Meetings are a classic case of the perfect Catch-22.

If you’re in a meeting:

Then you’re away from your desk and not getting any work done!

But, if you avoid meetings:

Then you don’t know what’s what work needs to get done!

If it seems like you’re attending meetings more often than in the past — you’re absolutely right! That’s because the business world operates on a 24/7 clock and every process in a corporation can be completed quicker and faster. Projects that logistically used to take weeks are now completed in just days or even minutes. This increases the need for more frequent get-togethers to discuss what’s next on the calendar.

Although meetings are still completed on a one-on-one and face-to-face basis, modern meetings can also take place using advanced communication tools such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing. Companies like GoToMeeting can host online meetings, webinars, and training via the Internet. After downloading a free app from the App Store, you also can join an online meeting using your iPad.

If you have meetings calendared for as often as once a week — cancel them! If you can save the time and conserve the resources from outright cancelling or doubling-up meetings, then you’ll maintain your group’s belief that the meetings they attend are really necessary.

One complaint that many meeting attendees seem to unanimously voice is time wasted discussing irrelevant issues. Additional complaints come from the host being ill-prepared and the facility/room not ready to start on schedule (e.g., A/V equipment not operating properly).

If you’ve been assigned to chair a meeting, here are five basic principles to follow when organizing an effective (and fun) meeting:

1. Allow enough time for all attendees (including you) to prepare.
2. Check all equipment (e.g., screens, room heated/cooled, etc.) to ensure it is working properly.
3. Keep the meeting on topic! Start on time and end it early!
4. Encourage audience participation (meetings aren’t just to voice your opinion).
5. Before closing the meeting, assign clear goals and set clear deadlines for the next meeting.

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For entrepreneurs out on their own, creating a memorable and manageable personal brand is a crucial component to the success of their business. But, many business-minded people still don’t think of themselves as a brand. Instead, they think of brands as the logo in the grille of their car or the name on the side of their drink cup. While that is branding, you are included in that mix — and in a big way!

Personal branding is different than standard branding in that it takes a person, joins it with their career, and then markets it as a brand. While self-help management techniques taught in business courses pushed self-improvement, the personal branding concept identifies that success instead comes from self-packaging.

This can lead to an indelible impression on the general public that is uniquely distinguishable so that when someone sees your name or likeness, they will think quality, service, experience, etc. In that way, you must start to think of your physical appearance (body/clothing) combined with your career (product/service) as a business asset.

In business there is almost nothing that your competitors can’t duplicate in a matter of weeks. Your great idea will be found across town in a different size, color and by a different name faster than you think. So, what competitive edge do you have they competition can’t duplicate? The answer is YOU!

Personal branding often incorporates the name of the individual to various products. An excellent example of this is business magnate and author, Donald Trump. His surname has been used extensively on his buildings and miscellaneous products he endorses (e.g., Trump Vodka, Trump Steaks, Trump Home Collection).

Another point to identify in personal branding is that it isn’t just for celebrities or the big league players on Wall Street. Luckily, the strategies for the corporate guys are not really any different for you as an individual. You can build and position yourself in the marketplace by careful branding of “You, Inc.” In fact, start thinking of yourself with an ® or ™ at the end of your name!

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As a business owner your online reputation is extremely important to you. What current, former and potential clients and business partners are saying about you can boost sales or turn around and sink you. In the past, people would complain about a product or service between neighbors or the water cooler at work. Not anymore. Today’s unsatisfied clients turn to the Internet and blog about it. Now the entire world knows what’s on their mind — whether the information they post is true or not.

What’s worse is that they don’t really have to have a founded complaint or back any of their information with facts. All they need is a PC, an Internet connection, and a chip on their shoulder. Don’t encourage a barrage of negativity by commenting on a heated blog. It doesn’t take much for someone to take your remarks out of context or change your remarks and repost them.

The best thing you can do to protect yourself is search for your name on several search engines: Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Use variations of your name (e.g., first name, last name; first initial, last name, etc.). Then, type in your business or website name. Most of what you’re looking for will land on page one of the search results, but look as deep as page 10. Next, check the social media websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and any trade websites/blogs that you might belong to.

More often than not, you should simply ignore information when you find it. Adding to a blog usually aggravates your situation and places the blog higher in search engine results where it can be found more easily. A quote uttered by Winston Churchill decades before the birth of the Internet confirms this: “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

If you’re facing a particularly aggressive onslaught of false information, then you should get professional and/or legal help in the form of online reputation management services. Their services range from correcting misinformation to taking full-blown legal action.

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With the increase in social networking as a medium to meet new client prospects, one form of marketing your business is slowly being forgotten: business cards. In fact, business cards are probably one of the most powerful, yet ignored weapons in your marketing arsenal. A face-to-face meeting closed with an exchange of business cards will trump a text or e-mail every time!

The argument on what to include, and what NOT to include, on your business card is an ongoing discussion. That’s because it is different for every situation. A sales executive will probably include every possible method to reach them, even during evening hours. On the other hand, a call center employee might only have generic contact information with no direct way to reach them.

Because business cards are a memory aid for your new contact, ensure what information on there is something you would give out to anyone. You have no idea where your business card might end up so don’t be surprised if you start receiving spam on your phone or e-mail. Use the back to write anything specific that your contact might need instead of including it on every card.

A typical business will include the following:

• Company Name
• Employee’s Name
• Logo or Slogan
• Street Address
• Telephone Number(s)
• E-mail, Website, etc.

Traditional business cards are not much than black text on white card stock. Boring! As long as you stay within a few boundaries, such as size (2” x 3.5”), the sky’s the limit on coming up with a striking visual design. One word of advice, do not print your business cards at home. A homemade business card reeks cheap and the serrated edges are a sure giveaway that you don’t value your product or service.

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On Saturday, August 14, 2010, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will celebrate 75 years of providing social insurance to Americans in the form of retirement, disability and survivor benefits. The program was inked in the heart of the Great Depression by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his “New Deal” program. After signing, he summed up the purpose of the SSA:

“The civilization of the past hundred years, with its startling industrial changes, has tended more and more to make life insecure. Young people have come to wonder what would be their lot when they came to old age. The man with a job has wondered how long the job would last. This law, too, represents a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete. It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.”

After only 18 months in operation, the first Social Security benefit was paid to Ernest Ackerman. He received a one-time, lump sum payout of 17 cents. The first person to receive monthly retirement benefits was Ida May Fuller of Brattleboro, Vt. Her first check, dated January 31, 1940, was in the amount of $22.54. Mary Thompson, a widow with two children, became the 1 millionth Social Security beneficiary in 1944.

The SSA had humble beginnings. The original Social Security Board consisted of three presidentially appointed executives, and started with no budget, no staff and no furniture. Today’s SSA has 10 regional offices, eight processing centers, approximately 1,300 field offices, and 37 Teleservice Centers. Approximately 62,000 (2007) people are employed by the SSA.

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