The document is a transcript of a podcast interview discussing simplification. It interviews Irene Etzkorn, an expert in simplification from Siegel and Gale, a branding firm. She discusses how Siegel and Gale pioneered a practice of simplification by focusing on transactional touchpoints like policies and bills. Etzkorn explains that successful simplification requires distilling information, having empathy for customers, and ensuring clarity. She also notes that research is key to defining what needs simplification without oversimplifying.
Robert B. Camp was my guest on the podcast, A Story of Sustaining Lean. Throughout his career, he has performed roles that have drawn heavily on his increasing body of Lean knowledge and experience. He is a board member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence and the author of Go and See: A Journey about Getting to Lean, and most recently Sustainable Lean: The Story of a Cultural Transformation. This is a transcription of the podcast.
Theodore Panagacos, a former Management Consultant with Booz & Company in the podcast, Business Process Management more than an IT Function, gives an introduction to Business Process Management. Theodore recently authored the book, The Ultimate Guide to Business Process Management: Everything you need to know and how to apply it to your organization. His book has become an Amazon top seller in its category, Business Process Management. This is a transcription of the podcast.
Ed Muzio, president and CEO of Group Harmonics was my guest on the Business901 Podcast. This is a transcription of the podcast, Creating a Great Workplace. We had a great discussion on his new book, Make Work Great: Super Charge Your Team, Reinvent the Culture, and Gain Influence One Person at a Time. He is a leader in the application of analytical models to group effectiveness and individual enjoyment. I thought it was a must listen for Kaizen Leaders and participants. Ed gives some great tips and tools that can be instantly implemented. I was very impressed on his ease of explanation and mastery of the subject.
In an enlightening podcast, Show me the Money – The Truth about Performance, N. Dean Meyer discussed his new book, Internal Market Economics. Don Tapscott said it was “essential reading for executives interested in maximizing shareholder value or in running effective shared-services organizations.” Dean offers a fresh vision of empowered, entrepreneurial organizations, and practical solutions to a host of pressing financial and management challenges. This is a transcription of the podcast.
Robert B. Camp was my guest on the podcast, A Story of Sustaining Lean. Throughout his career, he has performed roles that have drawn heavily on his increasing body of Lean knowledge and experience. He is a board member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence and the author of Go and See: A Journey about Getting to Lean, and most recently Sustainable Lean: The Story of a Cultural Transformation. This is a transcription of the podcast.
Theodore Panagacos, a former Management Consultant with Booz & Company in the podcast, Business Process Management more than an IT Function, gives an introduction to Business Process Management. Theodore recently authored the book, The Ultimate Guide to Business Process Management: Everything you need to know and how to apply it to your organization. His book has become an Amazon top seller in its category, Business Process Management. This is a transcription of the podcast.
Ed Muzio, president and CEO of Group Harmonics was my guest on the Business901 Podcast. This is a transcription of the podcast, Creating a Great Workplace. We had a great discussion on his new book, Make Work Great: Super Charge Your Team, Reinvent the Culture, and Gain Influence One Person at a Time. He is a leader in the application of analytical models to group effectiveness and individual enjoyment. I thought it was a must listen for Kaizen Leaders and participants. Ed gives some great tips and tools that can be instantly implemented. I was very impressed on his ease of explanation and mastery of the subject.
In an enlightening podcast, Show me the Money – The Truth about Performance, N. Dean Meyer discussed his new book, Internal Market Economics. Don Tapscott said it was “essential reading for executives interested in maximizing shareholder value or in running effective shared-services organizations.” Dean offers a fresh vision of empowered, entrepreneurial organizations, and practical solutions to a host of pressing financial and management challenges. This is a transcription of the podcast.
Reaching non desk-based employees: case studyPoppulo
Download the full case study on the same topic here: http://bit.ly/2WtHWAd
One of the biggest challenges facing many companies is to ensure they have effective communication systems in place to reach and engage employees right across the organization, whether they are desk-based in HQ, at regional locations, or not as digitally connected as some of their colleagues.
Reaching the latter was the challenge Laura Barbour faced when she joined Formica Group Europe as European Employee Engagement Manager in 2015. The task she faced was daunting:
* The company was in financial trouble and morale was on the floor
* The latest employee engagement scores were terrible
* Confidence in the company leadership was very low
* She was the sole internal communicator
* It was very difficult to reach employees as most were shop floor workers who were not digitally connected and weren’t allowed have phones while on duty.
This presentation takes you through the fascinating story of how Laura and her Formica colleagues tackled and overcame these challenges.
---
We know that every organization faces different communication challenges. Call us now if you’d like to discuss yours with one of our IC experts.
Intl. +353 21 242 7277
UK 0800 904 7955
US 781 443 7600
or visit Poppulo.com
How to help Line Managers be Better CommunicatorsPoppulo
Download our free How to Guide on the same topic here: http://bit.ly/2VNVV3I
Line managers play a crucial role in articulating company communications and providing feedback to senior management. As the workplace changes radically – driven by a range of inter-linking factors such as technological advancements, talent shortages, remote working, and sky-high urban property prices – the role of the line manager in this context is going to become even more critical.
Yet, rightly or wrongly, they are consistently seen as being poor communicators.
This presentation includes some wonderful insight from several IC professionals and covers:
- Capability building
- Capacity building
- Cascade management
- Leadership support
- Process support
- Data to the rescue
---
We know that every organization faces different communication challenges. Call us now if you’d like to discuss yours with one of our IC experts.
Intl. +353 21 242 7277
UK 0800 904 7955
US 781 443 7600
or visit Poppulo.com
Seen differently, best practices are a race to an average. Maybe it's time to rethink your email strategy and challenge the status quo. Because, innovation happens when you try new things.
Have we let advertising agencies become dinosaurs? Marketers are looking for effective business solutions, speed and low cost. While many agencies are still enamored by growth in size, stature and heft.
Here are some thoughts on how agencies can close this gap.
Agency of the future - beginning the transformation journey42medien
There is a need for some agencies to re-frame the way they look at their need to evolve. Instead of the default thinking being "we need to implement X technology, hire/fire Y person or merge Z departments" they should start asking, "what is really defining the problem space we are now in and what will be the major factors of change moving forward". Only from this point, can a relevant and grounded future be established.
Reaching non desk-based employees: case studyPoppulo
Download the full case study on the same topic here: http://bit.ly/2WtHWAd
One of the biggest challenges facing many companies is to ensure they have effective communication systems in place to reach and engage employees right across the organization, whether they are desk-based in HQ, at regional locations, or not as digitally connected as some of their colleagues.
Reaching the latter was the challenge Laura Barbour faced when she joined Formica Group Europe as European Employee Engagement Manager in 2015. The task she faced was daunting:
* The company was in financial trouble and morale was on the floor
* The latest employee engagement scores were terrible
* Confidence in the company leadership was very low
* She was the sole internal communicator
* It was very difficult to reach employees as most were shop floor workers who were not digitally connected and weren’t allowed have phones while on duty.
This presentation takes you through the fascinating story of how Laura and her Formica colleagues tackled and overcame these challenges.
---
We know that every organization faces different communication challenges. Call us now if you’d like to discuss yours with one of our IC experts.
Intl. +353 21 242 7277
UK 0800 904 7955
US 781 443 7600
or visit Poppulo.com
How to help Line Managers be Better CommunicatorsPoppulo
Download our free How to Guide on the same topic here: http://bit.ly/2VNVV3I
Line managers play a crucial role in articulating company communications and providing feedback to senior management. As the workplace changes radically – driven by a range of inter-linking factors such as technological advancements, talent shortages, remote working, and sky-high urban property prices – the role of the line manager in this context is going to become even more critical.
Yet, rightly or wrongly, they are consistently seen as being poor communicators.
This presentation includes some wonderful insight from several IC professionals and covers:
- Capability building
- Capacity building
- Cascade management
- Leadership support
- Process support
- Data to the rescue
---
We know that every organization faces different communication challenges. Call us now if you’d like to discuss yours with one of our IC experts.
Intl. +353 21 242 7277
UK 0800 904 7955
US 781 443 7600
or visit Poppulo.com
Seen differently, best practices are a race to an average. Maybe it's time to rethink your email strategy and challenge the status quo. Because, innovation happens when you try new things.
Have we let advertising agencies become dinosaurs? Marketers are looking for effective business solutions, speed and low cost. While many agencies are still enamored by growth in size, stature and heft.
Here are some thoughts on how agencies can close this gap.
Agency of the future - beginning the transformation journey42medien
There is a need for some agencies to re-frame the way they look at their need to evolve. Instead of the default thinking being "we need to implement X technology, hire/fire Y person or merge Z departments" they should start asking, "what is really defining the problem space we are now in and what will be the major factors of change moving forward". Only from this point, can a relevant and grounded future be established.
Executive Perspective with Tony DiBenedetto, Tribridge CEOLLR Partners
Tribridge Chairman & CEO Tony DiBenedetto is featured by Martinwolf, giving his executive perspective on what keeps him engaged in Tribridge, working with a private equity firm, competition among technology services providers, and helping mid-market and enterprise customers transition to the cloud.
121--- 3 postsMinimum 100 words each postBe positive and ask.docxmoggdede
121--- 3 posts
Minimum 100 words each post
Be positive and ask a question
+++++++++++++++++
Brandi –
It is very important to take the time to fully research many brokerages in ones area as it can have long lasting effects on a sales agent's career. When speaking to other agents I have been told to shop the most compatible corporate culture for myself as they can vary greatly. The broker you choose to work for will be more than your boss, they need to be your best friend and partner. They are the person who will have your back when things go less than perfect so you need to be able to trust them fully.
An agent shopping for a brokerage should take many things into consideration. The office itself should be measured. Is it in a desirable and easy to access location? Is it visually pleasing and is there ample parking? The other agents working for the brokerage should be diverse in experience. Does the brokerage offer marketing services? What kind of desk fees do they charge and what is the beginning commission split. They should have a visually pleasing web page that is easy to navigate. They should also have a good reputation in the community.
I have actually interviewed at two different brokerages so far and both were very reputable and offered great things for their agents. A big selling point for me was the type of support and education they offer to new agents. I wanted to know if they offer a post-license course or if I would have to take it online. I also asked if they offer a mentor program which both did. The biggest difference in the companies was commission split and diversity of agents. One offered a much larger commission split but had a much larger ratio of new inexperienced agent to experienced agent ratio. There were about 4 agents out of 5 with less that a year of experience. I felt I would prefer the office with more experienced agents and a lower commission split as a new agent as I can always earn more with a more secure base of experience behind me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thomas –
The world of Real Estate has changed so much over the last few years. It used to be a lot of word of mouth, newspapers, and flyers. So many things changed when the world of the internet happened, let alone when social media took off. There are so many ways to reach your potential clients and even less expensive than running news paper ads. When I talk about it being cheaper than it is more of the idea that you are getting more for the money you are spending.
A lot of future agents may think that pay may be the most important thing. Yes, it is important to think about when researching future potential agencies that you want to work for. Not only pay, but benefits, agency success rate, also what could possibly work with your style of selling properties. I will be working with my father-in-law for his real estate firm when I complete my degree in just a couple of weeks. With his firm it was e ...
The Invisible ROI Of Creating A Digital Asset For Any ExecutiveJanette Getui
We now live in a world where employers hire not based on resumes and CV's but on the information they find online. If you want to develop your executive presence and make your reputation your greatest asset, here's a simple solution.
A short presentation I gave on brands and branding for the Police Innovation Conference, 9.16-17.2013 in Cambridge, MA.
Presentaton design by Dylan Wilson http://www.dylanwilson.com
Customer Value Mapping: Using customer value mapping to understand what custo...Business901
Customer value mapping is a qualitative approach that looks at the perceived value of a product or service from the customer’s perspective.
The Business901 Fractional Marketing Services allow customers to focus on their core operations while the business development and marketing experts at Business901 handle customer-facing campaigns. The plans are tailored to each business, considering each company’s existing capabilities, budget, and industry.
Business901 offers a unique combination of traditional and progressive methods to maximize customer growth. Social media campaigns, in-person and online events, and partnerships with industry organizations are all available, depending on the company’s needs. Additionally, Business901 utilizes AI-based tools to accelerate the sales and marketing process. This modern approach ensures that customers get the most out of their time and budget.
“At the end of the day, Business901 is focused on providing clients with the best experience possible,” said Dager. “We strive to give our clients access to the expertise and resources they need to succeed in their respective industries.”We act as teachers, consultants, strategists, or implementers. The program is designed around your desired deliverables with specific milestones and time frames to meet your outcomes.
Are you looking at growth through the right lenses? Or are you still operating in the Doom Loop? Is your disciplined actions focused on experimentation?
Jim Collins has been talking about the Flywheel Effect for many years and most of us (should) know the intricacies behind the concept. Reviewing the recent book Experimentation Works, author Stefan Thomke reinforces this effect through Booking's Growth Flywheel and his own 7 System Levers.
Expanding on just 3 of the 7 levers:
1. Scale: Number of experiments per week, months, or year
2. Scope: Extent to which an organization’s employees are involved in experiments
3. Speed: Time from formulating a hypothesis to completing an experiment
In the past, I have written about using the Lean trio of SDCA, PDCA, EDCA with an umbrella of CAP-Do or in Non-Lean terms; Standard Work, Continuous Improvement, Design Thinking (Exploration), and Reflection.
In the book, Cracked it!: How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants, the authors lay out their 4s Framework in much the same manner with a flowchart to guide you through the use of it. Their dive into each discipline is excellent. Enjoy the read.
The part of the framework that they took the time with that most problem-solving books don’t is the Sell Stage. Of course, I am partial to that area but even though I am, when doing it for myself, I often just think people get it. Everyone wants to grow revenue or save time and money?
I also like that though it is convenient to put documentation at the end and part of this stage, I took a little deeper meaning from it. The part of sustaining, and even improving again often rests on the idea of how we deliver/sell the results.
Branops - Making Your Story Your StrategyBusiness901
In BRANOPS, we scale by looking at marketing from a Growth Mindset. We don’t start with a complex market and try to work back by tweaking and modifying it.
Roles of Intuition & Rationality in Strategic DecisionsBusiness901
Author Julia Sloan in the book, Learning to Think Strategically, emphasizes the need for both a Creative and Rational balance in the approach.
Sloan says, "Without a well-honed intuitive sense, problem analysis can remain clinical, sanitized, and ineffectual, in that problems are exposed only superficially and analyzed without much, if any, examination of the “truthfulness” of their cause. Rationality then plays the critical role of identifying relevant information and analyzing facts." I find her approach the rest of the book equally enlightening.
This process reminds me of the Divergent/Convergent Design Think approach and equally similar to Disney’s Creative Strategy: Dreamer, Realist, and Critic approach.
I have both an electronic and audion version of the book. It is a good listen. Amazon: Learning to Think Strategically 4th Edition https://amzn.to/2Z1vyKB
Onboarding Freelancers LinkedIn Group Deck Business901
Would you contribute to empowering Freelancers in your work environment?
Please consider joining this LinkedIn Group:
https://lnkd.in/eRuGzsm
As the use of Freelancers proliferate across organizational departments new ways of thinking are required. We have created instances of success in employee onboarding but often we have similar expectations of Freelancers in very condensed cycles.
This group is intended first and foremost to create awareness of these issues and elaborate on ideas for enhancing the flow of work between the stakeholders.
Lean Scale Up: Lean as a Growth StrategyBusiness901
The Lean Scale-Up ebook has been a handout and lead generator on my website for several years. It was created with the understanding that if you can build a culture of PDCA, a culture of learning, growth becomes part of everyone’s job.
It is this aspect I have always believe that separates good companies from great companies.
Social Media Analytics For International MarketersBusiness901
This Prime Target Webinar will provide insights on how social media analytics can be used for International Market Research.
Topics Covered:
1. Five Advantages to using social media analytics for international marketing
2. Social media – source for market research unexploited by companies
3. Learn to understand and track our markets and competitors in our target countries
4. Discover reliable tools adapted for small companies
More Info & Registration:
https://www.bigmarker.com/prime-target/SOCIAL-MEDIA-ANALYTICS-FOR-INTERNATIONAL-MARKETERS
In creating an International Strategy, "Where to play" is a critical component, maybe the most. And the scariest part is that it can change rather quickly. What is your risk? Are you prepared?
This is an excerpt from a recent Prime Target and Euromonitor International webinar about risk hosted by Tatiana Miron: https://lnkd.in/eXr_8dU
PrimeTarget.tech helps SMEs and startups accelerate growth and improve performance globally through the power of data and analytics. The management team is versatile and abreast in growth hacking for companies with global ambitions. Their purpose is to open access to small and medium enterprises to a fundamentally new approach in decision making with regards to global strategies, one designed to match today's fast pace of change and new technologies.
Get On Track with a Strength-Based Sales and Marketing ApproachBusiness901
If the video does not play in the 2nd slide, this is the YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/fmWWut0rjBY
The video incorporates the disciplines I use within a Strength-Based Sales and Marketing effort. Taken from great leaders of Appreciative Inquiry, it may look complicated but all of these are founded on the basic principles of AI.
Appreciative Inquiry is a shift from looking at problems and deficiencies and instead focusing on strengths and successes. It is a tool for change, and it will strengthen relationships throughout your business. Most people struggle to obtain this mindset without training. We have just been conditioned otherwise. I always use the example that is about obtaining the flow of what and how versus the drilling down of why. In sales and marketing when you analyze your wins instead of your losses it makes you 10X more likely to understand the events that trigger decision-makers to become motivated about buying your product or service.
More info at https://business901.com/
Faces of Change 2 - Social Emotional Learning ProgramBusiness901
The Faces of Change 2 Introductory Program provides a foundation for teachers, parents, social workers and mentors to understand how and what that relationship should look like for students presently and in the future. By using the Faces of Change Timeline as a central focus we will introduce the central theme of the Faces of Change 2 program. Participants are provided with the groundwork on how to use Faces of Change activities in the classroom while counseling, advising, or serving as an advocate for the student.
A recent presentation for a small group of manufacturers on Lean Sales and Marketing. We concentrated primarily on creating a marketing space utilizing Lean and Blue Ocean principles.
Are You Interested in Esports Advertising? Are you unsure of how to get started?
Take a look at the following Ad Deck and see if you would like to test the waters.
More information: Business901, https://business901.com
KM Cyber Security, https://www.kmcybersecurity.com/
Keatron Evans is the Managing Partner at KM Cyber Security, LLC
and responsible for global information security consulting business which includes penetration testing, incident response management/consulting, digital forensics, and training.
Intel E5/Gold processors, SSD drives in RAID 10, 10Gbps network interfaces, enterprise-grade RAM, peering with multiple Tier-1 networks for excellent latency, and more. - At pricing that is hard to believe.
Understand the Purpose Behind the QuestionBusiness901
The ability to ask good questions is essential in today’s world. However, as Stephen Covey categorized in one of his 7 Habits; “Seek first to Understand, then to be understood.” Or another way Dale Carnegie phrased this, “To be interesting, be interested.” To accomplish this, I think one of the areas that most of could work on is to develop our ability to quickly recognize the purpose of the question. When we do this, it is much easier to align perspectives and therefore engage in collaborative efforts.
Adapted from the work of Stafford (2009) and from the book, Collaborating for Inquiry-Based Learning: School Librarians and Teachers Partner for Student Achievement by Virginia L. Wallace and Whitney N. Husid, the Purposes for Question diagram is an ideal training aid for me in sales and marketing.
Turning Reflection into Action using the Lean Process of CAP-Do Business901
The Lean Process of CAP-Do is how I initiate most projects. It creates a path towards capturing standard work, deciding what we what improve on, what we want to explore and not to be forgotten what we want to stop doing. This outline provides an introduction to using Lean for marketing and introduces the upcoming workshop on Marketing Action Research.
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
Personal Brand Statement:
As an Army veteran dedicated to lifelong learning, I bring a disciplined, strategic mindset to my pursuits. I am constantly expanding my knowledge to innovate and lead effectively. My journey is driven by a commitment to excellence, and to make a meaningful impact in the world.
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
Company Valuation webinar series - Tuesday, 4 June 2024FelixPerez547899
This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
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3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
Enterprise Excellence is Inclusive Excellence.pdfKaiNexus
Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion.
What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization.
What might I learn?
A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo.
Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor.
Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.
What is the TDS Return Filing Due Date for FY 2024-25.pdfseoforlegalpillers
It is crucial for the taxpayers to understand about the TDS Return Filing Due Date, so that they can fulfill your TDS obligations efficiently. Taxpayers can avoid penalties by sticking to the deadlines and by accurate filing of TDS. Timely filing of TDS will make sure about the availability of tax credits. You can also seek the professional guidance of experts like Legal Pillers for timely filing of the TDS Return.
The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is buzzing with discussions after Google confirmed that around 2,500 leaked internal documents related to its Search feature are indeed authentic. The revelation has sparked significant concerns within the SEO community. The leaked documents were initially reported by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King, igniting widespread analysis and discourse. For More Info:- https://news.arihantwebtech.com/search-disrupted-googles-leaked-documents-rock-the-seo-world/
Search Disrupted Google’s Leaked Documents Rock the SEO World.pdf
What it takes to Simplify
1. Business901 Podcast Transcription
Implementing Lean Marketing Systems
What it takes to Simplify
Copyright Business901
What it takes to Simplify
Guest was Irene Etzkorn
Sponsored by
Related Podcast:
What it takes to Simplify
2. Business901 Podcast Transcription
Implementing Lean Marketing Systems
What it takes to Simplify
Copyright Business901
Transcription of Podcast
Joe Dager: Welcome everyone; this is Joe Dager, the host of
Business901 podcast. With me, today is Irene Etzkorn.
She is a worldwide authority on simplicity and built the
Simplification practice of global strategic branding and
customer
experience firm
Siegel and Gale.
As executive
director of
Simplification, her
clients include the
nation's top
banks, brokerage
firms, insurance
companies,
utilities, and
health care
providers. Irene is
someone who has
taken the term Simple and made it a feature. Irene,
since your work is based on simplification, I may need
you to define what Siegel and Gale do. Are they a
branding firm that just simplifies everything?
Irene Etzkorn: Well, thank you for having me join you today.
Yes, we are a branding firm that works in the realm of
corporate identity and brand positioning more
traditional aspects of branding. We also have my
practice area, which we call "Simplification" and it is a
unique specialization. An area, that the founder and
chairman of our firm and the co-author of my book,
3. Business901 Podcast Transcription
Implementing Lean Marketing Systems
What it takes to Simplify
Copyright Business901
Alan Siegel, really was the inspiration. He realized early
on, that if a brand's essence was about simplicity,
transparency, usability and clarity, which the only way
for customers to experience it was at a tangible
transactional level. That gave rise to focusing on
frequently overlooked touch points which is something
much deeper than logos, signs, uniforms, the traditional
expressions of a brand. He had the vision to look at
things like insurance policies, telephone bills, and the
letters you receive, how useful website is, as a way to
express ethos of a brand. Also, it was a way to make
complicated information more accessible and more
suitable way for customers to interact. So, that's what
we do. We take complicated things and we make them
more transparent.
Joe: Well, you've had a simplification department in Siegel
and Gale for a long time.
Irene: Yes, we have this inspiration about 35 years ago; when
he was given an assignment from City Bank at the time
it was First National City. He was asked to redesign
cosmetically improve the graphic design and the
appearance of a loan note, a legal document. As soon
as he got into it, he realized: "Well, this will make it
appear more accessible", but as soon as you start
reading it, it still going to read like the Dead Sea Scrolls.
It's going to be lengthy, it's going to be riddle with
legalized, and it's not going to be consumer friendly.
That was the germ of the idea that it needed to be
written in plain language. It needed it be re-sequenced.
The contents needed to be re-thought and then it
needed to be re-designed.
4. Business901 Podcast Transcription
Implementing Lean Marketing Systems
What it takes to Simplify
Copyright Business901
Joe: With the length of time you've been doing it, why was
now the time for a book?
Irene: Well, now is the time because the proliferation of
information has reached the crescendo, the advent of
tablets and smartphones and, of course, computers in
general has made that we're all bombarded by massive
amount of information. We point out in the book, even
our recreation and our entertainment involved the
luminous choices. Hundreds of channels of television
programming, hundreds of thousands of apps, even the
choices on the menu are in the hundreds. So, it sort of
reached a level where it's necessary for a company to
narrow down the selections and clarify them as it is to
reach consumers. It's just more than anyone of us can
comprehend or have enough time to digest. It is also
the aspect that the advent of social media, Facebook,
Twitter, etcetera, means that consumers now are able
to express their dissatisfaction, their complaint,
sometimes their compliments about companies quickly
and easily. So, now, consumers are pushing back and
sending out tweets and postings that point out when
they think there are hidden provisions in contracts,
hidden fees, unfair practices, confusion, etcetera. So,
we felt that there was ground swell as there was going
to be a change in the relationship between consumers
and companies. We are starting to see that.
Joe: Well, you work with large firms. The US government,
insurance health care providers, IRS, to name a few, is
it possible to simplify organizations or are we just
talking paperwork?
Irene: It's a good point. Most of the major transformative
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simplification assignment we work on, we were initial
asked to focus on a customer's experience, follow up by
the paper work or all of the online information
associated with the transaction or an interaction which
leads to what we call governance changes, meaning to
your point organizational structural changes within the
company. For us, a mark of a successful simplification
project is where we have become a verb. If they hired
our firm Siegel and Gale, they'll say they're Siegel and
Galeizing something which is usually a good sign. We
think in terms of the fact that they have internalized the
principles and the approached and look at things with a
different filter. The lens then becomes, could I explain
this quickly and easily to a family member who was not
involved in my industry. Is it something where I am
apologizing a thousand times for the fact that it is not
clear or I have to give a band aid explanation or
something? When a successful organization empowered
the group to push back from a communications point of
view, usually change the balance of power between
legal and communication. Often, we find by default the
legal staff and the company will become a
communication function, which is not what they usually
want to be or what they are most appropriate for. So, it
has organizational implications. The most successful
simplification work has a high level of executive
champions. So, often we find these projects rack their
way up to a high level in a company. So, it can have a
systemic effect.
Joe: Well, you've perfectly led into the next question. I
couldn't ask for a better one. Has simplification ideas
reached the CEO level?
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Irene: Yes, absolutely. Some of our projects have been
inspired actually by CEOs who are customers of their
own companies receiving, for example, a trust
statement for investment that they don't understand
themselves. Or, they sign up for insurance, and they are
horrified by their own correspondence from their own
company. It's lack of clarity. Some projects begin there.
Some, it's a case where they have worked with us in
one firm. For example, a CMO of a major fortune 100
company worked with us in one arena, in financial
services, and moved over to insurance and realized
there was a similar need for clarity in his next venture
and asked us to come in there. That is always a good
and successful approach because it makes it clear to all
the subject matter experts within a company that the
intent is not to explain why things are the way they are.
There's always a long legacy and reason for complexity
in an organization. But instead, with an executive
champion, they are empowered to say: "Well, here is
how it could be different". If we took a blank slate
approach, here is how we might begin. That is an
important and progressive step to start at the top.
Joe: What are the secrets to simplification? Is there
something that when you walk in, you see the
complexity? Is there a secret to understanding how to
look at things with simple eyes?
Irene: Yes, there is and I think it lies in the fact that clarity is
best achieved through an intuitive structure of
information. Most often who find people who have a
complicated topic or complicated communication want
to begin by re-writing and/or re-designing. Those are
two ingredients and important skills and certainly ones
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that we advocate. They are not place to begin. It is
necessary to begin and look at the process. What is the
data, the content? What do you know about this
customer? For example, if you already know what state
they live in, you don't have to include a lot of "if-then"
clauses that say "if you're in Michigan", "if you are in
New York", etcetera, and have the person deal with all
that. Instead, you can push out to them a customized
communication. Starting further up the chain and
providing a summary to detail approach, will answer
likely questions for 80% or 90% of the readers or the
users upfront? People who have further questions can
continue on in the communication, but you haven't
created an introductory barrier for the majority of
people. In actions, a lot of simplification is about
intuitive organization and structure. Another example of
that is insurance policy. Property casualty insurance,
people do not read their insurance policy, for some,
they are novel. They read them usually at the time of
need when they have a claim. Putting what to do if you
have a loss at the first item in a policy is much more
customer focused. It is a reflection of the organization
of the company that's producing it and becomes a more
meaningful document for the consumer.
Joe: I think you make the great example there because it's
amazing how many times redundancy is built in. I think
of health care right away where I am asked the same
question so many times that I feel that I probably
answered it wrong along the way.
Irene: Absolutely, that's a good example because one of the 3
key principles that we've talked about in the book to
achieve simplicity, one of them is empathy.
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Emphasizing with the circumstance of the
communication or the interaction is important when you
mentioned health care, that's a great example. Not only
are you sometimes being asked for the same
information repeatedly, you may be in a state where
half the time you are drugged or you’re ill. Obviously,
for some reason, you're seeking health care. It's not
your finest moment probably in terms of clarity of
thought and emotional state, etcetera. So, it's a good
example where even more so in that circumstance, you
would want things to be accessible, clear and not
redundant certainly.
Joe: Well, you just mentioned there that you talked in the
book about 3 different parts. You mentioned empathy,
what are the other two?
Irene: Distillation and clarity. Distilling is this notion of not just
writing, but writing and then editing; a constant
filtration or condensing of information. On the first path,
you might get all the information, all of the facts out
there. On the second path, you can go through and look
at it with a different lens. For example, when we've
done communication geared towards diabetic, some of
the people with diabetes are brand new to the
diagnosis. They need a lot of information; the whole
notion of testing their blood sugar is an unfamiliar
concept. All of this change in diet, exercise, lots of
information. However, many people are life-long
diabetics, or they have taken insulin shots, etcetera for
years, they don't need the same level of explanation.
They are looking for the "what's new", "what's
different", "what's something" that I'm already familiar
with. So, emphasizing with the circumstances of youth,
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the level of knowledge that the person already has, then
just distilling the information down to the bare essence
for those who will be seeking, just this sort of core
content is very important. Then clarifying making it as
written in plain English as possible, using information
design to highly or preview or headline information, a
hierarchy of information so you can easily see from the
structure of a document or screen what's most
important, what's less important, what's detailed versus
what's a headline, etcetera. So, truly those 3 concepts
coming together that we think achieved simplicity.
Joe: I think of the chicken and the egg thing when I think of
simplicity and clarity. Which comes first? Can you help
us define the different between simplicity and clarity?
Irene: Well, we think simplicity is the summation, when clarity,
distillation and empathy come together. We think that
leads to break through simplicity because for us
simplicity is really shortening the distance in whatever
way that's possible between the consumer and a
company or a citizen and the government, etcetera.
And, the shortening of the distance can sometimes have
to do with the timing of information. Many companies
bombarded you or inundate you with information at the
outset of the relationship, but you may not have a real
understanding of the implications of that information or
even a need for insurance being a good example, until
months or years into the relationship. In a similar vein,
that happens often with investment. You will literally get
a hundred pages of information upfront and have very
little sense of what you should be focusing on or what
you should retain of that information. So, simplicity, it is
a very nuance concept that has a number of facets that
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for some people its aesthetics, but it is very sort of
Spartan, devoid of clutter, etcetera. For some, it’s all
about clarity, the expression, the language and the
design, the immediate, sort of, visceral reaction that
somebody has. For other it's something that's simple if
it's delivered in the medium or channel that I prefer
meaning like an online mobile device that's opposed to
a printed piece. But it is really, all of those aspects
together which typically leads to something being
perceived as simple and easy to use.
Joe: I think most people will agree with you in, you know,
that things that need to be simplified, but what do we
know is the value of what is not a value? How do we go
about trying to define them?
Irene: Well, the acid test is always consumer research.
Obviously, when you've been working in the field for a
long time as we have and consulting on work from
many industries, many kinds of consumer. We have a
pretty good hypothesis going in, but the real way to find
out is to actually test the comprehension and the
perception of simplicity. We advocate usually using an
online methodology where people are shown "befores"
and "afters" as to interact with a communication or an
obstruction or whatever the item currently is and then
after usually in random order to interact with the
simplified item. Then you can actually ask them to
perform certain tasks or answer certain questions that
would indicate not just whether they thought it was
easy, but whether they understood the implication. For
example, if you don't pay by this date, how much more
will you owe? If you fail to respond to this notice, what
will happen? To make sure that people, that their
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behaviour will be affected by the communication not
just that they will say: "Oh I think I understood it".
Joe: This might sound like a silly question, but is there a
time we need complexity? I mean, it may be a better
way to phrase this, can we over simplify things?
Irene: Well, certainly, I would say over simplification is any
crucial messages are left out simply in the interest of
brevity. However, for me there's a distinction between
complexity and confusion. What we're really trying to
eliminate is confusion. Complexity is inherent in a lot of,
modern life. Many investments are inherently
complicated. Many medical procedures are complex
procedures. So, it is not as though we are saying the
space shuttles working are suddenly going to be
simplified. What we are saying is the confusion
surrounding someone's need to interact with that
information is what can be clarified and made clearer.
It's often a case of moving the complexity back up
stream. The company or the organization deals with the
complexity rather than the end consumer. So, if you've
viewed it as a chain or continuum, it would be moving
the complexity. We are not saying that you can
magically remove all of the complexity that's actually an
aspect of, for example, scientific topic, it will be a
complicated topic always, but the expression of it might
be clarified.
Joe: In your book, the title of it, I should mention, is
"Simple". Is it a how to, does it give me a process to
simplify things?
Irene: You know, it really doesn't and that was the conscious
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choice. We felt that this book was more of a call to
action and a way of heightening awareness that
simplicity was possible and has been attained by many
large companies and government organizations. It was
something worth striving for. That it has cost benefits
and consumer benefits. The book is not primarily a how
to, I mean as we just mentioned these three principles
we show a number of case studies, we think exemplify
how to use empathy and clarity in communication. So,
by inference, someone could see some of the tactics
and techniques that work. It isn't a primer in terms of
how to because we didn't want to limit it to only the
audience that would be responsible for achieving this.
We really thought it was a topic that needed a broader
discussion in society, even if you are not within a
company responsible for these kinds of touch points. If
you are simply a consumer or a student or patient , you
might want to be more aware of what you should be
asking companies to do on your behalf and how you can
be a more informed consumer.
Joe: Well, simplification is something that is in the eye of the
beholder. I mean, what is simply to someone over here,
is not going to be simple to some else. How do you,
from an organizational view, how do you understand
this? Is it just customer-focused group, customer's
survey, customer's trial and error or is there a way that
they can be simplified for you to understand?
Irene: We have a number of metrics that we work with clients
to put in place. There are a lot of harden fast cost
benefits associated with the kinds of simplification we're
talking about. Very often, for example, we are
consolidating and reducing the quantity of information,
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which can lead to hard, tangible savings and printing,
postage and processing. There are other aspects that
are cost saving associated with fewer unnecessary
customer service calls when there is less confusion and
people understand what action to take etcetera.
Something like the IRS, they can track how quickly
people are responding to notices and sending in
amounts due. There are a lot of tangible metric that
clients can use to not just rely on customer perception
that they thought it was simpler, etcetera. There are a
number of those benefits that are beneficial halo effects
for the company and the company brand. In terms of
the company that says that they are looking out for
your interest, for example as an investment firm, we
have a lot of research that shows that consumers trust
organizations that use more plain language and that
have shorter documents. Consumers often feels that
companies are hiding behind legalize or they attribute
some nefarious motive to confusion and complexity
which may not exist, but they tend to think that there
are hidden unfavourable clauses when it's a document
that's, you know, hundreds of pages, has 14 or 15
signatures required, they feel at a disadvantage in the
relationship.
Joe: What did you want someone to take away from your
book?
Irene: Well, certainly I would hope that the companies
launching new products and services would take a step
back and say before we build in all the traditional
gobbledygook before we just hand this over and get
back a 14-page agreement for a rewards program, for a
credit card for example. Let's take a look at it and see
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from a consumer's point of view what would the
expectation be? What are the provisions that aren’t
what most reasonable people would expect to be in
there? Let's clarify those if we intend to keep those
provisions. Let's make the information available at the
right time in the right medium. So, certainly from any
kind of starting point, I think it could be beneficial for
companies to think of it from the outset. I mean, Apple
products are, of course, widely touted as having been
designed that way. That the intuitive nature of their use
was always something thought about in the product
design as opposed to an afterthought. I think that would
be beneficial, I think, for many companies to apply to a
whole range of products and services. Companies that
are well established may have quite a backlog of
complexity to consider. They may find unenforceable
provisions, like mutually exclusive communications
going out. It is amazing when you start one of these
large scale endeavors what you find coming out of the
woodwork. Very often, it is astonishing, the company
suddenly realizes they have 5,000 forms, and they don't
even realize that they are maintaining this inventory
that has almost taken on the life of its own.
Joe: I assume your book is available everywhere now since I
listened to it on audio that's usually the last medium to
get it. How long has the book been out and where could
someone find it?
Irene: Well, they can certainly find it on Amazon, Barnes and
Noble all of the online booksellers as well as Bricks and
Mortar book sellers. It's been out since April 2nd, and it
is available on audio. It is available in hard cover
currently, we just launched this week in the United
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Kingdom, if plenty of your listeners travel and it is
actually going to be released in Asia next year.
Joe: Is there a book page and what is the best place to
contact you to find out more about the book?
Irene: We have a website called callforclarity.com, all one word
that has information about both Alan Siegel and I, the
authors, as well as a link to the book or, of course, on
Amazon, they can read an excerpt of the book, etcetera.
Joe: I want to thank you Irene. I enjoyed the conversation.
The book's title is Simple, and as you mentioned the
website is called callforclarity.com.
Irene: I very much appreciate your interest and thank you for
having me on.
Joe: This podcast will be available on the Business901 tune
store and the Business901 blog site. So, thanks again
everyone.
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Joseph T. Dager
Business901
Phone: 260-918-0438
Skype: Biz901
Fax: 260-818-2022
Email: jtdager@business901.com
Website: http://www.business901.com
Twitter: @business901
Joe Dager is president of Business901, a firm specializing in
bringing the continuous improvement process to the sales and
marketing arena. He takes his process thinking of over thirty
years in marketing within a wide variety of industries and applies
it through Lean Marketing and Lean Service Design.
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