The Basic Parts of Business Plans

• Executive summary: Synopsis of the business plan. Should be done last.  
• HR Plan: Employees, who does what and their qualifications.
• Operations: Information about the location of the business, hours and costs of maintaining your location.
• Marketing: How product/service will be marketed, promotional methods, how customers will be retained and the costs of marketing. 
• Financials: Usually includes cash flows, balance sheets and income statements.
• Appendix: Supporting documents, diagrams, bank statements, marketing research and lease agreements.

Symptoms of Group-think

A simpler definition of group-think come from wiki books. Group-think is a process where members of a group start thinking alike and there are less individual ideas and creativity. The symptoms of group-think are:

• Illusion of invulnerability: Members are extremely optimistic and believe what ever they do will be a success. Usually occurs with group leaders who have multiple successes.
• Collective rationalization: All members come to the same conclusion, they put aside warning signs and refuse to reconsider any assumptions. 
• Belief in inherent morality: Members take actions based on the rightness of their cause and ignore ethical or moral consequences. Usually prevalent with cults, terrorist groups, and some governments. 
• Stereotyped views of out-groups: A negative view of the 'enemy', creates an us vs. them culture. This view makes a reasonable response to conflict unnecessary for the members in this group.
•  Direct pressure on dissenters: Members are pressured to suppress negative or argumentative opinions of the group.
• Self-censorship: Members hold back their own doubts and deviations, there is no expression of consensus.
• Illusion of unanimity: The decision or view of the majority is assumed to be unanimous.
• Self-appointed mind-guards: Members guard one another or the leader from information that might be problematic.

Asking Questions

Asking Questions

One of my favourite things about communication is questions. They are an opportunity for the speaker to clarify their message, and show further knowledge. It also allows the subject matter to be examined even further. They even help build, and maintain relationships.

According to mindtools.com questions are a powerful way of:

• Learning
• Managing and Coaching
• Avoiding Misunderstandings
• Defusing heated Situations
• Persuading People

There are many different forms of questions:

• Open/ Closed (Can both start, and end conversations)
• Funnel (Questions move from general to more detailed)
• Probing (Are good for seeking clarification, or drawing out further information)
• Leading (Attempt to move the responder to the questioners way of thinking)
• Rhetorical (Are effective at gaining the listeners attention)

They all have different purposes, and it is important to understand how they each work. I am providing a link to the original article, as I feel that it is well worth the read.

Link: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_88.htm

Results of Group-think

As business students we are often put into teams. However, many fail to realize the harmful effects of team work. A harmful effect of group work is group think. According to Dictionary.com group think is defined as: The tendency for members of a cohesive group to reach decisions without weighing all the facts, especially those contradicting the majority opinion.

The five results from group-think are:

1. Absence of Trust:  Group members can't rely on one another to get things done, and they can't come to one another for help.
2. Fear of Conflict: Group members don't call one another out on doing a poor job or not finishing work due to a fear of conflict.
3. Lack of Commitment: Members say they will do one thing but don't follow through, this can result in frustration and can cause some members to leave the group. Also not all group members are heard.
4. Avoidance of Accountability: Group members aren't held accountable for their mistakes. This sets the group back by preventing them from completing tasks.
5. Inattention to Results: Group members do what is good for themselves rather than for the group as a whole. In other words, the goal of the individual is put ahead of the goal of the group.

A Lost Art: Active Listening

A Lost Art: Active Listening


Every now and then I find myself in a position where proper listening skills could have helped me out. Listening, and more importantly active listening is not something that comes easy for a lot of people. In fact it is safe to say that when someone is talking about half of the information will simply be lost.

I read an article today from mindtools.com (link below) that discusses active listening, and provides some tips in order to become a better listener. It is not enough to just hear the words coming out of a persons mouth, but you need to be able to interpret their body language, as well as many other factors.

They key tips to becoming a strong active listener are:

1. Pay Attention
2. Show that you are Listening
3. Provide Feedback
4. Defer Judgement
5. Respond Appropriately

The mindtools.com article can be found at:

http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm

Happy reading.

Creating social media for employers

Here are a few suggestions for creating social media for employers:

• Google yourself, make sure you like what shows up, if you don't delete or revise it.
• Have a searchable presence on the web - you don't want the employer to think you live under a rock.
• Have a Facebook account - have information such as education/work/volunteer public so a potential employer can see it. Delete embarrassing/inappropriate photos or make them private.
• Have a LinkedIn account - keep it up to date.
• Mention the link to your website/blog or other channels in your resume.

Pre-Job Interview Checklist

The following checklist can be used prior to your interview. It is a revised copy of the checklist found in the Kwantlen Coop 1101 Job Search Techniques course manual.

Initial Info:

• What type of job is it?
• When and where is the interview?
• What is the name of the interviewer(s)?
• How are they interviewing? E.g. panel, individual, phone
• What do you know about the company? (make sure to look them up if you don't know enough)
• What skills is the employer looking for? (check in job description)

Interview Portfolio:

• Do you have enough copies of your resume and references? (print these out a day ahead)
• Do you have a sample of your work or achievements or a portfolio? (if required - usually required from marketing students).
• Do you have a paper and pen to take notes?
• Do you have questions prepared to ask them? (make sure to write some down so you don't forget)