Workaholism: Hazards and Benefits

achieve financial freedom stay at home there. It turns out an ever what to do in those days. Chosen your location, your own work schedules, and stay home with the children. With the advance of technology makes it easy to work from home and an income online. The times when you go from house to house and cold calls to people and businesses are long gone.

doorstep selling and cold calls have been replaced by Internet advertising. This is a plus, because it creates a lot of jobs for people like you and me! It is therefore for everyone to earn an income online. If you have special talents computer, you can work from home. Remember, you must remain focused days left to devote to your home business. Stay motivated to build your business to succeed and a solid permanent income.

A work from home computer job has the potential to bring in many returns. It all depends if you go part time or full time, your goals and you can easily remain good money from home. Always looking for new on-line information on getting started. Knowledge creates confidence and confidence is equal to success. Find a niche to work and create a plan for the control of the niche.

Once you have everything setup you can basically sit back and manage your business. By spending a lot of time and learning the skills necessary to find the store you will find on your way to run.

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workaholism, this is the buzzword in today's working professionals. Everything fine, until he or she marry. This is the time they realize they are already married, but on the job. Read more about work addiction and how you can learn, work-life balance to lead a smooth life.

It is a bitter truth that our thoughts and energies to our work as a personal relationship. Work dominates our thinking process, whether we are in the office or at home. There are people who feel comfortable in the office than at home. Work is to occupy the central part of our lives. We often forget that "work" is just part of our lives.

Workaholism is an addiction. It is the choice of one to overcome the mental stress. It could be a result of fear of job security or to maintain lavishing lifestyle. The worrying is the fact workaholic people do not realize that they are addictive and to find solutions to their problems in the family way around.

If you are a workaholic, you will be more obstacles in your personal life. Root in our personal relationship, it will focus on relationships with spouses, children, family and friends. It will definitely damage your health in your later date, but you can not find it, to ensure all of you at this time. It is not as flexible as you have more power in the office, and you are trying to make the same point in your personal life. They tend to do all the food with your own and you are reluctant to delegate, the impact on your overall productivity and is played in your career growth.

How do you find that you are a workaholic? If you find that weekends and holidays are horrible, and you can not wait to get back to work. If you do not have an interest in something other than your work, and you forget, your spouse, child birthday, wedding day, but you are trying to gift your boss's birthday. Yes, this is the time you need to your inner voice and chart a plan for the Work-Life Balance.

Workaholism is preventable or recovery is possible from the addiction, but you must be ready to make your selection right time. This requires a lot of support from loved ones and need careful planning.

Plan your time, this way you can quit your job in a pre-planned way. This will help you to do more tasks in a specified time.

They should have more power himself in social interaction, more parties the weekend with family, friends. You will quickly see how your personal relationship is strengthened.

ALLOT time, take care of your health, go for regular physical activity, and go to Spa to rejuvenate your energy.

Have 5 minutes per hour in the middle of the work to say "hello" to your office friends.

Sharpen your mind, to workshops, read books, go to the theater for your mind to work.

Revive your goals and new goals for your work and private life.

Hope this post helps to do self-evaluation of your work-life balance and a variety of changes, if you have an imbalance.

There is a famous saying: "Nobody on their deathbed ever says they wish they had more time in the office."

The work is important for us to live, but life is more important to live. In all of your comments ...

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The concept of night club is not socially acceptable in many countries but it still exists even in very conservative and orthodox societies. People love to have fun after a long tiring week. Even workaholics also want some space from their daily routine work. So night discos fulfill their desires of fun and entertainment in many ways.

Nightclubs often start their businesses in dark when their lights and shades of colour beams compliment the darkness outside. Music and dancing is the main element of a night club.

Other activities are also carried out successfully at the nightclubs. Drinking is another factor that attracts customers to night clubs. People come to drink and enjoy music. They like to dance while drinking their favourite drinks. People like to spend their nights at these clubs; yet, night clubs do not fall under the category of inns, restaurants or pubs. Night discos have their own domain that they follow in their own way.

There is always a dance floor present in every night club along with a DJ booth that distinguishes it from bars and taverns. Sometimes nightclubs are based on certain themes and genre of music like rock, pop, dancehall, hip-hop and garage etc. This type of night clubs targets a typical market where a certain types of customer come to have fun.

There are different types of night clubs with different lighting effects and ambiance. Sometimes there are mirror-covered disco balls, flashing lights and even smoke machines. These kinds of lights play an important role in attracting the customers in their own glamorous way. Whatever is the type of light there; they influence the mood of people and enhance the dancing element of the club. People love to dance while disco lights are on.

Nightclubs comply in accordance to the rules and regulations of the law in a particular area. Similarly, some night clubs are only meant for a certain age group, where drinking is strictly prohibited. Some night clubs open when there is a concert scheduled, otherwise they remain closed.

Nightclubs are made in a typical style where the walls are thick and insulated to avoid any kind of disturbance for the neighbourhood. Windows are hardly present and the purpose of not building windows is the same; not to perturb neighbourhood with flashing lights and high intensity of the music. In order to enhance the internal effect of night clubs, which are sound proof in order to prevent the noise from disturbing the neighbourhood. Every night club has its own ambiance and charisma for the people.

Nightclubs have a long and interesting history behind them but there are many horrific incidents quoted in the past. Many people died of road accidents due to over drinking. A few accidents occurred and still happen due to fire. There should be proper measures taken before launching a Night Club in order to avoid any hazard.

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To assist the person in the second career transition phase, assessment tools would allow them to determine their strengths and challenges. They may then direct their identified skills towards the proper industry.

Those people chasing the entrepreneurial bug may find solitude in a local Small Business Development Center. Here they have access to free small business counseling and consultation assistance on all phases of business operations. Once in business, the person needs to keep check of their individual life strategies, stress level, and family dynamics. This stage in career development often brings workaholism, which then develops into relationship strife for the married worker. An on-going self-check program of personal time and coping skills will allow the 20-35 year old worker continued career advancement while enjoying a fruitful relationship.

According to Trish Nicholson (2003) in Boomers Discover Age Bias: Age Complaints Surge as Midlife Workers Find the Going Harder finances and work life are among the least satisfying aspects of baby boomers' lives. Many are stuck in a work life that no longer makes sense, is so emotionally stressful or, at the other extreme, is so boring that they hate going to work every day. Others find themselves out of work and replaced by younger workers. It's a perfect time to create a work life to take oneself into the retirement years.

In a 3rd career we can move into something that was too risky to try during our earlier years. Traditional retirement, a total cessation of work, isn't for everyone. The traditional retirement meant withdrawing from work into leisure. Webster's (1988) defines retirement as "removal or withdrawal from an office or active service; to seek privacy or seclusion." The word "retire" comes from the French work "retirer" meaning "to withdraw" which comes from the French verb "tirer" meaning "drawing out or enduring - the same root "martyr" comes from!

Dave Hale, Ph.D., is the CEO of DHI-Communications, an international business coaching and training consultancy, specializing in social networking business development and marketing. He is widely regarded as one of the top business coaches for Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs.

Dave assists people in transitioning from traditional employment to that of being self employment in the Internet marketing industry. He is the author of The High Performance Entrepreneur: 12 Essential Strategies to Supercharge Your Startup Business. David's work and books have been featured on national television, radio, and print media. To obtain more information on how to lift your business or organization to the next level and instantly receive my FREE CD and Business Journal go to http://www.DrDaveHaleOnline.com and http://www.buyhiperbusinessstartup.com

The terms workaholism and workaholic were coined by Wayne Oats in the first book on the subject, Confessions of a Workaholic. He describes workaholism as a compulsive and addictive behavior with work in the same way alcoholics do with alcohol. Workaholism can have a negative effect on ones life on many levels, personal, social, and health. Do you have a hard time relaxing? Do you think taking vacations are waste of time? Do you find that you are constantly making the excuse that you have too much work? If so you may be a workaholic. click here to take a test to determine if you are a workaholic.

One of the main causes of stress and acute adrenal failure among Americans is this addiction we have to work and busyness. In our modern day society, over work has become a badge of honor for many of us. The busier you are, the more important you are. We see nothing wrong with working a 12-16 hour work day. American culture deems overwork as normal and acceptable. In a Gallup poll done in October of 2004, 38% of Americans said that they work more than 45 hours every week.

There is a difference between working hard and workaholism?

Hard work is what built America and allows us to innovate and stay above the curve. Workaholism, creates instability, is one of the causes of stress, and stunts creativity. The biggest indicator of a workaholic is someone who constantly chooses work over family, social engagements, time off, and play. When you feel you cannot stop working you most likely have an addiction to work.

For many work is a source of stability, self-worth, and protection against the uncertainties of life and human relationships. Achieving life balance is perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing us in the twenty first century. Trying to keep up with technology and our neighbors have caused millions of Americans to over work in their jobs. Americans are using their jobs as an anesthetic to relieve emotional pain, deny their worries, build their self esteem, distract themselves and escape from feeling and experiencing life.

