Interactive Web Success

Would you like to avoid hiring mistakes, if possible? The following are tips from executives interviewed especially for this article.

The secret to hiring “winners” is:
Know the job and your company’s culture, then find the correct person to fill the job.

Hiring mistakes are very costly. Estimates range from 1-10 times the annual salaries, with the general consensus being 3 times the annual salary. This is based on recruiting and training the wrong candidate (the mistake), waiting for the productivity that does not come, removing the person, dealing with morale and sabotage, replacing and training the next candidate. If you have an engineer or mid-level manager that earns $80,000 - $100,000 this can be a cost to your company of $240,000 to $300,000 for just one mistake!

90% of all hiring decisions are made by an interview. Interviewing is 14% accurate according to Michigan State University. This percentage can increase if you have hiring managers that are really well trained or if their intuition is very well developed. The training for interviewers must be extensive because as Victoria Perrault, VP of AFC says, there are “obvious problems” when the hiring interviews are a “fly by the seat of your pants” experience. She is leading AFC into a “Success Profile” approach to benchmark the critical success factors. Yvonne Myers, Director of HR at Legacy Marketing group (a 540 person insurance sales & marketing business), has found results to be “dead on” for their E.Q.I. Profile which creates a “footprint” (benchmark) which helps develop specific interview questions that determine the soft-skill competencies of their candidates for job success. These insure that the candidates will be the “right fit” for their organization.

More companies are assessing the competencies necessary for specific jobs within their specific cultures. Some companies are benchmarking their personnel and selecting the top performers and comparing assessment results with their poorest performers to discover the patterns of success that are required for top production and satisfaction on the job. More fortune 500 companies report that they are using assessments, which is up from 15% in 1985 to 30% in 1996 and expected to hit over 50% by 2002.

The assessments are also used for staff development, planning training, and to aid managers finding the ideal motivation for specific staff members.

Kent Sherwood, CEO of Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, emphasized the need for “integrity” as the highest quality for leadership candidates. He also looks for honesty, reliability, follow through, and straight talking. Good candidates must have the skill set necessary or have the “inclination to learn in a reasonable time” with the appropriate personality to blend with the existing culture.

Fred Philpott, VP of Human Resources for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, uses a model to check for winning characteristics which include:

A.) Technical/experience

B.) Behavior: drive, urgency, ethics, Integrity, open communication, business acumen, global-strategic thinking, teaming-partnering, consensus, quick decisions,

C.) Bottomline ability to influence and persuade

Two of three companies either use recruiters or have used recruiters to get qualified candidates to interview. The other companies rely on internal referral and developing leaders from within the organization (which is a great retention strategy.)

Hiring Winners Checklist:

1. Know the job - skills, experience, soft-skills, competencies. Develop clear expectations.

2. Know your company’s culture (Mission, Vision, Values)

3. Benchmark your top and bottom performers (assess the styles, behaviors and attitudes of your winners!)

4. Develop your interview process to adequately assess candidates’ necessary soft-skills

5. Hire the Right People for the Right Job!

6. Support and develop your key talent. Get them to love your company!

7. Continuously re-assess your hiring process.

W. Edwards Deming said, “If a person is not performing as expected, it is probably because they have been miscast for the job.”

Special thanks to all the business leaders who contributed their business wisdom and experience including (in order of interview dates):

Kent Sherwood, CEO of Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa

Deborah Meekins, President and CEO of Sonoma National Bank

Greg Peters, President and CEO of Mahi Networks

Victoria Perrault, VP of Administrative Services of AFC

Seritta White, CEO of S.K. White Consulting

Fred Philpott, VP of Human Resources of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

Rob Thorson, Manager of Human Resources of Westamerica Bank

Shirley Gordon, VP for Northern California of State Farm Insurance

Yvonne Myers, Director of Human Resources of Legacy Marketing Group

Martin Grove, District Manager of State Compensation Insurance Fund

Paul Herrerias, CEO of Herrerias & Associates

This executive summary is based on interviews and research conducted by L. John Mason, Ph.D. of the Stress Education Center.

For a detailed report on the Hiring Winners and Retaining Key Personnel please contact Dr. Mason at mason@dstress.com or (707) 795-2228. Ask about a proposal for benchmarking your top performers with special assessments that are designed to help you match their behaviorals and attitudes with potential new hires.

L. John Mason, Ph.D. is the author of the best selling “Guide to Stress Reduction.” Since 1977, he has offered Executive Coaching and Training.

Please visit the Stress Education Center’s website at http://www.dstress.com for articles, free ezine signup, and learn about the new telecourses that are available. If you would like information or a targeted proposal for training or coaching, please contact us at (707) 795-2228.

If you are looking to promote your training or coaching career, please investigate the Professional Stress Management Training and Certification Program for a secondary source of income or as career path.

If you own or manage a small business, you know how much time can be spent chasing down paper invoices, purchase orders and sales reports. It can be a real nightmare! That is where billing software comes in. It allows you to record all your customers, sales, invoices, inventory, suppliers (and more) in a PC-based system that is easy to use.

Deciding that you need to invest in good quality billing software is not hard. The tricky part can be choosing the right software package for your requirements. There are dozens of systems on the market claiming to be the holy grail of all your business problems, but choosing the wrong one can cost you valuable time and money.

Here’s a simple checklist of 11 things to look for when purchasing billing software for your small business:

1) Customer records
This is the core element of any billing system. What sort of information do you need to record about your customers? There’s the obvious things like address, phone, fax, mobile, email and web address. But what about marketing-related information like “how did the customer find out about your business?”, and “standard discounts” for key clients.

2) Multiple contacts & Communication history
If many of your clients are businesses with multiple contacts, can you record individual contact details for each person? Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, and statistics show that one of the most important factors in customer satisfaction is good customer service. Have you thought about keeping a log of all communication with your customers? It can be extremely helpful for improving internal communication within your business, and results in a more personalised service for your clients.

3) Multiple shipments
Obviously your billing software will need to create sales orders - that’s a gimme. But do you need to record employee-related information, like who the “salesperson” was? What about flexible dispatch options, like multiple shipments per sales order?

4) Search facility
There’s no point recording all this really useful information if there’s no easy way to get to it. Check that the search facility is flexible and easy to use. What criteria can you search by? Here are a couple useful fields you may want to use: customer phone number, customer address, order date, dispatch date and dispatch consignment number.

5) Tax & regional support
Are you able to change the tax rates on an order line basis? What about currency formatting? If you and your clients are in Europe, then there’s no point using billing software that can only handle US dollars.

6) Reporting
Producing accurate reports in seconds is something you no longer have to dream about. In fact it is a necessity in today’s competitive market. Ensure your billing software can calculate information on sales based on date, salesperson and customer type. If you operate a B2B business, another key performance indicator may be dispatch totals, based on date, and employee. But one important thing to remember about software… you can only get out what you put in. So if you are looking for a specific report, make sure that information is being recorded by your billing software package.

7) Backup
I’ve seen first-hand how devastating a hardware failure can be. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of data can be destroyed in seconds… if you do not have a backup procedure in place. Ensure you select a billing software package that has a built-in backup utility or works with your current backup system.

Online help & support
If you’re a new computer user, then you’ll definitely need a software package that has a comprehensive online and easy-to-use help system. Also check out what direct technical support is available through the vendor. Some software companies charge very high fees for personal support, so ensure you include this in your budget.

9) Budget
How much are you going to spend? That really depends on the complexity of the software package you are looking for. Smaller software packages can be found under US$100, and larger more complex packages can cost well over US$3000. Take a look at the number of customers you have, the number of sales orders you process, and choose a solution that fits your business.

10) Customisations
If you purchase an off-the-shelf billing software package, you may require minor customisations to suit your unique business processes and industry. Some software vendors offer customisations at quite reasonable prices. But ensure you include this cost in your budget.

11) Other features
What else do you want from you billing software? If you deal with fixed price products, you may need a comprehensive inventory management system allowing you to purchase stock, manage inventory levels and supplier relations. Some quality software packages also include a useful follow-up diary, allowing you to keep track of tasks and assign them to other staff members.

When choosing a billing software package for your business, make sure you check that it offers everything your business needs. And then the only thing you’ll have to worry about is what to do with all your newly found spare time!

Josh Bender is an experienced database developer and qualified software engineer. He helps small-to-medium businesses streamline processes and improve efficiency using reliable and proven software solutions.
Take a free test drive of ‘InstantSalesTracker’, easy-to-use billing software: www.InstantSalesTracker.com

Among the various styles that people use to communicate with
each other, sarcasm is one of the most unique and dangerous. The
excuses people use in an attempt to explain away their use of
sarcasm varies from, “I didn’t know I was doing it,” to “It’s
how I get someone’s attention.” Whatever the excuse, and
whatever the reason, sarcasm is a deadly communication style
that rarely has long-term success and commonly results in
contempt from the person who receives it. It’s easy to say,
“Stop doing it,” but it’s far more difficult to pinpoint what
caused a person to begin being a sarcastic communicator in the
first place.

Stated very simply, a person who uses sarcasm to gain effect is
nothing more than a verbal bully. Think of the playground bully
you experienced as a child in school. The person tried to create
terror in the minds of playmates in order to gain some type of
power or social advantage. The sarcastic verbal bully, using
words rather than physical threats, is also trying to gain some
type of advantage over the other person. And it’s the
realization that a sarcastic communicator is trying to gain an
unfair advantage that causes the receiver to form feelings of
contempt.

The truth is that most of us don’t like to be with and we
clearly don’t trust people whom we perceive as being sarcastic.
Sarcasm is a relational deal-breaker for most people.
Communicating with someone who is sarcastic is like trying to
dance in a minefield. You never know when the person is going to
fire an insult in your direction and the conversation will blow
up. Like landmines, the triggers of sarcasm are often hidden out
of sight, usually deep within the verbal bully’s psyche.

Sarcasm is, “A cutting, sometimes ironic remark intended
to wound, demean, or hurt. It is a type of wit characterized by
the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim
the butt of contempt or ridicule.” Sarcasm can be focused
outward by directing it toward another person, or it can be
directed inward and used against one’s self. Self-directed
sarcasm is an indication of a faulty or damaged self-perception.

Sarcasm is actually passive-aggressive behavior. Sarcasm
can appear to be provocative, because it provokes with words
and/or actions. The failure for the receiver to respond to
sarcastic jabs may be met with even more sarcasm. Oddly, the
mocking contempt of sarcasm makes the victim feel pressured into
responding. The victim feels inferior if he or she doesn’t
respond, and then sorry by responding. The reality is that the
victim of sarcasm cannot win and therefore feels helpless.

Sarcasm can have the appearance of being both witty and
intelligent; that’s why it is so brutal. Almost always the
intention of a sarcastic person is to hurt. Sarcastic
communicators craft their jabs with wordsmith perfection. The
truth is that sarcasm rarely happens by accident. It is a tool,
wielded with deliberation. Rest assured, if a sarcastic person
is attacking, he or she knows what is going on. Sarcasm requires
a victim to even exist, because a hunter is not a hunter without
prey.

Sarcasm exists as both verbal and non-verbal messages. In
addition to what can appear to be witty, ironic, or cutting
remarks, sarcastic communicators roll their eyes, sneer, sigh,
shake the head and laugh under their breath. To the victim it’s
infuriating. To survive in this type of environment, the victim
of nonverbal sarcasm must first learn to recognize these forms
of abusive feedback, and then determine how to effectively deal
with them. Any type of sarcasm is hurtful and causes permanent
damage. When directed at others, it hurts others; when directed
at the sender, it hurts the sender.

Sarcasm is generated from a pessimistic outlook. And at
its core sarcasm is the by-product of a judgmental nature. It is
acting on a damaged perspective of reality or outlook. One of
the sad effects of sarcasm is social positioning. By being
sarcastic the perpetrator feels superior to the victim. In other
words, by pushing someone else down with verbal or non-verbal
barbs, the perpetrator in effect believes that he or she has
been elevated in social stature. In other words, sarcasm is a
method of social posturing in order to gain perceived social
positioning. The problem with this type of thinking is that
in all types of communication the sender’s intention is
irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how a message is
received. Intentions are nice, but are worthless in building
effective and long-lasting relationships.

Sarcastic people can change their outlook, but they must first
change their tendency to judge others. Judging others can be as
simple as believing in the incompetence and/or inabilities of
others. Judging can also be profound arrogance and pride. To
avoid sarcasm, it’s first necessary to recognize the source of
the internal discontent. Some people say that they have been
sarcastic so long that they can’t change. Remember, sarcasm is a
behavior and behaviors can, indeed, be changed. This can only
happen after the perpetrator becomes aware of the problem and
then acknowledges that a change must be made. Behavior change
typically follows this order: first the person must be awareness
of the problem or issue; second, the person must acknowledge his
or her personal responsibility or culpability with the problem
or issue; and third, the person must work out a plan to
substitute sarcastic behaviors with some other type effective
communication.

If in the past you have been told that you’ve been sarcastic, or
if you suspect that sarcasm can enter into your conversation,
ask these questions about what you are about to say:

1. Is this comment true and accurate?

2. Is this comment kind and appropriate?

3. Is this comment necessary at this time and to this person?

4. Would this comment strengthen this relationship?

If you can’t answer yes to each of these questions, then the
comment you are about to make could well be sarcastic. Remember,
sarcasm is judgment, poisoned by hidden anger, and then brought
to life by communication in action. Sarcasm is verbally acting
on some type of internal or unresolved anger. The sarcastic
person must stop judging others and start respecting them. Only
then can a trusting relationship exist. And trusting
relationships are the foundation of all business and personal
success.

Regardless of the organization you belong to, management and
leadership development sets the tone for success. It affects
attitude, communication, productivity and morale of organization
members. If your organization needs help in any of these areas
you may need a management
training program to create positive improvement.

When people think of honoring employees for jobs well done, they may typically think of monetary rewards. However, these may be neither necessary nor the best type of reward. Once offered, cash bonuses can come to be expected and quickly forgotten, especially if they are the only recognition employees receive.

By contrast, frequent, positive feedback provided within an enjoyable, team-oriented environment makes a tremendous difference in employees’ sense of being valued and, as a result, their commitment to your company. With or without financial rewards, these cultural aspects of the workplace could be the smartest investment in the staff and business.

Recognize and Reward High-Quality Work

Employees are bound to be much more productive when they work in a positive, supportive environment. For example, Tejas Securities Group, Inc., a full-service broker/dealer and investment banking firm, strives to maintain an enjoyable, family-oriented atmosphere in which all employees focus on achieving team goals. This company goes an extra step by bringing in catered lunches every day for all the employees to enjoy together. “In this environment, everybody wins. We enjoy the dynamics of striving toward our goals together as a team,” said Kurt Rechner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Tejas Securities Group.

Praising employees for achieving their goals is important in maintaining an enjoyable work environment. Management can show their appreciation with positive feedback, however, if they go a bit beyond verbal praise, they can enhance employees’ motivation without spending a lot of money. For example, celebrate successes with bagels or pizza. Invite employees to share their experiences in, and coworkers’ contributions toward, accomplishing the goals. Peer recognition will further reinforce employees’ sense of teamwork and commitment. Conclude the celebration by presenting mugs, T-shirts or other tangible items that will serve as reminders of their success and inspiration for ongoing achievement.

With these good intentions, there are still potential drawbacks. For example, improvements in performance may be temporary, rather than long term. In addition, employees could lose their intrinsic motivation: they can become motivated solely for gaining a tangible prize, especially if it’s a substantial monetary reward, rather than for experiencing the satisfaction of accomplishment. These challenges can be avoided by maintaining a positive, motivating atmosphere.

Inspire Employees’ Creativity and Empower Them to Use It

Recognizing success is critical, and equally important is inspiring employees to work toward achievements. Your staff will be inspired by knowing their contributions are valued and that management is confident in their capabilities. At Tejas Securities Group for example, “The Chairman’s Cup”, a silver chalice inscribed with its name, is awarded each month to an employee who is recognized for their individual contribution to the overall team’s success. The winner is then announced in a company wide meeting and is awarded the cup to display at their work station. Rechner noted “This announcement and award has become a fun and highly anticipated event, recognizing the ongoing importance of individual contribution to the company’s success.”

Inspire creativity by providing freedom, time and other resources to employees. Ask them what they need to maximize their innovative thinking and productivity, and provide it with enthusiasm and encouragement.

To further stimulate employees’ creativity and confidence, support continual education through classes, seminars, subscriptions and memberships. Make information easily accessible through a work library. Ask employees to offer new ideas, request proposals for new projects, and share employees’ suggestions through publications, meetings and recognition events. Most importantly, take action on those ideas that have potential benefit for the company, and recognize employees who made any resulting achievements possible.

While encouraging creativity and rewarding success may come somewhat easily, it may be more difficult to stay optimistic when mistakes are made. However, this is where positive reinforcement is even more critical. Employees will be much less likely to offer ideas if they are intimidated by management’s reactions to possible mistakes. Keep in mind and express to employees that mistakes are learning opportunities, which could lead to innovative ideas that have a major, profitable impact on your company. If an idea doesn’t work out, recognize the initiative and effort. Employees will feel further inspired and satisfied, knowing that management truly listens to their ideas and supports their efforts. According to Rechner at Tejas Securities Group, “management’s openness to staff members’ input, feedback, ideas and suggestions is the cornerstone of good communications and strong employee relationships. Everybody wins when they are all part of a supportive team.”

All of these steps contribute to a sense of entrepreneurship and empowerment, which are essential to reinforcing teamwork and dedication. Empowerment should be initiated on three levels: encouraging employees to be more active in their work; involving staff members to improve processes and procedures; and enabling them to make more and bigger decisions.

In addition to motivation and job satisfaction, employees benefit with strengthened confidence to accept and pursue new responsibilities. Once a few employees succeed, their enthusiasm and motivation would become contagious throughout their teams or departments. As a result, those groups would become more enthusiastic, proactive and therefore, successful, which further stimulates their team spirit.

Ultimately, your company has much to gain by empowering staff members. By maximizing employees’ talents and motivation, managers could invest more time in strategic planning and further motivating employees.

Be Wary of Financial Incentives and Rewards

Certainly, monetary incentives and rewards could be part of your employee-recognition program. However, it is critical that these incentives not be the only or primary strategy for motivating and retaining employees.

On the surface, financial incentives may seem to be the most meaningful forms of motivation for employees. However, the short-term benefits may be far outweighed by long-term disadvantages, which could turn your costly financial incentives into serious deterrents to employees’ productivity. As a result, your company’s profitability could suffer, and you may be faced with further costs of replacing employees who leave for more satisfying work environments.

Typical of human nature, people tend to think about what their employers have (or haven’t!) done for them recently, especially if they do not feel appreciated. Furthermore, a brief word of gratitude only when a financial reward is presented will not be perceived as a sincere expression of appreciation. The easiest and most cost-effective way to avoid this pattern is to maintain open communication with positive feedback and encouragement at all times, with occasional celebrations - where presentation of cash rewards or announcement of new financial incentives, if any, should be just a small part of these events.

Similarly, if cash bonuses are presented on a schedule, such as around the holidays, they probably come to be expected. This reaction could be avoided if bonuses are given randomly, when you have extra money to share with employees. However, before deciding to present cash bonuses, determine if that money could be better used to expand your business. Express to employees how their contributions resulted in the extra cash flow, and rally them up for investing that money into exciting new possibilities for themselves and the organization.

In addition to cash bonuses, other types of monetary rewards are profit-sharing plans and Employee Stock Option Programs (ESOPs). Profit-sharing plans are simple types of retirement plans in which employers contribute an amount of money equal to a certain percentage of eligible employees’ salaries. With ESOPs, the company contributes to a trust, and these funds are allocated to individual employee accounts. Also, employees can reserve part of their paychecks to purchase shares of the company’s stock.

Profit-sharing plans offer a strong incentive for employees to be more involved with the company. The staff is more likely to work as a team and accept greater responsibility for increasing the company’s profitability. Another advantage is that financial benefits are measurable and objective. As a result, management would not risk showing favoritism, which would cause this motivational strategy to backfire.

On the contrary, profit-sharing plans can also have potential drawbacks. They do not guarantee that employees will be focused on customer service, productivity or other essential elements for the company’s success. If profit levels are ever too low to be shared, employees will feel disappointed or even resentful. Even if this does not occur, employees may object to the lack of acknowledgment for their individual achievements. Of course, this particular disadvantage can be overcome with strategies discussed previously. In any case, a negative situation would lead to lower employee morale, which inevitably diminishes employees’ motivation and performance.

On the positive side for ESOPs, employees directly gain a sense of ownership, usually at levels proportionate to how much stock each employee has. The potential disadvantage, similar to profit-sharing programs, is if stock options do not work out. Furthermore, emotional stress often associated with fluctuations in stocks could interfere with employees’ productivity.

Certainly, financial incentives and rewards can be true motivators, but only when balanced against the potential drawbacks and packaged with ongoing verbal recognition, encouragement and support. At Tejas Securities Group, for example, “We supplement our employee-recognition program with an ESOP. The employees’ sense of ownership and the stock investments’ potential are icing on the cake - on top of the essential substance of open communication, teamwork and positive reinforcement,” Rechner said.

Launch a Positive, Ongoing Cycle with the Best Choices for Your Staff

When handled in a consistently positive manner within a team-oriented atmosphere, all of these strategies contribute to an ongoing positive cycle: motivated employees are encouraged to be creative, which leads to accomplishments that gain recognition, which strengthens their sense of job satisfaction and boosts their motivation. With all of these factors in place, staff members will produce more for the company.

The entire process should be continual and even begin with the hiring selection. “It’s essential to start with quality people as the foundation, and then motivate them to succeed,” said Rechner at Tejas Securities Group. It takes hard work, some money and a bit of luck to recruit employees who have the technical skills and personal qualities you need to strengthen your business. Maximize your investment in these individuals by establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with them.

This article is copyrighted by Tejas Securities Groups, Inc. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part and may not be posted on other websites, without the express written permission of the author who may be contacted via email at tejas@digitalbrandexpressions.com.

R.L. Fielding has been a freelance writer for 10 years, offering her expertise and skills to a variety of major organizations in the education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing industries. She lives in New Jersey with her dog and two cats and enjoys rock climbing and ornamental gardening.

“Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything.” -Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton is one of the most significant figures in American history. While most people recognize his name (after all, it’s been on our money since the Civil War), relatively few understand the extent to which he shaped our nation. He was born under inauspicious circumstances on St. Croix in 1755. Though orphaned and without influence, the community saw so much promise in Hamilton, that they sent him to New York for an education. Within four years of his arrival, he had earned a Bachelor’s degree, become a valued aide-de-camp to General Washington and a seasoned artillery officer. He also earned a reputation as a tireless pamphleteerthe ideal medium for someone with very strong beliefs. Following the Revolution, Hamilton pressed those political beliefs as a key framer of the Constitution. He argued persuasively for a strong federal government and a powerful executive branch both during the Constitutional Convention and as the principle author of the Federalist Papers. He advanced his strong economic beliefs when he became the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary he established the credit of the United States, launched a national bank, proposed a plan for import and excise taxes, and was instrumental in creating both the Coast Guard and Navy. Knowing what he stood for ultimately drove him out of government when he found himself at odds with both Jefferson and Adams. Hamilton, it seems, was a man who always knew where he stoodeven on the day he was to duel Aaron Burr and decided in advance, “to do him no harm.”

The benefit of knowing where you stand is that you tend to get things done. That’s because knowing where you stand means you’ve already aligned your values, knowledge and intuition with laser-like precision. You can make good decisions because you act with confidence and conviction. You know who you are and what you believe. And you know why.

On the flip side, people who don’t know what they stand for are both easy and willing marks. They tend to be eager to please. They don’t like making decisions and prefer to go with the crowdeven when they really don’t like where the crowd is going. They find comfort in anonymity and avoid accountability like the plague. They also don’t get much done because they’re never sure what they want to do.

The truth is; most of us don’t spend much time thinking about what we stand for until we’re faced with a crisis. Then, with adrenalin pumping and stress approaching the panic level we try to sort things out and hope for the best. That’s when we often discover that our past practice hasn’t quite measured up to what we’d like it to be.

Can you say with clarityright nowwhat you stand for as a leader, a spouse, a parent or a friend? If you asked someone else what you stand for, would their perception match yours? Do people respect your character, or think you are a character? Are you standing or falling? It might be good to know.

About the Author:

George Ebert is the President of Trinity River Seminars and Consulting, a firm specializing in the custom design and delivery of team building, personal growth and ethical development programs. Mr. Ebert is a highly sought after speaker, educator, and consultant with over thirty years experience in both the public and private sectors. He has presented widely throughout the Unites States. George is the author of the management cult classic, “Climbing From the Fifth Station: A guide to building teams that work!”

The alarm goes off at 6am, you roll out of bed and run down the hall to wake up the kids. You’re going to be late again! You shower fast while the kids are getting dressed then you head downstairs to grab nutrition bars because you don’t have time to make breakfast. You grab the backpacks on the way to the babysitters, give them fast kisses when you get there and you’re on your way to work. Did I mention the crying?

It’s only a description of the first hour of your day? It’s no wonder we go through life without setting goals or developing an action plan! We have no time! Without goals, we merely exist day to day. Before you know it, years have gone by without much progress.

It’s estimated that less than 3% of people actually document their goals but it’s these same people who accomplish more than all the others added together. If your goals aren’t documented, they remain dreams. Twenty years from now it will still be your dream.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. may help you to define them in a way that will ensure results.

S - They need to be specific. Stating that you want to lose weight or pay off your bills is not specific enough. What are you going to do? Why are you going to do it?

M - They need to be measurable. How are you going to do it? You need to be able to see progress. With concrete and measurable goals, you will.

A - Are they achievable? Are they realistic?

R - Are they relevant to your situation now? Does it motivate you?

T - Set a time frame for completion. When are you going to achieve it?

Next, develop an action plan based on your timeline for achievement. Don’t become discouraged if your goals are not met on your first try. Goals will be revised because circumstances and priorities change in life. Expect it - plan on it. You’ll have obstacles but find alternatives.

If your life is chaotic it will be harder to manage but the important concept here is not to give up. You need an action plan more than the person who has it all together. Keep adjusting the plan. Work with it! As time goes on you will see results as long as you keep it in focus.

Cathy Gariety is a Registered Nurse and Personal Coach at Power Group Coaching based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can contact her at cgariety@power-group-coaching.com

Time management is the process of working to succeed. When we are working to succeed, we are reaching our goals. Sometimes it is difficult when time are constantly changing and problems get in our way, so it is important to decide which plan works for you as well as understanding that life has its ups and downs.

When we are planning to reach goals, we have sit down and really ponder on what is needed to reach this goal or set of goals. Some of us prefer to set short-term goals, reach that goal and then go for a long-term goal. Most of us prefer to set short and long-term goals in the same time management scheme in an effort to reach both goals accordingly.

This is always wise, since you do not want to start over with another time management scheme once you reach your short-term goal. One of the best tools provided to me in time management or rather business planning, was role-playing. When we are setting goals for our self and searching for a solution to make the goal work, it often helps to play out the parts as you come to a decision. If you see this works, then it is obviously part of the solution required to reach your goals.

However, if you see that there are issues, then you need to re-evaluate to find a solution that is more fitting. Time management is essential, since it demands the person (s) to plan, act on those plans, and stay focused on those goals with motivation in play. You must also keep reality in view, since if you neglect the realness of the world, you will not be prepared when things go wrong.

Disasters such as storms, computer failures, family illness, personal sickness, and so on can happen any time. There is no sense in believing that you are absent from reality. It is always wise to include elements of your time management scheme in accordance with disaster, by thinking critical on the different issues that may arise. For example, if you plan a solution ahead of a computer failure, you will have the tools to continue working while your issue is addressed. Time solution is more than just planning then, it is a solution for planning here, now, and then.

When you begin your planning, you should start by analyzing now. Now is in the present and you can see the elements that are needed to achieve your goals? If you know you need a computer to start a business in the next five-years, you should begin setting up a budget for the computer in demand. It is always wise when setting up budgets to open savings or money market accounts that does not take money from you, rather increases your savings by offering a nice interest on your savings. This can help you to reach the goal sooner.

Computers are relatively cheaper nowadays, so you will not have to put much focus on this area, unless you intend to purchase a mainframe coupled with another system. Mainframes are expensive pieces of equipment. Next, you can search to find out more information about what is needed to start up a new business. It depends on the type of business you are achieving to reach, but most require desks, computers, pens, paper, cabinets, chairs, and so on. Be sure you add these expenses to your budgeting account. You may also want to include other essentials for starting a business, such as insurance policies, health insurance, and disaster recovery coverage and so on.

Open separate accounts for your current financial obligations so that your savings will accumulate and your savings will not be affected. Try to avoid purchasing something that is not needed throughout the course of your time management planning, since this can only delay your progress. If you intend to open a business in five or ten years, make sure you keep this in sight while you work to the main goal laid out in your time management scheme. Time management is working to succeed. If you want to succeed then you must work hard every day to meet your goals.

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Steve Hall is the owner of http://www.your-official-guide.com, your one-stop location for getting the information you are looking for on a wide ranging and ever-growing list of subjects.

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It is funny how time works, but it works sometimes like this: I’m in Chicago sitting at the airport (at this moment writing this) it is about 6:30 PM (February 14, 2006), five people are sitting by meI don’t’ know them, but they are in my time, just as well, as I’m in their time; as Operh is, at this moment in my time (somewhere, wherever she is); as Elvis was at one time, in my time, but no longer is, and I am, and he is not. But Elvis was before I was (was he not? Yes of course). And then I become and he was not, or no more.

So what can we say about all of this. One of the five-people took off, just up and went, up and left. So I will never know if he will remain in my time or not (when I am dead and he is dead, and if we meet each other, we can say, we came from the same time zone, if we have good memories, we’ll remember each other, or he will remember me, I got a bad memory; if we meet that is). We all think it is our time and our time only, when this is not true, the same again: it belongs to all of us. We all get only a portion of it (some more some less, not much, but enough, we were put here for a few reasons, one was to die), and we are all assigned to a process, to spend it, spend our time, like dollars or euros, soles and yen; if you are alert you will know it is called ‘time passing,’ and pass us, it will, it does.

Thus, we are assigned to spend it around each other. How we deal with it matters, even though we want to cut off its legs so it cannot walk any further, get away from us, but it does (that is why we get face lifts); it matters even though we want more of it to belong to us, me you, but it is out time, and again I must say, short at best, long if you are adventurous. If it was only your time, you would be on earth alone, so when I say hello to you, it is only because we were assigned to the same time zone, it is as simple as that.

#1209 2/14/06 [written at the Chicago Airport, while my wife was sleeping]

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com