PositiveWare is presenting at the PRSA International Conference to be held in Salt Lake City. I always use Expedia for my travel bookings, and this time I came across a menu item buying the ticket that is worth a mention. I was given the opportunity to purchase offsets for 1000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from a company called TerraPass.

I jumped at the chance. I felt good doing it, I did it voluntarily, and the projects TerraPass undertakes to create the offsets are interesting and meritorious. I strongly believe that individual action can make a difference in all cases including environmental issues, and I was allowed the chance to put my shareholders money where my mouth is. My communicating through this forum I hope others will consider this when making travel arrangements.

PositiveWare has committed to present its project management and time tracking application at the 2006 PRSA International Conference, to be held this year in Salt Lake City, Utah from November 11-14.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Benchmarking Your Public Relations Strategies With The Best”. Featured speakers include Jon Meacham, Author and Newsweek Managing Editor, author, advocate and philanthropist Tavis Smiley and former CBS News president Andrew Heyward. More than 2,000 public relations professionals and students from around the world are expected to attend the PRSA 2006 International Conference, which will feature more than 100 professional development opportunities, including innovative workshops, seminars and Master Classes.

“This is an ideal opportunity for PositiveWare to show how its unique offering helps PR professionals succeed in an increasingly complex environment.” said Charles Von Thun, President of PositiveWare. “Web applications like PositiveWare are a core part of every PR professional’s arsenal, by delivering more control over costs, better project management with the lowest cost of ownership.”

About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
The Public Relations Society of America, based in New York City, is the worlds largest organization for public relations professionals.The Society has more than 30, 000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 112 Chapters nationwide, 19 Professional Interest Sections, along with Affinity Groups, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations.The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has 275 chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

About PositiveWare
PositiveWare is a Web-based project management and time tracking application that allows organizations to more effectively execute assignments. By improving efficiencies, small to midsize businesses are able to increase workload while still delivering projects on time and within budget. For more information, visit www.positiveware.com or call 303-293-2200.

I have the privilege of serving on the board of Rockies Venture Club, whose tagline is “Creating Colorado Success Stories.”

I found last week’s meeting to be fascinating, and the epitome of what RVC is all about. The meeting was at the Denver Marriott at 17th and California, and dinner was served. The dinner speakers included Kevin Grossman from the PositiveWare advisory board, an angel investor and a serial entrepreneur/CEO. The program itself was about the different stages of financing used by emerging growth companies as they move from seed money to angel money to venture money and all the different flavors in between. Getting wisdom from seasoned vets is always useful, especially to keep you from making old mistakes, and giving you the opportunity to make new and different ones.

What was at least as valuable as the program was the networking at each table. Through dinner, individuals at each table talked about who they were, what they were doing, and why they were at RVC. There was a range of people at our table from successful entrepreneurs to guys with an idea to services providers like attorneys and bankers. The cross-pollination was interesting and valuable. While it seems primitive, the idea of randomly meeting a bunch of people turns out to be extraordinarily helpful.

RVC is putting on their Fall Finance Forum next month, featuring presentations by entrepreneurs, some success stories and a huge demo hall. Check it out if you get the chance.

I heard an (ex)-employee horror story while traveling in Tokyo that showed that tech companies are not immune from having stupid policies. The lesson, if it needs to be repeated, is this: People are your most important asset. Don’t let accountants make HR policy. It goes like this:

The fellow, whom I will call Luke, worked for the Japanese branch of an American ecommerce company. Apparently the company as a whole had a poor year. In Japan, however, they performed above target, based in large part on the effort put forth by the employees.

When it came time to do a salary review, Luke was given a low single digit percentage raise, along with an $800 bonus. The explanation for the sorry increase and bonus was the poor performance of the parent company. The parent company had set the budget for raises and bonuses on this basis. Of course, the parent’s performance wasn’t even remotely in Luke’s control. He busted it all year long to be part of his unit’s outstanding performance, and reasoned that he should be compensated based on that performance.

Shortly thereafter, he resigned to take a position in the Japanese branch of another American company.

I don’t believe he was a mercenary employee - he just believed that his company had not matched the commitment he had given it throughout the year. Referring back to the Gallup Poll, one of the indicators of company success is “Someone at my company cares about me as a person.”

 How will your employees answer this question?

One of our clients, Grandaisy Bakery recently came up with a delicious confection, the Grandaisy Cake. Made of almond flour and orange essence, my mouth waters looking at it. If you happen to be in Manhattan, go to Sullivan Street between Spring and Broome for a taste.

Hopefully they will get ecommerce going soon.