Darrel- 2 weeks- 2 interviews- 1 job offer- 67% salary increase (+$40,000)
General ReviewMultiple changes in the industry, shifts in the market, and transitions within the compensation structure at his company, forced Darrell to consider ‘outplacement' as a means by which to alter his career path. Most of his background had been in business development, community partnerships, and fund raising.The RL Stevens program helped him to see that his skills went beyond the ‘finance pieces' and extended to the research, analysis, forecasting, and development side of individual businesses, not just large commercial projects. As a matter of fact, the assessment tools helped him to see that there was a strong entrepreneurial element in his character that was going totally ‘untapped'. His RLS consultant helped him to see and understand where his skills fit in the marketplace.The resume was developed to address these possibilities, as were custom opportunities. The networking strategies simply re-enforced the fine tuned skills he had developed in his previous situations. Darrell was shown multiple published and unpublished opportunities to pursue and given a wide variety of market intelligence. Using multiple levels of his marketing strategy, discussions began between Darrell and a hiring officer regarding business development, consulting, strategic planning, and vision casting. Shortly thereafter, Darrell was offered a position."This is it! It's the best of all the worlds. I get to continue in business development. I get to tap into the consulting and marketing aspects. I will have a great deal of entrepreneurial freedom and flexibility. I will not be focused on commission based selling, but can focus on strong business relationships… and in the process, will be making great contacts with CEO/Presidents of companies around the state. This may be the perfect position, or the most unbelievable ‘bridge job' any of your clients have ever taken. In either case, I'm counting on you guys to continue helping me shape this growth path."PreviousTitle: Financial PlannerSalary: $60,000Industry: Financial ServicesCurrentTitle: Senior ConsultantSalary: $100,000Industry: Business Analysis/ConsultingPosition Search: 2 WeeksInterviews: 2Job Offers: 1Salary Increase: 67% ($40,000)
10 Steps To A More Fulfilling Life After 40!
I get asked a lot what it is like to live a self-described authentic life filled with happiness, joy, fulfillment, and a sense of making a contribution. So with this article I decided to share what I do. Try out these steps for yourself and you will also see an emerging life which works better for you!
Prior to 40 most people do what they can to network, build contacts and attend conferences to get to know even more people. Just take a look at Facebook, Twitter, Linked–In and hundreds of other networking sites. Despite the logic of signing up to many of these I am going to offer the opposite advice. After 40 it is better to be very selective and only surround yourself with a small group of people who both support your goals and or share similar interests. Most important, surround yourself with people whom you really care about. This will help you feel more connected to what is most important.
There is a lot of pressure to continue to do what you are good at. I don't think this is a very good idea if you are no longer enjoying what you are doing. Now is the time to reshape and recreate a life which works better for you. This starts with ONLY focusing on what you want. There is no reason why you can't live until 100 or more if you take care of yourself. Doing what you want is the best way to spend your life time.
If you want a dream to come true, you must be prepared to make big change. This goes for relationships, finances, work, and your health. There is so much that you can control. I have seldom seen much progress made towards goals without huge sacrifice
Motion does change emotion. Moving the human body from one place to another is important. Pick up any exercise to move your body and get you outside more. 30 minutes a day should do it. No excuses and you will get back much more energy in your day and as a result you will live longer!
There are many ways to have down time. It can be daily reflection, writing in a journal, doing Yoga, or walking and meditating. The point is to allow yourself around 20 minutes a day for doing nothing but reflection. I take a daily nap for 20 minutes and during this time reflect and rest. It recharges the rest of my day
I love the New York Times and give myself 30 minutes a day to catch up on the day's news. It makes me happy. I do it after a major task or project is complete. What can you do to reward yourself daily? This is the stuff which makes life enjoyable. Don't short, change yourself in this area.
Think deeply about this. Which gifts still remain dormant inside. Perhaps it is your writing or music or ability to solve problems or maybe helping others with math problems. Figure out now what it is and start to do it. No job description will ever define this for you. This must come from within.
This will be the hardest work of all! Which work could you do for lifetime? What work is a natural alignment of your abilities and your interests? What work just makes you happy and is fun? Find it and do it now!
After 40 is the wrong time of life for getting approval from others. This is the time to be a rebel with a cause. Decide what is most important to you and take steps to make this a life priority.
There are so many opportunities to look back at past mistakes, things you wished you would have done differently and choices you should have made. This is not useful. Instead act in the present. Take the risks now which you need to take, make the decisions now you need to make, and make new choices which will better suit you now and in the future. Let go of your past experiences which didn't work and realize that at the time you made the best decisions you could and this was part of learning and life!
And a bonus step because after 40 it is important to make your own rules!
Become an expert at what you truly are passionate about. This can take the shape of degrees or certificates or just new learning experiences. At this point of your life it is no longer as important what is on your resume vs. what new things you are learning and how you are applying them in your life.
After 40 is the time for greater reflection about who you are and what you want. You have paid the price of entry into life. Now is the time to integrate what you have learned, apply what now matters most, and enjoy the ride through the best time of your life!
I'll be cheering you on as you go!
Craig Nathanson
Heavy Equipment Faq
More Heavy Equipmentquestions please visit : MachineryFAQ.com
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Highlighted Characteristics of Aging Baby Boomers at Work
The baby boomer generation encompasses those born between the years 1946 to 1964. They are one of those included on the sudden escalation of births after the Second World War. Today, they are in their 40s and 60s. They are already prominent people in the society who have already built a name for themselves. They become consultants, executives, managers and in fact well known leaders of today. Some have already retired from work but are already accomplished and satisfied with what they have achieved in life.Since there are some who have already reached the Baby Boomers And Aging , a lot of them would exit their work and leave it to the hands of the next generation. This situation applies to all fields and industries where the baby boomers have worked. It can create a great impact since they have certain characteristics in the workplace that are worth emulating. Commonly, they are highlighted for being distinct when it comes to doing their work. Generally, these are the common traits of the baby boomer generation.The Baby Boomers And Aging are dedicated at work and are considered and commonly called to be workaholics. They have sacrificed and exerted a lot of effort just to reach where they are now. They are greatly motivated and exert long hours at work. They are considered to be achievers. Since some of them are on the top when it comes to rank in different fields, they demand from the younger generations to work hard also so that they can be like them.The individuals who are born in the baby boomer generation are independent and confident which are plus factors in the workplace. They were born after the world war wherein reform and change was done. People strived hard to revive from the damages of war. They relied on the achievement and effort of each other to restore the destruction that happened during the war. The independence that they have learned since they were young was naturally brought as they grew and worked in different areas.Moreover, they are also goal oriented. They have a vision in life that they need to follow that is why when they have reached the Baby Boomers And Aging , they are already career satisfied and gratified with what they have in life. They have already reached their goals which are to own a property, have their own family and reach the dream that they have been aspiring for years.Lastly, they are competitive and can be at par with the younger generations. With all the trials that they have passed in life, they are more challenged to face anything in the workplace. They can have a healthy competition with other workers especially when it comes to ranking in the office.These are a few of the common characteristics of the aging baby boomers when at the workplace. That is why as they retire it would be a great loss in the field where they are working since they have already made a mark in the company. However, companies today have already trained the younger generations to become the next in rank when baby boomers retire.The baby boomer generation comprises of people who were born after the second world war. They have distinct characteristics from other generations which have brought them to where they are now. Read http://babyboomersandaging.com/blog/ to learn more about this generation of achievers.
The Power of Running
I smoked my first cigarette when I was eleven years old. By the time I was thirteen I was smoking a pack a day. When I began to seriously attempt to quit in my early twenties I was often puffing down two packs, or nearly 40 cigarettes a day!
There were many unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking. I just didn’t seem to have the will power, the confidence, the strength to kick the habit. Living in New York City at the time, I watched joggers in Central Park with a lump in my throat. Running seemed like something I would never be able to do. These runners seemed to possess such freedom, something missing from my life as I lay prisoner to the cigarettes and habits I could not seem to overcome.
In my early twenties, not only was I struggling with the addiction to cigarettes, but I was also struggling with what to do with my life. I had a couple of bartending and secretarial jobs but with nothing more than an Associate’s degree, it didn’t seem likely a big career lay before me. Feeling lost, and often confused, an Aunt of mine suggested exploring the field of Physical Therapy. Her friend had just completed his degree. He liked the work and jobs seemed plentiful. I knew nothing about physical therapy. As I began to investigate the possibility, I was, little by little, taking the steps that would change the course of my life forever.
I went back to school to meet the academic requirements. I started volunteering at different hospitals and facilities to get a feel for the work. Once I decided on the path, my commitment had been made. Yet I felt hypocritical. How could I step into this field of health and wellness and be a smoker? How could I inspire others to take care of their bodies when I was sucking down cigarettes like candy?
Running was my way out. So I started, slowly and painfully. I didn’t quit right away. When I first started running I was still smoking. The first thing I did when I finished a run was light up. This went on for weeks, a little running, a lot of smoking. Finally the moment of truth arrived. This conflict of running and smoking was living in my body and mind. I could not do both. A choice had to be made.
I chose running.
Quitting was still hard. And my first real success at quitting didn’t put the habit behind me completely just yet. I applied to Physical Therapy schools and didn’t get in the first year. After the initial rejections there was a ray of hope. I made the waiting list at Stony Brook University on Long Island. Even though I did not get in that first year I was more determined than ever to reapply. I had invested everything in this decision to be a physical therapist, including my health. So I retook classes and upped my efforts.
I was accepted to Stony Brook University the second time around. The summer before university started, I lived on Fire Island cleaning houses. I was running every day on the beach and was up to 6 miles. I felt so strong. I even placed second overall for women in a 10K race at the end of the summer.
