Micro Tech's online newsletter for April 2018
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April 2018
The Balancing Act
My Daughter Kennedi Preps for Her First Year at BSU
O ne of my biggest goals as a father of three is to put my kids through school someday without them exiting the process hopelessly in debt. But for my 18-year-old daughter, Kennedi, that “someday” is coming up fast. For the past few months, I’ve been helping her navigate the complicated world of college admissions. Let me tell you, we’ve had to have some tough conversations along the way. I’m deeply proud of the drive and ambition each of my kids possess — two traits Kennedi has in spades. She’s a young woman with grand aspirations, which I admire and respect. But when she was first considering the colleges she wanted to attend, there came a time when “Proud-Dad Randy” had to sit back and let “Business Randy” make an appearance. I’m eager to do everything I can to help her succeed in whatever she wants to do in life, but when we started to look at $50,000 a year for tuition at some of these massive out- of-state universities, the costs became difficult to justify because Kennedi wasn’t sure which career she wanted to pursue. In that situation, going to a state university until you decide on a long-term plan seems more financially responsible. Ultimately, Kennedi decided she wanted to look into teaching. Then we had to have a conversation about spending $200,000–$250,000 on her education for a job that would pay $36,000 a year. As any parent whose child is approaching college knows, it’s a delicate balancing act between which degree they are seeking and the amount you are going to pay for college. I couldn’t overcome the “business” side of the decision and justify spending that kind of money for her degree, especially when state schools like BSU, ISU, and UI are all excellent, reputable colleges for the career she wants.
After a number of fraught and often heated conversations, Kennedi eventually settled on attending Boise State University. At first, I could tell she was bitterly disappointed. We did agree that having a college “experience” is important, so we settled on her moving into the dorms instead of living at home. But I think after she began realizing just how different it’ll be from home at the dorms in downtown Boise, she’s begun to come around. I’m confident that, just like me, when she starts at BSU and realizes just how different the college world is from anything she’s experienced, it’ll be an incredibly valuable and thrilling time for her. It’s a bittersweet feeling that one of our kids will be leaving the nest to join the wide world in just a few months’ time. On the one hand, my wife and I are excited to witness what she’ll accomplish and happy to see her applying herself to this brand-new, life-changing pursuit. On the other hand, she will be our oldest and first child to leave the house — a reality that I don’t think has truly begun to sink in. Though, as we grow closer and closer to the day she leaves, she is starting to push back against the “extremely oppressive regime” my wife and I maintain at home. “I won’t have to do ____ come August!” she’s become fond of saying. But honestly, that really is one of the best parts of college. You get to carve your own path on your own terms and start down the direction toward becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be. It’ll be weird to see her off at the dorms for the first time, but I know she’ll do great. I’m excited to see what new and fantastic things she sets out to accomplish.
–Randy Amorebieta
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Are Your Employees’ Phones a Massive Security Risk? HERE’S HOW TO PREPARE
If you allow your employees to use their phones for business-related functions, you have two options. The first is to simply change the passwords for all at-risk email and application accounts of all exiting employees to bar their access. This solution will work for most employees, but it
Last month, we covered the risks inherent in a “Bring Your Own Device” policy, where employees are encouraged to work from their personal laptops at home and in the office. It’s worth repeating that we never recommend this strategy due to a litany of security problems. But today, pretty much every one of your employees is coming to work with a super-powered smartphone in their pocket. How do you maintain security when every one of these devices poses a potential threat? An Easy Solution for Personal Phones and Tablets If your employees bring in personal mobile devices, but they don’t use them for work-related emails and applications, securing your business network is simple. If you have a separate “guest” Wi-Fi network that you allow customers and clients to access, you should provide this — and only this — password to your employees to access as well. If you don’t already have this separate network, it’s a piece of cake to have us or your IT vendor create one for you. It costs almost nothing. This way, even if your employees’ phones get hacked, the problem won’t spread throughout your business. Where It Gets Complicated The situation is more complex if your employees install and use apps that enable them to work from their phone, whether that’s their work email account, billing apps, or CRM software. In this circumstance, you need to make sure that no matter what happens with each particular employee, your data is secure. Imagine what would happen if a disgruntled ex-employee decided to sabotage the entire system? Even a stray email could have massive consequences.
depends on just how much data is at risk. Even if they’re locked out, there is still likely a wealth of valuable company information on their phone. If they’re a high-ranking employee and/or use their phone for the most sensitive day-to-day operations (like billing), that will likely not be enough. For these cases, you can provide a phone that the business has complete control over, or at the very least put a written policy in place to ensure that your IT provider can verify that your ex-employee has deleted all company accounts and can no longer access your network or data upon exit. Included in this policy should be a clause that says if they refuse, you will have access to remotely wipe all data from their device via installed software. If you’ve provided their business phone yourself, this is a simple matter, but if it’s a personal device, it’s trickier territory. Either way, you need to be prepared with crystal clear policies that you can enforce before crisis strikes. There’s virtually no way to stop your employees from bringing their phones to work, but make sure to formulate a plan to prepare for any contingency. The 2014 Cyber Security Intelligence Index reported in 2014 that 95 percent of all security incidents involve human error — don’t let your employees’ phones or tablets be the source.
