The book’s structure is lovely simple. Fifteen chapters which focus on specific management issues:

Chapter 1 – Adopt a serving attitude: Be humble, serve and love your team (but don’t let your team members to walk all over you either… balance is the key).
Chapter 2 – Teach: Management is a teaching experience. Improving your staff skills, sharing your knowledge, will yield better results. I liked the book’s suggestion about hiring people with potential, rather than focusing solely on experience.
Chapter 3 – Provide Honest and Timely Feedback: This is related to the previous chapter. You have to provide feedback to your people, both positive and negative. However, feedback is a subtle issue (you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, or to praise them excessively)… regarding this issue, the book provides a few guidelines about how to do it right.
Chapter 4 – Share Information: What’s the point of hoarding information? You have to share information with your team in order to complete projects! This chapter points out the way.
Chapter 5 – Listen: Dedicate your attention to your people. And be an educated listener. They will trust you more easily.
Chapter 6 – Treat People Like Human Beings: They’re not machines (they’re better than machines). Put yourself in other shoes, and you’ll have a better perspective about each of the members of your team.
Chapter 7 – Set Goals, Plan and Execute: You must set the example for your group. Be logical, realistic and organized, and they will follow your approach.
Chapter 8 – Learn: Life is about learning! Don’t ever let any learning opportunity to pass you by. Take your time to read books, articles, to learn from your uppers and from your team.
Chapter 9 – Do the Right Thing: Be good. Be human. You’re not an automaton. You’re a human being. Awareness of your human condition is a key requirement for being a successful manager.
Chapter 10 – Embrace the Uncomfortable: A good manager knows how to approach those boring, complex, uncomfortable tasks. This chapter provides rationale and motivation for doing that.
Chapter 11 – Clean Up your Own House First: You set the example, and teams tend to reflect their manager’s nature. Be positive. Again, be good.
Chapter 12 – Persist: Don’t ever give up! I love a phrase from this chapter: “Don’t succumb to the pressure of those who worship the status quo. You can do better -and so can your organization“.
Chapter 13 – Do What You Say You’ll Do: Good managers complete their task. Good managers set and achieve “realistic” goals (which sometimes means saying “no” to unrealistic requests).
Chapter 14 – Always Follow Up: This chapter discusses the (oftenly overlooked) issue of following up with clients, team members, bosses, etc. Learn here how to do it right.
Chapter 15 – Plan Your Week: Planning is at the core of management. Plan for your work, and plan for yourself.

Further, the book includes 7 appendices, which summarize some ideas of the book, provide some tools for assessing your progress, and offer a few expansions to the knowledge discussed in the book. Overall, the book promotes “balance”. The language is direct. After reading this book, one acquires a lot of rich notions about “practical” (and thereby useful) aspects of management. Reading this book is a first step toward becoming a better manager.

All in all, if you wish to improve your management skills, I totally recommend this book!

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Networking means building a list of contacts. Contacts are people you’ve met during your business or social activities. More often than not, such friends and acquaintances will provide you information about job openings, companies and industry leads. Moreover, they’ll introduce you to other so that you can grow your network. Therefore, it is important not only to inform them about your job search, but also give them some résumés.

This list will provide some hints about the people and organizations we should include in our network:

• Relatives
• Friends
• Recruiters
• Former Employers
• Neighbors
• Professional Organizations
• Other Job Seekers
• Academic Contacts (School, University)
• Business Associations
• Merchants

Organizing your Network of Contacts

Please, organize your network. Save information about your contacts in a spreadsheet or a database. Include their names, titles, company, address, phone and fax numbers, and email. It’s also important to register a few notes about the way in which any of your contacts is valuable, for instance, what do they know?, who can they refer you to?, and so on. Further, organize their business cards.

Besides, you should register the dates of communication with your contacts. Don’t be afraid to communicate with your contacts and ask for their help. This way, you’ll be connected to your network of contacts. Occasionally, check the progress. A phone call, SMS or email should suffice.

A few notes about Networking and Job-seeking

• Looking for a job is a job in itself. Develop a strategy, set goals. Look for a job by following a typical work schedule.
• When finishing a relation with an employer, please try to leave the best possible image. Remember that people in your company can be very good contacts. And also, it might happen that your future employer will call your previous company to ask for professional references about you.
• Create an attractive business card. Take your time to produce it, avoid spelling errors and, if required, look for professional advice. The idea is to have a genuine business card presentation.
• Finally, remember to keep your network informed of your progress. After you’ve got a job, remind to thank them for their help. Keep your network alive, as you don’t know when they will prove helpful again. Oh, and remember: you’re also a member of the network of each of your contacts. Share the love.

You may also like…

• A Shining Résumé (7)
• A Shining Job Interview: How to Succeed (9)
• The Quest for Making Money Online (11)
• What I like about Credit Cards (14)
• The Art of Saving (9)

you have to research your potential employer beforehand

…that will give you a very important lead. Get as much information as you can about the business, and also about the potential interviewers (you should research their style and attitude… that’s very important). If you know someone who has previously taken an interview in that company, talk with them about their experiences in the interview. Try to extract pure information, i.e., don’t let them to influence you (specially about the job being impossible or, on the contrary, being too easy).

1. First Approach

Remember that you have to dress with a professional look, according to the nature of the job. You are a professional… thereby each and every aspect of you must communicate that fact. Now, during the interview, take into account that Interviewers will ask questions related to their company, for example, why would you like to work for us? They may ask you about your opinion on the company’s products or history. Typically, this information is available on the company’s website, and by knowing it you demonstrate a genuine interest for the job.

2. Virtues and Limitations

Talk about your virtues, but not excessively. In this regards apply balance and good sense. Answer this question presenting your virtues in the context of the requirements of the job you’re applying to, with a clear and concise language. However, other almost granted question they will do is about your defects, thereby you must also be prepared to answer that. Furthermore, the interviewer may ask about your abilities and limitations: prepare an answer beforehand in order to allow you to present your defects as a new opportunity for keep improving.

3. Expect the Unexpected

You have to be ready for anything… a group interview, a forum about some specific problem of the company, a written exam, and so on. Carry any material you think you may need: think of the interview as your first day of work.

When entering to the interview, greet to your interviewer with a smile. Visual contact must also be direct and firm (but not exceedingly). Remember that, no matter the circumstances, you have to act formally instead of dared or zany (refer to your interviewer using his title… Dr., Mr., Engineer, etc.), unless they demand you to treat them informally (but that’s relatively rare; read point 6. Be on the alert). Listen to your interviewer very carefully. Sometimes the applicants are so focused in the things they want to say that forget what they are really being asked about. No answer is good if it does not truly answer the matter asked about.

4. Language

Be careful about the expressions and style you use to communicate your ideas. Don’t use inadequate, informal or excessively colloquial phrases.

5. Gestures

Be careful with your corporal language too. A firm handshake transmit self-confidence. A good posture also reflects confidence. Don’t act disturbed or nervous. Lean sligthly towards your interviewer in order to show interest in his words.

6. Be on the alert

Expert interviewers know human nature very well. An expert interviewer will quickly create a relaxed and trusting atmosphere for you, in order to expose your real behavior and ideas. However, never forget that he is there evaluating you, so no matter the confidence and comradeship he shows, you must always act as a professional. Novice interviewers, on the contrary, often act very arrogantly… fight off their arrogance by showing yourself relaxed and breezy (never answer the interviewer’s arrogance with more arrogance!).

7. Keep your moral high

Regarding this point, I recommend reading the posts The Winner’s Mind and The 7 Attributes of Leadership.

8. Secrets of a Critical Thinking Interviewer

Finally, good interviewers know how to distinguish good prospects from bad ones. They know that two people with the same job title may differ in at least one of the following ways:

• ability to perform the work
• interest in the work
• experience with similar applications
• experience with similar tools
• experience with similar techniques
• experience with similar working environment
• training
• ability to communicate with others
• ability to share responsibility with others
• management skills

Each of these characteristics can affect an individual’s ability to perform productively. These variations help to explain why one employee can complete a particular chore in a day, whereas another requires a week. The differences can be critical, not only to schedule estimation, but also to the entire success of the company’s projects. An expert interviewer knows that.

I wish you good luck on your interview and hope that you get the job!

You may also like…

• A Shining Résumé (7)
• Building a Network of Contacts (2)
• The Winners’ Mind (11)
• The 7 Attributes of Leadership (47)
• Working in Groups: 10 Keys for Success (10)

Let’s see how recruiters or prospective employers will not put down our résumé.

The Structure of the Résumé

The résumé must have the following organization:

1. Personal information: Name, residential address, contact phone number, e-mail address and date of birth. Sometimes, there is no need to indicate your marital status.
2. Education: It must be structured data about your studies and the titles you hold, in chronological order from top to bottom. Please indicate the study center (school, university, etc.), the town and dates.
3. Training: You must specify the other studies and practices that complement your academic training. It may help if you indicate the number of hours taken in each course. However, include only those courses which are relevant to the job.
4. Professional experience: List your previous jobs, the company’s name, date of start and finish, job title, and your duties and responsibilities. Again, follow a chronological order.
5. Languages: Simply point out the languages you command, and your level. Include proficiency tests’ results, if any.
6. Technical abilities: This section should comprise a brief description or listing of the skills, techniques and tools (e.g., software) that you command and are pertinent to the job.
7. Further details of interest: Driver’s license, availability for traveling, hobbies, and so further. The content of this section really depends on the job’s characteristics.

Often a résumé must be accompanied by a cover letter or covering letter, which simply is a letter of introduction. Cover letters are generally one page at most in length, divided into a header, introduction, body, and closing. The header should include your address and other information, the recipient’s contact information, and the date sent after either yours or the recipient’s address. On its side, the introduction briefly states the specific position desired, and is designed to catch the employer’s immediate interest. The body amplifies on material in the résumé or job application, and explains why you are interested in the job and would be of value to the employer. Finally, the closing summarizes the letter and indicates the next step the applicant expects to take… you can say that you will look forward to hearing from or speaking with the employer.

The Style of the Résumé

Here are a few recommendations for preparing our résumé:

1. The writing style must be direct and positive. Your writing should be in the third person.
2. Use a simple and concise vocabulary. Don’t recur to contrived or rarely used words. Be as clear as possible.
3. Beware of orthographic and grammatical errors… They decrease dramatically the professional feeling of our résumé.
4. Learn to organize your information in sections. Title such sections effectively.
5. Leave out any information unrelated to the job you’re applying to.
6. Don’t use colors. Don’t use “funny” typefaces, or unprofessional mixtures of fonts.
7. Nowadays, if a résumé is not redacted via a word processor then it is considered unprofessional and unacceptable.

Résumé Caveats

• The résumé should not be longer than two full sides of A4 paper.
• Do not write anything pejorative about other persons, businesses or your previous employer.
• Keep in mind that the résumé is a marketing document, not a bibliography, and certainly not a biography.
• If we are applying for a specific position, we must not forget to accompany the résumé by a cover letter explaining one’s suitability.
• Never comment on your economic expectations.
• Do not write about the reasons for this change of job or why you’re not working … reserve such information for the personal interview.
• Include a photo only if they ask to do so.

As always, your opinions on this topic are entirely welcome. Best of lucks with yor résumé.

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• A Shining Job Interview: How to Succeed (9)
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I do strongly believe that blogging is about living (in the net, that is), not about bragging. These undoubtedly clever guys nourish from the naivety of some people. For them, it’s a perverted kind of pleasure to read about “how to make tons of money online.” They say: “Look! This guy is making so much money with just a web page!.” Their natural reaction, of course, is “I can do better!.” Some have quit their jobs to pursue the role of “entrepreneur”. To have the motivation to improve is nice and all, but it’s even nicer to have a clear and down-to-earth mindset. We can win money. Yes. We can. We have all the required abilities. But we’d be better off if we take every net’s thing with a bit of salt. Building self-confidence demands taking risks… but illusory, unattainable goals knock-off self-confidence atrociously.

Being an entrepreneur requires a clear vision about the business we want to undertake. Being an entrepreneur needs courage and accepting risk. But above all, being an entrepreneur requires good capacities for planning and self-discipline. Entrepreneurs have the abilities for being their own bosses. And not everyone is prepared for that. And it also requires courage to be able to accept our current limitations. But if you believe in yourself, you can overcome any of these obstacles.

Trust & Betrayal

It’s indeed possible to make money with a blog. How much? I really don’t know as of the time I’m writing this. Life, Money & Development is fairly new. Some sites report a huge success, and seem credible. On the contrary, the above referred “bragging” sites are liars and it’s easily verifiable: their inbound links, relative status and rankings reveal poor traffic and linking data, which would not really allow for a sustainable income. They are clever, though, in trying to attract readers and advertisers based on the buzz about “how much money they are doing”.

As told, winning money online is viable. Take, for instance, e-commerce. Internet has turned into the ultimate platform for modern businesses, mainly because of lower costs and wider reach. In turn, some notable websites and blogs, not directly related to e-commerce, have achieved considerable popularity, and declare notorious income levels. But that’s not an easy chore. It’s true that pop culture madness reveals affection for miraculous sites and net ventures with a quick and nearly immediate cash return. Those sites, though, require considerable traffic and a broad reader-base. Gaining and maintaining readers is not easy. Then, Traffic is the first nourishment of any web venture. Conversion is the other mandatory requisite for online success.

The Visitors’ Lounge

If you own at least a website or blog, you are likely familiar with the hardships associated to growing up the site’s visits log. Friends and family are usually the first members of the reader-base. Beyond that, it’s more difficult. You have to follow several strategies, and discover the ones that work best for you. We have to submit our information to news sites and networks, to register in directories, to leave comments in other people’s blogs (a nice way to promote your site without being too intrusive; thanks to Robin for this recommendation), and so further. Hopefully, new readers will also act as promoters of your site. Search engines will drive some traffic too. And spammers will discover your site someday

The Trail of Victory

Getting visits is not enough. If you want to promote your business, to convey your ideas to the world, or to win money, it’s necessary to accomplish successful conversions. Simply put, a conversion means that a visitor performed a desired, target action (clicking a banner or reading your post, for example.) Gaining traffic requires hard work, but conversion is an art. Alas, conversion shall be forevermore linked to experimentation. Implementing a successful conversion scheme requires visualizing the flow of actions of our visitors. It means we have to anticipate (somewhat) our readers’ actions… where they will look at, where they will go after reading something, and so on. Layout of the site (including considerations about the best type of advertisement) is very important to direct the flow. Also, we have to be specially careful not to abuse our visitors’ trust.

Online Marketing & Advertisement

It’s the most common source of revenues for sites not directly related to e-commerce activities, such as this blog. Online advertising uses electronic media to deliver marketing messages and, ideally, attract customers. Online advertising has several distinct flavors, some of which are very bitter. Typical online advertisement schemes include, but are not restricted to, the following:

** Contextual ads constitute a very popular advertising variation. This type of ads display text or images that are (likely) related in semantic terms to the keywords of a search, or to the content of the page on which the ad is included. It’s believed that such ads offer a greater chance of attracting customers because their content is related to the user’s interest. Widely known programs of contextual advertisement are Google Adsense, Yahoo! Publisher Networks, and AdBrite, for instance.

** Non-contextual Banners are not intended to be related to user’s interest. They tend to be very disruptive of user experience, and adopt several forms. However, if the layout is arranged in a way allowing clear and natural distinction between the banner and the content, it could be a very effective approach to monetize a site.

** Inline Text Links are my preferred approach. As of the time I’m writing this, I’m combining the Adsense Contextual Frame with some inline text ads. This kind of advertisement is not very disruptive in visual terms. Conceptually, though, it’s not very honest… I concede that. Nevertheless, I think they integrate neatly with the current layout of the site. A future shift in the blog’s approach may require discontinuing this scheme. The advertisement networks I’m currently using are:

Kontera

LinkWorth

** Link Blurbs is other name given to a collection of advertising links. Strictly, it’s a frame filled with links. Typically correspond to direct sales, and are obviously related to banners.

** Affiliate Networks pay you for referring other publishers, or even advertisers. A few of the above links correspond to my membership in some affiliate networks.

** Email marketing is other way for delivering advertisement content. The mechanism is obvious. Legitimate email marketing is frequently referred to as opt-in email advertising in order to distinguish it from spam, grayware and general malware.

There are other popular schemes, such as Chitika eMiniMalls and other widgets, but I have yet to experience with them. I think it would be a very bad idea to burden our sites with all these advertisement schemes and companies. It would be a total mess, both visually and conceptually. Our visitors would have to dig up the actual content. And there is a golden rule for content-delivering: high hurdles to access content decrease the readers’ interest in the media (in our case, blogs).

I’m experimenting with the ads here, trying to keep the balance between visuals, concepts and marketing. Let’s practice and share our results. We cannot expect our practice to be always clear of obstacles. I’ll expand on this topic in upcoming posts.

Thank you very much for reading.

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Seeing the list of billonaires, people tend to ask themselves about how did the guys in the list become so wealthy? For some people, such question only triggers envy. Thereafter they release their imaginations, and more often than not, fall prey to bad sense… they initiate a harmful monologue, attributing every member of the wealth rankings with some weird, defaming twist “perhaps he achieved richness by exploiting his workers and other people”, or “perhaps evaded taxes”, and other similarly negative and envious thoughts. Every man has his own quirks and twists. Nevertheless, during the time that the envious person is wasting by unfruitfully thinking of others, the rich people is likely thinking of how to become rich or even richer. And surely even at the expense of them all, because while the losers are filling up their minds with lot of stupidities, the rich guys are thinking about how to convince us to purchase their goods or services; that way, they become even richer.

As aforesaid, to become rich is not an unattainable goal, but we have to realize that it’s not an easy goal either… it’s a difficult goal, indeed. But it frequently happens that we are mentally entrapped in a fake duality: easy vs difficult. This may lead some to sustain the following wrong thesis: “Why should I burden myself with such huge task at this time of my life… perhaps I’m just too old for this.” Conversely, youngsters would say “I have plenty of time for that, and if I’m going to be rich it simply will happen… time will say.” Unfortunately, this situates us in other popular and dangerous frame: to settle for an unambitious life…. that is, to keep a monotonous and routinary life, day by day. That’s not the mind of winners.

In order to be rich, we have to forget about all these poor thoughts, and start enriching our minds right now, no matter what our current age or financial condition is. The only prerequisite is to set the right goals and, little by little, to build the basis of what can be a golden castle. For instance, Warren Buffett, the richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$ 62 billions, and 77 years old, is an American investor, expert in stock markets. I’m sure his goal was not to be the richest person in the world, but to succeed in his work with passion. He followed and improved his masters’ advices and lessons, including his father’s, persevered, and now he has the privilege of topping the list of world’s billonaries.

We also know Hiroshi Yamauchi, 80 years old and former president of Nintendo (he’s still Nintendo’s larger shareholder despite stepping down), and currently is the richest man in Japan. He holds a fortune of about 7.8 US$ billions, in a country relatively small in territorial terms, but relatively big in demographics, culture and passion for work. Perhaps we could think that becoming rich requires a lot of time, and you’d only see the fruits when reaching an advanced age, after spending all your life working. Not necessarily. Age is not a mandatory term in the wealth’s equation: Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is only 24 years old, and already has a net worth of US$ 1.5 billions.

Wealth is like love… any age is good for opening our hearts to love… and any age is good for opening our minds to richness. We could start by reading this entry on the mind of the winners. We only need motivation and perseverance. It’s nice to pursue the goal of monetary, material richness… you will be rich. But those who know how to love nature and mankind are even richer.

So long. Be happy

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That said, I have some friends that abuse their credit cards usage. They charge a lot! They go nuts because they feel like they work pretty hard and should be able to do that sometimes. The problem is not that they cannot afford the payment or cannot pay it off. The problem is that most of their purchases are frivolous things they really don’t need. Surely, they work hard and they deserve to enjoy the fruits of their work. But they are not enjoying anything by acquiring a bunch of unneeded objects. On the contrary, they’re wasting their money. The only thing that such frantic credit card usage satisfies is the desire of material possession. Do we indeed work so hard only to crumble under such lame desire? When we are going to use our credit card we always should examine the actual reason behind the purchase. Review carefully your financial state… are you paying a house, a car, a small loan? Then try not to acquire more debt. Moreover, if we have a short or troubled credit histories we must try to do things right. Pressure of extreme debt is what leads to desperate and dangerous measures such as payday loans, for example. Really dangerous. Calm. Relax. Think. Good sense, remember? Life is beautiful.

If you cannot control your credit cards, I think it’s best that you turn them over to the issuer. Alternatively, give them to your husband/wife, if he/she is more responsible Don’t be afraid to close a card you don’t want. Though closing cards never helps to improving your credit scores (on the contrary, may hurt them), the damage will be relatively minor if the card has little time with you. Now, if you’ve held the card for many years… think it over, as closing it may seriously hurt your scores.

Credit’s origin delves into ancient history. Thanks to credit, we can be granted a loan. But credit also signals the creation of debt. Thanks to the advances of informatics and communications, we are able to use our credit cards almost anywhere, anytime. That’s nice, I think. Some people argue that credit cards are evil instruments that may easily leave you broke. I disagree about the ‘evil’ part, but certainly they’re not ‘god’ instruments They said that lenders hide several dirty tricks behind the cards (soaring rates, huge fees, poor limits, etc.) That’s why I said we have to know well the terms and conditions. Here we have a few remarks:

• In general, we have to go little by little with credit cards and scores. Credit is a mixture of trust, settlement and reputation.
• If a card does not work for you, turn it over. Try to keep older cards, though.
• Some people recommend that we should not carry credit card balances. I disagree. Pay in parts, but always amortizing the debt. Avoid late payments by agreeing to an automatic debit so at least your minimum balance gets paid every month.
• Instead of accepting a new card, ask for higher credit limits on the cards you have.
• Use your card carefully, and learn to use them. Sometimes credit cards represent an opportunity for going to the restaurant with the family, buying gifts for the loved ones, attending emergencies, harnessing a sudden business chance, and so further.
• Apply good sense. Don’t hurt your self-confidence. Enjoy your cards but take the responsibility

Finally, I like to buy some healthy pizzas and some gadgets with my credit cards. That’s what I like the most about them

Compare credit card interest rates to suit your finances.

You may also like…

• The Art of Saving (9)
• The Winners’ Mind (11)
• Looking for True Happiness (8)
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Money has to be tightly controlled. We must know where money comes from, and where it goes to. We must strive to know the way our money flows, the paths it travels, and the drains taking most of our income. By closely watching our money’s nature, we’ll learn to control it. Control is a keyword of personal finance. Control refers to checking the errors we are incurring with our money’s management, and to take the corrective action to rectify any deviation from our desired goals. Setting goals is other important requirement for saving, and it answers the question what are we saving for ?

In the following, we’ll review 12 recommendations for a better saving:

1. Register Everything: Write down a (complete and exact) list of your monthly spendings. When the month ends, examine your list, sort all the expenditures and you’ll notice those spots and activities which represent an opportunity for saving. The list will also allow you to see at a glance how consistent you truly were distributing your money. The general idea is to detect new opportunities for saving. You’ll be surprised of the great opportunities that knowing our money’s flow offers. Furthermore, the list is the first step into making a monthly and annual budget. Preparing budgets is also an art, and we have to start to hone our planning skills as soon as possible.
2. Review your Invoices: Please, review all of your services’ invoices. A few decisions or changes may yield miracles. For example, turn off lights when they’re not in use; leaving your lights on when no one is in the room is a huge waste of energy and money. These are simple measures that every member of the family can contribute to. Remember, a penny saved is a penny earned.
3. Tune up your Services: Besides reviewing our invoices, we could benefit from analysis and more drastic actions. Do you really need the long-distance calls service? Do you really watch all the channels included in the platinum subscription of your cable service? Check if your communications provider offers more economic plans, adjusted to your real needs. We should also apply a similar approach to banks’ services: let’s look for financings with lower interests and compare different banks to open a savings account. Additionally, try to save in water and gasoline.
4. Amortize your Credit Card Debt: Decide on the right amount of money you might assign to amortize your credit card balance. Try to lower a bit your nonessential expenses in order to pay more than the defined minimum proportion of the bill. Remember, amortizing your credit card balance may be a wise investment. Other step you may take is that if you have several credit cards, cancel the ones you are actually not needing: this will save you from the fee and other commissions of the credit card, and additionally prevents wrong uses of your credit capacity.
5. Create a Plan of Pensions for the Future: Research if the company where you work offers a contribution retirement plan (e.g., 401(k)). Under such plan, your employer will start “deferring” a portion of your wage. Typically, you also are able to select from a number of investment options (stocks, bonds, etc.) A nice side of this type of retirement plan is that the company does all the bureaucratic steps for you. Needless to say, a retirement plan is a form of saving.
6. Review your Insurance Contracts: Are you paying the right cost for insurance? An insurance coverage is very important for our mental relax. But compare the types of insurance policies, including life, home, disability, health and even those covering small business, and select what you indeed require. And specially, reject insurance policies that are too pricey or that contain too many exclusion clauses.
7. Write a List of the Things You Have to Buy: Next time you go shopping, prepare a list of the things you have to buy. Else, you may yield to compulsive purchases, and acquire things you perhaps don’t need in that moment, such as movies, cellphones, clothes, etc. If you have to purchase a dear item, please research your options thoroughly, compare prices, and choose the offer providing the best relation price/quality.
8. Prefer Automatic Payments: Some financial institutions can arrange for automatic payments to be deducted from the user’s bank accounts, thus avoiding late payment altogether as long as the cardholder has sufficient funds. Take into account that when we have to go out to do payments, we are subject to the business pressures to purchase things we don’t need. And transport also represents an expense, of both money and time. Furthermore, automatic charges prevent us from paying extra commissions for late payment. All your services could also be automatically charged, and by the end of the month, you’ll have saved a lot of money, and avoided plenty of worries. Be careful, though, not to forget to keep the source account with a proper level of funds.
9. Recognize the Impact of Inflation: Inflation results in a rise in the general level of prices over time. Watch out for inflation as it can erode the real value of your savings. Inflation is a hidden risk pressure for those with savings to invest them, rather than have the purchasing power of those savings erode through inflation.
10. Setting goals: For example, a possible long-term goal is “retire at age 60 with a personal net worth of 300,000 US dollars”, and a mid-term one is “buy a house in 5 years paying a monthly mortgage servicing cost that is no more than 23% of my gross income.” Besides retirement and a house, other goals could be related to paying off credit card (as told above), college and university costs, medical expenses, etc. Such financial goals help to direct financial planning.
11. Planning and Executing: After setting the goals, the next step is to define the financial plan, which should describe how to accomplish our goals. Regarding this how-to, we could follow the guidelines stated in the previous points. Now, execution of the personal financial plan often requires discipline and perseverance. Don’t hesitate to look for professional help (accountants, investment advisers, lawyers, etc.) if you have some doubts.
12. Monitoring and Assessment: As time passes, the personal financial plan must be monitored for possible adjustments or reassessments. Try to improve all the suggestions I’ve given above.

Remember that saving is an art, and as such, it requires to be a genius or a lot of practice. The ultimate goal is to combine skill, craft, and wise judgment, in order to distribute our money in the best possible way.

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Who are the Winners?

Winners are fortunate people, indeed. But except for rare cases, most of their fortune stems from hard work, and more importantly, from a sound and clear mindset. Winners have no time (nor wish) to be moaning about the “harshness of life.” Winners don’t complain about such things, because they understand that life, like a river, exhibits turbulent episodes in some parts, but caress and nourish the surrounding nature, all the way.

Positive Attitude in The Winners’ Mind

Nevertheless, all these years I’ve known a lot of people who are frequently bitching about their lack of money or general misfortune, but what they are indeed lacking is a positive attitude toward their money. Now, what does this “positive attitude” notion mean? Let’s start by answering a few questions:

• What really are the kind of thoughts that flood our minds when we think of our money?
• Which are the words we utter when speaking about our money and related things (such as mortgage, bank, expenses, etc.)?
• In the past, how much success have we attained by spending and investing our money?

For me,

Positive Attitude = Positive Thoughts + Positive Words

Note that the above equation simply states that a positive attitude amounts to a positive mental production. Most often that not, our past success (or lack of it) determines our mental precondition for new ventures. In this sense, experience acts as a conditioning for the new undertakings, which may be a good thing (or not.) It really depends on our ability to use positive attitude to fuel the success of the past, or to improve our performance with respect to a previous unsatisfactory experience. For new things, Winners always combine their positive attitude and their past (bad and good) experiences. A point here is that past experiences should never be a fear factor for money issues.

An important thing we have to notice is that if we are always complaining about our financial problems, and thinking that nothing can be done, our minds will be devoured by the negative thoughts. Worse yet, with time, our minds will get used to this mental state, and such mental states only attract more debt and despair. There is a huge difference between facing financial problems at a given stage of our lives (we all face or have faced this type of problems,) and thinking that no action can be done to improve the situation. Winners think different, and that’s why they are the winners. It’s just that simple.

Money Problems should be Faced through Positive Thinking

Our minds are a theater of thoughts, flowing and reshaping, every day. Some actors of such theater are excellent, but other are fairly mediocre. And what is the nature of mediocre thoughts? Short answer: our view on some aspects of reality. If some aspect of current reality bothers us, our minds will tend to create thoughts of angst. Mediocre thoughts have some noxious effects:

• First, they block any risky action linked to the problem (even though the outcome of such action may solve the problem!)
• Moreover, they activate the body’s defense system, sometimes uneccessarily stressing it.
• And finally, they are a waste of time and energy. Worrying achieves nothing. Why? Because worries change nothing; solutions and goals require (imply) change.

Now, most of problems we see in life are related to money, and therefore, money tends to become into a source of mediocre and harmful thoughts. That’s what we have to change. In order to attain wealth, winners introduce important changes in their thinking style. Remember what I said about thoughts being actors of the (mental) theater. Who is the director of the theater and of the play? You.

Let’s start by replacing negative thoughts by positive ones. If we are thinking of our limitations for dealing with debts and mortgage crisis, we have to replace the constraining thoughts by effective assertions: “I can overcome this problem“, “A lot of people have also faced debt and have solved it“, “I can be a winner.” The more diverse your positive thoughts, the better off you are.

Why do I also insist in that money is a thing, and that we are of much more valor than such material things? It’s because a lot of people like to think of money as being the ultimate goal, the everything, and when financial mess arises, they crumble. It’s a logical consequence: they have trained their minds (unconsciously, perhaps) to consider money as a the main pillar of life. Of course, when such people face troubles related to money, they may consider such problems as a “failure at life.” Winners cannot be like such people. We are assertive beings, which recognize any problem and face it. Life is wonderful, and it’s a providential gift no money can replace.

Winners Believe in Themselves

I’ll close the article with a few useful remarks for building the positive attitude of Winners:

• We have to learn to compose thoughts and words in order to be better. This is the first step towards success. True greatness starts out with true thinkings of greatness.
• When we start to think that we are able to achieve things (we can!), your thoughts acquire power, and your actions turn effective.
• When we say “I can“, we start feeling more powerful. Richness stems from positive thoughts and words. I can is an enrichment tool to support life success. More importantly, by saying “I can” we are speaking truth. Things we thought of as being impossible, should now be regarded as inevitable.
• When we feel the self-confidence stemming from “I can“, we attain the required clarity for doing things right.
• How could we know if we are thinking the right way? It’s easy, indeed. If we are having thoughts and words that steadily lead us to actions, then we are on the right track. It’s very important that you can verify that your thoughts and words are right.
• Every time we follow the way of thought -> actions, and succeed, our self-confidence is reinforced. And this improved self-confidence will be the nourisher for future paths and further (and harder) goals. Go step by step, and don’t set unrealistic goals (if you’ve read my previous post, you should be already aware of my insistence on not setting unrealistic goals.)
• Keep your attitude positive and keep at it. You will get there.
• We have to look forward. The future always brings new opportunities.
• Think BIG: Think further, think different, you’re not alone. Think of the people you love and care for. Learn to look the broad world, from both material and spiritual standpoints. Winners look for abundance in order to enjoy it, and share it.
• Being a Winner requires courage. Are you ready for this? If we act with courage, rewards of life will be even greater.
• Enjoy the little treasures of life.

Remember, the potential to achieve your goals resides in you. Look nowhere else.

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Furthermore, I prefer the democratic (also referred to as participative) leadership style: in this case, the leader offers guidance to the group, but also participates in the group, and promotes feedback from other members. Note that this style is not inconsistent with the view of everyone in a group acting as a leader! The democratic style is also suitable for the modern dynamic environments because it allows dealing with fast-changing circumstances. Other styles, such as authoritarian or delegative leaderships, are very harmful and obsolete.

Concretely, these are the 7 attributes I expect my employees to have:

1. Solidarity: A leader breathes through her group. A true leader knows how to work in groups, and should try to understand the problems of other workers. In sound groups, solidarity among members is a symmetrical relation. Solidarity is the first step a leader should take in order to gain the respect and attention of her teammates. Leaders exhibit strong confidence in the ability of the other members of the group to meet the work’s expectations.

2. Modesty: A leader exerts leadership almost unconsciously, without giving importance to the whole leading concept. Leaders don’t show as leaders… they act as leaders. Leaders keep the participative environment of the group, and always do their work with the idea of participating in a collective project. Group and collective are keywords for leaders. The idea of isolated leaders is an obnoxious fallacy. Any person appointed to a managerial position acquires the power to command and enforce obedience by virtue of the authority of her position. Nevertheless, leaders don’t enforce obedience… they gain it. Modesty keeps the leader from exerting the fake leadership coming from authority of position. The true leadership is NOT associated with positions of authority (but obviously the converse has to be true if the organization is to succeed.)

3. Self-confidence: Leaders know themselves, and exhibit a complete domain over their behavior. Moreover, leaders know which tasks are at their reach, and don’t set unrealistic goals. This way, leaders know what their virtues and limits are, and they don’t hide them. Self-confidence gives the force to be persistent to attain the task and vision. Remember that more often than not, leadership implies defying the established order, the status quo. Therefore, self-confidence is vital to success.

4. Initiative: Leaders are proactive, not reactive. I had a manager that only waited and acted upon receiving orders from his superiors, strictly following the (frequently wrong) boss’ guidelines. Not only this behavior is inefficient for the business, but it harms the role-modeling aspect of leaders. Workers and teammates tend to identify with the values of their superiors, and no company wants this kind of passive attitude to be learned by its workers.

5. Creativity: A true leader is always looking for ways to develop her creativity to its maximum. Here, the vision of the leader is very important. Outstanding leaders articulate:

• a working framework congruent with the values of the other members of the group,
• efficient and effective ways to completing the assigned task,
• and ways to match the sub-activities with the members’ interests and experience.

6. Passion: The leader never stops learning, and displays a high level of consciousness. Leaders’ actions signal the way for their teammates. Leaders take responsibility for each of their choices and decisions without blaming others or looking for lame excuses. Leaders exhibit a passion for their work, and are faithful to their visions and beliefs. They engage in excellent behavior and make outstanding self-sacrifices in the interest of their group, if necessary.

Summarizing these 6 attributes, we will recur to the masterpiece by Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader, which clearly distinguishes between managers (a typical position of authority, but not necessarily occupied by a leader) and real leaders:

• Managers administer, leaders innovate
• Managers ask how and when, leaders ask what and why
• Managers focus on systems, leaders focus on people
• Managers do things right, leaders do the right things
• Managers maintain, leaders develop
• Managers rely on control, leaders inspire trust
• Managers have a short-term perspective, leaders have a longer-term perspective
• Managers accept the status-quo, leaders challenge the status-quo
• Managers have an eye on the bottom line, leaders have an eye on the horizon
• Managers imitate, leaders originate
• Managers emulate the classic good soldier, leaders are their own person
• Managers copy, leaders show originality

7. Symbolism: For me, this is the most important trait, which projects and summarizes all the other attributes. The leader is a symbol. This is the agglomerative attribute of leaders. Albeit leaders are oriented to their work (and not to their self-exaltation), they are a symbol of the group, which may easily mean that they are a symbol of your company. This way, leaders constitute an external (and internal!) representation of your business. And, as I want the best representation, and the best results for my company, I like to accept and work with leaders. True leaders.

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