Free? Don't Believe ItTuesday, February 28, 2006I received a flyer in the mail from a local car dealership. As usual, it was colorful and had that sense of hype all over it. Even at first glance, my impression was "junk." One thing unusual caught my eye. There was a "scratch-off" contest. You know the kind you scratch off and see if you won something. So I scratched and a number appeared. The instructions said if my number "x" matched the number "y" I won one of five prizes. 1. A flat panel T.V. 2. A DVD player 3. $10,000 in cash 4. A $1000 shopping spree 5. $100 in cash My number matched their number and I began to laugh. I showed it to my son and said lets figure it out. So we read all the fine print, which of course told us most of the story - but not all. Odds of winning for the 5 items above gave us the first clue. For numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5, the odds were 1/50,000. 50,000 the number of flyers mailed presumably. But what about the odds for #4? 49,996/50,000. It does not take a mathematician to figure out that everyone was winning #4. So now this deceptive little flyer became even more intriguing. I called the dealership and asked them how #4 worked. The guy who answered said that if you won that prize you would be given membership to a website and would be able to pick out items for your home like televisions, tools, etc. and only have to pay a shipping and handling fee. Yeah right! If all 49,996 of us claimed $1000 of merchandise, that would be just short of 5 million dollars. To see how deceptive this little game was, we googled #4 to find just such a site. You could select up to $1000 of merchandise and pay a fee for handling and shipping that equaled a minimum of 25% of the merchandise selected. So if we picked all $1000, we would pay $250. That would be a net gain of $750, so there still had to be a catch. The catch was simple. We looked at a guitar they had for sale. It looked to be worth about $75. The price was $385.00. So if we picked the guitar, we would have spent $385 of the $1000 "free money." Our cost for the handling and shipping fee? $75 What a scam. I am sure there are people who fell for this little game. It made me angry enough to post about it hopefully spare someone from getting caught up in this internet scheme. I will never buy a car from that dealership. Anyone who would play games with potential customers won't get my business. It tells me a lot their business. posted at 2/28/2006 08:00:00 AM | 4 comments links to this post |
Office PoliticsThursday, February 23, 2006Ever wonder if there is a place you can work where there are no politics? I would venture to say that anywhere you work you will encounter what I call the biggest office game, politics. It is a game. You can work for large companies, small companies, doctor's offices, and even churches and you will find politics. In fact anywhere you have a group of diverse people with conflicting personalities you are sure to find politics. You really can't escape it, so what do you do about it? The answer may be simpler than you think. First you have a decision to make. Are you going to play or not? If you choose not to play then you will most likely start to lose favor and your perceived job performance may suffer. Notice I said "perceived." You may be performing well, but your lack of willingness to deal with the politics in the office just might cost you more than you think. If you have decided to play, you will usually be much happier and come to realize that you can thrive despite all of the politics. Many people say to me, but I do not want to play politics, I just want to do my job and enjoy what I do. Why do I have to learn how to deal with the conflict in my office? If you have a family, ask yourself this question. Do you have to deal with conflict in your family? If you are married, do you have conflict with your spouse? If you answered "no" you need to get a bit more self aware. The fact is that when you have a group of people that must work together, personality conflicts arise. People with stronger personalities often have their own agenda and will not think twice about stomping over people to make sure their agenda is followed. First of all, decide you are going to play the game, but not sell your soul. You should never compromise your integrity or sell yourself short when dealing with the political forces. Here are some things to help you start thinking about how you might "play" and be happier. Always strive to maintain integrity. People can spot someone with integrity a mile away and are attracted to the qualities that someone with integrity possesses. Stay away from gossiping. If the water cooler is the place where the griping goes on everyday, bring your own bottled water. Do not be afraid of politically powerful people in the organization. The truth is that people who carry a lot of political clout are almost always receptive to someone who will feel comfortable talking to them directly about something. Actually, most politically charged people like to be challenged. Form a relationship with political players. Set up appointments to meet with them and get to know them. If you have a great idea, particularly a solution, feel free to set up an appointment with a Director or a VP and talk about it. If you don't have an idea, talk to them about their vision for the project or company. Find some commonality. When things get hot in a meeting and the words start flying, do not get sucked into the argument. If it goes on, simply be quiet or leave. If asked later why you left, be completely honest and say that you felt the conversation was unprofessional and that you had nothing to contribute in a hostile atmosphere. Be positive. Even if everything is negative in a situation, take the high road and stay solution oriented. If someone tries to engage you in negative activity, simply say that you have nothing to say unless the discussion becomes constructive. Be bold, but not obnoxious. Be confident in your abilities and view yourself as an important contributor. You need to develop a good self image. It will not go unnoticed. Do not get emotional. If you are confronted about something, state facts and never raise your voice or show what may be going on emotionally inside. You need to develop a good poker face. This will drive that office bully crazy. You will take all the fun out of it for him. If you need to confront do it professionally, succinctly, and unemotionally. These are just some tips, but there is much more I could write about this topic. The bottom line is that you should not avoid office politics. You should learn to effectively play them with no compromise. It has worked for me for years and I get better at it all the time. You can too! posted at 2/23/2006 08:34:00 PM | 3 comments links to this post |
No More DebtSunday, February 19, 2006It is time to get out of debt completely. Most of us work full time for a company, own a company or work full time at home raising children. The latter is the toughest job of them all. Then our check comes weekly, every other week or even monthly and we watch it literally evaporate. I pay my bills the first two days of the month and by the third day of the month I can't believe where it all goes. Not all of it is debt. I have a mortgage, no car payments (own both of my vehicles), and utility bills. Then comes all of the other "stuff" car insurance, medical expenses, groceries, association fees - on and on it goes. My wife and I do not live an elaborate lifestyle. We have four children and it seems that regular life expenses eat up too much of my income for my liking. We are paying some debt off from a failed business which makes things more stressful right now. And we are a one income family, so in today's world that puts us even further behind. I make a good living, so I am not complaining, but rather venting. My wife is working on her novel and some other projects that will eventually bring in some income and that is great! This will take time. I am an impatient person by nature and so I would like to see another reliable source of income coming in now. I have read all about "multiple streams" of income and understand the concept. The time has come for an additional source of income. More than that, it should have the potential to grow way beyond my current primary income. This is actually one of my goals for this year. Turning it into a stream that equals or exceeds my current stream is not part of my 2006 plan. I have to be realistic. I have tested several ideas and so far I am clear as mud as far as which direction I am headed. My family is away all weekend visiting her sister and brother-in-law. I had a meeting on Friday that I could not miss and a few other factors kept me home alone. I thought it would be a great weekend to make some real progress on this front and become that much closer to being debt free. It is Sunday afternoon, and I have little to show for the time I have spent. I am frustrated. I have studied several very successful entrepreneurs who have taken a passive income idea and turned it into a multi-million dollar venture. I see repeatable strategies in what they have done. Yet, I am stuck. I have a vision of for several new sources of income, including my primary source, my full-time job. As the additional income comes in I will continue to pay off my house and the rest of my business debt. I want to be debt free completely. Is this goal too grand? I do not think so. Many other people, no smarter than I am have reached these goals and surpassed them. So I know I can do it. I can become debt free! I think I need to take a break today and do something that has nothing even remotely to do with this goal. Clear my mind and get recharged. posted at 2/19/2006 02:00:00 PM | 8 comments links to this post |
Paying Yourself FirstSaturday, February 18, 2006If you have read the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" you know what I mean by paying yourself first. If you have not read Robert Kiyosaki's book, I highly recommend it. It is not a Dad only book. I would encourage men and women to read it. What does it mean to pay yourself first? If you work for a company or work for yourself, the principle applies. That means anyone who is earning income is not exempt from this principle. It is really easy to do. When you get your paycheck, you take out an amount and pay yourself. You do this before paying any bills. Where you put the money is up to you and how much you pay yourself should be determined upfront. You can always change the amount, but change it before you get paid. So when payday rolls along, you are ready to take out that amount of money and put it into savings or some asset. The deal is that you change your mindset. Most of us have gone through life and never considered paying ourselves first before writing out the check for the mortgage, car, utilities etc. Most of us never thought about building assets. I shared some of my goals for this year in a post during January. You can dig for that in my archives. I have a goal to add $10,000 to what Robert refers to as my asset column. Simply put, I have a goal to end the year with an additional $10,000 into an account. To meet that goal, I have to decide how much I am going to pay myself each month. Make sense? It is really easy; however, it is really powerful. Paying yourself first changes the way you look at your finances completely. If you have not read the book, you can click on my link under "Recommended books" and buy it from Amazon. Robert Kiyosaki has other books that might interest you as well. He also sells a game which I want to buy. I'll write about that another time. posted at 2/18/2006 08:00:00 AM | 0 comments links to this post |
How About a Best Buy Gift Card?Friday, February 17, 2006 There has been much written and debated concerning how to reward employees. Most companies either do not do it at all or do it "half-heatedly." It takes a commitment on the part of management to create a rewards program that is meaningful and even relevant to employees. It really depends on what the company does and what the employee does when deciding on a good reward system.Is a reward system really necessary? Yes. We are all human beings and we all like to know when we are being valued for something we did that was significant to the company we work for. We also like to be recognized by our direct supervisors - our bosses. There is no tricky psychology to it or revolutionary about it. It is just the way we are. 1. Does your company have a good rewards system? Here are some things to look for: 2. Does your company have a monetary reward for those who step out and go above the call of duty? 3. Does your company have non-monetary rewards to recognize individuals for great work? 4. Does your company have a regular forum to recognize those employees who have had a great impact on the company? 5. Does your company recognize great things daily? 6. Does your company recognize good work daily? 7. Does your company value employee input and recognize that in some meaningful way? Ask yourself this question if you are a good to great performer in your company. If you are doing just what it takes to get paid, then reward systems are not for you, sorry. "Do I feel like my company recognizes what I uniquely contribute as an individual contributor or manager?" If your answer is yes, pat yourself on the back for picking a good company to work for. If you answered "no", do not despair. You can contribute in a unique way. Make it your mission to raise awareness within management that there is a lack of recognition. You could even produce a document that shows management what you feel a rewards program could do for the health and vitality of the company. If you read this and say "yeah my company doesn't know how to recognize anyone" - then make it YOUR mission to change. Believe it or not, giving an employee a Best Buy Gift Card or a gift card to another store like Walmart (universally loved) can be a real boost. Something as simple as a gift card can go a long way. No surprise - I have strong opinions on this subject and feel that any company that does not have a rewards program needs to get an annual physical. They need to get their head (executive management) checked. They need to have their diet (how they consume employees) evaluated. Get the picture? If you do not have a rewards program, I hope you will take me up on the challenge to start raising awareness within your department and eventually your company. posted at 2/17/2006 07:15:00 PM | 2 comments links to this post |
Temporary Health InsuranceMonday, February 13, 2006If you have recently lost your job or you need coverage until you start your new job, you need to look into affordable temporary health insurance. There is an alternative to the sky high costs of COBRA and other options. When I shut down one of my companies and returned back into the workforce, I explored the options. We had a lapse in time before our new insurance would kick in with the new company I joined. Sorry to say that not all companies can afford to offer insurance from day one. Smaller companies get a deeper discount if they are willing to delay the offering until the next cycle. So, I was about to close down my own health care coverage that I had with my company and had to wait almost two months until the new coverage went into effect. After researching, I determined that a company, Fortis offered the temporary health insurance that I needed and it was affordable. I am sure there are others out there; however my experience with Fortis was great. If you need temporary insurance I recommend you checking them out. posted at 2/13/2006 09:30:00 PM | 1 comments links to this post |
Yahoo Domain Names - Great DealWednesday, February 08, 2006This is a quick post to tell you about the deal Yahoo has going on with their domain names. I have many domain names that I have bought and parked. For instance, when I have a need to create a website with my name, I will have the only .com website with my name. I have bought and parked bloggingboss.com and thebloggingboss.com to use in the future when I feel this blog is ready to get its own identity. I just explored options with Yahoo. They are selling domain names for as low as $2.99 and that is a deal. They also offer really affordable web hosting and even merchant accounts if you are planning on running a business on the web or even from your blog. A business from your blog? Yep, there are people out there making a living on the income they earn from their blog. Their blogs typically have great content and are a service to many. If you have a blog that really fills a niche, the opportunity to make more money each month is real. I am going to be blogging mroe about how to supplement your income. We all could use a few extra bucks! posted at 2/08/2006 07:34:00 PM | 1 comments links to this post |
First Month Of The Year is HistorySunday, February 05, 2006 So, how are you doing with your goals for the New Year? Did you set them yet? If not, you just missed the first whole month, or just about 10% of the year. That may not seem like a lot until you look at the lost opportunity. I have spent many months looking back at lost opportunities and getting so frustrated. The more frustrated I become the less likely I am to do anything about correcting the problem. I work out at the gym at lunch roughly 4 times a week. When I got back from Christmas vacation, my first day back at the gym was filled with new faces. People walking around with the staff with clipboards. I would watch them pointing to each machine, describing what each one did. They all looked so overwhelmed, but hopeful. The treadmills were all full and the bicycles spinning wildly. Some of the new folks looked like they might lose their breakfast. It is the first week of February and the gym is returning to normal. Plenty of unused treadmills and usually a bicycle free. Where did the crowd go? Although they set a goal they didn't execute on it. Why do so many people set goals or (resolutions) and never keep them past the first month of the year? They had no accountability or support group. I was working out at the club in my subdivision while I was on vacation. It was too far to drive to the gym at work, but I could do my workout routine without much modifications at our smaller club facility. And during the holidays, I had the weight room to myself most of the time. I could turn off the soaps and choose my channels on the T.V.s I have been working out for just about a year now. The only reason I have stuck with it is that I have other guys that I work out with on a regular basis. The first emails in my box in the morning are from on or two of the guys asking when I am planning on going to the gym. In fact there is three of us that work our schedules so that we can drive over and workout together whenever possible. It is so much easier to go and work out on those days when I am not overly motivated if I have someone going over with me who is equally as unmotivated. The net result - we both get a workout and feel so much better about the day. As much as I love iPods, I rarely take one over to the gym. The guys I work out with not only provide accountability, but a time to hang out and talk about everything from our wives and kids to college football. The human relationship makes all the difference in the world. It is a win - win strategy to keep fit. If you set goals for the year and have acted on them and given up or if you have not set any - it is NOT TOO LATE! Do it now. Write down your goals or revisit them. Make them reasonable and then determine who is going to help you stay accountable. Which reminds me. I need to call my friend Pete and have lunch. We are keeping each other accountable on the business goals and we have not met in several weeks. I bet we are both behind. posted at 2/05/2006 08:00:00 AM | 1 comments links to this post |
Micromanagers Try to Manage EverythingWednesday, February 01, 2006I have several other posts on Micromanagers in my September archives, so if your manager is a micromanager go check them out. Micromanagers are insidious. I will not state this any other way, because I feel ALL micromanagers should be doing something else than managing. I am sure there is something that they are more qualified to do. If you work "with" or "for" one, you are groaning right now. Actually you never work "with" a micromanager and you should never work "for" one. Micromanagers do not allow you to work "with" them. They are either doing your job or telling you how to do it. Then when you do not do something exactly the way they tell you, watch out. So it is impossible to work "with" a micromanager. It is also impossible to work "for" one, because it will eventually make you mad, intolerant, insolent, obstructive, physically or mentally ill, or insubordinate. Micromanagers do not stay within their own domain because they subscribe to a fundamental principle. The entire office is their domain. Watch the micromanager in your office - every office has at least one. They will assign tasks to people they have no authority over. They will call meetings about issues that pertain to another manager's domain. If you get assigned a task by someone who does not have authority to do so, go to your manager and discuss it. That is assuming your manager is NOT a micromanager. If s/he is a micromanager you should not be talking about anything you are not asked to talk about while you are out searching for your new job. I am being totally serious. It is like creating a feeding frenzy for sharks. Give a micromanager an inch, they will take a mile and then some. If you are a manager and you just had something assigned to you by a micromanager that is your peer, ignore it. I would never confront the micromanager directly. You are asking for more trouble than you need to deal with. Usually if you ignore the request, (even after 6 attempts) the micromanager will find someone else to do it. After all the office is their domain and they know there are plenty of suckers who will obey. In short, rule of thumb is: Avoid any interaction with a micromanager at all costs. If you avoid them, they will avoid you. Again if you report to one, you know what you should be doing. posted at 2/01/2006 08:00:00 AM | 7 comments links to this post |
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