Gina Abudi » Professional Development

Develop your Personal Network

Gina — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:30:03 +0000

Start right in the new year…

You need a strong personal network to succeed in business. The most successful individuals are those who build strong relationships and utilize those relationships to make great things happen. However, it is not one-sided. You need to give back to your network, not just take from them.

Networks [...]

4 Easy Tips to Get More Out of Conferences

Gina — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:30:22 +0000

Conferences are not a cheap investment in your professional development; and you certainly want to choose which ones you attend carefully. Before arriving, and while there, follow these four simple and easy ways to be sure you get the most out of the conference:

Plan ahead. What sessions will you attend? Who is going [...]

What Do You Get Out of Attending Conferences?

Gina — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:30:27 +0000

I was speaking with a friend the other day who was trying to decide whether or not to go to yet another conference. Money wasn’t the issue – her company paid for her attendance. She wanted my thoughts on conferences I attend since I have my own business and therefore pay for my own [...]

How Done are You??

David K — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:30:23 +0000

“I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”

One of the most frustrating things I hear when dealing with project managers is that they are unable to tell if a project is 5%, 25% or 95% complete, due to the ambiguous, ever-changing nature of the task at hand. Apparently, since the work is always changing, it’s [...]

Stop Sucking Up and Start Helping Out

David K — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:30:53 +0000

I really despise sycophants. You see them everywhere. They’re at work, of course, currying favor with bosses and coworkers by heaping nothing but praise upon the less-than-deserving. They can be overt or subtle, but they are there. At best, people will state that these folks “never have anything bad to say” and consider them [...]

Who Is Responsible for Developing Talent?

Gina — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:30:31 +0000

In talking with a potential client the other day on how to best develop their employees, the President of the company told me that human resources is responsible for developing talent in the company. The SVP of human resources, who was also in the meeting, suggested that the President was incorrect; others were [...]

My teammate is taking all the credit…

Gina — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:30:27 +0000

How do I get recognized for my accomplishments??

Jackson is beyond frustrated. He was the one who came up with the idea for improving work flow on the project by sharing information via the portal and he was the one who designed the entire portal that the team is using for that purpose. Yet [...]

Good is Not Good Enough When Better is Expected

Suprio — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:30:37 +0000

"Good is not good enough when better is expected." This is a quote of Vin Scully. He is an American sportscaster, known mainly as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn, and now, Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio. He was named both Broadcaster of the Century by the [...]

Helpful Suggestions for Managing Difficult Clients

Gina — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:30:35 +0000

(and…How to Avoid a Client Turning Difficult in the First Place!)

Every consultant has had to deal with a difficult client. The nice thing about being a consultant – you just need to get through the project and you will be able to move on – you don’t necessarily have to work with [...]

Why Do People Find Knowledge Sharing So Difficult in Their Professional Life?

Suprio — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:30:00 +0000

Insecurity is the reason. If humans are insecure they would like to conceal whatever little knowledge they have. This is true not only in the professional scenario but in all walks of life. Large organizations know a lot of things, but they don’t always know what they know. Everyone benefits by sharing information.

[...]

Intricacies of Fixed Bid Projects

Sarat — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:30:15 +0000

How many times have you heard your project managers shy away from bidding and executing on fixed bid projects? Fixed bid projects have their own complications, but if executed correctly they can be very effective for organizational growth and can strengthen your bottom line.

Let us understand the five factors which can make [...]

Understanding the Corporate Culture – Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Gina — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:30:15 +0000

When first joining an organization, regardless of the role, it is important that you take time to understand the corporate culture. There are a variety of ways to do this, including getting to know the other departments and their function/purpose within the organization and introducing yourself to others within the organization.

To understand the [...]

Handling the Pre-RFP Customer Presentation

Sarat — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:30:56 +0000

The story so far: Account executives have flexed their muscle, marketing has worked their magic and the CEO and the executive leaders of your organization have done everything they could to establish the C-level client relationship to ensure you are in the short list for the RFP.

Now – the all important RFP meeting. [...]

What Does Career Success Mean to You? Take Control of Your Destiny.

Gina — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:30:02 +0000

What Does Career Success Mean to You? Take Control of Your Destiny.

Career success means something different for everyone. There is no “right answer” to what it means. What is success to one person is not necessarily success to another. Think about what career success means for you in particular. The following steps will [...]

How Savvy Are You About Your Organization?

Gina — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:30:35 +0000

In order to be successful within your organization, you need to have an understanding of your organization, its industry and its products and services – you need business knowledge or savvy! You want an understanding of where your role fits in the grand scheme of the organization. What do you contribute? How can you [...]

Do You Work for One of Those Nice Organizations That Avoids Conflict?

Jamie — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:30:12 +0000

One of the excuses we commonly hear as a reason for not actively engaging in dialogue with employees regarding their performance is “We’re really nice at XYZ organization” or “We avoid conflict and causing people to feel badly about themselves.” Translation, “We have people who are underperforming, but we’d rather not have those conversations.” [...]

Conducting Effective Needs Assessments: Conduct a Competency-Based Assessment Part II

Gina — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:30:29 +0000

Part I of this post looked at data gathering prior to conducting needs assessments. This post will discuss conducting a competency-based assessment. You would use the data from the data gathering session(s) to develop a competency model to assess against.

To begin, let’s define a competency model. In The Art and Science of Competency [...]

Conducting Effective Needs Assessments: Data Gathering Part I

Gina — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:30:07 +0000

First, let’s define a “needs assessment.” According to Wikipedia, a “needs assessment is a process for determining and addressing needs, or “gaps” between current conditions and desired conditions, often used for improvement projects in education/training.”

A needs assessment should address the following:

Knowledge: What an individual needs to know in order to do his/her [...]

10 Tips to Manage Your Time More Effectively

Gina — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:30:04 +0000

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

If you are like most of us, you have tons of “to dos” on your plate and short timelines for all! Here are 10 tips on how to manage your time effectively without driving yourself crazy.

Keep a “to do” list and prioritize it on a daily basis – [...]

Keep Those Meetings on Schedule

Gina — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:00:47 +0000

Time's A Wastin'!

We all have many meetings to attend in an average week, or just on one day of the week. You know how frustrating it is when you are in a meeting and it doesn’t start on time or runs overtime, or nothing gets accomplished. You can’t always control meetings you [...]