2) Write out your goal for the meeting. Then make sure that this statement truly represents the result that you want to have at the end of the meeting. Lack of a clear, well-stated goal is the second biggest cause of bad meetings. Next check if a teleconference is the best way to obtain that goal. Cancel the meeting if you can achieve the goal with any other approach, such as by sending a memo, making a single phone call, or thinking through a solution by yourself.

3) Prepare an agenda. A teleconference without an agenda is like a journey without a map — in the dark. Without an agenda, you will lose control and waste time. Your agenda should include the goal for the meeting and detailed instructions for each part of the meeting. It should be so complete and specific that someone else could use it to run your meeting.

4) Distribute the agenda at least a day before the meeting. This allows everyone to think about your issues and prepare for their participation. If appropriate (e.g., for controversial or complex issues) call key participants to confirm that they received the agenda and to check if they have comments on how the meeting could be made more effective. Use this as an opportunity to listen their ideas, instead of to work on the issues or argue with them.

5) Distribute any materials related to the issues before the meeting. This includes outlines, blueprints, schematics, product brochures, and data. Then, the participants can use these tools to participate more effectively. For example, they can follow an outline, look at diagrams, or read data during the meeting. This helps compensate for the lack of visual contact in a teleconference.

6) Invite only those who can directly contribute to the meeting. Ideally, this should be fewer than eight people. If you invite more people, it becomes very difficult to hold an effective meeting. With a larger group, some of the attendees will become lost as silent listeners, which is a waste of their time. You can always send a copy of the minutes to the people who need to know about the work accomplished during the meeting.

A teleconference is more than a phone call. It is a meeting. And a meeting is a business activity that should be driven by a well thought out goal supported by a detailed plan. With proper planning, your teleconferences will distinguish you as an effective leader.

- – - – -

IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye helps groups of people hold effective meetings. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. And his books show how to hold effective meetings. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com.

Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas.

Once your prospect accepts your ROI arguments, their conclusion is not what you might think. You may be assuming they will now feel justified in buying your offering. In reality, their conclusion is that several solutions like yours probably all make financial sense. They are now ready to buy – as soon as they know they are getting a fair price. Now that you've done all the hard work and convinced them to buy something, it's time for them to compare your offer to the competition's. You better think twice before you induce them to do that!

Here is how you can "think twice" and resolve the vulnerability you have created for yourself.

Think first about preparing an ROI presentation based on common, generic aspects associated with your category of solution. Get the prospect to understand the financial benefits of investing in a solution like yours. As before, use convincing, relevant, proven data so they can fully accept the financial benefits as real and attainable.

Now it's time to "think twice." Consider each of your competitive advantages and build separate ROI models to quantify the advantages of each. This is your chance to attach a figure to your differential advantage.

A software company used this approach to justify the perceived expense of their system to business executives. Their presentation on common benefits demonstrated a solid ROI that would get the executives' attention. Next, the salesperson would present additional ROI calculations that quantified the value of their seven unique system attributes. This second ROI layer improved financial returns by almost 30 percent. Their software package was far from the cheapest, but nowhere near 30% more than any of their competitors. As a result, buyers rarely found reason to shop around.

Thinking twice can earn you higher margins and a shorter sales cycle. You will avoid pushing prospects into the arms of your competitors. Plus, you will finally be able to quantify and capture the value in your differential advantage.

Give your ROI presentation a second effort, and you'll jump from sabotaging your sale to securing it.

c 2005 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author (byline) information we provide at the end of the article.

Paul Johnson of Panache and Systems LLC consults and speaks on business strategy for systematically boosting sales performance using Shortcuts to Yes?. Check out more salesforce development tips at http://panache-yes.com/tips.html. Call Paul direct in Atlanta, Georgia, USA at (770) 271-7719.

Check the facts first to be sure that you and your team understand the problem the same way, and that you have data to confirm that the problem is important. Testing assumptions about the problem definition could include interviewing participants, collecting measurements, creating flow charts of what really happened, etc.

Organizing your project.

Don't assume that the resources you need to solve the problem will automatically be available to you. Solving a messy problem is a project. Treat it that way by developing a project plan, obtaining sponsorship, getting commitment to participate from key players, etc.

Root Cause Analysis.

This is a favorite spot for untested assumptions to show up, especially if you use a root cause analysis method based on brainstorming. Once you've got a list of possible causes, be sure to collect data, devise tests or do whatever you have to verify which causes are real.

Choosing solutions.

Test assumptions about proposed solutions by answering the questions: "How likely is the approach to eliminate a root cause of this problem" and "How practical is this approach (do I have the resources to actually do it and can I achieve the solution in an appropriate amount of time)?"

Testing assumptions throughout the problem-solving process will greatly improve your chances of solving the right problem successfully.

There is nothing so deceptive as an apparent truth.
- Russell Ackoff

copyright 2005. Jeanne Sawyer. All Rights Reserved.

Jeanne Sawyer is an author, consultant, trainer and coach who helps her clients solve expensive, chronic problems, such as those that cause operational disruptions and cause customers to take their business elsewhere. These tips are excerpted from her book, When Stuff Happens: A Practical Guide to Solving Problems Permanently. Find out about it, and get more free information on problem solving at her web site: http://www.sawyerpartnership.com/.

The objective in setting success metrics for a problem-solving project is to define the minimum necessary to solve the problem. This is completely opposite to the way we usually set goals. In problem-solving, we want to do everything necessary to solve the problem, but nothing extra.

Once you decide what your success metrics will be, check them with real data. This not only verifies that you really can collect and report the measurements, but also lets you establish baselines. Measure exactly what your performance is before you start analyzing the problem and taking corrective action. The baseline measurements let you confirm that there really is a problem and sanity checks the performance levels you've defined as success. You can make corrections if necessary, before you start down a wrong path.

Measure to determine that the problem is solved, but also use measurements throughout the problem-solving process. Measurements can also help you test assumptions, verify root causes, assure tasks are completed properly and report progress.

Bottom line: if you don't measure, you won't know for sure. Use measurements to learn and portray the truth-the real truth, not what you wish were true.

copyright 2005. Jeanne Sawyer. All Rights Reserved.

Jeanne Sawyer is an author, consultant, trainer and coach who helps her clients solve expensive, chronic problems, such as those that cause operational disruptions and cause customers to take their business elsewhere. These tips are excerpted from her book, When Stuff Happens: A Practical Guide to Solving Problems Permanently. Find out about it, and get more free information on problem solving at her web site: http://www.sawyerpartnership.com/.

Reducing the above to the basics of creativity (problem identification and idea generation) and innovation (idea selection, development and commercialisation), it is beyond obvious that diversity and intellectual cross-pollination produces better results:

a) Creativity can be defined as the production of a number of ideas, the production of a number of diverse ideas and the production of a number of novel ideas. Increasing the number, diversity and novelty of participants increases all three (further, manipulating group structures maximises output).

b) Similar individuals have a greater tendency for groupthink, path dependency and parochialism.

c) Diverse and novel participants increase frame breaking.

d) Radical change requires the introduction of new knowledge – less likely without sets of divergent individuals.

e) Radical shifts are more often the result of cumulative incremental changes; degrees of incremental change increase with diversity.

f) Good ideas result from increased tacit knowledge. A diverse group increases the tacit knowledge pool.

g) Good ideas benefit from collaboration – the introduction of a wide knowledge base into the equation.

h) Good ideas benefit from the utilisation of networks – the introduction of a wide knowledge base into the equation.

In conclusion, increased diversity is good. Doh!

This topic is covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

The first electric light was made in England by Davy, in 1860 Swan attempted to devise a long lasting light using carbon paper, in 1877 Brush lit up Cleveland Ohio and in 1879 Edison began work on a practical light bulb that would eventually glow for 1500 hours.

Recently, Linux – open source software developed through collaboration on the Internet – has grown to the extent that it is closing in on Microsoft's market share (news.com).

The above two examples indicate a number of factors about creativity and innovation that IBM should have learned a long time ago, some of which include:

a) Creativity (problem identification and idea generation) and innovation (idea selection, development and commercialisation) can take years and use huge resources – collaboration, networks and shared tacit knowledge rapidly reduce investment and rapidly increase speed to commercialisation.

b) Radical changes result from incremental improvement.

c) Radical shifts require the input of new knowledge.

d) New knowledge and incremental improvements result from eliciting tacit knowledge from a broad knowledge base.

e) New knowledge and incremental improvements result from eliciting ideas from a number of sources, a number of diverse sources and a number of novel sources – by utilising networks.

f) New knowledge and incremental improvements result from eliciting ideas from a number of sources, a number of diverse sources and a number of novel sources – through collaboration.

In conclusion, the probability of producing world changing innovation in-house is low. The knowledge pool is simply too shallow. And that can be said without considering motivation, group structures etc etc etc.

This topic is covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

What does CRM do? It lulls CEOs, sales and marketing department heads into believing that they can hold onto clients by using data alone. CRM bogs down sales ?

Now is the time to go put on your clothes and fire the tailors!

You have spent a fortune in purchasing the software, you spent thousands of dollars on man-hours used up in training and retraining, sent memos and held staff meetings, paid tailors(I mean consultants), and still are no closer to getting customer loyalty than you were 6 months ago. As a matter of fact it may be worse because client services have suffered while you spent all this time getting CRM up and running. Cut your loses and run!

Now pull out a clean sheet of paper and write down this "to do" list…

1. Set goals for customer service that involve "WOW" customer service principles. Design a quality customer service program. Set a start date and end date for evaluation purposes.

2. Read a book a week on client relationship marketing and "WOW" customer service and give yourself a test to make sure you have retained the information. Then USE it! Make sure all your employees do the same to one degree or another.

3. Evaluate all your employees, are they happy, do the have a vested interest in your success, would they want to be your client? What is their body language on the job, enthusiastic, angry, indifferent, bored? Get rid of dead weight! If a customer is likely to meet your employees it MUST be a positive experience. Pay your front line employees what they are worth. Smiles and enthusiasm are worth at least $1.00 per hour.

3. Reduce advertising budget… increase marketing budget… understand the difference.

4. Cut out or reduce systems that tend to isolate you from your customers, voice mail mazes, advertising campaigns designed for the general public, autoresponders, self help kiosks or webpages, overseas customer service centers.

5. Increase communication through handwritten notes, visits with clients, feed back and brainstorming sessions that put the client and the business on the same side of the table as partners, reduce outsourcing, reward good clients frequently, use greeting cards with commerative stamps instead of postcards with bulk postage ( Customers think, "If I'm not worth 37 cents you don't need my business."), put some thought into client gifts (diabetics don't appreciate candy) and finally ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, for referrals! Then ask for referrals again.

Don't look to CRM to solve the problems of customer loyalty. Look at your relationships with your clients.

Meredith Gossland is owner of Lasting Impressions2, a Small business marketing service, specializing in multicultural marketing and high quality low cost customer service. she can be reached at info@lastingimpressions2.com. http://www.lastingimpressions2.com

Creative owners and shareholders began to use stock options to provide their workers with an incentive to work for the company and only for the company. Normally such perks were reserved to the senior managers who were thought indispensable. Later, as companies realized that their main asset were their employees, all the workers began to enjoy similar opportunities. Under an incentive stock option scheme, an employee is given by the company (as part of his compensation package) an option to purchase its shares at a certain price (at or below market price at the time that the option was granted) for a given number of years. Profits derived from such options now constitute the main part of the compensation of the top managers of the Fortune 500 in the USA and the habit is catching on even with more conservative Europe.

A Stock Option Plan is an organized program for employees of a corporation allowing them to buy its shares. Sometimes the employer gives the employees subsidized loans to enable them to invest in the shares or even matches their purchases: for every share bought by the employee, the employer will give him another free of charge. In many companies, employees are offered the opportunity to buy the shares of the company at a discount (which constitutes an immediate profit). Dividends that the workers receive on the shares that they hold can be reinvested by them in additional shares of the firm (some firms do it for them automatically and without or with reduced brokerage commissions). Many companies have wage "set-aside" programs: employees regularly use a part of their wages to purchase the shares of the company at the prices which prevail at the time of purchase. Another well known form is the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) whereby employees regularly accumulate shares and may ultimately assume control of the company.

Let us study in depth a few of these schemes:

It all began with Ronald Reagan. His administration passed in Congress the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA – 1981) under which certain kinds of stock options ("qualifying options") were declared tax-free at the date that they were granted and at the date that they were exercised. Profits on shares sold after being held at least two years from the date that they were granted or one year from the date that they were transferred to an employee were subjected to preferential (lower rate) capital gains tax. A new class of stock options was thus invented: the "Qualifying Stock Option". Such an option was legally regarded as a privilege granted to an employee of the company that allowed him to purchase, for a special price, shares of its capital stock (subject to conditions of the Internal Revenue – the American income tax – code). To qualify, the option plan must be approved by the shareholders, the options must not be transferable (i.e., cannot be sold in the stock exchange or privately – at least for a certain period of time). Additional conditions: the exercise price must not be less than the market price of the shares at the time that the options were issued and that the employee who receives the stock options (the grantee) may not own stock representing more than 10% of the company's voting power unless the option price equals 110% of the market price and the option is not exercisable for more than five years following its grant. No income tax is payable by the employee either at the time of the grant or at the time that he converts the option to shares (which he can sell at the stock exchange at a profit) – the exercise. If the market price falls below the option price, another option, with a lower exercise price can be issued. There is a 100,000 USD per employee limit on the value of the stock covered by options that can be exercised in any one calendar year.

This law – designed to encourage closer bondage between workers and their workplaces and to boost stock ownership – led to the creation of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Those are programs which encourage employees to purchase stock in their company. Employees may participate in the management of the company. In certain cases – for instance, when the company needs rescuing – they can even take control (without losing their rights). Employees may offer wage concessions or other concessions regarding the work rules in return for ownership privileges – but only if otherwise a company is liable to be closed down ("marginal facility").

How much of its stock should a company offer to its workers and in which manner?

There are no rules (except that ownership and control need not be transferred). A few of the methods:

* The company offers packages of shares cum options of different sizes and the employees bid for them in open tender

* The company sells its shares to the employees on an equal basis (all the members of the senior management, for instance, have the right to buy the same number of shares) – and the workers are then allowed to trade the shares between them

* The company could give one or more of the current shareholders the right to offer his shares to the employees or to a specific group of them.

The money generated by the conversion of the stock options (when an employee exercises his right and buys shares) usually goes to the company. The company sets aside in its books a number of shares sufficient to meet the demand which will be generated by the conversion of all the stock options. If necessary, the company will issue new shares to meet such a demand. Rarely, the stock options are converted into shares already held by other shareholders.

In one of the next articles we will deal with the (surprisingly) dubious efficacy of stock option plans.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain – How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

John was smart enough to keep all customer sales data in a database which was a good idea because it is now available for analysis. The first step is for John to run several reports from his database.

In this instance, these reports include: repeat customers, repeat customer frequency, most popular items, least popular items, item groups, item popularity by season, item popularity by geographic region and repeat orders for the same products. Lets take a brief look at each report and how it could guide John to greater profits.

* Repeat Customers – If I know who my repeat customers are, I can make special offers to them via email or offer them incentive coupons (if automated) surprise discounts at the checkout stand for being such a good customer.

* Repeat Customer Frequency – By knowing how often your customer buys from you, you can start tailoring automatic ship programs for that customer where every so many weeks, you will automatically ship the products the customer needs without the hassle of reordering. It shows the customer that you really value his time and appreciate his business.

* Repeat Orders – By knowing what a customer repeatedly buys and by knowing about your other products, you can make suggestions for additional complimentaty products for the customer to add to the order. You could even throw in free samples for the customer to try. And of course, you should try to get the customer on an auto-ship program.

* Most Popular Items – By knowing what items are purchased the most, you will know what items to highlight in your web site and what items would best be used as a loss-leader in a sale or packaged with other less popular items. If a popular product costs $20 and it is bundled with another $20 product and sold for $35, people will buy the bundle for the savings provided they perceive a need of some sort for the other product.

* Least Popular Items – This fact is useful for inventory control and for bundling (described above.) It is also useful for possible special sales to liquidate unpopular merchandise.

* Item Groups – Understanding item groups is very important in a retail environment. By understanding how customer's typically buy groups of products, you can redesign your display and packaging of items for sale to take advantage of this trend. For instance, if lots of people buy both Vitamin A and Vitamin C, it might make sense to bundle the two together at a small discount to move more product or at least put a hint on their respective web pages that they go great together.

* Item Popularity by season – Some items sell better in certain seasons than others. For instance, Vitamin C may sell better in winter than summer. By knowing the seasonability of the products, you will gain insight into what should be featured on your website and when.

* Item Popularity by Geographic Region – If you can find regional buying patterns in your customer base, you have a great opportunity for personalized, targeted mailings of specific products and product groups to each geographic region. Any time you can be more specific in your offering, your close percentage increases.

As you can see, each of these elements gives very valuable information that can help shape the future of this business and how it conducts itself on the web. It will dictate what new tools are needed, how data should be presented, whether or not a personal experience is justified (i.e. one that remembers you and presents itself based on your past interactions), how and when special sales should be run, what are good loss leaders, etc.

Although it can be quite a bit of work, data mining is a truly powerful way to dramatically increase your profit without incurring the cost of capturing new customers. The cost of being more responsive to an existing customer, making that customer feel welcome and selling that customer more product more often is far less costly than the cost of constantly getting new customers in a haphazard fashion.

Even applying the basic principles shared in this article, you will see a dramatic increase in your profits this coming year. And if you don't have good records, perhaps this is the time to start a system to track all this information. After all, you really don't want to be throwing all that extra money away, do you?

About The Author

Steven Chabotte is president of Big-Web Development Corp, specializing in the development of email productivity and marketing tools for the web. Steven can be reached at webmaster@maxsponder.com or you can visit our websites at http://www.maxsponder.com or http://www.maxsvc.com

4. Tell your visitors what their friends or family will probably think when they buy your product. People care about what other people think of them.

5. Use blue, underlined text links. People have been branded that blue, underlined text are links. You do not want to lose visitors by using a different color.

6. Consider outsourcing part of your work load to a virtual assistant. You won't have to pay the extra employee costs and you can save precious time.

7. Increase your traffic by holding a free teleclass. You can refer people to your web site for more information.

8. Add an extra profit stream by selling the reprint rights to your web site content. It could be articles, e-books, reports, etc.

9. Spy on your competitors by buying their products. You'll find out about their customer service, follow up marketing, up sell offers, etc.

10. Allow your visitors to assume you are a large corporation. Use professional web design, graphics, content, customer service, etc.

About The Author

Over 40,000 Free eBooks ?http://www.ldpublishing.com As a bonus, Bob Osgoodby publishes the free weekly "Your Business" Newsletter – visit his web site to subscribe and place a FREE Ad! http://adv-marketing.com/business

Frankly, I do not believe much in introducing rational solutions to this highly charged EMOTIVE-PSYCHOLOGICAL problem. Logic cannot eliminate envy, ratio cannot cope with jealousy and bad mouthing will not stop if certain visible disparities are addressed. Still, dealing with the situation openly is better than relegating it to obscurity.

We must, first, make a distinction between a division of the company's assets and liabilities upon a dissolution of the partnership for whatever reason – and the distribution of its on-going revenues or profits.

In the first case (dissolution), the best solution I know of, is practised by the Bedouins in the Sinai Peninsula. For simplification's sake, let us discuss a collaboration between two equal partners that is coming to its end. One of the partners is then charged with dividing the partnership's assets and liabilities into two lots (that he deems equal). The other partner is then given the right of being the FIRST to choose one of the lots to himself. This is an ingenious scheme: the partner in charge of allocating the lots will do his utmost to ensure that they are indeed identical. Each lot will, probably, contain values of assets and liabilities identical to the other lot. This is because the partner in charge of the division does not know WHICH lot the other partner will choose. If he divides the lots unevenly – he runs the risk of his partner choosing the better lot and leaving him with the lesser one.

Life is not that simple when it comes to dividing a stream of income or of profits. Income can be distributed to the shareholders in many ways: wages, perks and benefits, expense accounts, and dividends. It is difficult to disentangle what money is paid to a shareholder against a real contribution – and what money is a camouflaged dividend. Moreover, shareholders are supposed to contribute to their firm (this is why they own shares) – so why should they be especially compensated when they do so? The latter question is particularly acute when the shareholder is not a full time employee of the firm – but allocates only a portion of his time and resources to it.

Solutions do exist, however. One category of solutions involves coming up with a clear definition of the functions of a shareholder (a job description). This is a prerequisite. Without such clarity, it would be close to impossible to quantify the respective contributions of the shareholders.

Following this detailed analysis, a pecuniary assessment of the contribution should be made. This is a tricky part. How to value the importance to the company of this or that shareholder?

One way is to publish a public tender for the shareholder's job, based on the aforementioned job description. The shareholder will accept, in advance, to match the lowest bid in the tender. Example: if the shareholder is the Active Chairman of the Board, his job will be minutely described in writing. Then, a tender will be published by the company for the job, including a job description. A committee, whose odd number of members will be appointed by the Board of Directors, will select the winner whose bid (cost) was the lowest. The shareholder will match these low end terms. In other words: the shareholder will accept the market's verdict. To perfect this technique, the CURRENT functionaries should also submit their bids under assumed names. This way, not only the issue of their compensation will be determined – but also the more basic question of whether they are the fittest for the job.

Another way is to consult executive search agencies and personnel placement agencies (also known as "Headhunters"). Such organizations can save the prolonged hassle of a public tender, on the one hand. On the other hand, their figures are likely to be skewed up. Because they are getting a commission equal to one monthly wage of the successfully placed executive – they will tend to quote a level of compensation higher than the market's. An approach should, therefore, be made to at least three such agencies and the resulting average figure should be adjusted down by 10% (approximately the commission payable to these agencies).

A closely similar method is to follow what other, comparable, firms, are offering their position-holders. This can be done by studying the classified ads and by directly asking the companies (if such direct enquiry is at all possible).

Yet another approach is to appoint a management consultancy to do the job: are the shareholders the best positioned people in their respective functions? Is their compensation realistic? Should alternative management methods be implemented (rotation, co-management, management by committee)?

All the above mentioned are FORMAL techniques in which arbitration is carried out to determine the remuneration level befitting the shareholder's position. Any compensation that he receives above this level is evidently a hidden dividend. The arbitration can be carried out directly by the market or by select specialists.

There are, however, more direct approaches. Some solutions are performance related. A base compensation (salary) is agreed between the parties: each shareholder, regardless of his position, dedication to the job, or contribution to the firm – will take home an amount of monthly fee reflecting his shareholding proportion or an amount equal to the one received by other shareholders. This, really, is the hidden dividend, disguised as a salary. The remaining part of the compensation package will be proportional to some performance criteria.

Let us take the simplest case: two equal partners. One is in charge of activity A, which yields to the company AA in income and AAA in profits (gross or net). The second partner supervises and manages activity B, which yields to the company BB in revenues and BBB in profits. Both will receive an equal "base salary". Then, an additional total amount available to both partners will be decided ("incentive base"). The first partner will receive an additional amount, which will be one of the ratios {AA/(AA+BB)} or {AAA/(AAA+BBB)} multiplied by the incentive base.

The second partner will receive an additional amount, which will be one of the ratios {BB/(AA+BB)} or {BBB/(AAA+BBB)} multiplied by the same incentive base. A recalculation of the compensation packages will be done quarterly to reflect changes in revenues and in profits. In case the activity yields losses – it is better to use the revenues for calculation purposes. The profits should be used only when the firm is divided to clear profit and loss centres, which could be completely disentangled from each other.

All the above methods deal with partners whose contributions are NOT equal (one is more experienced, the other has more contacts, or a formal technological education, etc.). These solutions are also applicable when the partners DISAGREE concerning the valuation of their respective contributions. When the partners agree that they contribute equally, some basis can be agreed for calculating a fair compensation. For instance: the number of hours dedicated to the business, or even some arbitrary coefficient.

But whatever the method employed, when there is no such agreement between the partners, they should recognize each other's skills, talents and specific contributions. The compensation packages should never exceed what the shareholders can reasonably expect to get by way of dividends. Even the most envious person, if he knows that his partner can bring him in dividends more than he can ever hope for in compensation – will succumb to greed and award his partner what he needs in order to produce those dividends.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain – How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

Organizational Affiliation

The Chief Financial Manager (CFO) is subordinated to the Chief Executive Officer, answers to him and regularly reports to him.

The CFO is in charge of:

* The Finance Director

* The Financing Department

* The Accounting Department which answer to him and regularly report to him.

Despite the above said, the CFO can report directly to the Board of Directors through the person of the Chairman of the Board of Directors or by direct summons from the Board of Directors.

In Macedonia this would be considered treason – but, in the West every function holder in the company can – and regularly is – summoned by the (active) Board. A grilling session then ensues: debriefing the officer and trying to spot contradictions between his testimony and others. The structure of business firms in the USA reflects the political structure. The Board of Directors resembles Congress, the Management is the Executive Arm (President and Administration), the shareholders are the people. The usual checks and balances are applied: the authorities are supposedly separated and the Board criticizes the Management.

The same procedures are applied: the Board can summon a worker to testify – the same way that the Senate holds hearings and cross-questions workers in the administration. Lately, however, the delineation became fuzzier with managers serving on the Board or, worse, colluding with it. Ironically, Europe, where such incestuous practices were common hitherto – is reforming itself with zeal (see Britain and Germany).

Macedonia is still after the cosy, very old European model: Boards of Directors are rubber stamps, devoid of any will to exercise their powers. They are staffed with cronies and friends and family members of the senior management and they do and decide what the General Managers tell them to do and to decide. General Managers – unchecked and unbalanced – get themselves involved in colossal blunders (not to mention worse things). The concept of corporate governance is alien to most Macedonian firms and the companies are regarded by most general managers as milking cows – fast paths to personal enrichment.

Functions of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO):

(1) To regulate, supervise and implement a timely, full and accurate set of accounting books of the firm reflecting all its activities in a manner commensurate with the relevant legislation and regulation in the territories of operations of the firm and with internal guidelines set from time to time by the Board of Directors of the firm.

This is somewhat difficult in Macedonia. The books do not reflect reality because they are "tax driven" (i.e., intended to cheat the tax authorities out of tax revenues). Two sets of books are maintained: the real ones which incorporates all the income – and another one which is presented to the tax authorities. This gives the CFO an inordinate power. First, he is in a position to blackmail the management and the shareholders of the firm. Secondly, he becomes the information junction of the firm, the only one who has the whole picture. If he is dishonest, he can easily enrich himself. But he cannot be honest: he has to constantly lie and he does so as a life long habit. He (or she) develop a cognitive dissonance: I am honest with my superiors – I only lie to the State.

(2) To implement continuous financial audit and control systems to monitor the performance of the firm, its flow of funds, the adherence to the budget, the expenditures, the income, the cost of sales and other budgetary items.

In Macedonia, this is often confused with central planning. Financial control does not mean the waste of precious management resources on verifying petty expenses. Nor does it mean a budget which goes to such details as how many tea bags will be consumed by whom and where. Managers in Macedonia are still under the feeling that they are supervised and followed, that they have quotas to complete, that they have to act as though they are working (even if they are, in reality, most of the time, idle). So, they engage in the old time central planning and they do it through the budget. This is wrong.

A budget in a firm is no different than the budget of the State. It has exactly the same functions. It is a statement of policy, a beacon showing the way to a better (=more profitable future). It set the strategic (and not the tactical) goals of the firm: new products to develop, new markets to penetrate, new management techniques to implement, possible collaborations, identification of the competition, of the relative competitive advantages. Above all, a budget must allocate the scarce resources of the firm in order to obtain a maximum impact (=efficiently). All this, unfortunately, is missing from budgets of firms in Macedonia (that I have seen).

But the budget is only an amalgamation of the intentions. No less important are the control and audit mechanisms which go with it. Audit could be external but must be complemented by internal procedures. It is the job of the CFO to provide the management with a real time tool which will inform them what is happening in the firm and where are the problematic, potential inflammatory areas of activity and performance.

Additional functions of the CFO include:

(3) To timely, regularly and duly prepare and present to the Board of Directors financial statements and reports as required by all pertinent laws and regulations in the territories of the operations of the firm and as deemed necessary and demanded from time to time by the Board of Directors of the Firm.

The warning signs and barbed wire which separate the various organs of the Western firm (management from Board of Directors and both from the shareholders) – have yet to reach Macedonia. As I said: the Board is full with the cronies of the management. In many companies, the General Manager uses the Board as a way to secure the loyalty of his cronies, friends and family members by paying them hefty fees for their participation (and presumed contribution) in the meetings of the Board. The poor CFO is loyal to the management – not to the firm. The firm is nothing but a vehicle for self enrichment and does not exist in the Western sense, as a separate functional entity which demands the undivided loyalty of its officers. A weak CFO will become a pawn in the get-rich-quick schemes – a stronger one will become a partner in them. In both cases, he will be forced to collaborate, from time to time, with things which conflict with his conscience.

It is important to emphasize that not all Macedonian companies are like that. In some of them, the situation is much better and closer to the West. But there are prevailing senses of geopolitical insecurity (what will be the future of Macedonia), political insecurity (will my party remain in power), corporate insecurity (will my company continue to exist in this horrible economic situation) and personal insecurity (will I continue to be the General Manager). These insecurities combine to breed short-sightedness, speculative streaks, a drive to get rich while the going is good (and thus to rob the company) – and up to criminal tendencies.

(4) To comply with all reporting, accounting and audit requirements imposed by the capital markets or regulatory bodies of capital markets in which the securities of the firm are traded or are about to be traded or otherwise listed.

The absence of a functioning capital market in Macedonia and the inability of Macedonian firms to access foreign capital markets – make the life of the CFO harder and easier at the same time. Harder – because there is nothing like a stock exchange listing to impose discipline, transparency and long-term, management-independent strategic thinking on a firm traded in it. Discipline and transparency require an enormous amount of investment by the financial structures of the firm: quarterly reports, audited annual financial statements, disclosure of important business developments, interaction with regulators (a tedious affair) – all fall within the realm of the CFO. Why, therefore, should his life become more agreeable by it? Because discipline and transparency make the life of a CFO easier in the long run. Just think how much easier it is to maintain one set of books instead of two or to avoid conflicts with tax authorities on the one hand and the management on the other.

(5) To prepare and present for the approval of the Board of Directors an annual budget, other budgets, financial plans, business plans, feasibility studies, investment memoranda and all other financial and business documents as may be required from time to time by the Board of Directors of the Firm.

The primal sin in Macedonia was the so called Privatization. The law was flawed. To mix the functions of management, workers and ownership is detrimental to a firm, yet this is exactly the path that was chosen in Macedonia. Management takeovers and Employee takeovers forced the new, impoverished, owners to rob the firm in order to pay for the shares. Thus, they were unable to inject new capital, new expertise, new management, anything new. The companies are dying slowly.

One of the problems thus wrought was the total confusion regarding the organic structure of the firm. The Board was composed of friends of the Management because they were also the owners – but they could be easily fired by their own workers, who were also the owners and so on. his introduced an incredible amount of insecurity among the management ranks (see previous point).

(6) To alert the Board of Directors and to warn it regarding any irregularity, lack of compliance, lack of adherence, lacunas and problems whether actual or potential concerning the financial systems, the financial operations, the financing plans, the accounting, the audits, the budgets and any other matter of a financial nature or which could or does have a financial implication.

No chance – see my previous points and the previous article. The CFO is absolutely aligned and identified with the management. The Board is meaningless. The concept of ownership is meaningless because everyone owns everything and there is no identifiable owners (except in a few companies). Absurdly, Communism (the common ownership of means of production) has returned in full vengeance, though in disguise, precisely because of the ostensibly most capitalist act of all, privatization.

(7) To collaborate and coordinate the activities of outside suppliers of financial services hired or contracted by the firm, including accountants, auditors, financial consultants, underwriters and brokers, the banking system and other financial venues.

Many Macedonian firms (again, not all) are interested in collusion – not in consultancy. By hiring the consultant or the accountant – they believe that they own him. They are bitterly disappointed and enraged when they discover that an accountant has to comply with the rules of his trade or that a financial consultant will protect his reputation by refusing to collaborate with scams of the management.

(8) To maintain a working relationship and to develop additional relationships with banks, financial institutions and capital markets with the aim of securing the funds necessary for the operations of the firm, the attainment of its development plans and its investments.

One of the main functions of the Macedonian CFO is to be personally connected to the banks. The financial institutions which pass for banks in Macedonia lend money on the basis of personal acquaintance more than on the basis of analysis or rational decision making. This "old boy network" replaces the orderly collection of data and credit rating of borrowers. This also allows for favouritism and corruption in the banking sector. A CFO who is unable to participate in these games is deemed by the management to be "weak", "ineffective" or "no-good". The lack of non-bank financing options and the general squeeze on liquidity make matters even worse for the finance manager. He must collaborate with the skewed practices and decision making processes of the banks – or perish.

(9) To fully computerize all the above activities in a combined hardware-software and communications system which will integrate into the systems of other members of the group of companies.

(10) Otherwise, to initiate and engage in all manner of activities, whether financial or of other nature, conducive to the financial health, the growth prospects and the fulfilment of investment plans of the firm to the best of his ability and with the appropriate dedication of the time and efforts required.

And this, point 10, is what CFOs in the West are doing most of their working time. It is their brain that is valued – not their connections or cunning. Winning the game while acting legally is the foremost tribute and epitaph.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain – How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

c) Creativity is a cognitive process and case dependent. Not all people produce equal quantities of ideas across tasks and, importantly, the same people do not produce equal quantities of ideas across tasks.

d) Too many assumptions are made. Some have been indicated : the assumption that creativity and innovation are stable and transferable across situations ; motivation and competencies are not accounted for etc etc etc.

e) Collaboration, networking and such are ignored. Intellectual cross pollination results in a higher degree of creative output than is produced by individuals alone.

f) The generalisability, variability and reliability of the test paramters can be disputed.

These topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?http://www.managing-creativity.com.

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop MBA, is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

4. Create joint venture deals with other businesses. You can expand your product line and target other profitable markets at a lower cost.

5. Start an affiliate program for your business. You will be able to spend less profits on risk advertising and spend more money on guaranteed sales.

6. Trade advertising with other businesses to save revenue. You could trade e-zine ads, banners ads, links, print ads, etc.

7. Out source part of your workload. This can save on employee costs, equipment costs, taxation costs, expansion costs, etc.

8. Add low cost bonuses to your offer that have a high perceived value. It could be ebooks, members only sites, consulting, e-reports, etc.

9. Use viral marketing to promote your business on the internet. Give away free stuff with your ad copy include on it so others can give it away.

10. Follow up with all your prospects. You can use a free e-zine, a follow-up autoresponder, an update or reminder list, etc. —-

About The Author

Over 40,000 Free eBooks ?http://www.ldpublishing.com As a bonus, Bob Osgoodby publishes the free weekly "Your Business" Newsletter – visit his web site to subscribe and place a FREE Ad! http://adv-marketing.com/business

We are led to believe this is appropriate and expected behavior and this is all we are entitled even though we are the buyers, the customers and we use to always be right. I for one am quite appalled by this and cannot believe we as Americans are accepting this level of lousy service from our own people? Having discussed this issue with many Americans at coffee shops across the Nation, I find it most fascinating that everyone has several horror stories to tell about bad service in all types of businesses. We all have experiences, which are not very complimentary to the American Workforce, yet we are the ones who make it up. After all we draw our population for all jobs in all categories.

Kind of scary to see how far down we have gone so quickly and 9-11 did not even fix the problem. What do we need? Well here is a thought. Hold Labor accountable too? Yes good idea;

http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/sto…editorial2.html

After giving much thought to this it appears that the real issue gets back to the problems in the society at large, where we have chosen to place our priorities and how we have lost control through non-reality based thinking and public policy of our innate social needs as humans. Something seems to be missing. After all it appears that if you are going to do something you ought to give it your best efforts as promised when you sign up for the job.

Employees will blame it on the employer and say they do not pay me enough to take abuse from customers or to work at my optimal level. Employers say employees do not care. Employers blame the pay issue on the burdensome taxes on employment contributions.

Employees say they do not get enough benefits. Employers say insurance is too high, too many potential lawsuits, have to cut costs somewhere. Employees say that is not true, they do not pay me enough and want to strike, do work slow downs, do the minimal or not show up on time or at all. As unemployment gets under 3-5% the employees have the employer right where they want them, if the employer tries to force high productivity then they threaten to quit and work somewhere else. Employers then say that well, if we pay them more, there is no profit, unless they pick up the productivity then we cannot pay them anymore, they are not worth that much.

The employee says the Business Owners spouse bought a new SUV and that they are rich. The employer says well I had to mortgage my house to start this business and if they did not buy something then such as an SUV for their spouse's business then they would have had to pay the money in taxes anyway? The employee says, well then pay me more money, I deserve more? The employer says well you did not try to work hard, complained and now you want me to pay you more? Forget it.

Meanwhile where does that leave us? The customers? Hmmm?

Poor work ethic in America is destroying businesses, consumer trust along with the over regulation and lack of respect of the employers and employees.

Myself being involved in the Franchising Industry and studying all types of franchised and small business counterparts, I see a need to bring us all back together again.

"Lance Winslow" – If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

The integration (and attainment) of constituent skills that is the distinguishing mark of a core competence, is achieved and sustained through developing strong dynamic capabilities, particularly in a world of innovation based competition.

Competitive Advantage:

Whilst a core competence is a source of competitive advantage, not all competitive advantages arise from core competencies. Often seemingly unassailable advantages prove transitory because of a change of underlying factors. The very existence of competitive advantage sets in motion creative innovations that, as competitors strive to level the playing field, cause the advantage to dissipate.

Recognition of, and adaptation, to change is thus a pre-requisite of successful strategy. For many organisations, the only truly sustainable advantage comes from out-innovating the competition.

These topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?http://www.managing-creativity.com. You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop MBA, is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

"She is on a salary, and has some flexibility, but she is expected to be here forty hours a week. She has been coming and going whenever she pleases. Despite my warnings she still refuses to consistently even tell me when she will be gone. When I placed a written reprimand in her file, she cried, and promised to do better, but she hasn't.

I have even told her that she is inviting me to micro-manage her, but I am reluctant to cause her the embarrassment of having to punch the time clock, when none of the other workers at her level do that."

As Ellen and I discussed the situation, I learned that Ellen was already micro-managing Angelique. Whenever they had a supervision session, Ellen was taking extra pains to make certain that Angelique understood exactly what hours she was expected to be on the unit. We both laughed at the absurdity of helping someone with a Master's degree to read a basic time schedule.

When we looked at how Angelique had invited Ellen's micro-management, it was obvious that Angelique was acting like a child who had not learned to respect limits and boundaries. Ellen was being invited to act as her parent. Ellen kept reminding Angelique about the work requirements and when Angelique did not use this information, Ellen was first surprised and then increasingly frustrated.

When Angelique's response to discipline (being written up) was tears, Ellen felt an impulse to protect her and not cause her further embarrassment. Instead she tried to be understanding rather than critical. When that didn't work either, Ellen asked for coaching.

It's a Power Struggle

It's not unusual for a manager and an employee to get into a power struggle like Ellen has with Angelique. It is especially common for people who are still in power struggles with their own parents to get into power struggles with authority figures. Managers and supervisors are readily available authority figures.

Instead of seeing the manager as just another person whose job happens to be to give others instructions about how to do their jobs, the Angeliques of the world see managers differently. They see managers as enemies with whom they need to struggle to prove that they are independent and autonomous.

Supervisors at work, and significant others in private life, are the prime targets for their need to establish their independence by repeatedly creating and resolving power struggles.

Creating Appropriate Limits

Angelique had managed to create a power struggle with Ellen; and Ellen, like many forward thinking managers, was confused about what to do. Although she did not want to be Angelique's parent, she did need to provide firm, matter-of-fact consequences for any team member who ignored important rules.

When Angelique experiences this discipline she can decide whether or not to give up the struggle and act like a mature adult in the workplace. Whether Ellen likes it or not, she probably can't help Angelique become a productive member of the unit without providing these consequences.

Ellen confirmed that this was probably necessary. She knows that Angelique grew up in a wealthy, overindulgent family and that Angelique's father purchased a house for her to live in, and she has few financial responsibilities. Ellen noted, "She has trouble setting appropriate limits for some of the patients she works with, too. Is this another sign of her need for limits?"

Once the situation becomes clear, Ellen created a plan. She decided to warn Angelique that if she does not follow the unit's guidelines about working hours and appropriate notification, this month, she will have to punch the time clock next month, and will have written notice warning her of termination placed in her file. "If she does not follow procedures with the time clock, she will then be terminated."

Ellen was relieved. "I want to get out of the power struggle and supervise her appropriately. She is certainly intelligent enough to keep her job if she wants it."

For more secrets please visit Laurie at http://www.DareToSayIt.com

Free Mini-course: "Secrets for Turning Difficult Conversations into Amazing Opportunities for Cooperation and Success?" www.DareToSayIt.com introducing the information packed ebook, "I Wouldn't Dare say That!" How to Have Important Conversations that Build Working Relationships.

About The Author

Laurie Weiss, Ph.D., is an internationally known executive coach, psychotherapist, and author.

Laurie Weiss, Ph.D., Master Certified Coach
Expert Coaching for Personal and Working Relationships
Empowerment Systems
506 West Davies Way
Littleton, CO 80120
303-794-5379
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www.empowermentsystems.com
laurieweiss@empowermentsystems.com

I can't help thinking about all the time and money went into implementing this slick new solution, that probably cost an arm and a leg, had little to no impact on cost savings, destroyed customer satisfaction, and obviously put the employee in a perpetual stae of 'grumpy'. No…what this was, is yet another example of "technology for technology's sake".

When I work with organizations on business impovement, one of the most important themes I try to drill home is PROCESS FIRST, then technology. You don't implement technology on top of a broken process. Nor do you attempt to fix a broken brocess with technology only.

The right path is to measure the effectiveness of the process before you begin. Establish a baseline. Understand how the process works today ('As Is' State). Look for places to improve the process. Define changes. Examine the effect of each potential change on overall performance. Then, and only then, define the technology, systems, skills, and organization needed to support the new process. Develop cost benefits and business cases. Re-examine the degree to which performance will be improved over baseline. And then your almost ready for implementation.

It's a simple principle, but one that often get overlooked. Try to pay some attention to this in your everyday life and you'll probably see many similar examples. Then, use these as lessons learned, and start living by the mantra- "First Things First"- process first, technology later.

For the past 18 years, Bob has served in a variety of capacities, ranging from Internal Auditing and operations management, to business process consulting and executive change management. He has worked for over 50 clients across numerous functional areas and process disciplines. His clients cover multiple industries spanning North America, South Africa, Europe, and the Pacific Rim.

Bob currently serves as Chairman and CEO of e Performance Group International, LLC, a company that delivers a unique web based platform for online benchmarking and best practice sharing for business professionals and executives.

In addition to his role at ePGI, he continues to provide private consulting, executive workshops, and selective speaking engagements to industry leaders worldwide in the area of benchmarking, business improvement and best practice adoption.

Bob can be contacted at rchampagne@epgintl.com or by calling directly @ 908-656-1179.

DISCOVERING THE PROBLEM VS. SUPPLYING THE SOLUTION

When we offer our Partners seemingly obvious solutions and expect them to change, we are failing to take into account their need to make comprehensive systems decisions first. Indeed, our Partners need to recognize and manage all aspects of their presenting problem before they can make sense of our suggestions. But it's not so easy as we think.

Let me make up a silly analogy using an iceberg: we all see the tip; but if an iceberg engineer (I'm obviously making this up) needs to move the iceberg, he can't until/unless he understands its size, shape, weight, as well as weather conditions, sea conditions, and its course of travel. Until the whole iceberg is measured and a new location is found, the tip ain't movin'.

There is so much more to influencing choices than we initially recognize.

Of course, our Partner's presenting problem seems obvious to us, especially when we've been in business a while and have seen it all so often. But the full ramifications of the problem – all of the elements that it contains, all of the legs it has to-and-from the rest of the Partner's environment, all of the beliefs and constructs that maintain the problem – are quite hidden.

And until or unless the client understands and resolves all of the elements that created and maintains the problem, she won't know how to make a change. She might act differently for a bit when she intellectually understands the reasons to adopt new behaviors. But if the complete set of issues aren't understood, managed, and accounted for, permanent change will not occur.

INFORMATION DOESN'T HELP PEOPLE CHANGE

Too often, sellers of change focus their drive toward change around rational, proven facts, generally accepted knowledge, or unique data – all of which I am labeling 'information'. While information is necessary, and will be useful at some point later in the decision cycle, there is no way early on for people to know what to do with it. It's akin to explaining to the iceberg engineer all of the dynamics of the moving crane before he's sized up the components of the iceberg, the weather, or the sea.

It's difficult to understand that accurate information is not enough to warrant change: people just end up resisting.

This problem shows up when buyers take too long to purchase. Or when people don't heed our advice and continue on doing the same-old, same-old, complaining fervently of an unresolved problem. It seems curious for us to see their problem so clearly, and have a viable solution, and then be ignored, while the Partners continue to muddle along with the same problems.

But a note of caution: it's not our job to understand or fix our Partner's problems although we'd sure like to. It's not our job to know what our Partner needs. The Partner must effectively manage all of the elements within their existent system before change can occur. Once they do this, as part of a facilitation process of painstaking discovery you can lead them through, they can develop all the necessary criteria for designing a unique solution; as support folk, we then just supply it. So much easier than us trying to create a solution based on a small segment of data.

I recently got a call from a young woman in a large recruitment company. She wanted to know how I would train 3000 people.

"What criteria are you using to know if they've been successfully trained?"

"We just want a training program. We're talking with several different groups, and want to know what you can do for us."

"But all programs don't offer the same things, and your sales staff would learn different skills from each program."

"Well, we want you to tell us what's different about yours so we know and we can compare."

"But what are you comparing if you don't know your criteria?"

I then used Facilitative Questions to help her determine her success criteria. Here's what she came up with:

1. differentiation from the competition;

2. loyalty and trust created from each interaction;

3. a 'true' consultative approach in which the seller helps the buyer understand and solve her own business problems;

4. consistent skills among all sales staff;

5. creation of value through each interaction.

Once we discovered the criteria, it became clear that Buying Facilitation would work for her. But until then, she wouldn't have known how to discern one program from another since 'sales training' meant something unique to her that I had no way of understanding without making guesses.

SYSTEMS

Let's digress here to underscore the importance of 'systems', which are the elements of the Partner's company that must be managed before change can take place.

People and groups of people possess unique, internal elements, or 'systems': they operate through certain beliefs; hold religious or personal or company values; collaborate with others (family, partners, vendors, colleagues) with whom they have another set of beliefs and values; work/live with rules, politics, and norms; have hopes and dreams, fears and regrets. In business there are often vendor or multinational relationships that alter the fact pattern. Indeed, all of us have very unique mind-sets, compounded when there are several people within the system, such as families or business colleagues. And these elements – which I'm labeling 'systems' – cause and create the Partner's landscape.

People/teams are generally unaware that their problems are a direct result of the mix of these very idiosyncratic systems issues. It's the system itself, in the precise way it exists, that has created the problem situation. Indeed, whatever is going on actually looks and feels 'normal' cuz that's the way it's always been. It's only when a significant problem crops up that people look beyond the conscious-comfortable status quo.

As outsiders, there is no way we can address, manage, or alter those unique internal issues. We just see the results of the decisions made: there is no appropriate training program in place; the person is overweight and facing serious illness; the employee comes in late every day; 20 people are working from a server that handles 5 people.

A solution looks obvious to us; even when a needs-analysis is done it often looks like our solution would solve the problem (see newsletter #51 – Needs Analysis: who is it for?). But no matter how smart we are as outsiders, no matter how much we can see, no matter how right we are, we are still only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

THE TWO STAGES OF DECISION MAKING

Let's start with one of my basic premises:

Information does not teach people how to make a new decision.

Since most of us use information transfer as a way to instigate change, let me offer you my rationale for the above statement: unless our Partners address their internal systems issues before seeking a solution, they face the prospect of upsetting any elements that hold the status quo together. In fact, there might be chaos if change is not managed appropriately.

In our iceberg analogy, that means until the engineer understands what he's got to move where, understands the depth and mass of the ice, and understands the water factors, he faces possible destruction of the iceberg if he tries to move it with only knowledge of the tip.

So there is an up-front set of decisions that need to get made in order to consider doing something new, and a secondary set of decisions to determine an appropriate solution.

In the first stage of decisioning – the choice to make a new decision by managing all internal variables – there are three distinct, sequential phases that all people and teams go through and which must be resolved (consciously or unconsciously) before a final decision can be made. In fact, each of these phases are carried out (consciously or not) in every decision made, whether it's a simple or a complex decision, or a decision made by an individual, a group, a family, or a company.

1. What's missing and how did it get missing;

2. How can we fix that with familiar resources;

3. What are the full range of internal variables that need to be recognized and addressed before a new solution can actually be embraced.

1. Where are we? What's missing? – Recognizing, understanding, and managing the complex issues.

Our Partners must be able to examine the full extent of the elements of the problem and acutely recognize (I mean deeply understand) what's missing that is creating the problem at hand. Does this sound simple?

How many of us, given all the time in the world to sit down and think, can actually recognize all the elements in play that have gotten us where we are, not to mention what might be missing from our potentially comfortable status quo?

Think of something about yourself that you don't particularly like: your penchant for procrastinating? Your push to work harder rather than take time with your family? The way you speak to people sometimes or your inability to really listen if you're distracted? Your forgetfulness?

We all have annoying habits or behaviors that we either try to hide, or wish we could fix. And even when we've tried to fix them, they don't stay fixed. Why? It's actually difficult from an up-close-and-personal standpoint to fully recognize, understand, or pinpoint all of the elements that have generated and maintained this quirk. It all just 'is', and has grown into comfort.

If seeing ourselves clearly is that difficult for us, how can we expect others to have an easier time?

Following this thinking, the main idea here is that only your communication partner – your client, your prospect, your employee – can know the full range of elements she is willing to address, not you. It is faulty for us to think it's our job to understand (so we can offer our solution?). Our job is to help our Partner understand by asking the facilitative questions that will direct them to their own solutions.

2. Fix problems with known resources – Seeking to fix what is already there, or find familiar vendors/sources of change management.

The next piece of the puzzle is that systems try to self-correct. Even when it's painfully obvious that there is a problem that needs to be solved, the first place that people or teams go to fix it is internal: they end up going back to those same systems that created the problem, hoping for a different outcome.

Of course that's insanity, but until they at least make the effort, they won't consider a solution outside of their comfort zone. Our training doesn't work? Let's tweak it. I'm overweight? All I have to do is stop eating ice cream every day, and I'll start today – uh, tomorrow.

One of the problems we have as change agents is that we actually believe people or clients want us to help them change at the moment they come to us to fix their problem. They are only attempting to get ideas to use so they can fix their own problem.

3. Manage all internal variables so no chaos will occur through change – pinpointing the actual ideas/people/initiatives/decisions that would need to buy-in to any changes.

It's only when people truly understand that they'll need a solution that's unfamiliar – possibly uncomfortable, unfamiliar, uncontrollable – that they sit down to truly make sense of all of the issues they need to manage in order to make a change that won't wreak havoc on their status quo.

Until or unless all of the internal criteria that created and maintain the problem are recognized, and a route is designed in which they can manage an efficient change progression throughout their system, people won't change. That means having the prospect address relationship, financial, people, historic, branding, belief, and (especially) political issues – whatever they see as elements within the larger system that maintain the current fact pattern. Let me say again, that as an outsider you will never fully understand what is going on. Your job is to support your partners through their own discovery and solution creation.

NEW JOB

The jobs of sellers, coaches and supervisors must now shift to include a decision support model. The Buying/Decision Facilitation Method is a method that leads people through the components of their decisions so they can recognize the elements they need to address and resolve. Our roles are to be neutral navigators who chart the course of discovery.

This will bring the following results:

1. what needs to get changed will be recognized and acknowledged quickly.

2. decisions get made with all elements included and our Partner knows she has all answers for her solution;

3. all decision partners are brought into the problem/solution within a few hours/days of the initial phases of discovery. In that way they create their own solution and have no resistance;

4. the seller/coach/supervisor is seen as a true advisor, and any competition is dispensed with.

5. the relationship between Partner and change agent becomes loyal;

6. pitching and presenting is minimized, as the solution comes from the Partner and seller/coach just supplies it.

We've been trained to have answers, to uncover 'pain'. But we can share the job with our Partners: they have the detail; we have the overview. Between us, we've got the whole picture.

Help your Partner change and have a full set of resources. Be the navigator that supports them. Don't have the answers, have the questions. Trust your partners to do their own changing. Your job is to serve, and supply the appropriate solution when they discover how to manage their own change.

sharon drew morgen is the author of NYTimes Best seller Selling with Integrity. She speaks, teaches and consults globally around her new sales model, Buying Facilitation.

She can be reached at:

512-457-0246
Morgen Facilitations, Inc.
Austin, TX

http://www.newsalesparadigm.com

http://www.sharondrewmorgen.com

Dr. Jacob, a chiropractor, was talking about his office staff.

"I have to do so many things myself that they could do for me, but they don't. They just don't seem care about what I want. I just don't understand. I pay them well and they need their jobs."

As Dr. Jacob's frustration increased, he explored the idea that he had hired inappropriate people in the first place. He reflected that if only he could find the proper leverage he thought he could make them do what he had hired them to do.

Leverage to Dr. Jacob meant the proper combination of rewards and threats.

Guidelines May Be Necessary

When I asked about what guidelines the staff was given to do their work Dr. Jacob admitted that he let them set up their own procedures with very little input from him. He communicated his expectations very vaguely, because he himself hated to be told what to do.

Dr. Jacob thought if he were "nice" to them, they would like him and work hard to assure the success of the office.

Unclear Expectations Produce A Schizophrenic Experience for the Boss and His Staff

Dr. Jacob only got angry when they didn't meet his admittedly non-specific performance expectations. When he got frustrated enough, he would insist that his rules be followed; telling his confused and demoralized staff exactly how to do what he expected. They were constantly seesawing between unclear expectations and over-detailed instructions that discounted their intelligence and experience.

Giving Others What You Need For Yourself May NOT Work

Dr. Jacob argued when I suggested that he needed to create clear guidelines for his staff and then leave them alone to do their jobs. He was sure his staff would hate him and quit if he did that, and he firmly believed they would never get any work done without closer supervision.

Dr. Jacob believed that everyone in the world hated structure as much as he did.

When I explained that most people need and want structured guidelines in order to feel safe and happy, Dr. Jacob was surprised. He explained how he had been forced to follow rules for most of his life and cherished his present freedom. He assumed that everybody else felt exactly the same way he did.

Give Your Staff What They Need to Produce Results

He experimented with the idea that some people felt nurtured by structure. Warily, he started telling his office manager only the outcomes he wanted including necessary completion times.

The office manager competently communicated the work requirements, the staff happily met them, and Dr. Jacob was immensely relieved.

cLaurie Weiss, Ph.D.

About The Author

For More Secrets for Turning Difficult Conversations Into Amazing Opportunities for Cooperation and Success go to www.DareToSayIt.com.

Laurie Weiss, Ph.D., Master Certified Coach, is an internationally known relationship coach, management consultant, psychotherapist, speaker and author. For over thirty years she has helped clients have the important conversations that create strong personal and working relationships. To schedule a consultation or speaking engagement call Laurie at 303-794-5379, email her at laurie@laurieweiss.com, or visit her on the web at www.DareToSayIt.com.

Marriages are ruined by poor communication. Rather than openly discuss sex, money, body problems or whatever, couples hint about their concerns or simply say nothing. But without support and understanding from your primary teammate, you do not go as far. In fact, a bad marriage can ruin everything in your life. Both parties in a successful marriage are able to give and receive communication from their spouse on any subject.

Life is miserable if you have no one to openly communicate with. Friendships are based on communication. The lack of friends or a spouse to communicate with often leads to mental problems.

So the first communication skill you need is to get out there and talk.

Unfortunately, on some topics, you've learned to watch what you say, to keep it under your hat, to zip it up.

"So that is the basic lesson that anybody learns in this universe. They learn to keep their mouth shut, and it's the wrong lesson. When in doubt, talk. When in doubt, communicate." – L. Ron Hubbard

Whenever you have doubts about something, COMMUNICATE! Talk, talk, talk until the problem resolves. When you feel stress, disagreement or resistance between you and someone near you, the wrong thing to do is ignore the problem. Instead, start communicating.

When you know you should say something, say it! For example, an employee knows another employee is embezzling money and so says something to the employee and/or boss. A doctor knows he must talk to a about the patient's rude behavior to the office staff. An employer knows she must discuss poor performance issues with some employees.

Take the bull by the horns. Move ahead in life. Spit it out.

If you're worried about the consequences of saying something, you can ask first. Examples:

"Lisa, I want to say something about your driving to help keep you out of accidents, but I don't want to upset you. Can I tell you what I think or should I keep my mouth shut?"

"Boss, should I tell you if I think you are giving me bad advice?"

"John, our marriage means so much to me I don't want to say anything that would jeopardize it. But I have done something wrong and I'm sorry I did it. I think it would be good for our relationship if I told you. Don't you think it's best if we are 100% honest with each other?"

"Can you listen to something unfortunate I have to say and remain calm? Are you ready?"

In the long run, you are always better off by communicating. Take responsibility and talk. Staying silent solves nothing.

Copyright c 2004

Fernando Soave CEO CUTTING EDGE MLM http://www.cuttingedgemlm.tk Free Cutting Edge MLM Newsletter. Fernando Soave is the author of "Cutting Edge MLM News." He has been in marketing for 20 years and is helping individuals succeed online. Visit his site to find out how you can get free reports. http://www.cuttingedgemlm.tk or Subscribe to the Free Cutting Edge MLM Newsletter and receive your +$585 MLM Value Pack. http://www.cuttingedgemlm.tk mailto:mnet@followup101.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE

The impact of change can have severe consequences when people are not prepared. I find that people don't struggle as much with change itself but become frustrated with continued attempts at addressing the future with the outdated responses.

There are 10 things that you should know about change.

Change will come.
Change is necessary.
Change is predictable.
The sooner change is predicted the slower change appears.
Change always provides opportunities.
Change doesn't define goals, it expands options.
Those who are ready will survive.
Those who anticipate will thrive.
Those who resist will lag behind.
What is now old will be new again.

Change is inevitable. There is not one among us who is immune. It is non-discriminating and can be relentless. We don't chose how much or how often we are subjected to the shifts; however we DO chose how we are going to respond. Being prepared means keeping pace.

A focus on clearly identified goals provides a sense of continuity so that it doesn't feel like starting over every time you are confronted with some "sudden" change in direction.

About The Author

Feel free to copy this article when you include the copyright and contact information listed below.

Valarie Washington, President of Think 6 is a knowledge broker helping companies improve organizational effectiveness, team performance, and individual productivity. Author of "Performance Case Analysis", she delivers high impact training to corporations throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Visit us at http://www.Think6Results.com or contact Valarie at washington@think6results.com or by calling 630-705-1189.

b) To prevent re-engineering. There is often not enough time to properly develop and commercialise a product but there always seems to be time to go back and fix it. It has been estimated that the cost of re-engineering ranges from the low to high billions every year.

Effective idea to implementation involves a number of disciplines:

a) Effective idea selection – the first stage of innovation. Innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation (as opposed to creativity, which can be defined as problem identification and idea generation).

b) Effective idea development – which involves a second tier of competencies. Where effective idea selection may be management, sales and end-user focused, idea development also requires technicians, designers and the like.

c) Effective idea commercialisation – which involves yet a third tier of competencies.

Each of the above can further be drilled to improve effectiveness. For example, idea selection can involve:

a) Selecting ideas according to type. Some idea types have a higher probability of success than others.

b) Selecting ideas according to strategic, competency and technical fit.

c) Selecting ideas according to practical impediments.

d) Selecting ideas at various stages of the idea funnel.

e) Selecting ideas according to end-user benefit.

There is much more to this …

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?http://www.managing-creativity.com

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop MBA, is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

I said in most cases, because I think there is something to be said about training your assistants. A couple of the assistants I work with didn't actually know how to use a WYSIWG editor, let alone modify HTML code when we first started working with them. However, these were intelligent people I'd come to know and trust online?which was very important. I think it's nice to be able to train people to complete tasks in the way you'd like them done and they might very well fit into you "business groove" all the better.

If you hire a highly experienced and widely skilled VA, you may have to fit in with the way they do things. You can also expect to pay a higher hourly rate. You might not be interested in doing a lot of training and just want something to get the job done?so this might be the best option for you.

I have seen VA rates range from $10 per hour to $50 per hour. You just need to find the right fit for your business.

Some Things to Consider When Hiring a VA:

1. Find out what software they have available and what skills they have. Again, people can be trained, if they are willing. You can also purchase software for your assistants. You may find this more cost effective than paying a new assistant a higher rate to use the same software.

2. Find out if they expect payment in advance of service or after service has been delivered. I prefer the latter as I have lost a bit of money by doing the former.

3. Ask about how they like to be paid. Can you use a credit card, PayPal or check?

4. Ask about how they like to communicate with their clients. If you are a person who likes to discuss things via telephone, make sure they are willing to spend time on the phone with you. If you prefer to communicate through email, ensure they are comfortable with that. If you are going to use a project management system (I recommend TasksPro), ensure they are okay with working that way. Communication is going to be your biggest asset in working together, so ensure you have good communication.

5. Find out how they track their hours and how they ensure you're aware that projects are completed. If you use a project management system, you can automate this process.

6. Make sure they are willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before starting work for you. This means they will keep all the information about your business and the work they do for you, confidential.

7. Some VA's will give you a price break if you keep them on retainer for a certain amount of hours each month. You may want to ask about that.

8. But before you jump in, you may want to "test out" a VA by offering him or her a small project to start and see how well you work together.

9. Ask for and check references.

10. Whether a VA has a certification or not probably doesn't matter. There are a number of valuable VA organizations that certify and train virtual assistants. I have worked with VA's who are certified and mostly with VA's who are not certified. I don't find it makes a difference in their work.

Alice Seba is a solo online entrepreneur who has increased her profits and reduced her working hours by working with virtual assistants. For more Internet marketing tips to help you earn more while working less, sign up for her Internet Marketing Prescriptions mailing list at http://www.AliceSeba.com

b) One tacit knowledge elicitation and lateral thinking technique is to use the five senses. This helps define problems and generate ideas along five different pathways, instantly increasing the quantity of ideas and further increasing the probability that quality ideas will be generated.

c) Setting a clear goal. Goals and incremental targets produce more output than simply "do your best." Prolific screenwriters that stick to goals produce more output and move along the learning curve much faster than those who simply wait for inspiration. Look at the untold number of people with unfinished manuscripts under their beds.

d) Separate idea generation from idea valuation. Creative and critical thinking and two separate and distinct activities.

e) Persistence pays off. Persistence slowly but surely helps develop the competencies required for quality output. Failure is a learning activity. Ridley Scott didn't achieve financial success with Blade Runner but went on to make some very successful movies.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

b) Better than others at it.

Following are some techniques that can be used to improve the quality and quantity of the idea pool:

a) Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whereas innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. Concentrating on defining the problem usually results in multiple problem statements and naturally leads to multiple pathways that result in different sets of ideas.

b) Problem identification is more productive when it benefits from the experiences of many individuals. For example, customers usually see problems that salespeople do not. Salespeople see problems that designers do not. Finance people see problems that designers do not. And so forth.

c) That idea generation is part of creativity and idea selection is part of innovation indicates that creative and critical thinking should be kept separate and distinct. Writing and editing are two different skills. First use creative thinking, which is expansive, imaginative, unrestricted, daring, uninhibited and revolutionary. Then use critical thinking, which is logical, focused, conservative, practical and feasible.

d) Prolific idea generation produces more quality than limited productivity. The best ideas occur way after the 20, 50 or 100 mark, when blocks have been removed, competencies learned and the experience curve climbed. The single best creative product tends to appear when the creator is being most prolific.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?http://www.managing-creativity.com

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com

c) The major part of learning takes place subliminally and unconsciously. When we are strongly motivated by an endeavour, we will become good at it by working on it at various cognitive levels.

d) Many skilled actions are initially learnt with much conscious effort then, with practice, they come easily and smoothly (subliminal perception and learning). After complete automisation, paying complete attention can actually be detrimental.

e) Incremental targets produce more output than a "do your best" approach. If a leader asks participants in an idea generating session to address a problem and think of at least 5 ideas every half an hour, then 80 ideas are produced by one individual and 1600 are produced by 20 individuals at the end of an average working day. This level of output is conscious and would not be produced normally.

This topic is covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity ?

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

It'll be extremely difficult to be a successful manager unless you decide who'll be on your team. You need to have total faith and belief in every member of your team and they need to know that.

It may be the case that you work for an organisation with sophisticated selection systems. Or you might own or work for a small company where you write the job advertisement, do all interviewing and make the coffee. Whatever the situation, there comes a time when you'll be eyeball to eyeball with a potential team member.

Before you can ask a question or conduct an interview, you need to be very clear in your own mind – you need to know exactly what you're looking for. Now you might jump in here and say – "I know what I'm looking for – a new receptionist or a maintenance engineer, or a sales agent and I want a good one." But what do you mean by a good one?

What you're looking for is someone:

*Who can deliver the outcomes you need

*Who'll fit with the company structure

*Who'll fit with the existing team

*Who'll respond to your style of managing

*Who'll be happy in the job

Let's look at each of these points in turn.

Deliver the Outcomes

The outcomes (you might call them goals, targets or objectives) for your business could be varied but I'm sure they'd be along the lines of – Finding new customers – holding onto the ones you have and getting them to buy more of your products or services. However for an individual team member the outcomes you need from them are probably more specific. These could be outcomes such as:

*More orders (You'd want this from a sales person)

*More happy customers who come back and also tell their friends (from someone in a customer service position) *Fast maintenance turnaround (if the person is an engineer or technician)

*Well presented and delicious food (from a cook or chef)

*A well run and efficient office (from an admin person)

Outcomes are what you and your team are judged on. So you need to be clear in your own mind what outcomes you want from the person you interview.

Fit with the Company Structure

You also need to think about whether the person you interview will be happy in your company and your culture. Some people who move from a large company to a much smaller one often find it hard to adjust and vice versa.

You must ensure that the person you employ will be happy working within your structure. That's why good interviewing techniques are vital.

Fit with the team

Will the job applicant fit well with the existing team? Maybe your team are a group of loners who don't communicate with each other but it's unlikely. They probably all communicate with each other have breaks together and generally chat amongst themselves. You can't pick people who're all the same – who wants a set of clones in the team? However you need to pick someone who is on the same wave-length as the rest of the team. Perhaps you could involve a team member at a second interview, they might have a better feel for whether the person would fit or not.

Respond to your style

How will the person respond to you, will they be able to work with your style of management?

I've had applicants at an interview complain about their existing boss – "Do you know that he expects me to do such and such." And I've thought to myself, "That's exactly what I'd be expecting also."

You've must have a good connection with the person you bring into your team. That doesn't mean that you're going to be best buddies but you'll need to be able to work together.

Consider if you're the kind of manager who likes to work closely with your team and regularly check their progress. If so, you'll need an individual who wants structure and detail and is comfortable with close monitoring. If on the other hand, you're the kind of manager who sets outcomes and leaves the team to get on with it without much help from you. Then you're going to need someone who is happy to work with minimum supervision.

They need to be happy

Job applicants don't know what they're getting into when they start a new job. They might think they know but how can they when they've never worked in your team or your company before. Just as it's a risk for you when you start someone new, it's also a risk for them. You'll never totally eliminate the risk but it's your job minimise the risk for both you and the applicant.

Discover how you can interview and recruit the best people for your team!

Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales by Picking the Best Team" This book is packed with practical things that you can do to – make your life easier and achieve your business goals. Click here now: http://www.howtogetmoresales.com http://www.alanfairweather.com

Cost = N * R * t + E

2) Estimate the value of the results expected from the meeting.

For some issues this step will be easy. Resolving a manufacturing inefficiency, for example, could save thousands of dollars. Or developing an effective strategic plan could earn millions.

This step becomes difficult for less tangible results, such as exchanging information in staff meetings or making some policy decisions. In those cases, you will have to guess the value.

3) Determine the return on your investment (ROI) by comparing value versus cost.

ROI = Value – Cost

If this analysis predicts a loss, either revise the meeting's scope or cancel it. After all, a meeting, like any project, must earn a profit.

In addition, a profitable meeting will be an effective meeting.

- – - – -

IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to hold effective meeting. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com. Call 714 -528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas.

Writing goals also provides important benefits. It allows you to consider, explore, and discard possibilities. And then you can show the goals to others to obtain their comments and suggestions.

Asking for help preparing goals is especially useful when working on complex or controversial issues. Now you can 1) use their comments to refine the goals, 2) win support for your goals by including others in their development, 3) gain information on issues related to the goals, 4) uncover issues that may conflict with the goals, and 5) develop strategies for achieving the goals.

Once you complete the goals for your meeting, put them on the agenda. That helps everyone focus on your purpose for the meeting. And it significantly increases your chances of ending with the results that you wanted.

- – - – - – - -

IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to hold effective meeting. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com. Call 714 -528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas.