BCA http://www.bcaaz.com Business Counsel Associates Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:08:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Rileybizhttp://feedburner.google.com How’s Your Mobile Brand? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/Efn3Ka8r9zo/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/hows-your-mobile-brand/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:49:34 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2071 By Maria Duron

Though the Internet has changed the way people across the globe talk and reach out to one another, mobile smart phones have really pushed the limits in what can be achieved through technology. Being able to access the Internet using your mobile phone enables you to obtain information anytime, anywhere. And if there’s one thing that’s growing rapidly in the world of business right now, it’s the use of mobile apps.

Smart phones are popular because they are easy and intuitive to use

What makes mobile smart phones so popular is how easy and intuitive they are. Though you may think that most users of smart phones are the younger generation, think again – because of the intuitiveness of these mobile phones, more and more users over the age of 45 are also using these gadgets.

With mobile users continuing to rise significantly, brands nowadays are jumping in the mobile bandwagon so they can reach and engage more consumers. Even small business owners and direct sellers have started to realize the importance of mobile branding in their campaigns. But how exactly can personal brands successfully utilize mobile? What are the key factors in ensuring mobile success?

The web and mobile platforms are two entirely different things

One of the things where brands go wrong is thinking that the web and mobile platforms are the same, and that users are looking for a similar experience of the web on their mobile smart phones. Nothing can be further from the truth. Even though there are lessons to be gained from using the web, mobile is a whole different arena – it basically puts the power in the hands of the individual.

First of all, mobile smart phones give users a smaller screen to navigate. So it takes a bit of creativity to ensure that your consumers have an excellent experience of your brand through their mobile phones. One of the very basic and simple ways you can do is to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile browsers, so that people visiting your site through their mobiles would not be directed to your regular website, which will look ugly on their smart phones.

Also, when it comes to mobile, there is the saying that less is more. Flash, for example, doesn’t work in most mobile browsers, so it might be better to leave that off for your mobile site. And people don’t really want to be bombarded with too much information when they’re on their mobiles – think simple, quick, and interactive. These are the qualities that most people look for when accessing sites and apps in their smart phones.

What you want is to give your consumers something that they can quickly understand and encourage smart interaction. Something they can manage as they go about their busy lives. It’s truly different from what they want to encounter while leisurely browsing the web at home.

Though the technology has improved, it’s still all about connections and engagement

For direct sellers, the days of organizing parties by sending invites in the mail or calling up people on their home phones are gone… nowadays, parties and gatherings are being planned online, invites are being sent through social networking sites and emails. But even though the technology has made things significantly easier, it still doesn’t change the fact that succeeding in business for both direct sellers and small business owners is all about connecting with their audience and engaging their consumers. Mobile access simply makes it a lot easier to connect with people on the go, and keep updated on your business wherever you are.

It’s important to define your plan before jumping in

Of course, it shouldn’t mean that just because everyone is doing it, you should go ahead and do it too. You need to define your goals and come up with a solid plan for your mobile campaign. Typically, businesses go into mobile because of three things: to increase traffic to their site, increase customers, and to increase marketing ROI. And you also have to know how to measure the success in your mobile campaign, so you can evaluate whether it’s worth it in the long run or not.

The coming years will surely bring more technological advancements in the way people interact with the brands they love through mobile. As a direct seller or small business owner, you really can’t ignore the mobile platform since experts predict that it’s going to gain even more popularity in the years to come. If you aren’t yet ready to put your mobile brand into place, it may be a good idea to start learning the ropes so that you can be ready when the time comes.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy, http://buzz2bucks.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maria_Duron

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]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/hows-your-mobile-brand/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/hows-your-mobile-brand/ The Essentials of Proper Business Branding http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/li4DhJz9fMM/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/the-essentials-of-proper-business-branding/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:16:52 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2066 By Tony Jacowski

The Brand is the Identity
A brand may refer to products or services, but  branding involves much more than that. It is the process by which those  offerings and the values of the company are communicated to the buying public.  When done correctly, this process can clearly identify any company and enable  customers to clearly see exactly what makes that company different from all of  its business rivals.

Understand the Audience
When projecting an identity to the buying public,  make sure that the identity is consistent with the needs and vales of potential  customers. It is great for a company to have a personality, but that personality  will mean nothing if it fails to resonate with customers. Every attempt to  create and establish a company brand should only be done after extensive  research focused on audience sensibilities is completed.

Use the Right Methods
Brands require tools. These include logos,  recognizable company colors, a motto, and other easily identified methods for  distinguishing one company from another. While it is easy to get caught up in  the overall look of any logo or design, it is important to always remember that  customers care less about the actual aesthetics of these tools than the fact  that they are consistently used, and therefore, remembered and recognized

Be Consistent
Indeed, consistency is the key to successfully establishing  a company identity. Logos should remain fairly consistent over time. A company  motto that reflects the business’ core values should remain the same so that  customers come to identify the company with those ideals. Keep it simple, but  steady. Even a bland company motto or unattractive logo will take root in  customers’ minds if they are seen and heard on a consistent basis over time.

Use a variety of Mediums
Today’s companies cannot just rely upon the old  methods of communication. In addition to print media and broadcast  advertisements, companies should also develop clearly branded websites and make  use of the full range of social media available today. Every method for  communicating with customers is an opportunity to further develop the company  brand.

Focus on Value and Values
The brand should ultimately be associated with  values. To accomplish this, every interaction with customers must be  accomplished with those values in mind. This includes every advertisement, every  display, and every bit of contact between employees of the company and the  customers they serve. Many businesses become so obsessed with the external  aspects of creating their brands, that they neglect the very real role of  employee decorum demonstrated by actual contact with customers.

When executed properly, any strategy for building a brand can reap huge  rewards for the company. Entrepreneurs who adhere to these basic principles of  business branding will find themselves experiencing greater success as their  corporate identities become firmly established in the public mind.

Aveta Solutions – Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma  training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts,  and yellow belts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Jacowski

]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/the-essentials-of-proper-business-branding/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/the-essentials-of-proper-business-branding/ Rebranding and Repositioning– The Right Brand Strategy Makes All the Difference http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/9PaE60z--UU/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/rebranding-and-repositioning-the-right-brand-strategy-makes-all-the-difference/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:36 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2061

By Phillip Davis

As companies grow, product lines expand and market conditions change,  business owners often find themselves with a company brand image that no longer  reflects who they are or what they do. Perhaps they started in a niche market,  or with a very specific product, and built their entire company identity around  it — and the business now serves a different, bigger or more diverse customer  base.

What to do?

A sure symptom of this brand misalignment is the constant need to explain or  clarify what the company really does. Or when an owner pines “We’re more than  just (fill in the service or product category.) At this point, a new brand  strategy is obviously in order, but it begs the question “Do I need to  reposition my company or completely rebrand it?”

Reposition if the name is right but the message is wrong

Repositioning a company makes sense when the company brand name is well  established and not in any way misleading. In other words, it’s not so much an  issue with the identity as it is with the message and focus.  Apple expanded beyond its original core product line of computers, but that  didn’t require a change in their name. They simply dropped the word “Computers”  from their name and shifted their branding to reflect their “Think Different”  philosophy. They no longer position their brand as a “computer company” but more  as a cool, digital lifestyle provider.

Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure felt restricted by their brand image as a  racing school. It affected their approach to advertising, marketing and product  development. After carefully determining their core value proposition, they  re-emerged with the tag line “Full Throttle Living!” The emphasis  shifted from the cars to the experience. And that experience has since been  expanded to include World War II re-enactments and firefighting drills. They now  position themselves as a lifetime adventure company that simulates a day in the  life of an adrenaline-charged professional. That’s a big departure from a racing  school, and that’s the power of repositioning.

Old Spice has made a concerted effort to reposition its brand from a stodgy  aftershave product to a cool, contemporary array of “fragrant man goods.” Their viral video  campaign has served to introduce a whole new audience to this once  old-school cologne.

Rebrand if your company name causes confusion

Rebranding comes into play when the original company identity has grown  outdated, confusing or outright misleading. The owners and staff can all agree  on the brand’s current position and message, but the customer can’t get past the  name itself. CompUSA struggles to brand itself as more than just computers.  Radio Shack remains mentally tethered to an old technology and a dilapidated  building. Burlington Coat Factory sells more than just coats. At some point, the  cost of clarifying a brand becomes such a drag co-efficient that it makes more  sense to start with a clean slate.

Would 3M be recognized as a global leader in innovation if it had remained  The Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company? Popular consumer electronics  company LG rebranded twice, from the original legacy name of Lak-Hui Chemical  Industrial Corporation to Lucky Goldstar, and in 1995 to their current moniker  of LG with the tag line “Life’s Good.”

Repositioning and rebranding keep a company current, relevant and  profitable

Both repositioning and rebranding serve the goal of greater brand clarity.  Repositioning highlights a company’s emerging role and redefines its new  territory in the marketplace, (often while keeping the legacy name in place,  e.g. Apple) Rebranding addresses the outward facing identity of the company,  typically the name and visual components, and helps to alleviate and/or correct  misconceptions about the direction of the business (e.g. 3M and KFC).

Rebranding and/or repositioning offer unique and specific benefits when  applied correctly. Clarifying the brand identity and market position allows  potential customers to place the company in the right mental “box” for easy and  accurate recall. This type of intuitive branding reduces customer confusion,  improves bottom line performance and positions your company for continued  success. With careful consideration, rebranding and repositioning will have your  customers remembering and revisiting you more often.

How about your company? Have you considered or attempted a rebrand? If so,  share the ups and downs of your experience so others can benefit.

Phillip Davis is president and owner of Tungsten Branding, strategic company branding consultants specializing in name development,  rebranding and brand positioning.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phillip_Davis

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6789335

]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/rebranding-and-repositioning-the-right-brand-strategy-makes-all-the-difference/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/02/02/rebranding-and-repositioning-the-right-brand-strategy-makes-all-the-difference/ Persuasion: Inspire Them First, Inform Them Later http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/Eu2NSVEk300/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/19/persuasion-inspire-them-first-inform-them-later/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:36:32 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2057 By Susan Trivers

You’re an expert who knows how to get the work done, generate results and  make a difference to your customers and your colleagues. Naturally you want to  share how you do it all. But wait–your audience may not be ready for the  ‘How’.

Successful persuasion taps into people’s emotions and inspires them to  imagine a better situation. This is true whether you’re marketing IT products,  professional services or a cultural shift within your company. To be a  persuasive speaker you’ll need to lead the audience to an image of  perfection–or at least, improvement. Until they feel it, they won’t be ready to  do it.

Focus on the “what” and the “why”

In any speaking setting that is not training or a workshop, your presentation  must focus on “what” and “why.” The “what” is the action(s) they should take to  reach their goal. The “why” makes it clear that the “what” will help them reach  their goal.

Let’s look at an example: You are responsible for leading a major change of  behavior in your company. You could just lay down the law and threaten  punishment for anyone who resists. That isn’t likely to generate a favorable  response. You could offer a carrot–do this and you’ll get a reward. That’s also  a short-term approach that could lead to offering ever-increasing carrots.

First describe the behavioral change

The best approach is to describe the behavioral change, which is the “what.”  Describe it in many dimensions-how it will affect their daily actions, and also  their feelings, expectations and interactions. Then talk about the “why”–why is  the new behavior valuable to them as individuals; you might eventually talk  about why the change is valuable to the company as a whole, but whatever you do,  don’t start with that! People always put their self-interest first and  foremost.

The “what” and the “why” are more than enough for a one hour speech or  presentation. Give your audience of employees or colleagues time to savor the  image you’ve helped them picture. Encourage them to keep thinking about it.  Encourage them to add details to the picture; to discuss their visions with  their peers; to move from today and tomorrow to 6 months or a year ahead.

Avoid topics such as “5 Ways to Do X” or “The 7 Factors of Success” or “Three  Steps to Learning Y.” Instead, speak about benefits to the audience: “Success  Comes to Those Who Envision Change” or “You’re the Leader, So Lead.” “Success”  or “Leadership” are the “what” and the rest of your speech is the “why.”

Persuade first on an emotional level

People aren’t ready to be instructed how to do new behaviors until they’ve  fully internalized and integrated the new vision. It’s no different than the way  you might approach a new sport–if you can’t imagine how much you’ll enjoy  playing golf, you won’t learn how to play golf no matter how effective the  instructor. Your “What and Why” speech or presentation is the warm-up that makes  them ready for the “How.”

Persuade first on an emotional level and instruct later on an intellectual  level.

Business speakers who confidently engage their audiences meet their business  and personal objectives. Promotion? More revenue? Elite clients? You increase  your likelihood of success with high-quality business presentation skills. Susan  Trivers consults with and coaches executives and managers to persuade their  audiences to take actions across the spectrum of business goals. Learn more  about how you can become a great speaker at http://www.susantrivers.com and http://www.greatspeakingcoach.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6671107

]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/19/persuasion-inspire-them-first-inform-them-later/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/19/persuasion-inspire-them-first-inform-them-later/ Keyword Research is an Important Part of SEO http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/y8BcLR4HZbY/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/19/keyword-research-is-an-important-part-of-seo/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:05:30 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2053

By Ina R. Seno

Before diving into keyword research, type this phrase in your browser’s  search box, “SEO services in Michigan.” Your search engine will pick this up and  show all the relevant or related websites. The words you typed are really  keywords or more accurately a keyword phrase. The sites displayed are the result  of SEO methods performed on those websites. The better the SEO method used, the  higher your rank will be in its pages.

One significant portion of SEO is  choosing the important keywords or keyword phrases through research.

The Meaning of Keyword Research

Keyword research is the method by which you look for the correct keywords for  you to optimize your site. It’s not as easy as you think. It takes a lot of hard  work and diligence to accomplish.

For example, you want to list down the  keywords you can use for violin lessons. You can use Google AdWords Keyword  Tool. It’s used by many people and it’s free. When you get to Google AdWords  Keyword Tool, type violin lessons and a list of suggested keywords are  displayed. Look at the columns on your right side.

One of the columns has Global  Monthly Search Volume as its title. This column informs you the number of  Internet viewers who search for that particular keyword every month. Select  keywords with greater than 2500 search volumes. This will guarantee that there  is a market for that keyword who are really typing and looking for it.

Jot down  the keywords that you have chosen. More importantly, after selecting the  keywords you have to know how many individuals are competing for that keyword.  You can use the free version of Traffic Travis to know the competition for each  word. Utilize keywords with easy competition and those are the ones which you  should use in your blog posts and articles. This will gradually increase your  rank in the search engines.

Keyword Stuffing

Never use the same keyword too many times in a single blog post or article.  Keep the keyword density below two percent. Your blog post or article can get  penalized by the search engines and decrease your ranking. This method was  utilized before to increase the ranking of sites by stuffing articles and blog  posts with keywords. The article loses its meaning. It’s important to bear in  mind that you’re writing for the human readers and not search robots.

Generalization

If you don’t choose the right keywords through research, the search engines  will not know where to locate your site and determine how high it will rank in  its pages. If these significant points are too much to understand, don’t worry,  that’s a natural response. To make the entire process easier and hassle free for  you, find an SEO company that not only handles your keyword research but the  whole SEO method.

For the whole package of SEO solutions, contact us, Michigan SEO Firm. We provide the complete SEO services and  not just keyword research. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ina_R_Seno

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6818656

]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/19/keyword-research-is-an-important-part-of-seo/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/19/keyword-research-is-an-important-part-of-seo/ How to be a Suave Spy for Your Business http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/VD4Ej2jVA-s/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/17/how-to-be-a-suave-spy-for-your-business/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:42:55 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2048 By Brett Thorne

Chances are that in the course of your daily web-surfing you’ve stopped by your competitor’s

website before. Maybe you just wanted to compare the layout of their site versus yours.

Maybe you wanted to see how recently they had updated their blog or get some information

about what sort of inventory management they use.

What many small business owners don’t realize is that there is a trove of valuable information that

can be gleaned from scouring your competitor’s site, subscribing to their social media channels and

joining mailing lists. There is a whole industry that centers around competitive intelligence, and if you

have a decently sized budget, you may want to contract some work out to one of these organizations.

Using a private investigator

These companies will send out one of their private investigators to legally scrounge for

information on your rival’s competitive practices including invoices, contracts and customer

lists. That can include everything from calling your competitor to gain information on pricing

and shipping rates to digging through the company’s trash.

If you’re not interested in hiring out that kind of help, you can do plenty from your office chair.

First of all, subscribe to your rival’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. These will give you good

information about what products and services your rival is pushing, what sort of specials they

are running and the general day to day info about the company.

Check the Free Services

Use free services like changedetection.com and femtoo.com to track changes to your

competitor’s site. This information will give you a good idea of what the company is planning

to do in the future. If they have a “Meet the Staff” page or something similar that they just

added five new salespeople to, this might indicate that they are expecting higher sales or

experiencing rapid growth.

Finally, sign up for mailing lists. This is possibly the most valuable free tool you can use.

Being on a competitor’s mailing list is like being on the inside. You’re now privileged to all

the information they want their customer base to know about. You can get a glimpse at the

company’s plans for the next month, including sales, promotions, events and new product

launches.

Legal search techniques can be very effective

These practices are completely legal and they can help you get a leg up on the competition if

you utilize them correctly. Plus, they’re a heck of a lot cleaner than digging through their trash.

]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/17/how-to-be-a-suave-spy-for-your-business/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/17/how-to-be-a-suave-spy-for-your-business/ Book Summary: “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance” by Louis Gerstner http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/JVfmUf8cc2o/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/09/book-summary-who-says-elephants-cant-dance-by-louis-gerstner/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:25:48 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2043 By Kevin Brimhall

We have been exploring employee engagement these last few months. The issue  is that employee disengagement is increasing, and this is not a recent trend or  one driven solely by the poor economy. Sarah Van of Raleigh Consulting Group  informed me recently that more Americans left their jobs voluntarily last month  than were laid off. What does this say about the state of employee engagement in  America…especially in these difficult economic times?

For my birthday a few years ago, my friend Anish Shah, now President &  CEO, India at GE Capital, gave me former IBM chairman and CEO Louis Gerstner’s  book “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?” In revisiting it recently, I found  Gerstner’s section on culture to be especially thought-provoking and relevant to  our discussions on employee engagement.

If you can imagine the effort required to change the culture of a large,  iconic company like IBM, possibly it may help cultural challenges you are facing  seem a bit less daunting. Following are a few excerpts and key takeaways from  Gerstner’s chapters on culture.

  • “Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it is the  game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective  capacity of its people to create value.” Values such as outstanding customer  service, teamwork, excellence, integrity, and stakeholder value don’t translate  into the same kind of behavior in all companies, such as how people actually go  about their work, how they interact with one another, and what motivates them.  Employees’ actions and behaviors emanate from an organization’s culture, not  from agreed-upon values or written policies.
  • “Successful institutions almost always develop strong cultures that  reinforce those elements that make the institution great. They reflect the  environment from which they emerged. When that environment shifts, it is very  hard for the culture to change. In fact, it becomes an enormous impediment to  the institution’s ability to adapt.” Essentially, what got your company  here may not be what is needed to take it to the next level. As  difficult as it may be to transform what has been a successful culture, the  alternative is to operate in a culture that has become outdated and ill-suited  to supporting sustained growth and achievement.
  • It is important to identify and inculcate the company’s values or “statement  of principles.” “All high-performing companies are led and managed by  principles, not process. Decisions need to be made by leaders who  understand the key drivers of success in the enterprise and then apply those  principles to a given situation with practical wisdom, skill, and a sense of  relevancy to the current environment.” A company’s culture can be proactively  developed and cultivated or it can merely result from haphazard intentions and  behaviors. No culture that merely “happens” is going to be an effective source  of employee motivation and organizational success.
  • Never let a culture of “No” develop. Paradigms and past  experiences heavily influence how individuals and organizations address the new.  Fixating on the negatives and what didn’t go well previously causes you to be  less open to the opportunities and the “good” that can be derived from seemingly  “bad” situations. This negative outlook then embeds itself into the culture,  impedes progress, lowers morale, and becomes extremely difficult to change.

Highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact areas such as  product quality, customer service, costs, and company growth much more than do  the disengaged. Their emotional bond to their organization fuels a willingness  to commit time and effort to help the organization succeed. Leaders who  understand and leverage the linkages between employee engagement and a company’s  culture can help their organizations rise above those that are mired in people  issues and ineffective working environments.

JFD Performance Solutions ( http://www.jfdperfsolutions.com  )
As a business coaching and consulting firm, we specialize in helping  individuals to reach more of their potential, companies to achieve greater  results, and teams to work better together. We help our clients implement  sustainable change and be more successful.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Brimhall

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6524386

]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/09/book-summary-who-says-elephants-cant-dance-by-louis-gerstner/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/09/book-summary-who-says-elephants-cant-dance-by-louis-gerstner/ Leading Culture Change From the Inside http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/pdp203zc_uo/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/09/leading-culture-change-from-the-inside/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:03:55 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2037 By Deb Peluso

I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion of organization  development and change practitioners, whereby three seasoned consultants shared  their insights on culture change at a local professional meeting. Each of these  individuals were seasoned internal consultants for major corporations or  academic institutions, and each was responsible for initiating, facilitating,  and overseeing culture change programs in their organizations.

I was moved and  inspired by their wisdom and wish to share some of that wisdom with others  facing similar challenges.

Lesson 1.

Build the Infrastructure, Be the Bridge

One of the panelists shared that he saw his role as helping to build the  infrastructure for change. He described how culture change comes about with both  a shift in thinking and in behaviors. While he can not control others’  behaviors, he certainly can control his own.

This was one of the key insights he  had after attending institution-wide workshops and events regarding the new  culture they were trying to build to execute the new organizational strategy.

He  kept the various large group meetings and training events top of mind whenever  he was interacting with his clients. He would purposefully use language and  model new ways of behaving and interacting. When appropriate, he would ask  questions of his clients regarding the conclusions they had reached after being  exposed to the institution’s initiatives, and what they believed they could  control or direct within their span of influence.

He focused on synchronization  – between his local constituents and clients and the university as a whole – so  that the institution could begin operating in a more connected fashion. He  summed up his actions in building this infrastructure by saying that his role  was to be a bridge for his clients – between the clients’ local agenda and the  university’s goals – to connect today’s reality to tomorrow’s possibilities.

As change agents for our organizations, our role often is to be the bridge  between the old and the new. How we construct this bridge and the foundation  upon which it sets directly impacts our clients’ ability to traverse across it  and reach the destination. This panelist’s comments echo the sentiments of  Charlie and Edie Seashore’s work on self as an instrument and Edgar Schein’s  classic writings on process consultation.

At our best, we can be a powerful  medium to help our clients achieve the change they long for in their lives. At  our worst, we can inhibit, block, and even prevent that change from happening.  We have a great responsibility to uphold in this arena.

Lesson 2. Courageously Advocate for Alignment

The second panelist chose to share insights with the group on where he had  “screwed up” culture change initiatives in the past. His cautionary tale  included three potential traps for the change agent: 1) focusing on events,  meetings, or activities as opposed to the entire journey and process, 2) putting  HR in charge of a culture change program that ultimately needs to be driven and  managed within the business, and 3) allowing existing policies and procedures to  remain unchanged even in the face of misalignment to the new stated goals of the  initiative.

This panelist was extremely candid in his appraisal of his own past  performance, as he believed that earlier in his career he lacked the courage and  conviction to “push executives to change policies that were not in sync with the  new direction.” Unfortunately, this is a common experience.

Organizations on one  hand advocate a new strategy and direction for their people, but on the other  hand fail to set people up for success to achieve that strategy. One of the  easiest ways to destroy an initiative is to actually encourage people to do  things that undermine the new direction. Stephen Kerr’s classic article. On  the Folly of Rewarding A While Hoping for B, summarizes this phenomenon  well.

Essentially, it reminds us that people do those things for which they are  rewarded. Not getting the desired behavior from your employees? It is quite  possible that your policies, procedures, rewards, and consequences are out of  alignment with stated goals and objectives.

Lesson 3. Eat the Elephant Ear, Not the Entire Elephant

Just the mention of the phrase “culture change” can stop people in their  tracks. “What? You want to change how we do things around here? Good luck!” The  third panelist quite eloquently explained how approaching culture change in bite  sized pieces can be the fastest and most direct route to the goal. As part of a  large retail corporation, this executive focused on culture change in concert  with the launch of a rebranding strategy for one of its divisions.

The culture  change work was positioned as an enabler to allow the new strategy to take root  and flourish. Because it was connected to real business goals and measurable  results, it gained traction and attention. In addition, the rebranding was a  success and consequently, the activities undertaken to help accomplish it were  highly regarded.

Sometimes eating the elephant can be overwhelming, so focusing  on just the elephant ear at first – perhaps with a sprinkle of powdered sugar -  can be much more appetizing and digestible.

In a few short hours, I gleaned valuable insights from these three leaders  that would have taken me many years to acquire on my own. I hope their wisdom  aids others who are helping develop and instill new cultures in their  organizations.

Deb Peluso is the President/CEO of The Change Collaborative, LLC based in  Columbus, Ohio. Connect with us at http://www.thechangecollaborative.com or on Twitter via  @changecollab.

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]]> http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/09/leading-culture-change-from-the-inside/feed/ 0 http://www.bcaaz.com/2012/01/09/leading-culture-change-from-the-inside/ Career Advice for Your Midlife Crisis http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Rileybiz/~3/4_FN3e-dQB8/ http://www.bcaaz.com/2011/12/23/career-advice-for-your-midlife-crisis/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:21:57 +0000 azjogger http://www.bcaaz.com/?p=2031

By Luciell Potestas Fernan

No matter how skilled and savvy you are in your career, no matter how  fascinating and cutting edge your work now is, it will someday happen: You will  roll out of bed, wonder what you’re doing with your life, and think about making  a change.

Few things are as certain as middle-aged angst, that dreaded feeling that  somehow life has passed you by or you’ve simply missed it somehow.

You question your choices, bemoan your current circumstances, and agonize  over the future. You start thinking about hair plugs and working out more. You  have a sudden urge to trade in the old car for a racy new model or the old wife  for a racy new supermodel.

When you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning

But more often than not, your agonizing centers around your job. You’ve  always hated it, or you once loved it but there’s no challenge anymore. You’ve  plateaued, you’re bored, you hate the boss or the wunderkind who just zipped by  you on the organizational chart. You want to dump that vice presidency to run a  bar in Mazatlan.

After all, life is short and getting shorter by the day, and  you realize you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning.

Here’s where some of the career advisers out there go a little hay-wire,  pushing people into radical career shifts, urging them to find their “bliss.” I  remember watching as the leader of a group career guidance session, sponsored by  a service that shall go unnamed, cajoled one attendee-a man who seemed quite  happy working as a manager for a computer retailing company and who, in fact,  seemed justifiably proud of the coveted promotion he had just earned-to scrap it  all because she saw his face light up when he talked about playing the guitar as  a kid.

Whoa, Nelly. For all she knew, the guy may have been a lousy guitarist.  And not every fanciful dream of youth is worth pursuing, despite the malarkey  pushed by TV movies of the week. For a thirtyish guy with a family, the  suggestion was, in my mind, outrageous.

You’ve spent your whole life building up skills and expertise

The idea of a radical career shift holds a powerful appeal to those in the  throes of a middle-aged crisis, and certainly these seismic shifts do work for  some. But let’s face it: You’ve spent your whole life building up skills and  expertise; that’s your career currency, and it’s usually far more valuable in  the industry you’re already in.

Now, I recognize that some gung-ho Boy Scouts out there are shaking their  heads, certain they won’t fall prey to this dire condition. They’re too  enthusiastic, and their work is too vital. If they even smell some angst in the

For the other 99 percent of  us, here are some tales from the midst of the morass to help shake us from our  doldrums and get us moving again.

What to do after residing so long at one address?

For twenty-seven years, Richard Dahlberg toiled for Massachusetts Financial  Services. Then, when the company wouldn’t assign him more staff so that he could  aggressively push for growth in the mutual funds he managed, he decided he  needed a change of scenery.

But what to do after residing so long at one address? Mr. Dahlberg decided to  stay within his sphere of knowledge, the financial services industry. After  looking at posts in two banks and a mutual fund, Mr. Dahlberg got an offer to be  chief investment officer in the equity asset management group at Salomon Bros.  It wasn’t a sure bet.

Equity management had always been a poor stepchild at  Salomon, representing at that time just $1 billion of the firm’s $13 billion  under management. Mr. Dahlberg wondered how committed Salomon would be to the  relatively new business. He also worried about the fact that Salomon was just  coming off a run of trading scandals and financial setbacks.

And at fifty-five  years of age, he would be giving up a secure position where he had been quite  successful. In the previous ten years, he had built Massachusetts Financial’s  balanced fund assets to $4.5 billion from $215 million. “I could have stayed  where I was for another ten years and enjoyed the annuity,” he says.

You don’t always know where you are going to end up

Don Crosbie, by contrast, simply walked away from his job as chief financial  officer of Dallas-based InterVoice, because he needed a rest after ten intense  years of helping to build the telecommunications start-up. “I did some  consulting, some sailing, tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,”  he says.

He spent a year flirting with investing in some companies and going on a few  job interviews before he decided to form Com Vest Partners, an investment  research boutique. The idle time didn’t worry him, he insists. He has an  explorer’s mentality, requiring new and exhilarating experiences. “You don’t  always know where you’re going to end up,” he says. “There’s always some  uncertainty, but in my mind, if you have the confidence, a door will open for  you.”

In contrast with Mr. Dahlberg, he believes that trying to forge a new career  while immersed in the old one usually doesn’t work. “You end up getting  trapped,” he says.

Take your time and evaluate a number of situations

While Mr. Crosbie would appear to have made a radical break, closer scrutiny  reveals that his new job trades on his well-developed financial analysis skills.  “It wasn’t as if I were going to be an astronaut,” he says.

Many midlifers, fearful that opportunities will dwindle with age, grab the  first job that seems to offer change. Take your time and “evaluate a number of  situations,” Mr. Dahlberg advises. “You have to find the right fit for you.”

If you want a more dramatic change, you have to do something drastic.

“I didn’t want to wake up at fifty one morning with someone in Seattle deciding our unit made no sense”

After sixteen years in the building materials business, Hoyt Gier was uneasy.  The senior sales executive was paid well, enjoyed his job, and figured he had a  reasonable shot at the CEO post. But, “I went to work for a Canadian firm, which  was bought by Belgians, which was bought by Germans,” he says. “I didn’t want to  wake up at fifty with someone in Brussels or Heidelberg or Seattle deciding our  unit made no sense; that petrified me.”

But he wondered how marketable he would be. “I worked for different  companies, but to someone outside the industry, it would look as if I’d been  doing the same thing my whole career,” he explains. So, at age forty, he quit  his six-figure job in Seattle and schlepped his wife and three young children to  Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dart-mouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business for an  MBA. It cost him about $250,000 in tuition and lost income, which he paid for by  selling his Redmond, Washington, home. The move puzzled his bosses, he says.  Even his parents questioned his judgment.

Is an MBA a panacea for middle-aged managers floundering in a sea of uncertainty?

In industries such as investment banking and consulting, the MBA is  practically a required entry card for those with management ambitions  -especially for those coming from completely different backgrounds. As Mr. Gier  notes, “You simply can’t get from where I started to where I am going without  coming through here.” Or someplace like it. He adds: “To break into something  completely different, you have to do something to catch someone’s  attention.”

Is an MBA a panacea for middle-aged managers floundering in a sea of  uncertainty? Is this the way for them to overcome the reluctance of companies to  invest in managers with gray hair who command six-figure incomes?

Of course not.

Some lack the inclination to return to an intense school program at such an  advanced age. In some industries, also, the degree would provide only a marginal  benefit. Before making such a precipitous and expensive leap, study the  backgrounds of the people who are successful in your company or industry of  choice. Are they MBA holders? What gaps exist between their experiences and  skills and yours, and are there simpler and less expensive ways to fill those  gaps?

MBA’s mean exposure to a wider range of possibilities and a widely accepted credential

Still, for managers seeking a midcourse correction, MBAs mean exposure to a  wider range of possibilities and a widely accepted credential. With high demand  for MBA holders, companies start recruiting early. In his second week of  classes, Mr. Gier recalls presentations by Ford, Microsoft, Dell, and Morgan  Stanley. He soon discovered the world of private client services.

It was just the kind of relationship-driven business he wanted. Following a  summer internship with Goldman, Sachs, he accepted the firm’s offer of full-time  employment after graduation. He couldn’t be happier about it. “Tuck exposed me  to many business possibilities new to me or previously thought to be out of  reach,” he says. “The business world looks a lot bigger to me now than it did  just a couple of years ago.”

Throughout his transition, Mr. Gier’s age wasn’t as much of an issue as he  feared. Interviewers never mentioned it directly, choosing instead to ask how he  would feel working with or reporting to a twenty-seven-year-old. “My response  was, ‘If I didn’t think I could run with these people in the workforce, I  wouldn’t have come here,’” Mr. Gier says.

“MBA’s from a top school opens doors, others do not”

Still, he acknowledges that his path isn’t for everybody. The tough,  competitive environment of the school-he worked late most nights on group  projects-is exhausting. And if you can’t land in one of the better schools, he  advises, forget it. “An MBA from a top school opens doors other MBAs do not,” he  says.

Further, he says, don’t go if you’re satisfied with your job, your career  path, your company’s prospects, and your opportunities to advance and find  challenging assignments. Don’t go if you’re convinced other companies, inside  your industry and out, will gladly pay for your skills and experience. Finally,  he says, don’t go if you don’t have the total support of your spouse. This kind  of change isn’t for the risk averse.

Start your career at http://www.jobsciti.com

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By Grant Webb

With our economy performing so poorly, it is of paramount importance that  every business cut costs and ultimately improve their bottom line. Just about  every business has cash flow to gain by becoming more economical in their  spending and utilization of funds. Recently, Six Sigma Certification training  has emerged as the best methodology to implement company wide regardless of your  business type or sector.

This approach has been proven effective by just about  every entity that has implemented this type of strategy.

The end goal of applying the methods of Six Sigma practices is to reduce  waste along with service breaks or failures during any company’s business  processes. These methods include a data driven approach to monitoring,  controlling, and enhancing business performance. By virtually eliminating  product and service defects, a company can further streamline their product or  service delivery and client satisfaction.

To take this a bit further, what does it mean to implement these methods  company wide? Initially, it means you as a business have to first admit that as  a whole, your processes can improve and processes improve as employee skills  improve.

Which areas can be improved upon depends on the different processes  that are required to maintain functional flow. Obviously the larger your  business is the more processes there are in place. By at least paying for  managerial employees to obtain the various certifications offered by Six Sigma,  they can then implement product and process related improvements via their  inferior staff members.

Your ROI will be greater than your out of pocket expense

The end goal is to reduce unnecessary costs, improve  upon product or service delivery, and to turn your business into the optimally  functioning business it deserves to be. Though the costs per employee to obtain  this certification is relatively high, the return on your investment stands to  be much greater than your out of pocket expense. This is the reasoning behind  businesses paying for their employee’s to become certified in this  methodology.

While this certification is ultimately geared towards improving any  businesses functionality, it is not aimed at any one type of business. It’s  applications are vast and include but are not limited to the healthcare  industry, financial services, and information technology. When applied to  healthcare, this proven methodology eliminates steps that are not valuable,  reduces defects and variation in patient outcomes, resulting in more efficient  processes and a more consistent patient outcome.

You will learn how to implement core competencies of Six Sigma

And for financial  professionals, you will benefit by learning how to implement core competencies  of Six Sigma which will prompt you to make more informed business decisions and  guide projects that end with improved bottom-line results.

Currently the most effective method of improving business function is for  company employees to obtain their Six Sigma Certification. If you are interested in making  yourself more marketable and more profitable for any given company, you should  read up on the vast benefits of Six Sigma Training now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Grant_Webb

 

 

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