I can only imagine how many people have gotten a call from a printers graphics department on a project that's already late. "Your file won't color separate, so it's going to be late" they say. Well, here's what the heck they are talking about!

So you've made a neato blue and black bookmark in MS Word, looks great, prints great on your laser printer, and you get the price for 10,000 of the buggers in 2 colors (blue and black lets say).

When artwork goes to press, "plates" are made. Think of these as a sort of thin "rubber stamp" if you will, with an area etched on them that ink really sticks to.

So for your 2 color bookmark, two plates are made, one "rubber stamp" for the blue ink, and one for the black ink. This in a nutshell is color separation, the separating of a color document, such that only 1 color appears on each "plate".

How can you test if your document will "color separate"? Is there anything in your "print setup" about separations? If you can't simulate two pages coming out of your laser printer - one for each color, expect a call from the print shop. At the very least the graphics department will have to tweak your file or even re-creating it which isn't all that unusual - but does cost to make it right.

So what do you do? If you are constantly trying to do 2/3 color print jobs, I'd recommend hiring a professional graphic artist, or if you really really want to do it yourself (and you have lots of time) - plunk down the money for the proper software. Adobe's Creative Suite will enable you to do everything. While the learning curve is steep, and there aren't "wizards" to guide you through anything, it has all the tools you need. MS Publisher can do color separations too, and many professionals cringe at my mention of it, but I've seen it work great, ...and I have seen it really cause some big dollar screw ups.... use with caution, and as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

There are many techniques for coming up with new product ideas. One of the easiest ways is simply to think of ways to improve existing products. How do you do this most effectively? As you look at a product, ask good questions, starting with these.

What can be changed?

What can you change about a product to create a new one? Looking at a book, for example, you might imagine it to be bigger, smaller, longer or shorter. Quickly review what advantages there might be to each of these changes, and you may find some good ideas for a new product.

For example, "bigger" might make you think about a coffee table book that IS the coffee table. Imagining them smaller could lead to a line of books that truly fit easily in your pocket. "Shorter" could give you the idea for cheap short novels that make the reader want to buy the next in the series (and the next and the next). If you get really imaginative, you might think of making books that are waterproof, for use in the pool or at the beach.

What is the biggest problem people have with this product?

This is a question that can generate great product-improvement ideas. What is perfect out there? Almost every product has regular and consistent complaints about it. Identify these, think of ways to resolve them, and you've got your new ideas.

The most universal complaint is perhaps a high price. Almost every product out there will have some people wishing it was cheaper. Find a way to make it cheaper, or find a way to more cheaply fulfill the needs or desires that the product serves, and you have something worth creating.

It isn't all about price, of course. Computer programs, for example. have a more common complaint. They are difficult to learn to use. Think of a way to simplify them and you might have a great new product. Dress shoes are typically uncomfortable. How can they be made more comfortable? Shoveling snow is a lot of work. Maybe you can come up with ideas to make it easier. Problems are opportunities, aren't they?

How can each element be made better?

Asking this question is a very systematic way to generate new product ideas. You just isolate every aspect of a product and find a way (or ways) to improve it. Improve enough different parts of a product, and you have something truly new and different.

For example, let's suppose you are looking at a backpacking tent. You concentrate on each aspect of it for a few minutes, to see what ideas come to mind. Fabric: more waterproof? Set up: easier, faster? Price: cheaper, variable according to options? Weight: lighter? Floor: tougher material, built-in sleeping pads? Space: more room, different configuration? Think of a few good ideas on how to improve even a few of these aspects, and you might have a great new product.

New Product Ideas - More Questions To Ask

Other questions you might ask include: How are similar products better? What is the most important part of this product? What could be changed to help sell this product to different markets? What needs are served by this, and what other ways can those needs be met? Ask enough of the right questions, and you'll get plenty of new product ideas.

Growing up as a girl child of the 60’s I was taught that women must find their voice. We were taught about the Suffragettes who succeeded in procuring the vote for women. We learned about “the Story of O”. We learned to burn our bras and speak up in politics and in the bedroom.

But I am not sure we found our voices. In fact, all that pushing to make our place in a “mans world” may have left us completely unable to speak with our feminine voice. We became “assertive” women who took ourselves very seriously, for fear that the “man’s world” would not.

One of the things we failed to notice is that men didn’t really have a voice either. They were (and are) as busy trying to be something other than themselves they didn’t notice the voice they were using to so powerfully assert themselves was not really their own. In the end, women and men both lost connection with their own voice along the way in a surge of competitive effort

Another thing was lost with our voices, was our ability to play. We lost understanding of the nature and importance of pure silliness and the creative thinking required for play. Sure, there are fields where play is somewhat more acceptable, but even there it has taken a darker turn as those fields push to make their place in the marketplace (video game designers, advertising, and the entertainment industry).

When I was younger I actively pursued a career in acting. I was a very serious actor. I am not sure what drove me, but it certainly wasn’t the fun of play-acting. Somewhere along the line I had forgotten that acting is “make-believe”.

Then, many years later, just when I was starting to get burned out in my counseling practice I discovered something called “InterPlay”. Founders Cynthia Winton-Henri and Phil Porter describe it this way, “InterPlay is devoted to fun. It teaches the language and ethic of play in a deep and powerful way. If you are convinced that seriousness is the path to inner wisdom, then you might want to look elsewhere.”

“InterPlay is sneaky,” says an IntePlayer writer, “You think you’re just having fun, but later you realize that your writing is easier, your life is easier.”

InterPlay happens almost without conscious awareness working it’s magic in a warm comfortable atmosphere that allows for easy shifts into creativity, organizational health, and success. The basics of InterPlay tools and practices are easily acquired and don’t rely on having special talent or skills. These tools effectively produce a spirit of cooperation, community and spirit that results in greater creativity and productivity for organizations.

Using the InterPlay tools and practices, we find our selves more open to listening to what we really need to say and become open to full self-expression. One of the foremost tenets of InterPlay is that we are each encouraged to have more of ourselves present than we have ever been allowed. The transformative power of InterPlay opens us all, male and female alike to find our authentic voice. We no longer have to push ourselves to assert our truth; we simply speak our truth from the heart as our spirit leads us to express it. We no longer find ourselves in a battle between the self we are supposed to be and the self that we truly are, we just speak out authentically using the InterPlay practices as a platform to express our hearts truth.

Timing: You must stay consistent in the sale order of your auctions. Do not change your pattern.

Identity: If your competition sell less desirable items first and good items later, has all his/her auctions at the same time Saturday, wears cowboy boots and drives a truck, you don’t have to do the same thing to compete. Don’t mimic your competition. They are a lot more worried about what you are doing than you are about what they are doing. Create your own image. Each auctioneer brings something different to an auction.

Advertising: Give your seller a true idea of how much advertising will cost and what you are going to do to advertise and promote the auction. Put together a simple auction budget. Use the example you were given in school. Charge advertising costs on top of commission. If you know it’ll cost $1,000 to advertise and market an auction, tell your seller up front. If you know the true marketing cost, it’s unethical to give the client one estimate before the auction and present him or her with a higher figure when it comes time to settle. You can always estimate.

Don’t Skimp: There are two reasons why an auction is not successful. Either you are trying to auction something you really shouldn’t, or you didn’t spend enough advertising and marketing the auction. Never let your clients convince you to spend less than what it will take to attract a high buyer to product ratio.

Be a Politician: As an auctioneer you have a great deal of influence. If you have someone famous at your auction, always say something nice about them. It will bring you more auction business.

Image: If you want to be a professional, then act and look like a professional.

Strike a Bargain: If you think you should get 15 percent commission, ask for 20 percent. If you think you should get 20 percent, then ask for 25 percent. Auctioneers don’t get enough money for what they do. They don’t ask or get paid enough. If you are going to be a professional, and provide professional service, then you’re fees should also be professional.

Double Rings: Many auctions have two auctioneers selling at the same time. It works as long as people know there will be two rings. Never use two auctioneers just because the auction is going slower than you like. People can make arrangements to team up with someone if you let them know in advance there will be two rings.

Bidder Numbers: Start with high numbers and work backward. Because there are usually many on lookers who aren’t registered to bid, this prevents bidders from knowing how many people have registered for your auction.

Labor: Do not include heavy labor costs in your budget. The seller can make arrangements to have help, whom he pays at the auction. The laborer charges the seller a flat fee on a per day basis. If the seller wants your help to carry out and get ready for the auction, you need to charge for that in addition to your commission.

Names: Always write first names on bidder cards, It makes a difference if the auctioneer can call a bidder by his or her first name. Those bidders are more likely to come back to your auctions.

Mailing Lists: Don’t put everyone on your list. Do include everyone who has paid more than $50 at one of your auctions or has driven more than 50 miles.

Credit Cards: Accept them. You can rake arrangements with your bank to accept them. You are losing a lot of business if you don’t, If you don’t want to absorb the credit card fee, charge a buyer’s premium for credit card users.

Parting Thought: Work smarter, you’ll be glad you did.

In economics, productivity is the amount of output created (in terms of goods produced or services rendered) per unit input used. For instance, labor productivity is typically measured as output per worker or output per labor-hour.

Production, however, is the act of making things; in particular the act of making products that will be traded or sold commercially. Production decisions concentrate on what goods to produce, how to produce them, the costs of producing them, and optimizing the mix of resource inputs used in their production.

Productivity and production management is the art of conducting and directing, through the application of frameworks and techniques, all aspects and operations of developing, creating, and innovating products.

Productivity and production management’s ultimate goal is the efficient consumption and allocation of resource inputs to maximize the quality and quantity of goods produced or services rendered.

To improve productivity and production management, organizations should use forecasts on demand to preordain production plans. Through it, miscalculations could be sidestepped. Businesses that produce to order would be able to supervise the backlog of unfilled orders, while those that produce to stock would be enabled to observe and control the level of inventory. Forecasting capabilities could be enhanced by way of incorporating excellent information technology.

Another tool for enhancement is standardization—a necessary foundation on which innovations can be focused. Standardizing methods can be implemented by prognosticating revolution on product and on process. These involve methodologies such as process reengineering and major product redesign, both requiring process automation. Some enterprises choose to do small upgrading at a time to minimize the cost of these processes.

Another way to improve productivity and production management is keeping managers vigilant of the factors that constitute problems regarding quality, cost and time in the production area. The most popular approaches are lean manufacturing and workplace improvement. Both approaches encourage worker and management collaboration emanating mutual respect; and straightforward and transparent improvement methodologies.

Lean marketing is the methodical extermination of wastes that are the root of productivity and production incompetence and slow advancements. These wastes may include: overproduction; inaccurate inventory; slow-paced transportation; product defects; and unnecessary processes.

Workplace improvement involves activities such as developing good relationships circling around the workers, management, suppliers and consumers; acquiring proper and state-of-the-art technology; empowering workers to make improvements; improving production scheduling, quality assurance, inventory, manufacturing methods and efficiency control; and conserving materials, energy and time.

To gain productivity and production management advantage, the aforementioned can be organizationally applied. If not, researching on ways on developing this field could be conducted. One point is vital: total restructuring of productivity and production ways is harder than maintaining good and tested practices.

What is the best way to increase business productivity? Well there is no exact answer but it pays to understand your team. Larger corporations consider piping music into the offices, adjusting the temperature, having coffee available or adjusting the lighting. All these things work and much research has been done on this subject over the years. Millions have been spent on psychological studies on the subject of increasing business productivity.

But what if you have a small company with only a few employees then what can you do to improve your productivity? Lots of things such as; team work building, employee productivity awards or even small office parties. You need to make your company fun. One successful small business person has had success with a simple Taco Party with condiments and burrito content available in the break room area.

Sometimes very simple things can add to your bottom line by simply making a happy work place. Another thing you need to do and I want you to do this today is to track the paper work and see if you can delete duplicated forms in your office and eliminate steps in the paperwork process. One or two simple streamlining efforts can save you thousands of dollars in labor each year.

And this will also improve productivity in time and happiness of the work force in your business. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

Performance management is a set of systematic processes that help businesses discover efficient use of their business units, financial, human and material resources.

Performance management’s focus is on creating methodical and predictable ways to improve business results, or performance, across organizations. It aids organizations in achieving their strategic goals.

Performance management processes constitute: (1) planning—deliberation of what to do and setting expectations; (2) monitoring—continually checking on performance; (3) developing—improving the capacity to perform; (4) rating—periodically scaling performance in a summary fashion; and (5) rewarding—compensating good performance.

The first process, planning, means structuring mindset on how performance should be channeled to achieve objectives considering the goals of the organization. By involving the employees in this process, there would be an increased comprehension on the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done.

Employee performance plans should include establishment of elements and standards to be used for regulatory performance appraisals. It should be versatile, making adjustments in program objectives and work requirements easy.

The second process in performance management is monitoring. It pertains to the consistent assessment of performance and providing ongoing remarks to employees and work groups while they are progressing in attaining organizational goals. Employees’ evaluation enables the supervisor to see if employees are meeting predetermined standards, to make revisions to problematic standards.

Developing, the third process can be defined as increasing the capacity to perform. This can be staged through trainings, seminars, and assigning projects that would introduce new skills or higher levels of responsibility, and improve work processes or methods. These developmental activities pave way to encourage good performance, strengthen job-related skills and competencies, and help employees keep up with changes in the workplace, such as the introduction of new technology.

From time to time, organizations find it useful to summarize employee performance. This requires the fourth process of performance management, rating. This enables comparison among a set of employees or individual conduct or productivity over a period of appraisal. The rating of record has a bearing on various other personnel actions, such as granting within-grade pay increases, and promoting or determining additional retention service credit in a reduction in force.

In a productive organization, rewards are used frequently and profitably. Rewarding, the fifth process of performance management comprises this. It means acknowledging employees’ contributions to the agency’s mission as an individual or a team player through granting of awards, merits, benefits or bonuses. A basic principle of effective management is that all conduct is influenced by its consequences. This applies, whether the deed is positive or negative.

All five components or processes triumphantly result to a natural and effective performance management. Each key process should be executed in such a way that there exists coordination and support from these processes, to the supervisors, and to the subordinates. Practicing this should include setting goals; planning work routinely; measuring progress toward those goals and giving and accepting feedbacks to and from employees. High standards should be set but taking care to develop the skills required to reach goals and acknowledging productive deeds should never be disregarded.

Would you love to enjoy the benefits and freedom of having a virtual assistant but right now, you're budget is feeling a bit squeezed?

There is no doubt about it, having a virtual assistant (plus bookkeeper and even a personal assistant) will help you focus on what you do best. I have someone take care of our grocery shopping, errands, and product fulfillment. Plus, I have my regular virtual assistant Kathy; I'm hiring another "technical" assistant, Kristie, and one more person to help me with P.R. tasks I'm not getting to.

But what if your budget can't stretch quite that much? How do you gain the momentum of hiring help, without spending any money right now?

While nothing substitutes for having an extra pair of hands working on your behalf, here are 5 simple tips to organizing your work day so you gain some of the same advantages you would by hiring an assistant.

Tip #1 Answer email JUST twice a day

Email is a time-sucking fiend, ready to drain you (sorry, I couldn't resist the Halloween reference) of precious focus, energy, and time you could spend marketing for new clients, or serving existing clients.

Think "chunking" here. Schedule email like any other appointment. What to do in between? Close your email program and turn your speakers off so you don't hear that little nagging, "you've got mail!" computer beep.

Will this take discipline? Yes. But the feeling of freedom and control is almost instantaneous, making it well worth it!

Tip #2 Return phone calls only ONCE per day

Like email, being at the beck-and-call of your telephone is guaranteed to make your day hectic and crazy. I like to make outgoing calls early in the afternoon so they will be returned later that day. This way, I can work on projects first thing without getting distracted.

What do you do when the phone rings? If you're working on a project, ignore it! I know, I know. It's sounds tough because you really want to "be there" for people. You will be. Just a little later in the day.

Tip #3 Give yourself twice the lead time for projects than you normally do

Would you wait until the last minute, then hand a project over to your virtual assistant? Of course not! So why would you wait until the last minute for your OWN projects?!

Double the amount of time you estimate a project or task will take. Then start it twice as early as you would normally. If that sounds like it's impossible to do, then it's time to take a serious look at what's running your business (likely a hefty measure of adrenaline with a splash of drama—but that's a topic for another article! ).

Doubling your lead time and time allowed will not only make your life easier now, it will make you a better client when you do hire your virtual assistant!

Tip #4 Leave an hour unscheduled every day for the unexpected

Why not take a hint from great virtual assistants, who plan on the unplanned? If every moment of your day is already accounted for, then the unexpected will throw you off course.

Instead, plan on the unplanned. My guideline is to schedule working on only one "big" project per day. I allow two separate email sessions totaling 90 minutes. Finally, I usually plan an hour for taking care of little paperwork and handling the unexpected. That's it! I'm famous for getting lots done, and launching a steady stream of new products and services (all in support of my 6-figure a year business) so clearly, it's a system that works!

Tip #5 Streamline one task right now

It's easy to get into a habit that undermines your efforts. "I'll take care of it later" will only add to feeling overwhelmed. Choose one task that makes you groan and simplify it.

You may need to set up a different filing system, a different time of day to take care of it, or ask for help from someone you know. You'll buy yourself a lot of new time and energy by streamlining a task that was really getting to you.

As soon as you can, hire an assistant for even just five hours a month of support (believe me, that five hours will turn into ten+ of renewed energy and focus for YOU!). In the meantime, follow these tips to be your own virtual assistant and you'll put more focus into your day, starting right now!

