Boyle bir negatif, gerici evrim halkin destegi olmadan gerceklesemez . Demek ki bu gidisati degistirmek isteyecek yeni bir iktidarin onunde cok zor engeller var.

Halkin buyuk bir kesiminin bulunduklari uykudan bir sekilde uyandirilmasi ve bilinclerinin yerine getirilmesi gerekiyor. Bunun icin Maslov’un ihtiyaclar hiyerarsisinin en alt kesimde bulunan ve malesef sadakalarla, dini yonlendirmelerle cok kolay etkilenebilen milyonlarca ac ve egitimsiz insanin bir sekilde gercekle ve ulkenin hizla gittigi ucurumla yuzlestirilmesi gerekiyor.

Yani son derece kuvvetli bir aciliyet duygusuna ihtiyac var.

Daha da onemlisi, Turkiye’yi demokratik olarak bu cukurun icinden cikabilecek; Turklugunden, Turk halkindan, Ataturk’ten, onun sistemi ve yolundan gurur duyan; durust, serefli, enerjik, ileri goruslu, akilli, caliskan; sosyal, ekonomik, bilimsel, kulturel, stratejik vizyonu olan, halkin tamamini kucaklayabilecek liderleri hukumete getirebilmek.

Bu insanlar 80 milyon mensubu olan bu toplumun icindeler, bir yerdeler, icin icin yaniyorlar, bir seyler yapmak istiyorlar. Tum olumsuzluklara karsi Turkiye’nin ihtiyac duydugu pozitif enerjiyle bakiyorlar gelecege; her ne kadar ulke Ataturk’un Genclige Hitabi’ndaki ciddiyette kusatma ve hiyanet altinda bulunsa bile.

Bu liderleri, ya da yeni bir Ataturk’u beklemek haliyle gercekci degil. Hepimizin bireyler olarak uzerine buyuk sorumluluklar dusuyor. Ataturk’un bizlere yuceltmek ve ileriye goturmek sartiyle biraktigi bu topraklari korumak, uzerinde yasayanlarin ve yasayacak olan gelecek nesillerin en iyi kosullar altinda ilerlemeleri icin biraz risk altina girmemiz, yorulmamiz, okumamiz, dusunmemiz, hareket etmemiz ve digerlerini harekete gecirmemiz gerekiyor.

Gozumuzu yumup, kulagimizi ve agizimizi tikamamak, bir sekilde yakinlarimizla birlik olmak, gerektiginde tartismak, gerektiginde “bu yaptiginiz ulkeyi ileri goturmeyecektir” diyerek ayaga kalkmak ve sesini yukseltmek, organize olmak, toplanmak; yani aktif olarak bir seyleri degistirmeye calismak gerekiyor.

Hepimiz cok iyi birer cozumlemeciyiz, sorunlari tespit edip, altinda yatan sebepleri anlayabiliyoruz, ama degisim icin hareket ve bilincli calismak gerekmiyor mu?

Sanirim bu hukumeti ve oncullerini takdir etmemiz, onlardan ogrenmemiz gereken cok onemli bir nokta var. Hepimiz rahatca ve guvenligimizden emin bir sekilde uyuyorken, onlar gece gunduz demeden, Ataturk’un sistemini degistirebilme davasiyla calistilar, yurt icinde ve disinda ittifaklar kurdular, finansal yardim topladilar, inanilasi argumanlar urtettiler, halkin icine indiler, ev ev, kapi kapi dolastilar, konustular, davalarini anlattilar, kendi kurtulus savaslarini yaptilar.

Bugun burada gozumuzun onunde gerceklesen inanmasi guc olusumlara, acilimlara bakarak hayretler icinde duruyoruz. Su an yavas yavas, canli olarak kaynatilan ve tepki gosteremeden pisen o kurbaga gibiyiz. Belki de pistik artik.

Iyi haber, toplumlarin surekli degisim icinde bulunduklari ve her seyin ama her seyin uzun vadede mumkun oldugu. Yeter ki artik konusmakla kalmayalim ve aktif olarak bir seyler yapmaya calisalim.

Key premise behind the approach is a stance against product functionality enrichment and augmenting the product through well known, cookie-cutter segmentation strategies focusing on demographics, customer size or product usage. The catch: You will not be able to differentiate and/or create a new market through functionality additions or tweaks to make the product addressing the right customer segment; it will simply invite competition and the innovative functionality becomes the part of generic industry offering, simply raising the cost of being in the game.

The buzzword we are offered with the article is “job based segmentation”, job being the fit between customers’ immediate problem and the insightful solution the product offers. A rather eye-opening example we are being provided is the milkshake problem/opportunity a fast-food chain is confronted with: In their first trial in supporting the lackluster sales of the milkshake item on the menu, they organize the good-old focus group approach to engage current users of their products to understand “what other functionalities” would they see fit in their daily milkshake pleasure.

