The HelpDesk Company Blog

Have you ever remembered - after you’ve left the office - that you forgot to turn on your Out of Office Assistant?  If you’re using Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007, you can use Outlook Web Access to quickly turn it on.  Simply log into your OWA account from any computer and choose Options at the top of the screen.  You will see your Out of Office Assistant and can set it up from there.

Have you ever received the auto-response “I will be out of the office until (insert date here)”  - days after the stated return date?  Have you ever received a message from a friend that this message has come from you?  With Microsoft Outlook 2007, you never have to worry about remembering to turn your Out of Office Assistant off again.  Now you can set the Time Range.  In Outlook, go to Tools, then Out of Office Assistant.  You can then set the start and end dates - and even times!  

And don’t forget that Out of Office Assistant can be useful even when you’re not on vacation.  Have a busy day of meetings?  Working on a tight deadline?  Use your Out of Office Assistant to let your contacts know that you may not be as responsive as normal.

Tech Talk is written by Todd Whitlock, Founder and Co-Owner of The HelpDesk Company.  You can reach him at Todd@TheHelpDeskCompany.com.

I read two items today about what it takes to be successful in business and it got me thinking.  Do I have what it takes?  The first item was a survey done by SmartBrief for Entrepreneurs: according to its readers, PERSERVERANCE is by far the most critical personality trait required to be a successful entrepreneur.  After more than 5 years on this roller coaster we call business ownership, I have to agree that it’s key - but it doesn’t guarantee success.

 Then, I read Seth Godin’s recent blog post, The Hierarchy of Success (http://bit.ly/1qR89i).  Seth gives a great, and brief, overview of the keys to business success.  Top of the list?  ATTITUDE.  As he states, “If the top of the hierarchy is messed up, no amount of brilliant tactics or execution is going to help you at all.”

What do you think?