If you’ve ever tried to recruit for a study, you know how difficult it can be to find available participants who meet the necessary criteria required for that specific project. When it comes to studying pre-existing medical conditions, the number of available participants becomes even smaller.

So how can researchers successfully track down the participants necessary for studies, in a timely and cost effective manner? For a group of cardiologists, the answer to this question was to tap into an already existing online community.

CONNECTING WITH SURVIVORS
Earlier this year, Dr. Sharonne Hayes, M.D., an investigator at the Mayo Clinic, was approached by a SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) survivor. This traumatic, but somewhat rare, cardiac event often induces heart attacks so the condition can be fatal. The survivor wanted to know what she could do to spur additional research about the unusual, and life threatening condition. Dr. Hayes wanted to help, but faced the common obstacle of finding suitable participants for a study.

When searching for study participants, Mayo Clinic investigators typically rely on the database of patient information from the clinic. For this study, however, Hayes decided to ask the SCAD survivor to help recruit participants. The survivor, in turn, sought participants through the online support community of which she was a member. Through the online community called WomenHeart (the The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease), researchers were able to quickly and easily recruit participants. In fact, the interest in the study exceeded the number of required participants. The excess led investigators to build a virtual registry and bio-bank of as many as 400 SCAD survivors and their relatives—something that could help physicians conduct more detailed analysis in the future.

THE POWER OF SUPPORT COMMUNITIES
The success experienced in the example above gives hope that there is value in not only facilitating these communities but leveraging them as well. WomenHeart isn’t the only online support community created for medical patients and disease survivors. This approach for securing study participants could be easily replicated through other online communities. For disease survivors, looking for answers or for researchers looking to help at risk populations, this is a great opportunity. As with many other technologies, when it comes to utilizing the power of online communities, we have just scratched the surface of what is possible.

SOUND OFF
Are you the member of a health-related online community? Would you welcome more interaction with doctors and other medical professionals via this medium? How else do you think online communities could be used to support research, education and awareness? Leave a comment below to let us know or join the discussion on Twitter.

Articles Used for Reference:
Article 1 – How social media helps us study rare diseases
Article 2 – Mayo Clinic finds social media valueable tool

I constantly run into people, internally and externally who talk about “KDB” or Kristi Dwenger-Bourgeois. I had met KDB a few times and it made sense why she was the talk of the town – smart, funny, extremely competent and well respected by customers and colleagues alike. So I felt she was a fitting candidate for the next employee spotlight. And I completed it just in time cause this fabulous Analyst and Mum was days away from delivering baby #4.

“Getting everyone into the car at pick-up time without anyone crying, including me, is a good day!”

Kristi is the Discipline Lead for the Analysis Discipline at Fusion Alliance. With over 10 years of professional service project delivery, she has developed a passion for real world requirements management. With experience that includes, pharmaceuticals, property & casualty, medical device and public sector, she understands that while there may be many wrong ways to manage requirements, it is impractical to consider that there is only one right way. 

Lou: Can I just say, you are one upbeat pregnant Mum! Can you share with our readers how parenthood has helped you grow as a professional…

KDB:  If nothing else, I’ve come to respect even more than before children (“bc”), a change in requirements, can completely change the outcome of your day. Magnify that by lots of little people, things can get complicated. Learning on your feet and being able to quickly change an approach is a must; the more I practice these things, the more I carry the same to effectively manage changes in requirements on projects  – “it’s about getting to the real ways in the right way, within time constraints and without being chewed up in the process”

Lou: I have heard you say that to survive parenthood and your job, you need to be multi-lingual?

KDB: Absolutely! You need to have the ability to speak in multiple languages, for example, I like to say that I speak Toddler, Body, Human, and Geek. As a parent, you learn to become the ultimate communicator, mediator and body language reader. Add in the twin factor, in my case, you learn a whole other set of survival skills. “What works for one, doesn’t always work for the other and what worked today doesn’t always work tomorrow”. Our project stakeholders are often in conflict and as an Analyst, you need to be able to read into what they are doing, saying and the tone of their delivery to bridge the gaps and generate consensus. Otherwise, you can find your team in a stalemate.

Lou: You obviously have a lot of authority as a parent, but with your particular family dynamics, it seems like there is a high degree of influence required too. How does this match up with the job?

KDB: When you are a parent, you do have a high degree of authority, but sometimes it doesn’t always matter. As kids navigate the world, testing boundaries is part of their natural development. While you want to push back and help them understand these limits, your effectiveness in doing so is often hindered by the fact that their willfulness outstrips their rationality. In the workforce, it is less about irrationality and more about “becoming entrenched”. People are very tied to the “way things are done” even if those ways have become ineffective or non-productive. To get around that, you have to become good at validating the history that came before you – by acknowledging the people, skill sets and successes of the past, you make people feel validated about what they have done and you gain the ability to influence outcomes and lead them forward. It also helps if you can get to a place where you “take zero credit” for your own ideas. Getting kids (or grownups) to feel that they contributed or even conceptualized the idea can indirectly get you the results you are hoping to achieve. This simple shift in credit will get more people on-board faster and moving in the right direction.

Lou: Balancing all the balls in the air must be tough… what would you say is the most challenging part?

KDB: The last great art of parenthood and beyond…redirecting “massive failure”. It’s going to happen. I try to focus on what we can improve (“Mommy will try harder”) to help the family or organization grow, learn, evolve rather than being paralyzed by the failure (“bad kid, bad Mommy, bad employee”).  It requires dealing with disappointment that sometimes goes along with that but it is a price that is worth paying.

As they say, time to put on the Mommy pants! 

Social media platforms present tremendous opportunities for companies. As a result, it might be tempting to blindly jump into a social media campaign. However, due to the informal and rapid-fire nature of these tools, it is important to remember to be thoughtful when using them.

Fusion Alliance is among the companies who share the viewpoint that harnessing the power of social media must be a calculated effort. For that reason, we spent some time thinking about HOW we wanted to approach Twitter and WHY.

THE HOW?
MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS…
Since our range of offerings is pretty diverse, so are our customers. We knew from the beginning that our presence on Twitter would require engaging a number of different voices within our company. We began thinking of all the Fusion Alliance employees with valuable insight to contribute and realized we had a long list of people we wanted to participate in the conversation on Twitter.

With so many great people with valuable things to say, it didn’t make sense to have everyone tweeting from one account. We decided to create multiple, individualized accounts where people could contribute to a number of different conversations related to their areas of expertise, as well as interact with one another.

To get our Twitter presence started, twelve Fusion Alliance employees—including Fusion Alliance CEO Douglas Brown and Fusion Alliance Partner Tom Wood volunteered to take part.

Our early participants have generated interest from others and we see our Twitter team expanding quickly. We are excited since we know that a wider variety of employees with unique personalities, backgrounds and skills sets will provide the rich content we need and provide a more holistic representation of the Fusion Alliance brand. This diverse representation will allow us to better interact with our customers, share technical knowledge and address important topics within the verticals we serve.

BRANDED TWITTER PRESENCE…
We have received some questions regarding our “branded” approach to the Twitter movement within the company. This decision was largely driven by a desire to create a polished and consistent brand impression in the marketplace and clearly delineate that employees are tweeting on behalf of the company through these handles. As more employees engage, we hope that this recognition and impression will increase.

Each employee tweeting on behalf of Fusion Alliance was asked to select a Twitter handle (also known as a username) that contained the word “Fusion” as part of their handle. Five branded backgrounds were also created for Fusion Alliance employees to choose from. These uniform, but unique profile designs make it easy to identify Fusion Alliance employees tweeting on behalf of the company, while still allowing their accounts to have some personalization.

Finally, we customized profile pictures for each of the tweeting employees using an artistic effect and company colors. This allows for a unified look among Fusion Alliance employee accounts and makes it easy to spot members of this Twitter team in a Twitter stream.

Another benefit of tweeting from multiple accounts is the ability to have a number of people tweeting during a single event. Several employees who attended the Exact Target Connections Conference (#ET11) last week were active on Twitter and shared valuable insights and impressions of the conference.

THE WHY?
You need to make sure you establish clear goals about why you are tweeting and these need to ladder back to business goals. It is important to educate your Twitter force about these goals and talk through how their perspective and contributions through Twitter can support these goals. For example:

• Expand your relationships with customers and deliver more meaningful content to your followers. This can help you increase brand awareness, visibility and customer responsiveness.

• Increase organic search and visibility through SEO. All this chatter is indexible so you can generate some great SEO content through this channel. Twitter is a great way to connect the dots back to your website, blog, LinkedIn page, YouTube etc.

• Increase lead generation and visibility of your offerings. Some of this comes down to establishing credibility with meaningful content and some of it comes down to driving more traffic to the areas of your website or blog that help to reinforce your abilities through rich content, work examples or our business models.

FOLLOW US:
Learn more about our approach and brand look. Follow Fusion Alliance or members of our Twitter team.

Social Media Meets Pharma
Operating in arguably one of the most regulated industries, pharmaceutical companies have to be particularly careful not only about how they present product information, but also about how they interact with customers. Those in the industry know first hand that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines require companies to track any reported adverse effects of their drugs to the FDA – solicited or otherwise. Since the FDA has yet to determine the official guidelines for brands using new media channels, drug makers must take caution when using interactive digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. In contrast, companies in non-regulated industries do not face these same hurdles and therefore have a lot of freedom and a higher threshold for risk.

Pharmaceutical companies have a history of utilizing a wide array of advertising methods; and social media is no exception. Many of our clients have chosen to present their brands through social media but they have done so in targeted ways by taking advantage of customized share settings or by talking more about their employees, company activities, philanthropy and community engagements rather than their products. They have clearly recognized that mainstream society is consuming information rapidly through social media channels and are interested in further expanding their brand footprint through these. To remain relevant, they know they need to embrace social media in one degree or another since this is where their customers are actively seeking information and having conversations.

What’s Next?
Long term, if the ability to engage through these platforms does not evolve for this industry, companies run the risk that their brands could be misrepresented or worse—their products used inappropriately. So companies need to start figuring out the right mix of social media tactics that appropriately allows them to share important information with patients, providers and payers. In addition, the FDA has an obligation to “get into the conversation” as well, so companies don’t feel that they are operating in an FDA gray zone and that key customers are not cut off from timely data that helps them make better decisions for their health or for the health of others.

Sound Off�
Do you think regulated industries should use social media? Which social media channels do you think pose the greatest benefits? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.

