Thursday, September 6, 2007
Moving Advice
Professional movers provide a valuable service by moving thousands of people to new homes each year. While almost no move is ever completely stress-free, when you use a professional mover, all of the "heavy lifting" will be done for you. Movers will pack your possessions, load them into the truck, drive the truck to your destination and unload and unpack your shipment at your new home. Movers can also provide you with warehouse storage, move your piano up and down flights of stairs, transport your automobile, and service your appliances to insure their safe transportation.If you are considering moving yourself, especially if you will be moving interstate, you should ask a lot of questions and compute the actual costs of self-moving before you sign an agreement with a truck rental company. The information in this part of the Consumer Guide will help you to calculate self-move costs and give you a basis of comparison when evaluating the price and value of professional moving.Rental Charge. For an interstate move, you will need to provide the origin and destination cities and the date you plan to move to the truck rental company. Depending on equipment availability in certain locations, prices may vary. Peak season runs from the end of May until the end of September, so truck rental rates may be higher during that time of year. Most people move at the beginning of a month or the end of the month, so prices may be even higher during these times. The rental charge you are quoted includes a rental deposit that may be refunded depending on the condition of the vehicle upon its return, and a certain number of free miles (approximately 10% greater than the estimated actual mileage). The rental charge does not include state taxes or other equipment you may need to complete your move, such as cartons, boxes, pads and dollies. You'll need a day or two to pack and another to unpack, so be sure your quote includes these extra days plus the days you will need for driving. Make sure you rent the right size truck! Remember, efficiently loading a truck is an art, not a science. After a long, hard day of loading all of your worldly possessions into the back of a rental truck, the last thing you need to discover is that you have run out of space but not out of furniture.Automobiles. How many cars do you have? Are you going to drive or tow the vehicle(s)? A trailer package from a rental company can cost an additional $150, plus another $45 for the trailer hitch along with a $200 deposit depending on how many days you are renting the trailer. If you are driving your own vehicle, you'll need to factor in wear and tear on your vehicle (34.5¢ a mile is the current standard mileage rate according to the IRS).Insurance Charges. It may cost an additional $20 a day or more for insurance during your move. Check the policies that are offered carefully. Most car insurance policies do not cover truck rentals, so you will need to purchase separate liability insurance and property damage insurance. Also, if you tow your car, you'll need separate insurance to cover any damage that occurs during the towing. Most of these additional policies do not cover you against theft; so if your goods are stolen (truck theft can be a problem if you are leaving the fully loaded vehicle unattended while you spend the night at a hotel) you may not have any protection. Pads and Dollies. You'll need to rent pads so you do not scratch your furniture. Pads generally cost $10 a dozen; with a 26 foot truck (four bedroom house), you will need at least 3-dozen pads. You may need appliance dollies, utility dollies, or furniture dollies to help move heavy furniture and appliances. Each dolly will cost an additional $5 to $10 per rental.Per Move Value of Time. Who is going to do the packing and unpacking? Who will pick-up, load, drive and unload the rental truck? Who will drive the automobile? If you are doing all of this yourself, it takes a lot of time. Figure out your average hourly wage and multiply it times the total number of hours you estimate it will take to pack, pick-up the truck, load, drive, unload, etc. for you and your spouse/family. This is your per move value of time.Packing and Loading the Truck. You might be able to collect free boxes in anticipation of the move, but to minimize damages, especially for an interstate move, it is highly recommended that you purchase specialized boxes, like wardrobes, dish packs, and mattress containers. You'll need tape to secure the boxes and paper padding to secure the contents of the containers before they are loaded on the truck. The cost of packing materials may vary by state and state taxes will also apply.Expect to pay about $200 for a 4-bedroom home, plus another $100 or so each for the kitchen and a home office, if you purchase your boxes from a truck rental company. If you need wardrobe boxes for hanging garments, expect to pay about $25 each. You'll also need tape and rope to secure your cartons properly.Some truck rental companies also offer loading and unloading service to load your furniture and the boxes that you have packed yourself. This service can add several hundred dollars to the cost of your move; be sure to get an estimate before your sign-up for this service. Plus, the rental company's liability for any damage that occurs to your goods during the loading and unloading process will likely be minimal or even non-existent.Mileage Charges. Mileage charges are usually included in the rental agreement but may be limited; an additional mileage charge may be assessed at an average cost per mile, usually around 40 cents a mile for each additional mile over the limit. Be sure to read your contract to see if there are extra mileage charges or fees for one-way rentals.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Before Move
With every move you make, the amount you will spend may not be that obvious. Sure, there's the cost of renting a truck or moving company, the money you spend on your airline ticket, and the up front cost of buying the packing supplies or hiring the packing service. However, most people think of the moving essentials and don't take into consideration the extra costs involved.
