Thoughts Regarding Your Success In The 21st Century

A. INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY TEN SECRETS TO SUCCESS

Investor's Business Daily has spent years analyzing leaders and successful people in all walks of life. Most have 10 traits that, when combined, can turn dreams into reality:

1. How You Think Is Everything. Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

2. Decide Upon Your True Dreams and Goals. Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3. Take Action. Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started now... Just do it.

4. Never Stop Learning. Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills.

5. Be Persistent and Work Hard. Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

6. Learn to Analyze Details. Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

7. Focus Your Time and Money. Don't let other people or things distract you.

8. Don't Be Afraid to Innovate; Be Different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

9. Deal and Communicate With People Effectively. No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. Be Honest and Dependable; Take Responsibility.Otherwise, Numbers 1-9 won't matter.

B. OUR GLOBAL ECONOMY & SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

• Global competitive excellence is to satisfy customer completely.

• Impose no burden on society.

• Energy drive (scale and speed).

• Computer information, choice is central driver / must be responsive and flexible.

• Driver behind competitiveness is satisfying customer wants.

• Meet or exceed global standards total benchmarking.

• Managing where the customer is in charge.

• Responsiveness - coach customer.

• Flexible - able to turn on a dime.

• How? Create customer relationships, move constraints (don't optimize within constraints), simplify to reduce lead time.

• Customers make profits from their customers, NOT from products.

• Build relationships constantly.

• Make relationship building WORK.

• Empower people to generate "ideas".

• Minimize variation running processes and respond to customer; bottom line will follow.

• Get company to make great people.

• Create info systems that trigger actions in harmony.

C. BILL GATES' THE SPEED OF THOUGHT

New management methods need to be applied throughout our industry to be competitive in the worldwide forest products marketplace. We suggest this year you read Bill Gates' new book just out "Business @ The Speed of Thought". How can you in your current business situation apply some of the suggestions offered?

HIGHLIGHTS FROM BILL GATES

I. Information Flow Is Your Lifeblood
A. Manage with the force of FACTS

II. Commerce: The Internet Changes Everything
A. The middleman must add value
B. Adopt the "Web Lifestyle"
C. Change the Boundaries of Business
D. Get to market first

III. Manage Knowledge To Improve Strategic Thought
A. Bad news travels fast
B. Convert bad news to good
C. Shift people into "thinking work"
D. Big wins require big risks

IV. Bring Insights To Business Operations
A. Develop processes that empower people
B. Treat information technology as a strategic resource

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!

Check out Bill's web site at: www.speed-of-thought.com "How you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or lose". Communication upgrades regarding knowledge management is the key to our future. Please e-mail Carl regarding your thoughts at carlj@searchna.com