How to Moderate a Brainstorming Session and Get Results Ah yes, ye old brainstorming session. We’ve all been there, and have had varying degrees of success with the process. But what makes for a great brainstorming session, and more importantly, what drives a session to produce some truly great results? I wish I could say that there’s a single, bullet proof formula for outstanding brainstorming sessions, however, unfortunately, there is none. When effectively organized, a brainstorming session can bring some previously unheard/unthought-of ideas to life, sparking further creativity. Conversely, when poorly organized and not well directed, a brainstorming session can rapidly deteriorate into a colossal waste of everyone’s time. So how do you end up with the former, and avoid the latter? Prep Cook As the moderator, one of your most important functions of the entire process is to be well versed in the topic(s) to be discussed and have the bigger picture in mind at all times. The Right Players House Rules Space, check. Moderate It The Shotgun.
“5 Signs It’s Time to Hire an Assistant” by Ali Brown I often see my entrepreneur clients fall prey to a stubborn mindset: they strongly resist the idea of hiring help. Women entrepreneurs especially get stuck here. But the truth is, trying to do it all yourself doesn’t make you a better business owner. In fact, it can hurt your business growth and throw your personal life off balance. Here are FIVE tell-tale signs that you need to get help asap: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Once you decide to hire an assistant, you can ask your colleagues for recommendations. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, or wait another day, to get help for your business. © 2012 Ali International, LLC WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? “Entrepreneur mentor Ali Brown teaches women around the world how to start and grow a profitable business that make a positive impact.
Understanding the European Debt Crisis | Top Financial Advisor Blog | Manna Capital Management It’s good to understand Europe’s debt crisis and why it’s affecting U.S. markets. Here’s an overview of how the European Union operates, why the euro is in danger, and what the crisis could mean to American investors. Unless you regularly read the Financial Times or otherwise keep up with world financial news, you may be wondering how the crisis in Europe came to be and what effect it might have on the U.S. economy. The European Union In 1951, six European nations came together to form the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) for the purpose of preventing future war between France and Germany and to create a common market for coal and steel. The goal of the EU is to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital by abolishing passport controls and maintaining a single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states. The euro Not all member states met the criteria. European Central Bank European sovereign debt crisis Double dip? David D.
Excellence Now by Tom Peters Compensation Systems For Agile Teams » Tools For Agile Blog There is a discussion going on in one of the Scrum lists about compensation in a scrum team. How do we reward individual performers when Scrum plays down individual performance? It’s a mistake to think that rewarding individual performers does not work in a Scrum team. As much as thirty years ago, Deming listed as Deadly Disease #3 – Evaluation by performance, merit rating, or annual review of performance This is because performance evaluation kills cooperation, morale and intrinsic motivation. A particularly bad thing to do is stack ranking, i.e ranking everyone in order from best to worst. Now, are these the kinds of behaviour that organizations want to encourage? Consider this Harvard Business School case study on Hewlett-Packard. The teams were frustrated that factors out of their control, such as the delivery of parts, affected their work. More recently, Jeffrey Pfeffer testified in the US Congress on Personnel Reform. Finally, a quote from the classic Peopleware book,
Eurozone debt crisis: the key charts you need to understand what's happening | News How bad are things in Europe - and how does each country compare? This week has seen anti-austerity strikes and protests across Southern Europe, with Greece, Italy and Spain all hit by disturbances. In Europe's largest ever coordinated industrial action, tens of thousands of workers took to the streets on Wednesday after the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) issued a statement that austerity is "dragging Europe into economic stagnation, indeed recession". Having rallied the previous day, markets across Europe fell on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100, Dax (Germany), Cac (France) and Ibex (Spain) all closing down. We wanted to see which key indicators are the best for comparing Europe and might help us understand what's going on a little better. 1. These are the big scary numbers - although it's still regularly mixed up with the deficit (see below) by journalists and politicians alike. 2. 3. 4. 5. Download the data • DATA: download the full spreadsheet More open data World government data
Welcome to the Virtual Crash Course in Design Thinking Welcome to the d.school’s Virtual Crash Course resource page! We know not everyone can make a trip to the d.school to experience how we teach design thinking. So, we created this online version of one of our most frequently sought after learning tools. Using the video, handouts, and facilitation tips below, we will take you step by step through the process of hosting or participating in a 90 minute design challenge. If you choose to participate, in 90 minutes you will be taken through a full design cycle by participating in The Gift-Giving Project. This is a fast-paced project where participants pair up to interview each other, identify real needs, and develop a solution to “redesign the gift-giving experience” for their partner. Through this experience we hope you will take away some of the basic principles of Design Thinking and start to adapt them into your personal and professional routines. Below, you will find three sections: Gear Up!
Competition Is NOT Part of Your Business Model Every couple of weeks somebody sends me an email writing that I'm missing a building block in the Business Model Canvas. Often, they point out that competition is missing. They're wrong. "Competition" is not a business model building block, it's part of the environment in which you design your business model. Though I believe we're too obsessed with competition, it would obviously be naive not to take into account existing or potential competitors when you design your business model. We came up with this environmental model, because there was no concept out there that looked at the Business Model Design Environment in a simple, holistic, and visual way.
Two-Sided Rail Racks Bin/Tote Colors Steel/Shelving Colors Description Specialty Colors (Berry, Teal, Light Blue, Purple) and EarthSaver® AkroBins are available in limited sizes. Be Cool In Crisis: 5 Public Relations Lessons From the Secret Service Scandal One could argue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has made every public relations mistake possible in mismanaging the recent Secret Service scandal. In doing so, it has inadvertently escalated a manageable crisis to one that's reached DEFCON 5, to borrow the military parlance, if I may. Let's be honest: Every organization will sustain a crisis at one stage in its lifetime. Here are five proven tips you can use to avoid public disgrace, business disruption, or some horrible combination of both. 1. The worst time to test your crisis plan is in the midst of an actual crisis. The result? 2. As sure as the sun sets in the West, every organization we've trained in crisis preparedness completely overlooks a key constituent audience in its response plan. The single best crisis tool I've ever used is called a constituent audience matrix. 3. Nothing is worse than being caught unaware. Crisis response is now a 24/7 reality. 4. Remember the BP Gulf crisis? 5.
Products RollerRings™ - The original rollerball shower curtain rings that glide effortlessly. Rolls friction-free across your shower curtain rod Only a light tug required to open or close the curtain Colors include Brass, Nickel(Silver), Graphite, Smokey Grey, Antique Brass, Black, Satin Nickel, and Bronze Corrosion free - solid brass or brass and stainless steel construction with heavy duty plating Sold in sets of twelve rings, enough for one shower curtain RollerRings™ are available in the following finishes and sizes: 2 inch RollerRings™ are perfect for drapery rods too! Finishes also available are (from left to right) Antique Brass, Copper, Black, and Satin Nickel.
Home Black & Decker Projects and Advice | Utility Shelves You can build adjustable utility shelves in a single afternoon using 2 x 4s and plain 3/4" plywood. Perfect for use in a garage or basement, utility shelves can be modified by adding side panels and a face frame to create a finished look suitable for a family room or recreation area. Difficulty Level: Easy Time to Complete: 4-8 hours Estimated Cost: $0 - $100 Continue to Step 1 Overview You can build adjustable utility shelves in a single afternoon using 2 x 4s and plain 3/4" plywood. Step 1 How to Build Utility Shelves - Step 1 Mark the location of top plates on ceiling. Step 2 How to Build Utility Shelves - Step 2 Mark points directly beneath outside corners of the top plates to find outer sole plate locations, using a plumb bob as a guide (top). Step 3 How to Build Utility Shelves - Step 3 Cut outer 2 x 4 sole plates and position them perpendicular to the wall, just inside the outlines. Step 4 How to Build Utility Shelves - Step 4 Step 5 How to Build Utility Shelves - Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8
Garage Storage: Space-Saving Sliding Shelves - Step by Step Let’s face it. No matter how big your garage is, there never seems to be enough room to store everything. But by making ultra-efficient use of the narrow area on the sidewall of your garage, this storage project can help. The heart of the system is a series of double-sided rollout shelves that allow easy access to everything that can be stored in a narrow space. Don’t worry if you’ve also got some large items to store. The cost of the materials for this project is about $800. Expect to spend three or four days building this project. The particleboard and framing lumber you’ll need are available from home centers and most lumberyards.