Happenings December 15, 2023

    In this issue:

• National Day Spotlight
• ASWi New Customer
• Customer Appreciation
• Acumatica Summit
• Sales 101
• Events, Blogs, Movies
• Webinars, Community

The purpose of a newsletter is an opportunity for the ASWi team to provide you and the rest of our clients with information on all the new ASWi and Acumatica related things (or “happenings”) that you may not otherwise be aware of.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any/all of your team. Pease let me know if anyone on your team who would like to be added to the mailing list for the next issue and removed.

“As long as there is chocolate, there will be happiness.” Wayne Gerald Trotman

Who doesn’t love chocolate?

While we can all eat chocolate on its own, it is fun to combine chocolate with other ingredients as well! A lot of people love strawberries dipped into chocolate; a real classic. Or, how about some chocolate pretzels? There are plenty of weird and wonderful ideas you can try as well, such as dipping French fries into chocolate ice cream. Hey, don’t knock it until you have tried it! If you have ever wondered what something would taste like in chocolate, today is the perfect opportunity for you to find out.

In celebration of National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, dip and drizzle your favorite foods in every kind of chocolate imaginable.
FYI re: the picture:

As the sign says, these are “Chippers”, which are chocolatey, sweet, crunchy, salty greatness! From a chocolatier spanning 4 generations since 1885.

Q: What kind of candy is never on time?
A: ChocoLATEs.

Q: What did Han call Chewbacca when he had bits of chocolate in his fur?
A: A chocolate chip wookie.

Q: Do dad jokes about chocolate make you laugh out loud?
A: No, but they do make me Snicker a little.

Q: What is a French cat’s favorite dessert?
A: Chocolate mousse.

Q: What is stolen cocoa called?
A: Hot chocolate.

Q: What is a lamb called if it gets covered in chocolate?
A: A candy baaa.

Q: What is a kitten called if it gets covered in chocolate?
A: A KittyKat bar.

ASWi is very humbled, privileged, and proud to be able to serve some of the most innovative organizations in the country as their ERP solution provider and trusted business advisor. Today, I would like to spotlight and introduce the newest members to our community: FIM Texas

FIM is headquartered in Seminole, FIM offers turnkey solutions for industrial metal fabrication including: 3D-CAD; CNC cutting and bending; precision welding; crane fabrication, installation, inspection and training; in-house painting and powder coating; and a full line of fleet services and up-fitting.

FIM Texas’ commitment to customer satisfaction and honest business practices have combined with their team’s vast experience and passion for what they do, which has enable them grow from a small machine shop to a combined 146,700 ft2 facility.

ASWi will be again hosting its Customer Appreciation Event at Topgolf Las Vegas on Sunday, January 28th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

We will have a private Suite, complete with dinner, drinks, golf and an opportunity to network with other ASWi clients as well as Acumatica and ASWi staff. More info to come in next week’s Happenings!

Women In Technology Luncheon
The annual Women in Technology Luncheon, which will be held Tuesday, January 30th at Noon during the Acumatica Summit 2024 conference in Las Vegas, features guest speakers who will share thoughts on workplace diversity and empowerment and strategies for networking and engagement.

A panel discussion will include leaders within Acumatica’s Women in Tech Community and it will be led by award-winning author and founder of Tech Savvy Women, JJ DiGeronimo.

Although the session is currently full, please feel free to email Acumatica at support@acumaticaevents.com to be added to the event’s waitlist if you would like to attend.

Women In Technology Reception
This social event is to follow-up to the Summit Women in Technology Luncheon, giving attendees time to connect and engage with their Women in Tech peers. Hosted by female leaders at Acumatica, this popular gathering helps participants develop networking skills in a fun and friendly environment—giving them the opportunity to form valuable professional bonds that will help propel their careers to further success

On Tuesday January 30th at 11:00 am, ASWi’s own Nick Knight and Luke Frey will be 2/3 of an Acumatica Summit 2024 panel presentation: Manufacturing Edition: Applying the 5 W’s and 1 H of Journalism to Manufacturing Operations.

Session Description:
Applying the 5 W’s and 1 H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) is a time-tested strategy that journalists use to get their stories.

This interactive Summit 2024 session will use the same approach to help attendees write their own manufacturing stories. They’ll learn to ask and answer questions like: What do we need to make? When do we need to make it? Who do we need to make it? Where do we get materials? Why aren’t our manufacturing processes more productive?

How much will it cost to make the product?

To register for Acumatica Summit 2024 and for Nick & Luke’s session, you can go to https://sumit.acumatica.com.

