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Will You Add? - Are your Decisions Based on Fact?
If you have attended any kind of management training, be it management training courses or management training programs you might have noticed that all of them focus on leadership. Management training courses and management training programs may even give out materials like pamphlets or booklets on the subject. And, you take it all promising to read it but of course forget about it completely the moment you are out of the room. What is leadership really about? Does a leader really need to attend management training courses and management training programs? The answer is yes and no. It all depends on the person and the management.You ask hundred people about leadership and you will get hundred different answers but all the answers will have this point in common. Simply, that a leader is a person who leads. And that is really the truth. But, what is it about? Is it simply about leading people or there are lots of other factors that come into play? This is what management training focuses on.
VAGUE, NON-SPECIFIC CLAIMS
When people are asked for an update or progress check on how their initiatives or projects or functions or processes are going, and they are ill-equipped to answer with specific data or evidence, you'll probably hear them say things like the following:
"It is working really well."
"We're tracking along fantasti
Business contact information is a necessary requirement for pre qualifying potential clients. There are certain attributes that you want to look for in business contacts so you need to capture and track that information.Every prospect's file should have a list of his/her business contact information. It doesn't matter how you get the information, it simply matters that you get it. Two common sources for acquiring the necessary business contact are through phone calls and through web site information request forms. These forms can be printed out and faxed to you or sent via pdf.The important issue to remember when gathering business contact information is that you get the information back before you go on the sales call. The type of information you need to know about your business contacts include these items:Contact informationWeb site URLThe business industryNumber of employeesNumber of locationsHow many computer usersHow many peo
INTRODUCTION
How do you know if your decision process is well-informed or ill-informed? And even if you could detect the clues of an ill-informed decision process, would you know what to do about it? Here are some ideas for how to get more rigour into your decision process by sliding a little further away from fantasy and a little further toward fact.
CLUES THAT YOU'RE WITNESSING AN ILL-INFORMED DECISION PROCESS
You can tell the hallmarks of an ill-informed decision process simply by listening for all the substitutes that are offered in place of real data, fact and evidence. Usually these substitutes go quietly unnoticed, or are selectively ignored. We either aren't aware that they are indeed poor stand-ins for good and sufficient information, or we remain silenced by our fear of the repercussions of publicly questioning them.
The alternative is actually more frightening. Think for a minute about the consequences of medical researchers making decisions about introducing new drugs on the basis of a handful of test subjects, or of civil engineers making decisions about bridge design on the back of professional opinion, or aircraft manufacturers making decisions about fuel economy without thorough analysis of the impacts of changing the fuel system. It's not always a case of life and death, but if you can imagine the money and time being wasted on account of ill-informed decisions, then you might start imagining how different the world could be if that money and time were available for better use.
If slaying ill-informed decisions is a crusade you're up for, then a skill worth sharpening is your ear for those poor substitutes for good information. Here are some clues for what to listen for, and some linguistic lances to prod with.
VAGUE, NON-SPECIFIC CLAIMS
When people are asked for an update or progress check on how their initiatives or projects or functions or processes are going, and they are ill-equipped to answer with specific data or evidence, you'll probably hear them say things like the following:
"It is working really well."
"We're tracking along fantasti
Michael Gerber, in his book the e-Myth, talks about the importance of working ON your business, rather than IN your business. In one case you're doing the planning, creating the vision, leading your organization (regardless of the size). In the other, you're doing the actual work of the business - the details.As entrepreneurs our tendency is to take on all the detailed work in our business. Primarily because it's what we know how to do. And secondarily because we're sure no one else can it as well as we can.But what role should you be playing in your online business?There are three major functional areas in online success:- Decision making - things that only you, the business owner can do- Marketing activities - which you can hire out- Technical activities - which you can hire outYou need to understand what each role does, but not necessarily how it is done.Let's use designing a web site as an example.One of the biggest mistakes I see
CLUES THAT YOU'RE WITNESSING AN ILL-INFORMED DECISION PROCESS
You can tell the hallmarks of an ill-informed decision process simply by listening for all the substitutes that are offered in place of real data, fact and evidence. Usually these substitutes go quietly unnoticed, or are selectively ignored. We either aren't aware that they are indeed poor stand-ins for good and sufficient information, or we remain silenced by our fear of the repercussions of publicly questioning them.
The alternative is actually more frightening. Think for a minute about the consequences of medical researchers making decisions about introducing new drugs on the basis of a handful of test subjects, or of civil engineers making decisions about bridge design on the back of professional opinion, or aircraft manufacturers making decisions about fuel economy without thorough analysis of the impacts of changing the fuel system. It's not always a case of life and death, but if you can imagine the money and time being wasted on account of ill-informed decisions, then you might start imagining how different the world could be if that money and time were available for better use.
If slaying ill-informed decisions is a crusade you're up for, then a skill worth sharpening is your ear for those poor substitutes for good information. Here are some clues for what to listen for, and some linguistic lances to prod with.
VAGUE, NON-SPECIFIC CLAIMS
When people are asked for an update or progress check on how their initiatives or projects or functions or processes are going, and they are ill-equipped to answer with specific data or evidence, you'll probably hear them say things like the following:
"It is working really well."
"We're tracking along fantasti
I spend a great deal of my time dealing with highly sensitive, highly confidential information. Over the years I have noticed that many of the institutions I have worked with have gone to great pains and considerable expense to make certain their computer systems have state of the art firewalls and "hacker-proof" encoding systems. Nonetheless, they continue to leak data like a sieve!How can this be? Simple, they are guarding the air conditioner duct instead of the front door.So, what do I know about it? My knowledge of the field is pretty backdoor in nature.First of all, I work a lot with people who love nothing more than to stir up hate and discontent wherever they go. They will intentionally uncover and publish sensitive information. It is fun for them. In order to find out why they do these things I do a lot of debriefing with them when an incident occurs.Second, I have two brothers who made carriers out of law enforcement. One of my brothers served many years as a s
The alternative is actually more frightening. Think for a minute about the consequences of medical researchers making decisions about introducing new drugs on the basis of a handful of test subjects, or of civil engineers making decisions about bridge design on the back of professional opinion, or aircraft manufacturers making decisions about fuel economy without thorough analysis of the impacts of changing the fuel system. It's not always a case of life and death, but if you can imagine the money and time being wasted on account of ill-informed decisions, then you might start imagining how different the world could be if that money and time were available for better use.
If slaying ill-informed decisions is a crusade you're up for, then a skill worth sharpening is your ear for those poor substitutes for good information. Here are some clues for what to listen for, and some linguistic lances to prod with.
VAGUE, NON-SPECIFIC CLAIMS
When people are asked for an update or progress check on how their initiatives or projects or functions or processes are going, and they are ill-equipped to answer with specific data or evidence, you'll probably hear them say things like the following:
"It is working really well."
"We're tracking along fantasti
A holistic business approach is a relatively new concept that is increasingly being accepted by the business world. To be a business that uses holistic techniques, it means that the entire organization is considered in its processes and policies, as opposed to focusing only on its specific components. By using the holistic approach to running a business, you will make certain that your business is running at its full potential, as opposed to simply having strong areas and weak areas.Holistic approaches to business, such as the increasingly popular Six Sigma business strategy developed by Motorola, involve the consideration of the entire business situation instead of only a single time or portion of it.In order to implement such a process, many businesses choose to reach out to professionals for help, with consultants such as the Six Sigma Champions and Black Belts who will help different team members to see the organization in an entirely new light.This thinking isn’t simply
If slaying ill-informed decisions is a crusade you're up for, then a skill worth sharpening is your ear for those poor substitutes for good information. Here are some clues for what to listen for, and some linguistic lances to prod with.
VAGUE, NON-SPECIFIC CLAIMS
When people are asked for an update or progress check on how their initiatives or projects or functions or processes are going, and they are ill-equipped to answer with specific data or evidence, you'll probably hear them say things like the following:
"It is working really well."
"We're tracking along fantasti
Certain digital protocols influence the outcome of a modern job search. Since the exchange of vital hiring information is often performed using online and other digital communication devices, it’s more important today than ever before that a serious job seeker use good digital manners – known as ‘netiquette’ – to adhere to the norms of courtesy that have become expected by employers and other workers who routinely process many job seekers.Good manners are almost always appreciated, especially in the faceless world of digital communication. As you conduct your job search in the digital realm, it's important to begin and end each communication with polite good manners, as if you were writing a personal letter – which is exactly what you are doing! Emails, text messages, web page forms, online chat sessions, such job related communications are often swift exchanges, so there is little effort to be detailed. Short, to the point responses prevail. In such a digital realm a quick email reply to a
VAGUE, NON-SPECIFIC CLAIMS
When people are asked for an update or progress check on how their initiatives or projects or functions or processes are going, and they are ill-equipped to answer with specific data or evidence, you'll probably hear them say things like the following:
"It is working really well."
"We're tracking along fantastically."
"The result was slow to get off the ground, but now it's up to speed."
"Cycle time is too high."
"That project is failing to realize benefits."
Are responses like these really enough to enlighten a decision making team sufficient that they need interrogate no further? Hardly. They are too vague and non-specific, and they tempt all to snuggle up together in a false sense of security from which they either ignore what is really going on or make rash untested decisions. If you hear this genre of performance update dialogue, have courage to ask questions that dig for specifics:
"What exactly is working well?"
"How are we tracking, specifically?"
"How slow was it? What speed is it at now?"
"Too high compared to what?"
"What kinds of benefits is it failing to realize?"
OPINIONS AND HEARSAY
When you've been around something for a long time, you get to know the way things work by the patterns that keep recurring. It is super easy to be seduced by the predictive power of those patterns, especially when it saves you effort. When uttered by recognised experts, opinion and hearsay shine like pearls of wisdom:
"Obviously we have the best sales performance."
"Our customers are very satisfied with our responsiveness."
"That project is failing to realize benefits."
"I think we've done a great job this year."
Opinion and hearsay are dangerous when they come clothed in crisp words and confident tones. But they are fact no more than the Emperor's new clothes are fabric. It's a brave soul indeed that asks the dumb questions of those who are certain. Time and again, however, the dumb questions turn out to be excellent questions when they turn attention to concrete evidence:
"How is it obvious?"
"How do you
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