{"appState":{"pageLoadApiCallsStatus":true},"categoryState":{"relatedCategories":{"headers":{"timestamp":"2023-09-15T12:01:14+00:00"},"categoryId":34225,"data":{"title":"Business","slug":"business","image":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225}],"parentCategory":{"categoryId":34224,"title":"Business, Careers, & Money","slug":"business-careers-money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"}},"childCategories":[{"categoryId":34226,"title":"Accounting","slug":"accounting","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34226"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":1139,"bookCount":26},{"categoryId":34231,"title":"Better Business Bureau","slug":"better-business-bureau","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34231"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":false,"articleCount":1,"bookCount":0},{"categoryId":34232,"title":"Business Communication","slug":"business-communication","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34232"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":309,"bookCount":12},{"categoryId":34233,"title":"Call Centers","slug":"call-centers","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34233"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":10,"bookCount":3},{"categoryId":34234,"title":"Customer Service","slug":"customer-service","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34234"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":103,"bookCount":2},{"categoryId":34235,"title":"E-Commerce","slug":"e-commerce","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34235"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":false,"articleCount":8,"bookCount":0},{"categoryId":34238,"title":"Economics","slug":"economics","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34238"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":254,"bookCount":10},{"categoryId":34239,"title":"Events","slug":"events","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34239"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":21,"bookCount":3},{"categoryId":34240,"title":"Financing","slug":"financing","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34240"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":258,"bookCount":5},{"categoryId":34241,"title":"Human Resources","slug":"human-resources","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34241"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":591,"bookCount":12},{"categoryId":34242,"title":"Management","slug":"management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34242"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":136,"bookCount":8},{"categoryId":34243,"title":"Marketing","slug":"marketing","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34243"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":866,"bookCount":30},{"categoryId":34244,"title":"Data Management","slug":"data-management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34244"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":11,"bookCount":2},{"categoryId":34245,"title":"Mergers & Acquisitions","slug":"mergers-acquisitions","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34245"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":213,"bookCount":1},{"categoryId":34246,"title":"Nonprofits","slug":"nonprofits","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34246"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":94,"bookCount":5},{"categoryId":34247,"title":"Operations","slug":"operations","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34247"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":236,"bookCount":7},{"categoryId":34248,"title":"Product Development","slug":"product-development","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34248"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":3,"bookCount":1},{"categoryId":34249,"title":"Project Management","slug":"project-management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34249"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":358,"bookCount":9},{"categoryId":34250,"title":"Sales","slug":"sales","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34250"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":232,"bookCount":10},{"categoryId":34251,"title":"Small Business","slug":"small-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":469,"bookCount":28},{"categoryId":34254,"title":"Strategic Planning","slug":"strategic-planning","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34254"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":289,"bookCount":5},{"categoryId":34255,"title":"General Business","slug":"general-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34255"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-1.daf74cf0.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":535,"bookCount":17},{"categoryId":34341,"title":"International Business","slug":"international-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34341"},"image":{"src":"/img/background-image-2.fabfbd5c.png","width":0,"height":0},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":false,"articleCount":10,"bookCount":0}],"description":"Whether you're looking to brush up on accounting basics or improve your organization's customer service, we've got you covered.","relatedArticles":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles?category=34225&offset=0&size=5"},"hasArticle":true,"hasBook":true,"articleCount":6148,"bookCount":196},"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"}},"relatedCategoriesLoadedStatus":"success"},"listState":{"list":{"count":10,"total":6156,"items":[{"headers":{"creationTime":"2023-09-07T14:37:36+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-09-08T13:31:44+00:00","timestamp":"2023-09-08T15:01:02+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Marketing","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34243"},"slug":"marketing","categoryId":34243}],"title":"Dummies Custom Solutions: Your Smartest Content Marketing Choice","strippedTitle":"dummies custom solutions: your smartest content marketing choice","slug":"dummies-custom-solutions-is-your-smartest-content-marketing-choice","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn how Dummies Custom Solutions and brand recognition is your smartest choice for an integrated content marketing strategy.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"If you’re responsible for your company’s B2B marketing strategy, you face the ongoing challenge of reaching new prospective clients and explaining your products and services.\r\n\r\nIn today’s business world, where most marketing is digital, simply posting ads is not enough — it’s a short-term solution to what should be a long game plan, especially for businesses with complex products and services. That’s why most marketing leaders turn to content marketing.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_300517\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-300517\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/business-man-office-adobeStock_603210957.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"400\" /> Peopleimages.com / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" ><strong>Reaching your target audience with content marketing</strong></h2>\r\nContent marketing involves producing and distributing educational information on topics your target audience finds valuable and interesting. This can include blogs on your website, social media posts, videos, podcasts, white papers, infographics, and ebooks.\r\n\r\nThese strategies help establish your business as a thought leader, get the attention of potential clients, and strengthen connections with your existing partners and clients.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" ><strong>Why does content marketing work?</strong></h2>\r\nMost decision-makers these days research companies online and take more time to make their buying decisions. Custom created, educational content that is of high interest to your audience, written in a straightforward and no-nonsense way, answers their questions, offers something new, and is an excellent way to establish your expertise.\r\n\r\nCustom content makes the all-important connection breakthrough. And, once you have the attention of a potential client, you’re able to further explain your company, its specialties, and why it’s better than the competition.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" ><strong>Dummies Custom Solutions: Great value for boosted recognition</strong></h2>\r\nSocial media, blogs, and email marketing campaigns are important tools to stay on top of, but if you’re looking for a truly unique way to distinguish yourself in today’s competitive marketplace, consider <a href=\"https://custom.dummies.com/Custom-Solutions.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"linkToPartnerwithDummies\"><strong>Dummies Custom Solutions</strong></a>, a <strong>Wiley</strong> offering.\r\n\r\n<strong>You know <em>Dummies</em> — everybody does.</strong> People around the world turn to <em>Dummies</em> books and eBooks when they want <em>Learning Made Easy</em>. We’ve been around a long time, and our brand awareness and book sales continue to grow. That’s because <em>Dummies</em> specializes in translating complex subject matter into content that is accurate, straightforward, and easy-to-understand.\r\n\r\nWorking with the Dummies Custom Solutions editorial team, you get a fully customized <em>Dummies</em> eBook (and printed book, if needed) for your company or product that you can distribute in a variety of ways, including:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Sign-ups on your website</li>\r\n \t<li>Webinar attendance</li>\r\n \t<li>Professional conferences and other events</li>\r\n \t<li>Email marketing campaigns</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nDummies Custom Solutions also produces infographics, iPapers, animated videos, and more to complement your eBook and drive traffic to your website. These products create an integrated content marketing approach. They distinguish your business among the noise in the market with something unique — increased exposure through the <em>Dummies</em> network of properties, a book, and other materials that help you:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Boost awareness of your company or product</li>\r\n \t<li>Nurture relationships with current clients</li>\r\n \t<li>Establish your company as an authority/expert/thought leader</li>\r\n \t<li>Generate leads</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>We help you make that all-important connection to your audience in ways that build confidence in your brand and deliver results for you.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat’s more, <em>Dummies</em> is a brand of <a href=\"https://www.wiley.com/en-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Wiley</strong></a>, a multinational publisher and global leader in research and education. You can boost your sales, leads, and recognition as an authority by co-branding with <em>Dummies</em> and Wiley.\r\n\r\n<!-- desktop callout image -->\r\n\r\n<style type=\"text/css\">a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{display:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{padding:35px 0 40px 0;margin-bottom:35px;border:0;border-bottom:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;width:100%}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic:focus-visible{outline:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic img{margin-bottom:0}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]:after{content:\"\";display:block;margin:40px 0 35px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{background:none;border:none;padding:0}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout img{max-width:100%;height:auto}@media only screen and (max-width:1023px){[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{padding:32px 0 30px 0;margin-bottom:28px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]{padding:0!important}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]:after{margin:32px 24px 27px;border-color:#d8d8d8}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{background-color:#f2f2f2;width:100%}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout img{width:66.7%}}@media only screen and (max-width:767px){[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-desktop{display:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{display:block}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{background:#ffd200;padding:0;margin:22px 0 60px;position:relative}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic:after{display:block;border-bottom:1px solid #d8d8d8;position:absolute;padding-bottom:35px;width:100%;content:\"\"}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{padding:0 16px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{width:100%}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile img{width:414px}}</style>\r\n\r\n<a class=\"drops-article-callout callout-desktop\" style=\"border: none !important; background-color: transparent !important;\" href=\"https://custom.dummies.com/Custom-Solutions.aspx#contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"linkToPartnerwithDummies\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-296261\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/contact-custom-solutions-725x220-1.png\" alt=\"Ready to get started? Let's discuss your custom content project. Contact us.\" width=\"725\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n<!-- mobile callout image -->\r\n<a class=\"drops-article-callout callout-mobile\" style=\"border: none !important; background-color: transparent !important;\" href=\"https://custom.dummies.com/Custom-Solutions.aspx#contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"linkToPartnerwithDummies\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-296262\" style=\"border: none !important;\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/contact-custom-solutions-500x500-1.png\" alt=\"Ready to get started? Let's discuss your custom content project. Contact us.\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" /></a>\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" ><strong>Case Study: Thron</strong></h2>\r\n<h3><strong>Key objectives:</strong></h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Increase awareness of Content Intelligence and the THRON brand, thanks to the proven authority of the <em>Dummies</em> books</li>\r\n \t<li>Become recognized experts on Content Intelligence, thanks to the easy way to explain difficult things that characterizes the <em>Dummies</em> books</li>\r\n \t<li>Find new companies interested in our Intelligent DAM</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>How were the assets used?</strong></h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Free e-book to download from our websites to inform and develop people on CI</li>\r\n \t<li>Free promotional materials for events to widen the audience and make them aware of the topic</li>\r\n \t<li>Gift for our clients and THRON employees to strengthen engagement</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>What results did you see?</strong></h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>8,000 e-books downloaded</li>\r\n \t<li>750 print books given out</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>How have your customers reacted to the book and what feedback have they shared with you?</strong></h3>\r\nThe book was really welcomed. It helped the customers to improve their usage of the software; on the other hand, it speeded up the onboarding process of new clients. Some of them even chose <em>Content Intelligence For Dummies</em> as their summer reading!\r\n\r\n<strong>“The proven experience of Dummies was a great lever for us to spread the voice about an increasing strategic topic, like Content Intelligence.”</strong><strong>\r\n</strong>–Nicola Meneghello, founder and CEO of THRON, author of Content Intelligence For Dummies","description":"If you’re responsible for your company’s B2B marketing strategy, you face the ongoing challenge of reaching new prospective clients and explaining your products and services.\r\n\r\nIn today’s business world, where most marketing is digital, simply posting ads is not enough — it’s a short-term solution to what should be a long game plan, especially for businesses with complex products and services. That’s why most marketing leaders turn to content marketing.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_300517\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-300517\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/business-man-office-adobeStock_603210957.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"400\" /> Peopleimages.com / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" ><strong>Reaching your target audience with content marketing</strong></h2>\r\nContent marketing involves producing and distributing educational information on topics your target audience finds valuable and interesting. This can include blogs on your website, social media posts, videos, podcasts, white papers, infographics, and ebooks.\r\n\r\nThese strategies help establish your business as a thought leader, get the attention of potential clients, and strengthen connections with your existing partners and clients.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" ><strong>Why does content marketing work?</strong></h2>\r\nMost decision-makers these days research companies online and take more time to make their buying decisions. Custom created, educational content that is of high interest to your audience, written in a straightforward and no-nonsense way, answers their questions, offers something new, and is an excellent way to establish your expertise.\r\n\r\nCustom content makes the all-important connection breakthrough. And, once you have the attention of a potential client, you’re able to further explain your company, its specialties, and why it’s better than the competition.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" ><strong>Dummies Custom Solutions: Great value for boosted recognition</strong></h2>\r\nSocial media, blogs, and email marketing campaigns are important tools to stay on top of, but if you’re looking for a truly unique way to distinguish yourself in today’s competitive marketplace, consider <a href=\"https://custom.dummies.com/Custom-Solutions.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"linkToPartnerwithDummies\"><strong>Dummies Custom Solutions</strong></a>, a <strong>Wiley</strong> offering.\r\n\r\n<strong>You know <em>Dummies</em> — everybody does.</strong> People around the world turn to <em>Dummies</em> books and eBooks when they want <em>Learning Made Easy</em>. We’ve been around a long time, and our brand awareness and book sales continue to grow. That’s because <em>Dummies</em> specializes in translating complex subject matter into content that is accurate, straightforward, and easy-to-understand.\r\n\r\nWorking with the Dummies Custom Solutions editorial team, you get a fully customized <em>Dummies</em> eBook (and printed book, if needed) for your company or product that you can distribute in a variety of ways, including:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Sign-ups on your website</li>\r\n \t<li>Webinar attendance</li>\r\n \t<li>Professional conferences and other events</li>\r\n \t<li>Email marketing campaigns</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nDummies Custom Solutions also produces infographics, iPapers, animated videos, and more to complement your eBook and drive traffic to your website. These products create an integrated content marketing approach. They distinguish your business among the noise in the market with something unique — increased exposure through the <em>Dummies</em> network of properties, a book, and other materials that help you:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Boost awareness of your company or product</li>\r\n \t<li>Nurture relationships with current clients</li>\r\n \t<li>Establish your company as an authority/expert/thought leader</li>\r\n \t<li>Generate leads</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>We help you make that all-important connection to your audience in ways that build confidence in your brand and deliver results for you.</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat’s more, <em>Dummies</em> is a brand of <a href=\"https://www.wiley.com/en-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Wiley</strong></a>, a multinational publisher and global leader in research and education. You can boost your sales, leads, and recognition as an authority by co-branding with <em>Dummies</em> and Wiley.\r\n\r\n<!-- desktop callout image -->\r\n\r\n<style type=\"text/css\">a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{display:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{padding:35px 0 40px 0;margin-bottom:35px;border:0;border-bottom:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;width:100%}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic:focus-visible{outline:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic img{margin-bottom:0}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]:after{content:\"\";display:block;margin:40px 0 35px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{background:none;border:none;padding:0}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout img{max-width:100%;height:auto}@media only screen and (max-width:1023px){[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{padding:32px 0 30px 0;margin-bottom:28px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]{padding:0!important}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]:after{margin:32px 24px 27px;border-color:#d8d8d8}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{background-color:#f2f2f2;width:100%}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout img{width:66.7%}}@media only screen and (max-width:767px){[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-desktop{display:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{display:block}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{background:#ffd200;padding:0;margin:22px 0 60px;position:relative}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic:after{display:block;border-bottom:1px solid #d8d8d8;position:absolute;padding-bottom:35px;width:100%;content:\"\"}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{padding:0 16px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{width:100%}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile img{width:414px}}</style>\r\n\r\n<a class=\"drops-article-callout callout-desktop\" style=\"border: none !important; background-color: transparent !important;\" href=\"https://custom.dummies.com/Custom-Solutions.aspx#contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"linkToPartnerwithDummies\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-296261\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/contact-custom-solutions-725x220-1.png\" alt=\"Ready to get started? Let's discuss your custom content project. Contact us.\" width=\"725\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n<!-- mobile callout image -->\r\n<a class=\"drops-article-callout callout-mobile\" style=\"border: none !important; background-color: transparent !important;\" href=\"https://custom.dummies.com/Custom-Solutions.aspx#contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-testid=\"linkToPartnerwithDummies\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-296262\" style=\"border: none !important;\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/contact-custom-solutions-500x500-1.png\" alt=\"Ready to get started? Let's discuss your custom content project. Contact us.\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" /></a>\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" ><strong>Case Study: Thron</strong></h2>\r\n<h3><strong>Key objectives:</strong></h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Increase awareness of Content Intelligence and the THRON brand, thanks to the proven authority of the <em>Dummies</em> books</li>\r\n \t<li>Become recognized experts on Content Intelligence, thanks to the easy way to explain difficult things that characterizes the <em>Dummies</em> books</li>\r\n \t<li>Find new companies interested in our Intelligent DAM</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>How were the assets used?</strong></h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Free e-book to download from our websites to inform and develop people on CI</li>\r\n \t<li>Free promotional materials for events to widen the audience and make them aware of the topic</li>\r\n \t<li>Gift for our clients and THRON employees to strengthen engagement</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>What results did you see?</strong></h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>8,000 e-books downloaded</li>\r\n \t<li>750 print books given out</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>How have your customers reacted to the book and what feedback have they shared with you?</strong></h3>\r\nThe book was really welcomed. It helped the customers to improve their usage of the software; on the other hand, it speeded up the onboarding process of new clients. Some of them even chose <em>Content Intelligence For Dummies</em> as their summer reading!\r\n\r\n<strong>“The proven experience of Dummies was a great lever for us to spread the voice about an increasing strategic topic, like Content Intelligence.”</strong><strong>\r\n</strong>–Nicola Meneghello, founder and CEO of THRON, author of Content Intelligence For Dummies","blurb":"","authors":[],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34243,"title":"Marketing","slug":"marketing","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34243"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[{"label":"Reaching your target audience with content marketing","target":"#tab1"},{"label":"Why does content marketing work?","target":"#tab2"},{"label":"Dummies Custom Solutions: Great value for boosted recognition","target":"#tab3"},{"label":"Case Study: Thron","target":"#tab4"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":299508,"title":"Content Marketing Solutions for Sustainable Technology Companies","slug":"content-marketing-solutions-for-sustainable-technology-companies","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","marketing"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299508"}},{"articleId":299468,"title":"Content Marketing for Humanoid Robotics Companies","slug":"content-marketing-for-humanoid-robotics-companies","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","marketing"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299468"}},{"articleId":299453,"title":"Content Marketing for Green Technology Companies","slug":"content-marketing-for-green-technology-companies","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","marketing"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299453"}},{"articleId":299440,"title":"Content Marketing for CRISPR/Cas9 Biotech Companies","slug":"content-marketing-for-crispr-cas9-biotech-companies","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","marketing"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299440"}},{"articleId":299418,"title":"Content Marketing Solutions for Blockchain Companies","slug":"content-marketing-solutions-for-blockchain-companies","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","marketing"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299418"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":0,"slug":null,"isbn":null,"categoryList":null,"amazon":null,"image":null,"title":null,"testBankPinActivationLink":null,"bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":null,"authors":null,"_links":null},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;marketing&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[null]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64fb372eaff25\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;marketing&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[null]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64fb372eb088f\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-09-07T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":300514},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-27T16:56:32+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-09-05T19:01:19+00:00","timestamp":"2023-09-05T21:01:02+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Accounting","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34226"},"slug":"accounting","categoryId":34226},{"name":"Bookkeeping","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34228"},"slug":"bookkeeping","categoryId":34228}],"title":"Nonprofit Bookkeeping & Accounting For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"nonprofit bookkeeping & accounting for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"nonprofit-bookkeeping-accounting-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Keep your finger on the pulse of your nonprofit's budget and expenses with these handy reminders and tasks.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"To stay organized and on top of your nonprofit’s bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities, timely complete accounting tasks need to be done daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly.\r\n\r\nKeep necessary financial information up to date so you’re prepared to submit paperwork to your independent certified public accountant (CPA), the government, and all stakeholders, both within and outside your nonprofit organization.\r\n\r\nTo ensure your nonprofit’s activities are completed, organize a to-do list, prioritizing the tasks so the important ones are done first, and other jobs are scheduled around them. Managing your nonprofit means sticking to your plan to stay organized and run efficiently.\r\n\r\nApply these guidelines to your nonprofit’s weekly plan:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Set up daily priorities.</strong> Knowing what you need to accomplish each day allows you to take care of the most pressing matters.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Surround yourself with professional staff.</strong> Surrounding yourself with professionals eliminates the pettiness of daily office drama! Professionals are self-motivated and focused on doing their jobs, and they require minimum supervision.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Keep your goals before you.</strong> To maintain a clear vision, keep your eyes on the prize. Post your vision or your goals in a place where they’re visible to you every day.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Manage your time by planning and scheduling your daily activities.</strong> Be mindful of distractions that pull you away from completing your tasks.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Stay out of politics.</strong> Avoiding politics at work protects your nonprofit’s status.</li>\r\n</ul>","description":"To stay organized and on top of your nonprofit’s bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities, timely complete accounting tasks need to be done daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly.\r\n\r\nKeep necessary financial information up to date so you’re prepared to submit paperwork to your independent certified public accountant (CPA), the government, and all stakeholders, both within and outside your nonprofit organization.\r\n\r\nTo ensure your nonprofit’s activities are completed, organize a to-do list, prioritizing the tasks so the important ones are done first, and other jobs are scheduled around them. Managing your nonprofit means sticking to your plan to stay organized and run efficiently.\r\n\r\nApply these guidelines to your nonprofit’s weekly plan:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Set up daily priorities.</strong> Knowing what you need to accomplish each day allows you to take care of the most pressing matters.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Surround yourself with professional staff.</strong> Surrounding yourself with professionals eliminates the pettiness of daily office drama! Professionals are self-motivated and focused on doing their jobs, and they require minimum supervision.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Keep your goals before you.</strong> To maintain a clear vision, keep your eyes on the prize. Post your vision or your goals in a place where they’re visible to you every day.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Manage your time by planning and scheduling your daily activities.</strong> Be mindful of distractions that pull you away from completing your tasks.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Stay out of politics.</strong> Avoiding politics at work protects your nonprofit’s status.</li>\r\n</ul>","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":35327,"name":"Maire Loughran","slug":"maire-loughran","description":"<strong>Maire Loughran</strong>, CPA, is an accountant and auditor with 20 years of experience as a full, adjunct accounting professor. She is author of <em>Financial Accounting For Dummies</em>, <em>Auditing For Dummies</em>, and <em>Intermediate Accounting For Dummies</em>.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35327"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34228,"title":"Bookkeeping","slug":"bookkeeping","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34228"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34246,"title":"Nonprofits","slug":"nonprofits","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34246"}},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":192926,"title":"Annual Reminders for Your Nonprofit Business","slug":"annual-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192926"}},{"articleId":192924,"title":"Weekly Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization","slug":"weekly-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-organization","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192924"}},{"articleId":192917,"title":"Quarterly Accounting Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization","slug":"quarterly-accounting-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-organization","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192917"}},{"articleId":192918,"title":"Monthly Budgeting Tasks for Your Nonprofit Organization","slug":"monthly-budgeting-tasks-for-your-nonprofit-organization","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192918"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":275290,"title":"Break-Even Point Formula for Businesses","slug":"break-even-point-formula-for-businesses","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/275290"}},{"articleId":265567,"title":"Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards","slug":"accounting-and-financial-reporting-standards","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/265567"}},{"articleId":265558,"title":"Internal Profit Reporting","slug":"internal-profit-reporting","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/265558"}},{"articleId":208436,"title":"Bookkeeping For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"bookkeeping-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/208436"}},{"articleId":208256,"title":"Bookkeeping for Canadians For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"bookkeeping-for-canadians-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/208256"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282422,"slug":"nonprofit-bookkeeping-and-accounting-for-dummies","isbn":"9781394206018","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1394206011/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1394206011/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1394206011-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1394206011/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1394206011/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/9781394206018-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Nonprofit Bookkeeping and Accounting For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"","authors":[{"authorId":9470,"name":"","slug":null,"description":null,"hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9470"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;accounting&quot;,&quot;bookkeeping&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394206018&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64f7970eec3b7\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;accounting&quot;,&quot;bookkeeping&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394206018&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64f7970eecbe2\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":192924,"title":"Weekly Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization","slug":"weekly-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-organization","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192924"}},{"articleId":192918,"title":"Monthly Budgeting Tasks for Your Nonprofit Organization","slug":"monthly-budgeting-tasks-for-your-nonprofit-organization","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192918"}},{"articleId":192917,"title":"Quarterly Accounting Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization","slug":"quarterly-accounting-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-organization","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192917"}},{"articleId":192926,"title":"Annual Reminders for Your Nonprofit Business","slug":"annual-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","accounting","bookkeeping"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/192926"}}],"content":[{"title":"Monthly budgeting tasks for your nonprofit organization","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>As a director or manager of a nonprofit, you require monthly budget assessments to track and manage your nonprofit’s finances. Monthly meetings, which should happen after a cost-benefit analysis, should involve your finance committee, budget staff, and/or budget task force.</p>\n<p>These meetings should go over management efficiency and include these items:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Review budget projections and compare the projected budget to actual results.