Monday, January 27, 2014

Leader Quotes


 

 1. Ir. Soekarno - Presiden Pertama RI
Dalam sebuah revolusi, bapak makan anak itu adalah hal yang lumrah.

 
2. Soeharto - Presiden Kedua RI
Siapa saja yang mencoba melawan, akan saya gebuki.

 
3. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) - Negarawan, Ulama, Presiden ke-4 RI
Tergantung pemerintah. Kalau pemerintah campur tangan terus dalam segala hal yang terjadi, adalah kami tidak ada jalan lain adalah membisikkan pada para pemilih golput aja bareng-bareng.

 
4. Megawati Soekarnoputri - Presiden ke-5 RI
Nabi saja seorang pemimpin, tapi nggak sarjana kok.


5. Mark Twain - Penulis
Saya tidak suka dengan perkelahian. Bila saya memiliki musuh, saya akan memaafkannya, mengajaknya ke tempat yang tenang, baru menghabisinya di sana.

 
6. Ann Landers - Kolumnis
Satu dari empat orang di dunia ini mengalami gangguan jiwa. Bila tiga orang yang Anda kenal baik-baik saja, berarti Andalah yang mengalaminya.

 
7. Zsa Zsa Gabor - Aktris
Saya adalah penjaga rumah yang hebat. Setiap kali saya meninggalkan seorang pria, saya selalu berhasil memiliki rumahnya.

 
8. Henry Ford - Pendiri Ford Motor
Berpikir adalah pekerjaan terberat, karena itulah sedikit sekali orang yang mau menggunakan otaknya.

 
9. Alexander Dumas the Younger - Pebisnis
Bisnis? Caranya mudah sekali: gunakan saja uang orang lain.

 
10. Angie Dickinson - Aktris
Saya berbusana agar dilihat wanita, dan menanggalkan busana agar dilihat pria.

 
11. Albert Einstein - Fisikawan
Memahami pajak adalah hal yang paling sulit dimengerti di dunia ini.

12. Samuel Goldwyn - Produser Film
Saya tidak mau dikelilingi orang yang bermental ‘yes-man’. Saya ingin orang yang mengatakan kebenaran meskipun setelah itu saya akan memecatnya. Kita membayar gajinya terlalu besar, sialnya lagi dia pantas menerimanya.

 
13. Roberto Goizueta - Pemimpin Coca Cola
Musuh-musuh kita adalah kopi, susu, teh dan air putih.

 
14. John Paul Getty - Miliarder
Bila Anda berhutang 100 Dollar, andalah yang pusing. Tapi bila Anda berhutang 100 juta Dollar, bank yang akan pusing.

 
15. Herbert Hoover - Presiden AS ke -31
Berbahagialah generasi muda, karena merekalah yang akan mewarisi hutang bangsa.

 
16. AnatoleFrance - Penulis
Buku sejarah yang tidak mengandung kebohongan pastilah sangat membosankan.

 
17. Woody Allen - Sutradara Film
Ternyata bertemu penjual asuransi jiwa adalah lebih buruk daripada kematian itu sendiri.

18. T.S. Eliot - Penulis


Penulis yang masih muda, meniru. Penulis yang sudah berpengalaman, mencuri ide.

19. Agatha Christie - Novelis Misteri
Kolektor barang antik adalah suami yang paling baik, karena semakin tua istrinya, semakin ia mencintainya.

 
20. Alfred Hitchcock - Sutradara Film Misteri
Saya tidak pernah bilang bahwa para aktor adalah sapi. Saya hanya bilang mereka harus diperlakukan seperti sapi.

 
21. Alan King - Komedian
Bila engkau ingin membaca tentang cinta dan perkimpoian, maka engkau harus membaca dua buku yang berbeda.

 
22. AnatoleFrance - Novelis
Jangan pernah meminjamkan buku karena tidak akan pernah dikembalikan. Buku-buku di perpustakaan saya semuanya adalah hasil pinjaman.

 
23. Voltaire - Filsuf
Apabila kita bicara soal uang, maka semua orang sama agamanya.

 
24. D.H. Lawrence - Penyair
Hasil dari kerja adalah uang. Hasil dari uang adalah lebih banyak uang. Hasil dari lebih banyak uang adalah kompetisi yang ganas. Hasil dari kompetisi yang ganas adalah dunia yang kita diami ini.

 
25. Lyndon B. Johnson - Presiden AS ke-36
Apabila dua orang selalu sepakat dalam segala hal, itu berarti cuma satu orang yang berpikir.

 
26. Robert Neville - Aktor
Hidup bersama orang suci ternyata jauh lebih melelahkan daripada menjadi orang suci itu sendiri.

 
27. Charles de Gaulle - Presiden Perancis Pertama
Politisi tidak pernah percaya akan ucapan mereka sendiri, karena itulah mereka sangat terkejut bila rakyat mempercayainya.

 
28. Thomas Alva Edison - Penemu
Banyak orang yang percaya bahwa suatu hari kala mereka bangun dari tidur, mereka sudah menjadi kaya. Sesungguhnya mereka sudah separuh benar karena mereka memang telah bangun dari tidur.

 
29. James Baldwin - Penulis, Aktor
Semua orang memuji-muji surga, tapi tidak ada yang mau pergi ke sana sekarang juga.

 
30. Don Marquis - Kolumnis
Orang yang munafik adalah orang yang...“hey, siapa sih yang tidak munafik”.

 
31. Benjamin Franklin - Negarawan
Orang yang pandai meminta-minta maaf, jarang sekali pandai melakukan hal-hal lain.

 
32. Joseph Stalin - Pemimpin Politik
Kematian satu orang adalah tragedi, kematian jutaan orang adalah statistik.

 
33. Will Rogers - Pelawak Politik
Politik itu mahal, bahkan untuk kalahpun kita harus mengeluarkan banyak uang.

 
34. Adolf Hitler - Pemimpin Nazi
Alangkah beruntungnya penguasa bila rakyatnya tidak bisa berpikir. Aku tidak perlu berpikir karena aku adalah pegawai pemerintah.

 
35. Clement Attlee - Perdana Menteri Inggris
Demokrasi adalah pemerintahan yang diisi dengan banyak diskusi, namun demokrasi hanya efektif bila engkau mampu membuat orang lain tutup mulut.

Kata - Kata Ajaib untuk Kehebatan Marketing Bisnis Anda

Buat kalian yang suka atau sedang menjalani profesi dibidang periklanan, sales marketing dan lain sebagainya. Sepertinya ini saatnya kalian tahu tentang 30 kata marketing ajaib yang harus Anda terapkan pada posting social media, artikel, email penawaran, konten website, dan sebagainya:

1. Anda
Menulislah seolah – olah Anda sedang ngobrol dengan teman Anda, jangan membayangkan diri Anda yang berasumsi sendiri.

2. Karena
Beri pelanggan Anda alasan untuk segera melakukan “action”. Perhatikan juga sasaran pelanggan (target market) Anda, karena alasan untuk target market yang tidak tepat justru akan membuat Anda dianggap bodoh.

3. Gratis
Karena semua orang menginginkan hal yang berbau gratis. Coba tanyakan kepada 10 teman Anda maka semua pasti akan memilih sesuatu yang gratis daripada yang berbayar.

4. Nilai
Buat seolah – olah pelanggan mendapatkan sesuatu, bukan kehilangan sesuatu. Contohnya jangan menggunakan kata “uang”, melainkan “biaya” atau “harga”, karena jika Anda mengatakan “uang”, maka pelanggan akan terkesan kehilangan uang mereka. Tetapi gunakan kata “biaya”, maka mereka akan terkesan mendapatkan sesuatu kemudian memberikan gantinya.

5. Garansi
Berikan garansi kepada calon pelanggan Anda, sehingga mereka akan merasa aman terhadap kemungkinan resiko yang akan dihadapi. Garansi tidak harus muluk – muluk, yang simple dan mudah pun tidak menjadi masalah, asalkan dikemas dengan kata-kata yang bagus. Yang terpenting adalah Anda harus “sanggup” memenuhi garansi tersebut. Garansi ini sebagai ikatan Antara Anda dan calon pelanggan Anda.

6. Luar biasa
Seperti halnya GRATIS, orang cenderung senang dan cepat tanggap dengansesuatu yang luar biasa.

7. Mudah
Buatlah langkah yang semudah mungkin untuk calon pelanggan Anda menjadi pelanggan Anda. Bahkan kalau perlu hanya satu langkah mudah agar bisa menikmati kemudahan layanan Anda.

8. Temukan
Ciptakan hal baru dan buat pelanggan Anda penasaran dan ingin mencoba hal tersebut. Dalam hal ini yang perlu diperhatikan adalah cara menyampaikan hal baru tersebut kepada calon pelanggan Anda dan buat mereka penasaran untuk menemukan hal baru tersebut.

9. Sekarang
Buat motivasi agar pelanggan Anda melakukan keputusan atau tindakan saat itu juga.

10. Include
Sampaikan kepada pelanggan Anda bahwa semua kebutuhan pentingnya sudah termasuk dalam produk/layanan Anda.

11. Tidak lagi
Tunjukkan kepada pelanggan Anda tentang keuntungan negative. Bagaimana bisa keuntungan negatif itu ada? Bisa saja, misalnya : “Anda tidak akan lagi membayar….” dan “Anda tidak perlu khawatir lagi tentang …..”.

12. Terbaru
Sampaikan kepada calon pelanggan Anda bahwa produk/layanan Anda adalah yang terbaru dibidangnya, atau menggunakan teknologi terbaru, atau yang pertama kali di dunia/di Indonesia/Jawa Timur.

13. Hemat
Setiap orang ingin menekan pengeluarannya, atau dengan kata lain berhemat sebanyak mungkin. Jadi tekankan kepada calon pelanggan Anda bahwa dengan membeli produk/layananAnda, maka mereka akan menghemat sekian rupiah.

14. Terbukti
Tujukkan sebuah riset atau testimonial dari kerabat Anda yang membuktikan bahwa produk/layanan Anda sudah terbukti kualitasnya.

15. Aman dan efektif
Kata-kata ini untuk meminimalisir persepsi negative tentang resiko dan kerugian.

16. Tepat guna
Beritahu calon pelanggan Anda bahwa produk atau layanan Anda benar-benar tepat guna bagi mereka.

17. Nyata
Hampir sama dengan TERBUKTI, bahwa calon pelanggan Anda membutuhkan sesuatu yang nyata sebagai pendorong untuk memutuskan membeli produk/layanan Anda.

18. Rahasia
Tidak semua orang bisa berhasil, dan pasti ada rahasia dibalik kesuksesan tersebut. Sampaikan rahasia produk/layanan Anda mengapa bisa menjadi solusi kepada calon pelanggan Anda tersebut. Karena hamper setiap orang senang jika diberitahu sebuah rahasia.

19. Solusi
Tunjukkan bahwa produk/layanan Anda benar-benar menjadi solusi untuk calon pelanggan Anda.

20. Instan
Tunjukkan kecepatan akses atau kesigapan pelayanan dari team Anda.

21. Bagaimana
Tunjukkan kepada calon pelanggan Anda bagaimana Anda menyelesaikan masalahnya.

22. Gengsi
Tunjukkan kepada calon pelanggan Anda bahwa dengan menggunakan produk/layanan Anda, mereka akan mendapatkan gengsi yang tinggi. Setiap orang di Indonesia senang akan gengsi.

23. Eksklusif
Tunjukkan bahwa produk/layanan Anda adalah istimewa jika dibandingkan dengan kompetitor Anda.

24. Disebabkan oleh
Analisa dengan cermat problem calon pelanggan Anda dan berikan alas an kenapa hal tersebut dapat terjadi. Hal ini akan membuat Andaterkesan “smart” dan otomatis calon pelanggan Anda pun akan lebih percaya dengan Anda.

25. Lebih
Apakah Anda memberikan lebih dari yang pesaing Anda tawarkan? Pastikan calon pelanggan Anda mengetahui kelebihan Anda tersebut.

26. Tawar – menawar
Berikan kesempatan bagi calon pelanggan Anda untuk melakukan penawaran, bisa berupa penawaran harga, fitur, atau garansi. Budaya masyarakat Indonesia adalah menyukai tawar – menawar, dan ingin memperoleh lebih. Jadi berikan itu kepada mereka.

27. Tidak ada kewajiban
Hal ini untuk memastikan kepada calon pelanggan Anda bahwa setelah menggunakan produk/layananAnda, mereka tidak ada beban atau tanggungan lagi.

28. 100% Garansi uang kembali
Semua orang menginginkan suatu kenyamanan dalam bertransaksi. Salah satunya yaitu jaminan uang kembali apabila terjadi hal yang tidak diinginkan pada barang yang dibelinya. Namun tetap ingat, hanya berikan garansi ini jika Anda yakin bahwa produk/layanan Anda benar – benar “powerfull”.

