SIMPLICITY

We’re Not Dumb, Just Overwhelmed

Do you look at your cell phone, MP3 player, software for your PC or the remote control for your new HDTV and wonder “where do I start?” With every new device, more features are added, the manual becomes a little bit thicker and the learning curve seems to get steep again. And just when you thought you had everything under control!

The economics of business is straightforward: either charge high prices for your product or find more customers. In consumerism, many of the things we buy go down in price over time unless more features are added. Companies can’t always charge more so they try to appeal to customers with a litany of options. Hence, more buttons, more menu options and an increased likelihood that we’ll never use all the options.

To be honest, we have to feel fortunate that until the mid-1980’s, there was only one communication company (AT&T) and basically, one computer company (IBM). By having a monopoly, AT&T set the standards for all phone calls. Regardless if you were calling across the street or across the world, the communication standard was set and quickly understood. Think about it: with one finger, you could instantly make a phone call from anywhere in the world even if you had no idea how to understand the native language. The numbers, the circular wheel to dial the numbers and the receiver were all standard. Making a call was simple; expensive but simple.

We are fortunate that there was only one standard for telephones. If it was hard to complete calls in the early 1900’s, people were too busy working to bother learning seemingly useless devices. In early 20^th century America, everyone you wanted to talk to was either with you or down the street! A complex telephone would have disappeared and radically changed the next 100 years.

The easy-to-use telephone and its singular standard allowed the adoption of the device to proliferate. There was no battle of VHS versus Betamax, HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray or Apple versus PC. The telephone was simple and quickly learned even by 3 year olds. When AT&T was dismembered into the “baby bells”, the standards didn’t change. As a result, consumers didn’t need to re-learn how to use the phone. But they did benefit from more competition and lower prices.

Recently I purchased a new portable phone for my kitchen. The manual was less than 4 pages and what I needed to do first was obvious. After charging the battery, I connected one wire, placed the phone on the wall mount and stated making phone calls. A very simple process taking only minutes of my time to complete.

Compare that scenario with our household buddy, the PC. Most PC experts warn that if I wanted to upgrade my current operating system to Windows Vista, I should expect that it will take 6 to 8 hours. I can also anticipate that it may not load properly or that older programs or devices may no longer be compatible. Yikes; no wonder there’s a Geek Squad!

Do I really have time for this? The wiring in my home is at least 15 years old and the copper wiring that connects my house to the rest of the world could be even older. Yet my “fresh out of the box” phone worked immediately after the battery was charged. Simple and I didn’t feel stupid.

The point is that we are not dumb but victims of unnecessary complexities. Do we really need a cell phone that comes with a 100-page user manual? The personal PC has been around for over 25 years. By now it should be simple enough for anyone at any age (at least over age 3) to use it for email.

But let’s not pick on PC’s as the cause of our newfound dumbness. Niche marketing and products have made everyday shopping a time-consuming challenge. Have you shopped for toaster or a pair of pants recently? There are lots of choices and in most cases too much information to make a quick decision. Even my simple phone purchase was part of the 800 or so available online.

How much research do we need to do everyday to make our choices? Can’t you picture someone sitting in their car trying to filter all this information and feeling paralyzed? Do you feel like you are running out of time?

I am not advocating monopolies or living a deprived life. But the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, start your recovery by limiting your time and effort regarding your choices. The difference in quality or features doesn’t justify your anxieties of feeling dumb!

Health Tip

Sleep is important. Lack of sleep is linked to mental illness, heart disease and accidents. People fail to get enough sleep any given night because of many reasons (see story above as an example).

For people who live in cold climates, one significant reason for having a hard time falling asleep is because of cold feet (no, not personal commitments but the actual parts of you body). When the body is attempting to “wind down”, it attempts to evenly distribute heat to keep you warm while sleeping. If your feet are cold, the body reacts as though it is launching into survival mode hence keeping you awake.

You need to keep your feet warm prior to bedtime. You can double up on socks, wear insulated slippers, keep a blanket over your feet or keep them near a hearting source. A very relaxing technique is a warm foot soak, maybe in one of those small, portable whirlpool devices. Whatever you choose, get those feet warm!

Next, make sure you don’t lose body warmth. Use a blanket warmer (not an electric blanket that can overheat you) on your bed to gently warm the sheets (flannel sheets are an excellent choice in cold weather). Make sure it has an automatic timer so it shuts down during the night. You don’t want to overheat your body. Many blanket warmers come with a 10-hour timer so you can start it several hours before bed and will continue several hours after you have fallen asleep.

