Related Articles

Managing Client Relationships
Managing Client Relationships: Even the best run organizations occasionally run into difficult situations with clients, consultants, and vendors. Often times it is not just a business process that has gone a-rye, it is the relationship of the people managing the situation.

---

Pitching to Employees
The senior flight attendant on the WestJet flight was starting the routine safety talk: the bit about flotation vests and emergency exits that we ignore at the beginning of every flight."If we could have your attention, please, we would appreciate it - in fact we'd be downright shocked," she said.

---

Building Bridges of Communication
Building a 'bridge of understanding' between parties is fundamental if your business communication is to succeed. If you are a consultant to a client, or a salesperson attempting a closer relationship with your customer, here are five techniques that help achieve just that.

---

How To Decrease Downtime and Increase Productivity
All maintenance activities of the workforce must be documented, this includes breakdown repairs, callouts, preventive maintenance, replacement maintenance, overhauls, and Testing & Inspection work. Maintenance work by production line employees must be included, whether or not the employee is listed as in maintenance.

---

Managing Rebellious Employees
Surveys of executives reveal that many companies fall short of their profit objectives due to "people problems." Research for my Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change book found these "people problems" fall into two "r" categories: rebellion and resistance.

---

The Measurement of Manager Training
THE MEASUREMENT OF TRAINING: Evaluation is one of the most valuable - and challenging - aspects of a training manager's job. A well-planned and on-target evaluation process can be the tool which separates a superlative training department from a merely satisfactory one.

---

Innovation Management - Producing Great Products, Motivation
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.

---

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Boot Camp
Service Level Agreements, or "SLA's" are tricky but useful mechanisms for managing the risk of an on-going relationship with IT service providers. Unfortunately, most SLA's that show up in service contracts as worthless, cosmetic paper additions.

---

Before You Head Off, Make Sure You Know Where You Are Going - The Importance of Clear Objectives.
The title of this article sounds like simple advice, but so often we undertake activities and projects without really understanding how they are going to help us to achieve our aims. I have outlined below some of the causes of this cavalier (and costly) approach to business improvement along with how we might approach things differently.

---

Competion or Cooperation?
It has been said, there is no better way to hone your skills and improve your performance, than competition. Competing with others, or even with your self, fosters continued improvement, striving for even higher goals, and an ongoing sense of achievement.

---

Setting Direction Within an Organization
FINDING DIRECTION: An organization can't succeed without direction. Direction means having clear goals and guidelines; set goals and guidelines for staff to follow.

---

What Is Business Sense?
What is the principal thing you need to succeed in your business today? Money. Sure, you need it, but it is not the main ingredient for success.

---

Using an Appraisal to Benefit Your Organization
PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS BENEFIT THE ORGANIZATION:Appraisals help spot employees with potential for advancement. Appraisals bring attention to the so-called high-potentials - people who have both the will and the ability to excel in the organization.

---

5 Ways to Work More Effectively With Your Administrative Assistant
Stop hiring new administrative support staff. And learn how to retain your existing administrative staff.

---

Never Hire Anyone Dumber Than You Are!
In a previous life I was a Navy Pilot. Great life, great people to be around.

---

The Death Spiral
Sometimes things just happen. Maybe we lose focus and take our eyes off the ball.

---

Status Quo Pep Talks That Can Threaten Your Leadership
Organizations live and die by results. Yet most organizations get a fraction of the results they are capable of.

---

Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees!
Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you believe in the law of reciprocity, and if your business is the least bit successful you must; you know that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but it's very smart business as well. Let's look at some of the benefits and mechanics of Christmas and holiday gift-giving.

---

Employee Motivation: It's More Than A Paycheck
Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep my employees motivated? I pay them decently. What else is there?"Offering competitive salaries is certainly important.

---

Make Change Easy - Get Involved!
There are wild variances in how much involvement organisations are brave enough to offer their people in change. From those organisations where they just 'tell' (sometimes by text message even!), to the most enlightened extreme, where they enable wholesale contribution to the change process.

---