The debate has gotten hot and heavy in the last few weeks and I am amazed at the misinformation that is being disseminated by the shouters and disrupters at the Town Hall meetings across the country. I realize there are a lot of legitimate beefs with healthcare reform. You certainly have a right for your voices to heard. Just like you guys, I want my voice to be heard. But, I am not interested in shouting down my Congressional Representative or my Senator. My political views not withstanding, I am most interested in what is best for America and American Business.

First, let me say, that I have health insurance and I am satisfied with my coverage and my provider. I can go to the doctor of my choice for a small co-pay and get my prescriptions filled for a small co-pay. Being an old guy, and a very active one at that, I feel very fortunate to have this insurance. In the last year or so, I have had my knee scoped, my cholesterol checked, my wrist operated on, and several other examinations and consultations. I have been seen by my family doctor, my cardiologist, my orthopedist, and an endocrinologist. 

I can understand why a lot of you guys are skeptical of the government becoming more involved in our healthcare. Based on the government's ability to manage other areas of our lives, you have good reason to be skeptical. Given the fact that the U.S. government has mismanaged numerous projects and contracts over the years from defense to building bridges to nowhere, it stands to reason that you should be concerned about them getting involved in the healthcare business.

That said, I would remind you that the government has been running Medicare for the past forty five years. And they have done a pretty good job with Medicare. Ask any senior if they would give up their Medicare coverage and I am quite confident you wouldn't find any takers.  Is it perfect? Not really, but it is better than a number of private plans. So what does Medicare have to do with healthcare reform? It demonstrates that the government can manage a healthcare program and do it well for the long term. It also dispels a number of myths that many of the dissenters have raised about government run healthcare.

With Medicare you can choose your doctor.  Yes, there are small percentage of doctors who don't participate, but most do. Medicare pays for your prescriptions. Medicare will take you regardless of pre-existing conditions. There are no death panels determining who gets to live and who doesn't. Most private insurance providers want you to convert to Medicare when you turn 65. The older you get the more healthcare you require and the more it would cost those private providers. Medicare doesn't ration treatments or procedures. Medicare doesn't require that you drop your current plan when you turn 65, if you are satisfied with your coverage.

Current private healthcare is responsible for a lot of waste and inefficiencies.  There are many physicians that will recommend tests and procedures that you might not necessarily need just to protect themselves from potential medical malpractice suits. As long as the costs of these procedures and tests fall within provider guidelines, the private providers pay for them with no questions asked. So litigation definitely is a factor in rising healthcare costs. The lack of online universal record keeping systems translates into redundant tests, missed diagnoses, prescription interactions and lots of other problems that result because those practitioners don't have access to your complete medical history. Private providers don't encourage or pay for preventative procedures in most cases. That raises healthcare costs as well.  

 AARP has come out in favor of healthcare reform. Obviously, they want to see the final bill before they endorse it, but they know that the system is broken and needs fixing. They also know that Medicare has been good for Americans and will cost taxpayers less if people received better healthcare before they turn 65. Can the government fix healthcare without putting our great grand children in debt? I certainly hope so. Cost will be a concern, but I believe they can accomplish this through better efficiencies and preventative care. Plus, if there is a public option, that will cause the current providers to become more efficient, put more pressure on the drug companies to be more realistic in their pricing, and in turn make private sector healthcare more affordable. That will be a win/win for everyone concerned.

I would also like to point out, that one of the reasons American businesses have not been able to compete with their foreign competitors is partially the result of skyrocketing healthcare costs they are paying to keep their workers insured. In fact, that is certainly one of the problems our automakers have had to deal with for the last couple of decades. Add to that, the rise in litigation in America relating to corporate, product and service liability and you can see why American business has lost its competitive edge. Tort reform should be next after healthcare reform if America is to regain its competitive position in the world of business.  

What's your take on this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Comment on Linkedin and/or on my web site, www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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 Folks, you can't make this stuff up. Here is yet another candidate for my 2009 WTF Award. If I were to tell you that there are over 200 iPhone apps available that produce farting noises, would you be surprised? It never ceases to amaze me how far we have come since the invention of the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell is no doubt spinning in his grave as I write about this story.

A quote from Wired magazine illustrates the depths our national psyche has descended to when it states, "The producer of a farting iPhone app is making a legal stink over another flatulence app in a looming trademark battle over the phrase, ‘pull my finger'." The trademark suit was initiated by Air-O-Matic of Florida, the maker of the popular ‘Pull My Finger' app. Air-O-Matic claims that the maker of the rival iFart Mobile application has misappropriated the phrase ‘pull my finger' in its advertisements.

David Kravets, the author of the Wired article couldn't stop with the puns and bodily function references when he went on to write, "Such an assertion, according to iFart Mobile maker InfoMedia of Colorado, reeks of misunderstanding of American fart culture." I guess he just couldn't let go of this issue.

InfoMedia's attorney, Kevin Houchin, explained that the ‘pull my finger' phrase and derivations are generally known and widely understood in American culture as a prank regarding flatulence. The prankster requests the unsuspecting victim to pull his or her finger, and once the digit is pulled the prankster expels an inordinate amount of gas. Consequently, the phrase is understood to be a description of passing gas.

So there you have it. Teenage pranks have moved into the technology world and have brought about trademark infringement cases dealing with flatulence. In this case, the uses of keywords or phrases that have otherwise been thought to be part of the public domain have provided the ammunition for a lawsuit in Federal court. AOM attorney Karen Koster Burr wrote "InfoMedia's efforts have been directed at merging ‘Pull My Finger' and ‘iFart' in the consumers minds, so that searches for ‘Pull My Finger' pull up the iFart application. AOM is demanding $50,000 payment for damages.

On a more serious note, trademark issues have been gaining momentum since the internet came on line. I can tell you from personal experience that setting up a web site, web business or web app requires some serious trademark research and even then there is no guarantee that you won't be slapped with an infringement suit and taken to court. When we set up our web community we thoroughly researched our domain name. Yet, 6 months after our launch we were contacted by a law firm, told that we were in violation of their client's trademark and that we had better cease and desist using that derivation of their mark. Otherwise, they were ready to take us to court. 

 There are a number of considerations that you should take into account if you are in violation of someone's trademark. First, do they have a legitimate case against you? Are the trademark names identical or just similar? Second, how big an organization are you dealing with and how deep are their pockets. In our case, I really didn't believe their case was that strong, but our adversary was a global conglomerate with very deep pockets. My company, on the other hand, was a small startup and we really didn't have the legal resources to take them on in court. 

Fortunately for us, we did our homework and found another domain name that was actually more appropriate, and more in keeping with our value proposition, than our original mark. Since we had only been around for a few months and the transition to the new name was an easy one, we bit the bullet and changed it. In our case, discretion was the better part of valor and we worked through this issue successfully. So, if you are slapped with a trademark infringement suit, it doesn't necessarily mean you are out of business.

What's your take on this issue? Have you been sued for trademark infringement? Do you have a story you can tell about trademark issues. What do you think about the fight for iPhone superiority in the flatulence application business? Inquiring minds want to know. Comment on Linkedin and/or on my web site, www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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Last week, I began this series on the secrets to building a billion dollar web property by giving a brief analysis of the early development of Facebook and Myspace. I discussed how their visions and value propositions morphed over time. I stated that the number one secret of their success was user engagement. And yes, your vision and value proposition will determine the level and frequency of user engagement, but not always on the first implementation of your concept. You have to continue fine tuning that vision until your growth becomes viral and exponential. If you missed my analysis of how these web properties got their start and want to read the full text, just go to http://tinyurl.com/yggag3z.

Neither Facebook or Myspace became successful based on the founders' original target market, value proposition and vision. And they are two of the most successful web sites in the history of the internet. So lesson Number One is: If your site design does not truly engage your users day after day, month after month, and year after year, then regardless of how brilliant your original vision or concept might be, you've got nothing.

Neither Facebook or Myspace would have been able to accommodate the exponential growth they experienced had they not considered scalability in the overall design of their sites. There are those who still think that building a successful web property is only about offering your visitors content, media or engagement they can't get from another web site. Without scalability, your site will crash often and die an early death once exponential viral growth overwhelms your computing resources. Hopefully, if you are in the process of starting a web community, scalability will be a major consideration.

For you non technical readers, scalability covers four critical areas. These critical areas include development platform and language, development talent, hardware and hosting, and last but not least, caching. Skimp or minimize resources in any one of these areas and you will never make it to the next level. Over time visitors don't return to sites that can't deliver on the promise of their functionality and content availability. It even happens to the major players...I just logged into Twitter and got this message: Twitter is over capacity...Too many tweets...Please wait a moment and try again. Twitter can get away with this now, but for how long?

Let's start with the software platform that was or will be used to develop your site. This includes the language and operating system platform on which your web site is to be built. Bottom line: selecting the right development language and platform is critical to building a scalable startup. If you choose a platform that allows you to get the web site up quickly, but is inherently un-scalable, your gamble will come back to bite you in the butt. If your site engages the users, you will also need a scalable database backend to maintain all the information about your membership and their profiles. If you don't have the technical expertise to understand scalability, then hire a web developer or partner with someone who has that expertise.

That brings me to the second critical factor in achieving scalability. Scalable web startups are willing to make the necessary investment when it comes to securing talent. Hiring and/or seeking advice from a web developers or web architects in the early stages of your site development is absolutely essential to your success down the road. You might counter by telling me that you can't afford such high level talent. My suggestion would be to seek out a web developer or developers with the required expertise and offer them equity in your startup. If you don't have the funding to pay them as regular employees, then maybe getting in on the ground floor will entice them.  If your vision and value proposition have merit in their eyes, then they will be satisfied just to work for a piece of the company.

