Management Tip of the Day: Don't Extend the Deadline--Plan Better

 

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November 04, 2013 Don’t Extend the Deadline—Plan Better You may want to rethink postponing that deadline. Although it's a relief to be "given" more time, we rarely use extensions wisely; instead, we lose motivation, procrastinate, and wind up facing the same situation again later. Address poor time planning with these tips: Shorten the distance to your ultimate goal. This will keep motivation high, and keep the pressure on for procrastinators. Impose interim deadlines, breaking a larger objective up into mini-targets spaced out strategically in time. These deadlines need to be meaningful, though— if it's no big deal to miss the deadline, then it's not a real deadline. Become a realistic judge of how longs things will take. Consider how long it's taken to complete similar projects in the past, and try to identify the ways in which things might not go as planned. Break the project down in detail, estimating the time needed to complete each step and allowing for snags in your schedule. Adapted from "Here's What Really Happens When You Extend a Deadline," by Heidi Grant Halvorson.

PREVIOUS TIPS Maximize Time When Meeting with Senior Leaders Grow Diversity With Leadership Education Give Feedback Like a Sports Coach How to Ask Productive Questions Good Leaders Get to Know Their Emotions Tailor Your Coaching to Specific Learning Styles

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FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Office Politics HBR Press Book EVERY ORGANIZATION HAS ITS SHARE OF POLITICAL DRAMA: Personalities clash. Agendas compete. Turf wars erupt. It can make you crazy if you're trying to keep your head down and get your job done. The problem is, you can't just keep your head down. You need to work productively with your colleagues—even the challenging ones—for the good of your organization and your career. How can you do that without crossing over to the dark side? By acknowledging that power dynamics and unwritten rules exist—and by constructively navigating them. "Politics" needn't be a dirty word. You can succeed at work without being a power grabber or a corporate climber. Whether you're a new professional or an experienced one, this guide will help you: (1) Build relationships with difficult people, (2) gain allies and influence others, (3) wrangle resources, (4) move up without ruffling feathers, (5) avoid power games and petty rivalries, and (6) claim credit when it's due. Buy It Now

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Do you know who your best customers are?

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to see it in a web browser. DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS ARE? HBR's Go To Market Tool: Customer Lifetime Value Struggling to meet aggressive revenue targets with limited marketing resources? Determined to figure out which customers to invest in and which to ignore but not sure where to begin? HBR's Go To Market Tool: Customer Lifetime Value will get you started. Based on the work of leading business school faculty Jill Avery (Harvard Business School) and Thomas Steenburgh (Darden School of Business), this tool gives you a rigorous yet efficient process to determine how profitable all your customer segments are throughout their relationship with your company — and what steps to take to increase their value. You'll learn how to: Segment your customers: Break your customers into distinct subgroups and compare their long-term profitability. Calculate acquisition costs per customer: Figure out how much to spend to acquire your best customers. Determine customer retention: Identify which customers are worth retaining and how much to spend to keep them coming back. View preview of HBR's Customer Lifetime Value » Buy HBR's Go to Market Tools: Customer Lifetime Value today for just $125 for a six-month license » ORDER NOW Product #GTM3TL Only $125* Real-world case study shows you how it works. A brief tutorial walks you through the data gathering, calculations, and analysis that will help you determine which customers are worth your attention — and which you should disregard. Results you'll want to share. When you're ready to present your case and defend your budget request, export your data and graphical results in a ready-made yet fully customizable PowerPoint. Use again and again. Download the Excel spreadsheet version of the Customer Lifetime Value tool to have on your desktop to use again and again. Get HBR's Go to Market Tools: Customer Lifetime Value now — just $125* for a six-month license. Plus download your own Excel version of the tool to use anywhere, anytime. Also, be sure to check out HBR's other Go To Market Tools: Market Sizing offers a step-by-step process for estimating the size of your market and your business's potential for growth. View preview » Pricing for Profit helps you turn your raw data into a clear analysis to confidently arrive at the most profitable price. View preview » *Six-month license. To order by phone, call us toll-free at 800-668-6780 and mention referral code 01892. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call +1-617-783-7450. If you do not wish to receive special offer email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)

The Daily Stat: The Recession Made U.S. Teenagers Less Materialistic

 

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November 01, 2013 The Recession Made U.S. Teenagers Less Materialistic The Great Recession partially reversed a decades-long trend among U.S. adolescents toward greater materialism and less concern for others, according to a study led by Heejung Park of UCLA that analyzed surveys from thousands of high-school seniors. For example, results from the 2008–2010 downturn, in comparison with the 2004–2006 period, showed a decline in the importance of owning expensive items such as new cars; meanwhile, the average view of the importance of having "a job that is worthwhile to society" rose from 3.15 to 3.21 on a 1-to-4 scale, and agreement with ''I would be willing to eat less meat and more grains and vegetables, if it would help provide food for starving people'' rose from 3.51 to 3.59 on a 1-to-5 scale. Past research has shown that a decline in economic wealth promotes collectivism. SOURCE: The Great Recession: Implications for Adolescent Values and Behavior

PREVIOUS STATS Why You Should Make Your First Price Offer Very Specific Chatting with the Cashier Will Improve Your Mood Are Your Most Compliant Customers Those Who Are Emotionally Disorganized? Why It Might Be Helpful to Apologize for Something That's Not Your Fault High Deductibles Make U.S. Men Less Willing to Be Treated for Health Emergencies Your Status Depends Partly on Your Upward or Downward Momentum

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT The First 90 Days App for iPhone and Android MAKE YOUR NEXT CAREER TRANSITION A SUCCESS. Download The First 90 Days App today to help you stay ahead of the game. Download on the App Store Download on Google Play

FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Office Politics HBR Press Book EVERY ORGANIZATION HAS ITS SHARE OF POLITICAL DRAMA: Personalities clash. Agendas compete. Turf wars erupt. It can make you crazy if you're trying to keep your head down and get your job done. The problem is, you can't just keep your head down. You need to work productively with your colleagues—even the challenging ones—for the good of your organization and your career. How can you do that without crossing over to the dark side? By acknowledging that power dynamics and unwritten rules exist—and by constructively navigating them. "Politics" needn't be a dirty word. You can succeed at work without being a power grabber or a corporate climber. Whether you're a new professional or an experienced one, this guide will help you: (1) Build relationships with difficult people, (2) gain allies and influence others, (3) wrangle resources, (4) move up without ruffling feathers, (5) avoid power games and petty rivalries, and (6) claim credit when it's due. Buy It Now

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HBR.ORG | THE MAGAZINE | BLOGS | BOOKS | CASES | STORE | SUBSCRIBE TO HBR UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-545-7685 (US/Canada) 1-617-783-7600 (outside the U.S. and Canada)

 

Management Tip of the Day: Maximize Time When Meeting with Senior Leaders

 

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November 01, 2013 Maximize Time When Meeting with Senior Leaders A meeting of multiple time-starved executives is a massive commitment of resources. Focusing on low-stakes issues, like updates or presentations, often wastes valuable time. Instead, meetings among senior leaders should tackle the organization's most critical issues. Whether you're a top executive or just meeting with fellow managers, try to concentrate on: Fundamentals, not incrementals. Measure importance by the number of zeros involved: Is this a $5,000 decision or a $5,000,000 decision? If there aren't enough zeros, the decision isn't strategic enough to absorb time. Future leadership. Current leadership must engage the organization's up-and-comers to grow the company. Develop succession plans and include promising leaders in strategic discussions to foster their high-level decision-making. Undiscussables. Whether it concerns a division's performance, the CEO's leadership style, or a conflict among the senior team, important topics not being discussed can hold your organization back. Broaching these tough topics is a proven way to improve performance. Adapted from "Four Areas Where Senior Leaders Should Focus Their Attention," by Peter Bregman.

PREVIOUS TIPS Grow Diversity With Leadership Education Give Feedback Like a Sports Coach How to Ask Productive Questions Good Leaders Get to Know Their Emotions Tailor Your Coaching to Specific Learning Styles Set the Standard for Great Leadership

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT The First 90 Days App for iPhone and Android MAKE YOUR NEXT CAREER TRANSITION A SUCCESS. Download The First 90 Days App today to help you stay ahead of the game. Download on the App Store Download on Google Play

FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Office Politics HBR Press Book EVERY ORGANIZATION HAS ITS SHARE OF POLITICAL DRAMA: Personalities clash. Agendas compete. Turf wars erupt. It can make you crazy if you're trying to keep your head down and get your job done. The problem is, you can't just keep your head down. You need to work productively with your colleagues—even the challenging ones—for the good of your organization and your career. How can you do that without crossing over to the dark side? By acknowledging that power dynamics and unwritten rules exist—and by constructively navigating them. "Politics" needn't be a dirty word. You can succeed at work without being a power grabber or a corporate climber. Whether you're a new professional or an experienced one, this guide will help you: (1) Build relationships with difficult people, (2) gain allies and influence others, (3) wrangle resources, (4) move up without ruffling feathers, (5) avoid power games and petty rivalries, and (6) claim credit when it's due. Buy It Now

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HBR.ORG | THE MAGAZINE | BLOGS | BOOKS | CASES | STORE | SUBSCRIBE TO HBR UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-545-7685 (US/Canada) 1-617-783-7600 (outside the U.S. and Canada)