CRUSH Creative is a premium provider of large format visuals such as visual merchandising displays, banners and billboards.  Their services include printing, finishing, installation and logistics.

Their clients range from local businesses to nationwide retailers with 1,500+ stores and events such as the TriBeCa Film Festival and the Super Bowl.

CRUSH Creative was founded in 1946 and has offices throughout the U.S.  

To learn more about the company, visit them at www.crushcreative.com

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to leading companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

After hearing about these experiences, I’ve become more cautious about traveling with my laptop and flash drives. I think that sometimes we fail to remember how much personal information is stored on our flash drives, especially. We usually think about how much is on our laptops that we could not do without, but our flash drives are often overlooked. I have not been very consistent with my flash drive backups. I think most people do not even back up their drives.

In light of the summer travel season, I thought it might be good to do a reminder list of travel do’s and don’ts. If possible, it is best to leave any items at home. If it is not possible to travel without these items, we should all follow a few cautious rules:

1. Before you depart, make sure you have made a backup of all important files. Also, remove any files that are not absolutely necessary for you to take with you. Make your laptop or other item easily identifiable by placing a large sticker or other marking on it.

2. Clear out the cache, history and any other items that could store your information. Make sure you have a strong password on your accounts, too.

3. Be extra vigilant at the transit or airport check-in and security stations. Retrieve your laptop as quickly as possible after you pass through a security check.

4. Store your laptop or other item close to you. If you are on an airplane, it is best not to put the item in the overhead bin.

5. If you need to leave your item in your hotel room, lock it in the in-room safe, if possible. Do not leave your item unattended if you are driving a rental car.

I hope you all have a safe summer travel season! Don’t be a target! Taking a few precautions ahead of time and during your travel can save you big headaches!

I remember getting ready to go away to college. I had a full scholarship to go to a school out of state, so was preparing for my first time away from my family for an extended time period. I spent a great deal of time that summer getting everything ready for my dorm room, attending orientation for the honors college and getting my schedule selected.

Throughout that process of getting myself “prepared” for college, I really thought I was ready. In those days, I had used the computer and had done some programming so thought I knew everything I needed. Back in those days we still took notes on paper and used actual books.

I think about how the class of 2010 students must be so extremely proficient with all kinds of technology tools to be “prepared” for college. To really succeed, they must be able to use all of the Office suite programs and photo/video software, too. If a graduate today is not ready for that side of college, too, then they will be at a disadvantage from day one.

To me, it seems like a great gift for a graduate to have a customized training session (3 or 6 hour) to make sure he or she has the tools to succeed. We spend so much time getting everything ready but sometimes neglect the important technology skills. So, if you know a graduate, think about investing in them to help them succeed in college and in the working world!!

Specific Media is an innovative global technology and online media company that enables advertisers to target audiences through advanced proprietary demographic, behavioral, contextual, geographic and retargeting technologies across a Premium Network of name brand publishers with unprecedented scale and accuracy.

Specific Media is the fastest-growing interactive media company ranked among comScore’s top ten advertising networks. Offering a comprehensive suite of targeting technologies, Premium Network of name brand publishers, industry-leading Data Network and audience intelligence reporting, Specific Media is the network of choice for brand advertisers, with an expanding client roster that includes 300 of the top Fortune 500 companies.

Headquartered in Irvine, CA, Specific Media currently has offices across the U.S. and Western Europe.

To learn more about the company, visit them at www.specificmedia.com

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to leading companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

I was inspired by how many friends and relatives cheered on each graduate.  Some graduates must have had 20 or more people there to celebrate with them!  I was reminded by this ceremony of how great it feels to achieve something, especially when that something is above and beyond what others a family have been able to do in previous generations.  What a proud moment for each of them! 

When I have worked with some companies over the course of several training sessions, I often feel like I should have a graduation ceremony for them.  Many of the students have learned and achieved so much over the course of a few days or months.  I feel so proud to be a part of what they have learned.

It makes me want to encourage everyone to keep pushing with what you have learned.  As a trainer, I try to inform people about the Microsoft Certifications for each of the software applications.  These are nationally recognized certification on programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, etc.

How fantastic would it be for someone to add one or more of those certifications to their resume?!  You would not only be able to say that you know the application, but that you have been certified at the expert level for that software! If you want someone to help you with the training and cheer you on towards that goal, let me know!

In the educational and training fields, we know that we are all life-long learners.  However, that does not always get translated into the corporate sector when we are on the job.  Some people are perfectly content to “rest on their laurels”, as the saying goes.  Those are the same people who are surprised when they are not chosen for advancement or leadership positions. 

When I do training sessions, especially one-on-one sessions, I am surprised when we have a little bit of time left and the person I’m training does not want to use that time to their full advantage.  They say that they are happy with what they have learned and have no more questions.  At that point, I usually bring up some other topics related to their current position that we might be able to cover in the time we have left.  Some people realize the opportunity to learn something new, while some say they are happy with what they have learned.

If you are not taking every opportunity to learn what you can, even if it does not directly relate to your job, then you are missing out!  I cannot even begin to list all of the different technology skills that I picked up along the way that I had no idea when I’d use them.  I was grateful that I learned those skills/concepts and filed the information away for future use.  Now, I look back and think of the jobs and leadership opportunities that I would have missed out on, had I not learned those different skills that seemed extra or unuseful at the time.

I hope that you are taking full advantage of every training opportunity your corporation provides.  If they do not provide training, give us a call and set up a one-on-one session.  Or, grab a friend/co-worker or two and set up a customized session for all of you to attend.  Gather your list of questions and pick a trainer’s brain for 3 hours.  You’ll be amazed at what you learn!

VeriSign, Inc. operates digital infrastructure that enables and protects billions of interactions every day across the world’s networks. VeriSign offers a comprehensive selection of solutions for carriers, financial services organizations, healthcare and life sciences organizations, media and entertainment companies, retailers, and the public sector.

VeriSign operates the systems that manage .com and .net, handling over 31-billion Web and email look-ups every day. VeriSign helps organizations to achieve unmatched operational efficiencies, increased security and intelligence, and greater visibility.

Founded in 1998, VeriSign has over 2,200 employees worldwide with revenues of $1.026 billion in 2009. 

To learn more about the company, visit them at www.verisign.com

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to forward thinking companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

Most of the articles/blogs I read attributed this to high amounts of information available to us online.  We are overloaded on any certain topic so we can only skim many different sources to get what we need. We do not have time to plow through all of it, so we just grab what we can quickly.

I started thinking about how we do this with learning, too.  We just take a small bite to get what we need for the moment.  We do not get what we need to solve something long-term because we do not delve deep enough to get the big picture. 

As a trainer I see this almost every day.  What many people want are the “Hints and Tips” and not the explanation about why something works the way it does. Sometimes when I have the time to sit and explain how something works within the software, the person is amazed at how much this helps.  They are able to see the big picture of how the software works. 

I think that it is important to make sure that when you schedule training try to take a little extra time so that the trainer can explain why things work certain ways.  That small amount of time (maybe just 30 minutes) can help you really grasp what is happening in the software.  The next time you have an issue or problem occur, you can probably understand it better because you truly see why the software operates the way it does.

So, next time you plan your training, make sure to reserve a little time for some a big meal instead of just a snack!

I think my knots and shoulder/back discomforts have been building over time.  I have not been willing to do anything about it though, until it got bad enough that it affected my work and productivity.  I’m now paying more money to restore myself back to my previous health than I would have paid in preventative time and money. I’m really kicking myself for letting it go so long.  There is a saying that talks about how people spend their health trying to get wealth and then gladly spend all of their wealth trying to get back their health. What I needed to do all along was to just take more breaks to get up and get moving.

I think that many of us do that with our skills on the job. We allow the technology to pass us by without seeking training or taking time to learn the new software skills until it starts to affect our work or productivity.  We make sure that we get the job done, even if we have to do it the long way because we don’t know the software well enough to work efficiently. We pay in terms of late nights and frustration, when all we needed to do was to take a few breaks to get some training and learn the technology.

If a corporation is allowing their employees to work like this, they are doing them a disservice. How much better and happier would employees be if they had updated technology skills to get their jobs done faster?  Wouldn’t it be great if customers were served more efficiently and clients had their needs met with fewer technology barriers?

I know it is hard to think about how you can take a break to get training, but if you think about the long-term, it is well worth it! Get up and get moving into new technology skills!

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company is one of the largest producers of electricity in the United States.

Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as, fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are significantly below the national average.

Southern Company is 149 on the latest Fortune 500 listing of the largest U. S. corporations and has been ranked the number one U.S. electric service provider in customer satisfaction for nine consecutive years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

To learn more about the company, visit them at www.southernco.com.

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to forward thinking companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com