Blogs

Tools I Learned in Psychology that Actually Help People at Work: The Johari Window

Submitted by Amy Murphy on Tue, 2013-05-14 16:50

The world of behavioral psychology and business seems to try to keep their distance. However, we are human, and we are human all the time, even at work. When we show up every day, we bring our thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and they trickle out in our interactions with our boss, peers, and direct reports.

Broken Promises: The Technology Promise

Submitted by Mason Holloway on Mon, 2013-05-13 15:59

In the last two blogs posts, I touched on the first two broken promises – the Training Promise and the Sales Methodology Promise. The third and last Broken Promise is the Technology Promise.

An Increasingly Regional Workforce

Submitted by Elliott Reed on Mon, 2013-04-29 11:27

Program and project management are marked by the dynamic, varied depth, and distribution of job tasks. Many PMs have the convenience and privilege to work alongside their workforce regularly. Some staff might work remotely and/or travel, but by and large folks report daily to one common site. That is taken for granted far too often. Technology and evolving contract vehicles have contributed to situating staff in disparate locations.

The Challenges

Broken Promises: The Sales Methodology Promise

Submitted by Mason Holloway on Wed, 2013-04-24 09:44

In the last blog, we talked about Broken Promises and the Training Promise. Broken Promise No. 2 is the Sales Methodology Promise.

Broken Promises – The Training Promise

Submitted by Mason Holloway on Tue, 2013-04-16 11:50

In the world of sales, it seems that promises are made to be broken. Not between sales person and customer, although this happens. Rather, between firms who promise dramatically improved performance through sales training, sales methodology, or sales automation and the masses of sales organizations anxious to believe their claims. Untold billions have been spent on theses efforts over the years, yet their legacy of results has been spotty at best. And what’s worse: we continue to believe in, and spend heavily on, those promises even as they remain unfulfilled.

Apparently a Bad Strategy Can Get You Fired...

Submitted by Jimmy Brown on Thu, 2013-04-11 14:05

Earlier this week, JC Penney ousted CEO Ron Johnson after a 17 month rebranding experiment did not go as planned. For those who haven’t followed this story, Mr. Johnson sought to radically reposition JC Penney from coupons, promotions and markdowns; to a single price model where the style and quality of the merchandise was the differentiator. His feeling was that customers had become addicted to sales and the single price model was better for the company and the customer.

Linking Knowledge to Accomplishments

Submitted by Heather Charest on Tue, 2013-03-19 10:44

How much is poor knowledge performance costing you? Research suggests that on average 6-8% of an organization's annual revenue is forgone due to the lack of knowledge management practices and missed knowledge opportunities. Additional research shows that, on average, spending to develop a knowledge management program is approximately <2% of annual revenue.

A Tribute to the Greats – Charlie and Edie Seashore

Submitted by Amy Murphy on Mon, 2013-03-11 15:17

Every field has its ‘greats.’ Those people who were there when it started and spent their lifetime and energy learning, advancing, and shaping what it is today. For our field, organizational development, also called social psychology, behavioral psychology, organizational effectiveness, or simply, ‘change,’ Charlie Seashore, Ph.D. and Edith Seashore. were at the top. Unfortunately, we lost both of them at the beginning of this year, Charlie to health issues, and Edie, we think, to a broken heart.

Which of Your Strategic Goals are Best Supported by Knowledge?

Submitted by Heather Charest on Mon, 2013-03-04 16:14

I am excited to be releasing Part 3 of my Knowledge (=) Performance blog series. As I said in my first post, knowledge is power and knowledge is money ($$$). Hence, I believe it’s critically important for organizations to take a thoughtful and strategic approach to developing their knowledge strategy in order to help drive organizational results. I have made it my personal mission to help spread the word on the importance of harnessing the power of knowledge in organizations in order to achieve greater results.

What Is Strategy Anyway?

Submitted by Jimmy Brown on Mon, 2013-02-25 15:58

Many business leaders (particularly those groomed in top-tier MBA schools) believe that the success or failure of an organization is largely a question of strategy. Find the right strategy, and the company is bound to be successful. This all sounds really great, but when we get down to brass tacks, many people are left asking what strategy really is?