Happenings September 2, 2023

    In this issue:

• National Day Spotlight
• Dad Jokes
• Customer Spotlight
• ISV Addon Spotlight
• Acumatica User Tip
• Leadership 101
• Events, Blogs, Movies

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.

“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” Mark Black

Happy Labor Day weekend!

The very first Labor Day in the country was celebrated in 1882, and it became an official federal holiday in 1894. The holiday falls on the first Monday of September.

Labor Day was originally designed to honor workers and allows us to take a collective breath away from theworkplace for an extended weekend.

I hope you get the chance to celebrate your Labor Day weekend by relaxing with family and friends, whether that means a barbecue, having a picnic, watching football or cooling off on a Slip’N’Slide or “personal pool”, as Ethan demonstrates above.

Dad: I am so mad, I am never going to work for my manager ever again!
Wife: Why, what did he say?
Dad: “You’re fired.”

“If all cars in the United States were placed end to end…, it would be Labor
Day Weekend.” Doug Larson

Son: Dad, do you want to hear a Labor Day joke?
Dad: No, those don’t work for me.

Q: Why are locksmiths open on Labor Day?
A: Because they are key workers.

Q: Why did the bees go on strike on Labor Day?
A: They wanted more honey and shorter working flowers.

Q: Why do librarians love Labor Day?
A: They get a chance to check out.

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: Coastal Environmental Group.

Founded 29 years ago, Coastal Environmental Group provides environmental remediation, civil construction and marine construction services. Coastal works with federal and state governments as well as private industry in both a prime contractor and subcontractor role.

LeaseQuery has acquired Stackshine, a SaaS Spend Management platform.

Stackshine is designed to help companies of all sizes easily track their software spend and usage, a growing challenge for both IT and Finance teams.

Stackshine can help you make better business budgeting and forecasting decisions regarding two of their largest categories of spend – leases and software subscriptions.

For more information on Stackshine, you can contact Keith Wood, ASWi’s Customer Success Manager, at keithw@aswius.com or (717)581-1226.

You can use your mobile phone’s facial recognition capabilities to log into Acumatica Cloud ERP on its native app for iOS and Android.

By Susan Fowler
People are always motivated. The question is not if, but why they are motivated.

Understand Motivational Differences
An important truth emerges when we explore the nature of motivation. People are always motivated. The question is not if, but why they are motivated. The motivation—or energy and impetus—a person brings to any action can be qualitatively different. Some reasons people are motivated tend to promote well-being for themselves and others—and unfortunately, some reasons don’t.

Motivation that comes from choosing to do something is different from motivation that comes from having to do it.

Motivation generated from values, purpose, love, joy, or compassion is different from motivation generated from ego, power, status, or a desire for
external rewards.

Motivation to compete because of a desire to excel (where the score serves as feedback on how successfully you are growing, learning, and executing) is different from competing for the sake of besting someone else, to impress, or gain favors.

One of the primary reasons motivating people doesn’t work is our naïve assumption that motivation is something a person has or doesn’t have. This leads to the erroneous conclusion that the more motivation a person has, the more likely she will achieve her goals and be successful.

When it comes to motivation, it is too simplistic and even unwise to assume that more is better. As with friends, it isn’t how many friends you have, it is the quality and types of friendships that matter.

Imagine you are a sales manager. You wonder if your sales reps are motivated. You look at the mid-quarter sales reports for your two highest selling reps and conclude, yes, they are both highly motivated.

What you might fail to notice is that they are motivated differently. The reason one rep works hard is to win the sales contest, be seen as number one, and to
make the promised bonus. The reason the other rep works hard is because he values your products and services, his efforts are connected to a noble purpose, and he enjoys problem solving with his clients.

The science of motivation provides compelling evidence that there are major implications for the reps’ different types of motivation. The quality of their energy affects short-term results and long-term stamina.

Uncover an Individual’s Motivation
Managers can guide people through a conversation that helps individuals explore their feelings related to their task, goal, or situation and reveals their current motivational outlook.

Do they have a negative or positive sense of well-being? Listen to clues in their language; watch their non-verbal body language. (Do they use phrases such as, I have to or I get to? Do they appear defeated, defiant, and defensive or inspired and joyful?)

Is the individual experiencing low or high quality of psychological needs? (Does this person feel in control and recognize they have choices, feel supported and have a sense of purpose regarding the situation, and feel they have the ability to navigate the challenges posed by the situation)

Is the individual demonstrating low- or high-quality self-regulation? (Is this person mindful, making a values-based decision, or linking the situation to a higher purpose?)

Is the individual’s motivational outlook suboptimal (disinterested, external, or imposed) or optimal (aligned, integrated, or inherent)?

Motivation Science Breakthrough
One of the great breakthroughs in motivation science is the discovery that our basic human nature is to thrive. Despite reports that 70% or more of our employees are disengaged or actively disengaged, it’s time we awakened to this truth: Nobody wants to be bored or disengaged. We appreciate meaningful challenges. We want to contribute, feel fulfilled, and grow and learn every day. No matter what our situation—or age—our basic nature is the desire to thrive.

And now, because of the most groundbreaking research in the history of motivation, we know how to promote thriving. It’s not money, power, or status. Not promotions, perks, or driving for results. Not pressure, tension, or fear.

The source of our thriving is optimal motivation based on satisfying three basic psychological needs for autonomy, for relatedness, and for competence. These three needs are as essential to our human thriving as the “big three biological needs” for water, food, and sex. They are essential nutriments for our wellbeing regardless of gender, generation, race, or culture.)

Motivation and Money
Are people motivated by money? Yes. But, as with other external motivators such as power and status, people are not optimally motivated by money.
There is a large and ever-growing body of research demonstrating that more than results, creativity and sustained productivity suffer when people are
motivated to act by money as a reward. The individual suffers, too. They do not experience a sense of well-being.

People continue to be motivated by money because they don’t understand healthy alternatives. Money is like junk food motivation. You get an immediate spike of energy, but the suboptimal motivation can’t sustain your energy for long—you crash. Suboptimal motivation in the form of money, power, and status doesn’t improve your health and over time can damage both your mental and physical health. But healthy alternatives, such as being motivated through developed values and a noble sense of purpose are shown to generate positive energy, vitality, and well-being that can be sustained over time.

Mastering Self-Motivation
If leaders are going to help others shift their motivational outlook from suboptimal to optimal, they need the skill to do it for themselves. A manager whose motivational outlook to conduct performance reviews is suboptimal won’t inspire others through the review process. When it comes to leaders and motivation, the classic “physician heal thyself” story rings true.