Team Building Lesson: The View Cast Supports Whoopi Goldberg

Team Building Lesson: The View Cast Supports Whoopi Goldberg
If you want to see a specific example of a high performing
team in action, be sure to watch the recent video clip of
The View in which the cast collectively demonstrates their
support for fellow team member, Whoopi Goldberg, after she
was not included in a montage of host clips at this year's
Oscars, especially since Whoopi was the first African
American woman to host.

What is a High Performing Team?

A high performing team gets extraordinary results because
they have created a solid foundation for productive
communication, innovative solutions, and great performance.
In other words, they have equipped themselves with right
team culture.

What business lesson can we learn from The View clip?

Let's look at how they responded when the Oscar oversight
was mentioned:

1. Each member showed her support for Whoopi's
accomplishments.

2. Their concern and empathy for the omission was voiced.

3. The View team verbally rallied around Whoopi.

4. Whoopi showed her deep gratitude for their support by
kissing each cast member on the cheek.

Of course, you don't have to start kissing your team
members at work, but you should take a cue from the girls
at The View in regard to the powerful support system
demonstrated in the clip with Whoopi.

And if you happen to be a team leader, supporting your team
is vital to their success, and yours. Otherwise, you may
miss out on the many benefits that teams are so well known
for, such as high performance and innovation.

Supervisory and co-worker support is so powerful that it
can actually act as a shock absorber to the amount of work
stress you feel on the job. Do you think if Whoopi happened
to be feeling left out or stressed, that her team member's
support made a difference? You bet it did.

What does this mean for teams?

It means that leaders and their organizations have the
power to design teams that can get great results, be highly
dedicated, and experience less stress on the job.

Six Team Design Elements For Success:

1. A Supportive Environment

Support from your peers or supervisor can buffer work
stress. Examples include statements of understanding,
flexible assistance with work schedules, and public
recognition.

2. Empowerment

Balance decision-making leverage and a sense of control
with job responsibilities. No one wants to be held
accountable for a situation beyond his or her control.

3. Mutual Trust

Increase trust by building a culture of partnership and
shared value. Building a typical us versus them culture is
counterproductive and wastes time and money, yet lots of
leaders unintentionally fall into this approach when they
fail to think about team design in line with their core
purpose.

4. Team Members with Specific Expertise

Each team member should understand what the other has to
offer in regard to knowledge, skills, and abilities and how
it connects to his or her own expertise and shared business
objectives.

5. A Unified Team Vision

Have the team create their vision in order to build
momentum and trust.

6. Open Communication Channels

Knowledge and information should be shared on all levels.

The elements above can add up to the right team culture.
Building and designing a team culture should be aligned
with the results you're after. The payoff is a high
performing team with infinite possibilities. Thank you
ladies at The View for demonstrating a great of example of
co-worker support in action.

----------------------------------------------------
Diana Keith, owner of M-Level Systems Consulting and
business psychologist, works with leaders and their teams
to increase innovation, morale, and productivity. Get your
Free Strategy Guide For Success
http://www.mlevelsystems.com at her website.

Simple & Easy Media Tips to Giving Good Interviews

Simple & Easy Media Tips to Giving Good Interviews
Who doesn't want to get the word out about their company,
service, or product? As a publicity expert with more than
twenty years experience in the field, I have encountered
hundreds of companies who have wanted the same thing. My
answer is to appear as a guest on local radio, TV news
shows and/or gain editorial coverage in print which will
enable you to get the word out to thousands (and possibly
millions) of consumers.

From my experience, here are some tips that will help
anyone get started in the race to attract attention from
the broadcast media - radio and TV. How To Know if You Are
a Good Candidate for Radio and TV.

Almost anyone can be a candidate for radio and TV, but if
you are a company with consumer-oriented products you are a
perfect fit! If you are a professional firm with legal,
financial or consumer related services this would work for
you too. With specialty radio and TV programs on law,
relationships, lifestyles, health, gardening and more,
there are definitely shows out there that can be a perfect
match for your message.

Does Practice Make Perfect?

Oh, definitely. The professionals who are in the media all
the time make it look very easy, but actually it's a skill.
The more interviews you do, the better you get at defining
your message and honing your presentation skills. And once
you do a few radio call-in shows and speak to a few hosts,
you'll find that the questions you get are similar.
Usually, there's one area of your message that's really
interesting to people and you can start to craft your
answers to respond about that area.

Where To Focus Your Pitches.

Local radio shows on the 250-watt or 1,000-watt AM stations
are a great place to start. There's also internet radio,
which is becoming more popular and could be another good
way to get started. With more radio shows going to national
programming the weekend programs are also the best place to
find radio shows that are looking for guests.

