Over Regulation Stifles Free Thinking And Innovation

Writen by Lance Winslow

In modern corporations mostly due to the DotCom era, when corporations were seeing investors move to faster moving companies; we saw a paradigm shift in Corporate Management. Tom Peters and others saw this and started writing about it. These corporate management gurus were trying to tell us all along what Deming and others had noticed. It seems like America goes thru cycles of losing sight of the ball. But once again we see the return of the suggestion box, although with the flow of thought set up correctly they would never be needed, because innovation would be constant and a moving target.

Today's corporations have to be innovative simply to attempt to comply with the rising tide of over regulations, if they don't they will drown. Yet they are so busy in the boardrooms discussing transparency with lawyers and accountants they have little time to listen or to brainstorm. The former head of HP made that statement this year at the Davos Convention 2005. With these restrictions it means less innovation can take place and even a great idea is will not work because it has to fit into a perfect box that a regulator has predetermined.

Thus the problem that hurts the most and denies us our future; it hurts the employees, managers, customers, consumer and tax base. No one wins and it adds to the harsh barriers and unspoken restriction of "Not Invented Here" to the flow of thought. Man is generally a copier, with very few in the populations capable of free flowing original thoughts. We need to slow the bureaucracy and over regulations and allow for those who know what is going on to guide us and lead us forward, not the government regulators who have never had to make a pay check and always have a hot cup of coffee and plenty of time to stand their and drink it as it cools to an acceptable level. Think about it; we are.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

The Internet Revolution

Writen by Samuel Abdullah

The Internet has revolutionized the planet, and was the cultural phenomenon of the late 20th Century. It has its detractors, but most people see it as a force for good. Information on the 'Superhighway', as it's known, can be accessed in workplaces, schools, universities, cyber cafes and homes around the globe.

It's used for research, online buying, booking holidays, chatting to friends and family, games and downloading music and films. However, it's probably had the most impact on the world of business. Whether a giant corporation or a small business run from someone's kitchen, suddenly everyone was in a global market.

Not everyone survived and mistakes were made. Trading everything from rare comics to state of the art electronic goods has never been easier, and the developing countries are also enthusiastic participants.

Communication in the office, by way of email, is second nature now, and emailing customers and suppliers is quick and efficient. Of course, Spam is an annoying by-product, and it's an ongoing battle to combat it. Another by-product of the Internet in offices is 'Cyberslacking'. A recent survey in the UK showed that the average employee uses up 57 minutes a day, illicitly surfing at their desk.

Advertising and marketing on the Internet is a whole industry in itself. It's value for money, when you consider how many people are being reached, and the most effective means of targeting certain categories of people. Users announce their interests and marketing companies make use of that information. Web sites exist for every product under the sun, and a prominent search engine position is worth its weight in gold. Some companies use banner advertising and pop up ads to get our attention. It's a fiercely competitive market. Strategic advertising will combine television, press and Internet marketing, presenting a unified brand image.

Weblogs, or 'blogs', are increasingly popular, and some organizations welcome their staff running a blog detailing product information, in order to appeal to prospective customers who will then be directed to the blogger's company.

Use of the Internet and the World Wide Web, has enabled some employees to work remotely from home, known as telecommuting. A lot of companies find this is an efficient way for their staff to operate, as they are away from office distractions and don't get held up on the freeways. It's not for everyone. Often, people miss the social contact they get at the workplace, that good old gossip round the water cooler. Also, staff can be in constant contact, via email, with the office. This can be considered a good or a bad thing! Security has to be a consideration, when employing staff who work remotely. There have been cases of companies suffering security breaches in this way, and the same security protocols must be observed, whether employees are at their desk or on the beach with a laptop.

Samuel Abdullah is the owner of several websites for more information visit http://www.BizProspecting.com or email him at: samarenterprise@yahoo.com

How To Hire Some Help A Virtual Assistant And Give Yourself A Raise

Writen by Donna Gunter

"There's no way I can hire anyone to do what I do. No one can do it as well as I can."

Do you resemble that remark? If so, you've got much in common with most other business owners in the world. We never think that anyone else will give something the time, attention, and dedication that we will. And, you're right, to some degree. No one cares as much about your business as you do. However, if you don't choose to delegate those things that prevent you from engaging in business development, marketing, and sales activities, you won't be in business very long.

Whether you're just starting out or have been in business for awhile, the thought of bringing on a support team member can be daunting, and you wonder, "How can I bring in someone else when it's just going to increase my expenses?"

You need to make the shift to seeing this cost as an investment in your business, rather than as an expense, and let go of the need to be in control.

I recently read about a statistic quoted in the life insurance industry, which stated that for every additional support team member employed in a small professional services firm, the firm experienced a 40% increase in gross revenues. Why does this increase occur? Because your support team takes work away from you, which allows you to focus on increasing revenues - either by making more sales or working on the marketing systems that will lead to more sales.

I realize this sounds overly simplistic -- if you want to increase your revenues by 40%, simply just employ someone on your support team. Of course, it is not that simple in reality. Hiring a support team requires you to trust your own judgment and ability to use this extra time to generate more revenues. And that's the key here -­ if you hire a support person and keep doing what you're doing, the concept won't work. You have to hire the person and ensure that you're taking on the role of business development.

The best way to illustrate this is to look at your "lost opportunity" costs. Say, for example, you're a marketing consultant and you charge $175 per hour. Yesterday, your ACT! database was malfunctioning and it took you 7 hours to fix the problem and do the mail merge and printing and mailing of your sales letter to the new list of 100 prospective customers that you just purchased. Do you realize that 7 hours really cost you $1225? How? Your hourly rate of $175/hour multiplied by the number of hours it took you to do this task (7) equals $1225.

What would have been more effective? Finding a great Virtual Assistant to do this for you in half the time for a portion of your hourly fee. If you had hired the expertise of a masterfully skilled Virtual Assistant charging $45/hour, for example, my guess is that she probably could have completed the project in a portion of the time, say 4 hours, for a final cost to you of $180. Big cost savings over the $1225 it cost you to do the same project. With that project off your plate, you then have the time to go out seeking more $175/hour opportunities.

Amazing, isn't it? For a $180 investment, for example, you now have the time to complete the proposal to do that corporate training program you spoke about with an HR person two weeks ago. A week later, the HR person calls and tells you that they've accepted the proposal valued at $10,000 in income over the course of the year. Would you have had time to complete that proposal if you had not handed off this ACT database project? Perhaps, but I bet it would have forced you to work late into the night to complete it.

What operational aspects of your business could you delegate to someone else? If you had extra time, how could you increase the revenues of your business? Give these questions strong consideration--you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

Copyright 2005 Donna Gunter

Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed professionals make more profit in less time online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity: 50 + Tools To Help You Automate Your Business and Make More Profit in Less Time Online!, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com.