Employee To Entrepreneur

After working for a major telecommunications company for 28 years, Toni Cory's position servicing chip-placement machines was outsourced to another country. Even though Cory could see it coming months before her position was eliminated, it didn't make the downsizing any easier to swallow. Cory had planned to retire from her company when she was ready and with some financial security -- but like many others in today's turbulent economy, that was no longer a possibility.

Retraining for a new career
Once Cory knew her days at her company were numbered, she began to do some soul-searching. As a dog owner, Cory had heard of dog day-care establishments and wondered if the idea would take off in her rural community in the Midwest. So she did some research and found out about a state-sponsored program being delivered at the local community college to teach people how to set up a small business. It was here that she also found out about and took advantage of a $15,000 NAFTA federal training grant for displaced workers and enrolled in a five-month school in another city to become a professional dog trainer.

Around the same time, Cory's son saw an advertisement for a dog day-care mentorship program at a local dog day-care establishment in conjunction with their relationship with VocationVacations, a company that partners business owners with people considering a career change. Cory spent one long day (from 6AM to 7PM) at the dog day-care center soaking up as much knowledge as she could about running a dog day-care business.

Personal and financial obstacles
Cory was not without her naysayers. "The economy is going down the tubes, and you plan to open your business in a very rural area -- will people actually pay for this service?" seemed to be the party line among several of Cory's colleagues. But the skepticism didn't stop there. The banks did not want to give her a loan to start her business. It took her a year to convince her banker to give her a loan; and in order to get the amount she needed, Cory was forced to put up everything she had in her 401(k) as collateral. Once the loan was secured, Cory and her husband found a piece of property, and her husband, a contractor, put his work on hold and built the dog day-care center himself.

Cory confesses that the first 18 months were not easy. The business had a slow start; people who said they would bring their dogs to the center didn't. Yet the staff and the bills still needed to be paid. Cory persevered -- and by the end of the second year, she was turning a profit and getting repeat business and new referrals.

Advice for others
"If you are starting a business, be realistic about your goals; don't think you can do it yourself and don't be afraid to ask for help. There are many organizations and people willing to share information, and your local chamber of commerce is another great resource for small businesses. Have faith in yourself. I have a high-school education and I never ran a business before. Every year I learn more, and I use those lessons to make my business better," Cory says.

Cory says she is very satisfied with her progress to date: "I started my business because I no longer wanted corporate America to be in charge of my life and I wanted to do something within my community."

Conducting An Effective Meeting

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be meetings.”

Thus spake humorist Dave Barry, and many of us would agree. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Some tips for having a good one:

Start and end strongly
Running a productive meeting isn’t rocket science. As Denver-based consultant Teri Schwartz notes, much of it boils down to opening and conducting every meeting with a purpose and closing it with a plan for “going forward.” Problems arise when people forget this. “It’s like flying a plane,” says Schwartz. “Most crashes happen at takeoff and landing.”

Pick a leader
Four years ago, Cleveland’s KeyCorp bank adopted a new principle: Always assign someone to lead. “The worst thing you can do is go into a meeting with no one in charge,” says the bank’s senior EVP and chief risk officer, Charles Hyle. “It turns into a shouting match.”

Think small
Be realistic about what you can accomplish. “You can’t solve world hunger in an hour,” Schwartz says. By the same token, keep the number of attendees manageable to stimulate discussion. “When you have too many people in the room,” says Hyle, “everyone clams up.”

Direct, don’t dominate
“People hate it when they can’t get their work done because they have to go to somebody else’s meeting,” says Columbia Business School professor Michael Feiner. So encourage others to speak up and get involved, especially junior staffers. “They need to believe it’s not his meeting or her meeting, but ‘our’ meeting,” Feiner says.

Lay down the rules of engagement
Everyone should understand who will take notes and how decisions will be made. Remember that consensus is typically a bad thing. “It means there isn’t enough dialogue or debate,” says Feiner, “and that’s the lifeblood of any innovative organization.” Jon Petz, the author of Boring Meetings Suck, suggests assigning follow-up tasks during the final five to ten minutes, then reiterating them later in a group e-mail so there’s no confusion.

Job Interview

For college graduates who fear they may be trading their diplomas for Starbucks aprons, there’s good news and bad: Employers have hired 19 percent more graduates in 2011 than they did in 2010—when just 56 percent had locked down a job by last spring, according to a Rutgers University survey. But the market is still tepid. How to improve your chances at landing—and keeping—a great job:

You’re a Seller, Not a Buyer
Writes Nell Minnow at bnet.com, “[College seniors] act as though they are meeting with their college advisor, telling prospective employers what the job will do for them instead of what they will bring to an organization.” Tell your interviewer the skills you have that would benefit his company.

You’re Part of a Team
College promotes individual achievement, says Minnow, which means “students … have no reason to feel responsible for the group,” and working together is a must to succeed in business. Stress your ability to work with colleagues for the common good. Don’t dwell on your own goals but rather on the company’s.

Act Like a Grown Up
That may sound obvious, but a recent survey by the Protocol School of Washington found half of all college grads don’t exhibit professionalism on the job. What’s more, they often think their obligations to the company end when they clock out at night. “Incidents at work and comments about coworkers are not to be put on Facebook or Twitter,” notes Minnow.

Employers Expect Results
With the changing economy come changing expectations, writes Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times. When an employer interviews a candidate, he writes, he is asking himself, “Can he or she help my company adapt not only to doing the job today but also reinventing the job tomorrow?” Someone who seems able to morph to meet a company’s changing needs is more likely to get the job.

Channel Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa, CEO (Berrett-Koehler, $21.95) has advice for even older job seekers: “If it can be done now, do it now” and “Take your work seriously, never yourself.”

Influencing Others

Leadership plays a vital role in the building of any business and can have a direct effect on the attitudes of colleagues and staff, which in turn affects products and services. The attitude and influence of the leader is also reflected in aspects such as staff satisfaction and retention.

It's important to distinguish leadership from management. A manager oversees subordinates who primarily do as they're told and have little or no input to the business or organisation. Leaders on the other hand have people who follow them willingly as they also "see" the leader's vision and passion, and clearly understand the organisation's mission and purpose. So, which group are more likely to support you and your business?

Great business leaders all have common traits that contribute to their success. Most importantly is an understanding that leadership is not only about growing financial wealth but also focusing on growing personal or human wealth. Companies and organisations that take responsibility for the people they employ as well as the wider community often have outstanding business success.

Listed below are 20 practical tips to enhance your leadership skills and bring success to your business:

1. Let people know their contributions in the workplace are valued.

2. Keep communication at an open and honest level.

3. Acknowledge, privately and in public, an outstanding individual effort.

4. Be a positive role model: walk the talk.

5. Give people the skills and knowledge to do their job well and invest in skills.

6. Be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses.

7. Prioritise your day and know some things happen unexpectedly.

8. Always view the long term plan and don't allow negative days to torment your mind.

9. Learn to be resilient: you will face challenges and make mistakes - bounce back.

10. Be prepared to make tough decisions to get the results you need.

11. Don't take yourself too seriously:have a laugh daily.

12. Great leaders have great mentors:find yourself a mentor that you can relate to.

13. Clearly define your vision and focus on goals to achieving it.

14. Always ask questions - even if they seem 'stupid.'

15. Never overlook talent - involve great people in your business.

16. Develop excellent listening and observation skills.

17. Understand the difference between 'leading' and 'managing' your business.

18. Don't be afraid to show your weaknesses and acknowledge your skills.

19. Be passionate and believe in yourself and what you are doing.

20. A healthy work-life balance is important - ensure you make time for family, friends and the community.

One secret to success is how we influence the people around us – in our personal and business life. Who are you influencing today and how?

Basic People Skills

How to build a winning, creative team? Clichéd though this may be, you need to start with treating people right. There is no other way.

Humans all appreciate:

• Respect; which includes appropriate remuneration.

• The opportunity to express themselves without undue criticism and censure.

• Feeling heard and understood; even without agreement.

• Sharing goals; having sense of purpose and togetherness; feeling supported.

• Invitation to be part of an engaging vision.

• Praise, positive feedback and genuine appreciation.

• Strive for a calm environment – psychologically and physically.

• Be honest, be real and be nice.

Make people happy and they will be more creative. Even more so than putting them in highly stressful situations. “It’s no accident that AHA and HAHA are spelled almost the same way.” — Mitch Ditkoff.

“Drive out fear” — W Edwards Deming. Management by threats ,however well-veiled, is not good.

Leadership Is About Serving

When we become a leader at any level, we become responsible for the wellbeing and success of other people. And as a leader, we achieve success through the success of others. The following two steps help us to improve our ability to lead others effectively.

Get to know your people well
Our first leadership obligation is to develop our understanding of our people as individuals. As a leader, how can we expect to get the best out of people if we don’t know them?

There are issues that relate to everyone, such as policy or procedure, but to get the best out of people we need to reach them on a personal level. The key to leading others is to understand and consider them – put them first.

Our job as leaders is all about training, developing and educating people and we achieve this by developing a true understanding of:

• what motivates them

• what their aspirations are

• what they are capable of

• what is important to them

Leadership isn’t about telling people what to do.

Leadership is about:

• showing them what to do

• teaching them how to do it

• developing each person, enabling them to fulfil their potential

• focusing on the interests and wellbeing of others

• helping people to improve and achieve results

• building relationships based on mutual respect and understanding

Leadership is about being the best we can be to help others be the best they can be. Once we have taken the time to get to know them well, we can achieve this by focussing on two key aspects: their competence and their perspective.

Develop an understanding of their competence and perspective
Competence is each person’s individual level of skill and ability to perform the tasks that are required of them in their role.

Each person is a product of their own experience, level of education or training, natural abilities, values, beliefs and personal standards and this all needs to be considered in all leadership situations.

The only way we are able to assess an individual’s competence is through our relationship with them, by developing a true understanding of who they are. We need to get to know them. If we don’t, leadership mistakes are made.

Perspective is each person’s individual way of thinking about or evaluating a message, subject or situation, based on their personality, frame of mind, experience, wants and needs.

People all have individual perspectives in every situation, which can be shaped by an endless list of variables, such as age, sex, culture, experience, upbringing, values, beliefs, expectations, family circumstances, what is happening in their personal and professional lives etc.

It is our responsibility as a leader to increase our awareness and understanding of these variables and learn how to use this understanding appropriately to align our leadership style with their needs.

To be the best they can be, people need to know exactly what to do, how to do it and what is expected of them – they need to be provided with the appropriate guidance.

Knowing the people we lead, gaining an understanding of their competence and perspective, allows us to align our leadership style with their needs, and give the right guidance.

Key Points to Successful SME

5 Key Areas SME must focus on :-

The product or service that you offer
Many businesses get started because someone has an idea or a passion. Unfortunately not enough research is put into whether the product or service is viable and if there is a market for it. Passion is important in business, but if the idea just doesn't have legs, it's going to cause a lot of heartache. The product or service needs to be well researched to ensure it delivers a solution or benefit. Research, testing and improvement needs to be ongoing , as markets change rapidly.

Marketing and Selling
Once you've found a great product or service and you've identified a market, how do you let people know about it? There is no point in having a fantastic product or service if no one knows about it. If you can't convey your value proposition, the business will fail. You need to sell to your customer. You need to engage with them, listen to their needs and find ways to solve their problem. It is a long road from enquiry to closing a sale and it needs patient and trained salespeople. A good sales process can have a massive impact on revenue and getting top performers to share knowledge is vital.

Operations and Finance
Once you've made the sale, you have to deliver. There is a lot involved in delivering a product or service to the satisfaction of customers. Systems are the best way to ensure efficiency.

Then there is finance to consider. There are costs and overheads to pay, stock and jobs in progress to finance, debts to collect, equipment to be bought or financed, suppliers to pay, interest to financiers and the list goes on. Cash flow is one of the biggest issues for SMEs.

Customer service
"The customer is always right? If the customer is wrong, go back and read the first line"? Without happy customers - business will be a struggle. Constantly finding new customers is expensive. It's an often quoted point in customer service training, that a happy customer will tell two or three people, whilst an unhappy customer will tell around twenty.

Human Resources
Happy staff means happy customers. If you want staff to look after customers, you must look after the staff. I often hear that even big businesses rarely have reviews with staff and don't provide any mechanism for feedback. Staff, are your most valuable asset.

You probably spend time dealing with all five areas. The best way to grow your business is to surround yourself with people who understand and specialise in each. You can't be an expert in all five. If you try, you will wear yourself out and create an unhappy working environment. I've been very fortunate to be surrounded by a team, each has a focus on one of these areas. It has freed up mine and my business partner's time to focus on strategic management and growth. I can recommend this thinking. If you don't currently employ these people start looking for them or outsource to specialists.

Who Is Chia Thye Poh

Chia Thye Poh, 70, the longest-serving political prisoner in Asian history, was awarded the Lim Lian Geok (LLG) Spirit Award on 18 December 2011 by the LLG Cultural Development Centre. The former Singapore Member of Parliament was detained for 32 years from 1966 to 1998 by Lee Kuan Yew’s government, a much longer term compared to Nelson Mandela’s 28 years of detention.

In 1963, many activists in Singapore were arrested and detained. Chia selflessly stood in for a detained candidate in the general elections and was elected Member of Parliament on a Socialist Front ticket. He was thus also a Malaysian member of parliament from 1963 to 1965 when Singapore was part of Malaysia.

A defender of the freedom of expression and justice, he was banned from entering Malaysia after he had delivered a speech at the Perak division of the Labour Party of Malaysia on 24th April 1966.

He was arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) by the Singapore Government on Oct 29, 1966 which allows for indefinite detention without trial. In May 1989, he was placed under house arrest in the island of Sentosa for nine more years. After 32 years of incarceration, he was finally granted unconditional freedom on 27 November 1998. Immediately after his restriction order was lifted, Chia issued a statement condemning the ISA. Soon after, he went to Netherlands and completed his Master’s and PhD degrees at the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague.

Established in 1988, the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award is the highest honour in the Malaysian Chinese community bestowed on those who live up to the spirit of Lim Lian Geok, the civil rights leader of Dong Jiao Zong in the fifties and sixties. His citizenship was revoked by the Alliance government in 1961 because of his opposition to the 1960 Rahman Talib Report that aimed to convert the Chinese secondary schools to national schools. Since his passing in 1985, Lim Lian Geok has been beatified as the “Soul of the Malaysian Chinese”.

80 / 20 Rule

According to the Deloitte survey, the top three priorities for insurers today is to manage channel costs, improve channel productivity and retain channels

Insurers are investing heavily in agency channel recruitment and training. However, the percentage of active agents is low. This has led to high expenses with regard to agency channel management. According to Deloitte’s Life Insurance Channel Management Benchmarking Study-2011 (which included seven participants from the life insurance industry) 88% of individual agency sales are from top 25% agents, which indicates high dependence on a few best performers and the need to improve agent’s productivity across layers.

Thank You

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section". Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and
were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments"

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked..

"Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord. "

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. "

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. "

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair......."

Managing Family Business

Family businesses are the cornerstone of many countries in Asia. Either started from migrant workers or the indigenous population of countries, many of such businesses have grown and flourished over the past century and into the current millennium.

Dr Hischam El-Agamy, an executive director of the Switzerland-based business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD), he feels it's time Asian family businesses cuddle the new norm of the global business world or risk fading away.

Grow Or Die
“Businesses only grow or die, they don't stand still,” El-Agamy told StarBiz. Family businesses would be swallowed either way with or without globalisation, if they were to stay stagnant.

Patriarchal Interference
Complacency and maintaining of the status quo of a business were problems most family businesses struggled with. Inteference and instructions given by the patriarchal family leader held firm and whose orders must be followed. Decision-making in a family business was usually faster than that of a large organisation but holding firm to the instructions of the elder person in a family could pose a problem at times when the decision might not be so favourable.

Business Governance
“There's a need for family businesses to establish governance. Governance is very important and this element may be lacking in some family firms compared with multinational companies (MNCs).

“In this case, the decision-making will be better and a family firm must also allow the younger generation to participate in the decision-making and not just by who leads the business,” he said, adding that there was no critical thinking as instructions given would usually be followed.

Explore Other Ideas
Apart from governance, he encouraged family members of Asian family firms to explore the world and called on the older generation to prepare the next generation to take over the business. “They have to go out and spend a year or two to learn. If they go out to learn, they can appreciate the complexity of an MNC (multinational corporation).

“Some Asian family businesses do not plan for succession because they assume the children will take over the business and that could be a problem,” he pointed out.
Another point he made was that a family business must also learn how to integrate non-family employees into the organisation.

Life Insurance Growth 2012

Despite the challenging economic environment, the life insurance industry is expected to chart new business premiums growth of between 10% and 15% next year.

This is attributed, among others, to the low insurance penetration rate, the Government's various projects and tax incentives. The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) in responding to queries from StarBiz said the association anticipated new business premiums to moderately grow between 14% and 15% next year compared with a low double-digit growth this year.

By class of business, investment-linked business continued to enjoy a very strong growth in 2011, it said, adding that the sale of regular premium investment-linked products grew by 26% to RM752mil in the first half of the year from RM597mil in the corresponding period in 2010.

Meanwhile, for single premium business, there was a 16% growth in investment-linked plans, the association said. Total new business premiums for individual policies last year stood at about RM2.8bil compared with RM2.1bil in 2009.

LIAM also said the industry had taken a breather after strong double-digit growths in 2009 and 2010. “However, we expect the performance of the industry to improve by year-end as companies step up their efforts to achieve their business goals.

“The insurance penetration rate in the country is still low with huge upside potential to be captured. The economy in Malaysia is also expected to perform as projected and this augurs well for the growth of the industry,” LIAM said.

For single premium business, there was a move from traditional plans to investment-linked plans as companies favoured the latter due to challenges in providing minimum-guaranteed returns in traditional products under the low interest environment, it noted.

LIAM said it expected retirement-related products, as well as medical and protection-related products, to perform next year.

As part of its five-year strategic plan, the association added it would continue to drive its consumer education programme and raise awareness of the virtues of having life insurance.

Challenges In China

Ten years ago, foreign insurers were lining up to celebrate China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, eager to tap what was certain to become the world’s next big insurance frontier.

A decade on, it is mainly the local insurers that are celebrating. Four out of five foreign insurers are suffering losses in their China operations, strangled by tight regulatory controls and intense competition from local rivals who, the foreigners complain, enjoy unfair advantages. Some foreign firms are heading in the opposite direction, reducing their exposure to China or pulling out completely.

China’s WTO entry did indeed herald a boom. Over the past 10 years, insurers have seen annual premiums jump six-fold to 1.5 trillion yuan ($236 billion). There is room for further growth, backed by a rising middle class in a country with 1.3 billion people.

That boom has produced clear winners, just not among the foreign players. China Life Insurance Co and Ping An Insurance have grown into the world’s first and second-largest insurers by market valuation, respectively, in part thanks to the financial crisis hitting foreign insurers globally. They and non-life stalwart PICC have truly cashed in on the great China insurance sector boom.

China pledged to allow foreign firms “effective management control” in life insurance joint ventures, but it limited foreign stakes to 50 percent while letting them choose their partners freely. Beijing also promised to phase out geographical restrictions on where they could operate. Analysts say while China has met the letter of the law, in practice, the playing field is far from level.

Foreign insurance firms, for example, must endure lengthy and often inconsistent bureaucratic procedures to open a provincial branch, severely retarding their pace of expansion. Sino-foreign life insurance joint ventures have seen their growth typically capped to two provinces a year, a pace that would require at least 17 years to build a nationwide network, Wong noted.

But for insurers, which target Chinese individuals or companies, having a large sales force is crucial, analysts say.

“The licensing restriction has led to many other problems, such as inability to gain economies of scale, weak brand recognition…and in some cases, disadvantage in talent wars,” said Sally Yim, senior credit officer of rating agency Moody’s Investors Service.

In terms of ownership, foreign insurers can only enter China’s life insurance market by setting up a joint venture with a local firm and their stake is capped at 50 percent.

China’s life insurance sector, crowded with 61 players, is dominated by China Life and Ping An, which combined make up close to 50 percent of the entire market. The non-life space is dominated by PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd, which holds a 37 percent market share.

Foreign players have clearly failed to cash in. Of the 47 foreign insurers and JVs operating in China last year, only 11 made a profit, according to Moody’s. Despite their numbers, the foreign share of China’s life insurance market has shrunk to less than 5 percent from a peak of 8.9 percent in 2005. The non-life piece of the pie is but a sliver at around 1 percent.

In China, their troubles have been compounded by an influx of local entrants in recent years, some of which now boast much wider sales networks, while a growing number of major Chinese banks also have made forays into the industry, threatening the main sales channel for some foreign insurers.

Frustrated and disillusioned by the slow pace of deregulation and increasing local competition, firms such as AXA SA and Sun Life Financial have reduced ownership in their China joint ventures over the past year. New York Life quit China completely in January.

The main regulatory hurdle facing non-life insurers is the lack of access to compulsory third-party motor insurance policies. Analysts say this greatly hinders their ability to compete in the auto insurance market, which makes up more than 70 percent of non-life premiums.

According to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey released on Monday, most of the 28 life and non-life insurers expect their market share to stagnate around current levels over the next three years. It also showed that the level of commitment of foreign insurers toward China has been falling since 2008.

Despite the gloomy outlook, analysts say it is unlikely that foreign insurers will abandon the Chinese market altogether given its potential. They also need to be in the world’s second-largest economy to ward off a slowdown in United States and Europe.

BCG estimates that China’s gross written premiums will grow around 11 percent every year between 2010-2017, compared with an annual pace of about 4 percent in the United States, 2 percent in Japan and less than 1 percent in Britain.

“It’s very important for investors to participate in the China story. There’s not much growth in the U.S. and Europe and if you look eastward, China remains an attractive market,” Moody’s Yim said.

Takaful Potential

Bank Simpanan National (BSN) aims to aggressively grow its newly launched wealth management division by tapping into the underserved takaful market.

Its deputy chief executive of credit management and business support Winston E. Jeyaprakash said it is looking for the wealth management division, which was launched in June, to contribute between 12% and 15% to the bank's revenue by end-2012

"It (takaful business) is a lucrative market because the penetration rate is low in this country. The majority of BSN's customers are Muslim and it is a lucrative avenue for us to tap into," he told reporters yesterday at the launch of Giro Takaful Hajj.

He said the division aims to provide a full range of financial planning products and services to complement the overall business of the bank with further value-added products and services.

"We noticed the growing demand for financial management products among Malaysians, whether financial planning for retirement, education, healthcare or others. We offer products for each lifecycle to support the financial needs of our customers," Jeyaprakash said.

He added that BSN is looking to package products from its wholly-owned subsidiary Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd (PruBSN) with existing products.

Jointly launched by PruBSN and BSN, the Giro Takaful Hajj is a family takaful plan that provides protection and savings.

Available since August, Jeyaprakash said it is the sixth product launched under the PruBSN and BSN partnership and sales have been encouraging so far.

PruBSN CEO Azim K. Mithani said: "Building on our relationship with BSN as a shareholder and distributor is crucial and vital towards growing our bancatakaful business and is in line with PruBSN's aspiration to be the number one local takaful operator."

He added that as of June, PruBSN's share of the takaful market in Malaysia was 27%, making it the second biggest company in the industry.

PruBSN distributes its products through its own agencies, Affin Islamic and BSN, which currently has eight million customers and 385 branches. BSN opens eight to 10 new branches each year.

Critical Illness Cover

An eighth successive decline gave the FTSE 100 its longest losing streak since 2003 with Prudential among the fallers. Prudential slid 3.5 per cent to 555p as analysts questioned whether management’s targets were realistic in the market turmoil.

At a meeting last week in Kuala Lumpur, Prudential said it remained on track to double Asian new business and profits by 2013.

“We’re left still struggling to see how they would meet these,” said Exane BNP Paribas. “The main justification appeared to be extrapolation of first-half trends. The rather gloomy economic outlook was not mentioned.”

Prudential has boosted growth in markets such as Malaysia by cross selling to existing customers, a trend Exane argued would not be sustainable.

Feedback from agents also suggested to the broker that customers might be buying critical illness cover thinking it was income protection. (One lump sum is paid upon policyholder being diagnosed for 36 Critical illnesses.)

“The company risks long-term brand damage if policyholders expect payments for illness which are not paid by the group,” said Exane. It forecast Prudential to fall short of its Asian new business target by more than a third.

Develop Entrepreneurs Not Agents

Generation Y doesn’t identify with the idea of being insurance agents but are wired to be entrepreneurs.

Young Lions
The young lions want to be heard and to be understood. They want to get there (to running their own businesses) faster than did today’s older producers. They want to grow their business and achieve success, which for them includes balance.

Not Novices
Young Lions are not novices. The mean age of the young lions in the MDRT study was 39. Forty percent were women, and 48 percent have children in the home. Sixty-three percent qualify for MDRT.

Less of the young lions’ income comes from life insurance compared to other producer segments, and more is coming from investments. 32 percent are certified financial planners.

Generation Y knows What They Want
It’s social first and media second. They are addicted to networking, personal development and spending a lot of time on prospecting. They read more of what consumers read about finance versus the insurance industry publications, and they are far more likely than other segments to use social media—primarily Facebook.

Young lions want to hear from people who know more than they do, because they believe this will help them grow their businesses. They are not interested with had-been agency leaders who continue to recyle past success that is outdated in today's business practices.

Young lions have a laundry list of business topics they want to know about. Sales ideas (79 percent), filling the prospect pipeline (77 percent), and branding and marketing of the business (71 percent).

They are also interested in profitability and return on investment analysis and strategy (71 percent), business expansion via other products and services (71 percent), creating a blueprint for growth or business plan (68 percent), and business valuation/succession planning (65 percent).

Balanced Life
58 % expressed interest in achieving work-life balance.

Older baby boomer producers did not start out with business ownership in mind. Many entered the business as young career or captive agents. Malaysian Insurers and their agency leaders told them, ‘here is the path; get on it.’ And that’s what they did.” It was "Sales Focussed" - a basic feet-on-the-street approach to sales.

Business development often came later in the boomers’ careers. The work often centered on face-to-face meetings with customers, though some did take advantage of the internet and other emerging technologies. Few boomers have adopted social media approaches, however.

Provide entrepreneurship education
One way to help close the gap is to provide the entrepreneurship information and education that many Generation Y producers are seeking.

“You would think it’s already there, in the industry’s existing education and certification programs or other educational resources. But the majority of what is taught is around making the sale and not around developing the business.”

Climbing Corporate Ladder

Using the bell-shaped distribution curve, there are generally three groups of employees in an organisation. The top 10 per cent of high fliers, the bottom 10 per cent of 'limited contributors', and the remaining 80 per cent of solid citizens.

If you think you belong to the top 10 per cent - well, you don't. You will know when you are there - you don't have to think. How?

The quantum of your bonuses, consistently for the past three years could be one factor, and oh, yes, the frequency of your engagement with the decision makers, and how often your views are sought.

If you are in the bottom 10 per cent, maybe you should be asking yourself, 'Why am I here? And what do I want to do about it?'The signs: similar to the above but on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Decision makers typically decide who they promote based on three key factors.

Past performance, future potential and the ability to get along well with others.
We often read in the media of individuals being promoted to assume higher levels of responsibilities in the C-suite.

And we also often wonder, why did they decide on this person? I am not a betting man, but I will take a side bet to say it is based on the three factors I've highlighted. In terms of weightage, I would say that it would be potential, getting along with others, and then past performance.

If you are in the 80 per cent ocean, and want to swim ahead and be at the top 5 per cent of this hugh group, here's some basic tips to set you thinking so you have a better chance of getting yourself into the top 10 per cent.

Ask for more
On an on-going basis, ask for additional work and responsibilities from your boss. As I always say, few good things in life come easily. 'More' here means you have to give more of yourself - your time, your energy, etc to be able to attain the additional corporate goals.

Another adage for you - in life, you inevitably have to endure short-term pain and inconveniences for long-term gain. Adding more things onto your plate is a two-way street - you get to contribute more to your team, and at the same time, you acquire additional knowledge and skills, which will serve you well as you progress up the corporate ladder.

I always struggle with which is more important, working smart or working hard. In my generation (Baby Boomers), it was mostly the former that took precedence. I've since come to the conclusion that it is a combination of both, with hard work being more important to success.

Read and network a lot more
Staying on top of developments and changes in your industry is imperative to career progression. Some industries can be more challenging than others as they tend to change and evolve more rapidly - the technology sector comes easily to mind here.

If you happen to be performing a business functional role, it is critical that you be updated on the latest cutting-edge thinking and development as well, for example, Basel III (banking and finance) and reverse mentoring (talent development).

Focus on your job, and within your organisation as these are important. But, do not stop there. Allocate time and be disciplined about reading up on your industry, new developments, changes within leadership teams, etc.

Another avenue to do this, plus get to meet more people is to be purposeful in attending events that allow you to network with others. Getting to know more people, and getting yourself known by others is so important these days. As they say, it is important that you know people, but absolutely critical that people know you.

Hearty appetite for embracing change and technology
If there is a word equivalent for something as universal as food for survival, that would be 'change'. If you are already comfortable with change - work towards embracing, and maybe even be an initiator of change - a change agent.

Changes keep the world revolving, and help us do things better, faster, quicker, and cheaper. Effective leaders accept that technology in business is here to stay. For our current Gen Y's, and future Gen Z's - this should be an easier thing to achieve as you all grew up with technology as your playmate. For the rest of us, well, we just have to try a little bit harder.

Be visible, audible and mobile
It does not really make much sense if you are a fabulous contributor, taking on extra responsibilities, and doing everything I've written about here, and no one knows about it, right?

In the same breath, I hasten to add that it also does not mean that you should blow your own trumpet anywhere, and everywhere.

Innocently copying in your bosses on an e-mail which contains information on your surpassing the revenue target, for example, would be a clever way of keeping yourself within the radar screen.

Volunteering to do a management presentation, or chairing a business discussion forum, when it is appropriate, could be a platform for you to be heard (and known) by people who matter. Needless to say, you have to really prepare yourself well so your 'performance' is close to being flawless.

If you can write and speak well, seek platforms to represent your business in public speaking engagements - as an industry expert and practitioner, and/or contribute your views via the media.

When you speak or write on a particular topic, for example, supply chain management, or for my reporter friends, how to get a scoop, people perceive you as an expert in that space. This will earn you career mileage, both within and outside your employing organisation.

Lao Da My Foot

He now calls his time with the Sunshine Empire the darkest period of his life. But when he was in the multi-level marketing firm then, he felt as though the sun would never stop shining.

Mr Malcolm Chew, 25, spent all his savings and about $100,000 received from his loved ones to buy Sunshine's "lifestyle packages" in 2006. "People told me then that it was too good to be true. They told me not to believe in it. But I did," he said.
He lost 70 per cent of the money when Sunshine crashed in 2007, and joined tens of thousands of other customers left high and dry after buying the firm's packages.

Mr Chew told The New Paper on Wednesday that he was in his second year of national service six years ago when a friend invited him to a "self-help seminar". "I was told I could learn about entrepreneurship and how to start making money from a young age," he said.

Although he has since lost touch with that friend, Mr Chew vividly remembers the day he attended the seminar. That was the first time he saw James Phang Wah, founder and head of Sunshine Empire, in action. Phang, who was known as Lao Da (Mandarin for big brother or chief), was a "very charismatic" man, he said.

Mr Chew added: "He was like a very inspiring preacher, telling us how to live life successfully. "I saw him hug his wife on stage and was touched. I thought, 'This man is a good guy. I want to be like him'."

The salesmen, who were Phang's followers, were always smartly suited, in shirt and tie, he said. After Phang's court appearances, these men waited to whisk him away in a convoy of luxury cars. Said Mr Chew: "These salesmen would say, 'Do you want to be a pioneer in this project? Don't let the opportunity go!'"

Said Mr Chew: "I realised I had been ignorant, arrogant, proud and brash. My actions had displeased and disappointed many." "Words can't express the myriad feelings I went through with Sunshine. I hope no one else walks that path. "But I'm not looking back. I'm looking ahead instead."

Trong Phra Charoen

In a rare public appearance on Monday to mark his 84th birthday, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej called for an end to political conflicts and asked his subjects to work together to help the millions affected by floods that have devastated the country. Although flag-waving crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands chanted "trong phra charoen" (long live the king!) as his motorcade wound its way from a riverside hospital to the golden-spired old Grand Palace in Bangkok, the celebrations were muted at the request of the king because so many Thais were still suffering.

The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama said Chinese officials sometimes behave childishly. “I look at people, including the Chinese, at a fundamental level in which everyone is human. These are no differences, from the way we are born to the way we die. But at times, the Chinese government calls me a demon. I may be a demon but not that bad a demon,” he said.

Ethical Leadership Thinking

When dealing with a troublesome business problem, it’s easy to get carried away and begin to attack people instead of the problem. This wastes time, takes energy away from finding solutions and leaves people demoralized.

Let’s look at the important differences between attacking people and attacking issues:

When we Attack a Person our Language is Less Respectful and Our Thinking is Narrowing
When we attack people, our thinking narrows and our approach is not usually responsible. Our words may not be carefully chosen and we may speak in anger.

■ We use raised voices and disrespectful language
■ We accuse and blame, which leads away from solutions
■ We have no tolerance for other perspectives

When we Attack an Issue, We are More Respectful and Our Thinking is Broadening
When we attack issues, we use a much more respectful approach with others. We focus on getting a more complete perspective, and seek to understand the issue more clearly.

■ We are seeking information
■ We are seeking understanding
■ Other perspectives help us understand the issue
■ We are more respectful

Examining Our Thinking and Our Leadership
If you think that as a leader you would never attack a person, ask yourself this question:

Have I ever made remarks (even if they are made privately or intended to be a joke) about a political party, person, organization, entity, club, or any other group of persons that sounded disrespectful to anyone else? How did it make them feel? Did they let me know?

When we attack a person or group, we erode trust, even if the person we are attacking is not there. If we will attack someone who is not present it raises the concern that we may berate others when they are not there to defend their reputations.

Attacking Issues or Attacking People?
■ Which problem-solving approach do you think is more ethical?
■ Which approach are you modeling and rewarding in your leadership?
■ Which approach do other leaders in your organization use?

Leadership : Small Business

Are you a leader just because you run a small business? No. But you need to be. Without business leadership, your small business ship will circle aimlessly and eventually run out of power.

Effective business leadership demands a captain of the ship, not just someone who's standing by the helm. Leadership is active, not passive.

Cool-headed, farseeing, visionary, courageous - whichever adjectives you choose, leadership is a winning combination of personal traits and the ability to think and act as a leader, a person who directs the activities of others for the good of all. Anyone can be a leader, even if the only person they're leading is themselves.

But you can't be a leader just by saying you are. Business leadership, like leadership of any kind, needs to be worked at. Transform yourself into the kind of leader your small business needs with these five keys to business leadership.

For Effective Business Leadership:

A leader plans
The core of business leadership is being proactive rather than reactive. Sure, leaders are good in crises - but that doesn't mean they sit around letting crises develop. Leadership involves identifying potential problems and solving them before they reach crisis proportions – and the ability to identify and reap potential windfalls. So good leaders analyze and plan and adapt their plans to new circumstances and opportunities.

A leader has a vision
Vision is essential to good leadership. Vision provides direction and without direction, there’s not much point to all that planning; your small business will still flail about. So if you don’t have one already, take your first step towards business leadership by creating a Vision Statement for your business. Because it embodies your dreams and your passions, a vision statement will also serve as a leadership vision.

A leader shares his/her vision
Sharing your leadership vision helps your vision grow and your business leadership develop. As you tell your leadership vision to others, you will strengthen your own belief in your vision and strengthen your determination to make your leadership vision become reality. And other people will start to see you as a person who's "going places". Your business leadership skills will grow as you and other people recognize you as a person with leadership potential.

A leader takes charge
At this stage of business leadership, you put together your planning and your leadership vision and take action. Whether it's implementing a specific plan to improve your business's bottom line or responding to a crisis, you, as the leader, are the one who makes the decisions and sees that the appropriate actions are carried out. You can't just "talk a good game" to be a leader; you need to act and to be seen as taking effective action for the good of your small business.

A leader inspires through example
If I asked you, you could easily name three people whose leadership qualities inspire you. If I asked you why, you’d tell me about the things these inspiring people did or are doing. Leadership is defined through action. Therefore, in developing your own business leadership skills, you have to act in ways that are fitting to your leadership vision and your self - all the time. We can all name many actions of other people whom we admire, but what inspires us is the integrity that gives these actions meaning.

Learning to be a leader isn't easy because it takes a conscious commitment and consistent effort to develop one's business leadership skills. But on the positive side, anyone who is willing to make the effort can become a good leader.

And as good business leadership is critical to business success, your efforts to improve your leadership skills will be amply rewarded. By working on these five keys to business leadership, you can be the leader your small business needs.