Before the Move
Additional Insurance: Moving companies will provide insurance, but the standard rate is usually not enough to replace the item, especially if that item is small and valuable, such as crystal, glass or porcelain. Since insurance is based on weight, with a standard rate averaging around 60 cents per pound, you usually need to seek out additional insurance. Also, keep in mind that the standard rate is not necessarily what you'll get should some of your goods be damaged.]
This rate represents the maximum coverage you're entitled to, but due to government regulations, taxes, etc... this might not be the amount you receive.
Your Current Residence: If you're selling your home, there will be things you'll need to fix before you go, a list outlined in your agreement. Such small tasks will take time and probably some money, too. You may want to, or need to, hire someone to do these tasks, especially if it's something out of your scope. Paying a professional plumber can save you a lot of money in the end.
And whether you're moving from a house or a rental, cleaning will be a major priority that takes both money and time. I prefer to hire a cleaning company to make sure the job gets done right. If you're moving from a rental, most likely you paid a damage deposit when you first moved in. To make sure you receive the full amount back, having a professional cleaner transform the space back into it's original (or almost original) state is worth the extra money. Besides, what a professional company can do in three hours could take you three days. Build these costs into your moving budget, then if you find the time to do these tasks yourself, great! It's better to be prepared then to run short.
Hidden Costs of Rentals: Some people who move end up buying a house as opposed to renting; however, there are still a vast number of people who rent, whether for a long-term or short-term until their home is ready. When you rent, there's more than just the cost of your space that you need to consider. Hidden fees such as security or damage deposits and broker fees add up to a lot. Also, when signing an agreement, ask what is included in the rent. Most often you end up paying extra for services such as parking or utilities.
During Your Move
Since most of your costs are accrued at this time, you'll be glad to know there aren't too many additional fees that you hadn't considered.
On the Move: If you hire a moving company, then most likely you'll need to get to your new home on your own. Build into your budget such additional costs as hotels, meals, snacks (all those extra-large lattes!), and gas if you're planning on driving. Use a distance rate calculator to estimate how far you're going, then determine how long it will take to get there. If you have more than one driver, you can estimate longer driving times, but make sure you consider meals and breaks and enough time to rest.
If you're flying to your new locale, then remember to add in taxi fares to the airport on your way out and from the airport on your way in, airport fees and any additional monies you might have to pay for extra luggage beyond what is allowed. This is also the time to remember the cost to move your pets. Build in the vet fees, carrier costs and flight price.
By Diane Schmidt,
Before the Move
Additional Insurance: Moving companies will provide insurance, but the standard rate is usually not enough to replace the item, especially if that item is small and valuable, such as crystal, glass or porcelain. Since insurance is based on weight, with a standard rate averaging around 60 cents per pound, you usually need to seek out additional insurance. Also, keep in mind that the standard rate is not necessarily what you'll get should some of your goods be damaged.]
This rate represents the maximum coverage you're entitled to, but due to government regulations, taxes, etc... this might not be the amount you receive.
Your Current Residence: If you're selling your home, there will be things you'll need to fix before you go, a list outlined in your agreement. Such small tasks will take time and probably some money, too. You may want to, or need to, hire someone to do these tasks, especially if it's something out of your scope. Paying a professional plumber can save you a lot of money in the end.
And whether you're moving from a house or a rental, cleaning will be a major priority that takes both money and time. I prefer to hire a cleaning company to make sure the job gets done right. If you're moving from a rental, most likely you paid a damage deposit when you first moved in. To make sure you receive the full amount back, having a professional cleaner transform the space back into it's original (or almost original) state is worth the extra money. Besides, what a professional company can do in three hours could take you three days. Build these costs into your moving budget, then if you find the time to do these tasks yourself, great! It's better to be prepared then to run short.
Hidden Costs of Rentals: Some people who move end up buying a house as opposed to renting; however, there are still a vast number of people who rent, whether for a long-term or short-term until their home is ready. When you rent, there's more than just the cost of your space that you need to consider. Hidden fees such as security or damage deposits and broker fees add up to a lot. Also, when signing an agreement, ask what is included in the rent. Most often you end up paying extra for services such as parking or utilities.
During Your Move
Since most of your costs are accrued at this time, you'll be glad to know there aren't too many additional fees that you hadn't considered.
On the Move: If you hire a moving company, then most likely you'll need to get to your new home on your own. Build into your budget such additional costs as hotels, meals, snacks (all those extra-large lattes!), and gas if you're planning on driving. Use a distance rate calculator to estimate how far you're going, then determine how long it will take to get there. If you have more than one driver, you can estimate longer driving times, but make sure you consider meals and breaks and enough time to rest.
