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Common Obstacles to Networking

Recognizing obstacles to networking Networking is the craft of building and sustaining mutually beneficial relationships. People participate in many different types of networks. They socialize with friends and family. They interact with colleagues at work. Many people belong to professional associations, political parties, religious organizations, or groups for social change. They may be sports…

The Transition to Project Management

One of the most difficult aspects of becoming a project manager is changing the essence of how you work. As you move into a leadership role, it is important to let go of old ways of relating to your work and to your colleagues. As a new project manager, you must transform the way you perceive your responsibilities, your focus, and your ability to work with and influence others. So, expect for…

Blogs are a great way to build brand awareness, boost your search engine rankings, and get your customers to engage with your product. You’re providing customers with information that they can use in their evaluation process when they’re deciding on what product to buy. The more they hear from you, the more likely they are to choose your product. Strategies to increase blog traffic There are a…

Interacting with the Customer

Introducing customer interaction Working with customers generates a wide range of potentially difficult situations. By following guidelines for interacting with customers, Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) are better able to increase customer satisfaction and provide a more professional service. To help you to better handle customer interactions, this topic provides guidelines…

The Benefits Management Approach

Benefits management involves defining the expected benefits of a program and monitoring the delivery of these benefits throughout the program life cycle. According to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) Standard for Program Management, benefits management: assesses the value and organizational impact of a program,identifies the interdependencies of benefits delivered among various program…

The clothes you wear in the workplace are as much a part of business etiquette as the words you say or the actions you take. That’s why it’s important to carefully consider what you wear on the job. Your choice of clothing can send subtle but clear messages that reinforce the positive — or negative — impressions of others. When making decisions about how to dress on the job, you can ask yourself…

The CEO asked the DVPs to estimate the ROI on the M and A proposal. Now, can you decipher that code? The chief executive officer (the CEO) asked the division vice presidents (the DVPs) to estimate the return-on-investment (or ROI) on the merger and acquisition (M and A) proposal. Many business people like to pepper their speaking with too many TLAs — three-letter abbreviations — and other…

Networking techniques Suppose you’re a designer attending a software engineering conference. You’re excited about a new piece of software you’ve just designed, and are eager to get support from your peers. After the conference, you approach several of your peers and speak enthusiastically about your new product. While some are impressed, others feel that you’re putting them on the spot, and…

Although the project management task is similar for any project, managing a small to medium project is different from managing a large project. Becoming aware of these differences will help you prepare for the challenges you will face when managing small to medium projects. All projects need to be managed with some level of project management discipline to help ensure they deliver intended…

The Internet has changed how we think about public relations or PR because it gives your company more ways than ever to reach your stakeholders and build your company’s reputation. Digital PR PR helps organizations manage their public reputation and it speaks to more than just your customers. As well as the public, PR reaches investors, clients, shareholders, competitors, suppliers, the media,…

Using the Problem-solving Model

Critical thinking Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) are faced with a wide range of problems every day. They are expected to deal with or solve these problems quickly and professionally. How do they do this? The key to problem-solving with customers is critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and critique an issue or problem, and then redesign, remodel, or provide a…

The Program Management Planning Process

Program management life-cycle phases The Planning process group comprises a wide variety of processes that program Planning teams need to carry out. It is important to be able to recognize these processes and to ensure that the team carries them out effectively. The first five program management life-cycle phases are preprogram setup, program setup, establish program management and technical…

Business Introductions and Handshakes

What do most successful business relationships have in common? They begin exactly the same way — with a proper introduction and a handshake. To ensure these important initial steps in a business relationship are conducted properly, you should be aware of some of the basic points of business etiquette. Details about introductions and proper handshakes are provided here. Making proper business…

Researching and gathering the right information go a long way toward ensuring that your presentation will engage your audience and result in a sale. Preparation begins with gathering background information. Learn all you can about your product, your potential customers, your company’s history, the market for the product, and the strengths and weaknesses of your competition. Customizing As you…

Using Motivation to Further Team Priorities

People who are motivated tend to perform better. You can follow three steps to motivate your employees. First, identify motivators. Second, develop your leadership style accordingly. And third, work to align team goals with employee goals. Motivators The first step is to identify motivators. As a leader, you should consider the primary motivator of each of your team members. People tend to be…

The Right Amount of Project Management

The complexity of a project, your team’s experience, and ability to communicate — all these affect how you will manage each project. You must be able to supply the “right amount” of project management in every situation. By coupling fundamental skills with appropriate behavior, you can deliver the right amount of project management on each of your projects. Fundamental skills Successful project…

Communicating Status Updates to Customers

The importance of status updates In some cases, the Customer Service Representative (CSR) is unable to resolve a customer issue within the span of a single call. This might be because the problem has to be referred to another department — the Service Department, for example — or because the CSR needs to investigate the issue further. In cases where the problem cannot be resolved immediately,…