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Tips for New Managers from QuickBase Sales Leader

Rob Taylor — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:58:23 +0000

The QuickBase team is growing across the board and some folks are stepping up as new leaders. This is true for our sales organization, which I was recently brought on board to lead and drive positive change. I’ve been a part of many sales teams over the years and I’ve seen many sales people rise up in the ranks to become managers. I have seen both wins and failures and have studied both. All new managers face challenges, but new managers of growing teams face an additional set of hurdles. They must engage existing employees, effectively manage change, and simultaneously avoid the challenges associated with bringing on new talent. In that spirit I wanted to share my point of view to help other newly appointed leaders avoid some common pitfalls and grow their team successfully.

Here are some of the risks of a team member stepping into a leadership role so you can spot them and correct your course:

1. Preaching your past success like it’s gospel. “I did it this way and was successful so you should too” is an approach that can strip your employees of the chance to add personality and style to their roles. It’s true that you’ve become a manager because your methods were successful, but this way of sharing your ideas can leave your team feeling demoralized and preached to. It sends the message that it’s your way or the highway and can take away the pride associated with employees owning their own process.

2. Start with the big picture. Don’t get into the weeds of your employees’ tactical plans right off the bat. You may miss the big picture and end up with a team rowing in different directions. Work down from the strategy to ensure alignment on key objectives and then address individual plans.

3. Don’t overdose on the Kool-Aid. Now that you’re the boss you may associate more with the leadership at your organization and adopt some of their language and behaviors. While it’s important to propagate positive aspects of company culture, this doesn’t mean you should start acting like “the Man.” BE YOURSELF. Your team will respect you for it.

4. First impressions count. Whether you intend to or not, you are going to build your brand as a leader early on. Getting off on the right foot is critical, so if you notice a potential issue, address it immediately and with transparency.

5. Customize your approach. Understand how each person wants to be engaged. Don’t assume the way you liked to be coached and engaged is the way for each person.

6. Avoid micro-managing. It sends a negative message to each person and tells them you do not trust them. Lead with trust always!

7. Watch your tone. Tone and volume can set the stage for everything from your working relationships with employees, to your presentations and individual conversations. Since first impressions are made quickly, be mindful of this when you take on your new role.

8. Open up. Let your employees get to know you. This helps establish a more efficient rapport and opens the door for your employees to give you feedback, collaborate with you, and ultimately, help the team innovate.

9. Slow down to speed up. Don’t try to assert yourself as the new leader by force because it probably won’t work. Before you can be an effective leader, you must earn your employees’ respect and trust, which happens on its own timeline. It’s your job to sense when that shift happens then begin to ramp up your expectations on the team.

10. Don’t be a bull in the china shop. Be mindful of existing process your new team has in place and likewise, the process your newly hired team members are bringing with them from previous experience. Chances are these processes are important or at least a part of how they currently do their jobs, so by demanding changes right off the bat, you may be causing frustration and churn.

My final word to new leaders, whether new to a company or stepping into a leader role for the first time, is to play the student role for the first 30 days. Listen and learn first to avoid early missteps. Get to know the people in the organization, what they do and how they factor into the bigger picture. Get to know your team members and understand their direction and objectives. Every great leader I have ever worked with took the time to build relationships with the people doing the work. I hope you found this article helpful.

Introducing Single Sign-On for QuickBase

Greg Collins — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:00:23 +0000

Signing in to QuickBase just got a whole lot easier. Single Sign-On (SSO) enables greater security for your QuickBase account by allowing your corporate directory to provision users, while making it easier for users to access applications. The opportunity to establish SSO capabilities using either SAML 2.0 or LDAP is available with all our Enterprise plans. Not on an Enterprise plan? Contact us to discuss transitioning your plan so you can take advantage of this feature!

Here are a few reasons to get on board with Single Sign-On:

Easy Account Administration

Because user authentication information is in your organization’s central directory QuickBase Account Administrators don’t need to spend time managing users who have changed status.

Simplified Application Access

Users can use the same username and password they do to access other corporate resources. Simplifying the log-in process can increase user adoption – making it easier for application administrators to create successful apps.

Security Compliance

Many IT departments require SSO solutions in order to establish consistent password policies and centrally administer access credentials with vendors.

Protocol Support

Use your corporate directory to share credential information with QuickBase in the protocol of your choice. We support SAML 2.0 and LDAP integrations.

The New SaaS Standard: Service on Any Device

Suchi Upadhyayula — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:03:13 +0000

Users rely on online services being accessible anytime of the day from anywhere in the world. These days, users also view access to online services from their smart phones and tablets as an unalienable right. Whether it’s a busy executive trying to squeeze in that one last email before the flight attendant asks him to switch off his phone or a multi-tasking mom-preneur approving an expense report from her iPad while taking her kids for ice cream (both of which have happened to me), our users’ lifestyles demand 24/7 service from any device.

These expectations of access from any device, anytime, anywhere, pose some interesting challenges for SaaS, PaaS vendors. Simply put, they raise the bar.

“Service anytime and anywhere” has been a key tenet for the SaaS, PaaS industry since its inception. Over the years, vendors have made significant investments in their technology, infrastructure and operations to improve the availability, scalability and resiliency of their services so they can be accessed via the web 24/7. High availability architectures deployed across multiple data centers combined with advanced monitoring systems and operational rigor are essential for delivering on this promise. But to effectively deliver on the “any device” promise, SaaS and PaaS vendors now have to adapt their architecture, product development, and delivery processes to meet user needs and expectations.

Considerations Before Launching a SaaS Mobile Offering

As a vendor enabling the “any device” capability, here is a set of key questions to consider before you embark on the journey of making your service truly ubiquitous. Feel free to add additional suggestions in the comments below.

What features do customers need most access to from their mobile device?
Which product workflows have to be tweaked to make them mobile friendly?
Do you need to leap ahead and build a native client? Or will a web optimized mobile version suffice?
How can you leverage device-specific sensors to further enrich the user experience?
Do you need to rethink your UX design to keep users engaged on a mobile device?
What is the current service oriented architecture strategy for your platform? Does the architecture lend itself well to add on these additional service APIs required for mobile access?
Do we need to augment the current architecture with middleware solutions?
How do you scale your development, build and browser certification processes?
What are the adaptations needed in your service delivery and support processes to help customers resolve access issues from any device?

I recently attended a conference held by Intuit on designing and delivering compelling mobile solutions. Several distinguished technologists from industry stalwarts including eBay, Netflix and Qualcomm, shared their ideas and best practices. With the near-saturation of smart phone technology and rapid adoption of tablets in enterprises for improved productivity, several platform vendors are evolving their strategy to meet the demand. Needless to say, the next decade holds much promise for mobile platforms and solutions that further improve work productivity.

QuickBase Completes SSAE 16 Audit! Huh?

Rhonda Swain — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:30:39 +0000

QuickBase just completed an SSAE 16 audit for 2011! Woohoo! But what does this mean? It means independent auditors assessed QuickBase and issued an industry-standard report providing assurance to our customers that QuickBase has policies and procedures in place to protect their data and applications. This is especially important for QuickBase because many of our customers use our platform for business-critical apps. It also means that customers can rely on the information in this report instead of having to conduct their own audits.

You may have noticed the SAS 70 logo on our website in the past – this is because we’ve asked a third-party to audit QuickBase since 2009. This year the organization responsible for setting SAS 70 audit guidelines, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), superseded SAS 70 with SSAE 16, which is designed to bring U.S. service organization reporting up to date with international standards. What’s the difference between SAS 70 and SSAE 16? Basically, SSAE 16 doesn’t allow companies to use previous audits towards new reports and company management must provide an attestation that the documentation they provide to auditors is accurate.

In both SAS 70 and SSAE 16 examinations, QuickBase provided the third-party auditor with information about a wide variety of things from policies about background checks for prospective employees, to redundant power systems and access restrictions at our data centers, and encryption of our data. This year’s SSAE 16 examination also involved an onsite visit to our Waltham headquarters as well as a visit to our Quincy Data Center in late June 2011. These visits included inspections of the physical and environmental security at our facilities, back-up procedures, server and network operations, information security, and change control processes and procedures. The auditors also examined information we provided about these systems in order to verify that our descriptions are fair and accurate and that the controls we have in place achieve their intended purposes.

We’re pleased to report that the auditors found “no exceptions” during their testing, which means they can verify that QuickBase does what it says it will do! We are happy to share the detailed SSAE 16 report with customers who sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement with us. If you’re interested in obtaining the report, please contact your business development manager, QuickBase Coach, or submit a support ticket.

Newest Feature from the Product Feedback Forum

Robert McDonald — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:57:44 +0000

In the 60 days since we introduced the QuickBase Product Feedback Forum, over 2,650 QuickBase users have registered for the forum; 280 new product ideas have been entered, and 2,600 votes have been cast. As a product manager here at QuickBase, seeing this kind of activity from engaged users is invigorating.