If you're flying to your new locale, then remember to add in taxi fares to the airport on your way out and from the airport on your way in, airport fees and any additional monies you might have to pay for extra luggage beyond what is allowed. This is also the time to remember the cost to move your pets. Build in the vet fees, carrier costs and flight price.
By Diane Schmidt,
Monday, August 6, 2007
Military Moves
Relocating your family and personal belongings due to a permanent change of station (PCS) is something that every military family encounters sooner or later. Whether you look forward to the move with eager anticipation or with feelings that are somewhat less enthusiastic, there are things that service members and their families can do before relocating to make the overall experience better. Knowing the regulations and planning accordingly can make all the difference.
1. Visit the Personal Property Office
As soon as you receive your orders, call your Personal Property Office (PPO) and set an appointment. Before you go to the appointment, do some research to make the most of your session. Even if you and your family have PSCed several times before, no two moves are exactly the same. Changes to your personal situation, your new duty station, or military regulations may greatly affect your move.
PPOs have materials available to aid you in your research. An excellent resource for explaining basic entitlements and responsibilities is the "It's Your Move" pamphlet that is also available online on various web sites, including LIFELines. General move information is available on LIFELines in the "Relocation and Housing" information area.
Still another official web site that offers a wide variety of basic PCS move information is the Defenselink site. This electronic newsletter is user-friendly and chock full of helpful hints, news, guidance, and useful links.
2. Contact Your Sponsor and New Command
Once you have PCS orders in hand, your new command will assign a sponsor to assist in your transition to the command and new duty station. If you have not heard from your sponsor in a reasonable amount of time, contact your new command to find a point of contact to help you before you arrange your move. If the command has a web site, become familiar with its contents. The information may prove invaluable throughout your decision process and save you the trouble of moving items that you'll not be able to use at your new duty station.
A sponsor is especially crucial if you'll be moving overseas or to a remote location. Along with host-country considerations that you may not otherwise know, a sponsor can fill you in on some of the less obvious nuances of your new home. For example, if you will be moving to Yokosuka, Japan, and are planning to live on the economy in non-Westernized housing, your sponsor would probably advise you to leave the majority of your furniture and appliances in storage until you return to the States. Most traditional Japanese dwellings will not accommodate the size or style of furniture that is common in American households, and your appliances would probably be incompatible.
3. Consider Moving It Yourself — Carefully
Most commonly referred to as the DITY move, the personally-procured move (PPM), is an option that you may want to consider. Essentially, the government pays you the money that it would otherwise pay a contractor to move you and your belongings. Although not for everyone, a properly planned and executed PPM has advantages that range from peace of mind in knowing your belongings are packed exactly the way you want them to be, to earning some extra cash in return for your hard work. Conversely, if you do not adequately plan or complete your PPM, you are liable for any additional moving costs or damage to your property.
4. Take Responsibility
Although you will have ample assistance along the way, you are responsible for your move. The best way to ensure that it goes well is to be involved from start to finish and play an active role throughout the process. Know the regulations and make all necessary arrangements before your moving day. That way, when moving day arrives, you and your family will be able to concentrate on the task at hand.
5. Figure Your Entitlement
Part of your entitlement is the maximum weight you can move at government expense. This pre-determined amount is based upon your personal situation and rank. If you go over your prescribed amount, you will be responsible for paying all charges connected with moving the excess weight. To estimate the weight of your possessions, you can figure 1,000 pounds per room and then add the approximate weight of your large appliances and items. While not exact, this method will help you determine if your belongings will fall within your entitlement.
6. Find Out If You Can Move That
The term "household goods" (HHG) refers to your personal effects and property for your home — anything from a snowmobile to a spare car part. Generally, if your HHGs fall within your weight entitlement, they will be moved at no additional cost to you. However, some items, such as boats, may or may not qualify as HHGs and may only be moved if you agree to share the expense. Other HHGs may not be moved as part of your PCS move because of carrier restrictions or local ordinances. The Defense Transportations Regulations (DTR) web site offers complete guidance for determining if you can ship an item as part of your PCS move.
7. Decide What to Do About Rover
While most of us consider our pets to be part of our family, it is important to note that moving them is not an entitlement. Instead, it is viewed as a privilege and you will share in the cost. The government will allow you to move a total of two dogs or cats in travel cases weighing less than 100 pounds each. Any more and you'll be required to make alternate arrangements. Other applicable restrictions and considerations are discussed in LIFELines section PCSing With Pets.
8. Prepare for Clean Up After the Move Date
When determining your actual move date, keep in mind obligations you will have after the moving van departs. If you rent, you will probably be responsible for restoring the property to its original condition. If you own, you'll want to show the property to would-be renters or buyers in the best possible condition. Estimate how many days you will need to prepare the property and set your move date to allow you ample time before your lease is up and your utilities have been disconnected.
9. Take Care of Important Papers
The paperwork that leads up to moving is as important as physically moving your property. Make sure you have adequate copies of your PCS orders placed in a safe location. Additionally, you should consider the following:
powers of attorney or letters of authorization
appraisals of high-value items
inventory with video or photo documentation
insurance policies, in addition to those provided as part of your move.
10. Lighten the Load
By P.S. Kunze
1. Visit the Personal Property Office
As soon as you receive your orders, call your Personal Property Office (PPO) and set an appointment. Before you go to the appointment, do some research to make the most of your session. Even if you and your family have PSCed several times before, no two moves are exactly the same. Changes to your personal situation, your new duty station, or military regulations may greatly affect your move.
PPOs have materials available to aid you in your research. An excellent resource for explaining basic entitlements and responsibilities is the "It's Your Move" pamphlet that is also available online on various web sites, including LIFELines. General move information is available on LIFELines in the "Relocation and Housing" information area.
Still another official web site that offers a wide variety of basic PCS move information is the Defenselink site. This electronic newsletter is user-friendly and chock full of helpful hints, news, guidance, and useful links.
2. Contact Your Sponsor and New Command
Once you have PCS orders in hand, your new command will assign a sponsor to assist in your transition to the command and new duty station. If you have not heard from your sponsor in a reasonable amount of time, contact your new command to find a point of contact to help you before you arrange your move. If the command has a web site, become familiar with its contents. The information may prove invaluable throughout your decision process and save you the trouble of moving items that you'll not be able to use at your new duty station.
A sponsor is especially crucial if you'll be moving overseas or to a remote location. Along with host-country considerations that you may not otherwise know, a sponsor can fill you in on some of the less obvious nuances of your new home. For example, if you will be moving to Yokosuka, Japan, and are planning to live on the economy in non-Westernized housing, your sponsor would probably advise you to leave the majority of your furniture and appliances in storage until you return to the States. Most traditional Japanese dwellings will not accommodate the size or style of furniture that is common in American households, and your appliances would probably be incompatible.
3. Consider Moving It Yourself — Carefully
Most commonly referred to as the DITY move, the personally-procured move (PPM), is an option that you may want to consider. Essentially, the government pays you the money that it would otherwise pay a contractor to move you and your belongings. Although not for everyone, a properly planned and executed PPM has advantages that range from peace of mind in knowing your belongings are packed exactly the way you want them to be, to earning some extra cash in return for your hard work. Conversely, if you do not adequately plan or complete your PPM, you are liable for any additional moving costs or damage to your property.
4. Take Responsibility
Although you will have ample assistance along the way, you are responsible for your move. The best way to ensure that it goes well is to be involved from start to finish and play an active role throughout the process. Know the regulations and make all necessary arrangements before your moving day. That way, when moving day arrives, you and your family will be able to concentrate on the task at hand.
5. Figure Your Entitlement
Part of your entitlement is the maximum weight you can move at government expense. This pre-determined amount is based upon your personal situation and rank. If you go over your prescribed amount, you will be responsible for paying all charges connected with moving the excess weight. To estimate the weight of your possessions, you can figure 1,000 pounds per room and then add the approximate weight of your large appliances and items. While not exact, this method will help you determine if your belongings will fall within your entitlement.
6. Find Out If You Can Move That
The term "household goods" (HHG) refers to your personal effects and property for your home — anything from a snowmobile to a spare car part. Generally, if your HHGs fall within your weight entitlement, they will be moved at no additional cost to you. However, some items, such as boats, may or may not qualify as HHGs and may only be moved if you agree to share the expense. Other HHGs may not be moved as part of your PCS move because of carrier restrictions or local ordinances. The Defense Transportations Regulations (DTR) web site offers complete guidance for determining if you can ship an item as part of your PCS move.
7. Decide What to Do About Rover
While most of us consider our pets to be part of our family, it is important to note that moving them is not an entitlement. Instead, it is viewed as a privilege and you will share in the cost. The government will allow you to move a total of two dogs or cats in travel cases weighing less than 100 pounds each. Any more and you'll be required to make alternate arrangements. Other applicable restrictions and considerations are discussed in LIFELines section PCSing With Pets.
8. Prepare for Clean Up After the Move Date
When determining your actual move date, keep in mind obligations you will have after the moving van departs. If you rent, you will probably be responsible for restoring the property to its original condition. If you own, you'll want to show the property to would-be renters or buyers in the best possible condition. Estimate how many days you will need to prepare the property and set your move date to allow you ample time before your lease is up and your utilities have been disconnected.
9. Take Care of Important Papers
The paperwork that leads up to moving is as important as physically moving your property. Make sure you have adequate copies of your PCS orders placed in a safe location. Additionally, you should consider the following:
powers of attorney or letters of authorization
appraisals of high-value items
inventory with video or photo documentation
insurance policies, in addition to those provided as part of your move.
10. Lighten the Load
By P.S. Kunze
Monday, July 16, 2007
Moving On....To Great Managing
To thrive in this world will require of us a new skill...focus. Focus can refer to your ability to sort through many factors and identify those that are most critical - to be able to focus well is to be able to filter well. You must be able to cut through the clutter and zero in on the facts or events that really matter. You must learn to place less value on all you can remember and more on those few things you can never forget." ~ Marcus Buckingham
I'm a person who loves knowledge, learning and discovering new things and to think I must place less value on what I can remember and more on those things I can never forget is both terrifying (what must I never forget?) and refreshing (since my memory is not what it used to be at this point.)
Regardless of our 'arena' of life, we all must manage the information that comes into our lives as well as our own individual success and at some time or another most of us will manage people. I've just finished a great new book, The One Thing You Need to Know...about Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham, who is also the author of Now, Discover Your Strengths which I've mentioned many times. The One Thing You Need to Know is what you'll be hearing about for the next few newsletters.
According to Brad Anderson, vice chairman and CEO of Best Buy, Buckingham's grasp of the pivotal difference between great managing and great leadership and how to act on that knowledge has been enormously helpful for the key leaders of Best Buy. I offer you some of these insights in a nutshell:
Select people effectively - know what talents you are looking for
Define your expectations clearly - Only 50% of employees claim they know what is expected of them at work. As elementary as it may sound, consider asking: "What do you think you get paid to do?"
Motivate people by focusing on their strengths and managing around their weaknesses Learn how to steer them toward roles that truly fit them
Recognize excellent and praise it - leverage your employees' talents and turn it into performance. With praise and recognition, show you care! Make your employees believe their success is your primary goal.
Employees need to feel supported, challenged, understood and stretched. Be sure to acknowledge tiny bits of growth. In this way, you will coach them to success by building on small steps they can see and recognize. Never praise hard work, instead tell her she succeeded precisely because she has become so good at deploying her strengths. The more an employee is acknowledged on what they do right, the more self-assured they become and self-assurance drives performance.
Even though talent and skills are important, those who are unrealistic about what is possible are the most successful. In other words if they believe they can do something and you support this belief, chances are they will succeed. Research has shown that realistic self-assessment retarded performance while unrealistic self-assessment stimulated it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that coaching is so successful: a coach is a champion, a cheerleader, a partner and a sounding board. In short, the state of mind you want to create in the employee is one where he has a fully realistic assessment of the difficulty of the challenge ahead of him, and, at the same time, an unrealistically optimistic belief in his ability to overcome it.
When you do encounter failure....is it a lack of skills, knowledge or training or do they need a partner/mentor?
Keep in mind there are several styles of learning:
Analyzing - they understand a task by taking it apart, examining its elements and reconstruction it piece by piece. These people crave information and every piece is important.
Doing - the best way to teach a doer is to throw him in the middle of the a new situation and tell him to wing it. The learning moment is during the performance. Where for the Analyzer, it's prior to the actual performance.
Watching - watchers are sometimes viewed as poor students because breaking things down or practicing won't do much for them. However, Watchers can learn a great deal when they are given a chance to see the total performance. Let these people ride along with one of your most experienced performers.
Great managers discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it. Mediocre managers assume or hope their employees will be motivated by the same things, driven by the same goals, desire the same kind of relationships and learn roughly in the same way.
Managers are the catalyst for speeding up an employee's talent which translates to speeding up the company's goals. Best Buy uses 12 simple questions to measure employee engagement. These include such questions as "Do you know what is expected of you?" and "At work, does someone seem to care about you?" What they discovered is that when they could increase their employee engagement by just 2%, it resulted in an additional $70 million in profitability!
Lastly, one of the '5 great needs' we have as humans (more on this in the next issue) is that we need RESPECT. We have a fear of insignificance. Managers are critically valuable because they have the greatest opportunity to identify, recognize and provide many avenues that will fulfill this need for respect; look for ways to do this.
I'm a person who loves knowledge, learning and discovering new things and to think I must place less value on what I can remember and more on those things I can never forget is both terrifying (what must I never forget?) and refreshing (since my memory is not what it used to be at this point.)
Regardless of our 'arena' of life, we all must manage the information that comes into our lives as well as our own individual success and at some time or another most of us will manage people. I've just finished a great new book, The One Thing You Need to Know...about Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham, who is also the author of Now, Discover Your Strengths which I've mentioned many times. The One Thing You Need to Know is what you'll be hearing about for the next few newsletters.
