You can’t predict when something is gonna go wrong, but you can be prepared for it. Ripple can help you be ready for when the you know what hits the fan.

Siri to the rescue! Hold down the home button until Siri asks what she can help you with, then say “who am I?” Siri will respond with something like what you see here, and if the owner’s contact record contains a phone number or email address, voila!

Hey all you users of that popular social media application that begins with a ‘T’ and ends with ‘witter’, we suggest you take the time today to make a password change. As mentioned in here, over 50,000 Twitter accounts were compromised earlier this week when corresponding email addresses and passwords were posted to Pastebin. Fortunately, further investigation showed 20,000 of those accounts to be duplicates, spam bots, or inactive users. But that’s not to say that your email address and password isn’t one of the 30,000 active accounts on the list.

So, for safety’s sake, we highly recommend you log in and change that password. Oh, and while you’re at it, you might wanna take the time to think about the best method for password creation (and storage). We recommend using phrases (sentences complete with capitalization, spaces, and punctuation) instead of any letter and number combinations. Using phrases makes it a lot harder for someone to hack your account, and at the same time they’re easier for you to remember. Just make sure you don’t use that phrase for every site or application, and change it every once in awhile.

In case you’re wondering, my Twitter password phrase is Please, hack my account!

This week I’m trying something radically different than my normal routine. I’m going to try to limit myself to one espresso, coffee, or similarly caffeinated drink per day. It’s a bold choice considering I haven’t gone more than a day without ingesting at least three (usually an Espresso in the morning, Americano in the afternoon, and some Earl Grey after dinner) in quite awhile. But what began as a love of good coffee and strong tea has become an addiction that makes mornings without caffeine something of a cross between sleepy and irritable. I’m sure my fiancee could be more descriptive, but for the sake of brevity (and in avoidance of slander), I’ll leave it at that.

It’s tough. At home my roommate makes at least two lattes per day using a stovetop espresso maker and milk steamer, and my fiancee and I usually end dinner with hot tea. The work situation is a lot worse (or better if you’re not trying to limit your caffeine intake). At Ripple, I sit at my desk with that Cimbali espresso machine in my peripheral vision all day. And, of course, we’re just a few blocks from Octane Westside. Did I mention that I live in Grant Park where the new Octane recently opened? It’s kinda like that Temptation Island show I never bothered to watch but assume had lots of temptations. Ugh.

I’m only three days into this experiment. And I think if I keep telling myself that it’s just a temporary situation, I might be able to make it a week. Maybe not. In any case, if you see me at either Octane, or if one of my fellow Ripplers reads this and sees me getting up to make that second espresso, please stop me. I’ll likely try to convince you that it’s the first caffeinated drink I’ve had all day. Do not believe this, as the need for caffeination is strong with me. Just sit me down, get an herbal tea, and tell me it’s gonna be alright.

Ripplers have been meeting each and every Tuesday since long before I joined the team. And when I first came onboard, it was largely an open discussion that included everything from support processes (always the bulk of the discussion), new business (awesome), marketing campaigns (moi), and more. Which was great. It allowed for every Rippler to get an idea of the observations, opinions, and strategies of their coworkers, as well as give their input. But with the addition of the weekly Ripple Improvement Pairings (or RIPs, if you like acronyms) we’ve been able to identify what we can do to better help people, and make ourselves more efficient in the process. The results are that we’re fixing things faster, heading potential problems off at the pass, and since the pairings change every two weeks, we’re learning to work with our fellow Ripplers in a more collaborative way.

Of course, none of this focussing-in would do much good if we didn’t actively track what we’d discussed in the previous meeting. So, every Tuesday one Rippler volunteers to be the the time keeper (stop watch at the ready), and another acts as the facilitator / recorder using LessMeeting. The difference between most meetings and those we’ve conducted with LessMeeting is that the ability to plan, record, and share meeting goals is about 1000x easier and more efficient than trying to jot down bunch of notes and dialog. Tracking to-be-completed actions is pretty simple too, and alerts can be set up so they don’t slip anyone’s mind. And you can even integrate LessMeeting with your Google calendar. On the following Tuesday, improvements are either completed (checked off) or not (unchecked). Simple and effective.

So far, we have nothing but great things to say about the process. But we’re always looking to improve.. even on the improvement process. Because as everyone who works with technology knows, the next big, amazing, game-changing thing is right around the corner.

Sooo… latte art? Yep, if you’ve ever ventured beyond the corporate chains to an independent coffeehouse you’ll likely be familiar with the hearts, flowers, and more abstract designs that can be created from pouring frothed milk into espresso by way of skillful, steady hands. It’s a sight to see for sure, but also a good indication that the person across the counter actually cares what goes into the cup.

You can catch the next Throwdown this coming Thursday, May 10th, at Octane Westside. It’s free to attend and watch. And if you’ve had some experience on an espresso machine, you can toss in a fiver and bet on your ability to craft a cash-winning pour. You might even spot some Ripplers in the crowd cheering for the competitors. So, whether your all in for the competition, or just a sideline spectator, we urge you to head to Octane, get a beer, and check out this Atlanta-born experience.

The instinct to compare and contrast is great, and it’s not necessarily the wrong way to go. People need to know the differences between two companies offering similar services. An entire industry has grown around the need to research and review difference businesses and products (Angie’s List, Consumer Reports, Yelp, Carmax, etc), which is great. Near instant access to information is certainly a perk. Unfortunately, some companies pollute their brand by marketing themselves through talking smack about their competition.

People want to make up their own minds about what they want to purchase, who they want to hire, and with whom they want to do business. Coke never mentions Pepsi. And if it’s been Pepsi strategy to come out on top through comparison advertising, it’s definitely not working. Brand recognition is great, but not if it both promotes your competition AND comes at the cost of people thinking you’re a jerk, or worse, unethical.

So, while it’s important to make people aware of your business, and what products and services your offer, it’s equally as important to make sure you’re not firmly planting yourself behind your competition by screaming about how awful they are. Instead, I’ve found that people are a lot more receptive when the conversation is about what Ripple can do for them, not what others can’t do.

There are times when we’re simply not the right fit. That’s fine. People will remember that we were upfront and honest. And when their buddy asks them about IT options, they’ll likely mention us no matter what the final decision was. That’s the kind of positive brand recognition that no amount of smack talking will ever overcome.

We make every effort to anticipate your needs and provide great service, like The Ritz-Carlton. We’re on the ball: monitoring your network, running backups, pushing out updates, and thinking about the next step to improve the structure of your IT. And if you find you need help with something, we’re just a call away. Extra towels are not a problem.

Being up-to-date on your business is a no-brainer for you, and it’s equally as important to us. Since we provide unlimited service, the time we spend helping you won’t be “on-the-clock”. And you won’t have to wait til something goes wrong to justify calling us. Wondering what laptop is gonna be best for that new account manager? Interested in moving your backup to the cloud? We’ve got resources to help you. Yeah, it’s a bit like calling the concierge. Asking our team about these kinds of things won’t add to your bill. You’ve made the investment in great service, and it’s our aim as Ripplers to provide that both behind the scenes, and in every interaction.

Ultimately, our goals should be in line with yours. And if yours include increasing productivity, streamlining workflows, improving efficiency, and proactively evaluating potential problems then we are on the same page. It all boils down to this: We’re in the business of helping you manage your business… at least on the technology side of things. Doing the work that allows your employees to get their jobs done is our job. Enjoy your stay, and don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Some IT folks become jaded after years of doing technical support. It could be because they’ve seen and heard the same things for years and feel like they’re just spinning their wheels. Or it might come from an inability to relate to the people they’re helping. Over the years, I’ve found that what works for me is taking a moment to evaluate the experience after each case. I’ll often get off of a call and wonder: Did I just sound like a horse’s bum asking you to reboot? Did I sound jaded?

Just asking myself those questions propels me back to the empathetic core of what it means to be a Rippler, and a good person (they go hand-in-hand for me). You don’t ask for problems to occur, they just happen. Chances are pretty good that you haven’t spent the time that I have understanding the technology from the inside out. That’s why you’re calling me. The technology you use, whether it’s to design, manage billing, or create presentations is just a tool to get the job done. My job is make sure you can do your job, and I sometimes have to remind myself of the difference there. Tools are just tools.

Whenever I think I might be getting close to the jaded zone, I remember that your job isn’t getting the technology to work, it’s working with the technology to get things done. It’s my job to understand the imperfections of the technology, and to facilitate a great experience in overcoming those imperfections.

It’s a delicate balance, since the fact that we’re talking means the technology has somehow failed you. No doubt you’re having a bad day, having put being productive on hold to reach out for help. Ripplers know this in our hearts, and that’s what drives us: The challenge of turning a bad day into a good day. We want you to enjoy getting help from us. So, the little things like asking about your weekend plans, or sharing a laugh over a new viral video is important to the process. Because it’s not the technology that we want to help and build a relationship with, it’s you.