Made Moon Blog

“Enflamed with the study of learning and the admiration of
virtue; stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave…
and worthy…, dear to God, and famous to all ages.”
- John Milton

Leaders are by definition “stewards” of the trust, hope and
beliefs of others. To perform their acts of stewardship,
leaders must practice and master three essential tasks:

=> Engage people

=> Empower people

=> Encourage people

Many leaders have a problem applying those 3 “E”s to their
leadership goals, actions and conversations. Here are a few
strategic ideas you can use to inject the three “E”s into
your leadership styles and behaviors.

Engage the Hearts, Minds & Wills of People!

“No seed shall perish which the soul hath sown.”
- John Addington Symonds.

When you plant a positive vision into the fertile fields of
their hearts, minds, wills and emotions, your venture is
sure to succeed.

Your task is to help your partners, associates, peers and
constituents or clients to

=> Connect with,

=> Believe in,

=> Commit to,

=> Organize for

performing that mission-critical activity, reaching for a
desired objective or completing some specific task.

The intent, consistency and integrity of your leadership
style, behaviors and attitudes must demonstrate the
worthiness of your visionary ideal or principles.

In a word, you use your dreams or ideals to motivate and
inspire the confidence and commitment of others.

Empower the Skills, Performance & Competencies of People!

Empowering people means

-> linking them with the knowledge, resources, assets and
processes they need,

- preparing them for the tasks, activities, objectives,
challenges and problems they will work through,

- directing them to the sources of tools or materials,
supplies and resources, specialists or networks to enable
their efforts,

- guiding them in identifying, classifying, mapping or
modeling, learning, analyzing, evaluating, innovating and
creating, managing, venturing and leading for any
situation.

By empowering, we mean facilitating the supply of energy,
mass and capability to perform the work at hand. To provide
people with the energy of a belief, competence or meaning.

“True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings;
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.”
- William Shakespeare

Leaders encourage us to have hope, we use that hope to add
speed and give flight to our dreams, our hope transforms our
lives into the lofty desires of kingly beings, and
transmutes our efforts into a reality of kingly treasures.

Encourage the Endeavors, Strengths & Confidence of People!

When you lead by encouraging people, you give them a:

=> purpose for being, for their inclusion, for making a
difference and contribution, for reaching upwards or towards
a higher plateau

=> obligation to the mission, to help others, to fulfill an
ideal, to belong, to a higher power or greater good

=> trust in the common purpose, in goodness of others, love
and mercy of God, in a promising potential for the venture,

=> affinity with a noble or worthy enterprise, with other
positive or success-oriented people, with a great and
righteous goal

You encourage people because you realize they will become
transformed by the hope of a positive image or possibility.

“None without hope e’er lov’d the brightest fair,
But love can hope where reason would despair.”
- Lord Lyttleton.

Love is an act of the will, to love is a willful decision to
show a loving concern, care and compassion for another -
love gives hope the solid support of a strong foundation.

————————————————————

“Growth is the only evidence of life.” - John Henry Newman

If it is possible to encourage an energizing yet positive
growth of people, then you are engaged in a worthwhile
endeavor.

When we analyze the styles and behaviors of our greatest
leaders like Christ, Gandhi, King, Churchill, Tolstoy and
Mother Theresa, they share a common trait - they applied all
three “E”s to their practice of leadership.

Leaders in government, business and public services can
easily find ways to use one or more of these key actions -

1) They can engage the hearts or minds of people through
compelling ideas or inspiring principles;

2) They can empower the ability and desires of people by
connecting or educating them through applied energy;

3) They can encourage the commitment and heroism of people
by showing them the hope or belief in a better reality.

Try out these concepts - when you do, you’ll see a real
improvement in your leadership effectiveness!

“We have two lives about us,
Two worlds in which we dwell,
Within us and without us,
Alternate Heaven and Hell:
Without, the somber Real,
Within, our hearts of hearts, the beautiful Ideal.”
- Richard Henry Stoddard.

It’s up to you to decide, do you believe there are 3 “E”s in
“leadership”? Stretch forth your hope and see the
possibility - engage, empower, encourage your people to win!

Copyright © 2005, Mustard Seed Investments Inc.,
All rights reserved.

————————————————————
About the Author:
Bill Thomas presents “The Leadership Toolkit” - serious
leadership training for professionals, managers, executives,
entrepreneurs and specialists. Discover how to energize
your leadership skills, boost your confidence and get new
knowledge through our articles, newsletters & programs at:
http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/tools.html
————————————————————

Benjamin Franklin wrote: “If you want to enjoy one of the greatest luxuries in life, the luxury of having enough time, time to rest, time to think things through, time to get things done and know you have done them to the best of your ability, remember, there is only one way. Take enough time to think and plan things in the order of their importance. Your life will take on a new zest, you will add years to your life, and more life to your years. Let all your things have their place.” When you read Franklin’s words, what do they mean to you? Do you have enough time to balance your personal needs with your commitment to the outside world? Is stress causing havoc in your life? What exactly does it mean to have your life in balance and how do you achieve it?

Balance is defined as stability of mind and body; a state of being in balance; and harmony in the parts of a whole. The Chinese art of Feng Shui describes balance as being comprised of Yin and Yang energy. Yin is the calming and peace-giving energy and Yang is the action-oriented dynamic force. Yin energy engages receptivity and allows rest, rejuvenation, healing, dreaming, and acceptance. The fire energy, Yang, makes achievement of dreams a reality and creates success. Feng Shui believes every ‘whole’ person requires balance in his or her life force energy.

The key to creating ‘wholeness’ is learning that we must take care of ourselves in order to be able to give what we want to give in our roles as parent, spouse, employee, etc. When we do not take care of ourselves, we end up either sick and/or feeling burned out, as our bodies and mind will make us take the time if we will not do it for ourselves. Emotional and physical health requires taking responsibility for our own well-being.

Most of us have the fantasy that somebody will come along and tell us ‘it is now our turn,’ and so we put off the biological need for rest and relaxation until we are ill. After learning that there is not going to be anyone to rescue us, we realise that the only one who is going to take care of us is, in fact, our self. Once this is recognised, the emotional and physical healing of self can now begin. (I don’t know about you but I am a slower learner. It took me a long time to learn this. In fact, I still get a wake-up call every once in awhile when I choose to get sick rather than rest and take a break.)

We need to allow time each day in order to take care of ourselves. When we do take time, leave the guilt and thoughts of ‘I should be doing…’ outside the door. Instead, recognise that we deserve a few minutes of time for self and that we will be able to function better afterwards. Enjoy that time.

Time Management and Creating Balance

Time is defined as a period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues; and management is defined as the act or art of managing. Time management is nothing more than the art of managing an action. In other words, the management of time is management of self and setting priorities for self. It is the conscious selection of where we will place our attention.

Reasons for Managing Time

Time is not a renewable resource. When it is gone, it is gone forever.

Everyone has the same amount of time.

The creative thought that emerges from balanced lives and from the joy of our leisure time is what makes the difference in
our level of creativity and productivity.

Take time for silence. Silence and solitude are opportunities for thinking and for simply being.

The best thing you can do to enhance your value at work is to take care of yourself.

Time management provides structure to one’s life and in turn, provides peace of mind.

Time management is something one does for one’s own psyche to make one’s days easier.

Time Management and Creating Balance at Home

1. Determine what’s important to you and in what order. Prioritise to get the important things done by putting ‘first things first.’

2. Set goals and strive towards a sense of purpose and fulfilment.

3. Get organised and manage your time with a daily or weekly schedule.

4. Recognise your limits and have realistic expectations for yourself. You do not have to be ’super person.’

5. Reward yourself.

6. Keep things in perspective. Say to yourself, ‘This too shall pass.’

7. Exercise and eat nutritional foods.

8. Think happy, as life seems to be easier when you smile. Use humour and find a way to laugh at the situation.

9. Be honest with yourself and others.

10. Say ‘No’ to the ’shoulds’ and ‘Yes’ to the ‘wants’ in your life.

Time Management and Creating Balance at Work

1. Make sure your work life is a meaningful expression of your life purpose.

2. Decide to do it. Set up a TO DO list, prioritise A’s, B’s, and C’s. Do A’s first.

3. Planning - take 5 minutes at the end of the day to clean up your space and get organised for the next day’s work.

4. If you have a problem, just before you go to sleep turn it over to your subconscious - your mind will work on it as you sleep and you will have an answer the next day.

5. DO IT NOW. Procrastination is a result of saying “I’ll do it later.”

6. Do not schedule early morning appointments that will disrupt your morning routine.

7. Say ‘NO’ to every new request for your time for the next month (saying NO to every request will minimise your guilt).

8. Think about it before you say ‘yes’ - say ‘I’ll get back to you.’ Some of us are compulsive ‘yes sayers’ when we are asked to do something; taking a few minutes to think about whether we have the time, energy, or desire to perform this request requires that we have a moment to check in with ourselves.

9. Give yourself a break. People are more productive when they take a few minutes away every couple of hours.

10. Don’t let other people’s ‘hurry sickness’ dictate your life.

Remember: There is no such thing as a lack of time. There is nothing more important in your life than your time. Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “There is more to life than merely increasing its speed.” In other words, the fundamental question is: ‘How much of my life-force energy does this cost?’

Gwen Nyhus Stewart, B.S.W., M.G., H.T., is an educator, freelance writer, garden consultant, and author of the book The Healing Garden: A Place Of Peace - Gardening For The Soil, Gardening For The Soul and booklet Non-toxic Alternatives For Everyday Cleaning And Gardening Chores. She owns the website Gwen’s Healing Garden where you will find lots of free information about gardening for the soil and gardening for the soul. To find out more about the books and subscribe to her free Newsletter visit www.gwenshealinggarden.ca

Gwen Nyhus Stewart © 2004 - 2006. All rights reserved.

In today’s article, we’ll be looking at the income statement, which is the most deceptively simple of the major financial statements. I say simple because it’s just a list of all the revenue, minus all the expenses, to calculate what’s left over in profit. It’s no more difficult than putting your family budget together, right?

That’s where the deceptive part of the description comes in. The items on the income statement are easily manipulated by, say, less-than-honest management, and don’t necessarily represent the true situation at a company. Even totally honest companies can have income statements that don’t represent economic reality. Cash flows define economic reality, revenue and expenses define accounting reality.

You see, the difference between your household budget and a company’s income statement is their relationships to actual cash flows. Your household budget will generally match your cash inflows and outflows. Not so with an income statement. Income statements can vary significantly from the company’s cash flow, meaning that a company in economic trouble can show a very “good” income statement up until the day it goes bankrupt.

Generally speaking, though, the income statement is a good place to start when evaluating a company. In my forthcoming e-book, Fundamentals of Financial Statement Analysis, I lay out the process for evaluating the health of a company through the financial statements. I’m shooting for publication in the beginning of 2004, but in the meantime, here are some tips and strategies for evaluating an income statement.

1. Create a Common Size Statement

What’s a common size statement, you ask? It’s the income statement, only with each line item represented as a percentage of sales. This is easy to do with a spreadsheet on your computer, but you can do it on paper just as well. Net Sales is always 100% at the top, and each of the expenses is divided by total sales to arrive at a percentage. For example, if a company has $100 in sales and $50 in cost of goods sold, the common size statement will look like this:

Sales 100%

Cost of Goods Sold 50%

Gross Profit 50%

The importance of the common size statement can’t be overstated. It gives you the calculation of all your profit margins, from gross to net, and shows how much each cost item takes away from your profits.

2. Create a Year-to-Year Comparison Statement

The next step is to make a year-to-year comparison statement. You can’t evaluate financial statements for just a single year; they have to be compared to previous years. The only formula you need to know for these calculations is:

(current year / previous year) - 1 = % change

Again, a spreadsheet makes this process so much easier, but it can be done by hand. I like to have five years of data, which yields four years of comparison data. This way you aren’t just looking at an exceptionally good or bad year for the analysis. Plus, you can get a reasonable estimate of future growth when you do your discounted cash flow analysis. (I’ll have more on the Discounted Cash Flow in the future.)

3. Read the Management Discussion and Analysis

If you take the time to read the MD&A, you’ll have an advantage on most investors. A majority of individual investors simply skip this part, and go right to calculating ratios or looking at the EPS. Seasoned investors know that the MD&A provides the backup data for the income statement line items, and they will take time to read it.

A good Management Discussion and Analysis will give you the details you need to understand the items on the income statement. You should get segmented sales data, cost drivers, etc. in this section. If you can’t make sense of the MD&A, that should set off alarm bells in your head. If you don’t find the information you need in the MD&A, you should…

4. Look at the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Footnotes)

The footnotes tend to be more difficult to understand than the MD&A, but you get really detailed information here. The footnotes are where management hides the dirty laundry. And when you’ve got guys making today’s corporate salaries that laundry pile can get pretty big. Here’s where you’ll likely find what you couldn’t in the MD&A, it’s just that in the notes you may have to do some putting of two and two together.

Take your time sifting through this section, and try to identify the income statement items that relate to the footnotes you’re reading. You can do it the other way around, as well, and look for the footnotes that relate to the income statement item.

If you still can’t figure out what the company is doing, after going through the MD&A and the footnotes, you may want to consider looking at another company. This one may be too complicated (or too devious) for your abilities. Don’t feel bad about not understanding the business, either. Even the great Warren Buffett admits that he doesn’t understand some businesses, and he never lets his ego run away from him. If he can’t understand it, he won’t invest in it. I recommend you do the same thing.

5. Look at segmented data

I always like to look at segmented sales and profit figures to determine which product lines, or operating businesses, are growing sales faster than the others. This information is usually in the MD&A. If you can, try to find the operating profit for each business segment as well. Then look at the profit margins for each segment of the business.

You may be surprised at the different profitability levels of each business segment. Compare the segment with the fastest growing sales versus the segment with the highest operating profit. If these are the same segment, that’s good news. If they aren’t, that’s okay too.

You do want to watch out for companies that have the lowest operating profit in their fastest growing segment. This could cause a decline in the company’s overall profitability as sales grow faster than profits. For example, a segment that’s growing 5% a year, but has a 10% margin, will contribute more to total operating profit growth than a segment growing at 20% a year with a 1% margin.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Of course, there are plenty of other analysis tools that you can use to evaluate financial statements. It’s important that you keep looking for more and better ways to analyze company data, because constant learning will make you a consistently better investor.

About The Author

Chris Mallon is the editor and publisher of the Undervalued Weekly, a free personal finance and investment newsletter dedicated to creating smarter investors.

To sign up for the Undervalued Weekly, send e-mail to underval@hot-response.com, or sign-up through the website at www.dynamicinvestors.net/index7.html; chrismallon@dynamicinvestors.net

Who could be more aware of the fact that time flies? Who, other than both Boeing or Airbus?

Airbus is a European company, Boeing is US based and that is why Airbus will launch a 550 seats aircraft soon, where the strategy of Boeing is to increase speed (speculation # 1). This was a decision made after the announcement of their rival.

If you are interested in culture and cultural differences, than this Boeing versus Airbus is a very nice topic to follow. The topic is not completely free from speculation, but a curious one.

On your way traveling with either Boeing or Airbus, you can observe the lower laying infrastructure; cars and busses driving on the road, for example. There is an interesting difference between these two. A car is typically an individual transporting vehicle, whereas the bus is a collective vehicle. (No, I do not want to link: Air to bus )

If you live in the city, you will know that those individual vehicles could be very inefficient. Traffic jams are order of the day, but people continue to prefer them above a bus or other collective transports.

And this is the main point. In business for example there is also a constant rivalry between individual targets and group targets, between the individual approach and the group. Arranging activities between the individual and the group (collective) is what organizing is all about.

If you have prepared something alone, there comes a time where you need to discuss it with the group. If you think that you can do all by yourself you are mistaken. Figure this deal you have prepared with a client, and just before closing it, you get ill. Should the organization consider a cancellation of the deal because of an individual issue, or should someone else in the team save the group interest?
Teamwork is highly valued these days, yet most structures and bonuses still favor the individual. As is the case for infrastructure.

Now back Boeing and Airbus. The individual wants to go faster and faster. Therefore, I would say that Boeing favors more the individual approach. Where Airbus targets the group. And I think (speculation # 2) that Airbus is right. They should. The Concorde has stopped flying. Speed was a non-issue.

The new Airbus looks like a Cruise Ship (a new one — the largest ever, is just under construction), where you can have fun while you are on your way. Forget the time for a moment.

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.
You can apply for a free demo account

The single most important thing a leader can do is lead by example, and if you want your team to be dynamic and learn more, you’ve got to continually innovate and find new ways to encourage, reward, and motivate YOURSELF! That’s right, I said you’ve got to motivate YOU! If you lead by example, and you’re motivated, soon your team will be too!

That being said, here are my recommendations for a few good leadership and team building books. Enjoy!

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow them and People Will Follow You
Failing Forward
John C. Maxwell (http://www.injoy.com)

I recommend Maxwell’s books for a variety of reasons. One is because he is a pastor, so he recommends a very ethical type of leadership, grounded by a belief in God. Secondly, he breaks things down in an easy to understand, easy to apply method that anyone can follow and relate to. I’m reading a few of his other books, and he has fast become my favorite author.

Love is the Killer App
Tim Sanders (http://www.timsanders.com)

Tim, an executive at Yahoo!, talks about getting the people you work with and for to love you, by sharing your knowledge and your network, in ways that add value for all people. I like to think of myself as a “lovecat” and if you read this book, maybe you’ll see why, and/or become a lovecat yourself.

It’s Your Ship
Mike Abrashoff (http://www.grassrootsleadership.com)

A great leadership book that encourages you to empower your team! Simple, obvious messages that are the best!

NOTE: Mike just released a new book called Get Your Ship Together that I have not yet read. If anyone has and has any thoughts about it, please send it my way. Thank you!

Leadership is an Art
Max Depree

Max is a master of pointing out how artful it is to be a good leader. Max also talks about how ethics are an important component of business, and that it’s about more than the bottom line. Great, easy to read, book that you can quickly apply to your leadership situation.

Good to Great
Jim Collins (http://www.jimcollins.com)

This book is the prequel to Built to Last (another great book), and tells about how the best companies got to where they were, in some very quantifiable ways. I’m amazed any manager doesn’t read this to learn how to be the best. And Jim’s website has some great clips about the different things that you need in order to be GREAT! I would encourage everyone to read this book, think about it, and then get the book on CD and listen to Jim read the book, and think more about it. Wow!

First, Break all the Rules
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
This is how the world’s best managers SHOULD manage…by treating each player as an individual, by being unafraid to do something different, by BREAKING THE RULES! I took a class where we discussed this book, and believe me, this book will open your eyes to how you really can manage a team of unique people individually, if you’re willing to make the effort.

Ken Blanchard - especially Gung Ho!, Raving Fans, and the One Minute Manager series

More easy reading, with important lessons for all of us that are easy to take away, all jam packed into an easy to read format. I especially enjoy Gung Ho!, and am going to be implementing “The Way of the Beaver,” “The Spirit of the Squirrel,” and “The Gift of the Goose” on my team soon.

Until next time…Make it a GREAT day!

Phil Gerbyshak

http://www.miginstitute.com

Women leaders tend to be more assertive, persuasive, willing to take risks and have a stronger need to get things done than their male counterparts, according to a new study jointly conducted by Caliper www.calipercorp.com a Princeton-based management consulting firm, which has assessed the potential of more than two million applicants and employees for over 25,000 companies and Aurora, a London-based firm which advances women and delivers a 20,000 member business women’s network.

Top female executives were also found to be more empathic, flexible and possessed stronger interpersonal skills than their male counterparts.

While much research has been published comparing the leadership styles of women and men, this study specifically focused on the personality qualities and motivational factors which serve as the core to the underlying gender differences.

For comparison purposes, the women leaders in this study were matched to a representative sample of male leaders drawn from Caliper’s database, representing similar industries and job titles.

An inclusive leadership style that starts with questions and leads to decisions.

The difference in leadership styles between men and women starts with listening. Not just listening to form your answer, but really listening, learning, reflecting, then implementing a plan that incorporates the best of everyone’s ideas.

Because women leaders are more open about sharing information, they will also talk decisions through with many more people than their male counterparts.

The truth of the matter is that the top-down, hierarchical approach to leadership doesn’t work very well in today’s economy. With information much more easily accessible, leadership depends less upon protecting information and more upon sharing what is known. It’s not about who has the most information, but who has the best perspective.

The strong people skills possessed by women leaders enable them to read situations accurately and take in information from all sides. This willingness to see all sides of a situation enhances their persuasive ability. They can zero in on concerns or objections expressed, weigh these, then address and incorporate them into the grander scheme of things as appropriate. These women leaders genuinely understand and care about where others are coming from, allowing them to approach a subject from others perspective. The people they lead feel better understood, supported and valued.

Women leaders scored significantly lower than male leaders in external structure (adhering to established procedures) and cautiousness. They were also significantly higher in their level of urgency and risk taking. And they have very high scores in abstract reasoning.

The women leaders are more likely to push back if they are overly bound by regulations and rules, engage in more risk taking and come up with innovative solutions. They tend to have a greater need to get things done than male leaders and are less likely to hesitate or focus on the small details.

Dr. Greenberg says, Women leaders are venturesome, less interested in what has been than in what can be. They will run the risk of occasionally being wrong in order to get things done. And with their fine abstract reasoning skills, they will learn from any mistakes and carry on.

Are women creating a new paradigm of leadership? The answer may be yes. This study provides preliminary evidence that women bring motivational strengths to leadership.

Dr. Greenberg underscores, The nature of the information economy favors teamwork and requires a leadership style that is more inclusive and accepting, rather than autonomous and controlling. Women leaders have shown us that influence and persuasion have taken the place of giving orders and delegating tasks.

He adds, The strong leadership profile exhibited by these women on both sides of the Atlantic points to the future. The female view that we strengthen ourselves by strengthening others is re-defining leadership. These women leaders share a strong profile. They are assertive, persuasive, empathic, willing to take risks, outgoing, flexible and have a need to get things done.

Dr. Greenberg concludes, These personality qualities combine to create a leadership profile that is much more conducive to today’s diverse workplace, where information is shared freely, collaboration is vital and teamwork distinguishes the best companies.

Ed Hutchison is CEO and President of the North American Boxing Council (NABC.net). He works with pro athletes, trainers & managers at all levels. He writes daily on his personal website http://www.winrz.com - Winrz.com Home Page for Winners about self help, leadership and success.

From time to time most of us struggle with time management, how to find enough time in our day and how to make that time work for us.

Good time management skills are developed over time. It all starts with learning just what is slowing us down and what types of things keep getting in the way of our productivity.

Have you ever spent countless hours preparing for a special dinner or party only to find what should have taken a few hours ended up taking the entire afternoon? So what goes wrong and why does it always to seem to take twice as long to pull some things off?

First, it was the missing recipe ingredient you had to rush out to the grocery store for. And like most Saturdays, the store is busy and the customer in front of you has five too many items for the express line. When you do arrive back home the delays continue, the phone rings non-stop and the kids keep pestering you about “where’s my…” and “have you seen my…” And with all the confusion, the white sauce gets scorched and the chocolate soufflé sinks.

Interruptions come in many forms - the most obvious being the telephone or doorbell but they can also be silent - like when your mind wanders. But take heart. You can get more done in less time once you become aware of what type of things slow you down.

For some big ‘time management’ improvements try the following tips on for size.

Deflect Distractions

Create an atmosphere that fosters concentration. First begin by finding some quiet time for yourself. If your phone rings frequently, let the answering machine pick up your calls. If your children are continually interrupting you with little things, tell them you need to concentrate on what you’re doing. Explain that if they let you focus, you’ll finish quicker and you’ll have more time to spend with them later.

Clear Your Desk

It’s hard to concentrate on something like paying your bills when your desk is overrun with clutter (paperwork in need of filing, library books in need of returning - you get the idea). The solution comes when you move everything else out of sight except for the things needed to accomplish the task at hand.

Prioritize

Many women can’t concentrate because they have too many things on their plates. So many things are competing for our attention that it’s difficult to focus on any of them. The answer comes in writing a detailed to-do list, beginning with the most urgent project and working down to the least important. Having a list to refer to helps you select one project at a time and give it your full attention.

Sherrie Le Masurier is a lifestyle columnist, organizing consultant and a member of Professional Organizers in Canada. She offers up smart solutions for busy families via http://www.familysanitysavers.com - Copyright.

My subordinates are very experienced and older than me. How do I control them? Ramesh asked me. He was just 26 and working in a managerial position in a multinational company.

Ramesh’s problem is not isolated. Many times, young managers feel unhappy and embarrassed by elder subordinates. This results in total dissatisfaction of the employee and also bad work atmosphere. But you can avoid this by following the five principles given below.

1. Be soft but firm.

Elders often get irritated by a harsh tone from a young manager. But you can be conveying the same feelings in a calm cool voice. This will not hurt him.
For example for a late coming person, the question “why are you late today?” can be put in many ways some of which hurting and some very gentle but firm.

2. Try to understand their problems.

Elders may have many problems which may seem irrelevant to you. This may include health related problems, family matters etc. A boss who understands them is more liked than a person who is indifferent to them and demands work without consideration.

3. Value the experience.

Many times the experience of an employee can be useful in handling situations. You as a manager can get their opinion about the problem at hand and try to improvise on the solution. Also discussions with elders valuing their opinions will be very much helpful to you in maintaining a relationship.

