What our top Innovators know about Human Creativity

Business innovation is an ongoing process and any company which halts this, is doomed towards eventual demise. Sony is one example of an organization which has fallen behind due to this reason. In the 1990s it failed to upgrade its iconic Walkman product in fruitful manner. In fact collaboration within the organization became a problem as different departments were involved in standalone products which could not be integrated with each other. Also information silos never formed at Sony. Apple and Google at around the same time captured their market with their disruptions.  

Workplace Change impacts the way we Learn

Corporate training programmes need to be aligned with the sector and work culture of respective organizations. For some organizations, face to face learning is more effective while for others, online sessions work better. Greater engagement occurs when managers encourage team members to learn on the job. Online modules have their own set of challenges as monitoring becomes difficult. For customer facing frontline managers, there cannot be any better method than experiential learning. Learning and development plans must thus be made keeping in view such points.

Lessons from Amazon’s Workplace Culture

Amazon is often derided for its apparent image of being a not so good employer. Yet there are number of things that can be gleaned if one analyzes the workplace culture existent at the Seattle based e-commerce giant. The value system which individual employees possess must be brought out to the workplace as well. The workplace culture must be aligned among all the employees at the firm and not just set from the very top as part of corporate strategy. Work-life balance often goes for a toss in customer-centric firms such as Amazon but there are ways to solve the same such as time flexibility and work autonomy.

How Technology is Revolutionizing the Travel and Tourism Domain

Technology has already made sweeping changes to the travel and tourism industry but further business innovation is at play. When make-my-trip started aggregating tour packages, it was considered revolutionary but now services are much more end-to-end. Number of travelers are now looking at customized packages rather than destination hopping and travel portals are aligning with these interest areas. Their communication with final customers has also improved drastically. They are now marketing travel packages based around niche choice areas such as photography, road trips or hallmark events. 

How e-learning can increase Employee Training in your Company

E-learning is one of the methods which can truly boost management training programmes at organizations. It enables the learning and development to be customized as per specific employee category requirements. It helps in talent recruitment. Once recruited, employees can best avail information about global trends and inculcate them into business practices. Online learning is also most cost effective a tool. It enables global reach. Also staff engagement can be maximized as all members are executing the same based around convenience.

Four Employee Retention Strategies for the modern Workplace

Employee retention and talent management have emerged as issues of vast importance to the present workplace. Business research has thrown us four strategies which are set to boost the same. The task must on everyone’s priority list within the firm. Access to information sources must be made available to all employees. This will also improve the transparency levels within the firm. The leadership of the organization must also encourage a sense of inquisitiveness among the employees at the firm. Importantly, personal and professional time need to be coordinated often to derive best possible results.

Falling Australian Dollar is changing Travel Habits

Tourism consulting provided by AAT Kings has found out that due to the recent dip in the Australian dollar, many nationals are looking to alter their travel itineraries. While around 5% have already made changes another tenth are expected to do so soon. Destinations closer to home are now being preferred. Thus New Zealand has continued its surge as popular choice of travel. A number of potential travelers to the USA are now being attracted to Asia where prices are cheaper. Also other are looking at cheaper accommodation options.

The Underused Tool for Developing Current and Future Leaders

Corporate leaders are nowadays being tagged for management training programmes. The idea is that leaders are immersed at their work and in best position to coach the younger lot. Programmes such as these are termed as LAT or Leaders-As-Trainers. Not many organizations have implemented such programmes as much as required primarily because leaders do not have adequate time. Business research recently concluded gave clear verdict. Nearly three-fifths of those who completed LAT programmes claimed they were beneficial to themselves.

Customer-driven Innovators deliver 8 times the Revenue as Employee Ideas

Business innovations which stem from customer feedback are eight times more likely to succeed than those which emanate from employees’ ideas. As per business research conducted, customer induced innovations result in revenues of nearly 150 million US dollars over a span of time. During similar time period, the incomes are less than an eighth of that for employee driven ones. Nestle and Target are two such examples of organizations which changed everything due to customer feedback. Target changed its signages to more gender neutral language. Nestle changed its product line to incorporate fewer but more wholesome ingredients in its food products.

How to Build a Company that will Last

A management consulting publication has provided us a list of methods which if followed properly will go some way in ensuring that an organization will be built to last. At the core, a strong management team must be assembled. Work culture in the organization must be positive. Team members must be promoted from within as far as possible. Top priority must be paid to client satisfaction. A lot of startups undergo chaos but instead processes must be established right at the beginning. Most importantly, financial discipline must be maintained in order to establish long term profitability.

