Blue Elephant Consulting

Banish Boring – How To Make Your Next Presentation Interesting & Effective

admin — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:07:21 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHWZ5NoEO5Y

Dr. Jim Anderson delivers a powerful speech in which he explains the secrets to creating and delivering an exciting (not boring) speech.

Dr. Anderson Introduces the “Clear Blue” system for creating and delivering an effective speech. He then steps through each component of the system and shows how you can use it to build and present a speech that will truly connect with your audience.

What You Need To Know About The Hadoop Database

admin — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 01:09:11 +0000

Dr. Jim Anderson Explains How The Hadoop Database Works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_llVzpUN28

In this video, Dr. Jim Anderson provides a brief overview of the Hadoop database solution that has been created to handle big data. Dr. Anderson describes how traditional databases are created and then he points out what the problems show up when you try to use a traditional database with a very large data set

“Making The Jump” Book Is Now Available

admin — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 00:23:29 +0000

The book “Making The Jump: How To Get Your First Job After College” is now available

Dr. Jim Anderson is proud to announce the publication of his latest book: “Making The Jump: How To Land Your Dream Job When You Get Out Of College!“

Dr. Anderson has taught many college courses at multiple universities and the same thing happened to him over and over again: after each class was done, the students (especially, but not limited to, the seniors) would rush up to him and start to ask him questions about what the best way to get a job after college was. Dr. Anderson’s over 25 years of real-world work experience were a part of each of his classes and so the students naturally saw him as a source of much needed job selection, job interviewing, and career planning advice.

These one-on-one counseling sessions lead to Dr. Anderson being asked to give speeches to larger and larger student groups. The rooms were crowded and the students took many notes during Dr. Anderson’s presentations. Each event always seemed to go well over its scheduled time because the students had so many questions that they wanted to get answers to.

Dr. Anderson realized that there weren’t enough hours in the day for him to get all of that he knew about how best to make the transition from college life to the world of work out to the students and parents who had a desperate need for this information. To solve this problem, he sat down and wrote out everything that he had been telling his students about how to get a job after college. This information is now available in Kindle format from Amazon in the book “Making The Jump: How To Land Your Dream Job When You Get Out Of College!”

If you are a college student, then this book was written for you. If you are the parent, grandparent, or just know a college student, then this is the book that you need to get for your college student!

Good luck!

New “Reverse Auction Bidding” Training Video Is Available

admin — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:26:59 +0000

You can win a reverse auction — if you know the secrets!

Dr. Jim Anderson is pleased to present his latest training video: “Reverse Auctions: Secrets To Winning“. This new video contains all of the information that a company or individual needs in order to prepare for, participate in, and (hopefully) win the next reverse auction that they are a part of.

More and more companies are turning to reverse auction bidding in order to select the vendors that they want to do business with. A quick survey of the Internet shows that more and more reverse auction sites are popping up everyday. Are you going to be ready when your best and biggest customer comes to you and tells you that that deal that you thought that you had locked up is now going to be awarded based on a reverse auction?

Looks like you had better become a “reverse auction expert” very quickly. Good news — Dr. Jim Anderson, the editor of “The Accidental Negotiator”, has just created exactly what you need. His new video training program, Reverse Auctions: Secrets To Winning, is packed with the up-to-date information that you need in order to do well the next time that you find yourself participating in a reverse auction.

Visit the Blue Elephant Consulting Store to get more information on how to purchase access to this vital video. Click here. Good luck!

5 Things That CIOs Need To Stop Doing

admin — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:02:50 +0000

CIOs Need To Stop Doing Things That Hold The Company Back

I firmly believe that the reason that any firm has a CIO is so that they have someone who can drive the company’s IT department to provide services and support that will enable the rest of the business to grow faster. It really is that simple – if you can leverage your IT department to support what the business is trying to do, then you’ll be more successful. Of course, this only works if the CIO is doing his / her job…

First You Need Respect

Bob Evans (no, not the breakfast sausage Bob Evans) over at InformationWeek has been thinking about why, of all of a company’s senior leadership, CIOs seem to be the ones who get the least amount of respect.

His conclusions are that the world at large believes that CIOs lack the business skills that are needed in order to have a seat at a company’s strategy steering table. It doesn’t help that all too often CIOs tend to talk using technology terms that seem to go right over the heads of the rest of the business.

If CIOs are to take the reins of the IT department and turn it into the engine that allows the rest of the company to move faster, then there are 5 things that they need to STOP doing.

#1: Stop Avoiding Customers

In order to provide the firm with the tools and services that it needs to meet the needs of its current and potential customers, CIOs need to be spending time meeting with customers. It’s all too easy to become focused on internal issues, cost cutting, and staffing challenges. Get out and talk to customers in order to find out what you REALLY need to be doing to support the company.

#2: Stop Avoiding Change

It is all too easy for an incoming CIO to adopt the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” mentality. However, even as you read this the world is being changed by the arrival of Twitter, the long rumored Apple tablet PC, etc. Changes of this magnitude mean that everything must be constantly reconsidered by the CIO in order to find ways to allow the company to move faster and perform better.

#3: Stop Doing Projects Based On “Gut Feel”

Microsoft is getting ready to come out with a new operating system. Should the firm upgrade all of its PCs? Good question. The answer lies in another question: how would upgrading those PCs help the company achieve its business goals? Could the money be spent on something else that would do a better job of achieving those goals? It’s the ability to justify projects based on solid business reasons and not “gut feel” that has been missing from the way that CIOs have been doing business.

#4: Stop Spending So Much On Support

We’re not just talking about money here, we’re also talking about time. Everyone seems to be hung up on the 80/20 rule when it comes to support / new business. Over at HP they’ve found a way to do it, so why can’t everyone else?

#5: Stop Supporting Stereotypes Of CIOs

Evans points out that both at the online version of CIO magazine as well as over at Fortune magazine, disparaging things have been said about the role that CIOs play in firms. CIOs need to stand up and push back – as long as reporters and press are allowed to push them around, they will. CIOs need to start to publicize the fact that their departments are powerful enablers that the firm desperately needs in order to stay ahead of the pack.

Final Thoughts

No senior leadership position is easy to perform these days. However, CIOs have the double burden of having to stay in front of a rapidly changing technological wave as well as being intimately connected to what’s going on in the firm’s business. This can be done; however, in order to be successful, CIOs need to stop doing things that produce more harm than good.

Contact Blue Elephant Consulting

Contact Blue Elephant Consulting to find out how your team can be trained to be ready for their shot at the top spot. We’ve can lay out the skills that they will need to develop. By working with Blue Elephant, your IT team can be ready for the day that they call their name to become the firm’s next CIO…!

Dr. Jim Anderson Expands College Speaking Programs

admin — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:54:58 +0000

Dr. Jim Anderson Delivers University Speeches On Choosing Careers, Making Presentations, and Ethics

Dr. Jim Anderson has just announced that he has expanded the number of speeches that are available for him to deliver to university and college audiences. In the past, Dr. Anderson has visited universities to deliver his speeches on how college students can use LinkedIn to find their first job, how to ensure that you have a successful career after you find that first job, and how to deliver powerful and effective presentations in the workplace.

Starting with the 2012 -2013 school year, Dr. Anderson has now added one more speech to his line-up: “Ethics is sooo boring… until you are going to jail!” Today’s students come from a diverse background and it can be argued that no two students view ethical issues in the same way. During their time at the university, there will be issues regarding cheating on tests, plagiarism, etc. As students graduate and move out into the “real world”, the ethical issues that they will be facing will only become larger — and the consequences of making the wrong decision will also become more severe.

In Dr. Anderson’s new speech for college students on how to make ethical decisions, he presents a 5-step process for identifying ethical issues and making the right decision. The speech is a fun, high energy affair that transform what can be a dry subject into an enjoyable two-way discussion of how to deal with some of life’s biggest challenges.

For more information on Dr. Anderson’s college speaking programs, visit here to get the details and download his informative brochure.

Free 8-Part Negotiation Video Training Series

admin — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:57:42 +0000

8 Key Steps To A Successful Negotiation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zgvTPB7Ovw

Dr. Jim Anderson presents an 8-part video series on the steps that a negotiation process goes though. During this training session, Dr. Anderson shares 15 different tips and techniques that can be used by a negotiator in order to move the discussion along towards a successful deal.

Top-Down Or Bottom-Up: What’s The Best Way To Set Goals?

admin — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:37:28 +0000

Goals Are Important – Which Way You Set Them Is Important Also

Everyone needs goals. As an IT Leader, it’s going to be your responsibility to help your team set both team and individual goals. Although at first this sounds pretty straightforward, in practice it often turns out to be a bit tricky. The most important question that you’re going to have to answer is which way do you want to go about setting goals: top-down or bottom-up?

The Top-Down Approach

Say hello to “Big Brother” – he’s going to be setting the goals for you and your team. The top-down approach to goal setting is where your company’s senior management identifies the goals that they want you and your team to be working towards. They then have you assign these goals to the members of your team.

When goals are set this way, the company generally has identified a broad set of goals that it would like to accomplish in the near future. Your assignment is to then take these broad goals and create objectives for your team members that are aligned with what the company is trying to accomplish.

Although it may seem a bit authoritative at first glance, this approach is actually well-suited to certain situations. Specifically there are three types of IT workers who need to have top-down goals assigned to them: those who need close supervision in order to do their job, new team members, and any team members who don’t know or understand what the company’s goals are.

The Bottom-Up Approach

As a manager, you’d think that the bottom-up approach for creating team member goals would be easier than the top-down approach, but it turns out that it isn’t. In the bottom-up approach, the members of your team create their own goals.

Once this is done, it then becomes your responsibility to combine these various goals into a unified set of goals for the team. As you can well imagine, this can be quite a challenge for any manager.

There are certain types of team members for whom the bottom-up method of goal creation is well suited. Specifically, those team members who determine their own work, who understand the company’s goals and strategy for achieving those goals, and who understand the role that they play in the company.

It’s All About Buy-In

No matter which of these two methods is used to set the goals for your team, it’s going to be important that everyone on the team buy-in to both their personal and the team’s goals. As an IT Leader,it’s your job to make sure that this happens.

The best way to get buy-in from your team no matter which way you choose to go about setting goals is to get everyone involved in their goals. Involvement creates a sense of ownership and as an IT Leader, that’s what you want out of your team.

If you’ve used the top-down method to assign goals to team members, it can be a bit challenging to get buy-in. However, taking the time to talk with team members about their goals, why they are important, and how they relate to the company’s success can foster a sense of ownership.

What All Of This Means For You

Goals area critical tool that IT Leader need in order to point the way for their teams. How best to create those goals has been an ongoing discussion since time began.

The two most common methods used today are top-down and bottom-up. In the top-down method IT Leaders assign goals related to the company’s objectives to team members. In the top-up approach, team members create their own goals and the IT Leader uses these to create a set of team goals.

In the real world, often a combination of top-down and bottom-up methods are used to create goals for IT teams. As an IT Leader, it’s your job to make sure that not only do the goals get created, but that each goal also has an owner who will be responsible for ensuring that it gets accomplished. Good luck!

Contact Blue Elephant Consulting

Contact Blue Elephant Consulting to get the assistance that your IT managers need in order to become successful managers who can lead and motivate teams in order to achieve maximize everyone’s potential.

You Have Much To Learn Grasshopper: What The Great Communicators Can Teach Us

admin — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:58:22 +0000

What would Jack Welch tell you to do in your next presentation?

So you’ve been picked to give a presentation at the next team/department/company gathering. You sit down with a blank computer screen, bring up PowerPoint and as you stare at that blank slide you can almost see your career going into a tailspin and hurtling towards a flaming crash. Great, now what do you do?

Why would you even think that you know how to give a great presentation? Who taught you how to do this stuff? Jack Welsh? Steve Jobs? John Chambers? Nope, you’ve probably never talked with them. But you know what, they all do a great job of presenting material. What if they could take you aside for even just a few minutes and have a chat with you. What do you think that they’d tell you to do? Good news – I know and I’m going to share it with you…

Carmine Gallo wrote a book called Simple Secrets of the World’s Greatest Business Communicators. In this book are the communications tricks that the top business executives use to get their message across. Now you may not yet be the CEO of a major company; however, getting some guidance from folks who are sure couldn’t hurt, now could it? Let’s take a look at what suggestions we can find in Carmine’s book.

What would Jack Welch tell you to do?:
Jack was the chairman of GE and he did a great job of transforming the company into a world power. Oh, and he cheated on his wife and put some skunky stuff in his retirement package like a fancy apartment paid for by GE, But despite all that, the reason that he was so successful was that he insisted on simple, straightforward communication. Get rid of the jargon (ROI? CRM? SaaS?) and focus on the basics. Here’s a Jack quote for you “Insecure managers create complexity.” Jack would tell you to keep it simple, stupid. Got it?

What would Steve Jobs tell you to do?
Steve is the CEO of Apple and was CEO of Pixar which is now owned by Disney. Dang, what makes this guy such a great communicator? At the end of the day, I believe that its the simple fact that he really, really, really believes in what he’s talking about. He’s out to change the world and it just seems to pour out of him. When you watch him talk, you can’t help but become intoxicated by his message. So here’s the question for you: do you believe in what you are going to be talking about? Do you really, really believe in it? Have you figured out how this is going to change the world? You’d better if you really want to captivate your audience. Steve would tell you to make sure that you believe in what you will be talking about.

What would Meg Whitman tell you to do?
Meg was the CEO of Ebay for ten years. She’s worth something like $1.7B – clearly she was quite good at what she did! Ebay was/is all about keeping their customers happy. Meg’s gift was that she heavily promoted collecting customer feedback and then taking action on it. Note that she took action – just listening is not enough. Have you listened to the audience that you’ll be presenting to? What are they telling you? Have you done this before? What did they tell you that time around? Great business presenters listen before they say a single word. Meg would tell you to get feedback from your audience before you present anything to them.

What would John Chambers tell you to do?
John is the CEO of Cisco Systems. I seem to recall reading somewhere that John has dealt with the learning disability of Dyslexia for his entire life. In order to prevent it from interfering with his presentations, John rehearses over and over and over again for every presentation that he’s going to give. His rehearsals are so detailed that he even practices his walks into the audience and placing a hand on someone’s shoulder. This means that he’s able to reel off facts and stats about Cisco products without having to even glance at his notes. John’s presentations are truly a sight to be seen. John would tell you to rehearse everything over and over again.

Not too bad – now you’ve had four of the most effective presenters of our time whisper in your ear what you should do to deliver a powerful presentation. There’s more, but right now you’ve got to get to work creating that presentation. Get to it!

Contact Blue Elephant Consulting

If you are interested in finding out more about how you and your team can improve how you give presentations using the Clear Blue Presentation System(tm), get in contact with Blue Elephant Consulting in order to find out how a customized presentation, consulting or training program could be created to meet your unique needs.

Video: Successful Negotiating –15 Rules For Becoming A Super Negotiator

admin — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:26:03 +0000

Dr. Anderson Presents The 15 Rules For Becoming A Super Negotiator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZE_z3VaeE8

Dr. Jim Anderson provides an introduction to his popular “15 Rules For Becoming A Super Negotiator” seminar. In this seminar, Dr. Anderson provides the audience with an 8-step negotiating process and over 15 tips and techniques to get the most out of your next negotiation.