Management for Design
November - December 2012 Managing a downturn in work
Managing a downturn in work
M4D in the cloud What makes a great leader?
In our experience there are critical actions that enable businesses to effectively handle the challenges of a reduction in work. This requires leadership, clarity and decisiveness!
Business Management Insight Current business conditions Industry benchmarking
What are the lessons of previous downturn? Globalisation and increased competition is more prevalent There is less opportunity to trim operational expenditure Organisations have defined their core business more tightly It is becoming more difficult to operate as a medium size business 10 recommendations for executives and senior managers
1. Demonstrate leadership – know how and when to react. This is a time leaders need to be stronger and more focused than ever 2. Make sure you have effective and accurate forecasts of future workload –this includes potential work 3. Timely decision making and implementation to match the resourcing with projected workload 4. Rather than focusing on whom to let go, organisations should start by identifying who they need to keep
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Management for Design 5. Ensure projects are performing to budget and employee utilisation is maintained 6. Increase your efforts to collect outstanding invoices. Keep a watchful eye on your cashflow! 7. Communicate with your people - keep them informed and engage your senior people in the decision making and implementation 8. Review your strategic objectives to anticipate the challenges ahead, rather than simply react to them 9. Look after your clients and make sure you focus on keeping them. One thing that does not change in a downturn is client expectations 10. Focus on what you are great at! Diversification is not the answer. Decide on which functions and initiatives to concentrate on, and which should be outsourced or stopped altogether In summary, these 10 critical actions will help to answer the questions that leaders are being confronted with. It is vital that leaders do not underestimate the challenges that lie ahead; they are about to prove their real worth.
M4D in the cloud The term cloud computing has become the buzz word in IT over the past year or two. What is cloud computing? Is it necessary? Why do we care? How does social networking fit in here? Can we utilise this technology? Cloud computing allows software services to be accessed over a network of servers. This network is collectively known as 'the cloud'. Computing at the scale of the cloud allows users to access supercomputer-level power. Using a thin client or other access point, like an iPhone, BlackBerry or laptop, users can reach into the cloud for resources as they need them. For this reason, cloud computing has also been described as 'on-demand computing'.
Remember 'the cloud' is not the Internet, as some would believe. The
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Management for Design Internet is utilised as a vehicle but it is not the cloud. Google, Amazon, eBay, etc. utilise cloud technologies to provide services via the Internet. The cloud technologies are an operating technology built on a vast number of computers that provide a service. Management for Design’s cloud services offering include Business Performance Visualisation, Resource and Planning Management, Client Relationship Management and core Financial Services. Cloud technologies are about to revolutionise our systems.... And mostly, the way we do business. These days many cloud computing platforms are adding or enhancing their database offerings, thus becoming more compelling to enterprises. Of course, a fraction of enterprise data already exists in public clouds. According to David Linthicum at InfoWorld there are two core reasons for the migration to cloud based solutions. "The first and most critical reason for the migration is that data in most enterprises is a huge mess. For years, databases have been built around applications or some tactical need, creating of data silos that are difficult to integrate or to even provide a common view of business information. The advantage of migrating some data to cloud-based databases is around the cost and ease of doing so."
"The second reason is performance. Databases in enterprises often don't provide data in a timely manner to support those running the business. Queries that should take 10 or 15 minutes instead take hours. Cloud-based databases, if engineered correctly, typically provide much better performance than traditional on-premise systems. This is due to the fact that they can gather up as many processor instances as required to complete the database processing quickly." The ease of provisioning, cost advantage, and better performance may mean that a 'cloud solution my offer your business the best value when it comes to database processing.
What makes a great leader? At a recent lunch with Gail Kelly, Westpac CEO, we found that we had similar views on the qualities and characteristics that make a great leader; Positive attitude If you want to be effective as a leader choose to respond to situations positively Do what you love and love what you do It means you care about it and are making a difference
Courage Dig deep, when confronted with failure have a go and back yourself Select the right people Select for cultural fit first - skill set second
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Management for Design
Generosity of spirit Effective leaders need to have this gene - you need to believe in people, give them challenges they can succeed at and back them when they make a mistake Ability to thrive on change Big shifts are happening in the world today. Embrace in change and look at opportunities – old rules don’t always work moving forward just because they worked in the past You need to be able to communicate In a world of social media and immediacy you have to be authentic and back what you said yesterday Distil the vision and purpose You must communicate the ‘why’ of your business Be resilient You need to have character and mental toughness
Business Management Insight Management for Design was invited to attend the recent Deltek Insight 2012 conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference was attended by over 3000 design professionals across Architectural, Engineering and Construction firms. Our attendance provided us with an opportunity to review current product knowledge, discuss best practice, network with design and industry professionals and review solution enhancements. Our partnership with Deltek, Inc. enables us to provide the most effective and efficient management practices to project based companies anywhere across the globe. This partnership will further enable companies within the creative industry to focus on design and their contribution to the built environment without the burden of managing the daily operational aspects of their businesses.
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Management for Design
Current business conditions What does 2013 look like for businesses? Growth, Contraction, Status Quo? Interestingly a majority of businesses expect to continue to grow revenue over the next one to two years but there is general consensus that we are in a stagnant economy. Is this misplaced optimism?
Key points from the recent Management for Design Business Conditions Survey include: There is cautious optimism that business conditions will improve (and not deteriorate!) Approximately 40% of respondents state that they will face difficult conditions The most pressing issues facing business are access to capital, the state of the economy and productivity – achieving more with less A majority of businesses expect to increase their investment in people and infrastructure Dissatisfaction with Local, State and Federal Government! Profit margins will remain steady How are businesses expecting to maintain profit margins, in a stagnant economy whilst at the same time increase their investment in people and infrastructure? To receive a snapshot report of the 2012 survey or if you would like to participate in future surveys please contact Robert Peake, Director, Management For Design info@m4d.com.au
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Management for Design
Industry benchmarking Management For Design offers a web-based benchmarking platform that businesses can use to compare their performance with other businesses of similar size and nature. Comparison with top performers both within their sector and across broader industry groups is also tracked. This assists businesses to identify areas that require improvement in financial and operational performance.
If you would be interested in participating or require further information please contact Robert Peake, Director, Management For Design or register your interest at info@m4d.com.au We have experienced some technical issues that have now been resolved. Please view our revised newsletter.
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