Cash in on Your Most Valuable Asset

Success is NOT determined by talent. If you live long enough you will at some time look at a talented, intelligent person, shake you head and say "what a waste". Success is not determined by hard work. Good work ethic and the consistent application to the tasks at hand are important for success. But it is NOT the laborers, construction workers or farmers who control the wealth in any nation.

Success is about having big goals that are worth achieving and then taking control of the sequence of events that lead to the efficient and effective attainment of those goals.

The secret to the productivity of every important person in our time is an effective time management system; A 'system' by which you manage yourself so that you are able to accomplish that which you most desire to achieve in your life time or the current phase of your life.

Here are seven proven strategies guaranteed to help you increase performance and productivity in your professional and personal life. I have tried to sequence them for maximum effectiveness, but feel free to try them in any order that works best for you.

1. Think It And Ink It

Decide what your want and write it down. What do you really want to achieve in your business and/or life; one week from now, one month from now, one year from now. Just decide and write it down. Have some 3 year goals, some I year goals. Now how about The 52 goals that you will achieve every week this year that will feed into your on year

2. Make A Plan

Look at what you say you want to accomplish by the end of this year

What would that accomplishment look like?

What would that accomplishment FEEL like? What must occur just before realization? What must have to occur before that point? Work in steps back to the present.

Now make a project out of that plan.

What can you do alone, what resources will you need, who else should or could become involved, what would make that possible?

Detail those project steps. The further into the future you situate the things you wish to achieve, the less details you are likely to have, but don't settle for anything less than an outline.

Make your plans visible so that this can trigger your subconscious to be always on the look out for implementation mechanisms. A proven planning and implementation technique is called displayed thinking. This calls for the plans to be displayed on white boards, or as a story board.

Displaying your plan in this way facilitates


Fine tuning the plan by the changing and/or addition of information and
Checking off completed activities that move the plan towards attainment.


Burying your plans in a notebook, or a computer file folder could be a BIG mistake. What if it were not "rediscovered" until next year this time?

Apply the 10/90 rule. Spending the first 10 percent of your time planning and organizing your activities before you begin will save you as much as 90 percent of time in the implementation phase.

3. Organize Yourself For Maximum Time Productivity

Do you take business calls on the fly with no system to record the information, no prior planning, and conversation or follow up notes?

If you are writing - are all the background materials assembled and in a file on your desk?

Do you allow impromptu, 'no declared agenda' meetings?

Do you allow yourself be trapped in the hallway or doorway by the - 'got a quick minute?" request that leads to a full fledged debate on an important matter.

Begin to designate the area most conducive for specific key activities; meetings, telephone prospecting, writing and client follow up, etc. And make sure everything you will need for the task is in that space.

4. Know Your Key Results And Key Constraints

What are you trying to achieve?

What are you being held accountable for?

What activities that if you did and did well, even to the exclusion of all others would still have the greatest impact in moving you towards your goal?

What can be delegated even if done poorly at first?

What can you and only you do that will make a big difference in the outcome result?

What are the constraints likely to slow down or derail your progress?

Apply the 80/20 rule here. Focus on removing that significant 20% of constraints which could genuinely stop you in your tracks

5. Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin

Do your home work - reference materials, past correspondences, addresses and telephone numbers, any special instruction or feature, uncluttered work area. Get everything ready then "sleep on it"

This is especially needed for large complex and critical tasks. Sleeping on it, helps to manage your energy and enlists the subconscious to help your preparation while you sleep. This will give enhanced effectiveness and implementation speed when you awake. Taking this preparation time actually give you more leveraged time in implementation.

6. Practice "Time Blocking"

Increasingly new evidence is bringing the curtain down on the value of your ability to multitask. Research shows that lack of a single minded focus or the tendency to stop and re-start a task has been estimated to extend completion time by as much as 500 percent.

The principle of Focus has been shown time and time again to be one of the greatest productivity leverage.

Develop the ability to choose the most important task for the moment, dig in and come up for breath when you have completed the task or the time you had blocked for it. Pushing on a task after the time you have allocated to it could endanger all your other scheduled task. Reschedule of just cut - "good is good enough". With time you will get better at estimating how much time is actually required for particular categories of tasks

Announce your plans to those you work with and treat potential violations as life threatening events. Encourage others to communicate in a written format and schedule all interaction. If you must have unscheduled interaction be very clear about focus and expected outcome

"John/Jane I only have 15 minutes right now"

Mary - I know you may have a long laundry list, but what is the most important thing that you would like to achieve in the 20 minutes that we now have.