If the blood circulation to your feet isn’t as good as it once was you may need to wear wool-blend socks to bed. Again depending how well you retain body warmth, flannel pajamas may also be necessary.

Ironically, while your bed needs to be warm, keep your bedroom cool. This contrast in temperature helps with breathing and your body’s ability to control its temperature. If your room is too warm, you will wake up in a cold sweat and may not get back to sleep very easily.

Finally, your bed is your friend. Don’t use it to toss and turn, run the day’s activities through your mind or formulate a to-do list for tomorrow. See it as one of the best moments of the day as you crawl into the gentle warmth of your cocoon.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

ANOTHER POLITICAL MYTH

Science Degrees on the Rise

Since 2001 and the beginning of the No Child Left Behind legislation, political leaders have insisted that more needs to be done to attract students into science and mathematics. Politicians contend that America is falling behind other world powers because too few students are graduating with science degrees. It appears that data from the National Science Foundation may take exception to this notion of a science brain drain.
According to the NSF, the number of doctorate degrees awarded in science and engineering has hit an all-time high. In 1996, there were 27,240 doctorate degrees awarded; by 2005, the number rose to 27,974, nearly a 3 percent increase. Plus, during that 10-year span, the number of doctorate degrees awarded was over 270,000. The data seems to indicate that there are plenty of science and engineering graduates.
In fact, it would be counter-productive to “flood the market” with science and engineering graduates. This curriculum is the most demanding and the most expensive in higher education. Graduates typically have debt in the hundreds of thousands of dollars after devoting as much as 7 years to earn their doctorate degree. These students need high paying jobs in order to dent that kind of debt. Flooding the market would only drive wages lower and make it less attractive for students to enter the field. Of course, political people who back big business’ profits want to flood the market in order to drive down wages. Switching gears --
Until there is a “true labor shortage” it would seem advisable to scale back the number of all college degrees. For example in K-12 teaching, there are more graduates than jobs every year. Plenty of qualified and enthusiastic K-12 graduates are denied any teaching opportunities and instead take service industry jobs so they can begin paying back their college loans.
In a recent year (2005) in Pennsylvania, over 13,000 students graduated with teaching degrees yet less than half were offered jobs. Despite that, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell established a “blue ribbon committee” to study how to get more middle school students interested in the teaching profession. From a government standpoint, with more teachers available in the pool, a school district can drive down wages and benefits, making teaching a less attractive profession from a wage standpoint.
Because of the low pay of these service industry jobs, students are forced to move back in with their parents in order to pay bills. The community/neighborhood sees that these bright and intelligent students who have devoted 4 to 5 years at college are now doing jobs designed for high school graduates. How do you motivate the next generation of high school graduates to apply themselves and get ready for higher education when they see the outcomes? Too many graduates are counter-productive to student motivation.
So as this school year begins to wind down for the next set of high school graduates, communities should ask if a goal of 60 to 70 percent going on to college is really a worthy objective. Why not take the bulk of this number of students and invest in vocational training? At least these kids will have a trade to earn some money while they figure out if college is the right move for them.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

SETTING STANDARDS

Was There Any Doubt?

Students from ages 9 to 15 who watch TV during the school week perform worse in school than students who only watch on the weekend and not during the week. There is also data in this study suggesting that video games and R-rated movies also degrade school performance. The recommendation from the researchers is all entertainment activities need to be monitored and restricted to less than 1 hour per day during school weeks. Eliminating TV from weekday distractions created excellent work at school in over 50 percent of students in the study (study reported in the medical journal Pediatrics).

What seems to be lost on many parents is that young people under the age of 21 are not ready to decide what is best for them. Neuroscience has documented that the parts of the brain that creates balanced thinking (the balance between recklessness versus productive behaviors) is under-developed prior to age 21. For example, young people exhibit fearless behaviors such as skateboarding down steps or racing cars through city streets, behaviors not likely past 21. Yet productive behaviors such as reading or doing homework are seen as “punishment” or in the way of doing something fun.

This is where adults exhibiting mature behaviors and thinking become a valuable resource for young people. While many of kid’s actions are self-centered and hedonistic, they still desire adult respect, especially from parents. If adults set “gold” standards for their children, the results can be significant. However, if parents believe that their children will “magically” make the right choices, they will be disappointed.

Finally, don’t assume that children under 16 are ready for R-rated movies, video games or that they can handle the new genre of gore horror movies. Visuals are a powerful medium and may create long-lasting mental imprints that are hard to suppress. Take the advice of researchers and monitor children’s entertainment activities.