Steve Hobley is a senior consultant working for our Microsoft team creating back-end server applications that power web sites. A natural inventor, Steve enjoys deconstructing consumer goods with the goal of making unique and interesting things.  He likes to emphasize the inventive/creative side of things – and stresses that “it’s not always necessary to buy more stuff – you can just as easily repurpose what you have to do something you need”. This translates well in consulting; Steve is always looking for ways to take technology the client already owns and repurpose it to serve a new need or requirement. Steve is hoping to get involved with our partnership with IPS School #44 to lead a science fair there that can involve both parents and children.

Lou: Consultants that do well at Fusion Alliance tend to have a high propensity for ingenuity. It seems like as an inventor, this would come naturally for you?

Steve: It does. If you spend a lot of time problem solving and inventing, you learn to recognize “good” solutions – as they take on a kind of beauty and simplicity that goes beyond solutions that just work. Reaching a level of finesse is a good indicator you’re on the right track. In addition, inventors are lifetime learners and they are always approaching life with an eye on learning and discovery.  This natural curiosity that “keeps my wheels turning” benefits clients – I’m always approaching the job with the mindset to problem-solve, add value, and improve the situation.  


Lou: What inspired you to begin inventing? Do you remember your first experiment?

Steve: I was fascinated by technology – all things electrical and electronic. It really seemed like magic to me, and I had to know how things worked, so I was always taking them apart. In the 1970′s there was so much innovation in this area – new electronic devices were coming out every month, and they were always very different. The personal computer has “normalized” this a bit, as now the hardware remains fairly static, and it’s the software that contains most of the innovation.


Lou: Who were your role models growing up and how did they influence your thinking?

Steve: Growing up in the in the UK, I was a huge fan of a TV show called “Doctor Who”. It’s a show that has enjoyed a massive and successful return to our screens in the last 5 years. It taught me how important it was to “know stuff”. The lead character–played in 1974 by Tom Baker–was always able to think his way around problems, rather than attack them head on. That just seemed like the most appropriate way to deal with challenges. Yes, I guess he could be compared to Mr. Spock on Star Trek – always calm, always collected, and always had a way out when Captain Kirk’s more “hands-on” approach had failed. Kirk might have got the girl, but when you’re six, that kind of thing isn’t that important (especially when they’re green). My Dad was very big on knowledge/engineering – he was a draughtsman for Rolls Royce aero-engines for 20 years and always believed in the importance of “making stuff” – and knowing how to do it right.


Lou: You have invented a lot of things but you gained the most notoriety with your laser harp. How did that idea take root and what did you learn from that experience?

Steve: I was a big fan of Jean-Michel Jarre, and he had been using a laser harp-like device since the 1970s. I’d always been fascinated by it, and promised myself that, one day, I would find out how it all worked.  I guess that led to my 15 minutes of (internet) fame – I never intended to do anything more than just solve the problems, build the hardware, and make a video to show my brother in the UK. It was a complete accident that MAKE/Engadget/Gizmodo picked up on it. There’s definitely something unique about working with lasers – something almost magical that attracts quite a large following online.  The whole experience taught me a lot about doing business online – I was asked to provide systems for a variety of people over the years and it hones your business skills quite a lot!


Lou: I like the Leonardo da Vinci quote you reference – “While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die”. Tell me more about what that means to you?

Steve: Mortality is something we all have to deal with – and I guess everyone thinks about it, and how they are going to feel when the time comes. I think we all need to feel like we leave a legacy – we leave the world in a slightly different way from when we entered it. I guess a lot of what I do is related to that. I need to ‘find things out’ for myself, but at the same time leave behind some road-signs and placeholders so that it’s easier for anyone that might be following on. No one is immortal, but I hope that the contributions I’ve made will continue to have a ripple effect after I’m gone.

Lou: It seems like your inventing spirit brings a lot of delight to your 3-year-old daughter. If you could leave a legacy for her, what would it be? 

Steve: I think it would be a message, or a belief that you can figure a lot of things out for yourself, and don’t just accept what you see on television or other media. Test it out and take the stuff that works for you. I would love her to have the same passion for building things as me, but in the end it’s more important she decides for herself what to do.


Lou: You have expressed interest in leading a Science Fair at our partner school – IPS School #44? What is driving your desire to do that? Besides having loads of fun, what other life lessons do you hope to teach these kids through this kind of event?

Steve: Again, it would be that you can do stuff for yourself – you don’t always need a teacher/mentor/leader – it’s important to cultivate this curiosity in our children so that they make things happen. I think there is a risk of becoming complacent in the modern world – so much stuff is done for us, and we just go out and buy things – this is OK for a while, but there really is more to life than just consuming.

Lou: Steve, thanks so much for your time. I will look forward to catching up with you and your latest experiments in the coming months.

Steve: My pleasure.

In mid July, Fusion Alliance employees donated needed school supplies–jazzy backpacks and school items (e.g. pencils, paper, scissors, art supplies, notepads, glue sticks, and calculators, etc.) — along with monetary donations for “at need” use through the Backpack Attack program.  According to their website, BackPack Attack has collected and distributed more than 2.8 million school supplies to Indianapolis area schools and donate about 15,000 backpacks yearly.

Last week, a number of Fusion Alliance employees had the opportunity to participate in the distribution of newschool uniforms, shoes, socks and tote bags to students attending the school. The distribution items were graciously provided by Indiana Members Credit Union Foundation and Samaritan’s Feet; also partner organizations to School #44. Both organizations had employees, in full force, participating in the event. It was great to be in the mix with them.  All Fusion Alliance volunteers were very impressed with these organizations and the experience.

