LEADERSHIP A UNIQUE B2C OPPORTUNITY FOR BRANDS TARGETING THE C-LEVEL EXECUTIVES
WISDOM OF CHANAKYA BUSINESS THRIVES ON IMPLEMENTATION OF APT MANAGEMENT IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES. THE INDIAN C-LEVEL HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE BEST EDUCATION AND MANAGEMENT THAT THE WEST HAS TO OFFER. BUT, INDIA HAS IT’S OWN MANAGEMENT GURUS! HIDDEN AND DISGUISED IN SANSKRIT TOMES. THE FIRST INDIAN MANAGEMENT & STRATEGY GUIDELINE DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED IN THE 3rd CENTURY B.C. A FACT THAT HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED AND IGNORED, AS WE WERE IMBIBED WITH WESTERN EDUCATION AND THINKING BY OUR COLONIAL PAST. IT IS TIME TO LOOK WITHIN, UNDERSTAND & LEVERAGE WHAT OTHERS DO NOT HAVE. THIS CAN TRULY BE THE LEADING EDGE!
AUDIENCE PROFILE: CFOs, CEOs,CIOs,CTOs,CMOs & BUSINESS HEADs
VENUE PRESENTED BY: Radhakrishna Pillai, Doctorate in ArthaSashtra; Professor, University of Mumbai, Department of Philosophy; Founder-director Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership (CIPL); Awarded The Sardar Patel International Award 2009
DATE
13th & September 14th 2013
CONCEPT
Business networking is leveraging your business and personal connections to bring you a regular supply of new business. The concept sounds simple, doesn’t it? Don’t let that fool you, though. Because it involves relationship building, it can be a deceptively complex process. Think about it. How many people do you know? How many of these people truly understand what you do? How many of these folks have directed prospects to you as referrals? And how many of those referrals have actually turned into business? Business networking is much more than showing up at networking functions, shaking a lot of hands and collecting a bunch of cards. For example, imagine two people attending an event, sizing it up and drawing an imaginary line down the middle. They separate, each taking half the room. At the end of the event, they meet again to see who’s collected the most business cards. Have you met these people? Sure you have. We all have. What did they accomplish? They collected a lot of cards that will end up on a shelf, in a drawer, in the trash, or-worse yet--scanned into a computer so they can spam everyone they just met. Why? What does a business card represent? It’s a piece of paper, with ink and images on it. No relationship has been formed. This networking strategy, by itself, isn’t an effective use of time, money or
energy. Some people get frustrated with networking because they seem to be making as much progress as a rearwheel-drive truck on an icy hill: one foot forward, 10 feet back--getting nowhere fast. Networking for business growth must be strategic and focused. Not everyone you meet can help move your business forward--but everything you do can be driven by the intention to grow your business. You have total control over whom you meet, where you meet them and how you develop and leverage relationships for mutual benefit. You have total control over whether you enter into the unique 29 percent of the population that is separated by six degrees (read The 29% Solution to learn more), whether you stay there, or whether you never get there at all. Networking your business means you have to be proactive. The core of networking is doing something specific each week that is focused on networking for business growth. Make a plan, focus and be consistent. When you understand exactly what business networking is and step up to the challenge, you’ll find avenues of opportunity that you may have otherwise never discovered, and you will be making an invaluable investment in the steady growth of your business.
It’s a truism that thought leaders tend to be the most successful individuals or firms in their respective fields. Furthermore, in the research literature, there’s a general consensus that being a thought leader whether you’re an individual or employed at an organization and you want to grow the business, or
sponsors, being a thought leader can make a very significant and positive difference. When you think of the term thought leader, what comes to mind? With all the definitional dispersion around the phrase, as a starting point it’s usually very worthwhile to define just what a thought leader is and, sometimes more importantly, what a thought leader is not. What we’ve found is that some people take a very expansive view of the term, wrapping internal strategy and corporate culture into their definition. Other individuals are more constrained in their definition. Bluntly, there are many definitions of the term. The way we conceptualize and define thought leadership highlights and emphasizes the potential exponential rewards of being a thought leader. In fact, that it’s the exponential rewards that is very much the focal point of our thinking and consulting in the field. From our perspective, no one can possibly be a thought leader unless they’re capitalizing on the dramatically enhanced brand equity attained by being a thought leader.
