In This Issue:

- Marketing Tip
- Product Update
- Minimize Business BS
- Success Tip
- Business Black Belt
- Support Spotlight
- Partner Announcments
- Tips & Tricks

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Grow the Culture

by Tom Gegax, Gegax Management Systems

“Learn how to nurture an environment where happy employees realize healthy profits.” Fair or not, your relationships with people under your watch set the tone for the entire organization. My dad and his World War II Army buddies told me, “There were some leaders we’d gladly follow out of a foxhole into battle. But there were others we wanted to shoot in the back.” It's no different in the corporate foxholes. The commander in chief can make every day feel like a slice of heaven or a glimpse of hell. Break my 21 laws of cultural leadership and your culture surveys will be graded D for dreadful. Renounce your seat-of-the-pants ways and be an A+ leader. I'll show you how in my No-Nonsense Business Success Program. Here are a few tips.

Be authentic
Regrettably, employees view bosses through a distorted lens; they see execs as subhuman and devoid of feelings. It gives employees an excuse to downplay their boss’ good side and exaggerate his bad. Then, when job frustration hits critical mass, they can feel justified in checking out emotionally. Unfair as it is, too many business owners perpetuate the stereotype. Let go of the notion that signs of emotion or fallibility are unprofessional. My relationships with employees grew healthier when I started admitting mistakes, revealing more of the real me, and being more caring.

Beware your impact
I still remember the huge crush I had on Linda Harness in high school. No clue was too minor to crack the case on whether she liked me, or, you know, liked me. Did she smile? Was she looking over my shoulder when we talked? Like it or not, that's how your employees think of bosses (minus the romantic part, I hope). It's not fair, and it may even be a bit odd, but that’s reality—one wrong look from the boss can ruin someone's day. It’s a fault line to keep an eye on, but there are limits to your vigilance. One time I forgot to bring my eyeglasses to a sales meeting. The next day, I learned that a young sales associate was smarting because he had nodded and smiled at me from across the room and I failed to respond. I called him right away and joked that without my glasses I could only make out blurry outlines of people. He laughed and accepted my apology. And I never forgot my glasses again.

Snoop like Columbo
An enlightened executive roots out the truth like a gumshoe. If key details are missing, you can’t make the right choice, solve the big problem, or launch the stinger strategy. When employees told me things were fine, I dug deeper: “Anything I can help you with? ” “If you ran things, what would you do differently? ” Sooner or later, the answers spilled out. “When Tom hit the field, we'd do everything in our power to make sure the stores were firing on all cylinders,” said Jim Pascale, our first Iowa regional manager. Before one of my visits, Jim asked all his store personnel—over and over—the questions I typically asked. “Sure enough,” Jim recalled, “Tom ended up asking the same questions I had. But he got new 20 answers!”

Be relentless
Employees instinctively withhold bad news from the boss. Some try to protect underperforming colleagues, or hide embarrassing details. Other times, the truth remains elusive because no one’s connected the dots between the problem and root cause. I methodically drill like a west Texas derrick to the core of problems. Beware, though. I sometimes hit nerves instead of veins. “There were times,” recalled Wayne Shimer, head of retail operations, “when I wanted to reach out and say, 'Stop!' But, ultimately, Tom was right, because everything was out on the table all the time. And I don’t care what anybody says, that’s a healthy culture to work in.”

Practice the accordion
The best decisions emerge from a process that's neither exclusively top-down (leader calling the shots) nor bottom-up (rank-and-file referendum). It’s gotta be a collaborative effort I call "the accordion."

Click here to finish reading...
http://www.jian.com/resources/articles.html?id=1142483904

Don't expect your practice to be always clear of obstacles.
Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out.
So an ancient once said, "Attain deliverance in distrubances."
- Zen Master Kyong Ho (1849-1912

How to avoid writing "manufacturer's copy"

By Ivan Levison, Direct Response Copywriter

In advertising jargon, "manufacturer's copy" refers to the kind of flat-footed copy that clients write for themselves. You know the sort of copy I mean -- the kind that's always larded up with self-congratulatory talk of" passion," "mission," and "commitment."

Let me give you an example... Here's the start of a letter written by Alan Weber, the CEO and Chairman of U.S. Trust. (It appeared in Barron's and was aimed at affluent prospects for the company's high-end financial services.)

"At U.S. Trust, we understand that wealth management is as much an art as it is a science. On the one hand, we have a deep pool of talented experts who are among the nation's top financial planners, portfolio managers, securities analysts, economists, attorneys, and accountants and who are leaders in their respective wealth management disciplines. U.S. Trust also offers an impressive breadth of capabilities including... etc."

Still awake? Good. Let's check out the start of this letter again. Notice how right from the get-go the focus is not on the prospect's needs and pain-points, but on U.S. Trust. "At U.S. Trust, we understand..." and" On the one hand, we have a deep pool of talented expert..."

This narcissistic self-focus is the hallmark of manufacturer's copy and I urge you to avoid it in the copy that YOU write or approve.

How should you start a letter?

Well, one great way to get rolling is by quickly engaging prospects and demonstrating that you identify with the tough challenges they face.

Click here to finish reading...
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Do you have an article or some useful advice that you you'd like to share?
Please email the editor with your news to appear in Business Black Belt as well as on our website.

Teacher and student are like a bell and its resonance. Student and teacher are like intersecting cords in a fishing net—nodes, not separate strands.
When the teacher is ready, the student will appear.
- Lex Hison, Living Buddha Zen

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JIAN’s focus on business planning is tighter and more concise than many of its competitors, with a strong dose of sales and marketing insights that help the plan serve as a working document rather than just a financial tool... Biz Plan Builder remains a very popular planning tool based on and interview/knowledge base platform. Its popularity since 1988 is based both on its successful use in a diverse range of industries and for its simple but effective presentation options for the completed plan.
- Dave McClure, Accounting Today, January 2006

When the entrepreneur is ready, the investor will appear.
- Burke Franklin

Through the other end of the telescope

Sometimes, if we look at something from 180 degrees, an answer presents itself...

Happiness as a High-Level Personal Strategy

By Bill Lamond

One distinction I've made in my thinking that has had enormous power is that most people have happiness as a result of what they do, rather than as a place to plan and think from. This is crucial. It is very akin to Western religious beliefs in which you work very hard all your life and if you are good (do all the right things), you will be happy in the next life. In other words, the life of happiness you long for is never now--but always later--often way later.

You can see that we don't make happiness our "default" position. A default position on your stereo system is wherever you go when you turn the system on. For example, on my own stereo system, it is programmed to go first to "CD" when I turn it on, regardless of which function I was using when I turned it off last time. Here are some major default positions that are automatically programmed in regarding happiness, by the culture we live in:

1. Happiness is the result of what you do.
2. Happiness requires you to work hard first to have it.
3. You have to do everything right to have happiness.
4. Happiness is in the future. We are always working toward it, but not having it.

Years ago, when I was a psychotherapist, after listening to hundreds of people's problems, I had a sudden epiphany. I simply decided that if I couldn't think of anything significant that was upsetting me, I would simply "default" to happy. You can see how different this is from being happy and having someone ask you, "What are you so happy about?" as if you need a reason.

Imagine a world in which people have to prove good cause not to be happy...

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Do you have an article or some useful advice that you you'd like to share?
Please email the editor with your news to appear in Business Black Belt as well as on our website.

Update: New Scam! -- Did you miss Jury Duty?

Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough
people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam
has surfaced. Fall for it and your identity could be stolen, reports
CBS News.

In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who
threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you
didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to b e a jury
coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury
duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of
birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest
warrant. Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Give out any
of this information and bingo! Your identity just got stolen. The scam
has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and
Colorado. This (scam) is particularly insidious because they use
intimidation over the phone to try and bully people into giving
information by pretending they're with the court system.
The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on
their websites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out here:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
Send this on to your family and friends!! IMPORTANT!

"He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lives a great street-sweeper who did his job well'."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Focus on Your Goal, Not on How You’ll Get There

By Burke Franklin
Author, Business Black Belt

After we figure out what we want, we usually start to strategize how to get it. I'm sure you can do what takes to get what you want, but that may be the very place you get yourself into trouble. Often, we can achieve the same result in a variety of ways. This lesson is about understanding the what and not getting tangled up in the how you will succeed. Otherwise, you might well miss the perfect opportunity for getting exactly what you want (or better).

The phenomenon goes something like this: you establish what you want, then you set about the process of how to get it. Given your resources and knowledge, you develop a strategy, then a plan of action—as crude as it may be. At this point, your energy shifts away from your goal to your action plan. The goal itself is almost forgotten in favor of all the things you now have planned to do.

How often has this happened to you? A salesperson is pitching their product and misses the part where you say, “Yeah, I’ll take one.” That was their goal, but the salesperson keeps on selling anyway. You want to buy. The sale just happened sooner than they thought it would. Some salespeople think that the only way to make their sale is to give their complete pitch and do a series of certain things because that's what it takes to sell their product. “Yeah, I’ll take one,” is often a reaction many salespeople aren't prepared to handle. The salesperson is too focused on how the sale should happen versus being connected enough with you to realize that their goal has been achieved without having to follow their predetermined plan.

A customer of ours wrote a business plan to attract an investor to give him the cash he needed to buy a LearJet to start a jet charter company. While the investors were grilling him, another guy who owned a couple of jets read the plan and decided that his planes would be better cared for and leased more frequently with our customer... instead of cash, our customer got two jets! What if our customer was stuck on the idea that he first needed cash, then he could buy a jet? What idea are you stuck on?

Another variation on this theme involves something (or someone) coming along that is actually better than what you had in mind as your goal. Sometimes, if a better albeit different solution comes along that doesn’t fit our original vision, or it doesn’t match our expectations of what we thought would or should happen, we may pass it by. It may not fit our reality. We ignore it. It's not right. (We make it wrong.) It's not going to work. Again, while our head is down working our scheme, we often miss the fact that we’ve achieved our goal, or that it may have [already] arrived in a different package.

Go ahead and make something your goal and start to figure out how you’ll achieve it. Remember to keep the result you want as your top priority, in the likely event that a different/better way of reaching it shows up unexpectedly.

How to tune your mind for solutions
Let's expand on this concept: Think for a moment about the color red. Look around right now for everything that is red. Notice how everything red jumps out at you. Did you notice the green things? Probably not. Now try it again with the color green. See how easy it is to tune your mind for what you’re looking for? Now try this: Look at your life and focus for a moment on your problems. What’s wrong? (Keep looking around with focused intensity and I'm sure you can come up with a depressing list...) On the other hand, look at your life and selectively see what works. What’s working for you now? Do you usually look for what works or what doesn’t work around you? What if you were to consciously tune your mental radar system (actually it's your Reticular Activating System) to seek opportunities and solutions to your problems just like you looked for the colored objects? (You have probably noticed this phenomena occurring unconsciously just after buying a new car — suddenly you see them everywhere!) Anyway, I think you'll find that it’s almost impossible to find solutions while your mental radar is tuned to seeking problems. It’s also almost impossible to find solutions when you are looking for reasons to support why your problems are the problems they are. (Ever try to give a person some ideas while they are steeped in their problems? "Lalalala, can't hear you!) Note to self: Remember what that looks like the next time you are tuned to your problems and someone else tries to offer solutions to you!

Finish reading this chapter
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Support Spotlight

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Do you have an announcement or promotion you'd like to share? Please email the editor with your news to appear in the Business Black Belt and also on our website.

Partner Events & Announcements

The highest achievers in any field view themselves as self-employed. They have the attitude that they run their own business, even if they are affiliated with a major corporation. And so they develop a sense of “mission” about their career, taking a proactive approach to create the results they want.

This is in contrast with "average" people, who view themselves as employees and react to the ups and downs of the economy. Top producers take charge. They take full responsibility for fulfilling their Mission, regardless of market conditions. They realize that they can't wait until external factors, like the marketplace, get better ... but that THEY must get better if they intend to achieve their goals.

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Tax Tricks -- Remember these miscellaneous tax deductions

When you itemize deductions, it’s easy to remember the big three — mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and charitable contributions. You might also be able to deduct medical expenses, but only when they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). And if you’re unlucky enough to have casualty or theft losses, you can deduct those too.

But don’t stop there. If you look carefully, you might find some miscellaneous deductions to claim. There’s one group of expenses you can deduct to the extent they exceed 2% of AGI. These include the following:

* Un-reimbursed business or work expenses — items such as union or professional dues, licenses, subscriptions to trade magazines, and small tools or equipment required for your work. Don’t overlook un-reimbursed expenses for job travel or education.

* Tax preparation fees, accounting fees, and costs of renting a safe deposit box.

* Legal or other fees to manage or collect taxable income.

You can deduct a second group without any limit, including:

* Gambling losses, but only to the extent of reported gambling winnings.

* Impairment-related work expenses. These are expenses necessary to allow you to work if you’re disabled, including attendants or special equipment.

Any of these expenses can help boost your itemized deductions, so it’s worth digging around. Please contact us if you have any questions about what might be deductible.

- Edward Mitchell, Manager, Management Resources Consulting Group Inc., www.mr-cg.com

Now you know everything — a refresher course...

• The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.
• No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7) times.
• Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.
• You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.
• Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty (50) years of age or older.
• The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.
• The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one (1) olive from each salad served in first-class.
• Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
• Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
• Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
• The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.
  So did the first "Marlboro Man."
• Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
• Pearls melt in vinegar.
• The three most valuable brand names on earth:
  Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
• It is possible to lead a cow upstairs... but not downstairs.
• A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.