An example would be the ironies of the “Peter Principle” that states: “People rise to their level of incompetence.”  There are many corollaries to this intriguing concept.  My favorite is that major business decisions also rise to their level of incompetence.  That is, the more critical a business decision, the more probable is that it will be taken away from the manager with expertise and be decided upon either in a steering committee (to avoid any accountability) or in the C-Suite where really awful decisions are sometimes rendered out of ignorance.  While this principle is meant to foster discussion about the follies of some bureaucracies, all of us can relate to the IT conversion or major business blunder caused by executives who thought they knew…remember the new coke or the Edsel?

I can remember talking to a high level bureaucrat who announced that the Board had decided to immediately close a major call center.  I paused, and said that adjusting work distribution would be critical as it had nearly 400 staff at work.  He responded that I was incorrect and that no one was working there.  I replied that I had just returned from a visit there last week, and that we had over 400 staff conducting business there today.  A bureaucrat located remotely and especially at headquarters can be very dangerous to good decision-making!

My personal favorite business axiom is Parkinson’s Law, written by C. Northcote Parkinson in 1954:  “Work expands to the time available.”  Parkinson’s Law is the only management principle I can remember with clarity from my four collegiate years of study in administration, and it is one of the most irreverent but also insightful approaches to the discussion of how workload  is not proportional to staffing within bureaucratic organizations.  It reminds us that in the corporate world, one must understand human behavior, embrace humor and recognize a tendency by people to make foolish decisions especially when the standard decision-making policy is thwarted by executive management.

As a student or project manager, it is critical to determine how much time a task will take or it will naturally expand to 2 or 3 times the actual amount of time needed.  As students we quickly learned this fact after laboring several days on a paper while as seniors, we would start the project two hours before the deadline and do surprisingly well.  While this principle is well known, fewer and fewer people apply it today.  Most business schools and certainly nearly all governments have forgotten its importance.  One only has to look at the state of governments across the globe to recognize that the tendency to grow bureaucracies is fundamental and that such organizations have absolutely no knowledge of how to manage time and work.  I know the first example to come to mind is the DMV.

Another more serious example of Parkinson’s Law’s insidious nature is the bureaucrat’s tendency to seek complexity rather than simplicity.  Take the process of how America’s laws are codified and regulated.  Whether it is the new health care law or Dodd-Frank, the means to develop a law has become as large a bureaucracy as  those helping us unravel the mystery of our tax code in America.  It does explain why there are so many lawyers and how society continues to creates work for them.

To reduce any government agency will supposedly cause a calamity of epic proportions.  The austerity plans in Europe and at our own local governments is yet to be embraced by our national government who always finds a reason to ignore its committee recommendations and defer decisions by kicking the most difficult issues down the road.  This is not how the most admired corporations work and perhaps why there sometimes seems to be a real friction between business and government.  Civil servants are not supposed to be productive but to spend all the money in their budgets or face a draconian cut in next year’s funding and resources.  The incredible growth in the federal government and its spending demonstrates Parkinson’s thesis that bureaucracies and agencies will proliferate even if they no longer have a reason to exist.

Let me know if you have identified other management “principles” or have examples of Peter and Parkinson Law to share.  We would like to add your examples to our collection!

It is important to create a Newsletter that promotes, informs, relates or persuades so its content has to have value to the select group of members on your distribution list. You do not want to encourage “spam” so your distribution list must be scrubbed and offer an unsubscribe feature. There are laws that regulate and prevent spam so it is best to work with a respected e-mail marketing provider. We use Constant Content but you can Google and find several service providers.

The advantages to the e-mail Newsletter are many. The cost of this tool is nearly zero compared to direct mail which can cost $.20 to distribute. Rates for distributing 500-2500 e-newsletters is only about $30/month. The Newsletter is coded so that the receiver sees it not as an attachment but as a mini-web page. As such it is HTML coded so the publisher can include hyper-links and functionality to make it easier for the receiver to view. Finally a Newsletter is certainly very fast to delivery and, most importantly, it can build an ongoing relationship with your customer or contact.  Marketing theory states it takes seven contacts before you are recognized and are at ease with someone new.  E-mailing a Newsletter is just another means to connect.

The Newsletter provides a simple platform to share information, invitations, announcements and surveys with the intent to strengthen your relationship with your client or contact. The e-mail service providers also can also monitor the performance of this tool by measuring how many people “open” the newsletter or even use a link or go to your web-site. This “click through rate” is only part of the new power of your Internet marketing plan. Thus your Newsletter can link to your blog which provides a more in-depth discussion of the topics in your Newsletter. Your Twitter and Face Book accounts can also be linked so it is easy to find.

The challenge to creating an effective Newsletter is to provide content of interest and value. Most Newsletters, therefore, are developed monthly and publishers like Key Pointe try diligently to include valuable information, events or to discuss issues in the field of coaching and real estate consulting that may be of interest.

One of the fascinating aspects of running your own business is the skills you must acquire especially in areas of technology and marketing. It is squarely on the business owner to stay aware of new marketing solutions. Key Pointe is a huge advocate of the Chamber of Commerce where we recently attended a presentation on marketing solutions which was the basis for this article. It was presented by Don Phillipson of WSI ePro Marketing, and we thank Don for his valuable insights to this marketing approach.

Many of us know that both residential and commercial real estate values have plummeted over the last few years.  But retail lease rates in the prime shopping centers in Southern California have not.  If you are able to lease general office space you should be aware that  weak space absorption in many local markets still show close to 20% vacancy and the conditions provides tenants enormous leverage. Two small 5,000 square foot leases completed in the past 6 months showed rental reductions of over 20% plus other concessions in tenant allowance.

If you are located in second tier “retail” space off the main and preferred thoroughfares, rents have indeed decreased over the past few years. In any case you should always review the lease with a real estate professional about 1 year before your renewal date to consider how to improve your lease terms.

There is much more to negotiate than the rental rate. Options to expand or extend are key provisions to improve and so is the annual escalation rate that should be capped.. It also may be time to consider if the HVAC system needs a capital repair or request a better monument sign or it may be time to re-carpet or re-paint the premises. Address some of the lingering issues of common area maintenance, such as landscaping or the deteriorating of the parking lot and whether the management fee is still reasonable.

Business owners want a lease that is reasonable and competitive since occupancy expenses generally are their largest expenditure after wages and salaries. If you have been in the facility for five or more years it is certainly time to consider more energy efficient lighting as energy prices will continue to escalate 5% or more annually and the payback on changing light fixtures can be surprisingly short: The older and the larger the facility, the faster the payback period. It is also a “green” and sustainable energy practice you can promote to the community and customers.

It is both costly and disruptive to relocate. It also can impact your customer base, but if you have considered a better location, it is best to start looking early and finding a local real estate broker to assist you. The key is finding someone knowledgeable in the local area real estate and that you have confidence in.

Reality is that you probably have a history with the landlord and hopefully it has been positive one with a long history of stability and a good payment history.  Use your history as leverage and by all means check to see what the local market rental rate is by calling similar buildings or shopping centers in the area to obtain facts on what the market rents are. I believe in finding a commercial real estate professional to assist you especially if you have concerns with the lease or difficulties with the landlord. Check your lease and start negotiating early!

There is so much controversy on over where a person is most productive.  If they have 8-5 jobs that require them to be on location are they the most productive?  Are people with flexible work schedules more productive?  What about taking into consideration the person.  When is a person the most productive?  I know some people who are slow to start their day.  They are just not morning people so for them it is like walking in a trance until they get their coffee, had time to adjust to the day and feel that they are in full swing.  It make take them a few hours to find that they are firing on all cylinders.

If you want to know when someone is at their peak, ask them what time they would like to start a meeting.  An example would be when my Assistant says, I know you are not a morning person, but can we meet at 8:00 am?   I’d prefer 10:00 am.   Obviously, she knows that I am not at my peak early in the morning.  However, I am raring to go at later in the date and she is ready to call it quits.

The human brain can concentrate for only so long.  Some say no longer than 30 minutes before we begin to wander and have to force ourselves back on task.  We need to take breaks and when we don’t we will find that we lose concentration and have to refocus.  We are also not as productive.  Each of us can be classified into either a morning or a night person.  And we all know which type we are.

When it comes to work and work location, where are people most productive?  And why do people have to be on site if their job doesn’t require them to absolutely be there?  Companies can save money by allowing their employees to work from home and many companies have adopted this culture.  For those companies that still feel “butts in seats” so they can “see the work being done” should really take a closer look.  Just because you can physically see a person sitting at their desk, does not mean they are being productive.  Shouldn’t results speak volumes?  If the work isn’t getting done, then perhaps the wrong person is in the job!

Your self-image is vital to the way people view you.  You can give your self-esteem a boost by changing your thinking.  Our minds are powerful and our thoughts have a direct correlation to how we behave.

Labels and titles play into our perceptions.  Perhaps you have heard of some of the altered titles given to the following professions.  The jobs haven’t changed, but the attitude of the people doing them has.

Transparency Enhancement Facilitator – Window Cleaner
Field Nourishment Consultant – Waitress

Garbage Man – Sanitary Engineer

Housewife -Domestic Engineer
Highway Environmental Hygienist -Road Sweeper
Sanitation Consultant – Toilet Cleaner

 I offer these five things for helping you to perceive yourself in a better light.

1.  Identify the area(s) that you find upsetting.  This will take self reflection and may make you uncomfortable.  You may be avoiding thinking or talking about this area of your life.
2. Identify  the thoughts you have when thinking about this area.  How many times do you think “what if”, “I can’t”, “It won’t happen” or other negative thoughts?  Notice any feelings or sensations you have while having the thoughts.
3. Notice any reactions you may have as a result of these thoughts.  Are you over eating, under eating, drinking too much, not sleeping, avoiding people. have a short fuse and become angry, etc.?
4. Challenge your thoughts.   If you have the “what if’s” play them out in your mind.   Negative thinking causes helplessness.   Recall also how many times you had “what if” scenarios in the past and how what you feared never happened.
5. Change your thinking – change your life.  Be kind to yourself and change negative words into positive ones.  Avoid the words “should and must”.  Treat yourself with kindness and be forgiving.  Be your own cheerleader.  If you don’t love yourself and believe in yourself, why should anyone else?

Since you had the  thought in the first place, there is something within you that knows the change or action is needed.  Why do we fight ourselves over these action steps.  More than likely because it means change and accountability for our actions.  We don’t want to fail.  But, unless we put ourselves out there how will we know if we will fail or succeed?  We don’t!

Some of the best failures have resulted in wonderful new discoveries.   No one can say with accuracy how many attempts it took Edison to invent the light bulb but I can tell you it was more than two, more than ten attempts.  He never saw himself as a failure and neither should you.  We learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures.

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I would like to direct you to “The Work” by Bryon Katie.  http://www.thework.com/index.php   There are four simple questions you can ask yourself.  Answering these four questions truthfully will allow you to move forward and experience less frustrations and fear as well as the joy of unlocking your potential.

Observing our parents behavior showed a tradition of savings due to their experience living through the great depression.  Most were prudent savers and shoppers far different from our children who have easy access to credit and only our frequent caution not to overspend.

Individual responsibility for planning for retirement is a reality and as the poor returns over the last 10 years from stocks only places more pressure on us in our 50’s and early 60’s to save aggressively.

I do not coach financial planning, but this is one area that we all should take a moment to consider if we have a plan and not wait or procrastinate.  Too often people gamble to recoup dollars lost or let their emotions take hold of their investment decisions.  One fact is that we should take stock of our current saving strategies and most likely increase it.  Those that live in beautiful California know that it is very expensive and taxes are due to increase.  Our future quality of life will depend on us planning now.

There are four main factors to happiness, gender, personality, external circumstances and age.    If you fall into these categories changes are better that you are a happy person:

1. women tend to be happier
2. those with extrovert tendencies and enjoy being in teams and with people are happier than those that sit behind a closed office door
3. married, higher education, children that have left the house and riches, people with money are happier than those without
4. you are in your mid 40′s and higher

“Arthur Stone, Joseph Schwartz and Joan Broderick of Stony Brook University, and Angus Deaton of Princeton, breaks well-being down into positive and negative feelings and looks at how the experience of those emotions varies through life. Enjoyment and happiness dip in middle age, then pick up; stress rises during the early 20s, then falls sharply; worry peaks in middle age, and falls sharply thereafter; anger declines throughout life; sadness rises slightly in middle age, and falls thereafter.”

Studies show that people who are happy recover faster from illness, are less likely to remain in conflict and better at handling misfortunes.   They are also less likely to take things personally instead take the adage “you can’t please everyone” and then let the punches roll.

If given the choice, wouldn’t you rather be happy?  Perhaps it is all about the lens we view life through.

Part of being a critical thinker involves taking the time to understand the differences in others.  Why they think and act the way they do. We may not agree with these actions, but we can at least understand them.    When we have understanding we can then take the next step to bridging  gaps that could lead to conflict.  So many of us put such great effort into pushing our ways onto others that we don’t realize there is another way.   Of course, You have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything .   But, in order to stand for something you need to research, understand and critically think about what it is you are standing for and why.

We follow great leaders, but why do we believe they are great?  What is it about their thought process that resonates with us and allows us to want to take on their attributes and be a follower?   In business there are many leaders at many different levels.  You don’t have to have a fancy title to be a leader.  What you need is to understand people and their thought processes.  You need to help them to see the various views from  various angles and not just your own or their own.

I enjoy seeing how my students evolve from the first day of class when I ask them who taught them to think to the final week of class where they have grown into critical thinkers who can determine for themselves what they believe to be truth.

I now pass this link on to you and will let you do with it what you wish, take from it what you want and apply it where you feel it is best suited.

http://flickspire.com/m/Lgroup/LifeIsLikeCoffee?sms_ss=aolmail&at_xt=4cebef6d2800d120,0