Category Archives: Main News

So it’s 2010, now what?

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I just gave my first All Hands presentation to the Exuma/DockMaster team this afternoon. I started creating the presentation at 8am this morning. The talk started at 1pm. In between creating the presentation and delivering it I drove the 35 minute commute to the office and grabbed lunch. Next week I will post a blog that describes this process of shortening your time frame to ensure heightened levels of focus .

In the All Hands presentation I outlined 3 Words (themes) that should help shape the company in 2010. As per my personal 3 words , the words I’ve selected for Exuma are designed to challenge both me and my team to take our company to the next level. The 3 words are: CHANGE, LEARN, GROW.

CHANGE: It’s cliche, but change is everywhere and accelerating. Look at how quickly Social Media channels have been accepted into the main stream of life and compare the rate of adoption to e-mail. I have no data to back this up, but it seems like it took 10-years for e-mail to garner the same number of users that its taken Social Media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to gain in a year. We must not only embrace change, but we need to seek it out. I’ve instructed my team that phrases like “we’ve always done it this way” or “we don’t work that way” are no longer acceptable at our company.

LEARN: Learning is the antithesis of talking. In other words I am coaching my team to spend more time listening than talking. We are too quick to react – to answer a question before its completely stated. We will never learn and grow if we can’t listen. By listening I mean doing it emphatically and actively. Not simply to placate someone. We also need to look outside of our industry for examples of systems and ideas that work well, so that they can be evaluated and adapted in our own company. Lastly, learn from the mistakes of others as this is often more instructive.

GROW: Last year was about survival. This year we are back in growth mode. We are excited about expanding both in our market and in other markets as well. 2010 won’t be a walk in the park – its going to be full of challenges, but if we can stay focused we can grow our businesses.

I’ve challenged each of my team leads to carry this message through to their respective groups and to develop meaningful incentives to embrace these themes.

2010: Great blogs to kick-off the decade

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I read some great blog posts at the dawning of the new decade. The amount of quality content out there is staggering. Some of my favorites were posted by Josh Bernoff, Radian6 and Seth Godin .

One of the most practical posts I read was Chris Brogan’s My 3 Words for 2010 . The 3 words are to be used as a guidepost for the way you should conduct your efforts in the year to come. The words can help you set goals, and establish projects with deadlines. Brogan claims that this technique is helpful for those who have struggled with goal setting in the past.

My 3 words are: FOCUS, LEARN, SIMPLIFY

FOCUS: I have begun to lay the groundwork for pursuing what has the most meaning for me; both personally and professionally and then focusing on what’s important to achieve these goals. I talked about this in my post entitled Threads of interruption: How to keep your day from spinning out of control . My next post will expand upon this and discuss the 80-20 Rule.

LEARN: In 2010 I want to explore new ways of doing things and new ways of thinking. It’s time to embrace change and to stop looking through the “lens” of the past. In the internet age, “rules” are being challenged and broken at breakneck speed. For me, this will be the year to completely embrace Social Media as a tranformative and lasting means of communication.

SIMPLIFY: This has some deep meaning for me that I won’t share in this post. But some of my philosophy was introduced in my Boating: The Good Old Days post. When I read Walden in high school I thought that Thoreau was a nut job. However as a middle-aged guy who’s collected a lot of “stuff” over the years, I think back on Walden Pond and wonder if Thoreau was on to something.

Threads of interruption: How to keep your day from spinning out of control

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I will admit that I am easily distracted. Staying focused on the “task at hand” has always been a challenge for me. Some people call it ADD others call it a “creative mind” with a lack of “attention to detail”. I imagine if I grew up in the agrarian age I would have a better go of this. If it were my job to plant 10 acres on a given day, there probably wouldn’t be a lot of distractions (no e-mail, no cell phone). Assuming the neighboring tribe wasn’t on the warpath.

In today’s information age we are barraged with interruptions. Besides this blog, how many other interruptions are staring you in the face? You’ve got e-mail, instant messages, Skype calls, Twitter messages coming from tools like TweetDeck, Facebook alerts, LinkedIn requests, etc, etc. And that’s just your computer. We haven’t gotten to your “smartphone” that has apps for all of the above, your office phone and lastly the constant communication (interruptions) from employees and co-workers.

With this “hostile” environment as the backdrop, you must be armed with a plan each and every day. At DockMaster (Exuma Technologies) we developed a strategy called the EX-PROCESS. This process was inspired by two of the greatest writers on task management (note I didn’t say “time management”) that I’ve run across: Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) and Tim Ferris (The Four Hour Work Week). Here’s how it goes:

First a Covey-ism. You must begin each year, each quarter, each week and each day with the end in mind. If you do not have a plan when you walk into your office, you are already a target for interruptions. Covey developed a prioritization technique called the 4-Quadrants. This will give you a framework for deciding what is important. Take your “quadrant 2” tasks and assign them to various roles you play throughout the week (e.g. father, husband, manager, soccer coach, etc). Click here for an Excel 2003 version of my Weekly Worksheet. This process will give you a framework for deciding what is important. I like planning tasks by the week. Go through this exercise either on Sunday night or Monday morning and ask yourself: “What are the most important tasks I must accomplish this week” and commit them to writing. (one-page only).