The Product Feedback Forum is the place for us to monitor the real-time pulse of our customers through their ideas, votes and spirited discussions. In addition, what really excites me is the ability to communicate directly with you, the customer, to better understand your needs and as we develop new features, to return to the Forum to validate that what we’re building aligns with your needs.

For example, “Switch roles on the fly to evaluate user experience,” was an enhancement submission that you voted as one of your top ten ideas. This caught my eye because this feature already existed in the product. After a few exchanges with customers, it was clear that the existing implementation was inconsistent and unpredictable for some users, so the feature was not being well-utilized. Based on the amount of votes and comments the idea had in the Forum, it was also clear that this functionality is valued. So we made the decision to address it.

I started the design process by collecting all related Forum comments and reviewing them with my development team. We identified some open questions and put them up on the forum for feedback. We considered the feedback, finalized the approach, and submitted it to the group for validation. This process was completed in a matter of days and then the engineering team went off to do their magic.

I’m confident that the end result is a feature redesigned to address your needs in a more consistent and predictable manner. Application managers and users with certain permissions can now quickly test how users in different roles interact with applications by selecting Test role as > Role from the Signed in as menu. See screenshot below for an example. When you temporarily change your role, you see only what users in that role will see within your application. Read more about the new “Test as Role” feature in the release notes.

A big thank you to all of you that were involved in this process and I look forward to more collaboration in the future. Please leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts about the Forum, the process and, of course, the “Test as Role” feature.

The Path to a QuickBase UI Refresh

Rob Keohane — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:14:35 +0000

We tested concept prototypes.

In April the team conducted a Design for Delight session that focused on how people new to QuickBase located functionality to complete core tasks such as adding information and customizing an application. The result of that session was a series of wireframe concepts which, based on customer feedback, we refined and built into interactive prototypes. We then used these prototypes to solicit further feedback. The process consisted of asking people to complete five core QuickBase tasks using each prototype, measuring whether or not they were successful, and tracking how long it took. After completing the tasks, everyone was also asked to compare their experience of using both prototypes. We wanted to learn which one they thought was easier to use.

We combined what worked from each concept into another prototype.

There were particular elements that worked well in each prototype. For example, visually differentiating a customize mode and providing simple direct links to the functionality within that mode were two successful patterns we observed. Peoples’ expectations for how they interacted with the user interface (UI) became clear as well. Context menus (right-click) and on-object-UI (or editing in-place) were interactions that many have grown accustomed to and therefore expect to be part of their application customization experience. Using the feedback from these sessions we created yet another prototype that combined the most successful elements.

We tested the resulting prototype against the existing product.

The overall goal of this project is to see how we can improve the experience of using QuickBase. So in the next step we used the latest prototype iteration in another comparative test – this time against a current QuickBase application template. In addition to navigational changes, we also introduced a different visual design. The early results are promising. People have been able to complete tasks successfully and quicker using the prototype. They also preferred the new look and feel.

We’re looking for feedback from QuickBase users.

To date we’ve received feedback from prospective QuickBase users and now we want to hear from our existing customers. Starting next week, we are running a series of hour-long sessions, to be conducted over WebEx, during which we will review some of our possible future UI directions and get individual feedback from customers. If you are interested in participating in this type of research session, please feel free to sign up here.

QuickBase Traffic Data Visualization

Matt Greenwood — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:55:17 +0000

It takes a good deal of time and effort to describe complex concepts in simple terms. Mark Twain succinctly captured the issue with brevity: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” I find this especially true of raw data. Until visualized in a graph, chart or map, its value can remain unrealized.

So I’m delighted when I find tools that, like information management in QuickBase, are good at visualizing large amounts of data in new, interesting ways that make it easy to quickly gain insights. I recently discovered the Google Chrome Experiment WebGL Globe project and used it to visualize the QuickBase user traffic over 24 hour periods. The lines rising out of the globe show QuickBase traffic volume from various geo locations at a specific point in time. The fully animated version of the graphic – which you can view here or by clicking on the image below - autospins and updates the clock as it rotates so you can get a 360 degree view.

Did you know you can add videos and graphics to your QuickBase dashboard to keep your users more engaged? Check out this article on how to embed videos in your dashboard.

You’re All Heroes! But We Had to Choose a Winner…

Alex Hastings — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:28:00 +0000

Last month we asked our customers to nominate the QuickBase Heroes at their organizations. What are QuickBase Heroes?, you may ask. They are the folks who swoop in and create solutions for all kinds of business problems. Like magic they streamline complex business processes, get a solution up in minutes to solve a pressing need, or create apps to organize the most chaotic projects. Put simply, QuickBase Heroes build the apps that run your businesses, improve your team productivity, and drive better business outcomes.

The Winner

Without further ado, let’s announce the winner of the QuickBase Hero Search! Drum roll…Brian Boals of Stream, LLC is our QuickBase Hero! According to their website, “The Stream brings a new and innovative approach to the vehicle repossession and remarketing industry by liquidating vehicle assets directly from repossession lots.” Brian was chosen as the winner for the contest because his entry best fit our submission criteria. The QuickBase solution, which he built and implemented in a matter of weeks, plays a key role in helping his business deliver on its value proposition and has enabled massive growth. Instead of us rambling on, let’s let our Hero speak for himself. Here is his submission:

“Our company began just over a year ago. We sell vehicles through online wholesale auto auctions. As we started out, we tried to retrofit brick and mortar auction software to fit a much more dynamic web environment. It quickly failed. After shopping custom app development, we knew that our budget just couldn’t afford it.

Somewhere along the way I discovered QuickBase and prototyped an application that was custom fit to our process and client needs. Within, 45 days from my first login, we launched our custom vehicle inventory management application to our internal staff and also rolled it out to a number of our clients.

Today we have over a dozen of our largest customers using the application and the list grows by the week. We have been able to meet our clients’ needs far greater than ever before with our legacy client application. The development of our application in QuickBase has allowed us to respond quickly to our customers and attract even greater business opportunities.

I made my boss a happy man by saving him six figures in custom application development costs and have allowed our company to drive business forward using cloud technology. It has felt great to leverage such innovative software as QuickBase to make such a great impact on this young and growing enterprise. Thanks, QuickBase!”

While our winner best fit the submission criteria, we were blown away by the appreciation everyone voiced for the QuickBase Heroes in their organizations. And rightfully so! With their custom QuickBase solutions at their sides, these heroes drove meaningful business results including:

Building and implementing solutions quickly:

“I approached Charles as I knew he had the skills and experience to bring my vision to reality. Within three days we had a ready-to-roll customized solution in place! Not only did the custom interface do what we needed; but visually it was engaging and logical to the users. His expertise and experience allowed me to provide my client the best product in a limited time within a tight budget.”

Enabling bottom-line growth:

“I’ve saved the company hundreds of hours spent initiating & following up on projects and freed up server space because of reduced e-mail messages and attachments. Less printed paper is generated and fewer calls are placed. The savings are all across the board!”

Increasing efficiency:

“The problem was that our sales team needed approval from management to offer special pricing via e-mail. Management’s inbox was so full and when they actually got around to responding, they often had incomplete information about the request. The solution was to use QuickBase. Sales now inputs special pricing requests into QuickBase and management gets notifications containing the necessary information to make the call. The outcome was a drop in management response time from one week to within 24 hours; special pricing requests from sales tripled because they were now getting timely responses; e-mail numbers dropped like superman in a kryptonite suit, and better decisions were made!”

Winning new business:

“The request for proposal included dozens of spreadsheets full of data. As part of our bid for this new business we wanted to demonstrate our ability to not only perform the required work, but to also better manage the client’s information. To do so, I constructed a QuickBase application and loaded it with most of the data provided in the request for proposal. In our proposal, we were able to offer a full-featured web-enabled Information Management System at no additional cost that undoubtedly helped us to win this opportunity!

Better serving customers:

“Prior to implementing QuickBase, clients would mail in their 10 page documents and then we would then create a file to attach the correct documents to the correct client. Account managers were then assigned a paper file for them to work, giving them the ability to address 10 to 15 clients per day. With our process being paper we had no way to pull reports or analyze our portfolio. After QuickBase was implemented, our data is now transferred directly from the website to QuickBase and our clients can fax or email in the documents linking them directly to QuickBase making us paperless. QuickBase now gives us the opportunity to work with over 120 clients per day and has greatly increased out client base!”

All of the submissions described wonderful success but there were some extraordinary cases where our Heroes were able to use their QuickBase solutions to accomplish astounding feats. Armed with insight provided by QuickBase, one hero was able to make the case for saving a team from being downsized: “The analysis and quick, accessible reporting of QuickBase allowed me to make the case for the productivity of the team, dispute analysis developed by the agency’s performance management team, and ultimately save the unit from being cut.” Another extraordinary story is about one woman who, after deploying her QuickBase solution, not only retained her position after her company was acquired, but she was named Employee of the Year and given a promotion!

Each of the people nominated are Heroes to us! If you’d like to share your story, please post it below or on our Facebook wall. Interested in becoming a hero? Sign up for a free trial of QuickBase or ask your Account Administrator to grant you app creation permissions so you can create your own web based software solutions.

Customer-Powered Innovation at QuickBase

Robert McDonald — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:27:13 +0000

QuickBase is committed to providing more opportunities for our customers to give us feedback. We’ve gone on the road, administered loads of surveys and usability tests, conducted hundreds of customer interviews, and have given our customers real-time access to QuickBase employees via social media channels. One of the ways customers see the result of all this listening is through product enhancements that reflect their feedback. For example, our latest release includes one of the most requested features of all time, the ability to select multiple users in a drop-down.

Our customers are passionate about the custom QuickBase solutions they build to improve work productivity for their teams and organizations. This means that they have healthy opinions about what new features we should include in upcoming product releases. They are also the best at anticipating their future needs. We couldn’t ask for anything better than customers who know what they want. But we also knew we needed a way to harness all of this enthusiasm into actionable product enhancements. So we set out to implement one place where customers can generate and prioritize ideas for QuickBase innovation.

Introducing the New Product Feedback Forum

Our new Product Feedback Forum, powered by UserVoice, allows you to create, browse and discuss suggestions for product enhancements. Our customers can also vote on suggestions, allowing the most popular ideas to bubble up to the top. QuickBase Product Management (PM) reviews all feedback, paying particular attention to the suggestions that gain the most traction among customers. PM can also join any conversation and keep people updated on the status of their suggestions. It’s a user-friendly interface, but for more info on how to use the Customer Feedback Forum check out the June 5, 2011 release notes.

You can access the Customer Feedback Forum by:

Clicking the new “Feedback” tab on the My QuickBase page (see right).
Visiting the Product Feedback Forum directly where you will be prompted to sign in to QuickBase before using the page.

So, in the words of Linda Richman from Coffee Talk, “Go ahead, talk amongst yourselves! I’ll give you a topic…QuickBase product enhancements!” We’ll be listening…

Encouraging Cultural Diversity? There’s a QuickBase for That.

Alex Hastings — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:42:23 +0000

In 2009, out of the 143 major conflicts around the world, 108 had a cultural dimension. The UN emphasizes the links between the protection of cultural diversity and the importance of dialogue between civilizations in the modern world. Nearly 10 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 21st to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development to improve cultural understanding and acceptance. The day provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to “live together” better.

As part of our We Care and Give Back corporate value, Intuit recently launched a Do One Thing initiative to encourage all employees to do their part to make the world a better place. In support of the United Nations World Day for Cultural Diversity, Intuit is extending its Do One Thing initiative to incorporate the UN’s campaign on May 21st. Following Intuit’s lead, many organizations are hosting special events or doing other activities for what we’re calling the Do One Thing for Diversity & Inclusion campaign. The cross-organizational goal is to get one million people around the world involved.

“We jumped at the chance to showcase Intuit’s commitment to diversity and our skill set in creating a diverse and inclusive environment to the world alongside leading companies in the diversity space like Intel, Merck, Royal Bank of Canada, Yahoo!, Genentech, VSP, Symantec, and Cisco,” said Terilyn Monroe, global diversity and engagement leader at Intuit.

To make this coordination across companies successful, the Intuit employee engagement team teamed up with QuickBase to create an application where individuals from participating companies could publicly sign up for activities to support World Day for Cultural Diversity and in doing so, inspire others. There were other key solution requirements laid out by the Intuit team. The QuickBase needed to:

Capture and intelligently display input from multiple organizations
Track progress towards the one-million-participant goal
Reflect Do One Thing and UN World Day for Cultural Diversity branding
Be interactive and engaging to participants

In a matter of a few emails and three phone calls, Kirk Trachy, a QuickBase Sales Engineer, was able to create a fully-branded landing page for the initiative (pictured here) that serves as a sign-up form, crowdsourced idea generator, reporting tool, and social graph. To see the application and what employees have pledged to do visit the landing page.

“A lot of people think it takes months and tons of meetings to create an app like this,” said Kirk Trachy of the Do One Thing for Cultural Diversity & Inclusion application. “With QuickBase, creating an app to fulfill multiple requirements is immediately possible!”

Have you created an application in a matter of days to solve a pressing need? We’d love to hear about it! Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Need to get a solution up, like, yesterday? Check out a 30-day-free trial of QuickBase. One of our coaches will help you get that first app and running.