Business Communication & Case Studies

Business Communication & Case Studies
A couple of colleagues and I were discussing a new business
idea. But, we had trouble expressing how this new business
would provide value.

And, out of our discussions came the idea of writing a case
study. If you're not familiar with them, case studies are a
staple of business communication. More specifically,
they're histories of specific business initiatives.

They're like articles, but they put the reader into the
shoes of a person making a difficult decision. Other
professions also use case studies; you've probably heard of
medical case studies, for example. Medical students get a
set of facts about a patient, and perhaps some background
or context, and then must diagnose the patient's condition
or disease.

Business case studies have proven popular at some
university business schools (popular with the profs, at
least). In some senses, the case study is the next best
thing to being involved in a real case. And, as I'll argue
here, a powerful form of business communication.

Now, how is this relevant for you? Well, if you have to
persuade others to adopt your point of view, or buy your
products, or vote for you, then you might find a case study
useful.

In fact, you may be doing something like that already.
Whenever you tell a story that's designed to make a certain
business communication point, you're using a form of case
study.

During my brief foray into life insurance sales, for
example, I learned that emotion sells policies, and not
logic. That's why people in the business have a raft of
stories about people who did or did not have protection
when they died.

The moral, of course, is that you should not only have life
insurance, but you should have the right kind, and in the
right amount. Now, if you sold life insurance, you would
quickly find that no one listens when you explain the
logic, but they will listen -- and act -- if you have your
case studies (your anecdotes).

So, having gone through all that, is a case study just a
fancy name for an anecdote or story? Yes, to a certain
extent it is any tale used in business communication.

But, when you think of a case study, think of it as a more
elaborate and more logically constructed story. Typically,
a case study describes an organization or manager facing a
choice or dilemma of some kind, and the reader gets a
number of facts about the options. Then, the reader is
challenged to make a choice. Some real-life case studies
include a follow-up report, so readers know which real-life
decision was made, and how it worked out.

Getting back to the business idea with which we started, my
colleagues and I did not proceed, and the case study
exposition became a moot point. But, had we gone ahead, the
case study likely would have been the cornerstone of our
business communication efforts.

Finally, if you'd like to read some case studies, simply go
to your favorite search engine and type in this phrase
(with or without the quotation marks): "case study
examples" or "case studies" .

In summary, case studies are a special type of business
communication; they help us understand real-life decisions,
and are a useful resource for persuasion and education. Add
one or more to your business communication toolbox.

----------------------------------------------------
Robert F. Abbott writes extensively about business
communication, and his work includes the book, A Manager's
Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results. You can
read about his employee communication services and another
free workplace communication article at:
http://www.employee-communication.com/ .

Hiring The Right People - Keys To Increased Success

Hiring The Right People - Keys To Increased Success
The most effective action you can take to improve success
in hiring the right people for the right jobs, particularly
for leaders and emerging leaders, is to evaluate your own
selection process. Find out how your organization appears
from the viewpoint of candidates - you'll be amazed at
what you find.

Hiring the right people for the right jobs takes a lot of
work. It costs a lot of money - for everything from
recruiting actions, to employment fees, to travel, to
interview time, and all the administrative efforts
associated with attracting top talent. And after all that,
to have the right person opt out because of some flaw in
your process is costly, frustrating, and very expensive.
Nowhere is the opportunity to identify issues leading to
poor performance and then fixing them, more available than
in the selection process.

And yet, knowing that, only a small percentage of
organizations take the time to audit what they do.

In my experience, more top candidates are lost early in the
process by some issue in the selection cycle that didn't
have to be an issue. And what's worse - in most cases - the
organization doesn't have a clue - it goes without saying
you can't fix what you don't know about.

When you audit your own process, three things will happen;
you will be amazed at the opportunities to improve - at no
or low cost; you will see an improvement in the
performance of your hiring managers and others accountable
for selection when they know they are being evaluated; and,
most importantly, you will see increased success in
attracting and keeping the interest of top candidates.

How to perform this audit? Here are the Twelve Keys in the
selection process that can make or break your ability to
attract top candidates:

Preparation: Have the steps to define the job been done -
or is the applicant pool going to set the qualifications?

Speed : How quick are your people to follow up after
interviews, to issue expense checks, to thank a candidate
for their interest, to provide follow up information, to
confirm the next step, or indicate that another person is
better suited?

Skill : How prepared are your interviewers to effectively
evaluate candidates? What skill building other than
repeating the same interview style for the last 10 years do
they bring to the table?

Organization: When the candidate shows up, are interviews
scheduled with people who can properly evaluate? Has every
one reviewed the applicants resume? Are all interviewers
assigned goals for their interview? Is paperwork organized ?

Surroundings : Does the workplace say success? Is it clean
and business like? Is privacy for interviews assured? Are
the rest rooms well kept and clean? Does the workplace
project an image of high pace, purpose and accomplishment?

Attitude : Do the people the candidate comes in contact
with provide a positive image of the company? Do they
project an attitude that says they are glad the person is
there? Today's candidate may be tomorrow's customer!

Context: Who is assigned to brief the candidate on the
company, history, position, performance of the
organization, where the position fits in? Who provides the
tour of the organization?

Peers: Which peers are most appropriate to meet as part of
the selection process? Who is best suited to have a peer to
peer conversation? Are they prepared for the ambiguity of
that event?

Paperwork: Who assures the necessary documents are given to
the candidate at the right time? Who follows up to see that
documents are completed and sent and/or received?

Coordination: Who makes sure the interview schedule is
filled and communicated, along with interviewer roles? Who
ensures a review of candidates happens on a timely basis?
Who makes sure the candidate is contacted within two
working days of their interview to thank them for their
interest, and to set up follow up commitments - if that is
appropriate? Who makes sure all interviewed candidates are
contacted - even if there is no further interest?

Sales: Every person in the evaluation cycle should be a
salesperson for their firm - are yours? Or do they exude
that attitude of "you should feel privileged that we have
taken the time to talk to you?" Hiring the right person in
the right job takes a lot of selling - from both sides.

Legal: Check to ensure the right questions get asked the
right way, and the wrong questions don't get asked. At the
same time, ensure what you do isn't strangled by the
overzealous insistence of bureaucrats. In my experience,
more legal issues are caused after selection, as opposed to
mistakes made in the selection cycle - and most of those
issues go back to how mistakes in selection are handled

So how to get the real answers to these questions? Here are
the six resources you have available to answer these
questions:

Talk to the people that are hired - how do they view your
process.

Talk to the people that stepped aside from consideration -
what went wrong?

Talk to the professionals that recruit for you - the
contingency and retained search people that you use. Many
see issues they are reluctant to discuss - but that lead
to their efforts being frustrated.

Use a mystery candidate - someone from outside the
organization who can represent themselves as a worthy
candidate - and see what they have to say. A trusted
selection resource can provide the person. See how you
really do things through the eyes of someone unfamiliar
with your organization.

Talk to your hiring managers - where do they see process
steps that can be improved.

Talk to the staff people who do the administration and
sourcing - ask the same questions.

That's feedback from six different resources who can help
improve your selection process, reduce costs, add top
talent and reduce selection cycle time.

And.

Create a results oriented measure of selection
effectiveness - things do not improve unless they can be
measured. Don't let measures of effort be the measure - how
much money spent or candidates interviewed can have very
little correlation to results. Measures of time to complete
the selection process, success of people selected -
retention and performance, measures of the "fit" of
selections, are the kinds of criteria to use.

Even in the best organizations - measured by selection
success - it is well worth the effort to conduct this kind
of regular audit - annually, or if significant problems
exist, quarterly, until behavior and results suggest a
lesser frequency.

The very act of doing this review has a powerful effect on
performance. When the belief that every hire is an
opportunity to improve the organization is followed up with
this kind of attention, improved performance happens.

Take a look at how this can best be done in your own
organization. It looks complicated - it isn't - and the
payback can be huge.

----------------------------------------------------
Andy Cox is President of Cox Consulting Group LLC. He
founded his firm in 1995 after extensive experience in
leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations. His focus
is on helping clients select, develop, retain and enhance
the performance of leaders and emerging leaders. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com . Visit his blog
at http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Simply put, this is exactly what to do to be successful

Simply put, this is exactly what to do to be successful
I have been networking many years.

I have met and worked with many folks making large amounts
of money. Some ARE millionaires and some are near
millionaires. Some only make what they are comfortable with
and that's ok.

I have had the opportunity to see what has made many of
these people so great in this industry that we call network
marketing, and most likely it's completely different that
what you may be thinking.

It wasn't because they were greater people than anyone
else, or could close a sale with every one they met, but
because they had discovered that sticking with what they
had started no matter how hard it was, learning their
product and becoming a professional.

Every one had acquired the skill that is necessary for
success in network marketing.

I have watched and listened to them and every single one of
them teach this one singular idea.

What was it?

Never, never, quit.

Sticking it out until they began to realize that their goal
they had planned was beginning to take shape.

The Power of stick-ability is something we all have to be a
where of or our success might not be as good as we hoped it
would be.

None of them inherited a successful networking business
from their parents. They each had to fight and scratch
their way to the top of their chosen field.

They were just too hard headed to quit.

While others have failed, they were determined that they
were going to find a way to make it work no matter how
long, or how much energy they had to exert.

For example, it took many of the greats several years to
reach a steady $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 and much more a
month, but they never quit.

Morris Goodman is another good example. My partner has
known Morris Goodman personally for many years, she first
met him when she was in the art business. He owned a
successful insurance agency and she decorated his offices
with original paintings. He was in her gallery often.
Morris became the Miracle Man, he had an airplane crash,
many years ago and fought hard and survived. He doesn't
look like the same person, doesn't sound like the same
person, but his persistence paid off. He's back now, and
with his handicaps, still very determined to be a success.
A movie was made about him. Now he's a motivational speaker
making excellent money, not sure if he's a millionaire, but
my guess is that he probably is. He is one of the teachers
in "The Secret," and we can all learn much from Morris.

So if you're frustrated with your situation or simply want
to earn more,don't worry, you are on the right track.

Like the great Thomas Edison. It took many 1000s of tries
before figuring out the formula for the incandescent light
bulb.

For him, it's over.

The struggle is done and we all have benefited by the
concreteness of purpose of this great individual.

The same will happen for if you if you are willing to pay
the price.

Here is how you have to think about your business if you
want to Guarantee that you will succeed in the world of
network marketing.

You have to say to yourself:

Even if it took me several years to figure it out, my
future is worth the struggle and I'm committed to it.

Be careful how you skip from one networking business to
another. You need to stick with one for the long term and
earn several thousand a month, then if you don't rest on
your success your earning power will just keep on
increasing for years to come. Always lay a solid foundation
and your house won't crumble.

Simply make it happen.

If you carry this thought with you through the struggles
that Lie ahead, there is no way for you to fail, and some
may even find confidence enough in your story to inspire
them to do the same.

Be a trend setter. Be a leader. Be an inspiration, be a
professional.

----------------------------------------------------
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that will teach anyone how to be successful in any
networking business. We have 52 faculty members, all
millionaires in networking. All any one has to do is go to
this website, sign up for FREE and the course is yours.
http://NP363A.mastersprg.com

Street Smart Intuition

Street Smart Intuition
Have you ever noticed that there was something off about
the energy of a person, place or situation, even though on
the surface everything seemed normal? Did you listen to
your intuition, or were you swayed by outer appearance? To
access greater power in your life, pay attention to the
energy. You'll get a truer read about what's really going
on.

When you're not resisting things or unconsciously going
along with them, you have greater awareness. The harsh
environment of life and business becomes easier to
navigate. You avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong
time.You have a sense who would be good to work with and
who will turn out to be a time waster. Serendipitous events
can help move you along or move you out of harm's way. All
without being uptight or paranoid. It's so much easier than
resisting and reacting or alligning and agreeing. You'll
still have to deal with difficult people or situations at
times, but everything can go a whole lot smoother.

Life becomes clear, dynamic. The more you let go of making
anything significant, the more you can be aware of the
energy of a person or situation you're interacting with.
You have much more awareness when you aren't giving
importance to form, structure or significance. Or judging
it as right or wrong, good or bad. It just is. You can
simply ask "Is this an energy that will be expansive for my
life or business?" You quickly get to the essence of what
will work for you. And then follow the energy that's
expansive.

I was working with a business client the other day and the
issue of competition came up. They were concerned that some
other businesses they knew would find out their internet
marketing secrets. Are your marketing methods really what
matters? Or is the value you have to offer and the
connection you have with your customers what creates and
sustains your business. There will always be the latest
marketing whiz bang (not to knock whiz bangs, I use them
myself). It's the energy of caring and generosity that
makes your business work. People will pick up on that. Be
good at what you're doing and let the energy flow into and
out of your business. Being concerned about your
competition is a way to stop the energy. Don't make them
significant. If you have an awareness that you need to take
some action. Take it. You don't have to go into fear and
worry. Put your energy into creating something new and
dynamic instead.

Being aware means never assuming anything. Always ask
questions if you want to create greater possibilities.

"What's the energy of this situation?"

"What does this person really want?"

"Does that work for me?"

Play with questions like these and see what shows up.

Copyright (C) Richard Atkinson 2007

----------------------------------------------------
Richard Atkinson is a creativity and change facilitator. He
intuitively coaches individuals and businesses to let go of
limitations, rediscover talents and abilities and create
extraordinary new possibilities. To contact him or get a
free copy of "7 Empowering Questions" go to
http://www.AccessCreativePower.com

Keep Customers Happy While Your Are Away

Keep Customers Happy While Your Are Away
Whether you work in a regular office or out of your home,
it is very important to take time off to refresh and
recharge. Of course, when you take time off, you want to be
sure your customers are in good hands while you are away.
You certainly don't want them to feel abandoned or
forgotten. Customer service is a big part of effective
marketing.

The following suggestions will help keep your customers
connected to you and reduce your worries so you can totally
unwind on your vacation.

1. Plan in advance and let them know If you plan your
vacation and business trips well in advance, you can easily
let your customers know when you you'll be away. If you
work on your own, make sure they know exactly what dates
you leave and come back. If you have an assistant or
business partner, take the time to carefully prep them in
advance so they can keep everything running smoothly while
you are gone. Checklists can be very helpful during this
time to ensure things are run according to you.

2. Don't be afraid to say "no" so you have time to finish
things If a client asks you to do something during your
time off or to take on a big project with a deadline right
before you leave, simply say, "I'm sorry I'm going out of
town such and such date and will return on blah-blah." Let
them know that you won't be taking on any additional work
until you return. In this way, they can work around your
schedule. More importantly, you won't be stressed because
you have to burn the midnight candle to complete something
before you hit the road. If you've shared your schedule
with customers in advance, these types of requests should
be minimal.

3. Set up your systems Send out a reminder e-mail the week
before your vacation to remind people when you leave and
when you will return. Be sure to set up an e-mail
autoresponder and a voice mail message to let customers
know how long you are gone and that you will respond ASAP
upon your return. You can also try this trick: add on one
day at the end of your vacation that you will be "gone."
You can use this day to sneak into your office to ramp back
up and get everything ready to go in your office before you
let anyone know you are back in town. This is a BIG stress
reducer.

4. Schedule vacations during slower times If you are
nervous about leaving during a busy time of year and you
work in a business where you have an off season, take
advantage of this by scheduling your vacations during this
period. In this way, you can alleviate your stress about
leaving your customers hanging. If you don't have a slower
time of year, take the vacation anyway - you'll be better
for it!

5. Set limits for yourself If you are like me, sometimes it
can be hard to just let it all go. I find myself checking
in with my office or checking e-mails and voice mails.
Don't do it! Trust me, everyone will be okay while you're
gone. By checking in, you are just keeping yourself from
enjoying your vacation fully (and probably annoying folk
back at your office). If you do need to check in, only do
it once or twice during your vacation...and not once or
twice a day!

If you follow the strategies above, your customers will be
more than happy and able to take care of themselves while
you are gone. You've given them ample time to work around
your schedule to get their project needs met. You've
provided backup support if possible. And they know when you
will back to pick up things with their accounts. In fact,
you can be a fantastic role model for your customers
because many of them need to take more days off too!

While you are on your vacation, truly take the time off you
need. Completely dedicate yourself to absolutely relaxing
and NOT thinking about work projects. You'll be refreshed,
rejuvenated, and better equipped to be of service to your
customers when you return.

----------------------------------------------------
Wendy Maynard of GoMarketingMaven.com created the Maven
Marketing System specifically for small business owners,
coaches, consultants, and solo-preneurs. She also publishes
a free weekly marketing ezine. Subscribe at
http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/ezine_3.html