Brad Slavin

Your iPhones Sucks

Despite what some clients believe I do not work for Blackberry nor for Microsoft! I do however have some pretty strong opinions about the iPhone and their rapid adoption as the ‘must have CEO’ device. It is a real love / hate relationship; One the one hand they are the most elegant, powerful and purpose build devices that exist in the marketplace. The iPhone is the number one consumer electronic device.

The phone is masterful at web browsing, turning heads and having extensibility for third party applications. It is really the most potent pocket computer and it has changed the expectations that we have of a phone and a rich media device. However it is not ready for Corporate prime time!

If you own one you already know it’s the best browser, not the best business PDA.
iPhone

Your IT people already know this, but tens of thousands of CEO’s are creating havoc on your mail servers, your corporate security policies and their good nature. The one thing the phone has going for it is that your IT people love Apple so they are willing (but not happy) to put up with it. Oh yea, they also want one when it finally syncs with the corporate mail server.
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The technology that the phone is lacking is called direct “Exchange Server Push” this means that your phone gets email pushed to it as soon as it comes in within a few seconds. The way that the phone currently works is that the phone connects every few minutes to the server and then checks to see if there is any new email. Not as efficient nor as fast as the push technology. Apple wants it, and so does everyone else.

You must be wondering why I am making such a big deal about this? Well it because most businesses are needing to adjust their firewall / spam filtering policies to allow access to the iPhone for IMAP and SMTP connections. The iPhone also does not have a sophisticated anti-spam feature like most modern email clients so phone inboxes are getting plagued with spam. Nothing like 1,000 new Viagra and Trouser Snake emails on your phone when you wake up!

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Security is also a huge concern, with phones like the Blackberry or Windows Mobile your handset can be remotely erased if it gets lost. Not so with the iPhone. Think about it most desired phone on the market, and with a $500 price point mainly executives are going to own them; and there is a lot of sensitive information on them.

As dedicated and caring IT people we know that the phone is amazing, we know that you just have to have it.. but understand that there are limitations. Using iTunes to sync contacts and calendars is taking a step backwards and it becomes another one off software application that we have to support.

I know of a number of execs that are running iPhones as their personal phones / browsers but still keep Blackberries on their hips to keep in touch with the office. Do I believe that the trend will continue? I know that Apple will be releasing the software in the next major version to support syncing with Microsoft Exchange Server.

My advice if you have to have the have to have phone; go ahead and get it but remember your poor IT staff along the way. For the Enterprise the security issues and the lack of push email would keep me from endorsing it whole-heartedly. The other issue is that the phone is tied only to the ATT network. The phone is not perfect, it is getting there but it is not the best PDA on the market for corporate users.

Wait a few months, get the latest software revision pre-installed and keep an eye on your phone. Or get a Blackberry 🙂

Blackberry 8800

Brad Slavin

Live at a Ken Blanchard Taping

Yesterday I was invited to be a participant at the video taping of Ken Blanchard speaking about motivation and goals for a new DVD. I was sitting front and center as one of the most dynamic motivational and business transforming speakers captivated the entire audience.

The taping took about 2 hours, and the first part was lead by Don Hutson who has written a new book called the “The One Minute Entrepreneur”.
The One Minute Entrepreneur

I am a big believer in business and personal transformation, I am an avid reader of process books that can be applied to enhance life and the realization of goals. I have read the One Minute Manager but to see Ken Blanchard speaking is an entirely different experience.

Don Hutson seems to be an authentic speaker that has a viable message, he is not quite as polished as Ken but powerful none the less. His speaking style is a little more conversational and perhaps a little more “country”. To me he sounded like a southerner weaving a tale – a compelling story but there was a little bit off in his presentation style. He is good, perhaps a little to polished for my liking.

I took a ton of notes during the session – I will transcribe them an put them up here in a few days. Right now I need to write a couple customer proposals.

Brad Slavin

50 Muse Ideas for the 4 Hour Work Week

Muse Ideas
1. private label rights
2. 4HWW template
3. website MCAT and LSAT
4. online scuba diving log
5. sell your house DVD
6. yoga for [niche]
7. fitness bootcamp
8. how to buy a motorcycle
9. cancer fighting
10. home valet butler
11. outsource brokerage for virtual assistants
12. hangover helper – hangover water
13. selling supplements
14. chart of weight loss – wireless scale
15. party kits
16. recipes to cell phones at dinner time
17. fridge inventory keeper
18. projects like guru.com
19. workout log book
20. 4HWW t-shirts
21. 4HWW travel agency
22. 4HWW concierge – new rich concierge
23. eating healthy DVD
24. affirmation jewelry
25. 4HWW affirmation cards
26. Business Magnets of beautiful art
27. synchronize IE and FF
28. vitamin water
29. cars – anything
30. pets exerciser
31. 4HWW meets New Earth
32. marriage restoration kit
33. 4HWW wiki
34. calorie counter – bar code checker
35. new rich book club
36. 4HWW mashup
37. 4HWW calendar (concept of 4HWW hydra came up)
38. digital birthday reminder for perpetual calendar
39. upload photos
40. 4HWW online survey for your muse
41. digital/physical birthday reminders and ideas
42. digital photo frame with pre-loaded photos/categories
43. interactive coaching sessions
44. SMS digital messages – personal daily horoscopes
45. anti-spam for iphone – software
46. hats – hot pants – yoga wear – babies “made in America” items
47. gas prices SMS to phone for closest cheapest stations
48. 4HWW live the lifestyle weekends
49. yoga for the bedroom
50. 4HWW brainstorming – MUSE makers kit – brainstorming facilitation

Brad Slavin

Changing the Group Dynamics – 4 Hour Work Week

Attention Fellow 4-Hour Work Week Aficionados.

So far people have shown great participation in the 4HWW meetup many people are engaged in this active dialog on a monthly basis. I feel that the original intention of the group which is to provide a supportive forum and the tools to be successful has become blurred. I have been doing a lot of thinking since the last meeting and I feel that I went down the wrong path with the chapter a month format!
This is NOT a book club, this is an action group that would like to excel and actually cause results…and with that as the motivation this is what I propose.

I would like to do a complete shift of the 4HWW meetup to be something extraordinary; something passionate and something that we can all find value in. Going through the book as a review is just not as valuable as ACTUALLY DOING IT. I need to be moving my own life towards the goals that Timothy outlines and by PASSIVELY meeting about the book I know that I am not going to get there, and most of you will not get there either.
I was trying to be a helping hand, a guide and a resource because of my experience and how passionate I am about the book. I have realized that too many people are at too many levels to make this sccessful for everyone WITHOUT focusing on a PROJECT.

So I am hereby switching the focus of the group from a DISCUSSION of the 4-Hour Work Week to a HANDS ON group that uses the book as a guide to bring a product to market. YES, you heard me correctly the new focus of the group is to MUTUALLY create a Muse, outsource a website, start an Adwords account,test our product, refine our market and learn by DOING each of the steps. Each person who participates will be able to IMMEDIATELY take the knowledge learned in the forum and apply it to their own 4HWW Dream.

We will no longer be sitting on the sidelines but we will be DEVELOPING and LAUNCHING our own site and product. I am requesting that people donate $10 per meeting for a fund that allows us to outsource web design, run Google ads, register a domain, host the website etc. And actually create and outsource a product and its marketing! This would be the BEST and fastest way to learn the skills to be successful in your own projects.

I will need help developing an active syllabus for all of us to follow. I have the basics; I just need someone to help with formatting. I also need someone to act as the assistant to the group to keep track of payments, attendance and to track projects.

If you have any prior experience in any part of setting up an ecommerce site, product development, Google Ads, outsourcing your input will be very very valuable. If you have a specific skill, we can have you present this skill or experience to the whole group.

Brad Slavin

The Meaning of Integrity

Doing what I know to do.
Doing what I said I would do.
Doing what others expect of me even though I did not say I would do it.
Doing what is expected of me to have my work complete.
Doing things as they were meant to be done.