K Strategy Consulting News

New Book from Green Rabbit Press

jeffkaron@aol.com (Jeffrey Karon) — Tue, 31 May 2022 17:55:23 GMT

My poetry chapbook has just been published.

I am honored to have my chapbook, If Only the Cherry Blossoms Had Not Fallen , published by Green Rabbit Press of Saint Leo University. The editor and publisher, Patrick Crerand, has done an outstanding job to bring this about.

Training at TECO Energy

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 20:56:34 GMT

Free download

I've had a wonderful experience working with TECO employees, supervisors, trainers, and managers on different types of workplace communication--at this point, I've spent well over 120 hours at two locations. I can attest that everyone I have met really is focused on providing the best service possible as well as supporting each other daily.

There is a link on this website's main page to a temporary free download of a manual that provides some guidance on business report vocabulary and best practices.

On Business Gurus and Ninjas, Part I

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:52:09 GMT

Are there really any "secrets" worth paying for?

Are there secrets to business success, including just the right mix of social media exposure, search engine optimization, cross-platform compatibility, big data analytics, and personal habits that track the methods the most successful entrepreneurs employ? The answer would be yes judging by the number of books, websites, and speakers who promise to reveal the secrets that will propel us to greater success and prosperity.

But maybe we are like the participants in the Red Queen’s race in Through the Looking-Glass , running faster and faster to just stay in place. Whatever tricks we employ, we can be sure that others are there before us—and those others may be faceless algorithms that ensure that there are no ultimate, clear winners. Anyone who promises us unfettered access to “secrets” may be well-meaning or not, but that promise has been a marketing ploy for centuries, its practitioners aware that we will pay more to get ahead of the competition, even if in reality we are barely keeping up.

How, then, should we treat business lessons provided by experts? How much skepticism is warranted and when can we trust a course of action?

Part II will suggest how critical thinking can be applied to business expertise.

Business Writing and Errors

Thu, 21 Feb 2019 19:49:02 GMT

A recent workshop experience at Tampa Bay Steel

On February 1, I had the pleasure of conducting a workshop on Effective Business Writing for Tampa Bay Steel. The attendees were front-line employees who could relate clearly how various writing demands could trip them up, causing misunderstandings and unintended consequences. I was impressed by their dedication as well as general good cheer in giving up an afternoon to our workshop, for most of them one that came right before their late shift. We focused particularly on default strategies for strong emails and letters, as well as the differences between the two choices.

I also was impressed that the company president stopped by before the workshop to speak with me briefly. That gesture demonstrated that he--and the company--cared about positive, effective communication that avoids accidental errors and missed opportunities. I've been reflecting on this attitude since writing (yesterday) a 2,000-word article for an editing network on the importance of certain publishing formats. I managed to mess up the punctuation of a standard term, which was quickly brought to my attention by another editor so it could be fixed before final publication.

I've been asked on many occasions how many errors business writing can contain before it is discounted by readers and my answer has been zero . Since that is unrealistic for human beings, then our next best strategy is to build up a reputation for accuracy so that when our errors are spotted they are assumed to be aberrations, rather than the norm. I'd rather do business with someone who spots his or her own error and admits to it rather than someone who hopes that we won't notice.

Customers, Clients, and Choice

jeffkaron@aol.com (Jeffrey Karon) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 20:47:19 GMT

A building block of business honor

When we intentionally keep quit about choices, or actively deceive our customers or clients about them, then we are not acting honorably. Conversely, letting our clients and customers know about their real, effective choices helps build a reputation for honorable behavior.

When and to what degree are we willing to inform others of choices, even if doing so could lead to a (short-term) loss of business? Have you ever been willing to do so?

Article on Virtual Reality and Proposal Management

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 17:33:10 GMT

Explore the early steps of VR, productivity, and proposal management

Jeff Karon's newest article, " Embracing Virtual Proposals: Embracing the VR Revolution ," was just published in the magazine Winning the Business , published by APMP. The article details the first steps into VR for proposal management professionals.

Employee Management Workshop

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 16:45:20 GMT

Managing conflict and setting employees up for success

Jeff Karon will lead a workshop (through the ICCE ) at TransCore on on September 19 and 20 on effective employee management, focusing particularly on avoiding conflicts and providing useful feedback that strengthens employees. Though trends in management theory will be covered (quickly), the focus will be on practice and simulations.

Helping Visually-Impaired Customers and Clients

jeffkaron@aol.com (Jeffrey Karon) — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Easy Ways to Ensure Compliance

If you use current Microsoft Office products—either Office 360 or the stand-alone programs such as Word 2016—you have some great tools at your disposal for making your materials compliant for the visually impaired. For example, if you produce anything that has an image, you can right-click on it and choose Edit Alt Text from the menu. Then you can enter a descriptive phrase that could be processed by software often employed by visually-impaired readers. There’s also a box that can be checked if the image is pure “decoration” and thus not relevant to understanding the document (whether there should or shouldn’t be much decoration is another topic).

There are other related tools available in Microsoft programs, but providing Alt Text as a default is a way to move toward the compliance that increasingly will mark documents and sites on the Web (and the idea is related to the web design standard of always providing “alt” tags for images so that they can be understood by search engines and other software). And, most important, doing so puts our readers, customers, and clients first.

Technical Writing Workshop

jeffkaron@aol.com (Jeffrey Karon) — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 22:05:40 GMT

Four Keys to Technical Writing for the Workplace

Jeff Karon will teach a two-day technical writing workshop for professionals at the ICCE Corporate Training Center on August 21 and 22. The workshop covers technical writing strategies that improve workplace writing, including reports, proposals, emails, and web text. The first day provides the strategies and guided application. The second day includes workplace simulation of actual technical writing challenges.

For more information, go to https://catalog.tampatraining.com/browse/professionaldevelopment/courses/ecd-8308-22862