How do we turn critical thinking into a natural habit? Here is a simple and practical method for you to try out. We call it the fourfold path to good thinking. To follow the method, we make it a habit to ask these four basic questions about the ideas we come across:

These questions look simple, but they are actually quite powerful because they introduce a good structure to organize our analysis. As an example, suppose we are discussing whether it is wrong to eat (nonhuman) animals. Here is how we might apply the fourfold path:
1.    The first question—what does it mean?—is about clarifying the key concepts so that we can understand more clearly the claim under discussion.
o    What do we mean by animals? Dogs and chickens are obviously animals. But what about fish, oysters, insects, bacteria? Is it also wrong to eat them? Where do we draw the line?
o    If eating animals is wrong, how wrong is it? As bad as killing people?
2.    To carry out the second step of the fourfold path, we list all the reasons for and against the claim under consideration.
o    Arguments against eating meat might include: animals have rights, animal farming create a lot of suffering, and it is more efficient to use land to grow vegetables than to raise animals.
o    Arguments on the opposite side might include: farm animals exist because of us and so we can do what want with them, and humans are more intelligent than animals.
o    It is always a good idea to be able to count the number of arguments. For example, three arguments in support and two against.
o    Think about both sides of an issue. Even if you think eating meat is fine, you should try your best to come up with opposing arguments. You will gain a deeper understanding of your own position and be able to defend it better.
o    Evaluate the arguments on both sides. What seems to be a good argument might turn out not to be the case on further reflection—for example, why can we eat animals just because we are smarter? Does it also mean adults can eat babies and intelligent aliens can eat human beings?
3.    The third step of the fourfold path is to consider whether the issue is important. Does it really matter what the correct answer is? What are the theoretical, social, personal, or political implications?
o    How would the world be different if more people give up meat?
o    How important is this question compared with other issues such as poverty and starvation?
4.    The last step is to explore alternative possibilities and further issues.
o    Does the level of intelligence of the animal make a difference?
o    How about eating animals raised in a happy environment and killed in a painless manner? Is this also wrong?
o    What about eating animals that die naturally? What if we can grow meat from stem cells and eat meat without killing animals?

As you can see, although the fourfold path consists of four very simple questions, they help us examine an issue in depth from different perspectives. To improve your thinking, use this method often in your daily life, when you read magazines, surf the web, watch TV, or chat with others. You will become a more sophisticated, systematic, and creative thinker.

There are positive attitudes that are more conducive to good thinking:
•    Independence of thought: Good thinking is hard. Some people just want to know the answers rather than work it out themselves. Others have no patience for abstract or complicated ideas. A good thinker is able to think independently and go against conventional wisdom if need be.
•    Open-mindedness: A good thinker looks at the evidence objectively, and is willing to suspend judgment or change her opinion depending on the evidence. This is not a sign of weakness. An open-minded thinker is not dogmatic. She is willing to admit mistakes, think about new possibilities, and will not reject new ideas without good reasons.
•    Cool-headedness and impartiality: Good thinking does not require giving up emotions. But we should avoid letting our feelings overwhelm our reasoning. For example, it is difficult to think straight if you get angry easily when other people disagree with you. Fair and objective evaluations help us make better decisions.
•    An analytical and reflective attitude: Do not jump to conclusions. A good thinker is one who spends time to analyze an issue systematically and carefully and to actively search for arguments and evidence on both sides. She is interested in learning more about her own strengths and weaknesses to improve her performance.

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We believe that careful observation of communication patterns reveals a lot about the dynamics of a marriage. Underlying emotions and attitudes can often be detected in marital discourse—the patterns of talk that define a marriage. Relational messages about trust, power, respect, and intimacy are often communicated nonverbally, sometimes without awareness. Indeed, habitual patterns of everyday communication sustain both functional and dysfunctional marriages. In our view, counselors and therapists play the crucial role of helping partners identify dysfunctional patterns while increasing the capacity to engage certain kinds of constructive communication such as expressing emotion, negotiating conflict, or forgiving transgressions. The development of improved communication practices helps a marriage adapt to changing conditions.

Partners Develop and Change
Change is (ironically enough) a constant in human relationships. Although acknowledging that personality, cohort characteristics, and social structure remain relatively stable, life span researchers assume that people and their social arrangements are constantly developing. Change in intimate relationships is driven by the development of individual partners as they mature, adapt to changes, and pursue new goals. One implication is that spouses need to adjust the expectations they have for themselves, their partners, and the marriage.

Marriages Have “Turning Points”
Life span perspectives acknowledge that critical events punctuate relational development. Parenthood, childrearing, death of a parent, leaving or entering the workforce, children leaving the home—all of these bring stress as well as opportunities for relational growth. We often think of relationship development as a gradual and steady process. But when couples tell their stories, they sometimes describe these events as important turning poins when relationship quality rapidly improved or declined. A key lesson is that surviving these turning points requires adaptability and the willingness to retool the marriage.

A Resilience Framework
Resilience is the idea that people possess a great capacity to withstand life challenges. Rather than focus on losses and deficits, resilience perspectives focus on the relational resources and communication tools that help couples bounce back from challenges and thrive in the face of change. Resilience is also fostered by certain kinds of community resources.

What are the components of resilience?
Researchers find that resilience includes these six components:

1 Optimism: Resilient people focus on positive results. When faced with a crisis, they are hopeful rather than despairing. They imagine positive rather than negative outcomes.

2 Flexibility: Adaptation to changing circumstances is essential. Even as they embrace lessons of the past, resilient people make adjustments in light of new requirements and conditions.

3 Determination: A strong commitment to future success is another characteristic, which is accompanied by perseverance, patience, effort, and resolve.

4 Sustainability: Good stewardship of one’s personal and relational resources is another feature of resilience. This involves a longterm commitment to healthy behavior and the cultivation of a broad-based sense of well-being.

5 Diversity: Resilience is fostered when people perceive a range of alternatives and options. Resilient people draw on a variety of skills and past experiences. They imagine a variety of potential outcomes to problematic situations.

6 Balance: Stability, centeredness, and harmony contribute to a sense of composure in resilient people. Living a balanced life leads to psychological and physical balance.

The components of resilience provide concrete ways to help couples thrive despite the challenges of centerstage marriage. In using it, counselors help clients inventory their own strengths, imagine more hopeful futures, and connect to helpful resources.

APPLYING RESILIENCY CONCEPTS

• Focus on client resources, strengths, opportunities, and hopeful outcomes, not just their losses and limitations.
• Prompt reflection on unnecessarily limiting or pessimistic assumptions.
• Encourage clients to identify positive role models in their relationship network.
• Help clients locate past experiences that could prove helpful now.
• Connect clients with information and resources in the community.
• Encourage clients to practice new behaviors that promote flexibility, sustainability, and balance in their relationships.

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MISTAKE #1: Lacking Self-Discipline
In life, we either pay the price of discipline or the price of regret. We pay these prices in all areas of our life: our careers, relationships, health, spiritual development, and financial affairs. It is unfortunate that many of us—yours truly included—fail to comprehend this simple law of life.
Let me explain. The laws that apply to all of life’s issues—such as discipline, commitment, patience, integrity, practice, self-control, and focus—either help us live with freedom, peace, and harmony or heartache, failure, regrets, and misfortune as we move along the path of life. Much of the latter could be avoided (not all of it) if we would understand, accept, and integrate this simple truth into our lives.
The price of discipline is that daily dose of exercise, that moderation in our life affairs, our eating habits, our relationship strategies such as open and honest communication, and managing our resources wisely. The lack of these daily little disciplines accumulates day by day and year by year until each of us inherits the consequences of these misdeeds.
I have had many personal experiences where the daily lack of discipline came back to haunt me. I am discovering through these learning experiences that no one is immune to this truth. Arrogance, ignorance, or a combination of both is no excuse, and life really doesn’t give a twit if you claim either. We pay one way or another. And discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons.
The pain of discipline is nothing compared to the sting of regret.

Turn It Around
Remember, it is better to pay the price of discipline than regret.

MISTAKE #2: Trying to Be Someone Else
Being who you are is often a very difficult task. Managers, customers, spouses, friends, parents, and siblings often ask us directly or indirectly to behave in ways that are consistent with who they think we should be. For many years I have been accused of being a maverick. That word can mean many different things to each of us. I don’t know whether I am one or not, but I do know that we can’t be happy, successful, or at peace with ourselves or with the world as long as we are being anyone other than who we truly are. Yes, we are developing, growing, changing, and becoming, but: all of this needs to be in accordance with our own inner drive.
When we allow others to determine who we should be, how we should behave, what we should believe. how we should feel—I know, I know, a lot of shoulds—but that is precisely the point. Who should determine who we are? This is not rocket science, my friends. It is really quite simple: as long as you let others deter-mine your destiny, personality, behavior, feelings, etc., you will never be really happy or successful (no matter how you choose to define success), nor will you ever be at peace with yourself.
Who in your life is not happy with who you are or who you are becoming? How are they attempting to influence your evolution?
Don’t let them do it. I have caved in to other people many times in the past and have always regretted it.
I am not saying, don’t change. I am only suggesting that when you do change, change when you are ready for a new you, for whatever reason. Being true to yourself—to your values, dreams, hopes, desires, needs, and so on—is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and the rest of the world.

Turn It Around
Grow and change on your own terms, not those of others.

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It’s true that English has become a global lingua franca over the past several decades. But according to the CIA World Fact Book, only 5.6 % of the world’s total population speaks English as a primary language. That means that well over four-fifths of the world’s population does not speak English. Why is it important to learn a second foreign language? To remain monolingual means to restrict your communication and thinking abilities; to limit your educational development; and to deny yourself the ability to fully appreciate and understand the world in which you live. Learning another language opens up new dimensions and opportunities and gives you perspectives that you might never have encountered otherwise. Personal, professional, economic and social considerations all point to the advantages of learning foreign languages. There are many reasons why people want to learn a foreign language: To make travel more feasible and enjoyable; To increase global understanding; To improve employment potential; To sharpen cognitive and life skills; To keep your mind healthy (learning a second language has been proven to delay the onset of dementia); To appreciate international literature, music, and film; To expand study abroad options; To make international friends; To increase understanding of different and one’s own culture; and many more.

Learning languages is much more than making yourself able to communicate with others. It’s like getting some nice new surprise and a whole new level of understanding. It’s opening the boundary of the mind. But, learning a foreign language takes time and require dedication.

If you plan to go on holiday to Vietnam, you might think that you can communicate by speaking English, so there’s no point in learning any other languages. Well, it is true if you stick to popular tourist resorts and big hotels where you can usually find someone who speaks English. However, if you want to venture beyond such popular places, going to remote places, to get to know the locals, to read road signs, restaurant menus, etc, knowing basic Vietnamese language is necessary. Learn Vietnamese language will help you to ‘get by’, i.e. to order food and drink, find your way around, buy tickets, etc. But, if you have a more advanced knowledge of the Vietnamese language, you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and will add a new dimension to your holiday.

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1) When You Think Big, the Problems Are Bigger

Here are my observations of being in deep problems in business and dealing with a mountain of debt:

Fear is not a good motivator; it leads you into panic and that makes for bad decision making. Anger and resentment are also emotions which are never far away – and both will alienate all parties if you put them on display. So you need to try to work towards a much more positive mindset – one of hope and optimism – as quickly as possible.

Even if you are not particularly religious, it helps to call on a ‘higher power’ to send you the strength to get through your crisis, plus the solutions you need. You need to have absolute faith for this process to work (which actually feels like a deep sense of calm), and almost immediately you will find that new people, opportunities and invitations will start appearing out of the blue. When this happens, keep an open mind and explore everything that comes your way, even though you can’t immediately see the logic in doing so at the time.

Stay positive and see your situation not as a problem but as a challenge which has been sent to strengthen you, and from which you will learn valuable lessons.

Remember, you are on a life journey, and change is often sent to move you to the next phase of your life, even if it feels uncomfortable at the time. So, even if it all goes pear shaped, bear in mind this could just be life paving the way for something even bigger and better that it has in store for you. Take strength from this extract from Max Ehrmann’s famous poem, ‘Desiderata’:

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

2) Rejection and Rip-Offs

I am often asked whether entrepreneurs are born or bred, and my answer is always that, in my view, there are just three key qualities that all successful entrepreneurs possess which make them stand apart from the crowd. Sometimes you are just born with these qualities, but more usually they are built in via a tough childhood. The qualities are:

SELF-BELIEF, DETERMINATION and DRIVE. If you possess these qualities you absolutely do not need anything else to be successful in business – no capital, no contacts, no experience – and indeed no real talent! All those things can easily be found if you have enough self-belief, determination and drive, because being an entrepreneur is just like being a magician: it is the ability to turn ideas into action, and then assemble all the resources you need to make your business idea a reality. And there is no better story to illustrate the truth of this than that of James Dyson, whose entrepreneurial journey is eloquently explained by the ghostwriter Giles Coren in James’s autobiography Against The Odds.  A journey so beset with issues and struggles and adversity it makes incredible reading!

Remember, the darkest hour is often just before the dawn.

Here are a few observations about persistence in the face of rejection:

• Read any successful person’s life story and you will soon realise that every single one of them – whether entrepreneurs or entertainers – endured many years of relentless rejection and humiliation before they finally found success. Think of it as the apprenticeship you need to serve if you want to succeed in business.
• Persistence is not just about relentlessly plugging away at something in the same way day after day, year after year. You need to trial every single way and approach that you can think of to find your breakthrough.
• If you are struggling with a go-no-where business it could make sense to focus on something else. But if the business you are currently struggling with is truly ‘The One’, then you will know deep in your heart that it is right to keep fighting on.
• Overnight success is extremely rare – success usually builds over time.
• Once you reach a tipping point, that is, when the offers, opportunities and cash really start to pour in, this is the glorious point at which you achieve ‘momentum’ in business – and everything can start to flow very fast and furiously. Momentum is very difficult to achieve – and is worth a huge amount of money precisely for that reason.

3) Knowing everything I know now, here’s what I would advise you to do if you want to sell your business:

• There are a few exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking your business is most likely to be bought if it is growing and profitable. So, whatever happens and right up to the point of doing the deal, growth and profitability should be your first focus.
• If you are contemplating selling your business, make sure that every aspect of it is rock solid, including its systems, strategy, IP, contracts, accounting policy and people. No area will be overlooked in the due diligence process, and if you aren’t proved squeaky clean you can be sure it will be used against you.
• Avoid any form of buyout clause. They are easily manipulated by your new parent company and could even act as a disincentive for your new parent to give you the support you thought you were doing the deal for in the first place.
• Yes, the best time to sell a business is at the height of its value – but how do you know when that time has come? A better yardstick is to sell your business the moment you have lost your passion for it. Selling out will give you the freedom plus the capital you need to do your next business venture.
• Get the best advice money can buy, including advisors to help you negotiate the deal. You’ll maximise the price that way, and sometimes creating distance from the negotiating table can be a powerful thing.
• Don’t be too eager or show too much enthusiasm. In the same way that a man will come on to a woman much harder if she holds back a little in the dating process, sometimes ‘going quiet on a deal’ for a few days or even weeks can make the other party even more hungry to complete. Sometimes there is nothing more effective than ‘radio silence’.
• The more options you have (including the option not to sell), the more powerful your hand.
• Try not to value your business based on what you think it is worth. Value it on what it could be worth to the acquiring party – frequently this is a much larger sum than the one in your own mind. Don’t sell yourself short.
• Remember, the deal is not done until the ink is on the paper. Until that moment, you cannot assume anything, whatever positive noises are being made or whatever assurances you may be given. To protect yourself in case the deal does go through, do not take your eye off the business ball, and always keep at least three options open.
• In paper-for-paper deals you will always be at the mercy of forces you cannot control, and your lock-in period will often prevent you from disposing of the shares for two years. Therefore always take cash, no matter how tempting the share-for-share option might seem.

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Do You Have Business Management Skills?
To help you identify where you may need to develop your managerial skills,
complete MANAGEMENT SKILLS CHECKLIST below and see how you score. Do you have what it takes? You need to answer yes to these twelve important questions.
If you didn’t answer yes to all the questions, you now have a guide as to where to focus your management training efforts. Some of these skills will take time to learn while others increase with experience.

MANAGEMENT SKILLS CHECKLIST
Using the following questions, determine whether you have the management skills necessary to run your own business.

1. Could I cope with constant pressures and deadlines?
2. Could I handle stressful situations without “losing my cool”?
3. Could I fire an incompetent employee?
4. Could I maintain strict credit control?
5. Could I refuse credit to a good but slow-paying client?
6. Could I adapt to constant change?
7. Could I maintain control of my daily, weekly, and monthly finances?
8. Do I understand how my business is taxed?
9. Do I know what a break-even point is?
10. Could I delegate responsibilities to others?
11. Am I willing to increase my skills in the areas that are lacking?
12. Will I use a business plan and regularly revisit it?

Why Do Businesses Fail?
No one likes to think of failure, yet business failure statistics are high. If you know why businesses fail, you can avoid making these mistakes. There are seven main reasons why the majority of businesses fail:

1. No planning and poor management
2. Lack of cash flow and capital
3. Wrong location
4. Inadequate marketing plan
5. Competition not researched
6. Wrong choice of business
7. Business grows too quickly

WHAT IS GOOD BUSINESS MANAGEMENT?

1. Providing the right service or product at the right time, in the right location, at the right price
2. Knowing that profit margins can support overhead, pay salaries, and meet personal commitments
3. Ensuring that the business provides a steady year-round income and that you have a plan B for quieter months
4. Astute inventory management to ensure a regular turnaround
5. Keeping accounting records up-to-date and closely monitoring financial figures
6. Regularly reviewing marketing strategies for their effectiveness
7. Changing with consumer trends, technology, and the changing economy
8. Making time daily for follow-up, marketing, and paperwork
9. Monitoring accounts receivable and keeping in touch with slow-paying clients
10. Understanding all aspects of your business and the industry
11. Providing a better service than your competitors
12. Becoming known as the expert in your field
13. Being an active member in your community
14. Diversifying—not putting all your eggs in one basket
15. Continual networking and follow-up
16. Planning for growth and having an exit strategy

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Talent Management Assessment Tools

1. Performance Appraisal: A measurement of actual results achieved within
those areas for which the employee is held accountable and/or the competencies
deemed critical to job and organization success.

