Newsletter Issue 162, March 2009

Sam Young Newsletter

Issue 162, March 2009

Hi guys,

I felt it was time to have a think about what constitutes Real, Sustainable Success.

And we have the second part on keeping your settings safe, in Finding Your Files to Backup, Step 2. 

Minimising the Office Ribbon   TLAs for SMEs        Tips, Short & Hot Keys        Hot Linx

Don't forget, if you want to be taken off my mailing list, click here to send me a reply e-mail and I will remove your name.

Real, Sustainable Success

I read an article recently on CEO On-line's website by Mal Emery entitled "Recession Survival Kit". In that article, Mal said "Real success is sustainable", and although he was talking about all the things business can do to weather the current economic storm, that phrase rang a chord with me.

Real success is sustainable. To me that means that you can keep doing those things that you do to delight your customers year upon year upon year. Successful and sustainable businesses are those that are always looking for the next thing that their customer doesn't know that they need yet.

A lot of that is down to mental attitude; to having an attitude of discovery to all things new. To successful and sustainable businesses, the new isn't scary, but is something to embrace and test to see if it is something that can make their delivery to their customers better. Those businesses are also very positive. They are led and staffed by the "glass is half full" business people of our world, and that attitude is catching. They are fun businesses to deal with.

The other thing these businesses do is they focus on their customers. They provide on-going, deliberate and genuine customer service. They don't forget to think about what they can do to help their customers in hard times, and they do that added service willingly. They are those businesses who DON'T put their prices up, and tell their customers why they aren't. They do all they can to make their customers' lives easier until the tough times are over because they take a long-term view of their relationship; and when the hard times are over, they will still be in business together.

Sustainable business is about keeping things simple, and using resources efficiently and effectively. Successful businesses use the R3 principles (reuse, recycle and reduce) as a matter of course. Their staff naturally think of the eventual impact of their actions, before they spend, before they make changes. As a result, successful businesses are lean, and they are able to pass those savings onto their customers through lower prices; a particularly effective customer retention strategy in hard times.

Successful businesses are real. They treat their customers like real people, exactly as they themselves would like to be treated. When you call a customer service centre or have a service glitch, they are the businesses where the person you come in contact with pulls out all the stops to ensure that "the putting right" not only happens, it exceeds your expectations.

Successful businesses are those businesses whom their customers are proud to be associated with. You get the feeling that all the staff are proud to work there too. They are the businesses that you are happy to recommend to your tell friends, your family, your colleagues - you become, in fact, a customer evangelist for them; spreading the good word.

Successful businesses are also those who look after their people. In tough times, they talk to their staff and find ways other than redundancy for cutting back expenses. They treat their staff like family - not an in-fighting, squabbling type of family, but one that is strong, supportive and remembers you for life.

Consider your business in those terms. If you don't have what it takes yet, make some changes now to set you on the path to real, sustainable success.

CEO Online members can read Mal's article at http://www.ceoonline.com/pages/id28002.aspx

Finding Your Files to Backup, Step 2

In order to do an effective backup, you need to first be able to locate those important files hidden on your PC.

Last time I showed you how to change your settings so you can see your files; this time, we look at locating the files themselves. Ian "Gizmo" Richards from Windows Secrets newsletter wrote an article at the end of 2008 detailing how you can a cheat sheet to help you find lost email, shrouded Windows system files, and every other type of file you may need, in order to back them up and keep your data safe :-)

Find your email

The location of your email files depends on the email programme you use. It's not possible in this short article to cover all email clients, so I'll concentrate on the three most common.

1. Microsoft Outlook Express: This program stores all your e-mail, IMAP, newsgroup, and Hotmail files in the store folder, which by default is at this location:C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Application Data \ Identities \ GUID \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express
   Username is your Windows account and GUID is a random folder name that looks something like this: {ACEE249B-0C16-491C-B19E-348F8295C81C}
   
   This is the location in most versions of Windows, but your setup may be different. You can locate the folder by opening Outlook Express and clicking Tools, Options, Maintenance, Store Folder. This will show you the exact location of the store folder on your PC.
    
2. Microsoft Outlook: All of your e-mail, contacts, calendar, and other Outlook data are stored in a single huge .pst file that's usually called outlook.pst. By default, the Windows XP version places this file here:
   C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Local  Settings \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Outlook
   In Vista, the default location is:
   C:\ Users \ Username \ AppData \ Local \ Microsoft \ Outlook
   
   If you can't find your .pst file at either of these locations, click Start, Search, Files and Folders; enter .pst in the box labelled All or part of the file name; and press Enter.
   
   Once Windows locates the file, you'll see its location. Note that you can't back up Outlook personal store files while Outlook is open, because the program opens the file in "Exclusive Open" mode, which means all other programs are denied access. The answer is simple: close Outlook before you back up this file.
    
3. Mozilla Thunderbird: You'll find this program's stored mail, passwords, and other personal information in your profile folder. The location of your profile folder depends on your version of Windows. For Windows 2000 and XP, it's usually here:C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Application Data \ Thunderbird \ Profiles \ xxxxxxxx.default
   In Vista, the file is in this location:
   C:\ Users \ Username \ AppData \ Roaming \ Thunderbird \ Profiles \ xxxxxxxx.default
   In both cases, the xxxxxxxx represents a random string of eight characters.
   
   If your profile is not stored in either of these places, check out the Thunderbird profile documentation at the Mozilla Foundation's site.

Find your browser bookmarks & favourites

1. Windows stores the sites on IE's Favourites list in a folder called Favorites. In Windows XP and 2000, the folder's default location is this:
   C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Favorites
   In Vista, they're probably at:
   C:\ Users \ Username \ Favorites
    
2. Firefox bookmarks are stored in a file named bookmarks.html, which is stored in your Firefox profile. The exact location of your profile folder depends on your version of Windows. For Windows 2000 and XP, it's likely this:
   C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Application Data \ Firefox \ Profiles \ xxxxxxxx.default
   For Vista, it's this:
   C:\ Users \ Username \ AppData \ Roaming \ Firefox \ Profiles \ xxxxxxxx.default
   The xxxxxxxx represents a random string of eight characters.
   
   If you don't find your profile in one of these two places, check out the Firefox profile help page on the Mozilla Foundation's site.

Find your Registry Files

Windows XP and Vista place important Registry entries in eight or more different files. Six of these — Software, System, SAM, Security, Default, and UserDiff — have no extension and are normally located here:
C:\ Windows \ System32 \ Config

For each user, there are two additional Registry files. The first is named NTuser.dat, which XP places here: C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username
In Vista, it's located here:
C:\ Users \ Username

The second user file is Usrclass.dat. In Windows XP, it can be found here:C:\ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Local Settings \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Windows
Vista puts it in this location:
C:\ Users \ Username \ AppData \ Microsoft \ Windows

This is more complex than it should be, which is why I recommend you back up your Registry using a specialist programme. My favourite is the free Erunt utility (http://www.windowssecrets.com/software/13-ERUNT), which will not only back up your Registry but will restore it as well. Erunt works well for all versions of Windows from NT through XP. Vista users can back up using a procedure documented by a site entitled Instant Registry Fixes.
 

Thanks to Windows Secrets newsletter for this tip at http://windowssecrets.com/paid/081002

 

To then back up these files, copy them onto an external storage device, and store them in a separate location to your PC.

 

Minimising the Office Ribbon

Anyone who’s taken a good look at Office 2007 knows about the infamous Ribbon. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay.

Apparently the main complaint is that you can’t customise it easily & that it takes up too much space (it’s definitely larger than the old standard menu bar).

Fortunately, you can hide the Ribbon to free up a bit of space, using one of the following methods:

1. Choose Minimize The Ribbon from the Quick Access toolbar’s drop-down list.
2. Press Ctrl & F1.
3. Double-click the active tab.

Any of these toggle methods will hide or display most of the Ribbon. However, the tabs stay — you can’t totally rid yourself of the Ribbon without some serious programming tricks or using a third-party application.

TLAs for SMEs

Here are this newsletter's TLAs for you:

• R3, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. These are the three essential components of environmentally-responsible consumer behaviour. R cubed (R3) is sometimes called the waste hierarchy.

Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.

Tips, Short+Hot Keys

In this newsletter, we look at all you can do with the Windows key:

• Open Windows Explorer - Windows Key & E
• Cycle through the buttons in the Task Bar - Windows Key & Tab
• Minimize or restore all windows - Windows Key & D
• Launch Windows Explorer - Windows Key & E
• Launch Search for Files - Windows Key & F
• Launch Search for Computers - Windows Key, Ctrl & F
• Launch the Help and Support Center - Windows Key & F1
• Launch the Run dialog box - Windows Key & R
• Launch System Properties dialog box - Windows Key & Pause/Break
• Minimises all open windows - Windows Key & M
• Undo minimise all windows - Windows Key, Shift & M
• Locks the workstation - Windows Key & L
• Launch the Utility Manager - Windows Key & U

Hot Linx

Ah, the Pomegranate - you have to check out this phone! Just when you think you have the latest in everything, check out this for the most amazing features at http://www.pomegranatephone.com/ (oh, and yes, it is a little tongue in cheek & not quite ready for release yet!!)

And another website to get all the latest gen from is the what's new page on the New Zealand government's business site at http://www.business.govt.nz/About-business-govt-nz/What%27s-new.aspx

Terry Pratchett fans should swing by Snow Gum Films website and check out their short film "Run Rincewind, Run" at  http://www.snowgumfilms.com/runrincewindrun/film.html

The debate about to apostrophe or not apostrophe rages on in Britain. Check out what the Brummie's City Council have decided at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4388343/Apostrophes-abolished-by-council.html

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                                Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here