April 15, 2009

Table of Contents:

Keeping Up: Current Events

Small Businesses Win

According to The Harvard Business Review, Small companies are making gains in the marketplace over large companies, because they offer low overhead, reliable owners, a small number of committed employees, personal client relationships, and sustainable business models.

MySpace Changes

A new version of MySpace, called MySpace Local is being introduced into the market; it is predicted to be helpful for entrepreneurs who want to tap into the wealth of social networking opportunities online. It looks to be a fun way of engaging customers on a local level.

Newspaper Scramble

Figures released by the Newspaper Association of America show that the decline of newspapers is more rapid than previously thought, with total print advertising revenue in 2007 plunging 9.4% compared to 2006, the biggest drop in revenue since 1950, the year they started tracking annual revenue.

Slash and Burn Marketing?

Is your company slashing its marketing budget? In tight economic times, organizations tend to take extreme measures. Is this the most successful way for your brands to make it through economic belt tightening? Cost containment is wise, but nimble adjustments and clearer trend tracking will likely pay off in the long run. So how do you get the most out of the money that your company IS spending? Here are some tips.

Leadership on Steroids

Are you putting emotional intelligence to work? It is an increasingly important ability that can be utilized in times of transition or stress, in order to lead an organization through a difficult time. At times, talent and experience are not enough to be a successful leader; now we understand that emotional intelligence has a vital role in people who become successful.

Editor's Note

If you are an Atlanta resident, mark your calendars for May 19, 2009.  EDSI will be presenting a Breakfast Briefing on Developing Talent.  This 90-minute session will arm you with strategies for engagement and accountability.  You do not want mediocrity or just good, you want great.   Sign up today, space is limited.  Click here to register.

Book Report

What Would Google Do?
Jeff Jarvis

This week we picked up the intriguing title, What Would Google Do, by Jeff Jarvis (HarperCollins, 2009). How could we resist sharing it? Jeff Jarvis is edgy, informative and entrepreneurial, being the proprietor of one of the most popular business blogs on the web (www.buzzmachine.com). His book reflects all those qualities.

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Situation Room
When the Top Performer is an HR Problem

You are the sales director in a fast-paced environment, where sales results are closely monitored and rewarded. Until recently the sales force has been organized into teams that compete against each other for top sales receipts. In the increasingly competitive market of the last 18 months, the company has changed to an "interdependent" model; in order for the organization to do well, all sales teams must work together.

Each team has one sales manager and six sales representatives. One team in particular, the Western Region, is having trouble. The salespeople have been complaining about their manager being a "bully". You have known about this manager’s abrasive style since she joined the company almost 10 years ago, but even though she has a harsh manner, her sales numbers have always been in the top 15% of the organization.

In the competitive economy, the coarse and rude aspects of her personality seem to be magnified---so much that you have seen an administrative staff member crying at her desk after a meeting with this manager and her top sales person has threatened legal action if he continues to be treated poorly by her.

What do you do?

Send in your solutions!

Author Q & A

Bob Phillips

This week we met up with Bob Phillips, co-author of Absolute Honesty (Amacom, 2003), and successful human resources executive and consultant.

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