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November 13, 2008
The number one thing that the shift to e-commerce has taught us is that with the huge amount of competition we face out on the market, if we want to have a chance at succeeding we need to specialize. Tackling a large niche is simply too risky, and you're going to be facing so much competition that ..
November 12, 2008
I have personally have seen that senior management in many organizations view Lean Six Sigma as another quality improvement initiative or flavor of the month. We are often told by many engineers and managers in small and big companies that there is nothing really new in Lean Six Sigma compared to ..
October 05, 2008
What is to become of us all? The credit squeeze and higher fuel and food prices are a rallying cry to every one of us. Although uncertainty is the order of the day, there is still one wholly predictable outcome: whoever comes out the other side intact will benefit from a slimmed down market ..
October 04, 2008
Research suggests that not all personal change efforts are successful.There is a wealth of information available on how and why people could not make changes in their personal lives.Is it possible to change whenever the situation demands?How can you rationally judge all the changes that you may ..
October 03, 2008
I tend to say no.If people take advantage of your confidence or your good intentions, would you give them another go? Does it make a difference whether this is a love affair or a normal business relation? And are these situations really different?An emotional relation based on love or care, may ..
October 03, 2008
And visa versa.People often buy books in order to change or improve themselves. My proposition: the easier the read, the harder the change. This means if the book is an easy read; it is very likely that you are so impressed at the beginning and your expectations are inflated, but this is often more .
September 24, 2008
The best time to change is when you don't have to - when you're not forced to -but when events and circumstances provide the opportunity and momentum for change. It's also the most effective time to change. It's when astute leadership has prepared for change and acts when the opportunity presents ..
September 24, 2008
Change is like that: you often realize the change when you are in the middle of it, or at the end of it.Things move in trends, Wall Street is not the only domain where they know all about that. The trend of the dollar (against the euro), the trend of the Dow Jones (bearish), the trend of the ..
September 23, 2008
Many people would like to make changes in their personal life but do not know where to start.It can also happen that they feel that something needs to change as their life is not going in the direction they want it to, but they do not know exactly what needs to change.Realising that changes need to .
September 23, 2008
Mistake proofing is a technique for eliminating errors. It is based upon the premise that it is good to do something right the first time; it is even better to make it impossible to do it wrong the first time. The idea is to make it impossible to make a mistake. You may also hear the term, ..
September 22, 2008
Supervisors and Managers often lack a Template To Deeply Diagnose An Issue, and theres no more certain a test of effectiveness than a Supervisor or Managers method to diagnose a problem. Often called ‘Finding out whats wrong’ line of questioning. If ever theres an opportunity for ..
September 22, 2008
Imagine if hundreds of years ago the Stone Age man decided not to do anything to improve the way he lived.Imagine that he never discovered how to make fire, how to write on walls using symbols, how to make houses, boats and how to cook food.Imagine that he just remained the way he was.Can you think .
September 22, 2008
Selling your business in any financial climate can be a difficult task. Sometimes the right choice could be becoming an absentee owner. Consider this, If I sell my business today, pay my taxes, brokers and professional advisors and I then invest the remainder conservatively, will I still be able to .
August 25, 2008
It's no secret that an organization's ability to continually improve how it operates has become an essential competitive aspect of doing business. Organizations that successfully design and manage transitions to improved ways of doing things - that is, effectively manage the change - grow and ..
August 25, 2008
Once you understand your customers, the next step is figuring out a way to get better at delivering what they want. The answer lies in improving the processes your company uses to generate the services and products you sell.Dr. W. Edwards Deming, an American statistician who led the quality ..
August 25, 2008
Since Lean Six Sigma starts with customers, its goal is clear-to eliminate anything that doesn't meet their needs. In Lean Six Sigma terms, things that don't meet customer needs are called defects. So if you promise a 3-day turnaround time and it takes you 3.5 days, that's a defect. If you're ..
August 25, 2008
Any major change initiative requires a clearly defined supporting infrastructure to drive the program. Infrastructure is defined as the underlying foundation and basic framework of personnel and supporting systems needed to support Six Sigma deployment activities. Because every part of a company ..
August 18, 2008
IntroductionDictionary.com defines behavior as observable activity in a human or animal; the aggregate of responses to internal and external stimuli.Change management strategies generally focus on a combination of people, processes and technology. Ultimately the goal of a change strategy is to ..
August 17, 2008
Have you ever tried to lead a major organizational change that failed? I did years ago, and it hurt! I still remember the sting and the embarrassment of having to retract all of my bold statements and retreat from my position.That's why, ever since, I've been an avid student of how to make ..
August 17, 2008
How often have managers decided on a compromised course of actions due to objections from staff or management?CONSENSUSThe optimal decision cannot be made by consensus, even though research shows that groups make better decisions than individuals. (I.e.," everyone is smarter than anyone.") The ..
August 15, 2008
PLANNING TO PLANIt's so easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities, responsibilities, projects and crises that insufficient time is allowed for planning. Yet planning is one of the core management responsibilities. Just about everyone knows the old management precept: "Fail to Plan-and you Plan .
August 08, 2008
Oil prices are high, the dollar is low and the cry for living green can be heard far and wide. How could we have been so blind? Where did we go wrong? What can we do to fix it all? If you were alive in the ‘70's you are probably feeling a sense of déjà vu like I am. The 1970's was a time of ..
August 07, 2008
Sir Alan Steer, headteacher of a school in Ilford in the UK, dared to raise his head above the parapet on Friday to say that adults are bad role models for young people. In his government-commissioned report on behaviour, Sir Alan states that adults set a bad example with behaviour that is greedy ..
August 07, 2008
Sooner or later, your company change process will reach The Moment of Truth - the point where you, the key decision-maker, are faced with a choice between the past and the future. Every atom of your being, every instinct and every ounce of experience will urge you towards the familiar, safe ..
August 07, 2008
Introduction The big weekend was here. After a year of planning, preparation and testing we were ready to cut over to the new HR system. Employees were a little nervous, but looking forward to everything from easier time reporting to more flexibility in changing their 401K investment direction. ..
August 06, 2008
Like many internal communications, you may find that communicating change is a very demanding part of your role. In today's environment, change is a fact of life. Companies, resistant to change, risk losing their competitive edge.The process of change is complex. As human beings we often feel ..
July 31, 2008
Three features that characterise effective communication of change are dialogue, credible information sources and relationship building. Communicating change is best done in a proactive, well-planned and consultative environment, not one plagued by rumours, uncertainty and damage control.In ..
July 31, 2008
When promoted to a management position for the first time most of us tend to go overboard in assuming responsibilities, supervision, of subordinates and general high handedness. These can prove to be drawbacks that undermine our position.Many first time managers get promoted to that position by ..
July 30, 2008
IntroductionThe title of project manager (PM) is used to mean different things in different companies. Fortunately there is a standards body called the Project Management Institute which provides excellent guidance around the role and function of a project manager.Some will disagree, but I don't ..
July 28, 2008
With the rapid changes in technology and globalization the past decade has seen organizations of all types undergo change more than ever before. The experiences of other organizations that have undergone change initiatives large and small serve to teach us about what works and what doesn't work ..
July 28, 2008
Some might say that the wonder of opening a dollar store business is gone. To them, in today's economy there just isn't a way to make a profit. Costs are too high and they are going ever higher. Sales are too low and they are going lower. Yet is that really the situation that every store owner ..
July 28, 2008
IntroductionAny strategy for managing change needs to anticipate resistance. Resistance is natural, and it can come from employees, partners and even clients. You're taking people out of their comfort level and probably introducing risk into their professional lives.Here are some ways to think ..
July 28, 2008
One of the great things about a Monday morning is that the work week to follow doesn't have to be the same as the previous week. Yes, it can be worse, but optimistically you will try to make it better and more productive.Just a few years ago, many people were unaware of climate change and global ..
July 27, 2008
You know, I often hear employees make comments or pose questions such as:This company sucks.Management sucks.Why do we do things this way?This is the way we have always done it.Why can't we do things differently?This company is just a big bureaucracy, nothing gets done.We are so inefficient.If I ..
July 25, 2008
In the past the knowledge that you knew was your direct competitive advantage. Sharing that knowledge was considered an act of treason against yourself. Today the knowledge you share is what set you apart from your peers. Going from one culture to the other is difficult at best, but knowing the ..
July 25, 2008
Relocating your business can be a very difficult proposition for any business organization, big or small. Money, time and effort spent over business relocation can be wisely used for the development of your business if you take the advice of relocation consultants. When an organization's resources ..
July 24, 2008
The ability to keep an organization running smoothly requires talent. But the ability to reverse the fortunes of a flagging institution or department calls for a highly specialized mix of skills. Those who possess them belong to an elite fraternity. If you think you have what it takes to join, here .
July 23, 2008
A very significant amount of the cost and time spent on business change is consumed by meetings. Formal meetings, with agenda and minutes; informal meetings between colleagues as someone sticks their head round the door; formal presentations; and, increasingly, teleconferences and webinar ..
July 22, 2008
Introduction No matter what kind of change you're introducing to an organization, ultimately you're seeking a change in behavior. Modify behavior, and you'll modify results.As you're focusing on people, process and technology, don't overlook the physical environment. You probably already realize ..
July 22, 2008
Start-Up projects are distinguished by its intensive terms of performance, high importance and increased risks for a company. The realization of such projects leads to a significant physical, intellectual and emotional tension of managers engaged in rapidly changing and unpredictable start-up work. .
July 21, 2008
ISO 9001:2000 is an International generic standard. In this context, generic means that the standard can be applied to any industry. In fact, specific industries such as aerospace and medical devices use the framework of ISO 9001 to build industry specific standards by adding additional ..
July 21, 2008
Take it Online to Increase RevenuePrint isn't dead, but it's wheezing, and no one knows that better than you, the publisher. Ad revenues are dropping, circulation is declining and even major newspaper companies like McClatchy are facing massive lay-offs. You have to find new ways to monetize ..
July 20, 2008
Lately I have been speaking to many perspective clients who aren't having their best year this year. As I'm listening to them, I'm wondering why don't we have our best year every year? What I'm hearing leaders and business owners say is that the economy is bad, we're in a recession, gas prices are ..
July 20, 2008
I'd like to say up front, that I don't actually believe in recession. Everything in life has a cycle and business is no exception. I personally LOVE a bit of downtime every now and again. It allows me to breathe - to think - to re-energise myself, and to take time out.I also like to use this time ..
July 20, 2008
The economic downturn means that cost removal is high on the agenda of many businesses. But it is hard to take the right costs out of a business quickly without damage and pain. While cost removal is never easy, here we describe five steps which can greatly help your chances of success. Remove ..
July 20, 2008
Deciding to choose the method of organisational change management for the change process within your business comes with many benefits. Organisational change management uses the type of structure that prevents resistance, and, therefore, prevents failure of the project itself. All too often ..
July 20, 2008
People don't like to change. In fact they react badly and sometimes destructively when forced to change. Statistics tell us that 70% of change strategies within organizations fail to provide the desired outcome and often cause a great deal of discontent. It is interesting to note that this also ..
July 18, 2008
Markets are forcing companies to improve service and lower costs. But managers, though their intent is good, are still making fundamental errors in an effort to attain better performance. Common mistakes include: leaning on employees to be more productive, breaking up the flow of the work, ..
July 17, 2008
Introduction Leaders need to seek better communication skills not only for themselves and their leadership teams, but as part of the organization's culture. Successful change management requires getting everyone moving in one new direction. People will be talking with one another while you're ..
July 17, 2008
When you think about developing leadership skills for yourself or others picture a triangle. Draw a triangle on a piece of paper and label the three points: education, experience and feedback.Let's start with education, shall we?I think most of us would agree that the foundation of a leadership ..
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