may 2010 office technology

Cover May 10:Cover Apr 10 4/27/10 1:06 PM

BTA Southeast Spread:Layout 1 4/29/10 8:51 AM Page 1

BTA Southeast Spread:Layout 1 4/28/10 9:15 AM Page 1

Appreciative Inquiry

An important tool

for transforming your businessby Joanne L. SmikleSmikle Training ServicesDoctoral graduate David Cooperrider created some-thing called Appreciative Inquiry (AI), an emerging,evolving approach to organizational change that isrooted in the premise that enterprises move in thedirection they pay attention to.

‘Building the Future’

Kyocera hosts Pan-American

Dealer Meetingby Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineAnnouncing plans for the launch of22 new products and emphasizing dealer opportuni-ties in managed print services (MPS), Kyocera MitaAmerica Inc. hosted its Pan-American Dealer Meetingon April 6-8 in Orlando, Fla. The meeting drew morethan 1,100 attendees.

4 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0

CONTENTS

Vertical Markets

Are you building on

the opportunities?by Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineWith few, if any, exceptions, to-day’s office technology dealer-ships focus predominantly on ahorizontal sales approach. That is, they sell to virtuallyany type of business in their geography. Some, however,are finding success in proactively pursuing certain ver-tical markets. Are you among them?

Volume 16 � No. 11

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

Cyber-World Differentiation

Is it safe to do business

with your dealership?by Peter CybuckKyocera Mita America Inc.More than 1.1 billion people are con-nected to the Internet. They probe our governmentnetworks 380 million times per day. Office equipmentis connected directly or indirectly to these global net-works and is potentially subject to constant attack.

D E P A R T M E N T S

6

8

30

Executive Director’s Page

BTA President’s Message

Advertiser Index

Business Technology Association� Education Calendar� BTA Highlights

23

P R I N C I P A L I S S U E S

Sales Force Development

Forecasting the ROI

of employee trainingby David RamosStrategy DevelopmentI have been fortunate to have learnedthe value derived from sales force development. At Xerox,I learned the benefit and impact that sales training hadon my productivity. What they taught me was that itwas not just the words that were important; the valuewas the detailed documentation of the steps.

C O U R T S & C A P I T O L SHealth Care Reform

What does it mean

for your business?by Robert C. GoldbergBTA General CounselThe last months have shown a defi-nite decline in our legislative process. Listening to thedebate and various positions, it was difficult to findanyone who had read the entire proposal, and evenmore difficult to determine what it meant to you.

18

10

21

25

26

29

DocuWorld 2010

Software vendor hosts

annual partner meetingby Brent HoskinsOffice Technology MagazineWhile 2009 was generally seen as adown year for many companies, it proved to be anotherup year for DocuWare Corp., makers of the DocuWare 5document management system. This was the message,in part, of the company’s annual partner meeting,DocuWorld 2010, held on March 23 in Miami, Fla.

16

04OT0510:04OT0410 4/29/10 1:33 PM

ww

w.d

ocuw

are.

com

Maximize margins and hardware pull-throughGenerate professional services and a recurring revenue streamExtend the customer relationship beyond the life of the lease

How?Enter the profi table world of selling document management solutions.

Learn how to build your own successful professional services teamBenefi t from one-of-a-kind proven training and go-to-market programs Outstanding certifi cation program and technical support Onsite sales representatives working with your sales team

Contact us today and start realizing the benefi ts of a lasting Partnership.

DocuWare Corporation(888) [email protected]

Put More Green in Your Bottom Line

Docuware ad Apr 10:Layout 1 3/11/10 1:06 PM Page 1

Executive Director/BTAEditor/Office Technology

Brent [email protected]

(816) 303-4040

Associate EditorElizabeth Marvel

[email protected](816) 303-4060

Contributing WritersPeter Cybuck, Kyocera Mita America Inc.

www.kyoceramita.com

Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association

Joanne L. Smikle, Smikle Training Serviceswww.smiklespeaks.com

David Ramos, Strategy Developmentwww.strategydevelopment.org

Business Technology Association12411 Wornall Road

Kansas City, MO 64145(816) 941-3100

www.bta.org

Member Services: (800) 505-2821BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688

Valerie BrisenoMembership & Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Mary HopkinsDatabase Administrator

[email protected]

Teresa LeerarBookkeeper

[email protected]

Brian SmithMembership Sales Representative

[email protected]

©2010 by the Business Technology Association. All RightsReserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by anymeans without the written permission of the publisher. Everyeffort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material.However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articlesnor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

In Apri l , I had th e

privilege of attend-

ing th e national

dealer meetings of two

manufacturers — Kyo-

cera Mita America Inc.

and Ricoh Am ericas

Corp. In presentations

at both m eetings, th ere was a strong

emphasis on the need for dealers to pursue

managed print services (MPS). The agenda

at the Kyocera Mita meeting, for example,

included a dealer panel discussion on the

topic of MPS.

Clearly, MPS has moved to the forefront of

the office technology industry, and with good

reason. It is an ideal strategy for dealers

wanting to capture more page volume, lock

in customer relationships, distinguish them-

selves from competitors and increase rev-

enues. Have you embraced the promise of

MPS? If not, are you looking for some guid-

ance in developing an MPS program?

As I consider the MPS opportunity, I am

pleased to be able to say that BTA provides

some excellent workshops to help you take

your dealerships to the next level. In fact,

since 2007 we have offered a two-day MPS

sales education workshop through our

alliance with Strategy Development, a man-

agement consulting and advanced sales

training firm. The reviews of our two MPS

workshops have been very favorable.

The “BTA MPS Sales Workshop” is taught

by Strategy Development’s Tom Callinan,

Ed Carroll and David Ramos. Here are two

samples of the types of comments we have

received from many of the 175-plus atten-

dees to date:

� “This is the best workshop I’ve been to

that walked me through the process step-

by-step. I can do this with confidence now.”

— Rob Hanna, Aaron’s Products Inc., Hunt-

ington, W.V.

� “The knowledge that I acquired from

real-world experiences as well as the docu-

mentation examples has given me the confi-

dence to launch a print management divi-

sion in our company. You have broken the

process down to a step-by-step building

block approach that makes the target very

visible and achievable. I look forward to

implementing the program in our com-

pany.” — Richard Detwiler, Digital Business

Machines, Nashville, Tenn.

The “BTA MPS Operations & Service

Workshop” is taught by Strategy Develop-

ment’s Mike Woodard and Jim Boulden.

Here are two sample comments from atten-

dees of this one-day workshop:

� “As a copier guy, this gave me an excel-

lent service perspective on MPS. It was great

to see the positive impact MPS brings to our

service and operations.” — Matt Mawby, Pro-

fessional Business Systems, Rogers, Ark.

� “Strategy Development, specifically

Mike and Jim, bring a wealth of knowledge

on all aspects of operations and service

with regard to MPS. Their knowledge of

operations and service is second to none.”

— Ken Staubitz, Modern Office Methods,

Cincinnati, Ohio

The next “BTA MPS Sales Workshop” will

be held June 7-8. The “BTA MPS Operations

& Service Workshop” will be held June 7.

Both workshops will be held at the Man-

dalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas,

Nev. You can find more details on these

workshops at www.bta.org/MPSSales and

www.bta.org/MPSOperationsService. Now is

the time to embrace the promise of MPS. �

— Brent Hoskins

Have You Embracedthe Promise of MPS?


®

06OT0510:06OT0510 4/29/10 10:54 AM

Manage More Meter Contracts

Taking your business to the next level is easy when you have the tools you need for MPS success.Our complete dealer management systems let you simplify and automate your meter billing and contract administration. Optimize your supply orders based on usage trends. Know the profitability of every contract. See your people become more productive. And watch your profits grow.

Get the power of automated service management at an affordable price. We’ve helped thousands of dealers in over 40 countries optimize their field services and gain a competitive edge.

Call us today. Let us put our know-how to work for you.

is

ne

g yeasy when yo

eed for MPS su

ou have the too

uccess.

ols you

Our ou

baspeo

Gete’Wvser

Call

complete dealer managemer meter billing and contract

ends. Know ted on usage troductivee prple become mor

the power of automated se’ve helped thousands of deavices and gain a competitive

. Let us put our knl us today

ent systems let you simplifyadministration. Optimize y

y conofitability of everthe profits gre. And watch your pr

fvice management at an aferalers in over 40 countries ope edge.

now-how to work for you.

y and automatedersour supply or

ntract. See your .owr

dable price.forptimize their field

Project1:Nexent ad Feb 10 1/15/10 8:36 AM Page 1

BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The Business Tech-

nology Associa-

tion was formed

by dealers back in 1926 in

Chicago, Ill . , and con-

tinues to be governed by

dealers to this day.

