The Merchant Stand a blog by Bob Williams

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Learning this changed my career

Posted onMay 10, 2021May 10, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

The year was 2001. I was in a room presenting a 1.0 version of an internal browser-based utility that enabled our billing department to generate a current customer price card without running a program and print job from the mainframe. It was a leap forward with technology use, but more Read More …

Two Chrome features to make you look smart

Posted onApril 21, 2021April 21, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Picture this….You’re researching a competitor, reading industry news, learning how to make something new, learning how to fix something that broke, or just randomly consuming content someone else created for your entertainment. Oh wait, you don’t have to picture it, you’re probably doing it right now. You use Chrome as Read More …

Modeling servanthood in life and at work

Posted onMarch 30, 2021March 30, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

I lost a friend this month who taught me about life and how to live with others. My friend was not someone that we would label a role-model. He lived a life that was far from perfect life. He made mistakes on his journey that cost him relationships, health, and Read More …

Be an entrepreneur at your job

Posted onMarch 3, 2021March 3, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

One important lesson I’ve learned in life is I don’t have to be an entrepreneur to act like one at my job. Entrepreneurs have characteristics to help them envision, organize, and create successful business ventures. While there is no single list of character traits to reference, Kelsey Miller of Harvard Read More …

How to find out who is selling your email address

Posted onFebruary 15, 2021February 15, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Years ago, I created my first free email account with Yahoo. My motivation was to separate my email address from my internet service provider. Not long after, SPAM email multiplied in my inbox like weeds in early Spring. As the internet became a part of everyday household activities and my Read More …

Foundations for digital culture (part 3 Envisioned Future)

Posted onJanuary 18, 2021January 18, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Influencers Part 1 Building Blocks Part 2 So the future can look like this Customer success as a motivator The first building block of the digital culture is to obsess over the customer and not technology. I believe when team members are obsessed with the customer, they are more motivated Read More …

Foundations for digital culture (part 2 Building Blocks)

Posted onJanuary 11, 2021January 11, 2021AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Influencers Part 1 A narrative to create a digital culture… for the customer (part 2 Building Blocks) So now we should make the digital culture from this Obsess over customers, not technology A fundamental learning from the past several decades that has influenced modern methodologies and organizational layouts is running Read More …

Foundations for digital culture (part 1 Influencers)

Posted onJanuary 5, 2021January 5, 2021AuthorBob Williams1 Comment

A narrative to create a digital culture… for the customer (part 1) In the past Over the last five decades, information technology departments evolved from independent groups to entire companies with specialized technology-based products and services. An industry sector is named for technology and many companies today are changing their brand Read More …

Keeping 2020

Posted onDecember 11, 2020December 11, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

2020 is a year we’ll never forget. I read expressions of disapproval from many people wishing 2020 would disappear from memory. Why not? Lost jobs, pandemic deaths, political negativity, canceled events, and destructive acts of nature are just a few of the headlines this year. The lives of me, you, Read More …

Fighting Headwinds

Posted onNovember 29, 2020November 29, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

I’ve been a recreational runner for the last twenty-five years. It all started with an invitation from a neighbor to run the Peachtree Road Race, a 10K, in Atlanta. In October 2010 I started logging my mileage and in the past decade I’ve now logged over 10,000 miles! I run Read More …

What I’ve learned to appreciate

Posted onNovember 9, 2020November 10, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

When I was in college, I worked for six academic quarters in a cooperative education work program. The experience was valuable because my employers gave me meaningful work assignments in a broad range of technology areas. That translated into credible work experience and helped me secure a job a month Read More …

Spooky software development – Halloween frights

Posted onOctober 29, 2020October 29, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

I recently watched The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix to satisfy an itch for a ghost story. It’s a story of restless spirits, driven by unsatisfied love, betrayal, and abandonment. All the characters in the story shared the same locale with specific roles to maintain a working household. But Read More …

Helping others succeed

Posted onAugust 14, 2020August 14, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

In my leadership credo, I state that I believe leadership is helping others succeed. But belief statements are just thought-candy if not turned into actions. I want my credo to hold weight. I want it to be more than words on a page. James captures the relationship between beliefs and Read More …

Sharpening the saw in 2020

Posted onJuly 17, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

I don’t know what word you would use to describe 2020, but I’m calling it disruptive. The economy, health infrastructure, culture, and daily routines are a few areas in our world that have been tilted this year. My biggest struggle of 2020 so far has been navigating an unbounded furlough Read More …

Why cord-cutters are still getting the better deal

Posted onJuly 5, 2020July 5, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

It’s been five years since I cut the cord with traditional cable TV service. I don’t regret the decision. I also mounted an HDTV antenna in my attic and enabled a crystal clear picture for all local channels to every “cable” outlet in my house. This is useful if the Read More …

Shaping Work Habits – High School Jobs Revisited – part 3

Posted onJune 29, 2020June 29, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Part 3 of 3 – Treasury Drug 2020 has been a disruptive year for everyone. Like millions of others, I’m wrestling with furlough and career choices. While we rarely list high school jobs on our resumes, I’ve been thinking about the three jobs I had during my teenage years. They Read More …

Shaping Work Habits – High School Jobs Revisited – part 2

Posted onJune 22, 2020June 22, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Part 2 of 3 – McDonald’s 2020 has been a disruptive year for everyone. Like millions of others, I’m wrestling with furlough and career choices. While we rarely list high school jobs on our resumes, I’ve been thinking about the three jobs I had during my teenage years. They all Read More …

Shaping Work Habits – High School Jobs Revisited – part 1

Posted onJune 17, 2020June 17, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Part 1 of 3 – Winn-Dixie 2020 has been a disruptive year for everyone. Like millions of others, I’m wrestling with furlough and career choices. While we rarely list high school jobs on our resumes, I’ve been thinking about the three jobs I had during my teenage years. They all Read More …

Ideas for making distance learning more accessible

Posted onMay 8, 2020June 25, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

Writing about public education is not my normal topic. I searched my writings on merchanstand.com from the last 12 years and found only two posts with the word education in the title. Both were related to distance education. So I’ll preface this post with the disclaimer I am not an Read More …

Rethinking Furloughs

Posted onApril 27, 2020June 25, 2020AuthorBob WilliamsLeave a comment

What’s the right balance? While Covid-19 related furloughs and unemployment numbers continue to rise (26 million in the last five weeks), I’ve been thinking about better ways to handle furloughs to reduce the financial strains on people and their ability to maintain necessities in life such as housing and food. Read More …

The Merchant Stand

Bob Williams - IT Executive and Business Technologist

Merchant Stand is a blog by Bob Williams

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