business networking - 3 tips

 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 Monday 3 Steps to a Better Network Having the right network is crucial to getting ahead in today's organizations. But far too many people waste valuable time investing in fruitless connections. Here are three steps to build a more productive network: Analyze. Identify the people in your network and what you get out of interacting with them. Remember you're looking for quality, not quantity. De-layer. Most likely not everyone in your network helps you. Make some hard decisions to back away from redundant or energy-sapping relationships. Diversify. Build your network out with different kinds of people. Focus on energizers who will help you achieve your goals. Today's Management Tip was adapted from "A Smarter Way to Network" by Rob Cross and Robert Thomas.

Internet - a basic human necessity by 2011

 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 Monday

Among Students, Web Connection More Important than Car

64% of college students in a global survey said that if forced to choose, they would opt for having an internet connection rather than a car. 40% said the internet is more important to them than dating, going out with friends, or listening to music. The Cisco Connected World Technology Report draws on surveys of some 1,400 students in 14 countries.

Source: Is the Internet a Fundamental Human Necessity?

The business of communicating values

 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 Tue

Communicate Your Company's Values

Most corporate communication plans fail to convey something fundamental to a company's operations: its values. This is a missed opportunity to influence and energize employees. Here are three ways to communicate values in a meaningful way: Establish values across the company, not just at the top. If everyone doesn't feel ownership over them, the values lose meaning quickly. Ask employees to help. Seek their input on how well the company is living up to its values. Involve them in keeping the company accountable. Live your values. Actions speak louder than words. Be mindful of the values in every decision you make and use them to explain your motivations.

Today's Management Tip was adapted from "The Business of Communicating Values" by Rosanna M. Fiske.

Tech freedom , work from home, young gen

 

NOVEMBER 10, 2011 Thursday  To Young Workers, Tech Freedom Is Worth a Lot At least 2 out of 5 college students and young employees say they'd accept a lower-paying job over one that paid more if the position offered greater flexibility on access to social media, the ability to work from various locations, and what type of mobile phone employees can use on the job, according to a survey commissioned by Cisco of more than 2,800 college students and young professionals in 14 countries. Flexibility on these issues will be important in determining which companies will land the next wave of talent, Cisco says. Source: The New Workplace Currency—It's Not Just Salary Anymore: Cisco Study Highlights New Rules for Attracting Young Talent Into the Workplace Share Today's Stat: FEATURED PRODUCT Business Review" /> Management Tips from Harvard Business Review HBR Press Book You've read the newsletter and seen the app. Now you can buy the book—and have the best Management Tips from Harvard Business Review on hand when you need them. From getting the most from team members to building and sustaining relationships with customers, these tips will help you tackle challenges throughout the day, as well as those on the horizon. With 150 tips in all, this book offers the very best ideas from Harvard Business Review's strong bench of thought leaders. Order your copy today. ADVERTISEMENT

Wanna benchmark ? 3 caveats !

 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011 Thu 3 Questions to Ask Before Adopting that Best Practice Best practices are alluring. If other companies have already determined the best way to do something, why not just do what they did? But before you run off to collect best practices from the leader in your industry, ask these three questions: What are the downsides? Implementing a practice that worked elsewhere isn't necessarily a slam dunk. Think through the potential disadvantages and figure out how to mitigate them. Is success truly attributable to the benchmark practice? There are many reasons a company succeeds. It is unlikely that emulating one practice of an industry leader will give your company the same success. Are the conditions similar at your organization? For best practices to be transferrable, businesses need to have key similarities: strategy, business model, and workforce. Today's Management Tip was adapted from Harvard Business Review on Making Smart Decisions.

2 tips to identify your team's blind spots

 

OCTOBER 31, 2011 Monday

Rid Your Team of Blind Spots

When our brains concentrate intensely on one task, we miss what is happening around us. This means that when your team diligently focuses on a task, it's likely they're missing something. Here are two ways to identify those blind spots: Assign the task of speaking up. Every time your team meets, include an agenda item that reads: "What are we missing?" Rotate responsibility for answering that question so everyone eventually contributes. Get an outsider's perspective. Bring people in from other parts of the organization to analyze your project. They might not know about the progress, methods, or solutions being worked on already, but they may see something your team doesn't.

Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Why You May Be Blind to a Good Idea (and What to Do About It)" by Cathy N. Davidson.

A case for work from home, circa 2011

 

NOVEMBER 4, 2011 Friday

A Longer Commute Leads to More Absenteeism

Workers with a 50 kilometer one-way commute can be expected to miss 15% more days from work, on average, than their colleagues who commute 10 kilometers, according to a study of workers in Germany by Jos N. van Ommeren and Eva Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau of VU University in Amsterdam. Commuting distance is usually assumed to affect only employees, not businesses, but the study shows that it also has a strong impact on absenteeism, the researchers say.

Source: "Are workers with a long commute less productive? An empirical analysis of absenteeism"