My dirty secret was I had started smoking again. I was so embarrassed. Here I was running, this supposed health nut now. Everyone I knew thought I kicked the habit but I would sneak back to the house from the beach to smoke a cigarette. I was so afraid of all the changes and uncertainty before me; moving to Stony Brook, starting school, being a bit older than most students, feeling insecure about my capabilities, that the cigarettes provided a comfort, a solace that only a smoker, or addict could understand. What would people think of me if they really knew how scared and insecure I was? I was so afraid of appearing weak.
There were a number of stops and starts before completely leaving cigarettes behind me and running the New York City Marathon helped me to never look back.
I decided to run the marathon in February of 1990.
The start of my training in February, until the actual race in November, took nine months. This period of gestation saw myself emerge from one who felt powerless in their addiction to cigarettes to one who had the power to do anything.
One of the biggest obstacles to training for the marathon was overcoming the resistance of my own mind. Of course the body needs conditioning to ready it for 26 miles but it was my mind that wanted to stop well before my body. I can’t do this anymore…enough….it hurts….I’m tired. Overcoming the resistance of my mind through training for the marathon has served me in so many aspects of my life.
Because no matter what we set out to do in life our mind will always get in the way of our growth and development. Our mind wants us to stay the way we are. Our mind wants us to feel safe and secure. There is nothing wrong with feeling safe and secure and certainly we need to feel safe and secure within our self to be able to venture into new territories.
But when we are attached to safety and security we become paralyzed to rise beyond the limitations that safety and security imposes on our life.
We need to develop our will in order to rise above the habits that limit us. For me running has been one of the most beneficial practices I have embarked on in my life and the New York City Marathon is one of its high points.
There were moments that felt like I couldn’t go on. Heading over the 59th Street Bridge on to 1st Avenue in Manhattan felt like climbing Mount Everest. You don’t realize how much of a climb a bridge is until you have run 15 miles to get there.
There were moments of inspiration. The streets of Brooklyn were full of crowds and music. Approaching 8 miles I heard the theme from Rocky playing. My heart pumped harder, my stride was stronger, I felt the power of running.
There were emotional moments. The race starts in Staten Island, 25,000 people running over the Verranzano Bridge. You can actually feel the bridge vibrating under your feet from the power generated by so many runners. At this point it is just you and the rest of the runners, each in their own race, with you yet against you in some way.
Heading into Bay Ridge Brooklyn the streets were so thick with people cheering, yelling and high fiving, it was incredible. I felt this overwhelming outpouring of love and support, especially in contrast to the relative silence of the bridge. I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was running in a sea of love and it felt beautiful.
There were moments of enlightenment. At twenty three miles, heading into Central Park for the last time, I knew I would finish the race but I had to stop for water before I could go any further. I suppose it is what people have called the wall. This was my first stop in the race. I had been taking water, pouring it into my body while still in motion. This time I had to stop before I could go any further. I drank water and started running again.
Shortly after that I saw my mother, brothers, sisters and their respective spouses. They were holding a banner high that read… KAREN, YOU DID IT! I still had three miles to go which at that point felt like it could have been another twenty-three. I didn’t want to disappoint them.
At twenty-four miles I went to a place I had never been to before. It was if everything within me; body, mind, heart and soul, shifted to some other inner gear. I was running….and it was effortless! EFFORTLESS! I had been running for three and a half hours now and I felt like I could have gone on forever. I was light, floating, higher than any substance has ever taken me. I rode that high for weeks.
And throughout the whole race I felt the love and support of my friends and family, cheering me on, in every borough, screaming for me as if I were some running star.
Those memories live within me forever. The accomplishment of running 26 miles is a reservoir of inspiration for me even 17 years later.
And I am still running, for over twenty years now. Although I never ran another marathon that moment still lives in me with inspiration and awe.
At 46 years old, there is no desire to run 26 miles again; at least not in one shot. I am grateful my body is still able to run, on the beach, in the woods, on the streets, in my travels. To be able to spend time outdoors, to breathe in fresh air and clear my mind serves me in all aspects of my life and is the blessing that running brings to my life.
I am grateful for the vehicle of my body that keeps on running.
What Prevents Most People From Achieving Success In Life?
If setting clear goals is so crucial for us to achieve a successful and fulfilling future, then why do so many people fail to do it? Why are so many people allowing the river of life to pull them in all directions?
1) Limiting Beliefs
The first thing that holds most people back from setting goals are their limiting beliefs. Many people only dream about what they would love to have. When it comes to committing to a specific target and plan, they don't even bother. Something inside them says 'there is no way'. Either it's too difficult or they simply don't have what it takes.
You now know that these are nothing but limiting beliefs. Unless we break past these generalizations about ourselves, we will never dare to design goals that drive us to the next level.
