1. On Benjamin Franklin:In 1757, Benjamin Franklin published "The Way To Wealth", a basic summary of his 25 year "Poor Richards' Almanac." In "The Way To Wealth", Honorable Mr. Franklin states the following:"Then since, as he says, the borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor, disdain the chain, preserve your freedom; and maintain your independency: be industrious and free; be frugal and free. At present, perhaps,...more
A) If you are going to transform yourself into a financial wizard, with money, security, and assets, then you need to begin this transformation by clearing out the cobwebs, and making way for a new tomorrow.B) We are all perfectly capable of becoming "Financial Wizards." None of us are without the ability to amass vast quantities of prosperity and wealth, in an easy, painless fashion. Benjamin Franklin believed that we are all equal, entitled to...more
Bridging finance, also referred to as "bridge loans" and "bridging loans", have nothing at all to do with re-constructing the London Bridge. Bridging finance is typically a short-term loan that a business uses to supply cash for a real estate transaction until permanent financing can be arranged. The word "bridge" conveys the fact that the loan is designed to get you over a temporary obstacle. A typical use for a bridge loan is to cover situations such as when a company needs to close on a new office building before having sold their old one. They would use the proceeds of the bridge loan to continue making payments on the old building until it is sold. Bridging finance almost always requires that you pledge some sort of collateral as security against the loan. You could offer up commercial or private real estate that you own,or are in the process of buying, machinery and office equipment or even existing inventory. If you have outstanding business and personal credit, as well as an outstanding relationship with your lender, you might be able to secure your bridge loans on just a signature.Because the need for bridging finance sometimes arises suddenly and without warning, it is a...more
The single most expensive stock market trades are those made with emotions, but, of course, you are not an emotional trader are you? Before you bought that stock, mutual fund or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) you did your research to be sure that what you were buying would return a good profit over the long haul. You bought it and over time you look at...more
Towers Perrin, the corporate benefits consulting firm, surveyed over 1000 American workers and found the following: Only 51 percent of all workers trust their organizations to tell the truth in employee communications Only 48 percent of all workers with more than five years of tenure believe their companies are honest in their employee...more
We consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as reorganizing, downsizing, and "left out sizing." We are faced with the question, "How do we lead in this storm of change?" It may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our short-term and long- term outcomes. I will share with you five leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during these difficult times. 1. Integrity. I put this first because the lack of integrity will make or break you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in the long run. The lack of this will turn yesterday's heroes in today's villains. For example, "MCI was the apple of the business community's eye. High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating the competition hands down. Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting irregularities that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management made a decision, "Do I continue to sustain good growth and be able to look at myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting books and spend the rest of my time covering up this integrity deficiency? The real shame of the MCI situation was that AT&T, Sprint, and...more
How many times have you heard something similar to this in a customer service situation? Customer: "Why don't you just do it this way, and it will take care of the situation." Customer Service Person: "I understand what you are saying, but we...more
Recently, a business associate, Mike, mentioned that he was doing a show at a local university and stopped by the faculty dining hall to get lunch. He said that, while waiting on line, the service was poor. The line moved slowly, the counterperson...more
Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area had much to desire as far as service I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch. Sure enough a group of four...more
Recently on the television reality show, The Apprentice, Donald Trump would give the ultimate winner the dream job of working for him, running one of his divisions and earning $250,000 per year. On the final episode, the choice came down to two...more
Recently, I was watching a rerun of the successful television show, The Cosby Show. The patriarch of this professional family (He is a doctor and his wife is a lawyer.) played by Bill Cosby, was just told by his college-bound daughter that the...more