I AM NOT A JACK OF ALL TRADES

 (Sharing my status on LinkedIn. It's not like me rejecting offers but the reasons are clear)

Thank you to few companies for considering me for field work monitoring roles. As I have stated in my response, my expertise are merely in construction, manufacturing, QHSE, project management, civil and building engineering works, sustainable Development, regulations, education, Human Resources/Industrial Relations, marketing strategies/R & D, ICT and codes of practice.

While I bring extensive experience across multiple other domains (such as AI and Virtual Reality - even shipping and logistics/ERP/MRP, Banking, Business, Finance, Banking, Economy), I must clarify that although I know the foundations of the field that you're offering, I lack substantial hands-on experience in technical field work within industries such as :

(a) aerospace (e.g. aircraft engines, propulsion units) - although there are many extremely senior pilots and aerospace personnel in my immediate family circle, alas, I am not one of them.

(b) aeronautical engineering, (e.g. satellites, rockets and shuttles) or

(c) nuclear plants. (e.g. nuclear technology and applications of radiation or radiation core)

While I'm open to learning, any involvement would need to be expedited due to my current expertise.

Perhaps, you must have missed proper vetting of my CV, my websites, thorough checking of my background or make phone calls to my references. - you will find that what I've mentioned herein is the truth.

However, I have recommended acquaintances who specialize in aerospace, aeronautical engineering, and nuclear physics. I remain hopeful that these companies might still consider engaging me for consultancy in areas that align more closely with my experience and skill set.

-------------------------- Note : There is a wise saying : Once you LIE and got away with it, you will feel comfortable with LYING and it becomes your habit. Once you're caught, you will find your whole world crumbling upon you.

DON FERTMAN - CDO - SUBWAY

#Subway #DonFertman #EpicBosses

Subway listens to the sandwich artists (staff) who are directly dealing with the customers on a daily basis. This is the best way of knowing what the customers really want.

Something that is lacking in most businesses today. They only listen to their customers and ironically blame their own staff.

PELAN PERNIAGAAN (PITCHING) UNTUK GERAN, MODAL TEROKA DLL.

Mempunyai pelan perniagaan yang baik adalah faktor penentu yang membezakan antara permulaan yang berjaya atau permulaan yang gagal. Kadangkala laporan prestasi perniagaan yang dibentangkan terlalu tebal – tanpa memikirkan psikologi pelabur yang kadangkala tidak mempunyai masa untuk membaca laporan berkenaan. (Tidak kira apakah jenis instrumen yang ingin anda pohon - modal teroka, geran, seed capital, angel funds dll)

Photo Source : http://www.marsdd.com

Memahami kehendak pelabur amat penting kerana mereka adalah pembiaya kepada perniagaan anda. Antara perkara yang perlu diketengahkan ialah beberapa unsur yang penting sahaja yang sering menjadi perhatian kepada pendengar terhadap sesuatu pelan perniagaan.

Pastikan pembentang tahu apa kehendak industri yang diceburi dan mempunyai pandangan yang munasabah terhadap masa depan perniagaan yang ingin diketengahkan. Ini termasuklah strategi pemasaran dan pulangan kewangan.

Pertama, kenali dahulu skop perkhidmatan/produk ICT yang dibekalkan serta persaingannya. Ini adalah antara perkara yang paling penting. Contohnya isu yang boleh disentuh ialah :

1. berapa besarkah industri ICT berkenaan,
2. siapakah di antara pesaing yang kuat,
3. kecepatan pertumbuhan industri ICT berkenaan,
4. adakah industri ICT berkenaan merupakan perintis (yang unik atau pertama) atau hanya salah satu industri yang telah ramai berkecimpung di dalamnya,
5. Bahagian pasaran manakah yang dapat menarik perhatian ramai,

Pelabur/Pembiaya biasanya ingin mendengar mengenai pasaran yang tumbuh dengan cepat dengan persaingan yang minima (contohnya segmen pasaran berkadar 20-30%)  Jika persembahan itu hanya mengenai sesuatu perisian – contohnya perisian pemprosesan perkataan (word-processing)‘kononnya’ bagi menggantikan MS-Word, maka persembahan berkenaan sudah pasti akan mencapai jalan yang buntu. Walaupun perisian berkenaan mendapat hakcipta sekalipun (ini juga kadangkala memerlukan kos yang tinggi) tetapi untuk bersaing dalam pasaran yang sering jauh lebih inovatif dan menyediakan pelbagai kelebihan, cadangan perniagaan berkenaan pasti akan mendapat sambutan yang hambar dari bakal pelabur.

Kedua, Model Pulangan dan Perniagaan –Pelabur sangat gemar kepada aliran hasil/keuntungan yang besar dan berulang-ulang serta meninggalkan kesan nilai tambah kepada pelanggan. Perkara yang perlu ditanya antara lain :

1. apakah jenis perniagaan baru yang bakal dibina dan prospeknya? 

