Hired Guys

This morning when I woke the first thought that flickered through my mind was - how is George Best? I thought he’d died during the night, but there is nothing on the news confirming this, so all must be well with the world. But regrettably, not for long.

I had the great pleasure of seeing George in the flesh over a hundred times, and many of those matches remain clear in the memory. He was the kind of player you couldn’t keep your eyes off for long, for if you did, you might miss his latest piece of magic, kind of Rooney with many more goals.

There are so many stories of George, most of them you will have heard before, but I like the one of when he was a young lad and he first arrived at Old Trafford as a very skinny kid. He took the ball up to Harry Gregg, coolly dribbled round him and tapped the ball into an empty net. “Come here you little *******! How dare you do that to me,” snarled Gregg, a senior pro from the old school who hated to concede goals, even in training.

George promptly did the same thing, three times more, and Gregg knew they’d discovered a star.

I suppose one of his most famous games was the match in Lisbon against Benfica in 1966. United had won the home leg 3-2 and were widely expected to go out in the return. (United having to win or Draw in Lisbon to stay in the competition, familiar eh?) Benfica were a much bigger club then than now, recently European Champions. But Best was unplayable that night, scoring two fine goals and United won 5-1 in that famous stadium. Even the locals applauded his brilliance and christened him “El Beatle”, shades of Ronaldinho at the Bernabeau last weekend, or Thierry Henry at Portsmouth a couple of seasons ago. When the home fans applaud, you just know you’ve witnessed something special.

But my favourite match was for Northern Ireland in Belfast. The one against a very good Scottish team in 1967, and he didn’t even score, but I have never witnessed a game where a single player dominated the whole of a game from beginning to end, as George did that day, not until Maradona came along anyway.

If ever there was a game of one player against eleven it was that day. George demanded the ball, and the lads in green gave it to him at every opportunity, because they knew he was simply unplayable. If you ever have a chance to see a video of that match, watch it, and you will see what I mean.

So where does Besty stand in the all time rankings? Right up there of course, for me, admittedly I’m bias, he is head and shoulders above anyone else who ever came from these islands, certainly a better player in my humble opinion than Cruyff, which leaves those famous two old rivals, Pele and Maradona, both truly brilliant, but George was right up there with them, he was that good. The great Pele when addressed as the world’s greatest player said, “no, the greatest player is George Best.”

When he was at his very best he was unstoppable, and when he was like that, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law (European footballers of the year both) would simply give him the ball, stand back and admire, and let him get on with it. He packed the grounds wherever he went, he played the game with an outrageous smile on his face. He inspired kids the length and breadth of the land, in playgrounds and on scruffy fields everywhere, he inspired them to try something special, something different, because they had seen Georgie do it on the telly.

The Liverpool Daily Post, a one eyed newspaper if ever there was one, as I suppose local newspapers are meant to be, once ran a huge headline which read: EVERTON FALL TO THE GENIUS OF BEST. I took the Daily Post for thirty years, and I can never remember them ever writing about an opposition player in such glowing terms, before or since. George had the habit of winning over the most hard-hearted of opponents.

Yet he was a man of many weaknesses, hands up those of us who don’t have any of those, yet the people who knew him best, spoke of him as a generous and caring man, and I believe that to be true. On the football field he had no weaknesses. None whatsoever, he could shoot with either foot, he was a good header of the ball, a great tackler, an unsurpassed dribbler, (a rare talent today), he was quick, and don’t forget he played in an age of ferocious tacklers, where the tackle from behind was legal and sendings off a rarity, and he gave as good as he received, but most of all, he had the ability to produce the unexpected, the true sign that marks out the great ones.

And now he is gone, and I for one will miss him greatly. But all those memories will live with us forever, and for those George, I thank you. George Best died peacefully in hospital in London with his family around him.

George Best

22nd May 1946 - 25th November 2005.

Rest in peace.

