Visualized.Feel.Abundance

Hey Folks,

In our last post, we mentioned that New Economy was born as a result of Globalization and Outsourcing. Here’s a recap of what a New Economy is in general:

Definition of New Economy
“The general idea is that a business should focus on those areas of its operation which are critical to its success and where it has a competitive advantage. Other areas of its operation should be outsourced, typically using technology as the facilitator.

In a developed economy, the critical success factors to a leading business are likely to be intellectual things such as brands, products specifications and technical capabilities. Many routine business functions (such as manufacturing and customer service
desks) may be outsourced.” - Wikipedia On New Economy

Salary In The Past
In the past (prior to 1990s in US, 2000s in Asia Pacific region, other developed countries somewhere in between), we get pay rise simply because we expect our boss to give one and we did do our job. Consequently, many companies ended up with clerical officers who worked for 30 year drawing a monthly salary of $5000 or more.

Although these people were very experience, the salary could not be justified due to the nature of their job. If the clerk process 20 application forms a day for 5 days a week. That would be a processing overhead of $10.41 per form (480 forms a month for $5000) which is ridiculous!

In this model, the companies either have to keep increasing the cost of their product/services or suffer a narrower profit margin each year. At some point, older staffs would be retrenched and younger staffs are recruited where the cycle will repeat yet again some years down the road. Hence, older employees usually suffers the Axe.

Salary In New Economy
In the New Economy, Companies used the cost of their goods and/or services to decide how much to pay for their labor.

Taking the same clerical officer example, the company can decide that they will not pay more then $1 per form as processing fee and with computerization, the clerk should process 60 forms a day. Hence the salary for that position should be capped at $1440.

If the same clerk wish to get a better pay, she will have to justify with a better work efficiency (processing 80 forms a day) or upgrading her skills to a higher value position (sales consultant, customer relations officer, etc).

In this model, the salary is tied to a job’s value and not an employees seniority and older employees tend to be able to keep their job.

Who Is The Boss
The following quote from Henry Ford rings more truth today then it rang almost a century ago:

“It is not the employer who pays the wages.
Employers only handle the money.
It is the customer who pays the wages.” - Henry Ford

The customer decides what is a fair price to pay and companies will decide what is a fair labor cost to them based on the amount the customer is willing to part with. Doesn’t it give a new meaning to the phrase “The Customer Is Always Right?“.

So What Is Your Situation Now
Now that you understand our current economy better, you probably could appreciate why you were getting your current pay. No one get overpaid in the New Economy, you are always paid what the company thinks you are worth. If you want more pay, you will have to fight for it. It will never drop from the sky if you are not willing to put in the effort to get it.

Oh, if you think you are overpaid by your company or that your company is still adopting to the old model, you better make some plans or raise your value right now before bosses realized the situation.

Love,
James

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert in human resource or pay and I am not attempting to provide an interpretation of historical salary trends. This article is providing a perspective on why salaries are paid the way it is paid in our economy today (2007) in order to encourage employees to understand the situation, adjust their mindset, adapt and improve their current standing with their company and bosses.

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Hey Folks,

Welcome to the first installment of “Are You An Asset Or Liability To Your Company?” series. It is my sincere hope that this series will provide you with an overview of:

1) How your top bosses (defined as anyone that is in control of your performance appraisal and promotion. It includes also by default, the top boss as in your CEO or MD or President, etc) think;
2) What is required in an employee to be considered an asset to the company;
3) How to secure the promotion or pay increment that you always wanted so badly; and
4) How not to be a liability.

Throughout my series, I will be quoting heavily from Henry Ford - One of the most successful industrialist that revolutionized the transportation and American industry in the early 20th century. Some of his quotes describes the fundamentals of a business and they apply to the businesses in his era and are still relevant even today.

Juggling The 3 Variables Of A Business
First of all, in order to be an asset to your boss, you will have to solve his problems. All business in this world have a common problem, it is defined by Henry Ford elegantly in an equation as quoted below:

“There is one rule for industrialists and that is:
make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible,
paying the highest wages possible.”
- Henry Ford

The quote says it all. Compare it to what your company is doing in general, are they trying to produce the best good at the lowest cost possible? Yes. Are they paying you the highest wages possible? You may not think so! Why? The reason is in the next quote:

Competition is the keen cutting edge of business,
always shaving away at costs.
- Henry Ford

Competitive Wages
It’s been about a century from Henry’s time, and in that time competition within the industry and outside the industry has forced companies to cut cost dramatically. When all other costs cannot be further reduced, companies will start cutting back labor cost! First by improving efficiency via process improvements and work skill improvement. Next by replacing labors with automation. And lastly by cutting down on redundant labor cost (aka retrenchment). We will elaborate more on the how external factors are shaping how companies operate today and how it affects you as an employee in our next post “Understanding The Effects Of Globalization And Outsourcing”.

In today’s society, most company will pay only minimum wages possible to keep you in your job and not a single cent more. There is even a acronym for J.O.B which stands for Just Over Broke, which is closer to the truth then most employees or bosses want to admit. That is the truth and the earlier you realize that, the better you can appreciate how to be an asset to your company. We will elaborate more on this in our later post “Understanding The New Economy”.

