Add You - Business

Federal Employment – A Great Career Field
Whether you are just beginning your career or an experience professional, the U.S. Federal Government has a great career path with good benefits. It’s amazing how so many people never think of the government as a career option.Federal employees are typically put into leadership roles to over-see and manage vital national activities. Government careers put you on the "cutting edge" of industry because federal agencies are responsible for infrastructure, military defense, health, safety, air transportation and so on. It doesn’t matter if you’re a clerk or doctor. The federal government offers just about any career field you can imagine.Federal employment is a great way to start your career because you typically assume a lot of responsibilities early in your career as oppose to private industry where you may work in a specialized group for many years before assuming any major responsibility.If you want to make a contribution to society with excellent benefits, federal employment is the way to go. Contrary to popular opinion, the civil service exam has been abolished for most federal jobs and vacancy announcements can be found on the USAjobs government website.Many coastal cities need hard to find professions such as Marine and Wildlife Biologists. Agencies like the

read more fine examples of inert language used in our society in Don Watson's book, Death Sentence: The Decay Of Public Language. You know there are many more inert words that bulk-up our business language - perhaps when you have your next cup of your beverage of choice, you might sit down with your business's plan and look for the inert words in the goal statements. How well do you really understand what those goals mean?

And that's largely the effect of inert words in our business language - it's often hard to really understand what they mean. For example, it's far easier for you to imagine in your mind what it would be like to feel energetic all day and be able to site and move comfortably and pain-free and think clearly and enjoy eating fresh foods like apples and carrots and sleep soundly at night, than it is to imagine having "health improvements". When our language helps us vividly and in detail imagine the result it describes, it moves us, motivates us and almost programs us to make that result a reality. Sometimes it can even move us to realise that it's not the result we really want, and we can avoid wasting effort traveling in that direction.

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Grow Revenues in Chiropractic Clinic With Point of Service Sales of Retail Products
In 2006, two out of three chiropractors increased billings (67%), while almost ninety percent (88.3%) of chiropractors sold retail products to patients. At an average $28.5 collections per patient visit (PVA), retail product sales to patients remains a major revenue source. But for junior practitioners with a humble patient growth record, point of service sales is the fastest way to increase practice revenue.An added benefit of such sales is improved patient relationship. By offering your patients quality products that enrich their lives outside of your office, you demonstrate your care. Your patients are reminded of you – and of your care about them – every time they use the products you sell them. Better patient loyalty means lower attrition, frequent referrals and, eventually, improved profits. Stick to familiar products. Offer products you use during your treatments. Offer items like topical analgesics, hot and cold packs, orthopedic pillows and supports, water-based pillows, herbal packs, massage tools, lotions, oils, butters, scrubs, aromatherapy, etc., which can be used in your office to benefit your patients daily. Maintain exclusivity. Choose products not available in retail stores. Patients feel special if you offer products they can not fi

Avoiding inert measures that anaesthetise your performance management.

INTRODUCTION

You sit before the monthly report, which might be an inch or so thick, and you contemplate whether it's the best use of your time to paw through the pages to check if there's anything useful in there for you. Past experience tells you that the report is full of many measures graphed in all their splendor, but virtually none of them pique your interest, help you make the decisions you barely have time to give enough thought to as it is...

TYPICALLY, PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE NOT EMOTIVE ENOUGH

Do you have measures with names like these?

Employee Productivity.

Cost Efficiency.

Product Quality.

Community Engagement.

Customer Relationship.

Financial Sustainability.

Stakeholder Buy-in.

If you do, then there's a good chance that those measures are either not brought to life, or what is brought to life is a poor indicator of the result you are trying to measure. Why? Because when people look at measures that are named like those listed above, they often have no idea what they exactly mean, or have very divergent ideas of what they think they mean, or have no feeling of connection to them. They just look like a list of buzz words or phrases that every one else seems to be tossing around.

If people don't share a single, sharply focused, easily imaginable vision of a result they want to create, any effort to measure that result will waste time. And if you do successfully get some measures established, it's likely they just won't stimulate the excitement and motivation needed to make the result happen.

BECAUSE BUSINESS LANGUAGE IS INERT

If something is inert it means it's incapable of action, it is lifeless. Like the reaction you get when you put a concrete brick in a bucket of water, pretty much nothing comes of it. You just have a concrete brick sitting in a bucket of water. When we talk about business language being inert, it's when the reaction you get to a business goal written down in a plan document is little or no noticeable change to the business. Here are some real examples that have personally left me baffled at what could possibly be meant:

"The outcomes will include valuable input into environmentally sustainable solutions to underpin the many proposed developments on the airport, as well as independent research to assist in making effective management decisions for this growing site." - What does 'valuable input' mean? How would you recognise an 'environmentally sustainable solution' from any other solution? What does a management decision that is effective look like?

"Support and focus [our] educational mission to undergraduates in a manner that is increasingly known for its holistic and integrated academic programs, its striving for excellence in all endeavors, and its engagement with the wider community through service and learning." - Increasingly known by whom? How do you imagine what a 'holistic and integrated academic program' looks like? Is it really all endeavors? Does everyone have the same idea about what 'engagement with the wider community" means?

"[Our Council] will increase its responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness in delivering high quality services. Emphasis will continue on streamlining core business and customer processes. Services will be provided in the most efficient manner possible at a reasonable cost while meeting environmental needs" - Responsiveness to what specifically? Efficiency of what, and what would people notice if it were happening? Isn't effectiveness so broad that it could mean 23 different things to 7 different people? If something is streamlined, how is it different? Reasonable cost from whose perspective?

"Lead initiatives that foster diversity of staff and create culturally-competent care strategies supporting the local and international patients we serve." - When you are fostering, what are you actually doing? What kinds of diversity are good, and what kinds of diversity should not be fostered? How would you distinguish a 'culturally-competent care strategy' from any other kind of competent care strategy (is it obvious to those that contribute to achieving this goal what a care strategy is exactly?).

Each of these goals share the prolific use of inert words like valuable, input, sustainable, underpin, effective, support, focus, holistic, integrated, excellence, engagement, service, enhance, responsiveness, efficiency, effectiveness (these last two I think must be the most used of all the inert words as building blocks to writing business goals), streamlining, reasonable, foster, diversity, competent and strategy. You can read more fine examples of inert language used in our society in Don Watson's book, Death Sentence: The Decay Of Public Language. You know there are many more inert words that bulk-up our business language - perhaps when you have your next cup of your beverage of choice, you might sit down with your business's plan and look for the inert words in the goal statements. How well do you really understand what those goals mean?

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The Fear Factor
I recently conducted a lil' survey asking my colleagues what were their biggest fears when thinking about starting a business or running their business. The following are the top three fears that resulted from my survey and some ways to combat them.1. Fear of Failure: But of course… the most obvious. Unfortunately, the reality is that 30-50% of start-ups fail for various reasons...not always because of poor sales. Actually, of every seven businesses that shut their doors, only one actually fails - that is, leaves unpaid obligations (Small Business Administration-sponsored research). Then you have your external factors that are uncontrollable, hence the thousands of 9/11 layoffs. However, there are some basics ways to get over failing, if you plan ahead for the good times and bad:* Know your strengths and weaknesses. People who fear inadequacy sometimes try to do everything to perfection. Yeah, you control freaks out there know who you are! LOL However, you must realize what your talents are and then get help where you're lacking. You'll give yourself more freedom to excell in what you do best.* Analyze your idea, your market, management team, and your financial feasibility before beginning anything!* Identify the many pitfalls that others have had and learn how

they think they mean, or have no feeling of connection to them. They just look like a list of buzz words or phrases that every one else seems to be tossing around.

BECAUSE BUSINESS LANGUAGE IS INERT

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Practice Growth Strategies for Chiropractors
Practice growth is a difficult and often frustrating process. No matter how talented, experienced, or proficient you are as a chiropractor, marketing your business may be draining your energy, funds, and desire to achieve the original plans you had for your practice.Advertising is not fail-proof, and usually the thought of advertising expenses is enough to make business owners feel light-headed. Captivating your targeted market is not easy in today's world. How will you advertise - in the Yellow Pages, on the internet, through media? These are difficult and important decisions that a clinic director must make.It is easy for a person to forget what they heard on the radio, watched on television, or flipped through in a magazine, because while they are being bombarded with information they are actively thinking about other things or focused on multiple activities at once. That is not to say that these forms of advertising do not work, obviously they work quite well, but repetition is usually the key. Additionally, these types of advertisements can become extremely expensive in a hurry. Quite frankly, for the small business, advertising on such a large-scale is not a viable solution.Print advertising is the safest, most-effective, and easily traceable form of marketing. J

ents on the airport, as well as independent research to assist in making effective management decisions for this growing site." - What does 'valuable input' mean? How would you recognise an 'environmentally sustainable solution' from any other solution? What does a management decision that is effective look like?

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Send 'em to the White Pages
Your business is listed in the Yellow Pages whether you buy an ad or not. Your business is listed in the Yellow Book and the other phone books, too, no purchase necessary.The trick is to get people to remember your name when they look in the book. That's advertising's job. If you stress what's in it for them they will remember who you are when they go looking. Many times they go looking a year, or more, after hearing or seeing your ads. If it is all about them, they will remember all about you.Surveys show the majority of people look in the Yellow Pages for a name that seems familiar, either through past dealings or because of advertising or referral. Only the people who don't have a clue go there to make a decision based on the ad copy or size of the ad. And color doesn't make a difference to the clueless.You have seen it and heard it, "See our ad in the Yellow Pages". Furgitaboutit! Don't encourage them to go look for your ad, instead, show them how to find your number.Why send 'em to the yellow section where they could be swayed by ads from your competitors. Most folks can't remember numbers seen in print or heard on the radio and few carry around a pad and pencil. Your job is to help them associate your name with their ability to find

of what, and what would people notice if it were happening? Isn't effectiveness so broad that it could mean 23 different things to 7 different people? If something is streamlined, how is it different? Reasonable cost from whose perspective?

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How A Noisy Group Of Kids Could Put Money In Your Pocket...Starting Today!
Do you love being around children, teaching them how to do all manner of things? If you do then you can earn a fairly good income from this passion. There are many avenues to cash in on this passion. The only problem is which one to choose. Better yet you could operate more than one business and have multiple streams of income.List all your talents and skills. It could be in the arts, crafts, sport or educational fields. What talent do you have that could be turned into a viable course for young children? Pottery, Cricket coaching, Computer classes are some ideas.Once you have decided on what the course is going to be about, you need to plan it. You will need to purchase the necessary equipment and books to plan it thoroughly. Try to compile a year-long course. This has the obvious benefit of not having to be constantly looking for a new group of clients all the time - not for a year at least - once you are fully booked.Whilst developing the course try to think of ways that you can make your business unique and set yourself apart from the competition. An excellent idea is to provide parents with the option of having a video made of their child learning that particular skill.Now that your course is developed and all set to go you can begin to get the word out. Ma

Particularly in business, 'language that moves us' is critical if you are going to design the right kind of measures to give you feedback about your progress toward your goals.

MEANINGFUL MEASURES COME FROM 'LANGUAGE THAT MOVES'

You simply can't measure a result that is described by inert language. Measures are data that we have analysed to give us some evidence of the degree to which a particular result is occurring. Like the measure of employee absenteeism is data about individual employees' attendance at work that has been analysed to give us some evidence of the degree to which employees are available for work. Evidence is something that is based in the physical world, the world of our 5 senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. So if a goal or result is to be measurable, then it must be able to be described in terms of what someone would see, hear, feel or do, taste or smell if that result were occurring.

Some fairly reasonable examples of organisational goals that get beyond the typical inert language are:

From the Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia, "Improve decision making throughout the WCB, ensuring consistency with the legislation (proportion of issues leading to overturned decisions at the review or appeal level dues to WCB error in law or policy)." - This goal has made an attempt to explain what improved decision making means quite specifically, and therefore quite measurably.

From Oxfam's Strategic Plan, "Fewer people will die, fall sick, and suffer deprivation as a result of armed conflict or natural disasters." - This goal makes it very explicit what result they want to achieve, and people dying or falling sick is a very tangible result. Perhaps 'deprivation' could be more concretely explained, though.

From the United Nations, their first goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, part of which is to "Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day." - Very specific. Goals like this, that are incredibly sharply focused on a single result, are very powerful motivators. The UN use three indicators to measure this goal (find out more at http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/mi/mi_goals.asp).

In each of these cases, you can more easily visualize what achieving the result would be like, than for those examples on the previous page. This 'language that moves us' is often comprised of sensory based language, because it describes the experiences we have through our physical senses: what we would see, hear, feel or do, taste or smell if that result were occurring. The Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia would hear fewer of their decisions being overturned at the review or appeal level on account of their own error. Oxfam would see that armed conflict would be causing less people dying or falling sick. The United Nations would see that more people are living on more than $1 a day. And all these things are countable, and therefore measurable.

So the effect of sensory based language? You can more easily imagine in your mind what it would be like if the goal or result was happening, and then you can more easily pin-point the kind of evidence or data you could collect that will help you keep tabs on how much it is happening as time goes by. From this evidence or data, you construct your meaningful measures.

SEE IT, HEAR IT, FEEL IT… THEN YOU CAN MEASURE IT

There is still a long way to go for business, in improving its ability to communicate in general, but particularly to communicate its goals to its employees (to give them direction), and to its other stakeholders (to clarify its promises). It's really not too hard to start with our existing goals, however inert, and make the space for some rich dialogue about what those goals really mean, painting a sensory rich picture of what we would see, hear, feel or do, taste or smell if those goals were achieved. This will make the measurement of those goals unbelievably easier. And who knows, you might even get truly closer to that elusive thing we call a shared vision.

REFERENCES

Don Watson, "Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language", Random House Australia, 2003

Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia Strategic Goals, http://www.worksafebc.com/facts_and_figures/wcb_strategic_goals/default.asp

UN Millennium Development Goals, http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Oxfam 2004 Strategic Plan, http://www.oxfam.org.uk/about_us/downloads/2004_Strategic_Plan.pdf

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One of the most common issues that comes up for business owners is procrastination -wasting time, putting obstacles in the way of taking action towards goals, making excuses for delays, creating confusion/ busyness etc. Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior.

Although interview preparation is everything it's sad to say that perhaps as many as half of all interviewers you’re going to meet will be unprepared or incompetent.

While it is true that network marketing has its fair share of failures in the home-based business model, the income opportunity in this incredible business is staggering. Regardless of what some people may say, people can and do create wealth in this business - and so can you, if you’ll follow the 3 C's of network marketing success.

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