Have you ever asked yourself what it might be like if your business processes were fast, modern, seamless, slick and foolproof?  Utopia maybe, but in reality many organisations have taken the time and trouble to ‘fix them once and for all' and make them fit for the 21^st century.  Take some of the better airline online booking systems for example - what if your processes ran as smoothly and simply as these, and with minimal ‘people' intervention?

The services of former criminals are sometimes called upon for more beneficent uses: ex-car thieves help manufacturers improve the security of their vehicles, and ex-computer hackers join anti-virus software companies or help businesses close security loopholes in their systems and networks. But not all hackers are socially inept computer geeks spending their lives behind a computer - on the contrary: some are highly skilled in influencing other people. Anyone with an interest in managing people-related change could learn a thing or two from the way these hackers go about applying social engineering methods. 

The relationships that a business has with its customers are key.  Yet according to a recent study by the global "Customer Experience Management Benchmark"  only 39% of corporate executives believe their employees have the tools and authority to handle customers effectively.  The consequences are inevitable - a higher customer churn rate, increased sales costs, and bad word of mouth references in your customer community.