Making Meetings Work: 9 Tips
“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” E.V. Lucas1. Have an agenda. Start out with an agenda handed out to the appropriate people at least 72 hours in advance, listing time, date, and place of meeting.2. Set ground rules. Let everyone know at the beginning of the meeting that you specifically plan to stick with the allotted time frames and topics in the agenda. This is the key to running meetings that don't go overtime and yet get results. Also, if the meeting is short, sweet, and productive, it will positively affect people's attitudes about future meetings.3. Appoint a timekeeper. Make an announcement ahead of time stating exactly how many minutes each person is given to speak or share ideas. Appoint an individual as timekeeper and literally give that person a “timer” that goes off if someone runs overtime. This is beneficial in brainstorming sessions if someone goes off on tangents, or monopolizes the meeting.4. Appoint a meeting secretary. Appoint a secretary who will write down the minutes, what was discussed in the meeting, and distribute this to everyone within 48 hours of the meeting ending.5. List meeting assignments. In the agenda, state exactly “who” is doing what. For instance, “John Smith, Customer Satisfaction Report, 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.” List it as such in the agenda. Again, announce at the beginning of the meeting that you plan to stick specifically within the given time frames. This will set the tone for the entire meeting.6. Coffee and refreshments. If certain individuals are responsible for bringing refreshments to the meeting, list their names in the agenda as well. This will serve as a reminder to them in addition to letting everyone know that food will be served. In my workshops, managers often tell me that “nothing boosts morale or team building better than free food in a meeting.”7. Begin and end the meeting on time. Nothing reduces morale like a one hour meeting that ends up lasting two hours. The biggest complaint I hear from my participants about their organization’s meetings is that their meetings “start late, and usually run way over time.” When I’m about to begin a training workshop at a company, one thing I often hear is, “In our organization, meetings start late, so don’t be surprised if people aren’t on time.” Employees become conditioned to think it’s acceptable not to be punctual. Also, end the meeting on time. Better yet, end early. People’s attitudes will change if they start attending meetings that are short, productive and get results.8. Assist each presenter with their audio-visual equipment. To reduce nervousness, arrange to arrive early and help any speakers ahead of time with their equipment. Nothing minimizes nervousness about public speaking like being prepared. One central skill to effective leadership development is to ensure a smooth running meeting. You want to look professional and in control.9. Summar

Documentation Provides Clarification, Fortification and Corroboration
Once you obtain business, do you give much thought to protecting yourself (and your income)? Often, we’re so exhausted by our business-building efforts, and so exhilarated when we get it, that we simply shift to concentrating on closing the deal – and ignore potential adverse situations.The following scenario recently happened with one of my real estate coaching clients. While this exact situation may not happen if you’re not a real estate professional (or other professional for which proving you’re the “procuring cause” of a sale is crucial in determining whether or not you get paid), the concepts are valuable for life and business in general:Shortly after she and I began working together, my client began working with a couple who wanted to buy a home. She showed them several properties, one of which they were interested in buying. They made arrangements to meet her at the home the next day so they could look at it one more time and sign an offer to purchase it. They never showed up. She called and called, leaving several messages on cell phones and home phones, worried that something had happened to them. She even e-mailed them, worried that maybe their cell phones weren’t working, or they weren’t able to pick up their phone messages.A few days later, the home went under contract and she learned through the grapevine (remember, no matter how big your area is, it really IS a small world!) that her buyers were the ones who were under contract to buy that property; the offer had been submitted by a different real estate agent. She also learned that this agent was selling their home in another area and when he discovered that they had already found another home to purchase, promised to “kick back” a substantial sum of money to them if they’d put the offer in through him vs. the agent who had shown them the home. (For those of you wondering, no - she had not asked them to sign an exclusive buyer agency contract, which may have prevented this problem from happening.)The upshot of the situation is this: The case ended up going to arbitration so each side could present their arguments as to why they deserved the selling side of the commission. My client had brought the home to their attention, brought them there (and to other properties), done research for them and made plans with them to submit an offer. The other agent had never seen the home, didn’t know it existed until his sellers told him they’d found it, and then simply convinced them to disrespect their own agent (out of greed - shame on them) and put the offer in through him (out of greed - shame on him).As I mentioned, my client had just started working with me and had just begun using several checklists I gave her for documenting her efforts. She also made copies of EVERYTHING she did: letters sent or faxed, e-mails, even writing down dates, times and brief details of phone conversations. Due to these efforts, she had all the proof the arbitration committee needed to convince them that she act

Vending Machines in Schools
Vending machines in schools are a convenient alternative for students to get snacks, chocolate bars, and water all through the school day. Just like adults, children are required to drink six to eight glasses of water to maintain water balance. Vending machines in school premises are very helpful for students as they provide a wide choice of snacks and healthier drinks. They are also helpful when the main counter service is crowded. Vending machines in schools offering drinks, fresh juices, water, and flavored milk can also improve the bank balance of the school, if properly managed.Vending machines in schools selling yoghurts, muffins, scones, and sandwiches offer a quick lunch for students who wish to have something hot. They also ease the pressure on the school dining hall.Most schools prefer to keep vending machines. Today, many schools try to remove vending machines to avoid problems associated with general health, obesity, and tooth decay. Removing the vending machine is not the only option available. These problems can be minimized by including food items containing more nutritional value including milk drinks, bottled water, cereal bars, lower fat crisps, and crackers.When installing vending machines in schools, several factors must be considered. Placing the vending machines in prominent locations is of paramount importance.A number of schools in the United States have enacted laws to restrict the sale of foods and drinks in the elementary, middle/junior and high schools. Some states have enacted laws to replace selling of carbonated beverages with milk, juice, and water.

Medical Billing Troubleshooting Electronic Billing
Absolutely one of the hardest things to troubleshoot when it comes to medical billing is electronic transmission of claims. There are so many things that can go wrong with this process that there is just no way to cover them all in one article. So we're going to cover the problems that are most common and most annoying. Hopefully, this will help you in getting your electronically submitted claims through to the carrier.One common problem is that the claim file itself won't go through. Either you will get a timeout error or some other kind of error when transmitting the file. The end result is that the claim file doesn't make its way to the carrier. While this is just one common problem, there are a number of things that can cause this to happen.For starters, the protocol being used by the electronic billing package is not compatible with the carrier. For example. The package may be transmitting via Xmodem protocol. In the case of New York Medicaid, as of this writing, they only accept Ymodem protocol. So if you're transmitting to them and using Xmodem, your file won't go through. The simple solution is to change the protocol in your billing package. There are usually instructions to do this.If the protocol is okay, then another common problem is the baud rate. Unfortunately, most medical carriers still live in the stone ages and won't accept transmissions at anything greater than 19,200 baud. So if your program is transmitting at a high speed then most likely the file is going over to fast for the carrier to read it clearly and many errors will occur. The simple solution to this is to change the baud rate in your billing package. Changing it in your modem won't do a thing. It's the package that determines the transmission speed.If the protocol and speed are okay, then another common problem is noise on the phone line. Unfortunately, to get a clean transmission to a carrier, the phone line has to be absolutely static free. Any noise at all on the line and most likely the file will not go through. In order to test this, simply make a call to the carrier using that line with a regular phone attached. After you connect, monitor the amount of noise on the line. Sometimes you can hear the line noise even before you dial.If all of the above are not the problem, then the next most common problem is that the claim file itself was not created properly. If you remember our review of NSF 3.01 record specifications, a file has to be exactly right or the claims will be denied. Sometimes, if a critical record, like the ZA0 record, is missing, the carrier will reject the file before it even gets into the area where it is reviewed. This will show up as a transmission error. The fix for this is to examine the claim file. Most software programs come with special viewers to do this.The above problems only scratch the surface, but they will give you a good head start on making sure that your medical billing of claims via electronic media goes smoo

