As the market  and economy corrects itself, adjusting for the enormous changes currently occuring, opportunity abounds…for those that can see it.

The first principle that controls our dynamic business economy is recognizing that the competitive force in a capitalistic system is incredibly powerful. It has the power to change industry over night, create successful products and end successful exploits at a moments notice. Restaurants open and close with a moment  of  brilliance, old run down neighborhoods become trendy. Gas costs $4.00 per gallon and industries begin to change. The sub prime market goes bust and new industry practices and products emerge as old school business becomes a thing of the past…overnight.  

Nothing is ever static, its all a matter of timing, and those that feel the tempo of change and respond survive and can gain a competitive advantage. The market repairs itself when it changes, it fuels downturns it turns downturns around and it speeds accelerating economies up what ever is needed to correct its peaks and valleys, it does.

The second principle in play is, with change there is vast opportunity. Once the opportunity is envisioned, things happen, as the opportunity is exploited  and success is achieved for those who take the risk and dare to lead the way… enjoying potential runaway success for the first to see and expoit new opportunity.

These are two very powerful forces that are the force behind change and transition. The market place continues to constantly make adjustments for what works and what doesn’t work, embracing great marketing programs, supporting excellent new products, new fashion, new technology, advances in quality, reductions in cost, changes of style, etc. As well it rids us of ineffective practices, and products no longer deemed in demand.  Entire industries can appear or disappear over night as change can occur with barely any notice at all.

Legislation can force change as new laws and new requirements create new twists and turns and opportunities for change.

Thus we know two things. Let the competitive capitalistic market dynamics remain in control of our economic system, do not interfere with its mechanizations and it will adjust for whatever works and what does not work and will solve every economic problem which occurs.

Keep the government out of business, it mucks up the natural flow.

The major players supporting this  economic force are the entrepreneurs and their vision as they see such changes as an opportunity for fulfilling the supply and demand of new situations.

Thus every change creates a void which is filled by the entrepreneur who sees  and understands that this is an opportunity to step ahead of competition, make a larger profit and secure an advantageous position in the market place.

This is what its all about.

Trends go up and down,  various influences support change. Change happens, entrepreneurs fill the void that change creates and profits are made. It’s a wonderful process and it works. Its capitalism and the competitive spirit working together. Let it happen and economic issues will come and go but our economy will remain very strong.

Yes, I am one of those men who carry a bag with me most everywere I go. I admit it, some call it a “man purse” a “murse”….others call it a pocketbook as they snicker to themselves. Let them snicker, I know the power it carries and I tell you its the part of the best habit I have, and I highly recommend it as it is the basis of my personal organization and business support system… allow me to explain further.

It started when I was 21 years old, along time ago. I was in business and could not remember every phone number or directions or who I met with and what I promised I would do, and my worst nightmare was saying I would do something and then forgetting to do it, or losing a phone number, a name etc. 

I purchased a blank book, and began to write notes to myself, telephone numbers, addresses, cash flows, to do lists whatever came past me that I felt I would want to review for some reason and soon I was unable to go anywhere or do anything without my book in hand so I could jot down whatever seemed worthy of remembering. Then I had to solve the problem of how to carry my book with me at all times so I could be certain I had it when I needed it. Thus it became clear to me I needed a bag, a man purse, a murse. I then selected a readily available version and eventually designed one that fit my needs perfectly. I still carry the same bag for over fifteen years, designed to store my blank book and other necessary items comfortably and conveniently so I have it with me at all times.

Thus the merger of the two became the basis of a survival system, my blank book and my bag. Add to my bag, a cell phone, my calculator, my blank book, a pocket for my car keys, pencils, and other stuff and its my office in a bag, always by my side and always ready to serve me. If I am in my car and hear something on the radio I may want to check out I can write it down, directions, names whatever, whenever and whom ever.

I would look ridiculous if I walked around with my brief case everywhere I go, but my “murse” is ok, its over my shoulder or held by the hand strap and its my life saver, whatever i need for survival, plane tickets, receipts, a check book, whatever, goes into my “murse” and I have my office in a bag. It is also the only effective way for me to always have my blank book with me at all times so I can refer to it or write something down that I may want to remember later.

Could I accomplish this other ways? Probably, but this works for me and has worked for me for many many years, so well that I admit my addiction and proudly carry my “murse ” with me were ever I go, as it has whatever I need to survive and succeed in it and I always have it and my blank book at my fingertips.

I have a lap top but I do not take it to dinner or when I am out with my wife, or at a ballgame or wherever I may be…but I do have my “murse” with me, thus I am always ready to jot something important down.

My blank book and my bag…the secret to my organizational success. One final note, my blank book has no lines either, I love the blank page so I can be artistic with my cash flows and notes…lines feel restrictive to me, but either work. Try it, and if you can handle the snickering, it will be a terrific tool for you, and when asked about my bag,  as I frequently am, I say nonchalantly, its for carrying my glock! That shuts them up.

I have dug an old blank book out many many times to recapture a bit of information I recall I recorded and its always there waiting for me to refer back and rediscover the bit I was looking for, its saved my life and business many many times.

I admit I love my blank book and have experimented with many until I found the exact one I liked the most. 

I have never been without my book since. I use one up every three months like clock work and then purchase another and store the old one. You can not imagine how many times it has provided me with information I needed or allowed me the way to record something I wanted to refer to another time.

I no longer have to remember anything…its in my book.

The IRS has huge power to do many things that will cause you great pain and suffering and loss of property, business opportunity and yes even your home…This we all probably understand, but a closer analysis of some of their collection methods is appropriate to remind you not to ignore them, there is a better path through cooperation then in avoidance. Just as the IRS code gives them power to liquidate, the same code gives protection to the taxpayer and ways to resolve the issues. They are workable if you know the path and have a guide or a map.

However there they have a few tricks you may want to be aware of.

You will be warned in writing that they are intending to lien and then levy your accounts. They will do this, it takes a while but eventually they get to it. Typically they will determine were you bank, and will levy all your accounts, removing all funds that are there, irrespective of checks written against the account, they will simply all bounce. Frequently this will occur on a Friday afternoon as they are certain to get the payroll account at its fattest. You will discover this Monday morning if not over the weekend when your employees are told they cannot cash their payroll checks.

Be aware, that while part of the strategy is to collect cash, part is also to get your attention so you work out the debt effectively. Be aware also that they are not allowed to take money from your payroll account, although they do all the time. However it is beholden upon you the taxpayer to inform them and prove to them that it was payroll they got and they will release the cash levied in a payroll account immediately if challenged and you satisfy the burden of proving it was payroll. Again, they do this to make certain you pay attention to them and cooperate with their efforts to collect.

Some “smart” business owners figure this out and then either attempt to hide money in the payroll account or even use the payroll account as an operating account. This may work for a while but you will be discovered and this is why you must prove to them its current payroll they took (levied) and then they will release it.

As if that is not annoying enough, as now you must find the funds to cover all the bounced checks, their next trick can be fatal or at least very damaging to your ongoing business, when they levy your accounts receivable.

First you may have given them the information to do this during an interview were they ask specifically for you to name the accounts receivables and provide contact information. However they also have the power to look into your deposit history and determine who has paid you in the recent past and thus they make the assumption these may be ongoing customers who will owe you again and thus they levy them all, irrespective of whether or not they currently owe you anything. 

You can only imagine the horror experienced when your best customers call you and inform you they are sending the check they owed you to the IRS as ordered by the levy.  They then explain they will not be doing any further business with you for two reasons, first being they are uninterested in having the IRS in their face because of you and the second being you are no longer deemed reliable and worthy of doing business with because they fear you will soon be gone…That’s the end of your business.

You may recover from this if your customers are loyal and if they are savy enough to know the IRS will only send out a request and will do nothing to follow up on it, but it is a huge hit on your business status with your customer base being very unhappy and allot smaller then before this occured.

In a word, when contacted do not ignore them, it time to work out the debt…somehow, and there are many ways. Call me if you need help. 413-687-8388. I typically leave Friday afternoons open as I also frequently get emergency calls on Friday afternoons, and yes you can guess the reasons why.

It happens all the time. In a tough workout situation, the business owner does not want to confront the issues and unfortunately frequently prefers to just wait, doing nothing, yet hoping something will change. Plan A, the preferred plan fails to materialize for some reason and the business owner is then forced to consider plan B. Disappointed, disastrous? No,There is always Plan B  and it may actually be better then Plan A…why?

Because plan A didn’t work!!!

For whatever reason Plan A failed to happen so onward we go. In many cases plan A fails because the business owner failed to “pull the trigger”. He simply do not implement the strategy usually out of fear, intimidation, or he was unable to accept his plight and take control of his situation, making the hard but correct and necessary decisions.

 Then his property is in the process of being taken, his business is being shut down and liens and levies are implemented on his accounts and his receivables, law suits are initiated by vendors. It appears things could not be any worse.

I have always believed that out of disaster, successful emergence can occur. Let me remind you that the worse position your in, the more likely the best possible workout can be implemented. Thus while unfortunately frequently true, by bypassing plan A and suffering the consequences of further decline, greater  loss, fewer alternatives,  this all lays the foundation for a more effective workout.

Your creditors are more aware there is less likelihood of full recovery so getting less now may be better then waiting and hoping for more later, which will probably never happen.

The flip side of disaster can be a better conclusion.

Yes this is upside down thinking and not “normal” analysis, but when one is upside down, when your liabilities are greater then your assets, upside down evaluation for a successful workout plan to support re-emergence is the way one must think. It is the one situation were bad news is good.  

Its a skill one can learn to do or better yet, under such dire circumstances with so much at stake, I strongly recommend you hire a professional workout specialist. This is not the time to learn on the job.

If plan A  fails, plan B can be better. Keep focused, committed and resourceful. Never say die and remember, anything can be worked out, so the challenge is to make Plan B work… better then Plan A.

The underlying issue is to overcome the fear and reluctance to make tough difficult decisions in a stressful downturn situation…it must be done, and you must do it, maintaining the course is not always the best way to go, especially when you are upside down and in crisis, in fact it may be the shortest path to disaster.

You must be fearless and a leader, making the hard decisions, facing your demons and conquering them. Many people are depending upon you to succeed. Make it happen. There is always a plan B.

Call me if you need some help. 413-687-8388 (cell phone)

If you have defaulted on your 941 payroll tax payments and have built up a debt and are now dealing with the IRS and working it out, there is a reality check you need to address and fully understand so you do not get trapped into a no win situation.

In fact it just happened to a client and fortunately I was able to stop it before he fell into the trap. Here is how it went. Of course the owner operator was deemed the responsible party, so the debt of the business is now the debt of the individual owner.

After a fairly vigorous discovery and investigation period were the IRS agent learned all she could through the collection process including the 433A and B forms and other  demands for financial documentation, and was pushing the client into entering into an aggressive payback program requiring large weekly payments, enough to satisfy the debt within a few years time. She “promised” that after a period of paying on this plan, the client could enter into an offer in compromise  and reduce the amount owed and that she would help make this happen.

Ridiculous…It ain’t so.

Very simply stated and an important strategy to understand in any workout, if the borrower can afford to payback the debt, what is owed, and demonstrates this ability by entering into an agreement and performing on it for a period of time, why would the IRS or anyone accept a discounted payoff when they already know they can get a full pay out with interest and penalties accruing along the way as promised and as performed to date? It will not happen. There is no good reason.

Further, the seperation between the Offer in Compromise department from the Collection Agent is extreme, and one has little to do with the other. Thus she has almost no influence whatsoever.

Her plan was bad advice. Selling blue sky which will never happen, and enticing the tax payer into a very expensive and brisk payback with a false promise of salvation later on. It will never happen. 

Never enter into a pay back agreement and then perform  if your intent is to negotiate an offer in compromise. This is the wrong kind of cooperation and works against your best interests…always.

 Better to accept reality and stay with the likelihood that you cannot afford to payback the full debt while now paying current 941 taxes and briskly reducing the  past obligation. It makes little sense and is likely to result in default again anyways, so whats the point. You have already entered into default and now are primed to do an offer in compromise…so do it. Do not expect you can do both. Its one or the other, pick your poison.

Its not about pleasing the revenue officer so maybe he will be nicer to you, its about being able to afford the workout and resolve the issue while staying in business. That’s the challenge. they are fine with closing you down and liquidating your assets irrespective of what the return will be. Even nothing is ok. 

Alternatively, it is unlikely you will be able to afford both the aggressive payback program the service is demanding you accept  and ongoing current payments. Its too much, and paid weekly, no room to breathe

Bound to fail.  Do something else. Qualify for a discounted payoff, then schedule the payments and get it done, but the first time you make a payment on their “plan” your workout days are over, it will be straight to liquidation a soon as you default one more time.

You never want a payment program unless there are extenuating circumstances that prevent a viable Offer in Compromise. That’s the best plan.

The IRS code says that transfers between immediate family members is deemed fraudulent on its face. Without having to evaluate the facts, the code says that it is natural and anticipated that children will lie for parents as will brothers and sisters and parents lie to protect and help each other. Its a natural occurrence, so frequently experienced that the IRS code determined to end this matter by simply deeming all such transactions between immediate family members fraudulent on its face, therefore eliminating the requirement for evaluating this issue all together.

That’s the bad news. The good news is I have arranged many such transfers of assets between family members despite the above described barrier by arguing the following facts to the revenue officer with the following logical arguments.

1. The business is not readily marketable to the general public, it loses money , and is a niche provider with few valuable assets thus basically unmarketable.

2. We have the assets appraised and although immediate family they are willing to pay fair market value for them, assuring the IRS that they are getting fair consideration for the release.

3. We “retire” the original tax offending family members out of ownership of the new entity although allow consulting or even employment by the new entity.

This has worked repeatedly. It is also a natural evolution as frequently know one else would purchae so this creates a natural and advantageous opportunity for both sides. Additionally it may protect family income and long term work effort, perhaps saving jobs and opportunity were there may be few alternatives.

I have found repeatedly that while clearly not intended by the code, the IRS agents empowered to defend and support the code, understand the benefits to both sides if this is type of transition is permitted under carefully considered circumstances.

It is important when contemplating such a transition that it is discussed with the IRS agent in advance and acceptance of the plan is obtained. I would recommend this factor be included in the Purchase and Sales contract clearly stating the facts and the relationship so all is out and on the table for everyone to see and understand. 

It would be foolish to permit a “responsible person” from the original offending company to take an ownership position or for that matter any previous owner be them responsible or not. Additionally, it would also be inadvisable for a previous owner to be an authorized check signer for the new company.There needs to be a 100% transition between the previous owners and the current new owners, especially if they are family. In other words, there needs to be a clean break between the old and the new.

This also permits for a seamless transition, without business interception, which may be critical to the business surviving.

Thus do not reject this opportunity just because the tax code says it is not permissible. With the right circumstances, it can be done.

I have stated in other blog entry’s that in business “no” means “yes”, just not now….that’s the attitude a salesperson must maintain to be successful. Of course this is assuming your talking to a bonafide potential customer who uses or should or could use your product or service.

As long as the potential client is talking to you, “no” is an acceptable answer, not to be considered a rejection, just a postponement, the customer is just not ready yet.

The danger is when the talk stops and there is no further opportunity to penetrate and close. When you cannot talk to your potential client because he is not taking your calls, you may have a real no, although i still say its only a harder postponement, and will require a strategic reconsideration as to how to approach him next, not a sign for a retreat or abandonment.

If you are talking to enough potential clients, some will close immediately, some soon but not today, some later and some allot later. Thus your sales and marketing plans must include working the line knowing you have inventory or work in process, tomorrows sales, next months sales, next years sales, you are developing now. All saying no, but really saying not now, but lets keep talking I am getting closer to a yes.

There is the low hanging fruit sales and marketing program,  harvesting those prospects whom you merely have to ask once or twice and you will receive a yes, is very nice, but this will not happen all the time, and many excellent qualified, bonafide potential clients need a longer time to consider and accept.

So how many “no’s” must you receive before it turns to a “yes”? 

A good question, and frankly my answer is … unlimited  ”no’s”, as many as it takes, never give up, it may not be a weekly call or even a monthly call, but I would have a sales and marketing program that manages my communication requirements. For every person I speak with that says no,  a carefully considered return call, letter, email, newsletter, post card, whatever you can imagine, will be scheduled and implemented, designed to keep the man in play and working towards an eventual yes.

Why give up on anyone, if qualified, especially if they are not throwing you out the door or hanging up on you, especially if you are convinced you have a product or service that the potential customer could and should use. “No” is just a postponed “yes”!

So how many times does it take? There has been much research on this issue and it is said that on the average it requires 8 rejections before an acceptance or a yes is received. That’s allot of rejection, but how sweet is the acceptance when it is finally received.

Perhaps the required strategy is to figure out how to deliver at least 8 approaches, so you can get the 8 rejections (on the average so it may sometimes be 10 or 12 rejections you must receive) before the yes occurs.

I would therefore never consider another postcard, email, call, visit etc a waste of time until you have provided at least a dozen passes, and received a significant number of rejections.

You must ask for the sale, the commitment and either get a rejection, more work required, or a yes and a sale is made.

I would make certain I am delivering at least a dozen communications so I can get though the “no’s” and reach the “yes” as  soon as possible. Keep score and if you stayed in the game and play all 9 innings, making 8-12 sales pitches, receiving a dozen “no’s” but eventually receive the yes.

Maybe the sale requires creating a relationship, demonstrating professional tenacity, service, commitment, empathy ( see other blog entry’s) follow through, maybe its a no to you and not your product or service and thus you need the time to convince the potential client that you are worthy of his business.

If sales are all about creating a relationship, it cannot be done in one or two communications, it takes many and maybe they should not all be sales calls but should be relationship building calls without a word said about product or services. Maybe your conversation is about the industry, or whatever subject you consider that the potential client would be interested in, creating a relationship….

So the mantre is “No” means “Yes”, just not now. You require at least 8 rejections before you will receive an acceptance, so get on with the job, you have a ways to go, and giving up before you have made at least 8 passes is leaving potential sales on the table, not finishing the job,  wasting and investment and the time already spent because you failed to keep the ball in pay for long enough to win.

Do it, do it at least 8 times and perhaps more, it does not always have to be a sales pitch either  but it must be a valuable communication. Think about it, every sales person has experienced success after a significant string of no’s. Make it part of your sales and marketing plan. No means yes, just not today. In fact since such a large investment is made in originating and presenting to a new prospect, it seems penny wise and pound foolish to give up on the third or fourth effort, how much more does the next few cost, not much.

Any good sales data base management program which calenders your efforts and keeps you on track makes such an effort easier to control and monitor and implement effectively while keeping keeping track of the data and progress. 

Review your sales program and build in 8-12 communications. Do not give up till the job is done and the sale is closed.

Recently I have been working with an auto body repair shop. The problem is lack of profitability despite significant gross revenue. The manager appears capable but unwilling or perhaps unmotivated to increase productivity by better managing the flow of work product and the effort of his employees. Employee productivity is the issue, a very common problem for many businesses.

We believe he has the skills required to turn this business around by dramatically increasing the productivity but he lacked the authority and incentive to make the difficult decisions required and to be held responsible and accountable for the profitability of the shop.

The managers position requires many specific skills and replacing him would be a difficult and along term task. Thus we made the decision to solve the problem within and create an environment that would support the development of the full potential of the manager so he could develop the shops productivity more fully.

We decided an equity reward system would resolve all the issues in a classic win win situation as follows:

1. We determined the required monthly revenue and payroll ratio required to first break even and then expand into significant growth and profitability.

We created a ramp up scale, with year one starting at $100,000 per month with a 65% payroll to revenue ratio for year one.

Year two went to $125,000 same ratio, year three $150,000. per month, year 4 $175,000, the presumed maximum the facility can handle ( not including additional shifts or weekend production which is a possibility, or expanding the building and production capabilities).

Each year the manager reached the goal he would receive 10% ownership in the business until he acquired a maximum of 40% four years out. He earned additionally with dividend distributions the same way the owner extracted cash out of the business. If the business is ever sold both would appropriately share in the gain. More likely the manager will end up buying out the owner.

The profitability of such a ramp up is very good and the owner is delighted to share equity in exchange for significantly increased gross revenue and increased profitability.

The manager is being given management control over the shop including hiring and firing men. We will monitor his success by installing a key indicator reporting system which we will together meet weekly to review and discuss.

If he fails to meet the goals we can fire him and he does not get  the unearned increased equity, thus the bet is in his shoulders to earn his equity at no cost to the owner until well down the line and if he is successful in developing the business and delivering the objectives.

Its a great solution to a difficult situation, as this frees the owner to focus on other programs and business interests and yet keep a close handle on the results of this experiment. The manager and the owner both win if he is successful in implementing a growth plan with profitability standards. He has control over the system as he can make the changes he wants and needs to without interference from the owner. 

Our lawyer wrote up a simple clear agreement, and we will kick this program off May 1. He will begin firing, hiring and training new employees and holding his men to  standards he considers effective and appropriate. 

Incentives with little out of pocket costs, flatter management, accountability, key indicators to track and monitor success, its a winning equation. Lets see how well it works. 

My clients were served with a law suit demanding payment of approximately $650,000. They were clearly responsible for this amount and had no viable defense. We visited some high powered lawyers to ask for an analysis and a proposal. They proposed a two year pre-trial dance with discovery, motions etc, and then at the appropriate moment they would enter into a resolution discussion for a short payoff, but only after the stage was set. Two years of misery and with retainers and fees likely to reach over $100,000. before we got near a court room, heaven forbid.

After we met and my clients had a day or two to absorb this meeting and their proposal we met and I suggested the following course of action. That rather then waste all the cash we had available and have nothing left to offer in compromise, why not let me approach the opposing council and work out a conclusion using some of the money we would have paid our own lawyers.

They agreed and with financial statements and tax returns in hand I made an appointment with the lawyer representing the other side and met with him this afternoon in his office.

I explained my position very candidly, telling him my clients may have made some mistakes but in the end they thought they were doing the right thing under great pressure. The IRS was sweeping their accounts and threatening to shut them down, which they did. The bank was foreclosing and they were on the verge of total annihilation.

I offered them $25,000 telling him we would rather pay the plaintiff then pay the attorneys as it made sense and seemed like the right thing to do no matter how little the offer was.

After a brief discussion, the lawyer agreed and stated his intent to report this meeting to his client and recommend they accept our offer and cease all litigation.

It seemed appropriate to him as well, as what is the sense of wasting so much cash and time with no hope of a return in the end for his clients. He appreciated my candid response and logical suggestion despite the low offer, it was as good as we could do, presumably and thus the best possible solution.

We have a few hurdles to go, but this will work out along these lines and for once sane minds prevailed and a lawyer understood the best interest of his client was being served by his recommending they accept our offer and resist an expensive but fruitless victory in the courts.

This will be resolved along these lines.

So the moral of this story is that anything can be worked out, if it makes sense and is properly presented, even a law suit,

What ever happened to our personal standards, you know the value of our word, for example? It seems that we all remember that there was the” good old days” when a mans word was rock solid. In other words you could depend upon his performance on time and well done because he said he would do something and thus could be relied upon to do it.  In those days everyone also did their best and delivered exceptional service and product. What happened?

Why is this a story from the “good old days” and not a story about today’s standards and way of life?

For example:

1. Being late for an appointment is deemed acceptable and almost expected. Broken word.

2. Not calling back when you said you would is normal. Broken word.

3. The biggest laugh of all and a joke everyone understands is the check is in the mail…even though it isn’t, but this practise while annoying is absolutely expected. Broken word.

4. Late payments for rent or anything for that matter is apparently built into our culture as we now have late charges and grace periods honoring ones lack of commitment and saying its ok as long as you pay an additional amount. Broken word.

5. How about vendor deliveries, never ever on time. Broken word.

6. What about trades people. “I will definitely be there on Monday” and they show up on Thursday and we consider ourselves fortunate that he showed up at all! Broken word.

7. Even in our own offices, dead lines are never met, and  it seems acceptable to everyone involved. Broken word.

8. Bosses have a habit of never being on time, but he is the boss we say, so its ok!!!! Broken word.

9. Meetings never start on time and never end on time and this too I suggest is a breach of a commitment. Broken word.

10. Accountants never deliver their work product on time nor do lawyers.  Broken word.

11. Then there is the quality of performance, it seems that taking pride in a quality performance is rare. People expect inferior work effort and are surprised when someone does a good job or delivers as promised, as if its ok to deliver less then your best and less then paid for or expected. Low work standards.

12. We expect shoddy product and guaranties that have more loopholes then substance, insurance companies that do not pay on claims they have insured. Low standards.

13. Tips are no longer earned but are expected even for inferior service. Low standards.

…and on and on it goes.

Yet we try and teach our children that your word is important, that timeliness is important, that doing your best and delivering on time is important, yet as they grow up they see the opposite is true.

What does this mean to a business person?

We have a choice, we can either continue to contribute to the demise of our standards, or you can make an individual statement and make a commitment to your word being unbreakable and demonstrate to everyone you are involved with that you are a man of your word and do what you say you will do.

What would this mean? You would rapidly earn a valuable reputation as a dependable man. This will create and support huge respect, tremendous loyalty and more business then otherwise, as people are attracted to people with high standards in a world were standards are disappearing. People so appreciate a man who keeps his word, they will admire him and talk well of him and will want to do business with him. They will deem him responsible, predictable, dependable, reliable and therefore worthy of trust, wow!!! All starting with keeping your word.

They will accept his word on other issues that are important, they will give him work without competitive biding, they will make him the preferred business associate, the “go to guy” because he delivers what he promises.

So here is the interesting fact. Because when one demonstrates a commitment to keeping ones word on the small issues, it transfers to larger more important issues where it really counts. If a man commits to honoring his word, it is typically an across the board commitment, applying to all aspects of his life, thus if all we need to do is return a call on time and reap the benefits of being a trustworthy man who delivers as promised and this applies to all aspects of his life, then its probably a worthy effort to return ones calls on time.

It is sad that our society has reduced itself to such a low common denominator were everyone expects everyone else to NOT perform as they say they will and not keep their word. But its not to late to change this, one person at a time. The benefits are huge.

It is an advantage in every aspect of our lives, thus I say why not try it out. Keep your word on the simple things and see what happens to your life. Practice keeping your word on small thing and soon you will be keeping your word on the large issues as well.

Who knows maybe you will soon be known as someone who has high standards, keeps his word and does what he says he will do. This will transfer to all aspects of your life, home and community. Its how we are supposed to be living, do it, it works, its good for you and it is setting an excellent example for others who will follow.