The choice of concepts would depend on each organization’s goals, strategies and activities. Nevertheless, there are numerous companies which succeeded and are still thriving because they implemented organizational development concepts, three of which are presented below:

Product development. What makes Nokia a global leader in the cellular phone industry? It’s because they came up -and still is- with different designs with different features that was very appealing to the public. First was the incorporation of games such as the immortal Snake then came polyphonic tones followed by personalized graphics, camera, wireless connection to the Internet, video and so much more. It only goes to show how this category can make a company achieve its goal.

Employee Training. Many companies such as Chevron and Bechtel send their employees in universities at home and abroad to take up their Masters to further their contributions to the company. Seminars and skills orientation are conducted to further the awareness of employees in what is expected of them and to ensure that they can deliver.

Supply Chain Management. This concept forwards the notion that well-thought-of strategies and detailed investigations can make or break a company. Businesses compete either with price or service or a combination of both. With deliveries of supply designed to maximize efficiency by minimizing costs but ensuring quality service, enterprises can now gain an edge in the two fields of competition.

The three presented here are actually just a few of the processes to improve the organization. Many theories have been developed for this topic and usually deal with the behavioral nature of humans. The importance of Organizational Development can never be stressed because like an individual who does not receive nourishment both physical and mental, an organization will soon belong to history.

Sorting out relevant information on any topic is very difficult but this article on management software affiliates tries to put all the relevant information about management software affiliates at one place.

The one main quality that you would find in this article about management software affiliates is its freshness. You would not find the same predictable words being used here for the same repetitive concepts.

Benefits of Being a Management Software Affiliate Marketer

So, do you still think that you know everything that was to be known about management software affiliates? Don’t you feel that there were so many things that were to be known about management software affiliates?Reading an article as well as writing an article is two different things but following the same line. When this article was written about management software affiliates, the main purpose was to provide readers with quality content and now it is for you to decide if we have been successful or not.

Affiliate marketing has become one of the most effective ways to advertise online. It is also one of the easiest ways for anyone with a website to make a profit online. Affiliate Marketing is an agreement between a merchant and a website owner. The website owner, or the affiliate, allows the use of their site for the promotion of the merchant's products by linking to the merchant's website. In exchange, the merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on all sales generated by the affiliate. Every time someone clicks on the link on the affiliate website and proceeds to make a purchase, the affiliate gets a commission. The merchant will pay the affiliate only when a customer clicks on the product link and makes a purchase.

In the beginning we claimed that we were going to present you with an article that would be able to cater to your needs of information about management software affiliates and now when you have read it, do you feel we have kept our words?

Affiliate marketing programs are described as a win-win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate because of the pay-for-performance scheme. Both the merchant and the affiliate enjoy some benefits in affiliate marketing. There are many benefits on the merchant's side. It gives the merchant a wider market in which to advertise a product or service. Affiliate marketing will give the product or service the maximum exposure that it may not get with other traditional advertising techniques. The more affiliate sites a merchant has, the higher the traffic, which can convert to sales.

Affiliate marketing is the equivalent of having an army of sales people who will do the advertising and will only get a commission if a customer purchases.

No one can afford to waste one’s time and that is why you must be hesitating in reading this article in the beginning but now when you have started reading this article can you possibly leave it in the middle?

Meanwhile, since an affiliate marketing relationship is a win-win situation, the affiliate also enjoys many benefits. Foremost among these is the easy way to make a profit. The affiliate can earn by having an ad or link to the merchant's website, which prospective customers will hopefully click and proceed to make a purchase.

As soon as the customer clicks on the ad on the affiliate's site, is redirected to the merchant's website and goes on to buy that particular product, the affiliate earns a commission. The more referrals there are the more profit for the affiliate.Now, when you are reading this article on management software affiliates, you must have realized that there always remains something more to be known about any topic. We have tried to incorporate almost everything of consequence on management software affiliates and hope that you would benefit from it.

Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to earn money while at home. There are virtually no production costs. The product is already developed and proven by the merchant, and all you have to do to find, as many prospects as you can that will bring in the profit for both the merchant and the affiliate. Affiliate programs are usually free to join, so affiliates do not have to worry about start-up costs.

There are thousands of products and services you can choose from. You can find affiliate programs for every product under the sun. Surely, there is a product or service out there that is relevant to your website.

During the course of your reading of this article about management software affiliates, you must have realized that there could be more than one approach towards one topic. That is what we have tried to do-taking a new approach to management software affiliates.

In addition, there is absolutely no sales experience necessary. Most affiliate programs offer excellent support when it comes to providing marketing material. The simplicity of affiliate marketing allows you to be an affiliate marketer at the least cost and the most comfort. You can even build a successful affiliate marketing business right in the convenience of your own home.

In affiliate marketing, your responsibility is simply to find prospects for the merchant; you do not have to worry about inventory, order processing, and product shipping. These, along with customer service support are the duties of the merchant.Because of the global reach of the internet, you can easily find thousands of prospects. You can intensify your advertising campaign by exploiting more aggressive and productive strategies such as viral marketing.

By attracting more prospects, you also maximize your potential to earn. Another benefit of an affiliate marketer is the minimal risk involved. If the product you are advertising is not making money then you can dump it and choose another. There are no long-term binding contracts tying you to products that are not making enough money.

All the same, the best benefit of being an affiliate marketer is the opportunity to increase your income; and you can make a profit even if affiliate marketing is only a sideline business. With your own affiliate business, you can earn easily earn extra income, although you do have to exert effort and use your imagination to maximize your earning potential.

Indeed, affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most effective business opportunities on the web today.

The dilemma faced by many businesses today is dealing with one-time business impediments that can slow down or otherwise jeopardize regular business operations. This is no longer stereotypical of large organizations, but has become alarmingly evident in a growing number of small businesses as well.

Any business is fundamentally designed to operate on a systematic structure. It is because of this very system that certain operations can impede on, or interfere with, every-day business activities. For example, it is common for Dell Computers to produce and ship new computer units each day. This process is critical for the business to function. Without computers to sell the organization would not be profitable and thus could not continue to operate. However, it is not common for the organization to create a new computer model each day. Yet, a new product launch is a necessary business operation. Simply put, it is a matter of priorities.

Managers have become increasingly drawn to project management, some times referred to as Management by Projects, over the years since industrialization. The discrepancy is that projects are provisional in scale, whereas organizational processes are enduring, and so the problem is resolved through the integration of the two systems in a parallel demeanor. This means they work side-by-side, but not necessarily interdependent of one another.

Projects have a definite beginning and end. They are not continuous processes, as in the case of production or distribution, and so they are only conducted once to meet specific objectives. When the project is complete it is abandoned and the members working on the project move on to other projects, return to their original departments, or leave the organization. Projects ultimately create a rippling effect in organizational processes. However, the residual effects of such projects can be controlled and predetermined through project management.

Returning to the former production example at a computer manufacturer like Dell Computers, we can more clearly realize the impeding effects new projects would have on daily business operations. If a new computer model is introduced this would cause the implementation of a new product line. In this case, the product launch in itself is the project managers -- at Dell -- must undergo. After the new computer model has been designed, marketed, and the product line becomes operational -- all objectives have been met and the project is complete. Meanwhile the organization continues regular daily operations (i.e. producing and distributing its computers).

The impediment here could be a number of circumstances that may arise due to the initiation of this project. For example, creating a new product line may involve ordering and installing new machinery which could delay production for some time. Engineers may need to restructure the facility, integrate e-manufacturing software, and possibly even train workers for the operation of the new machinery. Any delays presented by the project may cause further delays in the organization's regular operations.

That is why managers need to apply effective project management when dealing with such business operations. This will involve coordinating with the different organizational departments, creating timetables, following up on progress reports, keeping track of load charts and PERT network analyses, planning for disaster recovery, and anticipating the need to hire more employees or possibly recruiting personnel from within the different organizational departments.

The primary goal of project management is to meet all the objectives of a given project within the project budget and deadline without interfering with the business' daily operations. An efficient and effective project manager, for example, could coordinate with suppliers and engineers so that the new machinery for the product line would be delivered and installed -- in parts -- without halting production completely. Perhaps the machinery can be assembled as the integration of an existing line or at a different site all-together. The workers could also be asked to work overtime so that they may become familiar with the machinery as it is being readied for the new line. This will greatly reduce slack time without rudimentary production losses.

The importance of project management is becoming rapidly apparent in all types of businesses. It is the responsibility of leaders and managers to recognize the potential use that project management has on their business.

Quality leadership is a necessary component of a company’s success. It is important for a company’s well-being, and is important for the citizens of the state. Improvement of leadership is a complicated process, however, the majority of the developed countries of the world have already become aware of its importance and began taking concrete steps towards it. The development of high standards for corporate leadership demands formidable efforts from both companies and the state.

