Types of Initiatives
The different types of initiatives in an organization can be categorized as follows:

1. System improvement initiatives: Such projects involve using technology to streamline, automate and/or integrate processes and systems across the organization. There has been a strong focus on such projects since middle of the last decade, especially to introduce enterprise resource planning systems and during post merger system integration.
2. Performance improvement initiatives: Initiatives to improve the performance of the business are a recurring theme, especially when the business environment is challenging, e.g. during a recession. Typical initiatives include process improvement, cost reduction, efficiency drive, risk management etc.
3. 3. Change of strategy led initiatives: Such initiatives are a result of a change of strategy focus, e.g. concentrating on growth, entering a new market, becoming more customer focused, complying to government regulation etc. Examples of these types of initiatives include CRM (customer relationship management), Sarbanes Oxley implementation initiative, ISO9000 certification etc.

Reasons for Failure
While such initiatives do deliver some value, the interesting question to understand is why they are a continuous feature of organizations. Why is there a requirement to have similar projects running over-and-over after every few years with enormous amounts of resources spent on them? The reasons lie in the manner in which these projects and initiatives are viewed, instigated and their scope defined.

• Taking a Static View - Essentially these initiatives are one off exercises that take a static view of the business and its strategies, i.e. a snap shot of the organization in time as a base. By the time a project is complete, and often even before that, the business environment has changed, thus limiting the potential benefits of the exercise just undertaken to a short period of time. The organization then introduces a new slightly changed strategy, calls in consultants all over again, and goes through a similar initiative under a different name.
• Working in Isolation - Most of the time such initiatives are viewed in isolation, largely due to the level of their complexity. However, in reality most initiatives are integrated and affect each other when operational. The consequence of which is that multiple projects often have redundancies in their scope and the effects of their interaction are not realised. The result is more wastage. Fox example, an initiative to introduce CRM will warrant a business process re-engineering exercise. However if an organization is going through a process re-engineering project now, they will have to repeat parts of the project again once the CRM initiatives have been completed.
• Initiatives without Strategy - With many initiatives going on at any one time, there is generally no logical clustering and thus there is no overall view of them. An organization ends up with numerous initiatives, some going in opposite directions. We recently came across a division of a UK Footsie 100 bank which had initiatives in the hundreds running in parallel. Needless to say, they struggle with keeping track of the projects, their alignment to the high level objectives and their benefits, especially in the long-term. As a result the initiatives are repeated in the future without an understanding of the benefits the may bring.

How Value is Destroyed?
Since these initiatives do not reach any where close to their full potential and use resources that could otherwise be used on higher value-add projects, they are effectively destroying value for the organization.

Take a Strategy Lead Approach
Instead of starting by looking at initiatives, organizations need first to look at their strategies. By structuring and prioritising their strategies, a clear overview of what is needed to be achieved is determined and initiatives come out as a means of achieving those strategies. By managing a portfolio of strategies rather than a complex combination of initiatives, organizations can eliminate most of the issues mentioned above. Taking an integrated approach allows organizations to structure their initiatives inline with their strategies. So what does it take to achieve such as approach:

1. Clarify objective at every level – By making explicit what the objectives are for an organization at every level, employees become clear about what they are working towards. Being explicit requires an objective with a numerical, time and quality dimension, and a means of measuring it. E.g. not “We want to have a major market share is the market we operator in”, but “We must achieve a minimum of 25% of market share in the telco market targeting large organizations in Germany, within the next five years. The profit margin must be above 7%”.
   Vision > Core Objectives > Critical Success Factors > Operational Objectives
   These objectives must be defined such that the causality between the objectives at different levels is obvious. So achieving the Operational Objectives successfully satisfies the CSFs, achieving the CSFs satifies the Core Objectives and achieving the Core Objectives satisfies the Vision.


2. Create a Value Delivery System – The VDS is the functional map of the organization. At every level, this determines the organizational unit or department or task that will work towards the objectives at the respective level.
   Corporate > Functions > Tasks > Steps
   The corporate level has the responsibility for working towards and achieving the Vision; the Functional (product management, sales, marketing etc.) targets the Core Objectives; Tasks are defined to achieve the CFSs and so on.


3. Define initiative – Once the objectives are clear, define the initiatives that are required to achieve them. Only initiate projects that work towards achieving one of more of the objectives.


4. Accountability - Allocate responsib
   Branding and Marketing
   So, you know what a brand is. You know what makes up a brand and which parts of your company you might be able to exploit - I mean use, to define and manipulate your brand and the way you are perceived by the public. But, well, how? The combination of a successfully developed brand and the implementation of a great marketing campaign will do wonders for your business. Think of the TV advertisements that stick in your mind - what makes it so? What have they done differently? If you make a list, you'll notice that each and every one of them has taken advantage of creative and innovative ideas. It is not enough to only have a great logo, or great radio ads. The entire marketing package, when done properly, is your key to building your business into a wonderful success. There are a great number of business tools that are widely accepted as forms of advertising. The key here is to put your brand on everything. That might not even mean to put your logo on everything (although in most cases it is advisable),
   h initiatives are a result of a change of strategy focus, e.g. concentrating on growth, entering a new market, becoming more customer focused, complying to government regulation etc. Examples of these types of initiatives include CRM (customer relationship management), Sarbanes Oxley implementation initiative, ISO9000 certification etc.

Reasons for Failure
While such initiatives do deliver some value, the interesting question to understand is why they are a continuous feature of organizations. Why is there a requirement to have similar projects running over-and-over after every few years with enormous amounts of resources spent on them? The reasons lie in the manner in which these projects and initiatives are viewed, instigated and their scope defined.

• Taking a Static View - Essentially these initiatives are one off exercises that take a static view of the business and its strategies, i.e. a snap shot of the organization in time as a base. By the time a project is complete, and often even before that, the business environment has changed, thus limiting the potential benefits of the exercise just undertaken to a short period of time. The organization then introduces a new slightly changed strategy, calls in consultants all over again, and goes through a similar initiative under a different name.
• Working in Isolation - Most of the time such initiatives are viewed in isolation, largely due to the level of their complexity. However, in reality most initiatives are integrated and affect each other when operational. The consequence of which is that multiple projects often have redundancies in their scope and the effects of their interaction are not realised. The result is more wastage. Fox example, an initiative to introduce CRM will warrant a business process re-engineering exercise. However if an organization is going through a process re-engineering project now, they will have to repeat parts of the project again once the CRM initiatives have been completed.
• Initiatives without Strategy - With many initiatives going on at any one time, there is generally no logical clustering and thus there is no overall view of them. An organization ends up with numerous initiatives, some going in opposite directions. We recently came across a division of a UK Footsie 100 bank which had initiatives in the hundreds running in parallel. Needless to say, they struggle with keeping track of the projects, their alignment to the high level objectives and their benefits, especially in the long-term. As a result the initiatives are repeated in the future without an understanding of the benefits the may bring.

How Value is Destroyed?
Since these initiatives do not reach any where close to their full potential and use resources that could otherwise be used on higher value-add projects, they are effectively destroying value for the organization.

Take a Strategy Lead Approach
Instead of starting by looking at initiatives, organizations need first to look at their strategies. By structuring and prioritising their strategies, a clear overview of what is needed to be achieved is determined and initiatives come out as a means of achieving those strategies. By managing a portfolio of strategies rather than a complex combination of initiatives, organizations can eliminate most of the issues mentioned above. Taking an integrated approach allows organizations to structure their initiatives inline with their strategies. So what does it take to achieve such as approach:

1. Clarify objective at every level – By making explicit what the objectives are for an organization at every level, employees become clear about what they are working towards. Being explicit requires an objective with a numerical, time and quality dimension, and a means of measuring it. E.g. not “We want to have a major market share is the market we operator in”, but “We must achieve a minimum of 25% of market share in the telco market targeting large organizations in Germany, within the next five years. The profit margin must be above 7%”.
   Vision > Core Objectives > Critical Success Factors > Operational Objectives
   These objectives must be defined such that the causality between the objectives at different levels is obvious. So achieving the Operational Objectives successfully satisfies the CSFs, achieving the CSFs satifies the Core Objectives and achieving the Core Objectives satisfies the Vision.


2. Create a Value Delivery System – The VDS is the functional map of the organization. At every level, this determines the organizational unit or department or task that will work towards the objectives at the respective level.
   Corporate > Functions > Tasks > Steps
   The corporate level has the responsibility for working towards and achieving the Vision; the Functional (product management, sales, marketing etc.) targets the Core Objectives; Tasks are defined to achieve the CFSs and so on.


3. Define initiative – Once the objectives are clear, define the initiatives that are required to achieve them. Only initiate projects that work towards achieving one of more of the objectives.


4. Accountability - Allocate responsi
   Financing A Franchise - The BIG Error
   So you fancy a franchise eh? You like the sound of the whole ‘in business for yourself, but not by yourself’ thing. You’ve done your research and you reckon you can see the way ahead. You reckon your future lies under the banner reading ‘Franchise’.Then you come up against the $64,000 questions…1) How much will it cost?2) Can you afford it?Now if you are at all human you will have done what every prospect on the path to making a purchase of any sort does. You will have pictured what it will be like to own that franchise. Which is perfectly understandable.BUTYou are also laying yourself open to the biggest mistake that prospective franchisees can possibly make. You see you can be in danger of letting your judgement be affected by a fatal affliction that is the cause of huge misery in many walks of life, but especially in Franchising. That affliction isOVEROPTIMISMEven the most level-headed individual is prone to it from time to time. Most of the time yo
   ve under a different name.
5. Working in Isolation - Most of the time such initiatives are viewed in isolation, largely due to the level of their complexity. However, in reality most initiatives are integrated and affect each other when operational. The consequence of which is that multiple projects often have redundancies in their scope and the effects of their interaction are not realised. The result is more wastage. Fox example, an initiative to introduce CRM will warrant a business process re-engineering exercise. However if an organization is going through a process re-engineering project now, they will have to repeat parts of the project again once the CRM initiatives have been completed.
6. Initiatives without Strategy - With many initiatives going on at any one time, there is generally no logical clustering and thus there is no overall view of them. An organization ends up with numerous initiatives, some going in opposite directions. We recently came across a division of a UK Footsie 100 bank which had initiatives in the hundreds running in parallel. Needless to say, they struggle with keeping track of the projects, their alignment to the high level objectives and their benefits, especially in the long-term. As a result the initiatives are repeated in the future without an understanding of the benefits the may bring.


How Value is Destroyed?
Since these initiatives do not reach any where close to their full potential and use resources that could otherwise be used on higher value-add projects, they are effectively destroying value for the organization.


Take a Strategy Lead Approach
Instead of starting by looking at initiatives, organizations need first to look at their strategies. By structuring and prioritising their strategies, a clear overview of what is needed to be achieved is determined and initiatives come out as a means of achieving those strategies. By managing a portfolio of strategies rather than a complex combination of initiatives, organizations can eliminate most of the issues mentioned above. Taking an integrated approach allows organizations to structure their initiatives inline with their strategies. So what does it take to achieve such as approach:

1. Clarify objective at every level – By making explicit what the objectives are for an organization at every level, employees become clear about what they are working towards. Being explicit requires an objective with a numerical, time and quality dimension, and a means of measuring it. E.g. not “We want to have a major market share is the market we operator in”, but “We must achieve a minimum of 25% of market share in the telco market targeting large organizations in Germany, within the next five years. The profit margin must be above 7%”.
   Vision > Core Objectives > Critical Success Factors > Operational Objectives
   These objectives must be defined such that the causality between the objectives at different levels is obvious. So achieving the Operational Objectives successfully satisfies the CSFs, achieving the CSFs satifies the Core Objectives and achieving the Core Objectives satisfies the Vision.


2. Create a Value Delivery System – The VDS is the functional map of the organization. At every level, this determines the organizational unit or department or task that will work towards the objectives at the respective level.
   Corporate > Functions > Tasks > Steps
   The corporate level has the responsibility for working towards and achieving the Vision; the Functional (product management, sales, marketing etc.) targets the Core Objectives; Tasks are defined to achieve the CFSs and so on.


3. Define initiative – Once the objectives are clear, define the initiatives that are required to achieve them. Only initiate projects that work towards achieving one of more of the objectives.


4. Accountability - Allocate responsi
   Law School Know-How
   Getting into law school can be a very arduous task for aspiring students. You need to start as early as your freshman year in high school if you decide that being a lawyer is what you really want to do for the rest of your life.Do not be misled by the rosy portrayal of a lawyer's life in TV or in the movies. In real life, lawyers would have 12 to 18 working hours, especially for those who are aspiring to be partners in their respective law firms.In order to achieve your goal, first, you need to have the correct mindset. Here are some tips on how students can realize their lifelong goal of becoming a lawyer:1. Know what you want, and how to get it.First, reflect on the reasons why you would like to pursue this career. If you are just looking for the 'flash' or recognition of becoming a lawyer, remember that becoming one is sheer hard work. Just like in every profession, you need to give yourself into studying, then working as a lawyer.You may have this idealistic view as a kid that you
   of the benefits the may bring.


How Value is Destroyed?
Since these initiatives do not reach any where close to their full potential and use resources that could otherwise be used on higher value-add projects, they are effectively destroying value for the organization.


Take a Strategy Lead Approach
Instead of starting by looking at initiatives, organizations need first to look at their strategies. By structuring and prioritising their strategies, a clear overview of what is needed to be achieved is determined and initiatives come out as a means of achieving those strategies. By managing a portfolio of strategies rather than a complex combination of initiatives, organizations can eliminate most of the issues mentioned above. Taking an integrated approach allows organizations to structure their initiatives inline with their strategies. So what does it take to achieve such as approach:

1. Clarify objective at every level – By making explicit what the objectives are for an organization at every level, employees become clear about what they are working towards. Being explicit requires an objective with a numerical, time and quality dimension, and a means of measuring it. E.g. not “We want to have a major market share is the market we operator in”, but “We must achieve a minimum of 25% of market share in the telco market targeting large organizations in Germany, within the next five years. The profit margin must be above 7%”.
   Vision > Core Objectives > Critical Success Factors > Operational Objectives
   These objectives must be defined such that the causality between the objectives at different levels is obvious. So achieving the Operational Objectives successfully satisfies the CSFs, achieving the CSFs satifies the Core Objectives and achieving the Core Objectives satisfies the Vision.


2. Create a Value Delivery System – The VDS is the functional map of the organization. At every level, this determines the organizational unit or department or task that will work towards the objectives at the respective level.
   Corporate > Functions > Tasks > Steps
   The corporate level has the responsibility for working towards and achieving the Vision; the Functional (product management, sales, marketing etc.) targets the Core Objectives; Tasks are defined to achieve the CFSs and so on.


3. Define initiative – Once the objectives are clear, define the initiatives that are required to achieve them. Only initiate projects that work towards achieving one of more of the objectives.


4. Accountability - Allocate responsi
   Picking a Tax Accountant - Seven Things You Should Know
   Introduction. Accountants come in all shapes and sizes. Some work with businesses, some work with individuals. Some do taxes, while others never do taxes. Many are CPA's, but you don't have to be a CPA to be a good tax accountant. Some are bookkeepers with little or no formal training. Some are authorized to work directly with the IRS, and to file your return electronically. Finding the right tax preparer can ease your burden at tax time. While finding a tax preparer isn't too hard, finding a good one can be a challenge. Here are seven steps to consider, when looking for a good tax accountant.1. Is the Candidate Authorized by the IRS? There are three types of accountants. First, there are bookkeepers who have little or no formal training in accounting. Second, there are enrolled agents who have passed the EA exam and are licensed by the IRS. Finally, there are Certified Public Accountants (CPA's) that have an accounting degree, have passed the CPA exam, and have at least two years of experience in their
   must achieve a minimum of 25% of market share in the telco market targeting large organizations in Germany, within the next five years. The profit margin must be above 7%”.
   Vision > Core Objectives > Critical Success Factors > Operational Objectives
   These objectives must be defined such that the causality between the objectives at different levels is obvious. So achieving the Operational Objectives successfully satisfies the CSFs, achieving the CSFs satifies the Core Objectives and achieving the Core Objectives satisfies the Vision.


5. Create a Value Delivery System – The VDS is the functional map of the organization. At every level, this determines the organizational unit or department or task that will work towards the objectives at the respective level.
   Corporate > Functions > Tasks > Steps
   The corporate level has the responsibility for working towards and achieving the Vision; the Functional (product management, sales, marketing etc.) targets the Core Objectives; Tasks are defined to achieve the CFSs and so on.


6. Define initiative – Once the objectives are clear, define the initiatives that are required to achieve them. Only initiate projects that work towards achieving one of more of the objectives.


7. Accountability - Allocate responsibility and assign resources for each of the initiatives.


8. Track initiatives – Ensure that there is a method for tracking the level of implementation, performance and benefits for each of the initiatives.


9. Recalibrate regularly – In the volatile environment that organizations operate in, objectives and ways of achieving them change constantly. Thus there needs to be a process of regularly checking to make sure that initiatives still serve the purpose that they where started for. If the objectives at any level have changed, continuing with the old initiatives is a waste of resources.


Benefits
Following the steps above achieves:

• Alignment between the various business units, functions and department within the organization
• Cascading of objectives against the now aligned organizational units. This brings the clarity and understanding of who does what and why, into the organization.
• Prioritization during resource allocation

The consequence is a high level of transparency to view initiatives, their alignment to strategy and the ability to track the performance of initiatives. At the same time, by having a process of monitoring progress and recalibrating strategy continuously, an organization can make its strategy and initiative execution process more dynamic. Hence it does not have to wait for the annual strategy planning process to make a step change in direction, but rather make more manageable incremental changes all the time.