Below is a great Article I read from Alan Weiss Summit Consulting Group on what helps you to make your ideas successful

As you might imagine, I've been asked repeatedly what my assessment is of the factors differentiating the highly successful from the less successful. The comparison isn't against the unsuccessful, which an entirely different dynamic, but against those who do well but aren't the best, the thought leaders, the champions.

You can easily read how it's a kibillion hours of practice (I find that to be nonsense), or heredity (perhaps appropriate in swimming or basketball), or IQ (I know too many smart failures), or education (I went to college and grad school with a lot of people who were no better off after the experience). Some people advocate coaching and some trial and error, and some sheer passion.

My general conclusions is that perseverance is the key, all else being fairly equal, and that perseverance is based on disciplined focus and resilience. (The closest work I'd recommend is Andrea Duckworth's excellent Grit).

Focused discipline is the ability to stay the course, to limit and overcome distractions, to handle multiple priority projects at once without sacrificing any. The operative word here is "priority." Focus requires the jettisoning of the non-priority, and if everything is a priority then nothing is a priority.

Resilience (see my book co-authored with Dr. Richard Citrin, The Resilience Advantage) is the ability to accept temporary, unavoidable pain without allowing voluntary, endless suffering to intervene. It's the ability to get back on the horse, to apologize, to return to the scene of defeat, to learn from failure.

I'll tell you here and now that most people aren't happy with my conclusions, because perseverance and resilience are within the control of the performer. They are not functions of DNA, or the right school, or particular life experiences. You can probably improve at both right now.

But do you choose to?

FARM MANAGEMENT DEPOSIT SCHEME

Some good new for primary producers with the following changes that came into effect on 1 July 2016:

1. The amount you can have deposited is now $800,000 per person, up from $400,000.
2. If effected by drought you can withdraw an amount after 6 months in the first 12 month period and not have to go back and amend the previous years tax return.
3. Financial Institutions (Banks) can now offer offset accounts allowing you to use the FMD to offset the interest costs of farm business borrowings.

If you want to know more about these changes and how best to use them please contact your taxation advisor at DHM Partners.

Brett Higgins
Executive Director

Does your business have any goodwill?

Below is a great Blog I read from DHM Partners external Chairman Andrew Geddes:

Every day I read about vastly indebted governments, bloated bureaucracies, rampant addiction to welfare, budget deficits, trade deficits, asset bubbles and global deflation!!!!

Resource prices have tanked too.

And wars seem to keep getting more entrenched in various parts of the world.

No wonder the stock market is volatile!!!!

Then the politicians keep their snouts in the short term troughs of getting re-elected.

And the baby boomers are going to sell their businesses to fund their retirements in ever growing numbers.

As a bloke who’s worked all his life with business owners, it makes me worry about the future.

What can we do to protect ourselves from this risk of not selling our businesses or no goodwill?

Here’s my 40 year’s take on it…

                *take some uninterrupted time to think about how you can make yourself redundant

                *list all the things you do and who else might be able to do them

                *list which things might be automated

                *list all the things to have documented processes (quality management concept)

                *get this done and delegate much of what you do

                *focus on creating quality products or services and do it better than your competition

                *focus on quality customers and ask them what they want, like and need

                *put examples of outcomes achieved for your customers on your website and in your eNews

                  and in social media

                *go on 6 weeks leave and see how the team handle it

If you can’t find an external buyer (big corporate or competitor), consider selling your business to your senior management team (SMT).

If you haven’t got a SMT, create one.

Have a planning day with them.

Set budgets and report monthly financial performance.

Identify three critical areas to improve in the next quarter (your strategic imperatives).

 

Establish project groups in your business to action these imperatives.

Exhibit contagious enthusiasm for these projects.

You might have to offer small percentages of equity to them at first and maybe vendor financed.

They have to sit around the board room table to feel the heat of decision making.

Send them to our “Leadership for Profitable Business”  workshop Nov 24/25 in Brisbane so they are further educated and their confidence builds.

Educate their spouses too!!!!

Then maybe you can create a succession solution for yourself in time.

Good luck with it.

Andrew Geddes

Federal Budget 2016 - more undermining of the superannuation system

The 2016 Federal Budget has again made changes to superannuation law.  For example it's proposed that the concessional contributions cap be reduced to $25,000 for everyone able to contribute to superannuation.  This constant changing of limits only undermines the general publics confidence in making contributions to superannuation.  If the general public can't be confident in the superannuation laws not being adversely changed over a one year period, why would they have the confidence to invest their money in superannuation for 10, 20, 30 years or more.  In addition retrospective changes are proposed to Transition to Retirement Pensions.  Where previously the investment earnings of these pensions were tax free, it is now proposed that this investment income be taxed at 15%, even for existing Transition to Retirement Pensions from 1 July 2017.  Again, how can people have confidence in the system and make long term investment decisions when superannuation has become a political football.  It's time for the politicians to provide confidence to the general public via ruling out any further adverse changes to superannuation rules.

VOLATILITY IS INCREASING

Markets have been whipsawed around by both positive and negative news, with some significant events highlighting the need for caution and also diversification.  For example, some of the issues that have moved markets include:

·         US 30 year Treasury yields hitting a record low (US borrowing costs are at record lows);

·         European government bond yields hitting record lows, and even turning negative for some durations (savers are paying banks to hold their money);

·         Chinese GDP growth hitting a 24 year low (China is slowing down, double digit growth rates are gone);

·         European equities hitting a 7 year high (shares are rising on the back of stimulus measures);

·         The Euro currency falling to an 11 year low against the US Dollar (money printing is devaluing currencies);

·         Commodities falling sharply, with oil down more than 50% since October (good for consumers, but not for exporters);

·         A surprise move by the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates by 0.25% (falling commodity prices are taking their toll);

·         A shock move by the Swiss National Bank to unpeg its currency from the Euro (currency soars and equities tank);

·         The European Central Bank announcing a massive stimulus package to print €60 billion per month (Europe is bordering recession, can stimulus turn it around?);

·         Anti-austerity party, Syriza, winning Greece’s election (this puts debt default concerns back on the agenda);

·         Standard and Poor's downgrading Russia’s government bond rating to below investment grade (Russia’s credit now considered ‘junk’).

 Some of these events have come as a complete surprise to markets.  Of particular note was the Swiss National Bank’s decision to unpeg its currency from the Euro, only two days after confirming to the market that it would maintain the currency peg.  This decision sent the Swiss Franc soaring 30% against the Euro and sent the Swiss share market down more than 10%.  These large scale and quick moves have negatively impacted some investors, with the world’s third largest retail foreign exchange broker requiring a bailout to stay afloat.

 

Despite these issues and rising volatility, share markets have held up relatively well, with most trading positively for the month to date.  However, we would caution investors from becoming too complacent.  The market is providing some warning signals, and we recommend that investors remain focused on diversification and risk management to mitigate the possibility of a negative ‘event’ impacting portfolio returns.

NEW SELF MANAGED SUPERANNUATION FUND PENALTY REGIME

From 1 July 2014 be afraid as the ATO will penalise you heavily if you have breached any of the superannuation fund rules.  Not only are the penalties large they apply to all trustees and cannot be paid by the superannuation fund.  Below are some examples of the breaches and the penalty that applies:




Failing to prepare financial statements                                                    $1700


Failing to keep trustees minutes for at least 10 years                              $1700


Providing financial assistance to members and relatives                        $10200


Failing to keep records of change of trustees for at least 10 years          $1700


Failing to sign Trustee Declaration within 21 days of                             $1700
appointment and keeping same for at least 10 years


Failing to keep members reports for 10 years                                         $1700


Failing to notify the ATO of an event that has significant                      $10200
adverse effect on the funds financial position


Failing to notify the ATO of a change of status of the SMSF                 $3400


Failing to appoint investment managers in writing                                 $850


Failing to comply with ATO education directive                                    $850


Failing to formulate, review regularly and give effect to an                    $3400
investment strategy


Failing to have funds financial statements prepared, signed and            $1700
retained for at least 5 years


Contravene borrowing prohibition                                                          $10200

QUICK TIP TO BECOME MOTIVATED ABOUT SAVING FOR RETIREMENT

If you are lacking motivation and direction with regards to investing for the future then answer these 3 questions:


1. What will your income needs be in retirement?
2. How much are you prepared to contribute to your retirement whilst you are working?
3. How long are you going to work for?


Generally your answers will be that the time you have left working and how much you are prepared to or are capable of saving will not accumulate enough asset to generate enough income to support the life you want to live in retirement. 


Then you need to be honest with yourself and face the fact that the only way to try and solve this problem revolves around the following strategies:


1. Save more
2. Work longer or harder
3. Adjust your investment philosophy


or you will just have to be prepared to retire with less and not be able to live the life you want in retirement.


There is no magical answer no matter how many guru's tell you there is.