Hire A Consultant Finding Or Being The Best Consultant Available

Writen by Julie Hanahan

Whether you need a consultant, want to be a consultant, or want to expand your consulting practice, understanding the primary motivations for hiring a consultant will determine a good fit.

Hire a consultant for their field of expertise.

For the business:

Define your goals and expectations before you begin your consultant search. The more focused your requirements, the more effective your selection of a consultant will be. For the consultant:

What do you really know? What are your demonstrated strengths? Define your area of expertise narrowly. Work towards developing a result-based portfolio.

Hire a consultant to solve problems.

For the business:

If something needs tweaking in your company, allow your well-qualified consultant to do their job. You may think your problem in staff retention is on the manufacturing floor, when it may lie in faulty HR practices. Offer your consultants your thoughts, but be open to their observations. Their overview and fresh perspective may give your company new clarity. For the consultant:

Tap into your intuitive side. Examine each situation as it stands. Textbook rules are not always the only way to approach a challenge.

Hire a consultant to supplement existing staff.

For the business:

Do a comparison of total employment cost. A full time employee, with benefits and other perqs added, will almost certainly cost more than a consultant. In addition, a consultant may complete work faster and more efficiently than house staff. For the consultant:

When creating your proposal, be realistic in your time estimates and fees. Factor in your own overhead, travel, benefits and taxes.

Hire a consultant to implement changes.

For the business:

The well-positioned consultant as outsider can be more effective in gaining consensus among employees. Without immersion in daily operations, change proposed by consultants may be accepted more readily by employees. To the consultants:

To direct change in a company, be certain you understand the psychology of change. Change can only be effectively created through a perception of benefits to the staff. Prepare for resistance, and be ready to change objections to positives.

Hire a consultant to train.

For the business: Consultants are available to teach almost any skill. Be certain their experience comes from practice, not theory. Hands on training shouldn't come from book learning alone. For the consultant:

Have practical experience to offer.

Hire a consultant to be the "fall guy".

For the business:

Keeping company morale high may require an outside heavy to make cuts or unpopular adjustments to your company. Fully explore options with your consultant, and inform them of your plans to downsize, consolidate or restructure. For the consultant:

You get paid to do something no one else wants to do. Be prepared and accepting of your responsibility if you accept this kind of assignment.

Hire a consultant to start your business.

For the business:

A start-up consultant can assist you in all phases of start-up from initial funding and business plans to growth planning. Determine your own weaknesses and work with a consultant that has the skill set you lack. For the consultant:

From online businesses to Fortune 100 companies, new ventures need your specialized talents. Review your own skill set for tools which would benefit a start-up.

Hire a consultant for their contacts.

For the business: A consultant may be able to provide you with elusive introductions for fund raising, entertaining, community support or lobbying. Even if this is not your primary reason for hiring a consultant, explore how their contacts may benefit your company. For the consultant:

Your personal networking can be a bonus to your clients. Offer appropriate contacts to your clients and potential clients. Expanding your sphere of contacts will not only benefit your business, but clients will appreciate your introductions.

Whether your company is considering a consultant, or you are a consultant, understanding the key reasons for contracting help can make your efforts more successful.

Mastering public relations and media relations challenges all businesses. Julie Hanahan and Constant Communication (http://www.ConstantComm.com) provides consultant services to both industrial and service based clients. For more tips and to subscribe to the FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER, log on to http://www.ConstantComm.com, or email the author at JulieHanahan@ConstantComm.com.

Hospital in Tennessee Thailand Hotels

Welldefined Processes How To Create

Writen by Chris Anderson

Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay in control? Business professionals can learn how to create well-defined processes with the easy-to-manage Process Approach of Plan-Do-Check-Act.

Real Tools for Real Business Process

In MBA courses, students come across a lot of buzzwords and the theories behind them. And in the textbook, the terms look and sound great. But after they finish with their classes, they think to themselves: so now what I can I do with all of these terms like process mapping and control? How can I use these tools in my job, and why is it important for my business – in the real world?

A Fresh, New Look Management Effectiveness

Even though these business men and women are feeling a little discouraged, they still know the importance of attaining this knowledge. So, for their jobs, they look to take further courses out there like "How to Create Well-Defined Processes to Build Effective Management Systems." They are a little skeptical going in, thinking that they will get just more of the same quick and simple definitions. But, surprisingly, they are happy to say that such a course shows them something quite different.

These courses fill in the missing context that they need. It thoroughly shows them the how, and thoughtfully explains the why. They receive a fresh outlook, and many highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to improve their business.

Easy Learning Process

Fortunately, because of such a course's open classroom environment, the instructors can answer both general and specific questions. The setting welcomes participation and discussion to develop solutions, which on-the-go business professionals very much appreciate. And so did Otis Jones, PMO Manager at Sara Lee Baking Group, who attended such a course. He was especially impressed with the user friendliness of the course content.

"Process mapping, process variability and the various process diagnostic tools were all excellent lessons to learn," Jones said. "The detail that they gave me in these areas was exactly what I was hoping for." Jones also said that he would push for other Sara Lee managers to take such a course so that they can better prepare for their business discovery phase. Next Jones will implement the information he learned into his company's internal training documents.

Gain Process Knowledge

And many others too are encouraged. Such courses prove to them that a business does not have to just hope for the best of luck. Business owners and executives can clearly define processes, and then monitor and improve them to keep the system consistent, efficient and effective. With Plan-Do-Check-Act, this can let one see if there is any waste in the system, and also how to reduce this waste and save money.

Walk Away Empowered

Individuals can walk away energized with a sense of empowerment. They can walk away with the profound knowledge that they can make tangible improvements in everyday processes. Everyone desires to feel better about their jobs and businesses, and through this type of course they can take the first steps to learn how.

Chris Anderson has over 18 years of management experience working with business process design, software and systems engineering with companies both large and small. He is also co-author of policies and procedures manual products, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. He is now director of Bizmanualz, Inc.

Visit: http://www.bizmanualz.com

Hospital in Tennessee Thailand Hotels

Whos Plundering Your Plumbing Business

Writen by Jan Smith

If you occasionally feel that you are working for nothing, chances are that you are.

How many times have you put your invoice in for payment only to have to wait for 30 days for your money? If this is happening to you and your business, chances are that your business is being plundered by pillagers.

Pillagers are those people who sneak around thieving from you. They seem to have an instinctive nose for any Plumbing contractor in business who is not minding his business.

By not minding his business, I am referring to any plumbing business that is lax-a-daisical about his accounting procedures and following-up on over-due invoices. Every time you have an over-due account, it means you are paying for that client's job. So the question is, are you a Plumbing business or a financial services business?

It is the function of financial institutions to lend money, not a Plumbing Contractors. Any Plumber in business today has to be a good business person first. Why? Because no matter how good a Plumber you are, if you aren't being paid at job completion you soon won't have your own Plumbing business to grow into a business.

Business is about profits. Building profit into each job to grow a business from your Plumbing activities. Plumbing is how you make the money to grow your business.

In today's technological world there is no excuse for not being paid at job completion every time. There is no excuse except excuses for being a bad business operator.

With the information highway that the Internet provides, there is training and information products readily available for learning any aspect of operating a Plumbing business you may need assistance with. There is no shame in acknowledging you need information. Besides, no-one even needs to know that you are learning via the internet anyway, but if you feel your business could be run better, then you would be a poor business operator if you didn't seek out the information.

You didn't 'just become a Plumber' did you? You studied hard and 'did your time' learning. What makes you so sure then that you can run a successful Plumbing business without learning? Just because you are an excellent Plumber does not necessarily equate that you are therefore a good business operator.

All new skills have to be learnt from the bottom up. Building a business is no different.

Treat your business like a job site. Plan it out, lay it out on paper, understand why you have to dig the ditch to the required depth before you lay the pipe – by understanding why things have to be done in your Plumbing business allows you to plan ahead. Once you have this planning done, you can then see what needs to be done to achieve the desired outcome.

Because you have a plan for your business you will be able to quickly see who or what is plundering your business and stop it before it becomes too late.

Pillaging is still a crime so make sure you aren't the one responsible for plundering your own Plumbing business.

http://www.constructingprofits.com Showing contractors how to make more money ~ working less hours!

