Management Information
Proven Secrets to Keeping Your People and Increasing Your Profits
Why are people changing jobs so quickly these days?Here are a few reasons why:They have a boring job therefore they feel they are not achieving anything.They have no leader to follow.
Managing After Downsizing
So, you survived the downsizing. Your company did something that will probably show minimal, if any, return -- and will make your job as a manager a living hell.
Knowledge Management: More Than Just Know-how!
People sometimes interchange the terms "know-how" and "knowledge", but there's a world of difference! Systems vendors are falling over themselves to sell you so-called "integrated knowledge management solutions", but these are rarely more than glorified information management systems with go-faster stripes.If we fail to understand knowledge in all its facets, then there is a danger that in doing so we miss out on the most valuable aspects of knowledge management and end up delivering a system-driven solution, rather than a cultural shift towards sharing and learning from experience.
Communication in Business
Effective communication in business is not about creating the perfect PowerPoint presentation. It's not about writing the perfectly-pitched report.
People Skills: Eight Essential People Skills
Being able to communicate effectively with others requires people skills, and here's eight essential ones:1. Understanding people People not only come in all shapes and sizes, but they come with different personality types as well.
Internal Communication: 12 Essential Elements
There are 12 essential elements of a successful internal communications strategy:1. Effective employee-directed communications must be led from the top Effective communications require the active commitment and endorsement of senior managers.
Forecasting Support Costs
Did you know that maintenance accounts for 50% to 80% of the overall product cost? Well, it does! And while most project managers are fairly good at sizing new product features, many are terrible at estimating the effort required to support a product once it becomes generally available. As a result, maintenance projects are inadequately staffed, companies can't respond to customer requests in a timely manner, and products never reach payback.
Knowledge Management - Keys to Successful Communities of Practice (Networks)
How can I make my community of practice truly effective?How can I prevent my network becoming a "notwork"?Communities of practice (networks) lie at the heart of successful knowledge management in most organisations. They are the lifeblood of informal exchanges of knowledge.
Project Heroes
Project heroes. We've all heard of them.
Knowledge Management - Creating a Sustainable Yellow Pages System
How can I "know who knows" None of us can personally know more than around 250 people, yet we want our companies to be smart, learning organisations where it's easy to find the right person to talk to. This is why many organisations create "yellow pages" applications, which enable employees to find and contact other staff with particular expertise and skills.
Knowledge Management - Lessons Learned and How To Identify Them
Many organisations use the term "lessons learned" to describe the way in which they avoid repeating mistakes, or ensure that they build on past successes, yet a lesson can only be applied if it has been successfully identified, and captured first. Even in "learning organisations" who profess to be good at knowledge management and knowledge sharing, the process for identifying lessons learned can lacks rigour or depth.
Protect Your Computer System with a Comprehensive Security Policy
The most difficult part of creating a Security Policy for your business is determining what, exactly, to include in it. Never heard of a Security Policy before? You're not alone.
Five Steps to Better Employee Management
Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be sure to carefully analyze your needs in terms of extra assistance.
Are You Using the Right Form of Energy?
As we near the end of summer, here is a question I have for you, "Are you using the right form of energy to grow your business?" Are you having trouble growing your small business as fast as you want? Are you making all the right moves and still the business just inches forward? Read this article and see if you are using the right form of energy to grow your small business?Head EnergyMy consulting experiences have taught me there are two types of business energy. I call the first type "head energy".
Business is About Making Money
Ask most people why they are in business and they will give you any number of reasons. Things such as wanting to improve the lives of others; make the world a better place; provide for their family; have more free time; the list goes on and on.
Einstein - Definition of Insanity
Insanity in the Sign & Graphics IndustryEinstein's DefinitionAlbert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Think about this quote for a second and ask yourself, does this quote apply to the way you run your company?Have you been doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? If so, then you might want to keep on reading.
Write Winning Proposals For Venture Capitalists
You need to secure money for your project. You visit venture capitalists to see if you can get that money.
Indiscretion Can Kill Your Business
The quickest way to cancel out all the thought, work, energy, time and expense you've poured into promoting your business is with indiscretions. I'm not talking about giving your clients' confidential materials to their competitors, though that certainly will kill your business - I'm talking about the indiscretions that leak out of your mouth, such as: Those inappropriate responses to anyone and everyone within earshot when you are dog-tired and have been up all night trying to meet a deadline.
How to Fire an Employee
One of the most difficult tasks you will face as a business owner will be firing employees. Employees who consistently break the rules, do not perform the functions of their job, or cause difficulties for your business can be a strain on the work environment, your cash flow, and even disrupt your business from thriving and performing as expected.
Ringing Doorbells Without Howitzers
Many operations leaders have been there, done that with re-engineering. And they report, in effect, that the process is like ringing a doorbell with a howitzer shell.
Four Corners of a Triangle: Why Organizations Succeed or Fail
When we want to hire people for a corporation or non profit organization, we follow certain rules and look for appropriate qualifications and expertise so that we succeed in our aims: the investors get their money's worth in form of financial success and enhanced prestige of the principals involved.An organization represents the interests of many people: the sponsors and the consumers.
Objects in the Mirror are Further Than They Appear
Definition From http://www.merriamwebster.
How to use NLP for Business?
What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?Neuro-Linguistic programme is nothing but the study of human excellence. It is an art.
DIVERSITY is a BIG word -- With A HUGE Business IMPACT
Second thought! Just in case. YOU or someone you personallyknow may fit the following picture of success which may carrytoo much risk for comfort.
Faith is the LIFE-blood of Your ACTIONS before the Benefit -
Nothing has changed. Your ancestors lived by faith.
Dont Get Side-Tracked By The Nay-Sayers
You, the Entrepreneur, are 'normally' a type-A individual. One who has little patience with the establishment ~ he or she likes to do it 'his/her way' and that's OK if you know the system and have a plan to achieve your goals.
Don't Get Down - Manage Up!
"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."- Aldous HuxleyEver have one of those supervisors that just didn't quite get it?Perhaps you even wondered from time to time how in the world this person ever became a manager in the first place?The truth is that most of us, at some point in our career, will experience this firsthand.
Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Time for Problems that are Truly Important
Use your time for problems that are truly important.Hard as it may be to walk away once you're aware of it, just because a problem is there doesn't mean you have to solve it.
Difficult Employees-Poor Performance - 10 Tips for Dealing with it in the Workplace
I personally struggle with the term 'managing people' - because I firmly believe that people cannot be managed - only processes and systems can. How many times have you heard it said - "Why won't my employees just do as they are asked?"Despite all our best efforts at 'managing', we have very little control over other people's actions, including the people that work with or for us.
Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For
The old saying 'You have to spend money to make money' can be a dangerous one. Every business has it's costs, but not every business owner takes the time to distinguish between what is an essential expense, and what is a 'nice to have' expense.
Management & Leadership - Doing it right in the 21st Century
The Old Way - Command and ControlAlthough workplaces and management styles have come a long way in the last decade, the command and control style of management remains common practice in many companies. This management approach basically means that employees are told exactly what to do, when to do it and even how it should be done.
Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees
Managing for Best PerformanceIn it's simplest form, performance management is a common sense set of discussions that make sure people are clear about what they need to do, have the support to do it and get open and honest feedback on their performance.Any performance management process should answer 4 important questions for your employees:
How Managers Can Turn Failures Into Successes
Although there are real, external reasons for managerial difficulty - including massive reorganization after takeovers and the realities of discrimination due to age, sex, and race - managers fail most often for reasons they themselves create.These reasons include ignoring the application of emotional intelligence, failure to recognize individual motivation to be effective, and a failure to adapt to change and rebound from setbacks.
Problem-Solving Success Tip: Define the Problem First
Define the Problem First.It seems obvious, but how many times have we gone to a problem-solving meeting and the discussion started with either whose fault was it or an assertion about the proper solution?Explain what the problem is-what went wrong, what are the symptoms, what is the impact on your business and your customer's business.
Change Management: Getting Everyone on Board the Change Train
How do you get everyone on board the change train that is gaining speed and heading out of the station? How do you get your people to, not only go through the motions, but also actually "buy into" the changes that are necessary? People's resistance to change is not entirely irrational; it stems from good and understandable concerns. Here are the six most common reasons people resist change and tactics to convert this resistance to commitment.
How Invisible Communication Barriers Kill Productivity
Many kinds of interferences or disturbances can confuse a message. Communication specialists call them ''noise.
Communicating Effectively In The Workplace: Four Vital Steps
Ineffective communication is a major, yet avoidable, obstacle to business productivity. And yes, it can be avoided.
Knowledge Mapping
This module focuses on the basics of Knowledge Mapping, its importance, principles, and methodologies.Key QuestionsWhat is K-map?What does the K-map show, and what do we map?Why is K-mapping so important?What are some of the key principles, methodologies, and questions for K-mapping?How do we create K-map?BackgroundEach of the past centuries has been dominated by single technology.
Loyalty, Motivation And Work-Life Balance
Managers who aren't loyal to their people can't expect loyalty in return. Companies that complain about employee loyalty have usually done nothing to earn loyalty, often routinely lying to employees, demanding sacrifices that are never rewarded, shunting them aside and casting them off in the name of good business.
How to Make the Best of it - Take Your Weather with You
I once worked in a place where there were three lines of words, placed just before employees went from backshop to front of shop. These said:-Smile!Remember - you represent your CompanyDelight your customers.
