06 Aug 2012

Why is White-Collar Crime on the Rise?

By Ginny Grimsley
COO Advocates Values-in-Action Courses for All Students

Barclays, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan - it seems every time we turn around, another financial giant is accused of lying, cheating and stealing.

It's not your imagination, says Rakesh Malhotra, a longtime COO who has worked in Asia, East Europe and United States and led cross-cultural diverse teams.

"White-collar crime convictions in the United States alone have increased 17.8 percent in the last five years alone," he says. "Last year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed a record 735 enforcement actions."

And it's not just hedge fund operators and money traders. White-collar crimes include identity theft, cheating on taxes, health-care fraud - crimes as readily committed by employees at the local big-box store as suits in penthouse offices.

"The problem is one of values," says Malhotra, author of Adventures of Tornado Kid: Whirling Back Home Towards Timeless Values (www.FiveGlobalValues.com). "I have worked in several countries, recruiting, hiring, training and retaining employees. I found that in every culture, the same core values play a key role in the success of both employees and the corporation.

"Unfortunately, they are not taught in school - not in grade school or in most business schools. While we would benefit from having values taught at all age levels, for now they are learned mostly from parents, mentors, inspiring teachers and others who shape young lives."

It's as important for the business to have what Malhotra has identified as five essential global values as it is for the employees, he says.

"The business has to show that these ethics are implemented and acted upon. Otherwise, the employee with values, the one instructed to, say, lie about a product, will feel secure about reporting such conduct without being fired."

What are these values and how can they be taught?

• Responsibility: There is nothing more fundamental to being an adult in our society than accountability. Parents can create cause-and-effect circumstances, such as letting a teen borrow the car provided they put gas in it. Breaking such a pact though, because of a bad grade in school, creates a mixed message. When children learn responsibility, they know that happiness comes from doing the right thing.

• Compassion: It's not just a term for being nice; compassion is a form of intelligence - an empathetic ability to see a situation through another's eyes and to feel what another person feels. When adults are compassionate, they reach out to help others because they can feel others' pain - and the relief and gratitude of help, sympathy or encouragement.

• Integrity: Integrity is the glue that holds together all of the values. When given an option to stray from our values, such as lying for the sake of convenience, integrity is there to hold us accountable.

• Peace: Our ability to manage conflicts amicably is a direct result of a peaceful mind and attitude. Those who value peace view anger, jealousy and hostility as the barriers to communication that they are. In all settings, business and domestic, conflicts will arise - it is inevitable. We must work through these peacefully if we are to move forward.

• Love: You must love what you do, passionately. Do your work and your organization in some way contribute to the welfare of people? That is the reason for your passion. With love, you contribute to the greater good and feel gratified.

About Rakesh Malhotra

Rakesh Malhotra has worked in, lived in or traveled to more than 40 countries. During this time, he studied human behavior in relation to core values as a means hire, promote and manage effectively. He has focused on what influences performance and what makes some employees perform at a higher level than others. Malhotra holds a master's in Public Administration and several diplomas in business education.

01 Aug 2012

The Real Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse

By Ginny Grimsley
A 'Stain' for a Football Program is a Life Sentence
for Victims, Author Says

While media and collegiate officials debated how best to handle the Penn State child-rape scandal, including the systemic cover-up by university leaders, others want the public to know just how such abuse ruins lives.

"I've heard commentators say things like, 'What's done is done,' or 'There's no one left to go after,' or 'Why punish the students and the athletes? - It's time to heal,' " says child advocate Linda O'Dochartaigh, whose novel Peregrine (www.lavanderkatbooks.com), details the stark aftermath of child sex abuse. "If they were the victims, or their children were, I don't think those sports analysts would be so quick to forgive and forget."

To hear supporters of the university's football program is surprisingly reminiscent of those who defend abusers, she says.

Penn State's board could do the noble thing and make it easy on themselves by self imposing the "death penalty" option - temporarily shutting down the embattled football program, she says.

