Gina Abudi » Professional Development

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I Love Deadlines!

Gina — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:07 +0000

�

“I love deadlines; I especially like the SWOOSHING sound they make as they fly past.” (Douglas Adams)

I love this quote by Douglas Adams.� It always gives me a laugh, and I keep it posted where I can see it as the deadlines pile up.� If you are like [...]

Tips for Effective Competency-Based Interviewing

Gina — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:30:02 +0000

�

Effective interviews are not easy – as the interviewer you need to be well prepared.� (And it goes without saying that the interviewee also needs to be well prepared!) Map out the questions you want to ask the candidate.� Do a thorough review of the candidate’s resume – highlight areas where you [...]

Is Your Job a Dead End? It Doesn’t Have to Be!

Gina — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:30:01 +0000

�

Is this the end of the line

Are you in a dead end job?� Here are some signs to watch out for:

Lack of motivation Bored in meetings/don’t participate Not interested or willing to pitch in to help others out Feeling unchallenged and generally bored Can barely get yourself into the [...]

Successful Meeting Facilitation

Gina — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:30:09 +0000

�

As defined by Wikipedia, facilitation “concerns itself with all� the tasks needed to run a productive and impartial meeting.”� Facilitation is key to ensure productive meetings and it takes someone skilled to be an effective facilitator.�

The facilitator’s role in meeting management includes, but is not limited to:

Drafting the agenda (timed [...]