WILLY PAUL – SIJAFIKA FT. SIZE 8, KAMBUA & GLORIA MULIRO.

REVIEW.
This is not a proper review. Consider this an opinion piece or a gossip-column-ish piece or whatever floats your boat. I don’t really care.
I have never liked Willy Paul. Why? He is too controversial for a gospel singer. He might as well drop the act and join Robert Alai, Vera Sidika and their fan club in the quest to seek attention. Anyway, it is not my duty to like him, I just want good music though sometimes his tunes are such a mockery to this great art.
That said, I also need to say I like (some of) his music. Especially the collaborations. There is that compelling musical chemistry between him and Size 8 that is just a match made in heaven. So I was quite pleased when YouTube notified me that he had a song out with Gloria Muliro, Kambua and Size 8 and decided to check it out.
Teddy B. did the audio and Young Wallace did the directing. These guys are in every video? In my opinion, the whole team behind assemblying of this song did a great job but I was not happy that Kambua was missing from the video. One main reason why I watch Kambua’s music videos is to see that tattoo on her arm. I find it very compelling and interesting. In addition to that, who doesn’t love that smile? And the teeth oh and how she dances, like in a lazy rhythm where she slightly bends her knees and swinging her head sideways in a manner likely to suggest the back of her head is heavier. I find myself dancing along whenever a Kambua song comes onto those Sunday morning top ten countdowns.
Anyway, I am a great fan of hers since my primary school days and it does not need PLO Lumumba to point that out in bombastic words. Also, I noticed they borrowed clips from her bado nasimama song and cleverly inserted them in this particular song. Well played. I don’t know why she was missing in the video but am sure If you bother to ask you will be given some neat and very plastic public relations answer so I don’t bother to enquire.
Let’s talk about Size 8, shall we? When Size 8 did her ‘rebirth’ thing I was one of those people who thought it was one of those public stunts that people in the lime light pull for publicity. At that time, I was a fan, a big fan so I didn’t mind that she was crossing over to the gospel side and if it was a public stunt I could not wait for it go wrong. It hasn’t.
Over time, I watched her life transform and I have actually begun taking her seriously. Have you realized that she speaks more sense and words of wisdom since that rebirth thing? She even got hitched and is a mother these days? Not that she did not speak clever words while she did secular music but I have my own opinions of people that caliber. My point is I find the gospel size 8 more inspiring compared to the secular Size 8.
Size 8 looks terrific in the video. She always does, with her on-fleek make up, elegant dresses, signature red head look and highly dramatized lip sync battles against different versions of herself in each video. I always love it plus she comes bearing these powerful social messages. Her angelic voice just comes a cherry on the pie but just looking pretty and maintaining meaningful eye contact with the camera always keeps me hooked when it comes to size 8.
Then you must also agree with me that those were great choice for locations to shoot a video. It looked expensive, exotic and almost breathe taking but it is just not about the location. The director of photography, the camera crew and the editor really did this video justice. I enjoyed watching it.
And no, I did not forget about Gloria Muliro. Am just saving the best for last. Gloria produces legendary tunes. I can’t think of any of her songs that did not hit and even if they did not hit on mainstream media, I know all of them by heart and so they are major hits to me! I enjoyed how Gloria summarizes her musical journey in a very smooth way and occasionally I found myself being her back up singer and when I wasn’t then I was enjoying the great beats and chorus that this song has.
I kind of got the vibe that she was throwing shade at her allegedly infidel ex-spouse when she dropped that hata baada ya mpango wa kando…sijafika though I am well aware she has a song called Mpango wa Kando but still, I love how she sings. She is talented and she is a mother figure so I take her so seriously. She always looks very knowledgeable, kind and a great listener. I have never met her but if I think she is an amazing person.
Overall, I think the song did well like 8.5/10 well otherwise I would not waste my time doing this review and have the song on repeat. I still don’t understand what job they were applying for because basically, this song is a portfolio of their work and all the songs they have done over the years, they are just highlighting their achievements and I don’t pick any serious message here.

I AM NOT MY TRIBE! (By Sheryl Alma Ayiera)

