:: MIS Insights ::

After 21 days without restarting Zoom (my laptop), I unwillingly had to restarted my laptop this morning.

A Software Update got past me while I was eating breakfast and when I got back, it was bugging me every few minutes to restart my computer for the changes to take effect.

So, there, much to my dismay, I had to restart.

I don’t like restarting or shutting down my laptop because:

• It takes longer to reboot than to come back from a state of hibernation (assuming I hibernated my laptop with a few light applications only). For a road warrior like me, every moment that my laptop spends on a still flat surface is limited and therefore, precious time.
• With the internet browsing, programming, presentations and documentation that I do for a living, my laptop still performs well without restarting in between uses.
• This longest non-reboot thing is an ongoing contest between my laptop and Roland’s iBook

In decreasing preference, I’d rather hibernate (laptop plays dead) than go to standby (laptop lies in wait, consuming battery power over time) than restart.

* The 21 days stated above is inclusive of the time I use my laptop and hibernation.

After Jackie introduced me to Mitch Albom’s Five People You’ll Meet in Heaven, I was inspired by the book and had to write down a list of people I’ve met so far. Thanks to nine months of freelancing, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a variety of wonderful and sometimes, acephalous people because of my work. Here’s my list:

5. Good Clients

I’ve met good clients. These people know what they want, are concerned with company strategy rather than implementation and appreciate the value of I.T. for their businesses.

Translation:

They know what they want - they can stick to a scope we agree upon.
Concerned with company strategy - as long as I deliver high-quality work at the agreed upon time without any legal trespasses, how I do it shouldn’t be any problem, right?
Appreciate the value of I.T. for their businesses - proper $ka-ching$ for decent and honest work

4. Bad Clients

Likewise, I’ve met bad clients too. These people want more than they know, implement without a strategy and put a prime value on I.T. for their businesses.

Translation:

Want more than they know - some things they request for are beyond the means of time, technology and their budget
Implement without a strategy - I.T. deployment or expansion seems more of an after-thought than a plan
Put a prime value on I.T. - you should see how some people value 100,000-peso projects using prime numbers like 29,989… [yes, 29,989 is a prime number]

3. Pimps

Surround yourself with lots of these! The success of service-oriented businesses depend very much on people that can bring in projects to your company. For every project that a pimp brings in, do as I do! Reward them beyond their wildest dreams! An iPod or a project cut will do wonders in motivating them to bring in more projects for you!

2. Solution Providers

No man is an island. Technology changes at the blink of an eye. Honesty is gold. Time is the best policy. I could go on with more cliches, but let me stop here.

If you can’t do a project on your own, look for people who can do it and share the project with them. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t solve it alone. What matters is that the problem got solved thanks to you!

1. Friends

These are the people who’ll tell you the truth - no matter how ugly your face is.
These are the people you’ve worked with before, could have declined, but decided to pursue the business with you.
These are the people who’ll introduce you to new literature like Mitch Albom’s.

How about you? Who’s on your list?