Pictured below:  John Harrison – Business Development Manager for Fusion Alliance

John carries water to a “feet washing” station. The feet washing tradition (part of the Samaritan’s Feet Mission) demonstrates the act of servant-leadership and humility and gives volunteers the profound opportunity to share a message of hope and light on the beauty of the human spirit.  

In the coming weeks, we will be working with the United Way and Principal Major to identify additional opportunities where our employees can add value to the school with an emphasis on academic achievement, mentoring, community development and school service.

I will keep you posted on our efforts and the progress of School #44 towards their 2011/2012 goals!!

As the Marketing Director, I get the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of people across the company. At every function we have, I try to sit with people I do not know so I can meet them, and  learn more about their natural talents, passions and personal pursuits.  I believe insight into these gives me a broader perspective on the company and our brand; since, these things naturally extend into the value Fusion Alliance can bring to our customers. I thought it would be fun to profile some of these consultants, so I am officially launching a blog series focused on spotlighting some of our bright stars. I hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as I have. More posts to follow…

The first… I think this article does a great job of visually communicating the information the magazine is trying to get across. It’s easy to navigate and illuminates the comparisons of a sampling of Groupon results in a memorable way.

The second… Groupon has had a lot of press this year– too much for what it is. This article shows marketers that just because it is a craze; it is not a craze everyone should follow. You really need to look at whether there is a ROI for your particular business. The article does demonstrate places where the Groupon campaigns were successful and places where they were a bust. But, there are still lingering questions that the article doesn’t address — Do these “deal seekers” ever become repeat clients? Do these deals contribute to brand equity or erosion?

So just because Groupon’s equity is going up, doesn’t mean yours will.  Be aware or beware!

This will be a pivotal year for the school since it is under a State mandate to increase standardized testing results for the school. Fusion Alliance is going to get the honor of  working with Principal Majors, his staff and other school partners (like the United Way and Indiana Members Credit Union to name a few) to help support the school in reaching their state goals, bolstering test scores and reaching their “safe harbor” status in 2012.

Our staff will have the opportunity to participate in some early initiatives this summer to help get students and parents “school ready”.  Various initiatives include supporting the collection and/or distribution of backpacks, school supplies, school uniforms and socks/shoes as well as getting out into the community with the principal and his staff to communicate critical information to parents and the community about the school priorities for this year.

Following the start of school, Fusion Alliance employees hope to participate in other school efforts centered on academic achievement, mentoring, community development and school service.

I will keep you posted on our efforts and the progress of School #44 towards their 2011/2012 goals!!

Mission: The YWCA Indianapolis is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.

Daven Kruse is a Senior Consultant at Fusion Alliance. She has a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from the University of Indianapolis. She owns and runs Circle City Pilates in Indianapolis, IN. She is an active volunteer and is passionate about mentoring both professionally and as a volunteer.

I caught up with Daven to learn more about the award and her nomination.

Lou: Daven, how does your involvement in the community line up with the mission of the YWCA?

Daven: I think my efforts align nicely with what the YMCA is hoping to achieve. I recently began working with Girls, Inc. as a Volunteer Program Facilitator.  This program introduces female mentors into classroom settings to talk about issues pertaining to economic literacy, self image and what it means to be beautiful, and issues and coping strategies for bullying.  I also serve as the Membership Chair on the Board of Directors for the Young Professionals of Central Indiana.  I am responsible for supporting and facilitating greater membership diversity (defined pretty broadly across race, ethnicity, sex, and even industry backgrounds and education) in the hopes of providing more value to our members and opening up networking opportunities to a wider subset of the professional community. I believe it is helping us to build a stronger organization overall.

Lou: Why you are passionate about volunteering?

Daven: I enjoy volunteering my time to excellent causes that can directly impact the Indianapolis community.  I think it’s important to reflect upon your own strengths, and then work to use those aspects of yourself to help non-profit organizations reach their goals.

Lou: What impact do you think your efforts are having?

Daven:  At Girls, Inc. the overarching goal is to give school-aged girls the resources to become Strong, Smart, and Bold.  Girls, Inc. has shown substantial growth over the past two years, with 92% of girls who participated being able to describe components of healthy living, and 91% of girls being able to identify a career goal to become economically self-sufficient.  That points to a very powerful program.

At the YPCI, the impact has not been tracked as concretely; however, I feel that the YPCI is having a positive impact on young professionals through education enrichment, the creation of relationships that help individuals succeed, and opportunities to learn about a variety of businesses.  From this standpoint, I feel good about my contribution.

Lou: What impact has volunteering had on you?

Daven: Volunteering has provided an outlet, and ultimately a way to give back.  It is very fulfilling to work with young professionals and young girls to help them realize their potential.  I am blessed to have an excellent full time job, working for an outstanding company, with amazing people.  On top of that, I’ve had opportunities to meet people through my education, and work with outgoing and hard-working people in the pilates business.  Those opportunities are available to others too, and they need to be realized and fulfilled!  When I can directly attribute my actions to the success of one of the two programs, I feel happy and fulfilled.

Lou: What would it mean to you to receive the Young Woman of Promise Award? 

Daven: It shows that hard work, giving back to the community, and volunteerism never goes unnoticed!  It also reinforces the need for me to continue to be active and accountable. Once you get a label like that, you want to make sure you are following through on that “promise” and the always striving to exceed the expectation associated with it. I am passionate about taking on more leadership responsibilities in the organizations that I am involved and passionate about. Hopefully, this will help pave the way to those opportunities.

