The Truth Bar

Don’t forget that in addition to increased sales, profits can be improved by cutting costs and using your assets more productively. Which brings us to the benefits of business performance management software.

It’s common knowledge that a smart company customizes its procedures to the strengths of each staff member to get the most from them. Pinpointing and collating this data tends to be where it gets challenging.

We strongly recommend you review this vast resource for employee performance management products!

Taking just one aspect of this — for instance, staff performance — defining progress and being able to track it is a significant task. First, you set up employee evaluation techniques to assess and track all work performed by each staff member. If this was done with conventional methods, you’ll need to study all of that information manually simply to set objectives, goals, and measure future progress. Using performance appraisal software, you just look at the different analyses to determine what these objectives should be and then follow the member of staff’s development. This takes away the demands on your time and is likely to be far more useful. It’s also possible, of course, simply to use the system to keep track of raw information like performance reviews and to examine these items yourself. Not only that, but helping make your employees more efficient is simply one improvement that can be implemented using performance appraisal software. You can also use the software to study your suppliers & clients. Knowing the suppliers that stock the higher grade and best priced products can cut costs greatly.

Clients can also be examined with relation to your own business, and as with internal matters and suppliers it’s possible to help your bottom line. You can then customize your orders and stock handling to maximize your income while minimizing outgoings. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that? In addition to this, it’ll be simpler to plan marketing campaigns due to your deeper insight into your market and the location of your biggest audience. Performance appraisal software allows you to watch your sources to save money and analyze the market to tailor plans and increase your profit margin. In addition it streamlines the employee evaluation and aids you in setting realistic goals for your employees greatly. It almost seems as if there’s no upper limit when using performance management software.

Two companies that are recognized as among the best at making successful acquisitions are General Electric and Cisco Systems. These companies have been star performers in growing shareholder value. The core principal that runs through almost every acquisition is integration. Over the past 10 years Cisco Systems has acquired 81 companies. Their stock price is up a remarkable 1300%. GE outperformed the S&P 500 index over the same period by 300%. There are several categories of strategic acquisition that can produce some outstanding results:

1. ACQUIRE CUSTOMERS - this is almost always a factor in strategic acquisitions. Some companies buy another that is in the same business in a different geography. They get to integrate market presence, brand awareness, and market momentum.

2. OPERATING LEVERAGE - the major focus in this type of acquisition is to improve profit margins through higher utilization rates for plant and equipment. A manufacturer of cardboard containers that is operating at 65% of capacity buys a smaller similar manufacturer. The acquired company’s plant is sold, all but two machines are sold, the G&A staff are let go and the new customers are served more cost effectively.

3. CAPITALIZE ON A COMPANY STRENGTH - this is why Cisco and GE have been so successful with their acquisitions. They are so strong in so many areas, that the acquired company gets the benefit of many of those strengths. A very powerful business accelerator is to acquire a company that has a complementary product that is used by your installed customer base. Management depth and skill, production efficiency/ capacity, large base of installed accounts, developed sales and distribution channels, and brand recognition are examples of strengths that can power post acquisition performance.

4. COVER A WEAKNESS - This requires a good deal of objectivity from the acquiring company in recognizing and chinks in the corporate armor. Let me help you with some suggestions - 1. Customer concentration; 2. Product concentration; 3. Weak product pipeline; 4. Lack of management depth or technical expertise and 5. Great technology and products - poor sales and marketing.

5. BUY A LOW COST SUPPLIER - this integration strategy is typically aimed at improving profit margins rather than growing revenues. If your product is comprised of several manufactured components, one way to improve corporate profitability is to acquire one of those suppliers. You achieve greater control of overall costs, availability of supply, and greater value-add to your end product

6. IMPROVING OR COMPLETING A PRODUCT LINE - this approach has several elements from other acquisition strategies. Successfully adding new products to a line improves profitability and revenue growth. Giving a sales force more “arrows in their quiver” is a powerful growth strategy. You take advantage of your existing sales and distribution channel (strength). You may be able to improve your competitive position by simplifying the buying process - providing your customers one stop shopping.

7. TECHNOLOGY - BUILD OR BUY? This is a quandary for most companies, but is especially acute for technology companies. Acquiring technology through acquisition can be an excellent growth strategy. The R&D costs are generally lower for these smaller, agile, more narrowly focused companies than their larger, higher overhead acquirers. Time to market, window of opportunity, first mover advantage can have a huge impact on the ultimate success of a product. First one to establish their product as the “standard” is the big winner

8. ACQUISITION TO PROVIDE SCALE AND ACCESS TO CAPITAL MARKETS - In this area, bigger is better. Larger companies are considered safer investments. Larger companies command larger valuation multiples. Some companies make acquisitions in order to get big enough to attract public capital in the form of an IPO or investments from Private Equity Groups.

9. PROTECT AND EXPAND MATURE PRODUCT LINES - This has been very effectively done in the pharmaceutical sector where a new technology is acquired to repurpose and re patent drugs.

10. PROTECT CUSTOMER BASE FROM COMPETITION - The telephone companies have done studies that show that with each additional product or service that a customer uses, the likelihood of the customer defecting to a competitor drops exponentially. Get your customers to use local, long distance, cellular, cable, broadband, etc and you will not lose them. Multiple products and services provided to the same customer dramatically improve retention rates.

11. ACQUISITION TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO ENTRY - For example, a large commercial IT consulting firm acquires a technology consulting firm that specializes in the Federal Government. The larger IT consulting firm has valuable expertise that is easily transferable to government business if they could only break the code of the vendor approval process. After many fits and starts, they simply acquired a firm that had an established presence. They were able to then bring their full capabilities from the commercial side to effectively increase their newly acquired government business.

Many larger firms have established business development offices to execute corporate growth strategies through acquisition. These experienced buyers search for companies that fit their well-defined acquisition criteria. In most cases they are attempting to buy companies that are not actively for sale. The win for the successful corporate acquirer is to target several candidates, buy them at financial valuation multiples, integrate to strength and achieve strategic performance.

Dave Kauppi is a business broker and President of MidMarket Capital. We help business owners with all aspects of Mergers and Acquisitions.

1. Process Thinking follows the natural flow of the
business

A business process is a collection of interrelated work tasks
triggered by an event and geared towards providing results or
outcomes valued by the “customer”. The adoption of process
thinking causes an organisation to align its activities and
systems with the natural flow of materials and information from
the start to the end of the value chain.

Functional thinking creates silos with boundaries across which
information and other resource flows are not seamless, leading
to the absence of a shared understanding of what the business is
about, what factors are critical to the achievement of
objectives and how efforts can be coordinated to best attain
those objectives.

Carry out an experiment in your organisation. Take any core
process: ask five managers in different departments involved in
the process the following questions.

* Describe this process

* Who are the customers to the process?

* What valued outcomes do they expect?

* Who are the suppliers to the process?

* What inputs do they provide?

* What is the cycle time for this process?

If yours is a functionally oriented organisation, their
answers, where they understand your questions at all, are likely
to be all different. Some processes you might consider are order
processing, product development, recruitment etc.

2. Business Process Thinking focuses the organisation on
customer needs

Because of the insistence on definite identifiable outcomes
valued by the customer, process thinking helps the organisation
focus on correctly identifying and satisfactorily meeting and
exceeding their expectations. Measures of performance are tied
to current customer satisfaction levels as well as the
enhancement of capacity to satisfy the customer in the future.

Departmental or functional thinking is, on the other hand,
focused on internal measures of no value to the customer.
Examples of the different kinds of measures are input measures
(e.g. items delivered by suppliers), process measures (e.g.
cost, time, involvement, efficiency) and output (e.g.
timeliness, quality, ease of use, returns on investment)
measures. Decisions on appropriate measures must meet the dual
requirements of value to the customer and improvability.

3. Business Process Thinking Encourages Focus on Value
Addition

Organisations that have adopted a business process mentality
constantly strive to ensure that certainly all their processes,
and as much as possible, all activities within those processes
contribute towards the final outcome paid for by the customer.
All non-value adding processes and activities are eliminated or
minimised.

Many functionally oriented organisations for example have
lengthy approval requirements that serve no purpose. A company
drastically collapsed its approval chain after an experiment in
which unsuspecting approvers failed to detect that the documents
they had just endorsed only had the usual cover sheet
followed by a sheaf of blank sheets. This meant they were
approving requests without reading the contents! Talk about
non-value addition!

Consider also that in many processes the actual contact time
between a process document or work piece and the workers or
process operators is usually a ridiculously small fraction of
the process cycle time. The balance of the time is wasted on
such non-value activities as waiting, unnecessary movement,
locating misplaced items or documents etc.

4. Business Process Thinking Encourages a Focus on Quality

The bane of good quality products or services in majority of
organisations is the variation or inconsistency of process
outcomes. Organisations with a process mentality continuously
ferret out and eliminate sources of variation to achieve
consistent results. This is almost impossible to achieve within
functionally oriented organisations as their narrow focus
prevents awareness of the causes of problems that span
functional boundaries.

While a functional organisation might call for an arbitrary
amount of improvement in quality (e.g. 10% reduction in defects)
process oriented organisations apply a fact-based understanding
of the relationship between results and the processes that drive
them. Statistical tools are used to study what factors have the
most significant impact and effort is focused on influencing
these factors.

5. Business Process Thinking Institutionalises High
Performance and Guarantees Execution of Organisational
Priorities

A focus on business processes institutionalises high performance
in the following ways.

* Uses measures of performance that are meaningful to the
customer and other stakeholders. This is very important in view
of the axiom that what gets measured gets done. Rewards are
aligned to measures, which in turn support valued customer and
organisational outcomes. * Standardises processes by minimising
waste and variation, drastically reducing defects and improving
speed of delivery.

Have you ever tried to negotiate a deal for software, computer equipment, or consulting services with a technology company? The task can be daunting. Unfortunately, the sales forces of most IT companies are armed to the hilt with techniques to get the best deal for them, and not necessarily the best deal for you. And even worse, most of us computer folk (like myself) have never been trained in the art of negotiation, so it can be difficult to spot a snake in the grass. Before you begin negotiating a technology deal, know what you’re getting in to.

Solicit, Don’t Be Solicited

I receive at least three calls each day from technology vendors interested in selling something: hardware equipment, software tools, consulting services, etc. Usually, these calls are “cold”. My name somehow landed on a telemarketing list in the hands of some vendor who is calling me out of the clear blue sky hoping that what they sell somehow matches what I need. You can waste hours on the phone letting some non-technical, script-reading, telemarketer or sales representative chew your ear off about their latest and greatest gizmo. Very rarely do these types of calls ever translate into a real business opportunity.

The most popular cold call opening is “Good morning. This is Joe from the XYZ software company. We offer break through whatever solutions to help you reduce your total cost of ownership for whatever. Let me ask you, are your responsible for managing your companies whatever investment?” I get so many of these calls that I can answer them in my sleep. Years ago, I used to engage in some level of discussion with these people and it always went nowhere. Unless you really think they’ve got something you might want to buy, cut them off immediately. And just like any telemarketer, they have a scripted response for anything. If you answer the above question with “No. I am not”. The immediate response will be “Could you direct me to someone in the company that is responsible for whatever”. If you hand out a name and number, you’re just passing the buck to some other poor soul in your organization. My favorite response is “No. We don’t respond to phone solicitations.” Nine times out of ten, they will give up.

Sometimes, the cold caller will make another run at it and re-state their purpose or as they close the call, sneak in another sales pitch. “Yes sir. I understand. We offer something really great for your company and would love to send you a free trial version at absolutely no cost. Its free to try.” You could be tempted to say “Free? Tell me more.” Again, this type of response will just open up the sales speech flood gates and you will be wasting your time trying to get a word in edge-wise. Stick to your guns: “As I said. We don’t respond to phone solicitations.” is the proper response. If they make yet one more run at it, the final blow would be “Not sure if you’re deaf, but I said we don’t respond to phone solicitations. Tell me your name and transfer me to your supervisor.” You will either hear apologies or a dial tone. Either way, you’ve just gotten yourself off of a call list and will never be bothered again.

If you’re interested in buying something, you do the calling, not the other way around.

Put The Horse Before The Cart

Never begin looking for technology solutions without knowing what you’re looking for. Know the business problem you’re trying to solve. If you know you need a software package that automates statistical analysis, flush out a more detailed set of statistics requirements (types of model, sample sizes, etc.) before you begin to shop around. Usually, software products have bells and whistles that, although look cool, are not absolutely needed. Before you begin comparison shopping, define your basic technology and business requirements. Knowing what you really need will give you confidence and leverage in a negotiation.

Always Comparison Shop

No matter what, always evaluate multiple options. If you’re looking for software, don’t get excited and latch on to the first package that looks good. And certainly don’t give a sales rep. the impression that you’re overly interested in their solution. They will be less likely to move during a negotiation. The IT market is over abundant with hardware, software and services solutions. Probably, you will have many options to choose from. Be picky!

Create Your Game Plan

Before you begin negotiating a deal with any technology vendor, plan your negotiation carefully. I have included some general planning questions that you should answer in preparation for a negotiation. The questions I have listed below may not make sense for your negotiation, so feel free to modify them for the occasion. The point here is to prepare in advance. You don’t want to figure out the answers to these types of questions in the middle of a negotiation as it may give an inch to the sales person. I would even recommend writing the questions and answers on a sheet of paper for reference.

(Price) How much do you think you should pay for this software or service? What is the market rate or street price? What are you prepared to spend? What is the highest price you would be willing to pay?

(Features) What key features and capabilities are you looking for? Force rank the features. What does the prioritized list look like? Of the features you need, categorize them into two categories: “must have” and “nice to have”.

(Service Levels) Do you expect some level of performance from the equipment, software, or service? Are there up-time requirements? Do you need 24×7 technical support? Do you expect the vendor to incur a penalty if they don’t perform up to your service levels?

(Trades) What is most important to you: price, features, or service level? Force rank these in order of importance. Would you be willing to trade items between categories? For example, would you be willing to give up a certain service level for a lower price?

(Suppliers) Which vendors offer something that you think could meet your needs? How long have these companies been in business? Are you doing business with them already? Do you have a good business relationship with them?

(Gravy) If you had your druthers, what extras would you like the vendor to throw in for free? Would you like training or extra manuals? Would you like special reporting?

You will probably have more questions in addition to the ones listed above. Take the time to write them down and create the answers. Once you have established your position, you will save a great deal of time evaluating your potential vendors and negotiations will be less painful.

Lead The Dance

When you are ready to face off with a vendor, do your best to drive the discussion. Get as much information about the vendor and their product and service before price enters into the discussion. Just like car buying, pick out your car (or choice of cars) before you negotiate a price. If you find that the discussion is prematurely heading toward pricing, bring the conversation back to understanding the product or service itself. If you’re not ready to talk price, say something like “Right now, I am just evaluating your product (or service). Unless I think there’s a real opportunity, I’m not prepared to negotiate price right now.”

Pricing for hardware, software, and services follow very different models. Hardware prices are fairly standard unless the product is new. Usually, the mark-up on hardware is very small (1-15%). On the flip- side, the mark-up for software is huge (100%+). Software is priced based on value, not the cost to the vendor so you can usually negotiate software prices down substantially. Services are usually based on labor rates and are marked up based on the demand for those skills (15-50%).

When you are ready to discuss pricing, take the lead in the dance. Here are the steps to follow (in this order):

1. Make the vendor throw out the first offer. Never be the first one to suggest a price. Although rare, you could hear the question “how much would you be willing to pay for our product?” A good response would be “As little as possible. What’s your offer?” This response puts the ball firmly in the vendor’s court. Remember, if you’ve done your planning, you really do have the answer to this question, but your job is get a price far below your maximum, so don’t tell the vendor up front!

2. Express concern. Never get excited about the first offer no matter what. If you’re considering other alternatives, you may be able to get a better price. My favorite tactic is to say nothing and simply make a non-verbal expression of concern. Usually, the vendor will come back with either “but I’m sure we could sharpen our pencil”, or “we could probably come down lower if that price is too high”, or the ever popular “but we’re willing to work with you”. You may also be prodded with “You don’t seem to like that price. I seem to be out of the ball park. What price would you be comfortable with?” Here’s where the dance gets interesting.

3. Make the vendor throw out the second offer. This can be difficult, but by making the vendor throw out more prices, you are lowering the ceiling of the negotiation going forward. If, in step 2, the vendor says “we could probably come down lower if that price is too high.”, immediately respond with “How much could you come down?” or “It seems you didn’t give me your best price to begin with. What’s your best price?”. Latch on to what a vendor is saying and keep asking questions. Stay on this step as long as possible and try and keep the vendor to continue to provide better pricing.

4. Counter offer. Propose a different price than what’s on the table. Be reasonable. If you’ve done your homework and checked the going price for the product or service, you know what the range is. If you throw out a price that you know is ridiculous, it will look like you don’t know what you’re doing. However, if you counter with a price that demonstrates that you’ve done your homework, the vendor will know you are serious. Justify for your counter offer. For example, you may want to reveal that you’ve done some market analysis by saying “I’ve researched the market a little and think my offer is more in line with market prices.” Obviously, the vendor may disagree, but at least you’re backing up your counter price.

5. Trade. Unless you can land on a price outright, there will likely be gives and takes on both sides. Go back to your to plan and begin proposing trades. Always make trades that bring you little to no value but may be perceived as valuable by the vendor. This can be very difficult, but can pay huge dividends. Here is a perfect example. Let’s say you want a service contract to outsource your help desk (technical support phone service). Let’s say you really want the help desk to answer your calls within 1 minute (you’ve already figured out this requirement in your plan) but the vendor’s first offer is to answer your calls within 30 seconds. Let’s also assume that price is more important to you than having your calls answered 30 seconds faster (remember- the vendor doesn’t know this). And let’s say the offer on the table is $5 per call. A great trade proposal would be “Your price is too high for me. I can recognize that you need enough people to answer those calls within 30 seconds and that has value. I would be willing to sacrifice an extra 30 seconds on each call if you could bring your price down.” If the vendor responds with a counter-offer, circle back to steps 4 and 5. Try and keep the counter offer / trade cycle going as long as possible.

6. Nibble. Just as you and the vendor are about to agree to terms and everyone starts smiling and shaking hands, start asking for the gravy. Let’s say you’ve just negotiated a software deal and you would really like some training. Just when you think the vendor believes the negotiation is at its very end, you could say “I am really glad we could work this out. I’m looking forward to using your software. One more thing- would you mind spending a couple days showing me how to use your product. A little training could be useful. Is that ok with you?” You run the risk of opening up the negotiation, but you stand a better chance of getting a few extras free of charge.

7. Walk The Talk. If you’ve set your maximum price and you can’t seem to negotiate what you want even with trades, walk away. Be firm and truly be prepared to walk away. Be blunt. “It seems we’re not getting anywhere. I think I’ll take my business elsewhere. Thanks for your time.” Shutting the discussion down can sometimes break the log jam. If a vendor really thinks they’re going to loose the business, they may suddenly move.

8. Patience is a Virtue. Negotiations take time. Before you begin, know what your timeframe to make a decision is. Never act hurried or anxious. Come across to the vendor as relaxed and confident (but not cocky). The message you want to send to the vendor is “I’ve got all the time in the world.”

9. Never Lie. Although this happens in many negotiations, telling lies will hurt your reputation and could poison vendor relationships. I am not a proponent of outright fibbing. Be honest but don’t give away your hand.

Follow these steps, and you will strike better deals and build confidence in your ability to negotiate. What I have left out in the steps above are standard questions that vendors love to ask. Let me leave you with these questions, their underlying motive, and what you should say. The trick is to always put the ball back in the vendor’s court to better your position:

• Question: “What’s your budget for this project?”

  Motive: Setting the price floor

  Answer: “That’s confidential. Why do you need to know that?”

• Question: “What’s most important to you? Price or service levels?”

  Motive : Prioritizing your trades

  Answer : “They’re both important to me. I’m looking for the best package”

• Question: “How soon do you need to make a decision?”

  Motive: Setting the timeframe

  Answer : “I will make a decision when I can get the overall best deal”

• Question: “Can you make decision quickly. I’ve got to make my sales quota and our quarter is ending soon. I can’t guarantee I give you the same discount”

  Motive : Apply pressure

  Answer : “I’m not going to rush my decision because of your company’s business calendar. We may need to re-think things…”

There are others, but always maintain your control, patience and poise and always take the lead in the negotiating dance!

About The Author

Andy Quick is co-founder of Findmyhosting.com (http://www.findmyhosting.com), a free web hosting directory offering businesses and consumers a hassle free way to find the right hosting plan for their needs. Feel free to contact Andy at andy@findmyhosting.com in case you have any questions or comments regarding this article.

The one thing that distinguishes great leaders from also-rans is the power, depth, and breadth of their vision.

Vision is a strange concept. Its much more than just a goal or purpose. Goals simply state what we aim to achieve. Visions paint a fuller picture describing our most cherished dreams, hopes and possibilities.

1. Seeing Possibilities. The ability to see possibilities that others dont see is one of the hallmarks of great leaders. Where most of us see just a consignment of goods, leaders see an exciting product that can change someones life. Where most of us see an office with space for desks and filing cabinets, leaders see a place where teams can do groundbreaking work. Where most of us see people with names and titles, leaders see budding organizational champions. As George Bernard Shaw said, Some people see things as they are and ask Why? I see things that are not and ask Why not?

2. Clear and Compelling. Management writer Warren Bennis was fascinated by the ability of leaders to see what the rest of us cant see. A few years ago, he carried out a study of 90 top leaders in the United States. They included the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong. What Bennis discovered was that, despite their different backgrounds, disciplines, and circumstances, these people all had one thing in common: a clear and compelling vision of what they wanted to realise. To them, the vision wasnt at some point in the future. It was right in front of their eyes.

3. A Vision Without Limits. The truly great leaders dont put limits on their vision. They go for the biggest dream they can imagine even if it is only realized at some time in the future when they are no longer around. There is a story about the filmmaker Walt Disney who died six years before the opening of the first Disney World. At the opening ceremony, two Disney executives were sitting together. One said, Too bad Walt couldnt have been here to see this. The other replied, Youre wrong. Walt did see it. Thats why its here.. While most of us see no more than three months ahead, outstanding leaders can see several years ahead. Elliott Jaques of Brunel University believed that one person in a million can see 20 years ahead. The Japanese industrialist Konosuke Matsushita even has a 250-year plan for his business.

4. Drawing Others In. Leaders do more than have a vision of what is possible; they articulate it and draw others in. They do this through metaphor, images, and by triggering the innate desire of all people to be part of something big. Compare the visions of the two leading soft-drinks companies in America in the 1920s. One was a Boston-based company called Moxies. Their stated aim was to sell herb-based drinks. Nothing to get excited about there. The other companys vision was to quench the thirst of a nation. That company was Coca Cola. Today, nobody remembers Moxies.

5. Action. Without action, visions are just dreams. They are creations of our imagination, no more. But with action and the ability to see the steps from where we are now to where we can be, dreams become reality. In Shell UK, managers are taught to develop a quality known as helicopter vision. This is the ability to see across three time zones of the future, as if in a hovering helicopter. From here, you can see the near plains, the middle range foothills and the distant peaks. Being able to see all three zones at once harmonizes your tactical actions, your operational planning and your overall strategy. There is a clear map to the realization of the vision.

We all dream but few of us remember our dreams let alone act on them. But leaders are different. They make a difference to our daily lives and our collective lives. They do this by capturing our dreams, nurturing them with care, and in the fullness of time helping us bring them to the glorious light of day.

© Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com

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If you work from home, you know the kind of day I mean. You made the calls. You revised those drafts. You sent out the emails. Where is everybody!? As much as you used to relish a slow day when you were corporate, it’s a little different when you’re playing boss to yourself. Your mind gets to wandering. Should I head out to the park? Should I hit the mall? Should I… file for unemployment?

For a freelance writer, designer or web marketer who works from home, a day without contact from the outside world can bring on anything from sluggishness and inertia to a panic attack. Such fun games the mind will play when the two of you are left alone for long periods of time! But here’s a little secret about slow days. They’re the perfect opportunity to catch up on everything that went out of your head the minute the phone stopped ringing.

How do you remember what it is you were supposed to be doing before it became unimportant? Think back to the last time you were swamped! Chances are, your mind was in overdrive, firing off ideas about how you could be improving your business. Were you mulling over a couple of articles? Pipedreaming a new web marketing strategy with an online buddy? Wishing you had remembered to meta-tag every page of your website?

A slow day is your big chance to get cracking on those little plans that will lead to big business for your company. Do you make lists of things that never get accomplished? Today’s the day you’ll be filling that goal notebook with checkmarks! Here are some tips on how to make headway on a slow day.

1. Learn a new program. Remember last month when you bought “HTML for Dummies” and then tossed it into your closet? Now’s the time to drag that book out of hiding. Remember that free software you installed along with your scanner? Take the tutorial. A day that’s free of interruption is the perfect day to pick up a few new technical pointers. Mastering some new programs can save you a huge headache when push comes to shove and you’re struggling with that last-minute project.

2. Organize your workspace. Isn’t it about time you stopped using the floor as your file cabinet? And STOP depending on your email for phone numbers; you’ll be sorry the day the server goes down and you can’t get in touch with your biggest client! Invest in some hanging file folders and a Rolodex–so you’ll have easy access to contact information, project notes, contracts and such. Stock up on printer cartridges and paper so you don’t run out in the middle of an important project. Hang a wall calendar and start using it. There are so many small things you can do to get organized and increase your productivity!

3. Write an article. Experiencing freelancer frustration with nowhere to vent? Had a recent eye-opener while doing work for a client? Being an independent contractor means something new every day. Whether it’s a challenge, a victory or a pitfall, everything you come away with is a valuable lesson to be learned. Why not share your knowledge with the world? There are thousands of websites looking for content. Many give you a byline, and some will even pay you! What a great way to make the most of your experiences… and get your name out there in print.

4. Do some research. Ever have a conversation with a colleague, and “not really know what they’re talking about?” Say they mention ‘viral marketing’- well, you’ve heard the term, sure, but what does it mean, really? “AdSense articles… what is that?” you wonder. Down time is the perfect time to get informed and updated! Do a Google search on all those mysterious buzzwords you’ve been hearing. Go through your old emails and catch up on reading. Surf around; bookmark some good sites. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you learn in just a few hours!

5. Join a Network. Web networking’s the way to go… use your “free day” to make some new contacts and maybe even a few friends. Participate in a forum discussion where you can share your knowledge as well as learn from others! If you’re already part of a network, take this time to reconnect with people who might become future clients or business associates. When you least expect it, they’ll come out of hiding with an exciting work proposition… maybe even on your next “slow day!”

6. Update your website. There is nothing more unprofessional than a website that’s only half-built, or not up-to-date. Still have Christmas imagery bedecking your homepage in March? Get rid of it! Thought about raising your hourly rate but never got around to doing it? Now’s the time! Whether it’s adding portfolio samples, improving the general design, adding legalese or putting together a Testimonials page from satisfied clients, chances are there’s something that can be done to improve your website and increase your credibility!

7. Buy a present for your business. Got a stash of cash in your PayPal account? Invest a little of it in the future of your business. Join a freelance website with a good reputation. Take a 2-day course in something you’ve always wanted to know more about. Gifts that will broaden your professional horizons and ultimately increase sales are money well spent!

8. Learn how to become a Website Affiliate. Build business relationships, get exposure, share information and get paid for it! Affiliate Programs are usually free to join, and with a few clicks of the mouse, you can supplement your income simply by driving traffic to other people’s websites. How’s that for easy cash?

9. Create a Company Newsletter. If you don’t already have one, downtime is your chance to build a contact list and put together a company newsletter. With a little investigation you’ll discover that many websites offer free trial periods where you can learn to use their contact base and newsletter-template software. And there are tons of sites on the web that offer free articles that you can print in your publication. Maybe you can even make use of those articles you wrote the last time nothing was going on!

Now, what are you waiting for? You’ve only got half-a-slow-day left to get going on these projects. Happy Freelancing!

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. Use with permission.

Dina Giolitto is a New-Jersey based Copywriting Consultant with nine years’ industry experience. Her current focus is web content and web marketing for a multitude of products and services although the bulk of her experience lies in retail for big-name companies like Toys”R”Us. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for rates and samples.

It seemed like a good decision at the time. A 10-percent raise, an easier commute and a chance to move up the corporate ladder.

Now, six weeks into the new job you know in your gut and sleepless nights that maybe, just maybe, you’ve made the biggest mistake of your career. Your new company is a 180-degree change from your former one.

Are you finding any of the following? Your new company hardly holds meetings while your former company had constant meetings. You’re now faced with status-quo thinking when you’re accustomed to innovation and change. You’re bored! Before, you were constantly challenged. There’s an Old Boys Club going on, whereas you were once on an almost level playing field. Management has unreasonably high expectations and an autocratic style when you previously thrived with realistic expectations couched in consultative management. And here’s a new expectation: golf on Friday afternoons.

So how are you going to fit in? Did you make the right choice? Should and can you leave?

If you are in this situation, start by:

*Asking a trusted friend to help you write down specifically what the differences are between your former company and new one, using the above as a guide;

*Determining how to bridge the differences and if it’s worth it to you and your career to do so;

*Making three-month, six-month and one-year goals to benchmark your satisfaction and value within the company. For example, “In three months, I will be on two cross functional committees, leading one of them.”

*Identifying the top 10 positive experiences you’d want to undergo if you had 24 hours to live. (Read “Choice Points,” by Sidney Rice, and the Top 10 exercises from the PaperRoom Process.) Then, you ask yourself why you chose each and translate the items into your core needs - that is, what do you need at work to bring out your best. The Top 10 fall into four categories - challenge, recognition, social connections and achievement - connected to your values. You can see what’s missing and devise ways to fill the gap.

For example, if you are missing achievement and recognition because your change initiatives are nowhere near completion, give yourself several simpler projects to complete, even something at home.

If you are missing social connections, ask yourself, “What specifically does that mean to me?” You might realize that the location of your new company interferes with your ability to connect with industry contacts. Map a plan to network twice a month, drop a note to industry contacts periodically, and attend a new conference to increase your connections in your field.

When you change companies, you’ll almost always encounter a change in culture, sometimes mild, sometimes severe. Before you make a move, check out the company’s culture as well as its financial statements and the specifics of the job offer. If you’ve already made a move and you’re not sure it’s the right one, these suggestions may help you decide with greater confidence whether to stay or go.

You Are Welcome To Reprint This Article Please include the following text on your reprint:

Copied with permission of the author, Barbara Callan-Bogia.
Source: www.Callanconsulting.com

Barbara Callan-Bogia, Leadership Catalyst is the founder and principal of Callan Consulting. She works with companies to bring out the best in their leaders and helps professionals bring out the best in themselves so people are contributing 110% of their talents with outstanding results. Barbara is also a licensed PaperRoom Process facilitator coach.

Contact Barbara at 508-788-9056 or http://CallanConsulting.com

Check out her blog at http://www.leadershiplady.blogspot.com

“Wearing the yellow doesn’t make you a great dad.” -Lance Armstrong

Armstrong made this observation following Stage 18 of this year’s Tour de France. He went on to add that ultimately, the Tour was just a sport, but that being a father was what really mattered. At the time, he was only three days away from winning an unprecedented seventh Tour, yet despite the intense pressure of the race, he was intently focused on his life-long role as a dad. It was an amazing moment and one which encapsulated the sense of balance and perspective that Armstrong brings to everything.

No one wins the Tour de France casually. It’s the most grueling athletic competition on the planet. On his way to a seventh victory, Armstrong and his fellow riders traveled over 2,000 milesroughly the distance between Houston and Bostonin 21 stages. Along the way they climbed the equivalent of two Mt Everest’s and took only two rest days. It’s a race so physically challenging, that even the last rider across the finish linela lanterne rougeis a hero. It takes focus, discipline and sportsmanship to win this race and Armstrong has all three.

Focus is a matter of figuring out what you want to dowhere you want to go. For Armstrong, it was winning the Tour de France. Once he identified the goal, he focused on it with unwavering dedication. Every effort would be applied to that end goal. All his training, his planning and concentration was aligned to that single vision. He never let himself be distracted by celebrity or other races or profit making schemes. He stayed focused on winning the Tour.

With his eye squarely on the prize, he executed his vision with an iron discipline. It was never too cold or too hot; too wet or too dry when it came to training. He pushed on with an ascetic’s zeal. He attacked even the toughest climbs repeatedlyonce famously in a blizzarduntil he knew the mountain as well as he knew himself. Unlike some of his rivals, he never stopped and as a result never had to get back into shape. Instead, he stayed in shape and it showed.

The Tour de France is predicated on a degree of sportsmanship that has nearly disappeared in most other sports. The unwritten rules of the race give the Tour a unique degree of charm and civility. Opportunism is deplored and small acts of kindness are the rule. Over the years Armstrong grew comfortably into a model of sportsmanship that any coach can point to. His appraisal of other riders was always frank and fair. He generously recognized the success of others. Even when his own team let him down, he looked for solutions instead hurling rebukes. Best of all, he joyously celebrated the wins of his team mates. Armstrong never had to be a one man showhe knew how to share the spotlight with grace and good will.

Focus, discipline and sportsmanship are techniques for us lesser mortals as well. Applied to our own lives they’ll provide the basis for our personal victories at home or at work. We can all wear le maillot jaunethe yellow jerseyon the Tour de Life if we follow Armstrong’s lead. While we’re working up to it, thank you, Lance Armstrong, for the seven year ride.

About the Author:

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