Management Blog

Are you an antipreneur?

They wouldn’t be caught dead in a suit, want to look after Mother Earth and make bucket loads of money… meet the new breed of ‘caring, sharing’ entrepreneurs known as antipreneurs.

A recent article The Times describes how several trailblazing professionals in the UK are showing larger corporations how corporate social responsibility can be good for business.

Examples of antipreneurs might be those who grow rich from specialising in organic green groceries or making cutting edge products out of recycled materials.

Apparently the key becoming a successful antipreneur is to resist mimicking traditional business models. Do you have what it takes? The Times has developed an antipreneur test to help you find out.

Is your mouse a dinosaur?

The introduction of a new touch screen technology tools may spell the end for the humble computer mouse, Time magazine reports.

It’s claimed Apple’s much-hyped iPhone and Microsoft’s surface computing product Milan both have the potential to make touch screen technology a ubiquitous part of home and office life.

The article suggests the iPhone’s touch screen will be a hit due to its intuitive track pad, a touch screen tool designed to filter out inadvertent touches and pre-empt user behaviour.

Microsoft’s Milan, a table sized touch screen featuring infrared cameras that track finger movements, is also seen as breakthrough technology.

Engagement surveys on the rise

A growing number of companies are regularly conducting employee-engagement surveys to better understand and retain talented members of staff, The Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the article, engagement research can be used to: “track employees' commitment and motivation with questions on attitudes toward co-workers, understanding of responsibilities, and the quality of feedback they receive”.

Business academics say undertaking employee research is a smart move; however, they warn surveys can be counterproductive if a business doesn’t act on the problems mentioned by workers.

How to pick a good company

A new study has identified a list of common traits possessed by companies considered to be ‘good employers’ by their staff, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The company behind the research, HR consultancy Hewitt Associates, believe five factors separate the good from the not so good. So it may be worth asking your next employer how they measure up in these areas:

• Leadership commitment to staff
• Following through on promises made to employees
• A connection between people and organisational strategy
• Alignment between HR practices and business objectives
• A culture that accommodates high performance values

Get emotional for branding success

The best way to build a successful brand is to make sure it connects emotionally with consumers, branding strategy company Research International advises.

According to a recent Daily Telegraph profile of the company, Research International advises its clients to think of their brand as more than just a logo. Instead the brand should be seen as the ‘face’ of the company.

And just as logos are regularly updated to maintain their relevance, brands also need to be revised to keep up with new trends.

Lucozade offers an example of how to stay relevant. Thirty years ago the brand revolved around being a health drink, today its emotional connection is all about sport and well being.

Introducing the green PC

Several of the IT industry’s biggest names have joined forces to develop energy efficient computers with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, The Australian reports.

Dell, HP, IBM, Microsoft and Intel (to name just a few of the companies involved) are working with the US Environmental Protection Agency to establish IT focused energy efficiency goals.

According to the article: “More efficient computing could trim the use of electricity that is now being wasted as heat, which in turn, especially in large server centres, requires more power for air conditioning”.

The initiative hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tonnes a year; a result that could save more than $6.5 billion in energy costs.

Caught in Harry’s spell

The release of the new Harry Potter book in July will be the biggest publishing event of the year, but interestingly enough the world’s biggest online bookstore won’t make a cent out of it.

Despite having over a million pre-sales orders, Amazon.com is sacrificing its profit margin by discounting the super hot book by US$17 a unit. It’s also offering free postage and guaranteed delivery times.

So why is Amazon choosing to miss out on this money making opportunity? Never one to think inside the box, company chief Jeff Bezos says the approach reflects the company’s ‘customer-centric’ philosophy.

Other recently announced Amazon initiatives aimed at fostering customer loyalty include offering free postage to Amazon First members and discount prices on automatically recurring product purchases.

Networking for introverts

You don’t have to be an extrovert to be an effective networker, argues interpersonal communications guru Ivan Misner in a recent Entrepreneur magazine article.

Misner says introverts often discount their networking abilities as they feel they aren’t good a starting a conversation. To tackle this perception, several tips for shyer professionals are offered.

These networking suggestions include offering to be a host at a function, a role that makes it easy and more natural for introverted people to break the ice. Being involved in volunteer work is another way to practice meeting new people.

Training can also help: “Networking is a skill that can be learned – no matter your level of gregariousness. If you remain ill-at-ease in environments where you have to mix and mingle or meet new people, take advantage of training seminars and workshops.”

Email fun drains productivity

Writing gossipy emails, reading humorous messages and playing online games at work can significantly drain productivity, new research out of Northern Ireland has found.

An international study conducted by Queen’s University in Belfast claims that 34 per cent of workers from the UK, US, Australia, Holland and Singapore waste company time gossiping via email.

In other findings, a third of men and around a fifth of women download music at work; approximately 14 per cent of both sexes play computer games whilst at work.

The study claims American workers are most likely to download pornography from the Internet, while Australians are most likely to avoid the practice.

A new reality for television advertising

With more and more customers finding ways to avoid television commercials, Gillette has taken the innovative step of creating a reality TV show to promote its brand.

The program will feature celebrities being taught how to drive racing cars by Gillette sponsored (and heavily branded) NASCAR drivers, BusinessWeek reports.

Marketing academics suggest such programming may be the way of the future provided product placement is not too overt as this may turn some consumers off.