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201202February 2012
Become a Better Leader by Developing These 7 Habits
Become a Better Leader by Developing These 7 Habits
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
John F. Kennedy, arguably one of the best leaders to hold the office of Presidency in our country, didn’t only state the above, he lived it. Holding a leadership or executive position is not the end of the road. Leaders possessing an “I have arrived” mentality will quickly be passed by a leader who embraces personal development. If you desire to be a better leader tomorrow than you are today, review and embrace these 7 leadership habits:
Learn your employees’ strengths. Everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses, including your employees. As their leader, you will be able to watch them succeed more often if they are able to embrace, develop and work from their strengths.
Discipline your employees’ poor performance. There is great benefit in holding your employees accountable for their performance, good or bad. While it is much easier to praise good performance than discipline for poor, they are both crucial in leading your team. Discipline communicates that you are not only interested in project completion, but that you are serious about your expectations and developing your employees.
Over-communicate. More times than not miscommunication is blamed as a main contributor to issues that arise. Over-communicating is a proactive trait that can help reduce errors, encourage employees, and increase efficiency.
Understand your employees’ environment. You have a lot demands on your life and it is simple to overlook what your employees are going through on a daily basis. The insight gained from understanding the environment will allow you to make adjustments as necessary to increase productivity and overall morale.
“Friends Helping Friends”
You are cordially invited to: “Friends Helping Friends”
February 29, 2012
Dinner-6:30 p.m.; Presentation-7:30 p.m.
Amici Ristorante
7620 N Milwaukee Ave., Niles, IL 60714
Hosted by: Michael W. Basile, COUNTRY Financial® in Lincoln Square
Presentation given by:
Michael W. Basile, Financial Representative
Dennis A. Prentice, Registered Financial Consultant
After you have enjoyed your complimentary meal*, we will hear a compelling story from Mike about the dramatic impact that planning, or the lack of planning, can have. In addition, Dennis will discuss:
How to determine how much liability insurance is enough to protect your assets.
How to enhance the income and eliminate the annual taxes on CDs1
How to prevent the IRS from inheriting your IRA.
How to provide a guaranteed retirement income for life and beyond.
How to eliminate or reduce potential tax consequences on retirement accounts for your heirs.¹
How to determine the right amount of the right kind of life insurance from the right companies to protect you and your family.**
How to protect your annuities and life insurance from claims of creditors and the expense and delay of probate.
The importance of Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney.²
Please R.S.V. P. by February 22, 2012 by emailing: angela.kurowski@countryfinancial.com or by calling (773.728.2957.
When emailing, please include your name(s), address and phone number.
We would also like to extend this invitation to four of your guests.
Please forward us their information, as well, with your response.
Include the number of people attending. You may invite up to four guests.
*This is a no-cost, no-obligation education seminar and insurance sales presentation.
**Life Insurance policies issued by COUNTRY Life Insurance Company®, Bloomington, IL. Annuity products issued by COUNTRY Investors Life Assurance Company®, Bloomington, IL.
How Much is Enough?
“One thing is for sure,” said Bill Gates in Forbes Magazine, “I won’t leave a lot of money to my heirs because I don’t think it would be good for them.” He stated that he would leave each of his children $10 million.
“The perfect amount to leave children,” said Warren Buffet, “is enough so they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.”
Over the last few years, we have noticed more and more of our clients focusing on this idea of how much is enough.
Of course there is no right or wrong answer. Each family must decide for themselves how and how much to leave to their children and grandchildren. And what to do with any amounts left over. For example, Bill Gates has set his goal at $10 million per child. What will he do with the remaining billions? The answer for him is that he will leave his money to charity. By now it is well known that Bill and his wife Melinda have already dedicated a sizable portion of their net worth to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
How do you determine How Much is Enough for your family?
We usually spend a fair amount of time counseling our clients on these issues.
Here are a few examples of questions you may want to consider when thinking about this issue:
1. What are your financial goals for your heirs?
Do you want them to be independent? Would you like to fund education, help with the purchase of a first home or invest in a startup business? Do you want them to have access to capital for investments or lifestyle improvements? Do you want them to be able to retire early if they desire?
2. What are your non-financial goals for your heirs?
SBAC Member, plura Financial Adds Karen Orlich As Chief Marketing Officer
plura, an online business loan matchmaker free for borrowers, is strategically adding to its management team, appointing Karen Orlich to lead the expansion of plura's lender network.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 03, 2012
plura Financial Solutions (plura), an online business loan matchmaker free for borrowers, has added Karen Orlich to its expanding management team. Orlich joins plura from AllCell Technologies, where she served as Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer. She brings to plura 20 years of experience in marketing, business development and finance.
"We are excited to have someone of Karen’s caliber join our growing team," said plura CEO Brandon Hinkle. “Because of our unique automated platform, we are able to service borrowers and banks in a much more efficient way and Karen will be instrumental in further enhancing our ability to do so both here in Chicago and nationally.”
Orlich will be responsible for accelerating the growth of plura’s lender network, capitalizing on the momentum achieved in the last 18 months, and will bring the benefits of plura’s automated loan origination model to banks and small businesses nationwide.
“As a former lender, the solicitation and screening process was always one of the most time consuming parts of the job. plura offers an easy alternative to assist lenders in this tedious process with no cost or obligation up front,” said Orlich. “It’s truly a no-brainer for borrowers AND lenders. They are the match.com in lending and I am excited to be a part of it.”
Layer One Media launches Chicago Office!
Digital-focused agency Layer One Media recently opened the doors to their new 5,000 sq. ft. loft space in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood.
Established in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, the agency has created and developed strategic digital marketing tools, intrepid concepts and user experiences for local and national clients and brands such as Dean & DeLuca, GE Healthcare, Kohler, Sargento, Northwestern Mutual and Subzero.
President Brody Buss, Creative Director Jason Reimer and Director of Business Development Ryan Janecek lead the charge for the competitive “third coast” player positioned to remarkably extend and diversify their client outreach.
"The Chicago market is perfect for a creative, niche, ahead-of-the-curve, digital shop like ours,” says Buss. “Having access to collaborate with agencies and brands in a bigger market allows us to focus on what we do best.”
Layer One Media has dedicated two years planning the expansion, seeking to collaborate with agencies, connect with clients and brands, and to support campaigns that will leverage and increase the company’s national presence. The studio has already begun developing relationships with projects in the pipeline including a high-traffic Facebook app for a major consumer brand.
"As a boutique digital shop, in order to grow we need forward thinking partners, clients and opportunities,” states Buss. “Chicago has great advertising agencies that are those forward thinking partners, but they might not have all the digital resources to deliver and that’s where we would like to come in.”
Check out article at: http://www.screenmag.com/story/2012/feb/05/9192/
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Failing Artificial Hips: Consumers Bearing Too Big of a Burden
New York Times journalist Barry Meier has recently written a series of articles alerting our nation’s patients and consumers to the startling statistics on failing hip replacement devices. The NY Times informs on the “high cost of failing hips”, in that these devices have produced “the most widespread medical implant failure in decades — involving thousands of all-metal artificial hips that need to be replaced prematurely.” These articles stem from recent years’ recalls of metal on metal artificial joint replacements.
On July 22, 2008, the FDA announced a voluntary recall of the Zimmer Durom® Acetabular Component (“Durom Cup”)
On August 24, 2010, the FDA there was a voluntary recall of the DePuy ASR™ total hip system.
Read more about the FDA’s Recalls Specific to Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Systems at http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/Implantsa....
The cause for alarm regarding these failing artificial hips is threefold: (1) the devices are failing prematurely; (2) replacement costs are astronomical; and (3) the most technologically-advanced models do not perform better than older, less expensive designs.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, “30 percent of artificial hip and knee implants introduced over a recent five year period have higher failure rates than older, less expensive designs,” writes Meier. “The findings are significant for patients in the United States because many of the new designs, like so-called metal-on-metal hips, are widely used here. Those implants, which have both a ball and cup made of metal, are expected to fail prematurely in tens of thousands of patients rather than lasting 15 years or more as artificial joints are supposed to do.”
Improving Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out
Consider the following statistics:
• For every customer complaint, there are 26 other customers who have remained silent. Source: Lee Resource Inc.
• 9 out of 10 unsatisfied customers would not willingly do business with your organization again. Source: Lee Resource Inc.
• 19 out of 20 satisfied customers who get their issue resolved will return and tell on average 5 people about their experience. Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs, Washington, DC
Whether you are a CEO, an Account Exec, or an independent consultant and whether your business is pizza, financial services, earthmovers, or volunteer services, you want to avoid the first two above. On the positive side, you hope your business falls into the category of the third bullet.
What these three key business stats have in common is that they measure customer behavior, specifically the behavior of returning - whether it is to buy again or just give you feedback. Returning customers are loyal customers, people who have an emotional and relational investment in you because of how they have been treated, whether they are individual buyers or they represent their companies.
What Is Customer Loyalty and Why Is It So Important?
Think of your customer.
• Do you serve an "external" customer, one who purchases your company's products and services? Then, you might be in Sales, Account Management, Customer Service, or Field Service.
• Or do you serve an "internal" customer, one who (by choice or not) receives your work product or service. In this scenario, you might never interact with an external customer, but you still have an impact on the eventual result. You might be in HR, Talent Acquisition, IT, Engineering, Logistics, Office Management or a similar internal function.
It's A Small World After All: Getting To Yes In A Multi-Cultural Business Environment
No, I'm not talking about the ride It's A Small World at Disney World or Disneyland, the legend of which has it that if you ride it, the song will stay in your head forever. I'm talking about being a business owner in a multi-cultural and multi-national business environment.
We're challenged sometimes to be able to explain complicated and arcane rules about 401(k) plans to clients who may be Japanese, German, Swedish, or Indian, and for whom English is a second language. Not to say that we haven't been challenged on occasion in talking with our British clients. Much of what we do is influence, or attempt to influence, clients. Not to sell but to help them make certain decisions that will result in them accomplishing their retirement plan objectives.
Noah Goldstein, Ph.D., and social psychologist, suggests that there are some subtle differences in how to tailor your tactics and your messages based on the cultural background of the person you're trying to influence. He says that these differences result from the variation in cultural norms and traditions of diverse societies, which leads the people of these different societies to place greater weight on some aspects of a persuasive message than on others, and cites research to that effect.
Then, what are the implications for those of us who must communicate and counsel people from diverse backgrounds and cultures? It's simply this. If we are moving from one cultural setting to another as part of our business, it is us that will have to adjust our communication strategies by being sensitive to their norms -not the other way around.
Jerry Kalish is President of National Benefit Services, Inc., a Chicago-based retirement plan firm. He publishes http://www.retirementplanblog.com
The Retirement Plan Blog and can be reached at jerry@nationalbenefit.com.
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