How To Keep Your Network Devices Safe

It’s no surprise that we use our devices for most of our daily tasks, but have you ever thought about the tech that our devices use to connect to everything? The answer is simple: network devices! For the fourth week of Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM), we discuss the importance of network devices and how to keep them secure.

Networking devices are responsible for the communication and interaction between the hardware on a computer network. The most common networking hardware that connects your network to the internet is either a modem, a router, or a modem-router combo. Other examples of networking hardware include a hub, switch, router, bridge, gateway, modem, repeater, and access point.

With the help of networking devices, computer networks can be built and used for many purposes. Computer networks allow us to share, communicate, and access data between devices on the network. As explored in weeks one, two, and three of CSAM, it is important to be aware of cybersecurity dangers and know how you can protect your devices against cyber threats.

So, how exactly do you secure a network? Let’s take a look at how you can protect your business network, set up a secure Wi-Fi network, and use Wi-Fi safely.

Protecting Your Business Network

One of the best ways you can protect your business network is to create a cybersecurity plan for your organization. A cybersecurity plan works to educate yourself as a business owner and your employees to keep your business network secure.

Businesses tend to be a favourable target due to their wealth of corporate data that is stored on their network(s). Attackers also target businesses because there are multiple points of entry with many employees working together on a network.

What should you include in a cybersecurity plan for your business?

To best prepare your business and your employees for cybersecurity, your cybersecurity plan should establish:

• Clear internet usage guidelines
• Rules for email safety
• Social media plan
• A bring your own device (BYOD) and telework plan

 

Setting Up a Secure Wi-Fi Network

There’s no doubt that having access to a secure Wi-Fi network provides us with unlimited benefits. It’s important to take basic steps to secure your Wi-Fi network to protect your devices and data from potential cyberattacks.

The following 9 steps* will walk you through the basic steps to secure your Wi-Fi network.

*  The following steps have been sourced from getcybersafe.ca. Every router is different and if you are having issues, visit the manufacturer’s website.

Step 1: Open your router console

While connected to Wi-Fi, enter your router’s IP address into the address bar on your internet browser.

Step 2: Log in

Enter your username and password. These credentials are usually found on the back of your router or the manufacturer’s website if they haven’t been changed.

Step 3: Find the security settings

The security settings may also be called “Wireless Security”.

Step 4: Rename your router

Rename your router but be sure not to include any personal information.

Step 5: Use a passphrase

Use a complex passphrase for your router’s password.

Step 6: Change your encryption

Under the Network Authentication setting, choose WPA2.

Step 7: Create a guest network

Keep your business network protected. Create a separate guest network to allow your visitors access to the internet, but not your corporate information. To do this, turn on the guest network in your settings and give the new network a unique name and password.

Step 8: Save your settings

Be sure to click “Save” or “Apply” to save your new changes.

Step 9: Get connected again

Connect your devices to your new network.

Use Wi-Fi Safely

Now that you’ve secured your Wi-Fi network, it’s important to know how you can browse the internet safely and strengthen your network connection. The following tips serve as a basic guide to using Wi-Fi safely:

• Don’t visit malicious sites, use websites with HTTPS protocols
• Avoid phishing scams
• Use caution around public Wi-Fi
• Never connect to an unfamiliar network
• Use data encryption services
• Use a VPN
• Update your antivirus and antimalware software
• Ensure you have a good firewall

Keep Your Network Secure

Our networks work hard to keep us connected. It’s important to take the basic steps outlined in this article to keep your network secure. For more cybersecurity tips, be sure to check out the AlphaKOR Academy.

Interested in all-in-one managed IT services? Get your IT performance quote today!

(Originally published on 10.21.20)

3 Things You Can Do To Keep Your Computer Safe

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber safe by equipping them with knowledge through this five-week strategy.

Last week, we looked at how to keep your phone and the information on it secure. While phones can do almost everything that a computer can, computers play an important role in our daily operations. This week, we explore how you can keep your computer and the information on it secure.

Why You Should Protect Your Computer

Many of our greatest accomplishments, whether personal or business-related, are thanks to computers. There’s no doubt about the benefits of using computers; they increase productivity, connect you to the rest of the world, store and organize information, and allow for endless possibilities.

Whether you’re using a computer to do online banking or check in with friends on social media, computers store and process sensitive information. It’s important to be aware of how your computer can be vulnerable to a cyberattack and how you can keep your information safe. The last thing you want to worry about is a hacker stealing your personal or corporate information.

How Can You Protect Your Computer?

Here is a list of three easy things you can do right now to keep your computer and the information on it secure:

1. Create complex passphrases

Did you know that at least 65% of people reuse the same passwords across multiple sites? Although this makes remembering your credentials easier to do, this also makes your accounts vulnerable to cyberattacks.

By creating complex passphrases and unique passwords for each site you use, you instantly tighten up your security, making your accounts less attractive to hackers. Password managers such as Google Password Manager and LastPass can easily help you create complex passphrases and store them so that you never forget a password again.

Some best practices for creating complex passphrases include:

• Avoiding family, pet, company, and familiar names that can be easily guessed by others
• Using unique combinations of letters, numbers, symbols, and cases for each site you use
• Creating passwords with at least 4 words and 15 characters long

2. Prevent against malware

Malware is one of the most common ways people experience a cyberattack. Did you know that 2 in 5 Canadians have had malware on their computer? Malware is software that is specifically designed to interfere with, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. If your device is infected, it can cause freezing and crashing, poor performance, unwanted pop-ups, and toolbars, and even send out unwanted emails.

Malware presents itself in many forms, including viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware, and ransomware. These common forms of malware are sometimes difficult to recognize. The following best practices can help you protect your computer system against malware:

• Install and use anti-virus software
• Avoid suspicious links and email attachments
• Download only from trusted sources
• Use a VPN on unsecured networks like public Wi-Fi

3. Avoid phishing scams

Like malware, phishing is a common method that hackers will use to steal valuable information from individuals and organizations. Phishing scams are often disguised as messages from people and organizations that you trust, making them easier to fall victim to.

The most important way to avoid a phishing scam is to learn how to recognize one. Here are seven red flags to look out for:

• Urgent or threatening language: Look out for threats of closing your account or taking legal action, and pressure to respond or act on something quickly.
• Requests for sensitive information: Be on alert for links directing you to login pages, requests to update your credentials, and demands for yours or your company’s financial information.
• Anything too good to be true: Avoid actions on messages that claim winnings from contests you’ve never entered, prizes you must pay for to receive, and inheritance from long-lost relatives.
• Unexpected emails: Disregard emails such as receipts for items you’ve never purchased and updates on deliveries for things you didn’t order.
• Information mismatches: Look out for an incorrect (but maybe similar) sender email addresses, links that don’t go to official websites, errors in spelling or grammar that a legitimate organization wouldn’t miss.
• Suspicious attachments: Avoid attachments that you didn’t ask for, have weird file names or uncommon file types.
• Unprofessional design: Be on alert for incorrect or blurry company logos, image-only emails, and company emails with little, poor, or no formatting.

If you encounter any of these red flags in an email or message, do not interact with it. Rather, delete the email or message. If you are unsure, ask the sender about the message through a different channel.

Stay Safe Browsing

The number one trick to a secure IT landscape is knowledge. Knowing what you’re up against and all the various methods of cybersecurity best practices are key to your success. We’ve put together a short eBook from our experts of 10 simple practices you can implement today to instantly boost your cybersecurity.

(Originally published on 10.14.20)

Keeping Your Phone Secure with Mobile Device Management (MDM)

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). The goal of CSAM is to help Canadians stay cyber safe by equipping them with knowledge through this five-week strategy.

This week, we explore how to keep your phone and the information on it secure.

Mobile phones have become an essential part of everyday routines, whether for personal use or business-related. For any company born in the cloud-era, bring your own device (BYOD) is part of doing business. Cloud services and mobility have changed the way we work and created an environment where employees want access to corporate applications and data at any time, from anywhere, and from whatever device they choose.

What security challenges come with BYOD programs?

Allowing employees to use personal devices for work presents a unique security challenge: how can you be sure that access to corporate applications from an employee‑owned device is secure without a) invading employee privacy by monitoring everything on their device, and b) creating a cumbersome access workstream that frustrates users?

For more than a decade, security practitioners have turned to mobile device management (MDM) solutions to secure remote and personal mobile devices that have access to business-critical data.

