CablesAndKits Blog

adding value to your IT infrastructure

COVID-19

CEO Daily Update – 10.12.2020

by

Spaghetti Brain? | PPE Prices Continue to Fall | CP-PWR-CUBE-4 | Alignment & Adaptability | News to Start Your Day

Happy Monday! (A holiday for some, a normal day for others.)

Hey there, friends. I hope you all had a good weekend. It was rainy and wet here due in part to Hurricane Delta making her way through. I have been thinking of those impacted by her direct hit since Friday. My heart just breaks thinking of them being hit by Hurricane Laura just a few weeks ago and now again with Delta. If you are in that area and there is something we can do to help, please let us know.  

Have you ever heard of men’s brains being compared to waffles while women’s are compared to spaghetti? I was thinking about that today, feeling like a spaghetti brain myself, and I Googled its origins. Apparently, it was a book (that I’ve never read) written in 2001 by Bill and Pam Farrell. It looks like it was endorsed by Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages. A reader mentioned that book in response to my personality test post on Friday. It is a good one! Craig and I attended a Gary Chapman marriage conference pretty early on in our marriage. He was funny and engaging. We still use some of the content from the conference with each other, so he obviously made an impression on us.  

Anyway, back to spaghetti and waffles. I’m not sure if that characterization holds true for the majority of men and women, but it certainly does for us. Craig has the ability to focus on one thing at a time physically, mentally and emotionally much easier than I do. Everything is connected for me. Looking for a sock? Oh, look that toy needs to be picked up and I should probably take out some meat for dinner. Did I move the laundry over? I should do that and I cannot forget to send that email, oh and I also need to take out that puzzle for school tomorrow. Now, what was I looking for again?  

I was having a particularly “noodly” day today as I was processing through the weekend, thinking about what’s coming up for the week and also what I wanted to share with you all today. About the time I thought I knew what I was going to write about, a friend shared a meme that induced a moment of panic. I don’t want to frighten you, friends, but I do have a little PSA: there are only 10 more Fridays until Christmas. Eek! How can it be?  

6 Fridays until Thanksgiving 

10 Fridays until Christmas  

81 days left in 2020 

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 10.12.2020

CEO Daily Update – 10.7.2020

by

Who am I? | Face Masks Update | 10G Transceivers | Challenging the Consensus | News to Start Your Day

Who Am I? – Part 1 (A personal and CK Story) 

I mentioned to you in my introduction email that, before this year, I had been away from the day-to-day operations of our business for many years. It was a huge lifestyle change and honestly a really hard transition for me when I stepped away. Achievement and what I did was quite literally who I was up to that point in my life. I didn’t know myself outside of school or work.  

I started college my junior year of high school through a dual enrollment program that was available here in Georgia. Credits for the college classes I was taking also counted towards my high school credits to graduate. I decided to take my entire course load at college my senior year of high school, graduated high school as my class valedictorian (a goal I set for myself in the 6th grade), took a full load at college that summer semester, then finished my associate’s degree in Chemistry (with extra credits beyond what I needed for the degree) that next year. I was 18 years old, ready to begin at the University of Georgia as a second semester junior, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Math and science came easy to me. Achievement was who I was. Surely I could figure the rest of it out.  

I ended up leaving UGA after one semester because I was burnt out (shocker, right?) and lacked direction. Playing in the bigger pond of a major university, entering as a junior, and generally not knowing what was next in life created an environment that left me anxious and lacking in fulfillment. The business that is now CK began in October of that year, Craig and I were engaged in November and in December I left school to begin working with him to build what was then just an opportunity into a business. Looking back it is easy enough to see that I was running from something rather than running with purpose towards something new. But I was 19, in love, and excited about making a change. It felt right, surely that meant it was right. 

I poured my achievement mindset into the life and business we were building. We became that young, successful couple with the cool story. We worked side by side (literally, desks side by side) for 5 years, mostly working 3-6 hours a day during that time, making more money than my never-to-be chemistry degree would’ve dared to offer. We ate out and went to movies in the middle of the day, found fun hobbies, and took vacations whenever we wanted. Achievement was still who I was, but this time I had a partner in it and it was a lot more fun.  

