Online Earning

Work911 ezine - Jan. 17, 2012 - New Site On Customer Service In Government, New Free Offers

2012-01-17T20:52:00.000+07:00

Jan. 17, 2012: News, New Site, Free Offers

News:

If you've noticed you haven't been receiving the work911 newsletter, it's because we were attempting to automate the process and make the newsletter more attractive. It didn't work, for a number of reasons, so we're back to the plain Jane look and content. We'll do better.

In early 2011, President Obama signed an executive order aimed at improving customer service in government. We decided to build a new website at http://customerservicegov.com to talk about the many issues tied in to the challenges of providing citizens like you and me with better customer service from government. There's some material focused on those working IN government, but we see it as a place where non-government people can discuss what they expect and want from government. There's a resources section, and our blog is an area where we'll post polls (see below), and questions that you'll probably be interested in, whether you are a government employee, or a citizen having to interact with government. This is meant to compliment our main customer service site, where you`ll find over 1,000 articles on customer service issues at http://customerservicezone.com

We all hate government red tape, right? Well, most people don't know WHY there's so much of it, and it turns out there is at least one valid reason for SOME of it. Want to learn more?

http://customerservicegov.com/wp/one-legitimate-barrier-to-removing-government-red-tape-and-streamlining-government/

Polls/Talk To Us

We'd like your input on the differences between the customer service you receive from government and the service you receive from for-profit companies, so we've set up a poll (and an area for comments). We'd appreciate it if you drop by and register your opinion, and of course, we welcome any explanations or comments. The address is:

http://customerservicegov.com/wp/whats-your-opinion-on-government-customer-service-poll/

We also have another question:

What Does "Good Customer Service" Mean When It Comes To Government – Help Us Out

at http://customerservicegov.com/wp/what-does-good-customer-service-mean-when-it-comes-to-government-help-us-out/ We'd like to hear your thoughts about what you want from government in terms of service, what needs to change, and what's good.

Free Offers

To introduce you to the concept of LearnBytes Helpcards, we are giving away free, copies of Using Self-Talk To Manage Your Anger, which explains how you can take the edge off of bad feelings by addressing how you think. It's free, no strings attached, and we hope you'll browse our online store while you are there. The link is: http://bacalassociates.com/now-free-from-bacal-associates/

In addition, here are some other free offers you might find interesting and instructional:

Free E-Book: If you are involved in using Facebook, particularly for marketing, and haven`t been as successful as you like, or simply want to learn more about how to use Facebook, check out, How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 Days, an ebook that will help you learn the following:

Evaluate successful Facebook pages

Understand Facebook best practices

Speak Facebook-ese

Create custom Welcome Pages

Create a content calendar

Understand Edge

Rank and the art of engagement

Put on a show

Create a contest

Run a targeted ad campaign

Use Facebook's analytics package 'Insights'

The link is here: Just sign up and download. http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_hubs20

And, if you run a website, and particularly if you need help with search engine results and rankings, (since the Google Panda updates), check out Learning SEO From the Experts: A Step-By-Step Guide aimed at helping you increase targeted traffic to your web properties. It`s about 27 pages and covers:

Identifying Keyword Opportunities

Mastering On-Page SEO

Link-Building Strategies

How to incorporate social media into your SEO efforts

Tips for Ongoing SEO Improvement

The link is at: Offer Link: http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_hubs19

The latter two offers are time limited.

Reminders:

Our Sites:

Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the following topics:

Training and Development Resource Center:http://thetrainingworld.com

Leadership Resource Center: http://leadertoday.org

Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm

Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com

Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html

Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org

Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com

Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com

To new subscribers: The work911 newsletter is published no more than three times a week and contains articles on all things work related, and contains other work related resources, and updates about our sites, and their contents. Past history indicates we publish about every ten days. Subscribe at http://work911.com/newsletter.htm

Don't forget that you can access free, usable previews of over twenty of our books and helpcards at:

http://bacalassociates.com

and that we continue to offer special freebie offers and discounts to our newsletter subscribers!

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Work911 Journal - Career, Work and Personal Development

2011-11-03T19:07:00.000+07:00

Welcome to our newest issue of the Work911 Journal where you'll find updates, free offers, and discounts as we cover the world of work and personal development.

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Better Learning- Better Lives - A Better World

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

Women in the Boardroom: Should the U.S. Have Quotas? | Business Ethics

Columnist Gael OÂ'Brien says the U.S. has failed to show leadership in gender diversity on corporate boards, raising questions about what it can learn from other countries that have imposed quotas for women directors. While quotas can stir up discomfort, she writes, thereÂ's a Â"complacency, even smugnessÂ" about boardroom diversity in the U.S. that argues in favor of requiring companies to take action. (19-Oct-2011)

Who's Really in Charge of Board Performance?

Ask people in the nonprofit world who is to blame for poor board performance, and you won't get agreement. Some people say it's the board's fault. Others say it's the CEO's. Rarely do these conflicting ideas get argued in public. But at the annual meeting of BoardSource, I had the opportunity to debate the point in front of an audience. Two-person teams argued opposing points of view on that and other controversial topics. At the conclusion of our comments, the audience voted. (17-Oct-2011)

OK Career Planner | Lifelong Learning

Today's job market demands that we make learning a lifelong process, constantly acquiring new skills, education, and training. Whether you're embarking on a totally new career in mid-life; going back for that advanced degree to help position yourself for a promotion; or volunteering in a field completely different from your paid job, lifelong learning promises a life filled with excitement, wonder, and healthy challenges. (31-Oct-2011)

A Focus on Lifelong Learning for Career Success: The Reasons and Benefits to Continue Education for Workplace Skills | Suite101.com

A common question adults have when considering continuing education is focused on the benefits of completing a college degree or graduate degree. This is a valid concern because of the financial costs and time required to complete a degree program. The simple answer is that the days of working for the same company for a lifetime rarely exist today, due to global competition. Because of this, most adults change their careers several times during their lifetime. (31-Oct-2011)

15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning

Assuming the public school system hasnÂ't crushed your soul, learning is a great activity. It expands your viewpoint. It gives you new knowledge you can use to improve your life. Even if you discount the worldly benefits, the act of learning can be a source of enjoyment. But in a busy world, it can often be hard to fit in time to learn anything that isnÂ't essential. The only things learned are those that need to be. Everything beyond that is considered frivolous. Even those who do appreciate the practice of lifelong learning, can find it difficult to make the effort. Here are some tips for installing the habit of lifelong learning: (31-Oct-2011)

Education World: Making Teacher Evaluations Work

The ads and popups are a disgrace for a professional site, but the article is decent. Excerpt: Evaluating teachers is one of the most difficult jobs in any school district. The Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools handle teacher evaluation by incorporating it into an in-depth, wide-ranging approach to teacher learning called the Professional Growth System. Education World takes a close look at the system's practical elements and how it works.

N.E.A. Shifts Position on Teacher Evaluations - NYTimes.com

This is big, since traditionally teachers unions have fought loudly against looking at student achievement when evaluating teachers. Excerpt: Catching up to the reality already faced by many of its members, the nationÂ's largest teachersÂ' union on Monday affirmed for the first time that evidence of student learning must be considered in the evaluations of school teachers around the country.

99 Questions To Jump Start Your Partner Channel Brain

In 1996, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago discovered how Nobel laureates and other creative people achieved their breakthroughs--Once they asked themselves the right question, their ideas flowed rapidly. Ten years later, McKinsey & Co. took this finding one step farther, examining how the most successful companies in recent history (startups to F500 firms) had achieved their positions. They found that a number of important innovations sprang from responses to particular questions.

So this book is for creating breakthroughs in Partner Channels. Having the right questions gives your team a decided advantage over your competitors. Register for this FREE eBook and you will receive eBook updates and relevant B2B sales & marketing insights for business leaders, courtesy of Venture Marketing.

Request Free!

Women in the Boardroom: Should the U.S. Have Quotas? | Business Ethics
Who's Really in Charge of Board Performance?
OK Career Planner | Lifelong Learning
A Focus on Lifelong Learning for Career Success: The Reasons and Benefits to Continue Education for Workplace Skills | Suite101.com
15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning
Education World: Making Teacher Evaluations Work
N.E.A. Shifts Position on Teacher Evaluations - NYTimes.com
99 Questions To Jump Start Your Partner Channel Brain

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Using Self-Talk To Manage Your Anger LearnBytes Helpcard (download)
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Customer Service Advocacy Gone Insane: Propaganda For Your Childen

Copyright © 2011 Bacal & Associates, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you have signed up for a Bacal & Associates Newsletter. Our mailing address is: Bacal & Associates 722 St. Isidore Rd Ottawa, On K0A1M0 Add us to your address book

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(Fwd) Work911 Success Updates

2011-10-21T04:01:00.000+07:00

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Work911: Learn With Us.

Latest News

Oct 20, 2011

Career Planning Checklist | College of Communication

For students, a must read, because this checklist starts you off thinking about what you'll be doing after graduation from the time you enter college or university (or high school), ...

Career Branding Tutorial: Take Your Career to the Next Level

Insights, Tips, and Tools to Assist You in the Creation or Refinement of Your Career Brand -- a Free Tutorial This tutorial is all about honesty and soul-searchingÂ… of taking inventory of your career. You must be committed to completing a lot of work as you go through this tutorial -- and the good news is when the tutorial is complete, you should be giant steps ahead of where you are right now. This is a tutorial that ties a valuable business skill -- perhaps the most valuable business skill -- to your careerÂ… MARKETING!! Where to begin? We suggest you go through all the steps of the tutorial, but feel free to just jump in wherever you feel you need helpful advice and resources. ...

Overcoming a Lack of Qualifications - Career Development

Imagine this scenario: You're doing a great job in your current role, but you've recently become interested in a completely different line of work. This is something you feel passionate about, and it could advance your career to exciting new levels. The only problem is that this new type of work requires qualifications or experience that you currently don't have. Sure, you've got some useful skills, and you're so inspired by the new role that you know you would quickly gain the necessary knowledge. But you fear you may not get the opportunity. ...

Featured Free Resource

Talent Management Helps Small Companies Make Big Moves

Learn how small companies can achieve growth and productivity goals and ultimately transform themselves.

Customer service in the medical office.

The importance of customer service has recently become more of a focus and priority for medical practices. Numerous articles have been written on the topic, including one that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. At our recent Physician Practice Conferences, the session led by Certified Etiquette and Protocol Consultant, Pam Harvit, "Office Protocol and Etiquette," has become one of the highest rated sessions. Why all this emphasis on medical etiquette and good customer service? Why should practices be concerned about the etiquette involved in treating patients? Better yet, how does your practice measure up customer service ...

Medical Ethics | Difficult Patients

In theory, physicians and patients are free to choose the healthcare relationships they wan. In practice, however, many physicians and patients come into relationships because of the way in which they are employed and insured. Medical students, especially, are not free to pick and choose the patients they will interact with during the course of their education. Patients can be demanding, vindictive, dependent, slow, and so on down the list of human weaknesses and vice. It should also be remembered that patients can see these same faults in physicians. It is important that physicians develop effective strategies for dealing with a broad range of people in ways that protect core values in the humane treatment of ...

Dealing with Difficult Patients and Difficult Families While Nursing | MyNursingUniforms Blog

Basic stuff on difficult patients for nurses, most notable for its mention of issues related to altered or mentally challenged patients

Featured Free Resource

Data Storage in the Cloud - Can you Afford Not To?

