Firewords: A Dangerous necessity in your life?

There are many stories of people injuring themselves, and others, with Firewords in old wild days of entrepreneurship and it is usually passed off as price that had to be paid in order to win. However, as time passes, there is a tendency to confuse reality with myth about how people rose to be so successful. The myth tends to appear as reality and that can be dangerous especially as we are all becoming more aware of our rights and speed of internet and bloggers to highlight indiscretions. Could it be that days of hard talking, difficult to please, arrogant, self possessed workaholic is stuff of daydreams, films and bar room fantasies? Could it be that those who follow Firewords behaviour of: ridiculing others, being angry in traffic jams, being impatient because things are not moving way they would like them to move, or their desires are not being met, bawling out secretary when things are not as they would like, constantly accusing people of being of a lower mental disposition i.e. they are thick…. , insulting another person needlessly, etc etc etc are unaware that their use of Firewords to stun, subdue or destroy another person are on a slippery slope of losing their power and effectiveness? Every time you lose control of yourself you become less effective as a boss, colleague, parent, friend or child. Every time you set off weapon of mass destruction you reduce your chance of being successful. You increase your chance of destruction. The problem is, like firing a firearm, more you use Firewords more residue is deposited on surrounding area i.e. on you and people close to you.

The proper care and feeding of revenue partners

You’ve had a couple dinners and a few phone conversations; there is chemistry and a further relationship looks promising. But, how do you really know if that next step is worth taking? Advanced Internet Technologies has talked to, literally, hundreds of companies about partnership possibilities. By partnerships, I mean type that produce revenue, not vendor agreements. As IT industry matures and customer demands evolve, growth of a services company like AIT depends on our ability to bring greater value to our customers and to develop new sources of revenue; partnerships are an integral component of that strategy. But, how do you really know if company on other end of line will be a good fit?

During AIT’s 8 years, we have refined a methodology for distinguishing between genuine opportunities and inquiries targeted at gaining access to our customer base. To be sure, painful lessons have been learned but one hallmark of a successful company is to not repeat mistakes. The AIT partnership doctrine serves purpose of 1) minimizing chances of a bad choice being made and 2) minimizing damage, just in case. An approach of very healthy skepticism based on experience; not everyone who wants to be your partner is your friend, and not everyone who is your friend makes for a good partner.

Our partnerships are governed by a philosophy called DIRE. Putting DIRE into practice, D is for Dominate, which is less intimidating than it sounds and primarily speaks to value proposition. Does other company offer name or brand recognition? What sales channels can they help you gain access to? AIT hosts more than 190,000 business domains, has thousands of Value Added Resellers, and is a two-time Inc 500 company. That means our value propositions include a healthy customer base and robust reseller channel, both of which are constantly searching for additional products and services to offer their customers. Combined, they can act as both customers and sales force for a viable partner. Add to that AIT’s financial and institutional credibility as a serious company, and our firm foothold in a growing industry sector, and you have several powerful selling and negotiating points. “I” stands for Interest, ‘so what’ that forms basis for continued talks. Does other company know anything about what your business does? Is what company does complimentary to what you offer? Ideally, you offer related products or services to same target market. For example, one recently-formed partnership is with a provider of pay-per-click advertising on search engines. There is mutual benefit in working with them: SE company gains a new customer channel plus AIT co-markets offering; our customers gain by having access to affordable marketing help for their web sites; and, AIT gains by giving its customers one more reason to remain loyal and by creating a revenue stream that would not have been otherwise realized.