NY Times Business Best Sellers & Recommended Reading
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity by John Mehrmann
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman
Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness by Esther Hicks
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Pink Daniel H.
The Speed of Trust by Rebecca R./ Merrill, Rebecca R. (CON) Merrill
Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
A Sense of Urgency by John P. Kotter
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David M. Smick
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future by T. Boone Pickens
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
http://www.amazon.com/NY-Times-Business-Best-Sellers/lm/R3DU9GN0H2SJ7V/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full
Monday, December 8, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Trusted Advocate is the Most Recent Award Winning Book for the Amazon Kindle Reader
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity, by John Mehrmann and Mitchell Simon, is now available for the Amazon Kindle Reader at a discounted price.
PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 24, 2008 – The award winning book, The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity is available as an electronic book for the Amazon Wireless Reading Device.
Released just in time for holiday shopping, the paperless electronic copy of The ‘Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity’ is the perfect gift for colleagues, peers, employees, managers, and family members. Available from the Amazon Kindle Store for less than US Ten Dollars, this small investment can alter the course of a career, guiding the reader and the organization to new levels of success in the coming year. It is a gift that continues giving with a new discovery in every chapter of the book.
Popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey announced her endorsement for the Amazon Kindle e-book reader. On her talk show, joined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oprah proclaimed the Kindle as her favorite new gadget. Books on Oprah’s Kindle include ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, ‘The Forever War’ by Dexter Filkins, and Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones’ by Suzanne Somers.
“I recommend that once you read ‘The Trusted Advocate’, you will not want to put it down. You will find extraordinary ideas in this book which will transform your way of thinking, create a positive customer experience and create a happier you,’ said Rick Driscoll, President and CEO
The electronic version of ‘The Trusted Advocate’ is available at a mere fraction of the price of the Hard Cover version, but contains all of the same inspirational, motivational, and educational material.
“There are a few books in my collection that I keep close at hand to refer to again and again. ‘The Trusted Advocate’ is one of those books. John Mehrmann shows you how to build a business with integrity that keeps customers coming back because you are considered a valued resource and advocate for their business. You will learn how to engage customers and build relationships,” said Mike Coleman, speaker, author, and marketing consultant with Charting My Course. www.ChartingMyCourse.com
“John’s extensive experience in the arena of sales and his system of selling are right for the times we live in. John Mehrmann’s books and articles should certainly be at the top of your reading list,” said Will Fultz, author of www.TopSalesBlog.com
‘The Trusted Advocate’ has received both the Editor’s Choice Award and the coveted Publisher’s Choice Award in 2008. Hard Cover copies and Paperback versions of the book are available for purchase online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble Bookstores, and Borders. In addition, international recognition for ‘The Trusted Advocate’ have fueled international sales of the book.
For more information on ‘The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity’, and a list of suggested international online sales outlets, please visit www.Trusted101.com
To purchase the Amazon Kindle version of ‘The Trusted Advocate’, simply visit the Kindle Store at Amazon and follow the instructions to download an e-book version. For more reader reviews, chapter summaries, excerpts from the book, and a list of online booksellers, please visit http://www.Trusted101.com
# # #
John Mehrmann, author of The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity. Visit http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com for free articles, free download presentations and training materials, case studies, and incredible information
http://www.prlog.org/10145391-the-trusted-advocate-is-the-most-recent-award-winning-book-for-the-amazon-kindle-reader.html
PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 24, 2008 – The award winning book, The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity is available as an electronic book for the Amazon Wireless Reading Device.
Released just in time for holiday shopping, the paperless electronic copy of The ‘Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity’ is the perfect gift for colleagues, peers, employees, managers, and family members. Available from the Amazon Kindle Store for less than US Ten Dollars, this small investment can alter the course of a career, guiding the reader and the organization to new levels of success in the coming year. It is a gift that continues giving with a new discovery in every chapter of the book.
Popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey announced her endorsement for the Amazon Kindle e-book reader. On her talk show, joined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oprah proclaimed the Kindle as her favorite new gadget. Books on Oprah’s Kindle include ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, ‘The Forever War’ by Dexter Filkins, and Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones’ by Suzanne Somers.
“I recommend that once you read ‘The Trusted Advocate’, you will not want to put it down. You will find extraordinary ideas in this book which will transform your way of thinking, create a positive customer experience and create a happier you,’ said Rick Driscoll, President and CEO
The electronic version of ‘The Trusted Advocate’ is available at a mere fraction of the price of the Hard Cover version, but contains all of the same inspirational, motivational, and educational material.
“There are a few books in my collection that I keep close at hand to refer to again and again. ‘The Trusted Advocate’ is one of those books. John Mehrmann shows you how to build a business with integrity that keeps customers coming back because you are considered a valued resource and advocate for their business. You will learn how to engage customers and build relationships,” said Mike Coleman, speaker, author, and marketing consultant with Charting My Course. www.ChartingMyCourse.com
“John’s extensive experience in the arena of sales and his system of selling are right for the times we live in. John Mehrmann’s books and articles should certainly be at the top of your reading list,” said Will Fultz, author of www.TopSalesBlog.com
‘The Trusted Advocate’ has received both the Editor’s Choice Award and the coveted Publisher’s Choice Award in 2008. Hard Cover copies and Paperback versions of the book are available for purchase online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble Bookstores, and Borders. In addition, international recognition for ‘The Trusted Advocate’ have fueled international sales of the book.
For more information on ‘The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity’, and a list of suggested international online sales outlets, please visit www.Trusted101.com
To purchase the Amazon Kindle version of ‘The Trusted Advocate’, simply visit the Kindle Store at Amazon and follow the instructions to download an e-book version. For more reader reviews, chapter summaries, excerpts from the book, and a list of online booksellers, please visit http://www.Trusted101.com
# # #
John Mehrmann, author of The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity. Visit http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com for free articles, free download presentations and training materials, case studies, and incredible information
http://www.prlog.org/10145391-the-trusted-advocate-is-the-most-recent-award-winning-book-for-the-amazon-kindle-reader.html
Performance Management
Data is worthless, but knowledge is priceless. Perhaps no single event in history underscored this more dramatically than the rise and fall of the Dot Com Era. Accumulating massive data warehouses of information and customer records proved to be worthless when data could not be converted into real world revenue.
During the Dot Com Era, some organizations recognized the benefits of using data as a means to provide meaningful and informative results. These organizations enjoyed exponential growth with intelligent decisions, both for themselves and as a service for their customers. The organizations that collected massive amounts of data and failed to transform the data into business intelligence and performance management became colorful examples of failed business plans. The failed organizations became vacant high rise versions of ghost towns, lined with ping pong tables and beanbag chairs. Meanwhile, the organizations that turned data into knowledge, metrics into performance management, and fed intelligent responses to customers, became dominant forces in a new economy. One need not look any further than Google to see a brilliant example of turning access to data into a responsive, informative, and intelligent tool for client convenience and generating internal revenue. The Internet is an ocean of publicly accessible data, most of which may be considered worthless when taken out of context. However, when this enormous vault of human knowledge and creativity is harnessed and focused through the single microscopic lens of a search engine to sort, filter, and present the relevant data, then the data becomes knowledge on a silver platter.
Does your organization harness the power of data or the power of knowledge?
Does your organization collect information for reporting or for informed real time business decisions?
Does your organization use data to measure the performance of the past or to apply measurements to predict and alter the course of the future?
You really do have a crystal ball, because history really does repeat itself. If you have collected historical data and measurements, then you have the framework to begin building your the future according to your own plans and blueprints. If you understand the cause and the effect of your actions and your decisions in market conditions and environments, then you can make knowledgeable decisions to chart the course of your destiny. You can respond to external conditions, you can react to internal changes, and you can change the course of your own destiny.
You can choose to use information to deliver focused and informed results for better understanding and decisions, using your data like Google. Alternately, you can collect data to make colorful roadmap reports of where you have been, and select the graphs that portray only the desired perspectives. Reports tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but often do not portray the whole truth. You will know when you are on the right track when your metrics, dashboards, and performance management look forward at least as much as they report backward on historical trends.
Cashing in data and history for performance management, knowledge, and revenue is not just for big organizations. The same principles apply for individual planning and performance as well.
Advance Alerts and Exception Based Reports
Gather your most relevant data and reports that demonstrate the key metrics for measuring success. The key metrics for measuring success quite often include the following topics
Finance, revenue or costs
Customer satisfaction
Quality
Productivity
Speed
Performance
Refer to the data that you have been using to measure your performance in the past. Identify the critical components that have influenced finance, customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, speed, or performance. Make a list of events, internal, and external catalysts that have resulted in specific desired or undesired outcomes. Using your experience and historical data, make a note of the cause and effect illustrated in your trends. Study the causes to extract meaningful measurements that result in desired and undesired trends.
Once you have identified critical catalysts with associated metrics, then you can create new predictive reports to help guide your business with intelligent information.
Reports that contain all available data may be overwhelming and may actually hide important facts or trends. If you are measuring hundreds or thousands of transactions, the average performance might be acceptable enough to temporarily hide a few individual exceptions that could create a future catastrophe. Augment the reports of overall activity with specific, focused, exception based reports that isolate the data elements that you have determined to be catalysts for your business. The exception based reports are based on those exceptions from normal business that you have identified as the root cause for good or bad effects. These concentrated reports should be reviewed for immediate response, and the overall effects should create a consistent result in the reports for overall accumulated activity.
Short Term Goals and Long Term Goals
Be sure to compare short term and long term plans, goals, and trends. Monthly and quarterly activity may be the result of seasonal trends. Weekly trends may reflect consistent activities on certain days of the week. Marketing and sales activities are especially impacted by daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly trends. These activities may also be greatly impacted by external events. When gathering data for historical analysis to create predictive trends, document footnotes as a reminder of external events and activities that may influence your results.
For personal planning and internal organizational planning, balance short term goals with long term goals. This is especially true when balancing personal and professional budgets. Short term investments should be balanced with long term rewards. Spending a budget when it is available, to avoid losing it, is sometimes in the best interest of both short term and long term goals. Putting off an activity, scheduling time and resources, is often highly influenced by immediate and urgent needs. Compare urgent needs to long term priorities and extended impact to determine the best balanced approach.
Balance Company and Personal Objectives
Are the management reports accurately reflected in the personnel performance metrics? When it comes time to provide yearly reviews, have the specific measurements for individual performance been accurately reflected to coincide with the performance reports administered by the organization?
Each individual should have a personal set of defined goals and objectives that can be measured for performance. The measurement for performance may be based on speed, accuracy, quality, or simply based on completion of certain tasks. Timeliness and customer satisfaction are also common measurements for performance. Individual indicators should be directly connected with the overall performance management reports. This enables each individual to recognize how much personal performance impacts the total team achievement. When this happens it is very easy to conduct performance appraisals in a fair and unbiased manner, with no surprises for anyone. More importantly, the recognition of personal contribution becomes a daily conversation of mutual commitment, rather than a yearly review.
Balance Internal and External Objectives
If you achieve your goals and objectives, is it at the expense of your vendors, suppliers, or clients? If meeting your objectives requires unbalanced sacrifice from business partners or customers, then you have only delayed inevitable decay and your own demise. If your success can only be achieved by sacrificing vendors or suppliers, then the best ones will eventually lose interest and find alternatives to protect their own organizations. Creating this culture with vendors causes conflict and a lack of mutual commitment. Treat vendors and suppliers as partners for mutual success, and expect the same in return.
If your success requires the unilateral sacrifice of clients, then you will likely find yourself without any customers. Clients can be as loyal as vendors and suppliers when treated with dignity, value, commitment, and respect. Clients will not be as patient as vendors if this relationship is lacking.
Use Technology to Empower Business Objectives
Use technology to collect, collate, and isolate the key catalysts for your business. Use historical trends to create exception based predictive reports. Monitor the trends of short term and long term activities and objectives. Use real data to demonstrate individual performance as it contributes to overall performance, and make this available to individual contributors on a daily basis. When you empower individuals to monitor performance on a daily basis, the individuals begin to manage success of the overall business. The individual contributors are most likely to recognize the cause and effect as illustrated in exception based reports, and have the ability to apply effective change when necessary. Individual contributors typically have the most significant personal relationships or interactions with vendors, suppliers, and customers. Technology can be used to enable visibility throughout the entire organization. Technology can facilitate empowered and informed communication, supplying not only the exceptional trends, but also the specific supporting data that is necessary to make real time educated decisions.
Now the decision is yours. Will you use technology to aggregate and communicate relevant data in focused response like Google, or will you be sitting back in your beanbag chair with your colorful graphs of a bygone era?
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."- Alan Kay
"All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse."- Benjamin Franklin
"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
"Data is worthless, but knowledge is priceless."- John Mehrmann
______________________________________________________
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity is now available for the Amazon Kindle e-book Reader
The Trusted Advocate is also available online in hardcover and paperback from www.Amazon.com (Hardcover), www.Amazon.com (Paperback), www.BarnessndNoble,com, www.Borders.com, and www.Target.com.
"There are a few books in my collection that I keep close at hand to refer to again and again. The Trusted Advocate is one of those books. John shows you how to build a business with integrity that keeps customers coming back because you are considered a valued resource and advocate for their business. You will learn how to engage customers and build relationships rather than 'selling'.
Real world examples of the principles taught in the book are scattered throughout along with activities that will help you apply the principles John teaches. Check out the advocate cycle on page 125. If you do nothing but follow this practical example, you will have a better business, stronger relationships, and increased sales."
Mike Coleman
Speaker, Author, and Marketing Consultant
Charting My Course
www.ChartingMyCourse.com
During the Dot Com Era, some organizations recognized the benefits of using data as a means to provide meaningful and informative results. These organizations enjoyed exponential growth with intelligent decisions, both for themselves and as a service for their customers. The organizations that collected massive amounts of data and failed to transform the data into business intelligence and performance management became colorful examples of failed business plans. The failed organizations became vacant high rise versions of ghost towns, lined with ping pong tables and beanbag chairs. Meanwhile, the organizations that turned data into knowledge, metrics into performance management, and fed intelligent responses to customers, became dominant forces in a new economy. One need not look any further than Google to see a brilliant example of turning access to data into a responsive, informative, and intelligent tool for client convenience and generating internal revenue. The Internet is an ocean of publicly accessible data, most of which may be considered worthless when taken out of context. However, when this enormous vault of human knowledge and creativity is harnessed and focused through the single microscopic lens of a search engine to sort, filter, and present the relevant data, then the data becomes knowledge on a silver platter.
Does your organization harness the power of data or the power of knowledge?
Does your organization collect information for reporting or for informed real time business decisions?
Does your organization use data to measure the performance of the past or to apply measurements to predict and alter the course of the future?
You really do have a crystal ball, because history really does repeat itself. If you have collected historical data and measurements, then you have the framework to begin building your the future according to your own plans and blueprints. If you understand the cause and the effect of your actions and your decisions in market conditions and environments, then you can make knowledgeable decisions to chart the course of your destiny. You can respond to external conditions, you can react to internal changes, and you can change the course of your own destiny.
You can choose to use information to deliver focused and informed results for better understanding and decisions, using your data like Google. Alternately, you can collect data to make colorful roadmap reports of where you have been, and select the graphs that portray only the desired perspectives. Reports tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, but often do not portray the whole truth. You will know when you are on the right track when your metrics, dashboards, and performance management look forward at least as much as they report backward on historical trends.
Cashing in data and history for performance management, knowledge, and revenue is not just for big organizations. The same principles apply for individual planning and performance as well.
Advance Alerts and Exception Based Reports
Gather your most relevant data and reports that demonstrate the key metrics for measuring success. The key metrics for measuring success quite often include the following topics
Finance, revenue or costs
Customer satisfaction
Quality
Productivity
Speed
Performance
Refer to the data that you have been using to measure your performance in the past. Identify the critical components that have influenced finance, customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, speed, or performance. Make a list of events, internal, and external catalysts that have resulted in specific desired or undesired outcomes. Using your experience and historical data, make a note of the cause and effect illustrated in your trends. Study the causes to extract meaningful measurements that result in desired and undesired trends.
Once you have identified critical catalysts with associated metrics, then you can create new predictive reports to help guide your business with intelligent information.
Reports that contain all available data may be overwhelming and may actually hide important facts or trends. If you are measuring hundreds or thousands of transactions, the average performance might be acceptable enough to temporarily hide a few individual exceptions that could create a future catastrophe. Augment the reports of overall activity with specific, focused, exception based reports that isolate the data elements that you have determined to be catalysts for your business. The exception based reports are based on those exceptions from normal business that you have identified as the root cause for good or bad effects. These concentrated reports should be reviewed for immediate response, and the overall effects should create a consistent result in the reports for overall accumulated activity.
Short Term Goals and Long Term Goals
Be sure to compare short term and long term plans, goals, and trends. Monthly and quarterly activity may be the result of seasonal trends. Weekly trends may reflect consistent activities on certain days of the week. Marketing and sales activities are especially impacted by daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly trends. These activities may also be greatly impacted by external events. When gathering data for historical analysis to create predictive trends, document footnotes as a reminder of external events and activities that may influence your results.
For personal planning and internal organizational planning, balance short term goals with long term goals. This is especially true when balancing personal and professional budgets. Short term investments should be balanced with long term rewards. Spending a budget when it is available, to avoid losing it, is sometimes in the best interest of both short term and long term goals. Putting off an activity, scheduling time and resources, is often highly influenced by immediate and urgent needs. Compare urgent needs to long term priorities and extended impact to determine the best balanced approach.
Balance Company and Personal Objectives
Are the management reports accurately reflected in the personnel performance metrics? When it comes time to provide yearly reviews, have the specific measurements for individual performance been accurately reflected to coincide with the performance reports administered by the organization?
Each individual should have a personal set of defined goals and objectives that can be measured for performance. The measurement for performance may be based on speed, accuracy, quality, or simply based on completion of certain tasks. Timeliness and customer satisfaction are also common measurements for performance. Individual indicators should be directly connected with the overall performance management reports. This enables each individual to recognize how much personal performance impacts the total team achievement. When this happens it is very easy to conduct performance appraisals in a fair and unbiased manner, with no surprises for anyone. More importantly, the recognition of personal contribution becomes a daily conversation of mutual commitment, rather than a yearly review.
Balance Internal and External Objectives
If you achieve your goals and objectives, is it at the expense of your vendors, suppliers, or clients? If meeting your objectives requires unbalanced sacrifice from business partners or customers, then you have only delayed inevitable decay and your own demise. If your success can only be achieved by sacrificing vendors or suppliers, then the best ones will eventually lose interest and find alternatives to protect their own organizations. Creating this culture with vendors causes conflict and a lack of mutual commitment. Treat vendors and suppliers as partners for mutual success, and expect the same in return.
If your success requires the unilateral sacrifice of clients, then you will likely find yourself without any customers. Clients can be as loyal as vendors and suppliers when treated with dignity, value, commitment, and respect. Clients will not be as patient as vendors if this relationship is lacking.
Use Technology to Empower Business Objectives
Use technology to collect, collate, and isolate the key catalysts for your business. Use historical trends to create exception based predictive reports. Monitor the trends of short term and long term activities and objectives. Use real data to demonstrate individual performance as it contributes to overall performance, and make this available to individual contributors on a daily basis. When you empower individuals to monitor performance on a daily basis, the individuals begin to manage success of the overall business. The individual contributors are most likely to recognize the cause and effect as illustrated in exception based reports, and have the ability to apply effective change when necessary. Individual contributors typically have the most significant personal relationships or interactions with vendors, suppliers, and customers. Technology can be used to enable visibility throughout the entire organization. Technology can facilitate empowered and informed communication, supplying not only the exceptional trends, but also the specific supporting data that is necessary to make real time educated decisions.
Now the decision is yours. Will you use technology to aggregate and communicate relevant data in focused response like Google, or will you be sitting back in your beanbag chair with your colorful graphs of a bygone era?
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."- Alan Kay
"All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse."- Benjamin Franklin
"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
"Data is worthless, but knowledge is priceless."- John Mehrmann
______________________________________________________
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity is now available for the Amazon Kindle e-book Reader
The Trusted Advocate is also available online in hardcover and paperback from www.Amazon.com (Hardcover), www.Amazon.com (Paperback), www.BarnessndNoble,com, www.Borders.com, and www.Target.com.
"There are a few books in my collection that I keep close at hand to refer to again and again. The Trusted Advocate is one of those books. John shows you how to build a business with integrity that keeps customers coming back because you are considered a valued resource and advocate for their business. You will learn how to engage customers and build relationships rather than 'selling'.
Real world examples of the principles taught in the book are scattered throughout along with activities that will help you apply the principles John teaches. Check out the advocate cycle on page 125. If you do nothing but follow this practical example, you will have a better business, stronger relationships, and increased sales."
Mike Coleman
Speaker, Author, and Marketing Consultant
Charting My Course
www.ChartingMyCourse.com
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Why IBM Profits Rose 20 Percent While World Markets Fell 20 Percent
Amid the panic of investors, brokers, and analysts, world equity markets plunged 20 percent in one week. IBM presented signs of survival as the company prepares to release a full earning report on October 16 that will show a 20 percent jump in profit. The enormous impact of sickly stocks, broken banks, credit crunch, cascading consumer confidence, and the reeling real estate market will continue to affect the world economy for several more fiscal quarters. However, some companies will use this incredible period to rise to the top, gaining market share and profitability, despite adjustments in overall revenue. What can be learned from those that survive and thrive during a time of economic crises?
The Economic Crisis
Governments around the globe are investing in businesses and banks in an effort to avoid a complete collapse of affected institutions. However, the general public is not convinced that the government will be able to effectively run the businesses it has acquired with any better dexterity than existing mismanaged government budgets. Furthermore, although the infusion of funds may temporarily secure investments, it does not alter the effectively alter the transactions that instigated the decline.
Inflated values of derivatives, fueled by ambitious speculation and fortunes amassed by paper transactions rose to catastrophic levels. Derivatives are commitments to purchase commodities or financial instruments at a fixed price, with an agreement to take profits if the value of the asset rises. In recent years, mortgages sold at subprime rates were bundled into securities. Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch created offsetting credit derivatives to protect investors in the event that these securities defaulted. Credit derivatives benefitted from profits derived from the increased number of subprime loans and home sales during the real estate bubble. When housing prices dropped and interest rates rose, many adjustable-rate subprime mortgage owners were unable to keep up with the higher monthly payment. Mortgages defaulted, demand for houses cooled abruptly, and the suddenly above market rates of credit derivatives collapsed. AIG was the biggest investor with US $527 billion in these bonds.
World markets also fell prey to a pin-stripe financial pyramid schemes, suffering similar consequences on a global scale. In the first week of October, Tokyo fell 24.3 percent, Frankfurt fell 21.6 percent, London fell 21.1 percent, and Wall Street fell 19.8 percent. What was originally dismissed as merely a problem in the United States has shaken the foundations of financial institutions around the world.
Meanwhile, a little closer to home and possibly your own personal savings, you should be aware that mutual funds commonly contain derivatives in the portfolio. If you have investments in mutual funds, then you should consider investigating to determine if your holdings contain derivatives that regulators cannot control or even monitor. You can investigate your prospectus and the listing of holdings, or switch to a safe government bond fund. If this is the case for you, it may be time to replace your regular coffee with decaffeinated.
What this means to Manufacturing and Retail Sales
Mount Gibson Iron Limited of Perth, Australia acknowledged that it has received requests to delay iron-ore shipments from many manufacturing clients in China. The manufacturing facilities in China have already realized the decrease in demand and are making arrangements to adjust production schedules accordingly. Consumers are cautious about increasing personal debt, and carefully considering many more concerns before making purchasing decisions. The automobile industry was not only impacted by credit and loans, but sales are also influenced by alternative fuels, hybrid cars, and the rising cost of gasoline. Production and sales of luxury items, upgrade items, and new technology will start to slow down. Business budgets will be slashed to reduce costs, affecting commercial channels. Consumer commerce will not stop, but it will look both ways before crossing the street. Circuit City Stores reported a US $239 million loss and has already warned investors that holiday sales are expected to be disappointing. Acting CEO James Marcum, who replaced Philip Schoonover, promised a new marketing campaign to "bolster the company's holiday performance".
Fortunately, this slow down of luxury items and replacement products creates new opportunities for other markets and innovative suppliers. Many consumers will be more willing to make a small investment on a service plan or extended warranty to maintain the life of a product, as opposed to the alternative of investing in new product. Although luxury items will loose luster during this period of tight purse strings, discount goods will have greater appeal and renewed interest. Consumers will spend a little more time to look for a better deal, and those companies that offer the better deal will have a bigger piece of a smaller pie. When entire markets slow, it is time to replace revenue targets with goals for increasing profit or a bigger share of the remaining market.
Consumer cost cutting leads to higher demand for lower cost items. There is a sense of satisfaction and personal reward associated with the ability to conduct a purchase. While transactions for expensive garments may decrease, sales of lipstick and make-up may rise. Small price items provide an opportunity to experience the sensation of a rewarding purchase, without experiencing the regret or possible return of a more expensive item. This is particularly true when there is less disposable income in the pocketbook.
Production and sales of luxury products will slow down. The Santa Claus index indicates that there will be fewer and more economically priced presents under the Christmas tree this year. While that is bad news for some industries, it poses heightened opportunity for mobile phones, gaming devices, Wii TM, and Kindle TM.
When Sales are Down, Service goes Up
During tumultuous times for production and sales, demands for services increases. Organizations are already aggressively searching for partners to outsource services. In transferring the cost for service and support off the books, organizations are looking for partners that provide best practices. This allows the client to adjust organization size, manpower, warehousing, planning, and assets by transferring the burden to a trusted vendor. The vendor provides a service to the client and uses expertise, efficiencies, or the combined consolidation of multiple clients to provide lower cost service solutions. Furthermore,really creative vendors will help the client to identify ways for the client to resell the services, thereby generating new revenue streams and shared opportunity for profit. It is by looking at opportunities to lower the bottom line and simultaneously raise the top line that vendors advocate for their clients.
It is important for companies to differentiate the financial value of services. Service vendors that demonstrate an ability to help reduce client cost, preserve client profit, and address the many related needs of a client will have an opportunity to increase business and market-share. Third Party Service Providers, logistics providers, repair, and professional services that result in lowering client costs will be in high demand. Extended Service Plans and Maintenance Contracts create opportunity for shared profit, and enable the client's customers to extend the return on investment. Organizations that leverage this economy will not only gain new business, but also has the opportunity to develop a long lasting relationship with the client. Service vendors should seek long term commitments and corresponding long term contracts. The assumptions regarding profit and associated investments must be precisely documented, and flexible enough to adjust when the temporary economic crises turns into new growth markets.
Many types of services provide a fluid environment that can be rapidly adjusted to maximize profit. The term "services" typically implies utilization of manpower resources that can be rapidly adjusted to accommodate changes in market conditions. The same can be said of software as a service (SaaS). Have you ever thought of e-Bay as a service? The online auction company provides a service for consumers to connect with one another. Some consumers benefit by generating some revenue from otherwise unwanted items. Other consumers benefit from access to lower cost alternatives for purchasing items, thereby saving money. Some businesses use the online auction to augment liquidation. The ease of this service, the value associated with lower cost alternatives, and the desire to expedite cash flow will continue to grow this online service during an economic crises. The overhead cost and relative investment expense for e-Bay clients is negligible in comparison to the number of transactions and the cash flow. Are there services that you can provide that offer low overhead, low investment, and high yield?
What did IBM do?
International Business Machines third quarter income amounted to US $2.8 billion, or US $2.05 per share. That is 20 percent higher than the US $1.68 per share as compared to the same quarter last year, and it surpasses the US $ 2.02 per share predicted by Thomson Reuters. IBM is predicting that it will achieve 22 percent earnings growth for the year.
Many will remember IBM as the company that brought computers to a global stage. From punch cards and gas tubes, to PC's and mainframes, the roots of the computer family tree invariably include IBM. Since licensing the brand name to Lenovo, a business strategy that bolstered both organizations, IBM has relinquished production and sales of computer hardware devices in lieu of a diversified portfolio of software and services. IBM emphasis on long term service contracts now accounts for more than half of it's current revenue. As the economic conditions place strains on clients, the rate of growth is expected to slow, but is not expected to negatively impact the overall percent of profitability. By growing services as a percent of the company, and by offering highly profitable software solutions, IBM has increased profit margins from 41.3 percent to 43.3 percent gross margin as compared to the same quarter last year.
What can you do?
The news about economic crises can be unsettling. However, for the creative and the courageous, there are new business opportunities.
- Look for services that can augment your profitability with minimum overhead or investment costs.
- Develop business opportunities that have the most flexibility of resources.
