Las Vegas, Tammany Hall and Education

Business rewards recognition and energy. The successful businessperson identifies opportunities and turns them into cash. This ability to seize the day is threaded through every business success story.

There is nothing new in this observation. George Washington Plunkitt, for instance, acted on the principle throughout his professional life. Plunkitt (1842-1924) is largely forgotten. A Tammany Hall stalwart, Plunkitt thrived in the gritty 19^th century immigrant politics of New York City. Think of Scorceses 2002 film, Gangs of New York,” for some idea of the subtle politics practiced in Plunkitts time.

Plunkitts speeches were collected in a thin volume, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall.” The book was published in the early ’60s, as the final physical and social vestiges of Plunkitts New York were being obliterated by Robert Moses bulldozers and LBJs Great Society.

In the first and seminal chapter, tellingly named Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft,” Plunkitt explained that he practiced the former and rejected the latter (the accuracy of his self-characterization was hotly disputed, both before and after his demise). Summarizing his method, Plunkitt famously said, I seen my opportunities and I took em.” Recognition and energy.

If you are going to the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, March 26-29, you should heed the old curbstone philosopher with the muscular entrepreneurial streak. There are plenty of opportunities available. Some highlights include this special six-pack:

• Accelerating UC adoption and ROI: A pre-conference workshop that will be hosted by Cisco on Monday, March 26, from 2-4 p.m.
• Women In the Channel: A networking and information exchange opportunity open to everyone on Monday, March 26, from 5-7 p.m.
• The Cloud Services track: A comprehensive examination of the cloud model, and how it can translate into income for astute partners now, the five-session track will run throughout Tuesday, March 27, and Wednesday, March 28.
• The Business Development track: Another set of five sessions devoted to critical business topics like telecom life-cycle management, WAN and performance monitoring, and mobile device management, this track also will run on both Tuesday, March 27, and Wednesday, March 28.
• The New Opportunities track: A five-session track, which also will run on Tuesday and Wednesday, will focus on nuts and bolts business issues, like becoming a top-performing partner, online marketing and surviving contract cancellations.
• The Mobile Wireless track: A seminal track built around a double dose of CompTIAs expertise in the dos and donts of Building a Mobility Practice” on Tuesday, March 27, which continues through Wednesday, March 28, with three sessions on mastering the critical wireless specialty.

There is much more at Channel Partners, of course. Go here for a one page agenda and here for more detailed information about the entire education program.

See your opportunities. Take em. Make more money.

Larry Lannon is group publisher of

VIRGO

s Communications Network,
which includes

Billing & OSS World

,

Channel Partners
and

V2M

.