Is Good Neighborliness Good Business?
May 20, 2009
[Note: This story is not a criticism of Buddhism. It is a story of neighborly love.]
Introduction
He was the least likely of neighbors to do this thing, a Buddhist turned Roman Catholic, patriarch of a California wine-growing clan.
I was a Southern Baptist youth, only recently learned how to shave, and served in the new "Korean War" as a sailor.
You know the rashness of youth. I wondered aloud, "How is it that you, a Japanese Buddhist, came to be sending your son to Mary Knoll Seminary to become a Catholic priest?"
The lesson he taught me about the important business of being a good neighbor has not been lost for more than fifty years. Here’s his story in his own words.
The Patriarch’s Story
At the beginning of World War II, I was struggling whether to enlist in military service. My struggle was not because I was Nisei. It was because I had a wife. I had three small children. How might I best serve my country, care for my young family, and manage my new vineyards? Even at home, I was struggling to maintain them. What would happen if I left to join the service?
The Collapse of Enron: Managerial Aspects
May 3, 2009
Executive summary
Its revenues made up US $139($184) billion, assets equaled $62($82) billion, and the number of employees reached more than 30,000 people in 20 countries around the world.
While Enron Corporation was so highly praised by the outside observers, internally it had highly decentralized financial control and decision-making structure, which made it practically impossible to get coherent and clear view on corporations’ activities and operations. Of course, the problem was not exclusively due to poor managerial performance, all the departments of the corporation were involved in the ruining corporate ethical values and principles, but executives and managers bear primary responsibility for the absence of corporate culture, clear accountability and transparence of the company. If operations management worked properly, in its full force, and if it was given possibility to work in such a way, there could be a chance of escaping the tragedy.
Enron Corp brief history
Enron Corporation was one of the largest global energy, services and commodities company. Before it filed bankruptcy under chapter 11, it sold natural gas and electricity, delivered energy and other commodities such as bandwidth internet connection, and provided risk management and financial services to the clients around the world.
Brain Development and Due Process
April 14, 2009
DUE PROCESS
Africans, especially Nigerians are stereotyped on the internet and offline in foreign countries as corrupt, cheats and thieves.
Whenever I have to introduce myself to foreign contacts, whether online or offline, I must make visible effort to prove my contact wrong, because he or she instantly sees me as a scammer-419, another Nigerian cheat or thief.
This situation must be very disheartening to innocent Nigerians, who must be wondering why government seems unable to correct the awful situation. But should the question; why is our nation bedeviled with the scam scourge and corruption that rubbish us in the eyes of the international community not be asked?
The answer is: Our society is carbohydrate dependent and so poor brained, and government officials are products of this same carb-society. Just as over consumption of carbohydrate predisposes the awful degenerative disease known as diabetes, our country and continent progressively degenerate into poverty, corruption and scam scourge of international dimension.
Yes, that’s true!
The genesis of corruption is poverty. Both Continental and national poverty stem from lack of balanced diets that result stunted brain development.
Business Ethics: Functional Choices
March 28, 2009
Years of experience have taught me there is no such thing as "Business Ethics". If a person isn’t ethical in the rest of their lives, their business ethics aren’t worth the shoe leather they’ve worn out either.
I stood beside a State Representative at college graduation recently, and heard him tell a gentleman shaking his hand that he had the utmost respect for the President of the college, because he knew who her friends were and they all had good solid "Business Ethics". I raised an eyebrow and continued a conversation with another friend nearby. It was my third College Graduation this year.
At a high school graduation, I listened to the Valedictorian say, "Your values for living all of your life will follow wherever you go." At another graduation, an honorary graduate stated, "Who you are today will be reflected every day of your life, by what you become tomorrow." At another function, celebrating the accomplishment of older students, those who were returning to school after being part of the work force for many years, I heard yet another speaker say, "Your life is marked by dates, one at the beginning, and one at the end, with just a dash in between. A short little dash reflecting who you were, what you accomplished, and the values you held. How important will your dash be?"
The Everyday Business Ethics Crisis Or Im Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore
March 10, 2009
Breaking news may feature the Enron debacle, WorldCom activities, or accounting problems but we live our everyday business life making ethical choices that affect our employment and businesses. Consider the ethical choices made in these situations:
-A restaurateur hired a firm, used the firm’s ideas, benefited from them and refused to pay for the services rendered.
-A partner used intellectual property created by another partner for his own personal benefit.
-An independent consultant who was hired to sell a particular firm’s services and products used that firm’s database of customers and prospects to sell his own speaking services.
-An employee took a new job with a prospect’s firm and continued on working both jobs until the first employer found out and fired her.
-A business person volunteered to perform specific services for a nonprofit organization and failed to perform those services, did not make other arrangements to perform the services, or even acknowledge that the commitment had been made.
-An employee used hours of regular, paid, in-office time to research how to start her own new business.
While these are not on the newsworthy scale of an Enron, they are on a scale that affected each business involved, some even resulting in disastrous outcomes.
The Deception Perception: Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain
February 20, 2009
The Deception Perception
Without a doubt, people would rather do business with someone they know, like, and trust. Credibility is critical. This is especially true conducting business on the internet where people never actually meet face to face. Building a sense of trust with your customers takes time. And, it’s one of your most valuable assets.
Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain
I recently had the opportunity to hear a well known internet marketer speak. It was a great presentation, chock full of all sorts of useful tips. I was very impressed with all he had to say so I went to his website and signed up for his newsletter.
He sent me an email (by autoresponder, of course)saying he had set up a special call for his newest subscribers to give us more great tips. All we had to do was dial in at a certain time for a teleseminar. He sent me a followup email reminding me and saying again how much he appreciated having me on his list. He looked forward to having me on the call.
So Far, So Good.
Mind Your Own Damn Business Sexcess
February 3, 2009
You have certainly heard the expression "mind your own damn business" used in a multitude of contexts. The most typical being the don’t kiss and tell type statements, often uttered by responsibly private individuals about their love life.
Then there are the polar opposite, blabbermouth, tell all people (you know who you are) that just can’t keep their preverbal trap shut.
Many may believe that there are specific gender biases towards kissing and telling, yet this remains unproven scientifically.
So what the heck does this have to do with business and let alone success?
Consider what happens when you replace "the love life" portion of the kissing and telling story with "your or your employers business"!
All of a sudden it hits you. Your success in business can be inextricably affected by what comes out of your or your employee’s mouths.
Here’s a short, but true, story for you about a salesman that was furious about something while he was out to lunch, at a small café.
This built up anger was taken out on a waitress, who was one of four high school kids working there for the summer. He was loud, rude, and flat out disrespectful to the girl, and his overreaction to the situation brought tears to the waitress’s eyes.
Conflict: Not Necessarily a Bad Thing
January 29, 2009
I got yelled at tonight. Not the type of yelling that someone does when you’ve done something to tick someone off, but the kind of yelling that was a swift kick in the pants about something that I’m NOT doing.
I probably deserved it. I needed to hear it. But it made me edgy and I tried to make excuses.
Nope! That didn’t work. I continued to get the lecture.
Now I know you are all dying to know what I did that wasn’t exactly right. Mary? Got yelled at? How DARE they?
Here’s what happened. Tonight my husband and I met out a friend from swimming and a woman I set him up with on a blind date. Lets call him Bill. If you read the entry that he dances to his own tune, then you’ve met Bill.
In my book, he’s a consistent and dedicated swimmer. The lecture was about the fact that: I’M NOT.
I miss practice. I get there a tad late. And, I miss practice.
I told him I HAVE A LIFE. I have a child! I need my sleep!
Better Business Boundaries
January 25, 2009
Is Your Management Style Lead By Intimidation?
January 17, 2009
So many women make the mistake of thinking that they have to be these big mean diva bosses, to get respect and cooperation from their staff and colleagues. They walk around the office huffing and puffing, never showing satisfaction at the work their staff does. They rarely praise their subordinates or colleagues work and they try to make them work all hours of the night. These women mottos are “If I can stay here all night, so can you!” One boss I had in particular, her motto was “I don’t get high-blood pressure, I give it.! She was proud of this and she caused some of her staff to be stressed out with high-blood pressure. She was later fired!
Women already are labeled with being emotionally driven, especially in their decision making. You can be aggressive without being a bully. You do not get respect that way. Instead, your staff will dislike you and talk about you behind your back every chance they get. They’ll start missing days from work resulting in high turn-over rates for the company. We all know that this can be very costly.
