Would You Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is? “Thanks, but I’m good.” I think it is so American to always answer with confidence when anyone asks about someone’s situation. We have that Yankee/Can Do/Birth of a Nation attitude, and we usually expect to have to be effectively competent in, well, everything. When asked “How […]
Why Am I Telling You About This?
Why Am I Telling You About This? I want to put a recent and immutable fact of life into perspective for you, so stick with me for a few paragraphs, please. If you have had your Facebook account hacked, raise your hand. My, that’s quite a few. If you have had your identity stolen, raise […]
Zero Trust Security—Know What It Means And Commit To It
Zero Trust Security—Know What It Means And Commit To It Zero Trust Security—Know What It Means And Commit To It Today (Thursday) President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act. This will release 1.9 trillion dollars into the U.S. economy. This may be a political football nationally, but no one is more excited about this […]
China Is Not As Far Away As You May Think
China Is Not As Far Away As You May Think Did you ever try to dig to China when you were a kid? I remember hearing, “why, if you keep digging, you’ll come out on the other side of the world!” It seemed possible back then. In actuality, China is much closer today than it […]
Oops! They Did It Again . . .
Oops! They Did It Again . . . Confidence is that feeling you have right before you know all the facts, yes? I know you know that you should regularly and religiously teach your staff, your employees, about dangerous emails and to never click on an unknown sender’s attachment. And yet—2020 was a windfall year […]
Truth, Consequences, Fear, And Courage
Truth, Consequences, Fear, And Courage Truth, consequences, fear, and courage. It is a cocktail that all business owners get served every day when they open their doors and boot their computers. I highlight business owners, but doesn’t everyone deal with these concepts and emotions in some way daily? Whether you are the CEO of Apple […]
A Review Of What “IT” Is—Do We All Agree?
A Review Of What “IT” Is—Do We All Agree? Recently the owner of a small business said to me, “Gosh, I don’t need IT help—my business only has a half dozen computers.” A flag went up in my mind, but this was a casual conversation so I made a mental note to get back to […]
From My Common Sense Notebook—See What You Think
From My Common Sense Notebook—See What You Think Grin if you have heard this one before. A friend’s husband declared that he could fix the faucet drip in their older home. He watched a video on YouTube and went to the hardware store. Several hours later, another couple of trips to the hardware store plus some curse […]
The Price And The Cost
The Price And The Cost The Price And The Cost Price and cost are not the same thing. I address these two similar-but-different perceptions in business often. “Price” can be a seller’s decision about the value of his product or service, or it can be what the buyer chooses to pay for a product or […]
Defend Your Company Assets—Use This Tool
Defend Your Company Assets—Use This Tool The massive Russian hack that was recently revealed has faded from the headlines today, but the threat remains a very real concern to Information Technology professionals. It is Aptica’s job to robustly defend against cybercriminals and we have quite the arsenal to do that. But—one of the most essential tools that […]