Magazine Archive AugustSeptember 2014 Pest Control AugustSeptember 2014 Pest Management SOPs for Food Processing Plants and the Importance of FSMA By Jim Fredericks PhD and Missy Henriksen Sanitation encompasses many areas and functions within a food processing plant even when not in production However certain sanitary procedures must be addressed and maintained daily to prevent direct product contamination or adulteration of ingredients within the plant Good sanitation is essential in these areas to maintain a safe food production processa practice made even more crucial with the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act FSMA One key aspect of sanitation is the prevention and immediate elimination of any and all pest infestations in a food plant Typically unsanitary conditions tend to provide the perfect environment for pests by allowing them access to food water and nesting sites Nearly everyone is familiar with the conditions and pest violations inside the Peanut Corporation of Americas processing plant that led to a massive Salmonella outbreak in 2009 the eventual shutdown of the plant bankruptcy and liquidation of the company and judicial action against management This example and countless other recalls are the reasons why every food processing plant should develop strict Standard Operating Procedures SOPs relating to sanitation and pest management Pest Threats and Management Challenges The pests most commonly found in food processing facilities are cockroaches flies beetles ants moths and rodents Each of these pests presents a different set of problems for the facility from equipment and food contamination to consumer backlash and US Food and Drug Administration FDA fines and possible plant closures Pest management in food plants can be challenging due to numerous factors Whether its that some pests may enter the facility through the delivery of raw food items and packaging materials the presence of food odors and exterior lighting or the sheer size of facilities which provides numerous harborage sites for pests each of these underscores the importance of a strict program The most successful approach to pest management in food plants is the use of integrated pest management IPM a process involving common sense and sound solutions to treat and control pests These solutions incorporate three basic steps inspection identification and treatment IPM programs use current comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interactions with the environment and are essential in detecting and controlling pests in food processing facilities Establishment of SOPs Because of the crucial role pest management plays in sanitation inside food plants it is important that facility managers work with their pest management company to develop and establish SOPs including methods of inspection and treatment as well as provide appropriate documentation At a minimum all protocols and procedures shall include the following Procedures for all current or anticipated pest management activities including inspections and audits The written procedures should be detailed and include frequency of action Pest sightings and pest activity logs These logs should contain the exact dates times and locations of pest sightings as well as the type of pest Treatment records These should contain the details of each performed treatment ensuring theyre accurate and up to date and include both inspection dates and the locations of treatments performed Trend reports Because the final determination of a pervasive pest problem requires expertise pest technicians will develop these reports based on the inspections pest sightings and activity logs Plant layout The pest technician and plant managers should keep an updated layout of the facility listing pest management activity information Responsible individuals Those persons who are in charge of recordkeeping and pest management oversight between professional inspections Corrective measures Should there be a need for a change in or a deviation from the pest management program these measures will outline what must be done instead The Impact of FSMA FSMA is easily the biggest reform of US food safety laws since the 1930s The act mandates stricter measures for food made in the US while also giving FDA unprecedented authority in enforcing these regulations Of most importance is a shift in the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to proactively preventing any and all dangers Although the final implementation of FSMA was scheduled for June 2015 an agreement between FDA the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Environmental Health set a new schedule for the following four regulations Preventive controls for human and animal food August 30 2015 Imported food and foreign suppliers and produce safety October 31 2015 Food transportation March 31 2016 Intentional adulteration of food May 31 2016 However as FSMA gives FDA much more authority and oversight nonexistent or inadequate pest management programs can result in fines and shutdowns in addition to tarnished reputations Since the goal of FSMA is to decrease the incidence of foodborne illness especially cases that result from contaminated food from manufacturing facilities operators must proactively implement proper pest management programs to protect the public from the harmful effects of pests and rodents Additionally facilities should be implementing preventive treatments and adhering to proper sanitation processes and documentation to remain compliant with the new regulations Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points HACCP and other standards familiar to most plant managers are used to identify potential food safety hazards and implement procedures to reduce or eliminate threats before they occurkeeping in line with the preventive goal of FSMA As part of this process plant managers in partnership with their pest management company identify CCPs and develop ways to target those points most effectively Although contamination by insects is not considered within HACCP programs the steps necessary to implement a HACCP program are relevant to developing pest management programs involving validation verification and monitoring Ongoing Quality Assurance According to Jim Sargent PhD a pest control company executive not partnering with an experienced pest management company is the biggest mistake any food plant can make not performing thorough program reviews and ongoing employee training is probably a close second Operators must always keep a watchful eye and treat every problem at the root instead of looking for a quick fix he says In fact the 2013 Pest Management Standards for Food Plants from the National Pest Management Association state that at least once per year a supervisor quality assurance staff person or manager from the pest management company shall review the entire program onsite The quality assurance audit shall include a review of the program records pest activity trends and frequency of service as well as the monthly inspections to make sure that all documentation is in order In addition this group should also review labels and material safety data sheets MSDS to ensure that all products currently in use have updated Results of the quality assurance audit must be filed in the plant with a copy in the pest management company office At least once per year the pest management company should also offer to conduct an educational program for plant personnel The date content and list of those who attend the program must be kept in the plant pest management records The following staff should be invited and encouraged to participate Management Supervisory staff Security Mechanics Production lead staff Warehouse staff Quality assurance staff Plant contact HACCP committee if applicable Others determined by the plant management Continuing education for plant personnel is critical to implementing successful pest prevention programs and can prepare facilities to act swiftly if problems occur Even in cases where professional pest inspections are conducted on a weekly basis it is the plant employees whose vigilance and responsibility can keep the facility free of pests in the interim Treatments Should a need for pest elimination arise experienced pest control companies can create custom management programs taking into account multiple factors including the type of facility in question the size the species of pests and the type of food handled and produced Because of requirements related to Good Manufacturing Practices in food plants it is critical to employ devices placed in targeted areas to increase the level of control while minimizing pesticide use If pesticides are needed pest management professionals are required by law to follow US Environmental Protection Agencyregistered label instructions and utilize only products approved for use in food processing facilities Depending on the application site and product being applied special precautions may need to be taken For instance in some cases production may need to cease food and prep areas may need to be covered or surfaces and equipment may need to be washed The Bottom Line Sanitation and expert pest management go hand in hand to prevent insect and rodent infestations in food plants thereby preventing food contamination consumer illness and death lawsuits plant closures and negative publicity Food plants are on the front lines of protecting the safety of the US food supply and the millions of consumers who rely on food companies to deliver safe quality products for consumption With the implementation of FSMA good sanitation protocols and proactive pest prevention programs are no longer optional for any food processing facility regardless of size Under the new law companies that fail to comply with FSMA will pay a heavier price than ever before Jim Fredericks PhD is chief entomologist and vice president of technical and regulatory affairs for the National Pest Management Association NPMA Missy Henriksen is vice president of public affairs for NPMA Categories Facilities Sanitation Food Plant SOPs GMPs Regulatory FSMA HACCP Sanitation Pest Control

O O O O O O O O B I O O B I I O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O