1.1 Perkakasan komputer (contohnya) - Perisian yang boleh dipasang (install) atau dimuatturun? - Sistem yang berinteraksi secara talian sahaja?

Ketiga, Bagaimana cara pembayaran?

1. Adakah dengan sekali pembelian dan menanti pesanan baru?
2. Hasil bulanan yang berulang-ulang?
3. Penggunaan yang perlu dalam kuantiti yang banyak?
4. Harga berbanding dengan pesaing?
5. Apakah kelebihan unik yang ingin dipaparkan dalam pasaran atau hanya menggunakan cara yang umum digunakan oleh pengusaha lain?

Keempat, Pelan Pemasaran dan Jualan. Antara perkara-perkara yang perlu diperhatikan ialah strategi :

1. adakah ianya melibatkan jaringan B2C (perniagaan ke pengguna) atau B2B (perniagaan ke perniagaan)?
2. Adakah ianya memerlukan pasukan jualan yang besar?
3. Adakah pemasaran ke pengguna memerlukan pelaburan yang tinggi?
4. Adakah pemasaran menggunakan enjin carian di talian, e-mel atau melibatkan diri dalam pameran perniagaan?
5. Adakah perniagaan itu memerlukan media sosial seperti laman web (3D? html? Multimedia?) termasuk elemen video atau lain-lain audio visual dsb)
6. Bagaimanakah keupayaan bahan-bahan promosi di talian untuk menjadi ‘viral’

Biasanya konsep jualan secara ‘perniagaan ke perniagaan’ adalah lebih murah untuk dilancarkan berbanding dengan konsep pemasaran ‘perniagaan ke pengguna’. Namun B2B biasanya sukar mendapat perhatian pelabur kerana ianya mempunyai kitaran jualan yang lebih lama (dan banyak modal diperlukan). Namun ini tidak bermakna B2B tidak mampu bertahan, cuma ianya memerlukan modal terutamanya di pihak pembentang pelan perniagaan. (perniagaan yang telah berjaya tetapi memerlukan modal yang lebih untuk membesarkan lagi perniagaan berkenaan)

Tetapi ‘perniagaan ke pengguna’ jika diatur strategi yang betul, maka jualan di talian berpotensi untuk mendapatkan keuntungan yang besar. Jika ianya berjaya dalam tempoh beberapa tahun (dari segi keuntungan dan penjenamaan) mungkin periklanan dan promosi dapat dikembangkan lagi ke radio, television mahupun bahan bercetak.

Apapun, pastikan pelaburan ke atas pemasaran dan jualan adalah munasabah bagi mencapai skel pulangan yang disasarkan. Paling penting, anda dapat ‘membaca fikiran’ pelabur mengenai apa yang sebenarnya mereka mahu dari anda.

Akhir sekali - yang keempat - Pasukan Pengurusan

Ini juga penting – siapakah ahli-ahli atau kakitangan-kakitangan yang akan menguruskan perniagaan berkenaan. Yang penting adalah pengalaman mereka dan bukti bahawa mereka mahir mengurus dan mentadbir perniagaan mahupun teknikal yang dicadangkan. Perkara ini kadangkala dipandang remeh oleh pembentang kerana terlalu ingin berjimat kos daripada memikirkan pelaburan di atas pekerja atau kakitangan yang kompetan.

9 FAKTOR KEGAGALAN PERNIAGAAN ANDA – oleh Nik Zafri

1. FOKUS KEPADA 'BEKERJA' DAN BUKANNYA 'BERNIAGA' – mungkin anda sudah terlalu biasa dengan suasana pejabat tempat anda bekerja dahulu. Jadi kerja yang anda lakukan tidak ubah seperti seorang yang ‘makan gaji’. Sepatutnya fokus anda ialah terhadap pembesaran perniagaan dan bukan semata-mata 'bekerja makan gaji'.

2. ANDA MUNGKIN SEORANG 'TUKANG KAYU YANG HEBAT' TETAPI MALANGNYA ANDA TIDAK TAHU BAGAIMANA HENDAK MENJALANKAN 'PERNIAGAAN PERTUKANGAN KAYU'  – ini disebabkan anda terlalu fokus kepada menjadi seorang tukang kayu tetapi anda lupa bahawa perniagaan pertukangan kayu menuntut anda untuk mengetahui aspek-aspek lain seperti *bajet, pemasaran, perancangan, operasi, penstoran, pemeriksaan, aspek kepuasan pelanggan dll*. Dengan kata lain, anda terlalu menumpukan perhatian kepada satu aspek kecil operasi semata-mata.

3. TERLALU CEPAT UNTUK BERKONGSI – mungkin anda merasakan anda tidak cukup modal, maka anda membuat keputusan tergesa-gesa mencari seorang rakan kongsi yang mempunyai wang. 

Akibatnya perniagaan anda tiba-tiba 'tidak menjadi' – bukan kerana anda tidak bijak tetapi anda membiarkan kuasa wang rakan kongsi anda menguasai perniagaan yang anda sendiri bina.

Rakan kongsi anda sebenarnya beranggapan dia adalah seorang pelabur dan bukannya rakan kongsi. Apabila ada ‘mindset’ seperti ini, maka rakan kongsi anda akan menuntut keuntungan kerana dia akan mendakwa bahawa perniagaan anda tidak akan berdiri tanpa bantuannya.

Sebenarnya contoh perkongsian terbaik ialah apabila anda benar-benar telah mendapat keuntungan yang besar setelah beberapa lama berniaga atau keperluan untuk ‘diversify’.  Atau mungkin juga, anda sendiri ingin menjadikan salah satu jabatan anda sebagai  ‘profit centre’ untuk ditukarkan menjadi satu entiti perniagaan kerana potensinya yang besar. Ini adalah beberapa contoh bilakah anda memerlukan perkongsian

Langkah yang baik dan selamat ; jika anda belum bersedia berkongsi; adalah mengambil kakitangan yang berpengalaman dalam perniagaan dan dibayar gaji .

4. ANDA MEMULAKAN PERNIAGAAN DARI 'TIADA APA-APA' DAN BUKANNYA MEMBELI PERNIAGAAN YANG SEDIADA - Walaupun anda membuka perniagaan sendiri kerana anda ingin menjimatkan kos tetapi anda lupa bahawa untuk membina perniagaan anda, banyak aspek* yang anda perlu tahu terutamanya untuk pemasaran dan membina reputasi syarikat – ini akan memakan masa yang amat panjang.

Jika anda tidak mengambilkira faktor-faktor sistem pengurusan yang betul, perniagaan anda tidak akan bertahan lama.

Adalah lebih baik anda membeli sebuah perniagaan yang telah sediada dan bina perniagaan berkenaan sehingga berjaya.

5. BERANGGAPAN BAHAWA BILA IDEA TERCETUS MAKA TERBINALAH SESUATU PRODUK DAN PERNIAGAAN AKAN BERMULA - Sebenarnya pandangan ini kurang tepat.  Perniagaan yang berjaya bukan bergantung kepada idea atau produk semata-mata tetapi kualiti tenaga kerja dan perkhidmatan. 

Tumpukan masa untuk mengambil kakitangan yang benar-benar berpengalaman dan boleh melakukan kerja. Kerana jika anda terlalu ingin berjimat, sudah pasti anda akan membayar gaji yang murah. Hasilnya, walaupun produk anda berpotensi – anda gagal dalam perkhidmatan pembekalan produk dan memenuhi kehendak/kepuasan pelanggan.

6. DUIT ATAU KEUNTUNGAN? – kesilapan banyak usahawan yang baru bermula ialah untuk mendapat duit atau pendapatan yang banyak dalam tempoh yang paling cepat.  Ini merupakan pemikiran ‘kuantiti dan bukannya kualiti’ – kurang sabar, pengurusan masa yang tidak teratur dsb.  Ini merupakan antara faktor yang paling popular yang menyumbang ke arah kejatuhan sesuatu perniagaan.

Sepatutnya, anda perlu menumpukan untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dan bukannya pendapatan atau duit. Fokus anda ialah kepada pelan perniagaan dan unjuran kewangan. Kesabaran sangat penting kerana walaupun kadangkala memakan masa sedikit tetapi hasilnya sangat memuaskan.

Jika anda tumpukan kepada mendapat duit, maka anda akan risau bila duit anda habis. Sudah menjadi sifat usahawan seumpama ini akan membeli peralatan, automasi pejabat, mesin dsb. yang mahal serta diluar kemampuan. Lebih-lebih lagi apabila lekas ingin mendapat gayahidup 'berjenama dan mewah' - termasuklah tabiat suka 'berjoli'. Maka perniagaan anda hanyalah dibina berdasarkan angan-angan semata-mata.

7. ANDA BERTANDING HARGA SEMATA-MATA - Anda lupa bahawa tujuan perniagaan adalah untuk mendapatkan keuntungan - walaupun pulangannya kecil tetapi margin keuntungan amatlah besar.  Ianya akan memanjangkan hayat perniagaan anda daripada ‘pertandingan mengurangkan harga’ yang biasanya tidak menghasilkan keuntungan yang tinggi atau mungkin 'tidak untung langsung'!

8. ANDA TIDAK MENJALANKAN R & D DAN TINJAUAN PEMASARAN YANG LENGKAP – Anda lebih suka berniaga sesuatu produk mengikut trend semata-mata(orang lain buat, kita juga perlu buat). 

Perniagaan tanpa R and D dan tinjauan pemasaran yang lengkap pastinya mengakibatkan kerugian kepada perniagaan anda.

9. ANDA MENDAPAT WANG YANG BANYAK UNTUK 'KALI PERTAMA DAN KALI TERAKHIR' – keghairahan anda untuk mendapatkan wang yang banyak sehingga anda lupa bahawa pelanggan anda itu sepatutnya dijaga. Apabila pelanggan anda tidak dijaga, maka dia pasti tidak lagi menggunakan perkhidmatan dan produk anda.

Lebih 'berat' lagi bila pelanggan anda itu menyebarkan kepada pelanggan-pelanggan yang lain akan betapa teruk dan rendahnya kualiti produk dan perkhidmatan anda terutamanya cara anda memenuhi kehendak dan mengendalikan aduan pelanggan.

THE BASICS OF BUSINESS - By Brian Tracy - Entrepreneur.com

Business is an art as well as a science. It's a matter of practical experience, judgment, foresight and luck. To be successful in business, you must master the basics of business success.

Fortunately, all business skills are learnable. You can learn anything you need to learn, to achieve any goal you can set for yourself. There are no limits--except the limits you place on your own imagination.

There are three major reasons why businesses fail: lack of money, lack of knowledge and lack of support. By mastering the basics of business success, you'll gain the knowledge necessary to acquire the support and money you need for your business.

So just what are the essentials of business success? There are seven key areas of activity that determine whether your business will live or die:

1. Marketing. Your ability to determine and sell the right product to the right customer at the right time

2. Finance. Your ability to acquire the money you need, and account for the money you receive

3. Production. Your ability to produce products and services at a high enough level of quality and consistency over time

4. Distribution. Your ability to get your product or service to the market in a timely and economic fashion

5. Research and development. Your ability to continually innovate and produce new products, services, processes and responses to your competition

6. Regulation. Your ability to deal with the requirements of government legislation at all levels

7. Labor. Your ability to find the people you need, deal with unions, establish personnel policies, training and organizational development

And from this list, comes the very specific, identifiable reasons for business success:

Having a product or service that's well suited to the needs and requirements of the current market

Developing a complete business plan before commencing business operations

Conducting a complete market analysis before producing or offering the product or service

Thoroughly developing advertising, promotional and sales programs
Establishing tight financial controls, good budgeting practices, accurate bookkeeping and accounting methods, all backed by an attitude of frugality

Ensuring that there's a high degree of competence, capability and integrity on the part of key staff members

Having good internal efficiency, time management, clear job descriptions, accompanied by clear and measurable output and responsibilities

Developing effective communication among the staff and an open-door policy for managers, especially the business's owner

Generating strong momentum in the sales department and placing a continued emphasis on marketing your product or service

Making concern for the customer a top priority at all times

Putting determination, persistence and patience at the top of the list on the part of the business owners

And now that you know the seven essentials of business success and the identifiable factors involved in helping your company succeed, let me share the top reasons for business failure. Thousands of companies were studied to determine the reasons businesses fail. Here they are, in order of their importance:

Lack of direction. Business owners often fail to establish clear goals and create plans to achieve those goals, especially before starting out, when they fail to develop a complete business plan before launching their company.

Impatience. This occurs when business owners try to accomplish too much too soon, or expect to get results far faster than is truly possible. A good rule to remember is that everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long as expected.

Greed. When entrepreneurs try to charge too much to make a lot of money in a short period of time, failure isn't far behind.

Taking action without thinking it through first. An entrepreneur acts impetuously and makes costly mistakes that eventually cause the business to fail.

Poor cost control. An entrepreneur spends too much, especially in the early stages, and spends all their startup capital money before achieving profitability.

Poor product quality. This makes it difficult to sell and difficult to get repeat business.

Insufficient working capital. An entrepreneur expects--and requires--immediate, positive cash flow that doesn't occur, leading to the failure of the business.

Bad or nonexistent budgeting. An entrepreneur fails to develop written budgets for operations that include all possible expenses.

Inadequate financial records. An entrepreneur fails to set up a bookkeeping or accounting system from the beginning.

Loss of momentum in the sales department. This leads to a decline in cash flow and the eventual collapse of the enterprise.

Failure to anticipate market trends. An entrepreneur doesn't recognize changes in demand, customer preferences or the economic situation.

Lack of managerial ability or experience. An entrepreneur doesn't know or understand the important skills it takes to run a business.

Indecisiveness. An entrepreneur is unable to make key decisions in the face of difficulties, or decisions are delayed or improperly made because of concern for the opinions or feelings of other people.

Bad human relations. Personal problems and conflict with staff, suppliers, creditors and customers can easily lead to business failure.

Diffusion of effort. An entrepreneur tries to do too many things, thus failing to set priorities and focus on high-value tasks.

Business success isn't a mystery waiting to be solved. It's an attainable goal, if you simply avoid the reasons for business failure and continually focus on improving the areas that are responsible for business success.

Brian Tracy is the "Success Secrets" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is one of America's leading authorities on entrepreneurial development. He's produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs covering the entire spectrum of human and corporate performance.

Material copyright © by Entrepreneur.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

------------------------------
The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Response from Almerica - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36am

Great stuffs nik!

Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North

They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.
---------------------------------
Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36pm

Almerica wrote:

Great stuffs nik! Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

This is the part that I will never understand. Despite we have all the sophisticated and up-to-date or 'state of the art' tools and technologies, yet, we are sometimes; as if; still 'too conventional and simplistic' in managing an organization. Correct me if I'm wrong...has this got something to do with 'fear of change'? (among the senior management level?)

Almerica wrote:

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

I'm impressed!! Here's what I think...your company has what I call the 'one-game-plan'...not 'multiple game plan'...meaning - the majority (I wouldn't say all) of your company's population is genuinely working according to the Company's vision, mission, objectives and goals. The effectiveness of your company's operation could may be well attributed to the effectiveness of leadership, resource management, information dissemination, A & P and good human resources/traning/development. Of course, you may still find 'hiccups' here and it's all about continual improvement. Only - I'm not sure about one thing..if you're willing to share with us here....what's your company's branding and most importantly, how did your company make everyone understand that they are carrying a big responsibility of 'enhancing the corporate image'?

Almerica wrote:

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.

Memory serves, here's something that we've discussed a long time ago...

http://www.globalmalaysians.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=465&PN=2

(perhaps you should 'reactivate' this topic)
---------------------------------
Response from Almerica - Posted: 12 August 2006 at 12:22am

It's largely due to inculcating the self belief in themselves. Here's my method of doing it on a step by step basis, from a new staff's day of entry into our fold (though a very small one that is, at the moment):

- Have at least an hour or two "get to know better session" with the person
- Exchange some stories about one another and find out their likes and dislikes
- Lend support to the causes they believe in
- Find out into more detail what they believe their strengths are
- Brief them about what the company's strengths and weaknesses are, and also where the company is heading
- Explore with them (we do not dictate) on how their strengths can be used to tie in with the company's plans and then assign that part of the responsibility of the workscope to them
- Work out a gameplan with them based on what they believe they can do which runs in line with what you want them to do
- Tell them it's ok to make mistakes (to eradicate the fear of making a mistake which could prevent them from exposing their true potentials) as long as it's not about anything illegal or malicious or involves self greed.
- Start a buddy system for them for the next few weeks
- Keep them involved in group conversations (to eradicate shyness as well as to make them feel at home)

and the list goes on......

Those are the compulsory stuffs we do cos I feel that there is no way we can know all about each other from just interviews no matter how many times we have done it.

Once the self belief is there, without the lingering fear of making mistakes, the passion on the job grows within them. And with passion comes commitment and the sincere desire to do it well, do it right and do it fast. And the ultimate outcome would be getting the results that we all need. We tell them that rewards will come on its own when we do what we have to but when one focuses on the rewards, one may do the wrong thing to get it because the priority becomes clouded, and they may end up getting no reward at all because of that.

Above all, be fair, compliment when it is due, point out effectively when they are wrong. It is not that we are being soft with them. Respect them and they will respect you and the company. Be transparent, allow your door to be always opened to anyone.

If you dont spend some time for your people, they won't spend much time for you or your company either. So patience and sincerity has to be shown on the part of the leader first. Good staffs don't need you, you need good staffs. They are the best form of investment any company can ever have. For me, my first assessment which forms my decision of any potential person is the heart. If its clean, pure and good, then every other thing can be developed from there cos that to me, is the foundation of a person's character.

THE BASICS OF BUSINESS - By Brian Tracy - Entrepreneur.com

Business is an art as well as a science. It's a matter of practical experience, judgment, foresight and luck. To be successful in business, you must master the basics of business success.

Fortunately, all business skills are learnable. You can learn anything you need to learn, to achieve any goal you can set for yourself. There are no limits--except the limits you place on your own imagination.

There are three major reasons why businesses fail: lack of money, lack of knowledge and lack of support. By mastering the basics of business success, you'll gain the knowledge necessary to acquire the support and money you need for your business.

So just what are the essentials of business success? There are seven key areas of activity that determine whether your business will live or die:

1. Marketing. Your ability to determine and sell the right product to the right customer at the right time

2. Finance. Your ability to acquire the money you need, and account for the money you receive

3. Production. Your ability to produce products and services at a high enough level of quality and consistency over time

4. Distribution. Your ability to get your product or service to the market in a timely and economic fashion

5. Research and development. Your ability to continually innovate and produce new products, services, processes and responses to your competition

6. Regulation. Your ability to deal with the requirements of government legislation at all levels

7. Labor. Your ability to find the people you need, deal with unions, establish personnel policies, training and organizational development

And from this list, comes the very specific, identifiable reasons for business success:

Having a product or service that's well suited to the needs and requirements of the current market

Developing a complete business plan before commencing business operations

Conducting a complete market analysis before producing or offering the product or service

Thoroughly developing advertising, promotional and sales programs
Establishing tight financial controls, good budgeting practices, accurate bookkeeping and accounting methods, all backed by an attitude of frugality

Ensuring that there's a high degree of competence, capability and integrity on the part of key staff members

Having good internal efficiency, time management, clear job descriptions, accompanied by clear and measurable output and responsibilities

Developing effective communication among the staff and an open-door policy for managers, especially the business's owner

Generating strong momentum in the sales department and placing a continued emphasis on marketing your product or service

Making concern for the customer a top priority at all times

Putting determination, persistence and patience at the top of the list on the part of the business owners

And now that you know the seven essentials of business success and the identifiable factors involved in helping your company succeed, let me share the top reasons for business failure. Thousands of companies were studied to determine the reasons businesses fail. Here they are, in order of their importance:

Lack of direction. Business owners often fail to establish clear goals and create plans to achieve those goals, especially before starting out, when they fail to develop a complete business plan before launching their company.

Impatience. This occurs when business owners try to accomplish too much too soon, or expect to get results far faster than is truly possible. A good rule to remember is that everything costs twice as much and takes three times as long as expected.

Greed. When entrepreneurs try to charge too much to make a lot of money in a short period of time, failure isn't far behind.

Taking action without thinking it through first. An entrepreneur acts impetuously and makes costly mistakes that eventually cause the business to fail.

Poor cost control. An entrepreneur spends too much, especially in the early stages, and spends all their startup capital money before achieving profitability.

Poor product quality. This makes it difficult to sell and difficult to get repeat business.

Insufficient working capital. An entrepreneur expects--and requires--immediate, positive cash flow that doesn't occur, leading to the failure of the business.

Bad or nonexistent budgeting. An entrepreneur fails to develop written budgets for operations that include all possible expenses.

Inadequate financial records. An entrepreneur fails to set up a bookkeeping or accounting system from the beginning.

Loss of momentum in the sales department. This leads to a decline in cash flow and the eventual collapse of the enterprise.

Failure to anticipate market trends. An entrepreneur doesn't recognize changes in demand, customer preferences or the economic situation.

Lack of managerial ability or experience. An entrepreneur doesn't know or understand the important skills it takes to run a business.

Indecisiveness. An entrepreneur is unable to make key decisions in the face of difficulties, or decisions are delayed or improperly made because of concern for the opinions or feelings of other people.

Bad human relations. Personal problems and conflict with staff, suppliers, creditors and customers can easily lead to business failure.

Diffusion of effort. An entrepreneur tries to do too many things, thus failing to set priorities and focus on high-value tasks.

Business success isn't a mystery waiting to be solved. It's an attainable goal, if you simply avoid the reasons for business failure and continually focus on improving the areas that are responsible for business success.

Brian Tracy is the "Success Secrets" coach at Entrepreneur.com and is one of America's leading authorities on entrepreneurial development. He's produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs covering the entire spectrum of human and corporate performance.

Material copyright © by Entrepreneur.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Star Global Malaysians Forum - Response from Almerica - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36am

Great stuffs nik!

Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North

They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.
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Nik Zafri's Response - Posted: 11 August 2006 at 1:36pm

Almerica wrote:

Great stuffs nik! Allow me to add. The main problem in today's businesses is that many top corporate owners still find it tough to delegate and trust even their fully competent and qualified generals to make a call. This slows down decision making process and one major fact today is that business is very much based on the speed of making things happen.

This is the part that I will never understand. Despite we have all the sophisticated and up-to-date or 'state of the art' tools and technologies, yet, we are sometimes; as if; still 'too conventional and simplistic' in managing an organization. Correct me if I'm wrong...has this got something to do with 'fear of change'? (among the senior management level?)

Almerica wrote:

My company had the privilege of being appointed as an ad-hoc project manager and coordinator, handling everything from protocol communications to organising a huge MNC's official opening of its plant in Pg with our CM being the honorary guest. (see the link below). We were given just about 3 weeks from the word go to make it happen and the rate of their approval for our proposals were simply superb. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/8/10/north/15077905&sec=North They are currently the fastest growing semicon company (as listed in Forbes). Our CM, Tan Sri Koh and everybody present were astounded when the CEO of the corporation mentioned that it was his first trip to Pg! He reiterated that he based his actions on the advices of his team of leaders here in Malaysia & S'pore. He went ahead to invest 100million here upon their advice and only made his trip here to witness the official opening of the plant. And the greatest achievement is that they built the plant and started its operations (with over 200 staffs) all within 3 months making them a record breaker! You know what their tagline is? Moving Forward Faster.

I'm impressed!! Here's what I think...your company has what I call the 'one-game-plan'...not 'multiple game plan'...meaning - the majority (I wouldn't say all) of your company's population is genuinely working according to the Company's vision, mission, objectives and goals. The effectiveness of your company's operation could may be well attributed to the effectiveness of leadership, resource management, information dissemination, A & P and good human resources/traning/development. Of course, you may still find 'hiccups' here and it's all about continual improvement. Only - I'm not sure about one thing..if you're willing to share with us here....what's your company's branding and most importantly, how did your company make everyone understand that they are carrying a big responsibility of 'enhancing the corporate image'?

