SMART NETWORKING

 

Networking means nothing without result.  In the knowledge economy, we need to deliver value and expertise to our clients.  In the never-ending flying wheel of information, it is impossible for one person to master all topic.

Networking is such a core value at the company.  Networking is at its best when there is “co-creation”, a process whereby two or more people come up with a better solution and neither could have achieved alone.  Through networking, employees learn to extract the best thinking form each other, from partners, and from experts in a particular field.  Networking spans everyone from world leaders in emerging market.

Networking is one way of converting connections into opportunities.  Thus the importance to network strategically:

1.        Identify your top 3 needs

2.       Keep them ever-present in your mind

·         They may change overtime

·         Screen conversations you have through their prism

3.       Be transparent

4.       Be candid

5.       Share your objective with your contact

6.       Be discreet, but be forward

7.       Follow up after contact has been established.

Network and tap into the collective and multitude of intelligence out there.  This is one way to make your business grow and sustain itself.

Shared from

Getting Result Through Smarter Networking

By: Ida Kamaria Ghazali

Financial Daily, Friday, 11 February 2011

Step out of the narrow comfort zone

EXPAND OR PERISIT

 

Public practice firms have got to diversify their business in order to differentiate themselves and as a shield against disruptions in the global and local business environment.  The main challenges of any audit practice probably relate to getting the right human capital, providing quality services and keeping abreast of regulation and legislation.

There are several strategies that can be applied to enhance public practice business models.  They all require a change of mind set and willingness to step out of the narrow comfort zone.

Strategy 1:       Grow

-       Consider growing the business (affiliation/mergers/acquisition)

Strategy 2:      Brand

-       The quality of work

-       How you network

-       The way you differentiate from others

-       Develop unique characteristics that able clients to distinguished you.

-       Relook at services to identify strengths and weaknesses and areas for differentiation.

Strategy 3:      Workplace Dynamic

-       Gen Y has radically different way of looking at things

-       New entrants to the company will have a different set of values compared to those held by previous generations.

Strategy 4:      Manage lost

-       Any price increase will have to be managed to remain competitive

-       Follow industry best practices and apply technology liberally.

-       Target premium services, new market segments.

-       Move up value chain

Strategy 5:      Go Hi-Tech

-       Seriously consider technological upgrades.

Shared from

Accountants Today

November-December 2014

Flexi working hours

Flexiwork A Flop

 

Yahoo :            CEO Marissa Mayer recalled the 200 odd of Yahoo’s 12,000 employees working from home back to the office in early 2013.  Decision was based on making business sense and strengthening innovation and performance.

Citrix    :           Multinational Software Company

·         Survey of teleworker trends

o   43% admitted to watching TV or Movies while on the clock

o   28% did not see anything wrong with cooking when they are suppose no be working.

Companies tend to think that savings from skyping or teleconferencing result if fewer work station, smaller office and reduced electricity bill.  Actually this concept of working together but working apart requires more time and energy to ensure communication are uniform and trickle down correctly.

The ‘mutual adjustment’ is absent from the work environment because they are geographically-spread out and this greatly affects productivity.  The informal hallway interactions, and the ability to just swivel your chair around to ask ‘What’d you think of this?’ to your colleague, remain crucial to how knowledge, and ideas move around in an organization.

Focus on flexiwork has always been on the employee.  Very few have debated how telecommunicating will affect the employer.

Companies will have to decide whether telecommuting and flexiwork works for them.   While people can leverage on technology to work productively from almost anywhere, the decision to telecommute remains at the hands of the employee.  Sometimes companies just need to take a step back in order to move forward.

Shared from

Accountants Today

September/ October 2015