November 2016 - In This Issue:

MONTHLY TO-DO LIST
► Achieve your Q4 goals      
► Register for  Q1 Meetings
► Register for  Service Summit
► Enter Q1 $50K Shark Tank
► Be Thankful!  
SINCE YOU ASKED Q&A
Q:  What's up with the new Member Performance Dashboard (MPD) ?
 
A: As mentioned in the HTG ALL video (see 1:50 mark), HTG has developed and piloted a Member Performance Dashboard (MPD) for use in all groups in Q1. HTG believes the MPD will bring more focus, deeper accountability, greater value, and an improved meeting experience. Members complete a Quarterly Meeting Input Questionnaire between receipt of the SLI report book and the meeting. The Questionnaire and Scorecards populate the Dashboard.
 
Six groups piloted the MPD in Q4 meetings. Members and facilitators were surveyed to incorporate improvements for Q1 and beyond. Sample questions for the pilot included three most important goals, primary challenges and blockers, financial targets for the year, key SLI report data including OML, Business Valuation Target %, One Thing for group input, One Activity for each of the HTG 4 Plans, and more.
 
Additionally, members email a URL to others to complete the Family/Spouse Scorecard and the Manager/Employee Scorecard. You may view a sample of the Q4 pilot Member Performance Dashboard here . Look for additional information closer to the Q1 meeting. 
PROSPECTIVE 
MEMBER LIST
New and prospective members are listed on the HTG HUB. 
 
As outlined in our membership agreement, HTG members at large have 48 hours following this email to communicate concerns to Scott Scrogin. 


Note: In an initiative to continually improve our messaging and communication and provide opportunities for you to get to know more members of the HTG Team, you'll hear from a different author each month on important topics using their expertise.
A MESSAGE FROM SCOTT SCROGIN  
 
Greetings!
 
Thank you to everyone who made our Q4 meetings a big success. The feedback onsite and online has been positive with constructive suggestions. Did you achieve your One Thing?
 
In the HTG ALL video you heard the value in the Service Execs program and the launch of the Sales Execs program . You learned of our continued focus on planning, the emphasis on Business Valuation Targets and Personal Wealth Targets, and the $50,000 Shark Tank contest . You also learned about the Member Performance Dashboard rolling out in Q1 (see Since You Asked in left column).
 
Personally, I enjoyed facilitating HTG6 (a new group), HTG22 (a larger, experienced group), and helping with JumpStart onboarding for our new Unified Communications (UC) program . The Change Anything workshop with Justin Hale of VitalSmarts and the HTG ALL keynote with Brian Stann of Hired Heroes were both excellent. I heard the Building a Sales Engine (BASE) content was particularly strong. Combined with the vendor interactions, We Build Exhibit Hall, and custom legos, it was a solid week.
 
If you missed Wednesday's live HTG ALL you can watch the short video . In addition to member statistics, five-year performance data, industry trends, and the Dashboard, Brad Schow outlined the rebranding of our products. You'll hear more going forward, but here's the new naming:
  • HTG empower - includes traditional F2F, new UC, Service Exec (SEPG), and Sales Exec (SAPG)
  • HTG engage - new program in Q1; includes operationally maturing businesses, facilitated content model, with roundtables plus peer groups
  • HTG emerge - includes traditional Online program with expanded content
  • HTG access - a growing collection of content available to members and their employees
  • HTG transform - coaching, consulting, StratOp, and LifePlan
 
A new year represents a n opportunity to identify and "Close the Gaps." Every HTG constituent has gaps to close. Just as "Hard work doesn't equal business value," "Membership does not equal member value." We have to intentionally close the gaps between knowing and doing, then between doing and generating value.
 
If you've selected your payment plan for 2017, we thank you. If not, please   do so now  to help us plan and to receive your special report from Service Leadership. Questions? Please ask me .
 
Finally, special thanks to our facilitators and meetings team for work that may get overlooked. The HTG team is working to make your future better than your past. We see many members in the HTG Community taking broad strides forward. Join us on our journey!

Enjoy Thanksgiving. Thank you for contributing as part of our Community!

Scott
 
MSPs' 2017 BUDGET NUMBERS, FYI
Confidential - Active HTG Members Only - November 2016

What are you budgeting for revenue and profit in 2017? This year we've collected 2017 budgets from several subsets of the S-L Index™ population. (We're exploring if this is useful to do outside of a subset of higher OML companies.) You should by now have set your budget for 2017, or at least be well on your way. Below we provide a view of the 2017 growth and profit budgets of MSPs more broadly in the S-L Index™ to help your thinking and compare your conclusions.
 
The OMLs of Budgeting
As you know, the effective use of budgeting is common to higher Operational Maturity Level © (OML) MSPs and less common in lower OML MSPs. It's a key reason why higher OML MSPs more consistently attain higher growth and profit.
  •  Lower OML MSPs tend to not use budgeting, or use it well, which hobbles their ability to drive to planned results and optimize their responses to unexpected opportunities and challenges.
  • Also, lack of budgeting means they're not able to tie executive and manager incentive compensation to the degree to which budgeted profitability is attained. Hence the management team's behaviors tend to be less well aligned to the outcomes the shareholders expect.
2017 Revenue Budget of MSPs in the S-L Index
We've summarized below the budgeted 2017 revenue growth of MSPs segmented into four sizes by 2016 revenue:
Read more here...
NEW PRODUCT NAMES LAUNCHED AT ITN
Scott Marshall
At this year's IT Nation, ConnectWise Inc. CEO Arnie Bellini announced some exciting changes from the main stage. What's creating the most buzz? The evolution of our suite of tools, beginning with new product names: ConnectWise Manage (formerly ConnectWise), ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech), ConnectWise Sell (formerly Quosal), and ConnectWise Control (formerly ScreenConnect).
 
Changing the names is a milestone in our unification journey, reflecting our mission to simplify everything by succinctly describing what our tools really do. It's also a necessary step toward better positioning ConnectWise Inc. for future growth.
 
Although this is very exciting, it is also a lot of work. We expect the transition process to take months. In addition to executing an extensive communication strategy to inform our customers, strategic partners, prospects, and the industry at large, we are also working to update our assets, collateral, processes, and more.
 
We could use your help in making this transition a success by:
  • Sharing our new product names throughout your organization
  • Updating instances where your company uses our product logos and/or names
  • Using "ConnectWise" when referring to our company
  • Contacting your ConnectWise Account Manager  or HTG@ConnectWise.com with feedback or questions
 
Our website has a new look, and we've changed our product names, but when it comes to the functionality of our platform and user experience, it's business as usual. We will keep you informed as our evolution continues. For now, please visit the new ConnectWise website to see how we've changed.
 
 
Scott Marshall
Senior VP of Marketing