Throughout our 84 years,

countless volunteers have stepped forward

to give back to the association that has given

them so much.

BTA’s dealer volunteers are dedicated to

developing programs, events, etc., that will

help their fellow dealers. For example, plan-

ning efforts for the upcoming BTA Southeast

Dealer Strategies Summit 2010, scheduled

for June 16-17 in Orlando, Fla., are being led

by member dealer volunteers. Such volun-

teers are at the foundation of BTA’s success.

Recently, BTA’s voting dealer members

cast their ballots, electing a number of new

national and district officers for the 2010-11

fiscal year, which begins July 1. I would like

to recognize these distinguished individuals

and thank them for their willingness to give

of their time. By way of introduction, fol-

lowing is the BTA leadership team for the

2010-11 year.

BTA National: Rock Janecek, 2009-10

president-elect, will assume the presidency.

Rock is division service manager for Bur-

tronics Business Systems Inc., San Ber-

nardino, Calif.

Tom Ouellette has been elected to serve

as national president-elect. Tom is presi-

dent of Budget Document Technology,

Lewiston, Maine.

Terry Chapman has been elected to serve

as national vice president. Terry is president

of Business Electronics Corp., Birming-

ham, Ala.

BTA East: Todd J. Fitzsimons, 2009-10 dis-

trict president, will remain in the presi-

dency. Todd is president of Network Imaging

LLC, Southington, Conn.

Alan Albergaria has been elected to serve

as BTA East vice president. Alan is presi-

dent of Automated Business Solutions, War-

wick, R.I.

BTA Mid-America: Ron Hulett, 2009-10

district president, will remain in the presi-

dency. Ron is president and CEO of U.S.

Business Systems Inc., Elkhart, Ind.

Michael Kelly has been elected to serve

as the district’s vice president. Michael is a

service manager at R.K. Black Inc., Okla-

homa City, Okla.

BTA Southeast: David Perry, 2009-10 dis-

trict president-elect, will assume the presi-

dency. David is co-owner of Integrity Busi-

ness Machines, Conway, S.C.

Debra Dennis has been elected to serve

as district president-elect. Debra is general

operations manager at CopyPro Inc., Green-

ville, N.C.

BTA West: Greg Gray, 2009-10 district

president-elect, will assume the presidency.

Greg is vice president of service for Bur-

tronics Business Systems Inc., San Bernar-

dino, Calif.

Ronelle Ingram, 2009-10 district secre-

tary/treasurer, will remain in the position.

Ronelle is vice president of technical service

for Steven Enterprises Inc., Irvine, Calif.

Steven Diumenti has been elected vice

president of the district. Steven is president

of Steven Enterprises Inc., Irvine, Calif.

On July 1, additional biographical and

contact information for each of the 2010-11

volunteers will be posted on the BTA Web

site, www.bta.org. �

— Bill James

Meet BTA’s 2010-11Volunteer Leaders

®

2009-2010 Board of Directors

PresidentBill James

WJS Enterprises Inc.3315 Ridgelake DriveMetairie, LA 70002

[email protected]

President-ElectRock Janecek

Burtronics Business Systems Inc.216 S. Arrowhead Ave.

San Bernardino, CA [email protected]

Vice PresidentTom Ouellette

Budget Document Technology251 Goddard Road

Lewiston, ME [email protected]

BTA EastTodd J. Fitzsimons

Network Imaging LLC122 Spring St.

Southington, CT [email protected]

BTA Mid-AmericaRon Hulett

U.S. Business Systems Inc.3221 Southview Drive

Elkhart, IN [email protected]

BTA SoutheastTerry Chapman

Business Electronics Corp.219 Oxmoor Circle

Birmingham, AL [email protected]

BTA WestLokke PatrickDocutxt Corp.

11110 E. Artesia Blvd., Ste. BCerritos, CA [email protected]

Ex-Officio/ImmediatePast President

Ronelle IngramSteven Enterprises Inc.

17952 Sky Park Circle, Ste. EIrvine, CA 92614

[email protected]

Ex-Officio/General CounselRobert C. Goldberg

Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC222 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 2100

Chicago, IL [email protected]


08OT0510:08OT0510 4/28/10 4:39 PM

ECO-nomical. ECO-logical.

ECOSYS Printers from Kyocera.

Customers afraid to look at whattheir printers really cost?

Help them make the wise choice.

Typical Printer Kyocera Printer

© KYOCERA MITA Corporation, KYOCERA MITA America, Inc., a group company of Kyocera Corporation. 2010 Kyocera Mita Corporation.

Printer’s performance is simulated. Cost savings are for similar size printers having comparable prints-per-minute, paper size, memory, processor speed and rated print volume and based upon usage assumptions. Actual cost savings will vary.

How much did your customers spend on printing last month? How about last year? If they are like most companies,it’s probably too much. Switching to ECOSYS Printers from Kyocera could save your customers hundreds, eventhousands of dollars per year. That’s because Kyocera’s durable long-life consumables mean less waste, reducingcosts and lowering impact on the environment. Brilliant color, crisp black and white, and low Total Cost of Ownership.Now that’s a wise choice.

Calculate your customers’ costs today.Visit our TCO Tracker at www.kyoceramita.com.

Kyocera Mita ad Jan 10:Layout 1 12/14/09 9:42 AM Page 1


by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

Vertical MarketsAre you building on the opportunities?

With few, if any, exceptions,

today ’s office technology

dealerships focus predomi-

nately on a horizontal sales approach.

That is, they sell to virtually any type of

business in their geography. Some,

however, are finding success in proac-

tively pursuing certain vertical markets.

Are you among them?

Of course, vertical sales opportuni-

ties exist in every sales territory, rang-

ing from education to health care. They

present the opportunity for a dealership

to find success in distinguishing itself

from competitors as the local resource for solutions geared

to serve the document-related needs of a specific industry.

Today, increasingly, hardware manufacturers and software

vendors are working diligently to help dealerships achieve

success in vertical market sales. Lexmark International Inc.

(www.lexmark.com) is a good example. “Our vertical

approach has been around since our inception in 1991,” says

Phil Boatman, manager of Business Solutions Dealer (BSD)

program development. “It stems from Lexmark’s desire to go

to market in a very different way than other manufacturers.”

That “very different way” includes business solutions

designed for such diverse industries as education, financial

services and health care. “We hired an outside consulting

firm when Lexmark was being formed,” says Boatman. “Out

of that came our paths to market — vertical solutions.”

Similarly, Stephen Young, president of Square 9 Softworks

(www.square-9.com), says his company also embraces a ver-

tical market approach. “We introduced the promotion of ver-

tical markets with the launch of SmartSearch,” he says,

referring to Square 9’s document management solution. “We all

came from the document management industry, so when we

created SmartSearch, we had a lot of experience in vertical

markets and how our application could be

used. We took off with this from day one.”

Dealerships that sell Square 9’s soft-

ware can reap the rewards of the ver-

tical market approach, says Young. “I

think the biggest thing that a vertical

market approach does for dealerships is

establish credibility with customers,” he

says. “If you are in a highly competitive

area, it is your knowledge of your cus-

tomer’s market that gives them the

comfort to do business with you.”

While there are many hardware and

software companies offering products

and solutions targeting vertical markets, following is a brief

look at four of them, in each case focusing on a specific ver-

tical market. Perhaps the insight shared will lead you to take

another look at your local vertical sales opportunities.

Lexmark International Inc.As noted, one of the many verticals served by Lexmark

through its network of authorized dealers is the education

market. Increasingly, dealers are finding that the company’s

Education Station, along with the optional Testing and

Grading Solution, give new meaning to the multifunctional

aspect of the MFP.

Lexmark’s Education Station provides teachers the ability

to retrieve and print certain documents, such as bubble

sheets for tests, on demand. Its Scan-to-Classroom applica-

tion also allows teachers to scan documents directly to a spe-

cific, personalized destination on the network, helping them

manage their documents. Likewise, office personnel can scan

tardy slips, doctors’ notes, etc., directly to teachers.

The optional Testing and Grading Solution allows teachers

and administrators to prepare test materials, scan and score

tests, create reports and analyze data from the MFP. The

Cover Story May 10:Cover Story May 10 4/29/10 9:32 AM

Digital Gateway ad May 10:Layout 1 4/26/10 1:07 PM Page 1

Education Station also can

be upgraded to integrate

directly into many student

information systems, ena-

bling scanned information

to be sent directly to an elec-

tronic student record.