Decide, do and cut off at 20 minutes even in mid sentence.

If you have ever been to a counseling professional you see the exactness with which this works.

7. Rest And Replenish

Down time and social interaction are vitally important to keep you physically and mentally recharged. Develop a personal learning and innovation plan to keep you at the cutting edge of your game - plan the seminars you will attend, books you will read and/or influential thinker you will follow. Block personal R &R time at the beginning of the year and make commitments that will be painful and or costly to renege on. Socialize to recharge, replenish and renew.

A word of caution: beware of overindulgence and tipping the scale too much towards R & R. The more developed your business and further advanced you personally are in years, the more R & R you can afford or need.

Marketing strategist Dr. Andrea Blackwood-Harriott is the creator of the 7-Steps "GetMarketAdvantage System" which helps entrepreneurs to identify leverage points to accelerate the growth of their business. Visit her website http://www.bigwinmarketing.com to receive FREE tips and strategies , subscribe to her ezine and learn more about her step by step system guaranteed to help you secure a BIG WIN in your market.

Achieve Weight Loss Success For Life

Obesity rates continue to increase at a staggering rate, increasing the risk of heart attack, diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and many cancers. In fact, obesity has surpassed smoking as the leading preventable cause of death in America. A study presented to the International Congress on Obesity reveals an even more sobering statistic - men who enter adulthood obese face a twofold increased risk of dying prematurely.

This underscores the critical importance of maintaining a healthy weight through childhood and into our teen years, as fat which is stored during the developmental years has a direct impact on our risk of illness and longevity as we phase through adulthood. Fortunately, by adopting a healthy lifestyle and weight loss program, we can reverse the risks which lead to an early demise, and avoid becoming a grim statistic.

Phase 1: Educate Children from an Early Age

Information from this study makes it clear that the growing epidemic of overweight and obese children is leading to a shortened lifespan for our next generation. This problem is simply rooted in poor diet and lifestyle, as children are being raised with the notion that fast food through a drive thru window, sweetened beverages and sugary snacks make up a healthy diet.

The average family eats 4 or more times a week at a fast food restaurant, in many cases consuming more than twice the calories they should for a single meal. Couple this high calorie, low nutrition eating style with virtually no physical activity, and you have the recipe for a health disaster.

Children need to be educated on how to eat healthy and stay active in much the same way as they are taught to read. This class must be taught at home. A child's mind is pliable, and adopting a diet of nutritionally balanced, reduced calorie meals prepared at home will become a life skill they'll retain as they get older. Reserve dining out for special occasions only, allowing you to control meal ingredients and portion sizes. Limit television and video games while encouraging regular physical activity.

Phase 2: Use Motivation to Solidify Your New Lifestyle

In order to hit your ideal weight loss goal, you need to master the mechanics of proper weight management. The tools are provided by eating a nutritionally balanced, calorie restricted diet with no junk food and participating in a regular exercise regimen. Beyond the basics, you also need to reward yourself for your accomplishments, and this requires motivation, driven by the knowledge that you're working to improve the quality and length of your life.

The best motivation is to track your progress. Keep a daily record of the foods you eat, carefully recording portion sizes, total calories and weigh food when applicable. When you estimate portions, you set yourself up for failure. Finally, weight yourself using a digital scale no more than twice each week, keeping a log of how you're proceeding toward your weight loss goal. Remember, the excess weight didn't suddenly appear overnight, and losing those extra pounds will take some time and effort.

Weight loss can be a matter of increased lifespan for many overweight and obese people. Depending on the amount of weight you need to lose, and when in life those extra pounds appeared, you may be able to make a significant impact on how long you live. Diet and exercise are important components to achieve your weight loss goal, and harnessing your psyche provides the necessary motivation to experience enhanced quality of life for many years to come.

Read More Expert Advice on Diet, Health and Nutrition, and Download your Free Weight Loss EBook!

John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan', a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your Weight Loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resource to continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download your Free 48 page copy of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan'.

11 Laws of Money Your Professors Did Not Teach You at Harvard and Princeton

The principium of making money work for you is making it a mancipium! Put money in something to get something more in return; apply your earnings and apply leverage to build wealth.