By Mike Brooks

Do you remember Dicken’s book, A Christmas Carol? While reading this this December, it reminded me of an encounter I had that was a chilling reminder of the bad “Ghost of Christmas Future” I narrowly avoided all those years ago. Here’s what happened:

I was on my way to consult with a new client one day when I stopped at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. A city bus pulled up outside and a bunch of people got off. One guy – mid 40’s, tall and lanky – started walking towards the Starbucks, and when he entered the store, I recognized him from many years before when we were both struggling inside sales reps trying to sell investments over the phone.

After I got my coffee, and he got his, he came up to me and said, “You’re Mike Brooks, right?”

“Yes” I said. “Hey, we used to work together!” he said. “I remember,” I said.

He asked me what I was up to these days, and I told him I had become a consultant on sales, and that I was off to work with a new client. I asked him what he was up to and this is when the chill hit me. He said he was starting a new sales job today, and then he rolled his eyes as if to say, “And this one will suck, too.”

We walked out of the store together, and said goodbye and went our separate ways. He went to wait at the next bus bench, and I got into my Mercedes and drove away. As I sipped my coffee and listened to the tunes in my plush car, I thought about how different our lives had turned out and wondered what happened to make them so different. As I did, I knew exactly what it was.

During our time together, the owners of the company brought in a sales trainer, a guy named Stan Billue, to motivate us. Stan spoke to us for an hour about what makes the difference between the top money earners in sales versus all the other sales reps.

He said that you have a choice to either commit to learning and using proven scripts and sales techniques that would double or triple your income, or you would just keep doing what you were doing (ad-libbing), and then you’d just keep getting what you had been getting.

Stan said: “If you are willing to do what most sales reps aren’t willing to do, then soon you’ll be able to enjoy the things, the lifestyle, and the future that most sales reps will never be able to enjoy.”

I was sold. This other guy wasn’t. I committed to learning, practicing, and doing what I learned. My sales and income soared. The other guy thought he knew better. He didn’t believe in using scripts.

“I’ll sound like a telemarkerter,” he said. “I have to go with the flow because each prospect is different,” he persisted. He didn’t believe in putting in the time, energy, or money to get better. So he didn’t.

Fast forward to our Starbucks encounter. Over 20 years had passed between that Stan Billue talk, and I realized, that seminar was the
moment I made the decision to change my life.

When this guy showed up that day, he was the Ghost of Christmas Past that could have become my Ghost of Christmas Future. Don’t let it be yours.

By Cotter Cunningham
Q: “How do you construct a board of directors that maximizes the business and minimizes the politics?“

Building a board is tricky. There are definitely CEOs who just want a rubber-stamp board that will approve their fat pay package and go along with all their “genius” ideas.

But I have two comments on that: One, be careful what you wish for. I actually have enjoyed some give-and-take with my boards, and at least once, I was talked out of a bad acquisition.

At the end of the day, I think big decisions should be the CEO’s call (anda board’s job is to hire/fire the CEO), but blind “Yes”es are not making the company better (and it’s a bit boring!).

The second is, for most venture-backed CEOs, the board is primarily composed of investors. And they take their duties seriously (or they won’t be investors for long). So there is not a lot of rubber-stamping, especially around compensation!

As you get a bit bigger, you typically will look to add one or two independent directors. I have personally tried to add people with experiences that we can benefit from. So for example, adding someone who has recently retired from a similar business. Also, consider diversity – you want a mix of skills, genders and ethnicities.

I think there are a few ways to avoid bad board politics and to build a strong, positive board culture. One, get references on potential candidates. Call them yourself. I would argue that less than 10% of CEOs do this regarding potential board members. If the candidate has been on a board before, call that board’s
CEO. Or were they on a nonprofit board? Can you talk to a former boss or even a colleague? Do the work.

Two, set your expectations early. I believe that you want board members who truly care about what you are doing and who want to help you/the company (and who are willing to spend the time to learn the business, make appropriate introductions, etc).

Three, avoid surprises. Boards hate being surprised. If you have bad news, call each of the board members individually in advance and give them the news. Get their thoughts in advance.

Four, be proactive. Come to the board meeting with a plan. Listen to their comments and adjust when appropriate. Send any materials out at least 48 hours in advance .

Five, listen. The worst thing I see (a lot) is CEOs who don’t listen. I was in a meeting recently and we gave the CEO some very specific, pointed comments. I happened to see his notepad after the meeting and he hadn’t written a single note during the three-hour meeting. Arguably, it was one of the worst things a CEO could do, make a board member feel as if they are wasting their time and he was just waiting for them to stop talking. Now, maybe he had an amazing memory, but…

Nearly every weekday, a motivational quote is posted on X/Twitter by @ASWiDelivered and on LinkedIn by @ASWi.

Here are last week’s “Morning Motivations”:

• “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier

• “Genius is the ability to put in effect what is on your mind.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

• “The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.” Seth Godin

• ”The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.” Ben Franklin

• “You don’t build a business, you build people, then people build the business.” Zig Ziglar