Without surprise, no improvement in top line observed and they decide to dedicate some resources in “observing the customers buying process”. Conclusion: Most of the customers are morning commuters in suits that hop-in to get the drink and move on into their daily driving experience. Having talking to these customers the insight reveals itself: Milkshake is actually an item that they use purchase as quick as possible on the way to office and drink in the car to pass time in heavy traffic by sipping the thick fluid through the tiny straw (getting the boredom job done) and soothe their morning craving (getting the hunger job done).

Therefore the company achieves the expected success by developing a milkshake initiative by offering even thicker milkshakes and a possible fast lane for milkshake purchaser that could make the purchase through swiping the card.

There were other cases provided in the article and I have found the overall content very insightful on the grounds that the conventional methods are challenged and a practical and simple way into the intricate world of customer needs and satisfaction process is introduced.

What is the driving source behind people working together to achieve a particular goal, or even when following a random path to enjoy a common day trip? This is where the leader steps on to the stage. If you have more than 1 person, you sure will have a person that will be the wiser one at times of decision making and giving a clear or subtle direction to others.

The concept of leadership has grown popular as capitalism and corporations started to shape our world, literally becoming a subject that is taught at schools, seminars, companies. It is being aspired by millions to be learned and whole-heartedly practiced to get ahead of the crowd, as “true” leaders would live the most meaningful life followed by the fortunes, if coupled with financial success, goes the common belief.

If it is something to be learned or something to be born with has always been a topic a topic of discussion. Management professors, gurus and professionals, who earn their daily bread through teachings of leadership understandably support the mantra that says “leadership can be learned”. We are not going to discuss and engage ourselves in a dialectic discussion, but instead explore some undiscovered paths to leadership.

There are many characteristics of a good leader; as we all know, bad leaders can lead their followers into obscurity and even destruction. A management guru named John Crupi states that the learning through practicing the character building stones of a typical leader is not the most effective way to understand where you stand as a leader. He has a simple framework:

• Know yourself
• Know your elements
• No tolerance when certain rules are broken
• Give freedom and expect responsibility afterwards
• Know that you have a direct impact to people’ s lives
• You either become the one that is revered and followed, or the one that others do not want to have anything to do with

Leadership is actually nothing more than making the best out of any situation for the people and with the people, by having them share a common goal, motivating them to give their best all along till the end and when the victory is achieved, giving them back all the credit, as they have done a great job.

Good leaders have very strong self discipline with a relentless integrity, they work harder and smarter, they have above average intelligence and physical energy, they are natural good communicators and have exemplary relationship skills, most interestingly they have been this way since their childhood.

Now given that the expectations from the leaders of today are above and beyond the call of duty, it has become vital to carry most of the characteristics listed above; even to be performed in multi-cultural working environments, with followers coming from all walks of life and from widely different cultural backgrounds. What needs to be done to develop such character dimensions and people that will lead the next generation of followers to the next level?

The task starts in the family and at school, where the fundamental pillars of character is formed and shaped. Our children need to go to the basics. Responsibility, working discipline, rigorous reading and physical activity as opposed to virtual play, socializing outdoors vs online, going to next door and talking face to face and not utilizing the ease of SMS. Harder conditions, physically and mentally challenging experiences are leader makers.

We are living in a world of ubiquitous technology providing seamless connectivity, endless flow of information, unlimited ways of online interaction and sharing. Yet the requirements of leadership has not changed. We need more focused and self-disciplined leaders more than ever, as our world has become very complex, chaotic and global. For centuries the leaders led their folks in their close vicinity and now they need to see beyond the boundaries of Internet and technology to solve world’ s problems, seek opportunities and let their diverse constituents achieve that has never achieved before.

Tax revenue of German state has increased 16.4%, 16.7% and 12.8% in Jan, Feb and Mar. This is a significant improvement for a large base. Increasing company profits due to strong export growth is contributing to this tax stream. Germany GDP forecast is stated to be pushed above 2% that has been estimated around 1.5% for 2007 (Global Insight). GDP outlook for 2008 and 2009 still remain at 2%. Main concern within the GDP elements is consumer consumption that has been week since the beginning of the millennium. As stated earlier, increasing exports is leading to an increase in hiring and a down-push on unemployment, which has fallen to 9%. This will lead to increased salaries and might convince the Germans spend more.

Inflationary expectations are in mid or high 1%s throughout 2008 and 2009. VAT increase contributed to 0.3-0.5% points of inflation increase. Currently, inflation has leveled around 1.6%. As in many other countries core inflation is impacted mainly due to rising commodity prices, especially oil.

So what do we need to monitor: Export is the most important growth driver of the German economy. Key influencer is Euro/USD exchange rate and the latter is bound to devalue further with ever increasing trade deficit in the US and an expectedly weakening US economy. Given that Asian countries, especially China, have pegged their currencies to USD, any sharp dampening of USD will put US and Asia trade lanes under stress. However, accounting for the bulk of Germany exports, intra-Europe together with the new EU member states is helping Germany to expand their exports.

We are seeing the outlook positive for the German economy and the horizon is full of opportunities for businesses focusing on exports.

Please check out the following link for statistical data: