Sooner or later you’ve got to begin someplace. Why not with Your own group? Sometimes, because of organizational constraints, the only meetings you can affect are the ones in which You participate. It makes sense to test these ideas in your own back yard. There is no better place to develop your skills and gain experience. If you’re going to spend valuable time and energy participating in meetings, why not make them more productive and enjoyable? Here are eight steps you can take as manager/chairperson to introduce the Interaction Method into your meetings. ..more
Spend Valuable Time and Energy Participating in Meetings; why not make them more Productive and Enjoyable?
Posted by: arlene on Monday, 28th Jul, 2008
Involved in Success New Products and Product Improvements
Posted by: arlene on Friday, 27th Jun, 2008
Managers enjoy being involved in success and so will be full of enthusiasm as sales of a new product start to take off. Expansion and sales development from an increased range of products or a wider geographical area will not find enthusiasm or hard work wanting.
But how do we foresee the end of a product’s lifespan? Be prepared for it with a policy for new products and product improvements.
1. Prepare a product improvement plan
If your present products are selling well you cannot be blamed for feeling satisfied. However, your competitors are watching you with envy and will not have been idle. They are probably working at this very moment on a product with a few advantageous features, so don’t ever think that your current product design is the ultimate. There will be changes in style, custom, fashion, new technology etc. Ensure that your programme of product improvement keeps you ahead. ..more
Consensus: How to Get It
Posted by: arlene on Thursday, 10th Apr, 2008
Decision making by consensus has become a standard administrative procedure in many companies—especially the very competitive high- tech ones where bad decisions can spell quick catastrophe. Nurtured by the case studies and group approaches of the M.B.A. schools, many young managers hesitate to accept any idea that is not presented by a given team.
How does a creative individual operate in a group-dominated environment that is subject only to the force of persuasion? While that person need not become a master of argumentation and debate, he or she should be familiar with some of the techniques passed down by those who have successfully sold their ideas to groups: ..more
The Employee Who Goes Over Your Head
Posted by: eric on Wednesday, 26th Mar, 2008
You have been aware of the situation for some time now. Bits and pieces of overheard conversations, some rather telling comments from your boss, cryptic glances from some employees. Putting it all together, it seems to add up to one thing: One or more of the people who report to you are going behind your back, taking ideas, complaints, whatever, directly to your boss while bypassing you.
But though you are aware of what is happening, you don’t know why it is. “And that’s something I’m going to have to find out,” you tell yourself. “I’m getting it from both sides—and I have to find a way to put an end to it.” Now you wonder, just what is the best approach to take in a situation of this kind? ..more
