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CEO Daily Update – 12.11.2020

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Today’s Topics: Social Connection? | Rebecca’s Favorite Christmas Deal | New Use for Goggles | Cat8 Ethernet vs. 40G Fiber Optics | News to Start Your Day

It’s Friday!!! (2 weeks till Christmas Day!)

December 11th is Magnum Pi Day…celebrate and rock your mustache and Hawaiian shirt today.

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you all have a great weekend. We have plans at our house to finally get our Christmas decorations up. I guess this means I should take down Fall, right? (Ha!) I’m planning to make a pot roast (this recipe by The Pioneer Woman is my favorite) and maybe do a little baking. We also promised the kids a Christmas movie night. ‘Tis the season!

Hey, are you on social media? We are considering adding some different ways to keep in touch. I’ll drop our social links below. Connect with us if that’s your thing.

Connect on: Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn

Chat with you next week,

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates from Rebecca:

It’s time for Deal #4 of our 12 Deals of Christmas and I gotta say, this is a great one!

We are currently offering one of our favorite conference phones, the CP-8831-K9 “NEW IN BOX” for just $315!! In case you were wondering, that is 43% OFF! This VoIP conference phone features high-definition voice performance as well as 360° coverage and a full-duplex two-way wideband audio hands-free speaker. We love the Cisco 8800 series of phones for their advanced features and scalability and we believe they are a sound investment for anyone looking to future-proof their space! With this phone, you get superior wideband acoustics with a two-element speaker for maximum voice bandwidth to give you enhanced speech quality and speaker recognition.

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CEO Daily Update – 12.9.2020

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Today’s Topics: “Don’t let what you have stand in the way of what you need.” | Cisco Catalyst 3750-X Switch Deal | Sanitizer Dispensers | Lesser-Known Christmas Trivia | News to Start Your Day

Happy Wednesday!

December 9th is Christmas Card Day, National Llama Day, and World Techno Day, so get your Christmas cards ready to mail while sitting with your llama, while listening to techno music.

Hey there, friends. Hope you’re having a great week so far. I’ve been attempting to devote some time to reflection as the end of the year draws near. Today I was reminded of a phrase Craig uses occasionally to incite action: “Don’t let what you have stand in the way of what you need.”

I was chatting with a friend about some changes happening in her life. She and her husband want to move out of their neighborhood onto land and build a house. She is a successful small business owner, and she’s closing her business. Why would a successful business owner close her business? What she has is standing in the way of what she wants. While her business is successful, she has been stuck in a rut for several years. It isn’t interesting to her anymore. Moving out of her home will mean downsizing, which will require emotional and physical resources. Planning and building a new home will also take much of her time. She and her husband have had this dream of a smaller house with more land for many years. As we talked more about what was coming up for them, I was more and more excited for her. I believe the choices they are making for their family will be a creative reset for her, and I am excited that her family will be going after their dreams together. Big changes require courageous choices.

This year has been tough in many ways. Lots of unknowns, hard choices, and wildly different points of view about how to handle it all has stretched us. But in the midst of all the hard stuff, there has been something beautiful happening too, a reset of sorts. Families at home together more, less things to-do each day and more intentional choices about what makes it on the list for tomorrow or next week, a surge of creativity as people have to figure out how to live and work differently, and a strengthening of communities that comes from going through trying times together. I believe many of the consequences of the “new reality” we’re living in are positive ones, things people have longed for but were afraid to go after. What we had before wasn’t negative enough to make us change our ways. I encourage you to take some time to reflect. Let’s use the things we’ve learned from this year to remind us to be bold and courageous, to live purposeful lives. Don’t let what you have stand in the way of what you need.

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CEO Daily Update – 12.8.2020

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Today’s Topics: Staff Favorites: Books | SFP-10G-SR Deal | 12 Days of Christmas Deals | What is Right? – Decision Filters | News to Start Your Day

Happy Tuesday!

December 8th is National “Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day”…anytime but 2020, right?!?!

Hey there, friends. We have been thinking through some gift guides that may be helpful to you all this time of year. I shared a CK Staff Favorites guide with you last week. This one is for the guys and gals in your life who are looking to expand their business knowledge. Here at CK we have several books that have been a source of wisdom or guidance for us. Out of hundreds of business books, these are the ones that we reference often, that speak to us most, and we think they could be helpful for the business leader in your life too.

(Fun fact: whenever Craig is recommended a book by a friend, colleague or acquaintance, he almost always logs into his Amazon account and orders it right away. When I say we’ve curated this list of hundreds of books, I’m not kidding!)

Hope this is helpful! Be sure to check out some of our product updates below.

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates from Rebecca:

Happy Tuesday! We are kicking off our 12 Days of Christmas Deals sale with one of the absolute most popular transceiver modules we sell, the SFP-10G-SR!

The Cisco SFP-10G-SR module is a best seller for a reason! This module gives you a wide variety of 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity options for your data center, enterprise wiring closet, and service provider transport applications. This transceiver boasts a variety of features and benefits, including being the industry’s smallest form factor, which results in the greatest density per chassis. The SFP-10G-SR is hot-swappable and can be switched out with ease. Cisco 10GBase-SR SFP+ modules also feature Digital Optical Monitoring (DOM) functionality, which allows you to monitor the signal strength, the temperature of the SFP, and the transceiver voltage.

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CEO Daily Update – 12.2.2020

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Today’s Topics: Few of Our Favorite Things | Shoe Cover Packs | Cisco Stack-Kits | Who Moved My Cheese? | News to Start Your Day

Happy Wednesday!