even an association seeking new members as well as more generous
Based on decades of working with professionals, their firms and other types of organizations, we have a two-part definition of what constitutes a thought leader: Definition—Part One A thought leader is an individual or firm that prospects, clients, referral sources, intermediaries and even competitors recognize as one of the foremost authorities in selected areas of specialization, resulting in its being the go-to individual or organization for said expertise. Considering the title of this column, what we’re talking about in Part One of the definition is “brilliance.” What’s essential to understand is that brilliance doesn’t exist in a vacuum,
and it’s a total waste of time to debate whether it’s authentic or not. Brilliance is a function of acclaim, created where others bestow the accolades. We now move to the second part of the definition, the commercial component: Definition—Part Two A thought leader is an individual or firm that significantly profits from being recognized as such. People are in businesses to make money. By and large, their objective whether through products, services or both is to do a top-notch job for their clients. Still, it’s fair to say, they want to be well compensated to the extent possible. Being a thought leader is very much about making money, which is also evidenced in the title for this column. Let’s consider a tax accounting firm that wants to become a thought leader. A new law comes out that will have a dramatic effect on how to address the depreciation of certain corporate assets. For the tax accounting firm to appear as a thought leader, the tax partners have to do a lot more than merely regurgitate the new law. However, in most situations with professionals, simply repeating the basics tends to be the norm. To become a thought leader, the tax accounting firm needs to do a deep dive concerning the new law. The
partners must determine just how the law will impact various companies. Furthermore, the tax accountants
the analysis that can prove beneficial to the impacted companies. It’s of critical importance that the tax accounting firm communicates that it’s the go-to expert concerning these distinctive insights and actionable
must develop distinctive insights and actionable planning strategies
to be a thought leader it’s especially critical that they monetize their stateof-the-art thinking by increasing their
ability to source, work with and profit from their target markets. In effect,
strategies. As the go-to expert, the accounting firm will have structured the means to more effectively garner new clients and do more business
being a thought leader absolutely includes the ability to garner radically above-average returns for the investment and effort. Becoming a thought leader is about making money and making history.
based on the new law. There have to be recommendations attached to
with current clients with the result being a larger bottom-line. Being selectively renowned can be very rewarding, but being wealthy as well is immensely better. For any individual or any organization
APPLE
Ask questions Ask lots of questions and always, always listen to the answers. The person you’re talking to may be totally unconnected to what you do and may not be the first person you’d choose to chat to at a party; but unless you take the time and trouble to find out more about what they do, you’ll never really know whether you have an opportunity to do business with them. Be concise When you’re telling people what you do, make sure you wrap it up neatly for them; don’t give them chapter and verse. I’m sure, like me, you’ve seen someone holding forth to a group, showing no interest in anybody else and preventing them from finding out about each other. Result? Long before the ‘me, me, me’ person has finished talking, the others, have switched off and mentally, if not physically, moved on. Follow up Do make a point of contacting new people you’ve met up with at a meeting, even if you don’t have a specific recommendation or introduction. Sometimes a brief acknowledgement is enough to make the difference between a person feeling good about a meeting or not. In turn that can make the difference between them coming to another meeting or not – and networking is all about expanding the circle isn’t it? Form partnerships Offer to recommend someone and give out their business card to your clients to whom this person’s business might be relevant. In exchange, your strategic partner will be doing the same thing for you. Find a happy balance Ideally, you should strike a happy balance between networking and working, and the easiest way to do that is to think and plan ahead. You’ll find forward dates for meetings on all the various networking sites; plot your networking time so you’re balancing the time you spend going out and getting new clients with the time you spend actually supplying them. DO Ask questions Ask lots of questions and always, always listen to the answers. The person you’re talking to may be totally unconnected to what you do and may not be the first person you’d choose to chat to at a party; but unless you take the time and trouble to find out more about what they do, you’ll never really know whether you have an opportunity to do business with them. Be concise
10 business networking dos and don’ts - By Simon Wicks
There’s no shortcut to reaping the rewards of networking, but it’s worth thinking about how you approach it so that you’re efforts with building connections with others truly help your business. In her third post adapted from her book Networking Step by Step, author Marilyn Messik offers ten of her networking dos and don’ts. DO Ask questions Ask lots of questions and always, always listen to the answers. The person you’re talking to may be totally unconnected to what you do and may not be the first person you’d choose to chat to at a party; but unless you take the time and trouble to find out more about what they do, you’ll never really know whether you have an opportunity to do business with them. Be concise When you’re telling people what you do, make sure you wrap it up neatly for them; don’t give them chapter and verse. I’m sure, like me, you’ve seen someone holding forth to a group, showing no interest in anybody else and preventing them from finding out about each other. Result? Long before the ‘me, me, me’ person has finished talking, the others, have switched off and mentally, if not physically, moved on. Follow up Do make a point of contacting new people you’ve met up with at a meeting, even if you don’t have a specific recommendation or introduction. Sometimes a brief acknowledgement is enough to make the difference between a person feeling good about a meeting or not. In turn that can make the difference between them coming to another meeting or not – and networking is all about expanding the circle isn’t it? Form partnerships Offer to recommend someone and give out their business card to your clients to whom this person’s business might be relevant. In exchange, your strategic partner will be doing the same thing for you. Find a happy balance Ideally, you should strike a happy balance between networking and working, and the easiest way to do that is to think and plan ahead. You’ll find forward dates for meetings on all the various networking sites; plot your networking time so you’re balancing the time you spend going out and getting new clients with the time you spend actually supplying them.