Hospital in Tennessee Thailand Hotels

Three Motivation Mistakes Managers Make

Writen by Ira Wolfe

I. Too much emphasis on pay, benefits, and perks:

The Saratoga Institute reports that 88% of employees voluntarily leave their jobs for other reasons, such as misalignment of mutual expectations, person-job mismatch, insufficient coaching and feedback, perception of poor career-advancement prospects, work-life imbalance, and both distrust toward and low confidence in senior leadership. Still, most managers refuse to acknowledge the "push" factors, preferring to see the "pull" factor of more money as the prime motivator.

The truth is, both push and pull factors come into play, but companies make a big mistake by hanging their employee-retention strategies solely on the easier-to-manipulate tangible factors of more pay, better benefits, and flashier perks. It's not that these factors are unimportant; they're very important. In fact, most employers of choice typically offer better pay and benefits than their competitors. But what sets them apart are positive, caring cultures where most managers know how to provide the everyday coaching, feedback, and recognition that keep employees engaged.

II. Blindly following other companies' best practices:

One of the disadvantages of reading Fortune magazine's "100 Best Places to Work in America" list each year is that we become so enamored of great employers that we think their best practices will work equally well for our companies. Sometimes they do, but often they don't.

The best employers thoughtfully match their cultures, benefits, and management practices to the needs and desires of their workers. FedEx gears its workplace to the short-term work-experience needs of younger part-timers, while American Express focuses on long-term career development with a strong emphasis on gender equity. SAS Institute has created an employment brand that says, "Come to work for us and enjoy a campus-like environment, and have a life outside of work." This software-development company is famous for its 3% turnover rate in an industry where 20% is the norm.

Most companies can't-or won't-invest the up-front dollars to do what SAS has done. The good news is they don't have to. But by asking their particular workforce what they most want and need, companies can usually provide what it takes to keep employees-and keep them engaged.

The danger of benchmarking against others in your industry is that it may keep you from tailoring an innovative benefit or practice to meet the needs of the 20% of the talent that's creating 80% of the value in your company or department.

III. Failure to train managers and hold them accountable:

Studies of employee turnover consistently show that the direct supervisor builds or destroys employee commitment. Yet, how many companies select executives for their ability to manage people, train them in effective people-management skills, and then hold them accountable? You could probably count those on the fingers of one hand.

Many employers of choice carefully monitor their managers' voluntary-turnover rates, new-hire retention rates, and employee-engagement survey scores, and reward those who score highly with bigger bonuses. Managers with low scores get lower bonuses and are called into meeting with their superiors, which may lead to more training, coaching, reassignment, or termination.

In other words, smart companies know that as the competition for talent heats up, they can no longer afford the luxury of another bad manager.

Ira Wolfe (iwolfe@super-solutions.com) is founder of Success Performance Solutions (http://www.super-solutions.com and http://www.best-small-business-solutions.com), a Lancaster consulting firm providing competency based employment and career testing. He has authored several books, Business Values and Motivators, The Perfect Labor Storm: Why Worker Shortages Will Not Go Away and a new e-book, Seven Surefire Steps to Hire High Motivation Employees.

Hospital in Tennessee Thailand Hotels

How To Save Money On Training

Writen by Steve Kaye

1) Use a live instructor. Adults learn best by doing, practicing, and experiencing. Effective instructors customize their programs to meet people's needs, provide counsel on individual challenges, and respond to questions. Videos, CDs, and E-learning are seldom effective for primary learning. Since the greatest cost of learning is the payroll cost of the participants, you want to make sure the program delivers results.

2) Hire external experts. They can speak candidly about crucial issues related to complex work skills. They are free of prior encounters with your staff. And they bring a fresh, outside perspective based on a worldwide view (instead of an internal one). Those who specialize in one skill area have developed extensive knowledge. Ideally, choose one who has written books or published articles.

3) Include accountability. Work with the instructor to develop a review and reminder process. Plan follow-up sessions to check on progress applying new techniques. Ask your staff to select one change that they plan to make and describe how they will apply it. Then monitor the application of changes being made. Include learning as a dimension in performance reviews.

4) Support learning. If you're the boss, set an example of active learning. Attend the workshop. Then use what you learned. Encourage others to apply the new skills and reward those who make a special effort to do so. Also, recommend articles, books, and other materials that support the training program. Create a work culture that recognizes learning as the key to excellence.

5) Buy smart. Match the type of program with desired skills. Use employees for proprietary operations, routine procedures, and high volume (more than 50 sessions/year) tutorials. Select programs that teach skills required to meet company goals. Buy programs that show practical techniques (instead of facts and trivia) delivered by experts who use what they teach.

IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to hold effective meeting. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com

Hospital in Alabama Thailand Hotels Booking

What Every Manager Should Know About How To Enhance The Motivational Climate Of The Workplace

Writen by Etienne Gibbs

It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job quality increase when we are made to feel welcomed at work. In other words, when the motivational climate is enhanced to meet their needs they produce quality work at the 100% rate.

The factor that caused them to produce at such high standards is their employer enhancing the motivational climate. As a result, they came to work, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

By listening to your employees, they will tell you what you can do to enhance their motivational climate. In the meanwhile, here is a checklist to help you get started. Ask yourself, Do I:

* select the right person for the task based on a combinations of their needs and qualifications and the company's immediate requirements? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* hold regular, brief, but effective conferences so that they will be informed about developments affecting their jobs? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* encourage my employees to participate in goal-setting, planning, and decision-making activities? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* delegate whole units of responsibility with the appropriate level of responsibility? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* respond to their questions and concerns promptly, openly, candidly, and fairly? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* encourage them to join trade, professional, or civic organizations? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* give them proper and public credit and recognition when due? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* communicate so they understand the first time? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* conduct fair and consistent job evaluations? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* accept and implement their suggestions? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* help them see what's in it for them? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* support their educational pursuits? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* help them see the Big Picture?( ) Yes ( ) No

* take time to listen to them? ( ) Yes ( ) No

* attend to their needs? ( ) Yes ( ) No

Total your score. If your No's outnumber your Yes responses, it's time to sit down with your employees and find out from them what you can do to enhance their motivational climate.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose.

© Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in ezines, newsletters, and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Although advance permission is not required, please notify us at execandgroup-consulting@yahoo.com when you use this article.

Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: ... helping you maximize your potential. He offers management, marketing, and parenting resources at his Maximizing Your Potential blog.

Hospital in Alabama Thailand Hotels Booking

The Office Administrator

Writen by Paul Green

There are a number of descriptions of the administrative function but quite often it is the oil that keeps a business ticking over efficiently. Without a workable administrative system amazing things can happen in a business.

Recently I heard of a new accountant rummaging around in his new role to discover a shoe box of pre Euro European currency notes totaling £300 in value but no longer legal tender. Another story was about the directors' 288 returns (8 of them) sitting neatly in a file – but not sent into Companies House over the past two years.

Some of the usual problems have to do with lost papers, lost vat returns, Inland Revenue dates missed and general muddle. What is worse is to discover that work has not been invoiced or records about jobs are lost or inaccurate.

There is many an MD who is well aware that administration is not his strong point and he will quickly get someone to help him. The essential skills of that administrative support person is an ability to multi task, to keep records straight, to be able to find essential bits of paper immediately and to keep the MD informed of any potential untoward happening while allowing him to get on with the essential business of the organisation. But, of course, there is much more to the administrative function than this.

There are a number of areas that loosely fit under administration, especially in a small company. This may include:-

Insurances. Most companies will have office and contents insurance, employer and public liability insurance. There are also special insurance policies to cover company cars, professional indemnity insurance and other key man insurance policies.

Pensions. All companies where there are more that 7 employees should be offering a pension to employees. These are usually Stakeholder pensions and can include pension contributions by the company to employee's pension plans. Pension control sits loosely between the HR function, the payroll and the accountant – but whoever looks after the pension, the detail is important.

Health and Safety. Any company with over 6 employees should have a health and safety policy in place, and this includes having first aid available for employees. Keep in mind that, should there be a claim, the MD is the person who would be prosecuted.

Facilities Administration. In small companies, to have an inhouse IT support function is not usually one of the priorities, although it is essential for the smooth and efficient working of the office and someone will need to attend to computers, e-mail problems, printer malfunction and the like. Similarly the functioning of the telephones, alarms and security all fall under administration. Likewise, the ordering of essential supplies is vital to the efficiency of the business.

Accounting. A number of small companies will outsource the accounting function but even when this happens there are finance related functions in the office which need to controlled. One of the essentials is to have an easily visible record of cash in and cash out so that there is an at a glance view of current liquidity. Excel is a flexible vehicle for having these controls in place and easily managed. But some accounting software is very reasonably priced and user friendly and worthwhile investing in while the business is young.