Hiring Your First Business Personal Assistant: Some Guidelines for Successful Hiring
Hiring the first personal business assistant is an exciting time for new business owners. It means that the business is doing well enough that the business owner can no longer keep up effectively with the demands of the new business.
Why We Judge
Judgment is the process of forming an opinion of something by making a comparison. While judgment can play an important role in decisions we must make to live productively, sometimes the thoughts we hold are what prevent us from having what we most desire.
Hire People For What They Do Best
I recently flew from Seattle to Atlanta, I realized, just as we began our taxi, that it takes hundreds of support personnel to maintain a flight. I saw the woman at the check-in desk, security, pilots, luggage handlers, flight crews, air controllers, and the various staff physically on the tarmac doing whatever people do on an airport tarmac.
New UK Laws on Staff Dispute Resolution and Disciplinary Procedures
October 2004 saw the introduction of the Employment Act 2002, which has brought a new approach to staff dispute resolution.It has long been acknowledged that disputes in the workplace are disruptive, stressful, and costly – both for employers and employees.
Reducing the High Cost of Absenteeism
Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than they may realize, in terms of both financial and production losses and employee morale. Managers may view the tasks of finding a substitute employee as a short-term inconvenience; however, absenteeism frequently has more serious long-term effects.
Enhancing the Motivational Climate of Your Workplace
It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job quality increase when we are made to feel welcome at work. In other words, when the motivational climate is enhanced to meet their needs they produce quality work at the 100% rate.
Riding the Waves to Success
Last week I was confused and frustrated about a few things related to one of my businesses, and a bit upset with myself and "The Universe." As a result, I went into a deep meditation to get some clarity and help.
25 Super-Practical Steps to Build Your Business!
For the past several weeks, we have focused on some wonderful but (to my way of thinking) rather fancy ideas about life. I wrote about motivation (I don't believe in it).
The Top 10 Requirements for Your Business to Become and Remain Profitable
We live in a relentlessly competitive world. The daily pressure to work "better, cheaper and faster" can make even talented business owners and entrepreneurs lose site of first principles.
Dealing with Difficult People
You know, this would be a great business if it weren't for having to deal with people all the time?OK, so maybe I've exaggerated things a bit, but we've all certainly heard that saying before. Why does that sentiment ring true for so many folks? Obviously it's because of all the people challenges we're presented with in our business.
Top 10 Things Every Business Should Provide for Every Worker - Including the Boss!
Doing business and meeting the needs of workers is increasingly complex. Employees and managers often prefer a cafeteria-list of fringe benefits (a "flexible spending account") so they can choose increased health care, child care or more time off as their individual preferences dictate.
Keys to Feeling Powerfull In An Uncertain World
Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last several years with downsizing, bankruptcies, scandals, crime, the economic environment, and the threat of war, people are feeling power-less, fearful, and stressed about their present and future lives.
Keep The Faith - Transform The Fear
FEAR! To what extent does fear rule your life? How is fear controlling or motivating you? Bring up the topic and watch people react. Our lives incorporate so many beliefs about fear- reinforced by what we tell ourselves and what we hear from others.
Making Assumptions - A Critical Communication Mistake In Business And In Your Personal Life!
We draw conclusions about people through observation, their behavior, past experiences, other people's comments, etc. We assume who people are, what they think/need/want with such speed we fail to recognize how our own viewpoint colors the way we connect with and relate to people and situations.
The 3rd Plan Missing from your Business
If you're like most people, you probably started with wonderful ideas of fulfilling your dreams, to be successful and to take charge of your own destiny.I hope you have achieved those or are well on your way.
How To Turn Business Losses Into Cash Flow
When the typical new business operator starts a business, they concentrate on making the business succeed. That is necessary but not the only thing that a business operator should concentrate on.
Are You the Culprit?
Are you a business, non-profit or association manager who pretty much ignores your organization's important outside audiences?If that's you, do you realize how difficult you're making it to achieve the important behavior changes you really need and want? I mean changes that lead directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary's objectives?I'm talking about achieving new levels of membership applications; growing the repeat purchase rate; capital givers looking your way; attracting new prospects; expanding the list of organizations officially specifying your service and products; or suppliers newly motivated to meet your strict quality and delivery requirements.Start operating in your own best interest by taking a closer look at the public relations work underway on behalf of your unit.
Never Wrestle with a PIG
The business books at the library and bookstores fill many shelves. Some authors tendto run a little long at the keyboard.
Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees!
Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you believe in the law of reciprocity, and if your business is the least bit successful you must; you know that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but it's very smart business as well. Let's look at some of the benefits and mechanics of Christmas and holiday gift-giving.
The Diamond Cutter
Geshe Michael Roach is a Princeton graduate and a Buddhist monk. After graduation, he spent seven years studying the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism.