Entrepreneurs are generally confident people, and yet most confess to experiencing tremendous anxiety when it comes to pitching investors. Standing in front of a group of people who can make or break your company and asking them to invest money in your business is an intimidating prospect. How do you start your deck? How long should you present? What kinds of details do you need to include? How do you make a good impression? Well, who better to give advice than the very people you'll be pitching? These 5 serial entrepreneurs and veteran investors outline what you should and shouldn't do when pitching your business: Chris Sacca, veteran VC DO talk about why you are uniquely qualified to follow through on your business idea. What experience or expertise do you have that gives you an advantage over everyone else? What sets you apart from your competitors? DO instill FOMO: "fear of missing out." Most investors have passed up an opportunity that later went on to be profitable, so make them worry they’ll regret it if they pass you up. DO talk endgame. Investors want to know what your plan is for acquisition, ideally in 3-5 years’ time. Give an example of a company that would consider your business an attractive acquisition. DON'T ramble. Keep your pitch short, simple, and specific. You should have a 2-minute version of your pitch that conveys your basic business model, your "unfair advantage," and an exact funding target. You're not trying to raise "between $1.5 - 2 million." You're raising “$1.8 million.” Brian Cohen, Chairman of The New York Angels DO talk about your financial plan. What's your main revenue stream? Discuss why the problem you've identified is profitable, why your solution is viable, and how you're going to make money. DO discuss the market trends that are driving your product. Investors are curious people and want to stay on top of the latest, so satisfy that curiosity and make a good impression by teaching them something new. DON'T be vague when discussing how the investment will be spent. What are you raising money to do, exactly? And why now? Chance Barnett, CEO of Crowdfunder DO find someone in your network who can introduce you to investors (ideally someone with a strong reputation). Send whomever you’re asking to make the introduction a short email blurb with suggested language and a link to your online profile, so they can easily forward it along. DON'T present a series of bullet points. Tell a story instead. Barnett advises all pitches follow this general format: “There is a huge opportunity to do X as a giant business. We’ve cracked the code, and this is how my company is doing it and will dominate this market. Here’s who myself and my team are, and why we’re the only people to back in this space. It’s working, and now we need money for X and Y to grow.” Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist DO research the investors you're pitching. What businesses have they backed in the past? If you know what they’re interested in, you can tailor your presentation to give them the info they want. DO remember it’s more important for the right people to say yes than for everyone to say yes. Investors can offer more than just money — they can be valuable advisors too. So pay attention to potential investors who are asking interesting questions and are excited about your product, market, and the problem you’re trying to solve. DO show, don’t tell. Instead of saying you understand your customers needs, provide quotes from credible customers. Avoid superfluous adjectives and adverbs like “very.” Hoffman says these words act like a poker tell, signifying points you’re most nervous or unsure about, and that he's more likely to ask probing questions about those key points. So be specific and straightforward. DON’T shy away from areas that are problematic or risky to your business. Just because you don’t address them, doesn’t mean investors won’t see them. And by showing you've already identified and understand potential concerns, you’re building confidence instead of instilling doubt. DON'T end with a generic "Q&A" slide. End with your most important slide, something that you want on screen while you’re answering questions that will linger in investors minds long after the meeting’s over. David Rose, serial entrepreneur & angel investor DO keep it short. Angel pitches should be 15 mins; VC meetings less than half an hour. DO show your integrity, passion, and conviction to succeed no matter what. Investors are backing YOU first and foremost. DO prepare a handout with more detailed information on your business. Just remember: your presentation is not your handout. Your handout should stand alone without you, and give investors the chance to deep dive into what you’ve presented. DON’T read your speech or stare at the screen. You’re trying to connect with investors, not your PowerPoint slides. So make eye contact, pay attention to your body language, and follow good presentation practices. Are you ready for your pitch? Follow these tips to ace your pitch and impress investors. And remember, VCs and angels aren't the only source of startup funding. Check out this infographic for 5 other ways to raise money for your business. Sources: Ted.com, ReidHoffman.org, Forbes.com, Business News Daily, This American Life
Whether you’re just starting out in content marketing, or you're a veteran looking for a few new tricks, add these 14 titles to your bookshelf for a shot of inspiration, a review of the fundamentals or some information on marketing tools to add to your arsenal. Content Marketing Basics 1. Epic Content Marketing: How to Tell a Different Story, Break through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less (2013)From Joe Pulizzi, head of Content Marketing Institute, this book is the perfect primer on all things content marketing. Pulizzi explains why good content is essential for attracting customers, and takes readers through the process of curating and creating effective content. 2. Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, eBooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (2012)CCO at MarketingProfs, Entrepreneur columnist, and keynote speaker Ann Handley offers tips to find your company’s unique voice, discover which topics resonate with your customers, and get the most out of social media. She covers all kinds of content, from podcasts and webinars to eBooks and blog posts, and presents concrete strategies for producing each. 3. The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly (4th ed., 2013)Online Marketing strategist David Meerman Scott wrote nearly 400 pages of advice on developing your brand's reputation and authority online. He covers case studies and real-world examples of companies with successful content marketing strategies (and a few examples of what not to do), plus platform-specific tips for social media sites like Google Plus, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 4. Managing Content Marketing: The Real-World Guide for Creating Passionate Subscribers to Your Brand (2011)“Be a publisher.” “Engage your customers.” You may know the core principles of content marketing, but how do you actually do them? Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi (again!) offer a practical 12-step guide to building a content engine, from developing a personal strategy to finding the right distribution channels. Writing Tips 5. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content (2014)Another bestseller from Ann Handley, this book includes best practices, tips for reluctant writers, and a “Things Marketers Write” section with guidance on 17 kinds of content that marketers are most often asked to create. 6. How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times (2013)In the age of microblogs, Tweets, and status updates, marketers need to be convincing and concise. Pick up a copy of writing professor Roy Peter Clark's book for a guide to crafting compelling headlines, Tweets, blog posts, and more. Social & SEO 7. Social Media Explained: Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend (2014)Social media consultant Mark Schaefer dives into the psychology and sociology behind social media. He not only explains why you should be doing social media marketing, he helps you formulate a real plan of attack. Each chapter ends with a series of questions to help you apply the book’s principles and create your own social media strategy. 8. Big Book of Content Marketing: Use Strategies and SEO Tactics to Build Return-Oriented KPIs for Your Brand's Content (2013)SEO pro Andreas Ramos teaches readers how to boost content marketing results with effective SEO strategies. He also covers a range of distribution strategies, and outlines key metrics to analyze your success and make improvements. 9. Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing (2012)Lee Odden gives his top tips on how to combine SEO and social media with content marketing to make your content marketing efforts more effective. Learn how to plan a content strategy that will get the best results for your company, and measure the business value of every effort. Getting Your Content to Stand Out 10. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World (2013)It’s not enough to develop high-quality content — it must be placed in the right context in order to grab your target audience’s attention and spread to new potential customers. Social media and brand building expert Gary Vaynerchuk teaches you how to create content tailored to succeed on social media. If a “jab” is a touchpoint, and a “right hook” is the knockout punch that’s sure to convert, Vaynerchuk shows the best combination of jabs and hooks to nurture leads and win new business. 11. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (2006)This classic from renowned psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini gives a peek into the psychology of persuasion. Learn what drives people to say “yes” — and how to use principles like social proof and perceived scarcity to create effective CTAs that get audiences to take the next step. Absolutely essential for email marketers! 12. The Fortune Cookie Principle: The 20 Keys to a Great Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One (2013)Brand strategist and award-winning business blogger Bernadette Jiwa explains how to tell your brand’s story and establish powerful emotional connections with your target audience. Pick up a copy to learn how to differentiate your brand from competitors and earn the loyalty of your customers. Creating Visual Content 13. The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand (2014)As the average attention span continues to shrink, visual content is becoming more and more important for grabbing and holding your customers’ attention. Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Giolio outline strategies for the best marketing videos, infographics, Slideshare presentations, and other visual media. 14. Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don't Work (2011)Sometimes words just aren’t enough. Explaining complex concepts, making ideas memorable, and snagging your audience’s attention needs the perfect visual. Dan Roam's book shows you how to liven up your content and engage your audience through visual media. What are your content marketing must-reads? Even in an industry that changes quicker than you can turn the page, these books will keep your marketing skills sharp! What content marketing books have you read? Share your recommendations in the comments! And if you're looking for more great reads, check out these 5 Best Project Management Books for Beginners and Accidental Project Managers and 15 Books Every Manager Should Read.
