Category: Work

If you know me, you have probably seen news that my employer is being purchased by Samsung. Allow me to make a few comments about this situation before I go quiet about the issue. First and foremost, the opinions expressed in this blog and domain are entirely mine. They do not in any way, shape, or form represent the views of my employer, or anyone else.

So in no particular order:

  • I do not have additional information beyond what the press releases indicate. My role in the company does not involve me in any of these processes.
  • If I am asked a question I have not gotten an answer from my employer about that I can publicly share, I will not answer it.
  • I have recused myself from AVNation’s coverage of the story.
  • Until the acquisition is approved by regulators there will be no change in processes or business.
  • I am aware of the fact that most analysts are indicating that Samsung has purchased an automotive supplier. Based on the Form 10-Q filing for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2016, the largest portion of income does come from the automotive division.
  • The feeling of uncertainty is high for me personally. I do not speak for others.

So there is my statement before I resume not commenting.

Bradford

My loyal reader and twitter follower is aware, I just attended the InfoComm2014 convention. I found myself struggling what to do with all these business cards I had acquired. Not only the question of how long should I hang on to them, but how to get all the details into my electronic system. After looking at a few solutions, I have a request for all my readers – make the lock screen on your electronic device your QR business card.

As someone who has some nice Moo.com business cards, with 10 different pictures on the cards, I appreciate and enjoy the statement and symbolism of exchanging business cards. What I do not enjoy is trying to get all the data into my various electronic organization tools. It is time consuming. First was the problem of finding a good tool to scan and then read all the data. Then comes the problem of verifying all the data that just got imported and loaded into the computer. There are pieces of software that can do this for you, but even those are not perfect and require some tweaking.  I have tried CamCard for iPhone but am not totally happy with it. The interface is pretty good, but there are short comings. I do like that one can review and edit them on the web. However one cannot easily export it from the corrected version on the web. One has to give CamCard access to your contacts to load it into your contact information. I probably sound paranoid and stereotypical but giving a Chinese company access to my contacts is not something I feel comfortable with. I do like the batch scanning option though.

I can continue talking about the various options I have used and tried. I am using Evernote Hello for my personal contact management. It does not do as good a job dealing with unique layouts on cards. It also does not include a way to include the address.

The thing I would like for more people to start using is a QR vCard. There is a protocol that allows for embedding contact information directly into a QR code. The protocol does not require actually being connected to the Internet to retrieve the information. It simply requires the receiver to have a QR code reader, many of which are free. The process is fairly simple and painless.

  1. Load a QR Code Reader onto your phone.
  2. Using the camera on your phone ingest the QR code you are interested in
  3. View the results

I have created a QR vCard that is the lock image on my iDevice. (A QR card size of 450 pixels by 450 pixels about 305 pixels from the top of the image for an iPhone 4S works.) I do not even have to unlock the phone to provide the QR code to someone. I also have a QR application (Qrafter Pro) that allows for reading QR codes from pictures. I can take a picture without unlocking my iDevice as well. If you really want to be sneaky smart, take a picture of the person also so you can remember what they look like.

To get you started, here is a sample QR code that I created online. There are also sorts of other tools available, Qrafter Pro also allows for creating the grids.

Trial QR code

Go ahead try out your reader.

Relatively easy? Simple?

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go back to reviewing scanned business cards. I think I will even update my personal cards to have a QR code.

Shout out to Linda Seid-Frembes who gave me this idea years ago – You can read more about it at her blog.

Yes, I now that this topic has been talked about before but I really think it is worth considering.

I started wearing a tie to work in late February of 2013 and people are commenting, but not asking. So far only one person has asked me why I was wearing the tie. What is interesting is who asked me. The General Manager of my business unit, in other terms basically the brand president. Given how often he and I are in the office at the same time, he at first thought it was just that I had a client meeting.

I had just changed roles in the company, but he knew that wasn’t a reason for the change as the division has the same basic dress code. So the question was “Dude, why are you wearing a tie?”

The answer can be fairly simple of “Dress for the job you want.” I thought showing up as The Dark Knight Batman could be a little awkward. The better answer is multifaceted and has personal and professional overtones but figure you as my loyal reader would want to know the story.

Over the past year I have put on weight as my exercise fell in to oblivion. I got squishy and my clothes became unflattering. That kind of becomes a circle of feed back. So I finally decided to stop the loop and purchased more flattering clothes. I liked the idea of a tie to allow some expression and style.

I had a day at the office that I knew was going to require heightened focus, so I figured follow the cliche of dress for success. It worked better than I thought. I was pleasantly surprised when I found I had time for my usual Starbucks break midday and still left on time. I tried it a few more times and it worked very well.

So my answer to the GM, “it helps me get more done and people treat me more seriously. I also want to continue growing.” He was supportive and chuckled about the Batman comment.

A friend of mine has an aphorism of “Assume the virtue”. I think that sums it up. I assume the virtue of valuable employee by putting on the work costume, the more formal clothes. It allows me to both focus on work and also allow me to leave work more easily. Not just physically, but mentally as well. When I loosen the tie, I loosen up as well and work is done.

I did not realize how much the change had happened until about a week ago. I had to do remote support for an audio installation on the weekend. I could have done it at home, but I decided to go into the office. I still dressed for work, not the full work costume but still casual Friday level. After the session I was able to go home and change clothes and leave work behind for the short weekend.

Assume the virtue my friends. Give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.