Become an Expert - Linchpin Series Part 2

“How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” ― Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are you Indispensable? 

"Student in Silhouette" by @mikebaird via Flickr

Forget about 10,000 hours

Everyone seems to think Malcolm Gladwell told us we need 10,000 hours or the equivalent of 10-20 years practice to become an expert. This is a misquote. Gladwell said:

“To become a chess grandmaster also seems to take about ten years. And what’s ten years? Well, it’s roughly how long it takes to put in ten thousand hours of hard practice. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” — p. 41

The 10,000 hours he is referring to is the average time it takes to become the absolute best of the best in the world. Most of us don’t need a movie made about our lives. Becoming an expert in our field relative to our environment and competition is good enough, right? Shoot for the moon but don’t feel like a failure if no one calls you G.O.A.T.

Click through to read the full article about becoming an expert.

Ben Morris is the reigning Funniest Newminder (yes that’s a thing), a father, and is a new member of Newmind Group's Google Apps team. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Western Michigan University and is determined to uncover the secrets of how humor can help organizational communication.

Ben loves the great outdoors and spends his time outside of work camping and boating with his wife and three children. Contact him at ben@newmindgroup.com.

4 tips to build a linchpin team

“If you are deliberately trying to create a future that feels safe, you will willfully ignore the future that is likely.”
― Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

What is a “linchpin”?

A linchpin doesn’t play it safe. The future is filled with uncertainty and as Seth Godin’s quote points out, by playing it safe you are denying yourself possibilities. It may be difficult to stay motivated or focused because it’s such a long time-frame, but taking ownership of our own destiny really isn’t as hard as we may think.

We published a great series about managing small teams which described leadership as an expedition with no map or proof that the destination exists. While paying attention to priorities, data, rhythm, and the workplan of your team will help point you in the right direction, we believe that you and your team should also strive to become a linchpin within the organization.

So what makes a team or department a linchpin within an organization?

Chromebook Updates [March 2014] - hands free searching & ethernet configurations in the admin console

Notable new features include:

• Hands Free Voice Search
• Admin Console Updates - Ethernet configurations & new device policy
• Stable Release list

Full release notes & Sources Below

What events are you attending in 2014?

We just attended MACUL in Grand Rapids, MI and met hundreds of teachers that are passionate about integrating tech with education. Events can inspire and spread great ideas fast and we want to share the best events with you.

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We're Ranked #214 in the World

Yes, in the WORLD!

The MSPMentor Top 501 was released on March 3rd. Newmind was placed at #214! If you account for only North America Newmind jumps to #167!

The MSPmentor 501 report is based on data from MSPmentor’s global online survey, conducted October-December 2013. The MSPmentor 501 report recognizes top managed service providers based on a range of metrics, including annual managed services revenue growth, revenue per employee, managed services offered and customer devices managed.

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Matthew Vollmar is the CEO of Newmind Group.

Matt is passionate about leadership, service excellence and financial nerdery. In his spare time, Matt helps herd three beautiful and very active children. His running hobby helps.

No internet connectivity? [Solved]

Did you lose internet too?
I think our connection just failed.
Aww, I was right in the middle of an upload!

"Lunchtime @ Work" by @gemsling via flickr

For us, and for most everyone, maintaining a stable internet connection is akin to keeping the lights on. We absolutely need it to do our jobs. It’s our communications, our tool sets, our customer databases, our everything. We’re all cloud here, but even if your office isn’t cloud-based, you still need the web as much as we do at Newmind. A day without email brings most businesses to a crawl, and can cost a lot of money.

Google Apps Updates [March 2014] - Cleanup hijacked Chrome extensions

Notable new features include:

• Search emails by size
• New Activity Stream in Google Drive
• Hijacked Extensions - cleaning up bad apples

Full release notes below...

Newmind State of Google Apps 2014 Survey

We invite you to participate in the "State of Google Apps" 2014 survey. Join your peers in this anonymous survey and gain insights into:

• Most popular integrations
• Usage statistics
• Device access trends

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