our 6th year in business....

fusedlogic has just passed its 6th anniversary as a company this past weekend, and i was reflecting on some of the incredible work and the amazing people we've collaborated with over that time.

the firm has really come along way, despite our focus to not grow in size for most of our existence up to now at least; it was the right decision for a healthy life balance. that said, we still managed to engage in very interesting projects with interesting people, which remains true today.

in fact, that statement has matured and expanded into identifying the toughest business challenges we can find on the planet. this expansion of thinking has led us to identify work primarily outside our local area and in the u.s. as well as india. we've also developed relationships with companies and organizations in china, russia, pakistan and the uk.

if there's anything that i've personally taken away from the past 6 years, it's that people are generally good at heart but sometimes and more often than one would think, they lack passion and purpose; these people are bored, their business lives devoid of excitement, their tired and overloaded with information. that sometimes is the toughest challenge we can find, to inspire those who are empty inside and searching for answers and do it in a way that develops trust in the process and in us.

it's true that in this life you meet all kinds of characters, some incredibly positive and even some less than honorable. in fact, even though we're stronger than ever and looking for incredible people as staff on specific projects, it hasn't been all laughs and giggles.

we're luckier than most to be able to say that after 6 years of operations we only have one organization that owes us an unpaid debt (its been years and we've been very patient).

interestingly enough they have plenty of cash to continue operations with staff, an office, expand through the start of a new joint-venture business and have pulled the wool over the eyes of another local firm to accomplish this. actually if you knew who i was referring to and many of you in alberta are becoming more aware of this company, you'd recognize as i do, that this is simply a lack of maturity and integrity. this group has someone younger than most as an executive who thinks of himself as well...he thinks pretty highly of himself and his accomplishments we'll just leave it at that. will this group ever pay the debt they owe? most likely not, this sort of thing seems to be in their collective nature and a small segment of the market who has dealt with them usually finds this to be true, especially if they're owed funds for work completed. in one case my firm was affected simply because of association with these guys, not good on the karma front.

in business we all come across these types of people and i'm sure that many of you have at one point had to deal with either dishonest or simply ignorant folks who refuse to own up to their obligations. so what do you do? sue them? well this number is certainly enough to warrant that and at the same time one has to fast forward to the point where you realize the only one who truly benefits from that action is the lawyer. thankfully should i decide to take action on this issue i have a tremendously capable law firm. one of the relationships a company of our age inevitably develops as a matter of course.

enough of the bad, i'm extremely gratified to continue to find that people are incredibly receptive to what we're doing and recognize the high quality of work, fusedlogic's business model is very unique and things are heading exactly where i want them to go. yes, 2006 has already been a fantastic year and the best is just around the corner.

over the years some have referred to me personally as a delivery mechanism for tough love, that i'm direct, in your face, even aggressive. well folks, walter schwabe and fusedlogic are certainly not going away, in fact we're growing and if tough love is what you require so that you are phenomenal at what you do, you can expect the heat to be turned up over the next 6 years.

our firm is pure creativity, innovation, big ideas, big deals and illumination, sure we've got detail guys but we keep the somewhat stoggy bean counters and mba types at the back of the bus. we're much more about pushing your limits and expanding what you think is possible, showing you how ready you are for amazing business results.

example: imagine for a moment your business is incredibly successful, now imagine a firm comes along and with a change in perspective helps you to see.

where once you believed that you were kicking butt, with your improved business vision you now recognize you're actually only tapping into 20% of your capabilities and then this firm provides you with clarity on how to capture the other 80%...then rolls up its sleeves and does the work with you to ensure success.

wouldn't that be worth something to you? wouldn't you want to start that work immediately? many business owners are saying "absolutely, we can't afford not to, how can we continue knowing we may be leaving 8 out of every 10 dollars on the table."

i agree 110%....