛCRUM. In simple terms, an Alignment Sessions is one of LÛCRUM’s differentiating tools we offer to our clients to help organizations align on key business decisions.
Our LÛCRUM meeting was to look at a new internal system. Our senior management team and key system users followed the Alignment Session process to help drive to consensus and define next steps. The process helped us document the current system’s Strengths (ie, it’s free!), Problems (ie, too many manual processes), Threats (ie, might cost too much), and Opportunities (ie, interface with other business systems). From that point we were able to define our required Objectives and differentiate those from the ‘Nice to Haves’. Then we documented the Challenges (ie data conversion), Resources (ie PM, Sponsor), and finally our Game Plan (a high level project plan).
As the project manager of this internal project, I am thrilled to have at the end of the session all the information I need to complete a Project Charter and move forward on the project. In addition, I’m comfortable that the right people are aligned on the decision. I went home that day feeling like the day had been a big success.

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Written by MaryShy · Filed Under Information Technology | Leave a Comment 

How to build a better team

April 24, 2008

We’ve all been involved on a team at one point in time.  This team could have been family, sport, education, business, etc. focused.  Each team member brought unique skills that may or may not have been relevant to every task at hand.  Some members were more experienced, some less, but all had a common goal they were driving to.  Hopefully someone had the map and directions though.  A team is unable to perform optimally if they are going fast or working hard, but for the wrong reasons.  In addition, to help team members understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, a certain amount of team bonding or better phrased team building is often warranted.

Team building comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.  It can be as simple as coordinating team meetings where each member has the turn to “take the wheel” and share his or her ideas and concerns on the current direction.  Perhaps building comes in the form of regular gatherings ranging from daily lunches to off-hour social events.  Teams really interested in strengthening their interaction may benefit from a formal team building event run by professionally trained organizations/individuals.  In any case, some form of team building should occur.

I recently attended a team building event conducted by an organization specializing in team development.  We had the opportunity to bring together two teams in order to help improve our daily interactions as well as quash any of the “us vs. them” mentality.  This event involved a day and a half of activities at a facility away from the distractions of the daily grind.  Placing these teams in an unfamiliar setting (with BlackBerries off!) allowed us to better concentrate at the task at hand and more importantly, each other.

The event started with your typical icebreaker to get people warmed up and engaged, followed by some relevant discussions pertaining to our business.  Because this was an overnight retreat, we were able to get to know each other on a more personal level and discuss a variety of topics while enjoying a campfire through the evening.  The following day consisted of continued business discussions broken up by various team challenges.  In my opinion, it is in these challenges where you get to see the real team building occur.  Challenges ranged from mental puzzles to physically demanding events.  Depending on the challenge, we either worked as a collective team or were paired into smaller groups.  It was interesting to see how these teams worked towards a solution to the problem or challenge at hand.  Did the solution require brute force strength, mental stimulation, prior experience, or delicate handling?  One wasn’t sure at the start, but when you get a team of individuals throwing ideas around (or in some cases not throwing ideas around), the team begins to understand how they work best together and where they have room for improvement….thus strengthening their team resolve.  In the end, one gets a great sense of accomplishment working with others to solve a common problem.

After the team building event concluded, did we have an answer for all of our current business challenges…no.  Did we have a better understanding of how each person approaches a given situation…you betcha.  We also learned that when you’re in a pinch, “The Hand of John” may just reach down and help you out!

Your team member,

Dave

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Written by Dave Cordas · Filed Under Information Technology | Leave a Comment 

April 22nd 2008 Job Postings

April 22, 2008

LUCRUM is growing - fast.  As a result, we are constantly on the lookout for exceptional people to join the LUCRUM team.  Below is a current listing of jobs I am looking to fill here at LUCRUM.  Because we are growing so rapidly, the list changes frequently, so it pays to check it out regularly.   Here is a listing of openings that I have an immediate need to fill for the week of April 22nd, 2008

1.  2 recruiters

2.  SharePoint mid-level developers and one SharePoint senior level dev

3.  A mid-level Rails developer that is competent on the platform and can work directly with clients

4.  Junior to Mid DB2 DBA

5.  A PHP developer that also has competency in one of the following: SQL Server, .NET (C#), SharePoint, MS Reporting Services

6.  A mid-level designer that can interface with business people. This designer would be responsible for mostly web and some print design. Knowing Flash is a major plus here.

Before you apply, you might want to snoop around our blog and check us out.  In fact we encourage you to do so.  No corporate speak here, just real people posting real thoughts about work and life at LUCRUM.  You should be able to get a pretty good feel for who we are and what we are all about.  Then, if you decide you are still interested in joining our team, which we hope you will be, contact me. - Andy Erickson.

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Written by AndyErickson · Filed Under Jobs | Leave a Comment 

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