If you don't have much Blackjack experience, it can be daunting stepping up to the tables for a game. You can, however, hide the fact of your inexperience very simply by remembering these straightforward rules. (Note - the rules of BlackJack will differ from area to area and from casino to casino, but the general principles are the same. When in doubt, ask!). A typical BlackJack table seats a dealer and up to 7 players. Starting with the dealer,...more
Investing in the stock market is not purchasing a stock at 25 dollars a share, hoping it will go to 35 so you can sell it, then hoping it will drop back to 25 so you can buy it back, so that you can sell it again at 35, and so on and so forth. In my opinion, that is gambling. And, I would imagine, some would believe that ANY investment in the stock market is gambling. So, for the sake of argument, let's assume that every investment in the stock...more
Part One in a Five Part SeriesImagine what a professional football team would be like without a regimen of practice drills? Now take away their playbook and player statistics. What you have in this extreme scenario are highly talented (and perhaps overpaid) individuals participating in organized chaos. They might actually win a game or two, but in the long run, this team is doomed. Management PolicyI offer this illustration to drive home the point of why any organization needs to examine the existence and effectiveness of its management systems. If there are weaknesses or holes in your documented procedures (playbook), or benchmark measurements (stats), then you will want to take corrective action.Process PhasesIt is my experience that when a company attempts to establish its management systems for the first time, it takes longer than expected, involves more people than planned, and grows in complexity. To control this trend, I advocate dividing the process into five (5) distinct phases, each with clear objectives: Discovery Planning Development Implementation Rediscovery In this series, we will take a look at each phase. So this week, let's take a look at the Discovery...more
No more working for the same company for fifty years. Freelance work is becoming more and more prominent. On-line you can find work or someone to do a job. Check out www.guru.comThe world sure is changing, and if you look at job employment you will see what I mean. Let's just go back to our grandparent's generation, even though I'm sure if we went...more
One of the first lessons that "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" teaches is about understanding and controlling fear and greed. Many people go to work and work hard not to learn more and to grow, but out of fear that they won't have enough money to pay their bills. So early in their lives they form the pattern of: Get up Go to work Pay their bills Get up Go...more
Public relations changes minds in the process of delivering what business, non-profit and association managers need more than almost anything else - the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives. It happens when the right kind of public relations alters individual perception, thus doing something positive about the behaviors of those outside folks that MOST affect a manager's organization. Minds end up changed when managers follow a blueprint something like this: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished. Sure, as a manager, your goal is to show a profit for your business unit, or meet certain expectations of your association membership, or achieve your non-profit's operating objectives. A blueprint like this can make it clear to you that the right public relations really CAN alter outside audience perception and lead...more
Thinking of starting your own online business? Or, have you tried a business before and it never got off the ground?Last October I was looking on the Internet for ideas about getting rid of unpleasant odors from the house when I stumbled onto SFI...more
As a business owner, I've had staff come and go over the years: some have done extremely well, and others not so well. During the time I was involved in running my business, I found some weaknesses in myself that tremendously affected things that...more
Are workers telling the truth when they say they are ill? This question was posed on the Money Programme on BBC Television in December 2004. British Bosses are reporting that more and more of their staff appear to be skiving off with faked illnesses...more
American CEOs are dropping like flies. Boards, armed with new federal rules and stock exchange requirements coming in the wake of the corporate scandals of the past few years, are getting rid of underperforming CEOs at record rates. This trend is...more
Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly DRI-WEFA), states that all levels of government (federal, state, and local) should see steady increases in the purchases of goods and services through the year...more
Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly DRI-WEFA), states that all levels of government (federal, state, and local) should see steady increases in the purchases of goods and services through the year...more