CRN From the Coal Face

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Growing Pains: CRN May 2015

CRN From the Coal Face

Businesses typically don’t start as multinational organisations with tens of thousands of employees. Most businesses are started by one or two people with a passion. Think of some of the best-known in our industry. Paul Allen and Bill Gates lov…

2015

Don’t put training on the backburner: CRN March 2015

CRN From the Coal Face

I recently went through airport security for the umpteenth time. It almost becomes second nature now. Remove the notebook from my computer case. Drop it in a tray. Remove my wallet and phone from my pockets. Put them on a tray. Smile nicely. Walk thr…

2015

Networking is not a dirty word: CRN November 2014

CRN From the Coal Face

Networking: it’s a scary concept. I’m not talking about the layered protocol stack of TCP/IP. I’m talking about something dramatically more difficult: the social skill. You probably know someone who claims to be the world’s be…

2014

Ever wonder why clients leave? CRN September 2014

CRN From the Coal Face

Wouldn’t it be nice to get inside the heads of your clients and work out just why they make the decisions they make? I am always fascinated as to what the trigger was for a client to make contact with a supplier today. Why not yesterday or last…

2014

Why all the carry-on about customer service?

CRN From the Coal Face

Whether operating an airline or reselling IT, keep your clients happy. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have had to stand in the aisle while boarding a plane as people in front of me try and do the impossible in some misconstrued belief…

2014

To diversify or not to diversify, that is the question

CRN From the Coal Face

You can’t be everything to everyone, every day. I walked into a large whitegoods retailer before Easter to buy a new DVD player. We still had a player at home that needed updating because it didn’t have Blu-ray capabilities. What should h…

2014

Resellers, excuses just don’t cut it

CRN From the Coal Face

No matter how good your excuses, most customers don’t want to hear them. My children are going against the Aussie trend and are not yet convinced that they need to eat, sleep and breathe cricket for the entire summer. Through a series of compul…

2014

February 2014: Training.

CRN From the Coal Face

2014

The Internet of Things will offer shelter from the storm

CRN From the Coal Face

The traditional channel is being squeezed but new tech means new opportunities. Several years ago during one of my regular radio programs on technology I spoke to the host about an umbrella that had some amazing technology built-in. The host joked th…

2014

Winning the hearts and minds of the platform-agnostic

CRN From the Coal Face

Under-30s do things their own way. The rest of us can either work out how to do business with them – or miss out Regular readers of my column will know that I spurn the concept of creating a list of resolutions for the New Year, with statistics…

2014

When you get to the top, don’t blink

CRN From the Coal Face

Complacency unravels even the most dominant market leaders. Way back in 2000 when Sydney could only talk about five little intertwined rings, the billboards in Sydney were awash with endorsements by athletes. One particular poster caught my attention…

2013

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em

CRN From the Coal Face

Just because someone is a competitor, you can still help one another. A few weeks ago I organised a little bike ride with a few like-minded people. For some crazy reason, it seemed like a good idea to ride 1125km over six days throughout the middle o…

2013

Evolve or go extinct

CRN From the Coal Face

Even the greatest companies can fall into the trap of complacency. I have finally nailed it. I have been working on my business model for years and I finally have the model just right. Now I can freeze my business in its current state and sit back an…

2013

Who needs a backup plan?

CRN From the Coal Face

Selling peace of mind can be hard work. Knowing your organisation’s risk appetite – and understanding it across the board – is critical to ensuring all facets of your business are aligned. There are a range of areas where risk is me…

2013

Does big data mean big marketing?

CRN From the Coal Face

How to sort the wheat from the chaff. When I was growing up, my choices of TV channels were limited. I had the small variety of cobbled together commercial choices offered by CBN8/CWN6 (in what is still the most complicated name for a TV channel in t…

2013

Dickerson: the need for reinvention

CRN From the Coal Face

Being called tough is not a complement. How many times do you hear a colleague talk about someone they know as being a really ‘tough’ businessperson? The implication is that someone who is ‘tough’ in their business dealings mu…

2013

Dickerson: spending as a service

CRN From the Coal Face

Cost cutting needs to be properly considered. It often intrigues me when a public company makes a major announcement in relation to a redundancy offering – and their share price jumps a few percent. As a simple example, QR National traded aroun…

2013

What the IT industry can learn from pubs

CRN From the Coal Face

Customers are in the driving seat. I spent way too much time at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in January watching the Aussies do what they do best – beat teams not from South Africa or England. In one of those random chats with a fellow group…

2013

Avoid the New Year Resolution Syndrome

CRN From the Coal Face

Business transformation is not as simple as wiping the slate. Pop! There goes another cork flying through the air as New Year celebrations are in full swing. The champagne is flowing and the tales of future success are growing with each glass of alco…

2013