Every good business tries to make the most of its top customers; and many work just as hard to avoid wasting resources on poor prospects. One way to avoid this, and to make more sense of a market, is to use RFM segmentation*. This article discusses how this tool has evolved from the early days of direct mail to the modern world of e-marketing. We’ll look at its advantages and disadvantages, and how you can use it to “zero in” on your most valuable customers.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/rfm-segmentation.htm

When preparing a presentation, we all remember to think about the basics: what you want to say, the data you need to back it up, any visuals that might help. But what about the people you’re presenting to? The following excerpt from the book Presentations will help you better understand your audience and cater your message to their needs.

https://hbr.org/2015/04/the-best-presentations-are-tailored-to-the-audience

Everyone seems to agree that collaboration across functions is critical for major projects and initiatives. The reality, however, is that meshing the skills and resources of different departments, each focused on its own distinct targets, to achieve a larger organizational goal is much easier said than done. In fact, it takes much more than people being willing to get together, share information, and cooperate. It more importantly involves making tough decisions and trade-offs about what and what not to do, in order to adjust workloads across areas with different priorities and bosses. And despite all the well-meaning cooperative behaviors, this is often where interdepartmental collaboration breaks down.

https://hbr.org/2015/04/theres-a-difference-between-cooperation-and-collaboration

One of the greatest assets we have as natives of a culture is our ability to quickly “read” another person’s emotions. Over time we learn how to understand whether our colleagues are truly interested in a project or just giving it lip service by noticing the expression on their faces. We can tell when someone really likes something we’ve proposed by the way they react. And we can often detect motivation as well: whether someone is truly willing to put in the extra time and effort to make something happen, just by seeing the fire in their eyes or the passion in their voice.

https://hbr.org/2015/04/emotional-intelligence-doesnt-translate-across-borders

Transformational change is still hard, according to a new survey. But a focus on communicating, leading by example, engaging employees, and continuously improving can triple the odds of success.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/how_to_beat_the_transformation_odds

Rivalries can push people to perform at the highest level. They can also encourage them to engage in shocking – and even illegal – behavior.

While it is rare that workplace rivalries end in physical injuries and arrests, they can become a distraction, harm morale, and diminish productivity. In this article, we’ll explore rivalry in the workplace, and we’ll look at how you can limit unhealthy competition and improve collaboration in your own team.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/managing-rivalry.htm

If you are like us, you often find yourself working on weekends and are criticized by somebody (your spouse, a friend, a colleague) who thinks there is something inherently wrong in spending some time over the weekend on work-related activities. Do they have a point? We thought there might be some truth to their criticism. And since we are scientists, we’ve looked for empirical data that would help us understand this phenomenon (and ourselves). What we’ve found is that many of us work on weekends for a very simple reason: We enjoy it. Think of it as a productivity high. But research shows that we often overdo it and that it may be more costly than we realize. Let’s dig a little deeper into the data.

https://hbr.org/2015/04/its-the-weekend-why-are-you-working

Most of us begin a new position with energy and a desire to impress. Our effort is high. Our passion is infectious. Our enthusiasm helps us to excel quickly.

But for some, work becomes mundane and repetitive. They lose some of their passion, and their work can begin to feel like a chore. Eventually some of those executives who had initially loved their careers enter the dimension we call the “day prison.” As they enter their workspace, they feel the metaphorical bars close around them in a zone where they are unmotivated, dissatisfied, and much less productive than they could be.

https://hbr.org/2015/04/why-you-should-watch-out-for-your-5-year-job-anniversary

Looks at what flow charts are and why they are so useful, and explores how you can use them to document and improve business processes.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_97.htm

Key leadership issues identified by the Pope, these he likens to diseases they include:

1. The disease of thinking we are immortal, immune, or downright indispensable
2. Another disease is excessive busyness
3. Then there is the disease of mental and [emotional] “petrification
4. The disease of excessive planning and of functionalism.
5. The disease of poor coordination.
6. There is also a sort of “leadership Alzheimer’s disease.
7. The disease of rivalry and vainglory.
8. The disease of existential schizophrenia.
9. The disease of gossiping, grumbling, and back-biting.
10. The disease of idolizing superiors.
11. The disease of indifference to others.
12. The disease of a downcast face.
13. The disease of hoarding.
14. The disease of closed circles.
15. Lastly: the disease of extravagance and self-exhibition.

https://hbr.org/2015/04/the-15-diseases-of-leadership-according-to-pope-francis