2) They Don't Know What They Want
'But... I don't know what I want!' This is probably one of the most common responses I get from people. I bet if I gave these people a magic lamp and told them that they would be granted anything they wish for, they will start making up a whole list of things real quick!
It is not that people don't know what they want. What has truly happened is that most people have stopped daring to dream. I believe that as kids, all of us had fantasies and dreams of what we wanted to have and be when we grow up. However, as we went through life, we meet with so many failures and disappointments that our rational, critical mind has forbidden us to continue day dreaming anymore.
Whenever we get excited about something, our internal voice will rush in to tell us, 'it can't be done' 'you cannot do that' ' that's impossible.' 'grow up, get real'. (It could even be an echo of our parents' voice, if we had stern, no-nonsense parents). As a result, this would block our creative juices and deflate our passion - the very elements we need to create and design the life we truly want.
We need to learn how to unlock our imagination and set our creative minds FREE....free of fear and inhibitions so we can dream clearly and with growing excitement of what we truly want out of life.
3) Fear of Failure
This fear of failure, of rejection and embarrassment is what probably paralyses most people from even starting out. I had a participant in one of my seminars who never dared set goals because of her intense fear of failing if she did not achieve what she had set her heart and mind to.
In her mind, she reckoned that if she did not set expectations, then she could not fail!
My mum did something similar when she was sitting for her final O level examinations over 40 years ago. She was sure she would fail maths (which she hated), and so she decided she would rather not take the exam than have a fail mark!
Sound crazy, but many people do the same thing. They believe that it is better not to have expectations so they cannot let themselves down.
Does this mean that people who keep setting goals do not fear failure? I don't believe so. I think everyone hates and fears the feeling of failure, including myself.
What then gives them the courage to set high goals and go for it? It is how we define failure to ourselves. The only one who can tell us that we failed and make us feel bad is... ourselves.
Yet, this is how we often shoot ourselves in the foot. The moment we do not achieve what we want, even on our first attempt, we tell ourselves we have failed, and feel really bad.
This pain is what prevents us - and this goes for the majority of people - from daring to try for high stakes, to taking risks.
4) Addiction to the Soft Life
Most people are risk averse because they are addicted to a way of life: a soft life, a cushy life with habits and material comforts they are loathed to change or risk losing. Unless that comfy life-style is imminently under threat, they won't do anything that calls for iron will and discipline.
Setting goals and really going for our goals often means changing habits, sacrificing time spent hanging out with friends. This is why people make half-hearted attempts. As soon as their new path impinges on their old habits, they withdraw...it's too hard.
A friend who teaches a Detox & Energise self-help program says most people don't stick to it because even if they believe in its long-term health benefits, they are not willing to work at it....and it is life-long work. They'd rather pop a pill (a drug) and dam the long-term consequences.
There are no short-cuts to success in any area - business/career, health or personal relationships. So, be prepared to make what appears to be 'sacrifices' and, if you do, the rewards are there.
Fixing the Flaws in the 10 Principles of Clear Writing
by Philip Yaffe
I recently did an Internet search for “clear writing” and frequently came up with the same list of “10 principles of clear writing”. Each one is a piece of very good advice; however the list has two faults.
First, I am viscerally suspicious of all 10-item lists. They seem contrived. It’s as if the writer decided that any self-respecting list should have 10 items, then set about inventing them to meet the challenge.
More importantly, these 10 principles of clear writing are not really principles at all, but rather tips and technique.
What’s the difference? Tips and techniques tell you what to do; principles tell you why you are doing it.
Understanding why you are doing something, i.e. the benefit you will gain, helps ensure that you will actually do it and do it consistently. Too often when we are told only what to do, we follow the instruction half-heartedly, inconsistently, or not at all.
For example, my last year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), I tutored writing to make a bit of much-needed cash. One day a first year student came to me with a note from a professor, saying: “Young lady, I advise you either to leave my class immediately or prepare to fail it.” I concluded that she was misapplying a fundamental writing principle, so I explained it to her and had her do a few simple exercises to be certain she understood it. By the end of term, her almost certain “F” had shot up to a gratifying “B”.
This was not an isolated case. When students were having writing difficulties, it was generally because they were: 1) unfamiliar with a fundamental principle, 2) inconsistently applying it, 3) improperly applying it, or 4) not applying it at all.
I am a marketing communication consultant, after having been a newspaper editor, a writer with The Wall Street Journal, and European marketing communication director for two major international companies. Over my 40 year career, I have been continually appalled by how poorly top business executives, academics, researchers, and other clearly intelligent people express themselves, both in writing and speaking.
Some years ago I tried to analyze this depressing phenomenon. As a result, I defined three key principles that underlie virtually every kind of expository (non-fiction) writing and speaking. To give them strength and substance, I cast them in the form of quasi-mathematical formula. As formula, these principles not only tell you what to do, they also tell you why you are doing it and how to go about it.
I would first like to briefly explain these three principles, then see how they coincide with lists of tips and techniques that masquerade as principles.
Most people accept that a good text should be “clear” and “concise”. There is a third principle that is seldom mentioned. A good text should also be “dense”.
Clarity Principle
Being clear is not a matter of personal appreciation. Do you find your text clear? You should; after all, you wrote it. But how can you be certain that it will be clear to others?
According to the clarity principle, to be clear you must do three things:
1. Emphasize what is of key importance.
2. De-emphasize what is of secondary importance.
3. Eliminate what is of no importance.
In short: Cl = EDE
If you follow the formula, before you start writing you must first determine what is of key importance, i.e. what are the key ideas you want your readers to take away from your text?
This is not always easy to do. It is far simpler to say that everything is of key importance, so you put in everything you have. However, unless you do the work of defining what you really want your readers to know, they won't do it for you. They will simply get lost in your text and either give up or come out the other end not knowing what they have read.
Next, as you write your text, you must be certain to de-emphasize what is of secondary importance. Why? Because if you really want your readers to recognize and retain the key ideas, then you don’t want them getting lost in the details. Details (information of secondary importance) explain and support the key ideas. They must never overwhelm them.
Finally, you must ruthless eliminate what is of no importance. Why? Because any information that adds nothing to explaining and supporting the key ideas will tend to obscure them, which is exactly the opposite of what you want.
Conciseness Principle
According to the conciseness principle, your text should be as:
1. Long as necessary
2. Short as possible
In symbols: Co = LS
"As long as necessary" means covering all the key ideas you identified under “clarity”, and all the information of secondary importance needed to explain and support them. Note that nothing is said here about the number of words, because it is irrelevant. If it takes 500 words to be "as long as necessary", then 500 words must be used. If it takes 1500 words, then this is all right, too.
"As short as possible" means staying as close as you can to the minimum. Not because people prefer short texts; in the abstract the terms “long" and "short" have no meaning (so-called “weasel words”). The important point is: All words beyond the minimum tend to damage clarity. Subconsciously, readers will continually be trying to understand why those words are there, and will be continually failing because they serve no purpose.
Density Principle
Density is a less familiar concept than clarity and conciseness, but is equally important. According to the density principle, you text should contain:
1. Precise information
2. Logically linked
In other words: D = PL
Using precise information rather than wishy-washy weasel words in a text aids clarity. For example, if you say it is a “hot” day, what do you mean? One reader might interpret hot as 24° C while another might interpret is as 36° C. However, if you say the temperature outside is 28° C, there is no room for interpretation—or misinterpretation.
Using precise information also generates confidence, because it tells the reader that you really know what you are talking about. This helps to hold the reader’s attention and makes it easier to get your points across.
However, precise data (facts) by themselves are insufficient. To be meaningful, data must be organized to create “information”. There are two important tests to apply when converting data into information.
A. Relevance
Is a particular piece of data really needed? As we have seen, unnecessary data damages clarity and ultimately confidence. Therefore, any data that do not either aid understanding or promote confidence should be rigorously eliminated.
B. Misconceptions
The logical link between data must be made explicit to prevent the reader from coming to false conclusions. Example: A singular occurrence may be misinterpreted as part of a broad pattern; a general policy may be misinterpreted as applying only in specific circumstances, etc.
To ensure that a logical link is clear, place the two pieces of data as close to each other as possible, preferably right next to each other. When data are widely separated, their logical link is masked. If you don’t make the logical connection, it is unrealistic to expect readers will do so for themselves.
Keeping these true principles - clarity, conciseness, density - firmly in mind allows us to re-evaluate the oft-quoted ten “principles” of clear writing” (i.e. tips and techniques), thereby making them significantly more meaningful, and significantly more useful.
1. Keep sentences short
This is usually interpreted to mean an average sentence length of 15 - 18 words. Not because readers can’t handle longer sentences. However, when length rises above this average, sentences are likely to be poorly constructed, thereby damaging clarity.
But remember, 15 - 18 words is an average. Don’t shun longer sentences. A well constructed long sentence is often clearer than two or more shorter ones. Why? Because the longer sentence betters shows the logical linkage among the various elements, which would be lost by splitting it apart.
2. Prefer the simple to the complex
If the precise word is long, don’t hesitant to use it, because not using it would damage clarity. On the other hand, if a shorter word would do just as well, prefer it. Examples: “dog” rather than “canine”, "change" rather than "modification", "entrance” rather than “ingress”, etc.
3. Prefer the familiar word
This is just a variation of point 2. If you have a choice between two words, use the one that most people are likely to recognize and use themselves. Examples: “insult” rather than “imprecate”, “daily” rather than “quotidian”
4. Avoid unnecessary words
In other words, be concise.
5. Use active verbs
In an individual sentence, whether you use an active or a passive verb is of little consequence. However, over an entire text it becomes very important. Active verbs tend to enhance clarity; conversely, too many passive verbs tend to damage it.