If you're founding a startup, networking isn’t optional. It’s your lifeline. Entrepreneurs need support from all sorts of people — partners, investors, customers and employees — but most importantly, they need to tap into great communities to make those connections in the first place. We found 18 thriving networking sites especially for entrepreneurs to help you find advice, capital, co-founders, or just have some fun! Find the best sites for you in our latest infographic: Share this infographic on your site with this embed code: Wrike Project Management Software Read Next: • The Ultimate List of Legal Resources for Startups • 7 Ways to Fund Your Startup (Infographic) • Top 10 Reasons Startups Fail (Infographic)
If your to-do list is like mine — longer than the Great Wall of China — you’re probably desperate for productivity tips and shortcuts to help you squeeze a few more hours out of every day. Since we’re all about boosting productivity here at Wrike, we’ve compiled a compendium of productivity hacks to help you zip through your to-do list in record time. Without further ado: Focus 1. Unplug. Put your phone on airplane mode or Do Not Disturb (or use an Android app like Shush). Black out background browser tabs and notifications with an extension like StayFocusd, and mute your email with Inbox Pause for Gmail. 2. Tidy up. Did you know that the average worker spends 76 hours every year looking for lost stuff? Cleaning up your work area lets your mind focus. 3. Write distractions down. Free up some brain space by taking note of every reminder and distraction that pops in your head. It'll silence that nagging "I'm forgetting something..." feeling and let you focus on the task at hand. 4. Read/watch later. Use Pocket or the Wrike Chrome extension to save interesting links and videos that would ordinarily trigger a marathon link surfing session. 5. Take a hike. Periodic breaks refresh your brain, so go for a walk to boost creativity, sharpen your focus, and brighten your mood. 6. Change your scenery. Work from a coffee shop, library, or your backyard to improve focus and creativity without any office distractions. 7. Be healthy. Losing just 1.5 hours of sleep reduces alertness by 32%, and avoiding junk food can raise your productivity 20%. Exercise helps you better handle stress, makes you more alert, and gives you more mental energy. 8. Get comfy. An office that's too chilly or too warm (outside the 70-77 degree range) lessens productivity by 5%. The pleasant smell of lemons improves focus and reduces errors 54%. And sitting by a window keeps you focused 15% longer. 9. Go green. Houseplants improve creativity by 45% and overall wellbeing by 47%, while sharpening focus and concentration. 10. Grab some headphones. Listening to ambient music or white noise improves focus 35%. 11. Practice meditation. It teaches your brain to tune out distractions and focus longer. Even 5 minutes a day can have an impact! 12. Say "Awww!" Looking at pictures of cute baby animals or photos of nature increases your attention span and memory. Want to improve collaboration on your team? Start a 2 week trial of Wrike today! Save Time 13. Quit meetings. If you can't cut them completely, keep them to short stand-ups, or make at least one whole day a week meeting-free. 14. Say no. You can't do everything! Just make sure you say no the right way: “I don’t” is more effective than “I can’t”. 15. Delegate whenever possible. You've got a slew of talented teammates around you, so use them! Just don't dump tedious busywork on them — make sure every task you and your team take on is truly worthwhile. 16. De-clutter your inbox. Unroll.me compiles all your newsletters and subscriptions into a single daily digest. 17. Track your time. RescueTime shows how many minutes you spend using various applications. By productivity tracking, you'll get an accurate picture of your daily work habits and discover where you can improve. 18. Quit Facebook (partially). Move everyone from your “friends" list to "acquaintances" — you'll still get the important updates, but you'll spend less time scrolling through quiz results and food photos in your newsfeed. 19. Automate! Create standard email responses to common inquiries, set your browser to automatically open your favorite tabs, set up an RSS feed to monitor essential news outlets and use Zapier or IFTTT to automate other routine tasks. 