FREEMAN-SPICER FINANCIAL SERVICES
Finance • Leasing • Accounting • Premium
316 South Eddy Street South Bend, IN 46617
574.234.0069 (V) • 574.234.6414 (F) • surekey@aol.com
Vol. 25, No. 11 • November, 2007
You can find this newsletter and some past issues on the web @ www.Freeman-Spicer.com
Negotiating . . . . . . . . . . It doesn’t hurt to ask! If there is one thing I’ve learned about human nature, it is that most people hate to ask for what they want. They can be brilliant or successful or rich and still be afraid to ask. It isn’t that what they are asking for is outrageous or unreasonable. They are usually fearful of confrontation or having others think they are greedy, pushy or offensive. Sometimes, they flat out forget to ask. If you don’t ask, you won’t know what the other side might be willing to give you. You won’t even know if they’d be happy to give something to you - if only you’d asked. As long as it is practical and not totally divorced from reality, ask. As long as you ask in a civil and inoffensive way, you won’t be hurt. (Friendly Persuasion)
For Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day my wife and I went into town and went into a shop. We were only in there for about five minutes. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and said, “Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?” He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him a stupid idiot. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So my wife called him a bonehead. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. Personally, we didn’t care. We came into town by bus. We try to have a little fun each day now that we’re retired. It’s important at our age. (Suttor)
You Are Where You Sit . . . . . . . . . . At a company meeting - where do you sit?
• The Boss - Leaders usually position themselves at the head of a table with their backs to a wall or corner. They like to face the door so they can see newcomers a few seconds ahead of everyone else.
• Left-Hand Managers (sit to the left of the Boss) - A complex position. This person’s proximity to power signals support but he or she is likely to be a “yes, but” character. This player agrees in broad principle, then slips in an opposing view.
• Right-Hand Managers (sit to the right of the Boss) - The person who sits to the right of the boss tends to say yes to nearly everything the leader suggests. This manager tends to be focused on the boss instead of materials and others in the room.
• The Middleman - People who sit in the middle of long tables can easilty maintain eye contact with most of the others at the table. They are often extroverts and may mediate between those at either side.
• The Sideliner - The person who sits at the corner of the table (opposite the Boss) is often trying to hide in the crowd. He frequently leans back in his chair. He waits to hear others’ views before expressing his own.
• The Opponent - Someone who sits directly opposite the leader is typically argumentative, often sitting with arms crossed. This type frequently asks rhetorical questions or finds other ways to announce his or her expertise.
• The Outsider - this person sits away from the group sitting at the table. This can signal that she maintains a “bigger-picture” perspective. Or perhaps he/she was just too late to get a seat. (BusinessWeek)
Advertising Tip . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising great David Ogilvy said, “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. It follows that, unless your headline sells your product, you’ve wasted 80% of your money.” Headline hints:
■ Don’t use all capital letters. A mix of upper and lower case is easier to read.
■ Avoid using reversed type for any more than a small portion of your ad.
■ Keep the headline relatively short, less than 15 words.
■ Make sure the headline is just that, a shortened version of the body copy.
■ Put quotation marks around the headline. You’ll get 25% better results.
■ Headlines can be very effective when posed as a question people want an answer to. (The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising)
Cleaning Tip . . . . . . . . . Remove rust with Aluminum foil. Tinfoil can be very effective for removing rust - just fold a small sheet, wet it lightly, and scrub the surface thoroughly. The rust and other buildup will disappear with minimal scratching, no matter what metal you’re attempting to clean. (Popular Science)
Anyone Going Hunting? . . . . . . . . Tom and Gary hired a pilot to fly them to Canada to hunt moose. They bagged six. As they started loading the plane for the return trip home, the pilot tells them the plane can take only three moose. The two guys objected strongly, stating; “last year we shot six moose and the pilot let us put them all on board and he had the same size plane as yours.” Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded. Unfortunately, even on full power, the little plane couldn’t handle the load and went down a few minutes after takeoff. Climbing out of the wreck, Gary asked Tom, “Any idea where we are?” Tom replied, “ I think we’re pretty close to where we crashed last year!” (LaFree)
Speed Test . . . . . . . Every month you pay your DSL or Cable Modem bill. You’re paying for a certain speed - that you really should know. But go to Speedtest.net and let them test your upload and download speeds. Then the web site will tell you how well that speed is in comparison to what normal speeds are.
Board Member Qualifications . . . . . . . . Qualities to look for in a Board Member:
□ Respect & visibility in the community.
□ Insight, intelligence, integrity.
□ Talents and experience complementing the current board. Look for someone who adds variety to the existing talent.
□ Diversity.
□ A proven track record.
□ Courage of one’s convictions. You don’t want an observer, a passive participant or a rubber stamp.
□ The ability to be a team player.
□ Time to serve. You don’t need a group of winners who don’t have the time or inclination to help you win.
□ A willingness to serve the organization, not use it.
Take a look at your board. Is there room to improve? (Smart Moves for People in Charge)
With the Holiday Coming . . . . . . Do you want a complete list of recalled products including toys? Go to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissions web site - http://cpsc.gov - the list is updated daily.
“Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean I’m not listening.” Homer Simpson
Unanimously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If people are unanimously behind a concept, I’m inclined to think something is wrong. It’s not that I don’t want harmony. I do - after a decision is made. But in reaching any decision, I don’t mind a little friction. I want our people mixing it up in a meeting, questioning assumptions, challenging their peers and superiors, and tossing out alternatives. That feisty, yeasty sort of debate is how bad ideas are put to sleep and better concepts are allowed to breath. If everyone is in perfect agreement about a concept, I get nervous. It means: 1. The concept is too bland. 2. People don’t care. 3. People don’t get it. 4. People are intimidated by the group leader. (Never Wrestle With a Pig)
Testing Humidity . . . . . . . . . . . You can test the humidity in your home easily. Place ice cubes in a glass of room-temperature water and let it stand. Beads should form on the outside of the glass within five or 15 minutes. If they don’t, the room is too dry. (Good Housekeeping)
When I Say I’m Broke . . . . . . . . . A little old lady answered a knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner. “Good morning,” said the young man. “If I could take a couple of minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.” “Go away!” said the old lady. “I haven’t got any money! I’m broke.” The lady proceeded to close the door. Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open. “Don’t be too hasty!” he said. “Not until you have at least seen my demonstration.” And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her hallway carpet. “If this vacuum cleaner doesn’t remove all traces of this horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder.” The old lady stepped back and said, “Well I hope you’ve got a damned good appetite, because they cut off my electricity this morning!” (Guilford)
Why Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . Why does inhaling helium from a balloon make your voice sound so funny? Many of you have probably tried this old party trick at some time, much to the delight of yourselves and your friends. Little did you realize the simple property of physics which this “experiment” demonstrates. The sound of your voice varies with its frequency. The higher the frequency of your voice, the higher the pitch it will have. The frequency of sound increases proportionally with its speed. This is why the pitch of an approaching train whistle is higher than one moving away (Doppler effect). Since helium is lighter and less dense than air, sound travels faster through it than through air. When you replace the air in your lungs and mouth with helium and then speak, the sound of your voice is traveling faster than normal. Thus, its frequency and pitch are higher, and you sound like some kind of alien. (The Book of Totally Useless Information)
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t sit for a month!” (Teddy Roosevelt)
What’s a shin? A device for finding furniture in the dark!
Everyone at Freeman-Spicer would like to wish all our readers a very happy, healthy and wonderful Thanksgiving. We hope that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the day with family and friends, as when it’s all said and done - that’s what we enjoy the most. So to all of our friends and family - Happy Thanksgiving!
Very Sincerely,
Edward C. Levy
President
Freeman-Spicer Financial Services
316 South Eddy Street, P.O. Box 1238, South Bend, IN 46624
(V) 574.234.0069 or 800.526.6753 / (F) 574.234.6414 / surekey@aol.com
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