:: Hikmah @ Ekhwan.Com :: » Marketing

MAF Najmcard Irony

Juzar Noorani — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:28:25 +0000

MAF, one of the most reputable group of companies launched credit cards a few years back with staunch terms and conditions in store for applicants. The credit card is basically issued by MAF Finance and the initial card they launched was the JCB card while the Visa was added to their range later on.

These cards were initially promoted by the MAF group hyper mart, Carrefoure by adding discounts almost every other thing available off the self there. In addition to this the NajmCard boasts upto 4% cash back in all promotional material including the website and all other printed materials. They also have “Free for life” cards with a lower cash back value which is by all means acceptable.

So far so good. The surprises are yet to come, just like most banks that astonish the consumer with finer prints rarely readable, known as, terms and conditions apply. However, these terms and conditions are rarely mentioned in promotional material which lure consumers into a trap of so called loyalty shopping at times, turning it into tied up and bound to shopping.

What a cash back means in Najm Card language is accumulation of points that can later be converted to Carrefoure Vouchers that can be redeemed to pay ones carrefoure bills.

The Najm Card cash back system is not a cash back system but its a holding back customer for myself system. Such promotional material cannot be deemed as accurate and in consumer interests, rather it is misleading to those who have to offer a blank dated and signed cheque to MAF Finance, have a large salary and other such conditions to apply for the so called Cash Back credit card.

Unless you are willing to pay a good amount of fee for the Najm Card, just forget getting one with an adjustable cash back system. Except for the priority counter benefit at carrefoure nothing is so attractive about the Najmcard. The special discounts that were initially offered also do not exist any longer.

5 Ways To Protect Your Business

Juzar Noorani — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:26:17 +0000

1. Have a Board of Advisors. Find people who have built great companies and ask them to sit on your advisory board. Meet every quarter. Show them your numbers. Share your struggles. Listen to-and act on-their advice.

2. Set Up A Peace of Mind Fund. Install a reserve fund with at least 12 months (and ideally 24 months) of operating expenses. Set it up so a portion of your monthly sales automatically goes into this account. You’ll sleep better at night knowing your business can run even if income slows down.

3. Focus on People and Culture. The single best way to protect your business is to hire top talent and invest in training your people so they amp up their performance in good as well as hard times. And work on your culture. That’s the “special sauce” that brings out the best in a team.

4. Work On Your Business vs In It. The old Michael Gerber distinction is key here. I spoke at a YPO/EO event last week and met a young entrepreneur who’d just sold his company. I asked him for the single best move he made. “I worked on my business vs in it.” He explained his core concentration was on building systems and processes so the business ran superbly without him.

5. Become Obsessed with Value Creation. This is not some pie in the sky idea. It’s a hard-hitting business growth tactic. Obsess (yes, obsess) over how you can add more value to more people and the revenues will take care of themselves.

by Robin Sharma is the author of the #1 international bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life,” a book that is causing transformation in many of the best businesses in the world.

22 Ways to Become Spectacularly Inspirational

Juzar Noorani — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:06:48 +0000

By Robin Sharma, author of the #1 bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life”

1. Do important work vs. merely offering opinions.

2. Lift people up vs. tear others down.

3. Use the words of leadership vs. the language of victimhood.

4. Don’t worry about getting the credit for getting things done.

5. Become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

6. Take your health to a level called superfit.

7. Commit to mastery of your craft instead of accepting mediocrity in your work.

8. Associate with people whose lives you want to be living.

9. Study for an hour a day. Double your learning and you’ll triple your success.

10. Run your own race. “No one can possibly achieve real and lasting success by being a conformist,” wrote billionaire J. Paul Getty

11. Do something small yet scary every single day.

12. Lead Without a Title.

13. Focus on people’s strengths vs. obsessing around their weaknesses.

14. Remember that potential unused turns into pain. So dedicate yourself to expressing your best.

15. Smile more.

16. Listen more.

17. Read the autobiography of Nelson Mandela.

18. Reflect on the words of Eleanor Roosevelt who said: “Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.”

19. Persist longer than the critics suggest you should.

20. Say “please” and “thank you”.

21. Love your loved ones.

22. Do work that matters.

Robin’s 73 Best Business and Success Lessons

Juzar Noorani — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:21:08 +0000

You can really Lead Without a Title.
Knowing what to do and not doing it is the same as not knowing what to do.
Give away what you most wish to receive.
The antidote to stagnation is innovation.
The conversations you are most resisting are the conversations you most need to be having.
Leadership is no longer about position – but passion. It’s no longer about image but impact. This is Leadership 2.0.
The bigger the dream, the more important to the team.
Visionaries see the “impossible” as the inevitable.
All great thinkers are initially ridiculed – and eventually revered.
The more you worry about being applauded by others and making money, the less you’ll focus on doing the great work that will generate applause. And make you money.
To double your net worth, double your self-worth. Because you will never exceed the height of your self-image.
The more messes you allow into your life, the more messes will become a normal (and acceptable) part of your life.
The secret to genius is not genetics but daily practice married with relentless perseverance.
The best leaders lift people up versus tear people down.
The most precious resource for businesspeople is not their time. It’s their energy. Manage it well.
The fears you run from run to you.
The most dangerous place is in your safety zone.
The more you go to your limits, the more your limits will expand.
Every moment in front of a customer is a gorgeous opportunity to live your values.
Be so good at what you do that no one else in the world can do what you do.
You’ll never go wrong in doing what is right.
It generally takes about 10 years to become an overnight sensation.
Never leave the site of a strong idea without doing something to execute around it.
A strong foundation at home sets you up for a strong foundation at work.
Never miss a moment to encourage someone you work with.
Saying “I’ll try” really means “I’m not really committed.”
The secret of passion is purpose.
Do a few things at mastery versus many things at mediocrity.
To have the rewards that very few have, do the things that very few people are willing to do.
Go where no one’s gone and leave a trail of excellence behind you.
Who you are becoming is more important than what you are accumulating.
Accept your teammates for what they are and inspire them to become all they can be.
To triple the growth of your organization, triple the growth of your people.
The best leaders are the most dedicated learners. Read great books daily. Investing in your self-development is the best investment you will ever make.
Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business.
Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end.
Measure your success by your inner scorecard versus an outer one.
Understand the acute difference between the cost of something and the value of something.
Nothing fails like success. Because when you are at the top, it’s so easy to stop doing the very things that brought you to the top.
The best leaders blend courage with compassion.
The less you are like others, the less others will like you.
The thoughts you think today determine the results you’ll see tomorrow.
Excellence in one area is the beginning of excellence in every area.
The real reward for doing your best work is not the money you make but the leader you become.
Passion + production = performance.
The value of getting to your goals lives not in reaching the goal but what the talents/strengths/capabilities the journey reveals to you.
Stand for something. Or else you’ll fall for anything.
Say “thank you” when you’re grateful and “sorry” when you’re wrong.
Make the work you are doing today better than the work you did yesterday.
Small daily – seemingly insignificant – improvements and innovations lead to staggering achievements over time.
Peak performers replace depletion with inspiration on a daily basis.
Take care of your relationships and the sales/money will take care of itself.
You can’t be great if you don’t feel great. Make exceptional health your #1 priority.
Doing the difficult things that you’ve never done awakens the talents you never knew you had.
As we each express our natural genius, we all elevate our world.
Your daily schedule reflects your deepest values.
People do business with people who make them feel special.
All things being equal, the primary competitive advantage of your business will be your ability to grow Leaders Without Titles faster than your industry peers.
Treat people well on your way up and they’ll treat you well on your way down.
Success lies in a masterful consistency around a few fundamentals. It really is simple. Not easy. But simple.
The business (and person) who tries to be everything to everyone ends up being nothing to anyone.
One of the primary tactics for enduring winning is daily learning.
To have everything you want, help as many people as you can possibly find get everything they want.
Understand that a problem is only a problem if you choose to view it as a problem (vs. an opportunity).
Clarity precedes mastery. Craft clear and precise plans/goals/deliverables. And then block out all else.
The best in business spend far more time on learning than in leisure.
Lucky is where skill meets persistence.
The best Leaders Without a Title use their heads and listen to their hearts.
The things that are hardest to do are often the things that are the best to do.
Every single person in the world could be a genius at something, if they practiced it daily for at least ten years (as confirmed by the research of Anders Ericsson and others).
Daily exercise is an insurance policy against future illness. The best Leaders Without Titles are the fittest.
Education is the beginning of transformation. Dedicate yourself to daily learning via books/audios/seminars and coaching.
The quickest way to grow the sales of your business is to grow your people.

Note: Robin Sharma is the author of the #1 international bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life,” a book that is causing transformation in many of the best businesses in the world.

Sharjah International Book Fair

Juzar Noorani — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:41:38 +0000

The SIBF is one event that I wait the entire year to happen. It is a place where one can feed his or her intellectual appetite with vast and diverse collection of titles both new and old. There is much to write about on an even as massive and full of words as this one. For now it would be just enough two write about the opening ceremony of this book fair by the Ruler of Sharjah himself. His Highness Sheikh Sultan al-Qasimi a person well learned and well versed with both contemporary knowledge as well as classical is a author of several books himself.

His Highness, the ruler is always present on this spectacular event each year and finds time for it from his busy schedule which indeed reflects his love for education and imparting of knowledge. Personally I have been very lucky and fortunate to be present during the opening and visit of the Ruler. Its his humble self that any person, be it a citizen or an expat, can extend his greetings to the scholarly personality as well as accompany him as he scrolls past the hundreds of stalls erected by the participants from all over the world. His Highness Dr. Shiekh Sultan al-Qasimi, signed the English copy of his book (Sard al-Zatt) as well as the new book (Hadeeth al-Zakirah).

It was an overwhelming occasion as he skimmed through the booths, surfing through the titles exhibited on each stalls.

Personally I find great pleasure even window shopping at such a beautiful place and time passes by in such a way hours just seem to be minutes and there is never enough time to inspect each section of personal interest even let alone adventuring into a new field of growing knowledge.

Being a fan of this yearly event in Sharjah, there are a few critical points at mind do need to be considered by the organisers. On this very first day there were no carry bags with the publishers at the booths provided by the organisers nor were there any invoice books, no trolleys and so on. Buying the books was hard on the first day though its better later on. But the situation is the same year after year on the first day.

Once again all the applaud to this event for the sake of the love of knowledge and books.

Banks are in Business as well

Juzar Noorani — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 18:24:23 +0000

Nowadays marketing agents just climb on your back until they get their piece of incentive in the form of commission for whoever they work for. Bank salespersons are no exception to this rule. The huge benefits they show you in their sales pitch for any product can make you feel you might be a millionaire in a few years. Take a credit card sales pitch for instance, where the sales person would show you the heaven and beware that if you are not capable of handling the heavenly features of the credit card it can turn to hell in no time.

Some people think that banks are just crazy enough to offer huge cash backs, sometimes up to 5% or have that gorgeous loyalty points program that creates and urge within to spend more and even more. But does it never come to our minds that banks are doing business as well in their own shrewd way. At times its wise enough to buy in cash from a small street shop which is reputed for its quality and goodwill rather then from a mall with a credit card where the same product might be 10 to 20 percent costlier. Well you might be getting a cash back of maybe 1% but then look at the difference. The bank would surely be earning 2 to 3 percent on sale from the merchant to return a minor bit to us, that too in a very clever way. The merchant would add the charges to the cost of goods passed to us.

Recently I had an experience with RAKBank where they managed to bifurcate my international spends and local spends on the credit card and the return was not even the 1% that was the usual supposed payout thought the expected percentage was higher. Banks do know their way around when it comes to making profits and posting the same to their ledgers for shareholders. The truth is that is what banks are for. The sales person would show the possible benefits that a person can derive but those are rather for the very rare cases and not on a general base.

Every wise and sane person would inquire both the pros and cons before falling prey to the hunt. I remember a sales person who looked at my statements and told me that this is the way a person should really use a credit card and to tell you the truth a bank would not really gain anything from a person like you. The banks job is to generate profit and more profit from interest sources which by all means I do not comply with and therefore a people should always keep their accounts straight and balanced. To have a clear view of the bank policies one should remember the ways of Shylock and his character in the wonderful work of Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”.

Twitter Jungle

Juzar Noorani — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:19:00 +0000

Recently I came across a write-up in Gizmo “In Twitter No One Can Hear You Scream” which I tweeted as usual. Most of the time I feel twitter is non-sense and a waste of time but not if you know how to use twitter to your benefits. Its a great tool that can spread the word about blog posts, maybe short thoughts to the people who follow you and want to know what you are up to.

I use twitter to mark some of the wonderful pieces of information that I read around and at time just stumble on while surfing the internet. To save the good information one can simply tweet it and/or mark it favorite and it can be found in the time line later. Twitter can be used to share and jot down immediately great ideas that pop-up at anytime and any place.

Another great thing about twitter is its sms notification service. I use it to keep in touch with my immediate family and keep them updated of what I AM exactly doing. Though sometimes my son does get annoyed by the number of sms/tweets I send him, he sure likes reading it.

Though most of my tweets are really those 71% mentioned above I find it useful for myself. After all one can know what the Big B is doing when he tweets at least.

Ever since I have added my twitter to the facebook account it has saved my a lot of time updating my facebook friends with new blog posts at least.

Twitter has done great wonders in several ways and those who master its use and are looking for some serious business can benefit from everything that the little tweety has to offer.

We have seen companies offer serious support to their customers on a regular basis using twitter and others post important and vital announcements to their followers who do really look forward to such information. Looking at the age of information and the way the internet has changed our perspective of getting the information we need, its not only twitter that is a jungle but every piece of existing data is. One just needs to learn how to use the available data and resources to suit our best needs. That is the reason why we are humans and not monkeys of the jungle.

The thing about Ads

Juzar Noorani — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 08:11:23 +0000

Basically advertisement really means to promote and draw attention to your product. A more ethical way to say it would be to raise awareness. Ads that work within these bounds are only valuable the rest is just wasting money on junk and crap.

There are these multinationals that sponsor large events to get a piece of public attention drawn by the media and spend a hefty amount of money on campaigns. Does it really work is the question. Say if Pepsi was to sponsor a huge international sporting event and roll their sleeves on promotional offers would that even matter to the Coke lover? It might hike Pepsi sales during the event but would it effect the loyalty of people towards other brands?

There are 2 things that are involved when sales are closed. The first thing is that, which draws the customer’s attention and the second, which makes him or her loyal and keep them returning back.

A cool blonde might be just enough to draw the prospect into a sales lead and close the deal but what makes them loyal is customer support. The kind of treatment one gives to the customer. Its like the old saying that goes, “treat a lady like a queen and she becomes surf”.

Advertisement for the sake of getting the glorified attention of the media begets the most needed attention to draw your clients so why not use it to raise the awareness of the support and services that the customers experience at your sales counter and from the customer support department. Using the media to promote the word of mouth of a customer is something that will endorse the brand. A brand recommended by commoners and not celebrities. Get a webcam and capture your customers’ testimonials and promote them as you go.

Its not the sales lead that makes a company grow and stand rather its the customer loyalty and demand that keeps it going and that is what exactly what kept us going as well. Customers are real people who make us stand apart from the competition.

Our bounce back after deciding on a closure was stopped not by customers, rather our friends.

Copyright association with Names

Juzar Noorani — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:45:01 +0000

Identity theft is a very common issue in today’s digital world where people can easily take the advantage of replicable usernames and other digital signatures to represent another entity. This at times can prove to be life threatening in certain cases.

But what if there is no identity theft. What if there do exist people with similar names and surnames or even full names. There are these sites that provide digital signatures but it does not always work everywhere on the internet. How can one secure their identity particularly if a person is associated with several NAMES and BRANDS.

Recently I had to deal with a submission made by me on ezinearticles.com which was rejected by saying that I did not have exclusive rights to it. The reason why I was supposed to NOT have exclusive rights to a content was that the article Ramadan and Fasting was also posted on the hikmah.ekhwan.com blog under the name of Juzar Sh Yusuf bhai while the article submission was made under the name of Juzar Noorani

The way ezinearticles verifies the actual author of the article is weird and illogical. A same person can have a short name, a full name and even several brand names that belong to him not just associated.

While looking for a possible answer to the problem aroused by my experience with ezinearticles it did make me think and do some research of my own. There are several resources that can help with the entire issue of copyright and brand protection or whatever you might call it. The Creative Commons license is the best of all that needs to be published on your site or associated with your work. Another freebie is myfreecopyright.com which is an amazing service which provides unique digital fingerprints for blogs, podcasts, websites and even files. Another free tool which might be of interest is ud.com which provides a search on the availability of the names you would like to associate with on most common social media.

There might be several free tools out there that can help people deal with such issues and if anyone knows of such tools please feel free to leave a comment.

Ekhwan Group Dot Com

Juzar Noorani — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:30:13 +0000

Ramadan is always a time when we Muslims free ourselves from the worldly hassles of life and simply look into spirituality and religious affairs. Its the time to nourish our souls of with pure worship and faith in the Lord our creator.

The past month has been really busy for me with most of my time spent as the Masjid and a part to and fro to my home from the Masjid. A little rest and some spare time with the family. Ekhwan has been in the hosting business since many years now with a few large companies that have trusted us for the many years we have been in business, dophinheattransfer.com and ezwaretechnologies being the most oldest of them all.

Saying that Ekhwan has become a brand in the hosting business that many prefer for the truthful and sincere service and advise we offer to our clients. Our aim has always been to help our clients get the most out of their business.

The reason for all the above introduction is a disclaimer that recently came into my notice. A website called ekhwan group dot com. I have separated the words and spelt out the dot so as not to link to it. This website is NOT a part of Ekhwan and we are not associated to this website or company in any way, even if it is legitimate which we are not aware of.

Just a second note. I have much to write about and will continue as soon as I am back from the spiritual journey, fully revived.

:: Hikmah @ Ekhwan.Com :: » Marketing

MAF Najmcard Irony

Related Reading:

5 Ways To Protect Your Business

Related Reading:

22 Ways to Become Spectacularly Inspirational

Related Reading:

Robin’s 73 Best Business and Success Lessons

Related Reading:

Sharjah International Book Fair

Related Reading:

Banks are in Business as well

Related Reading:

Twitter Jungle

Related Reading:

The thing about Ads

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Copyright association with Names

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Ekhwan Group Dot Com

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