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In every almost every small or large business, employee politics, preferences and personal relationships conspire to create shadow processes. Shadow processes are processes or workflows that willing circumvent the accepted, standard operating procedures defined by the organization. Some examples of shadow processes in action: "I'll ask Ed in IT to turn back the server clock so I can book this customer… View More

All managers have employees who can do more for their company and own careers. Realizing this untapped potential requires an understanding of your role as a manager, the personality types and motivations of  your employees, and a variety of proven management techniques. This post discusses the strategies that allow managers to help their employees achieve their full potential. An organization’s greatest untapped resource is… View More

Consulting firms face unique challenges in the market, balancing the need for delivering client value and managing human capital in a hyper-competitive industry. In today's hyper-competitive business world, consulting firms are an invaluable source of expertise and guidance. The right business consultant can make all the difference when firms are attempting to successfully complete a project or achieve a broader strategic… View More

What separates a truly great leader from the merely good? In most cases, it's the ability to rise to the occasion during times of crisis and chaos. Here's the truth: It's one thing to effectively manage people and set a positive example under optimal conditions. To do so under the most taxing kind of pressure, however, is another thing entirely. Intense strain can reveal fissures that leaders never knew existed,… View More

Introducing new policies to employees, whether those policies are designed to address HR requirements, regulatory compliance mandates, or formalize IT processes, can be difficult at best. After all, as the familiar saying goes, “change is hard.” However, finding effective ways to implement new policies and procedures can increase adoption and policy compliance. Following these best practices for policy management can help ensure a… View More

As the second half of the Major League Baseball season grinds forward, we thought we'd share a handful of flowcharts around the topic of America's Pastime (and you thought it was social media!) Do You Deserve That Foul Ball? Trade Deadline… View More

No one is "always available." Though we may feel infinitely connected and permanently online, people still get sick, have to deal with urgent family matters, take vacations, attend conferences, etc. As much as we try to tell our teams and coworkers that we can always be reached, the reality is that we sometimes we can't. Facing this truth, a question you should consider is "Who's my backup?" It may sound simple, but consider the… View More

Focusing employees on higher value decisions can improve both productivity and the quality of employees’ work, freeing their time and brainpower for the decisions that really matter. Related How Quickly Does Your Organization Make Decisions? Each of us makes dozens of decisions every day, in… View More

Excel is a great tool but it's often used in ways it was never intended. Here are some of the ways it should never be used. Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet that has been greatly refined over the past 30 years, especially with the development of macros. However, these capabilities have prompted many people to use Excel in ways for which it was never designed. For example, Excel isn’t a… View More

The City of Baltimore's Department of General Services has a lofty goal: to implement workflow automation across the entire agency and its partners. After rolling out a series of process improvements with Integrify, Varghese Paranilam, City of Baltimore’s Department of… View More