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Letter to young managers…

If you are a young manager, perhaps recently graduated, then there’s a good chance you are intelligent, confident and ambitious — keen to make your mark in the world. Chances are also high that you have high expectations of both the job and the organization, and that you are quite independent.

Additionally, if you have been promoted from within the team, then no doubt you have some very good ideas on what needs improving. Your own manager will see you as innovative, technologically savvy and willing to learn. He or she may have said to colleagues "My new team leader / manager will be like a breath of fresh air for the team — just what the doctor ordered."

All of your traits and characteristics are highly valued by your employer — probably the reason you have been promoted so quickly. Applied appropriately, they are very positive characteristics to have and will ensure your success in your new role.

On the downside, these same characteristics that are valued so highly by your employer, may count for nothing with the people you are about to manage. They did not appoint you.

Having worked with many experienced and not so experienced managers, I have seen what leads to success and what can impede success. Below are my nine principles for avoiding career derailment. They are in my own personal priority order and are what experienced managers call "learning how to learn".

Priority #1: Give recognition to your people for good work regularly. Find at least one of your team doing something well every day and thank them specifically for what they have done. This builds a positive culture within your team.

Priority #2: Ask for help when you need it. Use the experience within your team. It’s easy to think that "I’m the manager. I’m supposed to know what I’m doing, so it may make me look weak if I ask for help." There’s only a very slight difference between self confidence and arrogance. The self confident manager says "I definitely know there is an answer (somewhere) to this challenge or problem." Whereas the arrogant manager says "I have the answer to this challenge or problem".

Priority #3: Keep a Learning Journal. Jot down things in a small pocket book that you think may be important. In particular, when you do overcome a major challenge or problem, take time to reflect (and record) — What was the challenge? What did I do that worked well? What did I do that did not work so well? What will I do differently next time? Review your journal once a week on a designated day and time. Make this a habit.

Priority #4: Avoid snap decisions. Certainly trust your gut instinct, but before jumping into action, reflect — Is this the best approach for this issue at this time? What are some other alternatives?

Priority #5: Admit mistakes. The leadership research suggests that all great leaders share one common trait — they are willing to admit when they are wrong. Admitting mistakes shows that you are human. It also builds trust and respect.

Priority #6: Build your network. Look at the organisation chart. Who are the successful managers? Who could possibly be of help to you? Make sure you build a network of colleagues from outside your team.

Priority #7: Be careful when giving negative feedback to experienced staff. Make sure you get the words right — ask them for their input in solving the issue or improving their performance. If you have not had some training in giving feedback, ask your manager or consult a good book.

Priority #8: Check your results. Once you have been in the role for nine months, complete a 360 degree profile. As well as getting feedback from your own manager and perhaps informal feedback from others, you need to get an accurate view of how you are performing as a manager. If your organisation does not have a 360 process, see the link at the end of this letter.

Priority #9: Find a mentor. Look for a manager within your organisation whom everyone respects. Build a relationship with that person. Over time, this friendship should turn into a mentoring relationship. Mentoring takes time — take yours!

One final piece of advice from an old, experienced manager. You are young, energetic and have great potential to move up the corporate ladder. The only thing you lack is experience. In twelve months time, make sure that your manager will be telling his / her colleagues "Yes, that was a great decision I made promoting (put your name here …………….). What a fabulous young leader he / she is."

How to Locate Wholesale Properties

Wholesaling generally refers to the process of buying a property for below market price, and then selling it to another investor, usually without fixing up the property it’s a procedure also sometimes described as «flipping properties»
Buying and selling wholesale real estate property can be difficult and challenging as sellers are instinctively inclined to sell their property for more if they realize you are a wholesale investor.
Whereas the deal itself can sometimes be difficult, finding properties to resell at a profit is relatively easy if you know where to look. Many people who sell properties at wholesale prices are what might be called «motivated sellers» — those who are desperately trying to sell for a compelling reason. These reasons can include foreclosure, relocation or personal or health issues.
There are several methods of finding suitable properties that can potentially be wholesaled. Some of the best wholesale deals can be obtained from a county or city that has taken over a property, often for failure to pay taxes a procedure known in the industry as «landbanking».
Concentrate on looking for foreclosures. Apart from lists provided by banks and other lenders, you can also locate foreclosures by reading the notices issued by the city or county and posted in the legal sections of business journals and local newspapers.
Some properties are available to purchase when the city or county has «red-tagged» them, meaning that the house is unfit for human habitation because of a safety or health issue.
Look for newspaper advertisements that state that the advertiser buys properties «We buy Houses» is often a giveaway. These are usually ads that have been placed by fellow investors and there is nothing to stop you calling them and asking for their list of properties.
Networking is important when it comes to locating and buying wholesale properties. If local realtors are aware that you are interested in potential wholesale deals, you will find it a lot easier to find properties. A good network of useful contacts is invaluable and one of the best things you can have in real estate. Make sure you always follow up with your contacts rather than waiting for them to call you back.
And sometimes the simple approach is effective — many successful investors advise that you can do worse than simply drive around respectable neighborhoods and look for slightly run down houses that are for sale.
Many people who are trying to locate wholesale properties make the understandable mistake of concentrating on the cheapest properties in their area. In fact, a profit can be made from wholesaling more expensive homes as there are usually homeowners who are desperate to sell their more expensive home, too.
Wholesaling has been around for a while, but in recent years it has become more widespread and acceptable and contrary to what some people believe, it is perfectly legal. And with the right knowledge, foresight and connections it can be a profitable venture.

How to Avoid Appraisal Problems in the Sale of Your Home

Before you sign a contract to sell your home, check to see if the purchase offer depends on financing. Look for a clause which states that the offer is contingent on your home’s appraisal done by the buyer’s mortgage lender. This clause causes many home sellers to lose the sale or to lower the sales price later.

Appraisers draw on comparable market sales (comps) of local properties sold within the last six months to value your home. With today’s rapidly rising seller’s market, six-month-old information is ancient history. Appraised value does not always equal the true market value, or what the home will sell for on the open market.

Realtors will give you a comparative market analysis, an informal estimate of market value based on comparable sales. Lenders, on the other hand, will use the appraised value to determine a new mortgage amount. Some lenders require that the stated property value covers the mortgage amount plus their selling costs in case of foreclosure. For this reason, a sale may fall through if a home sells on the open market for more than the appraised value, which often happens in bidding wars over hot property.

We learned the importance of securing a sufficiently high appraisal when we sold a rental property in Lake Elsinore, California. We listed the house for $234,700 on Friday. By Monday morning, we had three offers: $245,000, $255,000, and $260,000. We accepted the one for $255,000 because the buyers had $80,000 down, reassuring us that they had sufficient funds.

As usual, the lender sent an appraiser to review the property. This busy appraiser didn’t take the time to view all the upgrades we put into the custom-built home. Even worse, he used only comps from the local one-mile radius. Because this home is close to a shopping district, there were not many homes sold in this limited area during the six-month period.

The appraiser used comps six months old; during this time housing costs in Southern California appreciated around thirty percent. Sales from six months previous should have gone up in value by $30,000 on a $200,000 home. This means that our home should have been worth $250,000 to $260,000, especially since buyers are willing to pay this price on the open market. To increase the value of this home, at the time there was not another three bedroom home listed in the area for under $250,000 (excluding manufactured homes). However, the appraiser valued our home for only $230,000 — and we would have lost the sale if the offer did not include a sufficient down payment.

Because a low appraisal can kill your sale, finding a buyer with a large down payment provides you with a safety net. You may also choose a buyer with strong credit who doesn’t have to put a large percentage down. If you think that your home’s appraisal could become a problem, make sure you don’t include a clause in your sale’s contract which states «subject to appraisal.»

How to Avoid Low Appraisals

Hire your own appraiser before the sale. Then ask your buyer’s or lender’s appraiser to review your appraisal.

Retain the option to approve your buyer’s mortgage lender. Make sure that the buyer doesn’t use a lender with a history of deliberately underestimating property values. A good real estate agent should know which lenders routinely under value homes.

Keep records of repairs and upgrades, including costs. Take «before» and «after» photographs. Create an organized journal with a listing of expenses and include pictures to show to the appraiser during the appraisal appointment. Stage your home for the appraiser like you do for buyers.

Secure your own property comparables to make sure the appraiser uses complete information. Call real estate agents with homes in escrow and get the sales prices. Make a list of these properties with the agent’s phone numbers and give it to the appraiser.

What to Do When Your Selling Appraisal Comes in Too Low:

1. Ask for another appraisal.

2. Protest the appraisal with documentation of your upgraded expenses.

3. Have the buyers make a larger down payment.

When you sell or buy real estate, remember that the certified appraisal is just one person’s opinion of the value of your home. The opinion that counts for you is the buyer’s: you want to be sure the buyer values your home above all others.

Investment Gobbledygook

There are no orphan shares …
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A lot of what passes as serious investment commentary is simply «gobbledygook» i.e. nonsense or drivel. It defies share market realities and is at odds with the philosophy that markets work.

Yet, unfortunately, some of the people and organisations generally regarded as finance experts are the main proponents of this gobbledygook. Let’s consider a couple of examples.

In a recent article in the «Sydney Morning Herald», a private client adviser of a major stock broker explained why the share market had fallen for the past three days, after a period of strong gains, as follows:

«I think it comes down to a bit of profit-taking. I guess the market is acknowledging we’ve had it pretty good for the last couple of months and it’s time to take a breather.»

In a similar vein, the finance reporters on the evening television news will often attribute a rise in the share market, after a period of weakness, to «bargain hunters» taking advantage of lower prices. Sometimes, more glibly, since they believe they are stating the «bleeding obvious», they will explain a rise in the market as due to «more buyers than sellers».

But all these types of comments overlook one indisputable share market fact. That is, for every buyer, there must be a seller – there are no orphan shares. So if a seller is «profit taking», what is the buyer doing? Or, if the buyers are «bargain hunters», what does that make the sellers?

Share markets do not move because of the weight of buyers or sellers. Rather, they respond to changes in expectations of the factors that drive share prices i.e. expected profits and the discount rate used to convert those profits to today’s dollars.

Lower current share prices compared with two years ago almost certainly reflect lower expected company profits. And, perhaps, a higher discount rate (or expected return) to entice investors to take the necessary risk. It is not because investors have «fled» share markets as is often suggested in the financial media. Because, in aggregate, they simply can’t.

«The Arithmetic of Active Management»

Another prevalent example of investment gobbledygook is the claim that depressed share market conditions are best suited to active, stock picking investors as opposed to passive investors who simply hold share portfolios designed to replicate the market’s overall performance.

Since the share market peak of November 2007, hardly a day goes by without a financial journalist opining or quoting some stock broking source that «it’s a stock pickers’ market». No proof is provided. It is simply asserted.

We recently received an invitation from a major financial institution to a seminar to hear three prominent active fund managers present on why they believed they would outperform the overall share market in these difficult times. The invitation explained:

«At the peak of the bull market most fund managers were able to produce strong absolute returns with ease. Moving forward active management and fund manager skill will play a far greater role.»

The implied claims appear to be:

1. now is a good time for active funds management; and
2. you can pick the most skilled active managers.

A response to Claim 2. will need to be the topic of another article. However, in summary, the best available research suggests it is very difficult (some say, impossible) to distinguish luck from skill.

But rebutting Claim 1. doesn’t require research – simple arithmetic will do. The essential message of Nobel prize winning financial economist, Professor William Sharpe’s classic 1991 paper, «The Arithmetic of Active Funds Management», is that:

* since active and passive investors make up the entire share investor universe; and
* passive investors earn the return of the total share market less their relatively small costs

it follows that active investors, in aggregate, must also earn the same total share market return less their relatively high costs.

This will always be the case. There are not good times and bad times for active investors, compared with passive investors. In our view, given the higher costs of active investment, there are only bad times!

The moral of the story …

Often, in investment markets, propositions that sound plausible, and are being put forward by people or organisations with apparent expertise, prove to be total bunk when subjected to appropriate scrutiny.

As a smart decision maker, serious questions you should ask yourself are:

* do I have the knowledge and wisdom required to distinguish between often self serving investment gobbledygook and the opinions and research of the world’s leading financial economists and behavioural scientists;
* if not, is it the best use of my time to acquire that knowledge and wisdom;
* what are the costs, risks and foregone opportunities of not accessing that knowledge and wisdom; and
* am I prepared to accept those costs, risks and foregone opportunities?

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Is a position in the Medical Writing Industry for you?

What is medical writing? A medical writer researches different trends and drugs in the medical world and publishes articles and textbooks based on that research. Medical writers must be capable of writing about medicine on several different terminology levels. Some medical writers write information for medical professionals, while others write information for the general public. Some medical writers write marketing material for hospitals, pharmacy companies, and drugs.

What skills does it take to be a medical writer? Currently there are no special degrees or certifications to be a medical writer. However, a familiarity with the medical world is a must. A science or pre-med degree is important for a full understanding of medical terminology. First-hand experience in a medical field would be a great help to a writer as well. It is also important to be a clear and concise writer. Excellent language skills are important as well as motivation to complete the work. Medical writing is very detail oriented, so it is extremely important that any medical writer have an extremely high attention to detail. There is also a lot of criticism in the writing field, so it is important to be able to write without fear of disapproval.

Medical writers are often asked to be ghost writers for doctors and other medical professionals. This means that many of the articles and journals that you write will have the name of someone else on the final product. It is important to have a tough skin and deal with the anonymity that often comes with medical writing.

One of the hardest challenges of being a medical writer is finding the right voice. Medical writers must be able to write on many different technical levels. Some articles will be written for the most highly educated medical professionals, while others are written for people who have virtually no knowledge of the medical industry. It is also important that medical writers write in a way that is interesting to all readers.

Are you a medical writer? A person interested in medical writing should be able to work independently. It is important that the writer be able to communicate messages in a clear and concise way to a number of different people. If you are a person who can do this then medical writing may be for you. Medical writing does not usually offer travel or much interaction with different people. Medical writing is mostly an introverted career field.

Some medical writers choose to specialize in a certain kind of medical writing. Sometimes this choice affects the location of the writer. Working for a pharmaceutical company will offer a more technical, advanced style of writing. These publications would largely deal with technical information with a lot of guidelines that must be followed. Working for a medical communications company will offer a different kind of job. A large majority of the publications for these companies have a little more creativity involved in the writing. Most of the articles written would be traditional article style or marketing-based. Some medical writers work directly with certain companies, while others are more freelance writers.

Finding a medical writing job can sometimes be difficult. These kinds of jobs are not generally advertised. However, searches in the right locations will yield results. Search for medical writing jobs in your area. Some websites even offer courses on how to be a medical writer which would help your career. Talk to different medical professionals to see if they know of any writing opportunities. Also be mindful that if you are serious about becoming a medical writer that a move may be in order.

If this career sounds interesting to you than a career in medical writing is for you.