- Focus on opportunities to use your business in a manner that augments the cost reduction or enhanced profit of your clients. By helping your clients to succeed, you enable them to invest in your relationship and success.
- Don't be distracted by the mantel of the crisis, but rather look below it at the opportunities that are being exposed. As a trusted advocate for your clients, they will help you uncover the opportunities so you can do more than survive. You will thrive.
- Consider options to use Software as a Service to reduce costs for your organization, to offer cost cutting options to your clients, or to create new revenue streams with flexible resources.
- Consider how your cost cutting measures and flexible resources can be outsourced to your clients. If you successfully implement innovative responses to economic changes, how can you share these benefits with your clients, or even use the creative ideas to create new market opportunities?
- You are not alone. The obstacles encountered as a result of economic turmoil present the same challenges to your competitors as they do to you. Your strategic response to protect profit, acquire market presence, and solidify brand awareness during the challenging period are the foundation for positive growth when the market returns. Rally around the core competencies and competitive values of your company. Be prepared to outsource or sell the portions of the business that do not contribute to profit, share of market, or the brand name.
- Create an internal think tank of individuals specifically organized to monitor the impact of the economy on the organization. The think tank should include individuals with experience from previous economic challenging periods, as well as individuals with bold new ideas. If possible, include representation from finance, sales, operations, marketing, service, and human resource departments as applicable to create a comprehensive report on potential company impact and several suggested plans of action. Response plans should include worse case scenario planning, as well as response to current conditions, and several alternative action plans. By considering the options for response to crisis, and preparing plans to take advantage of rapid growth when the crisis subsides, the organization will be poised to respond quickly, accurately, and aggressively to each positive or negative change on the roller coaster ride.
This article is not intended to render legal or financial advice. If you require legal advice, you should seek the services of an attorney. If you require financial advice, you should seek the services of an accountant or licensed financial advisor.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity."- John F. Kennedy
"Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death."- James F. Byrnes
"Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.”- Henry J. Kaiser
"There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity."- General Douglas MacArthur
______________________________________________________
Recommended Site Seeing
Robert J. Reby & Co. Inc: "Conservative Wealth Preservation"http://www.robertreby.com/
Bui Financial Advisory: "Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Investment Counseling, Tax Advice and Planning"http://www.buiadvisory.com/
The Executive Connection LLChttp://www.executiveconnectionllc.net/
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrityhttp://www.Trusted101.com/
The Economic Crisis
Governments around the globe are investing in businesses and banks in an effort to avoid a complete collapse of affected institutions. However, the general public is not convinced that the government will be able to effectively run the businesses it has acquired with any better dexterity than existing mismanaged government budgets. Furthermore, although the infusion of funds may temporarily secure investments, it does not alter the effectively alter the transactions that instigated the decline.
Inflated values of derivatives, fueled by ambitious speculation and fortunes amassed by paper transactions rose to catastrophic levels. Derivatives are commitments to purchase commodities or financial instruments at a fixed price, with an agreement to take profits if the value of the asset rises. In recent years, mortgages sold at subprime rates were bundled into securities. Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch created offsetting credit derivatives to protect investors in the event that these securities defaulted. Credit derivatives benefitted from profits derived from the increased number of subprime loans and home sales during the real estate bubble. When housing prices dropped and interest rates rose, many adjustable-rate subprime mortgage owners were unable to keep up with the higher monthly payment. Mortgages defaulted, demand for houses cooled abruptly, and the suddenly above market rates of credit derivatives collapsed. AIG was the biggest investor with US $527 billion in these bonds.
World markets also fell prey to a pin-stripe financial pyramid schemes, suffering similar consequences on a global scale. In the first week of October, Tokyo fell 24.3 percent, Frankfurt fell 21.6 percent, London fell 21.1 percent, and Wall Street fell 19.8 percent. What was originally dismissed as merely a problem in the United States has shaken the foundations of financial institutions around the world.
Meanwhile, a little closer to home and possibly your own personal savings, you should be aware that mutual funds commonly contain derivatives in the portfolio. If you have investments in mutual funds, then you should consider investigating to determine if your holdings contain derivatives that regulators cannot control or even monitor. You can investigate your prospectus and the listing of holdings, or switch to a safe government bond fund. If this is the case for you, it may be time to replace your regular coffee with decaffeinated.
What this means to Manufacturing and Retail Sales
Mount Gibson Iron Limited of Perth, Australia acknowledged that it has received requests to delay iron-ore shipments from many manufacturing clients in China. The manufacturing facilities in China have already realized the decrease in demand and are making arrangements to adjust production schedules accordingly. Consumers are cautious about increasing personal debt, and carefully considering many more concerns before making purchasing decisions. The automobile industry was not only impacted by credit and loans, but sales are also influenced by alternative fuels, hybrid cars, and the rising cost of gasoline. Production and sales of luxury items, upgrade items, and new technology will start to slow down. Business budgets will be slashed to reduce costs, affecting commercial channels. Consumer commerce will not stop, but it will look both ways before crossing the street. Circuit City Stores reported a US $239 million loss and has already warned investors that holiday sales are expected to be disappointing. Acting CEO James Marcum, who replaced Philip Schoonover, promised a new marketing campaign to "bolster the company's holiday performance".
Fortunately, this slow down of luxury items and replacement products creates new opportunities for other markets and innovative suppliers. Many consumers will be more willing to make a small investment on a service plan or extended warranty to maintain the life of a product, as opposed to the alternative of investing in new product. Although luxury items will loose luster during this period of tight purse strings, discount goods will have greater appeal and renewed interest. Consumers will spend a little more time to look for a better deal, and those companies that offer the better deal will have a bigger piece of a smaller pie. When entire markets slow, it is time to replace revenue targets with goals for increasing profit or a bigger share of the remaining market.
Consumer cost cutting leads to higher demand for lower cost items. There is a sense of satisfaction and personal reward associated with the ability to conduct a purchase. While transactions for expensive garments may decrease, sales of lipstick and make-up may rise. Small price items provide an opportunity to experience the sensation of a rewarding purchase, without experiencing the regret or possible return of a more expensive item. This is particularly true when there is less disposable income in the pocketbook.
Production and sales of luxury products will slow down. The Santa Claus index indicates that there will be fewer and more economically priced presents under the Christmas tree this year. While that is bad news for some industries, it poses heightened opportunity for mobile phones, gaming devices, Wii TM, and Kindle TM.
When Sales are Down, Service goes Up
During tumultuous times for production and sales, demands for services increases. Organizations are already aggressively searching for partners to outsource services. In transferring the cost for service and support off the books, organizations are looking for partners that provide best practices. This allows the client to adjust organization size, manpower, warehousing, planning, and assets by transferring the burden to a trusted vendor. The vendor provides a service to the client and uses expertise, efficiencies, or the combined consolidation of multiple clients to provide lower cost service solutions. Furthermore,really creative vendors will help the client to identify ways for the client to resell the services, thereby generating new revenue streams and shared opportunity for profit. It is by looking at opportunities to lower the bottom line and simultaneously raise the top line that vendors advocate for their clients.
It is important for companies to differentiate the financial value of services. Service vendors that demonstrate an ability to help reduce client cost, preserve client profit, and address the many related needs of a client will have an opportunity to increase business and market-share. Third Party Service Providers, logistics providers, repair, and professional services that result in lowering client costs will be in high demand. Extended Service Plans and Maintenance Contracts create opportunity for shared profit, and enable the client's customers to extend the return on investment. Organizations that leverage this economy will not only gain new business, but also has the opportunity to develop a long lasting relationship with the client. Service vendors should seek long term commitments and corresponding long term contracts. The assumptions regarding profit and associated investments must be precisely documented, and flexible enough to adjust when the temporary economic crises turns into new growth markets.
Many types of services provide a fluid environment that can be rapidly adjusted to maximize profit. The term "services" typically implies utilization of manpower resources that can be rapidly adjusted to accommodate changes in market conditions. The same can be said of software as a service (SaaS). Have you ever thought of e-Bay as a service? The online auction company provides a service for consumers to connect with one another. Some consumers benefit by generating some revenue from otherwise unwanted items. Other consumers benefit from access to lower cost alternatives for purchasing items, thereby saving money. Some businesses use the online auction to augment liquidation. The ease of this service, the value associated with lower cost alternatives, and the desire to expedite cash flow will continue to grow this online service during an economic crises. The overhead cost and relative investment expense for e-Bay clients is negligible in comparison to the number of transactions and the cash flow. Are there services that you can provide that offer low overhead, low investment, and high yield?
What did IBM do?
International Business Machines third quarter income amounted to US $2.8 billion, or US $2.05 per share. That is 20 percent higher than the US $1.68 per share as compared to the same quarter last year, and it surpasses the US $ 2.02 per share predicted by Thomson Reuters. IBM is predicting that it will achieve 22 percent earnings growth for the year.
Many will remember IBM as the company that brought computers to a global stage. From punch cards and gas tubes, to PC's and mainframes, the roots of the computer family tree invariably include IBM. Since licensing the brand name to Lenovo, a business strategy that bolstered both organizations, IBM has relinquished production and sales of computer hardware devices in lieu of a diversified portfolio of software and services. IBM emphasis on long term service contracts now accounts for more than half of it's current revenue. As the economic conditions place strains on clients, the rate of growth is expected to slow, but is not expected to negatively impact the overall percent of profitability. By growing services as a percent of the company, and by offering highly profitable software solutions, IBM has increased profit margins from 41.3 percent to 43.3 percent gross margin as compared to the same quarter last year.
What can you do?
The news about economic crises can be unsettling. However, for the creative and the courageous, there are new business opportunities.
- Look for services that can augment your profitability with minimum overhead or investment costs.
- Develop business opportunities that have the most flexibility of resources.
- Focus on opportunities to use your business in a manner that augments the cost reduction or enhanced profit of your clients. By helping your clients to succeed, you enable them to invest in your relationship and success.
- Don't be distracted by the mantel of the crisis, but rather look below it at the opportunities that are being exposed. As a trusted advocate for your clients, they will help you uncover the opportunities so you can do more than survive. You will thrive.
- Consider options to use Software as a Service to reduce costs for your organization, to offer cost cutting options to your clients, or to create new revenue streams with flexible resources.
- Consider how your cost cutting measures and flexible resources can be outsourced to your clients. If you successfully implement innovative responses to economic changes, how can you share these benefits with your clients, or even use the creative ideas to create new market opportunities?
- You are not alone. The obstacles encountered as a result of economic turmoil present the same challenges to your competitors as they do to you. Your strategic response to protect profit, acquire market presence, and solidify brand awareness during the challenging period are the foundation for positive growth when the market returns. Rally around the core competencies and competitive values of your company. Be prepared to outsource or sell the portions of the business that do not contribute to profit, share of market, or the brand name.
- Create an internal think tank of individuals specifically organized to monitor the impact of the economy on the organization. The think tank should include individuals with experience from previous economic challenging periods, as well as individuals with bold new ideas. If possible, include representation from finance, sales, operations, marketing, service, and human resource departments as applicable to create a comprehensive report on potential company impact and several suggested plans of action. Response plans should include worse case scenario planning, as well as response to current conditions, and several alternative action plans. By considering the options for response to crisis, and preparing plans to take advantage of rapid growth when the crisis subsides, the organization will be poised to respond quickly, accurately, and aggressively to each positive or negative change on the roller coaster ride.
This article is not intended to render legal or financial advice. If you require legal advice, you should seek the services of an attorney. If you require financial advice, you should seek the services of an accountant or licensed financial advisor.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity."- John F. Kennedy
"Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death."- James F. Byrnes
"Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.”- Henry J. Kaiser
"There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity."- General Douglas MacArthur
______________________________________________________
Recommended Site Seeing
Robert J. Reby & Co. Inc: "Conservative Wealth Preservation"http://www.robertreby.com/
Bui Financial Advisory: "Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Investment Counseling, Tax Advice and Planning"http://www.buiadvisory.com/
The Executive Connection LLChttp://www.executiveconnectionllc.net/
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrityhttp://www.Trusted101.com/
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Retirement at Risk
Every passing day brings us one step closer to retirement. When economic conditions or personal finances are unclear, the road to retirement seems much longer, and the road on retirement seems to be a rocky and perilous one. Don't panic, it's time to plan.
Begin with the Serenity Prayer
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
Regardless of personal faith or religious affiliation, nearly everyone can relate to that simple prayer. The wisdom is particularly relevant during challenging economic times. Headlines broadcast rising concerns regarding the price of gasoline, airlines eliminating routes and raising prices, and the HP lay-off 24,600 employees. The financial world is rocked by announcements regarding AIG, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers. Stocks, housing prices, and consumer confidence have tumbled faster than a Cirque du Soleil troupe on a double shot of espresso. With so many financial pillars falling, it is difficult, if not impossible, to avoid reeling from the pressures of the collateral damage. A person does not need to lose a job to feel the pinch when others do, and the number of people looking for new opportunities is steadily rising.
You may have some power over your travel arrangements, but limited personal power over the price of fuel. You may have power over the stock or retirement funds that you have selected, but limited personal power over Wall Street. You have some power over the decision to buy or sell your home, but limited personal power over the housing market values. You have some power over the money that you spend, but may have limited personal power to quickly impact the amount of money that you owe. Do you have the courage to change what you can, the serenity to accept what you cannot change, and the wisdom to remind yourself of the difference?
Don't waste your time to panic over the things that you cannot change. Rather, spend your time to evaluate and adjust your plans for those areas that you can impact.
Stocks
Did you invest in stocks when the market was rising? Did you enjoy watching your money grow while you casually read the morning paper and sipped on a cup of coffee? Did you pat yourself on the back for having the wisdom to select the right stocks, and to have the patience to watch them grow and increase in value? If so, what active role did you play in contributing to the continuous growth of those stocks? More than likely, you watched them grow, and you watched them decline. If you do not immediately need the liquid assets for some other emergency, then please return to your coffee and morning paper to await the passing of this season. As with nature, autumn and winter are a necessary preparation for spring and summer. If you missed cashing out your investments at the peak, then it may be in your best interest to wait for thaw of the financial market, and look forward to watching the renewed growth.
In the meantime, keep an eye on any stocks with high risk, just to make sure that you do not experience the frost bite and icy cold finger of fate that touched such giants as AIG and Merrill Lynch. It is unwise to move stocks to get away from an investment, but a very wise move to transfer in the direction of a good investment. In other words, do not run hastily from a dangerous position, but rather move intelligently to a good one.
