Tough Times Don't Last; Smart People Do

The holidays are upon us. So is the end of '08, (thank goodness), the beginning of 2009, the changing of the president, (thank double goodness), and still yet, more new beginnings for your company. If your family is anything like mine, this holiday not only brings with it joy for the occasion but thoughts of concern for the unknowns yet to be faced. If anytime over the last two years you had told me of all the things that were going to happen this year, then I would have told you to count us among the departed. Yet, here we stand, still on the battlefield and fighting the good fight.


There's good news that doesn't get a lot of press. In So. Fla. existing home sales are seeing large increases over the same months last year. Prices have reached a point where the value of real estate is better than leaving money in an uncertain stock market. How's that for good news. Bet you didn't think any time this year you'd hear that Fla. real estate would be a better buy for your money than the stock market. This is generally referred to as hitting bottom. This has to happen before we can start to climb out of this mess. Bankruptcies in China are sky rocketing. Obviously that's not good news for the China manufacturing companies, but your made in China label toys and other merchandise are about to get a lot less expensive and that's good news. Competition for the American consumer dollar is going to get fierce. The international manufacturing companies that depend on the American consumer are going to have to get much more competitive with pricing to attract you back to the store. As we move further into the new year, cheaper merchandise will help create more incentive to buy. Everyone reading this blog is well aware of the recent drop in gasoline prices and since our economy is more than 70% consumer driven, then we should expect the drop in prices to show in more product being distributed meaning more work being done.

As we get ready to start the new year, you're going to be hearing more and more about how the big three car manufacturers can't survive without government money and the economy can't stand to lose those jobs. Hogwash. Notice you will not be hearing anything about the other big three, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, needing any of our government's money. I say let 'em go. No one in government is listening to DSS' needs. Catch up with the times or catch a ride out of town. Way too much government intervention already. 50 billion here, 25 billion there, and 700 billion everywhere. Whew, so many billions I can't even keep up with it all. I'll just take a couple of thousand, but NO, not me and you, no money for us unless we make it. And that's what we must do next year.

Now's the time to be smart. Now's the time to be mentally, emotionally, and physically strong. No one's going to help us but ourselves. As we enter 2009, we must be sales aggressive and business smart. As the title says, tough times don't last, smart people do. This period of time will slowly slip away, and we must be ready to capitalize on the new market that is already taking shape. Be smart, be strong, be aggressive, go get'em. Take this company back above 1000 and move us in the direction of 2000. There is business being done in your area by many competitors. How much longer are you willing to let them get away with your future. The hungry dog always eats. The alternative is not pretty.

Managing Change: Managing People's Fear

With all the changes going on around us; at the company as well as in the World today I thought this was a good article to share. "Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better." King Whitney Jr

Change is natural and good. Reaction to change is unpredictable, but manageable.

By F. John Reh, About.com

Managing change means managing people's fear. Change is natural and good, but people's reaction to change is unpredictable and irrational. It can be managed if done right.

Change

Nothing is as upsetting to your people as change. Nothing has greater potential to cause failures, loss of production, or falling quality. Yet nothing is as important to the survival of your organization as change. History is full of examples of organizations that failed to change and that are now extinct. The secret to successfully managing change, from the perspective of the employees, is definition and understanding.

Resistance to change comes from a fear of the unknown or an expectation of loss. The front-end of an individual's resistance to change is how they perceive the change. The back-end is how well they are equipped to deal with the change they expect.

An individual's degree of resistance to change is determined by whether they perceive the change as good or bad, and how severe they expect the impact of the change to be on them. Their ultimate acceptance of the change is a function of how much resistance the person has and the quality of their coping skills and their support system.

Your job as a leader is to address their resistance from both ends to help the individual reduce it to a minimal, manageable level. Your job is not to bulldoze their resistance so you can move ahead.

Perception Does Matter

If you move an employee's desk six inches, they may not notice or care. Yet if the reason you moved it those six inches was to fit in another worker in an adjacent desk, there may be high resistance to the change. It depends on whether the original employee feels the hiring of an additional employee is a threat to his job, or perceives the hiring as bringing in some needed assistance.

• A promotion is usually considered a good change. However an employee who doubts their ability to handle the new job may strongly resist the promotion. They will give you all kinds of reasons for not wanting the promotion, just not the real one.
• You might expect a higher-level employee to be less concerned about being laid off, because they have savings and investments to support them during a job search. However, the individual may feel they are over extended and that a job search will be long and complicated. Conversely, your concern for a low-income employee being laid off may be unfounded if they have stashed a nest egg in anticipation of the cut.
• Your best salesperson may balk at taking on new, high potential account because they have an irrational feeling that they don't dress well enough.

If you try and bulldoze this resistance, you will fail. The employee whose desk you had to move will develop production problems. The top worker who keeps declining the promotion may quit rather than have to continue making up excuses for turning you down. And the top salesperson's sales may drop to the point that you stop considering them for the new account. Instead, you overcome the resistance by defining the change and by getting mutual understanding.

Definition

On the front end, you need to define the change for the employee in as much detail and as early as you can. Provide updates as things develop and become more clear. In the case of the desk that has to be moved, tell the employee what's going on. "We need to bring in more workers. Our sales have increased by 40% and we can't meet that demand, even with lots of overtime. To make room for them, we'll have to rearrange things a little." You could even ask the employees how they think the space should be rearranged. You don't have to accept their suggestions, but it's a start toward understanding.

Definition is a two-way street. In addition to defining the problem, you need to get the employees to define the reasons behind their resistance.

Understanding

Understanding is also a two-way street. You want people to understand what is changing and why. You also need to understand their reluctance.

• You have to help your people understand. They want to know what the change will be and when it will happen, but they also want to know why. Why is it happening now? Why can't things stay like they have always been? Why is it happening to me?
• It is also important that they understand what is not changing. Not only does this give them one less thing to stress about, it also gives them an anchor, something to hold on to as they face the winds of uncertainty and change.
• You need to understand their specific fears. What are they concerned about? How strongly do they feel about it? Do they perceive it as a good or a bad thing?

Manage This Issue

Don't try to rationalize things. Don't waste time wishing people were more predictable. Instead, focus on opening and maintaining clear channels of communication with your employees so they understand what is coming and what it means to them. They will appreciate you for it and will be more productive both before and after the change.

8 Ways Your Small Business Can Save Money in This Economy

Here is an article forwarded to me by FrankCrum. Here are 10 things to think about regarding your small business’s bottom line. With just a few minor changes to your standard operations, you can save your business thousands of dollars. Remember, everything adds up! 1. Instead of payroll in-house, consider a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) to take over the administrative and legal responsibilities of managing your employees. You are not selling your employees to someone else- you are just using their service to help your small business save money while offering your staff better benefits to boot! Meaning, no inside human resource personnel costs, reduced legal liability for your company and better benefits packages for your staff. Look to a professional employer organization to help you save money. 2. Get creative with your advertising. Instead of spending huge amounts of money everywhere you turn, double up your advertising efforts. Include advertising material with your invoices, and sneak coupons into newsletters and other promotional fliers. Don’t forget e-mail! Email newsletters and email reminders- think cheap and save a stamp. 3. Think GREEN. Besides all the positive impact on the environment and saving precious energy, going green on energy-efficient technology will save your small business money too. 4. Recycle when possible and buy recycled. Buy recycled printer cartridges, recycled keyboards and computer desks and chairs. Recycle your old computer monitors, office equipment and cubes- don’t trash them! 5. Shut off lights when you are not using them and possibly remove unnecessary energy wasters. Install motion detectors to control lighting, if nobody is taking care of the fish tank- sell it, switch to energy efficient computers too. 6. Sublet your office space. Entrepreneurs are always looking for inexpensive office space, plus you save on rent! 7. Keep your overhead low by hiring family. Tax breaks, cheap labor and loyal staff! 8. Never underestimate interns! An internship program is a win-win situation for your business. You get enthusiastic and ambitious employees to help you, while they in turn get the credits and experience they need. When it comes to saving money in this economy, small businesses need all the help they can get. Look around your office or store front and soon, hundreds of ways to save money will literally pop out at you. No need to layoff your hard-working staff, think about smaller ways your small business can save money before deciding to make decisions with drastic consequences.

Author Resource:- About the author: Melissa Peterman is a web content specialist for Innuity. For more information about Payroll and Professional Employer Organization , go to Human Capital Strategies.

Article From JustArticles.net Article Directory