December 2nd is National Mutt Day…so give your mixed breed, four-legged friend a high five and an extra treat today!

Hi, friends! Today I thought I would share with you a few of our CK Staff Favorite Things. I always enjoy these types of curated lists at Christmas. You never know what new gadget you’ll run across! (I’m also linking to the best deals I can find for each of the items.)

CK Staff Favorite Things
  1. Samsung Frame TV – we have this in our living room and love it
  2. Skarsta Sit/Stand Desk from IKEA – a favorite for Gary, he uses it in his home office
  3. Apple AirPods Pro with Wireless Charging Case – more comfortable than regular AirPods with great noise-canceling technology
  4. Back and Neck Massager with Heat – I bought this for Craig for Father’s Day and I think I use it more than he does
  5. 1080p Autofocus Webcam with Built-in Mic – one of our own products! Check out the reviews. Great for all the Zoom and Teams meetings happening these days.
  6. ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control – we have several friends who use these. They also made Gary’s top list of gadgets for his home.
  7. Google Wifi Mesh System – easy wifi for your home
  8. Onewheel Motorized Skateboard – “Destroy Boredom” with this fun, electric skateboard
  9. LED desk lamp – great desk lamp for WFH, even adds a little brightness to video meetings
  10. Bosch Bluetooth Laser Measure – home improvement project MVP

… these are a few of our favorite things. Happy shopping!

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates from Rebecca:

Happy Wednesday! Did you know that we have Shoe Covers available for purchase!? These shoe covers are Blue Polypropylene and are Non-Skid and Anti-Static! We have them in Packs of 10 or Boxes of 300! These have been a hot seller so grab them now! In stock and ready to ship! Best of all… they are on sale!

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CEO Daily Update – 12.7.2020

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Today’s Topics: What Brings You Hope? | Shoe Covers Sale | 10G Transceivers | Four Signs of a Leader of Hope | News to Start Your Day

Happy Monday!

December 7th is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day…a day that will live in infamy.

Isn’t it funny how certain things you see or hear or smell or taste can instantly take you back to another time or make you feel a certain way? I’ve often wondered what it is about Christmas lights that make me so happy. I like to put up our tree where I can see it while relaxing in the living room at night. Usually it is the only light in the room. And sitting there at night, watching a movie I’ve seen many times or in the quiet stillness with the twinkle of the lights reflected in a window, it feels … cozy, warm, homey, hopeful.

I think that’s the thing that hits me hardest at Christmas: hope. Trees without leaves that you’d probably call ugly or barren suddenly transform into something beautiful when you put lights on them – a hopeful reminder of new life to come. The ending one year and looking forward to the next – the hope of a fresh start. Seeing family and friends and exchanging thoughtful gifts and hearty meals – hope found in love, laughter and relationship. And for many, a reminder of the hope found in Christ – the hope of redemption and a new life. To me that is the ultimate hope and one of the reasons I enjoy the Christmas season so much.

What are the things in your life that bring you hope?

Christin

Product Spotlights & Updates from Rebecca:

Happy Monday! I wanted to let you know that we are running a special right now on Shoe Covers! Our shoe covers are Blue Polypropylene and are Non-Skid and are Anti-Static! They are perfect for any job and they are priced right!! We have them in Packs of 10 or Boxes of 300! These have been a hot seller so grab them now! In stock and ready to ship!

***View all PPE sale items.

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CEO Daily Update – 12.1.2020

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Holiday Traditions | Sanitizer Packs | Cisco GLC-T | 7 Leadership Steps to Keep Your Promises | News to Start Your Day   

Happy Tuesday!

(December 1st is National Christmas Lights Day…so if you haven’t put up your Christmas lights yet, today might be a good day to do so!)

December 2020. Can you believe it is here? What a wild ride this year has been.  

I have to admit that I am actually feeling more relaxed than usual at the holidays this year. Usually I feel a ton of pressure to go to all the events, do all the extra Christmassy things, buy all the gifts, and decorate like we live in a Hallmark movie… all with a big smile and cup full of holiday cheer in my hand. But this year simplicity is in the air, and I cannot wait to sit by the fire in a room lit by twinkling lights and enjoy my family.  

Craig and I try to take the last week of the year off, and it is one of my favorite weeks. The kids are entertained with new this or that (and we actually have time to play with them for as long as we want), we sleep in, we play games together and eat Christmas leftovers (and sometimes do some fun baking). On New Year’s Eve we have appetizers for dinner and on New Year’s Day I make a traditional southern New Year’s meal. My favorite part about the week is that we’re all home together, there’s not as much pressure to go and do anything (unless we want to), and there’s a sense of excitement just around the corner about the plans we’ve made for the new year.  

I would love to hear about some of your end of year, Christmas, or New Year’s traditions. What is your favorite one? Will it look the same or different for you this year? 

Welcome, December. I am glad to see you, old friend.  

Christin  

Today’s Product Updates:

Happy Tuesday! I don’t know about you, but I am hitting that point where I’m starting to run out of hand sanitizer! I stocked up earlier in the year (call me a hoarder if you want, but I didn’t want to be without it!) so now I’m restocking to get through the winter months! If you’re in the same boat, remember that we have some AWESOME deals going for hand sanitizer! I’ve been looking every time I go to the store and I haven’t found any better deals than what we are offering here at CK! Stock up now, and be sure to pass the word along to friends, family, coworkers, or anyone you know who is looking to restock!  

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