This bill of rights was laid out by Franklin Raines, president of Fannie Mae on January 15, 2000. The Mortgage Consumer Bill of Rights is a pledge fof $2 trillion over 10 years to help consumers gain access to home ownership. It also includes an "Open Book" approach to underwriting where customers can see all of the factors that go into evaluating their creditworthiness and the process of applying for a home loan. One of the most ambitious...more
"Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one." Hans Selye - the "father of stress" and founder of the Canadian Institute of Stress. Every worker in America has heard of individual stress management techniques -- relaxation, meditation, and visualization -- good tools for getting through stressful periods. But if they're so great, why do we still have all this stress? We're going to need something more than mood...more
The period, more or less one year before September 11. The White House Technology Advisor worked in the mankind largest plan until now, to install a fantastic communications and IT network of 100 Mb/s in 100 million houses in the next 10 years. A plan bigger than the Kennedy's plan to place a man in the Moon in 10 years. The plan was being developed with a lot of priorities, 470 companies had already petitioned to participate and/or to invest, they discussed the more suitable communications protocol among the existent ones - as the H.323 - and the new ones, etc. The forecast was to announce it until the end of 2002. That plan had very big goals, among which I can remember:01. e-Surgery 02. e-Physician 03. e-Education (all levels) 04. e-Training (for companies)05. e-Business (B2B, B2C, C2B, and by voice) 06. Iterative TV 07. e-Movies 08. e-Security (Federal, State, Country, homes) 09. e-Elections 10. TV telephony 11. e-Police 12. e-Government (all between the government and the Citizens) 13. e-Theater 14. e-Conferences 15. e-Libraries 16. e-Sciences 17. e-Polls 18. e-Management 19. TeleCommuter (home work)20. All IT processing and storage through distant data centers 21. An...more
Beyond magnificence and splendor, the world of diamonds evolves on stirred grounds. When the stake is so important, interests collide. But technology develops following its onward course. Here are some interesting off-stage events in the diamond industry and innovations in technology.De Beers sued by head of the Diamond BourseDerek Parsons, the...more
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions."Now don't get me wrong. I spent many, many years training Customer Service Reps. (CSR's). I'm all for making sure...more
If you have integrity, nothing else matters.If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.- Alan K. SimpsonIf I were to ask you which attribute is the most influential in regard to the success of a business, would you know immediately which one is the most important? Based on my many years as a business owner and entrepreneur, I have discovered that at the very top of the list is the distinguishing quality of integrity. Without integrity at the helm of a company, a business is usually short-lived. In fact, when business integrity is present throughout the deepest layers of a company and not just at its surface, it becomes the heart and soul of the company's culture and can mean the difference between a company that succeeds and a company that falters. The Internet's Immeasurable Impact on the Marketplace! The importance of integrity has always existed among the business community, but in recent times has been shown as falling short. It is the Internet's immeasurable impact on the global marketplace that is now making the expression of integrity, reliability and credibility extremely important. Furthermore, the consequence of global competition means that customers will simply...more
So you've decided to write your own business plan because you know the value that the experience will give you. With the books and software that are out there today you can probably sit down and complete the plan in a day or so, right? Plug in the...more
An ongoing series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNThe "Seven Cs" are the danger signs that indicate your business partnership, or any partnership for that matter, is...more
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Competitive, Not Complementary ActionJames Carville and Mary Matlin are public relations spokespeople for the Democratic and Republican parties,...more
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 1Dr. Dean Ornish, noted cardiologist, says the greatest cause of disease is the stress that comes from conflict....more
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 2In a previous article, I wrote about how unresolved conflict can create havoc in your business and can often end...more
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.The 4th C: CUMULATIVE MONEY PROBLEMSConflicts over money are very high on the list of reasons that 70% of business partnerships fail. I'm not...more