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Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 1
Roy Morgan Researchrsquos Business
Confidence survey in July showed
an increase following four
consecutive months of decline
The July result of 1173 was well up
on the on the June figure of 1127
and represents a tentative positive
sign for economic recovery in
Australia
At the same time the Roy Morgan
Research Consumer Confidence
survey in July also improved to
1162 up from 1146 in July
These results are from 2681
interviews with business decision
makers across Australia and 4165
consumers in July before the $30
billion budget lsquoblow-outrsquo announced
Friday August 2nd by Chris Bower
Consumer Confidence fell
immediately
Roy Morgan Research is in the
unique position of being able to take
a more holistic view of confidence
in Australia by measuring the
confidence of both businesses and
consumers
Letrsquos Talk Business Back To Basics Business Solutions - Support for Small Business
Issue 06 August 2013
Undoubtedly a major contributor to
the lack of business confidence is the
ongoing instability in federal politics
The question is Will confidence lift
after the Federal election
Will a positive outcome re-ignite
business and consumer confidence
and kick-start a sluggish Australian
economy
Business owners are desperately
hoping that this yearrsquos election will
end a tumultuous period for Federal
politics or at least provide enough
short-term respite to help people feel
confident spend more save less and
make big-ticket purchases
Queensland small business in
particular are feeling the mining
downturn
A recent survey for the June quarter
commissioned by Mining Australia
showed Queenslandrsquos business
conditions were 5-10 index points
lower than the state average
The survey said business confidence
for the June quarter stood at 43 per
cent which is eight per cent lower
than North Queensland
This is predicted to jump during the
present quarter to 509 per cent
putting business confidence in
neutral
Better Business Network President
Dennis Chiron said ldquoManaging and
running a small business can be very
tough I think people have been really
cautious with their spending and its
all about their available disposal
income at the end of the day
From a business point of view we
have seen a lack of confidence for a
number of reasons
Increases in our utilities charges for
our water gas electricity and service
charges associated with delivery of
those services to property have gone
up and they have increased
dramatically in the last 12 to 18
months he said
Roy Morgan Researchrsquos Business Confidence Survey in July showed an increase following four consecutive months of decline Yet in spite of this current research most Australian small businesses are still ldquodoing it toughrdquo with increased costs and reduced consumer spending
Small Business Confidence Australian Small Business is ldquodoing it toughrdquo
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Corporate Ladder
3 Lessons
LESSON 1
A crow was sitting on a tree
doing nothing all day A
small rabbit saw the crow and asked
him Can I also sit like you and do
nothing all day long The crow
answered Sure why not So the
rabbit sat on the ground below the crow
and rested All of a sudden a fox
appeared jumped on the rabbit and ate
it
Moral of the story To be sitting and
doing nothing you must be sitting very
very high up
LESSON 2
A turkey was chatting with
a bull I would love to be
able to get to
the top of that tree sighed
the turkey but I havent
got the energy
Well why dont you nibble on some of
my droppings replied the
bull Theyre packed with nutrients
The turkey pecked at a lump of
dung and found that it actually gave him
enough strength to reach the
first branch of the tree The next day
after eating some more dung
he reached the second branch Finally
after a fortnight there he was
proudly perched at the top of the tree
Soon he was promptly spotted
by a farmer who shot the turkey out of
the tree
Moral of the story Bull dung might get
you to the top but it wont
keep you there
LESSON 3
A little bird was flying south for the
winter It was so cold the
bird froze and fell to the ground in a
large field While it was lying there a
cow came by and dropped some dung on
it As the frozen bird lay there in the pile
of cow dung it began to
realize how warm it was
The dung was actually
thawing him out He lay
there all warm and
happy and soon began to sing for joy A
passing cat heard the
bird singing and came to investigate
Following the sound the cat
discovered the bird under the pile of
cow dung and promptly dug him
out and ate him
The Morals of this story
Not everyone who drops dung on you is your enemy
Not everyone who gets you out of the dung is your friend
And when youre in deep dung keep your mouth shut
SIGNS
In the restroom at work the Boss had
placed a sign directly above the
sink It had a single word on it --
Think
The next day when he went to the
restroom he looked at the sign and
right below immediately above the soap
dispenser someone had carefully
lettered another sign which read --
Thoap
Corporate Talk
JOIN OUR FAST-PACED
COMPANY We have no time to
train you youll have to introduce
yourself to your co-workers
FLEXIBLE HOURS Work 40
hours get paid for 25
DUTIES WILL VARY Anyone in
the office can boss you around
MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR
DETAIL We have no quality
control
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
A MUST Youre walking into a
company in perpetual chaos
WHAT IS
An Economist A person who
knows more about money than
people who have it
Economy Going without
something you want in case you
should want something you
probably dont want
Free Speech Using someone
elses telephone
Life Insurance A contract that
keeps you poor so that you can
die rich
Market Analyst A person who
tells you what is going to happen
within six months and then after
that tells you why it did not
Therersquos a Little McFat
in Everyone
During the first court
hearing in a highly publicised case
involving McDonalds a lawyer for
the fast-food chain urged a federal
judge to dismiss a suit claiming the
company has deliberately tried to
mislead the public into thinking Big
Macs and other products are
nutritious
McDonaldrsquos is arguing that
restaurants are not legally required to
tell consumers what they already
know ndash namely eating too many Big
Macs and fries will make them fat
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 3
Yvette Adams - CEOFounder
Specialty Areas Business Strategy
Marketing Strategy Websites PR
Event Management Social Media
Webinars Business Awards
amp Tender Submissions
Yvette was born on the fortunate cusp of
Generation X amp Y into a techie family
which at any one time had several
computers littered about the house
She started her first business at the age
of 17 ndash a newspaper ndash which was bought
out by an American entrepreneur after
its first issue She created her second
business and first e-commerce site in
2002 ndash an online tee-shirt business
Within one month of launching she
received a Government Grant and won a
website award In 2006 she sold the
global business and concentrated on
launching The Creative Collective
An international freelance writer of
many years and a self-published author
(see morethanmeetstheeyeconz) she
has been the online content editor of a
massive player in the UK magazine
market (tntmagazinecom) and has
consulted numerous businesses in New
Zealand the UK and Australia on their
online strategies and built many
websites
She started The Creative Collective in
2007 after the birth of her second child
from the study nook of her home and it
has since grown to have six staff based
from the companys commercial offices
in Maroochydore 2 franchisees and over
30 contractors around the world
She has won numerous business awards
including the Commonwealth Bank
Business Owner of the Year Award at
the Telstra Business Womens Awards
Queensland 2010 against a field of 4200
the Entrepreneurial Award at the
Women in Technology Awards in 2012
and being recognized as a finalist in the
Asian Entrepreneur category of the
Stevie Awards for Women in Business
She now promotes this awards program
which also includes the International
Business Awards the Sales amp Customer
Service Awards and the American
Business Awards in the Australia and
New Zealand regions
She is an experienced and inspiring
speaker who shares her message with
passion and enthusiasm and is available
for public speaking engagements
She is involved in a number of industry
reference groups and a member of
several professional associations
She is regularly called on by the media
as a spokesperson and for commentary
and writes regular columns for the APN
group Marketing Magazine and The
Creative Collective blog
- See more at http
wwwthecreativecollectivecomaumeet
-yvettesthashT4vHfHxgdpuf
The Creative Collective is an award-
winning and full-service creative
marketing agency based on the
Sunshine Coast of Queensland with
franchisees in Newcastle NSW and the
Gold Coast
Founded in 2007 Yvette said that
since the beginning we have prided
ourselves on keeping up with the
ever changing landscape of
marketing and communications
Increasingly our focus is drawn to
online marketing strategies and
online marketing activities as it
consistently seems to produce the
best results for our clients
We provide website design and
development graphic design and
print PR and marketing search
engine optimisation pay per click
and social media livestream amp
webinar services
We also offer an extensive array of
training solutions including
webinars BYO Laptop Trainings
programs and more For a full list of
our current training offerings see our
events page
- See more at http
wwwthecreativecollectivecomau
sthash65oEMrdAdpuf
The Creative
Collective
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 4
How To Make Sure Your Customers Come Back
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 dennismarketingmeansbusinessnetau
Skype dennischiron2
Finding and keeping customers is
one of the biggest challenges
facing new businesses So how do
you entice the customer back after
that first sale
With unreasonable advertising
costs and no guarantees on returns
on investments spreading the
word about your business can be
difficult However it can be done
and here are five tips on how to get
the clients coming back time and
time again
1 Build Loyalty
You dont need to a set up loyalty
card or points scheme to give
something back to your consumer
base although it is an idea worth
considering if it suits your
business Offering a unique
discount to those who have
purchased from you before will
keep your name in customers
minds and remind them to use
your business again
Its the little things you remember
to do which can build a loyal team
of customers
If you record how often customers
buy goods from you send them a
thank you card voucher or another
token of appreciation with their
10th order Whichever way you
choose it will remind your clients
how important they are and help
create a friendly image for your
business
2 Keep Communicating
Staying in contact with your
customers is essential at all times
whether through newsletters
social media or events However
its never more crucial than when
something has gone wrong Its a
natural reaction to bury your head after
a mistake but this will only help your
clients go elsewhere
Setting out a clear and open reaction to
any issues within your own company
will help explain what went wrong to
customers assuring them it wont
happen again Beyond this theyll
understand and see your business as a
more approachable brand one that
sticks in their thoughts for future
custom
3 Never Neglect Customers
If you want to hold onto customers
your service to them has to be one of
your highest priorities If people who
are trying to contact your business are
met with half an hour of boring hold
music or impatient and inattentive
support staff youll never build up the
loyal base of clients youre looking for
Make sure everyone representing your
business puts forward a positive image
and treats customers with the kind of
respect which will get them coming
back again and again
4 Stay Human
For all the money invested into PR and
advertising having a face and
personality for your brand is the most
effective way to embed yourself in the
memories of customers
Take the time to think how you want to
present your brand and how you want
customers to think of you
Once youve got this fixed
communicate it to everyone in your
business and ensure they present it to
customers Moreover keep yourself
involved with as many stages of the
business as possible and interact with
customers to keep them coming back
While most modern entrepreneurs
are ready to put themselves at the
forefront of their brand there are
few examples as clear as Richard
Branson and the Virgin Group
There is no need to look any further
to see how much an approachable
image can help the success of a
business
5 Keep It Current
This is particularly important if your
business runs a significant amount
of its processes through a website
You cant expect customers to come
back if theres nothing new to see
Keeping your product information
and highlighted aspects of your
brand fluid will allow the public to
see more of what you offer and
maintain an interest in your
company
Creating and regularly using a blog
for your business is also a great way
of spreading exciting news keeping
customers interested and building a
personality for your brand Try to
keep whats written friendly and
relaxed to help the public engage
with your brand
It wouldnt be easy to find a
successful business without a blog
these days Many companies tie it in
with the use of social media to keep
their content regularly updated and
give their customers something to be
interested in
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Why dont managers give employees
regular feedback on their performance
Why do they often wait for the appraisal
to do so
Over the past 18 years I have talked to
thousands of employees and this is a
common complain across all industry
groups
For example I recall speaking to an 18-
year-old female fresh out of school and
nine months into her first job in an
SME She was quite distressed
Melinda had not received any
feedback from her boss in nine months
on the job
I asked Melinda whether she would
like me to approach her manager on
her behalf and ask him if he could let
her know how she was settling into her
first job
Melinda was quite enthusiastic about
this prospect and I subsequently
approached her boss Ted
I proceeded to explain to Ted that
Melinda was concerned that she had
not received any feedback from him
since she had started and suggested
that he sit her down and explain how
she was doing in her work
Before I could finish my sentence Ted
interrupted me and said lsquoNo I canrsquot
do thatrsquo There was an uncomfortable
pause in our conversation I said lsquoMay
I ask why you canrsquot do thisrsquo
I was thinking there must be some
rational explanation Ted retorted lsquoIf I
do that for Melinda I will have to do
that for all my staffrsquo I was rendered
speechless
I think one of the main reasons is that
managers are predominantly rewarded
on the basis of achieving certain
outcomes and therefore maintainance
and developmental conversations are
not on the priority list
Do you agree or do you have another
possible reason
This is an extract from my latest book
- The End of the Performance Review
A New Approach to Appraising
Employee Performance (Palgrave
Macmillan) out in early October
Essentially it is based on five
conversations each lasting about 15
minutes between the manager and
his or her employees Lets look at
each conversation briefly
Climate review conversation A climate review is about
determining the current
atmosphere in a particular
workplace
Strengths and talents
conversation this focuses on
the weaknesses and sometimes
neglects to discuss particular
strengths and talents
Opportunities for growth
conversation This conversation focuses on
strategies for improved
performance from the
employees individual
perspective
Learning and development
conversation The Learning and
development conversation is
designed to discuss the learning
needs of the employee now and
in the future
Innovation and continuous
improvement conversation Conversations around
Innovation and continuous
improvement are about practical
ways and means of improving
both the employees own
efficiency and effectiveness and
the business in general systems
and process improvements in
the business
Id recommend you try this
approach if you either have no
performance review system in place
or the current system you have is
not working
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
wwwwinnersatworkcomau
wwwaboutmetimbaker
Telephone +61 7 3899 8881
Editorrsquos Note
Tim is an international consultant successful author keynote speaker master trainer executive coach university lecturer and skilful facilitator
In a nutshell he has conducted over 2430 seminars workshops and keynote addresses to over 45000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups
Tim points out ldquoWhen it comes to
performance reviews my involvement
with organisations both big and
small generally hasnt been positive
In fact I regularly hear the following
complaints about performance
reviews or appraisals
They are a costly exercise
Performance reviews can be
destructive
They are often a monologue
rather than a dialogue
The formality of the appraisal
stifles discussion
The infrequency of reviews
Appraisals are an exercise in
form filing
Performance review are rarely
followed up
Most people find the appraisal
stressful
Why Wonrsquot Managers
Talk To Their Staff
About Performance
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 6
ldquoYou are the average of the six
people you spend the most
time withrdquo
If you think about the above statement
are you happy with your network or is
it time for an upgrade
Itrsquos a fact of life that if you want a
million dollar business you will need a
million dollar network around you On
the other hand if you want a five
million dollar business you will need a
five million dollar support network to
help you make that happen
The people who helped you establish
your business all those years ago may
not be the ones you need to take it to
the next level and it is often because of
an inappropriate sense of loyalty that
we fail to look at who we really need to
take us toward our ultimate goal
Irsquom not saying you should be ruthless
and hold no personal sense of ethics in
growing your business
What Irsquom saying is that over time our
businesses change direction and may
grow beyond the area of expertise of
those we initially needed to get started
Irsquom often the first one to suggest a
client may need a higher or more
specialised level of support as they
grow beyond my area of
comfortableness or indeed
competence
I would be more concerned if your
advisors donrsquot do this
That being said I read an interesting
article recently that put forward an
interesting perspective on the key
people you should have in your team
from both a personal and business
perspective I liked the concept and
thought it might provide a context to
review lsquoyour teamrsquo
Nothing incredible is accomplished
alone You need others to help you
and you need to help others With the
right team you can form a web of
connections to make the seemingly
impossible practically inevitable
Have you got these people on your
side
The Instigator Someone who pushes you who makes
you think Someone who motivates
you to get up and go and try and
make things happen You want to
keep this person energized and
enthusiastic This is the voice of
inspiration
The Cheerleader This person is a huge fan a strong
supporter and a rabid evangelist for
you and your work Work to make
this person rewarded to keep them
engaged This is the voice of
motivation
The Doubter This is the devilrsquos advocate who asks
the hard questions and sees problems
before they arise You need this
personrsquos perspective They are
looking out for you and want you
to be as safe as you are successful
This is the voice of reason
The Taskmaster This is the loud and belligerent
voice that demands you get things
done This person is the steward
of momentum making sure
deadlines are met and goals are
reached This is the voice of
progress
The Connector This person can help you find new
avenues and new allies This
person breaks through roadblocks
into finds ways to make magic
happen You need this person to
reach people and places you canrsquot
This is the voice of cooperation
and community
The Example
This is your mentor you hero
your North Star This is the person
who you seek to emulate This is
your guiding entity someone
whose presence acts as a constant
reminder that you too can do
amazing things You want to make
this person proud This is the voice
of true authority
Have a look at your team and see
who might be missing or indeed
who might need upgrading to get
you to the next level This may not
always be easy but in the words of
Tom OrsquoToole the famous
Beechworth Baker lsquoYoursquoll never
find what yoursquore looking for in
your comfort zonersquo
Geoff Butler FAIM AP MAITD MACE
PrincipalBusiness Improvement amp Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile 0414 943072
Fax 3036 6131
Email geoffbusinessoptimizerscomau
Skype businessoptimizers1
Are You Happy With Your Network
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 2
Corporate Ladder
3 Lessons
LESSON 1
A crow was sitting on a tree
doing nothing all day A
small rabbit saw the crow and asked
him Can I also sit like you and do
nothing all day long The crow
answered Sure why not So the
rabbit sat on the ground below the crow
and rested All of a sudden a fox
appeared jumped on the rabbit and ate
it
Moral of the story To be sitting and
doing nothing you must be sitting very
very high up
LESSON 2
A turkey was chatting with
a bull I would love to be
able to get to
the top of that tree sighed
the turkey but I havent
got the energy
Well why dont you nibble on some of
my droppings replied the
bull Theyre packed with nutrients
The turkey pecked at a lump of
dung and found that it actually gave him
enough strength to reach the
first branch of the tree The next day
after eating some more dung
he reached the second branch Finally
after a fortnight there he was
proudly perched at the top of the tree
Soon he was promptly spotted
by a farmer who shot the turkey out of
the tree
Moral of the story Bull dung might get
you to the top but it wont
keep you there
LESSON 3
A little bird was flying south for the
winter It was so cold the
bird froze and fell to the ground in a
large field While it was lying there a
cow came by and dropped some dung on
it As the frozen bird lay there in the pile
of cow dung it began to
realize how warm it was
The dung was actually
thawing him out He lay
there all warm and
happy and soon began to sing for joy A
passing cat heard the
bird singing and came to investigate
Following the sound the cat
discovered the bird under the pile of
cow dung and promptly dug him
out and ate him
The Morals of this story
Not everyone who drops dung on you is your enemy
Not everyone who gets you out of the dung is your friend
And when youre in deep dung keep your mouth shut
SIGNS
In the restroom at work the Boss had
placed a sign directly above the
sink It had a single word on it --
Think
The next day when he went to the
restroom he looked at the sign and
right below immediately above the soap
dispenser someone had carefully
lettered another sign which read --
Thoap
Corporate Talk
JOIN OUR FAST-PACED
COMPANY We have no time to
train you youll have to introduce
yourself to your co-workers
FLEXIBLE HOURS Work 40
hours get paid for 25
DUTIES WILL VARY Anyone in
the office can boss you around
MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR
DETAIL We have no quality
control
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
A MUST Youre walking into a
company in perpetual chaos
WHAT IS
An Economist A person who
knows more about money than
people who have it
Economy Going without
something you want in case you
should want something you
probably dont want
Free Speech Using someone
elses telephone
Life Insurance A contract that
keeps you poor so that you can
die rich
Market Analyst A person who
tells you what is going to happen
within six months and then after
that tells you why it did not
Therersquos a Little McFat
in Everyone
During the first court
hearing in a highly publicised case
involving McDonalds a lawyer for
the fast-food chain urged a federal
judge to dismiss a suit claiming the
company has deliberately tried to
mislead the public into thinking Big
Macs and other products are
nutritious
McDonaldrsquos is arguing that
restaurants are not legally required to
tell consumers what they already
know ndash namely eating too many Big
Macs and fries will make them fat
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 3
Yvette Adams - CEOFounder
Specialty Areas Business Strategy
Marketing Strategy Websites PR
Event Management Social Media
Webinars Business Awards
amp Tender Submissions
Yvette was born on the fortunate cusp of
Generation X amp Y into a techie family
which at any one time had several
computers littered about the house
She started her first business at the age
of 17 ndash a newspaper ndash which was bought
out by an American entrepreneur after
its first issue She created her second
business and first e-commerce site in
2002 ndash an online tee-shirt business
Within one month of launching she
received a Government Grant and won a
website award In 2006 she sold the
global business and concentrated on
launching The Creative Collective
An international freelance writer of
many years and a self-published author
(see morethanmeetstheeyeconz) she
has been the online content editor of a
massive player in the UK magazine
market (tntmagazinecom) and has
consulted numerous businesses in New
Zealand the UK and Australia on their
online strategies and built many
websites
She started The Creative Collective in
2007 after the birth of her second child
from the study nook of her home and it
has since grown to have six staff based
from the companys commercial offices
in Maroochydore 2 franchisees and over
30 contractors around the world
She has won numerous business awards
including the Commonwealth Bank
Business Owner of the Year Award at
the Telstra Business Womens Awards
Queensland 2010 against a field of 4200
the Entrepreneurial Award at the
Women in Technology Awards in 2012
and being recognized as a finalist in the
Asian Entrepreneur category of the
Stevie Awards for Women in Business
She now promotes this awards program
which also includes the International
Business Awards the Sales amp Customer
Service Awards and the American
Business Awards in the Australia and
New Zealand regions
She is an experienced and inspiring
speaker who shares her message with
passion and enthusiasm and is available
for public speaking engagements
She is involved in a number of industry
reference groups and a member of
several professional associations
She is regularly called on by the media
as a spokesperson and for commentary
and writes regular columns for the APN
group Marketing Magazine and The
Creative Collective blog
- See more at http
wwwthecreativecollectivecomaumeet
-yvettesthashT4vHfHxgdpuf
The Creative Collective is an award-
winning and full-service creative
marketing agency based on the
Sunshine Coast of Queensland with
franchisees in Newcastle NSW and the
Gold Coast
Founded in 2007 Yvette said that
since the beginning we have prided
ourselves on keeping up with the
ever changing landscape of
marketing and communications
Increasingly our focus is drawn to
online marketing strategies and
online marketing activities as it
consistently seems to produce the
best results for our clients
We provide website design and
development graphic design and
print PR and marketing search
engine optimisation pay per click
and social media livestream amp
webinar services
We also offer an extensive array of
training solutions including
webinars BYO Laptop Trainings
programs and more For a full list of
our current training offerings see our
events page
- See more at http
wwwthecreativecollectivecomau
sthash65oEMrdAdpuf
The Creative
Collective
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 4
How To Make Sure Your Customers Come Back
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 dennismarketingmeansbusinessnetau
Skype dennischiron2
Finding and keeping customers is
one of the biggest challenges
facing new businesses So how do
you entice the customer back after
that first sale
With unreasonable advertising
costs and no guarantees on returns
on investments spreading the
word about your business can be
difficult However it can be done
and here are five tips on how to get
the clients coming back time and
time again
1 Build Loyalty
You dont need to a set up loyalty
card or points scheme to give
something back to your consumer
base although it is an idea worth
considering if it suits your
business Offering a unique
discount to those who have
purchased from you before will
keep your name in customers
minds and remind them to use
your business again
Its the little things you remember
to do which can build a loyal team
of customers
If you record how often customers
buy goods from you send them a
thank you card voucher or another
token of appreciation with their
10th order Whichever way you
choose it will remind your clients
how important they are and help
create a friendly image for your
business
2 Keep Communicating
Staying in contact with your
customers is essential at all times
whether through newsletters
social media or events However
its never more crucial than when
something has gone wrong Its a
natural reaction to bury your head after
a mistake but this will only help your
clients go elsewhere
Setting out a clear and open reaction to
any issues within your own company
will help explain what went wrong to
customers assuring them it wont
happen again Beyond this theyll
understand and see your business as a
more approachable brand one that
sticks in their thoughts for future
custom
3 Never Neglect Customers
If you want to hold onto customers
your service to them has to be one of
your highest priorities If people who
are trying to contact your business are
met with half an hour of boring hold
music or impatient and inattentive
support staff youll never build up the
loyal base of clients youre looking for
Make sure everyone representing your
business puts forward a positive image
and treats customers with the kind of
respect which will get them coming
back again and again
4 Stay Human
For all the money invested into PR and
advertising having a face and
personality for your brand is the most
effective way to embed yourself in the
memories of customers
Take the time to think how you want to
present your brand and how you want
customers to think of you
Once youve got this fixed
communicate it to everyone in your
business and ensure they present it to
customers Moreover keep yourself
involved with as many stages of the
business as possible and interact with
customers to keep them coming back
While most modern entrepreneurs
are ready to put themselves at the
forefront of their brand there are
few examples as clear as Richard
Branson and the Virgin Group
There is no need to look any further
to see how much an approachable
image can help the success of a
business
5 Keep It Current
This is particularly important if your
business runs a significant amount
of its processes through a website
You cant expect customers to come
back if theres nothing new to see
Keeping your product information
and highlighted aspects of your
brand fluid will allow the public to
see more of what you offer and
maintain an interest in your
company
Creating and regularly using a blog
for your business is also a great way
of spreading exciting news keeping
customers interested and building a
personality for your brand Try to
keep whats written friendly and
relaxed to help the public engage
with your brand
It wouldnt be easy to find a
successful business without a blog
these days Many companies tie it in
with the use of social media to keep
their content regularly updated and
give their customers something to be
interested in
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 5
Why dont managers give employees
regular feedback on their performance
Why do they often wait for the appraisal
to do so
Over the past 18 years I have talked to
thousands of employees and this is a
common complain across all industry
groups
For example I recall speaking to an 18-
year-old female fresh out of school and
nine months into her first job in an
SME She was quite distressed
Melinda had not received any
feedback from her boss in nine months
on the job
I asked Melinda whether she would
like me to approach her manager on
her behalf and ask him if he could let
her know how she was settling into her
first job
Melinda was quite enthusiastic about
this prospect and I subsequently
approached her boss Ted
I proceeded to explain to Ted that
Melinda was concerned that she had
not received any feedback from him
since she had started and suggested
that he sit her down and explain how
she was doing in her work
Before I could finish my sentence Ted
interrupted me and said lsquoNo I canrsquot
do thatrsquo There was an uncomfortable
pause in our conversation I said lsquoMay
I ask why you canrsquot do thisrsquo
I was thinking there must be some
rational explanation Ted retorted lsquoIf I
do that for Melinda I will have to do
that for all my staffrsquo I was rendered
speechless
I think one of the main reasons is that
managers are predominantly rewarded
on the basis of achieving certain
outcomes and therefore maintainance
and developmental conversations are
not on the priority list
Do you agree or do you have another
possible reason
This is an extract from my latest book
- The End of the Performance Review
A New Approach to Appraising
Employee Performance (Palgrave
Macmillan) out in early October
Essentially it is based on five
conversations each lasting about 15
minutes between the manager and
his or her employees Lets look at
each conversation briefly
Climate review conversation A climate review is about
determining the current
atmosphere in a particular
workplace
Strengths and talents
conversation this focuses on
the weaknesses and sometimes
neglects to discuss particular
strengths and talents
Opportunities for growth
conversation This conversation focuses on
strategies for improved
performance from the
employees individual
perspective
Learning and development
conversation The Learning and
development conversation is
designed to discuss the learning
needs of the employee now and
in the future
Innovation and continuous
improvement conversation Conversations around
Innovation and continuous
improvement are about practical
ways and means of improving
both the employees own
efficiency and effectiveness and
the business in general systems
and process improvements in
the business
Id recommend you try this
approach if you either have no
performance review system in place
or the current system you have is
not working
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
wwwwinnersatworkcomau
wwwaboutmetimbaker
Telephone +61 7 3899 8881
Editorrsquos Note
Tim is an international consultant successful author keynote speaker master trainer executive coach university lecturer and skilful facilitator
In a nutshell he has conducted over 2430 seminars workshops and keynote addresses to over 45000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups
Tim points out ldquoWhen it comes to
performance reviews my involvement
with organisations both big and
small generally hasnt been positive
In fact I regularly hear the following
complaints about performance
reviews or appraisals
They are a costly exercise
Performance reviews can be
destructive
They are often a monologue
rather than a dialogue
The formality of the appraisal
stifles discussion
The infrequency of reviews
Appraisals are an exercise in
form filing
Performance review are rarely
followed up
Most people find the appraisal
stressful
Why Wonrsquot Managers
Talk To Their Staff
About Performance
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 6
ldquoYou are the average of the six
people you spend the most
time withrdquo
If you think about the above statement
are you happy with your network or is
it time for an upgrade
Itrsquos a fact of life that if you want a
million dollar business you will need a
million dollar network around you On
the other hand if you want a five
million dollar business you will need a
five million dollar support network to
help you make that happen
The people who helped you establish
your business all those years ago may
not be the ones you need to take it to
the next level and it is often because of
an inappropriate sense of loyalty that
we fail to look at who we really need to
take us toward our ultimate goal
Irsquom not saying you should be ruthless
and hold no personal sense of ethics in
growing your business
What Irsquom saying is that over time our
businesses change direction and may
grow beyond the area of expertise of
those we initially needed to get started
Irsquom often the first one to suggest a
client may need a higher or more
specialised level of support as they
grow beyond my area of
comfortableness or indeed
competence
I would be more concerned if your
advisors donrsquot do this
That being said I read an interesting
article recently that put forward an
interesting perspective on the key
people you should have in your team
from both a personal and business
perspective I liked the concept and
thought it might provide a context to
review lsquoyour teamrsquo
Nothing incredible is accomplished
alone You need others to help you
and you need to help others With the
right team you can form a web of
connections to make the seemingly
impossible practically inevitable
Have you got these people on your
side
The Instigator Someone who pushes you who makes
you think Someone who motivates
you to get up and go and try and
make things happen You want to
keep this person energized and
enthusiastic This is the voice of
inspiration
The Cheerleader This person is a huge fan a strong
supporter and a rabid evangelist for
you and your work Work to make
this person rewarded to keep them
engaged This is the voice of
motivation
The Doubter This is the devilrsquos advocate who asks
the hard questions and sees problems
before they arise You need this
personrsquos perspective They are
looking out for you and want you
to be as safe as you are successful
This is the voice of reason
The Taskmaster This is the loud and belligerent
voice that demands you get things
done This person is the steward
of momentum making sure
deadlines are met and goals are
reached This is the voice of
progress
The Connector This person can help you find new
avenues and new allies This
person breaks through roadblocks
into finds ways to make magic
happen You need this person to
reach people and places you canrsquot
This is the voice of cooperation
and community
The Example
This is your mentor you hero
your North Star This is the person
who you seek to emulate This is
your guiding entity someone
whose presence acts as a constant
reminder that you too can do
amazing things You want to make
this person proud This is the voice
of true authority
Have a look at your team and see
who might be missing or indeed
who might need upgrading to get
you to the next level This may not
always be easy but in the words of
Tom OrsquoToole the famous
Beechworth Baker lsquoYoursquoll never
find what yoursquore looking for in
your comfort zonersquo
Geoff Butler FAIM AP MAITD MACE
PrincipalBusiness Improvement amp Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile 0414 943072
Fax 3036 6131
Email geoffbusinessoptimizerscomau
Skype businessoptimizers1
Are You Happy With Your Network
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 3
Yvette Adams - CEOFounder
Specialty Areas Business Strategy
Marketing Strategy Websites PR
Event Management Social Media
Webinars Business Awards
amp Tender Submissions
Yvette was born on the fortunate cusp of
Generation X amp Y into a techie family
which at any one time had several
computers littered about the house
She started her first business at the age
of 17 ndash a newspaper ndash which was bought
out by an American entrepreneur after
its first issue She created her second
business and first e-commerce site in
2002 ndash an online tee-shirt business
Within one month of launching she
received a Government Grant and won a
website award In 2006 she sold the
global business and concentrated on
launching The Creative Collective
An international freelance writer of
many years and a self-published author
(see morethanmeetstheeyeconz) she
has been the online content editor of a
massive player in the UK magazine
market (tntmagazinecom) and has
consulted numerous businesses in New
Zealand the UK and Australia on their
online strategies and built many
websites
She started The Creative Collective in
2007 after the birth of her second child
from the study nook of her home and it
has since grown to have six staff based
from the companys commercial offices
in Maroochydore 2 franchisees and over
30 contractors around the world
She has won numerous business awards
including the Commonwealth Bank
Business Owner of the Year Award at
the Telstra Business Womens Awards
Queensland 2010 against a field of 4200
the Entrepreneurial Award at the
Women in Technology Awards in 2012
and being recognized as a finalist in the
Asian Entrepreneur category of the
Stevie Awards for Women in Business
She now promotes this awards program
which also includes the International
Business Awards the Sales amp Customer
Service Awards and the American
Business Awards in the Australia and
New Zealand regions
She is an experienced and inspiring
speaker who shares her message with
passion and enthusiasm and is available
for public speaking engagements
She is involved in a number of industry
reference groups and a member of
several professional associations
She is regularly called on by the media
as a spokesperson and for commentary
and writes regular columns for the APN
group Marketing Magazine and The
Creative Collective blog
- See more at http
wwwthecreativecollectivecomaumeet
-yvettesthashT4vHfHxgdpuf
The Creative Collective is an award-
winning and full-service creative
marketing agency based on the
Sunshine Coast of Queensland with
franchisees in Newcastle NSW and the
Gold Coast
Founded in 2007 Yvette said that
since the beginning we have prided
ourselves on keeping up with the
ever changing landscape of
marketing and communications
Increasingly our focus is drawn to
online marketing strategies and
online marketing activities as it
consistently seems to produce the
best results for our clients
We provide website design and
development graphic design and
print PR and marketing search
engine optimisation pay per click
and social media livestream amp
webinar services
We also offer an extensive array of
training solutions including
webinars BYO Laptop Trainings
programs and more For a full list of
our current training offerings see our
events page
- See more at http
wwwthecreativecollectivecomau
sthash65oEMrdAdpuf
The Creative
Collective
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 4
How To Make Sure Your Customers Come Back
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 dennismarketingmeansbusinessnetau
Skype dennischiron2
Finding and keeping customers is
one of the biggest challenges
facing new businesses So how do
you entice the customer back after
that first sale
With unreasonable advertising
costs and no guarantees on returns
on investments spreading the
word about your business can be
difficult However it can be done
and here are five tips on how to get
the clients coming back time and
time again
1 Build Loyalty
You dont need to a set up loyalty
card or points scheme to give
something back to your consumer
base although it is an idea worth
considering if it suits your
business Offering a unique
discount to those who have
purchased from you before will
keep your name in customers
minds and remind them to use
your business again
Its the little things you remember
to do which can build a loyal team
of customers
If you record how often customers
buy goods from you send them a
thank you card voucher or another
token of appreciation with their
10th order Whichever way you
choose it will remind your clients
how important they are and help
create a friendly image for your
business
2 Keep Communicating
Staying in contact with your
customers is essential at all times
whether through newsletters
social media or events However
its never more crucial than when
something has gone wrong Its a
natural reaction to bury your head after
a mistake but this will only help your
clients go elsewhere
Setting out a clear and open reaction to
any issues within your own company
will help explain what went wrong to
customers assuring them it wont
happen again Beyond this theyll
understand and see your business as a
more approachable brand one that
sticks in their thoughts for future
custom
3 Never Neglect Customers
If you want to hold onto customers
your service to them has to be one of
your highest priorities If people who
are trying to contact your business are
met with half an hour of boring hold
music or impatient and inattentive
support staff youll never build up the
loyal base of clients youre looking for
Make sure everyone representing your
business puts forward a positive image
and treats customers with the kind of
respect which will get them coming
back again and again
4 Stay Human
For all the money invested into PR and
advertising having a face and
personality for your brand is the most
effective way to embed yourself in the
memories of customers
Take the time to think how you want to
present your brand and how you want
customers to think of you
Once youve got this fixed
communicate it to everyone in your
business and ensure they present it to
customers Moreover keep yourself
involved with as many stages of the
business as possible and interact with
customers to keep them coming back
While most modern entrepreneurs
are ready to put themselves at the
forefront of their brand there are
few examples as clear as Richard
Branson and the Virgin Group
There is no need to look any further
to see how much an approachable
image can help the success of a
business
5 Keep It Current
This is particularly important if your
business runs a significant amount
of its processes through a website
You cant expect customers to come
back if theres nothing new to see
Keeping your product information
and highlighted aspects of your
brand fluid will allow the public to
see more of what you offer and
maintain an interest in your
company
Creating and regularly using a blog
for your business is also a great way
of spreading exciting news keeping
customers interested and building a
personality for your brand Try to
keep whats written friendly and
relaxed to help the public engage
with your brand
It wouldnt be easy to find a
successful business without a blog
these days Many companies tie it in
with the use of social media to keep
their content regularly updated and
give their customers something to be
interested in
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 5
Why dont managers give employees
regular feedback on their performance
Why do they often wait for the appraisal
to do so
Over the past 18 years I have talked to
thousands of employees and this is a
common complain across all industry
groups
For example I recall speaking to an 18-
year-old female fresh out of school and
nine months into her first job in an
SME She was quite distressed
Melinda had not received any
feedback from her boss in nine months
on the job
I asked Melinda whether she would
like me to approach her manager on
her behalf and ask him if he could let
her know how she was settling into her
first job
Melinda was quite enthusiastic about
this prospect and I subsequently
approached her boss Ted
I proceeded to explain to Ted that
Melinda was concerned that she had
not received any feedback from him
since she had started and suggested
that he sit her down and explain how
she was doing in her work
Before I could finish my sentence Ted
interrupted me and said lsquoNo I canrsquot
do thatrsquo There was an uncomfortable
pause in our conversation I said lsquoMay
I ask why you canrsquot do thisrsquo
I was thinking there must be some
rational explanation Ted retorted lsquoIf I
do that for Melinda I will have to do
that for all my staffrsquo I was rendered
speechless
I think one of the main reasons is that
managers are predominantly rewarded
on the basis of achieving certain
outcomes and therefore maintainance
and developmental conversations are
not on the priority list
Do you agree or do you have another
possible reason
This is an extract from my latest book
- The End of the Performance Review
A New Approach to Appraising
Employee Performance (Palgrave
Macmillan) out in early October
Essentially it is based on five
conversations each lasting about 15
minutes between the manager and
his or her employees Lets look at
each conversation briefly
Climate review conversation A climate review is about
determining the current
atmosphere in a particular
workplace
Strengths and talents
conversation this focuses on
the weaknesses and sometimes
neglects to discuss particular
strengths and talents
Opportunities for growth
conversation This conversation focuses on
strategies for improved
performance from the
employees individual
perspective
Learning and development
conversation The Learning and
development conversation is
designed to discuss the learning
needs of the employee now and
in the future
Innovation and continuous
improvement conversation Conversations around
Innovation and continuous
improvement are about practical
ways and means of improving
both the employees own
efficiency and effectiveness and
the business in general systems
and process improvements in
the business
Id recommend you try this
approach if you either have no
performance review system in place
or the current system you have is
not working
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
wwwwinnersatworkcomau
wwwaboutmetimbaker
Telephone +61 7 3899 8881
Editorrsquos Note
Tim is an international consultant successful author keynote speaker master trainer executive coach university lecturer and skilful facilitator
In a nutshell he has conducted over 2430 seminars workshops and keynote addresses to over 45000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups
Tim points out ldquoWhen it comes to
performance reviews my involvement
with organisations both big and
small generally hasnt been positive
In fact I regularly hear the following
complaints about performance
reviews or appraisals
They are a costly exercise
Performance reviews can be
destructive
They are often a monologue
rather than a dialogue
The formality of the appraisal
stifles discussion
The infrequency of reviews
Appraisals are an exercise in
form filing
Performance review are rarely
followed up
Most people find the appraisal
stressful
Why Wonrsquot Managers
Talk To Their Staff
About Performance
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 6
ldquoYou are the average of the six
people you spend the most
time withrdquo
If you think about the above statement
are you happy with your network or is
it time for an upgrade
Itrsquos a fact of life that if you want a
million dollar business you will need a
million dollar network around you On
the other hand if you want a five
million dollar business you will need a
five million dollar support network to
help you make that happen
The people who helped you establish
your business all those years ago may
not be the ones you need to take it to
the next level and it is often because of
an inappropriate sense of loyalty that
we fail to look at who we really need to
take us toward our ultimate goal
Irsquom not saying you should be ruthless
and hold no personal sense of ethics in
growing your business
What Irsquom saying is that over time our
businesses change direction and may
grow beyond the area of expertise of
those we initially needed to get started
Irsquom often the first one to suggest a
client may need a higher or more
specialised level of support as they
grow beyond my area of
comfortableness or indeed
competence
I would be more concerned if your
advisors donrsquot do this
That being said I read an interesting
article recently that put forward an
interesting perspective on the key
people you should have in your team
from both a personal and business
perspective I liked the concept and
thought it might provide a context to
review lsquoyour teamrsquo
Nothing incredible is accomplished
alone You need others to help you
and you need to help others With the
right team you can form a web of
connections to make the seemingly
impossible practically inevitable
Have you got these people on your
side
The Instigator Someone who pushes you who makes
you think Someone who motivates
you to get up and go and try and
make things happen You want to
keep this person energized and
enthusiastic This is the voice of
inspiration
The Cheerleader This person is a huge fan a strong
supporter and a rabid evangelist for
you and your work Work to make
this person rewarded to keep them
engaged This is the voice of
motivation
The Doubter This is the devilrsquos advocate who asks
the hard questions and sees problems
before they arise You need this
personrsquos perspective They are
looking out for you and want you
to be as safe as you are successful
This is the voice of reason
The Taskmaster This is the loud and belligerent
voice that demands you get things
done This person is the steward
of momentum making sure
deadlines are met and goals are
reached This is the voice of
progress
The Connector This person can help you find new
avenues and new allies This
person breaks through roadblocks
into finds ways to make magic
happen You need this person to
reach people and places you canrsquot
This is the voice of cooperation
and community
The Example
This is your mentor you hero
your North Star This is the person
who you seek to emulate This is
your guiding entity someone
whose presence acts as a constant
reminder that you too can do
amazing things You want to make
this person proud This is the voice
of true authority
Have a look at your team and see
who might be missing or indeed
who might need upgrading to get
you to the next level This may not
always be easy but in the words of
Tom OrsquoToole the famous
Beechworth Baker lsquoYoursquoll never
find what yoursquore looking for in
your comfort zonersquo
Geoff Butler FAIM AP MAITD MACE
PrincipalBusiness Improvement amp Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile 0414 943072
Fax 3036 6131
Email geoffbusinessoptimizerscomau
Skype businessoptimizers1
Are You Happy With Your Network
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 4
How To Make Sure Your Customers Come Back
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 dennismarketingmeansbusinessnetau
Skype dennischiron2
Finding and keeping customers is
one of the biggest challenges
facing new businesses So how do
you entice the customer back after
that first sale
With unreasonable advertising
costs and no guarantees on returns
on investments spreading the
word about your business can be
difficult However it can be done
and here are five tips on how to get
the clients coming back time and
time again
1 Build Loyalty
You dont need to a set up loyalty
card or points scheme to give
something back to your consumer
base although it is an idea worth
considering if it suits your
business Offering a unique
discount to those who have
purchased from you before will
keep your name in customers
minds and remind them to use
your business again
Its the little things you remember
to do which can build a loyal team
of customers
If you record how often customers
buy goods from you send them a
thank you card voucher or another
token of appreciation with their
10th order Whichever way you
choose it will remind your clients
how important they are and help
create a friendly image for your
business
2 Keep Communicating
Staying in contact with your
customers is essential at all times
whether through newsletters
social media or events However
its never more crucial than when
something has gone wrong Its a
natural reaction to bury your head after
a mistake but this will only help your
clients go elsewhere
Setting out a clear and open reaction to
any issues within your own company
will help explain what went wrong to
customers assuring them it wont
happen again Beyond this theyll
understand and see your business as a
more approachable brand one that
sticks in their thoughts for future
custom
3 Never Neglect Customers
If you want to hold onto customers
your service to them has to be one of
your highest priorities If people who
are trying to contact your business are
met with half an hour of boring hold
music or impatient and inattentive
support staff youll never build up the
loyal base of clients youre looking for
Make sure everyone representing your
business puts forward a positive image
and treats customers with the kind of
respect which will get them coming
back again and again
4 Stay Human
For all the money invested into PR and
advertising having a face and
personality for your brand is the most
effective way to embed yourself in the
memories of customers
Take the time to think how you want to
present your brand and how you want
customers to think of you
Once youve got this fixed
communicate it to everyone in your
business and ensure they present it to
customers Moreover keep yourself
involved with as many stages of the
business as possible and interact with
customers to keep them coming back
While most modern entrepreneurs
are ready to put themselves at the
forefront of their brand there are
few examples as clear as Richard
Branson and the Virgin Group
There is no need to look any further
to see how much an approachable
image can help the success of a
business
5 Keep It Current
This is particularly important if your
business runs a significant amount
of its processes through a website
You cant expect customers to come
back if theres nothing new to see
Keeping your product information
and highlighted aspects of your
brand fluid will allow the public to
see more of what you offer and
maintain an interest in your
company
Creating and regularly using a blog
for your business is also a great way
of spreading exciting news keeping
customers interested and building a
personality for your brand Try to
keep whats written friendly and
relaxed to help the public engage
with your brand
It wouldnt be easy to find a
successful business without a blog
these days Many companies tie it in
with the use of social media to keep
their content regularly updated and
give their customers something to be
interested in
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 5
Why dont managers give employees
regular feedback on their performance
Why do they often wait for the appraisal
to do so
Over the past 18 years I have talked to
thousands of employees and this is a
common complain across all industry
groups
For example I recall speaking to an 18-
year-old female fresh out of school and
nine months into her first job in an
SME She was quite distressed
Melinda had not received any
feedback from her boss in nine months
on the job
I asked Melinda whether she would
like me to approach her manager on
her behalf and ask him if he could let
her know how she was settling into her
first job
Melinda was quite enthusiastic about
this prospect and I subsequently
approached her boss Ted
I proceeded to explain to Ted that
Melinda was concerned that she had
not received any feedback from him
since she had started and suggested
that he sit her down and explain how
she was doing in her work
Before I could finish my sentence Ted
interrupted me and said lsquoNo I canrsquot
do thatrsquo There was an uncomfortable
pause in our conversation I said lsquoMay
I ask why you canrsquot do thisrsquo
I was thinking there must be some
rational explanation Ted retorted lsquoIf I
do that for Melinda I will have to do
that for all my staffrsquo I was rendered
speechless
I think one of the main reasons is that
managers are predominantly rewarded
on the basis of achieving certain
outcomes and therefore maintainance
and developmental conversations are
not on the priority list
Do you agree or do you have another
possible reason
This is an extract from my latest book
- The End of the Performance Review
A New Approach to Appraising
Employee Performance (Palgrave
Macmillan) out in early October
Essentially it is based on five
conversations each lasting about 15
minutes between the manager and
his or her employees Lets look at
each conversation briefly
Climate review conversation A climate review is about
determining the current
atmosphere in a particular
workplace
Strengths and talents
conversation this focuses on
the weaknesses and sometimes
neglects to discuss particular
strengths and talents
Opportunities for growth
conversation This conversation focuses on
strategies for improved
performance from the
employees individual
perspective
Learning and development
conversation The Learning and
development conversation is
designed to discuss the learning
needs of the employee now and
in the future
Innovation and continuous
improvement conversation Conversations around
Innovation and continuous
improvement are about practical
ways and means of improving
both the employees own
efficiency and effectiveness and
the business in general systems
and process improvements in
the business
Id recommend you try this
approach if you either have no
performance review system in place
or the current system you have is
not working
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
wwwwinnersatworkcomau
wwwaboutmetimbaker
Telephone +61 7 3899 8881
Editorrsquos Note
Tim is an international consultant successful author keynote speaker master trainer executive coach university lecturer and skilful facilitator
In a nutshell he has conducted over 2430 seminars workshops and keynote addresses to over 45000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups
Tim points out ldquoWhen it comes to
performance reviews my involvement
with organisations both big and
small generally hasnt been positive
In fact I regularly hear the following
complaints about performance
reviews or appraisals
They are a costly exercise
Performance reviews can be
destructive
They are often a monologue
rather than a dialogue
The formality of the appraisal
stifles discussion
The infrequency of reviews
Appraisals are an exercise in
form filing
Performance review are rarely
followed up
Most people find the appraisal
stressful
Why Wonrsquot Managers
Talk To Their Staff
About Performance
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 6
ldquoYou are the average of the six
people you spend the most
time withrdquo
If you think about the above statement
are you happy with your network or is
it time for an upgrade
Itrsquos a fact of life that if you want a
million dollar business you will need a
million dollar network around you On
the other hand if you want a five
million dollar business you will need a
five million dollar support network to
help you make that happen
The people who helped you establish
your business all those years ago may
not be the ones you need to take it to
the next level and it is often because of
an inappropriate sense of loyalty that
we fail to look at who we really need to
take us toward our ultimate goal
Irsquom not saying you should be ruthless
and hold no personal sense of ethics in
growing your business
What Irsquom saying is that over time our
businesses change direction and may
grow beyond the area of expertise of
those we initially needed to get started
Irsquom often the first one to suggest a
client may need a higher or more
specialised level of support as they
grow beyond my area of
comfortableness or indeed
competence
I would be more concerned if your
advisors donrsquot do this
That being said I read an interesting
article recently that put forward an
interesting perspective on the key
people you should have in your team
from both a personal and business
perspective I liked the concept and
thought it might provide a context to
review lsquoyour teamrsquo
Nothing incredible is accomplished
alone You need others to help you
and you need to help others With the
right team you can form a web of
connections to make the seemingly
impossible practically inevitable
Have you got these people on your
side
The Instigator Someone who pushes you who makes
you think Someone who motivates
you to get up and go and try and
make things happen You want to
keep this person energized and
enthusiastic This is the voice of
inspiration
The Cheerleader This person is a huge fan a strong
supporter and a rabid evangelist for
you and your work Work to make
this person rewarded to keep them
engaged This is the voice of
motivation
The Doubter This is the devilrsquos advocate who asks
the hard questions and sees problems
before they arise You need this
personrsquos perspective They are
looking out for you and want you
to be as safe as you are successful
This is the voice of reason
The Taskmaster This is the loud and belligerent
voice that demands you get things
done This person is the steward
of momentum making sure
deadlines are met and goals are
reached This is the voice of
progress
The Connector This person can help you find new
avenues and new allies This
person breaks through roadblocks
into finds ways to make magic
happen You need this person to
reach people and places you canrsquot
This is the voice of cooperation
and community
The Example
This is your mentor you hero
your North Star This is the person
who you seek to emulate This is
your guiding entity someone
whose presence acts as a constant
reminder that you too can do
amazing things You want to make
this person proud This is the voice
of true authority
Have a look at your team and see
who might be missing or indeed
who might need upgrading to get
you to the next level This may not
always be easy but in the words of
Tom OrsquoToole the famous
Beechworth Baker lsquoYoursquoll never
find what yoursquore looking for in
your comfort zonersquo
Geoff Butler FAIM AP MAITD MACE
PrincipalBusiness Improvement amp Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile 0414 943072
Fax 3036 6131
Email geoffbusinessoptimizerscomau
Skype businessoptimizers1
Are You Happy With Your Network
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 5
Why dont managers give employees
regular feedback on their performance
Why do they often wait for the appraisal
to do so
Over the past 18 years I have talked to
thousands of employees and this is a
common complain across all industry
groups
For example I recall speaking to an 18-
year-old female fresh out of school and
nine months into her first job in an
SME She was quite distressed
Melinda had not received any
feedback from her boss in nine months
on the job
I asked Melinda whether she would
like me to approach her manager on
her behalf and ask him if he could let
her know how she was settling into her
first job
Melinda was quite enthusiastic about
this prospect and I subsequently
approached her boss Ted
I proceeded to explain to Ted that
Melinda was concerned that she had
not received any feedback from him
since she had started and suggested
that he sit her down and explain how
she was doing in her work
Before I could finish my sentence Ted
interrupted me and said lsquoNo I canrsquot
do thatrsquo There was an uncomfortable
pause in our conversation I said lsquoMay
I ask why you canrsquot do thisrsquo
I was thinking there must be some
rational explanation Ted retorted lsquoIf I
do that for Melinda I will have to do
that for all my staffrsquo I was rendered
speechless
I think one of the main reasons is that
managers are predominantly rewarded
on the basis of achieving certain
outcomes and therefore maintainance
and developmental conversations are
not on the priority list
Do you agree or do you have another
possible reason
This is an extract from my latest book
- The End of the Performance Review
A New Approach to Appraising
Employee Performance (Palgrave
Macmillan) out in early October
Essentially it is based on five
conversations each lasting about 15
minutes between the manager and
his or her employees Lets look at
each conversation briefly
Climate review conversation A climate review is about
determining the current
atmosphere in a particular
workplace
Strengths and talents
conversation this focuses on
the weaknesses and sometimes
neglects to discuss particular
strengths and talents
Opportunities for growth
conversation This conversation focuses on
strategies for improved
performance from the
employees individual
perspective
Learning and development
conversation The Learning and
development conversation is
designed to discuss the learning
needs of the employee now and
in the future
Innovation and continuous
improvement conversation Conversations around
Innovation and continuous
improvement are about practical
ways and means of improving
both the employees own
efficiency and effectiveness and
the business in general systems
and process improvements in
the business
Id recommend you try this
approach if you either have no
performance review system in place
or the current system you have is
not working
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
wwwwinnersatworkcomau
wwwaboutmetimbaker
Telephone +61 7 3899 8881
Editorrsquos Note
Tim is an international consultant successful author keynote speaker master trainer executive coach university lecturer and skilful facilitator
In a nutshell he has conducted over 2430 seminars workshops and keynote addresses to over 45000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups
Tim points out ldquoWhen it comes to
performance reviews my involvement
with organisations both big and
small generally hasnt been positive
In fact I regularly hear the following
complaints about performance
reviews or appraisals
They are a costly exercise
Performance reviews can be
destructive
They are often a monologue
rather than a dialogue
The formality of the appraisal
stifles discussion
The infrequency of reviews
Appraisals are an exercise in
form filing
Performance review are rarely
followed up
Most people find the appraisal
stressful
Why Wonrsquot Managers
Talk To Their Staff
About Performance
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 6
ldquoYou are the average of the six
people you spend the most
time withrdquo
If you think about the above statement
are you happy with your network or is
it time for an upgrade
Itrsquos a fact of life that if you want a
million dollar business you will need a
million dollar network around you On
the other hand if you want a five
million dollar business you will need a
five million dollar support network to
help you make that happen
The people who helped you establish
your business all those years ago may
not be the ones you need to take it to
the next level and it is often because of
an inappropriate sense of loyalty that
we fail to look at who we really need to
take us toward our ultimate goal
Irsquom not saying you should be ruthless
and hold no personal sense of ethics in
growing your business
What Irsquom saying is that over time our
businesses change direction and may
grow beyond the area of expertise of
those we initially needed to get started
Irsquom often the first one to suggest a
client may need a higher or more
specialised level of support as they
grow beyond my area of
comfortableness or indeed
competence
I would be more concerned if your
advisors donrsquot do this
That being said I read an interesting
article recently that put forward an
interesting perspective on the key
people you should have in your team
from both a personal and business
perspective I liked the concept and
thought it might provide a context to
review lsquoyour teamrsquo
Nothing incredible is accomplished
alone You need others to help you
and you need to help others With the
right team you can form a web of
connections to make the seemingly
impossible practically inevitable
Have you got these people on your
side
The Instigator Someone who pushes you who makes
you think Someone who motivates
you to get up and go and try and
make things happen You want to
keep this person energized and
enthusiastic This is the voice of
inspiration
The Cheerleader This person is a huge fan a strong
supporter and a rabid evangelist for
you and your work Work to make
this person rewarded to keep them
engaged This is the voice of
motivation
The Doubter This is the devilrsquos advocate who asks
the hard questions and sees problems
before they arise You need this
personrsquos perspective They are
looking out for you and want you
to be as safe as you are successful
This is the voice of reason
The Taskmaster This is the loud and belligerent
voice that demands you get things
done This person is the steward
of momentum making sure
deadlines are met and goals are
reached This is the voice of
progress
The Connector This person can help you find new
avenues and new allies This
person breaks through roadblocks
into finds ways to make magic
happen You need this person to
reach people and places you canrsquot
This is the voice of cooperation
and community
The Example
This is your mentor you hero
your North Star This is the person
who you seek to emulate This is
your guiding entity someone
whose presence acts as a constant
reminder that you too can do
amazing things You want to make
this person proud This is the voice
of true authority
Have a look at your team and see
who might be missing or indeed
who might need upgrading to get
you to the next level This may not
always be easy but in the words of
Tom OrsquoToole the famous
Beechworth Baker lsquoYoursquoll never
find what yoursquore looking for in
your comfort zonersquo
Geoff Butler FAIM AP MAITD MACE
PrincipalBusiness Improvement amp Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile 0414 943072
Fax 3036 6131
Email geoffbusinessoptimizerscomau
Skype businessoptimizers1
Are You Happy With Your Network
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 6
ldquoYou are the average of the six
people you spend the most
time withrdquo
If you think about the above statement
are you happy with your network or is
it time for an upgrade
Itrsquos a fact of life that if you want a
million dollar business you will need a
million dollar network around you On
the other hand if you want a five
million dollar business you will need a
five million dollar support network to
help you make that happen
The people who helped you establish
your business all those years ago may
not be the ones you need to take it to
the next level and it is often because of
an inappropriate sense of loyalty that
we fail to look at who we really need to
take us toward our ultimate goal
Irsquom not saying you should be ruthless
and hold no personal sense of ethics in
growing your business
What Irsquom saying is that over time our
businesses change direction and may
grow beyond the area of expertise of
those we initially needed to get started
Irsquom often the first one to suggest a
client may need a higher or more
specialised level of support as they
grow beyond my area of
comfortableness or indeed
competence
I would be more concerned if your
advisors donrsquot do this
That being said I read an interesting
article recently that put forward an
interesting perspective on the key
people you should have in your team
from both a personal and business
perspective I liked the concept and
thought it might provide a context to
review lsquoyour teamrsquo
Nothing incredible is accomplished
alone You need others to help you
and you need to help others With the
right team you can form a web of
connections to make the seemingly
impossible practically inevitable
Have you got these people on your
side
The Instigator Someone who pushes you who makes
you think Someone who motivates
you to get up and go and try and
make things happen You want to
keep this person energized and
enthusiastic This is the voice of
inspiration
The Cheerleader This person is a huge fan a strong
supporter and a rabid evangelist for
you and your work Work to make
this person rewarded to keep them
engaged This is the voice of
motivation
The Doubter This is the devilrsquos advocate who asks
the hard questions and sees problems
before they arise You need this
personrsquos perspective They are
looking out for you and want you
to be as safe as you are successful
This is the voice of reason
The Taskmaster This is the loud and belligerent
voice that demands you get things
done This person is the steward
of momentum making sure
deadlines are met and goals are
reached This is the voice of
progress
The Connector This person can help you find new
avenues and new allies This
person breaks through roadblocks
into finds ways to make magic
happen You need this person to
reach people and places you canrsquot
This is the voice of cooperation
and community
The Example
This is your mentor you hero
your North Star This is the person
who you seek to emulate This is
your guiding entity someone
whose presence acts as a constant
reminder that you too can do
amazing things You want to make
this person proud This is the voice
of true authority
Have a look at your team and see
who might be missing or indeed
who might need upgrading to get
you to the next level This may not
always be easy but in the words of
Tom OrsquoToole the famous
Beechworth Baker lsquoYoursquoll never
find what yoursquore looking for in
your comfort zonersquo
Geoff Butler FAIM AP MAITD MACE
PrincipalBusiness Improvement amp Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile 0414 943072
Fax 3036 6131
Email geoffbusinessoptimizerscomau
Skype businessoptimizers1
Are You Happy With Your Network
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 7
Do you ever feel like yoursquore going around in circles in your business filling your day with different activity but at the end of the day week month year the results are the same Unfortunately most businesses experience this lsquoStuck in a Rutrsquo scenario Itrsquos common for people in business and can be a sign that the business is not growing hellip often times this is just a nice way of saying itrsquos on its last legs Experienced profitable and happy business owners are continually learning new ideas and applying them intelligently to their business This keeps them energised attractive to others and most importantly hellip profitable If you know how new skills are learned it makes it easier for you to grow You greatly increase your chances of being able to break the lsquorutrsquo cycle The following diagram explains how we learn hellip
The 4 Steps to Learning
The diagram shown is the process
of learning The cycle never ends
By understanding this your
ability to learn and educate others
more effectively increases
dramatically
This is how mentors help their
mentees Using their experiences
and resources they can guide
people on a learning experience
People can be introduced to
quicker easier and more effective
methods
ldquoWe repeat the lesson until
we learn the lessonrdquo
Step 1 Unconsciously
Incompetent - You donrsquot know
what you donrsquot know
There was a time you were not
even aware that you could not
drive a car You were travelling
in cars most days of your life
however you still did not click to
the idea of a cars existence Just
because you may see something
does not mean you understand it
Step 2 Consciously
Incompetent ndash You know that
you donrsquot know
At some stage you realised that
something existed that was called
a lsquocarrsquo Driving was something
parents and other adults did It
was dangerous for you to drive
until you had more personal and
life experience
Step 3 Consciously Competent
Decision to change and start to
practice
Here is the important bit for
people in business hellip
This step is what Michael Gerber
calls an lsquoEntrepreneurial Seizurersquo
The employee makes the decision to
lsquobe their own bossrsquo They believe
they have business skills when
really they only have technician
skills They convince themselves
that they lsquohave to learn by trial and
errorrsquo unaware that they could hire a
professional teacher and it would
cost them a lot less in the long run
financially physically and
emotionally
At some point you make the decision
to learn how to drive You pay more
attention to other people driving
You practice in safer areas where
there is less chance of causing
damage You have sweaty hands
remind yourself to check the mirrors
and are focussed on remembering
where the controls are
Step 4 Unconsciously Competent
ndash Mastery by practice
After driving for a while you soon
forget all the little things it takes to
drive Driving becomes a part of
you second nature You have
confidence because you have done it
so many times and have a history of
more challenging situations whilst
driving
Driving at night in the rain
changing a flat tyre are learning
experiences You may even give
others some advice from your
experience not that this qualifies
you to be a driving instructor
Dan Buzer
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
wwwprofitmechanicsnet
ldquoIs Your Business Stuck In A Rut
Some Say A Rut Is A Grave With The Ends Kicked Outrdquo
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 8
Why do you go to work Hint ndash The
thinking is that it has more to do with
cake than it does with doe Here is a
better question Would you like to get
more productivity out of yourself and
your employees
Ask any 10 people and you may get 10
different answers or 10 exactly the
same however the question ldquowhy do
you go to workrdquo is important because
you will find that understanding your
motivations will be a key consideration
in increasing your own performance
Whether you are an employee self-
employed an owner operator or a
business operator with your own
employees you will do well to ask the
question
There is a commonly held belief that
money and other remunerative
compensation is the most effective
form of motivation to an employee
Every time I ask the question directly
the answer is nearly always ldquomoneyrdquo
however we know through extensive
research and proven productivity
improvements that this is not
necessarily true
A psychologist called Herzberg
postulated in the 60s that high levels of
what he labelled lsquohygiene factorsrsquo such
as pay job security status working
conditions fringe benefits job policies
and relations with co-workers would
have a calculable effect on
productivity but then came some cake
from Ikea The Ikea Effect basically
says ldquolabour enhances affection for its
resultsrdquo
Research indicated that housewives
resisted instant cake mixes because
they were too easy Ikea took the
powdered eggs out of the cake mix so
that housewives had to put an egg back
in Just that little bit of extra labour
made the difference and increased the
value of the cake
Another study in the Harvard Business
Review found that people undervalue
products that they donrsquot contribute to
and tend to overvalue those on which
they have contributed to
Professor Dan Ariely built on this
research and found that people are
willing to perform even menial of
tasks for very little pay as long as
they considered the work meaningful
or are recognized for their
contributions
He asked volunteer subjects to circle
some words on a sheet and paid them a
trivial amount per sheet and less for
successive sheets He had 3 scenarios
In one the supervisor checked the
work briefly and gave a brief positive
acknowledgment In the second
scenario he had the results put onto a
pile without checking and with no
comment and the third scenario the
completed work was immediately
shredded without comment nor even a
glance at the work He said that the
third group could have easily cheated
and made more money by just
submitting incomplete or incorrectly
done work
It is not hard to work out that the shred
scenario was going to give the poorest
performance Subjects quit sooner and
netted less income than the other two
groups The first scenario netted the
best results by far but the concerning
result was the second scenario It was
virtually the same as the shred
scenario
Ariely devised some more research
with origami In one group he gave
instructions and the other none but the
subjects were allowed to purchase the
finished product The subjects without
instructions origami finished products
were not as good quality as the ones
built with instructions and other
subjects with no connection to the
build put a higher value on the
instruction built origami Out of the
two groups of origami builders
guess which group paid a higher
price for their own works It seems
that the less instructions given the
higher value is placed upon the
finished article (by the builder not
the disconnected buyer)
Maybe the secret ingredient is pride
or even love Can we conclude from
this that giving workers work that
demands more effort and thought to
it that they will value the work
more A thing made with love is
always more special to the maker
and the receiver
Is this why the results of the business
owners efforts are always more
likely to get better outcomes than
those of their staff
So back to the original question
Why do you go to work If you are
a small business owner and you
donrsquot love what you do we need to
talk
Do you acknowledge the work of
your staff Or do you shred it
because it does not come up to your
incredibly high ldquoloverdquo standard
The biggy Do you acknowledge
your own work
Professor Dan Ariely says that we
need to look at a revised model of
labour Payment is a component of
worker motivation whether it is you
or your staff He asserts however
that meaning creation challenge
ownership identity and pride all play
a bigger than expected and key part
of the solution
Cake anyone
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
Is It All About The Cake
Peter Athey
Specialized Management Services
0405 318 449
wwwspecializedmanagementcomau
peterspecializedmanagementcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 9
This month I want to start off the
article with a brilliant poem that was
created by MampC Saatchi creative
director Andy Fleming Anyone who
saw Toni Collette on TV quoting the
poem will know it was for The
Commonwealth Bank
When you read the poem really think
about what the words are saying to
you
Ode to Can Theres a four lettered word
As offensive as any It holds back the few
Puts a stop to the many
You cant climb that mountain
You cant cross the sea You cant become anything you want
to be
He cant hit a century They cant find a cure
She cant think about leaving or searching for more
Because Cant is a word with a habit of
stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas
It keeps dropping
itself where we know in our hearts its
not needed And saying dont go when we could
have succeeded
But those four little letters
That end with a T They can change in an instant
When shortened to three We can take off the T
We can do it today We can move forward not back
We can find our own way
We can build we can run We can follow the sun
We can push we can pull We can say Im someone
Who refuses to believe That life cant be better
With the removal of one Insignificant letter
I remember when I first heard this
poem I thought how incredibly true
this is we find it really easy to say I
canrsquot but imagine taking off the T and
saying I can
As I said in my first articlemdashwords
are very powerful Do you have a can
or canrsquot attitude to work or play
For the next month I would like you
to stop saying I canrsquot and say I can
Not just in your homeplay life but in
your work life too
Imagine how your customers or
clients might react when instead of
saying I canrsquot do that for you you say
what you can do for them
For example as a Life Coach I get
asked if you can do counselling I
could easily say ldquoI canrsquot do that as it
is not my professionrdquo Instead I say
to the potential client ldquoletrsquos have a
talk about what you are really
wanting in life and if I feel that you
need counselling I can certainly give
you some names for you to considerrdquo
I could have easily just turned that
person away and missed out on
business As it turned out that
person became a valued client and
they didnrsquot need counselling
How many times have you
encountered the canrsquot word and you
think come on all you have to do is
helliphellip(you fill in the blanks)
I can remember going to a burger
joint and getting a works burger and
asking can you take the egg off my
burger and put it on my husbandrsquos I
was told they couldnrsquot do that
ldquowhat do you mean you canrsquot do
thatrdquo I asked
Think about what it would have
entailed They would have cooked
the egg for me and instead of placing
it on one burger they would have
placed it on the other burger
Lets just say I donrsquot really go to the
burger joint anymore as I have found
one that said that they could do this
One of the worst words you can say
to a customer is NO If you canrsquot do
it because of rules then learn to say it
in a positive mode like ldquoI would love
to do that for you except I would be
breaking the law however I could do
this for youhelliphellip
By coming in with an alternative
you are seen as wanting to help and
being positive instead of being
negative
So from this time forward letrsquos all
remove the ldquoTrdquo
copyJanelle Macpherson 2013
Can Do or Canrsquot Do Attitude - which is better for business or life
Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt DipMgt Certified NLP
Practitioner Cert MHSS Accred Life Coach
Business OwnerLife CoachConsultant
emPOWERful Solutions
Sub Company ndash Express Life Coaching Brisbane North
ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card 11616881
0409728579
empowerfulsolutionsyahoocomau
httpempowerfulsolutionscomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 10
Do you have or even know what an
emergency plan is it does not matter
is you are a leader in a small or large
business in fact you can even have an
emergency plan at home
A French study estimated the
proportions of persons reactions to a
fire situation
5 per cent were not prone to panic -
they awaited informed advice before
taking action
20 per cent were likely to panic - they
acted alone and attempted to leave as
quickly as possible and 75 per cent
were influenced by those disposed to
panic
These people may react incorrectly
unless a leader emerges within the first
few minutes to guide them
The role of anyone in charge of an
evacuation is essentially to provide
leadership - to prevent panic and guide
the occupants of a building through the
set evacuation procedures
There are many different types of
emergencies not only fire some others
include Hazardous Chemical Spills
Toxic Fumes Bomb Threat
Explosion so the idea is if we are
confronted with any Emergency we
need to have a plan to deal with it
Aims of emergency Planning At all
times emergency workplace
evacuations will be a part of an
emergency management Emergency
planning should aim to
Reduce the level of risk to lives
property and the environment
Control any incident and reduce its
impact on the workplace and
Provide the basis for the training of
all people who could be involved in
any emergency at the workplace
Hazard Identification Risk
Assessment and Risk Control The
work at a workplace should be
analysed to identify potentially
hazardous situations where the work
processes could involve emergencies
of all types
The final step is to determine the
control measures that need to be in
place Workplace evacuations are a
risk control measure because they
remove people from the hazardous
situation thereby reducing the risk of
injury or harm
Monitoring and review of control
measures Control measures need to
be monitored and regularly reviewed
for their effectiveness
Consultation with workers Workers
have a significant amount of expertise
and knowledge to bring to the process
Measures developed and implemented
jointly between employers and
workers are often more effective
because they have workplace
acceptance
Planning for emergency
evacuations Planning for emergency
evacuations follows the same risk
management process described above
Hazard Identification In a
workplace where hazardous
substances are used there could be
serious contamination of the
atmosphere requiring emergency
evacuation while the situation is
brought under control
Risk Assessment The assessment
would consider all of the factors that
may affect an orderly evacuation
Risk Control Decisions are made
about the action needed to safely
evacuate the workplace and the
training required to ensure everyone
knows what to do in an emergency
evacuation
Practical training is essential In a
workers usual workplace practicing
evacuation procedures by actually
walking through the escape route to
the nominated gathering place is the
best way for workers to learn the
procedure Active involvement is
always better than passively receiving
information
PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
During training special needs must
be identified In most workplaces the
emergency evacuation procedures will
account for the special interests of an
individual worker who may be
disabled or require assistance leaving
the workplace in an emergency
Capabilities and limitations must be
considered The difficulty where a
group has special needs is in
understanding the capabilities of the
group and the limitations that will
interfere with each persons ability to
evacuate
Staff must have clear guidelines
BOMB THREATS Treat every
threat as genuine Bomb threats
require a slightly different
management approach when compared to other emergencies that
may require evacuation
Check escape route is clear In the
event that evacuation of a particular
area is to proceed the escape route is
checked to ensure it is clear before
workers use it
Comprehensive procedures are
essential Bomb threat procedures
should cover contact with the Police
search procedures and what to do if a
suspicious parcel or bag is found
A FINAL WORD Be prepared for emergencies
There is no substitute for
planning and preparation
Ron Court
AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
(Qual)
OHampS Advisor
0419679619 roncourtaaptnetau
Emergency Management
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 11
Much has been said about the federal
government policy of running an
ongoing budget deficit but what are the
implications
One school of thought says that itrsquos
OK to run a deficit Otherwise it could
cost jobs and throw the economy into
recession There is merit in this
The other side says that we should not
spend more than we earn There is
merit in this too
So which is right
The job of government is not only to
administer but to assist to lay the
foundations of the future Therefore it
falls to governments to generate
momentum and seed the capital to
create projects that individual people or
companies cannot through lack of scale
or critical mass A wonderful example
of this is the Snowy Mountains Scheme
which manages water supply and
generates carbon free electricity ndash a
truly inspirational project well ahead of
its time (notwithstanding the concerns
about insufficient annual flows along
the Snowy River)
Australia borrowed to fund this project
and of course we had to repay the
principle plus interest This is
justifiable because the project has and
will contribute to our economic and
social wellbeing for decades to come
Economists call this the lsquoMultiplier
Effectrsquo because for each $1 invested for
example $5 or more might be
returned over time
Naturally this makes sense but it
begs the question ldquoHow did we
arrive at our present day deficitrdquo It
should be noted that Australia started
with a surplus federal budget in 2007
plus money set aside for future costs
This is very smart and very prudent
DEBT Whatrsquos the Problem
The problem with our deficit is that
it was created with no multiplier
effect ie no future income to justify
the borrowing We all know of the
inappropriate school halls program
pink batts which created rorts
burned down houses and resulted in
deaths of young Australians and
$900 cheques 70 of which went to
the gambling and hotel industries
This ldquoStructural Deficitrdquo is an
ongoing cost built into Australiarsquos
annual budget that does not have an
income source to offset or fund it
One does not have to be too bright to
realise the folly of this
A much better way would be to
bring forward infrastructure projects
to stimulate our economy This is
exactly what China did when they
did their own economic stimulus
after 2008 They built port facilities
rail road and public housing ALL
of this stimulus contains the
multiplier effect where little of
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paulsc-fscomau
Australiarsquos stimulus contained any
multiplier effect
In other words the federal
government lsquoblewrsquo the surplus and
then ran up debt with no way of
paying it back This is
fundamentally irresponsible It is
also the reason why despite
repeated promises the federal
government has not been able to
reign in their debt
If our national debt is $280 billion
5 interest = $14 billion per
year in interest payments alone
Sufficient to pay for Disability
Care AND Maternity Leave at full
wages PLUS change
You can see the problem canrsquot
you We want to do things but we
have to use the money to repay
debt The nasty taste comes from
the fact that we still havenrsquot paid
ANY of the $280b back
Stuck
We are stuck now because we
MUST repay the debt to stop
paying the interest to be able to
afford to do things in the future
Therefore very careful
management is required to reduce
debt and maintain economic
bouyancy This MUST be done
sooner not later
FEDERAL DEFICIT ndash Fine or Folly
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 12
In last monthrsquos analysis Chrome
outnumbered Firefox users two to
one Internet Explorer dropped a
massive 229 in one month Firefox
went back above 20 Safari has
exceeded 8 and Opera gained by a
small margin
While Internet Explorer 10 continued to
perform well with a 12 increase the
previous versions fell by almost 35
20 of PC owners are still using
Windows XP IE8 isnrsquot terrible but itrsquos
aging badly If those users cannotdo
not want to upgrade their OS IE is a
dead-end and Chrome Firefox or Opera
offer a better alternative
While newer versions of IE may be a
match for the competition there are few
compelling reasons to switch back if
yoursquove already adopted another
browser
PCs are losing ground as mobile phones
and tablets become increasingly viable
cloud computing devices Different
operating systems and browsers apply
to these devices
Browser Trends
Do you know how they affect your website
What has this got to do with your website A Web browser is a translation device It takes a document written in the HTML language and translates it into a displayed Web page Like giving two human translators a sentence written in French and asking them to translate it into English different browsers will interpret the instructions differently
The basic rules for translating HTML documents are established by the World Wide Web consortium which publishes the official HTML standards But theres considerable room for interpretation within those ground rules
For example the HTML standards say that the TABLE tag should support a CELLSPACING attribute to define the space between parts of the table But standards dont define the default value for that attribute so unless you explicitly define CELLSPACING when building your page two browsers may use different amounts of white space in your table
Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture
MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Miriam Battersby
dip Multimedia International Webmaster Certifica-
tionWoorim Bribie island
ph 3410 1071
adminon-line-bizcom
httpwwwonline-bizcomau
Good websites are built to be cross browser compatiblemdashthen one will upgrade and change the rulesmdashpain for the webmaster
Summary
Website display is very different
from print media It is not just
displaying each formatted page as
a slide show
There are many different
browsers in use and many
different resolutions and device
window sizes
Sometimes it can be impossible
for your website to display
EXACTLY the same across all
browsersdevices
The browser you use may not be
the one that most of your clients
viewersusers use
Browser updates can break the
layout of older website designs
You need to update your website
design regularly
According to Stat Counter figures released recently July 2013 may have been Internet Explorerrsquos worst month ever
Do you need to add a
Mobile App to your Website
FREE Website
Analysis and Review
Wersquoll help point you in the right direction
No obligation
Just a friendly chat
Ph 3410 1071
web online-bizcomau
Web wwwb2bbscomau Email dennisb2bbscomau Mobile 0451 184 599 13
KEEP IT LOCAL
Business Working Together
BRIBIE BETTER BUSINESS INC ldquoAspiring to achieve a Combined Progressive and Dynamic Culture for all Local Businessesrdquo
Proudly supporting our Members and other Local Businesses