Micro Tech October 2017

Micro Tech's online newsletter for October 2017

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October 2017

Grappling With My Family’s Chaotic Fall Routines 3 Places at One Time

participate in whatever activity they’re interested in, my wife and I have always felt that sports can be a great place for kids to grow. I grew up playing football and running track. The skills of working with a team and striving to meet personal goals were invaluable as I moved into the business world. Besides being fun and good exercise, sports teach you invaluable lessons as you grow up and move into the real world. I truly believe that beyond teaching you to be an effective worker and leader, they enrich your life in meaningful ways. My oldest, a senior in high school, has been passionate about tennis ever since she was 12. It’s a tough sport here in the valley, with a giant divide between the top players and the good players. Some players have had private training since they were toddlers, and everyone else is just trying to stay competitive. But, I’m proud to say, she holds her own. My son, the youngest, plays tennis too and is on the wrestling team. Tennis was pretty much out of the question for my middle daughter. When she was younger, she didn’t handle the frustration and pressure inherent in the sport too well, running around the court making John McEnroe look mild and easy going. So, volleyball became her sport, and she’s stuck with it ever since. Now, she’s a sophomore in high school and doing well on the team. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position that allows me to make time to spend time with my family, drive my children wherever they need to be, and make it to almost all of their games and matches. At this point, work-life balance is basically a non-issue. It’s the needing to be in three places at one time that sometimes gets a little tricky.

With three kids active in sports and a wife who teaches Earth science at EagleHigh, September isalwaysamonthof chaos. School rampsupalmost immediately, fall sports kick into high gear, and everyone has to scramble to make sure everyone’s where they need to be every day of the week. Luckily, by the time October comes around, we’ve got the first month under our belt. Everything’sbeguntosettledown,andthosevitalroutineshavebeenetched into our daily schedules. It’s a relief, but that doesn’t mean that getting to this point isn’t stressful. When three kids need to be in completely different places all at the same time, it takes some doing. Like all busy families, my wife and I divide and

conquer, splitting up driving responsibilities so that we

“Besides being eager to providemykidswith the opportunity to participate inwhatever activity they’re interested in,mywife and I have always felt that sports are a vital part of everykid’s growth.”

don’t have to run around like chickenswithourheadscut off. My oldest is driving herself now, which is a sort of mixed

blessing. I’ve got to deal with the constant terror of the idea of her on

the road by herself, but at least that’s one

fewer kid to cart back and forth from tennis practice.

It was an especially complicated balancing act when the kids were younger, and I was intermittently coaching their teams, but all the effort is obviously worth it. Besides being eager to provide my kids with the opportunity to

–Randy Amorebieta

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passion. In a Scientific American article titled “Conquering Burnout,” Michael P. Leiter and Christina Maslach suggest surrounding yourself with co-workers who are positive rather than pessimistic. “Receiving good vibes from others is an uplifting experience,” they write, “but so, too, is expressing them to others.” If a simple reset does not work, try consulting some resources, both external and internal. Internally, you can discuss — professionals who have seen this problem before. A great external support is the book “Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout” by Dr. Steven Berglas. If you feel burnout setting in, do your best to get a handle on your mental state as early as possible. With a fresh perspective, you can be back to your best productive self and enjoy work again. the problem with your human resources team

Everyone wants to be as productive as possible at work, but there can be a number of reasons that your output suffers over the course of your career. One such problem is job burnout, which can wreak havoc on your time management and the quality of your work. If you begin to experience job burnout, there are some steps you can take to get your attitude and work rate back on track. Work burnout is so common that the world-famous Mayo Clinic has gone so far as to create a specific definition for the condition. They call work burnout “a special type of job stress — a state of physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work.” How do you know when off-days happen often enough to constitute burnout? Largely, it is a matter of degree. According to Psychology Today magazine, some telltale symptoms include “physical and emotional exhaustion; cynicism and detachment; and ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.” In essence, if you are dreading going to work every day and feel you are getting nothing from your career, you are likely burning out. There are lots of steps you can take to overcome feelings of disenchantment with your professional life. If you often take work home with you, make an effort to bolster other areas of interest. While at work, try to engage with what you do. Disinterested employees burn out faster than those with

Are You Burning Out? How to Fight Fatigue at Work

See What Our Customers Are Saying October Testimonial

“My company has been with MicroTech for about two months. They are fantastic. I worked with a previous tech firm for about 1½ years to solve our IT issues with no satisfactory results. Since switching to MicroTech, our IT issues are being solved quickly. The techs are highly skilled and able to explain in layman’s terms what the issues are and the next steps needed. When unexpected issues occur, their response time is immediate. I would highly recommend them for your IT needs.” –Christine S.