Business Leaders share Secrets you will never glean from a Seminar

Business leaders have provided us with some management consulting about best practices. Energy levels must always seem high at the workplace. For this exercise must be integrated with the work schedule. Reserving a room for a treadmill or cycle could be one such way. Like-minded people must be brought together to the workplace as this will boost ideation. Failures must not be feared as such fears will inhibit risk taking abilities. A sense of confidence must exude at the workplace. Trade publications must be subscribed. In order to appear sophisticated, a sense of simplicity must be prevalent at the work stations. Finally, it is important that professionals dream to do big as only then will rewards be maximum.

Online Marketing best for Kenya’s Tourism Recovery

According to tourism consulting firm E-Marketing Tourism Frontiers, Kenya as a country must look towards increasing its online presence through digital marketing in order to boost the tourism sector. The internet has been proven to be the most important medium for tourism information and bookings. Family and friends come in second while tourism brochures are third most important source. In fact about a third of the tourist crowd relies solely on the mobile phones for last minute deals and bookings.

4 Emerging Influencer Marketing Trends

Influencers are now increasingly emerging as crucial cogs in the digital marketing process. Certain trends have been gleaned off late which are affecting influencer marketing. Bloggers and brands are now communicating directly with one another. In fact brands are gauging the power that influencers possess to direct traffic towards their own social media pages. Gone are the days of relying on some in house bloggers, instead brands are opting for a bouquet of them to engage different kinds of buyer personas. While many new age bloggers have moved away from traditional media to forms such as Snapchat and Instagram, business research suggests traditional blogging is still the best method.

10 Best ways to do on the job Training

Among the best methods to conduct corporate training is to induce employees to learn while performing their duties. That has various advantages and some of those methods have been proven to be highly successful. Mentoring by seniors is one such. Coaching on the other hand is a specific time period designed where seniors take particular sessions to train team members. Another method is employee-led training which is a peer-based learning module. Training seminars must also be delivered in-house. Book clubs can often be initiated by organizations to get employees to train each other during non-peak hours. Employees are often transferred to other location to broaden one’s experiences. Likewise promotions can bring similar challenges or rewards. Virtual training is the provision of training modules online often formalized as an Executive MBA. Job shadowing is the process whereby junior level executives simply observe seniors’ operations. Lunch and learns is an innovative method where broader questions about team and targets are discusses during extended lunch hours.

The Buzzword for Digital Marketing in 2015

Customization for individual needs is proving to be the accepted mantra in digital marketing campaigns. However, its scope for optimizing conversions has not yet been proven. However before making the leap to customized content, firms must undergo normal A/B testing. Testing tools must also be purchased but not before a proper plan is in plan to implement that one. Experiments must be conducted within a cycle and not on continuous ad-hoc spree. Various business units within the firm must coordinate their testing efforts. A thorough business analysis must be conducted using data before stepping on the accelerator for personalized content.

Global Tourism Economy Forum 2015: An Interactive Exchange Forum

Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is an annual meet held in Macau bringing together stakeholders in the tourism industry for discussions and partnership agreements. It was first held in 2012 and its location clearly signifies the hold that China has in the industry. Numerous tourism jobs have been created in mainland China as a result of this. Pacific Alliance countries such as Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru will feature prominently in this year’s show. Chinese provinces which will feature heavily are Zhejiang and Fujian plus the city of Tianjin.

The 5 Cs of Digital Marketing

Like the 4 Ps of conventional marketing, digital marketing has its own set of 5 Cs. Those five are consumer, context, content, commerce and convergence. Consumer is now much better connected and informed. The context enables personalization. Content can be disseminated using buyer personas which may be gauged using data. Commerce involves the purchasing process and channels which must be most easy to access for buyers. The last one convergence is further sub divided into technology, skills, data and organizational convergence.

4 Ways to provide better Customer Service in the Digital Age

Servicing of customers has undergone massive change in the digital age. A management consulting publication has provided us with some ways of servicing which must be followed. The final service must be provided using all available channels with consistent content. The sales force which interacts and finalizes deals must be empowered to greater extent of decision making while at the same time gauging the feedback they bring. Also customer servicing must be part of a proactive methodology emanating from corporate strategy and not reactive based on sudden market movements. The final service delivered can have various approaches and there is no one correct path

Why curious people are destined for the C- Suite

As per management consulting giant PwC, the one quality that top business leaders must possess is – curiosity. In fact, it is an idea corroborated by discussion with the likes of Netflix’s Reed Hastings, Jack Dorsey from Square and team Airbnb. Business leaders constantly need to question establish norms. Business innovation comes from inquisitiveness about how certain processes or services may be improved. In fact most of such leaders are known to be confident yet humble as they are forever exploring newer possibilities.

How successful Business Leaders raise an army of passionate Followers

The best of business leaders possess not just the official authority conferred on them by the organization but also power which comes from within. Authority provides them with tangible benefits such as higher salaries, reserved car parking or keys to the executive washroom, yet it is something else that inspires their team members to follow them loyally. Power derives from the experience of having achieved something or knowledge derived. Subordinates will show passion for leaders who exhibit a convergence of authority as well as power.