Fast forward 10 years and I found myself burnt out once again. We were married, hadn’t had any luck starting a family, had both matured but in a weird bubble with each other nearby through the whole thing (we needed some space), and the business had grown to that awkward teenager phase. It needed to be led differently, and we had different ideas about what that looked liked. There was tension. I stepped out of the business then, not realizing that I was stepping right into the mess I had left behind by running for all those years. 

[Confession: This story went in a different direction than I intended when I sat down to write. I have decided to go with it, but I will need to break it up into shorter pieces for better deliverability. Part 2 coming tomorrow. I hope you’ll stick with me.] 

Christin 

Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca:

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 10.7.2020

CEO Daily Update – 10.1.2020

by

Thoughts on Balance | Cisco 8500 Series Switch + Sale | Nitrile Gloves | News to Start Your Day

Happy Thursday! 

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom.

Faith. Family. Work. Friendships. Hobbies. There are so many things that can take up our time each day. Often I hear people throw around words like balance and multitask,  question how they’re going to juggle all the things, or perhaps wonder how does that person “do it all”?
Balance.
 
How we express our Core Values at CK has morphed over time, so we say this a little differently now, but in 2014 we would’ve expressed our desire for time well spent with the core value  “Balance Life and Enjoy the Journey”. Those words are still thrown around between our team from time to time, usually in an encouraging way when someone is taking some time off for vacation or to do something fun with their family. I believe it is still a good sentiment, we should strive to balance our life and we should enjoy the journey. From where I sit right now though, as business owner, wife, homeschool mom, and more, I can’t help but wonder if the balance we seek is more of a fluid situation, a pouring of resources from one cup to another at the appropriate time rather than the more traditional, measured picture of a scale balanced and waiting for just one thing to be added or taken away that will cause it to tip one way or the other.
 
A couple of days ago a friend asked if I could come help her finish taking some things out of the house she is selling so that photographs could be taken for the real estate listing. I struggled to find time in my calendar to give to her, but I knew I needed to make it happen. This friend and her husband had been slowly moving to a new home in what was supposed to be a months long situation that had turned into years … yes, years … and now, he has cancer. Just like that the weight of this moving and cleaning out project came crashing down. I listened as she struggled with what to do next and I prayed for them, and eventually I told them that we wanted to help. In fact, we nearly insisted on it. So a few weeks ago we started the final phase of this moving project, helping them get ready for a huge garage sale, working the sale, cleaning things out, and listing items online to get them sold. Today we moved the last of the items out of the house and into the garage, photographs were taken and listing documents were signed. Whew! It was a great day.
 
… but you know what I didn’t do today? Full homeschool lessons with my kids. We listened to our book we’re reading in the car, we talked about bugs and the pilgrims as we drove, we served our friends in need. And it will all be ok. Life lessons. Balance.
 
[Earlier this week I saw a Twitter screenshot from an author floating around on social media. The sentiment reminded me of these thoughts from today. Here is a blog post about the viral tweet of the words of author and mom, Nora Roberts.]
 
May each of us be able to recognize today which of our balls are plastic and which ones are glass.

Christin

Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca (our “Rock Star” Product manager):

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 10.1.2020

CEO Daily Update – 9.23.2020

by

Knee Shots | Chocolate Milk | PPE Sale | Inspiration vs Motivation, pt 1

Happy Wednesday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom. 

My knee – Haiyaa. It’s worse, but I went to the ortho doc today. Fortunately they were able to fit me in. When the doctors are too busy they try to fit you in with the physician’s assistant. He was busy too so they got me in with the janitor. No real training but he’s overheard a few conversations that seemed useful.  

They ordered an MRI because my pain level (an 11 on a scale of 1-10 when I try to bend it) was not normal based on his exam. They also gave me a steroid shot. Let me tell you something …. He walked in the room and said “are you ready for this?” Well, I WAS BEFORE YOU SAID THAT. Shots don’t bother me but when you’re asked if you’re ready it perks you up a little. He sprayed the area with a numbing spray and in the needle went. You know it’s going in there for sure. Then, oh boy …. then, in comes the injection of 37 gallons of liquid into a space the size of a pecan. GOOD LORD!! “Do I get a sucker??” I said gasping and wincing.  

Speaking of needing a sucker, if you haven’t had a COVID test yet take a sucker with you if you go, you’ll want it when it’s over and unless they took my advice they don’t give them out. Since I sorta screamed it while honking the horn I doubt they took it to heart.  

Something else noteworthy was the fact that the entire time I was going into the doctor’s office, getting X-rays, and getting examined (all but a small part) I had my Bluetooth headset in and was listening to, and sometimes participating in our weekly management meeting. WHAT A WORLD we live in that we have the technology to make this possible. Also, since our whole team works from home it’s not odd to be dialed in like that if necessary. Back when we met in person at the office having one person dial in would be strange. This new way of working certainly has some benefits.  

I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard …  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 9.23.2020

CEO Daily Update – 9.17.2020

by

Focus, Focus, Focus | QSFP’s | Hand Sanitizer Dispensers for Every Need | Business News

Happy Thursday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom. 

Focus focus focus …. At CK we do a lot of things – Networking, servers, and even safety supplies. But at the end of the day, you can’t do everything in the world and be the best at it all too. Some things that we sell have a history that no ones knows. When we did the inventory liquidation sale a little while ago we were getting rid of oddball things that hadn’t sold in a decade. And I wondered – who added this to the site and inventory and why?? And why did it take us so long to realize it wasn’t selling?  

That sort of thing can happen as a result of a lack of focus. I once heard Jim Collins ask an audience if they had a todo list, followed by asking if they had a stop doing list. He said that sometimes what you choose to stop doing is more important than what you choose to do. It declutters your mind, and in our case, our warehouse, so you can spend your energy on what matters the most to achieve the goals you have.   

When the inventory reduction sale was in full swing we were talking about what we would do after it was over. Do we keep selling some of these products? For the most part, no. What about Ethernet? We have this random color in an odd length but it’s Ethernet! No. If it’s not selling, we don’t need it. We are not here to be a museum. So in many cases we made the decision to get out of the random obscure item business.  

How did it happen? Lack of focus. Lack of accountability. The goal is to execute our strategy of Product Management and Product Marketing to solve for both.  

By cleaning up the catalog a bit we cleared the way for all our effort to be put on what was remaining. Then, we took another look at what was left and decided where we wanted to focus our energy, and be “best in the world”.  

Those items are fiber, Ethernet, transceivers, and switches. Basically, connectivity. We are good at those things. Maybe even great at them. We have a good supply chain and great operations and a loyal customer following. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, we are going to focus focus focus.  

What about everything else? Some things we will say “no” to and get out of. Some things we will say yes to but without a lot of dedicated attention at first. Then later we will either hire and assign a product marketer to that group of products, or eliminate it.  

You’ll hear about all this as it unfolds, and there are no immediate plans to kill anything off. In fact, we are building up new server offerings and are about to launch Yealink VOIP phones. It’s just that we will focus our brand, homepage, and marketing around the 4 major food groups mentioned above. By doing so, we believe we can get even better at those things than we are today. That will be good for us, and great for you.  

Where are you spread too thin? Just because something is a good thing doesn’t mean it’s the right thing, or the best thing. What do you need to put on your stop doing list?  

Interesting  …… 

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 9.17.2020

CEO Daily Update – 8.27.2020

by

IKEA | Modeling Business for Others | Price Drops on Thermometers and Gowns 

Happy Thursday!  

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom. 

I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard …  

IKEA is an acronym which stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, which is the founder’s name, farm where he grew up, and hometown. 

Today I met with a former CK team member for lunch. He left over a year ago and went out on his own to focus on sourcing products overseas to save his clients money and reduce overall time and aggravation. We do this too, but he wanted to focus 100% of his effort on it as well as radically change his lifestyle which included selling his house and moving a few hours away to be near family.  

We met because we are still great friends that don’t get to see each other very often. He was in town on business and we were able to connect which is always a great time and today was no exception. One of my favorite people!  

In addition, we are working on a project together and were able to discuss it a little. He has a client that he’s manufacturing several thousand sneeze guards for that will go into retail locations. He’s not setup for logistics, nor does he want to be, so he asked if we could handle that aspect. I gladly accepted because we have a great team and great operation that handles warehousing, logistics, and pick/pack/ship every day. We’ll receive several containers full of product, then stage and process over 100 pallets to over 60 locations nationwide. Fun!  

When I left our lunch appointment today I was thinking about how not only have we remained great friends but how he also trusts me/us to handle such a critical aspect of this deal for him.  And this is a guy that worked for me for 10 years and knows where all the bodies are buried! Haha.  

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update — 8.27.2020