BPO Policies: 5 Emerging Trends

BPO Policies: 5 Emerging Trends

Watch out for the next three years! A turbulent phase of global consolidation and aggregation should see Indian BPOs and KPOs emerge bigger and stronger. Some may even become MNCs and global industry leaders. Human resources will, however, be the key challenge at the industry level as well as for the individual HR professional. Successful HR managers will have to be prepared for five emerging trends.

Here are a few key trends which he claims may get overlooked. The top five are:

• The next three years will see a lot of mergers and acquisitions in BPO space worldwide.


• Most new voice/data BPOs will be at least 1000 seaters while KPOs serving any specific domain, 100 seaters.


• Attrition will rise in the middle and top levels leading to a talent war.


• Most top Indian BPO/KPO companies would have multicultural/multinational operations/workforce.


• Bottomline: Those who focus on brand building will perform, others will perish.

HR managers who are better prepared to handle these trends are more likely to perform rather than perish. That means, they must be prepared for:
M&As
Scalability
Talent War
Multicultural Ops
Brand Building

Not that all factors will be applicable to all organisations in BPO/KPO space. Each business will have its own strengths and opportunities and weaknesses and threats. The individual HR manager too has to asses what his/her organization specifically needs. A proactive manager will try to outguess the board and keep some plans ready even before they are actually asked for.
An M&A human resource impact study keeping in mind any one/several possible victims/predators in mind is a good example. M&As are complex and traumatic affairs from a HR point of view. In case one’s organization has any chance of becoming a participant in any M&A event in the near future, a little early planning can prove to be a big help.

Similarly, being all ready to ramp up overnight, as it were, due to some early preparation on your part, can only earn you kudos from the guys who matter. The same can be said about each of the other big trends such as the possibility of talent war or multicultural and multinational operations. The key issue is to correctly asses which way your own organization is headed and then to be specifically prepared for it.

Some companies will not bother much about brand building – either because they don’t need it or care for it, for some reason or the other – but most others would do so. That would mean an additional set of headaches for HR professionals. Apart from the many intangible values that add up to create robust brand equities, some very necessary and tangible aspects are getting certifications of various kinds, following industry best practices and maintaining/improving delivery standards. Achieving these goals will require constant development of HR systems and processes. In plain English that simply means more work for the HR professionals.

Managing human resources in an HR and knowledge intensive BPO/KPO industry was never easy, but with a period of turbulence about to set in, its just going to get tougher! But then being forewarned is being forearmed – just ride out the storm.

Resume writing tips - types of resume

Resume Writing Tips:

There is more to a C.V. than meets the eye. Your C.V. is your first communication with your prospective employer. It serves as a personal advertisement for you and it must be organized in a manner to make it interesting, informative, yet brief, and good enough to take you to the next stage i.e. ‘INTERVIEW’.

There are Two Types of C.V.’s :

• Chronological Format:
Here the experience is given in the reverse chronological order & with specific dates.

• Functional Format:
Experienced group by functions / dept – e.g.- Sales – Mktg, Purchase, Personnel, etc. no specific dates.

We recommend the chronological format as Employers & Personnel Manager are used to it. Based on your experience, make a choice. It can also be a combination of both.
Don’t miss on any essential information that should be there in every C.V. Be factually accurate in your CV. Most critical , do not misrepresent yourself.

Tips

• Always accompany your resume with a cover letter.

• Do not fake your resume.

• Simplicity is the key, Use a clear, simple. Legible font.

• Use good paper; it does not have to be the most expensive kind.

• Check your grammar and spelling.

• Do not write, "Resume" on your resume.

• Do give your full name, address and telephone number, so the employer can contact you.

• Write a strong statement of your goals taking care not to exaggerate.

• Keep your resume concise but informative as far as stating your education goes. List out special skills and highlight any extraordinary job skills you might have. Use bullets if necessary.

• If you are looking for an entry level position, put your educational qualification right after your goal.

• If you have experience, list your jobs first, starting with the most recent one. Indicate how long you were at each job. Mention all projects (however small) you worked on at each job, your role in the project, how you accomplished the assigned tasks.

• Mention awards and honours you may have received, papers you may presented.

• If you are just out of college, and do not have any experience, elaborate on projects you may have worked on. This will give the employer an idea of how you may fare in job atmosphere.

