Posts Tagged ‘consulting’
Monday, July 14th, 2008
An organizational change discussion was introduced with the following “How many process improvement consultants does it take to change a light bulb? One, but only if the light bulb really wants to change.” The topic’s title included the word “inertia” indicating that change is resisted. So how do you reduce resistance? Regardless of the type of change being implemented, a successful project always requires support from the top of the organization. Management support and directives motivate people.
Even when people are highly motivated, change can be stressful and scary. As we age and move into the over 50, senior citizen ranks, it is more difficult to change. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak or inflexible. People issues have crippled project of all kinds project – whether technology or process, or organizational structure or management. Stress and post implementation distress must be expected and accommodated.
Bottom line: To make an organizational change successful, it has to be well planned, with simple steps that are well communicated.
See the July Newsletter for details about Michael Nearman of AGSI who addressed the June 2008 Atlanta SPIN (Software & Systems Process Improvement Network) meeting.
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: Are You Voting For Change, Atlanta, blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, Change, Change Management, Consultant, consulting, Implementation, management, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, Post Implementation Distress, Process, project, project management, Sandra Noble, Software, Strategy
Posted in Are You Voting For Change, Business, Change Management, Post Implementation Distress, Process, Senior Citizen / Baby Boomer, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Powell Goldstein’s e-Newsletter included the article titled “Businesses and Their Employees Should Reconsider Taking Laptops and PDAs Abroad”. The reason for concern is a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. The ruling gives custom’s agents the right to search electronic files without reasonable suspicion.
Currently, there have been no abuses of this ruling. But, businesses should consider the impact of trade secrets and sensitive data being accessed and copied by customs agents and Homeland Security personnel. Should you leave home without your beloved electronic devices? Get POGO’s article.
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: Atlanta, blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, consulting, Finance, Homeland Security, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, project, Sandra Noble, Strategy, Technology
Posted in Business, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Down in the trenches, business analysts are the ones tasked with developing business cases for IT application development. And, in the process, smoothing relations among competing parties and moving projects along.
Read the whole ““Why Business Analysts Are So Important for IT and CIOs” article in CIO.com
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: application development, Atlanta, blog, Business, business case, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, CIO, consulting, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, Process, project, Requirements, Sandra Noble, Strategy, Technology
Posted in Process, Requirements, Strategy, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Despite the debate about whether there is officially a recession, in 2008 many Americans are suffering. Those in the top income brackets are unaffected. But the fuel prices / crisis is impacting all but the super rich in this country.
It doesn’t help to hear that Europeans and citizens of many other countries have long been faced with high gas prices. Or that, people in many countries are accustomed to spending much higher percentages of their incomes on necessities like food and clothing. Any decrease in standard of living is traumatic. The post World War II American dream was that the standard of living would be higher for our children. But that expectation is changing. All change requires adjustments. And the fear and stress associated with financial downturns can have profound effects on health and emotional well being.
As in software or technology implementations, satisfaction and success comes when the impacted people / users / employees embrace the changes. This is not automatic, especially in large scale implementations and projects. The consultants at Noble & Associates Consulting, Inc have found that change is rarely embraced unless change management programs have been put in place.
Americans who manage to still have adequate disposal incomes, are still vacationing. US travelers to Europe are shocked and disheartened by the lack of buying power of the US dollar. Other Americans are just bemoaning the fact that they either have less spending money or that the money they do have does not go as far.
So how can Europe be of benefit to the United States and it’s de facto recession economy? I saw a Managing Automation blog post about increased interest in procuring good, services and workers from the US. Due to close quarters and limited land mass, small cars have been in vogue in Europe. Our automakers are fighting for survival. As US automakers finally get on the fuel efficient bandwagon, perhaps they can sell more cars domestically and internationally. And, as suggested by the “Manufacturers Set to Take Advantage of the Downturn” article, perhaps the laid off engineer or executive should be floating their resumes overseas.
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, Consultant, consulting, crisis, default, economy, Finance, financial, forecast, foreclosure, fuel prices, Jobs, Maslow, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, prices, recession, Sandra Noble, unemployment
Posted in Business, Finance, Software, Strategy, Technology | 2 Comments »
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Noble Finances offers alternative financing solutions for Business.
Following is the post from www.squidoo.com/NobleFinances:
Is your business having cash flow problems?
Noble Finances provides financial solutions to foster business growth.
Companies with at least $10,000 in monthly revenues, can leverage accounts receivables from their creditworthy customers to get cash in 24 hours.
Businesses with as little as $2000/month in Visa/Mastercard credit card sales also qualify for cash advances against their future sales volume.
And, we also offer equipment leasing and pre-settlement lawsuit funding.
Clients sleep better at night knowing they sufficient cash and working capital to survive, to meet payroll, and to pursue bigger deals.
Who do you know whose business could be more successful if they had better cash flow?
Call 404-374-3384
Noble Finances
http://www.GetCashFromReceivables.com
http://www.BusinessCashSmallReceivable.com
Tags: blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, company, Consultant, consulting, corporate, Finance, financial, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, Sandra Noble, Senior citizen
Posted in Business, Finance | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
Recession is defined as two consecutive quarterly declines in GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
US Fourth Quarter 2007
Financial industry profits fell $104.6 billion annualized. Nonfinancial industries’ profits fell $30.7 billion annualized. Corporate after-tax profits fell $37.9 billion at a quarterly rate of 3.3%. But despite the quarterly decline, corporate profits after taxes are up 3.3% compared with a year ago. And the U.S. economy, as measured by GDP, grew at a 0.6% annual rate, the slowest pace since late 2002.
But the operative word is “grew”. Believe it or not, we have yet to have one quarterly decline in GDP. Companies and institutions are losing money but the overall US economy is healthy and growing.
State Economics
So, let’s move down to the state level. I lived in Cleveland, OH for many years. Ohio has been hit hard by the non-recession. Ohio and other similar high take, high labor union states are losing jobs and population. These states tended to not have had the housing bubble that other states have enjoyed. The high unemployment rates have caused the increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures. So the mortgage crisis in the country has a greater negative impact in states like Ohio. Housing prices have gone from steady-state to a decline. Hence my friends in the Ohio would find it more difficult to be bullish on the economy.
Personal Finances
Then on a personal level, many are convinced that there is a recession. There has been a significant reduction in the amount of disposable money. Consumer spending is down, at least for me and most people I know. Tears came to my eyes the first time I saw $3.25 per gallon at the gas pump. I have since seen even higher prices. So those of us struggling to make ends meet are at the lower levels of Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. Our focus is on putting food on the table, keeping a roof over our heads, and having gas in the car so we can get to work and earn a living.
Relativity
According to quantum physics, nothing is real unless it is observed and outcomes are influenced by the observer. This conforms to conventional thinking about what relativity is. It all depends on how you look at it. Two people can look at the same situation and draw different conclusions.
One of the tenets of Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is that outcomes are the same for all observers. However, the theory also indicates that two simultaneous realities exist at the same time.
Reality
So yes, the US economy is still growing, however slowly it may seem. But the other reality is that many people are seeing and feeling a recession in their personal financial situations. And the forecast for many business industry sectors is bleak.
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: Albert Einstein, blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, Consultant, consulting, consumer spending, corporate, crisis, default, economy, Finance, financial, forecast, foreclosure, GDP, gross domestic product, Housing, Jobs, labor union, Maslow, mortgage, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, Ohio, physics, prices, profits, quantum physics, rate, recession, Sandra Noble, tax, theory of relativity, unemployment
Posted in Business, Finance | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
MARKETING -
Small Budget, Big Impact!
Friday, April 18, 2008
3:30 PM – 7:30 PM
At
The Knowledge Shop
Only $79.00, by April 16
$85.00 After April 16
Get More Info Now!
Directions:
Go to http://www.ksatlanta.com/
Knowledge Shop
(at the far corner of the Wal-Mart parking lot)
Marietta Trade Center
180 Cobb Pkwy SE #C-24
Marietta, GA 30060
In this seminar you will
· Learn internet marketing tools, tips, strategies and concepts
· Receive step by step instructions
· Get a hands-on opportunity to apply what you’ve learn.
· Leave with a web presence and a business email account.
Prerequisites:
· Knowledge of Windows, Microsoft Office products: Word, Excel, Outlook
· Beginning level experience with the Internet
Specific topics include:
· Marketing Concepts
· Creating a web presence (bring your credit cards)
· Opt-in pages
· Contact databases and Autoresponders
· Online Marketing Techniques (emails, article, etc)
· Traffic generation and getting leads
· Available resources
For More Information,
Contact Sandra at:
404-374-3384 or info@NobleAdvantage.com
www.GetPeopleToComeToWebPage.com
Give Me More Info Now!
Tags: blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, consulting, Finance, get people to web page, get people to website, Implementation, internet marketing, lead generation, market on the web, marketing funnel, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, online marketing, political, Process, Process Improvement, Sandra Noble, Senior citizen, Social Network, Strategy, Technology, Ways to Attract Customers
Posted in Business, Marketing, Strategy, Technology | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 16th, 2008
I was perusing BPM Strategies magazine and came across the term “applistructure “. Applistructure has to do with the convention of combining enterprise infrastructure and enterprise business applications. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) refers to a web centric / web focused approach to technology. According to the “SOA and Application Infrastructure” article by Mike Rosen, this applistructure trend was hot a couple of years ago. Can you relax? Or, as Mr. Rosen suggests, can you take comfort in knowing that solving management and business process issues are more critical to enterprise success than the actual technology?
I attended the Atlanta AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) February 2008 meeting. The speaker, Mr. Joe Capps talked about the subject of moving to enterprise level systems and procurement processes. Instead of haphazardly developing technology in an “after the fact” manner, he advocated a more proactive approach – as in developing a strategy to move toward enterprise infrastructure, enterprise business applications and enterprise technology in general.
Additionally, a key imperative of the Department of Defense (DoD) is to change and accelerate the requirement to solution process. What’s known as Moore’s Law (based on Gordon Moore’s predictions about semiconductors), says that technology is rapidly changing. Probably about every 18 months. Where there is a need for the latest technology, Moore’s Law has financial, logistical and feasibility implications. The government and the DoD are known for red tape and cumbersome processes. But our country’s ability to respond to immediate threats requires current, accurate information delivered to those needing it in a timely fashion. He suggested the criticality of providing our war fighters with decision making data on how to even respond to five guys running down a street in Iraq. Wow!
Moore’s Law has implications in the private sector as well. Large scale technology projects often take 18 months or more to implement. That time is in addition to the time required to budget for, select and procure the software, hardware, and implementation partners. While ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) and the like, may not be obsolete, there are sure to be upgrades, patches (corrections and fixes to software problems) and new feature by the time the system is finally rolled out.
So, what can be done? Knowledgeable consultants with system expertise can help companies and public sector entities develop a strategy and select the right software in the first place. Then, the right implementation partners can accelerate and provide Independent Verification and Validations (IV&V), project management and governance throughout the implementation process. If none of these things were in place or addressed during the course of the technology project, then you’ll probably need the cure for the “Post Implementation Distress” that is sure to occur.
You’re spending millions of dollars for enterprise initiatives. Wouldn’t it be worth spending a small percentage on ensuring that you get what you paid for? Perhaps you need a technical advocate to help you navigate through the planning and implementation process.
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: AFCEA, applistructure, Atlanta, blog, BPM, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, Change, Consultant, consulting, CRM, Department of Defense, DoD, enterprise, ERP, Finance, Implementation, infrastructure, IV&V, MES, Moore's Law, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, Post Implementation Distress, Process, Process Improvement, Requirements, Sandra Noble, SOA, Software, Strategy, Technology
Posted in Business, Finance, Process, Requirements, Software, Strategy, Technology | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 29th, 2008
It’s pronounced “Web two dot oh“. And, it seems I’m on track in exploring this Web 2.0 stuff. Web 2.0 is impacting the government as well as the presidential campaign. Many feel that embracing this new technology paradigm is one of the keys to the success of Barack Obama’s campaign. I think it was part of his strategy to implement and use Web 2.0 for competitive advantage.
As I mentioned in a prior article, all are impacted by this new internet / technology revolution. It may be directly by you accessing blogs, joining online social networks or accepting networking connection invitations. It may be indirect by your children or grandchildren helping you to do google and yahoo searches and researches. Or it could just be a societal impact. Whether you like it or not, those who embrace Web 2.0 and other internet features are affecting the way we run our businesses, purchase goods and services, donate money and run political campaigns.
This phenomenon is even being reported in government newsletters and government related article. It was reported that the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s (JFCOM) has set up a website to facilitate Web 2.0 activity. The membership of AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) provides communications, IT, intelligence, and global security solutions to the military. The article “AFCEA Solutions Series Blazes New E-Trails” is all about Web 2.0.
A recent title in the Government Technology hnewletter was “E-Vote: Tapscott Says Web 2.0 Will Determine Presidential Campaign Advantage”. And who is Tapscott? Don Tapscott is author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (Portfolio 2006). In my “What’s a Wiki” article on February 10th, I tried to put mind energy around the concept of a Wiki. Suffice it to say, a Wiki is one of those Web 2.0 things. Tapscott’s “Wikinomics” terms suggests that there is an economic impact to the use of Wiki’s.
Watch out for Wiki’s and Web 2.0.
WWW – It’s what’s happening now!
Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC
Tags: 2008 presidential election, AFCEA, Atlanta, Barack Obama, blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, consulting, Finance, Implementation, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, political, Process, Process Improvement, Sandra Noble, Senior citizen, Social Network, Strategy, Technology, web 2.0, Wiki
Posted in Business, Finance, Marketing, Process, Strategy, Technology | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Linkedin is a social networking and connection forum for business people. If you’re in business, check it out. You might be surprised who’s already signed up.
Invite me to join your LinkedIn network. Every opportunity you have to network and build your sphere of influence is important to your success. When you add me as a connection use president@NobleAdvantage.com for the email.
Click the above icon or go to http://www.linkedin.com/in/SandraNoble.
If not already member, then click “Join Now” on the right.
If you’re already linkedin, then click “Contact Directly” on the right.
Let’s look for ways we can help each other have more successful
businesses and make more money!
Sandra Noble
President / CEO
Noble & Associates Consulting, Inc.
Noble Finances
Tags: Atlanta, blog, Business, Business Over 50, businessover50.com, Consultant, consulting, Linkedin, Noble & Associates Consulting, Noble Finances, Sandra Noble, Senior citizen, Social Network
Posted in Business, Business People Over 50 - Who are we?, Finance, Marketing | No Comments »