Importance of Productivity during Down Times

In the summer of 1900...

-The average life expectancy in the United States was 47.
-A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11, which was an incredible sum because the average American made .22 cents an hour, or about $400 per year.
-Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
-Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.
-Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores.
-There were about 230 reported murders in the US annually.

Amazing what a century will change.Amazing what a few months will change.Growth ends, recession sets in, the stock market stops booming, and companies go bust.The recession is impacting our clients in various ways: we're hearing of layoffs, hiring freezes, reduced budgets, not rehiring for positions as people leave, go on maternity, etc.

Tough economic times are packing a one-two punch in the workplace.

First, everyone is forced to do more with less (POW!).

Second, you have to do it all while dealing with the nagging anxieties that come with an uncertain economy - threats of downsizing, bankruptcies, cost containment, you name it (POW, again!).

So how do we cope as leaders and as productive employees?

To succeed and keep their doors open, companies must make more money but spend less money and create greater results with fewer resources.You could attempt to cut salaries, benefits, staff, costs, or the quality of your products - all poor options.A better choice?Increase employee productivity.If you have 10 people, and you can get them to improve their productivity by 10%, you just effectively added another staff person without increasing salary expense - a much more attractive response.To do this, your employees need your help.

First of all, get a grip on your personal negative feelings that result from your lack of control.You DO have control over your friends, your love relationships, and your career.You decide for yourself what's right and what's wrong, whether you should stay in this weekend or go out, whether to vote Democrat or Republican.You decide who to see, what to wear, what to eat.

However, you have VERY LITTLE control over the government, economic policy, the rise and fall of the stock market, Mother Nature, international events, and even your company direction.Changes can often disrupt your life and force you to change your plans.Often there is little you can do and yet you are overwhelmingly affected by it.Accepting what is means realizing you can't control certain things and to stop trying.You can sit around and wonder, "Oh, my gosh, how is this going to affect me?What if I'm next to go?How will I pay the bills?I'm going to be a bag lady!" You stew and worry and literally make yourself sick.

These things will happen.They just will.You will get no warning, and nobody will prepare you.And that's frustrating.Because people will tell you to "reach for the stars, you can achieve whatever you want!" But they don't mention you might get hit by a comet in the process.

It's time to accept the things that you cannot change and focus on the things you can.What can you do?

Give yourself a break.Try to stay positive, despite the doom and gloom.Overdosing on pessimistic, overly dramatic news coverage is just going to weigh you down with bad thoughts - not good for those looking to clear their heads and get things done!It's important to be informed about what is happening in the world, but you definitely don't want to overdo it.

For months now, we've been bombarded with bad economic news every time we turn on the television or pick up a newspaper.No wonder everybody seems to be in a rut.Follow the daily news as much as you need to so that you feel in the loop and understand the issues that affect your industry.Other than that, it might be time to shut off the TV and catch up on some fun reading or spend some more time with family.

Know your job.Seems like this one should be a no-brainer, but you'd be amazed at how often our responsibilities can change and evolve without our even knowing it.Small incremental changes in how employees or departments do business can add up over time, leaving groups of people that work hard, but aren't contributing to business objectives as effectively as they once did.

For example, in an effort to provide an exceptional level of service, you might find yourself doing work that is below your pay grade.Maybe you end up doing a large portion of the administrative work associated with a project that needs your input.Consider the value of your time!

Make sure that the things that occupy your time are worthy of your talent and expertise and hold your staff to the same standard.With any project, you should be able to look at the time spent, multiply by the pay rate of the ones doing the work, and still feel that your resources were well spent.

If you've got a $40,000/year employee stuffing a bunch of envelopes (even just that one time) or a six-figure manager assembling an important presentation page-by-page, then that work becomes awfully expensive!

These examples might seem outrageous to you, but believe me, it happens all the time.Never make the mistake of treating your time like it's free.Time and other resources are limited, and we need to treat them that way.

As your company and your department are undoubtedly being asked to do more with less, now is the time to step back and take stock of the type of work you're doing.Many times roles and responsibilities change, but job descriptions do not.As a result, we end up drifting away from core priorities and towards dong work that, while challenging, doesn't really meet the organization's immediate needs.

Now might be a good time to step back and ask that all important question: "Why am I (or we) doing this?" If you can't answer that, or the answer doesn't make sense, it's time to purposefully make a change.

Break habits, build systems.Every office that has been around for any length of time has certain unwritten policies and procedures that exist simply because "we've always done it that way." Now is a great opportunity to analyze your existing business practices and find opportunities to break the bad habits that may be bogging your operation down.Take you entire department for example.Do you and your people have a clear idea of your area's specific responsibilities?Do you have the confidence and determination to say "no" when someone is asking you to do work that is outside your scope of responsibility?

Perhaps over the years your group took on the responsibility of coordinating quarterly meetings with senior managers.It might have made sense for you to be doing the legwork then, but now that the work has become routine, is it really the best use of your talent and resources?

That's just one specific example, but there are many more out there.Usually, these are the kinds of tasks and responsibilities that make employees want to ask the all-important "Why am I doing this?" question.Rather than spend another day mindlessly plowing though projects that may or may not be a good use of your time, force yourself to take a hard look at what you are doing and why you are doing it.

If you had to pick three tasks or responsibilities that should be the top priorities for your department, what would they be?Once you know, evaluate how much time and energy is dedicated to those things.You might be surprised at how much time we can spend doing things that aren't even close to the top of that priorities list.

It isn't always easy to say "no," but fortunately, that's where your systems can come in.As you work to create smooth, efficient systems to do work within your department, you can give yourself some ammunition to fend off others in the company that might be inclined to slide work onto your plate where it doesn't belong.If you don't have firm policies and procedures in place to identify who should be doing what, it is much more difficult to make the case for "no."

Analyze your relationships with other departments.

Have trouble turning down work coming from other areas of the company?Now is a perfect time to start fresh and rebuild your department's boundaries.In a frank and honest way, simply explain to others that in light of the current economic situation, your group has taken a critical look at its daily operations and needs to decline certain types of requests in order to build efficiency.

Perhaps you need to apply a little systems thinking and rethink the flow of information.Is there a procedure in place for other business units to request your assistance or input?If there's not, you're probably being hit from all angles with requests that may or may not be the best use of your time.Diagram how work moves through your department.Where does it come in from and go out to other departments?

Interview your internal customers and find out how you can provide value through reduced services.Can you provide a report monthly instead of quarterly?Can you cancel the weekly project meeting and get everyone to email updates instead?Question travel requests if you feel a conference call will do.One of the best ways to take stock of the situation is to survey your group, ask them what gets in the way of productivity, and to genuinely ask how they would redesign things if they could.

Find the bottom line.Right now, businesses everywhere are taking stock of their must-haves versus their nice-to-haves.From an organizational perspective, which are you?

Economic necessity can force budget cuts and cost containment that might otherwise be unnecessary.One way to prepare yourself for this reality is to make sure you have a good understanding of how you and your people contribute to the company's bottom line.

Sometimes, it's easy.If you work in sales, for example, the correlation between what you do every day and the company's financial success might be very straightforward - my group sells our most profitable product, which makes the company money.

Sometimes that correlation is not so obvious.If you operate in a support role, like Human Resources, you may want to start looking at your various responsibilities and deciding which among them have the greatest influence on the company's bottom line - either by somehow driving revenue or by controlling expenses.Perhaps you help contribute to developing talent within the company, which clearly has an impact on the overall success of the organization.

Employee development always seems to be one of the first things to go during down economic times, but this is not the time to reduce training if you'd like to get more work from fewer people.Or maybe you're managing clerical or administrative functions that would be expensive to secure elsewhere.If you can't draw a line from what you do each day to the financial well-being of the company, then it might be time to do some hard thinking.Your other contributions might be valuable, but in difficult economic times, corporate leadership often becomes must more focused on dollars and cents, for better or for worse.

Where am I going with this?If it isn't obvious how your contributions benefit the company, be prepared to explain how they do.If you CAN'T explain why certain aspects of what you do are valuable, then it's time to stop doing them.

At the end of the day, productivity is about more than getting things done.It's about getting the RIGHT things done and getting them done efficiently.

About the Author

Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier(R) with Maximum Results in Minimum Time(TM).

To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.Visit http://www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

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Rate Your Chances Of Obtaining Credit

A good credit rating is essential if you want to borrow money.If you have been bankrupt or have County Court judgments against you, or have defaulted on payments in the past, you will find it more difficult to obtain credit.

If you are in that situation you would probably have to go through the sub-prime market where you would be charged very high rates of interest as a high-risk borrower.Experian and Equifax are the two main credit reference agencies used by lenders to research your credit status.

They check that your details are correct on the electoral register, whether you have any County Court judgments against you, and generally how diligently you have paid your debts in the past.They can track your 'electronic footprints' every time you have applied for or opened a new form of credit.

These companies inform the lenders of their findings, often using a scoring system, but the lenders are the ones who make the decision whether you are fit for credit or not.If you are turned down for credit the lender must give you an explanation for their decision.You are entitled under the Data Protection Act to see the report on your credit application.

There may have been errors which you could rectify, or if it is just plain poor you can see where you need to make some improvements.

This may not be a quick fix as bankruptcy details remain on your credit rating for up to six years, but generally speaking you should be able to improve your rating after about a year of good financial practice.
The first thing to do is to check that your details are correct on the electoral role and that you don't make any mistakes when filling out credit application forms.Also check there aren't any other mistakes on the file, like other people's debts.

Pay your creditors on time.Tell them if you can't meet a deadline for payment and catch up the next month.The reference agencies will send you your credit history for around two pounds.If you see there was an old County Court judgment against you or any other debt which was settled but is still shown as outstanding on your records, you can have it amended.Also, if you can justify a period of poor payments in your history, they will put a 'note of correction' in their report to explain the reason.

The score the agencies give you doesn't tell you much on its own.Equifax rates range from below 299 being very poor to above 475 which is excellent.To get a better picture you need to pay around 12 pounds for a detailed report listing all your credit agreements.One way to demonstrate good financial practice is to take out store cards and pay them off regularly.

This will create a good history, but make sure you do pay them off or you will find yourself with high interest on top.

If a best mate would co-sign for a credit card or loan with you that might help to get your name cleared.All the same, you should cancel any credit cards you don't need.If you have been refused by one lender don't keep on applying randomly until you check that you are the sort of person a lender will accept.

Remember, every time you make an application it shows up on your credit history and multiple applications can look dodgy.

It's crazy, but you can also be rejected for credit if you have never before applied.If you have never had credit, a potential lender can't see any history showing that you would be credit-worthy.

About the Author

Loan Agreement.

co.uk is a specialist in Personal loans, offering fantastic deals and truly impressive information surrounding Personal finance and other great products.Our sister site Brokers Online offers cutting edge articles and information about Personal loans and other financial products.

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A Quick Guide To Paid To Read (PTR)

It's always amazing to me the number of people that started out on the Internet doing PTR, the numbers really are fascinating!The method of Paid To Read allows you the user to receive paid email ads through your email.Each time you click on the paid link inside the email, you the receiver will receive a nominal amount of money.This is ever changing and different with every single site.When you click the link you will be sent to a web page that has a timer (most likely) which requires you to stay on that page for a certain amount of time.

Usually the higher the earning amount for that email, the long the wait will be.It's not like three minutes or anything, closer to 60 seconds but you get the idea.After the time runs out, you receive the "credit" for that visit.Remember, if you exit before the timer runs out, then you will NOT get your credit.It's just the way it works!Most all of these PTR programs are completely free although they will usually have some sort of an upgrade as well which will allow you to receive special things like quicker payout, lower payout or even free advertising!

There are quite literally millions of PTR sites out there to join and every single one is different but, I think you will find that if the site has a forum or a message board you will see a lot of people belong to the same ones.Its like one huge community!The singing up process is really easy in fact you can actually go to the guides online which will tell you about all the new sites, black listed sites and the top sites you can join.

When you figure out which one(s) you want to join simply go to the site, register, click the validation email and your done.You usually won't start receiving emails until the next day so if you don't receive any right away, don't worry!You can most likely do several different things in order to earn money such as PTC (paid to click), PTSU (paid to sign up), PTRV (paid to review) and of course PTR (paid to read.Some sites will also have extra ways to "win" money through contests so it gives you an extra edge in terms of the money situation.A few sites I have seen have pretty big post as far as the contests go, sometimes on up to a few hundred bucks.

Though this isn't THE most lucrative way to earn money online and you won't make millions, you will make some sort of money each week/month.Plus you figure in the contests and most importantly the refs (which you earn money from) and you could make a good chunk of money to use towards bills, shopping, etc.Notice you can also buy ads from this site for other sites you may belong to.

These don't necessarily have to be PTR sites, they can be ANY site you want as long as it follows the TOS by the site webmaster.This is really about common sense guys.No illegal, no adult, no hatred site, no scam sites, etc.Really what it comes down to with these sites, is it's a cool way to make easy cash, have fun, and make a few friends along the way!If you're interested in checking some of these sites out take a look at Google!

About the Author

This author is a HUGE fan of Free stuff for the paid to read community.

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Make Money Online With A Mailing List

A vital component of making money online is to have a mailing list.Internet marketers use these lists to sell their own products or affiliate products to targeted prospects.These prospects have signed up for your mailing list because they are interested in what you have to offer.

If you have a good mailing list, and every online business should have one, you want to make sure that you take care of that list.After all, they have trusted you with their information, so you want to make sure that you provide them with the information they want and need.

Even though the purpose of your list might be primarily to make affiliate sales, your prospects don't want to be bombarded with sales pitches or get rich quick schemes.Send them useful articles and other information that is valuable and they will likely purchase a product in the future.

So, let's take a look at what those people on your list are really interested in knowing today.

They Want Quality Information

First of all, you'll find that the people on your mailing list want to have quality information given to them.

If you start providing them with low quality information or you just focus on sales all the time, you'll end up losing people that are on your list, which can really cost you.Focus on offering them great, high quality information and you'll be able to keep them happy and increase your sales.

How Your Products Can Positively Impact Their Lives

The people on your mailing list also want to know how your products can positively impact their lives.

How can they make their lives better?When you are talking about your products, make sure that you make them relevant to the lives of the people on your list that you want to reach.This way they'll really relate to the products that you have to offer them.

How to Contact You if They Need To

It's also important that you provide those people on your mailing list with the information so they can contact you if they need to.

Perhaps they just want to know that they can quit the mailing list if they want to or maybe they have questions about your products or want to make a purchase.There are plenty of unethical internet marketers looking to make money online so give your list some reassurance by allowing them to contact you.

If You're Really an Expert

Your mailing list also wants to know if you're really an expert in your field.

Are you really providing them with top quality information?Well, you can make sure that you show them that you are an expert by establishing yourself in your niche as an expert.They want to hear that you are an expert and that you can use your expertise to help them out.

About You're Guarantees

When you're selling products, the people on your mailing list definitely want to hear about your guarantees.

They want to know that they are going to be safe if they purchase a product.So, it's very important that you highlight the guarantees that you offer.This way they feel that they are not taking a risk when they go to purchase your products.

Even though the main purpose of your mailing list is to make money online through affiliate sales, building a relationship with your subscribers will benefit you in the long run because many of those subscribers will turn into paying customers.

About the Author

Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work at home jobs and home based business opportunities.

Find a legitimate work at home opportunity and learn to earn money at home today at: www.HomeNetPro.com

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A Sign of Maturing - Trade Shows Sans Booth Babes

The rationale behind hiring a trade show model is simple - nail the first impression by leveraging the old advertising maxim of sex selling. And for years the trade show model was a staple, pulling show-going crowds towards booths and hopefully towards products. Recently, though, trade show models, or as they are more commonly known booth babes, have been going the way of the caribou. Case-in-point, the 2008 SHOT Show, previously known for its pairing of guns and babes, was so lacking in trade come into sight models that Sphere and Flood Journal was provoked to pad their annual synopsis of models plus pictures of men sporting unusually extensive beards, and stimulating a few readers to doubt, why are exhibitors messing plus a right obsession

In 2006, the Electrical Software Association ESA, the business group subsequent to the Electronic Amusing Expo E3 given a squeeze ease reciting that for the originally age, the dress set of rules, typically flouted by models, may be enforced. And by enforced the ESA designed a example followed by a 5000 acceptable. Broad motives interconnected also this new rule enforcement stemmed relishes the fame of the trade become visible previously described by IGNs David Adams as ribald, the dread that the ESA was commercial sexually-certain content to tykes, and the specific that the video exercise industry was getting sales parity along furthermore Hollywood. There is, of route, a all-purpose thread between these arguments: the brand didnt desire the sex, instead it mixed up to be viewed as authority. For the ESA, the movie sport had aged higher than the direct, impulsive put up for sale that sex provides, and was in any case a legitimate part of in existence rooms regarding the world.

The ESA was revealing exhibitors to do something every trade come into view exhibitor should be doing in any case, they should be accepting with their class. Whether you are an entrepreneur, an executive, or just an employee, commerce shows are worked in addition to the precise focused of cartoon characteristic comment to your style. The trade appear exhibitor is there to fashion energy that should not directly rotate a booth guest into a repeat purchaser. The booth is a tool to forging a lasting relationship on a deepest reason. Operating a booth allows a agency to mangle the flesh and publicize as well as a passion that easily half truths be acquired in traditional publicizing. So, why may well a firm risk potentially taking off half the attendees at a conference plus a booth girl

Half Anyways, obtainable to it. According to a survey carried out by AffiliateTip.com, 70 of the female respondents and 41 of the gentleman respondents 56 overall brought up that they were less possible to confer with a booth that cast off a booth girl. Conversely, 29 of the overall respondents mentioned that a booth girl caused a null opinion, and a mere 15 said that a booth babe would definitely impact their counsel of a booth. Perusing blogs will lead to an still more bountiful mountain of anecdotal evidence that proposes that not competently are mortals less doable to talk over with your commerce come into sight displays if a booth missy is award, but they are really extra likely to type a negative instruct of your agency to boot.

Of passage, not all traffic shows are after the inclination presented by the ESA, yet booth babes seem to be disappearing effortlessly the equivalent. The use of booth babes at YAPC Yet One more Perl Conferences sparked a thread on the Use Perl official example board around whether or not booth babes should be hand-me-down at assorted conference. The remark that appeared to sum the affair up was that is so auto appear.

The dispute surrounding the use of booth babes still vegetation the business come into sight, as well as countless media outlets debating almost whether they should begin again to feature photos of the advantageous babes, regularly chimney up the talk to readers. Toms Hardware, a forum and media outlet focusing on technology posed the speculate to their readership and the originally advice cut to the mind of the area - juxtaposing the for personality juvenile and mainstream opposition the hostile human being adult and technical. Tech Republic, furthermore unearthed the doubt up to their readers, and accumulated moreover ways out. It seemed that still the media was spinning their backs on booth babes.

There is, of road, one final theory on why exhibitors were shying elsewhere bask in traffic come into sight models. At the 2006 E3, Disney was there bestowing the movie activity tie in for their Pixar thrilled aspect Automobiles. There between near-existence-size examples of the films megastar motor vehicles was, you expected it, a traffic become visible model. The model in speculate was decked out relishes head to toe in skintight black jumpsuit, full in addition to plunging neckline and a checkered-flag racking stripe pouring up her sides, and covering certainly ample to become visible that Disney may possibly operates by the new E3 rules. Conceivably the earth at immense saw Disneys manifest as really jumping the shark and everybody certainly moved on.

Whichever theory you subscribe to - asserting an professional depiction, trepidation of keeping apart doable clientele, or merely staying one step before of Disney, the use of traffic come into sight models are certainly on the go downhill. And as John Davis, editorial director for Ziff Davis Media Activity Mix enlightened ABC Information, "Not having the booth babes isnt going to type any difference." As a replacement, of babes, the new propensity looks to be presenting your merchandises in a expert deeds, plus booth recruits who go over gimmick or sex and as a replacement experience a ferocity for your type and a shrewdness base to balance. Deduce which one leads to further trait sales


With reference to the Discoverer

Mat Kelly is the president of ExhibitDEAL, a leading provider of

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The Benefits of a Work at Home Business

Over the past few years, a lot of things have changed and one of the most noticeable changes is the increase in number of people who work from their home. The development in technology has helped a number of people to find different ways for earning decent amount of money.

As a result of the development of technology and Internet, a number of people work from their home. Some people run their business from their home whereas some people offer some services from their home. Apart from the decent income while enjoying the comforts of the home, there are a number of benefits associated with home-based businesses.

Set your own prices: While working at home, youre your own boss and you decide on your own whether its profitable to work on a particular project or not. You enjoy the flexibility to set your own price in order to earn decent amount of money for the efforts you put in. You get to decide whether a particular job is profitable or not. When you run your business from home, you determine the cost of the project in the first place and this is done by analyzing the efforts, skills and the time required for completing the project.

Once youve determined the price, you inform the other party about the cost of the project and you start with the project once the other party has accepted the price. By setting your own prices, you make sure that you dont get underpaid. As an employee working in some company, you dont enjoy the flexibility of determining the price of the project and at times, youre even asked to complete a task even if its not profitable. So, running home-based business offers an advantage of determining the cost to make sure you get the amount that you deserve.

Spend more time with family: Theres nothing better than spending time with family. While working as a salaried employee for an organization, youve to follow the office timings and when some important project comes up, youre even asked to do over-time. This decreases the amount of time spent with family. If you work from your home then you get to spend more time with your family as you dont need to follow the office timings.

You work as per your convenience and the flexible working hours allow you to spend more time with your family. While working from home, you enjoy the flexibility to adjust the working hours if your family needs attention whereas you dont enjoy the flexibility of adjusting the working hours while working as an employee for some organization.

Less stress: Another advantage of working at home is that an individual running home-based business faces less stress when compared to an individual working as a salaried employee for an organization. While working for an organization, youre asked to meet the strict deadlines, take on complex projects and to do so, you spend more hours in office without paying attention to food, entertainment, social life and this affects health. There have been a number of cases in the past in which the person was admitted to the hospital because of the burden of the office work. In home-based business, youre your own boss and you decide accordingly whether youve the time for a project or not.

Enjoy the profits: As an employee working for a company, youre asked to complete complex projects without any increase in the salary. Complex projects require advanced skills, experience and time and so, companies charge more for them. However, the incentive is usually not shared with the employees. In other words, individuals who complete the complex projects are usually not given any special incentive when compared to the individuals working on the simple projects.

So, usually you earn same amount of money whether you complete a complex project or a simple one. However, the situation is different in home-based business. As youre your own boss in the home-based business, you determine the price according to the complexity of the project and this way, you can make sure that you earn the amount of money that you deserve.


About the Author

If you are ready to learn how to

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