Tue.Oct 10, 2017

article thumbnail

How to Win the 1st Project with a New Consulting Client

David A Fields

Capturing follow-on business from current clients is relatively easy. But how does your consulting firm win that crucial, first project at a new client? By offering an irresistible PIE. The most powerful force in any type of employment, whether contract (i.e., outsourcing or hiring a consulting firm), part-time or full-time, is the trust cycle.

article thumbnail

How Little Can You Do (& Still be Effective)

Johanna Rothman

Back in Manage It!, I suggested that for requirements, the questions should be, “How little can we do?” and still have a great product. My argument was this: the longer the project (regardless of approach), the more risk there is. Can you reduce risk by reducing the requirements? That would allow you to release earlier with less risk. Not to release a bad product.

Agile 112
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Applying Kaizen to Teaching Lean

Markovitz Consulting

I’m back from a workshop with a client in Denmark. The room was filled with continuous improvement experts from about a dozen companies, all of whom were looking for inspiration and ideas for accelerating the promotion of lean in their organizations. I was struck by how little variety and innovation exists in the way we teach lean. Whether you’re in the US or Europe, it seems that the formula is pretty much the same: one part classroom lectures, two parts PowerPoint presentations, a dash of simu

Exercises 100
article thumbnail

3 Essentials For Getting Your Company To Embrace The Future

Clarity Consultants

There is one thing that consistently holds companies back in their efforts to achieve goals and grow. That thing is an unwillingness to let the past be the past, and to openly embrace the future. The world is changing very rapidly, from a changing workforce to changing customer expectations. What led to business success years ago will no longer do the trick.

Company 67
article thumbnail

PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

article thumbnail

Fires Ravage 100,000 Acres in Sonoma, Napa, Yuba, Counties: Neighborhoods and Wineries Wiped Out

MishTalk

At least 13 people were killed and scores hospitalized for smoke inhalation in multiple fires in Sonoma, Napa, and Yuba counties. Thousands of homes were destroyed and many wineries were wiped out. The biggest blaze is called the Tubba fire. It destroyed 27,000 acres in Sonoma county. There are numerous reports of looting and Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

Report 55

More Trending

article thumbnail

To Be a Great Leader, You Have to Learn How to Delegate Well

Harvard Business

Marion Barraud for HBR. One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading. As a new manager you can get away with holding on to work. Peers and bosses may even admire your willingness to keep “rolling up your sleeves” to execute tactical assignments. But as your responsibilities become more complex, the difference between an effective leader and a super-sized individual contributor with a leader’s title is painfully evident.

How To 53
article thumbnail

Take a Timeout, Leaders

Strategy+Business

In Lead Yourself First, Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin explore how solitude nurtures clarity, creativity, emotional balance, and moral courage.

53
article thumbnail

The Rise of Behavioral Economics and Its Influence on Organizations

Harvard Business

Richard Thaler, the University of Chicago professor who just won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, has inspired scholars across different disciplines and fundamentally changed the way we think about human behavior. He is considered the father of behavioral economics — a relatively new field that combines insights from psychology, judgment, and decision making, and economics to generate a more accurate understanding of human behavior.

article thumbnail

3 Essentials For Getting Your Company To Embrace The Future

Clarity Consultants

There is one thing that consistently holds companies back in their efforts to achieve goals and grow. That thing is an unwillingness to let the past be the past, and to openly embrace the future. The world is changing very rapidly, from a changing workforce to changing customer expectations. What led to business success years ago will no longer do the trick.

Company 40
article thumbnail

How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

article thumbnail

Agile is not the same as Agility

Kates Kesler

I was recently invited to speak to a leadership team and explain the difference between Agile and Agility.

Agile 50
article thumbnail

There Are Two Types of Performance — but Most Organizations Only Focus on One

Harvard Business

In 2007 Harvard Business School professor Ethan S. Bernstein studied assembly-line performance at a company he called “Precision.” Based in Southern China, Precision was the second-largest manufacturer of cell phones in the world at the time. Precision made it easy for managers to oversee their employees. Every spot on every line was visible to managers.

Metrics 52
article thumbnail

The problem with high expectations.

Seth Godin Blog

is that nothing will ever be good enough. But the alternative, low expectations, is sad indeed. The internet (like life) will always disappoint us. It will always be too flaky, too slow, too insulated. It will always have errors, hate and stupidity. And we had such high hopes, the promise was so big. This is true of just about everything, and it opens the door to the realization that we can be brokenhearted or we can use those high hopes as fuel to make the next cycle even better.

49
article thumbnail

Fires Ravage 100,000 Acres in Sonoma, Napa, Yuba, Counties: Neighborhoods and Wineries Wiped Out

MishTalk

At least 13 people were killed and scores hospitalized for smoke inhalation in multiple fires in Sonoma, Napa, and Yuba counties. Thousands of homes were destroyed and many wineries were wiped out. The biggest blaze is called the Tubba fire. It destroyed 27,000 acres in Sonoma county. There are numerous reports of looting and Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

Report 36
article thumbnail

Savings Consultants Are Needed in Today's Market More Than Ever

Savings Consultants are needed in today’s market more than ever. With an increase in expenses, businesses are looking for opportunities to save. Often unknown to businesses are savings in expense reduction, specialized tax savings, specialized savings including medical underpayments, health benefits cost reduction, zero cost processing, and more. Blue Coast Savings, with over 20 years in business, assists Savings Consultants in helping these companies move toward more profitable businesses.

article thumbnail

4 Steps to Better Navigate Change

LSA Global

Companies Who Better Navigate Change Are Able to Perform Better. Let’s face it…change is the name of the game in the business world these days. Change can’t be ignored or held back…and those who resist it do so at their peril. Nothing seems to stay the same for long so we’d best get used to change and find better ways to deal with it. Typical Organization Changes We Have Come to Expect.

article thumbnail

Rajoy Boxed In With Losing Options: Catalonia Suspends Independence Declaration, Posts Guards at Parliament, Seeks Mediation

MishTalk

The Catalan parliament met Tuesday afternoon. Catalonia president Carles Puigdemont asked parliament to suspend the effects of Catalonia voting “yes” for independence to hold talks with Spain. However, Puigdemont still maintains the legality of the October 1 referendum in Catalonia, stating Catalans had “won their right to become an independent country.

36
article thumbnail

4 Ways Leaders Can Get More from Their Company’s Innovation Efforts

Harvard Business

A recent McKinsey report found that while 84% of corporate executives think innovation is key to achieving growth objectives, only 6% are satisfied with the innovation performance of their firm. That’s quite a mismatch. It’s hard to imagine that a success rate that low would be tolerated in any other business function. One reason for the paltry performance is that while other business areas, like sales or finance, are considered to be core functions, innovation is often considered to

ROI 28
article thumbnail

Fires Ravage 100,000 Acres in Sonoma, Napa, Yuba, Counties: Neighborhoods and Wineries Wiped Out

MishTalk

At least 13 people were killed and scores hospitalized for smoke inhalation in multiple fires in Sonoma, Napa, and Yuba counties. Thousands of homes were destroyed and many wineries were wiped out. The biggest blaze is called the Tubba fire. It destroyed 27,000 acres in Sonoma county. There are numerous reports of looting and Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

Report 39
article thumbnail

ABM Evolution: How Top Marketers Are Using Account-Based Strategies

In times of economic uncertainty, account-based strategies are essential. According to several business analysts and practitioners, ABM is a necessity for creating more predictable revenue. Research shows that nearly three-quarters of marketers (74%) already have the resources needed to build successful ABM programs.

article thumbnail

Radical Transparency Can Reduce Bias — but Only If It’s Done Right

Harvard Business

Bridgewater Associates, which was founded by Ray Dalio in 1975, is the largest hedge fund in the world, managing almost $160 billion. Its size and success are not the only interesting thing about the company. Another is Dalio’s philosophy of “radical transparency,” a topic he discusses in his new book, Principles. He brought the idea into the company in 1993, after three of his top confidants told him in a memo that he was hurting the firm by being too honest.

article thumbnail

Fires Ravage 100,000 Acres in Sonoma, Napa, Yuba, Counties: Neighborhoods and Wineries Wiped Out

MishTalk

At least 13 people were killed and scores hospitalized for smoke inhalation in multiple fires in Sonoma, Napa, and Yuba counties. Thousands of homes were destroyed and many wineries were wiped out. The biggest blaze is called the Tubba fire. It destroyed 27,000 acres in Sonoma county. There are numerous reports of looting and Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

Report 39
article thumbnail

How to Land a Contract with a Big Company

MBO Partners

Tips on finding and landing a contract with a large enterprise, and what you can expect to encounter throughout the process.

article thumbnail

Rajoy Boxed In With Losing Options: Catalonia Suspends Independence Declaration, Posts Guards at Parliament, Seeks Mediation

MishTalk

The Catalan parliament met Tuesday afternoon. Catalonia president Carles Puigdemont asked parliament to suspend the effects of Catalonia voting “yes” for independence to hold talks with Spain. However, Puigdemont still maintains the legality of the October 1 referendum in Catalonia, stating Catalans had “won their right to become an independent country.”.

37
article thumbnail

TOOLS and METHODOLOGIES for developing DECISION SUPPORT PACKAGES

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

article thumbnail

How the EMR Is Increasing Innovation and Creativity in Health Care

Harvard Business

Americans are both undertreated and overtreated in a health care system that wastes up to $1 trillion a year and delivers profoundly uneven quality: Current estimates indicate that preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Fifty-eight percent of patients referred to Virginia Mason, our medical center in Seattle, for back surgery would be more appropriately treated without an operation.

article thumbnail

Rajoy Boxed In With Losing Options: Catalonia Suspends Independence Declaration, Posts Guards at Parliament, Seeks Mediation

MishTalk

The Catalan parliament met Tuesday afternoon. Catalonia president Carles Puigdemont asked parliament to suspend the effects of Catalonia voting “yes” for independence to hold talks with Spain. However, Puigdemont still maintains the legality of the October 1 referendum in Catalonia, stating Catalans had “won their right to become an independent country.”.

28
article thumbnail

Rajoy Boxed In With Losing Options: Catalonia Suspends Independence Declaration, Posts Guards at Parliament, Seeks Mediation

MishTalk

The Catalan parliament met Tuesday afternoon. Catalonia president Carles Puigdemont asked parliament to suspend the effects of Catalonia voting “yes” for independence to hold talks with Spain. However, Puigdemont still maintains the legality of the October 1 referendum in Catalonia, stating Catalans had “won their right to become an independent country.”.

21
article thumbnail

MishTalk Website Moving to New Domain: Welcome to the Maven Group

MishTalk

A few months ago I was invited to move my website to TheMaven.Net/Mishtalk. Giving up control of a domain is not an easy decision. I did so because I like the Maven Team. I believe they will better promote the “Mish” brand than I can personally. Maven Team James Heckman / Founder and CEO – Background: Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!

Groups 36
article thumbnail

ABM Success Recipe: Mastering the Crawl, Walk, Run Approach

Shifting to an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy can be both exciting and challenging. Well-implemented ABM motions build engagement with high-value accounts and drive impactful campaigns that resonate with your audience. But where do you begin, and how do you progress from crawling to running? Watch now as Demand Gen experts delve into the essentials of each stage of the ABM process.