I voted for that one guy with the hair because my friend told me to…

As I near completion of my undergraduate degree (this summer!) and get ready to apply to UNR’s Master’s of Public Administration program, I want to reflect on one of my brief papers I had to write for a Political Science course I took. This particular paper was in response to a prompt regarding voting and the voting public. The paper had to be short (500 words) and was strictly opinion-based. There was no scientific evidence that went into this paper whatsoever…except for one fact towards the end.

What does this have to do with my overall simplicity theme of my blog? I think the American government is terribly overcomplicated and Americans are terribly uninformed, and my goal with this graduate degree is to get in there and make a difference. I mean a REAL difference – charity drives and volunteering can only go so far. My undergraduate work is in Business Management and Political Science and my minor is in Entrepreneurship. I may have seemed indecisive in my degree-seeking process, but really, I had this in mind all along…I swear! What better way to understand corporate management, small business, and the political process?

(the paper)

“Half of the American people never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.” – Gore Vidal

The primary issue with a Democratic government is that it’s ruled by the people. Enough said. I find that many Americans feel they are entitled to handouts, assistance, and that the government needs to help them every step of the way. In turn, the American government has bred a society of mindless fools that not only can’t act independently, but can’t seem to think that way either. If the American government is going to hand people everything from money, to food, to shelter, they may as well as also hand them their brains. I don’t understand how we as a society can expect people to be educated and informed when that is not what the government expects of them.

In business, a CEO must make decisions that best benefit the company and as an employee, one must know their job and perform their job. Each party is, in their capacity, contributing to the bottom line of the company. If said employee made decisions based on misinformation, or tried to be an engineer (with an engineering firm), but had only a sixth grade education, the company would fail. The government of a country and the responsibility of its people are no different. We have citizens with very little education, making decisions that affect our bottom line. Unfortunately, however, the government can’t fire its citizens.

When making ones way to the polls, the fate of the rest of the country essentially lies in ones hands. The worst thing a voting citizen can do is turn on the television or ask a friend who they are voting for. The television is inundated with mudslinging ads that portray every candidate in a poor light and chances are, your friend saw the same ads. The best way to vote is to be educated not only as to a/the candidate, but as to the political process, and the issues that affect the country. The candidates should not be as hot of a topic as the ballot measures and proposed regulations. No matter who is elected into office, they have to abide by what is elected by the people.

Too many citizens are uninformed and uneducated, but because we practice as a democracy this seems to be an accepted. Many citizens are uninformed because they lack a solid educational foundation and many just don’t seem to care. A recent statistic showed that one-half of young American voters, ages 18-29, have never enrolled in college (dosomething.org). I am not implying that all of the voting public is ignorant, but I am saying that a modern-day democracy certainly does not encourage it. As long as the American government expects nothing of its citizens, its citizens will get nothing and the cycle will continue.

What can you do?

1. Support education in your family, locally, and nationally

2. Stay informed (and don’t say ”but I have ‘wikipedia’ in my favorites.”)

3. Care

4. Don’t believe everything you read or hear

5. Compare information

6. Understand business, economics, and your government’s structure

7. Study political history

And now for the tagline…

Simplify Life!

SIMPLE, Low-Fat Banana Bread

This simple recipe was created out of a dog-treat recipe (no joke); however it does not contain dog food or anything like that! I found a recipe once for “banana pupcakes” so I decided to make them for my dogs. As I was making them I thought “this recipe is healthier that human banana bread!” I combined an old family recipe with the healthy pupcake twist, and created a healthy (and delicious) alternative.

1 ¾ c all purpose flour

¼ – ½ cup oats

A little less than ½ cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (the individual, lunchbox size servings are perfect!)

2 egg whites (or about 2.5 tablespoons [ish] of liquid egg whites)

1 large egg

¼ pecans, chopped

Honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 metal loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine all wet ingredients except the honey. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. If you have a Kitchenaid mixer, throw everything above in it in order, except the honey. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. With about 15 minutes left, drizzle the top with honey and continue to bake. Once done, cool on a wire rack.

Simplify Life!

The Theory of TDADD (Technology Driven Attention Deficit Disorder)

I talked to my boss today. Ouch. Talking to the boss is never fun (although he prefers to be referred to as a “coach”). I was explaining that I had a hard time letting go and delegating, but also had a hard time focusing. I further explained that I quickly moved from one idea to the next in order to save/not waste time. He said “there is an explanation for people like you. It’s called ADD.” *sigh* I looked around my desk and had files and notes everywhere. I knew I promised to call someone back, but who was it? I got excited about a deal for a property owner, and then quickly diminished my excitement with the reality that the deal wouldn’t work. Got excited about another deal, but called someone else instead.

What was I talking about again? Oh yeah…my ADD. Personally, I don’t think I have any such thing. I do think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, to move very quickly, thanks to technology. I realized I had two laptops open in front of me and three cell phones on the desk (one of them is broken, but I had it out so I could list it on ebay for parts). I would get distracted and kept moving the broken phone wondering why I had it in front of me. Then, remembered and moved it back and continued on with my business. What’s my point? Since I blog about “simplification” I thought I would touch on this theory of Technology Driven ADD. We are expected to move quicker; email sooner; close the deal faster because, well, why can’t we? There is no excuse for not calling someone back right away, right? I noticed that I have a much harder time concentrating now that I have the iPhone too…hmmmm. Think of how many people are on meds to take care of their ADD and ADHD (we are talking about adults here…not 5 year olds), when it is brought upon ourselves. In a fast-paced profession that relies on quick turnaround times, we rely on our technology. Also, most of my clients (and even my boss) are in other cities so I depend on the phone and computer to keep business moving.

My boss told me I need to “delegate” and “let some things go”. I was sure this would be followed up by “because you are doing a crumby job and if you don’t shape up, we will ship you out.” However, it wasn’t. He said “if for nothing else, your health! You can’t be go, go, go all of the time.” The buzzing of the computers stopped and I had an epiphany. In that instant, I shoved my cell phone and laptop into the trash. Ok…not really. However, I did get up and walk away. I also separated my stacks of files into stacks based on priority and began to go through them one at a time making calls and notes. I forced myself to pay attention to one thing at a time and not set aside a priority for a non-priority.

This is my advice (an organic approach) to battle your ADD:

1. Walk away for a moment; take breaks
2. Shut of your phone
3. Budget your time (yes, at work too) and stick to your budget
4. Take time to prioritize
5. Make notes if you have to move onto something else. I will even send myself an email such as “call Mike re: X” or “left off on column 2, line f”
6. Delegate and follow-up
7. Take a moment to remind yourself of the task at hand
8. Try to let some things go. There are some things you just might not get to
9. Eliminate distractions (I will put my phone away in my purse so I am not even tempted to look at it)
10. Call clients back simply to tell them that you will call them back. I used this A LOT when I did escrow and it made all the difference. If an answer was going to be lengthy I called and said “I got your message and I will look into X and call you back in (insert reasonable timeframe that fits into your budgeted time block).
11. Drink lots of water. Ok, so this doesn’t have anything to do with the above, but I am working on this right now too. I know I don’t drink enough water.

Simplify Life!

Is Your “Competitive Edge” Really Competitive?

This is a quick post about some observations I had when reviewing a 20+ page business plan for a local consulting company (The Company).

Background: For my Venture Creation course this semester I had to perform an in-depth review of an actual business plan as well as perform an analysis as if I was an Angel Investor or Venture Capitalist.

As I read this plan, I realized that the owners of The Company made two very big mistakes and I thought others may be able to learn from these. Both of the mistakes had to do with the underassessment of the local competition — a problem that could have a HUGE impact in sales projections and business feasibility.

Mistake #1: The Company located only one local competitor and determined that because this competitor did not have a communication portal on their website, they would have a competitive edge. Wrong. Once you extend to the web, you have extended your competitive market as well. Because The Company was going to have an “interactive platform” with live representatives, available 24/7, they were also now competing with like businesses EVERYWHERE; not just locally.

Mistake #2: The Company is competing in a market that offers free and/or subsidized assistance for persons that they anticipate as clients. It takes a lot of work, and a strong marketing strategy, to win over a customer base from a potentially free competitor. The Company projected very high sales in the first month of operation, but the likelihood of this is very small given the arduous task of gaining market share.

That’s about it…told you it was quick!

Simplify Life!

Is it really an investment in Nevada’s future?

A couple of weeks ago I attended a speech by Senator Harry Reid. He talked about the importance of education in the state of Nevada and how much he had invested (time and dollars) into educating our future business owners, doctors, CEOs, etc. He has ensured that millions of dollars have reached the hands of Nevada students via loan and grant programs. However, ironically, I also attended a recent speech by Dibbs CEO, Scott Armstrong, in which he talked about the importance of entrepreneurship and preserving business and jobs in Northern Nevada. He polled the audience and asked “how many of you are students?” Approximately 10-15 people raised their hands. He then said “how many of you will remain in Nevada after graduation?” All but 1 or 2 hands went down. I’d say this is a bit disheartening. The state of Nevada is investing in the future of students that will take their education and use them to benefit other states, or at least areas other than Northern Nevada. Scott recognizes the problem as well.

Back to Senator Reid’s speech – I could not help but raise my hand. Reid turned to me and I asked “I understand that you allocated millions of dollars to benefit students and I am grateful. However, the general consensus – or at least my observation is that students feel that the local economy is very weak and the intention is to leave the state once educated. Your dollars are going towards nothing. What would you do or say to students in order to motivate them to utilize their skills in Northern Nevada as opposed to elsewhere?” The room fell silent and, as if in slow motion, the audience turned back to Reid for a definite answer. I don’t know if my question was answered or not. However, I determined that it may be up to us, the 25-40(ish) crowd (and students) to make a difference.

The Problem: Local economy; students are graduating and leaving the area after taking advantage of the state’s investment in their education

Resources: Incubators; UNR’s Entrepreneur program; Education; Marketing and networking groups

Trends: Networking and Social Media; Smartphones

The Question: How do we bring all of these resources together and motivate students to be the future business owners, CEOs, and trend setters in Northern Nevada?

These are some links to resources for Entrepreneurs:

www.kauffman.org

http://www.score.org/index.html

Socks, Hats, Gloves, Blankets..”EVERYTHING needed to stay warm” Drive

It’s about that time of year. Last year the scarf, hat, blanket, glove, socks (pretty much everything needed to stay warm!) drive was a HUGE success. This year, I am collecting said items again. ALL items go directly St. Vincent’s and are distributed to the homeless. Please ask your friends, family, classmates, and coworkers to look around and set aside old ski clothes, or items they may have considered donating anyway. I will work on collection/delivery of the items as the weeks progress.

I am ALSO collecting small stocking stuffers (chapstick, toys, lotion, socks, etc.) for the kids stockings – the stockings are also distributed by St. Vincent’s, at Christmas, to disadvantaged children. A donation of stockings would be nice too, but not necessary. I will put the stockings together and deliver them in December.

Email me for more info or to arrange pick-up! Please repost my blog link to your Facebook with my contact info (renosockdrive@gmail.com), or send to your friends. Thanks all!!

My Paper Needs To Be How Long?

A few weeks ago I was assigned a 10+ page paper regarding events/issues that impact entrepreneurship and I thought to myself “no big deal.” However, instantly eyes got wide and jaws dropped. One girl behind me even said “I don’t know how to write a 10-page paper.” After class I gave my classmate a few tips for writing a lengthy paper and she later told me that the tips greatly helped.

1. Think of how often you talk about a particular subject to a friend or co-worker. You can probably talk for what, 5 minutes? 10 minutes? One-half hour? Imagine of you could put this conversation on paper. You can. I say “talk your paper”. Tell yourself your paper…discuss it in your head.
2. Write down thoughts as they flow even if you only write one sentence, and then develop that sentence into a topic.
3. Write your first sentence and then do bullet points for 3-4 thoughts. It’s very easy to develop a paragraph from there.
4. Ask yourself questions. I found that I had a much easier time if my professor posed several questions under one topic. The professor would tell me to write about family dynamics in the Hispanic culture and then ask “what religion do they practice?” “Are there traditions that center around food?” Why can’t I ask myself my own questions when writing a paper? Ask and answer these questions.
5. Don’t be afraid to write paragraphs out of order and then rearrange them.
6. Organize your paper into subsections. I actually title various sections Topics and Ideas, Research and Analysis, Findings and Conclusions, etc. Sometimes, depending on the type of paper, I will leave the headlines in, but sometimes I will take them out. This helps so that I am not all over the place in my analysis of the topic.

These are some more tips for writing and organizing long essays: http://www.erraticimpact.com/html/tips_on_writing_academic_essays.htm

Simplify Life!

What Can You Do For Me? The Art of Negotiations

The word “negotiation” carries with it a positive and negative connotation. Some people hear the word negotiation and they automatically associate it with being on the defense; protecting oneself. Some hear it and feel empowered to win or surmise to settle. However, did you know that any form of interaction between two points, not necessarily two people, is a form of negotiation?

Recently, I had a client hang up on me the first time I reached out to him to renegotiate his contract with my company. I tried calling again a couple of days later and received his voicemail. I gave my best, brief, sales pitch and left not only my phone number, but my email. I mentioned in my message that in previous conversation I could tell he was “a very busy man” and possibly email would be a preferred method of contact. Sure enough, he emailed me back. Little did he know, I was already in the negotiation phase by reading his personality and catering my discussions to his wants. I was already giving in just enough to make him come back and see what else I had to offer. Eventually we settled on a decision that was fiscally feasible for my company, but that was a great business decision for him as well. According to the author of Everything’s Negotiable, Bobby Covic, “…whoever talks the most during the negotiation loses.” The key is to listen first, but don’t just listen, pay attention. The following listening tips come from Brenda Goodman of Psychology Today:

• Sit Down. This signals to the other person that time will be spent to hear their side. Never ask someone to talk if there isn’t enough time to listen.

• Find Common Ground. Approach the other person by talking about a neutral topic of mutual interest—say, baseball or knitting. It helps both parties relax and starts the flow of conversation. Transition to the problem by saying, “I want to talk about an issue important to me, but first I want to hear what you have to say about it.”

• Move In. Leaning in to the conversation indicates interest. Head nods also help in letting the other side know their thoughts are being followed. But constant nodding or saying “right” over and over will seem insincere.

• Keep Your Cool. Experts agree on ground rules for communicating problems—no yelling and no walking away.

• Be Brief. Don’t go on and on. Avoid words such as “we disagree,” a phrase that throws a person to the defensive.

• Forget Neutrality. Trying to control your emotions usually backfires. The other person can read anger and frustration in a wrinkled forehead or a tense mouth, and negative emotions ruin negotiations. Instead, mine the situation to find whatever positive emotions can be brought to the table—like letting a spouse who’s fallen behind on his end of the chores know that his hard work is admirable and the extra money he’s earning is appreciated.

Successful negotiations come when you are willing to set aside the need to win. By the end of a negotiation, both parties involved should feel satisfied with the outcome and NOT taken advantage of. This relates to business and personal situations and should be considered in all decisions from marital to the board room.

(above image from toonpool.com)

Simplify Life!

Can you call me and explain your email?

An email should be polite, professional, and simple. However, like me, you may find that no matter how polite, professional, and simple you make it there is always someone that writes back “please call me.” This frustrates me to no end because I think “why do I need to call? I just told you everything you need to know.” I have to remind myself that not everybody “learns” or “understands” visually. To be a successful communicator, and manager, one must remember that we do not all think alike or even read things the same way. I may send an email that I consider simple and to-the-point and the receiver will read it and say “well that was rude.” My intention is to present the message more clearly to the receiver, but the intent can often be lost. Communication is a two-way process and to effectively communicate you must remember that you are not the only one speaking.

I developed a few tips and tricks to make for easier, more effective email communication:

1. Ask during your initial conversation: “I can have this information ready by tomorrow, would you like me to call you or send an email?”
2. If you are having trouble composing a clear message, they will have trouble reading a clear message – it may be time to pick up the phone.
3. Use common sense. If you email this person and they ALWAYS call you back, it may be time to call rather than email.
4. Make sure you answered all of the questions asked without too much or too little information. If the receiver feels the email lacks valuable information they will either write back or call.
5. Read their initial email more than once and read your response more than once.
6. If you have to ask a co-worker “does this sound rude?” it probably does and you need to revise the email
7. Follow up. Don’t click “send” and say “my work here is done!” Don’t assume  that the message was a) received and b) understood.

This website contains some helpful tips on email etiquette as well http://www.emailaddresses.com/guide_etiquette.htm

This website contains 22 Ways to Build Trustworthy Emails http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/iland/2008/10/new-email-marketing-22-ways-to-build.html (the picture is taken from this site as well).

Simplify Life!

Food…Made Simple

Today is a rather windy and cold day which is quite a change from the 100 degree weather felt only a few days ago. Therefore, today’s motto is “put forth as little effort as possible and relax.”

Cool weather always makes me think about food – soup to be exact. I thoroughly enjoy making all types of soups and what simpler way than in the Crock Pot. In my opinion, the Crock Pot is a great way to save time and money. In fact, I dug through my pantry and freezer to make today’s recipe. If you want to simplify in the kitchen I recommend a few basic steps:

1. Buy a Crock Pot

2. Find recipes or make up your own

3. Use said Crock Pot! This seems to be the hardest one for most, but why?? If you are a busy person like me, how can you not??

The following recipe took me about 20 minutes to prepare, and the Crock Pot does the rest. I made this recipe up so feel free to tweak it to your own liking:

Ingredients:

1. 1-2 cans of chopped tomatoes

2. 1-2 cans of black beans

3. 1 can of white or yellow corn

4. 1-2 cups of sliced carrots

5. Chopped zucchini or other desired veggies

6. 1 can of enchilada sauce

7. About 1/2 of a white onion

8. Garlic (to taste)

9. 2-4 chicken pieces (I use thighs because they add more flavor)

10. 1 small can of diced green chilies

11. Mexican seasoning of choice (I typically use Cholula)

12. 1-2 bay leaves

Add the carrots, onion, and garlic into the bottom of the pot and stir together. I add the green chilies, and some spices and stir those in as well. Peel away about 1/2 of the skin and layer your chicken pieces over the mixture. I layer the pieces whole to get the most flavor (the bones pull out very easily when the soup is done). Cover with water and let sit on high for about an hour stirring two to three times.

Drain the corn and black beans and thoroughly rinse. Add to the soup pot. Add the can(s) of tomatoes (I will often lightly rinse these too, but you do not have to). Add the other veggies of choice (if any).

Add as much water as desired. I often add about a tablespoon of a chicken soup base called Better Than Bouillon and I highly recommend this product for all soups! Add the other seasonings you desire (I have used the Cholula, cayenne pepper, etc) and the bay leave(s). Set on high for another 5 hours. I will also shred some cheese and sprinkle some tortilla chips over the top when served.

Here is a link to a few recipes:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipes/main-dish/slow-cooker/Main.aspx

Simplify Life!