Ready for Anything ; Make sure you're fully prepared for when disaster strikes

When Trinise Prosper, 37, returned to New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina, she and two of her sisters, Antoinette, 44, and Brenda, 32, decided to start a full-service bakery. But getting their new business, Sweet Savors Bakery, off the ground wasn't easy. The sisters applied for a federal small-business grant and never heard back. New Orleans lacked phone and credit card service at the time, and supplies were more expensive. "We did everything out of pocket," says Trinise. "It was very hard to get [the business] up and running. We pulled together and got it done."
Sweet Savors Bakery opened in New Orleans' Gentilly District in March 2007 and now employs 10 people. Still, the wreckage Hurricane Katrina left behind profoundly impacted the sisters, who had all worked for another sister's bakery business that was destroyed in the storm. That experience taught them to always prepare for the worst, and today, Sweet Savors Bakery has a disaster insurance policy that covers the company's products and equipment, as well as the building it leases. The company also has a written disaster plan that addresses floods, fires and other events. "If you don't have [a plan]," Trinise says, "you're setting yourself up to fail."

In fact, having a disaster plan can actually help your business grow during good times, says Donna Childs, author of Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses. She sees three distinct benefits to having a disaster preparedness plan in place. First, a plan can reduce your insurance premiums and free up money for investment in growth initiatives. Second, a plan underscores the resiliency of your supply chain--something that can make your company more competitive for government and corporate contracts. Third, a plan enhances your operational efficiency. "Disaster planning necessarily requires that you understand how your business works," Childs says. "Instead of doing things in an ad hoc, informal way, you start putting systems in place that will improve your efficiency."

Sweet Savors Bakery pays $100 a month for disaster insurance on top its general insurance policy, coverage that's come in handy when suppliers inquire about the company's disaster preparedness. Combined with a written disaster plan, there's greater strategy and more peace of mind going forward. "We don't know if [a major hurricane is] going to happen again," Trinise says. But "if it happened, we'd come back and reopen." A well-written disaster plan methodically outlines how you would handle both major and minor disasters that could affect your company. An earthquake is one thing, but what will you do if a key piece of equipment breaks or the business next door has a hazmat spill? "It's not just what happens to you, it's what happens around you," says Steve Elliot, founder and CEO of business continuity and disaster recovery consulting firm Elliot Consulting Services. A good place to start is ready.gov, a Department of Homeland Security site that offers a wealth of business disaster planning tips.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that 40 percent of small businesses wouldn't reopen after a disaster. Would yours? Trinise says Hurricane Katrina taught her a lot about running a business, from self-reliance to creating a "disaster account" that the company can access quickly in a catastrophe, no matter how big or small. "If a disaster happens, you have these funds, [and] you don't have to wait on insurance," she says. "Always be up on your game. Be ahead of yourself." For more on how to ensure that your business is prepared for a disaster, go to entrepreneur.com/shortcuts to read an excerpt from Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses by Donna Childs.

By Chris Penttila
resource : www.entrepreneur.com

From Yahoo! With Love

Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) shareholders want answers. Unfortunately, they're only walking away with even more questions.
CEO Jerry Yang joined Chairman Roy Bostock yesterday in updating investors on the recent turmoil at the company. That would have been a great time to address owner concerns over freefalling share prices and executive defections. Instead, the company sidestepped those issues to sing the praises of its ad-outsourcing pact with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), and to throw some light on how it blew the deal with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).

Investors won't like the explanations.

G is for Google -- and Gullible
The AdSense deal with Google "will generate approximately $250 to $450 million in incremental operating cash flow for Yahoo! in the first twelve months following implementation," explained Yang and Bostock.

Sounds good, right? Dig deeper. It's an admission that Yahoo! stinks at paid search. Why else would Yahoo's cut from a Google deal be more than all of what Yahoo! can clear on its own? There's no sugarcoating that. Or is there?

"The net result is that the agreement helps us accelerate one of our strategic aims -- closing the monetization gap," the letter explains. "At the same time, it allows Yahoo! to continue to compete aggressively in search and display advertising."

What? Yang isn't just trying to portray his company's surrender to Google's paid-search charms as a Yahoo! achievement in "closing the monetization gap." He's also saying that Yahoo! still naively wants to pepper its search results with its own ads.

Don't get me wrong. Yahoo! is making headway in display advertising, so there is no reason for it to yield to a rival there. However, its insistence on continuing to sell its own sponsored search results is delusional from the perspective of the executive boardroom, while also shortchanging its shareholders by failing to maximize profits.

By allocating some of its ad inventory to serve alongside Google's targeted text ads, the company hopes it can keep that channel open. The thinner demand may even drive up click prices -- but how can it not have an impact on supply? Advertisers will now know that they can simply buy spots through Google if they want to appear on both search engines. That hardly makes Yahoo! the "must buy" for sponsors that the company envisions its platform to be.

It also cheats the bottom line. If scrapping its paid-search business completely in favor of Google would deliver even more cash flow, why is Yahoo! kidding itself with its slow-motion euthanasia of its own Panama paid-search platform?

M is for Microsoft -- and Misplayed
Yang and Bostock also detail the botched Microhoo hookup. The letter recounts several meetings between the two companies, culminating with the June 8 breakup, when "Microsoft stated unequivocally that it has no interest in acquiring all of Yahoo!, even at the price range Microsoft had previously suggested."

We get it. It was Microsoft's decision to walk away ... but only after Yahoo! shook its head for more than four months. The burden rests with Yahoo! to explain why its stock is trading roughly $10 lower than Microsoft's original buyout offer, but the company's somehow casting itself as the victim.

The letter explains that Microsoft countered with a proposal to buy only Yahoo!'s search business. It would pay $1 billion up front, invest another $8 billion in Yahoo!, and grant Yahoo! a piece of the action for 10 years of exclusivity. However, nowhere in the letter does it actually spell out whether this would have created more -- or less -- than the incremental annual cash flow improvement it will be getting through Google.

Yahoo! only explains that the exclusivity was a problem, even though everyone but Yahoo! seems to understand that once you go Google, you don't go back. Just ask Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL.

I is for Icahn -- and Innocent
The letter closes by defending itself against Carl Icahn's proxy battle. "Based on Mr. Icahn's narrow agenda, it seems highly unlikely that either he or his slate would bring added value to Yahoo!."

Added value? The current board's indecision with Microsoft has actually subtracted value for Yahoo! shareholders. I'm not entirely a fan of Icahn's actions here, but the letter's insistence that the current board "has the independence, experience, knowledge and commitment to navigate the Company through the rapidly-changing Internet environment, execute on our strategic objectives and deliver value for Yahoo! and its stockholders" is just too funny to take seriously.

Is Yahoo! really that out of touch? This letter should have explained the prolific defections and the tumbling stock. It should have explained the Google and Microsoft paths on an apples-to-apples basis. It should have been modest enough to own up to its fiscal and board shortcomings.

It failed on all counts. But what else is new?

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz
resource; http://www.fool.com/

Workplace Trends of the Future

The rapid evolution of technology, the aging population of baby boomers, the rising cost of healthcare and energy, and other societal and business trends are having a significant and irrevocable impact on the workplace.

Where, how and why we work has changed dramatically over the past two decades and it will go through further transformation over the next twenty years, according to employment experts at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The global outplacement and business coaching consultancy predicted these ‘Workplace Trends of the Future’ at last Monday’s opening of the Society for Human Resource Management’s 60th annual national conference.

Four-Day Workweeks

With rising gasoline prices, the availability of increasingly portable and affordable technology, and the desire among growing numbers of employees for better balance between their work and home life, four-day workweeks will become the new standard for corporate America.

A Challenger survey found that 23 percent of companies are already offering a condensed workweek, typically consisting of four 10-hour days, in part as a response to rising fuel costs. Some companies are also discovering that today’s workers, armed with the latest productivity-enhancing tools, are able to get their work done in four 8-hour days, which puts more Americans within reach of the long-held dream of three-day weekends.

Mandated Wellness Programs

Given the spiraling cost of employer-paid health insurance, more and more organizations will institute wellness programs and mandate worker enrollment. Office equipment such as Steelcase’s Walkstations, which allow workers to walk on treadmills while at their computers, will catch on in offices nationwide. Other programs, such as in-office gyms, company-funded fitness classes and healthy food options will help workers keep in shape.

More employers will take a hard line against unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking. They may follow the lead of an Indiana company, which announced that workers who allow health risks, such as tobacco use, obesity or high cholesterol, to go unchecked will pay more for their company health insurance beginning in 2009. A handful of companies are refusing to hire smokers, and at least two have terminated employees who failed to quit smoking.

Corporate Degree Programs

Increasingly, jobs require advanced technological know-how, creative problem-solving abilities and superior communication skills. However, the high level of education needed for these positions is becoming financially out of reach for a growing number of Americans. Employers will be forced to create their own degree programs to develop potential future employees. Companies have already seen the benefits of tuition assistance in terms of recruiting, training and retaining workers.

Organizations will initiate entire programs with precise coursework centered around their company culture and goals, eliminating the need for extensive on-the-job training, and saving both the company and workers thousands of dollars. Future students will hold degrees in things like Web Design from Microsoft College or Virtual Community Relations from Google University. Large employers such as IBM have already instituted courses specifically tailored to their needs. This will become more widespread as companies look for better ways to develop a well-trained workforce.

Global Relocation of Workers

The expansion of the global economy will lead to a worldwide talent pool, where companies will aggressively recruit the best available workers, regardless of where they reside. In this environment, it will be just as likely for Americans to be hired by firms based in India as it will for foreign computer programmers and engineers to be hired by US firms. Already, several countries in Europe and Asia have stepped up recruitment of highly skilled, highly educated foreign students in hopes of building a more capable and talented workforce. According to a 2006 Japan Research Institute report, foreign students made up 16.2 percent of all students in the UK, 11.2 percent in Germany and 11 percent in France. In April, the Department of Homeland Security made it easier for American tech firms to employ foreign workers by allowing the hiring of foreign students who attend an American school for at least 29 months, without needing an H1-B visa.

Goodbye to Cubicles

In an effort to improve employee collaboration, productivity and efficiency, employers will replace cubicles with open community spaces. To maximize employee interaction and teamwork, companies will eliminate isolating cubes and redesign their workspaces to feature common areas, conference rooms and tables, as opposed to individual desks. Employees will work via wireless laptops and move from space to space as required by their work. This more flexible design will accommodate the increasing number of telecommuters who only work in the office sporadically.

Some companies have already reaped the benefits of retooling their workspace. Network technology corporation Cisco added wireless networking capabilities, virtual offices and quiet rooms to its Japanese offices, resulting in more unified teams, increased revenue, reduced cost, increased space efficiency and optimized flexibility and convenience.

Goodbye to Corporate Headquarters

Within 20 years, the corporate headquarters will be nearly extinct. In an effort to cut real estate costs, become more eco-friendly and attract the growing number of workers seeking better work-life balance, more and more companies will adopt a ‘work wherever and whenever you want’ policy. Those who must work from a traditional office will work in leased space close to their homes.

Some major employers, such as Best Buy, Sun Microsystems and AT&T, are already on the leading edge of a seemingly radical management approach that judges employees on the quality and quantity of their work, not their physical presence in the office. In other words, if you get your report done and it meets quality expectations, it doesn’t matter if you wrote it at your desk, sitting in the bleachers at your child’s soccer match, or on the beach in Mexico. This type of work arrangement undoubtedly resonates with the millions of Americans who want more work-life balance. Environmentalists will like that it greatly reduces commuter traffic. And this approach should also appeal to corporate finance directors. Sun Microsystems estimates it saved $400 million in real estate costs over a six-year period by liberating employees from the traditional confines of the corporate office.

A Free-Agent Workforce

Free agents are the fastest-growing worker segment in the United States, and their number will increase rapidly over the next decade as companies look to hire the best talent on a project basis, and workers take charge of their own careers. Free agents are expected to comprise 40 percent of the American workforce by 2012, according to market research firm EPIC-MRA, as baby boomers adopt alternative careers in retirement and tech-savvy young workers seek more control and variety in their burgeoning careers.

The move to hiring temporary and contract employees, freelancers and consultants is beneficial for both companies and workers. Companies enjoy greater flexibility in meeting the cyclical ebbs and flows of business, while realizing tremendous savings related to benefits and the administration of a full-time, permanent workforce. Free agents also gain flexibility and an improved work/life balance, not to mention the potential to earn more money as they sell their expertise to the highest bidder.

resource: www.jobjournal.com

Superior Leader - Warren Buffet

Superior business leader and American investor Warren Buffett is often called “Oracle of Omaha” or the “Sage of Omaha” and philanthropist. (Wikipedia, 2007) Buffett is the CEO, and the biggest shareholder of the Berkshire Hathaway Company. Buffett’s has an estimated current net worth of approximately $52 billion in US funds. Forbes Magazine ranks Buffett the third richest person in the world in September 2007 behind Carlos Slim and Bill Gates.

Warren Buffett is known for his economical and plain lifestyle. Buffett still lives in the same Omaha, Nebraska house that he purchased in 1958 for $31,500 with a current value of $700,000. In 1989, Buffett spent $9.7 million of the Berkshire’s funds on a corporate jet. He jokingly named it “The Indefensible” because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. (Wikipedia, 2007)

Warren Buffett decided to make a commitment to give his fortune to charity back in June 2006. Buffett’s charity donation is approximately $30 billion, which is the largest donation in the history of the United States. The donation was enough to more than double the size of the foundation with 83% of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett believed that his family had enough money to get started in life so Buffett decided to give his fortune to charity. Buffett’s annual salary in 2006 was only $100,000. In 2007, Buffett was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. (Wikipedia, 2007)

What makes Warren Buffett a good business leader? This is what everyone wants to know because Warren buffet is so successful. It all starts with leadership. Warren buffet is a true leader where his leadership makes a difference in the world. Leadership is very much related to change and Warren Buffett has the capabilities of leadership change to fit the changing world. Warren Buffett has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to map read in the irregular waters of change. Is Warren Buffett born a leader? The authors of this paper believe not. Experience and research has shown little evidence that an individual who comes to power is a “born leader.” Warren Buffett took the falls that any other leader has to take. Warren Buffett learned from his mistakes and turned his mistakes into a positive thing. Warren Buffett shares his leadership at all organizational levels and Buffett is empowered to share leadership responsibilities. In the world of business, many titles related to leadership roles are actively used in business and Warren Buffett wears those titles to make him effective in multiple leadership positions in business. Distinction between good leadership and good management is made often. Managers are made to be organizational, controllers and budgeters. Warren Buffett has leadership in all three departments and one must have these traits to be a good business leader.

Another important trait in Today’s business leadership is communication. Warren Buffet is a skilled communicator in all aspects of life. Communication is the real key of leadership. Skilled communicators have an appreciation for positioning in the business world. Warren Buffet is experienced at positioning himself at the right place at the right time. Warren Buffet has the understanding of the people he is trying to reach and what he can and cannot hear from the people. Knowledge of audiences’ needs and wants gives the orator the ability to listen. Warren Buffett is an excellent listener with the ability to convey his understanding.

When Warren Buffett talks, people listen. Warren Buffett can send a message through an open door and does not have to push the message through a wall.

Leadership is crucial to any successful business and good leadership is what Warren Buffett is all about. This is what makes Warren buffet a good business leader.

Mr. Warren Buffett’s investment strategies and course of leadership are shining examples of characteristics shared by cognitive theorists. Cognitive theory is an approach of explaining behavior through perception, anticipation, and thinking. Mr. Buffett’s continual approach of analyzing both possible investment choices, market trends, and the ability to place management resources of the right caliber in the right position has consistently brought this investor to the forefront amongst peers and the marketplace. At the core of every sound investor is a creative innovator.

Innovation demands creativity. Creativity in turn draws on our cognitive faculties, across the full amplitude from emotion to reason. In the number-heavy world of global investing, innovative thinking is critical. Innovative investors decipher future trends, spot likely winners by combining science (financials) with art (acuity and perception) and continuously mitigate risk. They assess user needs, product features, the proper deployment of money, professional organizational structures and risk management. (Kore Kalibre, 2006)

Mr. Buffett’s instinct and ability to interpret market trends is also held by tight reigns. Despite over 50 years of growth, Mr. Buffett always adheres to one of the most basic business principles: “…only compete where you have a competitive advantage. Warren Buffett refers to staying within your circle of competence. Social psychologists tell us, though, that we are prone to overconfidence when it comes to assessing our abilities…” (Arthridge, 2006) A man of Warren Buffett’s position and track record could easily be derailed to a sense of over confidence. The principle of only competing within your range of competitive advantage is a principle that can be applied to many other areas in life, and Mr. Buffett’s ability to work and live by this idea has allowed him to continue forward with minimal bruising.

By establishing the previous examples, the authors can reinforce the principles of cognitive theory in that Mr. Buffett behavior patterns are clearly dictated by thought processes, which include interpretation, analysis, and foresight. “As experiences and events gain meaning and value, the process becomes increasingly top down as the mind in (a) attempt at an orderly process influences perception though beliefs, goals and external process” (Gardener, 2007)

Warren Buffett’s is a self empowered leader, because he is loyal, sets goals, plans a strategy for achievement, and stays committed until he accomplishes his purpose. Up to date, he is the greatest stockbroker of all-time. He is a very conservative investor that prefers to invest in companies that sell name brand products that he uses. For example, Coca-Cola, Gillette Razors, See’s Candy, Gulfstream Jet, and GEICO are the major companies he invested in. In the nineties his assets quadrupled in less than five years. He is a smart investor that usually does not take big investment risks. For example, he will not invest in internet stock, because the return is unpredictable. He likes to invest in companies that he is sure will be successful 20 years later. He buys the company with the intentions of keeping it forever. Usually, the management team of each company is the same staff that sold it Warren Buffett from the beginning. He stays loyal to his partners, and the team workstheir best to keep him happy.

After Warren Buffett’s wife died, he decided to donate 85% of his money to charity. However, “he wants his money to be used the same year he donates it”.(Harris, 2006) The requirement will accelerate the process to help the world. According to Fortune magazine, five-sixths of his money will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This foundation which focus on finding cures for diseases that are common in poor nations. The rest of the money will be split among four other charities, that are each run by his three children and one that is in his late wife’s name.

Warren Buffett is not a huge spender. In fact, he still lives in the same house he bought 40 years ago. Warren “told ABC News “Nightline” that being born into wealth did not entitle his children”(Harris, 2006). In addition, he told Fortune magazine that, “A very rich person would leave his kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing.”(Harris, 2006) In other words, he wants his children to work earn their money and value hard work and smart choices.

In the year 2006, Warren’s first annual donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was $1.5 billion and the rest was divided among the four charities. He was the first person to make a donation better than Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. It seems as if Bill Gates and Warren Buffett set a good example and lead others to be more generous, because now the Barron Hilton has committed to donating half of his fortune to charity also. Barron Hilton is the founder of the Hilton Hotels and is worth $2.3 billion. Hopefully, a trend started among the fortunate to give to the less fortunate.

The personality of Warren Buffett ties to the Social Cognitive Level, because he tries to understand and make sense of other people. He observes the differences in social knowledge when dealing with people. Social cognition refers to making sense of ourselves, others, and how the information is used. In the sixties and seventies Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel were psychologists, studying personality development. They found that social learning and cognitive principles improve ones abilities to self-regulate and to follow goals. Warren investment choices were successful, because he conditioned his the way he processed information, choices, and expectations.
by: Michael J. Spindler
source; http://www.articlecity.com