At the height of his career, Napoleon is reported to have boldly declared, “God is on the side that has the heaviest artillery.” It was a cynical answer to someone who asked if God was on the side of France. But then came the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost both the battle and his empire. Years later, while in exile on the isle of St. Helena, the chastened and humbled Napoleon stated, “Man proposes; God disposes.”

Thus, Napoleon learned by experience what the Bible proclaims: While a man may plan, it is God who determines the outcome-or even whether the plan may occur at all (cf. Proverbs 16:9). This is because the Creator is in control of all that He created.

This is clearly demonstrated by Bible prophecy. The very reason God can predict the future-and fulfill His predictions perfectly-is because He is able to control all of the details, including resulting factors. He is the One who determines men’s “preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (Acts 17:26).

Because His kingdom plan is the overarching plan of the history of mankind, God is putting together the details to complete that plan. That plan involves events which will culminate with a seven-year era focused on the salvation of Israel, capped off by the return of Christ to the earth. In the meantime, God is setting up for that end-times prophetic era by aligning events now. In fact, everything that He currently allows is laying the foundation for the fulfillment of His end-times plan. That includes the capture and death of Muammar Gaddafi.

Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed as a result of a NATO strike. The strike apparently wounded him; then he was seized in a sewage tunnel in his home town of Sirte. From reports, he was dragged out into the open where a crowd of people converged on him, leaving him dead.

In connection with end-times Bible prophecy, the question we should ask is: How does Gaddafi’s death serve God’s plan? Regarding Bible prophecy, that question could have at least two answers.

First, God’s removal of Gaddafi could prepare Libya for the end of the first half of the tribulation period. It will be then that the end-times king of the North (who is an Assyrian by heritage), described in Daniel 11:36-45, invades Egypt. At the time of that invasion, the king will already have conquered the Middle East. As a result, Libya and Sudan (though English Bibles read Ethiopia, it is more likely the area of Sudan to which the context refers) will give themselves over to follow the king of the North without a fight. (For much more on this, see Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock-What Does the Bible Say?) This may indicate that a more passive leader will be in place in Libya at that point. If so, then, apparently God be prepared for that scenario by the removal-and even death-of Gaddafi.

Second, since Gaddafi was a well-recognized terrorist leader, his death could be another signal God is beginning to bring down terrorism in the Middle East. After all, al-Qaeda, the world’s best recognized terrorist entity, has suffered great damage in recent months, first with the killing of Osama bin Laden, followed by the elimination of other important al-Qaeda leadership. Based on end-times Bible prophecy, terrorism will need to be defeated-or at least, it will need the appearance of defeat. How do we know that? The Bible reveals that the world will one day proclaim, “Peace and security!” That proclamation could only be believable if terrorism appears to have suffered its end.

So, perhaps, the elimination of Gaddafi, who for so long epitomized terrorism, is a link in the defeat of the terroristic chain. Another link in that chain could be the fall of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. If Assad is deposed, as most Middle East experts expect, it will adversely affect Hamas and Hizbullah.

In turn, Iran could be affected, as the Iranian opposition movement could very well be emboldened by seeing the victory of the Syrian protestors. If, in addition, Israel launches a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities (as even Iran suspects will occur), the opposition movement could take advantage of the resulting chaos of that attack and depose the terroristic regime of Iran.

When that regime goes down, the entire region will change. The tenuous Middle East, which is poised for change at this juncture, will be swept by the momentum of an anti-terrorism movement, one which will put the region in basic alignment with Israel in order to formulate a treaty with the Jewish nation. That treaty will bring the proclamations of “peace and security” and will start the clock ticking on the final seven years leading to the return of Christ.

Gaddafi likely understands now what Napoleon learned after his humiliating defeat: “Man proposes; God disposes.” This is one major step toward realizing that God, who is in full control, is currently aligning for His end-times plan. Gaddafi’s death just happened to be one link toward accomplishing that plan.

When we touch something spiritually real the enemy does not like it. Leaders must be aware of this and must know how to deal with it when it arises.

God made Jesus complete through suffering and Jesus says, “Follow me”. We read of this in Hebrews Chapter 2. Here is dynamic leadership which cannot be improved upon.

He is like the Israeli tank commander. He does not say “Advance” or “On you go”. He says “Follow me”. I am going first. You follow me. That is the pattern.

This is brought out very clearly in I Peter Chapter 2 verses 19 to 21.

Suffering is part of our calling in Christ, and people in the Body of Christ should be told this early on.

The next theme is on being blessed once again, as we see that we are in the same family. It all depends upon our desire to be made holy by Jesus Christ. It all depends upon Jesus. Everything depends upon Jesus.

Jesus is not ashamed to name them ‘brothers’. Jesus calls us ‘brothers’ when the Father calls us ‘sons’.

Psalm 22 is quoted. The “I” who is speaking here is the one who was crucified and resurrected. This is the great Messianic Psalm. These are the words Jesus spoke out on the cross.

In verses 9 and 10, a human mother is mentioned but no mention of a human father, and there is utter dependability from birth! Verse 22 is quoted in Hebrews.

The brothers are the believers who have come to the Father through Jesus, and Jesus declares the name of the Father and sings praise to the Father.

We also learn that Jesus is in the midst of His church. That is why it is so important to belong to the right church.

I will put my trust in Him, with no changing my mind, and no doubting, and no vacillating. “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

Here is a vision of Jesus presenting His brothers before the Father and they are those who have followed Him, and those who have suffered and who have been made holy, and who have been brought into the family of God.

Because we have flesh and blood, Jesus came too in the form of flesh and blood, so that he might destroy him who holds the power of death, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Jesus is able to deliver us from the fear of death If we are not free from the fear of death we are potentially slaves.

Are there things of which you are afraid? Studying this book and having a strong faith in Jesus Christ can deliver you from fear and apprehension and anxiety.

Sandy Shaw

Overcoming desperation when you face dark times is possible no matter how awful things may seem right now in your life.

Desperate feelings come about as a result of feeling disempowered when you face dark times. If you lost your job or lack the finances you need to pay your bills or purchase food, feelings of desperation and anxiety can overtake you. But you don’t have to allow them to.

Use the following 3 steps to help you become empowered so you can overcome desperation in dark times.

Step #1 – Turn on the light of hope

You’re feeling desperate because you’ve lost hope that all is working out on your behalf. Let the light of hope shine on your situation. There’s always a way out of each situation you face. But if you allow the cloud of desperation to hang over your mind it will be difficult to see the way out or receive light in the form of inspired ideas and wisdom that will lead you out of this dark tunnel. Hope brings peace and peace empowers you.

Step #2 – Ask for what you want

Quiet your mind so you can think clearly about what you want. Once you have a clear picture of what you desire the outcome to be, ask for what you want. This process takes your mind from focusing on how bad things are to seeing the solution of how good things can become.

This mental shift in your thought process puts you into a different vibration so you can begin to attract what you desire into your life experience. Asking for what you desire is very powerful but you must ask with the mind frame of seeing the results you want, not what you don’t want. And when you ask, ask with the expectation that you will receive an answer.

Step #3 – Let go and relax

Let go of your frustration. Let go of your desperation. Relax your mind so you can think clearly and be open for the answer to come to you and recognize it when it does show up. As you go about your day, pay attention to what’s in front of you. Ask, “What can I do to bring me the results I want? How can I see this situation differently? What can I do differently?”

What you’re doing here is changing the way you’re responding to your situation and coming from a place of empowerment.

Hope brings you courage to face another day.

Asking for what you want shifts your attention into resolution mode.

Letting go and relaxing shifts your vibration so you can begin to attract what you desire and ask the right questions instead of focusing on the wrong things and recreating more of the negative energy that comes from desperation.

There are plenty of studies that show a key challenge for businesses going forward is the inability to attract and retain highly talented employees. At the same time, organizations are finally beginning to recognize the powerful impact that good talent management can provide not only in the good times but in difficult economic times as well. For some companies, a downturn means reduced hiring and staffing reductions and for other companies, this can be a great time to locate their next rising star.

At the same time, however, research shows that hiring continues even when the economy slows down. While certainly there may be shifts in the job market, there will indeed still be jobs. For instance, the financial services market is shrinking and many professionals are unemployed. However, the professional, technical and food service industry sectors are anticipated to grow because these industry sectors serve consumers critical needs such as health care, home and family health and energy. That’s why there has been so much reference by American presidential candidates about “Joe the plumber”. In other words, technical trades professionals are already in short supply and will become even more in demand during the economic downturn.

But recruitment and selection of new employees during a downturn economy requires a much more strategic hiring process. Companies must be able to quickly identify candidates and get them into the job as soon as possible so that any potential financial drain resulting from open positions or poor productivity is mitigated. Develop a target list of potential candidates that you can identify from your networking and industry contacts. Whereas we are now in a global world, companies are finding they must go further and further afield to find a qualified candidate. If you don’t have national or global contacts then it is best to use the services of an executive search firm that can conduct research on your behalf. These professionals already have global contacts in every industry sector and can more quickly identify and screen candidates on your behalf.

Next, a company must ensure there is an effective process in place to manage the flow of applicants. It is anticipated that a much larger volume of resumes will be arriving on your desk and/or by email during an economic downturn. It is very time consuming and difficult to sift through all the resumes and find the right candidate. Therefore it is important to develop your selection criteria right up front and to assess the resumes against those criteria. For those with an automated recruitment platform, resumes arriving by email can be screened easily. No matter what, saving time at this stage of the recruitment process also saves money.

Create a more complex recruitment screening and interview process so that finalist candidates are screened through a number of steps. Making a mistake at any time is costly, let alone making a hiring mistake during a downturn. Use panels of managers and/or technical experts to participate in interviews. Consider having the candidates engage in a business simulation which would enable you to judge their skills in activities that parallel your company. Be sure to use an assessment tool that helps to judge the level of communication, teamwork and leadership skills required for success in your company.

Most senior executive appointments break down within the first eighteen months. In other words, candidates are always assessing whether or not the job is the right fit and if it isn’t, they will leave. Therefore, it is important to build a strong employee orientation program for your new employee. The best approach is to engage these leaders in a results centred leadership program with an executive coach. Having a personal executive coach enables the individual to consult for confidential advice when needed. It also helps the new leader to strategically plan for building the new leadership team. This is especially important when one or two of the senior team members were also candidates for the senior leadership role.

Typically once the recruitment process is complete, companies retreat once again into themselves and focus on their corporate success. However, a good recruitment strategy is to continue to keep in touch with candidates who were part of the earlier recruitment process. Keep their resumes on file and personally stay in touch. You never know when additional opportunities may arise. This will also help you to stay in touch with industry trends and to more quickly access other network contacts when needed.

Having the right people, at the right time and doing the right things is key to success at any time and more so, in a down turn economy. Therefore, once your current recruitment project is complete, recognize that a downturn economy is also a good time to conduct a review or audit of your entire recruitment and selection process. Where can you create efficiencies? What can you do to make it more effective? Are you continuing to use outdated candidate search, resume assessment and interview methodologies? What needs to be changed? Engage in process improvement and get ready for the next economic upswing.

It is the purpose of this article to provide the general reader with a comprehensive picture of world’s greatest civilization originating in Africa, a continent leading modern scholars today refer to it as the ‘the cradle of civilization’. This chronology seeks to address sophisticated and intelligent readers who had never previously read anything serious about Africa, from the earliest times to the most recent. Most black people have lost their confidence, their true identity, because their history has been neglected, falsified and sometimes concealed. Diana Crawford Carson has been instrumental in the compilation of the chronology as she spent many hours synchronizing facts from many sources and verifying the language usage. Note: the century headings generally refer to the first date mentioned. Example: an entry covering the 14th to the 18th century will be found under ’14th Century, 1300s’. The numbers in the left hand column are arbitrary, to help those using the indexes.

No. – Date – Text

BCE:

1. 5 to 2.5 million Fossils, rocks, ancient skeletal remains have been uncovered in the Rift Valley and surrounding areas. Evidence points to a common human ancestry originating in Africa from the emergence of a humanlike species in eastern Africa some 5 million years ago. From Hadar, Ethiopia, the 3.18 million year old remains of almost-human ‘Lucy’ were unearthed in 1974. Recent discoveries (in 2000 AD) in the Baringo district of Kenya reveal important remains dating from before five million BCE. This is earlier than the ‘aus Orrorin Tugenensis’, thought to be a hominid-primate ancestor of humans tralopithecines; it is even earlier than ‘Lucy’.

2. 200,000 By this time, there were many almost-human beings throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa; some of them had discovered fire, and its use. Homo Sapiens, the first true human, had developed by this time, and were living in groups/communities of hunter-gatherers. There is archaeological evidence also of their making and using primitive tools, crafted of flint.

3. These ‘communities’ became nomadic groups, who eventually became the nomadic people, the San. The San moved throughout the African continent.

4. Developing from being hunter/gatherers, there is evidence that Africa was probably the gene-centre for early agriculture. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of such as (cultivated) cotton, sorghum, watermelon, kola nuts and coffee. This suggests that Africa saw the beginnings of the actual cultivation of these and other types of food for human consumption, at an extremely early time.

5. 25,000 – 10,000 Rock paintings were discovered throughout much of Africa, from the far north to the southern regions.

6. 6000-4000 By this time, ‘River People’ were living in the areas of the major rivers, the Nile, Niger, and Congo Rivers.

7. In Zaire, from about the same period, there is evidence that the ‘Isonghee’, in the area of Zaire, the future Republic of Congo, invented an abacus, for use in mathematical calculations.

8. Remains of huge, so-called ‘cyclopian’, stone tombs have been found in central Africa. The stones, which might be called ‘rising stones’ elsewhere, are enormous, making one think of the fictional ‘cyclops giants’ of Greek mythology. At least one stone has a groove on top, which causes ‘tears’ to drip down the ‘face’ of the stone.

9. South of the Sahara Desert, the development of agriculture was advanced enough to support a burgeoning population. As the people of this area learned to domesticate various animals, as well as improving their agricultural skills, the San were forced to migrate to other areas, where life for them was somewhat more arduous.

10. 4000 to 1000 In the Nile valley, settlements became more stable. Black Kingdoms arose and prospered in the area of the Nile River valley. These included Nubia, also called ‘Kash’/’Kush’. Their capitals were at Napata, and Meroe. Napata was a religious capital in Ethiopia, and Meroe became an administrative capital in the same country.

11. 2700 – 1087 This was the period of three dynasties/kingdoms in the upper Nile region of Egypt. These kingdoms were the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom, with many differences between them. The Old Kingdom, following the ‘Archaic Period, and known also as the First Dynasty, was the period from 2700-2200 BC. During this dynasty, the sphinx and the Great Pyramid at Giza were built.The Middle Kingdom began in 2100 BC, lasting until 1800 BC. During this period of roughly 300 years, the Egyptians devised a new form of government, greatly altering the power of the pharaoh, who no longer had absolute power. During the New Kingdom, 1570-1080 BC, the Egyptians absorbed many other countries, greatly increasing their power. However, towards the end of this Kingdom/dynasty, their power diminished, threatened by many peoples including the Hittites, and Egypt was finally taken over (sequentially) by Ethiopia and Assyria, the latter aided by Greek mercenaries.

12. 2686 – 2182 During the period of the Old Kingdom, the first pyramid (‘the first pyramid of Djoser’) was built at Saqqara.

13. 2500 By this time, in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and eastward as far as northeastern Indian and northern China, there were well established centres of commerce and growing populations.

14. Also at about the same time, the now-famous but little understood statue of the Sphinx was created. It was carved from a single huge block of limestone. It is thought that this huge stone was found in the quarry, whence had come the stone used in building the pyramids. It is reputed to have been carved by (or for?) the Pharaoh Khafre. Khafre’s pyramid lies high above and just behind the Sphinx. Some scholars posit that the Sphinx represents the pharaoh’s face.

15. 2300-2100 A very early record, the ‘Heliopolis Creation Narrative’ of the Kemetic priests of On, and the Memphite Declaration of the Deities, was first written on papyrus, later to be incised on stone (see 19). These words are perhaps the earliest written accounts of Creation.

16. ca 1000-800 The Bantu (‘Bantu’ means ‘the people’) of whom there were some sixty million, had already begun migrating south into southern Africa, from their settlements in west Africa. This migration, which continued for over 2,000 years, was one of the largest in human history. The growing population could have been a major factor forcing the move. The Bantus might have sought more land for their agricultural developments, which included formerly unfamiliar foods, such as the banana (native to southern Asia). The Bantu, though a vast peoples who later developed impressive kingdoms in both western and central regions of Africa, initially governed themselves through relatively small, local structures.

17. The Bantu-speakers quite early separated into two groups, with the eastern Bantu-speakers continuing the migration through what became present-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Most of this group finally settled in the future South Africa. The western group of the Bantu migrated through the future Angola, Namibia and the northwestern part of Botswana. The Bantu left many traces, one of the foremost being their language. Of the languages based on the Bantu, the most dominant is the Arab-touched Swahili (or Kiswahili, meaning the language of the Swahili/ coastal people). Swahili was spoken along the coast of east Africa and beyond. Its first great importance was its use in trading, whence came the influence of Arabic. Today there are some fifty million Kiswahili speakers, with a variety of mutually-understood dialects.

18. Many ethnic groups count the Bantu as ancestors. Among these are the Shona, Xhosa, Kikuyu, and Zulu, descended from the eastern Bantus, and the Herero and Tonga peoples, from the western Bantus.

19. 710 BCE This is the presumed date of the carving of the ‘Heliopolis Creation Narrative’ of the Kemetic priests of On, and the Memphite Declaration of the Deities. Originally written on papyrus, these words are thought to be the earliest written accounts of Creation.

20. 750-600 People of Kush/Nubia by this time ruled Egypt; their capital was Meroe. Their competence in metal work and science led to strong and increasingly widening influence in sub- Sahara Africa. The Kingdom of Nubia lasted more than nine hundred years.

BCE > CE the point of the meeting of the old era (Before the Common/Christian Era) and the new era (the Common Era)

The religions based on sun worship have their roots in Babylon, the home of the Amors and Islam. The sun was always considered the Mother God who gave life and then took it. The world was at ‘her’ mercy and when it failed to appear things died. Men set up sticks to plot the course of the sun throughout the year and the two extremes were so potent a time they became the building blocks of ‘faith’. ‘Sol-stice’ is from ‘sun-stick’ while ‘eqin-ox’ was the marriage of the horse and ox.

To explain these elements it was necessary to understand how and why ideas were conveyed and transported. That took me back to the start of the thinking from which the gods were derived. Words fell apart and the syllables identified as ‘terms’ were formed from symbols manufactured from the sun’s images on the ground.

Those same images are found in Rock Art from the last Ice Age and in tribal groups who remained ‘uncontaminated’ by Western influence until recent times. They also appear on monuments in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. This shows the widespread distribution of the same ideas and points to a single parent influence.

The first such image dates back to c 300,000 years ago and is that of the right-angled cross etched on a nummulite shell fossil found in Tata, Hungary. The horse-ox marriage is described in detail in the caves at Lascaux. The thinking behind them is that the sun (horse) was fertilised by the bull (ox) at the start of spring.

This is the basis of most religious concepts today although the roots of them have been hidden. [H] is a late addition to the alphabet and comes from the Greek symbol for the ‘seat of Zeus’. That means the peak of the mountain and is how it should be interpreted. ‘Or’ is an old term for ‘sun’ and [s] likewise for ‘spirit’.

The original term ‘or-s’ means ‘sun-light’ or ‘sun’s spirit’. The beam of light became the ‘horse’ in mythology while the ‘bull’ is from ‘b-el’ or ‘bearing God’. It is also as ‘ba-al’, ‘b-el, and so on. ‘Ba-al-I’ is from the same source and in Australian Aborigine culture they have mountains called ‘mumma-bulla’. That is from some 60,000 or more years since they settled in Australia.

[S] and [5] are almost identical in shape and they both mean ‘spirit’. The number five identifies the sun and is a holy number in most religions. The 5-point star sits on the flag of Islam cradled in the arms of the crescent moon and the iconic images inside the Kaaba, Mecca, are the sun and moon. The same can be seen above the mosques.

The same star sign is featured on weapons of wars, police vehicles, above law institutions, and on the shoulders of generals. It is universal because of the single parent generator. That means that all institutions, religions, and governments have developed from the same source. It is why Muslims pray to the east, the direction of the sun rise, five times a day. Catholic priests also pray 5 times a day as do those of other faiths.

Using mouthwash to keep your gums, teeth, and tongue clean and free from bacteria is a great way to promote your own dental health. Most brands come with specific instructions on the bottle for how often to use it, and how long to swish it around in your clean and healthy mouth. You should follow those instructions, and also consider when the best times might be for you to use mouthwash. Some people like to gargle with it before heading out the door for a social engagement, or when they know they will be close to a special someone. Using it at least twice a day is recommended for the best benefits.

Start your day off with a fresh and tingling mouth by using mouthwash early in the morning. It can help to use it as soon as you get up, after you brush your teeth, or even after you have eaten your breakfast and had your coffee. When you use mouthwash after you eat, you will have a better chance of removing any particles of food that have become attached to your teeth and your gums. You will be surprised at how many crumbs are in the sink when you spit out the mouthwash.

Using mouthwash before you go to bed is also a great idea. Once you know you are done eating and drinking for the night, incorporate this step into your bed time routine. After you brush your teeth, wash your face, and do whatever else you do at the end of the day, gargle with some mouthwash to prepare your mouth and teeth for several hours of sleep. It will keep your mouth protected while you sleep, and help prevent the bad breath that can easily take over during the night.

There are other occasions that might require a quick swish of mouthwash. If you brush too hard and notice your gums are bleeding, use some in order to keep the area clean. That will protect you from infections. Many people mouthwash immediately if they feel a canker sore or fever blister growing in their mouths for the same reason.

Mouthwash is a valuable product, and many dentists recommend that you make it a part of your dental routine at home. In addition to brushing and flossing regularly, mouthwash can keep your teeth and gums free from infections and problems. It also does wonders for your breath, which everyone around you will appreciate.

Due to its several advantages, using biometric devices for maintaining employees’ attendance has become an essentiality these days. Whether running small or large business, entrepreneurs resort to time attendance system and software to help their HR department in accurate payroll management of the employees.

Installing a time attendance software / system in an organisation eliminates buddy punching and makes it easy to manage the leaves and time attendance of employees, regardless of the number of departments and the employee strength. With a time attendance software, business owners can mark the time-keeping habits of their employees. In addition to all of these advantages, these systems are also preferred because they assist in limiting the physical security access.

The Functioning of a Biometric Time Attendance Software

Biometric devices identify a person with his / her intrinsic physical characteristics which may include fingerprint, palm, face, iris, etc. The most commonly used characteristic is the fingerprint. Machines that use other aforementioned characteristics to identify a person are a bit expensive, but more functional too.

Time attendance software that uses fingerprint to detect a person is easy-to-install and manage. It is the automated equivalent of the paper-based attendance management system and is used for managing various day-to-day employee time-keeping tasks such as tracking work hours, managing project costing, scheduling employees, and various others.

The biggest advantage of using an automated time attendance system is that it reduces the administrative burden of managing paper time sheets thereby, enhancing productivity and reducing inaccuracy. Such systems act as a boon for organisations with multiple processes and shifts. With these systems, administrators can even set the break times, lunch time, overtime, and many other schedule management processes. These systems also track late punches and provide several auditing reports.

Apt for Application in Different Places

Besides offices, biometric attendance software and systems are apt for application in several other places like hospital, schools, factories, etc. One can choose from a wide variety of models that suit the environment of their workplace.

To use a device that assists in calculation of employees’ attendance, one has to install the software into the main computer and the device on the wall. Then one will have to connect the software and the device, enroll the employees with their facial, fingerprint, or iris details, and the device will be ready for use.

To conclude, maintaining pen and paper-based or manual attendance processes is quite time-consuming, even though inexpensive. Biometric time attendance devices are the most apt, hassle-free, cost-effective, and fast solution for maintaining accurate employee attendance records.

May you live in interesting times.

Is that ancient expression a curse or a blessing? I think it depends on how you define “interesting” and more importantly how you adapt to it.

If you define interesting to mean unpredictable, challenging and threatening then clearly we are living in interesting times. Business these days is more like shooting the rapids in a rubber raft than canoeing in a duck pond.

It’s too easy to be mesmerized by the danger of capsizing. If you focus on the rocks, that’s where you will go. The secret is to look for and steer to the high water and paddle like a fiend.

Survival is not the goal

If you set your sights on surviving you could slip and sink. If you set your target as thriving then you might flourish.

How do you thrive in these turbulent waters?

Marketing is the result of all the messages that you and your staff send. In fact your staff sends more powerful marketing messages than all the advertising you ever do. Therefore marketing becomes the end result of almost every business decision you make.

Think long term

Don’t make knee-jerk decisions especially about business strategy. Gather as much relevant information as you can. Seek the advice of people you respect. Be clear on your purpose. Examine both the short term and long term effects of major decisions. Once you decide, act quickly and confidently. Your staff will be looking to you for leadership and hope. Be open to course corrections when and as needed while clearly focused on the objectives and purpose.

Prepare for disaster

The fire department prepares for disaster – they don’t focus on it or obsess about it. They think, plan, acquire the best tools and rehearse their response so they can move swiftly when and if needed. Where are you exposed and how can you protect yourself? When you are shooting the rapids it is foolish to save money by not buying life vests.

Review expenditures

Don’t make across-the-board cuts. That’s a political response and just dumb. Instead categorize expenditures and investments into four categories.

Items that are needed because of the turbulent times to keep you above water or deal with disaster. Plus items that generate a good return. These are new or increased expenditures.Items that are mission critical and need to be maintained as is.Items that provide variable return. Peg the expenditure level to the conditions and vary as conditions change. Treat it like an exchange rate.Items of questionable value. Eliminate them or phase them out.

Review training

Review does not mean reduce or eliminate. Training can be more important during turbulent times. This is when your skills and those of your staff should be at their best. You don’t want to be losing sales because of poor customer service or quality control. Categorize your training needs into three categories.

Key individuals that will steer you through the turbulent times. Provide individualized coaching or training to them. Invest strongly in your best assets.Departments that need to stay sharp and ahead of your competition. Provide group training, tele-seminars or your own attention to improving skills sets.Staff that need to be motivated and reminded of purpose and the little things that make the difference. Buy them each a copy of a book that best conveys that message. Ask each person to report at weekly meetings on an assigned chapter in that book. Make everyone feel important.

It only takes one person’s mistake or sabotage to sink your raft.

Review advertising

Too many companies stupidly make major cuts in advertising during turbulent times. My guess is that they did not review their advertising during the good times. Categorize your advertising into three categories.

Advertising that is measurable and has demonstrated a profitable return. Continue to measure as you increase your investment in this profitable avenue. Unfortunately too many companies don’t measure their return on advertising or they don’t design their ads in a way that allows the results to be measureable. So they have nothing in this category. A shame.Advertising that has gained market recognition and that you believe to be working. You just don’t have a clue how profitable this venue is. Start to build in some measurement indicators. Vary the ads and measure. Then increase or reduce investment appropriately.Advertising that is merely “me too” ads. You bought an ad because your competitor did. It might be a waste of money but you don’t know. Reduce the expenditure or eliminate it.

Build relationships

In turbulent times nothing is more important that relationships. We will warmly remember those who suffered with us or helped us through the turbulent times. Invest strongly in strengthening the relationship with your best clients. Segment your clients into three categories:

Best clients. Divert more attention to their needs. Instruct your staff accordingly. Jump through hoops for these clients. Offer them additional value and services to help them. Communicate with them more often.Average clients. Maintain service levels and pricing. Attempt to upgrade them to A clients by introducing additional services.Pain-in-the-ass clients. Don’t let them bully you into reducing your prices. Instead you might reduce your level of service to them. Offer them the choice of upgrading or leaving. You’ll have less stress in your life.

Important note for you

Relationships are more important that branding – especially during turbulent times. When you have the choice to invest in branding or invest in relationships – choose relationships. It is the far more profitable choice for small and medium sized enterprises. Remember that big business invests in branding because they cannot build relationships. Don’t be fooled by the branding hype.

Online Social Media

Don’t hide. Use the Internet to keep your message and name in front of people. If you haven’t yet created your blog, this is a good time to start. Post regular tips, news and positive messages. Register and maintain your accounts on social networking sites like Linkedin.com, Plaxo.com and Facebook.com. Explore the use of YouTube.com and Flickr.com to publish product news and demonstrations. Barack Obama, the US president used these tools to successfully promote his presidential campaign and he plans to use them to convey his messages to the American people and the world.

May you thrive in interesting times.

Book lovers all over the world have read, enjoyed, and appreciated some of the most famous British writers of all times. And today compiling them in a list is a great pleasure.

1. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)

Fondly known as “The Bard of Avon”, William Shakespeare, has been perhaps the most revered poet, playwright, and author in English Literature, who has been a great influence on the literature, art, culture, films and theatre since time immemorial. Some of his famous works include, “As you like it”, “All’s well that ends well”, “Comedy of errors”, “A midsummer night’s dreams”, “The merchant of Venice”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”, “Shakespeare’s sonnets” and “A Lover’s Complaint”.

2. Jane Austen (1775 – 1817)

Jane Austen, a romantic fiction writer, published many of her books anonymously. Her books usually revolved round women, family, and marriage and through her books she highlighted the fact that if a woman wants to feel secure emotionally, socially and financially she needs to find the right man in her life. Her books are termed as classic today with some of them finding a place in the school syllabus as well. Some of her famous works include “Sense and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice”, “Emma”, “Mansfield Park”.

3. Emily Bronte (1818 – 1848)

Out of the three Bronte sisters Emily was the most famous. Her “Wuthering Heights” is a classic which today is an essential reading for the students of English literature. “Wuthering heights” is a unique combination of passion, mystery, and lost love, which is set in the eighteenth century, when there was a great shift taking place in the social and economic values. Bronte, very beautifully and intelligently, portrays these changes, along with an in depth analysis of the human psyche.

4. Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870)

Who can forget Charles Dickens while compiling the list of most famous British writers? An author of the Victorian Era, Dickens wrote fiction and non fiction novels, short stories, poems and plays and some of his famous works include, “A tale of two cities””, Great expectations””, David Copperfield””, A Christmas Carol” and “The Adventures of Oliver Twist”. Through his works, Dickens depicted the class differences, plight of the poor, values, and mores of haves and have-nots during that time. Dickens is especially known for his remarkable characters and his mastery over prose.

5. D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English author, poet, playwright, essayist, and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. In them, Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, human sexuality and instinct.

6. J.K. Rowling (1965)

A list of famous British authors will be incomplete without the mention of the contemporary author J.K. Rowling, who has brought the youth and the children “back to reading” in this day and age of computers and Internet. She has become a rage the world over with the “Harry Potter Series”, which have sold more than four hundred million copies, the world over.