Wellington City Libraries’ Business Blog

Deloitte  have just published a paper entitled Organizing analytics: Building an analytical ecosystem for today, tomorrow and beyond.  The document discusses the merits of the different models, looks at the goals of an analytical organization and how to building an analytical ecosystem.

From the National Academy of Engineering this Fall 2011 edition of their publication The Bridge devotes many feature articles to the topic of Agriculture and Information Technology.   Articles include Smart IT systems and smarter food systems as well as the Green Revolution.    Since NZ is heavily dependent upon agriculture, the issue may prove worthwhile reading.

Conversion optimization / Khalid Saleh and Ayat Shukairy.
If you are looking for a ways to improve the performance of your e-commerce website, there is no way you can read Conversion Optimization and not come up with some great ideas that will directly improve your e-commerce business…. The book is full of real life examples, including screen shots of websites who have done things right and not-so-right. It is technical enough for a developer. But, it is accessible enough for a business owner. Whether you are a small business owner, a contract website developer or a large company, I think you will find this book well worth the price. (Amazon reviewer)
 
 From values to action : the four principles of values-based leadership / Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr.
“Respected former CEO, professor, and speaker examines what it takes to become a values-based leader In this highly-anticipated book, Harry Kraemer argues that today’s business environment demands values-based leaders who, in “doing the right thing,” deliver outstanding and lasting results. The journey to becoming a values-based leader starts with self-reflection. He asks, “If you are not self-reflective, how can you know yourself? If you do not know yourself, how can you lead yourself? If you cannot lead yourself, how can you lead others?” Kraemer identifies self-reflection as the first of four principles that guide leaders to make choices that honor their values and candidly recounts how these principles helped him navigate some of the toughest challenges he faced in his career. Offers a framework for adopting the principles of values-based leadership?self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility?to lead organizations effectively Based on Kraemer’s popular Kellogg MBA course on values-based leadership A recognized expert in values-based leadership, Kraemer is a sought after speaker on the subject Lively and engaging, Kraemer’s book comes at a critical time when true leadership in every facet of society is desperately needed.”– Provided by publisher.

How to be a social entrepreneur : make money & change the world / Robert Ashton.“Don’t Just Make Money – Make a Difference. As a social entrepreneur, you can build a business that changes the world. But you will face some unique challenges. This book will prepare you. Packed with advice, inspiration and real-life stories, it will help you: Define what you want to do and why you want to do it Find the right kind of funding Build a brand that makes you unique Find a team as motivated and inspired as you are Measure the impact you’re having How to be a “Social Entrepreneur” is the only social enterprise start-up guide you’ll ever need. Marc Davies, Wales Co-operative Centre Limited Peter Couchman, Chief Executive, Plunkett Foundation Lord Andrew Mawson OBE, author of the Social Entrepreneur: Making Communities Work Peter Holbrook, CEO, Social Enterprise Coalition Stephen Gyasi-Kwaw, CEO/Founder Youth Enhancement Int. Ghana Andy Brady, ‘3rd Sector Futures’, Anglia Ruskin University” (Syndetics summary)

 
How to manage people / Michael Armstrong.
“A distillation of all of Armstrong’s knowledge and experience, this practical book provides advice to managers and team leaders on how to manage people in their teams, getting the best results from them, and dealing with any people problems that may arise.” (Syndetics summary)

IT savvy : what top executives must know to go from pain to gain / Peter Weill, Jeanne W. Ross.
“Insights in this book come from a series of research projects conducted between 2000 and 2009 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Information Systems Research (MIT CISR) on how top-performing firms generate superior business value from IT. Weill and Ross, affiliated with the Center, distill research on 1,800 companies in 60 countries into an actionable framework for gaining value from IT. The framework addresses IT funding and govnernance and offers suggestions for revamping the operating model for a digital economy, creating a reusable digital platform, and allocating decision rights and accountabilities. Ideas are illustrated with examples from top-performing companies such as UPS and 7-Eleven. The information can be applied to small or large organizations, for-profits or non-profits, and government organizations. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)” (Syndetics summary)

 
Marketing greatest hits : a masterclass in modern marketing ideas / Kevin Duncan.“Modern marketing is a blur of concepts and jargon. And, as most marketers suffer from too many meetings and too little time, this invaluable book distils and summarises all the best current thinking so that you can become an authority yourself – and quickly. As well as saving hundreds of hours of reading time, you will be able to grasp broad-ranging concepts and material rapidly, and explain them confidently to colleagues. All the hard work has been done for you. Marketing Greatest Hits contains one-sentence and one-minute summaries of forty of the most important books on marketing, including Affluenza, Blink, Meatball Sundae and The Long Tail. Book jacket.” (Syndetics summary)”.

The other side of innovation : solving the execution challenge / Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble.“This book blazes a new trail for innovators who want to do more than come up with creative ideas; they want to make new things happen. Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, faculty members at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, offer a “ready reference” filled with down-to-earth approaches for moving innovation initiatives forward within established companies. The book is based on 10 years of scholarly research but it is written in practical terms. It unhooks innovation from anything that would undermine it, including some cherished myths about big ideas and rebellious leaders. The book offers a professional process for putting innovation in action, which requires discipline, a “Dedicated Team” and an unbiased approach to learning from experimentation. Govindarajan and Trimble provide real-life examples and detailed advice directed to “innovation leaders,” in particular.” (Amazon U.K. reviewer)

 Social innovation, Inc. : 5 strategies for driving business growth through social change / Jason Saul.“Could Wal-Mart offer a better solution to healthcare than Medicaid? Could GE help reduce global warming faster than the Kyoto protocol? Social Innovation, Inc. declares a new era where companies profit from social change. Leading corporations like GE, Wellpoint, Travelers and Wal-Mart are transforming social responsibility into social innovation and revolutionizing the way we think about the role of business in society. Based on four years of measuring the social strategies of America’s leading corporations, Jason Saul lays out the five strategies for social innovation and offers a practical roadmap for how to get started. Explains the fundamental shift in the role of business in society, from social contract to social capital market. Identifies the 5 social innovation strategies: submarket products and services, social points of entry, pipeline talent, reverse lobbying, and emotive customer bonding. Offers step-by-step guidance for creating economic value through positive social change. Social Innovation, Inc. is about making social change work for the business, and in turn staying relevant in the new economy.”– Provided by publisher.
 
Successful interviewing and recruitment / Rob Yeung.“Do you interview well? Can you tell a good candidate from a bad candidate? Do you create a positive impression? Successful Interviewing and Recruitment teaches you how to structure the interview, spot exceptional candidates and hire only the best who will add value to your business. Guiding you towards questions to ask as well as questions not to ask, you will learn how to challenge candidates while treating them fairly, so that the best candidates will want to work for you. Based on proven techniques, this book will teach you how to:put a candidate at easeask probing questionsseparate liars from truth tellersinterview candidates from office juniors to senior managers. Packed with practical information for anyone from the owner of a small company to managing director of an international business, it is an indispensable guide that will help you to choose the right person for the job. Book jacket.” (Syndetics summary)

The thank you economy / Gary Vaynerchuk.
” Gary’s book should be required reading for anyone working, thinking or thinking about thinking or working in social media. Or anyone who works at a company that is thinking about using social (which should literally be every company in the world). The Thank You Economy has been written in a way that people who are very new to social and people who have been working in it for some time will get a lot out of it. Agencies and clients need to get their hands on it and distribute it liberally. It should be used by agencies to get clients (and there are still some) who don’t yet know the invaluable value of SM to get off the fence. And it should be used as a tool by clients to get senior management who may not yet see the undeniable value of SM to be a lot less scared about it. It debunks the anti-social media myths and paths of resistance in very compelling and motivating ways. (Amazon reviewer)
  
The third screen : marketing to your customers in a world gone mobile / Chuck Martin.” Untethered consumers, m-commerce, and the entire mobile revolution are changing the game for marketers. And if you have any doubts about the incredible influence that mobile technology is having on not just the marketing profession but everyday life, you won’t after you’ve read The Third Screen.” Author Chuck Martin thoroughly explains how mobile devices, mobile apps, mobile commerce, and the mobile lifestyle are impacting marketers in a big way, all around the world. Most of the content in this book focuses on helping the reader understand the best strategies and tactics for leveraging mobile as a new channel for marketing their products and services. Martin also discusses the increasingly important intersection of mobile and social media, including location awareness, self-aggregation, and hyperlocal marketing. The chapter on customer engagement via mobile is particularly interesting (Amazon reviewer)

Evelyne Draper is an NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Coach, licensed by the International Association of Neuro-linguistic Programming and the International Coaching Institutes and lives in Wellington.  She has written this article

Create Business Success From The Inside Out

Part 1

In today’s fast moving, global world, many people suffer from the modern problem of information overload. We get bombarded by TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet, and the average person sees around 10’000 adverts a day.

As a consequence, we get intellectually, emotionally and psychologically overloaded about the way we should be living. This means that you start to doubt yourself because you live from the outside in. The media and the people around you are telling you how you should be living, that you should have that BMW and that boat. Because your friends are doing it, and so should you. In this scramble of keeping up, you don’t stop and ask yourself whether you actually want it, or even whether it’s logical.

The psychological literature calls this “normative influence”, and in marketing it is known as “social proof”.

Isn’t it time for you to get in touch again with what’s important to you?

You as a business person will have noticed that the pressure of doing more and more in the business is not getting you the success and results anymore that you are hoping for, because you are too caught up with “doing things”.

Now, taking action is a very important component of business success, especially when the action is planned and is relevant to a well set goal. In a future article, we will look at how you can set achievable goals and create an action plan that allows you to reach your goals much more easily.

This is the first of a series of articles that show you how you can change small things in the way you think and do things, in other words change things on the inside which then have a big impact on your success. We will look at the 5 key factors of success and how you can apply them in your business and in your life.

This means that even if you’re not in business, this is for you because these inside-out changes do not just transform business, they can transform lives, because they come from the inside.

Making changes from the inside out creates leverage, and this has a profound effect on business. W. Clement Stone says it beautifully when he writes “Little hinges swing big doors”. Because by making small adjustments you can get big results. This is called leverage.

In future articles you will learn how you can get leverage by

• Getting very clear on your vision, mission and purpose in life and in your business. These are your drivers, your big reasons why. They are your unlocking power and you can create deep inner motivation that gets past procrastination.
• Clarifying where you want to go in life and in business. This means being crystal clear on your goals and setting them in such a way that you can more easily achieve them. Because if you don’t know where you’re headed you can’t plan any effective action steps.
• Creating an action plan with milestones so that you know at any one time how far you’ve come to achieving your goal. And with every milestone you’ve reached you can plan a celebration.
• Measuring how far you’ve come and becoming aware if you’re off course. Did you know that an airplane is off course 95% of the time? This is why we need the pilot who adjusts course.
• Being flexible to change course when you need to change actions, procedures or any other component in your business.
• Surrounding yourself with smart people. You can leverage their knowledge, experience, connections and “mistakes”. They will also hold you accountable.

Do you make these common mistakes?

There has been an interesting study done by Pham and Taylor at the University of California. They took 5000 students and asked them what their goals were. They all had great goals and all of them had the greatest of intentions of achieving these goals. When they followed up 5 years later, they found that only 10% reached their goals. Now, it’s interesting to check what these 10% did that was different from the 90% who didn’t reach their goals.

What doesn’t work? (remember, 90% of the participants did this. If you are currently doing these… GOOD! This means there’s room for improvement!)

1. Visualising how perfect your life will be when _______happens
2. Focus on the negative
3. Try to suppress unhelpful thoughts
4. Rely on will power (and grit your teeth)
5. Motivate yourself by focusing on someone you admire

Here’s what works (this is what the 10% of participants did who reached their outcomes)

1. Visualise the path and the actions you need to take to achieve success, not just your destination. This will create a step-by-step plan allowing you to achieve your goal.
2. Focus on the positive aspects of reaching your goal, and having an objective checklist. For example one item on that checklist could be, “What qualities will I enjoy when I reach my goal?”
3. Record your progress along the way. A spreadsheet software program works well for this where you can draw up charts to make a visual representation of how far you’ve come.
4. Reward your progress. These rewards and celebrations don’t need to be big. Extra time off, or a nice meal in a restaurant works well.
5. Tell other people about your goal. This keeps you accountable and is an important source of leverage.

Don’t climb the mountain on your own!

A series of studies, this time carried out by Simone Snall at the University of Plymouth, found the following interesting results:

Participants were taking to the bottom of a mountain. They were then asked to estimate how steep the mountain was, and how difficult it would be to climb it.

Participants who were there with a friend estimated the mountain to be 15% easier to climb than the participants who were there on their own.

What this indicates is that when you set out to achieve a goal or an outcome, it makes it easier when you take someone with you, say a friend or a partner. They can take the steps with you, they can be there with you, and very importantly, they hold you accountable.

A 1999 study by Brigham Young University shows that, in addition to having a clear goal, making an action plan, and measuring your results, if you have a coach or mentor who holds you accountable, you have a 95% chance of more success than if you do it on your own without a clear goal and a plan on how to reach it.

Make a commitment and think of one thing from this article that you’re going to implement today. Or perhaps you’ve already started to implement one of the things you’ve been reading about here. And as you’re noticing a change from the inside out, I look forward to reading your comments, observations and views below.

To your success from the inside out

Evelyne

*************************************************************************************
Evelyne Draper is an NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Coach, licensed by the International Association of Neuro-linguistic Programming and the International Coaching Institutes. She offers NLP coaching for business people and people who want to improve the quality of their lives. Very often people are not aware of how much their attitudes and beliefs influence how successful they are in business and in life. She is passionate about helping people achieve the results they want. For more information, go to www.nlpskills.org. Evelyne lives in Wellington, New Zealand, with her partner Michael, and when she’s not helping other people get what they want, she likes to go on long walks in and around Wellington, along the beaches and exploring nature.

The ABC of business : never hire a person who walks slowly– / Tony Falkenstein.
The rules of business success don’t need to be complicated – just straightforward and easy to follow. These snippets of success are taken from Tony Falkenstein’s many years of highs and lows of business, and offer astounding insights into a career founded on common sense, bravery and smart thinking.” (Syndetics summary)

Business greatest hits : a masterclass in modern business ideas / Kevin Duncan.
“Modern business is a blur of jargon with thousands of books all claiming to hold the key to relentless success. The working reality is often very different. This book distils and summarises all the best current thinking so that you can become an authority yourself – and quickly. As well as saving hundreds of hours of reading time Business Greatest Hits will help you to grasp ideas accurately and explain them confidently to colleagues. All the hard work has been done for you. Business Greatest Hits contains one-sentence and one-minute summaries of forty important business books, including Built to Last, Freakonomics, Nudge and Wikinomics. Book jacket.” (Syndetics summary)

The intelligent company : five steps to success with evidence-based management / Bernard Marr.
“Today’s most successful companies are Intelligent Companies that use the best available data to inform their decision making… This latest book by best-selling management expert Bernard Marr will equip you with a set of powerful skills that are vital for successful managers now and in the future.” (Syndetics summary).

Unthinking : the surprising forces behind what we buy / Harry Beckwith.
“Beckwith’s objective is to share with his reader what he has learned about the process that “leads us to choose what we choose, without really thinking” and suggests that the forces and their sources that influence our choices of various kinds are largely explained by our childhood, our culture, and our eyes. In fact, as already noted, he believes that “we think with our eyes.” Throughout his lively and eloquent narrative, Beckwith cites dozens of examples that illustrate various dimensions of juvenile, cultural, and visual forces and sources that help to explain why our human nature”. (Amazon reviewer)

We first : how brands and consumers use social media to build a better world / Simon Mainwaring.
“Simon Mainwaring makes a compelling argument for the need to redefine capitalism, factoring the social and environmental footprint into how we evaluate and support corporations. Social communication technologies provide consumers with an increasing array of tools fostering transparency and intentional, purpose-driven consumption. At first I thought Mainwaring was preaching to the choir, but as I continued to read this thorough and well documented manifesto, I became more and more excited. There are many innovative examples and practical ideas here that can be applied by corporations, consumers, government agencies and non-profits to foster sustainable business practices and create a better world.” (Amazon reviewer)

The India way : how India’s top business leaders are revolutionizing management / Peter Cappelli … [et al.].
“Written by four professors of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, this book explores the ways in which Indian corporate culture is different from that predominant in some western countries. These include extensive employee development programs, seeking to serve a vast underprivileged market, making social issues a priority, and governing for the long term. Although Indian business is mostly known for the success of its telecom programs, this book focuses on the growing role of entrepreneurial efforts and the Indian competitive advantage in a whole range of industries. Concludes with 79 pages of appendices–including web links to a set of interviews with Indian business leaders. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)” (Syndetics summary)

Heading off to Wellington City Libraries from Karori Tuesday 16th August – can’t let the customers down!

This publication, a collaborative effort between the World Trade Organisation and  the Institute of Developing Economies  and “focuses on the factors that have helped to shape global production. Starting with demand,it describes how a changing economic environment has contributed to the phenomenon of global production. Infrastructure services, tariffs, foreign direct investment, cheaper technology and lower transportation costs have all affected the trading environment and the international exchange of goods,fostering increased market access, amplifying cross-border links between companies and causing trade in intermediate goods to increase. This publication considers the effect of these factors on international production networks, with a particular focus on “Factory Asia”. It also shows how the development and evolution of these production networks has promoted economic growth and employment in Asia.”

From the Cato Institute this is report looks at how with twenty years of economic reform India has risen to become a potential superpower and  has achieved dramatic growth recently.   However, it still has a long way to go, with the World Bank’s Doing Business report ranking India just 134th of 183 countries in how easy it is do business there.  Good governance is lacking, with corruption still running rife.

Thanks to docuticker

Deal with difficult people : how to cope with tricky situations in the workplace.
While we’d all like a quiet life, there are some situations that can’t be ignored – it is estimated that up to 2 million Australians will experience workplace harassment at some time during their career. Workplace bullying and discrimination can be a major problem to many, resulting in stress, anxiety and reduced productivity. Customers can be demanding, or even abusive and then there are the people who are just ‘high-maintenance’. This fully revised and updated Steps to Success title offers practical advice on a wide range of contemporary issues, from how to defuse tense situations, to where to turn if you think you are being discriminated against, to stepping in to help others.(Syndetics)

Developing a business case : expert solutions to everyday challenges.
“To decide the best course of action for your company to take advantage of new opportunities, you must first develop a business case to explore multiple alternatives, then make a recommendation to support a particular option. In this book, you’ll learn to:Clearly define the opportunityIdentify and analyze a range of alternativesRecommend one option and assess its risksCreate a high-level implementation planCommunicate your case to key stakeholdersMeet Your MentorDr. June Paradise Maul is president of Advantage Value, a consulting and education company. She teaches executive development and graduate-level business and leadership programs on strategic planning, leadership, and decision making.The Pocket Mentor series offers immediate solutions to common challenges managers face on the job every day. Each book in the series is packed with handy tools, self-tests, and real-life examples to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and hone critical skills. Whether you’re at your desk, in a meeting, or on the road, these portable guides enable you to tackle the daily demands of your work with greater speed, savvy, and effectiveness. Book jacket.” (Syndetics summary)

Global coaching : an integrated approach for long- lasting results / Philippe Rosinski.
“Roskinski, considered a leading expert in executive and team coaching and global leadership development, offers managers and coaches guidance in how to achieve a broader, more well-grounded way to deal with the global economy and its interconnectedness. He explains his integrated approach to coaching that brings together strategies from what may seem to be, in some ways, six disparate perspectives: physical, managerial, psychological, cultural, political, and spiritual. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)” (Syndetics summary)

Moral intelligence 2.0 : enhancing business performance and leadership success in turbulent times / Doug Lennick, Fred Kiel ; with Kathy Jordan.
“A dramatic erosion of trust in our business, financial, and government leaders has provided even stronger evidence of the links between moral intelligence and optimal business and personal performance. In “Moral Intelligence 2.0,” Douglas Lennick and Fred Kiel thoroughly update their best-seller to demonstrate those linkages-and to guide leaders in measuring, developing, and applying moral intelligence throughout their organizations.” (Syndetics summary)

Next level : what insiders know about executive success / Scott Eblin.
“This second edition of Elbin’s (executive coach, The Elbin Group) guide to success in executive positions features new interviews and anecdotes from global executives, context specific coaching tips, and an updated appendix called “Create Your Executive Success Plan” offering best practices for high performance at the executive level. Chapters are arranged thematically in three sections covering the foundations of personal presence, the foundations of team presence, and the foundations of organizational presence. Advice for specific situations is offered in an appended “Situations Solutions Guide” along with a short bibliography. The first edition was published in 2006. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)” (Syndetics summary)

The top 10 distinctions between winners and whiners / Keith Cameron Smith.
“Let’s face it; to become a winner in the face of unpredictable times requires hard work and a determined mindset. Winners choose to be winners. While whiners let others control their fate. In “The Top Ten Distinctions between Winners and Whiners” author Keith Cameron Smith reveals the secrets to becoming a winner in both your professional and personal life. Readers will receive powerful exercises that will make a positive and lasting change in their lives. The key to moving beyond the status quo and up the ladder is mastering ten vital principles, including: Winners can have what they want and take responsibility. Whiners want what they cannot have and play victim. Winners are focus-minded and listen twice as much as they talk. Whiners are scatterbrained and talk twice as much as they listen. Winners create positive meaning and build relationships. Whiners create negative meaning and destroy friendships.” (Syndetics summary)

This co-production report (16mb pdf – but opens really quickly) comes from World Economic Forum in collaboration with Stanford University and Endeavor Global.    The aim was that the report would be of special interest to:

“Governments seeking to better tailor their initiatives to create thriving entrepreneurial regions/industries/cultures….young entrepreneurs looking for guidance from successful past experiences of growth companies and ….financial and other partners of early stage ventures”.