If You’re Always Working, You’re Never Working Well

In early April a series of reports appeared online in the United States and the United Kingdom lamenting the “lazy French.”  A new labor law in France had apparently banned organizations from e-mailing their employees after 6 p.m. In fact, it turned out to be more a case of “lazy journalists” than “lazy French”: as The Economist explained, the “law” was not a law at all but a labor agreement aimed at improving health among a specific group of professionals, and there wasn’t even a hard curfew for digital communication.

Like all myths, however, this one revealed a set of abiding values subscribed to by the folk who perpetuated it. Brits and Americans have long suspected that the French (and others) are goofing off while they — the good corporate soldiers — continue to toil away.  They’re proud about it too. A Gallup poll, released in May, found that most U.S. workers see their constant connection with officemates as a positive.  In the age of the smartphone, there’s no such thing as “downtime,” and we profess to be happier — and more productive — for it.

Are we, though?  After reviewing thousands of books, articles and papers on the topic and interviewing dozens of experts in fields from neurobiology and psychology to education and literature, I don’t think so. When we accept this new and permanent ambient workload — checking business news in bed or responding to coworkers’ emails during breakfast — we may believe that we are dedicated, tireless workers. But, actually, we’re mostly just getting the small, easy things done. Being busy does not equate to being effective.

And let’s not forget about ambient play, which often distracts us from accomplishing our most important tasks. Facebook and Twitter report that their sites are most active during office hours. After all, the employee who’s required to respond to her boss on Sunday morning will think nothing of responding to friends on Wednesday afternoon. And research shows that these digital derailments are costly: it’s not only the minutes lost responding to a tweet but also the time and energy required to “reenter” the original task. As Douglas Gentile, a professor at Iowa State University who studies the effects of media on attention spans, explains, “Everyone who thinks they’re good at multitasking is wrong. We’re actually multiswitching [and] giving ourselves extra work.”

Each shift of focus sets our brain back and creates a cumulative attention debt, resulting in a harried workforce incapable of producing sustained burst of creative energy. Constant connection means that we’re “always at work”, yes, but also that we’re “never at work” — fully.

People and organizations looking for brave new ideas or significant critical thinking need to recognize that disconnection is therefore sometimes preferable to connection. You don’t ask a jogger who just ran six miles to compete in a sprint, so why would you ask an executive who’s been answering a pinging phone all morning to deliver top-drawer content at his next meeting?

Some parts of the workforce do rely on constant real-time communication. But others should demand and be given proper breaks from the digital maelstrom. Batch-processing email is one easy solution.  Do it a few times a day and reserve the rest of your time for real work.  Most colleagues and clients will survive without a response for three hours, and if it’s truly urgent, they can pick up the phone.

The great tech historian Melvin Kranzberg said, “technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral.” That statement should become a real tenant of the information age. I don’t advocate abstinence or blanket rules like that fictional post-6 p.m. email ban.  (Though, if you want to try unplugging for a weekend, check out my “analog August” challenge.)

However, I do think our cult of connectivity has gone too far. We can’t keep falling prey to ambient work or play. Instead, we must actively decide on our level of tech engagement at different times to maximize productivity, success, and happiness.

Source: http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/08/if-youre-always-working-youre-never-working-well

Richard Branson: 'There's No Shortcut or Magic Recipe to Success'

Q: Are there any quick ways to succeed in business without spending a huge amount of money on marketing? -- Geraldo Kandonga Fillipus, Geraldo Financial Solutions, Namibia

Source: Google+

Unfortunately there’s no shortcut or magic recipe to success -- or if there is, I haven’t found it yet. Creating a successful and profitable business takes time, since you build your reputation as customers learn to trust and rely on you, one by one.

Also, there’s no guarantee that spending a huge amount of money on marketing will slingshot your business forward. If you spend your time looking for shortcuts, you will find one -- right out of business.

While there are no set rules for succeeding in business, over my 40 years as an entrepreneur I have embraced some rough guidelines that can be very helpful:

1. Create a Useful Product or Service

Above all else, you should not go into business purely for financial reasons. Running a company involves long hours and hard decisions; if you don’t have a better reason than money to keep going, your business will more than likely fail, as many new businesses do.

