The Irish Times - Tuesday, March 13, 2012

SUZANNE LYNCH

FUTURE PROOFING:A Roscommon company founded during the last recession has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the biggest employers in the county

LIKE MANY of the best business ideas, P&G cards had its genesis in a recession. Run by the Naughton family, and now one of the biggest employers in Co Roscommon, it was founded in the 1980s.

Founder Pauline Naughton was working as a nurse but, following cutbacks in the health service, she began helping out in a newsagents run by her sister. It was here that she spotted a business opening. I had always loved greeting cards, and could see they were a strong seller. I began to ask where these greeting cards came from and realised there was an opening for a wholesaler in Ireland, she says.

P&G cards was set up in 1988, from a small warehouse on the family farm in Athleague, with the help of a 2,000 loan from AIB. The company began importing cards from Britain and bought a van for distribution. One of its first contracts was with the local supermarket and the company was soon supplying 100 small shops along the western seaboard.

A major break was securing a listing with Musgraves in the early 1990s. Musgraves were the up-and-coming multiple in Ireland, says Pauline. Getting a contract was a huge boost for us. Following the contract, PG implemented a number of changes, including a computerised distribution system, and extended its existing facility at Athleague. The company also took on its first employee, a trainee from Fs, who still works there.

A business course with Roscommon Enterprise Board followed. I had come from a non-business background, and had no specific experience or training in business, so the course was hugely beneficial, explains Pauline.

The company also received business advice on scaling and soon signed a contract with BWG, the owners of Spar and Mace.

Over the ensuing years, Paulines two daughters, Aisling and Michelle, joined the business. Michelle, who has a degree in marketing and French, set about finding new business for PG, eventually securing a contract with Dunnes Stores, where PG is now the premium card supplier.

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Success was on the cards for business idea

Planning on playing hooky Thursday and Friday to see how youre doing with your NCAA Tournament bracket? Good for you.

But if you really want to be able to be the champion of your office pool, Andrew Clark advises taking a sick day today as well. Maybe Tuesday, too. But only if youre willing to do a little research.

Clark is the author of Bracketeering, The Laymans Guide to Picking the Madness in March, which mainly relies on statistics to predict the NCAA mens basketball tournament, although he claims it doesnt take a masters degree in mathematics or a total immersion into college basketball to be successful.

Last year, I had Ohio State (eliminated in the Sweet 16) and Kansas (out in the Elite Eight) in the championship game, said Clark, whos in his third year at Suffolk University School of Law in Boston. But Virginia Commonwealth came out of nowhere, and I didnt think Butler could do it again.

So many unpredictable things like that can happen. But its certainly better to have an educated system rather than picking things haphazardly.

Maybe. Maybe not.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi was beaten by a Cocker Spaniel two years ago.

If anybody was smart enough to have Butler and VCU in the Final Four last year, he should be picking stocks instead of basketball teams from his penthouse on Park Avenue, Lunardi said.

The easiest thing about Clarks method is that the data he uses is readily assessable at ncaa.com/statistics, where all 338 Division I teams are ranked in 20 categories.

From there, Clark prepares his sheet of integrity, lining up the 68 teams in the tournament, which this year culminates with the Final Four on March 31 and April 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

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Author says key to NCAA Tournament bracket success is in the numbers

LONDON (Reuters) - We all know that making a good impression is fundamental to professional and social success. All too often, however, we unintentionally tarnish our personal polish by forgetting the basics of face-to-face communication.

From personal appearances and body language to handshakes and introductions, here are some top tips on being remembered for all the right reasons...

1. Looking Good

Your appearance is an instant message to those around you, so the way you look is as important as how you behave. It goes without saying that you and your attire should be shiny and clean from head to toe. Dress appropriately for the situation - tailor your personal sense of style to suit your surroundings.

2. Positive Posture

The way you stand, walk and sit all make a big impression. Hold your head high, keep your back straight and pull your shoulders back, but keep it all looking natural. Tread lightly (no clumping, thundering footsteps), and don't drag your feet or shuffle. Women should always sit with their knees together; men should avoid sitting with their legs excessively wide apart, and should never repeatedly jiggle their leg up and down.

3. Boost Your Body Language

Body language is a series of silent signals that play a vitally important part in the impression you give to the world. Create an air of confidence and positivity by avoiding crossed arms, hunched shoulders and awkward fidgeting. Focus on good posture, positive gestures and a natural sense of self-awareness. Never yawn in public and don't forget to smile.

4. Shake On It

A handshake, lasting just a few seconds, is the common form of greeting for all business situations and most social situations. Always use your right hand and 'pump' the recipients hand two or three times before you let it go. Make eye contact and ensure that your fingers firmly grasp the other palm. Avoid bone-crushing grips or loose, limp hands.

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Modern Etiquette: Seven tips to making the right impression

PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Demand for natural personal care products remains strong within the well-established markets of Western Europe and North America, maintaining high growth rates. The most recent findings, from worldwide consulting and research firm Kline & Company, show that while the segment's 2011 growth waned slightly compared to the five-year compound annual growth rate of 13.9%, it still consistently outperformed the overall beauty market.

Both of these markets are distinctly different as market leaders vary from region to region; moreover, within Europe, the dynamics of the naturals market varies significantly between countries. In Western Europe, the natural segment is becoming more mainstream, but it's the largely untapped markets of Central and Eastern Europe where opportunities show great promise. Additionally, Western European and North American shares of the total market have been decreasing over the past five years at the expense of Brazil and China. The latter are expected to draw the focus of astute companies keen to establish critical footholds in these budding markets. Savvy marketers are also opening up and exploring new channels of distribution, allowing access to new consumers and ultimately broadening demand.

Large, predominantly German drug stores, such as DM, Schlecker, and Rossmann, represent the fastest growing pan-European channel. In the United States, traditional natural health food stores still lead the way; however, mass outlets, such as Walmartwhich as an indicator of the retailer's faith in the naturals' market, recently introduced its own private-label productsare quickly increasing in significance.

Indeed, more mass market brands are recognizing the vitality and viability of the naturals segment with its inherent market cachet and consumers' increasing readiness to pay a premium for genuinely natural products. The benefits are manifold; by increasing the channels of distribution and allowing consumers easier access to natural products, both ultimately contribute to the segment's growth.

Kline's Consumer Industry Manager Nancy Mills attributes the resilience of the natural personal care sector to ever growing consumer awareness of health, environmental, and sustainability concerns. "These drivers are near universal, but their influence varies significantly between markets," observes Mills. "In Western Europe, consumers have a higher awareness and interest concerning product ingredients, business ethics, and sustainability practices, and many are astutely avoiding products which are natural only in positioning. In Eastern Europe, where the movement is starting to blossom, consumers aren't yet as discerning."

"Natural personal care is not a fad, but a genuine movement that's manifesting itself in ever diverse product applications," continues Mills. "The consumer is better educated, and this can serve the marketer well, particularly as credible certification standards are being implemented and recognized."

The global market for natural personal care products is expected to maintain strong growth with a compound annual growth rate of almost 10% through 2016. The growth of truly natural products will likely outpace that of natural-inspired brands across most regions; however, natural-inspired brands will continue to dominate the global natural personal care market.

Natural Personal Care 2011: Regional Market Analysis and Competitive Brand Assessment provides subscribers with competitive and market intelligence on the global natural and organic personal care market. By examining the key players and the ingredients they use, Kline's report uniquely separates the market into two distinct segments: truly natural products and naturally-inspired products.

About Kline Kline is a worldwide consulting and research firm dedicated to providing the kind of insight and knowledge that helps companies find a clear path to success. The firm has served the management consulting and market research needs of organizations in the chemicals, materials, energy, life sciences, and consumer products industries for over 50 years. For more information, visit http://www.KlineGroup.com.

For more information, contact:Vera Sandarova Marketing Communications +420-222-316-282 Vera.Sandarova@klinegroup.com

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Natural Personal Care Markets in Western Europe and the United States Naturally Evolving, However Still Vibrant ...

BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Lenovo, the worlds second largest personal computer vendor, is using BMC Softwares (NASDAQ: BMC) Remedy IT Service Management Suite (ITSM) to manage IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-compliant service delivery. Lenovo has developed a new unified managed services offering for its customers that is powered by the BMC Remedy IT Service Management Suite. BMC is delivering improved system stability, significantly better service performance and enhanced customer satisfaction.

The market for managed IT services is exploding in China as organizations seek more efficient and effective ways to deliver information services to clients and end users. A growing challenge for IT service providers, like Lenovo, is the need to maintain control and visibility over an increasingly diverse range of infrastructure and management processes.