David Carter’s latest published work is SPLAM! Successful Property Letting And Management. Splam! contains over 240 pages of hints and tips on how to start your own property business on a limited budget, and how to successfully let residential property. You can view actual extracts of the book at http://www.splam.co.uk and order a download or a hard copy at this site or you can go direct to the publishers at http://www.lulu.com/dc. He also runs a holiday cottage website where you can access over 7,000 holiday cottages, apartments and villas worldwide at http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk. Don’t you deserve a holiday? Well of course you do! You can contact David on any matter any time at supalife@aol.com

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It’s becoming common knowledge the next big thing in Internet Marketing is video. Already many internet marketers have started doing this and there conversion rates are jumping from 2% to over 10%. So what exactly are they doing with these videos? Putting it simply they are replacing the written testimonial with video testimonials.

Which would convince you to buy more?

1) A testimonial in a big yellow box written by someone you don’t know, telling you how great the ebook is and how much they have earned

Or

2) A video created by the Publisher, showing you invoices of how much he/she earned by using the methods outlined in the ebook.

It’s obvious that the conversion will be much higher for number 2).

With this high conversion rate we can increase product price by 50% and increase profits further. This is the power of video. The big boys are already doing this, its easy for them, they have made huge sales with there products. So they simple get their clickbank or paypal receipts and demonstrate them on video. But the small fish can’t do this because they haven’t made the sales so they can’t prove on video how much they’ve made, which effectively won’t allow them to increase their conversion rates. Well there is a simple way they can do this and it’s all about breaking even.

The key ingredient in all this is, psychologically customers do not think of cost. If you have a video showing your clickbank receipts, all the potential customer is seeing is how much you’ve made. If you produced a clickbank cheque worth 8,000 for the month of May, the customer automatically assumes you made $8,000 profit selling your product. Roughly 80% will never stop and think that you spent $7,000 on costs to promote your ebook. They will see what they want to see, $8,000 in product sales. If a potential customer can see exactly how much you have earned using your product it will give him the confidence to do so and ultimately lead to purchasing the product.

In part 2, I will show exactly how you can make huge sales numbers, blast your conversion rates over 10% by breaking even and producing videos.

David Hennebery is the owner and creator of a very successful ebook called ebookprofitmaker. He is regarded as an expert in eBook marketing and selling. To contact him email support@ebookprofitmaker.com or http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com/articleoffer.html

Learn how I made 3,567.89 in 37 days online! I did and I’ll show you how. To find out more and receive a 70% discount on my new eBook for reading my article visit http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com/articleoffer.html

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On February 26th, 2006, nineteen pilgrims left Texas, bound for the Middle East. Being the resident travel junkie, I was thrilled to organize the trip and tag along. The study tour included participants from six different congregations. What a joy to know we would soon be seeing the land of the Bible with our own eyes. As it turned out, it was a trip that would forever change our hearts toward the region and it’s people.

We were traveling on the heels of the recent election in Israel that transferred Palestinian leadership to Hamas. It was also just a few short weeks before Israel would elect a new Prime Minister. You might say (as many did), “Are you crazy? How can you travel to the Middle East at a time like this? All I ever see on the news is fighting and conflict.” But we knew better. Our first trip was in March of 2001, only six months after Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount, which sparked the current Palestinian uprising (a.k.a. “Intifada”). We had such a fabulous trip that we could not imagine it being topped. That is until we went back last month. Springtime, in my opinion, is the ideal time to visit Israel and the Jordan Valley. The desert is in full bloom with wildflowers dotting the hillsides and fruit trees bursting with color. Much more enjoyable than the dog days of summer, when the land is parched and the temperatures soar past 100 degrees.

Shortly after take-off, I noticed that there was a stowaway in my luggage. If you have ever read the book, Flat Stanley, you’ll understand where I’m going. My son’s 2nd grade class had recently created their own version of Flat Stanley and sent them to relatives near and far. Well, this particular Flat Stanley was destined for Israel, and there was no turning back now. He would definitely have some stories to tell when he got home!

After landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, we made our way to the tour bus. In sharp contrast to our previous trip, we were surprised to see more than twenty busses waiting for other groups. We knew it meant the tourist sites would be crowded, but that was a good problem for Israel. The tourism industry was booming after it hit a 20-year low in 2002, largely due to the new security wall under construction between the West Bank and Israel. Terrorist attacks have decreased by 90%, however, the wall is yet another point of contention between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinians claim that it is an act of racism and that it is impacting their economic and environmental stability. Israelis continue to point to the lives that have been saved and the recovering tourist economy which benefits everyone.

