InfoSphere™ Business Alerts And Intelligence: InfoSphere Business Alerts

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Monday, February 6, 2012

AQ: Analytics Quotient - A Free* Resource

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In the coming months, you will hearing a great deal about your firm's AQ (Analytics Quotient). If you don't know what this term refers to, colleagues may think less of you. If you are familiar with this term, and actually learn how to increase its influence and prominence within your organization, you will find yourself in the enviable position of generating more profits, less waste, and improved cash flow. These are all positives. In order to provide you with a fair overview of the concept, I am going to cross post a piece from another of my blogs, http://BusinessAndProjectPlanning.blogspot.com.

Bear in mind, that when times are difficult and cash is not easy to find, you have a decreasing margin for waste or error. You must utilize more (and better) intelligence in order to more efficiently utilize and leverage your limited assets, discover quiescent assets (sometimes these creatures look a great deal like liabilities, until you find a way to profit by trading, selling or re-deploying them ), and eliminate every unproductive procedure, policy or expenditure.

A friend of mine (a clever serial entrepreneur) used to explain it simply..."Anyone can make millions if they start off with a good plan and several million, but if all you have is a good plan, you'll have to be much, much more intelligent and enterprising than your rich competitor or colleague." Here's the extract -- not to worry...I've gotten my own permission to utilize it.

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By "FREE*," of course, I actually mean the information which your organization is already receiving or collecting, but which is either being overlooked, unorganized or discarded as a waste product. Knowledge is indeed power, and any information which your organization collects may indeed be the key to some precious additional knowledge. The ability to identify, collect, organize and apply this "hidden-in-plain-sight" treasure is your firm's Analytics Quotient ("AQ").

The higher the AQ, the more likely you are to increase efficiency, effectiveness and sustainable profitability. The necessary actions, in beachcombing through this underemployed output are to:

1) Identify it:

2) Determine its implications and potential usefulness; and

3) Organize it into an actionable format;

4) Initiate action.

5) Monitor change and adjust trajectory.

*Please note that I have (reluctantly) avoided the analogy about,"Even on a farm, the horse manure can be utilized to fertilize a more vigorous crop."

An AQ measures how ready you are to apply insight to your strategy, processes and tactics; how quickly you can re-allocate resources and re-orient your people to make better decisions; and how effectively you can act based on how well you know your past.

The excerpt below appears courtesy of TechRepublic, and the embedded video is sponsored by IBM. Read, watch, and then please hit the "BACK" button on your browser so that we can come to some actionable conclusions and summarize what we've learned:

Outperform with a Higher AQ

Check out this video to see how businesses are succeeding in a time of uncertainty by leveraging the information they're already collecting. It's something that can change nearly every aspect of your business for the better. Click on the link below to see IBM's show of the obvious -- yet the obvious still qualifies as "unconventional wisdom."

http://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/data/sw-library/cognos/demos/od_bao_outperforming_with_a_higher_aq/index.html
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The key to measuring your firm's AQ is still uncertain, but each of the following is an indication that you are elevating your firm's AQ -- And in this case, higher (even if we cannot yet measure it) is better:

1) You are capturing detailed data about all aspects of operations;

2) You are organizing this information into reports, reviewing them, coming to conclusions and taking actionable steps;

3) You are minimizing waste, and maximizing utility of any processing by-products.

You see, I believe that AQ is a measure of the following positive factors in combination:

1) Inquisitiveness;

2) Accountability;

3) Efficiency;

4) Ingenuity; and...

5) Focus on profitability.

It's time to mind your AQ, and to take it very, very seriously!

Don't throw potentially valuable and actionable data (intelligence) into the wastebasket or paper shredder unless and until you have looked at it for signs and signals about some aspect of how your business could be improved.

Douglas E. Castle

[http://BusinessAndProjectPlanning]
[http://InfoSphereBusinessAlerts]

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

CROWDFUNDING - Major Advances In USA

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After 77 years of writing and exercising (albeit selectively) some of the most restrictive rules for raising capital in the world, the U.S. is poised to usher in an exciting new business era for raising capital which may allow start-ups, small businesses and cause-based projects the ability to harness the amazing power of the Internet by tapping into the power of crowds through the utilization of social media.

HR 2930 passed in the House 407 to 17 while S.1791 is working its way through the Senate. The White House has already indicated support for a CrowdFunding Bill. It appears that the laws are about to change and that this will usher in an entirely new CrowdFunding Era.

Small businesses account, in the aggregate for in excess of 90% of all hiring. And small businesses have been increasingly starving from lack of capital, particularly in these last five years.

By unleashing the CrowdFunding option, hundreds of thousands of new businesses may have access to money, and this is good news for both the job marketplace and for all commerce. It may accelerate the capitalization and operation of your business or organization and give you the budgetary room to hire the talent you need.

But, most importantly, while crowdfunding may serve to give growing businesses the springboard that they need need in order to become successful at minimal documentation and compliance filing expense, it has not been proven out -- at least not yet -- for aggregate financings in excess of $10,000.00 - $100,000.00.

Douglas E Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com] for
InfoSphere Business Alerts And Intelligence Blog

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Thursday, January 5, 2012

2012: Things To Worry About! -- "We were warned..."

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Many are predicting the end of the world (as we've come to know it) by sometime in 2012. The Mayans, Nostradamus, The Book Of Revelations and a host of religious leaders, cult founders and self-proclaimed prophets [even the geniuses at Martin Weiss' Weiss Research are in agreement -- but then again, they talk about a catastrophe of one sort or another every single week -- it probably helps grow their subscriber base and increase sales of investment advisory materials] all seem to be in general consensus with this sad inevitability.

Apparently, this whole "coming apart party" [the late Issac Asimov would have called it "much adieu about nothing" is supposed to be pre-ordained, or fated - so there's nothing we can do to prevent it...we can only prepare for it. I just don't actually know what to do exactly to prepare for the end of the world -- you cannot just pack a sandwich and a soda -- there's nothing that you'll be allowed to take with you.

In lieu of preparation, we merely worry, and begin attaching significance to every event that we either witness of hear about as "another sign."

Yet, if we truly believed this, how come we keep meticulously paying our bills, and thinking about foreclosures, bankruptcies, spoiling cottage cheese in the refrigerator, acne outbreaks before a big date, long-term health insurance, the value of the Euro or if the black van parked down the street for the past three days is really from the cable company...

Human Beings are motivated much more by the fear or pain or loss than by the opportunity for improvement; perhaps this our default setting. We feel worried if we are not actively worried about something.

The BigThink Newsletter, an extract from which appears below, gives us dozens of exciting ways in which we might see (if only for a moment) the final chapter of Human Civilization. Please enjoy them, and click the "BACK" button in your browser to bring you back to this article. As always, we'll be patiently waiting for you, coffee mug in hand.

January 1, 2012

Jason Gots
Associate Editor

Far more dreadful than the physical hangover, writes Kingsley Amis in his practical and entertaining guide to Everyday Drinking (Bloomsbury, 2008, Introduction by the late, lamented Christopher Hitchens) is the Metaphysical Hangover... Watch »

How Will the World Really End?

From asteroids to nuclear terrorism to worldwide hydrogen sulfide poisoning, a diverse menu of scenarios for humanity’s demise.

The Seas Could Turn to Sulfur

A Supernova Could Nuke Us

Climate Catastrophe and "Chaos Wars"

An Astroid Could Smash Us All

A Quick Painless Black Hole

Escape to the Parallel Universe

The Milky Way Will Be It

The Nuclear Threat to Our Cities

We're Headed For a Hothouse World

The Sun Will Swallow Us

Check Out the Entire Series!

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Welcome back. Now that we've gotten past the pleasantries, let's add some more gasoline to fire of worry. What about these incredible (but not unthinkable) possibilities -- to which I assign no probabilities:

1) Any of the current presidential candidates in the US actually gets voted (notice that "voted" and "vetoed" are ironically close in spelling) into office?

2) What if a major private sector international security firm (with no genuine sovereign allegiance) builds up sufficient ordnance, manpower and motive to take over the world?