4. Give them the pride by delegating.

After some time you get a feel of the capabilities and limitations of each. If you find a subordinate capable you can make him feel important by delegating important work to him. Only thing is that he should not have a feeling that you are delegating because of your incapability.

5. Keep your cool.

In spite of all these, if you find that the situation is tense or unpleasant, try to keep your cool and handle it. It may even be better to leave it as it is for some time before you handle it. A gap may reduce the tension in the atmosphere.

Kannan Balakrishnan is a budding indian writer. He continuously writes on a variety of topics like website design, computer science, self improvement etc. Now his thoughts are presented through celebrated blog http://www.kbwrites.blogspot.com

The world of business startups is rife with option. You can buy a franchise or set up your own business from scratch. Both have benefits and downfalls.

The world is rife with franchise opportunities. Many companies you use are probably franchises, from restaurants to cleaning services. A key benefit in buying into a franchise is that you essentially get a readymade business. When you buy into a franchise, many aspects of the business including marketing are taken care of off. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The two main downsides of buying a franchise however are that There is little room for creativity on your part, and of course the initial outlay. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or even to sell one.

Building your very own company from the bottom up however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. However, your model may not be tried and tested and you will likely have to develop your own support network from the ground up along with your business.

the reality is, the rational for choosing whether to buy a franchise or start a business from scratch are dependent on what your want to get out of the enterprise. There is no one size fits all advise.

Putting the customer right at the centre of the organization is the be-all and end-all of successful Customer Relationship Management (CRM). To do that you have to know what your customers really want and really think about your business and then use that to deliver better products and services, improve customer service and increase sales opportunities - yes CRM has a purpose it is not just a concept!

Companies that invest in CRM systems can learn even more about their customers and offer more personalized products and services because they receive relevant information daily in a way that allows them to spot trends.

Implementing new business strategies always includes an element of risk but proper change management practices can reduce this dramatically. The reason many projects fail lies with poor project execution. Many companies have made the mistake of rushing headlong into CRM without a well thought out plan. So when investing in better CRM:

1. Have a CRM strategy because CRM initiatives launched without a strategy invariably cause pain. Do not think of CRM as a project separate from your overall business plan. That way madness lies. CRM only works when there is clear understanding of why the organisation is doing it and how it will improve service and loyalty, cut costs or increase revenue.

2. Choose the right CRM partner. The best CRM solutions are flexible and have a full integration capability with any other systems in your business.

3. Understand the technology. Far too often CRM is considered an IT project - not a business initiative and it should not be thought of like this; but this means that the business has to understand the technology and what and how it can do for them and what it cannot do for them. The greatest success will come from the coordinated efforts business users, IT and supplier.

4. Focus more on business processes than technology. CRM is about an organization’s internal and external business processes becoming more “customer-centric”. Understand your “customer flow”. The systems are merely the enablers, not an end in themselves.

5. Don’t try and design the perfect CRM system that will meet 100% of each and every person’s wish list and do not expect the new CRM solution to just mirror current business processes. Instead, accept that not everyone can have everything they say they want and use the new systems as an opportunity to invent and use new processes that improve customer service, reduce costs and provide better customer service.

6. Do not try to change the whole organization overnight. Go for the highest priority and highest return areas first. Take small, manageable steps not giant leaps and bring the whole organization along with you.

7. Think about the user interface and plan it carefully. For people to use the system, it must be useful to them and easy to use. Every extra field you ask the people to complete, especially mandatory ones, the greater the chance that they will enter garbage or only use the system under duress.

8. Especially if you haven’t implemented a CRM system before get help and expect to pay for it even if it is just a day of a supplier’s time to go through the issues. They’ll see the pitfalls that you can’t and you will not waste time and money on trying to do things that can’t be done, expecting them to happen in a certain way and then be disappointed or miss out on crucial issues that are essential to successful implementation.

9. Make it somebody’s responsibility to own the data, and to make sure that it is correct and complete. Sounds obvious but so many projects just ignore this central detail and CRM systems stand or fall by their data integrity and data quality.

10. User acceptance is the single most important success factor for a CRM system so invest in training. Training is essential to ensuring user acceptance. Never let an untrained employee have customer contact.

Richard Hill is a Director of E-CRM Solutions, that specialises in CRM, direct and internet marketing [www.innovantage.co.uk] a business intelligence company and a non-executive director of Innovecom [