The Captain’s Blog

Have you ever met one of those people that is just so pleasant you can’t help but love them? That is RaDene Hatfield. She is positive, honest and happy. RaDene knows what she is talking about and is very gracious for any help she receives. She values others’ input and is always interested in what they have to say. She has great taste in design. RaDene is open to new ideas. She has a good heart and a good since of humor. She has an energy about her that just makes everyone love to be around her! If you want to meet kindness, sincerity and courage to stand for the truth; meet RaDene Hatfield. She’s running for Utah State Senate this year and we’re sure you’ll agree she’ll do an amazing job.

Everyone one knows that networking is important. In fact, most of our clients have come by way of referral. The reason for so many of these referrals and relationships is because of a little company called Corporate Alliance—which really isn’t a “little” company anymore. This one little post about Corporate Alliance doesn’t even come close to doing justice to all they have done for Eli Kirk, but at least it is a start. Corporate Alliance and it’s staff are visionaries. They have managed to figure out what truly makes every business successful. And if that weren’t enough, they’ve gone and put it in a format anyone can easily digest and begin to implement for added success. Even more than this, the information is packaged very nicely, and to top it all off, it’s fun.

Now some people might say that Corporate Alliance is just a glorified business club or a chamber of commerce clone, but neither of these teaches you and helps you to build relationships like Corporate Alliance does. Corporate Alliance believes that relationships are such a key to success that their motto is “every opportunity has it’s root in a relationship”. To our delight, this has proven to be very true for all of us at Eli Kirk.

If you ever get a chance to attend a Jump Start, a monthly networking luncheon that Corporate Alliance holds, you will experience something that will put any “Ra Ra” session to shame because it will change the way you do business. Plus, Corporate Alliance looks so amazingly good doing it; no dorky cheers or smoke and lights, just slick presentations that make a lot sense and are surprisingly fun to be part of. If there was ever a magic potion or secret solution to jump start your business, Corporate Alliance is it.

This past Saturday Eli Kirk had Lagoon day and the whole office went to the amusement park. Several of the roller coaster rides were awesome and others were just lame, they weren’t what I expected. What made the difference? How they met my expectations. The mantra of my boss is “manage expectations”. Manage expectations? What a strange phrase. What does it mean? Well, it means exactly what is says.

A large portion of the excitement and pleasure we have is based on expectations. Think about it. Roller coasters are exciting because of what we expect right after the top of that initial big hill. TV shows and movies’ successes hinge on expectations, will Sandy find out that Greg her lover is really her long lost cousin. Much can be done to build expectations for what might happen. However, the difficulty in managing expectations lies not in the build up but in the delivery. Delivering on promises and going above and beyond to exceed expectations; these are the things that bring pleasure, and in the world of business leave costumers deeply pleased with your product or service.

When we manage expectations we are doing whatever it takes to let customers know that they will be taken care of and have a great experience with us no matter what happens. It might be a crazy ride, but it will be a good one.

Innovative Customs is an exciting two year old start up company and one of our clients. I don’t mean to brag, actually I do, Innovative Customs‘ great look and unmatched quality work have grabbed the attention of the after market automotive industry. Major magazines such as Diesel Builder, Diesel Power and Four Wheeler Magazine contact Innovative Customs requesting the opportunity to write a feature story on the Meg Long Bed Conversion process. In addition to articles in these magazines Innovative Customs has been the trade show guest of companies such as Four Wheeler magazine and Magna Flow Exhaust. Innovative Customs is now a major sponsor of NADM (National Association of Diesel Motors). Innovative Customs even did a recent Mega Cab Long Bed Conversion on a truck that will be seen in the new “Fast and the Furious” movie. Innovative Customs rocks!

We got some great face time in the Summer 2008 issue of BusinessQ. Check out the images of the articles below! BusinessQ has always been good to seek out experts to help us all learn. We’ve been called on a several times to serve in the roll of expert along with some of our respected competitors. It’s worth your time to make friends and build a relationship with quality publications like BusinessQ so that you can be called on as an expert in your field. It’s not only a great way to get your name out there, it also becomes a valuable opportunity to influence and help the community and your industry. Share the love feel the love!

Running, many people hate it. However a select few love it, and rave about the runners high that they get when running long distances! Those who love running know that a good running shoe is worth it’s weight in gold. We don’t do much running in our office, instead we do a lot of sitting. Like much of America we all sit in front of a computer screens for a good 8 hours a day, or more. You might call us distance sitters, although I’m pretty sure no one’s getting high from sitting. Recently two of our designers got some amazing chairs that are like a good shoe helping you jump higher and run faster. One of our designers swears that his new chair even designs for him with automatic drop shadows! Well whatever their powers may be the two Mirra Chairs by Herman Miller are amazingly comfortable and can be adjusted every which way. They seem to put the back and body at ease allowing the mind to focus on designing or world domination, whatever is on the schedule for the day.

To appreciate where we are, we must remember where we came from. In the begin there was Adam. He was one of the first developers to grace the halls of Eli Kirk, like all developers he was a problem solver. We didn’t start in a garage like Mr. Microsoft, but our beginnings were humble; a few card tables and some hard folding chairs. One day my boss’s business partner walked in and asked “Do you know that Adam is sitting on a towel?” “Oh, I hadn’t realized!”, my boss responded. Adam, rather than making excuses or giving up he quietly through in the towel in for some extra padding. No matter how humble the beginnings of a business may be, it’s success hinges on finding good simple solutions for the problems encountered along the way.

ps. Don’t worry the problem was quickly fixed and Adam now enjoys a very comfortable office chair.

Take a journey back to the good ole college days, ah the alma mater. You remember, anytime one of the sports teams brought the victory home it meant that any student or fan was entiled to tell even one how wonderful the school and it’s teams were. Anyone who supported the team in any small way was part of that victory and that gave them bragging rights. You may not be very familiar with bragging rights, but can I help it if my school was better than yours… Anyway it’s fun to boast about something cool that you’re connected to.

So in the spirit of boasting I want to announce an new category on our blog that you are sure to love, especially if you’re one of our clients, the category is called “Bragging Rights.” It’s a place where we can talk about our great clients, their successes and all the cool things they’re doing. Cause we’d like to think we’ve had a little part in their success, and that means we’ve got bragging rights!

We strutted our stuff at the Utah Valley Big Business Expo with a beautiful booth that exemplified the principles of great design. Clean and simple, it was one of a few oasis in a sea of sales people and blaring designs. We got some great comments on the booth! However, the star of our booth was the office foosball table. The foosball table served as an easy non threating transition from the isle to our booth. It provided a way to brake the ice as well as a nice release for passers by. Although the foosball table was a bit of a gimmick, it felt in-brand with the rest of our booth and is very much a part of our office. All in all the booth stood out without being obnoxious.

It’s that time again. Time to get ready for the Big Business and Technology Expo. We’ve a booth in the past and we wanted to do one again this year. But, like anything else where businesses come together it can be difficult to standout from the crowd and be memorable. We brainstormed quite a bit, and we came up with some pretty crazy ideas for our new booth; a human aquarium, attractive girls walking around with our logo branded on their foreheads, an airport terminal, hanging up laundry, even carrying potential clients around on our shoulders. Finally, we decided that we should create a beautiful booth that exemplifies the principles of great design. By doing so it would show us doing what we do.

When putting together a trade-show booth, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of gimmicks, we did. Don’t let gimmicks cloud your vision. Get off the gimmick bandwagon and remember that any business can best promote itself by being real and genuine. Find a way to let the very layout of your booth show what you do and who you are. People will find it refreshing, and you’ll attract the type of clients you want.