Management Information

The Significance of the Mundane

This article begins with a tip of the hat to a scholarly publication called the Journal of Mundane Behavior. Unlike other publications, which herald important issues, this one trumpets everyday, but rarely noticed, behaviors.

Tales From The Corporate Frontlines: Job Security in Todays Workplace

This article, Job Security in Today's Workplace, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It tells the story of a manager who decides to look for ways to bolster the morale in his company when it crashes after an extensive layoff.

Technology & Communication

A study a couple of years ago found that 63% of executives were making fewer business trips because of technology.Instead of a plane trip, face-to-face meetings and a plane trip back, they used email, videoconferencing, or online meetings, according to the Accountemps study.

The Top 5 Signals That Your Business Is Running You

Starting your own business is a great undertaking but running the day-to-day aspects of your business is the true challenge you will face as an entrepreneur. Do you find that the business you started to suit your lifestyle somehow taken over your life and home? If this sounds familiar, then your business is running you.

Stop Going to Meetings - 10 Questions to Ask Before Attending a Meeting - Get More Productive

We get invited to attend so many "meetings" but do we need to attend them all? Use these 10 questions to assess if you should attend that next meeting invitation.What is the agenda of the meeting? Don't attend a meeting without a clear agenda otherwise you are wasting time.

Make a Difference - Sweat the Small Stuff First

My background is in retail management - yes, running stores, from tiny ones you couldn't swing the proverbial cat around in, to huge three floor jobs. Yet there are some guiding principles which, like Giuliani did for New York, that make a difference on a smaller scale.

Do Customers Like the Feel of Your Organization?

In two recent articles "Some Evidence of How We Are Spiritually Connected" and "Healing Dysfunctional Families" I reported on how individuals who live or work within a system or group are inherently connected at a level that goes beyond words. This realm of connection, which is largely spiritual or unconscious, may or may not be familiar to the more business minded person so I will take some time to explain the nature of this connection and then the wide reaching implications this idea has on the optimal functioning of organizations.

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative

This short story, Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how important cooperation, collaboration, and communication are to achieving the common goals of a successful organization.

Communicating When A Crisis Strikes

How would you handle communication if your business or practice got into a crisis situation?I was pleasantly surprised when my Internet service provider responded competently and quickly to a technical crisis. And, we can learn to communicate more effectively by studying its response.

Creativity and Innovation - Large Firms Versus Small Firms

There is a pervasive assumption that small firms are more creative and innovative than larger firms. That is, they identify problems and generate ideas (creativity) and idea select, develop and commercialise (innovate) those ideas to a greater degree than larger firms.

Two Critical Success Factors in an ITIL Implementation

Any IT manager who wants to pursue the IT Service Management journey by implementing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) needs to understand two very important factors well in advance.? The first factor is to have dedicated, trained and committed process owners.

Organizational Culture and Creative Blocks - the Similarities

Few Decision makers see the link between between creativity and innovation management, as performed by MBA's in firms, and creative endeavours such as screenwriting. In fact, there are very strong linkages.

The Leadership Alignment Model

Some time ago we had the privilege of working with a major UK government department to help them redefine leadership and to reappraise how they develop and encourage leaders. Faced with considerable challenges by the environment in which they operate and by their political masters, this department has decided that leadership is one of the keys to the achievement of the vision laid down by its chief.

5 Ways of Increasing Business Profits

The economy may finally be turning around and showing signs of a rebound. Interest rates have begun to rise and the stock market is recovering from the lows it experienced in the last couple of years.

Eliminate Performance Anxiety Forever

You've had many years of training in your craft as a performer, singer, actor etc. but if you still feel haunted by the ravages of Performance Anxiety your career may be in serious jeopardy.

Dialogue vs. Discussion

Have you ever sat in a meeting where everyone is busy giving their point of view and trying to prove why they are right? Where no one is actually listening or trying to understand other individuals' points of view. The alternative meeting format is where everyone listens to and agrees with the meeting leader.

The Myth of the Management Team

Every business has problems. That is why the average life span of a large industrial company is 40 years.

Let the Professionals Help You Out - Outsource

As your website grows in terms of attracting more footfalls, generating more business, and providing more content; it will demand more time and attention from you to continue performing. As a businessperson, it is advisable that you concentrate on your core competency, which is the reason why you created the website in the first place.

Survival of the Fittest: The Road to Human Extinction

I was watching a TV program some months ago about a biologist working in Central America who was dedicated to protecting the panther species from extinction. During the program I heard him make a comment that upon reflection I found had embedded in it seeds of wisdom that not even he was aware of.

Feedback - Make it Descriptive

Have you ever heard yourself say to a team member - "You'rereally great" - "You're a star" - I think you're brilliant"- "You're doing a great job!"It's got to be a plus point that you're giving ConfirmingFeedback and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with any ofthe statements above; however, they could be better. Thereis also the danger that these statements could come acrossas a bit patronising.

Three Ways to Transmit Loud and Clear

The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart. --Benjamin FranklinHow often have you said something that you thought was perfectly clear, only to find out later that the receiver had taken it in exactly the wrong way? A boss's ability to communicate well with direct reports depends on the capacity to transmit meaning between people through the use of words.

Score the Rainbows Pot of Gold: Become the Boss That No One Wants to Leave

Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.Peter DruckerLadies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seat belt sign.

Resolve Differences

Resolving conflict doesn't come easily to too many people. Most of us want harmonious relationships and smooth interpersonal interactions.

Make Them GLAD Youre Their Boss

Criticism has the power to do good when there is something that must be destroyed, dissolved or reduced, but it is capable only of harm when there is something to be built. --Carl JungPeople won't leave if they're glad you're their boss.

Its Not Always What You Say

A major source of communication breakdowns is incongruence between the words that people say and the nonverbal signals that they send, largely because we lose sight of the fundamental truth: You cannot not communicate. Every second that we are in the presence of another, we are constantly sending and receiving messages, often silent, nonverbal messages that can either augment our communication effectiveness or detract from it.

Four Steps to Better Performance Reviews

Direct reports-people who need direction and leadership-rely on their leaders to give them feedback and mentoring, not just management and evaluations. However, these people who most need their boss's help frequently lack the guidance that would enable them move to the next levels of success-theirs, their team's and the company's.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process focused on satisfying customers by delivering nearly perfect products and services. In today's competitive market, consistently maintaining satisfied customers is essential to growth and success.

25 Great Ways to Find the Right People and Not Break the Bank

Are you trying to hire dozens of hourly workers or a senior executive? Where do you look and how do you get the word out? There are many ways to find the right people besides placing want ads.Here are 30 innovative and inexpensive ways to expand the pool of potential applicants.

Quality Staffing: Stop Placing the Wrong People in the Wrong Jobs

You can possibly teach a turkey to climb a tree - but it is a lot easier to hire a squirrel. Quality staffing means selecting the right people with the right skills for the right jobs and at the right time.

Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss?

In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss is one who can identify and build on the talents of the staff and knows how to retain top performing employees. Take this quiz and see if you are a good boss.

Smart Hiring: What Makes the Right Employee?

Good hires do not happen by accident or luck. In this economy, employers are finding a large pool of available workers.

Performance Appraisal Checklist: Raise Not Just Appraise Performance

It's that time again! Perhaps the most dreaded management practice is the annual performance review. Whenever the subject comes up, out comes the groans from both managers and staff no matter what industry or type of company.

Employee Orientation: Get New Hires Off To a Great Start

The good news is that a new hire orientation program offers an opportunity to build a lasting impression of the new company. The bad news is that that is going to happen whether you plan it or not.

Employee Turnover: Seven Reasons Why People Quit Their Jobs

There are many reasons why good employees quit and go to another company, perhaps even your competitor. Most of the reasons start with management and most are preventable.

The Thick Line Between Buddy and Boss

Q: One of my key employees is giving me trouble. He has started showing up late for work and has developed a bad attitude in general.

When Business Becomes A Battlefield

"We have to be careful it's like a minefield out there""I like to lob the odd grenade into the meeting to shake things up""You have to watch your back all the time with her""We need to attack whilst they are in a weak position""There was blood all over the carpet after he had finished with them"What is your reaction when you are in situations where you hear these kind of messages? What sort of tone and atmosphere do you think they create?These words and phrases are becoming more common-place language amongst managers and are indicators of how things are done in their business. They are also indicative of the growing number of leaders who believe that running a business is like waging war or engaging in a military operation.

Increasing the Return on Your Training Investment

Insightful leaders and organizations recognize that training is a valuable tool for personal and professional development and therefore set some sort of an annual training budget.Most everyone I've ever talked to has been to both excellent training (hopefully ours!) and training that was, well, not so good.

Unveiling the Value of Your Expertise

All of us have knowledge, expertise, and experience that others can benefit from. This is one of the reasons we play some of the roles in life that we play: leader, trainer, teacher, coach, mentor, and more.

Why You Should Hold One More Meeting

If you are completely happy with where you and your business currently are then you can stop here. If growth and change aren't something you have any interest in, there is no need for you to read any further.

Coaching Can Get The Boss In Shape

Who tells the boss that they can improve their management or leadership? How do they look at themselves objectively and identify what areas they can improve and the benefits of doing so?These days many people have become more aware of the need to look after their bodies and their health. Not only do many join gyms or start participating in sports regularly - a number are using personal trainers.

Getting the Most from Appraisals

Does your organisation have one of those annual 'occasions' that few look forward to: the annual appraisal or performance review? How do you look forward to it? I wonder how people talk about it before and after?Are appraisals worth doing? If done properly - yes. If done poorly - no!!!Why have appraisals? When carried out properly they can achieve a number of benefits for all parties.

Dont Hire Squirrels to be Your Top Dogs

Bad hiring decisions cost organizations, both in dollars and lost opportunities. But getting the right people in the right places doing the right thing is not easy.

Creating Advisory Boards

There is no substitute for soliciting the opinions of the executive team, the people who will be most affected by change or its absence. However, often the answers to complicated questions don't lie within those most affected.

6 Shared Factors of Successful Executives

These factors where determined by interviews with and books from very successful people. Factors which eminently successful people considered essential were collected and classified.

Bar Charts Brought to Life: Index of Interactive Information for HTML and PDF

Bar Charts and the Information ChallengeWhether one is an unknown entrepreneur or Donald Trump, an elementary school teacher or a university president, a 6th grader researching other countries or a government leader visiting them, each person in any capacity has at least one thing in common: information.Let me explain why I use bar charts as an example.

In Leadership, The Critical Convergence Drives Great Results

The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when we believe our enthusiasm over a particular leadership challenge is automatically reciprocated by the people we lead.If ignorance is bliss then leaders going around blithely adhering to the Leader's Fallacy have cornered the market on happiness.

Can Your Business Run Without You?

If you are a business owner or a business owner to be, let's examine this scenario.Like other people, you are so excited when you first started your own business.

So, You Want to be in Management? Five Essential Factors that Will Determine Your Chances

The following information is based upon over 500 interviews with senior executives with whom I conducted over the past four years. These senior executives represent a variety of industries and organizations.

Your Appraisal System Can Be Better - Overcome These Nine Serious Failings

This article is directed at senior managers. As a senior colleague you have the authority to make tremendous improvements.

Keep Your Good Workers by Building Good Leaders

A recent report from the American Hospital Association's Commission on the Workforce asked healthcare workers key questions about the performance of their front line managers. The study concluded that an employee's decision to stay with or leave an organization is primarily based on his or her relationship with an immediate supervisor.

The Silent Assassin - What to Do When They Visit You?

IntroductionThere are a group of people in the community that will some time in their career visit your business; the silent assassin.The silent assassin displays all the qualities of a serial killer as they silently wreck havoc in your business through unrest, sabotage, bullying and non-productivity.

Employee Retention: Five Leadership Fundamentals

Are your management practices on the right track? Retaining your valued or high performing employees must be a strategic issue for your company. Throwing more money at your workers is not the answer and can become very costly.

Employee Retention: Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business

The retention of highly skilled knowledge workers is one of the major challenges today for all organizatons. Knowledge workers are those whose work primarily requires the use of "mental power rather than muscle power.

Hire Winners: Ask the Right Questions

How do you as a manager, supervisor or team leader hire winners? One very successful interviewing technique is behavioral interviewing---selecting the right person for the right job using a job-related rather than a gut feel approach. A job-related approach is asking for a behavioral example of skills and traits that are required for a position.

Employee Discipline: How to Nip Problems in the Bud

Are you uncomfortable with delivering disciplinary action, even involving employees you know deserve it? You're not alone. Disciplinary action is one of the least favored tasks a supervisor must occasionally perform.

Morale Boosters: Feed the Troops First

When economic conditions turn tough or when the heavy work load seems never-ending, leaders tend to forget the "basics"-building commitment beyond the paycheck. It's the small things everyday that can bring down morale and it's the small things everyday that can raise performance.