Welcome to the Clarity Quiz! Who is responsible for profitability? Sales Manufacturing/Production Purchasing and Inventory Management Product Development CEO Make your selection and then click “more” to see if you are correct.
PRESS RELEASE August 27, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ann Latham 603-784-5727 Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. EASTHAMPTON, MA – Latham Invited to Speak for Purchasing Management Association Western New England Ann Latham has been invited to present “SOAR through Decisions™ with Clarity” for the Purchasing Management Association Western New England. The event is October 20, 2011 at 5:00pm at the Yankee Pedlar in Holyoke, Massachusetts and includes dinner. Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity, Inc., says, “Whether in the executive suite or on the factory floor, whether individually or in groups, your efficiency and effectiveness are governed by how well and how quickly you make decisions.” She goes on to explain that we make thousands of decisions every day, many of which bog us down, and yet most people have never been taught how to make better decisions faster. For more information, visit the PMAWNE website.
PRESS RELEASE August 27, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ann Latham 603-784-5727 Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. EASTHAMPTON, MA – Latham provides implementation advice for business owners The UMass Family Business Center’s September dinner, featuring Ann Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity, Inc., is an opportunity for business owners to learn how to transform ideas and plans into reality. “Ideas are the easy part,” says Latham. “We all have tons of ideas. Turning them into results is another story.” The dinner meeting is scheduled for 5:00 on September 6th at Page’s Loft in the Clarion in Northampton and is open to the public.
A recent article in The New York Times generated several responses on a forum I frequent. The only problem was I could not believe they had all read the same article I had read. Each person reacted to a different component of the article. Latched on and took off. At the same time, each assumed the others were reacting to the same thing. The reality was they simply weren’t talking to each other. They thought they were, but they weren’t. It was unbelievable, but it wasn’t. I see this every day. I remember the first meeting I attended at a new job many years ago. I sat at the table and listened.
PRESS RELEASE August 21, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ann Latham 603-784-5727 Uncommon Clarity®, Inc. EASTHAMPTON, MA – MBA Students to Get Dose of Latham Clarity New MBA students at the Isenberg School of Management will get the year off to a productive start with the workshop “Uncommon Productivity,” presented by Ann Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity, Inc. “Each of us has only one life and 24 hours in a day,” says Latham. “Those who learn to make the best of these two facts not only have a competitive advantage, they also have a better life.” Latham goes on to explain that such “self mastery” is not easy, at least not judging by the perennial popularity of this topic among her clients and many others. Ann Latham creates clarity. She does it as a consultant for corporate giants, non-profits, and smaller businesses alike that wish to achieve better results in half the time and with greater confidence. Her clients range from Hitachi to Smith College to Public Television of Western New England to the local Chamber of Commerce.
I attended a teleconference this past week during which I learned some interesting things. I wanted to follow up with a quick phone call to the presenter. My experience in that endeavor reveals the easiest way to avoid customers. You may be doing the same thing and not even realize it. Here is my story: I googled the company name. The result was nothing but confusing. The only references to that company were on secondary websites (e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn). There was no reference to “that company.com.” The company’s Facebook page had no contact information. It didn’t have anything else either, for that matter. Another secondary site had a link to “that company.com”and it redirected me to “another company.com.” Apparently the company name has been changed recently. When I finally arrive there, I can tell that I have found the right website, but I am many minutes in at this point. How many people would have quit by now?
Are your products as simple as a banana? Do they provide instant recognition? Have no moving parts? Sell for a fairly small and stable price? Require no installation? No explanation? No registration? No warranty? If yes, your products, like a banana, can be sold without building trust. Trust is not a big factor in the sale of a banana. It’s easy to trust a banana. Unless, of course, you are dealing with someone who has never seen a banana. But then, the banana is no longer simple, is it?
The stock market is swinging wildly and so a journalist asks me if I, or people I know, are freaking out and canceling plans. Why not? Let’s whip the frenzy to even greater heights! If everyone reads about people canceling plans like theirs, than they can freak out and cancel as well! Everyone can freak. We can spread the panic, put more people out of work, and damage more businesses. And for what reason? Because someone else freaked. That’s good enough reason, right?
Ever heard of Elance.com? It’s a website where freelancers all over the world can compete for jobs involving everything from design work to admin support to ghostwriting. Those doing the hiring can readily view the track records of those providing services – previous project titles, customer comments, and cumulative Elance earnings, which makes it easy to narrow your search to serious, competent, and reliable providers. When project opportunities are posted, freelancers respond with proposals. May the best proposal win! Prepared with a relatively small project, I decided to give Elance a try. I posted my project providing quite a bit of detail as to what was required, my concerns, and my desired outcomes. I gave it a one week response window since I was in a hurry to get some action before leaving on vacation.
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal claimed that three fourths of all departing employees would not recommend their employer to others, up from 42% three years ago. Granted, things have been tough for a few years, but do you know how your employees feel about their jobs at this point? Despite continued high unemployment, I know of far too many companies struggling to fill openings with high quality candidates. Your high quality employees may not yet realize they are in demand but once they get wind of another opportunity, will they flee?