Monthly Archives: February 2011

M & A

BUILDING CREDIBILITY FOR BUSINESS OWNERSHIP: 4th article in the series of M&A

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Credibility is an intangible but essential ingredient in making a successful business deal. According to Webster’s dictionary, to be credible is to be “worthy of trust” or “believable.”  In business, it refers to the belief and perception of other people that you are able to do the things you propose to do. There is no scientific way to measure credibility or to assure that others believe in you.  However, there are a number of tips outlined in this chapter to help increase the likelihood that others will take you seriously in a business deal.

 

General Qualities that Contribute to Credibility

Display of integrity, pragmatism, interpersonal skills, professionalism and ability all contribute toward your credibility. 

 

Integrity. Integrity refers to sincerity or honesty–that you mean what you say.  A business person of integrity addresses the issues openly and directly. People feel that they can trust you and rely on your word.  They do not fear that you will do something underhanded when their backs are turned.

Pragmatism This is another quality that contributes toward a credible image.  A pragmatic person understands the issues and is realistic.

Interpersonal skills Interpersonal skills can also contribute to your credibility.  These skills involve your ability to communicate clearly with others and to be considerate of others.

Professionalism How do you come across as professional?  Be thorough in any detail you handle.  Find out as much as you can about the companies and industries you plan to deal with so that you will appear knowledgeable.  A person who approaches an issue with intelligence, analysis, and calmness is  viewed as professional or objective in demeanor. Such demeanor generates respect and trust by others. Continue reading →

Business Strategy

Practical Innovation

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David Verduyn is a guest writer for The Business Thinker magazine.
He is a principal of C2C Solutions Inc.,  a company that specializes in best practices for the front end of Product Development.

Over the past 30 years, leading companies all over the world have discovered that the product development process (PDP) is as important as the product itself. To get right to the point, here is the summary of the following short article:

A practical, lean, and efficient “front-end” development process is necessary for sustainable growth.

Business sustainability and growth, whether you sell products or services, requires three key outputs of your PDP:

1)    VALUE, to attracts customers

2)    QUALITY, to earn respect, and

3)    INNOVATION, to differentiate yourself from the competition

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Economics in Brief

The Proposed E.U. “Competitiveness Pact”

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Dr. Periklis Gogas is an invited contributor to The Business Thinker magazine. He is Assistant Professor at Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, teaching Macroeconomics, Banking and Finance

The recent public debt crises in Greece and Ireland have put forward the issue of sustainable public debt in many of the developed industrialized countries. This crisis, like the mortgage crisis of 2008 and many other crises, stems from the extensive low cost flow of credit in recent years. Debt growth seemed harmless and innocent enough in an era of optimism, rising assets’ valuations and seemingly robust economic development. Unfortunately, for different inherent reasons, these debt bubbles started to burst for Greece and Ireland and the future looks gleam for many other heavily indebted countries in Europe, North America and Asia. The European Union, acting rather sluggishly, has, finally, put in place the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a mechanism for dealing with bailouts of heavily indebted EU countries that are a threat to the economic stability of the Union and the Euro. As it is common for economic policy in the European Union, member states and the corresponding institutions that are responsible for designing it, act in panic or on undisclosed agendas. The last example is the proposed by France and Germany “competitiveness pact” that includes, among many others, increasing retirement age limits even for the countries that face no pension fund problems, setting minimum corporate tax rates across-the-board within member countries and applying constitutional provisions in all member states for implementing balanced budgets. These arrangements in the “competitiveness pact” may be problematic for two reasons: Continue reading →