For TV go after your local morning news programs or weekend
lifestyle segments. And there's also community-access
cable, which can be relatively easy to get on and can
provide wonderful experience and a way to build up your
confidence on camera.

How to Spark Producer Interest.

Well, first, stay up on the news. Listen to the radio, read
newspapers, watch TV. That helps you figure out what's in
the news and how your message might tie in with it. Once
you have an angle or tie-in to a current news story, put
together a press release that positions you as an expert on
this issue and sells them on why they should have you as a
guest. Remember, pitch your expertise as a solution to a
problem that's making news - don't go in with a sales angle!

Getting Prepared for the Interview.

Make sure you're fully prepared with facts, figures, and
anecdotes to talk about when you're on the air. Make up a
cheat sheet or note cards loaded with your best information
and key points. Most TV interviews are going to be very
short -- three to five minutes at most -- so you really
must know your message before you go on the air.

Do some dry runs with a friend or business associate acting
as the host, so you get your answers down. The audience can
easily detect the difference between a guest bursting with
knowledge and one whose knowledge well is drying up. If you
don't have much to say, you'll lose the audience's
attention and any credibility that you were building with
them.

Do As Many Interviews as Possible.

There is no such thing as overexposure; you want to conduct
as many media interviews as you can. The more interviews
that you do, the more buzz you will build about your
company, product or service. And you should make yourself
available at a moment's notice, if need be. Talk radio
interviews are typically done from your home or office, so
that makes it very easy.

Think of media appearances as instant promotional
opportunities, and be available day or night. Anytime
you're on the air, you're going to boost your company,
product or service's visibility and sales.

How To Get Invited Back.

You need to sparkle on air. Enthusiasm speaks loud and
clear, so in order to keep the audience attentive you need
to maintain a high level of interest throughout the
interview.

Remember, media is about entertainment. So you want to be
both informative and entertaining, not boring. Do that and
you'll find the host jumping in to help you promote your
message.

How to Give a Good Interview: Eat, Sleep and Turn Off Your
Phone!

It sounds obvious, but the first thing is make sure you're
really well-rested and well-fed. Your attention isn't going
to be focused if you're hungry or tired.

Also, if you're doing a radio interview from your home or
office, close yourself off in a room where there are as few
distractions as possible. Get your cell phone out of there!
Then, try and relax and be yourself. Nobody knows your
message like you do -- so you really are an expert. Have
fun with it!

And don't be too hard on yourself after your first
appearance. No one goes out and bats a home run the first
time at the plate. So try to be as comfortable as possible
and as prepared as you can be, and then enjoy yourself.

----------------------------------------------------
Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on publicity
for authors for nearly two decades as CEO of Event
Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to
receive her free Ebook "How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest"
visit http://www.emsincorporated.com .

Phil learns to serve rather than be served!

Phil learns to serve rather than be served!
Phil swaggered into my office, sank into the back of the
chair that I offered - and swiftly folded his arms.
Without saying anything, Phil simply looked at me with his
left eyebrow raised.

His defensive body language made it clear that he was not
looking forward to our session and I recalled that it had
been his boss who - concerned that his newly appointed
manager was causing waves in the office - had made the
appointment for Phil.

Phil was new to the role of management - and I was
beginning to get the impression that the problems in the
office were due to his "throwing his weight about".

Gently, I asked Phil how he was enjoying his new job.
"Yeah, it's great. I always knew I'd make it to manager
level, as I'm very ambitious. And as I see it, this is just
the first rung - I intend to make it all the way to the top
of the ladder!"

Proud of the fact that he was the youngest manager in the
company, Phil also felt that he had a lot to prove. In a
bid to ensure that he had the right skills, he had invested
both time and money in various management strategy books -
however, when I asked him about the "softer" skills of
leadership, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"All of that stuff is just baloney. What really matters is
that an organisation has a clear plan of action, a clear
chain of command and a clear set of rules of engagement."

I pointed out to Phil that his language sounded almost
military in style - and asked him if he felt that being in
management was simply dealing with one "skirmish" after
another.

"I guess that pretty well sums it up," he said. "Sometimes
I think I should have a flak jacket! To be honest, the
people I manage aren't awfully good at taking orders - and
if we are going to hit our sales target, then sometimes I
have to pull rank on them to ensure that the job gets done."

Not surprisingly, it turned out that Phil's father had been
in the Army - and from our discussion, it appeared that
Phil's home life as a child had reflected his father's
career.

"Dad never allowed us to have our say," said Phil, "We were
just expected to follow orders. I guess that's the only
way I know - and frankly, I can't say that it's harmed me."

"No," I said, "But it's in danger of harming your career.
Most people have not had the same kind of childhood
experiences as you - and will not welcome your dictatorial
style. The people who work for you expect to be led - not
bullied."

Phil flushed red - and then went white at my words. But I
pressed on regardless, knowing that if he was to succeed in
the future, Phil had to understand now that he needed to
adopt a different management style.

I explained that if Phil wanted to earn respect as a
manager - and indeed earn promotion in the future - then he
needed to learn to respect his staff first.

"Poor leaders expect to be served and demand respect," I
said. "But great leaders expect to serve - and earn
respect."

Phil listened to my words and didn't speak for several
moments while he allowed them to sink in, eventually
saying: "You're right, I'm beginning to see why my staff
have been behaving the way they have. I guess if I change,
then they'll change."

I simply nodded my head in agreement.

----------------------------------------------------
Olivia Stefanino is a leadership consultant, speaker and
author of the internationally acclaimed management book,
"Be Your Own Guru". Interviewed on more than 25 radio
stations and featured in "The Guardian", "Natural Health"
& "Red", Olivia is a guest columnist for a number of
national and international publications. Download your
fr*ee e-booklet, "128 ways to harness your personal power!"
by visiting http://www.beyourownguru.com

Believe in yourself if you want to work at home and succeed in your business

Believe in yourself if you want to work at home and succeed in your business
How many people do you know that want to be an entrepreneur
and actually take action and make things happen? Probably
not a lot of them, right?

You see, many just like to talk and talk about opening up a
home based business and actually do nothing.

There are also those who study the business from all
aspects but are too scared to take any action. They don't
really believe that they can succeed. They have what I call
doubts and yes, many excuses.

They have excuses like:

1. I don't have enough money to get started

2. I'm too old to start a business

3. A business is a big headache

4. I don't know if it'll work

5. It's too risky for me

6. I don't have the time to do this

Many people who want to start their own business just have
one thing in common. They basically don't believe in
themselves. They doubt their abilities to succeed in
business. Negative thoughts is what kills their ambitions,
goals, dreams, and desires to get started and make it big
in business.

If you are reading this article and have come across these
negative thoughts, you need to flush them out and let them
go. They are sitting in your mind like an old unwanted
furniture. Just take that old "furniture" and throw it out.
Replace your negative thoughts with some new "furniture"
thoughts.

How do you do that? You will probably won't be able to do
this yourself. You will need some help. What will help you
is to read motivational books and listen to inspiration
audio Cd's or tapes. If you read and listen everyday for
just a few short days, your thoughts and actions will
change dramatically. Your old negative thoughts will start
to turn to positive thoughts and comments. This is one
thing that you have got to do.

What I am going to give you next is the steps that I and
anyone can take to start and succeed in their business and
destroy self doubts and getting rid of unwanted negative
thoughts:

1. Surround yourself with successful and positive thinkers.

What you need to do is to stop associating with people who
are just flat out losers. People who will always find a
problem to every opportunity. If you want to fail in life,
then having friends like that is the best way to go.

If you can just surround yourself with successful and
positive people, your life will change so much. Your
thinking will be much more positive which will lead you to
taking more action and making things happen in your
business.

2. Set Goals.

You want to know where exactly you are going. Write down
your weekly goals, your monthly goals, and what ever you
want to accomplish in your business.

3. Be Confident and believe you can achieve anything.

If you believe you can't achieve something, you probably
won't. You have to believe that anything that you want to
accomplish, you can do it. Never say to yourself that doing
something is impossible. When someone tells you that you
can't accomplish something, prove them wrong.

4. Don't be a dreamer, be a doer.

Stop saying that you will start tomorrow or next week.
Start taking action right now. Even if it is small action,
do it. Putting things off and saying that you will do it
later will not help you at all. The only thing that will
happen is that you will keep putting it off and you may
even never do anything.

5. Never Give-up.

Quitters never win and winners never quit. You need to know
that it is very possible that you will have many setbacks
while starting and building your business.

Things will not always be as smooth as you want it to be.
Everytime you have a setback, don't let it bother you too
much. Just learn from it and move on forward.

And know this:

90% is attitude and 10% is taking action.

----------------------------------------------------
Tal Fighel is inviting you to visit this legitimate Online
Data Entry Typing Opportunity by clicking here:
http://www.work-at-home-income-directory.com/Data-Entry-Inco
me.html Or you can visit his work at home directory where
he is offering legitimate and honest work at home
opportunities:
http://www.top-work-from-home-opportunities.com

How To Grow Your Company By Buying A Business

How To Grow Your Company By Buying A Business
Growing a company organically can be a long and arduous
task. Developing products and services. Marketing and
selling. Building a relationship with customers whilst all
the time worrying about the costs and whether your business
will work.

An alternative way to achieve a fast increase in the size
of your company is to make an acquisition. This means
buying a company that you can merge with your existing
business. Sometimes the investment you would have to make
to reach a certain size in 2 to 3 years can be more than
the cost of acquiring a company that could get you there
tomorrow. So it's worth considering.

This can even work if you are starting up. We raised
finance for starting a business and, before we even
embarked on implementing the business plan, we found one of
the main competitors in the market was up for sale. After
agreeing it with our investors, we made an offer and
acquired the company for a good price. Within 6 weeks we
had a fully fledged business completely up and running,
with an established name, services, customers, offices,
staff and a year's worth of marketing already done for us.
It jumped us at least 18 months ahead in our business plan
and probably saved us over £500,000 in costs.

If you already have a business or you're thinking of
starting one, then it's worth taking some time to
investigate the opportunities in your chosen market and
seeing what's available. One of the biggest advantages of
buying a business is that it can bring a ready-made
customer base. And whatever business you're in, you'll
know that the costs of acquiring customers can be
significant.

You can find businesses for sale through the internet and
through specialist business brokers. You can also find
them by talking to others in your industry, including your
competitors.

You'll most likely need help from professional advisers
when you decide to actually make an acquisition but your
initial investigations can be done at a low cost and with
minimum disruption.

It's up to you whether you choose to look for a business
that's smaller, the same size or even bigger. It really
depends on what your plans are. You may even find yourself
inspired to move into a different industry when you find
what's available.

Of course, acquisitions don't come without their own
special challenges, so you'll need to understand the risks
and rewards involved in buying someone else's business.
However, if you set clear objectives and create a solid
action plan then it's something that can really work for
you.

Make a list of what you want in your own business. This
could include more customers; more products or services;
bigger offices; more experienced staff or any other items
specific to your needs.

Then start your search for companies that fit your criteria
and at the same time calculate how much it would cost you
to achieve all your objectives by doing them yourself from
scratch. Once you find some companies that match what you
want, you can start making approaches and offers. Your
calculations will show you how much you want to pay by
comparing what the acquisition would bring you against what
it would cost to build it yourself. And you may be able to
pay a lot less than that.

Just imagine, after reading this, you could find yourself
in 6 weeks time with a business twice the size of your
current one and with many more opportunities to explore.

----------------------------------------------------
Andy Warren is the Managing Director of Marshall Keen Ltd.
He is a chartered accountant, successful CFO and
entrepreneur with extensive experience in M&A, Corporate
Finance, Business Growth and Exit Strategies. Marshall Keen
http://www.marshallkeen.com specialises in CFO services for
early and mid stage businesses, particulary in the tech
sector. Andy is also the author of How to Buy a Business
for a Pound http://www.buyabusinessforapound.com

Why using Free Marketing can help your business

Why using Free Marketing can help your business
The advantages of freebies can be many but at the same time
you can be caught up in a marketing campaign that you just
don't want. So how can you beat the marketing pitfalls when
you are offered something for nothing?

In this article we discuss what to look for and how to test
for validity.

1. Let's consider free classifieds and email sites.

a. Free Classifieds are completely harmless. Having tested
hundreds of sites there is nothing to be found that will
cause you any marketing grief. What you do need to do
though is look at the sites that will give you an option of
both pay per ad and free ads. You should also look for
sites that promote to the search engines on a regular
basis. This gives your ad and your website more visual
power and your website backlinking from the major search
engines.

b. Email sites are usually known as Safelists. A safelist
can boost your business a thousand fold. There are free
safelists and there are paid ones. We have found both types
of safelists to be effective. We have however, found a paid
safelist has a slightly better quality range of leads than
that of a free safelist. A safelist allows you to email
thousands of likeminded clients without being accused of
spam. This is very important as direct marketing is the
most effective form of marketing and spamming is a fineable
offence. Therefore safelists rectify this problem.

2. Search Engine Submission. This is a minefield and
unless you have loads of time you probably don't want to do
it yourself. Free search engine submission offers are great
but what they essentially do is list your website on
smaller non-descript sites where nobody will find you. To
really get your website out there you should pay somebody
to do it. We have found that as little as $10 a month will
get your website into over 1000 quality websites and
increase your hits and your sales.

3. Marketing need not be all about the Internet. What
about promotional material such as business cards? A
business card is something you really must have no matter
what business you are in. A person with your business card
in their pocket, wallet or on their fridge will be a great
asset to you. Why? Because whenever they access these areas
they see your card and are subliminally reminded of you.
That is why repetitive TV and Advertising works - it is all
subliminal. So what has this to do with freebies? Well
surprisingly there are companies out there who want to help
you by giving away free business cards. You normally only
need to pay for the postage. They can offer you a great
range of designs and layouts to ensure you have a
professional look without the cost. So don't discount a
Business Card freebie it could well give your business a
kick start.

Finally...

4. Free downloads. There is nothing free in this world or
is there? Most times you have to pay a service fee, a
postage fee, or read other peoples ads, or receive offer
for whatever it is you are accessing for free. This can be
really worth your while. If you are looking for free
downloads then look for those that have an admin free
attached and don't expect you to sign up in some way. That
way you will not get bombarded by junk mail and just get
what you were wanting - free downloads. Also if you are in
business look for the free downloads that give you the
opportunity to give away goodies to your clients, or to
resell as well as to use yourself. Otherwise there is no
point even bothering.

So there it is an overview of the great way to market your
business using freebies.

Best wishes with your business!

----------------------------------------------------
Katherine Quirke is an Australian based business
entrepreneur. She has worked in the IT industry for over 10
years and owned a number of businesses over the last 20
years. Sharing her knowledge has become a passion. Further
information: http://www.potentialtime.com.au/printshop.htm
and http://www.potentialtime.com/advertising.htm

Solving The Catch-22 of Your Business Model

Solving The Catch-22 of Your Business Model
Start-up entrepreneurs, independent professionals and
business leaders may be equally deeply passionate about
their product or service model. Despite, or in fact because
of that passion, their success may be at a stand still.

In the late 1990s I worked with a woman who had a brilliant
cosmetics idea that had HSN (the Home Shopping Network)
interested. In order to play to that audience, the product
needed to be displayed in a fashion other than the one the
entrepreneur wanted. She was adamant. It was her baby after
all. More than 20 hours of explaining and cajoling and
analytically demonstrating the potential for sales if done
"the HSN way" produced no shift in her devotion to her
model.

The boxes of her prototypes are sitting on her closet floor.

So what's the Catch-22?

If you are completely, absolutely, positively set on your
model, be it fixed OR flexible, you're not running your
business, it's running you.

There is NO single best model to use - every model is a
blend of the internal forces of the personality, decision
making, skills and processes, and of the external forces
where that effort is aimed.

What sets successful businesses apart from the ones that
are languishing is that the key decision makers step back
from the market, the product, the model and re-check
whether the formula they are currently using is getting
them the result they say they want: profitable growth;
competitive differentiation; stability; and so on.

Contrast that with the jewelry designer whose original
model was "I need to make every piece because they must be
made exactly the way I want them to be." However, she
hated making duplicates, so her business was stalled. She
was willing to test a new model. In four hours of our
discussions and one month of research she located people
experienced with the materials she used in her jewelry
making who could demonstrate their ability to reproduce her
pieces exactly the way she wants.

Her jewelry is now being sold in Hawaii, California and
Canada.

The President of a business in transition from one
generation to the next informed me flat out that they
couldn't change the model for how they market or package
and provide services "because everyone else in the industry
does it this way." He and his management team were unable
to imagine a single other way to package their expertise to
change the game. In a single brainstorming meeting with the
management team, I was able to suggest six ways to do so.
In the second meeting I was able to walk them through the
entire discussion of the pros and cons of each and they
outlined what the required changes in materials for sales,
sales training scripts, and customer service activities
would need to be if they decided to pursue it.

Now they'll need to decide which are the High Payoff
targets they'll pursue.

My attorney client "Mike" called this week and said "I'm
sick of training, I want a different model!"

I've been working with him on the management skills he
needs to develop using his current model: bringing in entry
level junior attorneys to grow and expand his legal service
offerings. The root of his decision is that his market is
changing and he wants to establish a firm that can flex to
meet the regulatory and seasonal waves that influence the
flow of work coming to his firm while also growing the
business.

He's tested his first model, the time and content of the
training he needed to commit to bring a less experienced
person up to speed. He created a way of evaluating the
trade off between time and effort, and so on. In reaction
to the experience he's having with training, he's now
asking himself if he'd rather bring in much more
experienced and much more expensive lawyers to build his
business.

I'll be working with him to explore that approach, to test
it, analyze it and learn from it.

If you're completely fixed, you're not testing where
opportunities, efficiencies, and profits might come from.

If you're relentlessly flexible you're probably not
gathering enough information to identify where you could be
more systematic in order to gain efficiencies that will
make you profitable.

If you found yourself wincing at the idea, it's probably
time for you to step back and challenge your model.

----------------------------------------------------
© 2008 Linda Feinholz Management expert, consultant,
and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High Payoff Catalyst" If
you're ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, boost
your professional and personal results and have more fun,
get her FREE audio mini-course "7 Quick & Simple Steps to
Increase Your Focus, Ease Your Effort & Accelerate Your
Results" and the free weekly newsletter The Spark! Visit
http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com

Office Printers - Keeping Daily Costs Under Control

Office Printers - Keeping Daily Costs Under Control
Even a moderately-sized business can expect to find the
daily business of print cost management a major challenge
in terms of cost control. These days a multitude of printer
systems are available, often at very low purchase cost, and
it takes little time for individuals and workgroups to
acquire and operate their own print devices within
departmental or workgroup budgets. Without an overall
strategy for printer acquisition and maintenance, daily
print costs can spiral out of control. How can these costs
be reduced and managed effectively?

Print Auditing and Control Systems

The effective answer to the problem is to consider a
software solution which enables an analysis and then a
real-time controlling system. The two-pronged approach of
analysis and implementation are discussed here.

Printing Analysis

On average, businesses can spend up to 12% of revenue on
document production, management and distribution.
Amazingly, this is the third largest expense, after office
rental and personnel costs.

The first step to reduce printing costs is - naturally
enough - to analyse the existing print volumes. But how to
get an accurate picture of what your organsation's print
volumes truly are? By installing an auditing and analysis
system creates and environment where comprehensive
reporting capabilities are easily achieved. Based on this
knowledge, you are in pole position to optimise your
printing network.

The fact is, that such an analysis is crucial. It is not
enough simply to know how many sheets of paper you use each
month and attempt to estimate the overall costs based on
manufacturers figures. In fact, it is clearly a nightmare
for growing businesses, to have any idea what is being
printed and where, or who is printing and how much their
overall printing costs are. This situation can be avoided
if you have access to the right print analysis information.

Print analysis software enables a business get a grip on
printing costs by answering the following questions:

- Which staff member is printing?
- What is being printed?
- Where are the print jobs going?
- Which printer in your organisation is used the most?
- How big is each job?

After the Analysis - The Implementation

After the analysis, installed print cost reduction software
will allow proactive choices, for example to restrict
colour usage by user, to enforce printing limits and
redirect expensive print jobs to the most efficient
printing device.

It is quite likely that most businesses are underestimating
printing costs by more than half. Once the analysis phase
it set up and running, then print cost reduction software
can assist cost-saving changes in working methods.

Some example Changes to Print Processes

For example, print jobs can be allocated to the print
device within the company most appropriate for the job in
hand. Thus for example, a workgroup might be printing
thousands of pages monthly on an old, expensive printer,
while an executive uses a top-of-the-line, efficient
printer for just the occasional page. With print tracking
analysis software, this situation can be identified and the
jobs swapped accordingly.

Again, you can direct jobs to the new digital copier when
printing large documents, rather than an older inkjet
printer to reduce printing costs. Most print cost
management software will either suggest or force users to
print to more efficient printers based on the size of the
print job. Additionally, you might want to disallow colour
printing from specific individuals or disallow black and
white printing to colour devices, and of course, configure
individual printers to do only duplex (double-sided) output
to save costs.

Reporting tools can show instantly where excessive use is
being made of certain printers, in terms of paper and
consumables. Identifying such overuse will mean immediate
and effective action can be taken to prevent losses. Most
reporting tools will also provide electronic records with
the name of every document printed, who printed it, and
when it was printed. Apart from anything else, this reduces
paper use by showing that all printing is being monitored
(after all, stacks of pages left on printers at the end of
each day will inevitably disappear). Additionally of
course, administrators can make much more informed
decisions about the efficiencies of individual printers,
and can make acquisition choices according for new
equipment.

All these benefits mean a clear benefit in terms of the
return on investment for the software itself, its
configuration and maintenance.

----------------------------------------------------
Jimi St. Pierre writes for several Office Equipment
suppliers in the UK, including office printer supplier
Principal. Helpful advice on reducing printing costs can
be found as part of Principal's comprehensive Print
Supplies website at => http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/

How To Keep Top Candidates From Falling Through The Cracks

How To Keep Top Candidates From Falling Through The Cracks
Top people are scarce - just ask any organization how tough
it is to attract the best, let alone select the best. At
the same time, I'm willing to bet that more top people -
the right people for the right jobs - slip through the
cracks in the selection process than anyone could imagine
or admit. After thousands of dollars in recruiting,
interviewing, travel and all the other assorted expenses in
time, effort and money associated with attracting top
candidates, organization after organization drops the ball
on top candidates. And they don't even know it!

Here are ten of the top, invisible ways those cracks occur:

Failure to understand that recruiting is as much a selling
process as it is an evaluating process. To get top people
requires as much selling as it does evaluating. And top
people are doing just as much evaluating as they do
selling. It's a two way street - but it's amazing how many
people don't realize that, and take a "I've got something
you want" approach. Top people slip right through the
cracks when they see that behavior.

Organization's don't know a top candidate when they see
one. That sounds funny, but it's not. It means time hasn't
been taken at the front end of the process to identify and
define what a top candidate will look like in terms of the
really important things.

Superficial knockout factors: A manager I know will not
hire a person who smokes cigars - period. I don't mean
someone who insists on smoking cigars at work. I mean
recreational cigar smoking - away from work. Apparently
this manager had a bad thing happen with a cigar smoker
early in his career. Everyone of us has biases about the
strangest things - they can and do get in the way of hiring
top people. The beard, the frayed collar, the wrong
college, speech patterns - you name it - they are knockout
factors in many organizations.

Poorly kept restrooms and break rooms and lunch/dining
/meeting rooms. Nothing says a poor environment like a
badly served public use area. Nothing can chase top people
away more than the appearance of a poorly kept facility.

Lack of preparation. Nothing speaks to this more than
unprepared interviewers, repetitive use of the same
questions/scenarios from multiple interviewers - the "tell
me about yourself" question. Holes in the interview
schedule. Lack of interviewing skills and preparation. Bad
choices of interviewers.

Secrecy. The " don't tell them anything that may tip them
off to what we are looking for." If you treat a candidate
as a mushroom, it speaks to how they will be treated as
employees.

Poor follow up and lack of feedback. "What you do shouts so
loudly I can't hear what you're saying." When that top
candidate leaves the facility, how long before contact is
made? It's amazing how often weeks can go by before a
follow up call is made to the candidate. The excuse is
often that the candidate - if truly interested - should get
back to the organization. True - but failure to keep that
communication door open on the part of the company lets top
people fall through the cracks - without a sound.

Relying on staff people to maintain contact. If you're a
candidate for a HR job, then a HR hiring manager should be
the key communication link. But HR people should not be the
key communication link for other functional areas. They can
coordinate and pester and cajole hiring managers, but the
Hiring Manager has to be the link.

Lack of respect for the candidate's time. I had the
misfortune to work with a manager who, as a matter of
practice, kept candidates waiting for hours beyond the time
set up for an interview. The worst case was a General
Manager candidate who waited four hours before finally
bowing out. We never saw him again - even though we tried
to reschedule him. What a waste - of everything.

Overly long process. There are so many pressing, proximate
things that can keep pushing selection to the back of the
line. Before anyone realizes it, months have gone by and no
decision has been made. I suspect in many cases a fear of
making a mistake in selection has a hand in this. In any
case, top people don't have to wait around. They slip
through the cracks - and then show up working for a
competitor.

Take the time to audit your own process. If you see any of
these ten invisible ways, take action to correct them. Top
people are tough enough to get in the first place, without
adding self inflicted conditions as a barrier.

----------------------------------------------------
Andy Cox is President of Cox Consulting Group LLC. He
founded his firm in 1995 after extensive experience in
leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations. His focus
is on helping clients select, develop, retain and enhance
the performance of leaders and emerging leaders. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com or contact him at
acox@coxconsultgroup.com

Who Wants to Become a Billionaire? Principles for Work from Home Business Success

Who Wants to Become a Billionaire? Principles for Work from Home Business Success
Today I'd like to help you focus on the key basic success
principles and ways you can practice them throughout your
own life and ultimately towards extreme work from home
business success.

I'm going to try and build on your current understanding of
risk-taking and risk-reduction so that you will be better
equipped the next time you have to make a decision.

I'll also help you to understand further beliefs that will
benefit your decision making skills and therefore minimize
those common risks linked with work from home business
success.

How to Evaluate a Decision

Whenever you are next pondering over a work from home
business decision, ask yourself the following questions:
What is the worst case scenario? What would be the most
ill-fated outcome that could occur if I decided to go ahead
with this?

For some work from home entrepreneurs they may straight
away say "generate zero leads" for others it could be to
"run out of cash before I've built up enough marketing
momentum." Whatever it is, make sure that you are
absolutely clear about it and then make this your primary
aim to avoid. Focus everything you have into making sure
your worst case scenario doesn't affect your work from home
business success.

