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Business Analysis
Why It’s Time to “Repack Your Bags”
Ten strategies for rearranging your priorities in pursuit of the good life.
Business Enhancement Skills
"Learn it Anyway" 11 Lessons from Grade School (That Still Apply)
10 Powerful Body Language Tips
Body language tips to help people boost their confidence, appear more authoritative, and connect more effectively with others.
20 Things Every Career Woman Must Know
Tips for women who want to move up the career ladder.
25 Ways to Stay Employed
25 actions that will help increase your value and keep you employed.
A Simple Strategy to Boost Your Career
How writing regular status updates for you boss can help your career.
AMA 2010 Critical Skills Survey
Executives Say the 21st Century Requires More Skilled Workers
AMA Interview: Bill George on “True North Groups”
In an interview with AMA, Bill George discusses his book True North Groups.
Business Writing
Communicating Vision via a Winning Presentation
One way to communicate corporate vision is through a companywide presentation. How can you be sure that your message is well received by employees and managers? Communications expert Thomas Leech offers some valuable tips on this subject. He...
How to Blog Without Getting Fired
Blogging is cool. Blogging is fun. And these days it seems like everybody's doing it. The question is, can you write about work without losing your job? Read these tips from the book Blog Rules before you log on and blog on....
Is the Handwritten Thank-You Note Dead?
Experts differ as to whether a hand-written thank-you note to an interview is necessary.
Read This—Before You Start Writing
Business writing tips from The AMA Handbook of Business Writing.
The Lightning Bug vs. the Lightning
Test yourself with a short quiz from AMA’s new Business Grammar Workshop.
Watch Your Language! (Usage)
Test yourself on 10 stick English usage questions to help boost your written communication skills.
Writing with DASH
Tips for business people on writing on deadline, by the developer of AMA's seminar "How to Write Fast When It's Due Yesterday."
Communication Skills
"B.S." Stands for Business-Speak
A few years back, a scientist named Alan Sokal decided to conduct a little experiment-well, a prank, really. The basis of this experiment/prank was simple. He wrote an article full of trendy, imposing-sounding words and concepts and submitted it to a...
"Houston, We Have a Problem": Leadership in Times of Crisis
Although few leaders deal with the life or death challenges faced by the crew of a space shuttle, these "space mission lessons" from a former astronaut can provide any leader with "the right stuff" in times of crisis....
"Huh?" Yes, Bosses Aren’t Listening
Organizations are failing when it comes to "upward communication"--the feedback from employees to management--according to the new Organizational Communication Survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and CareerJournal.com. What...
"Tweak" Your Way to a More Balanced Life
When you first joined the workforce, who could have predicted that juggling would one day become your most critical skill? These simple strategies from a professional life coach show you how to make small changes that will help you keep all those...
[Title]
10 Powerful Body Language Tips
Body language tips to help people boost their confidence, appear more authoritative, and connect more effectively with others.
10 Powerful Body Language Tips for the New Year
Body langage tips that will boost your confidence and help you appear more authoritative.
Customer Service
21st Century Customer Service
How to keep the best aspects of old-fashioned customer service while retooling them for our complex, digital world.
25 Ways to Keep Customers for Life
Everyone knows it costs more to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one. Here are some strategies any business can use to make sure customers keep coming back....
Adjusting the Picture on Customer Focus
At first glance, "big picture thinking" and "customer focus" would seem to be mutually exclusive terms. After all, the first phrase connotes a farsighted, panoramic view of business, while the second implies an intense, laser-beam-like concentration...
Attention, Salespeople: It’s Not About You
Salespeople: distinguish yourself from the pack by adopting a "you" point of view toward your customer. Ask: "What are your goals?" "What's your take on this?" "What is the biggest challenge you're facing right now?"...
Ben Franklin on Customer Service
You may think you know the essential ingredients of exemplary customer service. But if you really want to please your customers, hearken back to 1749 and read what wise old Ben Franklin had to say about the subject. For starters: "You are as much...
Better Make It Real
Trust and transparency are key to an authentic customer experience.
Building Client Relationships:
Advice on how to build strong customer relationships
Finance and Accounting
Before You Retire
Don't even think about handing in your retirement papers until you ask and answer three key questions, beginning with "How am I going to pay my bills now that I am no longer receiving a salary?"...
Budgeting Demystified
A quick intro to the world of budgeting from AMA’s best-selling seminar “Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers."
Building a Bench of Financial Talent
Developing financial talent is a must. Learn how to go about this.
Checklist for the 21st-Century CFO
Few business roles have changed during the last decade as dramatically as that of the CFO. Formerly viewed as accountants focused on budgets and taxes, today's CFOs are business generalists involved in improving performance across the organization....
Companies Juggle Cost Cutting with Maintaining Competitive Benefits for International Assignments
Mercer surveys multinational organizations to determine how companies are balancing costs and business needs in planning overseas assignments.
Create Your Own Stimulus Plan
Here's a three-step plan to increase the bottom line: simplifying, streamlining, optimizing.
Cutting Health-Care Expenses, Incentivizing Employees
Bobby Hotaling tells how his company helped a client save on health care costs.
Human Resource Management
"Glass Ceiling" Is Cracked but Not Yet Broken
Although Americans were gratified to see an African American and a woman battle it out for the chance to occupy the #1 spot in their government, the corporate world has some catching up to do when it comes to diversity at the top. According to a...
“Time Outs” Take an Increasing Toll on Women’s Careers
Recommendations for businesses that want to retain their women employees.
10 Keys to Workplace Excellence
Secrets of how the “Best of the Best” organizations motivate and reward their employees.
10 Ways to Help Employees Deal with Economic Crisis
The author of "Giving the Real Recognition Way" offers advice on how to motivate your people during the downturn.
12 Ways to Make Your Training Program a Hit
It's human nature to want to learn and develop...so why do so many employees avoid training programs like the plague? Here are 12 things you can do to get your employees excited about training....
2006 U.S. Compensation Outlook: Salary Increases Will Remain Modest, Despite a Strong Economy
Think because the economy is on the upswing you'll finally get that big pay increase? Don't count on it, according to a new compensation planning survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Their data show that 2006 pay increases in the U.S. will...
2008 Training and Development Forecast
Investment in employee training and career development is now the fastest-growing HR area, according to a new survey. The biggest challenges for employers? Attracting, retaining, and engaging employees....
Information Technology Management
Blended Learning Opportunities
By Allison Rossett and Rebecca Vaughan Frazee, San Diego State University. Noted experts on blended learning, Dr. Allison Rossett and her colleague Rebecca Vaughan Frazee explore the common components of blended learning and how organizations are...
Could Your BlackBerry Land Your CEO in Court?
Using personal a PDA, smartphone, or laptop for business data can lead to security breaches, with CEO's possibly being held legally liable.
Dealing with America’s Alarming "Reverse Brain Drain"
America's foreign-born superstars are hotfooting it back to their homelands, at a rate of up to 1,000 per day. A leading expert on globalization, David Heenan, offers 12 strategies to deal with this ongoing brain drain, from his new book, Flight...
Digital Shadows: The Rise of New Workforce Productivity Issues
Corporate policy is having a hard time keeping up with the growing digital universe and its implications for business.
Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance 2007 Survey
From e-mail monitoring and Website blocking to phone tapping and GPS tracking, employers increasingly combine technology with policy to manage productivity and minimize litigation, security, and other risks. That's according to the 2007 Electronic...
E-Mail Rules, Policies and Practices 2003 Survey
More than half of U.S. companies engage in some form of e-mail monitoring of employees and enforce e-mail policies with discipline or other methods. In fact, 22% have terminated an employee for e-mail infractions. Three-fourths of all organizations...
Getting a Handle on Gigabyte Growth
An expert outlines strategies for storing the continuing proliferation of electronic content.
Interpersonal Skills
"Learn it Anyway" 11 Lessons from Grade School (That Still Apply)
13 Workplace Relationship Tips for ’13
Thirteen ways to improve interpersonal skills.
25 Ways to Stay Employed
25 actions that will help increase your value and keep you employed.
A Leadership Lesson from The King's Speech
A lesson from the hit film "The Kng's Speech:" leaders must learn to ask for the support they need to succeed in their role.
A Simple Strategy to Boost Your Career
How writing regular status updates for you boss can help your career.
Adding No to Your Conversations
Learn why "no" is an appropriate reply to requests from colleagues and even your supervisor.
Advice for Introverts: How to Thrive in the Business World
Introverts struggle with multiple challenges at work, but they can learn to step out of the shadows and make their mark.
Leadership
How to Cultivate Senior Management Skills
"Houston, We Have a Problem": Leadership in Times of Crisis
Although few leaders deal with the life or death challenges faced by the crew of a space shuttle, these "space mission lessons" from a former astronaut can provide any leader with "the right stuff" in times of crisis....
"Huh?" Yes, Bosses Aren’t Listening
Organizations are failing when it comes to "upward communication"--the feedback from employees to management--according to the new Organizational Communication Survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and CareerJournal.com. What...
10 Critical Questions for Change Leaders
If you want to change the world, the old saying goes, start by changing yourself. The same truism applies to leaders seeking to change the way their organization does business. Here are 10 questions you should ask about yourself as a change leader....
12 Signs That You're a Cowardly Leader
Characteristics of cowardly leaders: they make excuses, blame others, and generally take the easy way out.
A Conversation with John Baldoni
Leadership expert Baldoni discusses how to build a personal brand, mentoring, and other leadership topics.
A Crash Course in Happiness
Here are ten qualities to make your time at work successful and happy.
Management and Supervisory Skills
"Tweak" Your Way to a More Balanced Life
When you first joined the workforce, who could have predicted that juggling would one day become your most critical skill? These simple strategies from a professional life coach show you how to make small changes that will help you keep all those...
10 Keys to Workplace Excellence
Secrets of how the “Best of the Best” organizations motivate and reward their employees.
10 Management Don'ts
Ten "must-avoid" management behaviors.
10 Ways to Help Employees Deal with Economic Crisis
The author of "Giving the Real Recognition Way" offers advice on how to motivate your people during the downturn.
A 60-Second Guide to Making the Most of Your Business Day
No matter who you are, you still have only 24 hours to work with each day. Here are some quick tips to help you make the most of your time....
A Former "Apprentice" Star Shares Strategies to Rev up Your Inner Entrepreneur
Do you have what it takes to follow your dream to success? Former "Apprentice" participant Wes Moss shares "Secrets from 21 Ordinary People Who Made the Entrepreneurial Leap" in his new book Starting from Scratch....
A Roadmap to Challenging Conversations
A three-step approach to difficult workplace conversations: prepare, plan, and practice.
Marketing
...Vs. The Case for Slowing Down
Not so fast, say the authors of the new book Microtrends, who cite the booming popularity of many time-intensive experiences-from playing golf to solving puzzles-to make the case that a substantial number of Americans crave something more than...
10 Special Ops Practices for Extraordinary Business Success
Learn from Navy Seals, Delta Force and the The Green Berets how to build the extraordinary people you need when your business faces a crisis--money or time or both are short and you need top talent to turn the situation around. For 10 practices to...
A New Customer Metric to Blow the Whistle on Bad Profits
Here's a simple technique that you can use to evaluate your customers' experience with your organization. Better yet it will help you identify what you can do to improve each customer's relationship with your company....
ABCs of Corporate Social Media
Tips on how organizations can best leverage social media.
Advertisers Reach Out and Text Somebody
With mobile phone usage escalating, smart marketers are leveraging mobile advertising to promote brands and sell products and services. But to be successful, marketers have to make sure the "what's in it for me?" factor resonates with consumers....
Are Baby Boomers the Key to Economic Recovery?
Steve Howard, author of the book Boomer Selling, explains why businesses should market to Baby Boomers.
Be True to Your Brand
the way to a customer’s heart (and wallet) is to offer him a more relevant, engaging, authentic experience.
Office and Administrative Support
“Terrible Too’s” That Can Sabotage Your Career
Four image problems that can prevent you from advancing your career.
A Simple Strategy to Boost Your Career
How writing regular status updates for you boss can help your career.
Admin Admired: Creating Your Professional Development Plan
Develop and grow your career by communicating your worth to your boss and the organization.
Administrative Professionals 2002 Survey
Over the past year, administrative professionals have assumed more responsibility, are doing more work than before and have taken on more of a leadership role. As a result, more than ever, administrative professionals say they need more training to...
Administrative Professionals' Tasks and Competencies 2003 Survey
Both administrative professionals and their managers generally agree on the components of administrative support staff jobs, but there is a significant difference of opinion on the competencies that are most important for administrative professionals.
Administravitve Professionals 2004 Survey
Administrative professionals continued to assume more responsibilities in the workplace, including coaching, training and supervising other staff members. As a result, more than half of respondents of the survey said more training is needed to improve...
Anything You Can Do…
A light-hearted article about the talents needed to be a successful administrative assistant.
Presentation Skills
"B.S." Stands for Business-Speak
A few years back, a scientist named Alan Sokal decided to conduct a little experiment-well, a prank, really. The basis of this experiment/prank was simple. He wrote an article full of trendy, imposing-sounding words and concepts and submitted it to a...
"We Don’t Do It That Way." Tips for More Effective Presentations
When it comes to getting key business messages across to your audience, it's no secret that if they snooze, you lose. Here are some ways to grab their attention, from Sherron Bienvenu, Ph.D....
10 Powerful Body Language Tips
Body language tips to help people boost their confidence, appear more authoritative, and connect more effectively with others.
Are They Snoring in the Back Row? How to Create Engaging, Dynamic Presentations
Do people look forward to your presentations as an opportunity to catch up on their sleep? If you're reading from a script or packing too much detail into those PowerPoint slides, you risk losing your audience. Here are some proven strategies for...
Check Your Credibility Blind Spots
How to avoid (or fix) the seven most common credibility "blind spots."
Communicating Effectively When You’re Here and Your Team Is There
10 strategies to facilitate communicatioin with virtual teams.
Finding a New Way to Meet: 10 Pitfalls of Pitiful Meetings
10 biggest meeting pitfalls and strategies to avoid them.
Project Management
A 10-point Checklist for Project Managers
Tips for project managers to keep any project on time and on track.
A Fresh Take on Complexity Costs
Six principles that enable companies to simplify operations and thereby cut costs.
Advice for Accidental Project Managers
Tips on running a succesful project, from 101 Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them
Aligning Projects with Strategy
There's strategy, and then there's project management, and seldom the twain shall meet-but it doesn't have to be that way. Here's a checklist of questions for senior executives and sponsors to help make sure the corporate projects are aligned to...
Bridging the Gap Between Company Strategy and Strategic Alignment of Projects
A project may sound like a great idea, but does it fit in with the overall corporate strategy? Here is a detailed checklist of questions for senior executives and sponsors to ensure that proposed projects are aligned to organizational strategy from...
Building Better Projects Through Improved Cooperation
In the words of British philosopher Bertrand Russell, "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation." This is especially true in the world of project management, where the degree of success is directly linked to the amount of cooperation...
Climb (or Blow Up) Every Mountain: Five Steps to Overcoming Obstacles
If you come up against a thorny problem on the job, think of it as a mountain. True, it's been said that you can't move mountains; but you may be able to find a way around it, through it or over it. Or maybe you'll just have to blow it up. Here's...
Purchasing and Supply Management
China’s Quality Squeeze
Although 70% of product recalls in 2007 involved Chinese-produced goods, many experts predict that the country's supply-chain quality lapses won't slow business expansion in China....
How to Avoid a Tainted Product Disaster
In light of the recent scandals involving tainted pet food, toothpaste, and toys, risk prevention has become job one for global companies. Global trade expert Tom Travis explains why increased transparency is the key to avoiding disaster....
How to Make the Most of the Recovery
How to take advantage of the recovery by concentrating on delivering customer value.
The Second Mice Are Coming
U.S. suppliers must decide whether to take on fast-follower Chinese firms as customers.
Sales
10 Rainmaker Principles—Get the Best from Your Sales People
Learn these ten principles to provide outstanding salesmanship.
10 Simple Pricing Rules for Challenging Economic Times
Is your company tempted to reduce prices in order to survive difficult economic times? Doing so will accomplish two things-neither of them good....
A Journey of Small Steps for Big Change
Learn how to make change in sales effectiveness succeed by going one step at a time.
A Socratic Approach to Successful Selling
The Socratic Method remains as relevant today as it was in ancient Greece. Using targeted Q&A, the savvy salesperson can create a Socratic dialog with the customer to determine how to best meet the customer's needs-and close the sale....
Attention, Salespeople: It’s Not About You
Salespeople: distinguish yourself from the pack by adopting a "you" point of view toward your customer. Ask: "What are your goals?" "What's your take on this?" "What is the biggest challenge you're facing right now?"...
Beware the Perils of "Swiss Watchmaker Thinking"
Are you guilty of "Swiss Watchmaker Thinking?" It's the mentality that cost the Swiss 80% of the global watch market-simply because they were unable to give up old habits and embrace new ways of thinking and acting....
Calling on High Status Prospects
Is fear of rejection keeping you from achieving the sales success you deserve? Best-selling author and professional coach Brian Tracy explains how to conquer your fear and sell, sell, sell....
Strategic Alliance Management
Alliances Between Small and Larger Companies Can Mean Risky Business
There are many ways a small company can benefit by forming an alliance with a larger one, including the ability to tap into a larger customer base. But the failure rate for these partnerships can be as high as 60%. Here are some strategies that will...
Effective Knowledge Transfer Can Help Transform Your Bottom Line
Does your company have a knowledge transfer plan? If not, as baby boomers retire, your business could be at risk....
How to Avoid a Tainted Product Disaster
In light of the recent scandals involving tainted pet food, toothpaste, and toys, risk prevention has become job one for global companies. Global trade expert Tom Travis explains why increased transparency is the key to avoiding disaster....
Internal Collaboration 2002 Survey
One of the first new business clichés of the 21st Century is the word "silos" as applied to organizations in which some units tend not to work cooperatively with each other. To determine if "silos" do actually exist, AMA surveyed its Executive...
Strategic Alliances
More and more companies are turning to strategic alliances to accelerate corporate growth, tap new sources of innovation, and open new markets. One critical success factor is the executive sponsor role....
Strategic Alliances: A Growth Model for Companies
Companies of all sizes turn to strategic alliances as a means to foster growth. But the dramatically high failure rate of these partnerships-50 to 75%-is evidence that getting people from different environments to work together productively is no...
The Right Way to Make Alliances Work
Have you wondered why so many strategic alliances fail? Steve Steinhilber manages a portfolio of alliances at Cisco Systems that has a cumulative value of more than $4.5 billion annually. He can write from experience what makes his succeed and others...
Strategic Planning
“JIAO PENGYOU”—A Guide for Successful Business Relationships in China
Here are some guidelines to help you do business in China
A Clear Path to Strategy Execution
In judging diamonds, one of the most important qualities to look for is clarity. The same holds true when it comes to strategy execution, where clarity of vision and goals separates the true gems from the worthless rocks. Author Mark Vickers takes a...
A Fresh Take on Complexity Costs
Six principles that enable companies to simplify operations and thereby cut costs.
A New Customer Metric to Blow the Whistle on Bad Profits
Here's a simple technique that you can use to evaluate your customers' experience with your organization. Better yet it will help you identify what you can do to improve each customer's relationship with your company....
Aligning Projects with Strategy
There's strategy, and then there's project management, and seldom the twain shall meet-but it doesn't have to be that way. Here's a checklist of questions for senior executives and sponsors to help make sure the corporate projects are aligned to...
An Antidote for Complexity
Complexity is the bane of every business, says author John L. Mariotti. Here are six tips for getting rid of the things that are making your business overly complex....
Are You a Fixer or a Grower?
When it comes to business growth, bigger is not always better. Sometimes it is best for an organization to grow smarter instead of fatter. Robert M. Tomasko, author of the book Bigger Isn't Always Better suggests two points of view. The Fixers...
Thinking and Innovation
...Vs. The Case for Slowing Down
Not so fast, say the authors of the new book Microtrends, who cite the booming popularity of many time-intensive experiences-from playing golf to solving puzzles-to make the case that a substantial number of Americans crave something more than...
A Smarter Way to Brainstorm
Linus Pauling once said: "If you want great ideas, you need to have lots of ideas." Brainstorming is the most popular technique for producing lots of ideas. But although it is widely practiced, brainstorming is seldom utilized to its full potential....
Agility and Resilience
Seven out of 10 executives say that their organizations experienced disruptive change during the last year. And more than 80% say that the pace of change is speeding up in organizations all over the world. That's according to Agility and Resilience, a...
Are Your Employees RIP?
RIP employees are those who have "retired in place," just waiting to retire and not contributing to the business.
Attention Innovators and Problem Solvers: We Want to Hear from You
A look back at the past five winners of AMA's annual Innovation Award for Administrative Professionals.
Beware the Perils of "Swiss Watchmaker Thinking"
Are you guilty of "Swiss Watchmaker Thinking?" It's the mentality that cost the Swiss 80% of the global watch market-simply because they were unable to give up old habits and embrace new ways of thinking and acting....
Blinded by the Halo Effect
For a brief time in March 2000, Cisco Systems was the largest company in the world, with a market capitalization of $555 billion. Business experts said it possessed visionary leadership, an extraordinary culture, and unparalleled customer focus. Less...
Time Management
Advice for Working Moms: Get Happy!
Interview with the authors of "What Working Mothers Know."
Conquering Procrastination (Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow!)
Time management tips from AMA's seminar Managing Chaos.
Getting Unstuck
Feeling stuck? Here are some suggestions for getting moving again from Stephen H. Baum, author of What Made Jack Welch Jack Welch....
How to Finally Take Control of Your Time
As the saying goes, if you don't take control of your time, others will do it for you. With the help of management expert Brian Tracy you can resolve to stop procrastinating and start mastering your time now, with these tips from his book Time...
How to Take Control of Your Time
Make the most out of 2008 with these time management tips from Brian Tracy, author of Time Power....
Learning to Just Say NO
How to say "no" at work without risking your reputation.
Living in More Than One World: Peter Drucker on Work/Life
Although revered as "the father of modern management," Peter Drucker also wrote extensively about self-management and work/life balance.
Training and Development
Administrative Professionals 2002 Survey
Over the past year, administrative professionals have assumed more responsibility, are doing more work than before and have taken on more of a leadership role. As a result, more than ever, administrative professionals say they need more training to...
Administrative Professionals' Tasks and Competencies 2003 Survey
Both administrative professionals and their managers generally agree on the components of administrative support staff jobs, but there is a significant difference of opinion on the competencies that are most important for administrative professionals.
Administravitve Professionals 2004 Survey
Administrative professionals continued to assume more responsibilities in the workplace, including coaching, training and supervising other staff members. As a result, more than half of respondents of the survey said more training is needed to improve...
All Learning Is Not Created Equal
No, the Internet is not "making us stupid," as a provocative recent cover story in The Atlantic suggested. Nor is it necessarily making us any smarter. As a learning platform, the chief thing that the Internet, e-learning programs and technology in...
AMA 2010 Critical Skills Survey
Executives Say the 21st Century Requires More Skilled Workers
Are You Willing to Measure Change?
Fewer than 7% of organizations measure the impact of their change initiatives.
Are Your Employees RIP?
RIP employees are those who have "retired in place," just waiting to retire and not contributing to the business.