Business Finance Tips

Go to any playground, classroom or backyard where young children gather and you will find a teacher or a parent trying to instill the importance of sharing. From toys to snacks, to our time and resources, we learn from a very early age that sharing is a virtue. It’s a fundamental childhood lesson designed to make us better people and better members of society.

Go to many boardrooms, office buildings and cubicles in the corporate world and, for the most part, you will find sharing is a lost art. People aren’t bad, but traditional corporate culture and systems fail to encourage real teamwork. Most people are out for themselves, trying to outshine and outdo one another for promotions and recognition in cutthroat competition that encourages confrontation rather than collaboration. The good of the company is a byproduct of this behavior, not the goal. There are teams in the corporate world; many of them are successful. But too many managers and team leaders take the credit for their team’s hard work – using “I” more often than “we” when describing success. And as the old saying goes, “There is no ‘I’ in teamwork.”

I found this to be true in my own career. I first joined the working world in the real estate industry when I joined my father’s company. I was excited to work in a team environment and develop an exciting business in what I thought was a collaborative profession. Was I ever wrong. Each real estate broker was interested only in his or her own accomplishments; the success of the team wasn’t even a consideration.

I grew the family business and soon found myself in a leadership position in the company. I thought if I were in charge, things would be different. I dedicated myself to fostering a team environment, taking the time and energy to invest in the people I brought on board to help them and our business grow. I believed that if I developed a supportive, collaborative workplace, no one would ever want to leave. I worked on being what I considered a servant leader – giving completely of my time and my knowledge to my colleagues and the business, believing we all would benefit from this practice. Wrong again. Some of the top people I trained and brought along left the brokerage and became my direct competition. At one point, I realized I was responsible for helping build many brokerages in the Los Angeles area, all started by my former colleagues.

I couldn’t believe what was happening at the time. I thought I had done everything right. Upon thinking about it, I realized my strategy had a fatal flaw: While the environment I created encouraged teamwork with me, it didn’t encourage teamwork among everyone on the team. I took the time to coach and help people as a servant leader, but the systems we had in place didn’t reward others for working with one another while recognizing individual achievement. Teamwork is more than simply assembling a group of people together with a goal; true teamwork requires strong leadership, a common vision and a culture that reinforces and rewards collaboration. In my years in business, I’ve identified “Nine Cs” that every good servant leader must master to build a successful team:

Culture. Teamwork doesn’t just naturally happen. You need to create a company culture that encourages and rewards it at every level. You need to systematize teamwork — engrain it in every facet of your business. Recognize not only the top individual but also the top team in your office. Tie teamwork to bonuses and promotions, not just the bottom line. Without a supportive culture in place, teamwork will be a word rather than an action.

True teamwork

requires strong

leadership, vision

and a culture

that reinforces

and rewards

collaboration.

Cause. Successful teams are inspired teams. You don’t inspire teams with tasks; you inspire teams with dreams. Give them a reason bigger than themselves to go out there and give 110 percent. At World Financial Group Inc., our cause — our crusade — is to help middle-income families who have traditionally been underserved by the financial services industry to get on track to their futures by educating them about money. That’s a dream people can get behind. When my teammates go out and help a family, it’s not just business to them. Their actions have meaning and purpose, and they get a sense of satisfaction that they’ve helped make a difference in someone’s life. I take this so seriously that I play on my last name and tell everyone I am a “cruzader” for our mission. Servant leaders must convey the “why” to their teams. And that leads me to my next point.

Communication. A servant leader keeps in constant communication with his/her team. Share successes. Make them part of the business by being transparent, open and honest. Good and constant communication builds a foundation of trust. Trust fortifies the bonds necessary for teams to flourish and businesses to grow.

Collaboration. Find opportunities for people to work together and play to their strengths. Mix up the players on your team so people have a chance to work with everyone. Changing things around breeds fresh perspectives and new ideas.

Coach. Create an environment that encourages and rewards people for sharing and teaching others what they know. The traditional corporate world seems to discourage this. By tying promotions, recognition and rewards to individual accomplishments, employees tend to keep their skills and abilities to themselves rather than teaching others for the common good. When you build a business that rewards mentoring, experienced professionals will share their skills. We do this at World Financial Group Inc. As an associate with our company, you have access to multiple experienced professionals/coaches. No matter where you are in business, you have someone to mentor you. This practice builds a successful business and a strong, confident, growing team driven by a nurturing business environment.

Commitment. Servant leaders must lead by example and show other teammates at every turn they are committed to their individual success and the success of the business. They must give their time and talents to helping others, and in turn, this will help the business to grow. The commitment level you give, is the commitment level you get back from your team.

Compassion. Good servant leaders don’t just say they care about their teammates; they show it. Take the time to get to know each and every team member, their families, their goals and dreams. Understanding your teammates and getting to know who they truly are will help you be a better leader.

Create an

environment of

giving and everything

comes back to you

tenfold.

Challenge. Evaluate the company’s business goals regularly and work with team members to develop individual and collective milestones to get there. Good servant leaders keep the team members in tune with company goals and stretch the team’s vision so they can achieve what they never thought they could. Your ultimate goal is to challenge your team members and build other servant leaders.

Cheerleader. A servant leader is also the cheerleader, giving the team the dose of motivation they need to go out and do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Encourage your teammates with frequent calls. Reward their initiative and accomplishments in front of the entire team. As team leader, you are the director of motivation, a job you should take seriously. By affiliating myself with a company that understands and values teamwork, my team members and I have built a strong financial services and insurance business that has helped so many people. We eagerly share our knowledge with each other and focus on helping families in a collaborative, inviting environment that people find enjoyable and rewarding. People say walking into our World Financial Group Inc. office is like walking into a home where people really care about one another. That is the professional culture I always wanted to be a part of and why I love going to work every day. I truly believe that life is about the give, not the get. If you create an environment of giving, everything comes back to you tenfold.

©World Financial Group, Inc. Reprinted with permission. This article has been edited for electronic use.

Every business must take the right steps to cultivate the culture it desires. The culture is the single greatest force that affects your employees. You want all employees to convey the feelings and attitudes that best support your company’s goals. No matter how many employees you have, you want all of them to project the coherent company culture that you want customers, vendors, and others to perceive about your company.

Your corporate culture does not relate directly or exclusively to your profit margin. Rather, it relates to the emotional health and well-being of your employees which is closely related to your profit margin. Be sure your employees get the right training to do their job well and to grow professionally. Be sure that the work pace is sustainable and will result in good quality. Always show employees that you appreciate their contributions and reward special achievements.

You can gauge the health or your corporate culture by observing your employees. You want to hear laughter in the office, and you want employees to be focused. If you notice the absentee rate increasing or employees taking longer lunches and breaks, it may mean that your corporate culture needs to be revisited. On a regular basis, have lunch or coffee with different employees and ask them to discuss their concerns and make suggestions.

To really show your employees that you care more about them than profit, schedule a social event during work hours.

Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO
Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved.

Industry Associations: Many organizations offer job posting sections on their websites for members to browse. This may or may not gain you access to postings not available to the general public. However, it is a good idea to visit your associations website regularly in the interest of staying informed and take advantage of benefits you are entitled to as a member. Ongoing professional development is an essential component of pharmaceutical sales, as well as there’s lots of associations that is able to help keep you up to speed. These sites also offer links to their associated pharmaceutical companies.

Pharmaceutical company websites: Make sure you are familiar with the top pharmaceutical companies and visit their websites directly to keep up to date on available positions. This can be a good approach because it helps you glean other valuable information about the company in addition to current postings, like corporate culture, product knowledge, industry trends, as well as so on. By reviewing the companies financial statistics, you can also take into consideration which workplace might be the most profitable for you.

General job search websites: The major job websites like monster.com offer searches through industry, keyword, location, etc. This is useful if you know where you want to work, or to gain an overview of whats available across the country. This process allows you to compare opportunities at unique companies, as well as watch jobs in similar fields. Unless you have decided to target your search to a small number of specific companies, this is likely the best and quickest way to watch the greatest number of opportunities.

Paid searches through companies that specialize in helping you get pharmaceutical jobs: If you do not want to devote the necessary time and energy to browsing yourself, there’s organizations that will do the browsing for you, but investigate the costs ahead of time.

Search engines: To broaden your search, simply mode keywords like “pharmaceutical jobs” into major search engine. The internets resources are large and the possibilities almost limitless. Be prepared to purchase a bunch of time weeding through a wide range of websites if this is your approach, but sometimes it is worth it for the unexpected gem you may unearth.

Whichever combination of approaches you use, the net is a valuable resource in bringing you a wealth of information to use in determining your next career move. It has never been easier to access company profiles and opportunities, so purchase some time comparing the possibilities available to you. Make informed decisions in creating the most fulfilling career possible.
Best Jobs opportunities please Visit http://www.iapoint.com/jobs/best_jobs_opportunities.htm

Etiquette is a code of behaviour that delineates expectations for social behaviour according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class or group. When a person gets into employment for the first time, he or she gets confused with the corporate culture and finds it difficult to learn the corporate etiquette which is also known as business etiquette. It is a natural thing but it takes certain time to get adjusted and adapted to the corporate culture and learn the etiquette. All Nigerian Companies have their various types of etiquette which one must duly follow for the success and growth of these companies.

Etiquettes are of different types but there are a few basic ones which run through all companies including Lagos Companies. Some of these basic ones include Interview etiquette, Office etiquette, Telephone Etiquette and Dress code.

Interview Etiquette
The door to an office is to be knocked and after seeking permission, a person should enter when going for an interview. The next appropriate thing to when you enter is to greet the interview panel members and wait till you are given permission to be seated. Abuja companies follow these strict basic rules of etiquette and as such expect most interviewees to know before approaching them. The person sits with a straight posture at the back with his or her back touching the chair without dragging the chair or the feet.

Office Etiquette
It is advisable not to roam around an office when you are new to it. You also do not disturb the receptionist with too many queries. When you are given a cubicle to work in, stick to it and do not encroach into others cubicles. This is very important among Lagos Companies who already have a lot of people working in a company so there is little or no space to work. It is advisable if you stick solely to your cubicles so you do not disturb others.

Telephone Etiquette
This is more or less like a mobile etiquette even though all companies have direct telephone line especially all Nigerian Companies which makes business easier for both the company and their customers. It is good to ensure that your voice mail system is working properly and is not full of messages to prevent incoming calls. Most at times, the caller has to identify him or herself first and then you should confirm whether he or she is looking for the concerned person before starting any conversation.

Dress Code
Dress code for men is not as complicated as women. There is a traditional formula for male attire. BBTTSS is the acronym for Boot and Belt must be of the same colour, Tie and Trouser should match with each other and Shirt and Socks should also match. It is not a compulsory formula but the most important thing is that the dress code should be pleasing, neat, clean and presentable. As for women, it differs from country to country. With Abuja Companies, the clothes of women must be positive and presentable and not of tight fittings, no obscene or revealing clothes.

Franchising is the hot term in the today market. In every corner, you can find the familiar world-franchised McDonald burger shops, sandwich stands, KFC fried chicken, Pacific cleaning services and auto repair garages. However, if you look for an unique but interesting (and profitable of course) to start your franchising business, take a look at those most interesting ones in our categories and find one for yourself.

Franchise: 1-800-Got-Junk?

Call itself “the world\’s largest junk removal service”, but in fact the company is widely known for its fun loving corporate culture. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? offers full-service junk removal for home or business including offices, retail locations, construction sites, and anything called junk. Established in 1989, they’ve saved over 1.5 billion pounds of junk from the landfill and counting.

1-800-Got-Junk believes the slogan “We’ll Stash Your Trash in a Flash!” is exactly for their professionalism and humor attitute

Franchise: MetroNaps

Do you believe in benefit of napping on workplace productivity? Many companies do. And MetroNaps takes napping to the franchise world with its space-age-looking napping pods to support your regular noon nap. The company offers its services to spas, health clubs, airports and corporate offices.

The EnergyPod by Metronaps promises to “improve employee morale while boosting the bottom line” by encouraging powernapping at work

Franchise: Cereality

Tapping into a childhood fantasy, Cereality takes cereal out of your breakfast nook and into a new kind of fastfood franchise. Although the company is so young in franchising world, it gains a lot of interest from customers. At Cereality, customers choose from their favorite brands and toppings, then add their own milk, just the way they like it. The company products – cereals – would be a new concept of fastfood – the tasty and healthier one.

In Cereality, the chief and staff, who are called Cereologists, fill the orders in their Pajamas

Franchise: The Party Image

The Party Image offering under-17-year-old girls a chance to have a spa experience of their own. It is included in the party packages provided by The Party Image, and chosen by parents as a birthday gift for their little girls.

The company believes in building girls\’ confidence and even once offered a “Self Esteem Summer Camp” at its original location Round Rock, Texas.

Franchise: Christmas Decor Inc.

Christmas Decor expects to bring the holiday spirit  to customers by creating decorating schemes for homes and businesses and follow through with maintenance visits, cleanup and storage. Their frequent customers are rich families (who love to spend much to have a cozy Christmas theme) and companies/shops (who would like to attract more customers by Christmas shop decoration).

Christmas Decor just can\’t get enough of the holiday season and the company wants everyone to share in the joy

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