</strong> To ensure that you have revenues to take care of expenses, evaluate what happened the previous month and what the impact will be on future months. If necessary, make adjustments to future planned actions based on your actual results to date.</li>\n<li><strong>Trim the fat from your budget.</strong> Analyze every line item and look for ways to cut costs.</li>\n<li><strong>Meet with your budget task group to analyze every cost and get rid of unnecessary ones.</strong> Consider everything that will keep you efficient without compromising program quality.</li>\n<li><strong>Submit grant proposals and contracts to stabilize your funding streams.</strong> Be aggressive in seizing funding opportunities to sustain and expand your organization’s existing programs while adding new ones.</li>\n<li><strong>Search your local newspaper and online sources</strong> <strong>for new businesses in your area that may support your cause.</strong> Find out what their areas of interest are and talk to them about working together.</li>\n<li><strong>Look for ways to collaborate with other nonprofits in your community.</strong> Form partnerships with larger nonprofits for fundraising activities.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Quarterly accounting reminders for your nonprofit organization","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>To analyze the financial health of your nonprofit organization, the board of directors needs quarterly financial statements, which monitor the flow of revenue. Likewise, for taxes, grants, and contracts, quarterly reports are required by federal and state government organizations. Make sure to take care of the following nonprofit accounting tasks:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Report payroll taxes to the IRS at the end of the quarter by submitting Form 941.</b> The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes are funds for the payment of old-age, survivors, and medical benefits. Employers must pay 7.65 percent of an employee’s gross salary to the IRS.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Prepare quarterly financial statements for your board of directors.</b> Your board needs to know your financial status to plan future activities and to offset potential financial problems.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Complete quarterly financial status reports for government grants and contracts.</b> The government expects you to track all expenditures and submit a report of what you have spent and how much you have left according to your records.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Complete quarterly progress reports for government grants and contracts.</b> Quarterly progress reports indicate performance results in terms of numbers. They evaluate your progress by comparing what you expected to accomplish with what actually happened.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Meet with your board of directors.</b> Your board must meet at least four times a year to fulfill federal and state requirements.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Annual reminders for your nonprofit business","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Running a nonprofit requires that you annually prepare and submit paperwork to your employees, the Board of Directors, the Social Security Administration, and the IRS. Each year, you should evaluate your nonprofit’s progress, go over your strategic plan, and celebrate the year’s successes. This list represents tasks you should complete yearly:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Submit Form 990, Annual Information Report, to the IRS.</b> This form is where you report all financial activities to the IRS. It reveals your financial strengths and weaknesses, sources of income, and how you’re spending your funds. This information helps the government determine whether you’re engaging in activities that could cause you to jeopardize your tax-exempt status.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Submit annual payroll reports to the Social Security Administration, IRS, and your employees.</b> Form 941 is due no later than January 31. W-2s, W-3s, and 1099s must be handled properly.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Contact a CPA to audit your financial statements.</b> Having audited records is like getting a professional second opinion about the validity of your financial health. It adds credibility to your record-keeping and accounting practices.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Celebrate your success and hard work with your staff and board members by having an annual office party.</b> Reward everyone for a job well done.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Organize your budget task force for the next year.</b> Single out the analytical minds or penny-pinchers on your staff and board. These folks will make up your budget task force, which assesses all budget costs and does a benefit analysis of each line item.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Organize a proposal development team for the next year.</b> Find three people who are organized, enjoy reading technical stuff, and are willing to write. Then organize them into your proposal development team to research, develop, and submit grant applications and contracts for your organization.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Prepare for your annual board meeting by re-evaluating your organization’s goals.</b> Cross out goals you’ve met and develop new goals for the upcoming year.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Declutter your office files and prepare for the next year.</b> Getting rid of the clutter frees your mind and saves time. It’s important that you know where things are and can put your hands on them when needed.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-09-05T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":209083},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-27T16:54:26+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-09-05T18:50:30+00:00","timestamp":"2023-09-05T21:01:02+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Economics","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34238"},"slug":"economics","categoryId":34238}],"title":"Economics For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"economics for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"economics-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn about the study of economics, including the four basic market structures, market equilibrium, identifying market failures, and more.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"People have to make choices because of <i>scarcity,</i> the fact that they don’t have enough resources to satisfy all their wants. Economics studies how people allocate resources among alternative uses.\r\n\r\nMacroeconomics studies national economies, and microeconomics studies the behavior of individual people and individual firms. Economists assume that people work toward maximizing their <i>utility,</i> or happiness, and firms act to maximize profits.","description":"People have to make choices because of <i>scarcity,</i> the fact that they don’t have enough resources to satisfy all their wants. Economics studies how people allocate resources among alternative uses.\r\n\r\nMacroeconomics studies national economies, and microeconomics studies the behavior of individual people and individual firms. Economists assume that people work toward maximizing their <i>utility,</i> or happiness, and firms act to maximize profits.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":10202,"name":"Sean Masaki Flynn","slug":"sean-masaki-flynn","description":" <p><b>Sean Flynn, PhD,</b> is an associate professor of economics at Scripps College in Claremont, California. A specialist in behavioral economics, Dr. Flynn has provided economic commentary for numerous news outlets, including NPR, ABC, FOX Business, and <i>Forbes</i>. \t ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10202"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34238,"title":"Economics","slug":"economics","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34238"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":255069,"title":"Violations and Limitations of the Economist’s Choice Model","slug":"violations-and-limitations-of-the-economists-choice-model","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255069"}},{"articleId":255066,"title":"The Economic Secret to Good Low-Cost Healthcare in Singapore","slug":"the-economic-secret-to-good-low-cost-healthcare-in-singapore","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255066"}},{"articleId":255063,"title":"Why Prices Get Sticky When the Economy Is Headed for a Recession","slug":"why-prices-get-sticky-when-the-economy-is-headed-for-a-recession","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255063"}},{"articleId":255059,"title":"The Economic Process of Perfect Competition","slug":"the-economic-process-of-perfect-competition","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255059"}},{"articleId":255055,"title":"The Effects of Inflation","slug":"the-effects-of-inflation","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255055"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":284118,"title":"Circular Economy For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"circular-economy-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/284118"}},{"articleId":255069,"title":"Violations and Limitations of the Economist’s Choice Model","slug":"violations-and-limitations-of-the-economists-choice-model","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255069"}},{"articleId":255066,"title":"The Economic Secret to Good Low-Cost Healthcare in Singapore","slug":"the-economic-secret-to-good-low-cost-healthcare-in-singapore","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255066"}},{"articleId":255063,"title":"Why Prices Get Sticky When the Economy Is Headed for a Recession","slug":"why-prices-get-sticky-when-the-economy-is-headed-for-a-recession","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255063"}},{"articleId":255059,"title":"The Economic Process of Perfect Competition","slug":"the-economic-process-of-perfect-competition","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/255059"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282166,"slug":"economics-for-dummies-3rd-edition","isbn":"9781394161331","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1394161336/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1394161336/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1394161336-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1394161336/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1394161336/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/9781394161331-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Economics For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"https://testbanks.wiley.com","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><p><b>Sean Flynn, PhD,</b> is an associate professor of economics at Scripps College in Claremont, California. A specialist in behavioral economics, Dr. Flynn has provided economic commentary for numerous news outlets, including NPR, ABC, FOX Business, and <i>Forbes</i>.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":10202,"name":"Sean Masaki Flynn","slug":"sean-masaki-flynn","description":" <p><b>Sean Flynn, PhD,</b> is an associate professor of economics at Scripps College in Claremont, California. A specialist in behavioral economics, Dr. Flynn has provided economic commentary for numerous news outlets, including NPR, ABC, FOX Business, and <i>Forbes</i>. \t ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10202"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;economics&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394161331&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64f7970ed1632\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;economics&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394161331&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64f7970ed1f18\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":188714,"title":"Eyeing the Four Basic Market Structures","slug":"eyeing-the-four-basic-market-structures","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/188714"}},{"articleId":188723,"title":"Finding Market Equilibrium Price and Quantity","slug":"finding-market-equilibrium-price-and-quantity","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/188723"}},{"articleId":188721,"title":"Identifying Market Failures","slug":"identifying-market-failures","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/188721"}},{"articleId":188718,"title":"Linking Macroeconomics and Government Policy","slug":"linking-macroeconomics-and-government-policy","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","economics"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/188718"}}],"content":[{"title":"Eyeing the four basic market structures","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>An industry consists of all firms making similar or identical products. An industry’s market structure depends on the number of firms in the industry and how they compete. Here are the four basic market structures:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><i></i><b>Perfect competition: </b>Perfect competition happens when numerous small firms compete against each other. Firms in a competitive industry produce the socially optimal output level at the minimum possible cost per unit.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Monopoly: </b>A monopoly is a firm that has no competitors in its industry. It reduces output to drive up prices and increase profits. By doing so, it produces less than the socially optimal output level and produces at higher costs than competitive firms.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Oligopoly: </b>An oligopoly is an industry with only a few firms. If they collude, they reduce output and drive up profits the way a monopoly does. However, because of strong incentives to cheat on collusive agreements, oligopoly firms often end up competing against each other.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Monopolistic competition: </b>In monopolistic competition, an industry contains many competing firms, each of which has a similar but at least slightly different product. Restaurants, for example, all serve food but of different types and in different locations. Production costs are above what could be achieved if all the firms sold identical products, but consumers benefit from the variety.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Finding market equilibrium price and quantity","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Buyers and sellers interact in markets. <i>M</i><i>arket equilibrium</i> occurs when the desires of buyers and sellers align exactly so that neither group has reason to change its behavior. The market equilibrium price, <i>p</i><i><sup>*</sup></i><i>,</i> and equilibrium quantity, <i>q</i><i><sup>*</sup></i><i>,</i> are determined by where the demand curve of the buyers, <i>D,</i> crosses the supply curve of the sellers, <i>S.</i> At that price, the amount that the buyers demand equals the amount that the sellers offer.</p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/244383.image0.jpg\" alt=\"image0.jpg\" width=\"535\" height=\"484\" /></p>\n<p>In the absence of <i>externalities</i> (costs or benefits that fall on persons not directly involved in an activity), the market equilibrium quantity, <i>q</i><i><sup>*</sup></i><i>,</i> is also the socially optimal output level. For each unit from 0 up to <i>q</i><i><sup>*</sup></i><i>,</i> the demand curve is above the supply curve, meaning that people are willing to pay more to buy those units than they cost to produce. There are gains from producing and then consuming those units.</p>\n"},{"title":"Identifying market failures","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Sometimes markets fail to generate the socially optimal output level of goods and services. Several prerequisites must be fulfilled before perfect competition can work properly and generate that output level. Causes of market failure include the following:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Externalities caused by incomplete or nonexistent property rights:</b> Without full and complete property rights, markets are unable to take all the costs of production into account.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Asymmetric information:</b> If a buyer or seller has private information that gives her an edge when negotiating a deal, the opposite party may be too suspicious for both parties to reach a mutually agreeable price. The market may collapse, with no trades being made.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Public goods:</b> Private firms can’t make money producing certain goods or services because there’s no way to exclude nonpayers from receiving them. The government or philanthropists usually have to provide such goods or services.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Monopoly power:</b> Monopoly power is the ability to raise prices and restrict output in order to increase profits. Both monopolies (firms that are the only sellers in their industries) and collusive oligopolies (industries with only a few firms that coordinate their activities) can possess monopoly power. Monopolies and collusive oligopolies produce less than the socially optimal output level and produce at higher costs than competitive firms.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Linking macroeconomics and government policy","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p><i>Macroeconomics</i> studies national economies, concentrating on economic growth and how to prevent and ameliorate recessions. Governments fight recessions and encourage growth using monetary policy and fiscal policy.</p>\n<p>Economists use <i>gross domestic product</i> (GDP) to keep track of how an economy is doing. GDP measures the value of all final goods and services produced in an economy in a given period of time, usually a quarter or a year.</p>\n<p>A <i>recession</i> occurs when the overall level of economic activity in an economy is decreasing, and an <i>expansion</i> occurs when the overall level is increasing.</p>\n<p>The <i>unemployment rate,</i> which measures what fraction of the labor force consists of those without jobs who are actively seeking jobs, normally rises during recessions and falls during expansions.</p>\n<p>Anti-recessionary economic policies come in two flavors:</p>\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><i></i><b>Expansionary monetary policy: </b>The government can increase the money supply to lower interest rates. Lower interest rates make loans for cars, homes, and investment goods cheaper, which means increased consumption spending by households and increased investment spending by businesses.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"first-para\"><i></i><b>Expansionary fiscal policy: </b>Increasing government purchases of goods and services or decreasing taxes can stimulate the economy. Increasing purchases increases economic activity directly, giving businesses money to hire new workers or pay for increased orders from their suppliers. Decreasing taxes increases economic activity indirectly by leaving households with more after-tax dollars to spend.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-09-05T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":208692},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2023-09-05T17:36:06+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-09-05T17:40:01+00:00","timestamp":"2023-09-05T18:01:03+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Business Communication","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34232"},"slug":"business-communication","categoryId":34232}],"title":"Storytelling in Presentations For Dummies Cheat Sheet","strippedTitle":"storytelling in presentations for dummies cheat sheet","slug":"storytelling-in-presentations-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Storytelling is one of the most effective tools in presentations for several reasons: Stories engage the audience and evoke emotion responses. They make informa","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"Storytelling is one of the most effective tools in presentations for several reasons:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Stories engage the audience and evoke emotion responses.</li>\r\n \t<li>They make information more relatable and memorable.</li>\r\n \t<li>They can increase retention and make messages more compelling.</li>\r\n \t<li>And they help build trust between the presenter and the audience.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis handy Cheat Sheet provides some guidelines to make your presentations more interesting and powerful.","description":"Storytelling is one of the most effective tools in presentations for several reasons:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Stories engage the audience and evoke emotion responses.</li>\r\n \t<li>They make information more relatable and memorable.</li>\r\n \t<li>They can increase retention and make messages more compelling.</li>\r\n \t<li>And they help build trust between the presenter and the audience.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis handy Cheat Sheet provides some guidelines to make your presentations more interesting and powerful.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":10232,"name":"Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts","slug":"sheryl-lindsell-roberts","description":" Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts runs business-writing seminars for Fortune 500 companies and is the author of several books, including For Dummies guides to business writing and business letters.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10232"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34232,"title":"Business Communication","slug":"business-communication","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34232"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":296682,"title":"Developing Cultural Awareness, an Important Soft Skill","slug":"developing-cultural-awareness-an-important-soft-skill","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296682"}},{"articleId":296680,"title":"How to Be a Better Communicator at Work","slug":"how-to-be-a-better-communicator-an-important-soft-skill","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296680"}},{"articleId":296553,"title":"Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Seek","slug":"the-10-soft-skills-employers-seek","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296553"}},{"articleId":296176,"title":"Soft Skills For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"soft-skills-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296176"}},{"articleId":283575,"title":"How to Write Effective Business Letters","slug":"how-to-write-effective-business-letters","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/283575"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":300450,"slug":"storytelling-in-presentations-for-dummies","isbn":"9781394201006","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1394201001/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1394201001/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1394201001-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1394201001/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1394201001/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/9781394201006-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Storytelling in Presentations For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><b data-author-id=\"10232\">Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts</b> runs business-writing seminars for Fortune 500 companies and is the author of several books, including For Dummies guides to business writing and business letters.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":10232,"name":"Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts","slug":"sheryl-lindsell-roberts","description":" Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts runs business-writing seminars for Fortune 500 companies and is the author of several books, including For Dummies guides to business writing and business letters.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10232"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;business-communication&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394201006&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64f76cdf8f9df\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;business-communication&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394201006&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64f76cdf9022f\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","articleList":[{"articleId":0,"title":"","slug":null,"categoryList":[],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/"}}],"content":[{"title":"Guidelines for a great presentation","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>The first order of business is to build up your repertoire of stories. Once you’ve done that, here are some guidelines for a powerful delivery:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Name your characters.</strong> Audiences identify with actual names more than titles.\n<ul>\n<li> Say: <em>Genna, our wonderful presenter, suggested . . .</em></li>\n<li>Rather than: <em>The presenter suggested . . .</em></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Give a brief description of the person or surroundings to make the story real.</strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Say: <em>The room wasn’t brightly lit, but I found a seat near the window.</em></li>\n<li>Rather than: <em>I entered the room and sat down quietly.</em></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Speak in the present to make your narrative more immediate.</strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Say: <em>I walk into the room, and what do you think happens?</em></li>\n<li>Rather than: <em>When I walked into the room and what do you think happened?</em></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Include sensory information (what you saw, felt, tasted, heard, or smelled).</strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Say: <em>The cold air felt like shards of glass in my lungs.</em></li>\n<li>Rather than: <em>It was cold outside.</em></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Talk about what is and what can be.</strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Say: <em>The Q4 numbers must be stronger than 5% for robust year-end bonuses.</em></li>\n<li>Rather than: <em>We missed our Q3 forecast by just 5%.</em></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Show or describe, don’t just tell.</strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Say: <em>With the sizzling heat of the midday sun on my forehead, I wish had brought my sunhat.</em></li>\n<li>Rather than: <em>It was very hot outside.</em></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Here are some more guidelines about what your audience sees:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Gesture with your hands to coordinate with your words.</strong> If you’re not talking with your hands, you’re not talking. Use gestures as naturally as you would during a conversation with friends.</li>\n<li><strong>Maintain eye contact</strong><strong>. </strong>This builds rapport between you and your audience and keeps them engaged.</li>\n<li><strong>Listen to your audience.</strong> Listen with your eyes as well as with your ears.\n<ul>\n<li>Are they alert?</li>\n<li>Are they checking their phones?</li>\n<li>Are they having side conversations?</li>\n<li>Do you hear wood sawing (another way of saying snoring) around the room?</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li><strong>Be present, organized, animated, energetic, poised, and focused.</strong> Be aware of these qualities in other presenters. If you don’t go to many presentations, view a few TED talks.</li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"Avoid the seven deadly slide sins","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Eliminating the following chronic blunders gives you a leg up in nailing your next important talk. Here are the top seven deadly sins of slide presentations:</p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Slide transitions: </strong>You know the fade-ins, fade-outs, wipes, blinds, dissolves, checkerboards, cuts, covers and splits, and builds. It’s fine to use a few appropriately, but focus on your message, not on gimmickry.</li>\n<li><strong> Too much clipart:</strong> You may find an appropriate piece of clipart that “just says it,” and that will work. But don’t use too many because clipart has become a visual cliché and lacks creativity. There are many photo sites from which you can grab appropriate visuals. For free check out Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, and Burst. For a fee check out Adobe Images, Shutterstock, and Getty.</li>\n<li><strong> Distracting templates:</strong> Templates force you to fit your presentation into a pre-packaged mode. Create your own distinctive look and use your company logo in a corner of the screen. (If your company has a prescribed template, you must go along to get along.)</li>\n<li><strong> Test-laden slidezillas:</strong> Avoid paragraphs, long quotations, and complete sentences. Limit each slide to one point and no more than 5 lines of text.</li>\n<li><strong> Bad color schemes:</strong> If you use inappropriate or flashy colors, your presentation will look tacky. Stick with grays and dark shades of blue or green. Use what’s professional for your audience, your company, and your theme while also providing accessibility for all.</li>\n<li><strong> Too many elements:</strong> Charts, tables, graphs, and bullets are fine, but don’t go overboard. Your audience won’t have patience for deciphering all sorts of colors, trend lines, and one bulleted list after another.</li>\n<li><strong> Too many charts and tables:</strong> Nothing kills a presentation like data overload. Keep charts and tables to a minimum and show only those that are necessary to make a key point.</li>\n</ol>\n"},{"title":"The start-up brief","thumb":null,"image":null,"content":"<p>Every presenter must remember four important words: <em>It’s not about me!</em> When your audience walks into the room, they’re thinking, “What’s in it for me?”</p>\n<p>Perhaps you think you already know your audience, but do you actually understand their (hidden) agendas or what keeps them up at night?</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/9781394201006-fgcs01.pdf\">This Start-Up Brief</a> (also shown below) can help you find out how to better understand your audience, their purpose and key issue, and the questions you need to address to create a presentation that will make each person feel like you’re speaking directly to them.</p>\n<p><strong>Start-Up Brief</strong></p>\n<p><strong>Audience:</strong></p>\n<ol>\n<li>What’s the key issue — the one takeaway message I want my audience to remember?</li>\n<li>Who’s my primary audience?</li>\n<li>What does my audience need to know about the topic?</li>\n<li>What’s in it for my audience?</li>\n<li>Does my story need a special angle or point of view?</li>\n<li>What will my audience’s reaction be toward the topic? Positive? Neutral? Negative?</li>\n</ol>\n<p><strong>Purpose</strong></p>\n<p>My purpose is to___________________ so my audience will ___________________.</p>\n<p><strong>Questions</strong></p>\n<p>What <em>who, what, when, where, why,</em> and <em>how</em> questions will my audience want answered?</p>\n"}],"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-09-05T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":300479},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2023-08-07T18:59:07+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-08-16T15:30:40+00:00","timestamp":"2023-08-16T18:01:22+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34242"},"slug":"management","categoryId":34242}],"title":"The Value of Setting Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)","strippedTitle":"the value of setting objectives & key results (okrs)","slug":"the-value-of-setting-objectives-key-results-okrs","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn about the purpose of setting objectives and key results (OKRs) and the many ways this goal-setting method can benefit your organization.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"Before I get into the value of setting objectives and key results (OKRs), I should probably answer a question many readers might be asking: What are OKRs? Basically, OKRs is a method of setting goals for an organization.\r\n\r\nHumans are avid goal setters, constantly striving to improve our performance, regardless of the field or endeavor we choose. Perhaps you have experience in setting goals in some of these domains:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Family:</strong> Partner, children, extended relations</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Physical:</strong> Health, fitness, and wellbeing</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Work:</strong> Career, volunteering</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Spiritual:</strong> Religious or other spiritual affiliations</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Relationships:</strong> With friends or others</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Hobbies:</strong> Interests beyond work</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_300144\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-300144\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/office-group-meeting-adobeStock_427849380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" /> ©Jacob Lund / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n\r\nSome of my goal-setting memories bring me a few chuckles, such as my goal of winning a “Best Screenplay” Academy Award after taking one screenwriting class. I even pictured Steven Spielberg having the honor of bestowing the Oscar on me. Hey, the more specific a goal the better, right?\r\n\r\nYour company probably has goals related to sales, customer satisfaction, retaining the best people, and a host of other elements designed to propel you past your competition. Whether people have their companies or themselves in mind, there is little doubt that setting goals is a very healthy and positive activity, one that everyone should pursue with rigor.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Goal-setting challenges</h2>\r\nProblems often occur in how people go about writing and constructing goals. That’s where many people, whether crafting goals for companies or themselves, get stopped in their tracks almost instantly.\r\n\r\nIt’s common, for instance, to write goals that are vague and nebulous: “Get more fit.” “Be the best company in our industry.” They sound good — and few would argue with the merits of either of those examples — but the quality that specifically marks real success is missing from both. A number of other pitfalls loom out there in the goal world as well, such as:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Setting unrealistic goals that you have no genuine chance to achieve</li>\r\n \t<li>Having too many goals at one time</li>\r\n \t<li>Failing to account for any assistance you’ll require from others in achieving your goals</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nDespite the potential challenges, goal setting is one of the most powerful things you can do in your organization (and your life). You just need a better, more reliable system, and that’s where OKRs — objectives and key results— come in.\r\n\r\nSounds good, huh? Maybe if I’d have known about OKRs back when I was practicing that Oscar speech, I’d actually be clutching a gold statue now. The good news for me and you is that it’s never too late to succeed.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Setting goals really works</h2>\r\nMaybe you’re already convinced and are a believer in the power of setting ambitious goals, with a lifetime of experience to back up that claim. If so, great — we have that in common. On the other hand, perhaps you do need to be convinced of goal setting’s value. Maybe you came up in the school of hard knocks and don’t believe in the woo-woo world of setting goals. Well, I’ve got news for you: Goal setting, <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/management/where-within-an-organization-to-create-okrs-300182/\">especially with the use of OKRs</a>, really works, and I’m going to win you over to this idea, I promise.\r\n\r\nBack in 1968, when the Beatles song “Hey Jude” was dominating the airwaves, a little-known professor from the University of Maryland named Edwin Locke published a blockbuster article that would revolutionize the field of goal setting. “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives,” based on Locke’s pioneering research, showed that setting goals led to higher performance in a wide range of domains.\r\n\r\nWhether it concerned office workers toiling in smoke-infested offices (it was the 1960s, remember), loggers felling timber in northern British Columbia, or truckers rolling along the blacktop, Locke demonstrated that setting goals improved performance in a statistically significant fashion. It wasn’t uncommon, for example, to see performance gains of more than 200 percent! Forget free love and flower children; the real revolution of the 1960s was goal setting.\r\n\r\nLocke went on to collaborate with a professor from the University of Toronto named Gary Latham. Together they conducted hundreds of studies on goal setting and reviewed hundreds more, all culminating in their 1990 magnum opus, <em>A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance.</em> Although it’s not a page turner a là Dan Brown or Agatha Christie, it’s a revelation. Locke and Latham demonstrated unequivocally that setting goals led to improved results, and as an added bonus, working toward a goal boosted motivation.\r\n\r\nLocke and Latham made clear that certain types of goals are better than others. Specific and challenging (but not too challenging) goals were critical to improved performance. Both of these characteristics (specificity and challenge) are vital to OKRs.