Influence

Protecting investments

infl — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:19:18 +0000

Investing in the stock market is popular because several incentives are given to investors. Dividends are tax free and capital gains benefits are also available. They can buy and sell shares from the comfort of their home if required. Systems have been established to ensure that grievances of investors are properly addressed. Shareholders in a company get an opportunity to meet the management of the company at the AGM and directly ask their questions. when the shareholders are not comfortable with the actions of the management, they sell off their stake in the company. If the same incentives are available to those who invest in other sectors (without labelling them as service providers or falsely accusing them),the market size could be much bigger.

How to Identify Authentic Louis Vuitton Date Code

infl — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:13:31 +0000

Since the 1980s, Louis Vuitton has used date codes and serial numbers to track its products.

By this 1990s, Louis Vuitton had been manufacturing outside of France for years- through it's partnership with the US based "The French Company" (See my guide to authentic Louis Vuitton French Company pieces if you're interested). Not only that, but Louis Vuitton had a factory in Spain and soon had one of their own in San Dimas, California.

So, If I have a bag, with a date code with the CA prefix, and it has "Made in USA" or "Made in France"… I know that at the very least I need to really scruitinize that bag for authenicity. There are a few reasons why a bag could have a US date code and be Made in France… for example, if the lining has been redone… the date code may be very new (so a bag that was made in 1998 in France could end up with a 2006 date code that was repaired in the USA). It's just definitely a reason to get a second look at the bag.

Again, for whatever reason, Louis Vuitton made another change to the date code format beginning in January 2007. You will still find the same two letters followed by four number format, however instead of using the staggered month and year, Louis Vuitton is now using a staggered Week of the Year and Year formula… so that… a date code that says SD 0077 is not a bag that was made in July of 2007, but is a bag that was made in the 7th week of the year 2007- so mid-to-late February of 2007.

So how do you know what those letters mean? Here's a little guide to help you out. You'll find the country followed by the letters that coordinate with that country…

France: A0, A1, A2, AA, AAS (in special order), AN, AR, AS, BA, BJ, BU, CO, CT, DK (in repairs) DU (in special order), ET, FL, LW, MB, MI, NO, RA, RI, SD, SL, SN, SP, SR, TH, VI, VX

USA: DK (in repairs), FC, FH, LA, OS, SD, FL

Spain: CA, LO, LB, LM, LW

Italy: BC, BO, CE, FO, MA, RC, RE, SA, TD

Germany: LP

Switzerland: DI, FA

Understanding your customers

infl — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 07:22:48 +0000

In most industries, a company’s growth depends on orders from their customers. They know that knowledge of market conditions, processes, investment is not easily replicated, so they go out of their way to keep their customers happy and understand their requirements. It is very difficult to repair a broken relationship, where there is no trust.

You can put a person under surveillance, monitor every online and offline activity, but to understand a person’s mind you have to take the effort to talk to the customer, treat him or her with respect. It is a personal observation that most internet companies do not have a good understanding of their customers strengths, weaknesses and skills. Making incorrect assumptions can be very expensive, it is always better to ask directly.

If a customer feels your company is not concerned about his or her business, your business will be the first to be affected when the customer wants to cut costs. It is always easier to make a high spending customer spend more than find another customer who will spend as much .

Human nature

infl — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:35:43 +0000

There is a saying that the true nature of a person is determined by the way he or she interacts or deals with a person who does not matter. Today, a person may be facing problems due to factors beyond his or her control, but tomorrow or after a few years, you may need their help. If you have helped some one, he or she may go out of his way to return the favour.

On the other hand, if you have taken advantage of or not helped the person who asked for assistance which you could easily provide, you are likely to get a taste of your own medicine at a later date. Often, people with powerful backers, do not treat others with courtesy, but they forget that tomorrow their source of power may disappear and they may need help themselves.

Reading between the lines

infl — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:51:07 +0000

Many times, you cannot take a statement made by a company or individual at face value. It is important to be able to read between the lines, recollect your past interactions, and discussions with the person or company and then take a decision. Usually most people do not have a hidden agenda, but the ability to ask probing questions and read between the lines can be an advantage in business and in your daily life also.

The written word

infl — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:35:54 +0000

For any commercial transaction, the spoken word can never be relied upon due to a number of reasons
1. The person may say he or she never made the statement at a later date.
2. There are no records kept for reference
3. The listener may not have heard what was said properly due to a number of reasons like background noise, accent of the speaker, speaking too fast.
So any discussion should be documented in writing, with all concerned signing the document to ensure that there is no misunderstanding.

Experience matters

infl — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:57:28 +0000

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration

Many people think that a new technology or success in any field comes as a flash of inspiration, but actually it is a result of many years of experimentation, practice, hard work and testing. Some of the most famous writers have started writing stories from a very young age, and received many rejection slips before their first best seller was published.

Two sides to every story

infl — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:17:56 +0000

From http://bible.org/seriespage/there-are-two-sides-every-story-joshua-221-34

“Have you ever jumped to a conclusion before hearing both sides of a story? Have you ever failed to give someone the benefit of the doubt, even though they had never wronged you?”

This saying from the Bible is very relevant today.

Today, character and other types of assasination is a full time business for some individuals.
So when some one accuses another person of anything, before you come to a conclusion, find out what the other person has to say about it.
The accuser may be trying to extort money or blackmail an innocent person or may be forced by a third person to do so.

Search engine influence

infl — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:20:47 +0000

While analysing the high traffic websites in 20+ large countries in the world, the websites with the highest traffic levels are either search engines or social networking websites.
This indicates that most people use the internet mainly for search, for finding information. So a search engine is a major influence in the internet industry of a country, deciding the websites which people visit online.

Some business and media stories

infl — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:46:37 +0000

Meeting on Paid news

Circulation of Indian language papers

Manufacturing growth