Friday, November 12, 2010
thought for the day
“We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free” Ronald Reagan
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
thought for the day
"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual -- or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country." --Samuel Adams (thanks June)
Friday, October 22, 2010
thought for the day
The rich invest their money and spend what's left; the poor spend their money and invest what's left. --- Jim Rohn
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Buy American
From the Associated Press:
TOKYO – Toyota is recalling 1.53 million Lexus, Avalon and other models, mostly in the U.S. and Japan, for brake fluid and fuel pump problems, the latest in a string of quality problems for the world's No. 1 automaker.
Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will call back for repairs about 740,000 cars in the U.S. and 599,000 in Japan. The remainder are in Europe and other markets around the world.
Over the past year, Toyota has recalled more than 10 million cars and trucks worldwide for a variety of problems, from faulty gas pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerators, to braking problems in its Prius hybrid. In August, Toyota called back 1.33 million Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada because their engines may stall.
The majority of vehicles this time around need to be fixed for a problem with the brake master cylinder, which could lead to weaker braking power, said spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo
TOKYO – Toyota is recalling 1.53 million Lexus, Avalon and other models, mostly in the U.S. and Japan, for brake fluid and fuel pump problems, the latest in a string of quality problems for the world's No. 1 automaker.
Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will call back for repairs about 740,000 cars in the U.S. and 599,000 in Japan. The remainder are in Europe and other markets around the world.
Over the past year, Toyota has recalled more than 10 million cars and trucks worldwide for a variety of problems, from faulty gas pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerators, to braking problems in its Prius hybrid. In August, Toyota called back 1.33 million Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada because their engines may stall.
The majority of vehicles this time around need to be fixed for a problem with the brake master cylinder, which could lead to weaker braking power, said spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
thought for the day
"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." - Theodore Roosevelt
Thursday, October 7, 2010
thought for the day
People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be. — Harvey MacKay, Author and Business Owner
Friday, October 1, 2010
thought for the day
"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress" Ronald Reagan
Thursday, September 2, 2010
thought for the day
The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread. - Steven Wright
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
thought for the day
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort" Herm Albright
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
thought for the day
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
thought for the day
"The thoughts of youth are bright lights that shine forth like the meteors that oft make brilliant the sky; but the wisdom of age is like the fixed stars that shine so unchanged that the sailor may depend upon then to steer his course." from The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
thought for the day
It's not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs ~ Valclav Havel
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
thought for the day
Never argue with an idiot; they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. ~ anonymous
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
thought for the day
Hold your loved ones close, tell them you love them, for if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today! ~ anonymous
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
thought for the day
It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach.--Benjamin E. Mays
Friday, June 18, 2010
thought for the day
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Jimmy Dean
Friday, June 11, 2010
Coach John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010)
Any follower of the ‘thought for the day’ will certainly know my admiration for Coach John Wooden. I have shared many of his quotes - most of which came from books he has written or books about him. I remember those wonderful basketball teams of the past. I remember the amazing success.
After I met Coach Wooden, I realized how he was so much more that a basketball coach. His life story unfolded to me in the many books by and about him that I have read since then.
Two of my favorites are linked here: Wooden favorite number one Wooden favorite number two
If there ever was anyone who should be emulated in this day and age, who should be a hero, it was Coach John Wooden.
RIP.
May your 2010 be a 10!
Tom
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He was a coach when coaching meant something else, long before the job became a pathway to riches and fame. A coach when student athletes were really students, and the thought of making millions of dollars rolling out basketballs in the gym seemed preposterous.
A coach when it meant more to mold the lives of young men than to proclaim his own greatness. A coach who offered a new life lesson to his charges almost every day.
"Learn as if you were going to live forever," he would tell his players. "Live as if you were going to die tomorrow."
John Wooden didn't live forever. His tomorrow finally came Friday, when he quietly passed away just months before his 100th birthday.
The end came, fittingly enough, on the same UCLA campus where he tutored a player then known as Lew Alcindor. The same place he seemingly couldn't lose with Bill Walton. The place where he dispensed wisdom that his players remembered long after they had forgotten the X's and O's.
"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player," he would say.
His players listened. How could they not when the man giving advice lived by the same code? He was born on a farm in Indiana without running water or electricity, and his values were as solid as the land his parents worked. He lived into a time he could never have imagined, but nothing changed.
The championships seemed to come as an annual rite of spring. There were 10 of them in all, an accomplishment so staggering that no other college coach will ever come close. The other statistics blurred together over time, but they won't be matched either.
Still, it wasn't the 88-game winning streak, the four 30-0 seasons or even the 38 straight NCAA tournament wins that defined the humble Midwesterner who ended up at UCLA almost by accident.
He had the best players. They came because of him, and they came in spite of him. Playing for Wooden, you see, was never easy. He was the boss, practices were brutal, and things were always done in his meticulous way. The players who bought in would one day become his lifetime friends. Those who didn't would never understand.
The first practice of every season began not with a midnight slam dunk contest, but a demonstration by Wooden on the proper way to put on shoes and socks. Wrinkles in the socks could lead to blisters, he explained, and blisters could lead to losing.
The fundamentals never went out of style, and Wooden never changed his approach. His players learned, and they grew. He taught them how to win, but he also taught them bigger things, like his belief that a life not lived for others is a life not lived well. He wouldn't accept less than their best effort both on and off the court, and that's
usually what he got.
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but what you should have accomplished with your ability," Wooden would warn them.
Walton was one of those with ability, and tons of it. The redhead was one of the greatest college players ever and the bedrock of the UCLA team in the early '70s that won the 88 straight.
Walton was also very much an individual in a time of individualism. One day, during a break in the season, he showed up at practice with a wild, red beard, ready to play for a coach who didn't allow facial hair.
"It's my right," he told Wooden.
"That's good, Bill," Wooden replied. "I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by them. We're going to miss you."
The beard, of course, went. And although Walton finally graduated and moved on, his friendship with his coach grew by the year.
It's been 35 years since Wooden watched his Bruins cut down the nets down one last time, then walked away while still at his peak. Yes, he was the "Wizard of Westwood" -- but he never made more than $32,500 and for years he mopped the floor himself before practice.
He never begrudged the coaches of today the millions they make, but making money wasn't why he got into coaching in the first place. He became a legend because of what his players did on the court, but to Wooden the victories were merely a byproduct of the life lessons that always came first.
Indeed, Wooden did what he preached, living his life for others. His style was authoritarian, but his players graduated and the messages sank in a lot more than they missed the mark. He encouraged them to take chances, urged them to be all they could be.
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything," he would tell them. "I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."
Wooden didn't make many. He lived an impeccable life, devoid of scandal, still so in love with his wife, Nell, in the years after she died that he would write her a letter each month just as he had done while she was alive.
As word got out about his final hospitalization, students who hadn't even been born the last time he worked a game rallied on the UCLA campus in tribute. Words of tribute, meanwhile, began flowing the moment his death was announced.
But the words that matter most are the ones his players still remember. The same words they've passed on to their children and their children's children.
"Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you," he told them.
As hard as it is to imagine, John Wooden is gone. His dreams, however, live on.
(The above article was written by Tim Dahlberg who is an Associated Press Sports Columnist dated June 5, 2010)
After I met Coach Wooden, I realized how he was so much more that a basketball coach. His life story unfolded to me in the many books by and about him that I have read since then.
Two of my favorites are linked here: Wooden favorite number one Wooden favorite number two
If there ever was anyone who should be emulated in this day and age, who should be a hero, it was Coach John Wooden.
RIP.
May your 2010 be a 10!
Tom
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He was a coach when coaching meant something else, long before the job became a pathway to riches and fame. A coach when student athletes were really students, and the thought of making millions of dollars rolling out basketballs in the gym seemed preposterous.
A coach when it meant more to mold the lives of young men than to proclaim his own greatness. A coach who offered a new life lesson to his charges almost every day.
"Learn as if you were going to live forever," he would tell his players. "Live as if you were going to die tomorrow."
John Wooden didn't live forever. His tomorrow finally came Friday, when he quietly passed away just months before his 100th birthday.
The end came, fittingly enough, on the same UCLA campus where he tutored a player then known as Lew Alcindor. The same place he seemingly couldn't lose with Bill Walton. The place where he dispensed wisdom that his players remembered long after they had forgotten the X's and O's.
"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player," he would say.
His players listened. How could they not when the man giving advice lived by the same code? He was born on a farm in Indiana without running water or electricity, and his values were as solid as the land his parents worked. He lived into a time he could never have imagined, but nothing changed.
The championships seemed to come as an annual rite of spring. There were 10 of them in all, an accomplishment so staggering that no other college coach will ever come close. The other statistics blurred together over time, but they won't be matched either.
Still, it wasn't the 88-game winning streak, the four 30-0 seasons or even the 38 straight NCAA tournament wins that defined the humble Midwesterner who ended up at UCLA almost by accident.
He had the best players. They came because of him, and they came in spite of him. Playing for Wooden, you see, was never easy. He was the boss, practices were brutal, and things were always done in his meticulous way. The players who bought in would one day become his lifetime friends. Those who didn't would never understand.
The first practice of every season began not with a midnight slam dunk contest, but a demonstration by Wooden on the proper way to put on shoes and socks. Wrinkles in the socks could lead to blisters, he explained, and blisters could lead to losing.
The fundamentals never went out of style, and Wooden never changed his approach. His players learned, and they grew. He taught them how to win, but he also taught them bigger things, like his belief that a life not lived for others is a life not lived well. He wouldn't accept less than their best effort both on and off the court, and that's
usually what he got.
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but what you should have accomplished with your ability," Wooden would warn them.
Walton was one of those with ability, and tons of it. The redhead was one of the greatest college players ever and the bedrock of the UCLA team in the early '70s that won the 88 straight.
Walton was also very much an individual in a time of individualism. One day, during a break in the season, he showed up at practice with a wild, red beard, ready to play for a coach who didn't allow facial hair.
"It's my right," he told Wooden.
"That's good, Bill," Wooden replied. "I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by them. We're going to miss you."
The beard, of course, went. And although Walton finally graduated and moved on, his friendship with his coach grew by the year.
It's been 35 years since Wooden watched his Bruins cut down the nets down one last time, then walked away while still at his peak. Yes, he was the "Wizard of Westwood" -- but he never made more than $32,500 and for years he mopped the floor himself before practice.
He never begrudged the coaches of today the millions they make, but making money wasn't why he got into coaching in the first place. He became a legend because of what his players did on the court, but to Wooden the victories were merely a byproduct of the life lessons that always came first.
Indeed, Wooden did what he preached, living his life for others. His style was authoritarian, but his players graduated and the messages sank in a lot more than they missed the mark. He encouraged them to take chances, urged them to be all they could be.
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything," he would tell them. "I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."
Wooden didn't make many. He lived an impeccable life, devoid of scandal, still so in love with his wife, Nell, in the years after she died that he would write her a letter each month just as he had done while she was alive.
As word got out about his final hospitalization, students who hadn't even been born the last time he worked a game rallied on the UCLA campus in tribute. Words of tribute, meanwhile, began flowing the moment his death was announced.
But the words that matter most are the ones his players still remember. The same words they've passed on to their children and their children's children.
"Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you," he told them.
As hard as it is to imagine, John Wooden is gone. His dreams, however, live on.
(The above article was written by Tim Dahlberg who is an Associated Press Sports Columnist dated June 5, 2010)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
thought for the day
Everyone chooses one of two roads in life - the old and the young, the rich and the poor, men and women alike. One is the broad, well-traveled road to mediocrity, the other the road to greatness and meaning. But the contrast between the two destinations is as the night is to the day. Which road will you choose? Steven R. Covey
Saturday, June 5, 2010
John Wooden
“I had a very clear request of those I taught: give me complete commitment and total effort. An individual who is willing to deliver those two powerful assets to your team is a prized player whether he’s seven foot two or two foot seven. Many times I reminded those I coached, ‘I don’t care how tall you are. I care how tall you play.’” John Wooden The Essential Wooden RIP
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Who is on the road with you and what are they doing?
Non-scientific(?) but accurate study of driving/cell phone habits.
May 26th. 6 PM Orange county. Feeder street to major 4 lane street.
100 drivers observed.
8 were talking on cell phones while holding them in their hands.
1 lady was putting on her eye liner.
So, as you are driving around remember that eight percent of the cars going by or around you are using their cell phones NOT hands-free (as required by law). And one percent are distracted by makeup application.
Also…….remember that 50 percent of all drivers have Two-Digit IQs.
Yeah, I am feeling safe out there!!!
May your 2010 be a 10! And safe!
May 26th. 6 PM Orange county. Feeder street to major 4 lane street.
100 drivers observed.
8 were talking on cell phones while holding them in their hands.
1 lady was putting on her eye liner.
So, as you are driving around remember that eight percent of the cars going by or around you are using their cell phones NOT hands-free (as required by law). And one percent are distracted by makeup application.
Also…….remember that 50 percent of all drivers have Two-Digit IQs.
Yeah, I am feeling safe out there!!!
May your 2010 be a 10! And safe!
Being Prepared for the Coming Tough Times
Being Prepared for the Coming Tough Times
Bob Uda, PhD (ABD)
For savings accounts, when the stock market crashes and depositors make a rush on the banks to withdraw all of their money, the bank will close/lock their doors, and the late folks will not get any of their money. The Obama government will confiscate all of their money. For social security, the forecast is that the Social Security funds will be depleted in seven years. Hence, there will be no more social security checks after the economic collapse. The following list is how to prepare financially other than debt.
Do any combination of the following:
• Get totally out of debt.
• Operate on a budget.
• Work and earn money to your dying day.
• Get a fireproof safe to keep all of your valuables locked up. Save your money in your home safe.
• Don’t take on large purchases unless absolutely necessary.
• Convert up to 25% of your liquid assets into precious metals (gold and silver). However, this may become risky as the Obama government will confiscate all recently purchased gold owned by private citizens. This was done by FDR during the depression. Keep your gold in old/numismatic gold coins.
• Purchase insurances (home, car, life, disaster, liability, etc.). For life insurance, buy only term insurance and get as much of it as you can.
• Balance out your liquid assets among stocks, bonds, mutual funds, precious metals, and art objects. In other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
• Stock your cupboards with nonperishable foodstuffs. Rotate the usage of your food.
• Build up a year’s supply of food, clothing, fuel, and water. When there is no money or food on store shelves, you will be able to barter with your supply. Remember, when there is a rush on stores, all of the food on store shelves will be gone within three days with no replenishment possible.
• Never let your automobiles to go below ¼-tank of gas. Always have enough gas to get you to a safe haven.
• Obtain firearms and ammunition. Keep other weapons (knives, etc.).
• Grow and maintain a good vegetable garden. Plant fruit trees in your yard. Raise edible animals (fowl, rabbits, etc.).
• Learn how to get back to the earth by developing hunting, fishing, and foraging skills for edible fauna and flora.
• Develop new skills. Improve your education/knowledge. Learn about accounting, finance, economics, etc.). Be a lifelong learner. Study daily.
• Keep up daily with what’s going on in the world. Watch Fox News and listen to conservative talk radio. Listen to/watch the Glenn Beck Show daily.
• Read conservative online publications. You get only lies and disinformation from the mainstream media, which is now called the lame-stream or fringe media.
• Buy a good battery operated or hand-cranked radio to keep up with the news during major manmade or natural disasters/emergencies.
• Get a ham radio, become a certified operator, and learn how to use the ham radio.
• Own a cell phone.
• Maintain a good supply of flashlights, fresh batteries, matches, and candles.
• Prepare a 72-hour kit (one each for your car and home).
• Buy good first-aid kits for your home and car.
• Keep in good physical health with proper diet, exercise, and sleep. Keep/use a good supply of multiple vitamins, Omega-III fish oil tablets, prescription drugs, etc.
• Update your will and keep it current.
• Keep connected on the Internet with dependable family and friends.
• Join your Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and participate in its training programs and activities. Become qualified in basic first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Be constantly alert and vigilant.
If you do all of those things listed above that is appropriate for you, you will be able to deal with any economic crash, terrorist attacks, and/or all major natural/manmade disasters. Be prepared to help and assist those who didn't bother to get prepared. Good luck!
Remember: 86% of all couples age 65 and older will need nursing type care in their lifetime. This can have the most devastating effect on your retirement portfolio. With costs running over $6000 a month for care (average care term is just under three years) the need for Long Term Care insurance has never been more critical.
Bob Uda, PhD (ABD)
For savings accounts, when the stock market crashes and depositors make a rush on the banks to withdraw all of their money, the bank will close/lock their doors, and the late folks will not get any of their money. The Obama government will confiscate all of their money. For social security, the forecast is that the Social Security funds will be depleted in seven years. Hence, there will be no more social security checks after the economic collapse. The following list is how to prepare financially other than debt.
Do any combination of the following:
• Get totally out of debt.
• Operate on a budget.
• Work and earn money to your dying day.
• Get a fireproof safe to keep all of your valuables locked up. Save your money in your home safe.
• Don’t take on large purchases unless absolutely necessary.