We headed north to the city of Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee. After a three hour drive, we arrived at the Scots Hotel, a Scotish hospital which was recently converted to a hotel. The complex dates back to the 1880’s and is still owned by the Church of Scotland. It had an old-world charm and was known for the breathtaking views and the hotel’s signature buffet. Over the next few days, we traveled by boat across the Sea of Galilee and visited many ancient cities such as Capernaum, Megiddo, and Beit Shean. One of our favorite discoveries was the nearby gelato stand on the boardwalk!

It is so fascinating to explore the archaeological sites and see 2,000 year old pieces of Roman glass and broken pottery. I found jar handles, mosaic tiles, and other artifacts scattered among the ruins. As I picked them up, I imagined what it was like to live in that era. Modern conveniences became even more valuable to me. We encountered several ancient cisterns and water systems, which played a key role in their everyday life. Also in those days, almost everyone was directly involved in the harvest. Most of the sites we visited had uncovered remains of millstones and grinders, which were used in the making of their daily bread. It was understandable why so many ancient teachings referenced the harvesting of grain or fruit.

We made our way down to Caeserea on the Mediterranean coast. Recent excavations have uncovered a hippodrome and one of Herod’s palaces. Afterwards, we continued to Jerusalem, where we checked into a local kibbutz. This is a community of people who have chosen to live together in a communal settlement. Their socioeconomic system is based on joint ownership of property, equality, and cooperation. These kibbutzim (plural) were founded in the early 1900’s, and today there are over 250 such settlements across Israel. Many Jews from around the world have returned to Israel and chosen to live on a kibbutz. Several kibbutzim have tapped into the tourism industry by building hotels on their property. This provides jobs and income for the community, as well as offering tourists a unique insight into their way of life. Our kibbutz, Ramat Rachel, was located on the outskirts of Jerusalem overlooking the shepherd’s fields and Bethlehem. One of the most memorable moments was when our tour leader invited everyone to his veranda. As we looked at the city of Bethlehem, we sang Christmas carols and tried to imagine that very first Christmas.

We began the next day atop the Mount of Olives, which has the most magnificent view of the old city and Temple Mount. As we walked down on foot, one of our stops was the Garden of Gethsemanae. We had the opportunity to spread out under the giant olive trees and enjoy a peaceful moment to ourselves. We also visited many other sites around Jerusalem including portions of the Via Dolorosa or “Way of the Cross”, Garden Tomb, Pools of Bethesda, Temple Mount, Southern Steps, and Western ‘Wailing’ Wall.

One of my favorite sites was wading through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This manmade tunnel is an engineering marvel that was carved under the City of David, shortly before it was besieged by Sennacherib in 701 BC. It’s purpose was to redirect the Gihon Spring and bring water into the city. Each of us carried a small flashlight as we negotiated the chilly, waist-high water. The tunnel was extremely narrow and some areas were less than 5 feet in height - definitely not the place to be if you’re claustrophobic!

After exploring Israel, we crossed the border into Jordan and drove South toward Edom. As we approached our hotel, we knew we were in for a treat. The Taybet Zaman is an authentic Bedouin village that has been converted into a quaint 5-star resort. The following day, we set out for the ancient Nabatean city of Petra. Even after extended study, nothing could prepare you for the awe of exploring this phenomenal site.

Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow mile-long chasm running between two mountain ridges. As we emerged, we were directly in front of the Treasury, an impressive tomb carved into the mountain. I wondered what it was like in the early 19th Century for Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt to re-discover this forgotten city. The Treasury was also featured in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But after our long walk, we were merely at the beginning of the city. As we continued, the path opened up and we began to see how massive Petra really is. Soon, we encountered hundreds of caves and a semi-circular theater that seated 8,000 people. The center of the city is located in the Wadi Musa (or Valley of Moses). It is said that Moses led the Israelites through this valley on the way to the Promised Land. Nearby is ‘Ain Musa (the Spring of Moses) and Jebel Haroon, where his brother, Aaron died.

After leaving Petra, we traveled North to Madaba, to see an ancient mosaic of the Holy Land dating back to the 6th Century AD. Next, we headed toward Mt. Nebo in mountains of Moab. At the summit, we walked to the top of Pisgah, where God showed Moses the Promised Land and told him he could not enter. As we descended toward the Jordan Valley, we were forced to a stop when a herd of goats decided to migrate across the road. Running behind was the flustered Bedouin shepherd trying desperately to control them. Just earlier, our bus had passed a tiny Toyota truck that was modified to carry a double-decker load of sheep. Whatever works.

Leaving Nebo, we had a short drive to the Dead Sea, the lowest land point on the face of the earth: 1,291 feet below sea level. The doomed cities of Sodom and Gamorrah were located in this area, as mentioned in the book of Genesis. Many in our group, including myself, went down to the beach to experience floating in this dense body of water. The salt content is approximately 27% - 30% whereas ordinary sea water is only 3%. You could literally lay back and read a newspaper without sinking. We also saw many people covered in the Dead Sea mud, which is said to have therapeutic properties. I just thought they looked like creatures emerging from the black lagoon!

Our final day in Jordan included a visit to the baptismal site of Jesus at Bethany beyond the Jordan. It was a very windy day creating a dusty haze across the dessert. Several from our group used bandanas and makeshift masks to help them breathe. From the baptism site, we saw the military checkpoints for Jordan and Israel that were separated only by the Jordan River.

Crossing the border back into Israel was a much longer process than leaving the country. The security is extremely tight entering Israel from an Arab country. Our luggage was scrutinized and many in our group were detained for further questioning. I was held for an extended period of time when they decided that my unopened Israeli wine was suspicious. They proceeded to open both bottles to verify that I wasn’t transporting chemical weapons or other contraband (grrrrr!). Finally, we were all cleared and allowed to enter the country.

We concluded our time with a farewell dinner at an upscale Arab restaurant. A lavish assortment of traditional dishes was served to us family style. It was an extraordinary cultural experience and fun way to wrap up the tour. We made our way to the airport and turned our eyes toward home, with warm memories of our journey through the land of our spiritual roots.

Susan Fletcher lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and 8-yr. old son. She has traveled extensively and enjoys writing articles on foreign travel and SCUBA diving. Susan Fletcher is currently writing a devotional book, based on her insights and travel experiences.

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Never rely on search engine traffic to support the bulk of your marketing efforts. The risk of doing this a greater than you think.

Search engines are constantly changing and evolving to stay one step ahead of spammers and unethical optimization practices. Recently, thousands of Web sites that were #1 in the Google search engine for many years suddenly found themselves on page 10, 20, 30 or worse.(This actually happened in September through early November 2005 due to a change in the Google algorithm.)

It is crucial to remember that your “natural rankings” or “non-paid page placement results” in the major search engines of Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask Jeeves are free. Search engines do not guarantee the inclusion of any Web site in its search results.

That’s why a solid marketing plan will have diversity. In today’s advertising universe, media channels are converging. Television, radio and print are driving viewers to Web sites and Web sites are becoming 24/7 advertising mediums that supports them all. The World Wide Web allows us to re-experience commercials, music, messages and imagery.

The news media outlets and commercial broadcast companies use the World Wide Web to extend their reach into our homes and businesses. For example, after every HBO special of Rome, they drive viewers to the HBO series Web site to see additional clips and features. Fox Broadcasting did this with their popular military series “Over There.”

Think about it - the World Wide Web supports and extends 99.9% of all mass media communication including the federal, state and local governments. From the Wall Street Journal to the White House, Web sites have proliferated at an incredible rate of 10,000 new Web sites a day.

Global businesses are competing 24/7 for their fair-share
of your attention with millions of dollars at stake. How in the world can small businesses compete? Fortunately emerging technologies and the Internet have helped level the playing field. Small business has a distinct advantage when targeting regional niche markets using mass media. Here’s how…/p>

1) Placing Ads in Print Media

Basically there are two kinds of print advertising; newspapers and magazines ‘classified and display’. Classifieds are the small ads towards the back of the publication, while display ads can be almost any size depending on the publication.
Advertising in the print media can be expensive, and for most home businesses it won’t be economical. This is where you can really benefit from the expertise of a media or public relations specialist. My company contracted with David Rourk of www.rourkpr.com. David knows where my ad is going to get the most bang-for-the-buck. He also knows which local, regional or national publications reach the client base I want to target.

2) Buying Radio advertising

Once your business grows to a decent size, you may consider buying some radio time. But ad-buyer beware! You could get a big response. Maybe a little too big! Thanks to the immediacy of radio, you could get mobbed the next day, so make sure you have a support system in place to handle multiple inquires via the phone, Web site, emails and walk-ins. If you have a Webmaster or you can do this yourself, load a digital copy of your radio commercial in your Website for your customers to revisit. I did this for of my Web clients, Easy Money Now, featuring multiple radio and TV commercials. http://www.easymoneynow.com/tv_radio.htm

3) Advertising on the Television

Unless your business is getting big, this would be a bad idea. You’d have trouble producing and airing an ad even on local cable channels for less than $5,000. Of course, if there’s a market for your product and you’ve got the budget for this, you could take the plunge and make a mint. Purchasing air-time or ‘media buys’ is a tricky business. Again, this is best left to a professional who has your best interests in mind. A public relations or advertising professional knows the best station and time slot in which to place your commercial. If you have a Webmaster or you can do this yourself, load a digital copy of your commercial in your Website for your customers to revisit.

4) Advertising on Billboards

If you do this right, a billboard campaign can be very effective. Billboard ads are relatively expensive, but they do generally stay up for a long time,and they can be specifically targeted to an area. Phone numbers and addresses
are pretty useless, whereas your Web site address will extend your reach providing your URL or domain name is easy to spell and remember. If you have a domain name that is difficult to remember, consider acquiring a second domain name for advertising purposes. For example, www.baycreekgolfclub.com uses www.baycreek.net.

5) Advertising at the movies

One type of advertising that often gets overlooked is cinema advertising. If you arrive to the cinema early, you’ll see local business ads followed by big-budget ads. This can be a great place to advertise relatively inexpensively in quite a high-profile way. Contact your local cinema chain and compare advertising rates.

6) Organic Advertising

There are multiple types of collateral advertising that help “brand” your business. These include printing, stamping or embroidering your business name and Web address on the following;

1) Pens, pencils, coffee mugs, coulees
2) Golf shorts, t-shirts and ball caps
3) Presentation folders, invoices, fax cover sheets and calendars
4) Bumper stickers, window stickers
5) Phone system ‘infomercial’ about your company for clients on-hold

7) ‘Grass Roots’ Advertising

Nothing beats the basic “meet and greet” or “smile and a hand-shake.” Get your name out in the business community. Check online and the local newspapers for business networking groups. Your local Chamber of Commerce would be a good place to start. Talk to community leaders, private business schools, and associations about business programs and events in your area.

Press Release Advertising

PR is popular because it is cost-effective and it works. Sending out a press release is just one example of free PR. There are many reasons for sending out a release: introducing a new product or service, celebrating an anniversary, winning an award, reaching a milestone and so on. Doing this on a regular basis is key to keeping your name in front of your customers and prospects’ eyes and being on the top of their mind when it comes to awareness. Popular forms of PR for the World Wide Web and print are; Writing Articles, Newsletters, Letters to the Editor, Online Forum and Blog Participation and offering Free Reports or (white papers).

If you know how to craft your own press release there are many free outlets on the Web to broadcast your business. I have listed many of them here: http://www.visionefx.net/submit.htm. Look under the heading - Submit Your Press Release and Business Articles

9) Web Advertising (Web Marketing)

The most effective Web based advertising I’ve used is “targeted business directories” or business specific directories. For my business this would be any directory having to do or related to Web design and development. There are thousands of business specific directories to include: real estate, law, construction, engineering, flowers, bridal and so on. To find a directory that has top search engine presence on Google, Yahoo or MSN Search and type-in a ‘frequently used search phrase’ relating to your business, products or sevices.

Want to know where to list your company in similar directories? I maintain a list of search engines and directories here - http://www.visionefx.net/submit.htm

10) Web Site Development

When you surf the Internet, the first impression you get from a Web site is its design. Much like a storefront, it either looks attractive and professional, or it looks shoddy and questionable. A powerful Web site design creates a sense of trust and respect between you and your on-line visitors. The site explains its purpose clearly and quickly, and why a visitor should spend time browsing it.

A Web site is your 24-hours, 7-days-a-week advertising brochure. Take time to plan, research, design and implement your Web site with a professional firm.

As you go through the process of selecting a Web design company, one of the keys to success will be the questions you ask. Following are some questions that will help you find the best company at the best price:

Important Web Design Questions to Ask
- How do you maintain communication with the client?
- How many designs of the home and interior pages will you provide?
- How are any design revisions handled?
- Do I get to keep all ordinal files and source code used to create my Web site? (Some of these ordinal files may include Photoshop files, Flash movie files and database files.)
- Do you charge for minor revisions once the Web site goes live?
- Do you provide a Web site maintenance plan? At what cost?
- Will you submit my Web site ‘manually’ to major search engines?
- Do you build ’search-engine-friendly’ Web sites?

About the Author
Virginia
Web Design - VISIONEFX President Ricardo Vidallon has been in the creative business of advertising, cable broadcast, animation and the World Wide Web for more than two decades. His work has been featured on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., Fox News and NBC Entertainment. His career track in Web consultancy includes the global companies of Reynolds and Reynolds, CMGI Solutions, and Automark, Inc.

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Did you hear about the executive who was asked to give a speech? He talked about his company, himself, and his plans for the future.

You haven’t heard this story because the audience fell asleep, so no one reported it.

In this era of 500 TV channels, computer access, and awesome video games, a boring speaker with a lousy message doesn’t stand a chance. So if you want listeners to remember your message, it’s gotta be entertaining.

That’s why I’ve discarded my fancy speech. I’ve trashed my start-to-finish, logical formal address. In it’s place, I tell one amusing story after another.

There’s just one catch: All the stories must relate to my major theme. But the funnier I am - and I’m funny about half the time - the better feedback I get.

Here are five simple joke ideas, plus ways you might drag them into your next speech:

1. PLAY-ON-WORDS - Example: “Let me be frank with you. That may be difficult, because Frank is not my name.”

2. NON-SEQUITIR - Example: “All of us notice more insects this summer. Some of them have two wings, and others have four. Wingless insects like ants don’t fly. They carpool.”

3. EXAGGERATION - Example: “No one knows how many insects invade us, because many live underground, and some fall beneath shoes. But the last approximate count was 347 gazillion.”

4. COMPARATIVE - Example: “It was so hot today I decided to wear this really cool coat.”

5. SET UP, PUNCH LINE - Example; “I had a great lunch before I came over here. I went to a fish restaurant, and asked the cook ‘Can you make a catfish?’ He said ‘I guess I could give him a rod and reel, but I’m not sure he could use it.’”

Sad but apparently true: A recent study says some adult attention spans are only eight seconds! So, to capture an audience - or to hold readers - we must present them with useful, topical information served in an entertaining way.

Rix Quinn wrote the book “Words That Stick,” which offers lots of writing ideas for executives and speakers. It’s available through your local bookstore, or at Ten Speed Press. http://www.tenspeed.com/catalog/all/item.php3?id=1661

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Organizations communicate in two directions: internally to staff and externally to clients, customers, shareholders, stakeholders, the media. Faulty internal communications can lead to mistakes, discouraged and unhappy staff, employees leaving the company. Poor external communications can jeopardize image and sales. It really is that simple. Any overall management strategy needs a communications plan or the whole operation might fail.

A communications audit analyzes an organization’s practices to reveal how effective they arethroughout a whole company or in specified parts of the organization. It can pinpoint problem areas such as frequent misunderstandings, information blocks, information lacks, information duplication, misrepresentation. An audit could be part of a periodic health check but it is especially helpful at a time of change: a merger or acquisition, launch of a new product or service, entry into new markets, for example.

The exact nature of the audit will depend on the type of organization and its particular needs and problems. But it will certainly aim to identify target audiences: the external audience will have different needs from an internal one. It will need to identify the key messages that need to be communicated and the channels that exist for conveying them. It will look not only at the communications that the organization makes but also how it receives them.

But what might be going wrong, with external communications, say? Let me give an example here. My husband is a shareholder in a building company. Every year it produces a glossy Annual Report that it sends to shareholders. The report is extremely detailed and full of lavish photographs. It clearly costs a lot to produce and distribute. This makes my husband very angry. He doesn’t want to read the full report and resents the money that is wasted on producing and sending a document that goes straight in the bin. What he would like is a leaflet summarizing the salient points about the company’s performance and changes. Does the company realize that some shareholders feel this way? It is important to bear in mind that most shareholders are not able to attend shareholder meetings and may not know how to make their views known. This company has a two-way problem. The communications it sends out are wrong for some shareholders but it has not thought about a way of creating a channel for the shareholders to give their feedback. It is thus breaking a fundamental rule of effective communications: you must have feedback.

Or take an internal issue. The HR department of a company gives out a detailed instruction manual to new employees. Yet many of the newly hired people seem completely lost during their first weeks. Why might this be? Well, in the first place, the employees are mostly involved in manual work. They are not used to reading chunks of written material. Most of the manuals lie unopened in their lockers. A buddy scheme of some kind would probably be a much better way of easing the new people through the first weeks.

Another example comes from a small company in which everybody was under pressure to meet deadlines. The director of the company made a habit of telephoning staff for briefings at lunchtime because he knew they ‘weren’t busy’ then. But that was the point. They were having lunch. The amount of resentment he caused by this policy of disturbing people during the precious few minutes they had to relax was enormous.

Communicating is a complex process with potential pitfalls at each stage. Is the message clear? Is the medium for transmitting it appropriate? Has the recipient actually received it? If so, has it been understood? Has it had the desired effect? Does the recipient have a channel for feedback? Can the recipient understand how to provide the feedback? The old metaphor of the Chinese whisper holds true. You thought you said one thing but when you check you find that a totally different message was actually received.

The audit is a systematic approach that forces an organization to look at what it is really doing as opposed to what it believes it is doing. The audit will look at the people who send and receive messages; the means of communicatingwhich extend beyond the obvious use of the telephone, meetings, conferences, e-mail etc. to encompass dress code, office layouts, desk-tidy policiesin order to build up a comprehensive picture of what is happening. Every aspect of communication provides another piece of the jigsaw and, once this is complete, you have the basis for an evaluation.

The evaluation report will consider attitudes towards the communications (do people look forward to meetings or consider them a waste of time?); it will look at the needs of different groups (the most appropriate way to deliver training, for example) and it will provide evidence of any problems that need to be addressed.

However, it is important to evaluate the audit within a relevant framework. For this reason, key people will have to clarify the purpose for the organization’s existence, its cultural values and its identity. For example, the communications strategy for a budget airline will be very different from one which targets business executives. The two companies will have different purposes, values and identities. They will know exactly who uses their service and why. They will also understand the key frustrations of their customers and must ensure they can use communications to deal with those frustrations effectively.

The audit is thus a valuable tool for enhancing internal motivation, loyalty and efficiency and for beefing up market position. It can be handled internally but there are also benefits from using an external consultant. Employees might feel inhibited about expressing their real view to another company member, whereas an outsider, who guarantees their anonymity, will be less of a threat.

Brenda Townsend Hall is a writer and trainer in the fields of communications and cross-cultural awareness. She is an associate member of the ITAP International Alliance: http://www.itapintl.com/

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Business has become competitive and complex these days. The
branding, positioning, patronizing and believing are all aspects
of a product which any business can scarcely ignore. However the
controls do matter for effective monitoring and effecting the
required checks and balances. This would become feasible when
the information flow become smooth, error free, updated,
relevant and conclusive to the run of business. Free POS
software has become the most popular means of achieving this
competitive edge.

A point of Sale system (POS) becomes essential to the business.
The essentialities of staying put and even in competition is the
ability to buy better, turn faster, market smarter with of
course the ability to work efficiently forming the undercurrent.
POS ensures all these. The system works on the principle that
key to survival is profits and key to profits is awareness.

In today’s times of automation, processed and classified
information is a must given the complexity involved when
managing a business unit. There are diverse departments in a
business unit. Information trickling into and flowing out of
these units are diverse and divergent. For effective monitoring
and controlling, as also for coordinating and harmonization, it
is imperative that information be without slippages, with of
course, the inherent complexity. A search for appropriate
software would not have come a day soon, what with multifarious
attitude becoming a requirement.

Free POS software is the answer to the requirement and is hotly
pursued by retailers. The software addresses the difficulty in
handling finances which are ingredients to the success of any
business. Moreover the software delivers the goods in less time.
The software aids in monitoring and controlling inventory
levels. This could result in better selection of merchandise and
obviate out of stock situations. Merchandising efforts get
stepped up when information related to customer purchase history
is available. Indirectly sales become high and appropriateness
of the software is realized.

The next area where free POS software is useful is in the
critical and crucial area of customer service. Speed and
accuracy are the watchwords for a business unit which free POS
software takes sufficient care of. Commitments of special order
get honored with timely monitoring.

Online enquiry systems facilitate ascertainment of out of stock
items becoming available at other locations. Personalized
service gets offered through procurement of customer specific
information. Retailers can use POS software to manage stock
levels at minimum and maximum so as to serve holding costs and
costs of obsolescence. This would enable the retailer to balance
inventory levels by deployments of stocks as a cost arrangement.

Manpower training and training of other sorts would get reduced
upon using the highly functional and easy to use software.
Double entries and errors of this type are reduced when the
program’s tight integration comes out effectively.

Free POS software does not require the user to have prior
knowledge of say accounting or inventory. Information is
required to be entered just once. The integration system ensures
that it is placed at the placed needed to be. Workload gets
reduced as also the associated costs.

The POS software helps managing profitability. The software is
user friendly and is easy to learn. Integration with the
required components of a system would make free POS software a
coveted possession of a businessman functioning singly or as a
part of a larger chain that aims in speedy, professional,
personalized and accurate service. With free POS software having
set in can a customer satisfaction and patronization be far
behind?

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It really chaps my hide whenever I see those commercials on TV
with a woman MD-wanna-be hawking the latest diet pill. These
“play-doctors” are usually wearing white lab coats, like they’re
on the way to perform surgery and just thought they’d take time
out of their busy schedule to tell you about this “latest
medical breakthrough”.

Don’t be fooled. The idea is to make it appear as if this woman
(or man, I’ve seen them, too) is an actual doctor telling
you about this latest prescription medicine to solve your weight
problem. They even have the nerve to sell it to you in a bottle
that looks just like one of the prescriptions you get from your
local pharmacy.

With obesity and all its related health problems becoming more
and more common in the general population, people are becoming
desperate to try a “magic pill” that will help them lose weight.
As a result, there is a lot of harm you can do to yourself if
you don’t choose your weight loss supplements wisely.

While many health and fitness experts will tell you flat out not
to ever use any supplements…ever…research has shown
that some can be used with success under the right conditions.

1.Are you under a doctor’s care for high blood pressure,
diabetes, heart problems, depression or any other serious health
problem? Taking any of these types of supplements can be
very dangerous. Consult your doctor and get your other health
problems under control before using any weight loss supplements.

2.Are doctors involved in the design and manufacture of the
supplement? By that, I mean, do they put together the
combinations and formulas for the supplements? If so, what are
their credentials? If you see that a doctor (or group of
doctors) has been involved in the design and production of an
herbal remedy for a health problem, you have to understand that
their professional reputation is on the line. Many of
them have spent decades in medical schools and in clinical
environments, practicing medicine. No one who has invested that
much time and energy on their medical career is going to
sacrifice their reputation for something they are not absolutely
sure is going to work.

3.Read the label and research, research, research
the ingredients. Make sure you know what you’re taking and
realize that the FDA guidelines for herbal supplements do not
require standardized amounts. In some cases, you only need a
trace amount of the herb in order to put the name on the label
so look for the standardized claim on the bottle. That can also
give you a clue as to whether the price is right on a certain
herbal compound. If it’s really cheap…or free…
there’s usually a reason why…most likely, it’s because there’s
very little of the active ingredient in the pill.

4.Look for the word “chelated” and “amino-acid-bound”
which means that the minerals are absorbed by your body better
and more effectively than the simple forms manufactured by other
vitamin-mineral products.

5.Realize that there is no such thing as a “magic weight loss
pill”. You must follow a healthy diet and exercise
regularly in order for these herbs to work. Most good,
quality weight loss supplements will enhance your weight loss
efforts by increasing your metabolism and suppressing your
appetite while you eat those good healthy veggies and take that
30 minute walk everyday.

The definition of “supplement” is “to increase, extend, or
improve something by adding something to it.” So, the best
weight loss supplements are not meant to replace, but
supplement, a healthy lifestyle.

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