Indonesia Tightens Screw On Peer-to-Peer Lending

Indonesia's flourishing peer-to-peer lending industry is under scrutiny as complaints surge over a market that meets a need for fast credit but attracts unscrupulous players.

The Financial Services Authority, or OJK, recently said it has enlisted the Communications Ministry to block more than 400 websites and smartphone applications offering illegal P2P lending services.

Officials said they also have issued warnings to 78 registered P2P lenders, threatening to revoke their licenses if they are found in violation.

"We've also asked banks to cut illegal fintech companies' cash flow," Agus Fajri, OJK director for customer services, told a news conference on Dec. 12. "If they detect transactions by illegal fintech lenders, we told them to block the accounts. We prohibit all payment systems from serving illegal fintech."

The OJK's measures followed a report by the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, which says it has received more than 1,300 complaints against P2P lenders; most of the outfits were found to be illegal.

This is in addition to 2,000 complaints reportedly received by the OJK, though the foundation accused the authority of failing to act against offenders until legal aid lawyers raised the issue publicly.

The complaints, the lawyers said, include intimidation and sexual harassment during debt collections, as well as breaches of data privacy and failures to properly record loan payments, resulting in swelling interest charges.

Registered P2P companies are blaming the problem on illegal players, which OJK officials said are hard to control and often come from abroad, including China, Thailand and Malaysia.

"We really regret that an industry that has the potential to advance financial inclusion in Indonesia has had its reputation tainted by irresponsible players," said Reynold Wijaya, co-founder and chief executive of Modalku, a registered P2P lender. "We think the OJK is taking the right measures by limiting the scope of illegal players, and by educating the public of how to choose P2P lenders correctly." 

P2P lending -- along with fintech in general -- has grown rapidly in Indonesia over the past few years. According to the OJK, registered P2P lenders have channeled a combined 16 trillion rupiah ($1.1 billion) in loans to 2.8 million borrowers, mostly small and midsize businesses, since the regulator began collecting data in December 2016.

This figure is minuscule compared with bank loans. But the rapid rise in P2P lending shows increasing appetite for such financing in a country where 51% of the adult population, or 95 million people, lack an account at a traditional financial institution or a mobile money provider, according to 2017 data from the World Bank.

On the other hand, internet penetration last year reached 55% of the total population, or 143 million people -- half of whom access the internet through smartphones, according to Indonesia’s Internet Service Provider Association.

"The large number of unbanked and underserved people causes P2P players to keep popping up," said Hendrikus Passagi, OJK director for regulation, licensing and supervision. By underserved, he means "people who have bank accounts but need funds quickly" -- something banks are often unable to provide.

Passagi said P2P lenders are not always entirely at fault. The OJK found cases where a single customer borrowed on 30 or 40 platforms, which resulted in the borrower being chased by debt collectors. But Passagi warned P2P lenders against "unethical" debt collections, and urged victims to report such behavior to police.

Officials advise lenders to report borrowers in cases of default to the regulator, so they can be put in a blacklist and cut off from future loans.

The legal aid foundation, however, accused the OJK of blaming victims and siding with the industry, as well as failing to do more to protect the public against malpractice by P2P lenders.

"The fact is, even legal platforms have committed violations, and there have been no comprehensive sanctions against the illegal ones -- they keep operating," foundation lawyer Jeanny Silvia Sari Sirait said in a statement.

The Crooks At The Gate Of Putrajaya

The Penang division of the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has expressed shock over Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) vice-president Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman’s statement that party elections must be won by ‘hook or by crook.’

Abdul Rashid’s remark was widely interpreted as an endorsement of a culture of cronyism and money politics.

MTUC secretary K Veeriah said Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) victory in the 14th general election was a result of the people expressing their opposition to the culture of patronage which was endemic during the Barisan National regime.

“We, the citizens of this country, elected for change minus cronyism. It was our hope that this country would embark on a fresh path of transparency and accountability. It was our aspiration that the country would be in the hands of those who subscribe to the ideals of democratic rules and practices. The misplaced affirmation of leaders like Abdul Rashid is a disservice to the hopes of the people of this country,” he added.

Veeriah said if elections are to be won by “hook or by crook”, then would rigging elections with dubious electoral rolls be justified?

“Or worst still – by buying votes through enriching divisional chiefs?

“Isn’t such a proposition going against the very grain of concerns raised by the people and the collective leadership of the PH government? On all counts, it would be a disaster if the PH leadership does not rebut the position taken by Abdul Rashid,” he stressed.

During Bersatu’s annual general assembly which concluded yesterday, Abdul Rashid, a former Election Commission chief, had called for the use of government resources to help the party during elections. He said that the party must do all it could to win elections “by hook or by crook.”

Abdul Rashid, who is heading a government committee on electoral reforms, had said that it is “stupid” to think that party leaders should not get help from the government.

Who Is Alan Naiman

Alan Naiman was known for his frugality -- he wore Costco jeans, bought his favorite pocket T-shirts at a grocery store and squirreled away every penny he could. So when he died, friends were surprised to learn that he had left more than $11 million to charities in the Seattle area.

The 63-year-old never married and never had children, but kids were very important to him. He fostered a few children and cared for his brother, Daniel, who had developmental disabilities.

Naiman became a social worker after leaving a career in banking.

"He was a highly valued employee who was dependable and dedicated to his work," Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families spokeswoman Debra Johnson told CNN.

He worked three jobs to get established in the new field, his friend Shashi Karan told CNN.

Karan and Naiman worked together at the bank in the '80s and kept in touch over the decades until his death on Jan. 8, 2018.

"He was just that kind of guy that he couldn't just spend the money. It was just in his nature to save the money and put it aside," Karan said.

Karan said he was one of the few people who knew just how much money Naiman had.

"I think he always knew that he was going to leave his money to charity," Karan said.

The friends had talked about investments and savings over the years, and when the time came for Naiman to make a will he asked Karan to be his executor.

He said Naiman received a sizable inheritance when his father died, which added to his fortune. The scrimping, saving and deal hunting was more like a hobby to Naiman than a sacrifice.

"Saving money was sort of a game to him," Karan said. "He would brag about how he had a whole day out and didn't have to spend a single cent."

Naiman loved cars, and when his brother died in 2013 he made a rare splurge on himself and bought a Scion FR-S sports car.

"It's a nice little sports car, but it's not a Mustang or a Corvette or a Porsche that he easily could have afforded," Karan said.

Naiman considered doing more traveling or buying a house with a nice view, but his cancer interrupted those plans. Karan said that after his diagnosis, Naiman spent a lot of time researching charities.

One group that's benefited from his kindness is the Pediatric Interim Care Center, which cares for medically fragile babies suffering from prenatal drug exposure.

The group posted a tribute to Naiman on its website and said he donated enough money to pay off the mortgage on its building. He told the group in a letter that the center had been there for him when he needed to find a place for sick babies that were brought to him.

"We are so grateful to Alan, not only for his legacy, but also for the life he devoted to children," the group wrote.

The group Childhaven said it would use its gift to provide essential services to youth in the foster care and vulnerable children, and provide equine-assisted therapy, life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses and medical care to thousands of children.

Karan said donations mostly to children's charities including Make-A-Wish, Father Flanagan's Boys Town and Treehouse, a non-profit that helps kids in foster care. He also gave money to his parents' Catholic church and Disabled American Veterans.

Naiman was excited to think about how much good his money would do when the time came, Karan said.

"'My gift is going to be bigger than their annual budget. It's going to blow them away,'" Karan recalled him saying. "And it did."

Who Is Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) vice-president Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman signalled to his party to ensure junior leaders are allocated government contracts.

Using “activities” as a euphemism, he said this arrangement was necessary to allow PPBM division leaders to perform the tasks needed to keep the party in power.

His remarks came notably after PPBM Armada chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman criticised party members who still clung onto the politics of patronage that is a signature of rival Umno.

Abdul Rashid, who is a former Election Commission chairman, asserted that PPBM could not defend its current position now as funds were not reaching grassroots leaders.

“I am sorry, I am saying this because I am also a division leader, but I am lucky that the prime minister gave me a job, and my salary is huge, so I am able to defend my division.

“But to the rest, let us not be arrogant. (Telling people) to not take another’s job, don’t take this and that. This, to me, is a stupid opinion. Stupid,” he said, drawing cheers and applause during his winding-up speech at the party’s annual assembly.

In his speech, he also asserted that PPBM must use any means necessary in order to win elections.

Who Is Amit Chandra

There was hardly a dry eye in the audience when the boys from Patna’s Shoshit Samadhan Kendra School took the stage at an event in July this year. The moment their performance started, the transformation was dramatic, their confidence absolute. The lines from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth were delivered just right, in perfect English. The children left the stage to thunderous applause.

The appreciation was for more than just their talent. The children belonged to Bihar’s most exploited and deprived community, the Musahars (rat-eaters); comprising mainly landless labourers, the community’s literacy is below 3 percent and its condition has been bordering on sub-human for decades. Described as Maha-Dalits, they live as bonded labourers in ghettos outside villages in central and eastern India. 

The Shoshit Samadhan Kendra School, a residential institution for 320 students, was started in 2007 by Shoshit Seva Sangh, an NGO that was set up 2005 to provide quality education to Musahar children, thereby helping them break out of the vicious, soul-crushing circle of poverty.

The audience that day comprised teachers, parents as well as representatives of families from Mumbai that support the Patna school. The latter group included Amit Chandra, managing director of Bain Capital, and his wife Archana, who is the joint honorary administrative director of Jai Vakeel School for children in need of special care.

Two years ago, a friend had introduced the couple to Jyoti Sinha, a retired IPS officer who had started the NGO to help Musahar children leap-frog from the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder and avail of the opportunities that education creates. The Patna school has since become one of the core causes supported by the Chandras, with both their time and money.

Amit Chandra, 45, is among India’s most prolific donors; he gives away more than 75 percent of his annual earnings to causes of his choice. More significantly, he has, through his actions, emerged as a credible voice promoting philanthropy among entrepreneurs and professionals. He leads fund-raisers, events and auctions where others can get involved. He has also helped define new ways to channel organised giving.

Entrepreneur Ajay Piramal, who has known him from the time Chandra headed investment banking at DSP Merrill Lynch in the mid-’90s, says, “The big thing about Amit is that he is willing to give money and time to the numerous causes he supports. He offers a combination of strategic thinking as well as compassion. And this is immensely useful.’’ Incidentally, Chandra is on the board of Piramal Enterprises and has helped shape some of the group’s social initiatives.

The foundation for doing good was laid early in Chandra’s life. He grew up in a lower middle-class household in Mumbai. He remembers his sister helping their unlettered milkman Shyam Bali learn the alphabet. “She would teach him every day after coming home from school till, one day, he was actually able to read,” he says. Reminiscing about those days, Chandra says the growth in his philanthropic activity has been gradual.

Ironically, the journey began in a period most would associate more with Mammon. In the bull run of the 1990s, Harshad Mehta and the budding financial industry were the poster-boys of optimism in India. Chandra was in the thick of things, heading the largest investment bank in the country and had, later, become the relationship manager for the biggest corporations of India Inc. “Banking is mostly about money and power. Over the years, I had built up a lot of connections in the corporate world,” he says. 

Chandra’s boss at the time was the hard-nosed DSP founder Hemendra Kothari, who came from a family of stock brokers that has been involved in charitable work for several generations. Kothari remembers Chandra as a bright banker “who was willing to donate money, even at an early age when people want to save for themselves”. Kothari, now 66, devotes a considerable portion of his time in the running of a foundation that focuses on preserving jungles and wildlife. Chandra had asked Kothari if the company would be willing to give away 0.1 percent of its profits for charitable causes. Kothari said he was okay with it, as long as revenue targets for the company were met.

The markets were on a roll and DSP Merrill Lynch did more than well with the numbers. Chandra and his colleagues got the green signal they needed, and they decided to go about the donation process in an organised way. They invited NGOs to make presentations about their work, so that they could choose the most deserving of them. “The process introduced me to two of the most fantastic people I know. They have, over the years, helped shape my philosophy in the social sector,” says Chandra. “They are Shaheen Mistri, who founded the Akanksha Foundation and now heads Teach For India, and Venkat Krishnan, founder of GiveIndia.” 

As they got more involved in various causes, the Chandras began giving away a larger portion of their income every year. Meanwhile, slowly, over a decade, their approach also changed.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) vice-chairman S Ramadorai has known Chandra for several years. Chandra had advised TCS when the software giant bid for (and subsequently acquired) public sector company CMC in 2003. The two stayed in touch even after Chandra joined Bain Capital in 2008. 

After retiring from an active role in TCS, Ramadorai had begun work on a variety of social initiatives. One of the projects that he and his wife Mala were passionate about was a super-speciality paediatric hospital in Mumbai, where treatment would be affordable for the poor. Though the Ramadorais had located a defunct hospital site at Worli that could be revived, the project had not taken off in the absence of anchor donors.

Chandra became aware of these plans through a speech made by leading cardiac surgeon and philanthropist Dr Devi Shetty at an event late last year. “What happened subsequently was amazing,’’ says Ramadorai. The Chandras were interested and did a thorough evaluation of the project. They went through the project plan, met the partners, Dr Shetty’s Narayana Hrudayalaya and the Society for Rehabilitation of Crippled Children, and asked the tough questions. Once they were convinced, they came on board as anchor donors. Thereafter, they started to raise money for the project. Among those they roped in as a donor was Kothari, whose family already runs a hospital in south Mumbai. The Rs 85-crore project achieved financial closure this month, and construction is expected to start soon. When completed, it will be the country’s largest children’s hospital.

What Ramadorai finds most valuable is the Chandras’ involvement. They were willing to travel, meet people and give their time to make it happen, he says.  

The hospital project is an example of the kind of philanthropy Chandra has been practicing:  It isn’t just  about writing cheques; there is more focus on outcomes.  

Chandra’s background in the financial sector shows through in his attitude towards not-for-profit activities. His vocabulary, the way he operates and the portfolio approach to social initiatives are offshoots of his professional life. 

“I am shameless about pestering people when it comes to getting them involved. Very often, they respond and, sometimes, they don’t,” he says. “We have a network of friends looking for good projects. In some ways, it is like looking for good companies to invest in.” Among the people he has approached often, over the years, is stock market trader Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. 

For instance, last year, Chandra learned that Jyoti Sinha’s team at the Shoshit Seva Sangh was looking to build new school premises to accommodate 500 students. After he became a key donor for the new project, he reached out to others who could contribute. Now, six Mumbai families, including Jhunjhunwala’s, support the project. The new premises, spread over 90,000 sq ft, will open next year.

Over the years, Chandra’s activities have become more structured, partly due to his association with others in the social sector. Interactions with Venkat Krishnan and Deepa Varadarajan, vice-president (HNI) at GiveIndia, have helped shape his two-tiered giving strategy in no small measure. “One question [the Chandras] always asked was if they were spreading themselves too thin,” says Venkat. Though Bain Capital is supportive of Chandra’s work, the time available for philanthropy is finite. He has, therefore, defined his portfolio such that about 70 percent of his time and money is spent on a few core projects such as GiveIndia, Akanksha, Shoshit Seva Sangh and the children’s hospital in Mumbai. Chandra sits on the boards of some organisations, dealing with them almost like a private equity investor. They send him monthly reviews and quarterly updates; he plans site visits and interventions when needed. Does this approach work? Though many NGOs say that reporting to donors and boards is a burden, Chandra believes that for organisations to become scalable, they have to prove that they are on track.  

