I wish you a Happy & Prosperous New Year!This PVT is short, with a few links to help you launch your new year.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can you answer these 10 questions to help you build your business dream?Listen to my informative 7-minute MBA. Turn up your speakers, and click on this link: http://members.audiogenerator.com/postcards/?5175111~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How you can be secure and comfortable...more
With interest rates at 40 year lows it seems difficult to find fixed income investments with high yields. Money Market funds are paying investors about 1.4% and Commercial Paper is only yielding 2.3%. For those willing to commit their capital for longer periods of time, a 5 Year Corporate Bond yields about 5%. How does an investor find a good, high yielding, fixed income investment without taking too much financial risk? Many investors are...more
How often have you heard yourself say, "I've got so many balls in the air I don't know how I can possibly keep track of them all". We may be managing to keep the balls in motion, but how good is our juggling performance really? Are our movements controlled and rhythmic? Or are we merely gritting our teeth and hoping to catch the next ball before it falls on the ground? Recently I was speaking with a colleague (we'll call him Craig) who is a high achievement-oriented and well-regarded senior manager. He was overwhelmed by how much was on his plate. In addition to handling his high-pressure career, he had begun pursuing a post-graduate degree while he was already enrolled in another certificate program. Furthermore, several projects at home also competed for his attention. In the midst of all this, Craig said that he was hoping to be able to continue to stick it out with the post-graduate degree, even though the workload was much more than he'd anticipated. To do anything other than persevere would be so out of character that it was inconceivable to him. In Craig's words, "it would mean giving up". As we talked, I asked Craig whether there might be a more positive way of viewing...more
You have this burning desire you want to be on your own. The temptation is so great that you want to quit your job. Enough is enough. You're sick of working for other people for a ridiculous pay.To be your own boss means controlling your own destiny, having your own time and no bosses to report to. Basically, you can do whatever you want.But before...more
When I ask why you don't start your own business, I always hear, "I don't have money to start a business." This is a common excuse people give for not starting their own business.There is truth in the statement. You actually need money to make money or to start a business. But the question is "Do you need a lot of money or little to start a...more
Which is more painful: an audit or spending the holidays with Aunt Sally and her green Jell-O mold? Either way, your company audit still looms in your mind, but it shouldn't be that scary - quite the opposite. Besides, even Sally "audits" herself when she makes her mold, as she tests for thickness and taste. She just wants to improve.Fix the ProblemSo what are you going to do about your company audit? How about make an educated guess what the problem is, assign someone to "fix" it, and sit back and relaxÂ…for another month or so? This is just another short-term solution.Tackle the Audit Head OnInstead, why not tackle the audit head on, and kick its butt. A strange way to put it, maybe, but that's how I see an audit after attending an Internal Auditor Skills Class. Don't get me wrong, I still like managing by my own glorious opinion. But it got me thinking that maybe the attitude of "just the facts, ma'am" holds more water (and less hot air).Close System GapsWith role playing and actually writing up my own audit plans and reports, I got to see why unarguable evidence is so crucial to improving and even closing the gaps in a company's system. It becomes such a different world when...more
For organisations to stay competitive, they must be willing to share knowledge with the public because the digital revolution has enabled information to move beyond geographical boundaries. The new rule of corporate survival is not just the ownership...more
How do you set up shop online? How about one that's top-notch, so that you can compete with the big guys, yet quick to set up, easy to maintain - - and cheap? And how can you affordably market your shop once it's ready to go? Questions like these are...more
Rod McHenry, the financial vice president of a document imaging company, thought he had great cause for celebrating. He had signed an unbelievable $370,000 lease proposal covering computer servers, workstations, software and other networking...more
A lottery wheeling system means you choose a base 'subset' of numbers, for example in a 6 number lottery, you might choose the numbers 1 to 7, and then combine them in ways ensuring that all 7 numbers 'get a go' in the 6 number lines. By playing...more
You are getting a good deal when you accept the fact that the right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to the changed behaviors you need. Especially when you recognize that people really DO act upon their perceptions of the facts they...more
There is an old statement that holds true when trying to restore your credit rating, and the statement is "knowing is half the battle." This statement exemplifies what consumers who have had past credit problems should do, and that is to learn...more