A common remedy for improving your time management is to develop the ability of saying, "NO." Since it is easier to recommend than to do, here are some tips on how to do it.1. Start with your own attitude. What is your self perception when you say, "NO?" Do you see yourself as a slacker? What about the perception of others, are you concerned about what others think of you? Are their opinions influenced by your refusal and does it really matter?...more
Introducing new products or services, bringing new people on board, developing a new process or procedure, installing new equipment, change seems to be the one constant in business today and change always seems to drive a need for training. In conducting training needs analysis at any level, we need to understand that training may not be the solution, at least not the whole solution. Training is normally employed with the expectation of changing...more
Consumer BorrowingConsumer borrowing in the UK has now crashed through the £1 trillion barrier. 80% of this is due to credit card borrowing, loans and mortgages. How are people managing to handle their debt and what effect is debt having on families today?The National Consumer Council reports that 6 million families in the UK are already struggling to make repayments towards their debt, and Citizens Advice reports that over the last 6 years, they have seen a 44% increase in the number of people seeking debt advice. This may be just the tip of the iceberg. There must be many families in the UK who have debt problems, but are not aware of the free help and advice available.Tackling DebtAccording to a DTI survey carried out in 2002, a household is likely to be over-indebted if: 25% of your annual income is spent on repaying Creditors 50% of your annual income is spent on repaying credit and mortgages You have 4 or more companies that you owe money to.People find it difficult to make repayments for a number of reasons. Generally, the underlying cause is some kind of change in personal circumstances such as job loss, divorce, illness or a new baby. In these instances some people may...more
What's REALLY potent for a business, non-profit or association manager is public relations' ability to alter individual perception leading to changed behaviors. And then, to persuade those key outside folks to the manager's way of thinking, and help move them to take actions that allow their department, division or subsidiary to succeed. Potent...more
Day after day my in box, and I'm sure yours as well, fills with opportunity propaganda on how to make money. Do this, and poof, you're rich. Become an affiliate and sell my ebook, and poof, you're making lots of money. I don't know about you, but I can't tell what's a good opportunity and what's not any more. Because of this, I created a list of...more
We must first emphasize that here we are talking about outsourcing CAD projects, which is significantly easier than outsourcing software development or IT services (earlier articles of mine have explained why).This article also assumes that selection of the CAD providers has been completed with due diligence (the methods are described in an earlier article).As I mentioned in those prior articles, one of the most important ingredients for successful outsourcing is management of the ongoing project by you, the client. To quote from those articles (here 'outsourcer' means 'provider'):"This may sound obvious, but probably the biggest stumbling block to offshore outsourcing is that after all the contracts have been signed, companies abdicate responsibility for projects to the provider..." --- Deepak Khandelwal, McKinsey, WorldwideTASKS IN OUTSOURCING MANAGEMENT:(1) You have to assume moral responsibility for the project. A very senior executive should be made the champion of the CAD project. S/he will need technical and administrative people to help with the project, and these people should be informed of their induction explicitly. Let's call this group of people "the task force".(2)...more
The notion that a business, non-profit or association manager can actually hold a big key to success in his or her own hands IS a thrilling idea! And it becomes more thrilling as the manager actually alters individual perceptions leading to changed...more
Every since serving a hitch in the military, I have been nagged by the question that's been hanging around leadership since time immemorial: How can some leaders persuade people to believe in them and follow them and other leaders can't? But it...more
Business cost for everyone can get out of control very fast. Here's ten simple yet POWERFUL ways to reduce cost that can have a GREAT effect on the health of your business.1. Barter If you have a business you should be bartering goods and services...more
Homeownership, in any form, is a big step for most people. In fact, it's often one of the biggest financial decisions of our lives. Despite that, sometimes a homeowner in one country will want to buy a second home in another country, whether for a...more
Due in part to the popularity of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s home auction program, more potential homebuyers than ever are buying homes at auction. Homes for auction aren't limited to just HUD, however. Many...more
Historically, real estate agents have represented the seller of a property. The seller, after all, is usually the one who pays their commission, and agents therefore have a fiduciary relationship with the seller. This in no way means that agents may...more