Get Focused, Get Results
23 Jan 2008 | Category: uncategorized | Author: admin
Last night my wife was helping my 12 year old learn some new things when my daughter and I walked in playing and giggling. Once we stopped in respect for them, I noticed he was having trouble concentrating because the television was on. After I suggested he turn it off, they made great progress very quickly.
We all have done it, whether we are parents or not. We've encouraged someone to remove a distraction so they could focus on the task, conversation or subject at hand.
If you wear corrective lenses of any kind and go for your annual vision check, you know what it is like when your new prescription is applied. You see more clearly with greater focus. Suddenly your mind doesn't have to think about focusing, things already are without "working" at it.
It is crystal clear to me that we all know how important focus (of all kinds) is, but many of us aren't very good at it. (As a side note, I write this article because focus is something that I continually work on getting better at; it is my hope that the things I will share from my journey, will help you too.)
This article will target three specific areas with specifics suggestions for practicing improved focus: planning, questioning and removing.
Planning
Daily planning is critical. Many people have a "to-do" list, and while having one will help you be more focused than not having one, most people don't use them to their maximum benefit. Too often the list degenerates into a list of the crises that MUST be handled today - or as Dr. Stephen Covey says in his work, the urgent, but not necessarily important things. The other problem with many people's lists is that they are way too long (too often, mine included).
Here are three things to do to improve your daily planning for greater focus:
1. Align your daily work with your goals. The most important thing you can do to increase your focus is to have goals. If your goals are clear (which includes having them written down) it is much easier to re-focus your efforts towards them. Goals provide a compass for your efforts. Make sure your list for the day includes items specifically related to your goals.
2. Do your daily planning before the day begins. Many suggest it is best to do this the evening before because it allows your subconscious to "work on" your list as you sleep. If not then, do it at the close of the previous day or at the very start of your morning.
3. Prioritize the list. If you have the long list syndrome, identify the 5 things that are most important to be completed that day. Make sure that at least one of those things is in service of your most important goals, not just putting out the urgent fires you are facing.
Questioning
There are some questions you can ask yourself throughout the day to help you stay focused. They include:
o Is what I am doing now focused on my most important objectives? If the answer is yes, great! If the answer is no, time to re-focus.
o How is my energy level? If you feel it waning a bit, take a five minute walk, a ten minute power nap or eat a smart snack of almonds or some other energy food.
o What is distracting me now? If something is, determine how to quickly handle it, or remove that distraction. Which leads to my third set of ideas ...
Removing
Distractions are everywhere. The TV, a cluttered desk, the "ding" of a new email being delivered, more advertising in more places, cell phones and pagers... I could go on, but you are already thinking of the distractions in your life.
Turn off the TV. Clean your desk. Turn down the volume or turn off the ding. Have someone answer your phone while you work on that project. Screen your calls.
You get the idea.
Make a list of the 5-7 top things that distract you (at work or at home - wherever you are trying to increase your focus). That's right make the list right now.
Then identify what you can do to remove, eliminate or defer the distraction when you most want to be focused.
Focus and clarity are siblings. Both of them are required for us to get greater results, and come ever closer to unleashing our potential. I wish you the best in your efforts to increase your focus. I promise that your efforts will rewarded with greater productivity, higher quality work, and greater opportunities.
Are Your Supply Chain Management Employees Thinking Domestic or Global?
22 Jan 2008 | Category: uncategorized | Author: admin
Global supply chain management has emerged as a major topic in the age of globalization and now it is sitting at the heart of the whole system. But you might be asking yourself, so what exactly is supply chain management and how can it affect my company?
Let's understand what it is first.
From the production house the product starts it journey and travels through to the supplier, distributor, retailer and ends at the hands of the consumer. This whole journey is a well managed mechanism and controlled by supply chain management. When it goes global and the journey of the product covers multiple countries, then it is called global supply chain management.
With globalization, business has become more complex. Global supply chain management not only mobilizes products but also the entire value added chain, in which financial activities and sharing of information are also included.
Big companies have many hubs around the world. Raw materials, finished products, finance and other pertinent information travel from one hub to the next. Global supply chain management is the basis of the whole operation.
The cost of production and profitability is dependant on the global supply chain as well as how well employees throughout the company are trained for such fast-paced tasks.
Global supply chain management has two major components:
1. International movement of products and raw materials, title transformation, payments, controlling risk factors 2. In parallel with the above activities, an information network is hard at work. Information sharing and collecting is very important to run an effective global supply chain management system
The efficiency of the global supply chain management of any company can make everything look easy. However in order to attain those efficiencies your employees need to understand the fundamentals. The most basic fundamental is that supply chain management is not just domestic anymore nor is it just for large corporations. Small and midsize companies have to be global supply chain management savvy if they wish to survive.
The growth and development of a company is largely dependent on the global supply chain management system and its most important asset - employees.
Are your employees top-notch when it comes to global supply chain skills? If you can't answer yes then you better start thinking about training because your competitors are.
So, what type of training is needed companywide?
First, introduce employees to global supply chain management. Don't assume they grasp the concept. With increased globalization and offshore sourcing, global supply chain management is becoming an important issue for many businesses. So, make sure the foundation is laid.
Second, employees should learn the underlying factors behind the trend to reducing the cost of procurement and decreasing the risks related to purchasing activities.
Third, they should understand the following principles: a) competition is no longer among independent companies but instead about connected supply chains b) supply chain competition is global c) winners will be companies that best integrate and achieve commitment to supply chain excellence among diverse organizations
Copyright 2006 Sherry Harris
"Let the Truth Sink In - Facts That Students Ought to be Taught in School"
21 Jan 2008 | Category: uncategorized | Author: admin
Millionaire maker, Robert G. Allen, states in his book "Multiple Streams of Income" that an individual ought to build up multiple streams of income to secure his/her future.
As a 21 years old student, I was surprised that none of the "adults" that have taught me in school, my teachers, has ever taught me that. "Multiple Stream of Income" (Passive income portfolio) is something that can be build by anybody who has understand how important money is.
This article is written to remind myself and other student why he/she ought to start building up their passive income portfolio as soon as possible so that he/she will be able to achieve financial freedom fast!
The following outlines are the important things that ought to be remembered after reading this article.
o Working for others does not create passive income.
o You do not need much money to grow your money tree.
o The moment you work, it's a whole different world.
o Becoming rich at 65 is too late to be enjoying life.
1. Working for others does not create passive income.
Passive income is an income that is being generated even as you sleep.
A lot of us grow up with a mindset of graduating with an honor and hoping that right after we got the degree, we can search for a decent job and "we will take it from there". By working for others, we are not creating passive income. Our main goal, in order to be rich, is to create different type and sources of passive incomes in our lives.
Earning a fix income every month will not let you achieve financial freedom.
Most of us are still young, we have got a lot of time to build up our passive income portfolio. So start now!
2. You do no need much money to grow your money tree.
There are different types of ways to create a new stream of income in your life. Some ways required a lot of money to starts, most don't. I really advised all of you to read a book written by Robert G. Allen, "Multiple Streams of Income".
The book taught us different ways to build up our passive income portfolio.
A lot of people think that it takes a lot of money to make more money. And that discourages them to even try to make money. That is not true! If you do your homework and thoroughly do your research, you will find out that you can start earning an extra income by doing a lot of things.
For example, a 15 year-old boy save up enough money to buy a candy vending machine. He got it in E-bay for about $50. After getting permission from the owner, he positioned the vending machine in his favorite toy store. Each month he will spend about $10 buying sweets to put in the vending machine and each month he will be earning about $20 from many people who insert quarters in exchange for the candy.
This fifteen year old boy has already created one tiny stream of income.
He does not require that much money to start building his first tiny shoot of money tree. And that is just one of the examples. Amazon.com is well known for their affiliation program. Nowadays, there are many affiliation programs out there and these programs are not too expensive to start.
What I am trying to say is, if you are really seeking for a financial freedom, start now. There is no reason for you to delay your first step in achieving your dream.
3. The moment you work, it's a whole different world.
One thing that worries me as a student is how little time I will have for myself as soon as I start working. Waking up at 7 A.M every day and work till 5 P.M is not something that I will enjoy. Don't get me wrong, nothing is wrong with working. In fact, I worked in an office position before. I enjoy the lessons I learnt from working, but I don't enjoy working. After you are done with your job, you won't have much time to socialize with different type of people. You will be spending most of your time of the week with your co-worker. The time you can spend with your family, loved one, friends will be limited. We are student. While we are studying, why not take that extra one or two hours per day to build up our passive income portfolio so that we have an escape route from the rat race that is put before us?
4. Becoming rich at 65 is too late to enjoy life.
This goes without saying. If you are planning to be a millionaire, thinking that your pension plan will lead you there, think again. By the time you retire, you will be too old to enjoy your life. Driving a nice convertible car when you are sixty five does not seem to be so cool anymore, right? Even so, you will be missing out so many things that you could have done when you are young.
We are still young, so why not take this time to encourage one another how important it is for us to rely on our passive income rather than putting our bet in the "future salary".
There are many ways to be rich and as a young adult, we got the advantage in terms of time so use it wisely.
Working together with you towards financial freedom,
Henry Tanaka
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© '05 Henry Tanaka.
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This article is written to accommodate a quick and convenient reading. If you feel the need to get more information regarding the topic brought up in this article, you are welcome to send an e mail to: Tanaka@Tanaka-Henry.com
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