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >The components of OKRs</h2>\r\nThe heading of this section sounds cold and clinical, but the fact of the matter is that goal setting, especially using OKRs, can be … wait for it … <em>fun.</em> As Locke and Latham (see the previous section) made clear, goal setting improves motivation, and who doesn’t like the feeling of being motivated to pursue something you care about?\r\n\r\nMore good news related to the question \"what is an OKR?\" is that the framework is light on terminology. It involves just three terms: <em>objectives, key,</em> and <em>results.</em> Actually, it’s three words and a conjunction. Yes, I looked it up; “and” is a conjunction. But really it’s just two terms: <em>objectives</em> and <em>key results,</em> more commonly referred to as OKRs. In the upcoming section, I define these terms and look at an example.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">Terminology matters in any kind of change initiative, including OKRs. You may find that some people will abbreviate the acronym to OKR, omitting the <em>s.</em> There is no agreed-upon acronym, but in this article, I use the plural OKRs and suggest that you do the same. However, what’s most important is that whatever acronym you choose, you use it consistently throughout your organization.</p>\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">At this point in the article, you might be thinking: OKR vs. KPI? (oh, the wonderful world of business acronyms). KPI stands for <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/general-small-business/key-performance-indicators-small-business-marketing-226063/\">key performance indicator</a> and it applies more to specific projects, programs, products, and other initiatives. OKRs are used more to outline organization and team goals.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" >Defining an “objective”</h2>\r\nAn <em>objective</em> is a statement of a broad, qualitative goal designed to propel the organization forward in a desired direction. There are a few things to unpack in that simple definition. The first is the word <em>qualitative.</em> This word points to the fact that objectives are aspirational statements and don’t include numbers.\r\n\r\nThe second word to put under the microscope is <em>organization.</em> You can, and most likely will, create OKRs at multiple levels of your organization: the company-level; business unit; department team; and so on. Thus, the word <em>organization</em> in the definition is meant to be generic.\r\n\r\nFinally, the last part of the definition notes propelling the organization forward in a desired direction. This is the essence of an objective, which, to keep things nice and simple, asks, “What do we want to do?”\r\n<h2 id=\"tab5\" >Writing a basic objective</h2>\r\nNow comes one of the hardest tasks I faced in writing a book on OKRs: providing the very first example of an objective. Why was it so difficult? Because no matter what field or industry I draw on, there is a risk that some people will think, “Oh, so OKRs are for only those types of companies.” Or, “Well, that doesn’t apply to me.” Oy! Always remember that you can use OKRs anywhere and everywhere, from writing pop songs to ending malaria. So don’t read too much into the following example.\r\n\r\nSay that your company has a mobile app that has been crashing lately, much to users’ chagrin. That’s a strategic problem, and OKRs are very well-suited to help you overcome strategic challenges. So here’s a possible objective:\r\n\r\n<strong>Reduce mobile app crashes in order to increase user satisfaction.</strong>\r\n\r\nTa-da! You’ve just had your first exposure to an actual OKR-style objective. Exciting, isn’t it? (Surely it’s one of those “remember where you were moments” as you soak this in.) This example objective is a relatively simple statement, but it is composed of three parts that all effective objectives have in common:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>It starts with a verb.</strong> By its very nature, an objective is action oriented, so you always want to begin one with a verb. Your verb choice will depend on the objective you’re striving toward, but every word matters in the objective, and the verb you choose sets the stage for the rest of the statement.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>The verb is followed by a description of what you want to do.</strong> In this case, you want to reduce mobile app crashes. Now, a lot of people would stop right there. “Reduce mobile app crashes” sounds like a worthy objective. But, there is a third component to a well-written objective, and that is …</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>The “in order to” or “so that.”</strong> This final part captures the business impact of the first two components of the objective. Why is it important to reduce mobile app crashes? Because you believe that it will lead to increased user satisfaction. That final component is the most important, because it makes clear the strategic relevance of the objective: why it matters.</p>\r\n<p class=\"child-para\">I’ll bet you could stop reading right now and quickly brainstorm a dozen things you’d like to get done in the next few months. Doing that is relatively easy, but when you add that third component of <em>why</em> the objective is strategically important now, you quickly recognize what really matters, and which objectives are the critical ones to pursue.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShare this formula for writing an objective with your team:\r\n\r\n<strong>Verb + what you want to do + in order to / so that (business impact)</strong>\r\n\r\nSome people bristle at formulas and a paint-by-number approach to objective creation, but goal setting is not a natural muscle for most people. They need all the help they can get in writing effective OKRs, especially in the beginning.\r\n\r\nProviding a formula or template simply gives people a leg up on the task without inhibiting their creativity in any way. After all, the formula doesn’t dictate what verb to use, or why their objective is important. It simply provides a path for creating objectives that will be technically sound and add value.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">For much more on setting OKRs and how to make them do wonders for your organization, check out my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/management/okrs-for-dummies-299976/\"><em>OKRs For Dummies</em></a>.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab6\" >Defining a key result</h2>\r\nPart of the OKR definition is \"key result,\" and now you can turn your attention to that part. A <em>key result</em> is a quantitative statement that measures the achievement of a given objective. The key results answer the question “How will you know you’ve achieved the objective?” Of course, the most important word in the definition of “key result” is <em>quantitative.</em> A key result should consist of raw numbers, dollar amounts, percentages, or even dates, which you will use in the case of milestone key results.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab7\" >Writing key results</h2>\r\nIn the earlier “Writing a basic objective” section, the example objective was “Reduce mobile app crashes in order to increase user satisfaction.” Now you have to decide what set of key results will demonstrate the achievement of that objective. You may want to try these:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Study app crashes and determine the three most common causes by May 15.</li>\r\n \t<li>Develop fixes and update the app by June 1.</li>\r\n \t<li>Decrease the number of mobile app crashes from five to one.</li>\r\n \t<li>Increase app store rating from 4.2 to 4.8.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nA question I get frequently is, “How many key results should we have for each objective?” Although there is no absolute right or wrong answer to the question, a good rule of thumb (as rules of thumb go) is three to five. But beyond the number, you should think in terms of telling a story with your key results. By that I mean that the key results should work together in a coordinated way to demonstrate the success of the objective.\r\n\r\nContinuing with the example objective, if you’re going to reduce mobile app crashes, you first need to find out why the app is crashing by determining the common causes. That topic provides a good opening “chapter” in your story of success for this objective. This key result is a <em>milestone,</em> which is binary – either you achieve it or you don’t. Milestones are like hurdles that you need to get over in order to measure the ultimate business impact outlined in the objective.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">A milestone key result always includes a date — how quickly you believe you can achieve the milestone without sacrificing quality.</p>\r\nAfter studying the reasons for the crashes, your next key result is devoted to developing fixes and updating the app. Think again of your story: First you study the causes, and then you develop fixes. This, too, is a milestone key result.\r\n\r\nNow things get interesting. Your third key result measures the reduction of mobile app crashes from five to one. This is a <em>metric key result</em> because it has numbers. This key result also slots nicely into your story. You’ve studied the crashes, applied a fix, and your hypothesis is that by doing so, you’ll see a reduction in app crashes.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\"><em>Hypothesis</em> is a critical word in the context of OKRs, and in measurement in general. Whenever you measure anything, you’re making your best guess that it is related to your desired outcome.</p>\r\nThe final key result, “Increase app store rating from 4.2 to 4.8,” is also a metric, again because it has numbers. It also holds the distinction of being the most important of the example’s key results because it directly measures the business impact of increasing users’ satisfaction that was identified in the objective. Therefore, it’s a great and logical ending to a strategic story.\r\n\r\nWhen you're doing your OKR planning, I strongly encourage you to use the story concept as you're constructing your set of key results. Begin with the end in mind by identifying your business impact key result and then work backward, asking what drives, or leads to, that key result. Doing so will help you craft a comprehensive and cohesive set of key results.","description":"Before I get into the value of setting objectives and key results (OKRs), I should probably answer a question many readers might be asking: What are OKRs? Basically, OKRs is a method of setting goals for an organization.\r\n\r\nHumans are avid goal setters, constantly striving to improve our performance, regardless of the field or endeavor we choose. Perhaps you have experience in setting goals in some of these domains:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Family:</strong> Partner, children, extended relations</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Physical:</strong> Health, fitness, and wellbeing</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Work:</strong> Career, volunteering</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Spiritual:</strong> Religious or other spiritual affiliations</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Relationships:</strong> With friends or others</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Hobbies:</strong> Interests beyond work</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_300144\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-300144\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/office-group-meeting-adobeStock_427849380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" /> ©Jacob Lund / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n\r\nSome of my goal-setting memories bring me a few chuckles, such as my goal of winning a “Best Screenplay” Academy Award after taking one screenwriting class. I even pictured Steven Spielberg having the honor of bestowing the Oscar on me. Hey, the more specific a goal the better, right?\r\n\r\nYour company probably has goals related to sales, customer satisfaction, retaining the best people, and a host of other elements designed to propel you past your competition. Whether people have their companies or themselves in mind, there is little doubt that setting goals is a very healthy and positive activity, one that everyone should pursue with rigor.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Goal-setting challenges</h2>\r\nProblems often occur in how people go about writing and constructing goals. That’s where many people, whether crafting goals for companies or themselves, get stopped in their tracks almost instantly.\r\n\r\nIt’s common, for instance, to write goals that are vague and nebulous: “Get more fit.” “Be the best company in our industry.” They sound good — and few would argue with the merits of either of those examples — but the quality that specifically marks real success is missing from both. A number of other pitfalls loom out there in the goal world as well, such as:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Setting unrealistic goals that you have no genuine chance to achieve</li>\r\n \t<li>Having too many goals at one time</li>\r\n \t<li>Failing to account for any assistance you’ll require from others in achieving your goals</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nDespite the potential challenges, goal setting is one of the most powerful things you can do in your organization (and your life). You just need a better, more reliable system, and that’s where OKRs — objectives and key results— come in.\r\n\r\nSounds good, huh? Maybe if I’d have known about OKRs back when I was practicing that Oscar speech, I’d actually be clutching a gold statue now. The good news for me and you is that it’s never too late to succeed.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Setting goals really works</h2>\r\nMaybe you’re already convinced and are a believer in the power of setting ambitious goals, with a lifetime of experience to back up that claim. If so, great — we have that in common. On the other hand, perhaps you do need to be convinced of goal setting’s value. Maybe you came up in the school of hard knocks and don’t believe in the woo-woo world of setting goals. Well, I’ve got news for you: Goal setting, <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/management/where-within-an-organization-to-create-okrs-300182/\">especially with the use of OKRs</a>, really works, and I’m going to win you over to this idea, I promise.\r\n\r\nBack in 1968, when the Beatles song “Hey Jude” was dominating the airwaves, a little-known professor from the University of Maryland named Edwin Locke published a blockbuster article that would revolutionize the field of goal setting. “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives,” based on Locke’s pioneering research, showed that setting goals led to higher performance in a wide range of domains.\r\n\r\nWhether it concerned office workers toiling in smoke-infested offices (it was the 1960s, remember), loggers felling timber in northern British Columbia, or truckers rolling along the blacktop, Locke demonstrated that setting goals improved performance in a statistically significant fashion. It wasn’t uncommon, for example, to see performance gains of more than 200 percent! Forget free love and flower children; the real revolution of the 1960s was goal setting.\r\n\r\nLocke went on to collaborate with a professor from the University of Toronto named Gary Latham. Together they conducted hundreds of studies on goal setting and reviewed hundreds more, all culminating in their 1990 magnum opus, <em>A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance.</em> Although it’s not a page turner a là Dan Brown or Agatha Christie, it’s a revelation. Locke and Latham demonstrated unequivocally that setting goals led to improved results, and as an added bonus, working toward a goal boosted motivation.\r\n\r\nLocke and Latham made clear that certain types of goals are better than others. Specific and challenging (but not too challenging) goals were critical to improved performance. Both of these characteristics (specificity and challenge) are vital to OKRs.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >The components of OKRs</h2>\r\nThe heading of this section sounds cold and clinical, but the fact of the matter is that goal setting, especially using OKRs, can be … wait for it … <em>fun.</em> As Locke and Latham (see the previous section) made clear, goal setting improves motivation, and who doesn’t like the feeling of being motivated to pursue something you care about?\r\n\r\nMore good news related to the question \"what is an OKR?\" is that the framework is light on terminology. It involves just three terms: <em>objectives, key,</em> and <em>results.</em> Actually, it’s three words and a conjunction. Yes, I looked it up; “and” is a conjunction. But really it’s just two terms: <em>objectives</em> and <em>key results,</em> more commonly referred to as OKRs. In the upcoming section, I define these terms and look at an example.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">Terminology matters in any kind of change initiative, including OKRs. You may find that some people will abbreviate the acronym to OKR, omitting the <em>s.</em> There is no agreed-upon acronym, but in this article, I use the plural OKRs and suggest that you do the same. However, what’s most important is that whatever acronym you choose, you use it consistently throughout your organization.</p>\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">At this point in the article, you might be thinking: OKR vs. KPI? (oh, the wonderful world of business acronyms). KPI stands for <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/general-small-business/key-performance-indicators-small-business-marketing-226063/\">key performance indicator</a> and it applies more to specific projects, programs, products, and other initiatives. OKRs are used more to outline organization and team goals.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" >Defining an “objective”</h2>\r\nAn <em>objective</em> is a statement of a broad, qualitative goal designed to propel the organization forward in a desired direction. There are a few things to unpack in that simple definition. The first is the word <em>qualitative.</em> This word points to the fact that objectives are aspirational statements and don’t include numbers.\r\n\r\nThe second word to put under the microscope is <em>organization.</em> You can, and most likely will, create OKRs at multiple levels of your organization: the company-level; business unit; department team; and so on. Thus, the word <em>organization</em> in the definition is meant to be generic.\r\n\r\nFinally, the last part of the definition notes propelling the organization forward in a desired direction. This is the essence of an objective, which, to keep things nice and simple, asks, “What do we want to do?”\r\n<h2 id=\"tab5\" >Writing a basic objective</h2>\r\nNow comes one of the hardest tasks I faced in writing a book on OKRs: providing the very first example of an objective. Why was it so difficult? Because no matter what field or industry I draw on, there is a risk that some people will think, “Oh, so OKRs are for only those types of companies.” Or, “Well, that doesn’t apply to me.” Oy! Always remember that you can use OKRs anywhere and everywhere, from writing pop songs to ending malaria. So don’t read too much into the following example.\r\n\r\nSay that your company has a mobile app that has been crashing lately, much to users’ chagrin. That’s a strategic problem, and OKRs are very well-suited to help you overcome strategic challenges. So here’s a possible objective:\r\n\r\n<strong>Reduce mobile app crashes in order to increase user satisfaction.</strong>\r\n\r\nTa-da! You’ve just had your first exposure to an actual OKR-style objective. Exciting, isn’t it? (Surely it’s one of those “remember where you were moments” as you soak this in.) This example objective is a relatively simple statement, but it is composed of three parts that all effective objectives have in common:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>It starts with a verb.</strong> By its very nature, an objective is action oriented, so you always want to begin one with a verb. Your verb choice will depend on the objective you’re striving toward, but every word matters in the objective, and the verb you choose sets the stage for the rest of the statement.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>The verb is followed by a description of what you want to do.</strong> In this case, you want to reduce mobile app crashes. Now, a lot of people would stop right there. “Reduce mobile app crashes” sounds like a worthy objective. But, there is a third component to a well-written objective, and that is …</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><strong>The “in order to” or “so that.”</strong> This final part captures the business impact of the first two components of the objective. Why is it important to reduce mobile app crashes? Because you believe that it will lead to increased user satisfaction. That final component is the most important, because it makes clear the strategic relevance of the objective: why it matters.</p>\r\n<p class=\"child-para\">I’ll bet you could stop reading right now and quickly brainstorm a dozen things you’d like to get done in the next few months. Doing that is relatively easy, but when you add that third component of <em>why</em> the objective is strategically important now, you quickly recognize what really matters, and which objectives are the critical ones to pursue.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nShare this formula for writing an objective with your team:\r\n\r\n<strong>Verb + what you want to do + in order to / so that (business impact)</strong>\r\n\r\nSome people bristle at formulas and a paint-by-number approach to objective creation, but goal setting is not a natural muscle for most people. They need all the help they can get in writing effective OKRs, especially in the beginning.\r\n\r\nProviding a formula or template simply gives people a leg up on the task without inhibiting their creativity in any way. After all, the formula doesn’t dictate what verb to use, or why their objective is important. It simply provides a path for creating objectives that will be technically sound and add value.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">For much more on setting OKRs and how to make them do wonders for your organization, check out my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/management/okrs-for-dummies-299976/\"><em>OKRs For Dummies</em></a>.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab6\" >Defining a key result</h2>\r\nPart of the OKR definition is \"key result,\" and now you can turn your attention to that part. A <em>key result</em> is a quantitative statement that measures the achievement of a given objective. The key results answer the question “How will you know you’ve achieved the objective?” Of course, the most important word in the definition of “key result” is <em>quantitative.</em> A key result should consist of raw numbers, dollar amounts, percentages, or even dates, which you will use in the case of milestone key results.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab7\" >Writing key results</h2>\r\nIn the earlier “Writing a basic objective” section, the example objective was “Reduce mobile app crashes in order to increase user satisfaction.” Now you have to decide what set of key results will demonstrate the achievement of that objective. You may want to try these:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Study app crashes and determine the three most common causes by May 15.</li>\r\n \t<li>Develop fixes and update the app by June 1.</li>\r\n \t<li>Decrease the number of mobile app crashes from five to one.</li>\r\n \t<li>Increase app store rating from 4.2 to 4.8.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nA question I get frequently is, “How many key results should we have for each objective?” Although there is no absolute right or wrong answer to the question, a good rule of thumb (as rules of thumb go) is three to five. But beyond the number, you should think in terms of telling a story with your key results. By that I mean that the key results should work together in a coordinated way to demonstrate the success of the objective.\r\n\r\nContinuing with the example objective, if you’re going to reduce mobile app crashes, you first need to find out why the app is crashing by determining the common causes. That topic provides a good opening “chapter” in your story of success for this objective. This key result is a <em>milestone,</em> which is binary – either you achieve it or you don’t. Milestones are like hurdles that you need to get over in order to measure the ultimate business impact outlined in the objective.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">A milestone key result always includes a date — how quickly you believe you can achieve the milestone without sacrificing quality.</p>\r\nAfter studying the reasons for the crashes, your next key result is devoted to developing fixes and updating the app. Think again of your story: First you study the causes, and then you develop fixes. This, too, is a milestone key result.\r\n\r\nNow things get interesting. Your third key result measures the reduction of mobile app crashes from five to one. This is a <em>metric key result</em> because it has numbers. This key result also slots nicely into your story. You’ve studied the crashes, applied a fix, and your hypothesis is that by doing so, you’ll see a reduction in app crashes.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\"><em>Hypothesis</em> is a critical word in the context of OKRs, and in measurement in general. Whenever you measure anything, you’re making your best guess that it is related to your desired outcome.</p>\r\nThe final key result, “Increase app store rating from 4.2 to 4.8,” is also a metric, again because it has numbers. It also holds the distinction of being the most important of the example’s key results because it directly measures the business impact of increasing users’ satisfaction that was identified in the objective. Therefore, it’s a great and logical ending to a strategic story.\r\n\r\nWhen you're doing your OKR planning, I strongly encourage you to use the story concept as you're constructing your set of key results. Begin with the end in mind by identifying your business impact key result and then work backward, asking what drives, or leads to, that key result. Doing so will help you craft a comprehensive and cohesive set of key results.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":35320,"name":"Paul R. Niven","slug":"paul-r-niven","description":" <p><b>Paul R. Niven</b> is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of Strategy, OKRs, and the Balanced Scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun & Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35320"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34242,"title":"Management","slug":"management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34242"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[{"label":"Goal-setting challenges","target":"#tab1"},{"label":"Setting goals really works","target":"#tab2"},{"label":"The components of OKRs","target":"#tab3"},{"label":"Defining an “objective”","target":"#tab4"},{"label":"Writing a basic objective","target":"#tab5"},{"label":"Defining a key result","target":"#tab6"},{"label":"Writing key results","target":"#tab7"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":300182,"title":"Objectives & Key Results for Different Company Levels","slug":"where-within-an-organization-to-create-okrs","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/300182"}},{"articleId":299985,"title":"OKRs For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"okrs-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299985"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":300182,"title":"Objectives & Key Results for Different Company Levels","slug":"where-within-an-organization-to-create-okrs","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/300182"}},{"articleId":299985,"title":"OKRs For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"okrs-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299985"}},{"articleId":256371,"title":"The Quad—Four Generations Operating in the Workforce Today","slug":"the-quad-four-generations-operating-in-the-workforce-today","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/256371"}},{"articleId":256366,"title":"Changing To a Values-Based Leadership Approach","slug":"when-you-know-change-is-needed-to-values-based-leadership","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/256366"}},{"articleId":256360,"title":"The Escalator Effect of Values-Based Leadership","slug":"the-escalator-effect-of-values-based-leadership","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/256360"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":299976,"slug":"okrs-for-dummies","isbn":"9781394183487","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1394183488-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/okrs-for-dummies-cover-9781394183487-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"OKRs For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><p><b><b data-author-id=\"35320\">Paul R. Niven</b></b> is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of Strategy, OKRs, and the Balanced Scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun & Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":35320,"name":"Paul R. Niven","slug":"paul-r-niven","description":" <p><b>Paul R. Niven</b> is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of Strategy, OKRs, and the Balanced Scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun & Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35320"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;management&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394183487&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64dd0ef2bf4e6\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;management&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394183487&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64dd0ef2c02b6\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-08-07T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":300133},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T14:49:41+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-08-15T17:51:49+00:00","timestamp":"2023-08-15T18:01:02+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"General Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"},"slug":"general-small-business","categoryId":34253}],"title":"Five Free, Valuable Online Tools for Managing Your Business","strippedTitle":"five free, valuable online tools for managing your business","slug":"tapping-into-five-free-valuable-online-tools-for-managing-your-business","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"No matter whether you’re just starting your own micro-business or you’ve been working for several years, you want everything to run smoothly and cost effectivel","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"No matter whether you’re just starting your own micro-business or you’ve been working for several years, you want everything to run smoothly and cost effectively. As a micro-entrepreneur, your focus is to meet your target market’s needs while staying ahead of your competition. These free resources can help you.\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Get a free email account for business use.</b> Email is indispensable for communication, marketing, and other pursuits. You can get free email at <a href=\"http://www.gmail.com\">Gmail</a> or <a href=\"http://yahoo.com\">Yahoo</a>, and other providers.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Try </b><a href=\"http://www.openoffice.org\"><b>Open Office Software Suite</b></a><b>.</b> This powerful suite of business productivity tools includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, and other software programs. The software is free and regularly upgraded and refined by open source software developers.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Network with </b><a href=\"http://www.linkedin.com\"><b>LinkedIn</b></a><b>. </b>On this site, you can network with other businesses and professionals. You can make lots of valuable contacts, find prospects, and get answers to many of your questions from other professionals and specialists.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Market through e-mail.</b> <a href=\"http://www.mailchimp.com\">Mailchimp</a> is a free email service to do e-mail distribution and marketing. You can send an email blast for up to 2,000 addresses on your list at no cost, which is perfect for businesses just starting out and needing a good way to manage a list of prospects and customers.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Use </b><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com\"><b>YouTube</b></a><b>. </b>This popular video platform gives you the ability not only to gain information and news (including lots of free how-to videos on a variety of business topics), but you have the ability to create your own videos (ranging from providing content to doing sales and marketing presentations) at no cost.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>","description":"No matter whether you’re just starting your own micro-business or you’ve been working for several years, you want everything to run smoothly and cost effectively. As a micro-entrepreneur, your focus is to meet your target market’s needs while staying ahead of your competition. These free resources can help you.\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Get a free email account for business use.</b> Email is indispensable for communication, marketing, and other pursuits. You can get free email at <a href=\"http://www.gmail.com\">Gmail</a> or <a href=\"http://yahoo.com\">Yahoo</a>, and other providers.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Try </b><a href=\"http://www.openoffice.org\"><b>Open Office Software Suite</b></a><b>.</b> This powerful suite of business productivity tools includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, and other software programs. The software is free and regularly upgraded and refined by open source software developers.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Network with </b><a href=\"http://www.linkedin.com\"><b>LinkedIn</b></a><b>. </b>On this site, you can network with other businesses and professionals. You can make lots of valuable contacts, find prospects, and get answers to many of your questions from other professionals and specialists.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Market through e-mail.</b> <a href=\"http://www.mailchimp.com\">Mailchimp</a> is a free email service to do e-mail distribution and marketing. You can send an email blast for up to 2,000 addresses on your list at no cost, which is perfect for businesses just starting out and needing a good way to manage a list of prospects and customers.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Use </b><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com\"><b>YouTube</b></a><b>. </b>This popular video platform gives you the ability not only to gain information and news (including lots of free how-to videos on a variety of business topics), but you have the ability to create your own videos (ranging from providing content to doing sales and marketing presentations) at no cost.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9001,"name":"Paul Mladjenovic","slug":"paul-mladjenovic","description":" <p><b>Paul Mladjenovic, CFP,</b> has written four editions of <i>Stock Investing For Dummies</i> and has taught would&#45;be investors about stock investing since 1983. As a certified financial planner, he personally coaches his clients on stock investing strategies. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9001"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34253,"title":"General Small Business","slug":"general-small-business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34253"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":207953,"title":"Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"micro-entrepreneurship-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/207953"}},{"articleId":168496,"title":"Ten Simple Marketing Strategies for Micro-Entrepreneurs","slug":"ten-simple-marketing-strategies-for-micro-entrepreneurs","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/168496"}},{"articleId":165559,"title":"Five Easy Ways to Have an Internet Presence without a Website","slug":"five-easy-ways-to-have-an-internet-presence-without-a-website","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/165559"}},{"articleId":165558,"title":"Six Easy Ways to Help You Make Money Fast","slug":"six-easy-ways-to-help-you-make-money-fast","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/165558"}},{"articleId":165556,"title":"What You Need to Know before Launching Your Micro-Business","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-before-launching-your-micro-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/165556"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":299313,"title":"Exploring Side Hustle Opportunities","slug":"exploring-side-hustle-opportunities","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299313"}},{"articleId":226108,"title":"Packing Power into Advertising Headlines","slug":"packing-power-advertising-headlines","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226108"}},{"articleId":226105,"title":"How Small Business Marketing Is Different","slug":"small-business-marketing-different","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226105"}},{"articleId":226102,"title":"Marketing a Start-Up Business","slug":"marketing-start-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226102"}},{"articleId":226099,"title":"The Relationship between Marketing and Sales","slug":"relationship-marketing-sales","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/226099"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282400,"slug":"micro-entrepreneurship-for-dummies","isbn":"9781118521687","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118521684/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1118521684/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1118521684-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1118521684/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1118521684/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/micro-entrepreneurship-for-dummies-cover-9781118521687-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Micro-Entrepreneurship For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":"<p><b data-author-id=\"9001\">Paul Mladjenovic</b> is a certified financial planner, micro-entrepreneur, and home business educator with more than 25 years' experience writing and teaching about financial and business start-up topics. He owns RavingCapitalist.com and is also the author of <i>Stock Investing For Dummies</i>. </p>","authors":[{"authorId":9001,"name":"Paul Mladjenovic","slug":"paul-mladjenovic","description":" <p><b>Paul Mladjenovic, CFP,</b> has written four editions of <i>Stock Investing For Dummies</i> and has taught would&#45;be investors about stock investing since 1983. As a certified financial planner, he personally coaches his clients on stock investing strategies. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9001"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781118521687&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64dbbd5ebbce7\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;general-small-business&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781118521687&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64dbbd5ebc9fe\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Two years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2022-07-19T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":165557},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T15:40:49+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-08-14T18:09:53+00:00","timestamp":"2023-08-14T21:01:03+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Human Resources","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34241"},"slug":"human-resources","categoryId":34241}],"title":"How to Prepare to Interview a Job Candidate","strippedTitle":"how to prepare to interview a job candidate","slug":"how-to-prepare-for-a-job-interview","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn how to get ready to interview candidates for a position at your company, including setting up an interview structure, and more.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"Your ability to get the most out of the interviews you conduct for your business invariably depends on how well prepared you are. Here’s a checklist of things you should do before you ask the first interview question:\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the job description, especially its hiring criteria.</b> Do so even if you draw up the criteria yourself.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Review everything the candidate has submitted to date.</b> That includes a résumé, cover letter, online profile, and so on. Note any areas needing clarification or explanation, such as quirky job titles, gaps in work history, or hobbies that may reveal aspects of the candidate’s personality that can have a bearing on job performance.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Set up a general structure for the interview.</b> Create a basic schedule for the interview so that, as the meeting progresses, you reserve enough time to cover all the key areas you want to address. Having a rough schedule to adhere to will help you begin and end the session on time, allowing you to be more efficient and showing that you respect the candidate’s time.</p>\r\n<p class=\"child-para\">A phone screen is a great use of time to provide the candidate an opportunity to answer general questions you have and for you to determine if he’s worth the time investment to bring on-site for an interview.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Write down the questions you intend to ask.</b> Base your questions on the areas of the candidate’s background that deserve the most attention (based on the job description and your hiring criteria). Keep the list in front of you throughout the interview.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Hold the interview in a room that’s private and reasonably comfortable.</b> Clear your desk, close the door, and either set your phone so all calls go to voicemail or have your calls forwarded somewhere else.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"Warning\">Try not to schedule job interviews in the middle of the day. The reason: You’re not likely to be as relaxed and as focused as you need to be, and you may have a tough time fighting off interruptions and distractions.</p>\r\nThe ideal time to interview candidates is early morning, before the workday starts. You’re fresher then, and so is the candidate. If you have no choice, give yourself a buffer of at least half an hour before the interview so that you can switch gears and prepare for the interview in the right manner.","description":"Your ability to get the most out of the interviews you conduct for your business invariably depends on how well prepared you are. Here’s a checklist of things you should do before you ask the first interview question:\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the job description, especially its hiring criteria.</b> Do so even if you draw up the criteria yourself.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Review everything the candidate has submitted to date.</b> That includes a résumé, cover letter, online profile, and so on. Note any areas needing clarification or explanation, such as quirky job titles, gaps in work history, or hobbies that may reveal aspects of the candidate’s personality that can have a bearing on job performance.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Set up a general structure for the interview.</b> Create a basic schedule for the interview so that, as the meeting progresses, you reserve enough time to cover all the key areas you want to address. Having a rough schedule to adhere to will help you begin and end the session on time, allowing you to be more efficient and showing that you respect the candidate’s time.</p>\r\n<p class=\"child-para\">A phone screen is a great use of time to provide the candidate an opportunity to answer general questions you have and for you to determine if he’s worth the time investment to bring on-site for an interview.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Write down the questions you intend to ask.</b> Base your questions on the areas of the candidate’s background that deserve the most attention (based on the job description and your hiring criteria). Keep the list in front of you throughout the interview.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\"><b>Hold the interview in a room that’s private and reasonably comfortable.</b> Clear your desk, close the door, and either set your phone so all calls go to voicemail or have your calls forwarded somewhere else.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"Warning\">Try not to schedule job interviews in the middle of the day. The reason: You’re not likely to be as relaxed and as focused as you need to be, and you may have a tough time fighting off interruptions and distractions.</p>\r\nThe ideal time to interview candidates is early morning, before the workday starts. You’re fresher then, and so is the candidate. If you have no choice, give yourself a buffer of at least half an hour before the interview so that you can switch gears and prepare for the interview in the right manner.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9778,"name":"Max Messmer","slug":"max-messmer","description":" <p>Max Messmer is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, the world's largest specialized staffing firm. He is one of the leading experts on human resources and employment issues.</p>","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9778"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34241,"title":"Human Resources","slug":"human-resources","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34241"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":208154,"title":"Human Resources Kit For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"human-resources-kit-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/208154"}},{"articleId":172103,"title":"Five Questions that Reveal the Most about Job Candidates","slug":"five-interview-questions-that-reveal-the-most-about-job-candidates","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/172103"}},{"articleId":172102,"title":"How to Create an Employee-Friendly Work Environment","slug":"how-to-create-an-employee-friendly-work-environment","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/172102"}},{"articleId":172101,"title":"Key Federal Laws Affecting HR","slug":"key-federal-laws-affecting-hr","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/172101"}},{"articleId":172074,"title":"How to Evaluate Résumés","slug":"how-to-evaluate-rsums","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/172074"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":298342,"title":"Demographic Trends Increase the Need for DEI Programs","slug":"demographic-trends-increase-need-for-dei-programs","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/298342"}},{"articleId":298307,"title":"Exposing Common Barriers to DEI in the Workplace","slug":"exposing-common-organizational-barriers-to-dei","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/298307"}},{"articleId":298096,"title":"What Is Cultural Competence?","slug":"what-leaders-should-know-about-cultural-competency","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/298096"}},{"articleId":295930,"title":"How Organizations Can Combat Unconscious Bias in Hiring","slug":"how-organizations-combat-unconscious-bias-in-their-hiring-practices","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/295930"}},{"articleId":295924,"title":"The Secret to Avoiding a Hiring Disaster: Job Fit","slug":"the-secret-to-avoiding-a-hiring-disaster-job-fit","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/295924"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282290,"slug":"human-resources-kit-for-dummies-3rd-edition","isbn":"9781119989899","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","human-resources"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119989892/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119989892/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119989892-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119989892/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119989892/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/human-resources-kit-for-dummies-cover-1119989892-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Human Resources Kit For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><b data-author-id=\"9778\">Max Messmer</b> is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, the world's largest specialized staffing firm. He is one of the leading experts on human resources and employment issues.</p> <p>Max Messmer is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, the world's largest specialized staffing firm. He is one of the leading experts on human resources and employment issues.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":9778,"name":"Max Messmer","slug":"max-messmer","description":" <p>Max Messmer is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, the world's largest specialized staffing firm. He is one of the leading experts on human resources and employment issues.</p>","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9778"}},{"authorId":35257,"name":"Andrea Butcher","slug":"andrea-butcher","description":" <p>Max Messmer is chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, the world's largest specialized staffing firm. He is one of the leading experts on human resources and employment issues.</p>","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35257"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;human-resources&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119989899&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64da960f2b65b\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;human-resources&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119989899&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64da960f2bb7a\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-08-14T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":169965},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2023-08-09T18:47:55+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-08-10T14:05:08+00:00","timestamp":"2023-08-10T15:01:02+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34242"},"slug":"management","categoryId":34242}],"title":"Objectives & Key Results for Different Company Levels","strippedTitle":"objectives & key results for different company levels","slug":"where-within-an-organization-to-create-okrs","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn about the different organization levels at which you can create objectives and key results (OKRs), and their pros and cons.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"In this article, I share the most common choices for where to create objectives and key results (OKRs) within an organization, including at the company level only, or for the company and business unit, or for the entire organization. However, just because these are common choices doesn’t mean they’re right for you.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_300188\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-300188\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/office-team-brainstorming-adobeStock_302074305.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" /> ©Alfa27 / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to deciding where to begin <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/management/the-value-of-setting-objectives-key-results-okrs-300133/\">OKRs for your organization</a>, you should give careful consideration to the best group or groups to lead the way on your implementation. That decision will hinge on the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The amount of sponsorship you have at the top</li>\r\n \t<li>The availability of strategic background materials</li>\r\n \t<li>Your desire to foster collaboration</li>\r\n \t<li>Your philosophy on individual involvement in OKR setting</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nI cover your primary options, those used by most organizations, in the following sections.\r\n\r\nThere are other areas where OKRs are useful, including pilot groups, projects, and support groups, and while this article doesn’t cover those, you can learn about them in my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/management/okrs-for-dummies-299976/\"><em>OKRs For Dummies</em></a>.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Creating OKRs at the company level only</h2>\r\nFirst, let me define some terms. When I say “company-level,” I mean OKRs that would exist at the very highest level of the company. So whether you’re General Motors, Netflix, or Uncle Morty’s Wax Emporium, company-level OKRs are those created and used to gauge execution at the very top of the house. Whenever possible (and sometimes it isn’t, as I’ll explain), drafting OKRs at the company level is the preferred way to kick off your efforts.\r\n<h3>Some benefits to starting at the top level</h3>\r\nStarting at the top has several benefits. Foremost is the fact that OKRs you create at this level make it crystal clear for your entire employee population what you consider to be the most important items for the organization to focus on in the days ahead.\r\n\r\nAlso, I can’t overstate the communication value provided by these OKRs. Keeping in mind how few people can name their company’s top goals, by creating a small number of OKRs at this level, you send a powerful signal of what employees should pay attention to. You also provide the context that all lower-level teams require to create their own, connected OKRs.\r\n\r\nI was going to continue on to drift into my next point but I’m not sure you’d be with me. Your eyes may be seeing the words but your brain may be stuck on something I slipped into the last paragraph: “small number of OKRs.” You’re wondering, “What does he mean by ‘small number.'\"\r\n\r\nAllow me to turn the tables on you. What do you think is a small but appropriate number of OKRs at the company-level? If you’re like most of the CEOs I’ve worked with, your estimate of the appropriate number of OKRs at the company will be very low, maybe two or three. If so, it’s likely because you want to instill the discipline of focus in your organization, and you’d be correct in wanting this.\r\n\r\nHowever, when it comes to actually drafting the OKRs, if you attempt to tell your story of success with such a succinct number of them, the tendency is to lump concepts together or devise such generic OKRs that they could fit any company in the world, Uncle Morty’s Wax Emporium included.\r\n\r\nThe number is also impacted by your current situation. If you’re in crisis mode and mere survival is your goal, perhaps one or two well-chosen OKRs is exactly what you need. If, however, you’re in steady-state, moderate-growth mode, you may be able to balance four to seven OKRs.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">The old adage “less is more” applies to company-level OKRs. An abundance of OKRs at this level results in a lack of focus and prioritization, causing confusion and skepticism in your employees as to what truly matters.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>More benefits of starting at the top</h3>\r\nHaving settled the number of OKRs quandary, you can consider a couple of additional advantages of starting at the top level. An obvious benefit is the accountability that it yokes to your executives. It is their responsibility to see these OKRs through, demonstrating success that lifts the entire company.\r\n\r\nAlso, wins at this level will go a long way in generating enthusiasm for OKRs throughout the company. After people see the impact of OKRs at the very top, they’ll be anxious to create their own OKRs, making it clear for all to see how their unique piece of the puzzle fits into place.\r\n<h3>Now for the disadvantages of top-level OKRs</h3>\r\nAlthough beginning at the top with your OKRs offers some clear benefits, you should also consider some potential disadvantages before automatically making it your default choice:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>The potential of creating generic OKRs that could apply to any organization:</strong> The lack of specificity will greatly reduce the power of those OKRs to inspire lower-level teams, and may in fact signal to everyone that the status quo is just fine and your company’s biggest aspiration is to be like everyone else.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>The possibility that your OKRs will be irrelevant:</strong> This possibility comes into play if yours is a very large organization with dozens (or more) of business units around the world, each the size of significant businesses on their own. Think conglomerates with assets spanning the globe. For these companies, job one of the corporate group is allocating resources effectively, and most if not all of the metrics are financial in nature, providing little in terms of guidance or inspiration for lower-level groups.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Prerequisites for company-level OKRs</h3>\r\nIf you determine that company-level OKRs are the way to go for you, be aware of a couple of “must haves” before convening your C-suite colleagues for a drafting session. The first requirement is access to, and the participation of, your CEO. If you can’t rouse the sincere support of your CEO, you should reconsider not only starting at the top, but starting OKRs at all.\r\n\r\nA second prerequisite for company-level OKRs is the existence of some form of strategic plan for the organization from which you can derive the OKRs. They shouldn’t be created in a vacuum. If you’re sitting around a boardroom table engaging in blue-sky brainstorming and pondering, “Hmmm, what should we do?” you have a problem.\r\n\r\nOKRs will help answer the question, “To successfully execute our strategy, what has to happen?” but only if you have a strategy in the first place. The word <em>strategy</em> can be tricky, though. You don’t require a 300-page leather bound, gilt-edged report from the head office of a global consulting firm. Some answers to basic questions like, “What do we sell?” will get you on track.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips warning\">OKRs are a strategy-execution system, not a strategy-formation system. If you’re relying on the process to help you create a strategy, you’re putting the cart before the horse.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Creating OKRs at both the company and team levels</h2>\r\nA second option for where to create OKRs is at both the company and business unit or team level, which provides the obvious advantage of involving lower-level groups, thereby upping the odds of execution because more people within the organization are creating aligned OKRs.\r\n\r\nAlthough this section’s heading suggests that OKRs would be created simultaneously at both the company and team levels, there should be some lag time between those efforts. Company OKRs are written first, widely communicated to ensure understanding, and only then, after that context has been created, should team-level OKRs be considered. Most of my firm’s clients choose this option (company and team OKRs) when embarking on an OKRs process.\r\n<h3>Deciding which teams and units to include</h3>\r\nShould you decide to go the route of OKRs at both the company and team levels, your next order of business will be defining the word <em>team.</em> I’m using that word in a very generic sense because as far as I know, no universal terms exist for creating a company’s organizational chart. For example, engineering and IT may be business units at your company, or they may be called departments, squads, or teams.\r\n\r\nRather than focus on the titles appearing on your org chart, a simpler approach is to determine how far down the chart you want to go with your initial foray into OKRs. Maybe it’s the first level, those reporting directly to the CEO; or perhaps you’ll go two levels down on the chart. The obvious caveat is that the deeper you go, the more complex your rollout becomes, and you need to carefully consider how much complexity you can take on as you’re getting your feet wet with OKRs.\r\n\r\nA phased approach, going one level at a time, is the most conservative and likely the safest route; my experience shows that most organizations are excited to expose as many people as possible to the power of OKRs. Thus, going deeper faster has major appeal.\r\n<h3>Deciding between following the org chart or linking dependent teams</h3>\r\nIf I had been writing this book back in, say, 2016, this section probably would have ended right here. Pick your teams and swish-boom, move on to the next section. But having worked on hundreds of engagements with organizations all over the world, I know it’s not that easy.\r\n\r\nYou have another fundamental question to answer after you’ve chosen who will create OKRs at the team level: Do you write OKRs based simply on titles in the org chart? For example, Sales would create Sales OKRs, Marketing would create Marketing OKRs, and so on. Given its simplicity, this approach was the default answer for many organizations as OKRs rose to prominence, but a downside quickly emerged: Creating OKRs in this way had a tendency to reinforce silos and discourage cross-functional collaboration, which is anathema to the spirit of OKRs.\r\n\r\nSimply following the org chart may not be your best alternative for drafting team-based OKRs. Another option is to find teams that are highly dependent on one another and create OKRs for the merged entities.\r\n\r\nFor example, in most organizations, the Sales and Marketing teams must work closely together in order to drive demand and revenue. Marketing finds the leads and supplies media and collateral, which supports Sales’s efforts to convert interested onlookers into paying customers. In this case, it could make sense to create OKRs for Sales and Marketing as one cross-functional unit, which of course enhances collaboration and diminishes the silo mentality.\r\n\r\nA potential challenge with the dependent-teams approach is the fact that in modern organizations, the pairings aren’t likely to be so clean because of the vast web of interconnectedness among most teams operating today. When I ask teams who they depend on for success, they rarely isolate their response to one other team. There’s often a dominant partner, but other dependencies exist as well.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">In deciding whether to use the dependent-teams method, determine whether the core relationship or partnership among two teams is strong enough to warrant working together on creating merged OKRs. In other words, if they can’t be successful without one another, there is a legitimate case for merged OKRs.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Creating team OKRs for customer segments</h3>\r\nAnd now, in the spirit of a 3 a.m. infomercial peddling that hydrospa hand massager you just can’t live without: But wait, there’s more! You may also want to create team-based OKRs in reference to specific customer segments, or points along the way of the customer’s journey with your company.\r\n\r\nAn online retailer, for instance, could create OKRs for teams aligned with the checkout process, or the subscription process, or something else. Doing so has the advantage of driving collaboration among teams devoted to a specific outcome, but on the flip side it’s not immune to the difficulty of ensuring that the relationship between the groups is strong enough to warrant shared OKRs. (In case you’re wondering, I didn’t make up the hydrospa hand massager; QVC really did sell them at $40.)\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >Creating individual OKRs for the entire organization</h2>\r\nEncouraging OKRs at the organization-wide level includes, of course, the controversial practice of having individual OKRs. You may be thinking, “Google uses individual OKRs, right? So shouldn’t everyone?” And besides, is the question of using individual OKRs even up for debate, and what makes it a “controversial practice”?\r\n<h3>Yes, Google does it, but you may not want to</h3>\r\nGoogle, the poster child for all things OKRs, does have a history of using the framework at the individual employee level, but you have to keep in mind that OKRs were literally baked into the culture of Google practically from day one through John Doerr’s influence with the founders.\r\n\r\nThe system grew along with the company and has become an ingrained part of their culture, which is something most organizations cannot say. But even within the Googleplex, there are whispers of discontent over the practice, and some question its value. Most organizations should consider individual level OKRs optional, if they consider it at all.\r\n\r\nIf you do believe that individual OKRs are right for your company, it’s most likely because you can envision the system driving alignment throughout the entire enterprise. You also likely subscribe to the notion that giving employees the chance to write an OKR will boost their support of the system because they will no longer see OKRs as a “corporate thing” but something that they themselves engage with and can potentially benefit from. Both are valid points, but on the “pro” side of the ledger, that’s all I’ve got. Switching to the “con” side, however, reveals a host of potential problems with individual level OKRs.\r\n\r\nI’ll use an example of an individual OKR to introduce some challenges with the practice. Following is one from a software engineer — and I’m not picking on engineers; I’ve seen similar (in tone, style, and direction) from finance professionals, marketers, HR staff, you name it:\r\n\r\n<strong>Objective:</strong> Improve my programming skills to help the company release products faster.\r\n\r\n<strong>Key results:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Read the five most popular books on programming on Amazon.com.</li>\r\n \t<li>Take three courses on programming languages.</li>\r\n \t<li>Attain Oracle MySQL certification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nWhen charged with creating OKRs, most individuals will automatically default to personal development goals like those above. Absolutely nothing is wrong with personal development, and of course everyone should be actively encouraged to set goals for improvement.\r\n\r\nHowever, if you’re hewing to the true intent of OKRs, your aim is to demonstrate business impact. The key results in the preceding example are binary “outputs” that fail to demonstrate how this programmer is contributing to the company’s goal of releasing products faster in a quantitative fashion.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">Determining and communicating your OKRs philosophy, whether or not you’ll allow personal development goals as part of OKRs, will help ensure consistency in the OKRs created across the organization.</p>","description":"In this article, I share the most common choices for where to create objectives and key results (OKRs) within an organization, including at the company level only, or for the company and business unit, or for the entire organization. However, just because these are common choices doesn’t mean they’re right for you.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_300188\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-300188\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/office-team-brainstorming-adobeStock_302074305.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" /> ©Alfa27 / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to deciding where to begin <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/management/the-value-of-setting-objectives-key-results-okrs-300133/\">OKRs for your organization</a>, you should give careful consideration to the best group or groups to lead the way on your implementation. That decision will hinge on the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The amount of sponsorship you have at the top</li>\r\n \t<li>The availability of strategic background materials</li>\r\n \t<li>Your desire to foster collaboration</li>\r\n \t<li>Your philosophy on individual involvement in OKR setting</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nI cover your primary options, those used by most organizations, in the following sections.\r\n\r\nThere are other areas where OKRs are useful, including pilot groups, projects, and support groups, and while this article doesn’t cover those, you can learn about them in my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/management/okrs-for-dummies-299976/\"><em>OKRs For Dummies</em></a>.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Creating OKRs at the company level only</h2>\r\nFirst, let me define some terms. When I say “company-level,” I mean OKRs that would exist at the very highest level of the company. So whether you’re General Motors, Netflix, or Uncle Morty’s Wax Emporium, company-level OKRs are those created and used to gauge execution at the very top of the house. Whenever possible (and sometimes it isn’t, as I’ll explain), drafting OKRs at the company level is the preferred way to kick off your efforts.\r\n<h3>Some benefits to starting at the top level</h3>\r\nStarting at the top has several benefits. Foremost is the fact that OKRs you create at this level make it crystal clear for your entire employee population what you consider to be the most important items for the organization to focus on in the days ahead.\r\n\r\nAlso, I can’t overstate the communication value provided by these OKRs. Keeping in mind how few people can name their company’s top goals, by creating a small number of OKRs at this level, you send a powerful signal of what employees should pay attention to. You also provide the context that all lower-level teams require to create their own, connected OKRs.\r\n\r\nI was going to continue on to drift into my next point but I’m not sure you’d be with me. Your eyes may be seeing the words but your brain may be stuck on something I slipped into the last paragraph: “small number of OKRs.” You’re wondering, “What does he mean by ‘small number.'\"\r\n\r\nAllow me to turn the tables on you. What do you think is a small but appropriate number of OKRs at the company-level? If you’re like most of the CEOs I’ve worked with, your estimate of the appropriate number of OKRs at the company will be very low, maybe two or three. If so, it’s likely because you want to instill the discipline of focus in your organization, and you’d be correct in wanting this.\r\n\r\nHowever, when it comes to actually drafting the OKRs, if you attempt to tell your story of success with such a succinct number of them, the tendency is to lump concepts together or devise such generic OKRs that they could fit any company in the world, Uncle Morty’s Wax Emporium included.\r\n\r\nThe number is also impacted by your current situation. If you’re in crisis mode and mere survival is your goal, perhaps one or two well-chosen OKRs is exactly what you need. If, however, you’re in steady-state, moderate-growth mode, you may be able to balance four to seven OKRs.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">The old adage “less is more” applies to company-level OKRs. An abundance of OKRs at this level results in a lack of focus and prioritization, causing confusion and skepticism in your employees as to what truly matters.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>More benefits of starting at the top</h3>\r\nHaving settled the number of OKRs quandary, you can consider a couple of additional advantages of starting at the top level. An obvious benefit is the accountability that it yokes to your executives. It is their responsibility to see these OKRs through, demonstrating success that lifts the entire company.\r\n\r\nAlso, wins at this level will go a long way in generating enthusiasm for OKRs throughout the company. After people see the impact of OKRs at the very top, they’ll be anxious to create their own OKRs, making it clear for all to see how their unique piece of the puzzle fits into place.\r\n<h3>Now for the disadvantages of top-level OKRs</h3>\r\nAlthough beginning at the top with your OKRs offers some clear benefits, you should also consider some potential disadvantages before automatically making it your default choice:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>The potential of creating generic OKRs that could apply to any organization:</strong> The lack of specificity will greatly reduce the power of those OKRs to inspire lower-level teams, and may in fact signal to everyone that the status quo is just fine and your company’s biggest aspiration is to be like everyone else.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>The possibility that your OKRs will be irrelevant:</strong> This possibility comes into play if yours is a very large organization with dozens (or more) of business units around the world, each the size of significant businesses on their own. Think conglomerates with assets spanning the globe. For these companies, job one of the corporate group is allocating resources effectively, and most if not all of the metrics are financial in nature, providing little in terms of guidance or inspiration for lower-level groups.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3>Prerequisites for company-level OKRs</h3>\r\nIf you determine that company-level OKRs are the way to go for you, be aware of a couple of “must haves” before convening your C-suite colleagues for a drafting session. The first requirement is access to, and the participation of, your CEO. If you can’t rouse the sincere support of your CEO, you should reconsider not only starting at the top, but starting OKRs at all.\r\n\r\nA second prerequisite for company-level OKRs is the existence of some form of strategic plan for the organization from which you can derive the OKRs. They shouldn’t be created in a vacuum. If you’re sitting around a boardroom table engaging in blue-sky brainstorming and pondering, “Hmmm, what should we do?” you have a problem.\r\n\r\nOKRs will help answer the question, “To successfully execute our strategy, what has to happen?” but only if you have a strategy in the first place. The word <em>strategy</em> can be tricky, though. You don’t require a 300-page leather bound, gilt-edged report from the head office of a global consulting firm. Some answers to basic questions like, “What do we sell?” will get you on track.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips warning\">OKRs are a strategy-execution system, not a strategy-formation system. If you’re relying on the process to help you create a strategy, you’re putting the cart before the horse.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Creating OKRs at both the company and team levels</h2>\r\nA second option for where to create OKRs is at both the company and business unit or team level, which provides the obvious advantage of involving lower-level groups, thereby upping the odds of execution because more people within the organization are creating aligned OKRs.\r\n\r\nAlthough this section’s heading suggests that OKRs would be created simultaneously at both the company and team levels, there should be some lag time between those efforts. Company OKRs are written first, widely communicated to ensure understanding, and only then, after that context has been created, should team-level OKRs be considered. Most of my firm’s clients choose this option (company and team OKRs) when embarking on an OKRs process.\r\n<h3>Deciding which teams and units to include</h3>\r\nShould you decide to go the route of OKRs at both the company and team levels, your next order of business will be defining the word <em>team.</em> I’m using that word in a very generic sense because as far as I know, no universal terms exist for creating a company’s organizational chart. For example, engineering and IT may be business units at your company, or they may be called departments, squads, or teams.\r\n\r\nRather than focus on the titles appearing on your org chart, a simpler approach is to determine how far down the chart you want to go with your initial foray into OKRs. Maybe it’s the first level, those reporting directly to the CEO; or perhaps you’ll go two levels down on the chart. The obvious caveat is that the deeper you go, the more complex your rollout becomes, and you need to carefully consider how much complexity you can take on as you’re getting your feet wet with OKRs.\r\n\r\nA phased approach, going one level at a time, is the most conservative and likely the safest route; my experience shows that most organizations are excited to expose as many people as possible to the power of OKRs. Thus, going deeper faster has major appeal.\r\n<h3>Deciding between following the org chart or linking dependent teams</h3>\r\nIf I had been writing this book back in, say, 2016, this section probably would have ended right here. Pick your teams and swish-boom, move on to the next section. But having worked on hundreds of engagements with organizations all over the world, I know it’s not that easy.\r\n\r\nYou have another fundamental question to answer after you’ve chosen who will create OKRs at the team level: Do you write OKRs based simply on titles in the org chart? For example, Sales would create Sales OKRs, Marketing would create Marketing OKRs, and so on. Given its simplicity, this approach was the default answer for many organizations as OKRs rose to prominence, but a downside quickly emerged: Creating OKRs in this way had a tendency to reinforce silos and discourage cross-functional collaboration, which is anathema to the spirit of OKRs.\r\n\r\nSimply following the org chart may not be your best alternative for drafting team-based OKRs. Another option is to find teams that are highly dependent on one another and create OKRs for the merged entities.\r\n\r\nFor example, in most organizations, the Sales and Marketing teams must work closely together in order to drive demand and revenue. Marketing finds the leads and supplies media and collateral, which supports Sales’s efforts to convert interested onlookers into paying customers. In this case, it could make sense to create OKRs for Sales and Marketing as one cross-functional unit, which of course enhances collaboration and diminishes the silo mentality.\r\n\r\nA potential challenge with the dependent-teams approach is the fact that in modern organizations, the pairings aren’t likely to be so clean because of the vast web of interconnectedness among most teams operating today. When I ask teams who they depend on for success, they rarely isolate their response to one other team. There’s often a dominant partner, but other dependencies exist as well.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">In deciding whether to use the dependent-teams method, determine whether the core relationship or partnership among two teams is strong enough to warrant working together on creating merged OKRs. In other words, if they can’t be successful without one another, there is a legitimate case for merged OKRs.</p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Creating team OKRs for customer segments</h3>\r\nAnd now, in the spirit of a 3 a.m. infomercial peddling that hydrospa hand massager you just can’t live without: But wait, there’s more! You may also want to create team-based OKRs in reference to specific customer segments, or points along the way of the customer’s journey with your company.\r\n\r\nAn online retailer, for instance, could create OKRs for teams aligned with the checkout process, or the subscription process, or something else. Doing so has the advantage of driving collaboration among teams devoted to a specific outcome, but on the flip side it’s not immune to the difficulty of ensuring that the relationship between the groups is strong enough to warrant shared OKRs. (In case you’re wondering, I didn’t make up the hydrospa hand massager; QVC really did sell them at $40.)\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >Creating individual OKRs for the entire organization</h2>\r\nEncouraging OKRs at the organization-wide level includes, of course, the controversial practice of having individual OKRs. You may be thinking, “Google uses individual OKRs, right? So shouldn’t everyone?” And besides, is the question of using individual OKRs even up for debate, and what makes it a “controversial practice”?\r\n<h3>Yes, Google does it, but you may not want to</h3>\r\nGoogle, the poster child for all things OKRs, does have a history of using the framework at the individual employee level, but you have to keep in mind that OKRs were literally baked into the culture of Google practically from day one through John Doerr’s influence with the founders.\r\n\r\nThe system grew along with the company and has become an ingrained part of their culture, which is something most organizations cannot say. But even within the Googleplex, there are whispers of discontent over the practice, and some question its value. Most organizations should consider individual level OKRs optional, if they consider it at all.\r\n\r\nIf you do believe that individual OKRs are right for your company, it’s most likely because you can envision the system driving alignment throughout the entire enterprise. You also likely subscribe to the notion that giving employees the chance to write an OKR will boost their support of the system because they will no longer see OKRs as a “corporate thing” but something that they themselves engage with and can potentially benefit from. Both are valid points, but on the “pro” side of the ledger, that’s all I’ve got. Switching to the “con” side, however, reveals a host of potential problems with individual level OKRs.\r\n\r\nI’ll use an example of an individual OKR to introduce some challenges with the practice. Following is one from a software engineer — and I’m not picking on engineers; I’ve seen similar (in tone, style, and direction) from finance professionals, marketers, HR staff, you name it:\r\n\r\n<strong>Objective:</strong> Improve my programming skills to help the company release products faster.\r\n\r\n<strong>Key results:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Read the five most popular books on programming on Amazon.com.</li>\r\n \t<li>Take three courses on programming languages.</li>\r\n \t<li>Attain Oracle MySQL certification.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\nWhen charged with creating OKRs, most individuals will automatically default to personal development goals like those above. Absolutely nothing is wrong with personal development, and of course everyone should be actively encouraged to set goals for improvement.\r\n\r\nHowever, if you’re hewing to the true intent of OKRs, your aim is to demonstrate business impact. The key results in the preceding example are binary “outputs” that fail to demonstrate how this programmer is contributing to the company’s goal of releasing products faster in a quantitative fashion.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">Determining and communicating your OKRs philosophy, whether or not you’ll allow personal development goals as part of OKRs, will help ensure consistency in the OKRs created across the organization.</p>","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":35320,"name":"Paul R. Niven","slug":"paul-r-niven","description":"<strong>Paul R. Niven</strong> is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of strategy, OKRs, and the balanced scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun &amp; Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35320"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34242,"title":"Management","slug":"management","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34242"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[{"label":"Creating OKRs at the company level only","target":"#tab1"},{"label":"Creating OKRs at both the company and team levels","target":"#tab2"},{"label":"Creating individual OKRs for the entire organization","target":"#tab3"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":300133,"title":"The Value of Setting Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)","slug":"the-value-of-setting-objectives-key-results-okrs","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/300133"}},{"articleId":299985,"title":"OKRs For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"okrs-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299985"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":300133,"title":"The Value of Setting Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)","slug":"the-value-of-setting-objectives-key-results-okrs","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/300133"}},{"articleId":299985,"title":"OKRs For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"okrs-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299985"}},{"articleId":256371,"title":"The Quad—Four Generations Operating in the Workforce Today","slug":"the-quad-four-generations-operating-in-the-workforce-today","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/256371"}},{"articleId":256366,"title":"Changing To a Values-Based Leadership Approach","slug":"when-you-know-change-is-needed-to-values-based-leadership","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/256366"}},{"articleId":256360,"title":"The Escalator Effect of Values-Based Leadership","slug":"the-escalator-effect-of-values-based-leadership","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/256360"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":299976,"slug":"okrs-for-dummies","isbn":"9781394183487","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","management"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1394183488-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1394183488/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/okrs-for-dummies-cover-9781394183487-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"OKRs For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><strong><b data-author-id=\"35320\">Paul R. Niven</b></strong> is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of strategy, OKRs, and the balanced scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun &amp; Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":35320,"name":"Paul R. Niven","slug":"paul-r-niven","description":"<strong>Paul R. Niven</strong> is an author, management consultant, and noted speaker on the subjects of strategy, OKRs, and the balanced scorecard. Clients include: Anheuser-Busch, T. Rowe Price, Humana, Meta, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Dun &amp; Bradstreet, County of San Diego, eBay, Hulu, United States Navy, and more.","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35320"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;management&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394183487&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64d4fbaee504b\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;management&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781394183487&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64d4fbaee554d\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-08-09T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":300182},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2023-01-11T18:55:12+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-08-03T16:52:12+00:00","timestamp":"2023-08-03T18:01:04+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Business Communication","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34232"},"slug":"business-communication","categoryId":34232}],"title":"How to Be a Better Communicator at Work","strippedTitle":"how to be a better communicator at work","slug":"how-to-be-a-better-communicator-an-important-soft-skill","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Learn how to improve your communication skills, primarily by being a good listener and avoiding behaviors that hinder connection with others.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"Effective <em>interpersonal communication</em> is a critical <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/business-communication/the-10-soft-skills-employers-seek-296553/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">soft skill</a>, both in professional and personal interactions. It's the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and intention through active listening and verbal and nonverbal messages.\r\n\r\nTo successfully communicate with others both at work and in life, you must first be able to connect with them. I want to repeat that because it’s so important: Connect first. Communicate second.\r\n\r\nThat means you have to listen. Listen first and talk second. Wait. What? Who does that? People with effective interpersonal communication skills, that’s who.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">Interpersonal communication is all about making connections; it focuses on building meaningful relationships.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Listening first, talking second</h2>\r\nHuman beings have one mouth and two ears for a reason: so I would listen twice as much as I speak. Sadly, that’s not the way it works most of the time. Our ears may work perfectly well, and we may <em>hear</em> just fine. The problem is I don’t put them to work often enough. I don’t really <em>listen</em>.\r\n\r\nThe difference between hearing and listening is important:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>Hearing</em> is what happens when you receive the auditory stimulus of someone else speaking, and you go through motions of listening: nodding your head and/or changing your expressions while your mind and/or your fingers are busy doing something else.</li>\r\n \t<li><em>Listening</em> is what happens when you receive the auditory stimulus but you also connect and communicate with your entire person and keep your mind focused on the message the speaker is conveying. Listening tells the person speaking to you, “I’m here, front and center, and I hear you. I get it.”</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Framing the walls of disconnection</h2>\r\nMaking a connection with someone when you’re hearing but not listening is hard. If you’re doing something other than focusing on the conversation happening right in front of you — for example, thinking about what you want for lunch or what you want to do this weekend — rather than building an effective relationship, you’re erecting a wall of disconnection blocks that keeps you from really communicating and connecting.\r\n\r\nWe need to talk about those pesky disconnection blocks and how people build walls with them. As they say, knowledge is power.\r\n\r\nThe following are common disconnection blocks that get in the way of successful communication. Not all of them come into play in every personal and professional communication situation, but being aware of them when communicating with others at work and in life is essential. Think about your listening skills as you review each block.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Rehearsing:</strong> When someone is talking and you’re busy silently rehearsing or planning your own reply, you’re breaking your listening concentration and blocking the opportunity for a real connection.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Judging:</strong> If you’re focused on how the person you’re communicating with is dressed or how they look or speak, you can prejudge the speaker, dismiss their idea as unimportant or uninformed, and put up a disconnect block.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Identifying:</strong> When you’re listening to someone tell a story but are so occupied thinking about your own experience that you launch into your own story before the person is finished telling theirs, you may lose sight of what the other person was trying to communicate, and you definitely miss the connection.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Advising:</strong> If you try to offer advice before a person has finished explaining a situation, you may not fully understand the situation.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Sparring:</strong> If you’re focused on disagreeing with what someone is saying, you’re probably not giving that person an honest chance to fully express their thoughts.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Put-downs:</strong> When you use sarcastic comments to put down someone’s point of view, you can draw that person into an argumentative conversation in which neither of you hears a word the other says. The result: <em>dis</em>-connection.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Being right:</strong> If you’re so intent on proving your point or adamantly refusing to admit to any wrongdoing, you may end up twisting the facts, shouting, and making excuses. These actions may confuse and upset both you and the person you’re talking to.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Derailing:</strong> When you suddenly change the subject while someone is talking or joke about what they’re saying, you’re likely to weaken that speaker’s trust in both you and your ability to show understanding.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Smoothing over:</strong> When you’ll do anything to avoid conflict or often choose to agree with what someone is saying simply because you want others to like you, you may appear to be supportive. However, never expressing a personal point of view is an obvious signal that you aren’t fully engaged in the conversation.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Daydreaming:</strong> If you tune out while someone is talking to you and let your mind wander from random thought to random thought, you’ve completely disconnected from the conversation.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is that people don’t listen to understand. They listen to reply. When you listen with curiosity, you don’t listen with the intent to reply. You listen for what’s behind the words.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >Completing the connection with the three Vs</h2>\r\nEffective interpersonal communication is less about how well you’re able to converse and more about how well you’re able to be understood. Your ability to make that oh-so-important connection comes into play.\r\n\r\nConnecting and communicating effectively with others is as easy as the three Vs: the <em>visual</em>, the <em>vocal</em>, and the <em>verbal</em> components of a conversation. The three Vs represent how much information you give and receive when you communicate with others. When you incorporate all three Vs into your interpersonal communication skill set, your personal and professional interactions can be amazingly easy, effective, and successful.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">To create and cultivate effective interpersonal communication skills and to make a 100 percent genuine connection with another person, you must communicate with your entire being: your ears, your eyes, your words, and your heart!</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" >Doing the math</h2>\r\nMost people probably think “verbal” is the most important of the three Vs for effective communication. After all, if you’re not saying anything, how can you possibly communicate?\r\n\r\nThe real math tells a different story:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>Visual interpersonal communication</em> (your body language) controls 55 percent of all interpersonal communication. Talk about actions speaking louder than words!</li>\r\n \t<li><em>Vocal interpersonal communication</em> (the tone, quality, and rate of your speaking voice) controls 38 percent of all interpersonal communication.</li>\r\n \t<li><em>Verbal interpersonal communication</em> (the actual words spoken) controls only 7 percent of all interpersonal communication.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nSurprise, surprise. On the interpersonal communication importance scale, verbal skills come in dead last. Yep. You read that right.\r\n\r\nNinety-three percent of all information given and received in every single conversation is directly related to nonverbal communication skills, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that for effective and successful communicators, <em>how</em> you say it counts more than <em>what</em> you say.\r\n\r\nLucky for you, you only need to sharpen two tools to cultivate your nonverbal communication skills, and you already have both: your eyes and your ears. When you connect with your ears, you give every conversation a 38 percent interpersonal communication boost. Add in your eyes, and you get an extra 55 percent of successful interpersonal communication and connection power.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab5\" >Speaking from the heart</h2>\r\nBecause nonverbal communication elements make up 93 percent of each personal connection, finding a way to make the verbal element — the 7 percent — really, really count is crucial.\r\n\r\nEvery single word matters. And to make the words matter, you also have to connect with your heart by speaking with sincerity and honesty. The ability to share and care matters as much in interpersonal communication as it does with your attitude.","description":"Effective <em>interpersonal communication</em> is a critical <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/business-communication/the-10-soft-skills-employers-seek-296553/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">soft skill</a>, both in professional and personal interactions. It's the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and intention through active listening and verbal and nonverbal messages.\r\n\r\nTo successfully communicate with others both at work and in life, you must first be able to connect with them. I want to repeat that because it’s so important: Connect first. Communicate second.\r\n\r\nThat means you have to listen. Listen first and talk second. Wait. What? Who does that? People with effective interpersonal communication skills, that’s who.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">Interpersonal communication is all about making connections; it focuses on building meaningful relationships.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Listening first, talking second</h2>\r\nHuman beings have one mouth and two ears for a reason: so I would listen twice as much as I speak. Sadly, that’s not the way it works most of the time. Our ears may work perfectly well, and we may <em>hear</em> just fine. The problem is I don’t put them to work often enough. I don’t really <em>listen</em>.\r\n\r\nThe difference between hearing and listening is important:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>Hearing</em> is what happens when you receive the auditory stimulus of someone else speaking, and you go through motions of listening: nodding your head and/or changing your expressions while your mind and/or your fingers are busy doing something else.</li>\r\n \t<li><em>Listening</em> is what happens when you receive the auditory stimulus but you also connect and communicate with your entire person and keep your mind focused on the message the speaker is conveying. Listening tells the person speaking to you, “I’m here, front and center, and I hear you. I get it.”</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Framing the walls of disconnection</h2>\r\nMaking a connection with someone when you’re hearing but not listening is hard. If you’re doing something other than focusing on the conversation happening right in front of you — for example, thinking about what you want for lunch or what you want to do this weekend — rather than building an effective relationship, you’re erecting a wall of disconnection blocks that keeps you from really communicating and connecting.\r\n\r\nWe need to talk about those pesky disconnection blocks and how people build walls with them. As they say, knowledge is power.\r\n\r\nThe following are common disconnection blocks that get in the way of successful communication. Not all of them come into play in every personal and professional communication situation, but being aware of them when communicating with others at work and in life is essential. Think about your listening skills as you review each block.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Rehearsing:</strong> When someone is talking and you’re busy silently rehearsing or planning your own reply, you’re breaking your listening concentration and blocking the opportunity for a real connection.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Judging:</strong> If you’re focused on how the person you’re communicating with is dressed or how they look or speak, you can prejudge the speaker, dismiss their idea as unimportant or uninformed, and put up a disconnect block.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Identifying:</strong> When you’re listening to someone tell a story but are so occupied thinking about your own experience that you launch into your own story before the person is finished telling theirs, you may lose sight of what the other person was trying to communicate, and you definitely miss the connection.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Advising:</strong> If you try to offer advice before a person has finished explaining a situation, you may not fully understand the situation.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Sparring:</strong> If you’re focused on disagreeing with what someone is saying, you’re probably not giving that person an honest chance to fully express their thoughts.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Put-downs:</strong> When you use sarcastic comments to put down someone’s point of view, you can draw that person into an argumentative conversation in which neither of you hears a word the other says. The result: <em>dis</em>-connection.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Being right:</strong> If you’re so intent on proving your point or adamantly refusing to admit to any wrongdoing, you may end up twisting the facts, shouting, and making excuses. These actions may confuse and upset both you and the person you’re talking to.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Derailing:</strong> When you suddenly change the subject while someone is talking or joke about what they’re saying, you’re likely to weaken that speaker’s trust in both you and your ability to show understanding.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Smoothing over:</strong> When you’ll do anything to avoid conflict or often choose to agree with what someone is saying simply because you want others to like you, you may appear to be supportive. However, never expressing a personal point of view is an obvious signal that you aren’t fully engaged in the conversation.</li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Daydreaming:</strong> If you tune out while someone is talking to you and let your mind wander from random thought to random thought, you’ve completely disconnected from the conversation.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is that people don’t listen to understand. They listen to reply. When you listen with curiosity, you don’t listen with the intent to reply. You listen for what’s behind the words.</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >Completing the connection with the three Vs</h2>\r\nEffective interpersonal communication is less about how well you’re able to converse and more about how well you’re able to be understood. Your ability to make that oh-so-important connection comes into play.\r\n\r\nConnecting and communicating effectively with others is as easy as the three Vs: the <em>visual</em>, the <em>vocal</em>, and the <em>verbal</em> components of a conversation. The three Vs represent how much information you give and receive when you communicate with others. When you incorporate all three Vs into your interpersonal communication skill set, your personal and professional interactions can be amazingly easy, effective, and successful.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">To create and cultivate effective interpersonal communication skills and to make a 100 percent genuine connection with another person, you must communicate with your entire being: your ears, your eyes, your words, and your heart!</p>\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" >Doing the math</h2>\r\nMost people probably think “verbal” is the most important of the three Vs for effective communication. After all, if you’re not saying anything, how can you possibly communicate?\r\n\r\nThe real math tells a different story:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>Visual interpersonal communication</em> (your body language) controls 55 percent of all interpersonal communication. Talk about actions speaking louder than words!</li>\r\n \t<li><em>Vocal interpersonal communication</em> (the tone, quality, and rate of your speaking voice) controls 38 percent of all interpersonal communication.</li>\r\n \t<li><em>Verbal interpersonal communication</em> (the actual words spoken) controls only 7 percent of all interpersonal communication.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nSurprise, surprise. On the interpersonal communication importance scale, verbal skills come in dead last. Yep. You read that right.\r\n\r\nNinety-three percent of all information given and received in every single conversation is directly related to nonverbal communication skills, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that for effective and successful communicators, <em>how</em> you say it counts more than <em>what</em> you say.\r\n\r\nLucky for you, you only need to sharpen two tools to cultivate your nonverbal communication skills, and you already have both: your eyes and your ears. When you connect with your ears, you give every conversation a 38 percent interpersonal communication boost. Add in your eyes, and you get an extra 55 percent of successful interpersonal communication and connection power.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab5\" >Speaking from the heart</h2>\r\nBecause nonverbal communication elements make up 93 percent of each personal connection, finding a way to make the verbal element — the 7 percent — really, really count is crucial.\r\n\r\nEvery single word matters. And to make the words matter, you also have to connect with your heart by speaking with sincerity and honesty. The ability to share and care matters as much in interpersonal communication as it does with your attitude.","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":35219,"name":"Cindi Reiman","slug":"cindi-reiman","description":" <p><b>Cindi Reiman </b>is the President and Founder of the American Hospitality Academy (AHA), a company that has been providing leadership training and internships since 1986. AHA created Soft Skills AHA, which provides curriculums and professional development programs focusing on career readiness and the essential employability traits needed to be successful both in the workplace, and in life. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35219"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34232,"title":"Business Communication","slug":"business-communication","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34232"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[{"label":"Listening first, talking second","target":"#tab1"},{"label":"Framing the walls of disconnection","target":"#tab2"},{"label":"Completing the connection with the three Vs","target":"#tab3"},{"label":"Doing the math","target":"#tab4"},{"label":"Speaking from the heart","target":"#tab5"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":296682,"title":"Developing Cultural Awareness, an Important Soft Skill","slug":"developing-cultural-awareness-an-important-soft-skill","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296682"}},{"articleId":296553,"title":"Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Seek","slug":"the-10-soft-skills-employers-seek","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296553"}},{"articleId":296176,"title":"Soft Skills For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"soft-skills-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296176"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":296682,"title":"Developing Cultural Awareness, an Important Soft Skill","slug":"developing-cultural-awareness-an-important-soft-skill","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296682"}},{"articleId":296553,"title":"Top 10 Soft Skills Employers Seek","slug":"the-10-soft-skills-employers-seek","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296553"}},{"articleId":296176,"title":"Soft Skills For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"soft-skills-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/296176"}},{"articleId":283575,"title":"How to Write Effective Business Letters","slug":"how-to-write-effective-business-letters","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/283575"}},{"articleId":283569,"title":"Business Writing in Email and Group Chat","slug":"business-writing-in-email-and-group-chat","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/283569"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":296141,"slug":"soft-skills-for-dummies","isbn":"9781119906551","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","business-communication"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119906555/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119906555/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119906555-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119906555/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119906555/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/soft-skills-for-dummies-cover-9781119906551-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Soft Skills For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><p><b><b data-author-id=\"35219\">Cindi Reiman</b> </b>is the President and Founder of the American Hospitality Academy (AHA), a company that has been providing leadership training and internships since 1986. AHA created Soft Skills AHA, which provides curriculums and professional development programs focusing on career readiness and the essential employability traits needed to be successful both in the workplace, and in life.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":35219,"name":"Cindi Reiman","slug":"cindi-reiman","description":" <p><b>Cindi Reiman </b>is the President and Founder of the American Hospitality Academy (AHA), a company that has been providing leadership training and internships since 1986. AHA created Soft Skills AHA, which provides curriculums and professional development programs focusing on career readiness and the essential employability traits needed to be successful both in the workplace, and in life. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/35219"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;business-communication&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119906551&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64cbeb60517c3\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;business-communication&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119906551&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64cbeb6051cde\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-01-11T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":296680},{"headers":{"creationTime":"2023-07-11T18:25:27+00:00","modifiedTime":"2023-08-03T16:32:16+00:00","timestamp":"2023-08-03T18:01:03+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Business, Careers, & Money","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34224"},"slug":"business-careers-money","categoryId":34224},{"name":"Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225"},"slug":"business","categoryId":34225},{"name":"Small Business","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34251"},"slug":"small-business","categoryId":34251},{"name":"Start-Ups","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34252"},"slug":"start-ups","categoryId":34252}],"title":"How to Develop a Side Hustle Business Plan","strippedTitle":"how to develop a side hustle business plan","slug":"how-to-develop-a-side-hustle-business-plan","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Once you've brainstormed the side hustle you'd like to pursue, it's time to create a business plan to help guide you forward.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"Tens of millions of people in the United States, and hundreds of millions of people around the world, supplement their primary jobs with some type of business activities on the side. These people all spend at least some of their professional lives embracing the idea of <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-291541/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">side hustles</a>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_299712\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-299712\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/selling-pottery-online-side-hustle-adobeStock_464142145.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" /> ©Pressmaker / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n\r\nIf you've decided to join the side-hustle world, and you've <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/general-small-business/exploring-side-hustle-opportunities-299313/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">brainstormed your side hustle idea</a>, you'll want to start pulling together a business plan.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">For help with exploring side-hustle ideas, brainstorming, and the planning steps that lead to this business plan phase, check out my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/small-business/general-small-business/side-hustles-for-dummies-291196/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Side Hustles For Dummies</em></a>.</p>\r\nIf you’ve ever done a jigsaw puzzle, you know that you typically start with a little portion of the overall puzzle in, say, the top left corner. Then maybe you shift to working on the bottom right side; then move to somewhere in the middle; and so on. That's sort of how you put a business plan together — a document that eventually shows the whole picture.\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to business plans, you have a little bit of a challenge on your hands: If you put 10 people in a room, you’ll get 20 opinions about what a business plan should look like!\r\n\r\nYou’ve probably come across this same problem when you worked on your résumé, with one person telling you to structure your résumé one way, and another person indignantly disagreeing and insisting that you write your résumé a totally different way!\r\n\r\nI have some good news for you when it comes to trying to make sense out of all the different guidance you’ll find for how to write a business plan: For a side hustle, you have a lot more leeway in the order of topics that you cover — and even what you do and don’t include — than if, say, you’re putting together a business plan in search of a large bank loan or millions of dollars of venture capital investment.\r\n\r\nMaybe, someday, if your side hustle really hits its stride and starts growing toward your ideal scenario, you’ll have to worry about making sure that your business plan matches the structure that a bank or private equity firm, or some venture capital company, insists on seeing. For now, though, think in terms of pitching your side hustle to yourself — an audience of one. Are you painting a cohesive and compelling picture of how to get your side hustle going?\r\n\r\nIf your side hustle is a gig-economy job, such as delivery services or ridesharing, you can probably skip over the whole business-plan stuff. However, if your gig services are along the lines of pet-sitting or bartending or doing handyman work — basically, if you’re setting up a small-business structure even though you plan to land gigs from side hustle–oriented platforms — you should at least jot down bullet points for most of the business plan sections.\r\n\r\nYour side hustle business plan should include the following sections.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >A short overview and a really short elevator pitch</h2>\r\nIf you're in the business plan phase of your side-hustle planning, you should be able to clearly articulate exactly what your side hustle is going to be, so write it down! In fact, write it down twice!\r\n\r\nStart off your business plan with both:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>A one-paragraph (two paragraphs at most) highly summarized version of <em>every</em> key aspect of your side hustle</li>\r\n \t<li>A single-sentence elevator pitch that summarizes your summarized version (got that?) even more!</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">Having an <em>elevator pitch</em> means being able to describe an idea so persuasively in about the duration of the typical elevator ride that the person to whom you’re talking is crystal clear about the most critical or unique aspects of your concept.</p>\r\nAs an example, one side-hustle starter's — let's call her Sarah — business plan starts with:\r\n\r\n\"I will design, craft, and sell custom-made jewelry. I will build a Shopify site that I will promote using online marketing and advertising techniques, such as Facebook and Instagram ads, Google Ads, and short demonstration videos on YouTube and TikTok, that will link to my site. I will run the business out of my house. I’ve lined up primary and backup suppliers for all materials and tools.\"\r\n\r\nThen Sarah adds her elevator pitch:\r\n\r\n\"I will sell custom-made jewelry from my Shopify site that I will promote through a variety of online ads.\"\r\n\r\nAs Sarah works her way through the rest of her business plan, she can refer back to this section and adjust the wording as necessary. For now, though, she has placed a stake into the fertile side-hustle soil and is ready to start planting.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Your time commitment</h2>\r\nYour business plan is for a side hustle, so you need to be crystal clear with yourself about exactly how much time you plan to spend on your venture. Plus, if you have specific time constraints, like “only evenings after work,” or “only on weekends,” or “only on Wednesday evening and all day Saturday,” you need to acknowledge these constraints and write them down.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">As you go through the rest of your business plan, you now have an “official statement” that describes your available time that you can use as a sanity check for your side hustle’s details.</p>\r\nFor example, suppose you plan to do software development on the side. However, because of extra hours you need to work at your full-time job, you only have about 15 hours a week available for your side hustle.\r\n\r\nYou can certainly take on a little bit of software development here and there, but you’ll need to focus on shorter-duration tasks, such as building template-based websites or doing some light software configuration rather than heavy-duty application development.\r\n\r\nIf you don’t have a full-time job and, instead, have a portfolio of several different side hustles, documenting your available time is still important to help make sure that your side hustles don’t clash because of conflicting demands for your time.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >Your schedule and major milestones</h2>\r\nWhatever your side hustle is, you have an idea of what you'd like it to be in the future. Maybe your longer-term plan is built around expanding your business, or maybe you have no intentions of growing your business at all, and you just intend to get a little business up and running and keep it going.\r\n\r\nThink about what your side hustle will look like in time increments that make sense for you — three or six months from today, in a year, three years, etc. Regardless of your expectations and the timeline for those, document it all in your business plan, along with key milestones and decision points along that timeline.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" >Key players in your side hustle</h2>\r\nYour business plan also should include the other people and companies you'll need to connect with. If you plan to make and sell clothing, who will be your wholesale suppliers? Who will be your key points of contact — the actual people — at each one of those wholesalers?\r\n\r\nAs another example, if your side hustle will be buying and selling baseball cards and other sports collectibles, will you do this via eBay, or other auction houses? Revisiting our jewelry maker, Sarah, who will be her suppliers of metals and tools?\r\n\r\nNo matter what your side hustle is, and even if you’re going solo, you’ll almost certainly be involved with other people and companies at some point. Write all of these details down in your business plan, including any designated backup companies or services that you may switch to at some point.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab5\" >Your customers</h2>\r\nYou need to identify who will comprise your <em>target market</em> (the people to whom you’ll try to sell your products or watch your videos or take your course, or for whom you’ll provide weekend landscaping or bartending services, or whatever your side hustle is).\r\n\r\nSometimes, your target market can (and should) be as broad as possible. After all, if you have a potential customer out there somewhere in the world, why not try to attract that person to your business? For example, you might be selling clothing and accessories online to “the world at large” — basically, anybody who wants to place an order on your website for a blouse or leisurewear or a necklace can do so. You might get to know some of your regular customers, but for the most part these customers will be anonymous to you.\r\n\r\nIn other situations, you should narrow your target market to better focus on catching the attention of a person or another business even more likely to be in your side hustle “sweet spot.”\r\n\r\nFor example, Sarah’s customer base will be broad, at least initially. At some point down the road, Sarah may wholesale her jewelry to other online and in-person retailers for them to retail. At that point, she needs to go back and adjust her business plan to more precisely target certain customers — maybe not specific names of people and businesses, but at least descriptions of the types of retailers to which she’ll sell her jewelry.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab6\" >Startup money, budget, and financial projections</h2>\r\nThis part of your business plan includes how much startup capital you’ll need, how to budget, how to forecast sales and expenses, and more. Your business plan needs to include the key aspects of the financial side of your side hustle. (How to figure out all of these things is my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-291541/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Side Hustles For Dummies</em></a>.)\r\n\r\nPretend that you’re pitching your side hustle to an investor, and you also happen to be that investor. Convince yourself that you have all your financial ducks in a row.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab7\" >How you’ll operate</h2>\r\nThis part of your business plan should include the business processes through which you’ll operate your side hustle. And you should add as much detail as possible. For example, Sarah’s side hustle has nine internal processes: buying materials and tools, deciding on her product list, building her website and storefront, and so on. She needs to take each of those processes and break them down into the underlying steps that she’ll do. She can simply list the steps as bullet points or a numbered list.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab8\" >Risks and mitigation</h2>\r\nIt's important to consider the risks involved in your side hustle idea, and how you could mitigate those risks. List how you intend to counteract and neutralize the risk. As you’ve been working through your business plan, you may have come across a new risk or two, or come up with a new mitigation strategy for a risk that you’ve already documented. So, spend a little bit of time and take a fresh look at your list, and make any necessary updates.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">You can check out <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/business-plans-for-dummies-282038/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Business Plans For Dummies</i></a> by Paul Tiffany and Steven D. Peterson for much more information about business plan structure and content, especially if your side hustle really catches on and you’re looking to take it to that mythical “next level.”</p>","description":"Tens of millions of people in the United States, and hundreds of millions of people around the world, supplement their primary jobs with some type of business activities on the side. These people all spend at least some of their professional lives embracing the idea of <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-291541/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">side hustles</a>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_299712\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-299712\" src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/selling-pottery-online-side-hustle-adobeStock_464142145.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"420\" /> ©Pressmaker / Adobe Stock[/caption]\r\n\r\nIf you've decided to join the side-hustle world, and you've <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/general-small-business/exploring-side-hustle-opportunities-299313/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">brainstormed your side hustle idea</a>, you'll want to start pulling together a business plan.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">For help with exploring side-hustle ideas, brainstorming, and the planning steps that lead to this business plan phase, check out my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/small-business/general-small-business/side-hustles-for-dummies-291196/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Side Hustles For Dummies</em></a>.</p>\r\nIf you’ve ever done a jigsaw puzzle, you know that you typically start with a little portion of the overall puzzle in, say, the top left corner. Then maybe you shift to working on the bottom right side; then move to somewhere in the middle; and so on. That's sort of how you put a business plan together — a document that eventually shows the whole picture.\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to business plans, you have a little bit of a challenge on your hands: If you put 10 people in a room, you’ll get 20 opinions about what a business plan should look like!\r\n\r\nYou’ve probably come across this same problem when you worked on your résumé, with one person telling you to structure your résumé one way, and another person indignantly disagreeing and insisting that you write your résumé a totally different way!\r\n\r\nI have some good news for you when it comes to trying to make sense out of all the different guidance you’ll find for how to write a business plan: For a side hustle, you have a lot more leeway in the order of topics that you cover — and even what you do and don’t include — than if, say, you’re putting together a business plan in search of a large bank loan or millions of dollars of venture capital investment.\r\n\r\nMaybe, someday, if your side hustle really hits its stride and starts growing toward your ideal scenario, you’ll have to worry about making sure that your business plan matches the structure that a bank or private equity firm, or some venture capital company, insists on seeing. For now, though, think in terms of pitching your side hustle to yourself — an audience of one. Are you painting a cohesive and compelling picture of how to get your side hustle going?\r\n\r\nIf your side hustle is a gig-economy job, such as delivery services or ridesharing, you can probably skip over the whole business-plan stuff. However, if your gig services are along the lines of pet-sitting or bartending or doing handyman work — basically, if you’re setting up a small-business structure even though you plan to land gigs from side hustle–oriented platforms — you should at least jot down bullet points for most of the business plan sections.\r\n\r\nYour side hustle business plan should include the following sections.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >A short overview and a really short elevator pitch</h2>\r\nIf you're in the business plan phase of your side-hustle planning, you should be able to clearly articulate exactly what your side hustle is going to be, so write it down! In fact, write it down twice!\r\n\r\nStart off your business plan with both:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>A one-paragraph (two paragraphs at most) highly summarized version of <em>every</em> key aspect of your side hustle</li>\r\n \t<li>A single-sentence elevator pitch that summarizes your summarized version (got that?) even more!</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">Having an <em>elevator pitch</em> means being able to describe an idea so persuasively in about the duration of the typical elevator ride that the person to whom you’re talking is crystal clear about the most critical or unique aspects of your concept.</p>\r\nAs an example, one side-hustle starter's — let's call her Sarah — business plan starts with:\r\n\r\n\"I will design, craft, and sell custom-made jewelry. I will build a Shopify site that I will promote using online marketing and advertising techniques, such as Facebook and Instagram ads, Google Ads, and short demonstration videos on YouTube and TikTok, that will link to my site. I will run the business out of my house. I’ve lined up primary and backup suppliers for all materials and tools.\"\r\n\r\nThen Sarah adds her elevator pitch:\r\n\r\n\"I will sell custom-made jewelry from my Shopify site that I will promote through a variety of online ads.\"\r\n\r\nAs Sarah works her way through the rest of her business plan, she can refer back to this section and adjust the wording as necessary. For now, though, she has placed a stake into the fertile side-hustle soil and is ready to start planting.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab2\" >Your time commitment</h2>\r\nYour business plan is for a side hustle, so you need to be crystal clear with yourself about exactly how much time you plan to spend on your venture. Plus, if you have specific time constraints, like “only evenings after work,” or “only on weekends,” or “only on Wednesday evening and all day Saturday,” you need to acknowledge these constraints and write them down.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips remember\">As you go through the rest of your business plan, you now have an “official statement” that describes your available time that you can use as a sanity check for your side hustle’s details.</p>\r\nFor example, suppose you plan to do software development on the side. However, because of extra hours you need to work at your full-time job, you only have about 15 hours a week available for your side hustle.\r\n\r\nYou can certainly take on a little bit of software development here and there, but you’ll need to focus on shorter-duration tasks, such as building template-based websites or doing some light software configuration rather than heavy-duty application development.\r\n\r\nIf you don’t have a full-time job and, instead, have a portfolio of several different side hustles, documenting your available time is still important to help make sure that your side hustles don’t clash because of conflicting demands for your time.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab3\" >Your schedule and major milestones</h2>\r\nWhatever your side hustle is, you have an idea of what you'd like it to be in the future. Maybe your longer-term plan is built around expanding your business, or maybe you have no intentions of growing your business at all, and you just intend to get a little business up and running and keep it going.\r\n\r\nThink about what your side hustle will look like in time increments that make sense for you — three or six months from today, in a year, three years, etc. Regardless of your expectations and the timeline for those, document it all in your business plan, along with key milestones and decision points along that timeline.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab4\" >Key players in your side hustle</h2>\r\nYour business plan also should include the other people and companies you'll need to connect with. If you plan to make and sell clothing, who will be your wholesale suppliers? Who will be your key points of contact — the actual people — at each one of those wholesalers?\r\n\r\nAs another example, if your side hustle will be buying and selling baseball cards and other sports collectibles, will you do this via eBay, or other auction houses? Revisiting our jewelry maker, Sarah, who will be her suppliers of metals and tools?\r\n\r\nNo matter what your side hustle is, and even if you’re going solo, you’ll almost certainly be involved with other people and companies at some point. Write all of these details down in your business plan, including any designated backup companies or services that you may switch to at some point.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab5\" >Your customers</h2>\r\nYou need to identify who will comprise your <em>target market</em> (the people to whom you’ll try to sell your products or watch your videos or take your course, or for whom you’ll provide weekend landscaping or bartending services, or whatever your side hustle is).\r\n\r\nSometimes, your target market can (and should) be as broad as possible. After all, if you have a potential customer out there somewhere in the world, why not try to attract that person to your business? For example, you might be selling clothing and accessories online to “the world at large” — basically, anybody who wants to place an order on your website for a blouse or leisurewear or a necklace can do so. You might get to know some of your regular customers, but for the most part these customers will be anonymous to you.\r\n\r\nIn other situations, you should narrow your target market to better focus on catching the attention of a person or another business even more likely to be in your side hustle “sweet spot.”\r\n\r\nFor example, Sarah’s customer base will be broad, at least initially. At some point down the road, Sarah may wholesale her jewelry to other online and in-person retailers for them to retail. At that point, she needs to go back and adjust her business plan to more precisely target certain customers — maybe not specific names of people and businesses, but at least descriptions of the types of retailers to which she’ll sell her jewelry.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab6\" >Startup money, budget, and financial projections</h2>\r\nThis part of your business plan includes how much startup capital you’ll need, how to budget, how to forecast sales and expenses, and more. Your business plan needs to include the key aspects of the financial side of your side hustle. (How to figure out all of these things is my book <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-291541/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Side Hustles For Dummies</em></a>.)\r\n\r\nPretend that you’re pitching your side hustle to an investor, and you also happen to be that investor. Convince yourself that you have all your financial ducks in a row.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab7\" >How you’ll operate</h2>\r\nThis part of your business plan should include the business processes through which you’ll operate your side hustle. And you should add as much detail as possible. For example, Sarah’s side hustle has nine internal processes: buying materials and tools, deciding on her product list, building her website and storefront, and so on. She needs to take each of those processes and break them down into the underlying steps that she’ll do. She can simply list the steps as bullet points or a numbered list.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab8\" >Risks and mitigation</h2>\r\nIt's important to consider the risks involved in your side hustle idea, and how you could mitigate those risks. List how you intend to counteract and neutralize the risk. As you’ve been working through your business plan, you may have come across a new risk or two, or come up with a new mitigation strategy for a risk that you’ve already documented. So, spend a little bit of time and take a fresh look at your list, and make any necessary updates.\r\n<p class=\"article-tips tip\">You can check out <a href=\"https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/business-plans-for-dummies-282038/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Business Plans For Dummies</i></a> by Paul Tiffany and Steven D. Peterson for much more information about business plan structure and content, especially if your side hustle really catches on and you’re looking to take it to that mythical “next level.”</p>","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":10511,"name":"Alan R. Simon","slug":"alan-r-simon","description":" <p><b>Alan Simon</b> began his first side hustle in 1982, doing consulting for small businesses and not-for-profits. He's been juggling a variety of side gigs ever since. Alan has been writing novels for 20 years and is currently the managing principal of Thinking Helmet, Inc., a boutique consulting firm.</p>","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10511"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34252,"title":"Start-Ups","slug":"start-ups","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34252"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[{"label":"A short overview and a really short elevator pitch","target":"#tab1"},{"label":"Your time commitment","target":"#tab2"},{"label":"Your schedule and major milestones","target":"#tab3"},{"label":"Key players in your side hustle","target":"#tab4"},{"label":"Your customers","target":"#tab5"},{"label":"Startup money, budget, and financial projections","target":"#tab6"},{"label":"How you’ll operate","target":"#tab7"},{"label":"Risks and mitigation","target":"#tab8"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":299799,"title":"How to Do Taxes for Side Hustles","slug":"how-to-deal-with-your-side-hustle-income-taxes","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299799"}},{"articleId":299313,"title":"Exploring Side Hustle Opportunities","slug":"exploring-side-hustle-opportunities","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299313"}},{"articleId":291541,"title":"Side Hustles For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/291541"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":299799,"title":"How to Do Taxes for Side Hustles","slug":"how-to-deal-with-your-side-hustle-income-taxes","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/299799"}},{"articleId":297984,"title":"Starting & Running a Business All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet (UK Edition)","slug":"starting-and-running-a-business-all-in-one-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-uk-edition","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/297984"}},{"articleId":291541,"title":"Side Hustles For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"side-hustles-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/291541"}},{"articleId":289724,"title":"Launching and Building a Brand For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"launching-and-building-a-brand-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/289724"}},{"articleId":269861,"title":"Establishing Website Goals for Your Online Business","slug":"establish-website-goals-and-conversions-for-your-online-business","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","start-ups"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/269861"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":291196,"slug":"side-hustles-for-dummies","isbn":"9781119870135","categoryList":["business-careers-money","business","small-business","general-small-business"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119870135-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119870135/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/9781119870135-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Side Hustles For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><b>Alan Simon</b> began his first side hustle in 1982, doing consulting for small businesses and not-for-profits. He's been juggling a variety of side gigs ever since. Alan has been writing novels for 20 years and is currently the managing principal of Thinking Helmet, Inc., a boutique consulting firm.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":10511,"name":"Alan R. Simon","slug":"alan-r-simon","description":" <p><b>Alan Simon</b> began his first side hustle in 1982, doing consulting for small businesses and not-for-profits. He's been juggling a variety of side gigs ever since. Alan has been writing novels for 20 years and is currently the managing principal of Thinking Helmet, Inc., a boutique consulting firm.</p>","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10511"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;start-ups&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119870135&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64cbeb5f940d6\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;cat&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;business-careers-money&quot;,&quot;business&quot;,&quot;small-business&quot;,&quot;start-ups&quot;]},{&quot;key&quot;:&quot;isbn&quot;,&quot;values&quot;:[&quot;9781119870135&quot;]}]\" id=\"du-slot-64cbeb5f94b0f\"></div></div>"},"articleType":{"articleType":"Articles","articleList":null,"content":null,"videoInfo":{"videoId":null,"name":null,"accountId":null,"playerId":null,"thumbnailUrl":null,"description":null,"uploadDate":null}},"sponsorship":{"sponsorshipPage":false,"backgroundImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"brandingLine":"","brandingLink":"","brandingLogo":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0},"sponsorAd":"","sponsorEbookTitle":"","sponsorEbookLink":"","sponsorEbookImage":{"src":null,"width":0,"height":0}},"primaryLearningPath":"Advance","lifeExpectancy":"Five years","lifeExpectancySetFrom":"2023-07-11T00:00:00+00:00","dummiesForKids":"no","sponsoredContent":"no","adInfo":"","adPairKey":[]},"status":"publish","visibility":"public","articleId":299705}],"_links":{"self":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225/categoryArticles?sortField=time&sortOrder=1&size=10&offset=0"},"next":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225/categoryArticles?sortField=time&sortOrder=1&size=10&offset=10"},"last":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34225/categoryArticles?sortField=time&sortOrder=1&size=10&offset=6146"}}},"objectTitle":"","status":"success","pageType":"article-category","objectId":"34225","page":1,"sortField":"time","sortOrder":1,"categoriesIds":[],"articleTypes":[],"filterData":{"categoriesFilter":[{"itemId":0,"itemName":"All Categories","count":6147},{"itemId":34226,"itemName":"Accounting","count":1139},{"itemId":34231,"itemName":"Better Business Bureau","count":1},{"itemId":34225,"itemName":"Business","count":2},{"itemId":34232,"itemName":"Business Communication","count":309},{"itemId":34233,"itemName":"Call Centers","count":10},{"itemId":34234,"itemName":"Customer Service","count":103},{"itemId":34244,"itemName":"Data Management","count":11},{"itemId":34235,"itemName":"E-Commerce","count":8},{"itemId":34238,"itemName":"Economics","count":254},{"itemId":34239,"itemName":"Events","count":21},{"itemId":34240,"itemName":"Financing","count":258},{"itemId":34255,"itemName":"General Business","count":535},{"itemId":34241,"itemName":"Human Resources","count":591},{"itemId":34341,"itemName":"International Business","count":10},{"itemId":34242,"itemName":"Management","count":136},{"itemId":34243,"itemName":"Marketing","count":865},{"itemId":34245,"itemName":"Mergers & Acquisitions","count":213},{"itemId":34246,"itemName":"Nonprofits","count":94},{"itemId":34247,"itemName":"Operations","count":236},{"itemId":34248,"itemName":"Product Development","count":3},{"itemId":34249,"itemName":"Project Management","count":358},{"itemId":34250,"itemName":"Sales","count":232},{"itemId":34251,"itemName":"Small Business","count":469},{"itemId":34254,"itemName":"Strategic Planning","count":289}],"articleTypeFilter":[{"articleType":"All Types","count":6147},{"articleType":"Articles","count":5910},{"articleType":"Cheat Sheet","count":180},{"articleType":"Step by Step","count":57}]},"filterDataLoadedStatus":"success","pageSize":10},"adsState":{"pageScripts":{"headers":{"timestamp":"2023-09-15T10:50:01+00:00"},"adsId":0,"data":{"scripts":[{"pages":["all"],"location":"header","script":"<!--Optimizely Script-->\r\n<script src=\"https://cdn.optimizely.com/js/10563184655.js\"></script>","enabled":false},{"pages":["all"],"location":"header","script":"<!-- comScore Tag -->\r\n<script>var _comscore = _comscore || [];_comscore.push({ c1: \"2\", c2: \"15097263\" });(function() {var s = document.createElement(\"script\"), el = document.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0]; s.async = true;s.src = (document.location.protocol == \"https:\" ? \"https://sb\" : \"http://b\") + \".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\";el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);})();</script><noscript><img src=\"https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=15097263&cv=2.0&cj=1\" /></noscript>\r\n<!-- / comScore Tag -->","enabled":true},{"pages":["all"],"location":"footer","script":"<!--BEGIN QUALTRICS WEBSITE FEEDBACK SNIPPET-->\r\n<script type='text/javascript'>\r\n(function(){var g=function(e,h,f,g){\r\nthis.get=function(a){for(var a=a+\"=\",c=document.cookie.split(\";\"),b=0,e=c.length;b<e;b++){for(var d=c[b];\" \"==d.charAt(0);)d=d.substring(1,d.length);if(0==d.indexOf(a))return d.substring(a.length,d.length)}return null};\r\nthis.set=function(a,c){var b=\"\",b=new Date;b.setTime(b.getTime()+6048E5);b=\"; expires=\"+b.toGMTString();document.cookie=a+\"=\"+c+b+\"; path=/; \"};\r\nthis.check=function(){var a=this.get(f);if(a)a=a.split(\":\");else if(100!=e)\"v\"==h&&(e=Math.random()>=e/100?0:100),a=[h,e,0],this.set(f,a.join(\":\"));else return!0;var c=a[1];if(100==c)return!0;switch(a[0]){case \"v\":return!1;case \"r\":return c=a[2]%Math.floor(100/c),a[2]++,this.set(f,a.join(\":\")),!c}return!0};\r\nthis.go=function(){if(this.check()){var a=document.createElement(\"script\");a.type=\"text/javascript\";a.src=g;document.body&&document.body.appendChild(a)}};\r\nthis.start=function(){var t=this;\"complete\"!==document.readyState?window.addEventListener?window.addEventListener(\"load\",function(){t.go()},!1):window.attachEvent&&window.attachEvent(\"onload\",function(){t.go()}):t.go()};};\r\ntry{(new g(100,\"r\",\"QSI_S_ZN_5o5yqpvMVjgDOuN\",\"https://zn5o5yqpvmvjgdoun-wiley.siteintercept.qualtrics.com/SIE/?Q_ZID=ZN_5o5yqpvMVjgDOuN\")).start()}catch(i){}})();\r\n</script><div id='ZN_5o5yqpvMVjgDOuN'><!--DO NOT REMOVE-CONTENTS PLACED HERE--></div>\r\n<!--END WEBSITE FEEDBACK SNIPPET-->","enabled":false},{"pages":["all"],"location":"header","script":"<!-- Hotjar Tracking Code for http://www.dummies.com -->\r\n<script>\r\n (function(h,o,t,j,a,r){\r\n h.hj=h.hj||function(){(h.hj.q=h.hj.q||[]).push(arguments)};\r\n h._hjSettings={hjid:257151,hjsv:6};\r\n a=o.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];\r\n r=o.createElement('script');r.async=1;\r\n r.src=t+h._hjSettings.hjid+j+h._hjSettings.hjsv;\r\n a.appendChild(r);\r\n })(window,document,'https://static.hotjar.com/c/hotjar-','.js?sv=');\r\n</script>","enabled":false},{"pages":["article"],"location":"header","script":"<!-- //Connect Container: dummies --> <script src=\"//get.s-onetag.com/bffe21a1-6bb8-4928-9449-7beadb468dae/tag.min.js\" async defer></script>","enabled":true},{"pages":["homepage"],"location":"header","script":"<meta name=\"facebook-domain-verification\" content=\"irk8y0irxf718trg3uwwuexg6xpva0\" />","enabled":true},{"pages":["homepage","article","category","search"],"location":"footer","script":"<!-- Facebook Pixel Code -->\r\n<noscript>\r\n<img height=\"1\" width=\"1\" src=\"https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=256338321977984&ev=PageView&noscript=1\"/>\r\n</noscript>\r\n<!-- End Facebook Pixel Code -->","enabled":true}]}},"pageScriptsLoadedStatus":"success"},"navigationState":{"navigationCollections":[{"collectionId":287568,"title":"BYOB (Be Your Own Boss)","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-the-entry-level-entrepreneur-287568"},{"collectionId":293237,"title":"Be a Rad Dad","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/be-the-best-dad-293237"},{"collectionId":295890,"title":"Career Shifting","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/career-shifting-295890"},{"collectionId":294090,"title":"Contemplating the Cosmos","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/theres-something-about-space-294090"},{"collectionId":287563,"title":"For Those Seeking Peace of Mind","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-those-seeking-peace-of-mind-287563"},{"collectionId":287570,"title":"For the Aspiring Aficionado","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-the-bougielicious-287570"},{"collectionId":291903,"title":"For the Budding Cannabis Enthusiast","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-the-budding-cannabis-enthusiast-291903"},{"collectionId":299891,"title":"For the College Bound","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-the-college-bound-299891"},{"collectionId":291934,"title":"For the Exam-Season Crammer","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-the-exam-season-crammer-291934"},{"collectionId":287569,"title":"For the Hopeless Romantic","hasSubCategories":false,"url":"/collection/for-the-hopeless-romantic-287569"}],"navigationCollectionsLoadedStatus":"success","navigationCategories":{"books":{"0":{"data":[{"categoryId":33512,"title":"Technology","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/books/technology-33512"},{"categoryId":33662,"title":"Academics & The Arts","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/books/academics-the-arts-33662"},{"categoryId":33809,"title":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/books/home-auto-hobbies-33809"},{"categoryId":34038,"title":"Body, Mind, & Spirit","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/books/body-mind-spirit-34038"},{"categoryId":34224,"title":"Business, Careers, & Money","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/books/business-careers-money-34224"}],"breadcrumbs":[],"categoryTitle":"Level 0 Category","mainCategoryUrl":"/category/books/level-0-category-0"}},"articles":{"0":{"data":[{"categoryId":33512,"title":"Technology","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/articles/technology-33512"},{"categoryId":33662,"title":"Academics & The Arts","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/articles/academics-the-arts-33662"},{"categoryId":33809,"title":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/articles/home-auto-hobbies-33809"},{"categoryId":34038,"title":"Body, Mind, & Spirit","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/articles/body-mind-spirit-34038"},{"categoryId":34224,"title":"Business, Careers, & Money","hasSubCategories":true,"url":"/category/articles/business-careers-money-34224"}],"breadcrumbs":[],"categoryTitle":"Level 0 Category","mainCategoryUrl":"/category/articles/level-0-category-0"}}},"navigationCategoriesLoadedStatus":"success"},"searchState":{"searchList":[],"searchStatus":"initial","relatedArticlesList":[],"relatedArticlesStatus":"initial"},"routeState":{"name":"ArticleCategory","path":"/category/articles/business-34225/","hash":"","query":{},"params":{"category":"business-34225"},"fullPath":"/category/articles/business-34225/","meta":{"routeType":"category","breadcrumbInfo":{"suffix":"Articles","baseRoute":"/category/articles"},"prerenderWithAsyncData":true},"from":{"name":null,"path":"/","hash":"","query":{},"params":{},"fullPath":"/","meta":{}}},"sfmcState":{"status":"initial"},"profileState":{"auth":{},"userOptions":{},"status":"success"}}
Logo
  • Articles Open Article Categories
  • Books Open Book Categories
  • Collections Open Collections list
  • Custom Solutions

Article Categories

Book Categories

Collections

Explore all collections
BYOB (Be Your Own Boss)
Be a Rad Dad
Career Shifting
Contemplating the Cosmos
For Those Seeking Peace of Mind
For the Aspiring Aficionado
For the Budding Cannabis Enthusiast
For the College Bound
For the Exam-Season Crammer
For the Hopeless Romantic
Log In
  • Home
  • Business, Careers, & Money Articles
  • Business Articles

Business Articles

Whether you're looking to brush up on accounting basics or improve your organization's customer service, we've got you covered.

Browse By Category

Accounting

Better Business Bureau

Business Communication

Call Centers

Customer Service

E-Commerce

Economics

Events

Financing

Human Resources

Management

Marketing

Data Management

Mergers & Acquisitions

Nonprofits

Operations

Product Development

Project Management

Sales

Small Business

Strategic Planning

General Business

International Business

Previous slideNext slide

Accounting

Better Business Bureau

Business Communication

Call Centers

Customer Service

E-Commerce

Economics

Events

Financing

Human Resources

Management

Marketing

Data Management

Mergers & Acquisitions

Nonprofits

Operations

Product Development

Project Management

Sales

Small Business

Strategic Planning

General Business

International Business

Articles From Business

page 1
page 2
page 3
page 4
page 5
page 6
page 7
page 8
page 9
page 10
page 11
page 12
page 13
page 14
page 15
page 16
page 17
page 18
page 19
page 20
page 21
page 22
page 23
page 24
page 25
page 26
page 27
page 28
page 29
page 30
page 31
page 32
page 33
page 34
page 35
page 36
page 37
page 38
page 39
page 40
page 41
page 42
page 43
page 44
page 45
page 46
page 47
page 48
page 49
page 50
page 51
page 52
page 53
page 54
page 55
page 56
page 57
page 58
page 59
page 60
page 61
page 62
page 63
page 64
page 65
page 66
page 67
page 68
page 69
page 70
page 71
page 72
page 73
page 74
page 75
page 76
page 77
page 78
page 79
page 80
page 81
page 82
page 83
page 84
page 85
page 86
page 87
page 88
page 89
page 90
page 91
page 92
page 93
page 94
page 95
page 96
page 97
page 98
page 99
page 100
page 101
page 102
page 103
page 104
page 105
page 106
page 107
page 108
page 109
page 110
page 111
page 112
page 113
page 114
page 115
page 116
page 117
page 118
page 119
page 120
page 121
page 122
page 123
page 124
page 125
page 126
page 127
page 128
page 129
page 130
page 131
page 132
page 133
page 134
page 135
page 136
page 137
page 138
page 139
page 140
page 141
page 142
page 143
page 144
page 145
page 146
page 147
page 148
page 149
page 150
page 151
page 152
page 153
page 154
page 155
page 156
page 157
page 158
page 159
page 160
page 161
page 162
page 163
page 164
page 165
page 166
page 167
page 168
page 169
page 170
page 171
page 172
page 173
page 174
page 175
page 176
page 177
page 178
page 179
page 180
page 181
page 182
page 183
page 184
page 185
page 186
page 187
page 188
page 189
page 190
page 191
page 192
page 193
page 194
page 195
page 196
page 197
page 198
page 199
page 200
page 201
page 202
page 203
page 204
page 205
page 206
page 207
page 208
page 209
page 210
page 211
page 212
page 213
page 214
page 215
page 216
page 217
page 218
page 219
page 220
page 221
page 222
page 223
page 224
page 225
page 226
page 227
page 228
page 229
page 230
page 231
page 232
page 233
page 234
page 235
page 236
page 237
page 238
page 239
page 240
page 241
page 242
page 243
page 244
page 245
page 246
page 247
page 248
page 249
page 250
page 251
page 252
page 253
page 254
page 255
page 256
page 257
page 258
page 259
page 260
page 261
page 262
page 263
page 264
page 265
page 266
page 267
page 268
page 269
page 270
page 271
page 272
page 273
page 274
page 275
page 276
page 277
page 278
page 279
page 280
page 281
page 282
page 283
page 284
page 285
page 286
page 287
page 288
page 289
page 290
page 291
page 292
page 293
page 294
page 295
page 296
page 297
page 298
page 299
page 300
page 301
page 302
page 303
page 304
page 305
page 306
page 307
page 308
page 309
page 310
page 311
page 312
page 313
page 314
page 315
page 316
page 317
page 318
page 319
page 320
page 321
page 322
page 323
page 324
page 325
page 326
page 327
page 328
page 329
page 330
page 331
page 332
page 333
page 334
page 335
page 336
page 337
page 338
page 339
page 340
page 341
page 342
page 343
page 344
page 345
page 346
page 347
page 348
page 349
page 350
page 351
page 352
page 353
page 354
page 355
page 356
page 357
page 358
page 359
page 360
page 361
page 362
page 363
page 364
page 365
page 366
page 367
page 368
page 369
page 370
page 371
page 372
page 373
page 374
page 375
page 376
page 377
page 378
page 379
page 380
page 381
page 382
page 383
page 384
page 385
page 386
page 387
page 388
page 389
page 390
page 391
page 392
page 393
page 394
page 395
page 396
page 397
page 398
page 399
page 400
page 401
page 402
page 403
page 404
page 405
page 406
page 407
page 408
page 409
page 410
page 411
page 412
page 413
page 414
page 415
page 416
page 417
page 418
page 419
page 420
page 421
page 422
page 423
page 424
page 425
page 426
page 427
page 428
page 429
page 430
page 431
page 432
page 433
page 434
page 435
page 436
page 437
page 438
page 439
page 440
page 441
page 442
page 443
page 444
page 445
page 446
page 447
page 448
page 449
page 450
page 451
page 452
page 453
page 454
page 455
page 456
page 457
page 458
page 459
page 460
page 461
page 462
page 463
page 464
page 465
page 466
page 467
page 468
page 469
page 470
page 471
page 472
page 473
page 474
page 475
page 476
page 477
page 478
page 479
page 480
page 481
page 482
page 483
page 484
page 485
page 486
page 487
page 488
page 489
page 490
page 491
page 492
page 493
page 494
page 495
page 496
page 497
page 498
page 499
page 500
page 501
page 502
page 503
page 504
page 505
page 506
page 507
page 508
page 509
page 510
page 511
page 512
page 513
page 514
page 515
page 516
page 517
page 518
page 519
page 520
page 521
page 522
page 523
page 524
page 525
page 526
page 527
page 528
page 529
page 530
page 531
page 532
page 533
page 534
page 535
page 536
page 537
page 538
page 539
page 540
page 541
page 542
page 543
page 544
page 545
page 546
page 547
page 548
page 549
page 550
page 551
page 552
page 553
page 554
page 555
page 556
page 557
page 558
page 559
page 560
page 561
page 562
page 563
page 564
page 565
page 566
page 567
page 568
page 569
page 570
page 571
page 572
page 573
page 574
page 575
page 576
page 577
page 578
page 579
page 580
page 581
page 582
page 583
page 584
page 585
page 586
page 587
page 588
page 589
page 590
page 591
page 592
page 593
page 594
page 595
page 596
page 597
page 598
page 599
page 600
page 601
page 602
page 603
page 604
page 605
page 606
page 607
page 608
page 609
page 610
page 611
page 612
page 613
page 614
page 615
page 616

Filter Results

6,156 results
6,156 results
Marketing Dummies Custom Solutions: Your Smartest Content Marketing Choice

Article / Updated 09-08-2023

If you’re responsible for your company’s B2B marketing strategy, you face the ongoing challenge of reaching new prospective clients and explaining your products and services. In today’s business world, where most marketing is digital, simply posting ads is not enough — it’s a short-term solution to what should be a long game plan, especially for businesses with complex products and services. That’s why most marketing leaders turn to content marketing. Reaching your target audience with content marketing Content marketing involves producing and distributing educational information on topics your target audience finds valuable and interesting. This can include blogs on your website, social media posts, videos, podcasts, white papers, infographics, and ebooks. These strategies help establish your business as a thought leader, get the attention of potential clients, and strengthen connections with your existing partners and clients. Why does content marketing work? Most decision-makers these days research companies online and take more time to make their buying decisions. Custom created, educational content that is of high interest to your audience, written in a straightforward and no-nonsense way, answers their questions, offers something new, and is an excellent way to establish your expertise. Custom content makes the all-important connection breakthrough. And, once you have the attention of a potential client, you’re able to further explain your company, its specialties, and why it’s better than the competition. Dummies Custom Solutions: Great value for boosted recognition Social media, blogs, and email marketing campaigns are important tools to stay on top of, but if you’re looking for a truly unique way to distinguish yourself in today’s competitive marketplace, consider Dummies Custom Solutions, a Wiley offering. You know Dummies — everybody does. People around the world turn to Dummies books and eBooks when they want Learning Made Easy. We’ve been around a long time, and our brand awareness and book sales continue to grow. That’s because Dummies specializes in translating complex subject matter into content that is accurate, straightforward, and easy-to-understand. Working with the Dummies Custom Solutions editorial team, you get a fully customized Dummies eBook (and printed book, if needed) for your company or product that you can distribute in a variety of ways, including: Sign-ups on your website Webinar attendance Professional conferences and other events Email marketing campaigns Dummies Custom Solutions also produces infographics, iPapers, animated videos, and more to complement your eBook and drive traffic to your website. These products create an integrated content marketing approach. They distinguish your business among the noise in the market with something unique — increased exposure through the Dummies network of properties, a book, and other materials that help you: Boost awareness of your company or product Nurture relationships with current clients Establish your company as an authority/expert/thought leader Generate leads We help you make that all-important connection to your audience in ways that build confidence in your brand and deliver results for you. What’s more, Dummies is a brand of Wiley, a multinational publisher and global leader in research and education. You can boost your sales, leads, and recognition as an authority by co-branding with Dummies and Wiley. a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{display:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{padding:35px 0 40px 0;margin-bottom:35px;border:0;border-bottom:1px solid #d8d8d8;background:#fff;width:100%}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic:focus-visible{outline:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic img{margin-bottom:0}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]:after{content:"";display:block;margin:40px 0 35px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{background:none;border:none;padding:0}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout img{max-width:100%;height:auto}@media only screen and (max-width:1023px){[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{padding:32px 0 30px 0;margin-bottom:28px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]{padding:0!important}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe]:after{margin:32px 24px 27px;border-color:#d8d8d8}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{background-color:#f2f2f2;width:100%}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout img{width:66.7%}}@media only screen and (max-width:767px){[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-desktop{display:none}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{display:block}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic{background:#ffd200;padding:0;margin:22px 0 60px;position:relative}[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.drops-callout-generic:after{display:block;border-bottom:1px solid #d8d8d8;position:absolute;padding-bottom:35px;width:100%;content:""}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout{padding:0 16px}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile{width:100%}.drops-callout-col.has-drops-callouts[data-v-d27f2bfe] a.drops-article-callout.callout-mobile img{width:414px}} Case Study: Thron Key objectives: Increase awareness of Content Intelligence and the THRON brand, thanks to the proven authority of the Dummies books Become recognized experts on Content Intelligence, thanks to the easy way to explain difficult things that characterizes the Dummies books Find new companies interested in our Intelligent DAM How were the assets used? Free e-book to download from our websites to inform and develop people on CI Free promotional materials for events to widen the audience and make them aware of the topic Gift for our clients and THRON employees to strengthen engagement What results did you see? 8,000 e-books downloaded 750 print books given out How have your customers reacted to the book and what feedback have they shared with you? The book was really welcomed. It helped the customers to improve their usage of the software; on the other hand, it speeded up the onboarding process of new clients. Some of them even chose Content Intelligence For Dummies as their summer reading! “The proven experience of Dummies was a great lever for us to spread the voice about an increasing strategic topic, like Content Intelligence.” –Nicola Meneghello, founder and CEO of THRON, author of Content Intelligence For Dummies

View Article
Bookkeeping Nonprofit Bookkeeping & Accounting For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-05-2023

To stay organized and on top of your nonprofit’s bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities, timely complete accounting tasks need to be done daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly. Keep necessary financial information up to date so you’re prepared to submit paperwork to your independent certified public accountant (CPA), the government, and all stakeholders, both within and outside your nonprofit organization. To ensure your nonprofit’s activities are completed, organize a to-do list, prioritizing the tasks so the important ones are done first, and other jobs are scheduled around them. Managing your nonprofit means sticking to your plan to stay organized and run efficiently. Apply these guidelines to your nonprofit’s weekly plan: Set up daily priorities. Knowing what you need to accomplish each day allows you to take care of the most pressing matters. Surround yourself with professional staff. Surrounding yourself with professionals eliminates the pettiness of daily office drama! Professionals are self-motivated and focused on doing their jobs, and they require minimum supervision. Keep your goals before you. To maintain a clear vision, keep your eyes on the prize. Post your vision or your goals in a place where they’re visible to you every day. Manage your time by planning and scheduling your daily activities. Be mindful of distractions that pull you away from completing your tasks. Stay out of politics. Avoiding politics at work protects your nonprofit’s status.

View Cheat Sheet
Economics Economics For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-05-2023

People have to make choices because of scarcity, the fact that they don’t have enough resources to satisfy all their wants. Economics studies how people allocate resources among alternative uses. Macroeconomics studies national economies, and microeconomics studies the behavior of individual people and individual firms. Economists assume that people work toward maximizing their utility, or happiness, and firms act to maximize profits.

View Cheat Sheet
Business Communication Storytelling in Presentations For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-05-2023

Storytelling is one of the most effective tools in presentations for several reasons: Stories engage the audience and evoke emotion responses. They make information more relatable and memorable. They can increase retention and make messages more compelling. And they help build trust between the presenter and the audience. This handy Cheat Sheet provides some guidelines to make your presentations more interesting and powerful.

View Cheat Sheet
Management The Value of Setting Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)

Article / Updated 08-16-2023

Before I get into the value of setting objectives and key results (OKRs), I should probably answer a question many readers might be asking: What are OKRs? Basically, OKRs is a method of setting goals for an organization. Humans are avid goal setters, constantly striving to improve our performance, regardless of the field or endeavor we choose. Perhaps you have experience in setting goals in some of these domains: Family: Partner, children, extended relations Physical: Health, fitness, and wellbeing Work: Career, volunteering Spiritual: Religious or other spiritual affiliations Relationships: With friends or others Hobbies: Interests beyond work Some of my goal-setting memories bring me a few chuckles, such as my goal of winning a “Best Screenplay” Academy Award after taking one screenwriting class. I even pictured Steven Spielberg having the honor of bestowing the Oscar on me. Hey, the more specific a goal the better, right? Your company probably has goals related to sales, customer satisfaction, retaining the best people, and a host of other elements designed to propel you past your competition. Whether people have their companies or themselves in mind, there is little doubt that setting goals is a very healthy and positive activity, one that everyone should pursue with rigor. Goal-setting challenges Problems often occur in how people go about writing and constructing goals. That’s where many people, whether crafting goals for companies or themselves, get stopped in their tracks almost instantly. It’s common, for instance, to write goals that are vague and nebulous: “Get more fit.” “Be the best company in our industry.” They sound good — and few would argue with the merits of either of those examples — but the quality that specifically marks real success is missing from both. A number of other pitfalls loom out there in the goal world as well, such as: Setting unrealistic goals that you have no genuine chance to achieve Having too many goals at one time Failing to account for any assistance you’ll require from others in achieving your goals Despite the potential challenges, goal setting is one of the most powerful things you can do in your organization (and your life). You just need a better, more reliable system, and that’s where OKRs — objectives and key results— come in. Sounds good, huh? Maybe if I’d have known about OKRs back when I was practicing that Oscar speech, I’d actually be clutching a gold statue now. The good news for me and you is that it’s never too late to succeed. Setting goals really works Maybe you’re already convinced and are a believer in the power of setting ambitious goals, with a lifetime of experience to back up that claim. If so, great — we have that in common. On the other hand, perhaps you do need to be convinced of goal setting’s value. Maybe you came up in the school of hard knocks and don’t believe in the woo-woo world of setting goals. Well, I’ve got news for you: Goal setting, especially with the use of OKRs, really works, and I’m going to win you over to this idea, I promise. Back in 1968, when the Beatles song “Hey Jude” was dominating the airwaves, a little-known professor from the University of Maryland named Edwin Locke published a blockbuster article that would revolutionize the field of goal setting. “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives,” based on Locke’s pioneering research, showed that setting goals led to higher performance in a wide range of domains. Whether it concerned office workers toiling in smoke-infested offices (it was the 1960s, remember), loggers felling timber in northern British Columbia, or truckers rolling along the blacktop, Locke demonstrated that setting goals improved performance in a statistically significant fashion. It wasn’t uncommon, for example, to see performance gains of more than 200 percent! Forget free love and flower children; the real revolution of the 1960s was goal setting. Locke went on to collaborate with a professor from the University of Toronto named Gary Latham. Together they conducted hundreds of studies on goal setting and reviewed hundreds more, all culminating in their 1990 magnum opus, A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance. Although it’s not a page turner a là Dan Brown or Agatha Christie, it’s a revelation. Locke and Latham demonstrated unequivocally that setting goals led to improved results, and as an added bonus, working toward a goal boosted motivation. Locke and Latham made clear that certain types of goals are better than others. Specific and challenging (but not too challenging) goals were critical to improved performance. Both of these characteristics (specificity and challenge) are vital to OKRs. The components of OKRs The heading of this section sounds cold and clinical, but the fact of the matter is that goal setting, especially using OKRs, can be … wait for it … fun. As Locke and Latham (see the previous section) made clear, goal setting improves motivation, and who doesn’t like the feeling of being motivated to pursue something you care about? More good news related to the question "what is an OKR?" is that the framework is light on terminology. It involves just three terms: objectives, key, and results. Actually, it’s three words and a conjunction. Yes, I looked it up; “and” is a conjunction. But really it’s just two terms: objectives and key results, more commonly referred to as OKRs. In the upcoming section, I define these terms and look at an example. Terminology matters in any kind of change initiative, including OKRs. You may find that some people will abbreviate the acronym to OKR, omitting the s. There is no agreed-upon acronym, but in this article, I use the plural OKRs and suggest that you do the same. However, what’s most important is that whatever acronym you choose, you use it consistently throughout your organization. At this point in the article, you might be thinking: OKR vs. KPI? (oh, the wonderful world of business acronyms). KPI stands for key performance indicator and it applies more to specific projects, programs, products, and other initiatives. OKRs are used more to outline organization and team goals. Defining an “objective” An objective is a statement of a broad, qualitative goal designed to propel the organization forward in a desired direction. There are a few things to unpack in that simple definition. The first is the word qualitative. This word points to the fact that objectives are aspirational statements and don’t include numbers. The second word to put under the microscope is organization. You can, and most likely will, create OKRs at multiple levels of your organization: the company-level; business unit; department team; and so on. Thus, the word organization in the definition is meant to be generic. Finally, the last part of the definition notes propelling the organization forward in a desired direction. This is the essence of an objective, which, to keep things nice and simple, asks, “What do we want to do?” Writing a basic objective Now comes one of the hardest tasks I faced in writing a book on OKRs: providing the very first example of an objective. Why was it so difficult? Because no matter what field or industry I draw on, there is a risk that some people will think, “Oh, so OKRs are for only those types of companies.” Or, “Well, that doesn’t apply to me.” Oy! Always remember that you can use OKRs anywhere and everywhere, from writing pop songs to ending malaria. So don’t read too much into the following example. Say that your company has a mobile app that has been crashing lately, much to users’ chagrin. That’s a strategic problem, and OKRs are very well-suited to help you overcome strategic challenges. So here’s a possible objective: Reduce mobile app crashes in order to increase user satisfaction. Ta-da! You’ve just had your first exposure to an actual OKR-style objective. Exciting, isn’t it? (Surely it’s one of those “remember where you were moments” as you soak this in.) This example objective is a relatively simple statement, but it is composed of three parts that all effective objectives have in common: It starts with a verb. By its very nature, an objective is action oriented, so you always want to begin one with a verb. Your verb choice will depend on the objective you’re striving toward, but every word matters in the objective, and the verb you choose sets the stage for the rest of the statement. The verb is followed by a description of what you want to do. In this case, you want to reduce mobile app crashes. Now, a lot of people would stop right there. “Reduce mobile app crashes” sounds like a worthy objective. But, there is a third component to a well-written objective, and that is … The “in order to” or “so that.” This final part captures the business impact of the first two components of the objective. Why is it important to reduce mobile app crashes? Because you believe that it will lead to increased user satisfaction. That final component is the most important, because it makes clear the strategic relevance of the objective: why it matters. I’ll bet you could stop reading right now and quickly brainstorm a dozen things you’d like to get done in the next few months. Doing that is relatively easy, but when you add that third component of why the objective is strategically important now, you quickly recognize what really matters, and which objectives are the critical ones to pursue. Share this formula for writing an objective with your team: Verb + what you want to do + in order to / so that (business impact) Some people bristle at formulas and a paint-by-number approach to objective creation, but goal setting is not a natural muscle for most people. They need all the help they can get in writing effective OKRs, especially in the beginning. Providing a formula or template simply gives people a leg up on the task without inhibiting their creativity in any way. After all, the formula doesn’t dictate what verb to use, or why their objective is important. It simply provides a path for creating objectives that will be technically sound and add value. For much more on setting OKRs and how to make them do wonders for your organization, check out my book OKRs For Dummies. Defining a key result Part of the OKR definition is "key result," and now you can turn your attention to that part. A key result is a quantitative statement that measures the achievement of a given objective. The key results answer the question “How will you know you’ve achieved the objective?” Of course, the most important word in the definition of “key result” is quantitative. A key result should consist of raw numbers, dollar amounts, percentages, or even dates, which you will use in the case of milestone key results. Writing key results In the earlier “Writing a basic objective” section, the example objective was “Reduce mobile app crashes in order to increase user satisfaction.” Now you have to decide what set of key results will demonstrate the achievement of that objective. You may want to try these: Study app crashes and determine the three most common causes by May 15. Develop fixes and update the app by June 1. Decrease the number of mobile app crashes from five to one. Increase app store rating from 4.2 to 4.8. A question I get frequently is, “How many key results should we have for each objective?” Although there is no absolute right or wrong answer to the question, a good rule of thumb (as rules of thumb go) is three to five. But beyond the number, you should think in terms of telling a story with your key results. By that I mean that the key results should work together in a coordinated way to demonstrate the success of the objective. Continuing with the example objective, if you’re going to reduce mobile app crashes, you first need to find out why the app is crashing by determining the common causes. That topic provides a good opening “chapter” in your story of success for this objective. This key result is a milestone, which is binary – either you achieve it or you don’t. Milestones are like hurdles that you need to get over in order to measure the ultimate business impact outlined in the objective. A milestone key result always includes a date — how quickly you believe you can achieve the milestone without sacrificing quality. After studying the reasons for the crashes, your next key result is devoted to developing fixes and updating the app. Think again of your story: First you study the causes, and then you develop fixes. This, too, is a milestone key result. Now things get interesting. Your third key result measures the reduction of mobile app crashes from five to one. This is a metric key result because it has numbers. This key result also slots nicely into your story. You’ve studied the crashes, applied a fix, and your hypothesis is that by doing so, you’ll see a reduction in app crashes. Hypothesis is a critical word in the context of OKRs, and in measurement in general. Whenever you measure anything, you’re making your best guess that it is related to your desired outcome. The final key result, “Increase app store rating from 4.2 to 4.8,” is also a metric, again because it has numbers. It also holds the distinction of being the most important of the example’s key results because it directly measures the business impact of increasing users’ satisfaction that was identified in the objective. Therefore, it’s a great and logical ending to a strategic story. When you're doing your OKR planning, I strongly encourage you to use the story concept as you're constructing your set of key results. Begin with the end in mind by identifying your business impact key result and then work backward, asking what drives, or leads to, that key result. Doing so will help you craft a comprehensive and cohesive set of key results.

View Article
General Small Business Five Free, Valuable Online Tools for Managing Your Business

Article / Updated 08-15-2023

No matter whether you’re just starting your own micro-business or you’ve been working for several years, you want everything to run smoothly and cost effectively. As a micro-entrepreneur, your focus is to meet your target market’s needs while staying ahead of your competition. These free resources can help you. Get a free email account for business use. Email is indispensable for communication, marketing, and other pursuits. You can get free email at Gmail or Yahoo, and other providers. Try Open Office Software Suite. This powerful suite of business productivity tools includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, and other software programs. The software is free and regularly upgraded and refined by open source software developers. Network with LinkedIn. On this site, you can network with other businesses and professionals. You can make lots of valuable contacts, find prospects, and get answers to many of your questions from other professionals and specialists. Market through e-mail. Mailchimp is a free email service to do e-mail distribution and marketing. You can send an email blast for up to 2,000 addresses on your list at no cost, which is perfect for businesses just starting out and needing a good way to manage a list of prospects and customers. Use YouTube. This popular video platform gives you the ability not only to gain information and news (including lots of free how-to videos on a variety of business topics), but you have the ability to create your own videos (ranging from providing content to doing sales and marketing presentations) at no cost.

View Article
Human Resources How to Prepare to Interview a Job Candidate

Article / Updated 08-14-2023

Your ability to get the most out of the interviews you conduct for your business invariably depends on how well prepared you are. Here’s a checklist of things you should do before you ask the first interview question: Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the job description, especially its hiring criteria. Do so even if you draw up the criteria yourself. Review everything the candidate has submitted to date. That includes a résumé, cover letter, online profile, and so on. Note any areas needing clarification or explanation, such as quirky job titles, gaps in work history, or hobbies that may reveal aspects of the candidate’s personality that can have a bearing on job performance. Set up a general structure for the interview. Create a basic schedule for the interview so that, as the meeting progresses, you reserve enough time to cover all the key areas you want to address. Having a rough schedule to adhere to will help you begin and end the session on time, allowing you to be more efficient and showing that you respect the candidate’s time. A phone screen is a great use of time to provide the candidate an opportunity to answer general questions you have and for you to determine if he’s worth the time investment to bring on-site for an interview. Write down the questions you intend to ask. Base your questions on the areas of the candidate’s background that deserve the most attention (based on the job description and your hiring criteria). Keep the list in front of you throughout the interview. Hold the interview in a room that’s private and reasonably comfortable. Clear your desk, close the door, and either set your phone so all calls go to voicemail or have your calls forwarded somewhere else. Try not to schedule job interviews in the middle of the day. The reason: You’re not likely to be as relaxed and as focused as you need to be, and you may have a tough time fighting off interruptions and distractions. The ideal time to interview candidates is early morning, before the workday starts. You’re fresher then, and so is the candidate. If you have no choice, give yourself a buffer of at least half an hour before the interview so that you can switch gears and prepare for the interview in the right manner.

View Article
Management Objectives & Key Results for Different Company Levels

Article / Updated 08-10-2023

In this article, I share the most common choices for where to create objectives and key results (OKRs) within an organization, including at the company level only, or for the company and business unit, or for the entire organization. However, just because these are common choices doesn’t mean they’re right for you. When it comes to deciding where to begin OKRs for your organization, you should give careful consideration to the best group or groups to lead the way on your implementation. That decision will hinge on the following: The amount of sponsorship you have at the top The availability of strategic background materials Your desire to foster collaboration Your philosophy on individual involvement in OKR setting I cover your primary options, those used by most organizations, in the following sections. There are other areas where OKRs are useful, including pilot groups, projects, and support groups, and while this article doesn’t cover those, you can learn about them in my book OKRs For Dummies. Creating OKRs at the company level only First, let me define some terms. When I say “company-level,” I mean OKRs that would exist at the very highest level of the company. So whether you’re General Motors, Netflix, or Uncle Morty’s Wax Emporium, company-level OKRs are those created and used to gauge execution at the very top of the house. Whenever possible (and sometimes it isn’t, as I’ll explain), drafting OKRs at the company level is the preferred way to kick off your efforts. Some benefits to starting at the top level Starting at the top has several benefits. Foremost is the fact that OKRs you create at this level make it crystal clear for your entire employee population what you consider to be the most important items for the organization to focus on in the days ahead. Also, I can’t overstate the communication value provided by these OKRs. Keeping in mind how few people can name their company’s top goals, by creating a small number of OKRs at this level, you send a powerful signal of what employees should pay attention to. You also provide the context that all lower-level teams require to create their own, connected OKRs. I was going to continue on to drift into my next point but I’m not sure you’d be with me. Your eyes may be seeing the words but your brain may be stuck on something I slipped into the last paragraph: “small number of OKRs.” You’re wondering, “What does he mean by ‘small number.'" Allow me to turn the tables on you. What do you think is a small but appropriate number of OKRs at the company-level? If you’re like most of the CEOs I’ve worked with, your estimate of the appropriate number of OKRs at the company will be very low, maybe two or three. If so, it’s likely because you want to instill the discipline of focus in your organization, and you’d be correct in wanting this. However, when it comes to actually drafting the OKRs, if you attempt to tell your story of success with such a succinct number of them, the tendency is to lump concepts together or devise such generic OKRs that they could fit any company in the world, Uncle Morty’s Wax Emporium included. The number is also impacted by your current situation. If you’re in crisis mode and mere survival is your goal, perhaps one or two well-chosen OKRs is exactly what you need. If, however, you’re in steady-state, moderate-growth mode, you may be able to balance four to seven OKRs. The old adage “less is more” applies to company-level OKRs. An abundance of OKRs at this level results in a lack of focus and prioritization, causing confusion and skepticism in your employees as to what truly matters. More benefits of starting at the top Having settled the number of OKRs quandary, you can consider a couple of additional advantages of starting at the top level. An obvious benefit is the accountability that it yokes to your executives. It is their responsibility to see these OKRs through, demonstrating success that lifts the entire company. Also, wins at this level will go a long way in generating enthusiasm for OKRs throughout the company. After people see the impact of OKRs at the very top, they’ll be anxious to create their own OKRs, making it clear for all to see how their unique piece of the puzzle fits into place. Now for the disadvantages of top-level OKRs Although beginning at the top with your OKRs offers some clear benefits, you should also consider some potential disadvantages before automatically making it your default choice: The potential of creating generic OKRs that could apply to any organization: The lack of specificity will greatly reduce the power of those OKRs to inspire lower-level teams, and may in fact signal to everyone that the status quo is just fine and your company’s biggest aspiration is to be like everyone else. The possibility that your OKRs will be irrelevant: This possibility comes into play if yours is a very large organization with dozens (or more) of business units around the world, each the size of significant businesses on their own. Think conglomerates with assets spanning the globe. For these companies, job one of the corporate group is allocating resources effectively, and most if not all of the metrics are financial in nature, providing little in terms of guidance or inspiration for lower-level groups. Prerequisites for company-level OKRs If you determine that company-level OKRs are the way to go for you, be aware of a couple of “must haves” before convening your C-suite colleagues for a drafting session. The first requirement is access to, and the participation of, your CEO. If you can’t rouse the sincere support of your CEO, you should reconsider not only starting at the top, but starting OKRs at all. A second prerequisite for company-level OKRs is the existence of some form of strategic plan for the organization from which you can derive the OKRs. They shouldn’t be created in a vacuum. If you’re sitting around a boardroom table engaging in blue-sky brainstorming and pondering, “Hmmm, what should we do?” you have a problem. OKRs will help answer the question, “To successfully execute our strategy, what has to happen?” but only if you have a strategy in the first place. The word strategy can be tricky, though. You don’t require a 300-page leather bound, gilt-edged report from the head office of a global consulting firm. Some answers to basic questions like, “What do we sell?” will get you on track. OKRs are a strategy-execution system, not a strategy-formation system. If you’re relying on the process to help you create a strategy, you’re putting the cart before the horse. Creating OKRs at both the company and team levels A second option for where to create OKRs is at both the company and business unit or team level, which provides the obvious advantage of involving lower-level groups, thereby upping the odds of execution because more people within the organization are creating aligned OKRs. Although this section’s heading suggests that OKRs would be created simultaneously at both the company and team levels, there should be some lag time between those efforts. Company OKRs are written first, widely communicated to ensure understanding, and only then, after that context has been created, should team-level OKRs be considered. Most of my firm’s clients choose this option (company and team OKRs) when embarking on an OKRs process. Deciding which teams and units to include Should you decide to go the route of OKRs at both the company and team levels, your next order of business will be defining the word team. I’m using that word in a very generic sense because as far as I know, no universal terms exist for creating a company’s organizational chart. For example, engineering and IT may be business units at your company, or they may be called departments, squads, or teams. Rather than focus on the titles appearing on your org chart, a simpler approach is to determine how far down the chart you want to go with your initial foray into OKRs. Maybe it’s the first level, those reporting directly to the CEO; or perhaps you’ll go two levels down on the chart. The obvious caveat is that the deeper you go, the more complex your rollout becomes, and you need to carefully consider how much complexity you can take on as you’re getting your feet wet with OKRs. A phased approach, going one level at a time, is the most conservative and likely the safest route; my experience shows that most organizations are excited to expose as many people as possible to the power of OKRs. Thus, going deeper faster has major appeal. Deciding between following the org chart or linking dependent teams If I had been writing this book back in, say, 2016, this section probably would have ended right here. Pick your teams and swish-boom, move on to the next section. But having worked on hundreds of engagements with organizations all over the world, I know it’s not that easy. You have another fundamental question to answer after you’ve chosen who will create OKRs at the team level: Do you write OKRs based simply on titles in the org chart? For example, Sales would create Sales OKRs, Marketing would create Marketing OKRs, and so on. Given its simplicity, this approach was the default answer for many organizations as OKRs rose to prominence, but a downside quickly emerged: Creating OKRs in this way had a tendency to reinforce silos and discourage cross-functional collaboration, which is anathema to the spirit of OKRs. Simply following the org chart may not be your best alternative for drafting team-based OKRs. Another option is to find teams that are highly dependent on one another and create OKRs for the merged entities. For example, in most organizations, the Sales and Marketing teams must work closely together in order to drive demand and revenue. Marketing finds the leads and supplies media and collateral, which supports Sales’s efforts to convert interested onlookers into paying customers. In this case, it could make sense to create OKRs for Sales and Marketing as one cross-functional unit, which of course enhances collaboration and diminishes the silo mentality. A potential challenge with the dependent-teams approach is the fact that in modern organizations, the pairings aren’t likely to be so clean because of the vast web of interconnectedness among most teams operating today. When I ask teams who they depend on for success, they rarely isolate their response to one other team. There’s often a dominant partner, but other dependencies exist as well. In deciding whether to use the dependent-teams method, determine whether the core relationship or partnership among two teams is strong enough to warrant working together on creating merged OKRs. In other words, if they can’t be successful without one another, there is a legitimate case for merged OKRs. Creating team OKRs for customer segments And now, in the spirit of a 3 a.m. infomercial peddling that hydrospa hand massager you just can’t live without: But wait, there’s more! You may also want to create team-based OKRs in reference to specific customer segments, or points along the way of the customer’s journey with your company. An online retailer, for instance, could create OKRs for teams aligned with the checkout process, or the subscription process, or something else. Doing so has the advantage of driving collaboration among teams devoted to a specific outcome, but on the flip side it’s not immune to the difficulty of ensuring that the relationship between the groups is strong enough to warrant shared OKRs. (In case you’re wondering, I didn’t make up the hydrospa hand massager; QVC really did sell them at $40.) Creating individual OKRs for the entire organization Encouraging OKRs at the organization-wide level includes, of course, the controversial practice of having individual OKRs. You may be thinking, “Google uses individual OKRs, right? So shouldn’t everyone?” And besides, is the question of using individual OKRs even up for debate, and what makes it a “controversial practice”? Yes, Google does it, but you may not want to Google, the poster child for all things OKRs, does have a history of using the framework at the individual employee level, but you have to keep in mind that OKRs were literally baked into the culture of Google practically from day one through John Doerr’s influence with the founders. The system grew along with the company and has become an ingrained part of their culture, which is something most organizations cannot say. But even within the Googleplex, there are whispers of discontent over the practice, and some question its value. Most organizations should consider individual level OKRs optional, if they consider it at all. If you do believe that individual OKRs are right for your company, it’s most likely because you can envision the system driving alignment throughout the entire enterprise. You also likely subscribe to the notion that giving employees the chance to write an OKR will boost their support of the system because they will no longer see OKRs as a “corporate thing” but something that they themselves engage with and can potentially benefit from. Both are valid points, but on the “pro” side of the ledger, that’s all I’ve got. Switching to the “con” side, however, reveals a host of potential problems with individual level OKRs. I’ll use an example of an individual OKR to introduce some challenges with the practice. Following is one from a software engineer — and I’m not picking on engineers; I’ve seen similar (in tone, style, and direction) from finance professionals, marketers, HR staff, you name it: Objective: Improve my programming skills to help the company release products faster. Key results: Read the five most popular books on programming on Amazon.com. Take three courses on programming languages. Attain Oracle MySQL certification. When charged with creating OKRs, most individuals will automatically default to personal development goals like those above. Absolutely nothing is wrong with personal development, and of course everyone should be actively encouraged to set goals for improvement. However, if you’re hewing to the true intent of OKRs, your aim is to demonstrate business impact. The key results in the preceding example are binary “outputs” that fail to demonstrate how this programmer is contributing to the company’s goal of releasing products faster in a quantitative fashion. Determining and communicating your OKRs philosophy, whether or not you’ll allow personal development goals as part of OKRs, will help ensure consistency in the OKRs created across the organization.

View Article
Business Communication How to Be a Better Communicator at Work

Article / Updated 08-03-2023

Effective interpersonal communication is a critical soft skill, both in professional and personal interactions. It's the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and intention through active listening and verbal and nonverbal messages. To successfully communicate with others both at work and in life, you must first be able to connect with them. I want to repeat that because it’s so important: Connect first. Communicate second. That means you have to listen. Listen first and talk second. Wait. What? Who does that? People with effective interpersonal communication skills, that’s who. Interpersonal communication is all about making connections; it focuses on building meaningful relationships. Listening first, talking second Human beings have one mouth and two ears for a reason: so I would listen twice as much as I speak. Sadly, that’s not the way it works most of the time. Our ears may work perfectly well, and we may hear just fine. The problem is I don’t put them to work often enough. I don’t really listen. The difference between hearing and listening is important: Hearing is what happens when you receive the auditory stimulus of someone else speaking, and you go through motions of listening: nodding your head and/or changing your expressions while your mind and/or your fingers are busy doing something else. Listening is what happens when you receive the auditory stimulus but you also connect and communicate with your entire person and keep your mind focused on the message the speaker is conveying. Listening tells the person speaking to you, “I’m here, front and center, and I hear you. I get it.” Framing the walls of disconnection Making a connection with someone when you’re hearing but not listening is hard. If you’re doing something other than focusing on the conversation happening right in front of you — for example, thinking about what you want for lunch or what you want to do this weekend — rather than building an effective relationship, you’re erecting a wall of disconnection blocks that keeps you from really communicating and connecting. We need to talk about those pesky disconnection blocks and how people build walls with them. As they say, knowledge is power. The following are common disconnection blocks that get in the way of successful communication. Not all of them come into play in every personal and professional communication situation, but being aware of them when communicating with others at work and in life is essential. Think about your listening skills as you review each block. Rehearsing: When someone is talking and you’re busy silently rehearsing or planning your own reply, you’re breaking your listening concentration and blocking the opportunity for a real connection. Judging: If you’re focused on how the person you’re communicating with is dressed or how they look or speak, you can prejudge the speaker, dismiss their idea as unimportant or uninformed, and put up a disconnect block. Identifying: When you’re listening to someone tell a story but are so occupied thinking about your own experience that you launch into your own story before the person is finished telling theirs, you may lose sight of what the other person was trying to communicate, and you definitely miss the connection. Advising: If you try to offer advice before a person has finished explaining a situation, you may not fully understand the situation. Sparring: If you’re focused on disagreeing with what someone is saying, you’re probably not giving that person an honest chance to fully express their thoughts. Put-downs: When you use sarcastic comments to put down someone’s point of view, you can draw that person into an argumentative conversation in which neither of you hears a word the other says. The result: dis-connection. Being right: If you’re so intent on proving your point or adamantly refusing to admit to any wrongdoing, you may end up twisting the facts, shouting, and making excuses. These actions may confuse and upset both you and the person you’re talking to. Derailing: When you suddenly change the subject while someone is talking or joke about what they’re saying, you’re likely to weaken that speaker’s trust in both you and your ability to show understanding. Smoothing over: When you’ll do anything to avoid conflict or often choose to agree with what someone is saying simply because you want others to like you, you may appear to be supportive. However, never expressing a personal point of view is an obvious signal that you aren’t fully engaged in the conversation. Daydreaming: If you tune out while someone is talking to you and let your mind wander from random thought to random thought, you’ve completely disconnected from the conversation. Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is that people don’t listen to understand. They listen to reply. When you listen with curiosity, you don’t listen with the intent to reply. You listen for what’s behind the words. Completing the connection with the three Vs Effective interpersonal communication is less about how well you’re able to converse and more about how well you’re able to be understood. Your ability to make that oh-so-important connection comes into play. Connecting and communicating effectively with others is as easy as the three Vs: the visual, the vocal, and the verbal components of a conversation. The three Vs represent how much information you give and receive when you communicate with others. When you incorporate all three Vs into your interpersonal communication skill set, your personal and professional interactions can be amazingly easy, effective, and successful. To create and cultivate effective interpersonal communication skills and to make a 100 percent genuine connection with another person, you must communicate with your entire being: your ears, your eyes, your words, and your heart! Doing the math Most people probably think “verbal” is the most important of the three Vs for effective communication. After all, if you’re not saying anything, how can you possibly communicate? The real math tells a different story: Visual interpersonal communication (your body language) controls 55 percent of all interpersonal communication. Talk about actions speaking louder than words! Vocal interpersonal communication (the tone, quality, and rate of your speaking voice) controls 38 percent of all interpersonal communication. Verbal interpersonal communication (the actual words spoken) controls only 7 percent of all interpersonal communication. Surprise, surprise. On the interpersonal communication importance scale, verbal skills come in dead last. Yep. You read that right. Ninety-three percent of all information given and received in every single conversation is directly related to nonverbal communication skills, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that for effective and successful communicators, how you say it counts more than what you say. Lucky for you, you only need to sharpen two tools to cultivate your nonverbal communication skills, and you already have both: your eyes and your ears. When you connect with your ears, you give every conversation a 38 percent interpersonal communication boost. Add in your eyes, and you get an extra 55 percent of successful interpersonal communication and connection power. Speaking from the heart Because nonverbal communication elements make up 93 percent of each personal connection, finding a way to make the verbal element — the 7 percent — really, really count is crucial. Every single word matters. And to make the words matter, you also have to connect with your heart by speaking with sincerity and honesty. The ability to share and care matters as much in interpersonal communication as it does with your attitude.

View Article
Start-Ups How to Develop a Side Hustle Business Plan

Article / Updated 08-03-2023

Tens of millions of people in the United States, and hundreds of millions of people around the world, supplement their primary jobs with some type of business activities on the side. These people all spend at least some of their professional lives embracing the idea of side hustles. If you've decided to join the side-hustle world, and you've brainstormed your side hustle idea, you'll want to start pulling together a business plan. For help with exploring side-hustle ideas, brainstorming, and the planning steps that lead to this business plan phase, check out my book Side Hustles For Dummies. If you’ve ever done a jigsaw puzzle, you know that you typically start with a little portion of the overall puzzle in, say, the top left corner. Then maybe you shift to working on the bottom right side; then move to somewhere in the middle; and so on. That's sort of how you put a business plan together — a document that eventually shows the whole picture. When it comes to business plans, you have a little bit of a challenge on your hands: If you put 10 people in a room, you’ll get 20 opinions about what a business plan should look like! You’ve probably come across this same problem when you worked on your résumé, with one person telling you to structure your résumé one way, and another person indignantly disagreeing and insisting that you write your résumé a totally different way! I have some good news for you when it comes to trying to make sense out of all the different guidance you’ll find for how to write a business plan: For a side hustle, you have a lot more leeway in the order of topics that you cover — and even what you do and don’t include — than if, say, you’re putting together a business plan in search of a large bank loan or millions of dollars of venture capital investment. Maybe, someday, if your side hustle really hits its stride and starts growing toward your ideal scenario, you’ll have to worry about making sure that your business plan matches the structure that a bank or private equity firm, or some venture capital company, insists on seeing. For now, though, think in terms of pitching your side hustle to yourself — an audience of one. Are you painting a cohesive and compelling picture of how to get your side hustle going? If your side hustle is a gig-economy job, such as delivery services or ridesharing, you can probably skip over the whole business-plan stuff. However, if your gig services are along the lines of pet-sitting or bartending or doing handyman work — basically, if you’re setting up a small-business structure even though you plan to land gigs from side hustle–oriented platforms — you should at least jot down bullet points for most of the business plan sections. Your side hustle business plan should include the following sections. A short overview and a really short elevator pitch If you're in the business plan phase of your side-hustle planning, you should be able to clearly articulate exactly what your side hustle is going to be, so write it down! In fact, write it down twice! Start off your business plan with both: A one-paragraph (two paragraphs at most) highly summarized version of every key aspect of your side hustle A single-sentence elevator pitch that summarizes your summarized version (got that?) even more! Having an elevator pitch means being able to describe an idea so persuasively in about the duration of the typical elevator ride that the person to whom you’re talking is crystal clear about the most critical or unique aspects of your concept. As an example, one side-hustle starter's — let's call her Sarah — business plan starts with: "I will design, craft, and sell custom-made jewelry. I will build a Shopify site that I will promote using online marketing and advertising techniques, such as Facebook and Instagram ads, Google Ads, and short demonstration videos on YouTube and TikTok, that will link to my site. I will run the business out of my house. I’ve lined up primary and backup suppliers for all materials and tools." Then Sarah adds her elevator pitch: "I will sell custom-made jewelry from my Shopify site that I will promote through a variety of online ads." As Sarah works her way through the rest of her business plan, she can refer back to this section and adjust the wording as necessary. For now, though, she has placed a stake into the fertile side-hustle soil and is ready to start planting. Your time commitment Your business plan is for a side hustle, so you need to be crystal clear with yourself about exactly how much time you plan to spend on your venture. Plus, if you have specific time constraints, like “only evenings after work,” or “only on weekends,” or “only on Wednesday evening and all day Saturday,” you need to acknowledge these constraints and write them down. As you go through the rest of your business plan, you now have an “official statement” that describes your available time that you can use as a sanity check for your side hustle’s details. For example, suppose you plan to do software development on the side. However, because of extra hours you need to work at your full-time job, you only have about 15 hours a week available for your side hustle. You can certainly take on a little bit of software development here and there, but you’ll need to focus on shorter-duration tasks, such as building template-based websites or doing some light software configuration rather than heavy-duty application development. If you don’t have a full-time job and, instead, have a portfolio of several different side hustles, documenting your available time is still important to help make sure that your side hustles don’t clash because of conflicting demands for your time. Your schedule and major milestones Whatever your side hustle is, you have an idea of what you'd like it to be in the future. Maybe your longer-term plan is built around expanding your business, or maybe you have no intentions of growing your business at all, and you just intend to get a little business up and running and keep it going. Think about what your side hustle will look like in time increments that make sense for you — three or six months from today, in a year, three years, etc. Regardless of your expectations and the timeline for those, document it all in your business plan, along with key milestones and decision points along that timeline. Key players in your side hustle Your business plan also should include the other people and companies you'll need to connect with. If you plan to make and sell clothing, who will be your wholesale suppliers? Who will be your key points of contact — the actual people — at each one of those wholesalers? As another example, if your side hustle will be buying and selling baseball cards and other sports collectibles, will you do this via eBay, or other auction houses? Revisiting our jewelry maker, Sarah, who will be her suppliers of metals and tools? No matter what your side hustle is, and even if you’re going solo, you’ll almost certainly be involved with other people and companies at some point. Write all of these details down in your business plan, including any designated backup companies or services that you may switch to at some point. Your customers You need to identify who will comprise your target market (the people to whom you’ll try to sell your products or watch your videos or take your course, or for whom you’ll provide weekend landscaping or bartending services, or whatever your side hustle is). Sometimes, your target market can (and should) be as broad as possible. After all, if you have a potential customer out there somewhere in the world, why not try to attract that person to your business? For example, you might be selling clothing and accessories online to “the world at large” — basically, anybody who wants to place an order on your website for a blouse or leisurewear or a necklace can do so. You might get to know some of your regular customers, but for the most part these customers will be anonymous to you. In other situations, you should narrow your target market to better focus on catching the attention of a person or another business even more likely to be in your side hustle “sweet spot.” For example, Sarah’s customer base will be broad, at least initially. At some point down the road, Sarah may wholesale her jewelry to other online and in-person retailers for them to retail. At that point, she needs to go back and adjust her business plan to more precisely target certain customers — maybe not specific names of people and businesses, but at least descriptions of the types of retailers to which she’ll sell her jewelry. Startup money, budget, and financial projections This part of your business plan includes how much startup capital you’ll need, how to budget, how to forecast sales and expenses, and more. Your business plan needs to include the key aspects of the financial side of your side hustle. (How to figure out all of these things is my book Side Hustles For Dummies.) Pretend that you’re pitching your side hustle to an investor, and you also happen to be that investor. Convince yourself that you have all your financial ducks in a row. How you’ll operate This part of your business plan should include the business processes through which you’ll operate your side hustle. And you should add as much detail as possible. For example, Sarah’s side hustle has nine internal processes: buying materials and tools, deciding on her product list, building her website and storefront, and so on. She needs to take each of those processes and break them down into the underlying steps that she’ll do. She can simply list the steps as bullet points or a numbered list. Risks and mitigation It's important to consider the risks involved in your side hustle idea, and how you could mitigate those risks. List how you intend to counteract and neutralize the risk. As you’ve been working through your business plan, you may have come across a new risk or two, or come up with a new mitigation strategy for a risk that you’ve already documented. So, spend a little bit of time and take a fresh look at your list, and make any necessary updates. You can check out Business Plans For Dummies by Paul Tiffany and Steven D. Peterson for much more information about business plan structure and content, especially if your side hustle really catches on and you’re looking to take it to that mythical “next level.”

View Article
page 1
page 2
page 3
page 4
page 5
page 6
page 7
page 8
page 9
page 10
page 11
page 12
page 13
page 14
page 15
page 16
page 17
page 18
page 19
page 20
page 21
page 22
page 23
page 24
page 25
page 26
page 27
page 28
page 29
page 30
page 31
page 32
page 33
page 34
page 35
page 36
page 37
page 38
page 39
page 40
page 41
page 42
page 43
page 44
page 45
page 46
page 47
page 48
page 49
page 50
page 51
page 52
page 53
page 54
page 55
page 56
page 57
page 58
page 59
page 60
page 61
page 62
page 63
page 64
page 65
page 66
page 67
page 68
page 69
page 70
page 71
page 72
page 73
page 74
page 75
page 76
page 77
page 78
page 79
page 80
page 81
page 82
page 83
page 84
page 85
page 86
page 87
page 88
page 89
page 90
page 91
page 92
page 93
page 94
page 95
page 96
page 97
page 98
page 99
page 100
page 101
page 102
page 103
page 104
page 105
page 106
page 107
page 108
page 109
page 110
page 111
page 112
page 113
page 114
page 115
page 116
page 117
page 118
page 119
page 120
page 121
page 122
page 123
page 124
page 125
page 126
page 127
page 128
page 129
page 130
page 131
page 132
page 133
page 134
page 135
page 136
page 137
page 138
page 139
page 140
page 141
page 142
page 143
page 144
page 145
page 146
page 147
page 148
page 149
page 150
page 151
page 152
page 153
page 154
page 155
page 156
page 157
page 158
page 159
page 160
page 161
page 162
page 163
page 164
page 165
page 166
page 167
page 168
page 169
page 170
page 171
page 172
page 173
page 174
page 175
page 176
page 177
page 178
page 179
page 180
page 181
page 182
page 183
page 184
page 185
page 186
page 187
page 188
page 189
page 190
page 191
page 192
page 193
page 194
page 195
page 196
page 197
page 198
page 199
page 200
page 201
page 202
page 203
page 204
page 205
page 206
page 207
page 208
page 209
page 210
page 211
page 212
page 213
page 214
page 215
page 216
page 217
page 218
page 219
page 220
page 221
page 222
page 223
page 224
page 225
page 226
page 227
page 228
page 229
page 230
page 231
page 232
page 233
page 234
page 235
page 236
page 237
page 238
page 239
page 240
page 241
page 242
page 243
page 244
page 245
page 246
page 247
page 248
page 249
page 250
page 251
page 252
page 253
page 254
page 255
page 256
page 257
page 258
page 259
page 260
page 261
page 262
page 263
page 264
page 265
page 266
page 267
page 268
page 269
page 270
page 271
page 272
page 273
page 274
page 275
page 276
page 277
page 278
page 279
page 280
page 281
page 282
page 283
page 284
page 285
page 286
page 287
page 288
page 289
page 290
page 291
page 292
page 293
page 294
page 295
page 296
page 297
page 298
page 299
page 300
page 301
page 302
page 303
page 304
page 305
page 306
page 307
page 308
page 309
page 310
page 311
page 312
page 313
page 314
page 315
page 316
page 317
page 318
page 319
page 320
page 321
page 322
page 323
page 324
page 325
page 326
page 327
page 328
page 329
page 330
page 331
page 332
page 333
page 334
page 335
page 336
page 337
page 338
page 339
page 340
page 341
page 342
page 343
page 344
page 345
page 346
page 347
page 348
page 349
page 350
page 351
page 352
page 353
page 354
page 355
page 356
page 357
page 358
page 359
page 360
page 361
page 362
page 363
page 364
page 365
page 366
page 367
page 368
page 369
page 370
page 371
page 372
page 373
page 374
page 375
page 376
page 377
page 378
page 379
page 380
page 381
page 382
page 383
page 384
page 385
page 386
page 387
page 388
page 389
page 390
page 391
page 392
page 393
page 394
page 395
page 396
page 397
page 398
page 399
page 400
page 401
page 402
page 403
page 404
page 405
page 406
page 407
page 408
page 409
page 410
page 411
page 412
page 413
page 414
page 415
page 416
page 417
page 418
page 419
page 420
page 421
page 422
page 423
page 424
page 425
page 426
page 427
page 428
page 429
page 430
page 431
page 432
page 433
page 434
page 435
page 436
page 437
page 438
page 439
page 440
page 441
page 442
page 443
page 444
page 445
page 446
page 447
page 448
page 449
page 450
page 451
page 452
page 453
page 454
page 455
page 456
page 457
page 458
page 459
page 460
page 461
page 462
page 463
page 464
page 465
page 466
page 467
page 468
page 469
page 470
page 471
page 472
page 473
page 474
page 475
page 476
page 477
page 478
page 479
page 480
page 481
page 482
page 483
page 484
page 485
page 486
page 487
page 488
page 489
page 490
page 491
page 492
page 493
page 494
page 495
page 496
page 497
page 498
page 499
page 500
page 501
page 502
page 503
page 504
page 505
page 506
page 507
page 508
page 509
page 510
page 511
page 512
page 513
page 514
page 515
page 516
page 517
page 518
page 519
page 520
page 521
page 522
page 523
page 524
page 525
page 526
page 527
page 528
page 529
page 530
page 531
page 532
page 533
page 534
page 535
page 536
page 537
page 538
page 539
page 540
page 541
page 542
page 543
page 544
page 545
page 546
page 547
page 548
page 549
page 550
page 551
page 552
page 553
page 554
page 555
page 556
page 557
page 558
page 559
page 560
page 561
page 562
page 563
page 564
page 565
page 566
page 567
page 568
page 569
page 570
page 571
page 572
page 573
page 574
page 575
page 576
page 577
page 578
page 579
page 580
page 581
page 582
page 583
page 584
page 585
page 586
page 587
page 588
page 589
page 590
page 591
page 592
page 593
page 594
page 595
page 596
page 597
page 598
page 599
page 600
page 601
page 602
page 603
page 604
page 605
page 606
page 607
page 608
page 609
page 610
page 611
page 612
page 613
page 614
page 615
page 616

Quick Links

  • About For Dummies
  • Contact Us
  • Activate a Book Pin

Connect

Opt in to our newsletter!

By entering your email address and clicking the “Submit” button, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Dummies.com, which may include marketing promotions, news and updates.

About Dummies

Dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand. Dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. Whether it's to pass that big test, qualify for that big promotion or even master that cooking technique; people who rely on dummies, rely on it to learn the critical skills and relevant information necessary for success.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Cookies Settings
Do Not Sell My Personal Info - CA Only