Since every business has competitors, every business plan needs competitive analysis — also known as competitive intelligence. Direct competitors provide more or less similar products or services, such as coffee shops. Indirect or generic competitors provide different things, but customers will often choose between them. For example, nearby restaurants may offer different eating options, but …

We’re in the very early stages of learning how social networks and social media tools impact behavior.

In project management, we imply the existence of a strong relationship between experience and good decision making. The question is: What kind of experience? Domain experience or project management experience?

In 1996 I was working in Germany for a large pharmaceutical company. One of my areas of responsibility was the decision analysis process that determined the probability of success for the drugs we were developing. The goal of the exercise was to make a decision based on the certainty of a predicted outcome. Sound familiar? …

Today’s Wall Street Journal reported the story of the progress BP is making in re-characterizing its culture in the aftermath of the April 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. According to the Journal, new CEO Bob Dudley has created a new global safety division at BP, a company that also suffered a 15-fatality refinery explosion in Texas …

Personality theory and tests are useful also for management, recruitment, selection, training and teaching, on which point see also the learning styles theories on other pages such as Kolb’s learning styles, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and the VAK learning styles model. — Personality Theories, Types and Tests at www.businessballs.com Believe it or not personality really does …

This week is the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) celebrated as Candlemas in the Catholic tradition, Imboc in the Celtic tradition. It marks a time when the days get noticeably longer and there is preparation for spring. Perhaps you’ve seen more …

Relationships are the bread of career life. So make and break bread with others. In times of change, contacts are the sources of information, opportunity and even power. Don’t let your everyday responsibilities isolate you from others. Move out from behind your desk. Move around in a variety of circles. Move quickly, eat hardy and …

Gurnek Bains and his colleagues at YSC Consulting have written a book called Meaning Inc: The Blueprint for Business Success in the Twenty First Century. In it they argue that it is critical for leaders to create organizational cultures that have meaning and are meaningful for team members. This blog entry looks at the four primary challenges (or qualities) that the authors believe leaders will face in their attempts to create meaningful work cultures.

Based on five dysfunctions of a team Patrick Lencioni pinpoints the issue of building a great team and group behavior. “Team building is not complicated”, declares Lencioni, president of his own management consulting firm and author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Watch the short video below hear Patrick’s great advice: