I find the ‘rule of three’ is used a lot in business and life. For example, if I’m proposing options to a client, I’ve learn the hard way to just propose 3 alternatives. The person really just can’t handle more and has retained us to make the front end smart eliminations. The rule of three …
Many large companies are following the ‘top three’ rule of business. There have been lots of mergers in the last year in telecommunications, auto, banking, and healthcare industries. What are the signals for a merger or a rapid change? Well there is the ‘top three’ rule. In competitive, mature markets, the rule says there is …
I’ve introduced the Handy Work Model to thousands of people in workshops and seminars. The common refrain I hear is: “it’s so bleak and negative.” Good point. It is what it is. This is what’s happening in the competitive market and the competitive workplace. And, it’s getting more ferocious as the economy implodes. When Handy …
I give lots of professional talks. I normally ask attendees: “How many of you know your company’s business model?” Less then 10% do. People can tell me what they do and what department they’re in. But, they don’t know the company’s business model. That’s shocking. Moreover, I can pretty much say that these are the …
Reorganization is the permanent condition of a vigorous organization. Roy Ash Charles Handy, probably the smartest workplace guru, said more than ten years ago that work is fundamentally changing. He coined the notion of ½ by 2 by 3 rule of corporate fitness. This workplace is characterized by half as many people on the …
While the hierarchal business organization still predominates, it’s also changing. Now, the hierarchal model is flatter and amorphous. Innovative organizational models are often based on interlocking groups, virtual partnerships, strategic alliances, and matrix organizations. In the horizontal organization, hierarchal levels disappear, work is simplified, and information is universally available. Responsibility, authority, resources, information, and decision-making are …
The traditional organizational structure was a pyramid with the Chief Executive Officer at the top. Now, organizational shapes span the entire spectrum from pyramid, matrix, clusters, and virtual, including: Core process. A common business wisdom is to focus on core processes and competencies or in other words, stick to your knitting. In this way, key …
Process is a particular course of action intended to achieve a result. Dictionary Work consists special projects and core processes. Thomas Davenport, author of Thinking for a Living said: “To treat something as a process is to impose a formal structure on it – to identify its beginning, end, and intermediate steps, to clarify …
If we have had a formula for growth it has been; start with the best; learn from the best, expand slowly and solidify our position; then horizontally diversify our expertise. Mark McCormick, business person All companies, even global corporations, have discovered they can’t be all things to all people. As companies attempted to please …
Do you see yourself as a service provider and if so in what ways? Alternatively, are you offended by this idea? And if you are in what ways? Can a career, even yours perhaps, be managed like a product brand? What has been your career and work lifecycle? What products or services have you developed …