Since my primary target audience is non-technical, I don't intend to get bogged down in the technical details of hardware and hosting scalability, so I will give the briefest of summaries on those issues. We have already discussed the development platform and talent required, but there are some additional areas that haven't been covered. It is essential to understand bandwidth requirements with respect to your server connections to the internet.

Suffice it to say, through the use of web hosting services, you can scale your bandwidth up over time as needed to accommodate the traffic on your site. Whether you use the hosting site's servers or your own, that should not be an issue. The primary difference has to do with costs and your web developers will help you make those determinations.  If your site really takes off, then you will have to transition to your own in-house server farms.

The last critical factor I will mention has to do with caching. Your development guys will understand the importance of caching and should have it as a very high priority from the beginning. Basically, caching takes the load off the disk drives and processes the routines and requests through temporary memory (mem-caches) which will speed up those processes. Speed and performance is critical to a successful web site and poor performance will have a very negative impact on your traffic. Users tend to stay away from sites that are difficult to log into or navigate.

So there you have it. Secret Number Two is: Scalabilitiy. From concept to launch, scalability has to be a major consideration when developing your site. The best web concept in the world won't make your site successful if you can't provide your users 100% availability and functionality.

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Now that Newsweek has declared that the Recession is Over in their latest issue, we should be able to get the economy jump started and America will be back on its way to prosperity right? Not so fast, Virginia.

The Newsweek article is based on the comments of a number of economists that said that according to the latest economic indicators the economy had stopped contracting. So they are basically saying the since the economy is no longer shrinking, we can assume the recession is over. That is all well and good, but when can we expect to see economic growth start back up in America? Unfortunately, when you look at the demographic factors, the chance of economic growth doesn't look all that promising in the near future.

That is where the Generational Demographics begin to kick into play. The economic downturn which was basically the result of both deregulation of the securities and financial services industry 10 or so years back, along with excessive greed on the part of both Wall Street and the banking industry. The resulting downturn has put a significant damper on the free spending habits of the Baby Boomer generation. They have seen the devaluation of their most valuable assets like their homes', their 401K's and stock portfolios. Add to that the fact that their gainful employment, if they are still employed, is anything but guaranteed in the coming years, and it is easy to understand why they have reigned in their free spending habits of the past.

Since a large proportion of the Boomers have been in their prime with regard to earnings and consumption for the last 18 years, most prognosticators predicted that the Boomers would continue accumulating wealth and buying whatever they wanted until they got close to retirement. The majority of Boomers would retire in the next 10 years or so. Since the Boomer generation covers an 18 year span, a lot of the leading edge Boomers have already retired and the trailing edge Boomers won't retire before 2025. But, once they retire, most of them will move into the thrift mode and not spend their money so freely.

Over the last 15 years or so, most Boomers were only concerned with ensuring that their savings, investments and 401K's were growing at a rate that would satisfy their retirement needs. With the decline in value of their primary retirement funds and home values, they are now focusing on shoring up those accounts and not spending their disposable income on anything but the most basic necessities.

This is certainly a major set back for our economy since Baby Boomers were responsible for more than 75% of the GDP growth in America between 1995 and 2005. Last year, Boomers spent approximately $2 trillion on products and services. That amounts to some $400 billion more than any other generation group. With that kind of drop in consumption, the economy can not continue to grow as fast as it had in the previous 20 years without another generation to take up the slack. Gen Xer's represent a slightly smaller population group and haven't reached their peak earning potential. They won't be able to power up America's next economic growth spurt all by themselves.

But in reality, that is not the biggest issue here. The real problem is not who will replace the Boomers as the next wave of free spending consumers. The problem is that the economic downturn has caused the Boomers to rethink their strategies with regard to saving and spending to such an extent that when the economic recovery begins, the Boomers' consumption will not ramp back up to where it was before the downturn. The Boomers are too concerned about their ability to retire and enjoy the lifestyle they had envisioned prior to the economic downturn.

It is reminiscent of our parents and how they changed their saving and spending habits after the Great Depression of the thirties. So what can we do to get America back on track and restart our economic engine? A great many economists discount the Boomers' ability to kickstart the economy with new technologies like biotech, biomed, alternative energies, environmental remediation, alternative power plants, etc. They say the Boomers are past their prime and can't provide the innovation required to create these new business sectors. They don't believe the Gen'xers or Millennials can get it done either.

So, I guess we are doomed if some techno wizard doesn't step in and invent a whole new industry segment. It should be evident that the Boomers alone can't restart the economic engine. However, Americans have never stepped away from a challenge. It will have to be a multi-generational effort. If we put our considerable talents and expertise to work on meeting this challenge, maybe, just maybe we can return America to its leadership position in the world.

And if you are selling or marketing products to consumers, I would strongly suggest you segment your markets by generation and see to it that your value proposition zeros in on the exact needs of your target customers and the campaign optimizes your return. You also will need to ensure that your market share grows not only domestically, but internationally as well. The pie is smaller, so you will have to work smarter and harder to grow your business and grow America's GDP. Your country expects nothing less.

What's your take on this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Comment on this blog or any one of our polling questions. Also check out the latest articles and content on our homepage. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

 

 

 

 

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Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y will all impact American business in different ways in the future and if companies don't begin trying to understand their differences, they will be left behind. Why is this issue so important? It is important because the primary drivers of our economy, Baby Boomers are reigning in their spending and preparing for retirement. If businesses don't start researching and learning all the subtle nuances between these generationally defined consumer groups, they will indeed be left behind.

Over the past 15-20 years Baby Boomer spending habits have been responsible for more than 75% of America's gross national product. During this period the 78 million Baby Boomers have been in their peak earning years and have basically bought whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Some researchers have labeled Baby Boomers as hedonists, free spenders and the most self absorbed generation in recent history.

Not exactly, the legacy most Boomers want to be tagged with, but it is hard for them to argue with the facts. During their younger years Boomers fought for social justice, spawned the peace movement and acted as America's social and political conscience. They worked hard at changing the political system and they played hard. Remember sex, drugs and Rock & Roll? If you are a Boomer, your memory from that period might be a little sketchy. After college came marriage, family, careers and integration into normal society. And once the Boomers hit their peak earning years, they began spending like no generation before them. Of course, lax credit policies and intense marketing through an expanding media base helped perpetuate this boom period.

During the recent economic downturn that began last fall, the Boomers' IRAs, stock portfolios and home values lost 20% to 40% of their value. Being so close to retirement, the Baby Boomers hit the panic button and just quit spending money on anything that wasn't a necessity. Consequently, the economic meltdown accelerated. Signs of recovery are beginning to show in a number of sectors, but it isn't going to happen quickly and it is hard to predict whether we will return to the good old days of mass consumption. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but if you are trying to grow your business in a declining market you had better outsmart your competition.

It is important to understand that the next generation after Baby Boomers, the Gen X'ers are quite different than the Boomers and there are fewer Gen X'ers out there. While there are 78 million Baby Boomers, there are somewhere between 47 million and 65 million Gen X'ers depending whose definition of Gen X you use. Some researchers classify Gen X'ers as those people born between 1965 and 1976, while others place the generation birth dates between 1961 and 1981. Gen Xer's are characterized as independent, sometimes adversarial or rebellious, informal, entrepreneurial, and on a quest for emotional security. In the past they have been referred to as slackers and whiners, but I believe that was a mischaracterization originating from their behavior during their youth.

Members of Generation Y (aka Millenials or Echo Boomers) are considerably more like their Baby Boomer parents. They tend to feel empowered because of their overindulgent parents, they have a sense of security and are very optimistic about the future. Gen Y'ers are characterized as loyal and more likely to volunteer and help others. They look for employers that provide flexibility in the workplace. And they are undoubtedly the most technologically savy generation to come along. There are almost 80 million members of Generation Y, which means that they will play a larger role in driving economic growth in America than the Gen X'ers.

Regardless of whether you are targeting these groups for marketing purposes or looking to hire new employees, it is critical that you understand the subtle characteristics and nuances of each demographic on the front end. There are plenty of books, articles and web based research to help you understand the best ways and methods to reach out to these groups for whatever purposes you have in mind. If you plan to market to these groups or manage a multi-generational workforce, your key to success will be understanding what motivates their behavior and leveraging that knowledge. Just remember, it won't be business as usual and you won't succeed if you are not prepared.

 What's your take on this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Comments are welcomed and encouraged. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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Business life and family life have always been separate entities. Kiss the spouse, hug the kids and the paradigm shift begins. By the time you reach the office, you have shifted gears into your business mode. Why? Because your business life and family life are mutually exclusive and have always been that way since the industrial revolution began. Work by its very nature should be serious and focused on the tasks at hand. Fun has no place in the equation. Work was never meant to be enjoyable or fun, right? You might need to rethink this strategy if you want to be successful in the new millennium.

In an earlier blog on happiness in the workplace, I wrote about the benefits of creating a culture of happy and engaged employees and how that can translate into higher productivity. According to a recent study by Alexander Kjerulf, happy workers work better with others, are more creative, have more energy, are more optimistic, are more motivated, get sick less often, learn faster, make fewer mistakes and make better decisions. Consequently, they are much more productive. But creating a happy workplace is just the beginning.  

Creating a family environment where the employees feel connected and engaged is the next step. Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos, the highly successful online footwear retailer. At the Web 2.0 Conference last year he talked about the first company he started, Link Exchange, and how the workplace changed as it grew. He said it was a fun place to work in the early days, but once it reached 100 employees, he no longer looked forward to going to work. So he sold the company to Microsoft for $240M and walked away. He begin investing in web startups after selling that company. Zappos was a company he helped fund in 1999 and he liked the company and concept so much he later became the CEO. With Zappos, Tony had a second chance to build a company culture that embraced and engaged its employees in a good way.

Last year, Amazon bought Zappos for $920M, but Tony still runs the company and clearly has built a team culture like no other. It is all about aligning your brand with your company culture and seeing to it that the promise of your company is delivered by every employee every day. In my book, Marketing Alignment, I point out that if a company's value proposition is based on customer service and the company isn't delivering the very best customer service available, then the customers will see through the smoke screen and not do business with that company. Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me.

Zappos prides itself on its customer service and apparently they not only deliver on that promise every day, they over deliver on that promise frequently. You order a product with standard shipping and they might just ship it overnight. So that pair of shoes you are just dying to have, might just get there the next morning. Maybe, you have a problem with your order. Just ship it back free of charge. They provide free shipping both ways on every order. Their call center reps are called Customer Loyalty Reps. Every employee of the company, be it an accountant, Vice President, or factory worker has to spend two weeks working in the call center answering customer calls. No exceptions.

All employees are offered $2,000 to quit at the end of their first 90 days. Tony believes that if any employee is not totally committed to the Zappos mission, it is better for all concerned if that employee takes the cash and leaves. On the other hand, once employees become permanent, they have a lot of freedom to control their work and their environment. They are expected to adhere to Zappos Core Values which are:

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More with Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

I believe these values would fit into any corporate culture and make any company more successful. While Zappos is a shining example, other 21^st century companies are finding ways to retain the best and most successful people. Google for example, provides onsite healthcare, childcare, recreation, massage therapy, food services, fitness centers and numerous other perks. While these perks will definitely attract employees to your company, only the larger corporate employers can afford them. But, you don't have to provide onsite catering or massage to become very successful. Your team will make your company successful provided they buy into your company's vision and mission.

Bottom line, to create a successful business in the 21^st Century you will need to find employees who can not only sell your vision, but those that truly buy into it and will live it every day of the year. And to retain them, you will need to give them the tools and the freedom to do the job their own way. Treat them like you would treat a member of your family and make sure they are recognized for their contributions, regardless of what they do. Micromanage them or exert too much control over their work or their environment and neither your company, or your employees, will be around very long. It is about building a team.

Diane Crampton, a Linkedin member, recently interviewed Tony Hsieh and wrote about Tony and Zappos on her blog. Read her post at http://www.corevalues.com/products/tigers-newsletters/august-09.html.  

What's your take on this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Comment on Linkedin and/or on my web site, www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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Washington's Cash for Clunkers program is driving traffic back into the showrooms of America. That is a good thing, I think. It appears to be the first reliable economic stimulus program that Washington has come up with since the economy tanked last year.

The TARP program has helped the banks and AIG, but it hasn't really helped the economy all that much. The bailout did provide the needed funds for those banks and Wall Street Investment houses to pay those much needed bonuses to their executives (aka derivative gamblers and other unmasked bandits) who got us into this mess in the first place.

Unfortunately, the TARP stimulus hasn't really accomplished its purpose, which was to free up the credit markets and rid the financial institutions of their toxic assets. And it certainly has not trickled down to the average American trying to save their home by blocking foreclosures or reducing mortgage payments. So is the Cash for Clunkers program going to right America's economic ship? Not hardly. It will be a blip on the radar screen, but Detroit needs all the help it can get right now. Michigan's unemployment rate is hovering around 20%.

And let us not forget that the majority of clunkers being traded in were produced in America and more than 50% of the new cars purchased in the CARS program are of the Japanese and Korean variety. Part of Detroit's problem revolves around our cheap gas prices. Gasoline is much cheaper in America than any of the other industrialized countries. That is certainly the reason why the Japanese and Koreans build such fuel efficient cars. The high cost of fuel in Europe is the reason that over half of the cars they produce are of the fuel efficient diesel variety. Last year, I drove over 500 miles from Italy to Paris and I don't remember seeing one SUV on the highway. My rent car was a diesel Renault.

The real problem is, and has been, the executive management of the big three automakers. Over the past 5 decades, the American automakers position in the world has diminished considerably because there has been no real innovation in Detroit during that period. Their philosophy was and still is: Bigger is better and to hell with those mini car builders overseas. I remember back in the sixties and seventies when the foreign invasion first got started and the American car makers just scoffed at their competition. Back then, American car executives believed that they could dictate to the consumers what type of car they should buy. They were convinced that bigger was better and that quality and innovation weren't that important in selling their merchandise.

I am quite sure that if Steve Jobs was running one of the big three automakers, we would be driving the most innovative, fuel efficient cars on the planet. What would he call it? Maybe the iCar. I suspect he would have beaten the Japanese in the hybrid development race and America would be on its fourth or fifth iteration of alternative energy vehicles using different sets of power sources. And I am sure that his cars would include Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems to harness he moving energy of the vehicle.