MDM solutions, however, come with their own challenges. Users are skeptical about allowing an MDM on a personal device; they’re concerned that admins can glean personal information and control how they use their devices. But admins without an MDM on user‑owned devices fear they’ll lack visibility. It’s a cycle that stalls out BYOD security programs and can increase the risk of exposure to organizations.

How do you minimize the risk associated with a BYOD program with an MDM solution?

Many organizations administer devices and applications using MDM products/services. MDM primarily deals with corporate data segregation, securing emails, securing corporate documents on devices, enforcing corporate policies, and integrating and managing mobile devices including laptops and handhelds of various categories. MDM implementations may be either on-premises or cloud-based.

What are the functions of MDM?

Some of the core functions of MDM include:

• Ensuring that diverse user equipment is configured to a consistent standard, and supported set of applications, functions, or corporate policies
• Updating equipment, applications, functions, or policies in a scalable manner
• Ensuring that users use applications in a consistent and supportable manner
• Ensuring that equipment performs consistently
• Monitoring and tracking equipment (e.g. location, status, ownership, activity)
• Being able to efficiently diagnose and troubleshoot equipment remotely

In addition to the important security features, an MDM solution will also help you maintain visibility and control of who accesses what, from where, and on which device.

As the trend to BYOD continues to rise and users need more flexibility to access corporate applications and data from their personal devices, you must have an MDM solution that works hard to keep your corporate data and applications safe.

Keep your phone secure by following best practices

In addition to using an MDM, you can help keep your phone and devices secure by following best practices such as:

• Updating your operating software
• Avoiding smishing scams
• Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Your data is important. Always be aware of cybersecurity dangers and take preventative steps to ensure that your data is secured.

(Originally published on 10.07.20)

Leaders Strategize For Cyber Security Month

This week we are getting ready for a hot topic everyone needs to be aware of and to make it part of their business plan.   There are a number of things we can do to keep ourselves, our company, and our team protected from cybercrime.   I will share some highlights and welcome your thoughts on what you are doing.

October is cybersecurity month and there is a five-week strategy you can use as a guideline for your organization.  As a leader, what are you doing to ensure your organization and team are staying safe from cybercrime?

Week 1: Take Stock (October 1st to October 3rd)

Ask everyone to take stock of the digital technologies they are using at the office and at home.  Some initial steps to help take stock include the following items.  Secure all your digital/online accounts, secure your devices, and secure all your connections.   To help make all of us more aware, focus on protecting the things we care the most about today:   our devices!

Once you know all your items above, the next step is to confirm the usernames, passwords, accounts, and connections are all current.   Delete/remove all non-current ones.   Change all passwords.   This includes alarm panels, phones, tablets, and so forth.   Set a schedule (weekly, monthly, or quarterly) to do this routine of staying current and changing passwords.   It will become a good habit.

Week 2: Phone Week (October 4th to October 10th)

Our phones are with most of us for most of the day.  Ensure your software operating system (OS) is kept updated.  There are more malicious incidents on the phone today and it continues to rise.  Leaders should be prepared to share information with their team about some of the various ones occurring to help raise awareness and minimize/eliminate breaches of security and malicious activities.

Most are familiar with phishing schemes (e-mails attempting to gain your personal information).   The version on your phone is called Smishing Scam which are messages sent to your SMS or text messaging.  If you do not recognize the number or the name, or if it seems unusual for the person to be sending you the message, stop and question it!   Do not reply.

Add multi-factor authentication to your phone such as your fingertip is scanned to unlock your phone and you require a pin number to access it.  Once your phone is unlocked, a non-authorized user has access to a wealth of information with very little effort.   Lock your phone whenever not in use.

Week 3: Computer Week (October 11th to October 17th)

Lead your team to use strong passwords.  As mentioned above, change them on a regular basis.  Avoid family names, pet names, company names, and familiar names that can easily be guessed by others.   Use unique combinations of letters, numbers, symbols, and capitalize some.  Keep your operating system updated on your computer, notebook/laptop/tablet.

Most of us are using e-mail on our computers.   Phishing schemes are abundant!   Here are seven red flags to be on high alert:  it is urgent, asking to share sensitive information, it looks too good to be true, it is an unexpected e-mail, information mismatch such as the name in e-mail and signature name are different, suspicious attachment (be extra careful before opening any attachment or clicking on any links in an e-mail) and the e-mail has an unprofessional design.

Week 4: Network Week (October 18th to October 24th)

We are all connected whether in the office or at home.   Our data resides on computers that can be located anywhere such as the office file server room or somewhere in the cloud.  How are your computer networks connected and are they secured?   How is your wireless setup?  Can anyone walk in your area and hop on your wireless network with their own device?   Who can access your company data (or your family devices at home)?

Wireless is expected and very common.   We want it easy to join a wireless network and we want fast connections.   Leaders take a look at your organization's wireless connections and what devices are authorized to join.   It is a good idea to separate your office team devices on their own wireless network and have a second wireless network for your guests.  Always have passwords for wireless networks and change them regularly.

Week 5: Smart Device Week (October 25th to October 31st)

How secure is your firewall/router at your office and at home?   Work with your tech team and your tech partner to ensure you have a robust firewall.   The firewall should be kept updated with the latest security fixes (referred to as firmware upgrades).

Take a look at all your devices and ensure they are updated with the latest operating system, updated passwords, and set them in lock modes when not in use.  This includes many smart devices around you such as thermostats, alarm systems, and cameras for example.   Anything that has an App on your phone collecting information from a device should be reviewed.

Bonus Tips

Never provide your password to anyone.   In the event you do provide it, change it immediately.

Be careful with personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and social insurance numbers.  Know the trusted source before sending this information.

Keep your guard up at all times.   Read the sender's name and e-mail address to confirm it is someone you recognize.

'Tis the Season:   Many will receive e-mails from their boss to go out and purchase gift cards.   Call your boss to confirm they actually sent you this request.   Every year, we talk to many who buy these gift cards with their personal or company credit card which do not exist and the money is sent to an account which is usually untraceable.

For more information to plan your strategy, go to  Cyber Security Guidelines

What are you doing for Cyber Security Month?

(Originally published on 09.30.20)

Wow Everyone

How do you wow everyone?  Leaders empower their team to deliver excellent customer service and support them on achieving this goal.

WHAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Customer service is showing your customer how important they are to you, to your team and to your company by interacting in a friendly, helpful and positive way.

Remember, everyone is your customer.   This includes clients, prospects, suppliers, associates, co-workers and anyone you interact with.   If you treat everyone in a professional business manner, it is easier to provide the same level of customer service all the time.

GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE

Good customer service means meeting the customers’ expectations.  Understanding expectations can be tricky.   The answer is to ask more questions for clarity.  If you do not understand or if you agree to unrealistic expectations, you will not be able to provide good customer service.

Meeting expectations and qualifying these expectations results in good customer service.  You need to raise the bar and challenge yourself to provide excellent customer service.   Repeat and keep raising the bar.

EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Excellent customer service means exceeding the customers’ expectations – this is the “wow” factor.  Ask questions to truly understand the expectations.  Agree to these expectations or agree to a new set of expectations that are attainable.  This will result in both parties having an excellent experience.

Deliver beyond the expectations.   Always.  When you do not meet expectations, bring your passion, admit the shortcoming and offer a way to make it better.  Customers remember how you made them feel.  Make them always feel good.

EMPATHY

Be genuine and sincere.   Consistently show your clients you care.  Do not just communicate this.   Feel it and convey how much you do care.   When I hear a canned “I’m sorry” it comes across as scripted or auto-response with no feelings.  Show empathy.   If you do not bring passion and caring, you cannot achieve excellent customer service.

Many feel they care, however, we have a tough time actually showing others we care.   Stop, breathe, find your compassion within you and bring it to show how much you care.

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU

There is a reason why the AlphaKORians’ have banned the word busy.  Imagine calling us and we say thanks for the call, however, we are busy taking care of so many others.   Your client does NOT want to hear this.  It’s about them, not about you.  Listen.  Ask questions about them and what they require and what you can do to help them.  This shows you cared.

Provide next steps and timelines.  Follow-up on these in a timely fashion.  Communicate in advance any delays or a change of direction is needed to reach their goal.

WHO IS RIGHT?

It is not about being right or wrong.  Think about that.   We are ready to communicate our side, our justification just to show we are right.   Drop that thinking.  Provide a better way in dealing with this, provide a solution and lead the communication in a positive direction.

This quote sums it up nicely: “Neither of us is right or wrong.  We just have different perspectives.  The challenge is not to convince the other person to change.  Find a way that suits both parties.”

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

Customer service is building strong, long-term trusted relationships.  To build these relationships, we must effectively communicate and deal with all the challenges with the client in mind.   Put yourself in their shoes.  Do you know what they are dealing with?   What pressures are they under?   What can you do to help and to wow them?

How are you providing excellent customer service to wow everyone?

(Originally published on 09.23.20)

Taking Care Of Your Clients

What is your customer service strategy to take care of your clients?

Excellent Customer Service

Most companies will let you know they have an excellent customer service strategy.  They talk about being the best at it.  This is one of those areas of a business that can be biased.  It is difficult to measure exactly where your business stands.  What are those little things you and your team do different to set you apart from the rest?

Delivering excellent customer service on a consistent basis results in being the leader in your areas of expertise.  Your clients will continue to support and refer your team.   New opportunities will arise as you continue to build and grow your brand based on this strategy.

Qualifying To Understand

Qualifying every opportunity, from the first inquiry to the long-term client, ensuring you fully understand the scope of the request is one of the keys.  When you understand, you have a better chance of providing a solution to meet and surpass their expectations.  Asking more questions leads to better customer service.

I believe the qualifying stage is one of the most critical areas to develop long-term trusted relationships.   It starts the relationship in the right direction showing how much you care and understand the clients' requirements.   It is more than just the "transaction" relationship you are building here.   Trust is being built which leads to this life-long relationship along your journey.

Feedback

Requesting feedback on a consistent basis with your clients is a good strategy to adopt.  It takes several questions in your discussions to uncover some of the items your client may share as a concern.  Listen.  Stop.  Listen to what they are saying.  Responding and taking action to address these items will go a long way for your customer service strategy.

Some metrics to help gauge your customer service level include your client retention, client acquisition and referrals.  If one of these metrics is stagnant or declining, it is a sign to immediately review and update your goals and objectives.

Being Perfect

Things do not have to be perfect and we do make mistakes at times.  Own the error, fix it and keep the discussion moving forward.  It is the communication and relationship building processes you have in place that will result in happy clientele.  Always offer the three golden steps in customer service:  follow-up, follow-up and follow-up.  Read the three golden steps again.  Deliver these steps all the time.

Communication

Mix your communication with e-mail, social media, phone calls and virtual meetings while we transition to in-person appointments. Going "back to the phones" is an interesting and proven concept that works in building those strong relationships which result in excellent customer service.

At AlphaKOR, we are always aiming for wowing everyone.  The AlphaKORians' are doing a great job in delivering this strategy!

What is your customer service strategy to take care of your clients?

(Originally published on 09.16.20)

Accomplishing Great Things

One of my life long motivators to accomplish great things is the fear of failure.  Sometimes we do fail and at other times we need to fail so we can learn from it.  This helps leaders keep focused on being successful.  To accomplish these great things, we are positive and we are energetic.

Being Optimistic

What really moves me about this fear is the ability to think positive, to be optimistic and  focus on achieving the goals at hand.  This is not blind optimism.   You have to be reasonable when you are setting that bar high to ensure it is within reach.

Being optimistic is not just smiling and pretending all is wonderful and good.   It is your passion and your positive vibe you bring every time.  When you channel your energy  to move forward in a positive and confident way to overcome the obstacles along the way is being optimistic.

Create Your Own Destiny

The result of this motivation?

When we focus on being successful, we can create our own destiny.  It is easy to get frustrated when we hear all the "nay-sayers" around us.  Focusing our energy onto the positive side will help you stay on your path of success.  The person you see in the mirror is the only one you can hold accountable!

This destiny leads to achieving great things.  The positive feedback, the difference one can make and the feeling of successfully accomplishing something great are the motivation drivers to keep yourself going.

Accomplishing Great Things

What do you want to accomplish to make a difference?  We are facing this challenging time together by helping everyone we can along our journey.  The AlphaKORians' are dedicated and focused into helping and playing a role for so many to accomplish great things.  We thank them for all they do!

Take time to reflect on your successes and where you want to go from here.   Set some big goals and some smaller goals.   Take them one at a time.  Make plans to successfully achieve them.  Keep leading your team with direction, support and positive recognition.    They will make you a better leader.   Being a better leader results in accomplishing more great things as you continue to grow.

Share your story on the great things you are accomplishing.

(Originally pubished on 08.26.20)

Manager Your Business Not Your Technology

Leaders are managing and focused on running their businesses.  If you are spending time managing your technology, take a look at your business strategy and add a managed service technology partner.

Focus On Your Strengths

What are your strengths as a good leader?   This is what you need to focus on.   The rest can be delegated and outsourced.   Great leaders surround themselves with experts in their respective fields.  Your IT technology is one of those areas where outsourcing makes sense.

When working with your IT Partner, share your vision and your business strategy.   Technology needs to be aligned with your business priorities, goals and needs to be part of this discussion.  IT is an investment to support your business growth and direction.

Why Managed Services?

Whether you have internal IT resources, a head office or want to take care of your own technology, looking at managed services makes sense.  It can be a hybrid plan keeping your current IT resources in place while bringing in the experts to focus on specific areas to help.

What areas can you and your team require assistance to keep you ahead of the competition?   If you have an internal IT person or team, are they over-burdened, can they use a second opinion and can collaboration with a team of experts help your business achieve the business goals?

Enhanced Security and Compliance

With all the news about organizations being attacked in the cyber space, what is your cyber security strategy?  This is an area where your IT partner can work closely with you to minimize cyber attacks.   Every day we see ransomware and phishing scams at every level:   very small, small, medium, large, enterprise and high-profile organizations.  Everyone and every organization is a potential target.

What compliance does your industry mandate and what is required to fulfill this?   Your stakeholders hold your leadership accountable for protecting your business and adhering to all the rules of compliance.   Lean on the experts to build and implement an ongoing cyber security and compliance strategy.

Increased Efficiency and Reliability

What are the latest tools and upcoming ones to help you run a more efficient business?   Having proactive conversations on a regular basis on where you want to go will help your tech team recommend the right tools to get there.

Your business needs to run and most run 24x7 today.   Staying operational at all times is a tough challenge.   What is your contingency plan and what is your disaster recovery plan in case of a cyber attack or in case of natural disaster?   Business continuity strategy is a discussion with your IT partner to align technology to keep your operations running at all times.

The AlphaKORian' Way

The AlphaKORians' have taken pride being the IT partner for so many organizations of all sizes locally, in the region and globally.   Leading this team, together with my Partners and Managers for over 25 years has been a thrilling journey.   Today, more than ever during this challenging time, our Team has been there to help many build their remote workforce strategy, implement and support solutions for them to work safely and securely from home.

Our best practices as the leading managed service provider has built "The AlphaKORian' Way" for leaders to rely on as part of their business plan for success.

Proactive Discussions and Reports

Our philosophy is to provide you with the best experts to work closely with your vision and align technology with your business goals.  We have proactive discussions on a regular basis with your senior management team.   We are part of your planning for future growth, your expansions, renovation projects, adding new product lines, moving into new markets and building a larger customer base.  Regardless of what industry you are in, technology investments play a big part and these proactive conversations are a result of our collaborative relationships with our clients.

Managing your infrastructure results in metrics and statistics to measure if your goals are on track or need some tweaking to achieve them.  Reports are part of our proactive discussions to help plan and make future decisions about your company.   We enjoy being at the table helping our clients succeed while they focus on managing their business.

After all, leaders have a business to run.

(Originally published on 08.19.20)

5 Tips To Enable Your Remote Workforce Securely

Five tips to enable a remote workforce securely

The trend to a more distributed workforce continues to rise, bringing newfound benefits for employers and workers. People still need to feel connected and productive when they are working remotely.   They expect technology will help them wherever they are, on any device. Here is a list of five simple tips to maintain your remote work culture while securing your workers and your company assets.

Educate your workforce to embrace secure practices

Remote workers expect technology will follow them wherever they go.  Being away from the office exposes them, and your organization, to threats in new ways. That is why IT and security teams need to ensure the remote work experience is secure, wherever users go.

Verify the person is who they say they are

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a simple, first layer of security all businesses need before they can grant access to company assets. Think of MFA as something you know (your username/password) and something you have (your phone) to verify your identity and device health.

Enable secure access from anywhere

Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides a safe tunnel between users and applications so workers can stay productive and connected when they are on the road or working off site. It helps ensure only approved users are authorized access by providing the right level of security without compromising the user experience.

Defend against security threats at any entry point

Most security breaches target endpoint users, requiring a first line of defense at the DNS layer and a last line for threats that slip through. The first layer blocks domains associated with malicious behavior before they get into your network or contains malware if it is already inside, while the last layer protects against more advanced threats.

Secure your assets now and for the future

Don't make the mistake of creating new issues for tomorrow only by solving for today. Instead, choose a vendor with security that ties into your existing investments. At AlphaKOR, we believe in simple, effective solutions that keep your remote workers feeling connected and productive—and remove anything that gets in the way of your business success.

We are here to help

By investing in education and technology you can make a great impact in your organization’s remote cyber security. It is imperative that you proactively protect your sensitive data with techniques like Multi-Factor authentication, Virtual Private Networks and software updates. AlphaKOR and Cisco are here to help you and your organization work safely and securely whether in the office or at home.

If you are looking to educate yourself and your team about basic cyber security practices, check out our free downloadable ebook. You can move forward with the confidence that you and your team will have the knowledge and tools at their disposal to practice safe cyber security processes.

 (Originally published on 08.12.20)

Transition To Returning To Work

All organizations are facing the challenge of the transition to returning to work.

The Status Quo

Essential businesses have remained open during the initial part of this pandemic.   Most had smaller teams in their offices while the rest of their teams worked remotely from home or were temporally laid off.   With the government assistance, businesses were encouraged to keep all employees on payroll.

Our team started with only six in the office and after a couple of months we were eight.   When we hit Phase 2, we increased our team to twelve in the building with the rest working remotely.   At this time, we are envisioning status quo to see what the next couple of months bring.   Are we going to move to Phase 3?   Will there be a second wave?   Once we are in the Fall and past the flu season, we anticipate bringing part of our team back while part of our team will remain working remotely.   This is our updated version of status quo.

Back To Pre-Pandemic

Smaller companies and those that can safely accommodate all employees are moving to having their entire team back in their organizations.   They can work in their offices, in their plants or in the field practicing all the safe social distance recommendations.  Wearing a mask when interacting with others and using hand sanitizer as often as required are a couple of standard practices in place today.

We have seen grocery stores for example continue to provide their products and services throughout these challenging times.  Front line workers in all industries we thank you for everything you do to keep us safe.  Personal service professionals such as chiropractors and registered massage therapists are re-opening and taking care of their patients.   The safety protocols in place have made it challenging to see the same number of patients as they move towards pre-pandemic services.

The Remote Model

Some companies are sticking to the remote workforce model.   They have figured out how to run their businesses with the entire team working remotely.   With today's technology, access to all the company data, team members, clients, prospects, suppliers and other stakeholders can be done all from home using reliable cyber security best practices. 

This means more online meetings, more e-mails, texts and phone calls then ever.   It also results in smaller investment in work-spaces, less travel expenses and less vehicle maintenance.   Leaders are reviewing all these factors to determine if the remote model is short-term or can be a long-term/permanent model to follow.

The Hybrid Model

We have adopted the hybrid model since day one.   Some of the team are in the office while others continue to work remotely.   There are other versions of the hybrid model.   One version is some employees work in the office on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Friday while other members of the team are in the office Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Friday.   Another version is one or two weeks in the office, then home on a rotating basis with the other half of the team.

Our hybrid model will continue as long as necessary to keep the AlphaKORians' and our clients safe.   The front door is locked.   Employees working from home are encouraged to pick-up/drop off products only as necessary and stay in the front double set of doors.   If anyone needs to enter the building, a mask is required and a questionnaire must be filled out.   This applies to client visits, service calls and appointments which are kept to a minimal.

Thank You

As we wait to see our world open up or stay restricted, we are business as usual taking care of everyone in a timely and professional manner.   Our core values have not changed and we are proud and humbled to be helping so many keeping their businesses running.  The AlphaKORians' have pivoted, embraced the challenges and have delivered excellent teamwork and quality throughout this pandemic.   Thank you!

What is your organization doing with the challenge of transitioning back to work?

(Originally published on 07.29.20)

Top 5 Tips To Increase E-mail Response

How many of your outgoing e-mails are responded to?  Imagine the reader having a microphone and answering your e-mail with their answers or interest in knowing more!

Top 5 things I do to increase response:

1. Timing

2. Subject Line

3. Focused business matter

4. Request a response

5. Include the personal touch

It's All In The Timing

The earlier in the morning the better chance of receiving a response. The tasks of the day have not taken the person away from focusing on their inbox just yet.  This is the main reason why Building Circles is published 7:30 am on Wednesdays.

Your Subject Line

No selling!  Shorter the better such as "touching base" or if making an introduction with "AlphaKOR" as the subject line.  This strategy has a high rate of opening the e-mail.  Using "checking in" makes others feel like they are in trouble and could trigger a negative feeling when reading this subject line.   Avoid checking in which may be read as checking up on you.

Focused Business Matter

Clear and to the point with just enough details as necessary.  If it takes more than 3 sentences to explain it, justify it or turn a negative e-mail to positive, simply STOP and pick up the phone. It is easier to talk it out instead of e-mail bantering.  Did you know e-mail or texts for that matter have no emotions?   The reader adds their emotions as they read it.   Think about your own emotions as you type the sentences.   Remove all emotions.  Focus on the business matter.

RSVP

Request a response.  Once the focused business matter is out of the way, ask for "your thoughts?", "kindly advise" or "looking forward to your reply".  There are a lot of tasks going on for your audience so a gentle nudge does go a long way.  If you ask for three or more replies, you will find the norm is to have one or two of them answered.

Be Personal

Add a bit of human touch to your e-mail.  Examples could be:  "How are things going during these challenging times?" or "Enjoy your Day" are two good statements for those you do not know well. When you know your audience, ask them about something they shared in the past such as "How was your quarantined BBQ  family dinner last weekend?"

Bonus Tip

Include cell number to let them know you are always available.

What are you doing to increase your e-mail response rate?

(Originally published on 07.22.20)

Focus On The Important Stuff

Leaders set priorities on both the important and the difficult stuff instead of avoiding it or being excuses to deal with it.  Setting priorities is a constant to ensure what is important gets done.

What is important stuff?

Some will say everything is important while others will say nothing is that important.   My answer:  on the personal side, health and loved ones and on the professional side it's the AlphaKORians and the clients.

Who decides what is important?

There are many who influence you to push their agenda forward as a top priority.  These can be from within your team and outside your team.  The leader needs to focus and have a discipline to steer the team to prioritize the important items in a unbiased and timely manner.

Reacting and over-reacting is a common strategy; however, it usually is not the best one in the long-run.   Likewise, waiting until you feel you have all the information to determine how important it is does not work either.

How do you move important tasks forward?

Lead by example.  Communicate to your team what is important and what is required by reviewing the vision and goals.  Be firm to ensure the team remains focused.

Remember it's all important stuff and it's up to the leader to prioritize, focus and stay on track.

Today's Important Stuff

Keeping everyone health and safe is one of the most important things we are all dealing with today.  Implementing measures, procedures and communicating them is critical to ensure all of us do our part.

Taking care of one of our own, Jason, who is facing a health challenge is top of mind on our Team.  Positive thoughts, reaching out to him and his family and supporting him has become important to us.   For Jason' story and fundraising drive go to https://tinyurl.com/yaqno58w

How are you determining what is important on your Team?

(Originally published on 07.15.20)

The June 27th Miracle

This week I would like to once again share how WindsorEssex County is going to stand together and make a miracle happen on June 27th.

June 27th Miracle

On June 27th, at 12:00 pm, as many residents as possible, in all communities in WindsorEssex to place a non-perishable on their doorstep and it will be picked up. These donations will be given to those who need it. With the current economic situation facing us, many more people have been pushed to rely on food donations and the community is coming together to help.

This is a grassroots initiative. Residents, community leaders and local businesses have come together to lead the charge, but the entire community will be part of making this miracle happen.

Are you going to be part of this miracle?

Together We Stand

Everyone can participate.  Let's show the world how our community comes together to help each other especially those in need during these challenging times.   WindsorEssex has always shown how much we care, how big our hearts are and how resilient we are to all the obstacles and challenges we face.   Together, YQG stands strong and proud!