The second tier of his social investment is made up of causes where he is involved as a donor but where he is not as engaged in terms of time.

Chandra says a good project brings him “more joy than a multi-bagger financial investment”. His wife Archana, an integral part of the journey, puts it more elegantly, saying they have always got far more than they have given. Ask him which has been his best social investment to date, one that has “returned the most”, and his answer is the ‘Joy of Giving week’. The idea of celebrating a week (October 2-8) every year, as a time focussed on philanthropy, has caught on all over the country; it has spawned thousands of events in schools, companies and in the social media. Chandra was among those that seeded and funded it. “It started on a piece of paper five years ago—it was an idea that Venkat had. It is hugely satisfying to see how it has grown as a spontaneous, open-architecture movement that no one owns,” he says.

Everyone believes that the rich in India do not give enough—even the rich concur. As Ajay Piramal says, “The wealthy have to give much more, and do much more.’’ To lead the way, in a sense, Chandra has become less private about his philanthropy than he was a few years ago. “One reason to become more public about his activities is to try and motivate others to give more,” Piramal says. The tendency is still to look down upon those who talk about their charity work.

Chandra says he has always been inspired by stories of philanthropy and is now open about his work in the non-profit space. In fact, the one magazine he waits for every year, he says, is the Forbes Philanthropy List issue. “It lists people who have given away very material parts of their wealth. If you look at the data in India, we pale in comparison. There are the Tatas, the Azim Premjis and the Shiv Nadars,” Chandra says. “But, for a long while, we hid behind a veil treating giving as a private activity. The truth is that it would probably shame people if we really knew how little they were giving relative to their wealth.”

Who Is Chuck Feeney

Chuck Feeney today is a man of no property. He and his wife Helga live in a modest rented apartment in San Francisco. He has no car or luxuries of any kind. Actually, come to think of it, he has a very nice watch. It is plastic and cost about $15.There are no trophies or vanity photographs in the apartment to show that he has devoted his $8 billion fortune to making the world a better place.

It was always so with Feeney, a brilliant entrepreneur who became a billionaire through the company he co-founded, Duty Free Shoppers, back in the 1960s. The frugal globe-trotting philanthropist routinely flew economy class, stayed in small flats, and ordered the second-cheapest white wine in restaurants.

The key moment in Chuck’s giving career, one that was to enhance the lives of millions of people, came on November 23rd, 1984. On that day Feeney, his then wife, Danielle, and his lawyer Harvey Dale, flew to the Bahamas, a location chosen to avoid huge legal penalties for what they were about to do. They gathered in a rented conference room. At 4pm Chuck began signing a series of documents. Then they left for the airport.

While millions of Americans expressed gratitude that Thanksgiving weekend for their material blessings, Chuck Feeney felt a profound sense of relief. He had just divested himself of all that he owned, cash, businesses and shares, and placed them into a foundation he created, known today as Atlantic Philanthropies.

It was done in the utmost secrecy. Feeney continued to manage the businesses, and buy and sell properties around the world, so everyone thought he was still a billionaire, even Forbes magazine.

‘The right thing to do’ 

I asked Chuck more than once why he decided to give it all away. Never one for introspection he replied simply: “It was the right thing to do.”

I believe the reasons included an innately generous personality, discomfort with the trappings of wealth as a product of an Irish-American neighbourhood in New Jersey where “nobody blows their horn”, and the example set by his mother, a nurse who was always helping others.

He was also influenced by Andrew Carnegie’s essay - The Gospel Of Wealth - with its famous declaration that “the millionaire will be but a trustee for the poor”.

After that day in Nassau, Feeney began a lifelong quest to do good things with his wealth, while growing the businesses and property portfolio to provide more funds for his foundation’s giving.

A chance invitation to join a consortium of Irish Americans to buy Ashford Castle in Co Mayo brought Chuck Feeney to Ireland in 1985.

Feeney always had a sentimental attraction to the land of his ancestors. He carried in his wallet a Thornsticks card identifying himself as an Irish American, passionately proud of Irish culture and customs but “without publicity, fanfare or personal reward”.

He hired Pádraig Berry, a graduate like himself from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, to help find opportunities for investing in Ireland on behalf of the foundation. He started by buying the Kilternan Hotelin Co Wicklow and Heritage House on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin.

Feeney came and went, not sure at first how to help. The Irish economy in the 1980s was moribund. One in five adults were out of work. Education, he figured, was a key to recovery.

In 1987, a chance introduction by John Healy, director of the Irish AMerican Partnership, to Ed Walsh, head of what is now University of Limerick, opened the door. Chuck began funding the institution, with the stipulation that he remain anonymous.

In the following 30 years, Feeney’s money transformed all Irish universities, revolutionised high-level research and supported the peace process and countless community causes, north and south.

His peripatetic lifestyle led him also to Vietnam & Australia, where, as in Ireland, he became the biggest donor in their history, and to Cuba and South Africa. Another critical moment came in New York on March 3rd, 2003, when Feeney signed off on a decision to spend everything in his lifetime. “Giving while living,” he called it.

Foundations usually dole out 5 per cent annually to maintain perpetuity. Chuck wanted to do big things, especially with bricks and mortar.

“If I have $10 in my pocket and I do something with it today, it’s already producing 10 dollars’ worth of good,” he explained to me one day in his New York office, wearing a cardigan with a hole in the sleeve. “Giving 5 per cent doesn’t do so much good.”

Properties offloaded

This meant selling the foundation’s properties in Ireland and elsewhere. The biggest wrench for Chuck was offloading Castleroy Park Hotel in Limerick, which he had built. It was the first modern hotel of its size in Ireland since the second World War. He would sit unnoticed in the lobby and watch how guests were treated. “It was his baby,” said former manager Áine McCarthy.

The disposal of the foundation’s assets meant the foundation could make major investments before it shut up shop.

The final initiative in 2016 was the allocation of $600 million to promote a generation of global Atlantic Fellows to create fair, healthy and inclusive societies long into the future. Of this, $177 million was assigned jointly to the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin and to the University of California, San Francisco, for equity in brain health.

Now aged 86, Feeney’s travelling days are over, but as he tucks into his favourite dish – chicken – in his Bayside restaurant he can reflect how his example has exploded in philanthropy.

He got a letter one day from Amit Chandra in which the Indian billionaire confided he was so inspired by Feeney’s story he has devoted much of his own wealth to creating schools, hospitals and universities. He thanked Chuck for the “joyous journey” this entailed.

As Chuck Feeney said once, it is their call what the rich do with their money, but they will get more satisfaction giving it when living than when dead. “Besides,” he added, “it’s a lot more fun.”

Bully In Workplace

Workplace bullying is alive and well. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, 27% of respondents to a 2014 survey had current or previous experience with workplace bullying, while 72% were aware of workplace bullying incidents. But all bullies are not the same. They often have different styles and approaches. Some may even be hybrids of different types. Here are some of the most common:

AGGRESSIVE JERK

This angry bully thrives on and excels at insults and name calling. This type of bully isn’t concerned with keeping a low profile–they’re hard to miss because of their bombastic style. They’ll embarrass and humiliate you in front of others, and are often in a position of authority or have some other sort of power that allows them to do so.

SCORCHED-EARTH FIGHTER

This type of bully is cutthroat with a relentless need to come out on top. But it’s not enough to win—his or her opponent has to lose. Scorched-Earthers pull out all the stops to make sure that the victims in their sites are hurt in some way. Many cyberbullies fall into this category, she says.

SPINELESS SUPERVISOR

Some bullies carry out their activities under the guise of “just doing what they’re told. The spineless supervisor agrees to do anything that management wants to get rid of employees—good employees—for reasons that have nothing to do with work. If a worker is likely to file a workers’ compensation or other claim, the Spineless Supervisor may try to intimidate or fire the person instead of dealing with the problem.

SHAPE-SHIFTER

When you tell others about the bullying you’ve experienced at the hands of this person, they may have a hard time believing you. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality differences make the Shape-Shifter seem like two different people. This bully is charming to those they seek to take advantage of or who offer opportunity to them, “but they’ve got their claws out for anyone else.

CHARACTER ASSASSIN

This gossipy bully tells stories and defames you behind your back. This bully can be particularly dangerous, because your reputation may be damaged before you know it’s even happening or can defend yourself.

Leadership Versus Management

Is a good manager automatically a good leader? What is the difference between leadership and management? The main difference between leaders and managers is that leaders have people follow them while managers have people who work for them.

A successful business owner needs to be both a strong leader and manager to get their team on board to follow them towards their vision of success. Leadership is about getting people to understand and believe in your vision and to work with you to achieve your goals while managing is more about administering and making sure the day-to-day things are happening as they should.

WHILE THERE ARE MANY TRAITS THAT MAKE UP A STRONG LEADER, SOME OF THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS ARE:

• Honesty & Integrity: are crucial to get your people to believe you and buy in to the journey you are taking them on
• Vision: know where you are, where you want to go and enroll your team in charting a path for the future
• Inspiration: inspire your team to be all they can by making sure they understand their role in the bigger picture
• Ability to Challenge: do not be afraid to challenge the status quo, do things differently and have the courage to think outside the box
• Communication Skills: keep your team informed of the journey, where you are, where you are heading and share any roadblocks you may encounter along the way

SOME OF THE COMMON TRAITS SHARED BY STRONG MANAGERS ARE:

• Being Able to Execute a Vision: take a strategic vision and break it down into a roadmap to be followed by the team
• Ability to Direct: day-to-day work efforts, review resources needed and anticipate needs along the way
• Process Management: establish work rules, processes, standards and operating procedures
• People Focused: look after your people, their needs, listen to them and involve them

In order for you to engage your staff in providing the best service to your guests, clients or partners, you must enroll them in your vision and align their perceptions and behaviours. You need to get them excited about where you are taking them while making sure they know what’s in it for them. With smaller organizations, the challenge lies in making sure you are both leading your team as well as managing your day to day operation. Those who are able to do both, will create a competitive advantage. Are you both a leader and a manager; what would your staff say if you were to ask them?

Power Dressing

Power dressing is the unique style of an individual that shows their position and authority in business or at work place. When people advice you to dress for the position you thrive for; they say it rightly, as power dressing has a major impact on your career. Not only dressing, but your style, confidence, your body language, and the way you carry yourself matters equally. Surely, your clothing is not an indicator of your intelligence; but it does act as a confidence and morale booster in the corporate world. When you have intelligence, intellectual and a leadership capability; your dressing is the statement that puts across this message. The charm and suave that oozes through power dressing is definite and extraordinary for people who want to make a mark in this rat race of climbing the corporate ladder.

1. Breaking Stereotypes - One of the traditional adages states that you need to dress to impress. Whereas, people all over the globe are breaking this old impression to a new one which says – Dress to Express. You don’t need to impress anyone through clothes; intelligence is enough for that. But to express authority and commandment; well for that power dressing is a must. It also affects how you feel about yourself, indirectly affecting your body language. When you feel confident in your clothes; your approach automatically becomes confident.

2. A Perfect Recipe for Respect - What is one common thing among all the celebrities, political icons, business tycoons, and iconic influencers? Their command, their authority, and of course their dressing; and interestingly it is an inter-linked chain. Power dressing states authority, which in turn makes you respect the person who is in command. When it is said that sharp and crisp dressing gives you a morale boost; it also makes others see at you with a different perspective. You can effectively cut your way out the fierce competition simply by your strong influence.

