Article Directory :: Authors :: S :: Adele Sommers Articles

Articles by Adele Sommers

• Mining the Gold in Your Customer Database
  Have you ever stopped to consider the wealth of hidden revenue potential that may lie buried in your customer database? The resident data could be worth a small fortune in the way of untapped possibilities. This article lists various ways that you and your company can utilize this precious resource more effectively to probe your customers' real wishes and concerns.
  Published 26Jan2010, viewed 223 times

• Overcoming Overload: More Tips for Eliminating "Decision Gridlock"
  Have you ever felt so stymied by your choices that every time you stared down at your "chessboard of life," you weren't sure where you could possibly make a move? Whether that feeling of being "stuck" relates to your business, personal matters, or both, it can serve to encumber your progress. This article discusses three patterns of "decision gridlock," and what to do about them.
  Published 30Dec2009, viewed 179 times

• Tips on Managing Bottlenecks and Constraints
  Are you struggling with getting things done, but nothing you or your company does seems to increase your overall level of output? The problem may be caused by constraints in your operational workflows, or even limitations in your thinking processes. This article explores ways to identify and manage constraints in manufacturing, projects, and other business and personal situations.
  Published 27Nov2009, viewed 178 times

• Using Storytelling Techniques to Spice Up Your Project Outcomes
  What do business novels, "personas," case studies, and testimonials have in common? They're all examples of storytelling techniques that you and your team can use to spice up your project outcomes. Storytelling elements are potent tools for clarifying requirements; exploring new techniques and approaches; and ultimately engaging your audience's attention, interest, imagination, and satisfaction once your project is complete.
  Published 01Nov2009, viewed 251 times

• Tips on Using "Extreme" Customer Risk-Reversal Techniques
  What is a customer risk reversal, and what is it for? Risk reversals are promises, including warranties and "money-back guarantees" that stipulate what customers can do if a product or service is defective or unsatisfying or doesn't live up to its advertised claims. This article describes the power of strong risk reversals, and suggests a way to protect yourself from the relatively few people who might be tempted to submit bogus claims.
  Published 05Oct2009, viewed 288 times

• Are You Locked in the Trunk of Your Professional Car?
  As we zoom around in the racecar of life, we sometimes fail to recognize in our excitement and enthusiasm -- or just plain nose-to-the-grindstone existence -- that our mindsets may not have kept pace with the rapid changes we are making. Yet, understanding the mindset shifts we tend to make over time helps us prepare more effectively for each stage, especially if we move into an entrepreneurial mode after many years of employment.
  Published 03Sep2009, viewed 242 times

• Ten Steps for Writing Articles that Inspire and Tell
  How can you set yourself apart from others in your profession or industry? One way to do this is using a systematic article-writing campaign. You may be surprised to learn that you don't need your own Web site or any funding whatsoever to start a viable article-publishing program. This article explains a step-by-step, foolproof formula for writing and publishing articles on the Web. The more articles you write and publish, the better!
  Published 27Jul2009, viewed 295 times

• 10 Tips for Designing Extraordinary Presentations
  What's the overarching formula for making the very best possible impression on your audience when you deliver a slide presentation? This article gives an overview of a powerful, 10-part formula for creating and delivering truly outstanding presentations. It embodies a set of artistic and story-telling principles derived from experimental research on how people best learn, remember, and apply information from multimedia presentations.
  Published 07Jul2009, viewed 389 times

• Promote Yourself Professionally with Information Products
  Many people wonder how to use self-published information products to boost their business accomplishments, expand their marketing reach, and attract new clients. You can use information products in myriad ways to propel your success, whether you're a CEO, manager, consultant, freelance service professional, entrepreneur, aspiring author, or instructor. This article explains what they are and offers case study examples of how to use them.
  Published 26May2009, viewed 169 times

• Reversing the Risks for Your Clients and Partners (Part 2)
  How do you reassure potential clients or partners that it's safe to proceed with projects they may have been considering, but have been putting off because of their concerns about the economy? This article, the second in a series, suggests more ways to reduce, remove, and even reverse the risks of doing business, making it far easier for prospective clients and partners to say "yes."
  Published 28Apr2009, viewed 193 times

• Reversing the Risks for Your Clients and Partners (Part 1)
  How do you encourage potential clients or partners to move forward with projects they might have been considering, yet are postponing because of the current economic climate? This article, the first in a series, suggests how you can reduce, remove, and even reverse the risks for others of doing business with you, easing their fears and worries and making it far easier for them to say "yes!"
  Published 07Apr2009, viewed 176 times

• Steps Management Can Take to Ensure Training Transfer
  Training is a powerful improvement technique that offers tremendous benefits when it's judiciously used. This article discusses management's role in supporting the many factors that influence how well people transfer to their jobs any training they receive. Management's support is essential to assuring the long-term return on any training investment.
  Published 22Feb2009, viewed 234 times

• Should I Train or "Tune up" My Organization?
  Is there a standard cure for every performance gap? When your organization detects areas it wants to improve, it's critical to prescribe the right remedy for each situation. This article explores two ways of many to close achievement gaps, using 1) training and 2) organizational tune-ups to remove "burning hassles" and obstacles that hinder productivity.
  Published 02Feb2009, viewed 230 times

• A Best-Practice Blueprint for Banishing "Burning Hassles"
  Your organization may be experiencing "burning hassles" -- the sometimes hidden and sometimes obvious obstacles and sinkholes that keep people from performing ideally and dissolve morale, productivity, and customer satisfaction. This article provides the step-by-step, "how-to" formula for detecting and resolving hassles once and for all.
  Published 05Jan2009, viewed 193 times

• Are "Burning Hassles" Melting Your Morale and 
Pulverizing Your Productivity?
  Your organization may be experiencing "burning hassles" -- the sometimes hidden and sometimes obvious obstacles and sinkholes that keep people from performing ideally. This article explains how to recognize situations in which hassles may be dissolving productivity, morale, and profitability like corrosive acid.
  Published 17Dec2008, viewed 195 times

• Getting Unstuck: Tips for Overcoming "Decision Gridlock"
  Have you ever felt so stymied by your choices that every time you stared down at your "chessboard of life," you weren't sure where you could possibly make a move? Whether that feeling of being "stuck" relates to your business, personal matters, or both, it can serve to encumber your progress. This article discusses two patterns of "decision gridlock," and what to do about them.
  Published 13Oct2008, viewed 280 times

• Turning Breakthroughs and Mishaps into "Best Practices"
  We can measure the success of our organizations to a large extent by how much we learn, absorb, and apply from experience. Such organizational learning can occur either intentionally or accidentally! This article offers tips on what to do with your breakthroughs and mishaps. The more data you can extract from them to create systems that everyone can follow, the more flexible, robust, and effective your organization will be.
  Published 17Sep2008, viewed 268 times

• How Can a White Paper Become a More Effective Persuasion Tool?
  The science of persuasion has moved to a new level of intrigue as researchers attempt to discover which kinds of arguments or information help buyers make purchasing decisions. This article focuses on recent findings in this area and suggests how the research could apply to the domain of white papers.
  Published 18Aug2008, viewed 243 times

• How Strategic Is Your Business Plan?
  If you currently have a business plan, how much of it taps your most creative strategic thinking processes? Many plans are static, formal documents designed to impress potential backers, but do not necessarily serve as dynamic, living visions. This article describes seven essential exercises to incorporate into a traditional business plan, or into a flexible slide presentation that powerfully communicates your vision to others.
  Published 22Jul2008, viewed 287 times

• The Power of Perceptions in Shaping Customer Satisfaction
  Both suggestions and complaints represent the "voice of your customer," and thus deserve a deeper look to understand their impact on your audience's behavior. For that reason, this article focuses on the role of perception in the minds of consumers. Is the glass half empty or half full? The definition resides in your customers' eyes.
  Published 14Jun2008, viewed 293 times

• 5 Ways to Finesse Budget Discussions for New Client Projects
  If you have difficulty engaging in budget discussions for new projects -- particularly during initial client meetings when it can be tempting to make promises that might be difficult to keep -- this article explores five ways to help you gracefully avoid backing yourself into a corner.
  Published 22May2008, viewed 266 times

• Do You Have a Suggestion Box?
  Do you have a suggestion box for your business? If so, how sincerely do you consider the recommendations and complaints you receive? If you haven't yet tapped this invaluable resource, this article offers several tips for using the input you collect to actually strengthen your business and bring in more revenue.
  Published 20Apr2008, viewed 293 times

• Are You Predicting or Prescribing Your Future? It's Your Choice!
  Throughout history, we humans have tried many ways to predict the future, from reading palms to stargazing. Once we understand what we would like the future to represent, we're better able to take the actions required to prescribe it, rather than simply predict it. Preferably, that future will resonate with our passions, gifts, and what we (or our companies) can truly excel at doing. This article offers a two-stage process for this purpose.
  Published 23Mar2008, viewed 297 times

• Build Your Expert Status to "Tip" Your Audiences in Your Direction
  Why is developing "expert status" so important in business positioning these days? Because as consumers, our ability to focus our attention has reached an all-time low due to the deluge of information and advertising we contend with today. We thus lean on know-it-all experts, or "mavens," to give us authoritative advice on what to think, do, or buy. This article offers a three-stage process for building a maven reputation in your field.
  Published 20Feb2008, viewed 283 times

• How Accurate Are Your Project Estimates?
  Projects typically involve many dynamic aspects, yet they're often constrained by finite conditions. These contradictory forces make it very difficult to determine with pinpoint accuracy the time and effort required. By using a set of proactive estimating techniques to scope, plan, and constrain your project conditions, you can dramatically improve your estimating practices, reduce and mitigate risks, and increase your project success rate.
  Published 28Jan2008, viewed 365 times

• Do You Have Your Own "Business Success Criteria"?
  Aligning our life passions with our business purpose can help us define a set of "business success criteria." Until that occurs, we might be unable to recognize the options that truly fuel and inspire us -- those that are best suited to our values and strengths. Once we develop these important criteria, we can select worthy endeavors with much deeper insight, as well as choose the best possible collaborators, clients, and employees.
  Published 16Dec2007, viewed 278 times

• Can Your Products Pass the "Midnight Test"?
  Gaining an understanding of how your customers might want (or need) to use your products and services can guide you in creating offerings that help people succeed in many situations and circumstances. Whether you are developing a product or service for mass consumption, or creating a customized solution for a client, imagining how your audiences will consume your material can make all the difference between their success and failure.
  Published 21Nov2007, viewed 443 times

• Tips for Turning "20:20 Hindsight" into "20:20 Foresight"
  By incrementally capturing 20:20 hindsight (lessons learned) and turning that hindsight into 20:20 foresight (best practices), you will achieve far greater long-term success than if you simply ignore or forget what occurred once a project ends. This approach can greatly reduce the negative effects of attrition on a company's intellectual assets when people leave because they quit, retire, are laid off, or were temporary workers to begin with.
  Published 22Oct2007, viewed 327 times

• Are You Setting the Conditions for Business Success?
  Creating a stellar organization involves setting the conditions to help people do their very best work, and your company’s success depends on designing the circumstances under which people can function most effectively. Two areas that deserve attention in this regard are your ability to observe the results of cause-and-effect relationships, and how well your business can shift to becoming system-dependent instead of remaining person-dependent.
  Published 17Sep2007, viewed 327 times

• 7 Tips for Developing Systems for Success
  Wherever you are today with respect to growing your business or organization, developing systems and processes represents a crucial part of setting the conditions for success. Because it’s so important to establish a robust foundation before your business explodes with new business, this article offers seven ideas for systematizing your organization.
  Published 17Aug2007, viewed 310 times

• Developing a Value Philosophy
  Providing great benefit to customers doesn’t occur by accident; it comes directly from applying a well-designed value philosophy. What does it take to create outstanding products and services that are not only profitable, but also capable of converting ordinary consumers into “raving fans”? This article covers four critical ingredients that produce stellar products, services, and customer relationships.
  Published 11Jul2007, viewed 337 times

• Are You Driving Your Customers Away?
  There are a variety of ways in which we might be inadvertently frustrating our customers and clients. One of the most common involves our policies and procedures, which may be unnecessarily confusing or restrictive. By being alert for situations that put our customers on the defensive and handling those situations gracefully, we can retain our customers’ loyalty and avoid driving them away.
  Published 15Jun2007, viewed 404 times

• Are You Aligning Your Business Purpose with Your Passions in Life?
  When you choose a business direction that's not aligned with your life passions, you end up settling for an opportunistic approach toward your livelihood instead of selecting an endeavor that fuels you and helps you make a special contribution to the world. This article highlights three reasons why alignment is so important.
  Published 14May2007, viewed 580 times

• Clients or Customers? You Decide
  In the English language, we make an interesting semantic distinction between the words “customer” and “client.” Whatever you call the people to whom you offer products or services, consider your fiduciary role in supporting and encouraging them, resulting in their significant and lasting downstream success.
  Published 15Apr2007, viewed 677 times

• What's on Your Meeting Agenda?
  Conducting great meetings depends on several activities that occur before, during, and after each event. To help you establish the conditions for success and attain the very best results, this article offers essential tips on using meeting notices, agendas, and summaries.
  Published 17Mar2007, viewed 420 times

• Designing Information to Help People Act Quickly
  Today's media-saturated world challenges people to comprehend and respond quickly to a plethora of visual messages. Our news-based and "how-to" information may be adding to audience overwhelm instead of helping people perform. This article discusses five information design techniques that can boost our audience's ability to interpret and respond.
  Published 12Feb2007, viewed 381 times

• Beta Testing, Anyone? 10 Potent Strategies for Achieving Success
  Beta testing should involve a methodical prove-in of a carefully designed system, such as a software product, Web site, or automated tool. It's not meant to be a hit-or-miss, cross-your-fingers-and-hope-everything's-OK Band-Aid that you can apply at the last minute. You need to do more than randomly bang on the system in an attempt to find a way to break it. Here are 10 strategies for successfully carrying out the process.
  Published 16Jan2007, viewed 340 times

• Focusing on Consistency (Part 2)
  Consistently pleasant customer experiences produce "raving fans" who spread positive "buzz" about our products and services. In contrast, even a single unhappy experience can sour a customer, who may then take her business elsewhere and we might not ever hear why. This article explains what to do.
  Published 12Dec2006, viewed 397 times

• Focusing on Consistency (Part 1)
  When we aim for consistency in our communications, values, messages, images, offerings, and the customer experiences we create, we take another significant step toward developing long-lasting and meaningful customer relationships that will boost our bottom line.
  Published 13Nov2006, viewed 448 times

• Electronic Support Systems: A Great Way to Stretch Expertise
  Imagine providing your employees and customers with unlimited training to help them become rote experts in your products and services. This approach is expensive and time-consuming, as it emphasizes "installing knowledge" into people’s heads. An alternative approach is an electronic support system.
  Published 17Oct2006, viewed 464 times

• Keeping Your Offerings Easy to Use (Part 2)
  Where should you draw the line between simplicity and complexity when creating or enhancing your products or services? Especially when customers are asking for new enhancements left and right -- demanding endless features and options -- how do you know when it's time to rein in the expansion and revert back to basics? This article (Part 2 in a series) probes more deeply into how to reverse this trend by simplifying what you have to offer.
  Published 09Sep2006, viewed 357 times

• Keeping Your Offerings Easy to Use (Part 1)
  To compete successfully today, we need to remove headaches from products and services. Various marketing surveys indicate that consumers want simpler products with fewer features and shorter learning curves. Without easy-to-use products and services, it's hard to attract loyal customers. This article, the first in a series, takes a look at two of the factors -- simplicity and built-in guidance -- that contribute greatly to customer satisfaction.
  Published 14Aug2006, viewed 359 times

• Tips for Uncovering "Customer Hassles"
  When consumers aren't happy with the quality of their experiences, what will they do? Some people will contact your company to vent their frustrations about what they've been experiencing. But research shows that the vast majority will quietly take their business elsewhere and you might not ever hear why. To help you put a stop to the silent exodus, this article suggests four ways to uncover the causes of "customer hassles."
  Published 16Jul2006, viewed 408 times

• Quality Lives in the Eye of the Beholder
  Regardless of how good you believe your offerings or project solutions are, your clients and customers will be responding to "quality in perception" even more than "quality in fact." Quality in perception refers to things like courtesies, special considerations, a caring and personalized attitude, and a host of other subtleties that can lead us to believe that we are receiving something above and beyond what we're paying for.
  Published 16Jun2006, viewed 415 times

• Aim Your Sights at Your Customers' Downstream Success
  The way we approach projects can profoundly influence our customers' success. Often, we think primarily about what our customers asked for, even if it's not the best fit for their needs. Although it's commendable to listen to our customers’ wants, it's also possible to generate an incomplete or incompatible result based on superficial information. Here are three ways to turn "20:20 hindsight" into "20:20 foresight" in this regard.
  Published 16May2006, viewed 387 times

• 17 "Must Ask" Questions for Planning Successful Projects
  Why do some projects proceed without a hitch, yet others flounder? One reason could be the type and quality of the questions people ask at the very start. This article suggests 17 insightful queries that can expose the uncertain aspects of your project, and thereby help you avoid expensive surprises later. You can thus achieve your project goals with much less guesswork and far fewer problems than you may have experienced in the past.
  Published 10Apr2006, viewed 411 times

• How to Get Out of "Project Overwhelm"
  This article offers a simple, sanity-saving approach to handling projects that have not followed expectations, or have otherwise gone awry. It explains how to extricate one’s team from "project overwhelm" by regrouping and swiftly charting a new course. It explores the pros and cons of attempting a last-minute, heroic maneuver versus proactively re-planning the tail end of the project.
  Published 13Mar2006, viewed 371 times

• Managing Project Risks (Part 4): A Simple Mitigation Planning Process
  Getting a handle on project risks is a slippery job, but well worth the effort if you and your project team desire to sleep more soundly at night. After you’ve identified various risks related to choosing, estimating, and staffing a project, you would next assess the potential adverse effects on the project cost, schedule, quality, and features. Following assessment, this article takes you through a simple, four-step risk management process.
  Published 13Feb2006, viewed 373 times

• Managing Project Risks (Part 3): How to Quickly Assess Potential Pitfalls
  Being optimistic is a wonderful thing, but being overly optimistic -- in the face of unrealistic odds -- can sabotage a project's success. Over-optimism abounds when people view every project as a "must-win" effort while failing to manage potential problems. After you’ve identified the possible risks, this article explains how you can quickly evaluate any risks you've identified to see whether they're likely to overwhelm your project.
  Published 11Jan2006, viewed 358 times

• Managing Project Risks (Part 2): 10 Major Mistakes Your Team Can Avoid
  Does your organization see every opportunity as a "must-win" project, even when it's a poor fit for your in-house talents? If so, this is one of several viewpoints that can blind your company to potential problems ahead. In Part 1 of this series, we explored how to recognize six common project traps. Now in Part 2, we'll review 10 major mistakes to avoid (or risks to flag) when choosing, estimating, and staffing your projects.
  Published 13Dec2005, viewed 481 times

• Managing Project Risks (Part 1): Don't Be Snared by These 6 Common Traps
  When your business decides to undertake a new endeavor -- whether it's designing a training program, building a new system, or revamping an existing product -- this endeavor is called a project. It involves people, funding, resources, schedules, requirements, testing, deployment, and much more. You may have noticed by now that projects are risk magnets. This article explains six common risks to avoid to help your projects run more smoothly.
  Published 12Nov2005, viewed 409 times

• Boosting Productivity: 10 Ways to Eliminate Obstacles to Success
  When a company doesn't send clear signals to its personnel, or people don't have the authority, resources, tools, guidance, cooperation, equipment, information, or incentives to do their jobs properly, they’re faced with obstacles to success. They can spend endless hours of precious time fighting battles they may never win. Yet by systematically flagging and removing obstacles, we can reverse their corrosive effect on profitability and morale.
  Published 05Oct2005, viewed 468 times

• 3 Decision-Making Techniques to Suit Any Purpose, Project, or Need
  Decisions made during problem-solving sessions are legacies businesses often have to live with for a long time. Not every decision requires special attention; many are simple and routine. The more risky, costly, or complex a problem is, however, the more attention it needs. The best decisions for complex problems can withstand future challenges because they use a structured process. Other decisions can quickly fall apart and may even cause harm.
  Published 28Aug2005, viewed 452 times

• Holding Effective Meetings Can Be Easier than You Think!
  Poorly run meetings — those held for the wrong reasons, that don’t involve the right participants, or that don’t use a disciplined meeting process — can waste the time, resources, and money of a business. Not only are they a financial drain, they have the potential to make participants feel perpetually frustrated and unproductive. Yet making simple changes to the protocols for running meetings can shift the dynamics into a highly effective mode.
  Published 09Aug2005, viewed 460 times

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details