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Talk Versus Action: A Closer Look
Talk! Talk! Talk! We are in a business where talk reigns supreme, and the boldest talkers are always at center stage. Claims run rampant about everything from ad responses - to phenomenal product results - to bodacious income projections.Sometimes this talk sways the uninitiated, and if they fail to seek any type of verification before taking action, they might find that they have based their decisions and plans on pipe dreams and smoke screens.However, before I leave the impression that talk is always cheap (and therefore frivolous), I need to emphasize the legitimate role of responsible talk in MLM. Responsible talk in our industry accomplishes a number of things:It speaks public commitments into existence which then create the forum for public accountability that is so helpful to those who need a support structure for continuous production;It helps people design a time frame for success (i.e., I’m going to lose 20 more pounds before Easter);It excites and motivates others to think bigger;It sets a climate for accomplishment in the organization which stimulates others to make commitments;It intensifies focus for everyone so they can evaluate their goals, large and small.We consider this type of talk to be positive because it results in benefits like those listed above. However, empty rhetoric, or worse yet, distorted testimonials and promises spoken, but not kept, have damaged our industry tremendously. When people keep talking about the future and how much money they are going to make, you need to come out from under the ether and look at what they’ve consistently done over the past year or years and compare those results to what they are saying.I used to --- out of ignorance --- stand in front of the room and ask the question, “How many of you would like to make $10,000 a month?” Every hand would go up . . . and that got me excited! I didn’t learn for several years that I was asking the wrong question.Of course, they all wanted $10,000 or more each month; they just didn’t aspire to the levels of commitment, focus, and keeping of production schedules that were needed to produce such a monetary result.In those days, I didn’t comprehend those levels myself as my own business was not making $10,000 a mon

>I said they were a devious lot. I was being cautious, trying to choose my words carefully. I am convinced EH&S is running a very clever extortion operation and is probably connected to the Mafia. They say, “Pay us more and we will do less. Pay more and there will be fewer accidents and fewer chemical spills. Don’t pay us and you will see accident, spills, and government visits will increase.” Get less for more money - that’s incredible. That’s extortion, pure and simple.

And they have a powerful lobby to write more and more complicated regulations. Imagine; in this time of deregulation these people have the power to increase regulations. Can you imagine the Finance department lobbying for more complicated tax regulations? Or the production people saying, “Pay us more and we will produce less?”

It must be extortion. Imagine: work and do nothing. My advice? Get a job there quick. After the first day on the job they all seem to be retired at full pay.

And it goes beyond this company. On my last visit to California I went to the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in San Diego. It was a beautiful building. Huge. 2-3 floors, the cafeteria sat 300-400 people. It was a large, spacious and attractive building.

Now think it through. They are the EPA. Do you realize how much pollution was generated for the building’s construction? If they truly believed in protecting the environment, they would be working in tents, especially in earthquake prone California. What could be safer than living in tents? At least in the north we have the cold as an excuse.

In general my new and improved calendar had a few minor problems. We sometimes delivered products before receiving an order and occasionally are accused of being late before r

Advergaming - A Smart Marketing Move
Advergaming, considered to be one of the newest marketing and advertising strategies, is rapidly becoming the darling of the advertising industry. Though the term "advergames" wasn't coined until 2001 in a Wired magazine's "Jargon Watch" column, advergaming as a marketing tool is actually older than most people realize.The first real advergame was a customized videogame incorporating brand messages and was distributed on floppy disk by American Home Foods to promote the Chef Boyardee brand during the 80's. Advergames are used to promote products or services, organizations, and even opinions and viewpoints. Today, with the advent of the internet, and smaller, faster processing chips used in computers, cellular phones, PDAs, and interactive television programming, advergaming has grown into a formidable industry.Advergaming is generally categorized in three different ways. In the first category, companies provide interactive games on their websites, hoping visitors to the site become engaged in the game, thus spending more time on the website and becoming more familiar with a brand or product. The second category is generally recognized as games that are created by groups or organizations for commercial, political or educational purposes, and then published and sold as any other game. For example, the United States Army sponsored a game called "America's Army" in an effort to increase recruitment. The third category includes games that promote products, brands, or services within the game itself. For example, an interactive baseball game might have banners around the field that promote Coca-Cola®, or a football team might be the "Tide® Titans." The advertising is similar to a character in a movie holding a can of Red Bull®, or stopping for coffee at a Dunkin' Donuts®.Advergames aren't just for kids, either. In a 2004 study performed by Comscore MediaMetrix, 25% of the gamers on PCs are 35-44 years of age, 25% of gamers playing free online games are 25-34 years old, and 33% of those who play premium games are 25-34 years old. Additionally, income varies among the age groups.Unlike television commercials, advertising and marketing within advergames is not perceived as an intrusion by the players. Gamers are voluntarily interactive, and the promotional material

In my youth, many years ago, I worked for a medium size manufacturing company. I was, like all at that age, eager and knew it all. And some still call me a know it all.