6. Write the way you speak
This is a very useful technique, but don’t take it literally. When we speak, we generally use simpler vocabulary and sentence structures than when we write. Writing the way you speak is a good way to produce a first draft. However, when we speak, our sentence structures are often confused and our vocabulary imprecise. These faults must be rigorously corrected in the second, third or later drafts.
7. Use terms your reader can picture
In other words, be dense. Use specifics; avoid weasel words. When making a general statement, be certain to support it with concrete data.
8. Tie in with your reader's experience
We are again talking about density, i.e. using precise information. Be certain that the terminology you chose is compatible with your readers’ experience. If you need to use a word not likely to be familiar to your readers, define it the first time it appears. If it is really key, define it again later on in the text. Also be wary of words that look familiar but have a very different meaning in the context of your subject.
Example: “Insult” is medical jargon for an injury or trauma. However, talking about an “insult” to the heart without first explaining this unconventional meaning of the word is likely to leave your readers scratching their heads.
9. Make full use of variety
This suggestion is almost superfluous. If you conscientiously apply the three writing principles of clarity, conciseness, and density, you will almost automatically introduce variety of sentence length and structure into your text.
Avoid introducing too much variety of vocabulary. Constantly changing terminology for the sake of variety damages clarity. If several words mean essential the same thing, pick one or two of them and shun the others. Introduce equivalent terms in such a way that the reader clearly understands they mean the same thing.
Example
1. (Confusing) Manned space travel to Mars is once again being considered. The Red Planet has fascinated mankind for centuries. The “God of War” is the fourth planet from the sun - our own Earth is the third - and it is our closest celestial neighbor except for the moon.
2. (Clear) Manned space travel to Mars is once again being considered. Popularly known as the “Red Planet”, Mars has fascinated mankind for centuries. Being the forth planet from the sun (Earth is the third), it is our closest celestial neighbor except for the moon.
10. Write to express, not to impress
The purpose of expository (non-fiction) writing is to inform or instruct, not to show off your literary prowess. The fact is, the better you write, the less people are likely to notice. And this is how it should be. The reader’s full attention should be on what you are saying, not how you are saying it.
Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).
For further information, contact:
Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
Email: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com
Airline Regulation
The airline industry operates like the veins of the United States by pumping precious cargo throughout the country. Most young people don’t realize how different the airlines were a few decades ago. The entire industry was regulated by the government. Regulation is usually considered a more socialistic liberal idea that is opposed by conservative capitalists. Although I personally believe in a government with a small limited roll in our daily lives, I have come to the conclusion that the airline industry is a rare exception that needs to return to regulation which would benefit the airlines and the consumers in numerous ways.
In the days of regulation the government had total control of routes, fares, gates and almost anything necessary to operate an airline. It also created many barriers to entry which would prevent any new start up airline. All the government would have to do is not allow them at any airports or not approve of any route application. Economists complained that regulation was inefficient so in 1978 the Airline Deregulation Act was passed allowing the free market to dictate airline prices and schedules.
The following thirty years have proved this to be a terrible mistake. There are a wide range of facts when looking for the change in price of a ticket today compared to the airlines under regulation. Some say the tickets are 20 % cheaper. Others claim there is hardly a difference because one must account for the 10% travel agent fee that is avoided with today’s online booking. So there is clearly no great ticket price benefit due to deregulation. However in the past tickets were fully refundable and you could change your destination without numerous penalties. Today people scour the internet for a discounted ticket which will usually mean a few stops along the way that may not be in the general direction of their destination. Some passengers may have to fly into alternative airports to receive a discount. Southwest airlines now flies into most major airports just as the legacy airlines do, however, in Southwest’s early days they broke into the freshly deregulated industry by basing their operation out of LUV field Dallas (not Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport) and flying to locations such as Burbank, CA. The reason for this was because it is much cheaper to operate out of these airports to avoid paying high prices for gates and other airport fees. Southwest also undercut the pay scales across the board. They were the first low cost carrier. By saving all this money they would be able to provide cheaper tickets to customers and the free market was beginning its control on the industry. This started the domino effect of airlines entering the market.
With a few major airlines doing most of the long haul flights many commuter airlines have started business with 100 seat type jets. Most people will see US Airways Express and think it is a division of US Airways; however that airplane might be one of 4 or 5 airlines that fly under the US Airways paint scheme. The air is absolutely saturated with all of these small jets. The air traffic control system needs to be upgraded because of this. Instead of having 737’s make two or three flights a day on a short haul trip say from Philly to Buffalo, they will have these 100 seat regional jets make 5 or 6 flights a day. With fuel prices soaring this does not seem efficient. Safety of the consumer is also being endangered. For the last year or so many small regional airlines were hiring a large amount of pilots due to a shortage. The minimum flight time qualifications were dropped lower than they have ever been before. Some new hires are getting in the cockpit with as little as 300 hours. The average airline pilot has several thousand hours. With flight training declining every year due to the high cost, commercial pilots are becoming scarcer. When you add more airplanes while fewer pilots are being trained it creates a huge shortage. The Federal Aviation Administration pushed the mandatory retirement age to 65 adding 5 more years to a pilots career if he chooses to stay which many aren’t and won’t, due to the terrible state of the industry and conditions they have been working in. This is just a temporary fix that might stave off the shortage for a few years but hiring will start again and there won’t be enough pilots let alone enough experience pilots to fly all of these airplanes.
Under regulation when oil quadrupled in the 70’s, the price was passed onto the consumer by raising ticket prices. This is unfortunate but it is a part of the way our economy works. Today with prices rising, the airlines will not raise prices and instead try to run other companies into the ground by lowering prices. This is not healthy competition. The airline industry lost 25 billion dollars from 2001-2005. During that period airfares dropped 15 percent while 20 airlines went bankrupt. US Airways and Northwest Airlines have removed their obligation to their pension funds by pleading in bankruptcy court that they couldn’t operate with out doing so. This wiped out over 8,000 pilots retirement funds between the two of them. Over 7000 Delta pilots have also since lost their retirements. Pilots have conceded roughly 30-40% pay cuts along with losing their retirements in order to keep these airlines afloat and ensure the passenger gets a good deal on their ticket.
Within the past few weeks Aloha Airlines joined the ranks and went out of business continuing the downward spiral of the airline industry specifically over the last 10 years. Delta and Northwest announced on April 14th a plan to merge which would create the largest airline in the world. There is also speculation of many more mergers and or bankruptcies to come. Mergers are a sign of these companies being better off working together than separate. That is certainly not the healthy competition the lawmakers of the 60’s and 70’s envisioned while forming this plan. There has been recent talk of law makers on Capitol Hill revisiting the regulation idea due to the horrible state of the industry. Hopefully they will work quickly and save the sinking ship before it’s too late.
Bibliography
1. L. Smith Jr., Fred. "Airline Deregulation." Library of Economics and Liberty 25 Nov 2008 .
2. Barnum, John. "What Prompted Airline Deregulation 20 Years Ago? What Were the Objectives of That Deregulation and How Were They Achieved?." Find Law Library 08/15/1998 25 Nov 2008 .
3. Bailey, Elizabeth E. “Airline Deregulation Confronting the Paradoxes.” Regulation: The Cato Review of Business and Government 15, no. 3. Available online at: http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv15n3/reg15n3-bailey.html.
ARLEN SPECTER MAKES THE BIG SWITCHEROO
AFTER MORE THAN FOUR DECADES AS A REPUBLICAN SENATOR SPECTER IS ANNOUNCING HIS DEPARTURE TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY - WHAT HAPPENED?
"On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania".
Sen. Arlen Specter statement on party change
By B D Fenton
The venerable Senator Arlen Specter has just announced after almost a half century as a republican, he is leaving the GOP to become a member of the Democratic Party. He has long frustrated the core of the Republican Party by taking a more moderate stance on certain issues. But only a few weeks ago he was talking about himself as a loyal Republican. Why did he suddenly jump all the way across the political spectrum? Why not run as an Independent? Because this is not about a sudden epiphany of political principle - it is about self-preservation – pure and simple.
Follow the money!
Money is power when it comes to winning elections. And what do you think the Democrats are willing to give up to get that final cloture, to get the filibuster-busting, Senate controlling, final-nail-in-the-republican-coffin, 60th vote? What do you think it is worth to them to finally have the Whitehouse, the Judiciary and both Houses of congress locked up? You can bet Specter has been promised support – financial and political – possibly more than he has ever had before. So much that he has even offered to return (upon request) Republican campaign contributions. How often do you hear of politicians offering to return campaign funds? Usually they have all kinds of excuses to keep donations from international criminals, Chi-Com Generals, or terrorists, but good old Arlen is offering to give it back. Let’s get real. Any time a politician says you can have your money back before anybody even asks for it, you know something is up. All this guy cares about is getting re-elected and that takes money. He is a forty year political veteran who knows it takes money and publicity to win. It is obvious the Democrats have promised plenty of both.
The Big Switcheroo
A month ago he was talking as a solid Republican. Now he claims he has suddenly seen the light and jumped parties. In the interim two important things happened. He fell way behind his republican competitor, Pat Toomey in the polls – 51-30. Since he barely beat Toomey by less than 3% in the last election, all indicators were pointing to Specter losing badly in the Republican Primary. Next, a PA approval poll came out showing Specter with Republican approval ratings in the high 40s, but his approval ratings among Democrats was close to 70 per cent! Coincidence? Hardly. The writing was on the wall. Being a true “Professional Politician”, he had no choice if he wished to stay in office. And that is what being a “Professional Politician” is all about – staying in office. To do that he had to switch parties. He knew his constituents and the party that supported him for the past four decades would be disappointed, but what was that compared to the tremendous support the Democrats would shower on him and getting re-elected to another glorious term?
