667: Michael Thomsen of Origin 84 on Building a Process-Driven MSP and Using Compliance Frameworks for Strategy

Michael Thomsen on Building a Process-Driven MSP and Using Compliance Frameworks for Strategic IT

Host of Command Control Power welcomes returning guest Michael Thomsen of Origin 84 from Sydney ahead of the ACEs conference in Minneapolis, discussing the mental and operational preparation to leave a company running without him through documentation, chain of command, and role accountability using Confluence and selected EOS practices. Thompson explains balancing perfectionism with repeatable team standards, prioritizing avoiding preventable mistakes, and aligning service quality to what clients value. The conversation pivots to SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 as validation frameworks increasingly demanded via vendor risk and tenders, emphasizing policy vs procedure and continual improvement. He outlines Origin 84’s flat-fee, services-first model and “magic quadrant” approach—help desk, IT administration, account management, and strategy—using root-cause fixes and programmatic improvements across clients. He advocates standardizing on Microsoft (often using Entra even for Google clients), careful vendor selection, and tailoring higher-cost governance features (e.g., Defender/Purview, logging) to client needs while keeping baseline security consistent.

00:00 Welcome Back Michael

00:35 27 Hour Travel Ritual

01:14 Leaving The Business

03:23 Planning Like Military

04:47 Runbooks And EOS

07:22 Perfection Versus Good

12:24 Standards And Apologies

13:53 SOC2 HIPAA ISO Explained

16:32 Policies Versus Procedures

17:56 Making Services Sticky

20:14 Magic Quadrant Strategy

23:16 Fix Root Causes

26:21 Hourly Billing Incentives

27:45 Value Without Strategy Buy In

29:13 Listening Before Pushing

29:28 Pricing Pushback Case Study

31:52 Standardized Security Baseline

34:33 Paying For The Paperwork

36:10 Reducing Cost Via Account Management

36:50 Stack Ownership And Optional Features

39:21 Microsoft As The North Star

41:10 Vendor Risk And Pricing Strategy

47:54 Entra SSO For Google Clients

50:46 ISO 27001 Policy Reality Check

54:57 Wrap Up And Part Two Tease

Best Of CCP - 200: Not So Off The Rails

Sam Valencia, Jerry Zigmont and Joe Saponare discuss working with Apple technology and clients. Drawn from their combined experience of over 20 years in the Apple Consultants Network, thaey discuss technical support issues both with the technology and working with clients.

665: Apple’s 50th Anniversary Old Shortcuts, and What Still Delights - Part 2

The hosts revisit early Apple and Mac experiences and discuss first keyboard shortcuts, focusing on “Command Control Power” after a photographer client referenced it while troubleshooting a MacBook Pro that died on location from a drained battery. They debate the proper shortcut key order versus Apple’s conventions, recall Apple II shortcuts like Control–Open Apple–Reset, and reflect on floppy-drive workflows and multi-disk backups. The conversation shifts to Apple’s attempts to break into business hardware, Steve Jobs’ impact and management style, and a perceived reversal where hardware fit-and-finish improved while macOS feels buggier, with annual OS releases and settings moving cited as problems. They note Rapid Security Response/Background Security Improvements placement changes, praise Apple Watch and AirPods, share audience photos and Apple memorabilia, and close with gratitude to Apple, colleagues, and listeners.

00:00 Apple 50th Kickoff

00:27 Shortcut Origin Story

01:08 Photo Shoot Panic

02:17 Shortcut Order Debate

03:27 Open Apple Keys

05:16 Save Changes Shutdown

07:33 Floppy Boot Days

09:02 Apple In Business

12:22 Jobs Magic And Myth

14:03 Modern OS Buggy Era

19:27 Settings Search Problem

23:17 Yearly OS Cadence

26:04 Planned Obsolescence Talk

27:46 Software Sells Hardware

28:07 Mac CPU Transitions

29:12 Snow Leopard Lessons

31:37 Intel Era Reality Check

33:11 Security Updates Moved

34:22 Throwback Mac Photos

35:52 Daily Delight Devices

40:12 Old iPhones and iPods

42:29 Apple Employee Card

44:37 Startup Office Memories

46:13 50 Years of Apple

662: Wildfire Warnings, Aging Clients, and AI’s Growing Impact

The hosts discuss unseasonably warm February weather in Boulder, a small wildfire near the Flatiron Mountains, and concerns about drought, low snowpack, and higher summer fire risk. Joe shares a soft launch of psikit.com to promote MeshTastic-based mesh communication devices for emergency preparedness. They then talk about a senior living network project requiring outside cabling certification due to unlabeled, problematic wiring, and how client crises can finally drive needed spending. Joe describes a long-term client’s aging Mac mini and 15-year-old Promise RAID enclosures, recent drive failures, and a likely refresh to newer Mac hardware with direct-attached RAID and faster networking while noting how client retirement timelines affect investment and business valuation. They preview ACEs (CCP discount code) and an MDM panel, debate AI’s near-term staffing impact, and warn that Synology C2 backups can’t be transferred from an MSP to a customer.

