The Merchant Stand a blog by Bob Williams

Not so routine

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Bob Williams Posted in Ideas Leave a comment

Speaking of daily routines. I have tendency to leave things at home in the morning when I don’t follow a set routine. Things like my cell phone, lunch, or security badge. One day I even forgot my wallet. Sheesh! This often happens to me when I’m rushing to get out of the house or place things in a different location in the house. For example this morning I left my phone at home because it was on my night stand from last night. I normally leave the phone in my office. But the thing is I don’t like set routines. I like to vary my sequences to add a different dynamic. That’s probably why the movie Groundhog Day annoyed me when I first saw it. I like variety in my daily activities so that I feel like I’m doing something new. Maybe I vary my morning ritual subconsciously to feel better even

Technology profit leaks

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Bob Williams Posted in Business and IT Alignment, Business Process Management, Career Leave a comment

Managing a technology budget for an IT group is an activity that is full of opportunity to help the bottom line of a business. It’s a cost center, not a profit center. But while the game may not be about maximizing top line revenue, any money removed from the IT budget directly impacts the bottom line or the overall profit of the company. Unlike the revenue equation which is reduced by variable and fixed costs, the expenses in the IT budget affect the net income bottom line dollar-for-dollar. What’s in your budget? The IT budget is often bloated with expenses that become forgotten. A prime example is maintenance contracts for equipment and software. Providers love the maintenance contracts which often account for 20% of the original sales price of a product. Do the math. If the lifespan of the product is five years then the provider has doubled their income.

Build stuff fix stuff

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Bob Williams Posted in Customer Focus, Ideas Leave a comment

The daily grind of a technology professional ping pongs between two key areas: building stuff and fixing stuff. If there is one parallel between my professional work and home life it is that something always needs fixin’. It’s a constant and can contribute to anxiety, frustrations, and even anger. To me, building new things is quite a bit more fun that fixing broken things. But which activity gets more of my attention? In the technology world broken things, or as we say production issues, most often receive top priority. If something that is supposed to work is not, then it requires immediate attention because it is disrupting the flow of business. Employees are onsite and are paid to resolve it. At home, depending on the severity of the problem, it could receive immediate attention or stay broken. Plumbing problems usually get immediate attention while a broken yard tool might stay

Writing’s role in our lives

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Bob Williams Posted in Ideas 1 Comment

In a recent speech, the principal of my kid’s school talked about the importance of writing in the overall education process of a child. It made me think of my own life where I didn’t really begin writing regularly until I was almost 40. It’s important to me know, but really held no significant meaning while I was in school or even college. My kids don’t show any motivation to write other than what is required for a graded assignment. Maybe it’s because writing for graded assignments doesn’t always let you write from your heart. Assignments are by definition something that someone else chose for you. But I believe,the best writing comes from a desire within and a passion to write to express feelings and emotions. A post I wrote about a Cooperstown baseball trip comes to mind as a writing that flowed from my mind when I was on

Legacy apps have 9 lives

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Bob Williams Posted in Career, Technology Leave a comment

The term ‘legacy’ is most often used with a negative connotation when talking about old code and old equipment. After all, who wants to maintain that old code base in a programming language that is no longer mainstream? Who wants to work on green screen terminals? It’s expensive to maintain the equipment and so on. But wait. I’ve developed an appreciation for legacy software applications in the work place. Sure, they aren’t sexy and create support challenges. But like the popular saying “All I do is win”, all the legacy applications do is churn money. Last time I checked, it was the flow of money into the organization that keeps it alive and my direct deposit active. Those attributes definitely have my respect. The legacy applications from my career that I have personal experience with get their name from age and from acquisition status. The more important a piece of