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Why Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 Sales Are Few and Far Between Why buy a gigantic Airbus A380 or Boeing 747 when you can squeeze more seats into a smaller plane instead Adam LevineWeinberg TMFGemHunter Mar 1 2015 at 1135AM Not too long ago jumbo jets were considered the flagship products of The Boeing Co NYSEBA and top rival Airbus The Boeing 747 is arguably the most iconic plane of all time and last year it became the first widebody aircraft to reach 1500 deliveries Airbus entered the jumbojet market nearly a decade ago after spending tens of billions of dollars to develop the A380 Image source Getty Images Yet A380 sales have fallen far short of projections with 317 orders compared to Airbus original market projection of demand for 1200 planes Demand for the latest passenger version of the Boeing 747 has been even worse with just 51 orders since it went on sale nearly a decade ago There are a number of reasons why Boeing and Airbus are having so much trouble selling their jumbo jets But one critical cause has been largely overlooked the trend among airlines toward increasing seating density Adding capacity on key routes One key idea behind the business case for the Airbus A380 was that air traffic was doubling every 15 years and key airports were getting crowded Indeed numerous hub airports in major cities across the world including New York London Chicago and Frankfurt are at or near their capacity limits for one reason or another Airbus figured that if key airport hubs could not accommodate additional flights then airlines would need bigger planes to meet rising travel demand Accordingly it built a plane that was significantly larger than the only other jumbo jet on the market Boeings 747 Airbus markets the A380 with a standard configuration holding 525 passengers in three classes The maximum capacity is 853 seats Boeing advertises a capacity of 467 passengers for the 7478I with a standard threeclass configuration although its not an applestoapples comparison With similar layouts the 747 would have space for about 405 seats Both jumbo jets are significantly larger than the Boeing 777300ER the nextlargest plane in production Boeing puts its capacity in a threeclass configuration at 386 seats In theory this makes the 747 and the A380 good candidates for adding capacity at overcrowded airports Theres another way However airlines have recently discovered an even better way to add capacity put more seats on smaller planes While passengers prefer to have more space particularly on longhaul flights most people have not been willing to pay much of a premium for that extra space Airlines that add seats to their planes have not suffered any longterm backlash Thus Air Canada updated some of its 777300ERs from a 349seat configuration to a denser 458seat configuration Adding these seats meant shrinking the business class cabin from 42 seats to 36 seats Some business class seats wont have direct aisle access unlike the standard configuration Meanwhile economy seats will lose an inch of legroom and will be narrower 10 seats per row instead of 9 across Yet the discomfort these changes might cause is far outweighed by the more than 30 increase in capacity Air Canada can offset any deterioration in fares with significantly lower costs per seat Not a fair fight By contrast the airlines using the Boeing 7478I and the A380 have generally made them at least as roomy as the standard threeclass configuration models Lufthansa the main operator of the 7478I outfits them with just 340386 seats Most A380s are set up with roughly 500 seats In the most extreme example Korean Air places just 407 seats on its A380s With comparable seating configurations the Boeing 777300ER is slightly more fuelefficient than either the 7478I or the A380 according to an analysis by Leeham Co It also has lower maintenance costs thanks to having only two engines while the 747 and A380 are both fourengine planes As airlines raise the seating density on their 777s what began as a minor unit cost gap is becoming a wide gulf In Air Canadas 458seat configuration the Boeing 777300ER attains a massive unit cost advantage over the 7478I and the A380 In fact Air Canadas 458seat 777300ER probably has a cost per seat that is 4050 below that of Korean Airs 407seat A380 Still not enough demand Obviously jumbojet operators could strike back by putting more seats on their 747s and A380s to level the playing field Indeed Emirates recently decided to outfit some of its A380s with denser twoclass cabins with more than 600 seats However a limited number of routes can handle that much capacity Furthermore an A380 seating layout that was truly comparable to Air Canadas dense 777300ER layout would have more than 700 seats Thus the increase in typical aircraft seating density is a big reason behind the weak A380 and 7478I sales Not too long ago a 777300ER would normally have been configured with about 300 seats In that world there was a clear market for larger 400500 seat planes to serve busy capacityconstrained airports With seating density on 777s quickly rising the market for even larger aircraft is fading The nextgeneration 7779X will be more sizable and fuelefficient than the 777300ER accelerating this phenomenon Airlines have realized they dont necessarily need more airplane to put more seats on busy routes A 400seat 747 or a 500seat A380 will clearly be more comfortable for passengers especially in the cheap seats But the more that economyclass passengers come to expect that they will be crammed in like sardines the greater the argument for putting 400500 seats on a 777 instead Airlines cant get enough of a premium for the extra space on a jumbo jet to justify the extra cost Perhaps there will eventually be enough demand at capacityconstrained airports to create a significant market for 600800 seat jumbo jets Until that is the case Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 orders will probably remain few and far between Adam LevineWeinberg owns shares of The Boeing Company The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days We Fools may not all hold the same opinions but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy Author Adam LevineWeinberg TMFGemHunter Adam LevineWeinberg is a senior IndustrialsConsumer Goods specialist with The Motley Fool He is an avid stockmarket watcher and a value investor at heart He primarily covers airline auto retail and tech stocks Follow him on Twitter for the latest news and commentary on the airline industry Follow AdamLLW Article Info Mar 1 2015 at 1135AM Industrials Stocks Boeing NYSE BA 32708 up 1618 520

O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


TransGlobe Energy TGA The Company through its whollyowned subsidiaries is primarily engaged in the exploration for and the development and production of oil and gas in Canada in the Arab Republic of Egypt and in the Republic of Yemen Updates from The Motley Fool Latest updates on TransGlobe Energy from Foolcom 3 Stocks to Get on Your Watchlist A beatenup national insurer a smallcap oil and gas company operating overseas and a potential Feb 26 2014 Foolcom 3 Stocks Near 52Week Lows Worth Buying Do these fallen angels deserve a second chance You be the judge May 28 2013 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Misses Where it Counts Just the facts Fool May 7 2013 Foolcom What Does Wall Street See for TransGlobe Energys Q1 Checking expectations May 6 2013 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Crushes Earnings Estimates Just the facts Fool Mar 8 2013 Foolcom Are You Expecting This from TransGlobe Energy Checking expectations Mar 4 2013 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Misses on Both Revenue and Earnings Just the facts Fool Nov 9 2012 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy in the Spotlight Soon Checking expectations Nov 6 2012 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Misses Where It Counts Just the facts Fool Aug 13 2012 Foolcom Coming Soon TransGlobe Energy Earnings Checking expectations Aug 6 2012 Foolcom 4Star Stocks Poised to Pop TransGlobe Energy Markettrouncing returns could be written in this fourstar Jun 13 2012 Foolcom Why TransGlobe Energys Shares Tumbled Is this meaningful or just another movement May 7 2012 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Misses on the Top and Bottom Lines Just the facts Fool May 7 2012 Foolcom Transglobe Energy Shares Jumped What You Need to Know Is this meaningful or just another movement Sep 27 2011 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Shares Plunged What You Need to Know Is this meaningful Or just another movement Aug 8 2011 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Shares Popped What You Need to Know Is this meaningful Or just another movement Jul 5 2011 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Shares Popped What You Need to Know Is this meaningful Or just another movement Feb 7 2011 Foolcom TransGlobe Shares Plunged What You Need to Know Is this meaningful Or just another movement Jan 31 2011 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Shares Dropped What You Need to Know Is this meaningful Or just another movement Dec 14 2010 Foolcom Wall Streets Buy List Actions speak louder than words Nov 29 2010 Foolcom TransGlobe Energy Shares Plunged What You Need to Know Is this meaningful Or just another movement Nov 16 2010 Foolcom Wall Streets Buy List Actions speak louder than words Apr 20 2010 Foolcom 5Star Stocks on the Upswing Check out these newly minted fivestar stocks Oct 27 2008 Foolcom Making Cents in Penny Stocks While lowpriced stocks can be cheap for a reason they might also present some overlooked opport Oct 14 2008 Foolcom 5Star Stocks on the Upswing Check out these newly minted fivestar stocks Oct 9 2008 Foolcom View More Headlines TGA stock quote 180 007 37 BATS BZX Real Time Price as of January 2 2019 400 pm Stock Performance View Interactive TGA Charts Sponsored by Key Data Points Primary metrics and data points about TransGlobe Energy Current Price 180 Prev Close 187 Open 186 Bid 144 Ask 220 Days Range 177 194 52wk Range 120 413 Volume 271316 Avg Vol 188946 Market Cap 130M PE ttm 779 EPS ttm 024 Div Yield 000 75 Company Rating What our community thinks about TransGlobe Energy CAPS Rating 515 Outperform 29 Underperform CAPS All Stars 46 Outperform 7 Underperform Powered by CEO Rating The single most important factor in a companys success is the team thats leading the company Ross G Clarkson CEO 0 Approve Based on 0 Ratings Powered by Business Summary Industry sector and description for TransGlobe Energy The Company through its whollyowned subsidiaries is primarily engaged in the exploration for and the development and production of oil and gas in Canada in the Arab Republic of Egypt and in the Republic of Yemen Exchange NASDAQ Sector Basic Materials Industry Energy

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THE VOICE OF THE EUROPEAN NUCLEAR INDUSTRY Latest news FORATOM Opinions EU confirms nuclear as backbone of 2050 carbonfree Europe Nov 29 2018 Press Release Brussels 29 November 2018 The European Commission has confirmed that nuclear will form the backbone of a carbonfree European power system together with renewables With each Member State free to choose its own energy mix the Commission underlines that those which Newsfeed Nuclear must account for onequarter of energy mix to ensure Europe meets 2050 lowcarbon targets Nov 23 2018 Newsfeed If Europe is serious about decarbonising its economy by 2050 then onequarter of the electricity produced in the EU will need to come from nuclear writes Yves Desbazeille Twitter RT NIAUK Really insightful piece by the Polish Energy Ministry on the history and role of nuclear power and technologies httpst FORATOM 2 days ago Follow FORATOM_nuclear What does nuclear contribute to Europes economy Nuclear reactors in operation in the EU Billionyear Jobs Electricity production Discover What people say Miguel Arias Cañete By 2050 electricity will be coming from renewable energy sources together with nuclear power this will be the backbone of a carbonfree European power system Miguel Arias Cañete Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy source europaeu 22 November 2018

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197915 views Jun 26 2009 0700pm In Pictures Americas 10 Biggest Megachurches AP PhotoJessica Kourkounis Featuring huge stages rock bands jumbotron screens buckets of tears and oodles of money the enormity of the facilities pastor personalities and incomeover 85 billion a year all toldare impressive forces flourishing at staggering rates Sources Forbes average weekly attendance figures from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research AP PhotoJessica Kourkounis No 1 Lakewood Church Houston Texas Pastor Joel Osteen Average weekly attendance 43500 Annual budget 70 million With the largest megachurch in the country pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen reaches some 7 million television viewers in the US with his Christian lightstyle message which is broadcast to more than 100 countries Since his father the churchs former pastor died in 1999 Osteen has grown the nondenominational church seven times over reflecting the demographics of its diverse home city Osteen who preaches about the positives in life has made millions from his inspirational books Osteen deflects notions that a pastor should be poor says more riches means greater influence for ministry He and his wife Victoria are the AP PhotoMichael Stravato No 2 Second Baptist Church of Houston Houston Texas Pastor Edwin Young Average weekly attendance 24000 Annual budget 53 million Pastor Edwin Young 73 started the congregation 30 years ago with 300 people Today he has five campuses to work with Young says he continues to grow by focusing on youth the church baptized 668 teenagers at a recent beach retreat Only churches reaching kids are really growing he says All the rest of it is really fluff Matthew J Clark No 3 North Point Community Church Alpharetta Ga Pastor Andy Stanley Average weekly attendance 23000 Annual budget 385 million Known as a nondenominational church for the unchurched there are three campuses in the Atlanta area Pastor Andy Stanley preaches practical applications of the Bible AP PhotoBeth A Keiser No 4 Willow Creek Community Church Chicago Ill Pastor Bill Hybels Average weekly attendance 22500 Annual budget 362 million Started in the Chicago area in 1975 Willow Creek opened four more campuses in 2002 Today Dont let our size overwhelm you the church says Courtesy of LifeChurchtv No 5 LifeChurchtv Edmond Okla Pastor Craig Groeschel Average weekly attendance 21000 Annual budget 32 million The epitome of megachurchmultimedia evangelism there are 13 campuses spread across the country with video content feeds and supplementary materials to thousands of startup churches The church has a virtual campus with an online pastor for services held at lifechurchtv some 3000 people from 140 countries tune in throughout the week Groeschel a father of six started the church in 1996 Mark DavisGetty Images No 6 West Angeles Church of God in Christ Los Angeles Calif Pastor Charles Blake Sr Average weekly attendance 20000 Annual budget 15 million The spiritual home to celebrities Denzel Washington Stevie Wonder Magic Johnson and Angela Bassett and husband Courtney Vance Pastor Blake took over this Pentecostal church in 1969 with 50 members they have 80 ministries today Urging neighborhood revitalization following the Rodney King riots in 1992 he founded the West Angeles Community Development Corporation In 2001 he founded Save Africas Children an organization that provides direct care for children orphaned by and vulnerable to the pandemic of HIV and AIDS in subSaharan Africa Blake is the Bishop of the International Church of God in Christ AP PhotoDavid Pellerin No 7 Fellowship Church Grapevine Texas Pastor Ed Young Jr Average weekly attendance 20000 Annual budget 51 million Pastor Young is gaining on his fathers No 2 rank at Second Baptist in Houston Young 48 set out on his own in 1990 preaching to 30 families in a rented office complex We want those who are not believers to be comfortable but for those who are believers to be uncomfortable get out of their comfort zones to connect with others and bring them into the church he says The church has five campuses in the Dallas area and one in Miami that it merged with in 2006 growing from 11 people to about 700 Young describes his services REUTERSMario Anzuoni No 8 Saddleback Valley Community Church Lake Forest Calif Pastor Rick Warren Average weekly attendance 19400 Annual budget 36 million Formed in 1980 Saddleback carries the motto One family many locations Pastor Warren gave the inaugural invocation for President Obama He authored The PurposeDriven Life a book that has sold more than 30 million copies Warren and his wife practice reverse tithing giving 90 of their earnings to the church and keeping the remaining 10 Courtesy of the Calvary Chapel No 9 Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Fla Pastor Robert Coy Average weekly attendance 17000 people Annual contributions 403 million in tithes and offerings 2008 The South Florida Mecca brings in an additional 198 million a year in revenue from the likes of a bookstore café thrift store and publications sales tuition fees from a school and grants Courtesy of the Potters House No 10 The Potters House Dallas Texas Pastor TD Jakes Average weekly attendance 17000 people Annual budget declined to release figure The Potters House has had an explosion of growth Pastor Jakes started with 50 families in 1996 The nondenominational churchs Prison Satellite Network Broadcasting is fed to some 260 corrections centers in the country according to the church Web site Site Feedback Tips Reprints Permissions Terms Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

