Blog Winner Innovation & Management blogs that stand out from the pack
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Anita Campbell Small Business Trends Kevin Kelly Cool Tools
We gave members of our Small & Medium Business Printing Wiki the opportunity to vote on the best business blogs from a selection written by some of the best business bloggers on the web. The top three blogs in the Innovation & Management category have been published in this HP eBook for you to download, print and reference as you need inspiration.
Table of Contents
Management and Innovation, Why Your Business Needs an Internet Policy Posted by Small Business Trends, Anita Campbell on August 5, 2007 .................................................................................. 4 Management and Innovation, Ten Quotes to Run Your Business By Posted by Small Business Trends, Anita Campbell on November 27 2006 ............................................................................ 7 , Management and Innovation, Hiring Smart Posted by Cool Tools, Kevin Kelly on June 7 2004 ........................................................................................................... 10 ,
Management & Innovation
Why Your Business Needs an Internet Policy
Posted by Small Business Trends, Anita Campbell on August 5, 2007
What started out as a practical joke turned out to be a major incident—and a major diversion of company resources. Before all was said and done, we had a half-dozen employees working to investigate the mess and resolve it, and had brought in outside legal counsel. And of course there was the loss of productivity of both the message recipient and the practical joker.
Management & Innovation
Why Your Business Needs an Internet Policy
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This whole scenario drove home to me the need for a written policy about usage of the company’s electronic resources, including email and the Internet.
A young woman comes to see the company HR Manager because she has received a message from a “Secret Admirer” on the company email system. Most of the message was innocuous, but it concluded by saying, “I’ve been watching you. ” The person who received the message was a basket case. This took place more than eight years ago, at a time when people were not used to receiving bizarre emails on a daily basis from people they don’t know (i.e., spam). Still, the woman’s strong reaction was surprising– that is, until you heard the whole story. It seems that the young woman’s sister had been stalked by “an admirer” and murdered. So, receiving a message by a secret admirer who claimed to be watching her was taken as a major threat. Could you blame her for reacting strongly? The message contained a few details suggesting it was sent from someone inside the company (even though it displayed an external email address). The head of IT was brought in. His staff conducted some excellent forensic computer work. They traced the email back to another employee. It turns out that the message came from a co-worker using a company computer on company time. The co-worker was another woman on the same team as the message recipient—someone who sat a few cubicles away. After an investigation the company executives were satisfied that the email was a practical joke. The sender had been bored and showed very poor judgment in how she decided to amuse herself. She did not know about the history with the other woman’s sister because it had occurred in another state. So how did this situation turn out? The recipient of the message took several weeks off of work while seeking counseling. The practical joker, who was a star performer otherwise, was required to apologize in writing and given a written warning. Shortly thereafter the practical joker left the company, no doubt realizing she had just committed a career-limiting move. This is a true story. I actually was involved in it.
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Management & Innovation
Why Your Business Needs an Internet Policy
Back in the day when I was a corporate executive, I did a stint as Vice President of Human Resources. I was faced with the task of sorting out this situation and dealing with the aftermath. What started out as a practical joke turned out to be a major incident — and a major diversion of company resources. Before all was said and done, we had a half-dozen employees working to investigate the mess and resolve it, and had brought in outside legal counsel. And of course there was the loss of productivity of both the message recipient and the practical joker. This whole scenario drove home to me the need for a written policy about usage of the company’s electronic resources, including email and the Internet. At the time, email and Internet usage was not nearly as widespread as it is today. In fact, one of the problems I faced in disciplining the practical joker was that our company policy barely mentioned email and the Internet. Not to mention this important point: it would have been helpful to have made employees aware of proper email and Internet usage up front. We might have been able to “save” that star performer. After that situation, however, we immediately re-wrote our policy. I suspect many of you in your own businesses are in similar positions. You have rudimentary or nonexistent policies for Internet and email usage. But, trust me. True life is stranger than fiction. Situations like this are just around the next corner.
