By : Catherine Harvey
This is an article for all you parents out there. This is written to let you know that you are not alone and that this hair raising phase of your cute little child's life will pass. The time to look out for this phase is about one year into high school. The first year is always daunting and they are finding their feet. The second year they are seasoned high schoolers with the newbies in a lower year that look up to them. This is when the transition is most likely to occur. They are beginning to feel that little bit of power with the younger children below them at school, yet they are not quite grown up enough to fit in with the really cool kids. They are beginning to establish slightly more independence from the apron strings and are quite desperate to show some individualism. And so it begins. You chubby cheeked tweenager (the child between childhood and adolescents) goes to bed with neatly combed hair and flannelette pyjamas, exuding that cute touch of attitude that you put down to his age. The next morning he gets up showing defiance when you encourage him to comb his hair. Within a few weeks, you will notice that he is more and more reluctant to wash and then to wear anything but black. Smiles are a rarity and his lack of venturing outdoors leads to the pallor of the dead. If your child has such thing as a paper round or Saturday job, then your ability to have much say over this clothing is limited. On one of their trips out with other such children who all, in their quest to be individuals, look the same, he will buy himself what he calls 'goth clothing'. To you and I, it looks like something that came from a Victorian jumble sale but they pay good money for this trend. Goth clothing has been around for years but mostly in underground London clubs where people didn't mind their weirdness. Now, with the 'anything goes' attitude of today's society, goth clothing has become a trend that many youths like to follow. It's extreme and different and gives them a whole society that they feel they belong to. Of course, there is room for a little genuine individualism within the genre of goth clothing. To typify it, trousers are normally black for male or females. They will probably be looser than your average emo black trousers which are skin tight and this is one of the biggest differences between the two groups. Tops will normally be black. Sometimes they will have designer pictures on the front and very often this will depict scenes of death, skulls or some other such hideous thing. This is to reflect their feeling of otherworldliness that accompanies the goth culture. Footwear will be, well, have a guess. Yes that's right. Footwear will be black. This can be anything from trainers to large, goth boots that resemble moon boots covered in metal wear. However, by and large, any footwear can pass the goth test as long as it's black. For those parents with young boys who have turned 'goth', think yourself lucky you don't have a girl. Victorian style boned bodices, fingerless gloves and wild hairstyles with the typical goth whiteness accompanied with heavy black eye make-up will be what you see everyday from now until the point when they realise that, actually yes, they look like everyone else.
Friday, August 29, 2008
How to Make Sure You're Always in Fashion
By : Heather Jacobson
Many of us feel as though we are in touch with current fashion trends, but are we really? It's often the people who feel as though they are fashionable that one day look around and find that they don't know anything about current fashion trends. No one wants to be this person, but it seems as though the most well intentioned people end up going all wrong where fashion is concerned. Staying in Touch with the Fashion Industry Fashion trends are always changing. You cannot blink or you may miss something big in the fashion world. Of course, we all have our own personal tastes, so you should keep this in mind, but regardless of what your tastes are you can always be in fashion. A great way to make sure that you know what the hot new trends are is to simply take notice of the people around you. When you go to the grocery store or the mall, look at what other people are wearing. You can ramp things up or tone them down as you find appropriate for your lifestyle or your age, but if you simply look around you'll get a lot of indirect fashion advice. Just making a concerted effort to window shop will help keep you abreast of what is new in the fashion world. When you walk down the mall look at the windows and take note of the fashions. Not all of them will appeal to you, in fact not all of them may be right for your body type, but at least you will have an idea of what is going on. Knowing what is going on in the fashion world is important because it can help you keep your wardrobe current so you always look your best. Another option when you want to know what is hot in fashion is to read magazines. There are a lot of magazines that are dedicated to fashion. Even magazines such as Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and even Redbook can offer you some great fashion advice. Not only will you see what people are wearing, you may find advice on how you can wear the latest trends so it is always as flattering as possible. Are you really a fashion buff? If so, you should try to attend as many fashion shows as possible. When you attend fashion shows you often get a look at what will be hot the next season. This will give you a leg up on everyone else so you always have the most current look possible, and isn't that what fashion is all about?
Many of us feel as though we are in touch with current fashion trends, but are we really? It's often the people who feel as though they are fashionable that one day look around and find that they don't know anything about current fashion trends. No one wants to be this person, but it seems as though the most well intentioned people end up going all wrong where fashion is concerned. Staying in Touch with the Fashion Industry Fashion trends are always changing. You cannot blink or you may miss something big in the fashion world. Of course, we all have our own personal tastes, so you should keep this in mind, but regardless of what your tastes are you can always be in fashion. A great way to make sure that you know what the hot new trends are is to simply take notice of the people around you. When you go to the grocery store or the mall, look at what other people are wearing. You can ramp things up or tone them down as you find appropriate for your lifestyle or your age, but if you simply look around you'll get a lot of indirect fashion advice. Just making a concerted effort to window shop will help keep you abreast of what is new in the fashion world. When you walk down the mall look at the windows and take note of the fashions. Not all of them will appeal to you, in fact not all of them may be right for your body type, but at least you will have an idea of what is going on. Knowing what is going on in the fashion world is important because it can help you keep your wardrobe current so you always look your best. Another option when you want to know what is hot in fashion is to read magazines. There are a lot of magazines that are dedicated to fashion. Even magazines such as Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and even Redbook can offer you some great fashion advice. Not only will you see what people are wearing, you may find advice on how you can wear the latest trends so it is always as flattering as possible. Are you really a fashion buff? If so, you should try to attend as many fashion shows as possible. When you attend fashion shows you often get a look at what will be hot the next season. This will give you a leg up on everyone else so you always have the most current look possible, and isn't that what fashion is all about?
Living on Green Energy
By : Andrew Oke
With today's rising energy costs, and no relief in sight, many consumers are looking to live "off the grid." Even with an initial investment that can be steep, the benefits make it much more economical in the long run. There are small and some not so small ways why off the grid living is a good alternative today. Even though the economical outlay can be steep at first, in the long run it definitely makes more sense for the environment. Raising your own food is a good way to begin living off the grid. This way, you eat organically while being secure in the knowledge that no dangerous hormones or chemicals are being introduced into your animals. A cow can provide milk, butter and ultimately beef and leather. Chickens can provide eggs and meat, and flavoring for soup stock. Sheep can provide wool for warmth, and lambs for food; while goats are very good milk producers. Once you have a garden set up, you should never be short of vegetables. Canning and freezing is simple and cost effective for greens all winter long. People that choose to live off the grid usually do require transportation, but with the availability of hybrid cars; and the research towards possible ethanol fueled cars; wanting to avoid oil products is not as much of a hindrance now. The Amish have the best means of transportation with their horse and buggies. Of course, maintenance on the buggies and upkeep for the horses can be time consuming, but the benefit of no oil product consumption is a great motivator. Horses can also be used for plowing fields, entertainment and also as income if breeding is something one was interested in. Buying clothes is becoming much more expensive these days. Children as young as five can't go to school in hand me downs or thrift store clothing because they will be teased. When living off the grid, you don't need to be stylish, and you probably have no desire to be stylish either. Spinning wool from your sheep, and knitting or weaving clothes and blankets is a great way to save money. Of course, these days, handspun wool can be a great income generator, as well as wool products, such as handknit sweaters and socks. Buying fabric from a local merchant is less expensive than buying clothes in a store, and can be just as nice as long as you know the basics of sewing. For some, sewing may be difficult, but that is an easy hurdle to overcome. There is always someone who would be willing to barter, especially if you are located near anyone else who chooses off the grid living. Sharing your talents with others make self sustainable living much more enjoyable. Generating heat and energy is always a concern for those who choose to live off the grid. There are several choices available, but the initial investment can be steep. Once the infrastructure is setup, there is no reason to pay your power bill monthly, or to worry that you are going to freeze in the middle of the night during a storm. Having your own power supply means freedom from being at the mercy of repair crews in the middle of the night when the power line has been knocked down, and also is much safer. Power is not vital to survival, and life can be enjoyable without it. There are two power supply options with readily available instructions online. Solar and wind energy can be very efficient, and have the benefit of being much cleaner than coal, oil or gas, and definitely much safer than nuclear power plants. There are several sources of this information available... just search "off grid living" The Amish community is a good example of living off the grid. They have even been able to integrate into the community without sacrificing their values or their way of life. If more people were willing and able to follow their lead, our carbon footprint would be lessened, and our dependence on foreign oil would be nonexistent. If we each made some small progress in living green, there would be more people willing to make that next step to move off the grid, and our world would be a much cleaner home for all.
With today's rising energy costs, and no relief in sight, many consumers are looking to live "off the grid." Even with an initial investment that can be steep, the benefits make it much more economical in the long run. There are small and some not so small ways why off the grid living is a good alternative today. Even though the economical outlay can be steep at first, in the long run it definitely makes more sense for the environment. Raising your own food is a good way to begin living off the grid. This way, you eat organically while being secure in the knowledge that no dangerous hormones or chemicals are being introduced into your animals. A cow can provide milk, butter and ultimately beef and leather. Chickens can provide eggs and meat, and flavoring for soup stock. Sheep can provide wool for warmth, and lambs for food; while goats are very good milk producers. Once you have a garden set up, you should never be short of vegetables. Canning and freezing is simple and cost effective for greens all winter long. People that choose to live off the grid usually do require transportation, but with the availability of hybrid cars; and the research towards possible ethanol fueled cars; wanting to avoid oil products is not as much of a hindrance now. The Amish have the best means of transportation with their horse and buggies. Of course, maintenance on the buggies and upkeep for the horses can be time consuming, but the benefit of no oil product consumption is a great motivator. Horses can also be used for plowing fields, entertainment and also as income if breeding is something one was interested in. Buying clothes is becoming much more expensive these days. Children as young as five can't go to school in hand me downs or thrift store clothing because they will be teased. When living off the grid, you don't need to be stylish, and you probably have no desire to be stylish either. Spinning wool from your sheep, and knitting or weaving clothes and blankets is a great way to save money. Of course, these days, handspun wool can be a great income generator, as well as wool products, such as handknit sweaters and socks. Buying fabric from a local merchant is less expensive than buying clothes in a store, and can be just as nice as long as you know the basics of sewing. For some, sewing may be difficult, but that is an easy hurdle to overcome. There is always someone who would be willing to barter, especially if you are located near anyone else who chooses off the grid living. Sharing your talents with others make self sustainable living much more enjoyable. Generating heat and energy is always a concern for those who choose to live off the grid. There are several choices available, but the initial investment can be steep. Once the infrastructure is setup, there is no reason to pay your power bill monthly, or to worry that you are going to freeze in the middle of the night during a storm. Having your own power supply means freedom from being at the mercy of repair crews in the middle of the night when the power line has been knocked down, and also is much safer. Power is not vital to survival, and life can be enjoyable without it. There are two power supply options with readily available instructions online. Solar and wind energy can be very efficient, and have the benefit of being much cleaner than coal, oil or gas, and definitely much safer than nuclear power plants. There are several sources of this information available... just search "off grid living" The Amish community is a good example of living off the grid. They have even been able to integrate into the community without sacrificing their values or their way of life. If more people were willing and able to follow their lead, our carbon footprint would be lessened, and our dependence on foreign oil would be nonexistent. If we each made some small progress in living green, there would be more people willing to make that next step to move off the grid, and our world would be a much cleaner home for all.
Supplies for School - Save and Keep Your Children Happy
By : seomul Evans
This is that time of year -- you know, the time for buying supplies for school, getting new clothes and reorganizing everything to fit with your children's busy schedules. Most parents do not look forward to the rush of buying school supplies and wandering through endless racks of clothing to find the clothes that fit both their children's tastes and sizes. What they look forward to is having a little time to breathe when their children get off to school on their first day, prepared with the necessary school supplies and looking great in their new school clothes. Saving on Supplies for School - The Essentials If you have a complete list of supplies for school needed by each child, do not deviate from the list. Yes, children will always want the coolest things, like gel pens, colored pencils, an iPod. But they do not need these things. Stick to your list and if your children are insistent, suggest nicely that they save their allowance and buy these things themselves. If you have the ability to pass things down from one child to the next, do it. But make it a point to let the older child know that the new backpacks and trendy lunch boxes are going to their younger siblings because they are the one getting new clothing. As the youngest child, I know what it is to have to wear hand-me-downs from my big sister. The only thing that saved the day was the prospect of getting something new that she would not have. These things are important to children and to you if peace is on your priority list for school supplies. Of course each child needs at least one new outfit for school. The horror of going to school on the first day wearing old clothes would be traumatic for most kids. As a mom, it is your duty to make sure each child wears new clothes for the first day of school. To kids, school supplies are less important. Seek out discount clothing at outlets and sales. Smaller children will be happy with a nice outfit from a consignment shop. Just make sure the clothes are stylish and don't tell them where you got them and everything will be fine. Shoes are also non-negotiable. You can find great sales on shoes this time of year and most of the offer bargains on multiple pairs. The best way to get great deals on supplies for school is to go to the least expensive places. One of these places just might be your own house. Look around. Do you have extra folders, notebooks, pens, pencils or paper lying around? Gather everything you can that is on your children's list of supplies for school before you head out to go shopping. Look in dollar stores for the smaller items. Obviously you won't find the big binders there, but you may find one subject notebooks and are sure to find pencils, pens, rulers and paperclips. If you've never checked the dollar store for school supplies, you will be pleasantly surprised when you do. Hit the best sales by checking the buyer's guide as soon as you get it. When you see a sale on school supplies, try to get there bright and early on the first day. If you wait, you will likely miss out on the best bargains and end up staring at empty shelves where the 20 cent notebooks used to be. The best way to avoid the problem is to purchase school supply items throughout the year. Buy in bulk when it saves you money. If you have a little extra one day at the grocery store and you notice a sale on pencils that can't be beat, buy them up. Who cares if it is June? This fall, you will be that much ahead of the game. Saving on school supplies can be easy if you use your imagination and prepare ahead of time. Don't wait until the last minute if you really want the best bargains on supplies for school.
This is that time of year -- you know, the time for buying supplies for school, getting new clothes and reorganizing everything to fit with your children's busy schedules. Most parents do not look forward to the rush of buying school supplies and wandering through endless racks of clothing to find the clothes that fit both their children's tastes and sizes. What they look forward to is having a little time to breathe when their children get off to school on their first day, prepared with the necessary school supplies and looking great in their new school clothes. Saving on Supplies for School - The Essentials If you have a complete list of supplies for school needed by each child, do not deviate from the list. Yes, children will always want the coolest things, like gel pens, colored pencils, an iPod. But they do not need these things. Stick to your list and if your children are insistent, suggest nicely that they save their allowance and buy these things themselves. If you have the ability to pass things down from one child to the next, do it. But make it a point to let the older child know that the new backpacks and trendy lunch boxes are going to their younger siblings because they are the one getting new clothing. As the youngest child, I know what it is to have to wear hand-me-downs from my big sister. The only thing that saved the day was the prospect of getting something new that she would not have. These things are important to children and to you if peace is on your priority list for school supplies. Of course each child needs at least one new outfit for school. The horror of going to school on the first day wearing old clothes would be traumatic for most kids. As a mom, it is your duty to make sure each child wears new clothes for the first day of school. To kids, school supplies are less important. Seek out discount clothing at outlets and sales. Smaller children will be happy with a nice outfit from a consignment shop. Just make sure the clothes are stylish and don't tell them where you got them and everything will be fine. Shoes are also non-negotiable. You can find great sales on shoes this time of year and most of the offer bargains on multiple pairs. The best way to get great deals on supplies for school is to go to the least expensive places. One of these places just might be your own house. Look around. Do you have extra folders, notebooks, pens, pencils or paper lying around? Gather everything you can that is on your children's list of supplies for school before you head out to go shopping. Look in dollar stores for the smaller items. Obviously you won't find the big binders there, but you may find one subject notebooks and are sure to find pencils, pens, rulers and paperclips. If you've never checked the dollar store for school supplies, you will be pleasantly surprised when you do. Hit the best sales by checking the buyer's guide as soon as you get it. When you see a sale on school supplies, try to get there bright and early on the first day. If you wait, you will likely miss out on the best bargains and end up staring at empty shelves where the 20 cent notebooks used to be. The best way to avoid the problem is to purchase school supply items throughout the year. Buy in bulk when it saves you money. If you have a little extra one day at the grocery store and you notice a sale on pencils that can't be beat, buy them up. Who cares if it is June? This fall, you will be that much ahead of the game. Saving on school supplies can be easy if you use your imagination and prepare ahead of time. Don't wait until the last minute if you really want the best bargains on supplies for school.