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187328 views Dec 16 2017 0316pm Best Laptop 2017 MacBook Pro 13 Vs HP Spectre 13 Vs Dell XPS 13 Review The Winner Is Brooke Crothers I cover and review consumer tech HP Spectre 13 HP manages to squeeze a quadcore 8th Gen processor into a 04inch thick chassis Credit HewlettPackard UPDATE Apple HewlettPackard and Dell all offer solid 2017 versions of their flagship 13inch models Ive been using all three So which one comes out on top Note that both the batterylife and ports discussions have been updated and biometric and keyboard notes added at bottom The configurations that Ive been using are the late 2017 HP Spectre 13 with 8th Generation Intel quadcore processor Core i7 855oU 8GB memory 256GB of storage The late 2017 version of the Dell XPS 13 with the same 8th gen Intel quadcore processor and a config of 16GB512GB A nd the mid2017 13inch MacBook Pro with 7th Generation Intel processor Core i5 rated base speed of 23 GHz 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage Note that this is a concise not exhaustive review and is meant to be a quickread Im going to rate the laptops on six key metrics in order to keep the comparison as concise as possible And yes the Dell XPS is a fullyspecdout model so I have to compensate for that Dell XPS 13 also packs a new Intel 8th Generation quadcore processor Credit Dell Design this matters if you plan to hold on to your laptop for a long time The HP Spectre is the lightest and sleekest 245 pounds and uses both machined aluminum and carbon fiber The design is impressive because it squeezes a quadcore processor into an impossiblythin 041inch thick chassis And its definitely a looker The Dell XPS 13 is about 27 pounds and its weaved carbon fiber palm rest give it a distinct look The 13inch MacBook Pro is just over 3 pounds but its built like a tank with its sturdy allaluminum construction Winner Im going to give it to the HP Spectre because its pushing the boundaries of ultrathin industrial design but still delivers good performance And HP redesigned the 2017 Spectre 13 using thinner display bezels reducing the footprint Ill add that the Dell XPS 13 has become an icon for 13inch laptop design with its thin display bezels and compact 12inch laptop form factor The only problem is the design is beginning to age a bit The MacBook Pro looks slightly dated against the HP but still looks great Apple 133inch MacBook Pro Credit Apple Performance I will focus on the biggest gap in performance That is the gap between SpectreXPS and the MacBook In other words HP and Dell have updated their offerings with the latest Intel 8th Gen quadcore Apple has not the latest MacBook Pro 13 uses 7th gen dualcore processors This is a pretty big deal because for the first time svelte 13inch laptops are able to tap into Intel quadcore performance Will the average consumer notice the performance gap between the 8thgen SpectreXPS and 7thgen MacBook Probably not Will the more performanceconscious notice Yes Thats the key takeaway for me That is the 8th gen quadcore feels faster to me and is a lot faster if you go by raw benchmarks MobileTechReview is seeing a 40 percent jump in performance 740 mark in video for some operations Thats big for a gentogen comparison Winner Both HP and Dell because theyve gone quadcore while maintaining ultraslim form factors with good battery life That said I wouldnt go so far as to call the MacBooks 7th gen Intel processor a slouch And on everyday tasks its more than adequate Battery life UPDATE This is updated with more realistic realworld batterylife ranges Its a close call between the Dell XPS 60 watthour battery and the MacBook Pro 545 WHr battery Battery life is dependent on so many factors its better to give a range imo Dell XPS 13 you could see 1012 hours ie allday if you keep a tight lid on things like screen brightness video binging and gaming Otherwise it could be a lot less like 6 8 hours or less And that applies to browsers too Run a browser with lots of tabs open running background processes and youre going to take a battery hit MacBook Pro 13 could get you up into the 10plus hour range Again that means keeping close tabs on power usage If you dont watch power usage then youre talking 68 hours or less HP Spectre 437 WHr youre talking about more than 6 hours maybe 7 or more depending on how much you task the processor and display Winner Dell XPS 13 The XPS excels at balancing quadcore performance with battery life And thats even with the QHD display on the config Im using Youll get even more battery life with the FHD display model which I dont have The MacBook Pro wont disappoint And HP does a commendable job considering how incredibly thinandlight the Spectre is Display Both the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Pro are veryhighresolution The XPS QHD touch screen has 3200by1800 resolution and the MacBook has 2560by1600 Note that on cheaper configs Dell uses an FHD display The HP is 1920by1080 FHD and now has a touchscreen as standard Regarding color accuracy Im going to defer to reviewers below who have more expertise than me XPS 13 a few of the reviews Ive seen including Lisa Gades say Adobe RGB andor DCI P3 see for DCI P3 coverage is a bit lacking on the Dell Ill add that its something I dont notice I eyeballed very unscientific by the way the XPS 13 against my veryaccurate LG 27inch UltraFine 5K display and saw little variation in color quality between the LG and Dell Moreover the Dell display is a pleasure to look at and use every day MacBook Pro Lets face it Apple is really good at making sure its displays are always top notch The MacBook Pro DCI P3 rating is very high good And nits brightness is very high too HP Spectre while the Spectres display is behind the MacBook on things like resolution and brightness it is perfectly fine for the vast majority of users and just about any business user Winner MacBook Pro 13 The MBP wins for color accuracy and brightness and for offering a Retina highresolution display as standard Display technology is a religion for Apple and it shows Ports UPDATE the XPS 13 HP and MacBook Pro all do a decent job with ports considering how thin compact and light all the laptops are They all have USB Type C Thuderbolt 3 and USB 3X ports Type C For example the HP Spectres bump on the back provides two Thunderbolt 3 USB TypeC and one USB 31 TypeC The XPS 13 has two standard USB 30 one wPowerShare and one Thunderbolt 3 USB TypeC The MBP 13 my lowcost config has two USB TypeC ports Winner No vendor really stands out Pricebangforbuck this for obvious reasons is paramount for most people After all any vendor can charge a lot of money for a specd out laptop with a UHD display fast processor 16GB of RAM and a big solidstate drive The trick is hitting the sweet spot That means a decently configured system at a reasonable price with good quality Winner Dell XPS 13 Its now priced at 114999 usually 1299 with a config that has an FHD display 256GB SSD and quadcore processor As I mentioned above I am not using that exact configuration I have the fully specd XPS config QHD display 16GB 512GB thats priced at about 1650 Thats also a very good price for those specs And would also win if I was doing a comparison between the Dell HP Apple laptops with those highend specs From left to right HP Spectre 13 late 2017 MacBook Pro 13 mid2017 and Dell XPS 13 late 2017 Credit Brooke Crothers Overall Winners Dell XPS 13 at 1299 regular price and HP Spectre at 139999 direct from HP The Dell wins on battery life performance along with HP and bangforthebuck As I said above its gorgeous triedandtrue and wellbuilt And it would win even if the specs on the Spectre and MacBook were jacked up to 16GB and 512GB SSD and if the HP was configured with a UHD display One footnote for better or worse consumers and reviewers like to see a laptops design get updated after 3 or 4 years Will that happen in 2018 for the XPS 13 We may find out at CES 2018 HP wins for being eminently totable 245 pounds and for its durable industrial design Its costly to build an incredibly thinlight laptop thats sturdy And the Spectre is dropdead gorgeous to boot And it is not a fingerprintbody oil magnet compared to the XPS palm rest which is You also get quadcore i7 8550U performance which includes Intel UHD 620 graphics a good FHD 1920by1080 display very good audio reasonable battery life and a 256GB SSD One drawback I didnt like was the display hinge which wont allow you to tilt the display as far back as the XPS and MacBook displays can go The MacBook Pro 13 mid2017 is a very highquality laptop and you can find one these days discounted for about 1150 with a 128GB SSD 8GB RAM and Intel 7th gen processor Up the SSD to 256GB however and the price jumps pretty considerably Price and the absence of Intels latest quadcore processors are the only things holding the MacBook back Addendumupdate biometrics Another reason I favored the XPS 13 and Spectre 13 over the MacBook Pro is biometrics The Dell XPS 13 even lowerpriced SKUs comes with a fingerprint reader and the Spectre has facial recognition via Windows Hello Both are essential and shouldnt cost extra You have to pay 1799 to get a 13inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that has an integrated fingerprint reader Addendumupdate keyboard With the goal of keeping the comparison as concise as possible I skipped the keyboard That said I found no glaring problems with the keyboardstrackpads on the XPS 13 Spectre 13 or 13inch MacBook Pro The only remarkably different keyboard is the MacBook Pros Butterfly keyboard which has limited travel and the tactile feedback can be less than satisfying for some users That said I like the butterfly keyboards on the 12inch MacBook and MacBook Pro but I may be in the minority Heres a short video I took showing the 3 laptops up close Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available Click here to visit our frequently asked questions about HTML5 video A discounted XPS 13 so the price could change in the future I didnt include audio but the HP Spectre and MacBook Pro have the best audio I was a founding member of CNET news and editor at CNET a contributing technology reporter for the New York Times and a reporter and editor at the Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly the latter in Japan where I lived for ten years Currently a contributing reporter for Fo Site Feedback Corrections Reprints Permissions Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