Business engineering is a term that is widely used when speaking about leadership, and it is usually defined as organisation development control methodology. Worldwide transition to the saturated market with its intensifying competition determined one of the most important tasks for modern management, that being to guarantee a company’s competitiveness. Though there are different ways to achieve it, company’s dynamism became the governing factor of its competitive ability. This dynamism includes both ability to control its own resources (including human resources which are considered the company’s most precious value) and good organisation of interrelation with partners.

Therefore, effective company leadership has become the main task for the managers. In order to achieve success it is important to forecast market opportunities, to develop and improve the company’s infrastructure, as well as human resources management.

Being a modern leadership technology, business engineering is based upon precise and formal description of a company’s activity. In order to make any decision as for company’s leadership, business engineering presupposes using certain business models.

It is most important to determine priorities of strategic initiatives, and thus define the tasks for all structural subdivisions, for each group of workers, or for every worker.

When entering or working in a foreign country, the first attention is usually put on sales. Questions that come up are questions such as “Will our products sell?,” “What differences do I have to watch out for?,” “Are there regulatory requirements I have to fulfil?,” etc. A savvy recruiter can often help with questions like this, particularly if he has been working for some time. The amount of experience and the insights that a recruiter gets into all kinds of different businesses is tremendous.

Before calling up your friendly headhunter, a few thoughts need to be put to your operations in Germany. Do you want to have a trade representation or do you want to have a permanent establishment of your own? If you want a permanent establishment it would be wise to consult with a legal firm or one of the large accountancy companies how this is best accomplished. Often these companies will have “ready to go” companies that simply can be transferred into your name. In the recruitment process it is certainly helpful to have a German based company since sales people in Germany will prefer a German contract rather than a contractual relationship with a foreign entity. Again, a good executive search consultant can probably put you in touch with many of the people you need.

Recruiters in Germany work on a similar basis as those in other countries. Many companies find, however that there are fewer executive search companies in Germany that are prepared to work purely on a contingency fee basis. As a matter of fact, this was actually illegal in Germany some years ago! Today the trend is changing and there are more companies willing to work on this basis but they will often require exclusivity and a formal contractual relationship. The costs of recruiters tend to be a bit higher than perhaps in other countries. While UK headhunters tend to charge anywhere from 12 – 16% of the year’s salary, a German headhunter will usually want around 25%. The top flight executive search companies in Germany will often go higher than that, charging 30 – 35%.

Finding good sales people in Germany is probably just as difficult as anywhere else. The criteria that make up a good salesperson are also similar. One point to consider is, however, that you will probably want the person to speak English. Luckily this is usually not a problem in Germany since the school system requires people to take a number of years of English. Only with older people or those from the eastern part of Germany this might be a problem. What is often found though, is that if the salesperson has worked mainly for German companies his language skills may be quite rusty. Experience has shown, that through use, vocabulary and fluency will quickly be regained. The problem is that in the interview process this will not always be apparent. As a matter of fact, halting English is often a reason an excellent candidate is not employed. This is definitely a mistake! So take this into account in making your decision.

Another point to keep in mind in your recruitment process in Germany is that salespeople will not be available as quickly as they might be in other parts of the world. Germany tends to have longer periods of notice with 2-3 months not being uncommon. While these employees are often released from their contracts early, this is not a guarantee. Appropriate time needs to be budgeted for the total recruitment process.

Certainly it is important to keep in mind that Germany has its own sales cycles and speed of decision making. Don’t draw conclusions from your own country. If you find that your product has a 6 month sales cycle in the USA, it may well have a 1 year sales cycle in Germany. On some occasions the sales cycle may be shorter; in general it tends to be a bit longer though. Remember, Germany tend to be risk averse and very thorough in their inspection of something before they buy. The reward for this patience is, however, that once Germans go for a product they tend to stick with it for quite some time and then encourage others to also buy the product. So, to enter the German market, you need some patience but it is often amply rewarded.

To summarize, if you want to enter and be successful in the German market you should

a) choose the right legal entity
b) utilize executive search firms tapping into their knowledge of the local market
c) use headhunting companies in Germany to help you find excellent sales people and
d) have the patience required in the German market to become successful.

Good Luck!

While posting hiring ads in the newspaper or online can be helpful, a brainstorm I had at the barbershop has given me a new idea about how to let people know about new job openings.

I am in the process of opening a new warehouse in Guelph, Ontario, and require 250 plus employees. Because of the magnitude of this hire, it is at the top of my mind: I tell everyone that I meet that I am looking to hire full and part-time shippers, receivers, dock hands, and other positions.

I was at the barber’s getting my hair cut and mentioned this to my barber who instantly said that he likely knew 25 or 30 people who would be interested in the job.

Most people develop a rapport with their barber or hairstylist over a number of years. Most people repeatedly visit the same stylist. During that time they tend to talk about the weather, politics, and life in general. They develop a rapport. Their conversation often includes their job prospects, or how their current job is going. The realization of how many people frequent the barber or hairstylist and what they discuss inspired me to come up with barber/hairstylist marketing for hiring my new warehouse employees.

We are going to the yellow pages and listing the barber shops and hairstylists in the area. We then go to our staff and find out where they get their hair done and try to cross off to make sure we have all basis covered.

I believe that the hairstylist or barber will be more open to ideas that come from someone who they already know. Because our warehouse move is not until July 1st (and it is now still February), everyone will have lots of time to get into the barber or hairstylist between now and then.

I also think that barbers and hairstylists will tend to refer people they like. The people referred will likely be good people. As professionals and as individuals, barbers and hairstylists would not want to be seen as referring people who are not good.

We are not putting in place any financial incentive for the barbers or hairstylists, although we will invite them to an open house. My experience is that most of them tend to freely share information that they have and like to be, "in the know". Most of them want to add value to their clients.

A "culture of discipline" is a phrase used by Jim Collins (Good to Great) in his study of great companies. All of the great companies, those that far outperform others, have a culture of discipline. This does not mean that they spend their time disciplining people. When you have a culture of discipline you rarely need to discipline people.

A culture of discipline is not about punishing people, but it is about control. It is about self control. Disciplined thinking leads to disciplined action. All greatness, whether it be in athletics, music, art, business, leadership, healing arts and sciences, teaching, or sales, is a result of discipline.

Whether we are talking about an individual or an organization, it all starts with the question: "Who are you and what is your purpose?" Your purpose is found at the crossroads of that which you are passionate about and that which you are good at. Once we are clear about our purpose and the kind of person and/or organization we are, then we need to discipline our thinking in order to achieve it. Thoughts and behaviors that contribute to the purpose are then nourished and expanded.

Most people, and most organizations are undisciplined. We entertain thoughts in our minds that contradict our purpose. We allow behaviors in ourselves and others that should be unacceptable. In a culture of discipline we are clear about who we are and where we are going. We address contradictions honestly, first in ourselves, and then in others, and resolve them.

A year ago I wrote in this newsletter about two very different businesses, one who has a culture of discipline and one who has not. Schulers Books and Music, a local bookstore and cafe is my example of a culture of discipline. At one of the stores I often see the manager out on the floor. Whenever a customer approaches him, he drops everything and serves the customer. I always receive cheerful and helpful service whenever I go there.

A chain restaurant I visited, called Steak and Shake, does not have a culture of discipline. I walked in to get a take out order and could not get served, or even acknowledged. I wrote to the corporate office of Steak and Shake and received a cursory reply.

The difference between these two businesses is that at Schulers, people think a certain way, and act in alignment with those key thoughts. These are thoughts about valuing customers and offering excellent service. At Steak and Shake, people are on their own. They have not been taught how to think, and thus behave, in alignment with the organization's purpose. You may or may not get lucky and get good service. At Schuler it is not luck; it is consistent great service rooted in a culture of discipline. Embedded in this culture is a deep love for reading and for community that is evident in their consistently great service.

I worked with an organization where the senior leaders loved their work and worked very hard. They saw themselves as disciplined. Yet, they were very undisciplined. Leaders in this organization each went in their own direction. Some of them were noted for being unapproachable and cranky. Others avoided all conflict and said "yes" to everything. Another was known for flying off the handle whenever he felt threatened. All of these managers were talented people. Discipline is about practicing the thoughts and behaviors consistent with your purpose and your goals. It is about holding yourself accountable when you are inconsistent. Much of the talent and hard work of these managers was dissipated because thinking and behavior were not in alignment with purpose and values.

In a culture of discipline we live in alignment with our purpose and in accordance with our values regardless of what is happening in the world. A culture of discipline is responsive to whatever happens. A non disciplined culture has knee jerk reactions to both crisis and opportunity. This is because the motivator in these non disciplined cultures is fear. In a culture of discipline you are motivated by love--love for your purpose; love for those whom you serve; and love for your values. You live from the inside out. This makes you more stable, yet responsive to what is happening around you.

When opportunity presents itself, you don't grab for it. You think about it. You ask: "Does this fit with my/our purpose? Is this something I/we are willing to do well? Can I/we be passionate about this?" Also, you want to know if it will contribute to your long term viability.

When crisis hits, you respond in ways that are consistent with your purpose and values. No short cuts! Collins wrote in Good to Great, that companies who stuck by their values tended to be more successful. The key, he found, was not in what values they chose, but that they stuck by their values, whatever they were.

In a culture of discipline we make a commitment to our mutual purpose and values. We refuse to allow behavior that is outside that framework. People who violate the purpose and values are given a chance to learn and to change. If they choose not to, they leave. A culture of discipline is not an authoritarian regime where one person is the enforcer. Those organizations tend to fall apart when the dictator leaves. The disciplined culture requires people to adhere to a consistent system, within which they have freedom and responsibility. In a culture of discipline we all help each other to stay on track by reminding each other through ongoing feedback and being a role model.

If you want to see if your organization has a culture of discipline, listen to the stories that are told. Are they stories of accomplishment and appreciation of the efforts of people? Or, are they stories tinged with negativity and criticism? Do people tend to be generous with credit for work well done, or do they mostly talk about what "I" did? Fear based and egocentric stories are ultimately demoralizing and feed negativity. Stories about people going out of their way to help people, and stories where credit is given to others consistently reinforce the purpose, the values, and the way of thinking that identifies the organization at its best. We discipline our minds away from negative and victim thoughts and toward thoughts of appreciation, understanding, problem resolution, and the possibilities to be found in any situation.

I must admit that I have often rebelled against discipline. I thought it would cramp my style or limit my freedom. What I have learned is that discipline enforced by a dictatorial person does cramp everyone's style and limit freedom. Discipline agreed to by each individual does the opposite. Self discipline allows us to achieve excellence.

Discipline that grows out of a commitment to a common purpose creates a structure, a consistency that helps people to make wise choices. The unwillingness to accept poor behavior is reassuring. Employees see leaders behaving consistently and they are inspired to think and behave in alignment with purpose and values. Extensive work rules are not needed when people are already motivated.

Whether you lead an organization or just yourself, discipline will determine much of your success. Each day examine your thinking, your behavior, and your decisions. Ask: "Does this fit with my purpose? Is this a true reflection of who I am? Does this fit with my organization's purpose and values?" Learn to say "No" to thoughts and behaviors that do not align with purpose and values. Say "Yes" to thoughts and behaviors that affirm your purpose. Thinking, and then doing the right things consistently will keep you on purpose and lead you toward greatness.

Connect the dots. Apply this information to your workplace, your church or spiritual community. your family, your neighborhood, your athletic team. Is there a common purpose that inspires your passion and commitment? Are there values you live by? Do you value and serve each other in order to achieve your common purpose? How can you create a culture of discipline without becoming a disciplinarian? How can you work with others to create an environment where people are clear and self motivated?

Project management is the discipline of defining and achieving finite objectives. The challenge of project management is the optimized integration and allocation of the inputs needed to meet those pre-defined objectives. The project, therefore, is a carefully selected set of activities chosen to use resources (time, money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, quality, risk, etc.) to meet the pre-defined objectives.

Project management is quite often the province and responsibility of an individual project manager. This individual seldom participates directly in the activities that produce the end result, but rather strives to maintain the progress and productive mutual interaction of various parties in such a way that likelihood of success is increased and overall risk of failure is reduced.

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. This contrasts with processes, or operational management, which are permanent or semi-permanent functional work to create the same product or service over-and-over again. The management of these two systems is often very different and requires varying technical skills and philosophy.

Project management tries to gain control over four variables. The first variable, time, is typically broken down for analytical purposes into the time required to complete the components of the project, which is then further broken down into the time required to complete each task contributing to the completion of each component. The second is the cost of developing a project which is dependent on several variables including (chiefly): cost of labor and materials, risk management, plant, equipment, and profit.

Another variable is scope, which is the overall definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish, and a specific description of what the end result should be. And lastly, the risks which are potential points for failure. Most negative risks (or potential failures) can be resolved, given enough planning capabilities, time, and resources.

To properly control these variables a good project manager should have a depth of knowledge and experience in these four areas and in six other areas as well: integration, communication, human resources, quality assurance, schedule development, and procurement.

Customers and external organizations (such as government agencies and regulators) can dictate the extent of three variables: time, cost, and scope. The remaining variable (risk) is managed by the project team, ideally based on solid estimation and response planning techniques. Through a negotiation process among project stakeholders, an agreement defines the final objectives, in terms of time, cost, scope, and risk, usually in the form of a charter or contract.

The key to effective project management is project control. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed to keep it on-track, on-time, and within budget. Regardless of the approach employed, careful consideration needs to be given to clarify surrounding project objectives, goals, and importantly, the roles and responsibilities of all participants and stakeholders.

There are people who insist that they work because they love what they do, and that may be true. But, stop paying them and how long will they continue loving it? Call me cynical, but I just do not buy it.

I know I started my internet businesses with the aim of making a decent income (okay I wanted to make a killing, okay? Fine!) The only problem is, sometimes to make a killing you end up killing others financially and, depending on how far in debt they are, it could even turn out to be a literal killing. A kind of "passive murder" if you will.

I will tell you straight (at least as far as I am concerned) that almost every time I put up an article or send out an email, it is designed to help my business grow. I am not "in the market" to pass my time because I have nothing better to do.

And neither are my subscribers/customers (at least, I hope not).

Whether or not you choose to believe this, I will say that everything I promote on my blog or through my emails, I do so in the belief that I am promoting something that is or could be beneficial to myself and my customers. As long as the product is used as it is supposed to be used and not just left on the metaphoric shelf to gather dust.

I believe that honesty is paramount in business, even if it means my profits are reduced as a result. And I also believe that customer service is the king of all products.

Having finished that sermon, let's move onto more relevant issues: That of how to find something to market on the internet.

It's been a few months since I started in the internet marketing business industry. I have been going at it full time and then some. In all that time all I saw everywhere I looked, in the forums, the newsletters, etc., was that you have to find a niche to succeed.

"I do not have a niche," I kept telling myself, because I just assumed I knew nothing while everyone keeps saying that EVERYONE knows SOMETHING. I just figured the internet business industry did not know me otherwise they would shut up.

Funnily, it turns out that the people in the internet business industry were right. We, all of us, just need to look a bit deeper into ourselves, sometimes to recognize the most obvious. You see, I completely "forgot" that I studied business, both practically and theoretically.

For my final project I actually had to start a business from scratch, from the initial idea to the final presentation of the plan to a potential venture capitalist (in this case the lecturer). I had two partners and I was assigned the group leader. I also did the majority of the work, including the complete presentation materials for myself and my partners.

And we actually came top of the class out of five groups of 3-4 people in each. And I thought I did not know anything.

Why am I mentioning this now? Is it to show off my abilities? No.

The reason I mention this is to demonstrate that, indeed, we all have some abilities but, because we are not able to look at ourselves "from a distance" we tend not to recognize those abilities. But they are there. Keep looking and you will find something to make it big in the internet business industry.

How many times have you heard the following from managers looking to hire a new employee? “I need someone with experience who will hit the ground running. I don’t have any time for handholding.” Guess what? Part of a manager’s job is to teach. If you don’t spend any time teaching and developing your team members, you’re neglecting a critical management responsibility. Furthermore, if you’re always hiring people with a wealth of experience, you are probably doing them a disservice. Chances are they won’t have much of an opportunity to learn anything new in their roles, so they won’t have the opportunity to grow. Also, beware of the “bald tire.” Experience does not equal quality. In addition, by not teaching, you do a disservice to those eager “up-and-comers” who, with some guidance, can inject life into your organization.

The bottom line is this: When you don’t teach, you hurt the team members, the would-be team members, and the organization. Teaching is quite often a precursor to effective delegation. Effective delegation is more than simply barking out orders. If team members are to do well, they need to know how to do the work. This is the manager’s job. It is frequently accomplished by informally teaching them.

When do you teach? Managers should teach all the time. Team members will constantly be observing you. There are also formal opportunities to use, such as honest feedback sessions or monthly one-on-one sessions. Pick a topic to discuss at every other meeting; Review a particular skill; Talk about a pertinent magazine article. Take advantage of employee development plans.

A development plan is an action plan that identifies the areas in a person’s current job that might need improvement; it also addresses a person’s future goals and aspirations. Activities and actions are listed that will help achieve the goals, as well as dates by which these goals should be reached.

Work with team members to create development plans. Find out what they want to be doing in the next couple of years and then help them put together a realistic plan to get there. Suggest and volunteer for activities. Assist with execution of the plans. Review plans in one-on-one meetings periodically.

Getting team members enthused about development plans is not easy. Most find the exercise useless because, not much effort is put into creating them. Frequently, no one bothers to execute them. Development plans are nothing more than a checkmark on a manager’s to-do list. They often don’t get reviewed until it’s time to create the next one (usually after an annual employee evaluation is done). Typically, you have to sell one person at a time on the idea. If that person meets with success, share it with the rest of the team. If “Jane” got the promotion ostensibly because of the development plan, that will probably be enough to get others to climb on board. In addition, once people see you are serious about putting in time to teach them and help them succeed, they will warm up to the idea. It can be difficult to overcome years of development plan neglect, but it can be done.

Take the time to teach your team members. Start today. Commit to working with at least one team member to create a development plan and monitor it closely. Revive the neglected art of teaching and marvel at the results that follow.

After the seventh snowstorm in seven weeks, people in Denver, Colorado, are beginning to feel that Mother Nature must have been looking for Buffalo or Minneapolis but got lost. Folks here just aren't used to having three feet of snow piled up on their yards, driveways and streets for almost two solid months. Even kids, who usually greet each snowflake with glee, now look at the leftover piles of mush with something akin to disgust. "Is spring ever going to come back?" one despondent ten year old was heard lamenting. (It was easy to hear her; she's my daughter.)

The reason for Denver's collective unhappiness is that the city traditionally enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year. During the winter months, snow will make an appearance for one day, leave perhaps four or six inches of white, enough to make everything look beautiful, then it will gracefully depart, like the perfect houseguest who never overstays her welcome. The sun returns the next morning and immediately commences housekeeping; the snow is gone from the streets and sidewalks by noon. Not this year. And as a result, Denverites are having difficulty keeping their morale from melting away just like the icicles are supposed to be doing. Business in Denver felt the freeze keenly. Airlines to realtors to retailers to giant offices are feeling the snow's impact on morale. But the good news is that some of these same businesses have added a bit of humor to their workplace to get morale back up to where it should be.

What does more-than-usual snow and the resulting hit out Colorado attitudes this have to do with You? you ask as you sip your non-fat, decaf mocha latte in front of a cozy fireplace while munching on a biscotti. (Oh... I guess that's ME with the mocha.) The point is that businesses in Denver are having to deal with low morale and are forced to think creatively about how to motivate their people in the face of unusual circumstances. If these companies can raise people's sun-deprived attitudes in Denver with some positive, fun techniques, these ideas will work anywhere, even in Buffalo and Minneapolis.

No, these companies are not going to the lengths that apparently GoDaddy.com is doing for its marketing department. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out GoDaddy's commercials that first aired during the last couple of Super Bowls.)

What they are doing is using humor in the workplace to spice things up and give their employees a reason to enjoy coming into the office. For example, one of my consulting clients passes around a "garden gnome." Yes, a ceramic statuette of a sprightly elf sporting a tall pointy hat, beard, chubby cheeks and all, designed to decorate one's vegetable garden. The garden gnome signifies that a person in the office has done an exceptionally good job at something that day. And the something does not necessarily have to be directly related to meeting a sales goal or other measure of business. It can be as simple as smiling at someone in the hallway or cleaning out the office kitchen fridge. When someone at the company is spotted doing something that makes a difference, they are entered into the office gnome pool. Slips of paper detailing the good deeds are put in a box and at a designated time, a winner is chosen. The winner keeps the office gnome on their desk for the day.

I know winning an office gnome for a day doesn't sound as morale-lifting as say, winning a new car, but the point is with this simple gesture the company has invested each of its employees with the responsibility of recognizing those who make a difference in the daily business of the office. By recognizing others who choose to make their workplace more livable and lively, they also begin to take stock of their own attitudes toward work. Employees begin to appreciate that others who invest in "positive attitude capital" raise the value of their workplace for everyone and not just themselves. As the garden gnome travels, it delivers a sense of pride to its temporary owner that translates into positive benefit for the company. That's a lot of work for one small elf!

Different ideas in use by other companies to raise positive attitude capital are both large and small, cheap or more pricey. Some of the counter people at the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles wear clown noses when they first interact with customers to generate laughs. It's hard to be snippy with your DMV agent when she's wearing a bright, red, round bubble on her nose. Another company intentionally brings customers the wrong order when they come in to pick up their product. Usually the order is the exact opposite of what the customer wanted. When the customer begins to get huffy, the company rep laughs and says, "April Fool," even though it's only February. (The woman who does this technique is brilliant in her own way. She is taking responsibility for her own happiness, and is taking steps to make it happen. Can you say the same about yourself?)

Another of my corporate clients has employees who are celebrating their birthday wear a special sign proclaiming their birthday. Because of the sign, other workers know to give the birthday boy or girl a dollar. By the end of the day, the honoree has collected enough money for a nice night out or a weeks worth of mocha lattes. All employees participate gladly because they know when their time comes around, they'll get lots of happy birthday wishes, plus a big wad of cash. Other ideas:

* Monthly visit from the chair massage people
* Monthly visit from a manicurist
* Weekly bagels and donuts
* Random delivery of cookies to certain employees
* Lunch out with the department head
* Free parking for a month
* Bring the kids to work day
* Birthday balloons
* Take-the-afternoon-off reward certificates

These are all simple things companies can do to liven up their worker's days. Large companies often install workout rooms or daycare centers for their employees' benefit. Maybe they'll send a special employee to a week-long spa treatment. But the point is not in how much is spent. What's important is what the employee takes away and then turns around and gives back.

It's all part of the same plan: invest in making the workplace a positive, appreciative place and watch morale go up. As morale improves, turnover drops and productivity rises. Smart companies know that bosses and employees are all in it together. Those that work as a team to raise positive attitude capital can withstand even the longest winter of them all.

Many new tools have evolved with time to track work hours in this fast developing technology world. One common term used for many of them is Timeclock. The funny part is when you search for the term "Time Clock" in Google, you result in viewing website informations from the world of clock manufacturers, however the moment you combine the two words that is "Timeclock" the search result page is loaded with website information of companies providing you software and gadgets to track employee time.

Thats how it goes, a single character space changes the entire industry in the search result page. Well, when you move further, into the website for "Timeclock", you find gadgets used to track employee time. Gadgets like swipe cards, biometrics are all there for the taking. So many gadgets, so much technology development to track the working hours of an employee. Man, life was very easy the olden days, just a watchman with a register to enter your in and out time, another accountant to manually calculate them all. Everything was so simple. At times a thought pops up into the mind that is technology easy or manual work simple.

No hard feelings, hats off to all those who keep developing these new advanced technology based solutions to automate our work process. No success is accomplished without pains and we have hundreds and thousands of people working day in and day out to develop all these new advanced tools all around the world.

Maybe the approach is different, simplicity and automation cannot go hand in hand.

There are very few jobs that will let you escape from the dreaded office chair. Studies show that the average working person spends over 70,000 hours in an office chair during the course of his or her life, and that is just the average. The study did not include computer analysts, secretaries, writers, or data entry professionals. It is also believed that overall health and productivity is related to the comfort that you maintain while trying to work in your particular office chair. Therefore, it is important to try and achieve maximum comfort while also trying to achieve maximum results in the home or work environment. With so many options on the market today, it can be hard to decide where to start when picking out your new, and hopefully improved, office chair.

It is no secret that the best chair on the market is the Herman Miller invented, Aeron chair. Introduced in the mid 90’s, in the prime of the Internet boom, this mesh chair started to make history. The Aeron has been said to have a less modern look, but it has still won more awards than any other chair in office furniture history. The options on the Aeron include an adjustable frame for depth, seat height, armrest height and angle. The chair comes in three sizes, so if you struggle with height extremes (like being too short, or too tall), this would be the chair for you. The seat is pellicle instead of fabric, which allows you to have some cushion and give when you are sitting for a long period of time. These chairs do ring in as the most expensive, starting at around $1200, so start saving your money now.

Two chairs that will go over well with the environmental crowd are the Contessa Task Chair that is made by Teknion, and the Leap Chair by Steelcase. Both of these chairs only come in one size, and unless that size fits your body’s frame, you are out of luck. The Contessa Chair is considered to be part of a smart operation system. Its key feature is that you can sit in the chair, and then adjust the armrests. Being able to do adjustments while sitting in the chair makes it easier to find the correct positioning for maximum comfort. The Leap Chair makes a guarantee, which is hard to ignore. Supposedly, when you sit in a Leap Chair to do your work you will see an 18% increase in productivity. Regardless of promises, both chairs are 99% recyclable, but like anything else that is organic, they cost a good bit of money for a chair. They cost anywhere between $300 and $800, but you could do some research and possible find one that is cheaper. These chairs also have a modern look to them, so if you are trying to be fashionable, but not anchored by trends, these chairs are worth checking out.

