Racine Journal Times, WorkLife Section, January 4, 2009

Adios 2008

A few days ago, many of us rang in the New Year by singing the traditional song, Auld Lang Syne. The lyrics are taken from a Scottish poem by the same name, written by Robert Burns in 1788. Have you ever paid attention to what you’re singing while adorned by those funny hats?

It’s ironic that we would sing something akin to “For old time’s sake” when celebrating the beginning of a new year. Also interesting are the first few lines (English translation):

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and old times since?

It doesn’t make much sense until the word, “kindness,” comes up a few lines later. I guess it’s good to be reminded of kindness from the good old days.

But 2008 will not be remembered as the good old days for those who suffered economic hardships. As I’ve told my kids, 2008 will go down in history as one of those once-in-a-lifetime years marked by incompetence, arrogance, laziness and downright fraud.

I could just rant and rave about it, but what good would that do? Complaining just for the sake of complaining, as I found out during my waitressing days, is better left for those who aren’t happy unless they’re complaining.

Huh? How can someone be happy while complaining? File that under “GF” for go figure because I’ve never been able to understand it. A complaint, as I see it, is a means to an end. Complaints are only beneficial if used appropriately, purposefully and with optimism – opening the door to an advanced, improved situation offering greater fulfillment in life.

With 2008 finally behind us, here are a few of my complaints about that momentous year and a few thoughts on how we can create a better tomorrow:

Empathy

A few weeks ago, a fellow walked into my office intent on selling me new phone service. I have no qualm with him trying to make a living, but the way he went about it got on my nerves. With the odor of his cheap cologne (don’t bathe in it, guys) wafting into my airspace, he told me I could save a lot of money on my phone service, but I had to give him permission to use my phone in order to call his office to get a quote.

Being skeptical, I told him he should just call on his cell phone. “No,” I was told. “I have to use your phone.” I wasn’t buying it, so Mr. Cheap Cologne became more and more argumentative, bordering on belligerent, which quickly compelled me to shoo him out of my office.

Is it too much to ask that people who are in the business of working with people have some decent people skills? Considering your audience goes a long way when, for example, you’re the Secretary of the Treasury and you have to make the most important pitch of your life! We’ll never know how different things would have turned out (can you say trillions?) if the original TARP proposal was structured with the buyer (you, me, Congress) in mind.

Civility

We finally learned a few weeks ago what most of you probably already knew: we’re in a recession, and it looks like it might be a nasty one. When I graduated from college, our country was just coming out of a recession,, so I know what it’s like to look for a job when jobs are hard to get. While some people in my network were very helpful (thanks, Dr. Seltzer), I was amazed by the lack of civility I received from the companies that I was applying to and the indifference of those whom I expected to be different.

HR folks: while you can’t offer every candidate a job, take the time to respond to their inquiries, and if possible, point them in a helpful direction. Job hunters: extra effort is required to get hired during a recession, so don’t expect to stand out if you don’t take the time to get noticed.

Responsibility

Short sellers, the reviled crowd that sniffs out overvalued stocks and fraud expecting to make a buck, were just about castrated from the numerous bans on short sales. The SEC, in its infinite wisdom, decided that all the massive selling of financial stocks was mainly due to short sellers. Yeah, right.

Once again, the messengers got axed while the real culprits responsible for creating the mess tried to whine their way out of accountability. David Einhorn’s book, “Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story,” will give you a flavor of this type of idiocy.

Conscience

If 2008 wasn’t bad enough already, the $50 billion Ponzi scheme recently unveiled, which was allegedly pulled off by Bernard Madoff, was the last nail in the coffin. To describe him as a bad apple is an insult to bad apples.

How can you protect yourself from people with no conscience? As cynical as it sounds, you just have to expect that there will always be a few arrogant cooks around ready to swindle whatever they can.

Second, have a healthy dose of skepticism about anything you invest in. As the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The investment returns Mr. Madoff allegedly provided were too good to be true, and one, big red flag for those who did proper due diligence.

Tired of my complaining? Me too. Here’s to you, 2009.

Michelle Ouzounian, CMFC, is the founder and President of Verity Investment Counsel, Inc. (www.verityinvcounsel.com), a fee-only, independent registered investment advisory firm in Racine. Michelle can be reached at 262-898-8400, or m.ouzounian@verityinvcounsel.com.

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This article contains the opinions of the author, but not necessarily those of Verity Investment Counsel, Inc.  Such opinions are subject to change without notice.  This article is provided for educational purposes only.  The information contained herein does not suggest or imply and should not be construed, in any manner, a guarantee of future performance and/or investment advice.  Information contained in this article was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed.  No part of this article may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission of Verity Investment Counsel, Inc.