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3853 views Sep 13 2018 0154am JCrew Selling Its Mercantile Line On Amazon Right Strategy Wrong Execution Chris Walton Contributor I write serious and sometimes comic musings on retails evolution Tweet This Every retailer needs a virtual mall marketplace strategy and JCrew is no exception JCrew could be running the risk of becoming the first roadkill dead on the highway of the Virtual Mall Conundrum Share to linkedin Photographer Konrad FiedlerBloomberg JCrew recently joined the ever growing list of companies that have announced their plans to sell products on Amazon when it began selling its lowerpriced Mercantile line on Amazon last week While embracing the concept of digital marketplaces as Americas new virtual malls my quotes is the right move for JCrew and many others the specifics of how JCrew plans to engineer its marketplace strategy leave much to be desired and historic precedents also indicate that JCrews current plans may not end well at all The Virtual Mall Conundrum Mallbased retailers as everyone knows are in one hell of a tough spot Traffic is on the decline and retailers need new outlets for distribution Enter Amazon and what I call the Virtual Mall Conundrum The virtual mall question or conversation is likely being had across many a retail Csuite these days Just this past year alone Chicos Party City Sears and now JCrew have bitten into the previously forbidden apple and made plans to sell on Amazon Like it or not digital marketplaces are the new reality As first product search statistics indicate US consumers now look to Amazon and Google to find out more about what they want to buy than they look anywhere else Therefore the American mall is no longer physical it is virtual The salad days of the 1980s mall a la Fast Times at Ridgemont High are gone Every retailer needs a virtual mall marketplace strategy and JCrew is no exception How JCrew or anyone else determines and executes such a strategy is another set of questions entirely though The questions that everyone should be asking and answering are listed below and JCrew as you will see appears to be getting most of the answers all wrong Question 1 To Amazon Or Not To Amazon While I agree that JCrew needs to expand its virtual mall presence Amazon is not the right first partner for JCrew Amazon will be around and available for a long time so JCrew or any other company can always open up distribution on Amazon later on down the road If I were the CEO of JCrew I would have instead put feelers out to other companies who have the capabilities to create a more upscale virtual mall experience Macys for example could be a great partner JCrew and Macys could go together in much the same way Walmart has partnered with Lord Taylor only a JCrew and Macys partnership would be a much more formidable combination in the longrun Other specialty retailers would likely opt for the Macys marketplace option in droves over hooking up with Amazon or Walmart Look no further than the recent ire Walmart has drawn for its Moosejaw experiment as backing for this thesis At the end of the day when you have the cachet of a JCrew there are brandright massmarketdistribution alternatives to explore before directly going to Amazon One plus one could equal three with the right partnerships and planning Question 2 Should Retailers Worry Amazon Will Copy Their Successes This argument has been given a number of times for why brands should refrain from selling on Amazon Ironically former J Crew CEO Mickey Drexler gave it as one reason why he never decided to open up J Crew on Amazon Any brand worth its salt should not be concerned about this issue for two reasons First given how fast fashion moves Amazon should never be able to become more than a fast follower if a fashion retailer is doing its job well Good fashion retailers should be able to stay out in front of Amazon as the tastemakers Amazon doesnt know word one about making a market in fashion Second dont be naïve to think that this argument only pertains to Amazon either The manufacturing community also knows what designs are working and not working so they too can go directtoconsumer on the worlds marketplaces The likelihood of copycats is inevitable The best option then as a fashion retailer is to do what you do best to interpret the fashion trends beat everyone to the punch as fast as you can and play up what follows in Question 3 Question 3 Which Product Lines Make Sense The answer to this third and final question is the most pressing of all Once you bite into the virtual mall apple the answer to the question of which products to carry is paramount Expanding digital distribution with lowerpriced products than what a brand normally carries within its stores on a digital marketplace of the size and scale of Amazon brings with it some big risks On the surface if you think like an oldline retailer lowering the prices of products for distribution on Amazon might sound like a good idea I can hear the conversations across boardrooms now Lets protect our brand and give Amazon our lowerquality product That way our customers can only find our best stuff with us Whos with me No one should be Not even Jerry Maguire and his goldfish This viewpoint is misguided This view looks upon Amazon more as a new version of an outlet mall rather than as the virtual mall it has become In the case of JCrew once JCrew puts any product online at Amazon given first search proclivities people will start to go to Amazon to see what is available and consumers will the start to form their first opinions about JCrew based on what they see within the Amazon experience If the lowerpriced Mercantile line is all that consumers see then in the longterm consumers will see the cheaper products and start to ask Well if I The right answer instead is to buy into the virtual mall philosophy and to place the real deal JCrew product on Amazon Monitoring thirdparty reseller activity on Amazon is already a problem for many brands so being the one true source of branded product on a digital marketplace actually could have its advantages from a consumer trust standpoint and from the standpoint of fending off copycats mentioned above History Is A Useful Guide History bears witness to the above too A similar experiment has been run before ironically again with ties to Mickey Drexler Old Navy Back in the late 1990s Gap created Old Navy essentially disrupting itself by creating more points of distribution and by taking its core Gap product line down market Old Navys business exploded while growth in the mainline Gap brand has been tepid ever since Even recently there have been calls to examine just how valuable the Gap namesake brand is JCrews move to open up distribution on Amazon with its lower priced Mercantile line could mean history will repeat itself If consumers know they can get lowerpriced products with ease on Amazon these price points and product qualities will become the new standard of the JCrew brand over time People will gravitate to Amazon and this product line first devaluing the premium JCrew line and thereby giving consumers even less reason to venture into JCrew stores just as happened with Old Navy and Gap Implications The rules of the retail game have changed The old playbook no longer works Amazon is not just another distribution point It is our new American mall How a retailer looks at Amazon and other virtual mall options could make or break a brand in the years to come Embracing the new American mall superstructure is the right move but as with so many things the ultimate proof is in the pudding of execution JCrew a great American brand sadly could be missing the bigger picture JCrew could be running the risk of becoming the first roadkill dead on the highway of the Virtual Mall Conundrum I am a leading expert and influencer in omnichannel retailing with nearly 20 years of experience across nearly every discipline within retail Currently I am CEO and founder of Red Archer Retail and Omni Talk one of the fastest growing blogs in retail and I sit on the ad If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out my blog Omni Talk and my for even more great humor and insight Site Feedback Tips Corrections Reprints Permissions Terms Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

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Forbes CommunityVoice Connecting expert communities to the Forbes audience What is This 8781 views Jan 16 2018 0800am Being A Great Leader Means Giving And Receiving Feedback Jack Craven CommunityVoice Forbes Coaches Council CommunityVoice Post written by Jack Craven Jack coaches CEOs CSuite executives emerging leaders and the teams and companies they lead Jack is a former trial lawyer and CEO Shutterstock Imagine someone just asked if you would be open to some feedback What is your reaction Does your stomach tighten Do you feel fear or anger Do you anticipate that this feedback will be critical Are you already feeling defensive and believe that you need to explain rationalize and justify your actions I was all of the above I have learned a lot about feedback over the years When I ran my own business for 20 years I thought that I was open to feedback I often told my employees that I had an opendoor policy for everyone Then I got frustrated when I heard about backdoor gossip If I told employees that they could talk with me why werent they all coming to me directly The answer was in I reacted when others held opposing views It was when I measured my effectiveness by the results were employees freely coming in and giving me honest and meaningful Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone offer this perspective in the JanuaryFebruary 2014 issue of Harvard Business Review The feedback process strikes at the tension between two core human needs the need to learn and grow and the need to be accepted just the way you are The best leaders ask for more feedback according to a study done by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman In their research of over 50000 executives they found that Leaders who ranked at the top 10 in asking for feedback were rated on average at the 86 th percentile in overall leadership effectiveness Feedback is also tied to employee engagement In another recent study of over 22000 leaders Zenger and Folkman found that there was a correlation between low ratings from direct reports about the leaders ability to give honest feedback and low engagement scores Conversely if a leader was rated in the top 10 at giving honest feedback their reports ranked their engagement in the top 23 What steps can you take to encourage a feedbackrich environment An environment is feedbackrich if you are regularly both giving and receiving feedback First build safety and trust Are you both ready for feedback Are they or you in a reactive state If one of the parties is triggered they are likely not open to feedback and not available to really listen and take it in Think of a time that you just learned of a mistake or issue and then immediately went to the person involved They could probably feel your emotion and blame and they reacted defensively Instead pick a time when you are both calmer Second if you are both ready for feedback be direct in what you want to say Avoid the sandwich of praise criticism praise It dilutes your message and neither party leaves satisfied The leader often feels that they held back and the receiver isnt understanding the real issue Heres a subtle but key point that can frame the conversation Feedback is wisdom If your mindset is that you are sharing wisdom your tone and message will likely be better received and lead to the results that you want Third be regular in giving positive as well as constructive feedback The same is true when asking for feedback Fourth be a model If you are receiving feedback I suggest you breathe as you listen and take it in Then instead of defending your actions can you mirror back what you heard Conclude by saying thank you The other person will feel heard and will appreciate your receptiveness This will encourage more feedback You can share the feedback you received with other people on the team and ask them for feedback that shows you are listening In terms of my own progress as a leader I used the above steps to create a more feedbackrich culture at my company The highlight for me was when a longtime employee came into my office to share how difficult it was to have her role and salary impacted two years prior She revealed the hurt and anger she felt and that she had even considered quitting We had an honest conversation and both of us shared our points of view As we ended our talk she said that she felt more open and connected to me and to the Forbes Coaches Council is an invitationonly community for leading business and career coaches Do I qualify Jack coaches CEOs CSuite executives emerging leaders and the teams and companies they lead Jack is a former trial lawyer and CEO Site Feedback Corrections Reprints Permissions Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O B I B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

great leader
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jack craven


Forbes CommunityVoice Connecting expert communities to the Forbes audience What is This Aug 15 2018 0830am Virtual Meetings Bringing A Remote Team Together Dean Brenner CommunityVoice Forbes Coaches Council CommunityVoice Post written by Dean Brenner Dean Brenner is a recognized expert in persuasive communication and is President and Founder of The Latimer Group Shutterstock Its a fact of modern office life We all have to conduct business remotely And many of us have to bring together a team of farflung colleagues or reports We all know that absorbing information given to us over the phone or through video conferencing is much more difficult than in person for one thing its much easier to multitask when the other person cant see you and much harder to create a feeling of personal connection And as a leader it can be difficult to gauge whats happening on the other end of the line When you are working with a remote team you need to communicate often without being in the same room or even the same country Creating a team ethos that draws you all together helps everyone communicate effectively day after day A few techniques can help make you feel closer Create connection The hardest part of working with a virtual team is not feeling connected with each other Try to have getting to know you calls in which every member shares some personal information Or send around biographies that include information beyond a professional role Facilitate more casual conversations with a group instant message platform like Slack Carefully communicate around goals and progress This is important for any team but for those working remotely it is even more important to keep people in touch with goals decisions and progress The team leader needs to take the initiative to communicate with every team member so that everyone feels aligned and motivated Stay plugged in Schedule weekly or biweekly meetings to review goals and progress and give time for any issues to be brought up Since you dont have the opportunity to bump into each other in the hallway or swing by someones desk its important to create a regular predictable time for people to share ideas address problems and trade information Make it personal Add a few minutes to your regular meeting to acknowledge your team members by noting significant work accomplishments anniversaries or birthdays Hold occasional inperson gatherings Whenever possible try to get your team together in person even if only once a year Use video not voice Make the visual connection that video conferencing makes possible Being able to see each other not only forges stronger bonds it helps people stay focused on the task at hand When everyone is visible the team leader can spot when someone drifts off and bring them back in to focus on the task at hand Set expectations Let people know that you will ask questions and call on people and you will be actively seeking their participation Make sure no one feels blindsided by a call to participation and plant the seed that they should be looking for opportunities to jump in Cultivate participation Ask questions Tap someone to give a project update Share your screen and have a team member pull up documents while you continue to run the meeting Use polling software to keep people engaged and gather data from those less likely to speak up The more opportunities people have to be active in a remote meeting the less likely they will be to drift off check their email or start preparing for their next meeting Its undeniable that managing a virtual team has unique challenges but they dont need to be insurmountable With a little special attention cultivating a strong efficient team that communicates clearly and effectively is well within your reach Forbes Coaches Council is an invitationonly community for leading business and career coaches Do I qualify Dean Brenner is a recognized expert in persuasive communication and is President and Founder of The Latimer Group Site Feedback Corrections Reprints Permissions Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

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Oct 3 2014 0942pm Peter Thiels 4 Rules For Creating A Great Business Greg Satell Contributor Share to linkedin In Silicon Valley the PayPal Mafia reins supreme So much so that it is hard to think of any successful technology startup in the last ten yearsfrom Facebook and LinkedIn to YouTube and Yelpthat hasnt been touched by it in some way The Don of the PayPal mafia Peter Thiel is one of the most intriguing characters in business today He was a founder of PayPal as well of data analysis firm Palantir and is also a successful investor creating both Clarium Capital and the Founders Fund Yet it is not only Thiels enormous success that makes him interesting but also his contrarian views such as his libertarian politics and his program that pays kids to drop out of college Thiel recently published a book Zero to One based on the startup course he teaches at Stanford which summarizes his business philosophy and gives four rules for creating a successful company Rule 1 Build Proprietary Technology That Is 10x Better One of Thiels core tenets is that capitalism and competition are in conflict so an entrepreneurs key goal is create a monopoly Thats why Thiel says its always a red flag when entrepreneurs talk about getting 1 of a 100 billion market In his mind any plan that seeks out robust competition is not a very good plan So Thiel regards proprietary technology as essential Not just any technology mind you but one that provides a 10x performance improvement over the closest substitute Even as a startup Amazon could offer at least ten times more books than a traditional book store just as it could be argued that PayPal made buying and selling on eBay ten times easier While this rule is very difficult if not impossible to put into strict practice Amazon didnt start out with technology that was particularly unique and its hard to define what ten times easier means it is a good way to think about how your business creates value If youre not shooting to produce something significantly better then whats the point Rule 2 Look For Network Effects Everybody uses Microsoft Office because its the most common software PayPal is only convenient because it is popular which makes it easy to find places that will accept payments from it Facebook is useful because you can find your friends there These are all examples of businesses that benefit from network effects What makes a network based business so perfectly suited for a startup is that they are often unattractive to large established players As Tim Kastelle points out in a recent post network effects take time to develop so at least in the beginning they are unlikely perform well by conventional metrics But in time they can become blockbusters Thiel recommends that entrepreneurs go after small markets in which network effects will take hold faster and points to his experience at PayPal as an example When the technology was focused on the disperse market of Palm Pilot users it never got very far However it was an early success on eBay which was a far more dense community Academic research backs him up on this point Studies done by Solomon Asch in the 1950s showed that people are highly influenced by local majorities and more recent research into network science suggests that network density is far more important that network size Rule 3 Create Economies of Scale Thiel like many others is a big fan of network effects because of their ability to produce accelerating returns to scale As the market grows each customer becomes increasingly valuable not just for what they buy but for the value they add to the rest of the network It is after all returns to scale that create outsize profits Many people assume that returns to scale are automatic but they are not As Ronald Coase showed in his famous 1937 paper organizational costs can mitigate scale advantages More recently its become clear that information technology has made scale advantages harder to sustain Its easy to see how a scalable market combined with network effects can make for a very disruptive business model You start with a market that is too small to attract competition and end up with a high margin business that is hard to attack Thats why every enterprise today needs to be taking advantage of open ecosystems to create value and lower costs Rule 4 Build A Strong Brand The last element that Thiel cites is branding although he goes into far less detail here than the other rules He uses Apple and Steve Jobs as an example which is fairly obvious but doesnt go much further than that Yet despite the minimal space that he gives to branding it is a very important pointand one that startups often dont pay enough attention to As Ive noted before intangible value usually accounts for the majority of the value of a successful business This is even true for resourcebased firms like Exxon 66 intangible value and retail giants like WalMart 70 We go to WalMart because it promises and delivers a low price We value Apple because we know that every product they make will be insanely great Google can attract the smartest people because it delivers on the promise of being a rewarding place to work Exxon gets access to opportunities that others dont because it has a history of performance A brand is essentially a promise We value brands that we trust and that applies not only to consumers but also to suppliers employees and other partners The Perils Of Mixing Philosophy With Business One final point about Thiels book is that it is strangely enough very much a work of Marxist philosophy He not only quotes directly from Marx throughout but his core argument about capitalism and competition being in conflict can also be found at the core of Marxs ideology While Marx saw economic rents in oppressive terms leading directly to class war Silicon Valleys libertarians see it as wholly positivea creative force that renders notions of fairness quite beside the point As paradoxical as it may seem Libertarians and Marxists are mirror images of each other sharing ideologies but coming to opposite conclusions This is worth mentioning because Marxism is a failed ideology whatever guise it comes in and while Thiel is a fantastic businessman and a very smart guy he is not a prophet Many of his arguments torture logicsuch as his treatment of the Rawlsian bargain and he has a history of reversing positions Some of his ideas are truly loopy So as a work of philosophy One to Zero falls far short However as a business book it is up there with the best of them For most of my career I developed and managed media businesses in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe Ive also held senior strategic roles in the Publicis Groupe Now Im back in the US speaking and consulting for a variety of businesses You can find my website at ww Greg Satell is a popular speaker and consultant His first book Mapping Innovation is coming out in 2017 Follow his blog at Digital Tonto or on Twitter DigitalTonto Site Feedback Tips 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O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