Payroll. Payroll has become a complicated business. The Inland Revenue regularly introduces new legislation which no doubt helps the employees but complicates the payroll process month by month. Most companies will outsource the payroll function but if it is kept in house it needs to be run by a competent trained person using software that is compliant with the Inland Revenue criteria.

There are so many more areas that will fall to an efficient administrator in a small business, areas that will, in the organic growth of the business be eventually hived off to an inhouse accountant, an HR manager, an IT consultant or a facilities manager. In the meanwhile those efficient administrators are like gold dust, so please give them the value they deserve.

Paul Green, FInstIBI - Director | Thames Valley Business Advisors Limited | (e) paul.green@tvba.co.uk | (w) http://www.tvba.co.uk |

Hospital in Alabama Thailand Hotels Booking

Make Your Office A Paper Free Zone

Writen by Robin Henry

Introduction

When I received an SMS message from the Abu Dhabi Police, I was a little surprised. It was in Arabic, so I couldn't read it, but I quickly had it interpreted and it was a reminder that my motor vehicle registration was due to expire soon. I was pleasantly surprised. Surprised that a country that is incredibly paper bound in some areas, is doing something to overcome paper warfare and move gradually to electronic communications in others. It certainly doesn't happen in my home country, Australia, registration renewal still arrives in the mail.

This got me to thinking about the work I had done to make my home-based business (and the rest of my life) as paper free as possible and details of those strategies follow.

Central to this activity is Adobe PDF as you'll see.

Electronic Communications

I've streamlined my marketing and general communication activities to the extent that I rarely produce a communication in hard copy format. I've eliminated postage, envelopes, paper and having to line up at the post office by doing almost everything via email, telephone or electronic fax.

My account with an Australian-based fax service provider means that I can email a fax anywhere in the world 24/7 from my laptop. When it's sent, I receive an email advising me whether it was successfully transmitted and the time. I delete these, but they could be used as receipts. Similarly, faxes sent to me using my fax number arrive at my desktop as Adobe PDF files.

I can print them if I need to, but usually don't. When I have actioned them I either delete them or save them to an external hard disk drive used specifically for that purpose.

Paper-based Documentation

After reading Internet marketing guru, Ken Silver's blog about paper free offices, I've invested in a scanner that scans to Adobe PDF. Any hardcopy document that arrives and needs to be saved eg, for taxation purposes, I scan and then shred the original. This is about as paper free as it gets.

I've arranged with as many organisations as possible to access my bills, invoices etc, electronically. Almost all of my banking is done online and I no longer subscribe to paper-based catalogues or other advertising media.

Digital Filing

With the exception of the occasional document that can't be retained in digital format, I file everything on an external 80 GB hard disk drive I can take wherever I go. Periodically I back up the data to a DVD disk and file it. At the end of the financial year I download data for that year to a CD-RW and file it.

All my files are in related folders and are similarly named eg, my monthly Visa Statement is filed as VISASEP06.pdf. By using a filing and naming convention, it means I can find things faster, order them in ascending or descending order and so on.

Conclusion

If you are sick to death of being bombarded with paper, as I was, make your life as paper free as possible by following some of the procedures I have adopted. Once you get set up and into the hang of it, you'll be glad you did.

Copyright 2006 Robin Henry

Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet entrepreneur. He helps home-based businesses and individuals improve performance by applying smart technology and processes and developing personally. He runs his business Desert Wave Enterprises from his home base at Alice Springs in Central Australia, although at present he is on temporary assignment in the United Arab Emirates.

Hospital in Alabama Thailand Hotels Booking

Innovation Through Accidents And Quotcontrolled Chaosquot

Writen by Jim Clemmer

"We need a new way of thinking about our problems and our future. My suggestion is the management of paradox, an idea which is itself a paradox, in that paradox can only be 'managed' in the sense of coping with. Manage always did mean 'coping with' until we purloined the word to mean planning and control." — Charles Handy, The Age of Paradox

Mark Twain, once said, "name the greatest of all inventors. Accident." He was right. Most innovations and breakthroughs come from mistakes, serendipity, false starts, set backs, and misapplications. Many innovations were unplanned and unexpected.

At their outset, many were unrecognized and unwanted. Innovations, breakthroughs, and major changes often come from unpredictable chaotic, and random events. That's why the accuracy record of economists and planners' confident and logical-sounding projections and predictions is so abysmal. It's amazing how the same people who laugh at fortune tellers often take these elaborate plans and projections seriously.

Yet when innovative opportunities knock, many managers are in their backyard looking for four-leaf clovers. But if someone who can't count finds a four-leaf clover, how lucky is he or she? The editor and author, Elbert Hubbard, observed, "a failure is someone who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience." Most managers fail to cash in on unexpected opportunities.

There seem to be two core reasons for that. First, they don't recognize the failure, set back, chance event, unexpected offer, or new wrinkle as a potential innovation they could cash in. That's often because they haven't progressed to the empathic level of customer and partner listening and understanding. They take the market or customers at face value. They're only looking at today's data or current performance gaps. These near-sighted managers can't see beyond what is to what could be.

A second reason many managers fail to cash in on unexpected opportunities is because there's no effective process for doing so. If it's not in the official development plans or budgets the unhatched, potential innovation has no place to incubate, break out, and grow. That brings us to the innovation paradox: Random, chaotic, and unpredictable innovations need a stable management system and process to nurture the growth and development of "lucky breaks."

As a long time student and practitioner of innovation, I still find James Brian Quinn's classic Harvard Business Review article one of the most useful on the topic. The title of the article says it all: "Managing Innovation: Controlled Chaos." It's a perfect description of the management-leadership balance found in highly innovative teams and organizations. Controlled chaos aptly describes the unstable and stable, unplanned and planned process of successful innovation.

Strategic Opportunism and Organizational Learning

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." — Eden Phillpotts, early 20th century English novelist

In his article on "Crafting Strategy," Henry Mintzberg provides a good insight to how strategies and innovative actions evolve and compliment each other in top-performing organizations: "Out in the field, a salesman visits a customer. The product isn't quite right, and together they work out some modifications. The salesman returns to his company and puts the changes through; after two or three more rounds, they finally get it right. A new product emerges, which eventually opens up a new market. The company has changed strategic course."

But in most organizations that salesman would be told to get back out and "do his job" by selling the customer the original product or some high priced add-on or support service. If he did make modifications, he'd be shot for not following the standardized process. In other cases, he'd be told to submit a Product Modification Input Solicitation form sending copies to product development, strategic planning, and three other committees to review. His regional manager would need a copy attached to his Call Report explaining where, when, who, why, and how he was spending each day of his time.

Successful strategies and innovations that evolve and cash in on unexpected problems or opportunities are part of a dynamic, organization learning process. Experiences, expertise, ideas, market and customer shifts, feedback, input and the like shape the emerging strategies and point the way to innovation pathways.

Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. During the last 25 years he has delivered over two thousand customized keynote presentations, workshops, and retreats. Jim's five international bestselling books include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, and The Leader's Digest. His web site is http://www.clemmer.net/articles

medical health hospital

Efficiency Around The Office

Writen by Dave Brummet

Nearly every office, be it commercial or home-based, may have areas of inefficiency that can be improved upon. We are not talking sales figures or profit margins or budgets, but inefficient waste and resource management. For instance, let us look at some common aspects and consider how consumption can be reduced and how to make better use of resources.

Not all paper work and receipts need to be shredded, but sometimes, for the sake of security, it is necessary. This shredded paper is recyclable or it can be contributed in layers to a compost or worm bin. It can also be donated to animal shelters or pet stores where it is used in the bottom of cages to help keep them clean. This will ease workloads on staff, keep operational costs down, and the animals are more comfortable in their cages. The animal waste along with the bedding is easily composted.

Technology now makes it possible to save paper on a daily basis by sending emails. Worth mentioning, is the time saved as compared to communicating via the postal system. When sending a fax, if possible, refrain from using a cover sheet. For efficient paper use at the photocopy machine, set it to automatically print pages on both sides. When making draft copies with the photocopier or printer, use the reverse side of any suitable scrap paper. We keep a box of this paper handy for visiting children to color and draw upon. The blank side of any scrap paper can be used for shopping lists, reminder notes, game scoring, or the perpetual to do list(s) that we all have.

We often use sheets of adhesive labels in our office printer. The edges, top and bottom of each used sheet have 1/4" of remaining unused material. These can be trimmed to convenient lengths and stored in a small jar (or other storage container of choice). These labels come in handy when labeling items destined for the freezer, jam jars, bulk foods or shop and craft supplies.

Keep computer equipment such as external drives, printers and scanners powered off when they are not in use – turn them on only for the duration that they are needed. Stand-by power (lights or clock displays) can be eliminated by either using a power bar or by manually unplugging the equipment. Sleep the computer during the day when not in use (lunch, coffee, or meetings) and turn all equipment off before leaving at the end of the day.

These are some simple suggestions, yet they will save time, money, and resources, which is in the best interest of any office.

Written by Dave and Lillian Brummet based on the concept of their book, Trash Talk. The book offers useful solutions for the individual to reduce waste and better manage resources. A guide for anyone concerned about their impact on the environment. (http://www.sunshinecable.com/)

medical health hospital

Tips On Finding The Best Deals On Conference Calling Services

Writen by Matthew Meyer

When one is looking for inexpensive conferencing calling services, there are certain points that you should take into consideration. Price should not be the main consideration when looking for web conference calling services. Although they may seem attractive on the surface, you do have to look deeper into the services to make sure you can get exactly what you need. If cost is a major factor in getting the cheapest conference calling rates, the best thing you can do is a search of all the providers to find which one can offer you the best plan for the least expensive rates.

Big companies, such as WebEx, do offer cheap rates for conference calling services. It is best to use a well-known provider to make sure all that you have reliable service and that you can access it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is especially important if you want to relate with thing partners and clients from all over the world so that you dont have to anxiety about time zone evils. though slighter and minor known companies may offer you cheap conferencing calls, they are also known to have more evils, such as a require of skin and minor attribute cassette.

When you search for cheap conference call supplyrs, you do have to look at whether or not they supply such skin as sand and application allotment. With the better known companies, such as WebEx, these are pattern skin and the group has been in thing long enough to have worked out all of the bugs. Conference tape and polls are other skin you should look for because they improve the conferencing position and make it an enjoyable one for all participants.

with conference calling services will drastically condense the cost of guidance inside your group. You no longer have to organize and pay for reunion quarters or pay trek outlay for your employees. though you can collect money in the early cost when you select a group with cheap rates for web conferencing, you may meet more evils than you grasp. You need good connections at all time in order for this practice of reunion to thrive and slighter companies regularly do have this difficult.

Keep reading further to learn how this topic can benefit you, as the rest of this article will supply you will the needed information.

The number of people that you need to conference with at one time is also an important factor to consider when you are looking to condense the outlay of conference calling services. The best cheap conferencing via the web should allow you to have a large number of participants. If you need to involve people from distant locations, you need to guarantee that your rates apply to all locations. The rates are also a determining factor. Some companies charge per session, while others charge a monthly or yearly totally fee. You also have to be careful to look for hidden fees, that show up on your statement for conference calling services fees.

It is little things, such as this, that may aid you in your search. So, sit down and decide which avenue would be best for you to take.

For more information on conference calling see the conference calling services section of TheFreeAdForum.com directory at: http://www.thefreeadforum.com/infowizards/CAT/Conference-Calling-Services_57_1.html

medical health hospital

A Definition Of Yield Management

Writen by Dominic Martin

Yield Management:
A yield management system, which can also be referred to as revenue management, is a system that attempts to understand, anticipate and then react to consumer behaviour in order to maximise revenue/profit.

How Does Yield Management Work?

To acheive maximum revenue/profit, a yield management system needs to have an understanding of what has happened before and what is happening now; using this historical data to predict what may then happen in the future. So the yield management system will periodically review transactions that have occurred between the consumer and the hotel. Other external information is then fed into the yield management system and this can include statistical data, events such as public holidays, competitor price information, seasonal buying patterns, etc. A predictive modeller then attempts to forecast the total demand within a specific period for the services on offer by market segment and price point.

In simple terms yield management tries to answer the question "Given our operating constraints, what is the best mix of services for us to sell within a particular timeframe, so that we generate the highest revenue?"

The process of yield management optimisation helps an organisation to adjust its prices so that they meet the total demand characteristics of its markets. In order to maximise the revenue, prices can be determined by:

• Service
• Group of services
• Market (consumer type or geographical)
• A combination of the above

Yield management models are most effective where the service being supplied is characterised as:

• Capital intensive
• Perishable (revenue is lost if the product/service is not sold by a particular point in time)

and the demand side is characterised with:

• Variability of demand
• Variability of value

Dominic Martin is the Marketing Manager for Data Track Communications ltd, who are Europe's leading hotel guest telephony strategy and Call Yield Management experts. Data Track's call yield management solutions enable hoteliers to measure, monitor and manage their communications revenue and cost, across their whole estate. The Company's unique independence from technology and service vendors ensures that the service works across mixed technology estates and does not require capital upgrades. Data Track Communications (DTC) can bridge any deficiencies in legacy systems by utilising their service technology, at no additional cost. Thus hoteliers can improve profitability without any capital expenditure.

medical health hospital

The Measurement Of Manager Training

Writen by Andrew E. Schwartz

THE MEASUREMENT OF TRAINING: Evaluation is one of the most valuable — and challenging — aspects of a training manager's job. A well-planned and on-target evaluation process can be the tool which separates a superlative training department from a merely satisfactory one.

Evaluation can help you determine whether what you are offering is successfully meeting existing corporate needs.

It can help you to identify needs which have previously not been expressed, and tap a source of new training opportunities.

Unfortunately, it is not enough to ask the question "Did it work?". Not only will the answer vary according to the way the evaluation process is conducted, but success is always relative to each organization's individual goals.

As Ken Wessel, an independent training consultant in the Chicago area, puts it: "Nothing will fill the bill in all instances. Evaluation has to be tailor-made for organizational objectives."

In search of some hands on tips to help you make the evaluation process — and its outcome — smoother and more effective, we interviewed nine training managers and three consultants in different industries, different-sized firms, and different locations. All twelve of them made it clear that the questioning process itself is crucial, and that this process really begins at the initiation of the training cycle, not the end.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

medical health hospital

Mastering The Difference Between Leadership And Management

Writen by David Saunders

It is a common belief that management and leadership are the same role. While it is common that a manager also plays the part of the leader, these two roles are truly separate in function and in the way they add to the success of an orginization. By understanding the difference between management and leadership you will become more effective in helping others see the road ahead.

To understand the difference between management and leadership, consider the construction of a new road. To build that road there are workers, machinery and tools which are all vital in the road's construction. Managers help ensure those workers, machinery and tools work together in the most efficient way possible. A manager makes sure those workers are well-trained, motivated, rested and that they know what they're supposed to do next. The manager does the same thing with the tools and the machinery to make sure that they're working correctly and that the workers are able to use them efficiently and safely. This is the role of management. On the other hand, a leader makes sure that the road is going in the right direction before the construction begins. That leader also monitors conditions in new situations to ensure that the road under construction is still the correct one and is still going in the right direction.

How does this affect you as a leader? Are you spending your time managing people when you should be making sure that the road ahead is the one that you want to be on? To expect to be an effective leader you must present a clear vision and a trail you are willing to walk on first. While there are times when it is appropriate for a leader to fill a management role, it is vital to understand the difference between leadership and management so you can be effective no matter which role you happen to be filling at a given time. If you are a leader overseeing managers, it is important that you provide them with the correct perspective so they may be effective in their management role. Don't manage the managers. Lead them.

If you are not in a formal leadership role, it is also important that you understand that when a leadership opportunity arises there is a difference between being a leader and managing the effort. Even if you end up filling both sets of shoes it's important to understand the difference in roles in order to fill them effectively. If, on the other hand, you learn how to lead by showing people that you are walking down the right road, you will become a natural leader and will be able to help many others find success as your achieve your own.

You can learn more about effective leadership by reading "12 Winning Leadership Qualities: Unleash the Leader Instinct Within You" at http://www.unleashtheleaderwithinyou.com

medical health hospital

Why Soft Skills

Writen by R G Srinivasan

The industrial age is over. Organizations still stuck in the industrial age business models are going out of business very fast. Technology is only as good as the people using it. That is the clear message of the new millennium. The knowledge era is supported by tapping into the immense power of the humans to think creatively, find unconventional solutions to add value, improve productivity, and find answers which will make life and work more valuable to the society.

The straight jacketed systems thinking, assembly line techniques adapted to human endeavor has failed to provide the required results. Not that they are not required. But humans cannot be automated. Automation is good only as far as inanimate objects are involved. While discipline is important, systems cannot be the end all to derive the best value out of individuals. Human capital is best exploited when self actualization needs are met.

There is lot more to human beings than repetitive, mechanical operations. Value is derived from out of the box thinking. Values are derived from the best possible team work, communication skills, empathy, intuitiveness, and self management needs of the people.

This realization has resulted in the west embracing soft skills in a big way at considerable expense. The needs of different work environment, industries and business organizations are unique. The same systems applied in different environments will produce different results. The knowledge era demands certain freedom to apply skills specifically suited to the particular set of situation and circumstances.

Soft skills are the key to providing workers with the core skills in communication, team work, leadership; personal effectiveness skills required to leverage one's individual strengths. With better quality of people the organization will produce higher customer satisfaction and achieve market leaderships.

The soft skills initiative needs to be planned very carefully by organizations. They need to be tailored to the set of circumstances to connect the acquired skills to the workplace.

World's topmost names in training today-Anthony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Tom Peters, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy and Edward De Bono are all advocating and emphasizing on a total shift in training to self awareness, core values, mental and creative management skills-indispensable to personal success. Some of these names mentioned above are not even from the management discipline and they are the buzzwords in fortune 500 companies.

What then must a CEO and the HR focus on?

The answer might sound simplistic. Forget the organizational success models. Focus on success of each individual working for the organization. Make him succeed. Be it in work, personal lives or relationships. Make him a better contributor to the society. Take your people's self esteem to a very high level. And they will take your organization to the next level.

Though it may sound dramatic forget the outdated management models and training models. Focus on core human values. The important element is not look into immediate cost benefit analysis which cannot be applied to soft skills training. While you can measure the effective transfer of knowledge you cannot measure the change in behavior in the short term. The process must be defined in the longer term benefits of upping the total value concept of the organizations by improving the human potential and thereby create a much higher market value in all areas of corporate activity.

Look closely and prepare a soft skills inventory required by your organization. Not with the standard training products available. Ensure the training to be tailored to your unique requirement. Start on a strategic plan to improve such skills across the organization. Improve the skills and you automatically improve the bottom line and your market leadership.

About The Author

R.G. Srinivasan is founder of Born to Win Forum. He is a certified trainer and consultant in training design & methodologies. He is also the author of e-books, publishes 2 ezines on success and motivation and Home Business. His articles are widely published across the world. He is featured as an Expert Author in leading content syndication portals. Check out his home business ezine at http://home-businessleaders.tripod.com

medical health hospital

Confession Of A Servant

Writen by Arvind Katoch

Yesterday I got the chance to witness confession of a servant. Earlier my thinking about the servants was not much good. I thought they are people who are physically strong but they have no intellectual. However the confessions of this servant changed my whole thinking about servants. He made my perception more clear on right and wrong. He was doing his job for last ten years. He was getting two thousands rupees as a salary (45$). He was feeling very unhappy because the other servant in the house was told to leave his job.

The other servant has worked for last fifteen years in the house. He was told to leave the job by the owner because owner found him guilty of cheating. The servant told me that no one in this world wants to cheat or do wrong things in this world, it is the world which make him do all these things. When the owner himself go for shopping then he purchase the things for 100 rupees and same things is purchased by the servant in rupees in 50 rupees. He told that if the servant retains these fifty rupees then there is no crime.

The other thing which hurts most of the servants according to him is suspicion on them. They are always under suspicion from their owners. He told that a servant always be given some freedom. Second problem faced by servants is not getting enough hikes in their salaries. They continue to work for years on the same salaries. When their families increase then it become difficult for them to survive on this and they may restore to wrong things. For maintaining a good relations with the servants owner require to have constant conversation with him and in conversation he must give due importance to servant views.

This conversation will help the owner in accessing the needs of servants in well advance. If a servant is given some extra responsibility then he must be dually rewarded for his extra work. Few extra rupees will not only some times motivate him but also encourage him to be away from wrong doings. Managing servants is similar to managing people in organizations. Only by doing few motivational things one can retain the honesty and commitment of a servant.

Smart living makes the all difference.

http://thoughts-of-a-ordinary-man.blogspot.com/
http://www.geocities.com/arvindkatoch1

medical health hospital

Leadership Development For Managers

Writen by Jonathon Hardcastle

Research has shown that 80% of every organization investments is spend to improve the human capabilities and promote their interests and 20% of the investments are spend for technological upgrading and production improvements. Entering today the new advanced management practices of knowledge management, investment through people is divided to three general categories.

1. LEARNING ON THE JOB: To develop leadership on the job requires that employees take jobs or project assignments that include leadership responsibilities. Early in a person's career, working as an individual contributor on team projects provides many opportunities for learning effective leadership. Being a project leader allows an employee to use different types of power and observe how people react to employees attempts to influence them. Team leaders can also ask team members for candid feedback and suggestions for improvement. The rest of the team members can also learn, by observing the relationship between the leader and the team and by practicing the use of referent and expert power.

2. FORMAL ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING: Many organizations ensure that their most talented employees receive formal leadership assessments and attend leadership training programs. These can be conducted in the organization's own educational facilities, at a college or university, through a computer simulation program managed by human resource companies that play the trainers' role. Regardless of location, formal assessment and training programs include evaluation of the individual's current approach to leadership and provide educational experiences designed to improve the individual's effectiveness as a leader.

3. COACHING AND MENTORING: Whether held at a college campus or at corporations' premises, most formal leadership development programs take place in traditional classroom settings. Leaders who prefer a more personal approach can hire a personal leadership coach or work with a mentor. Personal coaches can provide an intensive leadership development experience. But they can be quite costly. Few people can afford this method of leadership development. For many managers, having a mentor is more feasible. Mentors are often supervisors or senior colleagues in an organization who provide advice and guidance about a variety of career-related concerns. They can help a manager understand how others respond to his or hers behaviors and point out weaknesses or blind spots. They also serve as role models that a manager can emulate and provide valuable advice concerning the styles of leadership favored in an organization. Finally, they assist a manager in developing leadership capabilities by helping the manager find assignments that will foster on-the-job learning.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Science, Computers, and Health

medical health hospital

Getting Over Ambiguities In Your Decision Making

Writen by Sergey Dudiy

How do you normally go about non-trivial decisions?

Even if you prefer to take time to do your homework and systematically clarify and prioritize all gains or costs, you can still face many grey areas, when pure logic by itself does not arrive at one convincing conclusion.

It could be that your criteria for analysis are difficult to formulate unambiguously. You have gaps or conflicts in your data. Circumstances may be changing too fast to give you enough time to systematically sort out all the data. What do you do then?

In such situations you will probably turn to your "gut feeling", also known as your inner voice or intuition. When it comes to poorly structured problems like and ambiguities, your decision making effectiveness is determined mostly by your ability to use your intuition.

In contrast to logical reasoning process, which occurs mostly in your conscious mind, your intuition works at the subconscious level. The intuition grasps your decision making situation as a whole, processing different pieces of information in parallel. It somehow connects the inner pattern of your new situation with various subconscious pieces of your previous experiences. Then one moment you will receive the conclusion of that inner work as an intuitive message, a message communicated in the language of your subtler feelings.

While intuition is an indispensable tool in business decision-making, there are still traps you can fall into if you are not careful.

One trap is using intuitive approach as an excuse not to do your homework. Did you ingest all the key facts? At least those that you can get in cost- and time-effective ways. While intuition will help you work around many gaps and ambiguities, even your inner voice can be misled if too many of your facts are wrong or missing.

To effectively collect and organize all the relevant data, try to start with a systematic analysis in writing. As much as you can, capture on paper the ideas on the main options and the criteria for evaluating your choices. Write down the key facts and factors you need to keep in mind.

Another dangerous trap is confusing your inner voice with the background noise of your current emotional state. Whenever you need to make an important decision, pay particular attention to your overall mood. If you are stressed or in a bad mood, your true inner voice will be distorted or lost in the background of your strong negative feelings. A similar effect may happen with strong positive feelings. Are you also carrying a baggage of suppressed feelings that biases your judgement?

Finally, the reliability and effectiveness of your intuition also depends on how much you let it develop. The more experiences you go through and the more attention you give to the intuitive messages in each case, the better "gut feeling" guidance you will get.

Sergey Dudiy, Ph.D., is a personal effectiveness writer and web entrepreneur, creator of Time-Management-Guide.com, a web resource dedicated to building a stronger foundation for your success, one skill at a time, from managing time and setting goals to making decisions and building teams.

You have the permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as you keep the above resource box. A courtesy note would be appreciated.

medical health hospital

Understanding How Change Has Changed

Writen by Peter Hunter

There seems to be an assumption that change is a single traumatic event that is thrust upon us and over which we have no control.

In the recent past this was definitely true, in industry there would come a sudden realisation at the end of the financial year that unless we did something radical we were going to the wall.

The huge and destructive changes that then occurred fitted this model.

In 1936 Kurt Lewin suggested that change be divided into three phases:

Unfreezing
Change
Refreezing

This finite process with a beginning middle and end is dated in a climate that is today too dynamic to allow us the luxury of such a mechanistic process.

Our competitors, our industry and our technology are changing so quickly that we must change constantly to keep up.

If we have to stop to make a change we will be lost.

Kurts proposition is an indication of how much our understanding and use of change has developed. The difference is between the assumptions made then and what is actually happening now, years later.

Change is now accepted as a part of the way we need to react to continue to stay competitive. For the most part it is still administered in large indigestible lumps and for the most part we still have no control.

Today we are going to the next level.

The process of change itself must become dynamic. The only way this can be achieved is to make change part of our daily expectation.

Every day we must consider how to improve and that is not possible unless the environment is created that allows us to want to get better at what we do.

How to change to that environment is the key.

When the workforce becomes involved in the change instead of having it thrust upon them their ideas are respected and used, the resistance to change disappears.

We create a workforce that is powerful and valuable, who are proud of their ability to improve the performance of their organisation and constantly seek new ways to personally add value.

This sounds like a fantasy based on a plot for the perfect organisation which we know will never be recreated in reality.

Except that this fantasy is already a reality.

The model created by Ricardo Semler in Semco demonstrates not only how socially right creating ownership is, it is also unequivocal proof of the financial return that accrues when the workforce are allowed to take ownership.

Peter A Hunter
Author of "Breaking the Mould"
http://www.breakingthemould.co.uk

medical health hospital

Why Do Good Employees Leave

Writen by Martin Day

Losing good employees is not only an expense in terms of time, effort and the associated cost of finding a suitable replacement but also in the untold cost of loosing valuable knowledge and experience that is unique to the organization; Loosing good employees is a problem where prevention is most definitely the best cure.

It is inevitable that employees will leave from time to time but a good employer will want to know why an employee has decided to leave to ensure that personnel are leaving for the right, and not the wrong, reasons.

Concerns of employees can be identified early by the regular use of well designed employee satisfaction surveys, allowing for problems to be resolved and helping to minimize needless loss of staff. However, some problems, especially those that involve personalities, are not always brought to the surface until it is too late.

There are two very common reasons for employee dissatisfaction that can often result in personnel deciding to change jobs, a lack of career development and/or poor management. Both of these problems can be difficult to identify even for organizations that adopt regular 360 degree assessments (i.e. where as part of the overall appraisal system, employees evaluate their managers).

While employed employees can be reluctant to criticize their managers for fear of the consequences, they can however be more candid when completing an exit survey.

Although adopting exit surveys many not prevent individuals from leaving it will help bring to the surface problems that could, if left unchecked, result in poor staff moral for the remaining staff and worse case scenario, a flood of resignations.

Lack of Career Development

Not all employers can offer, and nor do all employees desire, a clear and long term career path. There are just as many people that find comfort and security in doing one job well as there are there are people that need to feel that they are continual being challenged, learning new skills and moving onwards and upwards with respect to the corporate ladder. For organizations to succeed and excel they need the high flyers as well as the steady Eddies of the world.

Where losses due to a lack of career development are occasional they may also be inevitable, but where they are frequent, then changes to the organizational structure might need to be considered to allow for greater career development of the employees.

Poor Management

Many managers achieved their position through promotion, but it does not always follow that a good worker will automatically make a good manager and often people are assigned management position without any formal management training.

Poor managers can be quick to discredit the views of disgruntled staff, 'I was thinking of getting rid of them anyway' and 'they were a waste of space' are typical responses to being asked if there is a problem causing people to leave an organization.

It is proper and natural for senior management to support their line managers by giving them the benefit of any doubt, after all a good managers can always be slighted by poor employees. But by conducting exit surveys, if a man-management problem were to be identified early there is a good chance that it can be addressed and resolved with the appropriate formal training and guidance.

Records

It is not uncommon for people to leave an employer and at a later date put in a claim for constructive dismissal. With 'No win no fee' legal representation this has become a real problem for even good employers. Exit surveys will at best, provide a valuable record of the employee's reasons for leaving, and at worse, provide early warning that a possible claim might be expected.

Unless it is on record a tribunal will not necessarily accept an employer's word that when an employee left they did so without indicating any grievance.

When to conduct an exit survey

Exit surveys can be conducted as part of the termination procedures or they can, with the employee's agreement, be delayed for a few months.

The advantage with delaying an exit survey for a few months is that after a period of reflection a former employee can be less emotional and more objective and if they have taken up another position they may be in a position to compare their previous role with their new role.

The advantages with conducting an exit survey as part of the termination procedure is that although emotions may be running high it is probably more reflective of the employee's state of mind and therefore closer to the reasons they have decided to leave (justified or otherwise). If left until later any comparison between their old and new roles may be the result of them putting on a brave face, and if reasons are given that require action, the delay may well hinder the problem from being resolved.

Summary

Organizations will generally benefit in a number of different ways by including exit surveys as part of their employee termination procedures. They will at the very least provide good records that could prove very valuable later, at best they will provide management with information that can help improve an organization spiritually and with the bottom line.

For a sample Exit survey:

Sample Exit Survey

Martin Day is a director of Survey Galaxy Ltd a website that allows anyone with basic computer skills the ability to create and design online surveys and then publish them on the Internet. Fast, easy and cost effective for more information please visit http://www.surveygalaxy.com

medical health hospital

How To Decrease Profits Without Really Trying

Writen by Kennedy Rahaman

Hurting your sales efforts can be accomplished easily with the proper guidance. The following effective yet simple ideas are designed to generate results when implemented into your sales strategy.

• Don't listen to what your clients are saying.

You are the expert and prospects should be happy that you have been able to set aside some time for them. Spend your time talking more than asking questions and listening. Try to not answer as many of their questions and concerns as possible, this turns the focus away from you and on to the customer. Above all keep talking up the features of what you are offering as one of them may somewhat meet the client's needs.

• Don't target your customers effectively

Selling is a game of numbers although some odds may be higher than others. To that end remember each lead is as good as another. Dealing only with qualified and interested prospects increases sales, revenue, and profit ratios but cuts down on prospecting time, prospecting of course being the name of the game. Kudos to whoever realized that prospecting should be 75%-80% of your career and actually selling should be 20%-25%. This may seem backwards and counterproductive if you really examine this formula but the founder of this principle is a genius I am sure.

• Work towards improving your situation and not the client's

Listen, you wouldn't be in business if clients didn't exchange their money for your services. Knowing that, make as much money as you can from the client in as short a time as possible. Sell them, and then sell them some more regardless of its usefulness to the client. Don't be concerned with the future relationship or business. We can almost guarantee that you will not see this customer in the long term so no time like the present. If their checking account can handle it then have them buy it. It's about you not them.

• Focus on how great you are and not how you can improve the clients situation in some way.

Unleash a barrage of information on the prospect regarding your awards, world class customer service, cutting edge this and that, and every other self determined worthwhile achievement that you can think of. If the prospect tries to interrupt with anything resembling a "what's in it for me" attitude pour on some more. They have not been sufficiently impressed by you and are still concerned with what they want, use, and can afford. Sooner or later they will realize that it is all about you and will send you on your way. CONGRATULATIONS!! There is another inflow of revenue lost. You are well on your way.

• Force referrals from clients at inappropriate times

Ask for referrals before the client is comfortable with you or what you offer. If they seem reluctant make them feel guilty. Not only are you sure to not receive any referrals then but you will probably not get them at all.

• Think of all customer interactions as battles

The more you think of clients as adversaries and less as collaborators the better the chance you have of losing them. One simple exercise is to firmly believe that it is impossible for you and the client to get what both of you want. One of you has to lose in order for the other to win. Organizations that employ this method are realizing substantial revenue loss and client defection daily.

• Make it hard for customers to do business with you

This by far is the best, most easily implemented, and widely used method for sales, revenue, and profit degeneration. As this method can take many different routes to the end result you may have already implemented some portions without realizing it. Are any of these already hard at work undermining your organization?

• Do not return phone calls or emails in a timely manner or at all in some cases.

• Whether a customer wants to use your service, ask a question, or solve an issue pass them along until they give up or fall through the cracks.

• Train employees to believe that once a customer has been sent somewhere they are in the clear and their job is done. Soon enough they will realize that the goal is to send the customer along and not actually provide a solution. No follow up internally or externally is necessary.

• Focus on where the customer is wrong and keep hammering away at those points.

• Make sure that each new person the client speaks to has a different story and a healthy portion of blame for someone or something else. As an extra bonus send them back to the original person they spoke to.

• By all means DO NOT allow anyone the opportunity to fix a small issue before it becomes a big problem. Make your employees as well as customers jump through hoops of fire if they want satisfactory service.

Using any of these seven methods will turbo charge the process of "Going Out of Business" for your organization. The use of more than one increases your chances exponentially.

This is an opportune time to evaluate how many of these your organization uses everyday. Remember the more of these you use the faster you get results. Lowered market share, lost revenue, poor sales performance, and unhealthy profits are easily realized with this model.

About The Author

Kennedy C. Rahaman, President of Bluefin Management Consulting, assists sales organizations in accelerating and increasing revenues and profitability by leveraging the resources available within the organization. To learn more about us browse our website at bluefinventures.com. For information on consulting, training, or speaking call 781 341 3998 or email us info@bluefinventures.com.

krahaman@bluefinventures.com

medical health hospital

Diversity Increases Group Decisionmaking Ability

Writen by Rick Weaver

A recent study by Tufts University scientists looked into the impact of diversity relative to juries. As reported by the United Press International, the study looked at decisions made by all-white juries in decisions made by a diverse jury of blacks and whites.

The study looked strictly at all-white versus black-and-white juries and made no apparent attempt to involve other national or racial cultures.

According to the study, diverse groups made fewer factual errors relative to the evidence in when errors were made they were more likely to be identified as errors.

The Multicultural Business Council (www.mbc-usa.org)has long supported the body of knowledge that states diversity will enhance decision-making ability.

"The more diversity you can get in any decision-making team will increase your chances arriving at the best possible decision," points out Rick Weaver, Chief Operations Officer of the Multicultural Business Council. "By involving people with different life experiences, you're most likely get people to look at different possibilities when examining conclusions and solutions. This is not to say that you want a large group, it is simply to say that the more diversity you can recruit the more likely you are to consider options that a single cultural group may not even have considered."

The Multicultural Business Council has always included diversity exercises when training organizations on team building skills, decision-making skills, and problem-solving skills. In these classes participants quickly understand the need for diversity if they are to be successful. Experiential learning methods prove to the participants that it is not simply necessary to work together as a team, but to make sure the team is comprised of a solid blend of unique backgrounds and experiences.

Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement.

Rick career began in retailing as a stockclerk, eventually becoming the Director of Vendor Development at Kmart Corporation during it's heyday. In this position he worked with hundreds of Kmart's suppliers to improve mutual processes, procedures, and profits.

As a consultant, Rick has worked with companies in various industries to develop leadership and business strategies. As an entrepreneur, Rick has founded or co-founded six successful organizations, including non-profit and for profit. Now in his role as president of MaxImpact, Rick uses his vast experience helping individuals connect to their dreams and teams connect to a common vision.

Rick's presentation style of blending humor, real life examples, and easy to implement ideas has made him a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences in in 43 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Paradigms Or Bust

Writen by Graeme Nichol

It's amazing, people we meet and know are all striving for success, in business or their personal lives but they rarely achieve it. Or rarely do they think they have achieved it. Why is this? They have a mindset that holds them back. We read about this and similar statements and then laugh it off as some mumbo jumbo foo foo stuff.

Why? Well probably because of our education and backgrounds. The more educated we are the more we ask; "How can that #@$bleeping stuff be of any value to me?" Then we realize that in many ways our education was designed to create workers who didn't challenge the conventions and wisdoms!

One of the powerful mental attitudes we have is our individual paradigm under which we operate. This paradigm for all intents and purposes is created through our learning and our experiences. The good stuff and the bad. Now it's the bad stuff we are trying to shy away from to move ahead with our lives and careers. Well, we could learn from the bad stuff as well as the successes. Build on the successes for even greater rewards.

The 'knowing doing gap'. We know what to do but just are not doing it, or enough of it!

We know that our brains are living organs that are programmed by us on a daily basis. What we tell our brain is what our brains allow us to do. The synapses of the brain and associated chemistry are what create our memory.

One of the great things about science is its assumption that what we think we know today will probably be proven wrong tomorrow. Developed theories, by earlier scientists are essentially platforms enabling us to climb higher, as Sir Isaac Newton said, "If I have been privileged to see farther than others, it's because I stood on the shoulders of giants."

It's only by asking questions, challenging the assumptions and the "truths" taken for granted at a point in time, that science progresses. The Pythagorean Brotherhood knew this and tried to keep control of knowledge. They only wanted their brotherhood to succeed. They didn't succeed and society has developed and thrived as a response!

What if this turned out to be true for our personal lives, our individual growth and progress? What if we could challenge our assumptions and do things we never thought possible? Guess what? You can. It is true. When you break free of your assumptions about yourself, you will grow more than you ever thought possible.

It's amazing to see how many businesses falter under limiting beliefs. We can't sell so many! That will never work here… We tried that… are all limiting their success.

In developing strategic plans; do we look at our belief systems, collectively and individually? No. We do SWOT analyses and Porters' 5 Forces but we don't look at the factors inhibiting success within the individuals creating the plan. Or the factors affecting the learning disabilities of the organization. So if we can create new paradigms that will take the organization and its staff to new successes, wouldn't that be powerful?

Including your limiting paradigm and developing a powerful new paradigm going forward is what will lead us to success.

Isn't this interesting? What is amazing is that this is a core part of the Best Year Yet Process. Test it out for yourself as a free introduction at http://www.bestyearyet.com/Personal/BYYONew1.cfm?lang=US please ut the code283 in so I know how many of my readers looked at this!

By Graeme Nichol of Arcturus Advisors. Please visit their website at http://www.arcturusadvisors.com. Arcturus Advisors works with the Best Year Yet process to help business teams increase their productivity and performance by ensuring that team members are all on the same page and pulling in the same direction.

Managing Expectations

Writen by Mike Myatt

The art and science behind making commitments and managing expectations has always been a critical skill set for senior executives and entrepreneurs to master. In fact, understanding how to come out on the right-side of the expectation curve can often be the difference between average performers and superstars. This is evidenced by the fact that the consulting industry has zeroed in on the importance of this issue such that it has evolved into an emerging discipline known as "Promise Management". In this blog post I'll discuss the value of promise management as a discipline.

Nothing engenders confidence and creates a trust bond like delivering on promises made and likewise few things erode confidence and credibility like commitments not kept. In a previous post entitled: "Follow Through" I discussed the importance of saying what you mean, meaning what you say and doing what you say you'll do. The science of promise management is systematically connecting what is said with what is done. The art of promise management is closing, or better yet, eliminating the expectation gap. Blend the art and science together and you have the framework for what is becoming the differentiating factor in performance based decisioning for the twenty-first century.

Conflicts, disagreements, disputes and litigation are often born out of expectation gaps. Expectations cut both ways…Keeping what you perceive as being your end of the bargain is only half of the equation as what you think only matters if it is in alignment with the understanding of the other party. We have all found ourselves in the unenviable position of assigning work product only to end-up with the deliverable falling far short of expectations while having the producer of said work product thinking they exceeded all expectations.

Expectations exist throughout the entire value chain with every stakeholder needing and deserving to have their expectations managed and met. Whether it is managing customer expectations, shareholder or analyst expectations, or the inverse of employees having to deal with the expectations of executives, it is the ability to excel at decisioning based upon managing expectations that creates high performance organizations.

Promises that are made based upon solid reasoning and underlying business logic that are consistently kept will help to create a solid brand attracting loyal customers and talented employees. The following three practices will help create an organization that delivers on its commitments:

1. Collaborate early and often: Decisioning in a vacuum or without all the facts will place you in a deficit from the beginning. It is at best extremely difficult to manage expectations and deliver on commitments made if you don't have clear visibility as to what is wanted or needed. Before making promises or commitments collaborate with all concerned parties to insure that expectations are understood.

2. Resist making verbal commitments: Most misunderstandings occur as a result of improper interpretation of oral communications. Most broken commitments result from impulsive verbal promises made before all the details were sorted out. Once you have gained clarity as to the perceived need to be fulfilled place your understanding of the deliverables in writing by outlining key business points and circulate the document for review and comments. Where possible resist formalizing agreements, proposals, or other commitments until you have alignment on key expectations and deliverables.

3. Manages promises like projects: Build a culture that breaks down all commitments made into deliverables, benchmarks and deadlines. Allocate resources, budget and staff while managing the commitment within a framework of measured accountability. Treating all commitments and promises as formal projects will help manage performance risk and will also create continuity of process and delivery.

Performance based decisioning based upon principles of promise management will lead to a certainty of execution that should translate into one of your company's greatest competitive advantages.

Mike Myatt is the Chief Strategy Officer at N2growth. N2growth is a leading venture growth consultancy providing a unique array of professional services to high growth companies on a venture based business model. The rare combination of branding and corporate identity services, capital formation assistance, market research and business intelligence, sales and product engineering, leadership development and talent management, as well as marketing, advertising and public relations services make N2growth the industry leader in strategic growth consulting. More information about the company can be found at http://www.N2growth.com or by viewing http://www.N2growth.com/blog

Preparing A Budget

Writen by Sue And Chuck DeFiore

Ok, you say, I know I need a budget, but how do I prepare one? The most common budget period is one year, but this can vary depending on whether or not your business has seasonal or cyclical fluctuations. For example if you run a Christmas decorations shop, or a costume shop your business is going to peak during certain times of the year.

The budgeting process usually begins with the collection of accounting data. In order to prepare a strong and achievable budget, you must analyze each item of income and expense from the prior year. If your accounting system is a mess and the figures are inaccurate, the numbers used in your budget will be useless. This is why it is so important to keep good records. Quicken and Quickbooks are excellent programs to help you with setting up an accounting system that is easy to use and understand.

If you can review your prior year's figures with confidence, try to cultivate your strong areas and look for ways to increase performance or volume. For example, if one particular product sold well, take a closer look at that product. What you did to market it, etc. and try to model your other products in the same vein to accomplish the same results.

You also need to analyze your weak spots. If possible, set up some type of internal control over the weak areas. A cost analysis will help you determine if you are actually making money on the sale of a certain product. This is a big problem with new business owners. They don't do the research or due diligence in determining the need for their product. In effect, they spend a great deal of time and money with a product that is never even going to break even. You cannot get emotionally tied to your product. If it is not selling, let it go and move on to what is selling.

If your business is in its first year, your budget will involve a little more homework. Keep in mind that a budget is an expression of your goals. Try to determine the number of billable hours you might reasonably expect to charge for within a year's time. If you are in sales, try to establish the number of items you will be able to sell. After determining the revenue portion, you should look to your expenses.

Some expenses, like rent, will be fixed because they do not change from month to month. For example, if your office space rent is $3,000 per month, you must still pay $3,000 per month, regardless of whether or not you have made any sales or earned any income. This is why working out of a home office, if you can, is so much better. You can substantially cut your rental costs down.

Another type of expense is a variable one. In budgeting, this is known as a variable "cost," which is a cost that increases with the level of sales or income. They are variable because the more income you generate, the greater the costs you will incur (this just means the more you sell, you more you have to buy).

If you have others working for you, sales commissions are an example of a variable expense—the greater the sales revenue, the greater the sales commissions.

You need to be sure to do research before starting your business to determine what comprises your fixed and variable costs.

Certain types of businesses have an established profit margin. This information may be available by simply asking other professionals in your field. Your accountant sees thousands of tax returns and may be able to give you an idea of the average "cost of sales" or "profit margins" for your type of business. The averages for certain industries are also compiled by financial ratings organizations such as Dun & Bradstreet, Moody's and Standard & Poor's. For example, if you are starting a coffeehouse, you could compare your sales, gross profit ratio, and net income to the averages for the retail sales/coffee industry compiled by Dun & Bradstreet.

It's amazing how many home based and small-business owners don't know if they're making a profit on service, parts or sales. Others don't know whether they're making or losing money on a particular job. The purpose of the accounting and budgetary process is to help you answer these questions and make the right management decisions. You can't plug the leaks in your revenue ship if you don't know where the holes are.

Again, using a program like Quickbooks allows you to see where time is spent for a particular project, what your costs are, how many employees were needed to complete the project and the time it took them (which gives you an idea of salary differential for certain projects).

If for example you are running a consulting business, Quickbooks allows you to track the number of hours you work on a project and what your costs are. In most consulting businesses your time is your valuable commodity. You need to be compensated for the time you spend on a particular project or with a client.

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

How To Hire A Business Planning Consultant

Writen by Jo Ann Joy

There are certain things that must be considered before you hire a business planning consultant: The following are some of the most important things to consider when hiring a consultant:

You must have a contractual agreement. The consulting agreement sets out the parameters of the relationship, specifies the services to be performed, and sets forth the timeframe in which the work needs to be completed. Both parties should sign the agreement.

You must check the consultant's background. The skills and abilities of consultants vary widely. You should conduct your due diligence and check references to help you determine if the consultant is right for your business.

Be sure that no one in-house can do the job. Companies commonly fail to consider the various skills of their employees before hiring a consultant. Take the time to re-read the resumes of your staff before you spend more money than necessary to hire a consultant.

Be sure to check the compensation scale. Check the going rate in the industry and do some research to find out the pay range for the services you require before overpaying a consultant.

The payment for expenses should be spelled out in the consulting agreement. The consultant will expect his or her expenses to be covered, and these should be discussed in advance and spelled out in the consulting agreement so they do not come as a surprise when they appear on the invoice.

Be sure the consultant is available on the time schedule you require. Make sure the consultant is available to work on your project on your schedule. If the consultant accepts your job but cannot start for three weeks, you need to know that in advance to be certain that your deadlines will be met.

Conduct a thorough hiring interview. Take the interview process very seriously with consultants just as you would do with prospective employees. A consultant you hire will be involved in the future of your business, and it is imperative that you conduct a comprehensive interview.

Have the consultant sign a letter of confidentiality. Consultants are free agents, and you need to keep in mind that they may work for your competition after completing your project. Therefore, you must have a signed letter of confidentiality from the consultant to protect your trade secrets and confidential information.

Clearly describe the project. Be sure that the consultant and you are not on the same page from the start to avoids misunderstandings and complications later on.

Introduce the consultant to your staff. Your employees start need to know who this person is and why they are asking for files or asking about certain projects. Introduce the consultant to your regular employees, especially those with whom he or she will be working.

The consultant must have marketing and finance skills and experience. They must understand the U.S. industrial and business climate. They must understand your company and the industry. They must know who your competitors are and how they do business. Be sure the consultant shows you the research they have done in preparing your business plan.

The consultant must do more than just write a business plan. A business plan needs to reflect a carefully thought-out business strategy for growth and profitability. Your business plan consultant must work with you to develop and refine your business strategy. The consultant needs to meet with you several times to learn, think through, and discuss your marketing, financial and operating strategies.

Before you hire a consultant, do your research and look at the work the consultant has done in the past. Be sure the consultant has the academic credentials and experience necessary to do a comprehensive business plan. Be sure the consultant knows how to prepare a business plan that will meet your needs, whether it is for raising capital, applying for business loans, meeting IRS requirements, or supporting grant requests.

Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO The future of your business starts here!

You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016. I have many published articles, and I will send any article to you free of charge. Most consultations are free.

For information about other important legal, tax, and business topics, free copies of articles, or EBooks, please visit our website at u>www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Indigo Business Solutions is a registered trade name.

Discover the secrets to success and grow! About the author: Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm that is a "one stop shop" for businesses. We provide legal and business services and all professional services to businesses, and they will not be "referred out" to other professionals. Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and an Economics degree. She is a strategic business attorney who works closely with businesses to improve their performance and their chance of success. Her background includes commercial, corporate, contracts, real estate, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, banking, and business planning and strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years and writes and gives presentations on many different legal, tax, and business subjects. Please visit our website at www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net for more information on business, legal, and tax topics and for free copies of articles and EBooks.