(Originally published on 06.24.20

Be Part Of The June 27th Miracle

This week I would like to share how WindsorEssex County is going to stand together and make a miracle happen on June 27th.

June 27th Miracle

On June 27th, at 12:00 pm, as many residents as possible, in all communities in WindsorEssex to place a non-perishable on their doorstep and it will be picked up. These donations will be given to those who need it. With the current economic situation facing us, many more people have been pushed to rely on food donations and the community is coming together to help.

This is a grassroots initiative. Residents, community leaders and local businesses have come together to lead the charge, but the entire community will be part of making this miracle happen.

Are you going to be part of this miracle?

Together We Stand

Everyone can participate.  Let's show the world how our community comes together to help each other especially those in need during these challenging times.   WindsorEssex has always shown how much we care, how big our hearts are and how resilient we are to all the obstacles and challenges we face.   Together, YQG stands strong and proud!

(Originally published on 06.17.20)

Top 3 Traits Of Great Decision Makers

The top three traits of great decision makers are: Know Yourself, Always asking the Right Questions and Trust Your Instinct.

1. Know Yourself

From time to time great decision makers perform a self-evaluation to determine what their strengths, weaknesses and biases are.  To be make great decisions, you need to know yourself first to be certain you are confident in making the correct choices.

When you do not know yourself well enough, you tend to make more incorrect decisions. Invest some time in understanding who you are, what you stand for and what your core values are. Once you have achieved this understanding, you will make your decisions with confidence.  What are your core values?

2. Asking the Right Questions

Sometimes asking questions is the right answer.  Asking the right questions sometimes is the better answer.  It is difficult to take in so much information and not question or validate all of this data.  There are so many influences such as your team, clients, the culture, the market and the media.

The challenging part is asking the difficult or specific questions to gain further knowledge to help making great decisions.  Be persistent and do not settle until you have all your questions answered.  For some, this is a tough task and for those being asked it can be tough as well.  As a great decision maker, you need to ask all the right questions to make a sound decision.

3. Trust Your Instinct

Go with your first gut instinct.  Yes, sometimes we are wrong and sometimes we second-guess ourselves. Most of the time, our instinct is the right one.  I call this the sixth sense feeling.   Trust it.

When it feels right or when it does not feel right, you will know.  This natural ability will steer you into the correct course of action when seeking an answer.  It may not be the most popular answer or direction, however, you know it is the right one.  Great decision makers trust their instinct.

(Originally published on 06.10.20)

3 Ways To Appreciate Your Team

There are many ways you can appreciate your employees and I would like to share 3 of them with you.

1. Say Thank You More Often

This may seem obvious and yet many employees have shared with their employers and others they wished they would hear more thank you's more often.

Companies can feel their employees are paid for doing their  job. Saying a genuine thank you and recognizing an employee for doing their job shows your appreciation.

I have always felt I was saying thank you often enough.   Sometimes you realize you are not actually doing this. Being aware and making changes to say thank you more often makes a difference.  Today with most of the team working from home these thank you's are more important than ever.

2. Listen & Recognize Your Employees

Your employees see the business and their daily tasks differently than the way employers see them. Ask your employees what they think. Ask them what they recommend to improve and make things better.  Ask what they need and how they are doing.

Listen to them. Acknowledge their ideas and input. Employers may not always agree, however, seeing the employees' perspectives and blending it with the employer's perspective creates very positive results.

At our weekly Team discussions, we say thank you to employees for specific things accomplished from the previous week. These include recent certifications, targets reached and client experiences. We also recognize milestones with awards for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and 25 years of service.

3. Provide A Fun and Creative Environment

We spend a significant amount at our office and home offices.  Are these areas confined with and no room for any leisure activities?  Where do employees have lunch and where do they take a break?  Most spend the entire day sitting at their desk.

We introduced Lunchtime Wednesdays to play online trivia games to help create a fun environment and provide camaraderie with the team. There are many department and smaller online meetings and touch points to continue the creativeness we had in the building.

On Friday afternoons, the entire team is online to share how their week went, give kudos and share light topics to help everyone ease into the weekend.  Sharing ideas in this way helps to keep a fun and creative team together.

As long as there is balance with work, leisure and creativity, adapting to this type of environment works very well. The AlphaKORians' have  have embraced and supported this virtual environment.

What are you doing to appreciate your employees?

(Originally published on 06.03.20)

Effective Listening

Do you ever catch yourself asking someone their name right after you meet them?  Were you really focused and listening?

Enhancing Your Listening Skills

Here are some tips on enhancing your listening skills.  Feel free to share your good and not so good experiences.

Don't think about your response while the other person is talking.  Do you ever notice as soon as the speaker is finished talking, the other person automatically has a response?  Often, this automatic response has nothing to do with the speaker' conversation.  Check it out for yourself next time you observe people having a conversation.

Pause Before Auto Responding

The challenge is to listen without forming a bias and waiting until the speaker has completed their discussion to understand fully what they are saying.  After you reflect on this for a moment, then you can share your response.

Making Assumptions

Never assume (we all like this one).  If the comment is "I require this right away" does this mean within the hour? today? tomorrow? sometime this year? Ask for clarification and you will be surprised how many times your assumption may be incorrect.

Focus

Focus on the listener and avoid the distractions.  Look at the speaker.  Make eye contact including online meetings!  Break the habit of looking at your phone or other distractions around you.

Rephrase To Understand

Do your rephrase what the other person is saying to ensure you have a fully understanding of what they are saying?  Listening is a lifelong skill set most of us keep working on.  Communication can be a wonderful thing if all parties are fully present and effectively listening.

In the virtual world with texts, e-mail, phone calls and online meetings, effective listening is more important to help each other.   Looking forward to hearing some of your experiences of effective listening and some lessons learned.

(Originally published on 05.27.20)

Make Time For You

Leaders always make everyone else a priority.  They focus on all the tasks at hand and ensure things are being taken care of in a timely fashion.  With this successful philosophy, we tend to forget to make time for ourselves especially today when we are needed more than ever.

LEADERS ARE PASSIONATE

When we are passionate about the things we do and the people around us, it is easy for this to consume most of our time.  Thanks to certain special people we interact with, they show us what we cannot see.  They bring balance into our lives.  They help us understand the importance and benefits of making time for our self – and it is never too late to start!

Bring your passion to everything you do.  Figure out what your own passion is and invest in pursing it.   For me, I enjoy reading,  spinning vinyl and lighting a fire on a cool night with the family.

WHAT’S THE ANSWER?

The answer is to figure out a better balance and the sooner the better.  I keep working on finding that right balance to ensure one of the top priorities includes making time for myself.  One of the goals achieved was going back to the gym in May and now motivated myself to workout at home and online with the coaches and crew.  The other goal was to “unplug” on the weekends and getting better at it as we are home instead of going out socializing.

Take this time to enjoy it with your family and loved ones.   Reach out more often and ask how everyone is doing.

KNOW WHEN TO LET GO

During our weekly team discussions, it is important to remember the team needs to lead.   These discussions occur on Friday afternoon just before we head into the weekend.   We let the team take the lead and have an open discussion on how their week went, what challenges and successes they want to share and have camaraderie as we stay at home all weekend with less contact with each other.

As the Team continues to grow, letting go is part of leading by not leading.  Handing over more responsibilities and watching each person grow by not constantly jumping in and "taking over" is this kind of leadership.   After twenty-five years, it is still exciting to see everyone caring and dedicated to taking care of each other and our clients.

TAKE A BREAK

It is OK to take a break from it all and to let go for a while.   We tend to want to get back to the daily routine as quickly as we can.   Just remember to be grateful for those around you who support you.  Yes, of course it may not feel right to take a break.   You deserve it!

Find the right balance that works for you.  Turn off all the "noise" around you.  I enjoy watching the flames flicker as my mind relaxes.

(Originally published on 05.20.20)

The AlphaKORians' in Office 2.0

Over the years, we have been asked "What does AlphaKOR mean?"  The answer is the AlphaKORians!

Core Values

Having core values and adhering to them in everything you do makes for an excellent team.  The AlphaKORians are dedicated and are customer focused.  They are committed in relentlessly providing excellent service consistently and as a unified team.  They have integrity.