According to Brad Anderson, vice chairman and CEO of Best Buy, Buckingham's grasp of the pivotal difference between great managing and great leadership and how to act on that knowledge has been enormously helpful for the key leaders of Best Buy. I offer you some of these insights in a nutshell:
Select people effectively - know what talents you are looking for
Define your expectations clearly - Only 50% of employees claim they know what is expected of them at work. As elementary as it may sound, consider asking: "What do you think you get paid to do?"
Motivate people by focusing on their strengths and managing around their weaknesses Learn how to steer them toward roles that truly fit them
Recognize excellent and praise it - leverage your employees' talents and turn it into performance. With praise and recognition, show you care! Make your employees believe their success is your primary goal.
Employees need to feel supported, challenged, understood and stretched. Be sure to acknowledge tiny bits of growth. In this way, you will coach them to success by building on small steps they can see and recognize. Never praise hard work, instead tell her she succeeded precisely because she has become so good at deploying her strengths. The more an employee is acknowledged on what they do right, the more self-assured they become and self-assurance drives performance.
Even though talent and skills are important, those who are unrealistic about what is possible are the most successful. In other words if they believe they can do something and you support this belief, chances are they will succeed. Research has shown that realistic self-assessment retarded performance while unrealistic self-assessment stimulated it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that coaching is so successful: a coach is a champion, a cheerleader, a partner and a sounding board. In short, the state of mind you want to create in the employee is one where he has a fully realistic assessment of the difficulty of the challenge ahead of him, and, at the same time, an unrealistically optimistic belief in his ability to overcome it.
When you do encounter failure....is it a lack of skills, knowledge or training or do they need a partner/mentor?
Keep in mind there are several styles of learning:
Analyzing - they understand a task by taking it apart, examining its elements and reconstruction it piece by piece. These people crave information and every piece is important.
Doing - the best way to teach a doer is to throw him in the middle of the a new situation and tell him to wing it. The learning moment is during the performance. Where for the Analyzer, it's prior to the actual performance.
Watching - watchers are sometimes viewed as poor students because breaking things down or practicing won't do much for them. However, Watchers can learn a great deal when they are given a chance to see the total performance. Let these people ride along with one of your most experienced performers.
Great managers discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it. Mediocre managers assume or hope their employees will be motivated by the same things, driven by the same goals, desire the same kind of relationships and learn roughly in the same way.
Managers are the catalyst for speeding up an employee's talent which translates to speeding up the company's goals. Best Buy uses 12 simple questions to measure employee engagement. These include such questions as "Do you know what is expected of you?" and "At work, does someone seem to care about you?" What they discovered is that when they could increase their employee engagement by just 2%, it resulted in an additional $70 million in profitability!
Lastly, one of the '5 great needs' we have as humans (more on this in the next issue) is that we need RESPECT. We have a fear of insignificance. Managers are critically valuable because they have the greatest opportunity to identify, recognize and provide many avenues that will fulfill this need for respect; look for ways to do this.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Moving? Be sure to do your homework
Moving? Be sure to do your homework
More than 43 million Americans will move this year, according to www.ourtownamerica.com, meaning 20 percent of us will be hauling our stuff to another location in the upcoming months.However, according to the site, 50 percent of all those moves will take place from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In just three months, more than 20 million people will relocate across town, across states or even across the country.
With more and more people moving this time of year, it is critical for those who are packing up to know how to protect themselves and their homes from being taken advantage of.Those who plan to use a moving company should be forewarned: While there are many reputable and safe companies in business today that are capable of the job, there are those that are not.The real problem with moving companies, according to the site, began three decades ago. In 1980, the Household Goods Transportation Act was passed. This act gave movers the right to provide customers with “binding estimates.” Prior to this act, there were few national moving companies and little to no competition in the market. Now, companies would compete on the basis of price instead of customer service, making competition much fiercer.Moving companies, therefore, had to lower their prices more and more to stay competitive, yet that cut the margin of profit for these companies. And so, onslaughts of moving scams became more prevalent.Estimates were re-written after a family’s goods were packed.Delivery was withheld if families did not pay large, additional fees.Goods were broken or missing if rates were too low.While many of these scams have decreased with the advent of self-moving trucks and trailers, Web sites like http://www.moverworldwide.com/ still give people who need to use moving companies insight on how to make their moving experience efficient and satisfying. Here are some of their tips:n Check references very carefully. Be especially careful with Internet-based movers. There are obviously reputable firms online, but there are an unusual number of horror stories from customers who hired movers online.n Get referrals from local real estate firms.n Get several estimates -- in writing -- from the companies you've chosen. Do everything you can to check out the moving company in advance.n Do a search online to make sure the company isn't already a known scammer; go to the address of the company and check out their yard and their trucks.n Once a reputable company is found, get the full legal company name, length of time in business, full legal company address and all phone numbers.n Get their Department of Transportation and any other state or federal license numbers.n Most importantly, ask them for references -- and call them.n Find out if the company is insured.n Call the FMCSA's consumer complaints hotline at 1-888-368-7238 to inquire about the company's history.n Make to be given a copy of a booklet called "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." Moving companies are legally obligated to give it.Adding to the list, Joe Boyle, president of Dun Mar Moving Systems, which has a branch in Suffolk, said that consumers need to be aware of moving companies found on Internet sites.“We’ve gotten some black eyes because of what’s going on in the Internet…I think the consumer really needs to be aware of some of the Internet sites that are available for moving,” he said. “In a lot of cases they are truly scams…they’ll let the consumer think they are the mover, ask for a deposit and then you’ll never hear from them again. I think if a consumer is going to use the Internet, they need to be very much aware.”Boyle said that consumers should have in-house estimates that are “relatively precise” and to get two to three estimates before signing a contract with a company.“Moving is a very stressful time,” Boyle said. “The consumer wants to deal with a company that’s providing a service level that’s not just ‘I am going to put in the truck, take it the destination and good luck'… There’s been a lot of dirt thrown at our industry and it’s because of the very few who have discredited our business.”Perhaps because of those scam artists, many sites remind movers that they do not have to rely on moving companies to do their dirty work and risk being scammed at all. In fact, many sites and companies, such as www.upack.com, have packing guidelines and tips on how to pack everything from digital equipment to furniture.“We know this is not always practical either, but it's something to seriously consider. Rent a truck, round up your friends to help pack and load your household goods, and drive away yourself,” the Scam Busters site read.But if all the hard work and heavy lifting is not the road movers want to go, they can try the site’s number one recommendation: Start all over.“Sell everything and start again. This may sound extreme, but dozens of people who've had their household goods held up by a moving company wish now that they had done this.”
Source: http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/articles
More than 43 million Americans will move this year, according to www.ourtownamerica.com, meaning 20 percent of us will be hauling our stuff to another location in the upcoming months.However, according to the site, 50 percent of all those moves will take place from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In just three months, more than 20 million people will relocate across town, across states or even across the country.
With more and more people moving this time of year, it is critical for those who are packing up to know how to protect themselves and their homes from being taken advantage of.Those who plan to use a moving company should be forewarned: While there are many reputable and safe companies in business today that are capable of the job, there are those that are not.The real problem with moving companies, according to the site, began three decades ago. In 1980, the Household Goods Transportation Act was passed. This act gave movers the right to provide customers with “binding estimates.” Prior to this act, there were few national moving companies and little to no competition in the market. Now, companies would compete on the basis of price instead of customer service, making competition much fiercer.Moving companies, therefore, had to lower their prices more and more to stay competitive, yet that cut the margin of profit for these companies. And so, onslaughts of moving scams became more prevalent.Estimates were re-written after a family’s goods were packed.Delivery was withheld if families did not pay large, additional fees.Goods were broken or missing if rates were too low.While many of these scams have decreased with the advent of self-moving trucks and trailers, Web sites like http://www.moverworldwide.com/ still give people who need to use moving companies insight on how to make their moving experience efficient and satisfying. Here are some of their tips:n Check references very carefully. Be especially careful with Internet-based movers. There are obviously reputable firms online, but there are an unusual number of horror stories from customers who hired movers online.n Get referrals from local real estate firms.n Get several estimates -- in writing -- from the companies you've chosen. Do everything you can to check out the moving company in advance.n Do a search online to make sure the company isn't already a known scammer; go to the address of the company and check out their yard and their trucks.n Once a reputable company is found, get the full legal company name, length of time in business, full legal company address and all phone numbers.n Get their Department of Transportation and any other state or federal license numbers.n Most importantly, ask them for references -- and call them.n Find out if the company is insured.n Call the FMCSA's consumer complaints hotline at 1-888-368-7238 to inquire about the company's history.n Make to be given a copy of a booklet called "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." Moving companies are legally obligated to give it.Adding to the list, Joe Boyle, president of Dun Mar Moving Systems, which has a branch in Suffolk, said that consumers need to be aware of moving companies found on Internet sites.“We’ve gotten some black eyes because of what’s going on in the Internet…I think the consumer really needs to be aware of some of the Internet sites that are available for moving,” he said. “In a lot of cases they are truly scams…they’ll let the consumer think they are the mover, ask for a deposit and then you’ll never hear from them again. I think if a consumer is going to use the Internet, they need to be very much aware.”Boyle said that consumers should have in-house estimates that are “relatively precise” and to get two to three estimates before signing a contract with a company.“Moving is a very stressful time,” Boyle said. “The consumer wants to deal with a company that’s providing a service level that’s not just ‘I am going to put in the truck, take it the destination and good luck'… There’s been a lot of dirt thrown at our industry and it’s because of the very few who have discredited our business.”Perhaps because of those scam artists, many sites remind movers that they do not have to rely on moving companies to do their dirty work and risk being scammed at all. In fact, many sites and companies, such as www.upack.com, have packing guidelines and tips on how to pack everything from digital equipment to furniture.“We know this is not always practical either, but it's something to seriously consider. Rent a truck, round up your friends to help pack and load your household goods, and drive away yourself,” the Scam Busters site read.But if all the hard work and heavy lifting is not the road movers want to go, they can try the site’s number one recommendation: Start all over.“Sell everything and start again. This may sound extreme, but dozens of people who've had their household goods held up by a moving company wish now that they had done this.”
Source: http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/articles
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Is Moving Painful?
PAIN! It can be everywhere in our lives and sometimes the very things that are supposed to bring us joy, instead bring us pain. For instance, computers…for the most part, they are designed to make our lives more efficient and perhaps even more fun. They certainly can be a great tool…..that is until they mess up, or WE mess up using them. It’s the same way with moving to a new home, or relocating to your new job. It’s supposed to be an “adventure” - perhaps bring a pay raise, or a bigger and nicer home. But what about the process of getting there? Ohhhhh, now some of that can be painful.
Coming back to the computer for a moment. The mere fact that you are reading this very post or any other post on this site is a testament to the grace of God. Why? Because, not more than an hour ago, while doing some routine file cleanup, I deleted every single article on this site. THAT hurt!! Frankly, it’s amazing that I have not done that before now (being the relative technical klutz that I am at times). But what I was able to do was find the backup files on the server and reload all of them…WHEW, they were just backed up yesterday, so nothing was really lost.
So, now what about moving? What if you lost all of your belongings due to faulty or under strength boxes? Or your packing tape failed and the boxes burst open? Or worst yet, the rental truck or the professional mover company you chose was in an accident with a big-rig and caught on fire. Ohh, the PAIN that would cause. It’s not as though you lost your life, but you did just lose your tangible memories and you’ll have to replace everything.
So what is the moral to this story - WELL, keep fresh backups available for your computer and as it pertains to either moving across the country or across your hometown, be sure to first orga ize your move well. Take the time to think through what you need, and choose your packing and shipping products carefully. While there are few if any guarantees in life or in moving your belongings, good preparation will go a long way toward giving you peace of mind.
Coming back to the computer for a moment. The mere fact that you are reading this very post or any other post on this site is a testament to the grace of God. Why? Because, not more than an hour ago, while doing some routine file cleanup, I deleted every single article on this site. THAT hurt!! Frankly, it’s amazing that I have not done that before now (being the relative technical klutz that I am at times). But what I was able to do was find the backup files on the server and reload all of them…WHEW, they were just backed up yesterday, so nothing was really lost.
So, now what about moving? What if you lost all of your belongings due to faulty or under strength boxes? Or your packing tape failed and the boxes burst open? Or worst yet, the rental truck or the professional mover company you chose was in an accident with a big-rig and caught on fire. Ohh, the PAIN that would cause. It’s not as though you lost your life, but you did just lose your tangible memories and you’ll have to replace everything.
So what is the moral to this story - WELL, keep fresh backups available for your computer and as it pertains to either moving across the country or across your hometown, be sure to first orga ize your move well. Take the time to think through what you need, and choose your packing and shipping products carefully. While there are few if any guarantees in life or in moving your belongings, good preparation will go a long way toward giving you peace of mind.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Preparing Your Car For Shipping
If you've received your car transport estimates and have selected a car transport service there are some preparations you need to take before your car shipping company comes to pick up your car or when you leave it at the car shippping service's terminal.Take these steps ahead of time to minimize potential problems that could arise while your car is being shipped:Unless you are shipping a non-operating car or truck, like an antique automobile, and your car shipping service knows about it, have your car serviced ahead of time so that it will start, stop and roll like it's supposed to.Check your car's fluids, battery charge and air pressure in the tires. Secure or remove any bolted on accessories, like roof racks, extra mirrors, air dams, spoilers, etc. Lower or remove all antennas. If you have an E-Z pass device remove it before shipping. Thoroughly wash the car and clean the interior. If shipping the car overseas, have the undercarriage washed. The destination country may require it. Have any fluid leakage problems corrected. If you car is leaking fluid, make sure the car shipping service knows about it in advance and that the driver is aware of it so your car doesn't get placed above another car in transit and damage it.
By Idan Lavi
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