General Fiasco Business and Management Site

Archive for September, 2010

Here are three lessons about meetings that came from a walk through the forest.

1) Giant Sequoias

These marvelous trees are a living example that some things take time.

True, we need to work with a sense of urgency. We need to do more with less. We need to move faster than the speed of chaos.

And we also need to be appropriate.

Rushing through some issues can produce false solutions.

For example, a group slams together an annual plan, only to find that the plan ignores real market conditions, organizational limitations, and individual support. The result is a document that no one uses.

For example, a powerful group makes a decision without listening to other people’s ideas. And then a bad situation becomes worse. In fact, sometimes the neglected side retaliates with such force that the original group loses status.

Better: Take time to make sure that all considerations are included in plans and decisions. If you are planning a meeting to resolve a major issues, hire a skilled facilitator to help you obtain a result that lasts.

2) A Bear Cub

This cub behaved like a goofy toddler while mama bear went about her business collecting groceries in a supermarket. The cub climbed on logs, fell off rocks, and dropped things on mama. And during all of this play, mama bear just kept working, munching plants, gathering nourishment.

That is, she kept eating until the cub ran toward me. Then mama bear looked up, growled, and chased after the cub. (I’ll assume that’s what she did, because I ran away when Mama Bear growled.)

What’s the point?

Sometimes we need to allow an appropriate amount of disorder because it’s part of growth. It’s part of letting people explore. It’s part of letting people be themselves. Of course, when threats appear, then we should take charge. And we may only need to growl to restore order.

3) Mustang Clover

In the spring, the Sierra Nevada mountains are covered with patches of Mustang Clover. These small flowers (typically, less than half an inch across) look like simple small pink dots as you walk past them. But if you pause and look closely, you will discover a masterpiece of complex beauty.

The point: Are you pausing to notice important details? Some may be merely enjoyable reminders of how wonderful life can be. Others may be essential indicators about the health of your business.

By the way, you can view photos of a Giant Sequoia, a bear cub, and a Mustang Clover at:

http://www.stevekaye.com/photos.htm

1) Probably the most important thing you can do as a Christian leader is to clean up your act—if there is anything in your life, moral or ethical, which would not stand up to scrutiny if the entire world found out—you must eliminate it immediately. Do not give anyone an occasion to think that you are a hypocrite.

2) Be sure that every decision you make is honest and ethical. You cannot effectively lead, as a Christian or not, when your decisions and actions are not above-board, fair, and honest.

3) As a Christian leader, commit to telling the truth no matter what. As a Christian leader, when you lie or tell half-truths, people tend to feel that your entire faith is a sham. In fact, if you are habitually lying and telling half-truths, your faith may indeed be a sham.

4) Learn everything you can about the tasks at hand, even if it means working in the trenches for awhile. No one likes to be led by someone who has never done what they are doing. This doesn’t mean you have to become an expert, just participate in the menial work long enough to understand the frustrating aspects of the work. Another benefit to this is, when you have actually done the work, you can more effectively brainstorm solutions to challenges when they arise.

5) Lead by example. Do you expect your employees or secretaries to arrive on time for work, and dressed well? Then you must do the same. Sometimes it is so easy to think that you have earned the right to come in whenever you feel like it, or to return from lunch whenever you wish. Sure, you may have earned the right, but you gain far more by setting the example for performance. Do you expect others to work overtime when a project is behind projections? Then you must be willing to do the same.

6) Although you may feel you have earned the right to delegate away all the work, continue to be involved in productive tasks. By doing some of the work, not only do you gain the respect of your employees, but also you keep in touch with the flow of things. As a leader, it is easy to become disengaged from the actual productive segment of your business, and resultantly make decisions that look good on paper and sound good around the boardroom table, but are actually worthless when the rubber hits the road.

7) Constantly reevaluate your own performance. Often, you may spend so much time correcting the actions of others and solving crises you didn’t create, that you develop a sense that others aren’t as capable as you. Consequently, you may not recognize when you are falling into bad habits that also need to be corrected. Be the first to recognize and correct your own short-fallings.
Avoid pride. Once in a position of leadership, especially if you are good at what you do, it is easy to begin to feel that you are invincible. Once that occurs, you become vulnerable to pride, and may make decisions you would frown on if your subordinates made the same decisions. Maintain full responsibility for your actions, and keep them above-board at all times.

Bonus Step:

9) Learn to manage your time. When you are in a position of leadership and find yourself delegating away most of the time-consuming tasks, it is easy to lose control of your time. Again, when your employees see you wasting your time, they will tend to do the same.

“I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need if I die by four o’clock this afternoon.”

- Henry Youngman. –

You can retire in 30 days – WE PROVE IT TO YOU! Make $1.7 million! Signup for free! $5,250 is Guaranteed with no efforts!

The Internet is the modern “Gold Rush”. Seems that everyone on the Internet is promising you vast riches with little to no effort. But are these outrageous claims true? Can you make $5,250 is Guaranteed with no efforts?

Well, I do believe the Internet is a phenomenal asset to those who want to make some money with less effort and financial investment than with a traditional home business. Can you lounge around all day in your underwear doing nothing and be a millionaire by the end of the year? Not likely. However, if you did want to try your hand at a successful Internet career, take some tips from someone who’s been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it. Here’s my hard-won, 5-step-plan for financial success on the Internet.

Step one: Find Some Adventurous, Business-Minded Soul Mates.

Get at least two companions (five is best!) who will walk with you enthusiastically, and build your business together. Having a couple of friends with you on the journey helps to keep everyone sane, and it’s a built in safety net for keeping you from investing in crazy schemes that would never tempt you during a moment of sanity. Friends can also cheer you on through the necessary slogging at the beginning, and then they’re there to celebrate your success at the end.

Step Two: Create Your “Cash Machine”

There’s an old adage that says, “It takes money to make money” and, unfortunately, it’s true – mostly. Therefore, according to Loral Langemeier, the Author of the excellent book “Making Millionaires” – first you have to learn how to run a business that makes money. You don’t have to enjoy it, but it does have to make money – even just a little, and fast! You use this first step to teach you how an Internet business works and to develop the right suite of tools and knowledge to gain a solid foundation.

Step Three: Build Multiple Streams of Income

When your first business is up and running, don’t simply burn through the money. Use half of the profits to advertise, and half of your profits to invest in the next business(es). Keep building until you have a solid core of different businesses running under you. This brings stability. If you’re wise, you will also be carefully investing in businesses that will give you great tools for running and advertising your businesses, as well as investing in courses that train you in the various areas of online marketing: traffic, copywriting, list building, etc. You must learn to use your profits wisely as even stable companies can sometimes go under.

Step Four: Automate it.

It is possible to run a completely functional business on 2-3 hours a day – or less – by simply automating the more routine activities. Again, there’s nothing like the Internet for providing automated systems.

Step Five: Develop Your Passion

So now you’ve got some real money coming in with an automated system. You can either stay there, or you can take your new knowledge and learn to apply it to your area of greatest passion – creating a business that you LOVE. Simply find a need in an area of your passion (scrapbooking, fly fishing, old cars, fashion, etc.) and use the skills you’ve developed so far to set up a business in that area and let it take you on a wonderful ride!

So, can you make $1.7 million dollars? Yes, you can, but it’s not going to be as easy as they tend to promise. You do need to know what you’re doing, and it will take time.

And what better time to try it out than over the summer when things tend to be a bit slower?

Want to join the adventure?

Darlene Hull

http://www.mom-defrazzler.com