The Manager's Resource Handbook
Tools, Resources and Guides for Managers and Business Leaders. Real Advice from Real Bosses.
When to Outsource? 8 Questions To Ask Yourself if You Are Thinking About Outsourcing To many business leaders, outsourcing may seem like a great solution to just about any problem. Indeed, leveraging outside resources and expertise can certainly enable you to fix issues and to keep your business thriving. However, outsourcing and offshoring typically require a lot of up-front planning, coordination and analysis on your part to
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Before the RFP: Key Messages That Position You for Success Winning a contract comes down to finding mutual value between you and the client. The concept of value goes beyond the financial numbers, though, and is really a combination of price, product, services and trust. When you receive a Request for Proposal (RFP) from a client, how do you demonstrate the value you can
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15 REAL Tips for Working in China Having returned from a trip to China earlier this week, I wanted to take a few minutes to share some learnings about how to conduct meetings and work with your customer in the People’s Republic. Despite some concerns and disagreements before our arrival, my team was made up of several veterans when
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How to Save Your Small Company’s Hard Earned Cash As all business leaders know, when a company becomes strained and pressed for cash, we need to look for ways to reduce our costs and expenses. While cost control is always important, we naturally spend more during periods of growth to support the increasing size and momentum of the organization. The
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Tips for Hiring and Retaining Employees in Developing Nations Whether you’re hiring in India, recruiting in China, or opening an office in the Philippines, the obstacles are often the same. Because of their rapid growth, hiring and staffing a team in an emerging economy will always present unique challenges in terms of language, skills and retention. But if you equip
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Navigate the Challenges of Contract Negotiations in the People’s Republic A Fortune 200 executive once told me “No CEO wants it on his or her watch that they missed out on China.” It goes without saying that the world’s largest marketplace is a force to be reckoned with. As anyone who has worked with Chinese companies knows, doing business and negotiating in
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Estimating the Cost of a New Hire Fighting for resources is a frustrating problem we’ve all dealt with as managers and business leaders. Every one of us has said it at one point or another: ‘Too much to do, not enough people to do it.’ Justifying more staff is certainly difficult, but it is possible when you create a
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Competitor or Partner? It’s Not Always David Vs. Goliath Note to Reader: Competitor names are changes for privacy reasons. Last month, I was asked by a client to participate in a visit to some of their customers. The client, Acme Electric, wanted to meet with some of their smaller customers with the hopes of growing their existing sales volume
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The Benefits of Outsourcing Must Outweigh The Drawbacks Whenever we hear someone mention the term outsourcing, we usually have an immediate reaction to that single word. First, we might say that outsourcing work is a modern and effective management technique that has many applications and offers countless benefits. Or, we may say that outsourcing work – either overseas or just to an outside
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Understanding the Business Benefits of Airline Alliances We often hear about partnerships in business, but what does this actually mean? How do they work? Regardless of the form they may take, be it a licensing deal, a revenue sharing arrangement, or a full blow Joint Venture, partnerships are designed to maximize the expertise and strengths of each partner and can make good business
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I recently read a newspaper article about World Cup football, which was great because it listed all the funny pairings of nations in various matches. The article went into detail about various styles of play, which got me thinking about how such different countries work together. Having spent most of my career working overseas with clients and colleagues, I have witnessed
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Preparing to Work In a Different Culture In today’s business environment, working with international partners, customers, or suppliers is inevitable. Sometimes an international project will be brief and short-lived; in other instances your working relationship can last several years as you accrue thousands of frequent flier miles. Perhaps you will even end up on an expat assignment for a couple of years. Regardless
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How to Grow With Current Customers: A Case Example In Sales and Marketing, we spend a lot of time pursuing new customers and new channels of growth. But we frequently lose sight of the sales potential right in front of us. Our best customers are often our current customers. And for this reason, we should always treat our current buyers with
» Read more Why Your Employees Need to Learn the Local Culture As technology advances, the world gets smaller and smaller. Email, conference calls and WeChat offer us instant communication to opposite ends of the globe. Whether you routinely jet set to far away places to meet with your customers, or you never leave your comfort of your office, working alongside people from another culture
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Using Business Partnerships To Fuel Growth When it comes to new markets and expanding your small business globally, you will likely face an uphill battle. You may struggle with start-up costs, you may have distribution challenges, and you may have gaps in knowledge of the specific market you target. These issues are difficult enough by themselves, but are even further magnified when
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Managing a Virtual Staff If you are a manager who spends a lot of time on the phone with your employees who sit nine time zones away, you’ve come to the right place. These days, many managers find themselves responsible for employees overseas. Whether these employees report directly to you, or to a local in-country manager, the challenges of working with remote workers are
» Read more 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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