3) What if the European Union finally declares war on itself, falls apart, and the Euro instantly plummets in value? Hmmm...

4) What if someone (probably on his deathbed) in a position of great power and authority publicly divulges that there is absolutely no gold in Ft. Knox [it's all been an elaborate and expensive psy-ops ruse since the 1970s], and the value of the US Dollar plummets?

5) What if your spouse, during an idle moment, does a calculation of the discounted present value of your probable life's earnings (an annuity) versus the lump sum payout on your life insurance policy, and finds the latter far greater than the former? There's motive. There's opportunity...

Phew.

Here's to making it to 2013!

Douglas E Castle for InfoSphere Business Alerts

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Virus-Infected Mobiles: Precautions And Protections

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Programming viruses, nasty malware, and the devilish minds which create them, are increasingly targeting mobile communications devices... smartphones, pads, tablets...maybe even your Kindle. No one is fully immune -- from the day of purchase, to the downloading or installation of any seemingly-innocent application, to the logging into an infected or infection-carrier site. Old school phishing and other black hat social engineering and fraud are also still very much in fashion. Vigilance is required.

Also, as Mac users become a greater percentage of the information and communication systems marketplace, the trend will be toward finding ways to plant viruses and malware right into your MacBook Pro.

In some of these cases, the subject virus or malware may operate unnoticeably, merely slowing down performance, or causing occasional malfunctions -- or it may find its way from one piece of equipment to another (while you're synching or transferring data from one device to another) to infect other equipment. These 'viral vectors' (the means through which your information is tracked, hacked or otherwise compromised by some means of access) abound.

Being a Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer user (rapidly being pressured into biting into the Apple for my next big purchase), I am accustomed to the annoyance of downloading different patches and updated definitions every single day, and to the ritual defragging, antivirus scanning and performance-checking which I must do several times daily.

You must install good firewall and backdoor protection, locks on your wireless addresses, antivirus/anti-malware software (which must be carefully updated from a very reliable source), and constantly scan for these invaders, lest they start purchasing shoes and beef jerky with your credit card, cleaning out your ATM, or using your information or identity for some other egregious purpose. You cannot let a day go by without running scans.

Also:

Check the legitimacy and certification of every site or source from which you may wish to download any applications; don't ever respond directly to an embedded hyperlink or clickable graphic on any warning correspondence about "having to renew or re-authorize your account", etcetera; don't open any suspicious emails or attachments -- not ever --; don't direct click on texted mobile ads which give you a special link for access to something or to subscribe to some product or service.

As a Global Futurist, I predict that biometric identification (retinal scans, facial recognition, fingerprinting, or voice recognition, alone or in combination) will help to eliminate some unauthorized access to your equipment, information and accounts, but these markers are not yet in ordinary use -- and even when these secondary security identification verifiers come into use, the virus and malware gremlins will be hard at work trying to capture and duplicate this information -- just as surely as keystroke loggers and spyware are downloaded on countless computers every day, and just as you can purchase programs [some of them are even free] which can bypass CAPTCHA code tests robotically.

Human error is the principle entry token for most of these infections.

No technology is a substitute for diligent pre-emptive and frequent testing and monitoring of your equipment, and a sample-checking from time-to-time of of your important accounts. Change passwords frequently, and be on the lookout for suspicious inbound correspondence in any form, or exciting 'free' downloads.

The following article excerpt comes to us courtesy of ZDNet, a wonderful source of technologically-oriented information which pertains to every aspect of IT in all business applications.
Finding and cleaning out your smartphone's Carrier IQ poison
Millions of iPhones, Android and other smartphones have the Carrier IQ spyware rootkit in them. Here's how to find it and try to zap it.
READ FULL STORY

More coverage:
7 questions that Carrier IQ needs to address immediately
Senator demands answers over Carrier IQ mobile phone tracking

It bears repeating: Even when biometric identification verifiers come into use, the virus and malware gremlins will be hard at work trying to capture and duplicate this information -- just as surely as keystroke loggers and spyware are downloaded on countless computers every day, and just as you can purchase programs [some of them are even free] which can bypass CAPTCHA code tests robotically. Human error is the principle entry token for most of these infections.

