Dear friends There are some positive signs out there!! Spring is peeping at us all shyly from behind winter’s skirt and the economy also seems to be showing some recovery. Also, although Hawkes Bay were beaten by Wellington last weekend I am sure that they will get back in the winners circle this weekend!! The world’s sharemarkets are all showing positive signs of recovery and although it is still far too early to say that this is the end of the downturn, the signs are positive. Some businesses think that the way to keep their bottom line in profit is to lay off staff, do you? I read in this week’s Main Report ( www.themainreport.co.nz) that research by the Practicing Accountants of Australia showed that half the businesses which did lay off staff did not reduce their operating costs, two thirds did not increase their profit and over three quarters did not improve their productivity! The research found that the main cause of this phenomenon was the de-motivation on the remaining staff. I call this process slash and burn, because in the short term you may see an improvement in your cash outgoings, when the upturn does come, see above, you will then have to rehire, retrain and re-establish your culture with the new employees. And how much is that going to cost? Another item of interest in the Main Report is the convergence of the phone and laptop. Remember the ‘brick’? In 1987 I saw the first truely mobile phone which weighed about three pounds and you could definitely not fit it into your pocket!! Indeed, I lay claim to being a partner in the second accounting firm in New Zealand to have its own mini computer in house in 1978! While I love the way technology is changing our lives forever, some aspects leave me wondering. For instance while emails, blogs, Facebook and Twitter are a quick and simple way to keep our circle of friends and acquaintances up to date, I still love the total interaction of a face to face discussion. I can see the other person and note their facial expression and body language which long term can only enhance and ensure the survival of that relationship! My father and mother were both a great source of knowledge and wisdom to me when I was a young man. Their philosophy that mistakes should always be viewed as learning experiences has enriched my life and I hope yours too. You may have heard that a major American Bank, when assessing the levels of bonuses for its managers always took into account the number of bad loans that the managers made (?)! Their reasoning was that if some (I repeat some!) were not found to be non-performing then the manager was not lending enough. I think that today this stands as true as it did a few years ago, despite the melt down in banks! Kind regards and best wishes Don and team at Business Results (HB) Ltd.