The
following is a selection of articles written both by Mel Lester and others
(marked with an asterisk). This list will continue to expand and improve.
You might also check out Mel's
E-Quip Blog.
Strategic Planning
Planning
Process
Don't Plan What You Won't Do
The Financial Essentials of Strategic Planning*
Are We
In This Together? The Preconditions for Strategy*
Strategic Perspectives
Confronting Commoditization*
Responding to a Commodity World
Responding to Fee Pressure*
Collaboration as Competitive Advantage
Discovering New Design Firm Models*
Ten Bold Strategies for the Millennium*
Don't Worry About Your Competition (Let Them Worry About You)*
Build vs. Buy: What's Your Preference?*
Defending Your Client Base in Perilous Times: 10 Steps to Take*
Industry Trends
Responding to the Financial Crisis
The Changing Business Landscape
The Downturn Is a Rounding Error*
Indicators Point to Market Softening*
A
Mid-Year Review of the Business Climate (2008)*
Operations
Leadership & Management
Developing the Next Generation of
Leaders
Simplicity: The Leader's Secret Weapon
The Leader's Leverage
Values and Intolerance
From Anarchy to Accountability
Leadership, Trust, and Intangible Services*
Are
You Holding Your Firm Back?*
The Discipline of Collaboration*
Leadership and Constructive Collaboration*
Leading Through an Economic Downturn*
Managing Performance
Investing Nonbillable Time
The Time Investment Principle
You Are What You Measure
The Productivity Paradox
Is Offshore Outsourcing an Idea Whose Time Has Come?*
Labor Productivity Declines in the Construction Industry*
Organizational Change
Tackling Operational Deficiencies
Leading Organizational Change: Part 1
Leading Organizational Change: Part 2
The
AEC Dilemma: Exploring the Barriers to Change*
The Hard Work of Real Change
Organizational
Communication
Management Communications in Tough Times
Listen Up! I'm Talking to Ya
Who's Feeling the Pain of Poor Communication?
Project Delivery
Project Management
Improving Project Management
The PM's Core Responsibilities
Preparing a Project Management Plan
Escaping the Activity Trap
The PM's Responsibilities as Team Leader
Motivating the Project Team
Delegating Successfully
Best Way to Improve Project Performance?
Assistant Project Managers: An Idea Too Good
to Ignore
Ten New Rules for Project Managers*
Value-Focused Project Management*
Keys to Getting Top Performance*
The Five Cs of Managing Virtual Teams*
Fixing Bad Projects*
A Better S Curve and Simplified EVM*
Client Service
The Experience Trumps Expertise
Delivering the Branded Experience
Where Does Your Firm Fit in the Experience
Economy?
Brand Value and the User Experience*
Experiencing the Brand--Branding the Experience (Forum)*
Experiencing the Brand; Branding the Experience (Accenture)*
Getting Out of the Commodity Zone*
Managing Client Service
Uncovering Client Expectations
Soliciting Client Feedback
What Client Surveys Tell Us
The Power of the Welcome
Client
Satisfaction: You Need to Know What it Takes...*
Thinking Like a Client*
Ten Questions to Help You Grow Your Client Base*
Manage Expectations or Expect to Be Managed*
When
Clients Get Angry*
The
Consultant's Role*
Do You
Really Want Relationships?*
The Pheromone of Client Service*
Let the Client Drive Your Organization*
Service vs. Services (The Value-Added Factor)*
Quality Management
Managing Project Quality
Connecting the Team to the Client
Creating a Quality-Driven Culture
Common Reasons Quality Programs Fail
QC/QA:
Turning a Potential Problem Into an Opportunity*
Stakeholder Relations
Communicate Risk Effectively
Public Meetings: Taming the Tough Audience
Stakeholder Analysis & Stakeholder Management*
Business Development
Branding & Positioning
Brand 101: Clearing Up the Misconceptions
Marketing the Experience
Branding: Building More Than Awareness*
Most Powerful Professional Services Branding of All*
Marketing
Marketing for Leads: How to Get New Business to
Come to You
Reclaiming the Strategic Value of Marketing
Marketing Is a Conversation*
Adventures in Modern Marketing*
Inconceivable! 7 Misconceptions About Service Lead Generation*
Is There Any Value in Your Value Proposition?*
Seven Strategies for Marketing in a Web 2.0 World*
Eleven Principles for Great Consulting Web Sites*
Getting the Most Out of Trade Shows
Strong Intellectual Capital Is the Key to Effective...Marketing*
Sales & Account
Management
Uncomfortable With Sales? You Should Be
Starting the Relationship Right
Serving Your Entree
Understanding Client Needs
Calibrating the Sales Process
Plan to Win Key Sales Opportunities
Mythbusters: How Major Sales Are Really Made*
Avoiding the Traps in Selling Professional Services*
Selling
Professional Services*
Selling by Doing, Not Selling by Telling*
There's a Better Way!*
What Buyers Really Want*
Ten Myths About Selling Intangible Services*
The Point of Listening is Not What You Hear, but the Listening Itself*
Getting Your Phone Calls Returned
Go After the Inarticulate Need
The Sales Organization
Organizing the Sales Effort
Managing the Sales Funnel
Hiring the Right Rainmaker
Why
Marketing People Fail*
Proposals
Beyond Pretty: Designing Effective Proposals
Never Trust the RFP: Answering the Questions
That Really Matter
Seven Magic Questions: How to Improve Your Win Ratio...*
How to Write a Winning Proposal*
Tom Sant on Proposal Writing (interview)*
Structure Your Proposal Around Key Messages
Save Your Best for the Executive Summary
Tell the Client Why--And Why Not
Communicating Technical Ideas Persuasively
Presentations &
Proposal Interviews
You Made the Shortlist: Now What?
Organizing Your Presentation for Results
Begin by Preparing the End of Your Talk
Add "Hot Spice" to Keep Their Attention
Strengthen the Weak Link on Your Presentation
Team
Use Visual Aids That Work For, Not Against,
You
Getting the Right Number in Telephone
Interviews
Trust-Based Negotiation*
Human Resources
Culture & Employee
Retention
Cultivating a Strong Company Culture
Natural Selection vs. Intelligent Design
Seven Steps to a Winning Workplace
Why Employees Leave
Best
Practices of the Best Workplaces*
Why
Companies Don't Create Trust Internally*
Generations in Conflict*
Energizing Your Workplace*
Recruiting & Hiring
Recruiting Essentials
Fishing for Prized New Hires
Recruiting and Ethics
Understanding Emerging Workforce Trends*
The
Recruiting Power of Culture*
The Best Recruiting Strategy is the "We Find You" Approach*
Not Your Grandfather's Recruiting Strategy*
Supervising People
The Mentoring Manager
Tips on
Managing People*
Professional
Development
Training for Tangible Results
Tips for Training on a Tight Budget
Why Management Training Doesn't Work*
Create a Successful Mentoring Program in Your A/E Firm*
Personal Productivity
Time Management
Thinking Rightly About Time
Strategies for Time Management
Time Management Together
Adding Margin to Your Life and Work
Communication Skills
Keys to Effective Communication
Tips for Better Writing
Put First Things First
Preparing a Technical Report
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