Month: October 2014

Influencing Positive Change In The World Through Global Education

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Authentic Leadership, Business Ethics, Change Management, Global Awareness, Global Citizenship, Global Education, Reducing Poverty, Thought Leadership, UN Millenium Development Goals

A few weeks ago the UN Association of Finland organized a school visitation education in Turku, the purpose of which is to educate volunteers willing to visit schools in order to share information about the UN, its principles, and its goals as a non-governmental organization.

In Finland, UN school visitors can be requested through the UNA of Finland:

http://www.ykliitto.fi/koulutus-ja-oppimateriaalit?language=fi

School visits are open and available to all kinds of educational institutions and tailored according to the age and interest of the pupils/students. The visit can include general facts about the UN and its activities, or be focused around a specific topic, e.g. the UN Millennium Development Goals 2000.

Founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 states to protect the world from new wars, the UN (United Nations) is the world´s most important co-operational organization. Over the course of the years the UN has of course changed and developed, trying to adjust its operations according to the most important needs and most urgent matters of its member states. In 2013, the UN had 193 member states.

The main goals of the UN are:

– To maintain international peace and security through peaceful means in solving disputes and conflicts

– To develop friendly relations between nations (autonomy and equal rights)

– Generate and accomplish co-operation to solve economical, social, cultural and humanitarian problems

– To advance human rights and their universality

– To serve as a co-operational centre for all nations

According to the principles of the UN, all member nations are plenipotentiary and equal, must fulfill the obligations of the UN Charter, resolve all international conflicts with peaceful means, and help the UN in all actions taken by the UN according to its Charter.

The main bodies of the UN are:

– The General Assembly

– The Security Council

– ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council)

– The Secretariat

– The International Court of Justice

– The Trusteeship Council

(Sources: Leisma, 2009; printed material produced by the UN Association of Finland).

The previously mentioned UN Millennium Development Goals 2000 are:

1. Eradication of extreme hunger and poverty

2. Achievement of Universal Primary Education

3. Promotion of Gender Equality and Empowering Women

4. Reduction of Child Mortality

5. Improvement of Maternal Health

6. Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

7. Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

8. Global Partnership for Development

(Source: UNA printed material, UN Millennium Development Goals website, quoted 16.4.2014).

Wide-ranged and large goals, but perfectly achievable with commitment from all UN member nations.

Are we close to achieving these goals, or have we already achieved some of them?

I will discuss each of these goals separately in my upcoming posts, with facts and personal thoughts.

 

“Look Before You Leap For As You Sow, Ye Are Like To Reap”

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in CSR, Responsible Investing

Would you volunteer to jump into a body of water swarming with piranhas? 

I thought so too. 

The same goes for any kind of action regarding decision-making in your life. Think before you act, so that you don´t act before you think. The importance of an analytical thinking process before making a decision of course depends upon the complexity of the decision, the risks included, and the possible final outcome. Over-analyzing simple matters can be as harmful, since it may just lead to procrastination and an inability of decision-making in the first place. But the more complex and responsible the decision, an amount of reflection is beneficial before taking action. When not certain about something, consult someone with more knowledge, and someone you can trust. 
In the world of investing, plenty of choices are at hand. There are many forms of investing too, such as investing in intellectual capital and in increasing personal knowledge, investing in human resources, investing in your children´s futures, investing in real estate or buying a home, investing in your personal health, and so on. Here, I refer to investing in different kinds of securities, such as funds and stocks. There are a number of key ratios that investors commonly get familiar with before investing in a specific security, be it a fund or a stock. These include terms such as P/E, TER, ROCE, ROE, QR, Current Ratio, EBITDA, volatility index, asset class, benchmark, small-cap, large-cap, blue chip, maturity, trustee, and the list goes on. For any investor, it is a good idea to have some kind of understanding about the principles of securities investing. If not, better make sure to choose a service provider who is either willing to explain these to you in a comprehensive way – or, choose a service provider who you are willing to trust enough even without understanding. Either way, as a customer you will need to sign agreements where you approve that you have understood what you are investing in. 

Before investing/signing agreements, there are a couple of other factors to take into consideration: 

– Understanding what the security consists of. I.e. if it is a fund, what is the fund policy? 

– With direct stock investing, having access to the company´s annual report, most preferably including an HR report (with information about staff policies, staff turnover rates etc.), and a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) report.  The CSR report could also be named CSR and Sustainability Report, depending upon the company. 
The CSR Report can include a number of themes, such as the company´s philosophy in and towards sustainable business processes, what kind of actions are being taken at different stages in production with regard upon e.g. environmental and human rights issues, governance and transparency structures, codes of conduct, code of ethics. Progressive companies, and “trend setters”, are aligning their reporting practices with e.g. a Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) and UN Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI). 

“For those who are skeptical about socially responsible investing and business practices: There are three steps in the revelation of any truth; in the 1st, it is ridiculed; in the 2nd, resisted; in the 3rd, it is considered self-evident”.

(A. Schopenhauer)

This blog post has been written only for informational purposes, and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, product, service or investment. The opinions expressed in this post do not constitute investment advice. The information provided herein or in any communication possibly linked to this blog post is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. Neither the information, nor any opinion contained in this post constitutes a solicitation or offer by the author to buy or sell any securities, futures, options, shares, funds, or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service.

Why Free Lunches Do Not Exist

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Investing, Leadership

“I worked hard. Anyone who works as hard as I did can achieve the same results”. (Johann Sebastian Bach) 

Very few extremely successful people achieve their goals without any effort, or with only little effort. Success also requires the right mindset, and often a bit of luck. One thing is for sure: no one gets results without work. If a very successful person achieves great results without personal work, it is because they had the opportunity to hire people to do the work for them. Most people do not have the needed assets to do so, but others find ways to grow their assets. 

The same applies to any kind of action in life. If you want to achieve something, you need to have the right mindset, and be willing to work towards your goal with a long-term perspective. As Michael Jordan has said: “I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.” 

Every Master was once an Apprentice. The best individuals never cease to learn, and to keep their minds open for new ways of looking at things. In order to become a Master in something, you need to keep practicing until it becomes as automatic as your breathing. You do not even have to think about it – it just happens. Of course, these days many people do not even master their breathing. Too many people breathe superficially, so even this automated function of our central nervous system requires our attention. 

However, let’s assume that you have a long-term goal, e.g. regarding your financial situation/investments. The basic rule you need to understand is that free lunches do not exist. Only very few individuals have the luck of winning the lottery, or are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Still, our choices and ways of living and spending what we earn have an impact on our lives, on our futures, and also on other people’s futures. How we, as consumers, invest and spend our income and savings makes a difference not only in our geographically near society, but also on a global level. Therefore, consuming, spending, and saving/investing money wisely is a good thing to do. 

There are a few especially important things to consider before you start investing: 

– How much can I save on a monthly basis? Or do I have a larger sum of money that I am willing to invest at once? 

– What am I saving for? 

– For how long I am willing to save?

– How do I want to invest the savings?

– What is the importance of the liquidity? I.e. if something unexpected happens, how fast do I need to have access to the savings/investments? 

– How do I want to allocate the investments?

– What kind of risks can I afford to take?

– Do I understand anything about investing? 

– If I do understand investing, do I have the time to manage my investments by myself?

– If I do not have enough time to manage the investments by myself: who will take care of it for me? 

– How will I choose a service provider? 

– Will I choose a private, small firm that will take care of my investments? Or a local bank? Or a broker? 

There are a number of things to take into consideration before investing. Answering the above questions will be helpful, and are also necessary to answer before you invest anything at all. 

A general rule is also to understand the investment object itself. I.e. if you have no understanding about what a fund is, e.g. an ETF (exchange-traded funds), make sure to have it explained to you by an investment professional. There is also no point in taking extravagant risks for example by starting your investment “career” through FX trading, which is the most liquid, but at the same time extremely volatile and includes high risks for those who do not have the needed experience. 

Please also keep in mind that with investments, no free lunches exist. In that sense, investing in no different from other types of businesses. Someone will always pay, and no services are free of charge. There are of course differences in service prices, as well in the quality of service providers and investment performance. 

It is important to choose a reliable service provider. Of course you can invest by yourself, if you have the time for it, and if you think you can achieve better results than the service provider. If, on the other hand, someone tries to pull you into something that seems suspicious, or you do not trust the service provider, there is no point in using such a service provider. Too high promises are also something that you should be careful about. If someone promises you returns on investment that sound almost too good to be true, then it is also highly probable that this is the case. Remember, Rome was not built in a day either, and the same goes for growing your assets. So, do not take unnecessary risks unless it is an amount of money that you are willing to lose anyway. 

The time is always right for investing. What is important is to know how to invest correctly.

This blog post has been written only for informational purposes, and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, product, service or investment. The opinions expressed in this post do not constitute investment advice. The information provided herein or in any communication possibly linked to this blog post is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation. Neither the information, nor any opinion contained in this post constitutes a solicitation or offer by the author to buy or sell any securities, futures, options, shares, funds, or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service. 

 

Taking Action Rather Than Procrastinating

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Management, Leadership, Life Coaching

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world”.

(Joel A. Barker)

Any kind of change requires activity and action. Be it in our personal lives or in business. I have learned, through personal experiences, and through observation of other people and companies, that a fear of making the wrong decisions leads into inactivity, which in turn leads to increased inactivity and there we are – in a vicious circle. 

I have written about the influence from external events, such as the news that are brought into our consciousness every day through various media channels. Experience has taught me that listening to news, in general, can have a huge impact upon the decisions that I am willing to make regarding both my private life, and also regarding business decisions. 

In the world of investments, investor´s actions are often referred to as actions based on mass psychology. When hearing bad news about a certain economy/market, or about a specific company, many investors react quickly based upon that information. Some may react e.g. by selling all stocks of that specific region/company. Others, called contrarian investors, go against prevailing market trends by buying poorly performing assets, as opposed to “traditional” investors.

Keeping a cold head in any kind of situation is important. Be it in personal life decisions, in business practices, in investing or whatever. The world is full of temptations, but also full of what we could call propaganda. The word propaganda has a very negative echo, but any intelligent person knows how important it is to question everything one reads, hears, and experiences. I´m not saying that one should not trust anything; however, questioning sources of information, and staying objective, is healthy. One way of questioning and staying objective is to be very selective regarding the sources of information that we use in our everyday lives. Taking some distance in regard to e.g. news and media can sometimes prove to be an efficient way of getting in touch with one´s inner guide: the intuition. 

Many people have lost the touch with their intuition, because they are always affected by external distractions, be it news, media, other people, friends, family etc. Taking some distance and being selective is a good way of finding back to listening to our intuition, since it rarely mistakes. How you react to something, and how you feel about something rarely lies to you. 

Sometimes reflecting upon various things is a positive thing to do, but mostly procrastination leads to an increased difficulty in decision-making. This is where mass psychology has a huge influence: if, let´s say in a certain market, the economy has been in recession for years, it easily leads to even worse decision-making, or no decision-making at all. Investments are being cut down; companies are dismissing employees, which lead to decreased consumption and so on. 

Markets are always turbulent, if we let them be. Media is capable of bringing negative news into daylight, but smart entrepreneurs know that there always is a demand for their services/products, and that there always is a market for those who are ready to take action, create new demand and push their services/products to consumers. This, in turn, requires the ability and willingness to hire the right people to help the company in succeeding – people (employees/consultants) who believe in the product and who know how to generate income for them and for the enterprise. 

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy”.

(Dale Carnegie)

Online Navigation and Creating an Online Strategy

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business, Change Management, Digital Marketing, Online Strategy, Uncategorized

“Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time”.

(George Bernard Shaw)

As an avid user of online services and of certain social media sites I have learned a few things about online navigation. 

I have written a few times about how to save precious time and energy, and how not to get stuck within the online world. Believe me, I am writing from experience, and learning from it, every single day. 

Let´s get straight to the point, just to save your time and energy: 

Create yourself/your brand/your firm a clear social media/online strategy. This includes at least a definition and response to the following questions: 

– Who am I representing? Am I representing myself? How am I representing myself? As an entrepreneur, or as an employee? Or am I representing a brand/company/startup? 

– What am I representing? Am I representing myself, and my services? Or am I representing someone else´s service/s and/or product/s?

– Which social media sites will I use, and why? It is very important to choose the correct media in order to save time and money. You won´t want to waste time, money, or energy on sites that are useless to you. One option is of course to create your own social media platform, and as I have noticed, new social media platforms are being created every day, in almost every single corner of the world.

– How much time/effort am I willing to spend for these social media sites? How much time can I afford to spend online?

– Do I need to do everything on my own, or will I hire someone (a social media company or an entrepreneur) to do it for me/for my company?

– What is my target market/customer segment? Why? 

– What is the best way to approach the target segment/the target customer? 

– What are my core competencies? How do I differentiate myself/my firm from others? 

– How do I measure the efficiency of my/my company´s online presence? Do I/the company need to invest time/money in some other kind of advertising, or is digital presence enough?

This is an insight into the online world, where new jobs, trends, sites, and markets are constantly emerging. It can be somewhat overwhelming, which is another reason for organizing yourself online, defining the amount of time you are willing to spend online, and the most important: being selective regarding your online presence. 

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results”.

(Winston Churchill)