“ We worked ver y hard

to make our solution ele-

gant and simple,” says Deby

Oliver, who serves as Lex-

mark’s education industry

consultant. “We wanted to

make it appealing to the teacher. It will print out the answer

sheet, the students take the bubble tests, the teacher scans

them in [along with the answer sheet] and the solution

grades the tests immediately.”

As noted, the solution can also produce reports based on

the test results. “You can look at reports by test question, by

student and by answer distribution,” says Oliver, who further

explains the value of “answer distribution” reporting. “This

report can show, for example, that 90 percent of the class

thought that ‘B’ was the answer to a question, when really it

was ‘A.’ This may guide the teacher to change the means of

teaching some of the material.”

Demand for the Education Station is growing, says Oliver,

who notes: “Our largest customer has a little more than one

million students.” That customer, the New York City school dis-

trict, uses a Lexmark custom-developed attendance application.

nQueue BillbackFor nQueue Billback LLC (www.nqbillback.com), the

primary vertical market served is the legal industry. In fact, 75

percent of the company’s customers are law firms, which

includes more than 30 percent of the 250 largest U.S. law

firms. nQueue Billback’s iA solutions assist f irms by

enhancing the automation and processing of any operational

and administrative expenses, including print, copy, scan,

phone, fax, court fees, overnight, courier, travel, etc.

John Gilbert, vice president of sales and marketing, says

the company’s primary value proposition is information

accountability, hence “iA” as the brand, allowing law firms to

recover costs for prints, copies, etc. However, he says,

nQueue’s line of iA solutions also helps the firm to address

“financial leakage,” tracking expenses that are currently not

being properly accounted for in order to increase recoveries

or gain insight for better business and financial decisions.

Actually, he says, a recent

survey reveals that only 35

p ercent of law f irms are

bil ling clients for prints.

“And today, your average law

firm is printing two times

more than they are copying,”

says Gilbert. “So, if the firm

is recovering $1,000 a month

for copying, it may be leav-

ing $2,000 ‘on the table’ each

month for prints.”

Selling nQueue Billback’s

solutions can help to distinguish dealerships from competi-

tors and “get them out of the price war,” says Gilbert, adding

that the installation of a solution that will actually help a law

firm customer directly improve the bottom line will pay off

for the dealership in other ways. “Who is that firm going to

look to when they buy their next copier/MFP?” he asks. “Is it

going to be everybody who is fighting for the business, or the

dealership that helped the firm recover more costs and

better manage expenses?”

OKI Data Americas Inc.MFP and printer manufacturer OKI Data Americas Inc.

(www.okidata.com) has developed several vertical market

solutions. Among them are health care solutions specifi-

cally focused on enhancing patient safety and operational

efficiencies within hospitals and clinics utilizing thermal

print technologies.

Partnering with DataRay Inc., a vendor specializing in bar

code technology, OKI offers thermal label and digital printers

that can produce two-dimensional bar code/RFID (radio-fre-

quency identification) wristbands and labels. The products

are intended for hospital admission departments, inpatient

pharmacies, bedside point-of-care, medicine verifications

and Tall Man Lettering (TML) applications. (TML reduces

reading errors by making similar drug names easily distin-

guishable by automatically capitalizing certain letters.)

“Our primary goal is to bring a solution to market that pro-

vides easy integration,” says Nick Ciarlante, senior marketing

manager for monochrome SFP, MFP, dot matrix and specialty

products. “We bring customers safety without huge capital

expenditures or requiring them to spend hours, weeks or even

months trying to figure out how the solution works.”

Often, says Ciarlante, OKI’s health care solutions are ini-

tially installed in the hospital pharmacy where bedside point-


“We bring customerssafety without hugecapital expendituresor requiring them tospend hours, weeks oreven months trying to figure out how the solution works.”

— Nick CiarlanteOKI Data Americas Inc.

Cover Story May 10:Cover Story May 10 4/29/10 9:32 AM Page 11

Contact FMAudit today.

FMAudit ad Mar 10:Layout 1 2/5/10 8:54 AM Page 1

of-care begins. “We recom-

mend that the dealership

sales rep get in front of the

pharmacy director first,” he

says, noting that the director

is generally eager to replace

aging dot-matrix printers.

“Pharmacy directors are ac-

cepting of the solution be-

cause IT support is not

required other than pro-

viding an IP address. Addi-

tionally, the cost of imple-

mentation is minimal compared to traditional software-

based bar coding packages. Later, they will recommend you

to admissions and get you integrated within the hospital.”

Square 9 SoftworksAmong the various vertical markets that it pursues,

Square 9 Softworks has found government agencies to be

among the most significant. “Government happens to be a

very large part of what we do,” says Young. “In fact, 22 percent

of our overall 2009 sales were in the government market.”

For its SmartSearch document management solution,

Square 9 does have several government modules, says Young.

“Most recently, with a tool we

developed for e-discovery, we

allowed a county prosecutor’s

office to begin distributing

discoverable documents to

the defense through either e-

mail or disk,” he says, noting

that, as often happens, the

installation has since led to a

new opportunity — an expan-

sion of SmartSearch into the

county sheriff ’s department.

“This is a common way a lot

of our dealer partners sell into government agencies. They

establish that initial toehold and then go from there.”

Today, government agencies are particularly interested in

document management solutions, says Young. “They are

like everyone else; they are being forced to be more efficient

because of budget cuts,” he says. “They are looking to cut

back on paper while making the informa-

tion accessible.” �Brent Hoskins, executive director of the

Business Technology Association, is editor of

Office Technology magazine. He can be

reached at [email protected].

“They are like everyoneelse; they are being forced to be more efficient because of budget cuts. They arelooking to cut back on paper while makingthe information accessible.”

— Stephen YoungSquare 9 Softworks


Cover Story May 10:Cover Story May 10 4/29/10 9:32 AM Page 12

877-427-3261Catalog now on:

Progressive office equipment dealers have a stockpile of implementation strategies for hardware, software and service — but supplies strategies can often come up a little short.

Supplies Network is the nation’s largest privately-owned wholesaler of IT consumables from major

original equipment and compatible manufacturers. A comprehensive selection of supplies for

printers, copiers and fax equipment—including maintenance kits/parts—are available from one

source. Orders can be direct shipped at no extra charge in 1 or 2 days to your customers or technicians,

eliminating the need for costly inventory and local delivery. Take advantage of great prices, specialized

service, custom private labeling, creative marketing and our award-winning CARBON SiX Managed

Print Services. With Supplies Network, you’ll never be without a supplies strategy again!

Don’t find yourself short on supplies…

HP | BROTHER | CANON | IMATION | INFOPRINT | LEXMARK | KONICA MINOLTA | OKI | SAMSUNG | XEROX

everything needs!www.suppliesnetwork.com

Supplies Network is your best supplies strategy!

NEW!

Supplies Network ad May 10:Layout 1 4/14/10 11:17 AM Page 1



DocuWorld 2010Software vendor hosts annual partner meeting

While 2009 was generally seen as a down year for

many companies, it proved to be another up

year for DocuWare Corp., makers of the Docu-

Ware 5 document management system. Looking forward,

with more authorized DocuWare partners (ADPs) em-

bracing proven success factors, 2010 is on track to end as a

good year as well. This was the message, in part, of the

company’s annual partner meeting, DocuWorld 2010, held

on March 23 in Miami, Fla. The event drew total attendance

of 192 people, including 172 attendees representing 77 dif-

ferent ADP companies.

Thomas Schneck, president of sales and marketing of

DocuWare AG, parent company of DocuWare Corp., recalled

the positive attitude among the partners at the 2009 meeting,

when the U.S. economic crisis was only a few months old. “I

was excited that many of you showed a fighting spirit and

said you expected a good year for DocuWare,” he told atten-

dees. “Now, we can look back at 2009 and say that we ‘weath-

ered the storm well.’ Our business grew in the American

market by almost 15 percent. It is a number of which we can

all be proud. Thank you for a job well done.”

Schneck shared some of the details. In 2009, he said, there

were 950 new DocuWare installations worldwide, including

359 in the Americas, representing 37 percent of the

company’s revenues. He also noted that by industry, the

most sizeable percentage of new DocuWare installations

occurred in health care with 14 percent, followed closely by

the finance industry with 13 percent of installations. The

next three industries were education, public administration

and services, each claiming 10 percent of new installations.

“What we’ve seen is that there is not one dominant

industry,” said Schneck, emphasizing that DocuWare works

well in a variety of industries, with accounting-related tasks

the most common usage. “ That supports the market

approach that we have been focusing on over the last few

years — to go after the accounting department. That is

paying off very nicely.”

Looking to the remainder of 2010, Schneck said he is opti-

mistic that the company’s success will continue. “The eco-

nomic climate is improving in that the panic we saw in 2008

Clockwise from top: Greg Schloemer (top right), president of

DocuWare Corp., introduces company employees; attendees

listen to one of the many presentations; the Technology

Pavilion featured 13 exhibiting sponsors; and Thomas

Schneck, president of sales and marketing, DocuWare AG.

DocuWare May 10:Docuware May 10 4/29/10 1:32 PM Page 10

is gone and the GNP [gross national

product] is growing again. It is all good

news for DocuWare.”

The company regularly reviews the

revenue numbers for each of its ADPs,

said Schneck, noting that company offi-

cials have observed certain factors

among the most successful ADPs. “We

want to highlight these factors to achieve

one goal — to build a sustainable solu-

tions business with DocuWare,” he said. “Or, to state it simply,

we want you to always be successful with DocuWare.

“The success factors that we’ve seen across the board are:

they constantly prospect, they can excite the prospect with

their DocuWare presentation, they can show convincing ben-

efits and ROIs, they show very strong closing skills and they

have a very comprehensive professional services offering,”

explained Schneck. “I don’t think any of these factors comes

as a great surprise to anyone. The challenge is to continuously

focus on these factors and to execute them flawlessly.”

Schneck further addressed each of the success factors,

encouraging all ADPs in the audience to

embrace them. Commenting on profes-

sional services, for example, he noted

that many prospects only have a vague

understanding of document manage-

ment. “Therefore, they are looking for

professional guidance and consulting

and they are willing to pay for that,” he

said. “So, please walk into conversations

with your prospects with confidence

and conviction regarding your professional services. Never

forget, you are the document experts. So, leverage that.”

The agenda at DocuWorld 2010 also included a number of

other presentations by DocuWare senior management and

guests, including a keynote presentation by John Mancini,

president of AIIM (the Association of Information and Image

Management). There was also a Technology Pavilion featuring

the products and services of 13 exhibiting sponsors. �Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology

Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can

be reached at [email protected].

“So, please walk intoconversations with yourprospects with confidenceand conviction regardingyour professional services. Never forget,you are the ... experts.”

w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0 | 17

DocuWare May 10:Docuware May 10 4/29/10 8:34 AM Page 11


by: David Ramos, Strategy Development

Sales Force DevelopmentForecasting the ROI of employee training

Ihave been fortunate in my sales career

to have learned the value derived from

sales force development. At Xerox, I

learned the benefit and impact that sales

training had on my productivity as a sales

executive. Each individual process was very

detailed. They armed us with step-by-step

instructions for every scenario. What they

taught me was that it was not just the words

that were important; the value was the de-

tailed documentation of all the steps — the

order, the timing and all the possible out-

comes along the way. They taught us to apply

it to selling any product or service we offered.

After leaving Xerox, I started with IKON Office Solutions

and after two years as a regional sales manager, I had the

opportunity to work for IKON University teaching sales-

people the impact of the sales process on their productivity

and sales managers how to effectively develop, lead and

execute a plan. The skills learned in my assignments

became my foundation for leading the sales force as director

of sales in Mexico and in the north Florida marketplace.

At Strategy Development, we recognize that dealer princi-

pals and sales leaders need information that is relevant to the

challenges or issues they face developing their employees and

achieving company goals. You need information that is cred-

ible, reliable, concise and compelling for you to understand

how much to invest, where to invest and what impact you will

derive from developing your people. Forecasting and meas-

uring the ROI of development is essential when investing in

training, from sales to technical service or customer care.

Here I will use sales as the example, but you can apply the

methodology to any training investment in your organization.

A performance-based analysis approach focuses on:

� Efficient use of resources — Ensure that learning is only

undertaken if it adds value and impacts the goals, strategies

and objectives of your company.

� Improved business impact of all training

— Because the process is focused on key

company needs, the success of learning oppor-

tunities will be enhanced to show improved

business impact.

� Increased client satisfaction — New cus-

tomers can cost five times more than re-

taining current customers. Most companies

today lose, on average, 10 percent of their

base each year. A 2 percent increase in cus-

tomer retention will have the same affect on

profits as cutting costs by 10 percent. Also, a 5

percent reduction in defection rates can increase profits by

25 percent or more. Companies need to clearly see this con-

nection to their performance. Dealer principals and sales

leaders will have useful information to assist the sales force

as they coach and inspect behavioral changes in this area.

� Increased support and commitment from dealer prin-

cipals and sales leaders — Quantifiable results from

learning and performance indicators will provide you with

hard and soft data to assist sales force development in

attaining your company goals.

Business NeedsStrategic analysis of your key business needs is the first

step. Proactively identify the business and performance

needs in your company versus just training.

(1) Grow market share profitably. Everyone wants growth,

but profitable growth is our focus.

(2) Reduce turnover and retain a high-performance sales

culture.

(3) Increase rep productivity in revenue. Are you focusing

on deepening customer relationships through account

expansion in MPS, color, EDM or variable data in production

or color?

Ramos May 10:Ramos May 10 4/29/10 8:40 AM Page 10

Customize your websitewith your own look and feel:

We will build your websitewith these features and more:

888.632.5515 888.635.7479 [email protected] www.imagestar.com

Image Star ad May 10:Layout 1 4/26/10 8:41 AM Page 1

(4) Do you need a comprehensive

sales and marketing strategy to adapt to

the marketplace that focuses on gaining

market share in competitive accounts?

Sales Organization NeedsIdentifying key performance needs

can be done with a self-assessment

between dealer principals, senior sales

leaders and directors of finance.

(1) Does the sales team need core sales skills?

(2) Does the team need improvement in identifying,

understanding and addressing customer/prospect needs?

(3) How are team members selling against the competition?

(4) Can they establish and maintain strategic relation-

ships at the correct levels inside both current and prospec-

tive accounts?

(5) Can they effectively overcome obstacles and objec-

tions?

(6) Does sales management need development in giving

clear direction, setting goals and establishing effective

processes?

� Do they lack a consistent coaching model/process?

� Is sales communication/vision clearly defined?

� Do they have the proper tools to measure and report

sales results?

(7) Is there a lack of partnership between sales and

service staff members?

FeedbackAt this point, you want to know that whichever learning

environment you choose addresses the following:

(1) It allows for varied levels of experience in sales force

and sales management to allow for customization.

(2) It focuses on customer service and retention.

(3) It leverages industry expertise.

(4) It addresses product, process and technology learning

needs to allow the sales force to adapt to the marketplace.

SolutionsAddressing skills, the environment and resource gaps

should be the result of your analysis. Look for a blended

approach: classroom training, eLearning, industry leader-

led conferences, etc.

(1) Core sales skills — Training programs are usually

developed and initially deployed by a vendor. The programs

need comprehensive content and delivery options and need

to address the majority of the common

core skill needs you identified.

(2) Professional coaching for sales

managers so they learn how to develop,

lead and execute your company plan.

(3) Industry-specific sales skills: MPS,

color, EDM, etc.

ObjectivesOur performance objectives are de-

signed to target specific skills and behaviors:

(1) Professional skills and application, selling against the

competition, sales negotiations, winning account strategies.

(2) Sales management fundamentals to develop em-

ployees.

(3) Industry-specific sales skills, armed with the correct

level of training in key areas to address new sales initiatives.

EvaluationBecause of the cost associated with core sales skills, pro-

fessional coaching and industry-specific selling skills, we

need to forecast the potential success of the programs. It is

critical to identify the link between the specific programs

and their business impact. We identify specific business

measures that will be impacted by the training programs

and this will allow us to put in place a model for our return-

on-investment (ROI) forecast.

As an example, we forecast and measure a training

program designed to reduce turnover by increasing sales

manager effectiveness. The cost of training is $2,000 per

sales manager. Three sales leaders are trained, for a total

training cost of $6,000. To forecast the impact and dollar

value of training, we set a goal of reducing turnover from 20

percent to 15 percent. Two percentage points is estimated

to cost approximately $50,000 (lost productivity, hiring

costs, salary, benefits, etc.). Therefore, the training forecast

can help save a company $125,000 (2.5 x $50,000) — an ROI

of 119 percent.

Business outcomes that can be linked to training, such as

revenue productivity and customer satisfaction, have to be

tracked over time. By forecasting outcomes before and trends

after, changes in outcomes can be linked to

your training initiatives. �David C. Ramos is a consultant with

Strategy Development. He can be reached at

[email protected].

Visit www.strategydevelopment.org.

Addressing skills, theenvironment and resourcegaps should be the result of your analysis.Look for a blendedapproach: classroomtraining, eLearning ...


Ramos May 10:Ramos May 10 4/29/10 8:43 AM Page 11


‘Building the Future’Kyocera hosts Pan-American Dealer Meeting

Announcing plans for the launch of 22 new products

and emphasizing dealer opportunities in managed

print services (MPS), Kyocera Mita America Inc.

(KMA) hosted its Pan-American Dealer Meeting on April 6-8

in Orlando, Fla. The meeting drew more than 1,100 attendees,

representing Kyocera Mita and Copystar authorized dealer-

ships from across the United States along with dealers and

guests from Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico and Japan.

“On behalf of the Kyocera Mita America Group, I stand

before you today, together with KMC [Kyocera Mita Corp.]

President [Katsumi] Komaguchi, and commit to investing in

and growing this vibrant dealer channel,” said Mike Pietrunti,

president and CEO of KMA, during the opening General

Session. “Remember, 85 percent of our revenue in North and

South America comes from you, our dealers. We know that

the only way we can build our future is with you. That’s why

the theme of this meeting is ‘Building the Future Together.’”

Komaguchi also expressed his appreciation to dealers,

commenting on their role in keeping the company finan-

cially strong in today’s “tough” economic climate. “During

the past fiscal year [ending March 31, 2010], Kyocera Mita

Corp. reported worldwide results of $2.54 billion in sales and

$212 million in profits, which is equivalent to a profit margin

of 8.4 percent,” he said. “It is obvious that these results could

not have been achieved without the daily efforts and strong

determination of our channel partners marketing and

selling our products.”

Focusing on financial results for KMA Group, Pietrunti

reported that total revenues for the recent fiscal year were

$575 million, which represents 102.9 percent year-over-year

(YOY) growth. He noted that Brazil “led the way” with 15.1

percent YOY growth. “In the United States, backed by the

best dealer channel in the U.S. market, your dedicated efforts

allowed us to achieve 2.2 percent YOY growth,” he said.

Beyond reporting on KMA’s last fiscal year, looking to the

future, Pietrunti encouraged dealers to find opportunities

“amidst the challenges” of the economy. Specifically, he dis-

cussed the need for dealers to adopt an MPS-focused business

model. “In the ‘new business reality,’ MPS is replacing the old


Top photo: Attendees gather in the Product Fair. Middle

photos, from left: Katsumi Komaguchi, president, Kyocera

Mita Corp., addresses dealers during the General Session;

Mike Pietrunti, president and CEO, Kyocera Mita America Inc.

(KMA); and Peter Hendrick, vice president of marketing for

KMA. Bottom photo: Steve Rolla of BEI Pros (right), moder-

ates a dealer panel on the topic of managed print services.

Kyocera May 10:Kyocera May 10 4/29/10 9:19 AM Page 10


CPC business model,” he said. “Being able

to sell MPS changes your competitive

position in your local market. Adopting

an MPS business model will not only give

you an immediate competitive edge

today, it will secure and expand your base

and provide an increased revenue stream

for years to come.”

Komaguchi also emphasized the

importance of an MPS strategy, noting

that KMA’s product line is ideally suited for MPS. “We strongly

feel that with the breadth of our product line, unrivaled relia-

bility and the lowest total cost of ownership, no other

company is as well positioned to capitalize on the emerging

managed print services trend,” he said. “Last year, our MPS-

related sales revenue was 12 percent of our total sales revenue.”

As noted, the meeting also provided the opportunity for

KMA to announce plans to launch 22 new products, begin-

ning this summer. “ The strength of a manufacturer’s

product pipeline is a key indicator of the overall strength of

the company,” said Peter Hendrick, vice president of mar-

keting for KMA, commenting on the

company’s recent and planned product

announcements. “No other manufac-

turer can make the claim of delivering

52 new products in a two-year period,

across such diverse product categories

and segments.”

Models introduced at the meeting

included a series of color and mono-

chrome A3 and A4 MFPs, including 10

new color MFPs ranging from 20 to 70 color pages per minute

(ppm), nine monochrome MFPs ranging from 25 to 80 ppm,

as well as color and monochrome ECOSYS printers.

The meeting also featured a panel discussion with KMA

dealers addressing the topic of managed print services, six

education sessions and a Product Fair featuring KMA prod-

ucts and solutions, the KMA HyPAS Developer Support

Program and various third-party vendors. �Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology

Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can

be reached at [email protected].

“Adopting an MPSbusiness model will ...secure and expand your base and providean increased revenuestream for years to come.”

Do you crunch the numbers,or do the numbers crunch you?

The BTA ProFinance course will teach you how to set the strategy,track critical performance measures and manage your assets

according to a proven business model designed to improve theprofitability of your company.

Instructors John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates take a holistic approach to the redirection of yourbusiness — from sales rep compensation and projecting servicerevenues to inventory management and an action plan forimplementation — with the short-term goal of achieving a minimum of 14% operating income. You can achieve these results bymonitoring 24 key benchmarks and making strategic shifts asdiscussed in the program.

Upcoming ProFinance courses: August 11-12, 2010 Chicago, Ill.November 10-11, 2010 Las Vegas, Nev.

ProFinance is designed for owners and executive-level staff who make the critical business decisions that impact your company’s success. Many OEMs reimbursefor ProFinance tuition through advertising co-op or professional development funds. Check with your OEM to be sure.

For more information or to register for ProFinance,visit www.bta.org/ProFinance or call (800) 843-5059.

Kyocera May 10:Kyocera May 10 4/29/10 9:19 AM Page 11

EDUCATION CALENDAR

June7 BTA MPS Operations & Service Workshop Las Vegas, NV

With entry into the print management/MPS space, you add complexity to your back-officeoperations and to your service department. Taught by Jim Boulden and Mike Woodard ofStrategy Development, this course is designed to jump-start your understanding of how to setup and manage all operational and service aspects of an MPS agreement.

7-8 BTA MPS Sales Workshop Las Vegas, NVTaught by Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, this two-day educationworkshop is designed to provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a managedprint services strategy that will allow them to significantly increase the quantity of capturedprints, lock in customers, distinguish themselves from competitors and sell more hardware.

16-17 Dealer Strategies Summit 2010: A BTA Southeast Event Orlando, FLBTA Southeast’s Dealer Strategies Summit will feature 12 education sessions presented byeight speakers, each sharing industry-specific insight, strategies and practical advice that col-lectively will help attendees move their dealerships to a higher level, ultimately boosting thebottom line. Speakers will include: Sally Brause, GreatAmerica Leasing Corp.; Larry Breed,MarketMentorOnline Inc.; Terry Chapman, Business Electronics Corp.; Teresa Hiatt, RicohAmericas Corp.; Bob Goldberg, BTA General Counsel; David Ramos, Strategy Development;Bob Sostilio, Sostilio & Associates International; and Mike Woodard, Strategy Development. Inaddition to education, the event will include time to network with fellow dealers and exhibitingsponsors, as well as a trip to Universal Studios Orlando.

24 Building My Business Webinar — “Transitioning to IT”Many office technology dealers are looking to broaden product and service offerings in order tocreate new revenue streams. A natural way to capitalize on current customer relationships is tooffer a wider range of products that integrate into the office technology suite. The products thatfit into the current customer base and provide an expanded service model are within the world ofnetwork technology. This webinar, presented by Susan Muth of Strategic Business Solutions, willaddress the key issues that a company must face in order to make the most effective transitioninto network technology. Muth will host two panelists, Kerry McDonough of Cisco and JosephEdwards of e-velocity, who will discuss engineer capabilities, skill sets and management; tech-nology components; and marketing and sales considerations and transitions. Free to BTAmembers, this webinar is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, June 24.

For additional information or to register for courses or events, visit www.bta.org or call (800) 843-5059.


