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| July 2010 |
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LEA was presented in Malaysia to Persona GLOBAL Singapore's
clients at the PJ Hilton on July 6th near Kuala Lumpur. Login
and click here to see photos
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Announcing the 2010 Persona GLOBAL International
Conference Agenda.
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Your opportunity to get Certified in the Leadership Equity Assessment (LEA)
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Sales Competency Analysis: Get certified in our most versatile feedback tool for Sales Coaching and Training.
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Become Certified in Project Management 360 at the Persona GLOBAL Conference in Prague
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Serious about Leadership Performance Development…. then get certified in Dr. Marty Wikoff's Performance Leadership Profile and Workshop (PLP).
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Persona GLOBAL's 31st Annual International Conference will be in Prague
on September 2nd-5th. Click here to view and download the registration form
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Click here to learn more about the video production that will be happening
at the conference by Peter Gornstein. Reserve your time now.
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| June 2010 |
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IMPORTANT: Schengen Agreement: Live outside
of Europe and Thinking about attending the Persona
Global Prague Conference?
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Announcing Madi Radulescu's appointment as Persona Global's Director
of Business Development for Central and Eastern Europe. Madi can be contacted
at madi@personaglobal.com join us in welcoming Madi! Click here to visit
her website.
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Romania, June 18th, Certification training in Management Action
Profile
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Team Persona in the Sausalito Headquarters would like to announce a new addition. Ana Murphy will be responsible for assistance in the development and implementation of Assessment Center.
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| May 2010 |
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ASTD Conference was held on May 15 - 19, 2010 in Chicago Illinois.
booth #1244. Click here to see photos.
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See photos from Pune, India, April 28 through
May 1, 2010. Certification training in SCA, TM, and CEM+.
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The Persona GLOBAL's 31st Annual International Conference will
be in Prague on September 2nd-5th.
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Persona GLOBAL's Jose Luis gave a speech at the 4th Arab HR Conference,
May 2 – 5th, in Amman, Jordan on “Achieving retention through
integrating Talent Management and Competency Based Management”
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| April 2010 |
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Czech Republic, April 8-13, 2010. Certification training in PC,
OS, and ECP.
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See photos of certified trainers in Singapore,
April 2nd, 2010. Certification training was in LEA
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| March 2010 |
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Persona GLOBAL's Jose Luis will be giving a speech at the 4th Arab HR Conference, May 2 – 5th, in Amman, Jordan on “Achieving retention through integrating Talent Management and Competency Based Management”
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Click here to see the new ASTD ad that will appear in T+D Training and Development Magazine
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Lagos, Nigeria, March 24-27, 2010. Certification training in
M@GIC, SCA, MAP
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Announcing two new Leadership Equity Assessment certification training events!
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What does a long term relationship bring? Many things! See the photo of Heiner
Utz and Jon in front of the "Persona Tree" before Heiner's retirement
dinner.
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Login to the partnerpage and select global flyers to see the new flyer's from our french partner Open'Act
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Click here to view and read our partner's flyer in Arabic
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Login in to read about New Partners, and a New Capability
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Emotional Capability Workshops for Cisco Systems, Sydney, March 29th and Melbourne, March 31st 2010 facilitated by Paul Stuart.
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| February 2010 |
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Click here to download Jon Gornstein's presentation on training and
HR trends for 14 countries that was done on February 18th, 2010 in Moscow.
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Learn about Persona Global Brazil's new Sales Academy...Click here to watch the video
in Portuguese)
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Canada, February 8, Certification training in Management Action
Profile.
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| January 2010 |
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See Photos of Beijing, China - January 18th-21st,
Certification training in Persuasive Salesperson, Organizational Savvy,
Magic, and SCA.
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Click here to see photos from Brazil on
January 8-9, 2010. Participants were certified in Persuasive Salesperson.
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Jakarta, January 18th-20th, Certification training in Persuasive
Communication.
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Milan, Italy, January 11th, Certification training in Innovative Decision
Making.
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Click here to see photos from Brazil on January 8-9, 2010. Participants were certified in Persuasive Salesperson.
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| December 2009 |
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Persona Global gives back!! In these difficult times Persona Globals
team has voted to give something back to those less fortunate.
Donations have been made in Persona Globals name to: The Salvation
Army, Habitat for Humanity and locally to the Marin Food Bank
(a local charity).
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Helsinki, December 17th, Certification Event in Leadership Equity Assessment. Click here to see photos of the event
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Washington D.C., December 1-4, Certification training in CEM+
and OAS.
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Click here to see the new marketing materials created in Korean.
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Read about Organizational Agility.... its a hot topic!
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Jeddah, December 12th - 14th, 2009. Certification
Training in OAS, OA, EX, and CVS
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| November 2009 |
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Paris,
France, November 5th and 6th, 2009. PC refresher course. Everyone
was welcome to this free event
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| October 2009 |
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Denmark, October 29th-30th, 2009. Certification training in
Persuasive Communication
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See photos from Saudia Arabia, October 12th-16th, 2009. Certification
training in All Communication Series
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See recent photos of the event in Brazil for Persuasive
Communicator held in October 2009.
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| September 2009 |
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Certification training event in Dubai on September 10th-11th, 2009.
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Certification training in Management Action Profile in Germany on September 28th
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Read the recent comments by Operations Director of First Priority in China Richard Shen regarding Cooperation and Beyond.
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Persona GLOBAL has concluded the International Conference in
Paris. See photos here
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Read Janusz Kamiennski’s evaluation of Persona Global’s Senior Consultant Jose Luis Cascallar briefing on Persona Global content integrated solutions in Warsaw with the Persona Global Poland team.
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Click here to find out what partners at the conference chose as the best practices in sales and marketing
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| August 2009 |
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Leadership
Equity Survey (LEA) - To be presented at the 2009 International
Conference in France!
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Korea,
August 13-15, 2009. Certification training in OAS, OA, and MAP
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Login
to read Persona GLOBAL Brazil's recent online newsbrief
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The 30th Persona GLOBAL conference will be held on August 27th-31st
in Paris France.
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| July 2009 |
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See
photos of the Open'Act annual business meeting at the Chateau Ronqueux,
south of Paris
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Saudia Arabia, July 17-22, 2009. Certification training in
All Communication Series
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Login
to read about the one day version of Persuasive Communicator workshop developed by Matt Lohmeyer, in Australia.
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Login
to read the overview of a 1.5 day Professional Services version of the Persuasive Communicator called: “Successful Pitching in Professional Services” developed by Keith Stacey and Matt Lohmeyer, of Sydney, Australia .
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| June 2009 |
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Thailand,
June 20-21, 2009. Certification training in MAP, SCA, TM
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Quebec,
Canada, June 18, 2009. Certification training in Sales Competency
Assessment
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| May 2009 |
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ASTD
was held in Washington D.C. May 31st -June 3rd.
Click here for photos.
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Login
and read; Testimonials - Emotional Capability Profile - Making its presence
known in France! Located in the News and Intelligence section
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| April 2009 |
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Give
your clients management development PRIDE: login to the download center
to download the updated power point program of PRIDE
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Team
Persona would like to congradulate Persona
GLOBAL Brazil on their new partnership in Rio Grande do Sul, brazil. Log
in to read more...
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Do you know where Persona solutions fit into an overall
Organizational Model? Click here...
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| March 2009 |
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About Providing A Higher Service Level: Exploring an innovative approach
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Sneak Preview: Leadership Equity Survey (LEA) - To be presented at the 2009 International Conference in France!
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Life time value of a Client? Milestone: As of March 2009, over 1,000 Managers and staff at Motorola Brazil have attended Persona’s the Persuasive Communicators workshop since 1998! Congratulations to Wladimir Palermo, Managing Director of Persona Global Brazil for this outstanding achievement!
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Login to read Shaun Smith's Article titled "Luxury Retailers Find
Quality Never Goes Out of Style"
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Leadership ,Risk Analysis, and the ability to Execute.. Where do you stand?
Login to read the article from "Inside Training" Magazine
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Login to read Shaun Smith's Article on how to win true customer loyalty and trust during a recession.
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Login to read John Dawson's article titled "Dealing
With Office Politics."
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Persona
GLOBAL, Poland joins growing list of Persona branded companies
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Persona
would like to introduce José Luis Cascallar as Persona's Senior Consultant,
for Persona Solutions Europe.
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| February 2009 |
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Powerpoint slide presentations have recently been updated. Please login to the partner page and go to the download center to download new versions of MAP, SCA, PC, and PS
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Belgrade, Serbia, February 4th -7th , Leadership Workshop
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Sao Paulo, Brazil from the Congress titled; "The organization of
the Future" and from the open workshop titled "Negotiating with
a Difficult Person"
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Read Shaun Smith's recent article: "Making CEM Work"
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See
Jon Gornstein interviewed by Fox News in Servia on February
7th, in Belgrade, Serbia
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Persona
GLOBAL, Poland joins growing list of Persona branded companies
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Persona
would like to introduce José Luis Cascallar as Persona's Senior Consultant,
for Persona Solutions Europe.
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| January 2009 |
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See
Jon Gornstein interviewed by The Money Channel in Bucharest Romania on January 28, 2009
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Bucharest, Romania, January 28th-February 1st, 2009. Certification training in
PC, MAP, SCA, TMP, and OAS
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Persona is not all work and no enjoyment
…. “Relaxing with long time partners in Australia, Carmel McDonald
and John Dawson!”
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Istanbul,
Turkey, Persona GLOBAL Turkey, January 3rd-9th,
2009. Certification training in OAS, CEM+, OA, CVS, EX, MAP, SCA, and
TMP
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Getting in shape for 2005
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This is the time of year when health-club memberships soar. During the Christmas vacation unfit, over-weight business executives determine that they are going to shed those pounds and get in shape for the new-year. What about the companies that they run? How often do executives stand back and take a critical look at how they are running their business? This is our guide to setting some new-years resolutions and getting your business in shape for 2005.
1. Start with a higher purpose
Many companies synchronize their business year with the calendar year. Annual plans always include goals and objectives for the year but how often do they start with a review or restatement of the company purpose? Increasing market share may be desirable but will it make a difference? Opening up operations in a new geography may be an important objective but without answering the basic question “Why are we in business?” it is it is simply a measure of activity. The best organizations set their sights higher and determine a business purpose or brand promise that encapsulates the difference they want to make. Krispy Kreme the US doughnut retailer promises, ‘To create Magic Moments’. Harley-Davidson’s purpose is to ‘Fulfil dreams’. Microsoft recently articulated its mission as; ‘To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential’. Goals may articulate the work that your people need do but it is meaning that motivates them to do it. Bill Gates was reported as saying “When people come to work, it’s important that they feel connected to a dream”.
So if your company has a purpose or promise start the year by restating its importance to your people. Insist that your managers set their goals and objectives by showing how these will impact the achievement of your company purpose. If your company does not have one, start worrying!
2. Listen to your most profitable customers
This is also the season for sending gifts and cards to our best customers. Yet for many organizations for ‘best’ read ‘biggest’. These large accounts, whilst important, are often less profitable due to discounts, marketing support and the like. Few organizations focus on those customers who are truly most profitable; those who buy across multiple channels without the company realizing their worth, those who pay the full price or maybe even a premium, those who keep coming back and, most importantly, refer others just like themselves. Yet for most businesses 80% of the profits come from 20% of the customer base and yet these customers are often ignored. In fact in some cases these loyal customers receive worse treatment than new customers. Many banks, insurance companies and health-clubs have a policy of offering better deals to prospective customers in an attempt to woo them than they do to existing customers in the naïve belief that these customers are locked in.
So research who your most profitable customers are and what they think of you. Our CEM+ survey is an excellent way to find out what your customers really value and the extent to which they think you are differentiated. Perhaps interview some customers yourself. (This is a time for remembering that we have two ears and one mouth and that they should be used in that proportion.) Identify how the experience you create for your best customers can be enhanced and set out to implement it.
3. Nurture your internal critics
Margaret Thatcher was one of the U.K’s greatest prime ministers. Yet in her third term she was thrown out. Why? - Because she surrounded herself with ‘yes’ men and refused to listen to dissent. In fact she coined the pejorative term ‘wets’ to describe her critics and banished them from her government. As a result she lost touch with reality, the mood of the people and, finally, her job. Executives do this too. The more powerful and successful the CEO or President the more vulnerable they are to being fed good news. As time goes by the senior person surrounds him or herself with their own hires who are often just like them. Eventually the senior team starts thinking and acting as one even in the face of data to the contrary.
So analyze your diary, you will probably find that you spend most of your time with the people you like-your most trusted lieutenants, and least with those whom you find challenging or disagreeable, talented though they may be. Resolve to spend more time with your critics and ask them to tell you their opinions without pulling any punches. You don’t have to agree with them but you do need to hear them.
4. Think the unthinkable
Ten years ago the major retail banks worried about losing a few points of market share to one another. Today supermarkets and the internet are the fastest growing channels for retail financial services. Five years ago mighty carriers like British Airways, TWA and Swissair ruled the skies. Today some famous brands have disappeared; others like B.A are going through major transformations in order to compete against the highly profitable new carriers that have sprung up. Airlines like Jet Blue, Virgin Blue and Ryan Air are rewriting the rules and economics of the airline business. Who will rewrite the rules in your industry? For sure it won’t be a current competitor. It is much more likely to be a brand that hasn’t even been heard of yet.
So think the unthinkable. What would Richard Branson do if he entered your industry? Resolve to reinvent your business before someone else does. Lou Gerstner did exactly that at IBM transforming the company from a hardware manufacturer to an IT services provider and in the process making ‘Big Blue’ even more successful.
5. Place training and development higher on your agenda
It will not have escaped your notice that the fastest growing economies are China and India. They are each recording GNP growth rates of 7% or 8% and are likely to continue doing so. In fact their economies are predicted to overtake the U.S by 2050. Part of this growth is being fuelled by the migration of manufacturing to China, and outsourcing of white-collar jobs to call centers and software houses in Bangalore. Even some basic accountancy and legal services are being outsourced to lower cost countries. So what is the answer? Trade embargoes? Protests? Strikes? None of these is likely to work. In fact the migration of lower skilled jobs need not be a problem if companies focus on building their brands, developing new products and increasing value for customers. Companies like Nike are now producing win-win outcomes by creating lower skilled jobs in developing countries and management, marketing and product design jobs in their home markets. There will always be a role for organizations that can spot gaps in the market, develop new products to fill them and train and develop their people to increase the value they create. Upgrading the skills and talents of your people and increasing value for customers is the only true way to sustain your company. By doing this it is estimated that the U.S imports twice or three times as many jobs as it exports and these are the high skill, higher-paying jobs.
So resolve to identify how the needs of your customers are changing and determine how you can improve your competitive offer through innovation. Upgrade the skills of your people and focus them on increasing value for your customers whilst outsourcing back-of-house, lower skilled jobs to stay cost-competitive. Treat training as a R&D expense and place the development of your people high on your agenda in 2005.
I started by talking about health-club memberships. Fitness centers earn most of their profits from the 80% of members who join, attend twice or three times and then lose interest. If any of these ideas stimulate you, forward this article to your team today and schedule a meeting to plan how to implement at least one idea. Then, and most importantly, review progress regularly. In so doing you will ensure that your business stays in shape for the whole year not just for the first quarter.
Shaun Smith
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