Techno Finance and Executive Diary...

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Take Care for Your Eyes

Most of our work is done on computers, and there is usually no escape from it.

i.It is a visually intensive task and, unfortunately, our work pressure and lifestyles do not give us the opportunity to be kind to our eyes.

Which is why these tips should come in handy?

ii. Exercise your eyes
Dr Harish S Belvi, a practising ophthalmologist (eye specialist) based in Mumbai, says that regular work hours should be infused with short breaks. During such breaks, he suggests a small and easy exercise: "First, blink your eyes several times. While you keep your eyes closed, roll your eyeballs both clockwise and anticlockwise and take a deep breath. Gradually open your eyes while releasing your breath. This exercise lasts for a minute and you can repeat it three times before getting back to work." It serves as a good workout for the eyes.

iii. Look away
While working for long hours, look at distant objects either in your office or outside. Looking at a distant object and then returning to your task helps your eyes focus better. Try taking such visual breaks for about five to 10 minutes every hour.

iv. Palming
Sit straight at your workstation and rub your palms against each other till you feel them warm. The warmth of your palms helps soothe and relax tired eyes. Then, lightly cup your eyes with your palms and relax for 60 seconds. Count the seconds in your mind. Repeat this exercise two to three times whenever your eyes feel tired, or as often as you want. While palming, you can either rest your elbows on your desk or keep away from the desk and cup your eyes. Both ways are fine.

v. Splash water on your faceDuring breaks, splash water on your face while closing your eyes. This has an overall relaxing effect and helps you feel refreshed.

vi. Take a walk
After you're done with lunch, take a stroll outside your office for a few minutes. This will give your eyes a much-needed break and get them some fresh air.

vii. Use tea bags
Keep two used tea bags in the refrigerator before you leave for work. Once you are home, place the tea bags on your eyes for a few minutes as you relax. This not only soothes tired eyes, but also reduces puffiness.

viii. Drink water
Drink plenty of water. It helps reduce puffiness. When a person is dehydrated, especially in an air-conditioned office, the body starts storing water as a defence mechanism. This adds to puffiness around the eyes.

ix. Eat healthy
Incorporate Vitamins A, C, and E on a daily basis; eat citrus fruits, green leafy veggies, tomatoes, spinach, poultry and dairy products. Pack a box of chopped carrots, cucumber and fresh fruits and munch in-between meals at the office.

x. Know your contact lenses
"Ideally, a person who uses lenses should wear it for not more than 10-12 hours a day and occasionally for 14 hours a day," suggests Dr Belvi.
Never wear your contact lenses while swimming. The pool water houses various micro-organisms as there are several people using it. This may lead to fungal infections in the eyes. In addition, the chlorine in the water can damage your contact lenses.
"Lenses are like sponge, making them susceptible to attracting dirt," says Dr Belvi.

xi. Eye dos and don'ts

~ Visit your doctor
"One should ideally visit their ophthalmologist once a year, but if there is a problem with your eyes, visit sooner," suggests Dr Belvi.
In addition, before buying an eye-care product such as eye drops, always check the expiry date and don't forget to check the prescription. It is always advisable to visit your ophthalmologist prior to visiting your optician. Remember, your ophthalmologist is trained to detect several other eye related diseases, apart from the reading of your eye power.

~ Wear antiglare glasses while driving or at work
"Antiglare glasses are mainly used for focused light -- such as full beam car headlights -- and serve well for night driving. These can also be used while working on the computer," says Dr Belvi.
Using a pair of antiglare glasses while working on a computer can reduce the strain on the eyes to a certain extent. If you wear contact lenses, wear a pair of zero powered antiglare glasses for the same purpose.

~ Reduce your smoking and alcohol intake
"Smoking and alcohol consumption (either alone or combined) causes irreversible optic nerve damage. As both nicotine and alcohol are nerve toxins, they affect the nerves in the long run. Over a period of time, this can lead to poor or weak eyesight," warns Dr Belvi.

~ Never rub your eyes
If dirt enters your eyes, do not rub as this may cause the dirt to stick inside. "Blink several times to start your tears flowing; this will help flush out the dirt," advises Dr Belvi. "If you rub your eyes, the dirt particle will keep disturbing your vision and irritate your eyes. In such cases, seek your ophthalmologist's help immediately."

Take a charge to donate eyes, it may be the world for somebody after us.

Labels: stories

Posted by "CPerformance" :: 10:35 AM :: 0 comments

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Manage Your Energy

When it comes to managing your energy, you first must become aware of your energy levels so you can manage them with a few simple yet powerful tools.

First, can you make the shift from surviving to thriving? To make the shift, you'll need to identify the positive sources of energy that will increase your leadership performance and overall energy level. In addition, you'll need to learn techniques and strategies that will help you better manage your leadership energy and increase your capacity to meet the daily demands of running a business.
Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to identify exactly what type of leadership energy you're bringing to the office. And don't stress out if you find your energy level isn't ideal at this point: Believe me, every leader has experienced all four types of the following energies at different times in their lives. Just relax and read on to identify exactly what type of "energy animal" you have now.

Shark Energy
You're a shark if you have a high level of energy but it’s coming out in a negative form. Simply put, you look and act like a shark! As a leader, you're in a reactive rather than proactive mode. You're biting everyone’s head off no matter what they say to you. Your outlook is ugly and negative for the current state of affairs and the future of your company. No one can do anything right today! Sound familiar?

Dolphin Energy
You're a dolphin if you have a high level of energy and it’s coming out in positive ways. Dolphin leaders are inspiring and not controlling. People want to be around you because you give appropriate feedback and are full of enthusiasm. You create a fun atmosphere in the workplace--everyone wants to play on your wave!

Gray Whale Energy
You're a whale if you have a low level of energy and it’s coming out positive. Just like the whale, you have no teeth, so you won’t bite anyone’s head off, but you're so slow you just aren't getting much done. In fact, if you were any slower, you might be a beached whale! But at least you're happy and serene and have an overall good attitude as you cruise along the coast of life.

Jellyfish Energy
You're a jellyfish if you have a low level of energy and it’s coming out negative. You're so slow, the only thing moving you forward is the current. And you have such a negative attitude that you'll sting anything in your way. You're not productive and you are mad at everyone. Sometimes your leadership sting is invisible and it catches people off guard and really hurts. No one wants to be around you.

Still not sure which energy animal you are? These situational examples may help you identify yourself:

It's Monday morning, and you're meeting with your staff of four. One employee is late--as usual--and you bite their head off for being tardy again. (Last week you laughed it off.) One employee summarizes the sales report, and your comments are all negative as you only notice what's not being accomplished. And don’t forget your body language: You never smiled once during the meeting. After the meeting, as you head into your office, you realize you were a total shark that morning.

Your entire team had worked really hard to land an account, but despite their best efforts, it didn't come through. And while you weren't happy on the inside, you were able to keep your dolphin energy going for the team. You pointed out all the improvements they'd made in working together as a team and how they'll be ready for the next one. You immediately start looking to the next big account with enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

You've been running a cash-positive print shop for a few years and are quite happy with your success but aren't very motivated to grow. Your employees help you realize you need to get refocused and put some more energy into the business (you were just hanging out on the surface like a big gray whale).

You own a very small company and have been losing one employee after another in very short order. Finally, during an exit interview, an employee tells you that you're a difficult leader because you want everyone else to work fast while you just sit back and overseen things. Plus, you always have a negative attitude and your comments often sting. You realize you're a jellyfish.

As you interact with your employees this month, see what type of leadership energy you're bringing to the table before you start talking. Make a mental note of how many times you experience yourself acting as a shark, a dolphin, a whale or a jellyfish. As you become more aware of your actions, you can make a conscious effort to change. Strive for dolphin energy every day, and you'll soon find your shark (or whale or jellyfish) days are far behind you.

Labels: stories

Posted by "CPerformance" :: 9:32 AM :: 0 comments

Monday, November 13, 2006

Business wins its battle to ease a costly Sarbanes-Oxley rule

Business has won the battle to ease one of the most controversial requirements mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-reform law: that company first review their own systems for ensuring accurate financial reports and then have them tested by outside auditors.

The nation's business lobby, which says Sarbanes-Oxley is too burdensome, would like to see even broader changes in the law, which was passed in the wake of the Enron scandal to promote good corporate governance and prevent fraud.

But securities and accounting regulators are yielding to pressure for a more flexible reading of a provision of the law known as Section 404. Regulators have said they will propose guidance next month to help companies and auditors interpret Section 404 in a way likely to save them time and money.

That's a big victory for business, which has mounted a concerted push to alter the regulation. It could also be good news for U.S. stock exchanges, which in recent years have blamed Sarbanes-Oxley, and particularly Section 404, for discouraging companies from going public in the U.S. or listing stock here.

At issue is a four-paragraph section of the law that requires publicly traded companies to review and assess the controls they have in place to ensure reliable and accurate financial reporting. Companies must document such things as who can get access to their financial records and what procedures they have in place for recognizing revenue. The rule is intended to prevent any kind of fraud, manipulation or even error in a company's financial statements.

According to a study by one industry group, companies on average spent $3.8 million each in fiscal 2005 to comply with the rule. Some companies say auditors are interpreting the rules so literally that they are asking management to account for such things as who has access to an office key.

Besides the Big Four accounting firms, which provide the required audits, a variety of software products and consulting services have sprung up since the rule took effect in 2004. IBM Corp., Oracle Corp., SAP AG and Microsoft Corp. have added software to their lineups to help businesses adhere to the rule. Sarbanes-Oxley work has also increased the revenue of Movaris Inc. and Paisley Consulting.

Companies say auditors have become too conservative because they fear being sued by the SEC or investors if a fraud is uncovered at a company they advised. SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, a Republican, often recites the tale of a European executive who identified 500 key internal controls while his firm's auditor found 60,000.

Companies may look for listing outside the U.S. because of the reasons including lower fees elsewhere, but many small and foreign businesses have complained loudly about Section 404. In an effort to reduce the loss of IPOs and foreign-company listings, the SEC recently proposed giving newly public U.S. companies and those based outside the U.S. that are listing for the first time on U.S. exchanges more time to comply with the measure.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Labels: stories

Posted by "CPerformance" :: 12:02 PM :: 0 comments