When you’re telling people what you do, make sure you wrap it up neatly for them; don’t give them chapter and verse. I’m sure, like me, you’ve seen someone holding forth to a group, showing no interest in anybody else and preventing them from finding out about each other. Result? Long before the ‘me, me, me’ person has finished talking, the others, have switched off and mentally, if not physically, moved on. Follow up Do make a point of contacting new people you’ve met up with at a meeting, even if you don’t have a specific recommendation or introduction. Sometimes a brief acknowledgement is enough to make the difference between a person feeling good about a meeting or not. In turn that can make the difference between them coming to another meeting or not – and networking is all about expanding the circle isn’t it? Form partnerships Offer to recommend someone and give out their business card to your clients to whom this person’s business might be relevant. In exchange, your strategic partner will be doing the same thing for you. Find a happy balance Ideally, you should strike a happy balance between networking and working, and the easiest way to do that is to think and plan ahead. You’ll find forward dates for meetings on all the various networking sites; plot your networking time so you’re balancing the time you spend going out and getting new clients with the time you spend actually supplying them.DON’T Talk too much Don’t gabble, don’t babble, don’t giggle, don’t talk about yourself all the time, don’t feel tempted to launch into details of your recent relationship break-up or the tragic and untimely demise of your hamster and don’t, don’t, don’t keep glancing over the shoulder of the person you’re talking to in case someone more interesting happens along. Get personal I’m not suggesting you can’t ever be yourself and relax; just don’t lose
What we do
Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces. Over a million customers a day benefit from our locations spread across almost 100 countries. With our ever expanding range of innovative products and services we enable people to work their way whether it’s from home, on the road or from an office.
Where we do it
Regus is a global organisation with more than 1500 business centres across some 600 cities. We were founded in Brussels in 1989, are currently headquartered in Luxembourg and our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Who we do it for
More than a million customers including half of the Fortune 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of startups, small and medium sized companies across every sector. Grow mature revenues and margin Achieved primarily through addition of new centres, but also through incremental new revenue sources. Lower relative overheads, improves margins.
Expand our network
Into new markets; both in-country and new countries, only growing in existing locations where we have excessive demand. Accelerate product and service innovation Constantly innovate, responding to, as well as anticipating, customer needs. Our approach to new product development is referred to as ‘Only at Regus’. Maximise the strengths of our brand and network Growth of the network drives awareness and interaction. Continued investment in focused, targeted local marketing to attract new customers.
Strengthen management
Make sure we have the right people in the right places; empowering local management and delegating decision making.
Control overheads
Achieved through operational excellence, scale and innovation.
1. Serviced Offices are highly adaptable and fully
equipped to be able to move in today and start working.
2. Coworking is encouraged by open plan space at a low cost for businesses which are starting to grow.
3. Collaboration spaces for teams of all sizes to meet and collaborate.
4. Meeting Rooms provide the very best in flexible
meeting space bookable by the day, half day or even the hour.
5. Business Lounges are convenient work-ready
environments providing peace, support and dedicated resources.
6. Video Communication state of the art studios,
enabling face-to-face meetings without the usual travel expense and downtime.
7. Think Pods are designed to be used for any length
of time from one hour to a day, providing privacy in the shared space of our business lounges.
8. Workplace Recovery is a variety of fixed and virtual spaces to help organisations of any size resume operations following a workplace disaster.
9. Virtual Office provides an impressive business
address and phone number anywhere in the world.
10. Day Offices offer quiet private space for a few hours or a full day with all the Regus services. 11. Branch Offices with business support, local knowledge and a customer base are an ideal way to expand into new markets.
What’s an ‘Elevator Pitch’ and do you really need one? Pitching is a crucial skill for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you are looking for funding or trying to get your product listed by a major retailer you need to have a pitch that is well rehearsed and pertinent to your audience. They take a lot of work but time spent perfecting your pitch can make or break your fledging business. But what on earth is an ‘Elevator Pitch’? Legend has it that a career at the global HQ of General Electric could be made or broken by the ability as a junior intern to articulate what you were bringing to the GE party during a ride in one of the infamous super-long GE lifts. So can you just dismiss it as a new-fangled American thing that can be ignored? In a word, “No”! Although they might not be called ‘elevator pitches’ the UK business scene is littered with requests for you to “present your business in 60 seconds”, “do a 2 minute pitch” or even answer the simple question “what do you do?” Being able to succinctly explain what you and your business are really about is a valuable thing to have worked out well before you are standing in the spotlight at a business breakfast or similar. “But I don’t want to sound like a robot” I hear you cry. Of course you don’t. The best elevator pitches are adapted to the situation. But like a good cocktail it is important to get your ingredients right. Here’s one recipe that we like for a formal event: Your name and your company name: “Hi, I’m Sarah from Mootastic Ices.” What you do and a little memorable story: “We make small batch high quality ice-cream. One of our customers is Newbury racecourse who we invented a special recipe for – ‘Finishing Post Pistachio’. They sold out in less than 2 hours and Clare Balding was seen enjoying some on BBC TV!” What you are looking for and your name and company again: “I’m looking to meet retailers interested in listing high quality ice-cream. I’m Sarah from Moostastic Ices.” * If you are standing up to deliver a 60 second intro at an event you can be more scripted (like the above), and if you are standing in snazzy bar with a martini you can make it sound more natural. People love stories. They are more likely to remember the ‘Finishing Post Pistachio anecdote’ than a whole pile of statistics about Sarah’s P&L. Adapt it to the situation but having a plan of what you and your business is all about can really boost your business and your confidence at the same time. *This situation is pure fiction. But we do like pistachio ice-cream. Lois Ireson is a communication skills trainer and coach at msbexecutive.com and an enthusiastic Enterprise Nation member. If you like drinks, triathlons and gardening follow Lois on twitter @loisireson.
EMC
2
EMC is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver information technology as a service (ITaaS). Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset - information - in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Broad Range of Customers We work with organizations around the world, in every industry, in the public and private sectors, and of every size, from startups to the Fortune Global 500. Our customers include global money center banks and other leading financial services firms, manufacturers, healthcare and life sciences organizations, Internet service and telecommunications providers, airlines and transportation companies, educational institutions, and public-sector agencies.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001), and our manufacturing operations hold an MRP II Class A certification. EMC ranks 139 in the Fortune 500 and had reported revenues of $21.7 billion in 2012, the largest revenue year in EMC’s 34year history. Global Presence EMC employs approximately 60,000 people worldwide. We are represented by approximately 400 sales offices and scores of partners in 86 countries around the world. We have the world’s largest sales and service force focused on information infrastructure, and we work closely with a global network of technology, outsourcing, systems integration, service, and distribution partners. We are a publicly traded company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EMC, and are a component of the S&P 500 Index. In 2012, EMC was included once again in the Strong Leadership Record Our differentiated value stems from our sustained and substantial investment in research and development, a cumulative investment of $16.5 billion since 2003. To strengthen our core business and extend our market to new areas, EMC has invested $17 billion in acquisitions over the same period and has integrated more than 70 technology companies. EMC is supported by thousands of technical R&D employees around the globe, the industry’s broadest portfolio of systems, software, and services, our ability to create total integrated solutions, and our commitment to delivering the best Total Customer Experience in this or any industry. Our service excellence was recognized by distinguished awards from the Technology Services Industry Association in 2012. We operate R&D centers in Brazil, China, France, India, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, and the U.S., and manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Ireland. We hold the most stringent quality management certification from the
Curiosity killed the cat but it’s your best networking tool
Whether you are a networking novice or a star, these easy tactics will help to make your networking more productive and fun!
I still remember the first networking event I ever attended a few years ago. I’d left the corporate world, launched my own coaching business and I was looking for new clients. Everyone was suggesting I should try networking, but I was filled with nerves. What if nobody wants to connect with me? I thought. What if I don’t know what to say? How can I present myself? What if I make a social gaff/ get rejected/have everyone point, laugh or throw canapés at me?! It’s the nightmare scenario everyone faces as novice networkers. But there are a few things you need to bear in mind if you want to make these events purposeful instead of painful. The main thing you need to do is use your ears. Your ears never get you in trouble. People love to talk about themselves, their passion about their business and who they are. Let them. They’ll think you’re fascinating and charismatic and all you did was nod in the right place and, more importantly, pick up clues about how to help them, connect them to others or form a strategic alliance. You can also tuck some key questions up your sleeve to get you started. Here are five that you can use:
1.
What is it that you love about your job?
See their passion: Their faces should light up at this point, and if they don’t that in itself is another clue as to who they are and what their business needs. People will immediately warm to you for asking this. A good ice breaker.
2.
How did you get started in your line of work?
Their life story: You may get someone’s life history here,
especially if they are successful—but, again, it’s a good way of seeing what makes the person tick.
3.
What separates your business from your competitors? What makes them different: This gives the other person permission to brag and show what they excel at. What their USP is. Nod, smile and look impressed. You’re learning new things all the time.
4. What’s your ideal type of client/customer? Who they are looking for: Celebrities, the rich, the needy, the pregnant, married, single, with children, high powered corporate, small business owner, international, local, CEO, entrepreneur? Why not pass on leads or offer referrals at this stage? This implicitly tells them you’ll look out for them and could encourage reciprocation.
5.
What’s one of the funniest things you’ve experienced in business life?
Relax them: A funny and memorable story will have you both giggling. Everyone adores someone who made them laugh, even if they themselves were the one to tell the funny story! It makes everyone feel more relaxed and it makes you memorable. Have your own story up your sleeve and share it too. Remember also that you’re not just here to socialise. Be goal-focused and have an objective you want to accomplish at the event. And if the fear becomes too much, replace it with curiosity. After all, curiosity may have killed the cat, but it certainly won’t kill you at a networking event!
ENGAGEMENTS Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet Explorer web browser. Its flagship hardware products are Xbox game console and the Microsoft Surface series of tablets. It is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues.It is also one of the world’s most valuable companies. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows. The company’s 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an Business Division The Commons, located on the campus of the company’s headquarters in Redmond The Microsoft Business Division produces Microsoft Office including Microsoft Office 2010, the company’s line of office software. The software product includes Word (a word processor), Access (a relational database program), Excel (a spreadsheet program), Outlook (Groupware, frequently used with Exchange Server), PowerPoint (presentation software), Publisher (desktop publishing software) and Sharepoint. A number of other products were added later with the release of Office 2003 including Visio, Project, MapPoint, InfoPath and OneNote. The division also develops enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for companies under the Microsoft Dynamics brand. These include: Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. It is considered the third most successful startup company of all time by market capitalization, revenue, growth and cultural impact.Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date. As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both the IBM PCcompatible operating system and office software suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft entered the personal computer production market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface, a line of tablet computers.
Your First Brand Pitch Your Business Card as your Communications Media
Much as we progress towards a paperless and e-world, a few things continue to be a major part of our lives. Take for instance, your Business card. A small piece of paper with information about you, your business name and contact details, and yet this small piece of paper can make or break your reputation. A few tips on ensuring that your business card speaks well of you... Design - Make sure the visiting card size is not outlandishly big or small compared to the standard size cards (60 x 90 mm). You want your card sticking out for the right reasons. Maintain a maximum of two fonts used throughout the card to give it an even and clean look. Two sizes of fonts are recommended – one for your own name and the rest for the balance information on your card.
in connecting the personality bearing the card with the holder.
Excess content - If you have additional information to
share, you can always use the back of the business card to publish such information. For example, you may want to list out multiple cities in which your business has a presence, or you may want to mention your circles of presence – in trade forums or associations and so on.
Alignment - A horizontally aligned card gives you more space to play around and have lesser lines running across the card, making it easy on the eye. Another advantage is that a card with this alignment, shows up straight when flipping through a visiting card holder, so that it is easily read.
Photo card - While there are
differing schools of thought on whether it is a good idea to have your picture on the business card or not; here’s a little food for thought. From the stack of cards you end up collecting at the end of a networking meet or trade meet, which people are you likely to connect with more easily? If you are a seasoned networker you may make a quick note on the card you just received from a contact, while still in conversation with him, so you can go back and take the communication forward. But if you are exchanging cards in a crowd, a picture on the business card, may make it easy for you reconnect with the person.