• Convert up to 25% of your liquid assets into precious metals (gold and silver). However, this may become risky as the Obama government will confiscate all recently purchased gold owned by private citizens. This was done by FDR during the depression. Keep your gold in old/numismatic gold coins.
• Purchase insurances (home, car, life, disaster, liability, etc.). For life insurance, buy only term insurance and get as much of it as you can.
• Balance out your liquid assets among stocks, bonds, mutual funds, precious metals, and art objects. In other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
• Stock your cupboards with nonperishable foodstuffs. Rotate the usage of your food.
• Build up a year’s supply of food, clothing, fuel, and water. When there is no money or food on store shelves, you will be able to barter with your supply. Remember, when there is a rush on stores, all of the food on store shelves will be gone within three days with no replenishment possible.
• Never let your automobiles to go below ¼-tank of gas. Always have enough gas to get you to a safe haven.
• Obtain firearms and ammunition. Keep other weapons (knives, etc.).
• Grow and maintain a good vegetable garden. Plant fruit trees in your yard. Raise edible animals (fowl, rabbits, etc.).
• Learn how to get back to the earth by developing hunting, fishing, and foraging skills for edible fauna and flora.
• Develop new skills. Improve your education/knowledge. Learn about accounting, finance, economics, etc.). Be a lifelong learner. Study daily.
• Keep up daily with what’s going on in the world. Watch Fox News and listen to conservative talk radio. Listen to/watch the Glenn Beck Show daily.
• Read conservative online publications. You get only lies and disinformation from the mainstream media, which is now called the lame-stream or fringe media.
• Buy a good battery operated or hand-cranked radio to keep up with the news during major manmade or natural disasters/emergencies.
• Get a ham radio, become a certified operator, and learn how to use the ham radio.
• Own a cell phone.
• Maintain a good supply of flashlights, fresh batteries, matches, and candles.
• Prepare a 72-hour kit (one each for your car and home).
• Buy good first-aid kits for your home and car.
• Keep in good physical health with proper diet, exercise, and sleep. Keep/use a good supply of multiple vitamins, Omega-III fish oil tablets, prescription drugs, etc.
• Update your will and keep it current.
• Keep connected on the Internet with dependable family and friends.
• Join your Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and participate in its training programs and activities. Become qualified in basic first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Be constantly alert and vigilant.
If you do all of those things listed above that is appropriate for you, you will be able to deal with any economic crash, terrorist attacks, and/or all major natural/manmade disasters. Be prepared to help and assist those who didn't bother to get prepared. Good luck!
Remember: 86% of all couples age 65 and older will need nursing type care in their lifetime. This can have the most devastating effect on your retirement portfolio. With costs running over $6000 a month for care (average care term is just under three years) the need for Long Term Care insurance has never been more critical.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
thought for the day
The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. ...Albert Einstein
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Stock may plunge big-time
According to an article on moneynews.com the worst is yet to come.
Stock may plunge big-time, so investors should get out of the market, says Richard Russell, editor of the Dow Theory Letters. The important indicators are the Dow Jones industrial average and the Dow Jones transportation average, he wrote in a note to subscribers. “If the two averages violate their May 7 lows, I see a major crash as the outcome,” Russell said, according to Bloomberg. “Get out of stocks now (except for gold related shares), and I don’t give a damn whether you have paper losses or paper profits.” “If I read the stock market correctly, it’s telling me that there is a surprise ahead,” Russell wrote. “And that surprise will be a reversal to the downside for the economy, plus a collection of other troubles ahead.”
Russell, 85, has put out his newsletter every three weeks for 52 years.
The market started signaling trouble in early April, when the number of stocks reaching 52-week highs began slipping and the number of falling stocks began to exceed rising ones, Russell says.
Stock may plunge big-time, so investors should get out of the market, says Richard Russell, editor of the Dow Theory Letters. The important indicators are the Dow Jones industrial average and the Dow Jones transportation average, he wrote in a note to subscribers. “If the two averages violate their May 7 lows, I see a major crash as the outcome,” Russell said, according to Bloomberg. “Get out of stocks now (except for gold related shares), and I don’t give a damn whether you have paper losses or paper profits.” “If I read the stock market correctly, it’s telling me that there is a surprise ahead,” Russell wrote. “And that surprise will be a reversal to the downside for the economy, plus a collection of other troubles ahead.”
Russell, 85, has put out his newsletter every three weeks for 52 years.
The market started signaling trouble in early April, when the number of stocks reaching 52-week highs began slipping and the number of falling stocks began to exceed rising ones, Russell says.
Friday, May 21, 2010
thought for the day
To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done. --Richard G. Scott
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
thought for the day
Failures are divided into two classes - those who thought and never did and those who did and never thought. --John Charles Sak
Friday, May 7, 2010
thought for the day
There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt. (thanks Chris)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
thought for the day
“When you discover that you’re riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.” - a Sioux Indian saying
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
thought for the day
The ultimate reason for having trials and afflictions is to entice you to become the person it takes to overcome them. Cheryl States
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Home Depot is Hiring!
Bloomberg’s Chris Burritt reports that Home Depot is adding employees for the first time in four years, citing chair and CEO Frank Blake in an interview.
Blake declined to say how many workers home depot will add, but Burritt notes the company, with 317,000 employees, has laid off workers in each of the last three years.
Blake declined to say how many workers home depot will add, but Burritt notes the company, with 317,000 employees, has laid off workers in each of the last three years.
thought for the day
The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
thought for the day
The government deficit is the difference between the amount of money the government spends and the amount it has the nerve to collect. Sam Ewing
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
thought for the day
Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs...'
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
thought for the day
"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" John Wooden
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
thought for opening day
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game; it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. James Earl Jones as Terrance Mann in Field of Dreams
Thursday, April 1, 2010
thought for the day
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams
Thursday, March 25, 2010
thought for the day
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
thought for the day
Any system or blueprint for success is better than none at all. Think on paper. - Brian Tracy
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
thought for the day
What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.--Zig Zigler
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
thought for the day
As a leader you have to praise, lavish praise. Like flowers flourish on water, people flourish on praise Sir Richard Branson (thanks Jacqueline)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
thought for the day
Optimism is a matter of mental habit. You can learn to practice the habit of optimism and thereby greatly enhance your chances of achieving success. Or you can drive yourself into the pit of pessimism and failure. - Napoleon Hill
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
thought for the day
If you want to reach a goal, you must "see the reaching" in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.--Zig Ziglar
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
thought for the day
Your mind, while blessed with permanent memory, is cursed with lousy recall. Written goals provide clarity. By documenting your dreams, you must think about the process of achieving them.--Gary Ryan Blair
Thursday, February 18, 2010
thought for the day
The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it. - Steven Wright
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
thought for the day
A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. -- Max Lucado
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
thought for the day
Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.--Ralph Vaull Starr
Friday, February 12, 2010
thought of the day
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
thought for the day
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.--Ursula K. LeGuin
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
thought for the day
Colors fade, temples crumble, empires fall, but wise words endure. - Edward Thorndike
Friday, February 5, 2010
thought for the day
You've got to think about "big things" while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.--Alvin Toffler
What's up with U.S. Income taxes?
Backdoor taxes to hit middle class
By Terri Cullen Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.
Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;
* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;
* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;
* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
By Terri Cullen Mon Feb 1, 4:09 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.
Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:
* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;
* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;
* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;
* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;
* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
Auto Industry News...
Toyota’s recent troubles have worsened. The company has recalled millions of cars in the United States, Europe and China because of potentially faulty accelerator pedals. They have tried to assure customers that it could fix the problem by inserting a metal bar into the pedal’s mechanism. A snag also emerged with the braking system on its Prius model. The cost of the recall is estimated at $2 billion.
There was a sharp drop in Toyota’s sales in the United States in January. This proved to be a blessing for other carmakers, particularly for Ford, which saw sales rise by 24% in January compared with a year earlier. Ford recently reported a $2.7 billion annual profit, its first since 2005.
There was a sharp drop in Toyota’s sales in the United States in January. This proved to be a blessing for other carmakers, particularly for Ford, which saw sales rise by 24% in January compared with a year earlier. Ford recently reported a $2.7 billion annual profit, its first since 2005.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
thought for the day
Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.- Lois McMaster Bujold
Monday, February 1, 2010
thought for the day
People who say life is not worthwhile are really saying that they themselves have no personal goals which are worthwhile... Get yourself a goal worth working for. Better still, get yourself a project... Always have something ahead of you to "look forward to"--to work for and to hope for.--Maxwell Maltz
Friday, January 29, 2010
thought for the day
I wanted to marry her when I saw the moonlight shining on the barrel of her father's shotgun. Eddie Albert
Thursday, January 28, 2010
thought for the day
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived! (thanks Thomas)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
thought for the day
Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day, teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thought for the day
Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without hard work is a tragedy. Robert Half
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
thought for the day
Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - Albert Einstein
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thought for the day
Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down. Charles Kettering (thanks Robert)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
thought for the day
If only the people who worry about their liabilities would think about the riches they do possess, they would stop worrying. Would you sell both your eyes for a million dollars ... or your two legs ... or your hands ... or your hearing? Add up what you do have, and you'll find that you won't sell them for all the gold in the world. The best things in life are yours, if you can appreciate yourself. Dale Carnegie
Unemployment
According to The Economist American employers shed 85,000 jobs in December confounding hopes that job losses may be bottoming out. A revision to November’s figure recorded a rise of 4,000 jobs for the month, the first increase in almost two years. America’s unemployment rate remained steady at 10%, as more people dropped out of the workforce. How do they take into account the millions of people out there who are employed but only working 15 to 30 hours a week?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
thought for the day
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. -Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, January 11, 2010
thought for the day
Don't be the subject of change. Be the Catalyst for change. Faraz Ahmed Siddiqui
Friday, January 8, 2010
Concluding my tribute to Jim Rohn (September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009)
Today concludes my tribute to Jim Rohn. The following ‘thought’ was the one I used for #100 many years ago and I wanted to use it again for #1000. I am sure that Jim’s wisdom will find its way here again in the future. He was a great man and a big influence in my life.
Do not doubt yourself, for where doubt resides, confidence cannot. Do not neglect yourself, for with neglect comes loss. Do not imagine yourself to be less than you are, nor more than you are, but seek always to become all of which you are capable. Do not allow yourself to become arrogant or discourteous, for both are characteristics adopted by those who seek to cover their weaknesses. Do not spend time regretting the past, but invest that time wisely by preparing a better future. You are a fertile seed of the creator of all things, destined not to lie dormant, but to spring forth from the soil called life, and grow upward toward the unlimited horizons - overcoming all obstacles in the process. It is your destiny to tap your talents and to achieve all that of which you believe yourself to be worthy.…to love more, anticipate more, overcome more, plan more, attract more, and to enjoy more than you ever dreamed possible. Such is the standard of life awaiting your mental decision and outstretched hand. You are deserving - you are becoming - and you shall succeed. Jim Rohn - The Seasons of Life
These are my exact sentiments for each of you!
May your 2010 be a 10!
Do not doubt yourself, for where doubt resides, confidence cannot. Do not neglect yourself, for with neglect comes loss. Do not imagine yourself to be less than you are, nor more than you are, but seek always to become all of which you are capable. Do not allow yourself to become arrogant or discourteous, for both are characteristics adopted by those who seek to cover their weaknesses. Do not spend time regretting the past, but invest that time wisely by preparing a better future. You are a fertile seed of the creator of all things, destined not to lie dormant, but to spring forth from the soil called life, and grow upward toward the unlimited horizons - overcoming all obstacles in the process. It is your destiny to tap your talents and to achieve all that of which you believe yourself to be worthy.…to love more, anticipate more, overcome more, plan more, attract more, and to enjoy more than you ever dreamed possible. Such is the standard of life awaiting your mental decision and outstretched hand. You are deserving - you are becoming - and you shall succeed. Jim Rohn - The Seasons of Life
These are my exact sentiments for each of you!
May your 2010 be a 10!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Continuing Jim Rohn Tribute
There are those who will laugh at those who read useful books, and yet there is little difference between those who cannot read and those who will not read - the result of both is ignorance. Jim Rohn - The Seasons of Life
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Continued tribute to Jim Rohn
I used to say, 'I sure hope things will change.' Then I learned that the only way things are going to change for me is when I change. -- Jim Rohn
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Continuing our tribute to Jim:
Some winters are of your own making some are not. Hang in there - winters do not last forever. Day always comes after night. - Jim Rohn
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Continuing our tribute to Jim:
Success is neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequences of consistently applying the fundamentals. - Jim Rohn
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Continued Tribute to Jim Rohn
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. - Jim Rohn
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Good news, I think.
United Airlines placed its first order in 11 years for new jets: 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 25 Airbus A350s. It is the first time United has bought wide-body long-range aircraft from the European group. The Dreamliner’s much-delayed maiden test-flight is due to take place by the end of the year.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Continued legacy of Jim Rohn
The greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. This is when we must learn how to reap without complaint if the amounts are small and how to reap without apology if the amounts are big. --- Jim Rohn
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Continued legacy of Jim Rohn
Don't set your goals too low. If you don't need much, you won't become much.--Jim Rohn
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Jim Rohn (September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009)
One of the most influential people in my life, and in MANY other’s lives, was Jim Rohn. A self-professed “Idaho farm boy,” Jim rose to fame as an entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. I first met Jim in the 70s. I could not believe the amount of notes I was taking on what he was saying. I wanted to write down every word he said. My wife and I met him again in 1986 – more copious notes. On May 14, 2001, we met again as my wife and I took our teen-aged daughter to hear him speak. Our daughter wasn’t that interested in going, but she took many notes that she still has and she treasures the autograph she got that day! He had that effect on people.
It was partly due to these notes I had from Jim Rohn, and others, that influenced me to start the noted ‘thought for the day’ which I still distribute on a World-wide basis.
Not only was what Jim said valuable but the WAY he said it made an impact on you. There are times when I am in speaking situations and I hear Jim Rohn coming out of my mouth!! There are phrases that I can say to my wife, in the pronunciation style of Jim, that will bring back instant recall of one of his stories and the message that went with it. One of them is, “A DOLLAR” (gas station, Carmel, milk shake).
Although he didn’t know it, Jim helped to shape my life. He helped shape many lives. There is probably not a day that goes by that I am not reminded of something he said or wrote.
I am not sure how to say this the way I intend to, however, Jim Rohn’s death, after a prolonged illness, will probably not leave a void. By this I mean his work will be carried forward by his company and the many books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc. that he made available to us. He was influential in starting and furthering the careers of many in the personal development industry. These individuals will continue on. Their work will continue to influence and shape many more people. Just as he magnified the work of his mentor, J. Earl Shoaff, Jim’s work will be multiplied through hundreds of others in his field.
As a tribute to Jim Rohn, my ‘thought for the day,’ through the end of the year, will focus on the notes I made of his inspirational teachings.
Jim, thank you. God Bless You.
“I go with you in all the experience that we’ve had. But I promise you this as we leave here: I will not leave you behind. I’ll take you with me in my thoughts and in my heart.”
Jim Rohn Books
Jim Rohn DVDs
Jim Rohn other
It was partly due to these notes I had from Jim Rohn, and others, that influenced me to start the noted ‘thought for the day’ which I still distribute on a World-wide basis.
Not only was what Jim said valuable but the WAY he said it made an impact on you. There are times when I am in speaking situations and I hear Jim Rohn coming out of my mouth!! There are phrases that I can say to my wife, in the pronunciation style of Jim, that will bring back instant recall of one of his stories and the message that went with it. One of them is, “A DOLLAR” (gas station, Carmel, milk shake).
Although he didn’t know it, Jim helped to shape my life. He helped shape many lives. There is probably not a day that goes by that I am not reminded of something he said or wrote.
I am not sure how to say this the way I intend to, however, Jim Rohn’s death, after a prolonged illness, will probably not leave a void. By this I mean his work will be carried forward by his company and the many books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc. that he made available to us. He was influential in starting and furthering the careers of many in the personal development industry. These individuals will continue on. Their work will continue to influence and shape many more people. Just as he magnified the work of his mentor, J. Earl Shoaff, Jim’s work will be multiplied through hundreds of others in his field.
As a tribute to Jim Rohn, my ‘thought for the day,’ through the end of the year, will focus on the notes I made of his inspirational teachings.
Jim, thank you. God Bless You.
“I go with you in all the experience that we’ve had. But I promise you this as we leave here: I will not leave you behind. I’ll take you with me in my thoughts and in my heart.”
Jim Rohn Books
Jim Rohn DVDs
Jim Rohn other
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Unemployment Rate sky-rockets!
We keep hearing the numbers bantered about. Unemployment is at 10%; unemployment is at 10.5%. I found information on a new search engine, www.glearch.com, and Encarta which indicate that in the 1930's Great Depression the unemployment rose to almost 25%. Wow, and we are ONLY at 10% now. Things must not be too bad, right?
I believe that today's published unemployment figures are understated. I know of many (and you all know of some/many) people who are still 'employed' but who have taken substantial cutbacks in hours working and in pay. Many friends have had their pay rates reduced by 10 to 20%. They have also had their working hours cut from 40 hours a week to 32 or 36 hours a week. They gladly accepted this substantial cut in hours and pay as they still have a job! The alternative for the company was to lay off 15 to 20% of its workforce.
Instead of that drastic measure, and to be as loyal as they could to their workforce, companies reduced hours and pay in lieu of putting good employees out on the street.
How does this affect our unemployment statistics? We have 10%+ or our workforce still working who would have been out of jobs in the 1930s. So, we ONLY have a 10% unemployment rate. Things can't be too bad if unemployment is ONLY at 10% versus 24% in the Great Depression, right?
I recently drove through the Central Valley of California. I was astonished at the number of vacant and deserted buildings! - Everything from gas stations, to warehouses, to massive agriculture buildings, to car dealerships. I constantly receive mailing from automotive dealerships advising me that they are 'losing' their franchise for one brand or another.
Yes, we are in the Greater Depression. What are some things that are different from the Great Depression?
News travels faster - Internet and television versus daily newspapers. We hear ALL the news as it happens, from hurricanes to bankruptcies to up-to-the-minute stock prices.
Preparation. I believe that we are better prepared. I am very concerned about many of the things that are happening in our country and our economy; however, I believe we have learned from the history we have studied. Just the fact that we are cutting hours/pay versus massive layoffs is a huge step in the right direction. We have fewer people who are totally unemployed. Having to cut back on meals out, cable TV, weekend drives, etc. is surely much better than having no income and going through our savings at a rapid rate as it is used for our monthly obligations - we all know how well we Americans save our money! We have all been told and have known that we should save for a 'rainy day.' Well, it is raining on our parades and we either had learned the lesson before or we are LEARNING it now.
Resiliency. We Americans fight back. We have 'been through it before' and we will most likely go through it again. I think of the song, Tub Thumpin' by Chumbawamba: "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're NEVER gonna keep me down!" That's right, we won't be kept down. We will fight. We will win. We will revive the greatest economy in the World. We will all have employment. We, again, will enjoy all the things we took for granted.
Hang in there. Keep your head up. Keep fighting. Help your neighbor. Let your neighbor help you. Let’s work together. There has never been and there will never be a country as great as this. Let’s write history.
I believe that today's published unemployment figures are understated. I know of many (and you all know of some/many) people who are still 'employed' but who have taken substantial cutbacks in hours working and in pay. Many friends have had their pay rates reduced by 10 to 20%. They have also had their working hours cut from 40 hours a week to 32 or 36 hours a week. They gladly accepted this substantial cut in hours and pay as they still have a job! The alternative for the company was to lay off 15 to 20% of its workforce.
Instead of that drastic measure, and to be as loyal as they could to their workforce, companies reduced hours and pay in lieu of putting good employees out on the street.
How does this affect our unemployment statistics? We have 10%+ or our workforce still working who would have been out of jobs in the 1930s. So, we ONLY have a 10% unemployment rate. Things can't be too bad if unemployment is ONLY at 10% versus 24% in the Great Depression, right?
I recently drove through the Central Valley of California. I was astonished at the number of vacant and deserted buildings! - Everything from gas stations, to warehouses, to massive agriculture buildings, to car dealerships. I constantly receive mailing from automotive dealerships advising me that they are 'losing' their franchise for one brand or another.
Yes, we are in the Greater Depression. What are some things that are different from the Great Depression?
News travels faster - Internet and television versus daily newspapers. We hear ALL the news as it happens, from hurricanes to bankruptcies to up-to-the-minute stock prices.
Preparation. I believe that we are better prepared. I am very concerned about many of the things that are happening in our country and our economy; however, I believe we have learned from the history we have studied. Just the fact that we are cutting hours/pay versus massive layoffs is a huge step in the right direction. We have fewer people who are totally unemployed. Having to cut back on meals out, cable TV, weekend drives, etc. is surely much better than having no income and going through our savings at a rapid rate as it is used for our monthly obligations - we all know how well we Americans save our money! We have all been told and have known that we should save for a 'rainy day.' Well, it is raining on our parades and we either had learned the lesson before or we are LEARNING it now.
Resiliency. We Americans fight back. We have 'been through it before' and we will most likely go through it again. I think of the song, Tub Thumpin' by Chumbawamba: "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're NEVER gonna keep me down!" That's right, we won't be kept down. We will fight. We will win. We will revive the greatest economy in the World. We will all have employment. We, again, will enjoy all the things we took for granted.
Hang in there. Keep your head up. Keep fighting. Help your neighbor. Let your neighbor help you. Let’s work together. There has never been and there will never be a country as great as this. Let’s write history.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Overcoming Bystander Apathy
You are walking down a crowded sidewalk in a large metropolitan city. You start feeling numbness in your hand and then your arm. You then begin feeling numbness in your face and a severe headache hits quickly. You are having trouble seeing with one or both eyes. You are feeling a bit dizzy. You are having trouble walking and feel that you are losing your balance. You decide to sit down on the sidewalk next to the building. You are confused and find it difficult to speak. You think to yourself, “Oh, my gosh, I am having a stroke!”
What do you do?
The natural response would be to yell that you needed help. Now picture yourself – slumped on the sidewalk against a building, one arm dangling and slurred speech yelling at the passing crowd. What do you think would happen? Right…probably nothing. People would be passing by and observing how others are reacting. With no one else reacting they will just keep on going.
Groups of bystanders in this situation usually do not help for a couple reasons. One - they think someone else will. Two - they are unsure if there really is an emergency situation and whether they are responsible to do something. We have all experienced people on the sidewalks screaming incoherently at us and other passersby.
But we REALLY need help! What can we do to get the help we need?
According to Robert Cialdini, in a book I am currently reading, there is something we can do to insure we get the help we need. We need to cut through the social programming inherent with passing crowds.
Time would be crucial as your symptoms increase. You must define your need as a real emergency situation. So, you find someone coming towards you, stare directly at them, point at them and in a loud voice say, “You, in the red dress, I need help. Call an ambulance!” You have now put that person in the position of a ‘rescuer’ for you. They will not be asking themselves: What aid is required here? Should I do it or will someone else? Has someone else already done it? You have removed all doubt – they now know it is an emergency, that you need help, and what you want them to do.
You need to avoid the tendency to ask the entire group of bystanders for help. Make a request to a single individual. Pick a person and ASSIGN them the task of helping you.
Naturally, I was reading this book, Influence - the Psychology of Persuasion, with an eye towards helping businesses overcome customer and employee bystander apathy. But in studying ‘social proof’ I came across the above situation of how we all might be in need of getting through to people to help us on an individual basis.
I hope that you will never need to apply this technique; however, if you do, I hope that you will remember it.
Take care.
Tom States
What do you do?
The natural response would be to yell that you needed help. Now picture yourself – slumped on the sidewalk against a building, one arm dangling and slurred speech yelling at the passing crowd. What do you think would happen? Right…probably nothing. People would be passing by and observing how others are reacting. With no one else reacting they will just keep on going.
Groups of bystanders in this situation usually do not help for a couple reasons. One - they think someone else will. Two - they are unsure if there really is an emergency situation and whether they are responsible to do something. We have all experienced people on the sidewalks screaming incoherently at us and other passersby.
But we REALLY need help! What can we do to get the help we need?
According to Robert Cialdini, in a book I am currently reading, there is something we can do to insure we get the help we need. We need to cut through the social programming inherent with passing crowds.
Time would be crucial as your symptoms increase. You must define your need as a real emergency situation. So, you find someone coming towards you, stare directly at them, point at them and in a loud voice say, “You, in the red dress, I need help. Call an ambulance!” You have now put that person in the position of a ‘rescuer’ for you. They will not be asking themselves: What aid is required here? Should I do it or will someone else? Has someone else already done it? You have removed all doubt – they now know it is an emergency, that you need help, and what you want them to do.
You need to avoid the tendency to ask the entire group of bystanders for help. Make a request to a single individual. Pick a person and ASSIGN them the task of helping you.
Naturally, I was reading this book, Influence - the Psychology of Persuasion, with an eye towards helping businesses overcome customer and employee bystander apathy. But in studying ‘social proof’ I came across the above situation of how we all might be in need of getting through to people to help us on an individual basis.
I hope that you will never need to apply this technique; however, if you do, I hope that you will remember it.
Take care.
Tom States
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Chrysler to drop 789 dealers!
Dow Jones Newswire reports the following:
DETROIT - A group of auto dealers poised to be shut down by Chrysler LLC are gearing up to challenge the move in court, though it's unclear how much chance of success they have. About 300 affected dealers plan to file a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan objecting to the company's dealer cuts and the company's plan to sell most of its operations to Italy's Fiat SpA, according to a lawyer representing the group. "I think the court will be flooded with objections," said Stephen D. Lerner, a partner at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP, the firm hired to the group, which is calling itself the Committee of Chrysler Affected Dealers. The group, which has members from about 45 states, was started with the help of the National Automobile Dealers Association. On Thursday, Chrysler notified 789 of its 3,200 dealers that it plans to drop them from its retail network as part of its restructuring. The affected dealers are supposed to stop selling new Chrysler vehicles on or about June 9. The effort to close or consolidate its dealerships has the backing of the Obama administration's auto task force.
The committee is scheduled to meet with the auto task force Tuesday morning to discuss the matter, Lerner said. The forced closure of dealerships, he added, could violate state and federal laws. "You can't terminate them literally on three weeks' notice," Lerner said. "It's not that simple, and it's never been tested. "The dealers may be in for an uphill fight, however. Bankruptcy laws give the courts wide latitude for tearing up contracts such as dealer licenses. A group of Chrysler creditors also formed a committee to fight a plan to slash its secured debt, but almost all have now relented and the committee has been disbanded.
How will this help Chrysler? Fewer dealers to sell their products. It is not like Chrysler is actually paying the dealership payroll and will be reducing expenses.
DETROIT - A group of auto dealers poised to be shut down by Chrysler LLC are gearing up to challenge the move in court, though it's unclear how much chance of success they have. About 300 affected dealers plan to file a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan objecting to the company's dealer cuts and the company's plan to sell most of its operations to Italy's Fiat SpA, according to a lawyer representing the group. "I think the court will be flooded with objections," said Stephen D. Lerner, a partner at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP, the firm hired to the group, which is calling itself the Committee of Chrysler Affected Dealers. The group, which has members from about 45 states, was started with the help of the National Automobile Dealers Association. On Thursday, Chrysler notified 789 of its 3,200 dealers that it plans to drop them from its retail network as part of its restructuring. The affected dealers are supposed to stop selling new Chrysler vehicles on or about June 9. The effort to close or consolidate its dealerships has the backing of the Obama administration's auto task force.
The committee is scheduled to meet with the auto task force Tuesday morning to discuss the matter, Lerner said. The forced closure of dealerships, he added, could violate state and federal laws. "You can't terminate them literally on three weeks' notice," Lerner said. "It's not that simple, and it's never been tested. "The dealers may be in for an uphill fight, however. Bankruptcy laws give the courts wide latitude for tearing up contracts such as dealer licenses. A group of Chrysler creditors also formed a committee to fight a plan to slash its secured debt, but almost all have now relented and the committee has been disbanded.
How will this help Chrysler? Fewer dealers to sell their products. It is not like Chrysler is actually paying the dealership payroll and will be reducing expenses.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Greater Depression
Over the years we have all heard about the 'Great' Depression. Horror stories abound. We revere in the words of those that 'grew up in the Great Depression' as having weathered the storm and that they have insight into hard times.
We are now experiencing troubles far worse than the Great Depression. We also now have instantaneous access to World wide news regarding the financial struggles of all people of all nations.
Therefore......
I now officially christen this the GREATER DEPRESSION.
I pray that we will ALL weather this storm and come out with our own stories of how we successfully got through it.
Tom
We are now experiencing troubles far worse than the Great Depression. We also now have instantaneous access to World wide news regarding the financial struggles of all people of all nations.
Therefore......
I now officially christen this the GREATER DEPRESSION.
I pray that we will ALL weather this storm and come out with our own stories of how we successfully got through it.
Tom
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
General Motors
From author and philosopher Tom Morris:
The news that Rick Wagoner has been forced out of his position as head of General Motors set me reflecting today. A dozen years ago, I wrote a book whose title, "If Aristotle Ran General Motors," used this quintessential American company, along with a paradigmatically great thinker of the ages as emblematic of, respectively, the realm of business and the world of wisdom. I had discovered something surprising about the philosophical foundations necessary for the proper governance of a company, a community, or a country. They have never been needed more than right now.
During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1952, Charles Erwin Wilson, a former president of G.M. and later to be Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of Defense, made one of the most notorious statements of the twentieth century when he boldly proclaimed, "What is good for the country is good for General Motors, and what is good for General Motors is good for the country." Critics at the time purported to be stunned by this pronouncement, and commentators ever since have described it as a shameless expression of the ultimate in corporate hubris. It seemed to indicate a perverse transvaluation of civic values and to reveal the radically bloated self-importance not merely of a single company, but, more broadly, of industry, commerce, and the economic sphere of our national life. But when this audacious statement is understood in the deepest way possible, and in a way not likely intended, it's absolutely right, and it conveys a fundamental insight of the first importance.
There are four basic ideas discovered by the great thinkers of the past that undergird any form of human excellence and flourishing, whether in a company like General Motors, or in the country at large. In our families, friendships, neighborhoods, civic organizations, governmental institutions, and business relationships of all kinds, four profound and yet simple foundations - universally accessible, pervasively applicable, and incredibly effective - alone make possible the achievement and reliable propagation of excellence over the long term. They are: truth, beauty, goodness, and unity. These are the four foundations of greatness in any interpersonal context, and they are ignored at our tremendous peril, and always with predictably disastrous results.
No organization can do well in a sustainable way without an abundance of truth flowing freely throughout it. Great businesses rise or fall on how well they adjust and adapt to the realities in which they exist. Executives need to be like intelligence officers, detectives of information, relentless questioners of the world and their markets. I suspect that unvarnished truth has not been plentifully available throughout the offices of General Motors for many years. Their top people have not felt the urgency of discovering the social, economic, and environmental realities that could alone provide them with the insights needed to succeed.
And what of beauty? When I was a boy, growing up in the 50s and 60s, the arrival of the new cars each year was a matter for widespread admiration and celebration. Each new model that first appeared in the neighborhood would draw a crowd of eager spectators. Excitement was in the air. It seems like ancient history to even mention this. Our domestic car companies have lost a lot by basically ignoring our need for beauty. And there is beauty required in process as well as in results. Empowering employees to create a beautiful solution to a product problem or a client need can invigorate and drive performance. Plato suggested we are best motivated by a vision of The Good, which for him was also, and first, a vision of The Beautiful. If GM is to succeed in the future, they will need to respect and nurture this important foundation of greatness.
Goodness is important in many forms. An automaker should care about its customers, and design cars for us that are good in many ways - safe, reliable, inexpensive to operate, and well designed to meet our needs. These products should also be good for the environment in which they're used. And the treatment of employees at every level, as well as of all customers – both before, during, and after a sale - should be ethical, moral, and surpassingly good beyond the requirements of the law and the standards we tolerate.
Unity is the last and most comprehensive foundation. Truth, beauty, and goodness well deployed create unity. Without their many benefits, people are disconnected and alienated from their work. In a fascinating and troubling book written years ago, Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line, Ben Hamper told a story of alienation and carelessness among front line workers at a Flint, Michigan General Motors plant that made me reluctant to ever ride again in my father's GMC Suburban. It's precisely a lack of fundamental unity that has caused the management and labor unions at companies like GM to act at cross-purposes, and with self-defeating results, for decades now. Adversarial relationships within companies rarely bring mutual satisfaction and joint success for those enterprises over the long run. The history of conflict between unions and corporations is not one of surpassing grandeur in the results attained, and this is a problem that desperately needs attention.
From the time we wake up in the morning, until the moment we fall asleep at night, we have four dimensions to our experience of the world. We have an intellectual dimension to our experience that needs truth. We have an aesthetic dimension that needs beauty. We have a moral dimension that needs goodness. And we all have a broadly spiritual dimension that craves a sense of harmony, connectedness, or unity. If Aristotle ran General Motors, I believe that he would insist on respecting and nurturing these four vital qualities at every level and in every way. Why should the rest of us ever allow for less in our homes, workplaces, communities, and nation?
When my book was first in print years ago, one of my early audiences for a talk on its content consisted of the top two hundred people at General Motors. I remember that, throughout the room, there were many notes taken on the ideas. I just wish that they had taken the ideas to heart. And if they had taken them to work the next day, we might be seeing something very different now in Detroit.
The news that Rick Wagoner has been forced out of his position as head of General Motors set me reflecting today. A dozen years ago, I wrote a book whose title, "If Aristotle Ran General Motors," used this quintessential American company, along with a paradigmatically great thinker of the ages as emblematic of, respectively, the realm of business and the world of wisdom. I had discovered something surprising about the philosophical foundations necessary for the proper governance of a company, a community, or a country. They have never been needed more than right now.
During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1952, Charles Erwin Wilson, a former president of G.M. and later to be Dwight Eisenhower's Secretary of Defense, made one of the most notorious statements of the twentieth century when he boldly proclaimed, "What is good for the country is good for General Motors, and what is good for General Motors is good for the country." Critics at the time purported to be stunned by this pronouncement, and commentators ever since have described it as a shameless expression of the ultimate in corporate hubris. It seemed to indicate a perverse transvaluation of civic values and to reveal the radically bloated self-importance not merely of a single company, but, more broadly, of industry, commerce, and the economic sphere of our national life. But when this audacious statement is understood in the deepest way possible, and in a way not likely intended, it's absolutely right, and it conveys a fundamental insight of the first importance.
There are four basic ideas discovered by the great thinkers of the past that undergird any form of human excellence and flourishing, whether in a company like General Motors, or in the country at large. In our families, friendships, neighborhoods, civic organizations, governmental institutions, and business relationships of all kinds, four profound and yet simple foundations - universally accessible, pervasively applicable, and incredibly effective - alone make possible the achievement and reliable propagation of excellence over the long term. They are: truth, beauty, goodness, and unity. These are the four foundations of greatness in any interpersonal context, and they are ignored at our tremendous peril, and always with predictably disastrous results.
No organization can do well in a sustainable way without an abundance of truth flowing freely throughout it. Great businesses rise or fall on how well they adjust and adapt to the realities in which they exist. Executives need to be like intelligence officers, detectives of information, relentless questioners of the world and their markets. I suspect that unvarnished truth has not been plentifully available throughout the offices of General Motors for many years. Their top people have not felt the urgency of discovering the social, economic, and environmental realities that could alone provide them with the insights needed to succeed.
And what of beauty? When I was a boy, growing up in the 50s and 60s, the arrival of the new cars each year was a matter for widespread admiration and celebration. Each new model that first appeared in the neighborhood would draw a crowd of eager spectators. Excitement was in the air. It seems like ancient history to even mention this. Our domestic car companies have lost a lot by basically ignoring our need for beauty. And there is beauty required in process as well as in results. Empowering employees to create a beautiful solution to a product problem or a client need can invigorate and drive performance. Plato suggested we are best motivated by a vision of The Good, which for him was also, and first, a vision of The Beautiful. If GM is to succeed in the future, they will need to respect and nurture this important foundation of greatness.
Goodness is important in many forms. An automaker should care about its customers, and design cars for us that are good in many ways - safe, reliable, inexpensive to operate, and well designed to meet our needs. These products should also be good for the environment in which they're used. And the treatment of employees at every level, as well as of all customers – both before, during, and after a sale - should be ethical, moral, and surpassingly good beyond the requirements of the law and the standards we tolerate.
Unity is the last and most comprehensive foundation. Truth, beauty, and goodness well deployed create unity. Without their many benefits, people are disconnected and alienated from their work. In a fascinating and troubling book written years ago, Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line, Ben Hamper told a story of alienation and carelessness among front line workers at a Flint, Michigan General Motors plant that made me reluctant to ever ride again in my father's GMC Suburban. It's precisely a lack of fundamental unity that has caused the management and labor unions at companies like GM to act at cross-purposes, and with self-defeating results, for decades now. Adversarial relationships within companies rarely bring mutual satisfaction and joint success for those enterprises over the long run. The history of conflict between unions and corporations is not one of surpassing grandeur in the results attained, and this is a problem that desperately needs attention.
From the time we wake up in the morning, until the moment we fall asleep at night, we have four dimensions to our experience of the world. We have an intellectual dimension to our experience that needs truth. We have an aesthetic dimension that needs beauty. We have a moral dimension that needs goodness. And we all have a broadly spiritual dimension that craves a sense of harmony, connectedness, or unity. If Aristotle ran General Motors, I believe that he would insist on respecting and nurturing these four vital qualities at every level and in every way. Why should the rest of us ever allow for less in our homes, workplaces, communities, and nation?
When my book was first in print years ago, one of my early audiences for a talk on its content consisted of the top two hundred people at General Motors. I remember that, throughout the room, there were many notes taken on the ideas. I just wish that they had taken the ideas to heart. And if they had taken them to work the next day, we might be seeing something very different now in Detroit.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
What happens when software engineers drink and play Scrabble?
. From 'Eat My Words'....
.
Thanks to all of you who voted in the 2008 Head Scratcher "worst name of the year" contest. This cheeky annual award, created by Eat My Words, is inspired by our no-brainer philosophy, "A name should make you smile, instead of scratch your head." Contenders are judged on their "ick factor" and ability to pass the Eat My Words SMILE & SCRATCH Test, which has been featured in Wall Street Journal, a fact that we like to mention as often as possible.
Drumroll please...
The name that chalked up the most votes was a new "financial literacy" site for children out of Oklahoma named Shyrk. A name that made us shriek and smirk because kids always shirk their parent's advice and blow their allowance on Frappuccinos® and clove cigarettes.
The tacky pink trophy was ready to be engraved and then...
Another drumroll please...
We were tipped off that Shyrk renamed themselves with an even worse name: iThryv. Whaaaaaat? Did one of their software engineers say, "Hey, we need a name with vowels so let's get drunk and play Scrabble again"? (Why not iShryk?) The website explains it all by saying "Shyrk changed the name of the corporation to iThryv in an effort to dispel any confusion related to the name of the company versus the name of the product. Now, when someone mentions iThryv -- you know they are talking about financial literacy." HELLO! What about regular literacy?! The name iThryv is so severely spelling-challenged that an entire generation of children are not going to know that the word "thrive" is spelled with vowels. Isn't it already tragic enough that "No Child Left Behind" didn't work and kids don't know how to spell "flicker" or "delicious"? And sorry iThryv, the "i" doesn't buy you a vowel.
Beginning your company name with an "i or an "e" is so 1998. Just like iStockPhoto and eHarmony, the name iThryv screams, "WE'RE ON THE INTERNET!" Yeah, everyone is. If iThryv is still "thryving" 20 years from now, the name will sound even more ridiculous than it does today.
How can you avoid a Head Scratcher?
Rule #1: Your company name needs to spelled exactly as is sounds. As anyone from iThryv, Takkle, Xobni, or countless other companies will reluctantly admit, when you have to verbally spell out your name (and silly-sounding email address) for people, it's embarrassing and annoying. And if it's annoying for you, how do you think your customers feel when they type the name they hear in their browser and discover what iThrive is?
.
Thanks to all of you who voted in the 2008 Head Scratcher "worst name of the year" contest. This cheeky annual award, created by Eat My Words, is inspired by our no-brainer philosophy, "A name should make you smile, instead of scratch your head." Contenders are judged on their "ick factor" and ability to pass the Eat My Words SMILE & SCRATCH Test, which has been featured in Wall Street Journal, a fact that we like to mention as often as possible.
Drumroll please...
The name that chalked up the most votes was a new "financial literacy" site for children out of Oklahoma named Shyrk. A name that made us shriek and smirk because kids always shirk their parent's advice and blow their allowance on Frappuccinos® and clove cigarettes.
The tacky pink trophy was ready to be engraved and then...
Another drumroll please...
We were tipped off that Shyrk renamed themselves with an even worse name: iThryv. Whaaaaaat? Did one of their software engineers say, "Hey, we need a name with vowels so let's get drunk and play Scrabble again"? (Why not iShryk?) The website explains it all by saying "Shyrk changed the name of the corporation to iThryv in an effort to dispel any confusion related to the name of the company versus the name of the product. Now, when someone mentions iThryv -- you know they are talking about financial literacy." HELLO! What about regular literacy?! The name iThryv is so severely spelling-challenged that an entire generation of children are not going to know that the word "thrive" is spelled with vowels. Isn't it already tragic enough that "No Child Left Behind" didn't work and kids don't know how to spell "flicker" or "delicious"? And sorry iThryv, the "i" doesn't buy you a vowel.
Beginning your company name with an "i or an "e" is so 1998. Just like iStockPhoto and eHarmony, the name iThryv screams, "WE'RE ON THE INTERNET!" Yeah, everyone is. If iThryv is still "thryving" 20 years from now, the name will sound even more ridiculous than it does today.
How can you avoid a Head Scratcher?
Rule #1: Your company name needs to spelled exactly as is sounds. As anyone from iThryv, Takkle, Xobni, or countless other companies will reluctantly admit, when you have to verbally spell out your name (and silly-sounding email address) for people, it's embarrassing and annoying. And if it's annoying for you, how do you think your customers feel when they type the name they hear in their browser and discover what iThrive is?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Growth stalls -- major reversals in company fortunes
.
.
This very interesting information came from the Harvard Business Review. It is available at: Harvard Business Online - Growth Stalls
Growth stalls -- major reversals in company fortunes as opposed to temporary stumbles -- can hit even the most exemplary organizations. Senior executives rarely see these crises coming. The Corporate Executive Board recently studied the growth patterns of 500 leading corporations, focusing on "stall points." Analysis showed that most companies "accelerate into a stall," experiencing unprecedented progress just before growth rates go into free-fall.
Successful companies lose momentum for four main reasons. All are within management's control if spotted in time. Two tools can help managers avoid growth stalls: a self-test to diagnose impending stalls and a choice of practices to explicitly identify strategic assumptions and test them for ongoing relevance.
This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading.
An abrupt and lasting drop in revenue growth is a crisis that can strike even the most exemplary organization. The authors' comprehensive analysis of growth in Fortune 100-size companies over the past half century revealed, in fact, that 87% of them had stalled out at least once. The record shows that if management cannot turn a company around within a few years, the odds are that it will never again see healthy top-line growth. Fortunately, the authors (of the Corporate Executive Board) have uncovered and categorized the most common causes of growth stalls. The majority of these standstills are preventable because, according to the authors, they arise from management choices about strategy or organizational design; external factors (e.g., regulatory actions) account for only 13%.
Four categories predominate:
Premium-position captivity. When a firm's world-class offering has won the most demanding customers in the market, it often fails to respond effectively to new, low-cost competitive challenges or shifts in customer valuation of product features.
Innovation management breakdown. Because most large corporations generate sequential product innovations, any systemic inefficiency or dysfunction in the innovation chain can cause extremely serious problems that last for years.
Premature core abandonment. Managers may conclude too quickly that a core market is saturated. Or they may incorrectly interpret operational impediments in the core business as evidence that it's time to move into new competitive terrain.
Talent bench shortfall. Insufficient capabilities will stop growth dead in its tracks.
They also identified a common culprit in detailed case studies of 50 stalled companies--failure to adapt company strategy to changes in the external environment.
.
This very interesting information came from the Harvard Business Review. It is available at: Harvard Business Online - Growth Stalls
Growth stalls -- major reversals in company fortunes as opposed to temporary stumbles -- can hit even the most exemplary organizations. Senior executives rarely see these crises coming. The Corporate Executive Board recently studied the growth patterns of 500 leading corporations, focusing on "stall points." Analysis showed that most companies "accelerate into a stall," experiencing unprecedented progress just before growth rates go into free-fall.
Successful companies lose momentum for four main reasons. All are within management's control if spotted in time. Two tools can help managers avoid growth stalls: a self-test to diagnose impending stalls and a choice of practices to explicitly identify strategic assumptions and test them for ongoing relevance.This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading.
An abrupt and lasting drop in revenue growth is a crisis that can strike even the most exemplary organization. The authors' comprehensive analysis of growth in Fortune 100-size companies over the past half century revealed, in fact, that 87% of them had stalled out at least once. The record shows that if management cannot turn a company around within a few years, the odds are that it will never again see healthy top-line growth. Fortunately, the authors (of the Corporate Executive Board) have uncovered and categorized the most common causes of growth stalls. The majority of these standstills are preventable because, according to the authors, they arise from management choices about strategy or organizational design; external factors (e.g., regulatory actions) account for only 13%.
Four categories predominate:
Premium-position captivity. When a firm's world-class offering has won the most demanding customers in the market, it often fails to respond effectively to new, low-cost competitive challenges or shifts in customer valuation of product features.
Innovation management breakdown. Because most large corporations generate sequential product innovations, any systemic inefficiency or dysfunction in the innovation chain can cause extremely serious problems that last for years.
Premature core abandonment. Managers may conclude too quickly that a core market is saturated. Or they may incorrectly interpret operational impediments in the core business as evidence that it's time to move into new competitive terrain.
Talent bench shortfall. Insufficient capabilities will stop growth dead in its tracks.
They also identified a common culprit in detailed case studies of 50 stalled companies--failure to adapt company strategy to changes in the external environment.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Communicating with all generations
If you often have difficulty communicating with your Gen Y kids, imagine the challenges of managing a team of younger workers.
Finding that Baby Boomers are often competitive and focused on material possessions, Tammy Erickson says, "There are very logical reasons for Boomers to love winning. When we were teenagers, we discovered there were too few seats in the school — many of us were sent outside to attend class in trailers behind the building. There were too few sports teams for us all to play, too few college admission letters. The infrastructure was too small for the size of our cohort as we squeezed through the key hole into life. There was only one logical conclusion for Boomers to draw — if life is a never-ending game of musical chairs, you better play to win, and, we have."
"The flipside is that Generation Y are less competitive because they are accustomed to playing on sports teams — even with others who don’t play well. With so many younger employees more interested in having challenge and variety than in "moving up," and so many older employees remaining in the workforce, it is more important now than ever before to understand the wants, needs and preferences of each generation."
In addition to her blog, you can check out the book she co-authored, Workforce Crisis, to better understand this critical reality of everyday.
Friday, October 10, 2008
To advertise or not to advertise - that is the question!
Traditionally most businesses cut back on advertising during economic slowdowns. They see it as an expense rather than an investment. In any slowdown, with a company naturally worried about revenues and expenses, I urge them to look at expenses that are not bringing in the revenue - adjust the thermostat, remove a light bulb or two, change your credit card processer - whatever it takes.
As the total pie of the marketplace shrinks, it is the time to ramp up the marketing/advertising. A company needs to increase its market share now. Get a bigger piece of the pie. This not only helps the current financial situation, it also positions them for when things start turning around. They now have a larger market share of a larger market.
I have had some success stories when my initiatives were followed, but, it is a hard road convincing someone to spend more money when they are concerned about making payroll.
As the total pie of the marketplace shrinks, it is the time to ramp up the marketing/advertising. A company needs to increase its market share now. Get a bigger piece of the pie. This not only helps the current financial situation, it also positions them for when things start turning around. They now have a larger market share of a larger market.
I have had some success stories when my initiatives were followed, but, it is a hard road convincing someone to spend more money when they are concerned about making payroll.
.
.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
What are your employees doing for over two hours every day??
.
.
People are worried about an impending recession. That has changed their work patterns. According to a study by Leadership IQ employees are wasting 44% more of their time than just one year ago. In February 2007 workers in the study (over 6000) reported wasting 1.6 hours out of a 9.1 hour day. In 2008, these same workers were wasting 2.1 hours out of the 9.2 hour work day.
So what are they doing during these two hours each and every work day that you are paying them?
In February 2007, the Top 5 timewasters were the typical culprits…
Surfing the Internet for Shopping (17% of respondents)
Surfing the Internet for Entertainment (15%)
Surfing the Internet for Personal E-Mail (10%)
Chatting with Co-Workers (9%)
Daydreaming about Positive Topics (9%)
In February 2008, the Top 5 timewasters were
Surfing the Internet for Career Improvement (21% of respondents)
Surfing the Internet for Personal Finance (17%)
Daydreaming about Negative Topics (12%)
Chatting with Co-Workers (9%)
Surfing the Internet for Entertainment (7%)
They are quite different and clearly influenced by fears about a potential recession. Mark Murphy, Chairman of Leadership IQ says, “In times of great anxiety, like an impending recession, people can get stuck in a self-reinforcing cycle where they ruminate about their anxiety which, ironically, only increases their anxiety. And of course, this vicious cycle absolutely destroys their productivity.”
Yet there is a solution to resolve this time wasting. Effective managers that set clear expectations and that communicate, listen, and respond well have more productive workers.
.
.
People are worried about an impending recession. That has changed their work patterns. According to a study by Leadership IQ employees are wasting 44% more of their time than just one year ago. In February 2007 workers in the study (over 6000) reported wasting 1.6 hours out of a 9.1 hour day. In 2008, these same workers were wasting 2.1 hours out of the 9.2 hour work day.
So what are they doing during these two hours each and every work day that you are paying them?
In February 2007, the Top 5 timewasters were the typical culprits…
Surfing the Internet for Shopping (17% of respondents)
Surfing the Internet for Entertainment (15%)
Surfing the Internet for Personal E-Mail (10%)
Chatting with Co-Workers (9%)
Daydreaming about Positive Topics (9%)
In February 2008, the Top 5 timewasters were
Surfing the Internet for Career Improvement (21% of respondents)
Surfing the Internet for Personal Finance (17%)
Daydreaming about Negative Topics (12%)
Chatting with Co-Workers (9%)
Surfing the Internet for Entertainment (7%)
They are quite different and clearly influenced by fears about a potential recession. Mark Murphy, Chairman of Leadership IQ says, “In times of great anxiety, like an impending recession, people can get stuck in a self-reinforcing cycle where they ruminate about their anxiety which, ironically, only increases their anxiety. And of course, this vicious cycle absolutely destroys their productivity.”
Yet there is a solution to resolve this time wasting. Effective managers that set clear expectations and that communicate, listen, and respond well have more productive workers.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
