The economy is slowing down in 2008, and this is part of a normal business cycle. The question is what should you be doing right now to get your share of business? There is no reason your business should not do well regardless of market conditions. We just have to adapt to the market and be aggressive marketing and selling.
First let’s focus on what sells during recessions. These areas do well in slow economies. So how can your business cater to the desires of your customers or consumers?
Exports sell – The recession generally lowers the dollar (already happened!) so this is the time to find products to export. The growing economies of China, India, Asia, Russia, Dubai and other petroleum wealthy countries are ideal for expanding business while you have a currency advantage. Use the value of America to sell. McDonalds and Coca Cola are great examples of exporting.
Comfort sells – people are worried about their homes, their jobs, and their family. For most people they pull in spending on big luxuries and vacations. However they replace them with familiar pleasures and little treats to make staying home more pleasant. Traditional foods, decorations, home entertainment, and health products are examples that will do well.
Value sells – money is tight, so people will hold it unless it is a good emotional or financial investment. Return on Investment and quick payback work for businesses, investors and consumers. Have features that are usable, use less energy than competitors, are green, save money, and do more for the price. Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam’s Clubs do well when people are watching their dollars. But you don’t have to be the cheapest to be a value buy. Offer guarantees and let them know they are buying a product or service that does what it says it does and performs well. Remember decisions are emotional first, then buyers justify their decision logically.
Quality sells – Ford advertised “Quality is Job 1” and it really is. People will pay for better quality. Toyota and Honda have made the best quality cars over the last twenty years, and look how their sales are worldwide. Toyota is about to be the bigger than GM.
Simplicity sells – Easy to use products and services always do better than competitors. Lower priced products and services with fewer features do well when people are being frugal. Design new versions to make a basic and simple product or service as possible. Your higher end customers will still want the old features and pay more, but get new customers into your base now and upgrade them later. Existing customers you can offer sensible upgrades and extras for more.
Luxury sells – the very wealthy are immune to slow economies unless the stock market drops precipitously. They want to impress friends and enjoy what they get. However they are less likely to buy the ostentatious instead of more subtle beauty. They don’t want to offend as much as impress. Green mansions still have cache since you look responsible, green, and have something unique compared to the merely rich in their regular McMansions. The wealthy will still travel but may justify it to themselves being combined with another purpose – “since we were in Greece on business, we visited Athens”. There are less people feeling wealthy, so you have to target and appeal to the really well off. This market is wiser about value and will negotiate more, but purchases are still emotional decisions.
Design sells – often the real decision maker between competitors is design. Better performance, distinctive appearance, new colors, fashion, different fragrances, and artistic design do sell strongly. Does the product fit the hand, easy to use, and the curves look appealing? Cadillac has recovered it name with better design products. How do the competitors look? People will pay a little more for a Target styled product than a cheaper Kmart or Wal-Mart product. They want what will impress them and their friends.
Love Sells – seriously there is no greater need for people than to love and be loved. This is where advertising has always succeeded. The original Mustang “makes it happen”, “every kiss begins with Kay” Jewelers, beer ads making you look attractive, Victoria’s Secret, and Match.com are example of how you can make it easier for romance and family. Family is often a stronger bond to support. How can you make it easier or appeal to singles and families?
Humor sells – Seriously we buy from people we like. Look at the successful Miller Lite’s ads which were making people laugh at celebrities. Some of the most famous ads were from two football players making fun of the perception football player are dumb. Playing dumb sold a lot of beer and got these guys into the movies as actors. Make sure your clients know they will have a good time with your product and service. Southwest Airlines built a great business making passengers enjoy the trip.
Novelty sells – something cute, cheap, funny and easy to talk about always sell well. A good video on YouTube.com can create insane demand. Pet Rocks with those silly directions on ‘How to Care for Your Pet Rock”, Superballs (where did mine go?), the Wallcrawlers which were funny looking octopuses that flopped down the walls, the Slinky which still fascinate kids, and the hula hoop all still sell.
Security sells – people still have desires, but with less opportunity to earn it a small percentage will take what doesn’t belong to them. Incidences of crime, especially locally, can be used that so people want to protect what they have. The tendency is already there for consumers, just get them to look at a risk they ignore to get them motivated. If you sell security advertise to your market using fear.
Advertising sells – Most businesses cut advertising first when times are tight. This is when you want to expand your advertising and take market share from competitors. Make sure to track results, and watch your budget. Negotiate better deals from your media while they are losing other business. Successful companies often expand advertising in slow economies. Save by expand internet marketing and focusing your print, radio and television advertising. Consider switching to cable television in focused markets versus broadcast ads. Send postcards instead of sale letters to save postage. Have the postcards get customers to go websites with shopping carts. Call old customers regularly. Stay in the selling mode no matter what the market is.
Follow these ideas and you may not have a recession in your business. These ideas generally work in most economies, but will work better during slow times. What can you sell now?
January 26, 2008
January 17, 2008
Business Predictions for 2008
Everyone makes a fool of themselves by predicting the future at this time of the year. So I will badly make a fool of myself by expressing my opinions on the difficult business market for 2008. Please be aware opinions do not affect the future, and your mileage will vary. So here we go…
Housing will drop big due to credit crunch. If you can’t get financing very easily, how do you buy from someone? Since it is harder to get loans, fewer buyers are available with good credit and money down to buy houses and condo. Investors buy at the value of the net income they can rent a property for, and look for bargains. Neither the lack of buyers and investors caution is good for supporting prices in housing.
Disclosure here: I have done residential and commercial real estate appraisal in California and assisted in Nevada, so actually have real estate analysis expertise. The rise in residential values ran 9 years in southern California from 1997 to 2006, and went years too far. Values could really drop back hard. Las Vegas and Arizona have already dropped prices around 30% and could go lower with so many new homes. The Inland Empire and San Diego values have dropped over 20% in 2007, so Los Angeles and Orange County are behind the curve and may fall 20% in 2008. I have predicted prices to fall off the peak 20% to 30%, and up to 50% if the economy really fell. So I tend to be regarded as pessimistic since I think the boom went far too long. Recovery should start around mid 2009 to 2010, but it is very hard to pick the bottom. If your housing prices have been falling since 2005 you are closer to the bottom than we are here in southern California.
Your area housing values will vary based on local conditions, but I expect a national average to fall by 10% without crazy loans, easy money and speculators to inflate home values. Best analysis I have read is from JP Morgan predicting land values will return to 2002 – 2003 levels, and near the east and west coasts the land may be up to 80% of home values. Location, location and location still rule when it comes to evaluating properties. Look for investment opportunities this year and in 2009.
Commercial property values will go down since it is harder to get credit here as well. It is early in this correction, locations, and property use varies so much will not predict how much values will fall. Commercial prices did not go up as crazily as they did in housing, but value depends on income and cost to borrow. A ten to twenty percent retreat would not surprise me this year in some areas.
