Articles

July 10, 2017

Practical Business Planning

Developing and Delivering an Effective Business Plan “To fail to plan is to plan to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin, 1750 “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” – General Helmuth von Moltke, Prussian...

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June 28, 2017

Leading the Way: Defining Strategy

How Much Time Should Organizations Devote to Strategy? Can your organization truly operate effectively without a clear destination and purpose? This question often arises in discussions about strategic...

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June 01, 2017

Managing Employee Performance, Behavior and Attitudes

Why Performance Reviews and Appraisals Are Dreaded Have you ever wondered why both employees and managers often dread performance reviews and appraisals? The answer lies in our natural tendency to feel before we think....

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May 14, 2017

Scenario Planning in the Oil and Gas Industry

The oil and gas industry has seen a decade of extreme price volatility, disruptive technological innovations, and shifting geopolitical landscapes. Technologies such as horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and...

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March 26, 2017

The Newly Appointed Manager: Guidelines for Interpersonal Success

Congratulations on Your New Role! Have you recently been promoted to a supervisory, team leadership, or management position? Congratulations! But how prepared are you for the challenges that lie ahead? Many employees...

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March 19, 2017

Money – Motivator or Demotivator?

Whenever we discuss motivation in our courses, the common response is, "Yes, money is a motivator." To test this, I say, "Imagine I could magically ensure you all receive a 50% pay increase starting tomorrow."...

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March 09, 2017

Managing Your Projects as Unique Opportunities

Project managers pride themselves on past successes, and rightly so. However, sometimes that causes issues – we can’t expect all projects to deliver in the same way. The key element of every project is its...

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February 26, 2017

Leading with Ethics and Compliance

The Importance of Ethical Leadership In recent decades, numerous instances of unethical behavior have tarnished the reputation of many organizations. One notable example is Jeff Skilling, former CEO of Enron, who...

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February 16, 2017

What is a Contract? Is a Contract Essential?

What is a Contract and Why Are They Necessary? Why not simply shake hands to confirm a deal? While this can sometimes suffice, what happens if the other party has a different interpretation of the terms? Without a...

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February 14, 2017

Mistake Proofing

A contractor had to submit a report every two weeks to a major client during the probationary period of their contract. An analysis of their process revealed that 63% of data entry errors were due to three mistakes that...

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June 20, 2016

Plan To Succeed

Plan to Succeed: Joining the Dots Between Relevant Information, Strategy, and Value-Added Decision-Making In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations must develop the ability to sift through 'big...

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May 30, 2016

Workplace Harmony - Things you Need to Know

Workplace Harmony: How Understanding Our Own and Others' Egos Can Help Us Get Along and Get Results Most people complain that it’s not the technical, hands-on day-to-day work that wears them down, but dealing...

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May 30, 2016

Reframing... A Powerful Way to Expanding Mind and Achieving Flexibility

Reframing is a way of viewing and experiencing events, ideas, concepts, and emotions to find more positive alternatives” (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). In other words, reframing is a tool we can use to...

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April 24, 2016

How Managers should deal with Unprecedented Change

In times of unprecedented change, it’s easy for even the most experienced managers to feel overwhelmed. We’re all feeling the effects of global challenges, whether it’s lower oil prices or disruptions...

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April 18, 2016

Handling Workplace Conflict - Myths and Reality

Workplace conflict is more common than you might think, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of or avoided. Conflict is a natural part of any workplace environment, but many misconceptions surround how we should deal with...

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