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Today’s technology empowers business owners in ways that would have seemed incredible even 10 years ago. With a humming network connecting your team to the rest of the world, and with just a few simple keystrokes, your organization can complete tasks that used to take days.

Identifying opportunities in all areas of business is vital for growth, but one area that’s often overlooked is technology. Although it’s easy to adopt an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude with IT, conducting a periodic technology business assessment is a must.

Artificial intelligence has gone mainstream. Amazon Echo, Siri, Google Home and other personal assistants would have seemed like science fiction even 10 years ago. But now they’re just another facet of our contemporary reality.
Robots are continuing to push industry forward.

When a product is advertised as “more than a pet-treat camera,” you know we are living in 2018. PetChatz HD PawCall is a two-way, interactive camera to connect you to your furry friends while you’re away from home. With a camera secured to the wall and a treat-motivated interface for dogs and cats to master, the device allows you to say a quick hello to your pets, see how they’re doing, and dispense treats or essential oils to calm them down and keep them happy. The device even lets you monitor your home for any intruders or problems that may arise during your pets’ home-alone time. A silent mode enables you to observe your pet in their natural habitat, while a two-way “chat” feature allows you to connect in real time. It’s the perfect gift for any pet enthusiast!

Would you leave the front door of your business wide open every night? Of course, you wouldn’t. When nobody’s at the office, you’ve got to protect your assets, usually behind locked doors, a complex security system and often even a network of CCTV cameras.

By Barry Schwartz

As the world has grown increasingly complex and consumers have come to expect access to everything they could ever want with the tap of a screen, choice overload has begun to set in.

Most people assume that the more options they have, the happier they’ll be, but, as Barry Schwartz argues in The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, research shows the exact opposite is true.

Years back, A1Care owner Percy Syddall upgraded his business with a state-of-the-art system for storing all the company’s records and customer data in a single place. The network was a massive boon to both his customers and employees. But when his entire organization found themselves locked out of the data by ransomware, with the hackers demanding a price too steep to pay, the company had to act fast.

The weirdest thing happens when it’s time to close a deal: smart people turn to mush!

I’ve seen it happen a hundred times. Even my own teammates, many of whom have PhDs and MBAs from some of the top universities in the world, aren’t immune to this issue. When they’re doing the work, my colleagues are confident, caring and even daring. But when selling the work, they often struggle. I see the same three fatal patterns with salespeople of all stripes.

In today’s business world, everyone is a negotiator. But hopefully, you’ve never had to wheel and deal your way out of a hostage situation where lives were on the line.
But that’s exactly what ex-FBI kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss used to deal with all the time in his old job.