Time is college is a great opportunity for those who want to start their own business. Of course, students are usually low on a budget, but there are many opportunities that do not require huge investments. Why is it a great time to start? Well, first of all, students do have time and energy. Secondly, if you don’t succeed with the first try, it is not a big deal – you still have college and can start over with a new idea again. After all, it can become an additional part of your income and reduce an educational debt you might be in. So what can students actually do with a low budget? Here are some interesting ideas. 1. Selling Your Services.The first thing to start with is what you are good at. Thanks to the internet there are many ways to attract clients that require all kinds of services. You can be in charge of your own schedule, which is also great. Maybe you are good at playing music or composing it, or maybe you are a great writer. Here are some options you might consider:
2. Starting Your Creative Business.If you are a creative person and like to produce things, you can start an online business that creates some products on demand. Such start-ups do not require huge investments and can be managed via social media easily.
3. Affiliate Marketing.Affiliate marketing means promoting someone else’s services and products based on your experience using them. How does it work? For instance, you start a blog or a website where you promote products describing your experience, and you get a percentage from the sales. It is easy and doesn’t require any particular experience. The most used platform is Amazon; you can buy some products of there and use them for affiliate marketing activity. 4. Social Media Management.You can also look for work at social media, as an administrator of the page or an influencer. Such jobs require at least some experience with social media. For example, if you have many followers on Instagram, you can use that account to promote your services. Of course, you need to have to know how to handle social media pages, but still, it is an amazing job that you should definitely try. 5. Working as Tester.There are many businesses out there that look for honest reviews of their products. After all, it is a crucial part of any business success – people should like the product. You can start looking for such opportunities as they also do not require any investment or experience. 6. Graphic Designer/ Web Developer.For those students, who are keen on graphic design or web development it is a great time, as they can start their freelance carrier at any moment. It is amazing as you can grow as a professional and learn new skills while making money and getting more clients. What do you need to start with? The examples of your work, a website that promotes your services and knowledge of your audience. A good tip is to focus on one particular niche and become a professional in it. You may also do one or two free projects for advertisement purposes, but do not get too distracted by them. After all, you are making business here. Conclusion.These are just several opportunities that are available for almost anyone. Try to make the best from your skills and knowledge, as they are always great to share with others. Whether you want to create or sell others’ products, there is a place for you out there. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/23/6-business-ideas-for-students-with-low-investment/
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In case you’re wondering which File Transfer Protocol software to use for your work, you’re at the right place. With an array of software available in the market, you’re bound to get confused. Today, we’re going to delve into details of an FTP software that is just perfect. Why Commander One? Why Should I use FTP software at all?The first question that will definitely pop into your head is why should I use a Commander One software? Before we dive into this, let’s first assess why you require an FTP software at all. An FTP or File Transfer Protocol software is used to exchange large files between computers on the same network. It also makes transfers between computer accounts, accounts, and a computer and accessing of software archives in the cloud possible. So, let us get back to the first question. Once you realize how helpful an FTP software is for your work, it is easier to realize that Commander One is one of the best for this purpose. Not only it is free file manager, but it also has an array of other awesome features, especially in a PRO Pack edition. What is so special about Commander One?Commander One is a free software that has a dual-panel file manager. It has the capability to seamlessly merge an FTP client for Mac with an Amazon S3 browser. Moreover, it has a built-in Mac Terminal emulator that makes managing system processes a breeze. It is not only available free, but you can also download a PRO version and get your own personal MAC license. You can also purchase a team package or a company package. These are for a total of five and fifty MAC computers respectively. Dual panel versatility with Commander One.Let us now dive into deeper detail of the dual-panel versatility. With this feature, you can open up an unlimited number of tabs. Any file format is easy to work with, and you can set up your personalized hotkeys for any command or action. Hotkey combos can be created to make the software process commands in a single click instantly. Moreover, the command line feature allows easy access and control over all your files. Can I easily view and make operations on my files?Definitely, yes! The Commander One software allows you to not only view but also easily copy, move, delete and transfer files. There isn’t an end to what you can do with the Commander One features. What else can this software do for me?With this software, not only do you save time but you also save disk space. The dual-panel feature, as discussed earlier, allows you to speed up your file operations tremendously. The cloud files that are created aren’t stored on your hard drive. This prevents the software from taking up too much system space. Plus, the software easily works with cloud mounting services. These include Dropbox that offers 2GB, Google Drive that offers 15GB, and Microsoft OneDrive that offers a whopping 30GB. It can also easily work with other similar services as well. Why is Commander One the best FTP client for me?The software has a built-in file transfer protocol manager that can also easily connect to other servers. Without any issue, you can connect to FTP, SFTP, and even FTPS servers. The software does not limit you in any way and makes your work extremely fluid. Commander One enables accuracy, efficiency, and lightning speed. Not only this, but it also lines up files perfectly for operation. It also helps you organize them in a neat and precise manner. Other features that the software offers.Commander One also offers a night theme. This is easy to customize and personalize. It helps you pick from your favorite colors as it has a limitless color palette. The software also promises to support plugins in the near future. With this added feature, you will then be able to work with plugins that are supported by third-party developers. Eventually, this will enable you to work with extra functions, and the software’s usefulness will then, have no end. What about compatibility?Commander One is compatible with Mac operating systems. It works seamlessly with MacOS 10.10 and later versions. Final verdict.Very few software offer what Commander One does and that too for free. Not only this, but the license is also easy and cheap to purchase for total control. In addition, the dual panel and FTP-client feature make it an easy and perfect choice. It is not only super compatible with all servers; it also promises to support plugins in the future. The only drawback is for Window users, as this awesome software does not offer a Windows version. It is also, sadly, not compatible with MacOS versions older than 10.10. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/23/review-commander-one-ftp-client/ by Vadim Katcherovski, CEO of Easy Projects Much like a GPS plans the best route to guide you to your destination, KPIs help project managers stay on track for successful completion. It’s no secret that projects are made up of many moving parts, and these parts need to be monitored in order to establish the health of the project at any stage. Successful, in-budget project completion is still a mammoth task for many organizations. In fact, according to a study by KPMG, 70 percent of organizations experienced at least one project failure in the prior 12 months, and 50 percent of respondents in the same study revealed that their projects have not consistently achieved their pre-set goals. So, using KPIs to help reduce the amount of project failures and setbacks seems like a no-brainer for project teams. And while there are many KPIs that differ in their importance to teams with different goals, there are some indicators that can be applied universally to maximize efficiency and productivity in project management. With new project management software that’s enhanced with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities, teams can be more prepared than ever before by receiving reports in real time on a range of KPIs, from schedule performance to project profitability. Let’s take a look at the questions that project managers need to be asking, and how the KPIs that are visible through a comprehensive project management software platform can answer them. Will we hit the deadline?Project managers can gain a crucial understanding of how on-track the project is to meet its deadlines through reports formed of KPIs on schedule performance. The KPIs that teams should be paying attention to are the EVA (Earned Value Analysis) – specifically the SPI (Schedule Performance Index) part, and the average time to complete a project and tasks. They should also measure performance trends across the year, giving teams considerable planning capabilities in terms of where they can expect setbacks. These reports should provide an at-a-glance view of your projects, activities, and milestones, and enable team members to identify risks and trends in schedule performance. Teams can find out whether or not a deadline is likely to be missed by looking at KPIs that use past data to estimate end dates of the activities, tasks, and projects. Getting access to these insights allows teams to channel more resources ahead of time to reduce the risk and impact of a missed deadline. Will we stay within budget?Staying within budget is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges faced by project managers and their teams. Considering the amount of extra expenditure that could be avoided, it’s right to be a top priority: For every $1 billion invested in the U.S., $122 million is wasted due to lacking project performance. Not to mention, according to the Project Management Institute, “organizations that invest in proven project management practices waste 28 times less money,” and on average meet intended goals on time, and on budget, 80 percent of the time. So, using KPIs on financial performance is essential for teams to stay as on-budget as possible. It’s important to have a report that allows for a comparison of the quoted or budgeted cost with the actual cost, as well as letting the executive team compare financial performance using custom criteria. For example, comparing profitability by project, by team, and by manager would help project managers to discover and resolve inefficiencies in the respective workflows. A report that can be filtered and aggregated by data points like team, portfolio, or customer, also acts as a KPI that allows teams to identify which projects need attention, which are profiting, and which are facing losses. By hosting all of this data in one financial dashboard, teams can have a central view of the finances of projects, along with the tools to make informed decisions that help them understand the financial performance of each field. How are team members performing and interacting?Metrics that show team member performance and interaction between individuals and teams can give project managers great insights into process inefficiencies that may be causing setbacks in other areas. By creating a report that filters data on each user along fields like skills and location, project managers can drill down to find potential performance improvements and identify employees that may need coaching or extra support. Further, a report that shows the average time a task sits at a certain status or stage can help project managers to identify process bottlenecks. For example, a project manager might use these reports and find out that the legal review is usually taking 40 percent longer than it should. This isn’t due to inefficiencies in the legal team, but rather because the sales team is not providing all of the necessary information in one step — forcing legal to repeatedly go back to sales to get all of the details they need. User actions and performance are great metrics to do a deep dive into processes and identify those types of bottlenecks. It’s also helpful to have a report that lists all actions taken by users in one place for project managers to use in case of compliance requirements. So, what should I look for in a project management solution?It’s essential that project managers choose a solution that provides visibility into all of the information on the projects in one place, despite having come from various sources. Oftentimes more rudimentary project management platforms are not enough to gather all the data and insights that project managers need in one place, so a platform that captures all of the information from multiple sources and compiles it into a single dashboard is essential. AI and ML-powered solutions give teams full visibility into project performance and predictive capabilities that allow them to anticipate bottlenecks, setbacks and delays. In return, these insights allow project managers to act on future problems to avoid snowballing or serious delays down the line. Yet despite the mounting evidence towards the benefits of such solutions, only 22 percent of organizations surveyed by Wellingtone use a project management software, with only 55 percent having access to real-time KPIs. As a result of this, 50 percent of respondents to the survey report having to spend one or more days to manually collate project reports. In order to run optimally, it’s undeniable that organizations need to be paying attention to valuable KPIs that can answer crucial questions on timelines, budgets, and team members. Project managers can ensure that projects run as smoothly as possible with enhanced project-wide visibility that translates into predictive capabilities by choosing a modern project management solution that’s enhanced with AI and ML.