Mutual Funds
Hold on for the recovery. If you move when things are down, then you experienced the decline without giving yourself the chance to experience the rebound. As always, if you are not a professional financial advisor, then find one that you can trust to give you the guidance that you need. You would not even think about doing brain surgery on yourself, so why would you perform surgery on your own financial future?
Bonds
Treasury Bonds and Government Bonds do not offer fast moving overnight success or excitement. Treasury Bonds, unlike James Bond, are not sexy, and do not provide the exhilarating adrenaline rush of extreme risk with potential for flashy rewards. What you do have is a little more safety, a little more security, and a little more confidence that your investment will not be traded, bought out, or suddenly bankrupt. There are times that the tortoise may not keep pace with the hare, but when it comes to your retirement, you really do have the option to place your bets on both the tortoise and the hare. Put some of your money on the tortoise to finish, and the hare to place, and you have more than doubled your odds of winning.
Real Estate
If you can pay your mortgage and are happy in your home, then why are you worried if the housing prices decline? If you lived in your abode and experienced the unruly and exorbitant increases of housing prices for the last decade, did it really change your standard of living? If you did not already sell your home, was your lifestyle raised at the same rate and pace of the housing market? If the rising prices in housing did not improve your lifestyle, then the adjusted balancing of the market is not going to harm you either, so chill out.
On the other hand, if you accidentally bought into the housing market when it was at the peak, then you may have to wait a little while for the rebound to come back and exceed the levels of a year ago. Reassure yourself that real estate can sometimes be a long term investment. Land is the one thing that nobody can make any more of, so there will eventually be demand for it.
Mortgage
If your lender fails, you still need to pay your mortgage to the company that takes over ownership of the mortgage. If you receive an unexpected notice that your mortgage has been transferred, be cautious and investigate to confirm the transfer of ownership. Don't let a scam artist take advantage of you during a period of uncertainty, but always make sure that you know where your money is going.
If your financial situation appears unstable or threatening due to the terms of your loan, then this is a very good time to address your concerns and evaluate your mortgage with the lender. While some banks and financial institutions allowed greater risk in recent years, the current concerns have placed a mutual concentrated commitment to secure profitable loans on good credit, and assure that mortgages can be paid. If you are concerned, then schedule a meeting to discuss options with your lender and express your interest in refinancing at lower rates. The lender wants your money, not your home, so you are already starting your conversation with common objectives.
Retirement Accounts
Retirement plan assets are protected, even if the plan sponsor fails. The good news is that your plan is probably not going away, although it is possible that the value of your plan may be doing a disappearing act. This disappearing act is far from magic, and not nearly as entertaining. The risk and reward of many 401K accounts is intertwined with stock market performance, so you may be in for a bumpy ride. Furthermore, like social security, there are peaks and valleys of generations contributing to funds and withdrawing funds. Your crystal ball has as much chance of being correct as the magic eight ball. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket, because although the basket may not go anywhere, there is no guarantee as to how many eggs will be left in it. Keep a few of your eggs in other safe places, just in case.
Savings Accounts
If your savings account is in an FDIC insured bank, your funds are protected up to $100,000. If the fund that insures the accounts fails, the government covers the balance up to $100,000. If you have more than the maximum insured amount in your savings, perhaps you should consider keeping funds in several different FDIC insured banks. It may be a good idea to use more than one bank or credit union to hold enough funds to pay the bills for a short period of time, in the unlikely and unfortunate event that your primary bank temporarily suspends access to funds for some reason. FDIC protection does not cover money market mutual funds.
Insurance
AIG received much attention and immediate government intervention when it made headline news. In the event that an insurer does go bankrupt, the state regulator takes over to make sure that policies are honored. In fact, the consumer insurance subsidiary of AIG was never in trouble, so consumer insurance plans were not as risk.
Credit Cards
Now this is an area that you should really pay attention to, and plan accordingly. Banks will issue more credit cards in an effort to increase profits. These credit cards are targeted at people with good credit records, but they will come with much higher penalties and increased fees. In a weaker economy, as personal finances are impacted by job transitions, reduced access to loans, or if your profession relies on transactions (sales, real estate, construction, entertainment, etc), it may become increasingly difficult to pay down credit card debt due to reduced income.
Review your bills each month to determine if there are some monthly recurring charges to your credit card that can be cancelled or reduced. If you are carrying a balance forward, make a plan for the amount you will reduce your balance each month. Set a date to pay off your credit card completely, and hold yourself accountable to that date. Start paying with cash, when appropriate, and make a journal of your transactions. Reduce your reliance on the convenience of credit cards for personal use until the economic storm has passed.
Remember that your Credit Card payments impact your overall credit score. As the economy tightens, it is incumbent upon lenders to act responsibly and to limit the access for loans and mortgages to individuals with good credit scores. Lower scores mean higher down payment or rates. Don't let a lack of attention to Credit Cards become a costly impediment to other important purchases or transitions that you make want or have to make in the future. Moving, selling, or buying a home may be in your future, so don't let the Credit Cards slip beyond your control now. Even if your Credit Card Company fails, your history and debt remain, and are transferred to another company.
Borrowing Money
To put it simply, this is not a good time to borrow money. Banks will be eager to lend, but only if the bank believes that you have good credit and that the bank has the ability to profit from your loan. If the bank is assured of making profit, it is money coming from your loan, and out of your pocket. If you are considering borrowing money as a way to get out of a hole, like paying off credit cards, then have a plan on how to get out of the hole that is created when you take out a loan. Digging a hole to use the dirt to fill another hole is only a temporary solution, and may have unpleasant strings attached.
Recession
The threat of recession is the constant beating of a drum. Although we may not always see it, we hear it all around us. There are many contributing factors to this economic illness, so there is no single medicine to cure it. As an individual, it is not something that you can change, so it takes serenity to accept it. Be prepared for the ways that it can impact you personally and professionally. Professions that rely on transactions may slow as liquid assets dry up. Real Estate, construction, travel, and entertainment have already been visibly affected, and this trend will continue at least into the first half year of 2009. Professionals that rely on these transactions will have to adjust, and so will all of the businesses that rely on these individuals as consumers. You cannot change that either. However, you can make personal decisions and plans that will impact your immediate financial security, and your long term investments.
Conversely, during times of recession and economic turmoil, individuals often turn to low cost alternatives to boost morale and self-esteem. While housing sales are in a slump and investors are rattling sabers on Wall Street, the lesser luxury items are in higher demand. Make-up, lipstick, diet foods, and small personal luxury items sales are still strong. Cell phones, iPods, and low cost consumer electronics help us forget about the incessant beating of the recession drums, at least for a little while. There is nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself as the world around you screams of panic. You can be serene, because you know what is within your control, and you are making plans for it.
It is highly recommended to seek the recommendations of licensed financial advisors. Do not make decisions based on haste, remorse, or fear. Make your decisions based on an educated balance of immediate needs and long term security. Like the seasons, real estate, the stock market, and the economy will return and flourish in due time. Your goal is to weather the winter storm and be ready for the next summer.
This article is not intended to render legal or financial advice. If you require legal advice, you should seek the services of an attorney. If you require financial advice, you should seek the services of an accountant or licensed financial advisor.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well."- Warren Buffet
"We have seen a significant increase in demand from senior executives across the USA and in Europe who wish to leave the corporate world and become independent small business owners, franchise owners or equity partners. While stockholders are pushing hard for corporate re-engineering, executives are facing a job market where it takes on average 1-year to find a new executive job that may last at best, for only 2-years."- Richard P. Driscoll, Jr. Chairman & CEO, The Executive Connection LLC
"While the Internet is becoming cluttered with volumes of meaningless data, it has become essential to deliver clear crisp communications in a matter of seconds.With the objective of presenting the alternative of independent business ownership to corporate senior executives who are considering a career change, we have worked diligently to both educate and inform.”- Warren Denby, Chief Marketing Officer, The Executive Connection LLC
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."- Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, 1802
______________________________________________________
Recommended Site Seeing
The Executive Connection LLChttp://www.executiveconnectionllc.net/
Robert J. Reby & Co. Inc: "Conservative Wealth Preservation"http://www.robertreby.com/
Bui Financial Advisory: "Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Investment Counseling, Tax Advice and Planning"http://www.buiadvisory.com/
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrityhttp://www.Trusted101.com/
______________________________________________________
Begin with the Serenity Prayer
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
Regardless of personal faith or religious affiliation, nearly everyone can relate to that simple prayer. The wisdom is particularly relevant during challenging economic times. Headlines broadcast rising concerns regarding the price of gasoline, airlines eliminating routes and raising prices, and the HP lay-off 24,600 employees. The financial world is rocked by announcements regarding AIG, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers. Stocks, housing prices, and consumer confidence have tumbled faster than a Cirque du Soleil troupe on a double shot of espresso. With so many financial pillars falling, it is difficult, if not impossible, to avoid reeling from the pressures of the collateral damage. A person does not need to lose a job to feel the pinch when others do, and the number of people looking for new opportunities is steadily rising.
You may have some power over your travel arrangements, but limited personal power over the price of fuel. You may have power over the stock or retirement funds that you have selected, but limited personal power over Wall Street. You have some power over the decision to buy or sell your home, but limited personal power over the housing market values. You have some power over the money that you spend, but may have limited personal power to quickly impact the amount of money that you owe. Do you have the courage to change what you can, the serenity to accept what you cannot change, and the wisdom to remind yourself of the difference?
Don't waste your time to panic over the things that you cannot change. Rather, spend your time to evaluate and adjust your plans for those areas that you can impact.
Stocks
Did you invest in stocks when the market was rising? Did you enjoy watching your money grow while you casually read the morning paper and sipped on a cup of coffee? Did you pat yourself on the back for having the wisdom to select the right stocks, and to have the patience to watch them grow and increase in value? If so, what active role did you play in contributing to the continuous growth of those stocks? More than likely, you watched them grow, and you watched them decline. If you do not immediately need the liquid assets for some other emergency, then please return to your coffee and morning paper to await the passing of this season. As with nature, autumn and winter are a necessary preparation for spring and summer. If you missed cashing out your investments at the peak, then it may be in your best interest to wait for thaw of the financial market, and look forward to watching the renewed growth.
In the meantime, keep an eye on any stocks with high risk, just to make sure that you do not experience the frost bite and icy cold finger of fate that touched such giants as AIG and Merrill Lynch. It is unwise to move stocks to get away from an investment, but a very wise move to transfer in the direction of a good investment. In other words, do not run hastily from a dangerous position, but rather move intelligently to a good one.
Mutual Funds
Hold on for the recovery. If you move when things are down, then you experienced the decline without giving yourself the chance to experience the rebound. As always, if you are not a professional financial advisor, then find one that you can trust to give you the guidance that you need. You would not even think about doing brain surgery on yourself, so why would you perform surgery on your own financial future?
Bonds
Treasury Bonds and Government Bonds do not offer fast moving overnight success or excitement. Treasury Bonds, unlike James Bond, are not sexy, and do not provide the exhilarating adrenaline rush of extreme risk with potential for flashy rewards. What you do have is a little more safety, a little more security, and a little more confidence that your investment will not be traded, bought out, or suddenly bankrupt. There are times that the tortoise may not keep pace with the hare, but when it comes to your retirement, you really do have the option to place your bets on both the tortoise and the hare. Put some of your money on the tortoise to finish, and the hare to place, and you have more than doubled your odds of winning.
Real Estate
If you can pay your mortgage and are happy in your home, then why are you worried if the housing prices decline? If you lived in your abode and experienced the unruly and exorbitant increases of housing prices for the last decade, did it really change your standard of living? If you did not already sell your home, was your lifestyle raised at the same rate and pace of the housing market? If the rising prices in housing did not improve your lifestyle, then the adjusted balancing of the market is not going to harm you either, so chill out.
On the other hand, if you accidentally bought into the housing market when it was at the peak, then you may have to wait a little while for the rebound to come back and exceed the levels of a year ago. Reassure yourself that real estate can sometimes be a long term investment. Land is the one thing that nobody can make any more of, so there will eventually be demand for it.
Mortgage
If your lender fails, you still need to pay your mortgage to the company that takes over ownership of the mortgage. If you receive an unexpected notice that your mortgage has been transferred, be cautious and investigate to confirm the transfer of ownership. Don't let a scam artist take advantage of you during a period of uncertainty, but always make sure that you know where your money is going.
If your financial situation appears unstable or threatening due to the terms of your loan, then this is a very good time to address your concerns and evaluate your mortgage with the lender. While some banks and financial institutions allowed greater risk in recent years, the current concerns have placed a mutual concentrated commitment to secure profitable loans on good credit, and assure that mortgages can be paid. If you are concerned, then schedule a meeting to discuss options with your lender and express your interest in refinancing at lower rates. The lender wants your money, not your home, so you are already starting your conversation with common objectives.
Retirement Accounts
Retirement plan assets are protected, even if the plan sponsor fails. The good news is that your plan is probably not going away, although it is possible that the value of your plan may be doing a disappearing act. This disappearing act is far from magic, and not nearly as entertaining. The risk and reward of many 401K accounts is intertwined with stock market performance, so you may be in for a bumpy ride. Furthermore, like social security, there are peaks and valleys of generations contributing to funds and withdrawing funds. Your crystal ball has as much chance of being correct as the magic eight ball. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket, because although the basket may not go anywhere, there is no guarantee as to how many eggs will be left in it. Keep a few of your eggs in other safe places, just in case.
Savings Accounts
If your savings account is in an FDIC insured bank, your funds are protected up to $100,000. If the fund that insures the accounts fails, the government covers the balance up to $100,000. If you have more than the maximum insured amount in your savings, perhaps you should consider keeping funds in several different FDIC insured banks. It may be a good idea to use more than one bank or credit union to hold enough funds to pay the bills for a short period of time, in the unlikely and unfortunate event that your primary bank temporarily suspends access to funds for some reason. FDIC protection does not cover money market mutual funds.
Insurance
AIG received much attention and immediate government intervention when it made headline news. In the event that an insurer does go bankrupt, the state regulator takes over to make sure that policies are honored. In fact, the consumer insurance subsidiary of AIG was never in trouble, so consumer insurance plans were not as risk.
Credit Cards
Now this is an area that you should really pay attention to, and plan accordingly. Banks will issue more credit cards in an effort to increase profits. These credit cards are targeted at people with good credit records, but they will come with much higher penalties and increased fees. In a weaker economy, as personal finances are impacted by job transitions, reduced access to loans, or if your profession relies on transactions (sales, real estate, construction, entertainment, etc), it may become increasingly difficult to pay down credit card debt due to reduced income.
Review your bills each month to determine if there are some monthly recurring charges to your credit card that can be cancelled or reduced. If you are carrying a balance forward, make a plan for the amount you will reduce your balance each month. Set a date to pay off your credit card completely, and hold yourself accountable to that date. Start paying with cash, when appropriate, and make a journal of your transactions. Reduce your reliance on the convenience of credit cards for personal use until the economic storm has passed.
Remember that your Credit Card payments impact your overall credit score. As the economy tightens, it is incumbent upon lenders to act responsibly and to limit the access for loans and mortgages to individuals with good credit scores. Lower scores mean higher down payment or rates. Don't let a lack of attention to Credit Cards become a costly impediment to other important purchases or transitions that you make want or have to make in the future. Moving, selling, or buying a home may be in your future, so don't let the Credit Cards slip beyond your control now. Even if your Credit Card Company fails, your history and debt remain, and are transferred to another company.
Borrowing Money
To put it simply, this is not a good time to borrow money. Banks will be eager to lend, but only if the bank believes that you have good credit and that the bank has the ability to profit from your loan. If the bank is assured of making profit, it is money coming from your loan, and out of your pocket. If you are considering borrowing money as a way to get out of a hole, like paying off credit cards, then have a plan on how to get out of the hole that is created when you take out a loan. Digging a hole to use the dirt to fill another hole is only a temporary solution, and may have unpleasant strings attached.
Recession
The threat of recession is the constant beating of a drum. Although we may not always see it, we hear it all around us. There are many contributing factors to this economic illness, so there is no single medicine to cure it. As an individual, it is not something that you can change, so it takes serenity to accept it. Be prepared for the ways that it can impact you personally and professionally. Professions that rely on transactions may slow as liquid assets dry up. Real Estate, construction, travel, and entertainment have already been visibly affected, and this trend will continue at least into the first half year of 2009. Professionals that rely on these transactions will have to adjust, and so will all of the businesses that rely on these individuals as consumers. You cannot change that either. However, you can make personal decisions and plans that will impact your immediate financial security, and your long term investments.
Conversely, during times of recession and economic turmoil, individuals often turn to low cost alternatives to boost morale and self-esteem. While housing sales are in a slump and investors are rattling sabers on Wall Street, the lesser luxury items are in higher demand. Make-up, lipstick, diet foods, and small personal luxury items sales are still strong. Cell phones, iPods, and low cost consumer electronics help us forget about the incessant beating of the recession drums, at least for a little while. There is nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself as the world around you screams of panic. You can be serene, because you know what is within your control, and you are making plans for it.
It is highly recommended to seek the recommendations of licensed financial advisors. Do not make decisions based on haste, remorse, or fear. Make your decisions based on an educated balance of immediate needs and long term security. Like the seasons, real estate, the stock market, and the economy will return and flourish in due time. Your goal is to weather the winter storm and be ready for the next summer.
This article is not intended to render legal or financial advice. If you require legal advice, you should seek the services of an attorney. If you require financial advice, you should seek the services of an accountant or licensed financial advisor.
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Words of Wisdom
"Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well."- Warren Buffet
"We have seen a significant increase in demand from senior executives across the USA and in Europe who wish to leave the corporate world and become independent small business owners, franchise owners or equity partners. While stockholders are pushing hard for corporate re-engineering, executives are facing a job market where it takes on average 1-year to find a new executive job that may last at best, for only 2-years."- Richard P. Driscoll, Jr. Chairman & CEO, The Executive Connection LLC
"While the Internet is becoming cluttered with volumes of meaningless data, it has become essential to deliver clear crisp communications in a matter of seconds.With the objective of presenting the alternative of independent business ownership to corporate senior executives who are considering a career change, we have worked diligently to both educate and inform.”- Warren Denby, Chief Marketing Officer, The Executive Connection LLC
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."- Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, 1802
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Recommended Site Seeing
The Executive Connection LLChttp://www.executiveconnectionllc.net/
Robert J. Reby & Co. Inc: "Conservative Wealth Preservation"http://www.robertreby.com/
Bui Financial Advisory: "Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Investment Counseling, Tax Advice and Planning"http://www.buiadvisory.com/
The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrityhttp://www.Trusted101.com/
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Trusted Advocate Group on LinkedIn Exceeds 500 Members
One of the fastest growing new networking groups on LinkedIn has exceeded the 500 member mark, demonstrating the importance of core values, authenticity, and integrity in modern business.
London, England (EBInews) September 4, 2008 – More than 500 members have joined the Trusted Advocate Networking Group on LinkedIn, and many new members are joining daily.
LinkedIn is a business oriented social networking site with more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.
Registered users of LinkedIn can create a profile summarizing professional accomplishments. The profile enables the user to find former colleagues, clients, and partners. LinkedIn also provides access to participate in networking groups, alumni associations, and discussion forums.
The Trusted Advocate Networking Group is a network of business professionals committed to the success of clients and peers. Action with authenticity, advocate with integrity, as recognized and endorsed by fellow trusted advocates. The purpose of the group is to enable empowered business with confidence and community connections with trusted advocates.
Members of The Trusted Advocate Networking Group display a dedication to the personal principles espoused by the group by a logo on the individual LinkedIn profile. The logo makes it easy to identify a Trusted Advocate. Other logos may also be represented based on personal preference, representing alumni associations, groups, or other interests.
Through the network, users can find potential clients, service providers, subject matter experts, offer recommendations and endorsements. This collaboration enables participants to search for new jobs, search for job candidates, and get introduced to other professionals for mutual support and benefit.
The Trusted Advocate Networking Group on LinkedIn was inspired by the award winning book by John Mehrmann and Mitchell Simon, The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity. In The Trusted Advocate, readers are encouraged to identify personal strengths and apply individual talents to attain the goals of clients and peers. The Trusted Advocate surmises that personal satisfaction and success can be achieved with selfless commitment and integrity. Furthermore, the book provides instructions for the reader to apply each concept in personal practice.
The overwhelming response and rapid growth of The Trusted Advocate Networking Group on LinkedIn is a testimony to the importance of authenticity and integrity in modern business practices. With the burgeoning growth of social networking sites, blogs, and other online communications, the voice of the customer is louder than ever before in history. Honesty and ethics are no longer merely good behavior, but have risen in awareness to become the competitive differentiator in the consumer selection criteria of potential vendors, partners, products, and services. Members of the Trusted Advocate group know this and embrace the evolution of ethics in business.
Individuals interested in joining the Trusted Advocate Networking Group must have a registered account and profile on LinkedIn. There is no charge to participate in the Networking Group. For more information, or to become a member, simple follow the easy online instructions to apply: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/83826/03792148A71A
For more information on The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity, reviews, chapter summaries, excerpts from the book, and a list of online booksellers, please visit http://www.Trusted101.com
LinkedIn participates in the EU Safe Harbor Privacy Framework and is certified to meet the strict privacy guidelines of the European Union. All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed, and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent. LinkedIn is located in Mountain View, California.
London, England (EBInews) September 4, 2008 – More than 500 members have joined the Trusted Advocate Networking Group on LinkedIn, and many new members are joining daily.
LinkedIn is a business oriented social networking site with more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.
Registered users of LinkedIn can create a profile summarizing professional accomplishments. The profile enables the user to find former colleagues, clients, and partners. LinkedIn also provides access to participate in networking groups, alumni associations, and discussion forums.
The Trusted Advocate Networking Group is a network of business professionals committed to the success of clients and peers. Action with authenticity, advocate with integrity, as recognized and endorsed by fellow trusted advocates. The purpose of the group is to enable empowered business with confidence and community connections with trusted advocates.
Members of The Trusted Advocate Networking Group display a dedication to the personal principles espoused by the group by a logo on the individual LinkedIn profile. The logo makes it easy to identify a Trusted Advocate. Other logos may also be represented based on personal preference, representing alumni associations, groups, or other interests.
Through the network, users can find potential clients, service providers, subject matter experts, offer recommendations and endorsements. This collaboration enables participants to search for new jobs, search for job candidates, and get introduced to other professionals for mutual support and benefit.
The Trusted Advocate Networking Group on LinkedIn was inspired by the award winning book by John Mehrmann and Mitchell Simon, The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity. In The Trusted Advocate, readers are encouraged to identify personal strengths and apply individual talents to attain the goals of clients and peers. The Trusted Advocate surmises that personal satisfaction and success can be achieved with selfless commitment and integrity. Furthermore, the book provides instructions for the reader to apply each concept in personal practice.
The overwhelming response and rapid growth of The Trusted Advocate Networking Group on LinkedIn is a testimony to the importance of authenticity and integrity in modern business practices. With the burgeoning growth of social networking sites, blogs, and other online communications, the voice of the customer is louder than ever before in history. Honesty and ethics are no longer merely good behavior, but have risen in awareness to become the competitive differentiator in the consumer selection criteria of potential vendors, partners, products, and services. Members of the Trusted Advocate group know this and embrace the evolution of ethics in business.
Individuals interested in joining the Trusted Advocate Networking Group must have a registered account and profile on LinkedIn. There is no charge to participate in the Networking Group. For more information, or to become a member, simple follow the easy online instructions to apply: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/83826/03792148A71A
For more information on The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity, reviews, chapter summaries, excerpts from the book, and a list of online booksellers, please visit http://www.Trusted101.com
LinkedIn participates in the EU Safe Harbor Privacy Framework and is certified to meet the strict privacy guidelines of the European Union. All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed, and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent. LinkedIn is located in Mountain View, California.
The Trusted Advocate is Honored with the Publisher's Choice Award
More accolades for the award winning book, The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity, by John Mehrmann and Mitchell Simon.
Orange County, CA (PRWEB) September 9, 2008 -- The award winning book, "The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity", is honored with the prestigious Publisher's Choice Award. The Publisher's Choice designation identifies and celebrates new titles that exhibit editorial integrity and outstanding design quality. New titles undergo stringent editorial review and design evaluation. Selected titles display potential for greater commercial success.
"Mitch and I are deeply honored by the awards and accolades," said John Mehrmann, author of 'The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity'. "The recognition is very much appreciated, but the greatest personal reward is the overwhelming feedback of the readers."
"The book provides real life examples that make sense, speaks to integrity and can be applied immediately. It outlines a selling strategy that focuses on the relationship between customer and salesperson to achieve continued and sustainable growth," said Tina Tuccillo, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Product Planning at Noritsu America Corporation. "A quick read, you will walk away with page after page of highlights and folded corners of information you can't wait to share with others. A goldmine of wealth you can't afford to miss."
Initial inventory of 'The Trusted Advocate' sold out quickly, and some orders were slightly delayed while additional copies were printed. As recognition has grown, so has the geographic distribution of enthusiastic readers. The web site www.Trusted101.com provides links to a variety of online booksellers in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, and Australia.
"Some of us may start reading this volume somewhat skeptical about the authors' opening thesis that the way we are habituated to define success is entirely illusory. But any doubts will be quickly dispelled as the highly readable analysis of the inseparable relationship between real success and the twin concepts of authenticity and integrity unfolds. And more than that, they make it easy for us to internalize what we have read as we are gently provoked to practically apply the knowledge to our own individual situations," said Azriel Winnit, author of Israel based Hodu.com. "In effect, we are all salespeople, whether our need is to sell the ideas we believe in, to secure the best terms for the services we need, or just to convince our boss to give us a raise. Simply put, applying the concepts presented in this book will help to make the world a better place. Period."
The style of The Trusted Advocate is like a participating in a personal conversation with a close friend. It gently reinforces individual qualities that generate sustainable personal satisfaction and business success. Readers of The Trusted Advocate have reported life-changing revelations, greater confidence, and extraordinary success.
A reader review posted on Barnes & Noble proclaims, "The practical approaches and solutions in The Trusted Advocate provide clear, explicit, and factual examples of how to address the strategic and tactical issues that often crop up when the need exists to be a company loyalist and customer advocate while maintaining personal integrity and providing a win, win solution for both constituents being represented. I strongly recommend this book as a basic learning tool for all new marketers and a fresh approach for old timers to consider."
Eric Nelson, President of Secure Privacy Solutions, writes "'The Trusted Advocate' does an outstanding job of articulating what most successful sales and business professionals inherently understand, that people want to do business with those they can trust and are looking out for their best interest."
Kirkus Discoveries had this to say in a recent review of 'The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity', "John Mehrmann and Mitchell Simon have packed years of experience into a single volume that provides fundamental advice for sales professionals. The straightforward writing style is also accentuated with illustrative vignettes which exemplify the crucial aspects of successful sales."
For more reader reviews, chapter summaries, excerpts from the book, and a list of online booksellers, please visit http://www.Trusted101.com
Orange County, CA (PRWEB) September 9, 2008 -- The award winning book, "The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity", is honored with the prestigious Publisher's Choice Award. The Publisher's Choice designation identifies and celebrates new titles that exhibit editorial integrity and outstanding design quality. New titles undergo stringent editorial review and design evaluation. Selected titles display potential for greater commercial success.
"Mitch and I are deeply honored by the awards and accolades," said John Mehrmann, author of 'The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity'. "The recognition is very much appreciated, but the greatest personal reward is the overwhelming feedback of the readers."
"The book provides real life examples that make sense, speaks to integrity and can be applied immediately. It outlines a selling strategy that focuses on the relationship between customer and salesperson to achieve continued and sustainable growth," said Tina Tuccillo, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Product Planning at Noritsu America Corporation. "A quick read, you will walk away with page after page of highlights and folded corners of information you can't wait to share with others. A goldmine of wealth you can't afford to miss."
Initial inventory of 'The Trusted Advocate' sold out quickly, and some orders were slightly delayed while additional copies were printed. As recognition has grown, so has the geographic distribution of enthusiastic readers. The web site www.Trusted101.com provides links to a variety of online booksellers in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, and Australia.
"Some of us may start reading this volume somewhat skeptical about the authors' opening thesis that the way we are habituated to define success is entirely illusory. But any doubts will be quickly dispelled as the highly readable analysis of the inseparable relationship between real success and the twin concepts of authenticity and integrity unfolds. And more than that, they make it easy for us to internalize what we have read as we are gently provoked to practically apply the knowledge to our own individual situations," said Azriel Winnit, author of Israel based Hodu.com. "In effect, we are all salespeople, whether our need is to sell the ideas we believe in, to secure the best terms for the services we need, or just to convince our boss to give us a raise. Simply put, applying the concepts presented in this book will help to make the world a better place. Period."
