Hold Harmless and Indemnification Agreements, can be critical parts of any
contract. These agreements are drafted to shift the assumption of liability from
one party to another.

The typical parties to an indemnification relationship are the Indemnitor and
Indemnitee. The indemnitor typically assumes any liability or the obligation to
hold the indemnitee harmless from liability.

Hold harmless agreements are often classified as broad form, intermediate form
and limited form. The most common type of hold harmless agreement is the
limited form.

However, for your information, a brief description of the three
types of hold harmless agreements follows:

Limited Form Hold Harmless Agreements
This type of hold harmless agreement is sometimes referred to as a comparative
fault indemnification agreement. As its name implies, this agreement obligates
the indemnitor only to the extent of his or her own fault.

Intermediate Form Hold Harmless Agreements
In this situation, the indemnitor assumes all liabilities of the indemnitee relating
to the subject matter of the agreement, except where the injury or damage is
caused by the indemnitee’s sole negligence. Any amount of fault on the part
of the indemnitor under an intermediate hold harmless agreement obligates
the indemnitor to indemnify the indemnitee for the total amount of damages.
For example, whether the indemnitor is 10 percent or 90 percent at fault, it
nevertheless must indemnify the indemnitee for 100 percent of the damages.
The only instance in which the indemnitor is relieved of the contractual
obligation to indemnify is when the loss is due solely to the fault of the
indemnitee.

Broad Form Hold Harmless Agreements
Broad form hold harmless agreements require complete indemnification of the
indemnitee for all occurrences arising out of the indemnitor’s operations without
regard to fault.

If you are not protecting your business with hold harmless agreements, you are playing with fire. If you would like a copy of a limited form hold harmless agreement send me an email or call the office.

To Your Success!
Rod Hanks
214-275-8372

My friend and sales manager at Nationwide Insurance sends me daily motivational quotes and here is one he sent this morning that I think is very timely for all of us in business.

To Your Sucess!

1. Are you excited?
2. Do you know exactly what you want?
3. Do you know why you want what you want?
4. Do you have a plan?
5. Have you identified your target marketing?
6. Are you clear about what your target market needs and how you will fill
     that need?
7. Have you laid out your marketing strategy?
8. How are you going to keep your intentions visible at all times?
9. How are you going to keep your priorities and actions in alignment so you
     have the greatest chance of creating the results you want in the upcoming
     year?
10. What you are going to do to stay emotionally, physically, and spiritually
        healthy this year?

Remember, real success in life is not what you achieve. Real success in
life is measured by the quality of your experience as you work to make your
goals a reality.

Woody Allen once said that 90% of life was showing up. That may be true.
However, the 10% of life is how you show up. And how you show up can make
all the difference in the world.

As you begin 2011, please keep the following in mind:

1. Stay focused on the present moment. This is the only place you can ever
    actually get anything done.

2. Always come from a place of service. Can I help? is the most fundamental
    question you can ask in your business each and every day. Make service your
    goal in every interaction. Service is value. People respond to value given
    with value returned.

3. Pay attention to what is happening. Everything in life starts with
    awareness. Realize that you are not in control of what happens to you, only
    your response to what happens. Learn to open your mind to the intentions,
    expectations, motivations, actions, non-actions, results, challenges,
   opportunities, and possibilities that will be present in each situation you
   encounter in the next 12 months.

4. Always tell the truth. Telling the truth is the most efficient way of
    managing both your business and your life. There is rarely a "truly"
    negative consequence to telling the truth. The truth will always be your
    ally if you stay committed to seeing and accepting it.

5. Study everything about your business. Know your market, your associates,
    your competitors, your affiliates, your clients, yourself. Know how to spot
    a good prospect and how to stay away from a bad one. Know how to work with
    people who want to work with you. Know how to find opportunity—it is
    present in every situation. Know how to ask for the business.

6. Always follow a plan. Planning isn't convenient, stress is. Having a
    sound plan puts your business to work for your versus you working for it. A
   well-written business plan is the only real link between your creative
   process and the actions that will cause you to reach your goals. Failing to
   plan is planning to fail.

7. Be consistent. Pick a core marketing strategy and stick with it. Keep
     improving it. And keep doing it over and over again. Most great things are
     only accomplished through sustained and continuous effort. Remember,
     F.O.C.U.S. stands for Follow One Course Until Successful.

8. Systematize your actions. Systems bring structure and organization to
     everything you do. Systems eliminate discretion and randomness from your
     business. In many ways, the efficiency of your systems will dictate the
     volume of business you do.

9. Be personally accountable for your actions. Invite candid feedback.
    Never hide from the truth. Take ownership of your circumstances and
     results. Recognize when you are playing the role of the victim. Take
    responsibility for your ability to make things happen.

10. Stay open and flexible. The one constant in life is change. You need to
       accept the fact that your rapidly changing world requires that you
       constantly adapt. You cannot control change, yet you can influence how
       change effects your life. Instead of being stressed out by change, turn its
      power to your advantage.

11. Strive for a personal sense of balance. Professional balance is the
       result of personal balance. Balance is what makes the experience of living
       more evident, easy, and enjoyable. Eat right. Exercise. Get more rest.
        Meditate. Play. Have fun. Recharge. Take more time off. Simplify. Count
       your blessings. Smile. Be positive.

12. Take a long-term perspective on everything you do. Be patient with your
       efforts. Patience is having the faith and the confidence to act over the
       long term, beginning now, and progressively continuing day after day until
       the goal is reached. Having a longer term outlook is what will provide you
       with the most effective and satisfying results.

Making 2011 Your Best Year

Great success in life is not so much about what you accomplish as it is
about the experience of your accomplishment.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to building a successful business.
However, there is enormous gratification in showing up each and every day
with a healthy sense of pride, commitment, and respect for the work you do.

Start the new year with a clear sense of what you are wanting to
accomplish. Know it is absolutely within your power to make your goals a
reality. Stay focused on what is in front of you.

Keep the 12 points above in mind at all times and 2011 will be a year like
no other! Make a commitment to these 12 points and hold yourself
accountable.

Happy New Year!