Top 10 Tips On How To Stay On The Straight And Narrow
June 30, 2007
Top 10 Tips On How To Stay On The Straight And Narrow
by: Anne Duncan
Do you ever wonder where the hours have gone? I sometimes do. There are times when I find it all too easy to be, as the song says, “busy doing nothing”. Well, not exactly nothing, but not exactly the activities that are the most important; the ones that would serve me and my business most at that point in time.
One of the strengths of an entrepreneur is the ability to be self-motivated, to get out there and make things happen. On the flip side our enthusiasm for all things interesting and new, can mean that we risk going off at a tangent and spending time on things that are not really key at that point in time the next thing we know two hours have disappeared from out day. Is it just me, or does this sound familiar to you sometimes?
So, here are some tips to help you stay on the straight and narrow and maximize the time you spend at work.
1. Plan your day around high pay-off activities
5 Ways To Protect Your Bond Portfolio From Rising Interest Rates
June 29, 2007
The Federal Reserve recently raised its target federal funds rate for the first time since March 2000. This could be just the tip of the iceberg, though, as many experts believe rising inflation and a strengthening economy will spur continued rate hikes for the foreseeable future.
This is bad news for bond investors, since bonds lose value as interest rates rise. The reason stems from the fact coupon rates for most bonds are fixed when the bonds are issued. So, as rates rise and new bonds with higher coupon rates become available, investors are willing to pay less for existing bonds with lower coupon rates.
So what can you do to protect your fixed-income investments as rates rise? Well, here are five ideas to help you, and your portfolio, weather the storm.
1. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)
First issued by the U.S. Treasury in 1997, TIPS are bonds with a portion of their value pegged to the inflation rate. As a result, if inflation rises, so will the value of your TIPS. Since interest rates rarely move higher unless accompanied by rising inflation, TIPS can be a good hedge against higher rates. Because the Federal government issues TIPS, they carry no default risk and are easy to purchase, either through a broker or directly from the government at www.treasurydirect.gov.
Meetings-Management Meetings-Why are they a waste of time? The 80/20 rule and 5 steps to success
June 29, 2007
Meetings-Management Meetings-Why are they a waste of time? The 80/20 rule and 5 steps to success
by: Bob Selden
How often have you sat in a meeting thinking “This is such a waste of time. I have so many others things to do. I wish I could be somewhere else” Sound familiar? I’m sure we all have had these thoughts at one time or another and maybe for some of us, it has been very recent!
My experience as a line manager, senior manager and organisational psychologist over the last thirty years, means that I have attended and run many meetings. In my work, one of the most common complaints I get from all levels of the organisation, is that “We waste so much time here sitting around talking. Nothing gets done as a result”. Why are so many meetings a waste of time?
My conclusion is that the vast majority of meetings: • Cover information that could be distributed by other means • Focus too much on the past - what has gone rather than what is to come • Do not have a clearly defined purpose with intended outcomes
How To Write a Better Fundraising Letter
June 28, 2007
How To Write a Better Fundraising Letter
by: Kimberly Reynolds
Fundraising Letter Writing Tips
Looking for tips on writing a better fundraising letter? Use these quick tips
to craft your next donation request letter. Feel free to modify the sample
letter below to fit your specific needs.
Good news - Always start the letter with a series of good news
bullets to build momentum and make entire letter entertaining and informative.
- Use foreshadowing to tease your reader and keep him or her reading.
- Create a "widow" at the end of the first page (a thought that’s finished on page two)
- Make your reader turn the page.
Describe what you want to do next
- Tell what you’re going to do.
- Why you’re going to do it.
- How you’re going to do it.
- What results you expect.
List suggested contribution amounts
- Use even numbers in graduated amounts
- Offer a monthly auto charge credit card option ($10 a month is $120 a year)
- Include a blank line for write-in amounts
Planning Your Dive and Diving Your Plan ? Trading!
June 27, 2007
A colleague of mine just returned from a scuba diving trip in Cozumel, which just happens to be one of my favorite places to dive. Anyway, she was telling me about an unexpected difficulty she encountered while swimming around the corral reef down about 85 feet. It wasn’t anything serious but her story reminded me of something my scuba instructor used to say over and over again. “Plan your dive, and dive your plan”.
When you’re down about 90 or 100 feet the nitrogen acts on your body in a way that’s not too dissimilar to having one dry martini on an empty stomach. It’s called Nitrogen Narcosis, Rapture of the Depths, or Martini’s Law. So the thing to do is get your planning done while you have a clear head, (i.e. on the surface). And then when you’re deep into it, and you’re feeling a bit euphoric, or nervous, you don’t have to make any decisions about ‘what’ to do. You just follow your plan.
This holds true for trading as well. When you’re feeling the euphoria or nervousness set in, remember to follow your plan. And, uhm yeah,, also have a plan to follow. Clear heads will prevail.
What Is Bad Credit Debt Consolidation?
June 26, 2007
What Is Bad Credit Debt Consolidation?
by: Talbert Williams
Bad credit debt or the clubbing together of debt is know as
debt consolidation. Bad debt consolidation is a generic term
used for all types of debt. Thus you can consolidation
credit card debt or mortgage loan debt. In most cases, one
would also have bad credit history.
On the Internet, there are various options for bad credit
debt consolidation. One can shop around for various debt
consolidation loans.
You can also get an unsecured loan, even though you have a
bad credit rating. Therefore you can consolidate your loans.
To make things even better, your other assets will not be
linked to you if consolidate via an unsecured loan.
Many companies will also help you manage your debt. Normally
these companies charge a small fee. They also negotiate with
the loan companies for a lower rate of interest for bad
credit debt consolidation.
Thus they manage your monthly payments, making you free to
concentrate on other aspects of your life, so you can start
paying back the principal amount faster. Of course, these
Understanding And Maintaining A Good Credit History
June 25, 2007
Understanding And Maintaining A Good Credit History
by: Lavinia Snider
Credit history may be defined as a record of how a person has borrowed the debt and repaid the same over a period of time. A good credit history is an important aspect of your life.
Keeping a good credit rating is of immense importance to maintain the quality of life. It helps you to have easy access to loans at competitive rates of interest and with lesser formalities.
Establishing a credit history is the first step towards having a good credit rating. If you do not know your credit rating checking with the local credit bureau and getting a copy of the report would be the first step towards this end. Absence of credit history affects young and old. The problem of not having a credit history is also common among divorcees and widowed women as they might have shared the accounts with their spouse and that were reported in the latter’s name. Building a credit history by applying for credit in a local business unit or bank may be resorted to in such cases. Another option would be to open a savings or checking account to show your management of Money. Paying the bills on phones and pagers on time will demonstrate the capacity to pay. Securing a standard or secured credit card may also solve the problem in building up a credit history.
The Vital Few
June 24, 2007
The Vital Few
by: Paul Lemberg
Back in the 19th century, an Italian economist quantified the general relationship between a minority of producers and a majority of output. Sound familiar? The simplified version of Vilfredo Pareto’s ratio, known as the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle, says that in most cases, 80% of production comes from 20% of producers.
Quality guru J.M. Juran referred to Pareto’s principle as “The Vital Few and the Trivial Many”. If you are running a company the 80/20 rule has powerful implications for every area of your business.
Pareto’s postulate says 20% of your effort will generate 80% of your results. There is also a corollary: 20% of your results absorb 80% or your resources or efforts.
The game is knowing which is the right 20% - distinguishing the Vital Few from The Trivial Many. 20% of your customers yield 80% or your revenues, and 20% of your customers yield 80% of your profit. But not necessarily the same 20%.
Your sales force (even if it’s just you) will intuitively spend more time with the top 20% customers, but will it be the right 20%? There is also likely to be a top 20% of customer types, a top 20% of territories, and a top 20% of distributors.
Debt Consolidation Uk : United It Can And It Will Make A Difference …
June 24, 2007
Debt Consolidation Uk : United It Can And It Will Make A Difference …
by: Clarice Noelle
Desires keep on growing day by day but all of us have limited funds with him and to meet all the desires at one time is impossible Thus, to fulfill all the desires, one tends to borrow money from more than one lender to meet your funds requirement but later on these debts become a big problem for you , it becomes literally impossible to handle so many lenders at one time.There is a solution to this problem and that is the Debt Consolidation UK.
Debt Consolidation UK helps in debt management. Debt Consolidation UK as the name suggest consolidate all your existing debt into one for a lower rate of interest. At times, it become difficult to deal with so many lenders and you may even forget to pay the loan installment to any of the lender so there is a risk involved. debt consolidation UK makes you liable to one and only one creditor . It can help a borrower in improving his credit rating by making the payment on the loan in full and on time.Its not about putting more debt burden on your shoulders rather its all about consolidating the clustered loans into one big chunk to make it more manageable, it just a transfer of debt to a new lender.
Breakthroughs Now
June 23, 2007
Breakthroughs Now
by: Paul Lemberg
As a business coach I have written a great deal about building a higher performance venture, creating breakthroughs, inventing the future, and generally moving faster than the speed of change — or at the very least — moving faster than your competitors.
The most important thing you can do now - right at this moment - is get moving on something that’s going to make a big, a tremendous difference.
Reading this little bit of coaching and simply setting it down, even if you say to yourself “Wow! That sounds like it will work!” will, as you know already, accomplish nothing.
Pick a problem — pick something you’ve been thinking about for a while — and apply any and all ideas that you think fit that best.
Or pick any business coaching article at random and put it to work. You needn’t start big (although that would be my personal preference) - start small if you like.
Choose an idea and bring it to your next management meeting. Have your team help you flesh it out and put it into action.
