Many people view conflict as uncomfortable, divisive, and something that should generally be avoided. In actuality, conflict can be a valuable asset and is arguably necessary in order for a company to produce its best work. Not all conflict is created equal and it definitely needs to be managed correctly in order to be beneficial to a company. Below are two ways conflict is beneficial.

Stronger Ideas

Rational and reasoned disagreement is often necessary to produce innovation. Some level of conflict is required if a company wants to strengthen a product, improve or revise their direction, and get the best out of their employees. Conflict can force parties on both sides to reevaluate their positions, think through the relative strengths and weakness, and find ways to address and weaknesses and fears in order to convince the other side of the merits of their position.

Improved Teamwork

If the conflict comes from outside the team it offers a great opportunity for the team to pull together and refine idea (whether it be a project, product, presentation, etc.). This can spur additional creativity on the team and force members to be at their best; it may also allow members that were marginalized or afraid to speak up, the opportunity to more fully participate.

If the conflict is within the team, it can help to refine great ideas and/or be a tool to improve teamwork by forcing the two parties to come together and create a common solution. This also helps members to better listen to each other, respect other positions and ideas, and understand others.

How do you feel about conflict? Is it a positive force in your business or team? Leave a comment below.

—Aaron Baldwin, Designer

There is now an online “institute” for content marketing… and rightly so. It may still be essential to have a Web presence to be taken seriously — meaning you DO need a site and a social media presence. The powerful online attention, however, is found elsewhere: captivating content.

There’s no need to trot out many stories here. It’s been this way since the early days of the massive Web expansion. I remember it well… back in the spring of 1999, the buzz about the film The Blair Witch Project. It was, simply put, very crafty Web content that mystified and interested millions.

We all know the result: a very simple film by Hollywood unknowns was a huge financial success. They can thank the Web and their own crafty ability to create content. That capability to capture the same kind of massive attention takes a lot of skill, forethought and, frankly, psychological consideration of the target customer. Considering the payoff, it seems worth it.

With this in mind, for a struggling product or company to get widespread attention, a focus on Web content marketing could just be the ticket. But get yourself a proven creative force first… you’re going to need it.

How do you create interesting online content? Leave a comment below and let us know.

-Mark Salow, Marketing Consultant

In today’s competitive business world, employees are expected to multitask, working on many different projects simultaneously. Today’s technology allows workers to do just that. It is no hassle for an experienced business person to be on a conference call, writing an e-mail, and instant messaging a co-worker all at the same time. Many people ask how a person can do so many things at once without sacrificing value in the process. The answer lies in learning to be thorough. Aiming to deliver consistently high-quality finished products every single time.

Obviously employees know to proof, double proof, and reread any document that will ultimately end up in the hands of a boss or client. However, bigger projects sometimes have the ability to overshadow other, less critical aspects of the job. People often forget that even “menial” job tasks affect one’s work performance. That is why it is so important to put in the time and form a habit of going the extra mile to make sure all job tasks are complete and thorough.

One way to ensure all bases are covered on an assignment is to request a written e-mail from the assigning party with a detailed overview of what is expected. When I talk to people about their experience working with certain companies, one thing I hear all the time is that they appreciate when the company follows up a meeting or call with a conference report. Often this is just a single pager covering the agenda of the discussion, the action items, and the responsibilities of the parties involved. Taking the time to draft such a document provides the details necessary to ensure a project runs smoothly and without confusion.

Any person can commit to finishing multiple projects, but it takes a skilled worker to not let his work quality slip with each additional commitment. How do you manage the skill of multitasking? Leave a comment below.

-Lee Sumner, Research Analyst

It seems like today there are more DIY’ers out there than ever before. People are finding creative new ways to get what they want, using what they already have.  Flip through any magazine or Pinterest page and you’ll find at least a dozen how-to’s for remodeling your own kitchen, repurposing old furniture, or even creating your own grease-busting detergent. But it doesn’t just end with home improvements and HGTV. With the help of technology and hundreds of online tools and apps, people have the ability to create professional results at home. Take Instagram, for example. Anyone with a smartphone can now turn their quick snapshots of almost anything into professional looking photography. (I’d highly recommend checking out this video for an entertaining summary of ‘Instagramers’)

In business, companies are always looking for ways to do more with less as resources and budgets remain tight. We feel strongly about providing value for our clients, and often times that means giving them the tools, resources, templates, or training to make their own easy, cost-effective updates on an on-going basis.

This week I read an interesting piece of feedback from a Microsoft Services client who valued the control that in-house employees could maintain throughout the life of a project. Here’s a snippet from the case study (client name removed, full case study coming soon on www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftservices/case_studies.aspx)

Over the course of the project, the Microsoft Services team shared best practices and transferred knowledge to Company IT staff, giving them the ability to effectively maintain and optimize the software for future iterations of the product.

“The engagement was not only doing the work, but scaling up our team to be able to manage it in the future. That was one of our clear objectives,” said the client, noting that Company IT not only has the airline as a customer, but other group companies that can leverage the solution for a higher return on investment. “Now we can take this solution, customize it for any other entity within the group, and reuse it within a very short time.”

We associate DIY with weekend remodeling and handmade jewelry but DIY is definitely present at all levels of our personal and professional lives. We have nearly unlimited access to knowledge and technology that can be used to create almost anything.

Are you a DIY’er at home or at work? Let us know what you’ve created!

-Courtney Swartz, Consultant

In the past 2.25 years, Ideba has re-invented itself twice, to stay ahead of market trends, and meet the ever-changing needs of customers. My fundamental belief is that you either move and evolve ahead of the market, or ultimately it will leave you behind. We have already witnessed agencies in Portland, Victoria and Seattle fall by the way-side because they were unable to do so.

So we are now starting work on Ideba 3.0 – using a model that will ultimately align very tightly with our client’s needs to sell – be it products, services, or experiences. We are not going to employ a model that looks exclusively at what we know, and what we are most comfortable executing – focusing instead on how we drive top and bottom-line revenue for clients, based on where their customers are at in the Sales cycle: Planning, Comparison or Acquisition.

The new model will ultimately align our research work with these three key phases in the buying cycle; and when we are done, all of the work we do will support driving action based on known customer needs at each of these three key stages in the Sales process. It is going to be exciting bringing this model to life over the next ten months, and I look forward to sharing the steps with you along the way.

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment below.

-David Sly, President