Now you have ten basic tools of collecting art for profit and pleasure. The Internet is a phenomenal resource. All kinds of information is available at click of mouse. It is also a good tool to share and promote your newly discovered artist. Keep in mind that reason artists are famous is that they are well known. The more people you tell about works you acquired more will get to know artist. Don’t be shy, share your discovery with others. Everyone will benefit.

Finally, don’t procrastinate, go out and start collecting. There is only one way I know of to become an experienced collector and that is to start as a novice. Everyone has to start somewhere. Don’t get discouraged. It’s true that everyone is a critic, but only critic that matters is YOU!

Step Two -- Plan

Now that you've assessed factors that contribute to an employee's poor performance, you need to develop a strategy and action plan. Your goal is to turn a poor performer into a self-motivated, accomplished, powerful employee. Of course, if this is not possible, then kindest gift you can give this employee is freedom to find a more fitting job.

If employee and job role are not a match, find a better fit for employee within your organization. If there is none, then let employee go. Also, if you have not previously told your employee their job expectations, then discuss them in a professional and tactful manner. Also, let employee know that you will support him and monitor his growth.

You want employees who are both willing and able to do their job. When evaluating someone's willingness, look for specific things that a person says or does to indicate willingness or unwillingness. If an employee is unwilling, you need to discover reason for unwillingness and support person in resolving it. If someone does not have skills to do a job, training or mentoring can increase her ability.

Your proactive interaction with your staff is key to both their and your success. To improve manager/employee relationship, use a behavioral style profile assessment tool, such as Personal Profile System (DiSC), to understand yourself and those you manage. Also, have your staff take profile. The knowledge gained from accurate assessments promotes better communication, minimizes conflicts, and helps develop good rapport. You will also gain insight into how to help employees become self-motivated.

Conclusion

If you decide that employee can go from poor to powerful performance, then coach, monitor, and praise him. Develop a performance improvement plan together with employee, and help him move toward your mutual goals. Then monitor his achievements, give continuous feedback, and praise his accomplishments.

An accurate role description, sound hiring practices, and a manager's ability to foster strengths and talents of her staff leads to good job performance at onset. But, if an employee is not teachable, coachable, or praiseworthy, it is time to say goodbye. By documenting coaching sessions, problems, and performance, you will have paper trail that supports disengagement.