Today was one hell of a day here. We were scheduled to go to Dagupan City to have talks with potential business partners and at the same time take some time off work. Unfortunately, the weather was not as cooperative, relegating me to staying at home and worrying about our safety as well, as the winds of Super Typhoon “Milenyo� (International Name: Xangsane) hit the country hard. I called of work for my staff as early as 5:00 a.m., worried more about their safety than business operations.  

There was no electricity, no telephone lines and no water the whole day. Trees were falling everywhere, floods in most areas, flying debris, and falling billboards here and there, rendering the whole country of the Philippines totally helpless to the wrath of this typhoon which I would call as one of the worst typhoons that the country has experienced. Restaurants and malls, such as the Shangri-la mall in EDSA were closed, even experiencing damage as walls ripped open and had all store owners and on-hand customers looking for ways to get to safety.  

Businesses suffer hard blows during such calamities, not only hampering daily operations and distribution means but also the purchasing power of its target markets. The basic necessities will always have the initial priority, survival of which is the most important. Inconvenient as it is, this is an event which most business has to consider in a year. Providing allowance for such occurrences, this may lead to losses in most cases. These are scenarios where most companies have to realistically face them everyday. However, much as they hit periodic times of the year, these should not become reasons or alibis for losses. They are natural events that cannot be controlled and other reasons for losses of most organizations are not fairly attributed to such.

 

Links:

• Typhoon Kills 21, Cuts Power
• Typhoon Batters Metro Manila, Bicol
• Czech, Philippine Churches devastated by Storm, Floods

In any company or group, maximizing the talents of each individual and molding them into one effective overall unit is the ultimate goal of any leader who is given the task of balancing manpower and productivity in most cases. One man alone cannot make a difference. The motivational factor, often referred to as the X-factor by most people, is something that not all leaders possess. It is something that is inherited, most of the time an inherited trait of gathered from daily experiences from other cultures and origins. Whichever the origin of such rare talent today comes from, the implementation and carrying out of the said tool will be the differentiating factor that can help companies and corporations become more proactive.

While most corporate executives are leaning on educational background and work experience, both will be useless unless the person is effective and productive. These are not included in the usual requirements of human resources requirements. Such are inborn and it is not hard to identify the presence of such a gift, since come the interview alone, these can be readily noticed by the person who represents a company and screens all candidates for critical positions in a company.

Links and References:

• Create Successful Work Teams
• Business Teamwork: Pulling Together Corporate Events
• Business Through Leadership

It is just normal to think and conceptualize about certain businesses or money making schemes in our minds today. Not all employees will remain in their positions forever and in the course of their business knowledge, it cannot be discounted that the entrepreneurial skills will always play games in our minds. Ideally, such businesses are related with the everyday operations or exposure people see and experience. This is where most business concepts originate, with perhaps a little bit of enhancing at times.

This is only normal. At times we find ourselves studying certain techniques and devise our own manner of business concepts that stem from base business operations. This is the same for other practices that include marketing and business and research as well.  Providing the necessary adjustments to the framework and putting in some added benefits and all are more of the challenges that people have to undertake and expect especially from up and coming new entrants to the market and existing competitors. Besides, who would want to be the last in line of the list of market players and competing companies in any category?

Useful Links:

• Adaptation of the Business Concept over Time
• Hard Work: A Ditry Concept for Most?
• What is the Limited Liability Concept to Corporations?

These days, a lot of tempting and unique propositions and decision making prowess when it comes to work, interaction and deals are expected to come to the way of most people. People are usually torn in this process, sometimes looking at only one side and leaving out the whole benefit from doing the right thing. Everyday we encounter various problems and the manner to which we can be able to make the final decision shall always pose as the main problem.

Money is perhaps the most pinpointed vice of all. It alters the stable mind and makes a person think of lots of things, most of which cannot be attained since the greedy souls inside of people get the better of them, making them hallucinate of various things even if the actual medium is not yet within their grasp. The principles to which they live on are totally forgotten and what matters most to them is moving forward and attaining things that are usually impossible for them to reach.

The sad part is that people do not think long term. Most people would grab any given opportunity at a moments notice to enhance their financial capacity and maybe their career growth. However, the underlying marks should also be weighed out, the pros and cons of which should be detailed and analyzed properly. A sole decision can go a long way. This can also mean the difference between failure and fulfillment, and prior to the final decision making process, such points for consideration should always be taken under consideration and let money come naturally in the course of their existence and growth.

Links and References:

• PERSONALITY IS NOT SET BY 30; IT CAN CHANGE THROUGHOUT LIFE, SAY RESEARCHERS
• Making Better Decisions – A Tutorial
• Driving Personality Makeover
  

Most businessmen have a need to travel from one place to another, distance being the varying factor hence providing the need for them to get used to being away from their homes and main office. Expanding the network of markets, customer base and such is something that will surely be something that most businesses would want, especially once market saturation has already been accomplished and that the product or service has already been established.

Considering other provinces, cultures and places, is something that most businesses should be open to. For one, such tactics will help in the brand and product building means of a company to further enhance its part in the market. The common notion is that market focus should be made on one area of concern, but in most cases, it will come to a point where most business and research development teams should survey and assess the other markets where competitors have not yet penetrated. Stepping up and moving ahead of the pack is something that will be beneficial, since being advanced in this aspect will surely be a move in the right direction, especially for the business development and marketing departments of any aggressive organization.

Links and References:

• Career Journals: Is it a Business Trip or a Vacation?
• Trust During a Business Trip
• 10 Ways to Manage Business Trip Guilty

One of the hardest things to do is to put everything in perspective. Starting from a small venture, the obvious battle cry is to make it a foundation towards a big empire to which investors can sit back and show a wide grin on their faces. Who wouldn’t be? Well considering the fact that they carefully select a bunch of people who do the work, strategically making executive decisions and aim high to prove their worth, they have one heck of a management team working under them. It is not really plainly making the company grow, but more on growing through the company. Using the experience as a training ground and as an added color to their individual resumes, they are after making an impression to get into the big leagues and hold key positions in companies that have established their name and reputation and of course get the due recognition and compensation that most employees long for.

For the wiser businesses, they put such talented people on contracts. This is to ensure that they will continue to render the same kind of service for years to come. It is not totally about being used, but a strategy on keeping key personnel responsible for corporate success. Also, they are given fat paychecks during their tenure, something that will pose as a hindrance for other companies planning to pirate them. Piracy of employees is a common practice, but what you cannot price you cannot pirate.

Links and References:

• Business Ethics
• The Business of Giving
• Write a Business Plan that Works

One of the most underrated things that a person can do is boost their morale and set higher goals and standards that will be to their benefit. Some employees are content with just achieving set primary goals to prove their worth; while other fails to see the beauty of aiming higher than what is expected from them. Such accomplishments will indeed be to their advantage in the sense that it becomes informal training and acquiring an advanced sense of knowledge, since work experience is something that is not material for people to rely on today. Most companies would put weight on work experience since such would need minimal training programs and better yet, introduce innovative techniques. Such industries that are known to prefer work experience and advanced training include Information Technology, Sales and Marketing, and Business Research and Development . These areas usually have unique strategies, and such ways will help differentiate companies from one another, the effectiveness which shall be for the benefit of the company they are working for above anything else.

Information Technology Professionals cater to a wide variety of computer related knowledge that include Programming languages in the area of Java, Perl or Powerbuilder. These programs set their bars high and would be among the crop of manpower resources that are hard to find thus allowing them to command their prices and compensation benefits to the best bidder. Networking solutions as Intranets and Networking Security are another hot commodity in the market and enhancing and mastering such an art is truly something people should not pass up.

For Sales and Marketing, the various techniques that include Direct Marketing, Network Marketing, Brand Marketing, Global Marketing and Category Marketing are among the top needs in the search for the most efficient way of to find the right mix of people and strategies for a company to prosper. Such companies that have indulged in these marketing strategies include better known companies such as Forever Living, Lifestyles, Portal Innovations, Universal Robina Corporation, Coca Cola, Chin Chin Black Gulaman and of course San Miguel Corporation. The list goes on, but these are among the leaders in their respective lines of business.

Business Research and Development needs are becoming rampant, since traditional ways of management need new blood injected in them to keep pace with the forerunners who have employed various strategies to pick up their revenue generating schemes. The need for the use of various internal tools (BCG Matrix, TOWS Analysis, Grand Strategy, Space Matrix) and external strategies that make use of the various forces as known through Porter’s 5 Forces is something that each company will need to take into consideration as well. Mixing up everything into one thorough evaluation matrix will help identify the shortcomings and needs of any company, something that most organizations are unaware of resorting to as of to date.

Links and References:

• Why CEO’s Are Not Plug-and-Play
• Balancing the Future Against Today’s Needs
• How To Put Meaning Back into Leading
• Got A New Strategy? Now Make It Happen
• What Customers Want From Your Product