You multiply the probability of infection when your employees bring work home on PCs, use resources for reference or research, have their security breached or their hardware (mobile and otherwise) become contaminated (putting the info on insertable, portable zip drives is not an answer at all) and infuse this infected material into you LAN or office network. Control data access, and test every drive, document, or media display prior to granting it access to your central operating system.

Keep your information, identity, communications and access safe!

Douglas E. Castle for InfoSphere Business Alerts And Intelligence, at http://InfoSphereBusinessAlerts.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Customer Retention, Referrals And Participation - CEM - Customer Experience Management

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For any business to be profitable, it must sell some product or service to customers. Sadly though, in an age of pop-psychology, 5-step panaceas, overnight billionaires and an obsession with technology and efficiency, Customer Experience Management (CEM), seems to be getting increasingly lost in the shuffle. It is being treated as more of an afterthought than as a principal business planning objective. Most businesses regard "getting customers in" as a high priority; after all, it takes revenue (or excessive borrowing and bailouts) to cover the expenses of operating a business But they neglect to go further -- to wine, dine and mine their customers as a source of continuing and increasing revenue.

The sales function (getting prospects into the marketing funnel and converting them into purchasers) is always prominent, unless your business happens to be a monopoly or have a legally-protected territory. But customer satisfaction, retention and participation are generally afterthoughts. This is a terrible mistake.

In a typical business environment, a small group of your customers or clients (the old "80% - 20% rule) are responsible for the bulk or either a) your revenues, or b) your return and referral business. Cherish and nurture this group in order to retain it and to increase its size.

Some Actionable Tips:

1) Respond PROMPTLY and COURTEOUSLY to every prospective customer inquiry;

2) Always ask how the prospect "found" you. If it was through an individual, send that individual a personalized letter (email or snail-mail) thanking him or her personally for the referral (name the referred party), and be sure to include a brief questionnaire about WHY this faithful friend made the referral, and about his or her current level of satisfaction with the service or products received from your company;

3) Send a newsletter (with general content of general interest....notable quotes, scientific breakthroughs, little-known facts, poetry, and the like) to all of your existing customers via email [with a catchy subject line to avoid that sales nemesis -- the black hole of the spam box] quarterly to customers, and offer them an opportunity to express themselves in a survey of some sort -- some of the questions [hint, hint] might even be related to your product or service, and how it might be improved: wishlists and suggestion-box formats are becoming increasingly popular. Make the letter important and information-packed.

4) Award repeat customers (loyalty is to be treasured) and referring customers (referrals are the mainstay of many a business) with special gifts -- substantial ones. These gifts are an investment in continuing and increasing revenues!) Never let them feel unappreciated. Make them feel loved -- and while you're at it, keep your name in front of them at every opportunity.

5) Birthday and holiday cards are usually trite and rather ineffective. A personal telephone call or an email letter (the former is preferred) simply asking the customer or client how he or she is enjoying the product or service, and if he or she is less that satisfied with any aspect of the product or service breeds tremendous customer loyalty. When they make a suggestion, repeat it in a "Thank You" follow-up letter, and say how you are taking action on their valuable input. Make them participants in your business process.

The Objective:

Customer satisfaction, retention (loyalty), referrals and participation in your business.
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An "oldie but goodie" excerpt from a ZDNet newsletter says quite a bit about the typical business' lack of focus on customer satisfaction (Customer Experience Management, or "CEM"), due to a misprioritization of the elements required to make a business or brand profitable.

Improve Customer Satisfaction

All the engineering, all the design, all the promotion, support, and service amounts to nothing if your customer isn't satisfied. In this presentation you'll learn how your business can easily overcome its customer satisfaction challenges.
View this now

Revenues drive all business. And customers or clients provide that revenue. Think of them first, AND think of them constantly. Simply stated, "don't forget about them, and they'll probably remember you." Even in difficult economic times, exemplary CEM can make your company and brand stand out -- people will even pay a premium for personal, compassionate, interested attention in this increasingly de-humanized and de-personalized social environment.