So it’s important to create something of use that is going to benefit society as a whole. If you do something you truly care about, you will be in a much better position to find customers, connect with them, and keep them coming back.

Once you have decided on the type of product or service that interests you, focus on how to do things differently from the competition: Do your research, find a gap or an area ripe for innovation, and position your business in a way that sets it apart.

2. Simplify Your Message

Customers don’t just shop for a brand and its products, but also identify with its core values. Ask yourself, why did I start my business? Be honest -- this will help you establish an authentic value and voice. Then distill your message into something simple.

At Virgin, we stand for great customer service, good value and innovative alternatives to our competitors’ offerings. Most importantly, we view business as a force for good. Knowing who we are and what we stand for ensures that we don’t waste time or money on messaging that doesn’t represent us or resonate with our customers.

3. Market Yourself

Marketing is a powerful tool, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. My mentor, Sir Freddie Laker, a man who had started a company to challenge British Airways on their home turf, gave me some invaluable advice when I was starting up Virgin Atlantic Airways. Knowing that we couldn’t match the more established airlines in terms of marketing budget, he encouraged me to drive the publicity myself: “Use yourself. Make a fool of yourself. Otherwise you won’t survive.”

I took his advice and I’ve been thinking up fun ways to stand out from the crowd and draw the media’s attention to our company ever since, from breaking world records to pulling pranks.

While I’ve always been interested in sports and physical challenges, that might not be the route for you. Find your tone, know your brand, do things your own way, and create waves. The free advertising will follow.

4. Embrace Social Media

Tools like Twitter and Facebook are wonderful ways to get your message out to a wide audience. Social media is not only more cost-efficient than advertising, but it also offers great opportunities for innovative engagement with your customers. Use it to your advantage.

Remember that there is a difference between selling and marketing. In my experience, selling a product through social media doesn’t work -- it’s better to simply communicate with your customers in an authentic way and have fun. As you build an online profile that people can identify with and trust, you’ll find that they will soon become customers.

The feedback you receive on social media can be invaluable, especially when your business is just starting out. Listen to your customers’ comments about your company’s offerings to gain an understanding of what you are doing right and wrong. You can also use this feedback to sharpen your social campaigns and measure the effectiveness of your calls to action.

5. Keep On Enjoying What You Do

If you genuinely love and believe in what you do, others will take notice and share your enthusiasm. Geraldo, in your case, this might prompt people to take out a loan with your company instead of another provider, or encourage them to recommend your company to a friend.

If you find your interest flagging, it’s time to make a change -- switch from operations to management, move on, expand into new territories, anything that interests you. To find success, you need to be fully committed or your work will show it.

Good luck!

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235955

Millionaires See Real Estate as Top Investment for 2014

U.S. millionaires see real estate as the top alternative-asset class to own this year, according to Morgan Stanley. (MS)

About 77 percent of investors with at least $1 million in assets own real estate, according to a survey released today by the New York-based investment bank’s wealth-management unit. Direct ownership of residential and commercial properties was the No. 1 alternative-investment pick for 2014, with a third of millionaires surveyed saying they plan to buy this year. Twenty-three percent said they expect to invest in real estate investment trusts, the second-most popular choice.

Wealthy investors are turning to a rebounding real estate market as fixed-income yields remain historically low and equities surge. U.S. commercial-property values rose 8 percent in the 12 months ended Jan. 31, and have jumped 71 percent since hitting their post-recession bottom in 2009, research firm Green Street Advisors Inc. reported today. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities is up 24 percent from its 2012 low.

“After a year where the Standard & Poor’s Index rose 30 percent, some millionaires are moving money out of traditional, long-only strategies to find outperformance, and turning toward alternatives such as real estate and private equity,” said Gary Kaminsky, a vice chairman at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in New York. “Sophisticated, high-net-worth investors are much more concerned about losses.”

Interest Rates

Wealthy investors see stocks getting expensive and interest rates staying stable or even declining over the next couple of years, Kaminsky said in an interview at a conference for Tiger 21 investors last week in Scottsdale, Arizona. That’s why they are looking more closely at alternatives including real estate for returns and income, he said.

