Wommen vs Men : Two Different Perspectives on Money

A Financial Company conduct a study which showing differences in the ways men and women feel about money. The firm analyzed more than 3,000 responses to an online financial planning questionnaire, revealing trends regarding spending, saving and investing.

 

 

The Question is: Does really men confidently feel their finances align with their behavior? Or perhaps are women more willing to admit their financial shortcomings?

Note: Sometimes with studies like this, it’s interesting look at the data conversely. 60% of women would say they don’t have a general knowledge of stocks bonds and mutual funds. 76% of women are unsure about how their investments are allocated. Same thing for 60% of men. That sounds like opportunity knocking for financial marketers.

Financial Finesse works with companies who offer financial counseling services to their employees. The firm has over 300 corporate clients who have a combined 500,000+ employees.

Freeconomics

Ada banyak cara untuk menjual suatu produk, salah satunya bisa dengan membedakan harganya dengan produk pesaing, entah Anda akan menjualnya dengan harga jauh lebih mahal dari rata-rata, dengan diskon di atas rata-rata, atau justru menjualnya dengan harga nol!

Menjual dengan harga nol, disebut juga dengan istilah keren Freeconomic. Beda dengan Freemium yang berarti Gratis sebagian, lalu bayar untuk seluruhnya.

Freeconomic dikoinkan oleh Chris Anderson, orang yang sama yang menulis The Long Tail. Berdasarkan hukum Moore yang mengatakan bahwa harga processor akan turun menjadi setengah harga setiap 18 bulan, dan juga semakin murahnya harga bandwidth. Menurunnya harga tersebut membentuk sebuah garis tren yang akan memperlihatkan bahwa lama-lama cost untuk melakukan bisnis online akan semakin mendekati nol.

Tentu saja masih ada ongkos produksi yang lain tapi jika dibandingkan, ongkos produksi di masa depan akan jauh lebih murah dengan ongkos produksi sekarang atau beberapa tahun lalu. Bedanya sangat ekstrim sehingga kita hampir bisa menganggap ongkos produksi ini sebagai nol.

Namun pada kenyataannya, saat ini Freeconomic ternyata tidak lagi mampu menjadi faktor penarik pembeli. Freeconomic tidak lagi mampu menjadi Purple Cow
yang membedakan suatu layanan terhadap layanan lain. Terlalu banyak layanan yang menawarkan konsep freeconomic sehingga semua tampak sama.

Free menjadi tidak selamanya menyenangkan, kita dihadapkan pada banyak pilihan yg seringkali membuat bingung. Hal ini membuat konsumen merasa kesulitan untuk mencari mana layanan yang patut dicoba. Ujungnya, kebingungan konsumen ini akan membuat produsen menerapkan strategi baru. Memang akan tampak lucu. Yang mulanya produsen menyuruh kita untuk membayar, bergeser ke “tidak perlu bayar”, lalu ke “iklan yang akan membayar”, dan akhirnya berakhir di “saya bayar kamu untuk mencoba”. Freeconomic kurang menggairahkan lagi karena tidak lagi cukup memberikan jaminan apapun, baik bagi produsen maupun konsumen.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

A Very interesting slide i found about 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

#1 Habit is : Be Proactive.  The need to work towards our desired outcomes rather than waiting for (or expecting) them just to”happen”.

We have we have our own “Circle of Influence”, an area of our lives that we have control over and can do something about to have a better situation. The size of our circle of influence depends on how proactive we are; the less proactive, the smaller the circle of influence; the more proactive, the larger the circle of influence.

Ther’s also a “Circle of Concern”, areas of our lives over which we have no control. For example:

Productive Workplace

Here’re some sayings which my boss used to say whenever he visited my production area ( read: cubicle ).

“I Sense ”Negative” energy here ”
The Art of Harmony. The ancient Chinese art of feng shui serves as your guide here as you strive for the perfect setup in your office.  Create a sense of balance between light and dark color tones to hard and soft surfaces.

“Tidy Up!!!”
Cluttered workspaces foster laziness.  Use an agenda instead of sticky notes.  File away as many loose papers as you can.  Shred them away. Use power cords in an orderly fashion and keep them in the corner. Make it a habit to tidy up your desk right before you’re leaving.

“I don’t see you are comfortable working here, why ?”. 
Work Comfortably by bring in pictures of friends and family. Listen to soothing music, i have my own Jazzy tunes collection right on my drawer. Get an ergonomic chair.

“It’s kindda dark here, huh!”
Equip yourself, when you plan to work late, it’s harmless to have your own desk light as it’s most likely the lights are off by 7PM.  If the office is too hot and the A/C is on the fritz bring in a fan.

“Why are your pets picture all over the wall ? “
You define your own Comfort. Let it be known to coworkers when you can’t be bothered.  Let your family and friends know that your office is for work only; don’t be afraid to set up rules to ensure your productivity.

People Management on a Cup of Coffee

The idea of Managing People is to get them Comfortable to express themself, both as a profesional as well as a person.  One once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know that you care”.

Taking someone to coffee gives you an opportunity to sit with them,  listen, and learn.  That kind of a conversation can be powerful employee motivation.  It can head off conflict and violence.  Just sharing a cup of coffee gives you a great chance to learn important information about yourself,  your employees,  your company,  and even your competitors.

The whole point is to get away from the distractions for a little while,  so the beverage really doesn’t matter.  Bottled water ,  Sports drinks,  fruit juices,  and sodas are all acceptable.  It only needs to be something relatively inexpensive that is readily available,  can be served quickly,  and that you can linger over while you talk.

Productive Proactive

I saw a note states “busy ≠ productive.”

Often we’re merely active in what we’re doing. Activity feels busy. But it’s not necessarily productive.

Are you keeping yourself busy to avoid a project? Or have you fallen into the trap of doing busy work and (if you were honest with yourself) unnecessary tasks to avoid what really needs to be accomplished.

Being active doesn’t mean you’re being productive. Being proactive does.

Proactive is begin by initiating to get the job done quick (on-track) and clean(errorless). Productive is measured by completion after  completion of tasks. 

Have you been productive ?