Keeping it simple

Great Tool with any Word, Excel or Dynamics Product for pdf printing

This tool is called Dopdf (http://www.dopdf.com/). This utility installs as a standard windows printer, and can be selected as the printer to be outputted from within any windows program, and it will print your document to file as a pdf file. The ease of use, small footprint to install, and free cost makes this tool a winner all the way around. In Dynamics SL I can save any crystal report as a pdf file; put I find the dopdf printer even easier and better. I also like it with other Microsoft office products, because I can print to a pdf file just by selecting the proper printer. There are versions for Vista and for 32 or 64 byte operating systems. Really neat!

Check it out and see if this is a tool which should be on your computer.

Jeff Cozens

PS. You will still need to use Adobe's reader to read the pdf files. That site for download of adobe reader is: http://www.adobe.com

 

 

Feeling Helpless or Feeling Powerful

With our stock market tumbling, congress in weekend sessions to create a rescue plan for the financial market fiasco, and regularly hearing news another bank being closed down with the oversight of FDIC, it hard to not be concerned. Few of us have ever been through these "crazy" times, with maybe some of older parents and friends who lived through the Great Depression or WWII. In any case, I have found myself feeling anxious and deeply concerned over the past few days.

Since I am a big believer that we can create much of what we image, I'd like to issue a challenge to all my readers to answer this question: What is the positive response(s) that we would like to make happen in the next 6 months?

Since worrying has been compared to sitting in a rocking chair and all that worrying energy just does not get you anywhere. Let's set our minds in a positive direction to create the type of results we desire.

Here's my simple list for the next 6 months:

1. Continue thinking long term about financial investments (home, retirement, and savings) and continue to invest/ plan in a consistent controlled manner.
2. Look at how I can help my customers accomplish their goals
3. Look at reaching out to 4 people who are "hurting" (i.e. health issues, loss of job, loss of marriage etc) and see how I might support them.
4. Practice becoming a better listener, especially to my family.

Since I can control how I spend my time, thoughts, and energy, I think taking these 4 steps will help me regain the belief that I am gaining power on a regular basis. Maybe we can all start thinking about controlling the things that matter the most. One small step forward at a time is a great motto for the next 6 months.

 

Jeff Cozens

 

 

A Budgeting we will go

I was talking with Chuck Snider, CFO at Asepco, today. Chuck was bragging because he resurrected some old notes from a training class I had given on how to create and import a budget into Dynamics SL. Chuck said the notes were dated five years ago, but he found them and they still worked. Chuck was excited because for years, literally, he had been exporting the financials to excel where he manually entered the budget each month. Now that entire actual vs. budget report is coming directly out of Dynamics SL. I have always believed that if I could only remember 1 or 2 worthwhile ideas from any training or seminar I attend, then the time was worthwhile. It was exciting to hear that one of the training tricks I gave 5 years ago, actually got implemented.

How do you keep your "good ideas" from getting lost? Have you created a place to store there "future" to be implemented ideas? Now that I think about it, I am going to create a folder on our server to be the storage place for all my "to be implemented" ideas….. I think I'll name the folder "Chuck says to do"

Regards,

Jeff Cozens

Don’t Just Read the Front Page

Leaders, both in business and in government, must read beyond the front pages. For whatever reason, if the news is good, it seems to be buried in the middle pages. Lead articles from the front page of our local pager talk topics like: Home foreclosure, higher rates of high school drop outs, Stuck State Legislatures and Ca.'s Budget. What I find frustrating is the when the news is good, it is buried. Take for instance the rate of GNP growth for the current quarter. It came in at an annually adjusted rate of 3.3%; where the last 3 prior quarters were: .07%, 1.07% and 1.68%. I am very excited to see such strong growth. The last quarter was almost double the 12/07 quarter. Look at the US dollar against most of the major foreign currencies, it too is rising. Look at some of the rates for home sales in the northern California area; they are starting to trend upwards.

It may be likely that the 9/30/08 quarterly GNP numbers are still trending upwards. I believe that it is time to start gearing up our marketing machines to look for increased sales. Local growth in the US fuels my business and most likely fuels your business. Waiting on the side lines to see if this trend continues is one strategy which I don't think makes sense. The impact of whoever is elected in November will clearly not have an impact on our economy for well beyond mid 2009.

Planning is a key aspect for handling future growth. Do you have the right people in your organization? Are all functional departments in your company prepared for a new growth cycle? Are you clear on your core competencies as a company? Do you have the right systems (i.e. software and procedural systems) for the next growth cycle? If not, why not?

Good luck making it all happen.

Jeff Cozens

Have you been Plaxo Pulsed???

The old idea that you are six degrees of separation seems to be what Plaxo Pulse is promoting. The basic idea is that you are half a dozen introductions away from anyone you want to meet. Looks like Plaxo is trying to drive home that point. (http://pulse.plaxo.com ) It surprises me "how small the world really is"…. Well I guess the real news is that we are connected to our neighbors in more ways than we think. Who can you connect too who you have lost connection or contact? Maybe when you get your Plaxo invite from someone you too will be surprised how many people I know that know you… Happy networking…and connecting…..

Jeff Cozens

To Vacation or Not to Vacation

I just recently finished a week's vacation in Baja. My body must have really needed the break, since it felt so great to have vacation-time. In addition, it has been hard to get back into the working grove, as least mentally and emotionally, since the vacation ended some four days ago. In the early days, when I started my company, the idea of vacation was completely foreign. Who would do the work, what if "George called", and who is going to earn the money to pay the bills? These were the crazy thoughts that raced through my brain.

About 8 years ago, I took a series of classes on creating balance in your life. One of the big challenges for me, when I took this class, is finding time for myself and giving myself permission to take time off. The classes challenge was to take between 4-6 weeks off each year. Ouch, for sure that much time away from my job was scary. Fortunately, I was able to learn how to give myself more time off. Taking this week's vacation, or the week I will be taking to go camping this summer, is just the "personal medicine" I need. Creating balance between work goals, personal goals, fun time, contribution/spiritual time, and family/relationships is not an easy task. I find, for me, taking vacation time is a great way to create more balance with my family and have some fun. I hope you too are planning on taking care of yourself with some time off for vacation. Don't put it off, but make it a life goal for 2008!

Credits on Orders and Invoices

Credits on Orders and Invoices Sometimes users need to show a credit on a new order or invoice.  This can occur when, for example, the firm wants to give a special discount or allowance or show that a customer has returned an item for replacement or credit (core charges, for example).  This tip will work for both Dynamics GP (version 9 & 10) and Dynamics SL (version 6.5 & 7.0) The credit item is entered on the sales document exactly as any other item.  The quantity ordered or invoiced, however, must be a negative quantity and the unit price a positive number.  This supports not only the application of credits (listed in inventory as Miscellaneous Charges, et cetera) but also items being returned.  When the invoice is posted, not only is the credit applied to the invoice but Sales Inventory items received are returned to stock. This tip was originally provided by Accolade Publications. http://www.accoladepublications.com

A Friend is a Gift you Give Yourself

I am the type of person who really enjoys reading the newspapers.  I regularly read the local San Jose Newspaper and the Walls Street Journal.   Needless to say that much of what I read lately is of a negative slant.   Come to think of it, I think the newspaper industry, as well as the news industry, just has that slant all year round.  But I needn’t mean to talk on this topic. This topic I wanted to talk about is based on the thought a favorite aunt gave to me many years ago.  “ A friend is a gift you give yourself” is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish author (1850 - 1894)

I challenge everyone to think about an old friend who you have lost contact with.  Think about the close best friend that you have not called in a while.   Take a moment to call, email, or write that person today.   How can you expect to have them as a friend if you never put any energy into the friendship.   Friendships and the joy they can bring, can overcome all kinds of bad news.    Friendships don’t depend on low gas prices, on good effective government officials, or on economists telling us we are going into recession or the next week an inflation cycle.  Friends just require the gift of your thoughts and your attention.   Have a good “friend” day!

Slipping, sliding, beeping and hidden

My sense is that our local economy is definitely slipping and sliding.  Let’s look at our local economy.  With gas prices hitting record levels, we don’t need to be experts that consumers are going to cut back on travel.    Expect more downward pressures on tourism.   Yesterday our state government declared an “official” drought condition with about 75% normal rain and snow fall for the season, but fails to demand any cut back in use of water.  The election this past week had anemic voter turnout of less than 15%.  We are starting to see businesses shed thousands of jobs, as announced today with two airlines announcing layoffs of over 5000 jobs. Where is the leadership from our government?  Let’s get back to reality and demand that our government leaders do more than sit on their hands.   Let’s start by asking for what can we do to increase the supply side of these equations.  If we need more jobs, what can government legislatures do to promote growth in business, which leads to more jobs.  If we need more electricity, why not create incentives to build more nuclear electrical plants.  If we need more water, why not create incentives to built facilities to reclaim sea water as drinking water?  Now you may not like the particulars of my suggested actions, but instead of just complaining about no nuclear, or no water desalination plants in my neighborhood, what is it that we can do to start creating solutions?  I believe we can create change to demand that our leaders start taking action.   

In a way we are all like sail boats.  Either the winds or the tides are going to move us.  Currently as we are in the slip and slide mode, we are more like the becalmed boat who is driven more by the tides.  If we want to start gaining movement, let’s hoist our sails and start moving forward.  We may have to tack as we move forward to reach our desired destination; but if we are moving, we will have much better control over where we are going.  So let’s get moving!

I recently upgraded to Microsoft Office 2007 and in Word there is an option to blog directly to my typepad blogging service. This is my first attempt to try it out. Has anyone else tried using Word 2007 directly as your copy creation source?