What are the 10 Reasons I Should Deal With You?

In that context, of course, "I" means any potential customer. When you do it, it’s more than likely that your team will come up with fairly typical answers - answers like better service, better qualified temps and personnel, and so on.

As they come up with answers, write all the answers on a board, and then do something really interesting. Tell the team that you’re going to be really hard. You’re going to erase anything you’ve written down that one of your competitors would also say to a customer about their business - whether or not it’s true. Ask the team to tell you which attributes they want you to erase on that basis. In other words, ask them to imagine that you’d asked their competitors the same "What are the 10 reasons" question and erase answers they thought their competitors would have given to the same question. Not surprisingly, all the warm "touchy-feely" things will disappear. After all, everyone says they give great service, everyone says they have better qualified people, everyone says they have top quality products, etc.

If you’re really severe with the board eraser, you may have absolutely nothing left on the board. That means you have a problem. Your business is either not unique, or just as importantly, you haven’t been able to find a way to articulate your uniqueness. The point is, of course, that if you don’t have anything tangible or real that differentiates you, you have to find it.

Paul Dunn did an exercise a while ago in Perth with a personnel agency. It’s a fascinating story because like most companies, they had difficulty at first coming up with unique things. But, as they worked on it, they found they could build a USP (unique selling point). The company did have two tangible differences. They had a LIFETIME guarantee (yes, you read that right - a lifetime guarantee) on all permanent placements they made. And, they gave the client the first two hours of the temporary employee’s time free while they were familiarizing themselves with the client’s business. But, they needed to get more. And, by brainstorming, they found it. They decided that the temporaries the company sent out had to be the very best. They had to reflect the company’s values. They had to be different. Training was the answer there. Every temporary (even thought they might be skilled in their own particular area) got a special program on customer care through a special video created for the company. Remarkably, it’s a program that the temporaries gladly paid to participate in! That gave them another difference to communicate to potential customers.

Consider what might happen if you took the time to do the "What are the 10 reasons I should buy from you" exercise. It really is a fascinating one to do.

Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business

Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business
"10 Tools You Can Use Monday Morning"By Ram Charan
The days of ruthless downsizing and drastic cost cutting are long gone. Nowadays, companies have realized that the best way to earn profit is only through growth – profitable growth. In this book, author Ram Charan provides 10 tools anyone can use to hurdle obstacles and achieve profitable growth.These tools are:

1. Revenue growth is everyone’s business, so make it part of everyone’s daily work routine.
2. Hit many singles and doubles, not just home runs.
3. Seek good growth and avoid bad growth.
4. Dispel the myths that inhibit both people and organizations from growing.
5. Turn the idea of productivity on its head by increasing revenue productivity.
6. Develop and implement a growth budget.
7. Beef up upstream marketing.
8. Understand how to do effective cross-selling (or value/solutions selling).
9. Create a social engine to accelerate revenue growth.
10. Operationalize innovation by converting ideas into revenue growth.

One of the most critical points discussed is the need for re-orientation of thinking. Most businessmen and executives think about growth as “home-runs” and more often than not disregard the “singles and doubles”. Managers often look forward to the big breakthrough or the grand new product without realizing that home runs don’t happen everywhere – sometimes, they don’t even happen in a decade.Instead of aiming for that one grand home run, aim for singles and doubles. This is a surer and more consistent path. Of course, it is important to note that while aiming for singles and doubles, one should not exclude home runs. These singles and doubles come from an in-depth analysis of ALL the fundamentals of a business.Another factor to be considered is the difference between good growth and bad growth. Managers should dispel the myth that growth in whatever form is a victory. Although growth (both good and bad) builds revenue, only good growth increases not only revenues but also improves profits and is sustainable over time.Bad growth, on the other hand, lowers shareholder value. Unwise mergers and acquisitions are examples of bad growth. Price cutting to gain market share without cutting costs can also be detrimental to your company’s health.Here are some questions that can help you diagnose whether or not you are part of a growth business:

1. What percentage of time and emotional energy does the management team routinely devote to revenue growth?
2. Are there just exhortations and talk about growth or is there actually follow through?
3. Do managers talk about growth only in terms of home runs? Do they understand the importance of singles and doubles for long-term, sustained organic growth?
4. How much of each management team member’s time is devoted to making effective visits with customers? Do they do more than listen and probe for information and then try to “connect the dots”?
5. Does the management team come into contact with the final user of your product?
6. Are people in the business clear about what the specific future sources of revenue growth will be? Do they know who is accountable?7. Would you characterize your company or business unit’s culture as cost cutting or growth oriented? If the answer is one or another you need to start doing both. Do people in leadership positions have the skill, orientation, and determination to grow revenues?
8. Does the company practice revenue productivity? Does it think through whether there are ways to more effectively use current resources to generate higher revenues?
9. How well does your sales force extract intelligence from customers and other players in the marketplace? How well is this information communicated and acted on by other parts of your organization, such as product development?
10. How good are the upstream marketing skills- that is, the ability to segment markets and identify consumer attributes- in your business?

The Rebel Rules"Daring to be your self in business"

What does it take to get in touch with your inner rebel and run a business on your terms? Today’s Information Age has spawned a number of rebel business leaders, from Virgin’s Richard Branson to The Body Shop’s Anita Roddick –and to Joie de Vivre Hospitality’s boy wonder – the author himself – people who have the passion, instinct, agility and vision to rewrite the rules of business so it is ethical, respects diversity, and means more to people than simply turning a profit.

So what exactly is a rebel?
1. Rebels get into activities that make them lose track of time and put them in a state of ecstasy.
2. Rebels build a career that is a natural reflection of themselves and follow a natural progression from their most innate childhood skills.
3. Rebels are working at jobs that they put on their list of top ten “favorite future jobs” from their childhood or youth.
4. Rebels are normally not straight A students, they would have been naïve idealists, non-conformists, or artists in their teenage years
5. Rebels are not afraid to fail, quit their jobs, and follow their lifelong passion and true calling.
6. Rebels either become leading experts in their chosen fields, millionaires, or end up in prison.
7. Rebels do not lose their political and social beliefs as they grow older. Their passion for the causes they support will only grow stronger over time.
8. Rebels do not take “No” for an answer. They will always try to find a way or solution.

Rebel Profile

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group of Companies:
1. Started his first business, a magazine called Student, at the age of 16.2. Began Virgin mail-order record business at age 20.3. Built a net worth of $300 million by age 35 with diverse businesses all under the Virgin brand: travel, entertainment, retail, media, financial services, publishing, bridal service, and soft drinks.
4. Sold his music company for $1billion at age 41.

Rebel thinking: Position yourself as the underdog and you will enjoy a niche market.
Create your own personal mission statement.1. What do you want to be remembered for?2. What habits do you need to cultivate and what will you remove from your present life in order to live out your true purpose/calling?3. What are the most important personal accomplishments you can imagine in your life?4. Take an hour to write your one-page mission statement. Then cut it down to one paragraph. Then simplify it further by saying it all in one sentence. This summarizes your personal mission statement.How can you tell a Successful rebel?
They have a clear vision. They are highly creative. They are quick to spot trends that can be integrated into their business practices. They feel a higher calling or mission. They are very charismatic and create a strong presence when they walk into a room.
Successful rebels have passion. They are able to unite a diverse team made up of people from different backgrounds, rallying together to build a unique business and company culture.
Their passion comes out naturally because they are great storytellers and communicators. They listen to people carefully.
Successful rebels possess high integrity and trustworthiness. They are the epitome of grace under pressure, they stand up for their beliefs despite popular thinking.
Successful rebels are lifelong learners. They are also good teachers.
They are resourceful enough to find solutions and fix situations. They know how to negotiate deals and have all parties to the deal come away satisfied.
Successful rebels are agile enough to spring into action when necessary, and seem to be “Open 24 hours”. They have boundless energy, and like a Quarterback, moves the ball across the field and gets the job done.
Successful rebels are amazing networkers, multi-taskers, andare very driven individuals who do not easily get distracted from their goals.
Successful rebels follow their companies core values, and “walk their talk”.
Successful rebels know how to keep their employees happy. They give them intangible benefits like high self-esteem, rewards for achievements, and a positive working environment.
Successful rebels inspire their employees to think like business owners. Open-book management, popularized by Jack Stack, is a way of sharing financial information in a fun, educational format to make employees understand how their work earns for the business. You can be sure that when you explain clearly how tardiness affects the bottom line, affecting everyone’s mid-year bonus, employees will start showing up earlier for work.

A few ideas on how to make employees think like entrepreneurs:1. Post the critical numbers on a scoreboard in a fun, visual format.2. Conduct basic financial training and develop strategies for making an impact.3. Review the success of those strategies and “best practices”.4. Play a game with a critical number and make it the goal-of-the-month or something.5. Set up a reward bonus system and give recognition as often as possible.6. Communicate the results throughout your organization.7. Ask new employees to comment on the company’s business practices after their first 30 days.8. Have a brainstorming party or game with prizes for the best ideas 9. Have managers visit competitors and gather after a week to compare notes.10. Have regular meetings with frontline staff to wring out all the information they learn.11. Give your managers a free subscription to the industry magazine.12. Study a role model company or a competitor, you could all go on a retreat or buy managers a copy of the role model company’s literature.13. Write a book with funny stories about how your company serves its customers.
Rebels encourage creativity and individuality within their own companies. They allow themselves and their employees enough free time for a life outside of work, for leisure and recreation.

How To Work With Just About Anyone

“A Three-step Solution For Getting Difficult People To Change” By Lucy Gill

“I just can't seem to get along with this person!”

Every office has that one difficult person to work with, who affects productivity due to a terrible attitude, chronic tardiness, or simply drives everyone else up the wall. Here is the answer to common problems in conflict management. Dealing with negative behavior, whether at work or at home, can be solved with three steps:

1. Get to the heart of the matter.
2. Determine what problem-solving methods to avoid so you don't perpetuate the conflict.
3. Choose a different, surprising approach to solve the problem and keep it solved.

Finally, here is your key to some peace and sanity in the workplace, drawn from forty years of research and professional experience in consulting on the prevention and management of nonproductive behavior.

How difficult behavior is reinforced: People use the same solution that never brings new results. The answer is to try something radically different. Employ a totally new approach and choose your response carefully.

Why we fail to change negative behavior:
1. We are caught in the web of our own logic.
2. We don't realize we are doing the same things over and over.
3. We can't think of anything better to try.
This three-question formula can lead you to a new strategy:
1. What is the primary problem? Be specific. How exactly does it affect productivity?
2. What have you been doing about your problem so far? Identify the logic of your favorite solution.
3. What do you need to do instead?

You need to undo what your ineffective solution did. Attack with a brand new set of weapons. Focus on the facts. Figure out what the heart of the matter is:
1. List all the issues affecting you.
2. Decide which issue or who in particular is bothering you the most.
3. Encircle the issue or person's name on your list.
4. Focus on what you circled. List all the things that bother you about this person.
5. Now pick the problem to work on. If you could only fix one item on the list, and had to live with all the others, what would you choose?
6. Then with the particular problem chosen, spell out specifically: Who is doing what that presents a problem, to whom, and how is this behavior a problem?

The 4 ways to get bogged down in “whys” and therefore confused by superfluous issues:

1. Focusing on possible reasons for someone's behavior
2. Speculating about what the person is up to
3. Labeling behavior instead of describing it
4. Worrying about who is right or wrong Use reverse psychology!

1. Do something unexpected. Sometimes shock tactics or being brutally honest works.
2. Encourage the person to keep doing what it is that is irritating behavior. It is strange but encouraging people to continue their irritating behavior gets them to stop it.
3. Have fun experimenting with your new approaches!
4. Tell someone not to change what he is doing.
5. Create consequences or let the natural consequences of his negative behavior occur.
6. Urge someone to do the annoying actions even more New Conflict Management Techniques

1. Do not offer a long list of reasons why someone should change. Simply tell them what needs to be done. The more you rationalize or argue the more they will resist. You will be wasting time and energy.

2. In the face of constant criticism, silently take note of what is being said, then read the notes back – instead of actively defending each point.

3. Make statements (“Unless it creates a problem for you, I'm going to do X”)

4. Give a specific compliment to the other party in a conflict. (“I like the way you presented your report – your lineup of facts made it easy to follow”) It catches them off-guard and makes him/her less defensive.

5. Excuse yourself for a minute in the midst of a heated discussion to go to the toilet instead of escalating the argument.

6. Hold back for thirty minutes instead of rushing to fix a problem for someone else. Other “happy workplace” tips:

1. Keep an open mind about why the person behaves in such a manner.
2. See both sides of the situation, not just yours.
3. Be very specific when analyzing the problem. Make a mental videotape of the behavior.
4. Notice when it isn't happening. Understand why. You may have overlooked something you did that didn't result in the other person's annoying behavior.
5. Find someone with immunity and see how he or she successfully handles the troublesome behavior that you're struggling with.

Wall Street Journal . Business Types Get a New Kick Out of the "Bucket"

By Christopher Rhoads.

Suddenly, the humble bucket has become a trendy fixture of corporate boardrooms and PowerPoint presentations. It is pushing aside other business-speak for describing categories or organizational units, such as silo and basket.

Ashwin Shirvaikar, a Citigroup analyst, wanted to get a better handle on the cash flow of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. "Does it make sense to think of it as a whole, or as two buckets -- one in India and one in the U.S.?" Mr. Shirvaikar asked during an earnings conference call last year.

"I think of it as one bucket," replied Gordon Coburn, the chief financial officer of the technology-services company. "One bucket, OK, thank you," Mr. Shirvaikar said.
During a recent public-television interview, Dow Chemical Co. Chief Executive Andrew Liveris explained that producing ethanol "doesn't help the conservation efficiency bucket -- it helps the diversity of supply bucket." Cingular Wireless boasted that its new rate plan in South Florida lets customers "dig into their big bucket of night and weekend minutes" earlier than before.
Suddenly, the humble bucket has become a trendy fixture of corporate boardrooms and PowerPoint presentations. It is pushing aside other business-speak for describing categories or organizational units, such as silo and basket.

"People are using it everywhere now," says Tom Rath, a management consultant and author of
"How Full Is Your Bucket?" His book, which has been translated into more than 20 languages since its publication in 2004, advocates praise in the workplace. Mr. Rath's consulting firm has even begun selling readers metal buckets to place on their desks. Their purpose: to receive "drops" of praise from colleagues for a job well done.

A bucket is a container used to carry things such as water and livestock feed, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The dictionary cites other definitions over the years: In 16th-century England, slaughtered hogs were strapped by their hooves to a beam known as a bucket. That usage might have led to the expression for dying, or kicking the bucket.
It's also a verb, meaning to pour water on someone, according to the dictionary, as in: "Woe be to him whose head is bucketed with waters of a scalding bath."

But in the past several years, bucket has outgrown its barnyard roots and moved into the business world. "It's informal and universally understood -- a bucket is a bucket everywhere," says Sunil Misra, vice president of consulting in the Billerica, Mass., subsidiary of information-technology services company Getronics NV of the Netherlands.

The blossoming of bucket comes as no surprise to Anthony Aristar, a professor of linguistics at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. When words -- particularly those centuries old -- become popular in new and different ways, that often indicates a gap in modern language. In this case, business has become organized in so many different kinds of subdivisions that no one quite knows what to call them all.

The result: Old words like bucket are being revived in a "metaphoric extension." Bucket, he explains, "still means a container for something, but now in a metaphorical context. You see this all the time with words."

For businesspeople, bucket trumps basket, which conjures an image of someone picking flowers in a field. Bucket sounds "more macho," suggests Mr. Misra.
Silo also has a negative buzz these days. It implies fiefdoms and exclusive divisions, rather than inclusiveness and working together as a team thrown together in, say, a bucket. "

A silo is a place to store corn or missiles," says Charles Prindiville, a commodities trader with UBS Securities LLC in New York who trades grains among other commodities. "In the past year or two you're definitely seeing people stay away from silo. I prefer to store money in a bucket."

Mr. Prindiville has heard bucket transformed into an adjective too. When a trader wants to sell a large block of stock, he looks for a buyer interested in "something bucket-y," says Mr. Prindiville. "It means something chunky, with some girth to it."
In the telecom world, industry executives recall first using the term in the late 1990s, as cellphones became ubiquitous. U.S. carriers, unlike most of their counterparts elsewhere, figured if customers purchased a block of minutes each month they would use their phones more often. They were right: U.S. cellphone bills and usage are among the highest in the world. And the block became a bucket.

European carriers are now considering the bucket model -- and likely the term as well, says Andrew Cole, president of CSMG Adventis, a telecom consulting firm in Boston. "They will adopt bucket," he says. "That is my strong feeling."

The word is also popular in the computer world, where "bit bucket" refers to the mysterious destination of lost or unintentionally deleted computer files. This probably comes from the days of mainframe computers that used card and paper-tape punches. Getronics's Mr. Misra recalls how small chips of discarded paper were put into what was called a bit bucket.

A noted user of bucket was Frank D'Amelio, former chief operating officer of Lucent Technologies Inc. During Lucent's earnings conference calls, analysts used to eagerly wait for him to drop the word bucket into his business banter, according to Steve Levy, a former Lehman Brothers analyst. "That's really how the numbers bucket out," Mr. D'Amelio concluded an answer in a conference call with analysts in May 2004, according to a transcript, employing the word in rare verb form. Mr. D'Amelio, now chief administrative officer of the newly combined French telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA, could not be reached for comment.

Philip Evans, a partner in the Boston office of Boston Consulting Group and a native of Plymouth, England, says he hears the word all the time, including as a verb to describe younger associates' potential with the firm, as in, "How should we bucket this person?" "Visually you think of someone being thrown into a pail of water," says Mr. Evans, an avid reader of Joyce and Shakespeare who describes himself as a word collector. "It's hardly a dignified process, particularly when you think the stuff in a bucket is often animal waste," he says. "Even milk gets a bottle or a jug, not a bucket." _,_.__

Customer Satisfaction is WORTHLESS: Customer Loyalty is Priceless

by Jeffrey Gitomer

Subtitled "How to make customerslove you, keep them coming back, and tell everyone they know", Gitomer's book holds that traditional customer satisfaction measures are essentially meaningless. A merely satisfied customer, he maintains, is still likely to shop around the next time he or she needs to buy your product or service, for a better price or a more convenient offering. A loyal customer, on the other hand, is more likely to make a point of coming back to you specifically as the supplier, and moreover, is likely to recommend your product or service to others.

To illustrate this, he shows an interesting concept that he calls the "ladder of customer service"


The key is how to develop loyal customers, not simply satisfied ones.
Gitomer holds that it all boils down to something easy to say, but harder to do in practice: GIVING GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. To show what this means in practice, he has articulated 13 principles of customer service success, which are:

1. understand that your customer is your paycheck - (an interesting suggestion that Gitomer has here is to paste a picture of your children eating dinner above your desk or workstation, to reinforce the knowledge that your customers are the source of your bread and butter).

2. know that your attitude (which he conceptualizes as the way you dedicate yourself to the way you think) determines the degree of excellence of the service you perform

3. customers call, contact, or visit for one reason ­ they need help! - Gitomer advocates being as helpful and speedy in your response as possible to customers when they call, rather then letting then linger in voice mail limbo, or be left uncertain as to whether you can help them or not ­ as he says" give them help, not hell"

4. the value of a customer is 20 times his annual sales volume - Gitomer recommends thinking in relationship marketing terms ­ about the lifetime value of a customer

5. a customer ready to repeat his purchase is a powerful business advantage - the point here is that a major strategic business advantage that you have over your competition is customers who want to buy from you again and again - retaining these loyal customers (and developing more, of course) should be a key business strategy
6. customer satisfaction is worthless: "Satisfaction is no longer the acceptable standard of customer service. Satisfaction is no longer the acceptable measure of customer service success. The standard and measure of success for the next millennium is loyal customers." (p. 79)

7. when you're done speaking with a customer, or when the transaction is over, that's when they start talking - Gitomer recognizes that word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, and that customers who say good - or bad - things about you are extremely influential

8. word of mouth advertising is 50 times more powerful than advertising

9. your friendliness and willingness to help is in direct proportion to your success

10. company policy is written in terms of the company, not the customer - Gitomer's point here is that whenever a customer request cannot be dealt with, it is very bad form to fall back on 'company policy' as the reason why - company policy is written for the benefit of the company, not the customer - the customer doesn't care a whit about what the policy might be, they only know that they are dissatisfied because they can't get what they want - when absolutely necessary, he recommends using phrases such as "in order to be fair to everyone" which at least puts the emphasis on the benefits to customers, not the company

11. service is a feeling ­ "Service is a feeling, and you know what it is ­ whether it's good or bad. If you can't remember what 'bad' feels like, call the DMV, Post Office, IRS or Social Security. That's bad. Then call L.L.Bean ­ that's good." (p. 84)

12. the secret to successful customer service is start with... YES - Gitomer says that instead of saying 'no' to customers, say 'yes' whenever possible, even if it is something along the lines of "yes, I see your concern"

13. the customer's perception of good or bad service is the measure of your success or failure
Most of the book is given over to an elaboration of these principles. A 'golden rule' that Gitomer suggests to help clarify these is to pretend that the customer is your grandmother, and to treat them with the respect and eagerness-to-please that you would your real relative.

According to Gitomer, great service is anything extra that you can do for your customer that will make them take notice of you and say WOW! He presents many examples of this kind of service in the book (such as the hotel that calls ahead of your visit to see if there is anything they can have prepared for you upon your arrival, or the tire store that has someone greet you in the parking lot with an umbrella when its raining).

WOW! Service will in turn generate free word-of-mouth advertising (because people like to tell memorable stories) that will in turn help build your business. Plus the customers will be not merely satisfied when the next opportunity rolls around for them to purchase your particular good or service - they will be loyal.
The most important determinant of providing WOW! Service is attitude and self-motivation, and Gitomer talks throughout the book about how to improve one's knowledge and positive attitude about the business they are in.

Customer Satisfaction is WORTHLESS: Customer Loyalty is Priceless is a quick and easy read, with lots of interesting examples and points to ponder. (For example, he provides a useful checklist of things to do when customers call up to complain - and you can be sure that one of then is NOT saying "Sorry - it's company policy"). Gitomer's style is very open and user-friendly, with interesting variations in the typeface to enhance reader interest and curiosity. Throughout, he presents quizzes and self-evaluation questionnaires to help the reader evaluate their own levels of service.

