Recruiting: Enough to Make a Monster Tremble

Online job-search and headhunting is changing rapidly, and frontrunner Monster is losing ground to LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, and even Twitter

Corporate recruiter Elisa Bannon of US Cellular in Chicago used to spend up to $4 million a year to post jobs and screen résumés through the three heavyweights of online job search—Monster (MWW), CareerBuilder, and Yahoo! (YHOO) HotJobs.

But with her 2009 budget slashed to $1 million and 2,500 openings to fill, the wireless carrier's director of talent acquisition ditched the big job boards and instead inked a deal with social networking site LinkedIn. For an annual fee of $60,000, Bannon's team now has access to the network's 42 million members, many of whom are employed—the so-called passive candidates that recruiters covet, since conventional wisdom is the best people already have jobs. Using LinkedIn, Bannon made a hire in 30 days for a position that typically takes six months to fill. "It's a great product at an attractive price," she says.

SHRINKING SHARE

For Monster, a publicly traded online job site with $1 billion in sales and 80 million résumés on file, the growing appeal of LinkedIn to recruiters is just one more headache to contend with. Other social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are also becoming popular destinations for employers. And niche sites such as TheLadders and BlueSteps, both of which target high earners, are gaining followers among recruiters and job seekers alike. While traffic to Monster is up because of the growing ranks of the newly unemployed, its share of job listings among the big three has declined from nearly 40% in December 2007 to 34% in May of this year, according to job market research and analysis firm Wanted Technologies. And the site saw a 31% drop in revenue last quarter. (Monster gets 90% of its revenues from fees it charges recruiters to post jobs and search its résumé database; the rest comes from advertising.) "The big job boards have peaked," says Gerry Crispin of consultancy CareerXroads.

Monster CEO Sal Iannuzzi, a Wall Street veteran who in 2007 came to the top job, is trying to fight back. "I've spent a significant part of my career fixing things," he says. He has slashed $400 million in costs over the past year, even eliminating paper cups in the break rooms. Iannuzzi also lowered prices for some key customers and hired 130 salespeople—a 31% increase—to win back business. In January, Monster unveiled a cleaner site that, among other things, reduced the number of steps required to upload a résumé from 20 to 4. A career-mapping feature shows job hunters how they can transfer from one field to another.

PLAYING CATCH-UP?

Iannuzzi is also trying to improve customer service, moving call centers back from India to South Carolina. Those efforts pleased customers such as Michael O'Connell, a recruiter in Los Angeles whose firm works for Disney (DIS) and Toyota (TM). He was close to scrapping Monster last month but stayed on thanks to better service, a monthly payment plan, and a price cut. O'Connell is also a fan of LinkedIn—"I use it all day," he says—but argues that it's not yet big enough to supplant Monster. And he stopped using TheLadders two years ago when the company began charging recruiters. (Originally, TheLadders charged only job seekers.)

Iannuzzi's next step is to address the one-size-fits-all nature of Monster's site, which gets about 12 million unique visitors a month. It's rolling out "contextual search" technology that distinguishes between, say, someone who went to Harvard and someone who lives on Harvard Avenue. Iannuzzi calls the technology "game-changing," but rivals beg to differ. "It's an attempt to catch up," says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, which saw its North American revenue drop 27% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, on June 25, HotJobs launched a "pay-per-performance" product whereby recruiters pay only for qualified candidates.

Unlike listing jobs on the big boards—a process that one recruiter describes as "post and pray"—companies can now choose sites with more distinct services. Along with specialized sites such as TheLadders and Dice, which focuses on technology and health care, there are job search engines such as SimplyHired and Indeed, which trawl the job boards and corporate employment sites to grab every available posting. The employment sections of corporate Web sites have also become more sophisticated. And craigslist has cornered the market for lower-paying jobs with free postings in most areas. By one estimate, there are now 50,000 job sites in the U.S. alone and an equal amount abroad.

SOUPED-UP SEARCH

Perhaps the biggest threat comes from LinkedIn, a six-year-old social networking site with a distinctly professional bent. In January the privately held Mountain View (Calif.) company consolidated the various tools it had been selling to corporate hiring departments into a suite of services called Talent Advantage, which now boasts more than 1,000 customers, double the number it had last year. For $7,000 per user at a client company, hiring managers get a customized Web site, or "dashboard," and souped-up search capability so they can reach out to qualified candidates, individually or in groups. (Recruiters can also buy job postings.) The network even "pushes" candidates to employers who meet preset criteria. While some LinkedIn members may not want to hear from a recruiter, they'll often send the message along to someone else in their network. "Finding passive candidates—that's our sweet spot," says David Hahn, LinkedIn's director of product management. Recruiters agree. "We could not believe the candidates we got" from LinkedIn, says Scott Morrison, director of global recruiting programs at software giant salesforce.com (CRM). "This is a gold mine for us."

Twitter is also gaining traction in the realm of job search. Kara Nickels got an e-mail one morning from an insurance industry client that needed 40 lawyers immediately for a big document review. The legal recruiter quickly sent a message—or "tweet"—to her 150 followers, which was re-twittered by legal blogs that follow her. By the time she arrived at her Chicago office, Nickels had 10 replies and filled every post by lunch. "With job boards it takes a couple days before people look," she says. "But Twitter is immediate. I'll still use the job boards, but if you don't use social media now, you're behind the curve."

With that kind of competition, analysts are skeptical that Monster can retain its top spot. "I'm not convinced [Monster's] new projects are going to revolutionize its portfolio to the point where users and recruiters think about Monster in a new light," says William Morrison, an analyst at investment bank ThinkEquity Partners. "If the job boards don't innovate more often and more quickly, they are going to have a very difficult time growing their businesses over the next several years."

Iannuzzi knows this. "We are not done," he says, hinting that acquisitions could be forthcoming. But even Monster's architects see the writing on the wall. Bill Warren, the founder of an early job board that morphed into Monster, is now executive director of the DirectEmployers Assn., a consortium of corporate employers. He's partnering with the owner of the ".jobs" domain and will launch job sites under that domain later this year. Says Warren: "The days of the big, expensive job boards are over."

Business Exchange: Read, save, and add content on BW's new Web 2.0 topic network

Your Digital Profile

Paper résumés are passé. According to a June 17 NPR segment, recruiters increasingly are looking for evidence that prospective hires are comfortable living in a digital world. LinkedIn profiles are a must, blogs a plus. But beware of what your e-mail address says about you. No cutesy, joint husband-and-wife e-mail addresses, please. Also, at least one executive looks down on AOL (TWX) addresses: "AOL was so 1998," he says.

To listen to the segment, go to http://bx.businessweek.com/recession-job-search/reference/

 

Yacht sinks after falling from freight vessel in San Diego bay

The Coast Guard is investigating a yacht that sank in San Diego Bay at 11 a.m. yesterday.

The yacht was being moved to the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal when it fell off a freight vessel and sank, authorities said. A commercial salvage company moved the yacht to its facility, and the Coast Guard is monitoring the vessel for diesel leaks. It remains underwater.