Tips When Using An Africa Safari Company For Your Travel
By : MIKE SELVON
An African safari is an experience that is sure to exhilarate and satisfy anyone who has a sense of adventure. There are many different types of Africa safari adventures that you can embark on. Many people use the services of an African safari travel company to make the arrangements for them, while others enjoy membership in an African safari club where they can meet and get to know fellow adventurers. Whatever approach you choose to take for your own Africa safari travel, it is important to gather as much information as possible before making final decisions and travel arrangements for the safari that you want to participate in. One of the first decisions that should be made is the area of Africa that you want to visit. Africa is a vast land and a safari in one area can be a completely different experience than a safari to a different area of the continent. Once you are feeling good about the possible part of the country that you intend to travel to for your Africa safari, the next step will be selecting your guide. This is particularly important if this is your first safari and the safari guide you choose can literally make or break your experience. Before you choose a guide for your adventure you must make sure that guide and the African safari tour company that he is associated with are fully versed and experienced in the area you have chosen. For example, if you decide to visit Kruger in South Africa, then the guide must have a broad knowledge about that specific area of Africa and the types of wildlife safaris that are typically carried out in that area. It is unfortunate but true that many people have ended up going on an African safari with inexperienced guides and have returned from their safari holidays having had a negative experience. But, having a bad experience is not the only concern, because traveling with a guide who is not experienced, skilled and professional can also result in putting you in dangerous situations, which can put your safety and your very life at risk. The internet is an invaluable tool to use in researching African safari companies, the exact services they offer, and the background and experience of the safari guide staff that they have. Through doing research online, you should be able to find all of the information that you will need about what the various elements of a good African safari are. With that information, you can also prioritize what is most important to you to see and experience. During your online research, you will encounter a number of Africa safari travel companies who specialize in preparing and leading African safaris. It is a good idea to contact these companies directly and ask questions regarding the amount of time they have been in business and the experience level of their safari guides. While many of these companies provide an email address for you to contact them, you will most likely be able to get a better feel for their services in general if you call and speak to someone directly. It is also a good idea to speak to other people who have been on an Africa safari and ask them for recommendations of destinations, as well as companies that can provide guides. While there is a great deal of information that you can gain from a safari company's website, there is nothing better than speaking to a person who has used their services. Taking that extra step before you book your African safari holidays can help assure you have the best possible trip
An African safari is an experience that is sure to exhilarate and satisfy anyone who has a sense of adventure. There are many different types of Africa safari adventures that you can embark on. Many people use the services of an African safari travel company to make the arrangements for them, while others enjoy membership in an African safari club where they can meet and get to know fellow adventurers. Whatever approach you choose to take for your own Africa safari travel, it is important to gather as much information as possible before making final decisions and travel arrangements for the safari that you want to participate in. One of the first decisions that should be made is the area of Africa that you want to visit. Africa is a vast land and a safari in one area can be a completely different experience than a safari to a different area of the continent. Once you are feeling good about the possible part of the country that you intend to travel to for your Africa safari, the next step will be selecting your guide. This is particularly important if this is your first safari and the safari guide you choose can literally make or break your experience. Before you choose a guide for your adventure you must make sure that guide and the African safari tour company that he is associated with are fully versed and experienced in the area you have chosen. For example, if you decide to visit Kruger in South Africa, then the guide must have a broad knowledge about that specific area of Africa and the types of wildlife safaris that are typically carried out in that area. It is unfortunate but true that many people have ended up going on an African safari with inexperienced guides and have returned from their safari holidays having had a negative experience. But, having a bad experience is not the only concern, because traveling with a guide who is not experienced, skilled and professional can also result in putting you in dangerous situations, which can put your safety and your very life at risk. The internet is an invaluable tool to use in researching African safari companies, the exact services they offer, and the background and experience of the safari guide staff that they have. Through doing research online, you should be able to find all of the information that you will need about what the various elements of a good African safari are. With that information, you can also prioritize what is most important to you to see and experience. During your online research, you will encounter a number of Africa safari travel companies who specialize in preparing and leading African safaris. It is a good idea to contact these companies directly and ask questions regarding the amount of time they have been in business and the experience level of their safari guides. While many of these companies provide an email address for you to contact them, you will most likely be able to get a better feel for their services in general if you call and speak to someone directly. It is also a good idea to speak to other people who have been on an Africa safari and ask them for recommendations of destinations, as well as companies that can provide guides. While there is a great deal of information that you can gain from a safari company's website, there is nothing better than speaking to a person who has used their services. Taking that extra step before you book your African safari holidays can help assure you have the best possible trip
You Should Consider These Tips When Deciding On Extended Warranty Service
By : MIKE SELVON
When consumers shop around for a pre-owned car deal, they may wonder what the difference is between a traditional automobile warranty and extended warranty service. A traditional warranty, or "manufacturer's warranty," as it's sometimes dubbed, is included in the purchase price of the vehicle. These warranties vary greatly between makes and models, ranging from 3 year/36,000 mile warranties to 7 year/100,000 mile warranties. Also, not all used cars come with manufacturer warranties attached. Extended warranty coverage is purchased through a third party at a separate price. Here, consumers will come up against different options and levels of coverage, so it's important that they do their research before arriving at the car dealership. Checking the internet for an extended warranty quote or two is probably a good idea. First, consumers should check to find out who is backing the extended warranty service. Is it an independent company or the vehicle manufacturer? Generally, manufacturer-based used car warranties are ideal, known for the easy-to-use guarantee. With an after-market extended car warranty, the owner will need to read the stipulations to ensure that everything is covered. For example, some companies require that owners call before the work is done. Some companies require regular oil changes and fluid top-ups for work to be covered. Depending on the arrangement, sometimes the company pays the auto mechanic directly, whereas other times the warranty company pays the car owner back later. Reading and understanding the agreement is crucial in preventing unpaid claims. Secondly, find out exactly what is covered and what is not covered. The things for consumers to look out for here are "breakdown coverage" versus "wear and tear" extended warranty service. While a breakdown automotive warranty may cost a little less, it could be costly over time. Many parts fail due to wearing down and not outright "breaking." Not all contracts cover instances like anti-lock break system failure or engine overheating. At the end of the day, these seemingly inconsequential distinctions can mean the difference between a reasonable plan and a waste of money. At the end of the day, it's up to the owner whether or not extended warranty service is needed. Some people are perfectly comfortable setting money aside to save for possible repairs, whereas others want to feel that they can call on someone to help, no matter what happens. Extended warranty plans may not be essential for every computer, iPod or blender purchased, but for a car worth $10,000 or more, it's certainly a smart consideration for that extra peace of mind.
When consumers shop around for a pre-owned car deal, they may wonder what the difference is between a traditional automobile warranty and extended warranty service. A traditional warranty, or "manufacturer's warranty," as it's sometimes dubbed, is included in the purchase price of the vehicle. These warranties vary greatly between makes and models, ranging from 3 year/36,000 mile warranties to 7 year/100,000 mile warranties. Also, not all used cars come with manufacturer warranties attached. Extended warranty coverage is purchased through a third party at a separate price. Here, consumers will come up against different options and levels of coverage, so it's important that they do their research before arriving at the car dealership. Checking the internet for an extended warranty quote or two is probably a good idea. First, consumers should check to find out who is backing the extended warranty service. Is it an independent company or the vehicle manufacturer? Generally, manufacturer-based used car warranties are ideal, known for the easy-to-use guarantee. With an after-market extended car warranty, the owner will need to read the stipulations to ensure that everything is covered. For example, some companies require that owners call before the work is done. Some companies require regular oil changes and fluid top-ups for work to be covered. Depending on the arrangement, sometimes the company pays the auto mechanic directly, whereas other times the warranty company pays the car owner back later. Reading and understanding the agreement is crucial in preventing unpaid claims. Secondly, find out exactly what is covered and what is not covered. The things for consumers to look out for here are "breakdown coverage" versus "wear and tear" extended warranty service. While a breakdown automotive warranty may cost a little less, it could be costly over time. Many parts fail due to wearing down and not outright "breaking." Not all contracts cover instances like anti-lock break system failure or engine overheating. At the end of the day, these seemingly inconsequential distinctions can mean the difference between a reasonable plan and a waste of money. At the end of the day, it's up to the owner whether or not extended warranty service is needed. Some people are perfectly comfortable setting money aside to save for possible repairs, whereas others want to feel that they can call on someone to help, no matter what happens. Extended warranty plans may not be essential for every computer, iPod or blender purchased, but for a car worth $10,000 or more, it's certainly a smart consideration for that extra peace of mind.
Real Work at Home Jobs - Why Cant You Find One?
By : Jeff Casmer
With the rise of work at home opportunists comes more real work at home jobs. But before you start throwing your hats up in the air consider what youre about to read very carefully. The supply will probably never meet the demand when it comes to real work at home jobs. Years ago there were very few real work at home jobs for people to choose from. Not enough people were considering working from home. But as computer prices have come down and economic changes have ensued, more and more people are seeking for ways to create or supplement their income through more convenient methods. This has caused companies to use the talents of people they have never met to meet the demands of their business. However, regardless of the many real work at home jobs out there and the many that will form in the next little while, the demand will still override the supply. Most people think they struggle to find work at home jobs because majority of them are scams, that they are only two or three good companies out there that hire candidates. But the real reason behind many peoples shortage of income when it comes to working from home is the staggering competition they are faced with. A data entry job for instance, will have at least 20 applicants. In a given day a real work at home job ad will have about 825 views. Consider how difficult it is when you are competing against just 2 other qualified candidates. When youre up against over 20 it becomes even trickier to prove that you are the right one for the job. Landing real work at home jobs takes ingenuity. You have to creatively set yourself apart from others and you have to be willing to do on a regular basis. Self promotion, marketing your talents and networking are what separate those who are living the work at home dream from those who trying to escape the nightmare. Because of the competition many people reluctantly look for jobs. They work for far less than theyre worth and they dont bother to keep up with the new methods of marketing. They have in essence given up on the dream of working from home. But if you are wise you can use your competition to your advantage. Competition should not make you cower but instead increase your efforts and bolster your confidence. You cant control how many people are after the job you want but you can control how you market yourself in order to give yourself the best chance possible. Your resume should be up to date and error free. If you cant manage to create one that says hire me then invest in someone who can ensure your resume gives you a fair hance. You should be actively looking for and participating in meetings, forums and other industry notifications that offer information on the real work at home jobs you are looking for. Whats more you should broaden your job spectrum. There are many jobs out there and limiting yourself to just one or two niches can impede your success. Many happy work at home agents are offering their service in industries they had not originally considered. Your competition is not getting any smaller. The number of people looking for real work at home jobs is only going to increase within the next few years. But you do have power. Dont focus on simply finding a money maker; apply your efforts into making your future employer and clients believe that you are a reliable and commited person to do business with.
With the rise of work at home opportunists comes more real work at home jobs. But before you start throwing your hats up in the air consider what youre about to read very carefully. The supply will probably never meet the demand when it comes to real work at home jobs. Years ago there were very few real work at home jobs for people to choose from. Not enough people were considering working from home. But as computer prices have come down and economic changes have ensued, more and more people are seeking for ways to create or supplement their income through more convenient methods. This has caused companies to use the talents of people they have never met to meet the demands of their business. However, regardless of the many real work at home jobs out there and the many that will form in the next little while, the demand will still override the supply. Most people think they struggle to find work at home jobs because majority of them are scams, that they are only two or three good companies out there that hire candidates. But the real reason behind many peoples shortage of income when it comes to working from home is the staggering competition they are faced with. A data entry job for instance, will have at least 20 applicants. In a given day a real work at home job ad will have about 825 views. Consider how difficult it is when you are competing against just 2 other qualified candidates. When youre up against over 20 it becomes even trickier to prove that you are the right one for the job. Landing real work at home jobs takes ingenuity. You have to creatively set yourself apart from others and you have to be willing to do on a regular basis. Self promotion, marketing your talents and networking are what separate those who are living the work at home dream from those who trying to escape the nightmare. Because of the competition many people reluctantly look for jobs. They work for far less than theyre worth and they dont bother to keep up with the new methods of marketing. They have in essence given up on the dream of working from home. But if you are wise you can use your competition to your advantage. Competition should not make you cower but instead increase your efforts and bolster your confidence. You cant control how many people are after the job you want but you can control how you market yourself in order to give yourself the best chance possible. Your resume should be up to date and error free. If you cant manage to create one that says hire me then invest in someone who can ensure your resume gives you a fair hance. You should be actively looking for and participating in meetings, forums and other industry notifications that offer information on the real work at home jobs you are looking for. Whats more you should broaden your job spectrum. There are many jobs out there and limiting yourself to just one or two niches can impede your success. Many happy work at home agents are offering their service in industries they had not originally considered. Your competition is not getting any smaller. The number of people looking for real work at home jobs is only going to increase within the next few years. But you do have power. Dont focus on simply finding a money maker; apply your efforts into making your future employer and clients believe that you are a reliable and commited person to do business with.
Gold Jewelry Information And Buying Tip
By : Koz Huseyin
Are you looking to buy jewelry made from gold? From karats to online and offline stores, how do you choose the right jewelry made from gold to buy? As you read every word of this article, you will find some great tips to buying gold jewelry. There are many places that you can go to, to buy jewelry made from gold, and though many are safe, and sell gold jewelry that is what it says it is, it is best to be safe. When buying gold in northern America, look for jewelry retailers that have the logo of Jewelers of America. Outside northern America there will often be an association that has a set of standards for the members. It is a good choice to make sure they have that membership, as it shows in most cases that you are getting what you actually wanted. When buying gold, you may have heard the word - karats. A Karat, is a way of measuring the pureness of gold jewelry. Because the metal is soft in its pure form and unsuitable for wearing it is often added with other metals to make it stronger. As an example 24 karat gold is pure gold and is very soft. In this state is easily malleable and would likely bend and change shape every time you try to wear it. 24 karat gold is often used for other purposes, such as making CD layers or in computer processors. 18K jewelry is the next level down and is 75% pure, then 12K gold which is half gold and half is other metals. Another karat you may find is 10 karats which is actually only 41.7% pure gold. As you get to the lower percentages the more stronger the jewelry made from gold, but also the less real gold contained within the jewelry. It will be something to consider which type you want to purchase. Anything below 10 karats is not really classed as gold jewelry, so much so that in the US, it is against the law to label an item as being gold, if it contains less than 10 karats. Even though many are safe, and sell gold jewelry that is what it says it is, it is best to be safe and buy from jewelry retailers with a membership to a jewelry association. This applies online, and the sites will often display such logo's and hallmark information. All jewelry made from gold will come with a karat mark. If you find jewelry without this mark either online or offline it is best to take it back, as it could end up being an item with no gold in it or one which has less than 10 karats. When you look to buy gold jewelry, you will also see a mark of the jewelry manufacturer. This information is good to know. As jewelry with a known mark is going to be more likely to be a genuine product.
Are you looking to buy jewelry made from gold? From karats to online and offline stores, how do you choose the right jewelry made from gold to buy? As you read every word of this article, you will find some great tips to buying gold jewelry. There are many places that you can go to, to buy jewelry made from gold, and though many are safe, and sell gold jewelry that is what it says it is, it is best to be safe. When buying gold in northern America, look for jewelry retailers that have the logo of Jewelers of America. Outside northern America there will often be an association that has a set of standards for the members. It is a good choice to make sure they have that membership, as it shows in most cases that you are getting what you actually wanted. When buying gold, you may have heard the word - karats. A Karat, is a way of measuring the pureness of gold jewelry. Because the metal is soft in its pure form and unsuitable for wearing it is often added with other metals to make it stronger. As an example 24 karat gold is pure gold and is very soft. In this state is easily malleable and would likely bend and change shape every time you try to wear it. 24 karat gold is often used for other purposes, such as making CD layers or in computer processors. 18K jewelry is the next level down and is 75% pure, then 12K gold which is half gold and half is other metals. Another karat you may find is 10 karats which is actually only 41.7% pure gold. As you get to the lower percentages the more stronger the jewelry made from gold, but also the less real gold contained within the jewelry. It will be something to consider which type you want to purchase. Anything below 10 karats is not really classed as gold jewelry, so much so that in the US, it is against the law to label an item as being gold, if it contains less than 10 karats. Even though many are safe, and sell gold jewelry that is what it says it is, it is best to be safe and buy from jewelry retailers with a membership to a jewelry association. This applies online, and the sites will often display such logo's and hallmark information. All jewelry made from gold will come with a karat mark. If you find jewelry without this mark either online or offline it is best to take it back, as it could end up being an item with no gold in it or one which has less than 10 karats. When you look to buy gold jewelry, you will also see a mark of the jewelry manufacturer. This information is good to know. As jewelry with a known mark is going to be more likely to be a genuine product.
The Email Marketing Solution To Increase Sales
By : Matt Bacak
Autoresponders have been around for quite some time. The Internet is overflowing with companies offering them packaged up with various features at various monthly fee levels. As more and more people do business on the Internet, autoresponders will take a special place in the overall marketing plan of any business on the net. They are the number one mechanism that helps businesses stay in close touch with customers or reach potential customers continuously. Like everything else in this world, autoresponder providers charge fees for the service that they provide. This usually means a monthly fee is required and sometimes the fee can be on the high side. In exchange for this fee, they will host your autoresponder on their servers, which may not necessarily be a good thing. "Why"? Simply because you are at the mercy of these providers if their server goes down. If that happens, guess what? Your autoresponder messages do not get sent to your customers, which could cause a loss in potential sales. To further compound the problem, if the provider's server is down often or for long periods of time, it could be catastrophic to your business. There is an alternative to the above scenario in the form of a 'free standing' autoresponder package called Autoresponder Plus. It does not rely on installation on someone's server; rather it is installed on your own web site or dedicated server. No third-party intervention is needed at all. As long as you have a reliable hosting service, you can add it to your business site and be in total control of customer communications. It's a fact that if you don't successfully manage your follow up marketing process effectively, you will lose potential customers. The power of Autoresponse Plus Let's take a look at how powerful it is. It is an autoresponder and mailing list software for your web site. You can send out an unlimited number of follow-up emails and target thousands of prospects. You send out follow-up sales campaigns, courses, newsletters, and ezines from an intuitive browser. Once it is setup, it runs on autopilot! Create unlimited autoresponder accounts with unlimited messages any time. Why use Autoresponse Plus? By using it as your mechanism to reach thousands of potential customers, you will benefit in many ways. Take for instance the benefits of: No more monthly fees for autoresponder services. Pay a 'one-time' fee and you own the package! No more reliance on the reliability of the servers of other providers. The convenience of having the ability to take total control over your email campaigns staying in touch with prospects and customers around the clock. The convenience of installing Autoresponder Plus on your very own site. The extra flexibility in maintaining it and the dramatic cost savings. The ease of installation and level of full technical support from ARP3 professionals that includes a fully staffed 'help-desk' and tutorials. Capturing email addresses of prospects so you can immediately follow-up and turn them into customers. Delivering your message, over and over, to your target audience to get a sale. How is Autoresponse Plus the email marketing solution to increase your sales It acts as your personal marketing spokesperson, only better because it never takes time off! It can dramatically boost your sales through its use by giving you the freedom and flexibility to follow-up with prospects consistently and turn them into paying customers. It is a fact that if you want to turn 'window shoppers' into buyers, you need to have constant contact with them. People need to get to know and trust you before they will buy from you. It helps you achieve this through its simplicity and convenience. It offers an opt-in email marketing solution and follow-up marketing solution that are the best tools possible for building credibility and trust quickly. You can take charge of your marketing campaign by: Building an opt-in list of prospects that you can follow-up with and convert into customers. Using this opt-in list to market to this audience over and over again, after all, by opting-in, they give you permission to do so. Fully automate your email and follow-up marketing efforts and run effortlessly on autopilot. Eliminating annoying ads in your email campaigns that are planted there by other autoresponder providers. Gaining the ability to send unlimited attachments such as .pdf files in your marketing campaigns. Taking advantage of one of the most 'user-friendly' programs on the marketplace. Having your own autoresponder package installed on your business site not only makes a lot of sense but in such a competitive business climate as the Internet, it is a necessity if a business is going to survive. You are in control of your business; you need to be able to oversee every facet, especially the most important one, marketing. With the advent of such great marketing tools, you can literally boost your sales many times over. It's definitely worth exploring.
Autoresponders have been around for quite some time. The Internet is overflowing with companies offering them packaged up with various features at various monthly fee levels. As more and more people do business on the Internet, autoresponders will take a special place in the overall marketing plan of any business on the net. They are the number one mechanism that helps businesses stay in close touch with customers or reach potential customers continuously. Like everything else in this world, autoresponder providers charge fees for the service that they provide. This usually means a monthly fee is required and sometimes the fee can be on the high side. In exchange for this fee, they will host your autoresponder on their servers, which may not necessarily be a good thing. "Why"? Simply because you are at the mercy of these providers if their server goes down. If that happens, guess what? Your autoresponder messages do not get sent to your customers, which could cause a loss in potential sales. To further compound the problem, if the provider's server is down often or for long periods of time, it could be catastrophic to your business. There is an alternative to the above scenario in the form of a 'free standing' autoresponder package called Autoresponder Plus. It does not rely on installation on someone's server; rather it is installed on your own web site or dedicated server. No third-party intervention is needed at all. As long as you have a reliable hosting service, you can add it to your business site and be in total control of customer communications. It's a fact that if you don't successfully manage your follow up marketing process effectively, you will lose potential customers. The power of Autoresponse Plus Let's take a look at how powerful it is. It is an autoresponder and mailing list software for your web site. You can send out an unlimited number of follow-up emails and target thousands of prospects. You send out follow-up sales campaigns, courses, newsletters, and ezines from an intuitive browser. Once it is setup, it runs on autopilot! Create unlimited autoresponder accounts with unlimited messages any time. Why use Autoresponse Plus? By using it as your mechanism to reach thousands of potential customers, you will benefit in many ways. Take for instance the benefits of: No more monthly fees for autoresponder services. Pay a 'one-time' fee and you own the package! No more reliance on the reliability of the servers of other providers. The convenience of having the ability to take total control over your email campaigns staying in touch with prospects and customers around the clock. The convenience of installing Autoresponder Plus on your very own site. The extra flexibility in maintaining it and the dramatic cost savings. The ease of installation and level of full technical support from ARP3 professionals that includes a fully staffed 'help-desk' and tutorials. Capturing email addresses of prospects so you can immediately follow-up and turn them into customers. Delivering your message, over and over, to your target audience to get a sale. How is Autoresponse Plus the email marketing solution to increase your sales It acts as your personal marketing spokesperson, only better because it never takes time off! It can dramatically boost your sales through its use by giving you the freedom and flexibility to follow-up with prospects consistently and turn them into paying customers. It is a fact that if you want to turn 'window shoppers' into buyers, you need to have constant contact with them. People need to get to know and trust you before they will buy from you. It helps you achieve this through its simplicity and convenience. It offers an opt-in email marketing solution and follow-up marketing solution that are the best tools possible for building credibility and trust quickly. You can take charge of your marketing campaign by: Building an opt-in list of prospects that you can follow-up with and convert into customers. Using this opt-in list to market to this audience over and over again, after all, by opting-in, they give you permission to do so. Fully automate your email and follow-up marketing efforts and run effortlessly on autopilot. Eliminating annoying ads in your email campaigns that are planted there by other autoresponder providers. Gaining the ability to send unlimited attachments such as .pdf files in your marketing campaigns. Taking advantage of one of the most 'user-friendly' programs on the marketplace. Having your own autoresponder package installed on your business site not only makes a lot of sense but in such a competitive business climate as the Internet, it is a necessity if a business is going to survive. You are in control of your business; you need to be able to oversee every facet, especially the most important one, marketing. With the advent of such great marketing tools, you can literally boost your sales many times over. It's definitely worth exploring.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
High Gas Prices Can Be Countered With Smart Use
Posted by admin as Maintenance
The price of gas continues to climb, and with continued uncertainty in the Middle East, they will probably continue to do so. In California and elsewhere, prices for some grades of gas have long passed the previously unthinkable threshold of three dollars a gallon. Granted, that is lower than the inflation-adjusted prices of early 1981, but that doesn’t make anyone feel better when they’ve just paid nearly $100 to fill the tank of their sport utility vehicle. In a previous article, we offered some solutions as to how the average consumer can either save on gas prices or use less gas. These tips included using credit cards with cashback rebates, keeping your car tuned and tires inflated, and keeping the car washed and waxed, which reduces drag. Here are a few additional tips which will help ease the strain of filling your tank. Empty your trunk. Some people drive around with their trunks nearly full with things that just don’t need to be there. Sure, you need a jack and a spare, but do you really need a toolbox, golf clubs, and that pile of old clothes you’ve been meaning to drop off at the Salvation Army? Any extra weight you carry requires additional energy to make your car or SUV move. Lighten the load and your engine won’t work as hard or use as much fuel.Drive efficiently. That means accelerating gradually, rather than speeding out of an intersection. Your car uses fuel more effectively when you gradually accelerate. Once you achieve your desired speed, keep it steady, using cruise control if you have it. Speeding up and slowing down only uses more gas.Take mass transit. No, it isn’t sexy to take the bus to work, but it can save a lot of money if your commute is more than five miles or so. If you can’t take mass transit, you might consider a carpool.Shift appropriately if you’re driving a car with a manual transmission. Shift at the factory recommended shift points, rather than running your tachometer all the way up before shifting. Your car runs best within a fairly narrow RPM range.Each of these tips offers a small saving in fuel consumption. When combined with others, they add up and can produce significant savings. If you can increase your fuel consumption by just two miles per gallon, you can save $30-40 on a 1000-mile trip in your SUV. When you’re paying $3.09 per gallon, every penny counts.
The price of gas continues to climb, and with continued uncertainty in the Middle East, they will probably continue to do so. In California and elsewhere, prices for some grades of gas have long passed the previously unthinkable threshold of three dollars a gallon. Granted, that is lower than the inflation-adjusted prices of early 1981, but that doesn’t make anyone feel better when they’ve just paid nearly $100 to fill the tank of their sport utility vehicle. In a previous article, we offered some solutions as to how the average consumer can either save on gas prices or use less gas. These tips included using credit cards with cashback rebates, keeping your car tuned and tires inflated, and keeping the car washed and waxed, which reduces drag. Here are a few additional tips which will help ease the strain of filling your tank. Empty your trunk. Some people drive around with their trunks nearly full with things that just don’t need to be there. Sure, you need a jack and a spare, but do you really need a toolbox, golf clubs, and that pile of old clothes you’ve been meaning to drop off at the Salvation Army? Any extra weight you carry requires additional energy to make your car or SUV move. Lighten the load and your engine won’t work as hard or use as much fuel.Drive efficiently. That means accelerating gradually, rather than speeding out of an intersection. Your car uses fuel more effectively when you gradually accelerate. Once you achieve your desired speed, keep it steady, using cruise control if you have it. Speeding up and slowing down only uses more gas.Take mass transit. No, it isn’t sexy to take the bus to work, but it can save a lot of money if your commute is more than five miles or so. If you can’t take mass transit, you might consider a carpool.Shift appropriately if you’re driving a car with a manual transmission. Shift at the factory recommended shift points, rather than running your tachometer all the way up before shifting. Your car runs best within a fairly narrow RPM range.Each of these tips offers a small saving in fuel consumption. When combined with others, they add up and can produce significant savings. If you can increase your fuel consumption by just two miles per gallon, you can save $30-40 on a 1000-mile trip in your SUV. When you’re paying $3.09 per gallon, every penny counts.
A Love Letter from God
Posted by admin as Maintenance
The Bible is many things to many people. To all who revere it as the Word of the Living God, it is perfect, flawless and as timely today as when it was penned by the holy human vessels selected and directed by its author. If one spends enough time within its covers, the Bible fosters a personal bond between itself and the reader that grows deeper and more intimate each day.Many years ago, as a young lad stationed aboard an attack aircraft carrier deployed overseas, my thoughts often turned toward home. One of the highlights of the workday was when the mail plane arrived. Every sailor knew the low humming engines of that particular twin-propped aircraft. It seemed to stand out over the whine of all the other modern jet aircraft taking off and trapping on the flight deck.When the mail plane arrived, where possible, work came to a grinding halt around the ship as sailors waited for the mail to be sorted and delivered to the different departments. What seemed like an eternity eventually passed and small groups of sailors gathered around the designated distribution areas. The long wait culminated with the mail clerk for the department climbing the nearest desk or chair and calling out the names on each envelope and package.These were the most arduous moments of the entire seven month deployment; waiting to see if you had received word from home, in particular from that special one in your life. One shipmate would gleefully call out “here sir” when his name was called, while another would solemnly hang his head as it became clear that there was no letter for him that day.On one occasion I remember my name being called out and the clerk humorously “sniffing” the letter and raising his eyebrows several times in front of the crew before handing it to me. His antics and the crew’s laughter didn’t bother me. I knew from their gestures that the letter was from my wife and I found myself uncontrollably shouting what I can only label as a “war whoop” of happiness.The letter had an immediate positive impact upon my morale. A moment earlier I had been inwardly mortified at the prospect of not receiving a letter. The next moment I was suddenly in bliss when I heard my name called. Working my way to the front of the crowd, I grabbed my letter and quickly confirmed that it was from my sweetheart.There was no time to read the letter however, as we had jets in the air, so I quickly stuffed it into my pocket and hurried off to my work station. I would have time to read it later. At my first break I tore the letter open and searched quickly for the words “all my love” above the signature, a habit most sailors develop as a result of the high instance of “Dear John” letters received by those on extended deployments.Once I ascertained that love still flourished, I turned to the first page and read the letter as quickly as possible absorbing all of the sweet nothings my eyes could focus on. Hurrying back to the flight line, I put the letter away until I could digest more of it at my next break or at lunch.
The Bible is many things to many people. To all who revere it as the Word of the Living God, it is perfect, flawless and as timely today as when it was penned by the holy human vessels selected and directed by its author. If one spends enough time within its covers, the Bible fosters a personal bond between itself and the reader that grows deeper and more intimate each day.Many years ago, as a young lad stationed aboard an attack aircraft carrier deployed overseas, my thoughts often turned toward home. One of the highlights of the workday was when the mail plane arrived. Every sailor knew the low humming engines of that particular twin-propped aircraft. It seemed to stand out over the whine of all the other modern jet aircraft taking off and trapping on the flight deck.When the mail plane arrived, where possible, work came to a grinding halt around the ship as sailors waited for the mail to be sorted and delivered to the different departments. What seemed like an eternity eventually passed and small groups of sailors gathered around the designated distribution areas. The long wait culminated with the mail clerk for the department climbing the nearest desk or chair and calling out the names on each envelope and package.These were the most arduous moments of the entire seven month deployment; waiting to see if you had received word from home, in particular from that special one in your life. One shipmate would gleefully call out “here sir” when his name was called, while another would solemnly hang his head as it became clear that there was no letter for him that day.On one occasion I remember my name being called out and the clerk humorously “sniffing” the letter and raising his eyebrows several times in front of the crew before handing it to me. His antics and the crew’s laughter didn’t bother me. I knew from their gestures that the letter was from my wife and I found myself uncontrollably shouting what I can only label as a “war whoop” of happiness.The letter had an immediate positive impact upon my morale. A moment earlier I had been inwardly mortified at the prospect of not receiving a letter. The next moment I was suddenly in bliss when I heard my name called. Working my way to the front of the crowd, I grabbed my letter and quickly confirmed that it was from my sweetheart.There was no time to read the letter however, as we had jets in the air, so I quickly stuffed it into my pocket and hurried off to my work station. I would have time to read it later. At my first break I tore the letter open and searched quickly for the words “all my love” above the signature, a habit most sailors develop as a result of the high instance of “Dear John” letters received by those on extended deployments.Once I ascertained that love still flourished, I turned to the first page and read the letter as quickly as possible absorbing all of the sweet nothings my eyes could focus on. Hurrying back to the flight line, I put the letter away until I could digest more of it at my next break or at lunch.
What Causes the Glow Plug for a RC Nitro Engine to get Hot and Glow
Posted by admin as Finance
How does a Glow Plug work you ask? To start at the basics the glow plug is what makes your nitro engine run.
First off the glow plug is heated by an external power source. A glow plug igniter. The igniter heats the element, causing it to glow.
This starts the chain reaction of igniting the fuel on the compression stroke and starting the internal- combustion cycle. The glow plug igniter can be removed and your nitro engine is running at idle.
Now why does nitro engine stay running? Presuming your carburetor is tuned correctly. This is where science comes into play. There is heat generated in the combustion cycle. This heat is called “the catalytic reaction”.
A catalytic reaction occurs causing platinum to glow in the presence of “methyl-alcohol,” or “methanol”. This catalytic reaction will occur on it’s own without any outside power source. All of this only comes onto play during low rpm and when there is not enough heat being generated to burn all the fuel vapor. The catalytic reaction changes as rpms and temperature rise. This has just been a very basic explanation of how a glow plug works at low rpm or idle.
Next let us look at what makes up a glow plug. There are five basic parts to a glow plug. We are going to look at a glow plug from the top to the bottom.
1. The post that sticks out of the top of the glow plug, the positive connection.
2. The heating coil is connected to the positive connection making these two items are one piece. The coil is made out of platinum and some makers use rhodium.
3. The post and coil are separated from the plug body by a washer. The washer is called an insulator. The insulator is most often made of “mica”, which is a non-conductive material. The insulator prevents electricity from bypassing the coil to find a ground. Plus, it can withstand extreme heat.
4. The plug body, this is the part that screws into the head of the engine. Usually made of steel, for two reasons, it is cheap and makes an ground for the coil.
5. On the top of the body is a crimp washer, this holds all the parts together. Almost all glow plugs use a crimp washer. The only exception is the O’Donnell glow plugs. They have a different design and do not use a crimp washer.
The RC nitro engine glow plug is and can be a mysterious little creature. It can make our rc vehicles run great or be very temperamental beasts. Understanding how and why glow plugs work will make it easier to keep your rc vehicle/s running to their highest potential.
How does a Glow Plug work you ask? To start at the basics the glow plug is what makes your nitro engine run.
First off the glow plug is heated by an external power source. A glow plug igniter. The igniter heats the element, causing it to glow.
This starts the chain reaction of igniting the fuel on the compression stroke and starting the internal- combustion cycle. The glow plug igniter can be removed and your nitro engine is running at idle.
Now why does nitro engine stay running? Presuming your carburetor is tuned correctly. This is where science comes into play. There is heat generated in the combustion cycle. This heat is called “the catalytic reaction”.
A catalytic reaction occurs causing platinum to glow in the presence of “methyl-alcohol,” or “methanol”. This catalytic reaction will occur on it’s own without any outside power source. All of this only comes onto play during low rpm and when there is not enough heat being generated to burn all the fuel vapor. The catalytic reaction changes as rpms and temperature rise. This has just been a very basic explanation of how a glow plug works at low rpm or idle.
Next let us look at what makes up a glow plug. There are five basic parts to a glow plug. We are going to look at a glow plug from the top to the bottom.
1. The post that sticks out of the top of the glow plug, the positive connection.
2. The heating coil is connected to the positive connection making these two items are one piece. The coil is made out of platinum and some makers use rhodium.
3. The post and coil are separated from the plug body by a washer. The washer is called an insulator. The insulator is most often made of “mica”, which is a non-conductive material. The insulator prevents electricity from bypassing the coil to find a ground. Plus, it can withstand extreme heat.
4. The plug body, this is the part that screws into the head of the engine. Usually made of steel, for two reasons, it is cheap and makes an ground for the coil.
5. On the top of the body is a crimp washer, this holds all the parts together. Almost all glow plugs use a crimp washer. The only exception is the O’Donnell glow plugs. They have a different design and do not use a crimp washer.
The RC nitro engine glow plug is and can be a mysterious little creature. It can make our rc vehicles run great or be very temperamental beasts. Understanding how and why glow plugs work will make it easier to keep your rc vehicle/s running to their highest potential.
Monaco Tax Haven Resident Mix Changing
Posted by admin as Career
The number of residency applications from women in Monaco is increasing, according to a Monaco travel guide.
Best known of Europe’s tax havens, Monaco has also been seen as a social gathering and vacation place for the rich - and home to successful businessmen enjoying the zero per cent income tax policy.
With the social highlights of the Monaco Grand Prix, the luxury yacht show and the casino, the image of Monaco’s incoming population could be misconstrued as a male dominated business orientated environment, with women taking their place behind the casino dealing tables and the pit lanes for the Monaco Grand Prix.
But the incoming mix is changing, and with it Monaco and Monte Carlo’s image.
A Monaco travel guide claims that the change has been noticeable in recent years, with more women taking top positions in the banks and finance houses in Monte Carlo.
‘Even ten years ago it would almost certainly have been a man you would be seeing if you wanted to open a bank account in Monaco. Now there’s a fairly good chance that the manager will be a woman, who earned the position on merit’.
Further evidence of the change in Monaco’s population comes from a Monaco real estate specialist company who have noticed a bigger percentage of their enquiries coming from women.
‘The amount of women enquiring for a property in Monaco has increased in recent years’, they say. ‘At one time it was mainly businessmen who were selling up and looking for a tax haven to retire to. There’s definitely more businesswomen looking for property in Monaco now, and more women of independent means too.’
A report in the UK from the Centre of Economics and Business Research suggests that the trend of more women deciding independently to move to the tax haven of Monaco might increase as they suggest over half of millionaires in a few years time will be women.
Monaco Residency
As well as the Monaco Grand Prix, the principality is Europe’s best known tax haven, with residents enjoying a zero rated income tax.
With property prices among the highest in the world, residents of Monaco normally need to spend six months a year there to maintain residency.
An announcement has been made recently that a new island is to be built off Monte Carlo, and this will provide more land and property in the world’s second smallest country.
Bidders for the development have been asked to take the environment into account - and also the Monaco Grand Prix. Which suggests a possible new route for the race.
Despite being one of the world’s most glamourous sporting events the Monaco Grand Prix is notorious for a lack of overtaking opportunities, and the new space might in time address the historical criticism of the race.
Property prices in Monaco are high due to the lack of land - in the past one of the districts, Fontvieille, had much of its area reclaimed from the sea, but property prices there equal those of the better known Monte Carlo.
One of the best known buildings in Fontvieille, Seaside Plaza, has average prices of three to four million Euros for a three bedroom apartment, and a four bedroom four bathroom one is currently on the market at close to ten million Euros.
One property company who specialise in Monaco property doubt that prices will ease much.
‘By the time the development is finished prices would probably have gone up in Monaco anyway, and this new development on the housing side is likely to be aiming for quality rather than quantity’, they claim. ‘It’s almost certain that the properties will be snapped up by investors off-plan, and then come back to the market with a premium once the buildings are complete. The development in itself will attract more attention to the Monaco property market. In the short and medium term prices are likely to rise in Monaco rather than fall’.
The number of residency applications from women in Monaco is increasing, according to a Monaco travel guide.
Best known of Europe’s tax havens, Monaco has also been seen as a social gathering and vacation place for the rich - and home to successful businessmen enjoying the zero per cent income tax policy.
With the social highlights of the Monaco Grand Prix, the luxury yacht show and the casino, the image of Monaco’s incoming population could be misconstrued as a male dominated business orientated environment, with women taking their place behind the casino dealing tables and the pit lanes for the Monaco Grand Prix.
But the incoming mix is changing, and with it Monaco and Monte Carlo’s image.
A Monaco travel guide claims that the change has been noticeable in recent years, with more women taking top positions in the banks and finance houses in Monte Carlo.
‘Even ten years ago it would almost certainly have been a man you would be seeing if you wanted to open a bank account in Monaco. Now there’s a fairly good chance that the manager will be a woman, who earned the position on merit’.
Further evidence of the change in Monaco’s population comes from a Monaco real estate specialist company who have noticed a bigger percentage of their enquiries coming from women.
‘The amount of women enquiring for a property in Monaco has increased in recent years’, they say. ‘At one time it was mainly businessmen who were selling up and looking for a tax haven to retire to. There’s definitely more businesswomen looking for property in Monaco now, and more women of independent means too.’
A report in the UK from the Centre of Economics and Business Research suggests that the trend of more women deciding independently to move to the tax haven of Monaco might increase as they suggest over half of millionaires in a few years time will be women.
Monaco Residency
As well as the Monaco Grand Prix, the principality is Europe’s best known tax haven, with residents enjoying a zero rated income tax.
With property prices among the highest in the world, residents of Monaco normally need to spend six months a year there to maintain residency.
An announcement has been made recently that a new island is to be built off Monte Carlo, and this will provide more land and property in the world’s second smallest country.
Bidders for the development have been asked to take the environment into account - and also the Monaco Grand Prix. Which suggests a possible new route for the race.
Despite being one of the world’s most glamourous sporting events the Monaco Grand Prix is notorious for a lack of overtaking opportunities, and the new space might in time address the historical criticism of the race.
Property prices in Monaco are high due to the lack of land - in the past one of the districts, Fontvieille, had much of its area reclaimed from the sea, but property prices there equal those of the better known Monte Carlo.
One of the best known buildings in Fontvieille, Seaside Plaza, has average prices of three to four million Euros for a three bedroom apartment, and a four bedroom four bathroom one is currently on the market at close to ten million Euros.