You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as long as you include my full signature file for ezines, and my Web site address in hyperlink for other sites.

As we all know paper was invented by the Chinese about 3000 years ago. In those days the European equivalent was leather and in Egypt we had papyrus. From all these three it seems that the only one to survive was the Chinese paper. The paper didn’t only survive but it became world wide used and actually it became some of the most important discoveries of man kind. If we were to take the historical importance of paper … a whole book could be written. Even in the modern age of technology that it is believed we are know living paper is very much still alive and kickin. Let's face it paper is here to stay and be a part of our lives for a very long time to come.

From the earliest times in our lives as a person we use paper. Either as a small whipper for when we are children to drawing paper when we are in kinder garden school notebooks and at the end the daily papers we work on at the office at work. Paper is a very important factor of our daily lives and we must realize that.

To do so let’s just give and explore two examples of how paper can be of use in our lives at working in the office,

For this we will talk about plan printing papers and medical papers.

Another very important factor in our lives are hospitals. We all know that when one person gets sick the bet thing to do would be go to a doctor and if it is necessary medical care would be given in hospitals. Still a certain evidence of people must be kept, people that come and go , generally speaking sick people. In the case of a sic person that admits to a hospital certain measures must be taken. For this we have medical papers. Forms and other papers that the patient must fill in when he is admitted in. from now on a lot of forms will be circulating the hospital under the name of medical papers. After admittance the patient will receive a chart to know and see what drugs are being administered to him, and to also see his general status when fighting the disease he is suffering from.

Another term that could be given to medical papers would be that of scientific meaning. Someone could write a medical paper about a certain disease explaining to the world a lot of facts about it. The term essay could be the same as a paper, medical paper in our case.

In the case of plan printing a lot of things can also be said. For a certain time now it has become a second nature to us to plan before doing something. In this case the chances of success greatly increase. This way, generally speaking, before starting to build a house or certain building a lot of measurements, plans and calculations must be maid, and where best put them than on paper, plan printing paper that is. Also if any need of seeking information after the construction of the building are needed has been complete, there is always the option of looking at the plan printing papers.

In our days creating paper has become a sophisticated process that can sometimes bring fortune to people. For the best fortune to be had a lot of research and calculating must be done in order to make the best paper. Companies like Tele-Paper greatly improve the standards of living in today’s time and society.

We use paper today in almost every activity and on a day to day bases. For this we should thank the Chinese from a couple of millennia ago; they were the ones that first made and than perfected the art of making paper. With the Europeans getting in China the spread of paper went global.

Until the boost of technology seen from years now, paper was the one used in every thing that involved office work. It still used today bat computers have greatly improved the life and work load of people working in that area.

To further increase the productivity and the results of office work people have developed a way to speed things up. They do this with the help of forms. Made with certain specifications forms are used in almost anything today: from paying a bill to applying for a job or just for a simple statistic.

A form is a document that contains blank fields that the user can feel in with what he writes. Most often information on the form will later on be transferred to a computer data base where it is possible to analyze them from a statistic point of view. Most recently it has been possible for people to write on computer forms. The paper is completely removed from the situation in this case and the person just has to fell in the blank spot in the form that he visualize on a computer or laptop. The computer forms have speed up things even more in the lives of people working in this field.

The term computer form is also used for those forms that are specifically made for software or hardware manufacturers. In this types of forms trouble free compatibility is absolutely guaranteed. Invoices, statements and purchase orders are also in the category of forms and are produced also to better improve the process of accounting and general office work.

Running the business properly this days would not be possible without the help of forms. Not only to they speed up things but certain actions and process could not be possible with out them. Still because of the wide variety of computer forms available on the market and the areas where they can be used has made compatibility somewhat of a problem. One must always be careful on what type of forms he uses.

Another paper aspect of office life that we are going to look at are the self-contained rolls. Paper rolls have a wide variety of usage, but the most common area where they are most likely to be found is either in accounting offices or cash register at local supermarkets. ATMs are also places where self-contained paper rolls are used.

Certain measures must be taken in order not to encounter any problems. The manufacturer must use the best quality paper and process to manufacture the self-contained rolls. If low grade paper is used either in cash registers or any other machines that use self-contained rolls serious problems may appear because of the dust that the low grade paper leaves. The build up of dust over time will eventually cause the jamming of the printer rendering the machine useless. Caution and attention should always be used when buying self contained rolls if problems are to be avoided and if the business or work are to function correctly and according to plans.