January 2016 Issue 4 New Year's Resolutions You Can Actually Keep!  Lose weight...stop smoking...get in shape....The list goes on. Now that we're well into the New Year, how many of your resolutions have you already broken? I won't tell you how many I have. With over thirty years in business under my belt I have been in a position to hear a lot of resolutions, many of them from fellow business owners. Some are specific to their companies, but there are others that we can all relate to. And, given the speed at which technology and the workplace are changing we need to, as Steve Jobs so aptly put it, "think different" to survive, let alone thrive. Here are four resolutions that will breathe new life into your organization. Let me know what you would add! Embrace the Future: The old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" has never been more apropos than in today's age of mobile phones, social media and instant access to just about anything. For those of you "of a certain age" who may find yourself leery of exploring new technology and new management styles, it may be time to re-calibrate your thinking. Encourage your team to bring new ideas to the table; especially younger employees. There is some real untapped pote  ntial out there; time to tap into it.   Update and Automate: Still hanging on to those old laptops? If it "ain't broke", don't fix it. Instead, consider replacing it! Make a check list of all your equipment, software, and other applications you have been using. Put someone in charge of checking with suppliers and service providers as to what it would take to upgrade. Once you start, it will get easier.   Build More Relationships: When a business is young, its owners tend to do a lot of reaching out to friends and colleagues for advice and referral business. Once they have a few years (or decades!) under their belts, the tendency is to become more self-contained and less inclined to go outside their four walls to form new partnerships and alliances. Make this the year you and your team rekindle old relationships and build new ones. Make it a goal to add at least one new business relationship per quarter. It will not only pump new life into your business, but add some new revenue streams as well.   Spend Less Time in the Office: Speaking of those four walls, it's time to spend less time at your desk and more time out talking with clients, colleagues and friends; or even attending local business meetings and conferences. The best ideas don't come from inside your business; they come from outside your business. But you have to work at it. Start by booking a single client or colleague visit, then another. Build a new habit of collecting fresh input from outside your office. It's a healthy habit you can start today. So, along with that cool looking Fitbit, the Nicorette gum and your newly minted gym membership, get these resolutions going. Be sure to let us know how it goes. We'll do a follow up in our July newsletter! Oh, and Happy New Year! -Kevin Young, CEO/Founder, CDR-Data Stay Connected           Growth Opportunities Emerge from Disruption  We came across a great Q&A from Deloitte. "Technology is not only fueling major business transformation across industries, it's also changing how technology enterprises sell their products and services, operate and plan for future growth," says Paul Sallomi, vice chairman and the Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry leader for Deloitte LLP. than Josh Mayfield, the developer who created GWX Control Panel. You can read the full article from Deloitte here. About CDR-DATA CDR-Data applications are supported by products that, collectively, provide  you with all the resources needed to  effectively manage your communications and personnel expenses without having to add resources. eCDR®: All the reporting options and flexibility needed to effectively manage and allocate telecommunications expense. Easy to use and customizable.     eBill-Back®: Fast, accurate telecommunications billing system for business centers, shared-tenant environments and any business requiring bill back of end users. Call us or drop us an email: cdrinfo@cdrdata.com. Visit us at www.cdrdata.com.         CDR-DATA| | mchin@cdrdata.com | http://cdrdata.com PO Box 41141 Pasadena, CA 91114 www.cdrdata.com Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.