Our Clients Say It Best
“We have been using MicroTech for six months, and I wish we would have made the change earlier. They respond to tickets in a timely manner and have helped us ensure that our systems are running as efficiently as possible. The staff is friendly and professional. I would highly recommend MicroTech to anyone looking for a new IT company.” –Jason S.
“I have enjoyed working with MicroTech for several years. In particular, Joe at MicroTech is prompt, professional, and a joy to work with. When I call in for assistance, he has my system up and running within minutes of my call. He is very good at solving IT problems, no matter how big or small they turn out to be. That alone has earned some respect.” –Karren H.
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Though many people are quick to say failure is not an option, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. If we never failed at anything, create the building blocks to success — it might be rough and bumpy, but we learn and move forward. It’s the same when you find an angry customer on your hands. You can use the opportunity to learn and make sure their next experience is better. How do you handle a mistake? First, don’t point fingers. If a customer wasn’t satisfied with their interaction with your business, own up to it. When you try to defend yourself, it creates more issues. The how would we learn from our mistakes? Mistakes
customer wants the problem resolved. They don’t care about the reason you failed. Approach the problem with an open mind and calm demeanor. Let the customer know that you are sorry for your mistake, and be empathetic. As a bonus, offer them a free coupon of some kind to entice the customer to come back to your company. It shows that you are truly sorry for what they went through. Facing negative feedback through online reviews can be tricky. It can feel as though they’ll make or break your company. This, similar to talking to an angry customer, depends on how you handle the situation. One option is to focus on getting the review removed. If you have proof that the review is untrue, this may be possible. However, if the review is correct, addressing it as politely and calmly as you can will be the best approach. Let them know you are aware of the problem and that it’s being addressed. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how we fix and learn from our mistakes that shows our true colors. Showing your customers you are able to handle mistakes will leave a far more lasting impression than the mistake ever will. Pasta With Turkey & Broccoli This simple, delicious recipe only takes 20 minutes from start to finish. It’s also a great way to encourage kids to eat their broccoli. The next time you make pasta, leave the canned sauce in the pantry and make this instead!
Handling Negative Customer Experience
Have a Laugh!
Ingredients
•
3/4 pound pasta (shells or orecchiette) 2 cups broccoli florets 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 pound ground turkey
• •
2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• • •
• •
Salt
Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli when pasta is 1 minute from done. Drain both and return to pot. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil
and a pinch of salt. Cook while breaking up meat with a wooden spoon for 3–5 minutes. 3. Combine turkey with pasta
and broccoli mixture, adding the remaining olive oil as you stir. Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan cheese.
in a skillet over medium- high heat. Add the turkey, garlic, crushed red pepper,
(Recipe inspired by realsimple.com)
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
12592 W. Explorer Dr. #100 Boise, ID 83713
Inside
The Dilemma of Having a College-Age Kid
The Security Risks in Your Employees’ Phones
Our Clients Say It Best
Handling Negative Customer Experience
Pasta With Turkey and Broccoli
Entrepreneurship Library: ‘Thinking in Bets’
ANNIE DUKE’S ‘THINKING IN BETS’ Annie Duke may seem an unlikely business consultant given that she’s best known as a professional poker player. But the lessons in her new book, “Thinking in Bets,” extend far beyond the felt. Duke, who studied psychology at UPenn and has consulted for a number of companies, takes the decision-making lessons she learned at the poker table and applies them to the hard choices we have to make in business. Poker provides a fertile analogy for this concept. It’s a game of imperfect information. No matter how much poker you’ve played, you never know which cards the other players What a Poker Pro Can Teach You About Risk
hold. You can make educated inferences based on the information you gather, but there is always going to be a risk in calling a bet. The process parallels how we decide what’s best for a company. We analyze all the
To emphasize the nature of her work, Duke begins with an introduction called “Why This Isn’t a Poker Book.” She writes that the process of thinking in bets “starts with recognizing that there are exactly two things that determine how our lives turn out: the quality of our decisions and luck.” When you make a decision, you rarely have perfect clarity regarding all the factors at play. This imperfect picture is what makes every business decision risky. Duke argues that ignoring inherent risk results in dangerous outcome-based thinking. As an alternative, she proposes that you acknowledge that not every decision will be the right one. This way, you can investigate the nature of your decision- making process and improve it without being blinded by lucky (or unlucky) results.
information we have at hand and make a projection about the best option. Until the decision plays out, we won’t know the outcome. Though Duke knows more about poker than just about anyone, she doesn’t limit her examples to gambling. She writes with equal skill and depth about everything from CEOs to football coaches. “Thinking in Bets” is a comprehensive overview of risk assessment that provides countless tips on how to improve your decision-making. Even if you have no idea whether a flush beats a straight, you’ll find “Thinking in Bets” a valuable addition to your leadership library. Entrepreneurship requires making millions of decisions. Don’t you want to make them better?
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