With Steve at the helm, his company's cars would include the technology required to alert the driver to any impending engine or drivetrain malfunction and the car's navigation system would guide the driver to the nearest repair facility with a trained technician and parts. All of his cars would have crash detection and avoidance systems. Certainly his vehicles would be networked into the driver's home and office so you could activate whatever systems you would need upon arrival. Voice activated internet...you bet.

Okay, maybe I am going a little overboard here, but keep in mind that Steve has overcome every obstacle that has been thrown in his path since the mid sixties. It wasn't all that long ago, mid eighties I believe, that he was kicked out of Apple by then CEO John Scully. Well, he picked himself up and started another computer company, NEXT, and became a major investor in Pixar Studios. When he came back to Apple, he not only resurrected the computer division, but he came up with this iPod thingie. No one thought it would really catch on. Of course, he had to revolutionize the music industry to get the software content for his music player. Then he guided Apple in the development of the iPhone.

Finally let me add that I cannot take credit for this idea. I was listening to my favorite AM talk radio program today and one of the callers suggested that if Steve Jobs was running GM, that company would not be treading water today. I fully concur. Thanks caller. The description of what Steve would do if he were running a big three automaker is all my own creation and supposition.

What's your take on this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Comment on Linkedin and/or on www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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 First, let me qualify my opinion by saying that I am not a pacifist. I am a Viet Nam vet and my son served in the Marine Corps from 2000-2004 and spent some time in Iraq during his enlistment. Personally, I was against the Iraq war from the beginning because I didn't see the connection between 9/11 and going to war with Sadam Hussein.

That said, I am very concerned that we will get into a protracted war in Afghanistan. The current situation seems similar to the Gulf War where we liberated Kuwait and let Sadam stay in power. Then we went back into Iraq a few years later and had to start the battle all over again by attempting to liberate and democratize the Iraqis. The cost of the Iraq war has been far too great in American lives and billions of taxpayer dollars to justify the outcome. I am not even sure what our objective was and I am not convinced the previous administration had a clue about a specific desired outcome.

I think our presence in Afghanistan looks a lot like the Iraq strategy. We went into Afghanistan after 9/11 and basically defeated the Taliban, and then we pulled back. We didn't finish the job when we went there in 2002, so we decided to give it another try. Since our first push into Afghanistan, we have given the Taliban time to reorganize, strengthen their resolve, recruit and re-arm their troops and take control of several key territories. In the past year and a half we did step up on focus on trying to destroy training bases and target major al Qaeda/insurgent leaders across the border in Pakistan.

Now we are back in Afghanistan trying to defeat the Taliban and liberate its citizens again. It seems to me like we are once again trying to liberate Middle Eastern citizens (Afghanis this time) from themselves. Haven't we learned anything from the Iraq war?  Iraq should be fresh enough in our minds for Americans not to make the same mistake twice. Apparently, our collective memory is very short.

I realize that the American Military's mission is to defend America. And part of that  mission is to eradicate terrorists regardless of where they might be hiding. But it seems to me, that the United States has done more to recruit new terrorists for Qaeda, the Taliban, and other Middle Eastern insurgent groups by invading Middle Eastern countries than if we would have left them alone.

In his latest taped speech, Osama bin Laden said that the United States would remain an enemy of Muslims around the world as long as we continue to support Israel. I am by no means suggesting that we drop our support of Israel. I also suspect our support of Israel has been partially responsible for our involvement in these conflicts. But is that necessary? The Israelis are our allies and we should protect and defend that relationship. Liberating Afghanistan is not part of that agreement as far as I know.

I am not convinced the Afghanis want to be liberated. I believe our purposes would be better served by fighting this battle from the air using intelligence gathering and remote controlled aircraft. Incorporating this strategy we can focus our military on surgically taking out al Qaeda and the Taliban strongholds, training centers and leadership positions and leave the nation building out of the equation. Haven't we lost enough of our brave servicemen and women to these conflicts in the last few years? Why compound the mistake by taking the same approach in Afghanistan?

  You might think that this is a gross over-simplication of a very complex issue and that I don't have all the facts about the issues facing our military in Afghanistan. You may very well be right, but my position is that we should know exactly what we are getting into before putting our servicemen and women in harm's way once again.

What's your take on this topic? I am quite sure there are plenty of you out there who have strong opinions and would like to voice those opinions. You can do so on www.boomeropinion.com or on linkedin.com. I will be interested to hear your views. Thanks for your support.

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Recent studies conducted by the Pew Internet and American life Project, as well as the Synovate market research group, found that people are ruder online than in person. The studies point out that more than a third of those surveyed are quite aware of the fact that they use language or words online that they would not consider using in person. I am sure this is no revelation to anyone who spends even a small amount of time online, but it does point to a developing situation that could undermine civility in America and around the world.

It is obvious that when we communicate using technology, we isolate ourselves from those we are communicating with and that sense of anonymity drives us to overstep the boundaries of appropriate behavior. And yes, there are those who believe there shouldn't be rules pertaining to proper online behavior and that anything goes when they go online. Even those folks who are shy and retiring in person can have major personality shifts when they go online. I suppose their perceived power online could be intoxicating to some.  

