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.