The Simple but Powerful Reasons for Corporate Minutes
Every year, many business owners choose to incorporate their companies. They may make this decision at the outset, or may arrive at it later because their business is growing and they want to shield themselves from the risks that growing businesses face. Either way, the business owners want to limit the extent to which their personal assets are at risk, should something damaging (usually, a lawsuit) arise. It's a wise move.What entrepreneurs often don't focus on, though, is the fact that, by incorporating, they have brought a new entity into the world. Much like giving birth to a child. The company now has an independent existence that can, literally, outlive you. The company has needs separate and apart from yours (such as a need to be able to pay its own bills, in addition to paying you). And if you do not treat the corporation properly as an independent "being," the privilege of shielding yourself and limiting your personal liability can be taken away from you (as children, in certain extreme situations, can be taken away from their parents).In order for a corporation - any corporation, no matter how large or small -- to preserve its special, limited liability status, it needs to observe certain formalities and take certain actions. These "formalities" include (among other things) issuing stock, electing officers and directors, keeping corporate records, adequately capitalizing the corporation, and clearly keeping personal and corporate funds separate. When a corporation doesn't do these things, its limited liability status is open and vulnerable to attack from creditors who may claim wrongdoing or fraud. In legalese, this is called "piercing the corporate veil."Whew! Sounds like a lot, especially for a one-person corporation. At first, it seems a bit awkward and artificial. But it's not difficult. Think of keeping corporate records, having minutes of your "meetings" as merely the corporate form of "covering your @#%!" Minutes are also helpful when there is more than one owner of a company, so that there is a written summary of the discussion, the actions taken, and how the owners voted. In order to maintain your limited liability shield, it must be clear that the corporation has officially authorized its officers and directors to take significant actions on its behalf. How do you know when a corporation has done so? Because there are written minutes of a meeting (or ratifications of these actions), kept in the corporation's books!What's Major? What's Ordinary?So written records of major decisions are vital. But what kinds of issues are considered major? Celine moaned, "Does this mean I have to make a written record every time I go to Staples for pencils? Or take a potential client out to lunch?" Certainly not! Here's a general rule: if the transaction is the kind of transaction that your business engages in over and over as its core business, then that transaction is "in the ordinary cou

The Seven Secrets of Great Customer Service
Copyright 2006 Cari HausThere’s a new sub shop in town, and their service—and food—are exceptional. We live in a small town with limited options, so the first thing I did after trying this recently arrived spectacular fare was tell the next five people I saw. I wasn’t really trying to be a walking billboard, it just came naturally.That, of course, is what every thinking business person wants to have customers do for their business. What could be a more effective marketing tool than a truly excited “customer evangelist”? If you want customers to truly fall in love with your business, here are some things you can do:1. Make a CommitmentIf you don’t commit to great customer service, you can be sure it won’t happen. Devote yourself to treating your customers right. Develop a company culture that focuses on customer service, and go above and beyond the call of duty. Your customers will thank-you for it, and more than likely, tell their friends.2. Know Your StuffCustomers are pretty astute judges of character. If you are competent, confident and knowledgeable, you stand a better chance of winning their confidence and trust. I have a long list of questions customers usually ask when buying log furniture, and I know the answers to those questions like the back of my hand. You might say this comes from selling log furniture for five years, but it took more than that.When I first started into this business, I kept a list of questions customers asked. Questions about shipping, product weight, log bed assembly, warranties—the list goes on. I memorized the answers to those questions, and that initial groundwork has helped me immensely over the years.3. Get Acquainted and Follow the Golden RuleSome customers aren’t chatty, and that’s fine. But some do like to talk, and it takes a fair amount of conversation to wrap up a large log furniture order. Some transactions are pretty cut-and-dried, but on some, by the time their furniture is delivered, the customer feels like an old friend. I feel a very strong obligation to them, and they sense that. They trusted me with their money, and they want quality furniture for their mountain cabin or chalet on the lake.A friendly phone relationship goes a long way towards working out a smooth transaction and delivery, and customers who have connected with you will be a lot more likely to shout from the housetops that they are thrilled with your customer service. The bottom line for me is to treat customers how I want to be treated. If you treat your customers with courtesy and respect, they will not only appreciate it, but be much more likely to send their friends your way.4. The customer is always rightEven if they are stressed out and totally unreasonable, I never argue with a customer. Some of my customers are coordinating two or three shipments of furniture on one day. Many of them just built a new log cabin, and have a lot going on. Then a semi truck gets stuck o