Vector Gnosis Blog

Financial consultants were looking out for a 1.5% gain in total sturdy goods orders in Jan . Read MarketWatch’s complete commercial calendar and agreement prediction. In a fresh report, the Work Dept declared 1st unwaged claims rose by 22,000 to 496,000 last week, the 6th increase during the past 8 weeks. See full story on unemployed claims. “Today’s U.S. Business reports were more gloomy than the market may appreciate,” wrote economic experts for Action Economics. The brief boost from airplanes in the durable-goods report “put a cheerful face on what was otherwise a significantly puny report.” The durables report was “disappointing,” asserted Cliff Waldman, a financial consultant for the Makers coalition / MAPI, an industry-led research group.

“Until the new growth broadens both domestically and worldwide, a powerful and sustained producing recovery is questionable.” almost all of the strength in Jan came from the 126% increase in uncertain civilian aircraft orders.

Boeing had reported higher bookings in December, but they appeared in the govt info in January’s report due to timing differences between the reports. Outside of aircraft, most commercial sectors reported lower demand in Jan .

Excluding the 15.6% gain in transport orders, orders slid 0.6% in Jan to $131 bln after rising two percent in Nov and December. Read the full report on the govt. web site. Orders for core civilian capital gear products excluding aircraft dropped 2.9% in Jan after rising more than three percent in both Nov and December. Machinery orders slipped 9.7% in Jan after serious gains in Nov and December. Sturdy products are pricey made products engineered to last 3 years or longer. Movements in the information is unpredictable on a regular basis, but smoothed trends are a superb leading indicator of business activity. The information during the past 6 months show the U.S. Producing sector is stirring from its steepest recession in sixty years, powered by stronger demand from abroad and by the requirement to replace burned out inventories as U.S.

It’s thought in numerous companies that, by giving each staff member training in workplace safety, they are well prepared for a catastrophe. In reality however, basic instruction in health & safety regulatory affairs simply isn’t sufficient. Equipping employees, choosing an enthusiastic supervisior and encouraging frequent safety drills are all essential factors.

Every team needs a capable supervisor to watch over employee performance, but this individual also needs to perform an even greater purpose on the floor. The supervisor you choose must understand the importance of health & safety education and be able to get everyone else excited.

As well as observing health & safety legislation, the job of a supervisor also includes checking up on employee efficiency. Naturally it’s not easy to accomplish all this at once. To achieve this the supervisor needs to possess a comprehensive understanding of the industry best practice and production in addition to a very high standard of understanding of the latest regulations regarding safety, risk appraisal and first aid.

Supplying health & safety training isn’t adequate for your workers. Your staff must acquire practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of hazardous areas. They must know the best way of dealing with problems as well as how best to manage when the unexpected happens. Not until these processes become second nature are workers properly prepared. Adequate safety apparatus is equally as critical to the safety of your employees as the instruction itself. Without the correct equipment or if they discover that items are damaged only after an emergency has happened, even the very best instruction is not going to help them. Regularly scheduled maintenance of your equipment is crucial. If you have a issue with your equipment, be sure to get it rectified ASAP and put it back in the proper location. Your workers must receive appropriate health and safety instruction, however they require the right equipment, the opportunity to practise, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. Then complying with all the safety regulations become established in the culture of your business rather than something everyone has to attempt to think about all the time.

Nowadays some human resource managers feel that, when all of their staff have adequate health and safety instruction, they have all the experience they might need to cope with a disaster. The truth is that, irrespective of the industry you’re in, basic training in health and safety legislation and risk asessment just isn’t enough. You must supply your staff with a capable supervisor, not to mention equip them properly and give them the opportunity to practice.

Someone in a supervisory capacity has a greater role to fulfill than just managing the shop floor. Any supervisor you choose must agree that health and safety training is important and have the ability to get everyone else feeling enthusiastic. On top of enforcing any relevant legislation, the job of a supervisor also includes maintaining employee efficiency. Of course it isn’t easy to do all this at once. It means that the supervisor is expected to possess extensive knowledge of both the business and the product not to mention an in-depth understanding of current legislation involving safety, risk appraisal and emergency assistance techniques. Simply having basic training in health and safety is not sufficient for your employees. To positively discover a hazard they need practise. Employees also need to acquire insights into the essential safeguards that they must to take and also understanding what to do if the worst happens. Employees are only totally prepared when their training and procedures have become routine. Safety equipment is every bit as vital to the well-being of your staff as training. When they do not have the correct equipment or alternatively should employees see that items are damaged only after something has happened, even the very best instruction is not going to help them.

It is essential to perform thorough checks frequently to verify that you possess all of the required equipment and that it’s all being properly maintained. When anything will not meet the pertinent standards, make sure it is repaired or call out a service engineer as soon as possible. Your workers must get good health & safety instruction, but they must have the proper equipment, the chance to practise, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. If you implement these steps you should find the various safety regulations soon become ingrained in the culture of your business instead of something everyone has to attempt to remember.

Efficient people management is crucial in order to achieve the best in your business success. You can learn and improve these techniques. Having a natural skill for getting along with people and building relationships is a plus, but there are many things you can learn that will make the procedure simpler.

Build relationships: Start by remembering the names of the employees. Engage in conversation; make eye contact as you are talking. Be respectful, also do pay attention to the other person’s thoughts, even if you disagree or have a different opinion. Paying attention to what others have to offer is one of the most critical talent management skills in your arsenal. Welcome any input from your co-workers.

Live up to promises: Keeping your promises is very important. When you don’t deliver on what you promise, the delicate bond of trust is destroyed, and nobody will offer you their best efforts without trust. Each time you make a commitment or make a promise about something, you are squandering your time and effort if you don’t follow through. You will discover, if you can’t be counted on, you can be certain they will act in a similar fashion. Welcome feedback: Feedback should be a reciprocal process. Maintaining an open mind with regard to other’s ideas is an important skill in effective talent management. Being accessible and receptive establishes that other people’s ideas are important to you, and they will listen to your thoughts. Supporting open discourse also opens doors to fresh ideas, ways of accomplishing goals, and improves the team dynamic. When your team can express their opinion, the outcome becomes important to each team member. Promote all sorts of communication: Dealing with people boils down to the same thing – good communication. Keeping an open door policy, listen intently to other people, welcome staff to express their ideas, and permit each of your team to express their opinions. Encourage staff not only to speak with you, but with each other. The sharing of ideas is imperative in the creative process, and in speaking with each other, it is simple to spot problems at an early stage, and measures can be put in place before things get out of hand. A little time is essential, nevertheless the rewards are worth it. Through establishing the bonds of a good team and developing good listening skills, you can easily accomplish a successful business.

“We are going to build a team”. Replace the word “team” with the word “house” – or any other noun that can be built and will take more than just a few minutes – and most sensible people will want to adopt a structured approach.

Plans will be drawn up and approved. People will receive copies of the plan and efforts will be made to ensure everyone understands it. Progress will be monitored against the plan. Lessons will be learned along the way that will be used to improve the next phase. Anything less will lead at best to mediocrity and underachievement.

So why is team building so often treated in an ad hoc manner? You wouldn’t take bricks and mortar out, show them a good time and expect them to rearrange themselves into something better just because they had a nice break. So why expect a group of people to do any better?

The only answer to that question with any merit is that bricks can’t think and people can. Which sounds like management by abdication. Or perhaps management by trusting to luck. It certainly doesn’t sound like a structured approach.

So if taking people off for some fun is not team building – what is it?

Traditional away day options are team bonding exercises – and that is different. Take a group quad-biking, paint-balling etc and it will help bond the participants through a shared experience. You can even justify its use of some of the training budget if you like by claiming it has helped them develop as a team. Just don’t believe it – or you’ll be disappointed to discover that while the group is closer it is no more effective.

No – if you want to build a team rather than just bond the individuals closer, you need a structured process. You need to decide before you start what improvements you want and can realistically expect the team to achieve. Next you can decide how long it will take to achieve those results.

Often, fun remains a key objective for such a session. If it is the only one – or is only combined with a desire to get the team to become closer – organising a team bonding session is an ideal solution. If, however, your expectations are set higher than that – then you need something more structured.

So what are the key characteristics of a genuine team building session? I suggest the following 7 steps will lead to success:

1) Have definite session and longer-term goals and know how the session goals lead to the longer term ones.

2) Use an engaging and varied base activity that involves each participant in something that he or she enjoys doing.

3) Use an activity that achieves that engagement while having genuine parallels to the workplace and has relevance with the session goals.

4) Select an activity that requires the same kind of skill sets and team approaches that are needed at work – albeit one that is removed from the work itself.

5) Consider using an independent (internal or external) facilitator – to allow all levels to join in as equals and to avoid it feeling like a “sermon from above”.

6) Debrief using a predefined process that highlights the workplace parallels and allows the participants to extract their own learning rather than be preached to.

7) Use a proven mechanism to transfer the learning back to the workplace, ideally integrated within the debriefing process itself.

If none of these seem important, you are probably looking at a pure fun bonding session. Whether that is a trip to the nearest (or furthest!) bar or something that offers the group an experience that all of its members will enjoy doesn’t matter too much.

But if any of them do seem important, then I’d suggest that they all are. If one or more are missing then your team building session will be compromised. And that’s a word that sits well alongside mediocrity and underachievement.

Copyright 2005 Sandstone Limited

Alan is Managing Director of Sandstone, a leading UK team building company. He enjoys creating innovative activities that combine fun with genuine team development. In his spare time, he does voluntary work for the RNIB.
http://www.sandstone.co.uk

Surprisingly few people regularly make lists of their goals and even fewer put their lists where they can see them. This article suggests that it is worth doing both. It also takes a look at the life goals of Minnie Driver and Genghis Khan.

A lot of money was once paid for the following famous goal setting advice given to a rich businessman:

Each night make a list of 6 things you need to do tomorrow and list the 6 tasks in order of priority. When tomorrow arrives, start on the first task and complete it. Then move on to the second task. If you don’t finish all your tasks add the unfinished ones to your list for the next day.

Goals could be listed for each day, each week, each month, each year and for life. You could even make lists for each project you are working on.

Recently, Minnie Driver, the singer was asked: “What drives you?” She gave a thoughtful reply:

• To live fully – to pursue every gift I’ve been given.

• To think what am I going to bring to this day as opposed to what I am going to get from it.

• I want to have kids and live by the sea and write records, have a great partnership with someone and maybe do some teaching.

Very few people could have come straight out with such a clear life mission statement. Minnie is going to make the most of her singing talent and give rather than get. She wants kids and wants to live by the seaside and so on.

Ask yourself what the main goals of your life are? Could you come up with a great list like Minnie Driver’s if someone put you on the spot? Do you plan:

• To become all that you can become?

• To help others become all that they can become?

• To live an extraordinary life?

• To help humans, animals and even insects?

• To see the wonders of the world?

• To love your neighbour as yourself? etc. etc.

It is worth making a list and revising it regularly. You can always change your mission statement or list of life goals whenever you wish to. In the mean time life goals will give you a guiding light for much if not all of your life.

However, goals are soon forgotten unless you look at them and revise them regularly. Some people put their list of goals on post it notes and stick them on their computers. Some buy computer software that will parade their goals across their computer screen.

I put my goals on the wardrobe to my right where I can look at it all day. This reminds both my conscious and subconscious minds to focus on the goals. They are thus much more likely to be completed. They will also be finished with much less conscious effort.

Try sticking your goals list somewhere prominent where you have a bit of space. My walls are already covered with A4 sheets of things I need to remember so my wardrobe is the only space left.

One of my goals on the wardrobe list for today is to finish this article. I now have the satisfaction of crossing it off my list and moving on to my next goal which is to prepare for a class I am teaching this evening.

We all need to get a move on with our goals before our time runs out. Genghis Khan’s life goal was to conquer the whole world. In the end he conquered a huge space twice the size of the Roman Empire but he died too soon to fulfil his life mission. At the age of 65 on his death bed he said:

“I have conquered for you a large empire but my life was too short to take the whole world. That I leave to you.”

Even after death, the power of his goal lived on.

His sons doubled the size of his empire. They invaded Russia, Poland and Hungary but as the Mongol armies approached Vienna in 1242, Ogodei Khan, the son of Genghis died and all his armies went back to Mongolia for his funeral. They did not return to Europe.

A century later his empire began to crumble. However, genetic studies suggest that 1 in every 200 men on the planet today are genetically related to Genghis. Some goals will never die!

What do Minnie Driver and Genghis Khan have in common? They both set themselves clear life goals. The resemblance stops there. Minnie Driver’s goals are much, much greater than the goals of the Universal Ruler – Genghis Khan.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and martial arts instructor. He has recently written two books about achieving your goals and dreams.

They can both be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a daily motivational message.

The title of the first book is “36 Laws To Ignite Your Inner Power And Realize Your Dreams Now! – Acronyms, Stories, Pictures And Quotes…Easy To Remember And Use Everyday To Grab Your Life And Soar With The Eagles”

The book can be found at this URL: http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

The book uses acronyms, stories, pictures and quotations to help readers remember 36 laws that can gradually transform your life if you apply them.

Ezine editors / Site owners

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include the resource box as listed above.

Introduction

When Alex Osborn invented the creativity technique called brainstorming, I wonder if he had any idea just how extensively business would apply it. Almost every meeting employs some kind of brainstorming event, but there’s one meeting that really should leave it off the agenda: the performance measure selection meeting.

There are 5 common ways people select performance measures

The selection of performance measures has never really been treated as anything more than a trivial, and often pesky, decision brought around by the annual business planning workshop. Usually people will take the fastest route to finalising a list of performance indicators in the KPI column of their business plan, and depending on your organisation, the fastest routes are usually some combination of the following:

- brainstorming, where participants just list as many potential measures as they can think of and then do some kind of short-listing

- benchmarking, or some other version of adoption (copying) measures from other organisations

- using existing data or measures, to save the costs of measuring something new, and having to collect the data

- measuring what stakeholders tell us to measure

- listening to what the experts in our industry have to say – what they “know” we should measure

Each of these methods certainly has some great strengths, but we often forget to examine the drawbacks. This article was written to open up the drawback discussion and offer a different way of thinking about measure design.
but these common ways are limited!

brainstorming seems quick, but is really very hit-and-miss

Probably the most common approach taken to decide what to measure, brainstorming is the easy way out of an activity many people dread. Quality in equals quality out. A process that was designed for creativity and not measure design will not produce useful and usable measures.

pros:

- Seems quick.

- Lots of ideas for measures can be generated rapidly.

- Collaborative ideas – two heads are better than one.

- Easy to do, no special knowledge or skill is required.

- Engages people to be part of the measure selection process.

- A known/accepted approach, so the process doesn’t get in the way of doing the activity.

All ideas are considered/accepted, which helps people willingly participate.

cons:

- Not really finished after the brainstorming is over – how to get a final selection of measures is vague.

- There is more to measurement than just selecting measures – thought about how to bring the measures to life is also needed.

- Too much information is produced, therefore too many measures often results.

- Ideas are not vetted or tested, our thinking is not challenged.

- We often are brainstorming against different understandings of the same objective/goal we want to measure.

- The bigger picture is not taken into account e.g. unintended consequences, relationships to other objectives/goals, silo thinking.

- Often what is brainstormed is not really a measure at all – instead it is an action, a milestone, a piece of data, a vague fluffy concept.

- What is brainstormed is often expressed so vaguely no-one can remember what it meant later on.

Measure design needs to produce a few measures that have been thoroughly tested for their relevance or strength in tracking the goal or result they are selected for, and are supported by the people that they will affect.

benchmarking is convenient, but ignores strategic uniqueness

Benchmarking is about finding out what another organisation is doing, and this almost always involves or is based on some comparison of performance measures. If organisations share the same measures, then benchmarking is certainly easier to do, but there are consequences of adopting a “bolt on” set of performance measures.

pros:-
- We feel safe & secure because others have gone before us.

- Others have (we assume) already put a lot of thought into those measures

- why reinvent the wheel?

- We can compare our performance with the performance of other similar organisations.

- We get a feeling of how good (or better) we are compared to others.

- It’s easy – just have to look and ask.

- Easier to justify to others why we are measuring what we are measuring.

- Widely accepted approach.

cons:-
- There is more to measurement than just selecting measures.

- Not always collaborative – so little buy-in by people who will produce and use the measures.

- Not always like for like (apples with apples) – in fact, probably never is to the extent we assume.

- Isn’t driven by the decisions we need to make and the information we need for those decisions.

- Doesn’t challenge our thinking.

- It makes us bring some other organisation’s strategy to life, not what is right for us (aren’t we unique?).

- The goal posts change more frequently than the benchmarking process occurs.

- Our bigger picture is not taken into account, such as how this area of performance affects others in our organisation.

- Selecting measures against different understandings of the ‘outcome’ to measure.

Measure design needs to produce measures that encourage learning and sharing of knowledge, but not at the expense of discovering and focusing on the unique business strategy that best suits the organisation.

data availability makes it cheap, but focuses on yester-year’s strategy

What data do we have? What have we measured in the past? What are we already measuring? All questions that are symptomatic of an organisation that is not open to challenging whether the data they are collecting really is capable of telling them what they need to know about where they are going. Measure what you have always measured, get what you have always gotten. What’s strategic about that?

pros:

- Very easy, very quick.

- Known data sources mean low cost in data collection/capture – already have systems to support it.

- People more likely share a common understanding of measures already.

- Consistency in information over time, to have valid comparisons over time.

- Have historic data available for trend analysis.

cons:

- We only bring yesterday’s (or yester-year’s) strategy to life.

- Rarely challenge the measure itself, so no better measures are explored (and therefore no better data will ever be collected to manage emerging strategic risks and opportunities).

- Not collaborative, because it is from previous thinkers, not today’s doers.

- Bigger picture is not taken into account.

- Parts of our strategy that are new will go un-measured.

Measure design needs to produce measures that are cost-effective and have some historic data before too long, but must produce measures that will take the organisation toward its vision, not drag it back into its past.

stakeholders need information, but that’s not the same as performance measurement

What’s imposed on an organisation by regulators, shareholders, government, industry bodies and other stakeholders is often considered a constraint on the measures it can use to manage its performance. They struggle to retrofit the stakeholder-chosen measures to their strategy, or renegotiate the stakeholder-chosen measures. But these aren’t the only two options. This method of measure selection is not really measure selection at all.

pros:

- We get told what to measure, and don’t have to do the hard work ourselves.

- We give them what they want and thus we won’t get into trouble.

- Often can be negotiated resourcing by the government group or stakeholder imposing it.

- Get higher management commitment to the need (and therefore to data collection and reporting) – it will get done.

- Our governance requirements are more likely to be met (assuming we report these measures properly).

cons:

- There is more to measurement than just selecting measures.

- Encourages an autocratic/ patriarchal management style.

- The imposers don’t understand our strategic direction/don’t trust that we do.

- Isn’t driven by the decisions we need to make and the information we need for those decisions.

- Lack of ownership by us of those measures (and the results they track).
- Bigger picture is not taken into account.

- The focus may not be the right focus or the only focus that matters.

- Parent-child (instead of partner) relationship with stakeholders could become the norm.

- Assumes that the stakeholders have robust methods of designing meaningful measures.

Measure design needs to produce measures that are relevant to the organisation’s strategic direction, a direction that is understood supported by its key stakeholders. But the measure design process can also be used to design reports to stakeholders that are largely separate to its organisational performance measures.

experts have experience, but can be locked into one-size-fits-all

Industry experts, consultants, people with years of experience or self-nominated experts all carry a mystique of knowledge and wisdom that can make their ideas about what to measure sound more like truth than suggestion.

pros:

- We get told, and don’t have to do the hard work.

- A focus is quickly clear.

- Experts can bring new ideas and experience we may not have.

- Have approaches that have worked for other organisations.

cons:

- The focus may not be the right focus or the only focus that matters for us.

- We usually don’t challenge experts even though we have intimate knowledge of our unique business.

- Experts can assume we don’t need to know their thinking behind the measures, so we don’t learn how to think more wisely about the measures for ourselves.

- We may not really understand the measures that are recommended to us.

- Experts often cost a lot of money.

- Experts may not understand our organisation enough to know our uniqueness (the one size fits all problem).

- Experts may not take account of how feasible it might be (or not) to bring those measures to life in our organisation.

-
Measure design needs to produce measures that we understand and have ownership of, and be a process that allows us to continue refining and refreshing our selection of measures as our performance and strategic direction changes.

Measure design needs a better methodology

The reason that the quick and easy methods above are used to select measures is the same reason that performance measurement is a dreaded event: people have no idea that measure design is a process of dialogue around the goals or objectives they want to measure. It is a way for them to engage in a deeper understanding of the results they are really trying to achieve, and how they would be convinced as to the degree to which they have achieved those results.

And that’s why we’ve created an alternative method to measure design. A method that produces measures which:

- are few, not prolific

- have been thoroughly tested for their relevance or strength in tracking the goal or result they are selected for

- are supported by the people that they will affect

- encourage learning and sharing of knowledge

- assist the discovering and focusing on the unique business strategy that best suits the organisation

- are cost-effective

- have as much historic data as feasible

- will take the organisation toward its vision, not drag it back into its past

- have resulted in people (including stakeholders) having a deeper and richer understanding of what results the organisation is really trying to create

- people understand and have ownership of

This method is based around five simple but deliberate steps:

1. Write down the goal or objective or result you want to achieve (and thus measure). Stay focused on this particular result while you are designing measures for it (don’t let your attention wander to other results).

2. Describe this result in a lot more detail, explaining what you and others would see, hear, feel, be doing (or even taste and smell!) if that result were happening now, explain the differences you would notice. This is listing the ’sensory descriptions’ of your result. Do this until you have agreed what the result really means and what differences you will most likely notice between now and when the result is achieved.

3. Check if there are any unintended consequences of achieving this result, either positive or negative. Make sure it is a result you really do want to create before you bother measuring it.

4. Go back to the list you created at step 2 and list the potential things you could count or measure that would give you evidence of how much each of those sensory descriptions was actually occurring. For each potential measure you identify, give it a high, medium or low rating for how relevant it is to your result and a high, medium or low rating for how feasible it would be to measure it.

5. Use the high, medium and low ratings for your potential measures to shortlist to between 1 and 3 measures for this result.
This method, just like all the traditional methods, has its own pros and cons as well:

pros:

- It produces very few and very meaningful measures.

- Thinking about strategy and measures is challenged and tested.

- The feasibility of measures is assessed.

- It is a conscious and deliberate approach that people have control over.

- Measures strongly link to the specific strategic outcomes that are to track.

- The bigger picture is taken into account – and links and relationships with other measures are automatically identified (eg cause-effect, companion, etc…).

- Very collaborative because it is dialogue based, therefore high ownership results.

- Measures are not vague ideas but very evidence based.

- The measure is designed from the context of how it will be used.

- Can deliberately test the authenticity of each measure relative to its goal/objective.

- The type of language used to design the measures promotes a common and shared understanding of the result to be created (and this makes it easier to communicate strategy to all staff).

cons:

- It’s not easy the first few times through – it’s new and can potentially distract people if they forget what step they are doing and why (until they have been through it once or twice).

- It takes time – it needs good quality dialogue to build a deeply shared understanding of what is being measured.

- It will need training or resources to teach people how to do it and why to do it.

- Sometimes strategy needs to be altered (as this approach often deepens understanding of implications or misunderstandings of chosen strategy/wording of).

So, you no longer need to feel compelled to take the easy way out of selecting performance measures, and in five simple steps, you can not only design useful and usable measures, but also deeper your understanding of the results you are trying to achieve!

About the Author
Stacey Barr is a specialist in organisational performance measurement, helping people get the kind of data and information that tells them how well their business is performing, and how to make it perform better.
Visit Stacey’s website to sign up for her free newsletter: http://www.staceybarr.com

One of the themes for my New Year’s resolutions from last year was to become more generous. I was motivated by wanting to break a general feeling of entrepreneurial financial anxiety, as well as to begin fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming “a philanthropist.” (Big word for a little kid, but I was precocious.) Well, after reviewing my year, I can say that I really did make big progress. Sometimes it was challenging, especially spending money more freely than I have in the past. But you know what? I don’t feel that “tightness” that I used to experience, worrying about the small stuff. And I feel really good about running a corporation in a way that represents my values.

If you’re also feeling the call towards increasing your abundance & generosity through your work, here are a few ideas that I hope will inspire you:

Donate a set percentage of income. This is also known as “tithing,” and is what I personally do. Each month I donate 10% of my income to various non-profit groups. I started doing this a few years ago, but only at 1% of my net income. Then each month I would increase by one percent until I got to 10%. Now, I’m starting to tithe from my gross income. It’s a stretch, but the kind of stretch that feels good for the soul.

Provide hands-on help, also known as “service tithing”, this is where you give your time & expertise to a cause that’s important to you. If you’ve got a mental job, it can feel great to get your hands dirty and donate some physical labor, such as working for nature conservancy or building construction. But don’t overlook your business skills as a powerful donation, because a lot of non-profit groups really need administrative work to stay in business.

Give away your goods or services. Many charities host auctions as a way to generate cash. Not only is this a way to help the charity, but it can serve to promote your business in a positive light. Just for the record, it’s important to know that donated services are not deductible, only tangible merchandise is considered a write off. So check with your accountant on how to handle the paperwork.

Make people feel special. Generosity is more than helping the less fortunate. It’s acting with warmth and abundance to everyone around you. I try to remember birthdays, or send a card when I know someone is having a tough time. At the end of the year, I give gifts or tips to my various support people such as business consultants, stylists, cleaners, and pet-sitter. Random acts of generosity & appreciation can really make someone’s day–and yours, too.

Create generous contracts. As a business owner, you’ve really got to watch your bottom line. But you also have to know when to count your pennies and when to be the bigger person. For example, you might have a strict no-money back cancellation policy to keep yourself from being taken advantage of (a good thing.) But if someone has a genuine emergency, consider making an exception. Compassion and understanding are gifts of your spirit and make the business world a better place.

There is an old spiritual adage that says if there’s something you want more of in life, then that is exactly what you need to give away. So think about the areas you would like more abundance, and use your business as a vehicle for becoming more generous in those ways. It will come back to you.

Jaya Schillinger “The Turnaround Queen” at http://www.InspirationInc.com
is a certified life coach & small business consultant with over 20 years of business ownership & management experience in the fields of personal development, health, and beauty.