Douglas E. Castle

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Bank Of America: Criminal Intent

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Bank of America's demonstration of unmitigated greed, selfishness and a total lack of regard for customers and depositors speaks of more than the inevitable feeding frenzy before a colossal economic fall -- it sets the tone for uncontrollable lawlessness amongst the amoral and faceless institutions which were the beneficiaries of the US Government bailout...they were institutions deemed by the Fed, the Treasury and all of the "pundits" and academicians responsible for making economic policy as "too big to fail."

These are the institutions that were rewarded for their unprecedented cupidity, negligence and out-and-out fraud. They helped to precipitate a global economic crisis. They were rescued (TARPed, actually). They responded and demonstrated their 'gratitude' by paying out giant bonuses to their highest-ranking executives (i.e., the perpetrators in this pennywise passion play), radically cutting back on credit lines to consumers and businesses, increasing fees and charges on every conceivable service, and with some casual admissions of further accounting adjustments for which they expect the taxpayers to pay.

Either the largest institutions are looting the town while it is burning -- because they have determined to grab what they can while they can prior to the complete collapse of the US economy -- or they are merely taking advantage of a failure on the part of government in general and law enforcement in particular, to investigate, prosecute and actually punish both these fiduciary entities (corporately) and the individuals (personally) who continue to derive the greatest benefit from this crime spree.

Neither motive bodes well for consumers or businesses.

Actionable Items:

Forget the rhetoric. Forget about the moral implications. Forget about your natural inclination toward loyalty and tradition. The smartest businesses will methodically take their deposits and their credit relationships out of B of A and place them into a varied portfolio of smaller, geographically-diversified financial institutions.

Hedge your bet against this runaway train by diversifying and reducing your critical dependencies. This is sensible risk mitigation, as well as an opportunity to discover the potential of new financial relationships. While I do not offer professional financial, investment or advice, I do offer my opinion as a reasonable businessperson.

Diversify away, methodically, in reasonable increments and within the next year at most, from any institutions which have been labelled as "too big to fail." They are, at best, insatiably greedy, and at worst, pathologically criminal, with knowledge and intent. And they have given more than an adequate warning to all. Other giants will follow in the footsteps of Bank Of America. They will not appeased.

You might explore credit unions, asset-based lenders, leasing companies, and other non-bank sources of capital and credit.

An excerpt of an article from Truthout about B of A's most recent piracy against consumers (debit card access fees?!) follows to help you build up your resolve. Put your politics aside, and think about surviving and thriving.

Douglas E Castle [http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com]
______________________
Article Excerpt:

It was an extraordinary moment: a United States senator called for a boycott of the Bank of America.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) took to the Senate floor this week to denounce how Bank of America is gouging Americans through excessive charges on debit card "swipe fees."

Debit card swipes, according to the Federal Reserve Bank, cost at most 12 cents to process, but the banks have historically charged, according to Durbin, on average 44 cents to the retailer. On October 1, a new law went into effect that put a ceiling on the swipe fees at about 24 cents. So, the Bank of America and other banks "too big to fail" are still getting at least a 100 percent profit for every debit card transaction, which is crippling some small businesses.

Moreover, the Bank of America represents the greed that is at the heart of Wall Street by not being content with a 100 percent profit. To circumvent the cap on grossly excessive swipe fees, the Bank of America is now going to charge customers $5 a month as a debit card "use fee."

"Bank of America customers, vote with your feet," Durbin urged in outraged reaction to the new "service charge."

"Get the heck out of that bank," Durbin exhorted. "They are overcharging their customers even for this new debit card reform. It is hard to believe that a bank would impose [such a fee] on customers who simply are trying to access their own money on deposit at the Bank of America."

"After helping to drive our economy off the cliff's edge in 2008, Bank of America was happy to accept a $45 billion dollar federal bailout for their stupidity, their greed and their mistakes," the senior senator from Illinois said with disdain. "And it was just as happy to take that money and hand out $3.3 billion dollars in employee bonuses in the same year 2008."

Remember that if you have a savings account - unless you have a ton of money - in many cases you are earning no interest or just pennies, even though the bank is lending out your cash and getting double-digit returns in loan interest.

