Thursday, October 17, 2019

4 Ways Organizations Can Encourage Innovation


(because innovation frequently happens at the intersections between groups, instead of just inside one department): 1. Organize internal seminars or lunch-n-learns where one group can present on what they are currently working on. 2. Have small social events between one or two groups (i.e manufacturing and IT), so they will mix and can discuss ideas informally. 3. If members of multiple departments have an innovative idea, give them a certain number of hours per week to work together on their idea, as well as possible seed money.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Three Most Common Reasons Employees Aren't More Productive:

1. Not paying attention - this is getting worse as meetings become more virtual. People are multi-tasking and not fully engaging with the person talking. This results in information needing to be repeated. 2. Not admitting they don't understand - this problem particularly affects workers in other countries, so it is partially cultural. The employee does not want to admit that they do not understand what they have to do, so they are reluctant to ask clarifying questions. The result is an unpleasant surprise down the road, and the company having to invest in re-doing failure work. 3. Not being able to communicate issues clearly - employees need to be able to succinctly summarize an issue, and then be able to drill down into details, depending on the type of audience. hashtagproductivity hashtagCommunication



© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Friday, October 11, 2019

Chicago Ideas Week - My Latest Chicago Business Journal Column is Out

My latest article for the Chicago Business Journal, on Chicago Ideas Week, has been published.

© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity®: Praveen Puri helps clients identify the key changes that result in dramatic improvement. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Workplace Productivity Tips

As a former start-up CEO, bank executive, and now management consultant, here are some tips for workplace productivity:

1. Streamline the on-boarding process, so new members added to a team can get assigned hardware, systems access, etc. quickly, with a minimum of paper work.

2. Build simple, localized shared spaces (such as wikis) that allow teams to quickly share information between members.

3. Eliminate long, unproductive meetings.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity® expert who drives innovation and revenue growth. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Productivity Tip for Entrepreneurs

Remove tasks from your "to do" list, and schedule them as appointments on your calendar. I learned this from my mentor, Alan Weiss. This way, when the time slot arrives, you are motivated to treat the assignment as if it were a meeting, and work on it.


© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity® expert who drives innovation and revenue growth. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

First Impressions Don't Matter




The conventional advice is that making a great first impression is critical. But is it?

In a Harvard Business Review article, networking expert Rich Stromback says “Everyone gets this wrong. They try to look right and sound right and end up being completely forgettable...I do not care about first impressions. I’d almost rather make a bad first impression and let people discover me over time than go for an immediate positive response."

Hotels go out of their way to make a great first impression, with attentive doormen, friendly receptionists, and chocolates on the pillow.  But, hotel executive Jeremy McCarthy says that research shows people are more influenced by peak experiences and the last impression.




© 2019 Praveen Puri

Strategic Simplicity® expert who drives innovation and revenue growth. Visit PuriConsulting.com

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Forever 21, Over Expansion, Strategic Simplicity®


One of the reasons given for hashtagforever21 's bankruptcy is over expansion.  

This, again, is an example of Strategic Simplicity® (or lack of it).  

I like to use the example of a Middle Eastern chain, based in the Chicago-area, that expanded from 2 locations to 30 by first eliminating 80% of their menu.  

Logistics, supply chains, and staffing/training become problems if you don't clean up/simplify your processes before trying to scale.

hashtagscaling hashtagretailapocalypse hashtaglogisticsmanagement


© 2019 Praveen Puri