Posts

How to Lead An Online Business

/in /by

First and foremost, find an idea you love.

Whether it’s ice cream, bean bags, or shirts with funny slogans, find a product or service you’re passionate about selling. I started my career as a marketing executive. One day, I was invited to dinner with Japanese business associates. The dinner was a great success, and afterwards we moved to a Japanese tea house where, following tradition, everyone removed their shoes. I looked down, and I had two different socks on – one with a hole in the big toe. I sat cross-legged for an entire evening, trying to hide my foot. I’m passionate about helping executives avoid such embarrassments by allowing them to buy fine-quality essentials in one convenient place online, and have them delivered to their doorstep. Because wouldn’t it be wonderful if your sock drawer could replenish itself?

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

Return to the Tactical Execution Forum

About the Author

Samy LiechtiFollowing his studies of economics and business administration at the University of St. Gallen, Paris and Toronto (earning the title of lic. oec. HSG in 1993) Samy Liechti was a marketing and communications consultant for various agencies in Switzerland and abroad, working with numerous prominent brands. Samy Liechti has been Blacksock’s managing director ever since its foundation in the summer of 1999.

Decision-Making Best Practice 8 – Observe the Opportunity or Problem First Hand

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Decision-Making ArticleEvery problem possesses unique nuanced qualities and it is often these minor details that renders a decision a striking success, a monumental failure, or, most frequently, simply average. Those who recognize these details can exploit them to their organization’s advantage.

Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.

Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library

Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).

Subscribe Now!

Not sure? Click here to learn more.

 Buy the Article

Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Decision-Making Best Practice 8 – Observe the Opportunity or Problem First Hand for just $2!

Access the Article Now!

The New Thinking on KPIs, part 1 of 4

/in /by

“Show me a company who thinks they have KPIs, which are measured monthly and quarterly, and I will show you measures that do not create change, alignment and growth and have never been KPIs”

David Parmenter
Internationally renown presenter and expert on Key Performance Indicators

From my research, very few organizations really monitor their true KPIs. The reason is very few organizations, business leaders, writers, corporate accountants, and consultants have explored what a KPI actually is. This brief paper hopefully will help you unearth what a KPI is and point where to look for them in your organization.

Let me explain what a KPI is through two KPI stories.

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

About the Author

David Parmenter, author of Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing, and Using Winning KPIs and Pareto’s 80/20 Rule for Corporate Accountants, is an international presenter who is known for his thought provoking and lively sessions, which have led to substantial change in many organizations. He is a leading expert in developing winning KPIs, replacing the annual planning process with quarterly rolling planning, accelerating month-end processes, and converting reporting to a decision based tool.

David’s work on KPIs has received international recognition with clients in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tehran, Prague, Dublin, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. David is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and has worked for Ernst & Young, BP Oil Ltd, Arthur Andersen, and Price Waterhouse Coopers.

David’s recent thinking is accessible from www.davidparmenter.com. He can be contacted at [email protected] or telephone +64 4 499 0007.

This articles is an extract from his “Implementing winning KPIs” whitepaper which can be downloaded from http://davidparmenter.com/how-to-guides)

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 31 – How to Better Engage Employees

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 31 – How to Better Engage Employees explores the actions executives and managers can take to better engage their employees; revealing how to improve employee satisfaction, productivity, retention, and ultimately the bottom line. During our discussion, Michael Lee Stallard, author of Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity, and Productivity and co-Founder and President of E Pluribus Partners, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • the benefits leaders realize as a result of better engaging their employees
  • the most significant driver of employee engagement and why is this factor so important
  • actions executives, managers, and supervisors should take to foster an engaging workplace environment
  • what a Connection Culture is and why it is so powerful at engaging employees
  • how to create a Connection Culture
  • actions executives and managers should take when someone within their organization does not buy-in or embrace the organization’s Connection Culture
  • the impact of ‘hard’ factors, such as HR policies and benefits, on workforce engagement

Additional Information

In addition to the incredible insights Michael shares in Fired Up or Burned Out and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from his websites, www.FiredUpOrBurnedOut.com and www.EPluribusPartners.com. Michael’s Connection Culture Manifesto can be downloaded for free by clicking here. His book, Fired Up or Burned Out, can be purchased by clicking here.

A special gift for StrategyDriven readers…

We are pleased to announce that Michael has made the electronic version of his book, Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity, and Productivity, available for download at no cost to our readers. Simply click on the link above to download your copy of this remarkable book on how to better engage employees; igniting their creativity, imagination, and spirits to the success of the organization.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Michael Lee Stallard, author of Fired Up or Burned Out, is co-Founder and President of E Pluribus Partners, a consulting firm specializing in helping leaders create ‘Connection Cultures’ to form strong bonds among the management, employees, and customers of an organization. Michael’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Leader to Leader, Human Resource Executive, and Fox Business Now. He has spoken at conferences organized by The Conference Board, GE, Google, NASA, Johnson & Johnson and Yale-New Haven Hospital. To read Michael’s full biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:33 — 51.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 34b – An Interview with Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better, part 2 of 2

/in , /by

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 34b – An Interview with Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better, part 2 of 2 examines how U.S. Cellular achieved superior results by becoming a Dynamic Organization, a transformational change that focused the organization on the customer and on valuing its front line associates. During our discussion, Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better and Principal at Esler Kruger Associates, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • how U.S. Cellular defines employee empowerment
  • mechanisms used to recruit individuals who embody the ‘Dynamic Organization’ culture
  • actions taken when individuals not buying into the organization’s culture are identified
  • how executives judge the amount of change their organization can absorb at any one time
  • what U.S. Cellular leaders would do differently if they were to implement the ‘Dynamic Organization’ model beginning today

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable insights Dave shares in The Pursuit of Something Better and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.EslerKruger.com.   Dave’s book, The Pursuit of Something Better, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Dave Esler, co-author of The Pursuit of Something Better, is a Principal at Esler Kruger Associates, a consulting firm that for more than 20 years has helped organizations and their leaders become more effective. Dave has a corporate background in communications and human resources from Metropolitan Life and Nortel Networks and several years of consulting experience. He is the author of many articles on a variety of business topics.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:58 — 43.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS