Each year on March 22 the United Nations recognizes World Water Day, and each year we are reminded of the importance of water in our daily lives, its scarcity across the world, and the impact we can have on our most precious resource. World Water Day is centered on Goal 6 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals which seeks to “ensure access to water and sanitation for all” by 2030. …
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In an article I wrote last summer, I discussed how organizations use personas to drive design decisions. An important component to creating these personas is customer research. I’ll walk you through the easy ways you can use Google Analytics – specifically the Audience Reports – to support the creation of your customer personas.…
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We’ve all heard the advice – avoid money, religion, and politics in polite conversations. However, today it’s nearly impossible to stay away from politics, thanks to a 24-hour news cycle and information overload via social media. With midterm elections in the rearview mirror, we can anticipate two years of intense scrutiny on the 2020 presidential election.…
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In the March 2019 edition of Twin Cities Business, reporter Ingrid Case investigated how attracting and retaining talent is limiting the growth potential of Minnesota’s largest private sector industry, manufacturing. Despite an average wage ranking second highest, manufacturing companies are losing the war on talent to other local industries like healthcare and high tech – leaving them...
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My wife and I had success in the first three months we applied agile project management principles when running our household. But it didn’t stay that way. As we got busier with life, the system broke down. We stopped updating the scrum board and our Sunday night family meeting was focused on other things, planning vacations, homework, extra-curricular activities. …
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The first time I heard of consulting was during my programming practicum course, when Jason Green, a software architect at West Monroe, joined us as a guest lecturer. Prior to the lecture, I assumed a vast majority of entry-level computer science positions would focus on writing code and less on business strategy.…
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One of our clients, a major biopharmaceutical company, struggled to distribute content across more than fifty countries and thousands of people around the globe. They were using 18 disparate content management systems – each with its own processes. As they looked to digitize the back office to create efficiency and standardization globally, they selected a new, consolidated platform in Veeva...
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The distribution industry is going through a monumental shift. Industry disruptors, like Amazon, are constantly finding new ways to change the game. To keep pace with competition and mitigate the risk of lost business, many distributors are fulfilling each unique client request – regardless of how it impacts operations. In many cases, this means putting undue stress on warehouse staff to meet...
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International Women’s Day (March International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender inclusivity. Balance for Better in the Workplace This year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter. We know balance is not just a women’s issue: it’s a business...
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Last month, Silicon Valley powerhouse investor SoftBank announced a $1 billion investment into industry-disrupting freight forwarder Flexport. Softbank’s investment is an affirmation that successful PE firms investing in the freight industry are looking beyond the short-term capacity issues in the market, and instead looking at companies that are shaping the future of the industry.…
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There are several compelling reasons to move to the cloud. Speed of innovation. The ability to scale quickly. Production ready services to leverage AI, IoT, natural language processing, etc. However, for most businesses, it all comes down to costs. In a previous blog post Moving to the Cloud: Myth Versus Reality, I touched on some misconceptions regarding moving to the cloud, including the...
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The goal of a for-profit company should be to make a profit now and in the future. That said, there are three other necessary conditions that lead to long-term profit and drive sustainable value. Profit gains can be achieved at the expense of these other three conditions, but rest assured they will be short-lived.…
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