Office 2.0/Earth 2.0

As we are all facing this challenge of working remotely and social distance, the team has embraced the Office 2.0 or Earth 2.0 as some are referring to our current new world.  From day one, we pivoted overnight to work from home for most of the team and to help our clients, new clients and many others with our expertise and support.

The front door is locked.   Visitors leave product in a box without entering the building.   The product is cleaned, serviced and returned to the box.  Visitors then pick up the product.  Working from home policy, visitor policy and health and safety protocols for on-site servicing are some of the changes the team has accepted to continue to provide excellent service and help everyone.

24x7

We have always been a 24x7 company available every night, weekends and holidays.   This has become more important today as more businesses are also 24x7 businesses.  Servicing after-hours allows the option for our technicians to enter empty offices to ensure everyone's safety.  There are many virtual or remote services we perform after hours to keep organizations up and running.

One of the virtual services we offer is helping non-profits and organizations requiring annual general meetings, staff meetings as well as interactive online client meetings.  We are the facilitator for a golf course holding their annual general meeting in the evening for example of after-hours virtual service we offer.

Business In The New World

To achieve this success, there is a Team who must take responsibility by executing each and every day.  The AlphaKORians demonstrate excellent teamwork as many projects, events and activities require the members working together.  This collaboration has shifted to virtual meetings to achieve successful results on a continuous basis.

We offer interactive discussions online to everyone who is interested in sharing ideas, asking for help to overcome challenges and to make new connections.   Being her to help each other and giving back to the community is the AlphaKORian' way.  We participated in Mayor Dilkens town hall virtual discussion representing working from home technology and cyber security strategies to help each other stay safe and secure in this new world.

We Are In This Together

Thank you to our clients, supporters, associates, our families and the community for helping each other as we are all in this together.  Hats off to the AlphaKORians' who are readily available to assist.  We have introduced Wednesday lunch online games and Friday afternoon virtual team discussion to stay in touch as a team.  The camaraderie is replicated online and it is fun to hear the comments amongst the team as a family working together and enjoying each other' company.

We are here to help and welcome you to reach out to us.  Let's have a discussion or a virtual coffee chat.  I chose this saying for today' topic to help all of us:   "You didn't come this far to only come this far".

(Originally published on 05.13.20)

Making Commitments

 Making commitments and fulfilling these commitments takes discipline.  Whether you make promises in your professional career or in your personal life, the ones you keep or the ones you break are a reflection of who you are.

Manage And Prioritize

Time management is one of those challenges making it difficult to commit by the target date set by you.  Prioritizing your tasks and making the tough decisions to focus on your commitments to successfully complete them on time takes a lot of discipline.

Follow Up

Consistently following up and delivering what you guarantee builds trust and long-lasting relationships.  Make it a daily habit to fulfil your responsibilities as set by yourself.  This will become part of your core value and make you a better leader.

Just Say No

Sure we get over zealous from time to time and start saying a lot more than we can deliver.  When this happens, it is okay to admit you are not able to commit.  Just say no.  Most people understand most of the time and appreciate your honesty.

How do you keep your commitments you make?

(Originally published on 05.06.20)

Managing Your Time

How do you manage your time to be more effective?

Build Good Habits

We have habits that fit our style. Some are good, while others are not so good. How do you change and adapt to be more effective with your time?

First thing every morning,  it has become an embedded routine to review the long lists of tasks while creating a new to do list.  It takes discipline to prioritize the most important task first.  Procrastinating is easy so do not fall into that trap!  Complete task one and then move onto task two and so forth down the list.  This is difficult because everything new becomes an instant priority.

Sometimes this will be true and you will have to adjust the priorities.  This is a challenge and gets better with practice.  One of the keys to managing your time is to schedule your priorities and not to prioritize what is in your schedule.

The Three D's

Using the three D's every time information is received has become an excellent way to manage your time.  For example, when looking in your Inbox, each e-mail is opened and you decide on one of three things: Delete, Do or Delegate.

Information can be read, heard in person, on the phone, on paper, on podcasts, webinars, video chat and of course e-mail to name a few.   The "Delete" can be to absorb this information and not keep it in any form or file it electronically or in a folder as the case may.  The "Do" is simply that:  complete the task now.  Then scratch it off your list!  The "Delegate" is to forward the task to another person with clear direction and expectation of when to have it completed by.

Forget The Excuses

We hear reasons why things were not completed or why they cannot be done.  We tell stories how we do not have enough time.   Take a look at your habits.  What is preventing you from getting things done?  What is distracting you?   What is holding you back?   What excuses are you telling yourself and others?

There is a saying that goes something like this:  "Give it to a busy person and they will get it done."   Why is that?  I feel if I have a leisure day with not much planned (rare occasion), I find myself not as motivated to get things done.   Practically every day, I have the "task list" written down and find I am motivated to start and to keep going to accomplish as many items on the list as possible.   Some days the list gets completed while other days there may be only a couple of items checked off and not from lack of focus or procrastination.

Do Not Do List

Something you can try as an effective tool is creating a Do Not Do List.  This  may seem strange, however, reviewing this list helps to remain focused on the priority tasks.  Things like spending too much time in the kitchen snacking or watching your shows or movies can be on the list.  For those working from home, there are many distractions that can end up on your list to help.  What would you put on your not to do list?

What are your good habits for effectively managing your time?

(Originally published on 04.29.20)

Vulnerability Makes You A Better Leader

Being vulnerable makes you a better leader.

Be Confident

People prefer their leaders with an appropriate balance of confidence and humility.  Yet, one of the greatest challenges many leaders struggle with is embracing (and revealing) their own vulnerabilities.  Now is the time to be open, candid and caring as a leader.   Show your nurturing side and bring your passion.

Being confident while showing your personality will make you a better leader.  People will follow you, respect you and although they may not always agree they will have your back because they know you have theirs.  Leaders jump out and "stop the bus" for their team.

We Make Mistakes

Why do many feel they have to be perfect and never make any mistakes?  There is a significant difference between striving for perfection and appearing to be perfect.  Many cannot tell the difference and struggle with this.  Some have the fear of failure while others have the fear of success holding them back.  Which fear do you have, if any?   I fear failure!  We strive for perfection while at the same time we are open to being vulnerable - find the the balance that works for you.

We learn from our mistakes and we do not replicate them.   We move on, teach others by sharing our mistakes.   Sharing this with others makes you vulnerable and it strengthens relationships by showing how much you care by opening up so everyone learns.

Take The Plunge

Be the first to do something different.   Take the plunge!  Start virtual online discussions to help others when the world had to go work from home overnight.  Start your own peer groups and networking groups.  Ask for help to be a better leader and work with coaches for business and health.  Yes, it is okay to ask for help!

Go out and continue to lead by example.  What is the next challenge standing in the way?  Figure out what it takes to overcome it and execute your plan.  You may be right most of the time and you may be wrong once in a while.  Be vulnerable, stand up and lead.

Care About Others

Businesses sometimes forget it is the people who make their brand;  the team, the clients, the associates, the community and others who support you along your journey.  Remember to say thank you.   Make time for them.  Ask how they are doing and how you can help.  We have reached out to many recently simply asking what we can do to help.

I miss "doing laps" at our office interacting with the AlphaKORians' and seeing how they are doing.  Friday afternoons we bring the team together online and it is a time to update them on where we are going, asking how they are doing and letting them know we care about them as they head into the weekend.  Last week we had a couple of members return to our team and you could feel the warm reception from a team that cares about each other.  I admit, I was a bit misty-eyed wrapping up the discussion thanking the AlphaKOR family for all they do.

Continuously raising the bar and striving for excellence while being vulnerable are what makes you a better leader.

(Originally published on 04.22.20)

Helping Each Other

Why is it important to help each other and the community?  Our community supports our careers, our businesses, our families and we support each other as we deal with this challenging time.  In my mind, the question should be:  Am I doing enough to support each other and the community that has supported me?

Everything Helps

The AlphaKORians' donated 500 masks to the hardworking nurses at Windsor Regional Hospital Metropolitan Campus. We are so grateful to our brave front-line workers who put their lives at risk every day to help us!  Many organizations have pivoted their business to help such as hand sanitization and masks.

What can you and your organization do to help?

Together We Make A Difference

Each day we are watching the news and the latest information.   Together, we can make a difference.  Changing the way we interact, the way we work and the way we socialize all play a part in helping each other stay safe and healthy.  We may not agree or like what it takes, however, leaders step up, embrace the situation and execute the plan to help.

It's A New World

In this new world we now live in, we need to look at two major areas of our lives and our businesses.   What can we do to help and what do we need to do to keep it as business as usual in the virtual world?

We have helped many organizations deal with the sudden requirement of staff to work from home.  Keeping employees connected to the office so they can work safely and securely.  This is the time where cybersecurity is of the utmost importance.  We have implemented many solutions overnight to keep our clients' data from hackers.  Be alert of the many schemes and read e-mails carefully.   Look at who they are from and question if it is legitimate before opening attachments or clicking on links.

Interactive Virtual Discussions

There are many interactive virtual discussions happening every day to help each other.  AlphaKOR started with inviting our clients and the community to join us on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons to ask how they are doing, what challenges they are facing and how we can help each other.  Our team has been helping other organizations by volunteering as virtual guests for such organizations as the WindsorEssex Regional Chamber and the Windsor Ontario Network (W.O.N.).

These virtual discussions are designed to help each other and have an interactive discussion on what is happening today and where we can make a difference for each other and for the community.

Keep Supporting Each Other

There are many organizations in our community that need your help. We are all responsible to do our part.  I encourage you to go out and do your part by giving back to our community.  Reach out to everyone to help.

As we continue to support each other, we must remember to take care of our own health, our family and our team.   The toughest challenge is keeping your organization running while balancing everything else today.

How can we help?

(Originally published on 04.15.20)

The Voice Of Your Client

When a client communicates with you, your team, and your organization, are you hearing their message and really listening?  Today it is very important to understand your client's business, their priorities, and their sense of urgency.  If you listen closely, you will understand many businesses are reaching out to you to help them deal with this unprecedented challenge we are all facing.

Listen

Listen to what they are sharing with you.   When a client provides a compliment, understand what sets you and your team apart.   Is it the process, the people, the leader, the relationship, the experience in general, or a combination?  Your brand and your reputation will carry your company forward.   You are the expert on the subject matter and need to deliver it, always.

What if the message is neutral as in yes we had an OK experience with your Team?   How do you respond?   Asking questions to further understand what they liked and did not like.  Drill down to understand what their expectations were will help to provide a better experience in the future.  Qualifying, understanding, and setting expectations are all critical in setting the stage for continued success.

Candid Feedback

We dislike negative and candid feedback.   How do you handle this?   These are the clients that care the most about your organization and are educating you to do better.   You probably do not believe this and kid yourself in saying "this does not happen to us".   That is OK and you can keep telling yourself this while great teams embrace it and take care of their clients.

Listen to the voice of the client.   We have heard the expression "there are three sides to every story:  yours, mine and somewhere between is the truth".  Here is a golden nugget for you:  the reality is the perception of the client about their experience with your business.  The proof is in the voice of your client.   Be very thankful if and when they communicate with you.   The alternative of not communicating, leaving you, and moving on to build a new relationship with someone else is not the option you want.

Deliver During Crisis

During this crisis, we have experienced an increased demand to help our clients and new clients alike to be the experts on the subject matter.  Listening to the voice of our clients is a result of this.  Our expertise to provide assistance in setting up their remote workforces, securing their data, reaching their target market in the digital world, and implementing business continuity plans are some examples.  The AlphaKORians' are still rockin' it and it is business as usual in this "new world" we are in.

What are you hearing when you listen to the voice of your client?

(Originally published on 04.08.20)

Staying Motivated

This week more than ever, it is challenging to stay motivated and focused on business as we deal with the challenges of staying safe and healthy.  I am revisiting this subject to help stay on track for your team and your business. Successful people always seem to be motivated.    They are energetic, focused and accomplish great things on a consistent basis, regardless of what gets in the way.

What Keeps Us Motivated?

Motivated people walk briskly with a purpose and with the sense of confidence.  They have a drive to solve a problem, to create a new standard or to simply take care of the task at hand and move to the next one.  Motivated leaders overcome all the challenges, embrace new plans, execute these plans such as sending their team home to work remotely in a safe and secured environment. Be the leader to keep the pendulum swinging forward.  Seeing the results of satisfied clients to keep their organizations running and seeing our dedicated team working together with everyone to help is motivating.  Our webinars are designed to help others and to start the discussion on what challenges the business community is facing.  We are here to listen, help and provide answers.  Join the conversation on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 pm  and see how the AlphaKORians are making a difference.

Why Are Others Not Motivated?

It is easy to procrastinate and focus on what cannot be done and to focus on the negativity.  Growing up on a farm has embedded the routine of getting up early, focus on the day and to turn it off a bit in the evening.  Working out daily with the F45 crew online keeps me focused on health and helps clear my mind to bring the energy to every day. It is important to make leisure time to relax and enjoy each day.  Reading and spending time with the family makes my leisure time enjoyable and keeps me motivated!  Spending more time at home and with the family, find what you enjoy and make this part of your daily routine to keep you motivated.

The Result Of Being Motivated?

You create your own destiny.  Sure, we get frustrated.  We vent.  We complain.  We are worried.  All part of the cycle.  Focusing your energy onto the positive side and focusing on what you can do to help will take you to your destiny.  Let go of the things that are not in your reach and things you cannot change.  Your self-motivation to keep moving in the right direction is your own motivation.   No one else can do this for you.  Motivate yourself to make a difference. Did you know you have the power to motivate yourself?

(Originally published on 04.01.20)

Suddenly Remote

Leaders have found themselves dealing with their team working remotely during this crisis.  We are asking ourselves what is deemed to be essential and what is non-essential?   Can everyone or almost everyone work safely and securely from home?   These are some of the tough questions we are faced with in addition to the changing world we live in today.

Yesterday, we had a webinar on helping to deal with this topic.   Thanks to the WindsorEssex Regional Chamber, WEtech, and WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation for co-hosting and special thanks to my friend Karolyn Hart, President of InspireHUB for being a virtual speaker with me.  Here are some highlights of our webinar.

Work From Home Policy

Many have worked from home and remotely for years.   For others, this is new and all of a sudden a real issue that needs to be addressed.  Does your organization have a work from home policy?   If not, one needs to be in place.   Your current policy needs to be revisited and updated to ensure your team is taken care of in terms of their safety and most importantly, their health.

Setting Up The Home Office

Your office set-up will have a number of items to review and might need to be addressed to work efficiently and securely from home.   Your Internet speed is important.  Your devices need to be up to date.   For example, computers running Windows 7 and Windows 8 no longer have security updates and should not be used.   Ensure you are running Windows 10 with the latest updates.   The same principle applies to your Mac and other devices.

Business As Usual

Treat working from home the same as being in the office.   Find your quiet space away from everyone else in your home including pets while you are working.   Keep similar hours and dress appropriately.   This comment also receives a chuckle and could lead to embarrassing moments if on a video call.  Focus on your work.   When interacting with others, whether on the phone, video conference or replying to their e-mail, the same rules apply.   We can tell when you are distracted, working on something else so the best practice is to focus on the task at hand.

Remote Tools

There are so many phone conferences, video conferences,s and collaboration tools available today.  Starting with what you want to do and accomplish can help choose the right tools.   Some are free for the basic version and some have free trial versions for 30-days.   Microsoft Teams is included with Office 365 subscriptions and is a good tool to communicate with your team.

For our webinar, we used Zoom as our platform.  We had almost 100 attend virtually with the 2 presenters' camera's on, shared our screens for our PowerPoint slides and there was a chat box on the side for comments and questions.

You can Google top ten tools for each category, review them, ask others what they like/dislike, talk to your tech team and tech company to help.

Your Data

Data is very important to every organization.   What data do you need to access?   Where is it located?  Where are you saving the data once you update it?  How is it being backed up?  Many questions need to be asked and dealt with by your tech team and/or technology company.  If the data resides on your company network, you require a secured connection at both your home office and the company.   If the data is in the cloud, more questions need to be asked.   Just because it is in the cloud, does not necessarily mean it is safe, secure, and backed-up.

Security And More Security

During this crisis, security is more important than ever.  Be alert and aware of the many scams especially via e-mail called phishing.   When you receive an e-mail from someone you know and trust asking to go out and purchase gift cards or attached order and so forth do not automatically click on links and respond.  STOP.  Read each e-mail carefully and at least twice.   Are the tone, grammar, and spelling slightly off?   Is it demanding such as "What is the cell number I need to reach you right away?"  Look at the e-mail address.  It may say "John Smith" and it may also have a different e-mail address such as John Smith<scammingyou@hotmail.com>.  Look at the e-mail address and if not sure, send John Smith a new e-mail instead of hitting reply.