Is this behavior just a function of the growing online population? Can it be reversed? It's probably too early to tell, but something should be done. Given we are dealing with the world wide web, government intervention is not an option. Maybe a grassroots movement to encourage civil discourse on the web would be a first step.

Below I have listed The Core Rules of Netiquette from the book, Netiquette, by Virginia Shea. Ms. Shea understands the problem and provides a really good set of rules that people can use to avoid being rude online. I have also included brief portions of Ms. Shea's explantions for each rule.

Rule 1: Remember the Human The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people's feelings.

Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life In real life, most people are fairly law-abiding, either by disposition or because we're afraid of getting caught. In cyberspace, the chances of getting caught sometimes seem slim. And, perhaps because people sometimes forget that there's a human being on the other side of the computer, some people think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace.

Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace What's perfectly acceptable in one area may be dreadfully rude in another. For example, in most TV discussion groups, passing on idle gossip is perfectly permissible. But throwing around unsubstantiated rumors in a journalists' mailing list will make you very unpopular there.

Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth It's a cliché that people today seem to have less time than ever before, even though (or perhaps because) we sleep less and have more labor-saving devices than our grandparents did. When you send email or post to a discussion group, you're taking up other people's time (or hoping to). It's your responsibility to ensure that the time they spend reading your posting isn't wasted.

Rule 5: Make yourself look good online I don't want to give the impression that the net is a cold, cruel place full of people who just can't wait to insult each other. As in the world at large, most people who communicate online just want to be liked. Networks -- particularly discussion groups -- let you reach out to people you'd otherwise never meet. And none of them can see you. You won't be judged by the color of your skin, eyes, or hair, your weight, your age, or your clothing.

Rule 6: Share expert knowledge The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers. The reason asking questions online works is that a lot of knowledgeable people are reading the questions. And if even a few of them offer intelligent answers, the sum total of world knowledge increases. The Internet itself was founded and grew because scientists wanted to share information. Gradually, the rest of us got in on the act.

Rule 7: Help keep the flame wars under control "Flaming" is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion. It's the kind of message that makes people respond, "Oh come on, tell us how you really feel." Tact is not its objective.

Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy Of course, you'd never dream of going through your colleagues' desk drawers. So naturally you wouldn't read their email either. Unfortunately, a lot of people would.

Rule 9: Don't abuse your power Some people in cyberspace have more power than others. There are wizards in MUDs (multi-user dungeons), experts in every office, and system administrators in every system. Knowing more than others, or having more power than they do, does not give you the right to take advantage of them. For example, sysadmins should never read private email.

Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes Everyone was a network newbie once. And not everyone has had the benefit of reading this book. So when someone makes a mistake -- whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer -- be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else.

Ms. Shea's book is available online through Albion Publishing at www.albion.com.  It should be mandatory reading for every one who goes online. Maybe, just maybe, we can encourage a higher level of civility on the internet and net etiquette can be resurrected.

I have written about this issue in the past, and I am sure I will write about it again. The internet is a wonderful tool for gathering information, social interaction and broadcasting one's opinions. If we can keep in mind that there are human beings on the other end of the wire who might be interested in what we have to say, but won't get the message if we shove it down their throat, maybe we can carry on civil dialog, get our ideas and opinions across to those folks and make some new friends at the same time.

What's your take on this issue? Am I too much of a prude to expect proper behavior from those on the other side of my computer screen? Comment on Linkedin and/or on my web site, www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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In Stephen Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, habit number two is: Begin with the End in Mind. His theory behind this principle was that if you were able observe what people might say about you when your life was completed - ie. at your own funeral - what would you want them to say? Based on that, you shouldn't have any problem determining how to live your life to get that result in the end. Of course, that principle can also be applied to your job or building a business. In other words, lay out your endgame destination at the onset of that job, career or startup and create a plan so that you arrive at that destination when it's all said and done. Rocket science it's not, unless of course that is you business or line of work.

Penelope Trunk, the Brazen Careerist, wrote in a recent blog that a good piece of advice for anyone starting a company was to write a press release first. According to Ms. Trunk, once you have written that press release, simply work backward from your vision in developing your business plan. She goes on to say that from your press release you can map out your tasks, objectives and milestones needed to complete your journey successfully.

Some of you might believe that this is putting the horse before the cart, but I believe Mr. Covey and Ms. Trunk are right on the money.  How in the world can you reach your destination if you don't know exactly where you are going? It is like sailing out into the open water on your sailboat with no rudder. You will definitely go somewhere, but it probably won't be the destination you had in mind. You might have a great product or service, but without a really good understanding of how to achieve your business goals and a sound business plan, you will be sailing without your rudder and never reach your desired destination.

It's never too late to start, even for an established enterprise or a seasoned professional. Penelope went on to say that her management team did not write their press release first and have paid the price. In fact, Penelope stated that had she written a press release to match their current outcome, the release would have stated "Ryan Paugh announces that he has just made it through two years of Ryan Healy and Penelope Trunk fighting tooth and nail over totally irrelevant details of building a social network that is a career management tool for the next generation workforce." Not exactly the wording that compels venture capitalists to invest in your enterprise.

It reminds me of a presentation Guy Kawasaki made at an Apple conference back during his days as the chief software evangelist at Apple. He was talking about a new operating system that Apple was going to introduce for their latest Macintosh...that's what they called the Mac back then. Before he talked about the new OS, he gave the audience his tongue-in-cheek version of the typical software development process in Silicon Valley. He said the first step in the process was to order Tee shirts. Then he said development would begin. Well into the development cycle, the project manager would begin writing the detailed product specifications. Once development was 80% completed, Guy suggested that it was time to launch the product. Following the launch, the next step would be beta testing and debugging. Even though he meant this to be a humorous aside, I am not sure his description was that far off the mark.

How often do people start a new career or a new business without being totally prepared? Far too often I think. Planning on the front end will go a long way in helping you succeed and reaching the destination you envisioned at the beginning of your journey. So remember, before you set out to conquer the business world in a new career or start the next Google, do your homework, write a press release and hang it up on your office wall. It will remind you to stay focused on the final destination or outcome you set out to reach when you started that new job or business.

What's you take on this issue? Inquiring minds want to know. Comment on Linkedin and/or on my web site, www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don't mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

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 Let's face it, given the economy and the number of people out of work, most people looking for a job are not going to be that selective. They would be happy just to find a job. There are others who believe that it makes more sense to begin the process by screening companies before submitting resumes to every company that has an open position that coincides with their job skills, background and experience.

I tend to believe that you should do a company search first and a job search second. Why? My reasoning has to do with the fact that every company has a different set of values, a different culture and a different potential for growth. Consequently, you should consider each of these factors prior to submitting your resume.

Now, if you are worried about making your next house payment or feeding your family, then all bets are off. You should probably apply for any and every job that you think you qualify for in order to feed your family and pay your bills. That doesn't mean you should give up looking for your dream job. You can certainly continue that search while you are working somewhere else.

It really depends on the urgency factor. If you are currently employed and just looking to enhance your career by finding a better position at another company, then you have all the time in the world to job hunt. On the other hand, if you need a job this week, then you will most likely take the first one that comes along.

Before screening potential employers, you should spend some time reflecting on what is important to you? Your priorities should dictate the type of company to solicit. Some people put more emphasis on the company's potential growth and available stock options. Others believe that it is more important to find a company that offers long term security without that much advancement. And some want to go to work for a company with a social conscience or a company that is known for its environmental efforts. And by the way, a successful socially responsible company is not an oxymoron.

Regardless of your other priorities, corporate culture should be a key factor in your search. Despite how good a particular job offer might sound, you aren't going to last long in a company if you can't assimilate easily and comfortably into their corporate culture.  Some of you might want to work for a company that is a market leader in an emerging technology field. There are others who are set on working at a company that ranks in the "Top 10 best companies to work for" category.

According to a recent survey of 100,000 people in 34 countries by global workforce solutions leader, Kelly Services, about 90% of the survey respondents were more likely to work for an organization that was considered ethically and socially responsible.  Of that group, Baby Boomers were more discerning than their Gen Y or Gen X counterparts, but not by that much. Almost 80% of those surveyed were more likely to work for a company that was considered environmentally responsible. And about 46% of those surveyed were willing to forego pay or promotion to work for a company with a good reputation.

Employees appear to be more fulfilled when working for organizations that focus not only on the bottom line, but also on community involvement and service. During my own career,I have met and worked with a lot of people who place a higher priority on their compensation and benefits, than on their organization's philanthropy and social consciousness.  That said, I do believe American worker's views are changing. At least, I hope they are.

Just keep in mind, that high pay and great benefits won't satisfy most people's need for fulfillment if the company that employs them is not ethical, responsible or doesn't act in their community's best interests. And as I like to say, "Karma will ultimately find you...and paybacks are hell". There are thousands of reputable, socially and environmentally responsible companies in America. A good many of the companies in emerging or leading edge technology fields are progressive enough to understand the value of social and environmental responsibility.  Remember Google's mantra, "Do no harm". Yes, I am sure that some of you who might argue that they are not fulfilling their promise now they are a multi billion dollar company.

So what is your take on this topic? In your job search, do you search for companies first and jobs second? Are factors such as compensation and benefits your first priority or do you place more emphasis on the company's reputation, social conscience or growth potential?

If you are a Baby Boomer and haven't joined our community, www.boomeropinion.com, please consider it. It is free and only takes a couple of minutes to sign up. You can share your viewpoint and voice your opinion on the critical issues facing America. And if we recruit enough of you, we can positively impact business and political policies around the country.

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