Tiger 21 members, who have at least $10 million in investable assets, increased their average allocation to real estate last year to 21 percent as of the fourth quarter from 19 percent in the first three months of 2013, according to a separate study released by the New York-based group last month.

Will Ade, a Tiger 21 member, said real estate is a particularly attractive investment as stocks show vulnerability in 2014. The S&P 500 has fallen more than 4 percent this year, while developing-country stocks have tumbled on concern that the outlook for economies is worsening.

‘Lame’ Bull

“We had a great bull run last year,” Ade, a 60-year-old geologist, said in an interview today. “I don’t know if the bull is dead, but it certainly is lame right now.”

This year may be the tail-end of attractive investments in property before interest rates rise, said Ade, who has made his money finding oil companies and private investors to fund the drilling of wells. He said he is trying to purchase residential real estate in Miami right now.

“The really good real estate deals are getting harder and harder to find,” Ade said. “Once interest rates start to go up, whether it’s farmland or single-family dwellings there’s going to be huge downward pressure on real estate.”

Foreign Buyers

The Manhattan high-rise condominium buildings One57 and 432 Park Ave., where units have gone under contract for more than $90 million, are evidence of the faith that the very wealthy have in real estate, said Mitchell Roschelle, real estate advisory leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Such properties have also attracted international buyers.

Wealthy foreigners have bought high-end U.S. properties for their safety and because they’re denominated in dollars, the world’s reserve currency, he said. This helps domestic millionaires maintain the value of their property investments.

“It creates competition, which drives the price up for everybody,” he said. “The sellers have multiple channels to sell into. That gives you more liquidity.”

Self-storage properties are among commercial real estate investments wealthy individuals are buying, Kaminsky of Morgan Stanley said. Retail shopping centers are seen as less attractive as more consumers shop online through companies such as Amazon.com Inc., he said.

Chilean Fund

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management surveyed 1,004 U.S. investors ages 25 to 75, with least $100,000 in assets, during the fourth quarter of last year. A third of them had more than $1 million.

BigSur Partners, a Miami-based wealth-management firm, has been helping some of its wealthy clients, who usually have at least $50 million, work with institutional investors such as a Chilean pension fund to invest in commercial real estate, said Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Pakciarz. Deals include an office building in Princeton, New Jersey, he said.

“We don’t feel there’s a lot of value in emerging-market bonds, high-yield bonds and highly rated fixed income,” Pakciarz said.

Owning the real estate is attractive because of the expected appreciation of property value and stream of rental income, as well as better control and supervision over the investments, he said. The firm has also bought office properties in Pittsburgh and Boston, multifamily residences in Texas and some industrial buildings for clients, and is looking for more opportunities this year in real estate purchases or lending, he said.

This article was written by  Margaret Collins and David M. Levit.

In 2014 Real Estate in Michigan should be called the comeback kid.  Values in Metro Detroit are up double digits in each region.

What do you think 2015 will bring? (please comment below)

Source: http://reiaofmacomb.com/millionaires-see-real-estate-as-top-investment-for-2014

Would You Move for $1 Million in New Wealth?

America is a nation on the move.  The Census Bureau says 35.9 million of us picked-up and went somewhere else in 2013, almost 12% of the entire population.

We move because of such things as jobs, climate, family and schools but there’s another reason as well: A good move can be worth $1 million and maybe more.

Interest Rates & Savings
The push to save has been demolished during the past few years because retirement accounts and savings no longer produce attractive yields.  At this time a five-year CD pays about 1.6%.  That means if you have $1 million in the bank you might earn almost $16,000 a year.  Given that inflation in May was 2.1%, that $1 million — even after interest — is losing buying power at the rate of about $5,000 a year ($1,000,000 x 2.1% = $21,000 less $16,000 = $5,000).

Mind you, you get that tasty 1.6% rate only if you commit to a five-year deal.  If you think rates might move higher and opt for a one-year CD term then the interest rate plummets to perhaps 0.85%, so you really take a beating after inflation.

Taxes, of course, make everything worse.