00:00 Welcome and Check In

00:07 Boulder Drought and Fire Scare

01:59 Mesh Comms and PSIKIT Launch

03:23 Getting Out Bossed on a Project

05:52 Why Network Certification Matters

09:15 Client Server Upgrade Warning Signs

12:26 Aging Hardware and Backup Plan

13:47 Longtime Client Origin Story

15:53 Retirement and Tech Spending Choices

18:49 Upgrade Proposal and Storage Strategy

21:21 Promise vs NAS and Other Vendors

24:35 Software RAID Pitfalls

25:33 SoftRAID Upsells

26:34 Client Aging Valuation

28:21 ACEs Discount Plug

29:19 MDM Panel Preview

31:07 Intune Reality Check

31:55 AI In Small Business

37:21 AI Workflow Quirks

44:40 Synology C2 Lock In

48:07 Wrap Up Thanks

Best Of CCP - 027: Cleanup tools, repairing permissions, tracking down freezes and kernel panics

658: From Command to Control: Stories of Digital Dilemmas

From Command to Control: Stories of Digital Dilemmas

The hosts discuss Apple Mail email signatures and discover that when a website URL lacks a prefix, Apple Mail defaults it to an insecure http link, which can trigger junk filtering; they also note cases where a displayed https link still points to http behind the scenes. They compare Apple Mail to Outlook in business environments, mention limitations around advanced signature management, and comment on Apple’s minimal transparency in service-status outage explanations. They cover Apple’s iOS 12 update extending certificates for services like iMessage, FaceTime, and device activation through January 2027, and then shift to opinions and speculation about Tim Cook’s political pandering possibly being tied to tariffs and CEO succession timing. Returning to tech, they explain Apple Pay’s security benefits—device-specific numbers and unique transaction codes—especially after a client’s credit card was repeatedly compromised, and discuss adding additional browser protection via Malwarebytes Browser Guard and Chrome/Safari extension deployment through MDM (Addigy), including using ChatGPT to generate a configuration profile. They also describe using ChatGPT to edit MailChimp newsletter HTML quickly, and explore AI-assisted app development ideas such as an iOS app that converts call logs into calendar entries, referencing a Steven Robles video about building an app with AI while noting potential security pitfalls like exposed credentials. Lgistics issue involving gear ordered for testing via an Amazon locker at Staples. When attempting pickup, the host discovers the locker has no keypad and relies on the Amazon app and NFC. Despite signing into the client’s Amazon account and enabling required app permissions (Bluetooth and device access), the locker cannot be accessed. Amazon customer service suggests the order data may be incomplete due to a third-party seller and issues immediate refunds or credits.

00:00 Welcome In: Time, the Clock Tower, and “Running Out of Time”

00:46 Client Referral Follow-Up: When People Go Radio Silent

01:39 Apple Mail Link Gotcha: Why Your Clean URL Becomes HTTP

04:13 Hidden Signature Code: Displayed HTTPS, Actual HTTP (and Spam Filters)

05:45 Why Apple Should Default to HTTPS (Google Already Does)

08:34 Signature Tools & Workflows: WiseStamp, Outlook, and What Clients Actually Use

10:37 Apple Still Updating Old iOS: Certificate Expiration and 2027 Cutoff

11:40 Tim Cook, Politics, and the CEO Succession Theory

15:06 Bully-Pulpit News Cycle: Waiting for the Next Outrage

16:08 Epstein Files & Accountability: Why Consequences Aren’t Landing in the U.S.

18:16 From Past Scandals to Today: How the Bar Moved (Back to Tech)

19:00 Merch & Sponsorship Shoutouts (The Command Control Power Mug)

19:47 Apple Services Outages & the Vague Status Page Problem

21:14 Why Apple Pay Is Safer After a Card Gets Compromised

23:40 Dashlane vs Malwarebytes Browser Guard: Phishing/Scam Blocking Extensions

28:19 Layered Web Protection: Safari Safe Browsing, DNS Filtering, and Extension Risks

31:36 ChatGPT for Real Work: Fixing a Mailchimp Newsletter with HTML

33:06 AI-Assisted App Idea: Turn Call Logs into Calendar Entries (and Vibe Coding)

37:59 Security Caveats + Wrap-Up Quip About AI Summaries