Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Communication success tip - constructive criticism

Everyone appreciates constructive criticism.  But it is so much more palatable and therefore effective if it is couched between two layers of well-deserved praise.

More on Communication

Monday, February 27, 2006

Getting Noticed on the net

Getting Noticed on the Net- Web Site Registration
 
Have you "Googled' your Not for Profit and found that it doesn't appear on the search results? Or are you relegated to page seventeen among thousands of competing sites? Correctly registering a Not for Profit with major search engines and web directories is the way to get noticed on the Net!
Article continues

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Discover the leader within you

"Learn to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You"
Everyone has seen a good leader in action. And, as we have all witnessed, he or she seems to easily create a vision, influence others to commit to the vision and then empowers these same individuals to succeed in achieving the vision.
Additionally, he or she simultaneously wears different hats, acting as teacher, cheerleader, even as a sounding board, as the “team” works to make the vision a reality.
In watching this phenomenon, most of us have wondered: Can strong, effective, productive, successful leadership be learned?
The answer to this question is a clear, definitive “Yes.”
In fact, some leadership skills and behaviors are already present in you. You just have to learn to tap into them fully. Some of them may be foreign to you now, but with a little bit of perseverance and application you can learn to cultivate them.
Article continues

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Keeping up to date with critical issues

Westlaw Watch streamlines the process for keeping your organization up-to-date on critical business issues, legal topics and competitive matters. This easy-to-use, interactive tool allows the monitoring and management of clips across your organization with the ability to deliver results via e-mail distribution or through seamless links on your intranet or portal. Individual users, a select group of users or the entire organization can receive relevant news or legal information in their preferred format when they want it

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Personal Internet surfing at works costs heaps

Personal Internet surfing at work costs Companies over $300 billion a year
According to a new survey by America Online and Salary.com, summarized by Dan Malachowski, the average worker admits to wasting 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time. The survey indicates that employees are wasting about twice as much time as their employers expect. Salary.com calculated that employers spend $759 billion per year on salaries for which real work was expected, but not actually performed.
The biggest distraction is personal Internet use by 44.7% of the more than 10,000 people polled. Socializing with co-workers came in second at 23.4%. Conducting personal business, "spacing out," running errands, and making personal phone calls were the other popular time-wasting activities in the workplace.
 
Read the whole article
 

Sunday, February 12, 2006

National roundable of nonprofit organisations

Nonprofit Roundtable aims to enhance the extraordinary work and effort already undertaken by nonprofit organisations in Australia. It seeks to promote and strengthen the reputation and recognition of the sector and to increase the infrastructure and capacity of the sector to deliver important economic and social contributions to Australia and beyond. The objects of the Roundtable include:· - to encourage voluntary and philanthropic endeavour · - to enhance the recognition of and promote support for the work of nonprofit organisations· - to provide a national forum for the exchange of information, research and knowledge· - to undertake, initiate or coordinate research to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of nonprofit organisations· - to inform decision makers in respect of issues affecting nonprofit organisations· - to be a voice on issues which affect nonprofit agencies· - to enhance the cooperation and engagement between business, government and other sectors of society with the nonprofit sectorVisit the website

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social Responsibility  -  Forum 2006

2-3 March Marriott Hotel, Sydney

Corporate Social Responsibility Forum 2006” is a highly interactive two day event addressing strategic issues confronting organisations dealing with the latest developments and challenges in corporate social responsibility. This forum brings together a group of leading practitioners from a variety of backgrounds to discuss key challenges confronting organisations. They will speak candidly about their experiences, sharing lessons on what worked, what didn’t and what the future might hold. Each in different ways, our presenters will highlight the strategies, key programs and the  infrastructure required to:

• Successfully engage stakeholders

• Measure the effectiveness of existing approaches and
identify areas in need of improvement

• Bring the values to life throughout the organisation

• Develop strategic partnerships

• Effectively communicate CSR

• Use CSR as tool for competitive advantage

• Attract and keep the right people

More Information

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Launch of Australian Philanthropy Journal

From ProBono Australia



NSW Govt Promotes Corporate Philanthropy

The NSW Government is encouraging greater corporate philanthropy with the launch of a special NSW edition of the Australian Philanthropy journal.DoCS’ Communities Division Executive Director, Sonja Stewart, says that while there are signs that increasing numbers of trusts and foundations ware being established in the State, local research had shown Australians were not giving as much as they could.

Stewart says that with approximately 7,000 Not for Profit organisations providing community and social services in NSW, the potential for collaborative partnerships between these organisations and the philanthropic and business sectors is almost limitless.She says the NSW Government has recognised this great potential for cross-sector collaboration to make a significant contribution to the people of NSW; whether through direct financial assistance or donations, or businesses providing in-kind resources or encouraging their employees to volunteer their skills to non-profit organisations.Stewart says that combined with the growing interest in Corporate Social Responsibility in recent years, it is hoped that this new publication will spark further interest in this area.
The NSW edition focuses on philanthropy in NSW and includes a number of articles show casing partnerships between the philanthropic and business sectors, and NSW Government agencies.It provides excellent examples of how government agencies and the philanthropic and corporate sectors can collaborate on projects that contribute in to community and individual wellbeing.One innovative and successful project is the Lawyers Encouraging and Assisting Promising Students! (LEAPS!) mentoring program which has been making a difference in the lives of vulnerable young people in NSW since 2002.
Through this project, which is run through a partnership with the NSW Department of Education and Training and the Sydney legal profession, selected students are partnered with lawyers and other employees of participating firms and meet regularly to discuss career and life goals.

DoCS contributed $16,500 to the cost of producing the special edition. The journal is published by Philanthropy Australia, the national membership and peak organisation for trusts and foundations, and is usually distributed three times a year to its members.An electronic copy of the journal is available at www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au

How to give to your community

The new Giving Bikes page is just the latest in a series of improvements made to the Australian Giving Centre, which is supported by our alliance partner Westpac. The Giving Centre now has information on just about everything you need to know when it comes to giving to your community: from giving money and time, to giving organs and blood, to giving blankets, clothes and furniture, land, computers, and mobile phones. It’s
online at www.ourcommunity.com.au/giving

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Nine Steps of Planning in your organisation

Nine Steps of Planning in your Organisation

Even though everyone in your organisation may be fairly aware of what is to be achieved, and what your organisational goals are, the goal-setting, planning process is useful to focus awareness on the aims and processes and to ensure that everyone knows exactly what their roles are. These steps can also be used in any decision-making situation, or any problem solving session.Planning, must, however, never stop. It is constantly adapting to new situations.1. Assess the situation2. Select objectives and strategies to realize objectives. 3. Develop action plans for entire long-range plan4. Develop detailed action plans for current year5. Establish a way to monitor activities and insure feedback (reporting).6. Develop a budget and implement ways to meet funding requirements.7. Measure performance; analyse feedback; compare progress with plan.8. Act on findings: give green light to successful activities, take corrective action when needed.9. Signoff on completed plans - abandon ones not achieving your objective or when the objective changes (as they do).

Friday, February 03, 2006

Leadership Success Tip

No person will ever be a great leader who does not take genuine joy in the success of those with whom they serve.