Lenovo launched its IT managed services, including device debugging, software maintenance and post-guarantee equipment servicing, in August 2010, offering multi-vendor infrastructure management for PCs, network equipment and printers. In order to optimize its own efficiency, Lenovo implemented the BMC Remedy IT Service Management Suite to provide a framework for enjoying greater process control and systems stability while enhancing customer satisfaction.

Since the data from different resources could not be integrated, we faced the challenge of controlling service processes, response times and service quality, said Mr. Lv Zaifeng, general manager of service operation and support, emerging markets business group, Lenovo. BMC Remedy incorporates ITIL best practices, offering incident management, problem management, change and configuration management and improves service levels from every corner.

Although Lenovos managed services team is highly trained and effective, the company needed to streamline their schedules and monitor their performance with staff spread over more than 1,000 locations. Additionally, Lenovo had no way to manage the handovers needed when Line 2 service personnel passed a job over to Line 3 personnel, either because of scheduling or skills issues.

The company suffered from a relatively low front-line incident resolution rate and keenly understood that it needed to implement a solution that would deliver increased service quality without sacrificing efficiency or flexibility. Following a review of all available solutions, Lenovo decided on the BMC Remedy IT Service Management Suite as the best solution for its needs.

The BMC Remedy solution offers customers the ability to easily configure the solution without the need to build or maintain code. Underpinning this flexibility is the BMC Remedy Action Request System (ARS), a powerful and scalable workflow engine.

By providing more transparency into the process and immediate access to supporting data, it is possible to significantly improve help desk or service desk performance and boost the first-call resolution metrics. Lenovos first call resolution rate has increased drastically following the introduction of the Remedy suite.

We will continue to work with BMC as a strategic partner, and the next step includes data center integration, automation and monitoring, said Mr. Lv. We plan to expand Lenovo IT outsourcing services business into a new realm.

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Customer Success: Lenovo Manages ITIL®-Compliant Service Delivery with BMC Software’s Remedy ITSM Suite

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ZZmoXDSwI

09-03-2012 15:43 Personal Online Brand Expert Daniel Wagner - clicktogo.org http://www.youtube.com How To Build A Powerful Business AND Personal Brand [Webinar Replay] Thanks to top branding expert BJ Cunningham for being the inspiration behind this webinar! Following an amazing day's consulting with BJ, here are some of the breakthroughs I want to share with you. But let me WARN you, this is powerful stuff guys! --What's the REAL difference between a business brand and a product brand - and WHY this is essential to attracting and retaining customers --The biggest mistake people make with branding -- and how to avoid it --The proprietary branding system BJ uses with his 20k per day corporate consulting clients like Microsoft and McDonald's. --The ONLY type of trademark you'll ever need for your brand -- and what you need to avoid at all costs... --What exactly do we mean by a personal brand -- and why a strong personal brand is as important as ever, even if you have an existing business --How one of my clients recently generated £50000 in NEW business after her personal brand website went live (...and how you can do the same!) To your 'branding' success Daniel

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Daniel Wagner - Personal Branding and Expert Success Training - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgxA9Bxqz4o

11-03-2012 17:25 MagnaVita is a marketing team dedicated to bring you the best opportunity of your life. We work directly with a company called OrganoGold that sells a variety of beverages, nutraceuticals, and personal care products. This is an opportunity to become your own boss and work from home. Our team will ensure success to all those that join us. It seems unbelievable but in reality, the team's success generates greater success for all individuals. Many people see "financial opportunities" and assume it's a scam but as long as an adequate amount of effort and time is invested into the company, we can essentially guarantee personal success. For those who are interested in what may be the greatest financial decision of your life, send a message to this account and we will answer any questions you may have. We will disclose more information to those who show a serious interest in the company and allow you the opportunity to speak to us personally via telephone. magnavita.organogold.com

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Emmanuel Bernstein - OrganoGold Networking [MV] - Video

HAMISH MCDONALD

BARGAIN WHEELS: The Tata Nano is India's cheapest car.

After introducing its now famous so-called US$2500 car, the Nano, to the streets of its home country, India's Tata group is preparing to take the stylish little four-seat bubble of steel and glass to the world market.

Within two to three years, says the group's chairman, Ratan Tata, the company will launch a vamped-up, slightly wider version of the Nano in the United States, fitted with modern safety features such as an advanced braking system. An electric version may come even sooner.

''It will be a full car,'' Tata says. ''US$7000 is still an attractive price.''

While bringing compact size and value to mature Western markets, Tata is also taking luxury motoring east.

It is discussing a joint venture to manufacture Jaguar sedans and Range Rover SUVs in China, already the second-biggest market for these top-end brands acquired from Ford four years ago.

But the ability to think small may turn out to be Tata's unique selling point, even though it's one of the biggest business groups in a country destined to be among the biggest forces in the global economy.

Indeed, thinking small is helping the whole country leap ahead, as in the ultra-cheap packages that have put mobile phones in the hands of small farmers and street peddlers, and the newly-developed $35 tablet computer, the Akaash (meaning ''sky''), that the government plans to hand out to school students.

Bringing his baby, the Nano, into the world has been a fraught process, however, as Ratan Tata outlined in a talk with the Sydney Morning Herald in his office at Bombay House, headquarters of the group founded by his great-great-grandfather, Jamshedji Tata, in 1868.

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Thinking small makes car a big success

Last week I attended a reception for John Kluge Jr., the son of the late Columbia University alumnus John Kluge Sr.

John Kluge Sr. once donated $400 million to the university, the single largest donation for financial aid made to any American university - a donation of which I am a direct benefactor. My financial aid package comes from his endowment, so it is no exaggeration to say that I wouldn't be attending school here at Columbia without the extraordinary generosity of John Kluge Sr., which reduced the student debt I would have to take on for college to more affordable levels.

At the reception, John Kluge Jr. turned out to be a very nice man, and they played a video of his father formally donating the large sum back in 2008. In this video, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger called his gift "both a testament to his personal history and values and a challenge to all of us to do our best to live up to our nation's ideals."

Hearing Bollinger's words, I couldn't help but wonder if, by receiving John Kluge Sr.'s aid, I hadn't simply taken on a different type of debt.

The call to take our education and use it to help the less fortunate is not new to me. One of the most common recurring conversations among my friends includes the anxiety around our seemingly conflicting goals of achieving success and helping others. Lots of ambitious students come here with dreams of starting or joining a nonprofit, or else a business with a

I've personally seen how students' pursuits of success completely changes their priorities. In the same way that students come here looking to start a nonprofit, many students come with strong interests in learning about less "marketable" skills. However, the culture of success- chasing and fear of bad job markets often pigeonhole these students into drastically different college educations.

It's not uncommon to see English majors succumb to the seemingly job-friendly economics or for linguistic majors to go premed, or for film majors to excessively over-exert themselves acquiring a second (and more quantitative) major. And who's to say these are bad choices? After all, the fact is that there are probably more job options available to the film major with quantitative skills than the one without them.

Nevertheless, I can't shake the feeling that there is something fundamentally disturbing about the necessary insinuation that students who graduate with anything other than STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) degrees have nothing to offer society - or even the job market.

Seeing how the pursuit of success takes students away from their initial goals of helping others or studying what they love, I can't help but be skeptical of these students' working definition of "success."

This raises the question: What is success? Where is the "you are now successful" finish line, and how do you know when you've crossed it? Is it determined by how much money you make? Call me naive, but I really don't buy that. While the goal is always to make at least a comfortable living, I don't think you can call a man successful simply because he can afford his weight in gold.

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The Freshman: Chasing monetary prosperity isn't `success'

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va6ul_JYecE

23-02-2012 15:20 Why is it that some people can generate so much success in their lives and still find reasons not to be happy, while those less fortunate can discover a tremendous amount of fulfillment despite their hardship and pain? What makes the difference in the quality of people's lives? What truly creates an extraordinary life, the kind with the power to turn your dreams into reality? Now, with Anthony Robbins' commemorative 30th Anniversary Edition of Personal Power II, you can take advantage of the same strategies that have inspired millions to create lasting change—whether it's achieving extraordinary health and vitality, turning your business around, creating outstanding relationships, transforming how you use your time, designing your ideal career, or achieving financial success. Personal Power II is still the foundation of everything Tony does today. It will help you determine what you want in your life, give you some of the most powerful and proven tools to accomplish this, and provide you with the daily fundamentals to follow through. The goal of this program is to show you some simple, systematic strategies to get greater results on a daily basis. Personal Power is the ability to act, the ability to take action and the ability to produce results. By making simple, small changes daily, you will absolutely transform the quality of your life more quickly than you ever thought possible. Not only will you learn to take control of your own life through personal development, but ...

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Anthony Robbins Personal Power Day 7 0001 - Video