Event Processing for Business. Organizing the Real-Time Enterprise

A novel about transforming organizations from the author of bestselling business books The Goal and Zapp! The Cure is a novel for managers about transforming an under-performing bureaucratic organization into a boundaryless, fact-driven management culture like the one that made Jack Welch's General Electric so consistently successful. It offers real, practical advice for overcoming political inertia, reinventing the company, and doing it in a year or less. By giving each key character a distinct voice, readers are reminded of people they have met and who may even sit in the desk next to them. These characters interact realistically and act pragmatically, and as a result readers become invested in how these people tackle their challenges and create real solutions. The methods described in the book have been successfully employed at many of high-profile companies, such as Black & Decker, Coleman, Emerson, Parker Hannifin, Textron, United Stationers, and Moen. The Cure argues that modern organizations must be flexible, quick, and boundaryless in order to thrive and survive, but it also shows managers how to make it happen fast. Based on the successful management theories of Dan Paul's General Management Technologies, The Cure accomplishes these things in the form of an entertaining, enlightening, and dramatic business narrative. Jeff Cox (Murrysville, PA) is a creative writer known for weaving progressive business concepts into compelling fiction. He is the coauthor of such business bestsellers as The Goal, Zapp!, and Heroz. Dan Paul (Pittsburgh, PA) is CEO of General Management Technologies, a consulting practice which focuses on the alignment of clients' strategies, work processes, and culture in order to target all the functions of a business on the same priorities. Formerly with General Electric, he's worked with many high-profile clients and spoken at many conferences on strategic management for Business Week and the American Management Association.

Event planning never stops. This industry goes 24/7, 365 days a year. Planners work evenings, weekends, and holidays, often far away from their home base, organizing and running events that simply must go on, and go smoothly. Missing a critical deadline is not an option in the event planning field. Time management errors can cost a company a potential sale, lose them an existing customer, and damage their professional reputation. Burnout and chaos are real risks in this hectic world of deadlines and multiple projects. Planners often find themselves working down to the wire against crushing deadlines and a mountain of obstacles that impede their progress. Too frequently, there is not enough time to get the job done properly, let alone to spend on personal or professional pursuits. And for many involved in the event planning field, there is the extra dimension of travel to factor in, juggling multiple projects on a daily basis across a multitude of time zones. For smooth event implementation, and for business success, it is essential that planners know how to manage their own time as well as they manage an event. Time Management for Event Planners teaches readers how to successfully manage their workload, and do what matters most, when it matters most: Analyze and prioritize tasks. Structure your workload and your day for maximum performance. Identify red-flag activities that hinder productivity. Reduce stress-producing time crunches. Identify when extra help is needed, as well as how to delegate, outsource, and even partner with suppliers in crunch periods. Work with rather than against deadlines. Save time using technology. Manage multiple projects, even in multiple time zones. Balance your personal and professional life. Whether you are an event planner, a hospitality professional, in public relations or other related fields, Time Management for Event Planners offers time-saving tips, techniques, examples, and expert insight that will help you get time on your side.

In today's world of business where organizational boundaries are blurry, intense competition dictates rapid change, and complex issues and relationships cut across departments, business units, and even companies, the old hierarchical command-and-control management approach is no longer sufficient. Distributed leadership approaches are necessary and no one individual can do it all. In fact, an enterprise is more than just the traditional organization. Value today is often created not just within a company, but also across a network of companies. Being able to connect the various components and to work collaboratively within the network is essential to maintaining competitive advantage. Leaders today must be capable of identifying potential partners, initiating and maintaining relationships, resolving conflicts, and reconfiguring their relationships. Cross-Enterprise Leadership is a new model for success in today's world of complexity and ambiguity. Leaders who adopt this approach will be more comfortable dealing with ambiguity, uncertainty, complexity and time pressures, and with creating value through networks of relationships. Small, domestic, entrepreneurial companies are, by their very nature, cross-enterprise focused. Entrepreneurs will tell you that they live in a world of uncertainty and ambiguity and that they constantly need to adjust on the fly. Equally, large multi-national companies like Wal-Mart, Nestle, or Coca-Cola are inherently complex and issues and relationships cut across functions, levels, geographies, and companies. Cross-Enterprise Leadership goes beyond a functional perspective to understanding the complexity of business issues from all angles and how they can be integrated, how leaders can rely almost entirely on influence when they may be operating without power or authority, and how they can develop the capacity to make decisions and implement them in an environment filled with uncertainty and complexity. Most managers operate like the traditional orchestra-waiting to do their written part. But there is no tidy score for business today. CEL enables today's leaders to be more like a jazz band, improvising and building off of one another, creating music in real time and in relationship to one another.

Mohan and Oliver have been very fortunate to have intimate views into the data challenges that face the largest organizations and institutions across every possible industry—and what they have been hearing about for some time is how the business needs to use data and analytics to their advantage. They continually hear the same issues, such as: We're spending valuable meeting time wondering why everyone's data doesn't match up. We can't leverage our economies of scale while remaining agile with data. We need self-serve apps that let the enterprise experiment with data and accelerate the development process. We need to get on a more predictive curve to ensure long-term success. To really address the data concerns of today's enterprise, they wanted to find a way to help enterprises achieve the success they seek. Not as a prescriptive process—but a methodology to become agile and leverage data and analytics to drive a competitive advantage. You know, it's amazing what can happen when two people with very different perspectives get together to solve a big problem. This evolutionary guide resulted from the a-ha moment between these two influencers at the top of their fields—one, an academic researcher and consultant, and the other, a longtime analytics practitioner and chief product officer at Teradata. Together, they created a powerful framework every type of business can use to connect analytic power, business practices, and human dynamics in ways that can transform what is currently possible.

Provocative new management principles and practices that create effective organizations for shareholders and society Management experts Lawler and Worley have developed a set of management principles that enable organizations to be both successful and responsible. Existing command & control and high-involvement management styles depend too much on stable conditions and focus too narrowly on economic outcomes. They convincingly argue that we need to «reset» our approach to management to one that fits today's demanding business environment. Starting with a change in how success is measured and a more realistic view of risk, Lawler and Worley take us through how strategy, governance, organization structure and talent should be managed. The result is an organization that can reliable produce financial, social, and ecological results. Includes illustrative lessons from Microsoft, Cisco, Netflix, DaVita, Starbucks, Nokia, and the U.S. Secret Service Offers clear prescriptions for managers who want to organize for sustainable performance effectiveness Lawler and Worley are the authors of the bestselling Built to Change Lawler and Worley outline why and how the current practice of management must change in order for organizations to achieve sustained organizational effectiveness.

The world of event planning can be alluring and dangerous at once-exotic locales, wining and dining, and people traveling without their spouses. In such situations the line between business and pleasure blurs and the nature of relationships gets cloudy. With a thoughtless act or a less-than-tactful word, long-lasting business relationships can be ruined forever. Beyond that, budgets are on the chopping block and competition for business is tight. In that environment, people often cut not just financial corners, but the ethical ones, too. There's a fine line between innocent perks and inappropriate gifts or kickbacks. Event planners today must navigate a minefield of potentially sticky situations that can easily blow up in their face. Without a professional code, lines of acceptable behavior are easily crossed. And what you do personally can hurt you professionally. Event Planning Ethics and Etiquette provides event planners with the companion they need to stay out of trouble, keep professional relationships healthy and profitable, avoid the riskier temptations of the lifestyle, and win business in a highly competitive market using ethical business practices. Explains how to establish policies and codes of behavior, in the office and onsite at events. Offers guidelines on when it is acceptable to accept a gift, what is acceptable, and what is inappropriate. Shows how to prepare yourself, as well as your staff, for what to expect, and how to handle the unexpected with business finesse. Covers business etiquette in event planning crisis management situations. Helps you to avoid putting yourself and your company at personal and professional risk. Features real-life examples and situations, and advice on how to handle them with poise and professionalism. Includes a list of «Event Planning Do's and Don'ts.» Event Planning Ethics and Etiquette will be of value to the professional event planner; to event planning suppliers and clients working with industry professionals; as well as to those in related fields, such as public relations, administrative professionals, communications; and anyone in the hospitality, culinary, and travel industry.

Practical tools and expert advice for professional event planners Before planning an event, there is much that must be done behind the scenes to make the event successful. Before any thought is even given to timing or location of the event, before the menus are selected and the decor designed, there are proposals to be written, fees and contracts to be negotiated, and safety issues to be considered. This book takes you behind the scenes of event planning and explains every aspect of organizing and strategic planning. This book will be of value to both the professional event planner and to clients who are dealing with planners. Its comprehensive coverage includes: how to prepare winning proposals, and how to understand them if you are the client; how to determine management fees; negotiating contracts; safety issues; designing events in multicultural settings; and new technology that makes operations more efficient (such as online registration and response management, database project management tools). The book also includes practical tools such as sample letters of agreement, sample layouts for client proposals, forms, and checklists. Professional event planner Judy Allen offers first-time or professional event planners all the top-class advice they need to make their special events come off without a hitch.

Praise for Dynamic Strategy-Making «An astonishingly timely, hopeful, and important book that recasts and freshly imagines strategy-making and integrates theory with practice in the field of strategic management. A must-read for all those who want to learn more about the future of strategy practice and become more skillful at it.» —WARREN BENNIS, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California; and coauthor, Transparency «This is one of the most valuable resources ever created for strategists and leaders in organizations. It uniquely combines concepts of leadership and organization with strategy content and implementation in a pragmatic and integrated approach that makes tremendous sense for our times. With concrete cases, it provides a clear road map for those who want and need to do a better job of formulating and implementing strategy.» —DAVID A. NADLER, vice chairman, Marsh & McLennan Companies; senior partner, Oliver Wyman-Delta Organization and Leadership; and author, Building Better Boards and Competing By Design «The authors correctly focus on the new dynamic of 24/7 competition and change and the need for organizations to be fast, fluid, and flexible. It is a must-read for managers of tomorrow and offers a number of practical insights and lessons on how to proceed with strategy execution that can be readily adopted in any organization. It is a call to action that few can afford to ignore.» —MANJIT SINGH, chairman, Sony Entertainment Television, India; and former CEO, Compete Inc., High Circle, Future Step, and Korn/Ferry International

A roadmap to improve corporate social responsibility The 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign focused a good deal of attention on the role of corporations in society, from both sides of the aisle. In the lead up to the election, big companies were accused of profiteering, plundering the environment, and ignoring (even exacerbating) societal ills ranging from illiteracy and discrimination to obesity and opioid addiction. Income inequality was laid squarely at the feet of us companies. The Trump administration then moved swiftly to scrap fiscal, social, and environmental rules that purportedly hobble business, to redirect or shut down cabinet offices historically protecting the public good, and to roll back clean power, consumer protection, living wage, healthy eating initiatives and even basic public funding for public schools. To many eyes, and the lens of history, this may usher in a new era of cowboy capitalism with big companies, unfettered by regulation and encouraged by the presidential bully pulpit, free to go about the business of making money—no matter the consequences to consumers and the commonwealth. While this may please some companies in the short term, the long term consequences might result in just the opposite. And while the new administration promises to reduce «foreign aid» and the social safety net, Stanley S. Litow believes big companies will be motivated to step up their efforts to create jobs, reduce poverty, improve education and health, and address climate change issues – both domestically and around the world. For some leaders in the private sector this is not a matter of public relations or charity. It is integral to their corporate strategy—resulting in creating new markets, reducing risks, attracting and retaining top talent, and generating growth and realizing opportunities. Through case studies (many of which the author spearheaded at IBM), The Challenge for Business and Society provides clear guidance for companies to build their own corporate sustainability and social responsibility plans positively effecting their bottom lines producing real return on their investments. This book will help: • Create an effective corporate social responsibility and sustainability plan • Provide long-term bottom line benefit • Protect and enrich brand value • Recruit and retain top talent Perfect for CEOs, CFOs, Human Resource/Corporate Affairs executives, but also for government and not-for-profit leaders, this book helps you come up with a solid plan for giving back to society, producing real sustainable value.

Plan your path to leadership with insight from real women at the top In Real Women, Real Leadership, twenty-four women leaders describe their personal journeys to the top, providing deep insight and a fascinating perspective on «making it» as a woman in the male-dominated business environment. They discuss their experiences and offer guidance on topics such as balancing family and career, building alliances, mentoring and being mentored, and overcoming obstacles in the business world which is still dominated by men in the senior levels of management. Drawn from a range of industries including higher education, technology, law, the military, politics, the media, and more, these stories provide the details that every ambitious woman needs to know. You'll learn which skills, attributes, and relationships served these women best, how they overcame the obstacles thrown into their paths, and the people they credit as instrumental along the way. A self-assessment chapter helps you discover your own leadership attributes, and determine which skills you need to acquire as you formulate your own personal roadmap to the top. There are many books about women who have been excellent leaders, but Real Women, Real Leadership provides the personal, relatable testimonials from women who have navigated the opportunities and pitfalls of the business world. Each story sheds light on women's unique leadership attributes, and provides guidance for professional women charting their own professional advancement. Learn from women leaders in a diverse range of industries Discover the leadership attributes that make the biggest impact Gain insight into work/life balance, mentors, relationships, and more Discover your leadership strengths and develop a plan forward Studies have shown that companies with three or more women board members dramatically outperform the competition in returns on equity, sales, and invested capital – yet women only claim a tiny percentage of boardroom seats and top executive positions. Why? And why, when they do achieve leadership positions, do women tend to make such outstanding leaders? Real Women, Real Leadership tackles these questions and more from an in-the-trenches perspective to help you become the leader you want to be.