Dear Readers,
Someone once said, "True freedom is not a question of doing as we
like, but doing as we ought."
Clovis Chappell, a nineteenth century minister, used to tell an
interesting story about two paddleboats.
The two boats, powered by coal, left Memphis about the same time,
traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled
side-by-side, sailors from one vessel made some critical remarks and
jokes about the snail's pace of the other boat.
Heated words were exchanged between the men on the two boats.
Challenges were made. So the race began. The competition was hot and
heavy as the two boats roared through the Deep South.
Eventually, one boat began falling behind. The problem: it didn't have
enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not
enough for a race.
As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of
the ship's cargo and tossed it into the boat's ovens. When his fellow
sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as coal, they fueled
their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport.
Guess what? They ended up winning the race. But they burned their
cargo.
How Does This Apply to Our Lives?
The men on the winning boat did what they liked, which was winning the
race. But the price for that victory was expensive. The boat's cargo,
the very reason they were traveling down the river in the first place,
was sacrificed. So they failed to do what they ought to have done,
which was to safely transport their cargo.
You may not have thought about it, but God has entrusted each of us
with cargo. Our cargo is other people, such as friends and family, and
the ability He has given us to help someone else. We are responsible
for this cargo, and ought to cherish it in our journey through life.
Thanks
JS
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Friday, July 18, 2008
Does your Business needs Blog
It seems like everybody wants a blog these days, but is a blog really necessary for a company? Here are some things to ask yourself before blogging for your business.
1. Do you have time to blog? Blogging is a time-consuming process because people who read blogs expect a certain amount of fresh content on a regular basis -- at a minimum, weekly -- preferably several times a week.
2. Do you have anything interesting to say? Blogs about your company and your products may sound interesting to you, but people rarely tune into a "commercial" blog unless there is additional information of real value.
3. Do you have strong opinions? The most successful blogs are the ones with strong voices, personalities and opinions. If you want to be non-controversial at all times, maybe a blog isn't your optimal marketing tool.
4. Are you good at getting a conversation going and engaging an audience? Blogging isn't just publishing posts. A blog becomes a defacto online community and needs the same kind of attention that a message board or forum needs to keep it vibrant and on track. Yes, you can shut off the comments feature on your blog, however, you lose out on a potentially valuable aspect of blogging for business in the first place -- an engaged audience of customers and potential customers.
5. Do you have a company policy on blogging? If you are a company of one, you still need some guidelines that you will follow as you blog for your business. What will you do if someone posts a nasty comment about you or your company, for example? Knowing in advance how you will handle situations that might come up saves you a lot of confusion later.
6. Do you have a thick skin? Once you open up the conversation in a blog and allow others to comment, you may hear things you don't like from unhappy customers or people who disagree with your point of view. Can you take it without taking it personally?
7. Can you afford to pay someone to blog for you? Some people do hire professional bloggers or pro-bloggers to craft blog posts and keep the ideas and conversations flowing. Pro-bloggers are usually paid anywhere from $10 to $50 per post depending on their reputation, the frequency of posting, the amount of research required and the complexity of the topic.
There are many ways to develop compelling, valuable, conversation-starting blog posts, and I'll talk about those in the near future. Right now, review your answers to the questions above and unless you answered "Yes" to most or all of them, a blog just might not be for you.
1. Do you have time to blog? Blogging is a time-consuming process because people who read blogs expect a certain amount of fresh content on a regular basis -- at a minimum, weekly -- preferably several times a week.
2. Do you have anything interesting to say? Blogs about your company and your products may sound interesting to you, but people rarely tune into a "commercial" blog unless there is additional information of real value.
3. Do you have strong opinions? The most successful blogs are the ones with strong voices, personalities and opinions. If you want to be non-controversial at all times, maybe a blog isn't your optimal marketing tool.
4. Are you good at getting a conversation going and engaging an audience? Blogging isn't just publishing posts. A blog becomes a defacto online community and needs the same kind of attention that a message board or forum needs to keep it vibrant and on track. Yes, you can shut off the comments feature on your blog, however, you lose out on a potentially valuable aspect of blogging for business in the first place -- an engaged audience of customers and potential customers.
5. Do you have a company policy on blogging? If you are a company of one, you still need some guidelines that you will follow as you blog for your business. What will you do if someone posts a nasty comment about you or your company, for example? Knowing in advance how you will handle situations that might come up saves you a lot of confusion later.
6. Do you have a thick skin? Once you open up the conversation in a blog and allow others to comment, you may hear things you don't like from unhappy customers or people who disagree with your point of view. Can you take it without taking it personally?
7. Can you afford to pay someone to blog for you? Some people do hire professional bloggers or pro-bloggers to craft blog posts and keep the ideas and conversations flowing. Pro-bloggers are usually paid anywhere from $10 to $50 per post depending on their reputation, the frequency of posting, the amount of research required and the complexity of the topic.
There are many ways to develop compelling, valuable, conversation-starting blog posts, and I'll talk about those in the near future. Right now, review your answers to the questions above and unless you answered "Yes" to most or all of them, a blog just might not be for you.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Avoid working while on vacation...
Survey indicates that more than 30 % employees end up working (check their email or voice mail etc) while they are on vacation. Here are some of the tips to avoid it ( though it can not be avoided or you end up loosing your job).
1. Don't keep your trip a secret.
Although you might've mentioned your vacation once a few months ago, don't expect everybody to remember. As you make preparations for the trip, be sure to remind the appropriate people that you will be gone.
2. Keep a journal.
Part of preparing for your trip is making sure that the people back at work can keep things running smoothly in your absence. In a journal, list your daily activities and responsibilities so that the people charged with filling in for you know what to expect and how to handle any tasks that come their way.
3. Take a look at the calendar.
If you have a huge project due at the end of the summer, for your sanity and the sake of your work, avoid scheduling a vacation at that time. The more room you leave between the project and your vacation, the better off you'll be. You don't want to be stressed out if the project gets delayed or it requires more work than you anticipated.
4. Be disciplined.
If you have a job where you either absolutely must work or at least check in with your employer, designate a brief period of time for these tasks. Your friends or family vacationing with you don't want to share their relaxing trip with your laptop and cell phone, so keep the work to a minimum.
5. Be a role model.
If you're the boss, set an example for your team by going on vacations and leaving work behind. If others see you able to separate work from your personal life, they'll have a better attitude and be able to follow your lead.
1. Don't keep your trip a secret.
Although you might've mentioned your vacation once a few months ago, don't expect everybody to remember. As you make preparations for the trip, be sure to remind the appropriate people that you will be gone.
2. Keep a journal.
Part of preparing for your trip is making sure that the people back at work can keep things running smoothly in your absence. In a journal, list your daily activities and responsibilities so that the people charged with filling in for you know what to expect and how to handle any tasks that come their way.
3. Take a look at the calendar.
If you have a huge project due at the end of the summer, for your sanity and the sake of your work, avoid scheduling a vacation at that time. The more room you leave between the project and your vacation, the better off you'll be. You don't want to be stressed out if the project gets delayed or it requires more work than you anticipated.
4. Be disciplined.
If you have a job where you either absolutely must work or at least check in with your employer, designate a brief period of time for these tasks. Your friends or family vacationing with you don't want to share their relaxing trip with your laptop and cell phone, so keep the work to a minimum.
5. Be a role model.
If you're the boss, set an example for your team by going on vacations and leaving work behind. If others see you able to separate work from your personal life, they'll have a better attitude and be able to follow your lead.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Toyota Story - Most Respected Company - Is it true?
Dear Reader,
Very recently i wrote about "Most Respected Companies in the World 2008", based on that Toyota was rated Top (number 1) as the most respected companies. Today i come across this news (source yahoo) that Top Car Engineers at Toyota die because of their over work.
Please read the below article.
A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota's top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm.
The man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota's blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. The man's identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City where the company is based.
In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno. He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. The man's daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States.
The ruling was handed down June 30 and will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, Mizuno said.
An officer at the Aichi Labor Bureau on Wednesday confirmed the ruling, but declined to comment on the record.
In a statement, Toyota Motor Corp. offered its condolences and said it would work to improve monitoring of the health of its workers.
I am wondering, how the ratings and ranking measurement works for the Toyota. Which one is correct?
Thank you, Readers
JS
Very recently i wrote about "Most Respected Companies in the World 2008", based on that Toyota was rated Top (number 1) as the most respected companies. Today i come across this news (source yahoo) that Top Car Engineers at Toyota die because of their over work.
Please read the below article.
A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota's top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm.
The man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota's blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. The man's identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City where the company is based.
In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno. He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. The man's daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States.
The ruling was handed down June 30 and will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, Mizuno said.
An officer at the Aichi Labor Bureau on Wednesday confirmed the ruling, but declined to comment on the record.
In a statement, Toyota Motor Corp. offered its condolences and said it would work to improve monitoring of the health of its workers.
I am wondering, how the ratings and ranking measurement works for the Toyota. Which one is correct?
Thank you, Readers
JS
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wordings from Swami Vivekananda
When I Asked God for Strength
He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face
When I Asked God for Brain & Brown
He Gave Me Puzzles in life to Solve
When I Asked God for Happiness
He Showed Me Some Unhappy People
When I Asked God for Wealth
He Showed Me How to Work Hard
When I Asked God for Favors
He Showed Me opportunities to Work Hard
When I Asked God for Peace
He Showed Me How to Help Others
God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
He Gave Me Everything I Needed
- Swami Vivekananda
Friday, June 6, 2008
Does faster internet connection needed for organizations…
Unlike in US, UK, Korea and Japan, we live Indonesia where as the availability of good broadband connection for consumer is still a big question.
I use dial up at home (come on la..dont laugh at me) things were slow so does my productivity too. I could never able to setup my godaddy hosting account (most of the time "request time out").
I knew few companies use dial up connection, so i am better.
I recently got broadband connection at much faster speed and I could finish many unsettled issues because of my pervious slower connection. But now I can do things much faster.
Yes...Definelty for sure the faster internet connection does matter for your productivity...hi hold on. Does it applicable for organization (not an IT company for instance) companies having ample of employees and having fast internet access, would they achieve higher productivity?
We have to be very careful with this faster issue. I somehow have mixed response about this. I could say “Yes” and “No’”.
Employees tend to become addict to internet with faster internet access thus less productivity, whereas people just ignore their browsing and get back to work once they find their favorite sites takes hours to load thus more time spend on work (be careful I am not saying high productivity, slow internet might upset them and hence no concentration on the work).
We should balance both, I strongly believe in providing faster bandwidth for employees, however restricting access to those websites which people tend to spend hours and hours.
In our company, we do stop access to video sharing portals and social networking websites during the operational hours. Employees are allowed to browse their favorite site after office operational hours.
So my conclusion, provide your employees with fast internet connection for better productivity with proper access rules (fire wall settings).
Yes. It does matter.
Thank you, Readers.
JS
I use dial up at home (come on la..dont laugh at me) things were slow so does my productivity too. I could never able to setup my godaddy hosting account (most of the time "request time out").
I knew few companies use dial up connection, so i am better.
I recently got broadband connection at much faster speed and I could finish many unsettled issues because of my pervious slower connection. But now I can do things much faster.
Yes...Definelty for sure the faster internet connection does matter for your productivity...hi hold on. Does it applicable for organization (not an IT company for instance) companies having ample of employees and having fast internet access, would they achieve higher productivity?
We have to be very careful with this faster issue. I somehow have mixed response about this. I could say “Yes” and “No’”.
Employees tend to become addict to internet with faster internet access thus less productivity, whereas people just ignore their browsing and get back to work once they find their favorite sites takes hours to load thus more time spend on work (be careful I am not saying high productivity, slow internet might upset them and hence no concentration on the work).
We should balance both, I strongly believe in providing faster bandwidth for employees, however restricting access to those websites which people tend to spend hours and hours.
In our company, we do stop access to video sharing portals and social networking websites during the operational hours. Employees are allowed to browse their favorite site after office operational hours.
So my conclusion, provide your employees with fast internet connection for better productivity with proper access rules (fire wall settings).
Yes. It does matter.
Thank you, Readers.
JS
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