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... x No Thanks Loading.. The Management Puzzle: Some Assembly Required 8/24/2016 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. ATTRACT AND RETAIN VALUABLE EMPLOYEES Employees ready, willing, and able to exceed the expectations of your customers are critical. Attracting and retaining them can make the difference between success and failure. In most cases, the problem is a cultural, not a personal or personnel one. Many businesses today are transitioning from a yesterday of autocratic leadership with a command and control structure to a team-driven model "flattened" for efficiency and speed. Here's the reality, as I see it: People in a command-and-control environment are told what to do. People in teams must think and risk. These are different skills that require different motivations. Although most organizations have good (and potentially great) employees, the system fails to prepare them properly for the new world. If your employees need to improve their skills, offer them development programs. If they aren't willing to pursue the new that is tomorrow, work on their motivation. The best thing an employer can do today is create a safe haven for employees to take reasoned risks and learn from the mistakes that they make in the process. REINVENT STRATEGIC PLANNING Planning is like a jigsaw puzzle. The finished picture is the mission and vision of the organization. The border (the shape and the size) is determined by the situation analysis , your current reality (the capability of your employees, commitment of the leadership, budget, marketplace served, competitors, history, etc.) . The ...

... to decrease in sales revenue generation Due to curtailed operations in manufacturing facilities and retail outlets, skilled labor cannot be retained Public image is changing to that of inability to supply goods and meet customers' needs Following restoration, major hurdle is to regain market share and to restore competent staff which existed at time of crisis occurrence Exhibit 5.1, Schematic Vulnerability Flow Analysis', has been developed to identify clearly the hypothetical situation involving a single distribution center with four manufacturing facilities supplying ten retail outlets. The legend of the following exhibit plainly identifies the retail outlets and manufacturing facilities. Note that the unique loss vulnerability is that all activities are dependent upon the operational integrity of the distribution center. DISTRIBUTION CENTER 1 location A flow analysis readily identifies the unique loss vulnerability situation involving the development of the manufacturing just-in-time' assembly process, there are many complications with respect to production interruption. Frequently, the scheduling for just-in-time' assembly is relatively tight and any failure to receive product results in a temporary assembly line shut down. In the tradition assembly process, there is normally a warehousing operation in the flow process which allows for accumulation of product that could, to some extent, offset the time loss deficiency. The interruption of product flow to a just-in-time' assembly process involving unique or special order components represents a significant loss vulnerability situation thus resulting in a serious business interruption exposure. A sampling of hypothetical loss vulnerability situations includes, but is not limited to the following: Vulnerability Situation Samples Unique limited resources used in processing or manufacturing Limited quantity of custom built parts available in product assembly Extended delivery duration of raw material ...

... at periodic intervals throughout the recovery period. &# 160 DISASTER SCENARIO DETAILS &# 160 The scenario involved a powerful bomb detonation in a subway station directly beneath the organization's home office building. There were also other bomb detonations in the area that disabled or seriously degraded local travel, communications and normal utility and public services. Alternate site options for non-technology operations were limited. We did place some limits on the attack: There was no radiation, biological, or chemical release. &# 160 THE ORGANIZATION'S RESPONSE &# 160 Immediate disaster response actions focused on life safety procedures. How do you get medical attention to immobile and unconscious employees? If that's impossible, how do you get them to medical centers? With transportation services disabled, how does everyone get home? When and how do you assemble the recovery teams? &# 160 Initial business recovery efforts focused on assembling teams and setting lines of communications with employees, and then with customers. Detailed work function priorities needed to be set. Only critical business activities could be addressed in the first two days after the event. By day seven, most of these activities were operational, although generally with some level of degradation. Even after 30 days, when a new permanent location could be established, shortages of experienced staff would not allow for fully normal operations. &# 160 PLANNING THE EXERCISE &# 160 To more accurately simulate an actual disaster situation, the CEO wanted the exercise to be a complete surprise. I worked directly with her and her assistant; we were the only people who knew about the upcoming event. & ...

