Sunday, September 14, 2008

General Management Articles shared from 2005 to 2008

Management Time; Who’s Got The Monkey? – A Harvard Business Review article by William Oncken Jr., and Donald L. Wass

  • This article was originally published in the November–December 1974 issue of HBR and has been one of the publication’s two best-selling reprints ever. Why is it that managers are typically running out of time while their subordinates are typically running out of work? In this article, the authors explore the meaning of management time as it relates to the interaction between the manager and his boss, his own peers, and his subordinates.
  • Read the article on: http://www.agiconsulting.com/downloads/monkeys.pdf

Shared on April 28, 2008


The Hidden Traps in Decision Making
When it comes to business decisions, there’s rarely such a thing as a no-brainer. Our brains are always at work, sometimes, unfortunately, in ways that hinder rather than help us. At every stage of the decision-making process, misperceptions, biases, and other tricks of the mind can influence the choices we make.

  • This HBR (Harvard Business Review) article discusses six traps in organizational decision-making that can adversely affect performance and the different ways in which we can overcome these traps.
  • These six decision-making traps and solutions are highlighted in six different blogs at
http://thinking.bigskyassociates.com/

Article excerpts are shared through blogs by Vishal Khushalani on February 04, 2008


Masters of Networking
This article is a good inspirational piece to begin the New Year. Harold states that this piece is “Something to reflect on … especially in today’s world with social networking sites gaining in popularity ...”

  • Excerpt from the article – “The central principle of networking is a spiritual ideal common to all the world's great moral systems: the concept of gaining through giving. Master networkers live that ideal. They do not turn on their networking prowess in the morning and switch it off when they go home at night. They believe it, they breathe it, they live it - every day, all day. They believe in co-operating with others and helping others achieve success. They have discovered how being supportive in a human relationship will help them achieve professional success and live satisfying personal lives.”
  • Contact Vishal to receive the complete article.

Shared by Harold Schroeder on January 06, 2008


'The Art of Woo': Selling Your Ideas to the Entire Organization, One Person at a Time – Article from Knowledge @ Wharton

  • Former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca once noted, "You can have brilliant ideas; but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere." In their new book, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas, Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell and management consultant Mario Moussa provide a systematic approach to idea selling that addresses the problem Iacocca identified.
  • Through several examples, Shell and Moussa explain what they mean by "woo": It's the ability to "win others over" to your ideas without coercion, using relationship-based, emotionally intelligent persuasion. The Art of Woo presents a simple, four-step approach to the idea-selling process.
  • Read the complete article at
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1823

Shared on November 18, 2007


Exercising Common Sense – Article from Strategy + Business Newsletter published by Booz Allen Hamilton

  • The article includes a 10-point checklist that can help leaders of large-scale transformation put their wisdom into practice.
  • The authors, Gary Neilson and Jack McGrath, have worked with more than 50 organizations involved in large-scale transformation and have realized that success is rarely a matter of applying the latest breakthrough techniques or jargon-laden formulas. Successful transformation requires the common sense of experienced management. Unfortunately, the ability to apply that common sense, especially over the long time frame of a serious change in organizational culture, is all too rare.
  • Although many readers are likely to think, “I’ve heard this before,” there’s a reason these 10 factors keep coming back as prerequisites for success. They’re as vital as common sense suggests they should be. But it takes a lot of uncommon concentration and awareness to put all of them into practice.
  • Read the article on http://www.strategy-business.com/resiliencereport/resilience/rr00050

Shared on September 23, 2007


Why Wait for Trouble? By Kenneth W. Freeman – Article from Strategy + Business, Booz Allen Hamilton newsletter.

  • Today, hundreds of businesses are in crisis. In many cases, the numbers are going south — profitability, cash flow, and even revenues are declining. Or the numbers may be stable, but the company habitually fails to meet the needs of its customers. The symptoms vary, but the result is usually the same: The board of directors loses confidence in management and calls in an outsider to lead the company and bring it back to life.
  • In a wide variety of industrial sectors, from manufactured components to medical diagnostic services, the author Kenneth W. Freeman has learned that the problems that lead to crisis often start in the same way, and he has always applied a common set of diagnostics to uncover the causes. The diagnosis essentially starts and ends with three vital questions.
  • Read about these vital questions and turnaround examples at the link: http://www.strategy-business.com/press/enewsarticle/enews072607?pg=all

Shared on July 29, 2007


The CEO’s New Role: Head of Sales

  • Over the past few years we've seen the CEO's role evolve into one that's intimately connected to sales. Analysts are looking at a company's sales performance more closely than ever before. In today's climate, if a new product falls on its face... analysts will look closely at the sales process.
  • Because we live in an increasingly complex world, your sales organization is the most critical link to your customer. It should drive everything you do. And that's why you, the CEO, must understand every aspect of the sales process—to ensure the accuracy of your strategy execution.
  • Please find this article on http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/ceo-new-role-head-of-sales-thull.asp

Shared by Kaushal Khandor on July 01, 2007


Three components of business creativity
­Research by Teresa Amabile suggests that other than creative thinking two other components are required if you want to be creative in the workplace – Expertise and Motivation. Read this short note on:

http://www.buildingbrands.com/goodthinking/13_business_creativity.php

Shared by Kaushal Khandor on June 03, 2007


How to Develop Client and Customer Trust by Paul McCord
Selling is not so much about the features of our products or services—or even the benefits the customer receives. Rather, it is about our relationship with the customer. People do business with people they trust. Read the article on:

http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/how-to-develop-client-trust-mccord.asp where the author highlights the keys to building client trust.

Shared on May 20, 2007


Seven Hurdles to Marketing Effectiveness—and How to Surmount Them
Marketing effectiveness—achieving it—requires an organization with the resources and know-how to achieve the fine balance between art and science that it takes to create marketing programs that meet measurable business objectives. And these days, that's a mandate—not an option. Read more on:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/7/seven-surmountable-hurdles-marketing-effectiveness-pierce.asp

Shared by Kaushal Khandor on April 23, 2007



Tips on Great Time Management

  • Great time management is one of the most vital skills leaders can develop. All of us have the same number of hours in a day, and no amount of effort can change that. What we can influence is how we spend those hours. A quote from Stephen Covey sums up how we can best use our time: "I am personally persuaded that the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase: Organize and execute around priorities."
  • Read about the Time Management Grid, Goal Planning, and Tips on: http://www.teal.org.uk/sv/timemgnt.htm

Shared by Alpa Shah on February 25, 2007


Thoughts on Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability

  • Quality guru and evangelist Y Tsuda, who has driven the total quality management learning in many Indian companies, emphasizes on the involvement of people at every level. However, this involvement is different at different levels. Although a common mission and vision guide every employee, there is a difference in the level of accountability, responsibility and authority. Please find enclosed the article on these thoughts followed by quotes from great business leaders.
  • This article was also recently published on Rediff.com - http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/feb/07man.htm (The key to great quality management)

Shared by Kaushal Khandor on February 18, 2007


Face the customer or Face the music
The wellbeing of your business depends on the way your company interacts with its customers. This sounds obvious, but many companies—large and small, unknown and well-known—do not act that way. Read the article on: http://www.womeninconsulting.org/company/articles/0906_facecustomers.html

Shared by Kaushal Khandor on October 01, 2006


Small Business Advantage

  • The message column on this website talks about several issues like – Low Cost Marketing, Retaining Good Employees, Tips for buying a business, among others. Most of the advice is given by Ms. Marcia Layton Turner, a business journalist and author whose work frequently tackles business strategy and marketing issues. To-date she has authored, co-authored, or ghosted 15 books for major publishing houses, such as McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.
  • Read Ms. Turner’s advice on:
http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=amex

Shared on August 21, 2006


Commit and Deliver
From the outside, a CEO’s job looks difficult. From the inside, it’s merely impossible — unless you take charge of the company’s agenda. Former Booz Allen Hamilton Vice Chairman Cyrus Freidheim describes how, as CEO of Chiquita Brands, he led that company out of bankruptcy and achieved financial and operational success. Read the article at:

http://www.strategy-business.com/press/enewsarticle/enews060106?pg=all

Shared on June 12, 2006


Five Myths of Management
Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton of Stanford University share their comments on five myths of management with some wonderful examples from their research. Contact Vishal for the complete article.

Shared by Raghuveer Vadlakonda on June 05, 2006


Creating Powerful Management "Synergy" Via Executive Compensation

  • Executive synergy can't be nurtured unless an organization is able to attract and hold onto intellectually powerful and experienced management talent. And let there be no question, a chief recruiting and retention consideration for the best and brightest will always be your executive compensation program. Here are four keys to building and retaining an effective management team through a well functioning and competitive executive compensation program.
  • Read the article on:
http://www.refresher.com/!bercompensation.html

Shared on March 12, 2006


Great Attitude = Great Managers
“Beyond the management concepts and skills that you imbibe at B-school, the one critical aspect that makes or mars your career is attitude. Tfhe right attitude centers on the WIN principle -- Work hard, Innovate and Never give up”, says Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems. Contact Vishal to receive the complete article.

Shared on February 06, 2006


The First Minute
Are you way too busy to get something done? Then go ahead and do it as soon as you can. Waiting until the last minute never makes the task any easier, and it always makes the work more stressful. Going ahead and doing it at the first minute, as soon as you know it must be done, can save you an enormous amount of time and energy. Because when you go ahead and do what must be done, you don't have to waste a lot of time worrying about it and wondering how you will ever find the time. Putting something off in order to save time really ends up costing much more time. So the next time you're tempted to wait until the last minute because of time pressures, think of what you would be doing. You would, in fact, be making things worse. Instead of putting something off until the last minute, put it on your schedule the very first minute possible. Then go ahead and get it done. The time you save will enable you to get much more done. The peace of mind you gain will be priceless.


Shared by Nitin Agarwal on November 20, 2005


Delegating Power
Short note on benefits of delegating power and recommendations for executives. Contact Vishal for the complete article.

Shared by Avani Gondalia on November 20, 2005


Managing Difficult People
The author, Paul B. Thornton discusses about how difficult people can absorb a lot of manager’s time and attention. He classifies difficult people as - ‘Aggressor, Victim and Rescuer’ and gives tips on understanding and managing them. Contact Vishal for the complete article.

Shared on November 12, 2005


Discounts: The Devil of Our Own Making
One page article discussing the effects of discounting and questioning its value. Contact Vishal for the complete article.

Shared by Kaushal Khandor on November 06, 2005

1 comment:

dannielo said...

If you would like to implement some of Stephen Covey's best ideas, you can use this web aplication:

http://www.Gtdagenda.com

You can use it to manage and prioritize your Goals (in each of your life's categories), projects and tasks, in an intuitive interface. It has a Checklists section, for the repetitive activities you have to do, important but not urgent (Quadrant II, for example your routines/habits). Also, it features a Schedules section and a Calendar, for scheduling you time, activities and for the weekly review.

Some features from GTD are also present, like Contexts and Next Actions.

And it's available on the mobile phone too, so you can access it wherever you are.