How does tech support have an impact on the bottom line?

I've been thinking about this for a while so I thought i'd put it in a blog and share my thoughts on it.

It's a question I've come across quite often in my long(ish) career in IT - many guys that I've encountered working in support think that it's the sales team that bring in the money and that they just have to fix issues. I've been in that position and sometimes when you're right in the middle of something, it can be distracting to have to put it to one side to fix someone's print spooler or scanner or excel macro... well you get the idea.

The thing is, the support guys probably have far more contact with the customer than the sales team ever did - to the customer these guys are the company and it's their experience with the front end that decides how long they remain a customer. Ultimately, without customers you have no business.

I read a blog post over the weekend on the MS Dynamics Community that put it in a much better way than I could.

In my last job we went on training with Ken Blanchard who is a great speaker on effective leadership. One point he makes is that if you (managers) want to change your business for the better, then you need to lead from the front. Incentivising good performance is also another great way of actioning change in an organisation.

Any readers of my blogs from the past will notice that this post has a little more business focussed content than they're used to. I have just started the road to an MBA so you can expect more of this sort of stuff along with the usual tech stuff.

Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO

All over the news and tech blogs this morning is the news that Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO. To be honest this isn't unexpected as  he's been suffering with Cancer for a while now but it's still sad. The company is in safe hands with Tim Cook as the new CEO but it's still a great loss for Apple and the greater tech community  in general. I just read Steve's 2006 Stanford commencement address again and one passage struck a chord with me about the futility of life and speaks volumes about Steve's approach to running Apple as a company and to his own life:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

 I know some people are Apple fanatics and others don't have the time of day for Apple products but there's no denying that Steve has created something unique and special. I hope Steve is able to take time to get better and wish him all the best.

So long and thanks for all the fish

I'm not normally one for spilling out emotional stuff in blogs but I figure that's kind of what they're for so here goes.

After 13 years together (10 of them married) my wife and I are separating. She told me a few months ago that she still loved me but was no longer in love with me. It was a shock and I didn't take it well. We tried to work it out but (for reasons I don't particularly want to air here) it didn't work out and we agreed to call it a day.

We're aiming to stay friends for the sake of our three children but I guess only time will tell on that front. Telling the kids about the separation was also very hard.

The thing that freaks me out most is the idea of moving out as I've only ever lived with my parents or my wife :S

Almost there...

So

I have an exam on quantitive research methods on Friday. I'm finding revising for this incredibly tedious but I guess it has to be done. I also have a multiple choice test to do online by Saturday night and then my first year at university is complete.

I can't believe how quickly it's gone. It only seems like yesterday that I was severely depressed and agonising over having to work in IT for the rest of my life. Time flies and all that... :)

Now that i'll have lots of time on my hands, I hope to start blogging more frequently.