Category: Uncategorized

Looking for the Productivity Formula Everyone wants to be more productive. We are always trying to increase our rate of output. Google the word “productivity” and you can find countless articles on how to increase personally productivity, employee productivity, company productivity, etc. Yet, what many productivity methods forget is that none of us try to…

What is Vendor Management? According to Gartner, vendor management is “a discipline that enables organizations to control costs, drive service excellence and mitigate risks to gain increased value from their vendors throughout the deal life cycle.” In the past, the outcome of an effective vendor management process was, first and foremost, was locating the lowest…

Introduction Some teams work on fairly low pressure projects. Other teams, take firefighters and other emergency response teams for instance, battle immense pressure on a daily basis. No matter the team, however, there will be moments where more than typical pressure is felt. A product team may feel the pressure rise as they near a…

Introduction An employee performance review can trigger significant anxiety, but not only for the person being appraised. For many managers giving performance reviews are as or more unpleasant than receiving them can be for their employees. However, performance reviews are an incredible opportunity for managers to bring out the best in their employees and managers…

Intro A great part of running a company is managing the processes that occur over and over again. These processes must remain consistent so that the results are achieved each time. Take a safety check for example. Regular checks are necessary for the company to remain safety compliant. However, the goal of compliance is to…

Executive Responsibilities No matter what an executive leader’s leadership method, their job takes them across multiple departments, functional areas and locations. It is the job of the executive to stand above it all and, from the big picture, forge a path for the company. The executive should be able to see it all. If they…

Executives and Their Direct Reports Executives greatly rely on their direct reports. According to a 12 year study by Michael E. Porter and Nitin Nohria, the time that CEOs spend with direct reports ranges from 32-67%.  While these direct reports are senior managers, responsible in their own right for critical aspects of the company, they…

Strategic Planning in Priority Matrix Because of its ability to improve communications and increase visibility across the organization, Priority Matrix is ideal for strategic planning. Advanced views like the Gantt Chart, in-context information, and one on one views, help executives make sure that strategic decisions inform operational activities. However, before this can happen, a solid…

What is “Operational Planning” Operational planning is the “how” that complements the “what” and “why” in a company’s strategic plan. An operational plan answers these four questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? How do we measure our progress? When it comes to budgeting for the…