Do Business Well

#2: WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOUR COMPANY?

Make sure that the outcomes you define for your people are in line with your company’s current strategy. Again, this sounds like motherhood and apple pie. But with the dizzying pace of change in today’s business world, it is sometimes hard for managers to keep track.

The key distinction here is between “mission” and “strategy.” A Company’s mission should remain constant, providing meaning and focus for generations of employees. A company’s strategy is simply the most effective way to execute that mission. It should change according to the demands of the contemporary business climate. Continue Reading »

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How can the manager help? In the new career, the employee is the star. It is his responsibility to take control of his career. It is his responsibility to look in the mirror and make sound choices based upon what he discovers. But what role should the manager play? She is no longer the gatekeeper, picking and choosing from among the most attractive, the most skilled, the most experienced supplicants. What is her role? Continue Reading »

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With consumers spending more money on landscaping and their lawns, it is not surprising the purchase incidence of garden equipment, furniture, and decor is strong as well. Purchase incidence of garden equipment, furniture, and decorative items for the garden (i.e., garden hardware) was 42 percent in 2003, down slightly from results of 47 percent in 2001. Continue Reading »

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B. If your manager forces you to do things her way . . . she is probably focusing on process too much. Pick your moment, perhaps during your performance planning meeting, and tell her that you want to define your role more by its outcomes than by its steps. Ask her which outcomes she would use to measure your success. As you discuss this, describe for her how your style, although different from hers, will still enable you to achieve the outcomes expected of you. Continue Reading »

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We’ve neglected consumer desire. That’s why consumers are taking an extended holiday in this recession. Why the Web was wiped out overnight. Why many Christmas retailers and resorts have gone into mourning.

Today’s advertising is so busy looking over its shoulder to see what analysts are saying about its company’s stock value, and what its competitors are saying in their ads, that the consumer has been left out of the loop. Continue Reading »

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Going to a workshop may seem attractive. Yes, you can pick up some skills. But it’s difficult to transfer these skills to your work environment. The so-called university model of training (sending employees to outside educational institutions) has proven relatively ineffective. On the average, you can expect to see the transfer of no more than 5 to 20 percent of the desired skills two years after the training program. Continue Reading »

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No matter how many books you read, how many training programs you attend, or how many meetings you run, you can always improve your facilitating and recording skills. Professionals in any field know this. Famous athletes or performers are constantly experimenting, trying new techniques, striving for perfection which they know, no matter how hard they work, no one can attain. Even if you’ve been fortunate enough to receive professional facilitation training, if you want to become a topnotch facilitator or recorder, you will have to continue learning by yourself. Continue Reading »

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External Activity

<CROSS-CHANNEL CONTACT HISTORY (MAIL, TELEPHONE), PENDING SUPPORT ISSUE, FIRST AND LAST SUPPORT CALL AND EMAIL, SUPPORT LOG/EVENT HISTORY, PRODUCT RETURN HISTORY …>

Data generated from your direct mail, telemarketing, customer support, and product return operations can be a critical part of measuring true customer value, cost to serve, and cost of customer contact and conversion. Linking this type of external data with your email marketing system will enable you to spot—and avoid— potential problems. Imagine, for example, that a customer has sent you an email complaining about a product defect. If customer service doesn’t let marketing know about the problem, marketing might send the already-angry customer an email offering the latest add-on to the product he or she is complaining about. Continue Reading »

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Level of Marketing Service

On one end of the service continuum are the broadcasters who simply merge the text copy you give them with a list of names and blast it out. Some may also provide such basic services as canned response reports to track click-through information. At the other end of the spectrum are the full-service marketing consulting and service bureaus. These companies run their clients’ marketing functions in much the same way as traditional marketing and advertising agencies do. Here are the services to look for when choosing a marketing service provider. Continue Reading »

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Who are your subordinates? Your co-workers of yesterday. They are likely to find your changed position an adjustment too. They may show approval and pride, or resentment and scepticism.

But whichever way you look at it, sound relationships with all your subordinates are essential if you are to get your new job done. They, in turn, are dependent on you to satisfy their needs and to help them grow.

Here are some strategies to build a winning team from the start:

Get to know your team

Get to know your team members, their strengths and their weaknesses. Spend time individually with the people who work for you. Ask them about their jobs. Get them to show you what they do. Find out what motivates them. Continue Reading »

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