Dirty Tricks

The article shown at dirty tricks is a very sad reflection on today's business environment. Although this story comes from the USA, we have had experiences of similar misfortune in the UK. Over the years, we have helped clients who have had their money stolen, websites stolen, domain name ownership stolen (that happens a lot - do you really own yours?) and businesses wrecked by so-called service providers in the ICT and Web design fields.

Now, I'm sure this happens in other fields of business (take the car industry and MG Rover for instance - see Robert Peston's cringing review of that story here - BMW Rover), but the software industry seems to attract these characters in greater numbers than are the norm.

The moral of the story is simple - be careful who you choose as a supplier of whatever service you need. Get a specification and tender document written by someone who knows the field. At the end of any tender evaluation that we carry out for clients, where a 'winner' has emerged from a quantitative analysis, we always ask the question "Can you work with these people?"

Always visit their premises, ask awkward questions about their culture and check references. What are they really like? Every company has problems, but the good ones react well when something goes wrong - how do they react? Do they look for scapegoats or do they fix the problem and learn from it?

The supplier may well be the leader in the market or have provided the cheapest bid, but if he has the business ethics of Attila the Hun, I'd rather not do business with him.

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Quote of the week

"In the business world, the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windshield".

Warren Buffet.

Peering out through the windscreen at 21st Century Britain, I see only one word - "Tax".

David Ward

The seven immutable laws of negotiation

Yes, we had to look it up as well. Immutable - according to the Oxford English Dictionary - means: "not subject to or susceptible to change. Unalterable."

It dates back to 1621, which explains why I haven't used it down the pub.

Seriously, the subject of negotiation skills is particularly important during these depressing times. If you don't have the skills, you will leave profit on the table or be forced to accept difficult terms of contract. Both are bad news when business is tight and competition rising.

To help, our partners at the International Association of Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) are putting on a webinar. The speaker, Ron Hubsher, explains:

"To Members of the IACCM Negotiation and Sales Policy Communities of Interest: Please join us!

Ask the Expert - The Seven Immutable Laws of Sales Negotiation

When: Thursday 02/19/2009 - 16:00 British Time, 17:00 Central European, 11 am Eastern US, 8 am Pacific US

"Sales negotiaion is not conflict resolution. It is about co-creating a great agreement that allows the seller and buyer to create a great relationship, not creating a marginally better agreement based on fear and reprisals."

Join us when we speak with sales negotiation expert and author, Ron Hubsher. Learn what Ron refers to as the "7 Immutable Laws" of sales negotiation and how understanding these laws you can get your asking price, create more value for both you and the buyer, and take your relationship to the next level.

To register, go to: http://www.etouches.com/ask112

Please note that IACCM Ask the expert calls are paid for by the membership, thus this call is free to paid members. There is a minimal charge to cover costs for Guest, Newsletter or Free membership participants. If you have a question about what your membership status is, contact info@iaccm.com or log in to http://www.iaccm.com and look at your membership type on the top of the page.

About the Expert: Ron Hubsher

Ron Hubsher is CEO of the Sales Optimization Group,an international sales and negotiation training and consulting organization. The company assists clients in financial services; technology, professional services, business services and manufacturing accelerate sales by using its patent pending sales and negotiation methodologies and tools. Some of their notable clients include Adobe, Morgan Stanley, Prudential, ADP, Sun Microsystems, Comcast, Columbia Business School and others.

He is regularly asked to participate, contribute, present and share his sales and negotiation thought leadership at many conferences and with publications including the BusinessWeek, LA Times, Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, America Marketing Association, Columbia Business School Alumni Association, Wharton Alumni Association, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Sales Leadership Roundtable, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies, The Indus Enterprise, Marketing Executives Network, Webex, CRM Radio, CRM Guru and others.

Mr. Hubsher is the author of the book "Closing Time: The 7 Immutable Laws of Sales Negotiation". Sounds a corker.

So there you have it, another almost free source of expert opinion brought to you by Aligned Solutions Ltd.

Did you guess where the photograph was taken? It's the superb Alnwick Gardens in the County of Northumberland, England, very close to where the Harry Potter movies were shot.

And now you even know what 'immutable' means.

DW.

Yes, we know it's been a while!

The New Year is upon us, the snow lies deep and even, depending where you are in Britain. Here, it's just cold.

We haven't been lazing around since our last blogpost. Indeed, we've created a new website at http://www.alignedsolutions.co.uk/ to act as your first point of call for all commercial management consultancy and training needs. Have a look and let us have some feedback.

