Life In Fast Forward: The Blog

Life In Fast Forward: The Blog Is Moving...

2009-08-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

...actually, it has already moved and facilitated a name change.

Not sure if it will move again or not, but I'm moved it to Wordpress and am mulling over the idea of hosting it wherever the new home for Fast Forward Business Properties website will be.

For now, it lives at http://fastforwardmusings.wordpress.com.

Getting Bitten By The Idea Bug

2009-08-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

When you are bitten by a bug, there is a certain amount of time that you just have to live through before the itching and swelling of that bite goes away. Rubbing and scratching the bite will only prolong the experience, the discomfort that comes with it and the time needed to heal. But eventually, the swelling will subside, the rash will fade, and the itching stops.

The same general thing happens when you are bitten by an ‘idea bug.’ Once a new idea come to mind, you’ve got a limited amount of time before you lose the adrenaline rush to put the idea in motion, and possibly lose the idea itself to the million of other thoughts that get processed through your mind on a daily basis.

And just like there are steps to take to help alleviate the suffering from an actual bug bite (don’t touch it, apply some medicated cream, take a pill, etc.), there are steps you can take to prolong the jolt of inspiration of your ‘idea bug’ bite:

1: Write It Down IMMEDIEATELY! - Never let an idea just dissipate from your memory. Just because the ideas are flowing now, doesn’t mean you’ll never go through an idea dry spell and need to look back on a few filed away ideas for inspiration. Write the details of your idea as simply or as detailed as they came to you, and place it somewhere you can routinely review it, lest you waist the effort of preserving it in the first place. Create an idea bank for storing randomly created ideas in a file folder, shoe box, computer file--whatever will work best for you. You can even carry a portable notebook to jot down ideas as they come if you are prone to attract idea bugs.

2: Order Your Steps – Make a quick determination on just how complicated your idea is and just how much work will be involved in your attempt to actually make it happen. Come up with a quick, easy to follow outline of all the steps involved that you can think of, and determine how long you think it will take to get the project started and completed.

3: Gauge Your Timing – Determine if this is the actual right time or place to attempt to work out the kinks in your idea. Let’s use the example of your idea being a ski stunt you would like to attempt and master. If you are nowhere near water or snow, chances are you won’t be working on the stunt by mid-morning. And if you have to lose ten pounds and get in shape before you can even attempt your stunt, that’s just more prep time needed before the attempt. If now is not the right time or you’re not in the right place, schedule a time in the future when you can assure all the conditions are acceptable to make an attempt at your idea. If your idea is not that involved or complicated, and you believe you can work on it now with minimum interruptions, and you are ready for the challenge, then jump on in.

4: Start At Your Earliest Convenience – The average person has about 48 hours or so from the initial formation of a new idea before they lose interest in it completely. And if they don’t take the time to write it down, they could lose the entire idea minutes after they came up with it. It is important to put your plan in motion for you idea as soon as possible, or schedule a time in the near future to get started, with plenty of incentive to get back to it.

Reviewing July For The Fast Forward Blog

2009-08-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Looking back at the month that was July 2009, I was able to get 7 (hopefully) quality posts online, with 5 being original posting from myself, one being a reprint that I need to tag as Reviewing What I Said, and one guest posting. Here is the full listing of my July posts, with a brief description.

Make A List, Baby! Part 1
Breaking down the basics of the most effective development tool you’ll ever use: a list.
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/make-list-baby-part-1.html

Make A List, Baby! Part 2
The four lists I use to manage my daily life: my Daily Journal, my Daily Dozens, my 30 Minutes A Day Log, and my Running Notepad.
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/make-list-baby-part-2.html

Welcome To Your Crisis
Comparing how you would handle a house fire to how you should handle any crisis you may face.
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/welcome-to-your-crisis.html

Is The Story Of The Little Dutch Boy Actually The Story Of Your Career?
Originally published in the former Cool Corporate dot COM Blog.
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/is-story-of-little-dutch-boy-actually.html

Do You Have the Right Mindset to Start Your Business?
A guest post written by Deborah A Bailey.
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/do-you-have-right-mindset-to-start-your.html

You Can Only Make Choices From The Choices Given
Just like you can’t hit a target that isn’t there in front of you, you can’t make a choice for your life that isn’t presented for you to choose from.
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-can-only-make-choices-from-choices.html

My Great Idea On How To Have A Good Life
I declared myself a minor genius since I had an idea similar to two much more major geniuses, Tim Ferriss and Chad Fowler
http://fastforwardblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-have-good-life.html

My Great Idea On How To Have A Good Life

2009-07-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

How do you really know when you have stumbled upon great idea? When others of higher fame and stature come up with similar ideas, as seen in this blog post from a week back by Tim Ferriss, The Big Question: Are You Better Than Yesterday?

My seemingly great idea is a simple plan to follow that will almost ensure you have a good life. The idea was so good that I actually came up with it twice, in two similar variations to the same theme, within a week. And I luckily had the foresight to jott both down in my Running Notepad list before I lost the essence of the idea.

What makes the plan even better is that I truly wrote it to be very simple to follow, even for someone who has found themselves in a dire situation, and are currently looking straight into what seems like insurmountable odds.

First, you start your journey to a great life by having just one good moment. Then, you work on having another one, and then another one. You’ll quickly find that working toward having good moments becomes addicting, and as you continue stringing some of your good moments together, back to back, and you’ll soon find you’ll have worked your way into having a few good hours, and then a few good days.

From there, just keep working until you are string together more and more good days, and those will quickly become good weeks, then good months, and then good years...all the way up until you can declare with all your heart you have led a remarkable and good life.

This plan isn’t easy, and it may take more time than you expect to string all those good moments into a good life lived, but the workload is enjoyable and life sustaining. And the good moments are just waiting to be had.

So start right now by declaring this moment as a good moment. Work on having more good moments, and keep stringing them all together. You’ll get to that good life, I promise.

You Can Only Make Choices From The Choices Given

2009-07-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

As I was doing some research on whether you really can see the Great Wall of China from Outer Space, I began to think about some of the decisions that I made in my life, and how I had to be in the right places at the right times to even see the opportunity I have had to make those decisions.

My biggest example would be why I am living in my current home city of Little Rock, AR and chasing a current career path of media and broadcasting. When I was leaving the Air Force, I was looking at going to school full time until I could figure out what I wanted to do in my next stage of life, after long giving up on my childhood dreams of being a DJ, and failing miserably to convince anyone that I was just a slacker meant to wander aimlessly through life.

Little Rock was nowhere near my radar. In fact, it was not being able to find an immediate job in Atlanta that lead me to move out of my town house in South Georgia and just drive home to my parents’ house in Louisiana without much of a plan. I was set to spend a few days at home and then go try my luck for a few weeks in Dallas, with the invitation to stay on a friend’s couch.

Intervention came from another friend who had come to visit me in Georgia about two years before. We had worked in radio together five years earlier in college, and she was currently working at a radio station, and she called me and caught me days before I was to shut off my home phone service and hit the road. She had the chance to sell me on the law school at University of Arkansas-Little Rock, and on the fact that I was actually pretty good in radio, and could do some side work until I got enrolled in classes. That diversion brought me to the city, which led to more decisions and diversions that kept me on my current path (and not path of signing up for grad school--I PROMISE it will happen this year Mom), that I basically had to be here to even get the chance to see and make them. Moving to anywhere other than Arkansas in 2002, for example, would probably not have led me to get married to wife who was living in Arkansas in 2004.

Trying not to get all Bless The Broken Road on you, but life only allows you the ability to make choices from the choices given. You can't catch a fly ball at a baseball game you didn't go to. You can't use a thunderstorm as an legitimate excuse to not mow my lawn on a clear and sunny day. You can't be in two different places at the same time, so you can't cash in on the opportunities available at two different places at the same time.

Do yourself a favor and stop being so hard on yourself for the opportunities you may have missed by not being in the right place at the right time in the past, and start a new focus and appreciation of the choices you were able to make and not make because of being who you were, right where you were. And if you're looking to make a future dream come true, and it takes being someplace else to make it happen, try working on getting to where you need to be.

Do You Have the Right Mindset to Start Your Business?

2009-07-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
This Guest Post Written By Deborah A Bailey

How much baggage are you carrying? Have you created a business that looks just like the corporate world that you escaped from? When I was dreaming of going out on my own, I envisioned having time and freedom to do whatever I wanted. It may seem silly now, but I didn't consider how much money I wanted to make. All I really wanted was to have time for myself. You see, I was in IT for over 15 years and during that time I worked weekends, nights and holidays. I was one of those people who could be relied on to drop everything and give her all for the team.

As the years passed, I realized that though I was giving my all, my paycheck wasn't reflecting it. Not mention that I was frequently sick and had little or no social life - other than the occasional Happy Hour. Not that drinking cheap drinks at a chain restaurant is such a happy event.

What I never considered was that I would end up recreating my work life in my business - long hours, low pay and the occasional Happy Hour. Most of my friends in business do the same thing, so why would I think it anything was wrong?

Yes, when you get started it does require work and often much longer hours than the regular 9-to-5. But sitting at a desk all day and all night is not productive if it does not bring you any income. Back in my job, I was used to just spending hours at the desk, whether my work was productive or not. So, I simply recreated that world. It took me the longest time to feel okay about running errands or doing chores during "work hours." However, I couldn't blame my work environment for keeping me confined - I'd done it to myself.

Recently my coach asked me what I'd really rather be focusing on in my business. I answered, "If it was up to me..." She said, "It IS up to you!" That really hit me.

It was up to me to decide - but in my mind I was still the employee waiting to be told what to do next. I've often heard that starting a business will bring up all sorts of issues inside of a person. You will discover things about yourself that you never realized was there. I totally agree. It does bring up stuff. Though some of it can be hard to look at, it's necessary. If you're struggling to find that freedom you thought you'd have in your business, drop that baggage and free your mind first.

About the Author:

Transition coach and radio host Deborah A. Bailey is a sought after expert to discuss today's most pressing workplace issues. Deborah helps her clients transition from employees to entrepreneurs as they eliminate limiting beliefs and connect with their passion.

After several years with various companies such as AT&T, Lucent and Johnson & Johnson, Deborah Bailey successfully transitioned to career consultant and coach by founding her company Deb Bailey Coaching (a division of DBC Communications, LLC). Her extensive experience in the employee to entrepreneur transition has made her the partner of choice for many successful entrepreneurs and career professionals. Deborah is the host of the internet radio show, "Women Entrepreneurs - The Secrets of Success"

For more information about Deborah, visit her website http://www.dbaileycoach.com

Is The Story Of The Little Dutch Boy Actually The Story Of Your Career?

2009-07-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY ME IN THE FORMER COOL CORPORATE DOT COM BLOG

Does your career follow a warped version of the story of the Little Dutch Boy?

The Cliff Notes Version of the Little Dutch Boy has a hole in a dike that was threatening to burst, and little boy walks up an sticks his finger in the hole and shores up the dike with the simple act...a decision that is a little tough because it makes him late for school, which will get him in trouble. Eventually, some passerby sees the boy, and brings back help to fix the dike. The story is told to teach quick action and self-sacrifice, because if the boy leaves, the dike is back in the same peril that it was in before, and he has no guarantee that help is on the way.

