Leadership and being in a team

It was a couple years ago with my daughter starting on her soccer team, where I was confronted by what many are calling the "Millennial culture". The culture that requires all participants to be rewarded equally with a gentle "High Five" no matter the outcome, re-enforcing that they are a Champ"!

I'm not the guy that believes that athletes, students or co-workers need to be screamed at in order to obtain their best efforts, quite the contrary. I believe that the more that a leader does this, the more it is expected. I like to find myself right in the middle, right between the stubborn leader that doesn't give in to demands and whining because you the person does it, and the no nonsense leader requiring self introspection and accountability..

In the "Millennial culture" the soccer coach rotated the players from position to position to allow all the players a fair opportunity to score a goal. This is not fair at all, based on the team make up and positions played, sometimes players stood an unfair advantage because the best midfield player was creating the opportunities for some players and while in goal keeping duty, not creating the same opportunities. But this is another topic and discussion about how life is NOT FAIR!

The problem I said to my wife and the coach is that you are only rewarding the players that score a goal. You are not showing the players that didn't score that their role in the team was valuable too! In a team, you need to assume your position and you need to assume your role. The "Team" is better when you fulfill your role and play your best position. In the same way that the Team benefits from your successful role implementation, they too suffer the consequence of you not doing your part and fulfilling your role in the team. Staying with soccer, if all the players went on the offense to score, who would defend the other teams offense? In this situation you better have very good goal scorers as you will have many goals scored against you.

In business two pairs of feet can walk further than one pair, and three more than two. In order to be in a successful, profitable business, you will need to build a Team. The best part of a Team is that you will have team mates that bring different skills and strengths to the table. Making each Team mate do the same job at the same pace will not allow your Team and business to grow, it will frustrate those people that can move quickly and are particularly strong. The problem with frustrating these people is that they are the ones that could add the greatest value to the companies growth, instead they will leave within 6 months looking for the challenge that they need.

Don't get offended with your strengths and Team position and roles, remember that the whole team wins at the end, not just the individuals! 

Global trading

When asked about my career, and  my trading background, it is interesting how many people I speak to just assume that trading could only have been my role in the stock market game. They assume that as a trader that I have been buying and selling stocks of companies in New York.

Although I have studied financial markets and  have traded the financial markets as a desk trader, trading predominantly forex and cash, this type of trading is not the type of trading that has consumed much of my career. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting behind the wall of computer screens, looking at the graphs with one telephone to my left ear and another to my right, trading the positions of my clients. I loved the excitement and rush of adrenaline in the moment and quickly having to move with the market in the instant of major movements and breaking news.

Trading though has been around long before the New York Stock Exchange or any other exchange came to being. Traders were the adventurous people that plotted the wide open world as we know it today as they explored opportunities to find new products and supplies for the native  markets mainly in Europe. The trading of physical products or commodities is something that has been lost over the years as people become more and more absorbed by Wall Street.

All companies except those in the professional services and manufacturing sectors, really are traders, they buy and sell products and make a margin between the two price we call profit.

There is a couple of important similarities between the trading undertaken on the financial markets and the trading done in the physical product or commodities business. One of the most important tools to a trader is  information. As a forex trader, I was staying abreast of all the news that was coming out from government and company reports. We studied the data and positioned our clients to benefit from the data. Information is what drives the financial markets, but so does it drive the physical markets. The better positioned the client was based on the information, the less we had to scramble when the market was trying to play catch up.

The difference between a trader and just a sales person is their deep knowledge of an industry, the expectations of their customers and suppliers, the market pricing and market willingness to pay the prices or margins asked of it. 

Traders use the information to take stances and positions on where an industry will move towards. Looking for arbitrage opportunities to capitalize on. When I traded forex, based on the market and the information, I would assume a market price at which buying the foreign currency was a "fair trade". If I was able to buy beneath that price I was adding tremendous value to my customer, and I would certainly not allow them to pay above that price. In the same way when trading physical products and commodities, as a trader I need to understand the "fair price" by studying the markets, the role players and looking for opportunities that exist, even for a short period where there is less market liquidity or surplus.

I would negotiate greater profits by buying at lower pricing using various tools to achieve this, but being aware of the market conditions, I would not conclude transactions where I would lose my margins. Sometimes this would mean taking stock of products or commodities to keep my costs fixed and not have it rising against a lowering selling price.

Trading is an age old activity, but in order to be a successful trader, you need to study and understand your market inside out, with courage to follow through on your market conclusions.

Economics in a bubble - and not that bubble

I have a particularly technical and analytical mind. With this analytical and technical mid, I am drawn to the sciences, learning and questioning all that I find around me. I always enjoyed studying science and physics with the math behind the explanation of WHY things happen the way that they do.

I was reminded the other day of how in the study of physics, all the equations are based in a vacuum. Being in a vacuum means that there are no interfering 3rd parties or objects. This makes the equations simple and finding the solution straight forward. The force exerted on an object is equal to the result, since in physics, there is no friction between the ground and the object being pushed in any particular direction. The reality is not quite the same. We all know that pushing a stone up a hill gets only more difficult with time, since the slope or gradient of the hill is not constant, and due to our fatigue setting in more and more!