This is legalized criminal behavior. The New York Police Department is arresting the wrong people down in southern Manhattan. What's going on in the Bank of America and many other New York City financial institutions is the looting of the United States."

Mark Karlin

Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout

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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Douglas E Castle Leaves TNNWC - 09.27.2011

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Public News Announcement
Douglas E Castle Leaves TNNWC to Pursue Other Interests
27th September, 2011 - Westchester, New York
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Dear Friends, Readers And Colleagues:

This is one of the most difficult letters that I have had to write. While I am quite enthused about the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead, I am more than the slightest bit forlorn about what I am forced to leave behind.

Effective one week ago (29th September) I officially left my assignment with TNNWC Group, LLC and formally resigned from my duties as the Company's Acting Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

After much consideration, I have decided to pursue my own interests and passions in writing, speaking and strategic planning, as well as a number of my long-neglected hobbies and research in a number of areas. The prospect of working on my own is a daunting one, and I am grateful for the friendships and camaraderie which developed during my time invested with TNNWC, and continue to remain a source of inspiration and support.

This is both a timely and an amicable parting. I will continue to publish prolifically, and the rights to re-publication and re-printing of any of my syndicated blogs, RSS feeds and other content shall continue to be available, without restriction to TNNWC and Adam J. Kovitz, who remains a dear friend and shall be holding the reins at TNNWC.

I intend to remain actively engaged in my areas of business expertise domestically and internationally, and will be doing so on a very selective basis.

To those of you whose emails, networking invitations and requests to me have gone unanswered, please accept my profound apologies. I fully intend to get caught up with all of my delinquent correspondence during the next two weeks. Your patience with me is deeply appreciated. As a number of you might have surmised, things have been beyond hectic.

None of this constitutes any type of retirement; rather, it constitutes a renewed pledge to my own personal and professional growth, and to the next stage in the evolution of my life.

I wish each and all of my former associates at TNNWC and its affiliated companies the best of health, happiness and fulfillment in all of their endeavors. I am appreciative of the opportunity to be of service, and I am thankful for all that you have taught me.

With Great Respect,

Douglas E Castle

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/douglascastle

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Saturday, August 27, 2011

Steve Jobs: Stars Versus Structures

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Steve Jobs was the superstar savior and genius driver of Apple. Fans, customers and shareholders could not discuss Apple without bringing up Jobs' name, or vice versa. When a corporate leader becomes an icon, it is a sort of co-branding... but if that icon is seen as the only bright light in the building, that star quality can represent a perceived softness or fundamental weakness in the organization. At some point, the savior must gracefully begin the difficult process of becoming a servant of that which he or she has created.

If the departure of a celebrity leader is viewed as a tragedy (i.e., in that he or she was the cornerstone upon which the entire corporate success and structure was built), the departing leader leaves behind a legacy and an empty husk.

Aside from avoiding the otherwise inevitable public relations nightmare and crisis of confidence, it makes very good sense for a leader to be certain that he trains, empowers and speaks highly of his high-level organizational colleagues and possible 'someday successors' (calling them "peers" or "team members") and that he or she gives a greatest portion of the glory to the organization. All of us need to believe in an organizational structure that can survive and thrive even after the departure of its shining star.

In building your organizational image, be certain that you've attracted and prepared a powerhouse of successorship prospects, and that it is known that you have participated in the design of a well-constructed enterprise that is much bigger than its founder, one-time savior, or any one individual who serves it.

The ultimate strength, and the perception of the ultimate strength, must rest upon the edifice, and not the architect.

There is wisdom in being certain to give others great credit, and to make it abundantly clear that the structure which you have helped to make is your synergistic superior; that you now live to serve it, and not the other way around.

Douglas E Castle

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
http://MadMarketingTactics.blogspot.com
http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com

An article of interest follows. I am a big fan of both Steve Jobs and Apple, but there is also a lesson of great value to be derived from this turn of events. I wish Steve a long-overdue rest, minimal pain (as he has endured so much of it), and maximum joy for the balance of his life. And yes, he is a true visionary, a brilliant man, and one of my heroes.
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