The Rise of Social Innovation

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicolas Bry

 93 292

 

inShare91Social Innovation forms
Social Innovation refers hereafter to social processes of innovation or collaborative innovation, such as open source methods and techniques. Collaborative innovation has developed over the past ten years through different types of approaches, and has reached momentum on the ground of realizing fast knowledge circulation across boundaries:

• Open innovation (Chesbrough, 2003) completely changes the innovation funnel, by discovering and embedding new solutions and expertise more rapidly that an internal R&D lab might accomplish; reversely, by “making unused ideas and technologies available to others, companies develop new business out of collaboration”;

• Strategic Community networks are another form of Social Innovation. Japanese companies manage strategic communities (SCs) for new product development, with internal and external actors, including customers; strategic communities handle a dynamic process of knowledge creation involving 4 principles: “Ba” concept (physical or virtual place offering shared context to exchange tacit and casual knowledge), community of practices, pragmatic boundaries, and networks among the SCs;

• User-led innovation (Von Hippel, 1986) open the doors to cocreation, and position “customer communities to drive a business growth”. “Individuals prototype novel products and receive assistance in developing their innovations from fellow community members. Information and assistance, as well as the innovations themselves, are freely shared ” explain Franke and Shah in their 2002 study. Social media is a natural booster.

• Crowd sourced innovation, Idea improvement program (innovation idea helpers, office of innovation, center for creativity and innovation), Business Plan Competition, innovation tournaments, 72-hour IdeaJams, knowledge reuse system, and Global’s Idea Hub offer levers to nurture the innovation pipeline through external and internal ideation, and build a vivid corporate culture of innovation mixing the inside of the company with the outside market of innovation.

• Modular innovation and Collaborative design show how collaborative design through creative components, paves the way for acceptance and ownership, driving developments on top of your innovation platform, and fosters a positive ecosystem;

• Open Source organizes and boosts the production process; it can provide creativity even if no profit incentive is at stake. The fact that developers are often users also triggers short loop improvement.

Social Innovation drivers
The underlying meaning for Social Innovation approach embraces the following purposes:

• Extend the exploration scope for new ideas;
• Complement the ability to design, and the capacity to deliver;
• Enhance customer experience, and prepare acceptance by the users.

To achieve these goals, Social Innovation develops towards two directions: partnerships and user integration. “Rapid innovation drives new partnerships and revised value chains, considering innovation as part of an ecosystem (or a leadership platform as described by Larry Keeley): frontiers become loose as companies cooperate with their former competitors in coopetition framework, both evolutive and contingent.” (Pierre-Jean Benghozi in “Digital markets require disrupive business models”, 2011) “The organization must embrace paradoxical forms of leadership, tolerance and rigour, autocracy and openness, it evolves from a product-based logic to a system-oriented vision, states Gilles Garel in his opening speech of  Chair of Innovation Management at CNAM. User integration results from the end of the traditional linear innovation model (from R&D to sales). “It has been given up because of the need to accelerate product development and the intention to be first on the market.  Therefore, innovative firms try to integrate usage concerns and constraints at early stage. They redefine radically product design including features and user experiences hand in hand with technology and infrastructure know-how. Rapid innovation leads actually to anticipate market launch with beta releases or non stabilized version of new products.” clarifies Pierre-Jean Benghozi. Integrating user experience upstream is also at stake in User Oriented Design that Brigitte Borja de Mozota links to new product development (User Oriented Design impact on New Product development, 2005). User Oriented Design impacts positively new product development in 4 dimensions close to Social Innovation: “It enhances collaborative development, improves idea generation, produces superior product or service solutions, and facilitates product appropriateness and adoption”.

From a passive user to an active co-designer
If innovation process often appears as a tension between a technology-driven and a user oriented focus, Ezio Manzini observes that Social Innovation is building a reverse loop from the user to the technology. Even more, as in the story of the SMS, the user creates a new habit out of an existing technology. It matches the Intention Economy described by Valérie Peugeot, where the relationship with the market is reverse : user displays his intentions and designs his demand, as in the personal data store where user can share his data with selected vendors and personalize his request. Passive input from the user is then changing in a more active collaborative design: passive insights collected through user-oriented design approach, latent needs uncovered focusing on user observation and ethnographic methods, are evolving toward active contribution of users, who become co-designers. The loop from technology to user has not only becomes reverse, from user to technology; it has also extended beyond limited user feedback: user participates and gets ownership, he becomes an active part of the creation process. If “Users are innovation actors” as stated by Madeleine Akrich, distinguishing 4 main forms of user intervention (shifting the innovation, adapting it, extending it, and diverting it from its original goal), some users act as innovation producers in many domains:

• Active user contribution is naturally the case in Open Source software, and in the world of intelligent things. Open Source cooperation for business includes OpenVBX or Invox (open source phone systems), marketplaces where others can create value, or advanced model of social CRM such as Giffgaff (“the mobile network run by you”).

• Collaborative dimension is moving forward in the shaping of Open Source Objects in the Fab Lab. Toyota, Telecoms Korea, Fiat with first “open source” car Mio are other examples of this trend.

• In “low-tech” innovation like crowd sourced innovations (Wikiepedia or Lewatmana, a multi-sources real-time information network alerting about traffic congestion in the city, based on SMS), the contribution of the user becomes predominant compared to the research in technology. Juggad innovations and Grass root innovations are innovations designed by average citizen entrepreneurs, with low investment: designed by the people for the people, covering village motors, urbanism, water filtration, vaccines, Tata Nanocar, low cost computer, low cost house, they rely on individual self-starting capacity, and capture innovations in the field.

• Collaborative consumption is a terrific play ground for Social Innovation: “collaborative consumption describes the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before” as states Rachel Botsman. 3 types of collaborative consumption are currently emerging: 1)product service systems transfom product into a service (car sharing), 2) redistribution systems act as market places, and 3)collaborative life styles involve couchsurfing, colunching, coworking, choosing.

• Cooperation touches the start-up domain as well: social product development company such as Quirky (or HackForward) is operating since 2009.

Switching to a marketing point of view brings the same trend. A recent survey by eYeka’s shows high peoples’ motivations to be creative and their willingness to collaborate with brands: a staggering 72,1% of respondents would be willing to co-create with brands if they had the chance to do it. Another Forrester Research found that 61% of all US online adults are willing co-creators. Toward a new innovation OS In this world where digital is pervasive, creation process is easy to share through modularization and distribution. Consequently, the creative product is never finished: it’s a living innovation, in a constant state of arousal, where users continuously shape the service. To some extent, the user is the service. The role of the designer or innovation manager is then to create platforms and toolkit that will help others to design. “Designer as integrator” enriches his role: he unleashes the creative potential of users.
Extending translation theory developed by Callon, which explains the importance of ‘‘translators’’ from engineers to consumers and users, new “translators” of innovation are emerging here. Fostering co-development, nurturing and channeling energies, federating all creative players around a common belief, they enable third party to prototype, visualize and contribute proactively to the innovation ecosystem, and extend customer experience. Modern innovation platforms welcome collective creativity: they set-up appropriate sensors to collect social conversation, allowing an ongoing exchange, and tools to enable co-design:

• Social conversation is formal (suggestions, feedbacks, expectations …), and tacit  (usage observations, after-sales returns, latent needs …); it can be long-term, “involving people exploring beneath the surface of their lives to get to the real issues they face”;

• Co-design is active (co-creation, co-development, building value on top of the platform) and orchestrated (recruiting the right individuals to participate, modularizing, distributing & consolidating work, management of community).

Future innovation collaborative platform is multitasks: it compiles data, extracts meaning, confronts the belief inside the organization about consumer knowledge, dispatches and integrates module, and enables a creative ecosystem. Future innovation platform works as a collaborative Operating System. As knowledge circulation in short cycles is the engine of innovation, it’s time for the engine to fire, leveraging on collaborative sparkles.
Credits: orange; whatconsumesme.com;  yiibu.comtocaboca.com; insideline.com; eyeka.com  Don’t miss a post (4,250+) – Subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Innovation Excellence group!

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Nicolas Bry is a Senior VP at Orange. He’s developed strong expertise in innovation management, creating digital business units with international challenges. He completed a professional thesis on rapid innovation at HEC Business School.



Source: http://www.innovationexcellence.com

Beyond Stage Gate – Repeating Disruptive Innovation

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Jose A. Briones, Ph.D.

 86 116

 

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Existing methods for the management of innovation projects have a low probability of success in the development of radical of disruptive innovations.  A new spiral approach has been developed that provides the balance of flexibility and control needed for a repeatable and successful approach to disruptive innovation.

Product innovation has been described as the way out of today’s difficult business environment.  However, the rate of success of development projects, in particular white space and disruptive innovation projects, remains low.
This low success rate can be attributed in part to the erroneous application of methods designed for incremental innovation to projects with high levels of uncertainty.  Common approaches to the management of innovation projects, like Waterfall or Stage-Gate, follow a linear approach that does not provide the flexibility needed for disruptive innovation to be successful.
The key to success in disruptive innovation is the use of a strategy that reconciles opposite needs:  flexibility and control.  A framework of controlled iteration can provide the right level of flexibility while at the same time give management the information required for proper allocation of resources.  It’s time for an innovation in innovation itself.
The need for effective approaches to the management of innovation projects led to the development of the Spiral System for disruptive innovation management. This method applies an iterative, agile approach to market and business development.  Development projects are classified based on degree of uncertainty and managed along project tracks appropriate to the level of uncertainty.  Finally, appropriate innovation tool sets are employed based on the best fit between information available and decision making needs.
The Spiral System offers a balanced, agile approach to innovation management.  It preserves the metrics needed for measurement of project progress, but also provides the flexibility needed for high uncertainty innovation projects to succeed.
Problem Statement
Recent examples such as Blockbuster, Borders, Kodak, Nokia and Blackberry show that innovation has become a matter of life and death for companies today.  But innovation may be costly.
Dr. William Strauss of FutureMetrics has documented that the ratio of R&D needed per unit of GDP output has gone from 1:1 in the early 90’s to ~3:1 in 2009. This increase can be attributed to the fact that the rate of success of innovation projects, particularly radical or new market innovation projects rarely exceeds 20% and may be as low as 2.5%.
Referring to classical innovation management processes such as Stage Gate, Clayton Christensen, author of the book “The Innovator’s Dilemma”, has stated:
“The Stage-Gate system assumes that the proposed strategy is the right strategy; the problem is that except in the case of incremental innovations, the right strategy cannot be completely known in advance.  The Stage-Gate system is not suited to the task of assessing innovations whose purpose is to build new growth businesses, but most companies continue to follow it simply because they see no alternative.”
Christensen’s observation reflects the need for new management approaches that increase the probability of success, but at the same time preserve the metrics required for measurement of progress and resource allocation.  The challenge is then to reconcile a formal management framework with the flexibility that is needed for innovation to thrive.
The Need for Iterations:

To develop disruptive innovations, 1 round of voice of the customer is not enough to be the cornerstone of a project.  This is because customers cannot say that they want what they do not know, and can only provide feedback on incremental modifications on what they do know.  As the American industrialist Henry Ford famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

The Spiral Solution

The solution to this challenge consists of 3 parts:
1. Classifying projects according to the degree of uncertainty
2. Adopting a controlled iterative process to discovery
3. Using the right analysis tools that correspond to the level of uncertainty at each iteration level
The practical framework that incorporates these solutions is show in Figure 1 below

Time is the X axis, resources is the Y axis. Center = 0 for both, thus they both grow from the center. This is visual way to indicate that time and resources allocated should be low for level 1 projects and grow as more information is obtained and uncertainty is reduced.
Keys to the Process:

• Time and resources required are low when uncertainty is high, but increase as the project advances through each iteration and likelihood of success increase.
• The analysis is repeated at each level, but the tools used for each level are different.
• The first iteration at level 1 uses tools more suitable for high levels of uncertainty, i.e. Discovery Driven Planning, Probabilistic Decision Analysis
• The 3^rd level of iteration uses more conventional management tools, i.e. Linear Stage-Gate, Agile, NPV.

Benefits of the Spiral Approach:
The use of this framework offers the following advantages compared to traditional linear innovation management systems:
• For disruptive innovation projects iterations are needed where customers evaluate a prototype and a new cycle starts, complete with a new VOC, market and business analysis.  This framework allows for the iterations to occur in a controlled manner;
• The use of this framework, combined with the right analysis tools, allows for effective financial forecasting even in the early stages of the innovation project where uncertainty is high.
• The initial iterations, where uncertainty and risk are high (represented by the inner spirals on the chart) can be completed quickly and at low cost.  Ideas can be rapidly promoted to the next iteration – or discarded.  Because initial resource allocation is minimal, resources are made available to focus on projects that have entered iteration 3
• The controlled iteration approach provides a way to properly define the right value for the product or offering, leading to more accurate price estimates.
• In this framework, allocation of time and resources starts at low levels. These increase as the levels go up and the uncertainty is reduced, thus minimizing risk.
• This approach does not compare incremental innovation projects to radical innovation projects in the early stages, a classical mistake made by established leaders which results in the early kill of radical innovation projects.
This framework for the management of innovation projects provides the flexibility needed for successful innovation projects in any industry and the metrics needed for proper measurement of progress and resource allocation.  By utilizing this approach, managers insure that radical and disruptive innovation projects have a chance to prove their benefits and create the innovative products and services that companies need to remain competitive.
This method has been used to successfully introduce a disruptive innovation to the construction additives market in Europe.  Compared to conventional innovation management approaches, this framework led to the switch from an incremental innovation goal to a disruptive innovation technology with an identified profit potential of 25 MM$/yr.

Resources
A short video that summarizes the Beyond Stage Gate framework for innovation
http://www.slideshare.net/Brioneja/a-new-approach-to-innovation-managment
“Beyond Stage Gate” Framework Presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/Brioneja/brioneja-beyond-stagegate-a-new-approach-for-innovation
Stage-Gate® is a registered trademark from Stage-Gate International’s Product Development Institute Inc.
image credit:sherdog


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Dr. Jose A. Briones, an Innovator, Market and Business Developer, Futurist and Idea Generator, has been a leader in the launch and commercialization of over 35 new products for a variety of applications and end use segments. He is Director of Operations of SpyroTek Performance Solutions. Follow his Blog and Twitter: @Brioneja



Source:http://www.innovationexcellence.com

Less-Confident People Are More Successful

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

There is no bigger cliché in business psychology than the idea that high self-confidence is key to career success. It is time to debunk this myth. In fact, low self-confidence is more likely to make you successful.
After many years of researching and consulting on talent, I've come to the conclusion that self-confidence is only helpful when it's low. Sure, extremely low confidence is not helpful: it inhibits performance by inducing fear, worry, and stress, which may drive people to give up sooner or later. But just-low-enough confidence can help you recalibrate your goals so they are (a) more realistic and (b) attainable. Is that really a problem? Not everyone can be CEO of Coca Cola or the next Steve Jobs.
If your confidence is low, rather than extremely low, you stand a better chance of succeeding than if you have high self-confidence. There are three main reasons for this:

1. Lower self-confidence makes you pay attention to negative feedback and be self-critical: Most people get trapped in their optimistic biases, so they tend to listen to positive feedback and ignore negative feedback. Although this may help them come across as confident to others, in any area of competence (e.g., education, business, sports or performing arts) achievement is 10% performance and 90% preparation. Thus, the more aware you are of your soft spots and weaknesses, the better prepared you will be.
   Low self-confidence may turn you into a pessimist, but when pessimism teams-up with ambition it often produces outstanding performance. To be the very best at anything, you will need to be your harshest critic, and that is almost impossible when your starting point is high self-confidence. Exceptional achievers always experience low levels of confidence and self-confidence, but they train hard and practice continually until they reach an acceptable level of competence. Indeed, success is the best medicine for your insecurities.
2. Lower self-confidence can motivate you to work harder and prepare more: If you are serious about your goals, you will have more incentive to work hard when you lack confidence in your abilities. In fact, low confidence is only demotivating when you are not serious about your goals.
   Most people like the idea of being exceptional, but not enough to do what it takes to achieve it. Most people want to be slim, healthy, attractive and successful, but few people are willing to do what it takes to achieve it — which suggests that they don't really want these things as much as they think. As the legendary Paul Arden (ex creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi) noted: "I want means: if I want it enough I will get it. Getting what you want means making the decisions you need to make to get what you want.". If you really want what you say you want, then, your low confidence will only make you work harder to achieve it — because it will indicate a discrepancy between your desired goal and your current state.
3. Lower self-confidence reduces the chances of coming across as arrogant or being deluded. Although we live in a world that worships those who worship themselves — from Donald Trump to Lady Gaga to the latest reality TV "star" — the consequences of hubris are now beyond debate. According to Gallup, over 60% of employees either dislike or hate their jobs, and the most common reason is that they have narcissistic bosses. If managers were less arrogant, fewer employees would be spending their working hours on Facebook, productivity rates would go up, and turnover rates would go down.
   Lower self-confidence reduces not only the chances of coming across as arrogant, but also of being deluded. Indeed, people with low self-confidence are more likely to admit their mistakes — instead of blaming others — and rarely take credit for others' accomplishments. This is arguably the most important benefit of low self-confidence because it points to the fact that low self-confidence can bring success, not just to individuals but also to organizations and society.

In brief, if you are serious about your goals, low self-confidence can be your biggest ally to accomplish them. It will motivate you to work hard, help you work on your limitations, and stop you from being a jerk, deluded, or both. It is therefore time debunk the myth: High self-confidence isn't a blessing, and low self-confidence is not a curse — in fact, it is the other way around



Source:selfconfidence.com

How to make money with a blog

 

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How I replaced my day-job with earnings from this blog

In 2 years I went from not knowing what a blog was to making more money blogging than my day job.

The purpose of this article is to show you how to make money with a blog. I suspect most people won’t stick with it long enough to make a full-time income, but even making an extra few hundred dollars a month isn’t too bad either (here are 23 other ways to make money as well).
This article is extremely long (more like 10 articles), but I wanted it to be a thorough and helpful resource for those wanting to start a blog or make some more money from the one they already have.

Article Contents

For the sake of convenience, I added links to different sections of this article, so you can easily skip ahead to the section you want…

• How it all started for me
• 4 Steps To Get Started Blogging in 10 Minutes!
• Blogging basics
• How to get a self-hosted blog
• The importance of a customizable theme
• How I make money with this blog
• How long does it take to make money from a blog
• How to get traffic to your blog
• SEO tips for blogs
• How I increased Adsense income by $1500
• 11 Tools that have helped me succeed
• Warnings for those just starting out

I should also mention that I really haven’t written about blogging or making money from blogs on ChristianPF yet, because I wanted to make sure that it was a viable option for making some cash. Now that I have found that it is, I decided to pour out everything I learned the last two years about it…

How it all started for me

About 2 years ago I was talking to a friend of mine about the idea of building websites full of free information to help people. After brainstorming a bit, I got a couple ideas of topics that I was passionate about: Proverbs and Personal Finance.
My first idea was to post a Proverb each day and comment on it. As I explained my idea further to him, he informed me that I would basically have a blog. I didn’t know what a blog was, but I thought, “oh, ok, sure.”
So, over the next few weeks I read as much as I could find about blogging and ultimately decided on creating a blog about Personal Finance from a Christian perspective. I had been very interested in helping people with their money, so blogging seemed like a great way to reach people all over the world.

Over the next couple months, I started writing articles and officially launched ChristianPF in June of 2007. At this point I had thought about making money from the site, but had no idea how and honestly didn’t really think it was possible to make a living at it. I threw up an Adsense ad just to see what would happen and I still remember how excited I was when I saw that I had made my first 7 cents!
From there, I set a goal to make $100 by the end of 2007 which was pretty easy to accomplish – even without knowing anything. I should also mention that from June 2007 to June 2008 I spent about 4-6 hours each weekend writing articles and averaged about 4 new articles each week. And I spent a few more hours each week on site maintenance, emails, social media, etc. So in total I probably was spending about 10 hours each week working on the site.

Getting laid off

In July 2008 things got interesting. The large brokerage firm that I had worked 5 years for was bought out by a larger firm. I was told that my department would no longer be needed, so they handed me a severance check and I was on my way. By this point I was making some money from the blog, but not enough to even pay the rent each month.

Sign up to find out about additional blogging tips, tutorials, and tools that I use to increase earnings with my blogs.

After much prayer I decided against looking for another “day job” and decided to work full time on building the blog. Thankfully we had paid off most of our debt, and had my wife’s income as a support to buy us some time. I figured I would give it a shot for a few months and if it didn’t work out I would find another 9-5. From that point, the income generated from this website has increased each month and in February 2009 it exceeded my monthly income from my old day job.
I am still a little bit in awe and can’t believe that I am actually paying the bills from this website!. But, I thank God everyday that I get to do this – I really did not like working in Corporate America and am so thankful! It is hard work, but it doesn’t really seem like it when you are doing something that you are passionate about and love doing it.

4 Steps to Get Started Blogging in 10 Minutes!

This is just a quick cliffnotes version for committed bloggers only. These recommendations aren’t best suited for those dabbling with blogging, but they are the things that I would do if I had to do it all over again.

1. Find a domain name

• Go to psychicwhois.com and search until you find a domain name that is available (green ones are open, red ones are taken).
• If possible aim for one that has at least of the keywords you would like to be found in the search engines for.

2. Get a domain name and web hosting package from Hostgator (my recommended host)

• Head over to Hostgator and select either the “Hatchling” or “Baby” plan.

• Then make sure to register the domain that you found in the first step.
• Next enter “ChristianPF” as a promo code and it will knock 25% off for you.

• Now follow the remaining steps to complete your purchase.

3. Install WordPress (with a little help)

• Either watch the video above for detailed instructions or just jump on the phone or use the chat box with Hostgator.
• When you get them on the line just tell them that you want to install WordPress on your blog.
• They should hold your hand and walk you through the process (if they don’t please email me). When complete ask them for the WordPress login information.

4. Login to WordPress

• Once they give you the login information you can go to http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin and login.
• Now that you are logged in to WordPress you can begin making changes to your site and or publish your first post.

So that should get you up and running. If you are new to WordPress you can learn the basics of running a WordPress blog in my Blogging 101 course.

Blogging basics

I am going to try to boil this down to the essentials. There are whole books written on this subject, so I am not going to try to cover everything here. If you are looking for a good book about blogging for beginners, I suggest reading Darren Rowse’s “31 Days To A Better Blog”. But for a quick, bottom-line version keep reading…

What is a blog?

A blog is short for “weblog”. Basically, it is just a website that has entries listed in reverse chronological order. The original idea behind it was to be a online journal or diary that was updated daily (or as frequently as the writer chose). Over the last decade many software programs and blogging platforms have been created to make the process VERY EASY. As the blog writer, depending on which platform you use, you can just type your entry, press submit and it shows up on your blog for the world to see. Most bloggers don’t know any programming languages and are not “techies.” Starting a blog is one of the easiest ways out there to start a website. If you haven’t started one yet, why not try it? It can be very quick to set up and can be completely free.

Is it easy to start a blog?

It is very easy. Even if there are steps along the way that are confusing, there are plenty of resources to get the help you need. There are over 20 million blogs in existence, so it can’t be that difficult.

How much does it cost to blog?

There are many services that allow you to start a blog for free (see below). I suggest using one of the free services to get a basic feel for blogging and “get your feet wet.” Once you decide you want to stick with it and that you want to make money with your blog, I suggest moving up to a self-hosted blog (see below). Anyone who is really trying to make money with a blog will probably be more successful with a self-hosted blog. Getting a self-hosted blog may not be free, but still can be VERY inexpensive. You will need to pay for nothing more than a domain name ($10) and web-hosting (as cheap as a few bucks a month).

Getting a blogging platform

All 4 of the options listed are free. The first 3 options are the easiest, but the are also limited on features. If you are just trying to make an extra few hundred dollars from your blog, these options could work. But if you are really serious about trying to make good money from your blog, I recommend self-hosting your blog (which we talk about in the next section…).
Tumblr.com – This is probably the simplest blogging platform to use, but it also is the probably the least customizeable. So, it might be something good to start with, but it would be more difficult to build an income-generating website with it.
Blogger.com – Blogger is also very good, easy to set up, owned by Google, you can customize the theme, and the domain name includes “.blogspot.com” (in some people’s opinion a little less professional). Blogger continues to become more customizeable and currently has a lot more options than they did a few years ago.
WordPress.com – I like wordpress.com they are completely free, easy to set up, you can customize the theme, but other customizations are limited, domain name includes “.wordpress.com”.
WordPress.org – Wait, what is the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org? To put it simply WordPress.com is where you will go to set up a basic, easy blog with limited features. WordPress.org is where you will go to get a self-hosted wordpress blog. If you get to the point where you are serious about blogging and really want to make some money with it, you need to self-host your blog. Now I should mention that you don’t actually ever have to visit wordpress.org, if you use Hostgator as your host, they will be able to help you install wordpress on your selfhosted blog. Just follow the steps here.

How to setup a self-hosted blog

If you are going to be using one of the first three options above, you can skip this section.
If you are serious about blogging and are looking for the best way to customize your blog’s look and other features, then getting a self-hosted blog from WordPress.org is probably the best way to go. It is currently the top choice for most bloggers. It does require more work up front and does have small costs associated with it: buying a domain name ($10/year) and hosting your blog ($10/month).
One of the big advantages is that you can use your own domain name (i.e. yourblog.com). While this might not seem like a big deal, it is a lot easier for people to remember yourblog.com rather than yourblog.blogspot.com which is what you will be given if you use Blogger.
I will warn you, being a non-techie myself, this took me some time figuring out how to get my self-hosted site set up. WordPress.org has a great step-by-step guide for getting you set up. While it is more work on the front end, I am really glad I got good advice and did this at the beginning, than having to do it now.

Pick a Domain Name

1. You should start by purchasing a domain name. Domain Samurai is a great tool that will help you enter in a keyword and then find a bunch of related domains that are still available. I would suggest going to for a .com rather than a .info or .us or anything else for that matter. It is just too easy for people to get confused. A .com is always going to hold more value than any other extension. For a simpler tool, just go to psychicwhois.com and find an open one. 2. Once you get it picked out, you need to find somewhere to purchase it. I bought my first few domains at GoDaddy.com and have bought the remaining ones from my hosting companies. While GoDaddy is about one of the biggest names out there, I can’t say that I recommend them because of some of their advertising campaigns that they run. I now recommend just buying the domain and hosting from Hostgator as it will make the whole process simpler. But if you already have a host, then Namecheap is a good and cheap way to buy a domain.

