Author: Michael Thomas

Pivot 2017, the upcoming conference that will bring entrepreneurs, business professionals, and community leaders together to network and share ideas, will address the topic of “changing lanes” by driving personal and organizational progress. Lindsey Erdody, who worked at two daily newspapers before becoming a business reporter for the Indianapolis Business Journal, is no stranger to changing lanes.

Attendees of Pivot 2017 will be treated to an experienced and articulate panel of individuals that will discuss various topics. Lindsey Erdody is tasked with moderation of one of the Pivot panel discussions. Erdody was first a business minor at Indiana University, then began her career in journalism, and now specializes in reporting on business. When asked about her decision to minor in business at IU, Erdody explained, “I wasn’t really thinking I would become a business reporter. I chose a business minor mostly so I could have a bit of a back-up plan should the journalism industry become too difficult to get a job in.”

Reflecting on the evolution of her career path, specifically the change from writing for daily newspapers, Erdody said, “I decided to make the switch because the job made sense for me, and the IBJ is a well-respected publication. Business reporting touches on so many issues that it still has a lot of variety in terms of the stories I write, and I love that.”

Clearly, Lindsey Erdody’s background makes her well-qualified to speak on the topic of dealing with and embracing change. Lindsey explained that “changing lanes” in terms of personal and organizational change “means taking a different approach or looking at a situation or problem in a new way. Change is never easy, but you need to have an open mind and be willing to change lanes every now and then.”

How will Linsey bring her wisdom to the table at Pivot 2017. What exactly is her role? Lindsey said, “I’m excited to lead a discussion and hear about how other people change direction and what they’re experiences are like.” She added, “My job as the moderator is just to keep the conversation going. I’ll have some questions ready to go, but I hope the panelists kind of take over and have a lively discussion. I’m just there in the background, but will step in when needed.”

Although Lindsey sees herself as being in the background at Pivot 2017, she has historically been at home on the front lines as a reporter. Erdody estimates that she has reported on thousands of stories. Out of all those stories, Lindsey spoke about three when asked about her favorites. She said, “I wrote about the city of Westfield quietly purchasing the indoor soccer complex at Grand Park and the city of Carmel paying for a New York public relations consultant, who spends most of his time pitching the mayor to major news outlets. But it was also a lot of fun to follow Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness around for a day and track the number of diet cokes he drank.”

As a seasoned reporter, Lindsey has conducted countless interviews. But if she could interview any person in the world, who would it be? “I think I would probably choose another journalist just to hear about their experiences, but I’m not sure there’s one in particular that I could single out. Obviously, there are a lot of famous people who would be fun to talk to, but it’s also really interesting to talk to people who aren’t well known. You never know who might have a fascinating story to tell.”
Pivot 2017 is quickly approaching, and there’s a great deal of excitement surrounding the event. Lindsey anticipates that Pivot 2017 has the potential to be life-changing, and says, “I hope people will leave inspired and with new ideas for how they can make changes in their lives, whether that be personally or professionally. It’s always interesting to hear stories from other community leaders, and you never know what might spark an idea in someone else.”

Visit the Pivot 2017 website for more information.

Let’s start with the basics. BYOD stands for “bring your device”, meaning that you are going to bring your phone, laptop or tablet that you privately own to work.

Your employees have the laptops and phones they own for a reason. They have deliberately selected these items over the many options available today and invested their hard earned money for these particular phones and laptops. Of course, this makes them even more efficient in doing their work on these devices. Overall for you and your company, this added comfort for them can mean more productivity and happier employees.

A huge benefit to companies that allow employees to use their own devices is that they can shift the costs to the employee (and many of which are happy to do so). In some cases, the employer provides a small monthly reimbursement to cover part of the monthly service fee, and the employee provides the phone and covers the remainder of the service charge. This could save the company roughly $50-80 per user, giving the company a healthier bottom line.

But BYOD has a downside. There are serious issues to consider with implementing BYOD. Your business could lose most of the control over the IT hardware and how it is used. Company’s need to create and follow an acceptable use policy, which is approved by your company’s IT department.

Here are four easy steps to setting up your BYOD policy.

Specify What Devices Are Permitted

With the many choices of devices your employees can choose from, it’s important to decide exactly what you mean by BYOD. From iOS-based phones and IPads, to all the Microsoft and Android handhelds, you may need to determine what is acceptable and what is not. Make it clear to employees who are interested in BYOD which devices you will support in addition to whatever corporate-issued devices you continue to hand out.

Establish One Security Policy for all Devices

If your employees need or want to use their devices with your systems and apps, then they will also need a complex password. One password for their lock screens is good, but passwords to enter vital systems and programs from their phone is necessary as well. You need a strong, lengthy, complex password, (internal link to password blog) not just simple four-digit pin codes. Other more complex security systems can be used as an overlay security program that is much more capable of providing robust security protection. However, with this comes significant cost considerations and an IT provider that provide it.

Decide What Apps Will Be Allowed or Banned

This applies to any device that will connect to your environment, whether corporate or their personal devices. Primary considerations typically include applications for social media browsing, replacement email applications, and VPNs or other remote-access software. The question here is whether users can download, install and use application that presents security or legal risk on devices that have free access to your company’s documents. These are serious questions to address in your BYOD policy.

Set Up an Employee Exit Strategy

One thing that companies always forget about is what happens to with these devices after an employee leaves the company or BYOD program. How will you enforce the removal of e-mail access, data and other proprietary applications and documents? Having an exit checklist that involves items like performing a clean wipe of the BYOD-enabled device, with a clear strategy for backing up the user’s personal information and documents is a good first step.

Developing a BYOD policy can seem complicated and daunting, but BYOD’s inherent savings and employee productivity quickly pays for itself. Setting up a system so users know what the rules are making life easier on everybody. The convenience of BYOD is undeniable, and with a little work up front, it can make your company a more effective and happier workplace all while adding a little extra to your bottom-line.