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Management & Innovation
Ten Quotes to Run Your Business By
Posted by Small Business Trends, Anita Campbell on November 27, 2006
There are so many things that can go wrong when you own your own business, especially in the early years. Every single day is littered with stumbling blocks and reasons to call it quits. You have to be driven by a belief that things will work out well in the end.
Management & Innovation
Ten Quotes to Run Your Business By
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Sometimes all it takes is a short bit of wisdom … to give you confidence, to get you through the bad times, to inspire you to greater heights. Earlier this month I attended the latest American Express OPEN Forum in New York. All of the Forums have been excellent, but this one stands out. Why? Because I walked away with so many small yet powerful bits of wisdom that I simply can’t stop thinking about. Like the last Forum, this particular event was kicked off by Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN. The moderator was financial columnist and author Jean Chatzky. The featured entrepreneurs in this event were: famous chef Mario Batali, the three founders of the Blue Man Group (Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton), and maternity fashion designer Liz Lange. Let me share the top ten bits of wisdom that I picked up from this American Express OPEN Forum, based on my notes during the event. Here they are: 1. “To be successful in business you don’t just need a great idea — you have to sell it. Don’t be afraid to sell. Don’t think of yourself as anything but a marketer. (Susan Sobbott) — My Take: For some this comes ” naturally. But for others, especially those who do not have a sales or marketing background, this can seem like the hardest thing in the world. However, most owners of successful businesses will tell you that they were their company’s main sales representative, certainly in the beginning. You have to be able to sell and market your business — don’t expect to delegate this to someone else. 2. “Every brand isn’t for everybody, and everybody isn’t for every brand. (Liz Lange) — My Take : In other ” words, do what small businesses do best and focus on a niche — and then own that niche. Be at the top. 3. “The Web puts an exponential twist on the whole word of mouth thing, because word of mouth is now happening virally. (Blue Man) – My Take: the Web is a megaphone. It gives you leverage and dramatically ” increases the spread of any talk about your business. The Web makes it easier for word of mouth to spread, and spread more quickly and more widely. 4. “An inner quality that many entrepreneurs say helps them survive is optimism. (Jean Chatzky) – My Take: ” optimism is the number one essential characteristic of successful entrepreneurs. There are so many things that can go wrong when you own your own business, especially in the early years. Every single day is littered with stumbling blocks and reasons to call it quits. You have to be driven by a belief that things will work out well in the end.
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Most owners of successful businesses will tell you that they were their company’s main sales representative, certainly in the beginning.
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Management & Innovation
Ten Quotes to Run Your Business By
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“If you had to choose an address, it would be on the corner of Art and Commerce. (Mario Batali) – My Take: ” This is perhaps the single most unique quote of the event. It means, turn your business into an art form. Being creative is at the core of successful businesses.
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“A little personality goes a long way. (Jean Chatzky) – My Take: The theme of this Forum is “standing out ” from the crowd. Letting your personality show through is a way to make your business stand out. People ” remember you and thus your business. Instead of trying to be a corporate clone, be different. For instance, Mario Batali lets his personality show through by always wearing shorts and orange clogs. Maybe we don’t all want to go that far, but ….
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“Be aggressive in getting media coverage. (Liz Lange) – My Take: Media coverage is free, which is a very ” attractive price tag for most small businesses. But media coverage usually is not an accident. You have to take it in your own hands to get coverage. And as Liz’s experience illustrated, you have to be creative in order to get media coverage. For instance, Liz sent maternity clothes to celebrities. The media were more likely to cover a celebrity wearing Liz’s maternity clothes, than to write an ordinary article about maternity clothing.
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“Follow your bliss. (Blue Man) — My Take: In a way this is like the old saying, do what you love and money ” will follow. Of course the reason it is an OLD saying is that there is truth to it. When we are passionate about what we do our passion gets translated into creativity, into the amount of effort we devote to the business, and into many other factors big and small.
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“We are all competing against mediocrity. (Blue Man) — My Take: Instead of focusing on the competition, ” strive for a higher level of creativity. To create a great business create something extraordinary, instead of falling into a rut and settling for average.
10. “Everyone talks about growing the business, but what you don’t hear enough about is the importance of not growing the business too fast. (Blue Man) — My Take: Growth can bring on its own set of challenges ” and problems. Grow the business at the pace that feels right to you to manage and handle. If you are comfortable with fast change, then grow it fast. Otherwise, keep the business smaller and more manageable for you. Not everyone wants to grow their business.
Some of the above quotes are paraphrased slightly. To hear the precise quotes and get the full context in which they were delivered, you can watch the entire event in the recorded webcast. Many thanks to American Express OPEN whose advertising support of this site made 9 it possible for me to attend.
Management & Innovation
Hiring Smart
Posted by Cool Tools, Kevin Kelly on June 7, 2004
People are the scarce resource in the new economy, but no one teaches employees how to hire people. Successful fastgrowing companies have caught on. They now hire people who are good at hiring others.
Management & Innovation
Hiring Smart
How to hire people
Hire smart, your company wins; hire dumb, you die. People are the scarce resource in the new economy, but no one teaches employees how to hire people. Successful fast-growing companies have caught on. They now hire people who are good at hiring others. Between these book covers is a million dollars worth of hiring advice, the best anywhere. If you are in business, ignore at your peril. Excerpts: — You can’t spend too much time or effort on “hiring smart.” The alternative is to manage tough, which is much more time consuming. — The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Strategy No. 3: Give an assignment before the interview. Ask the candidate to visit one of your stores, plants, campuses, offices, or Web pages before the interview. Then ask for the candidate’s observations. Strategy No.5: Read resumes in teams if possible. It’s helpful—and faster—to read the top candidates’ resumes in teams of three to five people. Teams that work well together are more accurate and insightful about potential employees than individuals are. Strategy No.6: Cast the widest net possible. Microsoft assumes that the best candidates are not looking for jobs. In fact, candidates who approach Microsoft are actually less attractive to the company.
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Management & Innovation
Hiring Smart
Strategy No.13: Ask all your questions at once. That’s right. Put all your initial questions on the table up front. This strategy accomplishes three things. First, in a manner of speaking, you pass the baton. You’ve asked the questions, now the candidate must respond. Performance depends upon the candidate, not selling yourself and the organization. Second, more importantly, this strategy directly confronts the most common problem in interviewing: not listening, and talking too much...Third, this technique forces you to listen. If there’s one practical tip you should try in your next interview, I suggest this one. Asking all your questions at once, and following up later in the interview, allows you to settle back and watch a candidate’s behavior as well as listen to his or her words. Strategy No. 15: Assign a mini-project to finalists. Three quarters of the way through the interview, give the candidate a task to perform. Not only does this demonstrate the candidate’s behavior—it also breaks up the monotony of most interviews. Strategy No. 32: Ask the references to call you back. Here is the simplest, most effective reference check that I know. It’s also fast and legal. Call references at what you assume will be their lunchtime—you want to reach an assistant or voice mail. If it’s voice mail, leave a simple message. If it’s an assistant, be sure that he or she understands the last sentence of your message. You say: “John (or Jane) Jones is a candidate for (the position) in our company. Your name has been given as a reference. Please call me back if the candidate was outstanding.” The results are both immediate and revealing. If the candidate is outstanding or excellent, I guarantee that eight out of ten people will respond quickly and want to help....However, if only two or three of the references selected by the candidate return your call, this message is also loud and clear. And yet no derogatory information has been shared. No libelous statements have been made. No confidence or laws have been broken. Strategy No. 39: Invest in people, not ideas. Unfortunately, an employer’s ability to hear bad news about a potential employee is inversely proportional to the time spent courting that employee.
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