Attracting More Pay
So in a society of ever raising standard of living, is there any hope of securing a higher pay? Fortunately there is (if not I won’t be writing right!) and we will talk about them in “Misconception of Key Performance Indicators, Promotions and Pay Increments”.

And finally, I will share with you the golden rules to make yourself a start employee in “How To Be An Asset And Not A Liability”! Stay Tune!

Cheers
James

PS1: I will keep this series short and to the point (based on popular request). Thanks for the feedback!

PS2: My experience attending Anthony Robbins seminar yesterday was AWESOME. I can’t wait to share them with you and as usual I will flavor it with my perspective and how you can apply them practically. But it will have to wait till I have completed the current series. Probably by next week

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Hey Folks,

We don’t usually post on Saturdays but we are posting today to return some link loves showered our way in the past week. Again, we seldom participate in any meme games unless it is, solely in our opinion, beneficial to our readers. But love is love, not matter which way we look at it! So as usual, we will consolidate a few loves and return them in the form of blog intro

1) Rosli Mohamed Hanip aka roslimh over at Make Money with The Internet
This is his personal blog where he shares his knowledge on home business, making money with online and some self improvement. If you are interested in doing business from home or already doing so, head on over and check it out. You can also get to know more about him here.

2) Karen W over at Listen From Within
Her focus for her blog on topics such as Psychic & Spiritual Development, Reiki/Energy Healing, Past Lives, Angels & Spirit Guides, Feng Shui, Space Clearing, Numerology, Meditation, Hypnosis, 2012, Indigo Children, Manifesting Abundance, Intention, Crystals, and various other new age concepts. So if any of those topics interest you, check it out. You can get to know more about her here.

3) Slices over at slices-of-life.com
This is how Slices describe his blog (I assume Slices is a he) - “This is a blog about magic, beauty and poetry. Actually, it’s just a blog about life. Not just any old life, but a life worth living, a life less ordinary. This blog is a reminder, for myself and for the others. Come one and all, make yourselves at home“. Magic, Beauty and Poetry is a bit out of my depth but it may be your interest. If it is, head on over.

That’s all for today folks and have a Happy Weekend!

Cheers
James

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Hey Folks,

Last night I caught a show about the real life story of a local entrepreneur, Mr Mustaq Ahmad, who runs the hugely successful retail mall Mustafa. I have a real soft spot for any stories on successful people, especially successful entrepreneurs.

The show was very short, just 30 minutes but it focus on Mr Mustaq’s childhood days and significant lessons that he learn since young. From milking cow in India to selling teh terik (milk tea with foaming bubbles) to selling textiles in his later years!

What Mr Mustaq Learned
Here are some lessons he learn as I appreciate them:

1) If the price of your merchandise is fixed by external source, sell more to increase your income.
- He learned that from a milk man collecting milk that his mum milked from their cow in India. “One rupee per bucket. You want to earn more, get me more bucket of milk” says the milk man.

2) Be honest in your business dealings.
- His father taught him that whatever he wants to do in business, he must remember to be honest. They were so honest, they even refused to pay street gangs “protection fee” (that’s 1970’s Singapore). By the way, the mall is named after his father.

3) Fixed a price that is lowest in the market for your merchandise and sell lots of it.
- In 1970’s Singapore, price haggling is probably the default mentality of consumers. They haggle over any purchases, even a cup of tea! He noticed the trend and decided that he wants to focus on selling and not price haggling. He did that by fixing a non-negotiable price that is lowest in the market for his merchandise.

4) He never gives up!
- While operating their road side stall, they were frequently harassed by street gangs and even the police (in the later years when street hawking became illegal). It was actually at this point when he got his first shop space, just 500 sq feet but he bought it - never even considering rental!

5) Treat Your Customer Well and Listen To Their Needs
- His father taught him to treat each customer with respect and he, in his later years, taught his father to listen to their customers need. He say “If they want henna (a type of hand paint), we get henna. If it proves a mistake, we learn from it.”

It was at this point the story ended and it showed how successful Mr Mustaq Ahmad has become. Click here to take a look at his website and his retail mall. The story of what happened after the first shop can be found under history on their website.

What I Learned
So why am I telling his story here? This certainly is not a paid post (maybe I should contact him to see if he is willing to advertise here :P). What I wanted to share was what I saw on the show and how it relates to the Law of Attraction and Positivity.

Mr Mustaq is a positive man. In the show (that’s all I can tell since I don’t know him personally) he has a simple objective - to make himself rich (it’s every migrants dream). He choose to focus on things he has control of (fixing the price and sell more) and ignoring the things that waste his time (price haggling).

He set a goal where Mustafa (his company) will be known as the cheapest place you can get the best merchandise and he sets out to achieve it. His action speaks louder then anything he could have said. His father was not agreeable to price fixing and even laughed at him when he started selling silk handkerchiefs at fixed price. He was mocked by customers too for the same reason but they ultimately came back to him when they found that he was the cheapest in the market!

His goal set almost 40 years ago continues to be the pillar of his business and he continues to innovate by listening to customers feedback! It is the only retail mall in Singapore to operate 24 hours and it made the news for being the first and probably the only retail mall in Singapore to sell automobiles as part of their merchandise. Customer who feels appreciated will come back to buy from you. Another good example of like attracts like.

I love his story and I hope you love it too

Love,
James

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“In The Long Run We Shape Our Lives And We Shape Ourselves …
And The Choices We Make Are Ultimately Our Own Responsibility”
- Eleanor Roosevelt (wife of President Franklin Roosevelt)

Listed here are 10 things that no one can take responsibility for me except myself and by extension no one can take responsibility for you except yourself. This are my personal opinions drawn from my own experience and what I observed. There is no right or wrong, only whether it applies to your or not.

Attitude
You attitude determines how you interpret the events you encounter, the things your perceive and experience you gain in life. Hence, it directly affects the decisions and actions you take as a result. A positive attitude will allow you to see opportunities in adverse situations, while learning and growing stronger with the experience gained. A negative attitude will blind you from all opportunities around you while you focus on the tiniest problem. See the difference? You are responsible for choosing the attitude you take in life. Choose wisely.

Career
Someone once told me “Your career is yours to wrack”! Somber thought. What that fellow was trying to say was no one is out to ruin your career and you are solely responsible for making your career fly high or dive for a crash. You can choose to work hard or work smart or not to work at all. If you are drowning in your assignments but somehow your bosses keep piling work onto you. It is your responsibility to sound them out and decline more assignments. So far as I know, people lose jobs from a bad job done but none from declining an assignment. Think about it.

Dreams
Your dream is just that, your dream. It is not your colleagues dream, not your buddies dream and certainly not my dream. So if you want to realize your dream. Take responsibility for it, work on it and make it happen. If not, it will remain just that, a dream.

Fitness
My fitness instructor once told my platoon, if you want to pass your fitness test, you have to run. Watching your buddies run ain’t gonna help you pass. He will pass, not you. So quit watching and start running. If you want to pass, you follow my orders. I say run, you run and don’t think about stopping until I order so. And so I run and I pass! You think my instructor was responsible? Nope. He was there to do a job and his job was to make us run by motivation, coercion or any methods that will get us to run our guts out. But it is up to us, those who wanted to pass anyway, to run like hell and bring our fitness up to pass the test. If I had ran half heartedly, I doubt that I would have passed.

Health
I admit, I have to admit. I know I am responsible but I just cannot keep my hands off that fried chicken, especially Kentucky Fried Chicken. I love them. But I try to minimize consumption. I cut down from 3 pieces to 2 pieces per meal if I do indulge in them. I still enjoy them but I need to balance them with my health concerns. No one can take care of my health except myself. Just as your health is your responsibility, my health is mine to care for.

Life
Life is a journey that many people accompanied us in. Our early days are defined by what our parents and teachers taught but most people get to choose when they reach their teens and certainly have the right to choose during adulthood. You choose what you will be, could be or want to be. You can choose to be a servant of god or a slave to money or a motivation for youth or a no body slumping at a corner under the bridge. You have a choice, be responsible to yourself.

Money
Really? Do we have to be responsible here? It is our money and we can do as we wish right? I thought so until I learn that there are people who spent beyond their means. They earn $5,000 a month but spend $8000 on credit, earn another $5000 next month, pay off $5000 on credit, roll over the $3000 balance and chalk up another $5000 on credit …. and before they know it, they have reached their spending limit and have a hard time repaying just the interest! Young adults have gone bankrupt this way and there is a trend that is getting some economist seriously worried. So do you think you need to be responsible for your money?

Self Improvement
Like it or not, we are in the new economy. Company loyalty is a thing of the past, secure permanent jobs are as secure as the companies bottom line is healthy and yearly increments that employees use to enjoy in the 80s and 90s are a thing of the past. In this new economy, your increment/pay package depends hugely on the sales you can generate for your company or the perceived value you create for your company. If you don’t invest in your self improvement, you will find that your value diminishes over time and you may get to see the door sooner than you ever thought possible.

Safety
Cats are said to have 9 lives but humans commonly have only 1. But I frequently witness pedestrian jay walk with such recklessness that you thought they were daring the vehicles not to stop. Well partly, our laws here are to be blame as it penalize drivers rather than pedestrians. But I thought the pedestrians would have cherished their lives and be on the lookout for oncoming vehicles. The drivers may lose their driving license but they may lose their life. Or worst, be permanently disable, wheelchair bound or bed ridden for life. Surely that justifies the effort required just to check for oncoming vehicle and delay crossing the road for a couple of minutes right?

Time
Everyone of us are blessed with 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86400 seconds a day. We could either waste them or make them useful. If we spend the time doing things in line with our goals and dreams, we are being responsible and making full use of our time. If we spend them doing thing that do not have an impact on our life, it is just wasted time. If taking 3 hours extra sleep a week means you are resting in preparation for a longer journey, it is not a waste. If you are running errands on someone else behalf that rip no benefits to your goal or dream. It would be considered a waste.

There you go. I have listed them and what do you think? Agree or not, do share with us. Or if you have other things you think should be included, share them too. It’s your turn to talk.

Love,
James

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