Every business needs to make changes but problems arise when there is no one in place to manage those changes......our writer John A G Smith helps explain how important Change Management is:

Harry studied the paperwork for a few minutes and then looked up.

“You’re absolutely right,” he said, “the change is essential and urgent. I’ll give you access to the Live Library. You and your team go ahead and build the change. When you you’ve tested it I’ll give you the password and you can put it into live.”

I was stunned. He was right about the urgency but this was way out of line. Here I was, just a subcontractor, being given the keys to the kingdom.

“What about Change Management?” I asked. “And doesn’t it have to go through the Change Advisory Board? Doesn’t anyone have to sign it off?”

“Nah.” He leaned back in his chair, legs straight and thrust his hands deep in his pockets. “The problem here is that our systems are too dynamic. We’ve got so many urgent changes going on that any sort of Change Management system will just get in the way. It would slow the whole thing up and be too much of a drag on everything.”

Congratulations! You got the promotion, but do you want to be a good leader or a good manager? Leadership skills and Management Skills for New Managers are 2 of our most popular business courses designed to help you on your way.

But what is the difference between a Leader and a Manager? I hear you ask..... using social history our expert John A G Smith explains.......

We are each set a myriad of targets throughout our lives, by ourselves and by others. How can a leader ensure that the right targets are set to achieve the best from their workers? Learn how to motivate your team and strengthen your techniques but joining one of our Leadership courses.

Leadership by Pedro Ribeiro Simões

I was waiting for the Number 7 bus that would transport me in comfort to the delights of Brighton Marina when I noticed the sign on the side that proudly boasted, “Up to every 7 minutes” and this puzzled me. A quick check on the timetable confirmed my suspicion that, in fact, seven minutes was the shortest time one would have to wait for this hybrid drive, low energy, environmentally friendly behemoth.

Now if someone promised to do a job, say clean your car, you might ask for an estimate of the price.

“Up to seven quid, gov’nor,” he might proclaim so, on that basis, you give him the work.

How would you feel if, the job is done, he now held out his mitt for a tenner?

When you ask any group of workers what motivates them to come to work, at least one and probably most will include 'money' in the response. Pay is a big issue for most people and is certainly a reason why people go to work, even sometimes staying in jobs they don't like. But is it a motivator?

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory suggests that there are two different sets of factors that determine job dissatisfaction and job satisfaction.

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory

The outsourcing of IT and other services is now common practise. Problems can arise when it is seen as a means to pass on responsibility for service management or IT service management.

Image -'Service' by SaschaKohlmann

There are a significant number of problems for which the application of ITIL disciplines can bring substantial benefits. All of which are covered in the ITIL Foundation course.

As with many technical subjects, a little storytelling makes concepts easier to understand, so we asked our expert John A.G. Smith takes a lighter look at the subject of ITIL Contracts, Services and Agreements.

You've been here before, the last time you and the client spoke you didn't exactly see eye to eye. Now months of negotiations are at risk and potentially big figures in profit too.

Stop.

Don't make that call. Re-evaluate where you are in negotiations and see what you can take from these killer tips to close that deal.

Negotiations are all about your relationship with the client. If you're seeing your role in negotiations as an opportunity to make money at the expense of the client then you're looking at it all the wrong way. Negotiations are professional relationships. Benefits should and can be mutually profitable whilst retaining a relationship with a client that will last years.

Our Negotiation Skills training will give you the knowledge and tools necessary to be able to conduct any negotiation as a competitive and collaborative negotiation.

A good deal might not revive a bad relationship, but a good relationship can revive a bad deal.

'He was a wise man who invented (management)'!

It might not seem apparent at first, butManagementandPhilosophygo together likeKant and the Categorical Imperative.

Management, among other things, seeks to provide a structure to get the best from people, to understand business and make people (customers, staff, bosses) happy.

Philosophy, among other things, seeks to provide a structure to get the best from life, to understand the world and make people (society, individuals) happy.

So can managers learn anything from the great philosophers? Certainly.

If you'd like to learn how to be a great manager, why not try ourManagement Skills Courses?

This post will be part of a series called'Management Lessons From Philosophy'we'll start with the ideas of the ancient philosophers from Greece and work our way up to the modern thinkers, exploring everything that can be applied to management along the way.

This week we begin with the man who started it all:Plato.

"The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living"

The Godfather of everything philosophical, Plato isthe manwhen it comes to wise one-liners that make you re-evaluate, well, everything!

With this quote he is arguing that to make the most of life, one really needs to inquire and seek knowledge, both about the world and oneself.