Management Skills Articles

Your day in a shop can consist of a lot of quiet time. Do not think of this as boring time, twiddling your thumbs or scanning on FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networks. I know I have days when I have had a few hours in the shop where no-one has walked in. You can use this time to get productive. Here are 5 productive things you can do in those quiet moments: 1) Start to analyze what is selling and what is not in your store. If you have some staff, sit them down and ask

1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. This simple text is an invitation to transform your life, belief system, moral compass, social reference and simply everything you think you understand. It requires us to attempt something that is impossible to achieve – yet noble and good to strive for. But most importantly, it is a journey. This journey singular in purpose, intentionally moving you closer and closer to God Almighty. For this post to work we have to agree on some elements:

As I sat there listening to the resurrection message, the strangest thought occurred to me. We are all familiar with the life of Jesus. We know about the prophesies foretelling His coming, His immaculate conception, His birth, we know some portions of His life, His ministry, His message, His teachings, His temptation, His betrayal and His crucifixion. We know that He rose on the third day and we know that He appeared to multiple people before His assentation.r

All project managers know that communication skills form the backbone of their ability to succeed in their roles. With communication channels spidering out from your project in all directions, to stakeholders, teammembers, managers and more, it makes sense to ensure you excel when it comes to communication skills.rn rnBeing a project manager means being able to use a variety of communication methods equally well. If you feel less comfortable with some forms of communication t

As I write this in April 2009, many would say we are living in tough, uncertain economic times. nnWatching, listening to or reading the news you will "know" that new layoffs are announced every day, a shaky stock market is followed more closely than ever, and uncertainties seem to be everywhere.nnThis article is written to address this current situation, but the lessons apply to any challenging time you and your organization may be facing - whether global, local or company sp

Rely POS is a comprehensive Restaurant Point of Sale, Restaurant Management, and Marketing Solution that is fast, reliable, easy to use, and most of all, affordable. Our online technology allows us to offer restaurant owners who use our online restaurant point of sale system instant access from anywhere, lifetime upgrades and instant backup for the life of the account. Use Rely’s online restaurant POS on our high speed touchscreen, your PC, laptop, or iPad. Because Rely POS

If you’re an appointed leader it’s a full-time job - not one which you can opt out of when the going gets tough. Team workers and bosses look to you for support and results and, having mentioned the difficult times, it’s a fact that great leadership not only emerges but comes into its own within the individual when the pressure’s on.rnHard work and the challenges that come with it sorts out the men from the boys - the very able project managers from those who are weak

There’s no better catalyst for self realization than taking the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam. I’m kidding you, of course, but there is some truth in that the PMP exam day will illuminate that “you don’t know what you don’t know.” The PMP Exam is a ‘closed’ book exam. That means the only reference material you are allowed to carry into the testing facility has to be contained in your brain. But during your exam, your brain is going to be very bu

As Christians, we are aware of sin. We have sinned, we are sinning and we will continue to sin. These are realities of life, inescapable and undeniable. We all know that Jesus came to earth to overcome the burden of sin for all humans, but as believers, we often end up in a position where we feel guilt because of the sin we continually commit. 1 John 1:8 (AMP) – If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]

Most companies talk about "Positioning" but quite frankly they simply don't know what they are talking about. Here are two things that you should do if you truly want to understand what it is all about and how to do it right. First is to read the book "Positioning" by Jack Trout and Al Reis. Second: Well it could be first if you want: Go to Jack Sims - "How to create a "Positioning Statement" here's the link so that you can get it at NO Charge: http://www.jacksims.com/js_wordpress/positioning-statement

Sport ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil unseres Lebens. In regelmässige Abständen werden grosse Sportveranstaltungen ausgerichtet und ziehen eine Vielzahl von Fans in ihre Bann. Fieberhaft verfolgen diese die Austragung der Veranstaltung. Verrückt nach Sport, engergiegeladen und leidenschaftlich eife sie mit ihrem Sportler oder Team. Bei grosse Sportveranstaltungen treffen zumeist Sportler verschiedener Nationen aufeinander, die ich in Sportarten wie Fussball, Motorsport, Basketb

Keeping your pipeline of prospects full is no easy task. I'm not going to suggest it is. I talk to salespeople all the time and most say that prospecting is their number one source of new business. So if you are like most salespeople, one of your hardest tasks is simultaneously one of your most necessary – keeping your pipeline full. There's no way to slide into loads of profit without some effort – serious effort – on the front end. To use an analogy, let's think of th

How can a successful company be defined? Most probably, most of the people would answer that success for a company means high revenues. Where do high revenues come from? It is very simple – high revenues come from sales and sales are achieved only when there are clients. This leads us to the conclusion that the most important instrument for the success of a company is its clients and their satisfaction. If you want to make a client come back – give them what they want. Howev

Are you a self-confessed shopaholic who buys anything and everything that you get your shopping addicted hands on? Such thoughtless and impulsive buying will most likely result in the accumulation of a bunch of junk that will simply collect dust. Can you even remember that silk scarf you just had to have and since it was a virtual steal at 50% off you just had to buy it? Where it is now and how many times have you actually worn it? Is it still fashionable? nnIf you're like mo

During a particularly passionate brainstorming session in my last open workshop – “Some Quit and Leave…Others Quit and Stay‘ – our topic of discussion was the reason employees change jobs and what individual managers can do about it.nnThe group quickly agreed that the most important reasons people leave fall into two main categories:nn1. A new career opportunity (either after active searching or being approach by a ‘headhunter’)n2. A problem/dissatisfaction on t

We want our customers to love us. We want our employees to love their jobs. Yet if you bring up the “L word” in the context of leadership, people get uncomfortable. They envision an afternoon of holding hands around the company campfire with the staff swaying to the strains of "kumbaya" as the HR Director strums out the chorus on his folk guitar. But contrary to what skeptics might like to think, bringing love into the workplace doesn't mean group hugs and trust falls. Lo

When developing the competition section of your business plan, companies must define competition correctly, select the appropriate competitors to analyze, and explain its competitive advantages. nnTo start, companies must align their definition of competition with investors. Investors define competition as any service or product that a customer can use to fulfill the same need(s) as the company fulfills. This includes firms that offer similar products, substitute products and

Work less but do more is what the Pareto Principle is all about. Also known as the ‘law of the vital few’ it says that in most situations roughly 80 percent of effects come from only 20 percent of the causes. It’s been applied to almost every human endeavour, from software development to financial investments. We can also use the Pareto Principle to better manage projects and focus on the things on our task list that really make a difference. Looking at our own producti

Don’t you get a little weary listening to all the experts trumpeting, then droning on-and-on that ‘it’s all about relationships’. It troubles me since no one has taken time to analyze what it takes in developing quality long-term relationships. It’s important because all of us in one degree or ...

Can you imagine your life without problems? Or to be more precise... Can you imagine having the capacity to absorb and overcome any problem or challenge you face, no matter how tough it is? Can you imagine wearing a tag on your lapel with a powerful statement – "Problems Don't Matter" – ...

The probability and efficiency of a company or organization are responsible for the outcomes and quality of the product. It is very important to keep it high. There are two basic ways you can improve the profitability and efficiency of a company or an organization. The first one is by increasing the price so that the profit margins are increased. It comes with a lot of constraints such as decreased demand because of the higher price, marketing costs, etc. The second and more

As Christians, we are called to faith, Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) – Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].

Market research methods need to be chosen carefully, it could be qualitative or quantitative in nature. Descriptive research is a method of data collection used by market researchers across the globe. Descriptive research is a fact-finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It is the simplest type of research. It is more specific than an exploratory study, as it has focus on particular aspects or dimensions of the problem studied. It is designed to gather descriptive

Healthcare is an essential service that draws support from various sources to be able to deliver services that meet quality standards. As healthcare is a business it is also important for healthcare to be profitable and meet statutory requirements. Keeping all these factors in mind it is essential for healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals to focus on providing quality services while still maintaining profitability by concentrating on essential activities and outs

In my over four decades of working in the hospitality industry in a number of countries, I have gained mixed feelings on professionalism by witnessing various styles of functioning. Some sweet and a few sour ones. This article, the first in the series, is intended to address both styles, the sweet ones must know that if they lose the path what lies on the other side and the sour one to note that with a slight change in their management approach what harvest could be reaped. O

And If He/She Is The Right Kind, How Do You Propose To Retain Him/Her? The speedometer in our car will hit the other extreme but for the check on its movement exerted by an opposing force (called ‘dampening force’); A car without brakes not only crashes itself but is very unsafe to all its occupants; a spaceship without the opposing force given by retro-rockets crashes on its target instead of landing smoothly; an atomic chain reaction without check on its rate is an atomic

You may feel like a juggler when the workload pressure’s on in project management. Having to keep several balls in the air at the same time as you beaver away on several projects can be a tricky business. The advice is - never panic. In fact, you can actually enjoy the experience if you plan it right and you’ll also improve your time management and organisational skills. Here are some key tips on how to get it right and avoid getting stressed: Don’t Mix Them UprnImporta

A key aspect of personal effectiveness is the ability to clear your mind, to remove blocks to clear thinking and begin looking at the problem afresh. Do you ever feel as if you are knocking your head against a brick wall? Are you repeating the same actions and achieving the same negative outcome each time? The frustration of this often builds up to the point where you are no longer thinking clearly. It is important in this situation to stand back and evaluate the whole pictur

We've all been there. After countless calls, meetings and an endless amount of work, you just can't get the customer to say "yes" and move forward. There can be hundreds of theories and ideas as to why this happens more times than we care to admit. Let's put all the theories aside and get to a solution you can use right now to determine if the customer is serious. The problem in these types of situations is as a salesperson, you've invested time and effort and the last thing

Money can be a big source of stress for many couples. Meeting with a financial planner can be a good investment. Although it may cost a couple of hundred dollars up front, it may save you thousands each year. A financial planner can help ensure you don’t make these common money mistakes that many couples make. 1. Spending Like They Are Single Once you are married, you don’t have the same freedom to spend like you did when you were single. However, many people still make t

Teamwork is of the essence to the greatness of a commercial enterprise. But there is a good deal more thereto than just drawing staff as team members or applying truisms, including the team is here now to assist. It can help to grasp more regarding various components that stimulate a team to work so that it could really turn into a useful driver for achievement or success. And to begin, there needs to be focus. There has got to be a fixed and tactically delineated business en

When you want to know who are your good employees it’s always good to find ways to do it. But in the end, everything boomerangs on how you build your relationship with them. And this will determine whether you have a good employee or not. How will you know if your employee is good with his job? Of course the traditional way of evaluating performance is through human resource evaluation and appraisal. Your HR Department will tell you who are your good employees and who are n

The Marketing Plan section of the business plan demonstrates how a company will penetrate the market with its products and services. The Marketing Plan should include “the four P’s” – Product, Promotions, Price, and Place. nnProducts and/or Services nThe first “P” stands for Product, but includes all products and services that the company offers. This section of the business plan should detail all the features of the products and services, how they work, their uni

rnTo be honest I don’t know how I am as a receptionist but I am going to talk about some really effective tips for you who love this appealing profession. I work fast, solve problems well and people really like me. Some people a little bit too much. Maybe you are also an excellent receptionist. Maybe you are looking for tips and tricks to improve yourself. Here are the tips that you would need as a receptionist. Always greet people with a warm welcome and a smile Even if yo

Every year at high school we’d do netball grading. A handful of mothers involved in school netball would watch lots of us play and grade us – choosing the teams A, B and C and mixing the rest up. I found it odd, that every year the children of those women doing the grading made it, without fail into the A team. They filled the rest of the team with ‘popular’ kids and the ‘A team’ was miraculously formed. I’m not sure if the parents ha

If you ever felt like we are currently in the age of information overload, you might be right: last year (in 2011), according to an IDC report on the size of the Digital Universe, the amount of information created and replicated surpassed 1.8 zettabytes (in case you somehow forgot, a zettabyte equals a trillion gigabytes) - growing by a factor of nine in just five years! Now part of this data is no doubt of the personal mundane variety, say a tweet of what you ate for lunch o

The modern business world is so dynamic that it is an arduous task to keep up with the pace of the competing businesses and maintain a steady growth of the businesses. While the large companies can afford a number of full time professionals, it is the small and mid sized companies that are at a greater risk of losing growth because of these dynamics. The first and foremost thing that a company should do to keep up with the changes is to chalk out a business plan. This would b

Ok, so someone that you know knows someone that did a project once and you have just inherited something that everybody calls a project… What do you do, where do you start? This post is aimed at addressing the most basic elements of project management. These topics are: What is a project? What are the most important things to know? What are the most important things to do? Whoooooo… slow down… Let’s make sure you are busy with a project… NOTE: I have included project speak (terminology) in brackets and italics. What is a project?

Most vendors have come to rely on channel partners to help expand their business and increase sales. Vendors usually have hundreds and thousands of channel partners including wholesalers, resellers, retailers, VARs etc to help their business grow. Though vendors do feel that channel partners are helpful for their business but what deters them about channel management is the task of managing so many channel partners - maintaining contact with them, communicating them about com

Dramatic increases in public sector pension liabilities at a time when state and local governments have seen their revenues shrink drastically have resulted in an explosive backlash against public sector unions and the workers they represent. At the very time that high levels of unemployment increasingly have forced those who have lost their jobs to seek government services, they are being told that those services are being cut because of huge payments required to fund the pe

A few years ago I was in Santa Barbara, CA visiting a client on Halloween. The students at the University of California, Santa Barbara have a tradition of dressing up in costumes and parading informally throughout the downtown area on Halloween night, so I stayed into the evening to enjoy the show. After a while I went into a bakery to warm up before heading home. The young woman behind the counter began showing me a variety of treats, and insisting that I sample some of them

Management can be defined as “getting things done through others.”nn Be a Low Pressure Persuader nManagement can be defined as "getting things done through others." To be a manager you must be an expert at persuading and influencing others to work in a common direction. This is why all excellent managers are also excellent low-pressure salespeople. They do not order people to do things; instead, they persuade them to accept certain responsibilities, with specific deadline

An unpleasant aspect of modern life is the fact that thieves can steal files from computers. Personal emails, business plans, private documents, trade secrets, and online histories can all be devastating if they fall into the wrong hands. It is a good idea for people or businesses to have a type of file shredding software that keeps thieves and hackers from being able to obtain this type of information. File shredders are available for all major computer platforms, including

High performing teams are rarely a result of good luck, more often than not they have been built by a committed and skilled manager. You would be right in thinking that these secrets are really just common sense strategies, but how often does common sense fly out of the window when the pressure is on? Purpose. You will find successful teams work together for results. Does every member in your team know their role in the team? Expectations. Your team may know their role, but d

Is inflicting annual performance evaluations on your employees or direct reports part of your job description? Would you like to wake-up from this recurring workforce management nightmare? Read on to discover the secret to giving performance reviews your employees will love to get. You'll learn that it takes more than simply pumping more PRAISE into the appraisal. Here you'll discover the basics for building a foundation of corporation and mutual support.nnDo your employees s

One of the common mistakes people make when designing a change program is assuming that if a person is a team leader, supervisor or senior manager they should naturally know how to communicate face to face with their teams. However communication skills are rarely one of the key competencies that is taught or measured by organizations. There is however a very easy way to ensure that there is structure and content that make it very easy for managers at all levels to follow.n nW

Students planning to go for higher degrees are often seen applying for student loan to bear the heavy expenditure incurred during their course period. There is no way to escape repaying the student loan one borrows for higher studies. There are ways to reduce the burden by ensuring repayment of the loan on time. Countries like US and Canada have been experiencing a rise in the number and percentage of defaulters on federal student loan. In US alone, about 8.8% of the students

In the field of wealth management, wealth refers to anything you possess which has a monetary value. Besides money, it could include property, shares and even a rare coin collection. It includes managing investments and financial planning, estate planning, financial banking, etc. Today’s times brings with it a pressure to increase income in order to maintain your lifestyle. Since it’s impossible to outrun the rate of inflation, wealth management is essential in order to m

How many times have you prayed for a better job, relief from financial struggle, a good car, enough food, a secure environment, relief from pain, healing of a disease, a life-partner, clients for your business, and a change in the behavior of your spouse, parents, children or friends? How many times have you prayed for other people who are asking God for one of these things? How many times have you reminded God of his promises throughout the Bible where He promised that He would provide abundantly?