Switch the story to an analogy of your career. Were you on your way to something bigger and brighter, came across a problem that you could offer up a quick fix, and then got stuck supporting your quick fix forever? In real world work, sometimes the people whose job it is to actually fix things will do everything in their power to go nowhere near the problem, sticking you with your quick fix approaches, and bogging you down with unresolved issues that keep you from accomplishing bigger goals and moving forward.

I believe you have three ways to approach this problem:

1: JUST DON’T STICK YOUR FINGER IN THE DIKE: If it’s not your problem, its not your problem, and don’t lift a finger (pun intended) to fix it.

2: PUT YOUR FINGER IN THE DIKE FOR A WHILE, THEN TAKE IT OUT AND DEMAND ACTION: Save the company for just a little while, figure out what the real problem is, then kill your quick fix and get in the faces of those who have the responsibility to fix it, and make sure they fix it.

3: PUT YOUR FINGER IN THE DIKE, AND PRAY THAT THE RIGHT PEOPLE WILL DO THE RIGHT THING ON THERE OWN: …which probably won’t happen...but a little faith might help…

When I came across the idea for this post, I knew I was going to be short on answers, but I hope that just putting the thought out there will help those stuck ‘with their finger in the dike’ to get a better picture of their current situation, and find a way out of it.

E-Z Rent-A-Car: -The Car Rental Coupons Online!

Welcome To Your Crisis

2009-07-22T05:53:00.001-07:00

Here is the scenario: Your house is on fire. The smoke alarm has awakened you from a deep sleep in the middle of the night, but you are fine. The fire is currently far enough on the other side of your house that you can easily make your way out of a safe exit and away from danger. So you can get yourself to safety.

You can also fairly easily take a little bit of time to check on family members, get them up, and out of the house. Or, you could grab your important documents that you took the time to put in an easy to transport container, or maybe grab your laptop and a few flash drives with critical information. Or possibly some fairly portable family heirlooms, like a jewelry box or shoebox of old photos.

You do not have time to pack a suitcase and coordinate your wardrobe for the next couple of days. You do not have time to take that old mirror that your grandmother gave you off the wall and carry it to the car. You cannot get the grand piano out the front door in time.

Your crisis is here. It doesn’t matter how long you spent waiting for the right time to prepare for this crisis. Your time to act is now. You will have to be as prepared to handle this crisis as you are right now.

Are you truly prepared?

In the case of a home fire it is fairly easy to prepare for. And if you do happen to suffer through one, the priorities are clear: save yourself, then save others, then possibly save a few things that you are already prepared ahead of time as important.

But let’s take the ‘fire scenario’ and use it as a metaphor. A fight with your spouse has escalated into a possible ending involving lawyers. A close friend has just been given a terminal diagnosis from a doctor. You’ve just been laid off from a major corporation. Your personal business is failing financially. That is your ‘fire,’ your dilemma, your crisis.

First, make sure you don’t get consumed with fear and panic, and find yourself stuck in your ‘house’ and consumed by the ‘fire.’ You can always rebuild or move elsewhere if you can just live through the experience. If you can escape the building before the flames get dangerous, do it.

Next, make sure that important people and things are taken care of and not consumed by the ‘flames,’ if you can help it. Make sure friends and family members are okay, and if the dilemma is really about you, make sure they are okay with you. Make sure your assets are protected from whatever is attacking you.

Now you can deal with the fire...but let’s change the scenario so that it is not as serious, and take a fresh look at it.

The smoke alarm goes off, you awaken from a deep sleep and you see the source of the problem is relatively small appliance has shorted out. You grab a nearby fire extinguisher and vanquish the flames, and then you awaken the family and get them out of the house and call the fire department to come by and check the rest of the house to make sure that the house is safe and no other surprise fires will spring up. You still have a crisis to face, but not a major one.

But you don’t just let the whole house burn down because the coffee pot shorts out, you deal with the very minor fire and then find out what the source really is: bad wiring in the coffee pot versus bad house wiring that is bound to set something else a blaze.

A minor crisis can be handled with minor and relatively painless solutions. They will help you avoid the major crisis that can actually take a physical, financial, or emotional toll that will take much more effort to recover from. But just like the evacuation of the house about to reach fully involved fire status, it helps to do a little preparation and to keep your cool in the situation.

Make A List, Baby! Part 2

2009-07-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

The most effective development tool you’ll ever use is a simple one: a list.

Part one of this post gave you a basic strategy for multiple list building designed to help you get out of the ineffective list building habit. In this second part, I will show you the lists that I personally keep everyday. My lists four main lists keep me on track for my progress, and give me clues to when I’m not progressing like I should so, so that I can fix my focus. I have owned a PDA or smart phone since college, so I have become accustomed to keeping my lists with me for instant review or editing for almost 20 years.

My first list is what I call my Daily Journal. This list is literally a place to jot down everything that I do throughout my day from the moment I wake up to the time I turn out the lights to go to sleep. My Daily Journal allows me to figure out exactly what I have accomplished on days when I know I have worked hard, but end up tired and frustrated because there were no obvious returns from my efforts. It also helps me keep up with the progress of my personal and my professional goals, along with keeping a eye on my health with notes for checking my blood sugar, the meals and snacks I eat, and whatever exercise I can squeeze in. I even use my Daily Journal to help compile a weekly review document of myself I call my Weekly Wrap-Up Log (which is why I have found the electronic method of keeping a journal much easier that carrying and recording in a paper bound journal, despite my love for Moleskine notebooks).

My second list is a basic listing I create every night of things I need to work on the next day, which I call my Daily Dozens. I came up with the name as I was working on creating a product on making lists, and thought it sounded catchy, and that ten spots were never really enough on my personal list. In fact, twelve spots is often not enough, as I’ll find I have accomplished additional things that happened to spring up on me throughout the course of a work day that turn out to be fairly important. Because of this, I have the right to add to this list as many more tasks completed throughout the day as I choose (normally no more that 16). Throughout the day, I mark off the tasks I have worked on with significant progress (but not necessarily completed). This list shows me my task priorities as I say they are, and ultimately what I actually focused on completing.

My third list is my 30 Minutes A Day Log. I created a document that covers the Four P’s of Life Management, with the key to devote at least 30 minutes a day to each P:
TO PLAN,
TO PLAY,
TO PONDER, and
TO PAUSE. It is with this log that I keep track of how well I am accomplishing my progress in life management, where some days are much better than others.

My forth list is what I call my Running Notepad, and it doesn’t fall in line with the normal concepts of lists. My Running Notepad is just a file that I use to put down any random idea that pops into my head that I think I will be able to do something with later. I have been carrying little notebooks for ideas since middle school, and the process just got a little more organized (and easier to transcribe) when I started doing more note taking in my PDAs and smart phones. I also use a service called Jott that allows me to leave a verbal note that gets transcribed for me to move into my Running Notepad file if my hands are not available. I am also trying to get the hang of the new Google Voice for recording and transcribing important phone interviews.

Make A List, Baby! Part 1

2009-07-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

The most effective development tool you’ll ever use is a simple one: a list.

While the concept and the proper use of a list are for most people fairly basic, there are some who have taken the art of list building and have turned themselves in the Mozarts and Picassos of productivity and effectiveness. But the majority of us just scribble down a bunch of things and then easily forgets the reason for the list, or the list completely.

In part one of this post, I will show you a basic strategy for multiple list building that should help you get out of the ineffective list building habit. Part two will go in depth into the personal lists that I keep everyday that help me monitor my progress, or can at least alert me when progress is not being made.

Step one is to have a place of prominence to place your list once you’ve created it. Your desk is a fine spot for putting your list…if you don’t allow stuff to pile up on your desk and cover your list. Your list needs to live in a place where you will constantly have access to it. If your kitchen is a high traffic area for you, place it on the refrigerator. If your bedroom is your personal haven, put up a cork board or dry erase board so that you can put your list there. If you carry a smart phone, you can have your list always at your fingertips by keeping up with it in note form on your phone.

Step two is to name your list. Title your list so that it has a purpose (grocery list, tasks for work, Christmas gifts, steps for global domination, etc.) and only put items on the list that fit into that category. If you have a need or a task that doesn’t fit on the list you are currently building, figure out what purpose that need or task has, and make a new list with a new title that fits that purpose.

Step three is to limit your list. While the things you need to do may seem limitless, your capacity to get them done is limited by time, energy, and whatever resources you actually have available to you. Force a number on yourself to stop listing, and if you have more items then slots, eliminate the least important items. When you clear off enough items to make space on a particular list, add the missing items to the list.

The Push And The Push-Back In The Job Market

2009-06-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Survive a computer disaster with Carbonite
I am currently sitting in limbo in my profession. My peers in my industry, and in my age group, are facing similar situations across the workforce.

The major problem with progression through the ranks is the speed at which those in the top positions actually vacate those positions. This is always an issue between generations, when the younger talent believes it is more than ready to take over the reigns of industry, and the older talent either disagrees and holds on just a little longer until they are really ready, or actually agree but fear of not having anything comparably for them to do, stay well past their own usefulness while fresh talent goes stale, or goes elsewhere.

Mix in a horrible economy with less viable jobs and retirement plans all but emptied due to the plummet in the worth of stocks, and the older generation that is in place now, the Baby Boomers, are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not that they didn’t get flack before, even from themselves, as being a little too selfish and self-centered as a group. They are literary being pushed out to pasture by my ilk, the now oddly named Generation X, and the even younger, more brash, but possibly more apply named Generation Y, who are looking to leapfrog over everyone to take their places in the CEO’s chair.

But here is the truly frightening part. Estimates put the number of 65-year-olds in the year 2050 at roughly triple what they are today, due to access to better healthcare. That means when my 13-year-old is looking at his options in 40 years, the 53-year-old will still be elbowing for position with the glut of other pre-retirees. I can only hope he isn’t facing the same economic crisis many of today’s 65-year-old’s are facing in losing hard earned and well invested retirement money through no fault of their own a decade later.

Your New Year's Career Evaluation, Six Months Early (Or Late)

2009-06-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
Over a year ago, I came across an article by Joan Lloyd on preparing for the New Year with a full evaluation of your job. With half of 2009 in the books, and the economic climate making many wonder if there futures really do lie with their current employer, now might be a great time to get a jump on your personal career analysis, assuming you have actually taken the time to truly evaluate your worth to your employer, and vice versa. And not to steal from Lloyd’s thunder, you can read her article and see the full listing of evaluation questions here.

UPDATE: I didn't think about anyone asking me the status of my mid-year evaluation when I posted this. Since I have been asked by several people where my head and heart are in my job, I can tell you that despite the frustrations of the current economy, I like myself exactly where I am at the 'day job,' with hopes that sooner rather than later there will be some movement that will allow me and a few others the chance to grow and branch out. I would however seriously consider any offer that would be accompanied by a large sack of cash.

'No Limits' Versus 'Know Limits'

2009-06-24T11:22:00.001-07:00

Spring Clearance at VistaPrint! Save up to 90%!

While there are as many detailed approaches to child raising as there are parents of children, here are two simple schools of thought that can adequately sum up the major approaches in teaching a child how to find their place among the world’s masses:

- Assurance Of No Limits: giving children expectations above their actual level of mastery with the hopes that having no limits will help them to surpass their expectations, and possibly even yours.

- Knowing Your Limits: knowing just how far along your children really are, and giving them expectation exactly on that level, to ensure they can reach their achievements with as little frustration from possible failure possible

While one would suspect ‘No Limits’ would be a more preferred philosophy than ‘Know Limits,’ there are pros and cons to using either approach, and the key lies in the individual child. Because eventually, they come to an age and level of maturity where their actual limits will play a greater role in the definition of their destiny, and their ability to overcome or circumvent these actual limits will make a difference.

Like say, in the work place, when they hit mid-twenties.

At that point, it will be their managers responsibility to make sure they are developing as well as possible in their career growth, or at least well enough to keep the manager from getting fired. This activity is a lot like raising an actual child, only the allowance and popularity contests that are now at stake are actually families, mortgages, career progression and possible lives, based on the nature of the occupation.

Here too, you can use the same basic approaches suited for raising children in hopes to lead your workers to fulfilled career growth.

The big difference here is that ‘No Limit’ is by far a more preferred philosophy over ‘Know Limits.’ But do keep in mind the exact dynamic you have to work with, and the abilities that actually exist in your company’s talent pool. You’ll probably not be lucky enough to have all-star talent to fill your entire work crew, and some employees will be adamant about how adequate (or not) they are in their performance.

A Process to Continually Improve Your Business Model

2009-06-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
This Guest Post Written By Donald Mitchell

Continuing business model innovation is the most valuable activity that any enterprise an engage in. But it's a problem for most leaders to take on this task. Why? They've never see anyone do it, and they have no personal experience.

To help overcome that problem, this article describes the key elements that such a process requires. With this template in mind, some leaders will be able to design and engage in the appropriate activities.

Here are the four elements in continuing business model innovation:

1. Understand and follow the current business model well. -- Employ the optimum way that goods and services should be supplied now, by informing all stakeholders about what needs to be done to deliver the most benefits.

2. Understand and install the next business model. -- Specify the next innovation to provide more stakeholder benefits through goods and services and how the transition will occur.

3. Understand and use a business model innovation vision. -- The ideal benefits to deliver to stakeholders in your industry, which is used to test the appropriateness of developing future generations of potential business model innovations.

4. Ongoing design and testing of business model innovations. -- Vision-defined probes and tests to elicit reactions to providing new benefits and various ways of supplying them.

A more valuable approach to continuing business model innovation also describes more than one future generation of innovations in terms of the second element.

For each of the first three elements of continuing business model innovations, you need to identify seven key elements -- the who, what, when, where, why, how, and how much -- viewed from the perspective of all direct and indirect stakeholders. Their combination defines either a business model or a business model innovation vision:

1. "Who?" defines all the stakeholders you are serving or affecting.

2. "What?" describes the offerings and their benefits and negative influences that affect each stakeholder.

3. "When?" captures the timing of offerings' effects on stakeholders.

4. "Where?" identifies the location for delivering the benefits and other impacts.

5. "Why?" gives the rationale for providing the stakeholder benefits you deliver.

6. "How?" explains your method of providing your offerings and being compensated for them.

7. "How much?" states the price customers and users pay and incur.

Why is it important to know what these seven elements are? By examining these areas, organizations will be able to focus on places where important benefits may be added.

About the Author:

Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for accomplishing 20 times more by registering at: http://www.2000percentsolution.com.

For Those Who Have It

2009-06-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

There is a difference in those you have it and those who don’t.

Sometimes, you have to remind those who have it that everyone one doesn’t have it, as they become frustrated interacting with those who don’t. But you don’t have to tell those who have it what it is.

In fact, you might not even be able to tell those who have it what it is. But if you have it, you can see it in them. If they have it, they can see it in you.

You don’t even have to understand it, but you’ll find life a lot easier once you embrace having it, assuming you actually have it.

You will probably find yourself constantly having to explain what it is to people who don’t have it. Or at least wanting to explain it so that they can understand it.

The effort is worthless. If they don’t have it, they can’t understand it.

At least not until they have their own personal light bulb moment, and they then get it for themselves.

First, Learn What You Don't Know

2009-05-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hotels.com
A fact of life is that you can't find out what you are good at until you have some idea what you are bad at.

Early in your career, failure will be an option you will be forced to take more often then you will like.

Do not think it is for a lack of ability. Ironically, it is in failure where you learn some of your more valuable lessons.

Testing yourself to your limits without the eventual mishap will never help you set boundaries. What can you not do? Find out and avoid it.

What can you do with some level of success? Is it worth putting the extra time and effort to pursue? Then take a chance and go for it!

What can you achieve with great success on a consistent basis? Is it something you feel passionate about doing? It’s a no brainer.

Oddly enough, you’ll find that the boundaries of relationships will also work in a similar way.

Look Ahead To The Good Things In The Middle Of A Crisis

2009-05-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

MeritAid.com - $11 Billion in Scholarships
Let’s say you’re shipwrecked. Assuming you’re free from any immediate danger (you’ve got a life raft and some supplies, there are no sharks or pirates lurking, etc.) would right now be the best time to debate with yourself if your nephew would rather have the Wolverine action claws or the Batman cape and mask for his birthday present next week?

You might think there are better things to focus on in a time of crisis, mainly surviving to the next moment. But what good is surviving to the next moment and the next moment and the next moment if you lose the sense of why you should be surviving. Otherwise, the alternative will start to feel more appealing and a lot less of a hassle.

When I when through my 2 days of survival training in the Air Force, the instructors knew that 95% of the cadets that were standing in front of them in the woods were basically on a camping trip and would never need any real field survival tips, but they taught us some mental tricks that would actually roll over well as basic life skills. The most important is the faith that you will survive, and the ability to keep those around you convinced of the same, despite the conditions you are facing. The common scenario for doom would be a group of survivors marching toward what they hope would be safety, where eventually, someone will start muttering “We’re all going to die...” Those words will quickly become a chorus in perfect lock-step harmony if not addressed immediately.

Take a look at the various aspects of your life. Whether it is the fear of more cutbacks and layoffs at work, or the strain of a spousal or parental relationship at home, all the battle plans in the world you can devise to survive an onslaught will do you no good if you’ve got nothing to live for after the war has been won.

Assuming you are not currently in the act of dodging bullets or arrows, now is exactly the right time to be planning that moment you’ll be looking forward too once you step off the field of battle.

More On Building Your Stage To Success

2009-05-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
Last week, I wrote a post titled Garage Band To Play Madison Square Garden? Building Your Stage To Success. The next day, I get a message from my friend and blog ombudsman Makeda Boswell that adds this insight to the original that was to good not to share with the rest of the class, unedited:

You know I have a lot of musician friends (meaning I've sat thur a lot of sound checks) Anyway, I've notice that as they are warming up for a show, they always tell the sound person what they need (ie more vocals,can't hear the bass player, there's to much sound or not enough sound) Eventually, everything is just right and my friends start to play.

The same thing can apply to whatever goal or task you're trying to accomplish. You work at something and tweek it (which comes from feedback) and tweek it some more till it's just the way you want it

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/18/09

2009-05-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

Hotels.com
Today’s Quote: "Autobiography is an unrivaled vehicle for telling the truth about other people.” - Philip Guedalla

Today’s Question: How do you give someone a message they might not want to hear?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/17/09

2009-05-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

CreditReport.com: Credit Reporting and Repair
Today’s Quote: "There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Today’s Question: Where do you go to find peace?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/16/09

2009-05-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

McGruff SafeGuard: Protect Your Kids Online At GoMcGruff.comToday’s Quote: "The will to be stupid is a very powerful force, but there are always alternatives.” - Lois McMaster Bujold

Today’s Question: How do you stop yourself from making stupid mistakes?

Ways To Handle Your Troublemaker Customers

2009-05-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Order Your Personalized MY M&M'S® Candies Here!
This is not the first time on this blog that I have taken on the time honored tradition of the customer always being right, but I believe it is the first time I actually offered a solution that involved dealing with the customer and not just reassuring the employees who deal with them that the abuse they take is worth it.

Once again, I will admit that I am a horrible closer in sales, but once committed to a client and product, they get 100% effort, routinely overshooting their expectations. But in the cases when you are not meeting the needs of the customer to their satisfaction, despite delivering exactly what they asked for and more, I offer three solutions:

- Sell Them At A Lower Price: Times are tough right now for all of us, and your clients are no exception. They are feeling just as much pressure to cut costs or get more for the money they are spending, and they are driving you insane with worry for loss of revenue I you can’t meet their panicked demands. Now is the perfect time to take a small loss with a loyalty discount for those long time customers, especially big spending customers. A limited batch of discounted goods and services might be to ticket to keeping them at bay.

- Sell Them At A Higher Price: Custom orders, rush delivery, and last minute changes are enemies to your bottom line, especially if your customers are coming to you discounted and not premium prices. If your customers are making requests that mean increases to your normal cost of service, you are well within your right to share some of that cost increases with those customers. If your customers are just annoying, well, make sure you can both justify and prove the necessity of the cost increase

- Stop Selling To Them: If you were no longer serving the best interest of a client, you would expect them to stop using you. It is odd that the opposite is usually not an expected option. If a client becomes too much trouble or expense, and you can come to no workable discourse, you have to fire the client. You would do better using the time and energy to focus on your profitable customers or finding a new replacement customers.

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/15/09

2009-05-15T08:01:00.001-07:00

Spring Clearance at VistaPrint! Save up to 90%!

Today’s Quote: "Your theory is crazy, but it's not crazy enough to be true." - Niels Bohr

Today’s Question: Who is crazy: you or them?

Garage Band To Play Madison Square Garden? Building Your Stage To Success

2009-05-14T06:00:00.001-07:00

Samsung: Let's Talk
I’ve been talking to a lot of my friends who are stagehands lately, and as the summer concerts are beginning to be planed, and my mind got caught up in thinking about goals and planning.

When a band sets up a stage for a performance, they have to scout out the venue, determine their basic wants and needs for a show, figure out if the venue can actually allow them to do some cool extra things (more lights, split level stages, pyro, whatever), and then determine what the end result should be. If the band is comfortable with themselves and who they will be performing with, they know how well they move together on stage, and can easily set up a performance and tear down for a quick getaway once they know how much room you have to work with.

Take this to your work team or even personal goal planning. Think about yourself and the teams you work with, and take a closer look at the current level of talent in contrast to the limitations that have placed on you (budgets, time, authority, priority). Your limits make up the size of your venue, and whether it is the equivalent of a small club or outdoor stadium. That sets you up to gage the size of stage you can manage in the space, how much equipment and what type of equipment you can allow on stage, and the size of a crowd you have to pull into the venue to make your performance pay off. Your bosses may see a lot of potential for crowded theater shows, or they might not think your ready to come out of the garage. You’ve got to figure out what venue they’re trying to book you in before you try to negotiate a bigger room and more of the door money.

And you have to be especially honest about the level of talent you are currently working with. You can argue about the Beatles being the greatest band of all time, but they didn’t begin the British Invasion a few months after they formed. They spent years learning themselves and their audiences, and they started with humble beginning of playing in some of the smaller and more seamier dives all over Europe. They had designs on sellout arena crowds early in their career...but they to build themselves up to reaching their superstar status. And they had to build smaller steps and occupy smaller stages along the way until they could demand the biggest and the best. Don’t get fooled by your potential. Let your potential be your booking agent to bigger gigs in a timely manner.

Your first challenge is to see the venue for what it is, and plan the biggest possible stage and grandest show setup you can imagine for it. That becomes your target goal, and their is nothing wrong with taking that goal to an insane extreme. You might not sell out Madison Square Garden, but you’ll never come close if you don’t keep a few open dates in case the opportunity just happens to pop up.

Your second challenge, and what is the real hard part, is to be consistent in building the steps to that bigger stage, and not hope that talent or luck will allow you to leap from a smaller stage without the proper support. Having a team that is willing to do what it takes to sell out the Garden is great. Having a team that has the talent to pull off the show is wonderful. Having the team that has worked its way up, step by step, to grow its talent and fan base to sell out the show is what you really want. That is something special.

I’ve worked with people who have looked at the big stage and shied away from it, despite great talent, and chosen to stay in the smaller venues or even get out of the business altogether because of the time and expectations of people who perform on the grand level. More frustrating are the people I’ve worked with who you have looked at the stage we are working on and the steps we had built so far, take a chainsaw to them, set them on fire, and then drive over the whole thing with a steamroller. Then, they would stand on top on the ashes and complain that were not building an even bigger stage than the one we had previously destroyed. I have worked with far too many of the latter types of people than I care to think about, because it drains my personal energy when I have to think about the time and energy wasted in the build up. But each experience is a learning experience that you have to take something good away from.

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/14/09

2009-05-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

chickdowntown.com
Today’s Quote: "The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have." - Leonard Nimoy

Today’s Question: Do you have a problem with sharing?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/13/09

2009-05-13T04:56:00.000-07:00

Carnival Cruise Lines
Today’s Quote: “To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth... is potentially to have everything...” - Joan Didion

Today’s Question: Are you sure of your own worth?

Replacement Thinking

2009-05-13T04:43:00.000-07:00

My Nutrition Store's Cardiac Kit: Reduce Your Risk & Take Charge Now
Replace ‘taking it slowly’ with ‘do it with patience’: you cannot expect instant results, but you keep pushing beyond the slower pace once you’ve mastered the moves.

Replace ‘find the right person to follow’ with ‘follow me’: take the lead and see who many people will line up behind you for both support and guidance.

Replace ‘doing it for me’ with ‘doing it for the greater good’: you get so much more when you are truly giving it away, both spiritually and economically, despite you actually religious orientation.

Replace ‘this great idea of mine’ with ‘just working within the parameters I was given’: you already know it is the solid truth that your grand idea is only possible based on the conditions that are faced.

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/12/09

2009-05-12T04:04:00.001-07:00

CreditReport.com: Credit Reporting and Repair
Today’s Quote: “I am not afraid of the pen, or the scaffold, or the sword. I will tell the truth wherever I please.” - Mother Jones

Today’s Question: Are you telling yourself the truth?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/11/09

2009-05-11T10:36:00.001-07:00

Spring Clearance at VistaPrint! Save up to 90%!

Today’s Quote: “An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions.” - Robert A. Humphrey

Today’s Question: Are you applying the right solution to the right problem?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/10/09

2009-05-10T03:52:00.000-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
Today’s Quote: “I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another.” - Ellen Goodman

Today’s Question: What small difference did you mother make in your life that made a big difference you?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/9/09

2009-05-09T03:50:00.001-07:00

Resume Rabbit: Be Seen By 1.5 Million Hiring Managers Instantly!
Today’s Quote: “How my achievements mock me!” - William Shakespeare

Today’s Question: Have any of you good deeds or solid successes ever come back to haunt you?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/8/09

2009-05-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

TrainingCenter.com: Computer Training Online
Today’s Quote: “It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterward.” - Baltasar Gracian

Today’s Question: When has a little extra patience helped you out?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/7/09

2009-05-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

Survive a computer disaster with Carbonite
Today’s Quote: “I just want you to understand you can never get more than a 100%. So you give me 60% today, you can't give me a 140% tomorrow. If you give me 60% today, you leave 40% on the table. You'll never get it back.” - John Wooden

Today’s Question: What is your favorite quotation or saying?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/6/09

2009-05-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Survive a computer disaster with Carbonite
Today’s Quote: “Relying on yourself is a lost art.” – Frank Shorter

Today’s Question: Can you truly rely on yourself?

Your News Releases Need Work: Emailing Bad News Releases

2009-05-05T07:58:00.001-07:00

After receiving a tweet from a friend asking for news release help last week, followed by was seemed like an entire day of emptying my email inbox of bad news releases, I figure it was time I took another shot and explaining the art of getting your release at least looked at, and hopefully used.

For a head start, check out my past post which
explains the 7 pieces of media that should be included in your basic media kit.

I want to attack the problems I dealt with yesterday:

Assume We Don’t Have The Latest & Greatest: Last Friday, I learned that according to Forrester Research, 60 percent of companies use Internet Explorer 6 as their default browser. That was the day I stopped whining to my IT folks about why we were using the old & busted browser of the past. Today I plead to all the PR folks to sent thinks out in the future. Web pages with lots of flash widget and browser optimized settings can not trump a simple webpage with a clean overall look and images set to just enough that it means something. My 5 year old office desktop running Windows 2000 would appreciate it.

Assume We Don’t Have The Latest & Greatest Part 2: As with the case in an office where I am running Windows 2000 for heavy audio editing, we’re also short on licenses for MS Office. ANY version of MS Office, let alone the latest and greatest. Assume that the person on the computer on the other end may be in the same boat, and don’t send them word docs typed on your brand new, shiny Vista computer with converting them down from .docx to .doc. Even better, try .rtf or a .pdf, both which are universal, and for the latter, you don’t have to worry about a change in font shifting the entire press release.

Images Can Ruin Everything: Our web based corporate email system allows every user in the corporation 20MB or storage space, unless you’ve been with the company over 8 years, whet they may be stuck with the old cap of 10MB. Not a serious problem for those who have machines with the MS Office suite and MS Outlook. I don’t have that luxury, and had to dump my email twice yesterday, after receiving an attached .mp3 from a new artist (5MB) and a two press releases from the same person because he forgot to attach a picture to the document (2MB for first email with large corporate logo, 8MB for email with large corporate logo and 7MB hi-res headshot in .docx press release). Sending news releases with links to download media, scaling down large images to travel reasonably through email, or just sending a .pdf would have made life much easier for me, the one you are trying to influence to cover your people and events.

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/5/09

2009-05-05T04:45:00.000-07:00

Visit The Discovery Store
Today’s Quote: “Feelings make good advisers but poor masters.” - Bill O'Hanlon

Today’s Question: Are your feelings the main influence to your decisions?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/4/09

2009-05-04T05:33:00.001-07:00

McGruff SafeGuard: Protect Your Kids Online At GoMcGruff.com
Today’s Quote: “I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” - Bill Cosby

Today’s Question: Are you working to hard to please too many people?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/3/09

2009-05-03T17:11:00.001-07:00

Spring Clearance at VistaPrint! Save up to 90%!

Today’s Quote: “I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Today’s Question: Do you like who you are?

Lessen The Load of Training New Hires

2009-05-02T15:36:00.001-07:00

TrainingCenter.com: Computer Training Online
This Guest Post Written By Linda Finkle

As managers and business leaders we all have faced the age old dilemma of whether to hire or not to hire new staff. Indeed, this question presents a weighty set of issues. On one side of the scale are all of the benefits a company hopes to gain by hiring more staff. On the other side of the scale are all of the concerns that either prevent hiring or result in limited training time for new employees.

This article will show managers that training new employees does not drain time and resources and that with a little effort they can tip the scales in favor of business growth.

A thorough hiring process prevents unforeseen costs of training new employees. Spending time and resources upfront on vetting potential candidates insures that the individuals you hire fit the mold of your organization. In the long run, the initial costs of hiring will pay for themselves because an employee who quickly becomes a seamless part of the infrastructure requires less training and yields productivity more rapidly.

Once you have hired a new employee, you do not need to complete all aspects of their training immediately. Keep in mind that business development occurs over time not overnight. Managers who avoid the rush to train employees give themselves the time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the employee. Moreover, managers can then develop a training program specific to that employee's needs. As such, your company avoids excess expenditures on unnecessary training. At the same time, you are putting the money where it counts: in training designed to improve upon an employee's weaknesses.

Every expenditure made towards training a new employee does not translate into a cost for your company. On the job training, where new hires shadow their managers, permits managers to teach good business practices simply by performing their daily tasks. For example, good listening skills are critical to maintaining clientele. Permit your new hires to watch you engage in meetings with clients and have a discussion over lunch with your employee about what the employee took away from the meeting. Then at the next client meeting, let your new hire take the lead on engaging the client. A short feedback session following the client meeting should put your employee on the right track. This on the job training permits the employee to learn from actual experience rather than costly off site training programs. A little time investment was the only calculable cost.

Employees also can assume an active role in their own training. A system that requires employees to check in with their supervisors is more efficient than one that relies on managers to do the checking in. The former permits employees more flexibility to expand upon their interests in the company and more room for innovation. An employee driven system also relieves managers of the burden of overseeing every assignment managers give to their employees. Ultimately, the employee-driven system means that companies avoid unnecessary redirection of managerial time and resources.

Mentor programs provide a vehicle for teamwork and afford new employees a constant avenue for help. A mentor is a senior or mid-level employee who assumes the work of acclimating new employees. Without mentor programs, managers and supervisors will spend inordinate amounts of time training new employees and showing new employees the ropes. A mentor program, however, allows managers to pass off the task of training to a mentor who is equally as capable of indoctrinating the new employee. In fact, mentors often are in a better position to provide the necessary structure and guidance for new employees because mentors are still a part of the employee cadre. As such, new employees can learn by shadowing mentors and mentors can teach without interfering with their own work. Managers, by contrast, are more distanced from the daily grind and would have to distract themselves from managerial responsibilities to train new hires.

Training new employees need not deplete critical company resources. By following any or all of the above suggestions, companies simultaneously can conserve time, save money, and yield production. Just watch the scale tip in your favor.

About the Author:

Linda Finkle is a leading expert on organizational communication strategies and human potential development. As CEO of her executive coaching firm, Incedo Group, Linda has helped countless leaders build internal communication and conflict resolution strategies. She brings about changes in attitude and leadership style that yield dramatic results. Company profitability is an inevitable side effect. Learn more at http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/2/09

2009-05-02T15:28:00.001-07:00

Monster Learning
Today’s Quote: “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today’s Question: Do you work better if you already have the answers?

Today’s Quote & Question For 5/1/09

2009-05-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
Today’s Quote: “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” - Ulysses S. Grant

Today’s Question: Do you know when it is time to go?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/30/09

2009-04-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Survive a computer disaster with Carbonite
Today’s Quote: “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.” - Unknown

Today’s Question: Are you experienced?

Timing Versus Talent: The Dilemma

2009-04-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
A little soul searching in this time of uncertainty.

A status update on Facebook stating that all past American Idol champions should thank their lucky stars that Adam Lambert wasn’t competing in their seasons because “That boy is MADE OF WIN” got me thinking about my situation at the day job, which in turn got me thinking about this grand scheme of a side gig.

I am currently stuck with nowhere to progress at work. I’m not surprised with the direction of the business in this economy, but this is the first time I have ever sat in a job with nowhere to move AND some well applied hand breaks to the other duties as assigned that to keep me sitting still long enough to stew in my own frustration.

In a time where jobs are being slashed at all levels in broadcasting, there are still opportunities for the next big radio star. Just not many. So a combination of my timing of testing the market along with the timing of the actual market is my problem.

Or is it? What if I we’re actually so entertaining, so compelling, so dynamic that with minimal airtime I could truly be a turnaround player for the radio station I work for in the market?
One would think that someone would take a chance an take on potential star material, even if it means pushing subpar talent out of the way. Me having game changer talent is far from the case, but how far exactly? How much talent do I actually possess, and would it actual be enough to carry some steady on-air time?

Applying that same level of thinking to this business and personal consulting business that I named Fast Forward Business Properties, LLC., is the timing of starting a small business as my spare time is being overtaken by more and more uncompensated work hours the bad idea? Or, is my ability to actually consult not up to par, meaning the excuses don’t matter as much as I have no real growth potential in the first place?

Are you facing a decision to continue down a path that isn’t paying off as expected, but are unsure whether your obstacle is bad timing or insufficient talent? When I read Seth Godin’s book The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) almost a year ago, it seemed like the talent I had would be adequate if I just rode out time until my number came up. Now, I wonder more and more if that time will actually come, and if I will still have the talent (or possibly even care) if that time actually comes.

How are you dealing with timing versus talent dilemmas?

Good In The Enemy Of Great

2009-04-29T11:24:00.001-07:00

MeritAid.com - $11 Billion in Scholarships

How many times have you passed up a great personal opportunity, with the only reasoning being you figure you could live with the good thing you already had going? How did it make you feel in the short and long run, as you watched greatness continue and you flounder?

How many times have you watched as your bosses balked at the chance to go after a potentially great employee hire, get in on the bottom floor of a potentially great business opportunity, or expand on a potential great internal program?

There might be good reason (no sustainable capital, not enough physical resources or manpower, possible conflicts in our business model, contractual loopholes to battle out of, etc). Then again, there might not be any reason other than being able to live with the ‘good’ thing we got right now, even if that thing is more along the lines of ‘serviceable,’ or ‘adequate.’

How does that make you feel in the short and long run, as you watch greatness continue for other job sites and yours continue to flounder?

And in some cases, you will find not only opposition to the change that can take your good to great status, you will find much more effort and energy to keeping things status quo that taking your new initiative to greatest, especially if the current state of affairs is closer to the sub par than the par .range

Anytime you take a risks, despite how minimal you can make it, if there is no risk, there is no reward. Even getting out of bed has some risk involved, even if the much more pleasing alternative offers enough consequences to make the decision not to particularly silly.

If you get the opportunity to reach out and touch great, you need to take that opportunity.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/29/09

2009-04-29T08:33:00.001-07:00

TrainingCenter.com: Computer Training Online
Today’s Quote: “I was always taught to respect my elders and I've now reached the age when I don't have anybody to respect.” - George Burns

Today’s Question: Are you gaining wisdom as you grow older?

Proposing A Joint Venture Offer That Cannot Be Refused

2009-04-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
This Guest Post Written By Christian Fea

Joint ventures are an excellent strategy for increasing your market reach and overall revenues. However, the question is, how can you entice a prospective partner to join you in a lucrative joint venture? Not everyone can see the big picture quite as vividly as you can ' and therefore, it is important to employ strategies to make sure you both are on the same page of excitement.

Increasing the value of the partnership

There is only one bottom line to attracting a joint venture partner: provide significant benefits. Of course, this is easier said than done, and therefore, there are several strategies you can take to enhance the lure of your joint venture proposal.

- Craft your proposal with only the partner's perspective in mind. You already know what the joint venture will bring to your benefit, so there is no need to re-hash this information in your offer. Instead, your proposal should truly focus on how your potential partner can benefit significantly from this joint venture.

- Clearly outline all of the benefits. What seems obvious to you may not be apparent to your potential partner. Being too clear is never a flaw, but vagueness is always a fallacy. Make sure that you specifically highlight all of the benefits to your potential partner, whether tangible or intangible. Of course, the partner will gain additional sales and revenues, but what about the intangibles, such as increased branding, new market segments, and free exposure to a target audience? The revenue benefits may not be seen immediately, but certainly offer long-term benefits.

- Make your offer standout from the competitors. Chances are that if you are approaching a potentially lucrative partner for joint venture purposes, then other companies are doing the same thing too. Making your joint venture enticing means standing out from the crowd. If you are willing to provide your potential partner with a higher commission than the industry standard, then make sure to mention that first. This will attract their attention, motivating them to read through your entire proposal and absorb the benefits.

- Be exclusive. If you have joint ventures with anyone and everyone, then the most lucrative potential partners will not be enticed. Why would they want to joint venture with you when your partnerships are already saturated? Make sure that your joint venture proposal feels exclusive, and you can discuss the reasons why this proposal is unlike the others already out on the table.

- Demonstrate your understanding of both lists. When you show your potential partner that you have a full understanding of both your customer bases, this demonstrates that you fully understanding the prospects of the joint venture. Point out both why and how your customer list benefits the joint venture's endeavors. The more specific you can get, the more enticing the offer is.

Joint ventures go above and beyond the standard affiliate marketing. Typically, joint ventures can offer significant rewards for both parties that supersede the affiliate relationship. Subsequently, the work you put into enticing your ideal partner will be worth the payoff in the end.

About the Author:

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Strategic Collaboration Marketing consulting firm. He empowers business owners to discover and implement Integration, Alliance, and Joint Venture marketing tactics to solve specific business challenges. He demonstrates how to create your own Collaboration Marketing Strategy to increase your sales, conversation rates, and repeat business. Contact: christian@christianfea.com or http://www.christianfea.com

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/28/09

2009-04-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

Zappos.com
Today’s Quote: “If we are to learn to improve the quality of the decisions we make, we need to accept the mysterious nature of our snap judgments.” - Malcolm Gladwell

Today’s Question: Do your snap judgments usually lead you down the right or wrong path?

The Next Effects

2009-04-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

46% off Bestsellers at Booksamillion.com
In what is essentially another variation of asking "What Would Jesus Do," I have come up with a not exactly original concept called ‘The Next Effects.’

The Next Effects is a system that will help you think ahead to any action you might deem risky (good or bad risk is not important) and determine the potential consequences that may come from making that choose.

All you do is when you are faced with the choice to make an action, ask yourself:

-How will this action effect me or those around me in the next few minutes?

-How will this action effect me or those around me in the next few hours?

-How will this action effect me or those around me in the next few days?

-How will this action effect me or those around me in the next few months?

-How will this action effect me or those around me in the next few years?

For those who want to swap out the verb ‘affect’ meaning "to influence" for the noun ‘effect’ meaning "result," feel free. I prefer effect, but spell check suggested otherwise. Not wanting to miss the point or lose the moment of creativity, I offer you the creative license to pick a favorite or ridicule me for not grasping 8th grade grammar.

For a more detailed and well thought out model of this line of thinking, pick up the new book 10-10-10 : A Life-Transforming Idea by Suzy Welch. Or, you can follow the model I just laid out for free. Its no Bubble Friday, but The Next Effects is one of my favorite current creations.

UPDATE: I'm going to count it as a fine example of great minds thinking alike, and then dare to compare my feeble brain to Michael Wade's over at Execupundit.com, who put my rambling thesis in perfect business perspective with his post The Next 30 Minutes.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/27/09

2009-04-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

KEEPIT.COM: Safe, Secure Online Backup
Today’s Quote: “Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off.” - Ellen DeGeneres

Today’s Question: Are you applying the right solutions to your problems?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/26/09

2009-04-26T07:54:00.001-07:00

McGruff SafeGuard: Protect Your Kids Online At GoMcGruff.com
Today’s Quote: “Listen to the whispers and you won't have to hear the screams.” - Cherokee Saying

Today’s Question: Do you ignore the warning signs?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/25/09

2009-04-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

HP's youneek.com
Today’s Quote: “We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” - Joseph Campbell

Today’s Question: What have you traded to improve your life?

Three Reasons Why Your Customer is Your Best Advertisement

2009-04-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
This Guest Post Written By Scott Oliver

While you might already know that your customer is always right, and make steps to ensure that they know this too, did you realize that your customer can also be your best advertisement? It's easy to forget that customers interact with our businesses more personally than we ever will. And while we think we know our business inside and out, it's actually the customer that sees whether or not our business is doing the job it says it can do. Here are three reasons why your customer is your best advertisement ' and why you need to make sure they're always satisfied.

They Will Share Their Good Experiences

Nearly everyone has a story about a good customer service experience they've had with a business. Whether there was a problem that got quickly addressed or perhaps the business simply went above and beyond what was expected, nearly everyone has had one moment in which they wanted to sing the praises of their business transaction. So, if you had this experience, you told people and then they went to the business you did and then they told others of their experiences, etc. When something good happens, people are going to talk about it, letting you get more positive advertising than you could ever get on your own.

But at the same time, you need to remember that if there is a bad experience; customers are more than likely going to share that too. When things go wrong and you don't take the time to fix them, you are going to start a conversation between your customer and their friends ' one that ends up in you getting less business. Each experience that your customer has with your website or with your business should be as positive as possible. While you don't have to go out of your way each and every time, it's better to be more than they need than to be less than they deserve.

They are More Believable Than You Are

So, what makes these customer experiences so important to your advertising? Customers who talk to their friends and to their family are more believable than you will be. This
isn't to say that you're not trustworthy, but people tend to believe things they hear from their friends more than they will trust things that come from a business that wants to make money.

Again, this is why treating the customer well is so important. Because whatever they share with their friends is going to be taken as the absolute truth, you aren't going to get a second chance to change their minds.

They Can Give Testimonials

When a customer does have a good experience with you, you might want to talk to them about writing a testimonial. This is simply a summary of the compliments they have about your business that can be posted on your marketing literature or on your website. In exchange, you might want to offer them a discount on future purchases, but many people will simply be excited to see their name and their picture on your business site. These testimonials should be verbatim of what your customer says, along with a release that says you can use the statement for your business. If you receive a testimonial that isn't written as well as you might like, as the customer if you can edit it and then show them the changes you made. If they agree to the final copy, then you have another marketing tool at your disposal.

Your customers are the best advertisements for your business and you need to make sure they are advertising well.

About the Author:

Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of "Website Traffic Secrets" and "Minisite Creation Tactics" for FREE -- immediate access here: http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/24/09

2009-04-24T04:58:00.001-07:00

2insure4less.com: Compare Insurance Quotes and Save!
Today’s Quote: “Posterity is as likely to be wrong as anyone else.” - Heywood Broun

Today’s Question: Can you admit when you are wrong?

Today's Quote & Question For 4/23/09

2009-04-23T12:07:00.001-07:00

Your Website Management Just Got Easier At freeservers.com
Today’s Quote: The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill. - Peter Ustinov

Today’s Question: How do you rationalize your actions?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/22/09

2009-04-22T12:17:00.001-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
Today’s Quote: "An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.” - Elbert Hubbard

Today’s Question: To whom or what do your loyalties lie?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/21/09

2009-04-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Visit Climber.com
Today’s Quote: "What does it matter how one comes by the truth so long as one pounces upon it and lives by it?” - Henry Miller

Today’s Question: Do you live the truth?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/20/09

2009-04-20T05:31:00.001-07:00

What the heck is a Chumby? Find out here...
Today’s Quote: "The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.” - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Today’s Question: What little discovery has meant the most to your life?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/19/09

2009-04-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

Carbonite: Unlimited online backup for your small business
Today’s Quote: “I was brought up to believe that how I saw myself was more important than how others saw me.” - Anwar el-Sadat

Today’s Question: How do you see yourself?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/18/09

2009-04-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hotels.com
Today’s Quote: “It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.” - George Burns

Today’s Question: Do you know your limits?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/17/09

2009-04-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

Zappos.com
Today’s Quote: "Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history.” - George Bernard Shaw

Today’s Question: How often do you review your past to plot your future?

Most Of Your Life Will Be Tied Up In Doing Things You Don't Want To Do: Book Of Kendall Rule #4

2009-04-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Need Parenting Advice? Speak with an Expert!
In the anticipation of the arrival of a new ~~tax deduction~~ baby to our family, my wife and I have been doing some writing to present to the our child, who sex has not been determined but we have already settled on the first name Kendall (although the wife is starting to waver on the name with about seven months to go). She is keeping a diary of things that happened in the year of his/her arrival, I am writing some of the life lessons I have absorbed to eventually but into book form and hopefully guilt some of you out there into buying to help pay for baby supplies (I am an entrepreneur after all). As I work on pieces I will post them here, looking for as much honest feedback of its usefulness, and a little conversation on just how hard it was for y’all to learn these lessons yourself. Assuming you have actually learned these lessons.

Please leave comments as they come.

- - - - -

Book Of Kendall Rule #4: Most Of Your Life Will Be Tied Up In Doing Things You Don't Want To Do

For most of my life I wanted to find a way to make a very good living off of my words. While you can debate my level of talent, you can not debate my love of words, both written and spoken. But as I got older, the problem wasn’t necessarily the increasing amount of talented wordsmiths in the world, it was the decreasing value of the words themselves. So while I did my best to eek out an article here and fill-in on radio talk shows there, I slugged through a long list other things that my employers had put on my job description to bring home a paycheck to take care of the family.

Any thing worth doing in your life will take time, and that time will be worth it. But that time will be precious compared to the myriad of things that you will find yourself having to do that take away from what you really want to do, many of which you will truly hate to do.

So as you grow up to ask your mother and I if it is really necessary to make your bed every morning, learn Algebra II, or not detour when we send you to the store, you will quickly pick up on the mundane life necessities that allow for you live, grow, and survive in this world, even if they are not particularly amusing to you personal.

There are also plenty of things that you will have to do that you won’t be very thrilled about that have a direct effect on the things you actually want to accomplish in life. My want for a professional sports career was severely limited by my desire to not practice. On the flip side, I haven’t fully embrace the need for criticism as I continue my quest to make more money by producing more words, it is a necessary evil that I tolerate in hopes that It makes my work that much better.

Make sure you cherish the pain and toil of the things you must do, as they will lead you down a path that will hopefully allow you to get to do more things you want to do.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/16/09

2009-04-16T12:11:00.001-07:00

Beyond.com Career Network: The Right Place To Search Jobs Online
Today’s Quote: "I will follow the right side even to the fire, but excluding the fire if I can." - Michel de Montaigne

Today’s Question: Just how far are you willing to go?

If There Is A Problem, First Make Sure It Is Not You: Book Of Kendall Rule #3

2009-04-15T12:57:00.001-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
In the anticipation of the arrival of a new ~~tax deduction~~ baby to our family, my wife and I have been doing some writing to present to the our child, who sex has not been determined but we have already settled on the first name Kendall (although the wife is starting to waver on the name with about seven months to go). She is keeping a diary of things that happened in the year of his/her arrival, I am writing some of the life lessons I have absorbed to eventually but into book form and hopefully guilt some of you out there into buying to help pay for baby supplies (I am an entrepreneur after all). As I work on pieces I will post them here, looking for as much honest feedback of its usefulness, and a little conversation on just how hard it was for y’all to learn these lessons yourself. Assuming you have actually learned these lessons.

Please leave comments as they come.

- - - - -

Book Of Kendall Rule #3: If There Is A Problem, First Make Sure It Is Not You

You will come across plenty of trouble times in your life, many will oddly enough be of your own making. The way you handle yourself in these situations are going to determine your next steps in you life, and ultimately, the limits to which you will actually progress for your entire lifetime.

You use a troubling time in your life as way to gain experience and grow. But you don’t have to create your own trouble. There are plenty of people in the world will gain extreme pleasure in creating more trouble for you than you can ever imagine.

You’ll be able to handle it. But not if you are spending too much energy creating you own problems. There is no fun or profit in creating trouble for yourself. Stepping up to a challenge is one thing. Stepping into a burning building after soaking yourself in gasoline and stuffing your pockets with dynamite is asking for problems with consequences to major to overcome. If you find you have a problem, and the problem happens to be you, fix it immediately.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/15/09

2009-04-15T04:29:00.001-07:00

Executive Essentials: Pens, Gifts and More!
Today’s Quote: “I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.” - Garrison Keillor

Today’s Question: When has denial actually worked to your benefit?

Test Driving Your Seminar

2009-04-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

Monster Learning
This Guest Post Written By Jenny Hamby

Want to get more butts into your seminar seats? Let prospective attendees sample the content before they decide whether or not to register.

This powerful sales trick is not new. After all, when you visit a bookstore, you get to flip through books before deciding to buy. When you visit a car dealer, you get to test drive a car before deciding to buy. Heck, when you go an ice cream shop, you can even sample the goods before deciding which flavor you want to buy that day.

So why not offer the same courtesy to your attendees?

Here are 4 ways you can let prospects take your event for a test drive:

* Offer a free preview event, ranging anywhere from 90 minutes to a full day

* Give them a free CD with 45 to 70 minutes of free content

* Post a 10- to 20- minute video clip of your material on your website

* And my personal favorite…offer a free or low-cost preview teleseminar

You know your seminar is chock full of valuable content, so pique the palate of your prospective seminar attendees with a taste of what they'd be missing out on.

------

Jenny Hamby is a Certified Guerrilla Marketer and direct-response copywriter who helps speakers, coaches and consultants fill seminar seats and make more money from their own seminars and workshops. Her on-and-offline direct marketing campaigns have netted response rates as high as 84 percent -- on budgets as small as $125. For more free seminar marketing secrets, visit http://www.SeminarPromotionTips.com

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/14/09

2009-04-14T07:56:00.001-07:00

Organize your life with FranklinCovey
Today’s Quote: “If what they say is "Nothing is forever," then what makes love the exception?” - Andre 3000

Today’s Question: What would you really want to last forever?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/13/09

2009-04-13T04:22:00.001-07:00

Visit The Discovery Store
Today’s Quote: “A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things.” - Herman Melville

Today’s Question: Are the words you speak doing harm to yourself or others?

Make Today A Day Of New Beginnings

2009-04-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Click Here For Great Savings Rates at MoneyAisle

Today is Easter Sunday, a day when Christians celebrate the day that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead to spread new hope to the world. Today symbolizes a day of change and renewal.

Make today a day new beginning for yourself. Today make a pledge to yourself to shake off all your past setbacks and defeats. Take the steps you need to make you way to a new and better life you have always wanted to live.

And even if you mess it all up between sunrise and sunset today, you always have tomorrow. Just make tomorrow your next new beginning, and strive to go even further than you have gone today.

Network Your Way to Success

2009-04-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Free Shipping From Super Media Store!
This Guest Post Written By Sharon Alexander

Business networking is a valuable tool for everyone, in particular for those who are actively looking for a job or to gain business from new clients. Networking is a way of reaching out and increasing your visibility by letting people know who you are and what you do.

By effective networking, you can make it so that people remember you and what you do. As they go about their business they may find that they or someone they know may need someone of your particular talents. If you have successfully made an impression, they'll seek you out.

Some people believe that you must know the right people in order to be successful at networking, but this is simply not true. Networking can be done anywhere and with anyone. Never rule anyone out as not having the ability to be useful. You never know who they may know or possibly run into at some time in the future. Take a genuine interest in people around you.

Find out what they do and where they work. Don't be shy; ask if there are openings and if it would be possible for you to get in for an interview. Tell people what you do and what you hope for. Make up some business cards and hand them out liberally. Some of them may end up getting tossed into the trash but just having your name, occupation and phone number out in circulation gives you more of a chance of getting a contact.

When networking, always be courteous and professional when dealing with anyone. This gives a good impression of you and people remember this.

It would be a good idea to build some kind of filing system of all the people you come in contact with. If you were to receive a call from someone out of the blue as a result of previous contact, it leaves a lasting impression on them if you are able to remember exactly who they are and the circumstances of your initial meeting. This makes people feel special and they are more likely to want to help you.

A simple way of doing this would be to file their business card, if you received one, with a simple notation of whom the person is and where you met. If you didn't receive a card then simply note the person's name and occupation along with a brief description. People feel special when they're remembered.

Remember always, networking isn't just about you. Listen to the people you meet and keep their information on file so that if you were to hear of an opportunity you can let them know also. If someone you know has helped you by getting you in the door then take some time to thank them for their help.

-----

For more information on networking from Sharon Alexander, and to get a free job hunting report, visit Claim That Job at http://www.claimthatjob.com. Claim That Job is the ultimate Career Management and Job Hunting guide. You will be taken through the strategies and tips required to be a success in today's competitive job market.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/12/09

2009-04-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

Your Website Management Just Got Easier At freeservers.com
Today’s Quote: “People who say they're not interested in money will lie about other things too.” - Zig Ziglar

Today’s Question: What is the truth?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/11/09

2009-04-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

TrainingCenter.com: Computer Training Online
Today’s Quote: “Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!”- Og Mandino

Today’s Question: Is starting a new routine a challenge or a chore?

Team Effectiveness - 5 Factors to Manage

2009-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Easy-to-use FileMaker Pro Database as low as $179

This Guest Post Written By Pam Kennett/pam@chiswickconsulting.com

To improve a team's effectiveness, it is first necessary to understand the factors that impact its performance. Once you understand these factors you can determine when and what team development is needed.

In order for teams to function effectively they must manage how they work together and how they interact with the rest of the organization. As a result of his studies, Richard Beckhard ("Optimising Team Building Efforts", Journal of Contemporary Business, Summer 1972) states that for teams to be effective they must manage four areas internal to the team: goals, roles, processes and relationships. Further research has identified a fifth factor impacting performance: how the team manages its interaction with the
organizational environment. Within these factors is a hierarchy with some factors affecting all of the others. These five factors become the focus of attention for the manager who wants to raise team performance, because teams that effectively manage these areas function more effectively than teams that do not.

Environmental Influences - the impact of the organization and the outside world on team performance.

The organization creates the context within which the team functions. The policies, procedures and systems within an organization can either support or hinder a team's effectiveness. An excellent example is the impact an organization’s reward system has on teamwork. Organizations typically reward only individual contribution. Few organizations have found ways to reward teams.

Signs to look for: The team is physically distant, not given enough resources to do the job, individuals are not recognized for team effort.

Goals - What The Team Is To Accomplish

A team exists when members have responsibility for accomplishing a common goal. An effective team is aware of and manages:

1. The extent to which goals are clear, understood and communicated to all members
2. The amount of ownership of team goals
3. The extent to which goals are defined, quantified and deliverable
4. The extent to which goals are shared or congruent
5. The extent of goal conflict or divergence

Signs to look for: The goals are unclear or not communicated, everyone is doing their own thing and not participating in goal setting.

Roles - Who Does What On The Team

Do all members understand what they and others are to do to accomplish the task? Do they know their individual responsibilities and limits of authority? In new teams time should be spent discussing and defining roles and responsibilities. As the team develops it is typical for individuals to build expectations and assumptions of others which are seldom recorded anywhere. These should be discussed and agreed upon.

Conflict may occur as a result of differing expectations among team members. Overlapping roles can create conflict, especially when two or more team members see themselves as responsible for the same task.

Signs to look for: Responsibilities are poorly defined, there is a power vacuum, members act independently and avoid responsibility.

Work Processes - How Members Work Together

Once team members know what they are to do and who is to do it, they must determine how they will work together. Typical considerations are:

Decision making - how will each of the team members participate in decision making.
Communication - what should be communicated within the team, to whom, by what method, when and how frequently?
Meetings - what is the team trying to accomplish, what subjects are to be covered, who is responsible for the subject, how will the meeting be conducted, who should attend? Leadership style - the leader and the team need to agree the best style to meet the situation and the leader should be open to receiving feedback on their style.

Signs to look for: Meetings are unproductive or poorly attended, decision making is dominated by one or two people, actions taken without planning or communication is one way.

Relationships - The Quality Of Interaction Among Team Members

As team members work together, relationships often become strained. Members need ways to resolve problems and to assure that a good working relationship continues.
Sometimes relationship problems occur because of a difference in values or a personality or management style clash. Managers may need to take an active role in soothing relationships during times of conflict. The more energy that is siphoned off because of bad feelings, attitudes or strong emotions, the less energy is available for the team's task.

Signs to look for: Personality conflicts, or members are defensive or competitive.

Team development is a process aimed at improving team performance in any one or all of the five factors in the team hierarchy. After examining your team's performance in these areas, your role as a manager is to identify where your focus for team development needs to be.

---------

About the Author:

Pam Kennett is Founder and Director of Chiswick Consulting Limited, a management consultancy which provides advice and direction to clients in marketing and human resources. Pam has more than 20 years experience working with teams and leadership groups to raise performance. Contact her at pam@chiswickconsulting.com or visit
http://www.chiswickconsulting.com.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/10/09

2009-04-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

NBC Universal Store
Today’s Quote: “The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” - James Crook

Today’s Question: Are you leading for the right reasons?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/9/09

2009-04-09T05:00:00.001-07:00

2insure4less.com: Compare Insurance Quotes and Save!
Today’s Quote: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” - Maya Angelou

Today’s Question: Do you like what you do?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/8/09

2009-04-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
Today’s Quote: “The farther behind I leave the past, the closer I am to forging my own character.” - Isabelle Eberhardt

Today’s Question: What has made your life better now that you have left it behind?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/7/09

2009-04-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

Soundview Executive Book Summaries: Subscribe and receive five more summaries FREE!
Today’s Quote: I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone. - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Today’s Question: Why are you going along for the ride?

Life, As Observed By Ricky Bobby

2009-04-06T13:37:00.001-07:00

Visit Climber.com
"Second place is the first loser." Ricky Bobby (aka Will Ferrell) from Talladega Nights

Today we’ll have a little bonus ‘Quote & Question,’ as my wandering mind came across using a foot race as another metaphor for life. You can throw plenty of old clichés and adages to it: “The race is not to the swift,” “Slow and steady wins the race,” “Life is a marathon and not a sprint”…but then that line for Talladega Nights popped into my head, and my mind was off to the races (pun intended).

One of the few things I know for sure is that in life, you are always either in the lead or playing catch up. Whether you're in the middle of the pack or far, far out the race, if you're not in the first place, you are not in first place.

That was exactly what I have been dealing with in all aspects of my life, as the current economic conditions here is the US has found a way to stymie just about every well laid plan I had conceived in the past few years, and is doing to same to many of my friends and associates. Not only are more people finding themselves out of first place, they are finding themselves getting lapped. It doesn’t matter how far behind you happen to be in the race, if you’re not in the lead, you only register if you’re a threat to take the lead, and you only seriously matter if you actually take the lead.

With so many people unlucky enough to have lost a job recently, the people who are lucky enough to have jobs look like winners well ahead of the pack. In reality, most are just unlucky enough to be stuck where they are because of the lack of jobs out there. They are stuck in jobs they don’t like or jobs with no forward motion for the foreseeable future because of the overall lack of jobs. People are being given new and extra duties on their jobs that are not only insisting that they come out of there comfort zones at work, but some people flat out don’t want to do. It’s becoming a workplace reality for more employees to be overloaded with additional duties that need to get done, but have completely gotten in the way of their career pursuits.

And now, everyone seems to be behind, and all fighting just to place or show, not even targeting the person who is truly in the lead.

And that guy in first place is wondering why there are no threats to his top spot, and why he’s even running so fast anymore…

In a land where everyone loves a long shot, and the leader of the pack will often embrace the role of the villain, we have seemed to have lost it. No one wants to be on top for fear of having to defend their spot, and many racers are too far behind in laps to even make the race interesting anymore. We seem to all be fighting hard for the right to claim first loser than to be the actual winner.

The Need For An Updated Feed

2009-04-06T04:20:00.000-07:00

As I am both completely insecure and an egomaniac, i crave attention. And as my side gig company makes little money and this blog makes no money, I am pretty much paid in hits and feed subscriber, all of which are severely lacking.

So, if anybody wants to help out a struggling egomaniac who is slightly paranoid about the lack of attention he's been getting, just simply update you RSS feed to the Fast Forward Blog. That will help. Feedburner link is http://feeds2.feedburner.com/LifeInFastForwardTheBlog, or the xml file is here: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/LifeInFastForwardTheBlog?format=xml.

You can also follow the goings on with the blog by following @fastforwardlife on Twitter, or what ever I am thinking by following @djazzycool1 on twitter.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/6/09

2009-04-06T04:14:00.000-07:00

Join millions of SPAMfighters at spamfighter.com
Today’s Quote: “He who hesitates is a damned fool.” - Mae West

Today’s Question: What are you waiting for?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/5/09

2009-04-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

Survive a computer disaster with Carbonite
Today’s Quote: “Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults.” - Antisthenes

Today’s Question: Who is more likely to tell you the truth?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/4/09

2009-04-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

Skype
Today’s Quote: “Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient.” - Eugene S. Wilson

Today’s Question: What lesson cost you the most to learn?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/3/09

2009-04-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
Today’s Quote: “You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” - John Wooden

Today’s Question: How would you end a perfect day?

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/2/09

2009-04-02T04:40:00.001-07:00

Free Shipping From Super Media Store!
Today’s Quote: “Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing.” - Wernher von Braun

Today’s Question: What is your favorite excuse?

What’s In A Word? The Emotion Of A Message

2009-04-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

TrainingCenter.com: Computer Training Online

I’ve been writing and rewriting a potential blog post for months on dealing with the frustration of people who do not have the capability to follow orders. I have been stymied by frustration with the subject, frustration with the true object I am pointing out in the subject (I don’t give any company names, but if you know my history its pretty easy to figure out which company), and frustration in the tone that it apparently wants to take despite the number of rewrites it gets.

The point of the post that will probably never see the light of day is that you can’t become overly frustrated with people you give orders to if they are incapable of following them. After you’ve checked to make sure your style of delivery isn’t the problem, and that you are sending an effective message, it doesn’t matter if your receivers are incapable of interpreting the message or just incompetent in carrying out the orders. And it might not be completely their fault that they can’t get the job done, but since you’re still responsible, you either have to replace your workers or replace yourself and get another job where the people you lead can get the job done.

But today, I had a epiphany over the term orders. I used the term as a formal throwback to my days in the Air Force, which was explained in the beginning of the post that will never see the light of day. It seemed like a self-explanatory word. I don’t use the term orders now, and rarely gave ‘orders’ to those that fell under my leadership when I was in command. I gave, and still give, instruction, directions, guidance, suggestions, unwanted-but-needed feedback, and on occasion, an overly extended cursing tirade that often involves projectiles being aimed at one’s head (that did occur frequently at the job in question in the post that shall never see the light of day).

So what’s in a word? While I realized I was having a problem with a word that was affecting the tone of writing--orders--I was still getting the point across. But just like your selection of words can take a conversation for light and lively to heavy and full of fisticuffs, you’ve got to be careful with the words you use. Apparently, I needed that reminder more than I needed that blog post.

Today’s Quote & Question For 4/1/09

2009-04-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Be The Next Buffet! Join The Investing Social Network At UpDown.com!
Today’s Quote: “History is nothing but a pack of tricks that we play upon the dead.” - Voltaire

Today’s Question: What was your favorite prank?

Twitter Could Be Marketers Dream Come True

2009-03-31T09:19:00.000-07:00

gamefly.com
While the drawbacks of getting sucked into reading seemingly random inputs from seemingly random people you follow on Twitter are pretty obvious, the possibilities for focused input, or even a true focus group, are amazing.

When I was an Acquisitions Officer in the Air Force, I worked for about 8 months on a program that processed security clearances and was given a team to work all the data on how fast the process was going, and presented daily metrics to the government agency in charge of the program. The words my boss told me when he gave me the duties, “The guy who reports the metrics can prove just about anything he wanted to,” turned out to be so truthful it was a little frightening.

The experience has made me a numbers and info junky on par with die hard rotisserie baseball geeks. And Twitter is filling that addiction to information like no other analytic tools ever has.

The magic is in its mission statement, a chance for people around the world to instantly share with others what they are doing. It also gives you the chance to look into the minds of those same millions of people, and see what they are doing, thinking, buying, or dissing.

This power is easily seen in the quick Twitter chatter scene during big television events as people who are looking to be a part of the mass experiences fire off snarky comments as an organic commentary track. This power has been most prominent in watching the ups and downs during the 2008 presidential election and the early days of the Obama Presidential Administration.

As a metrics nut, I like to lot watch the Twitter feeds during big events on TV, like new episodes of 24 and live performance shows nights on American Idol. But the real fun has come during President Obama’s television news conferences. Especially the ones that delay prime time television. Instant praise, instant hate, and instant color commentary is available to anyone willing to scroll thought a few pages of tweets.

Any marketer or sales manager can do a Twitter topic search on their company and find out exactly what is being said exactly when people are thinking about it. That was a good thing for the marketing team at Skittles that decided to make their Twitter search page the actual corporate product website, and a bad thing for Motrin after the Motrin moms took to blogosphere over a commercial that didn’t go over so well with them.

Monitoring your Twitter conversation does give you lots of insight into the thoughts of your brand or product. Just be ready to dismiss some of the more silly or snarky comments. After all, we are still talking about people using the anonymousness of the internet (even if it’s getting harder and harder to stay anonymous) to be a little to open and honest, with little regard of the consequences of the words going out to the world.

Don't Fight For The Chance To Be Right: Book Of Kendall Rule #2

2009-03-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

Send Flowers at 1-800-FLORALS
In the anticipation of the arrival of a new ~~tax deduction~~ baby to our family, my wife and I have been doing some writing to present to the our child, who sex has not been determined but we have already settled on the first name Kendall (although the wife is starting to waver on the name with about seven months to go). She is keeping a diary of things that happened in the year of his/her arrival, I am writing some of the life lessons I have absorbed to eventually but into book form and hopefully guilt some of you out there into buying to help pay for baby supplies (I am an entrepreneur after all). As I work on pieces I will post them here, looking for as much honest feedback of its usefulness, and a little conversation on just how hard it was for y’all to learn these lessons yourself. Assuming you have actually learned these lessons.

Please leave comments as they come.

- - - - -

Book Of Kendall Rule #2: Don't Fight For The Chance To Be Right

It is easy to see that there are plenty of causes to fight for, and many of them are worth fighting and sacrificing for. But it is never a worthy battle is your goal is just to claim the title of ‘being right.’

There are plenty of things worth spending your energy on than proving you are right to a group of useless non-believers. Being fair, being honest, being just, and just being are just a few things. Sometimes, it might be necessary to throw a fight to save someone from hurt feelings. Sometimes you have to take a dive to enable yourself to save face. The circumstances of your life will dictate which battles are truly important and which once are really just poor sparring sessions.

Save your fury of righteousness for the time you are going to need it. Because there will be times when the fight to prove you are right will be the most important thing for you in that moment. It may even prove to be career or life saving. But it is impossible to 100% spot on correct all the time and a complete waste of energy to pursue the winning stance in every argument.

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/31/09

2009-03-31T04:37:00.001-07:00

Executive Essentials: Pens, Gifts and More!
Today’s Quote: “Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can't even describe, aren't even aware of.” - Ellen Goodman

Today’s Question: What is your favorite tradition?

Finding Time To Pause: The Four P’s Of Life Management Part 4

2009-03-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Click Here For Great Savings Rates at MoneyAisle

You are looking for a way to gain control over your life.

The answer lies in finding the time everyday to devote to the Four P’s of Life Management. The key is devote at least 30 minutes a day to each P.

The first P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PLAN.

The second P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PLAY.

The third P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PONDER.

The fourth P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PAUSE. Time to relaxing and unwind from the stresses of the past day so that you can prepare for a fresh one, also the proper time for reflection and putting it down on paper. Whether you call it meditation, prayer, or just finding a way to get out of your own head, the time you spend in a PAUSE from the everyday world will help you separate the important things worth having to worry about from the more mundane life aspects not worth the effort. You’re likely to learn that your life is unnaturally controlled by the more mundane items.

Playing To Win Vs Playing Not To Lose

2009-03-30T06:13:00.001-07:00

Upromise: Take the time to plan for your child's future.

As we get ready for the climax of the NCAA Division I College Basketball Champions, better known as the Men’s & Women’s Final Four, now is a great time to look at the two tournaments as they have progress so far and reflect on a common sports analogy, playing to win versus playing not to lose.

Playing to win means taking advantage of opportunities and taking chances that could help you increase your standing, whether you are ahead or behind. Playing not to lose means focusing on the safe distance between you and you opponent, trying to slowly widen the gap in your favor and not allow team momentum to switch.

Playing to win brings excitement and drama to a game. Playing not to lose slows down the experience for everyone.

Playing to win means leaving everything you came into the build with on the court, whether you ultimately win or lose, and know that you couldn’t have possible pushed out any more effort. Playing not to lose will leave you wondering if you couldn’t have scored more, achieved more, produced more, whether you ultimately win or lose, and leaves you with a what if feeling.

Warriors and heroes play to win, and live with the consequence. Bureaucrats and politicians play not to lose, and have to defend the consequences.

Do you live your life with a sense of adventure? Do you push yourself to your personal limits everyday to see just how far and how fast and how long you can go?

Do you live your life questioning the motives of others? Do you guard yourself and your positions and your possessions against any sort of loss?

Are you playing to win in life, or just playing not to lose?

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/30/09

2009-03-30T04:56:00.000-07:00

2insure4less.com: Compare Insurance Quotes and Save!
Today’s Quote: “The computing field is always in need of new clichés.” - Alan Perlis

Today’s Question: What is your favorite cliché?

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/29/09

2009-03-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

UpDown.com
Today’s Quote: “Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Today’s Question: How well do you argue?

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/28/09

2009-03-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

Hotels.com
Today’s Quote: “Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy.” - Izaak Walton

Today’s Question: Would you choose health or wealth?

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/27/09

2009-03-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

Organize your life with FranklinCovey
Today’s Quote: “Sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving.” - David Letterman

Today’s Question: Are you really in control?

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/26/09

2009-03-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

Resume Rabbit: Be Seen By 1.5 Million Hiring Managers Instantly!
Today’s Quote: “Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.” - G. K. Chesterton

Today’s Question: How well do you multitask?

Wisdom In The Words Of Ric Flair

2009-03-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

Visit The Discovery Store
I was looking to challenge myself today in my writing, and found myself surprisingly fixated on wrestler Ric Flair's Space Mountain quote for most of the morning. Not sure exactly way the aging wrestler was in my thoughts, but somehow, inspiration struck because of it.

What you have below is the wisdom gleaned from words of the Nature Boy, one of the greatest athletic and theatrical performers I have ever witnessed. Give it a quick read, and see how much knowledge you can gain for use in your business or personal life.

"This ain't no garden party, brother. This is wrestling, where only the strongest survive."

Make sure what you are getting to is exactly what you want to get into, because chances are, you're going to find the path it takes to get there has plenty of surprises waiting for you just past your line of site. And by surprises, I mean obstacles to your progress and problems that will take you off course. Just know they will appear, and prepare yourself for the journey. Just make sure it is a journey worth taking.

"Girls, you can't be the first, but you can be next."

The world is full of pioneers. You don't necessarily have to be one to be successful and prosperous. In fact, you will probably be doing yourself a favor by following in the footsteps of someone who took the time to blaze a trail ahead of you.

“Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line.”

Once you’ve established yourself as the bonafide leader, everyone will want a piece of you. And you might be as great as you’ve convinced people that you are, but you are still only one person. Forget the myth of multitasking, you can only handle one request at a time, leading to a slow and plodding process of people constantly trying to work their way to get a little closer to you a little faster then you can handle. Let them wait.

"I'm a limousine ridin', jet flyin', kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin' son of a gun. WOOOO!!"

You've got little choice in your life but to sell yourself, your ideas, or you actual product to the world. If you’re going to sell yourself, you might as well be bold about it as possible. As long as you're not lying about it, sing your own praises to your hearts content.

"To be the man, you've gotta beat the man.”

This has to be Flair's most famous quote, and my second favorite of his (edged out just slightly by the Space Mountain quote). Put plain and simply, if you want something so badly, step up and try to take it. Talk is talk, but only those brave enough to put forward the action needed to make it happen will ever make it happen.

"Whenever they feel like it, the door's wide open."

Oh, and by the way, once you've scratched and clawed your way to the top, your role changes. You are no longer striving to get there. You are there. Now is the time to start striving to stay there, with plenty of up-and-comers looking to take you out, and has-beens looking to take back the spot they used to own. They're coming for you, like it or not. Might as well make them fight for it.

“As long as he understands this is Flair country, it is.”

As long as you’re at the top of the mountain, it’s your world. As long as someone else is at the top of the mountain, it’s their world. Pouting and complaining won’t get you anywhere. Hard work, determination, a little or a lot of time (most likely a lot) will get you somewhere. With a little luck, you’ll actually make it to the top of the mountain. But until you get there, make sure you give plenty of respect to the current king. They’ve earned it.

“My God, thank you. Thank you very much. I'm almost embarrassed by the response, but when I see this, I know that the twenty five years that I've spent trying to make you happy every night of your life was worth every damn minute of it.”

This comes from Ric Flair’s retirement speech to his fans, and the message here is simple. Be courteous to those who offer you support along the way of your journey in business and in life, and be sincere to everyone. Yes, EVERYONE! You can never give to many ‘Thank you’s.’

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/25/09

2009-03-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

KEEPIT.COM: Safe, Secure Backup
Today’s Quote: “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.” - Marie Curie

Today’s Question: When you act, does anyone notice?

Finding Time To Ponder: The Four P’s Of Life Management Part 3

2009-03-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Huge discounts and Incredible savings at PCRush.com
You are looking for a way to gain control over your life.

The answer lies in finding the time everyday to devote to the Four P’s of Life Management. The key is devote at least 30 minutes a day to each P.

The first P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PLAN.

The second P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PLAY.

The third P is finding 30 minutes a day TO PONDER. Time spent reading, learning, and researching to promote mental growth. Your PONDER time is the equivalent of your brain signing up for a mental gym membership and seeing if it will take full advantage. With enough time, you can work through a solution to just about any problem that you find yourself facing.

Today’s Quote & Question For 3/24/09

2009-03-24T05:08:00.000-07:00

HomeBistro: Chef Prepared Meals Delivered!
Today’s Quote: “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus

Today’s Question: Why would you want what you haven’t got?

New Personal Improvement Tool: The Goal Card

2009-03-23T05:40:00.001-07:00

Get Your 2009 Entertainment Book Here!
If your excuse for not keeping up with your goals is that you don’t have constant access to them once you write them down and post them on a wall in your office, I have a simple solution for you. Create a personal goal card to keep with you.

Get a blank 3x5 card and set aside some time where you will not be distracted by random life events to really think about what you want.

The next step is simple. Just write down exactly what you want to accomplish on that card. The only stipulation being that it has to fit on one 3x5 card, which means wordy, flowery, rambling thoughts don’t translate very well.

When you are done, take a moment to study your work. Did you fill the whole card? Did you use both sides? Did you have to write in super-small print to fit in all of your goals?

For an advanced version, substitute a blank business card for the 3x5 card.

The point of this task is similar to business people spending time in advance crafting a 30-second elevator pitch. Your goals can and should be as vast as your imagination will allow, but simple enough for you to communicate the basic parts to a person in a way that they should be able to quickly understand. This even includes you, yourself.

Finally, just put the card in your purse, wallet, or pocket, and refer to it anytime you find yourself working fruitlessly on a project that seems to be going nowhere. If the task you are doing is in line with where your goals have you headed, keep on slugging thought it. If the task you are doing is not in line with your goals, figure out a way to get out of it. This exercise is great for both business and personal goals.