The style of The Trusted Advocate is like a participating in a personal conversation with a close friend. It gently reinforces individual qualities that generate sustainable personal satisfaction and business success. Readers of The Trusted Advocate have reported life-changing revelations, greater confidence, and extraordinary success.
A reader review posted on Barnes & Noble proclaims, "The practical approaches and solutions in The Trusted Advocate provide clear, explicit, and factual examples of how to address the strategic and tactical issues that often crop up when the need exists to be a company loyalist and customer advocate while maintaining personal integrity and providing a win, win solution for both constituents being represented. I strongly recommend this book as a basic learning tool for all new marketers and a fresh approach for old timers to consider."
Eric Nelson, President of Secure Privacy Solutions, writes "'The Trusted Advocate' does an outstanding job of articulating what most successful sales and business professionals inherently understand, that people want to do business with those they can trust and are looking out for their best interest."
Kirkus Discoveries had this to say in a recent review of 'The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity', "John Mehrmann and Mitchell Simon have packed years of experience into a single volume that provides fundamental advice for sales professionals. The straightforward writing style is also accentuated with illustrative vignettes which exemplify the crucial aspects of successful sales."
For more reader reviews, chapter summaries, excerpts from the book, and a list of online booksellers, please visit http://www.Trusted101.com
Trends in Technology
Garter, Inc analysts highlighted the top ten strategic technologies and trends for 2008. Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with potential for significant impact on enterprise in the next three years. Take a few moments to get familiar with the definitions of technology trends that will impact your business.
1. Green IT
According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, e-waste is the fastest-growing part of the waste stream, and the Environmental Protection Agency estimates e-waste accounts for 2 percent of the municipal solid waste stream in the United States. More than 1,000 chemicals are used during electronics production, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. In addition to manufacturing materials, going green means focus on power consumption. IT departments spent 17 cents per dollar to power and cool servers in 1996. Ten years later, by September 2006, IT departments were spending 48 cents per dollar to power and cool servers, according to IDC research. IDC predicts that this cost will grow to 78 cents per dollar by 2010. The focus on green is as much about cost reduction as it is about the environment.
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that there are 500 obsolete computers in the United States, and 130 million cell phones thrown away every year. It is no wonder that e-waste and Green IT are topping the charts as the primary initiative for technology and trends in 2008.
According to IDC, over 50% of customers consider a vendor's green initiatives and capabilities when selecting a supplier. One third of customers already consider it very important that suppliers have "green offerings". 80% of Executives say that e-waste and Green IT is growing in importance as an initiative in their organization. The number one (#1) driver for Green IT adoption is economic, to reduce operational costs.
What company is setting the pace with Green IT initiatives? ZSL Inc
2. Unified Communications
20% of the installed based with PBX has already migrated to IP telephony, and more than 80% are already conducting trials and preparing for the most significant shift in telephony since the adoption of cell phones. Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, is also known as IP Telephony, Broadband Telephony, and Voice over Broadband. A rose by any other name, the appeal for low cost is what smells so sweet. A single network can carry voice, data, video, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks. Get ready to rethink networks as completely integrated communication of voice, video, and data. You will be surfing the Internet, accessing data, and sharing video on your cell phone. You will be making international calls from your notebook computer. Hardware is interchangeable, it is just a matter of the adoption rate for new technology.
What company is setting the pace with unified communications? Cisco.
3. Business Process Modeling
Business Process Modeling is the structured comparison of how things really work, how we want them to work, similar processes with measured results, and planning to move from current state to future state. In IT, business processing modeling requires system and application architects to work with programmers, designers, and analysts to coordinate the design theory, the development, and the institutionalizing of the systems and applications. In other words, the individuals who design the systems and applications will work with the people who build it, and with the ones who fix the bugs.
In some environments the collaboration of architects, developers, and analysts is already accepted as common practice. However, it is uncommon enough to actually make the top ten list of future trends for the next three years. "The beauty and the curse of system architects and programmers is that they are just like the applications that they design based on your specifications. They do exactly what you tell them to do," said John Mehrmann, "so you better make sure that it is exactly what you want them to do."
4. Metadata Management
Metadata management is critical to a information infrastructure, it is the relationship and usage of data. There are three primary segments of data in Enterprise Information Management (EIM) strategy. These three segments are customer data integration, product information management, and product management. Metadata management is less of a technical challenge and more of an organizational process. Simply defined, metadata management uses data from complex structured data sources and databases to create models (schemas) and mappings. Import data to rapidly identify patterns, commonalities, differentiators, and create models. Use design patterns, solution templates, and operators to simplify development of metadata applications.
How is metadata being used today? Metadata captures customer registration to model buying habits, returns, peripheral purchases, and warranty extensions. Metadata is used to track warranty failures, customer contact through multiple channels that include call center and service, and it can be used to selectively offer marketing materials and sales incentives.
What company is setting the pace with metadata management? SAS
5. Virtualization 2.0
Virtualization technologies are infrastructure improvement enablers to improve IT resource utilization and increase flexibility. Automation technologies can improve resource efficiency and automate flexibility based on requirements and services managed holistically, with high levels of resiliency. IT resources adapt automatically to changing workloads and reduce cost. Expect to hear more about virtualization as technologies and trends impact the holy grail of Green IT, better management of resources, and lower costs.
6. Mashup & Composite Apps
Composite Applications are the assembly of existing components in IT with Web based applications, typically using older generation program language languages and developed by professional programmers. On the other hand, mashups are remarkably simple and basic infusion of web services with browser-side java, to connect things together. Mashups simply gather existing data from multiple web resources to either present the data together, assemble and calculate the information to create new data, or create new functionality. Mashups are small pieces of data, loosely joined. There are five types of mashups:
i. Presentation Mashup gathers data from multiple sources and lists the data together.
ii. Client-side Data Mashup gathers data from remote web sites or data feeds and processes the data in a client database or application to analyze it or create a new result.
iii. Client-side Software Mashup uses code in the client side web browser to create distinct new capabilities for gathering and utilizing data captured through the browser.
iv Server-side Software Mashup is already very common as evident by the thousands of open Web APIs currently available. The server collects data from the client.
v. Server-side Data Mashup is the linking and connecting of data between servers. It is already very common to share data between servers and databases, but the fascinating new trend is that this type of data collection and manipulation is happening at a much higher level.
As client-side applications enable users to access data with web browsers and to mashup data without professional programmers, the evolution changes from how to gather diverse data into how to compare, analyze, and use the data. Once immediate access to mashup data from diverse web resources becomes commonplace, metadata management becomes even more crucial to identify trends, recognize commonalities, and develop predictive applications for accurate forecasts and customer-centric customization.
What company is setting the pace with mashup & composite apps? Google
7. Web Platform & WOA
Emerging web applications provide Software as a Service (SaaS) as a viable option to access infrastructure services, information, applications, and business processes though simple and easy to use web browsers. The web based "cloud computing" environments may access a single source for data, applications, or resources for client queries and reporting. However, as metadata management and mashups become more sophisticated and commonplace, web platform Software as a Service will increasingly enable the recombination of data from multiple data sources, applications, and resources. This evolution enables real time data collection, comparison, analysis, application and resource allocation through web portals, reducing direct data or service connectivity, and allowing significantly greater user flexibility.
What company is setting the pace with Web Platform, API, and Software as a Service initiatives? Amazon
8. Computing Fabric
In the evolution of servers as storage devices, we witnessed the progression of big iron from tape drives to hard drives, and the management of all data on one drive to storing data on an array of drives as a means to expand storage and recover from catastrophic failure. In other words, multiple devices shared access and resources to store data. This concept evolved into blade servers, enabling the networking of multiple efficient devices. The next evolution of the computing fabric is the introduction of technology to treat the network of blade servers as the sum of the components from each of the blades. Rather than manage each blade server as a whole device, the new technology will treat memory, processors, I/O cards and components as a pool of resources, combining and recombining these resources as necessary to appear as an operating system on a fixed single server.
Managing the computing fabric will take the smallest measurable pieces of the networked hardware and recombine resources to achieve Green IT low cost power consumption, better use of hardware resources, and treat hardware combinations in much the same way that mashups converge diverse small pieces of data into single serving results on demand.
9. Real World Web
The term real world web refers to enabling information applicable to a particular location, activity, or context relevant to the real world. Unlike virtual worlds that can be created and manipulated for a particular purpose or entertainment, real world web is intended to augment reality with real-time and real world situations. GPS Navigation, for example, can provide real time directions that react to movement and direction. Airline updates, for example, can alert a user to on-time availability or delays associated with flight departures or arrivals.
Now imagine that you have a flight to another city, real time traffic updates and GPS to bypass congestion, and this schedule is mashed up with web based reservations at a preferred restaurant to entertain a valued customer. Your reservation could be automatically adjusted to accommodate flight or traffic delays. The restaurant would be automatically alerted to the change in schedule and may adjust seating accordingly. The GPS may provide alternative routes to avoid heavy congestion or accidents. The value customer would receive a web based calendar alert to unexpected flight delays, enabling your valued customer to occupy time with other important tasks while you are still in flight. The directions, navigation, reservations, and customer clients updates can be managed automatically with real world web.
Another use for real world web integrates posted gasoline prices with GPS navigation devices. This enables the user to identify and select from gas stations with lower posted prices using the real world web.
What company is setting the pace for delivering Real World Web applications? Microsoft
10. Social Software
The term social software is typically associated with a wide range of web applications that enable users to interact and share with other users. YouTube, MySpace, and LinkedIn are some examples of social sites. Social software typically facilitates a more egalitarian community development in which membership is voluntary, reputation is earned by winning the trust of other members, and the mission and governance of the community is defined by the members of the community. Social software reflects the asymmetrical traits of social networks, and a mutual link between users. You can choose to accept or not accept content or connections.
Social software and social networks are evolving at an astounding pace, and are as diverse as human interests. Social networks exist for business, career guidance or changes, on line gaming, common interests, entertainment, hobbies, staying in touch with contacts, and meeting new people.
What companies are setting the pace with Social Software? YouTube, MySpace, and LinkedIn
Summary
So what is happening? There is so much data, information, applications, and individual contact available through web connections that it has become necessary to break things down into the smallest components and categorize these components in such a way as to maximize efficiency, access, collaboration, recombination, and real time application. Green IT seeks to identify the components of hardware and resources to maximize efficiency, reduce e-waste, and reduce power consumption. Unified communications is breaking down data, voice, and video into streams that can be shared by mobile and web based devices. Business Process Models organize the small bits of data, applications, and resources to design future architecture and integrate analytics are users and clients become a part of the development process. Metadata management identifies commonalities and creates smaller models to organize the data. Mashups take these diverse pieces of data and present them or process them in a manner that produces a new understanding or result. Web platforms and Software as a Service empower mashups and data access. Virtualization 2.0 and Computing Fabric apply the same concepts to the hardware that store, access, and serve up this data, voice, and video. Real World Web integrates all of this with our environment and surroundings. Social software makes individuals a part of the process, identifying and connecting smaller pieces of personal interests with individuals that share similar experiences or interests.
The trend for the next three years is to break down data, voice, video, applications, hardware, and individual interests into the smallest denominators and then to identify and recombine based them on user defined requirements and commonalities.
Companies should factor these technologies into their strategic planning process by asking key questions and making deliberate decisions about them during the next two years,” said David Cearley, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Sometimes the decision will be to do nothing with a particular technology. In other cases it will be to continue investing in the technology at the current rate. In still other cases, the decision may be to test/pilot or more aggressively adopt/deploy the technology. The important thing is to ask the question and proactively plan.”
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons." - Popular Mechanics, March 1949
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."- Arthur C. Clarke
"Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand."- Putt's Law
"Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done." - Andy Rooney
______________________________________________________
Read the details of Gartner's predictions for the top 10 strategic technologies for 2008.http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=530109
You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format with acknowledgement to Executive Blueprints Inc.
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
1. Green IT
According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, e-waste is the fastest-growing part of the waste stream, and the Environmental Protection Agency estimates e-waste accounts for 2 percent of the municipal solid waste stream in the United States. More than 1,000 chemicals are used during electronics production, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. In addition to manufacturing materials, going green means focus on power consumption. IT departments spent 17 cents per dollar to power and cool servers in 1996. Ten years later, by September 2006, IT departments were spending 48 cents per dollar to power and cool servers, according to IDC research. IDC predicts that this cost will grow to 78 cents per dollar by 2010. The focus on green is as much about cost reduction as it is about the environment.
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that there are 500 obsolete computers in the United States, and 130 million cell phones thrown away every year. It is no wonder that e-waste and Green IT are topping the charts as the primary initiative for technology and trends in 2008.
According to IDC, over 50% of customers consider a vendor's green initiatives and capabilities when selecting a supplier. One third of customers already consider it very important that suppliers have "green offerings". 80% of Executives say that e-waste and Green IT is growing in importance as an initiative in their organization. The number one (#1) driver for Green IT adoption is economic, to reduce operational costs.
What company is setting the pace with Green IT initiatives? ZSL Inc
2. Unified Communications
20% of the installed based with PBX has already migrated to IP telephony, and more than 80% are already conducting trials and preparing for the most significant shift in telephony since the adoption of cell phones. Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, is also known as IP Telephony, Broadband Telephony, and Voice over Broadband. A rose by any other name, the appeal for low cost is what smells so sweet. A single network can carry voice, data, video, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks. Get ready to rethink networks as completely integrated communication of voice, video, and data. You will be surfing the Internet, accessing data, and sharing video on your cell phone. You will be making international calls from your notebook computer. Hardware is interchangeable, it is just a matter of the adoption rate for new technology.
What company is setting the pace with unified communications? Cisco.
3. Business Process Modeling
Business Process Modeling is the structured comparison of how things really work, how we want them to work, similar processes with measured results, and planning to move from current state to future state. In IT, business processing modeling requires system and application architects to work with programmers, designers, and analysts to coordinate the design theory, the development, and the institutionalizing of the systems and applications. In other words, the individuals who design the systems and applications will work with the people who build it, and with the ones who fix the bugs.
In some environments the collaboration of architects, developers, and analysts is already accepted as common practice. However, it is uncommon enough to actually make the top ten list of future trends for the next three years. "The beauty and the curse of system architects and programmers is that they are just like the applications that they design based on your specifications. They do exactly what you tell them to do," said John Mehrmann, "so you better make sure that it is exactly what you want them to do."
4. Metadata Management
Metadata management is critical to a information infrastructure, it is the relationship and usage of data. There are three primary segments of data in Enterprise Information Management (EIM) strategy. These three segments are customer data integration, product information management, and product management. Metadata management is less of a technical challenge and more of an organizational process. Simply defined, metadata management uses data from complex structured data sources and databases to create models (schemas) and mappings. Import data to rapidly identify patterns, commonalities, differentiators, and create models. Use design patterns, solution templates, and operators to simplify development of metadata applications.
How is metadata being used today? Metadata captures customer registration to model buying habits, returns, peripheral purchases, and warranty extensions. Metadata is used to track warranty failures, customer contact through multiple channels that include call center and service, and it can be used to selectively offer marketing materials and sales incentives.
What company is setting the pace with metadata management? SAS
5. Virtualization 2.0
Virtualization technologies are infrastructure improvement enablers to improve IT resource utilization and increase flexibility. Automation technologies can improve resource efficiency and automate flexibility based on requirements and services managed holistically, with high levels of resiliency. IT resources adapt automatically to changing workloads and reduce cost. Expect to hear more about virtualization as technologies and trends impact the holy grail of Green IT, better management of resources, and lower costs.
6. Mashup & Composite Apps
Composite Applications are the assembly of existing components in IT with Web based applications, typically using older generation program language languages and developed by professional programmers. On the other hand, mashups are remarkably simple and basic infusion of web services with browser-side java, to connect things together. Mashups simply gather existing data from multiple web resources to either present the data together, assemble and calculate the information to create new data, or create new functionality. Mashups are small pieces of data, loosely joined. There are five types of mashups:
i. Presentation Mashup gathers data from multiple sources and lists the data together.
ii. Client-side Data Mashup gathers data from remote web sites or data feeds and processes the data in a client database or application to analyze it or create a new result.
iii. Client-side Software Mashup uses code in the client side web browser to create distinct new capabilities for gathering and utilizing data captured through the browser.
iv Server-side Software Mashup is already very common as evident by the thousands of open Web APIs currently available. The server collects data from the client.
v. Server-side Data Mashup is the linking and connecting of data between servers. It is already very common to share data between servers and databases, but the fascinating new trend is that this type of data collection and manipulation is happening at a much higher level.
As client-side applications enable users to access data with web browsers and to mashup data without professional programmers, the evolution changes from how to gather diverse data into how to compare, analyze, and use the data. Once immediate access to mashup data from diverse web resources becomes commonplace, metadata management becomes even more crucial to identify trends, recognize commonalities, and develop predictive applications for accurate forecasts and customer-centric customization.
What company is setting the pace with mashup & composite apps? Google
7. Web Platform & WOA
Emerging web applications provide Software as a Service (SaaS) as a viable option to access infrastructure services, information, applications, and business processes though simple and easy to use web browsers. The web based "cloud computing" environments may access a single source for data, applications, or resources for client queries and reporting. However, as metadata management and mashups become more sophisticated and commonplace, web platform Software as a Service will increasingly enable the recombination of data from multiple data sources, applications, and resources. This evolution enables real time data collection, comparison, analysis, application and resource allocation through web portals, reducing direct data or service connectivity, and allowing significantly greater user flexibility.
What company is setting the pace with Web Platform, API, and Software as a Service initiatives? Amazon
8. Computing Fabric
In the evolution of servers as storage devices, we witnessed the progression of big iron from tape drives to hard drives, and the management of all data on one drive to storing data on an array of drives as a means to expand storage and recover from catastrophic failure. In other words, multiple devices shared access and resources to store data. This concept evolved into blade servers, enabling the networking of multiple efficient devices. The next evolution of the computing fabric is the introduction of technology to treat the network of blade servers as the sum of the components from each of the blades. Rather than manage each blade server as a whole device, the new technology will treat memory, processors, I/O cards and components as a pool of resources, combining and recombining these resources as necessary to appear as an operating system on a fixed single server.
Managing the computing fabric will take the smallest measurable pieces of the networked hardware and recombine resources to achieve Green IT low cost power consumption, better use of hardware resources, and treat hardware combinations in much the same way that mashups converge diverse small pieces of data into single serving results on demand.
9. Real World Web
The term real world web refers to enabling information applicable to a particular location, activity, or context relevant to the real world. Unlike virtual worlds that can be created and manipulated for a particular purpose or entertainment, real world web is intended to augment reality with real-time and real world situations. GPS Navigation, for example, can provide real time directions that react to movement and direction. Airline updates, for example, can alert a user to on-time availability or delays associated with flight departures or arrivals.
Now imagine that you have a flight to another city, real time traffic updates and GPS to bypass congestion, and this schedule is mashed up with web based reservations at a preferred restaurant to entertain a valued customer. Your reservation could be automatically adjusted to accommodate flight or traffic delays. The restaurant would be automatically alerted to the change in schedule and may adjust seating accordingly. The GPS may provide alternative routes to avoid heavy congestion or accidents. The value customer would receive a web based calendar alert to unexpected flight delays, enabling your valued customer to occupy time with other important tasks while you are still in flight. The directions, navigation, reservations, and customer clients updates can be managed automatically with real world web.
Another use for real world web integrates posted gasoline prices with GPS navigation devices. This enables the user to identify and select from gas stations with lower posted prices using the real world web.
What company is setting the pace for delivering Real World Web applications? Microsoft
10. Social Software
The term social software is typically associated with a wide range of web applications that enable users to interact and share with other users. YouTube, MySpace, and LinkedIn are some examples of social sites. Social software typically facilitates a more egalitarian community development in which membership is voluntary, reputation is earned by winning the trust of other members, and the mission and governance of the community is defined by the members of the community. Social software reflects the asymmetrical traits of social networks, and a mutual link between users. You can choose to accept or not accept content or connections.
Social software and social networks are evolving at an astounding pace, and are as diverse as human interests. Social networks exist for business, career guidance or changes, on line gaming, common interests, entertainment, hobbies, staying in touch with contacts, and meeting new people.
What companies are setting the pace with Social Software? YouTube, MySpace, and LinkedIn
Summary
So what is happening? There is so much data, information, applications, and individual contact available through web connections that it has become necessary to break things down into the smallest components and categorize these components in such a way as to maximize efficiency, access, collaboration, recombination, and real time application. Green IT seeks to identify the components of hardware and resources to maximize efficiency, reduce e-waste, and reduce power consumption. Unified communications is breaking down data, voice, and video into streams that can be shared by mobile and web based devices. Business Process Models organize the small bits of data, applications, and resources to design future architecture and integrate analytics are users and clients become a part of the development process. Metadata management identifies commonalities and creates smaller models to organize the data. Mashups take these diverse pieces of data and present them or process them in a manner that produces a new understanding or result. Web platforms and Software as a Service empower mashups and data access. Virtualization 2.0 and Computing Fabric apply the same concepts to the hardware that store, access, and serve up this data, voice, and video. Real World Web integrates all of this with our environment and surroundings. Social software makes individuals a part of the process, identifying and connecting smaller pieces of personal interests with individuals that share similar experiences or interests.
The trend for the next three years is to break down data, voice, video, applications, hardware, and individual interests into the smallest denominators and then to identify and recombine based them on user defined requirements and commonalities.
Companies should factor these technologies into their strategic planning process by asking key questions and making deliberate decisions about them during the next two years,” said David Cearley, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Sometimes the decision will be to do nothing with a particular technology. In other cases it will be to continue investing in the technology at the current rate. In still other cases, the decision may be to test/pilot or more aggressively adopt/deploy the technology. The important thing is to ask the question and proactively plan.”
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons." - Popular Mechanics, March 1949
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."- Arthur C. Clarke
"Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand."- Putt's Law
"Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done." - Andy Rooney
______________________________________________________
Read the details of Gartner's predictions for the top 10 strategic technologies for 2008.http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=530109
You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format with acknowledgement to Executive Blueprints Inc.
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
2008 Passport Restrictions
Effective January 31, 2008, adult United States and Canadian citizens reentering the United States and Canada by land, ferry, or by small boat must carry a passport or a government issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. Children 18 and younger require proof of citizenship only.
Cruise passengers are officially exempt, but cruise lines recommend passports and already require a photo ID, such as a driver's license, and proof of citizenship.
All US travelers returning from the Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada by air have had to carry passports since January 23, 2007. The change of restrictions in January 2007 created a surge in demand for passports, resulting in extended delays of several months to process the increased number and backlog of requests. Turnaround time for a standard passport is now four to six weeks. Expect to wait three weeks for an expedited passport.
The new guidelines effective January 31, 2008 extend the air travel restrictions to land, ferry, and small boat. Plan ahead for international travel, regardless of the mode of transportation, and allow enough time to procure or renew your passport if necessary.
E-Passports
Since August 2007, the United States has been issuing Electronic Passports only.
The U.S. Electronic Passport (e-passport) is similar to the former passport with the addition of a small integrated circuit computer chip embedded in the back cover. The chip securely stores the same data visually displayed on the photo page of the passport, and includes a digital photograph of the bearer. The inclusion of the digital photograph enables biometric comparison, through the use of facial recognition technology, at international borders. The U.S. e-passport also has a new look, incorporating the latest anti-fraud and security features.
Passports without chips will still be valid for the extent of the original validity period, and must be replaced with the new e-passport at the time of renewal
If you have an existing US Passport that is less than 15 years old, is not damaged, you were at least 16 years old when it was issued, and you name has not changed or you can provide documents to prove that it was legally changed, then you may be eligible to renew your passport by mail. Passports can be renewed through the mail by submitted the appropriate DS-82 form, two identical passport photographs, and a check or money order for the processing fee. The address, current fee, and DS-82 form are available at the U.S. Department of State web site, http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/renew/renew_833.html
The NEXUS Program
The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), are cooperating in a joint venture to simplify passage for pre-approved low risk travelers.
NEXUS members now have crossing privileges at any air, land, and marine ports of entry. Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the NEXUS card has been approved as an alternative to the passport for air travel into the United States for US and Canadian citizens. The NEXUS program allows pre-screened, low risk travelers to be processed with little or no delay by the United States and Canadian officials at designated highway lanes at high volume border crossing locations, at a NEXUS kiosk at the Canadian pre-clearance airports, and at select marine locations in the Great Lakes and Seattle, Washington.
Individuals may qualify to participate in NEXUS if they are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada, residing in either country, or if they are a citizen of a country other than Canada or the United States who plans to temporarily reside lawfully in Canada or in the United States for the term of their NEXUS membership and who pass criminal history and law enforcement checks. Individuals may be denied NEXUS if inadmissible to the United States or Canada under applicable immigration law, provide false or incomplete information on the application, have been convicted of a criminal offense in any country for which they have not received a pardon, have previously violated customs or immigration law, or fail to meet stated requirements of the NEXUS program.
To apply for NEXUS, complete a single application and pay one fee. The form can be submitted on-line via the Global On-Line Enrollment (GOES), mailed, or faxed. Qualified applicants are required to come to a NEXUS Enrollment Center only once, for an interview and issuance of a photo-identification card. NEXUS allows United States and Canadian border agencies to concentrate efforts on potentially higher risk travelers and goods, to ensure security and integrity of the borders. NEXUS allows citizens of the United States and Canada to reduce delays at border crossings, and is an excellent form of international travel identification to accompany your passport.
At the time that this article was written, the one time application fee for a five (5) year NEXUS card is $50 US, and the fee for a US passport renewal is $67 US.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable."- Clifton Fadiman
"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."- Miriam Beard
"A person travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." - George Moore
______________________________________________________
You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format with acknowledgement to Executive Blueprints Inc.
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
Cruise passengers are officially exempt, but cruise lines recommend passports and already require a photo ID, such as a driver's license, and proof of citizenship.
All US travelers returning from the Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada by air have had to carry passports since January 23, 2007. The change of restrictions in January 2007 created a surge in demand for passports, resulting in extended delays of several months to process the increased number and backlog of requests. Turnaround time for a standard passport is now four to six weeks. Expect to wait three weeks for an expedited passport.
The new guidelines effective January 31, 2008 extend the air travel restrictions to land, ferry, and small boat. Plan ahead for international travel, regardless of the mode of transportation, and allow enough time to procure or renew your passport if necessary.
E-Passports
Since August 2007, the United States has been issuing Electronic Passports only.
The U.S. Electronic Passport (e-passport) is similar to the former passport with the addition of a small integrated circuit computer chip embedded in the back cover. The chip securely stores the same data visually displayed on the photo page of the passport, and includes a digital photograph of the bearer. The inclusion of the digital photograph enables biometric comparison, through the use of facial recognition technology, at international borders. The U.S. e-passport also has a new look, incorporating the latest anti-fraud and security features.
Passports without chips will still be valid for the extent of the original validity period, and must be replaced with the new e-passport at the time of renewal
If you have an existing US Passport that is less than 15 years old, is not damaged, you were at least 16 years old when it was issued, and you name has not changed or you can provide documents to prove that it was legally changed, then you may be eligible to renew your passport by mail. Passports can be renewed through the mail by submitted the appropriate DS-82 form, two identical passport photographs, and a check or money order for the processing fee. The address, current fee, and DS-82 form are available at the U.S. Department of State web site, http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/renew/renew_833.html
The NEXUS Program
The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), are cooperating in a joint venture to simplify passage for pre-approved low risk travelers.
NEXUS members now have crossing privileges at any air, land, and marine ports of entry. Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the NEXUS card has been approved as an alternative to the passport for air travel into the United States for US and Canadian citizens. The NEXUS program allows pre-screened, low risk travelers to be processed with little or no delay by the United States and Canadian officials at designated highway lanes at high volume border crossing locations, at a NEXUS kiosk at the Canadian pre-clearance airports, and at select marine locations in the Great Lakes and Seattle, Washington.
Individuals may qualify to participate in NEXUS if they are a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada, residing in either country, or if they are a citizen of a country other than Canada or the United States who plans to temporarily reside lawfully in Canada or in the United States for the term of their NEXUS membership and who pass criminal history and law enforcement checks. Individuals may be denied NEXUS if inadmissible to the United States or Canada under applicable immigration law, provide false or incomplete information on the application, have been convicted of a criminal offense in any country for which they have not received a pardon, have previously violated customs or immigration law, or fail to meet stated requirements of the NEXUS program.
To apply for NEXUS, complete a single application and pay one fee. The form can be submitted on-line via the Global On-Line Enrollment (GOES), mailed, or faxed. Qualified applicants are required to come to a NEXUS Enrollment Center only once, for an interview and issuance of a photo-identification card. NEXUS allows United States and Canadian border agencies to concentrate efforts on potentially higher risk travelers and goods, to ensure security and integrity of the borders. NEXUS allows citizens of the United States and Canada to reduce delays at border crossings, and is an excellent form of international travel identification to accompany your passport.
At the time that this article was written, the one time application fee for a five (5) year NEXUS card is $50 US, and the fee for a US passport renewal is $67 US.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable."- Clifton Fadiman
"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."- Miriam Beard
"A person travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." - George Moore
______________________________________________________
You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format with acknowledgement to Executive Blueprints Inc.
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Buying or Selling on the Internet
The facts and figures from Symantec Security Response and the Internet Crime Complaint Center are both fascinating and alarming. If you have thought about buying or selling on the Internet, especially with Internet Auction Sites, make sure that you are aware of the best practices and the potential pitfalls before you do. An identity is a terrible thing to waste.
How much for your identity?
According to a Blog from Symantec Security Response, the following is the cost for your identity on the black market
How much for your identity?
According to a Blog from Symantec Security Response, the following is the cost for your identity on the black market
- $14-18 for your complete identity
- $1-6 for a US Credit Card
- $2-12 for a UK Credit Card
- $10 for a World of Warcraft Account
Internet Crime Complaint Center
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was established as a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to receive, develop and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. IC3 released the sixth annual compilation of complaints received and referred to law enforcement or regulatory agencies for appropriate action.
The following statistics are based on the IC3 2006 Annual Report
Complaint submissions decreased by 10.4%, from 231,493 in 2005 to 207,492 in 2006
Total Dollar Amount of reported losses increased from $183.12 Million in 2005 to $198.44 Million in 2006
Most Common Reason for complaints
- 44.9% Internet Auction Fraud
- 19.0% Non-Delivered Merchandise and / or Payment
- 4.9% Check Fraud
- 4.8% Credit / Debit Fraud
Most Common Amounts of reported loss
- 39.3% reported loss between $100 to $1000
- 31.6% reported loss between $1000 to $5000
- 15.6% reported loss less than $100
Of those who reported a loss, the Average (median) amount of the reported loss
- $5100 Nigerian Letter Fraud
- $3744 Check Fraud
- $602 Internet Auction Fraud
- $585 Non-Delivered Merchandise and / or Payment
- $427 Credit / Debit Card Fraud
Most Common Methods of Contact:
- 73.9% Email
- 36.0% Web Page
- 17.7% Telephone
- 12.0% Instant Messenger
- 10.3% Postal Mail
Best Practice to Buy on Internet Auction Sites
- Learn your obligations as a buyer before you place a bid.
- Find out what actions the seller will take to insure the transaction and the delivery.
- Research the seller, especially if the only available information is an email address. Check with the Better Business Bureau if it is a business. Use Google search, Yahoo and other web sites to investigate the seller.
- Try to obtain a physical address. Be wary if the mailing address is a Post Office Box number.
- If there is a telephone number provided, call it to make sure that it is working and legitimate.
- Send an email to validate that it is an active email address. Be wary of sellers that use free email services that do not require a credit card to open an account.
- Check Seller history and be wary if there is previous negative feedback.
- Use common sense when assessing the method of payment.
- Be cautious and aware of laws governing sellers is other countries, international sales may have a dubious outcome
- Ask for written confirmation regarding expected delivery and warranty or exchange return options
- To avoid unexpected costs, find out if shipping and delivery are included or additional cost
- Never give out your Social Security Number, Driver's License Number, Bank Account Numbers or personal information to the seller, they do not need it
- Be very cautious of special offers that arrive by unsolicited email, you are typically better to delete these without opening them, especially if there are attached files
- Do not give your credit card information over the phone
- Do not make purchases online if you are using an unsecured wireless access point
- If you are a victim of fraud, report it to your credit card companies and to the authorities immediately
Best Practice to Sell on Internet Auction Sites
- Take a little time to understand how Internet Auctions work and what your obligations are as a seller.
- Use secure web sites. If you sell from your own web site, then investigate how to offer secure credit card transactions
- Publicly list the actions that you will take to insure the transaction and the delivery.
- List contact information and street address if you are a business. Provide a daytime phone number and email address for inquiries. Make it easy for the consumer to validate your authenticity.
- Take care of your customers and ask for feedback, especially if the transaction resulted in a satisfactory experience.
- Be cautious and aware of laws governing buyers in other countries, international sales may have a dubious outcome
- Post your policy regarding delivery options and related fees, warranty or exchange return options, and payment terms and conditions
- Build reciprocal links with other reputable merchants to establish your authenticity
- Post pictures of the merchandise
- Provide detailed descriptions of the merchandise, including specifications, features, new or used, etc. Research other listings for similar merchandise to see what information your competitors are providing so you will have some additional insight into what your customers may need to see and compare
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"Organized crime in America takes in over forty billion dollars a year and spends very little on office supplies."- Woody Allen
"There is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass. Commit a crime, and it seems as if a coat of snow fell on the ground, such as reveals in the woods the track of every partridge, and fox, and squirrel."- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The scars of others should teach us caution." - Saint Jerome
______________________________________________________
You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format with acknowledgement to Executive Blueprints Inc.
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
Reliable, Respected, Revered or Feared
What is most the most important attribute to developing your reputation? Would you prefer to be known as reliable, respected, revered or feared? Is it possible to be all of these things over time? Constructing your reputation is like solving a Rubik's Cube puzzle. It takes time, several steps and the right combination of twists and turns. It is also important to know what it should look like when you are done. When you have the goal in your mind, then you can go about solving the puzzle.
The GOAL
The goal of developing your reputation is to be true to yourself. Be consistent with your principals and your personal values. Your actions, your decisions and your interaction with others should be a reflection of the way that you live your life. If you attempt to disguise your intentions or beguile your associates, you will not be able to maintain trust or confidence. If your intentions are to help your customers, look for other individuals with similar intentions. If you are content with your own situation, then enjoy the camaraderie of your peers and help them to achieve their goals. If your intention is personal advancement or promotions, be open about searching for people who will support your efforts.
If you define and share your goals, you will either find supporters or other individuals with similar goals. At the same time, be cognizant and supportive of the goals of those around you. Be prepared to listen intently and understand the aspirations of coworkers and customers. You person who listens the most is heard loudest.
RELIABLE
First, establish a reputation for being reliable. Regardless of your position, title or tenure, the foundation of your reputation should be reliability. If you are the leader, manager, director, clerk, associate or representative, maintain a dedicated focus on being consistently reliable. It is equally important to be a reliable customer as it is to be a reliable vendor or supplier. No matter how powerful or seemingly unimportant you may perceive your responsibilities, there are other people who rely on you. Be consistently reliable for the people you report to, to the people who look up to you, the people that you support and to the people who support you.
Even if some people respect you, revere you or fear you, you will have no value to anyone if you are not reliable. Do not forget this basic foundation in the search for power or prestige. You may be respected for your capability, but what good is it if you can not be counted on as a reliable individual? This is based on your ability to perform consistently and to be supportive of others.
RESPECTED
You do not have to be the president or a brain surgeon to be respected. Take a look at the positions and the people that you respect most in your life. Then look to see what these people have in common. School teachers and police officers are respected for their individual sacrifice and dedication to their profession in the service of others. Respect can be earned by great achievements through consistent effort, self-sacrifice and being someone that other people can count on, being reliable. A leader or a coach does not earn respect for the position, but rather by what they do with the authority and responsibility of the position. A coworker may earn respect by diligence, effort or self-sacrifice. Winning the lottery may achieve instant wealth, but it does not earn instant respect.
What can you do to earn respect? You might be respected for your talent, for your character or for your perseverance. Respect may be earned by the way that you use your experience, knowledge or previous achievements. If you want to be respected and do not know how to begin, start by being reliable.
REVERED or FEARED
For centuries there has been a debate regarding the benefits of being revered or being feared. One dimensional leaders often choose one of these attributes for their reputation and dedicate their ambitions toward a single goal, to be revered or to be feared. Machiavelli described the importance of being feared, and many dictators who embraced this approach were eventually rewarded with revolution. On the other hand, individuals who take extreme measures to be liked or revered may run the risk of being taken advantage of, and thereby losing much more than respect.
In the balance of leadership, individuals are more likely to make perform or make sacrifice for something and somebody that they believe in. When performance and sacrifice is demanded through fear, the output is reluctant and can not be sustained. From a personal perspective, are you more likely to repeat a task and improve your personal performance when doing something that you enjoy, or for someone that you want to please? Are you more or less likely to expend extra effort consistently for a job or a person that you resent?
Good decisions are made when clear purpose and goals are established and shared. The predominance of fear impairs good decisions, or even worse, may precipitate a culture that lacks any decisions for fear of being ostracized. Avoiding a decision is the same as making a decision to allow unmanaged consequences.
It is possible to be both revered and feared. By virtue of being respected as a reliable individual, you will become both revered and feared. Some individuals will appreciate consistency, predictability, direction and reliability. By the same token, if you are consistent with your own personal goals and values, you may be feared by other individuals. If your values are self-serving, you will be revered by a small group of like-minded individuals and feared by many. If your values are self-sacrificing toward the greater good, then you will find yourself revered by many and feared by the self-serving. In any case, consistency of purpose and character will create circumstances that cultivate opportunities to be revered, feared or both. This depth of character is far superior to a hollow one dimensional approach of choosing to be only revered or feared.
What does all this mean? Stop worrying about your reputation and concentrate on doing those things that reputations are built on. Listen intently to others. Be willing to make sacrifices for others. Be consistently reliable, and be true to yourself. Do your job with the same principles and passions that you live your life, and your reputation will take care of itself. By coincidence, if you can achieve this dedicated diligence to your values, you will discover an inverse relationship that your reputation will grow as your care less about it.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"Conscience and reputation are two things. Conscience is due to yourself, reputation to your neighbor."- Saint Augustine
"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."- Henry Ford
"Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear."- Socrates
"There are two modes of establishing our reputation: to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will invariably be accompanied by the latter." - Charles Caleb Colton
______________________________________________________
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
The GOAL
The goal of developing your reputation is to be true to yourself. Be consistent with your principals and your personal values. Your actions, your decisions and your interaction with others should be a reflection of the way that you live your life. If you attempt to disguise your intentions or beguile your associates, you will not be able to maintain trust or confidence. If your intentions are to help your customers, look for other individuals with similar intentions. If you are content with your own situation, then enjoy the camaraderie of your peers and help them to achieve their goals. If your intention is personal advancement or promotions, be open about searching for people who will support your efforts.
If you define and share your goals, you will either find supporters or other individuals with similar goals. At the same time, be cognizant and supportive of the goals of those around you. Be prepared to listen intently and understand the aspirations of coworkers and customers. You person who listens the most is heard loudest.
RELIABLE
First, establish a reputation for being reliable. Regardless of your position, title or tenure, the foundation of your reputation should be reliability. If you are the leader, manager, director, clerk, associate or representative, maintain a dedicated focus on being consistently reliable. It is equally important to be a reliable customer as it is to be a reliable vendor or supplier. No matter how powerful or seemingly unimportant you may perceive your responsibilities, there are other people who rely on you. Be consistently reliable for the people you report to, to the people who look up to you, the people that you support and to the people who support you.
Even if some people respect you, revere you or fear you, you will have no value to anyone if you are not reliable. Do not forget this basic foundation in the search for power or prestige. You may be respected for your capability, but what good is it if you can not be counted on as a reliable individual? This is based on your ability to perform consistently and to be supportive of others.
RESPECTED
You do not have to be the president or a brain surgeon to be respected. Take a look at the positions and the people that you respect most in your life. Then look to see what these people have in common. School teachers and police officers are respected for their individual sacrifice and dedication to their profession in the service of others. Respect can be earned by great achievements through consistent effort, self-sacrifice and being someone that other people can count on, being reliable. A leader or a coach does not earn respect for the position, but rather by what they do with the authority and responsibility of the position. A coworker may earn respect by diligence, effort or self-sacrifice. Winning the lottery may achieve instant wealth, but it does not earn instant respect.
What can you do to earn respect? You might be respected for your talent, for your character or for your perseverance. Respect may be earned by the way that you use your experience, knowledge or previous achievements. If you want to be respected and do not know how to begin, start by being reliable.
REVERED or FEARED
For centuries there has been a debate regarding the benefits of being revered or being feared. One dimensional leaders often choose one of these attributes for their reputation and dedicate their ambitions toward a single goal, to be revered or to be feared. Machiavelli described the importance of being feared, and many dictators who embraced this approach were eventually rewarded with revolution. On the other hand, individuals who take extreme measures to be liked or revered may run the risk of being taken advantage of, and thereby losing much more than respect.
In the balance of leadership, individuals are more likely to make perform or make sacrifice for something and somebody that they believe in. When performance and sacrifice is demanded through fear, the output is reluctant and can not be sustained. From a personal perspective, are you more likely to repeat a task and improve your personal performance when doing something that you enjoy, or for someone that you want to please? Are you more or less likely to expend extra effort consistently for a job or a person that you resent?
Good decisions are made when clear purpose and goals are established and shared. The predominance of fear impairs good decisions, or even worse, may precipitate a culture that lacks any decisions for fear of being ostracized. Avoiding a decision is the same as making a decision to allow unmanaged consequences.
It is possible to be both revered and feared. By virtue of being respected as a reliable individual, you will become both revered and feared. Some individuals will appreciate consistency, predictability, direction and reliability. By the same token, if you are consistent with your own personal goals and values, you may be feared by other individuals. If your values are self-serving, you will be revered by a small group of like-minded individuals and feared by many. If your values are self-sacrificing toward the greater good, then you will find yourself revered by many and feared by the self-serving. In any case, consistency of purpose and character will create circumstances that cultivate opportunities to be revered, feared or both. This depth of character is far superior to a hollow one dimensional approach of choosing to be only revered or feared.
What does all this mean? Stop worrying about your reputation and concentrate on doing those things that reputations are built on. Listen intently to others. Be willing to make sacrifices for others. Be consistently reliable, and be true to yourself. Do your job with the same principles and passions that you live your life, and your reputation will take care of itself. By coincidence, if you can achieve this dedicated diligence to your values, you will discover an inverse relationship that your reputation will grow as your care less about it.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"Conscience and reputation are two things. Conscience is due to yourself, reputation to your neighbor."- Saint Augustine
"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."- Henry Ford
"Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear."- Socrates
"There are two modes of establishing our reputation: to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will invariably be accompanied by the latter." - Charles Caleb Colton
______________________________________________________
About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching. http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.
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