aARth-shaasTR = SCIENCE OF BUSINESS:...RULE NO. 101: ....TRUE FRIENDS ARE LIFE LIFESAVER....BUT KEEP THEM SAFE FROM YOUR OWN BUSINESS....
Posted by Vishva News Reporter on April 21, 2003

At Prajapati Vishva Aashram Foundation (PVAF) the primary mandate is to bring prosperity among humankind by sharing LIFE SCIENCES = KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LIFE = veD....

.... and part of veD is aARth-shaasTR which inlcudes science of creating wealth with understanding of polity....

....polity is defined as: 

"....the management of public or private affairs; especially with  prudent, shrewd, or crafty administration for a civil order....also polity is defined by Aristotle as:   a form of political organization in which the whole body of the people govern for the good of all and that constitutes a fusion of oligarchy and democracy..."

....The economics of wealth creation is an instinct for most humans as one's survival depends on wealth...but polity is most un-naturally corrupted in the current veDik time era called kli-yug.......especially when it comes to mixing creation of wealth and personal relationship.....(the starting write up by SRii chmpklaal daajibhaai misTRii of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) ......

....As per Joanna Krotz from  MSN BUSINESS ...."Most experts agree: However seductive the fantasy is of hiring friends to help give birth to your baby enterprise, you should resist it. Just walk away. Go ahead and be lonely at the top. Again, if you want your new business to thrive, do not hire friends.

Please keep reading and I'll give you five reasons why."......just click on this red hilite MSN BUSINESS website or just click on the next line to read it on this PVAF website.....



Starting a business? Don't hire friends

Marketing Intelligence / Joanna L. Krotz  From MSN BUSINESS

Cautionary tales about the risk of hiring friends as employees are nothing new. Yet startup entrepreneurs invariably think such rules are made for everyone else. That's probably why they became entrepreneurs in the first place.
 


 

 

You hear the same blithe confidence over and over: "Oh, we've known each other since grade school. It'll be fine." Or, "We've always been able to talk about everything. It'll be great." Or my favorite: "We're different people. She doesn't really have the same kind of drive that I do. It'll work perfectly."

The dream of starting a business often embraces this warm and fuzzy fantasy of getting all your best buddies to work alongside you — like a personal dream team. It must have something to do with re-living high school.

On the face of it, the arguments are understandable. Pals are trusted for support and honesty. Friends have values that mirror your own, so they're comfortable to be around.

When friends hold down the fort, you figure you don't have to watch your back. Friends are also miraculously affordable. They'll work cheaper and longer than anyone else, which gives you more resources for the lunatic demands of a startup. All in all, everyone will be pulling for your success. It's a no-brainer, right?

Sure, for entrepreneurs without brains.

 

Most experts agree: However seductive the fantasy is of hiring friends to help give birth to your baby enterprise, you should resist it. Just walk away. Go ahead and be lonely at the top. Again, if you want your new business to thrive, do not hire friends. Keep reading and I'll give you five reasons why.

Little help from friends

First, know that at the founding phase, the temptation to hire friends is really the most appealing time, but also the most dangerous time. Startups are free-for-alls. Everyone works full out at every task, from sweeping floors to making client presentations. Virtually every staffer has equal footing with no one truly in charge.

Accustomed to each other's moods and signals, friends will probably get teamwork and momentum going earlier and easier. Besides working cheaply, a friend will invest the same huge gobs of time, sweat and worry as you do. Pretty soon, that friend feels just like the owner, too.

Then, sure as sunset, a day will arrive when the friend/employee decides to forge a path you'd rather not travel. Maybe he or she wants more money and prestige. Maybe it's a suggestion that you're doing everything wrong, and he or she should be the boss.

"Conflicts destroy friendship," says John Baldoni, a leadership consultant and coach in Ann Arbor, Mich., and author of "Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders." "What will you do when differences arise? And you're kidding yourself that they won't." (For what happens when you work with a significant other, see this article.)

Such differences can fester for any number of reasons. But here are the five basic problems with hiring friends.

  1. Friends are just like you. "If you hire someone because it's easy or comfortable for you, it may not be good for the business," says Judy Irving, a professional coach in Las Vegas.

    Your business will profit from having a diverse staff, whether that translates into different skills, values, ages, gender, upbringing or culture. By stretching your comfort level and hiring a multi-disciplined and multicultural staff, you'll widen the company's horizon and opportunities. Imagine if all your employees think just like you (as friends tend to). Who will challenge your strategies? Who will offer fresh perspective?

  2. Friends are often not qualified. The smart reason to hire someone is because you think he'll do a terrific job. "Too frequently, people jump to a quick hiring solution, such as a friend or family member, without truly weighing the job responsibilities and the skills, abilities, talents and knowledge that the individual brings to the new business," says Arlene Vernon, a human resources consultant in Minneapolis.

    It is far more costly to fire the first hire, then recruit and train a replacement, than it is to find the right person from the beginning. And that's just business costs. You may be forced to tell a cherished friend that he simply isn't working out, which will certainly kill the friendship.

    If you're in a bind and must tap friends for short-term projects, give yourself an escape hatch. "Don't commit to any time or budget," suggests Brett Singer, a New York theatrical publicist. See how it works out first.

  3. You can't easily be boss and friend. Most people relax around friends and turn formal in business situations. When you blur the roles, you lose on either side. "I won't hire my friends and I also do not want them to secure our services," says Joyce Scardina Becker, who runs Events of Distinction, a wedding and event management company in San Francisco. When planning a wedding, she says, "performance must be pretty flawless. There's no room for mistakes."

    On the job, Becker admits to being relentlessly attentive to clients and details. She demands the same from associates. "But how I am in business is totally different than how I am with friends," she explains. "With friends, I'm a whimsical little girl, very fun-loving. It's a whole different persona."

  4. Friends will take liberties. Unlike other staffers who worry about employer approval, friends can become lax, showing up late or taking care of personal needs on your nickel. Over time, little liberties grow into big problems.

    A few years ago, Miguel Jeronimo, then a diplomat at the United Nations, decided to open the Portuguese restaurant he'd always dreamed about. He asked a friend of nine years' standing to supervise the design and construction while Jeronimo kept working. Alfama opened its doors in New York's Greenwich Village in 1999 and the friend stayed on. But, Jeronimo says, "He began taking authority for decisions where he shouldn't. I caught him taking home food. He thought he was the boss."

    By the summer of 2000, the friend had to be let go. The lesson, Jeronimo says, is that you don't really know what friends are like at work. He was shocked by his friend's behavior. "I'm much colder now. Friends are friends and business is business."

  5. Business trumps friendship every time. Harry Gruber is chief executive of Kintera, a San Diego company that provides marketing and Web services to nonprofits. He has founded and sold four other companies, which, he says, taken together add up to a staggering $4 billion in capitalization. Gruber has plenty of experience in hiring friends, including, at one time, a married couple. But, he says, the enterprise comes first. "The friendship is gone the minute you hire someone. When you convert a friend into an employee, the business relationship always overwhelms the friendship. Business dominates. In the end, you must do what's best for the company."

Exception to the rule: The prime exception to this hiring rule is if the friendship originated when the two of you worked together, say the experts. In that case, you're familiar with each other's work habits. There won't be any rude surprises. And you've seen how each behaves in reporting relationships, even if it was never directly with one another.

Otherwise, if your goal is to reach the top, get used to feeling lonely.

For more marketing and management advice, visit the Web site for Joanna's company, Muse2Muse Productions.


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