158450 views Apr 1 2013 1034pm 21 Most Admired Companies Making IT A Competitive Advantage Louis Columbus Contributor All enterprises regardless of what they produce or the services they deliver are really information businesses The accuracy speed and precision of IT systems means the difference between winning or losing customers keeping supply chains profitable and solidly translating new concepts into revenueproducing products and services The worlds bestrun services businesses have customerdriven IT as part of their DNA it is very much who these companies are internally In the recently published Gartner report CEO and Senior Executive Survey 2013 21 Top Companies Admired for Competitive IT completed between October and December 2012 which was part of the 2013 CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey Clevel respondents were asked to name the companies they most admired in terms of their ability to apply ITrelated business capabilities for competitive advantage Respondents were also asked to limit their responses only to their own and related industries 391 respondents participated in the survey with 147 being CEOs 149 CFOs 49 COOs and 46 being board members including Chairman of the board and president Geographic distribution included 152 respondents from North America 124 from Europe 78 from AsiaPacific 20 from Brazil 12 from South Africa and 5 from the Middle East with minimum company size being 250M in annual sales or above The following is the list of the worlds most admired companies using IT for competitive advantage Most Admired Companies Making IT A Competitive Advantage Accenture Amazon Apple Cleveland Clinic General Electric Goldman Sachs Google Hospital Corporation of America IBM Intermountain Healthcare JP Morgan Chase Kaiser Permanente Mayo Clinic Microsoft Nestle Procter Gamble Progressive Insurance Schlumberger Target Toyota Wells Fargo Key TakeAways Customerdriven IT is the single most admired trait of all 21 companies in the list Associated with this attribute is the proven ability of these enterprises to manage complex ecommerce systems platforms support multichannel management in addition to continually show the ability to innovate quickly Enterprises need to consider how the business successes their investments in IT are enabling can be used for branding and recruitment Providing benchmark performance data and stories of how IT helped create entirely new markets and solve customer problems needs to be used for recruiting Many of the 21 companies mentioned are doing this using success stories as a catalyst for driving recruitment efforts for analytics cloud computing and systems integration experts Dont underestimate the disruptive power of cloud computing and mobility to completely reorder enterprise systems quickly Gartner mentions that there are enterprises whose IT organizations would have made the list had they not slowed down While not directly stated Gartner warns IT departments to not become complacent over time From personal experience working in IT departments however it is clear that complacency is a leading career hazard Its imperative for CIOs to keep challenging their organizations to stay intensely focused on new developments seeking out how they can be used to strengthen business strategies Four of the top five factors that most impressed respondents about the admired companies are customerrelated Customerfacing IT 15 followed by an integratedstandardizedunified IT organization and process framework 13 exceptional use of CRM 11 customercentered innovation 9 and product design offerings 9 are the most mentioned attributes of the highestperforming companies Multiple responses were allowed to this area of the survey The following graphic provides an analysis of which factors most impressed the Clevel executives who were respondents to the survey I am currently serving as Principal IQMS Previous positions include product management at Ingram Cloud product marketing at iBASEt Plex Systems senior analyst at AMR Research now Gartner marketing and business development at Cincom Systems Ingram Micro a SaaS start Site Feedback Tips Reprints Permissions Terms Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

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Oct 28 2015 0414pm How To Bounce Back After Being Fired Roberta Matuson Contributor Its Monday morning and you walk into your office after a nice restful weekend As you open your desk draw to put your purse away your boss approaches you He asks to see you in his office right away From the tone of his voice you sense that this is not going to be one of those how was your weekend kind of conversations You grab your pen and notebook and march into his office His desk is clean with the exception of your personnel folder and an envelope the same size as your paycheck A weird feeling comes over you Your stomach starts to churn as he starts the conversation off with Its never easy to have this type of conversation You cant recall the rest of the dialogue since all you really heard was blah blah blah blah blah Its not until you leave his office paycheck in hand that you realize that you have just been fired The thought that you I coach a select group of people who are looking to turbocharge their job searches especially after a surprise termination Heres some of the advice I often share with them Bouncing back Believe it or not you will work again However it may take a while for you to pick yourself back up again and put your career back on track More than likely your ego has been bruised and it will take some time to heal While that is happening there are some things that you can be doing to get your career back on track Take Time to Mourn Hearing the words you are fired can be devastating Its a lot like having a stake plunged into your heart Your first tendency might be to ignore your feelings Dont make this mistake Its natural to feel a real sense of loss Take the time to work through your feelings so that they dont come back to haunt you when you least expect it Its helpful to have someone to talk to about your job loss If you need to seek professional help or engage the services of a job coach Getting back in the saddle At some point in time you will need to get back on that horse When you are ready to get back up in the saddle consider putting together a plan for your job search Your plan should include concrete goals and deadlines so that you can measure your success Work the Plan Going through the process of developing a plan can be very empowering Once this is done dont put your plan in the draw Keep it close by so you can check your plan daily to ensure that you are staying on track Hardest Calls First Procrastination is common when job searching We tend to make the easy phone calls first and then if we get around to it we might make some of the harder calls next Try reversing the order and see how much better things work Start your day by making the hardest calls first This way you wont spend countless hours cleaning out your closets just so you dont have to make these calls These extra hours can be put to better use Stay Networked Its easy to want to crawl into a hole and not come out when you are not working If you were a bear that might work fine for the winter But since you are not you need to stay visible Networking is a critical component of any job search and usually requires some facetoface contact Its important that you push yourself to get out and stay visible Start small and attend one networking function or meeting a week Then when you are more comfortable with your situation try bumping that number up Manage Your References Sooner or later you will need to provide your potential employer with a list of references Its a good idea to get this in order before you start interviewing Yes this list might need to include the boss who just fired you Contact your old boss and ask him or her if they would be willing to talk with potential employers about some of the positive contributions you made while working for them Be prepared to remind him or her of some of your more significant accomplishments If they wont agree to give you a positive reference then line up other people in the company who can attest to your attributes Its easy to cross you fingers and hope that you wont be asked for references but its very unlikely that this will occur so you are best off being prepared Before you know it you will be gainfully employed again The experience of being fired will stay with you for a while but you will have learned that their really is life after hearing those words Youre fired I am the leadership expert on talent who has worked with a number of companies including GM Best Buy Inc New Balance and Boston Beer I am the author of The Magnetic Leader Suddenly in Charge Managing Up Managing Down Succeeding All Around and Talent Magnetism and Roberta Matuson is the author of the newly released second edition of Suddenly in Charge The Magnetic Leader and Talent Magnetism Follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter matuson Site Feedback Tips Corrections Reprints Permissions Privacy 2019 Forbes Media LLC All Rights Reserved AdChoices

O O O O O O B I B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O