Anyck Turgeon will chair the final judging committee for the Information Technology categories in The 7th Annual American Business Awards.

What book or books are you currently reading?
I am in the midst of re-reading five books:The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler; Revolutionary Wealth by Alvin and Heidi Toffler; The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell; The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom; and Who Was Albert Einstein? by Jess Brallier and Robert Andrew Parker.

What was the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
I do not watch many movies. Typically, as I push myself extensively for my work and my customers, I fall asleep within five minutes of sitting down. One of the last movies that I recall enjoying watching—and getting to the end of­—is The Last King of Scotland. For anyone interested in gaining a fuller understanding of the world, I would greatly recommend watching this thought-provoking movie.

What is your favorite sport or hobby?
Flying—because you can see the world in all its splendor.

Who is your favorite historical figure?
Winston Churchill—because he was a brilliant person who was able to think outside the box. He excelled in numerous areas of life.

Who is your favorite living person?
My parents have together been a wonderful source of inspiration for me.  As different as they both are, the combination of their personalities has taught me how to overcome extremely challenging obstacles, and led me to understand that continuous hard work can lead to a fantastic life.

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Ted C. Mesa, founder of Pointandship Software, Inc. (Point&Ship) of Walnut Creek, California, will chair final judging committee for the Company categories in The 7th Annual American Business Awards.

On being appointed Chair of the new judging committee, Mesa commented: “The Stevie Awards spotlight the best and the brightest businesses in America today. It is a great honor to be chosen to lead this judging committee, and I look forward to being an integral part of the 2009 Awards.” In this article we look at what Point&Ship is doing to have won a Stevie Award for Most Innovative Company in the 2008 ABAs:

Software entrepreneur and Point&Ship founder Ted C. Mesa has done for the small parcel and mail industry what Bill McGowan and the MCI Corporation did for telecommunications in the late 1970s. Bill McGowan was a telecom innovator, becoming the catalyst that broke up the Ma Bell monopoly, changing the telecommunications landscape forever.  Likewise, Mesa found a niche and set out to transform an entire industry. 

While the small parcel and mail industry was not dominated by one single monopoly, the Big Three—DHL, FedEx, and UPS—were basically telling their clients how to ship.  Having dominated the market for more than thirty years, these companies, in effect, held clients hostage to their pricing and discount programs.  Having a "best of breed" carrier base was impossible because of the way the carriers made their clients give them all their traffic, regardless of whether or not they were the best choice. 

A Web-based Multicarrier Solution
Point&Ship is delivering a revolutionary new way of managing the industry by designing, developing, and delivering Shipping Expense Management Software™ (SEMS™).

The Web-based SEMS is the only enterprise-wide, on-demand, multicarrier shipping-management solution that streamlines corporate shipping processes, standardizes procedures, and realizes cost savings.  The proprietary software provides oversight on express, ground, freight, and courier services through all major carriers, unifying client-shipping needs into a single, Web-based interface. With external billing and reporting tools, Point&Ship clients have an additional level of control to ensure their charges are accurate and appropriate.

These clients can now deploy a Web-based enterprise platform that gives them the ability to choose the right carrier at the right price.  They can dictate to the carriers how and when they ship, and they can finally make their carriers treat them like the valuable clients they are. 

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Blogs, or web logs, are all the rage these days. Each month in this space we'll point you to several blogs and web sites that we think might be of interest to you.

Great Leadership: A leadership/management blog from Dan McCarthy, a practitioner in the field of leadership development for over 20 years. Dan is a member of the 2009 American Business Award's judging committee for Management.
Three Star Leadership: Wally Bock's blog that provides insight, information, and pointers to resources to do a better job and live a better life.
Clusterstock: Business blog from The Business Insider.
Mental Floss: Keep that brain active!