So I need a credit card to satisfy my shopping addiction, but others need (and I use the term ‘need’ loosely) a credit card for other reasons. May it be to pay the bills, or put food on the table, I’m not saying these are the best reasons to get a card, but who am I to judge. All I can say is finding a card suited to each person’s need is quite crucial.

So I figured the best way around this is to closely examine what you need the card for. What is the main reason for you wanting one?

My fella has a credit card. He’s not bothered about the interest rates, or the fees and charges associated with the card, but rather the fact that the credit card is football branded with his favourite team, whereas I went for the fixed low rate for life credit card by the same company.

For me, and sensible others it should be about practicality and not vanity when it comes to finances. If I know I am purchasing something I will have enough money to pay off in full with my pay packet at the end of the month, then I will put the cost onto a rewards credit card, with a slightly higher interest rate.

The trick here is to link this card with a standing order to your current account. When you get paid, so will your credit card debt, you will never have to pay any interest charges and late fees, all the while collecting points (in my case to exchange for high street vouchers). So it doesn’t matter that the interest rate on the card is slightly higher than my rate for life card, as I will never have to pay it.

If on the other hand I am buying something big, that I know I can’t afford in one go, I will use my lower interest card, and pay off in stages with quite low interest attached.

I know this post may to most not sound like new information, but I thought it was worth a mention as when my colleague pulled out an American express platinum card with pride to pay for her new TV, it struck me that there are definitely people out there that are not responsible with their money, and we take what we know for granted.

Are there any credit cards you would recommend? And why? Drop me a comment; I’d love to hear from you!

• Persistence. Oprah grew up extremely poor in rural Mississippi. She was born into absolutely nothing.  She was actually raised on welfare.  As of September 2009, her net worth is more than $2.3 billion US dollars.  She did not let anybody tell her that she could not do what she wanted to do.  She kept trying and took advantage of any opportunities afforded her.

• Finding a voice. Through her talk show mainly, Oprah has managed to build a reputation as a caring person who focuses on self-improvement and the truth.  Her “brand” is so powerful that she’s influenced Texas beef sales and the US presidency in 2008.

• Continue to battle against personal demons.  Oprah’s public battle with weight has shown that although she does at time gain weight, she continues to struggle to keep her weight down.  What does this say to everybody else?  That even the most successful female in the USA is not perfect.  She is human like the rest of us.  If she can be so successful and still have personal tribulations then there’s hope for the rest of us.  Don’t let personal issues keep you from being successful.

• Once you have a franchise going, keep going.  Oprah might have started with a talk show but she did not stop there.  Two magazines and a website are other avenues she has to influence people.  Her charity, Oprah’s Angel Network, has earned over 51 million US dollars to support charities and non-profit organizations helping the underprivileged. Wonder when she is going to put out a music album?

• Keep good people around.  One person could not do everything that Oprah has managed to do over the years.  Keep good people around who support you and do what you tell them to do how you want it done.  Delegate what you can.  Help build up those that work with and for you.  Do not keep people around who sabotage your goals.

• Do Good Works. Sure, it might be easier to be generous when you are that rich but admittedly, other rich people exist who don’t try to make a difference with their money.  Certainly, not everybody can fund a new public school for 151 schoolchildren in Africa.  We can all, however, take our cue from her generosity and try to give or do as much as we can in our lives, even something as simple as using a charity credit card, can give money everytime to the needy without you even realising!

so here we go….

Due to stereotypes and years of oppression, some women still have a difficult time being assertive without coming across too over-bearing at work.  Moving over too much in the other direction, they often let themselves get walked over.  Women have shown themselves to be as good as men when it comes down to getting work done.  But even now, we can have a tough time getting stuff done by other people for us.  If you are not happy with the quality or time delivery of work you are assigning to people who work for you, consider the following tips (they may seem simple – but you’d be suprised at how often they are overlooked!):

1. When you give somebody an assignment, be as clear as possible as to what you expect back.  An example of a similar document is necessary for something that the worker has never produced for you before.
2. Specify when you want to see the outline, the draft, and the final copy.  Make sure you get buy in from the other person on whether they can make those dates.  Pulling dates out of the air is a good way to make sure stuff does not get done in time.
3. Break down deliverables into small assignments.  Depending on your relationship with the worker, you may want to see daily results at first until they can show themselves to be trustworthy with longer assignments.
4. Do not push back delivery dates unless you believe that the person has a legitimate reason for not making their dates.  Stress that you really need the documents when you and that person agreed on the delivery dates.  Accept the work but make sure the person understands that the delivery is late and could impact other deliverables.
5. Do not sweat the small stuff.  While everything delivered needs to meet quality standards, consider that sometimes a product needs to be good enough.  Just because somebody working for you does not word a document exactly how you would document it, does not mean that you need to send it back with edits.  As long as the document generally says what it needs to, let it be.
6. Regarding small edits, just do them yourself.  It will take longer for you to write down what you need to be done and communicate what you need to be done then if you just did them yourself.  Do a comparison for yourself until you get the hang of what you need to push back and what you should just do yourself.
7. Regarding status updates, a weekly meeting is fine and quick morning conference call are acceptable as well.  If you are already talking to the person on a daily basis, there is no reason to send out additional status emails other than to follow through on a conversation.  What ends up happening is that people end up having more meetings and phone calls and emails about doing work than actually doing work.
8. Following through on meetings and phone calls is a very good way to get others to realize that you are serious about getting stuff done.  For example, you could send out a reminder after the meeting, “Per our morning meeting or conference call, you stated that you are XX percent done with the draft and plan to provide me with a final copy by the end of business today.  If this is not your understanding or anything comes up that may impact our schedule, please let me know.”
9. If you are concerned that your work is not getting the priority it needs or deserves, do a walk-by.  Too many people in management positions build an imaginary wall between themselves and the people who work for them.  You might want to limit how many drinks you have with them after work, but certainly get comfortable with walking around and physically checking up on people, especially when they do not expect it.  Do not make this a scheduled routine.  Vary your visit times.  Don’t make it look official, more like a “checking to see how you’re doing” type thing.
10. Check the status of documents first thing in the morning and before you leave at night if you were expecting deliverables.  If you do not receive what you were expecting, send out a quick email following through.  Do not threaten.  Just persist.  Persistence is usually enough to make people feel uncomfortable when they are sitting on a deliverable.

I hope that you will see that while it takes more work up front to be assertive when delegating work, it will pay off when deadlines come around.