Joe Explains what Black Friday Is
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Joe sends his comments about Black Friday and this is a good learning experience for me:
Joe says: "Actually the term "Black Friday" is the start of the gift buying madness here and its not the day after Christmas but the Day after Thanks Giving, And since Thanks Giving is the last Thursday of November and its a 4 day weekend and that's why they called it Black Friday when 75% of the people here got nothing to do but shop, And since Christmas this year is on a Thursday that's why they had "Black Friday II because of the BAD economy retailer need to dispose of their left over merchandises."
Thanks for the information and I stand corrected. The family did our last minute this afternoon and the malls were quite busy though they closed early understandably. Only a few stores featured an additional 30% off on top of already marked down items but this special offer will only cover January 1-4 and that's all there is. With the limited budget and a limited allowance the kids had, (having an Ilocana for a mother at that...) they were not able to buy a lot of stuff. And the big... big bargain event expected on January 1 did not happen... at least not in this part of California. I had a great time. Bought a lot of books, spent hours in the bookstores and can't wait to share the information and the learning to our people back home. Yes... home.
J. H. Payne says: "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. " It's a funny feeling after all. Having the family with me here in California, enjoying their company, I would not trade this for anything in the world but somehow until we get home... the lack is still there. George Moore says it correctly: "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." And I can't wait to be back home.
Bailout, Credit Crunch and Black Friday?
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There are terms popularized by the economic meltdown happening in America and likewise in many parts of the world. Bailout. Credit Crunch. Meltdown. Inflation-deflation, implosion-explosion, currency devaluation etc. but the word that my children like seems to be Black Friday. These words do not refer to the Friday of Holy Week. But it does refer to retail stores clearing their inventories the day after Christmas and once more today on the first day of the New Year. Our family stayed 3 days in Vegas and they witnessed what a Black Friday was. "Remove another 20% on top of already cleared items..." We had just purchased some items earlier this morning but I found out that right after midnight, discounted items will still be discounted once stores open around 11 in the morning.
What a Year!
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To say that year 2008 has been a good year for me is an understatement. Year 2008 has been a Great Year! Gave more talks, (the most in my life so far) met new friends (all of them nice and exciting), learned new things. And when you have given a total of 376 talks in a year you can’t help but learn from the people you meet. Oh yes God has been gracious.
My son’s career is blooming, my daughter’s business is flourishing and my youngest daughter is entering college. We enjoy each other’s company. The Ilocana continues to support me and our many years of marriage has grown stronger so what else can a man ask for? What a year!
And then there were the challenges.
Everybody Loves A Winner… Or Do They Really?
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A big corporation recently hired several cannibals. "You are all part of our team now," said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing. "You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don't eat any of the other employees."
The cannibals promised they would not.
Four weeks later their boss remarked, "You're all working very hard, and I'm satisfied with you. However, one of our secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?"
The cannibals all shook their heads no.
After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals said to the others, "Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?"
A hand raised hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, "You fool! For four weeks we've been eating Managers and no one noticed anything, but nooooo, you had to go and eat someone they would really miss !!
Does this mean that most managers know less compared to secretaries? I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that there are cannibals in the work place. And these are the people who eat you up with envy and jealousy the moment they see you successful and that your success poses as a threat to their own. Everybody wants to be a winner but winning carries a heavy responsibility. Success is not as easy as you think it is. One of the least expected and most stressful results of success is the antipathy of others.
What Inspires You?
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What magnificent event happened in your life that inspired you to become a better person? I am genuinely interested in knowing you and your story.
Tell me all about it in not more than 500 words. Winning entries will get a book of mine for free. Just make sure your story is authentic, honest and real and I just might publish it in my column of the Philippine Star with your permission of course. Tell me about it so I can use your story to inspire others.
Send your stories to franciskong{at}businessmatters{dot}org with the subject line:
"My Story: Your Name".
A Mountain Top Experience
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(This was published in my column of the Business Page in The Philippine Star some time ago. The mountain top experience I had, the opportunity to speak and interact with the people in that place certainly has inspired me to become a better person. This is why I would like to share this with you. Hoping that this would inspire you too. I am sure you have your own defining moments that inspired you to become a better person. Better at your work, better being a parent or child or better a citizen of this country. You might want to tell me about it too.)
One day a little girl was visiting Sunday school when her teacher asked to which religion or denomination her relatives belonged. "Is it Catholic, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians OR Seventh-day Adventists?"
The little girl replied, "I think they are six-day atheists."
Many people I know have become nominal Christians and practicing atheists and they can be found in the work place. They don’t want this to happen but somehow it does. The pressures of the city and the demands of work have made life difficult and developed a sense of cynicism in them.
The Crunch and the Moral Implications
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From the October 2 issue of Reuters comes this article entitled: “A Moral Reason Behind The Crunch” so I want you to listen to this.
Evangelicals see moral decline in Wall St. woes, says Ed Stoddard.
Conservative U.S. Christians say their culture has gone wrong and has taken the economy and Wall Street down with it. It is a view which outsiders may find puzzling but has wide resonance in the U.S. heartland: the notion that moral decay and a lost sense of responsibility has brought on the worst banking and credit crisis since the Great Depression.
Christmas Savings Tips
1,678 views
Whenever you open the News Channel and you listen to what’s going on with the world’s economy you have every reason to feel depressed. Now that is not a very healthy way to handle the situation. What we should do as we view the world’s economic situation is to be thankful and to be appreciative of our current situation.
I was talking to a huge company president a couple of days ago and he says the reason why we are not hit that hard is because our scale has always been small. It’s like somebody living on the second floor and now he fell down to the ground floor. May be painful but not hard enough to kill him. Developed countries where you find huge and famous businesses have been up there on the penthouse and now their fall is hard enough to kill them. (hmmm... that’s a perspective...)
One view here is that as a country and as a people, we have all been accustomed to hardships and trials. Our country is a supermarket of calamities both natural and man-made... as a matter of fact more man-made than natural and we have always been resilient in facing trials. But this does not mean that we can be negligent and reckless in the coming days especially now that the whole country is into “Christmas Fever...”
So allow me to offer a couple of ideas on how to save money this Christmas.
First Impressions Matter
2,074 views
There was a major reorganization taking place in a multinational company in America.
And so the CEO is retiring and the buzz in the work place is that the most senior staying executive might take over his place. A consultant was brought in. The senior exec talked to him and wanted to get his personal opinion about the matter. The consultant was a frank, brutal-to-the-truth kind of man who looked at him and said, “Frankly, I don’t think you will be chosen by the board to head this organization.” The senior exec was devastated. He said, “But I have the seniority, I have the skills, I have the qualifications and I have the experience and it’s a logical choice that I will be the next CEO of this company.”
The business consultant turned confidant with a serious look on his face said, “Yes, my friend there is no doubt about that but... you just don’t have the CEO walk!”
The moment I came across this story I knew what that means.
No Excuses!
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I knew it was an 8:30 flight to Davao this is why I woke up 5:15 am took my time dressing up, dropped my car in Park and Fly, entered the Domestic airport at 6:05 AM. I looked at the board wanting to know what counter I should approach for the check in and to my horror saw that the flight to Davao was 6:30AM.
I blinked and I blinked again. Perhaps the early-morning-just-woke-up-still-lacking-in-my-sleep was playing tricks on me but there it was. It says: 6:30AM. And my watch says it’s now 6:06AM.
Quickly I rushed to the counter, hoping against all hopes that they would let me in.