29. Besar
Buat diskon yang besar dan penawaran yang tinggi sehingga calon pelanggan Anda tidak sanggup lagi mengelak untuk tidak membeli produk/layanan Anda.

30. Kekayaan
Setiap orang ingin kaya, termasuk saya, Anda dan banyak lainnya. Jadi tunjukkan bahwa produk/layanan Anda bisa mendukung keinginan setiap orang tersebut.

Nah, sekarang tinggal bagaimana kita sebagai seorang pelaku marketing untuk mengkombinasikan kata-kata tersebut untuk mencuri hati calon pelanggan Anda agar membeli produk/layanan Anda. Lakukan sekarang dan tingkatan “conversion rate” penjualan Anda. Selamat mencoba ;-)

Friday, January 17, 2014

How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves


We raised our family in Utah, Florida, and California; my wife and I now live in Colorado. In March, we will have been married 40 years. I attribute the love between us as a part of our success with the children. They see a stable home life with a commitment that does not have compromises.

Here’s what we did right (we got plenty wrong, too, but that’s another list):

Chores

  • Kids had to perform chores from age 3. A 3-year-old does not clean toilets very well but by the time he is 4, it’s a reasonably good job.
  • They got allowances based on how they did the chores for the week.
  • We had the children wash their own clothes by the time they turned 8. We assigned them a wash day.
  • When they started reading, they had to make dinner by reading a recipe. They also had to learn to double a recipe.
  • The boys and girls had to learn to sew.

Study time

  • We had study time from 6 to 8pm every week day. No television, computer, games, or other activities until the two hours were up. If they had no homework, then they read books. For those too young to be in school, we had someone read books to them. After the two hours, they could do whatever they wanted as long as they were in by curfew.
  • All the kids were required to take every Advanced Placement class there was. We did not let entrance scores be an impediment. We went to the school and demanded our kids be let in. Then we, as parents, spent the time to ensure they had the understanding to pass the class. After the first child, the school learned that we kept our promise that the kids could handle the AP classes.
  • If children would come home and say that a teacher hated them or was not fair, our response was that you need to find a way to get along. You need find a way to learn the material because in real life, you may have a boss that does not like you. We would not enable children to “blame” the teacher for not learning, but place the responsibility for learning the material back on the child. Of course, we were alongside them for two hours of study a day, for them to ask for help anytime.

Picky eaters not allowed

  • We all ate dinner and breakfast together. Breakfast was at 5:15am and then the children had to do chores before school. Dinner was at 5:30pm.
  • More broadly, food was interesting. We wanted a balanced diet, but hated it when we were young and parents made us eat all our food. Sometimes we were full and just did not want to eat anymore. Our rule was to give the kids the food they hated most first (usually vegetables) and then they got the next type of food. They did not have to eat it and could leave the table. If later they complained they were hungry, we would get out that food they did not want to eat, warm it up in the microwave, and provide it to them. Again, they did not have to eat it. But they got no other food until the next meal unless they ate it.
  • We did not have snacks between meals. We always had the four food groups (meat, dairy, grain, fruits and vegetables) and nearly always had dessert of some kind. To this day, our kids are not afraid to try different foods, and have no allergies to foods. They try all kinds of new foods and eat only until they are full. Not one of our kids is even a little bit heavy. They are thin, athletic, and very healthy. With 12 kids, you would think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs. (I am not a doctor.)

Extracurriculars

  • All kids had to play some kind of sport. They got to choose, but choosing none was not an option. We started them in grade school. We did not care if it was swimming, football, baseball, fencing, tennis, etc. and did not care if they chose to change sports. But they had to play something.
  • All kids had to be in some kind of club: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, history, drama, etc.
  • They were required to provide community service. We would volunteer within our community and at church. For Eagle Scout projects, we would have the entire family help. Once we collected old clothes and took them to Mexico and passed them out. The kids saw what life was like for many families and how their collections made them so happy and made a difference.

Independence

  • When the kids turned 16, we bought each a car. The first one learned what that meant. As the tow truck pulled a once “new” car into the driveway, my oldest proclaimed: “Dad, it is a wreck!” I said, “Yes, but a 1965 Mustang fastback wreck. Here are the repair manuals. Tools are in the garage. I will pay for every part, but will not pay for LABOR.” Eleven months later, the car had a rebuilt engine, rebuilt transmission, newly upholstered interior, a new suspension system, and a new coat of paint. My daughter (yes, it was my daughter) had one of the hottest cars at high school. And her pride that she built it was beyond imaginable. (As a side note, none of my kids ever got a ticket for speeding, even though no car had less than 450 horsepower.)
  • We as parents allowed kids to make mistakes. Five years before the 16th birthday and their “new” car gift, they had to help out with our family cars. Once I asked my son, Samuel, to change the oil and asked if he needed help or instruction. “No, Dad, I can do it.” An hour later, he came in and said, “Dad, does it take 18 quarts of oil to change the oil?”  I asked where did he put 18 quarts of oil when normally only five were needed. His response: “That big screw on top at the front of the engine.”  I said “You mean the radiator?” Well, he did not get into trouble for filling the radiator with oil. He had to drain it, we bought a radiator flush, put in new radiator fluid, and then he had to change the real oil. We did not ground him or give him any punishment for doing it “wrong.” We let the lesson be the teaching tool. Our children are not afraid to try something new.  They were trained that if they do something wrong they will not get punished. It often cost us more money, but we were raising kids, not saving money.
  • The kids each got their own computer, but had to build it. I bought the processor, memory, power supply, case, keyboard, hard drive, motherboard, and mouse. They had to put it together and load the software on. This started when they were 12.
  • We let the children make their own choices, but limited. For example, do you want to go to bed now or clean your room? Rarely, did we give directives that were one way, unless it dealt with living the agreed-upon family rules. This let the child feel that she had some control over life.

In it together

  • We required the children to help each other. When a fifth grader is required to read 30 minutes a day, and a first grader is required to be read to 30 minutes a day, have one sit next to the other and read. Those in high school calculus tutored those in algebra or grade-school math.
  • We assigned an older child to a younger child to teach them and help them accomplish their weekly chores.
  • We let the children be a part of making the family rules. For example, the kids wanted the rule that no toys were allowed in the family room. The toys had to stay either in the bedroom or playroom. In addition to their chores, they had to all clean their bedroom every day (or just keep it clean in the first place). These were rules that the children wanted. We gave them a chance each month to amend or create new rules. Mom and Dad had veto power of course.
  • We tried to be always consistent. If they had to study two hours every night, we did not make an exception to it. Curfew was 10pm during school nights and midnight on non-school nights. There were no exceptions to the rules.

Vacation policy

  • We would take family vacations every summer for two or three weeks. We could afford a hotel, or cruise, but did not choose those options. We went camping and backpacking. If it rained, then we would figure out how to backpack in the rain and survive. We would set up a base camp at a site with five or six tents, and I would take all kids age 6 or older on a three- to five-day backpack trip. My wife would stay with the little ones. Remember, for 15 years, she was either pregnant or just had a baby. My kids and I hiked across the Grand Canyon, to the top of Mount Whitney, across the Continental Divide, across Yosemite.
  • We would send kids via airplane to relatives in Europe or across the US for two or three weeks at a time. We started this when they were in kindergarten. It would take special treatment for the airlines to take a 5-year-old alone on the plane and required people on the other end to have special documentation. We only sent the kids if they wanted to go. However, with the younger ones seeing the older ones travel, they wanted to go. The kids learned from an early age that we, as parents, were always there for them, but would let them grow their own wings and fly.

Money and materialism

  • Even though we have sufficient money, we have not helped the children buy homes, pay for education, pay for weddings (yes, we do not pay for weddings either). We have provided extensive information on how to do it or how to buy rental units and use equity to grow wealth. We do not “give” things to our children but we give them information and teach them “how” to do things. We have helped them with contacts in corporations, but they have to do the interviews and “earn” the jobs.
  • We give birthday and Christmas presents to the kids. We would play Santa Claus but as they got older, and would ask about it, we would not lie.  We would say it is a game we play and it is fun. We did and do have lists for items that each child would like for presents. Then everyone can see what they want. With the internet, it is easy to send such lists around to the children and grandchildren. Still, homemade gifts are often the favorite of all.

The real world

  • We loved the children regardless of what they did. But would not prevent consequences of any of their actions. We let them suffer consequences and would not try to mitigate the consequences because we saw them suffering. We would cry and be sad, but would not do anything to reduce the consequences of their actions.
We were and are not our kids’ best friends.  We were their parents.