Freelancer

Lately I keep running across interesting sites and services. The latest one is Freelancers.  Freelancers is an Australian company.  A description of the firm:

Freelancer.com is the world's largest freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects. We connect over 18,045,481 employers and freelancers globally from over 247 countries, regions and territories. Through our marketplace, employers can hire freelancers to do work in areas such as software development, writing, data entry and design right through to engineering, the sciences, sales and marketing, accounting and legal services.

Registration is simple and required.  You have the option to register as a buyer or freelancer.  If you register as a freelancer you can choose among numerous categories of expertise. Examples include IT and apps, writing and copy editing, manufacturing, telemarketing, and professional services.  As a freelancer you have the option to register for free or a sliding scale of fees appropriate to the services offered.

Freelancers can post examples of their work and describe projects in detail.  The service offers an app to track the progress of a project.

The process is fairly straightforward.  Buyers post projects.  Freelancers receive notifications and then decide if they want to bid on the project.  The buyer then decides which freelancer to retain. The freelancer submits the project. If the buyer is satisfied, Freelancer.com releases the payment to the freelancer.

For companies in remote areas, this could be an excellent service. For freelancers in remote areas, this could be an excellent vehicle to get new business.

Link to website:  https://www.freelancer.com

Minor Changes Make a Big Difference

Usually I see two common traits in leaders.  This article that appeared in INC encompasses both.  The article is by Jeff Haden.

The crux of the article is about how leaders ask staff questions.  As I suspect you have, I too have experienced both. And I am sure you have too.

The first set of three questions should not be asked.  The author does a great job explaining each one and the consequences.  I would only add these are the type of questions an insecure leader or a "I am too busy to hear your thoughts, so let's get to the end" or as I like to call them - get to the end, because the means are irrelevant.  You see these leaders giving signs (either intentionally or not) that this session is over.   A more common example is the leader looking at his watch. 

What makes this sad is generally the leader actually thinks he is doing a great job, completely oblivious to other thoughts and analysis.  Or the leader is so insecure, he trembles at the thought of someone having a better option.

Now for the second part of the article.  These five questions are asked by leaders who think more of the staff and good of the organization than himself.

The leader who asks these type of questions is supremely self confident and demonstrates a clear respect for his team.  He knows good questions can lead to a robust discussion, which in turn may lead to the best possible solution.

So questions for you:

1. Which leader would you prefer to work for?
2. What type of leader are you or aspire to be?
3. What type of questions do you ask (be honest)?

Link to article:

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/3-kinds-of-questions-smart-people-never-ask-and-5-they-do.html

Services Galor

About three months ago I wrote about a virtual service for certain type of manufacturers called Maker's Row. In essence, Maker's Row is database of 7,000 manufacturers that can help an entrepreneur build a prototype and/or produce a product.

Now the same database exists for marketing and promotion.  It is called Fiverr.  According to the FAQ page:

Fiverr® is the world's largest marketplace for services starting at $5. A service offered on Fiverr is called a Gig®. Gigs on Fiverr are offered for a fixed, base price of $5 (also referred to as one Fiverr). Whenever you see 'I will _for $5", it means the seller is offering a Gig for the fixed price of $5.

Fiverr is an inventory of service providers including graphic artists, online marketing specialists, any type of writers, translators, video/animation experts, and advertisers.

In fact, on the directory page, you will find eight broad categories and over 80 specific services available for hire.  Every category has the service provider, an example of the product, cost options, buyer reviews and customer comments.  As a customer, you can even determine the time you need your work done.

Think of it like Angie's List, only for a comprehensive marketing and media service providers. You must be a member and nothing is free.

However, I offer a couple of words of caution. As pointed out to me, you get what you pay for.  Second, business owner/marketing contractors generally have to develop a relationship.

Link to the website:

https://www.fiverr.com/

Professional Recruiters and Economic Development

For the economic developer, job recruiters may be a part of your career.  I have been very fortunate, I have worked with a couple of real professionals.  Over the holiday break I ran across this article in Forbes.

For economic developers looking for a new challenge and who may work with a professional recruiter, this is worth a read.  The author is Liz Ryan.  A few key points from her article:

• Take care when asked for private information
• Watch for unreasonable demands
• Communication is a key factor
• Trust your instincts

Ms. Ryan offers very good advice.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/01/02/five-signs-your-recruiter-is-not-on-your-side/

Death of R&D

I think I read this before.