Clicking - 16 Trends to Future Fit Your Life, Your Work and Your Business

by Faith Popcorn and Lys Marigold


'Clicking' is the term that Popcorn and Marigold use to describe being in synch with a particular trend or set of trends. The analogy they draw is that of cracking a safe - when you have the tumblers all lined up the right way, there is a 'click' and the door pops open. In a similar manner, when you understand all the relevant trends that influence the future of your business and your life, and act in accordance with them, then you are 'clicking'. Or, as they would say, you are 'safecracking the future'.
They have even invented a slogan for which 'CLICK' acts as an acronym:

C is for Courage, which you need to have in order to follow a new direction in your business or your life;

L is for Letting Go of the old ways of thinking about things, and following the directions implied by the current prevailing trends;

I is for the Insight required in order to know how to re-structure your business or your life to take advantage of the trends;

C is for Commitment to follow through and stick it out in the initial times when it looks as though you won't succeed; and

K is for the Know-how that is required to make it work.
The recipe for success, the authors maintain, is simple: a belief in this 'click' formula, plus an understanding of the trends facing business and society today.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section defines the notion of 'clicking' and how it is meaningful, the second describes in some detail the various trends, and the third is devoted to 'how to click' - practical advice on how to use the idea of clicking on the trends in everything from planning a career to raising kids. Throughout, Clicking is filled with bizarre illustrations that depict in symbolic form the various themes that run through the book. Several of these feature likenesses of the authors in heroic and athletic poses. Very annoying.

The second section, which occupies the bulk of the book, identifies and describes sixteen trends that the authors report as being actively at work shaping our future. These build upon and extend the ten trends identified in their previous book, The Popcorn Report (1991), some of which (such as 'cocooning') have entered the common parlance and are acknowledged as factors shaping consumer behavior and market responses. These 16 trends are:

cocooning: this labels our desire to build ourselves strong and cozy nests where we can retreat from the world, enjoying ourselves in safety and comfort

clanning: this refers to our need to associate with like-minded individuals, and to identify ourselves with a particular group that shares our outlook and values

fantasy adventure: as a break from the mundane day-to-day, we seek risk-free fantasy and adventure experiences

pleasure revenge: another form of escape for us is to take enjoyment in sensual and pleasurable activities, as a feeling of reward for all we've suffered

small indulgences: this refers to the trend towards people rewarding themselves regularly with small everyday affordable luxuries
anchoring: this term refers to the increasing tendency for people to seek fulfillment in spiritual values, and looking back to the past to recapture what was comforting and reassuring then

egonomics: this is a reaction against the standardization imposed by the computer age, which manifests itself in terms of individuals seeking out various avenues for self-expression and personal statements

female think: what this boils down to is that women think and act differently than men - as women occupy more positions of power this is reflected in more caring and sharing types of decision-making approaches, characterized by consensus (as opposed a hierarchical, male-dominated decision-making process) - the authors state that women start twice as many new businesses as do men, so this is a trend to be aware of
emancipation: increasingly, men no longer are "strictly business" - they can now enjoy the freedom to be themselves, not feeling guilty about participating in child-raising, showing emotion, etc.

99 lives: this trend refers to the increasing tendency (brought about in many cases by necessity) for people to assume multiple roles in society, specializing in more than one thing in their lives
cashing out: increasing numbers of working men and women are choosing to leave, or are being forced out of, high-profile careers - they 'cash out', choosing simpler and more fulfilling life styles

being alive: this refers to the growing awareness of the concept of 'wellness', and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle in terms of a better quality of life, as well as a longer life overall

down-aging: this trend refers to the fact that people, especially in middle age or older, adopt or maintain lifestyles (and, of course, purchase products) that would normally be associated with younger people
vigilante consumerism: increasingly, consumers are manipulating the marketplace through pressure, protest and politics

icon toppling: increasingly, say the authors, we are questioning established institutions as well as individuals who are 'pillars of society'

S.O.S. (save our society): this refers to the trend towards an environmental ethic being practiced in business and personal affairs

The authors make the point early on in the book that for a new product or service to be successful, it should directly match four or more of these trends. To help organizations with this, Popcorn et. al. have built up a large consulting organization, BrainReserve, offering a variety of trade-marked products and services (things such as TrendView, BrainJam and ClickTime).

Clicking is a fascinating and important marketing phenomenon for two reasons: first , the trends themselves do have some merit and need to be understood to fully understand consumer behavior today; and second, the packaging and presentation of the book (a not to mention the companion audiotape) is itself an object lesson in self aggrandizement, and business development through client puffery. A cynic would see the book as simply a giant advertisement for BrainReserve's services - but then, as Popcorn admits in the book, she is in the marketing business.

It’s Your Ship

A challenge for every organization is to attract, retain and motivate employees. If a company succeeds in doing so, employees work with more passion, energy, and enthusiasm. This translates to an increase in productivity and more profit for the company.

Another factor to remember is this: real leadership must be done by example. Remember that the people below you follow your lead and that you have an enormous influence on your employees. They will look up to you for signals on how to behave and what the organization expects from them.

Remember that one of the secrets to a successful management of any organization is to be able to articulate a common goal that inspires people to work hard together. Proper, effective and open communication of goals, rules, instructions and expectations can spell a difference.

The best way for an organization to succeed is to give the employees all the responsibility they can handle and then stand back. Trusting your employees to do their job well sustains the company.

Trust is also a social contract – you have to earn it. Trust is earned when you give it. When people start trusting each other more and more, they stop questioning motives and start to work as one unit.

Encourage the people in your organization to be more result-oriented by opening their minds to new ideas. Encourage them to use their imagination to find new ways of doing things. Your employees must learn how to take the initiative.
It is also important to remember that sometimes, you need to learn to take calculated risks. Bet on people who think for themselves. By taking a "leap of faith" and trusting that one person can do the job and do it right, you increase his self-confidence and make him do his job even better. You must also learn to take a chance on a promising sailor. Give people second chances especially if you see potential in him. He might just surprise you with outstanding results. Lastly, if a rule doesn’t make sense, break it carefully. Remember, there is always room for improvement but think ideas thoroughly before implementing it.
In any business, standard operating procedure (SOP) is the rule. It is safe, proven and effective. However, SOP seldom gets outstanding results and distracts people from what is really important.

Innovation and progress are realized when you go beyond standard operating procedures. Sometimes, you have to look for new ways to handle old tasks and find new approaches to new problems.

Good leaders strengthen their organization by building their people and helping them feel good about themselves and their jobs. When this happens, morale and productivity is improved which translates to increased profit for the company. Focus on building self-esteem. Show them that you trust and believe in them. Praise them for a job well done.

Unity is essential to any organization. If you don’t support each other, the organization will soon encounter critical problems that may be irreparable. The job of a leader is to assemble the best team possible, train the unit, and figure out the best way to get the members to work together for the good of the organization.
Lastly, remember that people who enjoy and look forward to going to work are more productive and happy. You can create a positive atmosphere at work by letting people have fun and interact with their colleagues. Having fun at work creates more social glue for the organization. This results in productivity and loyalty.
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One minute Manager meets the monkey.

• There are essential tasks and nonessential tasks (monkeys).

• Monkeys make managers run out of time.

• Managers work the monkeys, and their staff supervises them.

• If it is not worth doing, it is not worth doing well.

• Experience doesn't happen. What happens is what you do with it.

• Monkeys don't take care of themselves.

• The more you get rid of your monkeys, the more time you have for your staff.

• All monkeys must be handled at the lowest organizational level consistent with their welfare.


• The best way to develop responsibility is to give responsibility.

• Hand off management as much as possible, and hands on management as much as necessary.

• Assigning involves a single monkey. Delegating involves a family of monkeys.

• The purpose of coaching is to get into a position to delegate.

• Know the difference between: Boss imposed time. System imposed time. Self imposed time.

• If you always agree with your boss, one of you isn't necessary.



A great Manager



• Inspires employees to be the greatest they can be through shared vision.

• Always does the right thing.

• Treats employees as partners, with respect and dignity.

• Goes the extra mile for customers and employees.

• Trusts employees.

• Cares for his employees.

• Implements all relevant knowledge quickly and effectively.

• Develops employees to be independent thinkers.

