Author : Megan Tough
The success of your business is directly related to the commitment and productivity of the people who work in your business. And yet it is generally recognized that 60% of employees, or more, are underutilized in their roles at work.So what are the factors that contribute to low performance standards and expectations?Communication, or mis-communciation, is one of the major sources of low productivity. The messages that move between the owner, employees, managers and even customers are not understood in the same way. One classic example is that business owners tend to assume that employees and managers see things the same way they do.Managers tend to lower their expectations (unconsciously) so that they will not have to confront employees. Most people dislike discussing declining performance with their employees, and so actively avoid having to do so by reducing heir expectations of what's required.Employees have a tendency to protect themselves from possible failure by pushing back on what is expected. They will often negotiate/bargain the job down to a more comfortable level.Business owners often have difficulty separating what they want done from how they want it done. Telling employees exactly how to achieve a certain goal leaves no room for the employee to think or use their own initiative. Consequently they often stop trying to contribute and become 'sheep" – just doing what they are told. In this catch-22 situation, the owner is forced into a position where they must constantly be telling everyone exactly what to do.Some owners may not understand the concept of person/job matching, and so have the wrong people in the wrong positions. This situation can be extremely demotivating for the employee.So how do you go about setting performance standards and expectations?The owner and employee must collaborate together.They must work together on the fact that the role the employee is performing can be improved in a way where everybody wins - the employee, the owner, and the business. When you teach the owner to collaborate with the employee, not only does the performance go up, but so does the morale.Short term goals, or wins, must be established. 90-days is the ideal.Set specific goals for the employee in 90-day increments so that there will be ample opportunity to monitor systems and progress, as well as to experience wins on a routine basis. Ideally, involve the employee in this goal setting process so they experience some control over their work.Determine the strengths required to do the job well.If the employee is going to be successful, the owner and employee must decide jointly what strengths are required, and how the employee is going to be able to apply their strengths. This is where having a good match between the employee and the job is so important. The boss doesn't have to figure this out on their own - the employee will probably already know what's necessary.Set standards, and determine HOW they will be done.Decide the standards that will apply to each activity, as well as how the standards will be achieved. Understanding the level of performance required gives the employee a sense of achievement - which is one of the key ingredients to achieving performance standards. This is true for employees at any level.Establish communication agreements.To ensure success, the owner and employee must decide at the outset how they are going to communicate progress (and challenges) along the way. Will it be day-to-day? Week-to-week? The minimum time frame is week-to-week. Less frequent than that and it all falls apart.The employee decides how to achieve the desired results.The owner will be present and participating for this part, but it is essential that the employee be leading the process in order for them to have ownership. Help the employee take responsibility for deciding how to accomplish the results. You may need to determine if the employee has the skills and development to do this. If they don't, provide maximum guidance to them.Get it in writing.If it is not in writing, within one to two weeks everyone will be confused and uncertain. The focus, responsibility, resources, constraints, timetables and measures all need to be in writing. The purpose of doing this is to make sure the owner and employee are so clear on the goals and process that there is no confusion whatsoever. It sets everyoneEstablish a monitoring method.Make sure you get agreement on how the performance will be monitored and how frequently. In order for the process to go forward, the employee needs to agree to monitor their own performance, and the owner must agree to sit down and review it with the employee on a pre-determined schedule. Let them know upfront that if they get busy and start canceling meetings, performance will not improve and expectations will not be met.
I recommend having the employee keep track of their progress in writing and advise the owner weekly. A simple weekly progress update is a win-win solution and can take as little as 5 minutes. A monthly sit-down, face-to-face meeting is a must also.What are the benefits of setting effective performance standards and expectations?Employees are energized and empowered to take ownership of their positions.
Owners become energized and inspired, ceasing to lower expectations in order to avoid confrontation.The productivity of the company goes up.Everyone knows what is expected of them, which provides certainty to move forward.This process, itself, opens new channels of communication between owners and employees.complete potential is here to help you make more of your business. More profits, more income, more of what you want. Remove obstacles to growth and create new opportunities. To get more practical business strategies and tips, sign up to our ezine - Profits for Professionals - at http://www.completepotential.com
Keyword : Employee Performance, Management Expectations, Communication, Monitoring Methods
วันเสาร์ที่ 23 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2551
Do Not Confuse Your Team by Giving Different Signals
Author : Hans Bool
You are to lead a small call center. This center has a simple campaign where prospects are contacted (cold calling) offering them a new product. It is a difficult product to sell in a business to business market. So there are many ways of doing this. In most cases a call script would be used. So each call center agent knows what procedure to follow. Without having such a script, the manager could focus on either the concrete results – the number of contracts made - or at the way the contact process takes place. Combining these methods would be the worse of both worlds.Thé Client Relationship Management approach would focus on the contact with the client. Contact in the sense that the agents should wait for the client to show attention (and maybe interest). If you go directly to the point (the features of the product) you might loose the prospect in the beginning of the call.Some call center agents will focus (by nature and experience) more on this first phase of the call. Trying to establish a real contact. Yet this takes time and it is not always possible. If you manage this process by focusing on the numbers of calls to make, you might make it impossible for experiences agents to establish such a contact. You pressure them too much which could be ineffective.You could also choose to focus on the results only. For example that at the end of each week there should be a certain number of contracts.If you want to control everything you will focus on the way it is done. This is however very difficult. Your (personal) approach may not always coincide with the agents preferences. Besides it is very difficult to manage (to control). You should constantly be present, take random tests, etc (managing by walking around).
To have the agents focusing on the results is easier to manage. You can set the targets, either to the number of calls made or to the number of contracts to make.Combining both approaches will confuse the agent. In this approach you will set concrete targets, but you will also inform the agent how to reach these targets. This will not do because you will give them different signals. One signal is saying "Concentrate on the quality of the contact" the other signal hints "hurry because you have a target to reach."Management is not difficult, as long as you stick to your rules.© 2005 Hans BoolHans Bool is founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company where Internet is the main interaction medium. By offering online tools we can address management issues in hours what normally would take days of consultancy. Astor White. Committed to your management issues. On a distance.
Keyword : coherence, consistency, signals
You are to lead a small call center. This center has a simple campaign where prospects are contacted (cold calling) offering them a new product. It is a difficult product to sell in a business to business market. So there are many ways of doing this. In most cases a call script would be used. So each call center agent knows what procedure to follow. Without having such a script, the manager could focus on either the concrete results – the number of contracts made - or at the way the contact process takes place. Combining these methods would be the worse of both worlds.Thé Client Relationship Management approach would focus on the contact with the client. Contact in the sense that the agents should wait for the client to show attention (and maybe interest). If you go directly to the point (the features of the product) you might loose the prospect in the beginning of the call.Some call center agents will focus (by nature and experience) more on this first phase of the call. Trying to establish a real contact. Yet this takes time and it is not always possible. If you manage this process by focusing on the numbers of calls to make, you might make it impossible for experiences agents to establish such a contact. You pressure them too much which could be ineffective.You could also choose to focus on the results only. For example that at the end of each week there should be a certain number of contracts.If you want to control everything you will focus on the way it is done. This is however very difficult. Your (personal) approach may not always coincide with the agents preferences. Besides it is very difficult to manage (to control). You should constantly be present, take random tests, etc (managing by walking around).
To have the agents focusing on the results is easier to manage. You can set the targets, either to the number of calls made or to the number of contracts to make.Combining both approaches will confuse the agent. In this approach you will set concrete targets, but you will also inform the agent how to reach these targets. This will not do because you will give them different signals. One signal is saying "Concentrate on the quality of the contact" the other signal hints "hurry because you have a target to reach."Management is not difficult, as long as you stick to your rules.© 2005 Hans BoolHans Bool is founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company where Internet is the main interaction medium. By offering online tools we can address management issues in hours what normally would take days of consultancy. Astor White. Committed to your management issues. On a distance.
Keyword : coherence, consistency, signals
Ways to Effectively Lead your Team/ Organization
Author : Dominick Borzomati
Know Your Competition And Their Product Inside Out.Don't limit your competition only to the ones you know. Keep an eye out for latent competitors too. Once you know what these people are doing, you can build a better mousetrap.Consistently Do Extraordinary Things.Spend more than 50% of your time leading yourself: your purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, and conduct. Create the circumstances of what you want to make happen, go before and show the way.Take A Look Periodically At Where You Are And Where You Want To Go.Vision is great for moving ahead, but you need to look at where you are before you continue forward. Regroup, readjust the direction of your sails, and then move on.Really Create An Atmosphere Of Teamwork.Pay more than lip service to the concept of teamwork. Gather everyone on your team as equals. Let the team set its own goals for success.Develop A Sense Of Authenticity."Do as I say, not as I do" does not apply to work groups anymore. To keep teams motivated and focused you need to have moral authority in order to gain the same from your people.Take Care Of Your Customers. Take Care Of Your Teammates.Tangible results will follow from truly caring for everyone involved in the process. Every person matters!Create More Leaders Than The Competition.Leaders can be found and placed at every level of an organization. Teams feel better about their performance when they feel valued for their contribution.Share In The Economic Gains Of Your Organization.Sharing the wealth with everyone creates a vested interest for everyone to succeed. It's also a great avenue for accountability, and encourages people to innovate.Lead Individuals, Not Groups.Team leaders don't lead teams. They lead collections of individuals who together make up a team. Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, and needs. A team is only effective if their needs are identified and acknowledged, then enhanced.Develop A Service Orientation Rather Than An Individual Achievement Mentality.If you're looking for individual pats-on-the-back rather than a team accomplishment, step back from leading teams. You will be very frustrated and the team members will feel used.My name is Dominick Borzomati with DWB Associates. We are Business Development Specialists and have been since 1993. We work with individuals committed to moving themselves and their businesses to the next level.At DWB what we do is ALL about YOU...Our programs focus 100% on YOU, they address YOUR needs, and concerns. They help YOU to clearly identify opportunities, enhance YOUR strengths, clarify YOUR market position and YOUR competitive capabilities and provide YOU with a clear and concise understanding as to where YOU are and where YOU need to go. Most importantly they provide YOU with a series a simple actionable steps that YOU can choose from that will enable YOU to move YOURSELF and YOUR business to the next level.
Keyword : Leadership, TeamBuilding, Organization, Skills, Practical
Know Your Competition And Their Product Inside Out.Don't limit your competition only to the ones you know. Keep an eye out for latent competitors too. Once you know what these people are doing, you can build a better mousetrap.Consistently Do Extraordinary Things.Spend more than 50% of your time leading yourself: your purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, and conduct. Create the circumstances of what you want to make happen, go before and show the way.Take A Look Periodically At Where You Are And Where You Want To Go.Vision is great for moving ahead, but you need to look at where you are before you continue forward. Regroup, readjust the direction of your sails, and then move on.Really Create An Atmosphere Of Teamwork.Pay more than lip service to the concept of teamwork. Gather everyone on your team as equals. Let the team set its own goals for success.Develop A Sense Of Authenticity."Do as I say, not as I do" does not apply to work groups anymore. To keep teams motivated and focused you need to have moral authority in order to gain the same from your people.Take Care Of Your Customers. Take Care Of Your Teammates.Tangible results will follow from truly caring for everyone involved in the process. Every person matters!Create More Leaders Than The Competition.Leaders can be found and placed at every level of an organization. Teams feel better about their performance when they feel valued for their contribution.Share In The Economic Gains Of Your Organization.Sharing the wealth with everyone creates a vested interest for everyone to succeed. It's also a great avenue for accountability, and encourages people to innovate.Lead Individuals, Not Groups.Team leaders don't lead teams. They lead collections of individuals who together make up a team. Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, and needs. A team is only effective if their needs are identified and acknowledged, then enhanced.Develop A Service Orientation Rather Than An Individual Achievement Mentality.If you're looking for individual pats-on-the-back rather than a team accomplishment, step back from leading teams. You will be very frustrated and the team members will feel used.My name is Dominick Borzomati with DWB Associates. We are Business Development Specialists and have been since 1993. We work with individuals committed to moving themselves and their businesses to the next level.At DWB what we do is ALL about YOU...Our programs focus 100% on YOU, they address YOUR needs, and concerns. They help YOU to clearly identify opportunities, enhance YOUR strengths, clarify YOUR market position and YOUR competitive capabilities and provide YOU with a clear and concise understanding as to where YOU are and where YOU need to go. Most importantly they provide YOU with a series a simple actionable steps that YOU can choose from that will enable YOU to move YOURSELF and YOUR business to the next level.
Keyword : Leadership, TeamBuilding, Organization, Skills, Practical
The Business Calendar
Author : Fazli Sameer
THE NEW CALENDARWe have been following the Christian Gregorian Calendar for almost 2000+ years now and it sure is a non standard way of counting the days, months and years as it is based on the solar year which is defined by the time taken for the earth to make one complete revolution round the sun.Now, this calendar becomes klutzy because of the fact that the twelve months don't conform to an equal number of days and also the leap year factor of Feb 29 which is necessary every four years to keep it in synch with the solar year.Why is it necessary to be in synch with the seasons for a calendar whose basic purpose is to count time? Wouldn't it be convenient and useful if we had months of equal number of days?My simple and humble view is that we need to have a calendar, completely devoid of religion, seasons, and all such external elements, purely based on a standard format of days, weeks, months and years that conform to some equality.Eg; A day is comprised of 24 hours and thats fixed. A month needs to have a fixed number of days and weeks, and a year needs to have a fixed number of days, weeks and months.A Calendar having 13 months of 28 days each would give us a year of 364 days. Furthermore it would fix the number of weeks in each month to 4. If we start the year on a Sunday, eg Year 2006, then every month will begin on a Sunday. A week will continue to have its 7 days from Sunday to Saturday as before.This NEW year will now have 1.25 days less than the Gregorian Year. This means that the seasons will shift through the year, slowly but steadily, until the calendar returns to its original start season every 291.2 years. This time frame amnounts to almost ten generations of humanity assuming that a generation is born every 30 years, approximately.Now a year will have a fixed number of 364 days, within 13 months. Each month will have four fixed weeks startng and ending on the same day thus giving 28 fixed days.While it s easy to suggest and look at the feasibility of acceptance of such a proposal one has also to review what kind of impact such a change wll have on the life of the World.While clocks wll not be affected in terms of Hours, Minutes, Seconds & Degrees, they will still have to be adjusted to display the correct New Month and Year. This can have many ramifications in that almost all digital ekectronic equipment from hand held pocket calculators, to mobile phones, to Computer Hardware, Software to Microwave Ovens, Washing Machines, TV sets, Video, CDAudio & DVD recorders use the day and year feature within them for executing various user desired functions. In fact it would have been the ideal opportunity to have been able to execxute such a change during the Y2K year when all software and related functions had to be converted to conform to the new Millenium year format.In any case this will only be an once and for all exercise that wll be needed to be applied to all existing electronic digital devices. Future manurfactured equipment can easily adapt to the new system without much difficulty.By this we also gain much in terms of equality of the number of days within a month whch is useful because months are used for computing many financially related events in life, viz; rent, pay, payments, mortgages, etc etc.One good thing that will come out of it is that we will have a 13 month pay every year although we will also have to pay 13 months rent and mortgages for the same period.No doubt this change will certainly effect anniversaries and also marketing trends which usually compare the performance of products and services of specific months or quarters against previous years. Biut this can be overcome by still maimntaining the Gregorian Calendar side by side with the new one show9ing the corresponding dates, months and years. This is nothing unusual as it is already being done with the Islamic Hijri Calendar followed by the Muslims across the globe, the Buddhist, Hindu, Chinese and Jewish Calendars too. Of course the calendar will be cluttered with multiple dates on each square but that will settle with time and people will get used to reading it off the cuff with time.NEW Calendar
I have spent some time on MSExcel and was able to conjure up a possible NEW Calendar based on the 364 day year of 13 months, each containing 28 days.Started off with Jan 1 1900 taking it to be the first day of the first month of the year 1900 of the NEW Calendar Year and defined some date manipulation formulae to create a conversion of any date between Gregorian and the NEW Calendar thus coming up with a format for the new system that could be implemented at any time we choose since it originates from 1-1-1900 Gregorian and hence takes care of all dates since 1900.Based on the conversions I get the following eqivalents:-Aug 21 2005 G = 1 Day of the FIRST (1) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2006
Jan 1 2006 G = 22 Day of the FIFTH (5) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2006
Sep 17 2006 G = 1 Day of the FIRST (1) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2007
Jan 1 2007 G = 23 Day of FIFTH (5) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2007Today, Dec 25 2005 G = 15 Day of FIFTH (5) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2006G = GregorianInteresting stuff to ponder over.One good thing that comes out of the NEW Calendar is that we lose 1.25 Days for every single NEW Year since we were born. Not bad for age freaks, I guess?I have the spreadsheet available and can send it to anyone who is interested in researching it and bashing it up for better or for worse.
Keyword : Gregorian, Julian, Hijri, Calendar, Time, Day, Month, Year, Leap, Date, Business
THE NEW CALENDARWe have been following the Christian Gregorian Calendar for almost 2000+ years now and it sure is a non standard way of counting the days, months and years as it is based on the solar year which is defined by the time taken for the earth to make one complete revolution round the sun.Now, this calendar becomes klutzy because of the fact that the twelve months don't conform to an equal number of days and also the leap year factor of Feb 29 which is necessary every four years to keep it in synch with the solar year.Why is it necessary to be in synch with the seasons for a calendar whose basic purpose is to count time? Wouldn't it be convenient and useful if we had months of equal number of days?My simple and humble view is that we need to have a calendar, completely devoid of religion, seasons, and all such external elements, purely based on a standard format of days, weeks, months and years that conform to some equality.Eg; A day is comprised of 24 hours and thats fixed. A month needs to have a fixed number of days and weeks, and a year needs to have a fixed number of days, weeks and months.A Calendar having 13 months of 28 days each would give us a year of 364 days. Furthermore it would fix the number of weeks in each month to 4. If we start the year on a Sunday, eg Year 2006, then every month will begin on a Sunday. A week will continue to have its 7 days from Sunday to Saturday as before.This NEW year will now have 1.25 days less than the Gregorian Year. This means that the seasons will shift through the year, slowly but steadily, until the calendar returns to its original start season every 291.2 years. This time frame amnounts to almost ten generations of humanity assuming that a generation is born every 30 years, approximately.Now a year will have a fixed number of 364 days, within 13 months. Each month will have four fixed weeks startng and ending on the same day thus giving 28 fixed days.While it s easy to suggest and look at the feasibility of acceptance of such a proposal one has also to review what kind of impact such a change wll have on the life of the World.While clocks wll not be affected in terms of Hours, Minutes, Seconds & Degrees, they will still have to be adjusted to display the correct New Month and Year. This can have many ramifications in that almost all digital ekectronic equipment from hand held pocket calculators, to mobile phones, to Computer Hardware, Software to Microwave Ovens, Washing Machines, TV sets, Video, CDAudio & DVD recorders use the day and year feature within them for executing various user desired functions. In fact it would have been the ideal opportunity to have been able to execxute such a change during the Y2K year when all software and related functions had to be converted to conform to the new Millenium year format.In any case this will only be an once and for all exercise that wll be needed to be applied to all existing electronic digital devices. Future manurfactured equipment can easily adapt to the new system without much difficulty.By this we also gain much in terms of equality of the number of days within a month whch is useful because months are used for computing many financially related events in life, viz; rent, pay, payments, mortgages, etc etc.One good thing that will come out of it is that we will have a 13 month pay every year although we will also have to pay 13 months rent and mortgages for the same period.No doubt this change will certainly effect anniversaries and also marketing trends which usually compare the performance of products and services of specific months or quarters against previous years. Biut this can be overcome by still maimntaining the Gregorian Calendar side by side with the new one show9ing the corresponding dates, months and years. This is nothing unusual as it is already being done with the Islamic Hijri Calendar followed by the Muslims across the globe, the Buddhist, Hindu, Chinese and Jewish Calendars too. Of course the calendar will be cluttered with multiple dates on each square but that will settle with time and people will get used to reading it off the cuff with time.NEW Calendar
I have spent some time on MSExcel and was able to conjure up a possible NEW Calendar based on the 364 day year of 13 months, each containing 28 days.Started off with Jan 1 1900 taking it to be the first day of the first month of the year 1900 of the NEW Calendar Year and defined some date manipulation formulae to create a conversion of any date between Gregorian and the NEW Calendar thus coming up with a format for the new system that could be implemented at any time we choose since it originates from 1-1-1900 Gregorian and hence takes care of all dates since 1900.Based on the conversions I get the following eqivalents:-Aug 21 2005 G = 1 Day of the FIRST (1) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2006
Jan 1 2006 G = 22 Day of the FIFTH (5) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2006
Sep 17 2006 G = 1 Day of the FIRST (1) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2007
Jan 1 2007 G = 23 Day of FIFTH (5) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2007Today, Dec 25 2005 G = 15 Day of FIFTH (5) Month of NEW Calendar Year 2006G = GregorianInteresting stuff to ponder over.One good thing that comes out of the NEW Calendar is that we lose 1.25 Days for every single NEW Year since we were born. Not bad for age freaks, I guess?I have the spreadsheet available and can send it to anyone who is interested in researching it and bashing it up for better or for worse.
Keyword : Gregorian, Julian, Hijri, Calendar, Time, Day, Month, Year, Leap, Date, Business
About the Make-Buy-Outsource Question & Interfacing With Third Parties
Author : Hans Bool
The Make-Buy-Outsource question is in many aspects a very interesting one. First of all, there is an evolutional development around the topic. Under normal circumstances, companies will first experience the –- make -- decision, in a later stage -- buy -- and afterwards -- outsource.
Make-buy-outsource is about acquiring a system that needs to fulfill a specific task in the organization. Outsourcing is broader in the way that not only a system is involved but a whole operation, including other (human) resources.The MBO-topic is not limited to the larger companies. Any small business is more flexible when it can hand-over tasks to others. For sending out a mailing you can try to setup a template in outlook, but there are many parties on the market that provide more enhanced solutions. The advantage is that you are more flexible and that you do not have to worry about all those extra aspects. Like making backups and providing the right infrastructure. You do need to check out the service level agreement however.One step further is to hand over all the tasks to a third party. The mailing process is again a good example. You hand over the list (or you can add this list management task to the agreement) and they can execute the job.A disadvantage is that you are interfacing with a company outside your own. And it is at the level of the interfaces where the problems end:
The Mail-partner executed the task but a few addresses bounced. You have the same kind of list stored in your own environment and you should update that list to keep them synchronic. This can happen at either side.
The statistical reports you receive from the Mail-partner are sorted on their own key. Then you want not only a paper list but electronic versions to match them or import them into your own database (or data warehouse for larger organizations). Here the same matching occurs which is error prone. Even though solutions like XML have simplified these kinds off tasks, the vulnerability remains.
Integration at the front end. A client is calling and you need to access to systems. How do you solve this, swapping screens, or do you integrate client functionality and the front-end?
Every company is to a certain extent unique, but each company faces similar kind of issues according to their main characteristics and according to the situation they are in.If you are dealing with such a case, setting up the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is very important. A thorough study of all the required interfaces is a prerequisite in getting a sound SLA.© 2006 Hans BoolHans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.
You can apply for a free demo account
Keyword : Make, buy, outsource, make buy outsource, interface, third party
The Make-Buy-Outsource question is in many aspects a very interesting one. First of all, there is an evolutional development around the topic. Under normal circumstances, companies will first experience the –- make -- decision, in a later stage -- buy -- and afterwards -- outsource.
Make-buy-outsource is about acquiring a system that needs to fulfill a specific task in the organization. Outsourcing is broader in the way that not only a system is involved but a whole operation, including other (human) resources.The MBO-topic is not limited to the larger companies. Any small business is more flexible when it can hand-over tasks to others. For sending out a mailing you can try to setup a template in outlook, but there are many parties on the market that provide more enhanced solutions. The advantage is that you are more flexible and that you do not have to worry about all those extra aspects. Like making backups and providing the right infrastructure. You do need to check out the service level agreement however.One step further is to hand over all the tasks to a third party. The mailing process is again a good example. You hand over the list (or you can add this list management task to the agreement) and they can execute the job.A disadvantage is that you are interfacing with a company outside your own. And it is at the level of the interfaces where the problems end:
The Mail-partner executed the task but a few addresses bounced. You have the same kind of list stored in your own environment and you should update that list to keep them synchronic. This can happen at either side.
The statistical reports you receive from the Mail-partner are sorted on their own key. Then you want not only a paper list but electronic versions to match them or import them into your own database (or data warehouse for larger organizations). Here the same matching occurs which is error prone. Even though solutions like XML have simplified these kinds off tasks, the vulnerability remains.
Integration at the front end. A client is calling and you need to access to systems. How do you solve this, swapping screens, or do you integrate client functionality and the front-end?
Every company is to a certain extent unique, but each company faces similar kind of issues according to their main characteristics and according to the situation they are in.If you are dealing with such a case, setting up the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is very important. A thorough study of all the required interfaces is a prerequisite in getting a sound SLA.© 2006 Hans BoolHans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.
You can apply for a free demo account
Keyword : Make, buy, outsource, make buy outsource, interface, third party
Instilling Urgency In The People You Lead
Author : Brent Filson
It's one thing to lead people to accomplish tasks, but it is another altogether to lead them to accomplish tasks with a deep sense of urgency. Instilling urgency in people is an abiding challenge of all leaders. Yet few leaders I have encountered know how to do it consistently and systematically. Here are six things you must recognize to trigger and sustain urgency in the people you lead.1. Recognize the Leader's Fallacy. The Leader's Fallacy bedevil's most leaders. It is manifested when a leader mistakenly believes that the people will automatically reciprocate the motivation of the leader. The leader believes the people will be urgently motivated simply because h/she is a leader and is telling them to be motivated. The truth is, automatic reciprocity doesn't exist. Reciprocity must be earned.2. Recognize the People's Fallacy. Which is that the people mistakenly believe that urgency is negotiable. Urgency is not negotiable. If you want to get great results with the people, urgency is always an absolute necessity. Look, leadership isn't getting people to do what they want. Leadership is getting people to do what they might not want to do and be totally committed to doing it. If the people have the idea that they can take or leave urgency or can effect it gradually or at their leisure, they are wrong. If the leader thinks it's negotiable, then the leader too is wrong; and h/she, and the people, will not get the results they're capable of.3. Recognize that the people's lack of urgency is the leader's fault.
The existence of the People's Fallacy does not absolve the leader from being responsible for establishing urgency. Leaders do nothing more important than get results. A leader is not the measure of results, results are the measure of the leader. To get great results, leaders must without question have the people take urgent action. No excuses accepted.4. Recognize that urgency is their choice, not the leader's. But to say that the leader should "instill urgency" in the people misses the point. English syntax bungles the psychological truth of urgency. Urgency is not something the leader can instill and compel in others. Only the people can instill urgency in themselves. Urgency is their choice, not the leader's. The leader can only speak and act in such a way that the people make the choice to bring urgency into their world.You ask, "Can't urgency can be forced to happen through physical or psychological violence?" Of course, it can -- up to a point. However, there are two types of urgency felt by the people, one is the kind that is forced upon them, that they are coerced into, the other is the kind that they make the choice freely to adopt. In terms of getting great results, the latter is far more desirable. People who are coerced, who flinch from threats, are not as effective in getting results as people who make free choices.One need only look at the history of the 20th century to see the truth in this when totalitarian regimes the world over fell to democracies and their "citizen soldiers."5. Recognize that urgency comes from solutions. A key way for the leader to speak and act to trigger urgency is by bringing solutions to the problems of the people. All people everywhere have problems. Those problems are crying out for solutions. Leaders are most effective when offering solutions. People will not make the free choice to urgently be committed to the leader's cause unless and until they know that in doing so there are solving their own (not the leader's) problems.6. Recognize that urgency is best effected when the people take leadership to solve their problems. Leaders themselves shouldn't solve the people's problems. The people should solve their own problems. It's the teaching-people-how-to-fish-rather-than-giving-them-fish idea. But it takes that idea to a new, more important level. Instead of "teaching them to fish", it "teaches them to take leadership of fishing." The leader's role is to support them in their leadership. After all, the best way the people can solve their problems is not by "doing" those solutions but by taking leadership of the solutions.Instilling urgency in the people (i.e., having people make the choice to embrace urgency) presents one of the thorniest challenges any leader faces. In fact, to a great extent, the difference between leaders is the difference in the urgency they can get the people commit to. Live by these six determinants, and you'll go a long way in making that difference your defining difference as a leader.2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comThe author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com
Keyword : leadership skill, leadership skill training, leadership development, management, management skill, m
It's one thing to lead people to accomplish tasks, but it is another altogether to lead them to accomplish tasks with a deep sense of urgency. Instilling urgency in people is an abiding challenge of all leaders. Yet few leaders I have encountered know how to do it consistently and systematically. Here are six things you must recognize to trigger and sustain urgency in the people you lead.1. Recognize the Leader's Fallacy. The Leader's Fallacy bedevil's most leaders. It is manifested when a leader mistakenly believes that the people will automatically reciprocate the motivation of the leader. The leader believes the people will be urgently motivated simply because h/she is a leader and is telling them to be motivated. The truth is, automatic reciprocity doesn't exist. Reciprocity must be earned.2. Recognize the People's Fallacy. Which is that the people mistakenly believe that urgency is negotiable. Urgency is not negotiable. If you want to get great results with the people, urgency is always an absolute necessity. Look, leadership isn't getting people to do what they want. Leadership is getting people to do what they might not want to do and be totally committed to doing it. If the people have the idea that they can take or leave urgency or can effect it gradually or at their leisure, they are wrong. If the leader thinks it's negotiable, then the leader too is wrong; and h/she, and the people, will not get the results they're capable of.3. Recognize that the people's lack of urgency is the leader's fault.
The existence of the People's Fallacy does not absolve the leader from being responsible for establishing urgency. Leaders do nothing more important than get results. A leader is not the measure of results, results are the measure of the leader. To get great results, leaders must without question have the people take urgent action. No excuses accepted.4. Recognize that urgency is their choice, not the leader's. But to say that the leader should "instill urgency" in the people misses the point. English syntax bungles the psychological truth of urgency. Urgency is not something the leader can instill and compel in others. Only the people can instill urgency in themselves. Urgency is their choice, not the leader's. The leader can only speak and act in such a way that the people make the choice to bring urgency into their world.You ask, "Can't urgency can be forced to happen through physical or psychological violence?" Of course, it can -- up to a point. However, there are two types of urgency felt by the people, one is the kind that is forced upon them, that they are coerced into, the other is the kind that they make the choice freely to adopt. In terms of getting great results, the latter is far more desirable. People who are coerced, who flinch from threats, are not as effective in getting results as people who make free choices.One need only look at the history of the 20th century to see the truth in this when totalitarian regimes the world over fell to democracies and their "citizen soldiers."5. Recognize that urgency comes from solutions. A key way for the leader to speak and act to trigger urgency is by bringing solutions to the problems of the people. All people everywhere have problems. Those problems are crying out for solutions. Leaders are most effective when offering solutions. People will not make the free choice to urgently be committed to the leader's cause unless and until they know that in doing so there are solving their own (not the leader's) problems.6. Recognize that urgency is best effected when the people take leadership to solve their problems. Leaders themselves shouldn't solve the people's problems. The people should solve their own problems. It's the teaching-people-how-to-fish-rather-than-giving-them-fish idea. But it takes that idea to a new, more important level. Instead of "teaching them to fish", it "teaches them to take leadership of fishing." The leader's role is to support them in their leadership. After all, the best way the people can solve their problems is not by "doing" those solutions but by taking leadership of the solutions.Instilling urgency in the people (i.e., having people make the choice to embrace urgency) presents one of the thorniest challenges any leader faces. In fact, to a great extent, the difference between leaders is the difference in the urgency they can get the people commit to. Live by these six determinants, and you'll go a long way in making that difference your defining difference as a leader.2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comThe author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. – and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com
Keyword : leadership skill, leadership skill training, leadership development, management, management skill, m
It's Your Move: The First Step to Accountability
Author : Kevin Eikenberry
Every place I go, if I'm in an organization long enough, I'll hear people lament about the lack of accountability. Specifically, I hear things like: "They just don't seem to care enough, I guess." "Those action items never get done – I don't know why we even identify them." "I have trouble getting people to be committed to achieving the things they are responsible for." "Everyone wants to blame someone else – it is never their responsibility."These comments come from every level, and they are referring to people both above them organizationally, as well as those that may work for them. In other words the concern is widespread and includes everyone.People are concerned because a lack of accountability is frustrating, but they also know that tremendous productivity and efficiencies can be gained when more people are accountable for completing their tasks, commitments and expectations.Accountability is an important thing.Unfortunately, inherent in most all of the comments above and in the many conversations I've had is that people think the accountability gap is about someone else. "They" aren't accountable. "They" need to improve. The focus is on fixing the behavior of others.While this might be true, this is the wrong place to put the focus, at least at first.Take a Look in the MirrorIf you want greater accountability around you, start by being more accountable yourself. Before you tune me out, I know what some of you are thinking…"I'm just a middle manager – it's not my responsibility.""I'm just a supervisor - I can't change it.""I'm nobody – it doesn't matter what I do."Maybe you are in one of these roles. Or maybe you are a senior leader, or the CEO. It doesn't matter what your role is or how long you have been in the organization. Let me say it again.If you want greater accountability around you, start by being more accountable yourself.If you want to engender and create greater accountability in those around you, you can start by being a good role model. You can be 100% accountable yourself.I'm reminded of what my father often told me: "When you point a finger towards someone else there are four times as many fingers pointing back at you."Being accountable is about figuring out how you can make things better. Other people's actions aren't in your control, and many events aren't in your control either, but your response to these situations and events is completely in your control. You can choose to be 100% accountable and responsible for your response.Some QuestionsWhile thinking about the challenges you face with accountability in your organization, ask yourself the following questions:• What is my role in this situation?• What am I doing (or not doing) to promote the situation as it currently exists?• What about this situation is in my control?• What am I thinking?• What are my beliefs?• What can I do to have an impact?• What can I do differently to change the result?Asking these questions takes courage, because it takes away your ability to blame others. Asking these questions may be a change of your habits. Asking these questions may be hard, because the answers may require work.Courageous and difficult, perhaps, but these are the questions of a 100% accountable person.Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
Keyword : productivity, expectations, accountable, accountability, personal accountability
Every place I go, if I'm in an organization long enough, I'll hear people lament about the lack of accountability. Specifically, I hear things like: "They just don't seem to care enough, I guess." "Those action items never get done – I don't know why we even identify them." "I have trouble getting people to be committed to achieving the things they are responsible for." "Everyone wants to blame someone else – it is never their responsibility."These comments come from every level, and they are referring to people both above them organizationally, as well as those that may work for them. In other words the concern is widespread and includes everyone.People are concerned because a lack of accountability is frustrating, but they also know that tremendous productivity and efficiencies can be gained when more people are accountable for completing their tasks, commitments and expectations.Accountability is an important thing.Unfortunately, inherent in most all of the comments above and in the many conversations I've had is that people think the accountability gap is about someone else. "They" aren't accountable. "They" need to improve. The focus is on fixing the behavior of others.While this might be true, this is the wrong place to put the focus, at least at first.Take a Look in the MirrorIf you want greater accountability around you, start by being more accountable yourself. Before you tune me out, I know what some of you are thinking…"I'm just a middle manager – it's not my responsibility.""I'm just a supervisor - I can't change it.""I'm nobody – it doesn't matter what I do."Maybe you are in one of these roles. Or maybe you are a senior leader, or the CEO. It doesn't matter what your role is or how long you have been in the organization. Let me say it again.If you want greater accountability around you, start by being more accountable yourself.If you want to engender and create greater accountability in those around you, you can start by being a good role model. You can be 100% accountable yourself.I'm reminded of what my father often told me: "When you point a finger towards someone else there are four times as many fingers pointing back at you."Being accountable is about figuring out how you can make things better. Other people's actions aren't in your control, and many events aren't in your control either, but your response to these situations and events is completely in your control. You can choose to be 100% accountable and responsible for your response.Some QuestionsWhile thinking about the challenges you face with accountability in your organization, ask yourself the following questions:• What is my role in this situation?• What am I doing (or not doing) to promote the situation as it currently exists?• What about this situation is in my control?• What am I thinking?• What are my beliefs?• What can I do to have an impact?• What can I do differently to change the result?Asking these questions takes courage, because it takes away your ability to blame others. Asking these questions may be a change of your habits. Asking these questions may be hard, because the answers may require work.Courageous and difficult, perhaps, but these are the questions of a 100% accountable person.Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
Keyword : productivity, expectations, accountable, accountability, personal accountability
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