Learn where capital and operational costs can be eliminated or avoided by deploying Whitewater™.

How To Get Something Useful From Your Performance Reviews (for employees)
Everything you need to become an active player in your own performance appraisal. Isn't it about time, you stopped going through the motions, and actually getting something from the review? On sale for ...

The Busy Learner's Kit For Making Performance Management and Appraisal VALUABLE
Rather crawl across broken glass than do performance appraisals? You have lots of company! Learn to manage performance, from goal setting to performance reviews, so everybody wins, AND remove the discomfort. Finally, an approach that does away with outmoded confrontation based appraisals, and considers employee reviews in a systems thinking context. Remove the pain and the dread, AND supercharge performance. Everyone wins, employee, manager and organization. This kit is built for busy learners -- people who haven't the time to read long tedious books on the subject. Tightly written ESSENTIALS, plus tools you can reproduce for your own use. Learn to plan performance and set goals, diagnose root causes of problems, conduct the appraisal meeting, and use progressive discipline techniques. Learn to work together so everyone ...

Women in the Boardroom: Should the U.S. Have Quotas? | Business Ethics
Columnist Gael OÂ’Brien says the U.S. has failed to show leadership in gender diversity on corporate boards, raising questions about what it can learn from other countries that have imposed quotas for women directors. While quotas can stir up discomfort, she writes, thereÂ’s a Â“complacency, even smugnessÂ” about boardroom diversity in the U.S. that argues in favor of requiring companies to take action. ...

You are receiving this newsletter because you opted-in to receive relevant communications from Bacal & Associates. If you would like to manage your newsletter preferences or if you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please click here.

Bacal & Associates, 722 St. Isidore Rd.
Contact: ceo@work911.com

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Robert Bacal, Author of The Busy Learner's Kit For Making Performance Management and Appraisal VALUABLE: Walking The Path Together

http://amzn.to/f9Df9I

Learn With Us: Work911.com 10/12/2011

2011-10-13T01:02:00.000+07:00

Thanks for your interest in the Work911 Newsletter, published twice weekly, and containing news, free articles, discounts, and much more on management, customer service, leadership, communication and conflict and career success.

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Work911 Newsletter: Learn With Us

Oct 09, 2011 02:10 am | Anonymous

Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps

Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps There's so much bad information, pseudo-science research and much of it is repeated endlessly in blogs and in social media. Don't get diverted from what works to what is a fad. In this article we explain the problem, and suggest 8 steps all business decision makers should take. And, for that matter, any intelligent thinking person.

Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series

Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series In this column we look at perhaps the area where managers make the most mistakes--in performance appraisals.

Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series

Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series When managers or formal leaders refuse to take on the responsibilities of leadership, some very nasty things can happen to organizations.

Interactive Chat Everywhere: Website, Email and Social Media for E-Commerce and Online Customer Service

Businesses around the world are using live chat to boost online sales, reduce customer service costs and increase customer satisfaction. Now, new developments in chat technology make it possible to extend chat beyond your web site to online advertising, email marketing, press releases and even social media. Learn how you can use rich media chat to leverage social media, and transform traditional one-way marketing campaigns into interactive conversations that reach more customers.

Request Free!

Elevating the End User Experience in Travel and Expense Management

Technology innovations in social media and networks, mobile devices and applications, together with cloud computing have turned the consumer marketplace on its ear, changing the way we think with more resources than ever before at our finger tips. More and more consumers today are asking, "Why can't the applications I use at work be this simple?" Explore how this social shift is changing T&E technology developments to focus on the end user experience with this on-demand webinar from IDC and Concur.

Request Free!

Why is most communication training misleading?

Why do the same words mean different things to different people?

What is cooperative communication?

Google Search Results and Super-Complex Systems

Ever get frustrated because you can’t find what you want using Google? Or some other search engine? Us too. Many people are feeling that, over the last year or so, the results they get from searches on the Internet have become less and less useful and the more Google tries to improve them, the worse they seem to get. Is it because Google is intentionally trying to get you to click on ads in pursuit of profit? Probably not. It’s more likely the result of Google falling into the trap of creating a super-complex system that is, in essence, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.

Super-Complex Systems Explained in Plain English

A super-complex system is a system that has many INTERACTING variables, where the variables AFFECT each other. For example, the human body is a super-complex system. Let’s say you have a thyroid condition. The level of hormones secreted by the thyroid interact with hundreds of other factors, such as the secretion of adrenaline, and how the other organs in your body function. Not only does thyroid function affect other organs, but other things in the body affect what the thyroid does.

That’s why treatment is challenging. If you “disable” the thyroid to counter-act hyperthyroidism, you have to replace its function with medication, and therein lies the rub, since if you get the levels wrong (and the exact level for each person is an unknown), you create other problems. The appropriate levels “depend” on a good many things.

It’s the same for the brain, or other super-complex systems like the economy, both of which are so complex because everything affects everything, perhaps the best way to put super-complex systems “in a nutshell”.

Back To Google Search

As Google as evolved, that challenge of giving you what you want in search results has gotten more difficult, because the Internet has grown, and changed, become more complex itself, with the advent of social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc), and the ability for anyone to publish anything, with no oversight or quality control. The amount of content to be searched is so huge it’s mind boggling.

In response to this, Google has added more and more factors (called signals) to determine the quality of websites, so that’ there are now over 200 interacting signals used to rank websites. Couple the issues of “quality”, with the difficulty in having machines figuring out what’s “in your head”, and you end up with a super-complex system.

And that means that not only are the search results getting less useful, but they are not likely to get better.

The Google “Wall” And Super-Complex Systems

At some point, when a complex system becomes a super-complex system, several things happen:

Nobody, not even those that create the system or maintain it, can predict how any specific change will affect the final outcome. For that reason, the effects of trying to “make a super-complex system better” can only be determined by actually trying things out. There is simply no way to predict whether any change, let’s say in how Google determines quality,except to actually make the change, put it in production as a limited test, and then evaluate the results. Which is what Google does. The problem is the change-test-evaluate cycle is relatively slow and may need to be done thousands of times until one gets reasonable improvement because there are so many variables to test.

On top of that, a change may yield better results for some searches, but create a nasty mess for other kinds of searches, and all that has to be evaluated.

It simply doesn’t work. Change something, and some things may get better and some things will get worse. And that’s the core of the problem.

Google has hit the wall.

Is It Fixable?

In a nutshell, no. You can’t fix a super-complex system by making it more complex. Worse, though, because nobody understands or can predict what a super-complex system will do, case by case, how do you fix it? You can’t, and it goes back to the law of unintended consequences magnified. Make one thing better, and make seven things worse. Try to fix the things that got worse, and you might have two things that get better and some new problems cropping up.

Are Other Search Engines Better?

In a way. Bing is slightly better in terms of search quality, at least from what can be seen by a user, and there are other engines that appear to provide better results, because they use less signals, and their algorithms for displaying search results are simpler. Ironically, it may end up that the simpler a search engine is (within limits), the better it will be, except that complex systems tend to grow more complex, not more simple. However, what’s interesting is that if it’s the case that simpler is better, there’s a suggestion about where search must “go” it it’s to become and stay useful to end users. But that will have to wait for another time.

Conclusions On Google Search Results and Super-Complexity

It isn’t going to get better by making things more complex.

Nobody, not even the Ph.D’s at the Googleplex, can predict how their search engine will behave.

If you can’t predict behavior, you can’t control it, except on a trial and error basis, which, it appears, Google is trying to do.

The more you try to “fix” super-complex systems, the less likely you are to make them better.

The future of search engines lies in smaller, less complex systems.

The Laws of Complex Systems Applied To Real Life

One of the issues with complex systems is that they overload our brains, so that not only can we not understand them fully, but they produce a sense of being overwhelmed.

A system is a bundle of “things” that work together to produce a result. So, for example, you car is a system — a set of parts that function to provide the benefits (when the system works) or failures (when the system doesn’t work). You have the body, the tires, the steering wheel, the gas, seats, engine and it’s parts, and so on, and those all make up the “car system”.

The limits of a system are defined somewhat arbitrarily. That is, a system can be broken down into sub-systems, or you can think of the system in a broader way. So, for a car, the “drive train” is a sub-system. Or, you can broaden the “car system to include the gas vendors, the roads, and so on. Theoretically one defines a system in terms of it’s function, but there’s no one way to draw the line between one system and another.

A complex system is one that has many many parts to it, where the parts not only combine to provide a function, but interact with each other so that one part actually modifies the function of all the other parts. The more parts, the more they affect each other, the more complex.

Complex Systems and Real Life

Complex systems are not just something theoretical. They have profound effects on almost everything. For example, our economy is a hugely complex system, as is the Google search engine, as is our feed chain. So, understanding complex systems helps us understand why so many things go wrong, or don’t function as we want on a consistent basis.

So, to help us understand complex systems, I’ve formulated a few laws of complex systems that can be applied to the real life situations we will be talking about in this series of articles.

Laws of Complex Systems

Systems naturally evolve into complex systems, and in rarer cases into “super complex systems” over time. For example, most things, like how we get our food, or how the price of gas gets set, or our computers, have gone from simple (ie. the Commodore 64 to our Windows based systems), to the much more complex. Some systems, like the Google search engine have gone from simple to complex to super-complex.
As a system gets more complex the ability of individual people to understand every aspect of the system gets diminished until, particularly with super-complex systems, nobody understands the system, nobody can control it, and nobody can predict how any one change in one part of the system will affect how well the system works.
As a system gets more and more complex, and fewer people understand the system or can control or predict what it will do, it becomes less stable, less efficient, and more error prone. For example, ever notice that using your computer on the Internet will yield countless small errors on web pages, links that don’t work, ecommerce systems that work most of the time but not all of the time, or web pages that will work in one browser but not another? That’s complexity.
Physical systems (your car, the space shuttle) can be complex, but because they are not dynamic (they don’t change on their own), it’s possible to understand them sufficiently to operate them, or fix them. When humans are involved, it changes the game entirely. Human systems (e.g. the stock market, economy, relationships, etc) ARE dynamic, because people change and they act inconsistently. A car can be fixed if it breaks, but if you define the “personal transportation system” as a car + driver, all of a sudden we can’t predict what will happen on an individual basis. So, if you want to reduce accidents by looking at this personal transportation system, it becomes hugely difficult because the driver sometimes does this, and sometimes does that. The car tends to do that same thing under the same conditions, but the human doesn’t.
Complex systems are affected by the Law of Unintended Consequences, which is simply that when you fiddle with one part of a complex system, no matter how small, it may yield the results you want, and it will have unintended consequences that you do NOT want. Make a car go faster, sure, but then you use more gas.
As complex systems get more complex, they require more work to build, run and fix, and because of that become hugely inefficient.
Technology increases the complexity of systems, which explains why automation and use of computers rarely make things better, particularly when they address human interactions. For example, has customer service gotten better now that we have social media, phone trees and call centers, and all manner of other things to help us get “better” customer service. The research says, “No”.

So What? Who Cares About Complex Systems

Well, you do, if you want to understand why you spend more and more time maintaining your “stuff” and more and more time getting frustrated when things don’t work properly, and even why our democracies seem to get crazier and crazier. In other additions to this series, we’ll explain why people often appear “stupid”, why customer service has gotten worse, and look at the application of these laws of complex systems to our lives, on an everyday basis.

We invite your comments, and stay tuned.

Purchase CPM Ads on The Work911 Network

Thank you for your interest in advertising on the work911 network. To purchase adspace on the work911 network, first contact us via email to set up your account. Send your request to ads@work911.com If you need more information about our ads.. Price: $4.25

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Bacal To Teach At Internal Communications Conference in Ottawa January 23, 2012

I’m pleased to announce that I will be doing a pre-conference 3 hour workshop on metrics related to evaluating the effectiveness of internal communication strategies.

The general conference information follows:

Strategic Internal Communications for Government:

How To Use Social Media And Traditional Communications To Engage Employees, Drive Performance And Add Value

*******************

January 23 – 26, 2012 ~ Ottawa, Ontario

January 23 & 26, 2012: Pre- & Post-Conference Workshops
January 24 & 25, 2012: Plenary/General Session Presentations

SOME TOPIC SUGGESTIONS:

Engaging employees at all levels by connecting them to your organization’s goals and strategic plan for the future
Reinventing the role of the communication function from tactical implementers to strategic change managers
Using leadership communication to build employee trust
Overcoming limitations of tools and tactics to implement your strategy
Motivating employees at all levels of your organization to be committed to and carry out your strategy in their daily jobs
Creating a social media (blogging, podcasting, wikis, etc.) strategy to drive performance-based communications
Setting measurable communication objectives that connect internal and external communication activities with bottom-line results
Linking communication objectives and goals to your strategy
Fostering mission-focused employee behavior and culture to support agency goals
Measuring the impact communications has on relevant performance measures such as quality, service and cost
Integrating an employee engagement campaign into your communications plan to positively affect the bottom line
Determining the right metrics for key strategies and deliverables
Involving the right partners (Communications, HR, Marketing, Operations, etc.) across your organization to engage employees and drive results

WHO WILL ATTEND?:

This conference has been researched with and designed for FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL, and MUNICIPAL Managers, Directors, Analysts, Leaders, Officers, Administrators, Specialists, Advisors, Coordinators, Staff, Assistants & Consultants involved in:

Employee Communications – Employee Relations – Human Resources – Program Management – Strategic Planning – Executive Communications – Change Management – Publication & Web Content – Organizational Transformation – New Media/Social Media – Public Affairs – Communication Consulting – Communications Research – Electronic Communications – Intranet Communications – Public Relations – Training & Development – Quality Improvement – Marketing – Business Development – Organizational Development

To view a current communications conference program of ours for reference, please go to:http://www.aliconferences.com/conf/internal_comm_ca_1211/index.htm

Performance Management – A Briefcase Book (2nd Edition)

Performance Management – A Briefcase Book By Robert Bacal One of The Premier Books On Performance Management Has Just Gotten Better If you need help getting your performance management and appraisal system to work and contribute to the success of your organization and the su.. Price: $11.56

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Performance Management – A Briefcase Book (2nd Edition)

Making Strategic Planning Work LearnBytes Helpcard

Making Strategic Planning Work Helpcard Most strategic planning fails miserably. This card, and it’s companion, How To Make Strategic Planning work will help you create dynamic strategic plans that are relevant. The fate of strategic plans.

Continue reading here:
Making Strategic Planning Work LearnBytes Helpcard

An Integrated Strategic Planning Model LearnBytes Helpcard

An Integrated Strategic Planning Model Helpcard Strategic Planning – A powerful business tool that almost inevitably ends up as a waste of time .This card, and it’s companion,

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An Integrated Strategic Planning Model LearnBytes Helpcard

Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps
Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series
Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series
Interactive Chat Everywhere: Website, Email and Social Media for E-Commerce and Online Customer Service
Elevating the End User Experience in Travel and Expense Management
Why is most communication training misleading?
Why do the same words mean different things to different people?
What is cooperative communication?
Google Search Results and Super-Complex Systems
The Laws of Complex Systems Applied To Real Life
Purchase CPM Ads on The Work911 Network
Bacal To Teach At Internal Communications Conference in Ottawa January 23, 2012
Performance Management – A Briefcase Book (2nd Edition)
Making Strategic Planning Work LearnBytes Helpcard
An Integrated Strategic Planning Model LearnBytes Helpcard

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Work911 Success Updates and Offers - Oct. 5, 2011

2011-10-05T01:59:00.000+07:00

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<a href="http://www.bacalassociates.com/progressive-discipline-turning-around-poor-performers-learnbytes-helpcard-download/" style="color:#000066;text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Progressive DIscipline - Turning Around Poor Performers LearnBytes Helpcard [download&91;</a>
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Read this white paper to examine the pros and cons of using open source software....
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As applications and storage move out to the cloud, performance of the corporate communications...
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<h2>When you argue, is your goal to win even if the other person gets hurt?</h2>
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<p style="margin-top:1.2em;clear:both;"><a href="http://work911.com/wp/?p=99" style="color:#000066;font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">The Laws of Complex Systems Applied To Real Life</a>

A system is a bundle of “things” that work together to produce a result. So, for example, you car is a system — a set of parts that function to provide the benefits (when the system works) or failures (when the system doesn’t work). You have the body, the tires, the steering wheel, the gas, seats, engine and it’s parts, and so on, and those all make up the “car system”. The limits of a system are defined somewhat arbitrarily. That is, a system can be broken down into sub-systems, or you can think of the system in a broader way. So, for a car, the “drive train” is a sub-system. Or, you can broaden the “car system to include the gas vendors, the roads, and so on. Theoretically one defines a system in terms of it’s function, but there’s no one way to draw the line between one system and another. A complex system is one that has many many parts to it, where the parts not only combine to provide a function, but interact with each other so that one part actually modifies the function of all the other parts. The more parts, the more they affect each ...

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<p style="margin-top:1.2em;clear:both;"><a href="http://work911.com/wp/?p=98" style="color:#000066;font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Purchase CPM Ads on The Work911 Network</a>

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<p style="margin-top:1.2em;clear:both;"><a href="http://work911.com/articles/research.htm" style="color:#000066;font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps</a>

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Work911 Ezine - BARS Rating Scales, Reducing Conflict, and more

2011-09-14T20:23:00.000+07:00

WORK911: LEARN WITH US.

Authentic Leadership Can Be Bad Leadership - Deborah Gruenfeld and Lauren Zander - Harvard Business Review

Most people can agree that authenticity is of great value. We'd rather be — or follow — a leader who is for real than one who is faking it. Acting in a way that feels truthful, candid, and connected to who you really are is important, and is a leadership quality worth aspiring to. On the other hand, being who you are and saying what you think can be highly problematic if the real you is a jerk. In practice, we've observed that placing value on being authentic has become an excuse for bad behavior among executives. It's important to realize that what makes you you is not just the good stuff — your values, aspirations and dreams; the qualities others love most. For most people, what comes naturally can also get pretty nasty. When you are overly critical, non-communicative, crass, judgmental, or rigid, you are probably at your most real — but you are not at your best. In fact, it is often these most authentic parts of a leader that need the most management. ...

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales for the Assessment of Tactical Thinking Mental Model

The military is often in a leadership position regarding evaluation and development of "employees". In this adobe acrobat file, you'll find a research report on the use of BARS in assessing tactical ...

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A crowd-sourced eBook lead by Dianna Huff and Mac McIntosh. They asked their respective networks to submit the top ten B2B marketing mistakes they see other marketers making. From email to social media, people expressed their opinions – and often quite passionately!

Blended Learning Systems: Definition, Current Trends, and Future Directions

So what is this %u201Cblended learning that everyone is talking about? This chapter will provide a basic introduction to blended learning systems and share some trends and issues that are highly relevant to those who are implementing such systems. To accomplish these goals, the chapter will address five important questions related to blended learning systems such as: What is blended learning?, Why blend? This is a scholarly type ...

Cognitive Science (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence, embracing philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology. Its intellectual origins are in the mid-1950s when researchers in several fields began to develop theories of mind based on complex representations and computational procedures. Its organizational origins are in the mid-1970s when the Cognitive Science Society was formed and the journal Cognitive Science began. Since then, more than seventy universities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia have established cognitive science programs, and many others have instituted courses in cognitive ...

Conflict Prevention In The Workplace - Using Cooperative Communication

Just like cholesterol there's good conflict and bad conflict. If you can prevent the bad, unnecessary conflict, you can save huge amounts of time, and pain associated with the "bad" stuff!? ...

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Social Media Marketing GPS -- Free 91 Page eBook

SMGPS will tell you the why & how to use social media for marketing, 1 tweet at a time. You'll learn essentials in digestible little spoonfuls.

Customer Service Advocacy Gone Insane: Propaganda For Your Childen
Customer Service Advocacy Gone Insane: Propaganda For Your Childen In one of the strangest things ever in customer service, Sitel releases a children's book targeted to the 2-8 age range, to "teach" them how important call center representatives are. And Tennesse Governor Haslam wrote the forward endorsing the book. AND, not a critical peep. NOT ...

Customer Service Questions and Answers From Employees On The Firing Line>
Are you on the firing line dealing with customers? Here's some ideas on how to work more effectively.(20-Jul-2011)

Customer Service and Customer Experience Knowledge Base - Main Page - General Customer Service Skill Questions>
Several hundred answers to frequently asked questions about customer service, why it's so terrible, and what to do about it.(20-Jul-2011)

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Learn With Us: Work911.com 09/07/2011

2011-09-07T15:02:00.000+07:00

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Work911 Newsletter: Learn With Us

Sep 06, 2011 07:25 pm | Chris Meyer & Julia Kirby

Capitalism Is Not "Doomed"

One of The Economist's weekly cartoons showed a bazaar full of T-shirts, mugs, and banners emblazoned with the slogan "Capitalism Is Dead!" A stockbroker surveys the many customers buying this sentiment in its many forms and remarks, "I think I've found a growth market!"

That was in October of 2008. But recent volatility in the financial markets seems to have a renewed an appetite for the idea. So Nouriel Roubini's recent op-ed, "Is Capitalism Doomed?" isn't as late to the market as it first appears.

The question of capitalism's demise may be arresting, but it's not helpful, in part because if the answer were "yes" no one would know what to say. What would replace it? "Capitalism is dead, yes, and the future is all about populism/mercantilism/barter/Linden Dollars/computer-optimized central planning?" Maybe not.

Comments like Roubini's (and, for the record, we subscribe to the policy prescription he outlines in that post) imply that capitalism is some fixed set of rules and precepts that, never changing, will either work or collectively collapse. And the rules that Roubini and others identify did work brilliantly for a long time. They fear that the upheaval of the past few years will explode this stable — or frozen — way of doing the world's business.

Here's a different — and we think more useful — point of view: "How will capitalism evolve in its new environment?"

What happens when we think about capitalism as a system, a set of rules that govern the behavior of decision makers, individual or institutional? When rules work well, they become widely distributed; when they are harmful, they leave the system. For example, the rules governing limited liability corporations worked well to provide the capital needed for the industrial revolution with its large scale financing requirements, so debtors prisons died off. It's a mirror of biological selection, in which, for example, the gene for sickle cell anemia is present in populations where malaria is common, but dies out in cooler, drier climates.