• Strives to include all employees in the inner circle.

• Validates employees.

Note: We recommend the classic Harvard Business Review article: "Who's Got The Monkey?" first published in as a preamble to this book.

What Will Be - How the World of New Information Will Change Our Lives

Michael Dertouzos is the Director of the Laboratory for Computer Science at MIT, and thus reasonably well qualified to predict where computer technology will be taking us in the future. His book discusses technological changes that are occurring now and that are on the horizon, and shows how they will impact us on a day-to-day basis.

This book has three parts: Shaping the Future, which explains the new technologies so that readers can judge unfolding events for themselves; How Your Life Will Change, which imagines how and justifies why our lives will be recast; and Reuniting Technology and Humanity, which assesses the impact of these changes on our society and our humanity.

Central to Dertouzous' vision is the concept of the Information Marketplace, which he defines as the "...collection of people, computers, communications, software and services that will be engaged in the intraorganizational and interpersonal information transactions of the future. These transactions will involve the processing and communication of information under the same economic motives that drive today's traditional marketplace for material goods and services."

This Information Marketplace will be made possible by a communications infrastructure that will be built by the telecommunications and software industries. The Information Marketplace and the infrastructure upon which it is based exist today in an embryonic form, but are not yet at the state where the are totally flexible and user friendly. This is in contrast to other infrastructures such as the electrical grid or the highway network, where anybody can use them very easily, they are very widely distributed, and they are very inexpensive to use. Dertouzous sees that in the future the communications infrastructure will be the same way ­ very easy to use (computers will respond to voice commands, for example, and be able to interpret requests for information or services easily), ubiquitously available to everyone, and totally incorporated into our daily lives.

The first part of the book identifies new technologies and products that will emerge. Some of the more significant and interesting of these that he discusses are:

- virtual reality, and other 'augmented interfaces', with applications for learning (e.g. simulators) and entertainment
- haptic interfaces, which combine manipulation with touch sensing, and will make virtual reality experiences even more lifelike ­ the applications range from the erotic and sensual (use your imagination) to devices to enhance the abilities of the physically challenged, and cover most things in between
- avatars, which are electronic 'personalities' that individuals will create to represent themselves in the Information Marketplace (probably having different avatars for different roles that an individual may play: businessman, game player, lover, etc.)
- Guardian Angels, which would be data bases on the health-care history of a given patient, and which would accompany that person throughout their life ­ its capabilities (in addition to furnishing doctors and medical personnel with a complete medical record) could include an ability to recommend the kinds of drugs and treatment that might benefit an individual
- a whole range of automation tools, using voice recognition software (which will greatly expand the accessibility of the infrastructure, bringing it into the reach of just about everyone)
- continuing reliance on e-mail as a major shared communications tool (albeit with better controls for info-junk and offensive mail)
- a range of products to enable groupwork and telework (akin to Lotus Notes, these will facilitate a team of individuals inputting to a project)
- a range of tools for finding and organizing information ­ called hyperfinders by Dertouzos, these will search through the Information Marketplace for data that meets the user¹s specifications (likely dictated through voice recognition procedures)
- new theories, systems and products to ensure computer security


The second part of the book discusses how the emerging Information Marketplace will affect our lives in six areas, which are:

1. Daily Life
2. Pleasure
3. Health
4. Learning
5. Business and Organizations, and
6. Government

He makes extensive use of little vignettes in illustrating how the Information Marketplace and the communications infrastructure will influence our lives in each of these areas. The predictions he makes are basically examples of the application of the kinds of tools that he has discussed in the first part of the book (the use of 'Guardian Angels' by the health care system, for example).

The third section is devoted to an overview of what Dertouzos sees as the major changes that the Information Marketplace will bring to humanity. Here he introduces two new concepts: that of electronic bulldozers and electronic proximity. 'Electronic bulldozers' refers to the tremendous power of computers to do massive work in finding, organizing and presenting data and information to individuals; this ability to assemble huge amounts of information is unprecedented in human history. A companion notion is that of 'electronic proximity' ­ communications technologies will enable us to break free of purely geographical boundaries in interacting with people, and which will bring us into contact with potentially hundreds of millions of people across the planet. Yet just because we will have these capabilities does not mean we will be able to handle them appropriately; human beings are, after all, still limited by our mental abilities to process data and to manage relationships with people. Thus the challenges will be how to educate individuals to maximize the potential of the Information Marketplace with care and reason, and not to become overwhelmed. He ends this third section with a vision of how the availablility of information in this manner may help to bridge the traditional gap between the arts and the sciences, where both communities see the value in the other.

Despite being written by one of the leading visionaries behind this emerging Information Marketplace, What Will Be is a relatively dry and uninspiring book. There's not much in it that we haven't heard before. Dertouzos does present his information and predictions in an interesting way (through the use of vignettes), but even this device gets stale after repeated use. However, the way he says it in no way should diminish the importance (and fundamental correctness) of what he is saying.

10 keys to career success

Want to increase your income and be more fulfilled?

Two decades of studying "Winning Edge" entrepreneurs (those in the top three percent of their industry or profession) has turned up 10 keys to their financial and personal success. Using these keys can increase your profits and fulfillment too.

The 10 keys used by Winning Edge entrepreneurs. They:

1. Have a Written Business Plan - A written business plan, including financial projections, is the most important criterion when predicting a businesses' success, according to numerous studies of successful and failed businesses. Successful entrepreneurs invest time in writing their goals, including their financial projections, and how they are going to achieve each. They also have a well versed Chief Financial Officer (or financial coach) to assure they stay on top of their cash flow, their profit after taxes, and in their balance sheet.

Having a written game plan is the most basic tool for maximizing your career success. Make sure yours has a strong financial planning element in it. Write it out and put it where you can review your progress at least monthly. Update your plan, including your net worth, the same time each year. Get a career coach and perhaps a financial coach or advisor, if that will help you do this well.

2. Satisfy a perceived unmet need - Winning Edgers think empathetically not egotistically. They focus on being best at satisfying other's perceived needs, not on what they want to sell to others. The former is a service or giving mentality. The latter is a getting or selfish mentality. Examples include Walt Disney who wanted to give the world's families at least a few minutes of happiness when he opened Disneyland 50 years ago. The Nordstrom family wanted to give superior service to their shoppers, and Jeep wanted to give a feeling of adventure and independence to Jeep owners. Each thought in terms of their customer's needs that they could satisfy best.
Think and talk empathetically. Describe your work in terms of what needs you satisfy. Do the same thing in your resume'. This is a lot more effective than including how much experience you have, or the tasks you have done.

3. Anticipate their customer's needs better than their competition -Wayne Gretzy once told me that his secret to scoring 2,500 points in the National Hockey League faster than any one is that: "I skate to where the puck is going to be better than most players. That gives me a huge advantage." Bill Gates would probably say something similar. Each of these Winning Edgers demonstrates a special ability to anticipate where the need is going to be, and to get there first, prepared to maximize that advantage.
Invest time in developing anticipatory skills and knowledge that give you an ability to anticipate needs better than your competitors. Listen to tapes by futurists like Faith Popcorn, attend lectures by leading-edge thinkers at your local college, or join a mastermind group of people who think "out of the box," to stay on the edge of change.

4. Understand and really know their customers better than their competitors- Winning Edgers have honed their empathic skills and have learned to understand their customer's needs, values, and decision making style better than their competitors. Most Winning Edges with whom I have worked have gotten to know each core customer so well they can speak in terms the customer finds easy to understand and act upon.
They often use behavioral and communications tools to help them understand their customers. A common tool they use is the Meyers-Briggs Temperament Survey. The MBTI helps entrepreneurs understand how their customers prefer to take in information and how they prefer to make decisions. Knowing this about their customers gives Winning Edgers a huge competitive advantage, when convincing them to buy the entrepreneur's product or service.

Become knowledgeable with behavioral tools that can strengthen your understanding of how and why people (including yourself) prefer to behave. Get to know how each of your bosses prefers to take in information and how each prefers to makes decisions. When you do, your communications will be much more effective. You will find yourself better able to get things done, with less effort, giving you a huge competitive advantage.

5. Invest in Their Future - Winning Edge entrepreneurs do not count their profits until they have invested part of their income into: a) learning more about their customers, b) advancing their technology and their knowledge of it, c) strengthening their team and, d) better preparing themselves for the future. They have a written developmental plan with a budget to support it.
Share your written developmental plan with someone close to you and ask him or her to hold you accountable for your achieving it. Then review your progress with them at least quarterly. Update the entire plan annually. Remember that your take home pay isn't yours to spend until you have invested part of it toward further increasing your value.

6. Know their Stakeholders and have each committed to the venture's success - Winning Edgers know the people who have a stake in the success or the failure of their venture and who have the power to influence its outcome. These stakeholders can be a key customer, a core vendor, a critical lawmaker and/or one of the executives in the company's game maker/breaker positions.
Winning Edge entrepreneurs consistently turn each key stakeholder into an advocate for the venture's success.

Make sure each of your top five stakeholders is your advocate. It takes focus and work. The rewards are huge while the risks of not doing so can spell career disaster.

I often have worked with senior executives who have lost their jobs. When asked who their top five stakeholders were in their last position, and what role each stakeholder played in their career being temporarily, or maybe permanently derailed, the executive typically has reacted with chagrin and embarrassment. He then has quickly followed up with a declaration that he will certainly better cultivate his key stakeholders next time!

7. Are Passionate about their business and their role in it - Living with passion is probably the cornerstone to building a successful business. Winning Edgers are some of the most passionate people with whom I have had the privilege of working.

The three-bricklayer story I tell in my workshops demonstrates this concept as well as any I have heard: When asked: what are you doing? The first of three workers at the same construction site answered: " I'm getting paid $15 per hour. I hate my job, and always look forward to weekends and other days off. But I have to work to pay the bills."

The second bricklayer said he was laying bricks until he could really do what he wanted to do: retire and "really start living!" With excitement he described the motor home trip he and his wife constantly talked about. He reported their retirement planning consumed almost all of their conversations. "Just think," he said excitedly, "it's only four years, two months and three more weeks until I can start to really live."

The third bricklayer stood back, took a breath, and with shinning eyes and a peaceful smile said: "I'm helping save lives. We're building a cathedral here. People will come to this building and worship their Lord. They'll find a special peace they'll take home to their families. I love making a difference in people's lives by using my ability to lay bricks." Then, he added with enthusiasm, that when he retired he planned to work for Habitat for Humanity to continue making the world a little better by using his brick laying skills.

Winning Edgers are like the third bricklayer: they find their gift and pass it on to make the greatest difference in the world. They know the word passion is really three words: PASS I ON, and they do that each day. They also know that with out passion, they'll probably be constantly fatigued and risk burnout before achieving their goals.

We all know examples of each bricklayer in our lives.

Manage your career toward your being like the third bricklayer. Find the higher purpose in what you do, or do something else. Finding passion in every day activities is one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself.

8. Have a championship Coaching Staff- Sometimes called a life board, the Winning Edger's coaching staff includes experts with complementary skills who are committed in the entrepreneur's success. Sometimes your coaching staff will meet as a group with you. Often though, they never know each other. My entrepreneurial coaching staff has included the coaches already mentioned, plus a spiritual coach and a marriage coach. They have never met each other. And they have changed over the years, as they and I have changed. Winning Edgers have constantly told me that their coaching staff has added great value to their lives and to the success of their ventures.
Create your own coaching staff. It can be the most powerful concept you can get from Winning Edgers. Coaches are everywhere. Usually they have "been there, done that." Often they are friends, relatives, or retirees. Sometimes you'll want to pay a person to be your coach. Call The Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (714) 220-9431 for more information on getting a professional coach.

9. Well-Honed Exit Strategy- Knowing where he wants to end up, helps the Winning Edger choose the best team and path for the journey. Whether the goal is going public, selling to a competitor, or to a vendor, the entrepreneur's clear exit strategy helps decisions to be made quicker and easier.
Keep your career destination in writing and in your mind. Have a date by which you will have accomplished your "exit." This BIG PICTURE will help you keep short-term challenges in perspective. It will also assure your written career plan gets you where you want to end up.


10. Know Everything Counts - His friends, the clothes he wears, what he reads, the exercise he gets, even what and where he eats, all play a role in the Winning Edger's success ... and he knows it. He also knows the TV he watches, the memberships and friends he has, as well as his hobbies, help or hinder his venture's progress.
Use everything you do to achieve your goals. Your first step is to know that everything you do each day plays a role in your career and your life. The second step is to make sure everything counts toward (not away from) each of your goals being met.

You can be as entrepreneurially competent and successful as your Winning Edge counterparts. Use the Winning Edger's 10 keys to mind your career like it's your business ... because it is.

Why do talented employees leave companies??

The answer lies in one of the largest studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization. The study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000 Managers and was published in a book called "First Break All The Rules".

It came up with this surprising finding: If you're losing good people, look to their immediate supervisor. More than any other single reason, he is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he's the reason why they quit, taking their knowledge, experience and contacts with them. Often, straight to the competition.

"People leave managers not companies", write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. "So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people - in the form of better pay, better perks and better training - when, in the end, turnover is mostly manager issue."

If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers. Are they driving people away?

Beyond a point, an employee's primary need has less to do with money, and more to do with how he’s treated and how valued he feels. Much of this depends directly on the immediate manager. And yet, bad bosses seem to happen to good people everywhere. A Fortune magazine survey some years ago found that nearly 75 per cent of employees have suffered at the hands of difficult superiors. You can leave one job to find - you guessed it, another wolf in a pin-stripe suit in the next one.

Of all the workplace stressors, a bad boss is possibly the worst, directly impacting the emotional health and productivity of employees.

HR experts say that of all the abuses, employees find public humiliation the most intolerable. The first time, an employee may not leave, but a thought has been planted. The second time that thought gets strengthened. The third time, he starts looking for another job.

When people cannot retort openly in anger, they do so by passive aggression. By digging their heels in and slowing down. By doing only what they are told to do and no more. By omitting to give the boss crucial information.

Dev says: "If you work for a jerk, you basically want to get him into trouble. You don't have your heart and soul in the job." Different managers can stress out employees in different ways - by being too controlling, too suspicious, too pushy, too critical, but they forget that workers are not fixed assets they are free agents. When this goes on too long, an employee will quit - often over seemingly trivial issue.

It isn't the 100th blow that knocks a good man down. It's the 99 that went before.

And while it's true that people leave jobs for all kinds of reasons - for better opportunities or for circumstantial reasons, many who leave would have stayed - had it not been for one man constantly telling them, as Arun’s boss did: "You are dispensable. I can find dozens like you." While it seems like there are plenty of other fish especially in today's waters, consider for a moment the cost of losing a talented employee.

There's the cost of finding a replacement. The cost of training the replacement. The cost of not having someone to do the job in the meantime.

The loss of clients and contacts the person had with the industry. The loss of morale in co-workers. The loss of trade secrets this person may now share with others. Plus, of course, the loss of the company's reputation. Every person who leaves a corporation then becomes its ambassador, for better or for worse.

We all know of large IT companies that people would love to join and large television companies few want to go near. In both cases, former employees have left to tell their tales. "Any company trying to compete must figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee,” Jack Welch of GE once said.......Much of a company's value lies "between the ears of its employees". If it’s bleeding talent, it's bleeding value.

Unfortunately, many senior executives busy travelling the world, signing new deals and developing a vision for the company, have little idea of what may be going on at home.

That deep within an organization that otherwise does all the right things, one man could be driving its best people away.

The Leadership Styles in a Nutshell

By Daniel Goleman, Primal Leadership.

VISIONARY-Moves people toward shared dreams.

· Impact on Climate: Most strongly positive

· When Appropriate: When changes require a new vision, or when a clear direction is needed

COACHING-Connects what a person wants with the organization’s goals.

· Impact on Climate: Highly positive

· When Appropriate: To help an employee improve performance by building long-term capabilities

AFFILIATIVE-Creates harmony by connecting people to each other.

· Impact on Climate: Positive

· When Appropriate: To heal rifts in a team, motivate during stressful times, or strengthen connections

DEMOCRATIC-Values people’s input and gets commitment through participation.

· Impact on Climate: Positive

· When Appropriate: To build buy-in or consensus, or to get valuable input from employees

PACESETTING-Meets challenging and exciting goals.

· Impact on Climate: Because too frequently poorly executed, often highly negative

· When Appropriate: In a crisis, to kick-start a turnaround, or with problem employees

Mind Your Own Business : Book Summary.

A maverick is an independent person who will not go along with the other members of a group (Oxford ESL Dictionary). This book provides priceless stories and insights from a maverick of the business world; an exemplary business leader who prefers not to follow orthodox beliefs in business, nor be eaten by the hyped up ideas of the present. Instead, he chooses the course of action that is appropriate for the changing times.

The Maverick’s Way: New Old Thing

What is effective? This is the question answered by the maverick. He reconciles the good things from both the Old and New times, and focuses on what is really effective in confronting the challenges of 21st century business dealings.

A maverick thinks outside of the bed, knows that it pays to be daring, does not allow technology to tyrannize, finds strength in diversity, maintains balance and harmony among people, sets leadership by example, has a strong ethical base, and values employees and customers. A maverick knows his customers and believes strongly in his products.
To a maverick, a company is a not just a big candy store. It is a living instrument with living human beings. It should have a HEART.

Keys to Leadership

The leader leads. He exercises critical judgment, which will have a great impact on his people.

The leader defines the company. The leader’s responsibility is to explicitly present and advocate the company’s purposes and goals.

The leader inspires. He gives sense and meaning to the job. He makes his people realize, that beyond profit there is an underlying meaning, value, and deeper reason for the work they do.

The leader should be the evangelist. He should be able to exercise his influence, to sell the values of ethical conduct.

The leader must see the company as a coherent whole. He should be aware of the diversity in the company and bring this together to promote the whole.

The leader must know that there is no better way to create a family in the workplace than to encourage the family at home. Harman International introduced the anti-domestic violence program in the company, which reinforces the idea that the company cares.

The leader should never underestimate the value of disciplined hard work.
The leader empowers subordinates to do their jobs. He should institute programs for the guidance and training of his people. He should always keep the lines of communication open.

The leader promotes closure. He should know the right time to get things done.

The leader knows what he doesn’t know. The leader is not afraid to ask clarifications, if he does not understand a particular subject.

The leader knows the meaning of two minutes. He should respect the time of others and that of his own.

The leader teaches.

Above all, the leader develops others. As Lao Tzu advanced: “the leader having accomplished great things, the people all feel they did it themselves…”

The very best leaders go beyond the mere setting of example. He should be able to cause a leap of imagination and faith in his people.

The leader recognizes that people are often at their very best the moment they have been let go. There are times when an employee doesn’t like the work anymore, or he is unable to appreciate how the whole enterprise works- this is the time to set him free.

A Company Must Be Profitable
1. A solid financial base is fundamental.
2. Debt should not exceed equity. A debt to equity ratio of 1 to 1 or better should be the goal, so that a company’s leader and key executives do not spend all their time on mere survival -paying bills, meeting the payroll, and keeping the banks happy- but moving forward and meeting bigger challenges and doing more visionary work.
3. There should be a regular process for annual strategic planning and budget-planning.

The Fundamentals of Profit and Loss
1. Manage expectations, not the profits. Keep the shareholders informed, to eliminate doubts of manipulating numbers.
2. The Chairman and CEO should be financially literate. They should know what the numbers really mean.
3. Good growth and profitability requires the exercise of critical judgment. The leader should make certain that the budget is one the company can live with.
4. In repurchasing the company’s own stocks, make sure that it will add to the company’s earnings.
5. Look into the availability of funds so that the balance sheet will not be compromised.

Make an Edge in the Business World
1. Writing. It is a unique and powerful skill you can use for clarity and persuasion.
2. Public Speaking and Story-telling. Speak directly, and without notes, to your audience. Individuals respond to a well-told story.
3. Thinking. People do not respect sloppy thinking in a leader. Thoughts should be carefully considered then expressed directly, crisply, and clearly.

Add Value to Your Business

The purpose of creating a business is to sell it. When it comes time to sell, you want the success of your business to be dependent on systems and not on you. Therefore, you must work on your business as well as in it. You always want to keep the big picture in mind and not get immersed in the details. How do you approach this? Develop systems to enhance it.

There are just four ways to grow your business:
1. Increase the number of customers of the type you want.
2. Increase the frequency with which they deal with you.
3. Increase the average value of the sales transaction.
4. Improve the effectiveness of the processes in your business.

Remember that one of the four reasons for being in business is to have fun.
Your business is there for your benefit; you are not there for its benefit.


What you can measure, you can manage. If you are not measuring a process, it is almost certain that you are not managing it. Think about your business and what makes it profitable. Are you measuring these processes?

• How many customers do you have?
• How many new customers did you get during the last month and the last year?
• What was the source of these customers?

If you and your team are doing activities that you cannot measure, then the chances are that those activities are adding no value. If they are adding no value, why waste your time doing them?

Build your Unique Core Differentiators (UCD’S). This information bulletin is part of our UCD’S. What have you got?

Look for a second dimension in selling your product. Extended warranties, companion selling, etc.

Learn to really listen. Don’t prescribe a solution unless you really understand the problem. Cutting the price is the easy option - but there is often a better way. It will be harder, but you will earn more money and add more value to your business.

Lower the barriers to doing business with you. Some businesses still do not accept credit cards. (Have I hit a sensitive nerve here?) Should you be taking debit cards?

The more specific things you can tell, the more you can sell. What are the reasons your customers deal with you? Tell these reasons to others and see if you gain new customers.

Avoid changing horses in midstream. If you have tested or measured a system or a process and it works, stick with it until you develop an improved system or process.
Know the power of one. Direct your efforts to one customer or to one prospective customer who requires your service or product; don’t direct your efforts to those who don’t require them.

Learn the value of discovering key frustrations.
Systematize: have a specific way of doing every thing.

Set performance standards: have a best way of doing things.

Invert your pyramid and empower your team. The team you have in place can solve most day to day problems. They can do it faster and more effectively than you can. You just need a way of identifying the solution and applying it. Give them the skill and the authority.

Don’t just reverse the risk, remove it. If you give guarantees, you must have systems in place so that the only result will be the one where you will meet your guarantee.
Give your team a clear and detailed action plan. Be pro-active in following up on orders.
Create offers to add value and to encourage faster responses. If offers increase responses considerably, why run an advertisement without an offer?

Add a 3rd dimension to marketing your product. Consider a Host Beneficiary program. Who else is serving your customers? They want access to your customers. You want access to theirs. Find a way to work together to benefit both.

These ideas will only work if you implement them. As the Nike people say, "JUST DO IT!"

Great Expectations Get Great Results

Remember the Gulf War? Remember "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf, the American general who became a hero? Many interesting things came out of that, not the least of which was stories about some techniques Schwarzkopf used. They are the same techniques you and I can use to get things done.

One of the most succinct examples concerned Stormin' Norman and his experience when taking command of helicopter maintenance early in his career. He'd ask how much of the fleet could fly any given day, taking into account maintenance schedules. "Seventy-five percent" was the reply. Wondering why it wasn't 73% or 74%, but always 75%, he decided to set a NEW standard. "I don't know anything about helicopter maintenance, but I'm establishing a new standard of 85%," he announced. Sure enough, in very quick time, 85% operability became the norm. It's interesting isn't it? People perform to expectations. If you set low expectations that are what you get. Set them high, and it's truly amazing how your new level has a way of becoming reality.

Creating benchmarks - for your people and yourself - has an uncanny way of coming to pass. Let me give you a case in point. John Mitchell is a pharmacist in Stirling, South Australia. John simply set benchmarks for his team. Was it some complicated selling process? He developed a checklist to help his people identify up-selling opportunities. He gave the checklist to his team and then put up a white board where they would "chalk up" every successful up-selling transaction. It became a fun challenge for them to beat the others and achieve the highest tally for the week. His only cost for this incentive was dinner for two for the winner on his team. His reward was (and is) incredible and far-reaching! To his utter amazement, putting a performance standard on cross-selling now accounts for 50% MORE SALES value from every transaction. As he put it, he wouldn't have believed it until he saw it happen. (His profitability increase, of course, will be much, much more.)

Now take the case of Ian Stathie of Wray Owen Funeral Directors. He sent us an article from a US funeral industry magazine. In it is the most comprehensive set of performance benchmarks you can imagine, benchmarks that allow the members to strive for excellence AND measure their commercial prosperity. For example, they carefully monitor such things as the total number and value of "pre-need" insurance sales, total number of deaths that were pre-funded, percentage of embalming to total calls, percentage of casket to total calls and so on. Morbid? No, it's just sound and professional business practice.

They DON'T pay lip service to setting standards and benchmarks. They DO it and then monitor it. As the article says, "These are people who want to excel, people who want to give every family they serve extra value for their dollar - these are people who look at everything with an open mind." The truth is, too, that these people understand this great truth, "What you can measure, you can manage." Again, what you can measure you can manage. Put another way, if you are trying to manage something that you're not measuring, you've got a snowflake's chance - well, you know the rest. You have very little chance of managing it effectively.

Career Warfare

"10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Fighting to Keep It"

It is a tough and competitive business environment you live and it is getting more and more difficult to achieve your goals। You have to stand out among your colleagues and competitors। You have to work hard for career advancement, and better compensation.Whether you are a senior executive, an entrepreneur or an employee, this book will show you the best way to succeed, accomplish your personal and career goals, outshine your competition and differentiate yourself from the pack. David F. D’Alessandro shows you how to stand out from the crowd by developing your own “personal brand”; and provides valuable lessons in the etiquette of reputation building.What is Personal Brand?You need to realize that success does not only come from hard work and appropriately playing the part. To be successful in business and in your career, you must be able to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack - you need to develop, build and defend your reputation.Personal branding is a way you manage your career or business. It is a way of communicating that makes you different and special. By using these qualities you can distinguish yourself from your peers so that you can expand your success.There are 10 rules you can follow for building a successful personal brand and keeping it:

Rule 1: Try to Look Beyond Your Own Navel - The biggest obstacle in building a positive personal brand is your own ego. In order to develop an attractive personal brand, you need to have self-respect and you need to respect the people around you.

Rule 2: Like It or Not, Your Boss is the Coauthor of Your Brand - You must realize and accept the fact that early on in your career, your boss will reap most of the rewards for ideas you give, money that you brought in, etc. This is how the corporate world operates. Do not fight the power structure. Instead learn how to play and live by it.

Rule 3: Put Your Boss on the Couch - Not all bosses will help you. It is best that you recognize what type of personality your boss has so that you would realize what advantages and disadvantages this person can cause to your brand.

Rule 4: Learn Which One is the Pickle Fork - Good manners are crucial in developing and enhancing your personal brand. Manners are about consideration and respect, knowledge and patience. Practice good business etiquette.

Rule 5: Kenny Rogers is Right - While it is important for you to seize the opportunity to build your brand, it is equally crucial to know what battles to take. Know when to keep on fighting and when to move fold.

Rule 6: It’s Always Show Time - You must realize that reputations are not usually made by big events - sometimes it is those big events that smear your brand. What builds your reputation is your day-to-day behavior in the business setting, such as how you deal with people, how you make decisions, your work habits, etc.

Rule 7: Make the Right Enemies - The best personal brands include courtesy, fairness, tolerance, self-respect and having good and proper manners. However, a small amount of ruthlessness is good for your brand. Your reputation will not suffer much if you fight your enemies, but it will suffer if you lose your self-respect.

Rule 8: Try Not To Be Swallowed By the Bubble - Once you are successful in building your brand and is rising in the ranks, do not lose sight of the forest. Do not be too full of yourself that you will be swallowed by success. It is bad for your humanity, and bad for your career.

Rule 9: The Higher You Fly, the More You Will Be Shot At - Everybody makes mistakes. The higher you are in the ladder of success, the more likely that your mistakes will be highlighted. Accept the fact that bad press comes with prominence in any field.

Rule 10: Everybody Could have Been a Contender; Make Sure You Stay One - Set yourself to be distinct from your peers. Since you are constantly being compared to your peers, don’t be afraid to offer something unique or distinctive. Don’t give up easily. Don’t throw in the towel immediately because of a setback or two. Learn from your mistakes and turn it into an opportunity. Don’t lie, cheat or steal. Be cautious of the reputation.

Extract of Mr.Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session:

I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put these hours for years. I don't know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace. Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit. Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue.
Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday. Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behavior poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another. As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves on time. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding groups e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday. Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives.
For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:

1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc
5) Eat well and sleep well. This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2. Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts.
They are hard for some of us because that requires personal change. They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them. In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my eldest son. When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep, no matter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss something. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out. Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they don't want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life!! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you're asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Guarantee Your Reliability

Let's begin with a question: How could you dominate a market?
One key to doing it is to ask yourself, "What frustration(s) do people experience when dealing with people in my industry or profession?" Find the answer and then go for it. Make solving that frustration your own Unique Selling Proposition.

Take trades people or contractors as an example. The almost universal frustration is that they are unreliable. So, a firm that sets up its operations to reverse that and be totally reliable is bound to win. That's particularly true if the firm guarantees what it does. For instance, "When we say we'll be there at 10 o'clock, if we're not, the first half hour of the job is on us."

As one client said recently, even to get a tradesperson to quote a time would be a major breakthrough, never mind guaranteeing it. The FIXZIT people in Brisbane, Australia are a good example. They've built a franchised chain almost solely on solving the frustrations that people feel. They carry it through with wonderful thank-you cards and performance guarantees. Their thank-you card serves a dual purpose; it also surveys their customers.
So, what is it for you? If we went out in the marketplace and asked customers of your industry or profession what the biggest frustration is that they have dealing with this particular industry, what would they say? If you knew, you could take the idea and make sure they never experience that frustration when they deal with you.
Let's take a simple example. Hairdressers, or if you like, doctors. Every single one of us has been kept waiting by these people. So, a hairdresser or a doctor who advertised similarly will reap significant rewards: "The only hairdresser in ABC town who is professional and caring enough to make it up to you in a big way if you're kept waiting for longer than two minutes."
Importantly, we need to understand, too, that doing things this way not only gets you significant new business, it also can get you significant price gains.

Sense of a Goose

When you see geese flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:

• As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

• When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

• When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.

• Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What messages do we give when we honk from behind?

• Finally ... and this is important ... when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Bill Gate's rules.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! 

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. 

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. 

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity. 

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. 

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. 

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. 

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time. 

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. 

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.