Lou: Daven, great job. I will look forward to writing a follow-up blog post when you win!!

Daven: We’ll see. Thanks.

This years YWCA “29th Annual Salute to Women of Achievement” Dinner being held at the Indiana Roof Ballroom on June 16, 2011. Since the first “Salute” in 1982, the organization has honored more than 110 YWCA Academy of Salute Women Achievers.

“You don’t think of Indiana as a high tech state but his policies are really growing jobs in that sector. Indiana had one of the highest job growth rates for private companies in the nation.”

Amanpour commented on Fusion Alliance’s plan to add more than 100 jobs by 2014 thanks to Daniels’ tax incentives.

We are in the process of closing out a major project- the building of our “forever house”. It has been a long process (504 days and counting).  The house is beautiful and has met many of our expectations but it was not delivered on time, or on budget and there has been many instances where rework was required. I have learned a lot and have reaffirmed many long-term beliefs about people, service and value. Many of the lessons learned apply to the business that I am in. Technology consultants parallel similar roles to architects, builders, designers, project managers, and contractors. The complexity of the work is similar, too especially when you are building a custom home.

Top five things I learned… 

1. Avoid the “ripple effect”
“For every ‘field-based’ decision you make, there is a ripple effect with ten other implications of that decision waiting on the other side” Dave Rausch, Principal Architect 

Take the time to establish a clear vision and strategy from the start in order to set the appropriate cadence for the project. In our case, this was effectively driven by our architect. He was creative, smart and contemplative. He did not make rash decisions and held people accountable to a high standard of precision against plan. A natural diplomat, he was able to effectively balance feedback against the overall vision and did a great job of leveraging ideas and perspectives from both the professionals and from us. This is the kind of leadership you need on a project for it to be successful. Even when things go wrong or you are at a decision impasse, the strategy and vision help you see through the madness and the stewardship brings you back to center. Businesses need to get comfortable taking the time to do this well at the onset of a project. Setting the right strategy and vision gets you on your way, the right way. When done well, you arrive on the other side achieving what you set out to achieve.

2. Hire a great project manager (PM)
In our model, this was our builder. He was the onsite supervisor and the relationship link to all the project contributors. He was in the weeds, overseeing all the details. There are a million details and a ton of different people executing on them. While you can’t oversee everyone and everything, you need your PM to see enough to know you are on track and see far enough ahead to make sure you stay on track. Continued oversight is essential, period! In addition, the project manager needs to set the expectation that quality matters, time and care are required and rework is the path to nothing positive. If this doesn’t happen, be prepared to wait longer, pay more and endure the frustration of rework or missed opportunities. Believe me, nobody likes reopening the check book especially when they have had to wait longer and deal with the frustration of poor project management. The ramifications in business are felt more profoundly because it’s the company’s checkbook not your own.

3. Hire for creative intelligence
I say hire well and hire earlier. Our designer was awesome and made a significant impact throughout the project. He was able to naturally build on the architect’s vision and extend it through to the design execution. He was very strategic as well and was able to provide insightful counterpoints when necessary or challenge assumptions.  We engaged him in all the foundational decision-making and did it at project inception; because, what happens in phase one dictates what is possible in phase three. Hiring a designer at the end only allows you to “pretty up” what you have built, but it doesn’t allow you to weave in the “user experience” factors that make for great design and ensure the end product meets your needs. For instance, we identified early that we didn’t want a show home with the “velvet rope rooms” that nobody went in. While our rooms are inviting and beautiful, they are practical as well and fit our lifestyle. Business solutions are no different; you want to end up with a ones that are both attractive to the market and deliver the business value you want.

4. Good sometimes costs more but it is worth it. 
In the case of people, don’t go for the cheapest and hold your PM accountable to line up the right team to serve the project. When a team lacks the requisite skills, experience and intellectual ingenuity, quality suffers and rework follows. A deal is no deal if the project fails. Picking the wrong partner leads to ramifications from a budget and timeline perspective and it indirectly impedes the sucess of other contributors on the project. People are eager to win the business even if they know they are extending beyond their capabilities.   When they fall short on execution, in a lot of cases, you are holding the bag. Ideally, you want to hire a firm that knows your space, can take on the complexities that your project demands and will have ownership in the results.

5. Buy smart!
You want to buy smart but still buy quality. You also want to know what your money is going towards – talent, materials, labor or intellectual horsepower. That way, you will know what levers you can influence to get to a solution that balances value, cost and risk. This also helps you make educated decisions across the project plan as well. The “must haves” versus the “nice to haves” quickly separate. We rated our spaces within the house on a grading system, from A+ to D (A+ spaces being of highest value) and made our choices accordingly. For the garage sink, an off-the-shelf faucet from our local hardware store was completely appropriate but for the master shower, it was not. The same is true with solutions, it’s about strategic value-based decisions and applying your dollars in the way helps deliver business value while managing costs and mitigating risks.

If you have any crazy building stories you want to share  or a business situation that follows suit, please feel free to chime in.

“I am proud of the fact that Fusion Alliance is on this list for the fourth year in a row. When you create a work environment where employees can be at their optimum, your employees are able to do their best work for you and your clients. You’ll have less turn-over, higher productivity, greater engagement and more teamwork. Ultimately, you have a workforce that is committed to helping your business succeed.” 

