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	<title>Hal Alpiar's Blog &#187; Sports</title>
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		<title>ENTREPRENEURS STAY FOCUSED</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/08/entrepreneurs-stay-focused/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/08/entrepreneurs-stay-focused/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:33:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Contacts/Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feedback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life Plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problems=Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retailing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Esteem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Special People/Special Occasions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boxers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FOCUS has to be on what's INside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gear up to focus on your target market and marketplaces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Halfway efforts produce halfway results and halfway results produce stress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Having a burning desire is the motivational fuel for focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Little League]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productive focus means concentrating on what's in front of you as much of the time as possible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Owners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stress kills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Swimmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tennis Players]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tweets and posters and calendars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winners don't focus on the competition - they focus on themselves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning in sports and business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winning pursuits are a physical/mental and emotional drain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=4546</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Keep your eye on the ball!&#8221;
                                                   
It&#8217;s what good coaches tell 
every batter and entrepreneur!
                                                 
Concentrating hard on everything that&#8217;s right in front of you as much of the time as possible is a tall order for every ballplayer and every business owner. 
It is a physically, mentally, and emotionally draining pursuit, yet focus has proven time [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">&#8220;Keep your eye on the ball!&#8221;</span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                                   </span></h6>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">It&#8217;s what good coaches tell </span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">every batter and entrepreneur!</span></h2>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                                 </span></h6>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Concentrating hard on everything that&#8217;s right in front of you as much of the time as possible</strong> is a tall order for every ballplayer and every business owner. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>It is a physically, mentally, and emotionally draining pursuit</strong>, yet focus has proven time and again to be the single most important quality to possess (beyond having a burning desire), in achieving big-time success. </span></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Of course, having a burning desire is the motivational fuel that usually accounts for having a sharp focus to begin with.</span></h2>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                                   </span></h6>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>In other words</strong>, if you truly want to win the game more than anything else in the world, you will undoubtedly make outstanding plays and you will get hits no matter how great the pitcher is. Whether or not others on your team are as committed &#8212; and if those commitments outweigh the opposing team commitments &#8212; will determine if your team wins. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>When you have your own business</strong>, your &#8220;team&#8221; is your staff of employees. If you lead they will follow. Hmm, heard that before, huh? But it&#8217;s true. The hitch is in the words, &#8220;if you lead&#8221; because saying one thing and doing another doesn&#8217;t cut it for leadership. And we all know how far the screaming Little League coach gets with impressionable young players.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Then there&#8217;s the other team you&#8217;re up against</strong> &#8212; the competition. And herein lies the one-way, downward chute into oblivion for too many high-spirited entrepreneurs: gearing themselves and their energy and their businesses to the competition. They need instead to gear themselves, their energy and their businesses to the market they target and the marketplaces they&#8217;re in. </span></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Everything else is an ego-based, self-aggrandizing waste of time, money and energy.</span></h2>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                                               </span></h6>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Even one-one-one competitors</strong> &#8212; boxers, tennis players, swimmers cannot enter the arena focused on the competitor and expect to win. Yes, they need to review competitive strengths and weaknesses, and they certainly need to have a fix on the ring, court, pool they&#8217;ll be competing in. There&#8217;s no discounting the importance of these awarenesses.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>But FOCUS has to be on what&#8217;s INside</strong>, on gathering personal strength and drive, on desire, on gumption, spunk and determination. When business owners and entrepreneurial leaders can bring that spark mto work every day and nurture the spark they see in others, they will find it very difficult to fail.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #800000;">We&#8217;ve all read and heard that stuff on calendars and posters and Tweets and the bottoms of emails . . . all the warnings and words of encouragement and lectures and reassurances, and what does it all mean?</span> </span></h2>
</blockquote>
<h6 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">                                                                                                                                     </span></h6>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The bottom line</strong> seems to be that if you can&#8217;t feel the courage for focusing on success somewhere deep down in your gut, and if you can&#8217;t know in your heart that you can and will make a difference in this life, maybe you should reassess what you&#8217;re doing and not be absorbing all that stress. Because halfway efforts produce halfway results and halfway results produce stress. And stress kills.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Winning in sports and winning in business</strong> is never easy because &#8212; in the end &#8212; keeping focused means that you are<em> really </em>only competing against your SELF!                                                     </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.twwsells.com/"><span style="color: #0000ff;">www.TWWsells.com</span></a><span style="color: #0000ff;"> </span>or 302.933.0116 or <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BusinessWorks.US</span></a>  </p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.</span></h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"> <em>“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”</em> [Thomas Jefferson] </span></h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Make today a GREAT day for someone!</span></h5>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ANTICIPATION</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/07/anticipation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/07/anticipation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:11:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creative Thinking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Humor/Satire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life Plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Overcoming Objections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retailing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Esteem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Special People/Special Occasions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategic Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stress Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ANTICIPATION]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you a corporate type?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you always anticipating the next pitch?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you an entrepreneur?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are You Breathing?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you playing the same sport as your boss?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you playing the same sport as your employees?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you thinking about being a corporate type?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Are you thinking about being an entrepreneur?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[If your work situation is UNhappy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Is your business baseball?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Is your business basketball?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Is your business football?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Is your business tennis?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The grass IS greener over there]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[To Entrepreneur or not to entrepreneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What Sport Is Your Business?]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=4384</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
 What Sport Is Your Business?
                                                                          
     Does your on-the-job behavior match the thinking of a baseball player?  Are you always anticipating the next pitch, and what you’ll do if the ball goes here, and what you’ll do if the ball goes there, and what you’ll do if the signals change . . . or the winds change . [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #800000;"> </span></em></h1>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #800000;">What Sport Is Your Business?</span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: left;">                                                                          </h6>
<p> <span style="color: #993366;">    </span><span style="color: #333333;"><strong>Does your on-the-job behavior </strong>match the thinking of a baseball player?  Are you always anticipating the next pitch, and what you’ll do if the ball goes here, and what you’ll do if the ball goes there, and what you’ll do if the signals change . . . or the winds change . . . or your superstitious teammates <em>don’t</em> change the shirts they’ve worn for the last three games? </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">     <strong>Nothing wrong with thinking like a baseball player</strong> unless the company or industry you’re in is Armenian or Finnish, or simply doesn’t leave you <em>time</em> to think.  Maybe the company or industry that you’re trying to represent as the star left fielder, is busy playing hockey or fast-break basketball?  </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">     <strong>Circumstances like these</strong> make for tough going, when trying to get your glove to get in the game!  </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">    <strong> Worse</strong>, you could be a serious golfer in the middle of a football game (keep the first aid squad phone numbers handy!).  Let’s face it, you can’t play soccer on a tennis court or water polo on a ski slope (Yikes!  Now that would be cold, and you’d never want to miss the ball and have to chase after it, especially in a bathing suit!). </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">     <strong>So, what’s the message?</strong>  If your work situation is unhappy, or giving you headaches, knots in your stomach, or other stress-provoked ailments like lower back pain (or, really, just about anything you can think of . . . uh huh, including those two merciless extremes: diarrhea and constipation), step back from the action (no pun intended), and take some deep breaths</span> [See Archives post: <em>"Are you breathing?"</em>  <a href="http://bit.ly/bo3ZJy"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://bit.ly/bo3ZJy</span></a> ]   </p>
<p><span style="color: #993366;">    </span><span style="color: #333333;"> <strong>Then, ask yourself</strong> if you’re “playing the same game” as everyone else, and especially of course, the boss!  Entrepreneurs (and male, female, black, white, purple, orange, MBA or otherwise, makes no difference) rarely survive corporate life because they march to a different drummer.  Regardless of money earned, most would prefer to be an individual performer than to be <em>any </em>team player. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">     <strong>Conversely</strong>, not many corporate types succeed with business startups.  Often, because they fail to realize that <em>they</em> must now pay the expense account submissions, turn out the lights, take out the trash, skip lunch and work far past the luxurous 9-5 weekdays they’re used to.</span>  <span style="color: #808080;"><span style="color: #000000;">[See Archives post: <em>"TO ENTREPRENEUR OR NOT TO ENTREPRENEUR?"  </em></span><a href="http://bit.ly/avuEpT"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://bit.ly/avuEpT</span></a> ]</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #993366;">     </span><span style="color: #333333;"><strong>Maybe you need</strong> to examine the environment you work in more carefully and consider if it’s really the match for your skills and interests and personality that it once appeared to be.  We <em>do </em>change, you know.  And, yes indeed, old dogs <em>can</em> learn new tricks. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">     <strong>But before you decide </strong>to toss your corporate cookies out the window to become a deep sea fisherman or fisherwoman , think again! </span><span style="color: #333333;">The grass . . . yes, it does look greener over there. Where? Maybe <em>any</em>where. In fact, these days,</span> <span style="color: #008000;"><span style="color: #333333;">EVERYthing is greener!</span>  <span style="color: #333333;">It’s getting hard to tell which came first —</span>  </span><span style="color: #008000;"><em>environmentalists </em><span style="color: #000000;">or</span><em> St. Patrick</em><span style="color: #000000;">?!</span></span></p>
<h6><span style="color: #008000;"><span style="color: #000000;">                                                                                                       </span></span></h6>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.twwsells.com/"><span style="color: #0000ff;">www.TWWsells.com</span></a> or 302.933.0116 or <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BusinessWorks.US</span></a>  </p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You. God Bless America and America’s Troops.</span> <span style="color: #0000ff;"><em>“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”</em> [Thomas Jefferson]</span>  <span style="color: #800000;">Make today a GREAT Day!</span></h6>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Your Car and Your Business</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/07/your-car-and-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/07/your-car-and-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:17:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creative Thinking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[INTERNET Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life Plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Meetings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Objectives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Objectives/Strategies/Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Overcoming Objections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problems=Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retailing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategic Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Time Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Do you use economy or high-performance fuel and attitudes?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Examine similarities of business and car control for fresh perspectives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How dependent are you driving your car and driving your business?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How easily distracted are you?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How many business and driving detours are you dealing with?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How much are you willing to pay for your car and your business to pursue certain directions>]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How much baggage and how many passengers can you comfortably carry over what distances?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How much control do you have with your car and your business?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What laws and circumstances confound and delay and punish your business and vehicle driving? Over-indulgence in preventive maintenance issues can clog up innovative pursuits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What's safe car and business operation? Productive? Economical?]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=4092</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you driven, 
                                
or just driving?
                                                                                        
     Next time you slide in behind the wheel, think about how many similarities there are between operating a motor vehicle and running your business. Why? Because it will give you a new or renewed perspective on many if not most of the things you do every day, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Are you driven, </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">or just driving?</span></h1>
<h6><span style="color: #800000;">                                                                                        </span></h6>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>Next time you slide in behind the wheel</strong>, think about how many similarities there are between operating a motor vehicle and running your business. Why? Because it will give you a new or renewed perspective on many if not most of the things you do every day, and shed some new light on old issues that may be clogging up your business works.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>Most of us tend most of the time</strong> to ignore business clog-ups, thinking they&#8217;ll just go away (or not thinking about them at all), but &#8212; like any plumbing problem &#8212; things unfortunately have a way of coming to the surface at the least inopportune moments. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>This is not to suggest</strong> that your business should be preventive maintenance-driven (unless you&#8217;re a doctor, lawyer, accountant or mechanic) because giving that kind of mindset your priority wouldn&#8217;t leave much room for fueling up on innovative thinking. But, much like a periodic tune-up for your car, you may want to do a little service work on your business. So, try this . . .</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">    <strong> What does</strong> your car have in common with your business when it comes to you exercising control? How much do you<em> really</em> have? What&#8217;s controlled by others? Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? Does that work for you? Does it work for your business?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>What is</strong> and isn&#8217;t safe about operating your car as opposed to operating your business? What is and isn&#8217;t productive? Economical? What is and isn&#8217;t a good direction for you to take? What laws and circumstances confound, delay and punish you? How often do you need to fuel up? Do you use economy or high-performance ingredients? Attitudes? </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>How much baggage</strong> and how many passengers can you comfortably carry over what distances? How frequently do you need to detour from the routes you planned? In getting your driving and business missions accomplished, how dependent are you on mechanical and computerized functions? How adept are you at handling inevitable glitches? Are you dependent on others for this? How so?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>How dependent are you</strong> &#8212; driving your car and driving your business &#8212; on your instincts, intuition, experience, training, knowledge, observations, communication skills? How easily distracted are you &#8211;driving your car and driving your business &#8212; by outside influences (everything from sirens, cell phones, traffic patterns, B to B services, social media, industry trade and community activities, to weather reports, headline news, sports scores and issues, and tire rotations)?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>How much</strong> are you willing to pay to be able to pursue certain directions in the driver&#8217;s seat of both your business and your car?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>If you just scan</strong> these questions and answer only a couple, odds are pretty good that prompting some quick assessment thinking on your part will pay back your periodic time investments for giving yourself check-ups and arranging occasional servicing. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">    <strong> Bottom line:</strong> <em>Your car?</em> Change the oil every couple of thousand miles; drop it off for regular servicing and keep aware of performance and tire pressure issues. <em>Your business?</em> Change the routine every couple of months; hold regular weekly &#8220;how goes it?&#8221; status meetings (Mondays better than Fridays); hire occasional consultants to bring fresh perspectives to your doorstep a few times a year. Keep aware of performance and pressure issues.   </span> </p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.twwsells.com/"><span style="color: #0000ff;">www.TWWsells.com</span></a> or 302.933.0116 or <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BusinessWorks.US</span></a>  </h6>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless:  You, America, and Our Troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!</span></h6>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>MOMENTUM</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/07/momentum/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/07/momentum/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:55:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Contacts/Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Service (CRM)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delegation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feedback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[INTERNET Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Objectives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Overcoming Objections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problems=Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retailing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Esteem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Everyone in the business must be responsible for selling all the time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Individual Momentum Sales Momentum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership Momentum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Momentum in business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Momentum in sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[momentum is a choice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Momentum shifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No one goes home at 10am after making a big sale at 9am - that's the moment of gathering momentum!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[productivity is a choice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roget's Thesaurus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Settling for status quo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success is a choice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Team Momentum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Flip Dictionary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Webster's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What you think and how you act are 100% your choice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=3994</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Once you&#8217;ve gathered it,
                                             
what do you do with it?
                                                                                                        
     We&#8217;ve all experienced it, some more than others. Leaders, campaigns, competitors, gamblers, teams, and combatants &#8220;get on a roll.&#8221; 
     Webster&#8217;s defines it as &#8220;strength or force gained by motion or through the development of events.&#8221; The Flip Dictionary says it&#8217;s &#8220;drive, energy, force, impetus, motion, thrust, tide, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Once you&#8217;ve gathered it,</span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                             </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">what do you do with it?</span></h1>
<h6>                                                                                                        </h6>
<p>     <strong>We&#8217;ve all experienced it</strong>, some more than others. Leaders, campaigns, competitors, gamblers, teams, and combatants &#8220;get on a roll.&#8221; </p>
<p>    <strong> <em>Webster&#8217;s</em></strong> defines it as &#8220;strength or force gained by motion or through the development of events.&#8221; The <em>Flip Dictionary</em> says it&#8217;s &#8220;drive, energy, force, impetus, motion, thrust, tide, velocity.&#8221; <em>Roget&#8217;s Thesaurus</em> adds &#8220;push, drive, impulse, go, and speed&#8221; to the list.</p>
<p>    <strong> As a human attribute</strong>, it can be here one minute, and gone the next . . . it&#8217;s all about MOMENTUM.</p>
<p>    <strong> One baseball team</strong> gets two runs and goes ahead, gaining momentum in the game, but the next two batters strike out and the third out is made by an amazing outfield catch. BOING! Momentum shifts.</p>
<p>    <strong> Momentum untangles</strong> a sales pro from an ordinary day and throws her into the control seat of a speeding locomotive.</p>
<p>     <strong>Like a giant hand</strong> gently pressing your spine forward, momentum is a psychological phenomenon that produces surges of self-confidence-boosting thoughts and behaviors.</p>
<p>     <strong>No one goes home at</strong> <strong>10am after making a big sale at 9am</strong>. That&#8217;s when he trots off instead to see all the non-committal hanger-on prospects, that&#8217;s when the sales lead generation task becomes challenging and inviting.</p>
<p>     <strong>Those are the moments</strong> of &#8220;Well, let&#8217;s not stop here; now I&#8217;m on a role; lemme into that pipeline! Now&#8217;s the time to go get those other sales that I&#8217;ve been dragging my feet on.&#8221;</p>
<p>     <strong>Business leaders </strong>of every description thrive on momentum. When everyone in a department &#8220;clicks&#8221; and the workload is happily and productively dispensed with, leaving time for a celebratory water cooler or snack room gathering, that&#8217;s momentum in action.</p>
<p>    <strong> The funny part is</strong> that the same thoughts and actions that serve to gather momentum also work to sustain it.</p>
<p>     <strong>Making conscious choices</strong> to do whatever it takes to make things work to your favor, and then making those choices again and again and again and again throughout the hour, and the day, and the week, and the month&#8230;is all the magic you need. Even in sales.</p>
<p>  <strong>   I know, I know</strong>, sales &#8211;that is, selling&#8211; is a multi-faceted, job function that demands more than attitude. Or does it?</p>
<p>     <strong>Sure,</strong> your appearance and product/service know-ledge, promptness, a genuine smile and handshake, a couple of attractive &#8220;deals&#8221; up your sleeve, and a strong listening skill-set are all critical ingredients, but the attitude you choose to practice dictates how well those multi-facets perform!</p>
<p>     <strong>And what&#8217;s this to do with leadership?</strong> Sales and selling are just part of the business. Perhaps, but every business needs every person in the business to be selling all the time, every day.</p>
<p>     <strong>Selling needs to be</strong> as much the responsibility of the owner and the operations head and the financial head and the IT head as all the other functions they perform. Even in big business.</p>
<p>    <strong> Talk to yourself. </strong>Tell yourself you won&#8217;t settle for sedentary status quo hours and days and weeks. Remind yourself that you&#8217;ve got what it takes and that it&#8217;s all inside your head.</p>
<p>     <strong>No one else</strong> and no event can control what you think. What you think and how you act are 100% your choice. Choose success and productivity and<em> keep</em> choosing it.   </p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.TWWsells.com"><span style="color: #0000ff;">www.TWWsells.com</span></a> or 302.933.0116 or <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BusinessWorks.US</span></a>  </h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless:  You, America, and Our Troops</span>. <em><span style="color: #0000ff;">“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]</span></em>  <span style="color: #800000;">Make today a GREAT Day!</span></h5>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>NOISE ANNOYS</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/06/noise-annoys/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/06/noise-annoys/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:35:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Service (CRM)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delegation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feedback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[INTERNET Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problems=Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retailing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Special People/Special Occasions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baltimore Orioles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business and pro sports success seem to hinge more on the tumult and hoopla that surrounds them than performance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Camden Yards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Machine-generated artificial bombardments of noise DO NOT sell sports OR business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Noise in business loses customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Noise in sports sends fans home to TV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NY Mets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional football and baseball and basketball all suffer from overkill noise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[screaming in-your-face car dealerships and infomercials are losing business with too much noise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seat and building vibrating speaker systems are ruining sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sound effects being used have absolutely nothing to do with the sports or people or performances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The real true sounds of sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The same know-it-all marketing attitudes that brought noise to sports are bringing it to business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=3777</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hey! 
                                 
Ease up on the ears 
                                                    
a little, will ya please?
                                                                                        
     Where is it written that business and professional sports success must hinge no longer on performance, but on the tumult and hoopla that surrounds them?
     How did it ever get to be that attending a professional football, basketball, or baseball game meant [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;"><em>Hey! </em></span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                 </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;"><em>Ease up on the ears </em></span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;"><em>                                                    </em></span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;"><em>a little, will ya please?</em></span></h1>
<h6>                                                                                        </h6>
<p>     <strong>Where is it written</strong> that business and professional sports success must hinge no longer on performance, but on the tumult and hoopla that surrounds them?</p>
<p>     <strong>How did it </strong>ever get to be that attending a professional football, basketball, or baseball game meant giving up one&#8217;s sense of hearing for a week?</p>
<p>     <strong>I am nor referring</strong> to the yeas, boos, chants, whistles, claps, and songs of enthusiastic well-meaning fans. With or without cheerleaders, those natural outbursts of energetic support &#8211; together with the crack of a bat, the swoosh of a net, and the thud of a tackle &#8212; are the real true sounds of sports.</p>
<p>     <strong>I&#8217;m talking about</strong> the machine-generated, artificial bombardments of drum-banging, hand-clapping, bugle-blowing, spiral-buzzing racket that has absolutely nothing to do with the sport-at-hand, nor the performers, and which is a genuinely disruptive insult to our respective brains.</p>
<p>     <strong>No I&#8217;m not</strong> turning into a grouchy, out-of-touch, old guy. I am simply resentful of how noise has risen to the top of the consciousness disruption charts, and literally taken over what it was originally designed to merely support.  </p>
<p>    <strong> I was reminded </strong>of this again today as I went to see my favorite NY Mets play the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. I&#8217;m not singling out any team or stadium here because it&#8217;s ALL of them; today was simply an example.</p>
<p>     <strong>And just like in business</strong>&#8211; some know-it-all marketing whiz-kids have literally commandeered every professional, semi-pro and college stadium and gymnasium, and forced each venue into becoming a catch-all of suffocating, obnoxious, insulting, decibel-threatening sound effects.</p>
<p>    <strong> How stupid is sports top management</strong> to have been sold on the idea that blasting noise (and even, but to a less annoying extent, music) through seat-and-building vibrating speaker systems will contribute to successful team status?</p>
<p>     <strong>In fact</strong>, it seems to me to be doing the reverse. I see many more fans staying home to watch sports on TV and not subjecting themselves to this deafening fun for the feeble-minded.  </p>
<p>    <strong> In business</strong>, educational and entertaining market-ing approaches seem universally preferable to those parts of the population that I&#8217;m exposed to, than the screaming in-your-face, sleazy fast-talk of car dealership advertising and many late night info-mercials. Yet the audio clutter continues.</p>
<p>    <strong> Greedy pro sports management</strong> convictions that <em>noise sells</em> . . . and that the way to an enthusiast&#8217;s heart and wallet is by prompting pounding headaches . . . is serving to set the stage for other businesses to follow suit. Does it all originate in Hollywood? Well, let&#8217;s see: how many movies can you name that haven&#8217;t wrapped their messages in earth-shattering sounds? (Oh, sorry, &#8220;Special audio effects.&#8221;)</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">    <em> <strong>No matter what your business</strong> message is and no matter how you say it, when you surround it with too much noise, you will suffer the consequences of lost trust and lost credibility. People who really mean what they have to say don&#8217;t need to wrap it up in fireworks, sirens, explosions, and other deafening audio garbage.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">    <strong> Just say it like it is</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">If a certain sound is part of what&#8217;s being sold or sets a receptive stage, use it.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">If not, don&#8217;t.</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.twwsells.com/"><span style="color: #0000ff;">www.TWWsells.com</span></a> or call 302.933.0116 or <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BusinessWorks.US</span></a>  </h5>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! God Bless America, and God Bless Our Troops <em>“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]</em>  Make today a GREAT Day!</span></h5>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Are you playing basketball on a baseball field?</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/05/are-you-playing-basketball-on-a-baseball-field/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/05/are-you-playing-basketball-on-a-baseball-field/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 May 2010 21:25:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Contacts/Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creative Thinking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Service (CRM)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Objectives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retailing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategic Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=3474</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WHAT SPORT IS 
                                                                              
YOUR BUSINESS?
                                                   
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When was the last time you dribbled across the infield and took a jump shot from 2nd base? Or slam-dunked a hockey puck over the goalpost? You went curling and used a nine-iron instead of a broom? 
I once heard a corporate executive describe his company as roller derby because [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #993300;">WHAT SPORT IS </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #993300;">                                                                              </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #993300;">YOUR BUSINESS?</span></h1>
<h6>                                                   </h6>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #993300;">OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>When was the last time you dribbled across the infield and took a jump shot from 2nd base? Or slam-dunked a hockey puck over the goalpost? You went curling and used a nine-iron instead of a broom? </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>I once heard a corporate executive describe his company as roller derby because &#8220;all we ever do is race around in circles, bashing each other in the teeth, putting on a good show for our public, but nothing ever seems to get done or go anywhere.&#8221;</em>    </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #993300;"><em>OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO</em></span></p>
<h6>                                                                                                        </h6>
<p>     <strong>If you own or manage a business</strong>, you sell! If you&#8217;re in sales, you undoubtedly equate the sales field with the football field, and see youself running around right end, punting, passing, tackling, huddling, and occasionally at the 11th hour and the 50-yard line &#8220;Hail Marying&#8221; your way to a sale/no sale decision.</p>
<p>     <strong>Football legend</strong> Vice Lombardi spent years making motivational training films for salespeople because he saw how direct the sales and football analogy was. A full court press may force a basketball turnover, but cost game-losing vulnerability in many other sports. Are you playing the same sport as your customers? Your competitors? Your vendors?</p>
<p>    <strong> So</strong>, what sport is YOUR business? ASK AROUND. Other&#8217;s answers may surprise you.</p>
<p>     <strong>Your honest answer</strong> gives important clues about your business strengths and weaknesses, as well as about your business image, reputation, and uniqueness. And those clues establish business patterns which point to professional and financial growth and development opportunities.</p>
<p>     <strong>Many family businesses</strong> fail to row the same boat in the same direction, or are busy ducking one another while playing ping-pong with golf balls. (Ouch!) </p>
<p>     <strong>Is the sport you choose</strong> to best represent your business a <em>team </em>sport? Do people act like teammates? Any team spirit? Cheerleaders? Playmaker? Coach? Go-to guy?</p>
<p>    <strong>OR is the sport you most identify with</strong> a superstar sport? One person makes all the decisions all the time about everything, from trash disposal methods to sales and marketing and financial management and customer service and answering every phone inquiry?</p>
<p>     <strong>In the boxing ring </strong>there is but one fighter doing battle with another. The rest are support people. Very high competitive risks for very high potential payback, with the possibility of being rich and brain dead. Well, you could always be a politician . . .</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Comment below or</strong> <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><strong>Hal@BusinessWorks.US</strong></a><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals!<em> </em></strong><span style="color: #993300;"><strong>God Bless You! God Bless America, and God Bless Our Troops</strong> <em>(“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”-</em> Thomas Jefferson)</span>  <strong>Make today a GREAT day for someone!</strong></p>
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		<title>Is Your Business Having A Power Outage?</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/04/is-your-business-having-a-power-outage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/04/is-your-business-having-a-power-outage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:55:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Contacts/Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Service (CRM)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feedback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life Plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problems=Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Esteem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategic Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tactics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Appliances only work when they're plugged in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Consumer focus groups give businesses a window to reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Do your business power shortages promote internal power struggles?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Effective Leadership A Function of Intelligence Resources and Findings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Effective leadership must be exercised transparently]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flower Power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military Leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationally unforgiveable to not maintain power vigilance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Power Lineup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Power need not be flaunted but it must be available]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religious Leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Speak Softly and Carry A Big Stick!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Theodore Roosevelt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[There are no terrorist limitations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Those who scoff at vigilance needs are naive]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.halalpiar.com/?p=3250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;We&#8217;ve been 
                                     
without power
                                                   
for days, and 
                               
all we hear is
                               
&#8216;Yeah, soon!&#8217;&#8221;
                                  
     Been there and done that just a few weeks ago. Let me tell you it&#8217;s no fun, especially with an in-home office at 40-degrees, prohibited road travel and no computer access for a computer-based business. Thank God that&#8217;s passed (88-degrees today), but recalling [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">&#8220;We&#8217;ve been </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                     </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">without power</span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                                   </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">for days, and </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                               </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">all we hear is</span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                               </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">&#8216;Yeah, soon!&#8217;&#8221;</span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                  </span></h6>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>     Been there</strong> and done that just a few weeks ago. Let me tell you it&#8217;s no fun, especially with an in-home office at 40-degrees, prohibited road travel and no computer access for a computer-based business. Thank God that&#8217;s passed (88-degrees today), but recalling the no-heat/no-hot-water/no-power-anything experience, I am prompted to propose that a periodic &#8220;Leadership Power Assessment&#8221; might prove to be a valuable checkpoint for business owners and managers.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">Do your business power shortages promote internal power struggles? Do circuits get overloaded? Do you bring in power washers or introduce power plays with a power lineup capable of delivering a power punch during peak power hours?  . . . Or just rely on flower-power? </span></h3>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>     We all have it</strong>. Many <em>wield</em> it. Many use it ineffectively, at the &#8220;wrong&#8221; times, with the &#8220;wrong&#8221; people, and in the &#8220;wrong&#8221; settings. True leaders (military, spiritual, business, educational, sports, home and family, and <em>maybe</em> a handful of government/political types in a few states and lots of small towns) recognize that leadership has more to do with HOW power is exercised than with the amount available. But it must be available. Appliances only work when they&#8217;re plugged in.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>Unfortunately, mainstream media</strong> continues to believe that the only way to sell advertising time and space is to accentuate the negative, and to focus on making incompetent government leaders appear skillful, well-intentioned, and visionary when they are none of the above. Just imagine one of these national &#8220;leaders&#8221; running <em>your</em> business for even a week . . . talk about power failure nightmares!</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">    <strong> For effective leadership</strong> to happen, power must be exercised transparently with appropriate disclosure of the rationale for a request. Power must be exercised respectfully and diplomatically (except perhaps in military and quasi-military type stress conditions, where captains in storms must order crew compliances without regard for niceties). </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">    <strong> Effective leadership</strong> needs also to be anchored in the the reality of best available intelligence resources and findings (turning, for example, to <em>real </em>small business owners for input on legislation impacting small business, or holding customer focus group studies to find out what your customers <em>really</em> think).</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">    <strong> In your own business</strong>&#8211; as with our national best interests &#8212; there cannot be successful exercising of power without the fulltime vigilance it takes to ensure freedom, without carrying Theodore Roosevelt&#8217;s big stick while speaking softly. The tools of power must be in place to start with, and fully oiled and maintained if the gentle, warm and fuzzy motivating approach is to ever produce meaningful results. Those who think otherwise are naive in their judgement of terrorist limitations because there are none. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000;">     <strong>There is a thin line</strong> between flaunting power and quietly having others know it&#8217;s available. But removing power from the equation will greatly weaken your business clout and ability to get things done. On a national level, it&#8217;s an unforgivable and highly threatening decision . . . all the more reason to shore up what you&#8217;ve got invested in your business now, and begin to work at it with a stronger sales focus. Sales are, after all, the only business activity capable of driving economic turnaround. </span></p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;">Comment below or <a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><strong>Hal@BusinessWorks.US</strong></a> <em>Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day!</em> Blog via RSS feed or $1/mo Kindle. GRANDPARENT Gift? <a href="http://bit.ly/3nDlGF"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://bit.ly/3nDlGF</span></a></h6>
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		<title>Let Salespeople Sell and Marketers Market!</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/03/let-salespeople-sell-and-marketers-market/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/03/let-salespeople-sell-and-marketers-market/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:26:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRANDING]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Best Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choosing Behavior]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Contacts/Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corporate Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Service (CRM)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decision Making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Delegation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feedback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[INTERNET Marketing]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problems=Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA["Show me the money!"]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A-Rod]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[America's champion sports agent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baseball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buzz marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Herman's Hermits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership is motivating everyone to do what they do best to take your busi9ness in the direction you want it to go]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Let salespeople sell and marketing peoplpe do the marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketers are the planners/organizers/strategists/and creators]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketers support sales and drive prospects that salespeople sell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing is not sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Much ado about nothing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Olympic curling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional Practice Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales is a function of marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales is the lifeblood of business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[salespeople are the movers and shakers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scott Boras]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom Cruise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yankee slickster]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://halalpiar.com/?p=3045</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Should &#8220;A-Rod&#8221; 
                             
be negotiating 
                                 
terms for Scott Boras
                                                     
to play third base?
                                                                
     With immediate apologies to all those &#8220;not a baseball fan&#8221; types who prefer brawn-over-brain sports that require heavy drinking to appreciate, and, oh yes, apologies also to all those who suffered great heartache at having to see Olympic curling competition come to an [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Should &#8220;A-Rod&#8221; </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                             </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">be negotiating </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                 </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">terms for Scott Boras</span></h1>
<h6>                                                     </h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">to play third base?</span></h1>
<h6>                                                                </h6>
<p>     <strong>With immediate apologies</strong> to all those &#8220;not a baseball fan&#8221; types who prefer brawn-over-brain sports that require heavy drinking to appreciate, and, oh yes, apologies also to all those who suffered great heartache at having to see Olympic curling competition come to an end.</p>
<p>     <strong>It&#8217;s just that even Herman&#8217;s Hermits </strong>have heard of baseball&#8217;s super-star Yankee slickster, and America&#8217;s champion sports agent (No, not the Tom Cruise character from the &#8220;Show me the money!&#8221; movie). And everyone knows that neither of these guys could do the other&#8217;s job with even a shred of success. Besides, it hooked you into reading this, right? </p>
<p>    <strong> Well, this is <em>not</em> much ado about nothing</strong> because business owners and managers insist everyday on putting the avalanche of marketing burdens on the shoulders of salespeople who haven&#8217;t a clue about the most appropriate tools to use, nor any sense of the command of psychology needed to make those tools work effectively. And designating marketing people for sales roles can be an even bigger joke.</p>
<p>     <strong>Marketing is not sales</strong>. Sales is a function of marketing.</p>
<p>     <strong>Marketing is also the umbrella</strong> over all these other functions: pricing; packaging; online and offline promotion, merchandising, and advertising; online and offline public relations, community relations, investor relations, industry relations, business alumni relations, and much of customer relations; professional practice development; formalized networking, blogging, and social media activities; website design and development; and &#8220;buzz&#8221; (word-of-mouth) marketing.</p>
<p>     <strong>Sales has many parts</strong> to it. Not the least of these is that being a sales representative means running one&#8217;s own small sales performance business complete with bookkeeping and all the other migraine-promoters. But sales is sales.</p>
<p>     <strong>Marketers are</strong> the planners, organizers, strategists and creators. Salespeople are the movers and shakers. Salespeople are the lifeblood of every organization. Marketers provide the support services that bring prospects to the point of sale. Salespeople sell!</p>
<p>     <strong>If you want your salespeople to do a better job of selling</strong>, let them sell. Take away the responsibility for marketing that drains their energy, makes them crazy and is beyond their comprehension to begin with, and let them sell.</p>
<p>     <strong>Give the</strong> <strong>responsibility for marketing to people who are trained to do marketing</strong>. Let <em>them</em> come up with the words and pictures and designs and plans and budgets and strategies and slogans and jingles and branding lines and media plans and scripts and news releases and online program approaches.</p>
<p>     <strong>When their work succeeds</strong> at driving prospects to your door, reward them for the results; but then let your salespeople do <em>their</em> job! </p>
<p>     <strong>Of</strong> <strong>course they all need </strong>to interact and share insights with one another. The more each team and individual knows about what makes the other(s) tick, the more successful all of them will be, and so will be your business. <em>Your</em> greatest challenge is to motivate everyone to do what they do best to take your business in the direction you want it to go. That&#8217;s leadership, and only <em>you</em> can do that!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Comment below or direct to </em><a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US</span></strong></a> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Thanks for visiting</span>. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Go for your goals</span>! <span style="text-decoration: underline;">God Bless You</span>! <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Make it a GREAT Day</span>! <em>Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. <strong>Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: </strong></em><a href="http://bit.ly/3nDlGF"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://bit.ly/3nDlGF</span></strong></a></p>
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		<title>150 OF US JUST LOST A GREAT TEAMMATE</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/02/150-of-us-just-lost-a-great-teammate/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/02/150-of-us-just-lost-a-great-teammate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:30:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Empathy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Good Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal Growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-Confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Special People/Special Occasions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teamwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[150 Teammates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A Friend and Teammate to All]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A Gentleman On and Off The Field]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[A Gifted Athlete]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Battle With Cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friendliness/Humility/Courage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership By Being A Teammate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RIP Butch Taras]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Southern Delaware Senior Softball]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Championship Softball]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://halalpiar.com/?p=2965</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[R.I.P. Butch Taras
                                                      
I was going to write the usual small business-praising, government-bashing post tonight, but I can&#8217;t do it. Not tonight. Besides, if you&#8217;re a really smart businessperson, you&#8217;ll get more out of this little eulogy than you would from one of my lectures; just think about the meanings for YOU behind the messages that follow:
                                                                      
     I, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">R.I.P. Butch Taras</span></h1>
<h6>                                                      </h6>
<address style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">I was going to write the usual small business-praising, government-bashing post tonight, but I can&#8217;t do it. Not tonight. Besides, if you&#8217;re a really smart businessperson, you&#8217;ll get more out of this little eulogy than you would from one of my lectures; just think about the meanings for YOU behind the messages that follow:</address>
<h6 style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">                                                                      </h6>
<p><strong>     I, and roughly 149 other guys</strong> (including two women) who play senior softball (many of us year-round when weather permits) in Southern Delaware, learned today that all of us lost a special teammate, a friend &#8230; and an outstanding human being in Butch Taras.</p>
<p>     <strong>Hard to imagine 150 teammates in softball?</strong> Well, that&#8217;s because it really never mattered to Butch which of the ten or so teams you played for &#8211;or even whether you were playing <em>against</em> the team he was assigned to. Nor did it make any difference that you might be giving him a run for the money in game performance or you were the worst player in the league. He respected everyone equally.</p>
<p>    <strong> But don&#8217;t think</strong> his authenticity made him a pushover. Butch was the poster boy for competitive spirit, and took winning seriously (more than once I found him at the field on an off-day, by himself, hitting one ball after another from a practice T &#8220;to improve&#8221; his near-flawless swing!).</p>
<p>     <strong>The bottom line is </strong>that Butch was a leader through and through because he considered <em>every</em>one a teammate.</p>
<p>     <strong>What made this behavior especially endearing</strong> is that Butch was a truly gifted athlete who could do almost everything better than almost everybody. He was arguably the finest all-around performer in our league of 150 seniors. But he never carried his superior athletic prowess on his sleeve. In fact, except for his World Championship Softball ring that he wore with great pride, he never spoke of his abilities.</p>
<p>     <strong>Friendliness, humility, and courage</strong> are the traits I most admired and associated with the Butch Taras I knew. He was a &#8220;gentleman&#8221; in every sense of the word, on the field and off. And now, he has left us after such an abrupt bout with cancer that it&#8217;s hard to believe that 20 of us shared the field with him just 4-5 weeks ago!</p>
<p>     <strong>We all knew</strong> he was battling his way through pain and stressful treatments. And each of us in our own ways let him know that he and his devoted wife Carol could count on us for support. His positive attitude prevailed to the end. It was and &#8211;I know I speak for all of us whose lives he touched&#8211; shall forever be, an inspiration to us all. </p>
<blockquote>
<h2><em><span style="color: #4d4d74;">I know, Butch, that I won&#8217;t be the only one to reminisce and compare your great lefty power with every long-ball blast to deep right field, nor will I be the only one to remember the encouraging pats on the back you gave me for meager little pop-up singles. And who can ever forget the sincerity of your pledge to overcome this terrible disease, or the sparkle in your eyes when you spoke of your wife and family? </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span style="color: #4d4d74;">God bless you and your family, Butch. You will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. Thank you from us all for having made a difference in our lives.&#8221; </span></em></h2>
</blockquote>
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<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><em>Comment below or direct to </em><a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><strong><span style="COLOR: #0000ff">Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US</span></strong></a> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Thanks for visiting</span>. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Go for your goals</span>! <span style="text-decoration: underline;">God Bless You</span>! <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Make it a GREAT Day</span>! <em>Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. <strong>Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: </strong></em><a href="http://bit.ly/3nDlGF"><strong><span style="COLOR: #0000ff">http://bit.ly/3nDlGF</span></strong></a></p>
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		<title>Your Memory Is Malleable</title>
		<link>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/02/your-memory-is-malleable/</link>
		<comments>http://www.halalpiar.com/2010/02/your-memory-is-malleable/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:39:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hal Alpiar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA["Here & Now" Focus]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA["60-Minutes"]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1987 World Series]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Accountants]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Judgements Based On Past Memories Will Never Lead Us Forward]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory Inadequacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Memory plays tricks on us]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Pay attention to what's going on here and now]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Superbowl Sunday]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://halalpiar.com/?p=2889</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Don&#8217;t Trust 
                                   
What You Remember!
                                           
     Unless you are one of the 27 other people in America who has not a shred of interest in football, or who found yourself snowed in and powered out as I was on Superbowl Sunday, you probably missed the emergency portable radio static-filled broadcast of the audio for &#8220;60-Minutes.&#8221;
     [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">Don&#8217;t Trust </span></h1>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">                                   </span></h6>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800000;">What You Remember!</span></h1>
<h6>                                           </h6>
<p>     <strong>Unless you are one of the 27 other people in America</strong> who has not a shred of interest in football, or who found yourself snowed in and powered out as I was on Superbowl Sunday, you probably missed the emergency portable radio static-filled broadcast of the audio for &#8220;60-Minutes.&#8221;</p>
<p>    <strong> Even as many were trying</strong> to remember the Colts-controlled first half of the game as they watched the Colts being trounced in the second half, the &#8221;60-Minutes&#8221; broadcast was focused on the shortcomings of memory.</p>
<p>     <strong>Actually</strong>, besides the realization that no one ever listens to portable radios anymore (who knew?), the broadcast was wrapped around a cluster of gruesome news stories involving &#8220;100% absolutely positive&#8221; witness identifications of individuals as criminals who were not.</p>
<p>     <strong>A couple of examples</strong> involved innocent people who were wrongly imprisoned for many years (more than a dozen I believe I recall hearing in one case). It was only after a slim-chance break in reviewing nearly untestable past evidence that innocence was proven with DNA studies.</p>
<p>     <strong>The point of all the par-for-the-course</strong> mainstream media sensationalism was to offer newsworthy, scientific proof that the human memory plays tricks on us&#8230; that, no matter how absolutely positive we think we are about something we remember, odds are that we are wrong! </p>
<p>     <strong>Okay, so that&#8217;s not much</strong> of an ego-flattering thing to have to admit&#8230; and especially if it has to do with your business and the ways you think you solved problems in the past, which carries a bit more consequential impact than recollecting who threw what touchdown in the 1987 world series (er, sorry, Superbowl).</p>
<p>    <strong> What it might say to us</strong>, this little touch of dementia, is that it&#8217;s not just professors who are absent-minded and that we could all stand to rely less on what we are sure happened in the past. Big corporations wallow in the past, thinking no doubt it will lead them soaring into the future.</p>
<p>     <strong>But if remembering the past</strong> produces so many inconsistencies and untruths, what good can it all be? How will it ever move us into the future? It will not. If you disagree, you&#8217;ve been hanging around too many history teachers and accountants.</p>
<p>     <strong>It is the spirit of entrepreneurship</strong> that all business most ultimately adopt if we are to heft ourselves upward and out of this mud-clogged economy. There is a genuine need for business leaders to put the past aside and pay attention to what&#8217;s going on here and now.</p>
<p>    <strong> The past</strong> may be interesting and worth much exploration, but not at the expense of what&#8217;s in front of our business faces, because present judgements based on past memories will never lead us forward. Before you bet the farm on what you remember that you&#8217;re completely certain of, take a deep breath and look instead to the opportunities that are sitting in your lap&#8230; appreciate that times <em>and your memory banks</em> have changed. </p>
<p><em>Comment below or direct to </em><a href="mailto:Hal@TheWriterWorks.com"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US</span></strong></a> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Thanks for visiting</span>. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Go for your goals</span>! <span style="text-decoration: underline;">God Bless You</span>! <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Make it a GREAT Day</span>! <em> Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. <strong>Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: </strong></em><a href="http://bit.ly/3nDlGF"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://bit.ly/3nDlGF</span></strong></a></p>
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