From The Editor's Desk
The silly season is around the corner and I would like to be the first to wish all our Dealmakers a Merry Christmas. If you have completed one of our courses, you already know how close Santa is to the hearts of The Dealmaker™ team. May Santa be extra kind to you this year.
The first edition of our newsletter was extremely well received. Thank you for your support. In this edition we are going to be celebrating Christmas in style with a Christmas story, another riddle to keep your end-of-year brain active, and in our Did You Know section we will be sharing the secrets of negotiation vs bribery. Lastly, you get to meet our second Master Coach, David Black. The next edition, our first for 2008, will feature the inimitable Paul Keates.
Wishing you a wonderful Festive season - Portia Ngcobo
Did You Know?
There is only one key difference between "negotiation" and "bribery"!
by Kim Meredith, Managing Director of Spectrum Solutions
And the difference is... your personal value system. There is a saying that goes "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". Well the same applies to negotiation. One person's negotiation is another's bribery. There are no "golden rules" that can be given to help you determine the difference - it is up to you and your judgement.
A major UK retailer did a study of what mothers do to get their children to eat vegetables. In most cases, the children were offered money in return for eating their veggies. The worst offender was a woman who offered her five year old a pound per vegetable eaten. Imagine the conversation:
Mom: "Johnny, what would you like for dinner?"
Johnny: "Veggies".
Mom: "How many".
Johnny: "One hundred".
Negotiation or bribery? Only you can decide! At The Dealmaker™ we advocate that if something will get you into trouble with the law, your partner or your employer (amongst others), then it is probably the wrong side of negotiation!
Want to know more? We invite you to attend one of our Life Changing programmes. Contact enquiries@thedealmaker.com or call us for more details on 011 440 0193.
A Christmas Fairy Story
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When four of Santa's elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones, Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule. Then Mrs Claus told Santa that her Mum was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more. |
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More stress. Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the sacks split, and the toys fell to the ground in the snow. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he got to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had finished off the liquor, and there was nothing to drink. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider pot, and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw end of the broom.
Just then the doorbell rang, and an irritable Santa trudged to the door, which he opened to find a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't it a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?" And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.
Extracted from www.wordpress.com
Meet The Dealmaker™ team
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David Black (FCA)
David qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London, UK in 1974 and soon obtained solid experience in audit and project management in the banking, financial, manufacturing and service industries. |
After emigrating to South Africa David moved into financial management, gaining expertise in paper, packaging, manufacturing and materials handling companies with specific emphasis on IT development and solutions.
As a founder Director of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics in South Africa in 1988, a company with a turnover in excess of R1bn, David in his initial role as Financial Director was responsible for all the funding requirements and business processes of the company, negotiating all facets of these complex deals. Moving on to head up Sales and Marketing, David took responsibility for business development as well as for the management, motivation and training of the national sales force. In addition, the advertising and public relations portfolios formed part of David's responsibilities.
After successfully completing his assignment in Sales and Marketing David was appointed as Director: Gauteng, a Managing Director role that encompassed all operational, administration and sales functions for the company's largest region.
With the formation of Hellmann Supply Chain Finance David was selected Managing Director of this subsidiary, focusing on market awareness and development.
Since 1985 David has been a key player in the logistics industry, focusing on finance, sales, marketing and general management. While gaining valuable experience in all aspects of the local and international supply and value chains, David also specialized in the development of IT systems and supply chain finance.
Having retired from Hellmann in 2004, David has created an innovative supply chain finance company providing specialist consulting services to the automotive, perishables and general logistics industries. David is also a Master Coach for The Dealmaker™ programmes.
Animals Are Not Just For Christmas
Taken from an email by Steve Hill, Animal Sanctuary Owner
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My family runs an animal sanctuary. Even though we love what we do, we feel that some people need to realise that having a pet is a long term commitment. Pets should not be seen as just a bit of fun which can be thrown away when their owners get bored. |
People arrive at the animal sanctuary with their pets, mainly dogs, with many excuses as to why they are no longer able to look after or care for them. I am sure some of the reasons are valid but I am also aware that many others are just an excuse to offload their pets. The excuses they give are varied:
- I recently divorced and can no longer afford to keep this dog as a pet
- The dog has started to bite my children
- The dog is too difficult to handle and is destroying my furniture
- We have recently moved into a flat. One of their rules is "no animals"
- The dog barks too much and it is upsetting the neighbours
- Our other animals do not like the dog
- The dog is affecting my health
- I am too ill to look after my dog
It is not our role to question these reasons but we then need to find other suitable homes for the dogs. This is easier said than done as we must ensure that the new owners will be able to care for the animals for, hopefully, the duration of their lives. We also keep many of the dogs as our own pets, especially the ones nobody else seems to want. One such dog is Cassie. She is full of life but was ill-treated as a puppy. Half her left ear is missing and she is quite afraid of men.
Cassie needs a huge amount of care and attention. She can be too lively at times which is possibly why three people who attempted to re-home her have bought her back. She is not aggressive in any way but tends to jump up at people. What we did with Cassie and what we will continue to do, is to give her lots of love but also a little training. It has taken a long time but she is now able to understand that the jumping is not acceptable. Cassie is turning into a wonderful dog to have around the house and feels part of a family.
With a little more patience most other dogs can turn out this way. This is why we want people to take more responsibility and give their animals a chance to settle into their new homes and to get used to a set of new rules.
If you are having problems with your animals you can always phone up animal sanctuaries, trainers, vets or the SPCA for advice. These people are animal lovers and will help you as much as they can. Don't give up on your pet and you will find that they will never give up on you. It's called unconditional love.
Please consider supporting your local SPCA or other animal charities this festive season with money, time or whatever you have to give. Christmas is, after all, the time for giving.
The Dealmaker™ Programmes - Dates for 2008
The Dealbuilder™ |
Venue |
11 & 12 March 2008 |
Johannesburg |
25 & 26 June 2008 |
Johannesburg |
16 & 17 September 2008 |
Johannesburg |
The Dealdiva™ - Women Only |
Venue |
13 - 15 February 2007 |
Johannesburg |
02 & 03 April 2008 |
Johannesburg |
20 & 21 August 2008 |
Johannesburg |
11 & 12 November 2008 |
Johannesburg |
The Dealmaker™ |
Venue |
08 - 10 January 2008 |
London |
19 - 21 February 2008 |
Johannesburg |
15 - 17 April 2008 |
Johannesburg |
10 - 12 June 2008 |
London |
22 - 24 July 2008 |
Johannesburg |
07 - 09 October 2008 |
Johannesburg |
The Dealmaker™ Follow-up |
Venue |
08 & 09 April 2008 |
Johannesburg |
21 & 22 October 2008 |
Johannesburg |
The Dealguru™ - Executives Only |
Venue |
22 & 23 April 2008 |
Johannesburg |
14 & 15 October 2008 |
Johannesburg |
The programmes are conducted in small groups and thus places are limited. If you are booking for a team of 16 or more people, group pricing is available on request. To register to attend a programme or to request further information, please email enquiries@thedealmaker.com.
"Cheers to a new year and another chance
for us to get it right". - Oprah Winfrey |