Vadim Katcherovski is the Founder and CEO of Project Management software platform, Easy Projects. He has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry and has managed dozens of software development projects. He founded software development company Logic Software in 2000, followed by Easy Projects in 2003, with the aim to enable project managers to create, manage and update projects quickly and easily. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/22/the-crucial-questions-every-project-manager-needs-to-ask-and-the-kpis-to-answer-them/ by David Deacon, author of “The Self Determined Manager: A Manifesto for Exceptional People Managers“ Managing remotely has quickly become the norm in today’s work world. And yet, it’s not easy. With more employees working remotely or on flex schedules, it can be tough to create the kind of connection you need to help people do their best work. You can’t pick up on non-verbal cues. You can’t tell if they’re having a good or bad day. You can’t have those quick, informal interactions needed to form comfortable, cooperative relationships. This is why you must be intentional about projecting to your remote workers the kind of environment and team culture you want. You must ask more, listen better, clarify more, explore challenges together, and engage on personal stuff in addition to work stuff. The best managers are able to do these things in a way that builds loyalty and connections that endure the ups and downs of corporate life. The best managers seek to intentionally shape work environments. Managers who excel at creating the best environments, where people thrive and great work gets done, as “self-determined managers.” This is challenging and relentless work even when everyone works in close quarters. So, when distance is a factor, a great manager must push even harder to build a positive culture and get the most out of their team. Here are eight things the best managers do to successfully lead remote teams: 1. They keep in touch.Great managers connect with their people by email, Skype, or phone conversations. This isn’t an occasional event either; it’s a regular and predictable conversation that they look forward to. 2. They focus on more than tasks.The best managers know they need to show that they worry about everyone’s successes and challenges. It’s not only about the project or job at hand. 3. They talk about personal stuff and professional stuff.Being remote doesn’t mean treating people like distant relatives. Good managers master the art of chatting and also take time to discuss and share information about what’s going on. 4. They even talk about themselves a little.They know that managing well is personal, and they don’t forget this just because their team member isn’t in the room with them that day. 5. They listen more carefully.The greatest managers listen more when they are talking with people who aren’t in the room with them. They are more attentive, more alert for signs and clues, and more conscious of the need to understand what is really going on. 6. They get really clear about what they need done.They know the goals their employee needs to achieve and what standards need to be met. They know it’s harder to course correct along the way when everyone is remote and that less time together requires more clarity up front. 7. They ask more questions too.Great managers ask questions about context, about things that get in the way, about local relationships, and about resources. They make fewer assumptions that they know how things are or what would be best, so they inquire more and assume less. 8. They do more coaching.They do so not because remote employees need more coaching than other team members, but because there is a ton of value in exploring alternatives and options, and that’s what coaching is. As a result, a large part of the conversation is the manager and the remote worker together coming up with great solutions given the environment the employee is working in — talking about priorities, and resources, and opportunities, and possible pitfalls, and choices. Bad managers do the opposite of these things. They listen less, not more. They make assumptions and do not offer help. They gather information they need but do not share. They give tasks without offering support. They take little interest in the person on the other end of the line. And they do not look forward to the conversation but see it as a chore. To steer clear of these mistakes, grab a post-it and write out the following checklist. Refer to it before you connect with your remote team. When you’ve covered all five of these items, you’ll have had a really good call with them.
It takes a conscious effort to avoid the pitfalls of managing remotely. You can get the best out of your remote workforce by showing up for your team and projecting a supportive environment to them. Anything less and you’re missing a valuable opportunity to get the very best from your people.
David Deacon is the author of “The Self Determined Manager: A Manifesto for Exceptional People Managers“. He has been a human resources professional for over thirty years and passionate about how managers manage for almost as long. He has worked for a variety of the world’s leading companies, including Credit Suisse and MasterCard, and has lived and worked in the US, the UK, and Asia. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/22/why-managing-remotely-is-so-tough-and-eight-ways-to-make-it-easier/ If you are in need of some emergency cash or are looking for the last few hundred or a few thousand dollars to complete a large and important purchase, chances are good that you are looking to take out a personal loan of some kind. One potential road block you could easily face when searching for the right kind of loan for you, is your credit score. If you don’t have a don’t have a strong enough credit score, many types of common personal loans may be impossible to gain approval for. Because of that, you may turn to the option of seeking out car title lenders. If car title loans are present in your state, they can be a great way to get the money you need very quickly. Depending on what you’ve heard about car title loans, you might be somewhat reluctant to take the chance. It’s true, they do come with some very real risks, but there are benefits to opting to pursue this type of loan. What is a title loan?Before going over how to find the best title lending companies, it’s important to know what exactly a car title loan is. A car title loan is a secured loan in which the value of your loan is based directly off of the value of your car. After a lending company evaluates your car and the necessary documents such as proof of income, proof of residence, and a government issued I.D., you will be offered a loan. If you should choose to take it, you will typically have your cash in hand within a matter of hours. It’s important to know that once you have your cash, it is common for payment terms for title loans to typically last from two to four weeks. Much less time than your typical unsecured personal bank loan. Also, title loans usually come with very high interest rates, with annual percentage rates going as high as 300 percent. On top of that, it is always important to keep in mind that if you default, your lender will have the right to repossess your car as collateral. With all that potential risk involved in taking out a loan against the value of your car, you’re going to want to make sure that you borrow from one of the best online lending companies available to you. Here are a few questions you are going to want to ask to get started while you are shopping for a car title loan company to know that you are borrowing from a trusted, experienced, and fair lender. Does your potential lender offer competitive interest rates?Interest rates are crucial to pay attention to and one of the most important things to look for when comparing title loan companies. Interest will have a huge impact on the overall price of your loan greatly because they reflect the percentage of your loan that you have to pay on top of the cost of the loan itself while you pay off your entire loan. The percentage can vary widely depending on what title loan company you are working with. The average interest rate attached to a car title loan across the industry is around 25%, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find companies that offer much more reasonable rates. Still, even if you do find a lender with low rates, you will want to keep the rest of the tips discussed in mind to avoid any problems down the road. Knowing what your interest rate is in a loan will give you the insight you need into whether or not you will be able to pay back the loan within the payment term. It will also let you estimate how long it will take you to pay back your loan, and how much interest you will accrue over that time. Does your potential lender have loads of professional experience?This is one of the first things you’re going to want to check when applying for a car title loan. As a customer who may have no experience or knowledge when it comes to taking out this type of loan, it’s important to work with professionals who understand the business. One of the best ways to make sure that they know the ins and outs of the business, is to find out how long they’ve been in business for. Loans, interest rates, and payments can often be somewhat difficult to manage and it is important to find car title lenders who have years of experience working with you on the other end. Do they have any hidden fees?When it comes to title loans, it is important to make sure to read the fine print before you sign. Though many car title loan companies charge some kinds of fees upfront, many lenders also charge additional hidden fees that can really add up during the life of your loan. When comparing companies, make sure to a get a quote from each car title lender before you eventually decide which car title loan company is the best for you. If you come across a title loan company that is wholly unwilling to give you a quote or reluctant to divulge what hidden fees you might encounter, you would be wise to avoid Are they flexible?Usually, people who are considering taking out a car title loan are doing so because they are facing a financial emergency and – due to a number of circumstances – have decided that taking out a car title loan is the best option for them. That does not mean that taking out a car title loan alleviates all the pressure and stress that comes with that emergency. In fact, title loans – as with all loans – certainly come with their very own stresses and difficulties. Because of that, it is important to find title lending companies that are reasonable and flexible. It’s easy to work together when you’re trying to take out a loan, it’s much harder to feel like a team when you are working hard to pay it back. The best online lending companies will be willing to make your loan work for you. Sometimes that may even require you to extend your payment period and accrue additional interest. If you ask a potential lender if they would be willing to work with you in that kind is situation and their answer is a flat no, you may want to consider looking elsewhere. Can you find customer testimonials?Another way to make sure you are dealing with a reputable car title lender is to check out the company testimonials from previous clients and customers. If you do just a bit of online digging, it should be quite easy to find testimonials. The most reputable companies will often offer customer testimonials on their own sites. If they don’t advertise testimonials on their own sites, you can usually find them on company review sites. Beyond that, if you find yourself having trouble finding any kind of testimonials about a given company, it is probably best to stay away. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/22/questions-you-need-to-ask-before-taking-out-a-car-title-loan/ Job families can hardly be called a new idea. The notion that particular groups of people are doing not only the same job, but a job that is within a broader collection of connected, related, or otherwise associated jobs, is one with well-established roots in a wide variety of professions. However there are many and various ideas about the answer to the question of how to create job families that work well for your business, and makes your Human Resources situation carefully balanced and well structured. Below are a selection of four ideas as to how to create job families, and how best to structure them to make the most of the notion in your workplace. End Goal.Depending upon the sector of the business a given employee’s role contributes towards, they could well have more in common with people working towards that target than people who, to an untrained eye, may be doing the same thing, but with a different outcome in mind. The advantage here is that it provides a very specific measurement angle and a clear direction to determine just where a given employees contributions are coming from. It also helps to bring together a team, knowing that at all stages of the organisation, as they are working towards the same goal, they are grouped together and calculated for together. If your business wants a clear system of job families, in line with its own operations, this could be the job family format to go for. Competencies.Another key comparable area that also works with the businesses own internal functions is the competencies job family model. The way this works is by looking at what exactly an individual has been given the power to do within the company. Although they may have different end goals, if they have been given powers, by extension they have also been given responsibilities, and as such they can be considered to have comparable roles. By organising your job families in this way, you make it clear that responsibilities are in themselves desirable, putting the power that comes along with promotion in proper perspective. Skills.Further notions of cross-company comparability can be found in the form of linking and grouping together employees with similar skill sets, even when said skill sets are used to accomplish different goals. This helps to make clear what the company specifically needs from each employee, and gives a clear direction for development and any areas of improvement that an employee might seek to pursue. However this can be a more nebulous territory, as depending on how wide-ranging your business activities are, employees might resent some of their skill sets being prioritised over others, or they may argue that it is only through a blend of their abilities can their work be properly accomplished, so grouping them in with one skill grouping is oversimplifying matters. This can be dealt with via overlapping skill set groups, but then matters tend to become more complex. Because of this method’s difficulties, it is more applicable to a narrower set of businesses than most. Career Path.Some roles within your organisation will have a clear and defined career progression path, while others will be more stationary and more prone to the advancement of skill and ability within that single role. Because of that, it could well be possible to group together your business roles based on the nature of the career path that each role lends itself to. This has a certain advantage of objective simplicity, but does create the danger of presenting those in the roles with fewer progression possibilities as being too deep in stagnancy. A situation would potentially need to be created allowing those without role advancement prospects the chance for salary advancement based on seniority or other factors. Career paths however are a simple and clear model for job families. Job families offer a useful and objective measure to group employees, organise human resource systems, and compare and contrast in a way that really makes sense to every party involved. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/20/how-to-create-job-families/ Search engine advertising is more than just a buzzword. It’s a powerful way to drive traffic to your business. However, there’s a bit of a learning curve that keeps many businesses away from this area of online advertising. What exactly is Search Engine Advertising? Also commonly referred to as paid search, this is how websites get their ads to appear on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Any time you search for something online, you’re engaging with search engine advertising. It’s a highly effective way of getting your content in front of the right eyes. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at how search engine advertising works and how you can use it yourself. How Does Paid Search Work?First, let’s define how paid search works. It’s a type of digital marketing allowed by engines like Google and Bing in which advertisers display ads in search engine results. These work on a pay-per-click (PPC) model. That means you pay only when someone actually clicks on your ad. This makes it an affordable option for growing businesses compared to other forms of advertising. Paid search includes different formats like text ads or shopping ads. They’re either shown at the top or the bottom of search engine results. People are constantly searching on search engines for new products, services, and businesses. Appearing on the top of these listings organically isn’t always possible, so paid search is a way to guarantee visibility. In 2017 alone, $92 billion was spent on paid search and this number is only growing. There are some terms that go along with paid search that you should familiarize yourself with before you get started. Here are a few of the most common PPC terms:
Now, you’re a budding expert on paid search. As long as you know these terms, you’re ready to start the process of search engine advertising on your chosen platforms. How to Start Search Engine Advertising.Most paid search platforms work in the same way. You’ll need to start with research about your own target audience to give your campaign as much chance as possible to succeed. If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, it will be hard to find your audience in your search results. You’ll want to start by choosing your location settings. You have the option to limit your ads to specific countries, cities, and even zip codes. This is particularly valuable for small businesses and in-person businesses based in a community. Next, choose your keywords. This is where Google’s Keyword Planner really comes in handy. With this free tool, you can discover the best keywords that people in your audience are actually searching for. Then, you’ll know how much each keyword will cost per click. Exact match keywords will match for the exact word or phrase while phrase match keywords will trigger similar keyword searches as well. Making the Most of Your Digital Marketing.While paid search shouldn’t be used in place of search engine optimization or SEO, it’s a great way to supplement your digital marketing. Getting in front of the right audience is worth its weight in gold. Using paid search is the best way to do just that in a targeted way. This guide shared the basics of paid search advertising so you know the best ways to approach this process. Paid search takes some time to master, but as long as you’re persistent and pay attention to your results, you can make it work for you. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/20/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-advertising/ by Corey Phelps, co-author of “Cracked it!: How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants“ We all solve problems. We couldn’t make it through a day without tackling the steady flow of challenges life throws at us: “What’s the most efficient route to avoid a traffic jam and get to work on time?” “Where do I take my out-of-town friend to dinner?” “How do I lose the pounds I put on during the holidays?” Technology can help solve our problems, but not always. Problem solving is a dominant form of how we think and one of our most complex intellectual activities. It’s a core part of what makes us human. When experts are paid to solve problems.While we all solve problems, managers and consultants are professionals — they’re hired and paid to do so. Iconoclastic management scholar Henry Mintzberg, one of the first to study what managers do, found they spend much of their time solving problems. Leadership consultancy Zenger Folkman recently surveyed over 300,000 managers and found that problem solving was the second most important competency, regardless of function or level. Management consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain, exist to solve business problems. As Harvard professor Clayton Christensen recently observed, “Management consulting’s fundamental business model has not changed in more than 100 years. It has always involved sending smart outsiders into organizations for a finite period and asking them to recommend solutions for the most difficult problems confronting their clients.” So how well do professionals solve challenging problems? Inside of their respective fields, experts excel. But outside of these fields? Not so much. Within their domain, experts have advantages.Research has found that for problems within their domain of expertise, experts have advantages over novices: they can better recognize and understand issues, often by using analogies to past problems. Experts use more effective problem-solving strategies in their areas of expertise, more carefully evaluate potential solutions against constraints, and more effectively monitor their problem-solving progress by refining solutions. These advantages explain why seasoned tax accountants, when compared to novice accountants, can more readily draw on their understanding of tax law and accounting conventions to solve a particular client’s tax problem. They also explain why a lean manufacturing expert can walk into a manufacturing plant and quickly spot opportunities to increase efficiency by reducing work-in-process inventory that plant employees missed. Outside of their domain, experts make problems worse.Though experts are better problem solvers than novices within their areas of expertise, when they tackle problems outside their expertise — or when conditions in their fields change — they often perform like novices. Or worse. Experts’ rich and detailed mental models often constrain their ability to understand problems and search for solutions when working in new territory. Mental models are rigid and resistant to change, particularly when associated with successful outcomes. In other words: experts become trapped by their expertise. Psychologist and Rice University professor Erik Dane finds that the more expertise and experience people gain, the more entrenched they become in a particular way of viewing the world. Compared to novices, experts are overconfident in their ability to understand problems outside their expertise, leading them to develop worse solutions. In situations that seem familiar, expert performance is poor.Reasoning by analogy also leads experts to develop poor solutions when faced with new-but-seemingly-familiar situations. The process can be summed up like this: “I’ve seen something like this before, so what worked there may work here.” While analogical reasoning can be a valuable source of insight and creativity, it can lead to poor solutions when problem solvers develop analogies based on superficial similarities instead of deep, causal traits. The lesson? Experience can be a poor guide when working outside your area of expertise or when the nature of your work changes. But there are three safeguards that will help you avoid these pitfalls: 1. Think like a consultant.Consultants aren’t immune to bias, but, as outsiders, they don’t have a vested interest in solutions and recommendations. Being neutral doesn’t eliminate biases, but it does minimize the political and financial pressures that make them worse. 2. Work in teams.Consultants work in teams and are trained to challenge each other. The core values of top consultancies, for instance, include a “non-hierarchical atmosphere” and the “obligation to dissent.” These guiding principles help ensure that colleagues will call out team members who may be blind to their own assumptions, worldviews, or long-held beliefs. 3. Practice PSAC.The Problem-Solving Approach of Consulting (PSAC) teaches consultants to follow a disciplined process for all problems. First, develop a well-specified statement of the problem. Next, use theoretical frameworks and logic to structure the problem by decomposing it into all possible solutions. Third, conduct analyses of the potential solutions to identify the most impactful and feasible option. Finally, sell the solution to stakeholders by starting with the recommendation followed by the supporting rationale for it. These safeguards don’t guarantee that experts won’t fall prey to the numerous pitfalls of problem solving. But they do greatly reduce the risks and increase the chances of coming up with valuable solutions. Following these practices can help you become top in your field.
Corey Phelps is a Professor of Strategy and Associate Dean of Executive Education at McGill University. For over 20 years, he’s conducted award-winning research on corporate growth and traveled the world as a keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and consultant, helping organizations become more innovative and strategically agile. He is the co-author of “Cracked it!: How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants“. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/19/the-most-important-skill-you-never-learned-expert-tips-to-solve-problems-like-top-strategy-consultants/ by Cody McLain, founder of SupportNinja and author of “From Foster Care to Millionaire: A Young Entrepreneur’s Story of Tragedy and Triumph” So, you want to improve your time management skills? That’s great! Fortunately for you, it’s not that complicated. Here are some of the most effective time management tips, tools, and techniques that you can use when faced with many of life’s challenges — big or small. Audit your own time with apps.Quit second-guessing your window for availability. When it comes to time management, you first need to discover where your time actually goes. Planning is great, but if you are allotting 30 minutes to catch up on your emails before heading into a meeting, and you end up spending more time than you’ve set aside, you will need to come back to your inbox (where you will likely have even more new emails) to complete your original task. Thirty minutes can turn into two and a half hours very easily. Track your daily activities and reference insightful reports to learn where the bulk of your time is spent — and adjust accordingly. Some of the best apps for monitoring and managing time include: RescueTime — a great tool for discovering your perfect idea of work-life balance, RescueTime helps you to better understand all of your daily and weekly habits so that you can pinpoint areas of weakness, thereby strengthening your focus while becoming more productive with each new challenge. Toggl — one of the best tools for managing personal and peer productivity, Toggl offers a simple time-tracking interface that gives you the power to assign tasks to projects and clients. As an added bonus, you can arrange to receive an optimal reporting invoice at the end of your completed tasks, not to mention the convenience of having Toggl integrate seamlessly with other popular team collaboration tools like Trello and Asana. Hours — functionality at its finest. With Hours, you can start and stop timers as needed by way of its sleek and user-friendly interface. The helpful “Timeline” feature allows you to monitor and quickly fill in any gaps in your time-tracking in order to fully account for your day. Keep your mailbox clean.Take a look at the current state of your inbox. How many emails have been sitting there, unopened, for more than 24 hours? It might be time to take a step back and reevaluate your strategy for managing email, and inevitably, your time. As you go about your day, take stock of every piece of email you receive. Now, in order to attain high-level proficiency in “inbox organization”, consider these three options:
Time management tools — at the office.Productivity at work is one of the keys to success. In order for organizations to thrive—no matter their size—it is important that they have solid, cohesive teams producing quality work. And the best way for keeping teams engaged is by ensuring that they are managing their time. More and more online time management tools are produced each year while existing platforms continually make improvements to their current features. Some of the more dynamic programs worth checking out for your office include: Hubstaff — manage the productivity of remote employees by placing time and spending limits on projects, while also scheduling attendance and monitoring general activity. Additionally, Hubstaff’s time-tracking functionality guarantees that payments to clients, freelancers or full-time staff are sent and received on time. ClickTime — a dynamic and efficient platform for tracking working hours, department budgets, vacations, and project performance, allowing users to plan and record expenses associated with project development to ensure that teams do not overspend. Manage your time AND money effectively. TimeCamp — never lose sight of how employees spend their days. Monitor ongoing projects, set long and short-term goals, track vacation days and holidays — even allow employees to monitor themselves, managing their own productivity so that work seems less like work. To-do lists.There is nothing like adhering to a good old fashioned to-do list. And the reason we still adopt this age-old method of time management is that, well, it actually works, provided you do not simply bypass unwanted tasks. In addition to keeping you focused, a to-do list will spur you on and motivate you to want to physically check-off all of the day’s grueling chores, errands or goals. … and “did” lists.Once you have completed tasks, give them a special shout-out by writing them out in full underneath your remaining “to-do” items, or carry them over onto tomorrow’s list. This positive reinforcement is helpful to have as a quick reference during those rare moments when you experience feelings of defeat. Tackle the big jobs first.Though it might not seem like it at the time, we actually experience our greatest outputs of energy first thing in the morning. If you know that you have got a laundry list of tasks ahead of you that day, always try to tackle the most challenging ones first. By doing so, you will alleviate a significant amount of stress that may otherwise prevent you from completing the smaller items on your schedule. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.Yes, this is meant to be a list of tips for helping you manage your time more efficiently, but hey — even superheroes have sidekicks! Delegating projects can be challenging, so if you are on a deadline and can’t afford the time to show somebody else the ropes, you might want to skip this suggestion. If you are able to relinquish control of your own list by outsourcing to another pair of capable hands, you can consider your time saved. Just don’t get too comfortable with this method, as people might misinterpret your motives. Avoid distractions!This has to be one of the most common missteps out there. In this day and age of constant movement, technology, and responsibilities, it is so easy to fall victim to one of countless distractions. If you are trying to balance your checkbook and, for no reason at all, feel the need to stop and pick up your cellphone for a quick browse through your newsfeed — don’t! Stay engaged with the task at hand and place distractions — objects, items, even people — out of sight until the work is done. Do not double book.We have all been there. It’s a busy day at the office and you are jumping from one meeting to the next, hoping to flag down important colleagues or grab lunch during the tiny window of free time in between. This is not a good look! Before you hop onto a new task, however insignificant it may seem, always remember to leave yourself some time to regroup, reassess and, above all, recapture all of your recently expelled energy. And it’s not only useful at work—this can be helpful when doing something as simple as reading a new book. Before you start, consider digesting. It is no use tackling a new project if you are still mentally clinging to the previous one. Clear your mind, and often.No matter how efficient your time management skills may be, you cannot do it all without occasionally freeing up some headspace. There is a reason why so many of the world’s most successful leaders practice meditation — because it works. Despite the research supporting its positive claims of mental acuity and revitalization, meditating physically allows you to pull yourself into the present. For just a few minutes a day, you can exclude yourself from the chaos, close your door and just breathe. You don’t even have to close your eyes or sit, cross-legged, on the floor. The goal of meditation is to re-center yourself so that you can perform to the best of your ability — even if performing that day includes sitting down to put together a puzzle. Instead of completing your tasks only half engaged, meditating will drastically improve your work quality and time management. Learn to say “no”, and often.Declining a night out with your old college roommate, or missing the birthday of a friend of a friend of a friend when you genuinely have too much on your plate does not make you a bad person. It makes you an efficient person who knows their own limits. Learning to say “no” is best applied when you cannot further break down your time without the risk of one task suffering. Own it. And don’t be ashamed to use it. Stay productive — even in your downtime.Chances are if you are reading this article, you don’t like wasting time (or, you are good at wasting time and want to do something about it — either way, you’ll enjoy this tip). If so, consider all of the times you have found yourself thinking, “I’ve completed my checklist for the day. What am I going to do with all of this free time?” While a period of lying about in front of the television may certainly be appropriate, you shouldn’t feel that this is the only way to unwind. If you happen to find yourself in between periods of activity — waiting for an important email to come through, or your kids to arrive home from school — try to fill it with an activity that helps, not hinders, your productivity. Get a jump on next week’s tasks, get around to fixing that leaky faucet, or listen to a podcast. Allowing your brain to rot during downtime sets a dangerous precedence. So keep it active. Set limits.If you are managing your schedules with apps, you should already be able to assess how you are spending (and/or wasting) time. Those opting for a more human approach would be well advised to try exercising some restraint. By putting a cap on the amount of time you spend on any given task, you better prepare yourself for similar tasks in the future. Training yourself to recognize when you are overdoing it is not only a valuable time management strategy, but it can also have more far-reaching effects you may not even notice. Create a weekly plan.Everybody hates Mondays. It is almost always a challenge having to readjust to a five-day workweek schedule having just spent the past two days thinking and doing everything but work. But you can stay ahead of Monday-brain by putting together a timetable beforehand that will help you focus on your workplace priorities. Spend a few minutes on Sundays to build a strategic plan that covers projects and tasks — big and small — for your entire week. Break down weekly goals into compartmental daily tasks; arrange to tackle the not-so-important items during periods of low-energy and downtime. And while we all love Fridays, these should be days spent planning and networking. Don’t check out! Instead, check-up—follow through with emails and phone calls, and reach out to co-workers or management to ensure that nothing is outstanding before the office empties for the weekend. Quit striving for perfection…It’s overrated! Perfectionists are often hindered by feelings of self-doubt or unreasonably high standards, so they often miss deadlines. All tasks are not created equal, however, despite what you might think, or what you have been taught, oftentimes if you give your best to a task, your best is good enough. Freeing yourself from such a toxic and unhelpful mindset is one of the best methods of self-realization and productivity — so go ahead and give in! There you have it! Now that you know some of some the most effective time management techniques, choose one to work on. Once you’ve mastered one, move on to the next one — and don’t forget to check it off your list.
