HowToDoThings.com Recent Management Articles

How To Prepare for a Crisis

BlaineP — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:31:17 -0500

How To Hire the Right Person the First Time

rwagner — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:36:03 -0500

How To Make Your Kids Good Money Managers

aesta — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:54:43 -0500

Often, we hear parents complain how incapable their kids are of handling money, or we see parents endlessly shelling out and teaching their kids that money is an endless resource! We see first semester college kids blowing the month’s allowance on a new shirt and calling home for more. Understanding finance or even basic money management is not on the curriculum in high school. So… it is up to you. If you don’t teach them how to manage money, they will learn… but it will be a nasty experience and make nasty family relationships. Here are some steps to take:

How To Lead an Effective Meeting

dianna_booher@booher.com — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:58:18 -0500

Meetings are here to stay, and sooner or later, you'll likely be asked to lead one. Understand the basics of how to conduct an effective meeting and you'll be known as one who gets things done; neglect these basics and you'll only waste everyone's time.

Meet for the right reason. When you call a meeting, know the reason. Skip the meeting if you have nothing special to discuss, if you don't need others' input, if you have already made up your mind about a course of action, or if getting others involved would only complicate your plan. Do call a meeting if you need to present information to a lot of people quickly and you don't want to write it, if you want input from others on your idea, if you want to gain "buy in" from the team, or if you want to motivate and energize the team about an idea. Purposeful meetings resolve issues, galvanize support, and prepare others for action.
Set an agenda.

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How To Turn a Second Home into a Fractional Ownership Residence

fractionalownershipgroup — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:46:32 -0600

Fractional ownership has continued to differentiate itself from its cousin (time share). Some individuals with second homes in the most desirable locations have asked me how to go about making their home a fractional ownership residence. I figured I would put a “how to” out there and answer many of the frequently asked questions.

Deciding how you want to structure the property. The two most popular options are LLC operating agreements and restrictions.

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How To Increase Your Level of Positivity

dereklawsonowen — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:50:53 -0600

They say that you are what you eat. You are also what you think. Think positive, hope and wish for positive things and you are more likely to get them in your life.

As an example, imagine walking across a room with a cup of coffee full to the brim, when someone says ‘be careful.' From that moment on, you are more aware of what you are doing and more likely to spill some!

The following 7 ideas have been designed to get you thinking in a more positive way:

How To Use a Blog to Build Your Business

stephenc — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:27:02 -0600

One of the quickest and easiest ways to build your work from your home business or online business is to start blogging and letting the world know about your skills, abilities and services. We hear the term blogging almost every day, yet only a few are able to take advantage of this channel to get our word out to the world. Here are some steps you should follow to use blogging most effectively.

How To Develop Sales and Marketing Strategies

stephenc — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:25:00 -0600

Every company exists for the sole purpose of providing a product or service to the end user. No matter how fantastic a product or service is, you will never be able to sell and generate revenue unless the end user knows that it exists. Also if you are a small or home business owner with a set customer base and you only service those customers, and yet you have no active and ongoing marketing strategy, your business will not grow as much as it otherwise could have. Of course, your existing customers may increase their orders, but without a constant stream of new customers, your business will not grow beyond you and your current circumstance. Here are a few steps you can take to structure your sales and marketing strategies.

How To Encourage a Bad Worker to Quit

cham0073 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:26:13 -0600

Employee contracts vary from full-time permanent work to fixed-term work, home-based work, casual work, hourly work and so on and so forth. Regardless of the mode of working, most jobs typically fall into two main categories. These are full-time permanent jobs and contract jobs. The nature of a contract job is usually time-limited and specific. Even in a full-time job, there is usually a trial period during which an employee is evaluated before a permanent appointment is made. Therefore, labor laws in most countries permit some degree of flexibility for employers to filter good employees from the bad. However, when an employee is made permanent in a full-time position, then there is little flexibility for employers to fire employees or make them redundant. For the purpose of this article, this is the situation that is being looked at--how to encourage a bad worker to quit. Also, a bad worker in this context is one who is underperforming in his or her job.

How To Make Home Businesses Prosper

sinham — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:34:38 -0600

Like any other business, a home business can be successful if the proprietor takes the right measures to make it prosper. These measures below will help your home business prosper:

How To De-Dork Your Management Style

aesta — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:28:23 -0600

Management gurus and a barrage of books examine the range of management styles and what makes sense in various situations. On the Internet, you can even test out your management style. There are so many labels and categories coming out now that to just sort out who has a model that makes sense to you takes a lot of time and energy. With too much data to manage nowadays, it is difficult to remember those styles, let alone pinpoint the recommended reaction each time a new situation comes up. Besides, people change and new situations often bring to the surface parts of us we don't even know. So, forget about labels and styles and categories. Let's start with something closer to home and easier to remember... our innate capacity to be management dorks. Remember dorks are made, not born. We can all recover.

Check out your own behavior. As a manager, you are not the King or Queen. You are just like everyone else: Someone trying to do your best.

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How To Have an Office Everyone Can Enjoy

aesta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:41:03 -0600

Remember, your customers immediately sense a happy, upbeat office when they come in. So making your office feel upbeat and positive not only will make your life better, it is a solid part of a marketing strategy. Now, don't look around and expect everyone else to do something. You should be the key.

How do you go about it? Well......Here are some suggestions that have worked for others:

How To Manage Staff Turnover

aesta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:28:43 -0600

Staff turnover has plagued business since the beginning of time. Imagine Joseph shaking his fist at his son when he decided to leave carpentry for a new venture! A mountain of books and articles have been written. Careers have been scrap-heaped. But sometimes we don't need Harvard...we need hard thinking.

With today's increasing mobility and with the recruitment world becoming more global, the competition for good employees has become even more intense. The competition for new graduates with real competencies has become a bidding war. So managers can no longer say they can easily find people and casually put oil on the revolving door. Yes, you can easily get new cannon fodder, but studies have shown the substantial amount of time and money...and patience..invested in training a new employee. If you can keep your best, your office will be a dynamo.

How To Welcome a New Employee

aesta — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:05:19 -0600

Most often, we just take for granted employees coming in to our offices for the first time. We give a distant smile, say welcome, and then hope they figure it out on their own. We forget that we have established an office culture that may just overwhelm many of the new ones coming in to join us.

There are three things to consider: the work to be done, the culture in the office and our commitment as human beings to reach out to newcomers and make them feel welcome. Here are a few steps to ensure they will feel welcome to your office:

How To Become a World Class Manager

lalittara — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:52:56 -0600

Motivating those who report to you to enhance performance levels and ensure 100% contribution at all times is the biggest challenge all managers face across the world. Unfortunately, most management practices and leadership development approaches recommend action on self or self-improvement/change as the best strategy to enhance motivation and engagement levels of your teams. This is not wrong, it's just incomplete and not good enough.

How To Set New Year's Resolutions for Yourself and Your Business

Waheedaleko — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:13:16 -0600

New Years has always been a time of celebration and good luck. Different cultures celebrate New Years in their own ways, but almost everyone seems happy, full of hope and enthusiastic about the New Year and thus renews their vows and commitments for a good fortune.

A New Year's resolution is also a commitment that many individuals and/or organizations/business units make on New Year's Eve to bring positive changes and improvements within themselves or their businesses.

Did you know that almost 80% of resolutions fail as early as mid January the next year, and the percentage of failed/abandoned resolutions reaches 95% at around April? Why? Many things come into play: commitment, psychology, stress, fear of a change, the goals set are simply not realistic, people do not feel as equally motivated/energetic throughout the year as they may feel in the very beginning...you name it, people can find a reason not to follow through with their resolutions.

How To Manage Changes in Your Life

Waheedaleko — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:25:34 -0600

Change is all around us, the planet and universe and everything in it is in a state of continuous change, life is full of change and nothing can stop or escape it. Change is inevitable.

Change sometimes becomes stressful and hurts because it pushes us out of our comfort zones. When a person's expectations or daily rituals are challenged, the brain automatically gets in a "fight or flight" situation, which causes us pain and discomfort. But change doesn't need to be difficult nor for the worst. Nations, societies and organizations must evolve and change to survive and so must every individual within themselves.

People who are successful are those who see change as an opportunity for improvement and consider it the only option for the future. To be successful you must convert the negative feelings of change into positive energy through effectively managing the change process.

What is change management?

How To Reward Employees

L_desu — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:59:17 -0600

Motivation is intimately connected with the way an individual sees the work process and the social relations happening around him. We now know that the complexity of relations established by an individual has more cognitive factors than thought in the past decades, a process caused by the evolution of the work profile in modern organizations.

The object in this article is to establish five critical rules for motivational incentive, whether its object is a group of employees or a single individual.

Throughout this article I will use the term 'collaborator' to indicate a person who is involved (whether directly or not) in a working process and under an established chain of command. By assuming that employees are a sub-group inside this collaborator perspective, we can widen the use and practicality of these key points and achieve a more advanced framework.

How To Set a Price for Your Online Sale Items

L_desu — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:49:00 -0600

The advance of the internet has made possible many things that were originally complex and cost intensive. One of the great revolutions in the forms of human interaction is the diminishing gap between people, even if they are physically miles apart.

This virtual proximity has gained commercial form with auctions sites and online stores. Nowadays, a small entrepreneur can start an internet business through different channels (whether using eBay or their own online store) and set a solid structure of negotiation. At these times, the need appears for guidance along the diverse concepts of sales and its applications.

In this article we will discuss, specifically, how to set an appropriate price to your products regardless of the channel you might intend to use. I have divided this process in five main themes/steps, in a way to provide the structural framework needed for a deeper reflection about price strategies in your activity.

How To Be a Leader

terslp — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:28:29 -0600

Leadership is not just about managing an institution and people. Leadership is hope, unbeatable hope against all odds. The whole world says impossible, leadership says "I am possible." Secondly, there is a significant difference between leaders and managers.

How To Manage People

terslp — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:52:39 -0600

A significant part of management is managing people and interpersonal relations efficiently. It is the art of making people work. In the event of misfits in the workplace, it should make you blast your workers in such a way that they feel that you are singing a pop song and eventually they should work with a smile.

How To Do Business Coaching

terslp — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:32:55 -0600

These days, a growing number of managers, executives and those keen about career growth are turning towards business coaches. Good result-oriented coaches are in great demand for providing personally tailored programs for individual and group development in any corporate set up. Amidst these circumstances, it becomes all the more important for HR managers to get trained as real-time coaches for not missing out on the next evolution of their management potential in the form of business coaches.

How To Use Business Coaching

terslp — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:46:30 -0600

How To Develop Category Marketing Strategies for Your Small Business

stephenc — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:21:08 -0500

Structure and strategy are the main things which are missing from most small and home businesses. The majority of businesses do things according to industry norms and never seek to set themselves apart from the competition. Failure to develop a structured approach to your business strategy will ensure that the business does not grow to a level where it otherwise could have.

How To Analyze Handwriting

David Block — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:47:44 -0500

Handwriting analysis, or 'graphology', is based on analyzing the way the writer creates words and sentences through the physical action used to do so. Here are a handful of simple and basic principles that can provide intriguing insights to those around you.

It can help you better understand your partner, business colleagues, competitors, celebrities, family members, friends, yourself, and everyone else.

It can reveal aspirations, creativity, energy, fears, inhibitions, potential, sexual stability, strengths, weaknesses and much more. But it cannot accurately reveal a person’s age, future (other than potential), gender, left- or right-handedness, race, religion or sexual orientation.

How To Plan a Meeting

Mattheller — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:45:57 -0500

Face-to-face meetings are the best way to reach a decision that requires discussion. Great meetings don't happen by accident. They are a result of advance planning that considers the desired outcome of the meeting and the needs of meeting participants. Here are some planning steps you can take to make your next meeting truly terrific.

How To Lead a Truly Terrific Meeting

Mattheller — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:35:27 -0500

Face-to-face meetings are the best way to reach a decision that requires discussion. A well-planned meeting can fail miserably if the person leading the meeting does not perform well. Great meetings don't happen by accident. They are a result of an effective leader who understands the purpose and desired outcome of the meeting and considers the needs of meeting participants. Here are some steps you can take to make your next meeting truly terrific:

How To Develop Your Company's Branding Strategy

stephenc — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:39:11 -0500

In my consulting work, I take customers through a branding exercise lasting for a few hours. I leave them with a mindset which focuses on what they want the end user customer to think about when their company's name comes to mind. Unfortunately, most small business do not spend any time whatsoever on this particular component of a marketing strategy; they do it is as an afterthought rather than thinking it out with marketing fundamentals as the basis.

Here are some steps taken from high level corporate strategy development which you can use today to shape the direction of your small or home business so that you stand for something in the mind of the customer.

How To Write a Business or Social Speech

David Block — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:59:50 -0500

Your audience first and foremost. Remember that speeches are not just about something, they're for something. So ask yourself what you want your speech to achieve. Then consider the nature of your audience and how best to approach them to achieve your aims. When deciding on the tone and content of your speech, answer the following:
- What is your relationship with the audience?
  
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How To Make a Speech

David Block — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:04:57 -0500

Some people would prefer to dive over a cliff than make a speech. They conjure up all kinds of nightmare scenarios: What if I freeze? What if the audience hates me on sight? What if no one laughs except in places they shouldn't? Will everyone remember the mistakes I make for the rest of my life?

And yet, by learning a few techniques used by professional speakers -- who are very often the most scared of all -- you can not only conquer your nerves, you can also make a powerful impression and within seconds, actually start to enjoy the whole experience. Here's how.

First, check how you look. Dress appropriately, and be well groomed, so you feel comfortable and smart. Dressing professionally also helps the audience feel you've taken trouble for them and that they are respected. But make sure you don't go too far and unintentionally distract them, for example, with a man's flashy tie or a woman's low neckline.

How To Use Internet Marketing Within Your Marketing Strategy

stephenc — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:31:31 -0500

I consider Internet marketing to be an essential and even compulsory part of any company's channel marketing strategy. The critical thing to grasp with Internet marketing is to keep in mind that marketing through the Internet is 'simply' marketing through another marketing channel. There are multiple stand-alone channels to market or multiple ways to move your product or service to the end user.

How To Build a Strong Support System

Brian McClellan — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:37:59 -0500

The people who surround you--your support system--will determine how well you will build and maintain the self-confidence necessary for success. Why? They are the ones that are feeding your mind on a regular basis. Having self-confidence that will never fail is a manifestation of a strong mind. Anything we want to be strong in the future needs to be fed well in the present. An Olympic athlete that dines on milkshakes and candy bars will be a former Olympic athlete in no time. A delicate flower that dines on Coca-Cola and darkness rather than water and sunlight will be a dead flower eventually. The car that has sugar in its gas tank rather than premium petrol will not go. By the same token, your mind needs to be fed well to become a strong, confident mind. So, how do you build a strong support system that will help you become successful?

How To Structure Your Home Business

stephenc — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:19:42 -0500

To set up and run your home or new business and achieve success, there are a few imperatives that you must follow. No matter whether you are a makeup artist, painter and decorator or interior designer, your business must be structured around a flexible marketing strategy plan. Following the steps below will provide a platform on which to build your home business.

How To Spot a Liar

JohnStejskal — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:06:52 -0500

The techniques bellow will show you how to tell if you are being lied to. These techniques are used by government agencies for interrogation. They can easily be utilized in relationships and in business situations. To make successful use of these indicators, it helps to know the suspect's ‘normal' body language and reactions to different situations.

How To Boost Your Productivity

dawnmartin — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:24:57 -0500

Most people spend roughly 150 hours per year searching for things. Why?

How to Evaluate Business Risk

tjbooks — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:09:35 -0500

Risk is part of business. If you do not like risk, you probably will not like business. Taking risk can bring rewards or disappointment. Here are some risk-evaluating steps:

How To Improve Customer Attitudes

tjbooks — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:36:23 -0500

Some companies have wonderful customer service. They are available 24/7 and can be contacted by telephone, email, or through a chat session. The workers are well-trained and don’t leave a customer hanging with a problem. Good customer service improves customer attitudes toward a business. It starts with the hotdog stand on the corner. Here are some ways to help your customers have good thoughts about your walk-in business:

How To Eat an Elephant

tjbooks — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:36:07 -0500

When you are hit with a tough manufacturing problem that needs a timely solution in a calm, cool, and collected manner, take the following steps:

How To Evaluate Your Company's Employee Benefits

LesGore — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:23:56 -0500

Whoever said there's no free lunch never worked for Google. Not only do you get free lunch and dinner--their gourmet chefs create a wide variety of healthy and delicious meals every day--they also offer snacks to help satisfy your munchies in between meals.

You'll also find on-site doctors and free shuttle service for Mountain View employees to several San Francisco, East Bay and South Bay locations. And did I mention free financial planning classes, on-site oil changes, car washes, dry cleaning, massage therapy, gym, hair stylists, fitness classes and bike repair?

I can't think of many organizations whose benefits package is as cool as theirs.

Have you taken a good look at, and reviewed your company's benefits package lately? Is it up to date, competitive, in line with or better than your competition?

How To Differentiate Yourself From Your Competition

Pam@rppc.net — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:14:37 -0500

Are you like your competition? I hope not! If so, how boring you must be! The key to having more customers is providing something that no one else does and doing it better. If there is nothing different about you, then why should I buy your product or service? Price? That’s not a good pricing model for most businesses. There is always going to be someone else out there that is willing to decrease their prices and go out of business faster than you (hopefully). Competing on price provides you very little opportunity to have a profitable business.

The key for having a profitable business is differentiation. That is what allows you to add value and receive compensation for it. Your business can not be successful over the long haul without profitability.

So what are 5 ways that you can differentiate yourself from your competition?

How To Do Team Building Exercises

chrissfife — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:20:05 -0500

In business (or in volunteer work or other groups), you’ll often find yourself facing a situation where you need a group of individuals who have different backgrounds, educations, work experiences, lifestyles, and personalities to work together as a cohesive team. You may face challenges as you try to pull people together who don’t like “forced” activities or who don’t have a strong team-oriented work style. Whether you’re dealing with a large group of people or only 3 to 4 people, you can find the time and an activity that will help people work better together. Getting people to work together as a cohesive, well-oiled machine doesn’t have to be hard, time-consuming or costly.

How To Stop Employee Theft

Malcolm161 — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:54:00 -0500

It is no secret that both little and not so little acts of theft occur each day in many companies. While just about everyone has absentmindedly slipped a pen into one's pocket only to discover it at home later, there are those who look for opportunities to cart out office supplies and other items, either for their own use or for the purpose of selling them. How can a company protect itself from this type of employee theft? There are actually several ways you can safeguard your business from work-related articles walking out the door.

How To Encourage Employee Loyalty

Malcolm161 — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:51:00 -0500

Regardless of whether you run a small business with a handful of employees, or a corporation that employs thousands, one of your greatest assets will be the loyalty and devotion of your employees. However, employee loyalty is not something that will endure unless there are some specific efforts made to keep it alive and thriving. Here are a few ideas on how you can inspire and grow employee loyalty in your company.

How To Write an Employee Handbook

Malcolm161 — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:14:00 -0600

Most of us understand the value of having an employee handbook. Between the covers of a well-written handbook will be all the information that both employees and management need in order to make sure there is a clear line of communication. All parties concerned will have access to company policies and procedures, so that such important issues as vacation accrual, bereavement pay, benefits and holidays observed are never in doubt.

If you have been tasked with writing an employee handbook for your company, there are several key points you should consider.

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How To Do Employee Surveys

Malcolm161 — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 12:39:00 -0600

One of the best ways to keep abreast of the thoughts and opinions of your employees is to perform periodic surveys. If you are thinking about doing the first employee survey ever done in your company, here are a few tips to help you obtain information that will be easily measured, constructive, and provide you with ideas on how to improve the working environment.

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How To Find Employee Recruiting Firms

Malcolm161 — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 12:15:00 -0600

When you are faced with the challenge of filling positions within your company, it is important that you only deal with persons who have a demonstrated expertise to bring to the table. One of the easiest ways to ensure that you have the right level of competency in the individuals who show up at your door is by engaging the services of a recruiting firm. But how do you go about finding a recruiting firm that will provide qualified personnel for the positions that are open? Here are a few tips to help you locate a recruiting firm that is right for your situation.

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How To Deal with Employee Complaints

Malcolm161 — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:05:00 -0500

To date, no one has achieved the perfect workplace. Until someone does, there will be incidences where employees, justified or not, will have complaints about how things are done, who does them, and what needs to be changed. When dealing with a complaint by an employee, it is important to keep the following points in mind:

Allow the employee to express emotion. Our feelings sometimes cloud our ability to rationally discuss what is bothering us. By providing your employee a moment to blow off a little steam, you are sure to get a clearer picture of what is causing the discomfort.

Give the employee your full attention. Nothing is quite as exasperating as having someone tell you "Go ahead, I'm listening" only to see the individual begin to fiddle with their computer, sort mail or perform some other task. Maintain eye contact, face your employee and leave the computer and desk alone.

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How To Fire Employees

Malcolm161 — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:06:00 -0500

As any manager or supervisor knows, there are times when the needs of the company and the talents or aspirations of an employee are not in sync. Most people take no great pleasure in telling someone their services are no longer required. In like manner, few of us consider it a good thing when we are let go from what is most likely our only source of income. To keep the awkwardness of firing to a minimum, consider the following hints:

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How To Encourage Employee Retention

Malcolm161 — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 18:40:00 -0500

Just about every employer has to deal with the loss and replacement of employees. The process can be costly, both in terms of time and productivity. Successful companies learn very quickly how to minimize employee turnover. Here are several suggestions that can be implemented by a company of just about any size:

Make sure employees are clear on the responsibilities of their position. Few things will damage an employee's work ethic quicker than fuzzy expectations and job requirements. Take the time to go over the job description and how that position is important to the overall success of the business.

Provide the tools necessary to get the job done. Administrative assistants can't process letters and other outbound mail pieces without postage, paper and printer ribbons. Salespersons can't sell if they have nothing to show a prospect. Empower your employees by having everything they need ready and at their fingertips.

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How To Do Employee Evaluations and Reviews

J.150 — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:12:00 -0500

Disclaimer: Employee evaluations are extremely sensitive in nature and are subject to numerous federal laws and guidelines. This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as legal advice.

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