Calendar May 10:Calendar May 10 4/29/10 9:23 AM Page 25

BTA HIGHLIGHTS

BTA would like to welcome the following new mem-bers to the association:Dealer MembersAccelerated Business Solutions, Pompano

Beach, FLCoastal Business Systems, Eureka, CADiMax Office Solutions Inc., Madison, WIDowns Office Equipment & Supplies Pty Ltd.,

Toowoomba, Queensland, AustraliaFowler Business Systems, Brigham City, UTMultiple Business Systems, Flossmoor, ILNational Business Equipment & Supply,

Albany, NYOffice Products Inc., Fallon, NVSharp Electronics of Canada, Mississauga,

Ontario, CanadaTekniq Data Corp., Overland Park, KS

Vendor Associate MembersEpson America Inc., Long Beach, CAMetrofuser LLC, Roselle, NJ

Service Associate MembersBarrister Global Services Network Inc.,

Hammond, LAFor full contact information of these

new members, visit www.bta.org.

MPS Sales eLearning Program: BTA members receive 15% off

Developed by InfoTrends and StrategyDevelopment, the new MPS Sales eLearningProgram is comprehensive, self-paced onlinetraining with tests at the end of each module.Upon completion, participants will have whatit takes to go out and start writing contracts,without ever leaving the office for training.

For more information on BTA member benefits,visit www.bta.org.

For the benefit of its dealer members, eachmonth BTA features two of its Vendor or ServiceAssociate members in this space.

BTA VendorAssociate mem-ber Metrofuser

offers numerous laser printer solutionsincluding: HP and Lexmark printer parts,certified refurbished printers, printer servicetraining, printer service and technical support,as well as a variety of products ranging fromfusers to transfer kits. Metrofuser believesremanufacturing is not only an eco-friendlyalternative, but it is also a chance for the partto evolve from its original state. Each repairgeneration is an evolution to greater quality— a continuous improvement from theoriginal factory model.

www.metrofuser.com

BTA ServiceAssociate memberMarlin Leasing isa leader in the

equipment leasing industry, specializing inproviding small-ticket (up to $250,000) leasefinancing options to small businesses. Thecompany focuses on serving the smallbusiness segment through personalizedservice, easy documentation and fastapplication processing. Its Single Point ofContact service provides customers with theindividual attention they need in today’s fast-paced marketplace.

www.marlinleasing.com

A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.


Highlights Apr 10:Highlights May 10 4/29/10 9:59 AM Page 25

The last months have shown a def-

inite decline in our legislative

process. Listening to the de-

bate and various positions, it was

difficult to find anyone who had read

the entire health care reform proposal,

and even more difficult to determine

what it meant to you. President Obama

has now signed the legislation into

law, and amended it to appease those

who reluctantly agreed to support it.

How will these laws affect you and

your business?

Eventually, the law will provide insurance coverage to 32

million individuals who are currently uninsured. Most Ameri-

cans will be required to have health insurance and certain

individuals will be able to receive subsidies in order to afford

their insurance. Medicaid has been greatly expanded to make

more individuals eligible. Overall, health care should now be

available to almost everyone.

While the most significant changes will not take effect until

2014, some important provisions will begin as early as June,

and others by the end of the year. The immediate changes

include new restrictions on the health insurance industry and

new protections for individuals currently with insurance. Indi-

viduals who currently cannot qualify for insurance after losing

it will have new coverage available. In areas where insurance

companies could deny or eliminate coverage, it will no longer

be allowed.

Specific changes in the next six months prohibit the denial

of coverage for pre-existing conditions, and insurance compa-

nies cannot drop people when they become sick. Young adults

can stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26, provided the

child’s employer does not offer coverage. Lifetime limits on

policies will also be eliminated. Minor errors on an application

for insurance will not be grounds to deny coverage. If you omit

the fact that one of your parents has or had high blood pres-

sure, that subsequently cannot be used to deny your benefits.

Beginning in September, insurance companies will be subject

to limitations on administrative costs and executive compensa-

tion. If the limitations are exceeded, there will be mandatory

rebates to policyholders. In 2010, tax credits as

high as 35 percent of premiums will be available

to many small businesses that offer

health coverage to their employees.

Employers will be required to pay at

least half of their employee’s premium

to qualify for the credit. In 2014 and

after, small businesses will be able to pur-

chase insurance through exchanges and

receive a tax credit up to 50 percent of

the employee’s premium for two years.

Employers with more than 50 employees will pay a penalty

after 2014 if they do not offer health insurance.

In 2011, it will be necessary for employers to include the

value of health benefits on employees’ W-2 forms. There will be

a federal pool for high-risk individuals who are unable to

obtain conventional coverage. Although rates for this pool

have not been determined, the legislation provides that the

rates are established based upon the standard population and

not a population of sick people. After 2014, all new plans will

have to offer a minimum package of benefits, including certain

preventive services at no additional cost.

For higher earners ($200,000 individual or $250,000 family),

the news is not good. Starting in 2013, top earners will pay in-

creased Medicare payroll tax on wages (currently 1.45 percent

and increasing to 2.35 percent) and investments (0 percent to

3.8 percent). The income threshold for claiming tax deductions

on medical costs will rise from costs greater than 7.5 percent of

income to 10 percent. Flexible spending accounts that typically

allow employees to shelter as much as $5,000 from taxes will be

limited to $2,500 and will no longer cover over-the-counter

medications unless prescribed by a doctor.

The health care insurance arena is changing dramatically

and may change even more. Republicans have vowed to seek

repeal of the new provisions if elected to a majority this No-

vember. I will continue to monitor significant

developments and seek to keep you advised.

Until then — good health. �Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel

for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at [email protected].

by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

COURTS & CAPITOLS

Health Care ReformWhat does it mean for your business?


Goldberg May 10:Goldberg Apr 10 4/29/10 10:05 AM Page 26

The work of a doctoral student from Case Western

Reserve University could radically transform your

organization. The student, now a graduate, is Dr.

David Cooperrider, who began studying the human side of

the Cleveland Clinic as his doctoral research project in the

early 1980s. At a point in his research, he became more inter-

ested in what was going right than what was going wrong.

While his initial focus had been on deficits in the organiza-

tion, he became fascinated by the cooperation and innova-

tion in the organization. This shift in focus led to the birth of

something called Appreciative Inquiry (AI). This article

explains AI, explores its relevance to revolutionizing how an

enterprise is led and presents an approach for applying the

4-D Model to creating sustainable change.

Appreciative Inquiry DefinedAI is an emerging, evolving approach to organizational

change that is rooted in the premise that enterprises move in

the direction they pay attention to. If an enterprise pays atten-

tion to its failures, it will create more of the same. The reverse

is also true. If an enterprise explores its moments of excellence

and its successes, it will generate more of the same. This is a

dramatic shift for most of us trained in deficit-oriented change

models where we devote much attention to problem identifi-

cation and remediation. AI calls us to identify the roots of suc-

cesses so that they can be replicated.

AI is rooted in a theoretical perspective called social con-

structionism. A brief summary of the theory will suffice for the

purposes of this article. Social constructionism focuses on the

power of positive images and holds that language does not

merely describe and define, but rather that it is a powerful tool

of creation. Further, the belief is that members of organiza-

tions create meaning through their dialogue — they use the

power of the tongue to create the organization’s future

(adapted from “Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of

Imagination,” by Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard J. Mohr).

Social constructionism requires that dialogue move from a

discussion of deficits to an exploration of vitality, health and

organizational success.

Heliotropism is the other theoretical underpinning of AI.

This theory holds that all living systems move toward that

which gives them life. AI requires organizations to identify and

strategize toward their greatest successes. This is a highly sim-

plified synthesis of complex theoretical frameworks. “The

Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating

Positive Futures,” by Magruder Watkins and Mohr, provides an

excellent synopsis for laypeople.

The Relevance of AI in Transforming Your BusinessWhat can the work of a sociologist from Ohio possibly mean

to your business? It can mean three important things. First, that

you have a viable method for creating sustainable improve-

ments in performance and productivity. Second, that you can

implement tested tools for changing the language and imagery

that have ultimately created your business. And third, that you

can make the transition from deficit-based leadership and

analysis to a leadership posture that is affirming and positive.

Beginning with the first proposition presented in the previous

paragraph, the 4-D Model of AI gives you a method that can be

applied to everything from revving up sales to creating collabo-

ration to process redesign. The model enables you to inquire

into exceptionally positive moments and capture the life-giving

forces in your organization. Wherever you apply the model, you

will have a reliable method for creating sustainable change.

