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 19 August 2009 

Management Training for Information Technology Managers & Technologists; A Seminar Outline

Technologists typically under-perform as managers. Not only because they might lack a particular skill set, but also because of the expectation of vocational perfection.

There is a passion for the perfect in their products.

But to understand and practice management, a “batting-average” model of non-perfection is needed.

There is a difference between the work of the individual contributor and the contribution of the manager. The IT professional, as an individual contributor, brings a new vision for a product or service.

But introducing the Next Big Thing requires basic management.

The technologist-IT professional is an individual contributor whose work is the creation of “perfection.” But management does not — must not — deal only in this perfection. It is the managerial skill set which brings the individual contributor’s perfect product to accomplish the mission.

Managers need to understand a different kind of network. A ‘Network of Support’–the ability of the technologist as manager to get the support of vendors, advisors, external stakeholders, customers, superiors and subordinates.

The IT professional should see his role as manager with a new formula: Work + Network = Results.

The success of the technologist depends as much on his ability to manage as his brilliance in new product application.

At the completion of this presentation, the attendee will understand,

1. The Management Equation: Vocational Time vs. Management Time

2. How Management Really Works: The Network of Management

3. The Who and How of Promotions: The Freedom Scale

4. The Mistake of Micro-Management: The Nervous Manager

5. How to Persuade Senior Management: The Commander’s Intent

John (Jack) Yoest served as Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources in Virginia, where he was responsible for the technology management of the successful Year 2000 conversion for the $5 billion, 16,000-employee unit.

Yoest is an Adjunct Professor of Management in the Business Technologies Division of the Northern Virginia Community College. He teaches advance management practices.

He is the former president of Computer Applications and Development Integration that provided software solutions in criminal justice.

A former Army Captain on the U.S. Armor and Engineer Board, Yoest directed research in night vision and electro-optics.

Jack has been published by Scripps-Howard News Service and has contributed to Small Business Trends, Small Business Trends Radio, The Business Monthly, Business & Media Institute and National Review Online. His web-log was nominated for Best Business Blog in 2006.

He earned an MBA from George Mason University and completed graduate work at Oxford University.

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 8 August 2009 

Senior Management Training: Principles of Management, Business 200; Northern Virginia Community College

Your Business Blogger(R) teaches the practice of Management at the local Community College.

Syllabus Principles of Management BUSiness 200

BUS 200 Principles of Management

John Wesley Yoest, Jr. (Jack)

Adjunct Professor of ManagementBusiness Technologies Division

BUS 200-003A LEC 18840 Principles of Management (Lecture)

Wednesdays 7:30PM – 10:15PM

A-Bisdorf/AA- Room 437

Aug 26, 2009 to Dec 16, 2009

Main Campus:

Northern Virginia Community College

3001 North Beauregard Street

Alexandria, VA 22311

NVCC phone: 703 845-6200

Fax: 703-845-6009

Jack@Yoest.org

or,

JYoest@NVCC.edu

Cell: 202.215.2434

Education:

M.B.A., George Mason University

B.S., Old Dominion University

Course Work, Oxford University

1) Course Objective:

Prerequisites: Each student must be able to

1) Read and write English fluently, and

2) Have the desire to understand how to manage
an organization

The course will enable students to acquire knowledge concerning the basic principles and
practice of management — including the ability to problem solve, plan, organize, reason, and communicate, lead, control and influence.

Text:

MGMT2, 2009-2010 edition; Chuck Williams; Centage Learning, 2010. Complete ownership/access to the text is a course requirement.

2) Academic Requirements:

ASSIGNMENTS:

Homework: There will be reading assignments from the text for every class.

Find a friend. Exchange contact information with at least one class member to keep current on any missed classes. This is a course requirement. Your Business Professor is not the primary contact.

Establish a domain name. The student will reserve and claim a URL address, for example: www.yoest.com, www.yoest.org. This is a course requirement.

Quizzes: Expect a short quiz in the first ten minutes of every class period. Questions may be true/false, very short answer, or fill-in-the-blank.

Class Participation: The Student is expected to volunteer and help move the class discussions.

Examinations: There will be a Mid-Term and Final Exam; multiple choice and short answer. The Final Exam will be given on 16 December, the last day of class. The Final is not comprehensive.

Case Study: One case
study will be solved in writing (Typed, 12 pt type, double-spaced with a cover sheet) and returned to the instructor on — or before — the date due. Practice cases will be covered in class and sample questions will be given as a guideline (2-3 pages in length). The student should be prepared to deliver a Two Minute Review of the Case Study.

Case Study grading scale:

Business in the News: Each student will be required to give a brief five minute oral presentation on a current-event newspaper article. This current-event/internet assignment will be turned in with student notes.

This presentation should be organized:

At the conclusion of the presentation you will turn in a print-out of the article, being sure to include the newspaper source, date, and website.

Current Event grading scale:

Grade Point Allocation:

Exams: 10 points each; 20 points total

Quizzes: Ten @ two points each; 20 points total

Current Event Business in the News: 10 each points; 20 points total

Case Study: 30 points

Class Participation/Text Book: 8 points

Exchange contact info: One point

Claim Domain Name: One point

Total = 100 percent

Class Participation: This will be a subjective measure at the discretion of the instructor. Even with the grade structure following, making your voice heard and preparedness are important — they could make the difference in a borderline grade.

Course Grading System:

A = 90-100

B = 80-89

C = 70-79

D = 60-69

F = 0-59

BUS 200 Semester Outline; There will be 16 class sessions.

26 August

2 September

9 September

16 September

23 September

30 September

7 October

14 October

21 October

28 October

4 November

11 November

18 November

25 November off for Thanksgiving

2 December

9 December

16 December

3) Attendance:

Regular attendance of this course is expected. Failure to do so
could have an adverse effect on the student’s course grade. Any class
material and assignments missed are the student’s responsibility. Success will depend upon showing up.

It is a requirement that the student exchange names and contact information with at least one classmate.

Excessive absences, as defined in the college
catalog, could result in the student receiving the grade ‘F’ for the
course.

Testing and Grading:

Attendance at scheduled tests and presentations is mandatory. No make-ups will be
given — there are no exceptions from Your Business Professor.

Case Study Papers will not be accepted late and must be presented in person.

Normally this instructor will assign only the grades of A, B, C, D,
or F. Special grades such as W, I, and R will be assigned only in those
circumstances prescribed in the college catalog. The grade of X (audit)
must be initiated by the student and will be assigned only when the
student has attended class regularly.

Failure to do so will result in the instructor issuing the grade of ‘F’.

The Successful Student will devote two hours of class preparation for each hour of class room instruction.

The student will be asked to grade the effectiveness of each test.

Withdrawals:

Any student may withdraw from this course without academic penalty
within the first 60% of the session. Initiation of the withdrawal is
the student’s responsibility and the grade of ‘W’ will be awarded. The
last day for withdrawal, without academic penalty, for this
semester/session is _______________. Beyond this date dropping a course
or failure to attend will result in the grade of ‘F’ except under
mitigating circumstances. Documentation of these circumstances is
required AND a grade of ‘W’ implies that the student was making
satisfactory progress (passing) in the course at the time of the
withdrawal.

If a student misses the first two weeks of class s/he will be dropped from the class.

Special Needs and Accommodations:

Please address with the instructor any special problems or needs at
the beginning of the semester/session. If the student is seeking
accommodations based on disability, then s/he should provide a disability
data sheet, which can be obtained from the Counselor for Special Needs.

Cheating:

The following will be considered cheating in this course:

4) Notes and suggestions and hints:

Last Day for Schedule Adjustments with Tuition
Refund is ____________.

Last Day to Withdraw Without Grade Penalty or Change
to Audit is _________.

Attendance will be taken at each class.

Check the course catalog first for questions.

Be sure to log onto Blackboard to follow assignments
and current grade.

Expect to be asked to contribute to each class
session.

Do not text-message during class.

When Your Business Professor says “Tomorrow” he
means the next class meeting — not the next day.

It is normal and customary to wait for any late
Professor for 20 minutes.

Draft Your Own Reference
Letter.

Additional information and public
speaking helps.

Refer your friends to take this business class.

Canceled Classes: If class is canceled for any reason, the student is still
responsible for the material due. Any quiz on that material might be given at
the next class, in addition to the regularly scheduled quiz.

Campus classes are
closed by division, day or evening. Sometimes day classes will meet and evening
classes will be canceled or vice versa. The evening division starts with 4:30
p.m. classes.

Other Business Division courses:

ACC 211 Accounting	BUS 165 Small Business Management
AST 107 Editing and Proofreading	BUS 200 Principles of Management
AST 236 Software Applications or IST 117	BUS 241-1 Business Law I and II
	BUS 280 International Business
BUS 100 Introduction to Business	FIN 215 Financial Management
BUS 125 Applied Business Math	ITE 115 Intro to Computer Applications and Concepts

Be sure to follow on Twitter.

 5 August 2009 

The One Minute (Small Business) Manager Meets the Monkey; PowerPoint Presentation

Following is the brief PowerPoint presentation on the seminar The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey.

It is scheduled to be delivered to my Small Business Management class for entrepreneurs at the Northern Virginia Community College on 6 August 2009 at 7pm. Register by emailing me.

One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey.ppt

See more on this popular lecture, see the invitation and videos here.

Also follow Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Twitter: @JackYoest and @CharmaineYoest

 1 August 2009 

Marketing, Aristotle and Reality: Good, True & Beautiful?

The Dude Charmaine and I were ecstatic. Our son, The Dude, won a small part as Thomas Jefferson’s grandson for a movie. When we told our 4-year-old little guy about his new role, he started to tear up.

The Dude cried, “But I don’t want to be in someone else’s family!”

We were surprised, “No,no, Dude, it’s pretend. You’ll always be our boy…”

“I can’t be anyone else.”

Charmaine and I attempted to reassure. Told him it was good. But the little Dude was convinced that he was being placed into a new family.

And it was true. And this would serve a purpose. He would pretend to be something he wasn’t. But we’ve always taught him never to deceive.

But this was, well, Hollywood.

This is marketing. This is different.

Marketing Superstar And this is what Business Pundit by Rob May wrote about in Lying, Marketing and Perception. Rob was a winner in the 2005 Marketing SuperStar Awards.

Rob May at Business Pundit has
Lying, Marketing, and Perception Rob’s article and analysis speaks to our sight and sound generation.

Rob reminds us that:

…our reality is determined as much by what happens in our heads as what happens external to them. In other words, perception is reality.

The Dude really thought he was leaving our family. Goodness, we even told him so. It was true. But it wasn’t, really.

Rob uses a pollution example:

Why are we so focused on cutting smog when it’s indoor pollutants that are killing us? Because we believe all the pollutants are outdoors. So when we are inside, we feel better because we believe we should feel better. And that is what Seth Godin means when calls marketers liars. By believing the lie, it becomes true.

So our little Dude believed the lie and it became true. His portrayal became a truth.

Rob cites marketer Seth Godin again:

So the point Seth was trying to make is this. If you create a product that is targeted towards people with a certain worldview, and you tell them a story about that product that may be, in one sense, a lie, you will change their perceptions so that the lie is now a truth. And that will make their lives better. Yes it’s complex and paradoxical, but it doesn’t disrespect customers and it isn’t unethical.

The Dude’s acting served a good, and the presentation was true.

The Dude on set
Rob continues:

People have been doing this forever, Seth just pointed it out to the world. If you believe crystals have healing power and you buy them and wear them, they will probably help you heal. If you believe a magnetic bracelet will ease your pain, it probably will. Perception will become reality. If you are a marketer, your job is to help people perceive your product in a certain way, so that it will become a reality to them.

So The Dude was doing something good. His reality was that he was part of another family. And it became true.

And his performance was beautiful.

Good, True and Beautiful.

Aristotle would be pleased.

###

Was this helpful? Do comment.

Thank you (foot)notes:

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Noah Kagan has more Marketing Best Blogs at Okdork.com. My picks.

The Dude’s movie was the CBS miniseries, Sally Hemings, An American Scandal, February, 2000.
Sam Neill …. Thomas Jefferson
Carmen Ejogo …. Sally Hemings
Diahann Carroll …. Betty Hemings
Mare Winningham …. Martha ‘Patsy’ Jefferson Randolph
Mario Van Peebles …. James Hemings
Rene Auberjonois …. James Callender
Zeljko Ivanek …. Thomas Mann Randolph
Klea Scott …. Critta Hemings
Jessica Townsend …. Maria ‘Polly’ Jefferson
Larry Gilliard Jr. …. Henry Jackson
Kevin Conway …. Thomas Paine
Amelia Heinle …. Harriet Hemings
Peter Bradbury …. Samuel Carr
Chris Stafford …. Peter Carr
Kelly Rutherford …. Lady Maria Cosway
Directed by Charles Haid