January 7th, 2020​

As we roll into the New Year at Lodestar Solutions we like to look back at the year in review and share the highlights and what we learned.  As the President of Lodestar Solutions, I can honestly say after 15 years of business I enjoyed 2019 the most!  Yes, 2019 was Epic!  

During 2019 I was fortunate to speak all over the country at amazing events like the FEI Technology Summit in Minneapolis, IBM Think 2019, Renaissance Weekend and we put on our own Lodestar Solutions’ workshops where we heard your struggles. I joined a CEO mastermind that gave me and our organization clarity, so we crushed our goals. I wrote a best-selling book on Amazon, Solving the CIO Identity Crisis to help improve communications between technologists and the business.  (A passion project). And during the year I was privileged to travel all over the world with my boyfriend where I met amazing, inspiring people and retained my airline status. All this would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our extraordinary Lodestar team. You guys rock! 

For me, 2019 was a year of learning. I can’t wait to share with everyone what I have discovered in 2020!

Technical Highlights for 2019 in IBM Analytics:

IBM Cognos Analytics v11 ROCKS!

Cognos Planning Analytics v 11 is Game Changing!

Motio’s New Inventory Blew My Socks Off!

My boyfriend and I were on vacation with my friend Lynn Moore, of Motio in June, when he says, “Heather, I want to show you something.” What I didn’t realize is Lynn was about to show me his new module Inventory that tells you what the heck is in your IBM Cognos Content Store. It’s like a secret decoder ring for clients that are planning their Cognos BI upgrades to Cognos Analytics because it gives you data, basically an inventory of what reports exist, how complex they are, and even if they have been run recently. This is worth checking out because it could save you a ton of time on your Cognos Analytics upgrade. Yes, it blew my socks off, well it would of if I wasn’t wearing flip flops at the time.

Lodestar Solutions 2019- Top Three Things I Learned

1. Time to Get Strategic! - Lodestar Solutions 2019

2019 had so many learning experiences for me personally. I attended 15 major conferences on everything from thought leadership, marketing, law, data analytics, finance, real estate and personal development. During these events I met people that play at a much higher level, and they truly inspired me!  After traveling all over the world to experience new ideas, my biggest take-away was to get strategic!  Whether you need to get strategic leading your business or team.  Or maybe just get strategic about your own career path.  I discovered the more time I spent planning and working on my business and planning my personal future instead of spending all my time in the business and moving through the daily motion of life, the easier success came.  It’s time to get more STRATEGIC people!  Yes, it sounds like common sense but as my coach and mentor Brendon Burchard says, “Common sense is not always common practice.” How much planning have you done?  Is it time to get a little more strategic?  

2. Benefits of Coach and Mastermind - Lodestar Solutions 2019

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, “Wow I thought I would be further in life by now!”  In late 2018 I had that epiphany and decided I needed to take massive action!  So, in 2019 I made a significant investment in coaches and masterminds.  For decades I was the type of person that thought, “why pay a coach when I can read a book or take an online class and figure it out myself.” What I didn’t know was I was experiencing success very slowly.  Yes, I could learn and do everything by myself and get where I wanted to go in 10 years.  But what I learned is when I got a coach and joined a mastermind what could have took me years to accomplish, happened in months! When I joined a mastermind and hired the right coaches, they kept me focused, connected me with people I needed to meet, and held me accountable.  IT WAS LIFE CHANGING! Maybe you should consider a coach or mastermind in 2020.

3. Active Communication = Happiness - Lodestar Solutions 2019

The last thing I learned in 2019 is that the active communication is essential to happiness.   Active communication to me is both listening, being engaged, working to understand the values of the other person and then sharing your thoughts in the language of the recipient. The biggest AH HA moment came to me when I realized that technologists have different values than many other parts of the organization.  You see in IT we value being the brightest. The top geek wins respect.  But when you leave the techie world and you try to gain respect by out geeking the CFO you will fail. In fact, you will make the CFO feel ignorant and all communication will breakdown.  When this breakdown happens both parties are unfulfilled.  

I believe connections with other humans is key to our happiness.  Helping others achieve their goals is extremely fulfilling.  After reading hundreds of books over the years on psychology, happiness, communications and personal development, it all came together for me in 2019.  If we fix the communication barriers, we can help each other, connect more and increase happiness. Who doesn’t want to be happier?

What’s Instore for 2020?