Serial entrepreneur Cody McLain started his first business, a web hosting company, during high school. Today he runs SupportNinja, which currently services many high-profile clients globally. Cody employs a global staff of over 500 employees; the company earns over $4 million in annual revenue and continues to grow each year. He has written a book, “From Foster Care to Millionaire: A Young Entrepreneur’s Story of Tragedy and Triumph” which he hopes will inspire others who were dealt a tough hand. from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2019/04/19/a-serial-entrepreneurs-time-management-tips/ It’s Friday which means we’ve got a new inspiring female founder’s story to share! Today we’re talking to Beth Massa, member of TheNextWomen and co-founder of Ozarka BV. As an introduction to our new podcast series: Foreign Founders, Beth will reveal her business secrets with you today. Could you please introduce yourself and your company?My name is Beth Massa. I’m an American expat living in Amsterdam for 12 and a half years and I’m the owner and founder of Ozarka. Ozarka is a B2B service that helps traiteurs, take away, restaurants and all prepared food establishments go circular and sustainable by replacing single-use take-away boxes with reusable, returnable (statiegeld) containers. What milestones have you reached/lessons have you learnt in 2018?I learned so much I’m going to write more than you probably have room for here. We completed two pilots. One was more successful than the other, but both provided tremendous insights and learning. The lesson we learn and relearn is to constantly observe, test, ask, and validate. The customers will often surprise you. We have everything to learn from them and when we learn everything from them, we can give everything to them that they want. The other big lesson I have learned is that the longer you wait, the better your decisions will be. The conversations around the startup world is always around fast growth. We have learned to take a wait, wait, wait, hurry up approach. We take our time for deep dives, contemplation, debate, and reflection to make sure we are making the best decisions. But once those decisions are made, we act and execute on them as fast as we can. And the final big learning I’ll reveal is that even if you are loving your work, you are still at risk for burn out. I’ve come to the edge twice in the last two years, working too many days in a row or too many hours in a day. The body always slams on the breaks. It takes discipline in this startup environment to pace yourself. What do you hope to achieve in 2019?Scale, baby scale. We are out of the pilot face and now building our customer base and increasing our revenue. In addition to hitting our revenue targets, we’re looking for the first time to increase the size of our team. And on a practical note, we received a grant from Rijkswaterstaat to build our automated returns pilot and we’re extremely committed to making that a success so that cities in the Netherlands will partner with us on adopting it. In what way(s) did TheNextWomen support you to grow your business?It’s all about the network. The most valuable thing for us so far from a business point of view is access to investors and pitch clinics. We started at zero knowledge on how to pitch and whatever progress or improvements we have made have pretty much 100% been through TNW. There are no shortcuts here. It’s a step by step process but with the TNW women, the steps have come quicker and bigger than anything I could ever hope to do on my own. And from a personal point of view I love the Founders Focus groups. Our group is pretty committed to meeting on a regular basis and sticking to it as we all know how easy it is to let the enthusiasm for these initiatives slide if you don’t commit to it. We all support each other in such a positive way. All of us have come to the meeting either on a high or a low and we support and encourage each other no matter what. What’s your best advice for other members?Just start. The sooner you start, the sooner you will learn, build, and grow. In the beginning, you will make mistakes. You might feel like you embarrassed yourself. You might have long stretches of time where you feel like you are going nowhere. This is what I love about the TNW. You can be a beginner in a safe and supportive environment. We’ve all been there and all of us are at different stages in the process. All we want to do is help each other succeed. from https://www.thenextwomen.com/founderfriday-beth-massa/ |
ABOUT MEHi my name is Maxine 27 years of age living in Pittsburgh, PA. I own a small business and spend my time reading tips about incresing sales. ArchivesNo Archives Categories |