|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
New and ReviewedAugust 17, 2005GOOGLE ISN’T EVERYTHING…Yes, all librarians know this and we never tire of telling the rest of the world about it. But it is really refreshing to read a column with this very heading in the August 15, 2005 issue of Forbes magazine (pp. 56-58). “Can't find what you’re looking for through your favorite search engine? Try the old-fashioned route: your public library” writes Stephen Manes who extols many of the premium databases and other products and services available at no cost to library cardholders. Here are some notable excerpts: “None of these databases is perfect, since most were initially designed for trained librarians, rather than mere flailing mortals, so the user interfaces can be daunting…” Vendors – are you listening?? “My biggest complaint is that some libraries websites don’t detail the amazing range of services they offer online until you cough up a card number. Memo to those insular institutions: put the info in the shop windows out front and I bet you’ll see a lot more card carrying customers walking through the electronic doors…” The very least you can do is to make copies of this article and mount it in several places in your library building, especially at the front door, and provide a link to it from your websites. Send a copy to your city manager or library board or provost. And please write to Forbes magazine thanking them for this free marketing piece! NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK…How often do you meet with your peers as Library Directors or groups of other librarians to discuss issues of the day or simply to chat? We network during ALA, PLA and other major national conferences, but tend to put networking in the back burner after we return to our home institutions and allow our routine tasks to consume all of our attention. In the July 2005 issue of Sales & Marketing Management, Julia Chang writes on “Casting a Net” that emphasizes the value of networking, especially at the executive level. She emphasizes that networking can be a valuable tool in solving many a knotty problem or just to talk frankly about service challenges – from large strategic planning issues to day-to-day management. She notes: “true leaders know that they must constantly seek out others throughout their careers in order to gain ongoing knowledge and build expertise – which in turn, will make them stronger, smarter leaders...” Available at: http://www.salesandmarketing.com/smm/search/ article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000970164 Last Accessed: August 16, 2005 TURNING GREAT STRATEGY INTO GREAT PERFORMANCE. Michael Mankins and Richard Steele address this very subject in the July/August 2005 issue of the Harvard Business Review, pp. 64-72. They note that we spend an enormous amount of time and energy in strategy development, but often fall short in executing these very strategies. Their recommendation: “Raise standards for both planning and execution simultaneously.” Drawing from a study of 197 companies worldwide, Mankins and Steele advocate seven simple rules for successfully closing the strategy to performance gap. Among them: “Keep it simple, keep it concrete.” “Continuously monitor performance.” “Reward and develop execution capabilities.” The authors highlight several benefits to organizations for closing the strategy to performance gap and believe that this would result in the emergence of a culture of “over performance” which would have positive ripple effects throughout the organization. © 2005, Library Leadership Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. |
Article Options:   Printer
Version PDF Version |
