Coaching To Win: A Systematic Approach To Achieving Productivity Through Coaching

The strategic business plan for any organization is very specific regarding sales force objectives and activities.  Therefore, those responsible for the human capital of the sales function  must be prepared to work directly with their sales employees, in an effort to meet management agreed upon goals, to gain market share, and to continuously improve overall performance.  Over the years, the task of managing sales employees has been varied and undefined.  Managing has been referred to as “the art of getting things done through people.”  For decades, experts have included planning, organizing, staffing, influencing or commanding, and controlling as the systematic way of making things happen.  Recently, this commanding function has been dropped in preference to leading.  It has been proven that coaching is more effective than the old approach of using fear and intimidation to achieve sales management objectives.  This paper focuses on the need for these sales supervisors/managers to change their previously used tactics and embrace a new, proactive approach of “Coaching” their sales employees.  This new approach is described in detail below and will help unlock the mysteries of becoming a viable and proactive sales supervisor.  It will also give supervisors the tools needed to meet the needs of management and create a more productive, independent sales force. “Coaching” is becoming the leading preference for supervisors and managers, because it is proving to be more effective than previous used conventional methods.  Coaching is the art of continually assessing and developing sales people, so they can be empowered to do their jobs well!  Often, the conventional methods included command functioning tactics of fear and intimidation to motivate sales personnel.  By using the “Coaching” approach, supervisors and managers have more control of their sales staff and of achieving their management goals.  By developing a coaching relationship, which includes encouragement, listening, counseling, providing positive feedback, being supportive, resourcefulness, thinking with the future in mind, and modeling, these supervisors can give rise to a foundation where sales employees will be energized, aligned, and collectively mobilized to achieve and sustain customer satisfaction and trust.  In so doing, sales employees will also be empowered to meet management’s strategic goals

A British university case study of the transitional experiences of student-athletes

OBJECTIVES. Within Great Britain, increasing numbers of elite sport performers are attending higher education institutions. The current study presents an exploration of the transitional experiences of these individuals at a specific British university. Wylleman and Lavallee's (2004) developmental model on transitions faced by athletes and Stambulova's (1997, 2003) athletic career transition model were used to provide the theoretical foundation of inquiry. DESIGN AND METHOD. An instrumental case study design was adopted to provide an in-depth analysis of student-athletes’ experiences at a university. The case university was selected based on its provision of elite sport support services. To acquire a holistic understanding, interviews were conducted with current and recently graduated student-athletes from the university, and focus groups were run with university staff (viz. administrators, coaches, and support staff). Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic framework approach. RESULTS. Elite student-athletes at the British university were found to experience simultaneous athletic, academic, psychological, and psychosocial transitions. To overcome the transitional demands, student-athletes were found to draw on a variety of internal (e.g., self-awareness) and external (e.g., academic flexibility) resources and to implement coping strategies (e.g., seeking social support). Potential barriers to successful transitions were also identified (e.g., parental overprotection). CONCLUSIONS. These findings advance the limited existing literature on British university student-athletes’ transitional experiences and suggestions are provided for how other universities can enhance provision for their elite student-athletes

A British university case study of the transitional experiences of student-athletes

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise and the definitive published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.04.002OBJECTIVES. Within Great Britain, increasing numbers of elite sport performers are attending higher education institutions. The current study presents an exploration of the transitional experiences of these individuals at a specific British university. Wylleman and Lavallee's (2004) developmental model on transitions faced by athletes and Stambulova's (1997, 2003) athletic career transition model were used to provide the theoretical foundation of inquiry. DESIGN AND METHOD. An instrumental case study design was adopted to provide an in-depth analysis of student-athletes’ experiences at a university. The case university was selected based on its provision of elite sport support services. To acquire a holistic understanding, interviews were conducted with current and recently graduated student-athletes from the university, and focus groups were run with university staff (viz. administrators, coaches, and support staff). Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic framework approach. RESULTS. Elite student-athletes at the British university were found to experience simultaneous athletic, academic, psychological, and psychosocial transitions. To overcome the transitional demands, student-athletes were found to draw on a variety of internal (e.g., self-awareness) and external (e.g., academic flexibility) resources and to implement coping strategies (e.g., seeking social support). Potential barriers to successful transitions were also identified (e.g., parental overprotection). CONCLUSIONS. These findings advance the limited existing literature on British university student-athletes’ transitional experiences and suggestions are provided for how other universities can enhance provision for their elite student-athletes

Immunotherapeutic targeting of membrane Hsp70-expressing tumors using recombinant human granzyme B

Background: We have previously reported that human recombinant granzyme B (grB) mediates apoptosis in membrane heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70)-positive tumor cells in a perforin-independent manner

Part II, Provider perspectives: should patients be activated to request evidence-based medicine? a qualitative study of the VA project to implement diuretics (VAPID)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypertension guidelines recommend the use of thiazide diuretics as first-line therapy for uncomplicated hypertension, yet diuretics are under-prescribed, and hypertension is frequently inadequately treated. This qualitative evaluation of provider attitudes follows a randomized controlled trial of a patient activation strategy in which hypertensive patients received letters and incentives to discuss thiazides with their provider. The strategy prompted high discussion rates and enhanced thiazide-prescribing rates. Our objective was to interview providers to understand the effectiveness and acceptability of the intervention from their perspective, as well as the suitability of patient activation for more widespread guideline implementation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 21 primary care providers. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and reviewed by the interviewer before being analyzed for content. Interviews were coded, and relevant themes and specific responses were identified, grouped, and compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 21 providers interviewed, 20 (95%) had a positive opinion of the intervention, and 18 of 20 (90%) thought the strategy was suitable for wider use. In explaining their opinions of the intervention, many providers discussed a positive effect on treatment, but they more often focused on the process of patient activation itself, describing how the intervention facilitated discussions by informing patients and making them more pro-active. Regarding effectiveness, providers suggested the intervention worked like a reminder, highlighted oversights, or changed their approach to hypertension management. Many providers also explained that the intervention 'aligned' patients' objectives with theirs, or made patients more likely to accept a change in medications. Negative aspects were mentioned infrequently, but concerns about the use of financial incentives were most common. Relevant barriers to initiating thiazide treatment included a hesitancy to switch medications if the patient was at or near goal blood pressure on a different anti-hypertensive.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patient activation was acceptable to providers as a guideline implementation strategy, with considerable value placed on the activation process itself. By 'aligning' patients' objectives with those of their providers, this process also facilitated part of the effectiveness of the intervention. Patient activation shows promise for wider use as an implementation strategy, and should be tested in other areas of evidence-based medicine.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>National Clinical Trial Registry number NCT00265538</p

Entanglement transition of randomly branched polymers in the hyperbranched class

We study the melt rheology of randomly branched polymers in the hyperbranched polymer (HBP) class which are formed by the co-condensation of AB and AB2 type monomers. Specifically, we study the effect of branch length Mx on the entanglement transition in the HBP class. To this end, two series of HBPs were prepared using AB2 mole fractions of 10% and 1% respectively. This allowed us to vary Mx from just below to just above Me, the entanglement molecular weight for linear chains of the same chemistry. For the 10% branched samples (Mx Me), there is a clear entanglement plateau for the higher molecular weight samples and we were able to quantitatively model the rheology around the entanglement plateau region using the tube model. Our data demonstrate conclusively that the entanglement transition for randomly branched polymers in the HBP class is controlled by Mx and the transition occurs around Mx ≈ Me. These conclusions are the same as for randomly branched polymers in the percolation class. We are able to explain these results using either the Colby−Rubinstein model or double reptation model for entanglements if we assume that whole molecules and side branches with Rouse times less than the Rouse time of an entanglement do not contribute to entanglement formation