He addressed both points in his statement this morning. It wasn’t hard to read between the lines. He knew he could not win the Republican Primary. He said very plainly that he was, “disappointed that so many in the Party (Republican) I have worked for more than four decades do not want me to be their candidate”. Although he didn’t mention the recent poll he did say, “Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans”. That sounds like another way of saying that his only chance is to line up with Democratic votes and wallets. At least he is willing to acknowledge that he had to switch parties to preserve his chance to get re-elected.
I guess what he meant when he said toward the end of his statement he did “not represent the Republican Party. He represented the people of Pennsylvania” was that he would be willing to switch sides like an Afghan Warlord to stay in office. When the Founding Fathers set up our Democratic Republic they never intended to create a class of “Professional Politicians” who, once elected, would become permanent fixtures in our government. That is why they stipulated limited terms – they understood how difficult it is to withstand long exposure to great power without becoming corrupted. This possibility was one of the dangers they feared. And Arlen Specter is a perfect example of the metamorphosis they feared that occurs after too many years in public office. He is whatever he needs to be to get re-elected and re-elected and re-elected……
He is like so many of the hoary heads ensconced on Capitol Hill. Career politicians like Senator Specter are more interested in maintaining their personal power and status than anything else. Once elected they never want to leave their lives of luxury (paid for by working Americans). They have created, exclusively for themselves, cushy-fat-cat pension plans, superior health care and automatic pay raises regardless of what the rest of America is going through. All of their transportation, mailing, office overhead, meals and entertainment is covered by taxpayer dollars. They are feted like celebrities wherever they go. After a while it seems they start to believe that they are entitled to live above their constituents. Too many of our politicians from both parties have become intoxicated by the combination of money, power and influence that come with political office. It is a powerful corrupting drug that seems to affect even the best intentioned after they have spent too much time in Washington D. C.
Senator Specter is a perfect example. He is one whose true allegiance is to him self. He was swept into office in 1980 as part of the Reagan revolution and gradually learned that his personal re-election was what really counted. Therefore switching parties after forty plus years is only a necessary minor nuisance. The Holy Grail is getting re-elected. He will do whatever is necessary to stay in office and preserve his personal fiefdom – even abandon his principles and betray his friends. The ultimate goal of the Professional Politician is to get elected, enrich them selves on the public dole and never – ever leave. Senator Arlen Specter just gave all of us a textbook example of political expediency and then tried to convince us that he did it out of principle. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Nice try Senator Dinosaur, now go home and retire on the gold-plated lifetime pension you helped create for you and your Beltway Homies. You have served for too long. Your fortune is made and you are almost eighty years old. It's time to retire gracefully and make way for someone else to serve - preferably someone who knows our officials are elected to 'serve' the people - not the other way around.
Concierge Medicine — Converting in Today’s Economic Environment
Many physicians with whom we speak are expressing angst regarding converting to a concierge medicine model in today’s economic climate. Is it economic suicide to make this change today? We think not, if the change is made intelligently. Across the board consumers are reducing spending on goods and services. This is not only affecting discretionary purchases like Botox injections and laser eye surgery, but is also affecting primary care services. Some consumers would rather suffer through a cold for an extra few days than pay a $40 co-pay to see their doctors.“How,” you may ask “could converting to a concierge medical practice model help me in these economic times?” If done correctly, converting to a concierge or retainer-based practice model could help you offset your losses in fee-for-service revenue by “segmenting your market”. It may also enhance the level of care that you are able to deliver to patients, your own career satisfaction, and your lifestyle.“Market Segmentation” is the process of developing two or more distinct marketing propositions to address the differing perceived needs of customers, or potential customers, in a market, with each marketing proposition addressing the members of a group, or segment, who have similar views regarding needs or interests.In our world, market segmentation is accomplished by: 1) providing to patients who value highly personalized preventative care, immediate physician availability, and an ongoing relationship with a trusted doctor the ability to access unprecedented levels of care and service; and 2) continuing to provide standard levels of care and service to patients who place more importance on price than on service. Market segmentation enables your practice to give patients what they desire. While we believe that one physician cannot successfully offer two distinct levels of care to different patient groups, there are a number of means by which you can segment your patient population and deliver the levels of service that your patients desire; you can hire a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner to serve as the principal interface with non-concierge patient, or you can hire an associate MD to treat those patients in the broader context of your practice. We describe this program in greater detail on our website:
www.signaturemd.com
So, back to the original question. We believe that segmenting your market to deliver the care that your patients desire not only does not constitute economic suicide, but rather represents an excellent risk mitigation strategy. Unless you have the “perfect practice”, undertaking an all or nothing conversion (terminating your relationship with any patient who chooses not to join your retainer practice) to concierge medicine could entail additional risks in today’s economic climate.