"As terrible as the initial abuse is for children, the volume of lifelong negative consequences is usually worse," O'Dochartaigh says. "Children who suffer sexual abuse often hear the voice of their abuser in their minds for the rest of their lives, telling them they're bad, they're ugly, they're worthless. These children are often sentenced to a lifetime of relationships in which they are victims."

O'Dochartaigh reviews the lasting scars of child sexual abuse:

• Trouble handling emotions: One of the surest signs of well-being is the ability to handle adversity in stride; to keep emotions in check. "For victims of sexual abuse, a lasting legacy is the opposite of well-being," she says. Victims may have trouble expressing emotions, which are then bottled up, often leading to sporadic bouts of depression, anger and anxiety. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain.

• A core sense of worthlessness or being damaged: The physical side of sexual abuse is just one aspect; what haunts victims is the voice of the abuser, constantly reinforcing a lack of personal value. As time passes and children mature into adults, victims often do not invest in themselves. With a deep sense of being damaged, they often feel incapable or unworthy of higher-paying jobs, for example.

• Difficulty in relationships and lack of trust: Most child abuse comes from authority figures who are close to the victim - family members, family friends, church leaders, teachers, etc. Children who cannot feel secure within their own family, the most fundamental of relationships, may develop deep-seeded trust issues. Relationships are frequently doomed because victims trash good relationships, fearing their partner will ultimately try to control or hurt them, or they'll bond with an abusive person because they do not know what a good relationship entails.

"When I hear the 'yeah, but' argument from people defending those who allow sexual abuse to continue, whether its' at Penn State or in the Catholic Church, I realize we have to do more to raise awareness about how sexual abuse can ruin lives," says O'Dochartaigh.

About Linda O'Dochartaigh

Linda O'Dochartaigh has worked in health care is an advocate for victims of child abuse and domestic violence.  She wants survivors to know that an enriched, stable and happy life is available to them. O'Dochartaigh is the mother of three grown children and is raising four adopted grandchildren.

01 Aug 2012

Doctor: With Cancer, Patients Are First Line of Defense

By Ginny Grimsley

Often, it's not cancer that kills; it's the complications of cancer, says physician Stephen Garrett Marcus, a senior biotechnology research executive.

Complications are common and become more frequent and severe if cancer progresses or spreads, he says. Spotting them early and treating them quickly can lessen their impact and save lives.

"Patients and their families are the first line of defense; they need to know what to watch for and seek treatment immediately," says Marcus, author of a comprehensive new reference, Complications of Cancer (www.DrStephenMarcus.com). "Many can be successfully treated if they're addressed at the first signs of trouble."

What to watch for? Marcus describes the symptoms of six common complications:

• Malignant spinal cord compression: Compression of the spinal cord is caused by a malignant tumor or by bones in the spine damaged by cancer. Symptoms may include pain in the neck or back and weakness in the arms or legs. This is a medical emergency and should be promptly treated, or patients risk paralysis. Cancers of the lung, breast, and prostate, commonly spread to the spine and are the most likely cancers to produce spinal cord compression.

• Neutropenic sepsis: This condition often occurs during chemotherapy. The most common signs of infection are fever, chills, difficulty breathing, a new persistent cough, a sore throat, or a change in mental clarity. An easy way to lower risk is to keep hands clean. If there is an intravenous access line in place, it is important to keep the area clean.

• Pulmonary embolism: Symptoms usually include sudden, severe shortness of breath associated with pain in the chest area. Treatment may include supplemental oxygen and blood pressure support, if necessary, and administration of blood thinning "anticoagulant" medications.

• Bacterial pneumonia: Cancer or treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and steroid medications can diminish a person's ability to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria in the lungs and increase the risk of pneumonia. Symptoms can include cough, fever and chills. Antibiotics will generally cure pneumonia caused by the most common types of bacteria. If the person also is having severe difficulty breathing or low blood pressure, hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics may be required.

• Intestinal obstruction: The most common first symptom is bouts of severe pain in the middle of the abdomen. Treatment includes intravenous fluids and along with a tube passed into the stomach to decompress the intestine by withdrawing excess fluid and air. Emergency surgery may be necessary to relieve the obstruction.

• Delirium, stupor, and coma: The most common causes of these symptoms in people with cancer are problems with blood chemistry, spread of cancer to the brain, side effects of medications and infections. These complications have various treatments after the cause is identified.

"Attitude is the great wild card for surviving cancer," Marcus say, "both in vigilance for possible complications, and the courage to keep fighting."

About Stephen Garrett Marcus, M.D.

Stephen Garrett Marcus, M.D. received his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed a medical oncology fellowship at the University of California in San Francisco. As a senior research executive in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry since 1985, he played a lead role in developing Betaseron as the first effective treatment of multiple sclerosis, and has led multinational research teams for other treatments. Marcus is the president and CEO of a biotechnology company developing new treatments for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

31 Jul 2012

Expert Shares Tips to Prepare for Surgery

By Ginny Grimsley
How the 'Herbal Martha Stewart' Got Ready
for Her Hip Replacement

While they're the place we go for healing, all hospitals have the potential to be a hotbed  for contagious infections.

But there are precautionary measures patients can take, both to reduce the need for a hospital stay and to condition the body to ward off infection and minimize pain when surgery is necessary, says Letha Hadady, a nationally-recognized herbal expert and author of Naturally Pain Free, just published by Sourcebooks (www.AsianHealthSecrets.com). Letha has been documenting in real time her recent hip replacement, preparation and recovery, in a video blog on her global website.

"We are fast approaching a time when antibiotics will be outdated because infectious bacteria - Superbugs - have become resistant," she says. "We have to protect ourselves with the gifts of nature that germs cannot adapt to - foods, minerals, herbal remedies and other natural products that build our defenses."

There are 600,000 knee-replacement and 300,000 hip-replacement surgeries performed each year in the United States, a number that has doubled in the past 10 years and continues to grow, Hadady says. As a health expert cited by NBC News, AP Radio, Newsday, the Daily News, the San Francisco Chronicle and Barbara Walters, she says she is concerned about the risks, pain and fear as many people face both major and minor surgeries.

"These surgeries are only going to become more frequent as the baby boomer generation ages. People 50 and older with osteoarthritis are most likely to need hip- and knee-placements," she says. "But plenty of younger people are affected, too. Runners, dancers, tennis players, soldiers - even high school students who suffer sports injuries. It could be you on the operating table!"

Hadady offers these tips to naturally condition the body before surgery:

· Herbal strength: A few weeks in advance of her operation, Hadady ramped up her intake of herbal supplements. A key herb was Yunnan Paiyao, a traditional  medicine used in Chinese hospitals and by their soldiers to prevent excessive bleeding. Other herbs can be taken to help build up resistance to bacteria.

· A calm and focused mind: Stress increases inflammation and is a burden on internal organs. A calm, centered mind -- attained through techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, and mineral baths - can help the body weather the trauma of surgery, she says.

· Knowledge is power: While researching "Naturally Pain Free," Letha tried alternative treatments for arthritis ranging from traditional Asian remedies to cutting-edge stem cell injections. Before her operation, Hadady asked questions and researched her hospital, doctors, the procedure, and insurance coverage. This allowed her to better prepare for the operation and gave her peace of mind.

· Follow hospital recommendations: In addition to alternative therapies, it's important to heed the advice of one's doctors, before and after a procedure, she says. With her supplements, Hadady restricted her vitamin C intake, which thins blood, and she received an antibiotic ointment to ward off MRSA -- an antibiotic-resistant superbug that can cause life-threatening infections.

· Diet and exercise: "This may seem obvious, but it's a message we cannot emphasis enough for overall health," she says. One reason why replacement procedures are so prominent is due to the "sitting lifestyle" so many now have. Muscle atrophy from too much sitting can be a cause for joint-replacement, she says. "Sitting is the new smoking!"

About Letha Hadady

Letha Hadady has been called the "Martha Stewart of herbs" for her expertise in traditional Asian and alternative health. The author of five books, including her latest "Naturally Pain Free," Letha has appeared widely on TV--including CNN, Today, The View ? talk radio, and the internet. Letha is an adjunct faculty member for New York Open Center, and The Renfield Center for Nursing Education, Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. She has led stress-management workshops and acted as a natural product consultant for Sony Entertainment Inc., Dreyfus, Ogilvy & Mather, and Consumer Eyes, Inc. in New York.

31 Jul 2012

Surveys Show Religious Men are Vulnerable to Pornography

By Ginny Grimsley

Several studies and surveys show that many men, regardless of religious piety, share a curiosity in internet pornography:

• 54 percent of pastors said they viewed porn within the past year in a recent Pastors.com survey

• 50 percent of men viewed pornography within one week of attending a marital fidelity event, including Promise Keepers, the survey revealed

• 47 percent of religious respondents said porn is a problem in their home, reveals a Focus on the Family poll

• Every second, 28,258 internet users view pornography, according to worldwide porn industry stats. The majority are men

"Here is more evidence that too many of us - including 'religious' people - are looking for answers outside ourselves. We have a growing spiritual void in North America, and the ripple effect ranges from pornography to drug abuse to domestic violence as people struggle to fill the void," says Dennis Bank, author of Sanctiprize (www.sanctiprize.com).

"Psychology, medications and these other pain relievers do nothing to get to the root of the problem, which is our need to get back to the inherent wholeness we were born with."

If highly religious men have an advantage over those who are less religious, it's not much, he says. Beyond pornography, there are pressures that may make pastors and other religious leaders especially vulnerable to sexual temptation, says Bank, a nondenominational minister. They include :

• Leadership is often a lonely job. More than half of the pastors answered that they feel privileged to be a church leader, but they're also easily discouraged and lonely, according to a LifeWay Research survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors.

• They have a position of power. As the authority on religious leadership in their spiritual community, followers seek a pastor's guidance and influence. Some followers become attracted to the pastor because of his position and may seek sexual affection.

• A lack of accountability. Ministers tend to have a great amount of flexibility in their schedule, and they are trusted figures in their church. For smaller and more isolated congregations, these factors are especially strong.

• No one to share pressures and struggles with. Most of a pastor's inner circle of friends tends to be members of his church, and these struggles may be of a sexual nature. For fear of losing trust, he may act out a fantasy rather than tell someone about it.

• They feed off the approval of others. The nature of the job will attract some who have a strong need for constant approval from others. For that reason, sexual advances from a misguided church member may feel very affirming.

There are plenty of mixed messages in churches these days, Bank says.

"The problem is not that we Christians just haven't found the right gimmick yet - gimmicks are part of the problem," he says. "The problem is we have become distracted from the inherent goodness that God has given us all. What society needs is a spiritual enema!"

About Dennis Bank

Dennis Bank is a former officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and former businessman. He completed Calvary Chapel Bible School's study program and attended the University of Saskatchewan, Acts Seminary (British Columbia) and the Royal Mounted Police Academy. He is currently an unaffiliated, non-denominational minister who offers seminars on reconciliation and healing.

27 Jul 2012

Doggy Portraiture Forces Reexamination of Animal Life & Value

By Ginny Grimsley
Vet Proposes Law for Pet Compensation

A popular photographer in Taiwan is making waves in the global animal-rights community with his dignified portraits of doomed dogs.

Tou Yun-fei, a two-time winner of his government's photography award, gave up his job as a well-compensated staffer at a magazine for two years to shoot more than 40,000 human-like images of abandoned canines in Taiwan's animal shelters - just before they were to be put to death.

"These shots, which took up so much of the photographer's time, are striking because of the humanity captured in the expression of the dogs," says Kenneth Newman, a 33-year veterinarian and author of Meet Me at the Rainbow Bridge (www.meetmeattherainbowbridge.com). "Efforts like this in the United States are part of the reason we euthanize far fewer animals today than we did 30 or 40 years ago.

"Now, we need work on changing the laws so that the judicial system recognizes the value of a pet as more than a piece of property."

How effective have U.S. public awareness campaigns regarding pet overpopulation been?

• U.S. dogs are less likely to be euthanized in shelters than in other countries (including Tou's Taiwan). The Humane Society of the United States reports 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are put down every year. A precise number is not known because there is no central data reporting agency for animal shelters.

• During the 1970s in the United States, an estimated 12 to 20 million cats and dogs were euthanized at shelters. These reduction is credited in large part to public awareness  and spay/neuter campaigns, according to the Humane Society.

• In the 1970s, there were 67 million pets in U.S. homes; today, there 135 million.

Newman says the next logical step in our society is passing a law that requires courts to consider the emotional value of a pet when considering legal compensation to owners whose animals die as a result of someone else's neglect, malice or mistake.

"There have been a few instances where plaintiffs made a case for compensation beyond the animal's market value, because of their bond with the pet, and some judges have agreed," Newman says. "But it shouldn't be left to chance. Our laws should accurately reflect the value of our pets for the average American," he says. "Ninety percent of pet owners consider their animals to be part of the family."

Newman experienced a real-life tragedy in 2008, when a careless driver backed up 25 yards without looking, striking Newman and his beloved Labrador, Gracie, and pinning them between the veterinarian's station wagon and the driver's bumper. This inspired him to propose Gracie's Law (available for reading or sharing on his website), which would entitle the owner of a pet killed through an act of malice or negligence to $25,000 in damages.

Gracie's Law would not supersede current laws, he says, which entitle owners to the property value of their pet. And it would not replace criminal prosecution for acts of malice. And owners who decline a recommended veterinarian procedure to save a pet would not be held accountable under the law, he says.

"When you consider the fact that a majority of pet-owning Americans would prefer to be stranded on a desert island with their pet rather than any other human being,'' he says, "that's when you know animals should be legally valued above inanimate objects."

About Kenneth Newman, DVM

Kenneth Newman graduated from Purdue University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1979, and has been a veterinarian for 33 years. After experiencing a badly broken leg and the death of his Labrador retriever in 2008, he drafted and began advocating for Gracie's Law. Newman lives with his wife and their son, as well as several pets.

27 Jul 2012

U.S. Slow to Repatriate Abducted Children Among Hague Treaty Nations

By Ginny Grimsley
By: Steve Fenton

After my then-6-year-old son was abducted and taken to Mexico in December 1992, I traveled to Mexico City to plead for his return via the Hague Convention Treaty. The response from the Central Authority director surprised me.

"The U.S. has a very poor record of returning children to Mexico as well," he said with a cold,   almost personal glare. I never forgot that.

Eventually, I realized the treaty would be of no help to me and I went on to privately recover my son in April 1993. It was a surreal rescue drama undertaken with the help of a specialized team, disguises, decoy car switches and a stealth flight in a small plane. My young son and I escaped under the noses of the Mexican military, flying 450 miles to Brownsville, Texas, through Mexican airspace.

In Brownsville, the FBI immediately detained and interrogated me, acting on frivolous allegations from Mexico City. Stunned, I was told that the U.S. agents intended to send my son back to Mexico with a Mexican consulate official.

I recount the whole nightmarish experience in Broken Treaty: The True Story of a Father's Covert Recovery of his Missing Son from Mexico (www.brokentreaty.info).

My son is now an adult and I am still contacted for advice by left-behind parents; not only those of children taken to Mexico, but from parents who "hit a wall" trying to recover their children from the overwhelming complexities of the U.S. judicial system.

What should take weeks turns into months and in some cases years as parents in other countries attempt to retrieve children abducted to the United States. Petitions drag through delays and appeals. The State Department's own statistics demonstrate what should be serious concerns if the United States wants to lead by example.

A 2010 Compliance Report drafted by the State Department shows that parents filed 324 Hague Convention Treaty applications involving 454 children abducted to the United States from other treaty partner countries. The United States accounts for a staggering 23 percent of all incoming and outgoing caseload petitions. The report showed that we have the poorest record in terms of treaty-specified case resolutions for applications under the accord. We also have the highest ratio of pending cases awaiting resolution.