20. Batch similar tasks. You'll get in the zone and power through several items in less time. 21. Quit typing. Try speech dictation software to get your thoughts down faster, or record new ideas and communications on the go. 22. Keep a "Stop Doing" list. It'll help you watch out for and eliminate the fruitless time sucks from your day. 23. Stop multitasking. Not only is it less efficient, it drops your IQ 10 points. That means more mistakes, which you'll only have to go back and correct... wasting even more precious time. Prioritize 24. Try the “Must, Should, Want” method. You identify three tasks that will help you accomplish your immediate and long-term goals, plus keep you from burning out. 25. Don't check your email first thing each morning. Instead, spend the first hour or two of each day tackling high-priority items. Too often emails derail our plans for the day, and what we intended to do gets pushed off or lost in the shuffle. 26. Do that ONE thing. Ask yourself: "If I could only get ONE thing done today, what would it be?" Do that first. 27. Pick 3 "Most Important" tasks. Write them on a Post-It, and keep it within sight all day long. 28. Prune your to-do list. If it can’t be done only by you and it's not important enough to delegate, rethink whether it's really worth doing at all. Don't waste time on unproductive tasks! 29. Do creative work first. Take advantage of a fresh brain and leave paperwork, meetings, and follow-up tasks for later. 30. Be picky about the work you accept. Write down your mission (or company's mission) in one concrete sentence, whether that’s “Build useful software” or “Bake beautiful wedding cakes.” Will that task help you achieve your mission? Only take it on if the answer is a firm “yes!” 31. Write tomorrow's to-do list tonight. List 3 items to jumpstart your day with a sense of purpose. And make at least one of those items something fun to get your day started on the right foot. 32. Use Stephen Covey's prioritization matrix to sort tasks. Important & Urgent at the top, then Important but Not Urgent, followed by Urgent but Not Important and finally Not Urgent and Not Important. 33. Ask yourself 5 questions: Does this get me closer to my goal? Is it important to my boss? Does it make me money? Does it make my life easier? Does it have to be done today? Sort your list based on the # of yeses. Get Motivated 34. Break big tasks into bite-sized pieces. This should kill your procrastination. Or, commit to working on a big project for just 30 minutes, and then stop. 30 minutes a day can add up to significant progress pretty quick! 35. Try David Allen's two-minute rule. If it takes less than two minutes, do it now. Yes, right now. Checking small items off your to-do list boosts motivation. 36. "Eat the frog." You know those big tasks you always dread? Crossing one off first thing in the day gives you a sense of accomplishment and makes you motivated to get even more done. 37. Find your “biological prime time.” This is the magic hour where your energy, focus and motivation align at a high point. Schedule your most important tasks for that window. 38. Make progress visible. Check off tasks or keep an anti-to do list (see #38). It’s easy to lose motivation when you feel like a hamster running on its wheel, going nowhere. Celebrate your successes! 39. Create an “Anti-todo list.” Keep from getting down on yourself for not completing your planned to-dos by keeping a running list of all the stuff you did get done. 40. “Don't break the chain.” Mark each day you accomplish an important task with an X on your calendar, and watch the chain grow. Then don’t break the chain! 41. Start a StickK contract. Name your task or goal, give yourself a set amount of time, and then put up some cash as stakes (optional). If you achieve your goal, you keep your money. If not, it goes to charity. 42. Strike a power pose. Think Wonder Woman or Superman — wide feet, hands on hips, chest out, chin up. The right body language can boost confidence, lower stress, and help you get "in the zone." 43. Eat some chocolate. You'll get a rush of dopamine, a hormone that boosts motivation. Chocolate also releases chemicals that promote calm and stimulate your brain, perfect for buckling down and getting things done. 44. Be happy! A good mood makes you 12% more productive, so joke with a colleague, watch a funny cat video, or chat with a friend. With these productivity tips bookmarked or pinned to your wall, your list of accomplishments will be more impressive than ever. Get Work Done - 17 Workplace Productivity Hacks from Wrike Related Reads:• 10 Encouraging Productivity Proverbs for Your Office Wall• How to Create Productive Work Habits (Slideshare)• 8 Lessons in Increased Productivity from Wrike Customers• 10 Free Productivity Apps for Getting Things Done
For those of us staring down hundreds of unread emails each morning, the concept of inbox zero can start sounding like a mythical achievement — like finding the Holy Grail or stumbling across buried treasure. We look at our colleagues who regularly achieve it with a mix of envy and suspicion: there must be some kind of sorcery involved, right? Give these 10 tips and techniques a try to not only accomplish inbox zero, but actually stay there. No magic required. Trick 1: Use Tony Hsieh’s Yesterbox technique. The basic idea is this: today, you only read and respond to yesterday’s emails. The vast majority of emails don't require an immediate, same-day response, so you can let today's new messages come in without being distracted or distressed by every one. And tomorrow when you get up, you’ll already know exactly how many messages you have to get through and can more accurately plan your day. Zappos CEO Hsieh says he’s actually more responsive with this approach: everyone gets a reply the day after, instead of a week, month, or... never. Obviously, legitimately urgent emails can be addressed today — but true email emergencies are a pretty rare occurrence. Hsieh’s Pro Tip: If you’re using Outlook, just collapse your “Today” section to stay focused on yesterday’s messages. Read more details here: http://yesterbox.com/ Want a tool to help improve your productivity? Start your free Wrike trial today! Trick 2: Apply the 2-minute rule. Take a cue from David Allen’s GTD method: if it'll take you less than two minutes to reply, do it now. Don't wait! Trick 3: Schedule a meeting with your inbox. Set aside time each day to go through your email, whether it’s one hour-long chunk mid-morning, or three 20-minute check-ins at the beginning, middle, and end of the day. Then don’t look at your email any other time. Don’t keep it open in a browser tab, lurking in the background as you work. Turn off notifications. You may even be away from your desk at the time you choose, but as long as you are aware of how to access your messages, like, for example, how to access Outlook work email from home, you'll be fine. By dedicating scheduled time to your inbox, it won’t be on the back of your mind all day long, but you'll still stay on top of your messages. Wish you knew the best time to check your email? This article says that the best time to clean out your inbox is two hours after you’ve started working. Trick 4: Try Unroll.me. This app consolidates all your email subscriptions and newsletters into a single daily digest. Instead of dozens of daily emails to sort through, you have one. It’s easy to unsubscribe from lists en masse, and since you can quickly scan all the offers and updates in one message, you get through your "junk" mail that much faster. If you follow a lot of blogs via email, consider using an RSS reader like Feedly or Inoreader to monitor them instead of clogging up your inbox. Trick 5: Reschedule your emails. Install Boomerang for Gmail to schedule emails to reappear at a set time. It’s great for messages that require some research before a response, and for batching similar to-dos together. Say you’ve got a job posting up and emails from potential candidates are streaming in. You routinely sort through new resumes on Friday mornings. So reschedule every email from job seekers to show up in your inbox Friday am. They won’t be sitting in your inbox, distracting you or weighing on your mind, but you’ll still get them done and clear them out. Trick 6: Don’t be afraid to delete. If it’s that important, someone will follow up with you. So if there’s even a question about whether you need to keep the email, just delete it. Your trash bin will typically save deleted emails for 30 days, so if you deleted something by accident, you can always retrieve it. But trust us: 99% of the time you won't need to. Trick 7: Modify your Out-of-Office message. Vacations are great, but returning to a terrifying number of new emails can be really depressing, and can take forever to dig your way out of. Even worse is neglecting your work-life balance by figuring out how to access my work email from home. Replace the boilerplate out-of-office message with this: "I’m out of the office from 11/10-11/18 and won’t see your message. Please resend your email after 11/18.” Then filter all incoming messages straight to the trash while you’re gone. If it’s important and the deadline hasn’t passed, they’ll get back to you — and you’ll come home to a clean inbox. Trick 8: Put all your action items in Wrike. Move your to-dos out of your inbox and into your workspace with the rest of your tasks. Wrike’s Outlook/Apple Mail add-ins and Gmail gadget quickly turn emails into tasks, so you can clean out your inbox and actually get to work on to-dos instead of letting them languish in inbox purgatory. You’ll benefit from better organization, and manageable email. Trick 9: Move conversations out of your inbox. Keep your inbox uncluttered by limiting the amount of email you generate. Prevent a chain of email responses by stepping away from the laptop and holding conversations face-to-face, picking up the phone, or sending an instant message. Trick 10: Play the Email Game. The above tips will help you stay at inbox zero, but how do you clear the current mountain of unread emails to get there in the first