SuccessTrack

Fraud Seminars Now Available

successtrack — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:18:42 +0000

SuccessTrack is now offering Fraud Prevention and Detection to companies to support their efforts in preventing fraud We cover everything from Cash Receipts and Disbursements to Payroll and Purchasing Fraud. We will come to your premises. Call us to arrange a training session 0433 681 194

Getting Out

successtrack — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:49:10 +0000

Today I went to a Business Conference on the Gold Coast. It was outstanding. There were about seventy-five booths all with interesting products. I made a couple of very successful contacts and received some very helpful information – especially in regard to intellectual property rights.

When is it Time to Implement Continuous Improvement?

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 06:55:28 +0000

The time to implement continuous improvement (CI) may never be convenient. But it may be urgent and totally necessary. CI is the process of continually applying change management principles to an organization’s structure, its people, its technology or its resources.

Is Your Organization Growing?

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 06:24:18 +0000

Growth is one of the buzz words of the 2oth Century.

Orgnizations are constantly changing with their people, their structure, technology, their environment, market opportunities. How do you know whether or not to grow? Do you take advantage of every opportunity or do you wait and see how it goes? That depends on your position in themarket place, how much capital you have to invest and whether or not you have been burned before. Remember not all doors are open doors some are trap doors. Employ the principles found in the Creative Problem Solving section of this blog to determine whether or not to go ahead with your growth plans.

What Does Growth Mean?

It can take many different forms. It can mean increased sales, increased staff, greater use of technology, a bigger product line, a stronger management team, gaining a monopoly, producing more products having greater economies of scale and more complexity.

Is Yours an Aging Organization?

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 06:15:57 +0000

Aging organizations die. Is your’s an aging organization? Aging can be shown by certain problems that arise in the organization, problems that arise with the way senior management is focusing, rataining old technology or an having an aging organizational culture.

How to Avoid Aging

Reinvent the organization and its appearance every few years
Ensure staff have the tools to do the job
Ensure staff have the resources they need to do the job
Ensure staff have the updated technology needed to do the job
Being aware of market changes including changes in consumer preferences
Being aware of overseas competition
Ensure senior management has fresh ideas
Ensuring management share the same values as the founders

Benefits of Creative Problem Solving

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 06:06:14 +0000

There are a lot of benefits to Creative Problem Solving. Here are a few of them:

Lower costs – one firm saved $500 million in five years
Innovation – creates more saleable products, services
Increased profits – through greater market development and greater market share
Improved human relations
Can make employees feel more valued
Helps solve problems: organizational, people, structure, marketing and sales problems.
Happier customers, employees and the public.

Rules of Brainstorming

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 06:00:56 +0000

For successful brainstoriming a few rules need to be applied:

There are no dumb ideas
Any idea can be brought up
No negative responses
Piggybacking on other people’s comments is allowable
No-one is allowed to laugh at anothers comments
Free thinking is permitted and in fact, pursued
Thinking outside the box is encouraged
One person talks at a time
Be a participator and be focused
Have a chair person who ensures fairness

Value of Brainstorming

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 05:52:47 +0000

Brainstorming may seem stupid or even unacceptable to some. But there can be great value in brainstorming. It is a great tool if used correctly and bring about successful results in the following areas:

People problems
Introducing a new product
Inventing a new product
Solving a marketing problem
Solving a business strategy problem
Solving a diffiuclt public relations problem

How to Implement Creative Problem Solving

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 05:43:22 +0000

There is a definite process to follow for the successful implementation of creative problem solving (CPS). One such process is outlined below.

Persistent Awareness of organizational setting / environment:
Focus on a particular problem
Acknowledge a problem
Define the problem
Variables to be assumed
Credible option development
Option evaluation
Recommended choice – can be an intuitive decision
Implementation
10.Evaluation of success

Should You Use a Consultant or a Team?

successtrack — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:41:29 +0000

This has been a question faced by most CEO’s at some time in their career. But how do you know when it is best to use a consultant or an internal team? Certainly an internal resource may be less expensive than a consultant when it comes to actual cash spent in the short-run. However, it may be more costly in the long-run.

So when do you need a consultant? There are four situations when consultants are needed:

When you need specialized knowledge that is not available in-house
When it is an unpopoular subject and it is handy to have someone to blame
When staff resources are limited and they can’t be taken off their normal assignments
When you need a certain leadership or leadership style