If you are interested in the Aeron, but your budget isn’t, there are some options that may not rise to the quality completely, but they come really close. The Ergonomic Office Chair by Humanscale Liberty retails for $850 and it is thought to be the logical cousin of the Aeron Chair. It has minimal adjustment options, but it does provide natural support for the lower back and spine. Humanscale Liberty offers a five-year warranty on all of their fabrics, and a lifetime warranty on all of the chair’s other parts. When you want something that your budget cannot afford, sometimes you have to look at the best quality for the price. IKEA offers their Joakim Swivel Chair, available in red, dark blue, and a grey-blue. If you are looking to outfit a new business, or just looking to update the look of an old one, these chairs are the best for the price. The Swivel Chair has a gliding seat, a ten-year warranty, and little adjustments. The price is low for the options at just $225 per chair.

Finding the right office chair is not that difficult of a task, but finding the right office chair for you as a person could prove to be a challenge. Not everyone is created equal, and people’s bodies come in all different shapes and sizes. Also, look through the logical lens before making any decisions that could cost you a fortune. For instance, if you only sit a desk for two hours a day, the Aeron might not be the wisest purchase. On the other hand, if you have the money, and luxury is a priority, make the most of it and buy the best. However, nothing is perfect and all of the chairs that are on the market possess unique qualities that make them different from their competitors. Take the time to figure out what you need, and not necessarily what you want.

Exporters seeking information or business contacts in their overseas markets may find it a difficult and time-consuming challenge.

The Internet is an invaluable tool for both finding businesses potentially interested in alliances, distribution or purchasing products - and in communicating with them to build and maintain necessary relationships.

An observer of the growth of the Internet in its earlier days prophetically noted: “The Internet, like television and the print media, is yet another resource developed in the emerging new media to promote products and/or services. The similarities end there. The Internet also adds the ability to communicate quickly, and with less cost. It also allows firms with a need for information to find it quickly and easily. The Internet can be used in a variety of ways to enhance your business internationally”.

Exporting, even that accomplished with the assistance of the Internet, still follows the same basic rules. Before the Internet was a greatly important factor in export marketing, several areas were identified as critical to success in exporting.

One such factor was businesses’ ignorance of foreign laws and customs, either of which can negatively affect potential success in any foreign market.

Other factors identified in various studies of successful export marketers included developing and strengthening competitive advantage within target markets.

Maintaining an efficient distribution network and marketing techniques were a top priority after a firm is in the export markets.

Government assistance in locating and developing relationships with companies in foreign markets was generally seen to be essential but goldmine of information now available on the Internet means that we are all less-dependent than we were.

In the early part of my career, physical travel to potential markets was seen to be absolutely critical in developing the export markets, but at a huge cost. The first innovation to help us was cheaper flights but, with the advent of the Internet, even that travel is not so critical an issue now, allowing many more small businesses to enter export markets than when extensive (and expensive) international travel was required.

The object of much of that formerly-required foreign travel often was the seeking-out of both governmental and private-sector sources that could supply us with information on regulations, market research expertise and introduction to firms likely to be interested in acting as distributors or retailers of the firm’s goods or services. Sources such as local chambers of commerce, trade associations and governmental data on specific industry and commodity sectors have been available for years, but generally only through individual subscriptions or libraries.

Several years ago, there was great hope for the possibilities of direct Internet commerce. With only relatively few exceptions, success in direct sales over the Internet has been elusive for most not involved with business-to-business transactions. However, the Internet does provide a wealth of information applicable to more standard methods of achieving “international” status and should be considered an integral part of establishing and maintaining relationships with foreign distributors and retailers.

What is critical to export success, I suggest, is the ability to create websites to market your products, give credibility to your business and make it easier for customers and potential customers to locate you and communicate with you. Your website can be as grand or as simple as you wish; it will largely be determined by your budget but remember that you can, with a little time and thought, create your own at little or no cost. If you want a quality site then it will cost and you need to see the work of several consultants before you settle with one to create your site.

The advent of new technological advances, such as the video sharing sites such as YouTube, gives you access to a new generation of web users to help develop your brand but you will need to get the basics of your Internet marketing strategy right first before you venture into these arena.

What is available to you immediately, and at no cost, is the ability to create blog sites. A blog was originally a web-based diary (web log). I have been experimenting with my occasional marketing and public relations blog with articles for small business at www.headlinepromotions.blogspot.com and have attracted a large number of visitors. It costs nothing to create, except your time, but it offers you an immediate free showcase and public relations tool. As long as you include the promotion of your blog site address in your marketing strategy then this will be an invaluable tool for you.

I hope these brief thoughts are useful but I would welcome your feedback and suggestions for any future articles on the European perspective of marketing for export.

In the book Alice In Wonderland, there is a scene where Alice comes to a fork in the road, she looks down the right road as far as she can see, and sees nothing. She looks down the left road as far as she can see, and sees nothing. In the center of the fork is a large oak tree with the Cheshire Cat grinning a grin as big as a grin can be. Not knowing which way to take the fork, she asks the Cheshire Cat, “Which road should I go?” his reply; “which road do you want to go?” and Alice says “I do not rightly know which road to go.” The Cheshire Cat’s response to her was, “if you do not know which road you want to go, then it makes no difference which road you go.” The moral of the scene is: If you do not have a Goal set, or a direction to go, it makes no difference which way you go, nor will you know when you get there.

Planning and goal setting are essential parts of every business. A “Plan of Action” must be established so that work, effort and resources are directed in a controlled and coordinated manner towards the accomplishment of these goals and objectives. A good business plan establishes Goals and Objectives to be reached. Good managers direct their personnel. They manage their business every day without losing sight of their Goals and Objectives. They make decisions and changes as required to keep the business progressing toward present goals. With goals and objectives set, the manager can now anticipate instead of reacting to events; he remains in control.

Without a business plan, a business tends to run on historical experience or on a crisis management basis, constantly putting out fires, rarely finding the person with the matches. Employees work in different directions due to lack of common goals. This creates confusion, inefficiency and, in effect, excessive costs and reduction of profits. Does this sound familiar? The lack of a business plan limits growth. Efforts are based on day-by-day situations without planning. Essentially, without a plan, you are "flying blind". Although businesses cannot plan for all contingencies, planning will reduce risk and provide guidelines for staying on course.

The next step is to establish the long range goals. Usually, they are done for a period of three to five years. The goals raise questions in at least three domains: labor, facilities and financial.

LABOR: Do we have the personnel available to support the growth, or will we have to increase staff? If we increase, from where will they come? Are our compensation programs competitive? What will the training needs be? Who will do the training?

FACILITIES: Do we have the equipment and space to support the business forecast? What replacements will be required? What new or expanded equipment or facilities will be required?

FINANCIAL: What are the three to five year cash requirements necessary to support the projected growth? What type of major capital expenditures will be required for additional equipment? Will long term borrowing be required? Is it available? At what costs? How will cost of living factors affect my costs? Do I have administrative personnel and facilities to support the volume figures? Where do I acquire them? At what cost?

Planning and setting goals is the first function of your company. Whether documented or not, there must be a purpose to be accomplished by the business. To facilitate communication, it is desirable that the purpose be specified in writing. The first goal of your company is to survive; the second is to grow. The prime objective is to make a profit. The success and future of your company, ultimately depends on its ability to be profitable.

Businesses of all sizes and within all industries often suffer from poor planning. A key area which needs consideration is succession planning for both ownership and key management. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY BUSINESS OWNER TO PLAN FOR THE DAY WHEN THEY WILL NO LONGER BE INVOLVED IN THEIR BUSINESS ON A FULL TIME BASIS.

Often, we hear of small to medium sized businesses built primarily on the drive and enthusiasm of a key individual, only to falter when that person is no longer there. Similarly, larger public companies can experience great turmoil if their management and ownership criteria are not clearly defined and allowed to develop correctly.

Within succession planning we are not simply talking about small businesses or personal financial planning. We are looking for business to be planning for its future success - and for that success to be facilitated by a transfer of ownership and management responsibility to successors who are ready and prepared for the responsibilities involved.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU WITH SUCCESSION PLANNING: Does anyone else really want this business (or position)? Succession planning requires you to be quite honest with yourself as to just what style of business you have, whether it really has value to outsiders, and whether it can be made more valuable. Without addressing this question much of the other work you do may be pointless.

Can the business survive without me? One of the keys to good management is to make a business or position able to operate without you. Here we are talking about the functions and processes that you or the business might undertake, not necessarily the visions and ideas that you personally might have.

To facilitate your business operating without you, you will need to consider business and operation plans, financial factors, staff selection and assessment procedures, training, the systemization of processes (one of the great benefits of the quality movement) and the maintenance of a management environment that encourages others to participate within the business.

Are there clear lines of separation between ownership and management? While one individual might happen to be both the owner and CEO of a business, there is no reason why that needs to continue. You should clearly identify the roles required of the owners and managers of the business and deal with each of those. In terms of looking at succession, three general questions should be asked for both ownership and management. They are:

Who, When and How? · Who is the appropriate person or who are the appropriate people to take over your responsibilities?
· When is the appropriate time for them to assume those responsibilities?
· And how will that change over be implemented?

Are your business structures appropriate to allow for change? Start considering the legal structures within which you operate. Are the business assets properly located in the right entities to allow for future changes between ownership and management of the business? What operational systems can be changed to facilitate succession? What arrangements can be put in place with partners and fellow shareholders to provide them with protection without jeopardizing your own interests? Are your business partners prepared for the changes involved? Have you planned personally for a change in role?

Very often, we find that successful business people cannot fully let go and gave no arrangements in place to occupy themselves once they step back from full business activities. This is often one of the key causes of the failure of succession - the old management group just fails to let go.

Have you properly planned for your own retirement and lifestyle needs? This involves consideration of financial requirements and investment decisions. These matters cannot be fixed with short notice. They require you to consider what action you can take now so that the future is more controllable.

Have you properly allowed for your family's needs through both retirement planning and estate planning? Consider the disposition of assets under your Will. Your family should know how the business works and how your investments are held. When major family businesses are involved, proper wealth creation and estate planning techniques need to be considered so different assets can be left to different members of the family without jeopardizing the business itself.

Are you prepared to do something now? The longer you have to implement different strategies the more likely it is you will be comfortable with the results. While succession planning is usually not an urgent issue facing a company, it is important. The longer an owner waits to begin the planning process, the more urgent the issue becomes.

I was at a training event recently and during the opening 'set the scene' intro the senior director in the company asked the group to list all the things that were stopping them providing a good service to their customers.

The team took great pleasure in listing all the concerns: Morale, time, work pressures, customer issues, the products etc etc.

The director gleefully added each and every comment to the flip chart and when no more issues were given he looked up and said.."I have only one problem with this list......." He let the question hang in the air for a few seconds and when the team's started to look around non-plussed, he said, "You're not on it!"

It may not have been what they wanted to hear, but Wow, did it have an effect.

Identifying a team members complacency is often the key to re-generating a workforce, it's a common problem and one that can have disastrous effects. In my experience, there tends to be two main reasons behind it.

1. The team member has been doing extremely well and has taken their eye off the ball.

2. The team member is not doing as well as his counterparts and so feel de-motivated and unable to achieve.

In both situations the key is to encourage the team member to 'buy-in' to the business once again. They need to appreciate the consequences of their action, or in-action, and learn to change.

So how do you do it?

The best approach is to identify the team member's drivers, that is, what it is that makes them want to succeed. For some, it will be the desire to get away from how they currently feel, for others, it will be the hope of reaching a better future state. Once you know what approach your particular team member prefers, you can encourage them to work towards, or away from it.

Of course it's not always easy to identify a person's drivers without asking them. So that's exactly what I suggest you do! You don't have to be so upfront with the question, using coaching as a method of understanding is a great way to achieve this.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that through a good use of questioning and an even better use of listening you will be able to not only identify your team's drivers, but also help them establish a need to change.

There are two major ways to estimate the lengths (i.e., durations) of tasks. The simplest way is to estimate the elapsed time of a task.

If someone says it will take him a week to do a particular task, he is probably offering an elapsed-time estimate. They generally mean that it will take him one work week to get a task done, not that it will take them 40 hours. When estimating elapsed time, people generally account for not working on the project tasks full-time, and for working on other, higher-priority tasks first.

In most projects, however, lengths should be estimated based on the amount of work, not the amount of time. That way, adding resources will shorten a task, and using resources only part-time will lengthen a task. Tasks that fluctuate like this depending on the resources assigned are called resource–constrained tasks.

There are several ways to estimate the resource time for a task. One is to let the project manager calculate the estimates based on an employee’s performance on similar tasks. Another is to let the employees performing the tasks calculate their estimates, generally based on how they performed on similar tasks. A third way to estimate is to use standard metrics for generic tasks.

Although many project managers like to follow the standards established by these generic metrics, their plans are generally more accurate when they and their employees do their own estimating. It usually takes three to five projects to become proficient, but the eventual accuracy is worth the delay. Sometimes tasks will not be resource-constrained and can be estimated based on the elapsed times. Examples would be training classes or project meetings. Even though two or more people may attend a class or meeting, the length of the task does not shorten. These types of tasks are called time-constrained.

If estimates are being provided from standard metrics or project managers, them resources (i.e., employees) should be assigned after task lengths are determined. If estimates are coming from the employees performing the tasks, obviously these steps will be reversed. Regardless of the order of these two steps, one or more employees should be picked for each task that is resource-constrained.

Employees assigned to multiple tasks are often scheduled for too much work while there are simultaneous tasks to complete and not enough work when there are no task assignments. To maintain a consistent workload, resources need to be “leveled.” There are only two main ways to level resource allocations: by adjusting the task schedule or adjusting the resource assignments. Project management packages generally adjust the schedule to increase the amount of time it takes to finish the project.

Remember these basic principles for assigning task lengths and resources to improve your management proficiency.

Lots of bosses are good at dumping, but not at delegating. They're great at off-loading the things they don't like to do and dropping assignments on their subordinates with little or no guidance.

Other bosses think that delegating is always the best way to assign work. That's not right either. When you've got a competent and willing worker, delegation is the right way to go, but it's not a good choice for workers who aren't as competent or committed.

Delegation is only one among the four basic options you when you ask a subordinate to do a piece of work. Here they are in order from most controlling to least controlling.

Make the decisions about what is to be done and tell folks what to do. I call this style "Tell."

Telling is good for people who may be new to the job and have lots of enthusiasm, but not enough ability yet. It's also the style you'll use with subordinates who've proved through several supervisory interviews that they may have the competence, but they seriously lack willingness. Those are discipline problems and tight control is appropriate.

You can also discuss the work with your subordinate, but make the final decision. This is good for less experienced people who either need instruction or who need their confidence built up. I call this style "Discuss and Tell."

Discuss and Tell is the style that most managers seem to like best and revert to under pressure. It seems like it let's them be both "participative" and in control. But using just Discuss and Tell is a bad idea, especially when you're helping a subordinate grown and develop.

At some point, your subordinate will demonstrate that he or she understands the work that needs to be done. That's the time to use the style I call "Discuss and Allow." With that style you discuss the work with your subordinate, and then let them decide what to do.

Discuss and Allow is the hardest option for most managers because it involves giving up control before they're really sure how competent a subordinate is, but it's essential if your subordinate is going to develop to a point where you can delegate to him or her. Many managers want to jump right over this step and simply assign work. Don't do it.

Part of your job as a manager is developing your people so they're competent enough that you can delegate almost any task to them. That won't happen all at once. To make sure they develop well, you've got to go through Discuss and Allow before you move to the style I call "Allow" or "Delegation."

When you delegate, you give your subordinate the assignment and ask what they need from you. This is true delegation. It's only appropriate for people who have mastered the kind of work to be done and who willingly pitch in.

As you work with people new to the job you'll move through the four styles as they grow and develop. Remember that you use different styles with different people and with the same people on different tasks. You make your decision on what style to use based on your subordinate's ability and willingness to handle the specific work you need to assign.

In my programs, I use the acronym AW, GOSH to help understand how much control to give a subordinate. Here's what those letters stand for.

A stands for ability. Do they have the ability to do the job? If they don't have the skills or resources, then you have either a training or resource issue, not a supervision issue.

W stands for willingness. Do they willingly do work that they've been given? Sometimes we talk about this by saying that a person is "motivated."

The comma (,) is to indicate that the two factors above are the most important ones to consider. The following factors may affect how you handle a specific situation, but they aren't nearly as important as your basic judgment about Ability and Willingness.

G stands for growth. If I let go a bit more, will it help this person grow and be an even better worker in the long term? I've found that most managers are reluctant to relinquish control, so if you're in doubt, give your subordinate more freedom.

O stands for organization. Are there any rules, regulations, or cultural norms that might cause me to modify my original decision?

S stands for situation. If the situation is either physically or psychologically dangerous you may want to retain more control. If it allows for safety and for the person to fail (but not horribly) then you can loosen up a bit.

H stands for "How will this affect others?" Will this set a precedent? Will it be perceived as fair? Does it set a good example? Remember that the people who work for you watch everything you do.

Instead of thinking just about whether you can delegate better, strive to give people the maximum control possible over their work life while helping them grow and assuring that your team is productive. The best way to do this is to use all four styles based on the ability and willingness of your subordinate to do the job.

Management training programs and management training courses are meant to hone the managerial skills of a person. Sometimes, it is through these management training programs that an individual discovers he or she has a particular skill. So, what are the key skills of a top manager?

• Management training programs and management training courses will point out that good communication skills are of paramount importance to a manager. A manager has to be a great communicator if he wants to become a great manager. Communication skill is not just about speaking but listening as well. Good communication should avoid ambiguity. If there is a chance that a message might be misunderstood then it should be clarified. Communication is a two way street. And this is something that all management gurus agree on. Check on any management training manual or book any you will see that this point is being made. So, just like others listen to what you say, you have to listen to what others say.

• A top manager has a vision. He makes sure that the others share this vision with him/her. Communicating a vision doesn’t mean you have large message boards with your vision written on them placed at strategic locations. It might be effective to catch attention but to retain that attention you are going to have to do something else. You have to make sure that your team understands your vision and shares your vision with you. Visionary managers make the employees feel that they have stake in the organization’s success. They also inspire others to have their own visions and to reach out for these visions.

• No management training can impart you the skill of integrity. A top manager has to remember action and not word set a precedent. Mouthing moralities and practicing unethical business practices does not mean you have integrity. You have to practice what you preach.

• A top manager has to have enthusiasm for his job and the job that he is doing. A negative leader will only bring the team down. So, when you are choosing a field, choose carefully. Unless you enjoy what you do it is hard to be productive. Enthusiasm is infectious. If you have that attitude, it is sure to pass on to the other members of your team.

• Management training programs will tell you that delegating responsibility is an important skill that a manager should possess. This also means that sometimes you will have to train your subordinates or team members to do a job better that you. But, fear of being overshadowed by their own protégé stops managers from doing this. If you are a good manager there is nothing to fear. As, Bill Gates says there are enough jobs in the world for good managers. The world is short of good managers.

• As much as delegating responsibility is necessary; it wont do any good if you just dole out jobs without doing anything yourself. You also have to take up responsibility. Action speaks louder than words. If the team feels that you are not doing anything yourself and are only speaking of doing something then, you are going to lose the respect of your team. It will be even better if you take on less attractive tasks. This will show the other members of your team that, doing such tasks are also important.

• Always think carefully making a decision. At the same time, don’t take too long to arrive at a decision. Once you have arrived at a decision don’t change it. People do not respect indecisive managers. If you have to change your decision, it questions your motivation for arriving at the earlier the decision. The implementation of the changed decision might also become difficult. You can of course reconsider your decisions with changed circumstances but if you make a habit of it you are not going to be a successful manager.

• Management trainings also emphasize that top leader routinely reward their staff. The reward maybe in the form of a good word, a promotion, a pay rise or a bonus. It should be something that shows to your members and subordinates that their work is also important to the working of the organization.

There are many other skills a manager can possess but these are the tops skills of a manager according to the carious management training programs and management training courses.

Morale is deceptively important in the running of an efficient call center. The reason it is deceptive is because while most bosses acknowledge the relationship between morale and productivity, few call center bosses are able to accurately pin down a decrease in productivity as being directly related to a lowered morale. The reason it is important is the same; namely that a higher morale means happier workers, which in turn leads to an overall increase in call center productivity.

What does it mean to have high productivity in a call center? Well for starters it means a higher level of customer focus, as call center agents with higher morale are going to sound more pleasant over the phone. It is human nature to unconsciously let feelings show through and in a job that involves a large amount of telephone conversation, it becomes easy to see how an unhappy worker can result in customer complaints and unnecessary headache further on down the road.

More than just customer focus, high morale in a specific worker can lead to that worker contributing to a more relaxed working environment, which in turn can have a positive morale effect on another worker. This worker then contributes to an even more relaxed working environment and so forth. Morale boosting can create a positive feedback cycle that benefits the whole staff of a call center, thereby making things easier for everyone involved.

So how can one increase the morale of their call center staff? The first step is in understanding what causes morale drops in the first place. Call center employment, as far as front line services go, is the ultimate emotional roller coaster ride. A worker can receive a compliment from one customer that makes them feel great and thirty seconds later be in tears from an angry client using harsh words against them. While it is impossible to avoid angry clients, attentive bosses can take steps that diminish the impact angry clients and other potential obstacles have on the morale of their staff.

The best morale boosters are ones that understand how humans work and think. Incentives are a good way to start; a bonus for achieving a milestone (such as working a certain number of hours without receiving a complaint) is something that will make a worker feel special, as well as let them know that their boss is looking after them directly.

Recognition is another important form of morale boosting that is frequently overlooked by call center administrators. Human nature is such that even a simple thank you can last a long time. Call center staff that have been working the phones a long time develop a confirmation bias that magnifies one type of call and diminishes another in their memory. If their bias is toward positive phone calls, then half the battle if done. If however it turns out to be toward negative phone calls, they will need help to keep their morale high.

And that is where recognition comes in. Finding a way to recognize workers on a regular basis for a job well done can really keep them in high spirits, allowing them to get through that next bad day with less effort than otherwise. Remember what I said above about the positive feedback high morale can generate? Recognition is a simple way to start that loop.

In conclusion, a good way to view call center morale is to think of it as a tool of the trade that is used to increase worker productivity. Call center administrators need to be savvy enough to realize the important relationship between worker morale and worker productivity. High morale is one of the most important aspects of a good call center and with it the sky is truly the limit to what workers can accomplish.

One of the most difficult tasks a manager’s has to perform is that of staff appraisal. Many management training programs and manager training courses conduct separate classes on this. Staff appraisal is like skating on thin ice. The result of a staff appraisal rarely satisfies the staff and the management. So, how to run a staff appraisal? At the outset it is important to remember that agreeing to the objectives of staff appraisal as well as making effective use of staff appraisal can improve the performance of your business. It can of course, also help in assessing the performance of your employees. Employees usually prefer a structured appraisal system which recognizes their work.

Management training program will tell you that in order to monitor and assess an employee it is necessary and useful to set out clear objectives for the employees. This way the employees also know what is expected from them. A well designed system of appraisal can help you in assessing your staff against these very objectives. It is a chance to give good constructive feedback as well as praise them for their good work. It is also a chance to further clarify the objectives of the company and the employees.

There are four key areas where you should concentrate on for a staff appraisal. According to management training courses these key areas are: setting objectives, managing performance, carrying out the appraisal, providing reward or solutions. Set clear objectives and give them the training, tool etc., necessary to perform well. Monitor the performance of the employees and discuss the results with them. Depending on the results of an appraisal give a promotion or rewards for good performance. Offer solutions for poor performance. A very common doubt for management is how often one should conduct an appraisal. For a new employee appraisal may be done after a set period. For others it can be done once or twice a year. Whatever performance testing system or appraisal system that you are putting up should be informed to the staff in writing.

Management training often distinguishes between goal and objectives. Goals are meant for companies whereas objectives are for individuals. For instance the goal for the company might be to increase sales by some percentage over a year. The objective for the employee may be to bring in one client every month for that year. Make sure the objectives are useful. For this you can use the smart system i.e. Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time based objectives. There are certain things that are not measurable. Then try to score their capability on a score of say 1 to 5 to measure their performance. In such cases the objective of an employee is to achieve a higher score.

An appraisal is usually carried out by an employee’s line manager. Some management training programs and management training courses feel that the results should also be shown to the management. Another method is when a mixture of employees who have some contacts with the appraised employee, give in written feedback. These can include line manager, colleagues, subordinates etc. When making the appraisal the performance for the whole period should be taken into consideration rather than just the immediate past. Enough time should be allotted for the appraisal meeting. Make the opening with positive comments. Make sure the employee understands the next steps. The discussion should be two way and in situation should it become a conflict. The employees should be given a written copy of the appraisal and they should be given a right to appeal if they don’t agree with the appraisal.

According to people who conduct management training a good appraisal should motivate your employees. Good performances should be rewarded but the question of reward should not be related to performance in the appraisal interview. A separate meeting should be conducted to consider the reward. But reward programs should be monitored carefully as it might cause friction among the employees. Bonus, pay increase, giving company shares are all various types of rewards that can be given.

Project management as we know it today has evolved in order to plan, coordinate, and control the complex and diverse activities of modern industrial, commercial, and management change projects.

Clearly, man-made projects are not new; monuments surviving from the earliest civilizations testify to the incredible achievements of our forebears and still evoke our wonder and admiration. Modern projects, for all their technological sophistication, are not necessarily greater in scale than some of those early mammoth works. But economic pressures of the industrialized world, military defense needs, competition between rival companies, and greater regard for the value and well-being (and hence the employment costs) of working people have all led to the development of new ideas and techniques for managing projects.

All projects share one common characteristic – the projection of ideas and activities into new endeavors. The ever-present element of risk and uncertainty means that the events and tasks leading to completion can never be foretold with absolute accuracy. For some very complex or advanced projects even the possibility of successful completion might be in serious doubt.

The purpose of project management is to foresee or predict as many of the dangers and problems as possible and to plan, organize, and control activities so that projects are completed as successfully as possible in spite of all the risks. This process starts before any resource is committed, and must continue until all work is finished. The primary aim of the project manager is for the final result to satisfy the project sponsor or purchaser, within the promised timescale and without using more money and other resources than those that were originally set aside or budgeted.

Much of the development in project management methods took place in the second half of the twentieth century, spurred by impatient project purchasers (who wanted their projects finished quickly so that their investments could be put to profitable use as soon as possible). Competition between nations for supremacy in weapons and defense systems played a significant role in the development of project management techniques, and the process has been accelerated by the widespread availability of powerful, reliable, and cheap computers. Project management is more effective when it makes use of these sophisticated techniques and facilities and, in this sense, is a highly specialized branch of management.

Planning and control must, of course, be exercised over all the activities and resources involved in a project. The project manager therefore needs to understand how all the various participants operate, and to appreciate (at least in outline) their particular skills, working methods, problems, and weaknesses. This demands a fairly wide degree of general experience so that, in this practical sense, project management is akin to general management.

Are you getting ready to fill a position at your firm? I have a number of suggestions to help you find the right person the first time. These tips are based on my own experience and observations in running interviews and managing hiring searches over the past 5 years.

Before you even post the job listing:
1) Have a plan. This is the most important part. I recommend the steps listed below, but even if you decide some of these aren't for you, make sure you have specific alternatives in mind.
2) Define the position. This is absolutely essential. Sit down with the other decision makers and make sure everyone is on the same page as far as what skills you are looking for and what your goals are.
3) Create or update the job description, and profile the ideal candidate.

After posting the job listing:
4) Screen resumes with your ideal candidate in mind. Grade them: 'A' is a good match, and should be interviewed. 'B' is on the fence, and gets an interview if there are not enough 'A's. 'C' is not a match and should not be interviewed. For me, the magic numbers always seem to be 10 people for the first round, with second round callbacks for the top 3 candidates. If you can find 10 'A's to begin with, you're off to a good start.

Before the first round interviews:
5) Create a standard question list for the interview. Avoid the standard interview boiler-plate questions, as well as questions which can be answered with 'yes' or 'no'. You want to learn about the candidate and understand how they think, so ask questions which require thought.
6) Create a brief test or assignment which will give you insight into the candidate's skills. Hiring is often extremely subjective. Having a test creates an objective measure, which takes at least some of the subjectivity out of it. Plus, as a bonus, it creates a means by which you can quickly test people to see if they have at least the basic skills required.

During the first round interviews:
7) Follow your list of questions and give the test religiously. Don't deviate unless absolutely necessary. You want to treat every candidate the same, so that you can compare apples to apples when evaluating and comparing them.
8) Try to have 2 people perform the interview. This allows one person to listen while the other talks, plus it gives you a 'second opinion' with whom to discuss the candidate afterwards.

After the first round interviews:
9) Immediately after each interview, discuss the candidate with any other colleagues who were present. Don't put it off- soon after the interview, recollections will start to get muddled as other tasks start to occupy the attendees. Immediately rank each candidate, especially the top 3. Keeping a running tally is a good tool for prompting recall of what each candidate had to offer. Plus, as a special bonus, once you've interviewed your last person, you will have a list of the top 3 ready to go for the second interview stage.

For the second round interviews:
10) Invite the top 3 candidates back for a second interview. Three is the magic number. Two just isn't enough, because your colleagues won't have enough of a sense of the range of candidates. Four is too many -- people will start mixing up the candidates, or won't be able to focus equally on all of them. The second interview should repeat steps 5 through 9, with these changes:

* involve more people from the organization, both to expose the candidate to a wider range of the people he/she will work with, and to involve a wider range of opinions.
* repeat at least some of the questions from your standard question list, for the benefit of those who weren't present the first time (and also to see if the candidate answers the same way).
* create a more involved skills-based test or assignment. You really need to know if this person can perform if hired.


Now refer back to step 1, where you created a plan. The beauty of having a formal interview process, ie. 'a plan', is that if what you are doing works, you know how to replicate it. If results are not what you anticipated, you can gradually tweak your plan over time until you get to where you want to be.

Congratulations, your hiring practices are now far more organized, and likely far more effective, than most companies. Happy hiring!

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
This famous quote from Franklin Roosevelt speaks as clearly to leaders today as it did in the 1940s. In their book, Play to Win, Larry and Hersch Wilson present psychologist Maxie Maultsby’s concept of the Four Fatal Fears. Maultsby believes these fears impede our ability to interact effectively with others and take relevant action. These fears can not only immobilize us, but also immobilize an entire organization when a leader is stuck in their grip. Let’s take a look at the impact of these Four Fatal Fears on a leader’s ability to create a dynamic organization that responds quickly and effectively to change, creates new and innovative solutions, and works toward a common vision.

I fear failure; therefore, I need to succeed.
When leaders operate from a fear of failure, they are often reluctant to act. They may procrastinate in making decisions and miss opportunities. It impedes their sense of adventure and playfulness, as well as their ability to take the risks necessary for innovation and growth. A fear of failure can manifest itself as a need to have every piece of available information before making a decision. Leaders who fear failure can become imaginatively stuck and in the constant mode of finding answers, rather than reframing questions. Their thinking can become polarized into black-and-white or all-or-nothing approaches that limit creativity and risk-taking.



I fear being wrong; therefore, I must be right.
For leaders, the fear of being wrong can make it extremely difficult to tolerate members of their management team who challenge their ideas or conclusions. Over time, dissenting voices become quiet and the management team becomes nothing more than a rubber stamp for the leader’s thinking. The creativity and imagination of the team is lost to the leader and the business. Ultimately, leaders’ fear of being wrong leads to an increased likelihood that they will be wrong. Leaders who need to be right tend to dominate discussions and attempt to control the thinking of others, rather than see others as resources who can expand their understanding of issues and opportunities.

I fear rejection; therefore, I need to be accepted.
Fear of rejection makes it difficult for leaders to take a stand and define themselves in situations where relationships feel endangered. Leaders who fear rejection seldom confront the poor performance of subordinates or challenge the thinking of others in a way that promotes lively discussion and debate. These leaders tend to rely exclusively on a consensus decision-making style because they believe it is more important to be liked than respected. Fearing rejection, leaders often try to present themselves in a way that is palatable to everyone, except them. This leads to stress, burnout and lack of confidence. More introverted leaders deal with the fear of rejection by pulling away from relationships and cutting themselves off from the very people with whom they desire connection.

I fear being emotionally uncomfortable; therefore, I need to be comfortable.
When leaders need emotional comfort, they lack the capacity to remain present and engaged when faced with resistance or anger from others. They tend to avoid emotionally charged discussions, and therefore, miss the opportunity for mutual learning and growth. The need to avoid emotional discomfort can make the intrinsic loneliness of leadership unbearable. Leaders who attempt to maintain constant emotional comfort become cut off from their own emotions and unable to respond appropriately to the emotions of others. It is almost impossible for leaders to make difficult decisions when they are paralyzed by the fear of others’ emotional responses.

Summary
When leaders act out of fear, their actions and decisions are guarded and restrictive. These leaders tend to focus on controlling others, rather than managing themselves. The leaders’ fears and anxieties are transmitted to their organizations, which creates dependency, indecisiveness and lack of personal responsibility. These shared fears can replace the firm’s shared values and lead to ethical lapses, poor and untimely decisions, ineffective communication and dysfunctional relationships. To face and manage these fears, leaders must remain honest with themselves regarding their most prevalent fear and the conditions that are most likely to provoke that fear.

Awareness is the first step to self-management, so here are some exercises to help you determine how fear has an impact on your leadership. Choose the exercise that you feel is most beneficial and revealing. Then, try it for a week and see how it adds clarity to your actions.

I fear failure; therefore, I must succeed.
For the next week, stop twice each day — once at midday and once at end of day — and ask yourself the following questions:
• What did I not attempt today because I was afraid I would fail?
• How did I rationalize not trying?
• What was the worst outcome that could have come out of my trying?
• What did not move forward because I did not try?
• What did I learn about myself and my leadership from this experience?


I fear being wrong; therefore, I need to be right.
For the next week, stop twice each day — once at midday and once at end of day — and ask your self the following questions:
• In what situation did I feel the need to be right or to avoid being wrong?
• How did I respond?
• How did other people respond to me?
• How could I have responded that would have been more useful?
• What did I learn about myself and my leadership from this experience?


I fear rejection; therefore, I need to be accepted.
For the next week, stop twice each day — once at midday and once at end of day — and ask yourself the following questions:
• In what situation did I feel rejected today?
• How did I respond?
• How could I have responded more effectively to stay connected?
• What situation did I avoid today because I was afraid of rejection?
• What was the result of my avoidance?
• How could I have engaged that person?
• What did I learn about myself and my leadership from this experience?


I fear being emotionally uncomfortable; therefore, I need to be comfortable.
For the next week, stop twice each day — once at midday and once at end of day — and ask yourself the following questions:
• What made me emotionally uncomfortable today?
• Why was I uncomfortable?
• What did I do to avoid or eliminate the discomfort?
• What did not get resolved because I avoided discomfort?
• What did I learn about myself and my leadership from this experience?