Using Google Analytics (see http://www.google.com/analytics/), a really brilliant tool, we know that we're being read in the USA and Canada, throughout the UK, Norway (which is a bit of a cheat as Norwegian company inBusiness Norway created the site - see http://www.inbusiness.no/), Germany, Spain and as far afield as Solvenia.

We've also brought in some very capable consultants to join our team - see the people page at http://www.alignedsolutions.co.uk/index.cfm?id=217644. If you're expecting to find young MBA's fresh out of a leading business school, you'll be disappointed. All of our people are highly experienced, proven consultants who have had their fair share of responsibility and wielded the authority of senior office. Every single one is an achiever. Some are even a little grey and grizzled. All the better to sort out our clients problems!

Seriously, we've added some great talent and I'm excited about the future. If their experience in operations, finance, commercialisation services or business development hits a chord, give me a call.

David Ward, Chief Executive, info@alignedsolutions.co.uk

Butch Cassidy was a Geordie

Our friends at bdaily (see bdaily.info) have been doing some geneology. American outlaw Butch Cassidy had Geordie heritage, according to newly discovered records. The leader of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang carried out countless robberies across Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada.

But census records show his roots lie in the North East of England, reports the Daily Telegraph (11th Dec 08). His mother Ann Gillies lived for years in Brandling Village, in Jesmond, Newcastle, before emigrating to start a life in New York.

The English link was discovered by Mike Bell who as a boy became obsessed with the film Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Mr Bell, 52, who grew up in Newcastle, said: "I've been from Utah to Argentina looking for information on Butch. All the time the house where his mum lived was around the corner."

For those not familiar with life in North East England, a ‘Geordie’ is born on the banks of the River Tyne and must never, ever be confused with the poor souls of Sunderland.

Our Chief Executive, David Ward, wants to make it plain that he’s not a Geordie, even though he was raised in Wallsend, close to the shipyards.

“I’m a Northumbrian, from Morpeth,” says David. Now there’s another story!

The RSC Northern Star awards

Aligned Solutions was delighted to be a sponsor of the Northern Star awards night of RSC Northern, based at the University of Sunderland (see http://www.rsc-northern.ac.uk/).

We sponsored the 'Outstanding e-Learning Achievement Award in Work-based Learning' which was won by the IT department of The NETA Training Group (see http://77.68.36.168/AboutUs/tabid/105/language/en-GB/Default.aspx.

Working with Mindset Technologies, NETA's IT department developed an initial assessment and profiling system for 14-18 year olds, which profiles the aptitude to appropriate qualifications from GCSE's to apprenticeships.

This was further developed into a single package which encompasses profiling, tracking, e-portfolio building, document management and a management information system.

Our Chief Executive, David Ward, takes up the story: "We've worked with the Regional Support Centre for over a year, helping develop the bid writing skills of the work-based learning organisations that RSC looks after in the region. ASL was delighted to help sponsor the event which recognised the talents and commitment of these excellent training organisations. Without them, the region would be a much poorer place.

"Overall, we helped over 50 WBL's improve their skills, with some notable successes. One provider won a £350,000 LSC contract to help young kids in Middlesbrough after we helped mentor their bid. That contract supported nine staff jobs and allowed this excellent team to continue helping the community. Others won LIG3 and 4 funding which provided much needed capital funding for IT equipment.

"I'd like to thank Christine Bravey, Brian Burr and centre manager Gareth Davies for their support and achievement during the last year. Well done to all!"

Expect more information and photos from the awards night when they become available.

If anyone needs help with their bids, ASL's mentoring service could be your answer. Drop us an e-mail from the website or call David Ward on +44(0)191 280 4238.

We're here to help!

Internet Street fails to live up to name

Our Chief Executive, David Ward, came across this story from bdaily, an Internet news company based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, see www.bdaily.info

David explains; "This gave me a chuckle and Si Bales, who runs bdaily, has allowed us to share it with you. Perhaps it will raise a smile in the middle of all this snow!" The image shows a picturesque Grey Street in Newcastle. The story goes like this:

A Polish man who bought a house on Internet Street is selling it because he can't get a broadband connection.

Andrzej Gromek, 43, of Warsaw, said: "I have written dozens of letters to the national telecom regulator. At first they thought it was a joke but then they found that actually it was too expensive to put a line into the street just for me. So I am moving."

His complaint has shocked the Polish Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) into launching a nationwide campaign.

"How is it possible that in the capital, in a street with that name, there is no competition between internet operators?" asked UKE boss Anna Strezynska.

So there! Next time you complain about your Internet connection, think of Andrzej.