... more sales? How do you manage/report/monitor (measure results)? Are all these efforts working? If yes, why? If not, why not? To use the MGM Marketing Process to market your products and services to, say, an independent agency you need to ask yourself these questions: Who is your customer? Banks, agents working with banks, joint ventures, vendors and suppliers to these new systems. What kind of information do they want or need? Distinguish between the external customer and the internal customer, such as an employee or the board. What products do you offer that meet these wants and needs? At what price will this product or service sell? This is the most important step! Henry Ford's genius lay not in the creation of the assembly line, but in his discovery that at $500 he could sell an unlimited number of cars. The assembly line evolved as the only way to build a $500 car. A change in pricing is creating a revolution. We've been operating under the old process of cost-based pricing, in which manufacturers and distributors add up all of their costs, add a profit to the total-and arrive at their price. In reality, a limited number of providers offered products to a mass market, and they could charge what they wanted. Now we're moving from cost-based pricing to price-driven costing. By establishing a price, the marketplace will dictate the qualityof the product. Technology, a more sophisticated consumer, intense competition, and a global marketplace are driving this change. We'll have a target-market system in ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Total Service 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. TOTAL SERVICE Dear (Customer Name), BUYING A CAR PIECE BY PIECE? How would you like to buy your next car in pieces, and buy each piece from a different supplier? It wouldn't make much sense, would it? Especially when there are dealers in town who sell the complete product, just like you want it. Similarly, it no longer makes sense to run all over town buying and assembling insurance. Especially when there is an agent prepared to offer you, like the auto dealer, the complete product all assembled. We are proud to be able to offer a complete line of insurance coverages - Auto, Home, Health, and Life. And, we would like to discuss your present insurance coverages and the possibility of an insurance package. We think you will find there are significant savings in time, effort, and money by having one agent handle all of your insurance. Enclosed is a checklist you can use to request information on a specific type of coverage in which you're interested. Just fill out the list and return it, postage free. We will be happy to discuss your present and future insurance needs with you. Sincerely, Enclosure &# 160 SUGGESTED CHECKLIST OF COVERAGES For Personal Insurance Needs [ ] Family Automobile policy [ ] Special Budget Automobile policy [ ] Comprehensive Personal Liability policy [ ] Personal Excess Liability [ ] Fire insurance for dwellings [ ] Homeowners package policy [ ] Renters package policy [ ] Boat insurance ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Questions Asked By P/C Agents Can Lead To Life Sales 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. QUESTIONS ASKED BY P/C AGENTS CAN LEAD TO LIFE SALES Many large Life cases or benefits programs start with a few questions that any PC producer can incorporate into a fact-finding questionnaire. The information P/C agencies already have concerning businesses sometimes provides answers to the same questions that Life producers seek. Often Life agents invest inordinate prospecting time seeking the facts in your files. Here are some questions you can use to urge your agency to get the answer from each Commercial account it carries or solicits, then assemble separate lead sheets with the data for Life/benefits producers. Those lead sheets are worth a fortune in Life production. General And Organizational Questions What is the business structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, joint venture)?* Who is/are the owner(s ) or principal stockholders? How did the business get started? What are your main products or services? What were your early goals and objectives? What do you enjoy most about your work? What separates you from the competition? What are the keys to your company's success (staff, technology, philosophy)? In recent years, what significant changes have you seen in your industry? In your specific business? What trends do you see coming? What are your principal operating concerns? Who would run the business if you were not here? Who will own (or run) the business ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Losing Those Meeting Blues 4/30/2013 by Jack Burke This content has not been rated yet. Meeting, noun. 1. A coming together; assembly. 2. A joining. 3. A hostile encounter, as a duel. (Webster's American Dictionary) Meeting, noun. 1. Potentially effective method for planning, education, training, problem-solving. 2. A forum for selling. 3. A ridiculous waste of time. (Jack Burke) Like a politician, I'd better make a full disclosure right off the bat: I might not be totally objective in a discussion of meetings. They have engendered in me a life-long love-hate relationship. In fact, sometimes I'm amazed that business can survive and prosper in spite of meetings. During my earlier life in corporate America, I wondered whether the true goal of business was to conduct as many meaningless meetings as possible, with profits merely an accidental by-product. Having stated my position and accepting the possibility that Meeting Planners International may be planning my lynching, let me add this: Meetings can be productive. Singular Focus: Key To A Meeting's Success Two acronyms provide useful ways to analyze meetings: PMS (planning, motivation, sales) and AEIOU (appearance, education, incentive, organization, understanding) . PMS relates to the purpose of the meeting; AEIOU helps to evaluate its effectiveness. The key to successful meetings lies in the establishment of goals. A productive meeting is goal-oriented, while non-productive meetings result from crisscrossing goals and confusion. Whether internal or external, a singular ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Why Your Business Needs An Emergency Contingency Plan 7/10/2015 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Bill Kliewer This content has not been rated yet. The confusion highlights the need for personal contingency plans in the event of a terrorist attack, accident, or natural disaster. This is especially important for people living or working in major cities. Large numbers of people crowded into small areas and limited escape routes can easily create panic and confusion during a mass evacuation or other emergency. Government security agencies and private businesses have developed plans for evacuating public buildings, hotels, and office buildings in the event of an emergency. Many buildings in New York City, for example, have assembled emergency kits — including a blanket, flashlight, whistle, non-perishable foodstuffs, water and, in some cases, smoke hoods — that they make available to occupants in the event of an evacuation. In most cases, however, the responsibility of building operators and security agencies ends once the buildings are evacuated. There's little thought to what happens to the occupants once the buildings are empty. At the very least, people who have developed a plan will be less panicked and confused than those who have left their fate to chance. Perhaps the best reason for having a personal plan, however, is to reduce your own danger. Jihadists who probably followed the May 10 event in Washington, D.C., could have gained information from this false alarm on points of vulnerability, and might use this knowledge in future attacks in the D.C. area. For instance, a plane could be ...

... has no historical knowledge of your business or your performance toward goals and objectives. Your presentation of this information should be clear and credible. I recommend using your certified public accountant to help prepare projected financial statements for your agency. CPAs are used to working with bankers in these situations and know how to present projections in a format they understand. Your CPA will also help you project not only your operating results, but your balances sheets and cash flows. Loan proposals and documents should include working capital, tangible net worth, and cash flow requirements. A good set of projected financial statements will help the banker establish appropriate levels for these requirements and may enable you to prevent the potential future costs of having these covenants changed. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL When you're ready to request proposals for banking relationships, assemble complete sets of each of the documents just discussed. I recommend collecting them into one binder, complete with an index and tab references. Adding a cover letter summarizing your needs and the information included within the binder will complete your Request for Proposal and will show bankers that you're organized in your business and understand their needs. Providing complete information early on will also save the banker from requesting the data at a later date, and may accelerate the entire process. Changing your banking relationship shouldn't be taken lightly, and banking services shouldn't be treated like commodities. As you meet with prospective bankers, make sure they know that you value their input and will look to them when making future business decisions. Use your selection process to find a banker who will meet your agency's needs and be a ...

... 2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Gary Griffin This content has not been rated yet. HOW TO CHOOSE, USE, BUT NOT ABUSE A RISK MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT: II by Gary Griffin Get the right risk consultant – and get your money's worth from them. The first part of this article discussed what you should look for in a risk management consultant, what they do, and how they charge. Once you decide you need a consultant, follow these steps to get your money's worth: Define the scope of work and the problems you want solved. You might want a complete audit of your organization's overall risk management program, or you might prefer the consultant to look at only certain facets of it. Be specific so that the consultant can focus on your needs. Assemble relevant information. Gather enough information about your organization to allow the consultant to prepare a responsive proposal. Such information might include: An annual report, SEC form 10K, or other descriptions of the organization's activities.  Summary of loss information, insurance coverages, and any special funding arrangements. List of major facilities, organizational charts, product brochures. Get Requests for Proposal. Create a written request for proposal (RFP) and send it to one or more reputable consultants. You can get help in finding consultants from such trade organizations as Risk & Insurance Management Society (www.rims.org), Society of Risk Management Consultants (www.srmcsociety.org), or from experienced risk managers. Business Insurance (www.businessinsurance.com) also publishes an annual listing of consultants. Your RFP should ask ...