Next, you must follow a set of rules to keep interruptions to a minimum. This is what our EX-PROCESS looks like.

 

The best tip I can give you is to NOT check e-mail when you first walk into the office in the morning. If you plan to be in the office all day, start the day by tackling a project. Stay heads down on the project for 1 to 2 hours before you start checking e-mail, talking to staff and taking phone calls. This one idea alone will change your life!

Quick Tips:

1. Turn OFF the “tray icon” notification each time you receive an e-mail
2. Do not schedule meetings too far in advance, keep your schedule open as much as possible so that you can evaluate how important a meeting is with a 24-48 hour window.
3. Don’t dwell on projects with deadlines far off in the future (this will be the subject of my next blog)

Micro-blogging vs Mega-blogging

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What’s the difference? Is it really all about long form vs short sound bites? Surely theres a place for both in the blogosphere. Matt Mullenweg’s wrote a great piece on the complimentary nature between “big” blogging platforms like WordPress and “micro” blogging platforms like Twitter. Matt is the founder of Automattic, the company that created WordPress. He is one of PC World’s Top 50 People on the Web, Inc’s 30 under 30, and Business Week’s 25 Most Influential People on the Web.

If you have seen my video on Leveraging Social Media to Build Lasting Customer Relationships or the Social Media presentation I posted on Slideshare.net, you know that we at dockmaster.com use WordPress as our primary website platform. We also use it on this blog. We use Twitter as a way to keep our customers and the community at large aware of what we are doing. As Matt states in his blog:

“New forms of social media, including micro-blogging, are complementary to blogging.”

He goes on to say, “One of the many uses of Twitter is to link to and promote your blog posts. (And other people’s blog posts.) As we grow, so do they, and vice versa”. I blog when I have something longer to say, like this. I tweet when it’s the lowest friction way to talk to my friends, or get distribution for something I wrote or made.

As an example, here are the places you can find DockMaster today:

www.dockmaster.com
www.facebook.com
www.linkedin.com
www.twitter.com/dockmasterinc

How small changes can add up

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After speaking to several dealers in recent weeks, I have come to the conclusion that if your service department is not profitable, then you are doing something wrong.

Little changes in the way you schedule your service work or how you have your shop organized can save you hundreds a week and thousands a month.  How much are you paying for your credit card machine?  Now is a better time than ever to negotiate your swipe and keyed rates.

Every technician should be having a shop efficiency rate of 70+% for billable hours.  If they do not, then you need to look at what they are working on.  Do they need training to better understand today’s motors?  Are they spending too much time waiting for product to be brought to them or spending too much time in the yard trying to find it and gaining access to it?  If you know a technician is going to be on the docks, have a yard guy uncover the boat and get it ready for the technician to work on.

Out of date parts inventory is not doing you any good sitting on the shelves and tying up possible investment funds. Let it go and create revenue.  Even at a loss it is better than costing you money each month while it sits on the shelves.  Ebay can be your best friend when it comes to eliminating parts room clutter. The revenue made from selling your non-current inventory can then be re-directed into training your technicians or service personnel.

Schedule training with your engine suppliers and other vendors.  If you do not have enough personnel at your facility, coordinate with another marina and hold the training at a neutral site.  Now is the time to utilize their time and yours.

Take your training schedule to a new level by holding training seminars for your customers.  This is another great way to sell products, get customers in your facility during the off season and stay in front of them and communicate with them on a regular basis.

How are you marketing and advertising your service department?  Social media allows you to do this in an effective and relatively cheap manner.  I am sure that your dealership has a Facebook and Twitter account, but do you have separate accounts for your parts and service departments?  If the answer is “no”, then you are missing out on opportunities to effectively communicate with your customers and increase your revenue.

Tell your customers about overstocked items, a new product that came in or service specials that you are having.  Furthermore, control your weekly work flow.  If you see that you may not have enough billable hours for the following week, communicate with your customers and tell them that there is immediate availability for service.

Finally, make sure you are able to measure everything you do.  You want to establish a bench mark and regularly check against it.  If you can not track it, then you need to think twice before you implement it.

[Photo goes here]
Captain Christopher Kourtakis

chris@h2olimos.com
www.H2OLimos.com
www.Facebook.com/H2OLIMOS
www.Twitter.com/H2OLIMOS

The trouble with trade shows

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I’ve been attending trade shows ever since I graduated from college. I’ll never forget my first trade show. I went to assist a buyer at a national surf and beach wear show. Needless to say my head was spinning. Since then I’ve attended countless technical and computer industry shows, as well as the circuit of recreational marine industry trade shows since 2003.

Most of the time I’ve spent at trade shows has been on “booth duty”. To use a fishing analogy, booth duty is similar to trolling for billfish. The monotony of standing around twiddling your thumbs is occasionally interrupted by a fish strike, whereby the anglers drop the beers, leap up and scramble to grab a rod.

I’ve never had one of those really cool booths that attracts a big crowd. Scantily clad models and mock game shows have never meshed with my marketing model. I remember how jealous I used to be of some exhibitors though. Back in the mid-90s, the biggest hit at the defense and aerospace shows was Silicon Graphics. They used to bring their F-18 flight simulator, tricked out with surround sound and booth babes to lure in the wannabe fighter pilots. They always drew a big crowd, but where is Silicon Graphics today?

Not all tradeshows are built alike. Some trade shows are “steady” as traffic is good throughout most of the day. Other shows are just plain slower. But as a vendor who markets products to the people that attend various trade shows, there is this compulsion that you “have to be there”, even if the show is traditionally slow or possibly not ideally suited for you. You might miss something or someone. You never know when that perfect prospect will happen by your booth. In addition, you need to be there to let your customers know you are still in business.

I am not buying this anymore. No I am not saying that we are cutting our trade shows altogether. On the contrary we are scheduled to exhibit at the IMI Emerging Applied Technology Show and the Marine Dealer Conference. However I am rethinking which shows to exhibit at and which shows to simply “attend”.

You miss quite a bit by exhibiting and not attending. The most valuable interactions I typically have with people at a trade show are not within my booth, but in the hall between sessions or in the concession areas. People seem more at easy and not guarded as if being sold more cleaner than one could use in a life time.

This year and in 2010 we are going to “walk” a couple of shows that we’ve exhibited at in the past. This week is the International Boat Builders Exhibition and Conference (www.ibexshow.com). We will not have a booth at the show this year. This is a big change for us as we’ve exhibited at this show for the last 15+ years. However in this economy when we are trying to do everything we can to stretch a dollar, I cannot justify the expense of a trade show booth at IBEX. So, I will be walking the show as an attendant. I will still be wearing my company shirt and working to strengthen relationships with people that I connect with. I hope to see you there.

 

Boating: The Good Old Days

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I was listening to a presentation by Halsey Herreshoff at the ABBRA Newport Summer Social on August 3rd. Halsey is the President of Herreshoff Marine Museum and America’s Cup Hall of Fame. Halsey was a four-time America’s Cup winner and the grandson of legendary yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff.

Halsey was reflecting on the economy and the boating lifestyle in general that he has personally watched evolve over the past 70 years. He believes, and I agree, that boating needs to become simple again. Boating has become too complex, we have far too many systems on-board and the amenities that we think we need on our boats mimic what we have in our homes.

Why do we need granite counter tops, audio/visual systems that rival home theaters, and a host of other electronic and mechanical systems that attempt to replicate the creature comforts found in our homes? What we wind up doing is spending more time maintaining these systems rather than enjoying our boats with our family. While the family sits at the dock, gear in hand ready to disembark, dad is below deck trying to figure out where the beeping noise is coming from.

Halsey argues that in the “good ole days” boating was more akin to camping . The systems were simpler, there were fewer things that required maintenance therefore fewer things could break down. Our technology is far superior than it was years ago which is a good thing. But this has lead many manufacturers to cram as much technology into a boat that they can fit.

Boats in general have become much larger, faster and more luxurious in the last five to ten years. If we re-focus our efforts on boating being an alternative to life on “terra firma”, which in essence is the true appeal of boating in the first place, maybe we can get more people interested in boating again.

Good Energy Day

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Today is 09/09/09 and a movement that got started on Facebook, as well as other places labeled it “Good Energy Day”. Rumor has it that NASA (either the Space Shuttle or the Int’l Space Station) is going to take a picture of earth on 09/09/09 at exactly 9:09:09 am. The question that was posed is: Do you think the earth would glow a little brighter if we all thought good thoughts or did well for one another at the same second?

I went on Snopes to see if this was some kind of hoax and couldn’t find anything about it. Regardless, it wouldn’t hurt to do what the promoters of this cause are asking us to do today:

– Wave and smile to a stranger
– Forgive someone
– Open the door for someone
– Pay the toll for someone behind you

Not bad advice…hoax or no hoax.

Integrity: Making Promises and Keeping Them

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I like money back guaranties. As consumers when we read “no risk” or “money back guaranty” an ease comes over us as we contemplate a purchase. It creates a frictionless buying atmosphere.

