The Map Magazine

Surveys of executives reveal that many companies fall short of their profit objectives due to “people problems.” Research for my Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change book found these “people problems” fall into two “r” categories: rebellion and resistance.

Rebellion is akin to teenagers defying authority figures, fir instance, rebelling against leaders who institute change. Resistance includes employees flinging roadblocks in the way of the organizational change. Examples include employees slowing down their work pace, badmouthing the change behind leaders’ backs, making spiteful comments about the leaders, and slashing productivity.

Feels Like a Lover or Spouse Just Walked Out on You

One of my prouder moments in the media spotlight occurred when I appeared on business television shows — and also was quoted in national magazines — concerning employees’ emotional reactions to organizational change. I had just delivered a speech on the topic at a national convention. At the press conference after my speech, reporters snapped to attention and later quoted me when I said the following: “The major emotional reaction of employees during organizational change is that they feel like their spouse or lover just walked out on them!”

Why did my statement attract media attention? Because I summarized the emotionally charged sting of betrayal everyone has felt for various reasons. Employees showing difficulty handling change often feel betrayed. They get used to everything at work being done in a certain way. But all of a sudden, if a company (or spouse or lover) changes how it acts, the person feels a huge sense of loss, distrust, and betrayal.

7 Methods to Handle Resistant Employees

My research on executives who lead highly profitable organizational change uncovered the seven most useful methods to handle resistant employees:

a. communicate reasons for change

b. terminate

c. involve employees in decision-making

d. incentive pay

e. insist employees achieve quantified objectives within deadlines

f. teamwork that creates peer pressure to “get with the program”

g. celebrate successes to help employees feel proud and emotionally “bond”

“Old-Style” Versus “New-Style” Employees

Another bottom line concern: Employees who worked productively before the organizational change may be unproductive after the change is implemented. I call them “old-style” and “new-style” employees. I find the following vital differences:

Old-Style Employees:
Works in 1 department, Solo work, Likes receiving direction, Prefers to be told what to do, and Focus: Seniority & experience.

New-Style Employees:
Interdepartmental, Teamwork, Likes ndependence, Prefers shared leadership, and Focus: Updating & expanding skills.

For example, at Excell Global Services, vice president Lori Ulichnie used four methods to transform old-style employees into the new-style employees needed to implement Excell’s highly
profitable organizational changes:

a. Incentive pay

b. Thrill of employees receiving executives’ attention

c. Clear business strategy

d. “Communicate 500 Times” — continually repeating Excell’s strategy to employees.

Shoot the Dissenters

Another way to handle resistant employees was colorfully stated when I delivered my Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change presentation at a company’s management retreat. At one point during my presentation, an executive stood and dramatically announced: “As our organization undergoes major organizational changes, we always seek to cure the wounded. But, we will shoot the dissenters!”

Every manager in my workshop remained silent for a few moments. Then, they all burst out laughing. Reason: They recognized the wisdom of what they heard. Some rebellious and resistant employees simply need to be de-employed. After all, a company’s purpose is to prosper — not to run a counseling center for rebellious employees.

Hire the Best

Importantly, a fantastic way to avoid employee problems in times of change is to not hire employees who could become problem employees! As I always ask in my workshops and speeches on Hire the Best — & Avoid the Rest, “What’s the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to have productive and dependable employees?” My answer: “Hire people who are productive and dependable human beings!!” Superior hiring methods often include evaluating applicants using customized tests and interviews.

© Copyright 2005, Michael Mercer, Ph.D.

Michael Mercer, Ph.D., is a consultant, speaker, and founder of The Mercer Group, Inc. in Barrington, Illinois. He delivers speeches and seminars at conferences and corporations. Dr. Mercer’s “Abilities & Behavior Forecaster” pre-employment tests are used by companies across North America. He authored “Hire the Best — & Avoid the Rest” and also “Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change”. You can subscribe to his FREE e-Newsletter at http://www.DrMercer.com or call him at (847) 382-0690.

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If you built and sold the first teleportation device you would make some serious money.

But…

If you built the network that connected the teleportation devices and charge a subscription fee to use it, you’re set up for a future of enormous passive income.

This is the view many entrepreneurs are taking in the 21st century. Passive income can only be derived from niche products with a sustainable market.

We love niche products because they inherently don’t have many competitors and solve the problems of people who have money to spend. It is no wonder affiliate marketers fall over themselves in a rushed “grab-for-cash” type frenzy whenever a niche product with affiliate income opportunities launches. Unfortunately many are too late and end up scraping the bottom of the barrel for the last few customers.

If we analyze niche products closely we can divide them into 2 distinct categories:

Un-Sustainable and Sustainable.

Unsustainable niche products may or may not make money. If they do make money, they only do so for a short period of time, then they need to be re-invented to become new niche products. Affiliates who get in early stand to profit. But sales usually diminish quickly once new competitors or hot products arrive to saturate the market. Take for example a car or a DVD player, when first released the manufacturer sales margin would have been massive. Only the rich would have been able to afford one. But as competitors enter the market, margins start to reduce drastically and there is no longer much profit to be made. Mobile phone handsets are an example of this. The market is so saturated that the phones are often given away for free.

Sustainable niche products are those products that grow in value the more people know about them. Drawing on the mobile phone example, the telecommunications network would be a sustainable niche. The more people on the network the more valuable the phone becomes to the owners. Affiliates of sustainable niche products stand to profit considerably more using this long-term strategy compared to the possible quick profit from unsustainable niche products.

Sustainable niche products can be sold to each individual in the market. They are inherently viral as every individual who has the product can derive greater value when they convince others to use it. For example a fax machine has greater value when everyone has one. With subscription or disposable services, there is generally no market saturation. You can re-sell the same niche product back to the same customer again and again.

So before you invest your time, effort and money promoting another merchants product, ensure the niche product passes the following checks:

#1) Does the product meet a continuous need of consumers? Can you sell it 10 years from now?

#2) How viral is the product? Will people rave about it or keep it as their secret weapon?

#3) How big is the market that would use this product? Is it likely to shrink in the next 10 years?

#4) Does the product lend itself to a subscription based, limited license, or a disposable user pays model? Can you re-sell it to the same customer again and again?

#5) Do the product benefits grow exponentially for every user that purchases it?

Here are some examples of sustainable (past-niche) products:

#1) Internet Telephony

#2) Online Auction

#3) Online Dating Service

#4) Customer Acquisition Exchange

#5) P2P file sharing services

If you’re an affiliate marketer looking to derive sustainable passive income, make sure you market the right kinds of product.

Copyright 2005 Michael Lever

Michael Lever is a co-founder and CEO of SpinningTornado.com, an independent company offering unbiased tools and services to help affiliate and network marketers build profitable online businesses.
http://www.SpinningTornado.com
Partnering affiliates the world over.

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In an attempt to make their sites accessible to all, more and more websites are now offering text-only versions of their sites. With the huge number of inaccessible websites out there, any attempt to make a website accessible to one and all is highly commendable.

But is text-only the way forward? The W3C have this to say about alternative accessible sites:

And if all else fails… If, after best efforts, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to an alternative page.

Hmmm… so according to the W3C a separate accessible site is OK, but they do use some pretty strong language to suggest that this should be avoided wherever possible. They’re probably right too, given the disadvantages of going down the text-only route:

Text-only version may not be accessible

The most ironic thing about text-only versions, is that often they don’t even offer full accessibility. This could be for a number of reasons, two of the most common being:

- Non-descriptive link text: Visually impaired Internet users can browse web pages by tabbing from one link to the next. Link text such as ‘click here’ and ‘more’, which may feature in a text-only version, won’t make any sense to them when doing this.

- Inaccessible forms: For optimal accessibility, prompt text should be assigned to its form item, using the label for attribute. To check for this, a flashing cursor should appear in each form box when the text next to it is clicked.

Primary website may be inaccessible to site visitors

One of the myths of web accessibility is that accessibility is only about blind and disabled users. Accessibility is actually about everyone being able to access your website, both disabled and non-disabled, regardless of the browsing technology they’re using.

For example, users accessing your website through WebTV, mobile phones, and PDAs, which have limited support for large images, Flash and JavaScript, may not be able to access your site. Don’t underestimate the importance of this: in 2008 alone an estimated 58 million PDAs will be sold (source: http://www.etforecasts.com/pr/pr0603.htm) and one third of the world’s population will own a wireless device (source: http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/wireless/article.php/10094_950001).

Lost branding opportunity

Some users may only need to make small adjustments to your site in order to be able to effectively use it. For example, a site visitor who needs to slightly resize the text on your site may have to use the text-only version if you don’t allow this is the main version. This person then won’t be exposed to your online image and branding, which you’ve undoubtedly spent so long developing.

Large time and money investment

Creating a separate accessible version can obviously represents an extremely large time and money investment. This can be offset if the site is database-driven, although there’s still a time investment involved in setting up this alternative version - time that could have instead been spent making the primary site accessible to all.

Less information

Some text-only versions offer far less information and/or functionality than the primary version of the site. Manchester United’s accessible version is a prime example of this: the primary website features over 100 choices in the navigation menu; the accessible version just eight. For a busy webmaster, having to make updates to two versions of the same website can be a huge pain.

If the website is 100% database driven then the separate text-only version will automatically be updated with the primary version of the site. Although database-driven sites are commonplace on the web, it is very rare that every single page is drawn from the database. As such, even with a database-driven site separate versions can often be left behind.

Marginalisation of society

The final point, and perhaps the most important. One of the most famous quotes about accessibility was made by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the Internet:

The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
Creating a separate version for web users with special needs can be seen as just one more way of them being marginalised from every day society. Having a separate accessible version has been famously likened to a restaurant providing a side door down a back alley for disabled customers, because the main entrance has a couple of stairs leading in to the restaurant.

The idea of the Internet is that it’s an inclusive medium, which everyone should be able to use and access. Visually impaired individuals particularly can now access a virtually unlimited source of information in a way that would never have been possible.

Text-only? No thanks!

There are therefore so many reasons as to why a separate text-only version isn’t a good idea. Additionally, there are a such huge number of benefits to having an accessible website that there’s no excuse for not trying to make your main website accessible to everyone.

Certainly many big organisations are now working towards offering accessible websites, which is highly commendable. So come on guys, let’s keep working to make sure the Internet is fully inclusive.

This article was written by Trenton Moss. He’s crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy (Webcredible - www.webcredible.co.uk) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

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Many people are looking to consolidate debt online because
they’re short on time and money. However, it’s important to
proceed with caution. Take the time to explore what’s available
and decide upon the best course of action for you.

Some people are motivated to consolidate debt online because
they know they can save a lot of money by taking advantage of
low interest rates. Others are panicking to find a quick and
easy solution to help them deal with a mountain of debt.

Whatever your motivations, a decision to consolidate debt
online may be the solution but before you make your decision or
offer detailed personal information to debt consolidation
companies check to see what they have to offer.

Don’t consolidate debt online with the first company that
promises to get you out of debt or help reach your goals
quickly. If their promises sound too good to be true, you can
bet they are.

The Better Business Bureau has received tens of thousands of
complaints from consumers that have fallen prey to false
representation and unethical practices of some debt management
companies.

Whether you want to consolidate online or deal with a debt
management company face to face consider the following tips:

* Find out if the company you want to deal with has a good
record with related consumer agencies such as the Better
Business Bureau.

* Stay clear of companies that fail to offer you a free
consultation or those that offer a free consultation which
includes little more than a sales pitch that promises to solve
your problems if you sign up with them. You want someone who
will thoroughly discuss your financial situation, needs and
options.

* Don’t give your business to companies that charge large,
up-front fees to set up or manage the financial option you
choose. A modest processing, application or credit report fee
may be required though.

* Get all your questions answered and find out what the terms
are. Companies that offer high interest rate loans with harsh
conditions and penalties built into the consolidation loan are
often the same high pressure companies that promise you the moon.

* Find out if the staff that you are dealing with is trained
and/or certified to help consumers deal with personal finance
issues such as credit, debt, budgeting, bankruptcy and so on.
You only want to deal with trained, courteous and accessible
staff members.

* Never give out your personal information unless you are
familiar with the company, know why they require it and can
provide it via a secure server if you’re communicating online.

* Be leery of and certainly don’t pay anyone that promises to
repair your credit without finding out how they can do it
legally and how you can do it yourself for free.

So is it safe to consolidate debt online?

Yes, it can be. By all means surf around the net to discover
the best place for you to consolidate debt online. Before you
decide on a company, do a background check, get all your
questions answered and follow the above tips to protect yourself
as you work to achieve your financial goals.

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What is currency trading?

How can you get rich and powerful from currency trading?

Who can do currency trading?

Can you do currency trading from any country of the world?

Until six years ago, when the United States Congress passed a law and made it possible for the small investors and average citizen to participate in this currency day trading, only large banks, financial institutions, millionaires and billionaires were doing currency trading.

Currency day trading is the best kept “Secret” of the rich and powerful, international bankers, the money elite, who own and control all the banks, companies, corporations and foundations in the world.

Currency online trading is when you buy and sell the foreign currencies of different countries online.

Through currency trading, you can put your money to work for you like millionaires and billionaires do, instead of you working for your money.

There is no large investment, hard work, technical training or big “risk”.

Currency day trading investment enables you to use $1 to control an investment worth $200, and $500 to control $100,000 and $1000 to control $200,000 and $5000 to control $1,000,000 worth of investment.

Currency trading is the most profitable and attractive internet investing opportunity because you can do it from home or office and from any country in the world.

In currency online trading, you don’t need to do any marketing or selling or internet promotion to succeed.

In currency trading, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to do any internet promotion.

In currency trading, you don’t need any stocks or warehousing.

In currency online trading, all that you’ve to do is open an account with one of the brokers with as little as $300 or $2000.

Then follow simple instructions to buy and sell the currencies.

When the price of the currency is low, you buy.

In a few seconds or minutes, the price may go up, and you may sell it and make a profit.

By doing so, in a day, you can easily make $500-$1000 by just buying, selling and trading these foreign currencies for about 3 or 4 hrs!

And get this:

You don’t even have to be stuck sitting behind your computer buying and selling these foreign currencies.

You can enter all your buy trades and specify the sell prices you desire and then log off.

Whenever the values of these foreign currencies rise and your selling prices reach, the currencies will be automatically sold for you and you make money!

You can put it into an auto-pilot and forget it, and it will keep generating fast easy cash for you daily, 365 days in the year like an “ATM” machine.

You can do currency trading and at the same time keep your day job, because in currency trading, there is no work to do.

In the future when you have made hundreds of thousands of dollars, you may then quit your job and just keep doing currency trading forever and go on permanent vacation!

To understand the beauty of currency trading, picture this:

In the morning, you get up from sleep at 6 am.

You go to your bathroom and have your shower.

At 7am, you hurry and eat your breakfast.

At 7.20 am, you login into your currency trading account on the internet and spend 10 minutes to buy about 3 or 4 different currencies, [for example British Pound, Euro, CHF (Swiss Currency) and Yen (Japanese currency).]

You can specify the price that you wish to sell each currency.

Then you can log off.

By 9 am, you’re at work in your office or business place.

You do your job as usual and by 5 pm, you’re finished and heading home.

When you get back home around 6.30 pm, you login into your currency trading account to see how much money you’ve made.

Holy Molly, there in your account it says you have made $750!

“Is this for real?”, you wonder…

Yes, it is. (Your eyes are not deceiving you…)

$750 in a day for just clicking your mouse twice and doing no work?

(Whereas at your job, you work 8 hrs, but make only probably $150)

This is how easy it is to make money from currency trading.

But before you use real money to open a live currency trading account, you have to open a free trial (demo) account (currency simulating trading) and practice first, to understand how it works and to acquire the right skills.

This free demo (trial) currency trading account (currency simulation trading) will help you to reduce a lot of risks that can lead to a loss.

In currency trading, you can choose how much money to invest, how much money to make and when to make it.

You may make money daily, 365 days all year from currency trading.

Your computer can be transformed into an “ATM” machine that cranks out cash for you daily (without large investment or hassles) from currency trading.

In currency day trading, you can choose what type of risk you can manage, when to invest and when not to invest.

In currency trading, you’re the boss. You may do as you please.

When currency trading is compared to other investment programs such as stock trading, bond trading, mutual funds, real estate and regular business, it is evident that currency trading is the fastest and greatest way to make money in the world.

Currency trading is a 2.5 trillion dollars daily business and it is larger than all the stock trading in the world combined.

These are some of the reasons why I believe that currency trading is the best online investing opportunity.

Perhaps from reading this article you’ll now come to know why currency trading is the secret behind the greatest wealth on earth and why it has been kept hidden from the average people of the world and therefore little known to the masses.

No matter who you are, be it a salesmen, doctors, office clerks, accountants, carpenters, actors, stockbrokers, small business owners, policemen, firemen, musicians, soldiers, housewives, technicians, attorneys, nurses, students, traders, cab drivers, engineers, you can get rich from currency trading.

No matter which country that you come from, such as USA, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Greece, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand… you can create true personal wealth and success from doing currency trading.

Creating personal wealth on the internet from your home or office has never been this sinfully easy. (http://www.mscsrrr.com)

May these currency trading insights open your eyes to the possibility of infinite wealth and success that can be yours from currency trading.

Please feel free to print or publish this article anywhere and read and also send to your friends and well wishers and please preserve the author’s resource box below.

Warmly,

Ikey Benney

To discover a little known shortcut to internet riches, a currency trading program created by I-key Benney, CEO, that enables an average person to generate $1,500 weekly for life, please click on the link : currency trading (http://www.mscsrrr.com)

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According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), almost 40 percent - or 3.34 million - of the homes and condominiums bought last year nationwide were by people who were buying second homes. “What we see now is a crossover between largely vacation- and investment-home owners, with people recognizing the value of those investments and pouring more assets into real estate,” stated NAR President Thomas M. Stevens. With so many consumers buying investment property, perhaps you’re wondering about purchasing a second home or buying a vacation home yourself. Now how do you finance it?

As property values increase, many consumers find that they have equity available to them in their present homes. Twenty-eight percent of investors with an investment property mortgage used their primary residences to procure down payment funds and you may be able to do the same. Taking out an equity loan or second mortgage to do home improvements and increase the equity further is a great idea. However, you can take this idea one step further and utilize it for a down payment on a second home. Taking out a second mortgage may be an excellent way to begin home construction on your dream vacation abode or to buy investment property.

Another means to this end is mortgage refinancing if you don’t want a second mortgage. You may still be able to refinance your home at a lower fixed mortgage rate or get lower payments with an adjustable rate mortgage and cash out. You’ll also want to think about whether you want a fixed rate mortgage or adjustable rate mortgage on the second property. A fixed rate will ensure stability in payments, but if you plan on flipping, an adjustable mortgage may be the best plan. If you have equity and good credit, your second home may be easier to finance than you think.

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Unfortunately, at least two thirds of much of the training and development effort undertaken by organisations to develop their people is wasted.

This is such as shame isn’t it? Waste of money is bad enough but even more serious is the waste of human energy and enthusiasm. I’ve witnessed organisations and their people suffer for weeks and months under the latest management fad only to find they’re no further forward - or worse off.

Here are nine vital lessons from hard experience that will help senior managers plan and buy better training interventions.

1. Start at the “coal-face”.

Ask people in specific departments, projects and teams what they need to help them do even better. This “bottom-up” approach encourages people to offer their own suggestions for better training, better systems and better communication. Allowing people to express what they see as the solution is motivating because it is “not management dictating” and because they see a chance of some action! This bottom-up approach often reveals problems and bottlenecks that have been around a long time - hindrances people have got used to. Remember, most organisations don’t have a mechanism for everyday problems to filter up to top management.

2 Work on may fronts simultaneously.

Real sustained improvement comes from the cumulative effect of lots of 5% improvements. For example, a project might be to improve the safety record of an organisation. One way to achieve this objective is to attempt attitude change through technical and behavioural workshops. However, this will not be enough. One has to simultaneously work on the leadership ability of supervisors, improving the quality of safety meetings, improving procedures and making safety literature have more impact.

3 Look for cures - don’t just treat the symptoms

Many training courses only treat the symptoms. We send people on courses because we see something not being done as well as it could be. But what is causing the difficulty in the first place? Yes, tips on time management, team building and brilliant customer care, for example, are useful, but they won’t work if the organisation, albeit unintentionally, puts barriers in people’s way. Production and operations people often have to struggle because sales and contracts people don’t consult them at an early stage about the capacity to fulfil the contract.

4 Accept that some solutions to the problem may be boring and uncomfortable to carry out.

The solutions to improving people’s performance are usually straightforward. Some are so straightforward that people don’t believe it and they look for something more “thorough”! “There must be something else!” That’s why consultants and management gurus feel they have to keep coming up with new fads in which to package age-old principles.

Take leadership for example. The twelve or so basic principles of being an effective leader require neither great intellectual understanding nor large sums of money to apply. However, for whatever reason, some managers find it difficult to, praise genuinely, ensure people have accurate job descriptions, talk to people on a regular basis about their jobs, find ways to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and to communicate regularly on topics such as company progress and strategy.

Many change initiatives fail because some managers are not prepared to do the mundane and boring tasks required. No matter how expensive and grandly named and intellectually exciting a people-development programme is, it will in the end come down to doing certain basics. We have to get managers to accept this reality and to motivate them to follow through.

5 Lasting benefit takes time.

As with all interventions it is possible to get some quick results - and that’s good. However, the real and lasting benefits can only come with time. For example, when an organisation installs a new appraisal system, maximum participation and involvement occurs only when trust is established in the second or third year. This means that there has to be sustained action, follow-up and monitoring. One of the biggest complaints from managers on the Performance Improvement Workshops I run, is that “We’ll do all this talking and deciding and then nothing will happen!” It’s often the many small tasks that seem unimportant that make the difference.

Another example of ignoring the “gestation” element is leadership training. What good does it do to send someone on a crammed 5-day leadership course? What chance do participants get to reflect on and apply what they have learned on day one? People need time to develop because it’s from application that the really important questions and learning come. Rather do one day per month over a few months.

6 Concentrate on HOW not what.

Experience proves that most people know what they should do to be a good leader, to give a good presentation, to manage their time better, to write an effective report and so on. Their real problem is that they don’t know HOW to do what they know they should. This means that lectures and slides and theory about what should be, are a waste of time.

People want practical solutions to help them fix real workplace problems. In any workshop it is the participants who should be doing most of the talking and problem solving. The facilitator is there to guide the discussion and at times add additional advice from hard-earned experience. Lecturing, no matter how entertaining, does not usually change people’s behaviours. People have to come to their own realisation of what is required and they do this by participating and having their views challenged. People don’t need gurus, but experienced colleagues who can help them to see that they are, to a large extent, capable of and responsible for, solving their own problems.

7 Ignore the pseudo-science.

We humans, as rational as we are, are still tempted to find the “magic wand” - the cure-all. There isn’t one! That’s why, in my experience, psychometric tests, handwriting analysis, 360 degree feedback questionnaires, psychological team profiling, and surveys with 90 questions to assess the relationship between managers and their workers and “what our customers think of us”, are a waste of time, effort and money. These schemes sound good but in reality they don’t get results. To try to turn the results into numbers and pretend that they mean something is an attempt to avoid the straightforward but sometimes onerous work that has to be done to ensure success.

The worst example is an appraisal scheme where you have to rate a subordinate on a scale of 1 to 5 on twenty criteria, and average the result. Statistically it’s incorrect to do this, but what does it tell you in the end? The appraisee and appraiser often end up having 20 disagreements on whether “it should be a 4 or a 5″.

8 People learn more when they are relaxed and having fun

There is no place for silly game-playing that embarrasses people, or all-night sessions that put people under pressure to see if “they crack”, or outdoor challenges which expose people’s incompetence and fear. Only when people know they are not being “watched” and that they will not be “called to account for their words”, will they be willing to take the risks required to face and deal with real workplace problems affecting their and their company’s performance.

9 Set an example and think strategically about employment

In almost every Leadership or Performance Improvement Workshop I am asked this difficult question: “Why isn’t our senior manager here - he/she needs this more than we do?” Several benefits occur when senior managers attend development events with their middle managers. Openness, commitment and mutual learning are fostered, to mention only one. For training and development to be really successful we have to do more to show that people are not just “human resources” like any other production input to be used during good times and fired in the bad. How to do this will not be easy.

Much of what you’ve just read is commonsense. However, for some people the advice offered here may seem unorthodox and simplistic. But, it works for all concerned and isn’t that what counts in the end?

Copyright (c) 2004 Dr William Robb Electronic publishing permitted but publication in print prohibited without written permission

For 20 years Dr Bill has helped people and organisations improve their performance by asking a series of simple questions about why people are not doing what they know they should be doing. He delights in showing people that getting better results can be simple and straightforward. Bill enjoys getting to the heart of te matter - quickly. http://www.mytimemanagementsecrets.com/

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If applying for a mortgage loan with poor credit, there are steps you can take to help get a better rate. Granted, if your credit score is low, the likelihood of getting a prime rate is slim. Still, reasonable rate bad credit mortgage loans are available. As a homebuyer, you must be willing to research various lenders and compare different loan programs. Moreover, homebuyers should avoid maneuvers which could hurt their chances of approval.

Avoid Late Payments When Applying for a Mortgage

Even if your credit score is good, the occasional late payment is common. If planning on buying a home, it is important to establish a good payment history with creditors - before applying for a home loan. Mortgage lenders understand that situations occur which make it difficult to pay bills on time. However, if hoping to buy a home, it is important to begin creating good credit habits.

Many lenders approve mortgage loans to people with several late payments. Yet, these persons pay higher rates. To avoid an increase in mortgage rate, attempt to submit all credit card and loan payments on time. If possible, adopt new payment habits at least twelve to six months before applying for a home loan.

Limit the Number of Credit Inquiries

A common mistake made by some homebuyers is allowing several mortgage lenders to pull their credit. Shopping around for a home loan is smart. However, if comparing three or four individual lenders, do not consent to having your credit checked. Instead, request no-obligation quotes from lenders.

Try using one of ABC Loan Guide’s Recommended Bad Credit California Mortgage Lenders.

Quotes do not involve credit checks. However, buyers must provide an accurate credit description. To do so, it helps to obtain a copy of your personal report online, which does not count as a credit inquiry. Once the lenders remit a quote, compare the different offers and choose the loan with the best rates and terms. Next, complete a mortgage loan application. To finalize the loan approval, the chosen lender will pull your credit.

Avoid Opening New Credit Accounts

When applying for a mortgage loan, it is important to maintain a low debt to income ratio. Obtaining new credit lines and applying for a mortgage is a bad idea. For example, if you buy a car before your mortgage loan is finalized, this will increase your debt to income ratio. This could affect whether you still qualify for the approved loan amount. To avoid the hassle of having to re-qualify for a mortgage loan, postpone opening new credit accounts until the loan closes.

View Our Recommended Bad Credit Mortgage Lenders Servicing California.

Also, view her recommended sources for a free instant online credit report.

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Interview with Robert Read
Author of “Risk Hotline for Real Estate”

Reader Views is please to have with us today Robert Read, author of “Risk Hotline for Real Estate.” Welcome to Reader View, Robert.

Irene: What inspired you to write “Risk Hotline for Real Estate?”

Robert: For years I’ve witnessed the myriad problems brokers (agents) run into through carelessness or negligence. Whenever a broker has let some issue get out of hand, it isn’t long before he has quite an audience of his peers listening to his tale of woe. His peers whisper, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”

Their clients aren’t often so lucky…they have to live with problems created by agent error. Since these same problems seemingly occur over and over, I felt with my journalism background I could make a difference by putting many of those stories into readable form as a digest for other agents and the public to learn from.

Irene: Why do you believe agents make errors?

Robert: Agents err primarily through carelessness. We all mean to do well, but sometimes we let other phases of our lives interfere with our professional responsibilities. For example, we neglect to make or follow up on an appointment, we forget to write in a contingency in a sale agreement, or we write into a listing agreement that a home has central air when it does not. We must continually focus on what we are doing then double check to ensure we did it correctly. Have a peer review your work; better yet, your manager is required to review all offers and listings…go through the document with him or her and cover every item carefully. Once you get into the habit of doing that, you will make fewer errors.

Irene: As a agent with 28 years of experience, why do you feel this is an important book to make available to other agents and consumers?

Robert: No one, I mean no one, has ever written a book which collates thousands of events which have negatively impacted the lives and careers of agents as well as their clients. It is a ready resource which brokers and consumers alike can refer to on matters from how to handle home inspections issues to asking the right questions to knowing what language to put into a sale agreement. (On the lighter side, there are some very funny incidents also…in fact an entire chapter is devoted to humorous anecdotes.)

Irene: Every state has its own rules and regulations governing real estate sales. How does this book cover these aspects?

Robert: In situations involving agency, most states abide by NAR rules; in all others, I advise the agents to query their own local and state officials for rules and regulations governing their state.

Irene: Do you believe “Risk Hotline for Real Estate” would be of any benefit to a seller or buyer? If so, why?

Robert: As I alluded to above, the clients, our buyers and sellers, must take a highly proactive role in the transaction. It is they who will be left to deal with any negative issues resulting from a bad transaction…usually by suing someone. Few of us would prefer expensive and protracted court action to simply settling an issue quickly over the dinner table. Learning how to deal with these issues before closing the sale creates an environment conducive to negotiation and an amicable settlement…before the papers are signed.

Irene: On occasion a seller is not happy with the agent. What would you say is the most common reason and why?

Robert: The lion’s share of the time poor communication is the problem. An agent either ignores a problem or is unaware of it - because she or he has not been in close communication with her or his clients sufficiently to create a climate conducive to easy communication of problems. The broker may not call his clients regularly or worse yet, does not return their calls promptly. Clients are very nervous during the home sale or purchase. They want and expect quick and professional handling of issues. When they don’t get it, sometimes the sale falls apart, or once completed, attorneys enter the picture. A good agent will sit down with his or her clients at first meeting to discuss how things are done, how they can keep good open communication, and how to deal with problems which invariably come up.

Irene: What do you believe is the best way to resolve issues that occur between the agent and the seller?

Robert: I talk to my clients almost daily. I ask them if everything is going well for them or if there is something I need to attend to. Sometimes it isn’t enough to ask “How are things on your end?” or “Are you satisfied with how things are going?” Occasionally a follow-up question is needed…such as “I’ve noticed you’re a little silent lately. Please tell me if something is troubling you. I’m sure we can deal with it quickly if you just trust me to handle it for you.”

Irene: You encourage agents to have a mentor. Why is that?

Robert: I encourage new agents to have a mentor. It is impossible to enter a world in which transactions involving hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars are at stake and know all the answers as a new agent. When a new agent tries to “wing it” and does not ask questions of his or her manager or peers, he or she is asking for problems. Why? Because every transaction has problems. Even experienced agents deal with problems on virtually every sale. They either know from experience one of two solutions: How to handle it themselves, or how to handle it by asking their manager.

Irene: How would an inexperienced agent go about finding a mentor? What should he or she be looking for in a mentor?

Robert: The office manager nearly always knows the experienced brokers who are willing and able to mentor a new licensee. The new agent should seek someone they feel comfortable with and someone they feel will be willing and able to spend the time with them necessary to teach them. That is where the manager will be most valuable…knowing which experienced to team them with. Some offices do not offer this service, especially the “100%” offices (offices in which the agent pays an annual desk fee in lieu of a percentage commission split on sales). New agents should ask a manager when interviewing if that office has mentors available.

Irene: Tell us about “gentleman’s agreements” and the dangers of them.

Robert: “Gentleman’s Agreements” are largely a thing of the past. This is an event in which the parties involved do not put a request in writing in the sale agreement, such as “Seller to include kitchen refrigerator - Kenmore, Serial No. 356427″. Instead, they agree to this verbally. When the buyer moves in, they discover the old beater from the garage is now in the kitchen and the seller is long gone!

Irene: What are some of the most common hair raising mistakes that agents make?

Robert: Just a few examples are:

(1) A sale falls apart and the seller demands the earnest money deposit (normally thousands of dollars). The agent checks his or her file and discovers he or she forgot to have the buyer redeem the note when required.

(2) A buyer purchases a condominium or town home in which there is a special assessment for a new roof due in three months. No mention was made of it by the seller and the buyer’s agent did not request in writing a copy of the homeowners association minutes for the past two years, or ask if there were any special assessments due.

(3) A buyer purchases a home with a well. It is soon discovered that the well is actually owned by a neighbor and there is no well sharing agreement. (This is in my book).

(4) There are dozens more in my book.

Irene: As always, errors such as these are spread around by word-of-mouth. Besides, not making the errors in the first place, how do you suggest agents “fix” the rumors.

Robert: A broker has a fiduciary responsibility to his or her clients. Once a problem is discovered, the best remedy is to address it quickly and professionally. The first step is to consult your manager. Managers are there to serve the brokers especially at times like this. Perhaps the manager will want to consult the company attorney before responding to ensure the client’s interests are protected and dealt with correctly the first time.

If the agent tries to “handle it” him or herself without consulting their manager, they might exacerbate the problem at a time when a very professional response is needed most. (Of course, the “rumor” originates only in office gossip…when you are on the receiving end, it is fact.)

Irene: You suggest that consumers read “Risk Hotline for Real Estate” before they buy or sell a home. What would be the most important aspect of the book that is detailed for the consumer?

Robert: It is without question that consumers take responsibility for protecting their interests. When a consumer expects the agent to do all the due diligence (such as inquiring about zoning, boundaries, whether a lot can be subdivided, or hiring a repairman) , it is too easy for the agent to overlook a critical issue or not give it the importance that a client might desire. The agent can direct the client to the best resource, or even accompany the client, but the client must be directly involved

Irene: As a consumer, I assume I need to trust the agent. By reading your book I may find out some actions that the agent is doing that I’m not happy with. How do you suggest I handle the situation?

Robert: The consumer should immediately address the issue with the agent. If the agent stalls or refuses to correct a problem, then the consumer should contact the agent’s manager. The manager will get most problems corrected 90% of the time. If the consumer still desires further action, she or he can contact the local Realtor® association and/or the state real estate agency.

Irene: Robert, it is pretty clear to me that your book “Risk Hotline for Real Estate” is a must for both the consumer and the agent. Is there anything else that you would like your reading audience to know about your or your book?

Robert: My overriding focus in writing Risk Hotline was to enable us as Realtors® to provide better service to our clients. My stories provide both licensees and consumers a huge resource of potential issues and problems that can and do occur daily. Agents and consumers are affected equally; both have an inherent interest in opening communication and eliminating problems.

My book is the only current resource available which provides a compendium of problems plus ways to resolve them before they affect you directly.

Open communication breeds trust. By illustrating ways agents and consumers can open communication and resolve issues amicably, “Risk Hotline” will strengthen the quality of the process and ensure a lasting client relationship.

Irene Watson is Managing Editor of Reader Views, a book review service based in Austin, Texas http://www.readerviews.com

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