Soft Skills In the IT Environment – Part 1 of 2Written by Carole Nicolaides
Continued from page 1
Where was shortcoming? The organizational skills were there, so their struggle wasn’t with keeping track of projects or responsibilities. The technical skills were there, so dilemma wasn’t due to a lack of practical knowledge. However, people skills were missing, and therefore, these IT manager’s teams (which are made up of people) fell apart. The solution? Acquire missing skills! The incorporation of soft skills into my IT associates’ business practices allowed them to relate better with people, to welcome opportunity to converse with employees and peers about business and personal issues, and to discover motivational factors for those on their teams. In short, it enabled these executives to be well rounded and capable when it came to people as a whole. Business standards are moving. The landscape is changing. And, as an IT executive, you may need to take a second look at your collection of skills. To succeed, you must be able to impress with your strengths, connect with your compassion, and become unforgettable by understanding and relating to people around you. Only then you will be able to foster a cohesive and extraordinary team.
Carole Nicolaides is president and founder of Progressive Leadership, Inc., an executive coaching firm. She assists companies in creating high-performance teams and leaders that produce outstanding results. Discover her free ezine, teleclass training and consulting in Knowledge Management, Coaching and Leadership Development when you visit http://www.progressiveleadership.com.
| | Satisfying your Customers is as Simple as this...Written by David Brewster
Continued from page 1
The same applies to every business - including yours. It doesn't matter how good your products or services are. If you can't consistently deliver them in an efficient manner and with minimum hassle for customer, your customers will eventually drift off and try someone else. On other hand, you will stand out from crowd if you focus effort on getting delivery right. What does this mean? It means focusing on detail of how you and your staff interact with customers. It means creating systems so that orders never, ever get lost or misplaced. It means having sufficient control so that when you make a promise to a customer, you can deliver on that promise. And it means having systems in place so that all these things happen consistently. Having a great product is one thing, but if you want to really impress your customers: get delivery right. ***For more ideas on this topic, see http://www.businesssimplification.com.au/ideas.htm © David Brewster, October 2002 http://www.BusinessSimplification.com.au; mailto:feedback@businesssimplification.com.au
David Brewster runs Business Simplification and works with the owners and managers of small businesses who know they want to improve but simply can't find the time to do so.
|
