Brandverbing

“Google it.” “Did you Xerox the report?” “Please FedEx it.”

Once upon a time, using a brand name as a verb was verboten. It was behavior that would drive a trademark lawyer crazy.

But more and more marketers are deciding that the grand slam of branding is to become part of the language – in effect, having your trademark substitute in everyday usage for the type of action or service that your mark identifies. Could there be, they argue, any clearer expression of a brand’s leadership?

“Skype me when you get to Lisbon.”

“Did you TiVo the awards show?”

“Dad’s outside, Simonizing the car.”

In other words, just verb it!

International Trademark Association, for instance, advises never using a trademark as a verb: “Trademarks are products or services, never actions.” The internet generation, though, is increasingly casual about naming protocols. Who other than a trademark attorney would say, “Let’s look it up on the Google brand search engine,” or “Let’s go in-line skating with Rollerblade in-line skates.”

Once upon a time, Xerox ran advertisements in magazines targeted to journalists and editors. “There are two R’s in Xerox,” said one famous headline, referring to the trademark “R” and reminding journalists not to use Xerox as a lower-case noun or verb.

Allow the use of your brand name generically, barristers would warn, and you lose – over time – your trademark rights. Common words such as “aspirin” or “escalator” were once registered trademarks.

But in today’s hyperactive world, marketers are more concerned about getting known now, today, immediately – more so than weakening their naming rights later on.

Marketing author Seth Godin likes to say, “Nouns just sit there, inanimate lumps. Verbs are about wants and desires and wishes.”

Which is why so many marketers encourage the verbifying of their precious brand names – and why so many consumers are so comfortable using them as everyday words.

Scope Creep in Project Management

Where project management is concerned, a scope creep is a regular problem and finding ways to deal with it can be difficult for the team leader, and everyone else involved. What is refers to is when the projects scope, or vision, is impaired by uncontrollable changes.

Often, this happens when a project is not properly organized. It needs to be controlled, documented and defined to lead to as smooth a process as possible. Generally, it is a negative thing that needs to be avoided, but often this is easier said than done. Often, businesses work in tandem with their contract management supplier to help them create a thorough plan.

Things that tend to lead to a scope creep include: poor change adaptability, poor management, lack of communication and weak objectives.

Steps to Take to Avoid Scope Creeping

Scope creeping is often an unavoidable part of development and you need to know why they happen and how to deal with them. When a new project is handled poorly you have to ensure that you don't fall victim to this and have bad results.

Take a look at these seven easy steps to avoiding scope creeping:

- Have a vision - and understand it. Meet with your associates to discuss, comment on and review the project as a whole before starting the process.

- Prioritize - Once your project is understood then you should make sure that each part of the list is ordered in priority. Once you've done this then you can schedule decisions better.

- Define - Make sure you know what your deliverables are and how they function in tandem with your project.

- Figure out the requirements - Detail the deliverables on a spreadsheet and always check a project span to ensure you have the right time and documentation at your fingertips.

- Break down the project - As with everything, you have to split it down into bit by bit improvements to reach the project goal. Try to keep each milestone a month and hand out work on top of what is necessary to keep ahead of schedule.

- Assign things correctly - Creating, assigning and determining a schedule is also important, and making sure that you have a path for the project course gives you a backbone and a better structure to stick to.

- Plan for scope creep - The chances of a scope creep is pretty high so the experts say plan for it. Make sure that all members of the team know your upcoming plans and processes, and schedule how it will come to fruition over the coming months.

Six Thinking Hats By Dr. Edward de Bono

The de Bono Hats system (also known as "Six Hats" or "Six Thinking Hats") is a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking. Combined with the idea of parallel thinking which is associated with it, it provides a means for groups to think together more effectively, and a means to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way. The method is attributed to Dr. Edward de Bono and is the subject of his book, Six Thinking Hats.

The premise of the method is that the human brain thinks in a number of distinct ways which can be identified, deliberately accessed and hence planned for use in a structured way allowing one to develop strategies for thinking about particular issues. Dr de Bono identifies six distinct states in which the brain can be "sensitised". In each of these states the brain will identify and bring into conscious thought certain aspects of issues being considered (e.g. gut instinct, pessimistic judgment, neutral facts).

Six distinct states are identified and assigned a color:

	Blue Hat Thinking- Process Thinking about thinking What thinking is needed? Organizing the thinking Planning for action
	White Hat Thinking- Facts Information and data Neutral and objective What do I know? What do I need to find out? How will I get the information I need?
	Green Hat Thinking - Creativity Ideas, alternative, possibilities Provocation - "PO" Solutions to black hat problems
	Yellow Hat Thinking- Benefits Positives, plus points Logical reasons are given. Why an idea is useful
	Black Hat Thinking - Cautions Difficulties, weaknesses, dangers Logical reasons are given. Spotting the risks
	Red Hat Thinking - Feelings Intuition, hunches, gut instinct My feelings right now. Feelings can change. No reasons are given.

Having identified the six states that can be accessed, distinct programs can be created. These are sequences of hats which encompass and structure the thinking process toward a distinct goal. A number of these are included in the materials provided to support the franchised training of the six hats method; however it is often necessary to adapt them to suit an individual purpose. Also, programs are often "emergent", which is to say that the group might plan the first few hats then the facilitator will see what seems to be the right way to go.

Sequences always begin and end with a blue hat; the group agrees together how they will think, then they do the thinking, then they evaluate the outcomes of that thinking and what they should do next. Sequences (and indeed hats) may be used by individuals working alone or in groups.

Example programs

• Initial Ideas - Blue, White, Green
• Choosing between alternatives - Blue, White, Green, Yellow, Black, Red
• Identifying Solutions - Blue, White, Black, Green
• Quick Feedback - Blue, Black, Green, White
• Strategic Planning - Blue, Yellow, Black, White
• Process Improvement - Blue, White, (Other peoples views) Yellow, Black, Green, Red
• Solving Problems - Blue, White, Green, Red, Yellow, Black
• Performance Review - Blue, Red, White, Yellow, Black, Green

Globalization and Workforce Diversity

Workplace diversity is an offshoot of multiculturalism. The changing composition of the labor force influences the primary organizational activities in several ways. Rapid globalization and immigration of labor force has resulted in organizational workplace to become a global village.

The blurring of country boundaries in business activities has resulted in differences in race, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, nation of origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, occupation, and class. These differences influence working relationships among employees. Today’s labor pool is dramatically different than in the past. No longer dominated by a homogenous group of population, available talent is now overwhelmingly represented by people from a vast array of backgrounds and life experiences.

Hence, there is increased awareness that organizations must learn to value the different backgrounds and perspectives that a diverse workforce can bring to organizational performance. By directly addressing diversity issues, companies are more likely to capitalize on the many benefits associated with a diverse workforce.

Having a diverse workforce results in many benefit that affect improve the organizational performance. The degree of diversity can influence the way work is being done in a company providing variety in ideas, styles of working, vision, creativity, innovation, histories, and lifestyles.

An important benefit is that it strengthens the human and organizational capital, which can be used as a key unit to establishing competitive advantage. Companies who interact directly with the customers are finding it increasingly important to have the makeup of their workforces reflect the makeup of their customer base. Having a diverse workforce results in a wide range of talent, experience, knowledge, insight, and imagination available to the organization which can be utilized for superior profitability and enhanced reputation. A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.

There are, however, some challenges of diversity in the workplace. Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for garner the benefits of having a diverse workforce. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. This may even create a hostile environment with instances of racism, sexism, homophobia, and ageism. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies is also a major challenge. Managers may also be challenged with losses in personnel and work productivity due to prejudice and discrimination and complaints and legal actions against the organization.

Analyzing Industry Concentration

The concentration of firms in an industry is of interest to economists, business strategists, and government agencies. Here, we discuss two commonly-used methods of measuring industry concentration: the Concentration Ratio and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.

Concentration Ratio (CR)

The concentration ratio is the percentage of market share owned by the largest m firms in an industry, where m is a specified number of firms, often 4, but sometimes a larger or smaller number. The concentration ratio often is expressed as CR_m, for example, CR₄.

The concentration ratio can be expressed as:

CR_m = s₁ + s₂ + s₃ + ... ... + s_m

where s_i = market share of the i^th firm.

If the CR₄ were close to zero, this value would indicate an extremely competitive industry since the four largest firms would not have any significant market share.

In general, if the CR₄ measure is less than about 40 (indicating that the four largest firms own less than 40% of the market), then the industry is considered to be very competitive, with a number of other firms competing, but none owning a very large chunk of the market. On the other extreme, if the CR₁ measure is more than about 90, that one firm that controls more than 90% of the market is effectively a monopoly.

While useful, the concentration ratio presents an incomplete picture of the concentration of firms in an industry because by definition it does not use the market shares of all the firms in the industry. It also does not provide information about the distribution of firm size. For example, if there were a significant change in the market shares among the firms included in the ratio, the value of the concentration ratio would not change.

Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index provides a more complete picture of industry concentration than does the concentration ratio. The HHI uses the market shares of all the firms in the industry, and these market shares are squared in the calculation to place more weight on the larger firms. If there are n firms in the industry, the HHI can be expressed as:

HHI = s₁² + s₂² + s₃² + ... ... + s_n²

where s_i is the market share of the i^th firm.

For example, for a market consisting of four firms with shares of thirty, thirty, twenty and twenty percent, the HHI is 2600 (30² + 30² + 20² + 20² = 2600).

The HHI takes into account the relative size and distribution of the firms in a market and approaches zero when a market consists of a large number of firms of relatively equal size. The HHI increases both as the number of firms in the market decreases and as the disparity in size between those firms increases.

Unlike the concentration ratio, the HHI will change if there is a shift in market share among the larger firms. Markets in which the HHI is between 1000 and 1800 points are considered to be moderately concentrated, and those in which the HHI is in excess of 1800 points are considered to be concentrated. Transactions that increase the HHI by more than 100 points in concentrated markets presumptively raise antitrust concerns.

Other Considerations in Using Industry Concentration Measures

One should be aware that these measures are influenced by the definition of the relevant market. For example, the automotive industry is not the same as the market for sport utility vehicles. One also must consider the geographic scope of the market, for example, national markets versus local markets.

Porter's Diamond of National Advantage

Classical theories of international trade propose that comparative advantage resides in the factor endowments that a country may be fortunate enough to inherit. Factor endowments include land, natural resources, labor, and the size of the local population.

Michael E. Porter argued that a nation can create new advanced factor endowments such as skilled labor, a strong technology and knowledge base, government support, and culture. Porter used a diamond shaped diagram as the basis of a framework to illustrate the determinants of national advantage. This diamond represents the national playing field that countries establish for their industries.

The individual points on the diamond and the diamond as a whole affect four ingredients that lead to a national comparative advantage. These ingredients are:

1. The availability of resources and skills,

2. Information that firms use to decide which opportunities to pursue with those resources and skills,

3. The goals of individuals in companies,

4. The pressure on companies to innovate and invest.

The points of the diamond are described as follows.


I. Factor Conditions

• A country creates its own important factors such as skilled resources and technological base.

• The stock of factors at a given time is less important than the extent that they are upgraded and deployed.

• Local disadvantages in factors of production force innovation. Adverse conditions such as labor shortages or scarce raw materials force firms to develop new methods, and this innovation often leads to a national comparative advantage.

II. Demand Conditions

• When the market for a particular product is larger locally than in foreign markets, the local firms devote more attention to that product than do foreign firms, leading to a competitive advantage when the local firms begin exporting the product.
  
  
• A more demanding local market leads to national advantage.
  
  
• A strong, trend-setting local market helps local firms anticipate global trends.
  

III. Related and Supporting Industries

• When local supporting industries are competitive, firms enjoy more cost effective and innovative inputs.
  
  
• This effect is strengthened when the suppliers themselves are strong global competitors.
  

IV. Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry

• Local conditions affect firm strategy. For example, German companies tend to be hierarchical. Italian companies tend to be smaller and are run more like extended families. Such strategy and structure helps to determine in which types of industries a nation's firms will excel.
  
  
• In Porter's Five Forces model, low rivalry made an industry attractive. While at a single point in time a firm prefers less rivalry, over the long run more local rivalry is better since it puts pressure on firms to innovate and improve. In fact, high local rivalry results in less global rivalry.
  
  
• Local rivalry forces firms to move beyond basic advantages that the home country may enjoy, such as low factor costs.
  

The Diamond as a System

• The effect of one point depends on the others. For example, factor disadvantages will not lead firms to innovate unless there is sufficient rivalry.
• The diamond also is a self-reinforcing system. For example, a high level of rivalry often leads to the formation of unique specialized factors.

Government's Role

The role of government in the model is to:

• Encourage companies to raise their performance, for example by enforcing strict product standards.
  
  
• Stimulate early demand for advanced products.
  
  
• Focus on specialized factor creation.
  
  
• Stimulate local rivalry by limiting direct cooperation and enforcing antitrust regulations.

Book Review: "Change or Die" by Alan Deutschman

Numerous studies have found that upwards of 9 out of 10 people don't change their lifestyles and behaviors... even when their lives depend upon it.

Subtitled The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life, the book asks the question, "Could you change when change matters most?" It is a fact that five behavioral issues drive the large majority of the health care budget in the United States. They are too much smoking, drinking, and eating. Too much stress and not enough exercise. If potentially only one out of every ten people can change our behaviors, even in a crisis, then what hope do any of us really have?

Deutschman suggests that there is a way to effect meaningful, sustainable change but, as pointed out, most people (groups, organizations, companies, etc.) miss the mark. People and organizations change all the time, however the author doesn't focus on how people change on their own. His main topic is "how to change when change isn't coming naturally; when the difficulties stubbornly persist. When you're stuck."

The First Key to Change

RELATE: You form a new, emotional relationship with a person or community that inspires and sustains hope. The leader or community has to sell you on yourself and make you believe you have the ability to change. They have to sell you on themselves as your partners, mentors, role models, or sources of new knowledge. And they have to sell you on the specific methods or strategies that they employ.

The Second Key to Change

REPEAT: The new relationship helps you learn, practice, and master the new habits and skills that you'll need. It takes a lot of repetition over time before new patterns of behavior become automatic and seem natural - until you act the new way without even thinking about it.

The Third Key to Change

REFRAME: The new relationship helps you learn new ways of thinking about your situation and your life. Ultimately, you look at the world in a way that would have been so foreign to you that it wouldn't have made any sense before you changed.

These are the three keys to change: relate, repeat, and reframe. New hope, new skills, and new thinking.

Why is it that even though people spend billions of dollars every year to change and improve, yet so often they still fail to realize their goals? Deutschman contends that "the reason isn't that they don't want to change or can't change but rather that they don't understand change or have the right tools to effect it."

People often make two of the most common mistakes when they try to motivate others to change their behavior: they rely on fear and facts. Fear may work; but often only for a brief time. And people are frequently in denial and can't handle the facts, even when they confront the facts and clearly understand them. Challenges abound in getting people to, first, understand that they need to change. Then to appreciate how to change (what they need to do). And finally, to actually do it. No wonder most New Year's resolutions fall by the wayside so quickly.

Enablers of Change

Deutschman discusses some important enablers of change, such as:

• Our beliefs, formed through repeated experience over time, can usually be reshaped only by experience. Change needs to be experienced and short term wins achieved in order to gain the momentum required to drive more significant and lasting change.

• A great commitment to change. Meaningful change does not come easily. Be prepared to work hard at accomplishing your goals.

• The power of community and culture. Don't go it alone. Invite others into your plans and activities. Leverage their power, knowledge, support and experiences. Involve yourself with those you trust and who can help you achieve change; not those who will hinder you.

Change can occur even when you're stuck. But you must be purposeful in your approach, your attitude, and your activities. Otherwise you might end up as one of the nine in ten who don't change, even when it is imperative that you do.

The Changing World of Business Branding

As new competitors arrive and customer expectations shift, it might become necessary to alter or completely change your branding strategy to meet the modifications of the changing world of business. Although change is inevitable for any business, it is still met with resistance and emotional uncertainty. Therefore, when dealing with an alteration or amendment in brand identity, businesses must overcome those obstacles that often accompany change.

When people are in their comfort zone, they feel more in control of their lives and work. Therefore, it's no surprise that most people are impervious to change. However, there are some individuals that flourish in a changing environment and constantly look for ways to implement innovative changes in their daily lives. But whether they embrace change or fear it, everyone has an opinion about change. When faced with the decision, many individuals' minds become flooded with questions such as: when should it be instituted, how, for what reasons, and in what ways? Because opinions in our economy have a powerful connection to success, it is vital for businesses to plan carefully and effectively. Just think about all the ways we affirm almost anyone's opinion to determine our choices, in everything from Yelp, to Angie's List, Facebook Like, and the number of YouTube views - anyone's opinion can cause a ripple effect.

Although opinions are a major contributor to the markets success, should we be at the mercy of every opinion? Should an author completely change the plot of his/her book just because one reader didn't like it? As businesses consider what branding means to their organization's path to change, they must deliberate on these questions and be prepared for the results. A few questions to take into account are:

• How would the organization respond if a customer doesn't like the change?
• How would business leaders engage opposition if one of their board members disapproves of the change?
• How will people's opinions affect the brand's future success?

When dealing with change, there is no black and white approach- it truly relies on what's best for each individual business. It's best to weigh out all the options, avoid unnecessary emotional reactions and simply reassure the market that you are confident in your vision. And remember, change doesn't have to happen overnight. It needs to occur at a pace that is comfortable and manageable for your business and its employees. Change is inevitable so be in control.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6020268

Meta-Leadership

Meta-leadership is a leadership framework for strategically linking the efforts of different organizations or organizational units to “provide guidance, direction, and momentum across organizational lines that develop into a shared course of action and commonality of purpose among people and agencies that are doing what may appear to be very different work.”

The framework was developed by Dr. Leonard J. Marcus and Dr. Barry Dorn of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI). It is derived through observation and analysis of leaders in crisis circumstances starting with the September 11 attacks in the U.S. It has subsequently been distilled for more general application.

Meta-leadership is focused on cross-cutting leadership that generates connectivity among disparate stakeholders. Leadership refers to the recognized or expected span of authority that a person has in his or her formal role. Meta-leadership is leadership employing influence over authority. Meta-leaders seek to influence and activate change well above and beyond established lines of their decision-making and control. These leaders are driven by a purpose broader than that prescribed by their formal roles, and are therefore motivated and capable of acting in ways that transcend usual organizational confines.

A meta-leader is a leader of leaders, who mobilizes people and organizations to collaborate in times of crisis.

When disaster strikes, meta-leaders reach across organizations and sectors to build cross-cutting strategies to protect the safety of their families, businesses and communities. They exchange information, share resources and coordinate systems and personnel. They use their influence and connections to guide a cooperative course of action.

Being a meta-leader requires a unique mindset and skill set, which often goes beyond the scope of an individual's previous experiences. And it requires building strong alliances with a diverse array of leaders before an event occurs.

Meta-leadership is particularly valuable in situations where the leader must rely on more influence than authority and where one must lead beyond traditional organizational boundaries.

There are five dimensions of the meta-leadership framework:

1. The Person of the Meta-Leader
2. The Situation
3. Leading the Silo
4. Leading Up
5. Leading Connectivity

The Person of the Meta-Leader

This first component of meta-leadership requires self-awareness and self-regulation so that one is leading intentionally with balance, discipline, and direction. One looks at one's individual strengths, weaknesses, and biases with an emphasis on emotional intelligence.

The Situation

The meta-leader must form an accurate picture of the situation to include the nature of the problem, the culture, the context, and what is occurring - and articulate this to those involved.

Leading the Silo

The leader must enable his or her individual silo to achieve maximum effectiveness. One does this by empowering those within and giving them the tools to become more effective.

Leading Up

One must understand the expectations and priorities of one’s superiors and deliver against them appropriately. This may mean influencing that superior toward an appropriate solution or resolution of the situation.

Leading Connectivity

One must be able to step out of their silo and effectively engage other silos -- either within one's own organization or in others -- in seeing the overall mission and working together to accomplish it.

The 8 - A Unique Strategy Execution Framework By Jeroen De Flander

The 8 visualizes three crucial Strategy Execution elements

1. The crucial link between organizational and individual performance
2. The top-down and bottom-up execution highway
3. The continuity of strategy execution

You can look at performance from an organizational perspective or an individual perspective. And the two must be linked in order to realize your strategy. Most will agree with this statement, but few actually make it happen. There are plenty of reasons why companies fail, but the three major ones are: the fragmented views from finance, HR and – if present – the strategy department; a lack of ownership by middle management; and the absence of a simple methodology.

Everyone – from the CEO to the blue-collar worker − is involved in executing the strategy. Their roles might be different, but each individual contributes to the organization's overall performance. Successful Strategy Execution includes both top-down as well as bottom-up processes.

If you tilt the 8 over onto its side, you get the sign for infinity. Strategy Execution is not a one-off exercise. It’s a continuous, ongoing, ‘endless’ process. Most companies aim for an annual, recurring cycle. But in challenging times like today, the cycle goes much faster. With each cycle, you can improve your execution capability and get a better performance return on your strategy.

1. Update Strategy

Your strategy is your long-term action plan designed to achieve your vision. Each strategy is unique, and it should also be measurable and easy to understand. Depending on the industry you are in, it maps the road your company should take for the next 3 to 10 years.
On a regular basis − most companies should do this annually – a company needs (and wants) to update its strategy based on changes in its competitive environment and on the Strategy Execution feedback from the previous cycle.

2. Communicate

As soon as your strategy (or strategy update) is finalised and approved by all stakeholders, you should focus on strategy communication. Transparent and easy-to-understand communication creates the necessary understanding and engagement for the new/adapted strategy.
It is essential to use all available communication platforms. One big strategy event and a single strategy e-mail are not nearly enough. Use other meeting platforms, discussion groups, informal and formal encounters, performance management sessions, intranets, websites, screensavers, coffee corners, billboards, etc. to communicate the strategy. You cannot over-communicate your vision and strategy!

3. Cascade

When you cascade your company’s strategy, you break down objectives into smaller chunks for the next organisational level. The process stops at the smallest unit level − these are often teams. In the end, the size of your organisation will define the size of the cascade.
It is crucial to achieve macro alignment between all the objectives – horizontally and vertically – in your organisation. On a micro level, you need to balance your objectives across perspectives. The 4 traditional perspectives are: financial, customer, internal processes, and people. You can add other dimensions, as appropriate.
In addition to the balancing act on the macro and micro levels, you need to select the right indicators – often called Key Performance Indicators or KPI's − to track the objectives and define appropriate targets.

4. Compare & Learn

Your strategy is a hypothesis. It’s your best estimate of the route to success … but it’s still an estimation.
It’s crucial to take some time at the end of a cycle to go back and check your hypothesis, to compare your initial strategic assumptions with what you have learned from the reality of the Strategy Execution cycle that is being completed. But at the same time, make sure you don’t just look back at your strategy: take a look at your Strategy Execution capability as well. All too often, we see companies jumping automatically to change their strategy, because they did not reach their projected performance. But, upon examination, there is nothing wrong with their strategy. The problem is in executing it. So, make sure you evaluate your execution capabilities as well!

This ‘compare & learn’ step will help you verify your hypothesis, update your strategy, and fine-tune your execution capabilities accordingly.

5. Manage initiatives

Initiative management is the activity in which your dreams run up against reality, your strategy meets operations, and resources are added to the strategy formula. This is one of the most difficult steps in Strategy Execution − and so it’s also where execution quite often goes wrong.
Initiative management is about selecting, prioritising and executing the right initiatives: those actions that will lead to the realisation of your objectives.

6. Set Objectives

Setting individual objectives is one of the best things you can do to improve performance − your own performance, and (if you have them) your team members’ performance. The positive impact of goal-setting is one of the most widely researched and scientifically validated aspects of today’s organisational science.
Make sure you link all individual objectives with the strategy at the organisational level. If you don’t, you might have a great objective … but it’s of no use to the organisation!
Also, make sure you focus on the way you secure agreement on the objectives. It’s the quality of the objectives – including the link with the overall company objectives – AND the acceptance of the objectives that will make your individual objective-setting a success.

7. Monitor & Coach

Regular coaching motivates people and increases their chances of success dramatically. It also simplifies the final performance evaluation. In fact, regular coaching is far more important than the formal review meeting somewhere around the middle of the year.
Providing feedback in the right way − which is a key coaching skill − is a crucial step in boosting performance!

8. Evaluate Performance

Most organisations conduct a formal performance evaluation at the end of the individual performance management cycle. Ideally, the evaluation should answer the question: have the individual performance objectives been achieved?
Although many organisations link performance to remuneration, performance evaluation is − and should be − a separate process.

Strategy Mapping

Imagine that you are a general taking your troops into foreign territory. Obviously, you would need detailed maps showing the important towns and villages, the surrounding landscape, key structures like bridges and tunnels, and the roads and highways that traverse the region. Without such information, you couldn’t communicate your campaign strategy to your field officers and the rest of your troops.

Unfortunately, many top executives are trying to do just that. When attempting to implement their business strategies, they give employees only limited descriptions of what they should do and why those tasks are important. Without clearer and more detailed information, it’s no wonder that many companies have failed in executing their strategies. After all, how can people carry out a plan that they don’t fully understand? Organizations need tools for communicating both their strategy and the processes and systems that will help them implement that strategy.

Strategy maps provide such a tool. They give employees a clear line of sight into how their jobs are linked to the overall objectives of the organization, enabling them to work in a coordinated, collaborative fashion toward the company’s desired goals. The maps provide a visual representation of a company’s critical objectives and the crucial relationships among them that drive organizational performance.

Strategy maps can depict objectives for revenue growth; targeted customer markets in which profitable growth will occur; value propositions that will lead to customers doing more business and at higher margins; the key role of innovation and excellence in products, services, and processes; and the investments required in people and systems to generate and sustain the projected growth.

Strategy maps show the cause-and-effect links by which specific improvements create desired outcomes—for example, how faster process-cycle times and enhanced employee capabilities will increase retention of customers and thus increase a company’s revenues.

From a larger perspective, strategy maps show how an organization will convert its initiatives and resources—including intangible assets such as corporate culture and employee knowledge—into tangible outcomes.

Why Strategy Maps?

In the industrial age, companies created value by transforming raw materials into finished products. The economy was primarily based on tangible assets—inventory, land, factories, and equipment—and an organization could describe and document its business strategy by using financial tools such as general ledgers, income statements, and balance sheets.

In the information age, businesses must increasingly create and deploy intangible assets—for instance, customer relationships; employee skills and knowledge; information technologies; and a corporate culture that encourages innovation, problem solving, and general organizational improvements.

The 9 Point Enneagram of Personality

The Enneagram of Personality (or simply the Enneagram) is a typology of human personality. It was developed by Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo, it is also partly based on earlier teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. The typology defines nine personality types (also called "enneatypes"), which are also indicated by the points of a geometric figure, which also indicate some of the connections between the types.

Enneagram Type One
The One's attention goes to appreciating the excellence and elegance in anything such as a shape, musical score etc. ; to noticing and correcting errors; to identifying and adhering to standards of perfection in thought, feeling and behavior. Major traits include a strong internal critic, a tendency to criticize or judge others, a concern with ethics and correct behavior, and the adherence to rules and standards. Ones also tend to be perfectionists and idealists. In terms of strengths, Ones are typically reliable, analytical, and moral. They often demonstrate integrity and a desire to improve things for the good of all. Challenges for Ones include dealing with their own anger, managing their perfectionism, and being overly critical of self and others.

Enneagram Type Two
As a heart-based type, the Two's attention goes to interpersonal relationships and paying attention to important people, to giving to others, and to gaining approval. Major traits: Twos can be upbeat and cheerful, and they pride themselves on intuitively knowing what others need, often believing that they know what is best for others. However, this outward focus on others may mask a less confident inner self, Twos often have difficulty identifying their own needs or getting them met directly. Twos can be very empathic, friendly, and giving, and yet may become resentful if their generosity is not appreciated or reciprocated. Strengths: Twos often make friends easily, can be thoughtful, attentive and fun-loving, and they also tend to be competent and driven. Challenges: Twos often neglect their own needs, try to indirectly orchestrate the behavior of other people, and can be fearful of real intimacy with others.

Enneagram Type Three
The Three's attention goes to setting goals and hitting their targets, to success and creating the "right" image in the eyes of others, and to doing rather than being. Type Three is the prototype of being identified with a persona. Major traits include an excessive focus on work and tasks, concern with image and the approval of others, and a competitive striving for status and recog-nition. Strengths: Threes can be industrious, energetic, and attractive. Challenges: They can be workaholics, unaware of their real feelings, and unable to slow down and simply be.

Enneagram Type Four
The attention of Fours goes to what is missing and desired, to loss, to emotions, to drama, and to longing for the ideal and distant, thus, the sense that the heart is broken or damaged in some way. Major traits include a desire to feel special or unique, a concern with authenticity, a preoccupation with the search for the ideal forms of love or connection, and a wistful pleasure with melancholy. Unlike some other types, Fours tend to be comfortable with emotions and can be sensitive to the emotional tone of situations and relationships. Strengths: Fours can be emotionally strong, authentic, artistic, and sensitive. Challenges: Fours can be entitled, dramatic, dissatisfied in relationships, and depressed.

Enneagram Type Five
The Five's attention goes to gathering knowledge and wisdom (akin to the symbol of the owl), to thinking and observing, to protecting inner resources and to warding off intrusions from the outside. Major traits: Fives describe an inner experience of scarcity or lack, especially in terms of time and energy. They typically feel a strong need to hoard these resources and may become resentful when others threaten to impose on them, especially emotionally. Fives tend to be knowledgeable, emotionally detached, analytical, and objective observers. Strengths: Fives are often objective, calm in a crisis, knowledgeable, and analytical. Challenges: They may also be too emotionally detached, and their sense of inner lack often leads to withdrawing from others, creating excessive boundaries, and to the illusion that energy is limited and must be (over)protected.

Enneagram Type Six
The attention of Sixes goes to questioning and doubting, to scanning their environment for signs of threat and danger, to searching for proof to confirm an inner sense of threat, and to creating worst-case scenarios. Major traits: Most Sixes have a complex relationship to authority. They want authority figures to protect them, while simultaneously doubting the authority figure's willingness or ability to do so. They may also be fearful and anxious (phobic), or challenging and rebellious (counter-phobic). Sixes tend to suspect people's motives, and their concern with what can go wrong in situations can lead to procrastination. They can also be good troubleshooters and loyal supporters. Strengths: Sixes are often intuitive, loyal, analytical, and have the ability to challenge authority (counter-phobic) or see through false pretenses. Challenges: They may be overly suspicious or paranoid may project their own thoughts feelings and motives onto others, often have issues with trust, and may get stuck in self-doubt or excessive questioning.

Enneagram Type Seven
The Seven's attention goes to options and possibilities, to seeking pleasure, to avoiding pain and discomfort, and their minds typically shift quickly from idea to idea, akin to a monkey's arms moving from one tree branch to another in rapid succession. Sevens like to keep the mood upbeat, and so engage in elaborate future planning, playful interactions, and enjoyable activities. They typically have many interests and active imaginations. Major traits: Sevens can be fast-paced, fun loving, imaginative, and afraid of commitment. They often become enamored with their own associational thinking style, enjoy adventure and stimulation, and believe in keeping the mood positive and forward moving. Strengths: Sevens are usually adventurous, fun, positive, upbeat, and optimistic. Challenges: It can be difficult for many Sevens to make and keep commitments or deal with pain: They often believe the following: Why feel bad or suffer when there is the choice to be happy? Sevens also have difficulty staying focused or dealing with emotionally charged interactions.

Enneagram Type Eight
The Eight's attention goes to issues of power and control, to making things happen, to protecting the weak, and to fighting injustice. With an intense, authoritative, and sometimes explosive energy, they are usually ready to face any challenge. Major traits: Eights can be impulsive, excessive, dominant, and protective of others. They often move into action before thinking things through, express their anger more easily than the other types, and confront situations more readily than others. They seek the truth, but may confuse objective reality or truth with their own personal reality or beliefs. Strengths: Eights tend to be strong, powerful, commanding, energetic, and intense. Challenges: They can also have difficulty containing their own energy and anger, be controlling, and be unaware of their own vulnerabilities.

Enneagram Type Nine
The Nine's attention goes to connecting with others, maintaining harmony, peace, and comfort, and avoiding conflict. They typically enjoy the feeling of ease, harmony, and peace that they experience in nature. Major traits: Nines merge with others energetically, taking on the feel and positions of others, thus losing touch with their own internal experience and priorities. As one of the three anger types, Nines can be very out of contact with their own anger, which can leak out in the form of passive-aggression, stubbornness, and passive resistance. Typically they are more focused on others than on themselves. Strengths: Nines can be skilled mediators and loyal, steadfast partners and friends. They can also be warm, understanding and caring. Challenges: They can also have difficulty feeling and expressing anger, dealing with conflict, knowing what they want, and differentiating their expe-rience from others in their lives.

YAA - ZMOT!

Here's a new acronym - ZMOT ! By the way ... did you know there's an acronym to describe the sad state of affairs - YAA (Yet Another Acronym).

ZMOT stands for 'Zero Moment of Truth' and it is a new concept introduced by one of the Managing Directors at Google, Mr. Jim Lecinski. It highlights that consumers today want to explore and think about how products can improve their lives. They do the background study to gain the insights they need and they’re driven to interact and bond with others in order to enrich relationships as they learn about the products.

The traditional cycle of a product-consumer match can be described in three stages: stimulus, shelf and experience.

For example: you are watching your favorite sitcom on TV and you see an advert about a digital camera. Since you were thinking of buying one but kept delaying it, you sit up and take notice. That's the stimulus stage!

Now, you go to a store and see a stand up display of that brand of cameras. you get interested in the overall proposition and after much deliberation (read: checking your wallet) decide to buy it! That's the shelf stage!

You come home and immediately start clicking pictures and recording videos much to the horror of your loved ones and neighbors ;) and you like the results...voila! perfect ending! That's the experience stage.

Oblivious to the customers, marketers have charted out couple of important milestones in the whole process, called the moments of truth. Consider the shelf stage: once you go to the electronic store, chances are you will encounter many more brands .. some good ... some bad some chinese :) so you are standing there, looking at all that different camera brands and deciding which one to buy. Procter & Gamble called this moment the First Moment of Truth or FMOT. Now once you buy the camera, come back home there's another moment to reckon with: Second Moment of Truth or SMOT. This is when you use the brand — and are delighted, or not!

Now there’s a new critical moment of decision that happens before consumers get to the electronic store. Whether you sell cameras or shaving cream, your customers’ first impression — and quite possibly their final decision — will be made in that moment: ZMOT.

“Engagement with the customer today isn’t just pouring a message down on their head and hoping they get wet. It really is understanding that you must be present in a conversation when they want to have it, not when you want to.” — Bob Thacker, Gravitytank, Strategic Advisor and former CMO of OfficeMax

The big news for marketers today is the critical new moment between stimulus and shelf in every product category. You are still watching TV and you still see the TV advert. But now you grab your laptop off the table and search for “digital camera reviews.” You look at comments from users on CNET and two other sites. You goes to Facebook, Twitter and post: “Can anybody suggest a great camera for under Rs. 15000?” You go to YouTube and search “digital camera demos” Before the sitcom ends — and before you get to the store shelf — you are ready to make a decision.

And by the way, it’s not just stores and FMCG I'm referring to. ZMOT applies to almost all product categories. Google has conducted a research with Shopper Sciences to prove it! Shoppers are digging up more information, from more sources, before they buy. ZMOT shapes shoppers' decisions and is now just as important as stimulus and FMOT in moving consumers from undecided to decided.

The original three step process still holds true: The stimulus still has to drive the consumer to think about a digital camera. You still need the shelf stage and experience stage for a happy ending. What’s changed is that the stimulus now drives consumers to a new stopover on their way to the shelf. When you began searching, the information wasn’t “poured on you” — you actively hunted for and pulled down what you wanted.

Marketers need to realize that its okay to spend millions on advertising campaigns through the conventional media, but do they have what it takes to win that grabbing-the-laptop moment — the Zero Moment of Truth?

What is Strategy - By Michael Porter

For almost two decades, managers are learning to play by new rules. There’s an increasing trend of managers adopting new ways of managing their business and subsequently their business processes. Flexibility, Benchmarking, Outsourcing, TQM, Six Sigma – these are just some of the tools and techniques floating out there. Managers have taken to the thought that they need to be flexible to respond to today’s dynamic and complex environment. When everybody’s into the same business, have the same competencies, how do you get that edge? You improvise, optimize and make sure you are leading the race. But does it translate to you winning the race? The answer is No - because that’s a different story altogether. Even after obtaining efficiencies and improvements in the business, it has been noticed there is no sustainable profitability for companies. Why – because operational effectiveness and strategy and two different things. Its like salt and pepper – different colors, taste and purpose - but you need both to create a perfect recipe! As managers push for improvement on all fronts, they move farther away from their viable competitive positions. It’s like a race where no one wins – everyone is running faster but all they do is maintain their original position in the grid.

Porter goes on to emphasize that a company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference it can preserve – called Strategic Position. A company can do this by concentrating on its activities and recognizing that activities are the units of competitive advantage. Doing the same activities in a better way will only achieve operational effectiveness. Yes, its crucial for your business to be lean, eliminate waste, be more productive etc. But this alone is not sufficient.

There are couple of reasons why! Firstly, there will be diffusion of best practices. Sooner or later, your competition will realize the reasons of the deficit and latch on to the same tools and techniques you employed to get ahead. It will be good for the industry as a whole with absolute improvement for all the players but there would be no relative improvement for any of them. There would be no differentiating factor with any of the players. Back to square one! Secondly, with increasing competitive convergence, companies have to out-last others rather than out-class them. When everybody is doing the same thing, with the same efficiencies, it boils down to stamina or how long these companies can sustain their business. And slowly, they start experiencing diminishing returns. Back to square one again!

The key, therefore, is to think and do things differently. That’s one essence of strategy – get those cog oiled up and create a new engine that others cannot imitate. Achieve a strategic position by doing the activities differently or think of new activities altogether. This will shake things up and create a unique position for you in the market. Not only is it important to know what to do but also to know what not to do.

Please bear with this lame example: Let's suppose you have 5 jars full of gems (representing profits) with a golden coin (representing competitive advantage) at the bottom of each one of the jars. If I'm a smart ass company, I'll dip my fingers in all five, try to reach for as many gems as possible and also aim for the golden booty. So instead of getting the competitive edge, all I can manage is a handful of gems from different jars. Companies have to be careful of this honey trap. They need to realize that its better to concentrate on one jar, get the gems, get the coin and make the jar your own. Getting the drift...?...Create a unique position!!

The key to creating that valuable and unique position is to concentrate on activities! Excellence in individual activities will only achieve operational effectiveness. The strategy should be to excel in all activities combined. Like a Swiss watch - everything matters and is tuned to perfection. There is no single link that can be identified as the 'strongest link' or the 'weakling'. There has to be a 'fit' among the activities. The degree of fit would determine the intensity of your competitive advantage. Moreover, your competition would find it hard to imitate such a close interlocked system of activities. It is easy to imitate technology or products but much harder to copy a set of activities that are closely knit.

So the takeaway from the whole post is to do things differently! that's it... my two cents.