• eNews Signup
  • Download Portfolio

Archive for March, 2010

Manage for Results

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

manage 2 150x150 Manage for ResultsManagement – an art and science whose primary focuses is to be result-oriented. Results-based management is an approach to management that integrates strategy, people, resources, processes and measurements to improve decision-making, transparency, and accountability; it concentrates and focuses on achieving outcomes, implementing performance measurements, learning and changing, and reporting performance.

It is a combination of the above attributes which can help achieve results. When you strike balance between each one of the phases of the management life-cycle in a planned and organized manner, the combined efforts assist in generating desired results. In most organizations many of the attributes are not recorded or managed properly, because the results are not analyzed properly.

Results are the outputs of value that must be produced to fulfill business objectives. They have common attributes and metrics like an identifier, description, value and quality, customer, group, quality standards, units of measure, volume, value-added, etc. that form result sets for monitoring if you are on the right course of action. If we do not manage all of the results as one complete set of information, we cannot manage business value or the outcomes from performance, value-quality chains, associated objectives and benefits, or strategic value creation.

Understanding your business, finding and focusing on opportunities, and building on strengths are a few guidelines which should be thought through before setting up a business. Start by defining your direction and identifying objectives which are smart — specific, measurable, attainable/achievable, reliable and time-bound. Once these objectives are set you can begin tracking the results to give an overall picture of your achievements and what corrective actions should be taken to meet or exceed the desired result.manage1 300x186 Manage for Results

Setting meaningful objectives and tracking them provides visibility to the management and helps set future direction for the organization. However in order to have such a system in place which is results oriented, one needs to have good managers and effective teams in place to make it a success.

Making Effective Teams

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Making teams which perform effectively and coherently has been a paramount concern for organizations everywhere. Effective management coupled with sound communication become more important for delegating and managing the teams under you.

team 1 300x199 Making Effective TeamsBuilding a team from scratch is a daunting task – it initiates by learning about your team members. Their competencies and ways of thinking are vital to understanding where they can add value with their current knowledge. Mutual respect and understanding with no blame games can be achieved through openness, frankness and discussing all the issues candidly within the professional boundaries.

It is of utmost importance for the project leader to establish a team synergy which can be achieved once the leader understands his/her team. The leader should have excellent communication skills not only to manage the team, but to delegate tasks effectively and in accordance to what is required of the team.

Expectations with the team should be made clear so that they have clarity of how they are supposed to perform on daily basis. Everyone should feel a part of the team – where everyone’s work as an individual is as important as the rest; it is the team leader’s job to bring coherence and relevance to everyone’s work collectively.

Constant counseling and grooming of the team is helpful making a team who is fully functional and effective in every aspect. Having discussions for constructive ideas, sharing, participating, and actively listening are common traits for a committed and devoted team.  Understand you are part of the bigger picture and seek to find how you can contribute and add value to meet the defined objectives.

http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Build-Effective-Teams&id=842818

Creating team hierarchy and structure at the beginning helps a lot – it not only defines who the team leader is, but also sets out the roles and responsibilities for the team. Giving recognition and incentives within the team is always a good policy. Whether you are contributing the ideas or being the team leader you should view the team leader role as an elected official, not someone ‘in charge.’ The goal of the elected official is to listen to the other’s views and representing them fairly, while maintaining an eye for the greater good (in our case of the project).

The Kelley School of Business teach’s that teams should begin all team exercises by establishing a team contract. The contracts range from a few paragraphs to a few pages but they all consist of a few key guidelines.

  • A mission statement or outline of goals.
  • List of expectations
  • Corrective Action if expectations are not met
  • Signatures of all team members

team 2 Making Effective TeamsDuring my studies I have found these contracts very helpful. Keep in mind the size of the project when determining the depth of the contract. A 1-2 week project might only need a few lines but a year long project may require a strategic plan. Don’t be afraid to experiment to help determine the proper size of your team contracts.

It is always a good idea to empower team members to implement their decisions when they are in line with the organization’s goals and objectives – taking risks and learning is an incredible team building process. Don’t let small mis-communications grow into bigger conflicts. Deal with them as soon as possible and be consistent, just, and compassionate with your approach.

Differences in cultural backgrounds, ages, experience levels and educational levels, can influence the foundations used to make perceptions and judgments. Being open minded to these varying points of view should be encouraged.

Don’t forget to visit our facebook page – your valued opinions and participation would help us provide better services to you:-

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indianapolis-IN/Halogen-Designs/187397613340

Usefulness of Online Advertisements

Friday, March 19th, 2010

In the ever changing world of technology where effective communication has become a key to success for survival for most companies – one way of achieving so is through publishing of information using different mediums. One way of getting the required information to your audience is online publishing. Online Publishing is not limited by time or geography. It is cheap, effective and fast – a good idea for companies with small budgets to promote their brands and market their existence.

market1 290x300 Usefulness of Online AdvertisementsAdvertising online should be focused and thought out. The intent for advertising is not only to attract traffic or get attention, but to generate revenue by publishing meaningful ads pertinent to your target audience. Ads should be fashioned in a manner that can grab the attention of potential customers, which should be relevant to the subject being discussed.

It is advised to conduct a thorough marketing research before advertising online. Some researches show what different age groups look for in ads and what stimulates their interest. Target audience studies find that younger internet users want to be entertained and older consumers want relevance and usefulness – It is clear younger people are more interested in entertaining adverts, and it is important that marketers adapt their messages to appeal to their target audiences. Also, what exactly are the consumers looking or searching for online: relevance, entertainment and value for the money, which is very important for brands to keep this in mind when planning their digital campaigns. If your target audience are older consumers you may want to re-think your strategy for putting up ads which are best suited to their interests.

Another benefit is the efficiency of advertiser’s investment. Online advertising provides the flexibility for customization of advertisements, including content and posted websites. For example, AdWords and AdSense enable ads shown on relevant web pages or aside of search results of pre-chosen keywords.

market2 300x128 Usefulness of Online AdvertisementsIt is important to monitor your traffic and generate meaningful reports from the statistics which you gather, it will not only help you improve ads but also would provide insights as to which target audiences visits your ads, which are the most popular brands to promote. Be prepared for uncertainty. Digital media changes fast; therefore you must continually evolve your tactics. As comfortable as it may be to rely on what has been proven to work, you must continue to experiment and learn based on the information and statistics which you gather. Your strategy should include the objective of building trust as a brand attribute.

It is always a good idea to talk to your customers to know what they want and compile their feedback which would help in continuous improvement.

Don’t forget to visit our facebook pages – your valued opinions and participation would help us provide better services to you:-

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indianapolis-IN/Halogen-Designs/187397613340

Vote for Michael Miller

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Michael needs your help. Super producer Ryan Leslie is putting on a contest through Talenthouse.com. The grand prize is a trip to New York to work with Ryan in the studio on a major record release. Take a look at the video entry below then vote for Michael by texting DPZ7NH to 53037. To visit Michaels entry on the Talenthouse site click here. Thank you so much for your support!

Download What You Gon’ Do! for free!

Youtube video:Making of “What You Gon’ Do” – Michael Miller feat. P. Hardy & Riddles

4632 99498555840 57543150840 2301155 6476048 n 2 Vote for Michael Miller

Lego Lucas Oil Model!

Monday, March 15th, 2010

I was watching the news earlier today and saw 1/250 scale model of Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium… Made entirely out of Legos! This thing is awesome.

Here you can see the outside of the replica of the Lego Lucas Oil

The retractable roof works just like the real thing.

The retractable roof works and the lighting and press box can be seen as well. Check out this picture of the jumbotron.

Jumbotron inside the lego lucas oil replica

Check out the Jumbotron!

Recently we designed an advertisement for The People’s Burn Foundation. You might remember hearing about it in a previous Halogen Designs blog post Using Facebook In Business where we talk about finding a photographer via facebook to document our work at Lucas Oil Stadium.

James George and Alex Shaffer in front of Lucas Oil Stadium with the People's Burn Foundation advertisement they designed behind them on a digital marquee.

Business Partners

MocPages.com has more photos and coverage about the Lucas Oil Replica.