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By Andrew Gowans SWOT Analysis: When you and your group wish to identify your Strengths and Weaknesses, the Opportunities available and the Threats facing you. This is a powerful and highly successful technique that can be applied to an individual, a group, a team, a company, a plan think about it, even a website! Again, experiment with it. If it helps you to focus your (and your teams) efforts in the right direction, its worth it. The process is to ask and answer a number of specific questions for each of the 4 categories, documenting the answers. This process, in itself is simple enough. However, so that you are not disappointed with the outcome, take the time you need, get the answers you need, face the facts and above all, take action. TIPWhether working on this for yourself or with your team, always keep in mind the goal you want to achieve for each category. So, in this context, treat ‘you’ as either yourself, your team, your improvement group, your company, your business. The starting point of a successful SWOT analysis is to understand that there are 4 general objectives, one for each part of the analysis, the goal you wish to achieve. Typical Format - the most common approach and widely used format is to construct a 2 row by 2 column matrix with the following information… STRENGTHS in top left quadrant Capitalise on your strengths WEAKNESSES in top right quadrant Address your weaknesses OPPORTUNITIES in bottom left quadrant Take full advantage of the opportunities available THREATS in bottom right quadrant Deal with or minimise the impact of threats you face Although each of the above statements can be regarded as action oriented, they are, in themselves, meaningless. We can’t use them to communicate exactly what our plans are going to be, why we have the plans in the first place, what resources we need and who will implement the plans. So, let’s ask a few fundamental questions to put some meat on the skeleton… —Sidebar— Add to or tailor the questions to suit you, your team, your organization. —End Sidebar— STRENGTHS What do you do really well?In what product or service areas do you excel?What is your value-added?What makes you unique in the marketplace?What characteristics are highly regarded? Answer from your own point of view, your customers your teams’, your suppliers’ and others. WEAKNESSES What do you not do well? How do you know?What needs to be improved? In what way, by whom?Are there weaknesses you dont see but others do?What does the team look for that you dont provide?What do customers look for that you don’t provide?Are decisions based on supposition or hard data?What are your measures of success telling you?Are you really prepared to find out? Answer from your own point of view, your customers and others. Face the Truth OPPORTUNITIES What opportunities would help you become more successful?Where would you find them?What external changes, events can you take advantage of? technology, demographics, legislation, education Use PDCA (see footnotes) to identify those that will give you the greatest return THREATS What financial problems do you have?Are there internal/external changes that threaten you?What do you know about your competitors?Are they successful? Why?, How?What obstacles impede your progress?Which obstacles can be dealt with or overcome? Use PDCA (see footnotes) to prioritize O.K., we have done the data gathering, the surveys, the questioning, the ’soul searching’. Redraw the matrix when questioning round is complete replacing the questions asked in each quadrant with a summary of the answers. Easy for me to say I know but… As long as you have been factual As long as you have been honest especially with yourself As long as you are ready and prepared to accept the answers As long as you are prepared to TAKE ACTION You have the foundation here to take a snapshot of where you are today, what’s working for and against you, and the basis for a series of action plans to get you to where you want to be tomorrow. Regardless of which quadrant you may be studying, the key question to ask yourself is… “What will give us the biggest return” Many of us are familiar with the “Pareto Principle”, perhaps more familiar with the term “80-20 Rule” Pareto Principle Why the 80-20 rule? Approximately 80% of trouble comes from 20% of the problems. Also, quite often, 80% of the results we seek, will come from 20% of our efforts - as long as we are focused and prioritize. Although “Pareto” is named after the economist Vilfredo Pareto, it was Dr. Joseph M. Duran who applied the thinking to management best practices. Dr. Juran advises us to concentrate on the “vital few” sources of problems (and in this context, the actions which will give us the greatest return) and not be distracted by those of lesser impact or importance. To conclude, be as creative as you can be in your problem solving, think ‘outside the box’. Get others to do the same. As much as I hate them, just think of “yellow stickies” and how a complete disaster became a huge income generator. If you are worried about change just imagine what will happen if you do nothing! “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Einstein Footnotes Use some of the great but relatively simple problem solving tools to help focus and determine the priorities. Tools such as as Force Field Analyis, Cause and Effect Diagrams (Fishbone Diagrams),Flowcharting. For a full explanation of PDCA, the continuous improvement process and its individual stages, just do a search on author ‘Andrew Gowans’ and the relevant articles will be displayed. ================================================================ Andrew has over 20 years experience providing personal and business coaching specialising in strategic planning, continuous improvement,personal development and lifelong learning. There are five ways Andrew can help you drive your business forward… a)provide help and guidance with any of the steps outlined in the article. b)get your free copy of the ezine Webcoach News. c)highly relevant articles on website marketing and promotion d)check out the wealth of material on the main website e)submit a detailed request for help regarding working at home or running a business on the ‘net. 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By Elsa Schieder It’s now a couple of weeks after the pope made his speech. A few days ago I listened to an interview with Clinton (former American president, in case anyone has forgotten). His view on the pope’s remarks and the Danish cartoon: they make it more difficult for Muslims moderates. I thought about Clinton’s evaluation (he’s not someone I dismiss casually). And my thinking brought me to remembering what I’d heard about the impact of the Danish cartoon on Danish Muslims. According to that report, the discussions sparked by the cartoon moved the Muslim community forward by at least three centuries - because before that, the Muslim views were not challenged and until that happened, they could not be changed. So have the Danish cartoon and the pope’s remarks hurt or helped Muslim moderates? First, the cartoon and the remarks are not one and the same. The Danish cartoon (to these nonMuslim eyes anyway) is a small mild portrayal of a grizzly truth - the use of the Muslim prophet as justification for bombings and other violence against innocent civilians, including Muslims. The pope’s remarks are more blunt and directly confrontational: violence done in the name of religion is against the nature of god. He was called a Rottweiler long before he made these remarks. His remarks - deliberately forceful, provocative - did bring to mind the image of a Rottweiler. Big teeth. A strong bite. One often has to be careful around Rottweilers. That brings me to a question. Why did the Danish cartoon spark greater protest? Well, a cartoonist is a more vulnerable target, doesn’t have the authority of a huge organized religion behind him. Also, the cartoon came first. Plus, there is the question of whether anyone can make an image of the prophet. Masses of Muslims acted in outrage that anyone dared to make such an image - and totally ignored the message of the cartoon. (The offended chose to ignore that there are numerous other images of their prophet, against which they have not protested, and that the violence done in the name of the prophet creates a very vivid image in people’s minds.) But I still haven’t answered my own question. Have the cartoon and the pope’s remarks hurt or helped Muslim moderates. My guess is they’ve helped. Someone had to do this work. The Danish cartoonist and the pope have drawn a lot of fire and anger away from Muslim moderates. More of them may actually have gotten more courage to speak out. Plus moderates may have moved further in their thinking in response to the cartoon, the pope’s remarks, and all the discussion this has generated. In fact, another guess I have is that there are more Muslim moderates than before. (That remains to be seen.) So far I have no evidence - but I do know that Christians have become increasingly moderate over time, as the Christian fundamentalists have been challenged over and over. Of course irate fundamentalists (Christian and Muslim) may be ever more allergic to the moderates. But at least in Canada, the very conservative Christians are much more moderate than a generation ago. A similar shift may take a couple of decades in the Muslim world, but that’s what I see happening. **** In the short run, what would I see? “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” - so said Shakespeare, or perhaps it was some other famous British writer. I think the comment popped into my mind becuse people who are losing may get ever more angry. It doesn’t mean they will win, or that they should win. A spurned woman doesn’t increase her chances of winning back her beloved if she rages. On the contrary. And eventually a lot of spurned people learn. I’m back to a central point. The more that people around the world do to break the shell of Muslim self-righteousness, the better. So for now at least, based on my own assessment and knowledge, I will disagree with Clinton, though our goal is the same - the success of Muslim moderates. **** UNDERLYING IDEA: “It is a fact readily acknowledged, that for humans, an idea is much more powerful than a fact.” I don’t know who said that - but I remember how those words struck me when I read them. One idea: just as ideas can close our minds, they can open them to new worlds and visions. Ideas pull things togheter or keep them apart. They help us organize experiences, help us make sense of things - or block us from making sense of things. So I hope you got something from what I’ve written. Comments and further thoughts welcome. **** For more thiinking of the rage of the righteous - how it works and how one might counter it - there’s much more on my site: http://www.elsas-word-story-image-idea-music-emporium.com/the-idea-emporium-1.html Questions. Why so much Muslim rage at a Danish cartoon? Why so much rage in people in general? Narcissism. Hate. Illusions. The Idea Emporium - facts, ideas, conclusions. Plus stupid opinions exposed - such as the opinion that all opinons are equal. **** Elsa Schieder, Ph.D., prof, writer, visual artist, thinker, performer. One of the most important things, I hold, is being able to live and think well and creatively, imaginatively. Website:http://elsas-word-story-image-idea-music-emporium.com All my life, creativity has played an enormous part. The magic of story, music, idea. In Elsa’s word story image idea music emporium, there’s space for many forms of creativity, including creative thinking. 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By Jean Lam The weight of a person is often related to several factors: genetics, eating habits, exercise routines practicing, and others. In the case of genetics, it is impossible to control whether a person is susceptible to easily gain weight or not; however every single person is capable of controlling what he or she eats, and the amount and frequency of practicing an exercise routine. If you are aiming to follow a weight loss procedure, it is far better to devote yourself to that cause, instead of trying miraculous products which claim being able to provide you with a permanent weight loss. The reason why these products are not recommended is due to the fact that you will gain those pounds back eventually (considering that the miraculous products actually work, which is a very long shot). You will gain the weight back because the human body is capable of adapting to different factors, and the only way you can burn fat without your body trying to restore it immediately, is by doing it constantly and with exercise. A permanent weight loss will change your way of life, however it is necessary that you start this change before you actually start losing pounds. The entire weight loss process will depend on how well you manage these changes; you will need to change your diet, your daily routines, and overall, the way you live your life. For example, if your weight loss efforts will revolve around your appetite, then you will need to follow a diet full in carbohydrates, which will immensely help you in decreasing your junk food necessities, and therefore you will have to change the way you live, because that means goodbye to all that food everyone enjoys so much. When it comes to a permanent weight loss routine, there is nothing better than exercise. By following a regular exercise routine, you will soon start building up and maintaining your new physique. It is also very important when following a permanent weight loss program, to exercise, because if you do so, you will burn away all those excessive calories in your body that, when accumulated, start transforming into that despised fat. Remember that a permanent weight loss process does not depend only on following an specific diet or a given exercise routine, it is the combination of both disciplines, and only by strictly and regularly following them, you will start noticing results; otherwise you are just wasting your time, and you will never achieve your permanent weight loss goals. This article can be freely published on a website as long as it’s not modified in any way including the author bylines, plus all the hyperlinks must be made active just like below. Jean Lam is a writer, author, publisher and owns several sites. Visit his weight loss obesity website for lots of articles about losing weight. Also check out the weight loss eBook that will give you tips for your weight loss problems. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jean_Lam http://EzineArticles.com/?Permanent-Weight-Loss&id=504574 ar ag payday lenders decision payday loans defaults measures fast track to cash flow payday cash advances

By Michele Pariza Wacek Are you struggling to find a new twist for old advertising or marketing campaigns? If you’re a small business owner or a copywriter/coach/other creative professional, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Having to come up with new ideas for a long-term client (or even your own business) can be overwhelming. As much as you love those long-term clients or established products, because of their longevity, it gets harder and harder to come up with the next brilliant product. But never fear. Here are three ways to get those creative juices (and new ideas) flowing. 1. Study other ads. Flip through a magazine or turn on the television, except this time focus on the ads and not the content (I know, I know, this is counter to what you usually do). Which ads do you like? Why do you like them? Is there something that those ads are doing you can modify for your campaigns? The key word is modify, not copy. I don’t want anyone committing copyright infringement. What I’m talking about is using an existing ad to jump-start your own ideas. Maybe you really like the use of an evocative photo with a single caption. Or the use of repetition in Mastercard’s “Priceless” campaign. Or the idea of turning the “money can’t buy everything” on its head (which is essence of that campaign). Can you use that concept in your campaign? Another resource for great ads is Communication Arts Magazine. Each issue showcases some of the most creative and beautiful ads found anywhere. 2. Check out what a completely different industry is doing. For instance, let’s say you sell software products to computer professionals. Techy market, right? So, pick up a yoga magazine. See how that industry communicates with its audience. Now try selling your product using the same language and concepts. Take it a step further and brainstorm ways your software product is similar to doing yoga. This is a very powerful way to jolt your own thinking and start your muse down a completely different path you might never have discovered before. 3. Force a connection. With this idea, force a connection with a random object rather than an entire industry. You ask yourself, how is your software program similar to a stuffed dog? Write down everything you can think of, no matter how silly or foolish. Sometimes the foolish ideas are the ones that lead to the great ones. A final note: If at all possible, don’t rush this process. Give your muse some time to ponder and play with these techniques. I know it often seems like ideas pop into your head out of thin air, but usually that’s because of the hard work you’ve put into it. You’ve given your muse the necessary tools and “incubation time” to make ideas happen. Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at www.writingusa.com. Copyright 2004 Michele Pariza Wacek. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Pariza_Wacek http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Ways-to-Put-Fresh-Spins-on-Old-Marketing-Concepts&id=3088 el paso bad credit car loan wal mart paycheck for employee payday loan centreville rd manssas va no credit check loan

By Kathy Burns-Millyard Weight problems and obesity are constant topics in the news these days, because fat has become an epidemic. With this increase in obesity, there’s also been a huge surge of diet pills put on the market. Unfortunately, prescription diet pills are quite expensive and can be uncomfortable - if not downright dangerous to your health. Some of the known side effects of prescription diet pills include: Dry mouth, sleeplessness, irritability, stomach upset, painful urination, blurred vision, adverse effects to the central nervous system, and decreased sexual drive. Then of course - since the recent fiasco with prescription pain killers - there’s not much telling these days whether prescription diet pills are actually safe. Luckily there are many all natural herbs and supplements that can help you lose weight though, here are some of the primary ones: L-Carnitine Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) is for fatty acid oxidation - helping users burn unwanted body fat. Fatty acids are one of the key energy sources the body uses, and oxidation is the process by which they’re broken down to create energy. The fatty acids cannot penetrate the inner mitochondia membrane (where they are burned for energy), and the key role of L-Carnitine is to transport fatty acids across the mitochondra membrane to allow for oxidation of the fats. L-Carnitine plays an important role in energy production; It helps in weight loss and fat burning, It transports long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondra to metabolize and generate energy; Enhances cellular energy in the brain; Improves mental performance; Helps slow the effects of aging; Decreases symptoms of depression; Helps prevent cataracts; Used to support all bodily functions that have a height energy demand. Green Tea “Better to be deprived of food for three days, then tea for one.” (Ancient Chinese Proverb) To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which green tea is reputed to be helpful: weight control, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, infection, and impaired immune function. The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke. Camellia Sinensis Camellia Sinesis activates the central nervous system, which may spar the body’s ability to burn calories and unwanted fat cells through the Thermogenic process. The phenol groups in Camellia Sinensis are extremely active, easily able to capture and neutralize free radicals and other pro-oxidants. Researchers have found that Camellia Sinensis is over 200 times more powerful than vitamin E in neutralizing pro-oxidants and free radicals that attack lipids (oils and fats). Camellia Sinensis is also 20 times more potent than vitamin E in reducing the formation of dangerous and potentially mutagenic peroxides that form in rancid fats and lard. Alpha Lipoic Acid The body needs Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) to produce energy. It plays a crucial role in the mitochondria, the energy-producing structures in cells. The body actually makes enough ALA for these basic metabolic functions. This compound acts as an antioxidant, however, only when there is an excess of it and it is in the “free” state in the cells. But there is little free ALA circulating in your body, unless you consume supplements or get it injected. Foods contain only tiny amounts of it. What makes ALA special as an antioxidant is its versatilityit helps deactivate an unusually wide array of cell-damaging free radicals in many bodily systems. Bioperine and Piper Nigrum Bioperine and Piper Nigrum’s value is that it has been established to enhance the bioavailibility of certain supplements through increased absorption. In other words, when combined with Bioperine, numerios vitamins, minerals, amino acids and anti oxidants are more effeciently absorbed and utilized in the body. Because of its ability to create enhanced and more efficient means of nutrient transportation into the bloodstream, Bioperine may have a positive effect on thermogenisis,which would lead to an elevated metabolism. Notwithstanding, Bioperine and Piper Nigrum’s real, proven value is in it’s ability to enhance the absorption of various nutrients which is the main benefit it provides to any fat burner compilation. Biotin Part of the vitamin B-complex; Biotin is also known as vitamin H. Biotin helps promote energy production, helps to maintain a healthy nervous system, good for hair (prevents greying and baldness) and healthy skin. Biotin is necessary for both metabolism and growth in humans, particularly with reference to production of fatty acids, antibodies, digestive enzymes, and in niacin (vitamin B-3) metabolism. (Note: This is an informational article only and is not intended to be taken as professional medical advice. Statements may not be approved by the FDA.) Do all these diet pills really work? Visit the Diet Pill Directory for reviews and a comparison of the most popular diet pills. 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