My group got to spend our lunch hour with girls in grades 4 and 5. We each spoke to a small group of 3-4 girls about our careers and professional work experiences – including skills, education, experiences needed and associated responsibilities.  We explored a number of other career paths as well. There was a lot of talk about choosing a path that played to their interests, strengths and, ultimately, passion. The girls were eager to engage and had a lot of interesting questions. What was striking to most of the girls was that no matter the career choice, education was clearly in the mix. In particular, most were astonished that doctors studied for some ten years post high school and that you didn’t get paid to go to college.

I highly recommend the experience.  It can be easily worked into your lunch hour and it is clear that these perspectives can help to reinforce the value of education and the need to think ahead as far as experiences and skill preparation. In addition, this is a great way to expand the girls’ view of career possibilities as many of the careers that Fusion Alliance represented (over the course of the three days) were foreign to most of the girls. I think our participation opened up their minds to careers that they had not even known about; let alone considered.

Our staff really enjoyed the experience as well and the office was abuzz for a least a week with stories about the lunches. It was rewarding and nice to feel like you have maybe, just maybe inspired a child or two to take some positive steps towards a brighter and more rewarding future.

Pictured above: Mentor and Fusion Alliance associate, Jodi Wolfe

This great news comes on the heels of a recent announcement by the Chamber of Commerce that recognized Fusion Alliance for the fourth year in a row as a “Best Places to Work in Indiana,” award recipient. The company will be among 70 other small to medium (15 – 249 employees) and large-sized companies (250 or more employees) recognized at the annual awards dinner, presented by Comcast, on May 5th, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Business Journal has published the Largest Indianapolis-Area Website Developers List and Fusion Alliance has been ranked 1st for the 10th year in a row. Earlier this year, Fusion Alliance ranked 2nd on the Largest Indianapolis-Area Software Developers list, rounding out the 6th year of rankings in this category. Find out more about the Top 25 lists by visiting www.IBJ.com and clicking on the lists tab.

This got me thinking about how lucky I am. It also got me thinking about client-vendor partnerships. I know what it is like to be on both sides of the equation. I have been the client for most of my career, but I have also been a vendor.

I want to share the things that I think really differentiated my best client-vendor relationships:

Understanding Motivations
For every company and every individual driving value within it, motivations vary. Whether it is the drive to win, the need to improve— to become faster, smarter, better; the chance to realize a dream, or leave a legacy, the hope of being remembered as great— a standout, or just the privilege of serving. Knowing and understanding motivations make all the difference towards forging a productive, rewarding and meaningful client-vendor relationship.  Motivations are often highly linked to performance metrics and goals as well. Thus, awareness and insight on this front also ensures strong alignment around project parameters, scope, investment and timeline.

Vested Partnerships
When both sides are committed to deliver superior outcomes and business value for the project, both sides reap the rewards of that success. The development of best practices, shared ideas and business success is more profound when both sides work together to think into the business and extend each others’ reach and potential.  Our managing partner, Tom Wood always says “the key to our success is our willingness to invest in the relationship. Sometimes you have to give up a little to get something better on the other side”.  I think there is a lot of truth to that and the impact of that statement is more profound when both sides of the relationship feel that way.

Vantage Point
The vendors that I always highly valued were those who were always one step ahead of the business and understood the need to frame thinking, uncover issues and quantify the business impact of their offering against the key priorities in play. Often times, they did this even when the business wasn’t looking at those things or was ready to fully embrace the ideas. Sometimes it was about planting the seed. Other times, it was about shifting the vantage point on the opportunity so that the business could see new possibilities in front of them.  The reality is, we all get so close to our business that we need an alternate vantage point to look at it differently. Great vendors help that happen. Great clients give them the runway to succeed.

Clear Expectations
Both parties need to have expectations clearly set and vetted through before the project gets underway. This vetting process really sets the stage for what each is expecting to get out of the relationship and whether both parties can do business together successfully. This vetting process also sets the conditions that make it easier for clients to make value-based decisions. Inherently, all vendors want to do good work and all clients want to receive good work but if expectations are not clearly set then efforts will not likely generate the desired outcomes and success on the back end for either party.

Continuous Improvement
As a client, I loved the vendors who were always striving to improve their impact, up their game. Even some vendors that made mistakes, redeemed themselves by how they responded to them – changing practices and putting in place processes to ensure those mistakes were one-time errors. These were the vendors that built confidence on a daily basis not just when it was time to renew the relationship or project. As a vendor, I look back on these experiences as great examples to build “best practices” on.

As they say, ‘it takes two, baby’. Client-vendor relationships are successful when both sides are willing to put into the relationship what they are hoping to get out of it. When that happens, everyone is in—all in, and things happen – great things!

SOUND OFF: Feel free to share what has made your client-vendor relationships successful.

The article highlights the fact that the barcode market is fragmented both in terms of the codes that can be used and the reader apps a mobile owner must download to interpret them.  Another point which is not included in the article is that even when a user has the various reader apps, it is not always clear which tag goes with which reader. This is largely due to low awareness and adoption.  For fun, we tested the tag featured in the B2B article across 4 different reader apps. Only the Microsoft Tag app worked.  I personally find this one the most reliable. When we have used tags in our marketing collateral, we have used the Microsoft tagging system to do so.

My belief is that there will be a consolidated registry eventually to eliminate the need for multiple readers. In the meantime, navigating the path to the promise land is fraught with some challenges. I think as a marketer, we do have to be careful about how we use tags. As detailed in the article, a bad first experience can lead to a prospect losing interest or getting frustrated- not exactly the result or impression you intended.

It feels like I have seen a thousand moons but never this way.

It reminds me of the value of perspective.  When you have something that is presented to you or amplified to you in a different manner, you begin looking at and think about it differently.  We look at the moon everyday but we are not really giving it the same attention as in these instances.  When it is a super moon (last one occurring in 1993), it is really amplified much large and clearer. In the case of the artist’s interpretation, you are seeing a viewpoint of the moon that you may even be able to render for yourself.  As a result you are poised to take a more acute view of what that moon is and what it means to you. I think that is true of your business. When you have a partner that is able to help you take a different vantage point or a different viewpoint of on your business issues and opportunities, then you are looking at your business differently as well.

How we do it?

• We take the time to understand your business problem and quantify the full nature of the business opportunity, including the concrete and abstract factors in play, and explore a variety of strategic approaches and creative solutions given these considerations.
• We select the most appropriate technology-enabled solution to achieve the business goals for your particular situation and ensure the right processes and quality assurance systems are in place to support project complexities.
• We support, develop and invest in four capabilities that we think collectively differentiates our value in the marketplace. They are talented people, proven processes, informed ingenuity and leading technology. By leveraging the four component parts of our value model, we are able to marry both business and technology together through a disciplined, informed and creative vantage point. This consistency leads to more ingenious solutions that are delivered in a cost effective way, on time and on budget.

You face business issues and opportunities on a daily basis. How you see them, interpret them and express them really depends on the vantage point that you have on the issue or problem.  Having a strategic partner like Fusion Alliance can be very helpful.  Just as the astute photographer interpreted the moon, we have the ability to look at your problem or opportunity but cast it in a different light.

SOUND OFF: Any new moons rising in your business lately?

It’s amazing what Joel was able to put into music and lyrics lasting only a few minutes. Twenty years later, you wonder how many people really experienced it fully?

Recently, this song was touted on Jeopardy as the “1980′s song that history teachers praise for its educational value.” Once you see the video above, you can see how this makes sense. The interesting part was only one person on the show knew the answer.

A Billy Joel fan or not, this video is a neat flashback through the past half century.  As a naturalized American, this is a great way to reflect and appreciate “being American”.  More importantly, this really speaks to the power of using technology to enrich story-telling and improve the user experience.  People really do get messages more clearly when they see, hear and experience those messages in a multi-tiered way.  While this is a pretty basic example of this idea, the message still hits home. Understanding how your customers receive, process and digest information helps you leverage the right technology solution and platform to express (and in this case re-express) your message more effectively. Partnering with a company that has strong user-centered design philosophy will ensure your success on this front.

With the addition of the pictures, people are able to “see” and experience what theirs “ears” couldn’t. With the use of the Internet, the ability for widespread dissemination gives more people access. Thanks to some guy from the University of Chicago with a lot of spare time, we are reminded that not just what we communicate but how we communicate it matters. Thankfully, the power of Joel’s song can be re-experienced by many.

Turn up volume, sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 5 minutes!

Then you witness Japan and see the unbelievable destruction. These clips from ABC News really encapsulate the magnitude of the disaster and the indelible imprint this will have on the country for years to come. By moving the cursor horizontally across the before/after satellite photos, you can see the truly frightening effect that this natural disaster has had on the landscape and the communities it has ravaged.

If it was only as easy as “going to the cloud”. But, even with all the technology capabilities and advances we have, we still are no match for Mother Nature. I am thankful that all our friends in Japan are safe but I am overwhelmed with sadness for the human suffering that is occurring as a result of this disaster.

• We are a technology solutions consultancy which means all our solutions leverage technology in some form or fashion to drive business value for our clients. As a result, we have been able to develop a deep in-house expertise in technology-enabled business solutions and the various emerging technologies and services that help support them.  Agencies for the most part do not have this focus and tend to have expertise in services that are different from our offerings.  For those agencies that do have a more “technological” focus, this focus tends to be limited to specialized advertising and marketing services.
• Agencies tend to focus on leveraging existing technology in creative ways; while, we tend to focus more on marrying human and technological ingenuity together to overcome problems and optimize opportunities tailored to a particular client.  That elevated focus is achievable because we have the ability to not just leverage technology but to develop, influence and evolve it as well; addressing both what is in front of the curtain and behind it.
• The Fusion Alliance collective represents a broad range of experiences and a deep expertise when it comes to technology which is hard for agencies to match, given their focus. The benefit for our customers is that we focus less on “which” technology and spend more time on “how” technology can drive value, “why” it makes sense for the particular situation or business problem.  The net effect is experienced people implementing the solution that is best for the business. The other benefit that this depth and breadth gives our clients is the ability to institute a wider application of technology across the business enterprise. We really are able to help the business “connect the dots” between technology and business more easily, enabling better value creation for customers and more effective ways to measure the impact of technology solutions on the business and its brand in the marketplace.

Well, at least when it comes to these apples, you have a starting point in which to compare and contrast Fusion Alliance against agencies you might be considering. Hopefully, it provides some clarity on the step towards deciding which partner is a good fit for your particular market challenges and opportunities.

This got me thinking about how customers make purchase decisions.  As more companies downsize and work to manage fixed costs and overhead, outsourcing is on the rise. For those that are charged with making those decisions, how are they approaching that process?

As a technology solutions consultancy, we try to engage our customers at the level of their business problem and delve into what challenges and opportunities these can bring. From there we are better able to orchestrate a customized solution that is optimized to meet their dynamic market conditions. Invariably we get a lot of “menu-oriented” questions – Do you do Java? Do you make websites?  I think people are comfortable starting there because a “menu” gives them something tangible to talk about and it fits with what they know.

In the case of the Java question… when I think about it, we have experience in over 150 or more leading technologies, including Java.  But, our focus is not as much about which technology, but more on how the technology drives value why its application makes sense? Really technology, and the strategy behind it, is only as valuable as the business solution it delivers. Taking the time to understand the business problem and environment enables us to select the most appropriate technology choice and the right strategy to achieve the business goals for the clients’ particular situation. But if the conversation never gets past the technology, you miss the opportunity.

I think the challenge for us is: how do we orchestrate a menu that is going to entice people to delve further into the “experience” and make the decision to stop, explore and trust what the experience really has to offer their business. So instead of grabbing the drive-through coffee, they experience the joie de café vive.

This memoir by Amy Chua, a Chinese-American mother and Yale law professor portrays an extreme form of child-rearing.  To many, her approach stresses respect, self-discipline and nothing short of brilliance in terms of results. Her rationale is based on the fundamental belief that her children can be the best students and that academic achievement reflects good parenting. Her justification: “nothing is fun until you are good at it”. As children meet high standards and expectations, those seemingly insurmountable challenges are put into perspective. Over time, that breeds confidence, future security and ultimately happiness. Where the controversy comes in is in the portrayal of American parenting, where children are overindulged and lulled into thinking there are no winners and losers and every player on the team is the ‘most valuable’.

When you reflect on her extreme approach and rationale, there are certainly some questionable techniques, but also clear success.  One starts to wonder, whether there some nuggets of wisdom to be gained when it comes to not just bringing up our children, but perhaps managing our business as well?

As a tough minded mother and professional myself,  I think there are opportunities for leaders to behave more like Chinese Mothers.  In the business environment, unlike Chau’s children, one runs the risk that your employees can leave at any time. Even Chau retreats from her position on some fronts following the release of her book as detailed in the follow-up article in the New York Times“Retreat of the Tiger Woman.  While this risk should be considered, it should not cause one to shy away from engendering a culture that demands high standards and leads to stellar results.

Before you get too enamored with this path, there is clearly a cost to acting more like a Chinese Mother: it takes work, unwavering commitment and “tough love”. To fully embrace this approach in business, one would extrapolate that success requires leadership to make a significant commitment to support employees and measure success. It also requires management to not pre-empt employees’ path to success by thinking they “cannot handle or meet the requirements” needed to meet these high standards. According to the Chinese Mother, this is simply seeing your people as weak and allowing them to deliver less than they are capable of.

Being a successful Chinese Mother in business probably extends to how you interact with partners as well. Just like Amy Chau had to align her husband, a Jewish American to her extreme Chinese child-rearing techniques, businesses have to pick the partners who share their vision for success. The ideal partner for a “Chinese Mother”:

• Has an orientation to high standards and accountability
• Is engaged in a way that allows you to leverage their full potential, vantage point and value for your business
• Is accountable and expects to deliver measureable results
• Is able to elevate your employees and business to higher level of achievement based on their own posturing, efforts and commitment?

Why are these things important?  These things influence your culture and extend your brand. Brand dictates success in the marketplace.

So one would argue, based on Chau’s own success and that of her children (to date), the Chinese Mother Model works. Two questions remain:

• Can you learn something from the “Tiger Mother” that helps you drive greater success for your organization and better partnership from your vendors?
• If so, can you get there without “burning the stuffed animals”?

Do tell!

The value of good blogging to your brand
A blog is an important communication vehicle to translate the value of your brand into the marketplace. If you go back to the widely accepted definition of brand being that – it’s a sum total of what an organization stands for, how it serves its customers and where the organization is going… the content you generate through your corporate blog program should reflect this intent. So, orchestrating a good blog program hinges on the ability of bloggers to translate meaningful content to your readers; meaningful content that illuminates your brand in an intentional way.

Having a blog steward in place to lead this effort is really important. This person is critical in establishing an overarching blog strategy to guide content decisions and blogging activities in your program, ensuring your bloggers are translating positive information about your brand and that the topic areas are relevant and value-added to the types of customers that need your product or service offering.

There is a fine balance that needs to be reached where bloggers translate important information about the brand or your offerings, but not at the expense of being authentic. The best blogs, even corporate ones have to have some level of authenticity, humor and personality and that generally rests on the sheer brilliance of your bloggers.  The key is to pick bloggers that can walk the tightrope of this relationship with minimal coaching.

There are a few key questions that you can get your bloggers thinking about as they go about their blogging business. These can serve as a good litmus test on whether they will be successful in generating a positive impression of your brand and pushing out value-added content.

1. Is my blog post practical, relevant and value-added?
2. Will my blog post inspire readers to rethink their responsibilities, their practices or their business opportunities?
3. Am I able to create a platform that leads to a dialog and generates greater understanding of a key problem or issue?
4. Does the information I am writing on play to my strengths, leverage my creativity, display ingenuity, and/or share important insights about my experiences?
5. Does what I am writing about position me or my company as a person of authority in the space?

In the end, a blog is an important communication vehicle to translate the value of your brand into the marketplace. Are you being intentional about how you go about using it to position your brand, engage your target audience and generate meaningful content?

SOUND OFF: Please feel free to share your best practices and how are these helping strengthen your brand and blog program.