You get the sense that a lot of people have looked at the numbers and come to a few conclusions:

• First, there are a lot of places in the U.S. where real estate is very expensive and state taxes are through the roof.
• Second, there are six jurisdictions with no state income taxes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
• Third, 27 states, according to The Best Times, do not tax Social Security benefits.
• Fourth, a realistic tax picture means you also need to look at such things as property and sales taxes.  The Tax Foundation has done this and for 2011, the latest available year, found that Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, Texas and Louisiana had the lowest overall tax burdens.  The highest?  Leading the league we had New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, and Wisconsin.

The New Equation
The usual idea is that people don’t want to move if it means they’ll earn less, the likely reason why D.C., Alaska and North Carolina have lead the nation with in-migrations during the past decade according to Atlas Van Lines.

But what if we look at the issue differently?  Imagine if we elect to move and that the need for an equivalent salary disappears.

Let’s look at some numbers:

The Johnson’s have a San Mateo home valued at $750,000 — a lot in most places but far less than the sale price for the average existing San Mateo home.  They pay $2,500 a month for principal and interest, $350 a month for property taxes and $70 a month for insurance, a total of $2,920 per month or $35,040 per year.

The Johnson’s have a household income of $175,000, the top state tax rate for them is 9.3% and they pay $11,400 in state income taxes, according to the California Franchise Tax Board.  (The top rate in California is 13.3% according to Kiplinger.

They’ve owned their home for a decade and now have $300,000 in equity.

Then the Johnson’s move.  They buy an equivalent home three hours from New Orleans — in Pensacola, Fla.  There’s no state income tax, according to Kiplinger.  There’s no estate tax.  There’s no inheritance tax.  There’s no mortgage because the Johnson’s buy for cash.  Property taxes are $2,400 a year because the value of their new home is far lower than their property in California.  With a pool they pay $2,000 a year for property insurance.  Average cost per month: $366.  Total per year: $4,400.

Would the Johnson’s have a lower salary in Florida?  Probably.  According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, a manager in San Mateo County is likely to make $50.67 an hour.  In Pensacola the typical wage for the same job would be $43.41 — about $7.26 an hour less or $14,520 a year.

Think of it this way: A five-year CD that pays out 1.6% annually would need a face value of roughly $1 million to generate $16,120.  Of course, a CD that generates 0.85% would need a balance of nearly $1.9 million to produce the same annual payout.

Is this a big deal for many households?  You bet.  The average 401(k) has assets of just $89,300, according to Fidelity Investments.

For balance, the Johnson’s in Pensacola are also likely to have a lifestyle with less traffic, lower costs and fewer tremors — the last earthquake in Pensacola took place in 1781, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  Moreover, the money they save on taxes and higher mortgage costs can be used to create further savings through the faster repayment of student loans, auto financing and credit card debt.

Perhaps most importantly, with a smaller financial nut maybe they don’t have to take the worst job in the world or work so many hours.

According to Vizynary.com, in 2012 a total of 493,641 people took up residence in California — and 566,986 left.  For Florida in the same year, 537,148 people moved in while 428,325 migrated elsewhere.

Where we live involves such concerns as lifestyles, job opportunities, schools and personal preferences.  Money is also part of the equation and for many Americans it’s a part which is getting harder and harder to ignore in a tough job market — especially when the equivalent of massive savings are as close as the nearest moving van.

Source: http://www.noradarealestate.com/blog/would-you-move-for-1-million-in-new-wealth

Commercial Property Prices Pick Up Steam in May

Good news for commercial property investors: prices are on the rise.

After months of sluggish growth, U.S. commercial property values grew 2% in May, according to the Green Street Commercial Property Price Index, released Thursday.

The index, which focuses on higher-quality properties around the country owned by real estate investment trusts, is up 4% year-to-date, and 9% above its 2007 high.

The increased momentum comes as REITs have enjoyed something of a rally in the first half of the year, reversing a 2013 slump as worries about rising interest rates have subsided. The Dow Jones Equity All REIT Total Return Index is up more than 15% since January, compared with less than 2% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

“It’s likely the trend continues,” Peter Rothemund, an analyst at Green Street Advisors, said in a news release. “Real estate pricing currently looks attractive.”

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2014/06/05/commercial-property-prices-pick-up-steam-in-may