Economy will recession early, and start the recovery before end of 2008. The credit crunch will hurt borrowing for businesses, but the hallmark of the American economy is how quickly capitalists adapt to change. China’s currency is increasing in value to the dollar, which will increase inflation as well. Consumers will cut back slightly, but most spending will continue to be stable. Styles will move away from excess to value, so imports may be hurt with higher prices of the now lower dollar. However booming economies internationally especially in India and China will improve American exports. In all, the diverse and adaptable economy will be recovering this year.
Employment will only drop mildly in the US. Finance, automobile and housing industries will be significantly hurt in 2008, but the rest of the economy should grow needing good employees. Your local conditions will vary. I will be looking for a new position in 2008, so understand personal concerns depend on your situation and industry. I expect to be with a business unit growing quickly or turning around by mid year.
Oil will fall from $90 – $100 per barrel to $60 – $70 per barrel in 2009. Politics in unstable countries can have a tremendous affect on supply making timetables hard to guess. So this is the riskiest prediction I am making. Have no special information here, but let’s look at history. Recently it took many years to go from $20 to $30 per barrel. Prices were stuck in the $15 to $20 range for over a decade. The sudden jump in oil prices from $30 to $90 per barrel happened way too quickly from a historical perspective. The cause was speculators and fears driving gains with increase international demand. The value of the dollar fell about 30% over the last few years, so $20 to $30 per barrel is now $30 to $45 per barrel. Demand will fall with current prices, and alternative sources are cost effective above $30 per barrel further reducing demand. Politics will have an effect with a president elect promising a program to reduce oil imports could speed the price reduction. Overall I expect a gradual reductions happening with jumps and falls starting in 2008.
Stock market will fall early and start recovery about mid 2008. The recovery will be mild and I like John Mauldin’s description of the “muddle through” economy. The stock market often acts as a predictor of the market and it has had a lot of growth. The question is how far we are going to correct recess or depress the market? More importantly which business sections are going to fall the most. My record here is poor historically, so do your own research. Falling should be finance companies, housing, and consumer related businesses. Everything else depends on design, innovation and value to grow businesses.
The election in November is too close to call right now. The Democrats are likely to have either Hilary or Obama, and they would be wise to have a joint ticket. Republicans have five good candidates, and possibly no one will come with a majority to the convention. Voters usually look at experience, positions, leadership and pandering. Could be another close election based on the experience of the Republican candidate versus the changes proposed by the Democrats. There is a lot of potential changes based on the economy, world events, Terrorists, Iraq and Afghanistan. In the final election the most moderate candidates between the Democrats and Republicans usually win, so that is my prediction.
Okay, this is enough predictions for me to reasonably make in 2008. Lets see how wrong I am since my record has never been perfect. Black swans events make predictions more of an art than a science. Use your own judgment about the validity of these guesses and how they may affect you.
Recommend Forbes, marketwatch.com, John Mauldin, Doug Fabian and Mark Skousen for research and information.
Housing will drop big due to credit crunch. If you can’t get financing very easily, how do you buy from someone? Since it is harder to get loans, fewer buyers are available with good credit and money down to buy houses and condo. Investors buy at the value of the net income they can rent a property for, and look for bargains. Neither the lack of buyers and investors caution is good for supporting prices in housing.
Disclosure here: I have done residential and commercial real estate appraisal in California and assisted in Nevada, so actually have real estate analysis expertise. The rise in residential values ran 9 years in southern California from 1997 to 2006, and went years too far. Values could really drop back hard. Las Vegas and Arizona have already dropped prices around 30% and could go lower with so many new homes. The Inland Empire and San Diego values have dropped over 20% in 2007, so Los Angeles and Orange County are behind the curve and may fall 20% in 2008. I have predicted prices to fall off the peak 20% to 30%, and up to 50% if the economy really fell. So I tend to be regarded as pessimistic since I think the boom went far too long. Recovery should start around mid 2009 to 2010, but it is very hard to pick the bottom. If your housing prices have been falling since 2005 you are closer to the bottom than we are here in southern California.
Your area housing values will vary based on local conditions, but I expect a national average to fall by 10% without crazy loans, easy money and speculators to inflate home values. Best analysis I have read is from JP Morgan predicting land values will return to 2002 – 2003 levels, and near the east and west coasts the land may be up to 80% of home values. Location, location and location still rule when it comes to evaluating properties. Look for investment opportunities this year and in 2009.
Commercial property values will go down since it is harder to get credit here as well. It is early in this correction, locations, and property use varies so much will not predict how much values will fall. Commercial prices did not go up as crazily as they did in housing, but value depends on income and cost to borrow. A ten to twenty percent retreat would not surprise me this year in some areas.
Economy will recession early, and start the recovery before end of 2008. The credit crunch will hurt borrowing for businesses, but the hallmark of the American economy is how quickly capitalists adapt to change. China’s currency is increasing in value to the dollar, which will increase inflation as well. Consumers will cut back slightly, but most spending will continue to be stable. Styles will move away from excess to value, so imports may be hurt with higher prices of the now lower dollar. However booming economies internationally especially in India and China will improve American exports. In all, the diverse and adaptable economy will be recovering this year.
Employment will only drop mildly in the US. Finance, automobile and housing industries will be significantly hurt in 2008, but the rest of the economy should grow needing good employees. Your local conditions will vary. I will be looking for a new position in 2008, so understand personal concerns depend on your situation and industry. I expect to be with a business unit growing quickly or turning around by mid year.
Oil will fall from $90 – $100 per barrel to $60 – $70 per barrel in 2009. Politics in unstable countries can have a tremendous affect on supply making timetables hard to guess. So this is the riskiest prediction I am making. Have no special information here, but let’s look at history. Recently it took many years to go from $20 to $30 per barrel. Prices were stuck in the $15 to $20 range for over a decade. The sudden jump in oil prices from $30 to $90 per barrel happened way too quickly from a historical perspective. The cause was speculators and fears driving gains with increase international demand. The value of the dollar fell about 30% over the last few years, so $20 to $30 per barrel is now $30 to $45 per barrel. Demand will fall with current prices, and alternative sources are cost effective above $30 per barrel further reducing demand. Politics will have an effect with a president elect promising a program to reduce oil imports could speed the price reduction. Overall I expect a gradual reductions happening with jumps and falls starting in 2008.
Stock market will fall early and start recovery about mid 2008. The recovery will be mild and I like John Mauldin’s description of the “muddle through” economy. The stock market often acts as a predictor of the market and it has had a lot of growth. The question is how far we are going to correct recess or depress the market? More importantly which business sections are going to fall the most. My record here is poor historically, so do your own research. Falling should be finance companies, housing, and consumer related businesses. Everything else depends on design, innovation and value to grow businesses.
The election in November is too close to call right now. The Democrats are likely to have either Hilary or Obama, and they would be wise to have a joint ticket. Republicans have five good candidates, and possibly no one will come with a majority to the convention. Voters usually look at experience, positions, leadership and pandering. Could be another close election based on the experience of the Republican candidate versus the changes proposed by the Democrats. There is a lot of potential changes based on the economy, world events, Terrorists, Iraq and Afghanistan. In the final election the most moderate candidates between the Democrats and Republicans usually win, so that is my prediction.
Okay, this is enough predictions for me to reasonably make in 2008. Lets see how wrong I am since my record has never been perfect. Black swans events make predictions more of an art than a science. Use your own judgment about the validity of these guesses and how they may affect you.
Recommend Forbes, marketwatch.com, John Mauldin, Doug Fabian and Mark Skousen for research and information.
January 1, 2008
What To Do During 2008 Recession
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the credit crunch is bringing a recession to the US in 2008. If you are managing or owning a business, now is the time to plan for this year’s recession.
Are you familiar with derivatives, CDO’s, credit swaps or the subprime mortgage market? They have been the latest way banks, hedge funds, insurance companies and other investors tried to increase yields by bundling loans together. The problem is they have not properly accounted for the risk, and not enough reserves are in place for when these investments fall in value.
So people who lend money do not have enough money to lend more. Credit will increase in cost, and less will be available for business to borrow. This will slow the economy, and consumers are not able to borrow to finance more purchases.
What do we do now?
First of all keep perspective, no recession lasts forever. They are normal parts of the business cycle, and there are several steps you can do. It may be mild or a full depression, but the actions you will take are similar. You just may be forced to take more actions in the event of a depression.
Hang on to cash
If credit is hard to get, you are going have to fund expansions internally. The Stock market may not fund you, and lenders are nervous. Be prepared by watching spending and cutting overheads.
Know what makes you profit
Most people know volume of sales, but few allocate expenses fairly to each product line. It is easy to spread personnel, advertising, and overheads over all sales. It makes more sense to know which products or services cost more and what they make. Allocate almost all personnel to product lines, allocate inspectors and freight to materials, and then spread the remaining unallocated personnel and expenses over all labor and material expenses. This will show where you actually spend your resources, and how much each product or service costs. Then figure out your profit margin.
Re-price products to make a profit
Sales have to make money. Even advertising loss leaders have to increase sales to be worth doing. So evaluate which products or services create value, compare to competitors, and don’t just be the low cost provider. Less sales may make more sense for some products and services. Especially if you are losing money per sale. Price accordingly.
Kill weak products or product lines
Redesign or rationalize product lines. Let good products eat weaker products. You want products to go after competitor sales (or increase your profits), but not just because we always sold that. Can you buy someone else’s cheaper?
Design better products
Design is often the deciding factor in sales. Good design has value in attractiveness and functionality. Don’t blame the sales team for a poor product or service. Create better, faster and new services. Make products have more value. Create new looks and new markets. Growth is finding opportunities. Make sure you design to win.
Sell more to existing customers
Offer additional services and products to your existing customers. Your customers are valuable. Don’t lose them to competitors, but make yourself their partner by adding value to them a discounter can not match. Sit down and find out where their pain is. Look where you can grow servicing your best customers. Bring ideas and contacts that will grow their business. They will remember.
Find new customers
Don’t quit marketing or advertising. Find competitors to your existing customers. Especially find the young growing business that may become prime customers.
Export
The US dollar is falling in value, so find new customers in other countries. China, India, Dubai and Asia are growing in wealth so are great markets to open. Europe is now cheaper to sell to. Take advantage of your value by finding representative in these markets.
Make advertising show results
Get their attention. State your benefits clearly and believably. Get feedback. Motivate your customers to do something. Make sure your advertising is in line with your strategy.
Hire people who will contribute to bottom line
Keep your winners and make them partners. Always look for designers, engineers, sales, and leaders to make your business grow. The advantage of a recession is less competition hiring the best people.
Review your strategy
Does your current strategic plan match the changing economy? Be realistic, be opportunistic, and believe you can succeed. Others will just try to shrink their business and may hurt themselves. You can actually grow market share by being aggressive in going after business by creating value.
A recession is really just normal business. Just be focused on what needs to be done like normal, and do the hard work that gets missed when you are growing fast. Your people will overcome a recession if lead to face the problem. It is up to you to lead.
Are you familiar with derivatives, CDO’s, credit swaps or the subprime mortgage market? They have been the latest way banks, hedge funds, insurance companies and other investors tried to increase yields by bundling loans together. The problem is they have not properly accounted for the risk, and not enough reserves are in place for when these investments fall in value.
So people who lend money do not have enough money to lend more. Credit will increase in cost, and less will be available for business to borrow. This will slow the economy, and consumers are not able to borrow to finance more purchases.
What do we do now?
First of all keep perspective, no recession lasts forever. They are normal parts of the business cycle, and there are several steps you can do. It may be mild or a full depression, but the actions you will take are similar. You just may be forced to take more actions in the event of a depression.
Hang on to cash
If credit is hard to get, you are going have to fund expansions internally. The Stock market may not fund you, and lenders are nervous. Be prepared by watching spending and cutting overheads.
Know what makes you profit
Most people know volume of sales, but few allocate expenses fairly to each product line. It is easy to spread personnel, advertising, and overheads over all sales. It makes more sense to know which products or services cost more and what they make. Allocate almost all personnel to product lines, allocate inspectors and freight to materials, and then spread the remaining unallocated personnel and expenses over all labor and material expenses. This will show where you actually spend your resources, and how much each product or service costs. Then figure out your profit margin.
Re-price products to make a profit
Sales have to make money. Even advertising loss leaders have to increase sales to be worth doing. So evaluate which products or services create value, compare to competitors, and don’t just be the low cost provider. Less sales may make more sense for some products and services. Especially if you are losing money per sale. Price accordingly.
Kill weak products or product lines
Redesign or rationalize product lines. Let good products eat weaker products. You want products to go after competitor sales (or increase your profits), but not just because we always sold that. Can you buy someone else’s cheaper?
Design better products
Design is often the deciding factor in sales. Good design has value in attractiveness and functionality. Don’t blame the sales team for a poor product or service. Create better, faster and new services. Make products have more value. Create new looks and new markets. Growth is finding opportunities. Make sure you design to win.
Sell more to existing customers
Offer additional services and products to your existing customers. Your customers are valuable. Don’t lose them to competitors, but make yourself their partner by adding value to them a discounter can not match. Sit down and find out where their pain is. Look where you can grow servicing your best customers. Bring ideas and contacts that will grow their business. They will remember.
Find new customers
Don’t quit marketing or advertising. Find competitors to your existing customers. Especially find the young growing business that may become prime customers.
Export
The US dollar is falling in value, so find new customers in other countries. China, India, Dubai and Asia are growing in wealth so are great markets to open. Europe is now cheaper to sell to. Take advantage of your value by finding representative in these markets.
Make advertising show results
Get their attention. State your benefits clearly and believably. Get feedback. Motivate your customers to do something. Make sure your advertising is in line with your strategy.
Hire people who will contribute to bottom line
Keep your winners and make them partners. Always look for designers, engineers, sales, and leaders to make your business grow. The advantage of a recession is less competition hiring the best people.
Review your strategy
Does your current strategic plan match the changing economy? Be realistic, be opportunistic, and believe you can succeed. Others will just try to shrink their business and may hurt themselves. You can actually grow market share by being aggressive in going after business by creating value.
A recession is really just normal business. Just be focused on what needs to be done like normal, and do the hard work that gets missed when you are growing fast. Your people will overcome a recession if lead to face the problem. It is up to you to lead.
November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving Thoughts
Have been researching what to do about when business enters the recession cycle. Taking a longer than anticipated to consolidate the research into a useful article for you.
Today’s blog is about being grateful. There is so much we have to be grateful for. The country we live in, the people in our lives, and our businesses.
Be grateful for the customers and clients you already have. Be grateful for the work you do, the skills you have learned, and the benefits of working. You work with good people, benefit society, get self esteem from your business, get new challenges to stretch yourself, and your income pays for your family and life.
We waste a lot of our life on the annoyances. We focus on this has to be done, traffic was bad, this machine is broken, we have to meet on this product, the quality is bad, or other daily problems. Have you ever noticed 90 percent of business gets done without any supervision or special effort? Be grateful!
Our lives are getting better by new services and better products. Cars today are much better and safer than just 20 years ago and they continually improve. Homes use less energy. The internet is a group of great tools. Cell phones, VOIP, instant messages and email give us more freedom to travel and stay in touch. Clothes and furniture cost less. Be grateful for how much easier it is.
So enjoy your weekend, and think how much we have to be grateful for.
Today’s blog is about being grateful. There is so much we have to be grateful for. The country we live in, the people in our lives, and our businesses.
Be grateful for the customers and clients you already have. Be grateful for the work you do, the skills you have learned, and the benefits of working. You work with good people, benefit society, get self esteem from your business, get new challenges to stretch yourself, and your income pays for your family and life.
We waste a lot of our life on the annoyances. We focus on this has to be done, traffic was bad, this machine is broken, we have to meet on this product, the quality is bad, or other daily problems. Have you ever noticed 90 percent of business gets done without any supervision or special effort? Be grateful!
Our lives are getting better by new services and better products. Cars today are much better and safer than just 20 years ago and they continually improve. Homes use less energy. The internet is a group of great tools. Cell phones, VOIP, instant messages and email give us more freedom to travel and stay in touch. Clothes and furniture cost less. Be grateful for how much easier it is.
So enjoy your weekend, and think how much we have to be grateful for.
October 24, 2007
Self Insuring Your Home or Neighborhood
Tonight I get to unpack the car and put the important papers back in my unit. The wind has died down and I am far enough away to be safe from my local Orange County CA fire. My apartment would have likely survived because of location and construction. We do not back up to a canyon nor have woods surrounding us. But the closeness of the disaster and my cousin evacuating in San Diego has me thinking about protecting your home or business. In the western US, we have fires every year ore so.
Your home or business is a big investment. Firemen can get overwhelmed during a big fire. They can’t be everywhere. You don’t want to be one of those heroic people trying to save their property against a 50 foot wall of flames with a garden. Your life is not worth the risk. Evacuate when you are told to!
It would be great buy the right house or pick the right business building. Get a fire proof roof if possible. Tile and metal roofs are best choices. If you have a shake roof, replace it! You can get modern tiles that look like a shake roof.
You want the walls to be Stucco, Cement or Brick. These materials will resist burning best, and should be good long term investments.
View homes have wonderful appeal, and living trees are great shade for summer comfort. I want a home like this too, but fires love to climb hills and travel through treetops. Location will affect your risk.
Most homes burn from the fire getting into the attic. The fire licks the side of the house, and the embers find their way through the vents or eves. Make sure you clear brush, woodpiles, and other fuel away from the house. At least 30 to 100 feet are recommended.
Some experts recommend sealing under the overhangs. I am not sure how to let air circulate and block the embers, but this is worth investigating. Would love to hear from someone how.
Have or install a sprinkler system. Make sure the attic is covered. Water will keep the fire from expanding although I would expect some water damage.
Above is wonderful advice if you are choosing a place, but what if you already own property? So what else can you do? Invest in a fireproof foam system. The fire is nearby and you have to start packing your important papers. Close the windows and doors. Park the car in the driveway with the engine running, get out your hose and ladder and start spraying under the eves, over the walls and windows. Spray trees too close to the house, the tank on the barbecue, and any car or truck to be left behind. Leave the sprayer tool soaking in a bucket of water. Then leave as soon as you can or you are told to.
The firemen will not have to risk their lives to save you home. If the fire comes too fast, your place is still safe.
Find out more by going to the following websites:
Barricade Gel www.barricadegel.com
No Char www.nochar.com
Thermo Gel www.thermogel.com
There is some downside to these products. Your outside walls will probably discolor and the foams can remove oxidized paint. So you may wind up repainting. If the fire isn’t right there, you have to water them to keep them moist and effective. The foams are very slippery, so you have a good chance to fall while applying the foam.
Kits start around $300 and neighborhood associations can protect ten to twelve houses for $2,000 to $3,000. The chemical does age and have to be replaced.
Note: I have no financial interest, nor am receiving no reimbursement for writing this. Just want you to be aware foams are available. I heard about Barricade Gel in Florida a few years ago when visiting family in the Daytona Beach area.
Consider investing in foam to insure yourself. Who wants to lose all those memories inside?
Your home or business is a big investment. Firemen can get overwhelmed during a big fire. They can’t be everywhere. You don’t want to be one of those heroic people trying to save their property against a 50 foot wall of flames with a garden. Your life is not worth the risk. Evacuate when you are told to!
It would be great buy the right house or pick the right business building. Get a fire proof roof if possible. Tile and metal roofs are best choices. If you have a shake roof, replace it! You can get modern tiles that look like a shake roof.
You want the walls to be Stucco, Cement or Brick. These materials will resist burning best, and should be good long term investments.
View homes have wonderful appeal, and living trees are great shade for summer comfort. I want a home like this too, but fires love to climb hills and travel through treetops. Location will affect your risk.
Most homes burn from the fire getting into the attic. The fire licks the side of the house, and the embers find their way through the vents or eves. Make sure you clear brush, woodpiles, and other fuel away from the house. At least 30 to 100 feet are recommended.
Some experts recommend sealing under the overhangs. I am not sure how to let air circulate and block the embers, but this is worth investigating. Would love to hear from someone how.
Have or install a sprinkler system. Make sure the attic is covered. Water will keep the fire from expanding although I would expect some water damage.
Above is wonderful advice if you are choosing a place, but what if you already own property? So what else can you do? Invest in a fireproof foam system. The fire is nearby and you have to start packing your important papers. Close the windows and doors. Park the car in the driveway with the engine running, get out your hose and ladder and start spraying under the eves, over the walls and windows. Spray trees too close to the house, the tank on the barbecue, and any car or truck to be left behind. Leave the sprayer tool soaking in a bucket of water. Then leave as soon as you can or you are told to.
The firemen will not have to risk their lives to save you home. If the fire comes too fast, your place is still safe.
Find out more by going to the following websites:
Barricade Gel www.barricadegel.com
No Char www.nochar.com
Thermo Gel www.thermogel.com
There is some downside to these products. Your outside walls will probably discolor and the foams can remove oxidized paint. So you may wind up repainting. If the fire isn’t right there, you have to water them to keep them moist and effective. The foams are very slippery, so you have a good chance to fall while applying the foam.
Kits start around $300 and neighborhood associations can protect ten to twelve houses for $2,000 to $3,000. The chemical does age and have to be replaced.
Note: I have no financial interest, nor am receiving no reimbursement for writing this. Just want you to be aware foams are available. I heard about Barricade Gel in Florida a few years ago when visiting family in the Daytona Beach area.
Consider investing in foam to insure yourself. Who wants to lose all those memories inside?
October 16, 2007
Real Strategy Versus Planning
Too many companies do their year end planning and call it strategy. Often the discussion at these meeting is simply how to incrementally improve the business. Everyone predicts they will sell slightly more product this year. It is a good business practice to have long term resource plans, but that is not strategic business development.
Real strategy is focusing your business. Strategy is finding potential opportunities, and enabling your resources to produce and sell new products, and services to grow.
Continuing operations have to be profitable and products updated. Equally important is to discontinue or outsource products and services no longer key to your success. The important idea is to concentrate your resources where the profits are. Work less and make more.
The best opportunities are market disrupters. All innovation flows from the unexpected combination of two or more things. You need to spot and exploited a change whose time has come. Not necessarily being the first mover, but be the first to get it right.
Steve Jobs says, “I am going to wait for the next big thing." Then he develops a position to take advantage of the opportunity. Look at the iPod. Lots of people in and out of the industry knew about music downloading, and people knew that MP3 players were coming along. The music companies and the music retailers had asset positions that were being threatened, and didn’t want to act. It was not a fantastic leap of imagination into the far future. He found a set of ideas that needed to be quickly and decisively acted upon.
A value denial is a business opportunity. Every change and innovation creates new value denials. These are products or services that are both desired and feasible but are not being supplied to the market.
What makes a business unit healthy? Operating efficiently and having a good strategy. A good strategy, in turn, is one that is responsive to change and that builds, builds upon, and stretches the resources that yield competitive advantage. Be focused on going after changes.
How do you actually plan strategy? For that, you need a small group of smart people. Strategic insight is essentially the solution to a puzzle. Puzzles are solved by individuals or tight-knit teams. With big groups and complex processes you can select the better solution to the puzzle, and you can get consensus and buy-in and even commitment. But that comes later.
Start with a SWOT analysis. It is time to look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Basically as a group evaluate your business internally and externally. Where do you have advantages, and where do you have to improve? What opportunities are there and what weaknesses do you have?
Write three coherent paragraphs about what is changing in your industry and why. Having to link your thoughts, giving reasons and qualifications, makes you a more careful thinker and a better communicator. No bullet points.
Other questions to ask include: Where are the profits too low? Are the margins low? Can we increase margin with a new design? Can we partner with a competitor? Does someone else do it better? Can we minimize expenses on mature products? Do we just raise prices and give up market share? Do not underestimate the inertia of buyers. Can we sell part of the business without damaging the whole unit? How will the customers react?
Speculative judgments are the essence of strategic thinking, and they can be the starting points for taking a position. Strategic thinking is essentially a substitute for having clear connections between the positions we take and their economic outcomes. You have to determine where to invest in projects with a goal.
Companies create competencies by making bets, and putting the right resources in place to develop those competencies. Companies get good at something by doing it, and that give you a sustainable advantage.
You job is to figure where your resources are best spent. The most important job of any manager is to break down a situation into challenges that subordinates can handle. Absorbs a lot of the ambiguity in the situation and gives less ambiguous problems to others. That is the heart of strategy.
This article is based on the research and studies of Richard Rumelt.
Real strategy is focusing your business. Strategy is finding potential opportunities, and enabling your resources to produce and sell new products, and services to grow.
Continuing operations have to be profitable and products updated. Equally important is to discontinue or outsource products and services no longer key to your success. The important idea is to concentrate your resources where the profits are. Work less and make more.
The best opportunities are market disrupters. All innovation flows from the unexpected combination of two or more things. You need to spot and exploited a change whose time has come. Not necessarily being the first mover, but be the first to get it right.
Steve Jobs says, “I am going to wait for the next big thing." Then he develops a position to take advantage of the opportunity. Look at the iPod. Lots of people in and out of the industry knew about music downloading, and people knew that MP3 players were coming along. The music companies and the music retailers had asset positions that were being threatened, and didn’t want to act. It was not a fantastic leap of imagination into the far future. He found a set of ideas that needed to be quickly and decisively acted upon.
A value denial is a business opportunity. Every change and innovation creates new value denials. These are products or services that are both desired and feasible but are not being supplied to the market.
What makes a business unit healthy? Operating efficiently and having a good strategy. A good strategy, in turn, is one that is responsive to change and that builds, builds upon, and stretches the resources that yield competitive advantage. Be focused on going after changes.
How do you actually plan strategy? For that, you need a small group of smart people. Strategic insight is essentially the solution to a puzzle. Puzzles are solved by individuals or tight-knit teams. With big groups and complex processes you can select the better solution to the puzzle, and you can get consensus and buy-in and even commitment. But that comes later.
Start with a SWOT analysis. It is time to look at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Basically as a group evaluate your business internally and externally. Where do you have advantages, and where do you have to improve? What opportunities are there and what weaknesses do you have?
Write three coherent paragraphs about what is changing in your industry and why. Having to link your thoughts, giving reasons and qualifications, makes you a more careful thinker and a better communicator. No bullet points.
Other questions to ask include: Where are the profits too low? Are the margins low? Can we increase margin with a new design? Can we partner with a competitor? Does someone else do it better? Can we minimize expenses on mature products? Do we just raise prices and give up market share? Do not underestimate the inertia of buyers. Can we sell part of the business without damaging the whole unit? How will the customers react?
Speculative judgments are the essence of strategic thinking, and they can be the starting points for taking a position. Strategic thinking is essentially a substitute for having clear connections between the positions we take and their economic outcomes. You have to determine where to invest in projects with a goal.
Companies create competencies by making bets, and putting the right resources in place to develop those competencies. Companies get good at something by doing it, and that give you a sustainable advantage.
You job is to figure where your resources are best spent. The most important job of any manager is to break down a situation into challenges that subordinates can handle. Absorbs a lot of the ambiguity in the situation and gives less ambiguous problems to others. That is the heart of strategy.
This article is based on the research and studies of Richard Rumelt.
October 5, 2007
Miserable at Work
You spend massive time at work, work gives you status, your income comes from your work, the income supports your family, and most of your problems come from work.
You work with demanding customers, coworkers of all cultures, political persuasions, religions, strange foods, irritating manners, and all types bosses that range from smooth salesmen to irrational dictators.
Most people do not get fired from jobs for incompetence. They wear out their welcome. Poor attendance, regularly coming in late, leaving early or at the minute, maintaining the welcoming attitude of an ogre or at least the neighborhood grouch, and eventually being left out of the daily give and take. Job performance of course follows this attitude with missed deadlines, sloppy work, and others beginning to take over your workload.
How We Get Miserable
First of all, remember when you got the job? You wanted it, begged for it and said “Pick me, Pick me! I will do a good job.” Think how thrilled you were to get your job? Were you ecstatic? Proud? You told everyone about your new job and company.
Gradually thing are not as new and fresh. There are problems. Grumpy coworkers, complaining customers, poor suppliers, and a ton of attitude. After a while, you’re now complaining about the alarm, the commute, the grind, the workload, his mess, her perfume, the weather (even though you work inside), the politics, the decisions, the demanding customers and the boss. What don’t you complain about?
Now you are in the rut that leads to getting passed over for new assignments, raises and promotions. The downward spiral gets worse when others are getting ahead and you stay right where you are. Be honest, are you thrilled with your performance.
You can be Happy at Work
Look for where you can make a difference. How are the customers happier? How are sales increasing? What you accomplished?
Fall in love with your profession again. Read business journals, magazines, and websites. Compare your products and services with competitors and see where you can improve. The difference between top performers and the average is top performers often give 1% more. Brian Tracy points out the difference is less than you would think. Persistence, service and a little extra often make all the difference.
Mentor coworkers, especially newer employees. They will appreciate the help and you will not believe how much you learn teaching.
Create business relationships. Let other people be right. Respect their contribution and ignore their unimportant shortcomings. Who is perfect? Learn about your coworkers and find out what you can respect about them. The biggest donor to charities at a small plant I worked with was a third shift machine operator who had adopted four kids. Would have never know him if I did not volunteer to help a charity drive. Take pride in where you work, and who you work with.
Have a little humor when things don’t go right. Humor often makes the daily trials livable. Laugh at yourself. In this politically correct world, you can always make fun of you, and others will love you for it.
You will be surprised in a few months how much more fun and productive work is with the right attitude. So go and enjoy work, and start looking forward to Mondays.
Wolfgang Christoph, Brian Tracy and Dr. Roberta Shaler deserve credit for the ideas presented in this article.
You work with demanding customers, coworkers of all cultures, political persuasions, religions, strange foods, irritating manners, and all types bosses that range from smooth salesmen to irrational dictators.
Most people do not get fired from jobs for incompetence. They wear out their welcome. Poor attendance, regularly coming in late, leaving early or at the minute, maintaining the welcoming attitude of an ogre or at least the neighborhood grouch, and eventually being left out of the daily give and take. Job performance of course follows this attitude with missed deadlines, sloppy work, and others beginning to take over your workload.
How We Get Miserable
First of all, remember when you got the job? You wanted it, begged for it and said “Pick me, Pick me! I will do a good job.” Think how thrilled you were to get your job? Were you ecstatic? Proud? You told everyone about your new job and company.
Gradually thing are not as new and fresh. There are problems. Grumpy coworkers, complaining customers, poor suppliers, and a ton of attitude. After a while, you’re now complaining about the alarm, the commute, the grind, the workload, his mess, her perfume, the weather (even though you work inside), the politics, the decisions, the demanding customers and the boss. What don’t you complain about?
Now you are in the rut that leads to getting passed over for new assignments, raises and promotions. The downward spiral gets worse when others are getting ahead and you stay right where you are. Be honest, are you thrilled with your performance.
You can be Happy at Work
Look for where you can make a difference. How are the customers happier? How are sales increasing? What you accomplished?
Fall in love with your profession again. Read business journals, magazines, and websites. Compare your products and services with competitors and see where you can improve. The difference between top performers and the average is top performers often give 1% more. Brian Tracy points out the difference is less than you would think. Persistence, service and a little extra often make all the difference.
Mentor coworkers, especially newer employees. They will appreciate the help and you will not believe how much you learn teaching.
Create business relationships. Let other people be right. Respect their contribution and ignore their unimportant shortcomings. Who is perfect? Learn about your coworkers and find out what you can respect about them. The biggest donor to charities at a small plant I worked with was a third shift machine operator who had adopted four kids. Would have never know him if I did not volunteer to help a charity drive. Take pride in where you work, and who you work with.
Have a little humor when things don’t go right. Humor often makes the daily trials livable. Laugh at yourself. In this politically correct world, you can always make fun of you, and others will love you for it.
You will be surprised in a few months how much more fun and productive work is with the right attitude. So go and enjoy work, and start looking forward to Mondays.
Wolfgang Christoph, Brian Tracy and Dr. Roberta Shaler deserve credit for the ideas presented in this article.
September 27, 2007
Productivity Office Tools
Productivity Office Tools you can use to get more done.
We all need to be more productive. Experience and focus get your projects done. Speed up by using good business tools to produce effectively. Below are some of my favorite computer and business tools to save you time.
Cardscan – Why type contact information when you can just scan it in with over 95 percent accuracy? I have over 1,500 contacts and could not maintain this data base without this software and scanner. Customer service is great, and the best thing is the Accucard service which is included. All your contacts are backed up on a secure website, and they are contacted every 6 months to
Laptop / Dell – Why not work other places than your desk? Portability is wonderful. Yes, it cost more. Yes it is riskier because you can drop it. It is worth it. I buy refurbished Dell’s to save money. Laptops are also more likely to have problems, so buy the service program where they come to my office if needed. You can buy HP and other brands with good service from Circuit City, and Circuit City covers battery replacement which is costly.
MemoryTen – Add more RAM to your PC. All these new software, the internet, required anti-virus, and anti-spyware programs use slow down machines that are a couple years old or more. RAM really speeds up your programs, internet surfing, and life and is the best dollar to dollar investment. Have upgraded 4 machines myself, two desktops and two laptops. It is an amazing simple do it yourself project for most people. Go to MemoryTen http://www.memoryx.net/ and find out exactly what you need.
Flash drives – Take your in process work with you in your pocket. Very fast transfers between other computers. Back up your work in process when traveling. 1 gigabyte is around $8 – 12 and falling. Only burn disks to send to clients.
Gmail – Google email is accessible anywhere you have an internet connection. Best spam filter out there, go through the spam folder and teach it who your friends and newsletters are. Higher security maintained with no personal effort. I download my gmail to Outlook for convenience, and keep a back up copy on Google’s server. Was able to recover all my messages quickly after a hard drive crash. Used with Cardscan to get my contacts back was able to recover quickly.
Carbonite / External Hard Drives – Been through 4 hard drive failures and upgrades over the years. You can’t afford to lose your data. Carbonite backs up your computer to their servers. Your data is safe in case of theft, fire and hard drive failure. Works when computer is idle so it does not slow you down. Also have a local backup like a external hard drive. Why? Because if something happens it will take hours to download data from a server. You can plug in an external hard drive in another computer and get back to work quicker. Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, Iomega and Simple Tech are reputable companies. (Note to Seagate marketing, put your name on the product so I what I have)
Blogger.com – How I bring you this blog. I write in Word and post here. My spelling is too poor to type here. Overall very simple to use so you just write.
PDA is old school, but I find not having to pull out the laptop or find another computer is priceless. Cell phones are taking over this function and it is a good marriage. Neither will ever totally replace my favorite business organizer, a Steno pad.
Steno Pads – simple notepads eliminates loose post-its, scrap paper, envelops picking up phone numbers, addresses, ideas, and plans. It is easy to chronologically find what you have not transferred into your electronics. Consider Sir Richard Branson manages 150 – 250 companies at a time with large pads of papers. He does not use computers, but plans marketing and projects. Also like 8 x 10 inch 70 page spiral notepads for a larger size pad.
Skype / Google Talk – If you make lots of calls or travel overseas, Skype is a great way to stay in touch. Google Talk looks like it is easier and simpler to use, but have not tested it yet. Still trying to get my father to install Skype, maybe we can figure out Google Talk easier.
PCWorld.com – Where to get technical advice? PC World is usually on the cutting edge. Great reviews and software downloads. CNet, and Forbes are good places to find out what is practical to use.
Ebay / Buy It Now –I like shopping for bargains, but if you want to know what something costs at a discount this is a great place to start. Then shop Yahoo, Google, Buy.com and other places for better deals online. But Ebay often has great deals on software. Just make sure the software is able to be registered legally.
I promised good tools. Now it is up to you to take action and get what you need. I recommend once a week maintaining your systems (computer and otherwise). Install one of these suggestions a week until you have incorporated what you want into your life.
We all need to be more productive. Experience and focus get your projects done. Speed up by using good business tools to produce effectively. Below are some of my favorite computer and business tools to save you time.
Cardscan – Why type contact information when you can just scan it in with over 95 percent accuracy? I have over 1,500 contacts and could not maintain this data base without this software and scanner. Customer service is great, and the best thing is the Accucard service which is included. All your contacts are backed up on a secure website, and they are contacted every 6 months to
Laptop / Dell – Why not work other places than your desk? Portability is wonderful. Yes, it cost more. Yes it is riskier because you can drop it. It is worth it. I buy refurbished Dell’s to save money. Laptops are also more likely to have problems, so buy the service program where they come to my office if needed. You can buy HP and other brands with good service from Circuit City, and Circuit City covers battery replacement which is costly.
MemoryTen – Add more RAM to your PC. All these new software, the internet, required anti-virus, and anti-spyware programs use slow down machines that are a couple years old or more. RAM really speeds up your programs, internet surfing, and life and is the best dollar to dollar investment. Have upgraded 4 machines myself, two desktops and two laptops. It is an amazing simple do it yourself project for most people. Go to MemoryTen http://www.memoryx.net/ and find out exactly what you need.
Flash drives – Take your in process work with you in your pocket. Very fast transfers between other computers. Back up your work in process when traveling. 1 gigabyte is around $8 – 12 and falling. Only burn disks to send to clients.
Gmail – Google email is accessible anywhere you have an internet connection. Best spam filter out there, go through the spam folder and teach it who your friends and newsletters are. Higher security maintained with no personal effort. I download my gmail to Outlook for convenience, and keep a back up copy on Google’s server. Was able to recover all my messages quickly after a hard drive crash. Used with Cardscan to get my contacts back was able to recover quickly.
Carbonite / External Hard Drives – Been through 4 hard drive failures and upgrades over the years. You can’t afford to lose your data. Carbonite backs up your computer to their servers. Your data is safe in case of theft, fire and hard drive failure. Works when computer is idle so it does not slow you down. Also have a local backup like a external hard drive. Why? Because if something happens it will take hours to download data from a server. You can plug in an external hard drive in another computer and get back to work quicker. Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, Iomega and Simple Tech are reputable companies. (Note to Seagate marketing, put your name on the product so I what I have)
Blogger.com – How I bring you this blog. I write in Word and post here. My spelling is too poor to type here. Overall very simple to use so you just write.
PDA is old school, but I find not having to pull out the laptop or find another computer is priceless. Cell phones are taking over this function and it is a good marriage. Neither will ever totally replace my favorite business organizer, a Steno pad.
Steno Pads – simple notepads eliminates loose post-its, scrap paper, envelops picking up phone numbers, addresses, ideas, and plans. It is easy to chronologically find what you have not transferred into your electronics. Consider Sir Richard Branson manages 150 – 250 companies at a time with large pads of papers. He does not use computers, but plans marketing and projects. Also like 8 x 10 inch 70 page spiral notepads for a larger size pad.
Skype / Google Talk – If you make lots of calls or travel overseas, Skype is a great way to stay in touch. Google Talk looks like it is easier and simpler to use, but have not tested it yet. Still trying to get my father to install Skype, maybe we can figure out Google Talk easier.
PCWorld.com – Where to get technical advice? PC World is usually on the cutting edge. Great reviews and software downloads. CNet, and Forbes are good places to find out what is practical to use.
Ebay / Buy It Now –I like shopping for bargains, but if you want to know what something costs at a discount this is a great place to start. Then shop Yahoo, Google, Buy.com and other places for better deals online. But Ebay often has great deals on software. Just make sure the software is able to be registered legally.
I promised good tools. Now it is up to you to take action and get what you need. I recommend once a week maintaining your systems (computer and otherwise). Install one of these suggestions a week until you have incorporated what you want into your life.
September 11, 2007
September 11th and Everyday
We remember those who died in the attacks on New York and Washington. They were victims of attacks on the United States by evil people who wish to destroy us. Al Qaeda started World War III by attacking any western nation they can.
The World Trade Center was targeted (twice by the way) because they thought if you destroy a Wall Street finance center, you will destroy or damage the American Economy. America would be too weak to respond.
The Pentagon was also targeted because it is the headquarters of US military, and they wanted to slow our response. They feared the military, but think of us as a weak enemy. Based on our response to military losses in Somalia, they think we would quit after the loss of a few soldiers. Take out our headquarters, and no one would stop them.
The reality is the leaders of Al Qaeda are older, educated and dedicated to destroying anyone in the way of their vision of an Islam led world. Al Qaeda is targeting Christians, Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist and other Muslims who do not believe their distorted interpretation of the Korean. They kill randomly with bombings, mass attacks, and wipe out innocent families for their convenience and security. Parts of Iraq has woken up due to the number of Iraqi’s who have been victims of Al Qaeda murders, and areas of Iraq are coming to us for help ridding themselves of this evil.
Remember 9/11. Remember Pearl Harbor. Remember the Maine. Remember the Alamo. One if by Land, and Two if by Sea. History has taught us winning wars takes persistence, sacrifice and dedication. We have been in Bosnia over 15 years to insure peace. In Korea 54 years. In Germany and Japan for over 60 years. Al Qaeda wants to take over every country possible. The world needs to step up and help contain this enemy of religious freedom with us.
The best strategy for this ongoing World War is to enlarge our military now, to prepare for the long battles remaining, and to remain determined to win over evil. That is how we will succeed remaining free.
The World Trade Center was targeted (twice by the way) because they thought if you destroy a Wall Street finance center, you will destroy or damage the American Economy. America would be too weak to respond.
The Pentagon was also targeted because it is the headquarters of US military, and they wanted to slow our response. They feared the military, but think of us as a weak enemy. Based on our response to military losses in Somalia, they think we would quit after the loss of a few soldiers. Take out our headquarters, and no one would stop them.
The reality is the leaders of Al Qaeda are older, educated and dedicated to destroying anyone in the way of their vision of an Islam led world. Al Qaeda is targeting Christians, Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Buddhist and other Muslims who do not believe their distorted interpretation of the Korean. They kill randomly with bombings, mass attacks, and wipe out innocent families for their convenience and security. Parts of Iraq has woken up due to the number of Iraqi’s who have been victims of Al Qaeda murders, and areas of Iraq are coming to us for help ridding themselves of this evil.
Remember 9/11. Remember Pearl Harbor. Remember the Maine. Remember the Alamo. One if by Land, and Two if by Sea. History has taught us winning wars takes persistence, sacrifice and dedication. We have been in Bosnia over 15 years to insure peace. In Korea 54 years. In Germany and Japan for over 60 years. Al Qaeda wants to take over every country possible. The world needs to step up and help contain this enemy of religious freedom with us.
The best strategy for this ongoing World War is to enlarge our military now, to prepare for the long battles remaining, and to remain determined to win over evil. That is how we will succeed remaining free.
September 3, 2007
Ways to Have a Better Life
It is hard to separate work and life, and you are better off with an integrated life. The suggestions here will help you live and work at a higher level. The benefits of these ideas may be immediate from trying them. Others will have long term rewards.
Talk about what is good – Focus on the great to the nice parts of life to have better perspective when difficult times come.
Look for the good in people – Yes we all have flaws, but you will enjoy people more when you see their strengths and heart.
Talk with friends and family – Be with people who love you regardless of the stupid mistakes you will make. And love them unconditionally.
Hang around with positive people – Why not find people who enjoy life if you want to live life fully?
Work hard and work smart – Action is the tool that makes things happen. But we all have the same 24 hours a day. The people who get things done, do things in common. They think, visualize what they want, plan what to do in small steps, and then take action by priority. They do not do it all themselves, but build a team and delegate to be productive. They continually learn, and improve by reading, listening to seminars and making mistakes.
Volunteer and serve others – Our purpose in life is to help others, not to take from the world selfishly. “It is not about you!” [Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life]
Work with your gifts – We are all naturally good at some things. There are things you care about more than other people. Why not use what is easy for you (and not the rest of us) to make your living? A passionate employee or leader will accomplish much more in their life.
Let little things go – There are plenty of little things that you will not care about in about 2 seconds, 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months nor 2 years. If you will laugh at this later, why not laugh now?
Stop thinking depressing thoughts – Do a “Brain Interrupt”! After 10 to 15 minutes, I catch myself, and say time to stop. Whatever it is, it will not be the end of the world. Tomorrow will come in spite of everything. Most events resolve themselves in a few days or weeks. This is easier if you are religious and can give it to God.
Laugh daily – Especially if you can laugh at yourself. You will always be entertained.
Journal your life –Write down the good and the less than perfect. See what you learn from the day, and really enjoy the successes. Lessons from mistakes are better learned without beating yourself up. Write a little down, let it go, and get on with your life.
Limit the news – Too much negativity and sensationalism will affect your attitude. In the 24 hour cable news world, “everything” is a crisis Now! To be honest, most events are not the end of the world. Keep your perspective.
Limit your vices / Moderation in everything – Too many people mess up there life with drink, drugs or sex. You want to be the person who can have fun sober, and the dependable person worth someone spending their life with you. Be moderate in moderation. A rare excess of exercise, food, drink or fun is wonderful.
Choose to Enjoy life – Life still has hard days, but then you can find joy everyday if you choose. Try it.
Talk about what is good – Focus on the great to the nice parts of life to have better perspective when difficult times come.
Look for the good in people – Yes we all have flaws, but you will enjoy people more when you see their strengths and heart.
Talk with friends and family – Be with people who love you regardless of the stupid mistakes you will make. And love them unconditionally.
Hang around with positive people – Why not find people who enjoy life if you want to live life fully?
Work hard and work smart – Action is the tool that makes things happen. But we all have the same 24 hours a day. The people who get things done, do things in common. They think, visualize what they want, plan what to do in small steps, and then take action by priority. They do not do it all themselves, but build a team and delegate to be productive. They continually learn, and improve by reading, listening to seminars and making mistakes.
Volunteer and serve others – Our purpose in life is to help others, not to take from the world selfishly. “It is not about you!” [Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life]
Work with your gifts – We are all naturally good at some things. There are things you care about more than other people. Why not use what is easy for you (and not the rest of us) to make your living? A passionate employee or leader will accomplish much more in their life.
Let little things go – There are plenty of little things that you will not care about in about 2 seconds, 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months nor 2 years. If you will laugh at this later, why not laugh now?
Stop thinking depressing thoughts – Do a “Brain Interrupt”! After 10 to 15 minutes, I catch myself, and say time to stop. Whatever it is, it will not be the end of the world. Tomorrow will come in spite of everything. Most events resolve themselves in a few days or weeks. This is easier if you are religious and can give it to God.
Laugh daily – Especially if you can laugh at yourself. You will always be entertained.
Journal your life –Write down the good and the less than perfect. See what you learn from the day, and really enjoy the successes. Lessons from mistakes are better learned without beating yourself up. Write a little down, let it go, and get on with your life.
Limit the news – Too much negativity and sensationalism will affect your attitude. In the 24 hour cable news world, “everything” is a crisis Now! To be honest, most events are not the end of the world. Keep your perspective.
Limit your vices / Moderation in everything – Too many people mess up there life with drink, drugs or sex. You want to be the person who can have fun sober, and the dependable person worth someone spending their life with you. Be moderate in moderation. A rare excess of exercise, food, drink or fun is wonderful.
Choose to Enjoy life – Life still has hard days, but then you can find joy everyday if you choose. Try it.
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