By asking yourself these kind of questions before you get
involved in anything considered risky such as a new home
based business or investment will give you the plan of
attack, direction and focus that you need.

Turn this plan of attack into a list, next to each
corresponding worst case scenario. So for example in your
work from home business you may be using PPC
(pay-per-click) marketing and you may find that your
average CPC (cost-per-click) rates are beyond your budget.
Your plan of attack therefore could be to research less
competitive keywords with much lower average CPC's.

This thinking ahead is purely anticipation. You are
visualizing the future. You are mentally and physically
preparing yourself for every possible catastrophe.

The Billionaire Mindset

Some people may believe some of these beliefs to be that of
negative thinking but they are simply realistic. There is
an old saying, 'plan for the best, expect the worst.' This
is absolutely critical to the understanding of success.
'The road to success travels over rocky ground' or 'of all
things that can go wrong, the most expensive thing will go
wrong at the worst possible time'

My point is if you have the right measures in place in
order to counter attack the worst case scenarios you are
protected against such enemies of success.

Success takes time. Quite often a little longer that what
you originally thought and had planned for. A sensible rule
of thumb would be to triple your milestones that you
originally come up with for a far more realistic figure.

You could also use this new figure as a source of
inspiration, making it one of your primary goals; to go
past a deadline or to go over budget is not an option,
don't let this happen.

A Strategy In Case of Emergencies

When you are creating your business plan and covering
expenditures or what initial capital investment will be
required, add 20% onto whatever figure you come up with.
It's going to be almost impossible to estimate to 100%
accuracy what you're going to spend, therefore use this 20%
as your 'emergency fund.'

Try and keep to your original budget but should business
not work out so simple at least you have options, just make
sure you only use it unless you absolutely have to, hence
the name 'emergency fund.'

Remain in Touch with the Real World

If you were to speak with any successful entrepreneur you
would find them to be profoundly realistic. To rely on luck
is pure nonsense; you create your own success through
utilizing the laws of success, some of which you are
learning today.

To rely on luck is like relying on somebody to knock on
your door and offer you $1 Million! Luck is often a word
used by those who are ignorant of success to explain why
those less ignorant of success are experiencing success in
their lives. They may say, "Not everybody can be as lucky
as she is."

Risk evaluation needs to be at the core of your and every
successful entrepreneur's planning stages. Plans of attack
need to be thoughtfully implemented should problems arise.

Your alternative plan of attack is your protection on the
day anything happens - you will have those days. Lower all
possible variables, outcomes and events into careful
analysis.

Face Your Fears Head On

To intentionally and wilfully embark on the things you
fear, step-by-step, is one of the best methods to advance
your capability to take intelligent risks.

By creating definite, written and quantifiable goals for
yourself, that you reassess regularly, you will steadily
conquer the fear of taking risks.

By having these definite goals and aims in the words of
Napoleon Hill, "...will teach you how to save the wasted
effort the majority of people expend in trying to find
their life's work. These will show you how to do away
forever with aimlessness and fix your heart and hand on a
definite, well-conceived purpose as a life's work."

You will ultimately become more efficient at what you do.
This will raise your levels of flair, capacity and you will
feel heightened levels of confidence about yourself. Your
levels of unselfishness will go up; you become more
rational and much more consenting to bigger future tasks.
You will be the one who is in control of your own destiny.
This is a definite way to enhance your chances of success.

Ways You Can Take Action

1. What are you currently concerned about? What negative
thought, if any, is occupying unwelcomingly your thought
space? Take note and then think what you believe to be the
worst case scenario from this thought. Once you have that
in your mind and you recognise it, that's enough - blank it
out - get it out of your mind at all possible costs.

Instead flood you mind with preventative counter measures.
And then take action. Make sure the worst case scenario
NEVER happens.

2. Similarly, what is the worst case scenario of your
future - become homeless - become bankrupt, etc. Set up
preventative measures to reduce the chances of these ever
from occurring - an emergency fund works tremendously - it
takes your mind off these worst cases.

3. Have definite clear and quantifiable goals that you
assess often, twice daily (morning & evening). Study the
laws of success always to enhance your chances of work from
home business success tremendously.

----------------------------------------------------
Chris Curwen has now teamed with the direct sales grand
master, Jay Kubassek, who together are on a mission to
create success and wealth in others, one person at a time.
AT LEAST 100 millionaires over the next 3-5 years. To learn
more about one of the most revolutionary legitimate work
from home opportunities in existence today go to:
http://www.freedomthroughaction.com .