7 Ways to Impress Your Boss at Meetings

It doesn't take much to impress your boss when you are lucky enough to have his attention (more or less) for an entire meeting. Here are seven things you can do - seven things that would work on me - that will leave your boss thinking, "That kid is good!"

1. Arrive a few minutes early.

2. Bring a pad and pen and, if appropriate, a tape recorder.

3. Make frequent eye contact with him. Show that you are listening.

4. Do at least one thing - ask a question or make a comment - that proves you have spent some extra time thinking about the meeting's main topics.

5. Answer questions promptly, energetically, and directly.

6. Don't do anything distracting or work on anything not directly related to the meeting.

7. Follow up quickly - with an e-mail memo or phone call - that indicates (a) you are already working on the meeting's problem, (b) you appreciate your boss's contributions, and (c) you are positively motivated to achieve the objective.

The Canvass of Society (By: Joey Velasco)

I'm Proud of My Teammates!

Let me share with you something I always have in mind when it comes to my partners. It's the 10 things I always kept in mind whenever I hired new people. These are the 10 Things that my mentor (Salvador) has always told us. These are the thing I also want my partners to know:

1. I like winners - folks who are relentlessly competitive. People who won't settle for losing are hard workers and can build businesses (They're also fun to be around). Dadz and Liefmark has always wanted to be winners. I can say that even when we are just playing a game. They're young BUT will never accept loses.

2. I like thinkers. They're curious. They don't rely on cliches. They can divine the hidden architecture of how life works. You need these things to be a writer ... or an innovator. I'm a thinker and I always wanted something unique and innovative. My partners have the weirdest ideas and that makes us a great team.

3. I like people who are humble. Ideas don't last forever. Yours, too, will die. There are really times when I have to reprimand my partners and they accept that with all sincerity...thanks to them.

4. I like people who don't have to ask for permission. They take chances and take responsibility. At first they had a hard time doing this, but as time goes by, they learned to act without me telling them...our work has never been so fluid.

5. I have never in my life tolerated bullies. And I won't in this ministry. If you can't treat your colleagues with genuine affection and respect, how will you treat our prospects? No, my partners are NEVER BULLIES.

6. Words have real power. Say positive things and they will happen. That's what I like about them...even in my "down" days they would say the most positive things.

7. People are different. Our goals are the same. Never put our differences ahead of our goals. We have accepted this a long time already.

8. Rarely is a greedy person satisfied. When it comes to money, be clear, be honest, and be firm. We never make a decision when it comes to our working fund without informing each other. We have also made a clear accounting system.

9. Hire the hungry. I like this one. I have "literally" hired the "hungry". You have to see them "eat" on parties and fellowships (especially Liefmark)...hahahaha. Seriously, I like my partners because they have developed a hunger for improvement and knowledge.

10. Never abandon a colleague in a time of need. Greatness isn't measured by profits but by character. The best thing, I think, my partners have is that they never abandon each other...including myself.

To my partners, THANK YOU!!

Aldous

My Beloved Philippines

By: Aldous I J Echegoyen

I have just arrived from Singapore after a 10 day mission work there. It was a very tiring trip since we have to go to Angeles City to take the budget plane from Clark to Singapore. I really missed my country after a short period of time and even told my co-minister that I can kiss the Philippine land when I get off the plane.

As we disembark the plane, guess what I heard from other Filipinos who was also getting off: “Mag-ingat kayo sa mga gamit nyo, Pilipinas na ‘to” [“Watch out for your things, we are already in the Philippines”]. It was neither a very nice thing to hear nor a very nice thing to say about your own country, but then again, I thought, can I blame them?

We were already waiting in line to go through immigration and guess what I saw…an evidence of a Filipino. Filipinos who just can’t wait to go through immigration, ignoring the yellow line where we are supposed to wait for our turn - - in spite of a signboard saying: Please wait by the yellow line.

After immigration is the customs. A woman before me was upset about the custom charging her Php 850.00 tax for the Play station she bought in Singapore. “I don’t have enough money anymore to go back to Cebu”, she said. Guess what custom personnel said to her? “Well, how much are you willing to pay?” And that’s not the shocking part. Custom personnel said, “If you want, let’s not make a receipt of your payment so you can pay less, ok?” Welcome back to the Philippines!!

Well, I’ve heard about the 1-billion budgets against graft and corruption ordered by our President. I believe Filipinos are very skeptical and very worried about this already. Can you blame them? This is the Philippines, isn’t it?

I don’t want to believe that the Philippines is going to the dogs. I don’t believe that the Philippines can not regain its dignity and face to the world. But there is just something lacking in us that even how much we struggle we always end up at the bottom of the world’s economy. In my opinion we lack discipline and will power. When I say “we” I mean the government and the Filipino people (that includes myself).

The other day, I was buying roasted chicken in the market place of Lapu-Lapu city and guess what I saw: young people sniffing rugby in front of me! What’s so ironic about this is that the Police station was just a few meters away from them. Well, this is the Philippines, isn’t it?

What’s wrong with the Philippines? The government? The president? The system? My opinion is that it’s the Filipinos. We always blame the government for our mischief while the government blames each other. There must be something we can do as individuals and stop this bickering and power struggle.

Maybe we can start with ourselves. If we change the way we think against our government and learn to trust them then maybe they will begin to be trustworthy. If we change the way we think about our country and start being responsible and disciplined, maybe in time, maybe not in our generation, the Philippines will be a better place because we started something different within ourselves.

I don’t really know how the Philippines can grow economically or how our government can change. But I too want to see a better Philippines in the future. Maybe if I start doing right today, I can influence others to do what is legal and right.

This is also my country and I love my Philippines! Many people have died for this country and I will not let them die in vain. Mabuhay and Pilipinas!