The current economy is causing most companies to tighten their belts. With limited staffing and a restricted budget, how do you continue to promote your business? The simple solution is the occasional or ongoing use of outside resources such as graphic designers, writers, webmasters, and other creative talent. There are some real advantages to outsourcing. First, your business only has to purchase the services you need, when you need them. This saves on overhead costs such as equipment, office More..

Eight Key Steps to Building B2B Major Account Client Alliances

Audiences who saw the fabled Broadway musical, Chorus Line, marveled at the intricate timing and seamless interaction of the dancers as they mastered the choreographer's precision steps after many false starts in rehearsal. At the final curtain, the stage is crowded with dancers whose images are multiplied by mirrors strategically placed about the stage. That's a tough scene to match. In many ways one can view the Chorus Line as a metaphor (sans mirrors) for orchestrating enduring major accou More..

Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy?

"Must Project Managers be technically savvy?" This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product. I agree! To be an effective Project Manager, you must know the ins and outs of your solution. You must be capable of designing and developing the solution yourself. Here are 5 f More..

When Code Freeze Turns To Code Slush

Time To Market (TTM) is a vital concept that every executive understands. Releasing a product to market before your competition gives you a significant first-mover advantage. As such, project managers are extremely pressured to shorten their project schedules. But does accelerating code freeze optimize TTM? All things being equal, the sooner you declare code freeze, the faster you'll reach TTM. Slipping the code freeze date will most likely result in an overall schedule slip. But declaring the More..

Credibility - A Golden Key to Becoming More Influential

You have been named a new leader in your organization, or you are a long time leader with some new people in your organization. Or maybe you aren't a formal leader but are working on an important new project. Or perhaps you are staff person with expertise that can benefit the business? but only if you can get others to see your perspective. These are just four situations where having the ability to be more influential could make a big difference in our effectiveness. Regardless of our role, ra More..

Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part One)

We know character when we see it, but what exactly is it? How do we define it? What role does it play in our getting results as leaders? What role does character play in our careers? In this two part article, I'll explore these questions and give tips on using character to get results and build your career. A key function of character in leadership is to engender trust in people, and the function of their trust is to have them take action for results. Few leaders come to grips with the challen More..

Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part Two)

In the first part of this two part article, I talked about the importance of character in leadership. After all, the best leadership involves the people bonding with the leader in deep, human, emotional ways. The passive way of looking at character is that the bonding won't happen if the people are confused about or disdain your character. But there is also an active way of looking at character: You can use aspects of your character to actually promote results. Your best character traits can be More..

Manufacturing Capacity as a Commodity

Excess capacity in an automobile plant at Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, GM, and Honda is a commodity and those who study finite capacity scheduling modules can readily see the possibilities for increased production and that means profit. Einstein said time is relative, that is true, time is relative, manipulating commodity theoretical models allows companies to see thru time and keep costs and purchases on an even keel without the problems of relative time. Thus the commodity can be simplified to pric More..

Innovation Management - Selecting Good Ideas

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that inv More..

Innovation Management - some ideas are better than others

Innovation Management - does the idea fit with the firm?

Innovation Management - what are the practical impediments?

The Leadership Imperative: Making Your Leadership Your Life

Nearly all leaders I've encountered are underachievers. They're getting a fraction of the results they are capable of. And in most cases, it's their fault. Their failures are the result of the choices they make. For the opportunities to consistently get more results are all around them all the time, theirs for the taking. For instance, to start getting more results than you are accustomed to getting, you simply have to change your mind-set. You should aim to make your leadership your life and y More..

Performance Appraisals: Questions for Smarties and Dummies

In numerous programs I've conducted on performance appraisals, with Human Resource people (who are responsible for developing and implementing programs) and with line managers (who actually conduct the reviews) are often foggy about performance appraisal procedures. Here are some frequently asked questions. Questions asked by HRD Professionals: 1. What are the essential ingredients of an effective performance appraisal program? A successful program must meet the following requirements: It More..

Driving of work trucks

Each time you or one of your work crews cruises down the road, people see the vehicle. It is logo'ed and that advertising is there to be noticed. If you cut some one off, believe me they will know who did it. They'll tell their friends and you'll be sorry. If you see a lady trying to pull out into bumper-to-bumper traffic, let her cut in. If you see a mom in her minivan with kids at a traffic signal, be courteous. Signal her with a pleasant hand motion to 'please go ahead of me.' Mouth the words More..

Read more About Making Meetings Work

Get Meeting off To a Great Start

When asked what part of their job they find a major time waster, many will answer loud and clear... MEETINGS. In a recent survey of business leaders, ninety percent of the respondents attributed the failure of meetings to a lack of advanced planning and organization. And, over three-fourths, indicated that they received no formal training on how to conduct a meeting. The following four strategies can help improve the quality of your meetings. Plan in advance. First use these fundamental questio More..

Lessons From Innovative Companies

What do the companies 3M, Polaroid, and Walt Disney have in common? All have innovation in their blood. All encourage an innovative spirit at every level of their organization. For example, 3M has a goal to derive 30% of revenues from products less than 4 years old. Research staff spend 15% of their time on projects of their choice. They are encouraged to mingle with customers, take risks and champion ideas. Out of this culture have come the famous Post-it notes and other very profitable produc More..

Leading Meetings: The Top Three Challenges

What do people really find challenging about leading meetings? Here are the top three questions that keep on cropping up followed by guidelines or simple ways to keep meetings under control and on track. Make your meetings work. 1. "Do you have any tips on encouraging people to be on time to meetings?" The general rule is to start the meeting on time. This gives the message to people that you are serious about time and meeting management. If you start late, it penalizes the people who make an More..

Selecting Top Talent: Improve Your Batting Average

I recently gave a presentation to a group of business and community leaders on how to select talent to grow their organization. Given the expense associated with recruiting top performers and the high cost of making poor choices, you would think that those responsible for hiring would follow a systematic process that results in high quality hiring. Yet, I am continually amazed, when reviewing staffing practices, how frequently I find the lack of workforce planning, inconsistent procedures, inef More..

Managing Performance: Don?t Let Slackers Bring Down Your ?A? Players

As a manager, it is your job to ensure that the work gets done effectively. Coaching and discipline are unpleasant tasks. However, it must be a part of your everyday job duties. Here are some common mistakes managers make in handling poor performers. Ignore the problem. Count on peer pressure to correct sub-standard performance. This rarely works and the staff grumbles about the ineffective way the issue is being dealt with. Have a group meeting. Instead of dealing directly with the problem em More..

Meetings: Don?t Just Show Up, Stand Out and Shine

Meetings, whether they're regularly scheduled routines in your company or now-and-then get-togethers, can be a place for you to gain positive visibility and to showcase your capabilities. Here are three strategies that will help you stand out and shine. Do your advance work. In order to make intelligent comments, offer helpful suggestions or ask pertinent questions, you need to know a meeting's purpose and topic areas in advance. If you have received a vague notice or agenda, inquire about what More..

Management to the Vision-Contribution and the Role of Compliance

As a manager our role is to: 1. Establish the vision, or our contribution to the vision. 2. Establish the plan and forecast for our management contribution, be it $1million or $1billion. 3. Gain endorsement of the plan and forecast, by the vision holders. 4. Manage the plan and reality to the vision-contribution. This is very simple on paper. Assuming we have achieved the first three, let's focus on the fourth as it is vitally important. Firstly, too many managers make a subtle twist here More..

Talent Recruitment Challenges of High Technology Companies

As a result of the dot com meltdown and the decline of the NASDAQ in 2001, many organizations had no alternatives but to lay off many talented IT professionals. Currently, the pool of available talent in the labour market is large. Over the long haul, the impact of shifting population demographics on the labour pool will be staggering. As the baby boom generation continues to age, we can expect acute labour shortages similar to the ones we experienced in the high technology sector during the dot More..

Innovation Management - changing the world!

Innovation Management - forced into it!

Innovation Management - the power of decision makers

Motivating Employees - Ten Ways to Start You Off

Yet there is a place for those external 'raft-build's', 'away days' and 'paintballing'! Just get them in context; there is work to do up front to leverage those experiences and get the best value from them. Just build great relationships in your business or organisation, one-to-one - then have the fun day out and grow even more! "Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups." Peter Davies So a 'people-focused' way of being More..

Innovation Management: The Power of Emotional Attachment

Innovation Management: The Quality and Quantity of the Idea Pool

Innovation Management: The Time Factor

Innovation Management: What Problem Is Being Solved?

Innovation Management: The Hype Cycle

Creativity and Innovation Management: Generating Better Ideas

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions for both, for example, creativity can be measured according to the number of ideas produced, the diversity of those ideas and the novelty of those ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, de More..

Creativity and Innovation Management: Goal Setting

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, developmen More..

Innovation Management: Radical Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, developmen More..

Creativity and Innovation Management: Specialisation or Generalisation?

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, developmen More..

Creativity and Innovation Management: The Value Of Due Diligence

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions, for example, creativity can be measured according to the number of ideas produced, the diversity of those ideas and the novelty of those ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development More..

Creativity and Innovation Management: The Creative State

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, developmen More..

Creativity and Innovation Management: Incubation and Insight

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, developmen More..

How to Create Trust

People buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust. Here are ways to increase your success by creating trust. While we do most of these things, missing even one of them can ruin it all. Be Dependable * Deliver what you promise and promise only what you can deliver. Report delaysimmediately. * Be on time. Leave early for appointments. Set realistic deadlinesallowing for the unexpected. * Show courtesy by returning phone calls. * Bepredictable. Use self control: anger repels an More..

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