Year: 2010

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BP – oil spill Training for a disaster…

a-boxer-in-a-training-drill

Warning this may get winded…

Thinking of the recent developments with British Petroleum and the current mess they have made out in the Gulf Coast I thought about how training and development / performance improvement might have been able to help prevent such a disaster from ever occurring in the first place. I realize that this may be an R & D issue but if you think about it, training for a disaster is something that we trainers can help with.

BP and their R & D department could have set up sessions and trained employees out on these wells how to spot a problem at the very start and then how to handle the problem. BP seems to have skipped right over this process, they should have seen a need for 1) MORE R&D on deep oceanic wells, and 2) trained their employees as to each minuscule problem that might arise and prepare well in advance for such a disaster. These processes ought to have been done well in advance of ever trying to drill in the Gulf.

Training can and is necessary for high risk endeavors like this or else we are bound for another disaster and BP will I am sure be at the fore front of the next bright idea. The research indicates that BP has in fact been noted as having one of the worst records in the oil industry and have been found to have a poor safety record, Training would have come into play here too. When are big corporations going to put training and development as a priority and these CEO’s need a course in ethics and research and the advantages of quality control and environmental safety. Training and development play vital roles in hand with R & D and tactical prevention methodology. This disaster should have been foreseen prior to ever setting one massive rig in the ocean.

Another little observation, why is BP now finally willing to look at clean up methods other than their own, This should always be a policy to look for other knowledge and ideas outside the box so to speak, there are benefits to looking around for solutions I think BP would be seen as much more responsible and more ethical if they had a policy to open their eyes and ears for better ideas earlier.

-Leigh and happy training and teaching

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E-Learning and Distance Learning pros and cons

By Leigh Dudley on June 8, 2010 | Edit

This is not my greatest strength, e-learning was not a part of my education and what I have learned is from my own research, however since this type of adult learning approach is becoming such an intrinsic part of human performance I feel I should help point out a few items that have crossed my research eyes…

I think the first and foremost step in the process of developing an e-learning (distance learning) program is to a) target your audience and their technological abilities, b) research and find the easiest LMS program that everyone can have access to, I have experience with Blackboard and Moodle, but there are many out there to choose from. c) make sure you do a tech test of sorts prior to the classroom presentations. and d) follow up and make sure you update and modify your programs often, keeping up with the technology is another important tip.

E-learning is a great way to reach a large array of clients and has become a necessity in the global economic climate – research has proven that it can be an effective way of teaching, keep in mind the 25th Quartile theory when designing an e-learning or distance learning program too. Remember there are still newbies out there and we must adjust ourselves as we teach…

ASTD has many good quality resources for those wishing to learn more about the processes of distance learning and how to become very effective in the design and presentation of distance courses.

Happy research and good luck with all your training endeavors

Leigh

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

– Looking for an expert in training and development or human performance technology?
– Contact me: Leigh Dudley (Sassenach Training Services) – Linkedin – 248-349-2881 or 248-277-2966
– Read my blog: Training and Development

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Research Sources – Market, Industry and Business Plans (3 of 3)

Person researching with a laptop

Careful research really is important for the success of your business. It’s definitely worth your time and extra effort to find relevant, timely, and credible research information. Keep these things in mind:

What Does the Research Provide for Me?

  • Industry and customer base information
  • Advertising focus
  • Customers’ preferences and habits
  • Market and industry trends
  • Where and when to advertise
  • Preparation paves the way for inspiration
  • Return on investment for your advertising dollars

Find the Answers to these Questions:

  • Where is my product/service typically sold or advertised?
  • Might there be other places where I can showcase my business?

Research Tips

Keep track of where you found your information and search terms

  • Helps you mine for more information at a later date
  • Backtracking to a source is difficult
  • Forgetting a successful search term is easy

Types of Information that May be Helpful:

  • Niche-specific magazines and competitors’ brochures & flyers
  • Facts/figures/trends
  • How-to information
  • Pricing
  • Legal issues
  • Hidden markets
  • Secondary places to advertise your product or service

Note: Thanks to Pratt Library for tips and techniques.

MORE RESEARCH SOURCES:

Statistical Information – Fedstats

Available to the public since 1997, provides access to the full range of FREE RESEARCH SOURCES – official statistical information produced by the Federal Government without having to know in advance which Federal agency produces which particular statistic. With convenient searching and linking capablilties to more than 100 agencies that provide data and trend information on such topics as economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more, FedStats is the one location for access to the full breadth of Federal statistical information.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

Publication of the United States Census Bureau, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Published annually since 1878, the statistics describe social and economic conditions in the United States. The 2010 (129th Edition) Statistical Abstract of the United States contains 30 sections, 926 pages and over 1300 individual tables covering over 200 topics including income and wealth, imports-exports, agriculture, energy production and consumption, natural resources and some international comparisons. All information is downloadable in PDF and Excel spreadsheet formats. The statistical abstract is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. (Wikipedia.com)

SIC or NAICS code

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by the Federal government to classify business establishments for the purpose of government contracting and statistical analysis. Both Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes identify a firm’s primary business activity. These codes can be used in market research to find industry-related studies and overviews.

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

The world’s largest and oldest opinion archives and access thousands of opinion polls.
Library of public opinion data, focusing on data preservation and access, education, and research on public opinion.

Tradepub.com

Extensive list of FREE RESEARCH SOURCES – Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to professionals who qualify.

Publist.com

Search the database of over 150,000 magazines, journals, newsletters, & other periodicals. Find FREE RESEARCH SOURCES – in-depth information on familiar and hard-to-find publications from around the world, representing thousands of topics.

What sources have you found invaluable for researching your marketing plan or business plan?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

. . ________ . .

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman: With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

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Who Is A Major Gift Prospect ??

an NPO discussing with a major gift prospect

When the question of major gift fundraising first arises, many unsophisticated board members, volunteers and staff immediately begin talking about the “rich and famous” — with Bill Gates being the name at the top of almost everyone’s list.

The wrong assumption that many people make — and one that can become a major time waster — is that an organization’s prospect list should contain the names of every conceivable wealthy person.

Indeed, yes, the first steps of a major gifts effort should include the generation of a list of wealthy individuals. But the distinction is whether they are likely to become “prospects.”

Major Gift Prospects are people who:
1• Have wealth, and may derive satisfaction from using that wealth to advance the causes in which they believe;
2• Are accessible to you and/or (even better) are current major donors to your organization;
3• Have a need that will be satisfied by making a significant gift to your organization;

Ideally, but not necessarily, Major Gift Prospects are also:
4• Aware of the effectiveness of your programs and the business-like manner in which you operate;
5• Passionate about wanting to see your mission achieved; and,
6• Involved with your organization and/or its programs, and demonstrate a commitment to the success of your mission.

You can have a long list of wealthy people, but unless they meet the criteria, they’re not “Prospects.” They’re people you’d like to think of as likely donors, but you have no evidence to support that wishful thinking.

Bottom line is, for people to be Major Donor Prospects; you must have enough of a relationship with them to satisfy the above qualifiers, and to know them well enough to recognize/identify their needs.

Major gift fundraising is more about the needs of the donor, than about the needs of the organization.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

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Working on Ourselves, as Consultants

Two consultants having a meeting

Why It’s Important to Work On Ourselves, as Consultants

The world as we experience it is the product of perception not the cause of it. As people we are not passive receptors of stimuli coming from an external world, but in a very concrete sense we create much of our reality. This is why it is so important for consultants to “work on” ourselves.

Our language shapes most of our concepts and thoughts. What also influences us is our own experience of power and powerlessness; our relations with authority and authority figures, our propensities to handle conflict one way rather than another, our capacity to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity, all these and more aid and inhibit our perception of our realities. Sometimes consulting is operating in a house of mirrors. What is me and what is not me are important to differentiate.

Differentiation itself is an act of maturity, forging an identity as a consultant and what you will do and what you will not do is important, but not as important as knowing your own issues while in the midst of others. Who am I here and what is my purpose, and what are those things that “hook” me is equally as important as knowing who your client is and how they are getting in their own way. It is always easier to see this in other people.

Growing Ourselves

I have just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which is the story of a woman in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s in the midst of the civil rights struggle, writing about the lives of black maids. The narrator discovers her own assumptions and begins to see new things, which had previously been unconscious. Consulting in the field of organization development is a vehicle for personal and collective growth. As we grow we see ourselves and each other, and our reality before us differently. I referred to this two posts ago. When I was younger I had lots of ambition and passion, I was impatient. As I get older I have learned to discover compassion for others and for myself.

I would suggest our readers to explore Peter Senge’s Ladder of Inference. It is a visual tool to examine our own assumptions and fears, and see how we get in our own way of diagnosing the situation clearly. The data we select to make sense of our world is a reflection of our own beliefs and assumptions and experience.

Abraham Maslow once commented that one measure of health is the ability to perceive reality accurately. Think about it.

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For more resources, see the Library topics Consulting and Organizational Development.

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Jim Smith has over 40 years of organization development experience in a wide range of organizations. He can be reached at ChangeAgents@gmail.com

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Meatloaf or Tartare?

Meatloaf on a plate

I recently encountered an organization that’s on the cusp of a big change … a change about which its huge constituency is feeling a bit uncertain.

The agency has never had a chief executive, and that’s part of the new picture that has some supporters skeptical. After all, things have gone okay without one, why spend the money on another administrator?

Like the Chinese symbol for “crisis,” this moment of change represents both opportunity and danger.

On the one hand, bringing in a new leader with energy, ideas, expertise, and commitment could take this organization to a new level of efficacy and service.

On the other hand, just bringing someone in for this new position is stretching the comfort zone of many important supporters.

So, what’s a Board to do?

In the lifecycles of a nonprofit organization, it’s critical that the mindset of the board and the chief executive are in sync about where the organization should be heading … and more critically, how fast it should be heading there.

Many board/executive marriages get off to a rocky start when the board looks to engage the type of leader they “think” they want rather than what they REALLY want or are comfortable with.

In other words, a board that is in “maintenance” mode – that is, it is seeking to promote the stability of the organization to a nervous constituency – should recognize that bringing on a passionate innovator at that moment in its organizational development may actually impede the agency’s progress.

The same is true of a nonprofit in which the board is ready to significantly advance the mission, operations, or reach of the organization, but chooses an executive counterpart that is risk- or innovation-averse.

Like the marriage between the big-time biker and America’s sweetheart, at some point, something’s going to give, and it’s the organization, ultimately, that will suffer from the strain.

All ground beef is not created equal. Don’t order steak tartare if what you REALLY want is meatloaf … and vice-versa.

Fare well, and farewell until next week …

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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Assumptions When We Plan and Define Projects

Whenever we plan, there are unlimited opportunities for us to make assumptions (consciously or otherwise).

Highly successful project managers (that rare breed?) recognise this acutely and most importantly, the potential impact that even the simplest looking assumption can have on a project. Recognising and capturing assumptions, thereby enabling us to test selected assumptions, can be one of the most important things we do on certain types of projects.

What is an assumption in the context of a project?: it could simply be not asking a question (early enough or even at all) in the project lifecycle resulting in, for example, incorrect or invalid design or product definition decisions.

It is very possible for a single (un-tested) assumption to cause major issues or re-work late in a project cycle – that’s why the ears of a experienced successful project manager will always come alive when they hear conversations among project team members that may contain key assumptions.

It’s a very challenging but can also be hugely important area – so my question is: what examples and methods do people use for identifying assumptions in projects?

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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Kevin Lonergan with Project Management Informed Solutions helps clients improve capability to deliver projects and programs, by providing process assets and skills transfer.

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A Key Strategic Choice: When to Outsource Work

Project manager outsourcing work to employees

Nike makes shoes, right? Well, not exactly. Nike is a wonderful company with superb marketing capability. But Nike outsources the actual manufacturing process to someone else. So in that sense, Nike does not make shoes. Nike’s competitive work is the design and marketing of athletic shoes. Obviously, the company has succeeded for years at doing just that. Knowing when to outsource work and when to keep it in-house is a key to successful strategy.

The underlying principle of business strategy is that you cannot excel at everything since resources are always finite and limited. Instead, you must make strategic choices. Key among these choices is a critical decision: which elements of work must be done by the company itself, and which elements should be outsourced? To make a sound decision of this sort, begin by identifying the work of the organization that is “mission critical.” Mission critical work cannot be trusted in the hands of another organization.

As a start toward culling the mission critical work from work that can be outsourced to others, it is helpful to perform and assessment of all the work processes performed by your company and sort each into one of three categories. Once work is categorized, the organization can be aligned to properly support the requirements of each type of work. These three categories are:

Competitive or Strategic Work. This is mission critical work. It is the core competence of the organization. Strategic work is that which creates sustainable competitive advantage and distinctiveness. For example, Nike differentiates itself through its strategic marketing work (sending non-core work such as manufacturing overseas), while Apple excels at product design. Competitive Work is always performed and managed in-house.

Competitive Enabling Work. This work “leverages” the competitive work, or enables the competitive work. Companies that stake their reputation on the excellence of their personnel will often consider employee development and education to be Competitive Enabling work. As another example, while Wal-Mart’s strategic differential and competitive work is considered operational excellence — managing information and keeping stock ever present on its shelves – the company’s competitive enabling work is both the development and maintenance of their state of the art information technology (IT).
If Competitive Enabling work is done better, the Competitive Work becomes more distinct in the eyes of stakeholders.

Business Essential Work. This work must be done to stay in business, but is work that customers don’t really value. Even if done at a world-class level, business essential work does not create sustainable competitive advantage. Nonetheless, if done below industry standards, the outputs of business essential work can cause disadvantage and/or poor performance. Business Essential work includes “compliance” work which is performed to comply with governmental regulations or to mitigate legal risk to the organization. Designers of high performance organizations should heed this important guiding principle: Business Essential work, if left unabated, will consume the organization’s competitive work. That is, people can get so consumed by the busy work of the company that they put off and lose focus on the organization’s truly strategic endeavors.

It’s critical for leaders to understand that by categorizing work as Business Essential, it doesn’t mean that this work is not important to the organization. On the contrary, it is essential to the organization to stay in business. In fact, if Business Essential work is done below the industry standard, it can lead to disadvantage. At the same time, if leaders invest a lot to get this work above a level at parity with competitors, it will never lead to distinctiveness in the eyes of the customers.

Outsourcing selected business processes has become an important strategic option for companies wanting to maintain a focus on their strategically important or competitive work. Resourcing decisions should be dictated by the type of work and the nature of the individual skills and knowledge required to perform the work.

Work that is not categorized as competitive work is subject to consideration for outsourcing of one sort or another. To determine the best possible distribution of work, we use the following model

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Mark Rhodes is a highly experienced organizational strategy and design consultant with Strategy By Design. You can reach him via email at markrho@mindspring.com..

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Coaching Tip – A Simple Tool to Ask for Feedback

Letters on Wooden Cubes

A common theme that emerges with many of my coaching clients is that they would like more feedback. They would like to know if they are doing a good job and are on track with what is expected of them. Further, if they are not meeting the expectations, they would like to know what they need to do differently.

I encourage my clients to “coach up” by being proactive and ask for feedback.

Here is a simple feedback tool that works for many situations:

Ask: What should I start doing, stop doing and continue to do?

Another variation is: What should I do more of, less of and continue to do?

These simple questions can help you get specific feedback and information that can help you stay on top of your game.

Try this tool and give me your feedback on how it worked for you.

For more resources, see the Library topic Personal and Professional Coaching.

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Pam Solberg-Tapper MHSA, PCC – I spark savvy business leaders to fire up their cutting edge, be extraordinary and do great things in their world. How can I help you?

Contact me at CoachPam@cpinternet.com or Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/pam-solberg-tapper/13/600/745

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Is PR Spin? You Must Be Hyping Me!

Young woman smiling taking notes on tablet

Caterpillars spin cocoons. Spiders spin webs. Young kids sometimes spin to make themselves dizzy. Whirling dervishes definitely spin toward a higher power, and fitness clubs are fond of offering spin classes. But is PR spin?

Most of the public relations professionals that I know consider “spin” to be a pejorative term in their profession. It connotes fabricating something to influence public opinion. Facts, the troubling things that they can be, can’t be “spun” although they can be interpreted differently depending on how they are presented.

I think when people use the term spin, they really mean “position.” For example, a client once called and had an annual environmental report to release, complete with letter grades. “How do you want to spin these this year?” the client innocently asked.

What he really meant was, in what context should we put the grades out to the public, given that there were many variables that determined the grade score and numerous geographic locations that were being graded. The answer to his real question — How should we position the grades that reflect the realityof the environmental regions in question? — was relatively simple.

We would describe what each grade meant, but we would also (and more significantly) put the overall grade totals within the context of the region’s wider environment health. By positioning these markers against the larger issue, the public could get a genuine understanding about the general state of the environment, plus a good snapshot of which specific areas needed improvement, which ones had improved and which ones showed no change. Moreover, in the same news release, we would offer proven tips on how people could take personal responsibility on their own property, in their neighborhoods and their community to help make improvements in order to maintain a good grade, or to bump up the grade.

If we had approached this issue using the “spin” mindset, it would have given us license to play fast and loose with the facts and made the organization look disingenuous, if not duplicitous. Using spin, we could have resorted to subterfuge to gloss over the areas with lower grades, and we could have used hyperbole to inflate — or hype, another word often mistakenly used to describe PR — the area with strong B and A grades. The result would have been a much muddier environmental assessment that did not reflect the true status of the areas in question.

Still, pop culture continues to malign PR by equating it with spin or hype, most likely out of naïveté and general ignorance. The new “reality” show with celebrity Kim Kardashian reported today at PR Newser — a great little newsy and insightful PR trade website — is a good example of why I’m feeling a little dizzy at the moment.

The headline, “E! Launches PR Reality Show ‘The Spin Crowd,’ Produced By Kim Kardashian,” pretty much says it all. The show, allegedly about how to set up and manage red carpet events in Hollywood, readily falls so far from the realm of what most PR people do in many different capacities each day that it barely merits mentioning. And now that I’ve accidentally hyped it in this hallowed space, it’s time to go for a real spin and get some fresh air.

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Sample Business Plans

Woman standing beside a laptop on a desk in an office lobby

People are always asking us for examples of business plans, which is a bit ironic, in that every credible plan I’ve ever seen has “Confidential” stamped all over it. That said, there are samples out there, which is fine as long as you don’t assume you should do it the way they did it.

Here are some good places to look for sample business plans:

Palo Alto Software offers more than 100 free plans in 28 different categories. The plans are truly free; their hook is that if you buy their Business Plan Pro software, you can import any number of these plans and edit them to get a good start on your own plan; or use any of the 500+ plans that come with the software.

SCORE, the business advisory nonprofit organization with services delivered by volunteers, provides about a dozen business plan templates.

Entrepreneur lists more than 50 sample business plans in many different sectors.

Center for Business Planning provides business plan “winners” from their Moot Corp Competition, which simulates entrepreneurs asking for funding. MBA students prepare the plans.

About.com provides a fictional “professional” plan “with exceptional graphics and formatting” with (gulp) ten appendices. Their Critical Steps for Business Planning is worth taking a look at also.

The Bridgespan Group offers several sample business plans for nonprofit organizations.

Unfortunately, there is no standard business plan format. Use these samples, and the suggested reading mentioned in my previous blogs, to inform your thinking. Then create a plan (or hire a consultant) that works for your market, for your business and for you. Good luck!

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For more resources, see our Library topic Business Planning.

Copyright © 2010 Rolfe Larson Associates – Fifteenth Anniversary, 1995 – 2010
Author of Venture Forth! Endorsed by the late Paul Newman of Newman’s Own
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