Some experts believe that work addiction is perpetuated by the need for a constant adrenalin rush, which can cause acute adrenal failure. Which is similar to being in a state of flight of fight mode where adrenalin pumps up the supply of oxygen and glucose in the brain, increasing the heart rate. Over time, adrenaline and constant stress hormones in the body can lead to acute adrenal failure.

So what can you do if you are a workaholic?

First, admit that you have a problem. Until you become aware of your addictive behavior and tendencies, they will remain in the sub conscious. With awareness you can start making changes. For example, a person that is addicted to sugar, may constantly eat sugar and have no idea they are doing it because it is so habitual.

Second, start writing. When you find that you are having a hard time leaving work at home, write about your experience in the moment. Ask yourself, why am I feeling this way? What is really that urgent? What am I trying to avoid? Start thinking about what work means to you? Writing will also help you bring greater awareness. Map out for a week your daily schedule, how many hours you work, sleep, rest, play, socialize etc.

Third, start scheduling down time into your day and stick to it. I know this is going to be difficult. But put in your schedule an hour walk outside, or sitting in a coffee shop with a cup of tea and a non work related book. Much like starting a new fitness program, you may only be able to sit still for 10 minutes. If you stick to it the times will get longer and easier. If you find yourself thinking about work or getting angry, write about your emotions and why you are feeling this way.

Fourth, create a support system. Schedule social activities and share with your close friends and family that you are trying to cut back on thinking about and doing work all the time. Join a workaholics anonymous group.

Fifth, seek professional help. If you are struggling, look for a therapist or life coach that can help and guide you through finding better balance.

Remember start where you are at. Change is a journey not a destination. It will take time and commitment to change your deeply ingrained habits. With it you will change your life.

Sharon Hwang M.A., is the owner of The Wellness Center, located inside Whole Foods in Colorado, http://www.wellnessdenver.com She is a pioneer in the health and wellness industry and has been working in the industry for over 10 years. She has a Masters in Counseling, and has a passion for helping people live better, happier lives. She is working on her newest website http://www.adrenal-failure.com a website devoted to helping people manage their stress levels. She is a professional public speaker, entrepreneur, and wellness coach. She currently lives in Denver.

Are you a workaholic? You better not be. Workaholics usually miss almost half of their lives, so a joke says. And I think this may be true as they are too preoccupied with their jobs. This is not to say that it is a bad thing as you are earning money for yourself and for your family, if you are married. However, it may cause more negative effects than positive ones, especially to a single person.

Why do I say so? Think about it! Babies and small children require to have a good amount of relaxation and enjoyment in order to stay healthy. If you think this does not apply to adults, you are wrong. Like children, adults also need to relax and refresh our bodies to stay in tip-top shape. This is why doctors recommend exercise to people with stressful jobs. Too much stress drains your immune system, making you more susceptible to diseases. The only problem with exercise, however, is that this can be time consuming.

I doubt a busy man will have the time to go to the gym. Which is why I am writing this article in order to give you a few tips with how relax, even if you are in the office. How? Open your computer and start joining a social networking site. Joining a social network relaxes you due to the fact that you are talking and communicating with other members about your interests. This is not like your usual business meeting, where the boss and employees are all bickering at each other. Chill and check out local classifieds while you're at it. If you're single, it might be the chance for you to meet your destined one by checking others profiles or dating local classifieds. You are already relaxing your body and at the same time, taking off stress from your body.

Perhaps this is the most advisable thing to do if you are always inside your office. In your spare time, you can check out the few new social networking sites that offer great features such as free local classifieds like http://worldstuffer.com Meet new people, find new friends or just have some fun chatting. If you have a small business which is unrelated to your work, you can post local classifieds on the internet in your spare time. This is much better than sitting in your office and thinking about the problems in your work.

Isn't it interesting to observe that typical North American homes have 2.55 children and 2.73 televisions in them, and these 2.73 tellies can have a serious adverse effect on the 2.55 children's health?

Similar adverse effect can be observed on many IT companies' financial health based on their methods of hiring subcontractors.

They fail to maintain a pool of reliable subcontractors, but when they are hit with the large project, they go on a hiring binge. But this binge is distorted by the view of "The less we pay them, the more can keep". So, they advertise on Craigslist in search of sufficiently cheap subcontractors.

Instead of focusing on getting the biggest bang for their bucks, they get so obsessed with minimising the buck that the expected bang very often is nothing more than a barely audible dull thud.

Yes, the budget is saved but nothing gets accomplished. And who do you think clients blame when something doesn't get done? Yeah! The main contractors. Always.

In my experience buyers and sellers behave similarly. Buyers buy the same way they sell as sellers. So, it's fair to say that a company this hires subcontractors on price, sells its services on price. And premium companies hire premium subcontractors.

Now imagine a high school graduate who wants to become a world-class brain surgeon, and the question comes up...

"Jamie, what is your next step of becoming a world-renowned brain surgeon?"

Then Jamie says...

"Well, I'm searching for the cheapest medical school where I can study to become a world-class brain surgeon."

I may be slow in the head but something just doesn't add up here for me. And this is exactly how too many purchasing agents in IT companies operate.

They create requests for proposals, send them out to lots of potential subcontractors, and then hire the lowest bidder.

The other criterion besides being cheap is being 100% obedient and pledging unconditional servitude to the main contractor.

So, it's a master-slave relationship. One problem: Self-respecting companies would never enter such relationships. So, our main contractor, by default, is stuck with the sludge of the industry.

This situation is even worse with governments, but let's not go there right now.

But it's worth noticing that the "lowest bidder" mentality creates certain attributes in companies. Just like in governments, in companies with the low price obsession we can see chronic financial problems, low morale, high levels of pilferage and absenteeism, rock-bottom performance, endless miles of red tapes and indestructible bureaucracy.

How does this play out in the business world?

Simple.

"We want to do a bang-up job on this contract, so let's hire the cheapest subcontractors to help us to achieve it."

Or, on a slightly stronger note...

"I want to have a great romantic relationship, so let's go the city's slum and find the cheapest hooker in town."

Here are a few reasons why you should run very far and very fast from the lowest bidding subcontractors.

1. Poor Mental and Emotional Preparedness

Lowest bidders operate on volume. They have lots of low-margin projects and switch their time and attention between them. The attention per project ratio is very low. So, this is where the ultimate quality of their services suffers. They run around like headless chickens and busily perform tasks.

They run from appointment to appointment, and are always hyper busy. They are the people who are "stuffed" with all sorts of electronic gadgets that keep them permanently plugged into the world. They have no time to relax and recharge their batteries.

Their brains are always racing, they are always in hyper mode. Their states of mind undermine their creativity, so the quality of their services is barely mediocre. They are always busy and exhausted. They are the prisoners of their professions, after all they work on high volume to earn a living.

Also, lowest bidders operate from the subconscious perspective of "I don't deserve more". Their lives and work are riddled with fear, guilt, need and the desire of proving themselves. It means this is what they instil in their clients, so they end up operating out of the same negative paradigm.

In contrast, premium subcontractors work on fewer but higher margin projects, so they can sustain their earning potentials without becoming workaholics. They work with a small and appreciative clientele.

This allows them to dedicate plenty of time to their families, friends, hobbies and skill building. In doing so they become more relaxed and present themselves for their clients in better "quality". They also have more time and money to invest in learning new skills that they can turn into client value in various shapes or forms.

Also, since their personal needs are fully satisfied, they don't project their own needs onto their clients. Have you ever had a service professional told you things like, "I spent the whole Sunday working on your project without spending time with my family". This is a projection of unmet needs. These people are toxic, and you had better run from them very fast and very far. Their ability to help you is blocked by their own unmet needs.

And this is pretty rampant among low bidders.

2. Constant Neediness

Lowest bidders usually have cashflow problems. They are operating on a hand-to-mouth basis, and when they work with their clients, their neediness often overshadows their intentions to help.

They have the dollar sign vibrating in their eyes because they are concerned about their ability to pay their bills. This approach can't lead to healthy relationships. They always do their best to please their clients because they have to hang in for dear life to pay the next bill.

It's like most salespeople who discover that some of their prospects would become bad clients, but they can't turn down those clients because they need their commissions. So, they try to convert bad prospects, well, sometimes even dead cockroaches, into clients in order to get paid, and then the technical people can struggle with these toxic clients.

Premium subcontractors have healthy financial reserves, so they are likely tell both clients and their main contractors what they need to hear, not only what they want to hear. And of course, idiotic main contractors fire them in droves for their honesty. That's human nature. The ego can't stand honesty.

Premium subcontractors become truly helpful not merely friendly. The ugliest form of prostitution is when low bidder professionals "play the client's game" to make sure they get paid whatever it takes.

They try to please their clients and in their fear of possibly losing a client they say whatever they have to say to make their clients nod in agreement.

Only when your subcontractors have independent wealth, they can be of serious help for your clients. They can truly focus on your clients' issues, without being wrapped up in their own financial difficulties.

3. Inferior or Obsolete Skills

Lowest bidders operate on wafer thin margins, and that wafer thin margin goes towards paying bills and operating expenses. So, how much do you think they have left to invest in skill-building? Nothing really. More scientifically, not a sausage.

So, what quality of work can they offer to your clients? Well, poor quality. Not poor quality by botching things up but applying their obsolete skills.

Building a client a turntable may result in an excellent turntable as far as quality goes, but the fact that turntables are gone by the way of the dodo bird renders the achievement useless.

Charging premium fees for a service also means that subcontractors can invest more in their own skill building. Let's face it, you are likely to hire a subcontractors for complex projects where up-to-date knowledge is vital.

Who is a more valuable subcontractor? One who charges low fees and struggles on the project or the one who charges high fees and works on your projects effectively and proficiently, delighting both you and your client?

In both cases you pay pretty much the same on the surface, but when you dig deeper, the difference is dramatic.

4. Poor Physical Health And Fitness

Lowest bidders carefully consider every penny they spend, and are highly unlikely to invest it in improving their physical health and fitness.

Now, some may say that fitness is not an important factor. Some see it differently. I definitely do. So does Mike Shafer of Shafer Consulting (http://www.shaferconsulting.com), a premium IT consulting firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an avid cyclist and martial art practitioner.

According to his own admission, his good health plays a huge role in self-esteem to turn down inappropriate opportunities. As he says...

"Money is good, but unless I enjoy the process of earning it, I don't want it."

The funny thing is that his subcontractors - when he uses them - love him for his selective approach.

But I guess, this selective approach would make him a horrible subcontractor (if he worked as a subcontractor, but he doesn't) for other IT companies that accept anyone as clients.

In my experience, poor physical health and fitness are merely the reflection of what's going on inside a person. When people let their health slide, it tells a loud story about their self-images and self-worth. That is, they are damaged on an emotional level which manifests itself in the form of health problems.

The desire to stay healthy and fit is natural for every self-respecting person. 300-lb doughnut- and French fry-munching lardbags may disagree, but the fact is fact.

So, what can you expect of subcontractors who can't even go through significant work without drinking buckets of coffee, because otherwise they would fall asleep from exhaustion?

We know there is a very tight correlation between physical health and fitness and a subcontractors' quality of work. Exercise floods the brain with oxygen, blood and endorphins, which drastically improve the person's overall creativity, mental alertness and effectiveness.

What is the point in engaging a subcontractor who is likely to drop dead on a client half-way through a project due to a heart attack or a stroke?

This is where you win with premium subcontractors who take care of themselves. They charge premium fees partly because they put premium value on themselves and the work they provide. But the good news is that they can see your clients through their projects and provide long-term support if necessary.

5. Exposure To Limited Perspectives

Low bidders work on volume, so whatever time they have left, they have to dedicate it to their core competence. And that's not much time. It also means they can't develop peripheral competence, thus they can never see their clients' businesses as a holistic entity. They see their expertise in isolation. But life doesn't work in isolation.

For instance, the previously mentioned Mike Shafer is a sought-after IT guy but not merely for his IT knowledge. No. He's sought after for his ability and expertise to link technology solutions to business results. Unlike most IT professionals, Mike treats IT as means to achieve specific business results.

He doesn't install faster servers for the sake of having faster servers. He does that, so the company's clients can be better served, which in turn increases client retention, repeat- and referral business, so his clients make more profit and their clients are happier.

Since premium professionals spend less time doing client work because they don't work on high volume, they can expose themselves to seemingly irrelevant activities, which they can turn into value for their clients. Several clients have hired me because of my military and skydiving backgrounds.

They translated them as my being a good decision maker and action taker. And since at that time they needed a ruthless disciplinarian to blast through the hopelessly thick wall of inertia and maintain momentum, they hired me. And it worked.

And the funny thing is when clients ask me, "This is a great idea. Where have you learnt it?"

And they are shocked when I say "I learnt from a fellow gravedigger when I worked at a skull garden" or "I learnt from a fellow slaughterer when I worked at an abattoir". I have learnt over the years that the more peculiar the experience you have gone through, the more valuable you can be to your clients. After all, you are bringing in a broad range of rare perspectives.

When you are willing to pay more, you can get someone whose expertise goes way beyond business school text book buffoonery. Just look at one of the greatest innovators of history, Edison. He had only three years of schooling, and many years of real education.

The other funny thing is this recession thingy we're in.

Look at the big companies in the USA that have gone to Parliament with begging bowls in their hand, asking for some alms to bail them out. What they have in common is that most of the people who steered those companies to the brink of bankruptcy all have Ivy League MBAs or other prestigious schooling.

So, in spite of the tons of academic geniuses, these companies are in trouble.

In contrast, look at the self-educated renegades, like Dan Kennedy or Jay Abraham. With their high school schoolings topped up with a lifetime of education and tinkering (plain English for R&D) they are having a good time and barely acknowledge the existence of the recession.

6. Preponderance of Clients

Low bidders are forced to work on high volume of clients to put food on the table. Since premium firms have fewer clients they can dedicate higher level of focus, attention and support to their projects.

Sadly, many IT companies are still hiring substandard subcontractors for hourly wages.

Why substandard? No competent professional would accept a payment structure that penalises effectiveness, while rewarding incompetence and slow work.

As Verasage Fellow, Ed Kless is fond of saying...

"If you suck at what you do, then you'd better keep doing hourly pricing."

Let's take many web design and web hosting companies. They are pathetically poor at communicating the value of their services, and most of them are competing on price. As a result, they work with lots of clients, but in doing so they sacrifice the quality of service.

If we want to maintain high quality, there is a limit on the number of clients we can offer quality work to.

Call many IT companies and you will end up on their voicemail system with no hope in hell to ever have your call returned. Email is the same. You receive automatically generated messages, saying that you have been queued up in their customer ticketing system.

They could hire some girls with the right character traits straight from high school who could handle phone calls. Then they could raise their fees on this "premium service", and the new money would pay for the girls' salaries. The whole initiative wouldn't cost a bean for the company.

But this goes against conventional wisdom, according to which technology companies are supposed to treat their customers like dirt at arm's length. Isn't it surprising that CRM (Customer Relationship Management) companies have the highest level of customer attrition? Hm.

I heard this phrase in 2000 on the recording of a Jay Abraham seminar...

"Hire the best and cry only once."

Although the phrase was relating to employees, but hiring subcontractors is the same.

So you can either hire subcontractors that are competitively (cheaply) priced, but stretched to the hilt with an army of clients or you can hire premium subcontractors that handpick their clients, provide preponderance of skill building opportunities for their people, hence deliver great value to IT companies.

7. Competing Client Selection

One huge problem with low-bidding subcontractors is that they work with many IT companies at any one time, so very often they work with direct competitors.

However, because of the way their operations are structured on competitive(ly low) fees, they are forced to accept any client, and can't walk away from conflicting businesses. So, while a subcontractor help one client to develop something, the same afternoon the same subcontractor takes that idea to the direct competitor and start working against the client he helped a few hours before.

The factor that makes premium subcontractors "premium" is that they work with carefully selected companies and in most cases don't accept direct competitors within a given time frame. In my case, as soon as I start working with an IT company in Vancouver in a specific area of IT, I don't accept another one until and unless I get the green from the first firm.

They may be doing different kind of work. One may do IT consulting while the other may do CRM system design and deployment. So, they are not competitors.

When hiring low bidders that compete on volume, you often find that the same subcontractors are engaged in projects with your fiercest competitor.

While you may enjoy the competitive price from subcontractors, you may not appreciate the fact that they help both you and your competition at the same time.

Premium subcontractors work with a small select group of companies with deep relationships, so working with direct competitors is highly unlikely, which makes industrial espionage a bit harder in the fiercely competitive IT industry.

8. Seriously Limited Access

Since low bidders are forced to operate on high volume, their clients have very limited access to them. This causes unnecessary delays and creates a fertile breeding ground for miscommunication. Little mistakes are hard or even impossible to correct. Contingencies cannot be planned because there is a very limited time to correct errors.

Premium subcontractors offer ample access for their clients, knowing that it will take a few tries to get things right. You may be shocked here, but by getting it right only 30% of the time, Babe Ruth became a Hall of Fame baseball player.

So, don't even think of getting things right the first time. Hey, do you know that for most couples it takes several "tries" to conceive a baby? Anything that is worthwhile doing takes a bit of effort and hardly ever happens on the first try. That is why it is important for clients to have generous of access to their subcontractors.

Summary

The problem is that most companies kick up a fuss when their subcontractors do the work in high quality but in a shorter than expected time frame.

Most IT companies are more comfortable with low-priced subcontractors who come in, diligently start working on the project, tinker with problems for weeks on end at a competitive(ly low) hourly rates. So, eventually, the more expensive subcontractor costs less.

Let's take subcontractor Joe and subcontractor Jack. They both are being considered for a contract. Joe charges $100 per hour and estimates to take 100 hours to do the work. Jack charges $200 per hour and estimates to take 45 hours to do the work.

You know what? Most companies, while blissfully ignoring the total cost of the work, hire Joe because he has lower rates. Most companies fail to pay attention to the extra 55 hours of inconvenience, not to mention multiplying the two numbers and make a sane comparison.

And where does this lunacy lead to? To disasters...

Disasters like the 12 February 2009 plane disaster, when Colgan Air's, Continental flight 3407 crashed upon landing in Buffalo, NY. All 49 passengers, four crew and one person on the ground got killed.

Colgan's was intention to keep costs down by hiring cheap pilots.

Captain Marvin Renslow was paid a dismal $55,000 a year (the equivalent of a McDonald's Operations Supervisor) in a world where experienced captains get paid around $150-200,000 a year.

Rebecca Shaw, the co-pilot, was earning an amazing $16,300 a year (the equivalent of a McDonald's burger flipper), which forced her to take a second job, so she was seriously sleep-deprived?

The disaster was waiting to happen. It was just a matter of timing.

And now Colgan Air will pay millions in lawsuits initiated by the relatives of the victims. Colgan Air merely got what it paid for.

And similar fate that waits for IT companies that try to cut costs and corners through low-bidding subcontractors.

Tom 'Bald Dog' Varjan, engineer/buyer-turned-seller, is a B2B business development strategist and copywriter, helping privately information technology companies to develop automated client acquisition and retention systems and build minimum headcount and maximum firepower business development teams to sell their solutions to premium clients and premium fees and prices. For a broad range of articles, white papers, including "Ten Warning Signs of Dysfunctional IT Business Development Departments", visit his site at http://www.varjan.com

Never leave America if you want to see beauty at it's best. Sure, there are other places with great beauty around the world. However, none of us can see it all in our lifetime even if we're on a perpetual tour that never stops. It's doubtful that many of us would enjoy constant travel. Most of us like to see family and friends, keep up with the neighborhood, stay connected with our church family, old classmates too.

Actually, work is a nice break too. Something about giving, using our talents and skills for the good of society. Making a contribution along the way is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, too many of us are workaholics, money becomes our highest priority. It's nice to have money but family should be your first priority. Many folks considered poor are far better connected with their spouse and children. No one ever asks for another day at the office or plant on their deathbed, family is all that matters throughout our lifetime as priority ONE.

Usually, the family that prays together, stays together. If possible, an annual family vacation should be a priority. Often, lack of money can be a problem, but there are lots of things you and your family can do that's inexpensive or free. Go to the park for a picnic; take in a ballgame with a moonpie and RC Cola; a trip to the mountains with a picnic lunch can be lots of fun for everyone; go to Discovery Place or the Mint Museum to expand your exposure to new discoveries and other places bidding you to come.

Our mountains, beaches, waterfalls, water parks, horseback riding is always fun and recreational. Sometimes there are festivals in nearby towns that attract hundreds of visitors over a weekend. Even the farmers market can be a good experience and educational for the children. The new Billy Graham Library invites you to come for a visit and tour to learn about Dr. Graham and his preaching the Gospel around the world.

Take a trip to see beautiful Niagara Falls, a breath taking beauty that everyone should see. Visit Las Vegas or Atlantic City, take in the Kentucky Derby or plan to see the Grand Canyon with it's massive views, mule riding, boat trips and sunsets. Huge hotels with tremendous stage shows, dancing, musicians, singing everywhere. Plan a visit to Dolly Parton's DollyWood extravaganza in Pigeon Forge, TN along with other family shows on the main drag. Pigeon Force is a busy town. Don't miss Gatlinburg, TN with it's time shares, chalets, motels, candy shops along with pancake houses and fine dining. Only 5 miles between the towns along some wonderful mountain scenery.

Go North, South, East or West to discover wonderful places and sites to see. You'll never be bored traveling America by car, bus, motorcycle or your own RV with car in tow. See the geysers in Yellowstone or take in Hawaii as the southern tip of the USA. Big cities, small towns welcome visitors and offer tours in restored Williamsburg, VA and Winston Salem, NC for a beginning tour. Most places are very affordable and inviting for the tourist. George Washington's Mt. Vernon estate, the Kentucky horse plantations with beautiful farmland across the plains.

Don Monteith spent 32 years as co-owner of a staffing/personnel business plus several franchised services [personnel agency, temp services, diet centers, computer training, dictation-to-go, vending, mail-order]. Most of his business education was learned in the {SHK} "school of hard knocks" where he earned a PhD with honors. Today, Don shares his experiences, successes and failures with clients, friends, and small business owners. You can enjoy his Newsletter about business, life, joy and happiness at http://www.DonMonteith.com

Are you succeeding in business and losing your life?

Are you...

writing a daily blog and creating a following?
responding to all your emails?
creating and joining online and local social networking groups?
offering and attending teleseminars and webinars?
traveling to social business building events?
building your lists and updating your automatic responses?
creating a regularly published newsletter?
submitting articles to magazines, newspapers, and online article sites?
writing and publishing books and eBooks?
mentoring your followers and downlines?
lecturing and offering live seminars?
seeking joint ventures and affiliate marketing opportunities?
staying up late and waking up early to get all your tasks done?
writing lists and crossing off items as you complete them?
thinking and talking about your business all the time?

If you have answered "Yes" to several of these questions, you are on your way to becoming a social business network workaholic. Hopefully, with all that time and attention and hard work, your business is now booming. But what is happening to the rest of your life?

If you are married or living with a significant other, have you ignored your partner's requests for attention, affection and quality time together? If you have children too, have they been clinging to you or avoiding you when you tell them not to disturb you while you work a little bit more?

If you are single, have you dated anyone lately or have you just put your entire social life on hold? Do you cut your phone conversations short and only arrange for brief social contacts before getting back to your computer? And, to me one of the worst offenses, do you find yourself talking on your cell phone, texting or reading your emails - while you are sitting in a restaurant or at a social event with a date or your current life partner?

In this 21st century, and now even more so during this economic downturn, many of us are spending more time focused on business and less time smelling the roses, enjoying companionship, or relaxing with our loved ones. And this is taking a toll on our relationships. If you have been expecting your partner to be supportive, to understand what you are attempting to accomplish, and to be there when you feel you have reached your goals, think again. Workaholism and lack of nurturing in a relationship will almost inevitably lead to relationship disaster.

Yes, of course, for a certain period of time at the early stages of building a business, you may have to spend a great deal of your time and energy focused solely on the details of your business. However, as soon as you get a slight breather, as soon as you have a spare moment, put your focus and attention back onto those you love, those with whom you hope to share you business success.

Now is the time to take stock and get a handle on your life. The goal of success is to be able to enjoy your success with those who care about you and those you care about and love. If you focus only on your business and ignore your closest personal contacts, your business may flourish but people you care about will feel hurt and neglected.Don't become another statistic of someone who has succeeded in business, but lost their family and friends and life, in the process.

Dr. Erica Goodstone has helped thousands of men, women, couples, and groups to build upon their success and at the same time develop greater awareness of the issues in their relationships and their lives. She has helped men and women, individuals and couples, to overcome and alleviate stressors and discords, and to revitalize their relationships and their own mind-body-spirit connection. Dr. Goodstone can be contacted through her web site at http://www.budurl.com/Wellness and you can take the Create Healing and Love Personal Assessment and get your free report at http://www.budurl.com/Createloveheal

In today's busy world, more and more people are joining the ranks of workaholics. The economic recession and the pressure on jobs is taking its toll on work-life balance where jobs are taking the first seat with dating and leisure activities being pushed out of the packed schedules. If you find yourself to be a workaholic, here are a few tips to help you enjoy the best of both the worlds:

1. Internet Dating: If you work from early in the morning till evening, you can still go online and try your luck in dating. There are many paid services that list attractive profiles to suit every preference and you can certainly pull out some time to check out the listed profiles. You need not spend hours on this and can date with leisure.

2. Taking some time off: When you are very busy with work, you will not get any time for dating and could miss out many opportunities to meet up someone exciting. In this case, you can certainly consider taking some time off to spend a bit of quality time at a vacation spot, malls or even go online to try and look up dating possibilities. Work is important, but not to the exclusion of everything else.

3. Favorite hangouts: You will be surprised by the wealth of contacts and potential dates you can meet at regular hangouts like clubs, bars or even the gym. You can make it a point to snatch an hour after work to relax at a lounge or work it out at the gym where you can meet interesting people to date.

4.Frankness pays: If you are already dating someone and are a workaholic, do let your date know that work is a priority for you. This way, your date will respect your time and not come up with huge expectations from your side.

Want to know about a free dating site? Visit Datopia that offers free online dating services, which you should not miss at any cost.

So you thinking about getting a tattoo that you can relate to and that has meaning to you, what better permanent mark to get than your own star sign or that of a loved one? December or January is your month and Capricorn is your sign; but what does it really represent and mean?

Before rushing to the tattoo parlor to forever imprint your Capricorn Tattoos marking on your body you need to know the meaning of it. Being Capricorn your element is earth, and your symbol is the goat. Capricorn is regarded as Zodiac's top, but also high business achievers. There are two kinds of Capricorn though, the first is represented by the mountain goat always climbing higher and higher and never stops till he is at the top.

The second is the garden goat, he does not have much ambition or spirit always has to be forced to take a step further. The Capricorn needs to balance life between work and play or work can overrule personal lifestyles. Even though they are workaholics they have a great sense of humor and can make a great companion. In fact the older they get the younger they feel and they are not afraid to show it. Capricorn signs make a great marking and a great way for you to display your self confidence and dedication to you duties.

There are many different ways and designs that you can create to find the perfect Capricorn sign for you. Becoming a member of a really good tattoo website might cost you a small amount of money but you will find unique and personalized Capricorn Tattoos there like never seen before.

Sebastian Williams is a qualified tattoo artist and has been involved in the world of tattoo art for the the last 9 years. Click Here. If you want more on Capricorn Tattoos?

I bet you will agree that there are people around you who make life miserable for you. They may even dominate or control you. As you rub elbows daily with such folks at home, workplace and in the streets, you are constantly deciding on how to act properly towards them. These minute decisions are being made by almost everyone. We don't want to mess up with difficult people and so we are always wary of our actions.

Troublesome people lurk everywhere. They are not really criminals, but they give others 'a pain in the neck.' They are the ones whom we might call the difficult people. And most of us deal with them everyday - without knowing who they are, why they are so, and how to deal with them. Answers to these questions equip us in dealing with them, and even in helping them. Sometimes they?re just your parents, spouse, children, bosses, business partners, business associates, or your close friends.

You will run away all your life. No place on earth is safe from difficult people. You really have no choice but to learn how to face them squarely and effectively. Conflicts throughout history, whether small or large scale, local or global, were attributed to difficult people who went out of bounds and affected the rest of humanity. Hence, the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the genocide in Europe in World War II, the Holocaust, and even the Fall in the Garden of Eden took place.

If you know how to master your communication skills especially deal with difficult and yet important people to you in business or workplace, people will start to like you. If we all become true to these desires, we can make a lot of people happy, difficult or otherwise. We can start to spread the spirit of happiness around us and help make this world a better place, even in a limited sense. If people like you, you're communicating your way to riches!

Here are some practical steps to develop the willpower to deal with difficult people.

1. You must like people. All people take all sorts of attitudes. Liking people is the first sure step to triumph. Avoiding them, especially the difficult ones, is a sure road to becoming difficult yourself. So the first natural thing to do is go out and meet people. Very soon, you will meet difficult people. Greet them and genially accept whatever reaction they give you. Don?t be discouraged but greet more of them regularly until you get used to them, and until your LOT skyrockets to record-breaking heights. They may be rude and cruel, but no one?s ever heard of getting shot or killed by greeting difficult people.

2. Smile. Most touchy people can be neutralized by a friendly smile. So practice putting on a pleasant, simple, friendly smile in front of a mirror. Public speakers and actors study their facial expressions facing a mirror. Political and beauty aspirants take time with a photographer just putting on the best smile that exudes confidence and friendliness. A smile, they say, says it all. Regardless of how your face looks, a smile always puts on warmth and comeliness. A good smile always arrests the temper, even that of difficult people. So always smile.

3. Be sincere. A smile helps a lot, but sincerity gives your smile credibility. A mere smile is a matter of facial muscle flexing. When this alone is involved, the smile becomes unnatural. Put your heart into it! A sincere heart will automatically show if you live a life of sincerity. Practice sincerity. Always be sincere in all you do daily. When your heart gets used to being sincere, smiling sincerely becomes natural. Difficult people can see right through you, and sincerity melts their hearts.

4. Listen well. Almost every difficult people want to talk much more than they listen. This is the main problem in communication. Difficult people love to talk and want people to listen to them. In a nutshell that's what they are. Basically, you cannot put two difficult persons together and have them talk. Difficult people avoid each other once they recognize each other. If they are made to sit down and listen, they won't stand it. They will either stand up and steal the scene, or just walk out. If you are working for or with a difficult person, practice becoming a good listener, or worse locked up with him for life.

You must learn the wisdom of enjoying listening. Few have this wisdom. Most people think there is wisdom in monopolizing a conversation. As in business, this only results in unfairness and silent protests. You can make difficult people happy when you just listen to them. Not many can do this. When you are a good listener, even the most difficult people tend to trust you with their secrets. Then you begin to know them as they reveal who they really are. You begin to understand them deeper; thus, you will be able to help them better. As they open up their secrets, understand and love them more.

5. Be agreeable. This does not necessarily mean agreeing to anything difficult people say, but it is more about agreeing not to argue. If you don?t agree with the opinions of difficult people, just listen and send everything to your mental bin. Delete. It's your right. But never argue. Never mind if they say you are not confrontational. So what? Nobody dies because of that. But arguments often kill. Nations go to war because of arguments. See the wisdom? Remember that every seed of kindness you plant now will surely reap a harvest of favors soon. It happens each time.

Valuables are often left to agreeable people, never to aggressive ones. Very few trust contrary people. If you are known for your politeness, even the most difficult folks will give you special favors. Always remember that the most difficult people are strivers. They are workaholics. They feed on pressure to hit their goals. Oftentimes they get promoted to positions that confer favors on 'worthy' men. They often rake in more valuables than the average guy.

6. Praise. Even though you think differently and have a different idea for success, take note of their worth and achievements. Appreciate their efforts, share their triumphs and sad moments. At times, a smile or tap of congratulations or sympathy is enough and speaks volumes. But never overdo it.

Julius P is a Business Consultant with an MBA Degree from UK in Marketing. He enjoy meeting people and believes in living the positive side of life. But more than that, he is passionate about setting goals and achieving them. He is action-oriented with a strong work ethic. He enjoys reading, writing, socializing, meeting people, and traveling. He is also fond of Bollywood & Hollywood movies. He loves studying human behaviour pattern and his book, "Communicate to Success" is been launched at http://www.wealthycommunication.com

Have you seen that movie Confessions of a Shopaholic? A young woman finally explains to the man she has grown to love that she is a shopaholic and that when she is shopping she feels happiest and most fulfilled. Are you a workaholic who has not yet confessed? A workaholic is someone to whom work is the most fulfilling activity in their life. Work is not only a source of income; it is an obsessive pattern of thinking and behaving. There is nothing particularly wrong with this elective lifestyle but, as with many choices we make in life, there can be unintended consequences.

The first piece of fallout for the workaholic is personal relationships. For the person who works 12 hours a day six or seven days a week there is no time left to engage in and nurture a mutually satisfying relationship. Interpersonal stress, failure to communicate, conflict over different values, and no opportunity to enjoy each other are the usual hallmarks of a relationship that has failed because one of the people is a workaholic.

People talk about workaholics as being Type A personalities. This personality type has been with us for about 60 years and emerged as a result of one medical practitioner characterizing people with elevated coronary disease as driven personalities. Sometimes called stress junkies, Type A people are competitive, time conscious, driven, work-focused, aggressive, and unable to relax. Of course, if you believe these to be good attributes, you would see no problem with this personality and you would probably agree that work is the greatest form of satisfaction in one's life. The problem comes when work becomes an obsession that significantly impairs either or both one"s health or one"s relationships.

How to Escape the Workplace Stress Trap Being a Workaholic

The first thing to do is to determine whether you are a workaholic or Type A personality. If you Google Type A you will find plenty of checklists. Here are some of the obvious characteristics: rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 6, 1 being "Rarely" and 6 being "Nearly all of the Time". We will use five criteria: extremely competitive; can"t stand being away from the workplace or working; need to be in control; find it difficult to delegate; impatient with others. This is not meant to be scientific in any way, merely illustrative of a way of behaving and thinking. if you scored 25 to 30 you are a committed workaholic; 16 to 24 fairly driven and work committed; less than 10, seriously Type B - relaxed and not driven. Eleven to 15 - nice balance.

If you are a workaholic, a stress junkie, a person caught in the workplace stress trap of workaholism, here are some thoughts for you. You often see reports that 7 out of 10 visits to a primary health physician are stress related. There is plenty of evidence that Type A personalities have a higher rate of cardiac disease and failure. Set limits to the amount of time you work. Plan your monthly calendar with three colors: green for time spent with loved ones; red for time spent working; and white for time left over. Do not become work-time obsessed. If you work at home, as many of us do with the advent of the Internet, get out of the house (the office) for a reasonable period each day. Stop and think about the importance of your life to yourself and others. Imagine what life would be like if all your family and loved ones left you and all you had left was your work (OK - if this DID NOT work for you - you are either a very self-focused person and/or you are deep in the grips of being a workaholic).

Get a sense of your priorities in life. Overcome the guilt you learned as a child - "If I am not working hard I am not a good person." Stop the big pretence that workaholics use: "I am doing this for you darling and for the children; I have to work hard to give you everything that you want." The reality is that many partners want their partner - not the things that their work-obsessed partner is able to provide.

I hope you get the picture. Being a workaholic is a very powerful workplace stress trap; and this strap builds personal stress and work stress. If you enjoy being a workaholic and you are not being self-deceptive - go ahead. Do what you love but don"t come crying to father when your world falls apart and everyone gives up on you.

Dr Jeff, a psychologist, writes about workplace stress, personal stress, interpersonal stress, and how to manage stress. On his blog, http://www.drjeffbailey.com, he answers questions from readers. He works hard to make his articles practical and helpful and all of his articles are based on sound research evidence and extensive clinical experience. Please go to his Dr Jeff blog to get your free report on stress.

This article will explain how you can slow down and still run a profitable and exciting business. Capitalism has taught us that we should feel like every minute of the day should be filled with doing some kind of activity. Here is how to slow down:

Workaholics are everywhere. In the U.S. we get fewer days off than most other countries and many of us still have trouble taking all of that time off, because we are so "busy" we just don't know "when to fit it in." This is the curse of capitalism.

We are taught that we need to be ultra-productive, to be connected all the time, and to make sure that every single waking moment is full of productive activity. We should be doing our taxes while waiting in line at the grocery store. We should create a business plan while on the treadmill at the gym that we don't really go to.

As an entrepreneur it can be even worse. There is an unwritten rule of starting a business that states you need to work 120 hours a week or you are doing something wrong. Well, I am here to dispel that myth and tell you that it is OK to just do nothing every now and then.

Your body needs you to do nothing in order for the mind to reorganize the subconscious. The mind has to perform a slowdown period where it processes the thoughts of the day, categorizes them and decides what it will keep, what it won't, what new ideas are coming down the pike.

Without this cool down period, you subconscious will have trouble coming up with new creative ideas. These are the critical points of an entrepreneurs life, and you are missing them. You are the visionary of your business, but if you are not creating any new visions or directions due to stale thoughts from overwork, your business will actually get worse than if you worked less. How about that for a wake-up call?

Joshua Black is an on-line infopreneur, marketing consultant, author and educator dedicated to helping the bootstrapping small business owner succeed.

Visit his flagship resource site for entrepreneurs at http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com for the free Underdog Millionaire Wealth Pack: including a free e-book and daily wealth building tips for the bootstrapping small business owner.

Were you born in the year of the tiger? Are you curious what that means for you? If so, this article can help explain the Chinese horoscope tiger to all of you tigers out there!

For thousands of years, the lunar cycle- based zodiac has been used in China. Because it takes the lunar cycle twelve years to complete, there are twelve animal symbols. Your Chinese horoscope is determined by the year you were born instead of the month like in our western zodiac.

Under each sign, the characteristics of occurrences in people and events correspond with the traits of that animal. The myth of how the twelve signs were chosen originated with Buddha. Before he departed from this world, he invited all the animals to a great feast. Only twelve were present. Buddha named each year after all of the twelve animals in the order by which they arrived. The tiger was the third animal to arrive.

Tigers are very compassionate, supportive, and tenderhearted. They are without a doubt the lovers of the Chinese zodiac. The tiger is very alert and attentive to the world around them. Thoughtful and reflective, they have great intelligence. Tigers are fiercely loyal, and are very assertive. They will defend their loved ones boldly and vigorously. A tiger knows what it wants and is not afraid to go after it. They make passionate lovers and true friends. Conversely, they can also be hot headed, stubborn, and impulsive.

The natural elements that impact the world around them are also integrated into the Chinese horoscope system. This means that in the Chinese zodiac, you are not just a tiger, but a distinct type of tiger. Fire tigers are prone to short tempers but are full of presence and spirit. The water tiger is a social, brilliant visionary. Earth tigers are true workaholics, but they are also perceptive and composed. The metal tiger is very competitive, affectionate, and generous. Finally, the wood tiger is your endearing and amusing best friend.

Tigers do well with careers as explorers, actors, politicians, daredevils, writers, and actors. Marilyn Monroe and Dwight D. Eisenhower were two famous tigers. When you are looking for compatibility, it would be wise for the tiger to avoid snakes, monkeys, and the ox. Instead, find true love with a dog, horse, pig, rabbit, or dragon.

If these qualities sound like you, you must be a true tiger! Considering the Chinese horoscope tiger is such a versatile and likeable character, you should be proud! Keep moving stealthily through life, but be on the alert for troublesome monkeys!

Henry Fong
Feng Shui Consultant.
Read more at Feng Shui Absolutely

They say that we are the average of the five people we spend most of our time around. The first time I heard this, I took a long, hard look at my life and immediately starting making some adjustments in my social circle. Though I may have been doing well in the primary pillars of life (professional fulfillment, romantic and other friendships, home life), there were some people who had to go. Why? It's very simple. Though we may feel we have many commonalities with our friends, we still look at ourselves as unique people with our own thoughts, philosophies and ways of life. So what if one of our friends is a complainer, if one is a philanderer, if one is a gossip, if one is passive-aggressive. They're still our friends with great qualities and you need to be loyal to your friends, right?

Not necessarily. For you see, our judgment may not always be the best. And I'm not just talking about crazy things like wars, famine, adjustable rate mortgages and those outfits we wore last decade as signs that humans make bad decisions. We create relationships based on convenience and logistics, we stay in them because of weakness and its evil cousin laziness, we sell ourselves short as we settle to avoid being lonely and change.

Lets go through just some of the characters:

* The 'friend until you meet someone else' - We all know someone like this. You have a fun pal you go through all sorts of adventures with. When you bring new people into the group they're suddenly guarded, defensive and even standoffish.

* The chronic 'woe is me' victim - Does the drama ever stop with this person? Everyday something is wrong it seems whether it's with their work, their spouse or the coffee shop cashier. Funny thing is, most of the complaints seem quite like, well, non-issues to you.

* The 'loose as goose' lack of morals character - This person may like preaching to you on how you should live, but yet is the same one that will take indiscretions. Repeatedly. They will lie, cheat and steal.

* The 'supportive until it conflicts with what they want' person - They may be all gung-ho about your new fitness regimen, until it starts getting in the way of their social plans and want you to sacrifice.

So what are some of the pitfalls you may have by letting some of these characters revolve around your inner circle just a bit too long?

A. You are stuck in your same social rut. Anytime you are around them doing the same thing you always do with them, is a moment of your life that you were not free to meet newer, more positive people.

B. If these people have flaws serious enough that others see right through them, all the while as you continue to overlook them, you may be turning off new people who float through your life who might have enriched it. Imagine that, people who might have been the bridge to connecting you with a better job, meaningful friends, romance and whatnot, all turned off because of the jerk (male or female) that you've learned to tolerate.

C. You have been so motivated all week in keeping up with your routine, but at the constant urging of this friend you go drinking and one becomes two, two become five, and next thing you know you haven't worked out for 4 days as you recover eating pizza and ice cream on your couch.

Look, differing degrees of individual motivation aside, we are partly creatures of habit and surroundings. Hang out with drug abusers long enough, and your perspective on how one lives will be shifted as the 'soft' drugs you once thought were innocent start seeping into your life. Hang with workaholics long enough and you may make great professional connections but will see other aspects of your life dissipate.

If you want to know how to 'Train Well, Eat Well, Live Well', one of the easiest ways to do this is to simply surround yourself around the people who live this life. One of the best 'kick-in-the-pants' I ever got was when I started hanging around with a roommate of mine, maybe 6 years back, who was an amateur bodybuilder. I was only a hobby lifter, but his group of friends really showed me the lifestyle commitment necessary to succeed at their level. How? Here's how.

http://www.traineatlive.com/your-social.html

Know the real deal on what is the meaning of wellness, check out this total nutrition and wellness website - TrainEatLive.com.

(1) Take a direct personal interest in all your team members

This can be done by following these simple guidelines:

(i) Know everyone by name
Incredible, but true. I have met too many managers who do not even know the names of their team members. Any corporate structure is like a pyramid. No matter what part of the pyramid you occupy, the strength of the pyramid depends on the bottommost layer and it becomes imperative that you know all the people who report to you directly or indirectly. At least, the best managers have an uncanny knack of remembering peoples' names and making casual personal enquiries about the well being of anyone they meet. Since this kind of behavior is not always experienced it makes the people realize that they are being given personal attention and builds loyalty in the team. It satisfies the basic human craving of being noticed.

In his classic book "Strategies for success", Jim Dornan mentions this very principle in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, and I quote "An excellent example of this from history can be seen in the way Napoleon Bonaparte interacted with his men, he knew every officer of his army by name. He liked to wander through his camp, meet an officer, greet him by name, and talk about a battle or maneuver in which he knew this officer had been involved. He never missed an opportunity to inquire about a soldier's home town, wife and family. When he did, it always amazed the man to see how much detailed personal information about him his Emperor knew.
Since every officer felt Napoleon's personal interest in him - proved by his statements and questions- it is easy to understand the devotion they all felt for him."

(ii) Connect with everyone
Tough one to explain but let's consider an example. Archimedes discovered the lever concept wherein let's say you wanted to move a heavy rock you would be better advised to use a long rod rather than trying to move it with your bare hands.

Similarly, when it comes to people you are better advised to build relationships first and then steer people in the direction you want them to move. Moreover, in this case, people will follow you willingly. Learn to persuade, not dominate. There is a vast difference between the two phrases 'Can you please ensure that this is done?' and 'You need to complete this work by EOD today.' One is a slight nudge or a request while the other is a kick. No one likes to be kicked.

Unfortunately, most managers are guilty of using "positional authority" to achieve their ends. John Maxwell talks about the various levels of leadership in his book "Developing the leader within you" and it is clear that positional authority is the worst form of leadership.

One way to measure where you stand on the leadership scale is to check how many juniors come to you for career advice and advice in other areas of their life. If people do not approach you, it means that you are not approachable which is a sorry state of affairs. You simply cannot progress if you are unable to connect with people and you can connect with people only when you take a genuine interest in them, their careers, lives, etc.
(iii) Protect your team at all costs
Protect your team from:

• Overenthusiastic sales personnel who try to impose their sales targets on developers
• Powerful stakeholders who impose deadline pressure
• Prima donna developers who start dominating juniors

Have genuine concern and take true care of your team - the best leaders are the ones who go to extreme lengths to protect the interests of their team. Sometimes, this may mean that you need to lock horns with your immediate superiors and higher management.
Remember, your team is your 1st concern.

Address all team concerns proactively - a concern, like a bomb can be handled if detected early. The greater the delay the worse it becomes.

The result - people will start recognizing you as a person in whom they can put their faith and trust and become fiercely loyal.
(iv) Solve problems even if it is outside the scope of the project
One of your key responsibilities as a Project Manager is to clear all the obstacles which come in the way of your team members and prevent them from performing at the optimum level. While most PMs do handle all the nagging problems faced within the office premises, very few actually look beyond that.

On-site projects, for example, are always plagued with problems.Adjusting to the local food, traveling and place of residence, are basic requirements which should be taken care of at the very outset. I recall an onsite project wherein I had to visit a foreign country where the employer provided some excellent facilities like:

• 1 free telephone call every week to keep in touch with the family
• A video conference with family members once in 6 months
• Occasional weekend trips to famous spots in the city
• The buddy concept wherein one local staff whom the on-site person had to interact with regularly was also asked to help him during his stay for other nagging problems - in fact, this was a KRA for the year

Small acts like these ensured that the employees were happy and there was negligible attrition in the project for almost 3 years. Funny, but treating every team member as if he is your biggest customer yields rich dividends in the long run.

(v) Be absolutely honest and transparent
Trust is the foundation stone of all relationships. Break trust and invite disaster. Be it organizational changes, cost cutting, layoffs, or any other news which impacts the team, always be the first one to inform the team openly and accurately.

In "The 7 habits of highly effective people", Stephen Covey mentions the 'Emotional Bank account' and I quote "An Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that's been built up in a relationship. It's the feeling of safeness you have with another human being."

Do all your team members feel safe when it concerns you - if not you need to work towards building up the deposits in that emotional bank account with everyone.

(2) Identify your best people
Suppose you have access to a pool of 10 developers and need to identify the best candidate to commence work on a difficult module. If you fail to identify the right person you will face problems later on with unfinished, substandard work and compromised deadlines. I usually use what I would like to call the POC - "Proof of Concept" strategy. Assign the task of developing the POC for a project related problem to the entire pool of available developers. The advantages are:

• The proposed solution will tell you a lot about the individual's capability
• Usually, the turnaround time for any POC is a couple of days - effectively, you do not lose too much time in trying to determine who the right candidate is.

Over a period of time, you will be able to determine what are the strengths and weaknesses of each individual in your team but the POC method always works at the initial stage.

(3) Practice the 80/20 rule
The Pareto principle, in the project management context would mean that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the team. This means that once you have identified your core 20%, make sure you are spending 80% of your time with them.

Sometimes, the weakest developers in your team can end up eating up your entire time and bring down the entire project over a period of time. The same applies to your core team as well - remember, your team is only as strong as it's weakest link. Sometimes, the best developers end up spending most of their time in resolving problems faced by their weakest colleagues. Never allow this to happen.

The Pareto principle is beautifully illustrated in the book "Developing the Leader within you" by Dr. John Maxwell.

(4) Place the right people in the right areas
Over a period of about 3-6 months you will be able to pinpoint people's strengths and weaknesses if you are always involved at the ground level and not just living on updates like average project managers. At this point of time it is important to strengthen the roles for the core 20% as all high-fliers eventually get restless. The following strategy can be used:

• Excellent at analysis, design and finding solutions - needs to be in product development should be assigned the most difficult modules. It's a win-win situation, on one hand the module gets delivered and on the other it also provides enough challenge for the developer and keeps him motivated.

• Excellent at customer interaction and trouble-shooting. Understands the business impact well - needs to be in production support and over a period of time can occupy the team leader's position in production support.

• Excellent at co-ordination and customer interaction - can be assigned the role of an implementation expert. This role mainly involves interacting with other teams like DBAs, change managers, business users, testers, etc. It also demands that the person has the capability to understand an implemented solution entirely. Such a person may not necessarily be good at finding solutions but remember, his role as an implementer does not demand the same most of the time.

Make sure expectations and responsibilities of the assigned roles are made clear to everyone involved. This tells the top performers that their careers are being taken care of. At the same time, it also ensures that the right responsibilities are being delegated to the right people and will eventually result in the project manager having greater control over his time. Designations are limited but roles can always be created.

Sometimes, people may require counseling to understand their own strengths and weaknesses. More often than not, developers are only interested in coding new modules and do not realize where they can excel. This is where your powers of persuasion will be tested.

Delegation is a two-edged sword, do it right and it will allow you to take up more work and lead to an increase in responsibility, do it badly and you will end up answering escalation emails and attending damage-control meetings.

(5) Create career development plans for all your key people
Most project managers never quite get down to working this step, yet, this is the key step to stem attrition and hold on to your best team members. The best people are usually interested in the following aspects of a job:

• Career growth i.e. growth in responsibility
• Growth in income
• Better role

Overall, the best people are mainly interested in knowing if the current job provides them enough opportunities to advance towards their long term career goals which might be of becoming an enterprise software architect, project manager, etc.

The following steps can be followed:

(i) Identify the long term career goals for each individual
Use one to one meetings to identify the long term goals of each individual. This will be possible only if you have connected well with each individual as detailed in the earlier steps - if not, you may not even be able to initiate this meeting. The key here is to identify what aspects of the job the individual likes and where he would eventually like to end up in the field. At the end of this discussion both the individual and you should be clear about the following things about the individual:

• Long term career goal for ex. becoming an enterprise architect
• Current strengths - technical and personal
• Current gaps - technical and personal
• What should be the next step towards moving towards the role of enterprise architect?
• What technology has the candidate not worked on till date and needs exposure?
• What are his training needs which will help him move faster towards his goal?

Make sure all these points are documented well and kept confidential. This discussion becomes the basis of future discussions.

The candidate should start getting a vision and game plan as to what is required to achieve his long term goal and what is the next step. For ex. a software engineer should first aspire to become a Senior Software Engineer followed by Tech lead and so on.

(ii) Map individual goals to project goals
This is an extremely powerful concept. If you have followed project management practices at some level and have a clear idea of the project deliverables and the different technologies which will be used you will be in a position to do work allocation correctly. Before allocating any task, ask yourself:

• Is the individual capable of completing this task?
• Does it provide him "controlled stretch" which means whether the task will force the person to stretch his abilities and grow in the process?
• Does it help him advance towards his long term goal?

Every assignment you allocate to an individual should help him move toward his next career goal. Between the decision to quit and the next job lies the quality of assignments given - it is the project manager who decides the team's attrition rate to a great extent.

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." - Zig Ziglar

(iii) Create a leadership incubator
If you have done the earlier steps right you will soon reach a point wherein you will have high-performing team members who will continuously take up new challenges. Over a period of time the entire team environment will start reflecting the same.

(iv) Some will still move on
Despite the best of opportunities some people will still choose to move on due to various reasons.

Some will outgrow their immediate environment i.e. your project and will move on - thank them for their contribution. They will always remember you for the role you played in mentoring them.

This is the point where the leadership incubator you have created will be put to good use - others will be ready to occupy the position of the person who has moved on. Succession planning needs to happen at all levels and not just at the topmost management levels.

(v) Believe in everybody - wait for nobody
One word of caution - you can only help someone to rise higher if he himself is interested and committed towards the same. People can be divided into 2 types - types A are the moving cars (ambitious, career oriented people) which only need to be steered in the right direction. Type B are the parked cars (comfortable, stagnating people) which need to be started off or even pushed in some cases. Do not spend too much time on Type B - remember the 80/20 rule.

(vi) Replace yourself eventually
Remember, your influence as a person will grow only when your people grow. You cannot rise unless you replace yourself first. For insecure people this will be hard to digest. You cannot occupy a new chair unless you vacate the chair which you currently occupy.

This principle is beautifully brought out in the book "The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership" by Dr. John Maxwell. 3 laws mentioned in the book are relevant in this context.
The Law of Empowerment - only secure leaders give power to others
The Law of Reproduction - it takes a leader to raise up a leader
The Law of Explosive growth - To add growth, add followers - to multiple, lead leaders

While it goes without saying that reaching this point will take time and effort - this is the only way to go forward and rise higher. The transformation happens within you first and the eventual handing over of higher responsibility to you is only an acknowledgement of what you have already become on the inside.

(6) Praise publicly and criticize privately
Never miss spotting someone doing the right thing - and always acknowledge and reward the same. People literally crave for a kind word and will eventually repeat their best performance when they are recognized for the same.

On the contrary, if a situation demands that some harsh words need to be spoken, then always ensure that this happens in a closed door meeting and never in public. Also, take particular care that you do not violate someone's sense of self-respect but at the same time you make a person realize the gravity of his mistake.

(7) Show empathy, not sympathy
Empathize with people when they miss project deadlines due to personal problems, but do not sympathize.

The dictionary meaning of sympathy is "the feeling of being sorry for someone"," support for or approval of something" and that of empathy is "understand and share the feelings of another". There is a qualitative difference between both. When you show sympathy you will allow a person to drag you into his well of woe whereas when you show empathy you will help or empower him to solve his problem or move on and find someone else to do the job.

Let's face it, any real project will throw up countless problems at the project and at the individual level. Having empathy will ensure that you give everyone a fair chance but overdoing the same will only lead to a bad situation. This is a key factor to consider when a team member's personal problems lead to failed deliverables or compromised deadlines.

(8) Share successes with the team, but take responsibility for failures
Always ensure that the top performers get public recognition for their efforts. This is easy in organizations where you have a quarterly rewards and recognition program. In organizations where this is not the case, the project manager needs to be creative. One way to do this is to be a good promoter of people, this leads to people becoming more and more motivated and striving to consistently meet the high standards they themselves have set.

On the other hand, all failures need to be handled internally. Never reprimand the team members responsible for any mistakes in public. Failure makes a person feel miserable anyway - and highlighting the same too much only adds to his woes. The Project Manager needs to play a key role here in shielding his people.

This is the hallmark of all great leaders. In "Wings of Fire:Autobiography of Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam" an incident is mentioned wherein Dr.Kalam took total responsibility for the SLV-3 (Satellite Launch Vehicle) failure in front of a big group of scientists. The book also mentions another incident when he asked his team members to present their individual reports on the areas they were working on rather than he doing it himself thus giving the team an opportunity for recognition in front of the scientific community. No wonder he is considered one of the most successful scientists to have led India's space and missile programme.

(9) Organize trainings
The training budget is a powerful tool in your hands, use it wisely. Create the training calendar in the beginning of the year keeping in mind the following requirements:

• Technical requirements of the project
• Individual training requirements to boost career growth
• Any gap in skills that needs to be addressed

Quote often it happens that a year passes by without the organizing of any proper training programs and the last quarter is packed with training programs of little value to the individuals involved and the organization itself. Never allow this to happen.

Internal training programs can also be conducted by the various individuals involved in the project on technologies used in the project itself or otherwise. This is an opportunity for personal growth for many individuals.

Trainings always give individuals a good release from project pressure and also helps to reinforce the conviction that the organization is serious about their future and increasing their skills.

(10) Celebrate phase completion
Whenever a major project phase is over, celebrate. Put the staff welfare budget to good use. Nine pin bowling matches, group movie outings are opportunities which allow people to recharge their batteries. It also provides ample opportunities to build team spirit and strengthen relationships.

(11) Balance the workload well
Ensure that no single individual is getting over burdened. This also calls for proactive leave management of the entire team. On occasions you may also need to force some workaholics to take leave.

It is small acts such as these which help you make small deposits in the emotional bank account which we talked about earlier. And these deposits reap rich dividends when the time comes.

(12) Do not ask for too many updates
Do not be a status update maniac - trust your people to be responsible and deliver results. Ask for an update only when necessary - the best people will usually themselves keep you apprised of the status of the tasks they are working on.

(13) Lead by example
Always be a person worthy of emulation. Set high standards for yourself and do not impose any rule on the team which you do not follow yourself. People automatically follow what they see you do on a daily basis and not what you tell them to do. If you cannot be the 1st person to enter office at least be the last person to leave after a hard day's work and do this only after personally ensuring that your entire team has left for the day. Always walk the extra mile for the team - always come to the forefront when required be it project problems, technical problems, any problem which hampers progress. When people observe you walking the extra mile consistently a wonderful chain reaction happens. Some of your elite team members start following your example and this leads to a multiplication of efforts and results.

Consider the equation:
1 person = 1 extra mile
10 persons = 10 extra miles

Do you think this will have a big project impact, you bet !

As John Maxwell says, "The right to lead is earned, not given." In his classic book "Right to lead" Dr. Maxwell mentions an incident wherein Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf stepped into a mine field to save an injured soldier and the ripple effect it had on all the people in his division. No wonder he was called upon to lead the critical operation during the Gulf war.

True leaders always emerge out of nowhere when a major crisis develops.

(14) Motivate the maintenance team
Quite often, you will be faced with a situation wherein the production support team starts to feel that they are a group of 2nd class citizens and will develop an inferiority complex and get demotivated which can have a serious impact on the service delivery function. Motivating the maintenance team is a tough task but I have used the following techniques to good effect:

• Emphasize the fact to the maintenance team that since they interact with the business users on a daily basis, they are the custodians of the image of IT more than anybody else, including you. The responsibility of the development team ends with project success, but the maintenance team is mainly responsible for ensuring that operations run smoothly and ongoing business success.

• The job, contrary to the traditional belief is tough. More often than not the maintenance team is at the receiving end of bad design decisions taken during development and has to put in quite a lot of performance enhancing fixes in place as the usage of the system increases.

• Only maintenance engineers understand a system and the business domain in totality. This is due to the sheer nature of the work. Development engineers never usually seek to understand modules outside the scope of what has been allocated to them.

• The crucial life skill of crisis management - taking decisions under mounting pressure can only be learnt in production support. This can never be learnt in development where someone senior will shield you.

When maintenance engineers understand the above points, they gradually begin to understand the value of the work which they do on a daily basis and where it fits in the bigger picture. And once people realize that their work is being valued they usually stop complaining.

The same point is beautifully brought out in Sir Winston Churchill's life during the Second World War. Dr.John Maxwell calls this the Law of the Big Picture in his book "The 17 indispensable laws of teamwork." The book mentions how Sir Churchill managed to motivate coal miners to continue working on the inglorious task of working in the mines against opting to fight in the war on the frontline. A must read account if you are serious about going up on the leadership scale.

Moreover, there are ample career options in production support as well. With most organizations embracing ITIL and standards such as ValIT gaining ground,the service delivery function is being seen as a key provider of ongoing business value. Once maintenance engineers realize that they are not in a dead-end situation and career growth options are available they will not display negative attitude. This is where the project manager plays a key role. Organize ITIL trainings and watch how the maintenance team starts enjoying their role.
(15) Sack non-performers tactfully
If you have recruited the right person, you will never be faced with this option. However, on occasions you will be called upon to do the inevitable. How do you still retain trust and loyalty in the team? The following strategies have helped me:

• Ensure that you give the non-performer a fair chance - try to place him in an area which involves routine work and which does not involve much thinking. Many routine maintenance tasks involve only log monitoring - poor performers can be accommodated in such areas.

• Use counseling to good effect - give the person a chance to close gaps and raise his performance to an acceptable level
• Ensure that all the other team members are well aware that the guy is failing to meet the minimum requirements of the job. This needs to be done in a subtle manner - it should not be too obvious.
• Exercise all options before giving the final notice - and ensure that all the other team members are well aware that there really was no other option available.

Maintaining transparency in such matters ensures that there is no loss of trust and loyalty in the team. People realize that no one can be continuously paid for doing nothing.

In an interview on CNBC, Mr. Narayan Murthy, the chief mentor of Infosys mentioned that the best leaders have the ability to cast vision and the best people need to see themselves growing into important roles and achieving bigger goals in that vision. This is the best strategy to retain people.

Sainath Sherigar, PMP is a practising Project Manager and has diverse experience in leading global projects from inception to final delivery and closure.

You can email him at sainath.sherigar@gmail.com