You should not be loosing money in the financial and investing world. Apply management by objective, spend less out of your pocket and make more in return from the money you put into investment. You must be able to have more return on your investment and have more money working for you so that you will have more time available to do other things and make much more money. Direct your leverage rightly and well.

You do not pinch pennies to have pretty penny! Penny-pinching mentality is a negative amount; work smart in this day and age by focusing on creating more money to live positively and prosperous in time to come.

Be motivated in life! Be of age in your finances and come of age in your investments. Maximize your dunamis (might) and hikanotes (competence); make favourable influence out of favourable occasions, do the right job and make money from it. When you earn the money, invest ten percent of your earning every four weeks so that you can have more than increase in your investments every year to go beyond yearning for the good life but being comfortably situated in life.

It is maturity to put your ability to work and pay your bills expended to secure a benefit or bring about a result. Do not make ducks and drakes of money, be one who dissipates his or her resources foolishly and wastefully no more, maximize your pin money and do not consume money in expenditure for things not absolutely necessary. Keep records and account for what you are doing; you must keep track of money and always have at your fingertips how you lay out and hand out your money. Put a course of sprouts on your fixed operating cost, variable operating expense and budgeted outlay with a financial plan.

There is nothing wrong with having money figment of the imagination; it is an indication of your money-manifestation. You must have a mindset that pay its own way in view of the fact that what you see is what you have. You must see money in what you think, what you are and, in the source of all resourcefulness and trust. Your conscious mind must generate and build up the process of exhibiting the special privilege to see in your mind's eye your worthwhile lifestyle, your subconscious mind must act in response to autosuggestion towards moneymaking and your superconscious mind must have unrestrained access to all intuition and information existing for the purpose of ever-increasing your passive income. Make as much money as you could do with and put your funds to work for you.

Define your fruitful goals so that it provides you with favourable occasions that are out of this world to build your sense of satisfactoriness and reliance on your supremacy, and have favourable influence. Make yourself master of all you need to take actions toward the accomplishment of creating a lifestyle you want for yourself. Come of age and step forward toward the vision of making progress in prosperity you have for yourself. Put your mental power to work and bring your profitable goals to a happy issue; seek and increase measures that have worth of being safe in your investments and build financial system of force you need to crown your life with success.

You do not owe money; you own your own home! You must have an attainment which shows that you are of age and have what it takes to work for riches that is making your old age golden; have motive and motivate yourself towards enhancing your potent asset and increasing your value on the open market of just regard.

Gold is not for a goldbrick! Golden-age is golden for a golden-ager who got wise to a gold-mine at the may of life. Be good as gold and develop the power of controlling your actions, impulses or subjective responses in getting your longing for an instantaneous satisfaction that is highly acceptable to the five senses better. Do not sit on a goldmine, strike the gold! Set aside a portion of your income and set your course for wealth-building. Use a portion of your wealth to supply your young hopefuls what they need with a store of capital. Provide for your children's future, your old age, your state of well-being, your state of being sound in mind and, aegis of your own flesh and blood.

Money is a component that forms part of the minimal body, character or structure of the good life. Believe it or leave it, it is part of your life; you need it to do superexcellent, superincumbent and superabundant things. You must allow money to come forth abundantly to you in all instances; put it into service for the purpose you want and have the life of ease. Cash is the right of casting the die, taking the first place in your world, holding the reins, or exercising your right without intimidation but availing yourself of your ability and adequacy to call into being the lifestyle you wants for yourself. Have an entrepreneurial mindset and propagate your own prerogatives. Increase your acquaintance with facts and skills; also increase your preferences and earning power.

The quality and quantity of products or services you provide to the general public is very important when it comes to making money and building wealth. If you can serve more people with your products or quality services, you will definitely make more money through out your life and even beyond the depth of your living. Have a lifestyle that is marked by a gracious and entrepreneurial spirit; direct your money and time rightly either with the services you provide, the products your businesses provide or the time you have to devote to other people.

Copyright by Anyaele Sam Chiyson

ANYAELE SAM CHIYSON, A Writer, Computer Scientist, Leadership expert, Marriage Counselor, Business Consultant; an Electrical/Electronics engineer, Info-&-Entrepreneur is the Founder/CEO of Chiysonovelty International & Head of Operations - Before40 Youth Empowerment Foundation for better Citizenship. He has created businesses and raised authors of credibility. He has authored works of wealth and wisdom including a Best-Selling Knowledge Book - The Sagacity of Sage. He is also a Motivational/Inspirational/Financial speaker; an immortal who believes in inspiring all and sundry live a healthy, happy and totally-fulfilled life. His Soon-to-be-released Book - The Richest & Strongest Man in The world is an invention that would ignite/initiate the desired changes that eluded the World's brightest and smartest minds and the key operators of the world's largest economies; it is the choicest one!

His work - The Sagacity of Sage is more than a book and a must-read for every man and woman! And you're just away from getting your own sagacious copy. See links below.

http://www.amazon.com/Sagacity-Sage-Anyaele-Sam-Chiyson/dp/1592321534
http://www.blackbookplus.com/The_Sagacity_Of_Sage.asp

Be Creative and Innovative! Rule your world and impact the world.

Making Your Cash Flow Work For You

In the last segment I looked at the net worth statement as your gauge for determining the progress of your financial plans. Maintaining a record of this calculation on an ongoing basis will build your confidence over time and reduce the stress of financial issues. My recommendation is to update the net worth statement quarterly[i]. Breaking the year into set financial segments gives a higher level of feedback and allows for adjustments before a budget variance can become a problem. So, now that you have a snapshot of your current situation, what's next?

Cash Management Planning: The Business of Family Life

I believe that looking at your family finances as a business will empower you to be objective in evaluating and correcting changes as they come. Financial issues have, perennially, been the cause of many family and individual conflicts[ii]. Separating it from the emotional side of life will eliminate the finger pointing, and make every person accountable for achieving the goals set. Every member of the family has a stake in the results, and so, as a stakeholder, will be more inclined to work together toward better management. Even in individuals, being objective will bring focus. What are the steps?

Establishing a cash management plan works to ensure that:

1. You can maintain family operations.

2. Provide an adequate emergency fund to handle unanticipated events.

3. Build a portfolio of productive assets.

4. Reduce the chances of illiquidity.

5. Create and maintain a solid savings plan for milestones like educational needs, retirement, and other long term goals.

Financial independence is achieved by managing these five areas assuring that your net worth grows in step with the goals you have set. If resources are not able to meet the goals you set, then, they or your goals must be revised to fall in line with them. Lack of control over cash flows is the most prevalent cause of financial problems. Hopefully you can see why this is an ongoing process throughout your life; because, life and its circumstances change and evolve over time.

Addressing the items above requires assembling a budget. WOW! NO, NOT A BUDGET! Immediately thoughts of constraints, having to "make do", and images of Ebenezer Scrooge beating you with a cane cascade through your consciousness. I'm right, aren't I? Settle down. This is the most misunderstood process ever. Contrary to what the word has come to infer, it is not about what you can't do, but, about what could be with the resources available. Budgeting is about projecting cash flows and verifying their feasibility versus the actual income and expense. In identifying discrepancies you are in control of how your assets are allocated, then you are managing, rather than being managed by, money. Budgeting and tracking your expenses gives you a strong sense of where your money goes and can help you reach your financial goals, whether they are saving for a down payment on a house, starting a college fund for your kids, buying a new car, planning for retirement, paying off debt, or saving for a trip to Jamaica.

As with the net worth statement the place to begin is gathering the information. What will you need?

· Pay stubs, and two years tax returns.

· A quarter's (three months) worth of bank statements.

· Credit card statements.

· Checkbook records for a quarter.

· Statements for all utilities and other services you use.

· Employers benefit statements.

· Financial account statements.

· Budget Worksheet[iii]

The second step will be estimating your future income and expenses. Separate income and expense items into two categories: fixed and variable. By fixed I mean those items that do not fluctuate; for example, if you are a salaried employee, the amount of your monthly income would be a fixed item. For expenses, the mortgage (or rent) payment, car payment, insurance, etc. would be a fixed expense. Variable then would be those that change from period to period. Ideally, prior to finalizing your budget projection, you should track your day to day expenses of cash out of pocket items, writing them down in a small notebook or entering them into an expense tracking app available for smartphones and iPods. Once again, this will help, not in castigating yourself but, to enlighten you about where the money goes. The whole point is to let you make a conscious decision about your financial life, letting you prioritize your goals and objectives. Don't be obsessive about it, though; I don't want you to end up facing a corner talking to the accountant in your head or anything.

Next, fill in the worksheet[iv]. The idea is to create a base-line. Your actual income & expenses can be entered in giving you a better understanding of where the money flows. Build your projected budget using the statements you gathered earlier.

There are many details to creating a complete budget, and it is important to have the detail because it will produce results once it is organized. I have worked with clients of all income and net worth ranges and creating a budget is the hardest part of planning. It really puts it all in black and white, and hopefully not red. Seeing the stack of income and expense statements may make you feel a bit overwhelmed. Take one piece at a time. Start with the income sources. Be aware that even on your paystub there are expenses that have to be noted: contributions to company retirement plans, insurance deductions, taxes, etc., will show up on those forms.

I hope that as we progress through these first steps it will help move you to become more empowered about your money. By the same token, I want all of you to understand that there are many interrelated parts to your financial life. My intention is to give you a starting point to organize and be able to contemplate how cash flow functions. I look forward to answering your questions as we move along...

Next time I'll continue with building the budget, then looking at what it's telling us.

In the mean time, be smart, be vigilant, but most importantly... Be wise!

[i] I recommend that you consider a personal finance program like Quicken®. It has some valuable budgeting and reporting features that will help you work with your advisor. If you don't have the software, Microsoft® Word or Excel as well as other word-processing and spreadsheet programs offer templates available on their website.

[ii] Coping With Financial Stress

Emotional / Financial Stress

[iii] see note(i)

[iv] See note(i)

Visit us on the web!

Robert E Diaz is a registered representative of, and, securities offered through Kovack Securities, Inc. 6451 N. Federal Hwy., Ste. 1201, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308 Tel: (954) 782-4771 Member FINRA / SIPC; Robert E Diaz is a investment advisor representative of, and, Investment Advisory services provided through Kovack Advisors, Inc., 6451 N. Federal Hwy., Ste. 1201, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308 Tel: (954) 782-4771, a Registered Investment Advisor. Registered in the states of Florida, New Jersey, New York

Vine Financial Management Inc. Is a licensed Insurance agency in the State of Florida Lic. No.: L001886; New Jersey, New York

Whether in the world of personal and business financial consulting, or in consumer trade, many variables affect the outcome. It is in maintaining an understanding of those variables and designing solutions to them that differentiate success from mediocrity. -Robert E Diaz

Warning: Redundancy Could Seriously Damage Your Health

A Special Report on the Hidden Cost of Change for the Civil Service and Public Sector

The hidden cost of change - dealing with redundancy

The hidden cost of change is almost always overlooked by HR teams, outplacement agencies and even your own line manager.

At best, you may get a few sessions with an outplacement agency that will help whip your CV into shape and give you a few interview tips. You may possibly also get some in-house counselling advice if you are feeling "under the weather".

Whilst you are marched through the redundancy procedural sausage machine, everyone ignores the fact that you may still be feeling unprepared and overwhelmed - in shock, or in denial, and angry at what is being done to you and how you are being treated.

The emotional state that you find yourself in is further brushed aside as the culture of "stiff upper lip" means that you brave it out- especially if you are at managerial level and still have to hold the fort and continue to help others through the change.

However, this is exactly the time when you need to understand how you may be responding emotionally and how you may need to cope with the overwhelming feelings whilst trying to carry on.

This report highlights the human cost of change which could cause longer term damage to your health if not properly understood.

If you are faced with redundancy, you must read on.

Change is a fact of life. Positive or negative, most of us have a strong response to change.

Any period of change, between something ending and something new or different starting, requires a transition. This is where we have to let go of the old and embrace the new, move from the familiar to the unknown. Even though we may think we know why we are facing redundancy at work, we may feel we are no longer in control or know what the future holds or where we stand; we may feel we no longer know what to do or how to manage; we may lose our understanding of where we are going and why; we may feel the loss of our familiar contact and friendships with colleagues and co-workers if this disappears.

How we react to change depends on how it is initiated - whether we have chosen it or whether we feel it was forced on us and out of our control.

Most people go through a sequence of emotional reactions to change:

? Initial shock at the news

? Denial that it's happening to them

? Blame -others or themselves for the issue/ problem

? Anger

? Uncertainty or evendepression

? Experimentation and a move towardsacceptance of the change

? Integration of the change into a new way of working, or a new way of life

It may be helpful to think of the transition process as descending into a valley and then climbing back out. This is demonstrated in the "The Change Curve" as developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

It is important to remember that although most people will experience each stage, not everyone will go through every stage, and you may jump from one stage to another, or even swing back to a stage you have already been through. How long you spend in a particular stage may vary from days to weeks to months. Change affects people differently and often in waves of emotions in varying intensity.

How you experience each stage and how quickly you move through the transition, depends on your ability to:

1. Identify and acknowledge where you are on the change curve

2. Develop coping strategies for each stage

3. Make sure you have the level of support you need

By following these 3 steps, you can develop your own change readiness and resilience, and equip yourself to self manage and support others through the transition, so let's consider each of these in turn.

1. Identify and acknowledge where you are on the change curve

Tip: To help you know where you are on the change curve, be aware of how you are feeling and pay attention to how you are behaving.

Stage 1 - Shock

Initially you may experience shock and surprise to the announcement of being made redundant. Think back to when you heard the news about the radical changes in the public sector. Huge job losses in your Department or Agency. Spending cuts of up to 40%. How did you feel? You may have experienced an initial adrenalin rush, followed by a kind of numbness, almost as if you were not feeling anything. It is possible you may act as if you are carrying on as usual but actually you feel dazed or confused. If you feel like this, then you're not alone. A lot of people go through this when they've been given bad news. The key thing is to recognise this.

?

Stage 2 - Denial

The second stage is one of denial, where you tell yourself that this isn't really happening, or if you ignore it, it will be soon be over and it won't affect you. This is a perfectly natural defence mechanism and it may take some time to move through this stage. However, some people can stay 'stuck' at this stage. If you are aware of feeling this way, you can get the information and support you need to move through it.

?

Stage 3 - Frustration or anger

During this stage, you may become aware of the negative impact on your self-esteem. Is my role being targeted for redundancy because I am just not good enough? You may feel you want to withdraw from what is going on at work or notice a drop in your performance. You may feel powerless, and experience both anger and frustration. This stage is often accompanied by a tendency to blame others, including those close to you. It's my boss's fault for not managing the budget in the first place. If my partner was more supportive I would have been able to move to a different role sooner.

?

Stage 4 - Depression or uncertainty

At this stage, you may feel despair and hopelessness. What am I going to do? How will I cope? Everything seems pointless and without purpose. Self-confidence is at its lowest ebb. The dotted line on the curve illustrates if you remain here, ongoing depression and a loss of self esteem can set in. This is why acknowledging if you are at this stage is critical, as is getting the right support as soon as possible.

?

Stage 5 - Acceptance and experimentation

Once you accept the situation, you can start to move on. This is where people who have not given up entirely and opted out of the process, start to consider the potential and possibilities in the new situation and experiment with new things with emotional neutrality. Could this be a genuine opportunity for you? Is there a different job you have always wanted to do, but never felt you had the chance? People genuinely explore options during this phase, and with action, their personal performance and self esteem increases.

?

Stage 6 - Actions and decisions

As you begin to take action, you become clear of what interests you and what does not. You start deciding what works and what does not. You are coming to terms with what is happened and start feeling optimistic and positive about your career and your future.

?

Stage 7 - Integration

This is where you have begun to integrate the changes into your life so it becomes part of the way you now do things. You have moved through the transition and your self confidence has returned.

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2. Develop coping strategies for each stage

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Tip:There are different strategies to help you manage yourself and help others through the broad categories of Denial (stages 1-2), Resistance (stages 3-4), Exploration (stage 5-6) and Commitment (stage 7).

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Dealing with Denial (stages 1-2)

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Be patient with yourself and others. Make time to discuss the implications of the change. Get as much information as you can so that you can make informed decisions going forward.

?

Dealing with Resistance (stages 3-4)

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Listen and empathise. Offer support, help and encouragement to others and find this for yourself too. Consider working with someone who will support you like a mentor or coach to help you identify and understand the obstacles and barriers that may be getting in your way, and to develop goals to help you move forward.

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Dealing with Exploration (stages 5-6)

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Encourage calculated risk-taking and learning in yourself and others. Dare, dream, discover. If not now, then when? Ask for help and give yourself the time and opportunity to brainstorm and explore all your options.

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Dealing with Commitment (stage 7)

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Reflect on the change you have experienced. Review how you responded to it. What have you learnt about yourself through the process? What actions have you taken? What would you do differently next time? Celebrate what you have achieved and the steps you have taken so far.

?

And remember...

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Each stage requires a different approach and may vary in time for each individual. For example, it is possible you may go through stages 1 to 4 repeatedly before breaking through the 'pain barrier' and coming to terms with the new situation.

?

You can movebackwards along the curve from Exploration to Resistance if you come up against a disappointment, but the overall movement will be towards Commitment to a new role, a new career direction, a new way of working.

?

You can'tgo from Denial straight to Commitment in one step. If you do, there's a real danger that you'll swing right back to Denial, at the first setback - this is often known as 'The Tarzan Swing'!

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And finally...

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3. Make sure you have the level of support you need

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Tip: Create your own Transition Success Team.

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During times of change, we sometimes feel that we have to struggle through each of the stages and 'go it alone.' In fact, the opposite is true. If you want to accelerate your transition and fast-track your results, gather a talented team around you to stretch you and support you. Include trusted family and friends who will champion you. Work with a coach or mentor who has a track record of success l and who you know will help you set clear goals and keep you on track. Two (or more) heads are better than one. Become a member of a mentoring group of like-minded professionals, so you can tap into each others' experience, expertise and support each other and use the group as a peer advisory board to help you during the transition period and beyond.

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If you would like to know more about getting mentoring support, then please contact us on info@civilservicejobscoaching.org.

Christine Smythe
Civil Service Career Limited
145-157 St John Street
London
EC1V 4PY
christine@civilservicejobscoaching.org 020 7873 2477

Contact Management (CRM) For Small Business - What Works Best?

Contact management for small businesses is a big deal often having a big impact on your bottom line. After all how well you connect and stay in contact with customers (and potential customers), track and manage your sales and marketing data, and drive business to your company is crucial to your overall income numbers.

Here is a quick "Guide" with strengths and weaknesses of three CRM software packages I'm comfortable recommending:

1. Salesforce.com

PROS: Integration with dozens of 3rd party tools including marketing automation. Hands down the most powerful import functionality of all CRMs. Salesforce.com allows you the most flexibility with mapping of data ..... and gives you full control of what data gets overwritten, merged, and updated. It is also easy to use and quick to navigate.

CONS: Expensive compared to other alternatives. Little to no contractual flexibility.

2. SugarCRM

PROS: Nice interface and powerful customization, most powerful if you count the ability to edit code. Flexible contract terms. More cost effective than Salesforce.com in the OnDemand version and free if you host the Open Source version yourself.

CONS: Little support for third party applications out of the box. Import process is limited in that you can only overwrite, versus update existing data records. This can be bad if you like to regularly update your database and import tradeshow and other marketing data.

3. QuickBase

PROS: Month to month contract terms, ability to host unlimited instances or have unlimited applications. As low as $15 per user per month. Easy customization.

CONS: Tedious import process with no ability to update certain fields versus overwrite. Little to no ability to connect to 3rd party applications.

My friends use Salesforce.com for their sales and marketing. They use Quickbase for delivery of their services.

Tidbits on a few others - Act and Goldmine require more IT resources for multi-user environments, and you will have trouble with people not syncing often enough. I have yet to meet anyone who has used Microsoft CRM and liked it.

Whatever program you choose really depends on what are your priorities and needs within CRM. Is it sales driven, customer service driven, internal help desk driven, campaign management drive. There are always some niche tools that are for specific needs and still people develop custom development. Proposal Making is a separate software in the CRM space for instance.

One thing to always remember when selecting, and integrating any CRM product. Installing and running the CRM is the easy part, no matter which one you chose. The hard part is tailoring the CRM's robust feature set to the unique aspects of your business, your sales goals, and the personality of your sales team. This tailoring will cost far more, take far longer, and incite far more arguments than you could ever imagine.

If it's so hard, then why even do it? Because that IS the payoff for CRM. A lot of people spend a lot of time analyzing all the features and choosing one CRM over another, and my point is, the feature sets aren't what matter.

The real beneit of CRM software isn't the automation, it is that in automating, it forces you to have all those tough arguments, make all those tough business decisions, and have all those debates about sales philosophy.

And if you do it right, you will be richer for it, no matter which software you choose.

CRM isn't simply contact management on steroids, it is your company's opportunity to identify best practices in customer life cycle management, codify those practices into defined processes, and an automated system to help your sales force understand and follow those practices.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications ... and author of Broadband Nation. Michael also authors Small Business Resources Cafe with resources, tools, tips, & insights for small businesses. The Cafe is always open. So ... grab a cup of Joe & sit awhile!