Hague Treaty guidelines call for expeditious proceedings within six weeks of the date of commencement, but the United States has no clear domestic policy guidelines to even determine if the cases should be heard by federal, state or local courts. Between federal and local venues, there are potentially 31,500 judges who could hear a Hague case. The sobering reality is that most judges are not educated about the treaty. Many who do hear these cases deny the petition because they fear that returning the child will automatically result in custody being awarded to the left-behind parent.

They don't realize that the treaty specifies children be returned to the state of "habitual residence," where the proper forum by the requesting court country's jurisdiction will make any final custody determination.

Several nations have taken steps to streamline the Hague petition quagmire by appointing specifically trained courts and judges within a limited number of courts. The United Kingdom, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden are on the cutting edge of amending their procedures to limited jurisdiction and have greatly reduced the delays in restitution of abducted children.

I hope to see the United States consolidate Hague cases to appointed courts with treaty-educated judges, so we can rightfully enjoy reciprocity by the world community on the return of wrongfully detained children abroad. I know only too well the anguish of the left-behind parent who sees the Hague Treaty as the only hope to recover a child.

About The Author: Steve Fenton is a specialty building contractor. After his estranged wife spirited their son, an American, away to Xalapa, Mexico, the father decided he had to take action. With little to no help from the U.S. and Mexican governments after a year and a half, the determined father went on a clandestine recovery mission across the border. What ensued were life-changing events that have defined the lives of father and son.  His book was written with some technical assistance from Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who would later become a national hero after safely landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River.

26 Jul 2012

Are Words Becoming Obsolete in Marketing?

By Ginny Grimsley
By: Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries

It sure looks like it. Most of the recent marketing successes are visual successes, not verbal ones. Here are 10 examples from my recent book, Visual Hammer (www.visualhammer.com).

1. The lime.

Until 2009, there had never been a Mexican brand on Interbrand's list of 100 most valuable global brands. There is now: Corona, the beer with the lime on top of the bottle.

Today, Corona is the 86th most valuable global brand, worth $3.9 billion. In the United States, Corona outsells Heineken, the No. 2 imported beer, by more than 50 percent.

2. The chalice.

A second imported beer is moving up the ladder in America and for exactly the same reason Corona was so successful. It's Stella Artois from Belgium.

Stella Artois is the Budweiser of Belgium, so ordinary fast-food restaurants sell it in plastic cups.

No plastic cups for Stella Artois in the U.S. market. The importer provided bars and restaurants with its unique, gold-tipped chalice glasses.

Today, Stella Artois is one of the top 10 imported beer brands in America.

3. The silver bullet.

The only mainstream beer that has increased its market share in the past few years is Coors Light, the silver bullet.

Coors Light has already passed Miller Lite, the first light-beer brand, and recently Coors Light also steamed past Budweiser to become the second largest-selling beer brand in America.

4.  The duck.

Then there's the remarkable transformation of Aflac, the company that brought us the duck. In the year 2000, the company had name recognition of just 12 percent.

Today it's 94 percent. And sales have gone up just as dramatically.

The first year after the duck arrived, Aflac sales increased 29 percent. And 28 percent the second year. And 18 percent the third year.

5.  The pink ribbon.

In 1982, Nancy Brinker started a foundation to fight breast cancer in memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who had died from the disease. Since then, Susan G. Komen for the Cure has raised nearly $2 billion.

Today, it's the world's-largest non-profit source of money to combat breast cancer. A recent Harris poll of non-profit charitable brands rated Komen for the Cure as the charity that consumers were "Most likely to donate to."

6.  The red soles.

Look at the success of Christian Louboutin, a French designer who regularly tops The Luxury Institute's index of "most prestigious women's shoes."

In 1992, he applied red nail polish to the sole of a shoe because he felt the shoes lacked energy.

"This was such a success," he reported, "that it became a permanent fixture." And ultimately built the phenomenally successful Louboutin brand.

7.  The green jacket.

In the world of professional golf, there are four major championships: (1) The U.S. Open, (2) The British Open, (3) The PGA Championship and (4) The Masters. The first three are hosted by major golf organizations, but the Masters is hosted by a private club, the Augusta National Golf Club.

Every, year the Masters gets more attention than any of the other three  events.

8. The colonel.

Consider KFC, now the leading fast-food restaurant chain in China with more than 3,800 units in 800 cities.

To most Chinese people, the letters "K F C" mean nothing, but Col. Sanders is known as a famous American and the leading fried-chicken brand.

9.  The Coke bottle.

What Coca-Cola calls its "contour" bottle is 96 years old. Few are currently sold but recently, the company gave its iconic bottle a major role to play in its advertising programs.

The results have been impressive. Recently Diet Coke passed regular Pepsi-Cola to become the second best-selling cola drink.

10.  The cowboy.

And look what the cowboy has done for Marlboro cigarettes. The year Marlboro was introduced, there were four strong cigarette brands in America: Lucky Strike, Camel, Winston and Chesterfield.

Yet today, Marlboro is by far the leading brand, outselling the next 13 brands combined.

It's also the world's best-selling cigarette brand.

About Laura Ries

Laura Ries is president of Ries & Ries (www.ries.com), a marketing consulting firm in Atlanta. Laura and her partner/father, Positioning pioneer Al Ries - have co-written six books on branding that challenge conventional wisdom. Al's revolutionary book "Positioning: The battle for your mind" taught us words are important in marketing and now Laura's book "Visual Hammer" (www.VisualHammer.com) tells us why visuals are more powerful.

20 Jul 2012

How To Write A Happy Ending

By Ginny Grimsley
By: Joe Thomas of Left Brain Digital

I can't even fathom the number of conversations I've had with new clients suffering from a severe case of "I Just Don't Get It!" disease. The stories of why they wrote their books or developed their products are all different, but the endings are the same: They're not selling diddly. Squat. Nada.

Before we get too far into the whys and why nots, let me warn you, I am not going to tell you what you want to hear. There's no magic form for you to fill out to get instant access to my "Special Report," nor is there a download of secret "For Your Eyes Only" information designed to get you on my mailing list. (My next rant is going to be about buying into the web marketing trap.)

Instead, I'll go straight to the "why," which is as complicated as it is simple: People can't buy what they can't find.

Most web marketing gurus will tell you that Search Engine Optimization can help direct potential customers to your book or product, and why you should hire them to get you listed front and center. I am not that guy. Oh, I believe in the power of Google, but there are major caveats:

1. Search engines are great if you know what you're searching for. Type in your name and/or book title into Google and look at the results. You may be at the top of page 1 and even have 22 different listings on the first and second pages. You may get the same results on Bing and other search portals. You might even show up first on Amazon.com, where your book is right there, for sale to the masses. But you're still not selling many books are you? Here's the tricky part: YOU know your name and your book title, don't you? But, people can't search out your name and book title if they don't know them.

2. People can search for my incredibly, fantastical keywords, can't they? Well sure they can - and they do. Let's assume for a second you have a book and it's about Politics, Money, Religion, Employment or any number of topics. Now go to Amazon and type in your keywords - you know, Politics, Money, Religion, Employment ... You just discovered there are 672,481 books using your Incredibly Fantastical Keywords, right? Now type in those same keywords along with your name and/or book title. Eureka! There you are. I now direct your attention to No. 1 above.

3. Your website is totally gorgeous but it's not getting you sales. The first part of this quandary is, LOOK AT No. 1, above. Are people actually visiting your site? Have you checked out your server logs to see what your traffic data looks like? You're probably thinking your webmaster takes care of all that, right? Unless your webmaster is getting a piece of the profits from every item you sell, odds are he/she doesn't really care. Let's be honest here, you're paying your webmaster whether you sell or not. Now, if your traffic data is showing that you're getting a boatload of traffic but no sales, maybe you need to be more realistic about how gorgeous your site really is. Looking good and converting visitors into buyers are two different things. But before you start blowing up your site, go back and LOOK AT No. 1, ABOVE.