Now we will move to the second proposition — that you can

Appreciative InquiryAn important tool for transforming your business

by: Joanne L. Smikle, Smikle Training Services

PRINCIPAL ISSUES


Smikle May 10:Smikle Apr 10 4/29/10 1:35 PM

change the language imagery that has

shaped your organization. Applying AI

changes not only the dialogue in the enter-

pri se, but al so th e language used by

leaders. It will call you to a higher level of

accountability when discussing everything

from receivables to staff performance to

customer satisfaction. Leaders become

better able to begin from the positive and

ask questions that frame the issues from

an affirmative bent. Remember, social constructionism in-

structs us that language is a powerful means of creation.

Finally, we come to the third proposition — that leaders no

longer need to rely on deficit-based models of change or orga-

nizational development.

There are five generic processes typically applied in AI.

They are as follows:

� Choose the positive as the focus of inquiry.

� Inquire into moments of excellence or exceptionally posi-

tive moments.

� Share success stories and identify affirming or life-giving

forces in the organization.

� Create a shared vision of a preferred, desirable future.

� Create that future using innovation and improvisation.

These processes can be applied to large and small systems

transformations. The processes can be used in tandem with

the 4-D Model or as an alternative.

Applying the 4-D ModelThe decision to employ AI requires leaders to re-evaluate

their approaches — not just toward how to transform an

enterprise, but also to their own unique leadership styles. This

presupposes a high level of emotional intelligence, particu-

larly the first two components of emotional intelligence: self-

awareness and self-management. A keen understanding of self

and the ability to skillfully play to one’s strengths are neces-

sary if one is to lead large- or small-scale transformations.

Employing AI also requires a conscious decision to focus on

the positive — on what is best. This can be quite a stretch for

leaders wedded to deficit-based approaches to addressing

organizational dilemmas. It compels leaders to reframe issues

so that the language used begins the powerful process of posi-

tive creation. For example, the issue may be that revenue is

declining in one of your locations. Rather than framing it as

“revenue is declining,” the issue is framed as “the organization

can examine the factors that were present when revenue gen-

eration was at its highest and recreate those conditions.” This

presents the revenue issue as an opportu-

nity to both examine instances of success

and also as an opportunity to increase

revenue based on strengths previously evi-

denced when the organization was more

profitable. When an issue like declining

revenue is reframed, a world of new op-

portunities emerges. They include the

opportunity to build deeper relationships

with existing customers, develop mean-

ingful incentives for employees and identify the right product/

service mix.

The model, defined by Cooperrider, is as follows: discovery,

dream, design and destiny. It is powerful in its simplicity and

does not require extensive external consultation or facilita-

tion. Organizations can groom their own AI experts to be able

to guide them through the five generic processes or the 4-D

Model. The Center for Appreciative Inquiry, based in Las

Vegas, teaches a week-long seminar for those interested in

learning how to facilitate AI processes in their organizations.

Case Western Reserve University also offers an intensive

seminar on the topic taught by Cooperrider.

The discovery phase begins the process by focusing atten-

tion on identifying excellence, the very best of what exists in

the organization. This can be accomplished in any number of

ways. Interviews are typical. A cross-section of employees can

be queried using a pre-designed interview guide. Facilitated

workshops that allow participants to visually and creatively

depict the best of who they are is another option for this

phase. Ultimately, the goal is to help people tap into the times

when they have experienced the organization at its very best.

Let us say that you are embarking on the transformation of

your office technology dealership. In the discovery phase, you

may gather all employees together and break them into small

groups. The groups would be charged with creatively

depicting an answer to this question: “When is our dealership

at its very best? What do we look, sound, act and feel like

when we are functioning at our best?”

Participants will be charged with delving deeply to define

and isolate moments of excellence for the organization. What

they will find are the exceptionally positive moments that may

have been overlooked or obscured by a focus on the negative.

Capturing this valuable information begins the process of

infusing new vitality into the enterprise.

The next phase, dream, enables people to effectively chal-

lenge the status quo by imagining a preferred future. It

expands the organization’s potential by focusing on leveraging

A keen understandingof self and the ability to skillfully play to one’s strengths are necessary if one is tolead large- or small-scale transformations.


Smikle May 10:Smikle Apr 10 4/29/10 10:16 AM

moments of excellence. This is when

people begin to discuss possibilities, posi-

tioning and potential. They create radical,

provocative propositions that are devel-

oped to create the optimum organization.

It is during the dream phase that everyone

is asked to take innovation to the highest

level. They are asked to challenge com-

monly accepted wisdom and create an

almost ideal future for the entire enter-

prise. Creating a preferred future requires challenging assump-

tions, ignoring deficits and imagining the unimaginable. Jeffrey

H. Dyer et al contend that imagining completely different

alternatives can lead to truly original insights (adapted from

“The Innovator’s DNA,” by Jeffrey H. Dyer et al, published in

Harvard Business Review, December 2009). The dream phase

creates the space for this type of imaginative, innovative work.

Continuing with the previous example, once your em-

ployees have identified moments of excellence, they are then

tasked with creating their unique vision for the organization.

Give them all of the kindergarten art tools that you can find

and allow them to create with reckless abandon. Or, simply

allow them to use whatever is available. In a recent session, a

group found a piano at the retreat facility. They wrote and

sang a song that captured their dream — not only of the val-

ues they hoped the organization would embody, but also the

products they wanted to develop and bring to market within

the next year.

The third phase, design, is where members of the organiza-

tion become architects of their own enterprise. In their

dreaming, they identify what should be the ideal and in their

designing they collaborate on building that imagined future.

Not only is energy directed toward developing provocative

propositions about what the organization will be, but it is also

devoted toward defining the infrastructure required to

support the dreams articulated in the prior phase. Close

attention is paid to leadership, strategy, structures, human

resource utilization and organizational culture. The collabo-

rative construction that happens at this phase answers one

question: “How can we make it happen?” This is what moves

the entire organization into the realm of positive action.

This is the time when the organization comes together to

craft all of the systems required for enduring success. Any

number of outcomes may emerge. It is at this point that

sacred cows are slaughtered and taken to market. You may

opt to dismantle many bureaucratic structures in favor of a

team-based organization. Or you may decide to eliminate bar-

riers between service providers and cus-

tomers. You may decide that your human

resource function is not employee-ori-

ented and abolish the entire department.

W hat happ ens during thi s phase i s

entirely contingent upon the organization

in question and its aspirations for itself

and all of its members. This is a particu-

larly exciting phase because stakeholders

are actively engaged in creating new,

vibrant, viable structures that make the dream a reality.

It is in the final phase, destiny, that stakeholders band

together to implement and sustain the new structures that

they have designed. Everyone works to ensure that their work

at the macro and micro levels is aligned with the dream and

subsequent provocative propositions. This is when new struc-

tures, systems, services, practices, products and processes are

integrated, implemented and refined. An “appreciative eye” is

required for success at this phase. In other words, it is impor-

tant to constantly be in search of moments of excellence,

demonstrable successes and the learning that emerges from

the implementation of the new structures.

It is the destiny phase that allows the organization to

sustain the change. This happens because all stakeholders in

the enterprise are creating ways to deliver on the promise of

the dream. They are focused on making the provocative

propositions for their area come to fruition. Not only is fluid

communication critical at this stage, so is the commitment to

ongoing action. A commitment to innovation, continuous

learning and continuous quality improvement are essential in

this phase.

ConclusionAI is an ingenious tool for creating sustainable organiza-

tional transformations. It enables an organization to move

beyond deficit-based thought and action and into a more

affirming, energizing focus on excellence. Drawing on suc-

cesses enables an organization to systematically plot for more

of the same. In addition to changing the energy in the enter-

prise, it will also change the outcomes. �Joanne L. Smikle is an author, consultant and speaker

specializing in leadership development,

collaboration and customer satisfaction.

Visit www.smiklespeaks.com to read more

articles on current business topics.

Smikle can be reached

at (301) 596-3140.

Drawing on successesenables an organizationto systematically plot formore of the same. Inaddition to changingthe energy ... it will alsochange the outcomes.


Smikle May 10:Smikle Apr 10 4/29/10 10:16 AM

More than 1.1 billion people are connected to the

Internet. They probe our government networks 380

million times per day. Major U.S. banks are probed

at least a million times per month. Meanwhile, office equip-

ment is connected directly or indirectly to these global net-

works and is potentially subject to constant attack.

Today, information assurance staff are fully aware that today’s

connected multifunction devices can be the weakest links in their

networks. Jobs might be redirected to unauthorized personnel.

Unencrypted e-mail and documents scanned from MFPs can be

intercepted and replicated. MFPs can be remotely configured to

launch denial of service attacks on corporate networks. The infra-

structure of businesses of all sizes is at risk, as well as the nation’s

infrastructure. The sites responsible for air traffic control, the

power grid, the telephone networks, energy pipelines, the

banking system, the health care system, etc., are full of connected

office machines and are constantly under attack. Their office

equipment can be the weak link; the key to launching cyber

attacks on their assets and their ability to do business.

For many years now, the FBI has cautioned us about the

insider threat. While the global threat has dramatically esca-

lated, the internal office users with password access to the

network and access to critical assets (the current, “approved”

office equipment users) have consistently been the greatest

threat. Anonymous use of an MFP with no access control or

audit trail, anonymous MFP e-mail used to skate confidential

documents out of a facility and printing of confidential docu-

ments with no audit trail, etc., continue to be major security

threats if MFP security is not made a priority.

Disgruntled employees are a bigger threat than remote

attackers. Some of the classic government espionage cases

have involved the use of office copiers and printers. Today,

access to many Kyocera MFPs can be controlled by federal gov-

ernment-issued Common Access Cards (CACs) that provide a

positive ID of the user, limit access and eliminate the possi-

bility of anonymous e-mail. Digitally signed and encrypted e-

mail can be sent directly from the MFP. The information

needed for an accurate, user-focused audit trail is also gener-

ated. The knowledge that such records are stored minimizes

the threat that the MFP will be misused. In corporate ac-

counts, user proximity and magnetic cards used for ID pur-

poses can provide similar access control for MFPs.

IT security personnel have become understandably more

conservative about approving connected MFP applications in

order to minimize the above risks. At the same time, the latest

generation of MFPs goes far beyond copy, print, scan and fax

capability. They support network-based and internal software

applications that fully integrate them into these vulnerable

computer networks. These new, connected, MFP-based

network applications and the MFPs themselves will only be

approved for deployment if they are deemed sufficiently secure

to operate without undue risk.

As a result, IT security personnel are at the top of the MFP

acquisition pyramid. If they do not approve the MFP applica-

tions and the hardware itself, the acquisition will be blocked

and the new office equipment-based applications will never be

deployed. On the other hand, if the MFP manufacturer delivers

strongly secured product, new business development and

expanded use will be assured. Security is the key to next-gen-

eration office business development.

Today, MFP dealers are savvy about print, scan, e-mail, fax

and other MFP applications. However, unless they are also

knowledgeable about MFP network security vulnerabilities and

the MFP tools and features required to mitigate or eliminate

them, they will lose an increasing number of orders. Security

grows in importance with the size of the opportunity. Larger

organizations have greater assets at risk and now give more

attention to the devices that process their data and output, and

Cyber-World DifferentiationIs it safe to do business with your dealership?

by: Peter Cybuck, Kyocera Mita America Inc.

PRINCIPAL ISSUES


Cybuck May 10:Cybuck May 10 4/29/10 10:22 AM Page 26

reproduce and transmit their documents,

often as MFP-processed hard copy. If the

potential buyer has assurance from the

MFP supplier that security risks are

addressed, the opportunity for new busi-

ness increases dramatically.

If the dealer makes security a priority

when presenting product and especially

emphasizes the users’ liability risks when

they neglect security, he (or she) can dif-

ferentiate himself and improve his chances of getting the

order. It is usually necessary for the dealership’s presenter to

call attention to these issues and educate traditional MFP

buyers who might not fully appreciate the scope of the new

cyber threats. Inviting and involving IT security staff to the

initial presentation can help assure that the threats are appre-

ciated and emphasize the role a secure, deployable MFP can

play in delivering on its cost-saving potential.

Today, federal and international laws exist that prohibit the

transmission of unencrypted personal information (such as

documents scanned to PDF by MFPs and e-mailed) so there

are legal, as well as liability, issues. MFPs that can create and

e-mail encrypted PDFs of hard-copy patient records and per-

sonnel files provide compliant solutions. They actually

provide liability insurance for users by providing evidence

that reasonable care was taken to assure the privacy of

records. The dealer who is able to address these issues with

confidence and configure units properly can clearly differen-

tiate himself and open the door to new business and large

new opportunities. Security makes the

new MFP applications and economic ben-

efits deployable. It is today’s most impor-

tant office product differentiator.

The latest generation of MFPs has

amazing f lexibility and most vendors

have put together solid cost justifications.

If the new hardware and applications

cannot be deployed (actually installed) all

of those great features, sales tools and

time invested are wasted. The importance of security cannot

be underestimated. Learn how to develop, configure, present

and install secure MFPs and you will see business grow.

Ignore this issue and you will soon be negatively differenti-

ated from competitors that appreciate its role. �Peter Cybuck is senior director of security and software

solutions at Kyocera Mita America Inc. He is responsible for

managing the planning and marketing of security and

advanced MFP software solutions at Kyocera Mita.

Previously, he served at Sharp for nearly 15 years, where he

helped secure the first Common Criteria certificate for a

security product in the copier/printer/scanner industry.

He also served at Ricoh for more than 10 years.

Cybuck is currently involved in additional

Common Criteria evaluations and Protection

Profile development projects, as well as in the

planning, development and introduction of new

security solutions for multifunction devices.

Visit www.kyoceramita.com.

If the dealer makessecurity a priority whenpresenting product ...he (or she) can differentiate himself andimprove his chances ofgetting the order.


ADVERTISER INDEX14 • BTA Building My Business Webinars

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BuildingMyBusiness

17 • BTA MPS Operations & Service Workshop

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/MPSOperationsService

17 • BTA MPS Sales Workshop

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/MPSSales

2-3 • BTA Southeast District Event

(800) 234-8996 / www.bta.org

11 • Digital Gateway

(866) 342-8392 / www.digitalgateway.com

5 • DocuWare Corp.

(888) 565-5907 / www.docuware.com

13 • FMAudit

(573) 632-2461 / www.fmaudit.com

19 • Image Star

(888) 632-5515 / www.imagestar.com

9 • Kyocera Mita America

www.kyoceramita.com

7 • Miracle Service

(866) 639-3681 / www.miracleservice.com

22 • ProFinance

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/ProFinance

32 • Strategy Development

(610) 527-3317 / www.strategydevelopment.org

15 • Supplies Network

(877) 427-3261 / www.suppliesnetwork.com

31 • World Expo 2010

http://worldexpo.rechargermag.com

Cybuck May 10:Cybuck May 10 4/29/10 10:25 AM Page 27

worldexpo.rechargermag.comUSE PROMOTION CODE NQXI

Our Community. Our World. Your Business. JULY 14-15

MANDALAY BAY RESORT & CASINOLAS VEGAS

WORLD EXPO, BRINGING OUR INDUSTRY TOGETHER FOR 15 YEARS

Your Registration Includes:• 2 full conference days packed with progressive education

• Cutting edge information—new remanufacturing techniques and technical advances

• Exciting, interactive learning sessions presented byindustry leaders

• Strategies to push your business & brand forward in tough economic times

• One-on-one insight—see, touch & learn on the exhibit fl oor

• Opportunities to expand your professional network

• And much more!

Don’t miss World Expo 2010—the tradeshow at the heart of our community. Join us for 2 full days of immediate impact education and strategic sessions geared towards pushing your business forward, expanding and improving your services and essential how-to advice on marketing your brand successfully in today’s economy.

Get the Straight Scoop and Learn From Experts Including:

Deal Crafting: You’ve Done the Assessment, Now What?Greg VanDeWalker

Five Biggest Challenges in Retail Inkjet Refi lling TodayAllen Luthy

Turn Your Service Technicians Into Secret AgentsCraig Faczan

Printer Drivers and Their ChallengesSteve Geishirt

New Chip Technologies: ASIC Chips and MoreJoe Cachia

Successful E-CommerceDimitris Constantinou

Add the 2nd Annual Managed Print Summitto Your World Expo Registration and Save Over $100

July 13th :: Details Online!

COMING TO VEGAS IN JULY!

Recharger ad May 10:Layout 1 4/5/10 4:27 PM Page 1

I need a consulting fi rm that is more concerned about my sustained profi t than their fee.

610.527.3317www.strategydevelopment.org

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage PaidFulton, MO 65251

Permit #38 Office Technology MagazineBusiness Technology Association 12411 Wornall RoadKansas City, MO 64145(816) 941-3100www.officetechnologymag.comwww.bta.org

Strategy Development ad May 10:32OT0408 4/28/10 12:29 PM Page 1

may 2010 office technology

Documents

r t i c

t u r e

p i t o

o f f i c e t e c h

c o u r t s c

pm page

bta southeast spread

sales training hadon