2. Potential Forecast: A prediction of how many levels (organization/job) an
employee can progress within an organization based on his/her past/current
performance appraisals, training and development needs, career preferences,
and actual and projected competency levels.

3. Measurement Scales for Performance and Potential: Our study of 350 organizations involved in some type of successful talent management process
showed that the vast majority used a five-point scale to measure performance
and potential. The most common scale for performance measurement is:
greatly exceeds expectations (5), exceeds expectations (4), meets expectations
(3), below expectations (2), greatly below expectations (1). The most common
scale for potential assessment is: high potential (5), promotable (4), lateral (3),
marginal (2), none (1). Our conclusion is that most organizations believe that
simpler is better. These scales are simple, but they apparently achieve accurate
results.

4. Core/Institutional Competencies: Behavioral/skill expectations that are crucial to the success of each employee and to the success of the entire organization.
Our research has determined that there are no more than 30 core institutional
competencies and most organizations use between nine and 11 competencies
in their Talent Development process. Below illustrates a list of 9
representative core competencies and their definitions.

5. Mapping and Weighting Competencies: Mapping of competencies is the
process used to further differentiate competency definitions into glossaries of
behaviors associated with each level of an organization (Box). They provide
amplification, clarity, and greater specificity to competency definitions. A
greater level of specificity can be achieved by assigning numerical weights to
each job’s competency level in the glossary of behaviors. The latter approach
can be tied to, replace, or start a job evaluation system. The competencies and
weights operate much like a point-factor job evaluation system.
Compensation groups can evaluate all jobs in terms of competencies and
weights and develop a complete score for each job.

9 Core Competency & Its Attributes

Action Orientation
Targets and achieves results, overcomes obstacles, accepts
responsibility, establishes standards and responsibilities, creates a
results-oriented environment, and follows through on actions.

Communications
Communicates well, both verbally and in writing. Effectively
conveys and shares information and ideas with others. Listens
carefully and understands various viewpoints. Presents ideas
clearly and concisely and understands relevant detail in presented
information.

All Employees: Clearly and appropriately expresses his/her desires and needs.
Professionals: Understands the importance of and demonstrates good oral, listening,
and writing skills.
Supervisors: Adapts communications to audience requirements to optimize
understanding.
Managers: Actively presents information and ideas to all appropriate levels and
leads others to do the same.
Top Management: Promotes open expression of ideas and encourages communication
without retribution.
Executive: Is recognized as one who effectively clarifies and communicates
key/strategic information.

Creativity/Innovation
Generates novel ideas and develops or improves existing and new
systems that challenge the status quo, takes risks, and encourages
innovation.

Critical Judgment
Possesses the ability to define issues and focus on achieving
workable solutions. Consistently does the right thing by performing
with reliability.

Customer Orientation
Listens to customers, builds customer confidence, increases
customer satisfaction, ensures commitments are met, sets appropriate
customer expectations, and responds to customer needs.

Interpersonal Skill
Effectively and productively engages with others and establishes
trust, credibility, and confidence with others.

Leadership
Motivates, empowers, inspires, collaborates with, and encourages
others. Develops a culture where employees feel ownership in
what they do and continually improve the business. Builds consensus
when appropriate. Focuses team members on common goals.

Teamwork
Knows when and how to attract, develop, reward, and utilize
teams to optimize results. Acts to build trust, inspire enthusiasm,
encourage others, and help resolve conflicts and develop
consensus in creating high-performance teams.

Technical/Functional Expertise
Demonstrates strong technical/functional proficiencies and knowledge
in areas of expertise. Shows knowledge of company business
and proficiency in the strategic and financial processes, including
P&L planning processes and their implications for the company.

Sample of Talent Competency Development Guide

Communications – for Mr Smith
To communicate well both verbally and in writing; to effectively convey
ideas and share information and ideas with others; to listen carefully and
to understand difficult points of view; to present ideas clearly and concisely;
to understand relevant detail in presented information.
Coaching Guide
• Clarify your expectations of individual achievement and your measurement
criteria.
• Document in writing employee achievements, shortcomings, or suggested
areas for improvement and share with the employee.
• Provide vehicles for others to voice their opinions.
• Keep all communications clear and concise.
• Adjust words/terminology to ensure audience understanding.
• Ask clear questions using oral and/or other methods of communication.
• Attend to communications received from others.
• Follow up on ideas and continuously encourage idea generation without
retribution.
• Help others to sense urgency through daily updates via memos, e-mail,
or other sources of communication.
• Provide clear instructions or information to others orally or through
other methods of communication.
• Use appropriate nonverbal communication (eye contact, gestures, posture).
• Seek opportunities to give speeches through community or service
organizations.

Training

• Assertive Communication Skills for Professionals (CareerTrack) audiocassettes and workbook
• Better Business Writing by Carol Gelderman (Prentice Hall, 1990) audiocassette and workbook
• Communicating Non-Defensively (CRM Learning)-video with leader’s guide and participant’s workbook
• Giving and Receiving Feedback (Crisp) self-study audio and book
• Interpersonal Communication Skills (CareerTrack) CD-ROM
• The 9 Deadliest Sins of Communication (CareerTrack) four audiocassettes
• Power Talking Skills (CareerTrack, #50218) six audiocassettes, workbook, reference card
• You’re Not Communicating (Video Publishing House) video

Books

• The Talent Management Handbook: Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage by Selecting, Developing, and Promoting the Best People, Second Edition | by Lance A. Berger and Dorothy R. Berger | 2011 | ISBN: 9780071739054.
• The Value of Talent: Promoting Talent Management Across the Organization | by Janice Caplan | 2011 | ISBN: 9780749459840.
• Winning the Global Talent Showdown: How Businesses and Communities Can Partner to Rebuild the Jobs Pipeline | by Edward E. Gordon | ISBN: 9781576756164.
• The Executive Guide to Integrated Talent Management | by Kevin Oakes and Pat Galagan (eds) | 2011 | ISBN: 9781562867546.
• Optimizing Talent: What Every Leader and Manager Needs to Know to Sustain the Ultimate Workforce | by Linda D. Sharkey and Paul H. Eccher | 2011 | ISBN: 9781617352348.
• Make Talent Your Business: How Exceptional Managers Develop People While Getting Results | by Wendy Axelrod and Jeannie Coyle | 2011 | ISBN: 9781605099316.
• Technology-Enhanced Assessment of Talent | by Nancy T. Tippins and Seymour Adler (eds) | 2011 | ISBN: 9780470591581.
• The Differentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact | by Brian E. Becker, Mark A. Huselid and Richard W. Beatty | 2009 | ISBN: 9781422104460.
• The Manager’s Guide to Maximizing Employee Potential: Quick and Easy Strategies to Develop Talent Every Day | by William J. Rothwell | 2010 | ISBN: 9780814414309.
• Talent Management: Strategies for Success from Six Leading Companies | by Larry Israelite | 2010 | ISBN: 9781562866778.
• Finding Keepers: The Monster Guide to Hiring and Holding the World’s Best Employees | by Steve Pogorzelski and Jesse Harriott | 2008 | ISBN: 9780071499088.
• Strategic Career Management: Developing Your Talent | by Jane Yarnall | ISBN: 9780750683692.
• The Talent Advantage: How to Attract and Retain the Best and the Brightest | by Alan Weiss and Nancy MacKay | 2009 | ISBN: 9780470450567.
• Reinventing Talent Management: How to Maximize Performance in the New Marketplace | by William A. Schiemann | 2009 | ISBN: 9780470452264.
• Strategy-Driven Talent Management: A Leadership Imperative | by Rob Silzer and Ben E. Dowell | 2010 | ISBN: 9780787988470.
• Handbook of Workplace Assessment: Evidence-Based Practices for Selecting and Developing Organizational Talent | by John C. Scott and Douglas H. Reynolds | 2010 | ISBN: 9780470401316.
• One Page Talent Management: Eliminating Complexity, Adding Value | by Marc Effron and Miriam Ort | 2010 | ISBN: 9781422166734.
• Perfectly Able: How to Attract and Hire Talented People with Disabilities | by Jim Hasse (ed) | 2011 | ISBN: 9780814415641.
• Talent Management in the Developing World: Adopting a Global Perspective | by Joel Alemibola Elegbe | 2010 | ISBN: 9781409418139.
• Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent | by John W. Boudreau | 2010 | ISBN: 9781422130070.
• Developing HR Talent: Building A Strategic Partnership with the Business | by Kirsty Saddler and Jan Hills | 2011 | ISBN: 9780566088292.

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Trade Protectionism
It is necessary to understand that the reaction of many governments to economic slump was to protect jobs at home by raising the protection against
imports. The most common method of protection is the introduction or
increase of tariffs on imported goods. In the 1920s and 1930s, the widespread
use of tariffs caused job losses, in turn, in other countries – a reiterative
process. In the second half of the 1930s, the prolonged world slump was
alleviated, particularly in Europe, by the heavy public spending on defence
equipment and munitions in the lead-up to the World War II.
After 1945, there were concerted international efforts to put in place
organizations which would reduce the effects of trade protection and any
future reductions in world economic activity. The first of these were the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), now known as the World Bank
which were established by the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1947. These
institutions which have become the cornerstones of international macroeconomic management were largely the brainchild of British economist John Maynard Keynes, who was among the first to recognize that reductions in
government spending and increases in protection had been major causes of
the pre-war depression.

Methods of protection
The tools of protection may be categorized as either tariff or non-tariff
barriers.

Tariffs
A tariff is a ‘tax’ or import duty levied on goods or services entering a
country. Tariffs can be fixed or percentage levies and serve the twin purposes
of generating revenue for governments and making it more difficult for
companies from other countries to do business in the protected market.
The moves towards ‘free trade’ of the 19th century were largely offset by
the reintroduction of tariffs in the early part of the 20th century at rates
sometimes as high as 33 and 50%. Since 1945, tariffs have been lowered
significantly as a result of eight successive rounds of multilateral trade
negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),
the third institution established following the Bretton Woods Agreement,
and its successor the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Non-tariff barriers
Although progress was made in dismantling tariff barriers under the GATT
in the period up to 1995 when the WTO was established, the use of non-tariff protection increased during the 1980s, mostly as a substitute for the
tariffs which were outlawed.
The following is a list of non-tariff measures which have been deployed by
both developed and developing countries:
• Quotas
A numerical limit in terms of value or volume imposed on the amount of
a product which can be imported. Chinese quotas on imported automobiles
or French quotas on Japanese VHS equipment during the 1980s are wellknown
examples.
• Voluntary export restraints
Agreed arrangements whereby an exporter agrees not to export more
than a specific amount of a good to the importing country (usually to preempt
the imposition of more stringent measures). Such agreements are common for automobiles and electronics, but are also applied to steel and chemicals.
• Domestic subsidies
The provision of financial aid or preferential tax status to domestic
manufacturers which gives them an advantage over external suppliers.
The most obvious examples are agricultur,e where both the EU and US
have consistently employed subsidies to help domestic producers.
• Import deposits
The device of requiring the importer to make a deposit (usually a
proportion of the value of the goods) with the Government for a fixed
period. The effect on cash flow is intended to discourage imports.
• Safety and health standards / technical specifications
This more subtle form of deterrent requires importers to meet stringent
standards or to complete complicated and lengthy formalities. The French
bans on lamb and then beef imported from the UK during the 1990s will
be long remembered by the British farming industry.

International balance of payments ratios
There are three yardsticks of international trade which are quotedcommonly
by economists and others seeking to compare trade performance between
countries relative to their economies:
• ratio of trade at market prices to gross domestic product (GDP). For
example, China now has a surprisingly open economy with a ratio of 44%
in 2001, while Japan’s ratio of trade to GDP was only 18%.
• ratio of current account balance to GDP. The ratios of the UK’s and USA’s deficits to GDP are 1.7% and 5.1% currently while those of some of the
EU accession states exceed 40%.
• terms of trade. This more sophisticated measurement is the ratio of a
country’s prices of exports to those of its imports and is an indicator of
competitiveness.

Managing disequilibrium
A country with a surplus in its balance of payments is said to be a ‘creditor
nation’. It can add this surplus to its reserves or lend it to other nations to
enable them to improve their economies.
Conversely, if a country incurs a deficit in its balance of payments, it is
said to be a ‘debtor nation’ because it has spent more than it has earned. It
must finance this deficit either by drawing upon its reserves or borrowing
externally.
Clearly, a country’s reserves of gold and foreign currencies are not
inexhaustible and, sooner or later, it would have to negotiate loans and
eventually repay them. We have already mentioned the role of the IMF as a
provider of loans for this purpose. IMF loans are generally granted with
stringent conditions attached as to the management of the borrowing
country’s economy. In the 1970s the UK negotiated significant loans from
the IMF in order to cover accumulated deficits. Changes in domestic
economic policy, in agreement wit the IMF, enabled the loans to be repaid
quite soon.
A country with a persistent balance of payments deficit must take
appropriate measures to rectify the situation which would depend upon the
causes of the deficit. If it is due to its imports, measures must be taken to
restrict imports while stimulating exports. If it has been caused by an
excessive outflow of capital, then measures must be taken to control overseas
investment.

Some of the measures which a country may take are summarized as
follows:

Import controls
In theory, there are two methods of controlling imports, the protection tools
are:
• import quotas and
• import duties (tariffs)
Import quotas provide restrictions to the total number or value of goods
which may be imported into the country during a specified period.
The imposition of import duties is intended to reduce demand for the
commodities in question by increasing the price to the ultimate user.
As signatories to the GATT and its successor the WTO, the boundaries
within which the UK or the USA can impose import controls or tariffs, even
to address disequilibrium, are severely restricted. As a full member of the
EU the UK can depart from the common external tariff only in the most
exceptional circumstances.

Export incentives
A government might grant its exporters generally, or in specific industries,
subsidies or taxation reductions to enable them to reduce their prices and
undercut foreign competitors. Such incentives are also outlawed by theWTO
ad would certainly contravene EU agreements if applied to trade within
Europe.

Monetary measures
Since the use of import controls and export incentives is constrained, the
UK usually resorts to monetary measures when there is a balance of
payments deficit.
Recognising that the fundamental cause of current account deficits is
usually excessive home demand for imported goods and the absorption of
home-produced goods which may otherwise have been exported, the
government may adopt one or more of the following measures:
• increase interest rates – thereby discouraging borrowing and consequently
tightening and reducing spending power. Higher interest rates also
attract foreign short-term capital.
• open market operations – by selling securities in the open market the
government reduces the amount of money in circulation which diminishes
purchasing power.
• special deposits – in the form of directive to the banks to deposit a certain
proportion of their funds with the Bank of England where they are frozen.
This reduces the liquidity of the banks, which in turn restricts bank
lending and diminishes purchasing power

Fiscal measures
A government can also reduce spending power more directly by means of
higher taxation, hire-purchase controls, etc.

Devaluation
The purpose of devaluing a currency is to make a country’s exports cheaper
to overseas buyers and, at the same time, its imports dearer. This method is
applicable when a system of fixed exchange rates is in place, but is usually
the measure of last resort.
Under a system of floating exchange rates, the exchange value of a
currency will gradually depreciate if it is overvalued, which will have the
same effect as a devaluation. The currencies of developing countries which
are ‘pegged’ by a fixed rate (or within a narrow fixed band) to a more stable
‘hard’ currency, such as the US dollar, are effectively insulated from the
market forces related to its own country’s economy.

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One straightforward definition of terrorism is: ‘The deliberate and systematic
murder, maiming, and menacing of the innocent to inspire fear for  political ends’.

For practical purposes, the following elements are crucial: the perpetrators:
● use force on civilians;
● act in an unofficial capacity. In particular, they are not part of
the national army and do not wear national uniform;
● want to attain political goals;
● intend to have far-reaching effects beyond the immediate
victims, particularly through the media.

Deterrence Against Terrorism

Governments may react to terrorism in two basic ways:
1. Using the ‘stick’: This coercive approach works with using negative
sanctions, mostly by employing military and police enforcement.
Persons undertaking terrorist acts are severely punished
either by killing them or by putting them in prison, possibly after
torturing them. This response is based on immediate and strong
retribution and addresses the most urgent problems created by a
terrorist attack. The response is ‘re-active’ in so far as it is incident-
related, dealing with terrorist attacks that have already
taken place.

2. Using the ‘carrot’: Actual and potential terrorists are given positive
incentives to desist from their violent activities by providing
them with superior alternatives, but also by reducing the benefits
they derive from terrorist acts. This approach seeks to address the
root causes of terrorism. It considers reforms addressing the grievances
of the terrorists and is directed at prevention or long-term
reform. It is ‘pro-active’, in so far as it identifies newly emerging
political conflicts possibly leading to terrorism.

Comparing Anti-terrorist Policies

CRITERIA FOR ANTI-TERRORIST POLICIES

In the following, the anti-terrorist policies discussed will be evaluated
according to six different criteria: the time required, effectiveness,
cost, efficiency, legal and moral acceptability. No complete classification of
the policies with respect to the six criteria is intended.Rather, only the
major aspects are considered as to how the three anti-terrorist policies
proposed here – polycentricity, positive incentives to renounce
terrorism and dispersing media attention – and the conventional
deterrence policy fare, when looked at from various points of view.

Time Required
A major advantage of a punitive approach is that it can quickly be
put into effect. Most countries affected by terrorist acts have sufficiently
large police and military forces to strike back within a short
time – though it is not always clear whether actual terrorists or innocent
persons are hit. Results in terms of the number of persons killed,
and installations destroyed, are immediately visible. The reaction of
the Israeli government to Palestinian terrorists and suicide bombers
is a good example. Almost overnight, the villages and camps from
which the terrorists are presumed to originate, as well as the homes of
their presumed relatives, are demolished.

Most positive approaches, in contrast, take considerable time to be
put into action and to show results. In the case of the polycentric
policy, the time frame is large. It takes years to arrange for economic,
political and social decision-making to be shared by many persons,
and to be widely distributed over space. It also cannot be expected
that offering incentives to potential and actual terrorists to give up
violent action will show any quick results. To overcome mutual mistrust
takes considerable time and does not proceed at a steady rate.

Effectiveness
An anti-terrorist policy able to significantly reduce terrorist violence
can be called effective. Previous chapters have argued and proposed
evidence that all three of the positive anti-terrorist policies are effective
in this sense. The more polycentric a country is, the less vulnerable
it is. The potential terrorists find it difficult, if not impossible, to
find a worthwhile target with which they can terrorise the chosen
enemy. Indeed, decentralisation has proved to be so effective that terrorists
have copied it. Al Qaeda, for example, has the character of a
virtual organisation. Its individual parts work independently to a
large extent, and are ignorant (and therefore cannot reveal any information
if captured) as to who the other parts are and what they do.

Such decentralisation on the part of terrorists makes it much more
difficult for the police and army to act effectively against them. A
decentralised method of financing the activities typical for modern
terrorist organisations makes it nearly impossible to intercept the flow
of resources used for terrorist purposes.

Offering positive incentives to terrorists to desist from their activities
opens up new opportunities for them. It also undermines the
coherence of the terrorist groups. Refusing to attribute a violent act
to a particular terrorist group robs them of one of the crucial prizes
of terrorism, unique media attention.

Reliance on deterrence policy has been tried very often but has, in
many cases, yielded disappointing results. The use of punishment and
retribution is unlikely to solve the problems underlying terrorist activities.
Deterrence policy may even lead to counterproductive results.

Violent action against actual or presumed terrorists tends to induce
new persons to join, or at least support, terrorist groups. Already
established terrorists see no valuable alternatives for themselves; they
are locked in. Both well-established and new terrorists often seek
revenge for the casualties suffered by their family, relatives and friends.
Another reason for a possible counterproductive effect lies in
increased political centralisation combined with deterrence policy. A
policy based on negative sanctions seems to yield impressive results, as
terrorists and their supporters (but also innocent people) are indeed
killed and incarcerated. But the consequences induced in most cases
do not lead to a reduction of terrorism. The very high punishments
cited in the US anti-terrorist laws, instituted by President Reagan in
1984 (Public Law 98–473 and 98–553), is an example. Individuals
taking US hostages, inside or outside the United States, face life
imprisonment. The penalties for placing bombs aboard a plane or
destroying an aircraft were also drastically increased. These laws
proved, however, to have ‘no statistical effect whatsoever against USdirected
terrorist acts’.

Cost
Anti-terrorist policies require the use of all kinds of resources. They
may be material or immaterial, such as the attention and effort
required by the government politicians to devise and implement specific
programmes.

Deterrence policy requires substantial material resources. Potential
and actual terrorists must be convinced that undertaking violent acts
will carry a heavy penalty. The probability of being caught, and the
punishment imposed, must be so high that terrorists find it preferable
to desist or to undertake violent acts elsewhere. In the latter case, terrorism
is exported rather than curbed. A threat never put into practice
is not credible. A deterrence policy therefore involves the use of
police and military forces to actually punish terrorists. The resources
needed for these purposes are no longer available for other, more
peaceful uses. These opportunity costs are often high. This holds particularly
for poor countries, where a substantial part of GNP, and a
high percentage of young men conscripted into the military service,
are used for that purpose.

Different groups face quite different opportunity costs for engaging
in deterrence policy. Politicians in government must consider the
budgetary costs involved when fighting the terrorists. To finance
deterrence policy, they must resort to unpopular tax increases, raise
the public debt (with future burdens in the form of interest payments),
or print additional money (thereby raising future inflation).
The situation is quite different for the members of the police and military
forces, especially for its officers and commanders. Their importance
in society, and vis-à-vis the government, increases when they are
given the task of fighting terrorists. They not only receive more
material and human resources, but also directly gain by pay increases.
In an ‘all out war’ against terrorism, they receive more competencies,
often beyond the rule of law. Not surprisingly, the officers and commanders
of the police and the military forces normally welcome a
strong deterrence policy. Only when they realise over the course of
time that they are unable to win against the terrorists do they tend to
become more careful. They may sometimes even change sides if they
expect that the (former) terrorists will become their new bosses.

Positive policies also carry costs. This is most obviously seen when
rewarding actual and potential terrorists for renouncing violent acts.
Such rewards are only effective if they are of sufficient magnitude. A
policy of compensation involves substantial budgetary costs, whose
costs are attributed to the government. But the terrorists may also be
compensated for desisting from violent acts by giving them nonmaterial
rewards. In many cases, a successful policy has been to let
them participate in political decision-making, offering them seats in
parliament or even in government. The politicians in government incur
costs because they then have to share power with the former terrorists.

The other two positive policies have comparatively low costs.
Polycentricity involves a reduction in power of the former decision makers
in the centre. But it is likely to revitalise the economy and
society by furthering competition and enabling more innovative
enterprises. As the economic theory of federalism, and more generally
market theory, has long argued, political and economic decentralisation
further the growth of income and reduce unemployment.
Even if decentralisation is undertaken as part of anti-terrorist policy,
the beneficial effects can still be reaped. Dispersing media attention,
by offering more information in case of a terrorist act, carries low
costs. The police and secret service can easily name a number of possible
perpetrators.

Efficiency
Welfare maximising and rational political decision-makers would
consider both the effectiveness and the cost of various anti-terrorist
policies. They favour policies with high effectiveness and low cost and
reject those with low effectiveness and high cost. None of the four
policies considered here uniquely qualifies for one of these categories.
It follows that each of the policies may be efficient under certain conditions.
For instance, when police and military forces already exist,
and terrorists are pursuing a cause without much support from the
people, and the danger of further terrorist acts is imminent, a sanctioning
policy may be best. If, on the other hand, terrorists exploit
existing grievous social conditions, and have the active or passive
support of a sizeable part of the people, a positive policy is far more
effective.

In reality, of course, governments are neither welfare maximising
nor fully rational. They therefore only partially consider effectiveness
and the overall economic and social cost of anti-terrorist policies.
Rather, they evaluate effectiveness and costs with regard to how they
affect their own utility, in particular their re-election chances. As
Public Choice theory has established, this leads to serious deviations
from effectiveness. Moreover, not all costs to the members of society
as a whole also represent costs for the government. This is, for
instance, not the case when government anti-terror expenditures lead
to revenue for firms and other actors supporting the government
undertaking these expenditures.

Legal Aspects
Anti-terrorist policies may violate national laws and constitutional
provisions, as well as internationally agreed human rights and laws on
war. The danger of such an eventuality is endemic in the case of deterrence
policy. Often, it is undertaken without regard to such legal constraints.
It is argued that the danger of terrorism is so great that these
rules must be violated for the sake of protecting the state. It is
obvious, however, that legal rules are often broken, because it is in the
personal interests of government politicians, as well as the police and
the military.

The situation is quite different for an anti-terrorist policy based on
strengthening polycentricity. Such a policy is compatible with both
national and international law. To disperse media attention is not
illegal. Indeed, the government and the police break the law by attributing
a violent attack to a particular terrorist group. In a liberal
society, following the rule of law, as long as the courts have not established
responsibility, even suspected perpetrators must be given the
benefit of the doubt. To point out that a number of different groups
may be responsible for a terrorist act therefore fully corresponds to
desirable policy in a liberal society.

Offering compensation to terrorists for giving up future violent
action, instead of punishing them for their past deeds, may appear to
be illegal. But, in most countries, the heads of the state, or the courts,
have the power to absolve persons for having broken the law. Not
punishing terrorists is legal and legitimate, if such action reduces
further harm and if it can safely be expected that they will be reintegrated
back into society.

Moral Considerations
What is taken to be ‘moral’ differs from one person to another. Some
persons believe it to be moral to punish terrorists and therefore advocate
a strict sanctioning policy. Others believe it to be moral to forgive
past ‘sins’, even if they had deadly consequences. They therefore
support policies helping to reintegrate terrorists back into normal life
by offering rewards. Others believe that it is the duty of government
and police to indicate which terrorist group has most probably committed
a particular violent act. They therefore reject a policy of
naming various groups as possible perpetrators. Others are convinced
that it is deeply immoral to give terrorists so much media attention,
and therefore prefer a policy of not pinpointing a particular group.

This discussion suggests that it is not possible to decide on the basis
of moral considerations which anti-terrorist policy is morally defensible;
it all depends on a person’s underlying fundamental ideology.
This does not mean that morals should play no role when deciding
how to tackle terrorism. But each person has to decide for him- or
herself; there is no overriding ‘social moral’ pointing in the right
direction.

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There are no simple solutions to the problem of terrorism. As armed terrorists attack unarmed civilians in peacetime without warning, we must opt for a multi-pronged approach to terrorism and utilize a broad repertoire of responses. We must keep in mind that terrorism thrives on conflict and that we have to address the underlying conflict issues. In many cases we will not be able to solve these conflicts.

When one wants to prevent terrorism, there is really no way that one can disregard the conditions that enable terrorism, whether these are called breeding grounds of terrorism or root causes. Yet concern for the origins of terrorism and motivations of terrorists should be balanced with concern for victims and other affected groups. The study of root causes has to be placed within a broad spectrum of inquiries and activities that range from prevention and early warning to dissuasion and deterrence and, if these fail, to prosecution and retribution. An effective counter-terrorism strategy ought to be
comprehensive, with full coordination between the parts and the parties concerned.

Combating terrorism is not easy since we might have to deal with a constantly changing phenomenon.When we think of prevention and control of terrorism, we therefore have to look not just at criminal justice responses but at the whole spectrum of possible responses.

A toolbox of measures to prevent and suppress terrorism
This toolbox is simply meant to identify and classify possible preventive and counter-terrorist measures, regardless of their use, efficacy or rate of success.

1. Politics and Governance
1.1 Address specific political grievance of terrorists
1.2 Engage in conflict resolution
1.3 Offer political concessions
1.4 Participation in broader political process
1.5 Amnesty
1.6 Diplomatic pressure on state sponsors to decrease their support

2. Economic and Social
2.1 Address specific socio-economic grievances
2.2 Engage in socio-economic policies that reduce inclination to engage in political violence
2.3 Address financial/monetary aspects of terrorism
2.4 Other

3. Psychological-Communicational-Educational
3.1 Attempts to establish a common value base with political opponents
3.2 Providing a forum for freedom of expression
3.3 Use of media
3.4 Counter-terrorism public relations campaign
3.5 Other

4. Military
4.1 Use of strikes/operations
4.2 Use of armed forces for protecting potential victims and objects
4.3 Recruitment/Military Education/Training/Maintenance of personnel
4.4 Operating procedures and policies

5. Judicial and Legal
5.1 International efforts
5.2 Domestic legislation
5.3 Witnesses
5.4 Courts

6. Police and Prison System
6.1 Target hardening
6.2 Enhance international police cooperation
6.3 Enhance capacity of law enforcement officials
6.4 Informants/infiltrators
6.5 Police behaviour
6.6 Police powers
6.7 Measures to inhibit the formation and perpetuation of terrorist networks in prison

7. Intelligence and Secret Services
7.1 Use of technology (traditional and newly developed) and human intelligence (HUMINT)
7.2 Engage in exchange of intelligence
7.3 Intelligence/infiltration
7.4 Use of secret negotiations
7.5 Develop an early warning system based on indicators of public violence

8. Other
8.1 Concessions/deals
8.2 Immigration measures
8.3 Victim support
8.4 Governmental strategy

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