Leadership at the Point of the Bayonet


1. Strive to be a leader of character, competence, and courage.

2. Lead from the front. Say, “Follow me!” and then lead the way.

3. Stay in top physical shape—physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.

4. Develop your team. If you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations, and lead by example, you will develop teamwork.

5. Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their job. You can’t do a good job if you don’t have a chance to use your imagination and creativity.

6. Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.

7. Remain humble. Don’t worry about who receives the credit. Never let power or authority go to your head.

8. Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best.

9. True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. They key to a successful leader is to earn respect—not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.

10. Hang Tough!—Never, ever, give up.

Gearing for worse: Are you prepared for Cancer costs?

What is insurable interest?

Did you know you can’t buy insurance for just anyone… or a cover for an asset owned by someone? For example, an individual’s application to insure his cousin’s life was rejected. Insurance companies cited “lack of insurable interest” as a reason for rejecting the application. Insurable interest is one of the key principles of insurance.

A person has an insurable interest in something when loss or damage to it will cause that person to suffer a financial loss or some other kind of losses.

For example, if the car you own meets with an accident, you have to incur costs to repair the car before you can ply it again or you have to sell it in scrap and be content with getting too small a sum in return to replace your car. Here, you suffer a financial loss and, hence, have a strong reason to insure your car. If the accident happens with a car not owned by you, you do not suffer any financial loss. You do not have a reason to insure such a car. If a ‘reason’ exists, you are said to have an insurable interest in the subject of insurance.

As a rule of thumb, for property insurance, the insurable interest must exist both at the time of purchase of insurance and at the time of occurrence of loss. For life insurance, the insurable interest must exist at the time of purchasing life insurance.

An individual is said to have an insurable interest in his own life and that of his spouse. The concept of insurable interest ensures that none gambles on someone else’s life or property. It also prevents the moral hazard of an individual buying insurance of a subject and then ‘arranging’ for the occurrence of insured event.

Source: Economic Times

LIC Jeevan Arogya – Better medical cover for your parents

jeevan arogya leaflet


advantages-of-using-a-credit-card

It is true that if you cannot manage credit cards responsibly, then its best that they are locked away in a safe place. The dangers of using a credit card recklessly far outweighs its advantages at any given circumstance.

However, on the other hand if you are diligent with your money, have a habit of keeping a track of your expenses or run into emergencies that calls for the usage of a credit card, then by all means you can prudently tap the advantages this piece of plastic has to offer!

Credit cards do qualify as a good alternative method of making payments. Using credit cards offers several advantages over traditional methods of payments like making cash payments.
Credit cards are safer than cash

It is much safer carrying credit cards than carrying cash. It is a safer mode of payment, especially for large amounts, as one does not have to take the risk of


theft that comes with holding large cash amounts. In case of theft too it is easier to minimize and recover from the loss. To give an example, Anita uses a credit card to pay for majority of her expenses. To her misfortune, her purse was stolen.

It contained Rs. 1,000/- in cash and a credit card with a credit limit of Rs. 25,000/-. She immediately lodged a police compliant and also called her credit card company to report the theft. Her credit card company immediately froze the card and hence nobody could use it to make unauthorized purchases. It also cancelled her existing card and sent her a new one within a week and she could start using it immediately.

The police did not have enough information to track down the thief so she knew she did not have a real chance of getting back the cash. She had to give up on the Rs.1, 000/-. So how much did she really lose because of the stolen purse? She could cut her losses because she used plastic money for most of her purchases and did not carry heavy cash with her. That is the advantage of using a card.
Credit cards encourage better record keeping

Credit card statements provide a detailed list of all your expenses. It is just easier to keep a record and track expenses incurred using credit cards. Keeping track of cash expenses becomes difficult as one spends more and more in cash. It is not practical to write down each expense. For example, if in a day, Anita spends Rs. 40 on grocery, Rs. 150 on fuel, Rs. 100 in a restaurant and Rs. 50 on a gift – all in cash. She does not write down these expenses as individually each expense is petty and not worth the effort.

She also thinks she will remember where she spent all her money (don’t we all do?). At the end of the month she has spent over Rs. 8000/- and is not able to trace back all her expenses. Anita is left wondering where what happened to all that money? Further it is difficult for her to track if she is going overboard with any of the expense, as she does not know how much she spent on each category of expenses. Do you think that this scene would have been different had she used her credit card for spending money?
Credit cards can help you tide over liquidity crunch

In a particular month, Anita had to pay her utility bills but did not have the cash to pay them. Her credit card usage was well within its credit limit. She also knew that she would receive her next paycheck in 5 days. Anita used her credit card to make the payment on these outstanding bills that were due. She got her paycheck on time and she also paid her Credit Card Company as soon as she received her monthly statement i.e. within the grace period. Her credit card helped Anita to tide over her liquidity crunch.

It is important to note that Anita just had a current liquidity problem. She had her paycheck coming in 5 days. She used her credit card to just help her cross over these 5 days without having to pay penalty on her bills. She also paid her credit card bill in full without paying any interest on it. It is important to use credit cards wisely and not treat them just as extra cash and use them to make purchases that are beyond your limits. Swipe your credit card only if you know that you will be able to make full payment on your credit card bill when it becomes due.


Credit card offers several incentives

Using credit cards offer several incentives like reward programmes. Anita’s credit card offers her incentives like cash back, fuel points, frequent flyer points and frequent shopper points. She spent Rs.35, 000/- last year at shopper’s stop.

She used her credit card for each of her purchase there as it gave her frequent shopper points. At the end of the year she had accumulated 350 points on her card. She could buy a pair of jeans using these points and did not have to spend an extra buck!

Source: Economic Times