Are you Prepared?

I hope you don’t think this is ‘beating a dead horse’, but I can’t help but draw your attention to the news coming out of the Southern California area this past week. Over 250,000 people had to be evacuated from the area due to wildfires fueled by a season (or more) of dry weather and driven by over 75 mph winds...

Last issue we talked about problems that occurred in a small Idaho town due to wildfires this summer. Ultimately little property damage occurred and people were able to return to their homes fairly soon. Now we have a much larger example, with more devastating results, due to fires that have wreaked havoc in Southern California. This time, billions of dollars in property damage and human, as well as animal, lives have been lost. For those who survive, with ‘only’ the loss of homes and businesses, recovering from this tragedy will take years. Some may never completely return to a so called ‘normal’ life.

From a business information technology perspective this again points out the need to prepare to run your business from outside of your primary location. It points out the need to have offsite backup of important documents, programs, and data that can be accessed when needed. It points out the importance of having alternative sources of supplies, and even employee resources. We could add to this list forever, but the point is that you need to take a long hard look at all of the areas where you are potentially vulnerable.

It is also not just your traditional office/business that needs to look at this issue. How many of the homes lost were used as a base for a home business? I don’t think we can estimate and will most likely never know. It may be even more important for those who are running a business out of their home to anticipate circumstances that will cause them to rapidly move their business to another location. Being able to move computer equipment, paper files of customer information, internet services, etc… all require careful and diligent planning. Two items to seriously look into are: Backup generators for temporary power needs and External Hard Drives to backup your data.

No amount of planning can prevent a disaster of the magnitude presented in and around San Diego. If it is going to happen it will happen. But, you can improve your odds of surviving, and being able to, quickly, return to some form of normalcy by being prepared.

If it ain't broke you may need to fix it

Normally, the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a well heeded thought. Unfortunately that is not always the case when it comes to technology.

Recently a client brought to us a computer that was extremely old. This computer had been working for many years and was used to control equipment used in a manufacturing environment. There had been no need to monitor how this equipment was functioning, or the software it was running, because it 'simply worked'.

The problem that now surfaced was that this particular computer was failing. Simple enough to solve; or at least that is what we thought. The problem, unkown to anyone, was that the software running on this computer required a very specific processor speed and would not run on newer computers.

So, now we are scrambling around trying to find computers that were made 10 years ago, but still function: Not an easy task.

The lesson we have learned from this is that all computers and applications become obsolete at some point in time. With the every changing world of computers, no software will run forever, and no computer will function likewise.

All organizations need to periodically review their software applications and hardware to determine where they stand in relation to the long term goals of the organization. Do they need upgraded? Can they even be upgraded? Or, do they need to be replaced with new software and hardware?

How old is your oldest computer? How long have you been using your current software applications?

These are questions you need to ask yourself, before it becomes to late.

Can a thumb drive hurt your business

Think about this for a minute...

Someone can walk up to any computer in your office, insert a thumb drive (memory stick, flash drive, etc...), reboot that computer and potentially access everything on your system.

Now, this is a major over simplification of the problem. But nonetheless, it is possible. Mandriva, several months ago, brought forth just such a device that can be inserted into any computer that has been setup to allow a boot to take place from a portable USB device. Once their operating system has booted up on that computer, any device attached to the computer is susceptible to access. Is there secure information on its hard drive? Is it a laptop that holds confidential client information? Or, could it even hold the names of covert operatives working for the CIA?

If sensitive information resides on the hard drives of computers within your organization you must take steps to secure it. A very basic way to prevent this particular danger is to password protect access to the BIOS on your computers and then disable the ability of your computers to boot from portable devices.

These simple steps will keep unintentional access to your systems from occurring and hopefully make it easier to secure sensitive information.

Is your business prepared for a disaster?

A couple of years ago the world watched as New Orleans almost became the ‘Lost City of Atlantis’. Hurricane Katrina almost completely destroyed this historic city on the Mississippi. Homes, lives, and businesses were lost in the matter of just a few days. Many of those businesses had enough warning to enable them to move vital information to secure spots. Unfortunately, many more chose to ‘stick it out’ in hopes that the storm and surge would pass by them.

