January 2011 – Page 2 – Management Library

January 27, 2011March 27, 2023

Project Management, Leadership and Making the Right Decision

A guest post from Patrick d’Astous , chief scientist at Smartbox Software.

A project manager puts, by trade, or by choice, his credibility on the line every day. Another way to say this is “a project manager is as good as his/her last project’s perceived success”. Compared to traditional management and its long term objectives, success as a project manager is easily measured.

I like to compare this situation to my years spent in the army where the achievement of a junior officer was related to his leadership and decision making skills. Although a project manager’s authority is given through the project charter, he will not succeed with formal authority alone. Expert authority or the respect achieved through decision making abilities is paramount to a project manager’s success.

How do you achieve a good level of expert authority?

By making better decisions of course!! A good officer (oops, I meant project manager) elaborates a sound plan based on recognized project management best practices knowing the project plan itself will need to be adapted as soon as the real action starts. Why? You will say risks of course. Yes, your project plan must take into account risks and bravo if you have a contingency plan for every perceived risk. I say this is not enough; a good project manager must be able to recognize a situation (foreseen or totally out of nowhere) and react accordingly to achieve a successful outcome. If he can do so repeatedly, he will then achieve expert authority.

Project process, best practices and audits

The army has best practices or Standard Operating Procedures that date a few thousand years (Sun Tzu anyone?) which are still applied today when planning. The first thing you learn during officer basic training is the process of planning. Audits are ingrained in the authoritative hierarchy of the army to ensure all the details have been looked at. Although project management is a younger field, individual experts and organizations alike have worked hard to propose processes, best practices and audit mechanisms. The goal here is to ensure the details have been taken care of so you can:

Plan better and reduce the risks associated with a faulty plan.
Recognize a potentially difficult situation and react accordingly.

So you, the junior or casual project manager, I have one piece of advice for you : ensure you are applying PM best practices when planning. You will then be in a position to make better decisions and achieve success.

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For more resources, see the Library topic Project Management.

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Patrick d’Astous is chief scientist at Smartbox Software in Montreal. Smartbox commercializes Project Scheduling Smart Assistant, a Microsoft Project add-on that provides contextual advice to the project manager based on his actual project plan’s strength based on common PM best practices and standards.

January 27, 2011March 23, 2023

Funding for Technology – Ask for the Right Thing and Connect to Your Mission

Person trying to raise funds for her business

In my last blog post, I said I would write about funding for technology for nonprofits – and so here it is.

One of the main reasons for a lag in use of technology by nonprofits is always claimed to be a lack of funding. This articles provides some ideas for developing stronger technology funding proposals. I think the two most important things you can do when putting a technology proposal together are:

Ask for the appropriate/right thing
Connect to you mission

Know What’s Right for You

The perfect example of a technology funding request error is requesting funding for hardware and software but not for training or ongoing maintenance. I know a number of small nonprofits who purchased Raiser’s Edge but did not go to the training. Their money would have been much better spent buying something like GiftWorks plus their full training package for a much lower price. If you don’t need or have any idea on how to use all the bells and whistles, then you may be better off with a more modest product that will meet your needs and you can learn to navigate easily. I’ve also recommended to some organizations that a web-based service like eTapestry may best suit their particular needs, but they thought they had to ask for funding to buy software rather than say five year funding for a license.

I think that funders are getting smarter about technology “fit” for nonprofits and they may not look kindly on technology funding requests that they don’t think are a good fit for your organization. Make sure you are doing your homework, getting knowledgeable technology advice and checking out resources like Idealware and Techsoup . These resources have detailed articles that will help you assess what’s best for you and you can work that knowledge analysis into your request.

Connect to Your Mission

If you look at your successful grants they were probably the ones most closely connected to your mission and what you are good at. Did you address sustainability and did you take the time to choose the right funders? Well, if all of those things were part of the recipe for your success with other grants, make sure they are in your technology grant requests too.

Don’t just ask for funding for new computers because your old ones are old. What will new computers enable you to do that you aren’t doing or do well now? Will you be using your computers to deliver better, more timely services or serving more people? Does software that you want to implement for better customer service require more capacity than the computers you now have?
Funders will respond to your objective to provide better customer service. New computer/software systems that increase customer access, privacy and support should be presented in relationship to your mission rather than addressed merely from an administrative point of view.
Will systems that track information enable you to do better program evaluations and receive/analyze customer feedback? These are results that funders are interested in supporting.
Make sure you address ongoing technical maintenance/support, computer/network security and training in your request. All of these can be tied to the quality of your service. Your plan for sustaining the value of the initial investment will make for a stronger proposal.
If your request involves website development or development of a social networking presence you can tie this to fundraising capacity and communication. Certainly communicating about your mission is tied to your mission.

Two Other Things to Consider

If you are preparing a program proposal and it will involve additional staffing, make sure that you embed your technology requirements for new staff in the proposal – and don’t forget training!

Increasing your technology capacity IS capacity building. If you know a funder that has capacity building for things like vehicles, buildings and equipment as part of their charter, then they may be a candidate for this proposal.

I hope this article provides some ideas to help you put together the strongest proposal possible. Please share your success stories with us and let us know what works for you.

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

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Marion Conway

Visit my blog at: http://marionconwaynonprofitconsultant.blogspot.com

January 27, 2011February 16, 2023

Can You Simulate a PR Crisis and Then Handle the Real Thing?

Abstract of a finger stopping falling wooden pieces

Almost a month through the first year of the new year and at least two major crisis’s have dominated the news of late, the Tucson shootings and the upheaval in Egypt. Sorry, weather fanatics, big snow and numbing cold don’t cut it, it’s January. Of all the coverage on the tragedies and triumphs in the Congresswoman Giffords event, perhaps the most revealing — aside from NPR’s rush to pronounce her dead before all the facts were in, a crisis in itself — is how little the Safeway Grocery has played in the story.

Although it was the site of this terrible news story, you never heard from the owner or manager — at least in the coverage I’ve seen (although the Safeway organization did issue a news release January 13 setting up a fund for the victims families). Perhaps it was wise on their part. Sometimes in a crisis of this scope, not saying anything is the best course unless called on to do so. Or perhaps there was/is no crisis plan in place at this national food retailer.

Jumping to the other side of the globe, events in Cairo this past week, on the heels of the revolt in Tunisia, have been driven in part by social media tools to the point where the teetering government has tried to block Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. The crisis is being driven by and often reported on through these channels —although the real crisis is the result of 30 years of one-man rule, reported widespread corruption, huge divides bewteen haves and have nots and police state tactics.

What roles should people take in crisis situations is one reason to have an effective crisis plan in place. In November, the global PR warhorse Weber Shandwick announced it had created a “crisis simulator” called Firebell that creates “… an authentic, real-time experience of being under attack on social media channels. This proprietary application allows clients to participate in a real-time dialogue in a secure, off-the-Internet environment.”

Ring the Firebell

How well will such preparation work once a real crisis takes place for one of its clients remains to be seen. But the strategic thinking behind it is right:

According to Chris Perry, president of Digital Communications at Weber Shandwick, “Communications leaders need to understand that it’s not a matter of if an online crisis is going to happen, but when – and be prepared. How a company responds to a crisis in today’s social environment is vastly different than even the recent past; a formal statement to the press no longer suffices. It’s about a living dialogue with a company’s constituents.”

The web is alive every second and information travels almost instantaneously to all parts of the planet, whether it’s inaccurate information or dead-on facts, or the varying shades and nuances in between. How are you going to deal with that?

Here’s Firebell news release for more insights.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weber-shandwick-launches-social-crisis-simulator-firebell-108940364.html

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For more resources, see the Library topic Public and Media Relations.

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Martin Keller runs Media Savant Communications Co., a Public Relations and Marketing Communications consulting company based in the Twin Cities. Keller has helped move client stories to media that includes The New York Times, Larry King, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, plus many other magazines, newspapers, trade journals and other media outlets. Contact him at kelmart@aol.com, or 612-729-8585

January 26, 2011February 14, 2022

Is saying “no” to $12 million ethical, or unethical?

The text "no" handwritten on a brown paper

Today’s NY Times reports the story of Kansas City Royals pitcher Gil Meche, who was contractually entitled to $12 million in compensation for 2011, but instead forfeited the money by retiring. As reported by Tyler Kepner, Meche was contractually entitled to the money if he showed up to spring training next week, even if he didn’t end up playing. But Meche didn’t perform well in 2010, and was uncomfortable receiving a star starting pitcher’s salary, even if he was in the bull pen.

As reported in the Times:

“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche said this week by phone from Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”

The Royals fully expected to pay Meche what was due him. “Still, the Royals fully expected Meche to pitch in relief, and to pay him the $12 million — three times more than any other player on the team. If nothing else, they believed, Meche could be a positive influence for a young roster.”

Is Meche showing strong ethical character by rejecting the money? He certainly was entitled to the money, and no one has to feel that his employer was being taken advantage of.

We like ethics heroes. When someone does something extraordinary we like to hold them up as a standard that we can aspire to. So it’s interesting when someone comes along and follows their own conscience and does something right, but it may not be a model for others to follow. Someone could argue just as passionately that the ethical thing to do would be for Meche to receive the benefit of his contract and if he felt bad about it, donate the money to a worthy cause.

I respect Meche for living up to his own values. I am intrigued though that this may be a case where my respect is for his individual integrity and not necessarily for the act itself.

Any thoughts?

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David Gebler is the President of Skout Group, an advisory firm helping global companies use their values to clear the roadblocks to performance. Send your thoughts and feedback to dgebler@skoutgroup.com.

January 26, 2011October 1, 2022

Worrying? Chant (or whistle) While You Work

A-male-worker-disappointed-from-work-activities

As you move into the New Year, you may have new projects added to your plate along with other projects in full swing. Perhaps you are working with a team that is struggling to make progress. Maybe you find yourself behind on projects and not sure how to catch up.

It’s amazing how easily I can spin up into a panic or turmoil if I let my mind run wild. So to correct that, I’ve learned to chant simple phrases that bring my mind back to calmness. I’ve used these chants in various times of stress or worry to help me find peace, bring balance, or remain open to what needs to happen next.

Various sounds (such as aaaahhh or ooooooh) when spoken aloud help you resonate with the vibrations and thus bring you back to balance. Other chants are used to evoke an image of a Deity, peace, compassion or love. Some Buddhist chants have no direct translation in English but are designed to bring your mind to stillness. You can say these phrases below or sing any chants you know that help you find peace. Here are some of my favorite chants.

“Om Mani Padme Hum” is a fairly common Buddhist phrase recited to relieve suffering. Kalu Rinpoche describes this sacred phrase as follows:

That enlightened awareness includes whatever we might need to understand in order to save any beings, including ourselves, from suffering. For that reason the entire Dharma, the entire truth about the nature of suffering and the many ways of removing its causes, is said to be contained in these six syllables – Om Mani Padme Hum

“Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo” – This chant means “Divine Teacher within I call Upon Thee”. In Kundalini Yoga this chant is often used for meditation. It can also be translated to mean “I bow before my highest consciousness”. See the YouTube link to get a fuller explanation of this phrase.

“Om Shanti Shanti Shanti” – Shanti means peace

“Breathing- In I Calm my Body, Breathing-Out I Smile” – I like this phrase offered by Thich Nhat Hanh as part of his mindfulness meditations. I’ve used this frequently at work and when stuck in traffic.

“Nam(u)-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō” is thought by devotees of Nichiren to contain the essence of the Buddha’s teaching from the Lotus Sutra. Nichirin taught that people can reach their Buddha nature by chanting this phrase.

“Only Love is Flowing Here” – This is a lovely chant from Dances of Universal Peace. I’ve used it when I am about to enter a meeting that I know will be particularly stressful. It helps me calm down and affirm that Love can flow, even in difficult situations.

Let us know how these chants work for you. Or share your own chants here that you’ve used to help you find peace when you feel stress or worry.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” available on Amazon.

January 26, 2011February 16, 2023

Big Government Makes Twitter Work

Frequent and personable communication pays off for US State Department

With many businesses still struggling to understand and utilize social media to the fullest, nobody expects a government agency to be proficient. Surprisingly, the State Department is surpassing expectations by not only holding accounts on Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr, but also maintaining an active and successful Twitter feed. An article by Matthew Lee, published in The Philidelphia Inquirer, provided some examples of recent State Department activity on Twitter:

In recent days, department spokesman P.J. Crowley has tweeted to knock down rumors, amplify U.S. policy positions, appeal for calm, and urge reforms in Haiti, Tunisia, and Lebanon.

Well before he addressed the State Department press corps on the return to Haiti of former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and the possible return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Crowley took to Twitter to pronounce the U.S. position.

“We are surprised by the timing of Duvalier’s visit to Haiti,” he wrote last Monday. “It adds unpredictability at an uncertain time in Haiti’s election process.”

Late Thursday, Crowley commented on Aristide. “We do not doubt President Aristide’s desire to help the people of Haiti. But today Haiti needs to focus on its future, not its past.”

He has posted sharp responses to WikiLeaks and promoted the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Chicago by comparing it to Sunday’s NFC championship playoff game between Chicago and Green Bay. “Chicago copes with two blitzes: today the visit of the President of China, Hu Jintao, and then Sunday the Green Bay Packers,” he tweeted on Friday.

According to the article, Crowley has nearly 10,000 followers in addition to a network of re-Tweeters that stretches across more than 100 countries. Nothing to scoff at, to say the least, and the more Crowley continues to establish the Twitter as the ideal place to head for current information and updates, the more influence the department will have when faced with a crisis.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

January 26, 2011March 27, 2023

Leading the Dynamic between Volatility and Vision

Business management professionals having a roundtable meeting

Darcy,[i] a VP in a large pharmaceutical company, began using VUCA and VUCA Prime when she faced an unexpected regulatory issue. Now she uses it daily to make sense of her constantly shifting world. Our conversations are peppered with: “Let’s VUCA this.”, “He is reacting personally, but it is just VUCA.”, and “I need to get to VUCA Prime fast on this one.” Darcy views her knowledge and comfort with VUCA ∞ VUCA Prime as a leadership strength that helps her navigate a company that is constantly in motion, reorganization and downsizing, and an industry that is consolidating rapidly. In the Volatile world of global connectivity, where interdependencies lurk in the shadows, Vision is much more than a rallying cry.

When Volatility hits, leaders steeped in tradition head for the weeds and try to problem-solve their way out. But in today’s world, it’s easy to get lost there. The last five to six business books I have picked up all start with comments on the death of Scientific Management and the “brave new world” of 21^st century leadership. We long for the days when strategy lasted for years and budgets were stable from one cycle to the next. While we can’t throw out prediction, there is less and less that is truly predictable.

Vision in response to Volatility is more than an exercise. It is how you get out of the weeds, come up for air, and steer toward the horizon. Incorporating constant exploration and imagination, Vision becomes a counterbalance to Volatility. On the other hand, Vision that is vague or without just enough structure is Volatility in dangerous disguise.

The group Darcy leads is globally dispersed and multifunctional. She is accountable for integrating R&D, clinical development, and regional marketing. Volatility in her world is often generated by the system itself. Consider the following:

The results of multiple interdependent global clinical trials create multifaceted dilemmas (a both/and/and/and… situation)
In-market drugs have regional differences with respect to indication, marketing, regulatory requirements, and opinion leader input – what is tactically appropriate in one region may be counterproductive in another
Team members are functionally co-located and constantly struggle to overcome the Volatility of an internal Us/Them mindset relative to their distant colleagues

When Volatility hits, Darcy’s first action is to step back and explore how this event, or set of events, directionally impacts the course she has set. Vision for her is more like sailing toward a point on the horizon that forever recedes, pulling her forward. When Vision is understood by the whole, then interdependent movement of the parts can be coordinated. Darcy finds that Vision provides “just enough” structure and process for her organization to balance prediction and exploration. Using Vision as a rudder, she constantly navigates between rigidity-prediction (too much stability) and turbulence-exploration (too much Volatility). Recently she faced a situation in which she introduced Volatility to break up a rigid mindset that was holding a team back. As the team explored options and opportunities, she learned her way forward, using Volatility and Vision alternately to maintain creative tension and lead the team toward a self-generated, productive outcome.

Inquiry for Leaders

How much Volatility are you comfortable with? What is your reaction when you are outside your comfort zone? How does this affect your ability to lead when Volatility strikes?
How much structure and process does your current Vision provide? Too much? Too little? How easy is it for you to revise your Vision, to adapt it to Volatility when it arises without creating a moving target?
Where in your organization do you need more Volatility? Vision? How can you introduce and manage these? Where is Volatility happening naturally? Have you harnessed that energy to drive your Vision forward?

Next Blog Post

Leading the dynamic between Uncertainty and Understanding.

[i] For confidentiality purposes all examples have been modified.

Cairn Consultants integrates business and biology to offer clients novel tools and methods for adaptive change, leadership, and organizational effectiveness. Carol is also a founding member of Knowesys, an international leadership and change consultancy.

Dr. Carol Mase

President | Cairn Consultants
Carol@CairnLLC.com | 215.262.6666

www.CairnConsultants.com | www.Knowesys.com

Skype: carol.mase

January 25, 2011July 3, 2022

U.S. Latino Marketing – Part 1 of 2

Resources for Demographic Market Research

Looking for credible, relevant FREE data sources to research the US Latino population? It’s an important demographic, and growing. If your marketing plan targets the general population, you may want to take a few minutes to dig a bit deeper into the US Latino niche.

Link around and learn – get acquainted with this population’s size and consumer trends. It may be an eye-opener, or simply a way to reinforce or redirect your marketing expenditures.

I’ve compiled a few rich sources to direct you. Special thanks to the Pew Hispanic Center, which provided a host of resources, as noted.

US Latino Demographic Profiles

Browse and download latest data on the detailed characteristics of the Latino and foreign-born populations in the U.S.

Pew Hispanic Center’s Statistical Profile of the Latino Population

Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the United States, 2008
“This statistical profile of the Latino population is based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is the largest household survey in the United States, with a sample of about 3 million addresses. It covers virtually the same topics as those in the long form of the decennial census.” While this source is dated 2008, it is still relevant, with the highest degree of relevance and confidence.

Latino Population, Growth and Dispersion
“Color-coded interactive maps show the Latino population, growth and its dispersion across U.S. counties since 1980.”

Election 2010 State Fact Sheets

“The state fact sheets below contain data on the size and social and economic characteristics of the Hispanic and non-Hispanic eligible voter populations.”

Mapping the Latino Vote: Latino Eligible Voters by State and Congressional District

Here are just a select few states’ stats:

Arizona
There are 766,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Arizona, 18% of all eligible voters in the state.

California
There are 5.4 million eligible Hispanic voters in California, 24% of all eligible voters in the state.

Colorado
There are 434,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Colorado, 13% of all eligible voters in the state.

Florida
There are 1.8 million eligible Hispanic voters in Florida, 15% of all eligible voters in the state.

New Jersey
There are 645,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Jersey, 11% of all eligible voters in the state.

New Mexico
There are 525,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Mexico, 38% of all eligible voters in the state.

New York
There are 1.6 million eligible Hispanic voters in New York, 12% of all eligible voters in the state.

Ohio
There are 140,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Ohio, 2% of all eligible voters in the state.

Pennsylvania
There are 289,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania, 3% of all eligible voters in the state.

Texas
There are 3.8 million eligible Hispanic voters in Texas, 25% of all eligible voters in the state.

Virginia
There are 183,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Virginia, 3% of all eligible voters in the state.

Washington
There are 217,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Washington, 5% of all eligible voters in the state.

View MORE state statistics.

The next post will look at the Hispanic lifestyle information sources.

The Pew Hispanic Center is a project of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Have you found any great resources for US Hispanic market research?

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

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book, How to Make Money Online With Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs will be available very soon. 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

January 25, 2011March 28, 2023

Do Foundations Support Social Enterprise?

Grants-Management-is-Important-for-Foundation-Grants

Well, yes and no. They all want their grantees to develop “sustainability” strategies, by which they mean they want you to continue into the future without their money. So if social enterprise will help an organization diversity its funding sources and rely less on philanthropic support, they’re all for it. They like reading about it in grant proposals, and like even more finding out that you’ve started social enterprises that help you accomplish your mission and provide funding at the same time.

Will they then put money into starting social enterprises? Mostly not, at least directly. Sometimes they will provide small planning grants, which can be helpful but never enough to turn idea into reality. Sometimes they will look more favorably at a grant proposal which has an explicit sustainability strategy that includes social enterprise; such as project community and outreach efforts where the data collected will also become part of the market research for a future venture.

And in rare cases, where they already have a productive, long term relationship with a grantee, it can be demonstrated that a social enterprise is highly feasible (foundations are fairly risk-averse), and that project outcomes would exceed what their grant would otherwise deliver, foundations have been known to put real money into starting a social enterprise. But don’t count on it. It’s pretty rare.

Now, there are foundations that have supported social enterprises through Program Related Investments (PRIs), which tend to be low-interest, long-term loans and loan guarantees rather than grants, involve larger projects, and usually involve community economic development. Here’s some more information about PRIs, including a list of major funders who do PRIs.

Finally, in terms of new SE investment strategies, here’s a good article by Paul Lamb entitled The Rise of the Entrepreneurial Activist, in the Huffington Post, which lists some foundations that have supported social enterprise, usually focused on leadership training rather than venture start up funding. He also addresses some new startup funding strategies (for example crowdfunding), which might help some start ups. Good luck!

Author Venture Forth! Endorsed by Paul Newman of Newman’s Own
Read my weekly blogs on Social Enterprise and Business Planning

January 25, 2011March 27, 2023

The Cost of Values

I’m not intentionally picking on Johnson and Johnson. But their current ethical challenges couldn’t be a better case study for the financial impact of not living one’s values.

As reported this morning, Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest health products company, said fourth-quarter profit fell 12 percent, hurt by product recalls and declining sales. The company forecast 2011 earnings below analysts’ projections.

J&J forecast 2011 earnings excluding some items of $4.80 to $4.90 a share. J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare division has recalled dozens of over-the-counter drugs, including Tylenol and Rolaids, since late 2009. The company was forced to shut down a factory temporarily in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in April that may cost J&J $650 million annually in lost sales, Derrick Sung, a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst, wrote in a Jan. 21 note to clients.

“Consumers are reluctant to switch back and are continuing to switch to other brands,” Larry Biegelsen, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a Jan. 14 note to investors. “If this trend continues, we believe that growing consumer loyalty to new brands or comfort with private labels could slow McNeil recovery relative to expectation.”

Consumers have lost confidence in the brand. Just putting the products back on the shelves is not going to be enough. What questions is the Board of Directors asking of management and are those questions getting to the heart of the matter?