3. Never Under-estimate the Impact of First Impression - As a matter of fact, we have no control over first impressions. We are involuntarily driven by our sub-conscious minds to notice minute details we may not be consciously aware about. People do tend to make self-decisions regarding a person’s personality during first meetings itself. Do you want to come off as an influencer or as just another normal worker? It all depends upon your style, your dressing. The way you dress and present yourself to others; also speaks volumes of your seriousness about work. Unless, you are an artist who does not need to make an impact physically; or you are working in a creative bubble where creativity supersedes everything else.

4. Suit Up - Gone are the days where formals and blazers were the donned by the male section of society. Women power players make an equally powerful statement in the present corporate scenario; with tailor-made and haute-couture suits, blazers, and formals. The corporate ladder has turned into a runway for the female protagonists; who are giving leadership and authoritative goals, and showing bold courage for work and career goals.

Your clothing elicits your personality without you having to use words for the same. When working in the corporate world; go out confidently and come out as a strong competitor with your actions itself. Remember to use well-fitted suits, blazers, formals, and co-ordinated footwear (for both men and women); and also statement accessories along with subtle make-up to increase your iconic image. But certainly don’t overdo anything; which can make you a misfit at workplace.

Never Forget - Power dressing makes your impact Heard!!

Crabtree ^ Evelyn - Filed For Bankruptcy

Beauty and home products retailer Crabtree & Evelyn Canada Inc. is closing its stores and has filed for bankruptcy protection.

In Quebec court filings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the company says it plans to begin liquidating inventory, so it can distribute the proceeds to creditors. The company employs 123 full- and part-time employees in Canada and operates 19 stores, including 11 in Ontario, six in B.C. and one each in Alberta and Quebec.

The company says it has experienced "significant losses," which it attributed to changing consumer demand, the rise of e-commerce and long-term declines in traditional retail traffic.

The filings also show the company's assets consist primarily of $1.3 million in inventory and $300,000 in its wholesale accounts receivable. The company says it has accrued $15.2 million in unpaid obligations, including $14.8 million in inventory-related costs and about $24,000 in employee vacations.

Wells Fargo Fined US$575 Million

 Wells Fargo & Co will pay US$575 million to settle claims made by US states, the latest settlement as the bank works to resolve lingering investigations and legal battles stemming from its sales-practices scandal and to remove a punitive asset cap.

Two years ago, Wells Fargo agreed to pay US$190 million to settle federal government claims that the bank created phony customer accounts. Since then, the bank has racked up over US$2 billion in penalties as other issues were discovered across most of its business lines.

Friday’s settlement resolves claims by all 50 states and the District of Columbia related to the accounts, as well as claims that the bank improperly referred and charged customers for a number of financial products like auto and life insurance.

“Instead of safeguarding its customers Wells Fargo exploited them,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “This is an incredible breach of trust that threatens not only the customer who depended on Wells Fargo, but confidence in our banking system.”

The settlement, confirmed by Wells Fargo and the offices of various state attorneys general, was first reported earlier by Reuters.

Wells Fargo has been seeking a fresh start after revelations that its employees opened potentially millions of unauthorised accounts tangled the nation’s fourth-largest bank in fierce investor and regulatory scrutiny for the past two years.

Over the summer, Wells Fargo launched a marketing campaign saying the bank had been “re-established” this year, but Wells Fargo continued to attract fresh headlines about the customer abuses of the past.

The bank has been working to resolve ongoing investigations and legal battles as it tries to gain approval from the Federal Reserve to lift its cap on assets.

This year, the bank has settled claims with the New York attorney general, a class of investors and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, but the bank still has a number of probes looming over its bottom line. Wells Fargo still faces probes by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice and the Department of Labour, according to its most recent securities filing.