Jim Meadows' Ramblings

Let’s Be Clear about Surcharging (The 3% Conversation)

What Every Front Desk Professional Should Know about Credit Card Surcharging

If you manage the front desk of a chiropractic practice, you have probably heard the concern before — maybe you have even voiced it yourself. The moment a patient sees a surcharge line on their receipt, they are going to push back. They are going to be annoyed. They might not come back. (Although this article is written especially for chiropractors, the core information about surcharging applies to ANY business that takes credit cards.)

That concern is understandable. It comes from a genuine place of caring about the patient relationship and protecting the practice you have worked hard to build. But it may be based on assumptions about consumer behavior that no longer reflect the reality of today’s marketplace — and a few important facts about where that 3% actually goes and why it exists in the first place.

This article is written specifically for the experienced, relationship-minded, patient-first office managers and front desk professionals who are skeptical about surcharging and deserve a clear, complete explanation rather than a corporate talking point. Let’s walk through it together.

First, Let’s Talk about What that Fee Actually Is

Every time a patient hands you a credit card, something happens behind the scenes that most patients — and clearly, many practice staff — do not fully realize. The credit card company charges the practice a fee for processing that transaction. That fee is called an interchange fee, and it typically ranges from 1.5% to 3% or more of the transaction amount, depending on the type of card the patient is using and exactly how that card data is entered into the system (chip reader, swipe, manual).

Here is the part that changes the conversation: that fee has always existed. Your practice has always been paying it. The question has never been whether someone pays it — it is a matter of who pays it.

Under the traditional model, the practice absorbs the entire cost silently. It comes out of the practice’s margin on every single visit, from every single patient, regardless of whether that patient paid with a basic debit card (which costs very little to process) or a premium rewards credit card (which can cost the practice considerably more). The patient who pays cash subsidizes the patient who pays with a high-end travel rewards card. Nobody mentions it. Nobody chooses differently. The cost just quietly erodes the practice’s revenue.

A surcharge program does something fundamentally different: it makes the cost visible and assigns it to the person who created it. The patient who chooses to use a credit card — and chooses to earn their airline miles or cash back on that transaction — pays the processing fee associated with that choice. Patients who pay with a debit card, a check, or cash pay nothing extra. That is not a penalty. That is accountability and transparency.

The Market Has Already Made this Decision

One of the most common reasons experienced office managers resist surcharging is the belief that their practice would be the odd one out — that patients would feel singled out or treated unfairly compared to other businesses they patronize. The data tells a very different story.

According to a 2024 survey by J.D. Power among 3,841 small businesses across the United States, 34% of small businesses now add a surcharge when a customer pays with a credit card.¹ That number was somewhere between 1% and 5% just five years ago.¹ The practice has not crept quietly into the marketplace — it has accelerated dramatically, and patients are encountering it routinely at coffee shops, restaurants, service businesses, and healthcare providers alike. Virtually all chiropractors are now demanding a surcharging program from their payment processors.

Credit card surcharging is now legal in 47 of 50 states, with only Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut maintaining restrictions.² Your patients have almost certainly paid a surcharge somewhere in the past month without ending a relationship over it. They are more familiar with this practice than the office manager who has been shielding them from it may realize.

In the healthcare setting specifically, the Medical Group Management Association — the professional organization for medical practice administrators — has addressed credit card surcharging directly, noting that the practice is legally permissible in most states and providing guidance for implementation in medical practices.³ The American Association of Professional Coders has similarly documented the practice as an established option for healthcare providers.⁴ This is not fringe territory. It is mainstream healthcare business practice.

What Patients Actually Think — The Nuanced Truth

Let’s be straightforward with the data here rather than only citing figures that support one side. Some surveys do show that consumers express initial frustration with surcharges. A CardRatings survey found that about 31.6% of consumers said they avoid using credit cards when merchants add a surcharge.⁵ A separate survey cited by J.D. Power found that consumer satisfaction scores were modestly lower at businesses that surcharge.¹

Those numbers deserve to be taken seriously — and they also deserve context. Here is what the same data reveals on closer examination.

First, expressed frustration in a survey is not the same as ending a relationship with a provider. Patients choose their chiropractor based on clinical outcomes, trust, location, and relationship — not processing fees. A patient who has been seeing the chiropractor for two years and trusts his care is not going to find a new chiropractor over a 3% fee on a $60 visit. That is $1.80. The decision calculus is entirely different for a commodity transaction at an anonymous coffee shop than it is for an ongoing healthcare relationship.

Second, the same research shows that the way surcharging is communicated makes an enormous difference in how patients receive it. Practices that implement surcharging with advance notice, clear signage, transparent explanations, and a choice to pay differently have meaningfully better patient responses than those that introduce it without preparation. The friction comes from surprise — not from the fee itself.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, consumers are increasingly doing the math on credit card rewards in the context of surcharges. As one industry analysis observed, when a cardholder gets 3% cash back on purchases but pays a 3% surcharge, the rewards program largely cancels itself out.¹ Patients who understand this often choose to pay differently — which is exactly the point. They are making an informed choice rather than an uninformed choice.

What a 3% Surcharge Actually Does to the Practice’s Economics

To understand why a well-run chiropractic practice would implement a surcharge program, it helps to understand what credit card processing costs look like from the inside. This is the side many patients never see or comprehend.

Consider a practice processing $40,000 in monthly credit card volume — a figure that is not unusual for a multi-practitioner chiropractic clinic. At a blended effective processing rate of 2.5% (which is conservative — many practices pay more), that practice is paying $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year, simply to accept credit cards. That is money that could fund staff salaries, equipment, continuing education, or patient amenities. It goes instead to the issuing bank and card networks, largely to fund the rewards programs that benefit higher-income cardholders disproportionately.

Under a properly implemented 3% surcharge program, the cardholder who chooses to use a credit card covers that cost directly. The practice’s net effective processing cost on credit card transactions drops to near zero. Over the course of a year, that is $12,000 or more returning to the practice rather than flowing out to financial institutions.

One important nuance that should always be communicated clearly: debit cards are not subject to surcharging under federal Durbin Amendment rules and most state laws.⁶ Patients who pay with debit cards pay no surcharge. This is an important distinction because it means patients always have a straightforward zero-surcharge option available to them, and that option should be actively communicated.

How to Talk to Patients about It — The Communication Is Everything

The research is clear on one point that should give every skeptical office manager confidence: the quality of the transition communication is the single largest variable in how patients respond. Practices that handle the introduction thoughtfully report minimal pushback. Those that introduce it without preparation report friction.

Here are the communication principles that work:

Advance notice: Inform patients before they encounter the surcharge at the payment terminal. A brief letter, email, or in-office announcement a few weeks ahead of implementation sets expectations rather than creating surprises.

Clear signage: Regulatory-approved patient-facing signage at the front desk and payment terminal is both legally required and practically effective (the author provides this to all his surcharging clients). Patients who see the information before they reach for their wallet have already processed it emotionally.

A simple, accurate explanation: Something along these lines works well — “We have added a small credit card processing fee to help us keep our service costs stable for all our patients. Patients paying by debit card, check, or cash are not charged this fee.” That is accurate, straightforward, and patient-centered.

Emphasize the choice: Every patient has the option to avoid the surcharge entirely by paying with a debit card, check, or cash. That choice should be offered genuinely and warmly, not grudgingly.

Frame it in the context of the practice’s health: Patients who have a genuine relationship with their chiropractor understand that the practice’s sustainability serves their own healthcare continuity. A brief, authentic note about why the practice is making this change — “to continue providing the same level of care without raising our service fees across the board” — resonates with patients who care about the practice.

The AAPC, in its guidance to medical practices, specifically recommends sending patients an informational communication explaining why the practice is considering surcharges before implementation — giving patients a chance to understand the reasoning and adjust their payment habits accordingly.⁴ This proactive approach consistently produces better outcomes than reactive explanation after the fact.

The Ethical Argument — Why Surcharging Is Actually the Fairer Approach

Here is the reframe that often shifts the perspective of office managers who have long believed surcharging is unfair to patients: the current system — where every patient subsidizes the rewards programs of premium cardholders — is arguably the less ethical arrangement.

When a practice absorbs all credit card processing costs silently, two things happen. First, the practice either raises its service prices for everyone to cover those costs, or it accepts a reduced margin that ultimately limits what the practice can invest in staff, equipment, and patient care. Second, every patient — including those who pay by debit card, check, or cash — effectively subsidizes the interchange costs generated by patients who carry premium rewards cards.

Research has documented that credit card rewards programs disproportionately benefit higher-income consumers, while the interchange fees that fund those programs are effectively distributed across all consumers regardless of income level.⁷ A chiropractic practice that absorbs interchange costs silently is, in a very real sense, participating in that wealth transfer — taking from the broad patient base to subsidize the rewards programs of its more affluent cardholders.

A surcharge program reverses that dynamic. The patient who chooses to earn airline miles on a chiropractic visit pays for the cost of that choice. The patient who pays by debit card, check, or cash pays nothing extra. That is not a burden on patients — it is a more transparent and equitable allocation of a cost that has always existed.

People will forgive a practice for adjusting how it handles processing costs — because that is a business reality. What patients find harder to forgive is feeling deceived, or learning that costs were quietly hidden in inflated prices all along. Clarity, is not simply better ethics; it is better business.

A Final Word for the Skeptic

Given your professional role, you likely have spent years building patient relationships and fiercely protecting the culture of a chiropractic practice — your instinct to question anything that could disrupt that culture deserves respect, not dismissal.

The concern about patient pushback is real. Some patients will express frustration. A small number may pay differently going forward. That is all true. But the question worth sitting with is this: in a marketplace where one-third or more of small businesses already surcharge, where patients are encountering these fees routinely across dozens of businesses they patronize, and where a properly communicated transition program gives every patient a clear choice and a clear reason — is the risk of implementing this program actually greater than the financial and operational cost of not implementing it?

The practices that have made this transition thoughtfully — with advance communication, clear signage, a genuine choice offered to patients, and an authentic explanation of why — have largely found that their patient relationships survived intact and their practice finances improved meaningfully.

That is the outcome every good office manager is working toward. Surcharging, done right, is not a threat to the patient relationship. It is a tool for protecting the practice that makes the patient relationship possible.

Sources and References

1 J.D. Power Small Business Payments Study, 2024. Results reported in: Marek, L. (February 3, 2025). “Third of U.S. small businesses add credit card surcharges.” Payments Dive. https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/third-of-us-small-businesses-add-credit-card-surcharges/739018/

2 TRC Insights. (January 6, 2026). “That New and Annoying 3% Credit Card Surcharge: Finding Answers with Pricing Research.” https://trcmarketresearch.com/blog/that-new-and-annoying-3-credit-card-surcharge-finding-answers-with-pricing-research/

3 Medical Group Management Association. (2024). “Ask MGMA: Credit Card Surcharges for Medical Practice Payments.” https://www.mgma.com/podcasts/ask-mgma-credit-card-surcharges-for-medical-practice-payments

4 Dick, M. A. (August 1, 2024). “Don’t Let Credit Card Fees Devour Your Medical Practice’s Profits.” American Association of Professional Coders. https://www.aapc.com/blog/91034-dont-let-credit-card-fees-devour-your-medical-practices-profits/

5 CardRatings Research. (2025). “How Credit Card Surcharges Are Changing Consumer Behavior.” https://www.cardratings.com/research/how-credit-card-surcharges-are-changing-consumer-behavior.html

6 ChiroFutures Malpractice Program. (January 19, 2024). “Risk Management Minute — Navigating Credit Card Processing Fees in Chiropractic Care.” https://chirofutures.org/2024/01/19/risk-management-minute-navigating-credit-card-processing-fees-in-chiropractic-care-a-risk-management-perspective/

DEGREE OR NONDEGREE, THAT IS THE QUESTION

In spite of some of the challenges facing higher education today, a positive hopeful mindset remains among many people. Prospective, current, and former college students affirm higher education’s value for their futures. Frequently, it comes down to which particular higher education path or nondegree option would be best. People simply need guidance and clarity as eCampus News explains:

“Many students are open to returning to college or pursuing new credentials, but don’t fully understand their options. There is a significant opportunity to support re-entry and lifelong learning by clarifying pathways and elevating non-degree options.”

Nondegree options include certifications, apprenticeships, specialized training programs, and on-the-job training. They certainly can be very smart opportunities provided the student has exercised due diligence before making that significant commitment. Equally important to that student’s success is the solid commitment and execution follow-through in that nondegree program. Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce strongly affirms the nondegree option:

“a bachelor’s degree should not be—and is not—the only path to an attractive career. Business leaders have an important role to play in this respect, to both ensure we are not inflating job requirements to include degrees or credentials when they are unnecessary, as well as to engage with educators and community partners on the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are critical to worker success.” (The Future of Good Jobs: Projections through 2031, p. 4.)

Nevertheless, that same report affirms that the higher education path is often more favorable:

“[we project] that 79 percent of jobs on the bachelor’s degree pathway will be good jobs, far and away the highest good-jobs rate among [alternate] pathways.”

Although a nondegree career path certainly will lead many people to very successful outcomes, in the big picture purely based on the numbers, the degree path does have somewhat of the edge. Hiring managers, HR departments, and society at large tend to attach significance to an academic credential. The degree is often a key indicator of commitment, professionalism, knowledge, and competence.

Not surprisingly, people’s probability of being gainfully employed is significantly affected by their academic credentials. The unemployment figures consistently demonstrate the enduring value of higher education. The seasonally adjusted August 2025 unemployment rate for persons not having a high school diploma is 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Having a high school diploma drops that rate to 4.3% and some college or a two-year degree drops it significantly further to 3.2%. Finally, if we look at people having a four-year degree, a graduate degree, or a doctoral degree, the unemployment rate is a low 2.7%.

Higher education’s edge is especially clear when you consider the significant range of these percentages over the education levels. Look at the two ends of the spectrum: less-than-high school (6.7%) versus a four-year degree or higher (2.7%). Consistently, regardless of the sampling period, the unemployment rate clearly demonstrates these statistical correlations. This is why, when people seek my counsel about career planning, higher education remains one of my significant emphases. Formal education pays. Degrees still rock.

Regardless of how good or bad the economy is, regardless of how many individual academic and career disasters can be cited, and regardless of how loud higher education critics might shout, when it comes to having a job versus not having a job, you are better off having a degree than not having a degree.

Artificial Intelligence—Taming The Tiger  AI is here to stay.  I don’t think anyone would argue that point.  The advent of AI and all its future derivatives are inextricably enmeshed into our thinking and our technologies.  Different people and different organizations use AI differently.  Nevertheless, we each have an ethical and moral obligation to assess exactly what we believe about AI and how it should be used or not used.  Pondering these convictions today can make the difference between using or misusing AI tomorrow.  Having given this topic some deep reflection, I have arrived at three AI principles, three AI cautions, and one AI conclusion. Principles— Artificial intelligence is an oxymoron.  If something is artificial, then it can’t be intelligent; if something is intelligent, then it can’t be artificial. AI systems and devices create an intelligence illusion purely based on their technical complexity and speed.  Rather than succumbing to the intelligence illusion, we must call it exactly what it is, a system output. A system output must be rigorously evaluated to determine its genuine value, and only then will we understand what to do with that system output. Cautions— Humanity must never serve AI; AI must serve humanity. AI must never be blindly followed; humanity must always be the final conductor of the AI orchestra. Input to AI directly and indirectly controls AI output.  Humanity must hold itself accountable through multiple checks and balances to combat its predisposition to corruption.  We do not need to search history far or wide to identify countless examples of humanity using technology to commit crimes against humanity, big corporations cloaking their nefarious agendas in deceptive marketing campaigns, and governments driving all kinds of horrific coverups. Conclusion—

How I Embraced a 2020 Layoff to Capture a New Life Season

Introduction

Everyone’s story is unique, as is mine.  As I chronicle it, my story seemed to organize itself naturally into four three-week blocks.  Instead of imposing my so-called editorial skills to the story, I will tell the story the way it arrived—by the timeframes.

My first three weeks

There was no shock.  I knew that this was coming.  COVID-19 was affecting everyone in one way or another.  I could read the handwriting on the wall.

Coincidentally, I had two weeks of vacation scheduled beginning just two days after my boss announced the RIF in process to our team.  Therefore, when I checked in on my company email on the first day of my vacation, I found a meeting request with my boss for the Wednesday after my vacation time.  No subject was included.  In my mind, I instantly put two and two together and essentially concluded that I had been identified as one of those among thousands whose position was being eliminated.  On the bright side, this gave me a two-week head start on preparing myself for a career transition.

Although I was disappointed that I had not survived the RIF, I was simultaneously glad and excited for the new opportunity this development represented.  My faith told me when God closes one door, he is opening a new door.  I simply have to find it.

I had been fortunate throughout my life to never have faced this situation.  Now, at age 64, it was a completely new journey for me.  Nevertheless, my insatiably curious intellect, heart, and spirit, always deeply committed to personal, professional, and spiritual growth, were passionately looking forward to all I would learn by navigating this major albeit unexpected life transition.  Having observed many other people face layoffs and seeing the wide variety of responses and outcomes, I was excited by the challenge.  How would I now do?  Would I capitalize on this event as a stimulating, marvelous, new open door to a new career?  Would I successfully leverage my personal and professional assets into an exciting career promotion?  Would I crash and burn?

Additionally, I had always been the person that constantly mentored others about remaining agile and optimistic regardless of what the seas of change might bring.  This was my chance to demonstrate that I genuinely practice what I preach.

In terms of how I was treated by my company, I felt extremely blessed.  Quite simply, the company “did the right thing.”  My 15-plus years of professional service were ethically, respectfully, and carefully considered.  I was extremely impressed with all aspects of how the company set me up with professional and financial career-transition benefits.

One of the professional benefits was a membership with LHH, a global leader in providing professional career-transition services.  This was a tremendous resource.  Although I was strongly self-educated on career transitions, I dearly appreciated the opportunity to have such a high-powered, proven organization by my side.  I anticipated they would be a fantastic sounding board, a rich wisdom resource, a training extravaganza, and a welcome mitigator to my blind spots.

Being unemployed is a fulltime job and then some—assuming you are doing it right.  Having never been in this situation, the reality set in that this was a completely new universe to me.  Its gravity sobered me, and equally important, excited me.  I entered into a period of very deep reflection about my career redirection.  I knew that this situation was a golden opportunity for me.

Given those uniquely defining launchpad preconditions, I passionately committed myself to two fundamental imperatives for this transition:

I will remain deeply introspective about all aspects of my personal, professional, and spiritual navigation throughout this period so that I will extract every gram of knowledge and wisdom from this experience.

I will impose no limitations on what my future direction should be, but rather will remain 100% open to any and all paths because I do not want my assumptions or prejudices to be a limitation on all I can become as a person and a professional.

These two imperatives were powerful and genuine.  As one flawed human being among billions, I clearly knew how easily I can make mistakes.  A marvelously fascinating fruitful path might await me, but I knew that my imperfections could easily blind me to that path.  I definitely did not want that to happen.  Therefore, I regularly, randomly, passionately repeated these two imperatives to myself, and I shared them with my wife Kathy and those closest to me.

My second three weeks

My second three weeks began with a couple profitable LHH meetings.  I had the chance to work on revising my resume with a branding specialist.  This was extremely valuable because it provided many fresh insights.  For example, I could exercise flexibility by creating two or three resumes targeting different career paths.  This strategy would diversify “hooks in the water” increasing the probability of a catch.

The second meeting was with my assigned coach.  Now that I had been so fully engaged as the “unemployed guy” for the past three weeks, I had many ideas, questions, and discussion points for which I dearly needed a sounding board.  My coach was that person.

The combined wisdom of these two people helped me to regroup forces and achieve a measure of redirection into my future.  Some key takeaways:

Because my qualifications, experience, and interests pointed to two separate viable career paths, simultaneously pursuing them was reassuring and exciting.

Obviously, this strategy required carefully designing two resumes, two marketing plans, and two target positions.  Yes, it was a juggling act, yet one with which I was very comfortable.

My third three weeks

My third three weeks continued a whirlwind of extremely careful, intense, intelligent (I thought!), job prospecting.  I had a particular job for which I had already endured multiple panel interviews.  After a finalist round, a day later I was informed that the company chose a different finalist.  On the surface, this was extremely disappointing.  Nevertheless, on a much deeper level within my soul, I knew God had something better ordained for me.  I simply didn’t know what it was right now.  But that’s okay because that is the way God works.

My fourth three weeks

In my fourth three-week period, significant, clear direction arrived in three ways.  First, I made some key connections in fintech (financial technology).  Fintech was a sector I had always tracked yet never had the opportunity to deep dive.  And more strategically, my connections led me to the credit card payment processing industry.  Second, I learned that credit card payment processing gave me the perfect opportunity to tailor the major elements of this new season in my life in a manner I had always wanted to achieve—I would be 100% self-employed, I would work out of my home, and I would be providing a vital service to businesses throughout the USA.  Third, everything about this three-week period completely infused my entire being with the deep awareness that I was passionately and productively refocusing my multidecade career of accomplishment and experience into this new season in my life.  To summarize, this fourth three-week period massively inspired my excitement and confidence that my future was very bright.

My new season in life

At the time of this writing, I am now five years out from my layoff.  Many powerful realities stand out to me as I reflect on where I was at in 2020 and where I am at in 2025.  I want to address only what I perceive to be the most profound ones, not only because they were my experience, but more importantly because they have the highest probability of genuinely helping the reader.

As much as I cherished every ounce of opportunity that corporate America gave to me, that of course does not equate to zero stress.  About four weeks out from the layoff, it suddenly dawned on me that an entire level of what I will call “background stress” had completely evaporated from my mind, body, and spirit.  I felt like a brand new person with fresh energy!  This experience was extremely refreshing and empowering.

Certainly my new season in life provided its own stresses and challenges.  Nevertheless, given the context, I was massively more in control of my time, my plans, my environment, and my destiny.  Therefore, the new stresses and challenges have become inspiring and invigorating in a deeper way compared to my prior professional roles.

Human nature being what it is, we tend to marginalize our own accomplishments and experience.  Throughout this new season in my life, I have frequently found that it is other people that toot my horn for me.  Nevertheless, standing confidently (not arrogantly) in a proven track record is not dishonorable.  When relevant, sharing key elements of my background with certain persons and groups has been a catalyst for connection, collaboration, and cohesion.

Business networking became infinitely more important.  Because adding value has been my lifelong passion, I joined several additional networking groups, chambers, private clubs, service organizations, and nonprofits to contribute as much time and talent as possible.  Many of them asked me to serve in various leadership capacities, and I was delighted to step into some of those roles.  They expanded my visibility in various communities and granted me larger platforms of influence.  Being able to continue learning from others while also mentoring others has been extremely fulfilling.  Although I have always cultivated a quality relationship network, my relationship network today is larger and stronger than ever.

Without in any way throwing stones at my time in corporate America, I want to make a legitimate observation:  Had I never left corporate America in 2020, I never would have obtained the countless opportunities, experiences, relationships, achievements, and collaborations for which I am so tremendously grateful today.  In God’s grand plan for my life, leaving corporate America when I did was essential to my future success, and I continue to see that with each passing day.

Additionally, here is the natural human reason that is true—I had to encounter a brand new season in my life in order to apprehend all these vanguard opportunities.  I had to step out of my old context and into a completely new context.  In doing so, my mind, heart, soul, and spirit became open to a new universe, and I am indescribably grateful that I did step into that new universe.

I have always been the kind of person that is passionate, enthusiastic, and excited to get up each day and do all the terrific things I am privileged to do.  Nevertheless, at this new season in my life, I am even more passionate, more enthusiastic, and more excited to get up each day and do all the terrific things I am privileged to do!

Conclusion

I hope that my story helpfully illustrates a successful navigation of what can often be an extremely painful and disruptive career transition.  Furthermore, I hope it inspires you to rethink how these kinds of situations genuinely are opportunities in disguise (even though some of them are awfully well disguised!).  Hence, as I reflect on all my experience, especially over the past five years, I leave you with my personal, professional summary of these universal career-transition lessons.  I posit that you will maximize your career success if you can implement these key lessons in your own career transitions.

Maintain a positive attitude, even in the toughest circumstances.  Instead of focusing on all the negatives of your situation, force yourself to explore what the positives are.

Reach out to your closest confidantes, friends, and loved ones to gain any perspectives you could be missing.  Those special inner-circle people are there for a reason.  Listen to them, yet exercise discernment.

Take wise advantage of every possible resource available to you from every possible place.  So many helpful powerful tools and resources are available, but they have zero value unless you choose to tap them.

Declare to yourself that nothing is off the table.  Many a person has regretted navigating through a career transition with a narrow mind, thereby sabotaging what should have been a marvelous new career journey.

Never discount how your prior experience and credentials might give you key leverage for your future.  God uses all your past to prepare you for today; He is using today to prepare you for tomorrow.

Think deeply about your unique personality, skillsets, and preferences—they will provide crucial insights into what opportunities you should explore, and which ones you should bypass.

Move quickly, but not too quickly.  You need to be a person of action so as not to become lackadaisical, yet not so energetic that you are making uninformed decisions.

The earliest seasons of Game of Thrones gave us some timeless leadership lessons. Being a fan of GOT plus always loving great leadership lessons, that was the perfect combination for me.

FIDELITY TO SCIENCE

My life has always been rather eclectic. One special area was my first major career in research and development with Eastman Kodak Company. I was originally educated and trained as a scientist, and I have always deeply appreciated all that science brings to the table. It affects so many aspects of how we approach life and business.

At the heart of scientific advancement is empiricism. The scientific method is used to establish correct and repeatable results. Peer review within the science community validates the methodologies and the reported results.

This process is of course dependent on the integrity and professionalism of every participant. On rare occasions, we have discovered scientists who chose to falsify their experimental data in the interest of some nefarious personal gain. The good news is that those instances have been relatively rare and typically quickly exposed.

As reliable as the scientific process is, in sometimes the very nature of science complexity predisposes some observers to a measure of skepticism. When other scientists find that they cannot reproduce published experimental results, the integrity of the original researcher is called into question. However, that skepticism may be misplaced when we simply understand how complex science is becoming. As the devil is in the details, biology might be one branch of science especially prone to complexity challenges.

It seems to me the answer is to keep moving forward in all our scientific research to see where it takes us. Let us be certain that every participant is manifesting the highest level of professionalism, integrity, and technical skill. Finally, let us understand the growing science reservoir enough that we do not jump to conclusions about the science or the researcher that may not otherwise be warranted. I like the way that Veronique Kiermer explains the situation in the context of biology (“Forum: Eureka Once, Eureka Twice” Scientific American, May 2014, p. 13):

“Laboratory biologists deal with complexity on a daily basis. Mice bred with identical DNA behave differently. Two cells growing side by side in a petri dish cannot be considered identical. In the variable environment of the cell, it is difficult to distinguish a change that is meaningful to a process from one that is unrelated. Working in a modern lab also entails using sensitive apparatuses, rare technical skills and biological reagents . . . which are themselves variable. . . . The need for replicating results is as important as ever. But it is inevitable that results obtained in one cell line might not exactly match those in another. They in turn might not be completely predictive of the observations in animal models, let alone human beings. The literature of published results is still strong. To keep it that way, the scientific community cannot afford to be complacent. It must pay attention to the professionalism of researchers and take into account the complexity of biology.”

A BETTER WORD THAN HONESTY

Whether in our personal lives or our professional lives, our communication is the lifeblood of our relationships, and our relationships are the foundation of our leadership, and our leadership is the core of our ultimate success. Please note however, it all starts with our communication. That is precisely why giving diligent attention to all elements of our communication is in everyone’s best interests.

Do we genuinely want to be honest?

We’ve all been there either as the perpetrator or the recipient or both. Someone wants to garner attraction, be persuasive, drive home a point, close a sale, and then it happens. The conversation is prefaced with some version of these frequently used phrases: “To be honest with you, . . .” or “In all honesty, . . . ” or “Honestly, . . .” or “If I’m really being honest with you, . . .”

I call these various phrases “honesty validators.” Somehow we believe by incorporating “honest” or “honesty” or “honestly” into our conversation, we thereby validate the truth of our words. After all, we referenced the fundamental virtue of honesty and therefore it must be more convincing. This approach suggests the transmission of insider information to which other parties do not have access; a very special favor is involved. Because a very special favor is being done, we infer it must be based on honesty, truth, and integrity. At least those are the implications that usually run through people’s minds. Unfortunately, all the above belies the presence of honesty, truth, and integrity.

Do we want to send an unintended message?

When we use honesty validators, an unintended, tragic, potent message is sent. By virtue of drawing special attention to the honesty of this communication, it implicitly sends the message that “yes, I’m being honest with you at this moment, but all my other past and future statements to you might be dishonest. So can you ever really trust me?” Perhaps that is why a very wise man once said let your yes be yes and your no be no. Adding certain qualifiers often undermines the integrity of the statement. Naturally, most people hear this and immediately declare, “No, I am being honest all the time!” Unfortunately, the unintended message contradicts that declaration, and it is the unintended message that has consequences with which we might not be happy.

If we are serious about the highest quality communication in our highest quality relationships driving our highest quality leadership, then let’s cease using these honesty validators. They merely communicate everything you actually do not want to communicate in your highest quality communication in your highest quality relationships driving your highest quality leadership.

Do we have a better word than honesty?

From repetition, habit, or example, we have all fallen prey to these honesty validators. If we genuinely want to refine our communication, then we must give deep attention to the words we use because like it or not, words have meaning, and that includes the meaning we intend to convey and the meaning the recipient interprets (which may or may not be the same). Therefore, we must ask ourselves, do we have a better word than honesty that would convey the actual meaning we want to convey? What is a word that faithfully conveys the noble nature of our communication? What is a word that does not intrinsically taint the veracity of our tongue the moment we utter it?

As a lifelong communicator and writer, I have not been immune to this problem. Indeed, I have often been one of its many victims much to my frustration at the damages it causes when I succumb. Nevertheless, having given considerable thought to this perplexing challenge, I have arrived at a solution that works very well for me. Perhaps it will for you too.

Don’t be honest—be clear.

In these communication contexts, I believe the infinitely superior simple solution is to replace honesty validators with what I call “clarity validators.” Ultimately, honesty validators while thought to be indicators of truth, are actually indicators of falsehood. Clarity validators are indicators of truth. Ponder whether you are more comfortable with these clarity validators that were formerly written as honesty validators.

• To be clear with you, . . . . • In all clarity, . . . . • Clearly, . . . . • If I’m really being clear with you, . . . .

Clarity validators do not destroy the core of your soul and virtue. If anything, they elicit respect, comfort, and confidence because the recipient realizes you are trying to add accuracy and precision to your communication. On the other hand, honesty validators fundamentally destroy the core of your soul and virtue.

People will typically forgive you for fumbling clarity because anyone can make a mistake. People have a much harder time forgiving you for fumbling honesty because honesty is a choice. Therefore, unless you actually want to reveal that your words cannot be trusted, then let’s eliminate honesty validators from our conversation and instead employ clarity validators.

Prepare for your mind’s battle.

If you embrace this clarity validator logic and determine to replace all your honesty validators with clarity validators, then prepare for battle! It took me a very long time to reprogram and reinforce all my autopilot statements in my cerebral language library. At times it was very frustrating because I often caught myself the moment after my honesty validators rolled off the tip of my tongue. Nevertheless, if you genuinely embrace the clarity validator logic, then you owe it to yourself and your audience to master this linguistic method. Eventually, you will succeed in replacing your mental library of honesty validators with clarity validators, and everyone will be better for it.

Clearly, if I can do it, you can too.

WHEN THE ORIGINAL IS NOT THE BEST

In 1886 John Pemberton created the original Coca-Cola. It was advertised as a brain tonic particularly due to its two key ingredients—cocaine and caffeine. Well, I am glad we got the coke out of the Coke. However, it was a good move to keep the caffeine. Most people appreciate that.

This is definitely a case in which the original was not the best. Companies sometimes create an original product and then fall so in love with it that they believe it can never be improved. Sometimes people become so immersed in the current culture that they can never see beyond it. For example, most of the cars some of us loved, adored, and drove in the 1960s and 1970s we call death traps today.

Perspectives and cultures change. Knowledge enlarges. When that happens new possibilities arise. New visions appear. What is ultimately important is that we continually embrace the possibilities of the future by being willing to discard elements of the past. We have to be willing to dump the coke but keep the caffeine.

MY 30-YEAR PC SAGA 

It’s official. I have been a PC owner for 30 years. I purchased my very first PC in May 1993. That first PC purchase marked the beginning of an amazing new technological era in my life, both personally and professionally. I sensed my life would never be the same again, and I was right!

Living through my 30-year PC era has definitely had its highlights and its lowlights. As with most of us, I witnessed and experienced some astonishing technology transitions, some very pleasurable and some very painful.

My first PC was a Compaq. It came with a whopping four megabytes of RAM (yes, megabytes, not gigabytes). You can imagine my sense of accomplishment when a year later I installed four additional megabytes of RAM for a grand total of eight megabytes! My PC suddenly was a lean, mean, screaming machine! My hard drive was 120 megabytes. I thought I was the Storage King when I later installed a second 250-Mb hard drive. 

Upon learning all my PC’s capabilities and software, I immediately began applying my exciting newfound technology to all aspects of my life, both personal and professional. I saw applications everywhere. I remember sitting in a church board meeting declaring, “This has revolutionized the way we can do ministry.” I received several blank looks. One of the older board members disinterestedly mumbled, “My son has one of those.” I quickly learned some people got it and some people did not—and that is still true today. 

Speaking of excitement, welcome to the nefarious world of computer viruses and malware! I remember one day suddenly noticing that every single title underneath my desktop icons right before my eyes was changing into a one or a zero. Obviously, I had an unwelcome stowaway onboard. Fortunately, in that case, a simple reboot eliminated the problem and its source. 

Rebooting, I learned, was (and still is) often the panacea for all sorts of PC problems. I remember hearing a radio talk show host emphatically declare, “No matter what problems your PC is giving you, rebooting fixes them all.” Funny, it seemed to work back in those days. Many things were simpler then, such as working in DOS or manually editing your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. However, simple did not stay simple forever. 

This annoying matter of “software conflicts” and “OS glitches” often arose. Technical support phone calls at all hours of the day or night became a common experience. I remember one software conflict that quickly degenerated so badly, I was up until sunrise reinstalling Windows. I did not get much done that day. 

Once I gave into the temptation to play an online game. After typing in a code to indicate I was turning my character right instead of left in the warrior’s labyrinth, the game responded, “You are looking at a wall. What do you want to do now?” I did not have much patience for online gaming back then. 

It has been an astonishing 30-year technological ride filled with great victories and horrific failures. Nonetheless, I am so glad that I have stayed on the ride. Did I really have any choice?—did any of us really have any choice? Look at where we are at today! 

What I encounter today in PC technology is quantum leaps beyond where it started. My PC life still has its problems, but the good news is we just seem to know so much more today about how it all fits together. Overall, problems seem to get resolved faster and easier, and there seem to be fewer of them. I like where we are going. And in spite of what all the critics say—thank God for Windows 11! 

NINE GOLD NUGGETS FOR YOUR SUCCESS IN 2021

The brand-new year of 2021 is upon us.  How successful you or I will be in it is largely up to us.  Much of that is further determined by how open we are to moving in new directions.  Moving in new directions could mean a lot of different things depending on life circumstances.

With that in mind, here are nine gold nuggets for your success in 2021:

1—Be Positive Regardless Of Your Problems.  Yes, I realize you do not have to look far to find difficulties, roadblocks, and bad news.  And, sadly, no situation is ever so bad that it can’t get worse!  Nevertheless, carrying a negative attitude into those challenges never did any good, did it?  By attacking every challenge with a positive attitude, you consciously and subconsciously unleash more resources.  Those additional resources often make a distinct difference in the outcome.

2—Face Your Failures.  Sometimes it is easier to hide from your failures.  Nevertheless, denial does not mean deletion.  Worse yet, denial does you a disservice.  Only by fully facing the things you messed up can you learn from them.  You should be smarter entering 2021 than you were entering 2020.

3—If You Are A Business Owner.  You might come to realize 2021 demands some new strategies and policies.  Will you implement them, and if so, how will you implement them?  Thinking those steps through ahead of time can make all the difference in the world.  Change is not always easy, but by planning for it and embracing it with a positive attitude you can make it more enjoyable and exciting.

4—If You Are An Employee.  Think about how you can add more value to your organization.  Might you have some new approaches that will benefit your colleagues and customers?  Do you have ideas or insights whose time has come?  Look for new or unique ways to enhance collaboration and success for your team.

5—If You Are Unemployed.  How might this be an opportunity to reinvent you?  Could this be the time you search in some totally different directions for that dream job?  Although searching for a new job is a fulltime job, remember to give yourself some downtime.  Perhaps now is the perfect time to dive into some of those special pie-in-the-sky projects.  How might you reorganize your life for better balance going forward?

6—Never Discount Your Experience.  You are usually your worst critic.  Take a fresh look at your experience–all of it–with an eye to capitalizing upon the hidden gold.  Surely there are some lessons you have learned from which you can benefit.  By analyzing those lessons now, you can build toward more solid successes in 2021.  You can bring a vibrant freshness to your future.  Pay attention to what Mel Robbins affirms (The 5 Second Rule.  United States: Savio Republic, 2017):

“There will always be someone who can’t see your worth.  Don’t let it be you.”  (p. 193)

7—Appreciate The Beauty Within Each Day.  Sure, life is tough.  But it’s a whole lot more than that.  Life is an absolutely amazing gift!  In spite of all the difficulties, your successful navigation day by day and moment by moment happens when you paradoxically see the intrinsic beauty that is transcendently present.  L. R. Knost captures the sentiment well:

“Life is amazing.  And then it’s awful.  And then it’s amazing again.  And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.  Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.  That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.  And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.”

I learned a very long time ago that one of the best blessings I bring to myself and those around me is to capture the beauty in each day.

8—Be Humble.  I never met a person who thought he or she knew it all that learned something new.  I enjoy learning new things . . . every single day.  However, I will never learn something new if I already know it all.

9—Remember Your Remarkable Resources.  You have friends, mentors, colleagues, and loved ones who genuinely care about you.  You have a philosophy of life, and religious or spiritual convictions that guide and sustain you.  You have time-tested strengths and abilities.  You have hidden opportunities just waiting to be discovered.  Summon all those terrific resources because they exist to serve you.  They exist to set you up for success.

FOUR QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF ABOUT 2020

Very soon, 2020 will be history.  Now is a good time to assess how you did.  If we never pause to assess our performance, we might forfeit valuable lessons.  With that in mind, here are four questions I challenge you—as I challenge myself—to ask concerning 2020:

How did you do in your business performance?  Reflecting upon all the professional roles you have held, how did you perform?  Did you do your job with energy, accuracy, enthusiasm, and insight?  By reflecting upon your business performance, you can bask in some well-deserved affirmation of the highlights.  You can also reengineer your business approach where some fine tuning might be needed.

How did you do in your ethics performance?  Did you stand tall and true to your ethics regardless of the cost?  By reflecting upon those times when your ethical commitment was put to the test and it stood strong, you can rejoice in your victories.  If you found yourself coming up short of the goal in any way with your ethics, then you can genuinely recommit yourself to your ethical code.

How did you do in your leadership performance?  Did you exercise strategic and sound leadership in every situation that demanded it?  By reflecting upon your various leadership situations, you can affirm your leadership where it was tested and found to be solid.  You can also identify those situations that revealed some leadership deficits and begin seeking ways to improve and refine.

How did you do in your personal performance?  Did you exhibit maturity, passion, strength, and wisdom as you managed your attitude, money, opportunities, relationships, loved ones, spiritual or religious convictions, physical fitness, emotional and mental fitness, and overall wellness?  By reflecting upon your personal performance in these areas, you can take comfort and joy where you know you brought your best self to the table.  You can also take a fresh look at any of those areas in which you know deep in your heart that improvement is needed.

These four questions are revealing.  If you enjoy your answers, I am happy for you!  On the other hand, if you are unhappy with the answers to any of these questions, then some thoughtful, soul-searching realignment is needed.

GRAVELY EXPENSIVE YET UNDENIABLY VALUABLE TRAINING LESSONS

It’s All in Your Approach

How your company approaches training communicates worlds about its corporate culture.  You usually see one of three scenarios.

Some companies don’t worry about training—they just worry.

Some companies take training seriously, but not seriously enough—they mainly aim to check the “right” checkboxes as quickly as possible.

Some companies make training a nonnegotiable absolute requirement—they become the standard bearers and the purveyors of best practices.

Which of these three approaches your company adopts will determine your company’s success or failure.  Success has its own special ramifications on every level of the organization, and so too does failure.  This is why it is critical to adopt the right approach.

A Chicken-Or-Egg Question Answered

Does training determine the corporate culture or does the corporate culture determine training?  I posit that because corporate culture exists first, therefore it determines the training.  The moment a company is formed, even in its earliest stages, the corporate culture by fiat already exists.  The company’s founders create the corporate culture intentionally or by default.  It will of course continue to evolve and change.  Then later, as just one of many functions emanating from that corporate culture, the training arrives.

As a healthy organization evolves, a symbiotic relationship between training and the corporate culture should arise.  The corporate culture and the training will continuously feed each other.  Training will inform and reinforce the corporate culture and the corporate culture will inform and reinforce training.

For this reason, leaders must give constant attention to the quality of the training and the quality of the corporate culture.  Successes in training will enhance the corporate culture and successes in the corporate culture will enhance the training.  Breakdowns in training will harm the corporate culture and breakdowns in the corporate culture will harm the training.  They both rise or fall in unison.  They ride the same curve for good or for bad.

The Momentous Nature of Best Practices

Best practices in training along with best practices in all the other company departments contribute to your company’s daily success.  Failure to embrace best practices will eventually lead to routine failures throughout the company.  Many of those failures will be minor but some will be major.

Major, as in the case of Lion Air Flight 610 (a Boeing 737 Max) that departed from Jakarta on October 29, 2018.  Thirteen minutes after takeoff, it crashed into the Java Sea.  All 189 passengers and crew died.

The main factor in the accident seemed to be the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), a recently installed software system that supposedly would interrupt any tendency by the aircraft to raise its nose too high under certain conditions thereby risking a stall.  The software would responsively make the real-time adjustments to drive the nose angle down sufficiently to avoid that stall risk.  In the case of Lion Air Flight 610, the MCAS seems to have overcorrected.

Less than six months later on March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (another Boeing 737 Max) departed from Addis Ababa.  Tragically, six minutes after takeoff it crashed near the town of Bishoftu, killing all 157 passengers and crew.  Again, the key factor was the MCAS apparently overcorrecting.

What Goes Wrong

Boeing is just one example of some very large failures that were driven by deficiencies in training and in the corporate culture.  Previously followed best practices were compromised.  The priority for thorough training on the MCAS was undermined.  Key personnel in key departments and groups did not thoroughly communicate serious concerns.  It appears Boeing’s normally healthy corporate culture was disrupted.  This disruption interfered with best practices.

With respect to training and the corporate culture, certain dysfunctions can develop.  Communication breakdowns can occur.  Has the corporate culture changed?  Do people still feel free to speak up about problems?  Have leaders been less receptive when subordinates push back?  These conditions will generate a disconnect between training and the corporate culture, and that ultimately leads to company failures.

These failures do not happen in a vacuum.  In the case of the Boeing disasters, Dan Catchpole emphasized the corporate culture connection:

“Scrutiny from journalists, crash investigators, regulators, Congress, and the Department of Justice has exposed profound flaws in Boeing’s corporate culture—shaking its workforce, forcing supplier layoffs, and shattering fliers’ trust.” (“Boeing’s Long Descent” Fortune. February 2020, p. 56).

Communication is the lifeblood of any relationship.  When communication’s door is slammed shut, destruction’s door opens wide.  In the years leading up to the two crashes, several significant factors were directly and indirectly impairing the formal and informal communications network among key groups such as pilots, training staff, and design engineers.  Certain union disputes and company profitability concerns exacerbated matters.  The web of factors was far too complex to unpack in detail here.  However, the bottom line was communications that had traditionally kept training in sync with key stakeholders was seriously eroding.  The results of that erosion caught Boeing by horrible, tragic surprise.  Pete Robison and Julie Johnsson highlight some of these crucial oversights:

“Company reassignments placed thousands of miles between designers honing flight-deck concepts in Seattle, trainers working with airline pilots in Miami, and a team in California that provides day-to-day support of airplanes in the field.  . . . Three former senior Boeing executives, [privately say] they regret the profit-driven imperatives imposed on the training process and see it as critical to understanding how a company renowned for meticulous engineering missed the mark so badly with the Max.” (James E. Ellis, Ed. “Where the 737 Max Went Off Course” Bloomberg Businessweek.  December 23, 2019. p. 15).

What We Learn

While not in any way diminishing the enormous devastation of the two jet crashes and the 346 lives lost, I contend that every day in the workplace at large we have similar “jet crashes” with hundreds of “lives lost.”  We lose customers, we lose employee engagement, we lose ethical parity, we lose team cohesiveness, we lose health, we lose growth opportunities, we lose reputation, we lose leadership development, we lose long-term profitability, we lose families, we lose market share, we lose social justice, we lose effectiveness, we lose core values, and the list goes on endlessly.  In response, we ought to make certain promises concerning how we approach training.  Those promises will have their genesis within these three fundamental concepts and their ensuing questions:

A healthy positive corporate culture is the precursor to all personal, professional, and organizational success.  What are you doing to build or improve your corporate culture?  If not now, then when?

Communication is the lifeblood for all personal, professional, and organizational success.  What are you doing to build or improve your communication?  If not now, then when?

Training is absolutely vital to all personal, professional, and organizational success.  What are you doing to build or improve your training?  If not now, then when?

NINE NUGGETS FOR SUCCESS IN 2020

The brand-new year of 2020 is upon us.  How successful you or I will be in it is largely up to us.  Much of that is further determined by how open we are to moving in new directions.  Moving in new directions could mean a lot of different things depending on life circumstances.

Here are nine nuggets to build your success in 2020:

1—Be Positive Regardless Of Your Problems.  Yes, I realize you do not have to look far to find difficulties, roadblocks, and bad news.  Nevertheless, carrying a negative attitude into those challenges never did any good, did it?  By attacking every challenge with a positive attitude, you consciously and subconsciously unleash more resources.  Those additional resources often make a significant difference in the outcome.

2—Face Your Failures.  Sometimes it is easier to hide from your failures.  Nevertheless, denial does not mean deletion.  Worse yet, denial does you a disservice.  Only by fully facing the things you messed up can you learn from them.  You should be smarter entering 2020 than you were entering 2019.

3—If You Are A Business Owner.  You might come to realize 2020 demands some new strategies and policies.  Will you implement them, and if so, how will you implement them?  Thinking those steps through ahead of time can make all the difference in the world.  Change is not always easy, but by planning for it and embracing it with a positive attitude you can make it more enjoyable and exciting.

4—If You Are An Employee.  Think about how you can add more value to your organization.  Might you have some new approaches that will benefit your colleagues and customers?  Do you have ideas or insights whose time has come?  Look for new or unique ways to enhance collaboration and success for your team.

5—If You Are Unemployed.  How might this be an opportunity to reinvent you?  Could this be the time you search in some totally different directions for that dream job?  Although searching for a new job is a fulltime job, remember to give yourself some downtime.  Perhaps now is the perfect time to dive into some of those pie-in-the-sky projects you just never had time for in the past.  How might you reorganize your life for better balance going forward?

6—Never Discount Your Experience.  You are usually your worst critic.  Take a fresh look at your experience–all of it–with an eye to capitalizing upon the hidden gold.  Surely there are some lessons you have learned from which you can benefit.  By analyzing those lessons now, you can build toward more solid successes in 2020.  You can bring a vibrant freshness to your future.  Pay attention to what Mel Robbins affirms (The 5 Second Rule.  United States: Savio Republic, 2017):

“There will always be someone who can’t see your worth.  Don’t let it be you.”  (p. 193)

7—Appreciate The Beauty Within Each Day.  Sure, life is tough.  But it’s a whole lot more than that.  Life is an absolutely amazing gift!  In spite of all the difficulties, your successful navigation day by day and moment by moment happens when you paradoxically see the intrinsic beauty that is transcendently present.  L. R. Knost captures the sentiment well:

“Life is amazing.  And then it’s awful.  And then it’s amazing again.  And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.  Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.  That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.  And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.”

I learned a very long time ago that one of the best blessings I bring to myself and those around me is to capture the beauty in each day.

8—Be Humble.  I never met a person who thought he or she knew it all that learned something new.  I enjoy learning new things . . . every single day.  However, I will never learn something new if I already know it all.

9—Remember Your Resources.  You have friends, mentors, and loved ones around you who genuinely care about you.  You have a philosophy of life, and religious and spiritual convictions that sustain you.  You have hidden opportunities just waiting to be discovered.  You have time-tested strengths and abilities.  Summon all those terrific resources because they are there to serve you.

FOUR QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF ABOUT 2019

Very soon, 2019 will be history.  Now is a good time to assess how you did.  If we never pause to assess our performance, we might forfeit valuable lessons.  With that in mind, here are four questions I challenge you—as I challenge myself—to ask concerning 2019:

How did you do in your business performance?  Reflecting upon all the professional roles you have held, how did you perform?  Did you do your job with energy, accuracy, enthusiasm, and insight?  By reflecting upon your business performance, you can bask in some well-deserved affirmation of the highlights.  You can also reengineer your business approach where some fine tuning might be needed.

How did you do in your ethics performance?  Did you stand tall and true to your ethics regardless of the cost?  By reflecting upon those times when your ethical commitment was put to the test and it stood strong, you can rejoice in your victories.  If you found yourself coming up short of the goal in any way with your ethics, then you can genuinely recommit yourself to your ethical code.

How did you do in your leadership performance?  Did you exercise strategic and sound leadership in every situation that demanded it?  By reflecting upon your various leadership situations, you can affirm your leadership where it was tested and found to be solid.  You can also identify those situations that revealed some leadership deficits and begin seeking ways to improve and refine.

How did you do in your personal performance?  Did you exhibit maturity, passion, strength, and wisdom as you managed your attitude, money, opportunities, relationships, loved ones, spiritual or religious convictions, physical fitness, emotional and mental fitness, and overall wellness?  By reflecting upon your personal performance in these areas, you can take comfort and joy where you know you brought your best self to the table.  You can also take a fresh look at any of those areas in which you know deep in your heart that improvement is needed.

These four questions are revealing.  If you enjoy your answers, I am happy for you!  On the other hand, if you are unhappy with the answers to any of these questions, then some thoughtful, soul-searching realignment is needed.

MILLENNIALS AND GENERATION Z FAVOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Although anyone can and will criticize higher education, millennials are evidently smart enough to know its value.  In spite of the horror stories about student loan debt, academic disasters, and wrong career turns, millennials have boasted one of the highest graduation rates of any generation to date.  Generation Z may soon surpass them too as Laura A. Scione, managing editor of eCampus News reports:

“Despite growing questions around the value of college and return on investment in tuition, just 25 percent of Generation Z students say they believe they can have a rewarding career without going to college, compared to 40 percent of millennials.

Eighty percent of Generation Z respondents and 74 percent of millennials agree that college either has a fair amount of value, is a good value, or is an excellent value. Only 20 percent of Generation Z students and 26 percent of millennials said college has ‘little value’ or ‘no value at all.’”

Good for them!  The statistics remain on their side—and the side of anyone who pursues higher education.  Anthony P. Carnevale is the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.  Based on his research, that trend will only continue (Gillian B. White “Those Savvy Millennials” The Atlantic, May 2015, p. 38):

“In 1973, 32% of jobs did not even require a high school diploma, 9% required a bachelor’s degree, and 7% required a master’s degree or higher.

It is projected that by 2020, 12% of jobs will not require a high school diploma, 24% will require a bachelor’s degree, and 11% will require a master’s degree or higher.”

Derek Newton wrote an article entitled “Please Stop Asking Whether College Is Worth It” in which his opening declaration gets right to the point:

“Colleges and universities are still the best, most direct path to a good career that pays well.”

In addition to those insights, the unemployment figures consistently reveal the enduring value of higher education.  The seasonally adjusted July 2019 unemployment rate for persons not having a high school diploma is 5.1% (Bureau of Labor Statistics).  Having a high school diploma drops that rate to 3.6% and some college or a two-year degree drops it further to 3.2%.  Pretty good trending, would you agree?  Finally, if we look at people having a four-year degree, a graduate degree, or a doctoral degree, the unemployment rate is a low 2.2%.

Higher education’s edge is especially clear when you consider the range of these numbers over the education level.  Look at the two ends of the spectrum: less-than-high school (5.1%) versus a four-year degree or higher (2.2%).  Consistently, regardless of the measured time, the unemployment rate for a less-than-high-school-educated worker is two to four times larger than for the college-degreed worker.  This is why, when people seek my counsel about career planning, higher education remains one of my most significant emphases.  Education pays.  Degrees still rock.

OPERATION VARSITY BLUES ETHICAL OPPORTUNITIES

A few months ago, US News reported on the academic admissions scandal, Operation Varsity Blues:

“The case—the largest college admission scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice—exposes a long-running racketeering scheme dating back to 2011, in which parents paid an admissions consultant a combined $25 million to help students cheat on college entrance exams and to get them into elite colleges and universities as recruited athletes when in reality they were not athletes.”

This was a profoundly disappointing situation that displays the worst of our human failure on many levels.  In addition to its magnitude, this particular scam especially grabbed my attention due to its higher-education context.  It occurs within the confluence of many deeply significant factors:

Mentoring developing young adults.

Student life transitions including high school to college, and college to the professional world.

Parental ethics and leadership.

Student accountability and fairness.

Respect for the processes and institutions of higher education.

The responsibilities that are intrinsic to power and privilege.

Personal character and integrity.

Student character and integrity.

Parental character and integrity.

Professional character and integrity.

Societal and academic implications.

These are weighty matters that should give us all cause for concern.  Specifically, they should remind us of six essential ethical realities:

1—Power and privilege do not equal immunity.

Whether in the Spider-Man world (“with great power comes great responsibility”) or in sacred writings (“to whom much is given, much is required”), we understand that large influence travels with commensurate accountability.  Just because a parent might hold a position of influence, have a prominent name, or possess significant fiscal assets does not mean the law of the land and academic admissions policies do not apply.  Many benefits come with position, name, and assets—immunity from the law and organizational policies should not be among them.

2—Bad outcomes can manifest from an apparent good heart.

A pure heart never guarantees a noble outcome.  That is because all of us are subject to change and sometimes that change equals corruption.  A parent of a one-month-old child might begin with a pure heart that leads to noble outcomes.  However, fast forward that same parent 17 years and now vicariously experiencing that child’s college admissions stress.  Do we have an outcome guarantee?  Of course, it depends on the parent.  Many noble outcomes ensue, but many does not equal all.  Some parents in their quest to provide the best for their child will succumb to the temptation to step outside proper boundaries.  Doing so is seemingly justified by that apparent good heart:

“I’m doing this because I want to give my child the best.”

Although we can all to some extent understand this sentiment, it in no way excuses or justifies the unethical actions and outcomes.  If anything, it reinforces how vulnerable we all are.  Therein lies the need for a constant ethical scrutiny over ourselves and our communities.

3—Unethical practices to gain entry into an ethical institution fundamentally disqualify the candidate.

On the most basic sensible and philosophical level, by definition any ethical institution must deny any candidate entry when that entry attempt was unethically based.  Any other action makes a mockery of the ethical institution and its entry process.  Our academic institutions are among the tallest pillars of our humanity.  The fundamental preservation of their purity must remain a constant commitment by every human being directly or indirectly connected to them.

4—Falsifying your child's profile only immerses that child into a universe that is fundamentally and unfairly built on false pretenses.

When we enter into a new universe by virtue of truth and integrity, we do the best service to ourselves and others.  To enter into a new universe not arrived at via truth and integrity will degrade and undermine all aspects of that new universe both for ourselves and others.  Going into a new universe is something that the student should want to do by being his or her authentic best person.  You cannot be your authentic best person without first BEING that person.  In being that person, you then genuinely display that person.  Therefore, no one can be that best person without truth and integrity.

5—Secretly shielding your child from the consequences of that child's behavior, aptitudes, and performance vehemently disrespects that child's personhood, and this is an abuse of your parenthood.

Parenthood is an extremely personal, overwhelming, grave, complicated, rewarding, painful, amazing, and beautiful role.  However, none of those adjectives imply that the parent owns that child.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Indeed, the child is “on loan” to the parent for a limited time, during which the parent has a stewardship responsibility.

An intrinsic stewardship component of parenthood is releasing that child from your tutelage.  That releasing process begins the moment the child is born and slowly continues for nearly two decades (in most cases).  Although parents may struggle to varying degrees with the releasing process, each parent generally embraces the releasing process out of a respect for the child’s personhood.

Fundamentally, the best action a parent can take is to respect the child’s personhood; the worst action a parent can take is to disrespect the child’s personhood.  When you send your child out into the real world, anything that you directly or indirectly do to disrespect that child’s personhood does that child no favors.  Rather, it does that child an inexcusable disfavor.

6—The university should be the grooming and proving ground for the professional world.

From the student’s first connection to the college, the grooming and proving ground springs into action.  If the student takes this opportunity seriously, then the stage is set for an ongoing personal and professional growth experience hosted by that college.  It is an extremely significant academic development opportunity while simultaneously presenting somewhat of a preface to the yet-to-come extremely significant professional development opportunity that more fully continues postgraduation.  Lifelong patterns embed themselves into how that student executes personal and professional growth.  That total process deserves and demands nothing less than a student’s pure authentic personal and professional investment.  Polluting any aspect of that process by deceptive practices is reprehensible.

CONCLUSION

CRASH TEST DUMMIES UNIONIZE

In an unprecedented breakthrough decision today, over 177,000 crash test dummies were given final approval by federal labor regulators to form the Crash Test Dummies of America labor union (CTDA).  The CTDA plans to fight for crash test dummies’ working conditions and fair treatment.  According to the CTDA union organizers, Moe Mentum, Aneeta Karr, and Cole Lijjun, their top priorities are:

Limiting the quantity and types of crash tests per week.

Strengthening torso, limb, and head replacement parts entitlements.

Adopting a more compassionate approach to crash test dummy recycling.

Improving the pay scale by replacing Monopoly money with real cash.

The PETCTD (People for the Ethical Treatment of Crash Test Dummies) has endorsed the new labor union.  PETCTD president Banng M. Hardar commented:

“Being a crash test dummy is not an easy job.  Most people could not handle the working conditions.  We are very gratified that crash test dummies have taken a major step forward to receive the same wages, benefits, and equal treatment under the law that human workers take for granted.”

The CTDA is in negotiations with various networks to launch a reality TV series to draw attention to the longstanding difficulties of being a crash test dummy.  The title of the pending series is “Crashing Bad.”  The CTDA plans additional kickoff events later this year.  The union has already created its slogan: