How To

People consider starting their own business for a variety of reasons. Setting up your own business allows you to work for yourself rather than someone else gives you some flexibility with your work schedule or allows you to express your creativity in the product or service you offer. Though starting your own business requires dedication and commitment, the rewards may be well worth the effort. In this article, we discuss how to get your business started. ...Read More

“I will bet you $1” said Fred, “that if you give me $2, I will give you $3 in return.” Tom agreed and gave Fred $2. How much money did Tom win? It seems that Fred will give Tom $3 dollars at which point Tom will lose the bet and will have to give $1 back. Overall Tom wins nothing. However, there may be more to this puzzle than meets the eye. The true purpose of the bet may not be immediately apparent, and there may be hidden motives at play. Most people assume that as Fred made the bet, he will follow on it. Actually, if Fred loses the bet he wins $1 and Tom loses $1. Thinking outside the box is an idiom that refers to thinking in a creative and innovative way, often by looking at a problem from a different perspective. It is a metaphor for approaching problems and situations with an open mind and thinking unconventionally. In this article, we'll explore some tips, techniques, and funny examples to help you break free from conventional thinking and approach problems in new and innovative ways. Let’s get started! ...Read More

Countless hours at work can leave us feeling mentally exhausted. Sitting at our desks for long periods, staring at computer screens, answering calls, and focusing on tasks can use up our energy, even if we like our work. When we feel tired, it’s hard to stay focused and productive. With that in mind, it’s important to take breaks during our workday. Scrolling through social media doesn’t count as a break. If you can’t go for a walk, try stretching exercises at your desk to relieve tension. But the best way to reset and refresh yourself is through meditation. It’s an effective tool for reducing both physical and mental stress. You can practice meditation exercises at your desk to rediscover focus, calmness, and clarity anytime from morning till night. What follows is a step-by-step guide to how to meditate at work, including different approaches and methods to match your unique needs and situation. ...Read More

A cover letter accompanies your resume when applying for jobs. It's an opportunity to introduce yourself and highlight your skills, abilities, and accomplishments that align with the job requirements. Keep it concise, typically 3-4 paragraphs, and use a conversational yet professional tone to convey your enthusiasm for the company. The goal is to entice the employer to read your resume and invite you for an interview. In this article, we explain how to write a cover letter that makes a great first impression on potential employers. ...Read More

The certification audit tends to be a stressful experience and particularly challenging for department managers. Being well prepared for the audit and knowing what to expect not only reduces stress but also increases the chances for success. So be sure to prepare your company properly in the days leading up to the big day. ...Read More

• How many pizzas are ordered every night in the United States? • What would you do if you won the lottery? • Blue or green? • Which super power would you rather have: the ability to unlock every door or the ability to shift your shape? ...Read More

Have you ever had a great idea but didn't know where to start with it? The solution to this is to structure your ideas and draw up a concrete plan. Process mapping can be helpful in process organization. The process mapping is similar to a work breakdown structure. It is a visual representation of the workflow and can help you identify problems and areas for improvement. Process mapping can be helpful when brainstorming, making decisions, or planning projects as part of a team. The resulting process maps (also called process maps) are also useful for process documentation, training new employees and process improvement. ...Read More

The Feasibility study represents the need for business organization to evaluate and determine if a given project is economically feasible. It is an integral part of the business process and is conducted to assist decision makers to assess and analyze all the implications of the proposed project with a focus on the potential impact, based upon which the organization decides if the project should be implemented or not. ...Read More

Aug.18.2021 10 Success tips to resume building, personal branding and interviewing ...Read More

According to Inverted-U theory – also known as the Yerkes-Dodson Law – there's a subtle relationship between pressure and performance. When people experience the right amount of pressure, they often perform brilliantly. However, if there's too little or too much pressure, performance can suffer or people can suffer. Pressure is different from stress; the Inverted-U Theory shows that pressure can be positive – up to a point. Stress, however, is never positive. ...Read More

The salary negotiation process can be a tricky one for both employees and job-seekers. Workers can feel uncomfortable asking for higher pay from current or potential employers. With the job market as fickle as it is, some feel grateful just to have found employment at all, settling for a lower salary and neglecting the fact they are working for less than they’re worth. If you’ve been offered a new position at a company or you think your current job title deserves a higher salary increase, it may be time to work on your salary negotiation strategies. ...Read More

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to periodically track and evaluate the performance of a business or organization toward the achievement of specific goals. They are also used to gauge the overall performance of the company against other comparable companies within the industry. Key Performance Indicators can either be internal or external. Internal KPIs are used to gauge internal goals in the departments or sections, but will also impact achieving the core goals of the company. KPIs help to mobilize employees to work toward the achievement of core objectives. External KPIs are used to gauge departmental/section performance in relation to the overall core objectives of the company. KPIs vary from one company to another, depending on their particular goals and chosen performance criteria. ...Read More

Business performance indicators have evolved over the last decades, not considering only the financial perspective because of the main reason in particular: to quantitatively reveal the effectiveness in achieving goals in the face of the improvement actions implemented. Through them, a company can scale the effective capacity of its actions and decisions, so that a current reference value is known before any improvement strategy is executed. It is on the basis of this initial control that the proposed and performed actions for the combat of waste and the increase of performance can be faithfully be evaluated, revealing clearly what the new index of improvement achieved. In this way, there can be evidence of the progress of an area, company or sector over time, where hasty decisions are revealed and effective actions are measured and analyzed. It is only by relying on benchmarks of performance that an organization can prove its success and increasingly stimulate its sustainability in the market. In this article, you will learn a very efficient performance indicator when assessing the new level of performance achieved through the solution actions performed. You will ...Read More

In the Wall Street Journal Bestseller Book Open Source Leadership (2017, McGraw-Hill), Rajeev Peshawaria and the Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre make a convincing argument that the breakneck speed of the 21st Century requires a more autocratic style of leadership. An autocratic leadership style is characterized by the decision-making process, with choices being made by a single person. In contrast, a democratic style of leadership means members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process, often through consensus or majority. To be accurate, the book talks about leaders needing to become a ‘Positive Autocrat’ where there is a balance between compassion and mission. Specifically, a Positive Autocrat is clear and relentless on their leadership values and purpose, while retaining the empathy and humility about everything else. Supporting skill sets include listening and reflecting, forgiving more often, earning the right to be autocratic, and giving people freedom within a framework. While I agree wholeheartedly that this is the style of leadership that makes change happen, positive autocracy still contains the word ‘autocrat’. And, positiv ...Read More

Also called: process flowchart, process flow diagram Variations: macro flowchart, top-down flowchart, detailed flowchart (also called process map, micro map, service map, or symbolic flowchart), deployment flowchart (also called down-across or cross-functional flowchart), several-leveled flowchart A flowchart is a picture of the separate steps of a process in sequential order. It is a generic tool that can be adapted for a wide variety of purposes, and can be used to describe various processes, such as a manufacturing process, an administrative or service process, or a project plan. It's a common process analysis tool and one of the seven basic quality tools. Elements that may be included in a flowchart are a sequence of actions, materials or services entering or leaving the process (inputs and outputs), decisions that must be made, people who become involved, time involved at each step, and/or process measurements. ...Read More

Pareto Chart is based on the Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule), which is a well-known concept in project management. According to this principle, ~80% of the problems can be attributed to about ~20% of the issues (or ~80% of your results could be a direct outcome of ~20% of your efforts, and so on..). The 80/20 percentage value may vary, but the idea is that of all the issues/efforts, there a few that result in maximum impact. This is a widely used concept in project management to prioritize work. ...Read More

...Read More

A quick online browse of a few job boards can easily demonstrate that there is no shortage of positions available. But building a rewarding career doesn’t involve accepting just any job. It’s all about knowing how to find the right job for you – one that engages and motivates you, and brings the rewards of making a valuable contribution each working day. ...Read More

The Project Management Institute’s 2020 Pulse of the Profession report reveals that 11.4 percent of business investment is wasted due to poor project performance. Today’s organizations must uncover the cause of these failures and determine what project management professionals can do to help overcome these challenges. “For decades, we’ve been trying to improve the rate of project success,” says Northeastern University assistant teaching professor Jacques Alexis. “Poor planning has been one of the consistent causes of failure. Often this means the project management team did not engage stakeholders in the planning and therefore didn’t understand the scope of the project. If you don’t understand the scope of the project, then the schedule and the budget will be unrealistic. There is ample evidence that planning is a critical success factor in project management.” Alexis is a scholar-practitioner with a unique combination of expertise in business economics, general management, portfolio, project, and operations management. He has nearly two decades of experience managing major programs and projects within the manufacturing and power generation industries. Based on his experien ...Read More

Time – it’s a concept that everybody understands differently. But everyone is agreement of one thing: We need more of it. Here's how you can manage your time more effectively. Everybody wants to increase their productivity and work more efficiently. While there is no one-size-fits-all method to time management – everybody needs to find out for themselves which method(s) work best for them – there are certain do’s and don’ts that you can use as a guide to more effective time management. ...Read More

Your company has recently switched to the Lean manufacturing method. You’re on board with this idea—everyone commits to less waste, making the company more efficient and your job a lot easier. But then you realize a key part of Lean methodology involves value stream mapping. You look at one example, and you’re not even sure where you’d begin recreating this diagram for your own process. If you find yourself stuck in the situation above or you just want to find out more, use this guide to learn about the value stream map process. ...Read More