Saturday, July 9, 2011

Jamie's 30-Minute Meals By Jamie Oliver

Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

Jamie's 30-Minute Meals
By Jamie Oliver

This item is not available for purchase from this store.
Click here to go to Amazon to see other purchasing options.


35 new or used available from $20.90

Average customer review:
(9 customer reviews)

Product Description

In his new book, "Jamie's 30-Minute Meals", Jamie proves that, by mastering a few tricks and being organized and focused in the kitchen, it is absolutely possible, and easy, to get a complete meal on the table in the same amount of time you'd normally spend making one dish! The 50 brand-new meal ideas in this book are exciting, varied and seasonal. They include main course recipes with side dishes as well as puddings and drinks, and are all meals you'll be proud to serve your family and friends. Jamie has written the recipes in a way that will help you make the most of every single minute in the kitchen. This book is as practical as it is beautiful, showing that with a bit of preparation, the right equipment and some organization, hearty, delicious, quick meals are less than half an hour away. You'll be amazed by what you're able to achieve.

Product Details
  • Amazon Sales Rank: #78897 in Books
  • Published on: 2010-09
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 288 pages
Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Jamie Oliver started cooking at his parents' pub, The Cricketers in Clavering, Essex, at the age of eight, and has gone on to work with some of the world's top chefs. He founded Fifteen restaurant in London, and the associated charity, Fifteen Foundation, which trains disadvantaged young people to become chefs. There are now Fifteen restaurants in Cornwall, Amsterdam and Melbourne. Jamie has also launched a chain of high-street restaurants in the UK called Jamie's Italian. He writes for publications in the UK and around the world, including his own Jamie Magazine, and he lives in London with his wife and their children.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful.
4original concept, great veg
By D&D
Jamie has a great way with salads, in particular. We're delighted, because for too long our salads - even when jazzed up with nuts and/or dried fruits - have been boring, repetitive, and usually eaten up because they're "healthy".

So far, we've loved every single salad we've tried from this cookbook, such as the almond & carrot salad on the Rogan Josh page (a particular favorite), the ribboned cucumber salad (another favorite), the spinach, pine nut & cucumber salad, the beetroot & feta salad, the zucchini/courgette & mozzarella salad, and the kimchee slaw. The majority of the main dishes are vegetarian, chicken or fish with a few more expensive cuts like steak but we wished he had offered more variations of ground lamb and ground beef. We like his chicken main dish recipes most, particularly the creamy mustard chicken, the killer jerk chicken and the easy oven chicken but not the piri piri chicken.

The book is much more usable now we've seen several of the TV episodes in each of which Jamie actually cooks - seemingly within 30 minutes of real time - everything from one chosen page of this book. The book is a series of 50 complete meals with specific step-by-step instructions on how to make it all happen at the same time. Each meal is set out on one page, with the ingredients and instructions for everything needed: usually there's a main dish and one or two side vegetables/salads plus a starch/carbohydrate like bread, potato or rice - and quite often even a clever "cheat's" dessert. The instructions jump between the dishes, telling you what to start first, and exactly when during the half hour you should take each step - for all the dishes of that meal. The meals are not elegant or showy, but most could successfully be served to friends and/or (subject to the particular fads of your children) family.

Jamie is obviously faster than most but let's say it would take 45 minutes for us ordinary mortals - still an impressive outcome. Most important of all, every dish has actually been test-cooked, which is not actually the norm - yes, indeed, we were shocked when we first learned that most cookbook recipes are not tested, although it certainly explained the high failure rate we have experienced over the years. We are looking forward to catching all 20 of the episodes in series 1 and hope the others will be made into further series. P.S. Yes, this early version of the book (ISBN 0718154770) was published in the UK and therefore has the European metric measurements. I understand a U.S. version will be published.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
5great addition to viewing the series
By Tonii Kelly
Jamie brings such optimism to food preparation, it's a joy to use his techniques and actually make healthy, tasty food. The book lays it out: prep, timing, serving displays: everything the shows reveal, but in a fashion new cooks can absorb at their pace.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
5FINALLY - Food I want to cook and eat
By Sarah Mc Bride
I absolutely love this book. I was able to see a bunch of the episodes of the TV show on YouTube and wrote down every single detail of each episode but now I have the whole thing right in front of me!!! I ADORE cooking in metric units, I bought a small and very easy to use scale on amazon.com for around $12 a while back and I'm constantly converting all my stupid US measuring units to metric. Why on earth would anyone try baking with out actually weighing ingredients ... I digress. The layout of each meal actually makes it easy to get the whole thing on the table in 30 minutes. I am an experienced cook with a good set of tools so I'm sure that helps as well but I've made the Steak Sarnie dinner and the Killer Jerk Chicken (my two favorites) several times and got them on the table in no time flat.

I did notice that one of the big differences between finding/sourcing ingredients here versus in the UK (or at Irish grocery stores that I am familiar with such as Superquin and the UK Marks & Spencer) is that packages are usually larger. You don't often find a small 250 gram sack of rice - we are jumbo size! And whole tinned tomatoes (Jools Favorite Pasta) usually come in giant 32 oz cans rather than the smaller ones. Oh well. I make very good use of the bulk bins at Whole Foods. There are also some differences in the names of the cuts of beef and a few veggies - just goole it if you really get stuck and don't know that aubergine and eggplant are the same thing. And Jamie's readers also have ready access to Marks & Spencer which is a high-end grocery story that stocks TONS of excellent prepared ingredients that are only starting to become common over here. I haven't seen cooked beets anywhere except for Whole Foods and that was a new product.

I've also gone back through some of Jamie's other family-friendly food books (Food Revolution) and converted some of the Indian curries into 30 minute meals too. I love the method for cooking Jerk chicken - wizz the marinade in the blender while browning the skin on the stove in your non-stick skillet and then finish the whole thing off by baking it right in the sauce in the oven. This is now one of my favorite books and you really can get stuff on the table in 30 minutes; this is not your Rachel Ray tasteless crap. And I also find that this is truely home-chef friendly. I have a few other nice Jamie books that I don't think are as good for the average home chef.

http://astore.amazon.com/amazon-book-books-20/detail/0718154770

=========================================================
 
For Millions Of Books In 2 Dozen+ Categories & 400+/- Sub-Categories & Customer Reviews, Kindly Visit:- http://astore.amazon.com/amazon-book-books-20
 
=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
 
=========================================================
 
 
=========================================================
 
 
 
at 7/09/2011 10:59:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Jamie's 30-Minute Meals By Jamie Oliver ~ Twitter FaceBook

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Rethinking Employee Awards

I Love Rewards and other businesses find ways to bring meaning to corporate award ceremonies.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors the year's finest film. The PEN/Faulkner Foundation honors the year's best fiction. SurePayroll honors the year's most impressive screwup.

Winning Best New Mistake is a signal distinction at SurePayroll, a $23 million online payroll-processing company based in Glenview, Illinois. The company, which was recently acquired by Paychex, celebrates the end of its busy season with a ceremony called the SureChoice Awards, of which Best New Mistake is the breathlessly awaited culmination. Employees nominate themselves; management receives about 40 proud admissions of error each year. There are three winners (gold, silver, and bronze), and the perpetrator of the gold gaffe receives $400—twice as much as do winners of the company's other, more traditional, awards.

"We underline the new part," says SurePayroll's president, Michael Alter. "There's no award for making the same mistake twice." Last year's winner tried to streamline a process for customers and ended up frustrating them instead.

Alter dreamed up Best New Mistake to remind staff that, in a culture of innovation, failure is always an option. "If you don't encourage people to take risks, then you end up with incrementalism forever," says Alter. "Mistakes are the tuition you pay for success."

Best New Mistake is one example of the effort to inject relevance and excitement into what, at many companies, are staid and symbolically sterile artifacts: annual awards. Over the years, the President's Award, the Leadership Award, the Customer Service Award, and their ilk tend to come unmoored from a company's mission. And employees start to forget what those awards were meant to recognize—if their significance was spelled out in the first place.

A few companies are trying to invigorate this creaky tradition by rethinking what they honor and how they honor it. The Disruption Award sounds like all those innovation prizes that became ubiquitous in the '90s, when everyone started reading Clayton Christensen. But at ADG Creative, a $6 million marketing firm in Columbia, Maryland, the Disruption Award goes to the person whose personal life was most disrupted by his or her job that year. "We give it to the person who is relentless, not because we expect them to kill themselves but in the spirit of sacrificial leadership," says ADG's founder and chief creative officer, Jeff Antkowiak.

Typically, the recipient is someone who volunteers for an ambitious project that keeps her at the office late at night and on weekends. The winner receives a bag of espresso beans, a neck pillow, and—more substantively—a five-day weekend and $2,000. Last year, three employees won for overseeing the transition to a new office space while keeping the old one running.

Most annual awards are meant to encourage desirable behavior by spotlighting role models. But that relegates a company's best employees to a passive role: people who have already proved themselves and are now held up as objects of emulation. Bob Nelson, a consultant and motivational speaker and the author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, argues that awards should instead propel recipients into new roles with greater responsibility. "If it's the Leadership Award, don't just give them a check and send them to Hawaii," advises Nelson. "Say part of the honor is to become a mentor. Or if it's the Innovator Award, give them a budget to develop one of their ideas." Nelson also recommends ditching the one-award-one-winner formula—which forces leaders to draw artificial distinctions among high performers—and instead honoring all the brightest stars in a company's constellation.

That largesse is feasible if the award is a call to service rather than a fat check. I Love Rewards, a San Francisco-based company that helps human-resources departments implement staff-recognition programs, inducts about 10 employees into its president's club every year. And, yes, they do get a trip (last year, it was four days in the Bahamas). But once back home, the honorees become part of the CEO Insiders' Circle. The Circle, which consists of staff members of various departments and employment levels, meets quarterly to help CEO Razor Suleman evaluate big questions. In recent gatherings, it has discussed how to scale the company's culture as I Love Rewards expands.

"When you ask your best employees what you need to do, they know," says Suleman. "And when other employees see that top performers helped develop the strategy, you get amazing buy-in."

More important than what awards consist of is what they signify. Award ceremonies are great opportunities to remind employees of the company's core values by demonstrating how individuals embody them. "Someone gets the President's Award—well, what the hell is that?" says Nelson. "The CEO should state what that person did and tie it back to the mission and strategic goals. Now, at least people are learning from it."

Ideally, the mention of a particular award will conjure the image not of a trophy or a check but of the honoree busy doing whatever makes him valuable to the business. "We give away trips, but we don't want people thinking about trips," says Antkowiak. "We want them thinking about what's so amazing about their co-workers."

POLISHING THE TROPHIES
Employee awards don't have to be stale gestures. Here's how to put meaning back into the plaques and trophies.

Spell out the criteria. Write down what each award recognizes, including examples of past winners and why they won. That way, the honor remains consistent and is less vulnerable to charges of favoritism. Says author and motivational speaker Bob Nelson, "You don't want people saying, 'Wait a minute. Isn't that what that person is paid to do?'"

Customize prizes. Find out whether individual winners would prefer money, time off, a trip, or something else. At ADG Creative, managers discreetly ask imminent winners about their preferences. "We want to make sure we give them something they actually want," says ADG's founder, Jeff Antkowiak.

Recognize multiple top performers. Don't place arbitrary limits on the number of people who can receive a company's top award. If several employees have had bang-up years, honor them all. "Why put a quota on excellence?" says Nelson. "You don't have to give them all $1,000."

Limit the kinds of awards. It's tempting—and fun—to create awards recognizing every accomplishment, from most-improved presentations to best-decorated cubicle. But don't create so many that they become meaningless. "There's this great line from the movie The Incredibles," says Antkowiak. "'When everybody is extraordinary, nobody is extraordinary.'"

Thanks to Leigh Buchanan / Mansueto Ventures LLC. / Inc.
http://www.inc.com/magazine/201107/rethinking-employee-awards.html

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:42:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Rethinking Employee Awards ~ Twitter FaceBook

4 Common Branding Mistakes Startups Make

Branding is extremely important for small companies that want to grow and sustain their businesses for the long term. It is a major challenge for a small business to establish a brand because of the lack of funds, resources, people and time. Yet branding is what makes your company attractive to investors, consumers and future employees. Your brand is the relationship you have with your customers and relationships are not built overnight. A lot of entrepreneurs have difficulty with branding because they prioritize product development and sales before meaning and experience. A company that doesn't have a well-defined brand will have trouble with differentiation in the marketplace and with generating media awareness. Here are some common missteps to watch out for.

1. They don't define a set target market

In order to gain visibility in the marketplace, it's imperative that you are specific with the types of customers you're going after. You can't be everything to everyone or you'll be nothing to no one. Too many entrepreneurs think that they need a mainstream product for the highest potential sales. By defining and segmenting your audience, you can appear higher in search engine results and the "right people" will find you and want your product. Think about the age, gender, geography and lifestyle of the people you're targeting and don't be afraid to define your market in public. For example, instead of being just another law firm, you can position yourself as "legal counsel for young entrepreneurs in Charlotte." If a young entrepreneur in Charlotte is looking for legal support, they will search online and your website will come up. Since you have a well defined position, they will choose you over a more generalist firm that doesn't understand their needs.

2. They focus too much on advertising and not enough on PR

Sixty-three percent of small to medium-sized businesses advertise online, according to a survey by Affinity Express. While targeted advertising on specific blogs, websites, and through Google AdWords and Facebook Social Ads might help, it's well worth the investment to get PR support and partner with brands. Public relations is extremely important because what other people say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself. Self-proclamations don't build brands; the media does. It's far better to have a profile in Fortune magazine than it is to pay for a full-page advertisement in the magazine. Earned media is much more respected by customers. Small businesses typically don't have well-known brands so they require third-party endorsements and partnerships in order to become established. If people haven't heard of your company, then it's helpful if you create strategic partnerships with companies that your market is familiar with. By associating your company with a well-known brand, your company becomes more credible and your brand grows.

3. They don't build a strong Web presence to attract new customers

Every single business should have a website, but 55 percent of small businesses don't have one, according to data analyzed by Formstack. How are potential customers supposed to find you? People are searching for you online and every time you don't come up, there's another missed opportunity to build your business and brand. Consumers turn to the Web first before making a purchasing decision. A strong Web presence allows you to point people to where they can find more information about who you are, what you do and what products and services you offer. Instead of blowing money on advertising, invest your resources in social media and your website. Consumers also turn to their friends, through social networks, when deciding what company to purchase from. That's why it's crucial, more than ever before, to create your own profile pages, and engage with your customer base. Start by concentrating your efforts on the top three social networks: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

4. They disable their employees from building their brand

Forty percent of small businesses have a policy that prohibits employees from visiting Facebook, reports Webroot.  Small business owners should let their employees use social networking sites as long as they are doing it for the benefit of the company. Consumers want to hear your story and connect with your employees to get a better sense of your company. If you enable your employees to become evangelists for your company, then you will be able to scale your marketing and foster stronger relationships with your customers. Your employees should be able to build and develop their own personal brands because then they become more valuable to your company.

Dan Schawbel is the Founder of Millennial Branding, a full-service personal branding firm based in Boston. He is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.

Thanks To Dan Schawbel / Open Forum / American Express Company
http://www.openforum.com/articles/4-common-branding-mistakes-startups-make?cid=em-openf-SBweekly-20110705-06&extlink=em-openf-SBweekly-20110705-06

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:42:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: 4 Common Branding Mistakes Startups Make ~ Twitter FaceBook

Is Your Organization’s Leadership Internally Or Externally Motivated?

Is your company's leadership motivated by external deadlines – what other people request from them? Or are they motivated by their own internal deadlines – expectations and demands they place on themselves?

Unfortunately, we have all witnessed too many leaders who are externally motivated.   They require demands from their boss and reminders from their colleagues in order to get things done.  At a time where we need leaders in the workplace to touch the business just as much as they lead it, external motivation is unacceptable in today's new business climate.   Leaders are spending too much time playing it safe, when they should be taking calculated risks to be more innovative, decisive and forward-thinking in their actions.

Think about what the workplace and its people would be like if leaders where internally motivated.

1. A More Innovative Workplace Culture.

Internally motivated leaders inspire their employees and colleagues to match their internal fire, bringing out the innovators in everyone.  Employees become more critical in their thinking.  People become more aware of their own "employee brand" and how its relevance can best support leadership and align with the organizations goals and objectives.  An innovative culture would help the high performance employees stand out from those that just play it safe.

2.   More Critical Thinking; Adaptive Teamwork.

People become more critical in their thinking, approach and style to their leadership. Do you adapt your thinking to your leadership? I am shocked by those who are constantly complaining about their boss.   First of all, there is no such thing as a perfect boss.  Second, tough luck!   Your responsibility is not to always agree with your boss, but rather exceed her expectations.  Therefore, if your boss is internally motivated; learn how to stay a few steps ahead.  Perhaps you can become the employee that fuels your boss's internally driven motivations and ultimate success.  Be a lifter.  Help others become better all the time, even if you are not always getting the direct credit.  Your time will come.  Helping others must fuel your internal motivations.

I'm reminded of my early corporate years, when my boss would always surprise the team with new expectations for the business and challenge our approach to growth.  Over time, I began to realize that my thought processes started to change.  I was being challenged to express my entrepreneurial spirit in a manner that forced me to out-think my boss.  Not in a competitive sense, but in a holistic sense that pushed me to better understand her patterns of thought and how I could become her secret weapon without anyone knowing.  Overtime, we both understood my role and I began to share what I learned with others on the team to do the same, encouraging their own style and approach.  Our team became the highest performing division in the organization.

Innovation is the by-product of internal motivation.   The greatest leaders are the ones that can take their internal motivations and cultivate innovation from within their communities.

The best leadership team I was a part of was the most unorganized.   The organization was not measured by structures, but rather driven by continuous innovation to keep our competitors honest.  While the lack of structure challenged our ability to be efficient, every leader was internally motivated to produce new marketable ideas.  Not small ideas, but big ideas that could leverage the existing infrastructure of the organization to extend itself beyond its own boundaries.   It's amazing how much more people can do when their future was based on their ability to convert inventions into innovations.  This begins with leadership that is motivated from within.

If you looked at your company's organizational chart, could you easily detect the leaders that are internally versus externally motivated?  If you are one of the externally motivated leaders, would this be obvious to others?  How about your colleagues?  What drives them?  Are you an asset or a liability to your organization?

I welcome your viewpoints and stories about the leaders in your workplace.

Thanks to Glenn Llopis / Blog Forbes
http://blogs.forbes.com/glennllopis/2011/07/05/is-your-organizations-leadership-internally-or-externally-motivated/?partner=alerts

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:42:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Is Your Organization’s Leadership Internally Or Externally Motivated? ~ Twitter FaceBook

The Essential To-Do List For First-Time Entrepreneurs

When you leave the corporate world to go out on your own, you trade the illusion of security for the illusion of freedom. It's best to realize that now.

It's also useful to think of starting a business like having a baby: It will take all the time you can give it and lots more money than you thought it would. Go into it with eyes wide open and be prepared to make a 24/7 time commitment. Part-time entrepreneurs have about as much success as part-time parents.

Before we go into how to increase your chances for success, first a few dire facts. Only about half of small business start-ups survive 5 years or longer. The top two reasons for failure are:

1. Lack of experience — not operational (building or selling your better mouse trap) but lack of business experience.

2. Running out of cash — the earning curve never catches up with the learning curve.

So, our best piece of advice to you is this: When you control your money, you control your future. Here's a to-do list to help you get to the five-year mark — and beyond.

1. Overestimate (generously) your costs to start up.

A few years ago, a rock climber in Phoenix needed rescuing when he tried to rappel a 400-foot rock face with a 250-foot rope. Your initial cash for your start-up is like your rope. Are you going to leave yourself dangling 150 feet from your destination?

Don't make the mistake of underestimating the cost of your new business and overestimating sales and your break-even point. Instead, try this: Take your best, conservative estimate for your start-up costs, then double it. Then add 20%. Surprisingly, this is usually pretty close to reality.

2. Know your break-even point.

Ten thousand dollars in sales does not cover $10,000 of expenses. Your cost of sales could easily be $7,000, leaving you $3,000 in gross profit, which you will need to pay all of your sales, general, and administrative costs. It's simple arithmetic: You reach the break-even point when your gross profit equals all remaining business costs.

3. Realize that you can't make up in volume what you lose in profit — so price accordingly.

One of the great myths in business is that by offering lower prices you will attract more customers and then, down the road, you can raise your prices. Without proper profit margins, you will not generate the cash flow to stay in business. You can't be all things to all people. It is far more important to establish a clear and unique value proposition, then price your goods and services accordingly.

4. Build your financial team.

Waiting until you make money to put together a financial team is like waiting until you lose weight before you start an exercise program. A good bookkeeper, controller, CFO, CPA, financial advisor, etc… can help you make money, and more importantly, help you keep it! A word of warning: You can delegate to your financial team but do not abdicate.

5. Find a mentor or business coach.

Even if you're sure you don't need one, find at least one mentor or coach, and be willing to listen. Ask him or her to review your budget, projections, marketing plan, targeted customer profiles, and, most importantly, your assumptions.

6. Conquer your fear of financials.

No matter what your native language, the financial language of business is foreign. Learn the language or get an interpreter you trust. Though you'll rely heavily on your financial team to create reports, build time in your schedule to review and understand the reports. For sure you will look at your daily sales and cash balances. Look, too, at your weekly cash flow, break even, and monthly income statement/P&L statement, balance sheet, and variance reports. Conduct both a sniff test (if it doesn't smell right then there's probably something sick and wrong) and a random integrity check.

Sound daunting? It's only the beginning. But if we only thought about dirty diapers and crying kids, we'd never have babies. The same is true with starting a business, there's a lot of crap, but there's a lot of joy to be had as well.

For those of you who have started businesses — what were (or are) your greatest challenges?

Thanks to Mary Goodman and Rich Russakoff / BNet / CBS Interactive
http://www.bnet.com/blog/bottom-line/the-essential-to-do-list-for-first-time-entrepreneurs/186

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:42:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: The Essential To-Do List For First-Time Entrepreneurs ~ Twitter FaceBook

Simple Steps To Extreme Personal Productivity

Increasing personal productivity is big business:  Stephen Covey, David Allen, Tony Robbins, 43folders… those and countless others have combined to turn improving individual productivity into a massive industry.

Forget them. 

If you want to complete a major project, tackle a task you've been putting off, or just knock out a lot of work in a relatively short period of time, there's an easier way.

And it's free.

Say you need to complete a task you estimate will take, oh, 10 to 12 hours.  Here's how to pull it off in one day:

  1. Tell everyone your plan. This step is an absolute must since interruptions are productivity killers.  So is the, "How much longer do you have to work?" guilt trip family members sometimes can't help but lay on you.  At a minimum tell coworkers and family, but consider letting important clients know as well.  Send a quick email a day or two before explaining you will be tied up on Thursday and will respond to calls, emails, etc. first thing Friday morning.  Some customers will contact you before Thursday; others will  mentally note you can't be reached.  Either way it's all good.  And you get an additional benefit from telling others your plan: People important to you know what you intend to accomplish — and will know if you don't succeed.  Peer pressure can be a great motivator.  Use it.
  2. Decide how long you will work. Don't plan based on, "I'll work as long as I can," or "I'll work as long as I feel productive."  Set a concrete target.  Commit to working 12 hours or whatever period of time you choose.  Then the longer the time frame, the quicker the early hours seem to go by.  When I worked in a factory we typically worked 8-hour shifts; time before lunch dragged and the last couple hours always seemed like death. During busy periods when we worked 12-hour shifts the mornings seemed to fly by.  Something about knowing you'll be working for a long time allows you to stop checking the clock; it's like you naturally find your Zen (work)place.  When you know you're in for a long haul your mind automatically adapts.  Trust me — it works.
  3. Start really early — or extremely late. Have you ever taken a long car trip and left really early in the morning?  Like at 3 or 4 a.m.?  Those first few hours on the road fly by because you've stepped outside your norm.  The same trick works with accomplishing a major goal.  Start at 4 a.m. or indulge your inner night owl and start at 6 p.m. to work through the night.  An extreme productivity day is not a normal day; set the stage by breaking free of your normal routine.
  4. Withhold the fun, at least for a while. Some people like to listen to music while they work, others keep an eye on news.  If you like to "treat" yourself when you're working, don't, at least in the early hours.  When your motivation starts to flag that's when a little music can provide a needed boost.  Each treat is like a personal productivity bullet; shoot too early and nothing is left when you really need ammunition.  Whatever typically carries you through your workday, hold off on it for awhile.  Delayed gratification is always better gratification.
  5. Recharge early. When you exercise, If you wait until you're thirsty to drink it's too late.  The same is true when you work.  Plan to eat or snack a little earlier than normal.  If you sit while you work, stand before your butt gets numb.  If you stand, sit before your legs start to ache.  Any time you allow yourself to feel discomfort your motivation and resolve weakens.  And speaking of food, plan meals wisely.  Don't take an hour lunch break:  Prepare food you can eat quickly without lots of preparation or mess.  The key is to refuel and keep rolling.
  6. Take productive breaks, not rest breaks. Momentum is everything.  Don't take a walk, or watch a little TV, or goof around on the Internet.  You will need breaks, but breaks should reinforce your sense of activity and accomplishment.  Pick a few productive tasks you like to perform — and gain a sense of accomplishment when you complete — and use those for your breaks.  Spending even a few minutes in the land of inactivity weakens your resolve.
  7. Don't quit until you're done — even if finishing takes longer than expected. Stopping short is habit-forming.  If you stop this time what will keep you from stopping next time?  Success can be a habit, so make sure your first extreme personal productivity day is the start of a great new habit.

A great side benefit of an extreme personal productivity day: We unconsciously set internal limits on our output.  A voice inside says, "I've done enough," or, "That's all I can do today," or, I'm whipped — no way I can do more,"  and we stop.  But our internal limiters lie to us:  With the right motivation, under the right circumstances, we can do more.

An extreme personal productivity day automatically ratchets your limits higher.  After a few extreme productivity days you'll perform better every "normal" day too — because you will have unconsciously raised your own bar.

Thanks to Jeff Haden / BNet / CBS Interactive
http://www.bnet.com/blog/small-biz-advice/7-simple-steps-to-extreme-personal-productivity/2811

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:42:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Simple Steps To Extreme Personal Productivity ~ Twitter FaceBook

4 Common Branding Mistakes Startups Make

Branding is extremely important for small companies that want to grow and sustain their businesses for the long term. It is a major challenge for a small business to establish a brand because of the lack of funds, resources, people and time. Yet branding is what makes your company attractive to investors, consumers and future employees. Your brand is the relationship you have with your customers and relationships are not built overnight. A lot of entrepreneurs have difficulty with branding because they prioritize product development and sales before meaning and experience. A company that doesn't have a well-defined brand will have trouble with differentiation in the marketplace and with generating media awareness. Here are some common missteps to watch out for.

1. They don't define a set target market

In order to gain visibility in the marketplace, it's imperative that you are specific with the types of customers you're going after. You can't be everything to everyone or you'll be nothing to no one. Too many entrepreneurs think that they need a mainstream product for the highest potential sales. By defining and segmenting your audience, you can appear higher in search engine results and the "right people" will find you and want your product. Think about the age, gender, geography and lifestyle of the people you're targeting and don't be afraid to define your market in public. For example, instead of being just another law firm, you can position yourself as "legal counsel for young entrepreneurs in Charlotte." If a young entrepreneur in Charlotte is looking for legal support, they will search online and your website will come up. Since you have a well defined position, they will choose you over a more generalist firm that doesn't understand their needs.

2. They focus too much on advertising and not enough on PR

Sixty-three percent of small to medium-sized businesses advertise online, according to a survey by Affinity Express. While targeted advertising on specific blogs, websites, and through Google AdWords and Facebook Social Ads might help, it's well worth the investment to get PR support and partner with brands. Public relations is extremely important because what other people say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself. Self-proclamations don't build brands; the media does. It's far better to have a profile in Fortune magazine than it is to pay for a full-page advertisement in the magazine. Earned media is much more respected by customers. Small businesses typically don't have well-known brands so they require third-party endorsements and partnerships in order to become established. If people haven't heard of your company, then it's helpful if you create strategic partnerships with companies that your market is familiar with. By associating your company with a well-known brand, your company becomes more credible and your brand grows.

3. They don't build a strong Web presence to attract new customers

Every single business should have a website, but 55 percent of small businesses don't have one, according to data analyzed by Formstack. How are potential customers supposed to find you? People are searching for you online and every time you don't come up, there's another missed opportunity to build your business and brand. Consumers turn to the Web first before making a purchasing decision. A strong Web presence allows you to point people to where they can find more information about who you are, what you do and what products and services you offer. Instead of blowing money on advertising, invest your resources in social media and your website. Consumers also turn to their friends, through social networks, when deciding what company to purchase from. That's why it's crucial, more than ever before, to create your own profile pages, and engage with your customer base. Start by concentrating your efforts on the top three social networks: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

4. They disable their employees from building their brand

Forty percent of small businesses have a policy that prohibits employees from visiting Facebook, reports Webroot.  Small business owners should let their employees use social networking sites as long as they are doing it for the benefit of the company. Consumers want to hear your story and connect with your employees to get a better sense of your company. If you enable your employees to become evangelists for your company, then you will be able to scale your marketing and foster stronger relationships with your customers. Your employees should be able to build and develop their own personal brands because then they become more valuable to your company.

Dan Schawbel is the Founder of Millennial Branding, a full-service personal branding firm based in Boston. He is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.

Thanks to Dan Schawbel / Open Forum / American Express Company
http://www.openforum.com/articles/4-common-branding-mistakes-startups-make?cid=em-openf-SBweekly-20110705-06&extlink=em-openf-SBweekly-20110705-06

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:42:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: 4 Common Branding Mistakes Startups Make ~ Twitter FaceBook

Number One? 20 Not So Good Categories That The United States Leads The World In

Is the United States "number one"?  Many Americans take deep pride in their nation and the truth is that the U.S. has a lot going for it.  The United States has the largest economy in the world.  The United States also has the most powerful military on the entire planet.  The United States has produced most of the greatest movies that the world has ever seen.  But the United States is also number one in a lot of categories that are not go great.  If we ever want to turn this country around, we need to be very honest with ourselves.  We need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize that it is not a good thing that we are number one in divorce, drug addiction, debt, obesity, car thefts, murders and total crimes.  We have become a slothful, greedy, decadent nation that is exhibiting signs of advanced decay.  Until we understand just how bad our problems really are, we won't be able to come up with the solutions that we need.

A lot of people that write articles like this have a deep hatred for America.  But that is not the case with me.  I love the United States.  I love the American people.  America is like an aging, bloated rock star that has become addicted to a dozen different drugs.  America is a shadow of its former self and it desperately needs to wake up before it plunges into oblivion.

If you do not believe that America is in bad shape, just read the list below.  The following are 20 not so good categories that the United States leads the world in….

#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe.

#2 According to NationMaster.com, the United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.

#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.

#4 The United States is tied with the U.K. for the most hours of television watched per person each week.

#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.

#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.

#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.

#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.

#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.

#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe.  89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year.  Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does.  In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.

#18 The United States has far more foreign military bases than any other country does.

#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse.  Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.

So are you convinced that we are in trouble yet?

The truth is that America has changed.  Most of us don't even say hello to our neighbors anymore.

In fact, we have become so self-involved that many of us don't even notice when someone around us dies.

Just consider the following two examples.

*USA Today recently reported on the body of a dead woman that was not found for approximately a year even though a whole bunch of people walked right past the car where she died….

Bank contractors, inspectors and even the new owner of a foreclosed home walked past the silver Chevy Nova in the garage numerous times before discovering the former homeowner — dead on the front seat.

*In an even more shocking case, the CBS affiliate in Boston recently reported that a dead woman was lying on the bottom of a public pool for two days while large numbers of people swam right over her.  How in the world could something like this possibly happen?….

It's a mystery as murky as the water at Veteran's Memorial swimming pool in Fall River public pool: how did swimmers, lifeguards, or inspectors not notice a woman's body at the bottom of the pool for a few days?

Marie Joseph, 36, was last seen at the pool on Sunday. The pool was open to the public Monday and Tuesday with six lifeguards on duty, and no one noticed the body under 12 feet of water.

Most Americans have become so self-involved that they barely even notice anyone other than their family and close friends.

The love of most Americans is growing cold and when the collapse of the U.S. economy happens it is just going to make things worse.  Instead of working as a community, most Americans will only be concerned with making sure that their own needs are taken care of.

The United States was once the most blessed nation on the face of the earth, but now we are literally falling to pieces.

Does anyone have any ideas about why this could be happening?

Thanks to The Trading Report / The Economic Collapse Blog / Yolo Publishing
http://www.thetradingreport.com/2011/07/05/number-one-20-not-so-good-categories-that-the-united-states-leads-the-world-in/

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:41:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Number One? 20 Not So Good Categories That The United States Leads The World In ~ Twitter FaceBook

Three Attention-Getting Tactics For Cover Letters

Hiring managers and recruiters can receive hundreds -- or even thousands -- of applications for each open job. Typically, they can spend only a few seconds scanning a candidate's cover letter before moving on to somebody else's. So if you're looking for a job, your cover letter has to capture a reader's attention right away.

According to career coach Evelyn Salvador, author of Step-by-Step Cover Letters, one way to get an employer to really notice your cover letter is to infuse it with personal-branding elements, such as a slogan, testimonials or a mission statement. "Each of these elements is optional, but it might just be the thing that makes your cover letter stand out from those of other candidates," she says.

Salvador has specific tips for using one (or all) of these elements:

A Slogan

This brief sentence or phrase can be placed under your name at the top of your letter, in the far-left margin or in italics at the bottom of your cover letter. A slogan should succinctly encapsulate the value you bring to an employer -- if you need help crafting a slogan, look to language in the job posting or on the employer's Web site for inspiration.

Salvador's examples include:

For an elementary school teacher: "Helping students take positive steps toward their future"

For a sales manager: "Meeting challenges, overcoming obstacles and closing sales"

Testimonials

Stating what others have said about your performance adds credibility to the information you provide in a cover letter. Testimonials can include excerpts from letters of recommendation, customer thank-you letters, vendor satisfaction letters, performance evaluations, internship summaries, staff memos and other commendations.

A Mission Statement

This element should be succinct and clearly state what your mission is, specific to your career goal -- it could describe what you plan to do or have done, what you believe in or why your profession is important to you -- or another statement that demonstrates the value you'll bring to the employer. Salvador's examples for a teacher and sales manager include:

"Each step a child takes in his life has an effect on his future. I would like to help students take positive steps by creating an educational experience conducive to learning."

"If the customer is happy and you are making a sale, it's a win/win. I believe in making customers happy."

 
=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:41:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Three Attention-Getting Tactics For Cover Letters ~ Twitter FaceBook

Do Your Managers Know How To Stop Workplace Conflicts?

Workplace conflict costs time, hurts productivity and can cripple morale. Here's a quick blueprint to help managers deal with these personality clashes early and effectively.

Conflict resolution consultant Diane Adalbert, speaking the the recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference in Las Vegas, says one huge key is for managers to intervene in disputes as early as possible.

That means that:

  • Issues can often be resolved through talking — thereby avoiding the hassle of getting into the progressive discipline process
  • Conflicts don't have a chance to fester and grow into major confrontations
  • There's less "ripple effect" on co-workers, and
  • Productivity is less affected.

Two common underlying issues

Identity: Identity issues often represent a difference in values, Adalbert says. Example: One worker may value good people skills, while another is solely focused on getting the job done — no matter whose feelings get hurt along the way.

The conflict arises when the two parties focus only on their differences.

Here's how managers can deal with identity issues.

Through a joint session between the workers and the supervisor,

  • Ask each to identify exactly why the other person's behavior is frustrating
  • Get each to agree that all behaviors, taken too far, can have negative effects: the "too much of a good thing is a bad thing" theory
  • Ask them, "What skill or ability does the other person have that you'd like to develop in yourself — and why?"
  • Stress that both have complementary traits that would serve the team better if they worked together.

Style differences: These conflicts concern the way different employees process information and communicate with others, according to Adalbert. They include each individual's speed of thought process, attention to detail, and whether they compute information in a verbal manner or internally.

An approach for managers:

  • In one-on-one conversations, supervisors can validate the employee's information processing/communication style while acknowledging that dealing with people with different styles can be difficult
  • In joint sessions, assess both employees' styles and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each, and
  • Illustrate "translating" tactics, so each can recognize what the other is saying without feeling threatened.

Adalbert is head of Adalbert Conflict Consulting.

Thanks to Diane Adalbert / HR Morning / PBP Media
http://www.hrmorning.com/do-your-managers-know-how-to-stop-workplace-conflicts/

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:41:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Do Your Managers Know How To Stop Workplace Conflicts? ~ Twitter FaceBook

Is There A Link Between Obesity, Chronic Illness And Bullying?

ScienceDaily — Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to be victimized by bullying when compared to children who are not overweight.

The findings, to be presented July 6 at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Academic Primary Care held at the University of Bristol, explore the prevalence of overweight and obesity in nine-year-olds and its associations with chronic illness and bullying.

Childhood obesity is a major personal, family and public health challenge. Weight problems and obesity in children has increased dramatically throughout Europe in the past two decades. In addition to the increased likelihood of adult obesity with its associated health risks, serious short-term physical and psychosocial consequences endanger the wellbeing of an affected child.

The researchers used a sample of 8,568 nine-year-old children and their families from the first wave of data collection from Growing Up in Ireland -- the National Longitudinal Study of Children.

The study found obesity to be more prevalent in girls. In addition children, particularly boys with an abnormal body weight had a significantly higher rate of an ongoing chronic illness.

Children who were overweight or obese were a lot more likely to be victimised by bullying when compared to children who were not overweight.

Dr Udo Reulbach, Clinical Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care & HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Trinity College Dublin, said: "Previous research has indicated that girls may be more susceptible to overweight and obesity than boys.

"Obesity and overweight are of major concern in Irish children with girls being more affected. It is associated with a higher likelihood of having chronic conditions and being bullied."

Data collection consisted of self-completion surveys with children in school and at home and interviewer administered questionnaires with parents and children in their home. International cut-off points for nine-year-olds for overweight and obesity were used defined to pass through body mass index (BMI) through BMI 25 and 30kg/m2 at age 18 to classify weight categories. Analysis was based on statistically reweighted data to ensure that it is representative of all nine-year-olds in Ireland.

Further research is needed to explore the impact General Practitioners may have in communicating concerns about the weight of a child to parents.

Clinicians may also need to discover the effect of negative weight stereotyping on bullying in children. The much higher rates of overweight and obesity in Irish girls require further investigation and attention.

Obesity has been well established as a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, musculoskeletal disorders, other chronic diseases, some cancers and an overall higher chance of premature death and disability.

In addition to the physical consequences, childhood overweight and obesity is associated with a range of other negative outcomes including poor psychological and educational outcomes and social inequalities.

Story Source: The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Bristol.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110705211026.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

=========================================================
 
Other Sites Related to This Blog
(BlogSpot:-    http://ziaullahkhan.blogspot.com)/, Kindly Visit:
 
 
at 7/06/2011 04:41:00 PM
Bookmark this post:
StumpleUpon DiggIt! Del.icio.us Blinklist Yahoo Furl Technorati Simpy Spurl Reddit Google I'm reading: Is There A Link Between Obesity, Chronic Illness And Bullying? ~ Twitter FaceBook

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)