May 29, 2007

Infect My PC? Sure!

Check out this article one of my colleagues passed it on to me and I couldn’t help but comment on it.

Apparently, 409 people clicked on a Google Adwords ad that offered to infect their virus-free PCs. 

Really? 409 people?

Turns out it was an experiment by a guy at an IT company in Europe. 

I have to question the 409 people who clicked on the ad. Did they really not read the ad? Apparently not. Luckily nothing happened to their computers, but can you imagine if something had? 

I think this is a lesson to all to make sure that you fully read online ads on if you’re going to click on them. 

How often do you click on Google Adwords ads, or any other ad online for that matter?

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May 25, 2007

Force Field Analysis: Identify Negative Influences

Note: Running most Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook page of the PKF Texas website.

Last week you heard about how to find 15-20 ideas using Force Field Analysis to enhance the positive influences of an issue. You will go through the same procedure to reduce the negative influences.

Be ready to hear the soft issues about the item at this phase of the analysis. Soft issues may include lack of time, lack of support from management, not enough training, etc. 

These soft issues generally do not surface in day to day conversation, but can be critical. 

Keep in mind to listen to all the ideas that are presented.

After identifying five negative influences and three to four tasks to reduce the negative influences, you should again have 15 to 20 ideas for improvement. 

Next week you’ll hear about how to implement these tasks.

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May 23, 2007

Blog Shines at Crystals

We’ve done it again! The blog has won 2 Crystal Awards and a Certificate of Excellence from the American Marketing Association’s Houston chapter.

The blog was the first to win a Crystal in the new Maverick Marketing category. We faced some steep competition from companies like Bullpen Marketing and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.  To see all the winners click here.

I also received word yesterday that we have won 5 PRSA Excalibur awards. There are three levels, bronze, silver and gold for each category. We won’t know until June 21st which level we won for our 5 categories. I’ll let you know after the awards banquet.

I also want to say congratulations to the PKF Texas Practice Growth team who put the award entries together. Your hard work is much appreciated!

Just a note, there won’t be an entry on Monday, it’s Memorial Day, I’ll be posting a new entry Tuesday. This Friday’s PKF Texas – The Entrepreneur’s Playbook will post as usual. 

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May 21, 2007

Taiwan as an Entrepreneurial Model

Continuing from my last post about entrepreneurial periods in the U.S. history has shown that our economy is stronger during periods of entrepreneurialism.

One interesting thing to look at is Taiwan’s economic rise. They were one of the poorest countries in the world following World War II and are now one of the wealthiest per capita. 

The reason for this is that the Taiwanese government nurtures the entrepreneur. They create as many opportunities for people as they can. Taiwan plays a very important role in the global marketplace and other countries can use them as a model for how to turn an economy around in two generations.

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May 18, 2007

Force Field Analysis: Identify Positive Influences

Note: Running most Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook page of the PKF Texas website.

Last week we detailed the theory behind Force Field Analysis. 

With your management team together, start by identifying the positive influences of an issue. 

Keep the number to five. There may be more, but for now you are only trying to get a consensus on the main influences.

Encourage everyone to contribute and listen to all the ideas that are presented. 

Once everyone agrees to the top positive influences, identify three to four tasks that will enhance or improve each positive influence. 

Again, you may have more tasks but get the group to agree to the best three to four tasks per item. 

At this point you should have 15 to 20 ideas that, if implemented, would enhance the positive influences of that issue. 

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May 16, 2007

Spam From The Blog

One of our readers alerted us that the blog has been used as part of a spam ripoff.  I have contacted our hosting site, Lexblog, and they are currently working on the problem.

The web address being used in the scam is "fromgreghead.com".  Note the lack of an “s”.

I’ll keep you updated as  the investigation progresses. 

I take this kind of intrusion very seriously and have sought a swift resolution.  Please know that your privacy is of the utmost importance to me and the others who work behind the scenes on the blog.  Here are the links to our privacy policy and disclaimer.  Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

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May 16, 2007

The Next Era of Entrepreneurialism

I read a great article in The Conference Board Review Magazine by Larry Farrell, author of several books on entrepreneurialism and host of www.TheSpiritofEnterprise.com, and it got me thinking.

The gist of the article is that entrepreneurship is an integral part of our country’s history and our economy. The entrepreneurial spirit is what drove the founding of the country, and the expansion to our west coast. We really hit our entrepreneurial stride during Reconstruction after the Civil War, and again during the 1920’s following World War I and before the stock market crash in 1929.

Right now we’re in another period of increased entrepreneurialism. Like I mentioned in Monday’s post, the Next Generation is driving this wave. We can look to the late ‘90s .com boom. 

There is more capital than ever before available to entrepreneurs starting companies. There are huge niche markets to be tapped and with Web 2.0 and our increasing connectivity the Next Generation is finding ways to take it to the next level. Myspace and Facebook are great examples. The possibilities for this generation are seemingly endless.

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May 14, 2007

Blog for the Next Generation Entrepreneur

I’m a frequent reader of David Maister’s blog, Passion, People and Principles. A couple of weeks ago he pointed readers to an interesting blog, The Brazen Careerist.

It’s a very interesting blog targeted at Generation X and the Next Generation. There are many great posts and a lot of great advice for young professionals.

One section of the blog I particularly noted and liked was dedicated to entrepreneurship. Generation X and the Next Generation are both huge entrepreneurial generations. Just look at the .com boom and the success of university sponsored business competitions. 

For example, the Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) is one of the largest in the world, awarding over $120K in cash and $200K total. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in young people across the globe. I wish the mainstream media would publicize and feature competitions like the RBPC more often. 

The fact that the RBPC is such a large and successful competition and draws participants from all over the globe is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of this generation. In this vein, I read an interesting article about entrepreneurship across the generations. Look for my comments on it on Wednesday.

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May 11, 2007

Theory of Force Field Analysis

Note: Running most Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook page of the PKF Texas website.

This is the first in a 4 part series about a management technique called Force Field Analysis.

Gather your management team together for a few hours and try “Force Field Analysis”.

It’s a brain storming method for developing improvement ideas and initiatives for the issues you have in your business. The theory is this: 

For each issue your company faces, there are already positive influences that if enhanced, will help the company improve.

There are also negative influences that keep the company from improving. 

With the Force Field Analysis, the management team can identify those influences as a group and then try to remove or reduce the negative impact and enhance the positive impacts already in place. 

If you are able to increase the positive influences and reduce the negative influences, the company will inevitably improve with regard to that issue.

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May 9, 2007

Best CFOs of the Year & Celebrate! Enterprise

I want to let everyone know about an event PKF Texas is sponsoring, the Best CFOs of the Year Awards on Friday May 18th. The Best CFOs luncheon will be held at the Wortham Center, down town. 

Here’s the official description of the new award program:

“This inaugural program recognizes those professionals who "Keep Track of the American Dream". The awards are given to Houston area financial professionals for outstanding performance in their role as corporate financial stewards. Meet and get to know Houston's best financial stewards as well as other C-level executives who have gathered to honor them.”

The award luncheon is being held in conjunction with the three day Celebrate! Enterprise event sponsored by the Houston Business Journal. 

This will be a great event highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit that is alive and well in Houston. I’m looking forward to it and will get you my thoughts after it’s over. 

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May 7, 2007

PKF Texas Makes VAR 100

More news to report. PKF Texas was named to Accounting Technology’s annual VAR 100 list. The list represents the top 100 Value-added Resellers (VAR) in the country. 

We are proud to be included on this year’s VAR 100 list. Our consulting practice continues to grow and we’re heading in a great direction.

Companies that were picked for inclusion in the VAR 100 list were selected based their status on Dec. 31, 2006. Resellers were considered for selection provided that they sold mid-level accounting software packages. PKF Texas is a reseller for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

The annual VAR 100 list appeared in the April issue of Accounting Technology.

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May 4, 2007

Work "On" Your Business Not "In" Your Business

Note: Running most Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook page of the PKF Texas website.

Before we know it, 2007 will be half over. How do you think this year’s financial results are going to stack up compared to previous years? By reviewing the results and analyzing the details in your business from 2006, you should have a firm grip on what did and didn’t work. 

Perform an assessment to see what issues would take your business to the next level or keep it from moving forward.

With everything you have to do on a daily basis, how can you make time to do this type of analysis? 

Take an afternoon to work “on” your business and not “in” your business.

Get out of the office if you have to. 

Identify one or two things that if improved or changed you know would have an impact on the profitability of your company immediately. 

Next week we will begin a 4 part series which details a good way to do this, called a Force Field Analysis. 

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May 3, 2007

Response from Kendra Trueba

In response to my blog on Monday, Kendra Trueba asked me to post the following, which I’m more than happy to do. 

Located in Midtown, just walking distance from Downtown, Houston Technology Center has office suites currently available.  With many floor plans to choose from, furnished or unfurnished, we are sure we can accommodate your office needs.  Our high-tech center is complete with many conference and meeting rooms, high speed internet connections, VOIP phone systems, reception service, and many other amenities that will help accelerate the growth of your business.  With extremely competitive rates, endless networking opportunities, beautiful views, and easy access to major freeways, Memorial Park, hotels and restaurants, HTC will definitely benefit you and your business!  Please contact Kendra Trueba with HTC at 832-476-9256 or ktrueba@htc.org today to learn more about services, availability and rates!

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May 2, 2007

Meetings - Time for Email?

Have you perfected the art of checking your email during a meeting? 

A recent survey of executives showed that 86% said that it is common for colleagues to read and respond to email during meetings. 

86%! That figure is way too high. The disturbing thing is only 31% disapprove of the practice!

Why do the other 69% find acceptable or at least tolerable to check email during a meeting? 

Presumably the meeting is important, or it would not warrant the face to face time. Why should it be acceptable to not give it the full attention it deserves?  It’s inconsiderate to the meeting organizer and other participants, not to mention critical information might be missed.

Recently I was interviewed via telephone about the blog. Though it was a phone interview and the journalist couldn’t see me, I turned off my pocket PC so my entire focus was on the interview. Had there been some kind of emergency my assistant would’ve been notified and I would have been alerted.

AccountingWeb has an article here where they offer some tips if you must check your email during a meeting. The most important of which is to excuse yourself quietly from the room and check it outside. 

Is it just me, or is this one of your pet peeves too? How many of your colleagues check email or their Crackberries during meetings?

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