One property company who specialise in Monaco property doubt that prices will ease much.
‘By the time the development is finished prices would probably have gone up in Monaco anyway, and this new development on the housing side is likely to be aiming for quality rather than quantity’, they claim. ‘It’s almost certain that the properties will be snapped up by investors off-plan, and then come back to the market with a premium once the buildings are complete. The development in itself will attract more attention to the Monaco property market. In the short and medium term prices are likely to rise in Monaco rather than fall’.
Create a Marketing Plan in Five Easy Steps
Posted by admin as Business-Industry
Many small businesses are busy with day-to-day activities with no time left over to create a marketing plan to follow. Well, summer is a great time to put together a plan that will help build your company’s image and provide guidelines for marketing your business for the second half of 2006.Step 1: Determine Your Value Proposition What makes you better and more valuable to your customers than the competition? What is your major selling advantage? How do you solve the problems facing your customers? Write down the answers to these questions, then write a summary of them. Try to narrow in on your value proposition until it is a concise statement of 1 or 2 sentences.Step 2: Create a Brand Identity for Your Business All of your marketing and promotional materials should have a consistent look and feel, and also have a consistent message. Logos are important; if you don’t have one, consider having a professional create one for you. Also think about coming up with a tag line or slogan.Step 3: Develop Your Web Site It is an expectation today that even small businesses have a company web site. Visitors must be able to quickly find information about your company, where it is located, and how to contact you for more information. It’s okay to start small and add features and content as your business grows, but make sure you have a professional, useful web site available as soon as you can.Step 4: Create a Marketing Kit We are all familiar with the standard “leave-behind” brochure, but for small businesses it can be an expensive investment that becomes outdated very quickly. A more useful approach may be to create a marketing “kit” as an alternative. Try using a regular manila file folder with a color label on it that has your company name, logo, and slogan. Then add an introduction letter, a data sheet of products and services, a press release, a short biography or history, a current company newsletter, and any other collateral that makes sense for your business. This way, your information is “file-cabinet-ready” instead of ready for the “circular file, ” making it more likely to be read and saved.Step 5: Promote and Advertise Map out a plan to do something each week (or month) to help promote your business. Send out press releases, sponsor community events, and place ads in local newspapers or industry magazines. It takes approximately six impressions before a customer will begin to remember your company and what it does. Be creative - think of ways to be visible and active in your community, and don’t forget to look for opportunities on the web, too. If you need some online promotion ideas, check out the March 2006 issue of Biz Talk (available in our archives).
Many small businesses are busy with day-to-day activities with no time left over to create a marketing plan to follow. Well, summer is a great time to put together a plan that will help build your company’s image and provide guidelines for marketing your business for the second half of 2006.Step 1: Determine Your Value Proposition What makes you better and more valuable to your customers than the competition? What is your major selling advantage? How do you solve the problems facing your customers? Write down the answers to these questions, then write a summary of them. Try to narrow in on your value proposition until it is a concise statement of 1 or 2 sentences.Step 2: Create a Brand Identity for Your Business All of your marketing and promotional materials should have a consistent look and feel, and also have a consistent message. Logos are important; if you don’t have one, consider having a professional create one for you. Also think about coming up with a tag line or slogan.Step 3: Develop Your Web Site It is an expectation today that even small businesses have a company web site. Visitors must be able to quickly find information about your company, where it is located, and how to contact you for more information. It’s okay to start small and add features and content as your business grows, but make sure you have a professional, useful web site available as soon as you can.Step 4: Create a Marketing Kit We are all familiar with the standard “leave-behind” brochure, but for small businesses it can be an expensive investment that becomes outdated very quickly. A more useful approach may be to create a marketing “kit” as an alternative. Try using a regular manila file folder with a color label on it that has your company name, logo, and slogan. Then add an introduction letter, a data sheet of products and services, a press release, a short biography or history, a current company newsletter, and any other collateral that makes sense for your business. This way, your information is “file-cabinet-ready” instead of ready for the “circular file, ” making it more likely to be read and saved.Step 5: Promote and Advertise Map out a plan to do something each week (or month) to help promote your business. Send out press releases, sponsor community events, and place ads in local newspapers or industry magazines. It takes approximately six impressions before a customer will begin to remember your company and what it does. Be creative - think of ways to be visible and active in your community, and don’t forget to look for opportunities on the web, too. If you need some online promotion ideas, check out the March 2006 issue of Biz Talk (available in our archives).
How I win on my competitors!
Well, First of all I would like to say thank you for your support! Although it is a very new website but I am really appreciated that I get some questions from my readers in the mail. Piseth had asked me “how I achieve my goal and beat my competitors in online business!”
I like competition so much! My life is meaningful because of competition…Ofcourse in any business you do you need to have competition- you live in the real world- you are not living alone so you have to get up and fight- Just remeber your fight must not be from your hand or leg but it is your smart brain.
I am glad to tell everyone all my strategy on how I put myself in the middle of the crowd. I am not saying I am the best but at least I am halfway ahead of most people. No one is the best in this world but the smart people always win the battle. The know how Knowledge is your weapon.
I always run away from something easy- I like something hard and unique. Exa.: if I want to set myself in the middle of the crowd I wouldn’t walk cross all those people I will dig a hole and walk underneath and get up in the middle of those crowd. This is something I have in mind all the time and believe me it sounds very complicated and impossible but all it takes is you just have a solid plan and know how knowledge- Know How Knowledge is something you can get from learning and get mentor.
Hard problem attracts few of people while everyone is focusing on doing something easy. So if you can solve something hard, it means you have created the unique and un-duplicated weapon.
Let’s do some examples!
Blogging:
For this website, you don’t really see my article publised everyday- Most of the people who start a marketing website they try as much as they can to put more articles to bring visitors and increase their search result…ect! but not to me I have taken care too many sites and 2/3 of my sites need to update rugularly so I don’t really have much time to promote this website faster to the next level, but my strategy is to put up a good and unique article although I don’t really have a daily fresh article. If people like to read it they will come back. When you have a lot of articles on your site it deosn’t mean your site is great and popular it does depend on your articles. 1000’s of bad articles can’t even compare to a good one. I don’t want to write any article that most of the people wrote- I like to write something unique and fresh. This site is not getting a lot of traffic but since everyone is crossing the starting point so just giving it sometimes to grow- it not gonna hurt me at all anyway. It still generates me some revenues as well as get its popularity day by day.
Affiliate:
Everyone is promoting as same affiliate as most of the people do, but for me why I am doing something different by promoting Male Enhancement Product! It is because somebody has neglected it. Most of the people think promote this kind of product is ruining their grade but it all depends on what you act. It doesn’t matter what kind of product you promote but you need to tell your visitor the truth that your site is making money from this sponsor- I think they don’t really care what you promote as long as your site gives them enough value. By the way, I am Cambodian and one of my sites is creating for Cambodian people. I know all my competitor’s site ( Other Cambodian Sites ) doesn’t promote this product at all so it does make me a good fortune with this affiliate. I think maybe my Cambodian competitors thought Cambodian people don’t need enhancement…:) !
My Attitude VS Competitiors ( Most of the People ):
Competitors save money in the bank! I save gold
Competitors get a good job and work hard! I stay home and work from home
***Infact, I don’t really compete with anyone. Everyone has full right to do what I do but it is just not their choices and me either, I want to swim but I saw too many people in the pool so I don’t need to go swimming with them I can just take some more times to go to swim in the sea although it is far and It takes me too long to get there, but I completely have peacefully when I can swim and do whatever I want without bothering someone and someone bothers me. So instead of beating the competitors, I’m really just leaving the competitive pool and be on my own way. Hope you understand what I meant!
That’s all what I do and how I achieve my goal! How about you?
Normally, you just need to find a way to implement your regular strenght to solve some nearly impossible problem that makes most of the people quit- all it takes just require an awareness of your strength, solid plan, and know how.
You can apply my ideas to any area of your daily life not just for business. Try to find out something people seem to neglect and grab that chance to erase the tough problem in front of your face.
What do you think about the benefit of competition?
Ask yourself until you have an answer otherwise your plan never goes far!
I, myself, believe the benefit of competition encourages me to identify the strength of myself as well as my plan and passion. It does help me grow and gain more knowledges. There isn’t much gained from doing something easy and if someone starts accusing you for interested in hard game, you will feel better!
I like competition so much! My life is meaningful because of competition…Ofcourse in any business you do you need to have competition- you live in the real world- you are not living alone so you have to get up and fight- Just remeber your fight must not be from your hand or leg but it is your smart brain.
I am glad to tell everyone all my strategy on how I put myself in the middle of the crowd. I am not saying I am the best but at least I am halfway ahead of most people. No one is the best in this world but the smart people always win the battle. The know how Knowledge is your weapon.
I always run away from something easy- I like something hard and unique. Exa.: if I want to set myself in the middle of the crowd I wouldn’t walk cross all those people I will dig a hole and walk underneath and get up in the middle of those crowd. This is something I have in mind all the time and believe me it sounds very complicated and impossible but all it takes is you just have a solid plan and know how knowledge- Know How Knowledge is something you can get from learning and get mentor.
Hard problem attracts few of people while everyone is focusing on doing something easy. So if you can solve something hard, it means you have created the unique and un-duplicated weapon.
Let’s do some examples!
Blogging:
For this website, you don’t really see my article publised everyday- Most of the people who start a marketing website they try as much as they can to put more articles to bring visitors and increase their search result…ect! but not to me I have taken care too many sites and 2/3 of my sites need to update rugularly so I don’t really have much time to promote this website faster to the next level, but my strategy is to put up a good and unique article although I don’t really have a daily fresh article. If people like to read it they will come back. When you have a lot of articles on your site it deosn’t mean your site is great and popular it does depend on your articles. 1000’s of bad articles can’t even compare to a good one. I don’t want to write any article that most of the people wrote- I like to write something unique and fresh. This site is not getting a lot of traffic but since everyone is crossing the starting point so just giving it sometimes to grow- it not gonna hurt me at all anyway. It still generates me some revenues as well as get its popularity day by day.
Affiliate:
Everyone is promoting as same affiliate as most of the people do, but for me why I am doing something different by promoting Male Enhancement Product! It is because somebody has neglected it. Most of the people think promote this kind of product is ruining their grade but it all depends on what you act. It doesn’t matter what kind of product you promote but you need to tell your visitor the truth that your site is making money from this sponsor- I think they don’t really care what you promote as long as your site gives them enough value. By the way, I am Cambodian and one of my sites is creating for Cambodian people. I know all my competitor’s site ( Other Cambodian Sites ) doesn’t promote this product at all so it does make me a good fortune with this affiliate. I think maybe my Cambodian competitors thought Cambodian people don’t need enhancement…:) !
My Attitude VS Competitiors ( Most of the People ):
Competitors save money in the bank! I save gold
Competitors get a good job and work hard! I stay home and work from home
***Infact, I don’t really compete with anyone. Everyone has full right to do what I do but it is just not their choices and me either, I want to swim but I saw too many people in the pool so I don’t need to go swimming with them I can just take some more times to go to swim in the sea although it is far and It takes me too long to get there, but I completely have peacefully when I can swim and do whatever I want without bothering someone and someone bothers me. So instead of beating the competitors, I’m really just leaving the competitive pool and be on my own way. Hope you understand what I meant!
That’s all what I do and how I achieve my goal! How about you?
Normally, you just need to find a way to implement your regular strenght to solve some nearly impossible problem that makes most of the people quit- all it takes just require an awareness of your strength, solid plan, and know how.
You can apply my ideas to any area of your daily life not just for business. Try to find out something people seem to neglect and grab that chance to erase the tough problem in front of your face.
What do you think about the benefit of competition?
Ask yourself until you have an answer otherwise your plan never goes far!
I, myself, believe the benefit of competition encourages me to identify the strength of myself as well as my plan and passion. It does help me grow and gain more knowledges. There isn’t much gained from doing something easy and if someone starts accusing you for interested in hard game, you will feel better!
Rich becomes Richer, Poor becomes Poorer?
I had talked with my few Cambodian friends on many topics this morning, but there is one which really hit me up. One of my friend said, in Cambodia, the rich became richer and the poor became poorer because the rich people consider the poor people’s back as a rice field as well as make money from corruption!
1. Rich because of corruption
It was really awful to me- I mean I can understand big percentages of Asian countries are full of corruption but there is nothing to do between corruption and get rich. Corruption doesn’t make you rich but Money Management, Financial Eduction, Solid Plan, Self-Encouragement, and Passion…..ect- those are the things which will be going to make you even richer and wealthier! There are a lot of the rich become broke and the poor become millionaires! No matter how much or big position you are if you don’t use your asset wisely before or after you will feel regretful.
2. Rich people consider the poor people’s back as rice field!
Of course I would feel so bad if people look to others as cheaper than they are, but you are living in the real world. There will be some good and some bad.
In fact, the rich people don’t really think that way, but it is you who focus and give the final judgment to yourself. No body is more perfect than the others because we’re all the same people- the difference is Financial Eduction when it comes to money.
Let’s break it down and compare a little bit so you can understand more.
Why do you become poorer and poorer?
Laziness
People are lazy. When it comes to solving something hard or difficult, they run away. Laziness always leads the unsuccessful people.
Lack of Financial Education
Don’t go to school- no intention to grab any education but like doing something simple and live same old lives. Doesn’t know how to get better living and build their wealth.
No plan, Never think big
Simple people who just want to live in a big world- wiling to do something easy and live day by day for the rest of their lives. Never take something seriously or any drawing direction.
Scariness- Loosing Self-encouragement and motivation
Willing to become a rich person but so scare and always think to them self that they can’t achieve their goals, because it is too hard for them to solve or get over. Can’t go farther because of the darkness in front.
Follow family’s roots- Willing to take no gambling!
My father is a police so myself must be a police- my mom is a teacher so myself must be a teacher too!
Why richer becomes richer?
Hard working
Success people deserves a better life because of their hard working. Never boring of solving problem in front of their face and still keep walking straight although they are really really tired.
Full of financial eduction and always plan before doing something
Financial eduction gives people wealthy- those wealthy people hit right at the point because they know how to control their money and build wealth by using their financial eduction as well as a strong drawing direction in the hand. they suck any eduction as much as they can. Financial eduction earns the success person dignity and recognition
Always dreaming to be the best as they can be
These people always think big and always dream of them self of becoming better person in the world.
Full of passion, never feel scared, and huge self-encouragement
Never feel scared or afraid to grab something huge or far. Believing in them self that they can achieve it by letting passion and motivation leading them to the star. No matter how far they are from their goal but they are going to reach it soon because of their strong passion.
Forget the family’s roots, willing to take any risk and ready to start gambling
Wealthy and successful people don’t really care about what kind of job their parents are doing but they are afraid of hard and poor lives. To be born as a person, they must have better lives. Their lives are all about gambling- not with the CASINO but with their FATE.
So now, you know the answer and hope you all hate the poor life like me. I will explain more about Financial Education on the next post.
1. Rich because of corruption
It was really awful to me- I mean I can understand big percentages of Asian countries are full of corruption but there is nothing to do between corruption and get rich. Corruption doesn’t make you rich but Money Management, Financial Eduction, Solid Plan, Self-Encouragement, and Passion…..ect- those are the things which will be going to make you even richer and wealthier! There are a lot of the rich become broke and the poor become millionaires! No matter how much or big position you are if you don’t use your asset wisely before or after you will feel regretful.
2. Rich people consider the poor people’s back as rice field!
Of course I would feel so bad if people look to others as cheaper than they are, but you are living in the real world. There will be some good and some bad.
In fact, the rich people don’t really think that way, but it is you who focus and give the final judgment to yourself. No body is more perfect than the others because we’re all the same people- the difference is Financial Eduction when it comes to money.
Let’s break it down and compare a little bit so you can understand more.
Why do you become poorer and poorer?
Laziness
People are lazy. When it comes to solving something hard or difficult, they run away. Laziness always leads the unsuccessful people.
Lack of Financial Education
Don’t go to school- no intention to grab any education but like doing something simple and live same old lives. Doesn’t know how to get better living and build their wealth.
No plan, Never think big
Simple people who just want to live in a big world- wiling to do something easy and live day by day for the rest of their lives. Never take something seriously or any drawing direction.
Scariness- Loosing Self-encouragement and motivation
Willing to become a rich person but so scare and always think to them self that they can’t achieve their goals, because it is too hard for them to solve or get over. Can’t go farther because of the darkness in front.
Follow family’s roots- Willing to take no gambling!
My father is a police so myself must be a police- my mom is a teacher so myself must be a teacher too!
Why richer becomes richer?
Hard working
Success people deserves a better life because of their hard working. Never boring of solving problem in front of their face and still keep walking straight although they are really really tired.
Full of financial eduction and always plan before doing something
Financial eduction gives people wealthy- those wealthy people hit right at the point because they know how to control their money and build wealth by using their financial eduction as well as a strong drawing direction in the hand. they suck any eduction as much as they can. Financial eduction earns the success person dignity and recognition
Always dreaming to be the best as they can be
These people always think big and always dream of them self of becoming better person in the world.
Full of passion, never feel scared, and huge self-encouragement
Never feel scared or afraid to grab something huge or far. Believing in them self that they can achieve it by letting passion and motivation leading them to the star. No matter how far they are from their goal but they are going to reach it soon because of their strong passion.
Forget the family’s roots, willing to take any risk and ready to start gambling
Wealthy and successful people don’t really care about what kind of job their parents are doing but they are afraid of hard and poor lives. To be born as a person, they must have better lives. Their lives are all about gambling- not with the CASINO but with their FATE.
So now, you know the answer and hope you all hate the poor life like me. I will explain more about Financial Education on the next post.
5 Facts You MUST Understand if You Are Ever Going to Lose Your Belly Fat & Get Six Pack Abs
by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)
1. Many so-called "health foods" are actually cleverly disguised junk foods that can actually stimulate you to gain more belly fat... yet the diet food marketing industry continues to lie to you so they can maximize their profits.
2. Ab exercises such as crunches, sit-ups, and ab machines are actually the LEAST effective method of getting flat six pack abs. We'll explore what types of exercises REALLY work in a minute.
3. Boring repetitive cardio exercise routines are NOT the best way to lose body fat and uncover those six pack abs. I'll tell you the exact types of unique workouts that produce 10x better results below.
4. You DON'T need to waste your money on expensive "extreme fat burner" pills or other bogus supplements. I'll show you how to use the power of natural foods in more detail below.
5. Ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers, and other infomercial ab-gimmicks... they're all a complete waste of your time and money. Despite the misleading infomercials, the perfectly chiseled fitness models in the commercials did NOT get their perfect body by using that "ab contraption"... they got their perfect body through REAL workouts and REAL nutrition strategies. Again, you'll learn some of their secrets and what really works below.
So, let's set the record straight once and for all...
1. Many so-called "health foods" are actually cleverly disguised junk foods that can actually stimulate you to gain more belly fat... yet the diet food marketing industry continues to lie to you so they can maximize their profits.
2. Ab exercises such as crunches, sit-ups, and ab machines are actually the LEAST effective method of getting flat six pack abs. We'll explore what types of exercises REALLY work in a minute.
3. Boring repetitive cardio exercise routines are NOT the best way to lose body fat and uncover those six pack abs. I'll tell you the exact types of unique workouts that produce 10x better results below.
4. You DON'T need to waste your money on expensive "extreme fat burner" pills or other bogus supplements. I'll show you how to use the power of natural foods in more detail below.
5. Ab belts, ab-rockers, ab-loungers, and other infomercial ab-gimmicks... they're all a complete waste of your time and money. Despite the misleading infomercials, the perfectly chiseled fitness models in the commercials did NOT get their perfect body by using that "ab contraption"... they got their perfect body through REAL workouts and REAL nutrition strategies. Again, you'll learn some of their secrets and what really works below.
So, let's set the record straight once and for all...
Solution to your online business success
I keep smiling again and again when I think to myself how I can survive in online business! With business online , I set my own hour, work from home, choose my own passionated project, and enjoy with the income. It would be bad for me if I don’t have the internet.
I do thank to all my mentors and friends who keep pushing me so hard to this level- with all the training, I have gained my intelligence, skills, and a lots of life experiences than other business I do.
Let me tell you what I do on how to get over problems I face everyday! so you have some ideas on how to solve your’s!
The truth about successful business is that you must keep yourself focus to your plan. I never do something without plan, or my business will become failure. To me, Success is a reward and mistake is a learning experience that could not be repeated again. I never lay myself for laziness, weakness, and dis-courage ideas.
I don’t put pressure on myself and I am never fed up with risk. A lot of people just can’t hold their pressure when it comes to online business, because they will have a lot of competitors and fear to take the risk. Risk is completely the sharp point. Risk is a great learning experience- it helps you grow and gains your education.
There were many times I had to face problems like I can’t afford to much bills to pay off my advertising campaigns, mistakes, or my projects…ect but I have learnt to trust myself to work hard under those pressures, to focus and even enjoy those problems so that I have a motivation to get over it.
We all have a different level of risky method, but whatever it is just don’t stress yourself. It won’t help you grow but loosing your expectation. Remember god gives you the life to gamble with your fate. You may work hard and lift something heavy currently, but at least you get the muscle and experience. Sometimes, solving problem is enjoyable- imagine if you do not have any problem at all, your life will be useless, boring, and pointless.
Why I choose online business?
I believe everyone should have internet since starting an online business doesn’t require a big capital of money to invest. I start with only little over $ 20. The best thing is it will teach you so much and another great benefit is it will tell you that you have something to share with the world and earn income for the rest of your life and till your children, grandchild, and so on…
To me, I am so jealous with some young teenagers who are just 16 or 18 years of age can already make a huge income online already. I should start it since I was in high school so that around my age right now, I can retire and go around the world. It is great to become millionaires in a young age, but I just figure out the truth of success is to start little by little by taking time as well as growing your experience and expectation.
My nephew is only 5 years old- I already refer him to an online business, and I am planing to buy him a website, who knows by the time he becomes an adult he already has his own cash flow machine to do whatever he wants or invests bigger in his own project.
What is the key to get my websites generate income for me?
The key to generate income from a website is most likely based on one word [ TRAFFIC ] but it is not easy at all to attract the traffic. As you can see in every aspect, 1000’s of people know how to drive a car, but only few know how to build it. 1000’s of students graduated, but only few get a good job. Many of people know how to build a website, but only few know how to make money from their website. This is the point I am trying to explain.
If you can build the traffic, soon you will know how to keep your traffic steady. The more time you spend to monetize your site, the more traffic and money you generate! I promise that I will write another article on how to build your site traffic and I did- here is the link! It will give you some tips and you’ll have some ideas on how to make it work for you as well as inspire everyone who likes reading my post!
Just consider all of my site…I have over 30 sites in total and 18 of 30 are counted and big income generated sites. As long as my websites have traffics it will be easy to make money- the thing is just put a lot of contents and improve more ads.
I guess it is your turn to bring one site up and start making money. I know you will say “whatever I said is so easy, but to do is completely hard and failure” This is the sentence I have received from a few readers.
Why failure?
I agree that an online business is very complicated that is why it makes most of the people fail. The fact, at first I felt pain in the ass too, but after a while I feel so comfortable and I can do it. Don’t ever show your weakness if you don’t want to be a failure. Whatever it is just fight with it and never throw a white fabric on the ring if it is not the end of the round.
The thing is if you are planning to create a blog, don’t ever forget to optimize your blog daily, make sure your headline has keywords, enable permanent link, subscription, lay out …ect!
The bad thing is I have visited many websites and they have many great contents but it is so sorry that no one have a chance to read. The authors may have a good ideas but they ignore the updating of technology.
I do thank to all my mentors and friends who keep pushing me so hard to this level- with all the training, I have gained my intelligence, skills, and a lots of life experiences than other business I do.
Let me tell you what I do on how to get over problems I face everyday! so you have some ideas on how to solve your’s!
The truth about successful business is that you must keep yourself focus to your plan. I never do something without plan, or my business will become failure. To me, Success is a reward and mistake is a learning experience that could not be repeated again. I never lay myself for laziness, weakness, and dis-courage ideas.
I don’t put pressure on myself and I am never fed up with risk. A lot of people just can’t hold their pressure when it comes to online business, because they will have a lot of competitors and fear to take the risk. Risk is completely the sharp point. Risk is a great learning experience- it helps you grow and gains your education.
There were many times I had to face problems like I can’t afford to much bills to pay off my advertising campaigns, mistakes, or my projects…ect but I have learnt to trust myself to work hard under those pressures, to focus and even enjoy those problems so that I have a motivation to get over it.
We all have a different level of risky method, but whatever it is just don’t stress yourself. It won’t help you grow but loosing your expectation. Remember god gives you the life to gamble with your fate. You may work hard and lift something heavy currently, but at least you get the muscle and experience. Sometimes, solving problem is enjoyable- imagine if you do not have any problem at all, your life will be useless, boring, and pointless.
Why I choose online business?
I believe everyone should have internet since starting an online business doesn’t require a big capital of money to invest. I start with only little over $ 20. The best thing is it will teach you so much and another great benefit is it will tell you that you have something to share with the world and earn income for the rest of your life and till your children, grandchild, and so on…
To me, I am so jealous with some young teenagers who are just 16 or 18 years of age can already make a huge income online already. I should start it since I was in high school so that around my age right now, I can retire and go around the world. It is great to become millionaires in a young age, but I just figure out the truth of success is to start little by little by taking time as well as growing your experience and expectation.
My nephew is only 5 years old- I already refer him to an online business, and I am planing to buy him a website, who knows by the time he becomes an adult he already has his own cash flow machine to do whatever he wants or invests bigger in his own project.
What is the key to get my websites generate income for me?
The key to generate income from a website is most likely based on one word [ TRAFFIC ] but it is not easy at all to attract the traffic. As you can see in every aspect, 1000’s of people know how to drive a car, but only few know how to build it. 1000’s of students graduated, but only few get a good job. Many of people know how to build a website, but only few know how to make money from their website. This is the point I am trying to explain.
If you can build the traffic, soon you will know how to keep your traffic steady. The more time you spend to monetize your site, the more traffic and money you generate! I promise that I will write another article on how to build your site traffic and I did- here is the link! It will give you some tips and you’ll have some ideas on how to make it work for you as well as inspire everyone who likes reading my post!
Just consider all of my site…I have over 30 sites in total and 18 of 30 are counted and big income generated sites. As long as my websites have traffics it will be easy to make money- the thing is just put a lot of contents and improve more ads.
I guess it is your turn to bring one site up and start making money. I know you will say “whatever I said is so easy, but to do is completely hard and failure” This is the sentence I have received from a few readers.
Why failure?
I agree that an online business is very complicated that is why it makes most of the people fail. The fact, at first I felt pain in the ass too, but after a while I feel so comfortable and I can do it. Don’t ever show your weakness if you don’t want to be a failure. Whatever it is just fight with it and never throw a white fabric on the ring if it is not the end of the round.
The thing is if you are planning to create a blog, don’t ever forget to optimize your blog daily, make sure your headline has keywords, enable permanent link, subscription, lay out …ect!
The bad thing is I have visited many websites and they have many great contents but it is so sorry that no one have a chance to read. The authors may have a good ideas but they ignore the updating of technology.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
When Do I Need To Hire A Business Plan Consultant
Every new business owner knows that a business plan is critical it is drilled into them by potential investors and every banking officer they meet. So why is something that is so important to the launch of a new venture so difficult to write? Good question! In this article I will try to address when you should go out and hire a business plan writer versus taking on the task yourself. First time entrepreneurs often cringe when sitting down to write their business plan. Some spend 6 months agonizing over each period and comma, and even worse others spend 6 months procrastinating and do nothing. So lets break it down and see where / when a business planning company should be brought in: Who will read your business plan and why? First you need to really understand the purpose of your business plan and who your audience (reader) will be. This is an important point as a business plan being written for a $100,000 loan is VERY different than a document needed for a $10 million round of venture capital! Since this article is focused on first-time small business owners, I will focus on preparing business plans raising less then $1 million in capital. For this startup or seed business plan 30-35 pages are perfect. You are not expected to deliver a thick book (and no one will read it anyway!). Once you have this down, you can honestly assess which sections you are qualified / comfortable writing and which may need consulting help. Here is what you should write on your own It is important for you to write a basic draft / outline of your business plan. Without this direction you are probably asking too much of your consultant. Once you have your thoughts organized on paper you can see what you are comfortable completing. Here are a few suggestions: Executive Summary: Draft the opening of your business plan then hire a pro to come in and re-write it. Your executive summary will be read first and first impressions are critical! Marketing: You need to write your own definition of your target customer / audience. For the market research on industry growth and fancy charts go ahead and hire a consultant. Competitive Analysis: You should put together the first draft of this section, as it is almost as important to understand your competitors, as it is your customers. If you find a consultant that is an expert in your field, then you can work together and add to your initial list. The Dreaded Financials This is the most difficult part of a startup business plan, as you are making projections and assumptions on products / services that you have not even produced or sold yet! If you are stuck on this section you can hire a business plan consultant to just assist you with completing your projections (income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet). Figuring out the cost of goods, delivery costs, and return rates can be simplified by breaking them down into a light spreadsheet. Next you need to understand your startup and operating costs items like electricity, travel, phone expenses, etc. Again just organize these and your consultant can make all the fancy charts and graphs. Just make sure you understand all of the assumptions for example if you are opening a retail business, you should not look towards your consultant to guess your rent go out and meet with a realtor and come back with real data. If you work closely with your consultant, the financials are a great section to bring in professional help. Managing Expectations Now that you know a bit more about when to hire a business plan writer you also need to manage your expectations. You cant expect a $1,000 business plan to have 20 pages of competitive analysis and a full-blown marketing strategy! If you carefully work through which sections of your business plan need outside help and then manage your consultant closely, your final document will be a success! My next two articles will focus on How to Find / Hire a Business Plan Consultant and more importantly When to Fire your Business Plan Consultant!
Why You Need a Business Planning System NOT a Business Plan
Copyright 2005 David Coffman
When someone mentions business planning we have been conditioned to think about writing a business plan. There are hundreds of books and articles, tons of software, an army of consultants, and a multitude government programs to help you write a business plan. There are virtually no resources to help you set up what todays business environment really demands a continuous, ongoing planning system. A commonly accepted theory is that for a business to survive and prosper it must be flexible and nimble. It must be able to turn on a dime as conditions warrant. Having a written five-year plan is not part of this picture. In fact, trying to follow a long-term plan during rampant change is not logical. It is applying linear thinking to a non-linear situation. It just doesnt work. Having a formal, written business plan is so accepted as being crucial to success that there havent been many studies or surveys to test this premise. If business plans were such a wonderful thing, there would be a significant and conclusive difference between businesses that have them and those that dont. Interviews of 100 founders of companies on 1989s INC 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the U.S. found only 28 percent had full-blown business plans. The 1993 AT&T Small Business Study found that 59 percent of small businesses that grew over the previous two years used a formal business plan. A 1994 survey of the countrys fastest growing companies found 23 percent lacked a business plan. The Relationship between Written Business Plans and the Failure of Small Businesses in the U.S., by Dr. Stephen Perry, surveyed 152 failed and 152 non-failed small businesses in 1997. He found that 64 percent of the non-failed firms had no written business plan. He also found that non-failed firms had more extensive written plans than failed firms, 23 percent compared to 9 percent, respectively.As you can see the results of studies and surveys are all across the board and dont prove anything. Clearly, a significant percentage of successful businesses dont have written business plans. None of these studies reveal the nature of the process that created the plan. Was it the result of an annual process with occasional updates or an ongoing, continual process? As Professor Albert Shapero said, Companies that plan do better than companies that dont, but they never follow their plan.The focus needs to be on the PROCESS not on the plan. If a continual, ongoing planning process is in place, a written business plan is just not important. Writing a business plan without a planning system in place is a massive effort that is done very infrequently. Many businesses write three to five year plans and update them annually. The plans are reviewed periodically during each year to analyze the plan vs. actual variances. Little, if any, thought is given to strategy between the annual updates. Strategy should be the focus everyday. Setting up a planning system allows and sometimes forces you to focus on strategy. A planning system consists of two functions. One is a goal setting and attaining process, and the other is a trend watching or environment scanning process. Setting up a planning system takes several steps. The first and foremost task is to set aside or make time for planning on a regular, ongoing basis. It must become part of your routine, not an occasional event that can be easily postponed. In the evaluation phase, the owner or management team and the company are analyzed. From the analysis, key or critical areas of the business are identified. These areas are filtered down to focus on the most important ones. Performance measures are determined and systems to gather and process the necessary data are set up, if needed. A base of current performance is used to set goals. Now the regular, ongoing stuff begins. Strategies are formulated, tested, implemented, monitored, and reworked until the goals are achieved. Each planning session is split between working on strategies and trend watching. As goals are achieved, the goal setting and strategy formulation process begins again. Lets put the focus back where it belongs on continuous, ongoing planning instead of writing business plans. As Karl Albrecht said in his book Corporate Radar, The majority is not always right, the conventional wisdom is not always wise, and the accepted doctrine could well be flawed. The more fashionable an idea, the more it is likely to be exempt from critical evaluation. Breakthrough thinking sometimes calls for contradicting the most widely held assumptions and beliefs.
When someone mentions business planning we have been conditioned to think about writing a business plan. There are hundreds of books and articles, tons of software, an army of consultants, and a multitude government programs to help you write a business plan. There are virtually no resources to help you set up what todays business environment really demands a continuous, ongoing planning system. A commonly accepted theory is that for a business to survive and prosper it must be flexible and nimble. It must be able to turn on a dime as conditions warrant. Having a written five-year plan is not part of this picture. In fact, trying to follow a long-term plan during rampant change is not logical. It is applying linear thinking to a non-linear situation. It just doesnt work. Having a formal, written business plan is so accepted as being crucial to success that there havent been many studies or surveys to test this premise. If business plans were such a wonderful thing, there would be a significant and conclusive difference between businesses that have them and those that dont. Interviews of 100 founders of companies on 1989s INC 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the U.S. found only 28 percent had full-blown business plans. The 1993 AT&T Small Business Study found that 59 percent of small businesses that grew over the previous two years used a formal business plan. A 1994 survey of the countrys fastest growing companies found 23 percent lacked a business plan. The Relationship between Written Business Plans and the Failure of Small Businesses in the U.S., by Dr. Stephen Perry, surveyed 152 failed and 152 non-failed small businesses in 1997. He found that 64 percent of the non-failed firms had no written business plan. He also found that non-failed firms had more extensive written plans than failed firms, 23 percent compared to 9 percent, respectively.As you can see the results of studies and surveys are all across the board and dont prove anything. Clearly, a significant percentage of successful businesses dont have written business plans. None of these studies reveal the nature of the process that created the plan. Was it the result of an annual process with occasional updates or an ongoing, continual process? As Professor Albert Shapero said, Companies that plan do better than companies that dont, but they never follow their plan.The focus needs to be on the PROCESS not on the plan. If a continual, ongoing planning process is in place, a written business plan is just not important. Writing a business plan without a planning system in place is a massive effort that is done very infrequently. Many businesses write three to five year plans and update them annually. The plans are reviewed periodically during each year to analyze the plan vs. actual variances. Little, if any, thought is given to strategy between the annual updates. Strategy should be the focus everyday. Setting up a planning system allows and sometimes forces you to focus on strategy. A planning system consists of two functions. One is a goal setting and attaining process, and the other is a trend watching or environment scanning process. Setting up a planning system takes several steps. The first and foremost task is to set aside or make time for planning on a regular, ongoing basis. It must become part of your routine, not an occasional event that can be easily postponed. In the evaluation phase, the owner or management team and the company are analyzed. From the analysis, key or critical areas of the business are identified. These areas are filtered down to focus on the most important ones. Performance measures are determined and systems to gather and process the necessary data are set up, if needed. A base of current performance is used to set goals. Now the regular, ongoing stuff begins. Strategies are formulated, tested, implemented, monitored, and reworked until the goals are achieved. Each planning session is split between working on strategies and trend watching. As goals are achieved, the goal setting and strategy formulation process begins again. Lets put the focus back where it belongs on continuous, ongoing planning instead of writing business plans. As Karl Albrecht said in his book Corporate Radar, The majority is not always right, the conventional wisdom is not always wise, and the accepted doctrine could well be flawed. The more fashionable an idea, the more it is likely to be exempt from critical evaluation. Breakthrough thinking sometimes calls for contradicting the most widely held assumptions and beliefs.
Work Your Home Based Business Idea in Three Easy Steps
Create a Business Plan first
The primary necessity is to get a perfectly designed plan of action for a genuine business. A business plan on its own is useless. It is a mere reflection, but it will not suffice you also need an action plan. A business scheme is the first step in working out your idea into actions that you can follow. Well-illustrated business plans can be found online or at your library. Begin now Do not be afraid of failure. Remember failure is the first stepping stone to success, if this home based business idea does not work out for you now do not let this deter you. Always remind yourself of the spider when you feel like losing hope. Do not let that wonderful home-based business idea gather dust. Start today. Waiting for the right time to start your business might make success elude you forever. If there is any specific right time, it is right now. Do not waste your precious time. Put a figure on it This is the greatest stumbling block for most home-based business owners. That is, they fail to evaluate their work. If you do not give proper attention to this, you may have to wrap up your business. You need to know that real figures and numbers are needed for you to stay in business. If this is not your agenda of work, you are probably going all wrong. Large businesses usually set up balanced scorecards. The idea is to have a referring point to compare how successful your work is. For example, to get five customers in one month you could settle on free seminars but if you see that your plan is not getting you five clients, you need to reassess your plan. Change of plan prevents waste of energy and resources. Entire contents copyright 2005 Morpheus Institute.
The primary necessity is to get a perfectly designed plan of action for a genuine business. A business plan on its own is useless. It is a mere reflection, but it will not suffice you also need an action plan. A business scheme is the first step in working out your idea into actions that you can follow. Well-illustrated business plans can be found online or at your library. Begin now Do not be afraid of failure. Remember failure is the first stepping stone to success, if this home based business idea does not work out for you now do not let this deter you. Always remind yourself of the spider when you feel like losing hope. Do not let that wonderful home-based business idea gather dust. Start today. Waiting for the right time to start your business might make success elude you forever. If there is any specific right time, it is right now. Do not waste your precious time. Put a figure on it This is the greatest stumbling block for most home-based business owners. That is, they fail to evaluate their work. If you do not give proper attention to this, you may have to wrap up your business. You need to know that real figures and numbers are needed for you to stay in business. If this is not your agenda of work, you are probably going all wrong. Large businesses usually set up balanced scorecards. The idea is to have a referring point to compare how successful your work is. For example, to get five customers in one month you could settle on free seminars but if you see that your plan is not getting you five clients, you need to reassess your plan. Change of plan prevents waste of energy and resources. Entire contents copyright 2005 Morpheus Institute.
Beware Of Bad Credit Payday Loans
Could bad credit payday loans be the answer consumers with low bank accounts have been looking for? Is there any harm in using these services? Aren't they better than using credit cards or going hungry? Have you seen the commercials? Cute characters promise financial prosperity. Happy, professional individuals appear to regularly visit their corner pay day loan shop as proudly as cashing a check at the bank. Customers at the grocery store all recommend pay day loans as the easy solution for a lack of funds. WHY USE A PAY DAY LOAN? Some individuals reason that paying a bill with borrowed money is better than receiving bad credit marks because of not paying the bill. This is understandable. However, some financial institutions are willing to make the occasional exception if contacted about the situation. Or there may be a small fee, but not a credit report made. Using it for groceries or other items? Consider the true cost before making a decision. Compare the cost of using a pay day (or cash advance) loan to the fees charged for taking a cash advance on your own credit card. Can family help? Often those who are forced to use pay day loans are not able to repay the loan by the next pay check and that can lead to a cycle of debt and stress. WHAT IS THE COST? Several sources, including a consumer report by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the CFA (Consumer Federation of America) state that usual the usual APR is between 350 - 650% with some as high as 780%. A loan of $100 ranges in cost between $15 - $30. If the loan is not repaid by the pay date then it can be renewed with another fee due at each renewal. A loan of $100 can cost $60 in fees after 3 renewals. WHO BENEFITS? Based on the warnings issued by federal and consumer organizations it is clear that using pay day loans or cash advances from these businesses can often lead to more debt and problems. Some sites were reported to automatically roll over the loan and only withdraw the renewal fee on the pay date. Other sites surveyed by the CFA required customers to agree in contract to not participate in class action suits or to file for bankruptcy. For those who are having debt problems it is recommended to seek no- or low-cost credit counseling from a local non-profit organization. These organizations can help with reducing current interest charges and lowering monthly payments. If the problem is budget, you should look to a financial planner who can help you to manage the money you do have and avoid using credit at all.
Writing A Business Plan What Makes A Good One
Writing a business plan can be a lot of hard work or it can be great fun. An effective plan can help your company to greatness. A poor one can lead you out of business. No plan is like asking to fail before you even start. Not every business needs a 200 page bound business plan. However every business needs to have some idea of where they want to go and how they are going to get there. This article covers some key insights into writing a business plan that get your business to where you want to be. The first stage of any plan is ANALYSIS. You need to take a very objective look at a number of factors that may impact your business. There are many factors to consider but the two major ones are competition and your operating environment. Lets look first at competition. Every business has competition, even if you think your product or service is unique. How is this? Well its quite simple really, people have choices to make. The most fundamental choice they make in most cases is whether to buy what you offer or but something else. For example I could buy a game console or I could buy groceries instead. Customers only have so much money available so you first task is to ask yourself what is my competition like and can I beat them? The more you understand your competition the more you can develop your business strategy of being different and outperforming them. Now lets look at operating environment. This is understanding what factors around your area of operation are likely to affect your business performance. For some companies this includes looking around the World in other cases its just your local neighbourhood. You need to ask questions such as: How is the economy going? What is consumer confidence like? Where is technology heading in my industry? After answering all the questions you need to decide how these might negatively or positively influence your performance. Now you know more about your competition and operating environment its time to set some OBJECTIVES. This is what you want to achieve in the period your business plan covers. It is said that good objectives are SMART. That is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and targeted. Heres an example of a SMART objective for a hypothetical business. By the end of this year we will have increased sales of product X by 7.5% over the previous year. You can see how clear this objective is. It is much easier to achieve high performance with clear objectives. Now you need to outline your STRATEGY. How are you going to reach you objective(s)? This is where your marketing plan often comes in as it helps describe the programs you will run to achieve your desired objective(s). To continue the example above our strategy may be to gain distribution for our product in one new major retail chain. To make your strategy work you must then allocate appropriate RESOURCES. Certain things will need to be provided to reach your goal. This could be dollars, people, equipment, etc. Your plan must have included the resources you are allocating and why you believe this is adequate to get the result. Every business plans also has some PROJECTIONS. This is your basic financials that you plan will deliver. Are you expecting a profit or loss? How much? Lastly you need to allow for CONTINGENCIES. Things change all the time and your plan needs to consider these possibilities in advance. A good way to do this is to ask What if? What if a new competitor enters our market? What if a distributor delists our product? What if interest rates rise? Your analysis should give you some idea of likely contingencies. It saves a lot of stress if you have some documented ideas for dealing with them before they become a big problem. Writing a business plan is never perfect, the plan is on paper and youre operating in the real world. However a good plan can really guide you in the right direction. Take time to put real thought into preparing your plan an above all make sure you USE YOUR PLAN!
You Can Make Money With A Home Based Business
Would you like to make money by starting your own home-based business? People choose to work from home for several reasons including the desire to stay home with their children, the need for extra income, or simply being dissatisfied with their current job. A home-based business will provide you with an exciting way to make money and be your own boss. Numerous opportunities are available to internet marketers. When starting your home-based business you should develop a business plan and research your options thoroughly. Making wise decisions and following your business plan each step of the way can help you in creating a steady stream of income. Operating a home-based business will require hard work and effort. You will not become wealthy over night. It will take determination to succeed as an internet marketer. The amount of money you make will be directly related to the amount of work you are willing to do. When making your business plan, include both short and long term goals. Determine how you will achieve those goals and put your plan into action. Affiliate programs are excellent home-based business programs and there are numerous other internet marketing offers that will create steady income if you are willing to make the effort. Some of these opportunities may require an initial investment from you and others are advertised as free. Research all internet marketing opportunities carefully to make sure you understand the terms and conditions. As an internet marketer, you will have to distinguish yourself from the competition if you want to succeed. You should know your target audience and know your competition even better. Do not let self-doubt stop you from accomplishing your goals. Every successful internet marketer gives their business the very best effort possible. Hard work and determination will make your home-based business a success and provide you with a steady stream of income. Starting a home-based business is one of the most exciting and challenging endeavors you will ever undertake. A sound business plan and the will to succeed will set you apart from the competition. Choose the products or services you provide carefully. Make certain your services will be needed over the long term and make customer service your top priority. A loyal customer base is the key to the success or failure of your home-based business. A home-based business is an excellent way to gain independence and financial freedom. A sound business plan and a strong work ethic are all it takes to succeed.
Your Business Plan Will Become Your Partner
Are you planning to start a new business? Or are you considering expanding your current business and require a bank loan or investment from outsiders? If you are going to look for an investment of capital it is quite likely that you will be required to have a business plan. If you are starting a business, despite the work involved, a business plan can prepare you for the obstacles ahead and help ensure your success. A business plan is something that many small businesses fail to create, however, many business owners are adamant that having a written business plan is one of the keys to their present success. Creating a business plan forces you to contemplate possible obstacles to your business and prepares you to find solutions that will help you to overcome them. To find investors or get a bank loan, they will want to see that you have the experience or resources to run the business. They will want to see your projected income as well as your suggested repayment plan already laid out. Taking the time to do this is not only important for them, but it gives you a measuring tool to verify if your business is growing properly. You can gage your success on how close to the plan your business has actually performed. Perhaps you'll do worse, or perhaps you'll do better, either way it helps you determine how well your business is getting on. If you have never seen a business plan before you may be concerned that is is too difficult a proposition for you to manage on your own. While there are services available where you can hire someone to write a business plan for you, depending on your needs it may be wise to familiarize yourself with a business plan's layout. This will not only help you to provide the necessary information, but may encourage you to try your own hand at it. There's a free tool at www.bdc.ca which will assist you in creating a business plan. Some of the topics you will be required to explain are your Market, Customer, Competition, Marketing Plan, Research & Development along with financial forecasts. You may consider hiring someone to help you with your financial sheets after completing the written part of the Business Plan. Your Business Plan will become your guide and silent business partner - indicating where you need to improve and helping you stay one step ahead of your competition. Make it a priority to have this crucial road map for your business.
The Seven Part Plan to Building a Brand
Building a brand is more than just fixing a catchy name on a product. Brand is all about relationships—it is how customers feel about your product. That feeling will either incline them to use your product or pass it by for something else. What control does a marketer have over the minds and hearts of buyers? Marketing authority David Jobber has identified seven factors in building a successful brand.While a seller cannot create the public’s perception of their product, the seller must influence opinion using strategic suggestions. This is called positioning, and to do it properly the seller must first identify the advantages of using the product or service. These benefits must align with the customer’s needs, wants, and desires.If you are lucky enough to be the first on the market to offer a particular product or service you may have an advantage—initially. If your product is successful you can be sure competition will arrive shortly; however, it is possible for the first successful brand to create a clear position in the minds of customers before the competition enters the market. Whether or not your product is the first of its kind, your first challenge is to establish credibility. Consumers must take your product seriously if they are to develop trust and loyalty to your brand.Of course, before customers will buy a product, they must know about it. Communications play a critical role in building brand. Initial effort will focus on building brand awareness. As awareness increases, brand personality will be important to develop. Reinforcing position will be an on-going challenge.This is where the next factor of brand-building comes into play. No amount of hustling can cover for quality. Statistically, higher quality brands always outplay their inferior counterparts in the marketing arena. Part of building a brand is communicating to consumers the benefits of using your brand—and consistently delivering on that promise.Brand values must be understood and accepted internally as well as externally. This means that brand building involves a certain amount of internal marketing and training, so that any face-to-face contact customers have with the product is consistent and positive.Even with the best of marketing, brand loyalty takes time to secure. Therefore, a long-term perspective is required when investing in a brand. Initially building up the brand will be an expense. Any business venture is a risk. If there comes a time when a brand has become tired or its market has gone into decline, the business may need to work at repositioning the product to reflect the change in consumers taste. Repositioning is an important, and none too easy factor, in brand building.These seven factors: positioning, credibility, communications, quality, internal marketing, long-term perspective, and repositioning, are critical to building brand value. A proper marketing plan will address each factor. In addition, the marketing strategy should be evaluated and updated at regular intervals.
The Neuroscience of Leadership
by David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz
Breakthroughs in brain research explain how to make organizational transformation succeed.
Illustration by Jason HolleyMike is the CEO of a multinational pharmaceutical company, and he’s in trouble. With the patents on several key drugs due to expire soon, his business desperately needs to become more entrepreneurial, particularly in its ability to form internal and external partnerships to reduce time-to-market. Yet his organization has a silo mentality, with highly competitive teams secretly working against one another. How can Mike change the way thousands of people at his company think and behave every day?
Businesses everywhere face this kind of problem: Success isn’t possible without changing the day-to-day behavior of people throughout the company. But changing behavior is hard, even for individuals, and even when new habits can mean the difference between life and death. In many studies of patients who have undergone coronary bypass surgery, only one in nine people, on average, adopts healthier day-to-day habits. The others’ lives are at significantly greater risk unless they exercise and lose weight, and they clearly see the value of changing their behavior. But they don’t follow through. So what about changing the way a whole organization behaves? The consistently poor track record in this area tells us it’s a challenging aspiration at best.
During the last two decades, scientists have gained a new, far more accurate view of human nature and behavior change because of the integration of psychology (the study of the human mind and human behavior) and neuroscience (the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain). Imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), along with brain wave analysis technologies such as quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), have revealed hitherto unseen neural connections in the living human brain. Advanced computer analysis of these connections has helped researchers develop an increasing body of theoretical work linking the brain (the physical organ) with the mind (the human consciousness that thinks, feels, acts, and perceives).
The implications of this new research are particularly relevant for organizational leaders. It is now clear that human behavior in the workplace doesn’t work the way many executives think it does. That in turn helps explain why many leadership efforts and organizational change initiatives fall flat. And it also helps explain the success of companies like Toyota and Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, whose shop-floor or meeting-room practices resonate deeply with the innate predispositions of the human brain.
Managers who understand the recent breakthroughs in cognitive science can lead and influence mindful change: organizational transformation that takes into account the physiological nature of the brain, and the ways in which it predisposes people to resist some forms of leadership and accept others. This does not imply that management — of change or anything else — is a science. There is a great deal of art and craft in it. But several conclusions about organizational change can be drawn that make the art and craft far more effective. These conclusions would have been considered counterintuitive or downright wrong only a few years ago. For example:
Change is pain. Organizational change is unexpectedly difficult because it provokes sensations of physiological discomfort.
Behaviorism doesn’t work. Change efforts based on incentive and threat (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run.
Humanism is overrated. In practice, the conventional empathic approach of connection and persuasion doesn’t sufficiently engage people.
Focus is power. The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain.
Expectation shapes reality. People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive.
Attention density shapes identity. Repeated, purposeful, and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution.
Change Is Pain“Why do people resist change so stubbornly, even when it’s in their own interest?” wonder CEOs like Mike. Changing the way others go about their work is harder than he has expected. New advances in neuroscience provide insight into why change can be so difficult, and there are several key findings.
The first has to do with the nature of human memory and its relationship to conscious attention. Working memory — the brain’s “holding area,” where perceptions and ideas can first be compared to other information — is frequently engaged when people encounter something new. When you see a new product on a supermarket shelf and rationally compare its benefits to a product you already use, it’s your working memory that takes in the new information and matches it against the old. This kind of memory activates the prefrontal cortex, an energy-intensive part of the brain.
The basal ganglia, on the other hand, are invoked by routine, familiar activity, like putting an often-purchased product into a supermarket cart without consciously paying attention, and perhaps without later remembering having picked it out. This part of the brain, located near the core, is where neural circuits of long-standing habit are formed and held. It requires much less energy to function than working memory does, in part because it seamlessly links simple behaviors from brain modules that have already been shaped by extensive training and experience.
The basal ganglia can function exceedingly well without conscious thought in any routine activity. In contrast, working memory fatigues easily and can hold only a limited amount of information “on line” at any one time. Therefore, any activity conducted repetitively (to the point of becoming a habit) will tend to get pushed down into the basal ganglia, the habit-center part of the brain. This frees up the processing resources of the prefrontal cortex.
After just a few months of learning to drive a car, people can typically drive “without thinking.” If they then try to drive on the other side of the road, say in another country, the act of driving suddenly becomes much more difficult. The prefrontal cortex must now be used to keep track of the action. Many travelers never want to undergo this experience. Similarly, for those used to an automatic transmission, the first time driving a car with a standard transmission can be a nerve-wracking experience. (Indeed, the basal ganglia area operates like an automatic transmission, shifting among patterns of deeply held thought.)
The same cognitive dynamics come into play when people face other types of stressful experiences, including any strategic or organizational change. Much of what managers do in the workplace — how they sell ideas, run meetings, manage others, and communicate — is so well routinized that the basal ganglia are running the show. Trying to change any hardwired habit requires a lot of effort, in the form of attention. This often leads to a feeling that many people find uncomfortable. So they do what they can to avoid change.
The second reason change is hard relates to basic brain functioning. Human brains have evolved a particularly strong capacity to detect what neuroscientists call “errors”: perceived differences between expectation and actuality. When a child (or an adult, for that matter) is promised a sweet-tasting treat and then discovers it tastes salty or bitter, the brain emits strong signals that use a lot of energy, showing up in imaging technology as dramatic bursts of light. Edmund Rolls first illustrated this at Oxford University in the early 1980s, with a study involving monkeys. Dr. Rolls found that “errors” in the environment produced intense bursts of neural firing, markedly stronger than the firing caused by familiar stimuli.
These error signals are generated by a part of the brain called the orbital frontal cortex. Located above the eyeballs, it is closely connected to the brain’s fear circuitry, which resides in a structure called the amygdala. (The amygdala is the source of the “amygdala hijack,” the sudden and overwhelming fear or anger response described in layman’s terms by Daniel Goleman in his popular book Emotional Intelligence.) The amygdala and the orbital frontal cortex are among the oldest parts of the mammal brain, remnants of evolutionary history. When these parts of the brain are activated, they draw metabolic energy away from the prefrontal region, which promotes and supports higher intellectual functions. The prefrontal region is particularly well developed in humans, and doesn’t exist at all below the higher primates. Error detection signals can thus push people to become emotional and to act more impulsively: Animal instincts take over.
People with the syndrome known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have error detection circuits that have gone into overdrive. Their orbital frontal cortex sends a constant, incorrect message that something is wrong (“My hands are dirty”). The individual knows, on one level, that the message is incorrect. But the alarm is so compelling, it’s hard to resist trying to fix the situation (“I must wash my hands”), so the person keeps trying to fix it. The more the individual tries to fix it, the more entrenched those neural circuits become in the basal ganglia; any immediate “solution” (washing hands) reinforces the entrenched circuitry, making the problem worse. Even among people without OCD, just trying to change a routine behavior sends out strong messages in the brain that something is not right. These messages grab the individual’s attention, and they can readily overpower rational thought.
It takes a strong will to push past such mental activity — and the same is true on the level of organizational change. Try to change another person’s behavior, even with the best possible justification, and he or she will experience discomfort. The brain sends out powerful messages that something is wrong, and the capacity for higher thought is decreased. Change itself thus amplifies stress and discomfort; and managers (who may not, from their position in the hierarchy, perceive the same events in the same way that subordinates perceive them) tend to underestimate the challenges inherent in implementation.
Behaviorism Doesn’t WorkMany existing models for changing people’s behavior are drawn from a field called behaviorism. The field emerged in the 1930s and was led by psychologist B.F. Skinner and advertising executive John B. Watson, building on Ivan Pavlov’s famous concept of the conditioned response: Associate the ringing of a bell with food, and a dog can be made to salivate at the sound. The behaviorists generalized this observation to people, and established an approach to change that has sometimes been caricatured as: “Lay out the M&Ms.” For each person, there is one set of incentives — one combination of candy colors — that makes the best motivator. Present the right incentives, and the desired change will naturally occur. If change doesn’t occur, then the mix of M&M colors must be adjusted.
Yet there is plenty of evidence from both clinical research and workplace observation that change efforts based on typical incentives and threats (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run. For example, when people routinely come late to meetings, a manager may reprimand them. This may chasten latecomers in the short run, but it also draws their attention away from work and back to the problems that led to lateness in the first place. Another manager might choose to reward people who show up on time with public recognition or better assignments; for those who are late, this too raises anxiety and reinforces the neural patterns associated with the habitual problem. Yet despite all the evidence that it doesn’t work, the behaviorist model is still the dominant paradigm in many organizations. The carrot and stick are alive and well.
Humanism Is OverratedThe next big field to emerge in psychology after behaviorism was the humanist movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Also called the person-centered approach, the field was inspired by such thinkers as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. This school of thought assumed that self-esteem, emotional needs, and values could provide leverage for changing behavior. The prevailing model of humanist psychology involved helping people reach their potential through self-actualization — bringing forth hidden capacities and aspirations. Therapists and trainers left behind the carrot and stick and focused on empathy. They listened to people’s problems, attempted to understand them on their own terms, and allowed a holistic solution to emerge.
In theory, an effective solution might well emerge from the person-centered approach. But there is rarely time to go through this process with employees, and no guarantee that it will produce the desired results. True self-actualization might simply lead someone to quit his or her job. Moreover, in practice, the humanist approach leads to an emphasis on persuasion. The implicit goal is to “get people on board” by establishing trust and rapport, and then to convince them of the value of a change. Performance management training manuals on administering annual appraisals often counsel managers to “deliver constructive performance feedback.” Translated from the jargon, this means, “Politely tell people what they are doing wrong.” Though colored by humanist intent, this approach is, in its own way, as mechanistic as behaviorism. It assumes that if people receive correct information about what they are doing wrong, and the right incentives are in place, they will automatically change.
But the human brain can behave like a 2-year-old: Tell it what to do and it automatically pushes back. Partly this phenomenon is a function of homeostasis (the natural movement of any organism toward equilibrium and away from change), but it also reflects the fact that brains are pattern-making organs with an innate desire to create novel connections. When people solve a problem themselves, the brain releases a rush of neurotransmitters like adrenaline. This phenomenon provides a scientific basis for some of the practices of leadership coaching. Rather than lecturing and providing solutions, effective coaches ask pertinent questions and support their clients in working out solutions on their own.
The power of changing behavior by asking questions goes back to Socrates, but even the Socratic method can backfire when it is wielded by someone in authority who is trying to convince others of a particular solution or answer. Leslie Brothers, a psychiatrist–neuroscientist and author of Friday’s Footprint: How Society Shapes the Human Mind, has demonstrated that the brain’s structure predisposes us to be socially oriented. Newborns experience a form of empathy, and at six months, well before they can speak, infants experience advanced socially oriented emotions like jealousy. When someone tries to politely tell people what they are doing wrong and phrases the criticism as a question (even one as seemingly innocuous as, “What made you think that solution would work?”), subconscious alarm bells ring. People can detect the difference between authentic inquiry and an effort to persuade them.
Neither the behaviorist perspective nor the person-centered approach has been sophisticated enough to provide a reliable method for producing lasting behavior change in intelligent, high-functioning workers, even when it’s in their own interest to change. It’s time we looked elsewhere.
Focus Is PowerSome of the biggest leaps in science and industry have emerged from the integration of separate fields. When the study of electricity and of magnetism coalesced to become the science of electromagnetism, the field gave us the electric motor and generator, which in turn sparked the Industrial Revolution. To understand how to better drive organizational change, we turn to another nexus, this time between neuroscience and contemporary physics.
Neurons communicate with each other through a type of electrochemical signaling that is driven by the movement of ions such as sodium, potassium, and calcium. These ions travel through channels within the brain that are, at their narrowest point, only a little more than a single ion wide. This means that the brain is a quantum environment, and is therefore subject to all the surprising laws of quantum mechanics. One of these laws is the Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE). The QZE was described in 1977 by the physicist George Sudarshan at the University of Texas at Austin, and has been experimentally verified many times since.
The QZE is related to the established observer effect of quantum physics: The behavior and position of any atom-sized entity, such as an atom, an electron, or an ion, appears to change when that entity is observed. This in turn is linked to the probabilistic nature of such entities. The quantum laws that govern the observed behaviors of subatomic particles, and also the observed behaviors of all larger systems built out of them, are expressed in terms of probability waves, which are affected in specific ways by observations made upon the system. In the Quantum Zeno Effect, when any system is observed in a sufficiently rapid, repetitive fashion, the rate at which that system changes is reduced. One classic experiment involved observing beryllium atoms that could decay from a high-energy to a low-energy state. As the number of measurements per unit time increased, the probability of the energy transition fell off: The beryllium atom stayed longer in its excited state, because the scientists, in effect, repeatedly asked, “Have you decayed yet?” In quantum physics, as in the rest of life, a watched pot never boils.
In a 2005 paper published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (U.K.), physicist Henry Stapp and one of the authors of this article, Jeffrey Schwartz, linked the QZE with what happens when close attention is paid to a mental experience. Applied to neuroscience, the QZE states that the mental act of focusing attention stabilizes the associated brain circuits. Concentrating attention on your mental experience, whether a thought, an insight, a picture in your mind’s eye, or a fear, maintains the brain state arising in association with that experience. Over time, paying enough attention to any specific brain connection keeps the relevant circuitry open and dynamically alive. These circuits can then eventually become not just chemical links but stable, physical changes in the brain’s structure.
Cognitive scientists have known for 20 years that the brain is capable of significant internal change in response to environmental changes, a dramatic finding when it was first made. We now also know that the brain changes as a function of where an individual puts his or her attention. The power is in the focus.
Attention continually reshapes the patterns of the brain. Among the implications: People who practice a specialty every day literally think differently, through different sets of connections, than do people who don’t practice the specialty. In business, professionals in different functions — finance, operations, legal, research and development, marketing, design, and human resources — have physiological differences that prevent them from seeing the world the same way.
Expectation Shapes RealityCognitive scientists are finding that people’s mental maps, their theories, expectations, and attitudes, play a more central role in human perception than was previously understood. This can be well demonstrated by the placebo effect. Tell people they have been administered a pain-reducing agent and they experience a marked and systematic reduction in pain, despite the fact that they have received a completely inert substance, a sugar pill. One study in 2005 by Robert C. Coghill and others found that “expectations for decreased pain produce a reduction in perceived pain (28.4%) that rivals the effects of a clearly analgesic dose of morphine.” Donald Price of the University of Florida has shown that the mental expectation of pain relief accounts for the change in pain perception. The brain’s deepest pain centers show systematic changes consistent with changes in experienced pain.
Dr. Price and Dr. Schwartz are currently working to demonstrate that the Quantum Zeno Effect explains these findings. The mental expectation of pain relief causes the person to repeatedly focus his or her attention on the experience of pain relief, so that the brain’s pain-relief circuits are activated, causing a decrease in the sensation of pain. People experience what they expect to experience.
The fact that our expectations, whether conscious or buried in our deeper brain centers, can play such a large role in perception has significant implications. Two individuals working on the same customer service telephone line could hold different mental maps of the same customers. The first, seeing customers only as troubled children, would hear only complaints that needed to be allayed; the second, seeing them as busy but intelligent professionals, would hear valuable suggestions for improving a product or service.
How, then, would you go about facilitating change? The impact of mental maps suggests that one way to start is by cultivating moments of insight. Large-scale behavior change requires a large-scale change in mental maps. This in turn requires some kind of event or experience that allows people to provoke themselves, in effect, to change their attitudes and expectations more quickly and dramatically than they normally would.
Mark Jung-Beeman of Northwestern University’s Institute for Neuroscience and others have recently used fMRI and EEG technologies to study moments of insight. One study found sudden bursts of high-frequency 40 Hz oscillations (gamma waves) in the brain appearing just prior to moments of insight. This oscillation is conducive to creating links across many parts of the brain. The same study found the right anterior superior temporal gyrus being activated. This part of the brain is involved in perceiving and processing music, spatial and structural relations (such as those in a building or painting), and other complex aspects of the environment. The findings suggest that at a moment of insight, a complex set of new connections is being created. These connections have the potential to enhance our mental resources and overcome the brain’s resistance to change. But to achieve this result, given the brain’s limited working memory, we need to make a deliberate effort to hardwire an insight by paying it repeated attention.
That is why employees need to “own” any kind of change initiative for it to be successful. The help-desk clerk who sees customers as children won’t change the way he or she listens without a moment of insight in which his or her mental maps shift to seeing customers as experts. Leaders wanting to change the way people think or behave should learn to recognize, encourage, and deepen their team’s insights.
Attention Density Shapes IdentityFor insights to be useful, they need to be generated from within, not given to individuals as conclusions. This is true for several reasons. First, people will experience the adrenaline-like rush of insight only if they go through the process of making connections themselves. The moment of insight is well known to be a positive and energizing experience. This rush of energy may be central to facilitating change: It helps fight against the internal (and external) forces trying to keep change from occurring, including the fear response of the amygdala.
Second, neural networks are influenced moment to moment by genes, experiences, and varying patterns of attention. Although all people have some broad functions in common, in truth everyone has a unique brain architecture. Human brains are so complex and individual that there is little point in trying to work out how another person ought to reorganize his or her thinking. It is far more effective and efficient to help others come to their own insights. Accomplishing this feat requires self-observation. Adam Smith, in his 1759 masterpiece The Theory of Moral Sentiments, referred to this as being “the spectators of our own behaviour.”
The term attention density is increasingly used to define the amount of attention paid to a particular mental experience over a specific time. The greater the concentration on a specific idea or mental experience, the higher the attention density. In quantum physics terms, attention density brings the QZE into play and causes new brain circuitry to be stabilized and thus developed. With enough attention density, individual thoughts and acts of the mind can become an intrinsic part of an individual’s identity: who one is, how one perceives the world, and how one’s brain works. The neuroscientist’s term for this is self-directed neuroplasticity.
You’ve probably had the experience of going to a training program and getting excited about new ways of thinking, only to realize later that you can’t remember what the new ways of thinking were. Were the ideas no good in the first place? Or did you just not pay enough attention? A 1997 study of 31 public-sector managers by Baruch College researchers Gerald Olivero, K. Denise Bane, and Richard E. Kopelman found that a training program alone increased productivity 28 percent, but the addition of follow-up coaching to the training increased productivity 88 percent.
Further research is needed to help us better understand how much attention is required to facilitate long-term change and in what kind of format the requisite training can be delivered to foster better performance. For chronically late people, habits like carrying two timepieces — one fast and the other accurate — or routinely trying to arrive 20 minutes early to meetings may be effective precisely because they focus conscious attention on the improved result. With an attention model, learning becomes possible through many media, not just in a classroom. Also, given the small capacity of working memory, many small bites of learning, digested over time, may be more efficient than large blocks of time spent in workshops. The key is getting people to pay sufficient attention to new ideas, something the “e-learning” industry has struggled with.
Martin Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement and former president of the American Psychological Association, recently studied 47 severely depressed individuals. The study involved two unusual components. First, participants focused their attention on things that were proven to increase happiness — specifically, an exercise called the three blessings, in which people wrote down three things that had gone well that day — instead of on the source or nature of their unhappiness, which is where many mental health interventions focus. Second, communities were allowed to form, which encouraged people to pay attention to the happiness-inducing exercises. Depression in 94 percent of the participants dropped significantly, from clinically severe to clinically mild-to-moderate symptoms. The impact was similar to the effects of medication and cognitive therapy combined. Perhaps any behavior change brought about by leaders, managers, therapists, trainers, or coaches is primarily a function of their ability to induce others to focus their attention on specific ideas, closely enough, often enough, and for a long enough time.
Mindful Change in PracticeHow, then, can leaders effectively change their own or other people’s behavior?
Start by leaving problem behaviors in the past; focus on identifying and creating new behaviors. Over time, these may shape the dominant pathways in the brain. This is achieved through a solution-focused questioning approach that facilitates self-insight, rather than through advice-giving.
Let’s go back to Mike, our pharmaceutical CEO. One of Mike’s direct reports, Rob, has hired only three of his targeted six new team members this year. If Mike asks Rob why he didn’t reach the goal, he will focus Rob’s attention on the nonperformance. As a result of this attention, Rob might make new cognitive connections (also known as reasons) as to why he didn’t find the new people. For example, “All the really good people are taken by other companies,” or “I don’t have time to do the kind of recruiting we need.” Although these reasons that people were not hired might be true, they do little to support or foster any change.
A more useful place to focus Rob’s attention is on the new circuits he needs to create to achieve his objectives in the future. Mike could ask Rob, “What do you need to do to resolve challenges like this?” Mike’s questioning might provoke Rob to have an insight that he needs to remind himself of his annual objectives more regularly, to keep his eyes on the prize. If Mike regularly asked Rob about his progress, it would remind Rob to give this new thought more attention.
In a world with so many distractions, and with new mental maps potentially being created every second in the brain, one of the biggest challenges is being able to focus enough attention on any one idea. Leaders can make a big difference by gently reminding others about their useful insights, and thus eliciting attention that otherwise would not be paid. Behaviorists may recognize this type of reminder as “positive feedback,” or a deliberate effort to reinforce behavior that already works, which, when conducted skillfully, is one aspect of behaviorism that has beneficial cognitive effect. In a brain that is also constantly pruning connections while making new ones, positive feedback may play a key functional role as “a signal to do more of something.” As neuroscientist Dr. Thomas B. Czerner notes, “The encouraging sounds of ‘yes, good, that’s it’ help to mark a synapse for preservation rather than pruning.”
At the organizational level, Mike wants to change the way thousands of people think. A common approach would be to identify the current attitudes across the group through some sort of cultural survey. The hope would be that identifying the source of the problem would help solve it. Based on what we now know about the brain, a better alternative would be for Mike to paint a broad picture of being more entrepreneurial, without specifically identifying the changes that individuals will need to make. Mike’s goal should be for his people to picture the new behaviors in their own minds, and in the process develop energizing new mental maps that have the potential to become hardwired circuitry. Mike would then get his team to focus their attention on their own insights, by facilitating discussions and activities that involve being entrepreneurial. After that, Mike’s job would be to regularly provide “gentle reminders” so that the entrepreneurial maps become the dominant pathways along which information, ideas, and energy flow. He also needs to catch the team when they get sidetracked and gently bring them back. The power truly is in the focus, and in the attention that is paid.
Perhaps you are thinking, “This all sounds too easy. Is the answer to all the challenges of change just to focus people on solutions instead of problems, let them come to their own answers, and keep them focused on their insights?” Apparently, that’s what the brain wants. And some of the most successful management change practices have this type of principle ingrained in them. “Open-book management,” for example, has been credited with remarkable gains at companies like Springfield Remanufacturing, because it repeatedly focuses employees’ attention on the company’s financial data. Toyota’s production system, similarly, involves people at every level of the company in developing a fine-grained awareness of their processes and how to improve them. In both of these approaches, in workplace sessions that occur weekly or even daily, people systematically talk about the means for making things better, training their brains to make new connections. If you took an fMRI scan of a Springfield or Toyota employee when that person joined the company and again after 10 years on the job, the two scans might reveal very different patterns.
Few managers are comfortable putting these principles into practice, however. Our management models are based on the premise that knowledge is power. This “transmission” approach to exchanging information (exemplified by lectures and textbooks, where knowledge is “transmitted” to a passive receiver) has always been the prevailing teaching method in academia, including the business schools that many managers attend. Since many executives assume that the teaching methods they endured are the only teaching methods that work, it’s no small matter to consider trying a different approach in our workplaces. For many executives, leading others in such a new way may be a bigger change, and therefore challenge, than driving on the other side of the road.
As Peter F. Drucker said, “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” In the knowledge economy, where people are being paid to think, and with constant change, there is more pressure than ever to improve how we learn. Perhaps these findings about the brain can start to pull back the curtain on a new world of productivity improvement: in our ability to bring about positive, lasting change in ourselves, in our families, in our workplaces, and in society itself.
Breakthroughs in brain research explain how to make organizational transformation succeed.
Illustration by Jason HolleyMike is the CEO of a multinational pharmaceutical company, and he’s in trouble. With the patents on several key drugs due to expire soon, his business desperately needs to become more entrepreneurial, particularly in its ability to form internal and external partnerships to reduce time-to-market. Yet his organization has a silo mentality, with highly competitive teams secretly working against one another. How can Mike change the way thousands of people at his company think and behave every day?
Businesses everywhere face this kind of problem: Success isn’t possible without changing the day-to-day behavior of people throughout the company. But changing behavior is hard, even for individuals, and even when new habits can mean the difference between life and death. In many studies of patients who have undergone coronary bypass surgery, only one in nine people, on average, adopts healthier day-to-day habits. The others’ lives are at significantly greater risk unless they exercise and lose weight, and they clearly see the value of changing their behavior. But they don’t follow through. So what about changing the way a whole organization behaves? The consistently poor track record in this area tells us it’s a challenging aspiration at best.
During the last two decades, scientists have gained a new, far more accurate view of human nature and behavior change because of the integration of psychology (the study of the human mind and human behavior) and neuroscience (the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain). Imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), along with brain wave analysis technologies such as quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), have revealed hitherto unseen neural connections in the living human brain. Advanced computer analysis of these connections has helped researchers develop an increasing body of theoretical work linking the brain (the physical organ) with the mind (the human consciousness that thinks, feels, acts, and perceives).
The implications of this new research are particularly relevant for organizational leaders. It is now clear that human behavior in the workplace doesn’t work the way many executives think it does. That in turn helps explain why many leadership efforts and organizational change initiatives fall flat. And it also helps explain the success of companies like Toyota and Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, whose shop-floor or meeting-room practices resonate deeply with the innate predispositions of the human brain.
Managers who understand the recent breakthroughs in cognitive science can lead and influence mindful change: organizational transformation that takes into account the physiological nature of the brain, and the ways in which it predisposes people to resist some forms of leadership and accept others. This does not imply that management — of change or anything else — is a science. There is a great deal of art and craft in it. But several conclusions about organizational change can be drawn that make the art and craft far more effective. These conclusions would have been considered counterintuitive or downright wrong only a few years ago. For example:
Change is pain. Organizational change is unexpectedly difficult because it provokes sensations of physiological discomfort.
Behaviorism doesn’t work. Change efforts based on incentive and threat (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run.
Humanism is overrated. In practice, the conventional empathic approach of connection and persuasion doesn’t sufficiently engage people.
Focus is power. The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain.
Expectation shapes reality. People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive.
Attention density shapes identity. Repeated, purposeful, and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution.
Change Is Pain“Why do people resist change so stubbornly, even when it’s in their own interest?” wonder CEOs like Mike. Changing the way others go about their work is harder than he has expected. New advances in neuroscience provide insight into why change can be so difficult, and there are several key findings.
The first has to do with the nature of human memory and its relationship to conscious attention. Working memory — the brain’s “holding area,” where perceptions and ideas can first be compared to other information — is frequently engaged when people encounter something new. When you see a new product on a supermarket shelf and rationally compare its benefits to a product you already use, it’s your working memory that takes in the new information and matches it against the old. This kind of memory activates the prefrontal cortex, an energy-intensive part of the brain.
The basal ganglia, on the other hand, are invoked by routine, familiar activity, like putting an often-purchased product into a supermarket cart without consciously paying attention, and perhaps without later remembering having picked it out. This part of the brain, located near the core, is where neural circuits of long-standing habit are formed and held. It requires much less energy to function than working memory does, in part because it seamlessly links simple behaviors from brain modules that have already been shaped by extensive training and experience.
The basal ganglia can function exceedingly well without conscious thought in any routine activity. In contrast, working memory fatigues easily and can hold only a limited amount of information “on line” at any one time. Therefore, any activity conducted repetitively (to the point of becoming a habit) will tend to get pushed down into the basal ganglia, the habit-center part of the brain. This frees up the processing resources of the prefrontal cortex.
After just a few months of learning to drive a car, people can typically drive “without thinking.” If they then try to drive on the other side of the road, say in another country, the act of driving suddenly becomes much more difficult. The prefrontal cortex must now be used to keep track of the action. Many travelers never want to undergo this experience. Similarly, for those used to an automatic transmission, the first time driving a car with a standard transmission can be a nerve-wracking experience. (Indeed, the basal ganglia area operates like an automatic transmission, shifting among patterns of deeply held thought.)
