Management - Are You a Musician Or a Conductor?
As a manager, your role is to get results through others. The role of manager in many ways a manager is very similar to the role of the conductor of an orchestra. They organise things, they plan, they co-ordinate, they bring the best out in people, they listen, they communicate, they look for improvements and ways of changing things to name just a few. Yet in reality, many managers struggle to stop being the musician and stepping up to the role of conductor. Why do they struggle to make the transition from musician to conductor and what can you do about it? Keep doing what they always did The manager's job is to manage, not to do everything themselves.
Entrepreneurs - What It s Really Like to Be Start Up Junkies - According to Reality TV?
As a serial entrepreneur, I find reality TV a complete, contrived waste of time. I've never watched American Idol, Survivor, Amazing Race, The Apprentice, etc. Even the commercials showed me more than I ever wanted to know. However... There is finally one reality show that I not only watch - but one that I strongly recommend every entrepreneur and start up company CEO should watch religiously. The show, Start-Up Junkies, on the MOJO Network really does show what it is like to run a new company. Frank Lloyd Wright once said TV is chewing gum for the mind. He must have been talking about reality TV.
Make Your Meetings More Productive - And Enjoyable
As a manager, you probably spend a huge proportion of your time in meetings. When was the last time you attended a meeting that you felt really involved in and the outcome was really productive? People sit round a table, in the same place, in the same room, exhibiting the same type of behaviour regardless of the subject or outcome required.... And yes, what IS the outcome you want from the meeting? Meetings cost businesses a lot of money - the time of the people attending, the journeys the participants have made to get there, copies of the agenda, background papers, refreshments, venue hire etc etc.
Superior Quality
My wife and I recently decided to have the interior of our house painted, so we contacted a painting contractor that had performed similar work for us before. When we received his quote, it was considerably higher than we had planned, however we did not hesitate to immediately give him a check for a down-payment. We wanted him to get started right away. We've used this contractor before, and even under extraordinary scrutiny, we've always found the results to be exceptional. I have to emphasize at this point, that the purpose of this story isn't to point out that I like to spend money. In fact, as I get older, I'm becoming quite cheap - each penny becomes much harder to part with (I must admit at this point, that I did manage to "haggle" down the price slightly, but this was done more as a matter of principle than by any other motivation).
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. The rest of my employees are complaining since they are having to take up his slack. I've tried talking to him, but he doesn't seem to listen. To make matters worse, he has become one of my best friends since I hired him five years ago, so firing him is out of the question. What can I do? -- Allen B. A: One reason I am so qualified to dispense sage business advice every week, Allen, is that I have made just about every business blunder you can imagine. I am like the Evel Knievel of the small business world, if Evel Knievel wrote a weekly column on motorcycle safety.
Boost Hotel Revenue and Earnings With Photographic Artwork
When asked what their primary sources of revenue are, hotel managers almost always list room revenue, restaurant revenue, and bar revenue among the top five. While most of the traditional methods of cost cutting are well understood and implemented broadly around the world, one powerful tool for the generation of revenue and earnings remains largely unexploited. A minor investment by hotel owners in this area requires no maintenance, works every day all day and all night year around, and pays dividends for many years. That investment is artwork. The right artwork draws attention from hotel patrons.
Six Sigma Training For Software Implementation Projects
The application of Six Sigma in software development projects is well known, but the utility of Six Sigma for software implementation projects is also worth a mention. Software implementation projects commonly have the recurring problem of going off-track with regard to target implementation dates, as well as other problems. This is the point where Six Sigma concepts can play a critical role. Common Issues in Software Implementation Projects As mentioned earlier, the problems that software development teams often face are in understanding customer requirements and adhering to the project schedule estimation.
The Concept of Zero Defects in Six Sigma
The concept of zero defects as explained and initiated by Philip Crosby is a business system that aims at reducing the defects in a process, and doing the process correctly the first time itself. The Concept of Zero Defects When would a product be acceptable to a customer? It would be acceptable when it meets or conforms to the requirements of the customer - it is not just about being good. In short, when a product is built to specifications without any drawbacks, then it is an acceptable product. In terms of defects, a product will be acceptable when it is free of defects. When considering the concept of zero defects, one might want to know what that zero defect level is, if acceptable levels can be achieved for a product.
Using Interviews to Shape Six Sigma Deployment
The CEO or top management generally proposes the need for a Six Sigma initiative. Conducting interviews of these people is equally necessary, as is the need to interview other key influencers. These interviews are needed to understand the factors to design the deployment plan, integrate it with the company environment and make it part of the company culture. Interview Subject Matter: Most important is understanding the organization's corporate strategy and priorities. The products and services of the organization have to be properly understood. Interviews should be able to identify areas that may be the barriers to the deployment plan.
Measuring Results - A Must For Organizations
Everyone wants to do this. And everyone in the evaluation business has something to say about how to do it. So why not us too! We believe the evaluation of results is less complicated than organizations make it. Of course, we know from experience that often evaluating our work is made cumbersome by funders and regulators, but for now let's pretend they are not in the mix. Here is how we approach the evaluation of results. We start with some simple questions. 1. What are you trying to accomplish for which people? 2. What are the measures that guide your work with these people? 3. What is the current benchmark of each of those measures?