POST CATEGORY : CEO Leadership

Top Seven Open Enrollment Tips for Small Businesses

seven cost-cutting open enrollment tips for small businessesWith open enrollment season officially underway, many small businesses, as well as their employees, are wrestling with the rising cost of health insurance.

According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, there was a spike in health insurance premiums this year, with the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance increasing 9 percent for family coverage and 8 percent for single coverage.

That’s especially troubling for small businesses when you consider that they pay up to 18 percent more per worker than large firms for the same health insurance policy.

The good news: there are many ways for small businesses to mitigate those increases.…

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Personal And Professional Development With PRINCE2 Training

project management with Prince2 training

PRINCE2 is a process-based methodology that offers non-proprietorial best practice guidance on project management, encompassing the management, control and organisation of a project. In addition to being used as a widely-used standard for effective project management internationally, it also takes the form of an official certification for accredited project managers across a wide range of sectors. Effective project management is critical to any business or organisation looking to successfully complete a new project whether it is IT, building or any other sector.

When making sure you and your people have the skills they need to become successful project managers it’s important to look beyond the project management certification.…

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Priorities For Technology Due Diligence

There is limited time and access during M&A due diligence. Knowing this, it is critical to focus on the high priority areas with the largest affect on risk.

merger and acquisition IT due diligence

As we discussed in our previous article, “Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions – Why include IT“, technology due diligence is a critical part to evaluating a merger or acquisition. The less time spent the higher probability of extended integration or other issues. We now discuss which parts of IT due diligence to prioritize in order to minimize risk.

People

  • If the organization you are acquiring has proprietary technology, evaluating the personnel is critical as they support the technology.
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Can a Small Business CEO Have a Vocational Degree?

I am a recent graduate of a four year University, and I will say it wasn’t exactly National Lampoon’s Animal House like I expected. Sure I went to my share of parties and football games, but I also sat in a lecture hall Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and oh yes, Friday.

can a ceo have a vocational degree

When I first went to college I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do – my major started undecided, changed to marketing, changed to PR, changed to journalism, and finally landed on English education. For me, a four year University was exactly what I needed to get my thoughts together, and the career path I ultimately choose required a four year degree.…

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Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions – Why Include IT?

include IT in merger due diligenceAs we start to see mergers and acquisitions activity ramp up, we shift focus to the value of technology due diligence.

What do you review during due diligence? You probably look at financials, customer lists, markets and existing executives. You may even review operations, eyeing potential efficiencies, such as those gained by integrating departments like HR, accounting and IT.

Randy Myers, CFO Magazine, states “For CFO’s, valuing the synergies to be realized by eliminating overlapping or redundant systems and operations is a fundamental aspect of M&A due diligence.” But how often do you review the technology area itself?

Not planning ahead can be painful.…

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Leadership Assessments – Do 360 Degree Feedbacks Work?

Does 360 ° feedback really work? Some organizations decide not to use this process as a leadership assessment, while others support it. I am a fan, and I’ll share tips in this article that will help to increase the effectiveness of 360 ° feedback for you.

First of all, for those who do not know what 360 ° feedback is; it is a leadership assessment that provides feedback about a leader’s behaviors. It is one of many types of assessments that can be used to increase leadership effectiveness.

What’s different about the 360 ° feedback process is that it gathers input from people who work for, above, and side-by-side with the leader (hence, the name 360 ° feedback).…

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Leadership Styles – Be An Empowering Leader

“I am the type of manager who is most comfortable giving direction to my team members. I am very good in my field, and I believe that my knowledge has gotten me promoted to management positions. Therefore, I need to keep directing them since I’m the expert and highest in authority. But lately, I’m hearing more and more about empowerment to create engagement. What is it and how do I do it?”

how to be an empowering leader

This thought process is a common one for many of today’s managers. We simply do not know how to empower others. To empower is to give over power and authority to someone else; to enable others.…

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Leadership Lessons From 3 Great Business Leaders

Being a CEO of any business is not a walk in the park. Leadership is more than just sitting behind a desk all day,  preparing action plans for employee misdemeanors and clocking out at 6. Tenured employees may know all about business operations but tenure is just one of the factors to be considered for a managerial position.

leadership lesson from 3 great leaders

While it takes time to make any one person a leader, there are some born with the qualities inherent in being an effective business leader. Aside from leadership styles, it is the leadership qualities of a CEO, a manager, a supervisor even, which sets a mediocre operation apart from a thriving, successful business.…

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Business Leader vs. Thought Leader, Can You Be Both?

thought leadership vs business leadershipSome people think that it is easy being the CEO of a certain company. They think it’s all about delegating tasks to your employees. And since you’re “the boss” you could pretty much do nothing except point out employees’ mistakes and get an occasional headache when the numbers don’t add up. Those in the business of leadership, know better.

It’s not just about assigning tasks to someone and then kicking off your shoes to place your feet on your desk all day, waiting for employees to deliver. It is about thinking of ways to sustain the value of your business. It is about handling complex issues, synergism and finding new ways to develop opportunities.…

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Upholding a Culture of Confidentiality

protection customer confidentialityAccording to a recent Trend Micro Global Survey, data loss is one of the biggest concerns for small businesses. It is hard to safeguard your company information if not all your employees think of its importance. Not everybody can appreciate the fact that ensuring the safety of your data is the lifeline to the success of your business.

Confidential information is entrusted to your company by your clients and it is done because they trust you and your services. It is natural therefore that everyone who represents your company in one way or another should be vigilant in protecting confidentiality.…

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