The same cognitive dynamics come into play when people face other types of stressful experiences, including any strategic or organizational change. Much of what managers do in the workplace — how they sell ideas, run meetings, manage others, and communicate — is so well routinized that the basal ganglia are running the show. Trying to change any hardwired habit requires a lot of effort, in the form of attention. This often leads to a feeling that many people find uncomfortable. So they do what they can to avoid change.
The second reason change is hard relates to basic brain functioning. Human brains have evolved a particularly strong capacity to detect what neuroscientists call “errors”: perceived differences between expectation and actuality. When a child (or an adult, for that matter) is promised a sweet-tasting treat and then discovers it tastes salty or bitter, the brain emits strong signals that use a lot of energy, showing up in imaging technology as dramatic bursts of light. Edmund Rolls first illustrated this at Oxford University in the early 1980s, with a study involving monkeys. Dr. Rolls found that “errors” in the environment produced intense bursts of neural firing, markedly stronger than the firing caused by familiar stimuli.
These error signals are generated by a part of the brain called the orbital frontal cortex. Located above the eyeballs, it is closely connected to the brain’s fear circuitry, which resides in a structure called the amygdala. (The amygdala is the source of the “amygdala hijack,” the sudden and overwhelming fear or anger response described in layman’s terms by Daniel Goleman in his popular book Emotional Intelligence.) The amygdala and the orbital frontal cortex are among the oldest parts of the mammal brain, remnants of evolutionary history. When these parts of the brain are activated, they draw metabolic energy away from the prefrontal region, which promotes and supports higher intellectual functions. The prefrontal region is particularly well developed in humans, and doesn’t exist at all below the higher primates. Error detection signals can thus push people to become emotional and to act more impulsively: Animal instincts take over.
People with the syndrome known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have error detection circuits that have gone into overdrive. Their orbital frontal cortex sends a constant, incorrect message that something is wrong (“My hands are dirty”). The individual knows, on one level, that the message is incorrect. But the alarm is so compelling, it’s hard to resist trying to fix the situation (“I must wash my hands”), so the person keeps trying to fix it. The more the individual tries to fix it, the more entrenched those neural circuits become in the basal ganglia; any immediate “solution” (washing hands) reinforces the entrenched circuitry, making the problem worse. Even among people without OCD, just trying to change a routine behavior sends out strong messages in the brain that something is not right. These messages grab the individual’s attention, and they can readily overpower rational thought.
It takes a strong will to push past such mental activity — and the same is true on the level of organizational change. Try to change another person’s behavior, even with the best possible justification, and he or she will experience discomfort. The brain sends out powerful messages that something is wrong, and the capacity for higher thought is decreased. Change itself thus amplifies stress and discomfort; and managers (who may not, from their position in the hierarchy, perceive the same events in the same way that subordinates perceive them) tend to underestimate the challenges inherent in implementation.
Behaviorism Doesn’t WorkMany existing models for changing people’s behavior are drawn from a field called behaviorism. The field emerged in the 1930s and was led by psychologist B.F. Skinner and advertising executive John B. Watson, building on Ivan Pavlov’s famous concept of the conditioned response: Associate the ringing of a bell with food, and a dog can be made to salivate at the sound. The behaviorists generalized this observation to people, and established an approach to change that has sometimes been caricatured as: “Lay out the M&Ms.” For each person, there is one set of incentives — one combination of candy colors — that makes the best motivator. Present the right incentives, and the desired change will naturally occur. If change doesn’t occur, then the mix of M&M colors must be adjusted.
Yet there is plenty of evidence from both clinical research and workplace observation that change efforts based on typical incentives and threats (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run. For example, when people routinely come late to meetings, a manager may reprimand them. This may chasten latecomers in the short run, but it also draws their attention away from work and back to the problems that led to lateness in the first place. Another manager might choose to reward people who show up on time with public recognition or better assignments; for those who are late, this too raises anxiety and reinforces the neural patterns associated with the habitual problem. Yet despite all the evidence that it doesn’t work, the behaviorist model is still the dominant paradigm in many organizations. The carrot and stick are alive and well.
Humanism Is OverratedThe next big field to emerge in psychology after behaviorism was the humanist movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Also called the person-centered approach, the field was inspired by such thinkers as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. This school of thought assumed that self-esteem, emotional needs, and values could provide leverage for changing behavior. The prevailing model of humanist psychology involved helping people reach their potential through self-actualization — bringing forth hidden capacities and aspirations. Therapists and trainers left behind the carrot and stick and focused on empathy. They listened to people’s problems, attempted to understand them on their own terms, and allowed a holistic solution to emerge.
In theory, an effective solution might well emerge from the person-centered approach. But there is rarely time to go through this process with employees, and no guarantee that it will produce the desired results. True self-actualization might simply lead someone to quit his or her job. Moreover, in practice, the humanist approach leads to an emphasis on persuasion. The implicit goal is to “get people on board” by establishing trust and rapport, and then to convince them of the value of a change. Performance management training manuals on administering annual appraisals often counsel managers to “deliver constructive performance feedback.” Translated from the jargon, this means, “Politely tell people what they are doing wrong.” Though colored by humanist intent, this approach is, in its own way, as mechanistic as behaviorism. It assumes that if people receive correct information about what they are doing wrong, and the right incentives are in place, they will automatically change.
But the human brain can behave like a 2-year-old: Tell it what to do and it automatically pushes back. Partly this phenomenon is a function of homeostasis (the natural movement of any organism toward equilibrium and away from change), but it also reflects the fact that brains are pattern-making organs with an innate desire to create novel connections. When people solve a problem themselves, the brain releases a rush of neurotransmitters like adrenaline. This phenomenon provides a scientific basis for some of the practices of leadership coaching. Rather than lecturing and providing solutions, effective coaches ask pertinent questions and support their clients in working out solutions on their own.
The power of changing behavior by asking questions goes back to Socrates, but even the Socratic method can backfire when it is wielded by someone in authority who is trying to convince others of a particular solution or answer. Leslie Brothers, a psychiatrist–neuroscientist and author of Friday’s Footprint: How Society Shapes the Human Mind, has demonstrated that the brain’s structure predisposes us to be socially oriented. Newborns experience a form of empathy, and at six months, well before they can speak, infants experience advanced socially oriented emotions like jealousy. When someone tries to politely tell people what they are doing wrong and phrases the criticism as a question (even one as seemingly innocuous as, “What made you think that solution would work?”), subconscious alarm bells ring. People can detect the difference between authentic inquiry and an effort to persuade them.
Neither the behaviorist perspective nor the person-centered approach has been sophisticated enough to provide a reliable method for producing lasting behavior change in intelligent, high-functioning workers, even when it’s in their own interest to change. It’s time we looked elsewhere.
Focus Is PowerSome of the biggest leaps in science and industry have emerged from the integration of separate fields. When the study of electricity and of magnetism coalesced to become the science of electromagnetism, the field gave us the electric motor and generator, which in turn sparked the Industrial Revolution. To understand how to better drive organizational change, we turn to another nexus, this time between neuroscience and contemporary physics.
Neurons communicate with each other through a type of electrochemical signaling that is driven by the movement of ions such as sodium, potassium, and calcium. These ions travel through channels within the brain that are, at their narrowest point, only a little more than a single ion wide. This means that the brain is a quantum environment, and is therefore subject to all the surprising laws of quantum mechanics. One of these laws is the Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE). The QZE was described in 1977 by the physicist George Sudarshan at the University of Texas at Austin, and has been experimentally verified many times since.
The QZE is related to the established observer effect of quantum physics: The behavior and position of any atom-sized entity, such as an atom, an electron, or an ion, appears to change when that entity is observed. This in turn is linked to the probabilistic nature of such entities. The quantum laws that govern the observed behaviors of subatomic particles, and also the observed behaviors of all larger systems built out of them, are expressed in terms of probability waves, which are affected in specific ways by observations made upon the system. In the Quantum Zeno Effect, when any system is observed in a sufficiently rapid, repetitive fashion, the rate at which that system changes is reduced. One classic experiment involved observing beryllium atoms that could decay from a high-energy to a low-energy state. As the number of measurements per unit time increased, the probability of the energy transition fell off: The beryllium atom stayed longer in its excited state, because the scientists, in effect, repeatedly asked, “Have you decayed yet?” In quantum physics, as in the rest of life, a watched pot never boils.
In a 2005 paper published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (U.K.), physicist Henry Stapp and one of the authors of this article, Jeffrey Schwartz, linked the QZE with what happens when close attention is paid to a mental experience. Applied to neuroscience, the QZE states that the mental act of focusing attention stabilizes the associated brain circuits. Concentrating attention on your mental experience, whether a thought, an insight, a picture in your mind’s eye, or a fear, maintains the brain state arising in association with that experience. Over time, paying enough attention to any specific brain connection keeps the relevant circuitry open and dynamically alive. These circuits can then eventually become not just chemical links but stable, physical changes in the brain’s structure.
Cognitive scientists have known for 20 years that the brain is capable of significant internal change in response to environmental changes, a dramatic finding when it was first made. We now also know that the brain changes as a function of where an individual puts his or her attention. The power is in the focus.
Attention continually reshapes the patterns of the brain. Among the implications: People who practice a specialty every day literally think differently, through different sets of connections, than do people who don’t practice the specialty. In business, professionals in different functions — finance, operations, legal, research and development, marketing, design, and human resources — have physiological differences that prevent them from seeing the world the same way.
Expectation Shapes RealityCognitive scientists are finding that people’s mental maps, their theories, expectations, and attitudes, play a more central role in human perception than was previously understood. This can be well demonstrated by the placebo effect. Tell people they have been administered a pain-reducing agent and they experience a marked and systematic reduction in pain, despite the fact that they have received a completely inert substance, a sugar pill. One study in 2005 by Robert C. Coghill and others found that “expectations for decreased pain produce a reduction in perceived pain (28.4%) that rivals the effects of a clearly analgesic dose of morphine.” Donald Price of the University of Florida has shown that the mental expectation of pain relief accounts for the change in pain perception. The brain’s deepest pain centers show systematic changes consistent with changes in experienced pain.
Dr. Price and Dr. Schwartz are currently working to demonstrate that the Quantum Zeno Effect explains these findings. The mental expectation of pain relief causes the person to repeatedly focus his or her attention on the experience of pain relief, so that the brain’s pain-relief circuits are activated, causing a decrease in the sensation of pain. People experience what they expect to experience.
The fact that our expectations, whether conscious or buried in our deeper brain centers, can play such a large role in perception has significant implications. Two individuals working on the same customer service telephone line could hold different mental maps of the same customers. The first, seeing customers only as troubled children, would hear only complaints that needed to be allayed; the second, seeing them as busy but intelligent professionals, would hear valuable suggestions for improving a product or service.
How, then, would you go about facilitating change? The impact of mental maps suggests that one way to start is by cultivating moments of insight. Large-scale behavior change requires a large-scale change in mental maps. This in turn requires some kind of event or experience that allows people to provoke themselves, in effect, to change their attitudes and expectations more quickly and dramatically than they normally would.
Mark Jung-Beeman of Northwestern University’s Institute for Neuroscience and others have recently used fMRI and EEG technologies to study moments of insight. One study found sudden bursts of high-frequency 40 Hz oscillations (gamma waves) in the brain appearing just prior to moments of insight. This oscillation is conducive to creating links across many parts of the brain. The same study found the right anterior superior temporal gyrus being activated. This part of the brain is involved in perceiving and processing music, spatial and structural relations (such as those in a building or painting), and other complex aspects of the environment. The findings suggest that at a moment of insight, a complex set of new connections is being created. These connections have the potential to enhance our mental resources and overcome the brain’s resistance to change. But to achieve this result, given the brain’s limited working memory, we need to make a deliberate effort to hardwire an insight by paying it repeated attention.
That is why employees need to “own” any kind of change initiative for it to be successful. The help-desk clerk who sees customers as children won’t change the way he or she listens without a moment of insight in which his or her mental maps shift to seeing customers as experts. Leaders wanting to change the way people think or behave should learn to recognize, encourage, and deepen their team’s insights.
Attention Density Shapes IdentityFor insights to be useful, they need to be generated from within, not given to individuals as conclusions. This is true for several reasons. First, people will experience the adrenaline-like rush of insight only if they go through the process of making connections themselves. The moment of insight is well known to be a positive and energizing experience. This rush of energy may be central to facilitating change: It helps fight against the internal (and external) forces trying to keep change from occurring, including the fear response of the amygdala.
Second, neural networks are influenced moment to moment by genes, experiences, and varying patterns of attention. Although all people have some broad functions in common, in truth everyone has a unique brain architecture. Human brains are so complex and individual that there is little point in trying to work out how another person ought to reorganize his or her thinking. It is far more effective and efficient to help others come to their own insights. Accomplishing this feat requires self-observation. Adam Smith, in his 1759 masterpiece The Theory of Moral Sentiments, referred to this as being “the spectators of our own behaviour.”
The term attention density is increasingly used to define the amount of attention paid to a particular mental experience over a specific time. The greater the concentration on a specific idea or mental experience, the higher the attention density. In quantum physics terms, attention density brings the QZE into play and causes new brain circuitry to be stabilized and thus developed. With enough attention density, individual thoughts and acts of the mind can become an intrinsic part of an individual’s identity: who one is, how one perceives the world, and how one’s brain works. The neuroscientist’s term for this is self-directed neuroplasticity.
You’ve probably had the experience of going to a training program and getting excited about new ways of thinking, only to realize later that you can’t remember what the new ways of thinking were. Were the ideas no good in the first place? Or did you just not pay enough attention? A 1997 study of 31 public-sector managers by Baruch College researchers Gerald Olivero, K. Denise Bane, and Richard E. Kopelman found that a training program alone increased productivity 28 percent, but the addition of follow-up coaching to the training increased productivity 88 percent.
Further research is needed to help us better understand how much attention is required to facilitate long-term change and in what kind of format the requisite training can be delivered to foster better performance. For chronically late people, habits like carrying two timepieces — one fast and the other accurate — or routinely trying to arrive 20 minutes early to meetings may be effective precisely because they focus conscious attention on the improved result. With an attention model, learning becomes possible through many media, not just in a classroom. Also, given the small capacity of working memory, many small bites of learning, digested over time, may be more efficient than large blocks of time spent in workshops. The key is getting people to pay sufficient attention to new ideas, something the “e-learning” industry has struggled with.
Martin Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement and former president of the American Psychological Association, recently studied 47 severely depressed individuals. The study involved two unusual components. First, participants focused their attention on things that were proven to increase happiness — specifically, an exercise called the three blessings, in which people wrote down three things that had gone well that day — instead of on the source or nature of their unhappiness, which is where many mental health interventions focus. Second, communities were allowed to form, which encouraged people to pay attention to the happiness-inducing exercises. Depression in 94 percent of the participants dropped significantly, from clinically severe to clinically mild-to-moderate symptoms. The impact was similar to the effects of medication and cognitive therapy combined. Perhaps any behavior change brought about by leaders, managers, therapists, trainers, or coaches is primarily a function of their ability to induce others to focus their attention on specific ideas, closely enough, often enough, and for a long enough time.
Mindful Change in PracticeHow, then, can leaders effectively change their own or other people’s behavior?
Start by leaving problem behaviors in the past; focus on identifying and creating new behaviors. Over time, these may shape the dominant pathways in the brain. This is achieved through a solution-focused questioning approach that facilitates self-insight, rather than through advice-giving.
Let’s go back to Mike, our pharmaceutical CEO. One of Mike’s direct reports, Rob, has hired only three of his targeted six new team members this year. If Mike asks Rob why he didn’t reach the goal, he will focus Rob’s attention on the nonperformance. As a result of this attention, Rob might make new cognitive connections (also known as reasons) as to why he didn’t find the new people. For example, “All the really good people are taken by other companies,” or “I don’t have time to do the kind of recruiting we need.” Although these reasons that people were not hired might be true, they do little to support or foster any change.
A more useful place to focus Rob’s attention is on the new circuits he needs to create to achieve his objectives in the future. Mike could ask Rob, “What do you need to do to resolve challenges like this?” Mike’s questioning might provoke Rob to have an insight that he needs to remind himself of his annual objectives more regularly, to keep his eyes on the prize. If Mike regularly asked Rob about his progress, it would remind Rob to give this new thought more attention.
In a world with so many distractions, and with new mental maps potentially being created every second in the brain, one of the biggest challenges is being able to focus enough attention on any one idea. Leaders can make a big difference by gently reminding others about their useful insights, and thus eliciting attention that otherwise would not be paid. Behaviorists may recognize this type of reminder as “positive feedback,” or a deliberate effort to reinforce behavior that already works, which, when conducted skillfully, is one aspect of behaviorism that has beneficial cognitive effect. In a brain that is also constantly pruning connections while making new ones, positive feedback may play a key functional role as “a signal to do more of something.” As neuroscientist Dr. Thomas B. Czerner notes, “The encouraging sounds of ‘yes, good, that’s it’ help to mark a synapse for preservation rather than pruning.”
At the organizational level, Mike wants to change the way thousands of people think. A common approach would be to identify the current attitudes across the group through some sort of cultural survey. The hope would be that identifying the source of the problem would help solve it. Based on what we now know about the brain, a better alternative would be for Mike to paint a broad picture of being more entrepreneurial, without specifically identifying the changes that individuals will need to make. Mike’s goal should be for his people to picture the new behaviors in their own minds, and in the process develop energizing new mental maps that have the potential to become hardwired circuitry. Mike would then get his team to focus their attention on their own insights, by facilitating discussions and activities that involve being entrepreneurial. After that, Mike’s job would be to regularly provide “gentle reminders” so that the entrepreneurial maps become the dominant pathways along which information, ideas, and energy flow. He also needs to catch the team when they get sidetracked and gently bring them back. The power truly is in the focus, and in the attention that is paid.
Perhaps you are thinking, “This all sounds too easy. Is the answer to all the challenges of change just to focus people on solutions instead of problems, let them come to their own answers, and keep them focused on their insights?” Apparently, that’s what the brain wants. And some of the most successful management change practices have this type of principle ingrained in them. “Open-book management,” for example, has been credited with remarkable gains at companies like Springfield Remanufacturing, because it repeatedly focuses employees’ attention on the company’s financial data. Toyota’s production system, similarly, involves people at every level of the company in developing a fine-grained awareness of their processes and how to improve them. In both of these approaches, in workplace sessions that occur weekly or even daily, people systematically talk about the means for making things better, training their brains to make new connections. If you took an fMRI scan of a Springfield or Toyota employee when that person joined the company and again after 10 years on the job, the two scans might reveal very different patterns.
Few managers are comfortable putting these principles into practice, however. Our management models are based on the premise that knowledge is power. This “transmission” approach to exchanging information (exemplified by lectures and textbooks, where knowledge is “transmitted” to a passive receiver) has always been the prevailing teaching method in academia, including the business schools that many managers attend. Since many executives assume that the teaching methods they endured are the only teaching methods that work, it’s no small matter to consider trying a different approach in our workplaces. For many executives, leading others in such a new way may be a bigger change, and therefore challenge, than driving on the other side of the road.
As Peter F. Drucker said, “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” In the knowledge economy, where people are being paid to think, and with constant change, there is more pressure than ever to improve how we learn. Perhaps these findings about the brain can start to pull back the curtain on a new world of productivity improvement: in our ability to bring about positive, lasting change in ourselves, in our families, in our workplaces, and in society itself.
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