Monday, August 25. 2008

Topic: Managing Expenses

Resources: Littlejohn Shinder, Debra. “10 ways SMBs can cut costs (relatively painlessly) in a slow economy.” TechRepublic, http://techrepublic.com. July 31, 2009.

In tough times many organizations are looking for ways to optimize and/or cut operating expenses. Usually the most likely candidates are the areas with the biggest budgets, or in programs without strong internal support (e.g. Training and Development). In the big budget area IT usually is near the top for financial review, because of the size of its budget and the ability to scale back on projects. However, reductions in IT spending can also minimize the value of future applications, productivity, and efficiencies.

Thursday August 21, 2008

Topic: Organization Design

Reference: Gurin, Matt. “An Argument for Strategy-Driven Organization Design”. Consulting. July/August 2008. pp.44-45.

Did you ever wonder how your organization got to be the way that it is? With the recent emphasis on the importance of structure you can’t help but think about your own organization’s structure and effectiveness. When you do, invariably you find that things are not well designed, are not best situated to enhance customer interactions and experience, don’t contribute to efficient decision making, and are not structured to address current market forces.

Monday August 11, 2008  

Topic: Survival Management

Reference: Moriarity, Maureen. “Workplace Coach: Wanted strong managers for chaos at work”. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/365381_workcoach02.html.  July 1, 2008.

A down market creates a worst of times scenario in business. The markets are generally gloomy, prices rise, service declines, and people generally worry more about everything. Good managers everywhere are looking for an edge, as down markets showcase the best managers and the difference that they really make.

Tuesday August 5, 2008  

Topic: Mobile Devices

Reference: Garcia, Andrew. “iPhone 2.0 raises device’s enterprise profile”. eWeek. July 21, 2008. p.41.

The launching of the new 3G iPhone has led to increased requests for widespread enterprise adoption. Employees love the iPhone. I personally witnessed a line around the block at the Apple Store in Chicago, as people waited over an hour to get access to the new phone. That level of interest, functionality, and performance are causing organizations to seriously consider the iPhone for enterprise use over and above the Blackberry and the Treo.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008   

Topic: Meeting Management

Resource: Lohr, Steve. “As Travel Costs Rise, More Meetings Go Virtual.” The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/technology/22meet.html. July 22, 2008.

Air travel is absolutely miserable. The flights are booked to overflowing, the schedules seem to be in a perpetual state of flux, and airports have not become any more customer friendly with respect to security checks and Wi-Fi access. Every time I travel for a customer or training meeting, I find myself asking if there is a better way to do it. Apparently, there is, as videoconferencing, web meetings and the like have improved to the point where there really is an alternative to meeting face to face with customers.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Topic: Contingent Staffing

Reference: Sullivan, John, Dr. “A flexible force”. Workforce Management, July 14, 2008. p.58.

As markets continue to tank, mortgages continue to implode, and consumers are reeling in their pocketbooks, companies are already in contingency planning mode for staff cut backs. Many of the large private companies like Ford, GM, and those in financial services have announced huge layoffs.

Wednesday July 16, 2008

Topic: Effective Communication

Reference: Sun, Calvin. “10 Ways To Explain Things More Effectively”. Global Knowledge. http://www.globalknowledge.com/training.  July 15, 2008.

As I continue to push for the completion of critical strategic projects prior to the end of the fiscal year, it occurs to me that those in leadership positions should constantly strive to improve effective communications within their organizations. The power of improved explanations can have a profound impact on an organization.  A really good explanation can help to inspire people, avoid wasted time, and make the difficult seem more possible. In the featured article the commentator amplifies this theme and lays out 10 steps to more effective explanation.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 

Topic: Worker Distractions

Reference: Jackson, Maggie. “May We Have Your Attention, Please?”BusinessWeek, June 23, 2008. pp.55-56.

The number of distractions at work seems to be proliferating at an accelerating rate. Even if you have an office, there are countless interruptions from staff, the phone, cell phone, blackberry, faxes, office drop ins, instant messages, and the like. It makes it difficult to concentrate, focus on the tasks at hand, and to be effective at getting the work done in the normal workday. Often it takes extra hours just to maintain the status quo. To be effective now it takes a gameplan, a tasklist, and control over your environment. I chronicle many of these things in my book “Are You Ineffective?” (www.areyouineffective.com).

Thursday, June 27, 2008

Topic: Leadership Style

Reference: Brenner, Mark. “Success or Failure? It Comes Down to Leadership Style.” American Management Association: MWorld, Summer 2008. pp. 3-5.

Based on some recent events in my own practice, work performed doing strategic planning, and information gained through an environmental scan, I recently asked myself what difference leadership style really makes to an organization. Organizations have been successfully led by all kinds of personality styles from the swashbuckling to the pious; from the ultra-conservative to the totally maverick. I can understand that nobody wants to work for a tyrant; an officious micromanager; or anyone whose one management style is based on fear and loathing.

Tuesday, June 17 2008 

Topic: Personal Improvement

Reference: Jones, Graham. “How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better”. Harvard Business Review, June 2008. pp. 123-127.

Self improvement is something that I am passionate about. It manifests itself in an aggressive acquisition of knowledge, new experiences and achievement. When you have an organization that has a critical mass of constantly improving employees a dynamic organization can result. It is imperative that organizations recognize this dynamic and support the development of this internal force. Competition for market growth, customer relations, and sustainability requires constant improvement and adaptability. The better suited the employees are to address these forces the better the organization will perform.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Topic: PR Battles

Reference: Holstein, William, J. “Winning the PR Wars”. Strategy+business, May 2008. http://www.strategy-business.com/li/leadingideas/li00073 .

If you have ever been in a contentious matter that hits the newspapers and airwaves, then you understand the importance of having a well armed public relations support team at your disposal. Not everyone can afford to have personnel dedicated to shaping public opinion, minimizing the impact of unfavorable results, or the delusions of disgruntled employees. However, when such an event takes place having a good public relations strategy, support, and execution are vital.

Tuesday June 3, 2008   

Topic: Tight Credit Returns

Reference: Teitelbaum, Henry. “Basel Faulty”. Institutional Investor. April, 2008, pp.64-68.

It seems like just yesterday that easy credit and loose loan standards ruled the day. No more. The market has completely flipped and the credit standards are much tougher, more stringent, and subject to excessive review. On the housing side, previously high credit scores are now seen as barely meeting the quality standards. In commercial lending, the same state of play exists. Institutional lenders have a lot less money to lend; the call for more regulation is in the air, and the pricing of deals has gotten very tight. For private companies without access to the public markets, this means that credit terms are likely to be tougher for the foreseeable future.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008  

Topic: Cultural Awareness

Reference: Brown, Frank. “Cultural Capital in the C-Suite”. Chief Executive, April/May 2008, P. 22.

The rise of global business requires the increased capability to do business in other cultures, with different customs, and requirements. I know from experience that doing business in Mexico, Turkey, and Japan that major cultural differences prevail in each environment.  No matter the size of the business or the industry, tools such as the Internet, Skype, EBay and others has made it affordable, advisable and profitable to reach potential customers around the globe.  Besides the need to deal with currency issues, language barriers, and commercial risk, there is the need to address cultural awareness at the highest levels of your organization.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Topic: Highly Successful People

Reference: Harper, Craig. “”Fifty Habits of Highly Successful People.” Lifehack.Org: http://www.lifehack.org/articels/lifestyles/fifty-habits-of-highly-successful-people.html.

May 12, 2008.

For some reason the spring time always ushers in a period of self reflection for me, my associates, and employees. Part of it is due to required performance evaluations. Part of it is due to the heartfelt desire to improve in all areas. Part of it is the wanderlust to achieve new highs, climb new mountains and create enhanced results in operations, client satisfaction, and personal satisfaction. When properly directed organizations can benefit from this annual exercise as people look to move up in the pecking order, or move out to find fulfillment elsewhere.