DM&A Update » March 2008
A Letter from the Diane Meiller and Associates President
The year is off to a busy start. Starting with January, Diane was honored to participate in the Community Leadership Conference in Captiva, which was a historic event for our Central Florida Region. Hosted by the Metro Orlando Economic Commission, the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Central Florida Partnership, the conference focused on Going Global Together. Over 290 Community Leaders came together to discuss, learn and share the vision for the region, which requires collaboration among the three host organizations in the areas of transportation, economic diversification and brand alignment and promotion.
As one of sixteen caucus members, I had the opportunity to play an active role to anticipate opportunities, support and encourage conversations and results, and ensure that ideas and challenges were identified and addressed. As Central Florida looks at the global competitive landscape, it is critical that we develop and execute and collaborative strategy in the areas of transportation, economic diversification, and brand alignment.
There have been significant strides made in the healthcare, biotechnology arena in Central Florida, positioning the region as a leader in biotech and robotics research and development. The unified efforts of the University of Central Florida’s medical school, Orlando Regional Healthcare, Florida Hospital, Burnham Institute, the Tavistock Group, and many other investors in our region’s growth in medical care and research are setting the standards for excellence worldwide.
The opportunity for Diane Meiller and Associates to meet and work with the business leaders, government and non-profit organizations that are dedicated to the future growth of Central Florida is tremendously rewarding. There is an enormous amount of talent, intellect, and desire to enhance the economic, educational, entertainment, and overall quality of life for the current and future residents as well as for those who come for a short stay in Metro Orlando. Diane Meiller and Associates is committed to active participation in the community as the region continues it trajectory toward establishing a worldwide reputation as the best place to live, work and play. The leadership team at Diane Meiller and Associates continues to appreciate our consulting staff, business partners, and colleagues in sharing this passion for the region’s growth and welcome your ideas and participation in this historic moment of our community’s road to global prominence.
Warmest Regards,
Diane R. Meiller
2007 Christmas Party
We had a delightful holiday celebration with our clients, friends and colleagues who joined us at the Buena Vista Palace. It was a wonderful time had by all. We thank everyone for taking time out of their busy schedules to join our holiday event.
Diane said, “It is an immense pleasure to ring in the holidays with Diane Meiller and Associates’ clients, team, friends and colleagues - a truly special way to close out a terrific year and ring in another“.
Diane Meiller and Associates Adds Change Management Expertise
Diane Meiller and Associates now has three Prosci Change Management Certified consultants on staff.
Now more than ever companies are looking for ways to become adaptive and have the new initiatives they roll out rapidly take hold throughout the organization. A change management strategy incorporated into enterprise wide initiatives is the right recipe for rapid acceptance and adoption by all employees. Often, the people side of change is sidelined to focus only on the mechanics of delivering the initiative. Paying attention to and addressing how the change will impact its’ people is the key element to success and is unfortunately the most commonly overlooked. We here at Diane Meiller and Associates are fortunate to have the credentials and successful track record of delivering and executing change strategies for our clients.
Dianne Meiller & Associates Invests in the Community
Diane Meiller and Associates, Inc. continues to be ensconced in the Central Florida Community. Most recently Diane Meiller and Associates has become a member of the United Arts of Central Florida. This organization is a dynamic collaboration of businesses, governments, foundations, etc. whose partnerships work to enhance the quality and variety of cultural experiences. As a member of the Economic Development Commission, Diane Meiller and Associates participates on the BioTec Orlando initiative, and recently made corporate contributions to Arnold Palmer Hospital, WMFE Public Radio and recently became a member of the Seminole Chamber of Commerce.
Investing in Consulting Services During a Recession
We have all heard the arguments for both sides of the debate as to whether we are in or are not in a recession. This article will provide an overview of IT forecasts for the coming year and key strategies for providing strategic value to your client and employer. We at Diane Meiller and Associates recognize that economic perceptions have a great impact on spend for consulting services. However, the realization is that sometimes there is a greater demand for project-based consulting during economic downturns, while downsizing permanent staff. It is also true that companies can also decide to reduce any investment in outside consulting services as a way to reduce budgets. The question is then, how do companies prioritize which projects are funded, and how, who and what resources are allocated?
Large companies, especially during recessions or economically unstable times, look for ways to save money. One primary way is outsourcing. CIO’s are paying closer attention to supplier performance metrics. That said, executives will prepare for
the future by looking carefully at their external business partnerships and ensuring that their service providers s are delivering the best value for their investment. CIO Connect recently found in comparison to 2007 that IT budgets are likely to stay the same for 45% of technology leaders, and will increase for 32% of organizations. Only 23% of firms say their 2008 IT budget will be lower than last year. Diane Meiller and Associates recently adopted some well-known tips on how PM’s and IT managers can thrive in the current belt tightening environment.
Adversity breeds opportunities. Emerge as a leader during the tough times - be creative, come up with new ideas, and substantiate value. The best way for a Project Manager to contribute is to get involved up front and help solve the problem at hand. Be inquisitive, ensure the project scope as defined is produces results economically and effectively and ties to the overall organizational objectives. In the market that exists today, employees are often rewarded for coming up with creative solutions that contribute to the business’ bottom line.
Business Week’s Bruce Nussbaum agrees. He recently said, “Winners always emerge out of recessions, and they almost always beat their competition on the basis of something new.”
Be prepared to answer tough: C-Level executives want to know how their organizations can save money without sacrificing quality. The old adage of doing more with less is more prevalent during periods of perceived or real recession.
How do we at Diane Meiller and Associates ensure that we consistently provide high value to our clients, and what can we do to help them achieve their goal of optimizing the ability to obtain results while minimizing economic investment? This is a question we should continually ask ourselves throughout every client engagement. Smart people are all saying virtually the same thing: Recessions call for creativity, not only cost-cutting. Inevitably, Diane Meiller and Associates has seen that companies are looking to cut costs. Often times they are outsourcing more work to consulting firms because it is cheaper than hiring full time.
That is why we here at Diane Meiller and Associates make our clients strategic value our number one priority each and every day. We understand that clients need to feel that they are getting more from their investment now more than they ever have before. This is also why we constantly strive to upgrade the value we provide to our clients. With dollars tight and companies being very strategic with their investment dollars, we here at Diane Meiller and Associates put forth every effort to make those dollars work for our clients.
Sources: gantthead.com, Indo-Asian News Service, vnunet.com
UCF Internship at Diane Meiller and Associates
On March 10th, Diane Meiller and Associates will welcome a UCF student, who will join our staff in the Downtown Orlando office to observe our consulting business and shadow both Diane and Cheryl throughout the day-to-day operations of the business.
Diane Meiller and Associates Joins Forces with Junior Achievement “Me and My CommUnity”
Diane Meiller and Associates has taken on a new initiative to teach high school women the importance of leadership, teamwork, negotiation and the importance of professional collaboration in achieving organizational objectives. Diane Meiller and Associates is working in tandem with the Junior Achievement local Orlando chapter on hosting an all day event for young women. This event will be a project based format and the participants will work in groups of five. The goal is to not only have a winning team, but reach out and help the other groups’ effort to win as well. The panel of judges will be comprised of professional executive women who will evaluate each team on scorecard criteria such as leadership, creativity, negotiation, teamwork, helping others, etc., to select the winning team. The winning team will then be given a check to present to Junior Achievement. We anticipate that this will be a fun educational event, where teenage students will have an opportunity to participate in a real-life/real-reward professional experience.