The project management story - Strategy

The decision to undertake a project must be taken only after:
1. You are clear about the project objectives; the objectives must further the strategic objectives of the business.
2. You develop a business case for undertaking the project; i.e. the benefits must outweigh the costs
3. You are clear on the project deliverables, and
4. You have stakeholder buy-in

Blogs I read series

Here is a time saver. Often times you just do not have the time to hunt for the information. With so many blogs out there, which ones do you read; which ones provide real value? As I browse the web, I come across a number of outstanding blogs that I subscribe to and read regularly. I am going to share them with you.

But as I look down my feed reader, I realized that there was no way I could include all of them in one post - the list is just too big. So I am going to list them in groups of five. I hope to eventually cover them all in this series and WHY you should also be reading them.

How would you get back from Mars?

After all, the goal of any business is to make money, right? Wrong! The goal of a business, including small business is to create value.

SMART goals or START NOW

We have all been introduced at some point to have SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. If it works for you - great. If not then you might want to consider START NOW framework. This framework was developed by Sandy Piderit. Sandy is a professor (any surprise?) with expertise in workplace flexibility, organizational [...]

Small business confidence drops

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business just released its Quarterly Business Barometer today. It shows the index has fallen in June, back to the levels displayed for most of 2006. That translates to 2-3% growth in the economy.

Small business risk management strategy

Risk management is the process of identifying potential negative outcomes and managing them while realizing potential opportunities. Risks are inherent in everything we do - from crossing the road to running a business. Some risks we can control while others we cannot. The mere mention of risk evokes different feelings depending on our disposition towards risk. Some of us are risk accepters while others are risk averse while still others are risk neutral. Before we even begin our discussion on a risk management strategy, let’s be clear on what the term means.

Leveraging blogs: A case study

I had written a post earlier on Blogs as a strategic marketing tool. I also wrote about Is this the beginning of the end of primary marketing research companies. I just wanted to highlight Dell’s blog as a case in point and one specific example of how Dell has leveraged its blog to gather customer [...]

Similarities - B-2-B

Starting a business is like bringing a new born home. It is difficult and challenging. As a business owner you will make mistakes; some you will avoid by learning from others mistakes and some mistakes you will make. You will stumble and fall, and just like a baby you will dust yourself and say, “Charge this to experience.” And move on.

Exporting - Planning the growth

So you have made up your mind to export. However, before you commit your resources to this project, you must first evaluate if your organization is ready to export.

The Atlantic Gateway Challenge for Atlantic Canada

Dr. Mary Brooks (William Black Chair of Commerce at Dalhousie University, Halifax), one of the transportation experts, believes it is important for Atlantic Canadians to realize that the Atlantic Gateway Initiative is not a Halifax-only initiative. It has positive implications for the entire region. But, is transforming Halifax to a global trade hub possible for a province that screwed-up the 2014 Commonwealth Games?