Content - Make sure all your
important touch points are included in your card, to ensure that the world can connect with you instantly. Telephone numbers, mobile numbers, fax (if you still use one actively) address, email and social media links. It is a good practice to mention only those social media links where you are most active. Would a viewer like to click on your twitter handle and see that your last tweet was 6 months ago?
Colour - You can splash some colour (like a full colour
tint) on your business card to make it look attractive. An added advantage is that it becomes easier to locate your card from a bunch of them. While this is a good idea, you may want to be careful in choosing the colour – pleasant colours used aesthetically can create a positive effect on the viewer. The reverse is true for garish colours – it reflects on your personality too. If you are a sober, semi introvert person – using a bright pink tint in your card may seem way too flamboyant! But remember most organizations or brands have their colour and this association with your brand colour will go a long way
Digital Cards - The mobile
revolution is sure create a new facet in presenting yourself. You can request for the person to provide you with access to their device to share with them your business card. Most people who are meeting with you will not mind as this will allow them to get your critical inputs in a format suitable for personal data management
Remember the Cards Wherever you go, before stepping out for the day, make sure you have a bunch of your business cards on you. Always. You never know when you meet your dream connect, may be in an elevator or at the parking lot of your apartment. Always be prepared to meet an opportunity!
Banking on the Future Financial services firms are capitalizing on global opportunities by pursuing information-led transformation. For three years now, financial services firms have navigated a truly turbulent global economic environment. And it’s not over yet: slow growth and the sovereign debt crises in major markets are slowing demand for financial services; regulators are ushering in is expected to be 371 trillion US dollars, an 87 percent increase over the value of 2010 assets. Through this period, emerging economies’ share is expected to grow from 21 percent to 30 percent.1 And 2.5 billion people, half the world’s adults, do not currently use formal financial services to save or borrow. 2. There is no doubt that financial services companies will have the opportunity to manage this enormous global growth in wealth The only question is whether financial firms today are in a position to take advantage of this opportunity. We have seen that they understand they must innovate in product design, time to market and customer service, but they struggle to control operating costs. We know they aspire to develop new markets and segments, but are hamstrung by siloed operations and overlapping or duplicate processes and IT systems. In addition, uncoordinated evolution of their IT systems a new era of government oversight; and the rise of nonbanking firms as competitors is remaking the industry landscape. Amidst these challenging times, the needs and nature of the financial services customer base are also shifting dramatically. Banks continue to struggle to regain the trust of customers, counterparties, regulators and governments after the real and perceived failings of the financial system in 2008. Customers expect more than just trustworthiness, however. They are also demanding transparency, varied offerings and multiple channels through which to do business. For those that meet these challenges with action and intent, the global financial services market offers unprecedented growth potential. The projected value of global financial assets in 2020 has conspired to create an inflexible web of technologies that cannot easily respond to the pace of change required in today’s markets. We believe that for an industry as data-intensive as this — where getting the right information to the right people at the right time is paramount — there is only one path to breaking free from this morass of waste and inefficiency and claiming the opportunities before us. That path is through information-led transformation. The information-led transformation In a competitive landscape that favors the fastest and the smartest, financial services firms that invest in building sophisticated insight and predictive analytics will be better positioned to emerge as market leaders.
Maximizing Referral Relationships – What is your relationship networth?
Most people develop referral relationships only to the extent that they can somewhat refer business to each other. To get them by – survive. These are the superficial kind – what I’d like to call the quid pro quo variety, it’s like having shopping friends. You hang out with them only for a certain requirement that is mutually beneficial to both of you for a certain time period only. In the midst of a crisis in life, how likely are you to call your shopping friend and share your woes or ask for help? Similarly, when you are developing referral relationships, you may want to consider the same analogy. How well do you know them? Well enough to refer them to a business partner, highly recommend them to a friend…or actually convince the person you are talking to and tell him that your referral partner is the best-in-class in the industry he operates? Depending on the level of depth, (you have invested in building) in a referral relationship you may find it that much easier to refer a referral partner and get referred too.
