FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Lifelong Manifesto In Slides

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The lifelong manifesto is an articulation of statements exemplifying James D. Roumeliotis’s beliefs, strategies and motivations based on personal life experiences along with some common sense JDR-08/09

Keep Things Simple Matters should be kept SIMPLE - avoiding complications where unnecessary. As Leonardo Da Vinci’s quote states: “ Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication ” JDR-08/09

Differentiate Yourself Be UNIQUE and REMARKABLE in what you do, in a good way, by differentiating oneself from the mainstream. In today’s crowded and competitive world, we need that extra something that sets-us apart. Be distinctive, daring and acquire a competitive edge. After all, it’s a “dog-eat-dog” environment and survival of the fittest. No matter what you do, you don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to. JDR-08/09

Make Decisions in a Timely Manner As a general rule of DECISION MAKING, more time does not create better decisions. In fact, it usually decreases the quality of the decision. More information may help but more time without more information just creates anxiety, not insight. Deciding now frees up your most valuable asset, time. Make every decision as soon as you have a reasonable amount of data, otherwise, you end-up falling into the procrastination mode. JDR-08/09

Least Expensive ≠ Value VALUE does not mean the lowest price but rather the GREATEST RETURN for the time and money invested. Avoid using the term “cheap” which denotes inferior - instead, replace it with “inexpensive”. JDR-08/09

Real Estate Prices Are Arbitrary In REAL ESTATE every PRICE IS ULTIMATELY ARBITRARY – the seller decides what it will be, then adjusts it until someone buys. There are a few basic ways to estimate what someone else will pay: estimating replacement cost, looking what other people in the market are paying, calculating the value of a series of payments, or figuring out how much subjective value the offer has to the other party. Think of selling a house, how much should you ask for it? You could (1) figure out how much it would cost to re-purchase the land and re-build the same house now, (2) see what similar houses in the area have recently sold for, (3) estimate how much you could rent the house for, then discount that series of cash flows to the present, or (4) sell against a particularly appealing characteristic of the house that makes it even more valuable to particular buyers. (Example: a market-priced $200,000 house can easily sell for $2 million or more if it was previously owned by a famous celebrity). No matter what strategy is used, it’s ultimately the seller’s responsibility to assign a price and convince the purchaser that it’s worth even more. Selling is mostly a psychological process of convincing yourself it’s worth that much so you can then convince prospective buyers. In that way, every price is fundamentally arbitrary.

Education is Perpetual EDUCATION is not a one-time event but rather an on-going process. We never stop learning. We develop oneself continuously especially with the world constantly changing. As a parent, if you don’t educate your child to the best of your ability, you have failed in your fundamental responsibility. JDR-08/09

Life is a Do-it-Yourself Project LIFE IS a do-it-yourself project. Be proactive and responsible for your own life. No one will do for you what’s necessary to succeed/progress. Each and every single one of us (especially without any physical handicaps) is capable and should be responsible for self-development and his/her outcome. JDR-08/09

Handle Rejection Graciously WHEN YOU’RE TURNED DOWN don’t take it personally and portray anger. Instead be gracious and thank the person for taking you into consideration in the first place. This attitude will make you more likely to be invited back/re-considered in the future. JDR-08/09

Watch-out for Charismatic Swindlers Be WISE and CAREFUL not to get drawn-in by charismatic, highly persuasive people who have one goal in mind – to steal your valuable time and take advantage of your talent/expertise, stellar reputation and money for their own personal gain. They can even get you into trouble. If a scheme sounds too good to be true, it definitely is. Be careful who you trust and conduct your due diligence before you commit. JDR-08/09

Your Appearance & Image GROOMING and CLOTHES are the packaging of your total IMAGE. The way you dress and groom says a great deal about you – whether you’re doing so out of necessity or doing it with flair, one can usually distinguish the difference. Watching your appearance also makes you feel good about yourself. JDR-08/09

Experience from Living Abroad Young single people are encouraged to either STUDY or LIVE/WORK in a FOREIGN country for at least 2 years and/or work on a cruise ship for a year. This opportunity allows the person to live outside his/her comfort zone/box and to discover how other nationalities and cultures live. They will appreciate the experience, gain knowledge about cultural diversity and perhaps pick-up a new language. In addition, they will learn to see things from a different perspective. “ Live abroad and you become a more creative person.” So say two academics, whose research found that business-school students with experience of foreign living had better problem-solving skills and were more creative negotiators than the stay-at-homes. These findings don’t surprise me by any means. JDR-08/09

Intimate Relationship Challenges An INTIMATE/PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP is one of life’s great physiological pleasures and one of the world’s universal preoccupations - but not without its challenges and occasional stress. It requires continuous nurturing and strong will from both sides to make it consistently work. Neither party can ever be taken for granted. Marriage relationships take on the tasks of commitment, obligation and expectation; all of which are in addition to the emotional aspects of the relationship itself. It's no wonder that less than fifty percent of marriages eventually break-up. Men and women simply do not have the same mindset; therefore both need to come to terms with a mutually agreed accord. For some, it requires the involvement of a neutral third party such as a counselor. The irony here is that in the beginning of a relationship, both sides behave much differently which includes acceptance of almost any flaws and compromise from each other. JDR-08/09

Life has taught us that love does not consist in

gazing at each other, but in looking outward

together in the same direction.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

French writer (1900 - 1944)

About Intimate/Personal Relationships… continued

Job/Career Search A JOB SEARCH ought to be a full time task if one expects to obtain prompt results. More than that, a career seeking candidate should think outside the norm and be exceedingly creative. Distinguish yourself from other candidates and market yourself as a business professional. Think of yourself as a candidate who’s running for elections and m ake a lasting first impression. It takes self branding, merely a two page CV/Resume with substance and relevance to what you’re looking for, not relying solely on advertised jobs and being fully prepared for the interviews. JDR-08/09

Transparency = Honesty & Accountability

TRANSPARENCY benefits all those

involved. It implies openness,

communication and accountability.

Companies, particularly public ones,

Are required to be transparent more

Than ever before. It’s about trust and

says a lot about a company’s core

And Its leadership team.

JDR-08/09

Corruption & Favoritism

CORRUPTION and

FAVORITISM, amongst its

many negative outcomes,

hinders growth, spurs

inequality and erodes

macroeconomic and fiscal

stability in countries where

it’s prominent.

World map of the Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians". Blue colors indicate little corruption, red colors indicate much corruption JDR-08/09

Negotiations

Business and personal

transactions or disputes

should benefit all

parties. In NEGOTIATIONS,

All participants can profit

from it in one way or the

other (“WIN-WIN”).

JDR-08/09

Luxury vs. Premium

LUXURY IS self expression, an

exceptional experience and a feeling of

sense of emotion. There is also a

difference between a “ luxury ” and a

‘ premium ” product but they can be both

– as in a tailored made fine wool suit for

example. Luxury product pricing is

related to scarcity, brand and storytelling.

Premium goods, on the other hand, are

expensive variants of commodity goods

– pay more, get more. Plenty of brands

get in trouble because they can’t figure-

out which one they represent.

JDR-08/09

Conspicuous Consumption

CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION (buying

things one really doesn’t need) nowadays

appears to be out of vogue. It’s frowned upon

with disgust and could be viewed as

obnoxious flaunting. The “nouveau riche” are

infamous for this type of activity. Needless to

say, in recent years conspicuous consumption

is thought to be a contributor to personal

bankruptcies resulting from abuse and

mismanagement of credit to finance an

excessive lifestyle. The sophisticated affluent

currently eschew conspicuous consumption in

favor of charity. Ostentatious parsimony is the

new conspicuous consumption.

JDR-08/09

Etiquette & Respect

ETIQUETTE, which forms a

part of human interaction

skills, is a strong indication of

a refined person and proper

upbringing. It should be

applied in everyday life in a

civilized society. In addition,

RESPECT is esteem of a

person, a personal quality

and ability to demonstrate it to

others through deeds.

"There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it." ~ Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American Educator JDR-08/09

Business Success

To SUCCEED IN BUSINESS

or in a profession one should

adhere to certain immutable

principles -- but most

importantly, you need a

burning desire and

determination fueled by a

strong dose of passion for the

business.

JDR-08/09

Beauty, Design & Creativity

BEAUTY and DESIGN in all things is artistic, engaging,

stimulating and creates a sense of comfort.

It’s also a very personal thing. CREATIVITY is beauty

in art form. It starts from nothing, utilizes mind

exploitation, imagination then something awe

inspiring is produced which stimulates the mind and

senses. The approach to creativity is the way an artist

might stand before a new canvas, on which a

beautiful painting can be crafted. Staff who work in a

creative environment should be given plenty of

leeway to utilize their full potential – the freedom to

flourish. Not doing so limits their artistic talent and

deprives the company from taking a leap at the

competition. Apple has successfully unleashed the

talent from their product engineers by creating a non-

stifling work environment. As for architects and

industrial designers, they should definitely possess

the talent and imagination to create and turn

extraordinary drawings into reality.

JDR-08/09

Innovation

INNOVATION is what a business should be

carrying-out as often as it’s required for its

existence. It is widely described as: “ Leading

to significant organizational improvements in

terms of improved or new business products,

services, or internal processes .” It involves

acting on creative ideas to make some specific

and tangible difference in the domain in which

the innovation occurs. The old adage that goes

something along the lines of “If it isn’t broken,

don’t fix it” is a paradigm which doesn’t sit well

with forward thinking companies that thrive on

innovation. Nothing wrong with change if done

to enhance or replace the status quo. It’s part

of progress.

JDR-08/09

Advertising Impact

ADS and COMMERCIALS should not

only attract attention but be memorable.

Visually distinctive campaigns and brand

features enhance customer recall and

positively influence intent to purchase.

Spending tons of money on ADVERTISING

is boring and something anybody can do.

Being bold and creative with a small budget

is what a clever person should be capable

of doing.

JDR-08/09

PR & PR

Gain tremendous exposure and build integrity

utilizing the influence of PUBLIC RELATIONS

and PRESS RELEASES. They are undoubtedly

your best sources of free advertising. Public

Relations can be used to build rapport with

employees, customers, investors, voters or the

general public. It is perceived as credible

compared to paid ads and can become “viral”

(spread like a disease) if set-up strategically

through the Internet/social media. This includes

professionally produced videos which are

becoming broadly appealing particularly if they

are newsworthy. If celebrities hire Publicists,

why shouldn’t a company, with the budget, hire

a PR firm? Media training in larger companies

is highly recommended especially if they are

often exposed in the media.

JDR-08/09

Website Design & Functionality

Research has proven that WEBSITE visitors are directly

affected by the visual aspects of a Website.

Your Website is the first impression viewers’ get of you,

your services or your products. If that impression isn’t

good, then your Website isn’t effective and probably not

earning money for you. In the case of social networking the

same applies to your profile and blog. Think about this – if

you walked into a grocery store and it was filthy, with dust

all over the place and hand - written signs everywhere –

you would probably think twice before purchasing from

that store. The most important key elements for a

successful WEBSITE are: An attractive and professional

appearance - Content with style and substance (“less is

more”), Functionality - Ease of use/navigation - Engaging

with the visitors with plenty of interactivity to keep them

there as long as possible, to encourage comments/views

through blogs, create word of mouth and an element of

loyalty. In addition, it should be frequently updated and be

Search Engine Optimized (SEO) by professionals so it can

have high rankings on search engine results.

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Stellar Customer Service

Much is touted by companies about CUSTOMER

SERVICE but surprisingly only a few actually deliver

on their promises. At the outset, it appears that many

lack a vital customer relations policy. Inadequate staff

training amongst other factors further aggravates the

problem. Picking up the telephone and calling certain

companies, for example, can sometimes lead to an

exasperating experience. People love to hate the

phone tree experience where you have to go through a

maze of menus until you eventually get to speak to a

human – assuming you’re lucky. It shouldn’t have to be

that way. How a customer is dealt with is a reflection of

the brand - the image of the company in the

mind. Dealing with a company’s customer service

center should be an efficient and pleasant experience.

Companies should place toll-free numbers in visible

and large type on their labels. Calls should be

answered on the first or second ring and no phone

tree. The trained person who handles the calls should be

congenial, apologetic and non-argumentative.

JDR-08/09

Niche Market Player

A NICHE MARKET PLAYER is very effective at

working closely with customers to build and

Maintain long term relationships by innovating and

challenging the existing norms in the industry,

thus adding value to the project, program, and

organizational level. If one is considered an

expert in what one does by focusing in one area,

then great success shall follow. Your value

proposition must be relevant to your target

market. This means your target market must be

clearly defined. Focusing on your specific

market requires knowing it inside and out. This

includes conducting a market analysis, stating a

precise target market description and goal, as

well as being clear about the type of relationship

you would like to achieve with your market.

JDR-08/09

Exceptional Sales Results

EXCEPTIONAL SALES RESULTS are derived first and foremost by having a

viable plan, followed by its vigorous execution and constant adjustments

according to market conditions. Consider a sales force that behaves more like

“ consultative agents” instead of aggressive peddlers. Along with the thorough

knowledge of the company’s products/services, the charismatic, enthusiastic,

motivated and competent sales force should be constantly trained, developed

and coached – along with all the necessary tools at their possession for added

competitiveness. Sales people should be client centered. That is, focus on

needs/wants and fulfill them with specific products/services – solutions. This is

how trust will be earned. Clients don’t like being sold to - they prefer to buy

(push vs. pull). Businesses ought to know their ideal customer/target market,

the competition and how they can be approached most effectively. The sales

force should not have to resort to the daily grind of making cold calls. Instead,

they can be provided with techniques and tools to make better use of their

prospecting time. In the end, more of their valuable time can be spent in the

field in front of prospective clients rather than working on the law of averages

in search of appointments. Better still; the lead generation activity can be

outsourced to a company specializing in those services. Marketing should

collaborate closely with Sales with a mutual goal. A simple to use yet

comprehensive CRM system can be in place and its data constantly monitored

by management focusing on activities and results.

JDR-08/09

Leaders vs. Managers

LEADERS and MANAGERS don’t fall

under the same category. They have

different tasks and competencies. For

one, leaders have followers and are

compelling individuals, whereas

managers have employees and are

great supervisors. In contrast, leaders

possess high emotional intelligence,

engage their workforce and focus on

strategic planning, whereas managers

motivate employees to perform, as well

as follow/implement orders from their

superiors.

JDR-08/09

Passionate Work

It’s essential that you are able to

marry your work and what you love. This

passion will ignite the minds of your

potential clients and connections. Your

business or profession has to be a

reflection of what you are already willing

to pour countless hours into. Your

PASSION and enthusiasm for the work

you’re performing has to connect to your

desires which is ultimately what will make

you successful.

JDR-08/09

Dealing with Difficult People

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE

requires adequate human relations skills,

patience, empathy, persistency and

anger/emotional control. It’s an exhausting

and daunting task. For these reasons alone,

many people simply try to avoid the arrogant,

narcissist, control freak, the unyielding, the

abrupt, the serial negative type and the

obnoxious just to name a few. If you have to

frequently cope with any such characters, or a

combination thereof, don’t expect them to

change. Simply change your game plan to

get a different result. Try disarming people

with kindness and allowing them to feel

important.

JDR-08/09

Self Esteem & Self Confidence

SELF ESTEEM & CONFIDENCE offer happiness

and a better life. Self esteem increases your

confidence. If you have confidence you will

respect yourself and then you can respect others,

improve your relationships and become happier.

Low esteem, on the other hand, causes

depression, unhappiness, insecurity and low

confidence. Constant negative circumstances can

also cause a person with a weak character to lose

his/her self esteem and self confidence. Working

to build your self esteem and confidence building

measures takes time. It requires discipline,

motivation, a positive attitude, as well as support

and coaching from either a professional counselor

or someone who cares enough and is willing to

listen.

JDR-08/09

Complacency

COMPLACENCY is a

comfort zone which yields

marginal performance. It

can cause deficiencies, stifle

growth and progress. This

syndrome should be

replaced with drive and

consistent improvement.

JDR-08/09

Bureaucracy

According to Wikipedia, BUREAUCRACY

is succinctly defined as “ The collective

organizational structure, procedures,

protocols and set of regulations in place to

manage activity, usually in large

organizations and government.” In other

Words, it’s a stifling, process driven, non-

innovative, too rigid and a snail paced

institution. This shouldn’t exist in industrial

countries and should be controlled by

developing countries. Not doing so,

bureaucracy will become increasingly self-

serving, complacent and corrupt, rather than

serving society properly.

Nepotism

NEPOTISM - promoting family members

over other qualified employees often

leads to resentment or, worse, prompts

valuable non-family employees to leave

the company. Likewise, doing business

or working with/for relatives is not highly

recommended since doing so, risks

upsetting your family relationship/ties as

a result of intense disagreements.

JDR-08/09

Hiring Criteria

Don’t simply HIRE well educated and

experienced people but most importantly

MOTIVATED, dedicated, coachable and

with interpersonal skills. Moreover, make

certain that the people you hire fit-in with

your corporate culture. Your organization

should also foster an atmosphere of

innovation and creativity through

leadership. These conditions can’t help

but breed success.

JDR-08/09

When Job/Career Hunting

A JOB SEARCH ought to be a full time

task if one expects to obtain prompt

results. More than that, a career seeking

candidate should think outside the norm

and be exceedingly creative. Distinguish

yourself from other candidates and market

yourself as a business professional. Think

of yourself as a candidate who’s running

for elections and make a lasting first

impression. It takes self branding, merely a

2 page CV/Resume with substance and

relevance to what you’re looking for, not

relying solely on advertised jobs and being

fully prepared for the interviews.

JDR-08/09

E-mail Message Response Time

E-MAIL ETIQUETTE – Akin to the act of returning

phone messages in a timely manner, a good rule

of thumb should be that an e-mail RESPONSE,

especially to someone you know, should be

replied within 24-48 hours. Barring unusual

circumstances, with today’s high tech

communications and portable gadgets, not

responding within a reasonable time demonstrates

a lack of courtesy and makes a silent derogatory

statement about the receiver’s character including

“ arrogant” and/or “ignorant”. As for SENDING e-

mails, don’t be a Spammer. BE PERSONAL if you

want the receiver/reader to take it seriously.

Therefore, don't send the same e-mail to large

numbers of people. If you have more than a few

people to contact don’t be tempted to copy and

paste or mail merge.

JDR-08/09

Religion & Politics

Avoid discussing topics of RELIGION

and POLITICS with strangers and

clients. If you’re brought into such

conversations, play it neutral to avoid

alienating the other person.

In addition, no state should unite with

religion if the former is to remain

“ secular”.

JDR-08/09

Character vs. Reputation

Reputation is what people say/think

about you, it’s your personal brand

and should be well preserved –

assuming that’s important to you.

Character is what you really are. It is

said that character is like a tree and

reputation like a shadow. The

shadow is what we think of it while

the tree is the real thing.

Always deliver on what you promise

and if you look after your character

your reputation will look after itself.

JDR-08/09

The MBA Degree Illusion

Those who possess an MBA degree have

no guarantee of success in a field of

endeavor. Real experience trumps

credentials every time. The young

graduates with little or no practical

work/business experience and inadequate

street smarts are often misled to believe

that they can become great business

saviors soon after they obtain their post

graduate degrees. They may be good at

analysis and given a dose of confidence,

however, it doesn’t necessarily make them

good managers/leaders. For a third party

analysis and critique on this issue, from a

management guru, you are encouraged to

refer to his book, “ Managers, Not MBAs ”.

JDR-08/09

Agreements Always in Writing

Avoid accepting verbal agreements

for any business transaction. Make

sure the WRITTEN AGREEMENTS

are binding preferably with a signed

witness. Same goes if you decide to

lend money to a FRIEND or

RELATIVE (which should be avoided,

if at all possible, as it can cause

disputes and misunderstandings, as

well as sever relationships/ties).

JDR-08/09

Hypocrisy

HYPOCRISY is unfortunately all around us.

However, it must be said that politicians are the

masters of it. Political hypocrisy is when a

politician draws a veil over the political realities

of a policy in order to deceive the public. Having

had the privilege to personally speak candidly

off–the-record with several diplomats, while

residing overseas, I have come to the

conclusion that plenty of what is said by them

and others involved in the diplomatic world, is a

farce and does not always reflect their own

personal beliefs. That shouldn’t be surprising.

Nevertheless, give them credit for their ability to

eloquently deceive/manipulate the media and

others with a straight face.

JDR-08/09

Persistence, Perseverance &Tenacity

PERSISTENCE, PERSEVERANCE,

TENACITY & LUCK – all these are

common traits with every

successful person along with

working efficiently. Try/possess them

and you will see how well they work

together which eventually bring about

the results you seek. LUCK, on the

other hand, can be an ally. It’s

described as preparation meeting

opportunity.

JDR-08/09

Seizing Opportunity You can’t seize OPPORTUNITY without (calculated) risk. One should tread beyond his/her comfort zone if to succeed. If you don't take risks you’ll never accomplish most of your goals and never know if your dreams could have come true. JDR-08/09

In Closing – Your Health Life’s a great journey JDR-08/09 NOTHING STATED IN THIS MANIFESTO WILL ULTIMATELY HAVE ANY MEANING IF ONE NEGLECTS HIS/HER STATE OF HEALTH. EAT WELL, EXERCISE THRICE WEEKLY, CONTROL STRESS, GO FOR ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS AND OCCASIONALLY TREAT YOURSELF TO LIFE’S PLEASURES.

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. - Eleanor Roosevelt :