• Mention that references will be available upon request.

The Seven Levels of Delegation

The Seven Levels of Delegation

Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable they are then the more freedom you can give them.

The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a lot of freedom, especially if your job or reputation depends on getting a good result. Take care to choose the most appropriate style for each situation.

1. "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I say." No delegation at all.


2. "Look into this and tell me what you come up with. I'll decide." This is asking for investigation and analysis, but no recommendation.


3. "Give me your recommendation, and the other options with the pros and cons of each. I'll let you know whether you can go ahead." Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before deciding.


4. "Decide and let me know your decision, but wait for my go ahead." The other person needs approval, but is trusted to judge the relative options.


5. "Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to." Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle increase in responsibility saves time.


6. "Decide and take action, but let me know what you did." Saves more time. Allows a quicker reaction to wrong decisions, not present in final level.


7. "Decide and take action. You need not check back with me." The is is most freedom that we can give to the other person. A high level of confidence is necessary, and needs good controls to ensure mistakes are flagged.

Salary And Wage Management

SALARY AND WAGE MANAGEMENT

Here are some ways and means of fixing the compensations levels, taking into consideration various factors like experience, identical industry knowledge, qualifications and proven skills. This in short we have comprehended as ‘Salary and Wage Management’.

Acquire Qualified Personnel:

Compensation needs to be high enough to attract applicants. Pay levels must respond to supply and demand of workers in the labor market since employers complete for workers. Premium wages are sometimes needed to attract applicants who are already working for others.

Retain Present Employees:

Employees may quit when compensation levels are not competitive resulting in higher turnover of manpower.

Ensure Equity:

Compensation management strives for internal and external equity. Internal equity requires that pay be related to the relative worth of jobs, so that similar jobs get similar pay. External equity means paying workers what comparable workers at other firms in the labor market pay.

Reward Desired Behavior:

Pay should reinforce desired behaviors and act as an incentive for those behaviors to occur in the future. Effective compensation plans reward performance, loyalty experience, responsibilities, and other behaviors.

Control Costs:

A rational compensation system helps the organization obtain and retain workers at a reasonable cost. Without effective compensation management, workers could be over or under paid.

Comply with Legal Regulations:

A sound wage and salary system considers the legal challengers imposed by government and ensures the employer’s compliance.

Facilitate Understanding:

System should be easily understood by human resource specialists, operating managers, and employees.
Wage and salary programs should be designed to be managed efficiently, making optimal use of the human resources information system, although this objective should be a secondary consideration compared with other objectives

Systems to Achieve the Objectives

The above mentioned objectives are achieved by the use of the following systems.

1. Job Evaluation:
   All jobs will be analyzed and graded to establish the pattern of internal relationships. It is the process of determining relative worth of jobs. It includes selecting suitable job evaluation techniques, classifying jobs into various categories and determining relative value of jobs in various categories.


2. Wage and Salary Ranges:
   Overall salary range for all the jobs in an organization is arranged. Each job grade will be assigned a salary range. These individual salary ranges will be fitted into an overall range.


3. Wage and Salary Adjustments:
   Overall salary grades of the organization may be adjusted based on the data and information collected about the salary levels of similar organizations. Individual salary level may also be adjusted based on the performance of the individual employees.

Principles of Wage and Salary Administration

There are several principles of wage and salary plans, policies and practices. The important among them are:

1. Wage and salary plans and policies should be sufficiently flexible.


2. Job evaluation must be done scientifically.


3. Wage and salary administration plans must always be consistent with overall organizational plans and programs.


4. Wage and salary administration plans and programs should be in conformity with the social and economic objectives of the country like attainment of equality in income distribution and controlling inflationary trends.


5. Wage and salary administration plans and programs should be responsive to the changing local and national conditions.


6. These plans should simplify and expedite other administrative processes.

The Elements of Wage and Salary System

Wage and salary system should have relationship with the performance, satisfaction and attainment of goals of an individual. The following elements of wage and salary system are identified by experts in HR,

1. Identifying the available salary opportunities, their costs, estimating the worth of its members of these salary opportunities and communicating them to employees.


2. Relating salary to needs and goals.


3. Developing quality, quantity and time standards relating to work and goals.


4. Determining the effort necessary to achieve standards.


5. Measuring the actual performance.


6. Comparing the performance with the salary received.


7. Measuring the job satisfaction gained by the employees.


8. Evaluating the unsatisfied wants and unreached goals of the employees.


9. Finding out the dissatisfaction arising from unfulfilled needs and unattained goals.


10. Adjusting the salary levels accordingly with a view to enabling the employees to reach goals not attained and fulfills the unfulfilled needs.

CEO Repsonsibilities

CEO Repsonsibilities

This is a great list for both taking on a new CEO position and getting up to speed, as well as to develop a proactive development and learning program for any CEO or senior executive wishing to improve their executive management skills. It lays out well all the thing you need to juggle when you have both the privilege and responsibilities of the top spot in any organization.

General Operations

1. Establish primary goals of the Board -- maintenance of status quo, evaluation and recommendations or take charge through implementation of new game plan.
2. Meet all first-reports, introduce game plan and initiate implementation of action items on this list.
3. Have all first-reports complete the Agenda for the Future.
4. Discuss the dozen biggest problems and opportunities from perspective of all first-reports.
5. If survival mode is required, cut costs immediately where necessary and prudent and in accordance with the Board's short and intermediate term goals.
6. Identify and implement top six action items that could measurably increase short term revenues.
7. In addition to this action list, formulate short-term game plan for company, get board approval and communicate plan to key personnel, suppliers, lenders, etc.
8. Prioritize top ten action items for the whole company and begin implementation.
9. Identify top goals for the company for the current month, quarter and year.

Financial Issues

10. Within the first week, get current detailed financial statements, itemized payroll, payables and receivables list.
11. Review budgets of all departments or divisions for reasonableness of assumptions, quality of projections and relevancy in light of recent corporate changes and goals.
12. Evaluate obvious, and not so obvious, problems and strengths revealed by the financial statements.
13. Do realistic cash forecast for the next 90 and 180 day periods.
14. Evaluate asset utilization and re-deploy if appropriate and prudent in the short term.

Liabilities / Risks / Time Bombs

15. Deal with the six largest crises within the first three weeks.
16. Review banking and debt obligations for next 90, 180 and 365 day periods and ensure no technical or major defaults, if possible. If in default, develop game plan and/or negotiate workout.
17. Determine which critical suppliers have suspended support due to lack of payment, or other problems.
18. Identify and take steps to immediately defuse all visible, or suspected, ticking time bombs.

Regulatory / Legal / Litigation

19. Ensure all payroll taxes are paid and properly reported.
20. Determine what, if any, problems exist with the IRS and state agencies.
21. Ensure the company is in compliance with all required regulatory and licensing agencies, etc. and if not, take action to resolve these issues.
22. Identity all outstanding legal issues and litigation risks along with probable, and possible, associated costs.
23. Ensure no securities law violations have occurred -- and if they have, take immediate steps to remedy them, or mitigate their impact.
24. Ensure any patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights are properly filed and appropriate protections are in place.

Product lines / Marketing / Sales / Distribution

25. Analyze product delivery schedules and takes steps to improve meeting commitment dates.
26. Evaluate product development timetables, budget forecasts and quality of project management systems, procedures and controls.
27. Evaluate sales, marketing, distribution, forecasts and trend lines for improvement opportunities in all areas, so as to generate more cash in the short-term.
28. Identify both the best customers and the most unhappy customers, as well as the company's image in the marketplace.
29. Complete competitive analysis for each product line.
30. Evaluate pricing models for each product line and adjust accordingly.
31. Identify product line strengths and weaknesses and develop short-term action plan to solve the most glaring problems.
32. Identify potential products -- 6, 12 and 24 months into the future -- and their possible impact on revenue and expenses.
33. Establish / update / expand web presence.
34. Evaluate expenditures and effectiveness of marketing and advertising for media, trade shows, market research, focus groups and public relations and adjust accordingly.
35. Evaluate sales force, sales-related incentives, sales targets, sales personnel training, special offers, dealerships, telemarketing and sales support.
36. Evaluate and optimize short-term inventory.
37. Evaluate customer / technical support, warranties, guarantees and after-sales service.

Personnel Issues

38. Upon arrival, candidly communicate with all company personnel for introduction and conveyance of immediate game plan.
39. Set up suggestion boxes, and invite anonymous email, to gain insight into less obvious underlying problems.
40. Review major Human Resource department aspects of company for legal compliance, competitiveness of benefits package, diversity, clarity of policies and potential costs savings.
41. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of all first reports.
42. Develop 30/60/90 day performance plans for all first reports.
43. Evaluate organizational structure and effectiveness -- and reorganize if appropriate, adjusting total payroll if necessary.
44. Identify best and worst five percent of employees in the company -- probably replacing worst five percent and ensuring the best five percent are motivated enough to stay.
45. Analyze employee turnover rates to identify fundamental problem areas.
46. Identify key personnel and unfilled job functions, define criteria and initiate search, within budget constraints.
47. Identify personality issues / company policies that may be creating negative impact on company morale and productivity.
48. Review / modify written delegation of authority for all first reports.
49. Review all employment contracts or agreements, oral or written, including any severance or termination compensation agreements with salaried, hourly, or collective bargaining employees.
50. Review all bonus, deferred compensation, stock option, profit sharing, retirement programs or plans covering salaried, hourly, or collective bargaining employees.

IPO / Merger / Acquisition / Disposition / Dissolution

51. Identify which mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and investments make the most sense for the company.
52. Identify the growth issues regarding acquisitions, spin offs, expansion, downsizing, establishing new, and/or closing existing branches and stores.
53. If decision is to sell the company, establish price and terms, subject to Board approval, prepare sales summary and develop game plan and methodology for sale.
54. Complete three year pro forma, based on realistic assumptions, to determine future valuation potential of company and likelihood of IPO or merger/acquisition potential.
55. If Board decision is to dissolve company, develop game plan for liquidation of assets and/or follow up on bankruptcy filing.

General / Administrative

56. Evaluate and control travel, entertainment and all discretionary expenditures and implement new written policies for these issues.
57. Review facilities and real estate issues, including a review of current lease requirements.
58. Review all equipment leases for cost cutting / improved technology opportunities.
59. Create / update business plan for current internal clarity and banking or capital formation needs.
60. "Manage by roaming around" -- gaining insights into attitudes and problem areas from within all levels of the organization.
61. Evaluate in-place systems and procedures and streamline where appropriate.
62. Evaluate technology implementation and optimize within budget constraints.
63. Visit all branch offices and evaluate their needs, performance, personnel and cost-effectiveness.

Stockholder Status / Investor Relations

64. Evaluate investor and stockholder relations and communication status and initiate appropriate action.
65. Generate updated lists of all current shareholders and percentage ownership of each.
66. Review stock options or purchase plans and agreements, as well as lists of outstanding warrants and options, including date of grant, exercise price, number of shares subject to option, and date of exercise.

The Next Steps

67. Report to the Board: the objective status, evaluation, recommended modifications to the short-term game plan and any cash needs.
68. Pick up sword again, and implement updated and approved game plan.

Cultivating The Habit Of Good Listening

CULTIVATING THE HABIT OF GOOD LISTENING

One must listen rightly, cautiously, effectively, intelligently, unpretentiously and calmly. If you want to be a good listener you have to cultivate the habit of effective listening. Those who are good at communication know the importance of listening, which is perhaps more significant than even speaking.

It is not an exaggeration to say that relationships thrive more on listening skills than on speaking. A good speaker may sometimes find himself out of place in a group, but a good listener seldom finds himself in such a situation.

Efforts can be made to improve the listening habits by following practices

1. To make listening, a regular habit you ought to start from somewhere. Start from today and from now on dedicate at least an hour to listening only.
2. During this one-hour do nothing but listen with all your attention and application. Listen to the sounds and the words as they come to you in their unmodified state.
3. Listen without the intervention of any thoughts, without any agitation in your mind. Enjoy the pristine beauty and the syllables of the sounds.
4. Concentrate on one sound or many sounds or on all sounds that comes to you at a time. Listen to them in the milieu of the background in which they arise.
5. Listen to the distant sounds that are almost inaudible but can be heard only by dint of effort. Listen to the faintest of the sounds such ticking of a watch, movement of wind, the rustling of the grass or for that matter your own breathing. At the end of this exercise, listening should have become an integral part of your system.
6. Try to replay in your mind the various sounds that you hear every day. Try to replay a particular piece of music or song that interests you. Try to recreate mentally the sounds of nature.

Can you recollect the sounds exactly the way they are? Can you recollect various sounds at one swoop? Can you play an entire orchestra mentally in our mind? Keep practicing till you can say confidently "yes"? to these questions confidently.

A mind that is fully vigilant, alert and liberated from all cares and worries is most conducive to effective listening. If you want to allow the words of others to enter your mind freely, you must cultivate a free and undistributed mind and an unassuming personality.

Pay more attention to others, their thoughts and words than to yourself and to your own thoughts and words as you listen. Rid that egotistic attitude.

We conclude it is in our eagerness to make an impression and communicate our thoughts to others that we tend to forget the true act of listening. To become a good listener we must learn to keep ourselves in the background. It is only through humility that we can reach out to others. Empathy and rapport are the two wires through which you can connect yourself with the rest of the humanity.

PERSONAL ETIQUETTE: Speaking With a Neutral Accent

The way you speak i.e. your voice modulation and accent affect the way
people respond to you, what they think of you and also your job prospects.
Here are ten tips to help you reduce a regional accent:

1. Study the mouth movements of native speakers and try to mimic them.
   While watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.
2. Slow down your speech, until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English.
   Native speakers will have a hard time understanding you if you speak too fast with the wrong modulation and rhythm. Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow dialogue – it is more important that everything you say is understood.
3. Listen to the "music" of English.
   Don't use the music of your native tongue when you are speaking English. Each language has its own way of "singing".
4. Use your dictionary.
   Familiarize yourself with the phonetic symbols used for different words in the dictionary and look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say. This method helps in neutralizing an accent tremendously.
5. Make a list of commonly used words that are difficult to pronounce.
   Ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you, record these words, listen to them and practice saying them.
6. Buy books on tape.
   Listen and read at the same time. Record clips of your own voice reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the speaker from the book on tape.
7. Pronounce the ending of each word.
   Pay special attention to "s" and "ed" endings.
8. Read aloud in English for fifteen to twenty minutes everyday.
   This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English. Research has shown that it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.
9. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.
   Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid having to listen to themselves speaking. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes that you are making.
10. Be patient.
    You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

How to beat dirty negotiating tactics

HOW TO BEAT DIRTY NEGOTIATING TACTICS

Much has been written about negotiation styles. There have been many courses about negotiation, which dedicates entire course work on collaborating and reaching a win-win scenario. In today's 'flat world' business environment, positional bargaining method or fact and reference based negotiation model are standard prescriptions for commercial negotiation.

But what do you do, when you sit across the table from somebody whose goal is not to come to a win-win conclusion, but to really beat you down and manipulate you. Well, although it is always a drain to combat dirty negotiation tactics, I have learned that being prepared can help overcome some of that headache.

The ten tips described below are designed to help you identify and respond appropriately to common dirty negotiation tactics used by unscrupulous business people.

• Shock effect
  
  As much of value selling and convincing you have done, at the end of the deal when the time comes to discuss price, many customers show some shock effect. What! That much for enterprise licenses, are you kidding me?
  
  It is very easy to fall in the trap of desperately wanting to close the deal and offer unnecessary concessions like free services, installation etc. This will be a good time to remind your customer how they will truly benefit using your offerings.
  
  Also, it is not rude to tell them that quality products have a fair price; after all you get what you pay for.


• Ongoing discount
  
  Have you ever heard something on these lines, "We are so close to signing this contract, if only we can solve this last issue?" You oblige, then comes out another issue followed by one more and then another. Very soon, you are giving away much more than what you originally intended.
  
  It is a good practice to list all customer issues early in the sales cycle based on priority. If new issues are added, put it in the list and re prioritize. When your customer asks for resolving this last issue, get a firm commitment on closing the deal right then after that issue is resolved. In this way, you only maybe give in to the last demand and not the ones following it.


• Boss knows best
  
  I have spent countless hours discussing value props with customers convincing them to buy from me, only to find out that they are not the true decision makers. They can only negotiate to receive discounts but really do not have any rights to actually buy from me.
  
  Basically I have negotiated with the wrong person. One way to avoid this is to ask early in the sales cycle how the decision to buy is being made on the customer side. Who makes the decision? Who influences the decision? Especially for higher end technical sales, many a times although the CIO has the final say on the procurement; he is completely dependent on the class architect to make the call on the vendor.
  
  It is important to identify the players involved in the decision making process and talk to them individually or collectively to resolve their issues.


• Fake deadline
  
  "If we cannot sign the agreement today, the deal is off". Be very wary when your customer puts a time pressure on the day of the meeting trying to get you committed on an unfair deal. Time is a valuable pressure tactic. Tell your customer that you are trying to create a true solution for them.
  
  It is important that you truly understand their issues first and do due diligence. It is unfair to you and him if you commit on something you do not feel comfortable about.
  
  If they do not want to listen and force the time issue, it is your call whether you want to walk or budge in to their unilateral demands.


• Delays
  
  March, June, September and December are hot months for sales folks trying to sprint to quarter end. Although progress has been made, your customer is deliberately delaying making a decision.
  
  Many manipulative customers feel that they can count on the fact that you have spent time and money on the sales process for a long time and will not want to go back without selling. This will be a great way to snag in a few concessions.
  
  It is wise to stay as emotionally detached as possible not caving in and making unnecessary concessions to close these deals. Remember, that your customer also spent valuable time with you in the sales cycle. You both have skin in the game. Don't rush to closing; you have mutual benefits tied to the deal.


• Unfair trading request
  
  A friend of mine in Dallas built a nice little dashboard for a manufacturing shop that can track orders online in near real time. When time came to close the deal, the manufacturing unit wanted sole rights to the product. They wanted to use it for themselves and then resell it to other similar outfits in the manufacturing space.
  
  However, they did not want to offer my buddy any cuts from the profit for it. This is an example of unfair trading request. Ask something in return of value always. You may lose some deals in the short run, but probably will come ahead of the curve in the end when forcing fair trade.


• Suddenly cold
  
  Many employers like to play this mind game while trying to hire somebody. They seem very interested in the early stages of the interview process, and then all of a sudden they seem to have lost all interest in you.
  
  When you pursue your interest for the position again, they say they will hire you. But they really cannot pay what you think they were going to pay you. You agree to their terms thinking that they seem to like you moderately and are not really jazzed up about you.
  
  This is a good time to resell yourself again on why they should pay you what you think they should pay you. Craft your message on "what's in it for them" to hire you.


• Wrongful summary
  
  The other party summarizes the agreement but misrepresents certain sections on his favor. If you listen especially carefully to the wrapping up part of the negotiation, you will not fall in this trap.
  
  You should take notes and refer back to them if necessary to make sure that the summary accurately describes what you agreed upon.


• False importance to an item
  
  A great deal of importance is placed on a agenda item that your customer knows that you simply cannot budge in. They make you feel guilty, put pressure etc. hoping that you would give them other concessions to make up for the one you could not give in. One way to avoid this is to treat each issue independently and make separate decisions.


• New player
  
  You feel that you are moving along well and suddenly you see a new person negotiating with you. He wants to start discussing every item from scratch and do not want to acknowledge previous agreements. If you cannot pursue him to honor prior understanding, start fresh again.
  
  It may be good to get another negotiator from your side to start dealing all over again since you may get frustrated dealing over the same issues again.
  
  As hard as it may sound, negotiators are better off remembering that dirty tactics used by manipulative negotiators are never really personal and it is all part of the game. If you are fair in your dealings and stay emotionally detached, you will possibly negotiate your way to a win/win result most of the time. I wish you all the best in your negotiations.

The Cactus

The Cactus

A cactus stood all alone in the desert, wondering why it was stuck in the middle of nowhere.

"I do nothing but stand here all day," it sighed. "What use am I? I'm the ugliest plant in the desert. My spines are thick and prickly, my leaves are rubbery and tough, my skin is thick and bumpy. I can't offer shade or juicy fruit to any passing traveler. I don't see that I'm any use at all."

All it did was stand in the sun day after day, growing taller and fatter. Its spines grew longer and its leaves tougher, and it swelled here and there until it was lumpy and lopsided all over. It truly was strange- looking.
"I wish I could do something useful," it sighed.

By day hawks circled high overhead. "What can I do with my life?" the cactus called. Whether they heard or not, the hawks sailed away.

At night the moon floated into the sky and cast its pale glow on the desert floor. "What good can I do with my life?" the cactus called. The moon only stared coldly as it mounted its course.

A lizard crawled by, leaving a little trail in the sand with its tail.
"What worthy deed can I do?" the cactus called. "You?" the lizard laughed, pausing a moment. "Worthy deed? Why, you can't do anything! The hawks circle way overhead, tracing delicate patterns for us all to admire. The moon hangs high like a lantern at night, so we can see our ways home to our loved ones. Even I, the lowly lizard, have something to do. I decorate the sands with these beautiful brushstrokes as I pull my tail along. Buy you? You do nothing but get uglier every day."

And so it went on, year after year. At last the cactus grew old, and it knew its time was short. "Oh, Lord," it cried out, "I've wondered so long, and I've tried so hard. Forgive me if I've failed to find something worthy to do. I fear that now it's too late." But just then the cactus felt a strange stirring and unfolding, and it knew a surge of joy that erased all despair. At its very tip, like a sudden crown, a glorious flower suddenly opened in bloom.

Never had the desert known such a blossom. Its fragrance perfumed the air far and wide and brought happiness to all passing by. The butterflies paused to admire its beauty, and that night even the moon smiled when it rose to find such a treasure.

The cactus heard a voice.

"You have waited long," the Lord said. "The heart that seeks to do good reflects My glory, and will always bring something worthwhile to the world, something in which all can rejoice - even if for only a moment."

Top 10 Ways To Raise Your Consciousness

Top 10 Ways To Raise Your Consciousness

1. Forgive yourself and others: Life is too short to hold on to regrets, grudges, miscommunications, or disappointments. Free yourself by forgiving and letting go of any negative energy you’re holding on to about yourself or others. The process of forgiving yourself and others will result in your feeling light and free; it will raise your vibration.
2. Practise gratitude and appreciation: Whatever you focus on grows. So, when you focus on every thing in your life you feel grateful for all and the wonderful people you appreciate, the universe hands you more to feel grateful about.
3. Live each day as though it were your last: Then you will be living in a state of light, love and unconditional contribution. What would you say to the people you care about?
4. Meditate or pray: You open up a direct link between yourself and the spiritual realm when you meditate or pray. You will come closer to your creator energy, raise your vibration experience, peace, clarity, joy and connection, as well as a perfectly balanced state between your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual realms.
5. Suspend judgment: One judges another to feel less guilty about one’s own misgivings. Judgment energy is dense, dark and heavy. On the other hand, unconditional acceptance is light, free and accepting. Let go of judging and criticising yourself and others. Everyone is on a different path and some appear to be farther ahead on their path than others. Neither path is better nor worse than another. Raise your consciousness to one of acceptance.
6. View every experience as a gift: If you look back at occurrences in your life, you can easily see how even the worst situations you experienced in your life ended up teaching you invaluable lessons and therefore resulted in putting you in perfect place for your continuing development. When you view every experience — the good, the bad, and the ugly — as a gift, life flows more like a gentle, inspiring breeze.
7. Stay consciously aware of all your thoughts and feelings: It is easy to fall into negative patterns of complaining and feeling like a victim of society and your life. When you catch yourself in the negative zone, don’t feel badly about it and beat yourself up. Simply choose to switch your consciousness to one of gratitude and positive thinking.
8. Treat your physical body as your temple: Your body is the only vehicle you’ve been given for this ride called life. The better you care for your body by eating a healthy, balanced diet, and by implementing a regular exercise routine, and by giving your body the rest it requires, the more you will experience increased energy, vitality, joy and freedom.
9. View the world through the eyes of a child: Children are enthralled by the process of observing and experiencing the wonder and beauty in every single thing. They can’t get enough. Look at every tree, sunset, cloud and human being as a child would and you’ll be in a constant state of wonder, joy, surprise, acceptance and enlightenment.
10. Give love, love, love from your heart: It’s all about love. Love is the highest vibration. Allow yourself to receive love unconditionally from others. Give love from your heart unconditionally to yourself and others and you will experience the highest state of consciousness possible.