place? Cleaning out your inbox doesn’t have to be a chore — make it fun! The Email Game gives you a set amount of time to act on each email: reply, forward, label, archive, delete, or skip to look at later. Collect points for beating the timer, which is set according to the length of each email. After you’ve powered through a batch of messages, you’ll get a status report showing how much time you saved and your rank on the leaderboard. Just try not to get addicted to beating your high score! "Inbox Zero" means zero time wasted in your inbox. Did you know that the real definition of Inbox Zero, as originally coined by Merlin Mann, doesn’t actually have anything to do with your number of unread emails? It’s the amount of your attention that’s preoccupied by email, the extent to which your inbox weighs on your mind. Yes, having zero emails in your inbox is one way to do that, but it’s not the only way. So don’t get down on yourself if you don't hit this productivity benchmark every day — or at all. The real achievement is in figuring out a system that works for you, so email doesn’t rule your life. Give these tricks a try, and be sure to let us know how it goes! Wrike can help you organize and manage all your to-dos and reminders. Start a free trial today and make your inbox a more productive place.
Marketers: Do you bang your head against the wall after receiving yet another "final” design that completely disregards the creative brief and your feedback on previous iterations? Designers: Have you ever strained a muscle rolling your eyes at marketers who leave vague feedback or stretch the original scope of the project? Marketing and creative teams must work closely together simply due to the nature of their work. But working side-by-side, day-by-day doesn't automatically mean those teams have a strong collaborative relationship. Like any relationship, it takes commitment to nurture and maintain. Take heart, however, if you're on either of these teams and struggling to work well with the other. A few simple tweaks to your communication style can make all the difference. As this infographic reveals, most of the major sticking points between marketers and creatives boil down to poor communication: Fewer than 40% of marketers say design teams follow the creative brief or ask questions to clarify expectations. 70% of marketers say their creative team doesn’t follow a transparent process, so marketers are left in the dark until the final product is delivered. Fewer than 30% of creatives agree that marketers give useful and timely feedback. However, 46% of marketers say they do. Fewer than 23% of creatives think marketers brief new projects clearly. Source: Visually Moving forward as a team With a more mindful approach to communication and a little honest self-reflection, marketing and creative teams can start working together to achieve better results — in less time and with fewer headaches. The right collaboration tool can also go a long way in improving communication and transparency, and achieving productive integrated marketing communications. For help finding the right software solution for your team, check out Wrike for Marketers.
Ah, procrastination. We know we’ll regret giving in to its siren call, and yet it’s so seductive that most of us can’t resist. This infographic will help you understand the root causes of procrastination so you can start to withstand the lure of “I can always do it later…." Arm yourself with these 8 strategies to fight procrastination: Focus on the benefits. Look at the task as something that will improve your life, rather than a chore that must be completed. Chart your progress. Making progress visible by checking items off a list or filling in a progress bar can boost your motivation. Feed your productivity — literally. Eat a banana or drink a glass of juice to replenish your blood glucose levels and give your brain a boost. Work somewhere comfortable and familiar. Our brains read uncertainty as risk and are more prone to distraction. Set a timer. Tell yourself you only have to buckle down and focus for 15 minutes. Repeated, short sprints can add up to big progress. Find a work buddy. Having someone to hold you accountable — and celebrate with when you’ve accomplished your goal — is great motivation. Establish a routine. Include scheduled breaks to refresh your brain and renew your focus. Set mini-goals. Break up a big, intimidating task into individual steps, then give yourself a little reward when you hit specific milestones. Read the rest of the infographic to find out exactly what happens in your brain when you procrastinate, the driving factors behind habitual procrastination, and the surprising monetary cost of putting off tasks. Source: Agile8.com Looking for more tips to keep procrastination at bay? Give these 4 new productivity techniques a try.
Agile project management is all about breaking free of rigid, step-by-step processes and shaking off that old "How We Do Things Here" so you can embrace creativity and ingenuity. Throw those dusty, outdated process manuals out the window! Right? Not so fast. As our productivity coach Errette Dunn explains, the Agile project management triangle still requires clearly defined processes. In this 5-minute video, Errette discusses: the key difference between Agile and improvisation how you can be more Agile with the right process how to use your current process to keep from reinventing the wheel & make your team more efficient Watch the video now: Ultimately, the proper mindset is key. Always be conscious about the way you work so you can recognize opportunities for improvement. Related Reads:8 Attitudes Guaranteed to Sink Your Agile ProjectsIs Agile Viable for Marketing Teams?The 7 Wastes that Cripple Knowledge Workers (Video)
There are an overwhelming number of project management methodologies, many of them combinations and hybrids of several approaches. With so many different options, how do you choose the right methodology for your project and team? We created a short Slideshare to walk you through it. Follow these 3 steps, and you won't have to rely on "eenie meenie miney mo" when it comes to choosing the best way to work. 3 Steps to Choosing a Project Management Methodology Once you're ready to dig into the specifics of top methodologies, download our free eBook The Beginner's Guide to Project Management Methodologies. It covers 16 popular approaches, provides key comparisons, and discusses the pros and cons of each practice. Want to stay up to date with all of our helpful Slideshare presentations? Follow us on Slideshare!
By 2019, the Internet of Things (IoT) industry will be more than double the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car, and wearable markets—combined. It’s predicted to become the largest device market in the world, adding $1.7 trillion in value to the global economy in the next two years. But what does this up-and-coming industry mean for your organization's future? Internet of Things technologies will lead to a slew of innovations that will have a significant effect on businesses of all sizes and industries, including: Greater efficiency for business operations: Connected devices will enable companies to harness data to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. New business models and revenue streams: New processes will speed up time to market and respond faster to customer needs. Global visibility: Large enterprises will be better able to track effectiveness across multiple locations, provide remote work essentials, and monitor the entire supply chain. Tighter cybersecurity: More data means a greater potential for cybercriminals to steal sensitive business information. Learn more about practical business applications for IoT devices, the concerns organizations have about adopting these new technologies, how major companies like Coca-Cola have deployed IoT, and what the experts have to say about this growing field in the infographic below. Source: Exigent Networks What Does the Future of Work Hold for You? Learn more about the trends and technologies shaping how we’ll work in the years to come. Read our work management survey report to find out what thousands of today's professionals believe are the most important changes coming to the workplace. Why wait? Get better work results today by starting a free trial of Wrike.
Threats to your business don't just come from external factors like competitors or changing markets; internal problems like flawed leadership can be just as fatal. Stay away from these 7 deadly traits that keep struggling startup leaders from succeeding. 1. Arrogance Great leaders are humble. It’s easy to hand off less desirable tasks to employees that are “in the trenches," and focus on high-level strategy instead. But by staying humble, rolling up your sleeves, and working alongside your team, you'll stay connected to both your colleagues and your customers. Making genuine relationships with your team makes them more likely to stick with you, something you’ll be especially grateful for when you hit rough patches (and you will). Staying humble means you’ll have help through the down times, and it also means you won't get so cocky during the good times, leaving room for an underdog competitor to surprise you. 2. Stubbornness Don't refuse to pivot in the name of perseverance. If you're captaining a sinking ship, it won't do any good to insist your team keep rowing instead of scanning the horizon for a new port. Keep an open mind, and a strategic move could turn a bleak prognosis into a million-dollar opportunity. After all, YouTube was originally a floundering dating site. 3. Vanity It’s easy to start measuring your success by the wrong metrics: the number of press mentions and interview requests, the size of your new office, or the number of products your logo is printed on. But don't let surface-level shine distract you from digging deeper to focus on what matters, and insist on the same from your team. Lead by example by prioritizing foundational targets like the number of active users, churn rates, revenue growth, etc. 4. Wrath It’s not that great leaders don’t have high expectations or demand a lot from their employees. But you can’t expect your team to do every task exactly as you want it, every single time. Even if they did, mistakes and miscalculations are an inevitable part of human nature. And when those situations pop up, you can’t fly off the handle. So keep your team happy. Yes, your office should be professional, and so should your relationship with your team. But that doesn't mean your workplace should be cold, or that you should act like a drill sergeant. People are more productive when they're in a good mood. Happy people have more energy, creativity and motivation, make fewer mistakes, and work better with others. They fix problems instead of whining about them. A positive work culture built around your team’s happiness is just as essential to profitability as your product. 5. Selfishness Good leaders need a confident sense of self. Independence and self-reliance are admirable traits, so be driven. Pursue your goals without distraction. But listen as often as you speak. Build relationships that will last — with your team, with investors, with customers. Selfish leaders ignore customer needs in pursuit of their own vision and run with their favorite idea without evaluating or asking for feedback. They refuse to accept ideas that aren't their own, reject constructive criticism, and see themselves as lone geniuses. Just remember: you can't do it all by yourself. Even Tony Stark had Pepper Potts and The Avengers. 6. Laziness Planning, launching, and running your own business takes a lot of hard work, and few people would accuse any entrepreneur of being lazy in the traditional sense. Pushing yourself and your team and taking calculated risks is at the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit. But once you've found success, don't get complacent. Even if your product has millions of happy, devoted users and your brand is a household name, you need to keep moving forward or you'll fade into obscurity. (Just ask Blockbuster, Pan Am, or Tower Records.) Always ask yourself, your team, and your customers: "What's next? What can we do better?" 7. Greed Your vision should go beyond making piles of money so big you can swim around in them like Scrooge McDuck. People want their work to mean something. In a study by The Intelligence Group, 64% of respondents said they would rather get paid $40,000 for a job they found meaningful than $100,000 for a job they didn't. So create a tangible vision for the kind of impact you want your company to have, rooted in something meaningful, and keep it at the forefront of everything you do. You'll not only attract top talent that's dedicated to their work, you'll keep them around. What companies are successfully avoiding these deadly sins? Head to the comments and tell us which startup leaders you most admire! And if you're looking for a good read, pick up some more leadership tips in these 15 Books Every Manager Should Read.
Marketing technologies can be powerful assets, helping you automate routine tasks, improve customer engagement, and coordinate and collaborate with your team. But you only reap the full benefits when your tools work together, fitting naturally into your established processes and tangibly moving the needle when it comes to converting customers. Just because a tool seems useful, doesn't necessarily mean you should use it — and adopting too many just gums up the works. So when it comes to setting up or revising your marketing technology stack, ask yourself these three questions to identify where adding a tool might be helpful, as well as where you can easily streamline. 1. "Where does this tool fit into the customer journey?" As a marketer, your customer personas and detailed buyer's journey should always be top of mind. Take a look at your customer journey and list which of your tools contribute to each step. This will help you see gaps where new marketing asset management software could help you out, as well as identify unnecessary or overlapping technologies. 2. "Does this tool help convert prospects?" A popular tool may help you tweet 1,000 times a day, but if your customers aren't on Twitter, what's the point? Look at the data and be realistic about which technologies make a real difference when it comes to conversion rates and team productivity. 3. "What if this tool didn't exist?" Although it’s only a hypothetical, taking this question seriously can help you see other ways of accomplishing the same objective, think creatively, and streamline the number of tools you're using (and paying for). What's Next? Asking these questions will help you be strategic in building an effective marketing technology stack that helps you accomplish — and even exceed — your goals. Free Marketing Tech Map Template Download our free eBook, 5 Steps to Transforming Marketing Operations For Maximum Growth, for a simple template you can use to start building or improving your own marketing toolkit.