Fortune writer Chris Matthews penned this article on the decline and death of U.S. R&D in corporate America. He is very persuasive. His article is is well researched and documented. His example of DuPont is actually quite telling.

Frankly, I have a few disagreements.  First, one of his measurements is the number of papers published in scientific journals.  While he sees this a potential indicator, I think it can be argued that as a corporate manager, I am not necessarily interested in publishing papers that do not add value and why potentially give my competition any insights as to what the company focus is.

I realize that the last one might seem odd or even unrealistic, but as a practicing economic developer, I continually see executives in firms reluctant to provide specific capital investment data, number of projected employees, and, average wages or total payroll when asked. They would rather provide ranges.  Generally the reason given to me is that they do not want their competitors to know potential trade secrets or gain competitive intelligence.  I actually understand this line of reasoning.  In fact, I have no reason to doubt their intentions.

Second, I think corporate R&D will continue and likely flourish for the simple reason that it is a differential when facing increased competition.  What will change and continue to do so is the type of research. I suspect we may see less basic research and more applied research (how do we enhance an existing product).

However, I think Mr. Matthew's warning is certainly worth monitoring.  If this trend continues, then perhaps the next question should be what steps should the U.S. government and states take to encourage more R&D?

http://fortune.com/2015/12/21/death-american-research-and-development/

Warriors

Recently I read a Fortune article about the Golden State Warriors.  Now I am not much of a basketball fan, but I am now of Steve Kerr.

Coach Kerr instills a sense of values into his team and I suspect he recruits with those values in mind.  As you read this article you will find several aspects that can cut across numerous segments that has more than one employee and stresses team work.  Examples are business,  education, non-profit work, volunteerism, etc.  His rules are simple:

1. Have fun
2. Care for each other
3. Cooperation is the key

Simple rules, yes.  A challenge to practice on a continued basis?  Likely.  Of course I know someone will ask which is the most important. I cannot speak for Coach Kerr, but my answer would be all three.  In fact, I doubt any two could survive on its own.

As you read the article, give some thought to your work environment.  Perhaps ask the following questions:

1. First and most importantly, could you subscribe to this culture?
2. If so, would you commit to follow it every day?
3. Does this culture start with the leader?
4. Are my co-workers on the same path?
5. When hiring new staff, should we be mindful of our culture and is this person a good fit?
6. If so, what questions can we ask that will help us identify a person who shares these values?

This is a link to the article. Enjoy.

http://fortune.com/2015/12/22/nba-golden-state-warriors/

And GO WARRIORS!!!

So Much More Getting You Far Less

Generally I do not post political statements or opinions, but this is one I could not pass up. 

According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the Federal Register (daily publication of the federal government’s rules, regulations, proposed rules and notices), totaled 81,611 pages as of Wednesday (December 30, 2015), higher than last year's 77,687 pages and higher than the record of 81,405 pages in 2010. This, according to the CEI, makes 2015 a record year for federal regulations.  

It occurred to me that I should put this mass of paper in perspective.  A ream of paper is 500 pages, is 2 inches high and weighs 20 pounds.  Each carton or box of paper contains 10 reams of paper. The 81,611 pages of regulations translates into this:

• 163 reams of paper
• 16.3 cartons or boxes of paper
• 4,080.6 pounds or 2.04 tons
• If stacked, it would go 326.4 inches or 27.2 ft. high.

And this is only for one year.

After running these calculations, I asked a few questions:

1. Is the level of services provided by the federal government better or worse?
2. Are you satisfied with the customer service you received from federal employees?
3. Are federal government laws more or less clear with all these regulations?

In defense of the regulatory agencies, I suspect it is a challenge to take a law and write the regulations that apply. But this is a side issue. 

Of course reading and understanding these rules and regulations is a skill in it self.  This is not the easiest reading.  In fact, we must rely on professionals to help guide us through the two tons of regulations issued each year. Consider the professional assistance required by a company, it can include accountants, lawyers, engineers, health care specialists, etc. The list goes on. This is what it takes to navigate the maze of living in the U.S. and doing business in the U.S. 

Article from The Hill

• http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/264456-2015-was-record-year-for-federal-regulation-group-says

Competitive Enterprise Institute Press Release

• https://cei.org/blog/bureaucracy-unbound-2015-another-record-year-federal-register