Most people who live along coastal waterways know there is the possibility that they will be subject to some kind of natural disaster. Businesses put plans in effect that will help them relocate in case of emergencies. But what would you do if your small community seems impervious to natural disasters? We live in a relatively safe place here in Idaho. We do not get hurricanes; we rarely have tornados, and when we do the most damage it usually does is tip over somebody’s tractor or throws their swing set into a tree; we can have some harsh winters but not anything that can’t be dealt with. But, recently an event happened that should make every small town that sits in the mountains take notice.

A fire started in the mountains near Sun Valley, Idaho. It quickly grew to many thousands of acres, threatening the towns of Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Elkhorn. They, or at least parts of them, were evacuated for several days. Did these towns have a week or two notice, like they did with hurricane Katrina? No, they had only a few hours notice for the citizens of those communities to grab whatever belongings they could carry and evacuate. Fortunately the fire was contained and few reports of lost property were reported.

What would you do in your business if this happened? How would you safeguard your property? How would you transfer vital documents and supplies to safe areas? What would happen to your information technology infrastructures? How would you conduct business if you were forced to leave your place of business for an extended time?

These same questions were repeatedly asked on September 11, 2001, the day the World Trade Center towers were attacked and destroyed, by many businesses throughout this land and beyond. These same questions need to be asked today?

Disaster preparedness is not just about stocking food in case you can’t get to the store. For businesses it is about preparing to function in extreme circumstances, preparing to secure key components of their business from possible damage, and preparing to not only survive, but prosper when all around them seems to be in chaos.

How have you prepared your business in the event of an emergency?

Let us know…

Innovation in the Family Business

A danger in any business is stagnation. As our business becomes more successful, we become more comfortable with our surroundings and less motivated to change from existing practices. Family businesses are no exception: Starting out on an entrepreneurial high, family businesses “are widely recognized as a major source of technological innovation and economic progress” (Zahra, 2005, p. 23). But somewhere in the process we lose the drive, the desire to continually bring innovative practices and products to our organization. Owners may become more concerned about the risk of losing their business, than the prospect of growing it into a larger and more successful entity. In sports this can be compared to a coach who becomes more conservative in a game that the team is winning and instead of trying to win the game, they try and keep from losing it, usually ending up with either a very narrow win, or a loss. How can we continue to promote innovation into the lifeblood of a family business, even as the owner is aging and may be facing the prospect of turning the business over to a younger generation?

One key to this is vision: What is the owner’s vision for the future of the organization? Does he, or she, want this to be a legacy to their foresight, and entrepreneurial abilities that will last for generations? Do they want to sell the business for the best price and leave an inheritance not tied to the business for their children and grand children? Do they want the business to be buried with them? Each of these questions can spur multiple answers and will ultimately decide the current and future direction that the business takes, but the answer to the first question is really the one that will determine the future success or failure of an organization. An owner, who desires to pass their legacy on to a succeeding generation, and give them the best chance of success, will plan for the future; will prepare that company to be a success in their chosen field, and will consider all aspects of what it takes to make that company successful.

Developing a culture of innovation then becomes a key component in preparing that organization for the future. That is a lot easier said than done however, and each organization will have to find what works best for them. One factor particular to family businesses though is identifying a successor and grooming them early to take over the organization. You cannot leave this decision to the last minute. The transition from one leader to the next is difficult in any organization, but when you throw the dynamics of the family into the mix, it becomes even more precarious. Many organizations fail because the new manager (son or daughter) was not prepared for the intricacies of leadership, did not understand the business, or was simply the wrong choice for the job.

We would like to hear from other organizations on how they have handled this transition and maintained a environment of innovation and excitement.

References:

Zahra, S. A. (2005). Entrepreneurial Risk Taking in Family Firms. Family Business Review, 18(1), 23-40.

Hello World!

We have decided to consolidate our various blogs into one. This will be an all encompassing blog to help small and family businesses with the management and information technology needs. Topics will range from leadership transition in family businesses through virtual organizations and teams.

Family Businesses drive the economies of most countries. This is the first of hopefully many thoughts about helping Family Businesses succeed into multiple generations. Unfortunately less than half go beyond the first generation, and by the 4th generation only 3% remain. Our goal is to help organizations that have reached the point, or will someday, where they are considering how to transition from one generation to the next, or even if they want to. We ask all who have ideas to let us know what they are. Together we can build organizations that will last and prosper for generations to come.