HeatherStone commented on the following stories on BizSugar
5 Management Mistakes that Kills Employee Motivation
"Hi Harry, I'd list two of these mistakes -- "Denying Employee Autonomy" and "Shooting Down Your Employees’ Ideas" -- pretty high up there. Unless you want to be doomed to doing everything yourself in your business, these are two things you absolutely must find a way to avoid. Add to this the fact that without some kind of autonomy or the permission from you to develop their own ideas and to run with them, the stress on you is only likely to increase since you will create an environment where employees wait to hear from you on everything. This is exactly the opposite of the reason you want to delegate to employees in the first place. It will cause your business to grind to screeching halt without constant input from you. "Is Networking a Waste of Time? [podcast]
"Hi Martin, I'd agree with the post and the podcast here. I suspect the right answer to the question is...maybe. I'd never say networking is a waste of time IF you have a clear objective. The key thing to remember is that your time is the most valuable commodity you have. So it's a bad idea to follow any strategy just because you feel you should. Have a reason to invest your time. There should be a payoff to the time you're putting in. "Improving Customers’ Lives – 10 Key Actions
"Hi Ian, This, rather than simply the motivation of making money, should be a business's chief goal. It's not because there's anything wrong with making money. There isn't! But focusing on really improving a customer's life happens to be the best way of designing a product or service people can't live without. After that, marketing the product in an insanely successful way because much easier. "Education in Entrepreneurship: The Growing Popularity of Learning to Lead [Infographic]
"Hi Grant, I've obviously got no problem with entrepreneurship. The question I have is whether academic institutions are prepared to truly teach it. I'm not implying by this that I believe it's a skill that can't be taught. Rather, I'm wondering if academics know enough about this particular discipline yet to do so."Do you know how to succeed globally?
"Hi Catarina, I think more than ever the potential exists for even very small businesses -- including microbusinesses and solopreneurs -- to take their brands global. This may not be for every business, of course, but it can certainly work for some. Do you agree with the argument that businesses focused on going global should still try to define the countries/cultures they want to target? Or is a broader approach preferable? "WILL YOU FINISH?
"Thanks for sharing Craig's post, Isabelle. Getting a project completely done and ready for a client or ready to be "out there" can be very challenging indeed. And, yes, sometimes it can be harder than getting something started. Part of the reason for that, I suspect, is that many people are told just the reverse is true. We are often told that just getting started is sometimes the tough part, that a journey begins with the first step and that the best way to avoid procrastination is to just get started. Too bad no one ever mentions all the half started projects out there that soak up time and energy and never reach realization! "Advocacy Journalism: How Passion Will Drive the News You Read
"Hi Thursday, The question is one of credibility. While it's easier than ever for brands to create their own media voices, the question is whether those voices will be listened to. I think there will always be a need for both advocacy journalism (in this case essentially marketing) and a more independent kind of journalism (newspaper writers, bloggers etc.) who serve their own audiences and who are just as necessary to establishing a brand's credibility. "Subscribe
How to build social media into your stakeholder engagement strategy!
"Hi Jonny, Interesting post but it raises the question of exactly what we mean by stakeholders. Are these customers, partners, employees, departments or something else? The specific type of audience you're trying to engage is important. There are probably very few techniques that will work equally well for everyone."