Envision the scenario: You've just been asked at the last minute by Chris, the organizer of your local networking group, to replace the scheduled speaker at next month's meeting. You already have too many commitments on your plate. Imagine your response: You: "Well, I don't think I'd have enough time to prepare. I'm awfully sorry-I wish I could help you!" Chris: "Your last speech was super-maybe you could just talk some more about that topic? I'd really appreciate it!" You: "I'm glad you like More..

The Permissive Environment is the Suspect

The permissive and participatory conduct which mostemployees take for granted, eventually escalates into themore serious assaultive behavior commonly referred to asemployee on employee workplace violence starts withinnuendos, a bad word, or simple jokes taken out of context or used to inflame another. Initiation of a proper andthorough investigation is possible under the auspices of aThreat Assessment Team. Banter between employees if leftalone by supervisors becomes tense and often results in a More..

Recycling, Reverse Logistics and?..Candy

The candy box is a container for all your favourite chew bars, gum and all your other favourite candy. A must-have for all kids and a great fashion accessory! The marketers are desperate for kids to user their box - so much so that they will soon be giving them away! There will be more about this new development later in this article, but before we get there, please consider HOW we get there: Pressure to Recycle The pressure for us to recycle and reuse goods has been steadily building these pa More..

Christmas Carol Coaching - Help to Get Ahead at Holiday Time!

I've always been fascinated by situations where art imitates real life and right here is a perfect example, which links Christmas and business & personal development. If you want to read about a serious piece of dodgy people management (bordering on potential litigation); a man all adrift with the world and himself; shown how to do it by three visionary experiences (and with a brilliant example of supportive team-building thrown in); and then the ultimate Christmas 'shift'? These are all br More..

Crisis Management Essentials - How to Communicate Effectively During a Crisis, Emergency or Disaster

A crisis, emergency or disaster can happen at anytime and anywhere. Just ask the residents of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. Imagine a late afternoon on Christmas Eve thirty years ago, and looking outside to see your street cloaked by heavy low cloud and your windows being rattled by ever stronger rain squalls and wind gusts. Two-hours after an eerie tropical sunset another check shows the winds are picking up sheets of corrugated iron and hurling them around like autumn leaves in More..

5 Awesome Actions of Highly Creative Leaders!

How many times have you wondered why you are unable to "think-out-of-the-box" more often? We are all products of our environment and our backgrounds usually prevent us from viewing situations with the unique eyes of our personal experience. However, the leaders who think "out-of-the-proverbial-box" do so by incorporating what I like to see as a, Strategically Wise Synergistic Process of Creation. These creative thinkers apply their own kinds of action-oriented logic to problems to help them f More..

How To Get What You Really Want

As a small business owner, entrepreneur or independent professional, it's important to make plans. It's alsoimportant to have the time to let things happen. Only you can decide what is to happen in your life. Here is a method that may work for you. You have nothing to lose. Start with that yellow pad; you can transfer to computer later on. Tear out eight pieces of paper and label each as follows: Finance, Health, Professional, CommunityService, Personal/Fun, Spiritual, Relationships (All) and E More..

How To Delegate for Fun and Profit

Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to some people. But others - you know who you are - would rather undergo a double root canal than hand over a task and walk away from it. The good news is that this is a disease you can recover from. And the better news is that when you choose to give up control you benefit along with the delegatee. As with most things in my life this knowledge was hard come by for me. I had just received a huge promotion to a project which was mind-numbingly More..

Tap Employee Passion For Business Success

Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's success before one single "employee" had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a communications culture that brought in the right prospects, then kept morale high and increased the productivity of those eventually hired. More important, Lewis' communication culture not only outlined the day-to-day duties of Corps member, it imbued "employees" with a sense of mission and meaning. He ruthlessly searched for just the rig More..

Build Rapport Fast! - Eight Easy Steps

Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the moment. And this is vital in business, education, friendships and many other areas of life. We need relationships to help us get the things we want for ourselves in our lives,like money, promotions, success, partners and above all to feel part of society. You see we are social animals, us humans and if we find it challenging to make relationships, then we feel excluded. And that ain't comfortable. So, let's build rapport quickly and More..

Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication

"But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative is vital for our team. If it doesn't work we could all be out of a job!" "Uh-huh... Really... Explain to me again how this new initiative is so different from previous initiatives that were also going to cost me my job if they didn't work" asked the long-term employee. "Look; we have to do this. Can't you see?" "Why do we have to do this? No-one has explained to me yet 'why'." And therein lies the fundamental problem of More..

Hiring for Success

Hiring someone new to work in your business is one of the most critical decisions a business owner makes, although it is not always given the justice it deserves. If a position is vacant, or additional staff are needed, recruitment decisions are often driven by the pressure to get someone in quickly, rather than waiting for the best person to fill the job. Lack of proper and systematic recruitment process can also result in a high cost to the business. The direct and indirect costs of this recr More..

Read more About The Devil We Know

Punctuality in Business: What it Says About You

"Nothing inspires confidence in a business man sooner than punctuality, nor is there any habit which sooner saps his reputation than that of being always behind time." (W. Mathews) Being tardy can be a serious marketing blunder for today's business owner. From being late to meetings with a colleague or client, to not delivering your product or service on time, tardiness speaks volumes about who you are and how you do business. If you want customers to choose to do business with you, you must me More..

Bosses Are Out - Managers As Coaches Are In

There is a new trend taking hold in business today which translates into amazing productivity, results, and a happier workforce. It's easy, positive, and some say transformative; best of all, it's something you and every other individual charged with the responsibility for getting results through others can learn to do. It is?coaching people instead of managing them. Coaching is a skill, style, and way of being which emanates from the root value of caring for one's self and others. Wouldn't you More..

Poly Bags and Pallet Shrouds - Just Get it Right

For many companies, procuring the right packaging, such as Poly Bags can be daunting. This is especially true of polythene bags. They come in all shapes and sizes, just about any thickness imaginable, some are welded at the bottom, some at the side. Some are printed in various colours, some have no print at all. It may be boring, but someone must take the responsibility of buying these items, and whoever does it must get it right. It is no good if you have a strict deadline to launch a new pro More..

Leadership: Stoking The Success Train

Everyone wants to succeed yet everyone has a different perception of what success means and what it will bring into their lives. It is a means of gaining financial freedom for some and for others it means a healthy, happy family life. There are others who define their success by the power that their job title brings and others who feel successful when they believe their leadership skills excel above others. There are so many generalized definitions of success and within these generalizations, t More..

Focus Leads To Nonprofit Success: Is Your Organization Rowing or Drifting

Picture yourself standing on the bank of a river watching a rowing competition. Carefully watch the crews. Crewmembers dip the oars and bring them to the surface again and again in a carefully orchestrated rhythm. Crewmembers are working together to realize their common vision of a first place finish. Every team member is clear about the mission - complete the race in the fastest time. Everyone is working hard to pull in the same direction at the same time. They are focused on the desired end r More..

Leadership Skills Means Turnover is Not a Problem

"Ha!" you say. "For someone to make a statement like that, they obviously haven't worked in the real world and certainly have never had to run a company." Well, let me assure you. In my past I've not only run companies, but spent many years in one of the most notorious industries for turnover - the restaurant industry. Don't get me wrong, I understand and appreciate the challenges that turnover creates. Turnover causes a drop in productivity, lower profits, inconsistent quality, and certainly c More..

How to Attract and Retain the Right People

If you're one of the many executives struggling with finding and keeping the right people to propel your business forward, you'll find these insights helpful. If you're frustrated by trying to motivate people, work instead to develop a company where people are self-motivated - where they do things because they want to. When we're inspired, we enjoy our work, we're productive, and we're proud of our efforts. We remain focused and committed to the task at hand. In short, we put forth out best eff More..

Nonprofit Performance: Outcome Measurement Can Be A Good Thing

Does the idea of program evaluation make your stomach churn? If so, you're not alone. Many nonprofit professionals and volunteers view program evaluation with fear. The idea of outcome measurement often takes these fears to new heights. Program evaluation is about learning and communicating what you've learned. Program evaluation gives you concrete, credible information about what you are doing well and why; it also gives you concrete, credible information about areas where improvements are nee More..

Sarbanes Oxley 404 Compliance - How Nov. 15, 2004 Deadline Affects You

Fast Relief for Sarbanes Oxley Section 404 Compliance Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires management to confirm the effectiveness of their IT and financial controls in an "internal control report", which is contained within the annual report (10-K) issued to the public. But what exactly is an internal control report, and why is it important to you? The Section 404 Internal Control Report First, the internal control report must affirm management's responsibility for controls and pro More..

Process and Procedures Investments - How to Get Money Back

In September 2004, President Bush signed the $146 billion tax cut bill restoring the recently expired business Research & Experimentation Tax Credit. The 18-month renewal of the research and experimentation tax credit, which expired June 30 2004, was the most expensive item with an expected $7.6 billion cost through 2014. Process Improvement Qualifies If you are spending money on ISO 9000, six-sigma, lean manufacturing, TQM, or any other initiative focused on improving your products or pro More..

Quality Standards with ISO 9001

Standardizing Quality Systems The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards currently in place, ISO has created the auditing and certification process known as ISO 9001. This began the drive toward quality standards. Improving Customer Satisfaction Companies choose to implement ISO 9001 and get certified because many customers and industr More..

Well-Defined Processes - How to Create

Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay in control? Business professionals can learn how to create well-defined processes with the easy-to-manage Process Approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act. Real Tools for Real Business Process In MBA courses, students come across a lot of buzzwords and the theories behind them. And in the textbook, the terms look and sound great. But after they finish with their classes, they think to themselves: so now what I can I do with all of More..

Management Procedures Usability - How to Improve

Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations lose thousands of dollars through common mistakes and lapses in usability. But what does that mean for business owners and executives? Ask yourself: ? Are your required actions described thoroughly and accurately, or are the details left open to interpretation? ? Is your content consistent and complete, or are your writers leaving gaps no one has noticed? ? Are revisions controlled, or are different people usin More..

Better Manager Skills - How to Learn

When you first take over a department, expectations are usually high but operations are sometimes in disarray. The staff is disorganized, goals aren't being met, and hours are spent on unproductive tasks. Just when you think the company would never get on track, the CFO recommends that you learn more about something called operations assessment. Crucial Management Skills Help Avoid Mistakes At first, you aren't sure how operational assessment skills would help you manage better, but you quickl More..

Five Ways to Influence Change in Others

Because of my work as a consultant, trainer and coach I deal with change and people's reactions to it all the time. When a Client decides to work with us, they are recognizing that some sort of change is needed. After all, if they want more effective teams, better Customer Service, higher creativity, more effective training, or more effective leadership in their organizations, something has to become different than it is currently. Change must occur. Because of this, change is often at the cent More..

The Gift of Gratitude

Gratitude might seem like a soft or even an obvious subject to you. Perhaps you would rather read about a leadership lesson or a marketing approach or even a motivational technique. If that is what you are thinking, I urge you to read on. I don't think you will be disappointed. From the time we are little kids we are taught to say thank you. It is one of the first things we learn. We are taught to say thank you because our parents know that showing that simple appreciation is polite behavior an More..

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