EDITORIALS

For those of you who remember the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, there was a memorable scene where Butch and Sundance were cornered on the edge of a cliff and the only way out was to jump into a river and float away. As you may recall, Sundance was reluctant to jump, and only wi...

Many years ago I had to buy my son a car to get to school. So, we went down to the local used car lot and I spotted a Ford Escort. It was kind of cute. If memory serves, it was black and it was a stick shift.Having grown up poor, I wasn’t new to buying a used car. I opened up the hood and ...

In the accounting mindset, there is only one answer. The books either balance or they don’t balance. I guess this is what I have always found so satisfying about our craft. Ah, the symmetry of it all!Artists as well as other creative types on the other hand seem to have a problem with this...

It can be very frustrating to be told that you were number two. It gives you the feeling that if you had only done something different, presented something in a different way, (worn matching socks) the job might have been yours. If it happens to you more than once, it kind of makes you fee...

I have observed over my life that most of the people identified as experts are wrong a very high percentage of the time. In much the same way that a clock that has stopped is right twice a day, some acknowledged experts are identified by the media as geniuses only because they inadvertentl...

Sad to say, a lie is a lie is a lie. Some would also argue that the withholding of important information is also a lie. I believe this to be the truth, and you probably do too.One would have to wonder then why those of us of the accounting profession who pride ourselves on “no surprises” a...

I’m sure some of you have been seriously considered for jobs that paid less than you were previously earning. As an experienced sailor would tell you, any port in a storm.Unfortunately, there is always a bit of disbelief coming from across the table that ANYONE would work for less than the...

When they stopped paying me, that was bad enough. But, when they had the security guard escort me from the building and dump my few personal belongings on the sidewalk, I decided enough was enough. I just wasn’t going back to work at THAT place anymore.If you have a sense of humor and thin...

I just don’t think that I will ever see in my lifetime a job specification that calls for a minimum of 30 years of work experience. If you ever see one, I do hope you will send it my way so I can frame it.For those of us who are “well experienced,” it can be a difficult decision applying f...

As the length of time grows since your last “assignment,” the battle cry that is heard more frequently is the need to reinvent yourself.I’m not exactly sure how one can REALLY do that. As my grandmother used to say: “I am who I am.” The question I would pose to you is, are you sure you hav...

While many things in this electronic world we live in are a lot easier, keeping your job search a secret isn’t one of them.My wife reminded me recently of the hours I used to spend at my typewriter during the 1980’s responding to job ads. Yes, there was a time after candles were replaced w...

You have to kind of feel sorry for folks who have never been unemployed.I know it may sound strange to say this, but if you have never been knocked down, you may not know that not only will you get up again, but that you may be a better person in many ways when you do. I hope that members ...

Since about 90% of our membership is male, I hope no one will be offended if I let you all in on a little secret – most men don’t have a lot of friends. I am not altogether certain why that is, but it really doesn’t matter because making new friends is actually a lot easier than most peopl...

I have often said that a member’s visualization of his new job is his last job on his last day. In a sense, how could it be any different?As accountants, we value our history more than anything else. This “rear view mirror” approach to life is one of the many things that can cause us to li...

I am fast coming to the conclusion that most people don’t understand the purpose of a cover letter. Either that or I am greatly confused.My little window on the world is The FECG, the consulting practice that I share with Bruce Lynn. With any luck, a few times a month, alumni members of Th...

For those of you not familiar with the story of stone soup, I would encourage you to go to: http://www.extremelinux.info/stonesoup/stonesoup.html (Is the Internet great, or what?)It’s not a long story, but it explains in easy-to-understand terms how you can turn nothing into something, and...

In today’s job market, everyone is trying to create a little edge for themselves so they can beat the competition. I know that none of you are actually the source of these ideas. However, there are a lot of “so called” career counselors out there who try to create perceived value by introd...

We are probably all aware and have been known to ponder the enigma of: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”As good accountants, we have also probably pondered whether the glass was half full or half empty. If only “they” had a good accounting procedure, I am sure we would know. We w...

I often refer to The FENG as a circle of friends. In a very real sense, the power of The FENG is our interconnectedness, and if that isn’t friendship, I don’t know what is. Were it not a true fact that we have reduced 6 degrees of separation down to less than 3, networking within our littl...

Between reviewing new member applications and going over candidates for assignments for my consulting practice, The FECG (www.TheFECG.com), I spend a lot of time reviewing resumes.What continues to amaze and astound me is how difficult most folks make determining the key elements of their ...

As everyone I hope knows, a white elephant is something that appears to be useful, but actually has no real value. It takes up a lot of space and basically eats you out of house and home.Anyone with a garage or attic knows the kinds of things folks tend to hang onto, because all human bein...