Archive for the 'Anger/Conflict' Category

Nov 14 2009

Is Your Biz Ready for Pelosi Healthcare Bill?

Healthcare Dictatorship?

                                                                                                                   

In this week’s Wall Street Journal,  former NY State Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey brought to light some of the small business-impact details buried in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 1,990-page health bill (H.R.3962) that you need to know about:

The government will require

                                     

EVERYone to:

                                                                                    

     • Enroll in a “QUALIFIED PLAN.”  Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires that if you get your insurance at work, employers will have a “grace period” to switch you to a “QUALIFIED PLAN,” meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there’s no grace period. You’ll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.

     • Be legally required to pay  whatever the Secretary of Health and Human Services decides what a “QUALIFIED PLAN” covers and what your fees will be. Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that you will be told an amount 18 months after the bill becomes law. That,” says Ms. McCaughey, is like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later.

On 11/2/09, the Congressional Budget Office estimated an individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses: total $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus $5,300 out-of-pocket: $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less will be eligible for subsidies paid direct to  insurers.

     • Adhere to a “one-size-fits-all” QUALIFIED PLAN  even though it doesn’t exist. See Sec. 303 (pp. 167-168) The bill claims to offer choice—basic, enhanced and premium levels—but benefits are the same. Only co-pays and deductibles differ. You will have to enroll in the same plan, whether the government is paying for it or you or your employer are.

     • Include proof in your taxes that you are in a QUALIFIED PLAN.  Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) If you don’t, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt.

Sec. 412 (p. 272) says that employers must provide a “QUALIFIED PLAN” for their employees and pay 72.5% of the cost, and a smaller share of family coverage, or incur an 8% payroll tax. Smaller payroll businesses are fined less.

     The bill Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) cuts future Medicare funding by $500 Billion, takes away patient rights to choose which doctor to see, permits the government to dictate treatment decisions, and specifies patients may have to accept a nurse practitioner instead of a physician.

     • Secs. 1158-1160 (pp. 499-520) reduces payments for care and the standard of care for hospital patients in higher cost areas such as New York and Florida.

     • Sec. 1161 (pp. 520-545) cuts payments to Medicare Advantage plans (used by 20% of seniors) expected to cut back benefits such as vision and dental care.

While the bill will slash Medicare funding, it will also direct Billions of dollars to numerous inner-city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability.

     • Sec. 399V (p. 1422) provides for grants to community “entities” with no required qualifications except having “documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers” to “educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities” aimed at drug abuse, poor nutrition, smoking and obesity.    

     • Sec. 222 (p. 617) provides reimbursement for training healthcare workers to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their right to an interpreter.

     • Secs. 2521 and 2533 (pp. 1379 and 1437) establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs.     

 And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg! For the text of the bill with page numbers, see www.defendyourhealthcare.us     

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Input always welcome Hal@TheWriterWorks.com “Blog” in subject line or comment below. Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Hal

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Nov 05 2009

SBA GOBBLEDYGOOK

Dear SBA: You’re out of touch! 

                                

     I just read  a meaningless, unintelligible, patronizing, jargon-filled statement by SBAs Delaware District Director which reinforces in spades a conviction I’ve voiced in prior posts that the Small Business Association is utterly useless to small businesses and waaaaay out of touch with reality.

     She headlines her article  “100 Days After the Recovery Act” and starts out by telling readers how great all the new SBA programs are to “help small businesses weather this economic storm, and ultimately continue to grow and create jobs.” Where was SBA when these kinds of comments were being posed as requests over a year ago on this blog and many others?

     She ends with:  “America’s small businesses are the key to our nation’s economic recovery.”  (Duh) “The SBA is using every tool in our toolbox –and creating new ones when necessary– to help small businesses lead us out of these tough economic times.” (Double Duh)So tell us about the tools in your toolbox! In plain English would also be a nice thing to try to do, by the way.

     Get this, business owners:  You think the SBA is relevant so you read this gobbledygook (or gobbledegook if you prefer… a word that’s really worth looking up!) and imagine you might get an idea or two about how to help your business recover, right?

     Wrong.  Unless of course you happen to be well versed in “loan programs–7(a) and 504” because then you undoubtedly understand about “eliminated fees for borrowers” on 7(a) “and for both borrowers and lenders on 504” and that they’ve “temporarily raised the guarantee.”

     Oh, yes, and we should be thrilled  to know that “there’s been a 30 percent increase in average weekly loan dollar volume” and –on top of that– the new SBA launched ARC loan “program provides loans up to $35,000 to viable but struggling small businesses,” and that “SBA has now put in place programs implementing 88 percent of the $730 million provided.”  

You must be kidding, SBA!

  • What is “7(a)”? Who should be expected to know this?

  • What is “504”? Who should be expected to know this?

  • What “eliminated fees”? Why? When? For how long? So what?

  • Why eliminated for just borrowers on one loan and for borrowers and lenders both on another, and who cares?

  • What exactly does “temporarily” mean?

  • What “guarantee”? Whose? For what? For how long? What are the terms?

  • 30% increase? This has something to do with my small business?

  • So what? What does this have to do with me and my small business?

  • What exactly is “viable”? Is it not defined because not many will qualify?

  • What exactly is “struggling”? And again, how is this determined?

  • What difference does it make to ANYone that 88% of $730 million has been “implemented”? I’m trying to put food on the table. Who are you trying to impress?

  • What does “implemented” mean, exactly? Why can SBA language never be straightforward? Likely because no small businesspeople are speaking.

     Find me ONE “struggling” small business owner who understands all this crap. Just one. The problem here is that the SBA is simply another BIG-business-run federal government agency that hasn’t a single clue about owning and operating a small business … and that is more concerned with covering its butt and looking good to political administrators than with helping small businesses create jobs. It is tokenism run amuck.    

I served two consecutive 2-year federal appointment terms on what’s been called the country’s most important SBA regional advisory council (NY/NJ/CT and the USVI. I  resigned  because 31 of the 33 membership seats were filled with major corporate executives. I and one other member were the only ones who owned and operated small businesses. The job of representing and cultivating small business interests was not getting done, and it’s still not.

                                                                                                                                      

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Hal@TheWriterWorks.com or comment below.

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 03 2009

BUSINESS WITH A VENGEANCE

Getting Even

                                          

Is Getting Nowhere!

                                                                                         

     “Don’t Get Mad. Get Even!”  says the T-shirt. “Those guys in that company misrepresented themselves to us, and we’re going to make sure they pay for it; we’ll make them look like chopped liver to the rest of the industry,” says the disgruntled company owner.

      “I put that business in business, and what do they do?  They turn around and try to stick it to me; I’ll fix their butts good; just wait ’til they try to raise some investor money,” says the ego-injured entrepreneur.

     It won’t work. None of it.  The more you pay attention to trying to get even with someone or some entity that did you in, the closer you come to doing yourself in. If you’re crazed about delivering justice, join a band of vigilantes … or start over again and become a lawyer.

     But stop with the need to extract revenge.

     Vengefulness is a waste of time and energy  that diverts attention and costs opportunity loss. It prevents you from doing what you really need to be doing, which is making sales and growing your own business. The more you worry about what others are doing or not doing, the closer you get to self-destruct mode! 

     Not only are these kinds of evil thoughts and misdeeds  harmful to the growth missions you need to rally behind, but the ill intents get talked about and emailed about and txtmsgd about … and it seldom takes more than a day for others connected with your industry (including customers and suppliers and investors and referrers) to find out what you’re up to.

    Plus, the more you try to cover, hide, and disown it, the quicker everyone finds out. In the end, you’ll hang for it because your reputation, trust, and integrity will be flushed away in one quick jerk of the handle!

     It’s just plain not worth it to take your focus off of making sales  and put it instead on paybacks for upsets you have with another business. The best way to beat up another business is to stay away from it, and not bad-mouth it, just — plain and simple — outperform it.

     The best way to outperform another business  is to earn greater customer trust by delivering what you promise and by bending over backwards consistently, 100% of the time!

   

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  Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

  Open Minds Open Doors 

   Thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

  Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

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Nov 01 2009

DELIVER WHAT YOU PROMISE

52,000 People Bitching

                                     

About Your Business??

                                                                     

     If you can’t deliver what you promise,  please—P L E A S E— close down your business and become a politician, or go work for the government. Don’t worry; you’ll be qualified! I guess I had a gullible sign around my neck, but in just a couple of weeks, I managed to stumble into three businesses that failed to deliver what they promised.

     From “Fresh-picked” apples  that I bought at an apple farm in upstate New York, and kept — as suggested —  in a cool place, that rotted out in 48 hours … to Comcast Cable TV that kept Kathy on the phone for one and a half hours arguing with a rep and three supervisors (one dumber than the next) for billing her 87 year-old mother for two years worth of equipment she didn’t have and never had (Kathy’s tenacity won a $248 credit!) … to a magazine editor who promised  to print a story I gave him and then never said a word about not doing it.

     Oh, there were others.  And I’m quite certain many of you could add many more of your own stories. What sucks is that not only do people lie about what they’re selling, they actually have the nerve to argue about it — and then to add a little fuel to the fire, pretend they know nothing about anything, and do everything possible to cut off communications. Amazing. They should all have to go before Judge Judy; she’d fix ’em..

We’re not just talking integrity here. We’re talking branding. BRANDING IS  having a customer know in her heart of hearts that she is getting what’s been promised, and will always have recourse with the business she’s dealing with who will literally bend over backwards, stand on their heads, spit wooden nickles and kill her with kindness… just in case they screw up!

     If you are in business and you are serious about making your business work,  please take the high road! When businesses (the boss, or ANYbody who works for the boss! ANYbody!) promise a service, for a specific price in a specific time period, or a product for a specific price to perform in a specific way (and be delivered at a specific time), that business must be prepared to follow-through EXACTLY as promised or suffer the consequences of being bad-mouthed.

     Bad-mouthed.  Studies show that one unhappy customer on one day will tell at least 10 and probably 20 other people how unhappy they are and will also in all likelihood embellish the story each time, and those people they tell will tell another five or ten each. [“You won’t believe what happened to Harry the other day…”] 

     Let’s say you run a 5-day a week business  and have just one unhappy customer a day (even though you may have 500 HAPPY customers a day!)? That’s a minimum of 2600-5200 people a year bad-mouthing your business, and being repeated to the tune of maybe FIFTY THOUSAND negative comments about your business. No, that’s not exaggerating. Think you’ll survive?      

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Hal@TheWriterWorks.com or comment below.

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Oct 31 2009

ENVYING BUSINESS SUCCESS

“Envy is the religion

                                         

of the mediocre.”

                                   

–CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON, From his best-selling novel The Angel’s Game

                                                                    

      All of us have envied someone.  We’re human. But let’s hope by now we’ve outgrown those feelings or learned –perhaps the hard way– to put them aside. If you’re still struggling with them, and you also happen to be in the position of running a business, it might be a good idea to give some thought to where envious feelings are leading you.

     When someone else hits a home run  in business (in your industry or marketplace, or inside your own company!) many business owners and managers turn the other way, sometimes with a “shoulda been me” look of scorn on their faces…especially if the success is achieved by a competitor and / or a brother-in-law and / or a former employee…you get the picture. So what else is there to do except feel resentful?

     Well, how about  examine what went right for the other person and decide if there are any ingredients involved that might have application to your circumstances? I’m not suggesting that you have to pile on the other guy’s bandwagon and be an adoring teammate, or president of his or her fan club. I’m saying instead that it pays to be a detective and an explorer.

     When you take the time and trouble  to step back from what’s going on and what has been achieved, and objectively review and evaluate what has taken place that’s produced the end result, you will also be in  a better position to assess the dynamics of what occurred and have a clearer idea of what might possibly apply to your circumstances.

     In other words, take advantage  of what you know and what you can find out, and choose to make the  most of that information (instead of choosing to feel upset or depressed or vindictive or annoyed or ambivalent… or envious!)

     If “the road to hell”  is indeed “paved with good intentions,” envy of other’s accomplishments will most assuredly help to hustle you along the way. Instead make a conscious choice to put away your ego, and see each potentially envious situation as a great learning opportunity that you can absorb from and capitalize on. Take notes. Smile more. Open minds open doors.                          

  

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Oct 26 2009

How To Defuse Someone Else’s Anger

OK, so now you’re

                         

knee-deep in self-control

                                                                                                                            

     So, what’s next?  Well, now that you have a firm grip on yourself and total control of all those latent late night and early morning temper tantrums, what’s next on the agenda? How about some practical how-to stuff for defusing OTHER people’s anger? Oh, joy!

     First off,  you’re not likely to get an angry associate, employee, friend or family member to instantly calm down just because you can now wave printouts of this blog site at her or his face and point out that the angry feelings are a CHOICE. Right. That’ll get you a subway fare to Madison Square Garden and a sharp stick in the eye.

     What then can I do, oh Anger Guru? What then can I do?  You can START by really paying close attention to the person who’s angry and by listening carefully to what’s being said. To begin, when we lose sight of the present moment and make a conscious or unconscious choice to feel angry about something or at someone, our brains take us rushing into a past who-did-what-to-whom accounting of past wrong-doings OR into an imagined scenario that hasn’t yet happened (and may never)!

     The goal then is to try to help the individual who is angry to come back to the reality of each passing moment as it passes,  to be focused on the here and now. BUT, unless you’re a shrink (and especially if the rampaging bull is wielding some instrument of destruction), it may be in your best interests to simply pretend you’re a rock. Assuming though that the anger is something less than maniacal in measurement, consider the following:

1)  Ask the other person if they would be good enough to please slow down the torrent of complaints long enough for you to be able to write them down on paper so that you can give serious thought to solving each problem (or addressing each issue) one at a time. [Then do proceed to write down each point as a separate item on a list]

2)  Ask the angry individual to help you prioritize each of the items listed so that you can number them as 1: First most important to take care of, 2: Second most important to take care of, 3: Third most important to take care of, etc., etc.

3)  Attack the items in order of the ranking by paraphrasing what was said about each (i.e., “Now let’s see, if I understand you correctly” or “Do I understand you correctly to mean that when Mary pulled John’s toupee off, he reached for it and she went to bite his hand but her dentures fell into the mixing vat and got processed into the pickle jars that were just loaded on the truck that left twenty minutes ago? Is that what you’re saying?”

Repeat and paraphrase until the angry person agrees 100% with your understanding of what the upset is all about, then complete that with a positive comment: “Good. I’m glad I understand this.”

4)  Ask for help in resolving the issue at hand, or at least provide some alternative action options for the angry person to consider.

     Be consistently and pleasantly adult-like and rational and logical and unemotional throughout.  This may be harder than it sounds, but if you’ve done steps 1-4 above, odds are you will already have effectively taken the wind out of the sails and restored some calm and order. As you proceed through the list, items will simply dissolve.     

# # #

Hal@TheWriterWorks.com

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Oct 25 2009

ACCELERATING ANGER

You Suck Eggs!

                                        

Yeah, well suck THIS: I QUIT!

                                   

You can’t quit; You’re Fired!

                                                                                                      

     You KNOW that the mainstream media lie.  You know the economy isn’t getting better. You know because you see your sales performance. You know because you’ve had to make lousy cutback choices you hate.

     So you’re irritable.  Your fuse is getting shorter. You’re ready to jump down the nearest throat. And the last thing you want to hear is for somebody to tell you to chill! 

     Okay, sometimes it’s hard  to realize that your angry upset feelings are a choice. And sometimes you just want to steamroller over it anyway. You’ve just read 10 sentences of negative thinking.

     Here:  http://halalpiar.com/2009/05/4-steps-in-one-minute-zero-stress/  Try this one-minute diversion for something positive. Go ahead. I’ll wait for you. You’ll be glad you did. Click on it for a 60-second visit, then come back!

     You did it or you “copped out”?  You know what? Where your business, your family, your friendships –and frankly anyone you encounter– comes into play, you really can’t afford to not take advantage of every opportunity to get yourself into, and consistently demonstrate a positive frame of mind.

     Angry feelings ARE a choice.  Deep breathing DOES serve to reduce stress and de-fuse anger. The point is that unless you are monitoring yourself (especially if you’re the boss). no one else is going to do it for you!

     The old saying that it takes two to tango hovers in a holding pattern over ill intentions.  It’s ALWAYS the boss’s job to back off. Real leaders back off. There’s a time to charge forward but not when it involves stampeding over others you are responsible for leading. You are the one who must de-fuse situations… hard to do when your own is sizzling!

     There’s no challenge in accelerating anger.  There’s no intelligence in accelerating anger. There’s no taking back the words or tools used in accelerating anger. There’s no leadership in accelerating anger. There’s no integrity in accelerating anger. There’s only stupidity.

     Why?  Because –and I can promise you this– it will ALWAYS come back to haunt you, perhaps when you least expect it and when it can do you the most personal and / or business harm, but rest assured it WILL come back to haunt you.

     All that having been said,  it’s hard to imagine anyone dumb enough to do it anyway, right? Wrong! Wrong because anger is probably at least half the time an UNconscious choice, capable of rearing its ugly head in the most innocent of circumstances.

     The ounce of prevention  then has to do with making sure you literally surround yourself with positive thinking, positive people, positive statements as much of the time as possible, keep a “here and now” focus as much of the time as possible … and remember to breathe!

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Input always welcome Hal@TheWriterWorks.com “Blog” in subject line or comment below. Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Hal

Subscribe FREE to this blog list-protected RSS email…OR $.99/mo Amazon KindleCreative? Add YOUR 7 words to the 380 day 7Word Story (under RSS) Get new Nightengale Press book THE ART OF GRANDPARENTING See:

 http://readerviews.com/ReviewConnellyTheArtGrandparenting.html  

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Oct 06 2009

OPEN INVITATION TO THE FTC

Dear FTC: C’mon in. I dare you!

                                                                                         

A www.NEWSMAX.COM headline today reads:

“OBAMA’S FTC MOVES TO REGULATE BLOGGERS”

                                                                 

     The story reports  how I (blogger) will be required as of 12/1/09, to disclose all the “computers, toys and trips to Disneyland” (cited as examples) that I’ve received in exchange for blog post endorsements because such arrangements are a “conflict of interest.”

     I thought I had enough  computers. I am too much of a realist to be interested in Disneyland. But: Gee, free toys! Now that’s a cool idea.

     Why does the FTC’s focus  remind me of the infamous captain we’ve called into play a few times? You know, the one who busies himself arranging deck chairs while the ship sinks? With all the major federal trade violations taking place every day, don’t these people have anything better to do than worry about such drivel?

     I’m sorry to disappoint you, “Mr. Obama’s FTC people”  but — BESIDES being appalled at the audacity you evidence by leveling your taxpayer-financed sites at bloggers instead of simply prohibiting advertisers from pursuing those bribery practices that may result in harmful consumption or use (some of which certainly should not be condoned)— BESIDES that:

Do you think for one minute  that American businesses are blind to the fact that your blanket overstepping of bounds serves to fan the out-of-control wildfires of the Consumer Federation of America?

     As a long-term business owner/consultant/author and educator,  responsible by the way, for the first consumer education mobile unit in the United States, and for initiating numerous consumer-benefit companies and programs, I can assure you that the CFA is a radical organization with political underpinnings that is waaaay over the top!

     Some (perhaps CFA?) will jump for joy  at having your implied endorsement to spread the notion of “unethical bloggers.” Could it be possible that something like a desperate smear attempt might be fostered to undermine Internet credibility and reduce embarrassing blogger attacks on sadly misguided administration decisions?

     This is of course particularly convenient timing  as well, as we continue to stand witness to the long-deserved, self-imposed collapse of traditional mainstream media!

     I hate to have to own up to  the fact that I have never engaged in the kinds of underhanded, conflict-of-interest shenanigans that ineffective FTC leadership has chosen to decry, and I’m quite certain that neither have the vast majority of bloggers.

     To be sure though, Dear FTC’ers,  you are cordially invited to examine my blog archives in detail. You might actually learn something.

     You will find only  good, sensible business and personal development advice and ideas… plus occasional (warranted) attacks on your “higher authority” for passing along, promoting and endorsing NON-sensible business and personal growth and development advice… and many bad ideas! Sorry, but it’s true!

     This is not to suggest  that there are not unethical bloggers out there. Y’know, there are also unethical judges, government officials, and religious leaders. Maybe FTC’ers should turn their agency’s venim in those directions and stop being Mr. O’s puppets.

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Input always welcome Hal@TheWriterWorks.com “Blog” in subject line or comment below. Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Hal

Subscribe FREE to this blog list-protected RSS email…OR $.99/mo Amazon KindleCreative? Add YOUR 7 words to the 364 day 7Word Story (under RSS) Get new Nightengale Press book THE ART OF GRANDPARENTING See:

 http://readerviews.com/ReviewConnellyTheArtGrandparenting.html  

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Sep 28 2009

US Postal Service Deathwatch Continues

Stuff always gets worse

                                            

before it gets worse.

                                                                                              

December, 2008: Gutless, Incompetent, Greedy: The US Postal Service http://halalpiar.com/2008/12/no-more-room-for-snail-mail/\

March. 2009: Having grown up a mailman’s son, maybe I’m just sentimental (or simply as stupid as the PO?) http://halalpiar.com/2009/03/23-lifelines-tossed-to-the-post-office/

August, 2009: Not just tech triumphs, the PO is a self-fulfilling sinking http://halalpiar.com/?s=postal+service

     …and yes,  there were other blog posts beating on the PO, and hoping for some light to penetrate the organization’s self-imposed deathwatch. But no, it mustn’t be in the cards. The US Postal Service does nothing to help itself, choosing instead to just keep digging a deeper grave!

The most recent proof  of ignorance came in the form of a 32-page atrocity of an ignorant, out-of-step excuse for a magazine delivered, it appears, to PO Boxes nationwide.  Campbell-Ewald Publishing should be ashamed of itself for putting out such politically-motivated trash in the name of the dying Postal Service, instead of taking a constructive stand on behalf of Postal Service customers!

  It’s just more evidence  of the sea of federal government incompetency that dictates to and surrounds the United States Postal Service … surely an organization (and I use the term loosely) destined for the next federal bailout after, let’s see, is it newspapers that are now being considered?

Please, spare us the insult!  Why on Earth cannot SOMEone with some business savvy step forward and get Congressional blessing to take control of this rapidly fading and no longer relevant entity that has simply lost touch with reality.

Businesses are failing  left and right. Families are struggling to make a living. The federal government sends $529 million tax dollars (reported today!) to Fantasyman Al Gore’s new automobile company so he can manufacture and sell cars in Finland! If this isn’t astonishing all by ityself, you must be living on Mars!

So along comes the Postal Service  with yet another elaborate, expensive promotional piece with thinly disguised heavy support for badly misguided Administration environmental policies. Why am I reminded of the story about being preoccupied with rearranging deck chairs while the cruise ship is sinking?

How many families  can you think of right now that are worried about environmental problems? It’s a little hard to focus on the spotted owl and Mr. Gore’s make-believe global warming issues when there’s a need to put food on the table and pay the mortgage… or pay for the gas to drive the car to go to the post office to pick up the mail!

Wouldn’t you think  the Postal Service would be standing on its head to compete in the marketplace and make the most of its resources to exercise some leadership geared to helping businesses get back on their feet instead of throwing bad money after bad money producing pricey lackluster materials that no one cares about?

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Input always welcome:

Hal@BUSINESSWORKS,US or comment below.

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals, good night and God bless you!

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Sep 13 2009

LEADERSHIP PREJUDICE TEST

Leaders who fail this

                                               

exercise fail as leaders

                                                                                                              

     As the leader  of your organization, department, division, constituency, team, troop, household, office, clinic, crew, institution, property, building, club, store, or factory, you have and will form a number of prejudices in your lifetime.

I can tell you  that these feelings are your choice and you should choose something else, but it won’t make a difference. If you truly intensely dislike some segment of society, odds are the feelings are so deeply rooted that a BandAid isn’t going to heal the gaping wound.

     You CAN,  however, take some time (and, yes, it is worth it) to examine more carefully what it is exactly that tips your scale into tiltsville. At least you will have narrowed down the ugly feelings enough to have the good sense to know when to walk away from a potentially volatile situation, vs. setting yourself and others up for an explosion.

     First of all,  and this is important, remember that you need not like somebody to do business with her or him. Of course it’s nice to enjoy a customer or prospect’s company because it makes the sales process (Oh, yes, leadership IS sales, because leading IS persuading, right? But you know that of course!) more pleasant.

     But, you know what?  For some peculiar reason I’ve never figuired out, odds are that the biggest and most important leadership (sales) accomplishments have occurred with people who you are not particularly fond of. So…

Half the battle is knowing what prompts you to think the way that you think before the circumstances arise that prompt you to think that way!

Can you look in the mirror and give yourself honest

one-word judgments/assessments of these 46 types:

Men? Old men? Young men? Middle-aged men? Women? Old women? Young women? Middle-aged women? Children? Infants? Toddlers? Adolescents? Teenagers? Black people? White people? Blondes? Brunettes? Redheads? Bald-headed people? People with wigs? Toupees? Beards? Mustaches? Tattoos? Face piercings? Tongue piercings? Pierced Ears? Indians? Pakistanis? Mexicans? Frenchmen? Muslims? Jews? Irishmen? Asians? Fast talkers? Slow talkers? People who don’t look you in the eye? People with bone-crusher handshakes? People with fish fillet handshakes? Rednecks? City slickers? Tree huggers? Overweight people? Underweight people? Handicapped people? Athletes?   

     Here’s my best guess on scoring: 

  • If you dislike/distrust more than 10,  you have a problem that you should confront and deal with because it’s keeping you from being successful in your leadership role.
  • If you dislike/distrust more than 20,  you’ll be happier as a hermit than as a leader. Cash in your assets and head for a cave.
  • If you dislike/distrust more than 30,  please run, don’t walk, to the nearest psychotherapist and beg for help (and until you get help, keep yourself locked up at home watching Animal Channel)!  
  • Ah,  did we raise some consciousness here? Good! Happy Week! 

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Input always welcome: Hal@TheWriterWorks.com (”Businessworks” in subject line) or comment below. Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals, good night and God bless you! halalpiar  

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