Your Disorganized Office May be Costing You Money

John is a busy, self-employed, plumbing contractor. His business keeps him in the field five to six days a week, so the only time he has to take care of paperwork is in the evenings and on weekends. He shares his home office with his wife, who works outside the home, but also manages the household business from this office space as well. All the management details of his small, but growing business are up to John.

John is a typical small business owner working from his home, and like John, you could be losing money because you do not have simple and efficient office systems set up in order to manage paperwork. You may be paying penalties for late payments, important paperwork could be lost in piles of unopened mail, and then there is the wasted time just trying to find things. Your small business office is the nucleus of your business, the center where new orders and paperwork are being generated daily.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are now more than 18.3 million home based businesses in the United States and 53% of small businesses are home based.

Is the story of your office one of efficiency and productivity, or is it a sad story of loss and confusion? If your office is in a state of confusion, there are four key areas of your office that you can improve right now and take your business to the next level.

Time Management

Develop a time management system so that precious time is not wasted going in circles because you don't know where to start. Time management is not about working faster - it is the practice of spending more time on the right things. Prioritize your time, and learn the difference between important and urgent. Important tasks help us achieve long-term goals. Urgent tasks may need immediate attention to avoid a crisis, but are not necessarily important in the long term.

Make a list, but limit it to six items or less, otherwise you may be overwhelmed. Eliminate distractions, schedule time for planning, and learn to use some kind of calendar, day planner or PDA.

A Filing System

You need to be able store and retrieve documents efficiently. This includes paper and computer files. Each business has it own filing needs, and each business owner has their own work style, so develop an appropriate system for your business needs. You should be able to put your hands on any given document, or piece of information in 30 seconds, or less.

You will need a system to manage working files, as well as permanent files. The permanent files need to be labeled with a specific retrieval system in mind, such as by categories, alphabetical, numerical or whatever system is appropriate for your requirements. Choose fixtures and cabinets that will best accommodate your files as well as particular storage needs, for special items such as photographs or blueprints.

A Bookkeeping System

Good bookkeeping practices are essential for a number of reasons. You will need exact information for financial statements, which are necessary for business loans or lines of credit. When you can track all your deductions, you may pay less in taxes. You will be able to forecast your business trends when you have accurate records, and if you decide to sell your business, you will need precise information in order to determine the true value of the business.

QuickBooks is probably the most widely used computer software to track all your business finances, and at the end of the year, all your data is ready for income tax purposes. There are other easy to use systems, as well as bookkeeping services to take care of details you may not have time for. You may have a vibrant, active business, but if you don't keep up to date and accurate records you may be losing money and not even know it.

Clutter Control

How distracting is it to sit down at your desk to find the remains of yesterday's lunch, magazines, mountains of paper and no sense of where to begin? It's not only distracting, but also costly, in terms of your precious time being wasted because you are not on task while shuffling piles, or housecleaning just to get to the desktop.

Get your desk set up so that there is a designated place for everything. Working files can be accessible, without being scattered everywhere. Keep the business cards in a card file, or a Rolodex so they are tidy and easy to find. Sort your mail every day next to the wastebasket, and throw away the junk before it turns to clutter. Don't let your office be a dumping ground.

Your office is so important to the health of your business. Don't let a disorganized office hold you back from the growth and success you deserve. When your office is efficient and organized, you will be more productive with your time, and you will reduce the level of stress in your life. Be proud to bring clients in to the office for meetings and consultations because you have an office that reflects your high professional standard and a smoothly run operation.

If you feel that you need help with getting your business office working in a more efficient and productive manner, call a professional organizer, who can review you business needs and the space you have to work with, then develop and implement systems specifically tailored to your business.

Sandra J. Carroll is a self employed consultant and a freelance writer, with over 30 years of business experience. Her company, Creative Changes provides practical solutions to the organizing, space planning and storage needs of homeowners and small businesses. As a small business owner, mother, and owner of two homes Sandra has first hand knowledge of the challenges that entrepreneurs and homeowners are dealing with every day. Sandra studied business and humanities at the University of Arizona. She lives and works in the Palms Springs area of Southern California. For more information about Sandra and her professional organizing business, please visit: [http://www.creative-changes.com]