Costco Connection - January 2006

FRESHviews
Introducing the
RHONDA ABRAMS: STRATEGIES
Rhonda Abrams has

written several books

on entrepreneurship.

For more tips from

Rhonda, see www.

PlanningShop.com.

• Recognize that any decision is almost always better than no decision. If we neglect to choose, there are usually consequences.

• There’s no perfect choice. We often procrastinate, thinking that the perfect option will come along if we wait long enough. It won’t.

• You’re going to make mistakes. Sure, you’ll regret some of your choices. Even some big ones.

Allow yourself—and others—to make mistakes;

Ne_w _Year’s _goal:that’s part of being human.

• Set deadlines. To avoid procrastination, Be_decisivegive yourself a “drop dead” date for making a choice. Allow yourself time to do the necessary fact-finding, but make a decision by your deadline.

• Give yourself fewer options. I’ve learned
DID YOU HAVE TROUBLE deciding on your New a trick I use when trying to decide something
Year’s resolutions? Were you stumped choosing with another person. We list three options—
between the many ways you could improve your only three—and each of us can either choose one
life? If so, let me make a suggestion: In 2006, or veto one. It’s easier to choose when options
resolve to be a better decision-maker. are limited.
Let’s face it: Every day, each one of us is faced • Get good advisers. You’ll make better deci-
with a ton of decisions—interacting with our fami- sions, especially major choices, when you can con-
lies and friends, dealing with our businesses or sult people you truly trust, whether it’s your
careers, even what to make for dinner. It’s easy to spouse, friend, accountant, etc.
become what I call “decide-ophobic.” • Don’t second-guess! Once you’ve made a
Decide-ophobia sets in when you must make decision, stick to it!
so many decisions you begin to avoid making any. Decision-making is like any other skill: It can
Here are some ways you can improve your deci- be learned and improved upon. You don’t have to
sion-making skills. remain “decide-ophobic” forever. C

A copy for success ber, tells his story in Copy This! Lessons from a Hyper- active Dyslexic Who Turned

KINKO’S a Bright Idea into One of FOUNDER America’s Best Companies Paul Orfalea’s (Workman Publishing, 2005). early résumé His “disorders,” Orfalea reads like writes, “contributed enor-this: flunked two grades, was mously to the building of expelled from four of his eight both Kinko’s and of my life. schools, graduated eighth They propelled me to think from the bottom of his high differently. I was prevented school class (and honestly from taking inspiration from wonders how the other seven books; I had to learn from were worse than he was) and the world itself, directly.” was fired from numerous jobs. Orfalea, with co-writer Not a very auspicious Ann Marsh, offers a candid start. But it’s no real surprise, narrative of the challenges given that Orfalea (pro- presented by a linear world nounced OR-fa-la) was diag- to a person who doesn’t nosed with both dyslexia and think in linear ways. And attention deficit hyperactivity single print shop today has it offers a strong dose of disorder—conditions that he 1,200 locations in nine coun- Orfalea’s unique business says brought “gifts” that he tries and is one of America’s philosophies—tenets that used to succeed. Indeed, the most recognized brands. any entrepreneur could company he founded with a Orfalea, a Costco mem- benefit from. C

new $10 bill

IN THE LATEST U.S. currency redesign, $10 notes have been given a new look to make them easier to read and harder to counterfeit.

Like $50 and $20 notes, 10-spots now feature subtle new colors—shades of orange, yellow and red in the background—and a handful of new security tools. You’ll start seeing them in circulation in March.

If you handle cash in your business, you can look for the following features in the new bills to spot fakes.

• The color-shifting ink in the numeral “ 10” in the lower right corner on the face of the note changes color from copper to green when you tilt the note. So you can “tilt your 10” to help determine its authenticity.

• The watermark, a faint image of Alexander Hamilton to the right of the large portrait, can be seen only when the note is held to the light. The watermark is framed by a blank, colorless oval. This makes it easier to locate the watermark.

• A security thread with the words “USA TEN” repeated in tiny print can be seen when the note is held to the light. The thread runs vertically to the right of Hamilton’s portrait.

Together, these features make the notes safer, because they’re easier to check; smarter, to stay ahead of tech-savvy counterfeiters; and more secure, to protect the integrity of U.S. currency, according to the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing. They make it easier for people to check their money and harder for counterfeiters to fake.