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Fall 2001 Winter 2010
Finding a job may be more of a numbers game than you ever thought.
When I arrived at BYU eight years ago, I was in my new office, organizing books and filing papers, when I received a telephone call informing me that there had been a glitch in payroll processing, and I would not be receiving a paycheck during the first two months of my employment. I said, “Thank you,” hung up the phone, and started thinking about how to break this news to my wife, Jan. 
Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.” His profound statement may explain the fantastically varied results of millions of New Year’s resolutions that Americans make each January. By summertime many of us have achieved our goals. Others have given up. And still a few of us muscle onward, clinging courageously to goals we have set but not yet met. 
Underneath glittering stage lights the bass player and keyboardist pound out a melody. The lead singer sidles up to the microphone and belts out “American Idiot” with enough angst to fool anyone into believing he’s a member of a teenage garage band.
What do you do when your neighbor or friend is out of work? It can be difficult to bring up the subject because there’s often a great deal of stress and emotion attached to the issue.
This class doesn’t have a textbook. In fact, some of the required reading comes from Wikipedia, a taboo for just about any other class on campus. But the syllabus states it bluntly: “Text: none; it would be outdated anyway.”
The start of each new calendar year prompts serious reflection upon the events of the past. Two-thousand and nine presented a host of monumental challenges for students, faculty, and programs at the Marriott School.
I own two small companies. It’s hard to pay myself benefits, let alone all my employees. The first thing to look at is making sure they are paid a competitive wage, then add vacation/holidays and keep within reason. Next, they might need health insurance, but if the spouse is working elsewhere and is covered, we can sometimes eliminate it. Finally, you might look at adding tax deferred savings plans and insurance. Since both my companies are retail, we offer very steep discounts to employees. It has been my experience that most people working for small companies do not expect superb benefits. Also, in order to keep costs down, you must do a lot of shopping.
Several weeks ago, I traveled to the north side of Chicago to visit my son. I drove from downtown Chicago to Lincoln Park, where he lives. As I turned onto Clybourn Avenue, I suddenly encountered a scene that I hadn’t seen or thought of in years—the Clybourn Gospel Chapel.
Over the next year, many of you will go through a performance review. your direct supervisor will evaluate the contribution that you have made to the success of the organization and help you develop a plan to build on your strengths and focus on opportunities you have to improve.