What's New?

Rounding Out The Academy with Revved Results

The ALLIANCE Academy continues to grow as the only resource to enable OBCs to prosper. We are pleased to announce that Lisa Engelmann and Lisa Olsonoski with Revved Results, Inc. have partnered with the Academy as Masters of Relationship Development. We are thrilled to add their pool of knowledge and resources to enhance the current products and services offered by The ALLIANCE Academy and ALLIANCE Business Centers NETWORK. Together as a team, we will work to grow your business, deliver strategic sales and service workshops that will improve our industry as a whole.

You can contact Lisa Engelmann at lisa.e@theallianceacademy.com and Lisa Olsonoski at lisa.o@theallianceacademy.com.

Masters of The Academy

Karen Condi, ALLIANCE Office Strategies

And it just keeps getting better…The ALLIANCE Academy is pleased to announce that Karen Condi has joined ALLIANCE as Executive Director and Principal of ALLIANCE Office Strategies (AOS). This new division of The Academy has been established in order to focus on the challenge of turning properties into world class Office Business Centers driving immediate equity and profit. AOS will enhance ALLIANCE and The Academy's abilities to serve as the ultimate resource for the industry as needs arise from marketing to operations to training and development.

Karen has over 11 years of experience in the industry, and offers extensive knowledge and expertise in the areas of sales and operations. Previously, Karen served as Regional Manager and Corporate Director of Sales and Training for a national office suite provider, where she opened, acquired, developed, and managed locations throughout the United States.

AOS clients can look forward to learning best practices to run a highly effective and profitable business center. As Executive Director and Principal of AOS, Karen will concentrate on providing complete solutions for today's business centers including: Marketing, Operations, Office Suite Development, Management, Training, and Consulting.

For more information about ALLIANCE Office Strategies, please contact Karen at 1 (859) 552 9197 or at kcondi@allianceofficestrategies.com.

Training that Works

Using Social Networking for Team Member Feedback

Technology has made instant gratification and immediate information accessibility the standard for us today. With the Internet being used everywhere from work to homes to anywhere we go with our mobile phones, we've become comfortable with and expectant of getting and doing things NOW. Getting in touch with people and networking has never been easier, and many of us are already active users of the various forms and mediums of social networking that are available today. Social media use continues to spread to a wider pool of users, and consequently, so does its potential to update work practices.

With so many tools and free resources available for making it easy to connect with others in real time, team members are looking for ways to get feedback right away, rather than waiting months for formal reviews from their superiors. Some team members are already using social media to work around existing systems and obtain performance reviews. Twitter networks are popular at industry conferences, where attendees "tweet" feedback to presenters and share their reviews of sessions with everyone on the network. Managers at some companies have been posting performance review forms on HR or company wikis, making them available for input from a number of sources and allowing all contributers to see them. This allows performance reviews to move past the confines of the monologue style characteristic of traditional reviews.

Microsharing of regular updates encourages employees to reflect on their performance, learning and productivity. Social networking allows team member feedback and performance reviews to develop into a reflective process.

For a full discussion on how you can develop your team member feedback process using social networking, contact us today.

Case Study

To Grow Your Business, Learn Like an Entrepreneur

What sets the most successful business people apart? In many cases, what makes them successful in their practices and in their business is their method of thinking. If you want to grow your business, you need to think like an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs demonstrate eight universal areas of learning content:

1. They acquire business-specific knowledge. Think of a couple words or a statement that describes your business. You might choose flexible, non-traditional, office, real estate, etc. Then think about what you know about that word - do you know enough? All successful entrepreneurs know their area of interest inside and out. By reading and absorbing as much industry and business-related content as you can find, you'll acquire the knowledge you need to truly be an expert in your field.

2. They learn business mechanics. Many entrepreneurs actually don't have business degrees. Instead, what they have in common is that they turn their passions into their business. In doing this, they take steps to learn business fundamentals including finance, marketing, infrastructure, operations, human resources, and corporate law.

3. They learn about customers and study people. Successful entrepreneurs take the time to learn about their customers. They figure out exactly what their targeted audience is looking for and develop effective ways of delivering those products and services. Entrepreneurs often perform their research by talking to customers themselves and making themselves available on the front lines of their business, or by employing their team members to dig deep and find out critical information. They also study people outside of their companies to find potential team members who have the quality of knowledge, passion, commitment, and personality they need in ther business.

4. They learn about the competition. Entrepreneurs make a practice of checking out the competition - Henry Ford bought and pulled apart his competitors' vehicles to see what he could learn from them; Sam Walton visited all his retail competitors to study their businesses.

5. They learn about context. Great entrepreneurs are able to see the relationship between social context and their businesses. Learn to do this and pass on your knowledge and help your team members develop their awareness.

6. They study leadership principles. Strong business leaders studying their craft in the form of leadership books and articles, talking with others, and reflecting on leadership and management practices. At Hewlett Packard, David Packard found that instructions and designs must be followed up with regular visits to employees actually making the products. He employed the concept of Management by Walking Around (MBWA) to keep communication clear and accurate.

7. They reflect on company values. Entrepreneurs participate in reflective learning by thinking about the values for which their company stands. A popular practice is to come up with the single core value of the company and create a company motto that is representative of that core value.

8. They learn how to create learning systems. Entrepreneurs become teachers for their organizations. They develop systems for training and learning that optimize company values through team members' practices and the company's day-to-day activities and focuses.

Focus On...

Fostering an Innovative Environment

The descriptor "innovative" has been thrown around a lot, especially in these harder economic times. With everyone and everything claiming to be innovative, the word has lost some of its meaning. Innovation is not necessarily about creating something new. Being innovative comes from taking something that already exists and adjusting it so that it responds effectively to market demand. Innovation is about reaching an audience in a new way.

We can reinvent our centers to be truly innovative. To foster an innovative environment at your center, you must understand the behavior of the makretplace and avoid sticking to a business model when the market resists.

There are four categories of innovation: collaborative, control, competitive, and breakthrough. Collaborative innovation comes from team members working together and communicating and interacting more effectively. Control innovation occurs when an organization hones in on improving internal processes. Competitive innovation happens when an organization focuses on factors and situations outside their four walls, and specifically addresses interaction with customers and suppliers. Breakthrough innovation occurs when organizations create something that did not previously exist in the marketplace.

Actually practicing and encouraging innovation is different from just talking about it. Schedule and allow time for team members to be innovative. To be innovative, it is critical to meet regularly with customers and understand their needs and goals. Agressive market research must come in the form of looking for ideas, not trying to sell your clients something. Discussing ideas freely and conducting brainstorm sessions where ideas are built on and added to rather than dismissed is another critical practice. An innovative team members will ask and think about why a task is done a certain way, and offers a more efficient method.

Insider Tips

Ancient Words of Wisdom

Mark Clemente recently published an e-book entitled Winning Through the Art of Words. In it he refers to ancient and practical principles from Aristotle, and explains how they apply in today's business world.

Here are a few of Aristotle's quotes that Clemente features in his publication:

"He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader."
Clemente explains that it is critical to engage with team members by listening to them and showing empathy. He writes, "The best business leaders make connections through their communications that facilitate interpersonal influence and help achieve organizational objectives."

"Persuasion is a form of demonstration, for we are most fully persuaded by something when we believe it to have been clearly demonstrated."
Clemente explains that in order to be persuasive, you must clearly prove your points. He writes, "In proposals, sales and promotional communications, highlight concrete examples of outstanding work you've done for customers that demonstrate - and substantiate - your marketing claims."

"There are three things that inspire confidence in [one's] character: common sense; a polite, well-disposed attitude; and a sound moral reputation."
Clemente advises readers to create an inventory of professional accomplishments that highlight your company's reputation and brand. These accomplishments should be featured in marketing strategies and be cited in both internal and external communications, as appropriate.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Clemente instructs readers to take stock of defining traits that drive your business and brand, then work to actualize those traits through daily interactions with team members and clients.

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."
Clemente acknowledges that work is hard and seems to only get harder. He encourages positivism in your communication, explaining that we should strive to make business exciting and rewarding for team members. He writes, "Reap the resultant rewards of your team's commitment and dedication."

Keep these ancient words in mind for your business practices, and you will be able to apply the principles in your daily work.

For more Insider Tips, visit the Academy site to access the Training Bytes section.