photo by: cambodia4kidsorg on flickr.com

Whether your company has 20 employees or 2,000 employees, communications is critical to success. The good communicator knows that good information exchange moves people to action, and that you can never communicate too much.  There’s always a need to emphasize, clarify and enlighten.  Do you need a newsletter?  How about town-hall meetings?  Need an intranet?  How about a blog?  There are a number of places you can go for comunication ideas and recommendations, but here are some best-practice sites I’ve found helpful:

• Importance of Team Communication Skills
  
  
• 5 Tools for Online Business Communication
  
  
• 10 Great Team Communication Apps
  

  photo by: Jhon Alexander Calderón Sanmartìn on flickr.com

·         10 Great Team Communication Apps

Jyco Sealing Technologies has decided to take its automotive skills to the home. The company announced recently that they will apply their TVP (thermoplastic vulcanizates) technology into residential and commercial windows. This technology, introduced to the car market in North America in 2000, has proven to withstand the toughest conditions – rain, snow, freezing rain, sub-zero temperatures and brutal heat and humidity. PRWeb wrote an interesting article explaining more about the advantages of using Jyco‘s TVP windows.

Would you want to put these windows in a customer‘s home?

Jyco Sealing Technologies is well known as an automotive supplier. Now it’s products are available for the home. Photo by: PDPhoto.org

Photo by: SimpliciKey

You can turn on the lights in your house with just the clap of your hands, yet you still have to fumble for keys to get in the house when the rain pours. Thanks to SimpliciKey you no longer have to do that either. These deadbolts come equipped with a wireless keypad, key fob and the classic key. The key fob can open the door from up to 50 feet away for easy access when carrying large loads in from the car. The keypad is perfect for anyone who just can’t keep tabs on their keys. And of course the key is a reassuring safety net for those who don’t always trust technology. SimpliciKey will actually be coming out with new technology integrated into this system in the near future.
Would you use this in your home? Do you have other ideas for integrating technology in your home or business? Drop me a note to discuss.

Relaxing on your back porch, is there anything better? photo by: Jade, taken from MorgueFile.com

With the summer practically here, many Americans may want to put up a deck in the yard – possibly an outdoor kitchen. Besides the budget, what are the major issues your customers need to keep in mind when planning a project of this size? How can you help prospective customers understand what they need to know before spending the money? With all the different questions that go along with such a big project it’s nice to know there is help (from you). A company called Timber Tech (that sells composite wood) actually has a deck designer tool available as well as a whole deck plans section available for free. Be sure to use online resources to help customers nail down the function, features and materials required for the perfect deck. They’ll thank you for it – and they’ll keep coming back.

According to a study recently released by the National Association of Home Builders, bathroom remodels at the most common remodeling project, recently overtaking kitchens. Many of the respondents commented about how they’d rather stay where they are at now and fix it up.

What have you seen? Does it match their findings?