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Don’t Shoot the Messenger!

the computers themselves, are completely interdependent on one another to keep the network running at high speed. If a business utilizes a no-name “black box” server or a risky old backup solution, they’re asking for problems down the road. No, you don’t always need to employ the most bleeding-edge technology, but there are standards that every business should strive to adhere to in order to remain competitive in today’s rapid, digital marketplace. If a business is having network issues, it is our job to identify potential problem points and provide recommendations. Every recommendation we make is solely for our clients’ or prospects benefit. The last thing we want to do is come in with a list of equipment our prospective client needs to replace. However, if we don’t highlight problems before they start — or if we let substandard technology slide — it will certainly cost the client more in the long run and reflect poorly on us.

When we’re working with prospective clients, it often falls to us to be the bearer of bad news. If a company’s equipment is woefully outdated, their network is obstructed, or we see a potential security risk within their systems, it’s our responsibility as professionals to let business owners know. But we don’t take this responsibility lightly. We would never encourage any client to make an upgrade or tweak a process without being certain it was necessary. Unfortunately, when we, an outside company, come in and start delivering the news, business owners here dollar signs and get frustrated, some of them get defensive. If we point out their failing computers, they tell us, “But we’ve been running everything on these desktops for 10 years!” If we encourage them to upgrade their outdated, finicky server, they’ll protest that “it’s served us so far, so why switch now?”

Business networks are extremely intricate systems. Each of the components, from the servers to the cabling to the modems and

Lamb Chops ORANGE-BALSAMIC

Have a Laugh!

Ingredients

• •

1 teaspoon kosher salt

• •

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons grated orange rind 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

• •

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

8 (4-ounce) lamb rib chops, trimmed

Directions

or until vinegar is syrupy. Drizzle vinegar and remaining teaspoon oil over lamb.

2. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add lamb and cook 2 minutes each side. 3. Place vinegar in a small skillet over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes

1. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, rind, and juice in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add lamb to bag; turn to coat well. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Remove lamb from bag and add salt and pepper.

Recipe courtesy of CookingLight.com.

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

12592 W. Explorer Dr. #100 Boise, ID 83713

Inside

3 Places at One Time

Are You Burning Out?

October Testimonial

Don’t Shoot the Messenger!

Orange-Balsamic Lamb Chops

Insight Into Nike’s Success

‘Shoe Dog’ Gives Insight Into Nike’s Success “We wanted Nike to be the world’s best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don’t end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour.” –Phil Knight That’s not to say that Knight isn’t a visionary in many ways. In the early days of Nike, Knight hustled to an extreme degree. Even when he was selling track shoes out of his trunk, his belief never wavered. Signing Michael Jordan in 1984 revolutionized not just the athletic shoe industry, but celebrity sponsorship in general. He surrounded himself with smart, capable people, expanded sensibly, and never lost sight of his vision.

When an entrepreneur or company becomes massively successful, it’s easy to construct a narrative that makes that success seem like destiny. They look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, interpreting every decision as a stepping stone on their way to eventual victory. Of course, real success stories are never this linear. Honest accounts of what it takes to dominate an industry are hard to come by, which makes Nike CEO Phil Knight’s “Shoe Dog” a refreshing change of pace from the standard business memoir. If there’s one word that best describes “Shoe Dog,” it’s “candid.” Knight gives equal space to his successes, failings, and insecurities. He also isn’t afraid to admit when luck was the deciding factor. Take the story of famous Nike swoosh, for example. These days, it’s universally regarded as one of the greatest logos ever conceived. Knight could easily claim that he saw its brilliance from the get-go, but that’s not what happened. When an art student came up with the design — for the meager price of $35 — Knight’s response was, “It’ll have to do.”

If you want a book that gives you simple, cliché takeaways about how to become massively successful, “Shoe Dog” is not the book for you. If, instead, you crave what Bill Gates calls an “honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like,” then you should check it out. With a personal perspective, suspense, and more than a few wild anecdotes, “Shoe Dog” soars in a way few business books manage to. But, then again, that’s what Knight’s shoes have always promised to help athletes do.

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