Behind the Firewall with Iby

I've been wanting to do this for a long time ... which is to write but in more depth about certain topics that businesses can relate to.

Behind The Firewall with Iby

Introduction

As some of you may know I have a few different brands that I provide through, but I've always wanted to talk about problems in the business world as ME.

I'm passionate about technology, what it can do and the power it holds. A few things I want to talk about in my future newsletters:

1. IT and Security from a Recruitment & HR point of view
2. MSP and Service Provider Talk
3. Business Leadership

The reason being is because they actually all tie into each other. A good Business Leader will empower their team with the best tools and resources for the job which in turn creates a strong team around them.

I'm learning in this journey and my goal is to truly understand what is meant by a good leader. I want you (my LinkedIn Family) to be part of this journey.

I'd love to share with you things I find fascinating and helpful and I would love to hear any feedback on any opinions I have.

Behind the Firewall is very much focussed on the things that will empower the office.

Become a provider of Experience and not just a Solution

Any service is essentially a solution to a problem.

If I don't have the time, resources or tools to choose the best out of 100 applicants then I will reach out to a recruitment specialist who will provide me with a service.

Or let's say I have an IT issue; I would reach out to an IT Company to provide a solution to my tech headaches. Pretty simple right?

The thing I have seen is that there are lots of other similar solution providers so what makes the ones who stand out STAND OUT?

I would say it comes down to the experience they have provided.

The solution may be the EXACT same, but the journey and how they made you really feel about using them is far weightier and adds value in the eyes of Business Relationships than anything else.

In the beginning I was guilty of onboarding a client and having a reactive model where we only spoke when there was an issue. I realised quickly and early on, hang on - my clients are going to leave me if I don't consistently communicate with them.

I mean, speaking to each other and catching up is pretty much the basis of client retention!

Provide a great experience and your clients and partners will never stop talking about you.

The way you welcome people, listen to them, try hard to give genuine feedback & help, not withhold any beneficial knowledge, recognise other people’s values etc - all these things combined make you memorable as well as credible.

Accepting the truth about yourself

I had struggled in the past to find myself worthy of my position in the company and I still do. It's not humility but it's the fact that we have to keep grounded for our own benefit.

I allow my team to give me suggestions in my day to day, my business and I’m all ears when it comes to constructive criticism. It will only benefit myself more if I listen and appreciate feedback from others.

One client needed some website design work doing, which was editing some pages. I don't really do website design officially - we are an IT company but I knew his brother and so I said yes, I'll help him.

A few days went by and I received an angry phone call "Have you done my work??"

I replied, "I'm sorry, I have not as I've been really tied up with a few projects". He gave me a good 10 minutes shouting down the phone line and being a little bit rude. Of course, I didn't like the way he spoke to me AT ALL, but I picked up something really important for my business from that phone call.

And that was, to set expectations. Because I said "Yes I'll do it for you" our timeline expectations were not aligned. An angry client and wasted time was a result.

At the end of the rant, I just said "You're totally right, I'm really sorry - I didn't acknowledge that you needed doing it urgently and I have been busy"

Taking the positive from every situation is something that requires training and there is no way to better understand this than to go through it. The lessons learned through this method stick to you for life ??

So, it only benefits yourself if I listen more than I speak, and when I acknowledge criticism.

Next week I will be talking a bit more in depth about "Implementing changes in a workplace effectively". We are going through quite a few changes at the moment, and I have found a few things that work well and other things that don't. I'd love to share and talk about them next time.

For now, have a wonderful break.

Your IT Guy

Iby

Director of Broadband9 LTD

Founder of Acronify

?