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Having your company run like a well-oiled machine may not be enough. A company is not a machine, but a living entity. For true organizational alignment, a company needs to understand its sense of self, its values, and how it is perceived in the marketplace. Initiatives coming from a company's core values when matched to customer values have a better chance for success.
To have next-generation leaders within growth businesses, mentoring is a proven method of developing staff for succession. The process creates an environment which can lead to higher levels of profitability, employee retention, increased revenue, and job satisfaction.
For entrepreneurial ventures to compete with larger competitors, creative publicity and inventive viral marketing campaigns are among some tactics that can be used. Building a brand requires a compelling story and solid leadership.
Controversy continues over whether or not the performance review process is an effective tool for motivating and improving employee performance. Yet many entrepreneurs make the assumption that the evaluation process will lead to a better-performing organization. Too often, the purpose of employee reviews is unclear -- to both leadership and the employee -- and training in the process is generally not provided.
Attracting, identifying, training and retaining leadership talent is key to a high-performance organization. With globalization, leading is much more complex process than simple project management. Different situations will require different leadership styles, a compelling vision, and the ability to reason in the face of ambiguity.
The on-boarding of staff members can be confusing to newcomers. Yet, this is a time when most employees build important relationships-- friendships, in fact, that can double the chances of those new employees being satisfied at work. In excerpts from his recent book "Vital Friends", author Tom Rath shares suggestions for both formal and informal orientation processes.
As the world becomes flatter, we realize the role that culture and connectivity play in the development of our business models and social networks. Danah Boyd gives us an interesting look at how these elements play into the proliferation of online communities, and how the rules of engagement for these new businesses are also models of behavior and execution for other areas of the entrepreneur's life.
Companies need to generate customer service and customer satisfaction-two different things-to drive increased customer loyalty, according to this article. Entrepreneurs should ask their customers whether they would do business with them again and whether they would recommend them to others.
This article provides a helpful list of commonly used terms in the technology and entrepreneurship realm, including barriers to entry, discounted net present value, and the long tail.
Blogging on behalf of your company and its products can be an effective public relations tool. While some companies, including GM and Sun, have embraced blogging-from CEOs to staff-it's important to provide quality content that focuses more on conversations with customers than pure company promotion.
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