• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Special Offers
Business Intelligence Info
  • Business Intelligence
    • BI News and Info
    • Big Data
    • Mobile and Cloud
    • Self-Service BI
  • CRM
    • CRM News and Info
    • InfusionSoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
    • NetSuite
    • OnContact
    • Salesforce
    • Workbooks
  • Data Mining
    • Pentaho
    • Sisense
    • Tableau
    • TIBCO Spotfire
  • Data Warehousing
    • DWH News and Info
    • IBM DB2
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Oracle
    • Teradata
  • Predictive Analytics
    • FICO
    • KNIME
    • Mathematica
    • Matlab
    • Minitab
    • RapidMiner
    • Revolution
    • SAP
    • SAS/SPSS
  • Humor

Tag Archives: their

the same folks who declared ‘Freedom Fries’ demand their Pepe Le Pew because of a “3-line whip”

March 16, 2021   Humor
 the same folks who declared Freedom Fries demand their Pepe Le Pew because of a 3 line whip

With senior royals still ‘reeling’ following a series of explosive allegations by the couple, she has issued a ‘three-line whip’ to prevent staff discussing the situation publicly. (A three-line whip is a strict instruction to attend and vote according to the party’s position, breach of which would normally have serious consequences. Permission to not attend may be given by the whip, but a serious reason is needed.)

Everybody’s favorite cultural caricatures came out from beneath their rocks because they have nothing to contribute while we wait for the final chapter in the Trump era.

The same idiots who hate the French and ignorantly rebranded French(sic) Fries “Freedom Fries” now want to mock the contextualizing of cultural products now newly contextualized.

The usual suspects have dragged out some awkward false equivalencies because they’d prefer drawing attention from a recent failed coup and a disgraced ex-POTUS*.

It’s all Dan Quayle and Murphy Brown again where the GQP demonstrates not only a lack of imagination, but the same stupidity that compels them to send their money straight to the Trump superPAC. The US equivalent of the “three-line whip” is the GOP vote against certifying the election even after the insurrection on 1/6. Sounds more refined than a “gag order” protecting a leak, or in the case of Kevin McCarthy in 2016 saying Trump gets paid by Putin.

This announcement comes shortly after The Walt Disney Company launched its Stories Matter initiative. As part of this effort, the company drafted in a group of experts to advise and assess its content and ensure that it accurately represents global audiences. On the site, Disney has included examples of the disclaimers now included with select titles, along with an explanation of some of the negative depictions.
The disclaimer reads: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”
This updated content advisory notice started appearing in front of controversial movies and shorts in the Disney+ library towards the end of last year.

www.ign.com/…

x

Hollywood is cutting the cartoon skunk Pepe LePew from “Space Jam 2” for being a sexual harasser, but they’re letting Gov. Andrew Cuomo keep the Emmy Award they gave him for Best Acting in the Fictional Role of a Competent Governor.
https://t.co/Ph07iGRio3

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) March 9, 2021

x

If a horny skunk offends you don’t watch the damn thing. The fact I even have to write the phrase “if a horny skunk offends you” shows what an actual cartoon country were becoming. pic.twitter.com/TIKR73777i

— Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) March 8, 2021

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

moranbetterDemocrats

Read More

How Accounting Firms can Leverage Dynamics 365 for their Operations

November 25, 2020   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

While it’s mostly known as a customer relationship service (CRM) solution, Microsoft Dynamics 365 does far more than that. It not only offers a range of modules to optimize your business, but it’s also flexible enough to develop industry-specific solutions. JOVACO has done this for accounting firms. The resulting solution sits on top of the standard Dynamics 365 solution, while allowing for industry-specific business rules. It also helps with the initial setup as fields standard to the accounting industry are already there without requiring additional customizations or developments.

How Dynamics 365 can help your accounting firm

Integration between Dynamics 365 and Dynamics GP

Thanks to the integration between Dynamics 365 and Dynamics GP, data flows freely across the entire system. The information entered in timesheets and your planning tool will be reflected in the rest of the solution in real time. A timesheet like TEDI Time and Expense ensures real-time visibility on time spent on mandates, allowing for greater visibility on an employee’s activities of the week.

Specific invoicing process

A solution specifically designed for accounting firms accelerates all processes related to invoicing as well as your invoicing cycle. Different billing options lets you meet all your clients’ criteria easily. The integrated timesheet reduces the number of manual adjustments as hours are automatically entered to the right account.

