Mike Kirkpatrick has a difficult time staying serious. When we asked the CIO at Standard Office Systems of Atlanta and co-founder of CEOJuice what he planned to accomplish in 2016, he responded, “Lose 10 pounds.”
Michael Kirkpatrick
But between the self-effacing wisecracks you can’t fail to notice a kind and gracious man who was keen to give credit to those he has worked with. This was evident when we asked him how he felt about being nominated as a 2016 Difference Maker by ENX magazine.
“I’m honored and a little awkward only because anything I’ve accomplished has been with the assistance of the many people I’ve been fortunate to work with,” he said.
Kirkpatrick said that there were too many people to mention, but he felt compelled to single out his CEOJuice partner, Gary Lavin, and Bryan Ammons of SOS.
“Bryan Ammons has been my long term mentor, critic, supporter, and best friend for over 30 years,” said Kirkpatrick. “Without everything Bryan has done – and continues to do – for me, I would not be in a position to have whatever direct impact I have had for hundreds of other dealerships around the country.”
“I would have never had the drive to start CEOJuice without Bryan giving me the freedom and having Gary Lavin as the best partner anyone could ever ask for,” added Kirkpatrick. “Gary does all the nasty detail day-to-day work of running managing CEOJuice. I’m just the nerd behind the curtain.”
When he returns to the question of this year’s goals, Kirkpatrick notes that he is currently working on a project for the various dealer groups to bring data integrity through standardized reporting. He said that with this model dealers can compare metrics with the assurance that numbers were pulled from the same report using the same business logic.
What has 35 years of providing every phase of IT services taught Kirkpatrick? He said that customers develop a strong sense of loyalty to a company that keeps their systems running and secure.
“A copier breaks and you fix it, but the customer focuses on the break more than they do that you fixed it,” explained Kirkpatrick. “Everyone, however, has had a computer problem that they have no idea what happened; why it happened, or how to fix it. When your company can solve the problem – or better yet, reduce the incidents – then the customer focuses on the fact that you fixed it. We all are better off in a business model that provides services where the fix and prevention is more memorable than the break. And as Bryan has told me forever: Where there’s mystery, there’s money.”
Kirkpatrick loves his job, particularly the opportunity to work with so many smart organizations. He cited many companies, including SOS, CEOJuice, ECi, Compass, Relevant Solutions, BEI Services, Pros Elite, DataBlaze, and all his CEOJuice clients.
“No matter how smart you think you are, or how long you’ve been doing what you do, I guarantee that someone somewhere has figured out a better way or a new twist,” he said.
We congratulate Mike Kirkpatrick for being a Difference Maker!
