HUMOR : What Indian Advertisements Taught Me???

1. Kareena has dandruff problem, Katrina has dry hair problem, Shilpa has hairfall problem and Priyanka has chip-chip.
2. If you've a hot wife, make sure your neighbor doesn't use a deodorant in your absence.
3. Your complexion is more important than your qualifications.
4. If there is no salt in your kitchen you can use Toothpaste.
5. Every second oral care brand is No. 1 and recommended by every dentist in India!!!
6. If your daughter is not Ready to Get married, take her to a jewelry/textile shop.
7. Only reason why men use deodorant is to get girls.
8. Most colas cure all kinds of phobias. You will be close to a superman, if you drink these regularly!!
9. All superstars are so poor that they prefer to risk life for a cool drink than to purchase it for Rs:10
10. The special effects in shampoo ads are greater than special effects in Avatar.
11. Fruit content in shampoo and soap is more than fruit content in 99% of juices.
12. Amul has better satirical cartoonists than people who make better milk products.
13. Most people buy vehicles to travel in bad roads but complain about roads in India.
14. You can't eat Dairy Milk Silk without spreading it all over you face.
15. Nobody uses motorbikes for commuting, its only to pick up girls.
16. All soaps kill 99.9% of germs.
17. People believe that Bacardi makes music CD's and Directors special/Kingfisher make mineral water.
18. The only time mothers and daughters talk to each other, it's usually about hair oil.
19. No matter what kind of expert one is, he'll always wear a white laboratory coat. And, finally this
20. Mutualfundinvestmentsaresubjecttomarketris kspleasereadtheofferdocumentcarefullybeforein vesting.
21. You Don't Need Singing Skills To Be An Indian Idol, You Just Need Fair & Lovely..!!
22. That No One Can Eat Cadbury Dairymilk Chocolate Without Getting It All Across Their Face..!!
23. To Close Bathroom Door While Brushing Teeth, Else A Tv Reporter Might Step In & Ask "Kya Aapke Toothpaste Mein Namak Hai?"
24. Don't Buy Reliance..!! Even Anushka Sharma Couldn't Convince Ranvijay To Buy It..!!
25. That Both Kareena Kapoor & Saif Ali Khan Have Serious Dandruff Problem..!!
26. That If You Don't Use Harpic, People Will Barge Into Your House To Clean Your Toilet..!!
27. That Only Thing Super Hot Girls Care About Is Your 140 Rupees Deodorant Bathed Body !
28. Money Minded Women Will Fall For Any Guy Who Applies A Deo Or Uses A Fairness Cream. No Other Quality Matters..!!
29. That Salman With A Relaxo Chappal Can Achieve Many Great Things, Unlike The Salman Without The Chappals..!!
30. That Your Mom Will Be Proud Of You If You Take A Bath In A Puddle Of Mud
31. Boost is the secret of Dhoni and Sachin's Energy
32. If you eat salt in your food (some brand)..one day you'll become a collector..

STORY : The Two Bulls

Two bulls, one young and full of enthusiasm, and the other older and wiser, see a herd of cows.

 

The young bull says, "Let's charge down this hillside and have our wicked way with a couple of those cows."

 

The old bull replies, "No, how about we stroll gently down this hillside and have our wicked way with them all."

 

You will perhaps have heard this story told with more fruity language. Feel free to adapt it for your own situation.

 

HUMOR : Interview

A CA goes to an interview:
Interviewer :Let me check your word
Power...
CA: ok Sir .....
Interviewer : Tell me the opposite
of .....good.
CA: hmmmm..... Bad
Interviewer : Come
CA: Go.
Interviewer : Ugly.
CA: Pichlli.
Interviewer : PICHLLIIIII?
CA: UGLYYYYYYYYY..
Interviewer : Shut Up.
CA: Keep Talking.
Interviewer ok now stop these all..
CA: now carry on this all
Interviewer :abe...chup ho ja..chup ho
ja..chupho
jaaaa
CA:abe bolta rah..bolta rah..bolta rahhh
Interviewer :Areeee yaaar
CA: areeee dushmannnnnn
Interviewer : Get Out.
CA: Come In.
Interviewer : Oh my God.
CA : Oh my Devil.
Interviewer : U r Rejected.
CA: I m selected...Thank u thank u sir.
balle balle aaaahhhhh aaahhh
yahooo yahoo......
CA Rocks, interviewer shocks.
moral-dont ever try to mess wid CA.....!!

 

Reasons for Chennai Places Names

Avadi - Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India

Adyar - Banks of Adaiyaaru

Ambattur - Aimbathi ondram oor (51st Region) in the list of 108 Shakti temples

Amjikarai aka Amaindhakarai - Bank of Cooum

Anna Nagar - After Annadurai and was developed during his reign by TNHB.

Ashok Nagar - After the famous Ashoka Pillar

Ayanavaram - Ayan means "The one", accounting to a shiva temple situated in the area

Besant Nagar - After Annie Besant

Chetput - Named after a Chetty Zameen who ruled here

Chindadripet - Chinna Thari Pettai, due to the weavers population in the locality has evlolved its name into its present form.

Chromepet - After the old Chrome factory

Egmore - The land of the rising sun. (Anglicized from Ezhumboor) Higher Mean sea level than the other places in Old Madras. There is a Shiva temple here commemorating the same fact

Guindy - After the Guindy (Rammer) which Bringi Maharishi planted in this place to begin a great Yaha (Sacrifice) against Goddess Parvati

Kodambakkam - After Karkodagan, the mythical snake which worshipped Shiva, who has a temple here as well

Kothavalchavadi - Tax collectors are known as Kothaval. Chavadi is the tamil term for Kiosk/ Booth. This was the frontiers of the old city where taxes were levied.

Koyambedu - After the Ashwa medha yagam done by Lord Rama, his sons Luv and Kush tied the horse in Koyambedu. Koyam means horse in Sanskrit.

KK Nagar - After Kalaignar Karunanidhi and was developed during his reign

Mambalam - Maha Vilva Trees.

Mandhaveli - Mandhai means herd and Veli means space. Must have been herdland previously.

Mylapore - Mayil means peacock. The goddess Parvati is said to worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of a peacock here, to get absolved of a sin. So, Mayilapuram (puram meaning city) - became Mylapore

Nandhanam - Previously Gambier's gardens, was renamed by Rajaji as a part of creating Greener Chennai. Nandhanam means Garden. And apparently thename of the Tamil year "Nandana" it was chistined.

Nanganallur - Nangai Nallur/ Thillai Ganga Nagar, coined by Kanchi Shankaracharya

Parrys - Named after a merchant Thomas Parrys who estabished it as a trade center.

Perambur - After Pirambu trees in the locality

Pondy Bazaar - After Soundarapandian.

Poonamalee - Poo Irundha Alli, abundance of Jasmine.

Porur - Por means war. Believed to be a battlefield since ancient times. Contans the Arcot road which connects the Arcot Nawab with the capital. Home to a chola temple, etc.

Purasaiwakkam - Due to the Purasai trees

Saidapet - Named after Sayyid Shah

Sowkarpet- after the Sahukars who settled there.

Sunguvar Chattram - Again, Sungam means tax. Chattram is a Inn/ Resting Spot. This is presumably the other end of the city to attract taxes.

Teynampet - Due to abundance of the Cocnut trees in the region

T.Nagar - After Sir Thyagaraya

Thiruvanmiyur - Named after Valmiki

Thirisoolam - Home to Thirisoolanathar temple on the hill.

Thondaiyarpet - Coined by Masthan Sahib after his birthplace Thondi.

Thousand Lights - Derives its name from the thousand lights that were lit when an Indian National Congress Annual Session was held for the first time in Madras

Triplicane - Thiru Alli Keni, Pond with the Alli flowers: Parthasarathy temple tank.

Vadapalani - Palani in the North, after the famous Murugan temple

Vandalur - Derives its name from Vandal, which is the sediments from a river.

Villivakkam - Real name - Vilvaaranyam. A very old Shiva temple is situated here. Built by sage Agasthiyar. A lot of Vilvam trees were found there. Hence it got the name Vilva Aaranyam. As days pass by the name got changed into Villivakkam

 

My Company Has No Value. Does Yours?

- Gene Marks is a columnist, author, and small-business owner.

When I got back from vacation last week, I was kind of depressed. But not for the reasons you may think.

I took a Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda with my family. Royal Caribbean is a most excellent cruise line, which I highly recommend. Just don't linger too long at the buffet or you may get trampled by a herd of human elephants attending a family reunion. And avoid the pool area during peak times. Whoever said the human body is a beautiful thing never went on a Royal Caribbean cruise from Bayonne, New Jersey in July.

But this is not about the cruise. It's about my business, which is not as great as I thought. It's not as valuable either. 

My Business Is Not Run Like a Ship; It Depends Entirely on Me

I sell business software and technologies, primarily customer relationship management (CRM) products to small and medium-sized companies. The company makes a little money from sellng that software but, most of the profit (yes it's profitable) comes from selling services--training, customization, implementation, integration. I earn a decent living. My 10 employees are compensated well. I serve a few hundred clients, and dole out a decent amount of work to contractors. The company has been around for almost 20 years, too, so no complaints there. But is my company really worth anything? If I were to sell it today, who would buy it? What would I get for it? Have I built up something of value? Or am I just kidding myself?

Based on the cruise I just took, I'm kidding myself. Why? I spent too much time running my business from the boat.

For six days I was constantly pulled away from the buffet line and royal bingo to answer emails. And while on land at Bermuda I found myself talking on the phone instead of drinking rum swizzles. I had to answer questions from clients. I had to resolve problems with a few people. I had to authorize a payment to a contractor. I had to "approve" a quote that had to be "delivered" that week. I had to talk to a larger prospective customer who just couldn't wait until I got home. I had to sign off on a new contract. I had to reply to messages and respond to voicemails.

A Lack of Systematized Processes

Now you may ask why. Why would I do this? Why can't I just take the week off and deal with these things when I return? Why can't I take a vacation with my family and put all my business responsibilities aside? Here's why: I'm running a business--a service business. The model is built around responding to clients quickly. And that's the reason my business is not very valuable at all. I don't have a system to do this. I don't have an infrastructure. I don't have a process. I have just, well, me. The whole company is built around me. And if something were to happen to me, then my business would fall apart. Fast. Hell, I can't even go on vacation for a few days without things started to come undone at the seams. And I'm not just talking about my pants. I've built a fiefdom around myself. I've created an asset with no value at all.

A truly valuable business functions without the business owner. It is an entity that can live on its own, at least for a while. There are internal controls and repetitive ways of doing things. There are manuals, processes, and procedures that people follow. There is an organizational chain of command. Managers are empowered to make decisions independently and without the business owner breathing down their necks. The perfect example, as illustrated so brilliantly by Michael Gerber in his iconic E-Myth books, is a McDonald's franchise, or even a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Everything is set out in such a systematic way that cooks, housekeepers, maintenance staff and even managers can come and go and the business (or the ship) will keep humming away because, with just a little training, a new person can be inserted into the process. The wheels of the machine don't come off. That's how every business should be. That's how my business should be.

No Fixed Assets; No Recurring Revenue

OK, my balance sheet isn't bad. I've got some cash and investments and receivables due from clients. My payables are relatively low and I've got no debt. But that's it. I run a service business. There's no inventory, no fixed assets, no buildings, no equipment. Backed by nothing. And besides the net value of my cash and receivables what would a potential buyer pay for my 20-year-old company with hundreds of "clients"? Not very much. At all. Because buyers don't pay for the past. They pay for the future.

I don't have service contracts or maintenance agreements or commitments from clients to purchase more at some later date. In other words, I have no guaranteed revenue stream. Most of my clients may be happy with the services I supply, but there's plenty of competition and no client is making any promises. No guaranteed revenue stream means no chance that a potential buyer would pay a multiple of earnings. Because what are the guarantees that this revenue will continue in the years to come?

A Buyer Wants a Business That Thrives on Its Own

My clients are free to go anywhere they want. If I were to disappear or a key employee were to leave I would lose many of them because of the severed relationship. So a potential buyer would be forced to hire me as an employee to keep those relationships going for a few years, or at least until the buyer could establish its own. That's expensive. And that would come right out of the purchase price. Buyers don't want to do this. They want to absorb their acquisitions with a few key people but then they want to manage it themselves. The last thing they want is to be dependent on the former owner. 

But it is. Why? Because I'm afraid to take the chance. I'm too lazy (and fat, thanks Royal Caribbean) to gamble on the amount of money and time it would take to hire and place the right people in the responsible positions they should be in and give them the autonomy to make decisions about my business and, most importantly, my money. So instead I carry on. I run everything myself. I continue to be a control freak. And I earn a decent living. But I'm not building a company. Just an income. And when I disappear, be it by a bolt of lightning or another Royal Caribbean cruise, I'll continue to suffer the consequences of running a business that has no value.

 

 

Selling Your Business: Timing is Everything

- Curtis Kroeker is group general manager for BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com

Sooner or later, it will be time to sell your business. With a few exceptions (e.g. family sales), entrepreneurs want as high a price tag as possible. But what many business owners don't understand is that a high price tag depends in large part on timing. And given that market conditions, business health, and personal circumstances are constantly changing, timing a sale is no simply task.

Today’s market offers the best environment for small business sales that we’ve seen in years. As the economy has improved, more small business owners are choosing to list their companies for sale. But selling a business requires planning and preparation. You should start well in advance. Here are three tips that will help you successfully navigate the selling process regardless of your ultimate sales timing:

1. Start preparing now. A typical business sale takes 8-10 months from the date that it the company is placed on the market. Factor that timeline into your strategy to avoid a scenario in which you have to sell quickly and accept a lower selling price. Specifically, make sure that your financial records are in good order (e.g., accounts receivable documentation, tax returns and expense records), and have several years of documents ready for inspection by buyers.

2. Do your research. It’s important to know where your business falls in the marketplace. No one wants to undervalue their business and leave money on the table, but overconfidence and an inflated asking price won’t help you much, either. To determine the right asking price, first get a general sense by conducting your own research on similar businesses for sale on and sales comps. Before embarking on the sales process, however, it is a good idea to get a specific valuation from a professional appraiser or business broker. This is likely your biggest asset. You can’t afford to price it wrong.

3. Prove your business’ value. The business-for-sale marketplace is competitive, so it’s critical to invest time and effort in differentiating your company from other acquisition opportunities. Differentiation should consider historic and current operations and characteristics as well as future growth opportunities for which your business is better positioned. Business brokers can be very helpful in this regard and can leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local business-for-sale market to help you highlight key areas of differentiation from other opportunities within the same industry and/or geographic territory.

So should you sell? Like many things in business the answer is “It depends.” But even if you decide not to, it is critical to prepare for your sale well in advance so that you can stand out from the crowd in the competitive market for business buyers and maximize the ultimate selling price of your business.

 

 

How to Survive the Series A Crunch

Want to know how to survive the Series A crunch? During Vator's Venture Shift conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, a panel of venture capitalists discussed what they look for in Series A investments.

 

First up: What not to do.

 

"Me too-ism is a great way to not get Series A," Matt Ocko of Data Collective told an audience of entrepreneurs. In Ocko's mind, copycat goods and services are not a good investment.

 

"Do something really freaking hard," Ocko added. It doesn't have to be rocket ships a la Elon Musk, necessarily--just something that solves a problem others have overlooked, he explained.

 

And, according to Michael Neril of WIN, you will never raise a Series A without a defined product. A clear product-market fit, a clear revenue model, and clear customer bonds or market traction are crucial to catching an investor's attention--and wallet--he added.

Recipe for Disaster

 

Ezra Roizen of Ackrell Capital had another message for fund-raising entrepreneurs: Take your investor commitments seriously. In order to take investor money and agree to specific growth plan, he said, an entrepreneur has to believe that the path is realistic and achievable. "If you don't believe that and you take the money because you need it, [that's] a recipe for trouble," he cautioned.

 

Ocko echoed the sentiment; "Money is a loadestone around your neck and it carries a number of obligations [that] you have to be damn ready to meet."

 

He also outlined the three factors that investors look at to determine whether an entrepreneur can deliver on his promises.

 

"A baller team is a chit that buys you faith. Traction buys you faith. Deep, dark, amazing tech or anything that resonates emotionally with customers buys faith. This is the iron triangle--all three need to be present to some degree," he said.

 

VCs Are Your Friends (Yes, Really)

 

Finally, the panelists reminded their audience: VCs are not the enemies of entrepreneurs. Investors aren't looking to pull one over on you--most of the time, at least--they said. Which is something to keep in mind when negotiating a valuation for your company.

 

When entrepreneurs become convinced that VCs are their enemies--and strive to reach the highest valuation possible--they can actually damage their own prospects, Ezra Roizen of Ackrell Capital said. By setting unrealistic growth benchmarks, an entrepreneur isn't helping herself or her company--even if she thinks she's making out well in valuation negotiations at the outset.

 

"When you go into the A round, you are choosing a business partner [in your investor]," said Tod Francis of Shasta Ventures. "As you go to the next rounds, that's where you want to play the valuation up because [those investors] are going to be less involved."

 

He recommended that entrepreneurs raising Series A funding look at the rounds like a staircase, not a simple pathway from point A to point B. "Look at each round as climbing up the ladder, rather than trying to get it all at the A round," he concluded.

 

Making a Big Decision? Don't Wait for Everyone to Agree

- Les McKeown is the President & CEO of Predictable Success

 

For some organizations, their ability to do this--to pump out good, actionable decisions and then make them happen--is strangled by one seemingly well-meaning intent: the search for consensus.

 

Particularly for those teams with a high Synergist contingent, the concept of consensus is often defined as 100-percent agreement-- unless everyone agrees, we don't have an actionable decision.

 

Not only does this not need to be so (even the dictionary definition of consensus doesn't demand it), trying to obtain 100 percent agreement to every decision will bring your business's growth to a grinding halt.

 

While it happens for good reasons (genuine concern for the feelings of others; a wish to not seem dictatorial; the desire for unity, especially in cause-based organizations) and bad (conflict avoidance; weak leadership; power struggles; passive-aggressiveness), equating "consensus" with "we must all agree on this" is both counter-productive and ultimately debilitating for the entire organization.

 

When I'm working with executive teams suffering from consensus-gridlock, I encourage them to make an overt, agreed, formal shift to defining consensus as a 100 percent acceptance of the majority decision. It works like this:

 

1. We discuss and debate issues powerfully, honestly, and openly.

For acceptance of the majority decision to take place, it's essential that everyone on the team gets to say their piece fully, without fear or favor, and in an open, transparent forum.

 

As a result, meetings held by teams using the "majority vote" system are usually richer and more productive than those of "100 percent-agreement" teams, though they also can often be more confrontational and argumentative. In fact, you can't have one without the other. It's the freedom to argue, to make a point strongly without it being personalized, that generates rich discussion.

 

2. When it's time to make a decision, the majority rules.

Here's a messy little truth about most decision-making processes: if you place a firm time limit on discussion and everyone knows there'll be a vote at a specific time, you'll get better-quality decisions than if you just let your team run out the clock with endless debate and try to push through an agreement at the end of the meeting when everyone is tired and irritable.

 

The next time you have an important team-based decision to make, try this: agree a "drop-dead" time for a decision, set an alarm for that time, and when the alarm rings, if a unanimous agreement hasn't already emerged, simply proceed with a yes/no vote - and the majority vote prevails.

 

3. When the decision is made, we take cabinet responsibility.

Here's the kicker: for this process to work, everyone on the team must agree in advance that they will fully, completely sign on to any and all decisions made by majority rule - even if they disagreed with it during discussion.

 

This is what in the UK is called "cabinet responsibility"-- when a body of people make a decision. As a member of that body, unless you believe the decision to be illegal or unethical in the extreme, you have a responsibility to embrace, support, and implement that decision as if you had voted for it at the time.

 

I like to think of it this way: when a team is using majority rule and exercising cabinet responsibility, there may be blood and gore on the walls of the room while the decision is being made, but once the decision is made, no-one "outside" the room should be able to see any discernible difference in the level and nature of the support of that decision by any of the team members.

 

If you're stuck in consensus gridlock, try redefining 'consensus' as cabinet responsibility for majority-rule decisions. It'll transform your business.

 

Everyone Has a Boss--Even If You're at the Top

-       Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of Vertical Response

Being a CEO means you're the boss. Yep, that's you, sittin' solo at the top of the org chart. But who's your boss? I'd argue you have quite a few and to be effective, you've got to listen to each and every one of them.

Your Customers

Your customers are the reason you're in business and should be your No. 1 priority. At my email marketing company,  we make listening to our customers everyone's job. To do so, we've got an award-winning onsite customer service team that interacts with our customers via phone, email, instant message and on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. By being where our customers are, we can get their feedback, listen to their challenges and  communicate with them in meaningful ways.

Pete Blackshaw wrote a whole book about  the fact that unhappy customers can potentially tell 3,000 people (thanks to their social networks) about their negative experience. You can't always prevent someone from being vocal about your product or service, whether it's good or bad. However, you can use a customer complaint to improve your business and not only make that customer happy, but thousands of others, too.

One other thing I do to make sure I'm personally accessible to our customers is having my email address and Twitter handle available on our so our customers can always reach me directly. You'll see many members of our exec team do the same, too. Don't be afraid to give this a try. The information your customers can and will provide you is priceless.

Your Board of Directors

As a counter to your customers, your board of directors is going to be your constant gut check on whether you are moving your company forward and meeting your business goals. They represent the point of view of keeping you profitable, growing and  successful. Your board will be the ones asking the tough questions and making sure you keep focused.

Dealing with your board shouldn't always be a dreadful thing, though. They also can be an invaluable resource when you hit a bump in the road or face a challenge you don't know how to solve. Your board should consist of experienced members from a variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise so they can provide a broad perspective on many issues.

Your Investors

If you've got investors, you better believe they are going to be your boss because they have a vested (or in this case, invested) monetary interest in  your success. But tread lightly here. You investors want to get their money back (and then some) and may not be focused on the big picture. It's your job to manage their expectations while staying the course toward profitability, acquisition or whatever your ultimate goal is to pay back your valuable investors.

Your Employees

Last, but definitely not least, you have your employees. I'm amazed at how vocal and involved our team is at sharing new ideas to improve our product, service or customer experience. When you provide an open forum for your team and show them you value their opinions and ideas, anything can happen. Some of our best business-changing ideas have come from the people on the front lines, like when our director of marketing communications came up with the idea to offer our email marketing tool for free to nonprofits, or when a customer service rep came up with the idea for our event marketing product. When you encourage your employees to think like the boss, anything is possible.

So even though you probably report to more bosses than your employees, it's not a bad thing because at the end of the day, they just want you to succeed. By listening to and being open to ideas from all your bosses, you and your business will be on the road to greater success.

 

 

9 Common Mistakes a Startup should not do

1. Trusting your gut, rather than getting validation for your idea.

Your business idea may seem like a profitable game-changer, but without validation you may be setting yourself up for failure. Before you invest any time or money into your idea, spend time testing it. Consult with experts from the start-up community and get your product idea in front of potential customers so that you can learn--and adapt--based on their feedback.

2. Not getting your business to market fast enough.

Far too many business ideas fail due to a slow launch, which needs to be both stealthy and strategic to be successful. Don't spend ages building out your idea and features. Instead, build out your most valuable product, release it, and see how people react to it. In the end, it's important not to overbuild, because features alone don't make start-ups successful.

3. Not knowing when to pivot.

Through your early validation efforts, you're likely to gain feedback that you didn't anticipate. Rather than throwing in the towel or ignoring what you've learned altogether, this should inspire you to change your business model to prevent failure. Many successful business ventures have come through calculating a new route.

For example, Instagram began as location-based social network Burbn. Uploading and sharing photos was just a feature--but the feature users latched onto most. So Burbn was reborn as Instagram... and, well, you know the rest of the story.

4. You take too much advice... or none at all.

Intelligent input can make or break your business. Ignoring it or not soliciting it means you're flying blind--and your odds of success are low. On the other hand, too much feedback has its own dangers. Develop relationships with a few experienced entrepreneurs who've both built and sold businesses within your industry.

As a rule of thumb, choose advisors for specific parts of your business, not the overall business. For example, if you have a heavy focus on marketing through social media, get an advisor who knows how to acquire users through social media. This advisor may not know much about your actual business, but he or she will be more knowledgeable in areas you might not be.

5. No marketing, no problem.

Far too many entrepreneurs think their outstanding idea will sell itself--and they couldn't be further from the truth. Establishing a strong online marketing effort is something pretty much every company must do now.

At Ciplex, we've made mistakes, but we've always insisted on growing without outside funding. We did this by establishing a consistent lead flow through online marketing--mostly through search engine optimization--to make sure we're more easily found. Then we built a great product and focused on making sure our happy clients referred us to their friends. Without that, we wouldn't be in business.

6. Putting the customer last.

It doesn't matter how amazing you think your product, service, or concept is; if it's not on par with what your customers want, they're not going to buy and you're never going to make a profit. You already know you need customer feedback before your launch. But don't forget about continuing to talk to customers after launch.

7. Making the wrong decision on fundraising.

Without money, your business can't launch--it's a simple equation. What's less simple is figuring out how much you need and where to find it. Whether you chose to bootstrap, crowdfund, or raise venture capital, it's important to nail down your funding strategy and see it through. For more on figuring out what's best for your business, check out my previous post on where to start looking for funding.

8. Making networking low priority.

Ultimately, your success hinges on who you know. If you're not out there talking to potential customers and industry experts, you're bound to be missing out on countless opportunities. Put networking on your to-do list. Grow your visibility as an entrepreneur and thought leader both online and in person.

9. Hiring the wrong people. 

Brilliant ideas don't make you successful; the people you hire to bring those brilliant ideas to life make you successful. That's why hiring is such a monumental task--and one that needs to done with great care. Consider seeking out others who have different soft skills than you do. You need someone who can play devil's advocate and help you find balance.

TOP 10 Reasons - Why People quit their JOB?

Here are the top 10 reasons your employee’s full-time job may be hating their job:

10. They think the grass is greener someplace 

else. If your employee’s friends are having an amazing experience at another company, why wouldn’t they be envious? The transparency of employee benefits and perks at other companies can sometimes lead your employees to dream about working elsewhere.

Keep an eye on what other companies are doing and try to match where you can. Sure, your company’s perks aren’t going to be on par with Google, but why not try to give your employees something worth bragging about? They’ll be more motivated, eager to spread the good word, and you’ll benefit from an improved company culture.

9. Their values don’t align with the company. 

Dissatisfaction is bound to take place if your employees aren’t sold on the same things you are. If your company values creativity and collaboration, it’s in your best interest to make screening for these values a mandatory part of your hiring process. Regular feedback and reviews can help you stay in tune with employees’ values and how they align with what the company needs and values most.

8. They don’t feel valued. 

If you aren’t taking the time to pat your employees on the back, it’s bound to impact employee happiness. Recognition breeds feelings of value and loyalty. What are you doing to show your employees they’re valued members of the company? This doesn’t mean giving monetary rewards for every accomplishment--instead, regularly utilize verbal praise and offer the occasional gift or reward for awesome performance.

7. Job insecurity. 

It’s easy to dislike your job when you’re worried whether you will still have it a few months or a year from now. If your company is going through hard times, the instability may be taking a toll on your employees. Remain transparent and work on keeping spirits high and your team engaged...or they might end up leaving you out of fear.

6. There’s no room for advancement. 

What’s your company’s policy for promotions? Many employees end up feeling stuck when there’s no chance of advancing within their company. This often leads to job hopping. Your company may be small, but it’s important to create a plan for employees to grow with you.

5. They’re unhappy with their pay. 

Nothing extinguishes passion quite like the feeling of being paid less than you deserve. Evaluating the salaries of your employees can be unrealistic at certain times, but you should consider asking your employee what they feel they should be making -- their honesty may surprise you.

4. There’s too much red tape.
 

Rules may be ruining your team. Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to make your own decisions. Boost the autonomy of your employees by giving them room to accomplish goals. This establishes a healthy level of trust, productivity, and benefits the company as a whole.

3. They’re not being challenged. 

Your employees are on a constant search to advance their skills and improve through their work with you. A lack of meaningful, challenging work is certain to breed disdain. Find out whether your employees feel like they’re learning or advancing their knowledge. If they’re not becoming better, they will go someplace where they feel they can improve.

2. The passion’s gone.
 

There’s a huge difference between living to work and working to live. Do your employees love what they do? The current job climate has led many people to take on jobs they don’t love. Focus on hiring thoroughly passionate employees and giving them a purpose to maintain their passion throughout their time on the job.

1. Their boss sucks. 

Poor management can ruin even the most passionate and well-paid employees love for their job. Don’t let your awful management and leadership skills ruin the drive of your workforce. Do you micromanage and criticize? Are you a bad communicator? If you have unhappy employees, the first thing you should look at is your management habits. The next thing to do is actually talk to your employees to get to the bottom of the problem

8 Things Really Successful People Do

Most people claim to want success. But not everyone is willing to do the hard work and the smart work to get there. Often opportunities present themselves and because people are distracted, they miss them or give up on them before things fully develop.

Truly successful people don't leave much to chance. They are disciplined and focused.  They constantly seek new methods to achieve more, in bigger and faster ways. Listed below are eight different practices that will help you concentrate your efforts on rising above the tide.

1. Make Materialism Irrelevant

Fancy cars and houses are all well and good, but many foolishly focus on the byproducts of success, rather than concentrating on building sustainable success in the first place. Establish a bare minimum for your material needs, and then you can enjoy the benefits of success, debt and stress free.

2. Enhance Knowledge

Success comes faster to those who are open, active learners. The higher up the success ladder you climb, the more complex the systems and opportunities that are presented to you. Absorb all the information you can and if you sense a gap you can't fill, connect with people who have the knowledge you need.

3. Manage Relationship Expectations

People in your life require time. Successful individuals attract folk and so they have to carefully regulate the time they can spend with others. It's hard to limit the time you share and still make people feel important. Make choices about the people who matter to you and determine how you each can get value from your interactions. Then make sure they understand your limitations so they don't take it personally when you can't be present.

4. Practice Emotional Self-Awareness

Not all successful people are calm and nice. In fact, many can be volatile. But most are very aware of their tempers and idiosyncrasies. They know how to use their emotions to get what they want from life and work hard to make sure feelings don't become a detriment. Know yourself and learn how to let your emotions work for you in positive ways.

5. Commit to a Physical Ideal

Everyone has a vision of their own perfect body. They don't have to be fashion models or athletes to be happy. But physical health is a consideration in their life and it's a big distraction when it gets out of whack. Determine the body you believe is worth working for and set a game plan to achieve and maintain it.

6. Gain Clarity About Spirituality

There are many highly successful people like Richard Branson and Warren Buffett who don't consider religion to be important or relevant. But they have a clear point of view as to the role spirituality plays in their life. Find your own way to be at one with the universe and be clear and deliberate in how you practice.

7. Adhere to a Code of Ethics 

Really successful people live by rules. They may not be the rules of others, but consistency is important for them to maintain power and stability. Their individual view of how the world works is the basis for how they believe people should be treated and they will defend it until their dying day. Determine your ethical lines and broadcast them loud and clear so people around you know where you stand.

8. Focus on Time Efficiency

Prioritization is a key component of success. You can't reach your pinnacle if you are wasting time on distractions. Integration of activities frees up time for greater achievement. Spend your time on activities that are fun, enlightening and productive and soon you'll have gained hours to reap the benefits of success.

Ultimately, really successful people live their lives by design instead of default, so if you want to be one of them, dedicate time and effort to determining the plan for your preferred future and execute that plan in a focused and consistent manner.

 

STORY : Mechanic and Surgeon

A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic.

 

"So tell me," says the mechanic, "I've been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me.."

 

"Yes?.." says the surgeon.

 

"Well look at this," says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated engine, "I check how it's running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works good as new.. We basically do the same job don't we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am - how do you explain that?"

 

The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied,"Try it with the engine running.."

 

STORY : Shoe Sellers

You will perhaps have heard this very old story illustrating the difference between positive thinking and negative thinking:

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.

The first salesman reported back, "There is no potential here - nobody wears shoes."

The second salesman reported back, "There is massive potential here - nobody wears shoes."

This simple short story provides one of the best examples of how a single situation may be viewed in two quite different ways - negatively or positively.

We could explain this also in terms of seeing a situation's problems and disadvantages, instead of its opportunities and benefits.

When telling this story its impact is increased by using exactly the same form of words (e.g., "nobody wears shoes") in each salesman's report. This emphasises that two quite different interpretations are made of a single situation.

 

STORY : Blind Man Advertisement

An old blind man was sitting on a busy street corner in the rush-hour begging for money. On a cardboard sign, next to an empty tin cup, he had written: 'Blind - Please help'.

No-one was giving him any money.

A young advertising writer walked past and saw the blind man with his sign and empty cup, and also saw the many people passing by completely unmoved, let alone stopping to give money.

The advertising writer took a thick marker-pen from her pocket, turned the cardboard sheet back-to-front, and re-wrote the sign, then went on her way.

Immediately, people began putting money into the tin cup.

After a while, when the cup was overflowing, the blind man asked a stranger to tell him what the sign now said.

"It says," said the stranger, " 'It's a beautiful day. You can see it. I cannot.' "

 

Five Steps To Sharing Your Leadership Stories

1)  Start with discovering your personal leadership brand 

In my executive coaching practice, I often work with my clients to help them articulate their personal leadership brand (purpose, strengths and core values) and the transformational impact they want to have in their workplaces and in their lives.  To get the three steps to articulate your personal brand, read here.

 

2)  Write down the 5-10 leadership lessons you’ve learned  

Looking back at your work and life experiences answer the questions below. These could also come from the discovery process of working through your personal brand. Make sure that these lessons are specific and punchy. As an example, here are Ten Lessons I learned from my first year as an entrepreneur.

 

     “What do I value in leaders?”

     “What have I learned from my successes and failures?”

    “What are some principles that are important to me and I would like to share with others so they can understand me better”?

 

3)  Write a compelling story for each leadership lesson Great stories have three components to them:

 

    They are relevant to the situation and the audience

    They are memorable and have an element of drama to them

    They reveal something personal about you – your values, your beliefs, the very core of who you are.

 

Have fun with your story. Make the words descriptive. Help the audience feel like they were there. I have found that in telling my stories, the ones that connect me most with others are usually stories of challenge or lessons that I’ve learned through failures. They demonstrate a level of vulnerability and humanity that we all share and vulnerability can be the basis of strong connection.

 

4)  Share your leadership story with others and ask them to share theirs.

It may be at the start of new assignments when you are meeting new colleagues. It could be when there is a “teachable moment” to share a certain leadership lesson that is relevant. Encourage others to create their own leadership stories and share them within a team context. These leadership stories help us create greater connections within teams that can be the basis for a strong trust building dialogue that helps teams weather challenges and come together to make big things happen.

 

5)  Look for your own “Learning Moments” and continue to add richness to your story 

Our everyday experiences give us lots of fodder for continuing to develop, refine and add texture to our leadership story. If you are journaling as part of your leadership practices, use your journaling time to reflect on lessons learned. As you learn new lessons add to your repertoire of stories. Your personal brand, your leadership lessons and your stories are dynamic and continue to unfold with your experiences.

 

Here’s my experience with this process in working through it with my clients.  As they start to articulate their leadership brand, invariably at first there is some hesitation about sharing it with others. After all, it’s somewhat personal as it reflects their deepest sense of purpose and what gives them fulfillment.  Then curiously, they discover that the revealing and self-expression of our personal brand is hugely fulfilling because it forms the basis for connection with others. And this connection is what inspires us and the people we lead to create transformation. And the rest is history.

STORY : The Man, The Boy & The Hotel

A man and a young teenage boy checked in to a hotel and were shown to their room. The two receptionists noted the quiet manner of the guests, and the pale appearance of the boy. Later the man and boy ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The staff again noticed that the two guests were very quiet, and that the boy seemed disinterested in his food. After eating, the boy went to his room and the man went to reception and asked to see the manager.

 

The receptionist initially asked if there was a problem with the service or the room, and offered to fix things, but the man said that there was no problem of that sort, and repeated his request. The manager was called and duly appeared. The man asked to speak privately and was taken into the manager's office.

 

The man explained that he was spending the night in the hotel with his fourteen-year-old son, who was seriously ill, probably terminally so. The boy was very soon to undergo therapy, which would cause him to lose his hair. They had come to the hotel to have a break together, and also because the boy planned to shave his head, that night, rather than feel that the illness was beating him. The father said that he would be shaving his own head too, in support of his son.

 

He asked that staff be respectful when the two of them came to breakfast with their shaved heads. The manager assured the father that he would inform all staff and that they would behave appropriately.

 

The following morning the father and son entered the restaurant for breakfast.

 

There they saw the four male restaurant staff attending to their duties, perfectly normally, all with shaved heads.

STORY : Bishop, Priest & Laddle

A bishop invited a young priest to dinner. During the meal, the priest noticed some signs of intimacy between the bishop and his housekeeper. As the priest was leaving, the bishop said to him quietly, "I can guess what you are thinking, but really our relationship is strictly proper."

A few days later the housekeeper remarked to the bishop that a valuable antique solid silver soup ladle was missing - since the young priest's visit - and so she wondered if he might have taken it. "I doubt it, but I will ask him," said the bishop.

So the bishop wrote to the priest: "Dear Father, I am not saying that 'you did' take a solid silver ladle from my house, and I am not saying that 'you did not' take a solid silver ladle from my house, but the fact is that the ladle has been missing since your visit.." Duly, the bishop received the young priest's reply, which read: "Your Excellency, I'm not saying that 'you do' sleep with your housekeeper, and I'm not saying that 'you do not' sleep with your housekeeper, but the fact is that if you were sleeping in your own bed, you would by now have found the ladle."