The Actuation Zone » Management

How You Can Be a Highly Effective Leader

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:35:24 +0000

Barry Posner, PhD, professor of management at Santa Clara University and co-author of Credibility, The Leadership Challenge (which has sold 2 million copies), and many other award-winning books, says the practices of effective leaders are universal and timeless. Listen to this information-packed interview with one of the “Ten Most Influential Thinkers” in the world, according to HR Magazine.

www.TheLeadershipChallenge.com

Reinvent Your Management Model to Stay Competitive

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:03:32 +0000

Julian Birkinshaw, PhD, author of Reinventing Management, Smarter Choices for Getting Work Done ,” says most companies are operating with management principles dating back to the Industrial Revolution. However, in today’s era of light-speed communications and global competition, companies’ management systems must be optimized for innovation and agility, rather than efficiency. Listen as Professor Birkinshaw describes how to make smarter management choices.

www.ReinventingManagement.com

Leadership and Economics Lessons From the US Naval Academy–and Dogs!

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:02:59 +0000

Mary Kelly, PhD, author of Mastering Your World, 15 Dog-Inspired Leadership Lessons to Improve Productivity, Profits, and Communication,” has been teaching economics and management in the US Navy for 21 years. She also trains dogs and horses. In this interview Mary discusses the similarities between training dogs and humans. She also discusses the economics of a scarcity mindset and reveals one of the most important litmus-test questions you can ask as a manager.

www.ProductiveLeaders.com

The New Reality: Customers Are in Control. What To Do Now?

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:53:24 +0000

Rod Brooks, Chief Marketing Officer of PEMCO Mutual Insurance, says the new reality of marketing and sales is that customers are in control of your brand. To win in the marketplace, companies must reorganize their mission and operations around that reality. Brooks says “the voice of the customer” has become PEMCO’s most important strategic initiative. Should it be yours too? Listen as one of the leading marketers describes sales and marketing best practices in today’s fast-changing landscape.

www.RodBrooks.com

7 Star Customer Service (audio seminar)

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:53:41 +0000

Ruby Newell-Legner, an internationally recognized expert in customer service, has presented over 2000 programs in 11 countries and counts the Burj Al Arab, known as the only 7 star hotel in the world, among her clients. Listen as she reveals her 7 steps to 7 star service in this informative seminar. Improve your service and grow your business!

www.7StarService.com

Use Improvisation Techniques To Be a Better Leader

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:50:22 +0000

Avish Parashar, author of Improvise to Success, demonstrates how to use improvisation techniques to dramatically improve your problem solving and influence. He starts by demonstrating the devastating, log-jamming effect of the word “but” and finishes by demonstrating a technique to facilitate collaboration. Every manager and leader should study improv!

www.AvishParashar.com.

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Who’s Coaching You To Be a Better Manager?

admin — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:24:39 +0000

Greg Giesen, author of Mondays at 3, and host of the Leading From Within radio show, says we can greatly improve our performance if we consistently receive coaching. He also says we should take time each week to reflect on our priorities and our learnings. Then, we should write them down so we remember them and integrate them into our performance on the job.

www.LeadingFromWithin.net

15 Million Sales Jobs To Be Displaced By Technology

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:10:38 +0000

Male Speaker: The actuationzone.combrought to you by changeleadershipgroup.com. Brett Clay: Hi.This is Brett Clay. I'm here with Gerhard Gschwandtner the CEOSelling Power Magazine and the conference host of the Sales 2.0 Conference here in-- that was held just now in San Francisco, California.Hi, Gerhard. Gerhard Gschwandtner: Hi, Brett. Brett Clay: Gerhard, tell us what do you -- what's the biggest change that'shappening in sales today? Gerhard Gschwandtner: There are a lot ofchanges and everybody's a little bit worried about what will happento them in the future. Let me let the cat out of the bag.Of the 18 million sales people that are employed across the United States today,those jobs will more often transform and what we have been doing todayis going to disappear. And by 2020 there will be only about3 million sales jobs left. Brett Clay: So those are three millionof the 18 million jobs that exist today. Gerhard Gschwandtner: Right.Brett Clay: And so of the people that doing what they're doing today onlythree million will be left. The other 15 million willbe doing something else. Gerhard Gschwandtner: Absolutely, andthere's a new breed of sales person of which I called Sales 2.0 Person.Sales people need to move up online and they need to be very skilled inusing the web, using social media. And 70 percent of all purchasing decisionsare already made online before they actually see a sales person. So the big challenge is if sales peopleare not where the customers are which is on the web, then you're going to lose. Brett Clay: So what were the big ideas that-- you've been running the Sales 2.0 Conference for three years now, I believe,so now it's sort of getting mature in a way. What are the new ideas this year versus,say, last year? Gerhard Gschwandtner: Well, I wouldn'tsay that Sales 2.0 is an immature state. I think that as everything we are evolvingand we have unprecedented growth compared to last year's conference hasgrown by over 50 percent, and we don't know how that accelerationcontinues and what will happen next year. All I know is that year over year,every time we do it, we see that there's a dramaticshift in the way sales leaders are thinking about the sales organization.By that I mean this year the biggest change is the shift from operationalefficiency towards creating a customer centric enterprise.Brett Clay: Okay, excellent. So what is it -- what are some of thecritical success factors and how do you define creating a customercentric enterprise? Gerhard Gschwandtner: Well, the bigchallenges for an enterprise to realize that the silos that stand in the way ofserving the customer need to come down. And last year we have talked about howto align sales with marketing and now we wanna align sales marketing and serviceand later we wanna align the entire company and design it around the customer.Just think about how many touch points customers experience in theirjourney towards buying. So they experience the website, the insidesales team, the outside sales team, the credit department, the finance department,the invoicing department, the contract department, the trainingdepartments, service, delivery. So the -- in an average sale there are atleast 18 different touch points so what you wanna do is identifythose touch points. Secondly, associate each touch point witha metric that is driven by the customer where you know how you're performing inthe eyes of the customer and not in your own eyes.And then you need to have a technology where it gives everybody in the companya unified view and vision of where the customer's at. Brett Clay: Great.Well, thank you so much, Gerhard. Great conference and we look forward toa lot of growth and adoption as the world of sales changes dramatically.Gerhard Gschwandtner: Awesome. Thank you, Brett.It's a pleasure. Brett Clay: Signing off from Sales 2.0with Brett Clay and Gerhard Gschwandtner. Male Speaker: The actuationzone.combrought to you by changeleadershipgroup.com.Copyright 2010 Brett Clay. All rights reserved.

Use Cloud Computing as a Competitive Lever, Not a Crutch

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:51:02 +0000

Brett Clay joins Jim Blasingame to discuss some of the concerns of cloud computing, like security and hosting, plus untapped cloud opportunities such as backup and virtual PBX.

www.SmallBusinessAdvocate.com

The power of cloud computing for small business

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:49:43 +0000

The power of cloud computing is enormous for small business. Brett Clay joins Jim Blasingame to reveal how cloud computing has miniaturized processing power, applications and price for the scale of small businesses, while making it easier to compete globally.

www.SmallBusinessAdvocate.com

How to Get People to Agree–And Close the Deal

admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:59:19 +0000

Michael Fraidenburg, president of “The Cooperation Company,” a consulting firm specializing in alternative dispute resolution, and author of the book, ”Intelligent Courage,” provides powerful tips for resolving disagreements and closing deals. Perhaps the best gem is his 3-step process: 1) observe the emotion, 2) identify the needs driving the emotion, 3) convert the needs into negotiable offers. Check out this information-packed interview!

www.CooperationCompany.com

Stoke Your Innovation Bonfire

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:56:45 +0000

Braden Kelley, author of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire, and owner of the popular blog, Blogging Innovation, says creating a strong innovation capability in your company is key to maintaining your competitiveness in today’s rapidly evolving market. To successfully create an innovation capability in your company he says you need to start with a well-defined vision, strategy and goals. But, Braden doesn’t stop there–he also discusses the American education system and more.

www.InnovationBonfire.com

Your Decisions Are Irrational–And You Don’t Realize It

admin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:13:55 +0000

Hersh Shefrin, Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, and author of The Management Illusion is a pioneer and leading expert in the area of behavioral finance. Professor Shefrin studies the psychological barriers and biases that plague human decision making. He says that “healthy” corporate cultures help managers avoid the pitfalls of irrational behavior. He also says business schools and companies must do a better job of teaching collaborative, group decision-making skills that lead to “healthy” behaviors and more optimal decisions.

www.SCU.edu.

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Making Learning Stick — It’s a Process

admin — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:30:21 +0000

Barbara Carnes, Ph.D., author, Making Learning Stick, discusses the actions employees and their managers can take to put training and development into practice. Barbara also discusses the role technologies can play before, during, and after a training event. Hint: both technology AND managers play an important role!

www.MakeTrainingStick.com

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Current Trends in Training and Development

admin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:24:32 +0000

Sharon Wingron, CPLP, past member of the ASTD board of directors, and President & Chief Learning Leader of Wings of Success, LLC, discusses current technologies in training and development. She says at the same time that corporate learning and development departments leverage elearning technologies, they need to take care to develop the deeper levels of skills, knowledge, and attitudes in their employees. Doing that requires a holistic view of employee development, including synchronous instructor-led training and on-the-job coaching.

www.DevelopPeople.com

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The Soul Of Leadership

admin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:21:42 +0000

Dr. Deepak Chopra talks about the “soul of leadership”. Dr. Chopra says a leader harnesses the collective consciousness of followers and he uses the acronym “L.E.A.D.E.R.S.” to describe crucial leadership skills. L.E.A.D.E.R.S. = Look and Listen, Emotional Bonding, Awareness, Doing, Empowerment, Responsibility, Synchronicity.

www.Chopra.com

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Flexibility is Critical for Team Performance

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:02:20 +0000

Kristin Arnold, author of Boring to Bravo, and the 2010 President of the National Speakers Association discusses the keys to improving team performance. She says a team’s performance is dependent on the flexibility of its members. She also says teams can improve communications by resisting the urge to use a PowerPoint presentation as the sole document to report information to the team.

www.BoringToBravo.com

Cloud Computing: Hype or Reality?

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:11:43 +0000

[San Francisco, USA] Brett Clay and Owen Allen report their observations at the end of the five-week, world-wide tour of Windows Azure Platform University. It’s not hype–Windows Azure Platform really does relieve resource constraints and enable businesses to quickly respond to opportunities.

Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Collaborate With Customers to Create High Value

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:36:35 +0000

[Atlanta, USA] Brian Metz, director of business development at Agile Thought, says business development managers need to collaborate with customers, rather than “charge in with recommendations.” Brian also sees businesses looking toward cloud-computing and mobile technologies to exploit growth and efficiency opportunities.

Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Globalization: The View From Moscow

admin — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:57:00 +0000

[Warsaw, Poland] Globalization means companies from around the world compete for the same opportunities. So what does globalization look like from the view of a Russian company competing for business in the USA? Anatoly Gaidai, technology director, Aplana Software Services in Moscow, says companies must know their competitive strengths and weaknesses and define a unique position in the market. Aplana doesn’t try to compete with American or Indian companies, says Anatoly. Rather, Aplana focuses on clients where they can provide unique value.

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Social Media Technology Drives Employee Productivity

admin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:47:50 +0000

[Amsterdam, Holland] Andre Bonvanie, General Manager of Newsgator says social communication technologies are empowering employees and driving productivity gains for companies.

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Information Technology is Not Just for IT Pros–Now, it’s for CXOs

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:55:28 +0000

[Reading, England] Brett Clay interviews Stuart Mair, projects director at Cognite, Lewis Isaacs, BPOS consultant at Content and Code, and Ted Shultz, business development manager at Microsoft after Windows Azure Platform University in Reading, England. These information technology (IT) experts provide valuable insights into how IT is changing and how both buyers and sellers must adapt to those changes.

Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Cloud-Computing is Driving Companies to Change

admin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:05:02 +0000

[Munich, Germany] Schloss Neuschwanstein outside of Munich, Germany: Brett Clay and Owen Allen report on key discussion topics that have arisen at Windows Azure Platform University training events in London, and Amsterdam. The bottom line? Windows Azure Platform is transforming the business models of system integrators, independent software developers, traditional IT hosters, and the enterprise customers that consume information technology.

Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Singapore in the Cloud

admin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 04:21:35 +0000

[Singapore] Brett Clay interviews Stephen Betts, CTO for South East Asia, Avanade, and Radhika Nadadur, Business Development Manager, Emerio GlobalSoft, after the conclusion of Windows Azure Platform University in Singapore. Stephen says that cloud-computing and the Windows Azure Platform offer IT system integrators new opportunities to help companies utilize IT to achieve their business goals.

Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Brett and Owen Report About Australia From Singapore

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:31:33 +0000

[Singapore] Brett Clay, the host of The Actuation Zone, and Owen Allen, Principal at SharePoint Directions, LLC land at Singapore airport and report observations from their Windows Azure training event in Sydney, Australia. The Airbus A380 plane they just flew on is later grounded by Singapore Airlines due to a possible engine oil leak. The A380 engines are currently in the news because an engine on a Quantas Airlines A380 blew up a few days earlier.

Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

To Succeed, Focus on Business Objectives and Be Agnostic to the Solutions that Achieve Them

admin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:41:11 +0000

[Sydney, Australia] Brett Clay interviews Neil Workman, Principal Consultant at Fujitsu Systems, after the conclusion of Windows Azure Platform University in Sydney, Australia. Neil says high-value is created by focusing on business objectives and shepherding customers through the changes required to achieve them. He also says that to be a trusted adviser to c-level executives, you need to be willing to recommend competitive solutions if those solutions best achieve the executive’s business objectives.
Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Actuation Around the World

admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:46:39 +0000

[San Francisco, USA] Brett Clay, the host of The Actuation Zone, and Owen Allen, Principal at SharePoint Directions, LLC are embarking on a 5-week, around-the-world tour to train Microsoft sales people, system integrators, and independent software vendors on Microsoft’s Windows Azure Platform cloud-computing offering. During the tour, which includes events in Sydney, Singapore, London, Munich, Warsaw, Atlanta, Toronto, and San Francisco, we’ll be reporting our observations and the observations of others on what is changing across a number of dimensions including the local business climate, local social trends, and information technology trends. Listen to our first report as we depart San Francisco for Sydney.
Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Nobody Can Prevent You From Choosing to Be Extraordinary

admin — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:00:38 +0000

Mark Sanborn, the best-selling author of The Fred Factor, The Encore Effect, and You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader says nobody can prevent you from choosing to be extraordinary. To be extraordinary and to enjoy true success, requires a focus on helping others and helping them satisfy their needs, says Mark.

How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:28:11 +0000

TJ Walker, the author of the USA Today #1 bestselling book, “TJ Walker’s Secret to Foolproof Presentations,” says you don’t need to worry about having a foolproof presentation. Just make it a pretty good presentation and you’ll be in great shape. TJ tells how.

What They Don’t Teach at Stanford Business School

admin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:00:26 +0000

Larry Chiang, author of What They Don’t Teach You at Business School, says you can have an Ivy League business school network without attending Stanford Business School or HBS. He also says you can do it in less than 20 mins per week using social media and hosting events.
Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Using Video in Your Business is Easy…and Powerful

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:32:34 +0000

TJ Walker, the author of the USA Today #1 bestselling book, “TJ Walker’s Secret to Foolproof Presentations,” says there is no excuse not to be using video in your business. He also says anyone can quickly prepare a pretty good speech. The key to both, says TJ, is to just…get started.
Available in HD and full screen: Click Here

Face the Hard Questions That Can Save Any Company

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:02:40 +0000

Author Jeffrey Hayzlett, hailed the “Celebrity CMO” by Forbes Magazine and famous for his outspoken appearances on numerous television shows such as CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Fox Business News, and NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump, asks the tough business questions and suggests the changes that executives and business owners need to be making, right now, to grow their businesses.

Having the Right Marketing Mindset for Success

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 03:42:56 +0000

Marketing consultant and coach, Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing, says having the right marketing mindset is critical for successfully building your business. He says most people dilute their marketing efforts using haphazard approaches. To be highly effective, executives, marketers, and salespeople must have the right marketing mindset and must execute systematic, highly focused campaigns.

Use Conversations to Drive Change

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 02:24:52 +0000

Seth Kahan, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Getting Change Right, says the traditional approach of top-down, command-and-control is not effective. Company executives often make the mistake of mandating change initiatives—and they fail spectacularly. To get change right, Seth says leaders must have “conversations” with “most valuable players” in the organization and form “performance communities” that can drive change from the inside-out.

Sales Managers Must Drive Discipline, Accountability, and Control

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:39:55 +0000

Ken Thoreson, managing partner at Acumen Management Group, Ltd, says sales managers need to create an environment of professionalism throughout their sales organizations. Professionalism starts with the attitudes and behaviors that sales managers display. Ken says managers need to focus on three key factors to run an organization professionally and to meet the goals of the business: discipline, accountability, and control.

CIO’s Must Be Business Leaders, Not Technologists

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:14:10 +0000

John Hughes, founder and principal of Growthwave, a management consulting firm providing interim-CIO (chief Information Officer) services, CIO coaching, and CEO advisory services, says CIOs must be business leaders rather than technologists. Often CIO’s become occupied with managing technology staff and implementations and they lose sight of goals of the business. For CIOs and their companies to be successful, says John, CIOs must leave the management of the IT function to someone else, so they can focus on strategies to grow the business and create competitive advantage.

What are you willing to give up to get what you really want?

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:54:03 +0000

Norm Levy, CEO of Strategic Development Corporation and the author of The Seven Questions of Business Strategy, says having a clear strategic intention is critical for driving your business growth. Strategy is as much about deciding what NOT to do as what TO do. So, with 27 years as a strategy consultant, Norm says the key is determining what you are willing to give up—to get what you really, really want.

Welcome to The Actuation Zone

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:45:06 +0000

Host, Brett Clay, explains what The Actuation Zone is all about and why you should tune in! While the Actuation Zone explores a wide range of topics including leadership, management, sales, and professional development, the underlying theme is “putting change into motion.”