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A business success is driven more by its lawyers and auditors, who prevent expensive penalties from lawsuits and from breaches in regulatory compliance, than by its core products. Hence, the focus of any type of business must be to bring together a development vision informed by economic intelligence and peoples (customers, suppliers, venders, employees, lenders and investors) needs and wants. For this reason, the today-to-today internal operations of the business must be closely monitored and the external environment will sway all decisions.

Money must Work

Everyone should know and understand money. Financial literacy teaches mostly personal and family budgeting but it is equally important to know and respect the other side of the economic equation. To provide and improve an acceptable standard of living, infrastructure (water, roads, housing, etc.) and opportunities (jobs), consumers must purchase from business, for business to grow and create more jobs and of course, paid taxes which builds and maintains schools, hospitals, etc. Money must circulate from salaries to business to Government and back to salaries.

Save the Children, Save the World

As political leaders discuss solutions to, reduce green house gases released into the atmosphere and maintain the forest cover, hence, slow or reverse climate change, there is an equally grave threat coming from our children. As populations increase depleting the shared natural resources, aggression grows from one generation to the next because there is less to go around, and the widening gap in lifestyles erodes hope, countries will not be able to stop or contain the resulting violence and riots will spread across the world. Morals will no longer be able to control the masses.

Failing Banks

The future is not that hard to see when it comes to the international banking sector. Traditional banks have long started to implement a transformation plan, driven by the advancements in information and communication technology, which has been accelerated by the worldwide recession. Now, Governments are pushing for more rigid regulations and prudent examinations to protect their populations.

Investor Relations

For any relationship to survive it must be based on respect, sensitivity, confidentiality and most prominently, loyalty. Business comprises numerous relationships with; customers, suppliers, venders, employees, bankers and investors. Customers, whose positive word-of-mouth endorsement brings in more sales, Suppliers, who offer superior products and above normal service, Venders who are dependable, Employees that are devoted, Bankers that are considerate, and Investors that offer encouragement and strength.

The relationship with investors is the most important to the business success but is the most difficult to manage and maintain. Investors come in all shapes and sizes, some invest money and anticipate a return on their financial investment, others invest advice (time and expertise) and expect shares as payment, and then there are investors who are family and friends that demand more intangible rewards.

Investment Banking

The Investment Banking sector has a very important role to play in the global economic recovery, although being blamed for causing the world financial crisis in the first place. A sustainable recovery must be driven by quality job creation, which can only be as a direct result of financing new projects, with stronger independent oversight to identify potential risk. Regulators of the world’s largest economies have been analyzing the problems and devising solutions to save and repair the image of the sector.

Investment Banking brings together viable projects and needed funding. All major developments in the world, over the recent past, were funded through investment banking activities. Bringing inventions to market, modernizing infrastructure or expanding capabilities, all required unique and creative funding solutions. A mixed of debt and equity funding that would restrict short-term debt repayments, allowing for a healthy cash flow position, while the project is not generating income, clearly understanding the risk associated with medium to long-term revenue streams. Investment bankers sell the calculated risk to large corporations and wealthy individuals who can afford the losses but buy-in for the long-term gains.

Success from Failure

The failure of the education system to present and promote business (not to be confused with management studies) as a career option has led to a society of employees. This failure must stop, the system must not allow dropouts, for any reason, access to education is a basic human right, no discouragement from testing but an assessment formula that addresses, without shame, the individual’s learning speed and aptitude. Success of any education system, from early childhood to adult instructions, is to promote a love of learning, foster a curiosity and desire to research, analyze, implement and evaluate.

Revolution Calls

As many societies come to grip with lower Government revenues resulting in higher levels of unemployment and less take home pay for many, one must sit up and take notice when the word “Revolution” is used. The most vulnerable in society are normally the ones most easily provoked to take action. All leaders in society must be sensitized as to how they words are publicly received and the accumulative effects of their criticism, both on individuals and on the offices of Government.

Opposition to any Government is very necessary to voice and point out corruption and waste, more importantly to present itself as an alternative choice to be duly elected, based on superior ideas, at the appropriate time. Calls for revolution from politicians, who are presently not in Government, can be misunderstood by many to mean – the removal of the sitting Government by any means necessary. This is not what politicians mean, nor should it be inferred, not if they hope to be in Government in the future, to lead the very same people who can be made to act against a Government. What is meant by any opposition is that the present Government’s policies are wrong and we have a better solution. One can disagree without threatening.

Maintenance Business

To offer prospective clients a holistic solution in work place maintenance requires a multi-skilled crew; security personnel trained in medical first aid with basic knowledge in electrics, electronics, plumbing and other minor repair functions, a truth handy team. To build such a business will require the merging of existing specialty operations with a heavy emphasis on on-the-job-training.

The chief executive officer, while in-charge of his team of executives, is basically the principal of the training operation and hence, promotions will be driven mainly by achieving additional skill-sets. With the standard support of a financial officer and a legal officer, the chief executive officer is expected to generate profits by winning new contracts and creating an atmosphere to encourage and keep highly trained personnel.

Independent Oversight

Democracy is a unique balance between empowering the people and gridlock. Having understood the roles of the three branches of Government, the executive, the legislation and the judiciary, one can easily mistake them as independent of each other. In fact and practice, both the legislation and the judiciary depend on the executive for administrative and development funds and can be hindered by the said executive, which begs the question “Should there be an independent publicly elected comptroller of the public purse”.

Many jurisdictions have independent elections for all three branches of Government. The executive and legislative branches are commonly elected in some type of national event and others are calling for public hearing on judicial appointments. This call goes further to include the election of key public servants or independent officeholders to bring a high level of integrity and diminish direct political influence on decisions. A forth branch of Government perhaps, the public service, where public budgeting, public auditing, public prosecution and other sensitive decisions are made.

Addressing Unemployment

With unemployment high many good people turn to government programs as a survival strategy. Social programs, coupled with training and medial work, intended to prepare participants to build a career. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) soft loan programs designed to fund or guarantee funds with employment creation as its main objective. Higher education programs designed to expand participants’ job marketability. These are all noble programs, unfortunately calculated to meet internationally set public statistical objectives rather than individual needs.

Emphasis is misplaced on the executing agency to produce quantity instead of quality. On-the-job-training or apprenticeship was always meant to be part of a wider mentoring program, taking individual assessment throughout, exposing the individual to many career paths, recording work accomplished and monitoring aptitude. In other words, giving hope, some financial support and working experience to an individual.

Strategic Planning

Whether budgeting for home, city or country, outlining what is ideal is the most important step towards creating it and the next is removing all impediments. A Strategic Plan is an active document which adapts to changes without losing sight of the target. Hence, this target or goal must be well thought out, measurable and attainable. For example, an individual may set a personal goal to retire from physical work at age sixty, with a pension income that remains at double their living expenses and unencumbered assets to maintain their life-style. Similarly, with Public Funds the goals and objectives must be to generate revenue through diverse economic activities to meet its recurrent expenditure and constantly seek to improve, through capital investment programs, the standard of living for (all) its people.

Business Psychology

To understand business, one must first properly identify with business people. The mindset of today’s business person originates from their background, the most influential person in their life (a mentor), their learning process whether formally schooled or driven by work experience and their social and financial support structure. In each case, whether from the home of an employee, a manager or a business person, today’s business mind reflects the levels of risk-comfort.

With an employee based background: Where one is guided to follow instructions involving repetitive tasks and routines, and be rewarded with and assured of a wage envelope. Learning is restricted to those areas that affect the job. Borrowing to support home and family and saving for retirement are the major financial concerns. Many success stories develop from this background by opening business based on their own skills and the work they have experience in doing (Auto Mechanic opens Repair Garage or Hairdresser opens Beauty Saloon), employing small numbers of staff to reduce their worries over meeting payroll and external (Accountants) professional services. This type of business person, can also be defined as a contract employee, is a low risk-taker and finds comfort in the respect given by associations as a result of a register business name.

Defining an Entrepreneur

The title ‘Entrepreneur’ has been widely misused to the point of a mass misunderstanding of its complex meaning. A person who organizes and manages any enterprise or business, usually with considerable initiative and risk is referred to as an entrepreneur. In subdividing this definition, it is hoped, that this brings clarity to the meaning of the word.

Risk is used to point out the high degree of failure associated with the title. Risk would not be used if being an entrepreneur was common place or second nature, indicating a person who has the capacity (able to sleep comfortably) and steadfastness (Don’t Quit) to take risk. Initiative defines the ability to change course as necessary, while always having the target constantly in sight. When someone takes or acts on they own initiative, it normally saves cost and implies a willingness to get the best results, while still focusing on the pre-determine goals. Both terms ‘Risk and Initiative’ are commonly associated with profit making enterprise or business.

Success Made-Simple

Success may be easier to achieve than to define. For many people it is about acquiring things that would send a message of success to others, some people think it is about communicating accomplishments which in their mind is more important than the action itself, and for another group of people it is about helping others to achieve success. This is more complicated than one may think when one considers the individual psychosis and the background environment.

Business Planning

Business must monitor future Cash Flow requirements and present Inventory levels to drive growth. The common factor in both of these crucial elements is the product being offered. Product (Goods and Services) is the backbone of any business, extractors (miners or drillers) offer naturally occurring materials, farmers offer mature crops and animals, manufacturers offer process material combinations, tourism operators and lawyers sell time and knowledge, and all such product must be easily identifiable. Each product can have a different cost and price, size and measurement, usage and storage requirement, lag-time between ordering and delivery; that will affect the Cash Flow and the positioning within the Inventory. CONTROL

Misunderstandings

Every aspect of life is open to negotiations, not just working conditions and remunerations, but living conditions and financial rates, and because of this fact, misunderstandings are common place. Most of us are familiar with unions negotiating with employers for better working conditions and wage or salary increases, but very few of us know that employers constantly negotiate with unions for better returns on investment and the very survival of jobs. There is no good or bad as any one side would have you believe, there is workable and non-workable solutions, both sides must win. In discussions, focused on better living conditions and levels of taxation or inflation, we the people do not even realize that we are negotiating, we call it elections.

King’s Issues

So you want to lead. This is not about living in a palace, protected, served and chauffeured locally or abroad, it is not about meeting and mixing with other world leaders, what it is about is constantly addressing and improving the peoples’ living conditions. All issues, revenue, production, infrastructure, education and health, must be dealt with at the same time to raise the standard of living for all the people from the poorest, the smallest to the richest, the biggest.

Education and Health are base issues affecting all other issues. Early childhood education must address; poorly trained or absent teachers, out dated curriculums held up by academic debate over changes or an entirely new curriculum, early diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities. Adolescent education must focus on; creating a desire to learn, responsible adult supervision of teenagers to guide them away from crime, creating healthy diet and exercise habits. Adult education must encourage easy access to prudent information, polite discourse and the generation of new ideas. While, health issues across the entire population, must incorporate regular examinations, effective treatments, safety, security and justice throughout life.

Jobs vs. Opportunities

Economists make reference in their reports to new investment projects that create employment opportunities or the lack of such. Politicians and the Media refer to jobs. It is more commonly used and fits better in a big bold red cover headline. Jobs have been loss at a growing rate worldwide due to financial uncertainty and technological advances. Opportunities however flourish, driven by desired lifestyles, climate change and a healthy, educated and informed population.

Ports of entry, land, sea or air, provide an excellent example of job loss and opportunity gains. Most ports across the world, thirty years ago were extremely inefficient and Governments funded the losses, these ports made available an abundance of what can now be described as low level, manual labor or basic jobs. Governments have since realized it is better to finance health and education activities and improve their population’s lifestyles than to continue to fund corrupt ports. A job unpacking cargo containers for an hourly rate, is difficult to find because this process has be mechanized from factory floor into cargo containers, transported around the world and directly into mega stores. This mechanization process increased efficiencies to reduce the price to the consumer and has also provided numerous opportunities for the equipment designers and manufacturers, the transportation sector, the security industry and as a result has made a new sector for packaging, shipping and direct delivery.

Instant Wealth

Steve asked me, knowing of my over thirty years experience in Business and in particular Finance, if he won the New York lottery, how should he invest it? I replied, before I launch into the traditional lecture on portfolio management and value investing, there are two common sense areas which need to be considered; Health and Education.

Health starts with the realization that your good fortune now puts you, your family and friends in danger. The more people that know about you winning is the greater the danger. So do not tell. In fact, I would suggest a plan that if followed precisely and if it works would limit the amount of people with direct knowledge of your financial status and limit the risk to family and friends.

Business Dark-Side

The more successful an executive becomes in business is the more dangerous life becomes, for like energy, power cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred from one person to another. These threats are all around both from external sources – Competitors, Politicians and Community Activists (Lobbyists) and from your inner-circle – Employees, Directors and even Family and to a lesser extend Associates. Business school fails to adequately prepare executives for success.

Today Business Plan addresses strategies to deal with external threats. Planning for price wars (the under pricing or dumping of goods and services to win more market share), product improvement (the research and development, branding or combining products to increase customer loyalty), employee pinching (luring key personnel with a proven track record) and protecting business secrets (formulas, copyrights and trademarks) has become second nature, as Competitors expects such tactics. This is respectable and long-established business practices.

Debunking Opinions

Many people get news from various media sources and form an opinion based on this without clearly understanding the difference between journalistic reporting and expert commentary. All news media have been forced to mix reporting the news with entertainment to keep an audience and attract advertising dollars. The balance is difficult to maintain and in most cases cannot be separated.

News, the facts or figures of an event: In most breaking news stories, whether it is on crime, accident, political speech or natural disaster, where the public expects the facts, all news media contracts an expert or analyst to quickly add speculation and personal opinions to the story and present it all as “Breaking News”. In covering planned events, such as, Governments’ or business’ conferences, journalist are presented with media kits of the event, such kits expertly produced contains the presenters’ actual words and quotes from front seat participants and if all goes well, that is all that is needed. In the case of an investigative story, a professional journalist outline sources of statistical data and the methodology used in its collection, questions and test presented information, solicits expert testimony on presented conclusions.

Economic Immigrants

A society without culture is like living in chronic pain. Coming from a village, town, city or country that is popularly known for its music, sport, cooking, night life or landscape gives a comforting and proud feeling. The pain, of having to look into someone eyes while explaining where you are from and why you have left, is made many times worst by them not having any prior knowledge of where or what you are talking about. This is nothing in comparison to coming from a notorious region. Where you must explain your leaders’ policies and hide your true opinions on both your birth place and your new home.

Resource Management

Long before construction and landscaping is completed, commercial property management, security and maintenance companies must be in place. The property owners, having advertised and gone through numerous tender applications, must appoint a firm, by signed contract for a fixed duration, to manage the overall human traffic. This property management company will in-turn sign and monitor contracts with other specialty firms and individuals for security guards and systems, interior cleaning, exterior landscaping and vertical cleaning, locks and safes, lift maintenance, air-condition, electrical and plumbing services. Many commercial property owners try to cut cost by assigning this key management role to differently trained persons or try to do it themselves. Property Management or Resource Management is a specialized field.

Understanding Mortgages

So you are ready to stop renting and buy a home. What is the full price of the residence; the price the seller is asking or willing to accept, the real estate agent’s commission, the cost of the mortgage, the legal fees and, of course, the down-payment. Have you saved enough to cover the down-payment, other borrowing expenses, insurance and home furnishings or do you have to borrow from family, friends or commercial lenders? Any mortgage provider, broker or agent is willing and anxious to help you.

Retiring Young

At a very young age, two people committed to a socioeconomic partnership that would see one party generating a fixed income while, the other tries to build a business (non-fixed income) to off-set inflation and generate investment (non-work) income for the foreseeable future. A retirement plan must start when you are young. 20-30 years old. Youth is wasted on the young. So, many youngsters do not take the advice offer to them. A young couple planning a family is best served by one of them in stable fixed income employment and the other with time prioritized to guide the children, maintain the home and grow a young business, hence one income to pay the family’s current bills and the other willing to be present for the family’s future.

Too Much Money

Money is an economic tool used to measure transactions. Such transactions can involve tangible property (Land, Building, Equipment, Furniture & Fixtures and Inventory Products) or intangible property (Royalties, Intellectual and other legally documented agreements). Put very simply, money measures market forces (supply and demand). If supply is low, plenty money is demanded but if there is a high supply very little money is demanded. If one considers Returns on Investment (ROI), which is a mix of Interest Income, Dividend Income and Gain or Loss on Share and Property Value, as a tradable product such as tomatoes or gold, which is affected by supply and demand pricing, then one understands the value of money.

Business Seasons

Business is a state of mind, a mix of strategies and plans design to meet pre-set objectives and carefully implemented to generate economically driven returns on investment. In recessionary times, with low sales prices and volumes, production is slow sometimes to a dead stop, employees are tensed and stressed awaiting unemployment notices and shareholders are in the sell mode. It is under and in spite of these conditions that the well-trained and experience business mind thrives.

Kitchen Garden

Once these following issues are not adequately addressed the world will always be in a food crisis: The present rate of global population growth; the present economic systems which benefit a few rather than the many; lifestyles successes driven by infrastructural development. And of course, manage responses to climate change. We obviously need an action plan.

I have long argued that the big issues in every society are Health and Education. In this model, Agriculture falls under Health. Feeding people is the only way to build and sustain a healthy society. This further allows for life-long learning and a productive population. Hence, food raw materials or finish goods trade, production, prices and security is an issue high on every Government’s agenda to avoid social unrest.

Constructive Solutions

As a people we constantly have to deal with problems, some can be classified as unintentional but most are of our own making and condemnations with follow. An animal appearing on the highway resulting in costly vehicle repairs can be described as an unintended problem. Not having adequate insurance to deal with the incident (vehicle repairs and of course, the animal) is a self-induced problem. Why would anyone drive without insurance or a healthy cash position?

Right is Right

People make mistakes. We are all subject to the ills of life and will fail to take due care and attention in dealing with certain matters. It is the good among us who will stand up and admit errors, faults in judgment or haste to conclusions. It is the majority of us who will compound errors to defend bad actions or promote others’ bad actions as a defense to our own.

People are both good and bad. I personally believe that all persons are capable of doing good and doing bad when the opportunity arises, as a consequent there are no good or bad people, it is a matter of self preservation. When someone does something good or bad the praise is normally misplaced, from the action to the individual, no person can nor should be defined by an action. The degree of good or bad is defined mostly by publicity, all our acclaimed heroes did bad things but more people knew about the good they accomplished.

More Civics

The current teaching is that in a democracy there are three independent branches of Government; the legislation, the judiciary and the executive branch. A case can be made to remove open politics from the execution of Government services by creating a forth branch; the Public Services.

The legislation is made up of both houses of parliament or congress, elected members representing their constituencies and appointed members representing expertise to review and make new laws. The judiciary is made up of judges and magistrates, officers of the courts sworn to without fear or favor uphold the existing laws. The executive branch runs the country’s economic affairs, policy and budget, within the constraints of existing laws and recommends changes to these laws that would improve operational delivery. The public service ministries presently falls under the executive branch and is charged to implement policy directives within budget but without the statutory power to execute.

Executive Decisions

Will thousands of job-cuts really save the organization? Many business executives seem to prioritize their decisions based on personal achievements or advancements, the protection of their salary and other retirement benefits, their personal and family security, their social standing and acceptance and finally, the preset goals and objectives of the organization, despite the fact that they may hold economic power over many subordinates.

Business Intelligence

Most Small and Medium Enterprises fail within the first five years of operations mainly due to poor planning and terrible decision-making (to put it nicely).
Proper research and development will strengthen a business plan by; identifying and quantifying customers’ needs, understanding competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, sourcing suppliers with the best prices and on-time delivery track record, building and sustaining strong banking relationships.

Back Office

The passageway to achieve and sustain wealth (defined as prudent income which grows and outperforms economic conditions) comes from learning, recording and analyzing actionable intelligence.

CAREER enhancement prepares individuals for change; at entry level position (targeting individuals now entering an organization after formal schooling), at leadership post (targeting individuals under consideration for promotion into a leadership role), and at business startup (targeting individuals considering opening they own business), all to fit the right person into the right job.

The Wise Wind

After the recent unprecedented increases of oil prices on international markets and the rippling effects that followed causing higher prices across many sectors of the economy, very few would argue, from an economic viewpoint, against the need to diversify away from fossil fuels. From an environmental position, the need to reduce carbon emissions worldwide to slow global warming and as a consequence, manage climate change has been widely accepted.

The Kyoto Protocol, negotiated by more than 160 nations in December 1997, aims to reduce net emissions of certain greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide (CO2)). Each of the participating developed countries must decide how to meet its respective reduction goal during a five-year period (2008-2012); but specific ground rules remain to be worked out at future negotiating sessions. Under a climate change Bill announced in the Queen's Speech in November 2006, the British Government promised to monitor annually progress towards the five-year milestones, in order to deliver a sixty (60%) percent reduction on 1990 levels by 2050.

The Big Issues

In building a sustainable society, one in which the quality of life is measured by the efficiency in delivering and reducing the dependency on basic services, focus must be on the big issues; Health and Education.
The health of a population is paramount to it development. This is made clearer when water availability, agriculture, food processing and trade, crime prevention and detection are seen as part of the overall health issues. Health is more than the research of the root causes of illness and development of treatments or cures, it is more than diets and exercises to maintain fitness levels, it extends into lifestyles incorporating disease free water supply, defense against nature’s ailments, well prepared foods and safety against accidental or criminal events in all aspect of daily living. Separating these very important issues leads to miscommunications and adversity.

Government Jobs

In a recession, it is well accepted that the safest income comes from Government programs, backed by taxpayers and the Government’s ability to borrow or print more money. Programs such as welfare or social assistance, health services, public transportation, law enforcement, infrastructure maintenance, are necessary to stimulate a quick economic recovery. The private sector earnings is reduced to the flow of funds out of these programs, hence they too must become Government employees.

Prioritizing Yourself

Personal Success can only be measured against preset and pre-stated targets; I am going to be physically and mentally healthy for as long as possible, I will earn higher qualifications within the next four years and generate more revenue in my chosen field directly after, I will build trusting and loyal relationships with family and friends over my lifetime, but which carries the most importance - Health, Wealth or Relationships.

Asset Valuation

The key issue, at the centre of the crisis of confidence that has driven the world’s financial slowdown, is clearly the present value of assets. Many of these assets are a mix of tangible and intangible component. For example, the value of a thirty year old business is its current and fixed assets plus its inventory less its liabilities, plus the intangible goodwill from customers that has accumulated over many years. Because of the goodwill and many other elusive values, which form significant parts of a balance sheet, an association of accounting and auditing professionals with worldwide recognition, set standards for valuating such assets.

Standard Accounting Practices are a set of rules which were developed and are constantly reviewed to ensure that comparisons can be made and understood. Regulators, such as tax collectors and securities and exchange commissions, are guided by these rules. Noting that the same highly trained and experienced accounting professional that is charged to set and enforce the rules also serve clients, whose objectives are to make profits even if it means breaking the rules, hence, the complexity to hide an asset’s true value.

One Technology Card

Eliminating the stigma associated with Government handouts by applying public relations strategies to gain universal acceptance firstly for the programs themselves and then for the delivery (qualifying, administering and auditing) systems. Computer Programmers along with hardware manufacturers design solutions targeted to build and improve societies. Working in collaboration with various experts, trained in a multitude of disciplines, to eliminate waste and employing efficiency techniques and measures to the delivery of numerous public services.

Recession Business

During this global recession some business sectors will continue to be profitable. Agriculture, Processing and Packaging, Transportation and Maintenance are all reliant on Energy and Security.

Agriculture, both animal (including fish) raring and plant cultivation of any basic food items at any scale or size of farm, can offer the much sort after food security. From massive farms to home gardens, utilizing all available space, state-of-the-art technologies and practices, to grow food, is an opportunity for everyone to benefit. Mixed farming and multi-storey green houses are the latest techniques for all year round profit generation. Green house construction and farming support services, such as agricultural consultancy and education, animal feed supply and plant nutritional supply, are further profit generation opportunities.

Funding Opportunities

Whether expanding an existing business or establishing a new project, financing can be an enormous challenge. The funding requirements forces decisions to be taken on the ownership structure, succession plans, debt funding, management incentives, employee share ownership participation and most importantly, an exit strategy, to guide success.

The ownership structure can be a mix of common (by class) or preference shares, with different powers (voting rights) and rewards (returns options) and requires a skilled financial negotiator to get the best mix. The best arrangement to the ownership structure of any business or project is determined by the entity (individual or group) that intent to provide the most valued capital (the key component that the business or project needs the most). Hence the golden rule, the one with the gold makes the rules. So the ownership structure is decided by the one with the most to lose.

Understanding Financial Institutions

Money is an economic tool created to measure ownership and development activities, giving rise to many opportunities for countries, groups and individuals to measure net worth (the difference between the value of what is owned against what is owed) with the same tool, money. Tracking the exchange of property, goods and services is therefore the function of the financial system compiling many complex entities.

Financial Institution, in a free market system and in most of the developed world, is a legal status given to an organization holding a license from the relevant and recognized regulatory body to operate depository accounts on behalf of a public. Ideally, this license grants the right to the issuer and regulator to examine and step in and take any necessary action to protect depositors’ accounts, most of which are protected to a specified limit by depositor’s insurance backed by taxpayers and the regulator’s statutory deposits from the pertinent financial institution as a percentage of all deposits held.

Support Services

As some previously employed professionals seek to offer their services, they must come to grips and understand and respect their own limitations and the need for strong support services. These support services normally include; the development of a creative and detailed business plan to address all foreseen aspects towards operating a successful practice, the setting up or establishment of a legally registered entity to offer personal protection to all stakeholders, the design of a marketing plan to communicate and promote the business and the periodic reporting on and filing of financial statements.

Creating Work

By now, even small communities, whose local banks were not directly involved in sub-prime lending or whose major industries were not directly affected by the global financial crisis, have been experiencing wide spread job losses as recession takes hold of the world. The unemployment offices and recruitment agencies are very busy advising job seekers to be patient, to update résumés and to sign up for career enhancement training. Use this time productively to take a break, sharpen skills, build networks or generate ideas.

For those who can afford to, having set aside some savings, take a vacation. The rest or change in routine will bring enormous benefits to one’s physical and mental health, restoring relationships with loved ones and generating new life altering ideas and strategies.

Informed Thoughts

Decisions about the future, whether physical infrastructure or social development, are made based on information reaching a decision-maker. The physical requirements are simply numbers, how many houses, apartments, commercial centers, schools and parks, what type and measurement of water treatment and distribution, electricity supply, road and bridge networks, all guiding future plans. The social requirements are much more difficult to identify, how many police officers to protect and serve, teachers to educate, service personnel to maintain the infrastructure, what type and level of skilled professionals to operate health centers and hospitals, courts and prisons, all making change or implementation problematical.

Annual Investment Statements

As the world comes to grips with the financial crisis and most pension plans and mutual funds report their yearend performance, more bad news is expected as the reality of the situation appears in print to hundreds of millions of individual inactive investors. It is the awakening of these investors that will drive the stock and bond markets over the next quarter.

Many persons have money being invested directly out of their pay packet into pension plans, annuities or mutual (stock-based, bond-based, real estate-based and balance) funds, most of these investment instruments are legally required to publish or file quarterly performance reports with the security and exchange commission, but as a general rule, they only print individual statements once a year to be used for personal income tax filings. The 2008 financial crisis has been widely and intensely covered and discussed across every media house and academic forum in the world and many people have already been affected by it, through defaulting or missing mortgage payments, being denied new loans or directly or indirectly through job losses, but when investment statements are received by the more passive investors, a further reaction is expected.

Tracking Donations

The Questions surrounding aid donations have been examined thoroughly and reported intensively worldwide, yet financial aid does not reach the vulnerable people it is intended to help. It is no longer acceptable to simply label this third-world corruption, while funds are being used to purchase first-world products and lifestyles. This type of crime where food, medicine, shelter and education is withheld from poor desperate people by modern day pirates is equivalent to the legal definition of crimes against humanity and in some cases, genocide and should be treated as such.

The Risk of Stress

Risk is all around, all the time. Acceptance can help manage and in some cases control the associated mental stress. This risk can range from large scale events which are being tackled collectively by the best minds to the day-to-day challenges that individuals face. The larger or more complex the risk is perceived by an individual, the less stress that individual may suffer. For example; if an individual suffers a stroke, this event though long lasting and high risk will most likely give that individual less stress, than if the same individual owed money to a living landlord.