According to Wikipedia, the money back guarantee was a major tool of early U.S. mail order sales pioneers in the United States such as Richard Sears and Powel Crosley Jr. to win the confidence of consumers.

As consumers we also know that a money back guaranty only has value if the retailer backs this promise. If the retailer sets up barriers (either intentionally or unintentionally) that make it difficult for consumers to get their money back, then the value of the guaranty is diminished. I am Ok with a time limit (e.g. 30-day Money Back Guaranty) as long as its communicated clearly to the consumer.

At DockMaster we recently posted a job for a .NET Software Developer. When reviewing the various job boards to post this opening we looked at CareerBuilder, Dice, Hotjobs and Monster. From what I could tell, none of these providers had a money back guaranty. Since I read www.joelonsoftware.com and was aware of their growing job board for programmers, we decided to give them a try. I have never done business with these guys, but the money back guaranty is what clinched the deal for me. Their policies are spelled out very clearly on their website.

Interestingly the post didn’t seem to work too well for us. Frustrated, I decided to “test” their money back guaranty. What follows is my e-mail exchange with a Fog Creek customer service rep.

>NAME: Cam Collins
>COMPANY: Exuma Technologies
>
>We posted the following job 19-days ago.
>
>http://jobs.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?5119.
>
>The resumes have been down right scary. Only two of the resumes were mildly qualified. Is our ad not compelling enough? Could it be the fact that top notch software developers don’t want to move to the technically challenged State of Florida. Joel’s post in Inc didn’t really help the good ole’ Sunshine State much :-). (Hey – Citrix and Gatoraid were invented here :).
>
>Maybe a refund isn’t really what we need. Instead, if we can’t seem to get good candidates down here maybe we should trade-in the ad fee for licenses of FogBugz. This way we can not only see what world-class software looks like, but we can improve internal efficiencies as well.
>
>Thanks for listening,
>
>Cam Collins
>CEO

Hi Cam:

Thanks for your email.  Well, I can’t say that you’re doing anything wrong that I can see; the ad has been viewed by just over a 1000 people.  And I just had a Gatorade this morning and it was delicious, so it can’t be Florida.

We could extend the job posting for you–that puts it at the top again and maybe you’ll get some traction.

As for trading in for FogBugz licenses, I can’t do that for bookkeeping reasons, but we can give you a refund on the job if the second effort doesn’t pan out.  Also, do you know about the Student and Startup Edition of FogBugz?  You can use it for free for up to 2 users.  Just go to Admin -> Your FogBugz On Demand Account and choose that option there once you’ve set up a trial.

Let me know if you would like to extend the job.

Regards,

Dan

The bottom line is that the ad hasn’t really worked for us. I probably will take them up on their offer to use FogBugz Start-up Edition for some of my personal stuff. Who knows we may roll this out at DockMaster (Exuma). Regardless, I remain a fan and that is precisely what they want!

Netflix Culture

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This week I was having dinner in the Boston area with James Tauber, the founder of Eldarion and the Pinax web development platform. We were talking about the Netflix “Freedom and Responsibility Culture” presentation that was published on the internet and how well these cultural points resonate with a Web 2.0 technology company like Eldarion. However, what can the marine industry learn from the forward thinking culture at Netflix?

For starters, whether you are a leading edge web start-up, a printing company or a boat dealer; the fundamental principles of the Netflix Culture are timeless and extend to all types of companies or organizations. Some of the ways that these cultural points are applied may not be for everyone. For instance, Netflix doesn’t track time on the job or paid time off. Instead they focus on what people get done, not on how many days or hours they’ve worked. In many marine businesses and software consulting companies this won’t work since most of them bill based on time and materials, whether its to repair a boat or install a new server.

Here is a summary of Netflix’ Culture:

Values are what we Value – Real values are shown by who gets rewarded, promoted, or let go. (See the Nine Behaviors and Skills in the presentation)

High Performance – Great Workplace = Stunning Colleagues (not day-care, espresso bars and free lunches)

Freedom & Responsibility– Responsible people thrive on freedom and are worthy of freedom

Context, not Control – The best managers figure out how to get great outcomes by setting the appropriate context, not by controlling people.

Highly Aligned, Loosely Coupled – Clear goals and strategy communicated across the company, with limited cross-functional team approvals

Pay Top of Market – One great employee gets more done and costs less than two adequate employees

Promotions & Development – An individual’s economic security is based upon their skills and reputation

I highly encourage you to read this presentation (www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664). It is meant to be read, not presented and at 128 slides its more than a light dusting of “feel good” phases.

If you have some interesting cultural points or corporate philosophies that you would like to share please add a comment on www.marinemanagementtoday.com or send an e-mail to camsblog@dockmaster.com.