http://jorrian.com Jorrian.com - A Central Hub for Management Knowledge and Professional Branding us-en copyright 2010, jorrian.com. me@jorrian.com me@jorrian.com http://www.jorrian.com http://www.jorrian.com 88 31 Jorrian.com - A Central Hub for Management Knowledge and Professional Branding http://www.jorrian.com/articles/communication/commtriangle.html Effective communication is critical to the success of any organization today. Executives and managers especially need to develop their communication skills in order to pass key messages along and influence others to act upon them. While organizational communication has been discussed in multiple business books released today, authors tend to miss on why leaders don’t tend to communicate effectively in their organizations. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/economy/appleandmicrosoft.html A common phrase heard throughout the business world is “Past success does not dictate future success.” This case has been proven with Apple passing Microsoft in market capitalization: the dollars invested towards a corporation through investments of shares. The battle for investor confidence for Apple has been a long ten year journey, with constant doubters throughout the years wondering how a niche technology firm could even compare itself to a global conglomerate as fully established as Microsoft. For Apple, innovation succeeded, not just innovations in branding and marketing, but in products and services increasing consumer confidence as well. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/execbasics/measurableresults.html With results only existing on the outside, only the customer determines what the organization’s measurables are. Customers do not quantify results however, the organization determines what they choose to quantify. Organizations have different measurables depending on what they contribute to society. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/execbasics/controlandcontrols.html The rapid advances of technology in data and information systems have benefited organizations tremendously. Every behavior turns into a result, and controls are designed to capture results that can be converted into useable data. However, the difference between “control” – the direction and actions of key tasks, and “controls” – past data processed through a systematic result is extensive. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/communication/ecommbyobjectives.html Improving management communication is a continuous and ongoing process across all organizations. The addition of the internet, web-conferencing, administrative assistants, technology such as the BlackBerry or software that uses “cloud” computing; all these tools increase efficiency but may have little or no impact on organizational effectiveness. The guaranteed result of communicating the wrong information faster is getting the wrong tasks done faster. The framework of effective and functional communication is through management by objectives. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/social/effectivefacebook.html The social media trend has been climbing upwards since the launch of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Facebook ranks as the second most visited web site in the United States behind Google. Twitter has grown exponentially in 2008 and 2009 and when the global economy was in turmoil and LinkedIn has expanded its business network as more companies flock to it. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/mgttheory/peterdruckertoday.html Peter Drucker’s management and business strategies have spawned a countless number of books and management techniques throughout the decades. From GE’s Jack Welch to Jim Collins, author of the bestselling book on business performance Good to Great, Drucker’s legacy continues to live on in ways unimaginable. Without the contribution of Peter Drucker to society, the United States may not have been the superpower it is today. Here are the primary reasons Drucker’s work is still relevant today and in the future. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/mgttheory/educatedperson.html Every day, ideas float through our heads and go in many different directions. Some stay, some go, some get put to paper, other ideas are discussed and some are shut down. Products are built, services are created, people are motivated and countries begin to develop their economy in a new way, not just based on farming and manufacturing, but by turning people’s ideas into reality. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/social/valueinsocialnetwork.html LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook…all social networking tools designed to connect people across the globe together. As with all tools offline or online, there are ways to use them or abuse them. A car can be extremely useful if you know how to drive one, but not knowing how to drive a car and taking a spin can lead to disaster. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/mgttheory/managementbydrive.html “There may be companies in which management people do not say: “The only way we ever get anything done around here is by making a drive on it.” Yet, “management by drive” is the rule rather than the exception.” – The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker. 1954. Every organization needs objectives in place in order to move forward. Whether the organization is successful or not depends on the objectives; however, trying to run a business or a non-profit without objectives is a futile effort. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/mgtbasics/custexperience.html From 2002 – 2006, new cell phones were the must-have commodity. Hardware manufacturers kept churning out better and faster models, when Motorola upped Nokia, Nokia had to fight back. The Sony Ericsson was released as a phone with superior features and functionality changing the landscape. Motorola releases one of their best selling phones in a decade: Motorola RAZR. This phone was smaller, had a better camera and had technology crammed into it. Research-in-Motion is focused on businesses releasing multiple models of Blackberry phones. The wireless companies such as Verizon and AT'&'T were also innovating and coming up with more options and features for these multimedia–driven phones. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/peoplemgt/strengthsbased.html Think back to the last time you were talking to a friend on an activity you loved. The energy and enthusiasm in your voice were there, the hand motions and gestures were turned up to max and the power within you was moving. Your friend whether she likes that activity or not may not care, at the moment she is entranced. You’re great at this activity, and you want to get stronger and show others what you are truly capable of. Does your job reflect this attitude as well? http://www.jorrian.com/articles/social/millennialcommunication.html The force that drives Millennials to keep up-to-date, execute projects and stay motivated at work and in life. Cut off a Millennials communication and you have cut off their life supply. How did this come to be? Why does this happen? How has something as small as communication penetrate the fabric of an entire generation of people around the world? http://www.jorrian.com/articles/mgttheory/limitsofsocialres.html The first responsibility of an executive is to be responsible towards the institution. Every institution whether it is a business, hospital, university, military or other orsganization thrives in a society and a community. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/entrepren/organizationcreativity.html Intelligence is a factor in performing in business; however, it is creativity of what is not here today and the risk attached to it that helps great organizations grow and prosper. Clearly, all insightful firms with imagination and drive are ahead of their time. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/entrepren/customervalue.html The rapid expansion of the economy post 1998 resulted in many entrepreneurs taking advantage of the blossoming internet market. Computers were becoming mainstream, technology was rapidly advancing, companies were sprout overnight to take advantage of Web technologies, hardware manufacturers continued to compete the strongest of their ability and in the year 2000, the Internet was such a strong force that almost anything was available and was willing to be bought or sold. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/peoplemgt/autonomyvscontrol.html There are two ends of the spectrum in regards to managing people. Direct control with strong micro-management and autonomy for employees to do what they deem effective as long as it contributes to performance. Both ways are valid ways to lead people towards organizational performance. However, one method requires heavy involvement from the manager, while the other allows a manager more time to do what is effective in their responsibilities. Autonomy instead of control not only liberates employees, but relieves managers from “babysitting/micromanaging” and not focusing on what is core to the business. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/peoplemgt/highperformance.html Throughout life we go through tons of jobs and different careers. The jobs can require a different set of tasks, different set of management and different sets of customers; however, all organizations have one common item: the spirit of the organization. The “spirit” consists of guidelines that everyone should follow in order to have a fulfilling company and a fulfilling work environment. It is the responsibility of managers to develop the organization’s “spirit” by following set practices, starting with high performance requirements. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/mgtbasics/customerwants.html Back in the 1920’s when corporate business was just blossoming, entrepreneurs started from scratch. Manufacturing was still in it’s early stages and so much opportunity was there to be built. Entrepreneurs in the day would come up ideas of what he or she wanted to have, built a product, then sold to others easily. The customer needed the business in order to get the unique piece crafted as their was no “market” yet. Today the world is different. Light bulbs are a commodity item, electronic switches are a commodity item, power, water, utilities are provided from multiple sources and now anything electronic is built by multiple manufacturers. http://jorrian.com/ Sorry for the lack of updates. Been busy optimizing and categorizing the articles on the web site to make it easier to navigate and to find what you are looking for! Also changed the entrance photo and mission of Jorrian.com http://jorrian.com/blog/?p=195 Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn! You’re set on all these sites, ready to connect the world! On Facebook you start finding all your friends and family, then your schoolmates, then your work colleagues! On Twitter you look for all the celebrities and start following them, and then you drill down to your favorite topics and start following people “tweeting” about what you love! On LinkedIn you start searching for everyone you use to work with, you upload your work directory and start finding past and current colleagues! Your profile is amazing! Everyone can learn about you, you made sure it is full 100%. The forms are all filled and the data is all maxed out, who can’t be interested in you? This is networking at it’s best! WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/peopledecisionsteps.html The people within an organization are the vessels that can execute. The most faithful mission, ingenious ideas and strongest plans can not be fulfilled unless they are executed on. Human beings are the bridge between thought and action, and with this in mind, the right decisions regarding people are critical for an organization to thrive and succeed to the next level. http://www.jorrian.com/interviews/marshallgoldsmith.html Marshall Goldsmith Interview - The interview today goes over topics first starting with Succession: Are you Ready, and then to What got you Here won't get you There. It was a privilege and an honor to have Marshall Goldsmith to take the opportunity to help contribute to the education of effective management that I provide on Jorrian.com. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/knowledgeproductivity.html The “knowledge economy” requires that we do the right things and do them as efficiently as possible. The organizations that climb ahead in this competitive landscape will be the ones that can get maximum productivity out of all of it’s people. The difference today is to increase “productivity” from one who’s resources are knowledge and information compared to increasing one’s manual and physical work which was the primary work decades ago. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/executiveactionplan.html Executives execute. An executive positions shows that one has had success of planning and acting, as knowledge without action tied to results is meaningless data. Once the executive has found out “What needs to be done?”, then one can start planning action steps. Coming up with an action plan is not just stating what the plan is, the more important steps are to ask questions that lead you to the proper answers. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/executiveneedstobedone.html How effective management is within an organization is dependent on the executives that control it. Top management’s role has always been to navigate the ship’s course and occassionally steer it to the destination. In The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker lays out what makes an executive or manager effective and what practices need to be implemented in order to get there. The first practice before anything an executive needs to ask is “What needs to be done?” http://www.jorrian.com/articles/publicserviceinnovation.html The need for a public-service institution to innovate increases as society continues to develop. Where a corporate business has the individuals and capital in order to jump-start a new entrepreneurial business and invest in innovation, the public-service institution such as a school or a church does not have the same amount of resources. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/generalmotorsdecision.html On March 30th, 2008, the Obama Administration relieved General Motors Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner from his role at General Motors. Due to the massive role this company has in North America, the United States and Canada have decided to inject capital into the company with taxpayers money in order for the business to stay viable. Currently, General Motors is burning through cash and is near potential bankruptcy as all it’s sections fail. http://jorrian.com/blog/?p=185 Sometimes we act without thinking. Sometimes we think, but never act. One side believes the other is taking “too long” to be decisive and get started on action whereas the other side believes “action” without thought is sloppy and a waste of time. Which side is the best side? They are both equally important in the means of effective implementation! How can you obtain the best of both worlds? Here are some tips to help you out! http://www.jorrian.com/articles/publicinstitution.html Developed societies all have an attribute in common: the public-service institution. Government, health care, education, research and the military are all major institutions that a society needs in order to properly function and maintain the corporate businesses around it. Without education, the ability to develop individuals to be effective in specialized roles is not there. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/primarycustomer.html A business always has customers. In order to achieve results you need customers. Is it effective to have everyone as a customer? Anyone can be a customer; however, the business needs to determine the primary customer: the customer that the business evolves from. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/manageandinnovate.html “Any organization, however, that actually believes that management and entrepreneurship are different, not to mention incompatible, will soon find itself out of business” – Peter Drucker Management: Revised Edition http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/managingpeople.html Peter Drucker’s views on the “management of people” reflect building a culture that the knowledge worker can thrive in, strong communication with directs and most importantly the drive for performance tied to results. With the increasing amount of people graduating from colleges and universities today, managers will be responsible for developing knowledge workers and teaching them new skills. In the industrial society, one who use to have a role in welding and machining could have the opportunity to be promoted and move up the ranks to top management. The development of skills was the foreman teaching and assisting the workers to weld, or machine parts and have something tangible at the end. This physical action and method of knowledge was mainstream in it’s time; business in a factory was to move step by step and make sure each step resulted in an end product. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/keconomystresses.html Since the 1950’s, the need for “knowledge workers” has increased rapidly throughout our society. The transition from the “manual worker” to “knowledge worker” has moved faster with the advent of machines, computers and the overall infrastructure of the modern business today; run by electricity and global communication. Where this has brought upside in the world we live in; there is still one downside: the price of achieving career success. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/spheresofcommunication.html Communication is always needed in order to get things done. The importance of effective communication is for the receiver to understand what the message is, not for the communicator to make sure it is communicated. Interpersonal communication is the way we all interact in the workplace, but in the management or executive role, it is not only critical to make sure your information is passed “down”, but to maintain communication “sideways” and most importantly “above”. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/automission.html FACT: U.S. Auto Sales fell 41% from last year. Take your vehicle, rip it into two pieces, throw the other piece away and you will have almost the same effect. Except in this case, the corporations will not only be dealing with cars, but the government, the taxpayers money, people’s careers and the existence of their organization which is losing billions, yes $1000000000’s. The American automaker’s strategy shouldn’t be “I hope consumer’s get more money with President Obama’s plan so they can buy our cars”. The question they need to ask is “What does the customer want from our vehicles?” http://www.jorrian.com/articles/recessionplanning.html There are three things you’re doing right now in life: You’re kicking and screaming and barely getting your head above water. You’re drowning, why kick and scream when it is easier to do nothing? You’re working on getting better and initiated your flotation device. Which one are you? How are you facing the deep waters of a recessionary period? Unless you’re lucky enough to be in an airplane above water right now (which won’t happen forever, corporations are starting to cut the private jets, sorry) then you need a plan. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/reviews/definitivedrucker.html Supply and demand are worked into every organization and if you take some, you must also leave some in order to be as effective as possible. Whereas I wrote on the importance of an organization continuously innovating and generating new ideas, it is equally important for an organization to look at the areas where it is not of particular strength and decide to abandon that section through selling the business or dropping it entirely. The mentality in corporate America and seeping worldwide is the mentality “that more is better, more products show signs of corporate strength”. This thought can not only strain a corporation’s resources in the present, it can also be a disadvantage the the organization in the long run. There are three core reasons a CEO needs to continuously look at her business segments and decide which areas she wants to allocate resources to with proper abandonment of weak segments: http://www.jorrian.com/articles/congratsrecession.html How often have you heard this the past couple of months? “Our company has posted lower results due to the recession, which is why we are not performing.” “Business has been slow because there is a recession, which is why I am not performing.” “Nope definitely need to lock down spending, because we’re in a recession.” “I am not doing well in life this year because of the recession.” Most people think they are stating facts that no one else knows. Considering it is on the news, radio, TV, internet and every where we interact with people, I am pretty confident that the majority of the population already knows we are in tough economic times. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/imageandprofessionalism.html You’ve been waiting two weeks to come to this conference staged at a hotel. The presenter is someone that has had a reputation for being fantastic and getting her point across with enthusiasm while being effective in her delivery. Sitting down she gives one hell of a presentation, you are motivated by the power of her words travelling on raw emotion. Being inspired, you leave the conference talking to those around you how she’s changed your life. Later on in the evening, you see the inspirational presenter again, but in the lobby stumbling and laughing. You offer to help her reach the elevator but she looks at you and says she doesn’t need help and she didn’t get to where she is today because she was not self-sufficient. Smelling of alcohol you step back and think “Wow is she ever drunk; whatever, these things happen, besides this is her time to do whatever she pleases.” As you walk away, the last image burned into your mind is how fast someone who influences can be crippled by the average means of society. You think “If I was her, I would have conducted myself in a more appropriate manner.” Statement: The image others percieve of you is proportionate to the actions you take in conducting yourself. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/reviews/definitivedrucker.html My review on the fantastic book "The Definitive Drucker" by Elizabeth Edersheim! http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/druckerinnovation.html Living in Europe in the 1920’s, Drucker viewed the organizations and culture of the time of focusing on what was past and what did work as opposed to what can work. This level of “backwards innovation” of doing what worked was inconsistent with Drucker’s views of the landscape changing yearly and the customers views of what they need changing monthly. Drucker looked towards the United States at the time, where businesses and corporations were setting their roots in making the American consumers lives easier, faster and more productive through the inventions of vehicles, household electronics and mass production. In 1933, Peter Drucker left Europe to move to America and be a part of that rapid change of focusing on what the consumer of today wanted instead of the consumer of yesterday. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/changeagent.html An executive driving an enterprise’s success must not only focus on the present but also in the future. Developing a culture of continuous change and improvement within the organizational structure will help an enterprise change course rapidly if necessary. To remain stagnant within the current economic climate can cause an enterprise to face crippling losses and in worst cases extinction. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/knowledgeworker.html A current reality today of the workplace and organizations is the continuous emergence of the knowledge worker and how their importance plays a critical part in the heart of an organization. Knowing how the knowledge worker came to be, and the direction these people are going into today and the future can help any manager and executive be able to create an environment suitable for success. http://www.jorrian.com/articles/Drucker/socialresponse.html All institutions exist for a purpose beyond itself. A hospital can not be sustained without a community and schools can not exist without students. In order to be able to produce and sustain, there must be a society and individuals that can take advantage of the goods and services. This transaction between enterprise and consumer concludes to a win/win situation and potential success in the future. Managing the social impacts and responsibilities of an enterprise is critical to not only maintain an institution, but expand on it as well. http://www.jorrian.com/ Jorrian.com has been rebuilt into a site dedicated towards management and leadership advice.