Management of accounts and groups

The CRM functionality of Dynamics 365 can be leveraged to manage your mandates, clients, and contacts. Client information is centralized and up to date, ensuring that all users can access the latest data at all times. The classic client-to-contact relationship can be taken one step further to focus on groups of accounts to facilitate management the way accounting firms are more used to doing.

Increased autonomy for associates

The solution also gives the autonomy to your associates to make their own adjustments. Fewer requests are sent to administration for modifications, reducing their workload and the risk of errors. Associates can also benefit from improved visibility on key data such as the profitability of services. This allows them to make quicker decisions and strengthen their relationship with the accounts assigned to them.

Reporting adapted to your needs

Reports designed specifically to meet the needs of the accounting industry let you improve your analytical capabilities. Review profitability by service, associate, or staff member for better visibility into the metrics you need. This lets you better analyze the health of your organization and discover new business opportunities.

Ready to implement Dynamics 365 within your accounting firm?

These are just a few ways that the Dynamics 365 platform can be adapted to meet the needs of accounting firms. By leveraging the robust features of Dynamics 365, accounting firms can optimize their operations, complete mandates more efficiently, and maximize profits. What to learn more? Read our to learn how a professional service firm can now process invoices 4 times faster or how Dynamics 365 can optimize the sales of professional services firms.

By JOVACO Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics 365 specialist in Quebec for accounting firms

About JOVACO Solutions

JOVACO Solutions is a leading ERP and CRM solution provider operating in Quebec for over 35 years. As a specialist of Microsoft Dynamics business management solutions, we offer a wide range of products and services to meet all the needs of professional services firms and project-based organizations. We also offer specialized project management tools and timesheet add-ons fully integrated to Microsoft Dynamics solutions. Visit our website or contact us for more information.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

YOUR PETS LOVE THEIR BUG FOOD?

November 13, 2020   Humor
blank YOUR PETS LOVE THEIR BUG FOOD?

It’s what they’ll be getting:

Nestle’s Purina brand is launching a line of pet food using insects, as the world’s biggest food group tests more environmentally sustainable protein sources.

The move addresses a trend of people seeking more eco-friendly or allergen-free diets for their pets, and puts Nestle into potential competition with smaller brands like Yora and Green Petfood’s InsectDog.

“We see increasing demand for diversified sources of proteins for pet food products,” Bernard Meunier, head of Purina in Europe, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

He said limited planetary resources and decreasing meat consumption in Europe were incentives to explore new proteins.

The Purina Beyond Nature’s Protein line, which launches in Switzerland this month, will be available in two variations – one using chicken, fava beans and protein from black soldier fly larvae, and one using chicken, pig’s liver and millet.

Both will be available for dogs and cats at Swiss retailer Coop, which also sells insect-based snacks and burgers for human consumption. Rollouts in more markets are planned starting next year, Meunier said.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic had strengthened the bond between people and their pets, pushing up demand for high-quality pet food and leading to market share gains for Purina.

Nestle’s petcare unit had sales of 13.6 billion Swiss francs ($ 14.96 billion) last year. It was the group’s fastest-growing category with 10.6% organic growth in the first nine months of 2020.

In April, Nestle bought UK-based natural pet food brand Lily’s Kitchen. Meunier said Purina’s European portfolio was now complete and the focus would be on organic growth.

In a blog post last year, the British Veterinary Association endorsed insect-based pet food, recommending it to owners who wanted a ‘livestock-free’ diet for their pets.

One leading supplier of insect protein in Europe is Dutch company Protix, founded in 2009, which sells ingredients made from the black soldier fly, mealworms, crickets and locusts.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

ANTZ-IN-PANTZ ……

Read More

arXiv now allows researchers to submit code with their manuscripts

October 11, 2020   Big Data
 arXiv now allows researchers to submit code with their manuscripts

Automation and Jobs

Read our latest special issue.

Open Now

Papers with Code today announced that preprint paper archive arXiv will now allow researchers to submit code alongside research papers, giving computer scientists an easy way to analyze, scrutinize, or reproduce claims of state-of-the-art AI or novel advances in what’s possible.

An assessment of the AI industry released a week ago found that only 15% of papers submitted by researchers today publish their code.

Maintained by Cornell University, arXiv hosts manuscripts from fields like biology, mathematics, and physics, and it has become one of the most popular places online for artificial intelligence researchers to publicly share their work. Preprint repositories give researchers a way to share their work immediately, before undergoing what can be a long peer review process as practiced by reputable scholarly journals. Code shared on arXiv will be submitted through Papers with Code and can be found in a Code tab for each paper.

“Having code on arXiv makes it much easier for researchers and practitioners to build on the latest machine learning research,” Papers with Code cocreator Robert Stojnic said a blog post today. “We also hope this change has ripple effects on broader computational science beyond machine learning. Science is cumulative. Open science, including making available key artefacts such as code, helps to accelerate progress by making research easier to build upon.”

Started in 2018, Papers with Code focuses on encouraging reproducibility of AI model results and, as the name states, submitting research with code. The Papers with Code website shares nearly 2,000 papers and code from across major fields in AI like natural language processing, computer vision, adversarial machine learning, and robotics. Papers with Code was initially founded in part by members of Facebook AI Research. Last year, Facebook and Papers with Code launched PyTorch Hub to encourage reproducibility.

In the past year or so, sharing code along with a research paper manuscript has become standard at major AI research conferences. At ICML 2019, nearly 70% of authors submitted code with their papers by the start of the conference. ICML organizers found that 90% of researchers who submitted code came from academia, and about 27% included an author from industry. Conversely, nearly 84% of authors overall came from industry and about 27% from academia. People developing software or AI inside companies may be more likely to view secrecy as important to protecting intellectual property or financial interests.

NeurIPS began to experiment with a code submission policy in 2019 and put an official code submission policy into effect this year. In other news about evolving standards for AI researchers, earlier this year NeurIPS began to require all paper submissions to include social impact statements and declare any potential financial conflicts of interest.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Big Data – VentureBeat

Read More

ProBeat: Robots need to solve mobility before we find their killer app

September 20, 2020   Big Data
 ProBeat: Robots need to solve mobility before we find their killer app

Automation and Jobs

Read our latest special issue.

Open Now

This week we published our interview with Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter. We discussed his first year as CEO; the company’s profitability target after three decades (Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992); Spot, Pick, Handle, and Atlas; and the company’s broader roadmap, including which robots are next.

The interview comes on the heels of Boston Dynamics opening sales for its quadruped robot Spot in the U.S. for $ 74,500. Last week, the company expanded Spot sales to Canada, the EU, and the U.K. at the same price point. Playter shared early sales numbers with us and promised Spot would get a robot arm next year. After we had finished talking about the company’s plans for logistics robots, the conversation shifted to what it always does in 2020, and the most important feature of Boston Dynamics’ robots. An edited transcript of the tail end of our conversation is below.

VentureBeat: How has the pandemic impacted day to day operations?

Playter: I think we adapted more quickly than I ever would have expected. And more positively. There’s no way we are at 100% productivity because by their nature these machines, sometimes you have to be close to them. But the neat thing about Spot is we already had the manufacturing lined up and running when the pandemic really hit and we sent everybody home to work. And a lot of the engineers got to go home with a robot and basically continue their work at home. So that was really remarkable. Now we can’t do that with some of our logistics robots. And so, some of that development definitely slowed down. We did more work in simulation. Once we started doing limited and controlled access back to our facilities, we put the people back in the buildings who really had to be with the robots to do experiments.

But overall, I’ve been really pleased at just how productive people can be working remotely. Now I think we’re losing something in the long run, and I’m anxious for us to be able to start to spend some time together again in a controlled fashion. And it’s also just being around robots is inherently kind of exciting and motivating. You need to be around them, I think, to kind of keep the energy level high. But really it’s gone surprisingly well, I would say.

VentureBeat: Has the pandemic impacted your thinking about where the company should focus, the roadmap, and broader mission?

Playter: It hasn’t really changed what we were thinking about doing in terms of developing and launching these products. What I think it might have done is change the sense of urgency that the market might feel and about exploring these things. March, April, sales kept going but they weren’t growing. It was sort of slow and I think that’s because all of our customers were at home too. Everybody was adapting to what the heck is going on.

Now we did adapt quickly and do some kinds of rapid development. The whole idea of Dr. Spot, our telemedicine robot. That was really born out of us trying to think, ‘Well what is it that we can do that addresses this pandemic directly? Jeez, this seems like a case where robots ought to be relevant. If suddenly being with other people is dangerous, is there an application that’s useful?’ We explored things like remote learning. Being able to experiment with or program a robot remotely, maybe that’s interesting. We decided not to pursue that.

But we had several inbound inquiries about using a robot to essentially do intake monitoring for patients. Allowing the medical personnel to stay remote from the patient, to not have to change out their protective equipment, which of course was in short supply. The patients felt safer, potentially, by not being exposed to somebody who was just talking to another potentially sick patient. And if you could do this remote vital sign sensing — which by the way was a hard problem; nobody had really pulled all these pieces together for the remote vital sign measurement. So we did a rapid development, teaming with MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. And we were able to get something going pretty quickly, mostly because Spot is a platform and it’s been configured from the beginning to handle new sensors, new payloads, and we were able to sort of create some working prototypes, which had been tested and we actually have more than one customer for.

But in the end, it’s not going to be a giant market. I don’t think that’s the killer app for robots. But we definitely did some rapid exploration. There’s other kinds of exploration, like disinfecting robots. We’ve done a little bit of work there. But I think in the end it’s not going to be one of those direct applications that help Spot take off. It’s going to be the things we were imagining originally: managing a complex industrial site, a utility, an oil and gas site, a construction site, a manufacturing site. Those are the things that we thought originally were going to be important. Those are the things where I’d say the majority of our customers are pulling from. But I think there might be a little bit greater sense of urgency because suddenly those are essential services. Keeping the electricity on. Keeping the manufacturing lines running. Keeping the warehouses running. And doing that without over exposing people to each other — suddenly that created a little extra sense of urgency for maybe exploring the role of robotics, I think.

VentureBeat: Did anything surprise you during the pandemic, other than hospitals apparently asking for Spots?

Playter: I mean, that that was a little surprising to us. I hadn’t contemplated those applications before. I think when we went into our early adopter program we expected construction sites and maybe oil and gas sites to be interesting targets. Some of the lessons that came out of that, though, were that just managing nuclear power plants, electric utilities — those were not something we had anticipated, but in some ways, they might be the best opportunities for launching a comprehensive solution based on Spot. So basically the early adopter program taught us to go focus a little bit more narrowly on some of those utilities I think that we expected going in.

VentureBeat: Is there anything that we missed in our discussion or that you feel the press is missing in general?

Playter: We’ve always thought that mobility was a key functionality that hasn’t really been available in a robot yet. There’s been lots of wheeled robots. And they stay at a certain limited kind of mobility, but they couldn’t really get around. And so, I guess there’s sort of a bigger idea, which is that true mobility in a robot is a more transformational capability than I think people appreciate. I sort of suggested earlier that a mobile picking robot is more valuable than one that’s bolted to the floor. A mobile robot like Spot takes an asset like a sensor or an arm, or maybe even a remote person who’s located someplace else but can dial in through a camera and see what the robot is seeing. That mobility really amplifies the value of whatever the robot is carrying around. If it’s an arm, it’s more valuable because it can be distributed, if it’s a sensor, or if it’s a person who’s located around the world. In some ways I feel like these robots are kind of a superpower that lets a person come in and be anywhere that they need to be. And it might be in a dangerous place or just a place that’s difficult to get to. Maybe it would take three days to get there, but you could have a robot that’s there instantaneously. I think mobility is an amplifier of value and of people and assets that the robot carries. I guess I just think that’s going to be true across a whole range of industries.

VentureBeat: My read on it is the industry focused on “static” robots because mobile was just not feasible for so long. And you could achieve quite a fair bit if you have a robotic arm in a factory, for example. Once mobility started to be possible, it was still very difficult to achieve and certainly in an affordable way. It seems like it’s starting to happen, now it’s just a question of figuring out how do you apply it effectively. It opens up so many doors, but which door do you go through or which door do you invest in? You have a mobile robot. OK, but what’s the thing that it will do most effectively? And how do you then develop the software and the tools and the process for it to do that thing that you’ve prioritized on your list.

Playter: I think you’re exactly right. I guess the trick that we have to navigate is finding the application that’s valuable enough that lets this product grow. But the whole concept of having a platform, which is really where Spot started was that we want to be able to pivot at a later time to some other application if it arises. In fact, we have this conversation all the time inside the company. Do we prioritize the platform and let a thousand seeds grow in terms of getting robots in the innovator class’ hands and see what they do with it, or do we focus on an industry where we think we can get enough value? And frankly we need to find a way to straddle and do both. To have a successful product, I think we need to scale to thousands of units, and we’re going to do that by focusing on more narrowly on a set of industries. But we also think there’s things we haven’t thought of yet. And that others are going to think of. And we want to have a platform that makes those things available to them.

VentureBeat: Yeah, it’s definitely something you have to balance. If I had to prioritize, I guess I would try to get as many units out as possible because people can always hack it. But yeah, of course, you got to make sure that if someone does try to put something on it, or makes a different payload, you have to make sure that’s even achievable. You have to make it modular from the get go. Otherwise, you’re very limited in what it can do and what people can try to do with it.

Playter: Exactly, yeah.

VentureBeat: Thank you for taking the time.

Playter: It was nice to talking to you. Thanks for your interest.

ProBeat is a column in which Emil rants about whatever crosses him that week.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Big Data – VentureBeat

Read More

Can a Microsoft Dynamics 365 User Save Money by Building Their Own Reports?

September 15, 2020   CRM News and Info
crmnav Can a Microsoft Dynamics 365 User Save Money by Building Their Own Reports?

Companies evaluating Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales will often ask us, “Can Microsoft Dynamics 365 users build their own reports?”

The answer comes down to a couple of factors:

  • What kind of reports do you need?
  • What kind of relevant experience does your team have?

By building their own reports, a business could potentially save thousands of dollars. However, there is a lot to consider.

First things first: What kind of reports do I need?

This is often the main source of confusion. What one person considers a report may just be a list for another. When asking your CRM partner for a report, there may some misunderstanding as to what constitutes a report.

Here are three common substitutions to consider instead of a full-blown report:

  1. CRM Views: Views in Dynamics 365 Sales are essentially a filtered list based on certain criteria put in place by the user. For many clients, this is enough on its own. Moreover, once a user learns how to create their own CRM views, it helps them become autonomous. This helps speed up the analysis process for this user or department.
  2. Dashboards: Dashboards display critical data that you need to review on a regular basis from your CRM (customer relationship management) tool. Potentially, much of the data you would need in a report can be viewed from a dashboard, which you can create yourself within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales. Key statistics can be displayed as graphics or lists depending on user preferences and requirements. Like Views, this is something that users can create themselves with a quick training, some understanding of the fields within the forms, and a vision of what they would like to review.
  3. Excel templates: As a final option we would suggest looking into Excel templates in the CRM. This allows you to build your spreadsheets as you would like them to be presented and refresh the data as you need it. The most common application for this tool is to share information with your clients. What differentiates this from a report is the limitations in filtering and intelligence (e.g.: display this information if “x” exists). For some applications it makes more sense to create a report rather than an Excel template.

By using these tools to their full potential, you can probably limit the number of reports you need and save the extra costs associated with building them. The first step is then to ask yourself if you really need the information to be consumed as a report or if one of these tools can meet your needs.

In some cases, reports are necessary as there are limitations to what you can do in a view. If this is the case for you, you likely want to know if you can build these reports yourself and what the cost will be.

Next step: Can my team create their own reports in-house?

The short answer is it depends. Creating your own reports depends on the relative competency levels available internally. Ask yourself if anyone on your team has the SQL/Fetch XML experience required to build reports.

For those who want to create their own reports but don’t have the experience, it might be worth considering Microsoft Power BI instead. This business intelligence solution is more dynamic and simpler to use once the data set is created and in place.

You could improve your skills by taking classes and consulting a partner. But realistically, the cost of these could come out to about the same as having your reports developed by a Microsoft Dynamics partner.

Bottom line: Can I build my own reports or not?

The answer is not the same for everyone. Building your own reports may sound appealing, but unless you have the competencies required internally, you may have to look at alternatives, like Power BI, CRM views or dashboards, and Excel templates. It basically boils down to what kind of report you need and how much experience your team has.

Our suggestion would be to have an honest and open discussion with your Microsoft Dynamics partner to ask them what building a specific report entails. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to see if there is a better way of doing things. This way the partner will get a clearer idea of what you need, and the effort required to produce it.

Here at JOVACO Solutions, we have decades of experience working with organizations to help them get the information they need. Our consultants are available to figure out the best way for you to take advantage of the wealth of data stored in your system. Contact us today to tell us more about your challenges and objectives.

By JOVACO Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics 365 specialist in Quebec

About JOVACO Solutions

JOVACO Solutions is a leading ERP and CRM solution provider operating in Quebec for over 35 years. As a specialist of Microsoft Dynamics business management solutions, we offer a wide range of products and services to meet all the needs of professional services firms and project-based organizations. We also offer specialized project management tools and timesheet add-ons fully integrated to Microsoft Dynamics solutions. Visit our website or contact us for more information.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

Swift completion of their appointed rounds?

August 16, 2020   Humor

I assume that only people who have been avoiding the news don’t know that the Republicans are trying to throw the election by screwing with the US Postal Service. Trump has literally admitted it.

© Keef Knight

Ironically, there are some good arguments that this blatant use of the federal bureaucracy for political gain will backfire on the Republicans.

 If you liked this, you might also like these related posts:
  1. Happy Halloween!
  2. Fair and Balanced?
  3. 9/11 GOP NC
  4. Election! Vote!
  5. This is what “spine” looks like

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Political Irony

Read More

School of Rock, One Beat CPR Share Their Front Line Action Plans for Adaptation and the Future

April 24, 2020   NetSuite
gettyimages 1080244684%20(1) School of Rock, One Beat CPR Share Their Front Line Action Plans for Adaptation and the Future

Posted by Barney Beal, Content Director

For Rob Price, CEO of the School of Rock, the information swirling about in the early days of the coronavirus was a temptation to be avoided.

“We decided to get some independent and customized and proprietary medical advice from the get go, to help us synthesize what was going on rather than listening to the news and trying to reconcile between CNN and MSNBC and Fox news,” Price said on a recent NetSuite virtual event, part of the NetSuite Business Now series. “All of that input in the early days was complete mumbo jumbo.”

Price and team brought in a pediatric specialist with some background in epidemiology to help them plan how to manage their corporate- and franchise-owned music schools as things progressed. Even with that guidance, the coronavirus still caught the company unexpected in many ways. It caught most businesses unexpected.

According to a survey conducted during the virtual event, 48% of the nearly 350 attendees said they didn’t have a business continuity plan in place, another 17% said they had one but it wasn’t useful.

So, what to do? Navigating business uncertainty was the theme of last week’s virtual event in which Price was joined by his CFO, John Cappadona, along with Lawrence Franchetti, CEO of One Beat CPR Learning Center, which provides CPR training and distributes defibrillators and related health care devices.

For most businesses, the first step is taking stock and determining immediate priorities. While most companies think in 12-, 24-, and 36-month increments, uncertainty means narrowing that window significantly, said Scott Beaver, senior product manager at Oracle NetSuite and moderator of the event. Franchetti’s teams were positioned to see the warning signs early.

“We serve first responders, hospitals and everything from schools to churches,” Franchetti said. “We knew there was an emerging problem, and it was coming very quickly.”

For both School of Rock and One Beat CPR Learning Center, adapting required a swift shift in business model. It was a common concern: the biggest challenge cited by attendees on the virtual event was continuing business operations (51%), followed by order reductions (35%) and those who had to close doors until restrictions are lifted (10%). Just 3% cited existing supply chain that can’t deliver materials.

From Training to Equipment and In-person Lessons to Online

One Beat CPR shifted from a training-plus-product business to providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other equipment its customers suddenly needed, such as ventilators. While the business had sold some ventilators in the past, it took some work to make the transition, identifying its most trusted suppliers and targeting them early. One Beat CPR is now selling masks, face shields and sanitizers among other items in demand by people grappling with the coronavirus.

“We were able to work with our bank, the finance team and undergo plans to acquire products that folks on the front line needed,” Franchetti said. “We were able to work with vendors as well, to create products and business plans for our team to be successful. The first day it didn’t seem like it, but now we’re pretty nimble.”

It’s now working with manufacturers to acquire more PPE products and has started making its own face shields.

“We had to think big, bigger and biggest,” Franchetti said. “We thought, ‘why can’t we do this ourselves?’ I’ve been calling it a watershed moment for our organization. We’ve opened up additional distribution lines, tested manufacturing our own products. We’re shipping globally and getting into areas where we didn’t have a strong foothold.”

School of Rock had to quickly transition from its business of in-person music lessons.

“We needed to plan for the short term, but in context of the long term,” Price said.

Within a week, School of Rock had created an online education platform, a process that likely would have taken six months without the pressure of the current climate, Price said. Not only will that platform help the company and its franchisees survive now, but it helps solve some of the reason schoolchildren don’t take lessons, like summer vacations, lessons that are too far away, or students unable to drive to classes. The organization was able to do that thanks to collaborating closely with franchisees and leaning on its culture of learning and sharing. The organization held regular meetings, built a wiki page for feedback on the platform and shared best practices of the franchises that were managing best.

“Our community and our team has rallied around a purpose and our culture,” said Cappadona, the CFO. “We’ve done a lot of work over the last few years building that up. It has really revealed itself during this time of crisis.”

Staying Focused on the Mission

The coronavirus didn’t just introduce business challenges, it raised stress levels as well. Both companies were able to turn to their business mission to help cope.

“The reality is that we have our team [to worry about] too,” Franchetti said. “The stress and anxiety of how this will affect their home life. How are they going to come home? Anchor in yourself and your purpose. For ourselves, it’s helping save lives.”

One Beat CPR created online classroom sessions for its employees who had children home from school. It also paid for babysitting.

Both organizations were also careful and clear communicating with customers and employees. School of Rock worked to educate franchise operators on managing their costs, including navigating conversations with their landlords.

“This has revealed to me the power and importance of individual communication,” Price said. “Every franchisee in our system has my cell phone number.”

With new business models and new learnings, both businesses are poised to bounce back when things return to normal. But as one poll during the virtual event posed—How will you get back to normal?—many are not sure. Just 5% said they would get back to business as normal, 43% predicted minor tweaks, 26% predicted significant changes and a quarter of respondents answered, “we don’t know.”

Watch the recording of the full virtual event of Navigating Business Uncertainty and register for more of the upcoming events.

Posted on Fri, April 24, 2020
by NetSuite filed under

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

The NetSuite Blog

Read More

In GOP Texas, would grandparents sacrifice themselves for their grandkids’ economy

March 24, 2020   Humor
 In GOP Texas, would grandparents sacrifice themselves for their grandkids economy

“Dan Patrick strongly opposed HERO, an unsuccessful Houston ordinance intended to establish legal protections for gay and transgender residents along with some other classes, as he claimed that the ordinance would lead to sexual predators being freely able to enter women’s restrooms. Patrick has stated that if necessary, he would support legislation to require people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender listed on their birth certificates.”

GOP eugenics and a Logan’s Run economy must guide COVID-19 policy, because Dan Patrick (not the sports guy, but the RWNJ homophobe) wants to put the Grans under.

x

so yea, sorry texas grandparents but the invisible hand demands a sacrifice

— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) March 24, 2020

Texas Republican urges Fox News viewers to risk their lives so coronavirus closures end.

x

This kind of numbnuttery will kill people in Texas. Young as well as old. We need a state-wide shelter in place order to stop the spread of coronavirus and save hundreds of thousands of lives. https://t.co/C8r9Q7t2vs

— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 24, 2020

“Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?…If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population” Ebeneezer Scrooge (Charles Dickens)

x

In addition to bad comparisons to the seasonal flu and to car accidents, Trump equated deaths from coronavirus with deaths from an economic downturn.

“Life is fragile and economies are fragile,” he said.https://t.co/iIZ4jD6Jr4

— Philip Bump (@pbump) March 24, 2020

x

Fauci would never have said this. This is why he was not present. This is very scary.

— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) March 23, 2020

x

BREAKING: Dr. Fauci is warning Trump officials NOT to listen to growing push among WH advisers, GOP lawmakers to restart the economy

But Trump is alarmed by stock market & impact of high unemployment for 2020 election — & weighing easing restrictionshttps://t.co/c5c1c7HQ8j

— Jeffrey Stein (@JStein_WaPo) March 23, 2020

#MoscowMitchSlushFund and John Cornyn’s Blah, Blah, Blah

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

moranbetterDemocrats

Read More

4 Sales Presentation Innovations That Keep Viewers on the Edge of Their Seats

March 11, 2020   CRM News and Info

People have been giving presentations for thousands of years, from Moses with his stone tablets to Elon Musk revealing his grand plans to colonize Mars. While the elements of a great pitchman generally have remained the same over the past 5,000 years — conviction, charisma, credibility — today’s successful presenters do more than just get in front of an audience and talk. They meld together technology, data and multimedia to hammer home key talking points that keep viewers engaged throughout.

So how do you project the power of Moses in your next presentation? Those of us operating without divine intervention typically rely on PowerPoint as our stone tablets. PowerPoint has been around for more than 30 years and has changed not only the way we present, but also how we write and communicate.

PowerPoint allows anyone to create a professional presentation with relatively little prep time. As a result, it has proliferated and become the business norm. The pitfall is that too many of us rely on our slide decks to do too much, to the point that it overshadows the presenter and dominates the meeting.

For a really engaging, productive presentation remember that your slides are there to support you, not the other way around. Utilize the following tips to build a supplemental deck and presentation management strategy that will support your voice, reinforce your thoughts, and keep your audience on the edge of their seats.

1. Start With the Story

Tell a story, don’t sell a product. Sixty percent of people find generic sales pitches
to be irritating, according to Hubspot. Only 5 percent of attendees remember individual statistics, but 63 percent can recall stories.

We remember stories because they are about us — human beings with hardships, happiness and feelings. Speakers who connect with us in that way have a better opportunity to fully engage us.

That may sound challenging in a business environment where your material is very cerebral, like financial forecasts or charts conveying clinical data, but in those cases you can translate that data into its human consequences. Financial forecasts? Yay! You’re going to be rich (or going broke). Clinical data? You’re cured from that horrible disease. Life is good.

Money and health are two things we all feel with our hearts. When you are selling a consulting service, it’s great to talk about the experience your experts have, but remember to include how you can help your customer — make their jobs, their lives, whatever, better and easier.

2. Lead With Your Eyes and Body

Without even realizing it, we say more with our bodies than with our voices. How we stand — strong and upright projecting confidence, or slumped and hunched over projecting defeat — will do more to convince an audience than any of the words that come out of our mouths.

How we express ourselves, with eye contact and animation, also creates a bond. Former President Ronald Reagan was an expert at this. He rarely gestured with his arms. Rather, he used his eyes and his facial expression to talk with the American people.

Look your audience in the eye. If you are presenting to one or two people, that’s easy. If you are presenting to a large group, go across the room, one-by-one, pick a person and make eye contact for five seconds. (When you’re speaking, five seconds seems like an eternity. It’s hard, but not impossible.)

You probably won’t get to everyone in the room, but that’s not the goal. By keeping eye contact and making that connection, you become more relaxed and conversational. You will converse with individuals rather than orate at an anonymous audience. Sales success is as much about creating and maintaining relationships as it is about the products we sell.

What about Web meetings? Today, we are all logging in through our screens, whether phone or computer. Making eye contact and using body language might sound antiquated. It’s not. Do it anyway. Turn on your video camera, and even if it’s just a call in, remember that our voice, our tone, and our body language contribute to our overall manner and influence how people respond to us. Even if your audience can’t see you, a confident, yet relaxed manner will still have a positive effect.

3. Follow the Conversation

PowerPoint’s linear format has forced us into a rigid outline for presentations to keep everything in a strict order. The problem is that we don’t think in a linear order. The human mind likes to wander. Our audience’s mind is wandering as we’re speaking. So forcing them into a strict, linear outline with bullet points will bore them.

Diversions or questions at the wrong time can throw off a presenter’s game. Instead, presenters should get out of linear mode, go interactive, and let the presentation follow the conversation. Break up the slides with questions to the audience. Engage them, make direct eye contact, and ask a simple question, “Does this make sense so far?” or “Are you all following me?” or “What do you think?”

In doing so, you are turning your presentation into a conversation. You are breaking up the corporate monotony associated with PowerPoint. Above all, you are bringing your audience into your presentation so they become a vital part of the broader discussion. As a result, they are more invested in you and your message. Your message transforms and becomes their message. They sell themselves.

4. Use Analytics to Determine Messaging

Until now, we’ve talked about style, but substance matters too. Large organizations invest millions to create the right message, with the right graphics and brand. Despite that expenditure, 70 percent of content never gets used, and 90 percent never gets reused — a wasted investment. Why? Usually it’s only because your sales rep can’t find the slide or content needed while preparing the deck. Give your sales team substance.

Give them the content that helps them sell. Reporting and analytics can tell you what’s resonating in the field with customers and what’s not, so you can create more, better content going forward and retire content that’s not working.

If Bob just closed a major deal using his deck, see what elements he included and then make them standard in the decks of your other salespeople. Real-time data helps guide the type of content you should be creating for your salespeople to perform optimally, while helping you get rid of bad and unused content that’s just a cluttery distraction.

You don’t need divine intervention to be an effective presenter. You just need your company’s best content combined with your best self. This presentation management strategy allows your salespeople to worry less about slides, focus on their customers, and make a human connection that builds trust. You don’t need to be Moses to sell. You just need to be yourself.
end enn 4 Sales Presentation Innovations That Keep Viewers on the Edge of Their Seats


AlexAnndra%20Ontra 4 Sales Presentation Innovations That Keep Viewers on the Edge of Their Seats
AlexAnndra Ontra is cofounder and president of
Shufflrr, and author of
Presentation Management: The New Strategy for Enterprise Content

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Buyer

Read More
« Older posts
  • Recent Posts

    • Accelerate Your Data Strategies and Investments to Stay Competitive in the Banking Sector
    • SQL Server Security – Fixed server and database roles
    • Teradata Named a Leader in Cloud Data Warehouse Evaluation by Independent Research Firm
    • Derivative of a norm
    • TODAY’S OPEN THREAD
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
© 2021 Business Intelligence Info
Power BI Training | G Com Solutions Limited