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Gradient MSP's Colin Knox Wants You to Focus on the Bigger Picture

By Allison Francis | July 28, 2021
The Big Picture

In a world overflowing with data, it's nearly impossible for MSPs to understand which way is up or how things are really going. With little free time between managing clients, tracking technicians, keeping up with general administration, invoicing and collections, there's not much opportunity to really dig in and determine the growth path to take next.

During the MSP Summit, collocated with the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, Nov. 1-4, in Las Vegas, Colin Knox, CEO of Gradient MSP, will share tactics to help channel leaders clear the fog so they can focus on the bigger picture. In his session on Nov. 1, Knox will highlight how to overcome the paralysis caused by the countless groups trying to pull partners in multiple directions at once. Moreover, how to quiet the noise, and take control of your own destiny.

We sat down with Knox to get a little sneak peak into the session ahead of our show. 

Channel Partners: You mentioned that MSPs have little time to come up with a growth path – that it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Can you elaborate on that aspect a bit? 

Colin Knox: It’s the old “can’t see the forest for the trees” thing. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. This is especially true if you’re a CEO, but you’re still doing tech work or you’re out there hustling for sales. Staffing is often a challenge, so a lot of MSPs are shorthanded and the people in charge are doing work that they otherwise would not be doing. 

But, if you can find the time to step back a bit and survey the landscape, it’s incredibly valuable for mapping out that growth pathway. Anything that makes it easier to gain insight so you can see the big picture in what little time you have is incredibly powerful. 

Gradient MSP's Colin Knox

CP: Can you give a little insight into some of the tactics partners can utilize to help "clear the fog"? CK: In a perfect world, you make decisions based on data, not based on your gut. Those gut decisions can work out, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not as reliable as data-driven decision making. So clearing the fog really just means making sure that you have the right data, at the right time, to make the best decisions possible. Whether it’s having a rhythm for identifying and cleaning dirty data, or setting up tools to automate data analysis that’s otherwise manual, there are a few different approaches to clearing the fog.  

CP: Why is your session a can’t-miss?

CK: MSPs often seek answers to questions such as, "What should I charge for X?” or “Which vendor should I choose?” Today, those answers aren’t readily available. It doesn’t have to be this way. I will address this particular issue, and what MSPs can do about it, in my session.

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MSP Summit