After two months there, the President asked to speak to me. I did not think he even knew I existed. Sweat time. I was sure I would get the axe and I had no idea why.

“I need your help,” he said. I started to become confused and weak kneed. My being speechless, he continued: “We are having serious scheduling problems and I would like you to investigate. A fresh look at the problem may be useful.”

“Listen to this” he said, “It is a memo to the Sales Manager from the Production Manager.”

He read the memo “John: Do you want us to rush the rush job we are rushing now, or are we to rush the rush job you wanted us to rush before we rush the rush job we’re rushing now, or rush the rush job we were rushing before?”

With that he developed a twitch in his left eye. The man was rattled. He continued saying “We have two other serious problems. Quality on Mondays is horrible and we have high absenteeism on Fridays.”

Being capable of solving all the worlds’ problems, I took the assignment.

On the pretext of learning the operations I spent about a week in the scheduling and production departments. Quality was a minor problem except on Mondays. For the most part the suppliers delivered on time. High absenteeism was a mystery to me. Does not everyone like to work? I asked a fellow why he only worked four days a week. He replied, “Because I cannot live on three day’s pay.”

The senior scheduler had an interesting philosophy, not without merit. “Plan well for the days and let the nights be a surprise.”

Frankly, I could find little wrong except for the Monday and Friday problem. However, their scheduling factored in these problems. And the calculated delivery dates seemed reasonable but rarely achieved.

I suspected the planning yet I was at a loss. Then I remembered what General Eisenhower had told me. “Roe,” he said, “in preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” A wise man.

I also remember what my old friend Sherlock Homes had told me years ago. “Roe,” he said, “It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded even the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

But what was left to investigate? Then it struck me - the calendar was at fault. It was the calendar causing the problems. I recalled that in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII had a serious scheduling problem. He could not keep the planting season in sync with the calendar. Farmers could not plan their seeding and harvesting times based on the calendar.

The Pope, following my advice on process improvement of adding, improving or eliminating, he eliminated ten days in 1592. That worked fine for 150 years! In 1744 the British dropped another 12 days (giving rise to the twelve days of Christmas) and all is still in sync.

Compared to the Pope and the British Empire, I only wanted to fiddle with the calendar, nothing major mind you, just a little fiddle here and a little fiddle there.

First, I eliminated Mondays. The day following Sunday was now Tuesday. Brilliant. Quality improved over night. Curing Fridayitis was a no-brainer. I reversed Thursdays and Fridays. With Fridays now being midweek there was little point in taking the day off. So the week now went Sunday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Friday-Thursday-Saturday.

Everyone enjoyed the four-day week. I was a hero! All went well for a few months. The Production Manager was pleased with the improved quality. However, he complained the missing Mondays was causing his deliveries to fall further and further behind. Hmmm. Should I add the four days a month back into the calendar? I could not call them Mondays so when were they to go?

In another flash of brilliance I add the four days to the end of the month. But what to call them? Certainly not Mondays. So I decided not to name them, but to number them. Following the 31st of the month they were called the 2nd 31st, the 3rd 31st, then the 4th and 5th 31st. The production department loved me.

All was going well until I had a visit from IT. Information Technology: the computer gurus. You know them, the group that has their Help Desk only staffed from 2am-4am, Tuesdays to Thursdays.

“What is with all these requests to change the calendar? You know us: we only work on projects we dream up. Right now we are working to correct a serious bug.” The bug was in a program comparable in importance to Windows 3.0 Solitaire. Even then, they never had the latest software.

“We also have to solve the year 2000 problem”

“But that is nearly fifty years away!” I cried. “Yes, we know. A difficult problem.” The solution seemed obvious. If I can fiddle a little with the calendar, why not fiddle some more? So I eliminated the year 2000. Who would know? They were so please they extend the Help Desk hours to include Saturdays and Sundays.

Who knocked next at my door but the Human Resources people? They did not want anything. The inventors of the Annual Performance Review were just wandering the halls lost, as usual. I have always maintained it would be cheaper to fire the lot and simply give us all an annual 10% increase. Don’t you agree?

Next came a visit from Finance. They were totally confused. Apparently I was stressing their limited ability of adding, subtracting, and complaining. A sad condition. They remind me of the bird who flew backwards: it was not interested in where it was going, only where it had been. Finance only measures what can be measured, not what should be measured. Have you ever seen a list of the most important thing of all, lost customers? Of all the expensive, wasteful things is a lost customer. Why did we loose them? No one ever mentions lost customers. Criminal.

Surprisingly, Finance did not have a complaint. They had a request: would I please have the 10th of the month follow the 20th? All their reports had to be in by the 10th of the month and with this change they would have an extra ten days to do their work.

Not surprisingly, I never heard from Engineering. It has been my experience that engineers rarely know or care what day it is.

Now came the really devious group. EH&S- Environmental, Health and Safety. Here were the deep yet warped thinkers, the real troublemakers. Beware of these people for they are a scurvy lot. Avoid them like the plague.

They wanted the 1st of the month to follow the 31st. “What on earth for?” I asked. “Well,” they replied, “We report accidents from the 1st to the 31st. This way the month would be over before it began. Voila! No accidents to report!”

Brilliant, What could I say?

Then a calm voice from the back spoke up. “We cannot do that for if we report no accident for a few months we will all be laid-off.” Good thinking. So I moved the 1st to a few days before the 31st. Now there would be a dramatic improvement but not perfect.

I said they were a devious lot. I was being cautious, trying to choose my words carefully. I am convinced EH&S is running a very clever extortion operation and is probably connected to the Mafia. They say, “Pay us more and we will do less. Pay more and there will be fewer accidents and fewer chemical spills. Don’t pay us and you will see accident, spills, and government visits will increase.” Get less for more money - that’s incredible. That’s extortion, pure and simple.

It must be extortion. Imagine: work and do nothing. My advice? Get a job there quick. After the first day on the job they all seem to be retired at full pay.

In general my new and improved calendar had a few minor problems. We sometimes delivered products before receiving an order and occasionally are accused of being late before re

Show Me The Green
There was a time that one could assume that the phrase ‘show me the green' was interchangeable with ‘show me the money' (and in some respects it still is), but today it's really taking on a whole new meaning – it's a phrase with a movement behind it.We, the people, are changing our view of green as fast as the kaleidoscope will turn. And the color is vivid. We are thinking green in our lifestyles, our products, the food we eat, the homes we live in and the world we inhabit. And if we're thinking and living green in all of those areas it stands to reason that this green-way of thinking will spill over into being green in our careers.But what does ‘being' green in your career mean? Well, it is different for different people – some say it means working for a company that is producing environmentally safe products, or clean technology. Others say it is working for a company who is giving back to the community, some say it's about recycling and others say ‘hey, it's just a place I go to from 9a – 5p and it pays the bills' (ouch…)!But, one of the insightful things about all this green way of thinking is what it is creating inside of us - our own internal environment. We are really all eventually drawn to ‘service', to a way to give back to the greater good. And that brings up the question; Who are y-o-u, from the inside out? What is going on within your own internal environment and how is your internal ecosystem? Where do you want to make your mark, and what impact do you want to have in the world. Of course, we can't all be Gandhi, but we can all make a difference – in his beautiful quote "be the change you want to see", Gandhi knew the richness of green from the deepest level of his being. He knew where he lived inside.Living your life in a green-way and contributing to life through the makeup of your own internal environment means reaching in and really deciding who you are, what you want, and how you can make a difference; and then bringing YOU into all aspects of your life, including your career.Once you make this shift it stands to reason that you will seek out and align yourself with a company that is stepping up to the ‘green-way' from the inside out too. That means more than just writing some fancy language about it in the company's a

day and Friday problem. However, their scheduling factored in these problems. And the calculated delivery dates seemed reasonable but rarely achieved.

Compared to the Pope and the British Empire, I only wanted to fiddle with the calendar, nothing major mind you, just a little fiddle here and a little fiddle there.

All was going well until I had a visit from IT. Information Technology: the computer gurus. You know them, the group that has their Help Desk only staffed from 2am-4am, Tuesdays to Thursdays.

“We also have to solve the year 2000 problem”

Not surprisingly, I never heard from Engineering. It has been my experience that engineers rarely know or care what day it is.

Brilliant, What could I say?

It must be extortion. Imagine: work and do nothing. My advice? Get a job there quick. After the first day on the job they all seem to be retired at full pay.

In general my new and improved calendar had a few minor problems. We sometimes delivered products before receiving an order and occasionally are accused of being late before r

Using Technology In Estimating Construction Costs For More Accuracy
A construction cost estimator knows that there are a lot of expenses that need to be tracked when estimating a job. Many people who have been in the industry for a long time have always relied on pen, paper and a calculator to estimate a job. They feel that their experience in estimating out weighs the convenience of the new software programs. However, what they do not realize is that using this software can save them a lot of time and headaches.Projecting Construction Costs Is The First Step To A Successful ProjectThere are a lot of costs that have to be considered when estimating a job. Both the seen and unseen cost can delay a project if they are not calculated correctly. Land acquisition, as well as assembly, holding and improvement are just a few of the things that need to be taken into consideration. Others include Planning and feasibility studies of the structure; capital costs for a construction project are just a few of the costs that need to be considered.You will also need to take into consideration the financial fees, which include filing fees and architectural and engineering design. These factors need to be taken into consideration before you can estimate any other part of the project. When you have these numbers, you can then go on to add the construction cost, labor and materials, insurance, taxes equipment and all of the other factors that will make up your bid or proposal. You have to take into consideration that maintenance costs will be a big part of your expenses. It is critical that you account for all maintenance costs in your estimate. This includes the operating staff, land rent, periodic renovations, labor and material for maintenance and repairs, insurance and taxes, financing costs, utilities. There will be other expenses that you will need to deal with as they pop up, however, with the estimating software; it will not be a problem.Construction job come in all sizes, and there are factors that need to be taken into consideration such as the location of the job and the efficiency of the management team. There a just so many things that needs to be figured into an estimate, that it willcontinually be revised if you do not have the experience or the software to create an accurate estimate.When it comes to vendors, t

ay week. I was a hero! All went well for a few months. The Production Manager was pleased with the improved quality. However, he complained the missing Mondays was causing his deliveries to fall further and further behind. Hmmm. Should I add the four days a month back into the calendar? I could not call them Mondays so when were they to go?

All was going well until I had a visit from IT. Information Technology: the computer gurus. You know them, the group that has their Help Desk only staffed from 2am-4am, Tuesdays to Thursdays.

“We also have to solve the year 2000 problem”

Not surprisingly, I never heard from Engineering. It has been my experience that engineers rarely know or care what day it is.

Brilliant, What could I say?

It must be extortion. Imagine: work and do nothing. My advice? Get a job there quick. After the first day on the job they all seem to be retired at full pay.

In general my new and improved calendar had a few minor problems. We sometimes delivered products before receiving an order and occasionally are accused of being late before r

Do You Have a To Don't List
As a business owner you may struggle with the question of how you will be able to get everything done. This is especially true for independent service professionals and solopreneurs. There are only so many hours in the day, this isn’t going to change. So something else has to.And if you spend almost all of your time working in your business, you don’t have time for the rest of your life. Isn’t it true that some of the reasons you started your own business were so you would have more freedom and fun? If you are stressed out and not able to get the right things done, then your business isn’t serving you in the way you intended.The answer is to only focus on the main drivers of your business. The kind of things that are the most important to the growth of your business. I know, I can hear you saying that your business is different and you have dozens of important things you must do. The truth is that not everything is equally important. It’s really a matter of choice and you are the one who can decide how you choose to spend your time.In many cases, in your heart you may know what the most important things are, but somehow loads of other things seem to get in the way. This is where a “to don’t” list can come in handy. So instead of a long list of things to do, try turning it around and focusing on what you don’t want to do. This will help you stay focused on the right things by default.To get started, make a list of all of the things you are going to stop doing, things that are not directly connected to the core of your business.Here are some examples of things for a “to don’t” list:* Don’t schedule meetings with everyone who asks me* Don’t check e-mail every 10 minutes* Don’t spend hours thinking about small things like the best font type* Don’t get lost surfing the internet* Don’t keep doing things manually that I can automateOnce you have your list ready, keep it in a place where you can see it. As you begin each day, think about what you want to accomplish and remind yourself of what you will NOT be doing. As you take action throughout the day, be aware of your activities and check to see if something you are doing is on your “to don’t” list – if it is, stop doing it immediately! You can alwa

y give us all an annual 10% increase. Don’t you agree?

Not surprisingly, I never heard from Engineering. It has been my experience that engineers rarely know or care what day it is.

Brilliant, What could I say?

It must be extortion. Imagine: work and do nothing. My advice? Get a job there quick. After the first day on the job they all seem to be retired at full pay.

In general my new and improved calendar had a few minor problems. We sometimes delivered products before receiving an order and occasionally are accused of being late before r

Business Coach Explains To You How To Control Your Business
Have you ever noticed that some business owners continually complain about how bad their industry is?Or how bad their customers are?Or how bad their suppliers are, or how bad their staff is?Yet in the same industry and in the same area there’s’ probably a switched on business owner that is absolutely creaming it.I find this all the time.Switched on business owners have the same conditions yet they just seem to be able to make it work.Why can they make it work?And how can you do the same?I have found that the best business owners focus on their business. And they focus on the things that they can control.If there’s something happening around them, or in their industry that they can’t control – they don’t let it get to them.They just adapt their business so that they can survive and prosper.So what are they doing?They are controlling their business.Let me explain.The media tends to talk about a handful of successful business people and the word ‘ruthless’ is often used.For some business owners, they truly are ruthless. That’s their way.I am not ruthless. And I don’t promote being ruthless.However I am fussy and if I don’t like something I won’t do it, I won’t tolerate it and I’ll move to change it. Immediately.You see I have found that very successful business owners have a low tolerance to pain.Where as mediocre business owners have an extraordinarily high tolerance to pain.Let me clarify this for you.Mediocre business owners will put up with problem suppliers, problem staff, and problem customers.The top business owners will not.Top business owners will seek to improve the situation immediately.Mediocre business owners tolerate poor performance. They will whine and complain about it – yet they won’t do what it takes to improve or eliminate it.The top business owners don’t tolerate poor performance. And everyone that works with them knows it.The top business owners set the ‘rules’ of conduct for everyone that wants to work with them. Everyone is clear about where the boundaries are, what they can expect, what’s expected from them – and what the consequences are if they don’t perform.That’s how you r

It must be extortion. Imagine: work and do nothing. My advice? Get a job there quick. After the first day on the job they all seem to be retired at full pay.

In general my new and improved calendar had a few minor problems. We sometimes delivered products before receiving an order and occasionally are accused of being late before receiving an order.

What was the end result? What would you expect? I was promoted. The President retired early on a medical leave. The Production Manger simply disappeared. I inherited the President’s tic. Strangely enough I was never asked to help with scheduling again. What a waste of talent.

James Roe www.smartjobhunting.com A free web site.In Business Scheduling is Critical By James Roe 7/10/06

In my youth, many years ago, I worked for a medium size manufacturing company. I was, like all at that age, eager and knew it all. And some still call me a know it all.

After two months there, the President asked to speak to me. I did not think he even knew I existed. Sweat time. I was sure I would get the axe and I had no idea why.

“Listen to this” he said, “It is a memo to the Sales Manager from the Production Manager.”

Being capable of solving all the worlds’ problems, I took the assignment.

The senior scheduler had an interesting philosophy, not without merit. “Plan well for the days and let the nights be a surprise.”

Compared to the Pope and the British Empire, I only wanted to fiddle with the calendar, nothing major mind you, just a little fiddle here and a little fiddle there.

All was going well until I had a visit from IT. Information Technology: the computer gurus. You know them, the group that has their Help Desk only staffed from 2am-4am, Tuesdays to Thursdays.

“We also have to solve the year 2000 problem”

Surprisingly Finance did not have a complaint. They had a request: would I please have the 10th of the month follow the 20th? All their reports had to be in by the 10th of the month and with this change they would have an extra ten days to do their work.

Not surprisingly, I never heard from Engineering. It has been my experience that engineers rarely know or care what day it is.

They wanted the 1st of the month to follow the 31st. “What on earth for?” I asked. “Well,” they replied, “W

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Erupting from the mind are often debates of challenges and issues plaguing mankind. Caught up in the sound and fury you can hear folks get worked up, by the mass media hysteria as they spar with jaded opinions jousting one another. Of course at the Online Think Tank cooler heads prevail and indeed the topics are highly intellectual spanning subjects in nearly every domain.

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