Having the best tools to get work done for my clients is what I strive for. Paying for them is sometimes a challenge, taking all other costs I have into consideration. This is where I have to justify if the tool, whether is is hardware, software or what have you, will make me more productive or give me a competitive advantage.

As a small business owner I have the luxury of making these decisions. Over the years of working for others, this decision making varied. Sometimes my immediate manager would make the decision. In this case the request process was generally fair, especially for the managers who actually knew what I did on a daily basis.

Some of the companies I worked for – usually the larger ones – made these decisions based on blanket policies that set justification based on your title or position and not on business need. Such a policy assumes upper management are typically the ones that need and will use more advanced tools. Whether or not they actually use them at all or to their fullest is more than likely never followed up on. If you try getting any particular tool whose distribution was based on such arcane rules – forget about it, no matter how well you are able to justify its need it will fail.

I have personally encountered this over the years in requests for business cards, email access, software, access to the company’s VPN to work from home, a notebook computer (when I was traveling for work), a decent-sized monitor and a mobile device for email. Though these requests spanned a period of almost 2 decades, I continue to hear such stories today from others.

Such policies are driven by the desire to control costs, and the only costs being monitored are cash expenditures. Opportunity cost is never usually taken into consideration. How much less productive is an employee when they do not have a tool to be more efficient? How about their overall team? Or how about opportunities lost when people are not able to get in touch with people outside the office who do not have a mobile device to reach co-workers? And don’t forget the cost of rehiring an employee who leaves a job if they feel they are not respected to handle the "fancy toys" their managers have.

With the season of generosity around the corner, managers and companies should take a hard look at what it really costs to be in business and not be penny wise and pound foolish.

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No matter how beautiful or comforting a home is, if it is not built on a solid foundation it will surely crumble. This analogy can be used for many things in our world, from ourselves to families to businesses to sports teams. Having a strong foundation and core values will provide a solid base for everything else in life. It’s not that everything else will come automatically, as anything in life worth achieving is worth working for.

There are many books published on the topic of motivation. Some speak more scientifically and others more organizationally. I have read a few of these books myself, as a self-employed entrepreneur keeping motivated is key. After reading the book Perpetual Motivation by Dave Durand, I learned to take a step back and look inward to find the motivators to keep me positive and progressing.

Perpetual Motivation, like many motivational books and stories, has an equation to help keep you going. The formula in the book was different from others I have seen, as it seemed more humbling and therefore more achievable. The equation states motivation is the result of balance plus influence plus creativity plus a sense of humor minus runaway self-esteem. Where Durand does a better job of describing all of these than myself, his exclusion of it being all about “me” and being about family and friends is a refreshing approach.

My greatest take-away from the book is focusing on the pursuit of balance. This goes contrary to the common notion where you must work hard and be focused on work and from that rewards will come, everything else being a distraction. The catalyst for many entrepreneurs is independence and calling the shots, allowing them greater control over their work and personal time, and hopefully more of the latter. However the demand of the job, revenue and success make the personal venture at times comparable to that previous full-time job. Durand reminds us that the pursuit of balance is necessary to keep everything in perspective and equal.

I recommend any of my readers to pick up a copy of Perpetual Motivation. It is a good read and packed with real world examples and stories and does not have excessive fluff or hype (just maybe one too many references to the Green Bay Packers!). I enjoyed reading this book and its unique perspective.

Ironically I had this book sitting on my bookshelf for sometime, and honestly I don’t recall where I got it, if I bought it or if it was a gift. The fact I am now going through and reading all of these books I have accumulated itself shows my belief in the message from this book.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Tomorrow, Thursday, November 8 is the “official” 3rd birthday of my Internet consulting business Dunkirk Systems. Where I was already in business before this date, it marks the day I emerged from the bowels of the Cook County Office Building with my certificate stating my sole proprietorship is called Dunkirk Systems. Yes, it was a surreal moment where I felt like Jake and Elwood Blues!

I am inviting my friends, clients and readers of by blog The Hot Iron to join me in celebrating this. If you are in Chicago, please join me:

Date – TOMORROW, Thursday, November 8, 2007
Place – Gallery 37 Cafe, 66 East Randolph, Chicago
Time – 8 am to 9:30 am CT (note the cafe opens at 8 am)

And the coffee is on me! They offer other tasty treats if you wish to purchase them yourself, but I will be springing for the coffee, tea or whatever other beverage you prefer to start your day.

Please no cards or gifts. But if you insist, make a donation to the American Liver Foundation – Illinois Chapter.

See you then!

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While perusing the "catchall" folder on my PC, I found this photo - it is of me at the Green Festival in Chicago this past spring. At the booth for Co-Op America, they asked people to write down something they do for the environment and have their picture taken with it. I chose the first thing that came to mind, printing on both sides of a sheet of paper.

Seeing this photo caused me to digress a bit from my daily routine and write down other things I consciously do having a positive impact on the environment. As I scrawled them on my white board, categorized and entered them into my content management system, I realized what I had was a draft of the Dunkirk Systems Environmental Statement. As I am working on content for my Web site, this is a logical statement to add.

In the spirit of blogging, I decided to post the draft here and solicit input. Here goes...

Reduce

• Use PDF documents and digital signatures rather than paper for contracts, invoices, etc.
• Power off computers at night
• Use whiteboard instead of paper
• Use eFax.com, which delivers faxes as PDF documents, instead of a fax machine
• Purchased duplexing laser printer to print on 2 sides of paper
• Minimal inkjet printer use
• For printing draft documents, use low ink and toner settings
• Always carry a compact shopping bag or pack
• Decrease burning of CDs and use Flash or portable hard drives and FTP of Zip files
• If an in-person meeting is required, walk or take public transportation over taxi and driving

Reuse

• Reuse paper – print on both sides or use for scrap
• Reuse packaging – boxes, padded envelopes
• Use reusable UPS envelopes for overnight shipping

Recycle

• Shred all confidential or personalized documents and recycle
• Recycle all other paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, etc.
• Give read books to friends and colleagues
• Recycled dead UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to vendor for credit towards a new one
• Return ink cartridges to Staples for recycling (do not refill ink cartridges due to reliability issues)
• Donate unneeded items to Goodwill

Rebuy

• Buy recycled products
• Seek products with minimal packaging
• Seek out stores and vendors that sell environmentally-friendly products and share my passion for the environment

So what do you think? Did I leave out something obvious? Have a question on something there?

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