I may be a luhya by birth but I am not the luhya tribe. My best friend is a Kikuyu, my bedmate is a Kalenjin, my desk mate is a Taita, my group mate is a Luo and my lecturer is a Kamba. I associate with every other tribe in a similar way; I do not let my tribe describe me. For us to all be Kenyans, we have to go over our different tribes. Tribalism is killing our country; we must therefore refuse to let our tribes be our scars. Let your tribe describe where you are from not where you are going to.
As a country, we have and will always have goals. For instance, we had the 2015 Millennium Development Goals which were to act as a stepping stone in achieving vision 2030. Well, here is 2015 but where are the MDGs? I may sound like a prophet of doom, but it’s the painful truth. Kenya may achieve its goals but sadly not by 2030 because we Kenyans tend to depict more loyalty to our tribes than our country. However, all hope is not lost. We still have the opportunity to straighten things. We can still hasten the realization of vision 2030 dreams by making an antidote for all the ‘anti-vision 2030s’. Part of what we need to do is to ensure the eradication of tribalism.
Tribalism is not inborn that’s why it’s difficult to curb it, but definitely not impossible. Tribalism started when colonialists came to Kenya with the divide and rule system. This magnified the tribes’ differences causing suspicion and animosity among them and thus, enmity and wars. Therefore, in some way, we must first accept that our parents may not necessarily be in this fight with us (by parents I mean the elderly generation who may still be for these meaningless enmities). It’s not that they don’t mean well, definitely not! It’s just that their beliefs are a little barbaric; they tend to be more conservative than appreciating. For instance, most of our parents don’t buy the idea of intermarrying. They tend to believe that if a member of a particular tribe has a particular character, then every other member of that tribe possesses the same character. There is actually a luhya proverb that says ‘shilitsa shilafwa khu shindi’ which means that a mongoose dies on behalf of another mongoose. Such beliefs will definitely provide breeding grounds for tribalism, which will ‘multiply and fill the country’. We cannot let our children get infected with the ‘tribalism disease’. Am not saying that we should disrespect our elders, all am trying to say is that the world is changing and we have to maintain pace lest development becomes a vocabulary in Kenya’s dictionary.
Tribalism is the mastermind behind many vices in Kenya like corruption, unemployment, tribal wars, rigging of elections, underdevelopment and the list is endless. The sooner we realize this, the better for us. Employment has been skewed; there is no meritocracy in recruitment of employees, selection is done basing on tribes. Elections have also taken the tribal angle thus leading to poor governance. We never question the actions of political leaders simply because they are tribe mates. We support them blindly even if they are wrong. The same politicians incite us to support them on tribal platforms and when hell breaks loose, we are the ones left to suffer. The perfect example is the 2007 post election violence. We acted as the sacrificial lambs for political leaders. We lost our homes and loved ones and are still paying for our heinous acts to date while politicians are asking for sitting allowances in parliament.
Tribalism is a retrogressive practice as some opportunists would use every chance possible to belittle, demean and dehumanize others basing on their tribes. I agree, we often make fun of other people’s cultures, customs and accents and laugh hysterically about it. However, sometimes we tend to go a little over the edge and it ceases to become entertainment. Dehumanizing others on basis of their tribes and where they come from is a crime and a total drawback to an institution as it leads to fights.
We need to start looking at things from a different perspective. We need to help others to understand and appreciate all cultures and customs. I believe God created the different tribes not to demean and belittle others but for us to all blend. Let us all embrace the different cultures and customs and single out the virtuous acts from each tribe to use them for the betterment of the country. Once the issue of tribalism is fully addressed, I am positive that a heavy burden will be lifted off Kenyans shoulders and little by little we will develop. All our problems may not have been solved but we will have made a big step ahead and definitely tribal violence will have been done away with.

SHERYL ALMA AYIERA
sherylalmah@gmail.com

SKYPE VERSES OOVOO

OOVOO VS. SKYPE.
INTRODUCTION.
Skype and Oovoo offer the tightest competition between any two given products, making them the hardest products to review and present a verdict. However, we are going to try our best.
Skype has been around for a longer while compared to Oovoo. Skype has been around for twelve years, it was released publicly on August 29th 2003. It was invented by Janus Friis from Denmark and Niklas Zennstrom from Sweden.
Oovoo on the other hand, has been around for eight years. It was invented in 2007 by Clayton L. Matchlie who comes from Ohio.
In this review, we are going to compare Skype’s and Oovoo’s availability on various devices on various platforms, gaming arenas and operating systems, we will also compare their free and premium versions and lastly compare their convenience and fun features.
AVAILABILTY.
Both Skype and Oovoo are available worldwide. Skype is available for Play Station, Home phones, tablets and hand-held devices, and televisions.
When it comes to home phones, one can purchase a cordless phone that comes pre-installed with Skype. They can also choose to buy the Free talk connect me adapter which they can use on any phone they have. This is quite convenient because you don’t have to buy a Skype compliant phone just because they your phone did not come pre-installed with Skype, all you have to do is buy an adapter and you are set to go.
For televisions, one can also purchase the Skype pre-installed televisions and use a Blu-ray player to chat. This is possible because Blue-ray players have web cams and some also come equipped with in-built microphones. If your Blu-ray player does not have an inbuilt microphone then you can opt for a headphone. One can also choose to use their own television and accessorize it with a television camera. The beauty with all these is that Skype to Skype calls are free.
Gamers are also able to enjoy the services offered by Skype at the comfort of their gaming stations. Skype has been available for Play Station for a good number of years. Other gaming plat forms which enjoy the services offered by this voice calls and face chat conferencing providers include Xbox. Comcast subscribers can also enjoy Skype through their HDTV sets. The same goes for iPod touch users.
Oovoo also offers its customers services in all ranges of devices, the same as those offered by Skype. They include computers, mobile phones, tablets and hand-held devices. The differences only emerges in the type of operating system used. For example, a Skype customer can enjoy chatting with other eleven people at the same time if he or she uses Windows. Meaning Skype calls on windows are able to sustain twelve calls simultaneously. However, a counterpart on Apple’s Mac can only enjoy chatting with five other people. Meaning a Skype call on Mac can only accommodate six parties.
FREE AND PREMIUM USAGE.
Oovoo users enjoy screen sharing on both Windows and Mac operating systems. However, premium users enjoy a-no-advert experience and they are prioritized over free subscribers when it comes to customer care and support. They also get to enjoy up to sixteen hours of video storage.
Skype also provides room for screen sharing, video calls, no adverts and they treat their premium and free subscribers to a live customer care and support experience. In addition, they allow you to make unlimited calls to a country of your choice provided it is listed in the options that Skype provides you with.
CONVENIENCE AND FUN FEATURES.
Even though they both Skype and Oovoo are messaging and video conferencing providers that look very similar, it is their convenience and fun feature that create a rift between them. So pay close attention to this section.
To begin with, we must acknowledge the fact that it is only Oovoo that allows users to use their services without having the actual Oovoo application software. Oovoo allows users to connect to their friends, family and connect to work colleagues through their web browser. This is enabled by their Video calling feature.
For me, this is a convenient feature especially if you are constantly on the move and require to use another person’s computer. All you have to do is access their web browser and connect to your friends, family and, colleagues.
Oovoo also allows users to make calls or use Oovoo to contact people then record their calls. Later, they can embed or merge the recordings and upload the video recording on to their YouTube channel.
Skype on the other hand has a wireless fidelity capability where it can allow any of its users to get online and access the services provides by Skype provided they have an internet hub or connection within their range.
Also, with Skype, users can import their contacts. They can choose to import their contacts form their phone books, their electronic mail servers, from Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging contacts. They can also use Skype with Facebook or send by the minute messages to their Instant messaging friends and texting buddies.
Oovoo is also not left out on the fun features arena. Oovoo can synchronize all your social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter or the electronic mail accounts. It also has a micro search engine within its parameters that is able to find a contact, customer, and friends just by searching their name and Oovoo identification or user name.
Once you have subscribed to Skype Premium, your regular contacts will be assigned a special speed dial button that enables them to instantly call them just by pressing the speed dial button.
Another nice and fun feature with Skype is that you are able to pay as you go. You can choose to pay monthly or per year.

OOVOO.
PROS.
• Comes pre-installed with Mac, Personal computers, iPhones and android devices on various platforms on the numerous operating systems available.
• Convenient for most people especially internet connections with low bandwidth.
• Provides the best video and audio quality compared to Skype.
CONS.
• Slightly expensive compared to Skype. On Oovoo premium, users pay $9.95 and $89.95 monthly and yearly respectively, while Pro users pay $29.95 and $269.55 monthly and yearly respectively.
SKYPE.
PROS.
• Slightly cheaper compared to Oovoo. Every call costs 0.9 cents.
• In addition, you are allowed to share files and documents with no limit to their size. However, you have to create an account to be able to send presentations.
CONS.
• Requires a high speed internet or may hang a lot.
• Windows users also require a video cord.
• Mac users get a poor and low quality video and audio.
VERDICT.
Clearly, Skype and Oovoo are a good example of a tight competition. However, as you ponder over which service provider to choose, keep these facts and tips at your fingertips.
Skype offers a competitive and logical pricing because you are only charged for the calls that you make. This is only for those that don’t use Skype heavily but for those that make a lot of internet face to face calls and video conferencing, Oovoo is the best option. This is because you only pay a fixed amount of money and make unlimited calls.
When it comes to quality of the video and audio, Oovoo wins. When asked, most users prefer Oovoo over Skype because the video and audio quality is good. They also have a mini search engine which enables you find your friends and business partners just by searching for them with their identity.
All factors considered, Oovoo takes the day.

PAYPAL VERSES STRIPE.

STRIPE Vs. PAYPAL
We are all aware of PayPal but have you heard about the new kid on the block? Well, if you have not, allow me to introduce to you, Stripe.
Just like PayPal, Stripe is an online payment processing system that aims to offer business persons and online shoppers an efficient and modern way of doing business transactions, especially those that involve buying and selling of products and services. Allow me to note that, both PayPal and stripe score pretty well in this area.
However, in this review, we are going to compare security, availability, customer service, data translocation and portability, API and most importantly the transaction fees of both PayPal and Stripe.
TRANSACTION FEES.
If you own a website then Stripe is the best option for you here. This is because PayPal requires website owners to pay $30 every month if your customers make payments to you via PayPal. Stripe on the other hand, offers this service for free. PayPal charges customers who use the PayPal Pro plan $30 while those on the advanced plan pay $5.
Both PayPal and Stripe charge a flat rate of 2.9% and an additional 30 cents for every successful transaction. However, with Stripe, these charges vary from one market to another. Furthermore, these charges only apply to customers who trade in volumes of below a million dollars for every 12 months.
PayPal’s flat rate makes the customers eligible for discounts as the transaction volumes go up. PayPal flat rate discounts begin as from $3,000.
If we do the math, Stripe is a better option when considering the flat rates and website charge cards. PayPal has extra fees which make it quite complicated to use as a business person.
International currency conversion charges are free with Stripe while in PayPal, you are required to pay 1%-2% of the total transaction. For example, If you have an online business that sells goods in American dollars, then a customer makes a purchase, If you are not in the United States then PayPal will convert the US dollars to your market currency for a fee of between 1 to 2 percent depending on which part of the world you are making your transaction from.
American Express fee is chargeable with both services. Both PayPal and Stripe charge the same flat rates for their American Express charges. They charge a flat rate of 3.5%. Meanwhile, for its charge back transactions, PayPal charges its customers a whooping sum of $20 while their counter parts on Stripe pay $5 less.
PayPal also charges its customers for refunds. Online shoppers and business men who use Stripe enjoy free refunds should a transaction go wrong. As if that is not enough, PayPal charges 30 cents for authorize transactions while Stripe offers this service once again for free.

AVAILABILTY AND SET UP.
PayPal is available in 203 markets and runs on 26 worldwide currencies. This means it is available worldwide in all the countries. Stripe on the other hand is only available in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden and in the United Kingdom.
Setting up a PayPal has never been more complicated. In order to set up a PayPal account you will go through nine steps which will take you an average of five minutes and four seconds assuming that you don’t make any mistakes.
If you are setting up a Stripe account, you only need to go through three steps which take you an average of forty five seconds if you do everything correctly.
SUPPORT.
The scariest thing about PayPal which I also find is unfounded is a customer’s account can get frozen with no apparent reasoning given or sometimes with the dumbest of excuses. This will be bad especially if you depend on them to get paid.
In addition, emails and communication attempts by a PayPal customer is usually replied after 15 to 30 business days of which you don’t have a guarantee that your problem will be solved.
Stripe customer care offer the customer to call in and get in to face-to-face conversation with Stripe developers and professional team. Hence you get the assurance that your problem will get solved.
Stripe also maintain a vibrant communication with their customers on their social media platforms especially on Facebook and Twitter. They are also available for phone calls and chats at whatever time of the day that is convenient to you.
The PayPal website is very confusing and sometimes much jumbled up. For example, you might need certain important information but it is buried and hidden between and below layers and layers of marketing literature. They also confuse the transaction dates.
Websites owners also have a lot to lose because of PayPal because PayPal may sometimes conduct these software changes and websites that might not be compatible to your website hence your sales go down because customers can’t pay you. Sometimes, your website may collapse due to these reverse incompatible adjustments.
API, ANALYTICS AND INTERFACE.
PayPal is poorly documented. It is cryptic and its non-standard interface just makes it impossible to use sometimes. Stripe on the other hand has an amazing archive integration with every programming language from java to python. Stripe is also well documented and the java script used on it makes the embedding process very easy and simple to do.
When it comes to analytics, I will say PayPal has failed terribly. This is because PayPal only has threads with dates and transaction figure on them. Stripe on the other side, has a graph to show all the stages and details of every transaction. The user interface is also top-notch.

SECURITY.
Both service providers take their security and that of their customers very seriously. However, they use different security apparatus to protect themselves and their customers.
When Stripe was launched, it operated on a .js domain. This is important because each time a customer used their credit card on your website, the details were directly sent to Stripe and not stored in your servers.
When using PayPal on the other hand, the credit card information has to go through your servers and this puts your data at a risk.
This is safe, CPI compliant and it erodes the temptation of storing credit card information on your website. Unless you are a well-established online business and would like to pay PCI for a compliance certificate to store credit card information on your servers.
PAYPAL.
PROS.
• Available worldwide.
• Multiple platforms for customers to pay you through including e-checks.
• You can receive or make payments worldwide.
CONS.
• Transactions require multiple steps to complete.
• Not as secure as Stripe.
• Poor user interface and analytics.
• Refunds are chargeable.
• Set up is complicated and is not easy to maintain.
STRIPE.
PROS.
• Cut-throat prices for their competitors.
• Good analytics and user interface.
• Award winning customer care.
• Simplest setup with simplest payments routine.
• Refunds are not charged.
VERDICT.
Stripe was pioneered by the founders of PayPal, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. In my own view, Stripe is an improvement of PayPal. It is a better version of PayPal.
Stripe is ahead of PayPal on all fronts except availability, where it’s only available in very few countries as compared to PayPal. However, don’t forget that Stripe provides a mechanism for you transfer from it to other online payment processing providers such as PayPal and Google wallet. This is not provided for by PayPal despite being in the game for many years.
All in all, Stripe is better than PayPal!

HERE IS WHY KENYANS SHOULD NEGOTIATE WITH AL-SHABAAB!

“If you want us to send elders and religious leaders will do so. If you want us to send political leaders, we will do so. Just tell us where we should come to meet you but give Kenya a wide berth.” –Aden Duale.
Mr. Duale later paraphrased his statement and gave his own interpretation of the excerpt.
The whole issue got me thinking: Does negotiating with terrorists encourage terrorism?
From my research, I have not come across any substantial scholarly proof that negotiating with terrorist encourages terrorism. The assumption that negotiating with terrorists turns a sovereign state into a terrorists’ playing ground is largely welcomed and applauded by many people, but, how weighty is this assumption? Is there evidence to it?
These unfounded assumptions lead me to my question: Why don’t we negotiate with terrorist? What is the legitimacy and complexity of the whole “We don’t negotiate with terrorist” syndrome? Have any deals gone sour? What are the basis of these laws?
I think the Kenyan government should swallow their pride and negotiate with Al-Shabaab. If you have read ‘’48 Laws Of Power’’ then you should understand why I say so.
Nonetheless, it would have been a good idea if Duale did not fear being trolled on twitter and being criticized by Kenyans. I am aware that he might have not had the same idea or perspective as me when spoke but still the point is as valid as our security.
For the first time he unconsciously blurted out a smart idea and not mentioning other people’s mothers. He really tried this time.Too bad he apologized for suggesting a good idea.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HIT TV SERIES “EMPIRE 2015” INCLUDING EMPIRE 2015 TV SERIES SEASON TWO.

EMPIRE 2015 TV SERIES.
Empire is a 2015 hit television series starring Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Byreshere Y. Gray, Jussie Smollett, Trai Byers, Grace Gealey, Malik Yoba, and Kaitlin Doubleday. The show premiered on Fox on 7th January 2015 and renewed itself for a second season ten days later with over-the-roof ratings and mind blowing fan response.
The show runs for an hour and falls in the genres of musicals, soap operas, and drama. The season finale for the first season will run for two hours on Fox 8/7 c on 18th March 2015.
PLOT AND CHARACTERIZATION.
The story is centered on Empire entertainment which is a hip hop music and entertainment company. It revolves around the troubles of the founding family members to control at least a part of Empire Entertainment. Issues such as love, Hip Hop, homosexuality, money, sex, power, greed, etc. are skillfully and exceptionally exhausted.
In the beginning we are introduced to Lucious Lyon. He is a former drug dealer turned hip hop mogul and he heads Empire Entertainment. Lucious is married to Anika there life is doing fine until he is diagnosed with ALS and his ex-wife Cookie is released from prison. Lucious’ character is played by Terrence Howard.
Cookie is also the mother to her three sons that she bore with Lucious before she went to prison for 17 years for dealing in drugs. Cookie views herself as the sacrificial lamb that provided the $300,000 capital that helped pioneer Empire entertainment. Upon her return, she has three objectives: to tear apart Lucious current marriage, to get her rightful piece of empire and to unite her family. Cookie’s character is played by Taraji P. Henson.
Andre Lyon is the eldest son. He is bipolar, power hungry and well educated. He is married to his college soulmate Rhonda. His only object is to run Empire Entertainment as CEO. Andre’s character is played by Trai Byers.
Jamal Lyon is Cookie’s favorite child. He is a talented gay singer and song writer entangled by fear do to his homophobic father. He has a good sibling bond with his younger brother though. This character is played by Jussie Smollett.
Bryshere Y. Gray plays the role of the younger brother who is Lucious favorite son. He is fame hungry and a hip star on the rise.
Its creators are Lee Daniels and Danny Strong.
PERSONAL OPINION.
I will begin by saying that I heard about Empire way back even before it premiered. I loved it even before it started showing because it was something fresh and the issues highlighted in it were relevant and current. I am not a fan of musicals but I had to watch this one. Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson both in the same production, who would not want to watch that?
I worship at the altar of Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Taraji P. Henson so having them in one show was more than a bargain for me. I also have to talk about the chemistry between Taraji and Terrence. Did you know that Taraji P. Henson suggested Terrence Howard to the directors and threatened to abort the production if he was not hired? Awesome right? She revealed that on the Wendy Williams Show. I think such bonds go a long way in making the show what it is now.
I hope they will bring more of my favorite people on the show. It would not hurt to bring Sia or Rihanna to sing a sound track or two in the second season or to have phenomenal people like Angela Bassett as guest stars. I watched her on the fourth season American Horror Story and I have no words. Just love. I hope the second season will be even more interesting. Really excited to watch the season finale, I have lots of expectations.
This is a show I would not be ashamed to recommend to anyone. I think its 10/10 from costume to story line to actors even the setting itself. Chicago was a great choice.
Meanwhile, the second season is expected to have 22 episodes. Negotiations are ongoing about the premiere date for the second season though nothing has been decided upon yet according to its creators.

SALES COACHING.

Most sales professionals underestimate the potential of sales coaching, they should however learn from billion dollar corporations such as Google and Microsoft which not only train but also coach their sales department. Believe or not, sales department is the heart and soul of any business. After all, isn’t that the core reason of setting up any business: to sell goods and services? If so, then sales coaching should be taken with more seriousness as never before.
Take a look around you, be it in sports, health care, education, entertainment or any field of your preference. You will realize that the best professionals in whatever field they operate in, always align themselves with trainers and coaches.
Therefore brace yourself, fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride as I take through the reasons why your business is on its way to failure if you don’t coach your sales department:
• An organization is like the human body with all its different parts that make a complete functional body, with the sales department at the center of it all. This means that there needs to be free-flow of information between various departments just like the sales and finance department. Coaching will not only encourage information flow because of the familiarity tests and programs offered during coaching but it also allows the workers to develop a smooth and efficient intrapersonal communication.
• It goes without saying that coaching increases sales in an organization, but, one would put forward the question, how does coaching increase sales? That is the million dollar question to look out for! We are already familiar with the concept of sales, a group of professionals setting out with nothing but their skills and the products they are marketing to the customers, and we already know that coaching allows one to effectively communicate with oneself and those in the his or her environment. Therefore, when a sales person is coached, he is she can go out into the world and sell the product to any target audience in any geographical region. Why? Because he or she has learnt the various modes of communication and communication skills which he or she can use to communicate with the customers or potential customers. And that’s how coaching improves sales.
• Sales coaching also makes the workers feel motivated. Nothing is as unstoppable as a motivated sales worker or professional. They will be on time to work, they will work extra time, and they will carry their work home and will not have a problem coming in on weekends or emergencies. All these actions have a profound effect in the net sales brought in and ultimately affect the GDP of the company in a positive way. So go ahead, set up a coaching session for your workers and if you were thinking of attending one, then carry along a few other co-workers with you. You will be surprised what a simple thank you to your employee in form of a coaching session will do to them and your business too.
• Coaching improves the managerial skills of sales professionals. During coaching, they are taught how to understand the past and use it in making profitable decisions while living the present which in turn gives them the opportunity to predict the behavioral patterns and module sequence of the business they are dealing in. This puts them ahead of their competitors in related firms. Market predictions mean that you can predict market trends and be able to give your customers what they need now and what they will require in future. Besides improving their managerial skills but research proved that coaching improves the information retention capability of an organization by up to 87% because the sales professionals and their supervisor are free with each other after the coaching.
• Coaching also gives the professionals in the sales department the capability to properly utilize and take advantage of the resources at the organization. By resources here I mean, they will be able to consult the other departments of that are able in the organization. Since they are able to communicate with them easily, they will be able to perform exchange programs and maximize on performance, minimize costs and sky rocket your profit. Like I said before, sales is the heart and soul of and an organization.

AUNT DIMITY (SERIES BY NANCY ATHERTON).

Aunt Dimity (series by Nancy Atherton) is an assortment of adventure stories based on Lori Shepherd who is an American together with her ever increasing family. It is all about mystery solving for her with her ever sweet aunt and benefactor, Aunt Dimity. She adores her Aunt Dimity! Aunt Dimity is dead but communicates to Lori directly from the spirit world via a writing journal which is blue in color and has a leather cover. Aunt Dimity is famous for being a romantic ghost often solving romantic mysteries.
The fictional adventures has a lot of set locations from which its story is set and told but most of them are in the United Kingdom especially in the once again fictitious town of Finch, Cotswolds in England.
Aunt Dimity series is written by Nancy Atherton who is an American writer and author who currently resides in Colorado.
The Aunt Dimity is an expansive range of nineteen books including Aunt Dimity’s Death (1992) and Aunt Dimity and the Duke (1992).
AUNT DIMITY’S DEATH. (1992) –NANCY ATHERTON.
PLOT.
This is the first of the Aunt Dimity (series by Nancy Atherton) authored by first time romance and mystery author and writer Nancy Atherton.
Nancy Atherton introduces us to Lori Shepherd, a recently divorced woman who has just lost her mother and is met by an even more sad news when she is informed of her aunt Dimity Westwood passing on. Lori often thought that Aunt Dimity was a fictional character just tailored up by her mother for reasons that could have been known best only to her. Instructions then come with the notification of her Aunt Dimity’s death that she must find her aunt’s cottage then prepare the writings of her aunt for publication.
Along with the help of lawyer, William Willis and his son Bill, they assist Lori in seeking out her Aunt Dimity’s cottage. Which they find. The English cottage belonged to her then deceased aunt before her death. She haunts it. Her spirit is alive and well in it.
What Lori, William and Bill don’t know is the affair that her Aunt Dimity had with a World War II gallant. Consequently, she does not want her secret discovered and therefore tries by all means to prevent them from knowing her story.
Aunt Dimity helps Lori to find her true and inner self and to help her see that only true love can conquer not only something, someone but also everything. Aunty Dimity becomes Lori’s guardian angel and love mother. Here then, the unusual encounter between Lori and her Aunt Dimity begin.
CHARACTERIZATION.
In this very time book from the Aunty Dimity (series by Nancy Atherton) she introduces us to the protagonist or in this case the main character who is Lori Shepherd. Lori lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She is recently divorced and has just lost her mother.
We are also introduced to Lori’s mother as character. Though she dead but we can derivatively depict that she is kind, hospitable and of course she cares for Lori’s Aunt Dimity. If not, she would have not mentioned a word about Lori’s aunt who lives in Finch, England.
Next up is William Willis, who is Aunt Dimity’s lawyer. He is the one who delivers news about her death and even about her requesting that Lori prepare her works for publication. He has a son named Bill whose most noticeable trait is being attentive and a good listener. But this is just the portrayal and we can’t judge a book by its cover.
Last but not least is Dimity Westwood. She is Lori’s fantasy-thought aunt who lived in Finch, England before she passed. Note that, Finch, is just a fictitious town in this book and it does not really exist. She had an affair with a World War II gallant. It is this secret that she hides from Lori in her spirited cottage that she is haunting. This comes even though she requested Lori to find her works in order to be published.
The characters are all significant in ensuring that the theme of this novel is brought out quite clearly and in a comprehensive manner. And it is for this reason that, Dimity Westwood helps Lori to understand herself and bring out the best in her. Wholesomely! Both characteristically as a being that feel inadequate with herself and also as a being with a romantic side that not only needs unveiling but exploring too. Amazing!
RATING.
For a mystery and romance ghost novel, Nancy Atherton couldn’t have done more poorly! When beginning to read this book I had a lot of expectations but as I can to wake up to reality, I realized that this was not only a total waste of time to read but it was nauseatingly deficient of suspense –Which for you information, is my major problem with this book!
Dear authors and writers, if you going to exhibit such a hot and steamy foreplay of a read, then you batter give me as your reader, the climax I deserve.
I rate this book with three and a quarter stars out of ten. And for this book, that is intriguingly generous!
AUNT DIMITY AND THE DUKE. (1994) –NANCY ATHERTON.
PLOT.
This is the second book in the Aunt Dimity (series by Nancy Atherton). Before we go any further, it is key to that this book is completely unrelated to the first book in the Aunty Dimity series: Aunt Dimity’s Death. From my own angle of view it looked like this actual story took place when Aunt Dimity was still alive, at least that’s what I make of it. But again it is hard to comprehend or minimally verify my assumption because even in her deceased status, Aunt Dimity was described by Nancy Atherton as if she was actually alive! In fact, in this book, Nancy Atherton goes to bed with suspension and gives us just enough information to look like she is giving us so little. I could not just get enough of this book, I loved it!
It is also prudent to inform you that, this book is a different setting too, with new more interesting characters. Even flowers and gardens are in this book for this particular series. This book also reveals lots of mysteries and mysteries, my favorite one being the cozy British puzzle –the one with ruins and with each ruin there was a garden. I loved that idea and that made me read the book more and more hungry wanting to know what next, then what, and that is what I liked Nancy Atherton even more for.
Any sucker for romance would be pissed that Nancy Atherton, made this book about ‘’the Duke’’ then not actually exploring the ‘’Duke’’ aspect of it. The affair between them is defined so shallowly you might want to choke on your own saliva on realizing you are on the last page and have gotten, actually nothing! From it all.
CHARACTERIZATION.
As mentioned earlier, this book has a new set of characters who include the gardener and the Duke, being careful not to give any major spoilers. The rest of the characters are constant especially Dimity Westwood and Lori Shepherd whom we all met in the first series of the book.
Lori is just a divorced woman who has just lost her mother but receives communication from the lawyers of her aunt ordering that the she prepare her aunt’s work for publication and to be the heir apparent of her aunt’s vast wealth. For which she obliges, I mean who would refuse?
Dimity Westwood is a romantic ghost and she also Lori’s aunt. In this book, she is discussed with her duke. The World War II gallant with whom she had an affair.
RATING.
This book gets a rating of seven stars out of ten stars for the vivid description displayed in it. Kudos to Nancy Atherton on this one. A nice piece of work!
ACCOLADES.
None of the books in the Aunt Dimity series have won accolades but they do have good reader ratings especially on sites like Amazon with positive reviews.
The other books are Aunt Dimity Good Deed (1996), Aunt Dimity Digs (1998), Aunt Dimity Christmas (1999), Aunt Dimity Beats The Devil (2000), Aunt Dimity: Detective (2001), Aunt Dimity Takes A Holiday (2003), Aunt Dimity : Snowbound (2004), Aunt Dimity And The Next Of Kin (2005), Aunt Dimity And The Deep Blue Sea (2006), Aunt Dimity Goes West City: Penguin (2005), Aunt Dimity Slays The Dragon (2009), Aunt Dimity : Paranormal Detective (2009) among others.

BOOK TO MOTION.
No book under the Aunt Dimity series by Nancy Atherton has been produced into a motion picture or sound.

C. J CHERRYH BIOGRAPHY.

“MOULDING CHERRYH!” BIOGRAPHY OF MULTIPLE HUGO AWARD HOLDER AND FANTASY AUTHOR, C. J CHERRYH.

PERSONAL LIFE.
Carolyn Janice Cherryh, (the “h” is silent hence the name is pronounced as ‘Cherry’), was born on 1st September 1942 in Louis, Missouri and grew up in Lawton, Oklahoma.
C. J. Cherryh got inspired to write in 1952 at the age of 10 after the cancellation of her favorite childhood show, Flash Gordon. At the age of 23, she acquired a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Latin the University Of Oklahoma with academic specializations in archeology, mythology and history of Engineering. A year later in 1965, she received yet another Bachelor Degree in Classic from John Hopkins University from where she was a registered Woodrow Wilson fellow.
She was employed as a teacher of Latin, ancient Greek, the Classics and ancient history at the John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City Public school system. Though C. J Cherryh taught a wide array of subjects at school, her passion was history, religion, culture of Rome and Ancient Greek. It is this passion drove her to conduct student tours in ancient ruins in England, Spain, Italy and France during summer breaks. It is with the experiences and knowledge acquired during this student tours with a soft blend of her passion that she knew about Greece and Roman mythology which played a significant role in the construction of the plots for the stories she was to write later on.
In her free times, C. J. Cherryh wrote and instantly submitted novels for publication. She did not abide by the very predictable professional trail of science fiction writers at that particular time. Science fiction writers were then famous for writing short stories which were featured in fantasy magazines and science fiction publications, from which they proceeded to novel writing after establishing a foundation for their science fiction and fantasy writing careers. C. J. Cherryh did not confirm to these unwritten rules. In fact, it is not until she had a number of her novels published then and only then did she consider writing short stories.
In her early writing endeavors, C. J. Cherryh was met with absolutely no luck. Most the publishers for whom she submitted her articles either lost them or thought they were not good enough to be published. She, therefore, had to retype the manuscripts on carbon paper copies on a carbon paper type-writer since this option was economical compared to the cost of photocopying.
C. J. Cherryh was met with little luck until in 1975, when Donald A. Wollhein bought the two manuscripts that she had submitted to DAW Books: ‘Gate of Ivrel’ and ‘Brothers of Earth’. In her interview with Amazing Stories, C. J. Cherryh recalled that it was begging of a new dawn since a book she wrote had actually gotten a break through. C. J. Cherryh elaborated how she contacted Donald A. Wollhein about the book and how he had exhibited interest in her work. Prompting him to purchase them. She was finally having a break through!
C. J. Cherryh explained that the characters in the books were an invention of hers when she was thirteen years old. C. J. Cherryh celebrated it because the books were an elaboration of her untold stories and they were finally being jotted down in print. The books were published in 1976. A year later, C. J. Cherry was recognized for her work and this led to an unforeseen recognition by the John Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
C. J. Cherryh developed a strong sense of connection to the Wollhein household which led her to frequently travel to New York City to spend time with the Wollhein family in their Queens, New York home. It is this fondness to the Wollheins and C.J. Cherryh that ensured they published a good chunk her work, though publishers like Baen Books, HerperCollins, Warner Books and Random House (Del Rey Books) also published her work including the six books written by her in the late 1970s.
C. J. Cherryh’s book, “Cassandra”, won her a Best Short Story Hugo Award in 1979. Later in 1982 and 1989 C. J. Cherryh once again scooped a Hugo’s Best Novel award.
“GATE OF IVREL” & “BROTHERS OF EARTH”. –C. J CHERRYH. : REVIEW & ANALYSIS.
GATE OF IVREL (1976).
CHARACTERIZATION:
“Gate of Ivrel” has seven characters namely: Vanye, an exiled warrior. He was disowned by his clan and forced to retreat to Morgaine’s vale, a place where only the desperate would go to. Morgaine, who is woman with the mission to shut down the gate of Ivrel so that other species may not launch their wrath on human beings.
Next up is Nhi Erji, who is Vanye’s half-brother, Chyla who is a respected counselor of Leth and Leth is a plutant. And Chya Roh who is Vanye’s cousin and last but not least the master of the Gate of Ivrel whose name is Thiye Thiye’s son.
PLOT SUMMARY:
The very conservative and change-resistant land of Andur-Kursh is divided into numerous facets with numerous power-thirsty clans. The loyalty of nobility of a warrior is issued to clan and Vanye gets to be one of them.
Vanye kills his brother and maims another brother with a sword. He is then brought before his father, before whom he refuses to honorable kill himself therefore he is made an outcast and exiled from the ways of Andur-Kursh.
After being cat out of the clan, Vanye assigns himself purpose by assisting Morgaine to shut down the gate of Ivrel. In a jaw-dropping turn of events and riveting drama, C. J. Cherryh displays unimaginative levels of creativity. As you read this book, you are not only grabbed by its consistent flow and unpredictable character behaviors.
RATING:
I feel that C. J. Cherryh outdid herself considering that this was her first book. I would recommend this book to both beginners and advanced readers of both non-fiction and fiction novels. This story is breath-taking and even as you read it, you are tempted to live the fantasy in your own reality.
I give this book a review of 9 stars out of ten stars.
“BROTHERS OF EARTH.’’ (1976)
CHARACTERIZATION:
Kurt Morgan, the main character and protagonist in this book. He is a crew’s person for Alliance Ship Endymion.
PLOT:
The Alliance Ship Endymion crushes in space after a battle with the Hanan forces. Morgan evacuates the ship in order to save his life and lands on an alien planet of the Nemet race. A portion of the Nemet race saves him then he is caught up in the whirl-wind of the economic and political struggles of Nemet.
He later learns that he is not the only being of the human race that were in the Nemet alien race. However, his interaction with a female outcast threatens the life of the Nemet race as the female outcast threatens to unveil weapon of mass destruction.
RATING.
A good read for beginner readers not forgetting that the easy flow of the plot ensures that both junior and senior readers enjoy this read.
I rate this book a seven star out of ten stars.
BOOKS TO MOTION PICTURES & SOUNDS.
An audio drama of “The Foreigner’’ series was set for production in 2013. It was adopted by Audio Cinema Entertainment audio dramatist Stable Jak who closely woked on this project with C. J. Cherryh.
The budget estimate for audio drama was set at $250,000 and was set to be done in a spun of six hours. The roles of three prominent characters were already dished out to Bren Cameron who was set play Wednesday Wolf, Green Hammend who is an award winner for the Helen Hayes award took the character Jago and Lisidi was played by Jane Cater.
The rest of the roles were not yet given to any thespians. The Foreigner series was derived from the book by C. J. Cherry, The Foreigner Universe which is a fictional universe with a story that that aims the spotlight at the descendants of a ship that was lost during transit from Earth en route to a brand new space station.
The story revolves around Bren Cameron who is a human paidhi, a translator and diplomat to the rulling court.
CONTRIBUTIONS.
C. J. Cherryh has had immense contribution to Heroes in Hell, Witch World, Elf quest, Magic World, Thieves World and the Merovingen Night series in which she listed which she edited. C. J. Cherry work has been translated to Russian, Swedish, Slovak, Spanish, French, Romanian, German, Hebrew, Italian, Hungarian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Portuguese and French.
RECENT ACTIVITIES.
C. J. Cherry is happily married to Jane Fancher, a science fiction and fantasy author. They live together in their Spokane home in Washington DC. She constantly refers to her wife, Jane Fancher as her ‘good friend’ with whom she participates with in a lot of activities which are all her hobbies.
C. J. Cherry enjoys ice skating, art, aquariums, weaving, dinosaurs, travelling, marine baseball, photography, making sketches once in a while hates house work. She also plans to participate with her wife, Jane, in the adult USFSA track. C. J. Cherryh also has a brother, David Cherry.