It got me thinking about the simplistic or idealistic view on the economy and economics. If we were to run the economy according to certain economical principles with a vacuum or bubble without any interference, surely the results would come out very favorable for the economic approach and theory. However economic theories are not proven merely on a piece of paper but in reality! This is where the rubber hits the road and it gets ugly, in the land of reality!

Economic principles and theories can not be evaluated in reality without the interference of 3rd parties that act as the friction between the ideas, hopes and intentions, and the challenges facing the human race. Many times the fatigue of overcoming all the obstacles and challenges causes those with the desires and intentions to make a positive difference in the various communities locally and globally buckle and get hit by the rolling stone on the way down, being run over by the stone that gathers no moss!

In a community with growing numbers, an economy has to grow, on paper it can make no sense why it would be contracting when there are more mouths to feed, bodies to clothe and people to house. With growing economies we should see growing wages due to increased profits, so why do we see this constant cyclical up and down in an economy?

In a one word answer, Humans!

Bernie Sanders education system would have bankrupted our economy

We can all breathe a deep sigh since Bernie Sanders is not still in the running to be the next president of the United States. Economists all agree that the biggest challenge our economy is facing, is the wage growth. Mr. Sanders' policies would have driven wages downwards and not upwards as he claimed and intended.

It all comes back to the basic economic principals, Supply vs Demand!

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to receive free education, I might  be tempted to abuse the system and become a holder of multiple doctorates since it was free, and if you said to me what my mother always did, education is the most important thing I could do in my life! So the premise and intentions on the surface sounded and looked like it would be a good thing.

But the education that I have received makes me consider that not all things appear as they do at first and the consequences might be more devastating than initially intended. Most policies are put in place because of good intentions, but some policies should have received a little more thought before becoming law.

The reason that Bernie Sanders' free education policy would have been disastrous for the US economy, is the same reason why many of the young Europeans still live with their parents, and it is not because of the tightly knit family units or lack of housing, rather it is the lack of income to afford the house!

I heard an economist state the other day that only 23% of our economies jobs require a bachelor's degree or higher education. So in an economy where 98% of high school graduates go on to earning a college degree, like in Taiwan, all that you end up with is a bunch of over educated people packing shelves at the Walmart down the street earning, Minimum Wage! You do not create more high skilled jobs, you create an oversupply of educated people.

The other correlating issue that occurs, is that we drive people to study for longer, to obtain Masters degrees and doctorates, just to be ahead of the game in order to land the job, by standing out from the masses! This causes the education system to dumb down the education level to meet certain graduating levels.

This is where the US employment market is today! We have too many educated people, too many people studying for their Masters etc.

I do believe in education, but I believe that not all education needs to prepare you for a white collared job! What makes this situation worse is that the government just shutdown ITT Tech, a company that taught the hands on skills needed by the 67% of the work force!

We already have an overcrowded, over educated workforce, all the students complaining about student debt should be told of other options to make a good income and rather not take on the debt, not only would this be better for our fiscal economy (less people drowning in debt), but it would be better for the economy overall, with less supply of an educated workforce out of work will drive the demand up for their skills and knowledge, increasing the rate of wage growth for those people with a college degree. This would compound into higher wages across the board!

Information age

I'm sure that many of us have heard that we are in the information age? This modern world where we use the internet to learn and gain so much knowledge. We are filling our minds with so much information each day and can not seem to satisfy the hunger to know more.

We as people have become like the office gossip, who wants to know the office gossip just so that they don't feel left.

What is interesting to me as I look at the political climate around the globe, this information age becomes very apparent quickly. Any person you speak to knows so much information about the candidates, the issues, and based on the information has become convinced who is the correct candidate for the job. So convinced that we as a community have become so very polarized politically.

I though do think that we as the general person or business operation are truly aware of either all the information available to us, and if we are, how to use that information effectively to build our business and become stronger and more profitable. I heard a political analyst saying the other day that before social media, a political campaign would have roughly 80 points of interest known about each voter. They would use this information to understand the voters likelihood to vote for their candidate. Now in this information age and with social media, the political campaigns have closer to 200,000 points of reference to make the same decisions. This reveals how the information age is burgeoning and overflowing with data for businesses to captcha, but as I said most either do not know how to obtain the information or how to use this information to benefit themselves.

The question to ask yourself as an entrepreneur is, what information do I need to know about my present customers, my past customers and hopefully new customers? How can I learn from my previous customers and our mistakes that made happy customers walk away, What am I do successfully now that makes my present customers happy with our service and products, and What do I need to change to make my company more relevant to the people in the great unknown to know about our presence, our services and products.

If you found diamonds in a far off land, not knowing the value of the rocks you hold in your hand, you would merely discard.

Perhaps you are discarding or not looking at the information you have the right way. Information is valuable, but knowing how to use that information is worth so much more.

Looking through the headlines.

This post is intended to be not only an encouragement to all that read, but also as a warning to those that read all the news headlines of doom and gloom that we are faced with every day.

"Sometimes fiction painted on a canvass appears to be more realistic than fact!"

Skepticism is sometimes an important trait in business! Being skeptical forces you to keep asking questions and digging for more answers, especially when those answers appear to be too good to be true!

When hearing some of the headlines these days, I have to wonder and question what the back story is to the headline. Who is making the claims and what do they stand to benefit from the news that they are sharing. Just as I am starting to get very tired and frustrated with all the 2016 Presidential campaigns, I am sure that there are many people out there starting to just block it all out, we need to be sure to skeptically read and listen to the news and claims. It is easy to get exhausted and give in, after all we have had all this shoved down our throats for more than a year already!!!

So yes, not only am I trying to drown out all the presidential campaign claims, I am cautiously looking through and keeping my eye on all the information from the various statistical producers. I have been maintaining a very skeptical view on all the data that the government spews out about employment rates and the economies health. I remain skeptical and this is justified by the number of people that I speak to on a day to day basis who share a completely different picture with me about the countries and global economy than what I keep getting told by the government.

Years ago, economists used to use the stock market as a leading indicator to the markets overall performance and state, so wall street would lead the main street! If this was true, then based on the Bull run that we have witnessed since 2008, the governments claims and statistics match 100%, but perhaps since the man on the street tells a different story, this is why the government has been so adamant on pushing up the stock market and valuations through quantitate easing. They keep pointing to the great run, as if to say that the poor perspective that you hold individually is not one that is being experienced by the majority of people in the economy.

I was listening to an economist talk about the Australian economy and it hit home really hard, we are seeing the same things here in the United States as they are in Australia, South Africa, England and most of the world. Governments keep telling us how well the economies are doing and to just get over the "feelings" of insecurity, when in fact the reality is that the distortion of numbers and manipulation of numbers paint a worse picture.

This is meant to be an encouragement I hearing you saying? Well although the economists and government agencies will paint a picture for you that they want you to see, look through the headlines and see the facts. Dig a little deeper to see not only the truthful reality, but the opportunities, because opportunity knocks at every door and occasion. Keep your eyes open and look at the "Real" opportunities that lie behind the stories and headlines that you may read, this way you won't get caught off guard!

Focus on winning the battles, the wars take care of themselves

We are all aware how military's would think strategically, thinking through how and where to attack the enemy, successful military endeavors have not merely been successful due to the the holder of the biggest gun, but the military who has strategically plotted their plans to slowly weaken their opponent. Weakening them till they fall to their knees in surrender.

I wonder how many business owners and entrepreneurs like I , try to win the battle with a large atomic bomb. Entrepreneurs tend to spend a lot of money, building the finest, most powerful and greatest weapon to win the war in one foul swoop. Not only does this draw on many resources, but also takes a very long time to launch. Sometimes the war is already over before the bomb would be completed!

I would like to compare building a business as an entrepreneur, to one of the army major strategically planning a war made up of many battles. So as you set about attacking each battle individually, you move the company slowly towards the victory of the war - not that any business ever gets to a finish line. So on a macro scale of building the business, I encourage entrepreneurs to take the long term view, investing into the infrastructure to stand stronger as the war heats up with competitors.

Entrepreneurs sometimes get discouraged for not securing the large contract with the major customer, because they asked for the whole farm, house and animals at one time. Instead looking at the micro scale, as you approach a client or customer, you should be looking to get a small battle victory. Choose the battle selectively and strategically so that as you gain traction with that first battle, it draws you closer to a position that allows you the advantage for the second battle.

Build a battle plan that secures your business as a life line that your clients or customers can not live without.

Knowing your strengths

I have written before about how an entrepreneur needs to assume the role of CPS "Chief Problem Solver" rather than CEO "Chief Executive Officer" in their small to medium size business. You would think that entrepreneurs would understand this. The business that they have created was born from their ability to solve a problem in the market.

All businesses need to resolve a need in the market place, either by feeding the consumers human bodily needs, or feeding the consumers perceived needs and desires. When a businesses ability to relevantly solve problems faced by the market place cease, the business becomes redundant. Without evolving the company and making change to morph the company into a more relevant organization, it will no longer survive, dying the inevitable death.

There have been many examples of companies that have evolved, changing focus and industry sectors to survive. After all the skills required to see opportunities, lead a team of people to fulfill the needs of the market place are transferrable from industry to industry.

I have often been told how amazed people are at how quickly I have learnt new industries, learnt new skills and knowledge. Not only learning to know, but learning to teach. As a side note, by teaching something to a team or individual teaches you personally more about what you are teaching! When I built Jireh Optoelectronics LLC from the ground, I submerged myself into the industry, learning lighting design, electronics design and built upon my ability to transfer a message from one to another, by building a trained sales force of distributors nationally and internationally.

In order to transfer your knowledge and skills from one industry to the next though requires the person to know what they lack in knowledge and what they need to learn from experts. One of the skills I have developed over my business years and career is how to listen and then ask questions. I know that I need to learn enough to be dangerous, but that is the problem I am still dangerous.

I need to be open to the experts and bring them into the fray to do their job. I know my strengths, I know that I am a visionary person and knows the supply chain and marketing of products, but I also know my weaknesses and when to look around for the next person to guide my thoughts and decisions.

In operating or getting your business off the ground, there are many ways to get expert advice and input, just ask!

Productivity

For many years I have been 100% behind creating an environment of employee security and ownership at the work place. I have believed and implemented that paying your staff well is imperative to building a long term, stronger company.

In talking with an economist professor the other day I was reminded about the saying of "Human Capital". Reminded that any companies greatest monthly expense should be the value of Dollars spent on employees. I have always endeavored to find the most capable and qualified candidate that given the right tools and training would enable my business to be more profitable.

I am constantly amazed how companies and management can so willingly dispose of not only talent, but costs in training staff. It does not matter the laws of the state or government that presides over a company, the laws and fundamentals of keeping staff far outweigh short term profits obtained by disposing of staff.

I once came across a company who fired their top sales person based on my issue. Since the sales persons commission payments were not capped by the company, the more product that the sales person sold, the more income that they achieved personally. The sales person had been so productive for the company that their monthly income had just hit a number greater than the CEO's monthly income. The CEO would not have another person in the company generate a greater income than themselves and so asked for the persons resignation.

It is easy to see the problem with the thinking of the management of this company, because the more product or service that the sales person sells, the better off the company and therefore the shareholders are. Getting rid of your best performing sales person is certainly not in the interest of the company, or the employee. Ask yourself if this type of closed mind thinking plagues your business operations and thinking. It might not be as obvious as this companies decision, but how often has your company disregarded "Human Capital"?

To come back to the point, of productivity, I believe that the above mentioned example is one of the many stories that have chiseled away at the confidence that the general employee has in any employer in the market place. Everyday the employer is withdrawing benefits, paying lower wages and demanding greater commitment. This has all left the labor market quite shell shocked, left without knowing how protected their job is. Remember for the family man, this leaves him not knowing whether he will be able to place food on the table for his family next week!

The stress of the insecure job market increase un-productivity!

An example of how security and feeling valued by your employer can make a difference can be found in the time where the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco was built. After 23 employees fell to their death while working on the construction of the bridge, the employers at great cost put a catchment net under the construction workers in order to catch any employee before they fell to their death. No only did this net save the lives of 10 employees, but the performance of the employees increased considerably. The productivity improved to a point that they bridge was completed in 75% of the budgeted time period.

Creating a culture of security and opportunity will make your colleagues work much more effectively and create for greater profitability for the company as a whole.

Vision and infrastructure

"Where there is no vision!"

I have often commented to people about how the infrastructure of the first world makes such a great difference in our lives, making us so much more efficient in the use of time. When you need some water to quench your thirst, or wash your hands, you walk over to the faucet and turn the water on, and it flows. Imagine if you had to wake up 2 hours earlier each day in order to collect your daily water requirement?

Infrastructure plays such an important part in order for the economy to tick and move. Not only is infrastructure spending a big part of job creation in the short term, the longer term benefits from having an established infrastructure far out weigh with the number of jobs created, tax Dollars received from the greater earnings and company profits.

Infrastructure is not only building roads and bridges, but also telecommunications etc. Infrastructure is really the essentials needed in order to perform the services or build the products that are needed. Getting them from where they are made to where they are needed.

The question is why is infrastructure spending and development not high on the agenda or priorities of the global governments? It raises the question of the role of the government in the citizens life, the economy and social, moral positions. Governments seem to focus more on the results of business decay, like social benefits rather than the investment into the infrastructure required for tomorrow's economy and the needs of that economy.

We have been coming down from a quantitative easy by the Federal Bank, where they were in effective creating an environment of cheap lending, but they never took advantage of the low rates and high unemployment to build the infrastructure for the future.

As business owners in the economy, how are you preparing for the future?

What happens when you lose trust?

It was quite a BIG week in the news arena for the United States this week. The senseless and pointless killings this week have left many people in the country wondering why this continues to happen. Every life matters and this is why we live in a "democracy", why western culture and governments have built "democracies". We live under democratic governments because we all stand equal, we all have equal opportunities and due equal respect.

You see I believe that the other BIG piece of news goes hand in hand with the killings of these innocent people. The revelation this week by the FBI that Hilary Clinton has lied continuously about her activities and action as the Secretary of State. I believe that the two some what random pieces of news are related because it goes to prove how far we have gone from the ideals of democracy where all lives matter equally, but also where all lives pay the same consequence for the same actions.

If we live under democratic standards and rights, then each person is responsible for their actions individually, but also responsible for the overall populations movement. Secretary Clinton and the police officers reveal how this community view of responsibility has shifted to a point where many of our fellow citizens view themselves as not only higher is position and rights, but view others as less than themselves, and someone that can just be discarded. The actions undertaken by the FBI and police departments exposes the great divide seen by many people in this country. Not just economically divided or racially divided, but divided by those with power and influence and those without.

The problem is that those without are in the majority and they have lost their trust in the politicians and leaders of the country. We can see the lack of confidence in these people throughout the presidential election campaigns so far. The citizens of this country have lost faith and confidence that the people who have stepped up to lead those around them, have the morals, ethics and desire to do what is best for the country in whole. We are seeing an incredibly aggressive population voting for what many people are calling crazy, but this is based on the loss of trust.

The loss of trust causes the other person to constantly question motives, and second guess your decisions and actions. It stops us from acting rationally and retaliate towards those that have broken the trust. In business we build relationships with colleagues, clients, vendors and the general public, building a level of trust along the way. We need to maintain that level of trust in our company's products, services and culture that allows for those that trust in our company. Failure to do that will see them retaliate towards us, and with our connected world, who knows where the damage will end?
  

Sales

"Sales departments are not the most important focus of the company, the whole company, most importantly, is the sales department!"

I have become a more considerate consumer and buyer over the years. Having stood in the shoes of the person asking me to buy something, I have a lot more understanding of where they are coming from, which leads me to be more considerate. It does not mean that I will be pushed over, but I will communicate with the sales person in a manner that is not only respectful, but positive and re-enforcing.

Sales is not an easy job, and ultimately unfortunately does come down to numbers, because not everyone that you speak to is going to be open or even need your product when you choose to come a knocking. Just because a potential client does not require your product or service now, they more than likely will need it some time in the future, otherwise why would you be knocking on their door?

In sales, I have always felt that it is important for new sales people to listen to and learn from the management and successful sales people within an organization since they have already achieved a level of success in this unique industry and organization's products or services. The successful members have understood how to bring the product or service across to the client or customer in a way that convinces them of the need for the product or service. They have lived and breathed it as the foot soldiers and survived the bombardment from those that might not be quite as understanding as I have become. There is no purpose in new sales people trudging off to create their own path, no one knows where that one will lead, and it inevitably leads to much frustration and finally a resigned person, not only from a job, but personally resigned to the opportunity.

Training is vital and not only should be offered by the employer and management staff, but should be sought out by the employee. Training not only in product, but in the development of the whole person selling on behalf of the company. When I was involved in tennis, I always would say that teaching the strokes was the easy part, but teaching the player how to "Play tennis", that you would need to brain wash the player. You see, brain washing is required as the players needs to be trained to think instinctively in a certain way. As management, you need to train and retrain your sales staff to become a certain person that becomes the "little me" of the company.

Sales staff ultimately are a company's face and representation to the world, customers and prospective customers. Sales people should be invested into in such a manner that they react in situations, responding to customers and those outside the company, instinctively in a way that the management would have be done. However since the whole company is the sales department according to the earlier quote, investment into all employees is vital, making them the people that mirror the management.

What you don't know is hurting you!

I remember one of my favorite jokes that I heard many years ago was where a pastor was asked which was the worst enemy in the church, ignorance or apathy? With what he responded, "I don't know, and I don't care!"

I recently made a post about how ignorance in our lives acts as a blind spot, eliminating hope of most people to truthfully understand their weaknesses and strengths. Without the knowledge of what a person needs to improve, how can they improve?

  In the picture above you will see the level of ignorance to the truthful activities of organizations that get larger. The executives that run and make the decisions that steer the organization are totally ignorant to much of the on goings of the organization.

The executives are ignorant to the daily interactions and with customers, how policies are executed and how successfully the organizations staff is at executing tasks in the successful ways of the organization.

This ignorance either makes these executives believe that the organization is headed in a direction that it is not, or that all things are rosy with the organization and their clients or customers.

Most of us have seen the TV show, Under Cover Boss, where the executives take time to go undercover and live and breathe the important parts of the organization, with the purpose of learning how well the decisions and directives from the executive office is reaching the foot soldiers. They are often very disappointed to find how they as the executives were living under false pre-tenses.

Some small business owners want to keep their businesses at a size that is easily manageable, and I can understand their approach, but for those that strive to for the highest levels, make sure that as you grow, that you open the lines of communication between the layers and levels of the organization, you might save yourself from a scary revelation in the future.

Stop to smell the ... stench!

We all know the adage, "This is the way my my father did it, and how his father did it, it worked for them and so it can't be wrong!" If you are in sales or as an entrepreneurially minded person trying to introduce new technology or processes to the market, you will understand this thought process and frustration.


It can be difficult and sometimes seem impossible to get your prospective clients, staff and colleagues to see things in a different light or from another perspective. As I have just said, it is all about the perspective and point of view that you hold. It is not that you are wrong or right, but you need to acknowledge that it is different to that of the other person.


I still remember an example given to me by a colleague at a critical time during an acquisition period of a company. He said to me that if you and I were standing at different places next to the same elephant, right up close to the elephant and asked to describe it, the likelihood is that we would not deliver the same description of the same elephant.


Here are a few points to consider when dealing with parties that may not share your same perspective or opinions;


1. Take a breath and remember that unless the other person is intentionally trying to be detrimental to achieving the same goal, that they are not personally trying to be difficult.


2. Ask what the other person sees and understand their view and perspective.


3. Don't be in such a haste and rush to get the deal or transaction completed. We live in a culture and time that no one waits for the right opportunities, but settles for what they can get now.


4. Help the person to take a step back from the elephant in the room and see the bigger, fuller picture!


We all believe that we are right and are most likely ignorant to other opportunities and choices, so in the same way that we hope that other be open to our ideas, thoughts and direction, we too need to be open to listening and considering their input, after all you might learn something new!

Ignorance

Ignorance is said to be bliss! It is blissful, not only because you are not aware of the negative things and aspects of life around you, but you are not even aware that you live unaware of this awareness. The ignorant life can be similar to that of a young child, care free and joyous.


However being ignorant not only reveals a lack of knowledge and experience, but comes with a terrible dark side to it. I came accross studies that have been undertaken to try and understand ignorance and the consequences to being ignorant. I believe that the most damaging consequence to beng ignorant is that as an individual, you are not even aware of the situation or aspect that you are lacking in.


In the studies undertaken, a large percentage of  participants who thought they had performed well during testing, came out with poor results. These particiants were not only ignorant to their abilities and knowledge, but they were ignorant to how their abilities stacked against their peers.


It has been quite a soul searching time for me since going through this research, searching within myself, the corners of my life where I may have felt or believed that I had it all together! The question is, did I really have it all together? Was I really as good at the skill or knowledgable of the material as I thought I was. How did my performance and knowledge truly stack up to my peers in the market place?


Am I just ignorant to the skills and performance of my peers around me, and in doing that ,do I then value the input and expertise of my peers? If I am ignorant to my poor performances, but consider myself to exceptional, is the ignorance of my inabilities creating growing problems in my professional life, where I do not ask for and accept assistance from a colleague more experienced, with better performances in a particular area of my job? I may think out of ignorance that I am more knowledgable or able to perform the skills required!


In a time of our world where testing is so frowned upon, I have to say that I value testing. It is so important to me to receive honest and unbiased feedback on my actual knowledge and understanding of a subject, person or situation. Without the testing and truthful results, how can I ever improve or do a better job? 

Investment vs Expense

We all know the adage, that life is all about the attitude and perspective taken. We are constantly encouraged to look at situations in life and business through a different lens or from a different angle. Sometimes we are too close to the situation or activity to see clearly the correct actions and steps to take in resolving an issue or challenge.

Having said this, I have been thinking recently more so the attitude and perspective taken by business people when it comes to the expenses incurred. So many small business entrepreneurs are always talking about how they can expense so many expenses for tax reasons, but perhaps they have taken this attitude a little too far.

If you took a poll, almost every business person would rather invest money into the future of the business health than pay a bill or expense. Expenses are seen as money leaving the company and reducing profits.

What is the difference between an investment and a expense? 

Some expenses just overlooked are in fact investments. It is my belief that an investment is anything that will bring a return on the money spent or invested. So if you spend $10, that $10 allows for you to generate more than $10 back in revenue, with the difference being profit. I have always taken the total return perspective, where the profit is measured against the total investment into the business activities, services and products. I have always wanted to see a return on the funds put to work and see a better return than I would putting that same amount of cash into the bank savings account.

Paying your electric bill is most likely viewed as a necessary evil cost, however if you take a step back from the immediate up close picture and adjust your thinking, without the electricity, you can not operate a business and generate a profit. The funds used to pay for the electricity are an investment into the company, and without the investment there can be no return!

Perhaps when you see some outgoing payments as investments into the operation and health of your business, you will not only pay the expense with less of a grudge, but you will be looking and expectantly waiting to see the return on your investment!

Like Columbus you might find India

It is very interesting how we all have our make up and certain characteristics built into us. From a young age, I had always wanted to be the best in the world! I know for some people it sounds silly to think, but when I was competing in sport, it was possible to achieve the claim of No.1 in the world!

Perhaps it was this indoctrination and desire, of being No.1 in the world that has stuck with me since then. As I moved into the business world, the mentality of competing on the global stage stuck was so ingrained in my make up, that I couldn't see any other opportunities. I was not satisfied to just compete with the company round the corner from me, but I was looking on take on the companies that were over the seas and lands. I wanted to build a company that would be respected not only locally, nationally but internationally.

I have done business on every continent of the world since then, I have learnt various cultures and the ins and outs of each countries unique ways of doing things and expectations. I have learnt that we are all the same but not the same!! I know that it sounds weird, but through all the relationships that I have built throughout the world, once you peel away the outside layer, you will see that the same passions, beliefs and fears drive every human being.

All though many things are similar, not everything is identical. I have come to see over the years of business that although I have had grand ideas and visions of taking on the entire world and being victorious, not everyone does! In talking to new clients, I need to keep this in the forefront of my mind. I am open to seeing new opportunities and think creatively how to capitalize on tools and opportunities, however the person sitting in front of me or on the other end of the phone call can not see past the first challenge. People like myself have to work hard at helping to paint the big picture for the other person or persons in the conversation, painting it so clear that they can see the progressive and logical steps to finish the picture to completion.

The image that comes to mind is the children's coloring books that have numbers in each area telling you the color to put into that designated area. As you have others complete the individual area the way required for the big picture, you will see the big picture coming into focus.

Some people are better seeing the full picture without getting too worried, others need to be focused onto the individual task, because that is what they do best!

Just a sales person speaking to a potential customer

There's a great quote from the movie Notting Hill, by the character played by Julia Roberts. "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

I was thinking about this quote earlier today, when speaking to a potential client. So often in the business cycle we have either been harassed continuously or abused, that we lose sight of the fact that the person on the other side of the call is just a person trying to do business with another.

The cycle of business requires that I call you to try sell you my goods or services. This cycle will in turn come full circle with you calling me to sell me your goods or services.

Now it might not be quite as easy to see within a closed loop and cycle, however any business community is dependent on the parties making up the community, transacting with each other. There is a simple economics principle that says, the more times that people within the community transact and do business with each other, the healthier and more affluent the community becomes.

The two problems that I come across in business is the business community that too quickly sends business outside of their immediate community, and we see this all too often in the global business community. The second problem I see is that many business people are not willing and open to hearing from different people with different solutions.

Remember that in doing business, we need to remember that we are all just people, standing in front of another person, asking for an opportunity to add value or products to their business.

Has the US economy become "FAT"?

I ask myself this question for various reasons, but as a business owner who has placed so much on the line, I have to wonder how much my company is truly receiving from my employees. Many employees go to work expecting their wages paid on time, and justifiably so, but many eomployees irrespective of their role in the company have taken the attitude that the company serves the purpose of serving them.


I am not condoning abuse by management, however if you think about finding the middle ground with a rational mind, have you considered how an employees work ethic can considerably effect the bottom line of the company? In a sales role, these warriors of the road experience first hand how their efforts not only benefit their own pocket, but the companies bottom line. However as a receptionist, who greets fellow employees, visitors and vendors, how often does the employee or management put a value of the employees impact on the companies bottom line and look at this collectively with all the employees no matter the role. Employees are the greatest assset of a company and therefore the most capital and profits are spent on securing the services of the best people, good employees play a role in maintaining a companies viability and profitability.


I was needing to source new products for some export clients of ours. I had reached out to 5 different potential suppliers to procure product from in order to export and service our international markets. Out of the 5 companies contacted one company returned my email and phone call!


I was totally taken a back by the fact that a willing buyer was making contact with a company to buy large quantities of product and these copmanies did not want the business. There may be other issues that I as an outsider am not aware of facing the various suppliers, but it comes accross as though these companies do not want the business. How much is the inactivity of these sales people affecting the companies bottom line? Why is the sales person not willing to out of courtesy respond?


If these businesses and sales people were acting from a perspective saying, "We have enough" then I would conclude that they have grown "FAT" and slothful. These companies are running out of time, because inevitably they will be too lethargic to serve even the hands that feed them now!

Growth

Have you ever stopped to wonder how a small company goes from a garage to multi national, multi Billion Dollar valuation? In my studying of businesses I am constantly amazed at what specific attributes or actions took place to take the garage business to the world.


I know Sandy Solomon, the founder of Sweet Street, a company that achieved this very feat. I am impressed and complimentary to her and how she has been able to grow this company that was started in a garage to one that produces products for delivery to all over the United States and beyond the borders.


The question though, is whether there was any one thing that brought about the achievement over anything else? Is the classrooms teaching the skills and realities to the students that will assist them build the companies of the future?


I do think that small businesses are facing more and more challenges in order to compete with the mega companies in their industry, however considering this, the small business too has access to technology and market access far greater than before. I have always remembered the worlds of Robert Kiyosaki, "Businesses are there to solve problems for the market!"


I believe that growing a company from the basement or garage to main street with a global footprint is most definitely attainable now and into the future. The growth of a business is moreso dependent on various decisions made culmenating in a tidal wave pushing the company forwards!


What has contibuted to the growth of your company?

Chief Problem Solver

Over all the years that I have worked on creating and building businesses, I have come to see that my role as an entrepreneur is that of the "Chief Problem Solver"!

Whether I am assisting a client solve their problem by selling them the product or service of my business or solving a problem in the logistical chain of providing the service or product to my customer, how successful I my business will be and survive is based on the efficiency and effectiveness that I solve the problems and issues facing it.

I have said for many years that it is not the product, service or technical know how that puts a business in a class of its own, it is the ability of the businesses leadership to quickly deal with the businesses short comings and face the issues in front of it.

If you want your company to grow, their will be many growing pains and challenges, lack of cash flow, payment to suppliers and the supply cycle, employing new staff to facilitate the growth and handle the growth with new customers and suppliers, and these are just to mention a few.

It is very easy to sit in a position of being outside of the circumstances and removed from the emotion charging the relationships and encounters saying what should be done. A great skill of the "Chief Problem Solver" is to take a step back and see the big picture. The BIG picture enables you to evaluate the choices and the consequences of those choices so that you can make choices that direct and guide the company in the direction that you would want.

In a small business you may not have the funds to employee the brightest minds as employees, however with the growth of the modern business environment has birthed the great supply of the smartest minds. Perhaps hiring Solution Providers that are not quite so emotionally attached to the business can assist your business grow and achieve the goals!

What challenges and problems are you and the business facing right now? How many different solutions can you think of?

Let's be business leaders fulfilling the role as "Chief Solution Providers"!

What if your bank has their profits ahead of your interests?

Every business has to make a profit, however I believe that if you were to survey main street, you would find a perception among the various business owners and people on the street that banks and wall street are typically a group of businesses that have selfish motivations to generate profits even at the expense of their clients.

Businesses and entrepreneurs really need to find advisors and consultants that understand and see their role as one that adds value to their customers. Business owners and management need ensure that those companies and individuals assisting them in important decisions and guiding the company into the future, have not only the businesses management in mind, but the employees and their families futures in mind before advising or making decisions.

I used to work with a treasury outsourced company where I worked as a money market and foreign exchange trader. With all importers and exporters needing to buy foreign currencies for the various transactions, we played a pivotal role in helping our clients buy the foreign currency at the most competitive rates.

The company that I worked with tracked and knew where the market stood every second of the day. When the trade and transaction was booked, we knew exactly what the price was for our customer to buy the foreign currency at that exact time. We could buy the currency at a time of the day where the price was more favorable to our client and not to the bank. The bank would have still made the fees and minimum required profit, however their trader was not going to be able to take advantage of our client. The client before having us watch over the banks actions would not know exactly what fees and commissions that they paid to the bank and trader. The trader may have done really well if they timed the transaction right and included the advantage into their commission pot.

I believe that I should "do unto others as I would want them to do unto me!" I have made it part of the commandments of our company, to ensure that we treat our clients and stand up for them in the areas of expertise that we hold. Before I worked as a foreign exchange trader, I had operated an import and export business, doing some large transactions just accepting what the bank and trader offered as though I had no choice in the matter. I don't think that way any more, I have seen the value of having a "big brother" to fight on my behalf. These consultants are rewarded for their actions on your behalf, making them ever more diligent to obtain the most beneficial outcome for you and them combined!

I believe that it is imperative to employee experts and consultants to assist small businesses. Who knows they might save them from bankruptcy and failure. 

Trade Finance

My company has been involved in various trading activities of physical commodities for many years. We have been involved in raw metals and minerals to finished metal extrusions. Fresh fruit to clothing.

The hardest part is to get the transaction closed with the buyer before rolling up the sleeves to put all the logistical parts together to ensure that the product is received in time by the customer or client. Often cash flows and payment requirements in cross border transactions can put the best plans to a halt. Suppliers require guarantees of payment or payment in advance of production or shipping, delaying the supply chains and causing problems with your customers. One of the issues that can happen with the delayed supply chain could have the customer cancelling the PO and leaving your company with all the products.

One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about Trade financing is the various products and systems that can be employed to create a solution to the challenges facing companies. There really is no one approach that works best or one solution for all companies and trades. The approach that we take at AIM Financing is to sit down and consider the customers, suppliers and traders. Ensuring that costs are maintained to make the transaction beneficial to all parties.

When stakes are high, having the right financing solution is a valuable asset. Increasing the complexity of international and cross border trades, financing acts as a tool to protect your company from poor delivery of suppliers or delays.

Politician or Business person?

In the US we started the long road of voting for the next president of the country today in the State of Iowa. Although many people wonder if their vote really counts, we live in a part of the world where we have the opportunity to play a role in the political landscape. It is up to us to play a role and have our voices heard, I can assure you that there are many people in this world that have no say or opportunity to voice their challenges. Just need to look at all the refugees fleeing Africa and the Middle East regions to see that still today, some peoples lives and liberties are threatened.

Leading the polls at present on the two sides is the long serving politician who has fulfilled various roles in governing this country. We also have the business man, who is not ashamed that he represents the 1%, assuming that he can understand and create a solution for the other 99% of people in the country.

It got me thinking to how so many people have said that we need seasoned business people running this country like a business. This is based on the perspective that businesses operate according to rules and follow tight fiscal responsibility to make profit. I do not disagree that we need to have responsible people in the office of government, and ultimately this must have been the attitude and thoughts by wise people of years gone by.

We need to vote and place people in power that will not be corrupted by the power or opportunity, and my concern is that whether the person is a veteran public official or seasoned wheeler and dealer, we stand at the mercy that these people act and perform their tasks based on the good of the country and all the citizens.

I am less convinced that a person with years of business profits will be successful, especially when you consider that for these years they have been acting for their own personal benefit. What would stop  them from seizing the opportunity to hold an office to add to their own bank accounts? I am too not convinced that we are better off with the veteran politician, as they know the ways to benefit from laws and loopholes better than those from the business world, after all they probably were the ones writing the laws that created their opportunities.

In the same way that we need to selectively choose who we do business based on their character, expertise and passion for the BIG picture, we need to consider our political partner that we endorse to  hold the office that wields the greatest temptation!

The fight is on for Africa!

I think it is quite interesting how some African's view colonialism. Not that I agree with all that colonialism meant or did, or to really get into that argument. Sometimes it is easier to see in the review mirror the wrongs of colonialism from the Europeans and remind them of it.

I do not think that many African's have taken a step back to see what is going on politically and geographically on the African continent as we speak! I can think of one African country leader who fights so hard to ward off the European and Western powers, only to sell their country to China with the next breath.

Africa for the most part is totally unchartered waters. It has so much to offer the world in carbon credits, resources and human capital, but for who? It would be one thing for the continents leaders to defy colonialism and collectively erect a continent that not only was self sufficient, but one that showed the rest of the world, that they did not need them. Although we live in the global village, why are African's importing products and people from the east? For a continent with so much poverty, you would think that finding low cost labor would be easier and more desperately required than simply importing the products from somewhere else in the world.

Instead it seems that Africa is for sale, and for sale to the highest bidder, no matter the long term losses. The Europeans have long established ties, sourcing from Africa, but China not only has the cash but has seen the opportunities that Africa is offering. The US is trying to catch up, but they view Africa as a place for aid, not a place to find peers.

It seems that at present with the huge exodus from the emerging markets, Africa needs to position itself in a way that allows them collectively to care for themselves while also setting the stage as a continent with ethics and hard work to attract the investments to bring value not only to the investors, but the people of Africa too!

This would require the people, politicians and companies of Africa to stop looking into the rear view mirror of colonialism, but look into the future, and build that what they want to see.