Link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25074739-14741,00.html

This is a great little piece from Bernard Salt, for The Australian.
Well worth the read...

I AM reliably informed that in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings the first step is taking ownership of the problem.

In other words there is no chance of sobriety until there is an admission that "I am an alcoholic".

The Catholic Church operates on a similar principle with regard to sinners. First you must confess and then repent your sins in order to have even half a chance of salvation. And what's more, the penance paid is directly proportional to the scale of the sin. Small sins require less penance than big sins. (I sometimes wonder whether this scale needs to be reviewed, because some small transgressions today might be deemed "worth it".)

I think the alcoholics and the Catholics have something to teach the Australian consumer during these trying times.

After a decade of access to easy credit and full employment, we have come to believe that we have a god-given right to spend regardless of the cost and regardless of the debt ultimately incurred. And in a rising employment market, who cares? Next year's income will be greater than last year's, so we can all handle just that little bit more debt.

But now with an economic firestorm bearing down upon us, we are suddenly in a very different mood. "Please save us from our credit card debt and lead us not into temptation but deliver us along the path of righteousness and unto eternal solvency."

Just as alcoholics anonymous have a 12-step plan and Christians have the Ten Commandments to keep them on the straight and narrow, I think wayward consumers could do with is a step-plan leading to fiscal salvation. But I must warn you that such a path is difficult and is lined with temptation and with the empty promises of false profits.

Mark my words, Australian consumers, the likes of Harvey Norman will forever tempt thee with crazy never-to-be-repeated prices on the latest McMansion appliances. Are you prepared to stand fast amid such wanton reductions? If so, then you just might be ready to take on my eight-point plan towards a life of lesser consumption. Or at least it was eight points, but I managed to get the same value out of six points. See how easy this thinking is.

No1: Make the shift to generic brands.
No2: Replace the overseas holiday with a cheaper domestic version.
No3: Ask yourself every day what choice you made to conserve cash that you might not have made last year.
No4: Postpone discretionary consumer spending.
No5: Why stop at postponing discretionary consumer spending? Postpone capital investment.
No6: Cancel your reservation at that glamorous restaurant down on the waterfront.
Read on for detail around each step...

You will appreciate that my six-point plan to fiscal salvation might be regarded as seditious by the Australian Government because it fails to promote spending. But here's my defence. I think this is likely to happen anyway. It might be crudely summarised as the "flight to value" and it will surely surface in every aspect of consumer behaviour by the middle of this year. Oh, and apparently shoes can be worn until they wear out. Extraordinary.

Link: http://acetalentnet.com.au/enews/advantedgefeb09.html

What we know is that if you want to get more work, all you have to do is ask your clients what they want… and they'll tell you accurately because THEY ARE the EXPERTS. Another way we put this, is "you are NOT your client". So frankly, what YOU think, doesn't count.

Bowing to our own learning, and as you will have seen at the end of 2008, we recently surveyed the NETwork.
Here's a little of what you told us you wanted from aCE talentNET (full report due soon)...

82.1% said you want to develop a clearer Marketing
and Growth strategy
60.8% said you want to flatten peaks and troughs of workflow
61.9% said you want find client projects
51.6% said you want to build a business
48.4% said you want get more work
55.8% said you want to increase referrals by spending
more time with clients
73.7% said you want live the consultant life you envisaged & have more control

Given that our commitment to you is to deliver on your wants, needs, desires and frustrations, we've got some pretty special things planned... commencing March, with our first Talent Tuesday of the year - "Selling YOUR Consulting" Masterclass with Elliot Epstein, commonly known for ‘getting people to the next level'… fast. Read on for more details...

Talent Tuesday
Is 2009 going to be kind to you?

Invest in your most important assets - Your people!

Our FR*EE Gift Offer
Two Tickets Worth $1,790!

MUCH MORE TO COME IN THE MONTHS TO FOLLOW...

Greetings ChangeThisistas,

We here at 800-CEO-READ, the caretakers of ChangeThis, are pleased to announce the release of our new book, THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME: WHAT THEY SAY, WHY THEY MATTER AND HOW THEY CAN HELP YOU, hitting the street tomorrow.

More than ever, business people are looking for books with solutions to problems. The trouble? Thousands of business books are published every year. Far too many for any reader to sift through single-handedly.

Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten of 800-CEO-READ are the most respected experts on business books, and now they have chosen and reviewed THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME — the ones that deliver the biggest payoff for today's busy readers. At the end of each review, Jack and Todd also direct readers to more books, both inside and outside THE 100 BEST. And sprinkled throughout are sidebars taking the reader beyond business books, suggesting movies, novels, and even children's books that offer equally relevant insights.

This book is for anyone, from entry-level to CEO, who wants to cut through the clutter and discover the brilliant books that are truly worth their investment of time and money. This is your guide to the books that can help you weather this uneasy economic climate.

To buy THE 100 BEST, visit us at: http://800ceoread.com/100best. When you buy our book from us, you’ll get a free copy of our annual magazine, IN THE BOOKS, and a CD of us talking about the book and its beginnings.

To learn more about the book, visit 100bestbiz.com to find a free download of the introduction and two reviews, inspirational posters, and a variety of other resources for your use.

Many Thanks & Best of Days,
The ChangeThis Troupe at 800-CEO-READ http://www.changethis.com/

Link: http://www.sixfigures.com.au/advertisers/resources

Six Figures has recently produced the Executive Job Market Confidence Report to gauge this market segment's confidence in the current job market and their intentions to move locally, nationally and/or internationally for job opportunities.

The findings show that for high salary earners the lure of interstate and international work opportunities is still very high. A key finding was that while quality of the employer's leadership played a significant motivator for attracting and retaining talent locally (as found in our previous survey report What You Need to Know About Attracting & Retaining High Salary Earners, October 2008), this was not the case when it came to interstate or international moves.

A copy of both reports can be found at http://www.sixfigures.com.au/advertisers/resources in the Reports & Whitepapers tab.

Link: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Innovation/Googles_view_on_the_future_of_business_An_interview_with_CEO_Eric_Schmidt_2229

One of the top interview of 2008 for The McKinsey Quarterly is the following one with Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. I thought it timely to revisit this... enjoy

Few would dispute that Google sits at the center of the Internet. As the leader in search, Google is now the Internet’s premier brand and the planet’s most potent free service. Managing that commanding position falls largely to seasoned technology executive Eric Schmidt, who in 2001 was tapped for the CEO post by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

In his years at the company, Schmidt has delivered steady growth while expanding Google’s reach. By anticipating the ways in which people would expand their use of Internet applications, Schmidt has introduced new products from the popular Web-based e-mail service Gmail (Google Mail in Germany and the UK) to the recently unveiled G1 mobile phone. And as Google’s audience and influence have increased, so too has its appeal among advertisers worldwide... read on