Few pointers to get you thinking: Do you know enough about your referral partner’s business across different verticals in which he specializes? Do you schedule regular meetings with each other to understand your business developments in detail? Have your families met and know each other fairly well? Do you hang out together, with families, at least once a quarter? Do you reach out to one another when in need of support or advice to be able to make a better informed decision? What are some of your referral partner’s hobbies and interests? Which networking groups does he belong to? Do you look out for business opportunities for each other regularly? Can you pick up the phone at an unearthly hour and call your referral partner without hesitation? Is your referral partner on your top 3 list of go-to people for anything and everything? Does your referral partner and you care deeply enough for each other’s success, that it brings you immense joy to see him excel? These questions will help you analyze where you are currently in your relationship and how you may want to deepen the same. To remain shopping friends or become best buddies is a choice that continues to remain with you. If you really like your shopping friend so much, you may want to deepen it and take it a whole new level of friendship. Likewise with your referral relationships; a referral partner you like working with, hanging out with and know is a wonderful person, you may want to hold on to such relationships and develop them into deep and rewarding relationships for a life time. If more ideas have worked for you feel free to share them with us. As always – we are listening and eager to learn.
mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. s the
Helping the world run better
SAP is at the center of today’s technology revolution, developing innovations that not only help businesses run like never before, but also improve the lives of people everywhere. As the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. s the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. s the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. s the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. s the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 251,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably.
ENGAGEMENT TIPS We’ve all sat through our share of presentations. It’s mind-numbing to be forced to listen to dry content, delivered (or worse, read), rather than discussed with us. Often, all this talking is mostly in vain. Studies show 91% of listeners at business presentations admitted to daydreaming, and an impressive 39% to falling asleep at some point. This gets even more interesting, considering that we spend 37% of our time in meetings and presentations. On the flip side, as the presenter, it’s unnerving to be looking out at a sea of faces who look like they’d rather be somewhere else. We can only hope for a dynamic, engaged crowd who interacts with us and with each other. But that interaction doesn’t come by accident – it’s up to the speaker to frame their presentation to encourage audience ADNC - 2.08% participation. Having an audience interaction makes the presentation more interesting and easier on everyone. It’s helpful to have strategies to get the audience involved early and often. People will pay attention, if they know that at some point, they will have to participate. And providing the audience an opportunity to interact with each other, adds a peer learning dimension to a presentation. Public speaking experts suggests that the influence of social media might mean this desire to get involved is even greater than it was before. If you’re looking for ways to make your next presentation more engaging and interactive, try these ideas. You will be a star – and your audience grateful.
Ask for interaction It sounds too obvious – yet it works. Start your presentation by telling the audience you want their questions and that you expect interaction. Tell them when you’d like them to ask, and if you’ll have designated times for it. This will help keep them paying attention and coming up with questions they want to ask you. If you’re speaking at a larger venue, like a conference, Marshall also shows how you can take this idea to another level, inviting the audience to blog, tweet, and otherwise share their thoughts about what they’re learning. She also offers a provocative idea to put up a sign asking for interruptions at the beginning of the session. It’s a constant reminder to interact.
Ask a question at the beginning to get people talking When it comes to presentations, most of us are used to being talked to, rather than being asked to share our own thoughts. Opening with a question turns this idea on its head. You can ask the audience what they’d like to get out of the session or why they came. You can poll the group for their opinion about a topic. To make even more of an impact, it is recommended to ask an engaging question—and then be silent. Wait for the answer. If you suffer the silence for one or two seconds and look like you are expecting a response,
someone will answer you!
Get people’s opinion One evergreen rule of presenting is to know your audience. One way to do that is to ask them what they actually think. You can go so far as to point to a specific person and ask for their opinion (works best in a small group) or to query a portion of the room. You want to be tactful and not make people feel put on the spot, so make sure it’s a topic that the person can actually speak to. Encourage them to share, i.e. “(First name), I think your perspective on this is valuable. Would you mind sharing it with our audience?”
Build in audience discussion and reporting Numerous studies have shown that on being asked to participate in a presentation, listeners get more interested and engaged. People enjoy the opportunity to talk with those sitting around them during a presentation. It brings variety and deepens the learning through discussion. Ask listeners to divide into small groups and discuss a concept for a few minutes, then share what they’ve talked about with the rest of the audience. Or another option is to make this portion of your presentation a game, and ask the teams to brainstorm ideas about your presentation topics.
Get moving We don’t usually associate presentations and physical activity, and that’s why it’s engaging. Even simple movements like a show of hands can reinvigorate wandering minds. You can also take things a step further by having people stand or sit to show agreement, or, if you have a lot of time and a small enough audience, by dividing people into groups who share a commonality. Finally, it can be effective to have people pick up and change seats. The action of going from one place to another breaks the monotony and further encourages connection among group members. Do you have some great interactive tips? Write in at david@b.net.
CA Technologies helps companies simplify and solve their most challenging IT problems in order to accelerate innovation. The CA Technologies portfolio of
software and services helps our customers accelerate innovation by ensuring critical application performance, simplifying security, reducing complexity, and improving reliability across the service lifecycle. From the data center to the device, our software helps you plan, deliver, manage and secure your IT investments while reducing costs and improving reliability.
CA Security Solutions can help you enable and protect your business in a world of cloud, mobile, and social media. Today’s business environment demands new approaches to security in order to leverage trends such as mobile, cloud, social media and Big Data. The network perimeter has been replaced by an open enterprise where users, applications and data can exist almost anywhere. The old ways of security won’t cut it anymore. Enable and protect the open enterprise is the new mantra. CA Security can help you do that! CA Security solutions provide a comprehensive identity and access management platform that enables your organization to: •
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CA Security – Innovative. Comprehensive. Flexible. Proven. Across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid.
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Gain powerful control over your privileged users – in physical and virtual environments.
While security breaches can occur from many sources both inside and outside the organization, the most damaging attacks have something in common: the use of privileged accounts. By their nature, these accounts have the permissions–or privileges– to significantly change a system, application, or database. Actions using these accounts have the potential to be uniquely destructive. Failure to control your privileged identities could lead to security breaches by both insiders and external parties, resulting in data loss or destruction, malicious damage, fines, lawsuits and a loss in shareholder value. In addition, auditors are requiring their clients to proactively demonstrate that they have the ability to control privileged users and report on their activities. Privileged Identity Management lies at the heart of any cyber-defense whether focused on insiders or external parties. A common starting point that organizations deploy in order to reduce the threats posed by their privileged accounts is to control their passwords. While important, this approach fails to sufficiently reduce the risks posed by privileged accounts. Controlling access to privileged accounts by only controlling the password does not limit what malicious users can do once they are logged in to the privileged account. Without further controls, an organization is still at significant risk. CA ControlMinder™ products offer a comprehensive and mature solution for privileged identity management in both physical and virtual environments. CA ControlMinder is a scalable solution that provides privileged access and account management, such as: user password management, fine-grained access controls, user activity reporting and UNIX authentication bridging across servers, applications and devices from a central management console. CA ControlMinder for Virtual Environments brings privileged identity management and security automation to virtual environments from infrastructures to virtual machines. CA ControlMinder Shared Account Management brings password management to privileged user account identities.. You need to enable and protect your business. We can help. Talk to us.
Cultivate your influential network; make life more fulfilling rewarding & successful
b.net:
In our current state of accelerating information overload, cluttered messages, online connectivity & instant updates; professionals must diligently strive to develop relationships that are personal driving professional success. Professionals are expected to network in order to advance their individual career aspirations and organization’s community goals, but rarely receive formal training. Recognizing the needs of today’s professionals to accelerate their career trajectory b.net has developed result oriented programs, delivering practical insight and experiential learning on networking tactics and techniques. Professionals & organizations struggle with these issues: Where do we make the right connections? How can we Ieverage technology to network effectively? How can we improve your networking skills? How do we teach our staff network the right way? What organizations, clubs or events are valuable? What creates an effective social media presence? How can we develop a networking plan? What does b.net offer? b.net offers short, interactive professional development workshops at all levels for advanced networking skills & techniques. Modules: Effective networking Creating a networking culture ‘You’ as the brand Pitch, profile & platform Customers, communication & Social media Forging your digital mindspace Tools, tactics and tips Sessions are typically 1.5 – 2 hours in length and can easily be incorporated into existing schedules. Custom training: We design a customized program to address specific needs of your industry and skill levels within your organization in order impart the relevant & valuable information to your peers a7 counterparts. Contact us for further details. info@b.net
TRAINING
Interactive seminars and workshops designed to enhance skills and improve networking effectiveness.
CUSTOM EVENTS
Creating and coordinating unique networking opportunities and experiences for organizations to establish valuable relationships.
SPEAKING
Sharing knowledge, expertise and perspective on networking and the power of cultivating strong professional relationships.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Consult and train organizations/ professionals in deploying effective, integrated social networking strategies.