Happenings January 24, 2025

    In this issue:

• National Day Spotlight
• Customer Spotlight
• Acumatica Summit
• ASWi Update
• Managed Services Tip
• Leadership Tip
• Events, Blogs, Movies
• Webinars, Community

The purpose of a newsletter is an opportunity for the ASWi team to provide you and the rest of our clients with information on all the new ASWi an Acumatica related things (or “happenings”) that you may not otherwise be aware of.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any/ all of your team. Pease let me know if anyone on your team who would like to be added to the mailing list for the next issue and removed.

You can always have a look at back issues of Happenings on ASWi’s web- site at: https://aswiblog.wpengine.com/category/customer-newsletters/

“I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Mark Twain

Today is a great day to go all out with praise to others in your life and ecosystem. Brighten their day by giving them credit for a job well done, showing your respect for them and that you are paying attention to value.

Complimenting someone’s character versus complimenting the new report they created versus their new shoes are three very different types. The first says you respect the person, the second tells them they are valuable, and the third tells them that you paid attention. Sometimes the receiver needs to hear one or all.

The power of a compliment is pretty remarkable: either giving or receiving one can boost your happiness and confidence — making the act a win-win. You never know when someone could use some good vibes, so spread the positivity by giving someone a reason to smile!

I like you so much that I’d actually take your call instead of just texting
you back.

Q: You know what I’m thankful for?
A: You and Nutella.

You have great taste in friends.

You’re almost as awesome as chocolate cake. Almost.

Hanging out with you is like finding a bonus onion ring at the bottom of the bag.

I think you’re almost as awesome as I am.

Grandpa: I feel old and overweight. Can you give me a compliment?
Grandma: Your eyesight is still good.

Q: What sounds like a compliment but is actually an insult?
A: Oh, bless your heart, that’s an interesting question.

Q: How do you compliment a scarecrow?
A: Tell him he’s out standing in his field.

ASWi is very humbled, privileged, and proud to be able to serve some of the most innovative organizations in the country as their trusted advisor business systems and managed services.

Today, I want to spotlight Southwest Oilfield Products and American Block Manufacturing Company.

American Block was founded in 1979 in Houston, TX by an entrepreneurial mechanical engineer, Mr. Rajani Shah . Originally set up to be a general machine shop serving the local oilfield community, the business has now expanded into an internationally recognized UEM manufacturing company providing a wide array of oilfield drilling and marine products globally.

Southwest Oilfield Products is a premier manufacturer and supplier of oil and gas equipment, offering best-in-class mud pump, mud system, aftermarket consumable, and industrial MRO products to a global customer base for over 75 years.

We are very humbled and excited to be nominated by Acumaticaas a finalist for the Acumatica Strategic Partner of the Year award.

The Strategic Partner of the Year is awarded to a small to medium-sized VAR whose sales and customer service demonstrate excellence as measured by key Acumatica KPIs, including, but not limited to, CSAT, high close rate, strong ASP, superior customer retention, and growth.

Thank you to Acumatica for this recognition, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you also to all of our clients that we have the privilege to Serve, Love and Care for daily, as well as everyone on our staff who each take to heart our mission to provide our clients Substantial Value that’s Scalable, Sustainable, and Systemic.

We have a very exciting announcement that we will be making at the ASWi Customer Appreciation Event on Monday, January 27th that is being held from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the George in the Durango, Las Vegas, Nevada.

We hope you will agree that what we will be announcing is a natural extension of our company, our values, our mission and our future of continuing to serve others in His name.

Phishing attacks are growing increasingly sophisticated, targeting sensitive data with tactics that can bypass traditional defenses. It’s crucial for your team to be equipped not only with knowledge of the latest phishing techniques but also with actionable steps to detect and defend against these schemes.

Watch Out For:

1. Spear Phishing
Tailored emails sent to specific individuals or groups within your organization, often containing personalized details to appear more legitimate.

2. Clone Phishing
Attackers replicate legitimate emails but swap out links or attachments
with malicious versions, tricking users into clicking through.

3. Business eMail Compliance (BEC)
These highly targeted attacks often impersonate executives or other trusted sources, urging employees to transfer funds or share confidential information.

Defend Yourself With:
1. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Encourage employees to use complex passwords and change them regularly. Consider implementing password management tools to help users securely generate, store, and manage their passwords.

2. Recurring Simulation Training
Set up regular simulated phishing exercises to help employees practice identifying and reporting suspicious emails in a safe environment. Familiarity with phishing tactics strengthens their response to real threats.

3. AI Driven eMail Filtering
Advanced email filters, such as those powered by artificial intelligence, can spot subtle phishing signs like unusual language, spoofed sender addresses, and manipulated links. These solutions can provide proactive defenses by filtering out suspicious messages before they reach your inboxes.

4. Be Doubting Thomases re: Links & File Attachments
Train your team to hover over links without clicking to verify URLs and check for minor changes, such as “rnicrosoft.com” instead of “microsoft.com.” Additionally, caution them against opening unexpected attachments from unknown sources.

5. Create a Culture of Immediate Reporting of Suspicious eMails
Make it easy for employees to report suspicious emails to IT or security teams. The faster they can share a potential threat, the quicker your team can respond to protect the organization.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about protecting your organization from the phishing attacks that becoming ever more sophisticated and devastating in the damage they can do.

by Bri Williams Think you made that decision?

Imagine speeding down a motorway in Germany, doing speeds that would put you in jail anywhere else. It’s time for a rest stop, so you pull into a petrol station to refuel and use the toilets.

On your way out of the bathroom, you diligently leave some money as thanks, vowing once you’re back in your home country to never take a free toilet for granted again. So, what influenced you to pay? If no one was standing witness, why bother? It was because you’re an honest person, right?

Surely it didn’t have anything to do with that weird sign you glanced at on the wall. You couldn’t even read what it said.

In an experiment on Priming – how exposure to one stimuli can increase sensitivity to another – researchers tested whether signs in motorway bathrooms would encourage people to be more honest and contribute more money.

But here’s the thing: The signs were mirrored, so the words could not be explicitly read. For example, over the course of six days, bathroom visitors “saw” one of these signs:

Now let’s remove the mirroring to see that the words were “honest”, “dishonest”, and a nonsense word “crehun”.

People couldn’t consciously read what the word was but here’s the remarkable thing: those primed with the word “honest” paid more (36.64 per 1,000) than those who experienced “dishonest” (33.26) or “crehun” (26.94).

While the consistency, extent and ethics of priming remains contentious, this is a yet another example of how our brains process much more that we realize.

Nearly every weekday, a motivational quote is posted on X/Twitter by @ASWiDelivered and on LinkedIn by @ASWi.

• “Anything that is measured and watched improves.” Bob Parsons
• “Chase the vision, not the money.” Tony Hsieh
• “You can do big things with a small team.” Jason Fried
• “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” Scott Belsky
• ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Tim Ferriss