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Casual Articles - Overcome Traditions That Delay Improvements
Are you fed up, broke and lonely? Then switch off your computer and get a life. Ok that's my little joke. Seriously though, sitting in front of a monitor for most of the day is not likely to do much to improve any of the points above. Try communicating with the real world for a change. Call a prospect, ask if there is something you can help them with. It doesn't much matter what they reply, you always benefit from the exchange.If you are in luck, they'll say that they do need a product or service. But should the answer be, 'Not at the moment', that's ok too. Because now you have introduced yourself and (I hope) supplied a phone number or mailed information so that when a requirement does arise, they can easily contact you.Next time you make an attempt, you won't be an absolute stranger, your prospect might want something now and you are demonstrating that you are keen to help. Don't do it so often that you become a pest, of course.With prospecting, after a while, the numbers look after themselves. You may be lucky within the first 2 or 3 contacts, but if you aren't it doesn't be concerned because the laws of probability
Why not? 'Because that the way it's always been around here.' Sound familiar?
TRADITIONAL WAYS TO TOE THE LINE
The Pecking-Order Tradition: ' After You, Alphonse '
In most organizations, decisions have to follow a certain pathway. Someone who needs a decision begins the process by asking his or her boss. The boss asks her or his boss. This p
Imagine that for the past year you have been negotiating a huge deal with an overseas firm. On the day the deal will be finalized, your company’s big brass troops to the conference room. You are tickled pink that the deal will be completed using the teleconferencing service provider you just chose for the company. What's more, you saved a few bucks by picking a brand new start-up company!With everything and everyone posed to close the deal, what could possibly go wrong? The answer is everything! The teleconferencing monitor at the front of the room short circuits. It is engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The executives run out of the room in alarm. The next day, they call the deal off. You lose what could have been the biggest coup of your career, and all because you didn't carefully choose your company’s teleconferencing service provider.Teleconferencing Teleconferencing entails meeting among people in various locations. Closed-circuit television and other telecommunications equipment make this possible. Audio conferencing, the most common form of teleconferencing, uses various types of audio equipment. Web conferencing
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
A motorist asks a farmer for a glass of water. The farmer obliges, using a hand pump to draw water from a well. The pump handle turns close to a board, and the farmer curses as he scrapes his knuckles against it.
Motorist: Why not move that board? It serves no purpose.
Farmer: It's been there since my father's time. If it was good enough for him, it is good enough for me.
Aping Human Beings
Imagine a cage containing five apes. In the cage, hang a banana on a string over some stairs. Before long, as the story goes, an ape will decide to go up the stairs to grab the banana. As soon as that ape touches the stairs, spray all the apes with icy water. After awhile, another ape will approach the stairs with the same result: All the apes are sprayed with cold water. Do this repeatedly and then just watch when another ape tries to climb the stairs. The other apes will attempt to prevent the ape, even though no cold water is sprayed on them.
Next remove one ape from the cage and replace that ape with a new one. The new ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To its horror, all of the other apes attack. After another thwarted attempt, the new ape knows that if it tries to climb the stairs, it will be assaulted. Now remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer enthusiastically takes part in the punishment although it has no idea why it was not permitted to climb the stairs.
After replacing the third, fourth, and fifth original apes, all the apes that had been sprayed with cold water are gone from the cage. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs.
Why not? 'Because that the way it's always been around here.' Sound familiar?
TRADITIONAL WAYS TO TOE THE LINE
The Pecking-Order Tradition: ' After You, Alphonse '
In most organizations, decisions have to follow a certain pathway. Someone who needs a decision begins the process by asking his or her boss. The boss asks her or his boss. This pr
Relationships with workers, finding work in the first place, running projects and maintaining detailed and accurate records of all costs are just some of the responsibilities construction contracting firms have to juggle. Strategic planning is a luxury mostconstruction contractors don’t have any time for, and this is where construction estimating programs can help. Providing accurate estimates, monitoring profits and saving time are all benefits offered by good estimating softwareAny quality construction estimating programs will enable you to work project scheduling out from finish to start. It will be clear when materials need to be ordered and delivered, when you can have plumbers and electricians work on more than one job at a time and how the job is going according to the budget.With construction estimating programs you should be able to view accurate costing for projects so estimates will include decent profit margins so you can stop living from paycheck to paycheck. With clear daily monitoring of the big picture contractors can work out what mistakes were made and when so they can be corrected and avoided in th
Aping Human Beings
Imagine a cage containing five apes. In the cage, hang a banana on a string over some stairs. Before long, as the story goes, an ape will decide to go up the stairs to grab the banana. As soon as that ape touches the stairs, spray all the apes with icy water. After awhile, another ape will approach the stairs with the same result: All the apes are sprayed with cold water. Do this repeatedly and then just watch when another ape tries to climb the stairs. The other apes will attempt to prevent the ape, even though no cold water is sprayed on them.
Next remove one ape from the cage and replace that ape with a new one. The new ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To its horror, all of the other apes attack. After another thwarted attempt, the new ape knows that if it tries to climb the stairs, it will be assaulted. Now remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer enthusiastically takes part in the punishment although it has no idea why it was not permitted to climb the stairs.
After replacing the third, fourth, and fifth original apes, all the apes that had been sprayed with cold water are gone from the cage. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs.
Why not? 'Because that the way it's always been around here.' Sound familiar?
TRADITIONAL WAYS TO TOE THE LINE
The Pecking-Order Tradition: ' After You, Alphonse '
In most organizations, decisions have to follow a certain pathway. Someone who needs a decision begins the process by asking his or her boss. The boss asks her or his boss. This p
Put many different people together in one place, day after day after day, and conflicts are bound to happen. Most people work them out on their own, but what happens when the conflict doesn't go away and threatens the productivity of your entire staff or team?We've all seen it – Mary isn't speaking to Susan; Ted and Tom can't be put on the same project; Bill goes behind Karen's back and "forgets" to include her in project discussions. Some days, it's like working in a kindergarten. As the manager, what is your role in resolving workplace conflicts?The knee-jerk response of most managers is to overlook the conflict, in the hopes that it will go away. After all, we think, these people are adults; I shouldn't have to tell them how to behave.Unfortunately, left alone, a workplace conflict can fester and grow out of proportion until it takes on a life of its own and all-out war is declared. Other employees take sides and the conflict becomes more important that getting the job done.Here are some tips to control potentially damaging conflicts before they escalate.1. Set standards. Make sure you have a written set
Next remove one ape from the cage and replace that ape with a new one. The new ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To its horror, all of the other apes attack. After another thwarted attempt, the new ape knows that if it tries to climb the stairs, it will be assaulted. Now remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer enthusiastically takes part in the punishment although it has no idea why it was not permitted to climb the stairs.
After replacing the third, fourth, and fifth original apes, all the apes that had been sprayed with cold water are gone from the cage. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs.
Why not? 'Because that the way it's always been around here.' Sound familiar?
TRADITIONAL WAYS TO TOE THE LINE
The Pecking-Order Tradition: ' After You, Alphonse '
In most organizations, decisions have to follow a certain pathway. Someone who needs a decision begins the process by asking his or her boss. The boss asks her or his boss. This p
The U.S. federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act was created to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures. The act covers issues such as establishing a public company accounting oversight board, auditor independence, corporate responsibility and enhanced financial disclosure. The act came after a series of financial scandals, including those affecting Enron and WorldCom.Sarbanes-Oxley compliance may be difficult for your company to adhere to at first, but in the long run it can be beneficial for you and your employees. Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will make your company’s finances more transparent and easier to navigate, as well as easier to tell when things are not right.In order to achieve Sarbanes-Oxley compliance a company must have a system where information is accessible and manageable. Often times companies lose track of important information and may be unaware of its whereabouts. This information is very important and may be contained in documents that have been lost in email or even inside the hard drives of company equipment. In order to solve this problem a company must have a system to man
After replacing the third, fourth, and fifth original apes, all the apes that had been sprayed with cold water are gone from the cage. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs.
Why not? 'Because that the way it's always been around here.' Sound familiar?
TRADITIONAL WAYS TO TOE THE LINE
The Pecking-Order Tradition: ' After You, Alphonse '
In most organizations, decisions have to follow a certain pathway. Someone who needs a decision begins the process by asking his or her boss. The boss asks her or his boss. This p
In just five minutes you are going to learn how to easily write headlines from scratch with the ease.But first you need a little background.You see, when people look at website conversion statistics they often look at a website's statistics from an analytical perspective.In other words they look at facts, figures and equations instead of looking at increasing website conversions from a holistic standpoint.Allow me to elaborate because knowing this will change your sales conversion results at breakneck speed.One of the most overlooked elements in increasing website sales is "website copy."In particular headlines, or rather writing effective headlines that capture the interest of your website visitor and compel them to stay at your website and learn more.The reason why writing effective headlines is so critical to a website's success is simply a matter of 'TIME.'You see people are busy. Busier than ever! So busy in fact that face to face sales is becoming increasingly unnecessary to close a deal.Even multi-thousand dollar deals not to mention the countless number of transactions un
Why not? 'Because that the way it's always been around here.' Sound familiar?
TRADITIONAL WAYS TO TOE THE LINE
The Pecking-Order Tradition: ' After You, Alphonse '
In most organizations, decisions have to follow a certain pathway. Someone who needs a decision begins the process by asking his or her boss. The boss asks her or his boss. This process continues until someone has the authority and wants to decide. When the decision is finally made, communicating the answer has to follow the same path in reverse down through the organizational pathway. Nothing has changed about this process since the days of feudal kings and their lords. But is this the fastest way to make progress? Hardly.
The Hazing Tradition: Get Down!
Organizations don't like to allow newcomers to become part of the group until the new people are put through some ridiculous initiation that had humbled the organization's veterans. Having humiliating experiences in common makes everyone feel more comfortable with one another. The apes in the cage would recognize the process.
The Slow Walking Tradition: Take the Tour
Few people like it when pressure is put on them. To avoid that pressure, many people will pretend to be at full effectiveness ' while working well below their self-perceived potential. When the big bosses arrive for an inspection, those who host the visitors will take the big brass on a long, slow tour designed to demonstrate that everyone is fully and effectively engaged. Every stop will have been rehearsed for weeks in advance, and everything will be perfect.
This tradition has been around for a long time. During a famine, Catherine the Great took a tour of Russia to see how the peasants were doing. A prosperous-appearing village was erected along the banks of the river just before her arrival. That night, the village was disassembled and transported down river to be erected again for viewing by the Czarina the next day in a new location.
The Time-Is-Money Tradition: How Much Is This Conversation Going to Cost Me?
Many organizations ru
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