XPLANE.COM > bBlog / Archive: December 2003

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bBlog’s XML/RSS syndication link has moved!

December 22nd, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in General

We reworked the weblog backend to make bBlog easier to maintain — expect more frequent posting around here come 2004. But the new system also means the old link to bblog.xml is no more. Please update your feeds to point to xplane.com/bblog/b2rss2.php. Thanks, and happy holidays!

Innovators Navigate Around Cliques

December 12th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Entrepreneurship

“What’s good advice for enhancing your creativity in business? Cut the umbilical cord to the folks around the office water cooler. Mix it up. Take a class with strangers, seek out ideas from people you don’t ordinarily talk to, do anything to get out and mingle more with folks from other professions. Broaden your social horizons, and you just might come up with the next crazy idea that sparks an industry.”

The Year In Scandals

December 12th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Business

“This year, some of 2002’s ugliest scandals drew toward grim climaxes: ImClone’s Sam Waksal headed to jail; Dennis Kozlowski went on trial; HealthSouth’s Richard Scrushy was hit with an 85-count indictment. But if investors and regulators thought they could finally breathe easier, they were horribly mistaken. 2003 will be remembered as a year in which a raft of new financial fiascos surfaced, rather than the year that Wall Street finally cleaned up its act.”

Is That Really Your Best Offer?

December 12th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Sales

“In hardball bargaining, is the other side really making its ‘absolute final offer’ or only bluffing? In a collaborative situation, do you understand everyoneís true interests? Are valued customers and colleagues satisfied with their relationship with you, or are they harboring unspoken grievances?”

Marketing: Underrated, Undervalued and Unimportant?

December 12th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Marketing

“While most executives contend that they need marketing, few are able to articulate why they need it and many have no way of knowing what kind of value the function generates for the company overall. In some respects, one could say that executives view marketing as a necessary evil.”

Crafting a Powerful Executive Summary

December 5th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Sales

“If you think a proposal’s executive summary is really a summary, you’re missing the point. Here are six tips for turning your blah conclusions into an effective, well-substantiated pitch.”

Designing the Accountable Organization

December 5th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Leadership

“Principles for building clarity through the effective design of jobs, organizations, and processes. The move toward matrix-, team-, and process-driven organizations has no doubt helped many companies increase efficiency. However, the complexity of these structures can also create a fog of ambiguity, leading to cultures of indecision and frustration.”

Remail Website

December 5th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Email

“The Collaborative User Experience (CUE) team in IBM Research has spent nearly a decade studying email. Not only has email become one of the most pervasive and successful collaborative tools available, it has also become a key component of IBM’s Lotus Software offerings. In many ways, email can be seen as a victim of its own success — users increasingly suffer from overload and interruptions as well as use email in a manner for which it was not intended. To meet the challenges in researching email, we have taken a multifaceted approach to data collection.”

The Dawning of the Age of Transparency

December 5th, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Business

“Author David Ticoll tells how smart companies gain the trust of stakeholders by sharing important information. David Ticoll is the co-author, with Don Tapscott, of The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business (Free Press, 2003). He has performed groundbreaking research on the impact of technology on business for more than 20 years, and was founding CEO of the international think tank Digital 4Sight.”

Giving Presentations at Conferences

December 3rd, 2003 | Comments Off | Posted in Technology

“You are about to give a presentation about your project at a prestigious international conference. You have prepared the material. You are an experienced speaker. Surely nothing can go wrong. Or can it? Brian Kelly provides advice on the technical aspects of giving presentations.”