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.