BLUFing Your Communication at Work

managers resource handbook

How to Present Information to Your Target Audience We’ve all experienced it.  We ask for an update and our employee who sits just three offices down writes you an email that takes them an hour to write, and you 20 minutes to read.  Or, we get 4 attachments full of data and numbers that clog our inbox.  The concept of audience is taught

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Management Success Series Tip #5: The Integrity of Management

    So far in the Management Success Series, we discussed essentials like influence, visibility and employee development.  There’s an old saying that not all managers are leaders, which is unfortunately true.  Some people are put in managerial positions for which they are simply not suited.  But the opposite is also true: good managers are good leaders.  We look up to good leaders because

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Management Success Series Tip #4: The Two Jobs of Management

Breaking News: Managers actually have two jobs!   Previously in the Management Success Series, we talked about influence and visibility as key managerial traits.  In Tip #3, we discussed common sense and the need to adapt amid a constant state of change.  There’s an added layer of complexity that good business leaders and managers need to understand. Early in my career, I had a

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How a SWOT Evaluation Can Help Your Business

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis: Take a Closer Look At Your Business Leading a successful company requires you periodically spend time identifying ways to improve and get better.  A SWOT analysis is one evaluation method that aids in organizing characteristics of your business that you deem as successes or concerns.  Specifically, a SWOT analysis is an evaluation technique that helps you capture the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

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Restructuring Your Company: 5 Key Decisions

How to Restructure an Organization If you’ve ever been part of restructuring of an organization, you know that the very mention of it can induce a sense of worry.  Restructuring a company is tough and takes a great deal of careful planning.  Moreover, business renewal is never easy nor is it fun because big decisions need to be made that affect

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Management Success Series Tip #3: Common Sense or Common Knowledge?

The previous tips in this series discussed the importance of influence (Tip #1) and visibility (Tip #2) as a manager.  Both of these may seem pretty obvious, which leads us to Tip #3.  On a flight not too long ago, I had a typical business traveler conversation with the passenger sitting next to me.  You know, it was that “What do you do?”,

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Management Success Series Tip #2: Being Visible to Your People

Tip #1 of the Management Success Series described influence as a key ingredient in good managers.  You have to be able to maneuver and pull various levers to make things happen, while simultaneously pulling your team along with you.  Influence, like trust, is something that is built over time but easily lost.   A good means of establishing your influence and building trust is

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Management Success Series Tip #1 – Your First Day as Manager

  The Transition to Management   It’s a common experience.  You left work on Friday afternoon thinking about your weekend plans.  On Friday you were just a team member and part of the “crew.”  On Friday, you were given your tasks and were not responsible for what others did.  Sure, you were part of a team, but you were pretty much responsible for yourself.  Then, on Monday you start

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Doing Business in China 101

managers resource handbook

  5 Tips for Working in China     China is a vast and exotic place.  You will find dazzling skyscrapers like something out of Sci-Fi flick.  And you will find remote villages that make you feel like you’ve taking a trip back in time.  If you are going to China for the first time, take note: doing business in China is very

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