Archive | June, 2008

Ken Zahn Live Reivew

Posted on June 25, 2008 by in Professional Development

ZahnUpdates to my blog are going to be a bit more sporadic over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I’m headed to Los Angeles to attend Ken Zahn’s live review course for the CFP® Certification Exam.

I’ll be there through Monday the 30th and then spend a short week managing the end of the second quarter quarterly reports. Hopefully the quarterly reports will go as smoothly as they did last quarter.

I imagine lots of my time will be spent studying leading up to the exam on July 18th and 19th. Until then, I imagine I’ll find time to post quick updates on Twitter.

See you on the other side.

Will AMT Affect More Taxpayers in 2008?

Posted on June 20, 2008 by in Taxes

AMTYear after year more taxpayers potentially become subject to the separate tax system otherwise known as the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT.

It wasn’t until late in 2007 that Congress passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 as a one-year patch to AMT.  This bill caused many headaches in the IRS due to its late approval and effect on many IRS tax forms (blogged about here and here).

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Expand Outlook Efficiency with Switch Options

Posted on June 19, 2008 by in Efficiency, Software

Command LinePreviously I wrote about creating a desktop shortcut icon to open an Outlook email window to avoid opening the entire Outlook program.  My instructions included a switch option ( /c ipm.note ) to invoke the message window.

The /c switch is just one of many command line options when running Outlook.  I found a nice concise list of the various command line switch options to perform specific tasks using Outlook. 

While most are not nearly as useful as the new message window switch, I like having a reference to this kind of information just in case I need it in the future.

Click here for the list of Outlook command line switch options (opens in new window)

Create a New Message Shortcut for Outlook

Posted on June 17, 2008 by in Efficiency, Software

Outlook ShortcutIn my previous post today I blogged about only accessing Outlook three times during my day to reduce distractions.  Then I realized that even though I want to keep the program closed, I want to be able to send messages to clients and coworkers.

On a side note, let me say that I try to keep the messages I send to others concise and relevant for the recipients.  Nevertheless, my role and responsibilities require that I send out confirmations and notifications on internal matters such as security transactions, fund receipts and disbursements, and the occasional status update.

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Optimize Your Outlook Habits

Posted on June 17, 2008 by in Professional Development

OutlookToday begins a new personal experiment.  As I posted on Twitter, I will attempt to only access my Outlook email just three times throughout the day today.

The impetus is an evolution of my reading over the last few weeks and the discovery of “email bankruptcy” on Tim Ferriss’ blog.  If you have 7-10 minutes available, view the related video and read the New York Times article about the subject.

So I will update periodically on my Outlook habits and determine whether or not the decision to reduce its use increases my productivity through the day.  You might want to give the experiment a try as well.

Reinvent Your Presentation Style

Posted on June 10, 2008 by in General, Technology

Death by slidesPart of what I have been working on over the last week is a presentation I’m going to deliver in July to a group of specialty physicians.  Since I consider myself technologically savvy and a creative user of presentation software (ok, yes, I still use PowerPoint due to my history with it), I’ve looked for resources on how to design and deliver effective presentations.

Most of us are very familiar with the common characteristics that plague most one hour presentations.  There’s a title slide, introduction, an outline overview, all followed by a gratuitous spray of bullet points, hard-to-read graphs, and concluded with yet more bullet points.  Thank you, the end!

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Engage Distant Clients with Cisco TelePresence

Posted on June 4, 2008 by in Technology

CamIncreased Internet bandwidth, webcams, and conference technology has definitely impacted an adviser’s ability to engage clients that may be located in another state, country, or even continent.  Cisco has taken video conferencing technology even further with its introduction of On-Stage TelePresence. 

I watched a seamless presentation of this technology here.

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Schwab IMPACT Award® Nomination Deadline Approaching

Posted on June 3, 2008 by in Practice Management

ImpactIn the event that you have not been contacted by Schwab, 2008 IMPACT Award® nominations can be made through June 13.

Nominations for firms can be submitted by visiting the following link: http://www.impactawards.schwab.com/

IMPACT Awards are available for three categories: Best-in-Business, Best-in-Tech, and Pacesetter Award.

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