Almerica wrote:

And here we sometimes see big local companies that has so much red tape that even a decision to approve a Rm 1000 purchase is delayed due to the green light required by the MD. Hmmm, we have always teased at the "kiasu-ness" of the Singaporeans but I wonder if we ever look at our own "kiasi-ness", hehe.

Memory serves, here's something that we've discussed a long time ago...

http://www.globalmalaysians.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=465&PN=2

(perhaps you should 'reactivate' this topic)
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Response from Almerica - Posted: 12 August 2006 at 12:22am

It's largely due to inculcating the self belief in themselves. Here's my method of doing it on a step by step basis, from a new staff's day of entry into our fold (though a very small one that is, at the moment):

- Have at least an hour or two "get to know better session" with the person
- Exchange some stories about one another and find out their likes and dislikes
- Lend support to the causes they believe in
- Find out into more detail what they believe their strengths are
- Brief them about what the company's strengths and weaknesses are, and also where the company is heading
- Explore with them (we do not dictate) on how their strengths can be used to tie in with the company's plans and then assign that part of the responsibility of the workscope to them
- Work out a gameplan with them based on what they believe they can do which runs in line with what you want them to do
- Tell them it's ok to make mistakes (to eradicate the fear of making a mistake which could prevent them from exposing their true potentials) as long as it's not about anything illegal or malicious or involves self greed.
- Start a buddy system for them for the next few weeks
- Keep them involved in group conversations (to eradicate shyness as well as to make them feel at home)

and the list goes on......

Those are the compulsory stuffs we do cos I feel that there is no way we can know all about each other from just interviews no matter how many times we have done it.

Once the self belief is there, without the lingering fear of making mistakes, the passion on the job grows within them. And with passion comes commitment and the sincere desire to do it well, do it right and do it fast. And the ultimate outcome would be getting the results that we all need. We tell them that rewards will come on its own when we do what we have to but when one focuses on the rewards, one may do the wrong thing to get it because the priority becomes clouded, and they may end up getting no reward at all because of that.

Above all, be fair, compliment when it is due, point out effectively when they are wrong. It is not that we are being soft with them. Respect them and they will respect you and the company. Be transparent, allow your door to be always opened to anyone.

If you dont spend some time for your people, they won't spend much time for you or your company either. So patience and sincerity has to be shown on the part of the leader first. Good staffs don't need you, you need good staffs. They are the best form of investment any company can ever have. For me, my first assessment which forms my decision of any potential person is the heart. If its clean, pure and good, then every other thing can be developed from there cos that to me, is the foundation of a person's character.

Having 'too much' experience in various business, especially in the fields of sales and marketing, I would say that MLM is still the BEST way of doing business provided that you follow the rules/regulations and not break it or trying to amend it.

It's not about the business plan that contributes to the MLM success, but it's the responsibility and commitment by the members in order to reach the sales/marketing target.

Another reason is the effective communcation with uplines and downlines. (short notices on changes are not acceptable)

Another common reason with MLM is again, human...We tend to be too much obsessed with the Business Plan rather than the product we sell. Thus, the product knowledge is still lacking behind due to thinking of how to get so much money based on the business plan. (again I'm not blaming the system, but people)

Unfortunately also, the original purpose of a business plan that promotes the conventional hardwork, patience, long term and reap profits later - is now loosing its popoularity with the :

a) drastic changes made in the original businessplan flow or strategy,

(you know..the rhetoric, hybrid system (either approved by the authorities or self-approved or self-modified by the 'super top uplines')

Please note that, binary is still binary, MLM is still MLM and single level is still single level. It just the choice that suits you that counts!

b) competition from the rhetoric/so-called e-commerce,

c) competition from the Get Rich Quick Scheme,

But the above (a)-(c) are really related to "How to take a shortcut to become rich" and this will make so many people attracted to 'money' (who wouldn't?) and tend to forget other good business/sales/marketing practices.

I'm not denying the fact of GENUINE ones but there are too much 'fakes' or 'doubtful' ones.

I'm sorry, some people might find my statement a bit offensive but I have taken almost 2 decades researching and involving myself in too many programmes and business plans to find out that the good ol' MLM (even single-level) is still the best.

Here's one of them (in Bahasa Malaysia)

http://www.geocities.com/nikzafri/qsale.htm (See Below)

As the saying goes "The old school is still the best school"

My experience dictates my belief in working both hard and smart = busy!
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14 Tonggak Kualiti Diri dan sumbangannya terhadap kejayaan Sistem Jualan Langsung dan Pemasaran Bertingkat

1.0 Kepimpinan dan Pengurusan

Tema : Menentukan Matlamat dan Komitmen Diri

§ Mematuhi nilai-nilai murni perniagaan termasuk aspek undang-undang dan etika (seperti Akta Jualan Langsung untuk pelan perniagaan yang betul, Akta Insitusi Kewangan dan Perbankan (BAFIA) bagi perniagaan membabitkan pelaburan wang/tukaran mata wang asing, pengambilan deposit yang bersabit dengan Suruhanjaya Sekuriti, KPDNHEP/SSM, Akta Siber/Telekomunikasi & Multimedia bagi perniagaan menerusi internet/e-dagang - tertakluk pada syarat-syarat yang generik dsb)

§ Melaksanakannya pada keseluruhan aspek kerja

§ Mengetahui tugas masing-masing

§ Menangani amsalah secara bijaksana

§ Memiliki ilmu pengetahuan yang mencukupi

§ Mewakili ‘organisasi yang ditubuhkan sendiri’

§ Sentiasa belajar dan mengajar

§ Rasa bertanggungjawab dan akauntabiliti

§ Rasa pemilikan

2.0 Sistem Kualiti Diri

Tema : Sistem yang memastikan kepatuhan terhadap nilai-nilai murni perniagaan

§ Mempelajari sistem dari rakan yang telah berjaya

§ Mempunyai segala sumber yang mencukupi

§ Kaedah yang kena pada tempat dan masa

§ Membuat kajian yang mencukupi

§ Pelan Perniagaan yang paling sesuai dengan kemampuan diri

3.0 Semak Semula

Tema : Sebelum, Semasa dan Selepas Menjalankan Transaksi

§ Segala keperluan dipenuhi

§ Berpuas hati sebelum, semasa dan setelah transaksi

§ Penyelesaian bermasalah sebelum berlaku (introspective/collective brainstorming)

§ Keupayaan untuk mencapai dan meningkatkan sasaran secara berterusan

RANCANG - BUAT - PERIKSA - BERTINDAK (Plan-Do-Check-Act - PDCA)

4.0 Pelan Rekabentuk Perniagaan

Tema : Kawalan dan Rekabentuk Pelan Perniagaan

§ Menyalurkan maklumat secara konsisten sehingga ke peringkat yang paling bawah dan telus.

§ Mengukur keberkesanan pelan perniagaan

§ Memahami dan mempraktikkan pelan perniagaan

§ Mengukur tahap pencapaian pelan perniagaan dengan betul dan tepat

§ Sebaran perubahan/kelainan adalah hasil perbincangan bersama

§ Membandingkan keberkesanan sebarang perubahan dengan yang terdahulu.

5.0 Kawalan Dokumen, Data dan Rekod

Tema : Dokumen, Data dan Rekod

§ Contoh Dokumen – segala jenis borang termasuk sistem pemantauan penajaan, pendapatan dan jualan, baucar, kupon, risalah/katalog produk, dokumen akaun (spt. pesanan belian dsb) yang berkaitan

§ Contoh Data – Maklumat mengenai pelanggan/ahli/rakan kongsi, jumlah sasaran dsb.

§ Contoh Rekod – Produk yang paling laris (hi-traffic), Aduan, Komen dsb. yang berkaitan.

§ Mempunyai dokumen, data dan rekod terkini

§ Dokumen lama diasingkan (jika perlu dimusnah/dipulangkan kembali dsb.)

§ Penyimpanan yang bersistematik – indeks, no rujukan, kronologi mudah dicari, yang disah dan diluluskan dsb.

6.0 Pembelian

Tema : Kecukupan Spesifikasi dan Persediaan Diri

§ Mengetahui spesifikasi produk yang bakal dipromosi

§ Mengenali ahli/rakan kongsi dan pelanggan/pengguna

§ Membuka ruang interaksi antara satu sama lain seperti dialog dan pertanyaan

§ Mengelak sebarang ketidakpuasan hati

7.0 Pengenalan dan Kemudahan Carian

Tema : Mengenali Kawasan Anda

§ Mengetahui kawasan yang akan dibekalkan perkhidmatan – Contohnya kawasan A=Outlet A

§ Memastikan kecukupan produk yang dipesan

§ Mengenali dan mampu mencari produk yang dikehendaki dalam masa yang pantas, cekap dan ekonomik.

8.0 Kawalan Proses

Tema : Bekerja Mengikut Proses Yang Telah Ditentukan

§ Mengetahui cara dan kaedah yang sistematik – dimana perlu bermula dan dimana perlu diakhiri

§ Sentiasa merujuk kembali kepada dokumen, data dan rekod serta rakan kongsi/ahli yang lebih arif jika kurang memahami sesuatu perkara – jangan bertindak sendiri

9.0 Kawalan Masalah

Tema : Penyelesaian masalah secara bijaksana

§ Bertanggungjawab dan akauntabiliti ke atas sebarang masalah yang timbul.

§ Sebarang masalah yang timbul perlu diselesaikan dengan seberapa segera – tanpa bertangguh- bincang sesama ahli/rakan kongsi jika perlu.

§ Jika masalah dalaman selesai – masalah luar pasti selesai

LAGI