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Showing posts with label Essentials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Essentials. Show all posts

Tree Maps

Have you ever heard of Tree Maps? In fact, a Tree map is a Big Brother of both Bar Charts and Pie Charts.
Tree-maps are a complex but powerful information visualization technique.
They were introduced in Shneiderman, 1992. Tree Maps are used to visualize hierarchical data as a set of nested rectangles.
As mentioned, the concept of tree-maps is basically from Ben Shneiderman an American computer scientist from University of Maryland as a solution to his problem of understanding and visualizing who is using how much of disk space ( It was 80 MB  of disk space shared by 14 people in those days ! )
You can read a wonderful article by Ben Sheneiderman titled " Discovering Business Intelligence Using Tree-map Visualizations.
Tree maps can show relatives size of each component in the hierarchy and also use color coding to show another attribute. Here is an example of a simple tree-map .
This picture is taken from Wikipedia
The size of Rectangle denotes the waiting time for patients in NHS Primary care Trust in UK.
There is  another variant of Tree maps that uses circles instead of rectangles. Someone called it as pebbles. Here is an example of a pebbles Chart.
This shows GDP Per capita of countries in PPP Terms in $ International
This is the same data in a Tree chart
Creating Tree-maps is a Complex work and need considerable skills . Here I provide you two easiest ways to create Tree maps.
      1. Use Microsoft Excel
      2. Use ManyEyes, an IBM Initiative to create and share data visualizations on Web
Visit my earlier Post on Many Eyes : Text Visualization-Many Eyes
Microsoft  Research Provides a Free excel Add-in, that makes the job of creating Interactive Tree Maps in Excel easy.
Here is the link to download Excel Add-in
1.Tree Maps Free Excel add in - Link 1

2.Tree Maps Free Excel Add in - Alternative Link from Microsoft Store.
for more advanced users who can handle xmls , Here is a site to download a Java based Tree visualization Programme. Here is the Link
http://www.randelshofer.ch/treeviz/
According to the web site,
The project currently consists of a file browser demo, which visualizes the file system with the following tree diagrams:
  • Hyperbolic Tree
  • Circular Tree-map
  • Rectangular Tree-map
  • Sunburst Tree
  • Icicle Tree
  • Sunray Tree
  • Iceray Tree
Try few Tree maps now....

Beware... Busy Executive

I wish to draw the attention of  Busy Executive to the three most common pitfalls in using ... Google, Linked In and  Spell Check.

Inspiration from Google ;-)
Many a time you receive Motivating emails, Impressive quotations, elegantly crafted CVs, Well drafted letters and Reports with linguistic gymnastics.
Copy a couple of sentences and Google them. Bingo. 
You will reach the original article! The right word is Plagiarism.
It’s not uncommon for a busy executive to copy content from the Internet and create presentations and documents. The same is true while using documents from your colleagues.
Whenever you are dealing with office documents, you must remember, the official documents carry with them their properties.
What are the properties of a document?
Go to FILE in the menu on the document >> Click on PROPERTIES
You will be amazed to see the extent of information available.
Details like TITLE, AUTHOR may cause embarrassment if you have copied someone else’s file and updated the same file.
Change the author's name and other properties if you wish to avoid embarrassments.
Maybe many are not aware of the document properties… However, YOU must know!
Imagine if you had copied the CV format of your colleague and just changed the contents here and there and it goes to an HR guy who knows how to check the properties of a document!
The embarrassment is completely avoidable.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn… it's powerful with more than 175 million users. 17 Plus are from India!
India rocks with second-highest users after the USA! 17 Plus Mio are from India!
If you wish to use LinkedIn for “personal branding”, do not forget to…

Be visible…add Photo, complete profile in all respects.
Recommendations …get them.
Add value …join groups and participate in discussions.
Network … connecting is not collecting…
Differentiate yourself by demonstration of skills through Slide share and Bolg link..

 Though certain exposure is important, overexposure may be counterproductive! If you want to protect your privacy, change the settings so that, you can control who can see your updates!
Click to enlarge
Spell Check :
Today’s executives in most corporates are either Gen X or Gen Y who were brought up in the internet milieu and very few have learned traditional, almost extinct typewriters! 
The result is a high degree of dependence on computers!
With extensive use of computers, you are vulnerable to bloopers!
Blooper!
Complete faith and trust in spell checker!
A spell checker can guarantee you "correctly spelt words in a wrong context!"

 sea this example 

Dear Mad am,
I am Robert. This has reference to the telecon we had this morning regarding the role of communication export. I understand that man ageing communications is knot a joke. I am glad to inform that I attained expertise in this field as manger communications as I lead a team. I am known to be an excellent pubic speaker. would love to meat you in person to discus the some issue. I request you to send me the data and time for meeting. Please do give a massage to confirm the same. Mr. James, the HR executive must also be waiting for this massage to insure that he is present during the meeting. Please piss on the information. The summery bellow should help you prepare for the meeting. I wish to inform you that seven mules and one female colleague from our department will also be cum and  attend the meeting.
Warm regards,
Robert
Not even a single spelling error! WOW!
All errors are typo errors! 
Most often, the problem is homophones ,similar sounding words like “their” and “there” and also with similar spelling words like “manager” and “manger”.
Check the list of British English Homophones
However, Good News is here....
Office 2007 and 2010 introduced Contextual spell checker!

 Follow these steps to activate the contextual spell checker:
Step 1: Click office button
Step 2: Open Word Options
Step 3: Click Proofing

Step 4: In the When Correcting Spelling and Grammar in Word section, select the Use Contextual Spelling check box. Now Click OK. That's it!
God bless the team and Bill Gates!

By the way. Here though this deals with issues like time management and prioritization,Focus-energy, here is a 2002 publication from HBR titled Beware The Busy Manager. 
You can download this HBR article.

Tasks and Timelines

Projectization (I'm sure this is a new word!) of every task assigned is in vogue in every corporate!
Gantt charts are simple tools to represent the project schedule and status.
There are many types with various degree of complexity, however, a simple and easy Gantt chart can be created using excel.
You will be essentially tracking
  • Who will do?
  • What will they do?
  • When will they do?
  • How long it takes to do?
I have provided a week wise planner and also day wise planner to accomplish this tracking of "Projects".
Here you can download the excel tool. you can also download it from @Downloads
Its a DO.. CO..MO.. stuff (Download, Copy ,Modify)

The ' Z ' Graph for Sales - Short, Medium and Long-term Sales analysis - All at once at a glance!

Short, Medium and Long-term Sales analysis - All at once at a glance!
Sales progress is best shown in graphs.
Here is a consultant's style of showing Long-term, Medium-term and Short-term sales progress - all in one graph. All you need is, sales data for this year till this month, and the past 12 months of sales data.
The magic of the graph is it not only throws light on the long-term, medium-term and short-term, it also can show how good is your near future going to be!
Caution! 
Show it only if you have healthy & right data...if you are facing projector lens :-)
If you are the one on the other side of the lens , never forget to ask for this graph ;-)
This is called "Z" Graph.
Now let us see what are these long term, medium-term and short term sales progress
Long term sales progress is best represented by Rolling MAT
      MAT - Moving Annual Total (sum of last 12 months data - till this month)
e.g: MAT Jan-11 = Feb-10 + Mar-10 +……+ Dec-10 + Jan-11
      MAT Feb-11 = Mar-10 + Apr-10 +……+ Dec-10 + Feb-11
Medium term sales progress is best represented by YTD
YTD - Year To Date (Cumulative sales starting from the beginning of the year ..say JAN)
e.g. YTD Apr-11 = Jan-11 + Feb-11 + Mar-11 + Apr-11
       YTD Jul-11 = Jan-11 + Feb-11 + Mar-11 + Apr-11 + May-11 + Jun-11 + Jul-11
Short term sales progress is best represented by monthly sales
e.g. Jan-11 , Feb-11 , Mar-11 , Apr-11.....
Bring all the data on to a single graph, it becomes a Z-Graph.
Do not undermine the Graph, the shape of “Z”, the angle inclination, slope of arms of “Z” can through new insights.
“Z” Graph is best for sales dashboards.
Once you plot MAT,YTD and Month, You should get a graph that more or less looks like this…

The 
Red line represents Rolling MAT
Blue represents YTD and 
Green represents Monthly sales
Just to stir your thoughts, here I present you 3 scenarios!
The shape of the “Z” should give you the complete picture.

Here is one more idea to explore...
Plot your Months-To-Go and corresponding expected YTD and expected MAT figures as per the Targets/Quotas of Months-To-Go. You may get a perfect "Z" Ora a distorted "Z" like this.....


If the shape of "Z" is... as shown in the picture, it is obvious that risk is ahead unless you have a strategy to defy the trends!
All the best!
Download the excel workbook to understand better! Click Here
alternatively @downloads on this website
It's a DO.. CO..MO.. stuff (Download, Copy ,Modify)

Acknowledgements and Reference article by David Straker
One visit to David Straker’s sites will make you a regular visitor.
....In his words….
Syque (pronounced 'sike') is my knowledge-sharing site.
My purpose is to share knowledge and understanding on an unprecedented scale, adding real value for individuals and companies. Consider it as 'original books on the internet', with already over 7,000 web pages of industrial-strength knowledge freely available.

Problem ? I Google. I Solve.

Missing Excel 2010 Drag and Drop functionality.

'Excel 2010 has no drag and drop functionality' my friend declared.
He sulked....4 Months of suffering ....no solution…
I checked his computer. True. there is no drag and drop functionality. 

I checked my computer; Drag and drop are available… I thought it must be some excel setting.
So, I Googled.

The answer lies in a small tweak.
File > Options > Advanced
Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop: Ensure the box is checked.
Take a look at this Picture here the Box is not checked. So Check It....That's the Solution 


Problem? I Google. I Solve.
Four months of suffering  Vs.  Instant solution the difference is ….a friend called 


Sales Forecasting : Easy and Simple



Sales Forecasting is a Paradox. 
Theoretically, Faaaarther the Period, Poorer the Reliability.
Whereas, in the real world its the opposite...This month, not very sure; year end, guarantee. ;-)
I may not solve the Paradox but, here is a easy and simple tool to forecast sales.
Two simple rules and a bit of Stats were used to create this tool in Excel.
       ~ The near future most likely will be an extension of our known past....
           Like we know that tomorrow should more or less will be like today...The Armageddon is far away
       ~  Seasonality exists in sales and the reason may not always be the Mother nature
           Like we know soft drinks sell during summer and on a sales closing day, we do more sales
Download the Excel and take a look at the Powerpoint to understand and use the tool.
This is a DOCOMO stuff! (Download,Copy and Modify at your will...You can find them @Downloads

Gmail IDs are Dot Blind and Caps Blind - Double blind* !!!


Yes ! Gmail IDs are DOT Blind & CAPS Blind and It's Good for us
* Do not infer from medical word Double Blind 

Gmail is is DOT Blind and CAPS Blind.
This means you may use Dots and Caps as you please in a Google e-mail Id and nothing goes wrong! 
Consider... your mail ID as  firstnamesecondname@gmail.com
Gmail is DOTS blind. so, your mail id can be written as
firstname.secondname@gmail.com or
f.i.r.s.t.n.a.m.e.s.e.c.o.n.d.n.a.m.e.@gmail.com or any other combination of text and dots.
Gmail is CAPS blind. so, your mail id can be written as
FirstnameSecondname@Gmail.Com
FIRSTNAMESECONDNAME@GMAIL.COM or in any other combination of Small and CAPS

Even a combination of DOTS and CAPS works in Gmail.
That's why It is Double Blind so, your mail id can be written as

or in any other combination of Small and CAPS, Dots,No DOTS. 
Don't Worry. You mail will be delivered !

Triocto Model

Triocto Model
Here is some new funda ! 
2 X 2 Matrix is well known to all of us. Thanks to BCG!
3 X 3 Matrix will create utter confusion ! 
By the way 3 X 3 - Will it be a Matrix or a Cube ?
Here is the middle path. A 3X3 matrix on 2 dimensional grid.
Simple , Easy and Effective !
Those who use 2X2 matrix more often in their corporate lives, they can understand in a jiffy by looking at this icon!
Take a look at this presentation.... and to download, Click here

Free MS Project Viewer : MOOS

The new buzz in the corporate world is “Projectization”.
That means you will receive more and more project plans in the most widely used format “MS-Project”. As MS-Project is not a part of Routine MS Office, You would need a project viewer to view contents. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not offer a free MS Project viewer.
You need an alternative that can show the contents of MS-Project formats like. mpp, . mpx etc.

Here is one such free tool to view the files. The lite version can be downloaded from here or you can view the contents in a free online viewer web browser. You can download it from its Website here
MOOS Project Viewer : Light Version

Quick Leadership Assessment : Korn Ferry Assessment tool

Need a quick Leadership assessment? 
Want to know your hidden strengths and blind spots?
Try this new tool on LinkedIn . All you need is 10 minutes of time.
It's Free! I recommend it . Try it now. Enjoy....

 You will discover your Top 5 Leadership characteristics. You need to follow 3 Steps that would take about 10 minutes of your time.

These 3 Steps are :
    Step 1 : Strength Sort : This takes about 5 minutes
    Step 2 : Weakness Sort : This takes about 3 minutes
    Step 3 : Word Pairs : This takes about 2 minutes
After completing the assessment, you will be able to download a personalized report.
You can share results on LinkedIn and also request your LinkedIn connections to assess you. 
You may discover hidden strengths and also your blind spots.

You can use LinkedIn version or an online version -Whichever suits you!

 Here are the links...
Korn Ferry Assessment on Linkedin
Korn Ferry Assessment : Online Version
Korn Ferry Website
Using Assessments : A PDF for your understanding.

Live web pages in PowerPoint

There will be many occasions where you wanted to show a live webpage in PowerPoint without moving away from the presentation.
This is where  Live Web Pages for PowerPoint will be of great use...This is a small simple and easy to use add-in for PowerPoint.
You can insert Live Web Pages in a slide and can also refresh the webpage during a slideshow or live presentation.
This add-in is one from a fantastic Powerpoint add-in created by Micorosft's Most Valuable Professional  Shyam Pillai.
LiveWeb - insert and view web pages real-time.
How to use this Live Web is explained Step by Step in this blog. Here is the link.

How to use Live Web Pages for Powerpoint

I recommend you to browse  Shyam Pillai's site for many useful tips and PowerPoint Add-ins.

Meeting requests in Outlook across Time-zones

Those who send meeting requests for Webcast across the world  often encounter with the problem of Time zones . 

It's difficult to understand whether the timing is appropriate or not  for all participants to join. The timing that is convenient to you may be out of office hours for the participants. So you need a tool that should tell you what will be the time in their country against the proposed meeting time by you.
At this juncture, It is prudent to understand how outlook handles time zones.

Outlook has built-in Time zone manager. The simple explanation on how it works  is...

When the requester mentions time  for an appointment,It shows Time according to the time set    for the requester's time. and in the background It converts it in to GMT.

When it sends the appointment to attendee, it converts the time from GMT to the local time based on the time setting of the attendee's computer!
In the process, it also considers daylight saving time adjustments also while transferring and showing the appointment on the attendee's calendar!

If you are looking for more details,read the article by Microsoft  :

How Outlook handles time zones for meeting requests

Now that we have understood the basics of Outlook appoint management, lets get back to our problem...

Understanding appropriateness of time across time zones while scheduling meetings and sending an invite on Outlook.

Here is a simple and wonderful Outlook add-in that was an outcome of 'bad'experiences of the author Shai Raiten.

Here is the link to his post and the download link for Add-in

Appointment World Times – Outlook 2010 Add in













The add in is very easy to install and simple to use...
 As you input the Timing according to your Calender, It shows the time in various countries(to be selected from list to avoid the clutter of all countries) 

The add in is brilliant piece of work by Shai Ratien, a Microsoft Most valuable Professional.
I recommend it to all those who work with people across timezones. 

Time Management - Old, but Simple and Effective


From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®. Stephen R. Covey's book

https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

No time to backup your data? Sync with a click!

We all know how important backup is.. each one of us must have suffered the loss of data because of a system crash. Despite such experiences, we dare to avoid regular backups.
It's not laziness in most cases. It's because it takes time – Yes! It takes time.
Why it takes time? Because you do not know what to back up! That’s the truth.
You do not want to search through all files you created since the last backup.
That’s where SyncToy helps. It does a backup and synchronizes the files created from the last backup. As it does backup of only the new files, Time taken is less!
Bingo!

You can download Sync Toy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows. It's Free!
It can synchronize files from different computers -  Computer to external storage etc.
Read what Microsoft says about this SyncToy.

SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder. 

Download SyncToy here

Know Thou Salary

March - April Months: Appraisals-Compensation Review - New Salaries...
Some satisfied.. Some grumbling...Some smiles and some frowns...
Bet on Learning, Contributing and Developing....The salary change will just be incidental!
This post is for those looking for some information to understand the components of the salary.
Watch the presentation. You can Download, Copy, Modify and Share the presentation.

Googling Skills - Repost

Google is indispensable.
We have never learned Googling. Nor never felt a need to learn Google.
However, learning the tricks to search Google can make you better.
You will be able to reach better information, faster
Here are the tips…
Do not hesitate to click the link and download the PowerPoint.

Data data everywhere .. not even a...

Presenting data is a challenge! It will remain a challenge forever - whatever you do.
Why so? Because it's data!

Data is everywhere….now days it's free of cost...most of the times…
The audience is interested in the insights, not the data. Not the boring data.

Here is a video from Ted talk that demonstrates..,.. how great insights from a huge amount of data can be presented very lucidly…Watch it…

Next time you are tempted to present data…remember this…
Present " INSIGHTS "... not data…

The God's Gift and the Curse !


It is said that Spreadsheets are God's Gift to 'Corporate Mankind' and PowerPoint is his curse!
Both have brought cultural revolution across the world. 
PowerPoint made Careers... PowerPoint ruined Careers! 
It was 22'May'1990, The mighty indispensable PowerPoint was officially launched. ! 22 years ago.
(With over 95% MS, it must be indispensable - Right ?)

A Billion computers hold these programmes.
With approximately 350 presentations every second, You have no chance of escape!

I present to you this video and the PowerPoint. 
Use this killer Application but the choice is Yours -  "Make a Killing" or "Kill"
Presenting you.. Death by PowerPoint by Don Mc Millan..




How to Present like Steve Jobs

Here is a good video from BNET, a great site for a CEO and also an executive!
Watch the Video and download the PDF (click the link below)
How to Present Like Steve Jobs.pdf

Word Web

Need a Free Dictionary and Thesaurus? Here is one calles WordWeb. Read what they say...
WordWeb is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia. Features of the free version include:
  • Definitions and synonyms
  • Related words
  • 5,000 audio pronunciations
  • 65,000 text pronunciations
  • 150,000 root words
  • 120,000 synonym sets
Look up words in almost any program.Millions of people from all over the world use this top-rated software.
....and they are true.Its Free! Go for it... Here are the links...Word Web 
Here is the download Link. Click the link to Download. Download Word Web