Could your practice use more customers? If so, think Google Places. Google reports that 97 percent of consumers today search for local businesses online, so having a virtual presence in our digital age is essential. Google Places brings potential customers and local businesses together first online, then in the real world. It's a savvy way for businesses to be found in today's competitive marketplace. Read more...

It's that time of year when business and IT pundits alike peer into their crystal balls, and tell you what's ahead for 2012 and beyond. But the number of predictions and the resulting advice that emerge each year can be overwhelming at best, and confusing at worst. This year we're going to try to do the heavy lifting for you. Rather than create yet another list of predictions, we've decided to integrate our predictions with those from leading media, analyst, research, and consulting firms-including Gartner, Aberdeen, Forrester, McKinsey, and major IT trade publications. We want to put key information about major trends at your fingertips, and help you start thinking about what your organization needs to do to prepare. Read more...

In the 1980s, the typical portable computer weighed 30 pounds. Things have changed. Smartphones are required part of everyone's professional mobile toolkit. Tablet computing devices are either in use or on the way. The weights are decreasing and allow us to move a little easier with less weight lifting pull-ups. Read more...

The importance of agile planning, and the tools and techniques required to keep your business on the move is something we can't write about enough. Limiting planning to an annual exercise adds risk, because there's simply no way to anticipate and accommodate the wild market peaks and valleys businesses face today. But the need to embrace agile planning doesn't invalidate the need for an annual plan. If anything, the annual plan takes on more importance. It remains the fundamental strategy for the year, establishing the mission, goals, desired outcomes, measurement benchmarks, and specific actions for components of the organization. Read more...