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Disaster Recovery is not Business Continuity. Many companies do not have full business continuity plans. They say they do have business continuity plans but they really mean that they have a disaster recovery plan, usually meaning that they have alternative premises and possibly equipment that can be used in the case of a full scale disaster. Business continuity covers far more than just the IT systems. Think of all the paper records an organisation needs to continue working. Think of the most important asset of all to most organisations: its staff. Without its staff these organisation ceases to exist. A business continuity plan contains information for all staff and their activities in the case of problems affecting the organisation.

A preliminary to the testing of any plan is to establish some form of Business Continuity Group consisting of representatives from each of the main business areas, together with those responsible for finance, facilities and IT.

Once a business continuity plan exists it needs to be maintained and tested regularly. Once again, many organisations say their plan is tested but what happens is that they show that the major IT systems can be seen to be working on equipment at a disaster recovery site. Often there is no involvement other than from the IT Group.

It is essential that business continuity testing follows a risk based approach. This provides 2 main advantages. Firstly any business continuity must be aligned to the business and that the plan should be designed to cope with risks to the business. Secondly, by following a risk based testing approach to business continuity, this highlights the areas not to test, by prioritising the main risks to business and therefore identifying areas of negligible or zero risk.

Business continuity testing need not be onerous or expensive. There are a number of ways in which testing can take place; each is mentioned below.

Business continuity testing can be broken down into 2 main areas, desktop testing and physical testing.

Desktop testing can be a paper walkthrough where a group of people work through the plan looking for areas which require further work. It can also be scenario testing where a group sit and work through a scenario given to them, such as electrical failure, fire, bomb threat etc. The scenario is defined by a different group of people who then monitor the accuracy of the business continuity plan.

Physical testing means a form of business continuity testing that happens outside the conference room. This is broken down into a number of different tests. Firstly a communications test. Can everyone who needs to be notified during a problem actually be contacted? Second in physical testing is a disaster recovery test, where the IT systems are established on a secondary set of computers, and thirdly, a full relocation test, where the business areas relocate to another site. All of these tests are carried out in order to hone the business continuity plan and to provide assurance that it will be effective when required.

In summary, all business continuity plans need to be tested. Some companies believe that the testing would be too complex, time consuming or expensive. It is therefore essential to use a 3rd party group of experts to advise, help carry out and monitor the tests that are carried out. The 3rd party would also make suggestions regarding any changes believed necessary to the existing plan.

A Streeb is an experienced practitioner of business continuity testing at Acutest, an independent consultancy specialising in business continuity assurance and software testing services. For more information on this topic visit http://www.acutest.co.uk or send an email to enquires@acutest.co.uk

This is pretty much where you want to start with your online venture. You want to keep track of all things in an organized way. You need to also establish goals. How many products do you intend to sell within a given time period. Where do you want to be at this time next year? These are important aspects to consider.

One way to track sales or create goals is to base your output on a quarterly approach. Plan out your goal for the first quarter of the year. Look at your numbers at the end of the quarter and see how they look. From this analysis you can give you self and idea of what numbers you want to see in the quarters to follow. This three month at a time approach is great because it gives you a time out to look and see what is and isn’t effective.

Now, this may be the wrong section to place this in, but I don’t care. IF you are going to have your business online, it IMPORTANT that you get a real domain name, website and SPEND MONEY for it…don’t go at it for free. Having a real and established domain name gives your customers a comfort that says, “This is a real company” and not some guy just making websites to take my money and run.

Yeah, I know you have seen those free tripod, geocities and other free sites, but you have to understand, you get what you pay for. If someone comes to your site to buy something, they certainly don’t want to see any pop-ups that have NOTHING to do with your product or service. That is what you get with freebie web hosting. So what are you to do? There are a ton of web hosting companies out there, many of which let you register your domain and pick a hosting package all at the same time. I have had much success with a company called DOTNETPARK, but you can always look around for yourself. They have complete web hosting packages that start at around eight dollars a month.

Once you get your website up and running, you will need to establish email contact information for your customers. You will want to create simple, relevant email addresses such as:

info@yourdomain.com

help@yourdomain.com

webmaster@yourdomain.com

Next you are on to design. Now I am not going to give you a whole tutorial on how to design a website, but I will give you a small list of points to consider. It is important to design for your market. Don’t use the wrong colors, don’t overly use stock photos and don’t use photos images that don’t belong to you. Host the images on your site…don’t reference images from other sites. Design for usability…make sure even Joe Schmoe can navigate your site with no problem. Also, if you are going to do your own design and web page construction, consider purchasing THE standard in web imaging, the all mighty Adobe Photoshop and its super compliment Macromedia Dreamweaver. These two products go hand in hand!

OH! one last thing: Do not use sound effects!!! Let me say it again, do not use sound effects!!! Ok, I’m done. I can move on now. Always have people look at your site before your release it. Consider using a content management systems to maintain your site. This will save you much time and effort when updating content for your users. Heck, a blog application like Wordpress could even work for you. Those of you with blogs out there are probably already familiar with this tool. If you admit that you have no eye for design, these are your options: Find someone who does and pay them Go to your local bookstore and browse great books such as “WebPages That Suck ” to get the latest do-s and don’ts of web design

Visit other websites that may offer the same thing as you to get an idea of where to start with your design but don’t blatantly copy anyone else’s work or you could be infringing on copyright laws.

Always provide contact information about your site so that people can feel at ease with visiting your site and purchasing your offerings.

Keep track of what works!

You may publish this article freely while you do not change it’s content and the resource box.
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Tony Rocks is a full-service web development company
that can tackle any project. From Enterprise-level applications
to data integrity and storage and marketing solutions,
Tony Rocks simply Rocks!

http://www.tonyrocks.com

“We are so different and individualistic that we can’t work together.” Subroto Bag chi, a senior executive in wipro technologies and Indian Technology MNC, said to his chairman in a straight talk. But Premji, the chairman, simple reply to the statement was, “That’s because we should work together.”

High performers are very erratic, individualistic, and egoistic in nature. Less experience senior management team would think only negative characters in them, a destroyer, keen to break well defined rules, unreasonable, a person who can’t take a company to its goal. Is that true in real world? Just to name a few Louis Gerstner, Steve jobs, Larry Ellison, Richard Branson, Henry ford etc. These super human just can not be defined by any lexicon. You make a study on one and other will take 180 turn to the table on that definition.

Super performers are always at 180 of any defined personality. To work with these kind of people a whole new set of skill, are required and managing a group of super performers is a job only suitable to a similar devil.

But wait for a second; does all these disqualification make these high performers unsuitable for a place in your team? Think again, can your team live without these out of box thinker. Answer is yes.

A major portion of any team are made of media are managers. Team still perform (obviously in relative sense) But put one these 180 spit firing performers, you run a speeding speedboat we can win the race or get topped down in matter of time. But you will be agree with me that only a speedboat can win the race, not a two boat. Your only function (mind it, a devils job it is) to sit on the stirring and keep the synergy of all system working together to achieve the required result.

Managing these high performers is an art, a test of your extremes. But the outcome is many fold which makes it imperative to have these dickheads in your team as many as you can. They hate to loose. They want to win every day, every hour. They are high in energy, high in temper, high in ego. They are intolerable to mediocrity. For them anyone less than 100 is a sinner. They go to extreme to produce result and get angry to the level of hell if someone does not get in done with their efficiency level. They may even break loose on you if you come in their way.

But those are the ingredient of a successful. Winning team. You need to give them space, be patience, sit and watch. Your task is to keep them not breaking others boundaries and something in the team’s benefit let them break it. It is a tight ship to manage but at the end of the day, it is your capabilities to direct their high energies and enthusiasm to produce required business results.

Take my words, your only job here would to direct these dickheads in a particular direction and your company success is on autopilot.

So go and find at least one. Big Dickhead, you hate keep in your team.

Arvind Kumar is an Electrical Engineer from a premier Institute, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. He has 4 years experince in marketing business consulting services and marketing services. He is founder and CEO of http://www.nuttymarketer.com. You may reach him at arvind@nuttymarketer.com.

Based upon my research of over 300 managers in the last two years, I have found what qualities are most important to hiring managers.

You will be in a more competitive advantage if you do a self-assessment to determine if you possess these qualities. If you lack some of these qualities, find a career coach and turn your liability into an asset for any organization.

The following are the top ten qualities hiring managers seek. They are not in any particular order.

• Personality

Making people feel comfortable when you meet them goes a long way in establishing a business and personal relationship. A smile and a warm greeting in any situation pays big dividends. Always ask about the other person. It makes them feel that you sincerely care about them.

• Verbal and Written Communication

Being concise but specific in your communication is very important to anyone in this day of high tech communication. Many times the human factor of thoughtfulness and consideration is abandoned in the technology. A key formula in both written and verbal communication is: Tell’em What You Are Going To Tell’em, Tell’em, and Tell’em What You Told ‘Em.

• Team Player

Being a team player simply means that one not only does his or her job, but also is honestly willing to support their peers. If another department or group is in need of help, volunteer yourself. Remember, top management really knows who is a team player and who is not. Just keep in mind that there is always an extra set of eyes watching you.

• Listening Skills

Have you ever noticed that when you go to a fast food place and you tell them that your order is to go and they ask you, “Is this to go”? How does that make you feel? Right, they are not listening. Listen thoroughly before you speak. That means listen to what’s not being said. Then ask open-ended questions, who, what, when, where, why and how to show the other person that you really are listening and that you do care about them.

• Attitude

We can train people on how to do a job, but we can’t train attitude. Managers look for a positive and sincere attitude when thinking about promoting someone. Always have something positive to say about your company, department and peers. If you don’t have something positive to say about them, don’t say anything. If asked, be truthful with diplomacy. Remember, attitude is everything.

• Enthusiasm

Enthusiastic people seem to radiate confidence and leadership qualities. Think about what you are most enthusiastic about at work and share your enthusiasm with others. It is catching.

• Goal Setting

One of the many traits top executive men and women possess is goal setting. They write their goals and read them every day. They make their goals specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and they put a timeline on each one. Be prepared when one day your boss will ask you what are your goals? Write them down and carry them with you daily. Share your goals with a trusted friend of manager. During your performance review, be prepared when your boss ask you what your goals are.

• A Sense of Humor

Adding harmless humor to the workplace takes a lot of stress away from the pressures of our daily activities. Life is too short to take seriously. Take your job seriously but not yourself by using your sense of humor.

• Professional Appearance

The image we project will determine how others judge us. From our economic heritage to our economic status, our educational heritage to our educational status, our level of sophistication to our income levels we are judged by our appearance. Observe how your senior management projects their image. Take some clues and do the same.

• Life-Long Learning

Another common trait top executive men and women share is their quest for knowledge about a variety of subjects. They read about many things that cause them to be creative and knowledgeable. Their attitude is that once they stop learning how to become better at what they do as a person or as a professional, they might as well retire. Show your managers that you are willing and excited about learning. Attend your company’s training sessions, establish an executive book club in your department and come up with creative ideas to increase the success of your department and company.

Ryan James (R.J.) Lancaster is the president of the Education & Learning Institute, a research, seminar and publishing company. He helps organizations and individuals think differently to ensure their success. He is also a professional speaker and author of E-books. Two of his E-books are: Nice People Do Finish 1st and Great Leaders Make Great Teachers.

Contact information: (602) 274-4609 Email: rlancaster5@cox.net
Website: http://www.rjlancaster.com

As clients meet with me to discuss leadership, inevitably the conversation turns to decision-making. Making decisions is one of the most taxing job responsibilities that leaders have. In my experience, leaders suffer more than they should because they make too many decisions. Too often, they fail to ask, “Whose decision is it?” or “Who is the decider?”

When leaders take the burden of responsibility too far, they either want to protect others from making tough decisions or they want to extend their power. The result is often poor decision-making because these leaders do not have sufficient information. And the team members who should have made the decision do not gain valuable experience. Instead of adhering to the old Harry S. Truman adage, “The buck stops here,” these leaders should do a better job of clarifying job responsibilities, trusting their team members to make good decisions, and then holding them accountable.

Lord Carrington, whom I knew for a brief time, was minister of the British Defense Department during the Falkland Islands war. The war was launched because of a mistake a radio operator made on one of the frigates out at sea. Lord Carrington was obligated via ministerial responsibility (the British version of “The buck stops here”) to resign. After all, if he was doing his job, all those under his command must be doing their jobs, too, no matter how far removedincluding the radio operator. This practice is outdated, in part, because it takes accountability away from the person who is directly responsible. And it results in leaders who are either too controlling or unjustly blamed for the bad decisions of others.

“Perhaps you can help me with a problem I’m having, Gary,” Todd, President of one of the largest financial services company on the east coast, said as we sat down to coffee. “I have this woman who works for me. She’s grown her department by thirty percent in the last year. But she hasn’t been showing up at the weekly executive meetings even when she’s in the office. Her boss thinks everything’s fine and keeps citing the thirty-percent figure, but the competition in that industry segment is scoring even higher. Plus, her department is the doorway into my company for many customers.” I asked Todd what exactly the problem was. He said, “Her!”

I asked, “Are you sure?” He looked at me quizzically. “You’re saying the problem lies with me?” I asked him whom she reported to. He said, “She reports to Dave.” I then asked, “So whose problem is it?” Begrudgingly, he said, “Dave’s.” We then investigated why he thought it was his problem to begin with. This employee did not show up for Dave’s meeting, but since it was Todd’s company and he had heard complaints, he felt it reflected badly on him. Since I don’t have an emotional investment, it was easier for me to see who was the decider here than it was for Todd. And, since Dave is invested in this woman in many ways that Todd is not, Todd might be able to supply some perspective to Dave that he is currently missing.

As a leader, Todd shouldn’t ignore the fact that he had heard complaints about this particular employee. Instead, he must hold Dave accountable for his people. Once Dave is alerted to the issue, it is no longer Todd’s issue. If Dave fails to act, however, then Todd must confront a new issue: Dave’s failure to manage his team members.

Since Todd is impacted by the failure of the employee to attend his meeting, I suggested a strategy that helps set clear boundaries. I encouraged him to cancel the next meeting if one or more people did not attend. I find it hard to employ shaming tactics, but, at the same time, they can be extremely effective. In this case, the message would be loud and clear: everyone’s participation is critical to the process. And, based upon my experience, I doubt Dave would have to cancel more than one meeting.

Employee empowerment begins with leaders asking themselves four words over and over: “Whose decision is it?”

In 1987 Gary co-founded a company with $4,000 in start-up money. Over the years the company grew from 2 to 2200 employees. ACI Telecentrics, Inc. became the 25th largest call center outsourcer in the United States. “City Business,” a Minneapolis/St. Paul publication, distinguished Gary as one of their “40 under 40″ award winners. Besides serving on the board for ACI Telecentrics, Gary has been a board member of 9 different corporations, ranging from non-profit organizations to financial institutions. Gary received his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and attended Harvard Business School. He has participated in several leadership programs at institutions including the Covey Leadership Center and Disney University and the Aspen Institute as a Crown fellow. He is now a respected Executive Coach and the founder of C02Partners. http://www.co2partners.com

Q. I have always had such trouble with doing this goals thing. I don’t know where to start or what to do. I can’t seem to get going. I end up floundering, getting discouraged and giving up. Can you help me figure this thing out?

A. There are lots of things wrong with goals. One is growing up believing we set them only once a year - the dreaded New Year’s resolutions. Another is believing goals are something you achieve and then walk away.

There are many things that get in the way of achieving our goals.

We have the false notion that goals are to be set only at the beginning of the year. Most New Year’s resolutions are broken and forgotten before the end of January, so it’s no wonder we get discouraged.

Goals can and should be set any time we choose to do so. Many people look at spring as a time of new beginnings, a time to make a fresh start. We can make a fresh start at any time. For me the fall has always been a time of fresh starts and new goals. It’s when a break in the oppressive heat begins, and with it comes more energy for life. I often ask myself, “If I start now, what can be accomplished by the holidays?” This is sort of like giving yourself a special gift for the holidays.

Often, we try to accomplish too many goals at once. It’s the old biting off more than we can chew syndrome. We get motivated and excited, set a whole bunch of goals, then get scattered, overwhelmed, distracted and discouraged. When you’re just starting out trying to achieve goals, it’s best to work on only one at a time. After you get a little experience under you belt, and have strengthened your goal-achieving muscles, you can work on multiple goals at the same time.

Often the most difficult part in achieving goals is simply getting started. The best quick-start advice I can give is once you have set a goal, make sure you do something toward achieving it before your head hits the pillow that night. Never let the day end without taking at least one small step toward your goal. In this way, you break out of the inactive place most people get stuck in, and you begin to build momentum right away. Then the next steps begin to appear more doable.

Once you get started, it’s important to have a clear idea of how to get from here to there. Without a clear and specific direction, it’s easy to get lost along the way. Most goals require a series of steps, or mini-goals. By writing them down, you are creating a map. It should look like this: I’m here, I want to be there, the steps are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

If you don’t get anything else from these ideas, get this: Goals are not something you work on and accomplish, only to quit doing all the things that got you where you want to be. Goals are what you pass through on your way to making your life better.

Many times we have an idea of what to do, or even know exactly what to do, we just don’t do it. Here’s a story that illustrates this point.

A wealthy man was nearing his retirement and looking forward to traveling, playing golf and spending time with his grandchildren. His only problem was that he did not have any grandchildren. He invited his four grown and married children to dinner and announced before eating, “As you know, I’ll be retiring very soon. I’ve set some goals for myself: traveling, playing golf and spending lots of time with my grandchildren. The only problem, as you know, is that I have no grandchildren. So, I have established a $1million trust fund that I will give to the couple who gives me my first grandchild. Now, let’s bow our heads and bless our food.”

When the man looked up from the blessing, the room was empty.

The point is, there is the gathering of information, and then there is using the information.

Go use this stuff.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

Go into any bookstore and you will find a big selection of self-help and personal improvement products. Most everyone (and I’ll bet everyone reading this) wants to improve. We know we need to get better, and we want to get better. We may want to improve our personal relationships, our business capabilities, our ability to be disciplined, our desire to juggle four chain saws, or any of hundreds of other things. In that book store you can find books to help you do any of those things!

In many cases though, those books start half way through the process. After writing the last chapter about identifying our potential I realized that identification of our potential, while critical, isn’t the complete answer. It is only the first step.

If we want to reach our potential, we must start by identifying our greatest areas of potential. With that knowledge, we must take a step-by-step approach to making that potential reality in our lives.

It is no different than a business identifying its core strengths in order to best capitalize on the opportunities they see. When we start our personal improvement program with identified strengths or potential, we ignite our personal rocket - and begin our trip to greater heights and achievements.

Here then is a step-by-step process that you can use to convert your potential into results!

1.Identify it. I’ve already helped you do that. Whether you have followed those steps in the last chapter or are just aware of a skill you want to develop, this is a necessary first step.

2.Claim it. You must believe in your heart that you have untapped skill and ability in this area. Once you have claimed it, you must proclaim it by telling yourself (preferably out loud) that you ARE assertive, you ARE a swimmer, you ARE supportive of others. (Fill in your own skills and potentials!)

3.Scope it. Next you need to think about what part(s) of you life you want to apply this new skill or ability in. Take time to determine the areas of your life where you will use this enhanced skill.

4.Target it. Why do you want to develop this potential? How will you and/or those around you benefit from the development of this potential? What is your goal? Answering these questions will help you stay the course when you get discouraged. Write these reasons and your ultimate goal down and read them often.

5.Plan it. A plan will help us achieve most anything more rapidly. Wouldn’t you like to reach your potential sooner than later? Then make a plan! Determine what you need to know and how you will learn it. Schedule time on your calendar. Think about the situations you want to practice in. Write your plan down and remember to include timelines. This is a real plan. While it may not be as elaborate as a business plan, it is every bit as important. This is your plan!

6.Start it. Get started already. You might actually start as early as step 2, but I include it here because the scoping, targeting and planning is important too. Whatever you are trying to develop will require time and effort. The toughest step though is often the first one, so get started!

7.Support it. You may need to find support from many people and in many places. One way is to have a mentor. If you know someone who excels at what you are trying to develop, ask them to mentor you. You can also get mentoring from people indirectly, by reading about their approaches, thought processes and ideas. (This is one great reason to read biographies and autobiographies.) Get support around you too. Find people close to you who will support your efforts and encourage, not discourage you. Identifying your support system early on helps you get started. Having the support will help you get past the toughest times during your process.

8.Practice it. You won’t reach your potential in one try or in a week. I recently read a page on the web that was promoting a workshop called Building a Million Dollar Practice. The tagline is what was memorable. It read “Hint - it isn’t about the Million Dollars.” That tagline tells the story - it is about the practice! Practice builds our skills. Practice broadens our experience. Practice creates new habits. Practice makes permanent. Perhaps that greatest key of all to developing our potential, is disciplining ourselves to practice.

9.Be grateful for it. When you receive a gift from someone you likely send a thank you note. Being grateful for the gifts of our potential is just as important. By being grateful we begin to unlock even greater opportunities to use the potential we have nursed into skill, experience, and habit. It isn’t too late to start. Reaching our potential has nothing to do with our age, situation or past. Using this process will help you to unleash the potential you identify to help you reach your professional and personal goals and objectives.

© 2004, All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry. Kevin publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly ezine designed to provide ideas, tools, techniques and inspiration to enhance your professional skills. Go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/current.asp to read the current issue and subscribe. Kevin is also President of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. You may contact Kevin at toll free 888.LEARNER.

I was slowed down when my computer crashed and I had no data, no address book and not even my passwords to get back online. I didn’t think I was doing anything remarkable by bouncing back to productivity even with this handicap for a week. But from the feedback I’ve had from more than a few people, it seems paralysis would have been the acceptable common option.

Yes, I got slowed down, but nothing critical was lost and no appointments missed. Why? Internal reserves, resources and drive. How do you survive in business today without your computer (or maybe it’s when your cell phone drops in the lake or your Ipod gets lost)?

There were three parts to my personal survival. They are:

A. Resourcefulness — When things don’t go your way, you can have a pity party and choose to be paralyzed. Or you can decide to dig in to your reserves and available resources to propel you forward in spite of obstacles. I start with a simple question: What’s the most important thing that needs to be done now and how do I do it (options)?

It’s a matter of choosing to get the work done and keeping your priorities in order, or using this problem (any problem) as an excuse to procrastinate, or wallow in self-pity, or give up.

B. Intestinal Fortitude — This was my father’s term for the drive, determination, guts, stamina and the like to find a way or make a way when you hit a roadblock. Intestinal fortitude keeps you going because the vision is clear, your passion is unquenchable and you are a winner - and winners never quit.

Of course when a glitch happens, what matters is how you handle it, not deny it. Handling a problem head on, gives you an action plan. Action puts you in control. When you are in control, the fear and panic can’t control you.

If a glitch with your computer is enough to put your whole business at risk, maybe you need a dose of intestinal fortitude to make some hard decisions to reduce that risk in the future, e.g. strategic investments in your infrastructure, etc. Look at the cost of the investment compared to the direct cost or opportunity costs of a week offline (think salaries, sales, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, product delays, and shipping delays).

C. Planning — In this case, I was indeed lucky. The three days after the disk crash had already been blocked out to work on my three-year vision and budget to get there and the detailed plans for 2006. My schedule was already cleared of appointments, deadlines or correspondence.

As business owners, we all need some reflection time to lift our sights and take a longer view of where we are going, otherwise, it’s possible to short-change yourself and the business.

The silver lining of my system crash was that without my own computer, I couldn’t be tempted to procrastinate or avoid the soul-searching and reflection this process requires. I was able to really concentrate on what I want to do professionally and personally for the next 12-36 months.

Putting a timeline to the vision and goals accelerates the business momentum and recharges my batteries for the next 90 days to set it all in motion. Try it.

Kerri Salls, MBA runs a virtual business school to train, consult and coach small business CEO’s and entrepreneurs in 10 key strategies to make more profit in less time. Learn more at www.breakthrough-business-school.com/products.html or sign up for a free weekly newsletter at www.breakthrough-business-school.com/newsletter.shtml

I can go for months having the most blissful sleeps.

When I awaken, I feel rested and really very good.

You might think that all of this wonderful repose is a prerequisite for setting the world on fire, enabling me to accomplish super-human feats.

Well, I have news for you. I am actually more productive when I have bouts of sleeplessness. In this way, I suppose I’m like Thomas Edison.

You’ve heard his story. Allegedly, he slept for only a few hours out of every 24, taking frequent catnaps to maintain his high energy level and to support his inventive prowess.

All of the reports I’ve read seem to suggest that Edison, great man that he was, deliberately chose this sleep-style. I don’t buy it.

I think he suffered from insomnia, as I do, occasionally. But his distinction is in how he used his malady, constructively.

My guess is that he wasted zero time worrying about missing sleep. When he awoke, he worked, and at the first hint of fatigue, he napped.

Most insomniacs perceive their sleep and wakeful cycles as problems to be perplexed about, and to be managed better, if not to be solved one day, entirely.

But I see it differently:

Sleeplessness isn’t a problem; it’s an opportunity!

Used well, it can enable us to get a lot more done than we’re permitting ourselves to do.

An hour ago I was awake at 4:45 a.m. and worrying about a past due account that I have.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to get that off my mind, if I stayed in bed, so I got up and I wrote an article called, “The Deal Is Not Made Until The Money Is Paid!”

Next, I started writing this piece, and at this moment I have plenty of energy, and I’m happy as a clam, having jump-started my day so productively.

So, what’s going to happen next?

(1) I’ll keep producing, and get back onto my “normal” sleep cycle this evening; or

(2) I’ll play it like Edison; if I tire, I’ll catnap, and accept the productivity that comes with being as productive as possible whenever I awaken.

Either way, I win.

You can, too. Use your sleep patterns as constructively as you can. If you have a problem that’s keeping you up, work on it. Accomplish something positive with respect to managing it better, or solving it.

Then, having done so, you’ll unconsciously feel you deserve your rest, and you’ll be ready, willing and able to let it gently come over you.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.