Keep your anti-virus, malware, anti-spam, and all your software updated.  For additional security, when logging into company data and sensitive data, another layer of security can be added.  Most of us have experienced two-factor or multi-factor authentication.   When logging into an app or program, additional questions are asked or a code is sent to your e-mail or cell phone to prove who you are.   This is a good practice when working remotely to help minimize unauthorized access to your data.

Change Your Passwords

Change all your passwords today.  Yes, today.   Do it now....we will wait.  Welcome back!  Get into the habit of changing all your passwords on a regular basis, whether it is weekly, monthly, or quarterly.   Hackers are getting better every day so we have to keep working at staying ahead of them.

Wireless Internet at home needs a password.   How many family and friends have your wireless password so their devices connect when they visit?  Change the password on your wireless connections.   We are not visiting so this will have no effect on them until we are able to be social again.   Be diligent on your passwords and do not leave them posted on your screen!

We Care

We are here to help and we care about you.  We receive many calls and e-mails with questions from clients, prospects, and associates on how to deal with these challenging times as the world has changed overnight.   Doing business has changed.  Sharing our knowledge, helping others, and caring about each other will benefit all of us.

If you would like the slide decks from the Suddenly Remote webinar, please e-mail frank@alphakor.com, and will gladly send you them.

Be safe and be healthy.

(Originally published 03.25.20)

 

COVID-19: Update to Operations

As the global impacts of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) continue to evolve and affect the many communities we serve, so too does our response. Effective Monday, March 23rd, 2020, much of our staff will be working online and remotely from home to practice social distancing and do our part to flatten the curve.

Our team is set up to deliver continued full-service to our clients until we are advised by our local health officials. We will continue to engage with all stakeholders to provide timely and prioritized responses to your questions and concerns. Staff is evaluating opportunities to facilitate access to services and resources to assist our clients in light of these unprecedented actions.

These are extraordinary times and we must all work together to ensure our communities remain calm, safe and healthy. If there is anything we can do to assist your team during this continually evolving situation, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Effective Immediately

To prevent the spread of Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and reduce the potential risk of exposure to our employees and visitors, we have implemented the following precautions.

Precaution #1: If clients or visitors have a scheduled appointment at AlphaKOR, please call ahead to reschedule the appointment, or choose to have the appointment by phone instead.

Precaution #2: We understand that for some engagements there are elements of our work that cannot be done remotely. We have requested that AlphaKOR employees coordinate with their clients, and respect the policies or guidelines that our clients share with us relating to attendance at their premises. As noted above, phone conferencing is preferable, if possible.

Precaution #3: If our clients require assistance setting up secured remote access for their employees to maintain business operations offsite, we are more than happy to assist.

Thank you for your cooperation.

For local updates on COVID-19 and how it is impacting Windsor-Essex County, please visit: https://www.wechu.org/cv/local-updates.

Ali Jaber | Frank Abbruzzese | Mazen Jaber | Shawn O'Rourke

(Originally published 10:45 am on 03.18.20)

Leaders Change Plans For Everyone's Health

Leaders are facing the harsh reality of changing plans rapidly to deal with all the challenges happening around us today.   We have uncertainties with major worldwide events such as the markets crashing and the COVID-19 Coronavirus.  Which sources and how much information do you take in to formulate your direction?

Reactive or Proactive

Some leaders are reactive and jump at changing direction immediately, while others take in as much information and decipher it quickly to put together a proactive plan.   Which leader are you?  We have seen some of our political leaders criticized for not reacting fast enough and then criticized for changing their plans shortly after.   Information is fluid and these leaders implement a different plan based on new information.

Our executive team has been closely watching all the information; locally, regionally, provincially, nationally and worldwide to ensure we have qualified and updated information.  We have taken precautionary measures, instituted several new policies and updated these as required in the span of the last several days.

Health & Safety #1 Priority

We have always placed the AlphaKORians', our families and clients as top priorities when it comes to health and safety.   Those who have not felt well have gone home.   Those who have returned from travelling outside of Canada have gone home.   Practicing social distance, all face-to-face meetings and non-critical onsite technical services were rescheduled.   Many were changed to phone calls, video conference calls or remote technical services.

Health guidelines have been shared with the team and kept updated.   More hand sanitization and anti-bacterial wipes have been added throughout the office.   Any concerns have been addressed immediately.  We have updated our contingency plan for reducing the team at the office and many of the team working remotely.   We also have a full business continuity plan for "lights out" operations for the business to run with the entire team working remotely.

Business As Usual

For our clients, we are providing solutions, support and help to keep it business as usual.   Many clients and new clients have asked about working remotely for their employees.   We have provided secured solutions to enable their teams to work from home.   This is part of our core competencies.  We have many years of experience in providing these types of solutions.  Business must continue; however, it must not continue at all costs.   Leaders take the initiative to make the necessary changes to balance business as usual while ensuring everyone remains safe and healthy.  Leaders continue seeking updated information and expert opinions on how to keep moving in the right direction.

We Care

At AlphaKOR, we care about everyone and we are here to help in any way we can.  Everyone must work together on taking care of each other during times like this.  Like everything else we have faced, we will get through this together.   Be safe and stay healthy.

 (Originally published on 03.18.20)

Don't Stop The Pendulum

This week we are revisiting "The Pendulum Never Stops" topic.  In business, now more than ever, you must keep the pendulum swinging forward!   Yes, there are many challenges and difficult events happening in the world, however, you must figure out how you are going to persevere while ensuring your team and clients are taken care of properly.

Choose To Keep Moving Forward

In business and in life, you are either moving forward and growing or you are moving backwards and not growing.  If the pendulum happens to stop moving, then it is over.  The pendulum must always be moving and preferably moving forward.  Being mediocre and complacent is not an option.

What are you doing to keep the pendulum swinging forward?

Measure Success

What do you measure and define as successful growth?  Is it number of employees, gross revenues or personal milestones?  Whatever metric you use, it needs to keep moving in the same direction as your definition of growth.

In the technology sector, we face "legacy" revenue and we face brand-new revenue virtually on a daily basis.  To survive and sustain growth year over year, we have to keep moving forward.  What this means is we are continuously learning new technologies and challenging our processes all the time to make them better.  We keep raising the bar to achieve excellence in everything we do.

Just Ask

Asking our clients where they want to take their business and adding new solutions keep all of us moving forward in the right direction contributes to our continued growth.  We invest in the latest tools, training and keep up with best practices.  We ask what our clients are doing proactively with such business strategies as cybersecurity, business continuity and digital marketing to name a few.   The AlphaKORian' pendulum keeps swinging in the right direction thanks to our great team, clientele and community supporting us.

What are you doing to keep the pendulum moving?

(Originally published on 03.11.20)

Be Disruptive

Are you caught in the same routine and stuck in a rut?  What can you do to be disruptive?  Be the game-changer.

Make Stuff Happen

When I reflect on my day or week, some things are routine.  Some are embedded in my daily task list.  Other things happen unexpectedly with positive results.  Some things just happen based on your efforts.   Keep making stuff happen!

Your Voice

Step up and voice your ideas and opinions on what you believe needs to change for the better.   Execute your ideas and see the results.  Sure, you may be off the mark occasionally and that is okay.  Most of the time you will find things turn out good.

Lead The Movement

Keep an eye out for opportunities where you can make an impact.   Lead the movement and do not just follow the norm.  Do not conform just to conform.  Observe what others are doing and listen to their feedback.   These actions will provide you with direction on where to lead and to be the game-changer.  Never be afraid to reinvent yourself.

Make An Impact

You can decide to follow the pack and not lead.   Just remember, someone else will always take the lead, so why not you?  Review your processes, your team, your competition, your clients, suppliers, your organizations you belong to and the community at large.  Where can you make an impact?

There Are Rules

I know there are rules and processes in place.   Challenge these and make them better.  When it comes down to it, every business is in the customer service business. Sometimes the rules and procedures do not apply to service your customer.  Leaders know there are rules and realize those rules may not be relevant to build and maintain trusted relationships.  Always stick to your core values when not following the rules:   integrity and honesty cannot be compromised.  Period.

Be disruptive and make stuff happen.

(Originally published 03.04.20)