Globalization has spread the rules of what we might call "advanced economy capitalism" (that Roubini & co. identify with) to places to which they are poorly adapted. Capitalism's home has moved from high-income, low-growth, aging societies where capital is so abundant banks use it to play games to the reverse: emerging markets with youthful populations, rapid growth, and low incomes, which need to invest capital in human and physical infrastructure. Societies with urgent agendas and abundant opportunities to improve the health, education, and welfare of their citizens will resist handing control of their economies to forces whose only interest is financial gain. So capitalism is bound to change.

An example of this shift occurred in the late 1990s, during the "Asian Contagion" of currency collapses, when Mahathir bin Muhammed, Prime Minister of Malaysia, suspended the conversion of the Malay currency. The IMF and other financial players were incensed at this crime against capitalism, because Malaysia closed their favorite blackjack game — the one where they both placed the bets and dealt the cards by selling so much of a currency that they ensured the collapse, almost risk-free. Mahathir stood his ground, preferring to protect the economic health of his country to defending principles of free trade at enormous civil cost. Two years later, as Malaysia boomed, the IMF apologized for criticizing Mahathir. Mahathir replaced one of the rules of advanced capitalism — prioritize the financial players over the population — with an alternative. As power flows from G7 countries to more Malay-minded countries, the mutation could become the norm.

So the question becomes not whether capitalism is doomed, but rather how it will evolve away from its current form toward one more fit for a global economy. Reform of the financial industry is a necessary step because, in Roubini's terms the "financial system run amok" is at the root of the problem and financial institutions and even regulators are not incented to fix it. Europe should continue pressing its banks to participate in writing down sovereign debt, as the US should push its banks to write down mortgages. But most importantly, the financial industry must not be allowed to inhibit the evolution of capitalism. As it moves from the swamp, the sickle cell anemia gene does more harm than good.

Embrace Your Irrational Colleagues

Have you ever wondered why perfectly sensible, rational, and intelligent colleagues resist or reject perfectly sensible, rational, and intelligent ideas? Obviously it's not because they are stupid. There is just something going on that we don't realize.

Here's a quick example: A large, over-crowded urban hospital was trying to free up beds by reducing unnecessarily long patient stays. To that end, an analysis showed that one particular floor never seemed to discharge patients over the weekend. When the nursing and administrative team was asked about this data, the head nurse insisted that she would not support any attempts to increase weekend discharges, saying only that it wasn't a good time for patients to leave the hospital. Clearly, on the surface, her position made no sense. Eventually, she shared the fact that several years earlier a few patients had lost valuables during weekend discharges. So, to insure their security, the head nurse made sure that patients' personal items could only be unlocked from the safe in her presence (she had the only key) — and she didn't work on weekends!

It's easy to laugh at a story like this one. But the reality is that the nurse was doing what she thought best, which made her appear irrational to others. Once the underlying history and motivation was revealed, her behavior made sense. It then prompted a review not only of the discharge procedures, but also of how best to secure personal property.

Irrational behavior is part of the human condition. There's a long list of things that we know we should avoid, but do them anyway; and an equally long list of things that we know are good for us but that we avoid. That's why people smoke cigarettes, drive after having a few cocktails, or don't floss their teeth. At some level, conscious or unconscious, each of us has a compelling reason — such as short-term gratification, peer acceptance, convenience, lifestyle, and many more — for doing the "wrong" thing.

Organizations of course are composed of people, all of whom act irrationally at various times and seemingly do the "wrong" things. So it's no wonder that we often run into a colleague, boss, or subordinate who just can't seem to consider a completely reasonable suggestion. If you find yourself in this situation, here are two simple and "rational" guidelines to keep in mind:

Don't try to fight irrationality with rationality. It will only make you more frustrated and the other person more defensive. No matter how many well-constructed arguments you offer, you won't make headway until you understand the underlying motivation that is driving the other person.
Focus on discovering, understanding, and embracing the other person's rationale. Even if your adversary is being driven by unconscious motivations, it's important to try to figure them out. Resistance to apparent logic always comes from somewhere, and you won't be able to breakthrough until you understand the reason. For example, sales people often resist logical and straightforward sales-model changes because they fear that compensation will be affected, or that customer relationships will be harmed. Until you understand and deal with those underlying issues it's difficult to make headway.

Years ago a senior executive told me that managing an organization would be a lot easier if there weren't any people involved. On the other hand, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

What's your experience with understanding — and embracing — irrationality in your organization?

How Teddy Bears Can Make Your Company More Ethical

Sreedhari Desai, assistant professor at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, explains why childhood cues could improve employee behavior. Her research is featured in the HBR article Adults Behave Better When Teddy Bears Are in the Room.

Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series

Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series When managers or formal leaders refuse to take on the responsibilities of leadership, some very nasty things can happen to organizations.

Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series

Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series In this column we look at perhaps the area where managers make the most mistakes--in performance appraisals.

Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps

Capitalism Is Not "Doomed"
Embrace Your Irrational Colleagues
How Teddy Bears Can Make Your Company More Ethical
Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series
Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series
Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps

Recent Stories

Google+ For Customer Service? Things You Should Know Before Jumping In
Conflict Prevention In The Workplace: Using Cooperative Communication [Download&91;
If It Wasn't For The Customers I'd Really Like This Job [E-book Download&91;
Welcome, Why PsychMyths, and A Disclaimer
What Are the Benefits of Performance Appraisals in the Retail Industry? | Small Business - Chron.com

Copyright © 2011 Bacal & Associates, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you have signed up for a Bacal & Associates Newsletter. Our mailing address is: Bacal & Associates 722 St. Isidore Rd Ottawa, On K0A1M0 Add us to your address book
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Work911 Ezine Aug. 23, 2011 40% off Coupon, and Are YOU Being Bought and Sold On The Internet?

2011-08-24T20:53:00.000+07:00

Aug. 23, 2011 New Store, Big Discounts, and Are You Being Bought and
Sold On The Internet

News:

We're still working on integrating our new newsletters with this
current one so stay tuned. The basic idea is that you will be able to
receive updates on new articles, free material, and discounts on a
more regular basis. For now, we'll continue with this format.

BIG News: Our New Online Store and Your Special Discount Code:

We've been busy making it easier for you to access our learning
material, books, and LearnBytes Helpcards, and our new store is now
online at http://bacalassociates.com

Over the next few weeks we'll be adding our product line -- material
to help you with conflict management, customer service, angry
customers, performance management and appraisal and much more.

To thank you for your loyalty and for subscribing to this newsletter,
we're offering you a special 40% discount on ALL our learning products
currently in our new store. The code to use to receive your discount
is bacal. There's a place to enter the discount code/coupon on the
right hand side of the shopping cart.

The code expires at the end of day on Friday, Aug. 26, so act now.

Any problems or comments about the new store? Email them to me,
directly at ceo@work911.com .

Feature Article:

Are You Being Bought & Sold On The Internet - Or, There's no such
thing as a free lunch

Millions of people use Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other
free services available on the Internet. These companies offer some
amazing functionality at a price everyone can afford -- nothing.
Unfortunately many consumers are not aware of the business models used
by these companies, and how customers are "paying" for these services
with their personal information and online behaviors. Privacy? It's
hard to find these days as these companies push the envelope. This
article helps you understand how YOU are being bought and sold by the
companies you use every day.

The Business Models - Selling You

If you have wondered how these companies can offer free services on a
massive scale, here's the simple answer. They sell advertising to
companies that want you to buy from them. In effect, YOU are the
product being sold to advertisers on Facebook, and similar platforms.
Ok. That's not new. You are no doubt familiar with the ads on Google
search results since they've been around for years. It's those ads
that allow Google to exist and make large amounts of money.

Facebook, Google, and similar companies BUY you and your personal
information by offering you free capabilities. You sign up. You
provide some level of information about yourself, your location, age,
gender, interests and so on. THAT information allows you to be sold to
advertisers and the ability to "Personalize" the ads you see. In terms
of the business model, the information you provide massively increases
the money advertisers are willing to pay because they can TARGET ads
to your demographics and information. YOUR information allows Internet
companies to reap huge profits -- in fact profits counted in billions
for Facebook and Google.

No problem, you figure, you'll just limit the personal information you
supply? You can do that. Of course the more restricted your
information, the less likely you can link up with people of similar
interests and location, so there's a cost. Still it's an option.
Except...

The Stealthy Part of Selling You

Have you noticed this? On Monday, you research and compare prices on a
new dining room suite. Using Google Search you check out a number of
stores, and then you decide you'll hold off on your purchase until
next year. On Wednesday, you need some citations for a paper you might
be writing on pumpkins, so back to Google you go. You search for
"pumpkins" and at the top, side and bottom of the results page, there
are ads. Some of those ads will pertain to your current search, but if
you pay attention, you'll also see ads related to dining room suites,
or furniture. Google "knows" (thinks it knows) what you want, and it
tries to get you to click on ads by showing you ads from your online
behavior and search actions from the past.

That may or may not suit you. After all, you don't want to see
furniture ads because they aren't relevant anymore. But the scary part
is that Google "knows" and uses your BEHAVIOR from the past to
increase the chances you will click on the ads.

Not only will this happen when you search Google, but your past
behavior will follow you around the web. These days, there are
millions of websites that finance their operations by displaying ads
coming from Google. If you search for furniture on the Monday, and on
Wednesday, want to buy a book on customer service, you might end up on
a site with Google ads displayed beside the book reviews. And guess
what you will see? Ads for furniture. So, if you visit any sites in
the Google "network" Google will customize what you see, whether you
want it to or not.

Google serves up "interest based ads" to you based on your behavior,
not just on the information you enter when you join its services. It's
stealthy. Can your opt out of that system? Actually you can, but I'll
bet you a) don't even know you are being tracked, b) didn't know you
could opt out, and c) can't figure out how to opt out anyway, since
Google doesn't really TELL you.

The Battle For Eyeballs and Info

The battle for information about you has escalated hugely over the
last eighteen months, and as a user, you probably are unaware of some
of the tactics used by companies to make use of your information, but
you'll be hearing more of it. Some of it has little effect on you,
personally, at least for now, but some of it does.

For example, there are some vicious lawsuits and tactics used by the
big players in the social media and Internet space. For example,
Google (real time search) indexes Twitter using Twitter data. Twitter
gets mad and cuts off Google, so Google has to remove real time search
from its service options so you can no longer use it. New patent
lawsuits are launched almost every day. Google is being investigated
by U.S. Congress for anti-trust violations and will be called upon to
explain itself to Congress in September. In Europe, cases against the
big players in the Internet space have resulted in multi-million
dollar judgments levied for various violations.

The profits from buying and selling you are so large that even multi-
million dollar penalties are not enough to discourage companies from
pushing the envelope by using your information and online behavior.

There's more. Ever try to delete your Facebook account? Got tired of
feeling your privacy was invaded, or perhaps just got tired of the
thing? It's like the roach motel ad; you can check in but you can't
check out (is there a song about that?). For a while it was near to
impossible to delete your account, and now, while you CAN do it,
you'll probably need to hunt around to find out how. (for more about
Facebook, at least from a rather negative point of view check out this
article on BusinessInsider:

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-reasons-to-delete-your-facebook-account-2010-5

Conclusion

You may or may not have concerns about your privacy and some of the
stealth techniques companies are using to compete with each other, and
get more and more information about your personal habits, interests.
It's a personal decision, and there is clearly value in using
Facebook, Google, and free services they provide. Perhaps the critical
takeaway is that most consumers just don't know how stealthy the
techniques are--the backroom tracking is largely invisible to end
users unless they pay attention. And they should. Whatever decisions
you make about how you use these free service, and how much you allow
yourself to be bought and sold, you SHOULD know it's happening. And,
it might be worthwhile to do some additional research on how your
favorite companies and services are using your data and tracking you.

Reminders:

Big Change In Reprint Policies For http://Work911.com

We have liberalized our reprint policies. In the past we've not
allowed people to make copies of our articles, and we've had a pay-for-
use policy in effect. It's all changed.

While the new policy is displayed on our main site at http://work911.com,
it also applies to all our customer service related articles on
http://customerservicezone.com. So, if you want to print out copies
and distribute to your colleagues and friends, you can now do so.

First what you can't do. We still cannot allow any of our articles to
appear on websites, or any place public on the Internet. There's a
good reason for that. Search engines have trouble figuring out which
"copy" of an article online is the original one, and that means that
if you were to use our material online, you might make it impossible
for us to attract visitors to our sites. And that means, we'd have to
close them all down. We have to eat too.

But the good news is you can print them, use them in seminars, forward
copies to colleagues and friends IN EMAIL. The only exception is for
commercial publications that charge for subscriptions or accept
advertising. So if you run BusinessWeek, sorry, but you have to pay
us.

One of the reasons writers write is they feel compelled to do so, and
that applies to me. However, most writers WANT people to read what
they produce, and that's one of the major reasons we've made it easier
to share our material.

As always, you CAN link to our articles, and you can use short
summaries along with the link.

All we ask is that if you do share (remember, NOT on the web in public
places, give us credit.

News - Our Leadership Center

We've decided to spin off our Leadership Center to its own domain. You
can now find it at the more convenient address: http://leadertoday.org
. Easy to remember. We have to update the article database and get rid
of bad links, so be patient. There's tons of great stuff on ALL
aspects of leadership, including a frequently asked questions area,
and a Leadership Library.

Back to us.

We need your help. We've shut down some of our sites already, though
they were sites we either didn't promote or didn't update, so you
really won't miss them. Whether we shut down our other sites later
this year will depend on whether we can increase our traffic.

You CAN help. I'm not asking you to donate money, or in fact, spend
any money although buying our products would help <grin>

All I ask of you is that if and when you make use of our sites, you
share the pages you like with your friends, twitter followers,
Facebook and LinkedIn contacts. We've tried to make that easy by
putting buttons on many pages so you can share with a click or two.

We need traffic to our sites, or we'll have to shut down more sites
this year.

Get Up To Speed On Social Media Via These Special (Free) Offers -
There's a lot more than social media resources here!

We've created some special pages on which you can find some great
reports, book chapters and other documents free of charge on social
media. In fact there are a lot of other topics available too, so go to
http://work911.com/wpap/socialmedia.htm . Other topics like small
business, and HR are available in our drop down menu under
"Whitepapers" which you will see when you arrive there.

Our Sites:

Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the
following topics:

World's Best Search Engines: http://researchprofessional.org

Training and Development Resource Center:http://thetrainingworld.com

Free Learning Stuff: http://free2thee.com

Leadership Resource Center: http://leadertoday.org

Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm

Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com

Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html

Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org

Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com

Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com

Multi-Purpose Articles Database: http://www.articles911.com

To new subscribers: The work911 newsletter is published no more than
once a week and contains articles on all things work related, and
contains other work related resources, and updates about our sites,
and their contents. Past history indicates we publish about every ten
days. Subscribe at http://work911.com/newsletter.htm

Don't forget that you can access free, useable previews of over twenty
of our books and helpcards at:

http://bacalassociates.com

and that we continue to offer special freebie offers and discounts to
our newsletter subscribers!

Work911 Ezine June 16, 2012 News, Changes, Deals, Google Panda, Oh My - Part 1

2011-06-17T08:52:00.001+07:00

June 16, 2012 News, Changes, Deals, Google Panda, Oh My - Part 1

News:

We are making so many changes in how we do things, that we're going to
have to split things up. This is the first of two or three parts to
update you on changes, products, policies, etc, so hold on to your
hat. You'll like all the changes we've implemented.

Big Change In Reprint Policies For http://Work911.com

We have liberalized our reprint policies. In the past we've not
allowed people to make copies of our articles, and we've had a pay-for-
use policy in effect. It's all changed.

As always, you CAN link to our articles, and you can use short
summaries along with the link.

All we ask is that if you do share (remember, NOT on the web in public
places, give us credit.

New Stuff - http: psychmyths.com

I'm pleased to announce our new site: http://psychmyths.org a
departure from what we've been doing. While most of our sites are
niche sites, PsychMyths will appeal to everyone with a brain,
because...well, it's about your brain, how it works, myths in
Psychology, and how your brain "deceives" you.

The sub-title is Why What You Think You Know About Human Behavior Is
Mostly Wrong. And we'll be applying findings from Psychology,
Neuroscience and Cognitive Science To every day life.

Want to know why the left brain - right brain thing is a myth?

Why your brain pushes you to make poor decisions?

Why decision making is hardly as rational and logical as you think?

We're on it!

If you have a brain (and you do), you'll learn about yourself and
others. Again, http://psychmyths.com It's only been up for a few days,
but there's already neat stuff, and a list of topics coming soon.

News - Our Leadership Center

News - We're Lonely, So...

...we've made it easier for you to interact with us...well, me. On
most of our pages, including http://customerservicezone.com, the and
the sites listed above, we've added a commenting system so you can
give YOUR ideas and input. Please use it. The more we get intelligent
comments, the more we'll be motivated to add new material at NO cost
to visitors.

Bringing All Our Articles Together In One Place

I've probably written over 300 articles for our sites, but they've
been scatter around on various sites, and to be honest, the whole
thing has gotten so hard to manage that I've decided to centralize
things. It will make it easier for readers and for us.

We have a long way to go yet, but we have a master list that we are
updating. It IS large, and will get bigger, but it's all on one page
and by category.

The best way to keep track of our articles is by going to
http://work911.com/articles/index.htm

More details on other site updates in Part 2 of this update.

News - Looking For Summer Reading To Learn From?

Visit our recommended books area at: http://work911.com/books/index.htm
where you will find books we think are worth reading on communication,
management, customer service, learning games and icebreakers and more.
And you can help us help you by buying from our pages, since it helps
us finance our network of sites and keep them free.

On A Serious Note - Particularly For Small Business, Bloggers, and
Website Owners

You may have heard that Google has made some radical changes in how
they rank pages when you search. The changes they instituted are
called the Panda updates, and while their intent is probably good,
it's had some drastic effects on businesses. Reports are still coming
in from companies that have had their web visits drop by 60%-90%, and
their sales drop off completely.

It's scary. More than a few companies have had to lay off their staff,
and some have had to close down or file for bankruptcy.

We have also been hit. The Google changes have basically reduced our
web based income to almost nothing, which means I have less time to
provide new articles and features.

First, if you run a website, blog, or other Internet properties, and
have seen your traffic and/or sales disappear, you aren't alone, and
keep in mind that things can improve as swiftly as they can collapse.
We'll try to provide some links to places you can learn from, so you
can keep up with the news.

The first is: http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/ (Webmasterworld) a
bulletin board system that has a stellar reputation, some amazing
contributors, and lots of good information. If you run an internet
based business, GO THERE, because you need to know what's going on.

Back to us.

You CAN help. I'm not asking you to donate money, or in fact, spend
any money although buying our products would help <grin>

We need traffic to our sites, or we'll have to shut down more sites
this year.

Huge Discount on If It Wasn't For The Customers, I'd Really Like This
Job (Held Over)

We often offer discounts on our books and other products to ezine
subscribers, yet another reason to subscribe, and spread the word
about this ezine. This time it's 50% off our new book, If It Wasn't
For The Customers, I'd Really Like This Job, 200 pages of essential
tips and tactics to help you deal with difficult customers.

There's only one way to take advantage of this huge discount. Go to:
https://www.createspace.com/3446368 That's an amazon company that
allows us to offer the discount and it gives you the same security,
guarantees and service you'd get from the parent company, Amazon.

Place your order and when you see the spot for entering your coupon/
discount code use the following: EXYZS2ZY (sorry it's so hard to
remember, but that's what we are stuck with). Update your cart and you
will see the 50% off applied to your purchase.

This discount may be discontinued at any time. If you want this book
get it NOW at THIS price.

Get Up To Speed On Social Media Via These Special (Free) Offers

Stay Tuned.

I have some articles to share to whet your appetite for the PsychMyths
site, other updates, more special offers, updates on Google,
interacting with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (Yuck) and much
more. Don't go way, and don't forget, you CAN share this ezine with
anyone, anywhere, no limits. It helps us survive (ok, that's a bit of
dramatization, but if you share, it helps us continue to bring you
lots of free stuff.

Our Sites:

Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the
following topics:

World's Best Search Engines: http://researchprofessional.org

Training and Development Resource Center:http://thetrainingworld.com

Free Learning Stuff: http://free2thee.com

Small Business Resource Center: http://smallbusiness411.org

Small Business Blog (new material): http://smallbusiness411.org/wp/

Leadership Resource Center: http://leadertoday.org

Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm

Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com

Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html

Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org

Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com

Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com

Multi-Purpose Articles Database: http://www.articles911.com

Don't forget that you can access free, useable previews of over twenty
of our books and helpcards at:

http://busylearners.com

and that we continue to offer special freebie offers and discounts to
our newsletter subscribers!

Work911 Ezine: May 20, 2011 Huge Discounts, Updates, Feature Article On Customer Service For Both Customers and Customer Service Staff

2011-05-22T22:45:00.000+07:00

May 20, 2011 Huge Discounts, Updates, Feature Article On Customer Service For Both Customers and Customer Service Staff

News:

Bacal & Associates is reinventing itself, and going back to our training, teaching and learning roots. Not only are we increasing our work in training, seminar design, keynote speaking and consulting, but we are also making a number of radical changes to our websites, and how we participate online. Many of these changes are in the process of being implemented, so we'll keep you updated. Here's a few of the changes.

After being semi-retired from training and public appearances in order to spend time writing, Robert Bacal is returning to the training world, and is actively seeking out opportunities for contract training opportunities with other companies, and working directly with clients to deliver training, keynote addresses and conference presentations. Contact us at ceo@work911.com if you are interested in partnering.

We are shutting down a number of our websites in order to make the surviving ones the best we can make them. Our most popular sites need to be upgraded to improve ease of use and navigation, visual attractiveness and to ensure a flow of fresh new ideas.

We are interested in dialogue and interaction, so we've implemented the ability for you to interact with us and other visitors via our comments system. This isn't completely deployed yet, but typically at the end of articles you can put in your two cents worth. Related to that is our policy of limited control. We do not censor posts unless they are spam, completely off topic, or range into the aggressive and malignant. What that means is if you have negative comments about us, feel free to express them but try to keep things constructive.

Our blogs are being shut down in phases. Eventually I'll explain why, and also offer explanations of all the changes we are implementing, because I think they are interesting for other small businesses.

I am limiting the amount of time I spend in social media and on the Internet in general so as to move back to interacting with people on a more personal basis. There's another reason, and that is I find that the Internet is full of content and material that is unoriginal, superficial and a waste of time. It's gotten so hard to find the nuggets of excellence that it's no longer worth the effort. Again, explanations to follow.

Our plans are to progressively remove all third party ads from all our sites. This will be a gradual and ongoing effort.

We are changing our rules regarding what you can and cannot do with our articles. You will be able to do much more for zero cost, and with very few restrictions. The essence is we will still not permit reprinting our articles on the Internet, but we will no longer charge for use of our articles in print, or on intranets, and you will be allowed to legally make copies to share with your collegues and friends. Again, details to follow. We will continue to provide low cost reprint services for magazines and other contexts where our articles are used "for profit". Restrictions will be very light.

--

Huge Discount

We often offer discounts on our books and other products to ezine subscribers, yet another reason to subscribe, and spread the word about this ezine. This time it's 50% off our new book, If It Wasn't For The Customers, I'd Really Like This Job, 200 pages of essential tips and tactics to help you deal with difficult customers.

There's only one way to take advantage of this huge discount. Go to: https://www.createspace.com/3446368 That's an amazon company that allows us to offer the discount and it gives you the same security, guarantees and service you'd get from the parent company, Amazon.

Place your order and when you see the spot for entering your coupon/discount code use the following: EXYZS2ZY (sorry it's so hard to remember, but that's what we are stuck with). Update your cart and you will see the 50% off applied to your purchase.

This discount may be discontinued at any time. In fact, it will probably last only a week. If you want this book get it NOW at THIS price.

--

Feature Article:

A Typical Day - Why Technology is Worsening Both Customer Service and Customer Experience

In my short article entitled Has technology improved the customer experience in most companies? I put forth a number of reasons why technology is making customer service and customer experience worse. Here's a typical 24 hour day - my day, in fact. Just the highlights.

This is the AVERAGE DAY, mind you. There are also catastrophic days, but there is almost NEVER a day that isn't like the typical day.

Evening: Monday: Tired. Time to relax. I subscribe to Major League Baseball on my ITouch and they offer a free game each day in video. Cool. Love my baseball. Click to start in the app. Looks good. It is verifying my location for copyright info. Oh NOOOOO. There's no GPS on the Touch (thank you Apple, you'll never see a cent from me). It should use the IP. It used to. Wait. It doesn't. It won't give me the free game, because IT can't tell where I am. Oh well.

How about listening to an audiobook. I stream from my desktop to my Touch because Apple software (Itunes) hangs, interrupts my multi-tasking and their proprietary system is a pain. It's a third party app I purchased. Okay, Close eyes, lie in bed. Book starts. After 15 secs. book stops. Get up. Reboot computer, restart server. Rince, repeat. Somehow I'm not relaxing and who do I contact to get this fixed? HAH.

Soldiering on, I decide to use my Itouch to access CNN, might as well see what's happening in the rest of the world, but wait, darn, I forgot, the CNN app is broken. It starts, then it closes. In fact it's NEVER worked. Not once. I try another news app. Doesn't work. It must be because these news organizations can't afford to fix the apps. Or maybe it's Apple. Who knows.

One last shot. I use Tweetdeck to browse topics I'm interested in, and it so happens that since I'm so involved in performance management and performance appraisal training, that I do a search for "performance appraisal". I click on a link....WOAH. It takes me to Blogger where I find that someone is creating Twitter accounts to get people to click through so they can distribute P*rn through Blogger (which is Google, mind you). Hmmmm.

And then I browse over to LinkedIn to see what's happening in the discussion groups I monitor. On average, nine of ten comments/posts are self-promotional spam, some having nothing to do with the topic. So glad this is going so well.

Now, I've relaxed myself into a severe case of high blood pressure (it must have been those dirty pictures), so I shut down, and froth. Tomorrow is another day.

Now I'm not relaxing so much.

Next Morning

A new day, fresh start. I have to go out of town, so I want to print out the addresses and info I'll need to find people. No sweat. I have a quad core, three printers attached, so I go to print out some emails. Computer is telling me I have too many fonts, and lord knows what that has to do with getting output, but it refuses. No error messages that have any actionable information. Not only that, but when I try to reinstall, that doesn't work, and now with printers installed, my email client won't even display stuff on screen. Not only can I not print, but if I try, it will stop me from reading my email. Who did I insult?

Ok. Stuff happens. I know I didn't change anything from yesterday connected to printing. Ghost in the machine. I go online. I do search. I get to how to remove fonts. Oh, that's interesting. Microsoft won't let me delete the Mongolian font, or the Korean ones, or, well any of the other ones. I don't actually recall having to write in Mongolian so I'm offended. MS knows best, I suppose.

Back to Internet. Oh. I see. I have to manually edit the registry. Not a good plan when aggravated, tired, or it's after 7 at night. Problem not solved. Time spent trying to print, one hour. no dice. I'm back to pencils.

I need to top up my pay as you go cells for the trip. Rogers. I hate Rogers. I hate all the others too, because they all think that almost any calls I make from my town are long distance to everywhere so I can't buy another plan to suit my needs, which is emergency communication. Go to website. Call up my information....good good. Link to top up doesn't do anything. No error messages. Must be browser. Try another one. Nope. Try the recommended one (IE 7). The fact that there's a newer one? Well, I don't have the old one. No dice.

Backup plan. Find email and complain. Just realized I lost my carry over balance. Fifteen minutes and I find email form. Completed. I DO get a reply. It tells me to send them additional information, how to do it, and THEN it tells me they won't do anything, because they don't deal with "that". Bot. Or stupid bot. Or really stupid human.

Ok. Try doing it through the phones. I only have one cell here. Voice system. Asks for password. I type it in. It has numbers. It displays letters. Odd. Can't get phone to transmit numbers. Probably me. But wait. It accepted my menu choice as a number. Why not my password. 20 minutes doing this. No joy.

I really need to get this done NOW. Back to Rogers site. Try two different phone numbers that sound promising. Nope. Caught in "press this and press that". I am now using my landline. After another 20 minutes, tell me if you've heard this one before, I get a person. Yippee. I explain without ranting. I want to rant. I want to do evil things. Silence. Clever this person. I probably taught her to do this in one of my seminars. I have to continue. She restores my lost balances, and I top up. (Did you know that corps will allow you to increase your plans or channels online, but if you want to reduce the service you purchase, and you wish to do this online, you can't?)

Time taken; ONE HOUR 30 MINUTES. My poor mother with the broken hip in the hospital is going to be climbing the walls thinking I am now dead and lord love Rogers, but I've gotten to hear their automated pitch in my ear while I try to get through their idiotic menu phone system.

Just Some Background Before We Get To The Point

Understand I'm not a technophobe. I've been working with computers since the commodore-64, and I can strip down and reassemble my desktop machine, and do most repairs. I can code some, and design and build my own websites, and, truth to tell, my business, which has been ongoing for 20 years, could never have existed without technology.

I'm hardly unskilled. I'm not perfect and some of the things I've outlined are at least partly my fault.

The Point: Customer Experience, Customer Service and Technology

I'm not sure how much time I spend "serving" the technology that's supposed to make my world run. On average, an hour a day? Perhaps two hours a day trying to get technology to do what I need it to do. I suspect most of us spend much more time than we think trying to "get things to work". A lot of time is spent on micro-problem solving-how do I get this font, or how do I change this screen.

Our systems, both human and technological are so complex that it's amazing they work at all, but it requires more investment than we realize. How many times in a day do you encounter technology that is too complicated, doesn't work properly or is so badly documented that it would take hours, days to get close to the point where you master it, instead of it mastering you? A minute here, another ten there, and soon it eats at your day.

Which is to say that technology has hit the point where it impacts severely on customer experience of the product and increases the need for customers to have support from companies who are loathe to cut their profits.

The technology based systems to support and help customers are so complex, often they don't work, as is the case with Rogers above. The staff are so fed up with having to make excuses for breakdowns, you can hear it in their voices, and the very process of getting help requires one to first get help to be able to figure out how to get the help one needs to get whatever thing to work.

Ok. It's almost funny, but one thing is sure. Technology is NOT improving customer service. It will never do so, and we have only to look at the voice telephone systems used in companies to know that the sheer act of getting to a human (while waiting within the technology) can take hours. It doesn't work.

Complexity is the killer.

PS. I haven't told you about the hours spent trying to do simple things with Facebook Connect (yes, followed instructions, read docs), or the dozen other events in any 24 period that eat up time - my time as a customer who has things to do other than service THEIR technology.

PPS. My Roomba Robotic Vacuum apparently unplugged my ITouch as it was charging, so, well, it's not ready to go.

Sigh.

-- Our Sites:

Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the following topics:

World's Best Search Engines: http://researchprofessional.org

Training and Development Resource Center:http://thetrainingworld.com

Free Learning Stuff: http://free2thee.com

Small Business Resource Center: http://smallbusiness411.org

Small Business Blog (new material): http://smallbusiness411.org/wp/

Leadership Resource Center: http://work911.com/leadership-development/index.html

Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm

Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com

Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html

Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org

Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com

Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com

Multi-Purpose Articles Database: http://www.articles911.com

To new subscribers: The work911 newsletter is published no more than once a week and contains articles on all things work related, and contains other work related resources, and updates about our sites, and their contents. Past history indicates we publish about every ten days. Subscribe at http://work911.com/newsletter.htm

Don't forget that you can access free, useable previews of over twenty of our books and helpcards at:

http://busylearners.com

and that we continue to offer special freebie offers and discounts to our newsletter subscribers!

Last call on huge discount on our newest customer service book

2011-04-12T11:29:00.000+07:00

Re:If It Wasn't For The Customers I'd Really Like This Job: Stop
Angry, Hostile Customers COLD While Remaining Professional, Stress
Free, Efficient and Cool As A Cucumber.

If you think you might ever want a copy of this book to help you deal
more effectively with difficult, demanding, or stressful customers, DO
IT NOW, because our introductory discount offer will be ending,
probably by Friday, and perhaps even before that. We don't make money
when we sell this book for 50% off an already bargain price of $16.95,
so it has to end, and soon.

If you want more information about this book, find it at
http://busylearners.com/products/i-ifitwasnt.htm .

If you want to take advantage of the discount you MUST use the
following link: https://www.createspace.com/3446368 and enter the
discount code: VANFLNKL in the space provided. Update the cart and
your price will be cut in half.

It's been great offering the book at the low intro price, but we can't
afford to continue that. Not only will the special discount no longer
be available, but the suggested retail price will be increased from
the intro of $16.95 to at least $21.95, and if you just learn and use
one of the 120+ techniques in this book to deal more effectively with
unpleasant customers, you'll still come out ahead.

Work911 Ezine - Save Big on If It Wasn't For The Customers, I'd Really Like This Job (Book), some free offers and a few articles.

2011-03-31T23:31:00.000+07:00

March 31, 2011: Save Big on If It Wasn't For The Customers, I'd Really
Like This Job (Book), some free offers and a few articles.

First, your big news. If you deal with customers -- particular
customers who act difficult and get upset, take advantage of our huge
discount on our book "If It Wasn't For The Customers, I'd Really Like
This Job: Stop Angry, Hostile Customers COLD While Remaining
Professional, Stress Free, Efficient and Cool As A Cucumber." About
200 pages (1.1 pounds if you are wondering) including over 100 tactics
and strategies to deal with difficult customer situations.

What's the discount? The price? List priced is $16.95 but will
increase after our introductory pricing. We are offering you, as
work911 newsletter readers, a 50% discount, but only for a limited
time, if you order through createspace (owned by amazon). I believe
they offer a money back guarantee just like amazon, so there is no
risk. YOUR PRICE: 8.47 HOW? Your discount code is VANFLNKL. Here's
your link to order: https://www.createspace.com/3446368 This offer
will end without further notice and probably within 4 days, so if you
want this book get it now. Prices will NEVER be lower.

Neat, Useful Offers of the Day

So, do we have free stuff for learning, or what? Well, yes. Or rather
some of our partners have some good publications, depending on your
interests. Some are still running from our last issue, and there's a
few new ones to check out.

Training Magazine Free Subscriptions

Great publication, great offer. Free subscriptions if you live in the
USA. If you are involved in training, development, workplace learning
or HR this is highly recommended, and its free. Your link is:

http://work911.tradepub.com/free/tran/

"The Facebook Marketing Guide" (I grabbed this one, since frankly, I
don't get how to benefit from Facebook for business)

This 26 page guide will help you understand the tools available, how
they're used, best practices and how to set the tools up, but that's
just the start.

Facebook is fast becoming a powerhouse of marketing activity due to
the sheer numbers of engaged users on the site and the simplicity of
connecting with them directly. If you're promoting a business,
product, band or some other public figure, you have probably been
advised at some point or other to "get a Facebook presence" because
"Facebook is huge".

In order to make the best of Facebook for marketing, you'll need to
understand the tools available, how they're used, best practices and
how to set the tools up. But that's just the start. Once you start
piecing together this puzzle you'll be able to manage your marketing
efforts across multiple Facebook products with ease and style. Also
with this free guide you will also receive daily updates on new cool
websites and programs in your email for free courtesy of MakeUseOf.

http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_make29/

Free Books Summaries

Access this page to download a number of nifty book summaries free of
charge. The sponsor sells subscriptions but you can get these
summaries at no cost as part of their promotional efforts. Take a
look, browse, and grab as many as you want.

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/search.mpl?keyword=summaries&x=0&y=0

Web 2.0: Engaging Customer Passion"

By selecting the right tools for your company's particular product,
brand or campaign, your organization can fulfill the desire and
expectations that customers now have for interaction.

This white paper examines the ways in which organizations can tap into
Web 2.0 interaction as part of the marketing strategy and tactics to
create customer engagement by matching visitors' passion and to figure
out the "best fit" for the new opportunities that present themselves.
In doing so, you can address online visitors in each phase of their
buying cycle including awareness, interest, desire, action and
satisfaction.

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_sdlt02

"Angry to Evangelist – Six Steps to Flip the Switch from Angry
Customer to Loyal Fan"

As you read through these six steps, think about prior experiences
you've had with your customers. Take the time to think through those
situations and come up with ways you could have made them better. You
may be practicing some of these steps already, but that doesn't mean
you can't improve. This eBook will provide you with some examples of
what you can say/write, but please don't consider them a script. Throw
your scripts away. Your attitude, sincerity, and a well thought out
strategy are all you need.

There's nothing groundbreaking here, but that's kind of the point.
Getting back to the basics of customer service is what you need to do.
Expanding on those basics and applying them to real-world situations
is what makes them work. Take what you learn here and apply it to your
business. Remember, customer service is the new marketing; your
customers can sell for you or they can sell against you.

With this free eBook you will also receive periodic email updates,
tips, and best practices relating to customer experience, customer
service, leadership, and word-of-mouth strategies.

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_deli01

Finally, for those of you who are perplexed about the whole social
media/business thing, here's something that will explain the current
thinking about using social media for business. I'd caution you,
though, that much of the current thinking is a product of hype and
hope. Read this with a critical eye, and keep asking yourself, "How do
they know that?"

Using Social Media to Connect With Your Customers Online -Free 93 Page
eBook"

Social media isn't just a list of destinations. It's a new standard of
expectations. Connect with your customers online or your competitors
will.

MarketingSavant historically published their Guide to Emerging
Marketing Technology and Social Media eBook which acted as an
invaluable eBook to guide marketers through the most practical, useful
and marketing-friendly technology tools like blogs, email, widgets and
video. This eBook takes that one step further and offers more than 90
insight-drenched pages covering the following topics:

Social Media – What is it?

Social Media Strategies & Channels for Sales and Marketing

Why you should care

What to do next

What's Possible?

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_mard01
Feature Article

I came across this lost article as I was revamping our articles area
on work911.com (http://work911.com/articles.htm), and it reminds me
that in every profession, including training and development, there
are a fair number of fools trying to bilk customers. That's a serious
issue, but sometimes it all turns into some very funny stuff. The link
to the web based article is: http://work911.com/articles/goofytrainers.htm
(By the way, you can now comment and interact on all our articles in
the revamped area)

The Educated Training Consumer

Trainers are From Mars, or Is That Pluto, or, Maybe Just Goofy

Unfortunately for consumers of training, while there are some
excellent trainers, and a lot of good trainers, there's a fair number
of "goofy" trainers, trainers who are incompetent, and even worse, not
aware of their own limitations. This is a fairly serious issue for
both individuals and companies who want to maximize the "bang for the
buck" for their training investments. As part of our Educated Training
Consumer series, let's start by identifying some of the potential
pitfalls associated with attending or purchasing training.

Some Background

Here's the thing. Unlike professions like Law, Medicine and
Accounting, anyone can simply call themself a "trainer" (or a coach).
No qualifications are required. No education is required. No expertise
is required. And, no experience either. Some trainers enter the field
through rigorous study in areas like Psychology, or Education, or move
into the field from other fields where they may have been involved
with training delivery, or acquired valuable experience. Some
perfectly fine trainers enter the field in other ways that help them
develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge that will help them
deliver effective training.

And then there are the goofy ones, the inept and incompetent. There
tends to be a pattern associated with goofy trainers, and that is that
they tend to have little interest in theories, or disciplined study,
and tend to get their expertise from superficial and fadish pop
psychology books, or from what they call "life experience". It's not
always clear why their life experience, so valuable and powerful that
it qualifies them to teach others, is somehow better than YOUR life
experience, but that's a detail goofy trainers don't usually concern
themselves with.

The goofy position is "I can see that method x (or instrument y) works
with my own eyes, and it works for me, so therefore I'm going to
conclude that it will work for everyone else". This philosophy is
identical to saying: "I can see with my own eyes that the world is
flat, and so I'm going to teach it to everyone". That's not good.

The truth is that not everyone can train well, and not everyone is cut
out for training. Training requires skill and knowledge for it to work
well.

Here's an real life example, taken from a message posted by someone
who does sales training (name removed to protect the goofy). It
appeared on a discussion list with over 3,000 "trainers" and "coaches"
in virtual attendence.:

"There are key traits (physical features) in the face that one can
identify that relate to an individuals buying style. For example: A
convex (Greek nose) looks for the bargain.

How much does is cost and is it worth it? Whereas the ski jump nose
will look for how the product or service will benefit them. Exposed
(hooded) eyelids just needs the basic information to make a decision.
If you waffle on with these people they will either interrupt or loose
interest.

The narrow face will be hesitant in taking on new situations. Offer
them the support and it will take the anxiety out of their
decisions....

The face reading system I use has been well researched to be 92%
accurate.

There's no way of knowing where and how this person adopted the belief
that one could predict behavior on the basis of the shape of someone's
nose, but there's no doubt that this trainer believes in this, and is
attempting to make a living teaching others about this magnificent
system. Note the final sentence referring to the "research", which is
never referenced of cited so this "proof" can be examined. It's
typical of goofy trainers to hint at research or studies supporting
whatever hair-brained ideas they have. Usually they haven't actually
read that research directly, and have come across it tenth hand.

One can only sit back and have profound sympathy for anyone having to
sit through "training" offered by this person. What is perhaps even
more shocking that there was not a single response questioning this
person's beliefs from any of the "professionals" on that list.

Here's another example, which is probably more amusing than anything
else, again written by a trainer.

I remember Pluto onced asked his teacher, Which way is the best way to
teach - "By asking questions..." If you tell them they could argue,
but if you asked them, whatever they say reveals their thoughts and
makes teaching easier for you.

Now, Pluto may be a character from Disneyworld, along with Mickey and
Goofy, and it's certainly the name of a planet, but it might behoove
this particular trainer/coach to track down the "quote", since Pluto
is not Plato, and it probably does come from Plato. Still that
requires effort, and one of the characteristics of goofy trainers is
to never read a primary or direct source. Actually READ Plato (or
Pluto)? Nah. In all seriousness, the goofy trainer seems not to feel a
strong need to verify his or her knowledge, information and skills,
and that's really the point. Goofy trainers really do "make up" a lot
of stuff, and present that stuff as fact. And that's not good either.

Do you want a trainer that confused Pluto and Plato? Or doesn't bother
to check a source, or verify the information he or she uses?

Why Do Some Trainers Get Goofy

There are countless examples of trainers who have no clue what they
are doing, and put training attendees through useless exercises and
activities that most informed and rational people would conclude are a
waste of time and energy. But how does this happen? Well, part of it
has to do with a growing anti-intellectualism in training (and some
other fields), and that, in turn ties into the ease of entrance into
the field. So, let's look at a few more messages to understand why
some trainers get goofy.

From the same list where nose shapes are promoted as predictors of
behavior, and Pluto is quoted, here's a short excerpt from a message
on what constitutes "proof".

I have noticed a curious tendency among some members of this list
(only some!) to seek to have things proven, as if it is possible to
prove them beyond all doubt. This seems to be a symptom of using
reason too exclusively...

Certainly, there are other ways of knowing and experiencing the world
besides "reason". But one has to wonder whether many of us would say
the same thing about an accountant, or a medical doctor or even a
plumber. Personally, I want a plumber who can "reason". I also want
and expect trainers to be able to reason. Silly me.

And another comment from another trainer/coach explaining why science
and the scientific method is something worth ignoring.

And in the meantime with the urgency to scientifically prove the
outcome we loose humaness such as love, caring, understanding loyalty
and compassion.

We can't be absolutely sure what the writer meant here, but it's a bit
perplexing as to how the desire to validate what trainers do
necessarily has to result in situations where "we loose humaness". But
we can guess that this individual (and perhaps a number of others who
exhibit this kind of anti-intellectualism) have very little first-hand
experience with scientific inquiry. And probably don't care whether
what they are saying is "rational" or not.

And finally, here's a quote taken from a message which urges other
trainers to be more careful, and apply more critical thinking about
the claims made by colleagues (and that's good). But what's
interesting is the belief expressed below:

What is truth? Truth is in the eye/mind/heart of the beholder and it's
constantly changing. Each of us has our own truth.

This is a common perspective, that facts, truth, knowledge and so on
are so personal and relative that there is no body of truth that
crosses across individuals. It's the ultimate if self-centeredness
driven to extreme. My truth is my truth. Which is fine until the
person expressing this position is being paid to teach and train
others, while at the same time believing that truth and knowledge is
"relative" and constantly changing. Because what they teach is "their
truth", and since any old truth is as equally valid as any other old
truth, they don't tend to make the effort to look outside of
themselves to check to see if "their truth" has any applicability
beyond their very small patch of turf.