Here's a bit of free advice: If your marketing plan to reach 100,000 book or product sales is based on people finding you without a clue who you are, keep your day job and forget about buying the fancy car with your profits. You need exposure. You need to get your name and the name of your book, product or business in the news - in newspapers (they all put their content online nowadays), magazines and e-zines and blogs. Get yourself interviewed on talk radio and TV, if you can. Get your social network sites up and active and build a following.

Plenty of people do it themselves. If you find that too difficult or time-consuming, hire professionals to do it for you. There are 5 hundred million thousand books and products for sale online. If you want folks to know what to search for, they have to know that you exist and what you have to offer.

And the happy ending will come.

About Joe Thomas

Joe Thomas is the founder and owner of Left Brain Digital (www.leftbraindigital.com), a web development company. He's an award-winning web designer/developer with more than 18 years of experience in print and web design and development. Thomas' work became a major influence in graphic and web design in the "Y2K" era of the Internet's dot-com explosion.

20 Jul 2012

Advocate Offers Tips to Prevent & Spot Child Sexual Abuse

By Ginny Grimsley

Instances of child abuse increase during the summer, with some shelters and child advocacy centers actually doubling their caseloads, according to anecdotal reports.

While these tragedies include everything from neglect to beatings, child advocate  Michelle Bellon, author of The Complexity of a Soldier (www.MichelleBellon.com), says parents and caregivers should be especially alert to one of the most easily hidden and underreported crimes: child sexual abuse. Her novel centers on this epidemic, and aims to raise awareness about it.

"Children may be less supervised during the summer, or they may be in the care of extended family members so their parents can save money on child care," she says. "Both situations put children at risk; the former for obvious reasons and the latter because 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims know the offender."

Child predators are terrorists, Bellon says. Like the terrorists we deploy armies to battle overseas, they prey on innocents and subject them to physical and emotional torture. The consequences can be devastating and lifelong, including post-traumatic stress disorder and separation anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association reports.

"Does this sound like anything else we have heard about since 9/11? To me, it is very similar to what victims of terrorism face, and what soldiers face after fighting wars," Bellon says. "I think child predators should be called what they are - domestic terrorists."

Bellon shares these guidelines from a number of sources, including the Centers for Disease Control, to keep children safe this summer.

• When choosing a summer program, ask about employee (and volunteer) screening and how interactions are monitored. A criminal background check is not sufficient to ferret out sexual abusers, since many have never been charged or convicted. Instead the program should look for warning signs in written applications and interviews. For instance, some predator adults spend all of their time with children and have no significant adult relationships. Policies on interactions between adults and children should include examples of appropriate and inappropriate conduct, and definitive steps for both monitoring and addressing concerns and complaints.

• Ask about the training. Staff and even temporary volunteers should undergo training to recognize signs of sexual abuse and to learn when it's appropriate to report concerns. There should be a designated person to handle reports. Training should be required for staff and volunteers who come on board midway through the summer. Policies should include procedures for handling not just potential abuse, but also violations of the code of conduct for interactions.

• Ask about interactions between older and younger children. Some programs allow older children to serve as "junior counselors" or activity assistants. Ask about the guidelines for these situations, including whether and how long children may be unsupervised by an adult.

• Make sure children understand "personal boundaries." Teach children the importance of recognizing and respecting the invisible barriers that separate them from other people. They should be able to recognize their comfort zone - and that of others! - and know that they can and should speak up about setting limits. Start at home by respecting a child's right to say "no" to physical contact, such as tickling and hugs. Never force a child to kiss a relative.

• Recognize signs of a problem. Children often won't or can't tell you what's happening, but there are signs to watch for, including changes in behavior such as withdrawal or unprovoked crying, night terrors, bedwetting, eating problems, unexplained injuries, suddenly avoiding a particular person, and unusual interest in or knowledge of sexual matters.

About Michelle Bellon

Michelle Bellon earned her associate degree in nursing, and lives with her husband and four children in Olympia, Wash. She is the author of four novels, including "The Complexity of a Soldier," which deals with the issue of child sexual abuse.

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