“This coming week, they will refloat the yacht,” Lt. Josh Nelson said.

He said the investigation will focus on whether the accident resulted from a failure by the yacht movers to follow proper procedures
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/28/1m28b2briefs005525-short-takes/?metro&zIndex=123782

Billy Mays, better known as Mr Oxyclean died last night. 

He was a celebrity of his own, he was the Elvis Presley, the king of infomercials and as such probably touched more lives than most celebrities.  He brought into our lives Oxyclean, Kaboom, the mighty putty, the Hercules hook, products that changed our lives for the better.  What is Michael Jackson's claim to fame compared ton that?  And don't get me started.

Nobody, in the world of infomercials reached the pinnacle, the celebrity status  like Billy Mays did.  Why, that's a good question, nobody has done for a brand what Billy Mays did for Oxyclean (granted, even if te product is not as good as Billy made it to be, it is still a great product)  Billy brought it from the demo booth of the local fairs to being not only a household name but actually being on most household shelves and in some way revolutionize the world of househoild cleaning.  Yes you heard me right, can you tell me a brand that does not have a version of its laudry detergent "oxycleaned" and seen their sales boosted by Oxyclean?

Once the news get a hold of this, we will be bombarded by Oxyclean and Kaboom commercials and Barbara Walters has planned a "60 minutes" retrospective of the life of this infomercial and late night icon.

What will life be without Billy, the world of infomercials will never be the same

I know some of you are thinking:  is he kidding or what?  Well maybe... a little, but I had you thinking.  It's not the same isn't it?  Well, in many ways it is.  Oxyclean did not change our lives forever and neither did Michael Jackson, the funny thing is Billy Mays did not carry all the negative baggage Michael Jackson carried (baggage that somehow everybody seem to forget now), but in many ways, Billy Mays actually did impact the lives of more people in a more meaningful way, he actually solved some of our problems, something Michael Jackson can never claim. 

His death will never get the kind of coverage Michael Jackson's death does, me probably won't make the headlines either, but at least we should ask ourselves a few questions....  about what is important and what our priorities are.  Celebrities are not role models, they only impact our lives because we are trying to fill a void and fantasizing about them somehow helps us forget what we are missing in our lives.

Went to the Delmar Fair today.
The highlight, so to speak, was the photo and digital art exhibit. Sometimes I wonder what people think when they submit images to a show.
You would think that at least their horizon lines would be horizontal and that they would correct the perspectives. With beginners mistakes like these, images that could be really good are just, well unfinished images.
What makes a great image and an image that fetches a decent price is the attention to details, something that a lot of digital photographers are not trained on like film photographers are. probably because in the dark room, you focus more on the detail, you don't have the luxury to undo and redo, you have to redo the whole process.
It's very much like word processing and typing, because we have the luxury to go back or auto correct, we have a tendency to go faster and get sloppier because we won't have to retype the whole page, we can correct the mistakes with a few keystrokes.

In the mindset that “The customer is always right” underscores the value we place on our customers, regardless of our industry. Especially in today’s economic climate, most companies recognize that their existence largely depends on how well they can engage and service customers and offer them the products or services that they need.

Yet there’s another customer that often doesn’t get as much attention: the internal customer. Better known as “employees” or “staff,” these internal customers are often viewed by what they can deliver to you or your organization. The unfortunate result of this perception: Internal customers lack the care and feeding that is given to external customers.

At Insight, we view our internal team members as being just as valuable to our success as our external customers. We realize that they are the ambassadors of our company, and that happy, motivated team members in turn create happy external customers. So what can organizations do to engage, motivate and inspire internal team members?

  Communication is key—start by listening. In addition to keeping team members informed through scheduled meetings and ongoing written communications, make sure that management is visible and accessible. Walk around the office and speak with your team members informally. Find out any concerns they may have and their suggestions for improving the workplace. Then work to implement them as best you can.

  Get to know your team members, and their professional development goals and needs. Are there particular life/work challenges they are balancing? Would they benefit from more flexible hours? What types of learning opportunities interest them?

  Create a progressive, family-friendly environment. As much as possible, try to offer a flexible work schedule to accommodate work/family balance. Since everyone has to take on more work now, try to make sure that staff members don’t feel too overwhelmed or stressed.

  Offer your team members opportunities for growth. Take an interest in their development. What do they need to do in order to grow? What new challenges can you offer them? What type of training would be helpful?

  What technology and tools do team members need to do their jobs well? Make sure you are supporting team members and eliminating unnecessary frustrations and time-wasters.

  Reward and recognize the great work of your team members. It’s amazing how valued team members will feel when you commend and recognize them in front of their peers.

A successful internal customer environment depends on the mutual respect and consideration of all team members towards each other. Effective companies realize this should be part of the corporate culture, right alongside dedication to external customers. By supporting and valuing internal customers, we create a happier and more productive workplace that, in turn, promotes positive interactions with customers.

http://blog.inc.com/human-resources/2009/05/focusing_on_the_internal_custo.html

Imagine trying to hit a pin-sized target in a pitch-black auditorium. Or looking for a quarter-carat diamond hidden someplace in Yosemite National Park. Or locating a single novel in a giant library that shelves books randomly.

Or trying to find a particular website--for instance, your company's--in a world without search engines.

With precise directions--or, for the website, a URL--searchers in all those scenarios would have a pretty good chance of finding what they sought. Without them, they'd be out of luck.

Fortunately, in your case, the Web is rich with resources for helping people find what they want. Your challenge is making the best possible use of those tools.

The Big Picture

As the Web has grown to millions of sites and billions of pages, demand for ever-more sophisticated search capability skyrocketed right along with it. By most estimates, users worldwide now conduct at least 550 million searches daily--and, of course, that number will keep rising.

Meanwhile, as any Web user knows, individual queries often yield hundreds or thousands of links. Research indicates that few searchers venture beyond the first 30. So with users most likely to click on the highest-ranked results, it's critical to make sure your site rises to the top.

Complicating matters is the sheer variety of available search engines and Web directories. The roll call reads like a Who's Who of the high-tech industry. At this writing, Google, the category's undisputed Goliath, is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) of stock that's likely to set new records. Microsoft Corp. is massively upgrading its MSN Search program. Yahoo! has acquired several top competitors; Amazon is quietly developing its own offering. And hundreds of smaller players, including some highly specialized ones, remain in the game as well.

First Obvious Question

So if you're serious about competing, do you have to list your site on all those directories and search engines? Absolutely not, experts say.

"There are only a few worth worrying about," says Web consultant Peter Kent, president of Denver-based iChannel Services and author of Search Engine Optimization for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, April 2004). Kent's must-have list includes Google, Yahoo!, AlltheWeb, AltaVista, Ask Jeeves, Inktomi, and the lesser-known Open Directory Project. "They're the only ones who matter because they feed everyone else who counts," he says. Directly or indirectly, he adds, those few sites provide data for 99% of all searches. For instance, Inktomi provides data to Microsoft's MSN Search and Yahoo's Overture, while the Open Directory Project feeds at least 300 others, including many specialized ones catering to particular industries or interests.

What about all those companies dangling tempting offers to list your site with 400--or even 4,000--search engines in exchange for what sounds like a reasonable fee? Rarely worth the cost, Kent says: "Sometimes what they're doing is submitting you to just a few sites, knowing that then those sites are feeding hundreds more." Worse, those helpful companies may list your site with bogus "search engines" that do nothing more than compile e-mail addresses for use by spammers, says Chris Sherman, associate editor of the industry information site and newsletter Search Engine Watch. "I would say they're not only not a good deal, they're the best way quadruple e-mail spam you get," Sherman says. A better strategy: Focus on getting listed with a few key search engines and forget about the rest.

Second Obvious Question

When, if ever, should you pay to play?

That is, should you concentrate on getting your site to surface in free--or, as Sherman calls them, organic -- search-engine listings? Or should you invest one of the many pay-for-placement (PFP) options?

"Either will work," says Sherman, who also heads the Searchwise consulting firm in Boulder, Colo. "Organic placement will take more time [to show up on search engines] and last longer." A PFP listing--a small text ad that appears in or near relevant search results--will go online almost immediately, but its longevity is tied to the bottom line: "The minute you stop paying for it, it's gone," Sherman says.

Under the PFP system, marketers bid to have their ads listed in the results for specific searches, with high bidders' ads show up first. Search-engine companies collect fees--anywhere from a few cents to upwards of $10--whenever users click through to marketers' websites.

The decision about whether to stick with free listings, enter the PFP universe, or combine the approaches depends on your budget, your competitors' strategies, and a sense for how your target audience will respond (many users dislike paid placements, especially those that look too much like free search results).

"It's like buying or leasing a car," Sherman says. "It's up to you to decide which option works best."

The Keys to Search-Engine Success

Actually, there are two major ways to "optimize" your site so it's most likely to show up in a potential customer's search.

First, carefully identify the words and phrases your best prospects are most likely to use in searching for whatever you provide. "Each page should contain two or three keywords that you want people to use in finding you," Sherman says. (But don't list those words dozens or hundreds of times in attempt to show up first in search results; that's called "keyword stuffing" and it's considered cheating.) Choose keywords that are simple, coherent, and consistent with your other marketing campaigns, and be sure to list them in metatags as well.

In addition, get specific. Phrases like "home mortgage" and "low rates" won't set you apart from the pack. But adding your city and state, for instance, might help land your site higher in the results for searchers using those terms. In addition, keywords--not just your company name--should appear in the title bar atop your site's pages, Kent recommends. "Sanders & Son Ltd" doesn't indicate what the company does; "Sanders & Sons Graphic Design and Printing Services" tells users at a glance whether they've found the right site.

Secondly, keep in mind that search engines love links. The more sites linked to yours, the higher it's likely to rank in search results. "Links are essentially the same thing as votes," Sherman says. From a search engine's point of view, he says, " the more votes you have, the greater the indication that there's high-quality content at your site." So keep building your network of relevant links.

Finally, remember that while getting your category's number-one search-engine ranking is dandy--but you certainly haven't failed if a clear, well-targeted message appears a few notches down the page. "Keep your eyes on the result," Kent advises. "The goal is to increase qualified traffic to your Web site, and you can do that without having the very top position."

http://www.inc.com/articles/2004/04/searchengines_Printer_Friendly.html

So far, I have had my Black and Decker 18v cordless weed whacker for a week, although the first charges were disappointing, the performance of the battery improved substantially after a couple of charges and allows to use the tool for about 20 minutes in heavy use (whacking ground cover in addition to weeds).  to make it more convenient, Black and Decker ships it with two batteries.  That still beats dragging an extension cord all over the yard.
One feature I really like is the rotating head allowing for easy edge trimming and no need to tap the head to bring the cutting wire out, still, a double wire would have been welcome.
At around $99 MSRP (I paid a lot less), it's not cheap, but it still beats mixing oil and gas.  I would probably not recommend it if you have a large lot to weed whack, but for the average yard, it works pretty well

Hmmmm  I wonder how the 36v weed whacker performs.....  Staring to sound like Tim the Toolman Taylor...lol

The Real Secret of Thoroughly Excellent Companies

At a well-known five-star hotel, I asked if I could extend my checkout time by two hours. I was told no; the hotel was full. Unless I paid for a half day; then they'd accommodate me.

Huh?

If the hotel was full and needed my room, why would it make a difference if I paid them? And if they did have the ability to extend my checkout, why would they charge me? I spoke with the manager. Same answer.

That was the last time I stayed at that hotel franchise.

Contrast that to my recent experience at the Four Seasons in Dallas, TX, a hotel where I've stayed several times.

When I arrived I didn't have to stand in line to check in; the valet simply handed me the key to my room. Which was set-up exactly as I like it: a yoga mat and an exercise schedule on the bed; a bowl of fruit on the table. And they automatically extended my check out time.

I am a customer for life.

How do they do it? What's their secret?

I sat down with Michael Newcombe, general manager of the hotel and 17-year veteran with the Four Seasons, to find out. A woman from room service brought us water and we began to talk

He told me about meeting Isadore "Issy" Sharp, who founded the Four Seasons in 1960 and is still its CEO. Michael met Issy in London two weeks before transferring to a mid-level job at the Four Seasons in Toronto. Issy shook his hand and told him he'd check on him the week he arrived in Toronto. True to his word, Issy showed up that first week to make sure Michael was settling in comfortably.

Michael tells that story to every new hire on his or her first day.

Michael practices proximity management. Every month he meets informally with each employee group. No agenda. No speeches. Just conversation. That helps him solve problems: for example, the time guest check-in was being mysteriously delayed.

During his meeting with the front desk staff, he learned they were slower than usual in checking in guests because rooms weren't available. Then, in his meeting with housekeeping staff, someone asked if the hotel was running low on king size sheets. Most CEOs wouldn't be interested in that question, but Michael asked why. Well, the maid answered, it's taking us longer to turn over rooms because we have to wait for the sheets. So he kept asking questions to different employee groups until he discovered that one of the dryers was broken and waiting for a custom part. That reduced the number of available sheets. Which slowed down housekeeping. Which reduced room availability. Which delayed guests from checking in.

He fixed the problem in 24 hours. A problem he never would have known about without open communication with all his employees.

Michael walks the property regularly. He asks employees about their families, brings donuts, arranges for birthday parties and softball tournaments. He gets beyond the name tag.

I tested him by asking about the woman who poured our water. He smiled, "Judith transferred here from Nevis four years ago, before I arrived at the hotel." And then he told me something about her family.

These are all good management techniques. Perhaps the secret is that Michael does what others just talk about? But there's more to the hotel's approach.

To get a job at the Four Seasons, you need to make it through five interviews, each looking at you from a different angle. The HR director assesses your ability to work. The division head assesses your skills. The Department head looks at cultural fit. The resort manager explores your potential to grow within the resort. And the GM (yes, Michael meets every new prospective employee) looks at your potential to move to another resort.

One in 20 new applicants gets through the process. A 5% admissions rate. That's twice as competitive as Harvard.

Each interviewer is looking for one thing. Together they get a full picture of an applicant. Can he do the job? Will he fit in? Can he grow? Perhaps that's the key to a turnover rate of 11% compared with the industry norm of 27%.

Almost as an afterthought, Michael mentioned one more thing. "When an employee transfers to another resort, they're accepted without interviewing."

"On the basis of?" I asked.

"Our recommendation."

And there it was. The secret ingredient.

Trust.

Sure it's important to stay close to employees, clients, and products. And it makes an important difference when the CEO listens and really cares.

But underlying these is trust, deeply embedded in the culture of the organization, exemplified in its daily operations, driving its success. These days, with banks going bankrupt and employees getting laid off, trust is in short supply. So its value is higher than ever.

Trust is as simple as following through on your commitments. Every sales person knows the way to make a quick sale is to develop quick trust. A good sales person will send you an article with a little note saying it made her think of you. That builds a relationship.

But a great sales person will call you to tell you she saw an article that made her think of you and promise to send it to you. Then she'll send it. That builds trust.

Great sales people create an opportunity to fulfill a commitment -- even when one doesn't naturally exist -- and then fulfill it. Like Issy Sharp's promise to visit Michael in Toronto.

Michael listens to his employees and trusts they have something real to say. In turn, they trust him enough to say what's on their mind. Each interviewer looks for something different and trusts the viewpoint of the others. And each GM trusts the others to transfer only those employees who will succeed in the new resort.

I know plenty of managers who transfer their poor performers to other divisions. But at the Four Seasons that would kill a GM. They know their reputations depend on successful transfers.

That trust trickles down from GM to employees. And from employees to guests.

I was in the locker room, having just worked out in the gym and taken a shower. I didn't want to put my sweaty clothes back on, so I was wearing a gym bathrobe. I was worried the locker room attendant wouldn't want me taking a bathrobe out of the locker room. How could they keep track of the robes? Guests might take them home. That's why so many hotels have little notes on their robes that say, "You are welcome to buy this robe in our gift shop."

So I was walking out of the locker room in the robe, sweaty clothes in my arms, when the locker room attendant said, "Excuse me, sir."

Busted, I thought to myself, as I turned to face him.

"Would you like a bag to carry your gym clothes up to your room?" he asked, holding out a plastic laundry bag.

Trust.

 

I was late for my meeting with the CEO of a technology company and I was emailing him from my iPhone as I walked onto the elevator in his company's office building. I stayed focused on the screen as I rode to the sixth floor. I was still typing with my thumbs when the elevator doors opened and I walked out without looking up. Then I heard a voice behind me, "Wrong floor." I looked back at the man who was holding the door open for me to get back in; it was the CEO, a big smile on his face. He had been in the elevator with me the whole time. "Busted," he said.

The world is moving fast and it's only getting faster. So much technology. So much information. So much to understand, to think about, to react to. A friend of mine recently took a new job as the head of learning and development at a mid-sized investment bank. When she came to work her first day on the job she turned on her computer, logged in with the password they had given her, and found 385 messages already waiting for her.

So we try to speed up to match the pace of the action around us. We stay up until 3 am trying to answer all our emails. We twitter, we facebook, and we link-in. We scan news websites wanting to make sure we stay up to date on the latest updates. And we salivate each time we hear the beep or vibration of a new text message.

But that's a mistake. The speed with which information hurtles towards us is unavoidable (and it's getting worse). But trying to catch it all is counterproductive. The faster the waves come, the more deliberately we need to navigate. Otherwise we'll get tossed around like so many particles of sand, scattered to oblivion. Never before has it been so important to be grounded and intentional and to know what's important.

Never before has it been so important to say "No." No, I'm not going to read that article. No, I'm not going to read that email. No, I'm not going to take that phone call. No, I'm not going to sit through that meeting.

It's hard to do because maybe, just maybe, that next piece of information will be the key to our success. But our success actually hinges on the opposite: on our willingness to risk missing some information. Because trying to focus on it all is a risk in itself. We'll exhaust ourselves. We'll get confused, nervous, and irritable. And we'll miss the CEO standing next to us in the elevator.

A study of car accidents by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute put cameras in cars to see what happens right before an accident. They found that in 80% of crashes the driver was distracted during the three seconds preceding the incident. In other words, they lost focus — dialed their cell phones, changed the station on the radio, took a bite of a sandwich, maybe checked a text — and didn't notice that something changed in the world around them. Then they crashed.

The world is changing fast and if we don't stay focused on the road ahead, resisting the distractions that, while tempting, are, well, distracting, then we increase the chances of a crash.

Now is a good time to pause, prioritize, and focus. Make two lists:

List 1: Your Focus List (the road ahead)

What are you trying to achieve? What makes you happy? What's important to you? Design your time around those things. Because time is your one limited resource and no matter how hard you try you can't work 25/8.

List 2: Your Ignore List (the distractions)

To succeed in using your time wisely, you have to ask the equally important but often avoided complementary questions: what are you willing not to achieve? What doesn't make you happy? What's not important to you? What gets in the way?

Some people already have the first list. Very few have the second. But given how easily we get distracted and how many distractions we have these days, the second is more important than ever. The leaders who will continue to thrive in the future know the answers to these questions and each time there's a demand on their attention they ask whether it will further their focus or dilute it.

Which means you shouldn't create these lists once and then put them in a drawer. These two lists are your map for each day. Review them each morning, along with your calendar, and ask: what's the plan for today? Where will I spend my time? How will it further my focus? How might I get distracted? Then find the courage to follow through, make choices, and maybe disappoint a few people.

After the CEO busted me in the elevator, he told me about the meeting he had just come from. It was a gathering of all the finalists, of which he was one, for the title of Entrepreneur of the Year. This was an important meeting for him — as it was for everyone who aspired to the title (the judges were all in attendance) — and before he entered he had made two explicit decisions: 1. To focus on the meeting itself and 2. Not to check his BlackBerry.

What amazed him was that he was the only one not glued to a mobile device. Were all the other CEOs not interested in the title? Were their businesses so dependent on them that they couldn't be away for one hour? Is either of those a smart thing to communicate to the judges?

There was only one thing that was most important in that hour and there was only one CEO whose behavior reflected that importance, who knew where to focus and what to ignore. Whether or not he eventually wins the title, he's already winning the game.

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/05/two-lists-you-should-look-at-e.html

Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs has created wonderful products and a great company. But Bill Taylor says don’t emulate his management style.

“Jobs, for all of his virtues, clings to the Great Man Theory of Leadership — a CEO-centric model of executive power that is outmoded, unsustainable, and, for most of us mere mortals, ineffective in a world of non-stop change.”

Those words come from Taylor’s blog post on Harvard Business Publishing Decoding Steve Jobs: Trust the Art, Not the Artist, writing.

Instead, practice the art of “humbition,” Taylor says. That would be a subtle blend of humility and ambition “that drives the most successful leaders — an antidote to the know-it-all hubris that affects so many executives and entrepreneurs.”

The Good Steve

I think Steve Jobs is a leader to emulate — at least in part. In the end, of course, you should manage in a style that reflects your personality, your values, your attitudes — what Harvard Business School professor Bill George calls “authentic leadership.”  If you don’t have an ounce of humility in your bones, pity you — but don’t waste time faking it.

Jobs is an authentic leader — authentic to his own beliefs and way of doing things. And while he can be supersecretive, tyrannical and volcanic in his management style, those that thrive under him say they have done their best work at Apple.

Here are three things to learn from how Jobs goes about his business:

Trust Your Gut. He knows what he is about and is absolutely devoted to core principles. Most company analysts and retail experts thought the company was crazy to open its own stores — Gateway, Dell, and Sony failed at similar efforts.  Jobs believed in the concept and now Apple Stores are a key driver of the company’s success.

Details Are Everything. Jobs understands that creating a great customer experience means getting the details right. It’s not just about designing the perfect texture for an iPod touch screen, but also controlling the customer’s experience with a product even before they open the box. It’s even about what materials to use in a staircase at Apple’s store in New York City. He sweats the details, and makes his employees sweat them, too.

Passion Creates Passion. Leaders always want people around them who are passionate about their work. But if the CEO is just mailing it in, so will the everyone else. Jobs demands passion and performance from his employees. That ethos is a magnet for top talent — the best people want to work for organizations committed to excellence.

Trust your gut, attention to detail, passion. These are three ingredients any 21st century leader should command, and Apple’s CEO is a great example of why. Learn from him.

http://blogs.bnet.com/harvard/?p=2726&tag=nl.rSINGLE

"Brands aren't about 'messages' anymore," says Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. "Brands today are conversations — and today the most important conversations are happening ... through social media such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace."

 

Blu-ray may have won the war against HD-DVD, but a new poll shows that American consumers aren’t exactly warming to the high-definition disc format.

Blu-ray may have won the war against HD-DVD, but American consumers aren't exactly warming to the high-definition disc format.

According to a new Harris Poll, more U.S. homes have a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player compared to a year ago, but adoption is slow. Only 7 percent of Americans own a Blu-ray player, up from 4 percent in 2008; while 11 percent have an HD-DVD unit, up from 6 percent a year ago.

I suspect that HD-DVD's slightly higher popularity is due to the fact that HD-DVD players were cheaper than their Blu-ray competitors, and hence were more appealing to early adopters. Of course, now that HD-DVD has gone the way of Betamax, it's certain to fade away quickly.

The popularity of high-def physical media gets a boost if you factor in the 9 percent of U.S. consumers who own a Sony PlayStation 3, which plays Blu-ray discs too. Still, consumers' lack of interest in Blu-ray is bad news for proponents of the HD disc format. Only 7 percent of survey respondents who don't own a Blu-ray player say they're likely to buy a Blu-ray unit within the next year, down from 9 percent in May 2008.

HDTV Yes, Blu-ray No

Nearly half of U.S. consumers now own a high-definition TV, according to the Harris poll. Add that to the fact that prices of both Blu-ray players and discs are falling rapidly, and consumer indifference to HD players is a telling sign.

The online poll by Harris Interactive surveyed 2,401 U.S. adults between April 13 and 21, 2009.

A statement by Harris Interactive vice president and senior consultant Milton Ellis nicely sums up the challenges facing Blu-ray:

"Blu-ray also faces competition from alternative technologies such as cable, satellite, and the Internet. Consumers today can easily watch high definition TV channels or use the Internet or video-on-demand to access high definition movies. In the near future, access to high definition movies may be a download or streaming delivery of one's favorite movies to a home media server that eliminates the need for a Blu-ray player and Blu-ray disc."

Bingo. Home theater buffs and early adopters may take to Blu-ray, but most consumers will likely bypass HD discs altogether and advance directly to movie streaming and download services.

Source PC World

Facebook tests function that hides user updates

Feature will allow users customize postings for specific groups of friends

Facebook is testing new privacy controls that will allow the online hangout's roughly 200 million users to decide who should see each of their personal updates.

In a Wednesday announcement, Facebook said the option will enable users to customize their postings for specific groups of friends.

For instance, a person may want to share certain things — like how they're feeling about the weather — with everyone while limiting the audience able to read other developments — like a wild night of partying.

Some Facebook users have gotten into trouble with employers and parents who have read updates containing inflammatory remarks or tales of indiscretions.

The additional privacy controls initially will only be available to some Facebook users.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31533348/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

gadeyne-us.spaces.live.com was ranked in the top 25 percentile by Websitegrader 

Today, I saw an interesting question/discussion about customer service, and that's a question I discussed many times and the last time was a couple of weeks ago at Experience Unlimited.

The question was:  Is the customer always right"?

Here is my take on it, what is yours?

The customer is always right, they make the final decision as to who they will do business with. the story mentioned in the discussion, famous in customer service circles and put into the spotlight by Tom Peters in "Thriving on chaos (by the way it was not Neiman Marcus but Nordstrom) was an example on how how far Nordstrom would go to satisfy the customers. Nordstrom is a legend in that field and the story made the point.

I've had similar experiences in my professional life and one of my competitor even told me once that they used to hate me when I was sales manager of a company I won't name. His point was that as long as I was in the company, his company was not able to make headways. He also told me that he and his sales force loved me after I left the company and that was confirmed by some of my customers.

The point is customers want to be taken care of, they are doing us a favor to dio business with our company and if you treat them well, they will stay loyal to you. There are always exceptions to the rule, but the challenge they face us with gives us an opportunity to win customers for life and fantastic sources of referrals, in the end, the question is, what is it worth to you

An economic downturn is a great time to start a business.

It sounds paradoxical, but think about it. Costs are lower, and more talent is available, thanks to layoffs. Prospective clients are more likely to try a new supplier who can help them cut costs or increase their competitiveness. Established players, too, are focused on cutting costs instead of increasing market share.

All of this helps clear the way for the next venture with the better mousetrap—but only if the entrepreneur can write a clear and convincing business plan. Anything less is heading straight for the bin. Because, let’s face it, the intended recipients of such business plans—investors and lenders, family and friends, anyone with capital to invest in the project—are all much more wary of risk now in these turbulent times.

Truth be told, most business plans fail to make much impression on potential investors. Most aren’t even read in full. Their shortcomings tend to be obvious even in a two-page executive summary, largely because they are written before enough real work has been done to create a solid foundation.

I set out to understand why most business plans don’t deliver. Drawing on the hundreds of plans and pitches that I’ve seen over many years of working with entrepreneurs and early-stage ventures, I searched for common patterns in plans that gained no traction. The result? Five oh-so-common varieties of plans that go quickly into the trash without further consideration.

To help budding entrepreneurs avoid these traps, I also identified the three key elements that go into a successful business plan: a logical statement of a problem and its solution; a battery of cold, hard evidence; and candor about the risks, gaps and other assumptions that might be proved wrong.

In what follows, I will expose the deal-killers found in the five most commonly rejected types of business plans, and share tips for creating plans that should get you invited back for a second meeting and, if all goes well, raise some capital and attract some initial customers.

HERE I AM, NEVER MIND THE PROBLEM

In this kind of plan, the writer is smitten with the elegance of his or her technology. The plan begins not with the identification of a customer problem to resolve, but with a detailed explanation of how the technology works, why it is cutting-edge or state-of-the-art, and how it is better, faster and cheaper than current solutions.

Such a plan is typically readable only by those already in-the-know in its particular technical realm. Even worse, seasoned investors know that the better technology does not always win. Remember Betamax?

A Me-First plan sends a clear signal that the writer’s priorities are misplaced. What matters more than great technology or a great idea is the problem or pain that the new solution or technology resolves.

There is a better way. A good business plan starts with a clearly defined problem—something that’s really troubling or compelling—supported by evidence from marketing research, testimonials, letters of intent, or whatever, that the pain is real.

If you can convince your readers that this problem is real, they’ll be hooked, at least for a while, as they read on to see whether you’ve found a solution that can resolve the pain. If the pain isn’t real, stop writing. There’s no need for a solution.

Next, identify exactly which customer group has that pain, even if the initial target market is a small one. Investors know that, if a sustainable beachhead can be established in an initial target market, success in a niche market can serve as a platform for taking the solution to other market segments as the business grows.

Consider Nike Inc., the leading maker of athletic footwear. Founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, a distance runner and a track coach, respectively, addressed the quite literal pain of distance runners’ sprained ankles, shin splints and other injuries caused by the miles and miles of training on rough country paths in running shoes that just weren’t up to the task.

The new waffle soles of latex rubber that Nike came up with addressed runners’ pains head-on. The first shoes targeted elite distance runners, hardly a large market. But once distance runners started winning Olympic medals wearing Nike shoes, other runners—and sports—followed.

A COKE FOR EVERY KID IN CHINA

This gambit rests its case on a plethora of secondary data to show how large and fast-growing a market is. The plan then makes a heroic leap and assumes that the new venture will grab X percent of that market—it could be 1%, 10%, 30% or whatever. “Surely,” the plan argues, “with the large number of customers in our market, we’ll easily get enough. We only need a small fraction to have a very nice business.”

Plans like this reveal that the writer isn’t sure what the initial target market is. It’s much easier to win a large share of a carefully targeted but narrow market—think Nike again—than it is to win a small share of a very large market.

Further, penetrating a new market requires customers who are aware of the new product, and distribution systems that allow them to buy it. Coke-for-Every-Kid plans gloss over these details. They ignore the difficult work—not to mention the expense—of crafting a strategy to gain market awareness, persuade customers, and set up distribution.

This kind of plan also often signals that the writer is reluctant to get out from behind his or her Internet connection and actually talk to prospective customers. Talking to customers is harder work, but brings all kinds of benefits and insights, not only to the business plan, but also to the business itself. Such conversations can reveal what customers really want—and help tailor the offering to meet those needs.

You can probably find secondary data that support such things as the size of your market and trends that suggest your market will or won’t grow. All such evidence should be cited, with its source, to show that the data are reliable and credible, and that you are, too. But that’s just the start. You’ll need primary data, too, from interviews you carry out or a survey you conduct, to demonstrate the likelihood that customers will buy what you have to offer.

Conduct some experiments, even a market test. The more hypotheses you can test before writing your business plan, the more convincing you’ll be. One caveat, though: If you wait for all of the evidence before you get started—analysis paralysis—the opportunity may well be lost, as someone else may beat you to market.

Every assertion in your plan should be backed up by evidence. If it’s not, take it out, or stop writing while you gather the evidence you need.

JUST LOOK AT OUR (PAPER) PROFITS

Of our five fundamentally flawed business plans, this one is perhaps the most difficult to spot.

The archetype is the failed Internet business Pets.com, which offered pet supplies via the Internet. Simply put, the economics of delivering large, heavy bags of dog food one at a time could not compete with the economics of putting pallet-loads of the same bags of dog food on supermarket or discount-store shelves and letting the customers do the delivery.

Such business plans often contain detailed spreadsheets showing why the numbers would work. That’s why these kinds of plans are difficult to spot—the numbers look like they work. As one entrepreneur told me, “With a couple of beers and an Excel spreadsheet, you can make a lot of money in no time,” or so it will seem. While consumers certainly liked the idea of having Fido’s dog food delivered, they were not prepared to pay a price that would enable the economics to work.

Savvy investors not only tear apart the spreadsheets but ask fundamental questions. Does the revenue model depend on making a large number of small transactions (think Amazon.com) or a small number of large ones (automobile manufacturing)? Do its profit margins depend on high gross margins to cover high product-development costs (think Microsoft), or lower margins to cover slimmer operating costs (Costco)? Is a large investment in development or other fixed assets required (a manufacturing facility, for example)? Is the working capital cycle favorable or unfavorable (do you expect to be paid in advance), or will you have to carry inventory and receivables that can tie up scarce cash (manufacturing and distribution businesses)? Some combinations of these factors are clearly attractive. Others are obviously flawed from the start.

OUR TEAM WALKS ON WATER

Investors won’t be snowed by top-tier diplomas or past employment with a leading company. Investors care first about the main challenges of the industry in question, and whether the proposed team has hands-on experience tackling those challenges.

Every industry has critical success factors—typically two or three—that, when addressed effectively, are likely to bring success even if less-important challenges aren’t handled well. Location, for instance, is a critical success factor in much of retailing.

A business plan that identifies its critical success factors and shows how the team’s expertise and experience are suited to addressing them is much more likely to attract capital—or at least a second look.

Here’s where candor helps, as well.

Surprisingly, plans that point out the lack of a key skill or capability in the management team can fare quite well, by acknowledging the missing link and encouraging the prospective investor to fill that slot with a qualified person whom he or she favors.

Plans that succeed in attracting capital often include one or more members of a team who have failed in a prior venture. When that failure is accompanied by lessons learned, it’s often viewed, as one investor told me, as “an education on someone else’s nickel.”

For Further Reading

See these related articles from MIT Sloan Management Review

Closing the Gap Between­ Strategy and Execution
Donald N. Sull (Summer 2007)
In fast-paced industries, companies should think of strategy as an iterative loop with four steps: making sense of a situation, making choices, making things happen and making revisions.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/x/48412

Should You Build Strategy­ Like You Build Software?
Keith R. McFarland (Spring 2008)
The strategic planning model is due for a “new release,” one that enables companies to keep pace with changing environments, quickly create and adapt strategy, and empower people throughout the organization to make effective choices.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/x/49315

A New Strategy Framework­ for Coping With Turbulence
Bala Chakravarthy (Winter 1997)
In turbulent environments, market leaders must repeat innovations, establish customer networks, sense the flow of new products, and share responsibility for new strategy throughout the company.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/x/3825

EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL

The most common type of business plan, and the one that goes most quickly into the trash, is the one in which the writer can’t find anything but good things to say about the opportunity and plans to pursue it.

Investors know that in the real world most opportunities, even good ones, have some weaknesses. Typically, it’s not yet clear in an early-stage business whether the customers will buy, or buy at the price that’s been proposed. Most industries are not filled with infinite possibilities, either, especially given the overcapacity in today’s global economy.

Experienced entrepreneurs know better than to assert that everything is wonderful about their opportunity. They know there are potential pitfalls in their market or industry.

The facts are that most opportunities are highly uncertain. Most new ventures will fail. Of the few that do succeed—winning capital, customers and positive cash flow—it’s usually not because of the original plan, “Plan A,” about which the business plan is written, but because of an as-yet-unknown “Plan B.”

Candor, again, is key. There probably will be some questions implicit in your business plan that have not been answered. Will your solution actually work? Will customers buy it? How much will they pay? How will competitors react to your entry? Does your entrepreneurial team have what it takes—the experience and expertise—to deliver on the critical success factors that apply in your industry?

Rather than attempt to paper over the rough spots and uncertainty, identify them yourself and deal with them candidly in your plan. A solid dose of candor will go a long way, compared with describing risks and then stating why they won’t occur.

--Dr. Mullins is an associate professor of management practice at London Business School and holds the David and Elaine Potter Foundation term chair in marketing and entrepreneurship.

http://sloanreview.mit.edu/business-insight/articles/2009/2/5121/why-business-plans-dont-deliver/

 

 

The Energy Department said Tuesday it would lend $5.9 billion to Ford Motor and provide about $2.1 billion in loans to Nissan Motor and Tesla Motors, making the three automakers the first beneficiaries of a $25 billion fund to develop fuel-efficient vehicles. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the loan recipients at Ford's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn. The loans to Ford will help the company upgrade factories in five Midwest states to produce 13 fuel-efficient vehicles. Nissan is receiving $1.6 billion to retool its plant in Smyrna, Tenn., to build advanced vehicles and build a battery manufacturing facility. Tesla would get $465 million in loans to build electric vehicles and electric drive powertrains in California. "By supporting key technologies and sound business plans, we can jump-start the production of fuel efficient vehicles in America," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. "These investments will come back to our country many times over — by creating new jobs, reducing our dependence on oil, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions." Dozens of auto companies, suppliers and battery makers have sought a total of $38 billion from the loan program, which was created last year to help car companies and suppliers retool their facilities to develop green vehicles and components such as advanced batteries. The loans are designed to help the auto manufacturers meet new fuel-efficiency standards of at least 35 mpg by 2020, a 40% increase over current standards. Ford (F) had been seeking about $5 billion in loans by 2011 and a total of $11 billion from the program to invest $14 billion in advanced technologies over the next seven years. The company said it will transform plants in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Ford CEO Alan Mulally said that the department approved the company's entire proposal through the 2011 period and it would help Ford meet the fuel efficiency standards. "This is a tremendous development," Mulally said. General Motors and Chrysler Group have received billions of dollars in federal loans to restructure their companies through government-led filings for bankruptcy protection, but Ford avoided seeking emergency aid by mortgaging all of its assets in 2006 to borrow about $25 billion. Elizabeth Lowery, GM's vice president of environment, energy and safety policy, said GM still must pass the Energy Department's financial viability test before it can receive loan funding and the company hoped to get the money shortly after it emerges from bankruptcy protection. Chu said the Energy Department has begun discussions with Chrysler on details of the loan and begun reviewing the "technical side" of the loan requirements with GM. Nissan (NSANY) said the $1.6 billion loan would be used to modify its Smyrna plant to produce zero-emissions vehicles and lithium-ion battery packs to power them. The Japanese company has previously outlined plans to develop an all-electric car with 100 miles of pure battery range for release in late 2010. "This loan is an investment in America. It will help us put high-quality, affordable zero-emissions vehicles on our roads," said Dominique Thormann, Nissan North America's senior vice president for administration and finance. Mulally said the loans Ford would receive from the Energy Department were part of a government-industry partnership and "had nothing to do with the emergency loans to keep General Motors and Chrysler in business." Ford has said it intends to bring several battery-electric vehicles to market. The automaker has discussed plans to produce a battery-electric vehicle van in 2010 for commercial use, a small battery-electric sedan developed with Magna International by 2011 and a plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2012. General Motors has requested $10.3 billion in loans from the energy program, while Chrysler has asked for $6 billion in loans. Energy officials have said the loans could only go to "financially viable" companies, preventing GM and Chrysler to qualify for the first round of the loans. Nissan is developing an all-electric car with 100 miles (160 kilometers) of battery range for release in late 2010. The car will be made in Japan initially but company officials have said they eventually want to build the vehicle at Nissan's plant in Tennessee. Tesla, based in San Carlos, Calif., will use $365 million for production engineering and the assembly of the Model S sedan, an all-electric vehicle that is expected to travel up to 300 miles per charge and go on sale in 2011. It will use $100 million for a powertrain manufacturing plant expected to employ 650 workers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the automaker would use the loan "precisely the way that Congress intended — as the capital needed to build sustainable transport." In a blog post on Tesla's website Monday, Musk said that the material cost of the electric car company's Roadster sports car has dropped to about $80,000, which should help the company reach profitability next month. He said that the material cost, which is the total cost of the parts and components that make up each vehicle, was as high as $140,000 in the summer of 2007. The car currently has a starting sticker price of $109,000. "Combined with a steady production volume of 20 to 30 per week in the third quarter this year and a good take up rate of the higher priced Roadster Sport, we expect to cross over into profitability next month," Musk wrote in his blog post. The sticker price for the Model S is expected to be $49,900 after a $7,500 federal rebate for buying an electric vehicle. http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-06-23-energy-loan_N.htm

A complaint filed with the WTO claims China is restricting exports of nine key materials used to make steel and aluminum

The U.S. and the European Union on June 23 formally accused China of illegally hampering exports of raw materials in order to benefit its own manufacturers. The move comes during a period of heightened concern over protectionism amid the global economic crisis. It also coincides with resistance in Congress to an attempt by the Obama Administration to advance a bilateral trade agreement with Panama.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said he has asked the World Trade Organization to step in and resolve the issue after two years of unsuccessful U.S. attempts to persuade China to "lift these unfair trade restrictions" on nine raw materials used in the making of steel, aluminum, and chemicals. The materials are bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus, and zinc.

Charges of Protectionism

Kirk said the move does not mean that "tensions are escalating between the U.S. and China." Nevertheless, he said that he "is very concerned that China appears to be restricting the exports of these materials at the expense of U.S. industries that need these materials, and their workers.…And we are deeply troubled that this appears to be a conscious policy to create unfair preferences for Chinese industries…by making raw materials cheaper for China's companies to get, and goods more economical for them to produce."

The EU filed a similar complaint the same day. In a statement, EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said, "The Chinese restrictions on raw materials distort competition and increase global prices, making things even more difficult for our companies in this economic downturn."

Kirk's office said in a fact sheet that China, the world's largest producer of "coking coal"—a key to making steel—charges a 40% export duty and limits coke exports to 12 million metric tons per year. The effect was that in August 2008 China's domestic price for coke was $472 per metric ton, compared with a world price per ton of $740. "Because it takes about one metric ton of coke to make one metric ton of steel in China, China's downstream steel producers obtained a dramatic competitive advantage by incurring input costs that were $268 per metric ton less than their foreign counterparts," the Trade Representative's statement said.

Political Background

David Spooner, a former Assistant Commerce Secretary during the George W. Bush Administration and now a trade lawyer with Squire Sanders in Washington, said the U.S. complaint is not out of the ordinary. He noted that the Bush Administration filed two trade complaints against China last year, and that President Barack Obama said on the campaign trail that he intended to be tough on trade issues with China. "Frankly, I think all that happened is a realization that, 'We can't go a whole year and not file a case against China after saying we are going to get tough,' and this is the case that seemed the most ripe," Spooner said.

In recent weeks, Kirk has faced growing congressional resistance to finalizing a trade treaty with Panama negotiated during the Bush Administration. Critics in Congress have said the draft treaty does not go far enough in protecting labor and the environment, and Kirk recently has stressed his willingness to get tough, when warranted, on enforcing trade rules.

According to WTO procedures, China has 60 days to meet with the U.S. and the EU under WTO auspices to try to resolve the dispute. If that doesn't work, both the U.S. and the EU can request a formal ruling by a WTO panel.

In a joint statement, steel industry associations and unions said China had agreed to remove restrictions on the materials when it joined the WTO in 2001. The groups, led by the American Iron & Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Assn., and the United Steelworkers union, said that the complaint involved a "straightforward case of trade barriers that China should have removed years ago, and which are causing significant harm to U.S. manufacturers as a result."

Jake Colvin, vice-president for global trade issues at the National Foreign Trade Council, said, "We think it is important for the United States to raise concerns when other countries aren't playing by the rules, and appreciate that an organization like the WTO ex http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090623_262570.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysisists which can help to ensure a fair and facts-based resolution of the dispute."

 

How to Create E-Mails That Generate Action

When face-to-face communication isn't an option, it's critical that your e-mails get read and are the impetus for getting things done

You probably began your day scanning your in-box to identify the messages demanding your attention. What compelled you to open the messages you did? Was it the generic subject line stamped URGENT? The red exclamation point? Of those e-mails you opened, which ones influenced you to respond and/or take action? Then there are the e-mails you didn't open—and the ones that you never will. What's happening with the e-mails you send? Are they generating the actions they should?

When face-to-face communication isn't an option, your words and the structure of your e-mails need to be effective and powerful. The challenge is getting your reader to open your message, read it, and take action. The tone communicated through your choice of words, grammar, and sentence structure will determine if you build or jeopardize a relationship and succeed or fail to influence others to take action. Here are four steps to help you create e-mails that get read, have impact, and motivate people to take action.

1. It's critical that your subject line grabs attention. Avoid the generic ones: Important, Urgent, Follow-up, Looking for your response. A subject line needs to provide the takeaway of your message. This isn't the time to be mysterious, cagey, or anything but clear and direct.

2. Design a message that is visually appealing and easy to read to keep your reader's attention.

• Immediately communicate your purpose.
• Get to the point. E-mail isn't for writing articles.
• Use bullet points to add emphasis to your words.
• Write in short sentences and paragraphs.
• Highlight, bold, and italicize your key points and ideas.
• When scheduling a meeting, provide up to three dates and times for your reader to choose.

3. Tailor your message for the recipient and not for the entire organization. Although this might seem obvious, it's one of the most commonly overlooked steps. How often do you receive e-mail and find that your name is just one of many CC'd? How often do you send e-mails like that? The extra time you take to send the right e-mail to the right person(s) will be made up in results. When you tap into what is important to your readers, you begin to influence them to take action.

Take at least five minutes to identify what's important to your readers by applying the acronym K.N.O.W.

K – what do your readers know about your topic?
N – what do they need to know to take action?
O – what is their opinion on your topic?
W – who are they?

When identifying "who," consider the following:

• What do they know about your topic?
• What do you want them to know about the topic?
• What are their expectations?
• How will the action you want them to take benefit them?
• What preconceived ideas do they have about your topic?
• What is their past experience with this topic?
• What's important to your readers?
• Why is this message being delivered now?
• Will your message have more information than your readers need or want to hear? How will you prioritize your key points and ideas?

4. Create your message with a clear, concise objective. Structure your message in a way that immediately communicates your purpose, action, and benefits. As a result you minimize miscommunication.

• Opinion: To influence and build trust, first share your opinion about your topic. Without this step, your readers will be confused about where you stand on the topic and what you're asking them to do. "To stay ahead of the competition and build your business, it's important you apply the proper closing to a sale." The word important emphasizes your opinion.

• Specific Action Step: When you specifically communicate the action you want readers to take, they'll be able to make a decision immediately. "Sign up for the one-hour Effective Closings to a Sale workshop today."

• Benefits: Your readers want to know "What's in it for me?" Benefits are the most persuasive element of your message. "When you sign up today, you'll begin to receive immediate sales tools for increasing profits, building relationships, and expanding your clientele."

We've taken advantage of the real purpose behind sending e-mail messages and have lost touch with best practices. Most of us are oblivious to how our readers interpret our messages. Before sending your message ask yourself: "Is what I meant to say understood?" "Did I communicate enough or too much information?"

The success of your message will depend on the effort and planning you put forth:

• What action you want your reader to take and the level of influence your message will have.
• What possible interpretations your reader may have based on your writing style.
• What results your message will have based on who will receive it.

When the stakes are high and you're hesitant about how your reader will respond, send a voicemail first with the key takeaways. In your voicemail, indicate you'll include this information in an e-mail. Here are some examples of when the stakes are high and a voicemail may be needed to add explanation:

• Negotiating fees, services, etc.
• Building a relationship with a potential client for the first time.
• Resolving a challenging situation.
• Asking for clarification.
• Don't use e-mail to discuss confidential information. If you don't want it posted on a bulletin board, don't send it.

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090616_246454.htm?campaign_id=managing_related

Interesting how politicians, no matter where they are have become masters at passing legislation achieving nothing while still looking like they are doing something. 

In this case, at the UN passing a resolution to intercept "illegal" arm shipments to and from N Korea, while specifying in the resolution that the boarding and inspection can only occur with the agreement of the country whose flag the ship flies, in this case N Korea..... 

The resolution looked good, until you dug in and found that, in the end, it's a non enforceable resolution.  N Korea just has to use N Korean flagged ships, which they probably already do to circumvent the resolution.  They must have been rolling on the floor laughing when they read the resolution.

No wonder why nothing gets done when politicians are in charge

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_koreas_nuclear