Albert T. Wong - 黃頌言

Identifying Rock Star Job Candidates
• Commanding stage presence. When he speaks to you, there’s something about his energy that commands your attention. He’s got a cool confidence; a swagger that doesn’t come across as cocky. To be a future leader of a company, one has to be able to gain willing followers. Look for stage presence.

• Artistic vision. The other day, I asked him if he was going to sell chips with the lemonade and he said “Of course. The more chips people drink, the more they’ll want to buy lemonade.” Most adults wouldn’t think about that and here he is waxing philosophical about the physiology and psychology of consumer behavior. But he didn’t stop there. I told him I was going to cut down some trees in my front yard and he suggested I chop them up and sell the wood. Always looking for a new business opportunity. Don’t overlook the capacity for vision and innovation.

• Style. Meatloaf, Janis Joplin, and Van Halen. All rock stars. All completely different with a unique style. That’s part of what helped them stand out. They looked the part. My neighbor looks the part. Nicely dressed. If someone shows up to a job interview in a short-sleeve dress shirt and Looney Tunes tie, that person is probably not a rock star.

• Drive. I gave him a few suggestions on his business card design. 15 minutes later he was back at my doorstep with a revised card. He could have ignored my suggestions or come back a few days later, but he didn’t. Those who have “it” don’t wait until the last minute to get things done. They strive for continuous improvement and they keep you in the loop on their progress.

• Self-promotion. Every great band needs a little promotion. Something that will let people know who they are without coming across as “in your face” or too salesy. My neighbor doesn’t have an agent (yet) but he’s always looking for opportunities to promote his business. Look for candidates who can articulate their contributions to previous employers.

If you like doing home improvement, this guy’s one of the best on giving HOWTOs.

Home Improvement

Lets be Clear…..
What does clarity mean and how do you know if you have it?

The official definition is “free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression.” There is nothing more likely to create chaos in an organization than confusion and unclear communication. So, how does one establish clarity? Mr. Marcus Buckingham suggests you focus on four powerful and defining questions: 1 Who do we serve?, 2 What is our core strength?, 3 What is our core score? and, finally, 4 What actions can we take today?

Question 1: Who do we serve?
When answering this question, you must tell your team clearly and vividly, who their main audience is. Tell them who they should empathize with most closely. Tell them who will be judging their success. When you do this with clarity, you give your people confidence - confidence in their judgment and confidence in their decisions. It frees them to better serve those you have identified are the one audience whom they serve. Please do not give them many masters - it only adds confusion; pick one and focus on it. This clear strategy makes it easy to follow you.

Question 2: What is our core strength?
Thirty years ago, Peter Drucker wrote, “the most effective organizations get their strengths together and make their weaknesses irrelevant”. No statement could be truer today. Focusing on weaknesses brings down your team. Look at your core strength and go after the business and situations that play to this strength. Understanding and clearly communicating your core strength allows people to follow the vision you create.

Question 3: What is our core score?
Simply put, this means finding a way to measure success. This is the most important contribution you can give your organization or team. Once defined, your people know when they are achieving their objectives, when to work harder or faster, and when they are winning Defining that measure is hard, but essential. If you want people to follow you and take initiative, tell them what the core score is, so they know what to use to measure their progress. This also gives an additional benefit of people being able to manage their progress, so you dont have to be the one that always does it

Question 4: What actions can we take today?
Action is unambiguous. Actions are clear and they speak volumes. Actions let people know exactly what to do. As a leader, there are many actions that you can take each day. The question to ask is “what actions can I take today that will have the most meaningful impact on my people and those we serve, and will move us closer to achieving our goals?” Remember, choose your actions carefully, and choose just a few. Guided by the clarity of your actions, your team can move into the future easily and without the fear of the unknown. This will not only instill confidence in you, but also raise the confidence of your people.

Cliché Watch - Salary - Applicant

How much are your hackneyed personal strengths really worth?

Plenty, if you’re that go-to person. The average salary offered in nationwide job listings that seek clichéd applicant attributes, according to Indeed.com:

* Go-to guy/woman: $63,000

* Self-starter: $42,000

* Team player: $39,000

* Go-getter: $37,000

* Attention to detail: $30,000

The Master Connector
To know Bill Sobel is to be part of an interconnected world of endless opportunity.

Sobel, a master connector, knows practically everyone who matters in the media and entertainment space. Recognizing that his “skill set is who I know,” Sobel since the early 1990s has helped technology companies get into the media and entertainment space by tapping into his vast network.

To acknowledge that, however, doesn’t give justice to Sobel whose capacity for networking is seemingly boundless.

Check out the “Is It Better to Buy or Rent?” tool. It’s a great way to figure out your breakeven costs when you factor in rent, mortgage, tax savings, length of loan, etc etc. Basically what I found out, in Sacramento, it’s very cheap to rent vs. buy. In SoCal, it’s better to buy since rental costs and mortgages are pretty close.
A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent - New York Times
By the Realtors’ way of thinking, it’s always a good time to buy. Homeownership, they argue, is a way to achieve the American dream, save on taxes and earn a solid investment return all at the same time.

That’s how it has worked out for much of the last 15 years. But in a stark reversal, it’s now clear that people who chose renting over buying in the last two years made the right move. In much of the country, including large parts of the Northeast, California, Florida and the Southwest, recent home buyers have faced higher monthly costs than renters and have lost money on their investment in the meantime. It’s almost as if they have thrown money away, an insult once reserved for renters.

Most striking, perhaps, is the fact that prices may not yet have fallen far enough for buying to look better than renting today, except for people who plan to stay in a home for many years.

With the spring moving season under way, The New York Times has done an analysis of buying vs. renting in every major metropolitan area. The analysis includes data on housing costs and looks at different possibilities for the path of home prices in coming years.