This is one reason why some trainers use pop psych. personality
inventories in their training...because their favorite inventory
confirms their "truth". And the "trainer's truth" is somehow different
from the truths of everyone else...it's well...better, more universal.
So while truth may be in the eye of the beholder for most people, the
trainer's truth is somehow worth imposing on everyone else's truth in
training. Following that? If that doesn't quite ring right, perhaps
what you want is a trainer who is a little more rational, logical and
intellectually disciplined.

Innoculate Against Goofy Trainers

Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering hiring/choosing
a trainer.

1) Talk to the trainer if you can. If you hear a lot of buzz words, or
empty phrases, back away. A competent trainer will be able to explain
to you why s/he does what s/he does in clear English that makes sense
to you. If the trainer sounds even remotely like a fortune cookie, or
can only explain a training method by saying "It works", then that's a
good tip off that the person doesn't have the depth of understanding
that you want a trainer to have.

2) Here's a key goofy warning sign. A competent trainer will spend
much more time getting information about what you need compared to
telling you what s/he can offer you. Excellent trainers customize what
they do for each client. Poor trainers tend to use the exact same
training tools no matter what kind of subject matter is involved and
no matter what YOUR needs are. One common example is a trainer who is
convinced of the usefulness of some specific personality type
instrument, and uses it for every training situation he or she is
involved in. The problem is that these "one-trick ponies" will only be
effective if the pet technique accidentally happens to be something
that will address your needs. Training success should never be an
accident.

3) Don't buy into the notion that a trainer only needs "some"
knowledge about the topic on which he or she is providing training.
That's nonsense. Even basic training on relatively simple topics
requires the trainer understand way more about the topic than what's
going to be covered. That's because the trainer should be able to
answer learner questions that may go beyond the basics. The more a
trainer knows and understands about the topic, the better he or she
will be able to explain even the simple things. Deep understanding is
important when teaching, because it supplies the why's of what's being
taught.

4) Finally, if a trainer doesn't ask WHY you want to do the training
you have in mind, that's a major warning sign. Part of the trainer's
responsibility should be to help you ensure that the training actually
meets your needs. Without knowing why you want the training, there's
no way a trainer can take on that responsibility. Good trainers will
ask why, and evaluate whether their offerings will get you where you
want to go. They will refuse to provide training that will fail.

Goofy trainers tend to ride on the surface of the wave, and will
rarely tell you when their offerings will be a waste of your time and
money. That's because a) they believe what they offer is a gift from
on high and believe what they have will help everyone and b) they tend
to be more interested in riding their pet ponies around the arena in
front of people than actually helping you.

We've just scratched the surface here, and in further parts to this
series we'll provide you with more tips on getting the most of
training, whether you are looking to hire a trainer to deliver courses
to your staff, or whether you are trying to choose training seminars
to attend.

So...thhhat's all, folks, for now.

That's it, but we have lots more news coming about our websites, more
discounts, articles and more Stay tuned, and tell your friends because
the more subscribers we have to this ezine, the more stuff we can give
away or discount. PLAY BALL! It's another magic day and the world
begins anew as baseball season starts today.

Our Sites:

Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the
following topics:

World's Best Search Engines: http://researchprofessional.org

Training and Development Resource Center:http://thetrainingworld.com

Free Learning Stuff: http://free2thee.com

Small Business Resource Center: http://smallbusiness411.org

Small Business Blog (new material): http://smallbusiness411.org/wp/

Leadership Resource Center: http://work911.com/leadership-development/index.html

Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm

Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com

Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html

Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org

Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com

Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com

Multi-Purpose Articles Database: http://www.articles911.com

Don't forget that you can access free, useable previews of over twenty
of our books and helpcards at:

http://busylearners.com

and that we continue to offer special freebie offers and discounts to
our newsletter subscribers!

Work911 Ezine - Special - Some Great Deals

2011-03-09T01:51:00.000+07:00

In this special edition here are some flashes on great deals, either
from us or others.

First, it's "Read an Ebook Week", and I have to tell you I've joined
the Kindle/E-reader world, as has my wife, and we're loving it. In any
event our newest book, If It Wasn't For The Customers, I'd Really Like
This Job is on sale as part of the special E-book Celebrations. The
book sells normally for $16.95, in print, and $9.95 for KIndle/Ipad/
Ipod and smartphones/ereaders, but this week only it's at $5.00 which
is almost silly.

Buy it, download it, and plunk it on to your mobile machine and you're
set. Here's the link info.

Your discount code is RAE50 (It's shown on the page, too). Just go to:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43423?ref=rbacal

Want the printed version? No problem, it's now available at amazon or
via createspace which is the amazon owned printer. Still a great deal.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43423?ref=rbacal

More info about the book contents are on the respective pages above.

What else we got for you?

Title: Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That
Will Get You the Job! - Free Book Summary

Short Description: Know in ten minutes what takes others hours to
learn, and keep up with the latest trends in the industry.

In this summary you will learn:

* What prospective employers will ask you
* What you should answer and ask in return
* How to avoid common job interview mistakes

Why you should read Acing the Interview:

You got fired. How do you handle that during a job interview? Or you
only spent a year at each of your last two jobs. How do you convince a
prospective employer that you will last? You work for a firm with a
great reputation, but you're not happy. What do you say when an
interviewer asks why you want to leave such a respected outfit? Job
placement and recruitment expert Tony Beshara provides the best
answers to these and other job interview questions. Plus, he explains
the questions you should ask before you accept a job offer. TV
psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw calls Beshara "the number one career
placement guy" in the U.S. If you're job hunting, he's the right
source for valuable job interview insights and information. Here, he
lists more than 450 typical job interview questions and suggested
answers. getAbstract recommends his savvy, comprehensive and helpful
book. Job seekers and interviewers alike will appreciate it.

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_geta16

The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and
Possibilities - Free Book Summary

Know in ten minutes what takes others hours to learn, and keep up with
the latest trends in the industry.
Long Description: In this summary you will learn:

* Why your organization's new strategy will fail if your employees
are not engaged with it
* What six obstacles impede employee engagement
* What are the six best ways to engage employees
* Why "strategic engagement" is a process, not a series of
separate, stand-alone actions

Why you should read The Art of Engagement

Organizational leaders spend considerable time and effort carefully
developing strategies to advance their corporate goals. However, they
often fail to communicate these strategies compellingly to their
employees – the people who must execute every step. Therefore, it is
no surprise that most such strategies fail. Management consultant Jim
Haudan recommends a strategy-sharing approach using visuals, metaphors
and stories to engage employees. He offers tactics for getting them on
board to execute your strategy and organizational directives. One
negative: Many of the illustrations (reductions from original table-
size artwork) are busy and even fuzzy. Some feature tiny text, which
illustrates – in the breech – Haudan's point about using clear visuals
to communicate and engage. Otherwise the book is superior, very
insightful and nicely written. Haudan uses case studies to demonstrate
the effectiveness of his employee engagement process. getAbstract
believes leaders can benefit from learning his tactics for
communicating strategies so employees understand them, support them
and actually implement them.

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_geta18

Web 2.0: Engaging Customer Passion

By selecting the right tools for your company's particular product,
brand or campaign, your organization can fulfill the desire and
expectations that customers now have for interaction.
Long Description: This white paper examines the ways in which
organizations can tap into Web 2.0 interaction as part of the
marketing strategy and tactics to create customer engagement by
matching visitors' passion and to figure out the "best fit" for the
new opportunities that present themselves. In doing so, you can
address online visitors in each phase of their buying cycle including
awareness, interest, desire, action and satisfaction.

http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_sdlt02

That's it for this flash update. Enjoy.

Online Earning

Work911 ezine - Jan. 17, 2012 - New Site On Customer Service In Government, New Free Offers

Work911 Journal - Career, Work and Personal Development

Better Learning- Better Lives - A Better World

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

Women in the Boardroom: Should the U.S. Have Quotas? | Business Ethics

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

Who's Really in Charge of Board Performance?

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

OK Career Planner | Lifelong Learning

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

A Focus on Lifelong Learning for Career Success: The Reasons and Benefits to Continue Education for Workplace Skills | Suite101.com

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

Education World: Making Teacher Evaluations Work

Nov 03, 2011 08:07 am | Anonymous

N.E.A. Shifts Position on Teacher Evaluations - NYTimes.com

Nov 02, 2011 09:20 pm | Anonymous

99 Questions To Jump Start Your Partner Channel Brain

In This Issue

Recent Stories

(Fwd) Work911 Success Updates

Learn With Us: Work911.com 10/12/2011

Work911 Newsletter: Learn With Us

Oct 09, 2011 02:10 am | Anonymous

Reasons Managers and Business Decision Makers MUST Understand Basics of Research: Stop Bandwagon Jumping With These Eight Steps

Oct 09, 2011 02:10 am | Anonymous

Performance Appraisal Goofs - Common Managerial Mistakes Series

Oct 09, 2011 02:10 am | Anonymous

Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series

Oct 10, 2011 11:50 pm | Anonymous

Interactive Chat Everywhere: Website, Email and Social Media for E-Commerce and Online Customer Service

Oct 10, 2011 11:20 pm | Anonymous

Elevating the End User Experience in Travel and Expense Management

Sep 19, 2011 09:14 pm | Anonymous

Why is most communication training misleading?

Sep 19, 2011 09:14 pm | Anonymous

Why do the same words mean different things to different people?

Sep 19, 2011 09:14 pm | Anonymous

What is cooperative communication?

Oct 06, 2011 12:29 pm | Anonymous

Google Search Results and Super-Complex Systems

Super-Complex Systems Explained in Plain English

Back To Google Search

The Google “Wall” And Super-Complex Systems

Is It Fixable?

Are Other Search Engines Better?

Conclusions On Google Search Results and Super-Complexity

Oct 03, 2011 01:41 pm | Anonymous

The Laws of Complex Systems Applied To Real Life

Complex Systems and Real Life

Laws of Complex Systems

So What? Who Cares About Complex Systems

Sep 26, 2011 11:20 pm | Anonymous

Purchase CPM Ads on The Work911 Network

Sep 20, 2011 06:40 pm | Anonymous

Bacal To Teach At Internal Communications Conference in Ottawa January 23, 2012

Sep 17, 2011 10:24 am | Anonymous

Performance Management – A Briefcase Book (2nd Edition)

Sep 17, 2011 10:08 am | Anonymous

Making Strategic Planning Work LearnBytes Helpcard

Sep 17, 2011 10:02 am | Anonymous

An Integrated Strategic Planning Model LearnBytes Helpcard

In This Issue

Recent Stories

Work911 Success Updates and Offers - Oct. 5, 2011

Work911 Ezine - BARS Rating Scales, Reducing Conflict, and more

Conflict Prevention In The Workplace - Using Cooperative Communication

Just like cholesterol there's good conflict and bad conflict. If you can prevent the bad, unnecessary conflict, you can save huge amounts of time, and pain associated with the "bad" stuff!? ...

Learn With Us: Work911.com 09/07/2011

Work911 Newsletter: Learn With Us

Sep 06, 2011 07:25 pm | Chris Meyer & Julia Kirby

Capitalism Is Not "Doomed"

Sep 06, 2011 07:14 pm | Ron Ashkenas

Embrace Your Irrational Colleagues

Sep 06, 2011 07:17 pm | Video

How Teddy Bears Can Make Your Company More Ethical

Sep 06, 2011 08:24 pm | Anonymous

Leaders Who Refuse To Lead - Common Managerial Mistake Series