Lobbying is performed by individuals or groups to pressure governments into policy actions. Lobbying is legally protected and is not the same as bribery. Bribery and lobbying are often conjoined in the public mind. While both seek a favorable outcome, the two remain distinct practices. Bribery is considered an effort to buy power (paying to guarantee a certain result); lobbying is considered an effort to influence power, often by offering contributions. Bribery is illegal, while lobbying is not. 

Lobbying provides access to government legislators, acts as an educational tool, and allows individual interests to gain power in numbers. Lobbying is an integral part of a modern participatory government and is legally protected. In the U.S., the right to lobby is protected by both the 1st Amendment and the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995,3 and additionally by the inherent need for participation in our democratic environment.

All kinds of groups hire lobbyists: from corporations and private companies to nonprofits and unions, to try to persuade the government to pass legislation that’s favorable to them. 

Lobbying is a complex area, and for those who practice it often involves having sound knowledge of politics, business, communication, and law. At its core, it demands a transparent and ethical framework.

Lobbying is not just for big businesses. Smaller businesses are effecting changes and getting the results they desire. 

https://www.opensecrets.org/

https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2020/09/30/lobbying-2020-the-players-the-money-and-the-firms/?slreturn=20210221120523

https://lobbyit.com/lobbying-not-just-corporations-little-guys/

Learning about yourself is the best way to set your own preferences and boundaries. This process takes time and patience. Setting your preferences and boundaries will require effective communication! Love vs. Fear Mode: boundaries are based on your relationship values that identify your needs with people that you share a connection with. Learning is always going to be key. We are less structured than we think we are. 

The most immediate challenge for many companies looking to advance disability inclusion in their workforce is knowing where to start. Hiring people with disabilities need not cost any more than hiring someone without a disability. Accommodations for the majority of people with disabilities cost nothing, especially with the current situation where most people are working from home.

To hire and retain anyone, it is important to hire a person you truly need with skills that you want to invest in. 

Nonprofit vs. Not-for Profit vs. For-Profit have different implications for your taxes, corporate governance and business activities.

Whether you decided to start a for-profit, not-for-profit or nonprofit, the first steps for creating your entity are the same. Start by filing for a business entity in the state in which you wish to run your operations. Your business entity might be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship or partnership. All of these entities can operate as for-profit, nonprofit or not-for-profit organizations.

Once the entity has been formed, you will apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS.

A nonprofit has a tax-exempt status because its mission and purpose are to further a social cause. Nonprofits include hospitals, universities, national charities and foundations. They are required to make their financial and operating information public so that donors can see how their contributions are being used. Nonprofit pays no taxes on any money received through fundraising and donations to a nonprofit are allowed to be deducted from tax return. 

Similar to a nonprofit, a not-for-profit is one that does not earn profit for its owners. All money goes right back into running the organization. However, not-for-profits are not required to operate for the benefit of the public good. A not-for-profit can simply serve the goals of its members. A good example is a sports club. Not-for-profit must apply for tax-exempt status from the IRS, and money donated to a not-for-profit cannot be deducted on that person’s tax return.

A for-profit organization operates to make money. Most businesses are for-profits that serve their customers by selling a product or service. The business owner earns an income from the for-profit and may also pay shareholders and investors from the profits.

When you share values together, there is very little you can’t overcome! However, beliefs come and go!

BELIEFS

Beliefs are assumptions we hold to be true. When we use our beliefs to make decisions, it is usually from our past experiences. Beliefs are always contextual.

VALUES

Values are not based on information from the past and they are not contextual. Values are universal. Values are principles, or standards of behavior. Love is a good example of value.

Our values inform our thoughts, words, and actions. Our values are important because they help us to grow and develop. They help us to create the future we want to experience. You often hear, "your past does not matter, does not define you, and is irrelevant" or "everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new"! 

Every individual and every organization is involved in making hundreds of decisions every day. The decisions we make are a reflection of our values and beliefs, and they are always directed towards a specific purpose. That purpose is the satisfaction of our individual or collective (organizational) needs. 

Building initial rapport is an ideal topic for your sales training, as it helps both new and existing staff find pockets of connection that opens up the prospect for a productive conversation.

1. Provide Value: It is incredibly important to provide value to your prospective clients. Listen! You need to be able to demonstrate that you have the answers to their questions and the solution to their problems. And this doesn’t just mean value to an organization, but to an individual person. Since you won’t always be talking to an organization’s decision makers, you need to give your prospects the information they need to be able to make a case to their boss for why they should purchase your products or services.

2. Provide Strategy: When communicating with a prospect, you can’t just tell them that you have a solution for their problem. You need to understand their specific needs. If you can draw parallels to existing case studies that have been solved for similar requirements, this will not only let them know what you can do, but also provide evidence that you have experience solving problems like the ones they are looking to address.

3. Understand Their Pain: Most people aren’t looking to make change for the sake of making change; they have problems they need to overcome and issues they need to address. Understanding a prospect’s "real" pain points is essential in building rapport with them. Get to know them!

Your company’s mission is much more than just an end-of-year performance review. In an effort to keep employees engaged in the mission, their work and help them grow into leaders within the company, invest in them! And then, they’ll invest in you!

1. Set goals

The key to actively developing employees is to set goals. Make the results of those goals easy to see. Monthly goals are the quickest, easiest way for employees to derive meaning from what they do every day. Revisiting these goals will highlight which ones need to be updated, and ensure that they are still applicable.

2. Offer opportunities for individual growth

Employees want training. People, in general, want to progress in their lives! On average, 63 percent of employees believe learning new skills or receiving special training is most important to advancing their career. Which is true! Providing coaching and development activities throughout the year is an employer’s best bet to create a culture of growth within the workplace. To ensure continuous growth and improve productivity, equip employees with the tools they need to function at peak performance.

3. Hold review meetings

Opt for frequent, informal meetings. Meetings shouldn’t be to only evaluate employees, as that is the aspect of performance reviews that causes the most anxiety. Rather, it should focus on developing employees. Focus on improvement: “What skills would you most like to improve on?” or “What can I do to help you?”

4. Automate the review process

The biggest advantage of implementing technology into the review process is making it so much easier for employees and their managers to track and measure performance year-round.

There is a direct relationship between gratitude and creativity!

Experiencing positive emotions like gratitude, joy, and play, encourages thinking outside the box which leads to more creativity. Gratitude gives birth to great ideas! There is a link between happiness and creative problem solving! 

Cultivating gratitude and creativity is a daily practice that puts us in a good place to do our creative work, to run our businesses and live more fully.

Counting our blessings and giving praise to the simple things, no matter how mundane they may seem, is an amazing way to start. Changing our mindset and being thankful for the abundance we already have.

By getting into the flow of gratitude, we unlock our creative thoughts.

Starbucks Holds More Cash Than Many Banks!

Fifty one percent of the coffee chain's customers in the U.S. and Canada now pay for their beverages and snacks after loading money onto their Starbuck's card.

With 18.9 million active members in the U.S alone, the coffee chain boasts more customer money on its cards than many banks have in deposits.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the coffee shop chain's U.S. headquarters had $1.5 billion that customers had loaded onto Starbucks gift cards and the mobile app as of the first quarter of 2019, surpassing the amount of cash that major American banks had in their deposits. 

These balances can not be withdrawn as cash but only coffee! This amazing business model teaches us a lot about the stunning opportunities we have within mobile payment & social digital media. It is also an amazing way to both meet the needs of customers and reward them!

How Does the Hedgehog Concept Compare to Ikigai?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept, which roughly translates as: “The happiness of always being busy”. It is about what you find meaningful and what makes you happy.

Marc Winn put the term in a Venn-diagram from a TEDTalk on the blue zones. Blue zones are areas in the world where many people live a 100 years or more: "If you know your Ikigai, you live longer & happier".

Ikigai 4 circles:

Hedgehog Concept 3 circles: (ref. ep.# 56)

Both concepts can be adapted from businesses to individuals. Both concepts are ways to approach life in general.