Long pointless meetings are useful in that they keep incompetent people from interfering with those who are working.

Bad meetings are a cultural malady that senior executives pass on to new employees.

An employee who needs permission to buy a box of paperclips can spend tens of thousands of dollars worth of employee time on bad meetings.

Many people attempt to save time by Not planning. This false short cut guarantees that everyone will spend more time later.

Unstructured spontaneity leads to serendipity, which (in business) leads to bankruptcy.

Meetings are a magnetic opiate that keep people from the tasks they were hired to perform.

The main activity in many meetings consists of simple chit chat. If it's an important meeting, then this becomes sincere chit chat.

A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map.

A teleconference without an agenda is like a journey without a map, in the dark.

Most meetings are social street lamps that attract the unproductive moths in an organization.

People fail to prepare an agenda for two reasons. They think they're saving time and they don't know what to put in it.

Expecting a meeting to produce results without an agenda is like expecting the Easter Bunny to leave eggs on your doorstep.

Bad meetings waste a fortune. My surveys show that companies waste almost 20% of their payroll on bad meetings.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

One of the most ignored aspects of working at home is safety. Business offices go to all sorts of lengths to avoid any injury or harm to their workers (they don't want to get sued, after all). Meanwhile, you might not even know that it's possible to injure yourself with nothing more than office equipment. If you're going to avoid a lot of pain in your future, you need to read up on home office safety now.

Your Chair.

The chances are that you're going to be sitting on your chair for quite a long time each day. If you have a bad chair, or you haven't adjusted it properly, you could give yourself a back injury -- and they're painful, not to mention expensive to treat.

When you're choosing your chair, make sure you sit on it for a while in the shop, giving yourself a chance to get used to the way it feels, and be prepared to walk away if it starts to get uncomfortable quickly. Don't pay a ridiculous amount, but don't get the cheapest and worst thing in the shop, either.

Your Mouse and Keyboard.

If you're using a computer mouse a lot for your work or doing a lot of typing, you can give yourself some pretty nasty injuries. This is because doing the same thing over and over again can give you a repetitive strain injury (RSI), such as carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis. This is one of the most common problems amongst office workers, home workers included.

You might have an RSI if you notice pain, weakness and fatigue in your muscles. One of the most common symptoms is pain when you're lying in bed. People tend to think that they must just be sleeping in an awkward position, or that they need a better bed or pillow, not realising that their office equipment is to blame. If you think you might be an RSI sufferer, go and see your doctor. Massages tend to be the most effective treatment, when given by a trained therapist.

To protect yourself against RSI, there are a number of things you can do. You should take regular breaks from using your computer, and stop immediately if you start to feel any kind of pain. You may also wish to invest in an ergonomic keyboard and mouse, which are laid out differently to normal keyboards and mice in an effort to make them more comfortable and less dangerous to use.

Clean and Tidy.

Silly as it might sound, the second most common problem amongst home office workers is that they make a mess. Your home office might become cluttered with wires, open drawers, and various objects all over the floor. It's quite possible to trip and fall over all of these things, and if you walk around enough in a confined space then eventually you will. Do as much as you can to keep your home office uncluttered: always close drawers, keep wires in one corner of the room and don't put anything on the floor.

Strangers in Your Home.

An aspect of safety that many people don't think of is the fact that you could be letting strangers into their home when you agree to meet clients there, and this can be risky for you and your family. You might be especially worried if there will be children at home with you while you're working.

The simple answer, of course, is to always meet new customers in a public place, until you know and trust them. Coffee places are good for this. As a bonus, you'll inevitably look more professional if they don't realise that you're a home business, and having a coffee each gives you something to do during any lulls in conversation other than just sitting there and looking awkward.

First Aid Kits.

Finally, one last note if you're doing manual work: you really ought to have a first aid kit in your workshop, as well as one that you carry around with you. You really shouldn't be doing anything physical as a business unless you've taken a first aid course -- they're quick, easy and inexpensive, so there's no excuse. It could save your life someday, after all.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Knowledge management is a technique of efficient assembly, alteration, preservation and management of data in organizations, alongside systems designed to make the most of that date. It refers specifically to utilities and ways created to preserve information and knowledge held by individuals who compose the establishment. It's at one time a software bazaar and a part of consultancy practice relates toareas like competitive intelligence. A huge area of knowledge management has to do with knowledge that is not elementary to digitally codify, like individual records.

The course of knowledge management also is known by a some other terms during it's different developmental stages. One example is 'corporate learning' and that boasts these basic targets: distinguishing, collecting and systematizing current knowledge and facilitating the creation of new knowledge. Knowledge management has been around since civilization began, being in the guise of discussions, brainstorming sessions or in more orderly ways such as apprenticeships as well as qualified teaching tutoring programs.

However, it's only today that knowledge management is being integrated as a legitimate business practice, and thus it has seen the invoking of particular data and information technology practices, the establishment of intranets within corporate settings and so forth. All these things is part of a compulsion to enact knowledge management systems.

Knowledge management systems consist of a heavily circulated hypermedia method for the categorizing of knowledge, encouragement of creativeness and the seizure, storing and sharing of that expertise and awareness. The word hypermedia is supposed to describe a conveyance by which audio, video and regular text intersect to create a lateral manner of information storage in addition to broadcasting. So in short, the term 'hypermedia' can be utilized as a plausible extension of the phrase 'hypertext'.

For instance, the Internet is one case in point of hypermedia, whereas the same cannot be said a movie on DVD. The Internet is as a place where global information isheld, accessed and transmitted through computers that are attached to the World Wide Web. The web is an area that may be effectively used to implement knowledge management systems effectively, just like the office intranet facility could also be utilized. On itself, it' not a knowledge management system. However, it can be used to keep and use a knowledge management system.

Author: Paul Abbey

About the author:
P Abbey owns and operates http://www.knowledgemanagementgo.com Knowledge management

Article source: Free Management Articles.

The maturation of multi-channel commerce

More and more retailers are realizing the benefits of multi-channel retailing. Leveraging brand equity in multiple touchpoints has been proven to drive loyalty and interaction among consumers. With trends clearly showing the Internet as the core component to pre-purchase research, brick and mortar brands can ill-afford to take a wait and see approach as it relates to core multi-channel offerings.

Three core enhancements must be executed flawlessly to have true multi-channel integration:

- In-store associate kiosks

Leveraging the eCommerce store within an in-store environment solves fundamental out of stock situations, provides a new channel for up/cross selling, and maximizes profitability per square foot.

- In-store pickup

Incorporating buy online and pickup in-store functionality eliminates the barrier of shipping in the online sales equation. With shipping costs being the number one driver to why shoppers choose to not purchase online - this initiative help reduce key customer based purchase inhibitors while drive incremental sales in-store traffic. The solution also provides added convenience and satisfaction to the consumer, as they no longer have to wait to receive their merchandise.

- In-store returns

Returning products that were bought online, in-store, can bring many back-end technology bottlenecks to the radar screen. Forward thinking retailers must accurately map their order processing and inventory data to empower service associates with the data they need to reconcile and close the transaction efficiently at the POS.

Slow processing and a poor return experience will virtually erode a consumer relationship that was costly to start and maintain.

Getting your organization on board with change

Convincing company executives that these initiatives deliver ROI may be challenging, but that challenge pales in comparison to what is faced in your store network. The perspective change within the rank and file employees in your organization will prove to be your most daunting task as it relates to these initiatives.

Within all three of the solutions above, the web transaction integrates with the physical store. The store is the final piece of the puzzle in all three scenarios, making it the most crucial element to deliver a proper transaction. If your employees do not execute properly on this level, the result will be an un-utilized solution, or even worse, a customer perspective that your employees are incompetent.

The key is getting your employees aligned with multi-channel change. This happens by driving two key operational strategies in conjunction with a multi-channel technology solution.

- Training

Store managers must take the lead in understanding multi-channel solutions, while leading efforts to replicate this knowledge among customer-facing employees.

Prior to solution launch, be sure to communicate the internal and external value among the manager base, create a solution handbook for employee questions, and bring managers in to the home office for a ? day workshop to become experts right before the solution goes live.

- Incentives

Employees must feel that the web-generated order still has some benefit to them. To drive accountability, some type of carrot must be given to ensure that employees have reason to treat the web-driven transaction seriously.

Because in-store employees receive bonuses for comp sales, create some type of awards program for efficiency as it relates to in-store multi-channel solutions. Or provide a piece of all web sales, distributed on a regional basis.

Understand the dynamics of your employees - how they work and what motivates them. By closing the gaps in training and incentives, multi-channel success becomes much closer to being reality.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Brand vision has evolved from brand positioning. Where positioning is defined as the specific niche in which a product sees itself as occupying in the competitive environment and by differentiating its superiority to competitors, the brand vision is what the company ideally wants to reflect outwardly.


Brand Vision

One key way to achieve the vision is to provide innovative solutions to market needs. Traditionally brand vision was driven by team workshops with each person contributing to the combined vision of the company. Although this route might be ideal for teambuilding exercises, it often resulted in mixed messages and confusion with regard to the brand positioning and mission. It is critical to any brand that its employees reflect the vision accurately and consistently. They are representatives or extensions of the brand after all.


David Taylor, author of 'Brand Gym' and 'How to Energize Your Team to Drive Business Growth' believes that brand manifestos are a better way to work on the vision for your brand, allowing you more freedom to express yourself, and what you really want to 'fight for'. Through this process you will discover your guiding principles, beliefs and the issues you want to take a stand on.


Inspirational Brand Vision

Every brand is different. It takes a lot of understanding to get their message across. By using creative brand communication strategies it is easy to gain the attention of your consumer. David Taylor's approach is straightforward and no-nonsense to ensure that you end up with an inspiring vision and a hands-on action plan to drive growth.


The key to creating a brand manifesto is to engage not just your head, but also your heart and gut feeling.

Creative tips to assist the creation of a brand manifesto, include:

1. If you were on a protest march in the street to fight against something, what would you write on your banner? And if you were to flip this into a positive and fight for something, what would you write?


2. What is the bigger role your brand can play in everyday life? What sort of 'legacy' would you like to leave behind after 5 years on the brand.

Communicating the Vision

By introducing brand visioning to employees it assists to build engagement, energy and alignment.


David Taylor's Brand visioning process scrutinises the following areas of business:

• Searching for true insight: creating a springboard for visioning by using different ′insight catalysts′ that cover consumers, markets and competition
  
• The visioning journey: creating a compelling brand purpose, a big idea and a rallying call; combining product ′sausage′ and emotional ′sizzle′


• Test-driving the vision: bringing the vision to life by exploring it within your business and with consumers


• Brand-led business: translating the vision into a business building mix that covers ′hero product′ innovation, communication and internal engagement

Once the brand vision is clearly understood it is easier to create the brand communication strategy. The brand communication strategy in turn is used as part of the marketing strategy to drive sales and company growth.


Taylor's guide to the essential steps of achieving persuasive brand communication are as follows:

1. Understanding the brand and setting objectives


2. Getting the team right


3. Keeping the brief and briefing tight


4. Getting the most from production


5. Brilliant brand activation


6. Developing and executing the campaign

Brand vision is the inception of any great marketing communication campaign. Know and understand the vision for your brand, live it and make it exceptional.

Author: Jonathan Andrews

About the author:
David Taylor is the brand vision and communication thought leader for Shoulders of Giants, a smart business thinking website, showcasing various brand experts discussing communication topics spanning a variety of brand communication and business related topics.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Task management is the true challenge on the modern world we live in. Time is more precious than ever and the amount of tasks each of us has to cope with is almost endless. The only difference between successful and average people is their ability to manage their tasks effectively. This ability could be improved significantly by using task management software and other task management tools.

Try the following recommended tools to improve your task management abilities:

1. Paper planning systems - Those systems help you organize your life (and your tasks of course). Think about starting each day with going through your daily task list of the incomplete activities, the prescheduled activities and meetings for the same day, the long range task and goals and only then prioritizing the tasks for the same day and starting to work. The paper planning pages and systems help you organize your task appropriately. These are the most proven task management system. It had been used by most of the successful managers of the 20th century, and it is still the most popular planning and task management tool.

2. Planning software programs - task management software programs have been here for many years. The problem was that most people manage their tasks and emails on their email system e.g., Microsoft outlook. The most effective task management software programs are the ones that have a direct interface with outlook or other email programs. This interface include powerful tools like goal planning tools, project management tools, task prioritizing tools and more all using only the outlook user interface.

3. PDAs - PDA stands for a personal digital assistant. A typical PDA can function as a cellular phone, fax sender, Web browser and personal organizer. Most of the modern managers use PDAs as Ipaq or Palm as their personal diary, meeting scheduler and task manager. PDAs are small, convenient and user friendly.

Don't wait. Start managing your tasks more effectively today by using one of the above task management tools. Go and get them.

Article source: Free Management Articles.