Help the people of Haiti by giving them the gift of clean water with Evicol.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Conquering Complexity
More information keeps coming to light regarding the current economic crisis. The more I learn, the more I am convinced that excessive complexity is a major cause of this whole mess. An amazing jumble of increasingly complex debt instruments were invented to keep the debt pyramid climbing. Because the rating agencies didn't understand them and banks were afraid to stop the money train, we plunged headlong over the cliff into the current disaster.
Interestingly enough, all the banks that refused to involve themselves with CBOs and other such "investments" will likely weather the storm well. Because they refused to add complexity to their investment portfolios, and because they ignored the hype (http://ping.fm/QYdxe), they will be able to grow in the coming years.
We must stop rushing to complexity. We have become convinced that complexity is the answer. The current economic crisis is all the proof I will ever need that complexity is the enemy. Life is complicated enough without adding to it.
Let's make 2009 a year for conquering complexity! Make a point of streamlining your business into a leaner, more efficient company. You'll be glad you did.
If you need help streamlining, give me a call.
(800) 784-8045 or www.r2computing.com
Interestingly enough, all the banks that refused to involve themselves with CBOs and other such "investments" will likely weather the storm well. Because they refused to add complexity to their investment portfolios, and because they ignored the hype (http://ping.fm/QYdxe), they will be able to grow in the coming years.
We must stop rushing to complexity. We have become convinced that complexity is the answer. The current economic crisis is all the proof I will ever need that complexity is the enemy. Life is complicated enough without adding to it.
Let's make 2009 a year for conquering complexity! Make a point of streamlining your business into a leaner, more efficient company. You'll be glad you did.
If you need help streamlining, give me a call.
(800) 784-8045 or www.r2computing.com
Monday, February 2, 2009
Free Government Gadgets
Here's a link to some gadgets provided by the US government. Some are very useful. Check them out:
http://ping.fm/ZKXKn
http://ping.fm/ZKXKn
Friday, January 30, 2009
Get What You Want: 5 Ways to Win Every Negotiation
1. You must be fearless when negotiating. You cannot let them bully, intimidate or frighten you. Remember, you hold all the cards because you can walk out whenever you want. There are plenty of other places for you to spend your money.
2. You have to know what you want. Walking into a negotiation blind is suicide. You must have an idea of the final outcome and then you need to keep that secret. Don't walk in and lay your cards on the table, but play the game. That means you need to do your homework. You need to know what the item really costs and then negotiate from that position. Fortunately the Internet has all that information available.
3. You need to make sure you are negotiating with a decision maker. Don't waste time haggling with junior personnel that cannot make decisions. Ask to speak to someone with the power to negotiate and make it clear you will only speak to them.
4. You must follow through then-and-there. If you get what you want from the negotiation, you must commit to the sale on the spot. If you come back later you will need to re-negotiate with whomever is present and you will have wasted everyone's time. Don't enter into a negotiation if you don't have the money to pull the trigger.
5. You need to get tough. There is a point in time in every negotiation where you will need to get tough. It is critical that you do this at the right time. It is that moment when the parties are all tired and the other side has drawn a proverbial line in the sand. That is the moment you must go on the offensive and make it clear you are not afraid to walk away from the table.
For example, I bought a car for my wife two years ago. We came in close to closing time so I could benefit from the staff's exhaustion from a long day of work (I'm evil.). Throughout the entire negotiation, the salesman kept ignoring incoming phone calls on his cell phone. The entire time we were haggling, he kept hitting the Ignore button on that cell phone with a look of growing concern. Finally, he drew that line in the sand and I pounced:
The point is, in every negotiation you have to wait for that magic moment and then attack. Once they believe you are prepared to walk away, you will win. Try it and let me know how it works out for you in the Comments section below. I can't wait to hear from you.
2. You have to know what you want. Walking into a negotiation blind is suicide. You must have an idea of the final outcome and then you need to keep that secret. Don't walk in and lay your cards on the table, but play the game. That means you need to do your homework. You need to know what the item really costs and then negotiate from that position. Fortunately the Internet has all that information available.
3. You need to make sure you are negotiating with a decision maker. Don't waste time haggling with junior personnel that cannot make decisions. Ask to speak to someone with the power to negotiate and make it clear you will only speak to them.
4. You must follow through then-and-there. If you get what you want from the negotiation, you must commit to the sale on the spot. If you come back later you will need to re-negotiate with whomever is present and you will have wasted everyone's time. Don't enter into a negotiation if you don't have the money to pull the trigger.
5. You need to get tough. There is a point in time in every negotiation where you will need to get tough. It is critical that you do this at the right time. It is that moment when the parties are all tired and the other side has drawn a proverbial line in the sand. That is the moment you must go on the offensive and make it clear you are not afraid to walk away from the table.
For example, I bought a car for my wife two years ago. We came in close to closing time so I could benefit from the staff's exhaustion from a long day of work (I'm evil.). Throughout the entire negotiation, the salesman kept ignoring incoming phone calls on his cell phone. The entire time we were haggling, he kept hitting the Ignore button on that cell phone with a look of growing concern. Finally, he drew that line in the sand and I pounced:
"Look, buddy, I want to buy this car but I am not paying that price. We've been here for more than 2 hours arguing because you refuse to see reason. Right now, your girlfriend is throwing that nice dinner she cooked for you into the trash. She's changing out of that sexy nightgown and putting on that horrible, nasty nightshirt because she's furious that you haven't answered any of her calls. I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't calling some other guy right now, all because you are being a pain in the ass over $1000. Either come down, or I'm walking away and you get nothing at all tonight."I wish I had a picture of his face; all his resistance collapsed. I took him apart because I correctly assumed that all those phone calls where from his girlfriend. Do I feel bad for wrecking this man? Hell no! I got the price I wanted and my wife drive home in her new car. He got a commission check and a chance to make up with his girlfriend.
The point is, in every negotiation you have to wait for that magic moment and then attack. Once they believe you are prepared to walk away, you will win. Try it and let me know how it works out for you in the Comments section below. I can't wait to hear from you.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Comparison Shopping
SmartMoney.com published a great review of the top online price comparison sites. For the most part I agree with their findings. Their reviews found PriceGrabber.com was the superior website for comparison shopping. One of the better features included on PriceGrabber.com is the ability to setup alerts for products based on your desired price range. With the constantly declining costs of technology products, it doesn't make sense to pay bleeding edge prices.
They also rated Yahoo! Shopping, Shopping.com and NexTag as good sites. Rated towards the bottom was Google Products (AKA Google Shopping) because it provided poor details on listings. In their defense, Google says the tool is simply a way to find products and the stores that sell them.
Regardless of what online tool you use, now there is no excuse of overpaying for any product. My advice to you when using these price comparison tools is to perform searches by the part number of the product you want. For example, if I know that I want a specific 3Com network switch, I look up the part number on 3Com's website then I plug that part number into PriceGrabber.com. This ensures that I get the exact item I am looking to buy.
Happy shopping.
They also rated Yahoo! Shopping, Shopping.com and NexTag as good sites. Rated towards the bottom was Google Products (AKA Google Shopping) because it provided poor details on listings. In their defense, Google says the tool is simply a way to find products and the stores that sell them.
Regardless of what online tool you use, now there is no excuse of overpaying for any product. My advice to you when using these price comparison tools is to perform searches by the part number of the product you want. For example, if I know that I want a specific 3Com network switch, I look up the part number on 3Com's website then I plug that part number into PriceGrabber.com. This ensures that I get the exact item I am looking to buy.
Happy shopping.
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