BEST ADVICE
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 52)
On Learning the Art of Networking
RIANNA RIEGO • PRINCIPAL
GLOBAL SPAVANTAGE
“Networking is an art. It is about developing and cultivating both a personal and professional connection with as many people as possible. When you build and nurture a
network of industry colleagues and acquaintances, you are able to maximize this
resource as a pool of best practices, shared knowledge, and further development for
yourself and your business. Maintaining a connection with everyone, from leaders to
newcomers within and in surrounding industries, maximizes your potential for insights
into trends, new developments, and constant exposure to opportunities. Being wellconnected leads you to not only further your personal and professional potential, but
additionally leverage your purchasing power. And greater purchasing power allows you
to save both time and money while maximizing efficiencies.”
On Facilitating Tough Discussions
“C
MARY BYERS • NATIONAL SPEAKER
AND AUTHOR OF RACE FOR RELEVANCE: 5
RADICAL CHANGES FOR ASSOCIATIONS
onflict does not age gracefully. Because of that, it’s much better to
handle difficult discussions sooner rather than later. I suggest leading
tough conversations with questions to create an environment in which
dialogue can occur and problems can be solved. This goes against our natural tendency to state our position—and be ready to defend it—before we really discover
where another person is coming from. I’ve learned that it is easier to manage difficult
conversations when we follow Stephen Covey’s advice to ‘seek first to understand,
then be understood’.”
On Marketing to Different Generations
“W
BERKELEY YOUNG • PRESIDENT
YOUNG STRATEGIES, INC.
hile the birth dates of the generation groups remain constant, we
must remember that their evolving behavior is shifting. Baby
Boomers have been driving consumer spending for some time now
and their tastes are shifting as they enter their retirement years. They continue consuming but their desired products may come in smaller packages and be of higher
quality. Meanwhile, Generation X is entering the “middle age” years where travel and
discretionary spending increases. As marketers, we have to know the changing tastes
of our core customer groups as well as future growth audiences.
On Using Key Performance Indicators to Identify
Business Trends
“M
DAN CHANDRE • VICE PRESIDENT,
OPERATIONS • GRAMERC YONE
y first piece of advice would be to understand the purpose of a KPI
(Key Performance Indicator). Every KPI should provide data that can
be compared against either an industry standard or a proprietary
comparative. That comparison should produce a result that reveals a clear picture of
performance over a given period. Now, using that as a starting point, my next piece
of advice would be to keep KPI monitoring relatively simple. It is very easy to get
overrun by data; thereby, create more confusion than clarity. Identify the KPIs that
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November 2011