Pick a host for your blog

The webhost is the company that you pay to store all of your files for your blog. There are also a million web hosting companies out there. I don’t suggest just looking for the cheapest one, because a lot of these companies are not very reliable and your site might be down quite a bit. I like to go with the bigger companies who have a longer track record and are more established.
They may cost a dollar or two more a month when you are starting out and it is well worth it. I have hosted my websites with Dreamhost from the beginning, mostly because I knew a lot of people using them and I got a hosting package for about $7.00 a month.
I still host most of my websites at Dreamhost, but have moved this site to MediaTemple. The main reason was that since my livelihood now depended on the website I wanted a higher level of service from my hosting company. MediaTemple has been great in that regard, but as always it comes with a price. I am currently paying $150 a month for hosting with them.

Watch this video to find out which host is best for you!

(Added 01-05-10 – I am currently in the process of buying a website that is hosted on BlueHost, and after digging around the backend quite a bit, I am starting to think they are a better choice than Dreamhost. Their prices are slightly lower than Dreamhost, but they seem to have things a little better organized and create an easier experience for new users. I haven’t dealt with their customer service yet, so I can’t comment on that yet, but my overall experience so far leads me to like them a bit more than Dreamhost. For what it’s worth.)
(Added 05-04-10 – After using Bluehost a bit more and calling their customer service reps, I can safely say that I definitely like them more than Dreamhost. Just the fact that they have phone support gives them a leg up – but the rep I spoke with was very helpful. So Bluehost gets my recommendation for beginner hosting.)
(Added 04-04-11 – After more and more frustrating experiences with MediaTemple’s customer service I started looking for another host that I could scale up with. I still really like Bluehost – especially for the price, but the fact that they only offer shared hosting makes me hesitant about hosting my sites that pay my mortgage each month. After looking at Hostgator‘s site it became very clear that they are a host that you can start with for as cheap as $4/m and they also offer much more thorough hosting packages as your site grows. I had heard great things about them from others, so I figured I would check them out. I called them up and asked a bunch of questions and I was surprised to find out that even though they cost a fraction of what MediaTemple costs, they have some features that MediaTemple didn’t.I opened an account with HostGator and used the chat feature to get help 2 different times and I was very pleased with their knowledge and helpfulness each time. Honestly, I was so impressed that I am getting started on moving many of my sites over to Hostgator. I will let you know how things progress…)



Source:http://christianpf.com

Brand Building in a Recession

Economic slowdown, recession, depression, call it what you will. A bad economy affects everyone. When times are tight, the bottom line is dictated by the sense of value consumers place in your brand, or more precisely, how much they are willing to pay for that value. Both the value perceived by consumers and actual shareholder value are strongly influenced by brand. Brand can drive growth in an up market or protect the company’s value in a down market. One of the most important, but often overlooked aspects of a recession is the insecurity consumers experience. As consumers feel the pinch, they begin to search for change. Companies need to focus on actions that take advantage of the opportunities that change brings. Branding in a recession is all about investing in consumer retention and attraction.

During a recession, most companies cut back in every area of the business and start slashing prices to accommodate the shifting demand curve. While this may help in the short term, this strategy can actually damage both the company and its brands. There are tremendous lessons to be learned from previous recessions. Not everyone automatically loses out in an adverse economy. Historically, companies who invested in their brands during hard economic times retained their core audience, attracted new consumers and emerged stronger in the end.
In a poor economic climate, companies must recognize that consumer retention and attraction is the name of the game. You must invest in brand-building to win market share, not just mindshare or margin. Those who fail to see their consumers as an appreciating asset may soon find their brands and business devalued or defunct.
During a bull economy, consumers have more disposable income, spend more freely and take bigger risks. However, a bear economy forces people to evaluate their purchasing decisions with a critical eye towards value. Consumers’ spending habits change dramatically—they take inventory of their costs and the related benefits. If the value is not readily apparent, they could move on to a “safer” option.
Recessions are brought on by many factors, but are fed by consumers’ economic fears. People spend less overall and become far more selective about where they spend the little money they have. This tends to expose and amplify brand weaknesses. As consumers are far less forgiving and far more price-conscious, they abandon brands that fail to provide clear, meaningful and relevant value.
Branding cannot be reserved as an exercise in times of growth. To be effective it requires constant maintenance, perhaps even more so in times of crisis. Take care of your brand and your brand will take care of you. Neglect it and you’ll immediately feel the ill effects.
Brands are built over decades and generations. Think long term—make your competition chase you.
Stealing Share
Brands are valuable in good times and in bad. During tough times like these, your brand may be considered by consumers who would otherwise not take notice or see relevance. Make the experience positive and you may build a bond for life.
Many case studies have shown that hard times are actually the best times to steal market share and build brand value. As weaker brands die off, the remaining brands sing louder, calling to consumers who are ripe for change. Steal your competitors’ consumers and the payoff is two to one.
The effect of brands actually alters consumers’ behavior. When consumers value a brand as being a trustworthy, quality offering, they are usually willing to pay more to avoid the risk of making a bad decision. However, they may be prone to try new brands as their wallets are squeezed ever tighter.
Recessions often weed out weaker brands making category leaders even stronger. At the same time, “value-based” brands can gain market share by presenting the consumer with a familiar name at a reasonable price. This brand switching provides an incredible window of opportunity for companies to steal market share from competitors. The number of consumers retained depends on the ability for the “temporary” brand to deliver on its promise of value.
When brands focus on value, rather than price, they reassure consumers with greater confidence. The moral support that is provided by brands during a recession helps to rebuild that enduring bond between brand and former consumer.
As consumers begin evaluating their purchases on a different set of priorities, heritage brands can use the emotional connections that already exist to regain past consumers that have moved on to “higher end” brands. A recession can unlock the relevance trapped within the brands of people’s youth.
The necessity for a clear brand proposition is more important than ever as consumers recognize the need for new ways to work within their shrinking budgets. The companies who recognize and seize the opportunity to steal market share while others are in shutdown mode, will find the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Invest in Your Brand
Abandoning or neglecting your brand as markets tighten, only makes matters worse. Historically, companies who properly support their brands with cost-effective measures can retain and even gain share in the face of lower-priced alternatives. These same companies will be best positioned to enjoy the fruits of their labor when the economy inevitably returns to growth.
Following the U.S. Stock Market crash of 1987, Nike tripled its marketing spend and emerged from the recession with profits nine times higher than going in. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut also took advantage of this recession, promoting themselves heavily, while the market leader McDonald’s, cut back. This investment paid off by significantly narrowing McDonald’s category lead.
Recessions are tough on companies and consumers alike as both face the pressures of restricted cash flows and receding bottom lines. The bonds that brands build with consumers at such times are powerful. A recession must be viewed as an opportunity to reassess and strengthen the brand to drive the most value—spend smarter not harder.
Decisions should be focused on spending wisely, but too often companies do nothing at all. A company’s typical reaction to a slowing economy is to cut back and wait things out. Ironically, those companies end up damaging their most valuable assets—their brands.
Conventional wisdom suggests that in times of recession it is better to tighten the belt and cut marketing and branding expenditures. However, when companies cut their outreach, they also begin to cut the ties that bond consumers to those brands. For smart companies, opportunity beckons.
A downturn represents less money in consumers’ pockets and more careful consumption habits. A slimmer budget means companies must be more effective with their branding efforts. Determine what is excess or even damaging to your brand and shed it. Use your focus and resources to strengthen your position in the market and in consumers’ eyes.
As you see your competitors cutting back, recognize that now is the time to strike. If funds are too tight to make an all-out attack, cut less than your competitors. Remember, in a recession both your dollar and your message go farther.
Cut Costs Not Corners
While difficult economic conditions may be trying, it is important to stress that investing and spending are not one in the same. A company can make a significant investment with minimal spend. There are many ways to achieve great impact with minimal or even reduced costs:

• In a recession, more effective employees can make the difference between success and failure. Implementing an internal program that encourages employees to “live the brand” brings a company together by providing clarity. This simple effort can boost employee morale and ensure that their efforts stay focused and on-brand.
  
• Instead of spending on typical sales promotion, spend on engagement. Exploring and exploiting different sensory inputs can lead to innovative brand signals that are less costly to implement than traditional advertising. Look for the low hanging fruit. Ask the question: “Where and how can the brand effectively get the message out?” Bang for the buck is everything.
  
• Outsource branding, “insource” execution. The cost of execution eclipses the cost of creativity. A tight budget can choke branding and marketing efforts. In a recession, the costs of branding can seem high. However, by bringing high-cost items like execution in-house, companies can better leverage their limited budgets.
  
• Negotiate! Your dollar buys more in a bad economy. You may find that you are able to negotiate longer payment terms, volume discounts or other benefits. In times of recession, most partners and vendors are open to discussion. Leverage your position properly and you could find a tight budget buys big budget returns.
  
• Leverage relationships and explore co-branding initiatives. Companies are cutting costs at every turn. Co-branding can reduce marketing costs while extending the brands reach by allowing unrelated brands to split the costs of marketing while gaining the competitive advantage of cross-brand endorsement.
  
• Price slashing may sound simple and logical, but it is a sure way to give up ground to competitors who may be more aggressive during the downturn. Price isn’t merely a reflection of quality, it’s also an indicator of it. It’s easy to rationalize that: “it drives business,” and “consumers are struggling and need the help,” but steep discounts tend to attract price-driven shoppers who aren’t likely to be loyal to your brand.
  
• Cement a value-based position with consumers, not a position of low price. If you can find a way to reduce costs–while maintaining quality–and you can permanently pass that price reduction on to the consumer, your brand equity will grow now and after the economy eventually rights itself. Whether in good times or bad, if you can provide enhanced value to consumers, you’re doing the right thing.

While a recession may feel like the worst time to be a marketer, it may be the best time to build brands. The companies who maintain a strategic perspective and invest in their brands will rebound from a recession stronger from the experience. Weaker brands may not exist by the time the economy re-surges.
Consumers are forming opinions about your brand whether you’re proactively managing the experience or not. So, to be successful, be as optimistic as you can. Your brand and business are in a position either to contribute to the fear or help diffuse it. The connections made during these times of crisis are often stronger than those made in times of prosperity. Look for opportunity where others see hopelessness to find the low hanging fruit your brand needs to thrive.
Equity is only built through the consistent delivery of your brand promise over time. The reward is improved customer loyalty.

• • •

Consumer confidence is waning across the global economy. In times like these, decades of hard-earned brand equity can be eroded over the course of months. Recessions force companies to be smarter about where they invest. Focusing solely on how your brand is different and how that difference creates value for the consumer, increases consumers’ confidence in your brand. Demonstrate that it is “worth more” and you’ll increase their willingness to pay more when every penny counts.
When the market goes south, management too often turns its approach away from brand-centric to price-centric thinking. Thus begins the vicious downward spiral where brand value erodes, in turn reducing revenues which further tightens belts and value continues to erode. The only answer to a recession is a proactive response. Investing in your brands will help to retain your audience and attract a new audience by stealing share from weaker brands. Only the best positioned players will survive and thrive.
When consumers trust your brand, they don’t contemplate their purchase decisions—they buy.



Source:

Creating a Brand Name

Your brand name is one of the most powerful brand signals that you can own. However, many people make the mistake of trying to articulate their brand before they have fully defined it, often choosing a name without considering differentiation, longevity, phonetics and trademark-ability. Your brand name is more than just a word. While the brand name is not the brand itself, it is a core signal that consumers directly equate to the brand. The name provides tangibility to an otherwise intangible concept by allowing your audience to identify and differentiate your brand from others by capturing and communicating your brand’s promise. Unless you know what you’re trying to communicate, you may end up mixing your signals.

The brand’s name is paramount to its success. Few, if any, successful logos were designed before establishing the brand’s name. The process of developing identity, specifically a verbal identity, can be defined as creativity under constraint. Often, in only a single word, brand names represent larger meaning to consumers by conveying a concept and a promise. The name you choose will say volumes about both your brand and your competition. It has the ability to define both what you are and what you are not.
There are many methods for conjuring up brand names. Compiling long lists of names is not all that difficult. Choosing the RIGHT name, a truly ownable name that is a legally protectable trademark within a given market space is the goal. A good name gets your attention. Great names claim a position that is intriguing, inspiring, and believable. Most importantly your name provokes thought, preconditioning consumers with understanding. Your name must claim mind share and market share.
Your brand’s name is a powerful tool for helping to translate your business into a consumer-centric message. A brand name evokes semantic associations that carry a promise. Names speak to consumers, not at them. The most effective brands exemplify their promise by preconditioning consumers with a name that underscores and emphasizes the position the brand has taken. Great names don’t preach, they seduce.
Names are signals, and like all brand signals, a name is a vessel that carries meaning. Upon first encounter, some names are full of meaning, while others are empty and are filled with meaning over time. The name you choose to identify and differentiate your brand must punctuate the position you’re claiming. Depending on the position your brand takes and the competitive landscape you compete in, your brand’s name either dilutes or strengthens your market position. The criteria by which you judge potential brand names can help to mitigate the risk of making an off-brand decision.
You’ll quickly find that as the list is weeded down, only select names will remain. Ensuring that the final candidates are actionable, ownable, and appropriate becomes a whole lot easier when you rule out the names that don’t meet functional considerations. This requires careful planning and a highly objective approach to judge prospective candidates. To arrive at a memorable, marketable name you’ll need to consider the Differentiation, Longevity, Phonetics, and Trademark-ability of all potential candidates.
DIFFERENTIATION
A distinctive name champions the brand’s unique position by communicating relevant differentiation. It distinguishes the brand as being different from competitive offerings. By crafting an atypical name, you frame your brand in a unique way, which underscores the difference between your brand and those it competes with. An effective brand name helps to gain loyalty and capture higher market share by delivering on the brand experience. It states that your brand is truly different and not a commodity.
Proposed names must be unique from the competition as well as brands operating in unrelated categories. The negative impact of ubiquity can be devastating. Consumers associate truly unique brand names with their specific offerings, not with the category at large. A category typical name can actually dilute your brand to the point where it can be dethroned from the position it currently holds.
LONGEVITY
When marketers choose trendy names or names that are too descriptive of a given technology, they find that their brands quickly fall out of favor. If a word is currently popular or is the “next big thing,” chances are it won’t be for long and other companies will choose similar names. This can compromise the brand’s position. By developing strategically sound names that function as systems, the name can be applied to a wide range of applications over the life of the brand. When the trend fades, where is the brand left? With little exception, making the decision to change the brand name, changes the brand.
PHONETICS
A name that is difficult to pronounce or uncomfortable to say is unlikely to be repeated or remembered. Many names that work in the conference room simply don’t resonate in the marketplace. Invented, constructed, or de-constructed names must mimic natural language if they are to connect with consumers. It is an issue of phonetics. Your brand name says a lot about your intentions. If consumers can’t say it, spell it, or they forget your name all together, it says nothing at all.
Certain names stick in your mind. They are often fun to say and are rarely straightforward descriptions of the offering. They use abstraction and metaphor to convey their concept. The more the name sticks in consumers’ minds, the more likely consumers will recall it when moving forward with a purchasing decision, or recommendation. Simple names that look and sound like real words are called to top-of-mind easily and more often.
TRADEMARK-ABILITY
The hallmark of a viable name is its ability to be trademarked. As a trademark, your name provides a proprietary and legally protectable method for identifying your goods or services from those of competitors. Any name that is unlikely to receive trademark registration must be removed from consideration. A word that is not legally protectable as a trademark is worthless as a brand name!
However, a name that cannot be trademarked may still hold value. If you’re creating a new category you run the risk of your brand name becoming the generic label that defines the category. Creating a category name in addition to a trademarked brand name can help to ensure that your brand name does not become the vernacular. This exemplifies the brand name as a “brand” and not a generic product or service type.

• • •

It is important not to fall in love with a specific name too early. The verbal identity process is fine a balance between art and science, creation and elimination. This requires a highly objective approach to developing and judging prospective candidates as well as validating your decisions.
Many people believe that if the brand name cannot be obtained as a domain name, than that name should be abandoned. Unless your brand is web specific, you shouldn’t reject a great name simply because “yourbrandname.com” is taken. It is ideal that you own your brand name as a URL, but a memorable URL that captures your brand concept may be just as effective and may even create more traffic for your site.
The right name can help to focus the brand and business to achieve success. The wrong brand name can dilute your brand’s impact. Effective brand names translate business objectives into clear and simple words that express the brand position to consumers. A name today must be able to capture consumers on its own merits. A great brand name can create competitive advantages. When you develop your brand name on a foundation of strategy, consumers don’t only hear, they listen.

Source:http://www.blackcoffee.com

Empathy: The Brand Equity of Retail

Retailers can offer great product selection and value, but those who lack empathy for their customers are at risk of losing them, says professor Ananth Raman.

 

by Carmen Nobel

There's a famous line from the movie The Godfather, which is often repeated in corporate settings: "This is business, not personal." Ironically, though, that statement is actually bad business advice.
During the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing (COER) conference held May 10-11 at Harvard Business School, professor Ananth Raman discussed the importance of empathy in customer-facing business.
"As we're talking about things like retail efficiency and profitability, this is a topic that I think needs more attention," Raman told an audience of retail executives.

“Are you in the business of rationality or emotionality?”

To kick off the conversation, Raman relayed what happened when Cleveland Clinic CEO Delos "Toby" Cosgrove visited a class at HBS a few years ago to discuss a case study on the renowned hospital. Dr. Cosgrove was intending to highlight the clinic's record of operational excellence, when a student, Kara Medoff Barnett (MBA '07), threw him a curveball of a question: "What is the hospital doing to teach its doctors about empathy?"
It turned out that Barnett's father, also a doctor, had undergone a mitral valve replacement in 2000. Although the Cleveland Clinic had been consistently ranked No. 1 by US News & World Report for heart surgery survival rates, her father opted to go to the No. 2 ranked Mayo Clinic. The reason for his choice: doctors at the Cleveland Clinic had a reputation for communicating badly before and after surgery.
In other words, the Cleveland Clinic had lost business solely due to a lack of empathy. "It was like the prettiest girl in class not getting a date," Raman said. For Cosgrove, Barnett's story was a transformative experience that led the hospital to establish the Office of Patient Experience in 2009.
Raman also told the story of patient advocate Jackie Gruzenski, who faced an all-too-common experience when her husband was hospitalized for a cerebral bleed in 2009. Gruzenski was only allowed to see her husband during very strict visiting hours for the intensive care unit—four times a day in 30-minute increments. The hospital would not bend the rules, in spite of the patient's repeated plea: "She's not a visitor, she's my wife." The patient spent 8 of his last 16 days alive in the ICU, denied important time with his wife because of systematic rules.
Raman asked the executives to consider the story and apply it to their own work.
"It's a core question for all of you: Are you in the business of rationality or emotionality?" he said. "If empathy is lacking in a nonprofit such as a hospital, what hope is there in retail?"
To that end, one COER attendee noted that an empathetic salesperson can make the difference between a customer's decision to shop in a store rather than online. This is a key issue at a time when many potential customers will walk into a store, use their smartphone to snap a photo of a product they like, then return home to search online for a cheaper price.
Another attendee agreed, sharing the story of a woman whose luggage was lost on the eve of her husband's funeral. Staff at a local Nordstrom store responded by staying open so she could purchase a few outfits, and her family has been loyal to the retailer ever since.
"Empathy can be the brand equity of retail," Raman said.

“One of the challenges we face in retail service operations is that the customer is part of the operating process”

Raman also talked about empathy in dealing with difficult customers who hurt business by disturbing other customers or by complaining publicly about the service. He cited the example of a hospital patient who consistently refused to follow medical orders, gave all the doctors bad reviews in customer surveys regardless of quality of care, and eventually threatened to strip naked in the hospital lobby and threw a tantrum. At that point the hospital faced an ethical dilemma. Should it refuse to treat the patient further because he was bad for business, even though his life depended on future treatment? (The hospital's legal team advised refusing treatment; the doctor, who was often the recipient of the patient's anger, disagreed noting his oath to always be there for the patient.)
Some COER attendees pointed out that in most of the retail sector, ceasing service is not a matter of life-and-death. "Sometimes you have to fire the customer," said one executive. Another related a mentor's advice that one of the smartest moves he could make in business was to allow difficult customers to defect to competitors.
"One of the challenges we face in retail service operations is that the customer is part of the operating process," Raman said.
Toward the end of the session, Raman reminded attendees to consider the role of the customer's empathy, too. He shared the story of a daycare center with operating hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The teachers were frustrated because several parents were consistently late in picking up their children, so the daycare instituted a new policy: a $3 fine for every late pickup. But rather than discourage tardy parents, late pickups increased dramatically. Now that they could pay for showing up late, the parents stopped feeling guilty and made it a habit.
"If you put a money value on the incentive, you often take away the pressure to conform to norms," Raman said. "It's a challenge…there are always big opportunities for us to do very dumb things. And it's always tempting to say, 'Can we just tweak the incentives and hope the problem goes away?' But that can come back and bite us very badly."
The Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing is focused on advancing retail operations from a combined academic and business perspective. The annual conference is used to present the latest academic research for participants to exchange ideas, thoughts, and challenges.



Source:hbswk.hbs.edu

Where to Find a Great Job That Pays Well

If you’ve found yourself contemplating a new job or new career, don’t despair. Even though the ongoing economic slowdown means most industries still face cutbacks and layoffs, there is one field that’s projected to grow steadily in the future: Health Care Professionals.
Job opportunities in health care are on the rise and expected to increase 34 percent through 2018.  This is due to two factors: Firstly, the American population is aging rapidly.  A much larger population of the elderly means a huge increase in demand for medical services and the people that provide them.
The second reason is related to technology. Our health care is getting more and more sophisticated.  And, that means highly skilled people are needed to deliver the service.
Put these two things together and you get higher salaries and more employee demand.
We all know that doctors make the big bucks.  But, talk about paying your dues – doctors must endure over 10 years of schooling and work horrendous hours.
Fortunately, you don’t need to become a doctor to settle into a stimulating, secure, and well- paying job.  There are many opportunities available, and one of the best ways to get into the field is as a medical assistant.
The field of medical assistants offers many options for flexibility and job growth. The position can be part-time, full-time, or even just evenings and weekends.  Working conditions and benefits tend to be excellent, and you can manage to have a life outside of work as well.
Medical assistants can specialize in a particular type of medicine such as podiatry, ophthalmology or chiropractic care, and their job duties are diverse.  They include:

• Handling both administrative and clinical duties, while reporting directly to an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner.
• Taking medical histories and recording vital signs.
• Explaining treatment procedures to patients.
• Assisting physicians during examinations.

Accreditation programs are often be the best way to get into the field. These programs will teach you everything you will need to know to work in a medical office—from clerical skills such as filing, transcription and recordkeeping; to anatomy, physiology and medical law, and ethics. Often these programs also provide internship opportunities and job placement services for graduates.
Completing a proper certification program can also make you eligible to move up from an initial position with a little additional training down the road.
Many medical assistants choose to take additional classes to become nurses and health care practitioners. Some take on additional administrative training and become office managers for larger practices. Your first job as a medical assistant is more of a jumping-off-point for a bigger, more rewarding career in the health care industry.
As with any training or educational course, always research any program thoroughly before beginning. Find out exactly what kind of training you will be receiving through your program and what kind of assistance and placement programs are in place to help you upon completion.
Working in the health care industry can be extremely rewarding, and a medical assistant training course can be the first step to a long and satisfying career in the health care field. 




Source:www.howlifeworks.com

Rewrite That Boring Job Description

Want to attract the A-players to work for your business? Here's what needs to be in the job description.

macrj/Flickr

 

Job descriptions are the last thing most of us think about because with all the day-to-day busy work, who has time? We know we need to hire talented people, but most of us go with the standard, dry list of bullets on a website and hope that someone fits the bill.

Get Creative and Attract the Stars

Job descriptions are marketing just like when you're describing your products or services, but even more important. Why? Just like you want to attract customers that come back again and again, you also want to attract A-players who love what you do, and love their job. Will they be attracted by a boring job description? No way. And what impression will a snoozer description give them of the type of company you are (when you're probably very cool)?
Given my small business marketing company, VerticalResponse, is located in the Bay Area and we go up against Facebook, Google, Twitter and many others to find great talent, we need to be creative! So, what changes did we make?
We pay attention to our job descriptions and talk about our great company!
Here's a sample:
VR people rock. We're fun and diverse; we work hard and play hard. When we release a new feature or product into the wild, it's immediately used by thousands of small businesses and non-profits. It's nice to hear our customers say, "We can't succeed without your marketing tools!" We're both growing and profitable, which many companies just can't say. Oh, and we have the best damn coworkers around!
We talk about our people, we talk about what we offer, and we feature things we're proud of like our volunteering programs and the awards that we've won.

So What Can You Do?

Take a look at your own job descriptions. Now take a few minutes to look at some of your competitors and other top companies and see how their descriptions read. Pull some that you like for inspiration, then plan some rewrite time. Keep a good balance of sizzle and substance, as there's still a job to be done. The more you can infuse your business's personality into your job descriptions, the better you'll be able to attract the type of person that's going to do wonders for your biz.

Seal the Deal

Once you've written a great job description, posted it and found that awesome candidate that's everything you dreamed they would be, make sure you seal the deal. We've been known to bring a candidate in for a series of interviews and hand them a job offer before they leave our office. We know the importance of making a special impression and how that gesture can seal a conversation with a candidate so they won't consider another company/offer.
So be ready to make that offer to an amazing candidate. The days of leaving them guessing are over. When you find a star, make sure they know you want them and move mountains to make it happen. It can make a huge impression on a candidate when another company they're considering may be dragging its feet, or going through a ton of red tape.
What are your thoughts on spicing up your recruiting efforts? Got a fabulous job description that stands out from the crowd? I'd love to hear in the comments.



Source:inc.com