Small Business Resources

Here is a short list of online resources for those of you planning (or already into) owning a small business:

Federal Trade Commission (if you are thinking of buying a franchise): www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/buyfran.htm

Small Business Administration: www.sba.gov

Service Corps of Retired Executives: www.score.org

National Association for the Self-Employed: www.nase.org

INC magazine: www.inc.com

Entrepreneur magazine: www.entrepreneur.com

Finally, here is one of the most popular publications offered by the US government titled, The Consumer Action Handbook: http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_orderhandbook.shtml . Order 1 to 10 books online; it is a free publication.

Homework Debate

The debate over homework – is it necessary, is there too much or too little and so on – continues with the two sides seemingly unwilling to agree. There’s one group that says homework is just too much busy work with no apparent relevance to school activities. There’s the other group that suggests that homework is meaningful and complements daily activities.

The real focus on this debate should be about creating learning discipline. Financial success in life is the ability to set aside social activities and other distractions for those activities that build self-discipline. It’s not about reading chapters in a book but making time to reading chapters in a book. Success is about time management, goal-setting and the ability to stay focused while challenged by countless other options. Learning is a lifetime commitment.

These choice driven self-discipline activities set the stage for future growth and success. Once students get to college, the temptations of college life are too much for most kids to handle leading to failure. Instead of reading (not just chapters but complete books) students head off to a sporting event or the local pub. Too many students never understand that fun is the reward of applying discipline to create success. Instead, applying a good work ethic comes second or third.

Homework should not only reflect building on classroom activities but should also represent a commitment of time necessary to create some expertise in the subject. It is almost impossible in today’s classroom to fully explore a topic within the time frame of the class period. Homework fills this gap.

Today, too many students fill their lives with entertainment, including TV, Internet and text messaging. Those activities will not create success in the workplace or build a résumé that lands a high paying job. In fact, economic studies have shown a direct inverse relationship with TV viewing habits. The more hours of TV viewing, the less the annual wage; less TV, more money. In the near future, other entertainment activities will be studied and the guess here is that the inverse relationship will remain.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

A SHORT COLLECTION

For Your Information

~~ The median salary in 1967 was $5974 (men) and $2295 (women). Median refers to the point where there would be as many people above the number as below. In 2005, median salaries were $34,926 (men) and $23,546 (women).
The median cost of a new home in 1967 was $22,300 and in 2005, $240,300. This kind of inflation has helped older people in retirement as homes purchased in the 1960’s (most likely paid off) with a sale in today’s market yields a nice financial windfall.
It is amazing that women still lag behind men in today’s wages, especially considering college graduate data that shows more women than men graduating. For those who may believe that women in CEO positions will change the discrepancy, think again. Men and women CEOs are under the same pressure to build corporate profit. If they can hire a person at $11-12 thousand per year less, they will. Those savings add up when you consider thousands of employees.
Another reason is women are still seen as second incomes for families and hence, lower wages. According to the US Census, over 60 percent of women (all races) with children work outside of the home. Compare this to before 1980 when less than 20 percent of women with children worked. When you have children and may be paying a monthly mortgage for a home costing over $240,000, you tend to take jobs that offer lower salaries and hope it will be enough.
~~ How is your identity stolen by criminals? Well, it seems that identity theft is still done the old-fashioned way by stealing personal info from lost or stolen wallets/purses, checkbooks and credit cards. A second prominent source is family, friends or acquaintances and sales clerks (including telephone sales) who keep credit card carbons for nefarious reasons. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, the aforementioned reasons account for over 70 percent of identity theft.
Despite the fears surrounding credit card theft off the Internet and “phishing schemes,” only 8 percent of yearly identity theft occurs in the virtual world. And as people and protection software get “smarter” it may be even harder to steal identities over the Internet.
People are encouraged to exercise caution and never give out any financial information to people who contact you. As grandma would say, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
As for your information being stolen from a face-to-face transaction, the best you can do is to keep a careful eye on your monthly statements and report any unusual purchases as soon as possible. And don’t forget about your cell phone: keep personal information stored on the phone limited as loss of a phone can be an identity disaster for you.
~~ Employees want to make a difference in their companies. A survey of over 1000 adults revealed that the majority of respondents want their companies to use their talents to make a difference. Other options such as “creating solutions to existing problems” only had a 9 percent response rate. Companies take note: your employees don’t see themselves as problem-solvers but opportunity seekers.
While this is a small sample of people, it is amazing to see the loyalty people have to their employers. This would seem opposite to the notion that people are “just putting in time.”
People want to make a difference and contribute. Most likely the issue is managers too afraid to listen to a person with an idea because it may not work.
The biggest problem in the workplace is not failure but status quo. Remember the adage that if you stand too long in one spot you’ll probably get run over!

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC

JANUARY KNOWLEDGE CLEARANCE

January Potpourri

If you read the last column, the answer is D. It is amazing that for a country that embraces peace and the love of Christianity that we fight so many wars. There’s an excellent DVD documentary available titled Why We Fight, a film that won the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It features John McCain, Gore Vidal and others to explore over 50 years of US foreign policy. The film raises an alarming thought that the US is moving from its founding principles to a more imperial and uncertain future.
To win the struggle against US oil addiction, the answer is to conserve by driving fuel-efficient vehicles. Currently, the US imports nearly 400 million barrels of oil per month, over 3 times the amount used in 1985. At $55 per barrel, the monthly bill is $22,000,000,000 and the yearly costs exceed $264 billion! If a national goal would be to have at least 90 percent of all vehicles using 4-cylinder engines (or hybrids), it would be easy to meet the goal of cutting consumption by 20 percent. That would save Americans over $50 billion per year and maybe prevent any more US military causalities. At the very least it takes some money out of the hands of potential terrorists.
According to a 2006 report from the College Board, college pricing (tuition, room and board, fees and books) for a 4-year public college will cost over $60,000 (actually represents 5-year costs, typical in today’s higher ed environment). Five years at a private college will run over $150,000. Ten years ago, costs were lower, about $37,000 for public and $95,000 for private colleges (adjusted for 2006 dollars and for 4 years, typical in 1996). This rise in college costs will likely mean that more students will choose public schools and have much higher debt at graduation than any other previous generation.
From USA Today, Asian-Americans have the highest percentage (46%) of people in professional and managerial jobs among all ethnic groups; have the highest percentage (49%) of bachelor’s degrees of all ethnic groups; and have a median household income of $50,000 (2004), the highest level among all ethnic groups. Where do these kids get their education? Why, public schools of course; the difference is cultural attitudes toward work and education and family involvement.
From the US Department of Education (2006), the percent of high school sophomores who expect to earn a bachelor’s degree or higher was over 79 percent in 2002. That was double the percentage from 1980 and up from 60 percent in 1990. Since the real outcome of graduation with a bachelor’s degree is less than 48 percent, students are either (or all) poorly prepared, given misleading expectations or are just too immature to attend college from the ages 18 to 22. The rise in college bound students also reflects the loss of manufacturing jobs that, in 1980, would have been an appealing and financially secure alternative.
Did you know that today it costs $4600 to buy what $2500 bought in 1986? For those people who want to retire in 20 years, just how far do you think your savings will take you? By then, it will take at least $6700 to buy what $4600 buys today. Plus since you will live at least another 20 years in retirement, you’ll need at least $8800 to make those $4600 purchases. Communal living will be the norm for the next generation of grandparents and less disposable income than the current generation.
Here’s a teaching idea from Patti Ball, a member of the USA Today’s 2006 All-USA Teaching Team (a recognition program for outstanding K-12 teachers): At the beginning of 3rd grade, each student is given a recipe box and a stack of index cards to help keep track of key concepts they will learn over the next 3 years. Ball calls it the Knowledge Box. “You don’t just do what the teacher tells you. You’re in charge of your education. I’m here to help.” Ball tells students.
The most common job interview mistakes noticed by employers include: (source: USA Today 10/17/2006)
1. Little or no knowledge of the company (47%)
2. Unprepared to discuss skills and expertise (17%)
3. Unprepared to discuss career plans and goals (9%)
4. Limited enthusiasm (9%)
5. Lack of eye contact (3%)
Given that list, job interviews don’t appear to be as complicated as brain surgery. Do some research, practice your presentation skills and go in ready to express how you will be valuable to the organization over the next 5-10-15-20 years. Remember to present a firm handshake and keep good eye contact throughout the interview.
Obese people use more gasoline according to a researcher from the University of Illinois. An obese person driving 12,000 miles per year would save 18 gallons per year by losing 100 pounds. At $2.20 per gallon, obese people use $2.2 billion more in gas than if they were lighter. Let’s be honest, using more gasoline is the least of an obese person’s problems. Given the shorter life span due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, it is unlikely that over the long term obese people will have any significant impact on excessive gasoline consumption or conservation efforts.
Finally, in 2008, 79 million baby boomers will start to retire and people over the age of 65 will make up 12 percent of the population. That number will rise to 19 percent by 2030. For those of you still alive by 2030, it will seem like the US will be one large retirement community! Who will be left to work and pay for Social Security and Medicare entitlements?

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC