Law And More

Plunge of Trust in Institutions Helps Create In-Your-Face Cons like Kevin Trudeau

Tonight, "Court TV" revisited the saga of TV infomercial pitch man Kevin Trudeau.

The 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals rejected the appeal of Trudeau's 2013 conviction for exaggerated claims by his weight-loss book. Trudeau contended there had been not enough evidence, the jurors had been given wrong instruction, and his sentence had been too long (10 years).

The meme that "Court TV" hammered was this: The consumers' lack of trust in traditional institutions opened them to blind trust in Trudeau's claims for unorthodox treatments. In addition to weight loss, they ranged from cures for baldness to reduction of memory loss.

Annually, Edelman Public Relations measures trust worldwide. The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer documented that trust in establishment institutions remains low. However, there is an uptick in trust in what the person experiences directly, such as the relationship with an employer. 

Trudeau certainly made his pitch an experience those in need could grab onto.

His infomercials were totally in-your-face. There was no middleman institution between the consumer and the products which were presented as able to solve their problems. The contention was that those products traditional institutions didn't want consumers to know about. 

The dynamic is that mistrust in the establishment creates blind trust in outliers. Sometimes those outliers might be authentic in their ability to provide society what they need. An example had been the innovations by iconoclastic Steve Jobs. More often the outsiders are scammers. 

That phenomenon should be analyzed when teaching critical thinking. It can also be used by prosecutors chasing a convictions for other kinds of fraudsters. The loss of belief can set up an intense yearning for something, anything human beings can wrap their minds and hearts around. Yest, that's what prosecutors should explain to jurors.

Takeaway: Beware a trust vacuum.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

JD Class of 2020 - Exactly the Right Tone for Job Search (and career)

Tone is everything.

Trial lawyers and transactional negotiators have that down cold.

Especially effective are all the communications, in all formats and in all mediums, by law firm Sanford Heisler Sharp. On LinkedIn, for example, those lawyers are always there but never off-key. 

Those in the JD Class of 2020 need that same intuitive grasp of the exactly the right tone in a job search - and then making the transition to practicing law. 

Obviously, the Pelton holiday commercial "The Gift That Gives Back" failed to have the right tone. So far, there have been 15,000 dislikes on YouTube. BusinessInsider reports that its stock lost $1.5 billion in a handful of days.

How can you prevent the wrong tone? Being tone-deaf can put the kibosh on everything from a cover letter for a job to how the lunch interview goes.

Here are 3 tips:

•  Grab hold of the mindset of Eminem's iconic song "Lose Yourself." It's all about being in the moment, totally tuned into the people, the context, and the mood. As Eminem hammers, you just have one shot. Depending on who the expert is, it's documented that judgments get made about what you're all out in anywhere from 60 seconds to the upper limit of four minutes. Usually there is no coming back from a bad impression. In a job search, it's all about the needs of the employer. No, it's not about you. 
• Mirror. The most successful salespeople observe everything about the prospect, ranging from where their building is located in Manhattan to the organizational culture. Then they custom-make their everything, ranging from what they wear to how they pace their pitch, to those key points of identity. The best don't overdo it. That is, they continue to maintain their unique sense of self.
•  Be open. Everything changes. The wildly optimistic tone of the WeWork and Uber used to attract investors. Now, given their failure to make a profit, the tone of that rhetoric scares investors. A major part of high social intelligence is never entering a context with a set "script." Instead there is a rapid scanning of what is before putting anything out there. BTW, intimate relationships often go kaput when the parties stop scanning.

What about general role models for tone?

Among the most useful currently is psychiatrist on "Chicago Med" Dr. Daniel Charles, played by Oliver Platt. His effectiveness during crisis is his mission of custom-making a solution for every whatever. There are no formulaic approaches. In short, he is "there" for the human beings who have lost their ways.

Earlier it had been the late Steve Jobs. His theatrical MO essentially was, yes, "Lose Yourself." That covered all aspects of marketing, be it designing products for real people or winning over wary security analysts. 

The takeaway: In a job search and later becoming an employee, make the mantra "This is not about me."

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

This Just Might Work: NYC Home Sharing Program

The 60 or over with a spare room in all five boroughs of New York City gain access to additional income.

Homeless youth at least 18 years of age gain a roof over their heads which isn't a shelter.

That's the public interest version of Airbnb.

It's called Home Sharing.

It's the kind of government-people partnership which could become a model for other urban areas in the U.S. overwhelmed with homeless youth. Actually, it could be extended to not-so-young homeless. 

Here are more details from the New York Daily News. 

In addition to the money, the 60 and over are freed up from social isolation. It's documented how difficult it is to make new friends when aging. Meanwhile, those who used to be on the network die, move away, or just decide that the relationship is no longer for them.

Also, the aging can get help with daily household chores as well as projects such as painting the living room for the holiday season. The young guest would take over those tasks in exchange for a cut in the rent.

By being in a stable caring home situation, youth can embrace the opportunity to map out for themselves what will be their next. In a sense, Home Sharing represents a transitional state, without the usual rawness of being on the street. 

Way back in the 19th century when society was turned upside down by capitalism and technology (sound familiar?) novelist Charles Dickens hammered that what kept those crushed under from going under was what he called the "milk of human kindness."

The kindness outreach of Home Sharing, even with its undertow of monetary reward, can be the platform for youth to take the leap into hope. 

One of the most insightful books on homelessness is "Stuart: A Life Backwards." The dynamics are complex. By Alexander Masters, it made it into a film and a play. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Recovery Industry - Lisa Smith Is Doing Well

Like any needed service, recovery has become an industry.

As such, it provides increasing professional opportunity for those who can put together the right positioning and packaging. 

Among those is Lisa Smith, feathered recently in a Law.com podcast. Earlier, Abovethelaw covered her downward trajectory and climb back up. In the successful book "Girl Walks Out of Bar," Smith tells her story. So had Susan Cheever and Pete Hamill.

Smith's struggle with booze took place when she was an employee in BigLaw, both practicing law and in a job developing new business. Currently she is a self-employed consultant. 

Smith, Cheever, and Hamill are hardly alone in getting being taken over by alcohol. According the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 14.1 million of those 18 years of age or older find themselves in that pickle. 

The question is: Does telling your story, as they have, help others who haven't yet had that "moment of clarity" that booze is interfering in one or more parts of their lives? 

Yes, 12-step recovery program Alcoholics Anonymous has institutionalized speaker meetings. At them the recovered share how it was, what they did about that, and how it is now. Yet, at best, AA's success rate is between 8% and 12%. So, no, all those stories aren't creating and sustaining a life without booze.

In my own little life, I have the hunch that sharing my own story, both in formal recovery settings and with those who are slipping into alcohol addiction, hasn't helped anyone.

It probably hasn't helped me either, not in any way. What I realized is this: That story isn't significant to me. I drank and ran into problems. I stopped drinking and ran into new kinds of problems. Both I and, it seems, science are clueless why some recover and maintain sobriety and many more don't. 

Of course, given the devastation alcoholism inflicts on the workplace, the family, and the individual, there is a desperate outreach for what might short circuit the syndrome. That triggers mythologies about what is helpful. Yet, when those illusions are foisted on those in the midst of alcoholism and the recommendations don't succeed, there could be the frustration that accelerates the progress of the disease. 

When it comes to trying to be helpful to another human being who is suffering with alcoholism, it might be wise to take on the mindset and behavior of The Good Parent: Be there, be gentle, be short on advice. Usually retelling all the stories about alcoholism in the family or in one's own life isn't useful. 

Takeaway: This long holiday season give the gift of not sharing your own recovery story or the story of those who managed to climb out of the bottle. Just show you care in an overall way. Download the film "Tender Mercies."

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Aging Law Partners - Trike Your Way Out of Clinical Depression (and sell green feature to media)

It was bravado. But, part of me believed it at the time I purchased the trike (adult tricycle) at Wersell Bike Shop, Toledo, Ohio. 

I had to believe that three-wheel contraption could really get me, an over-50, everyplace I wanted to go.

So, with great confidence I informed the salesperson Brett Gibson I was going to use the trike to peddle my way to the Toledo Museum of Art. That was about six weeks ago.

Here's my story. When I still had a car I had become a member of the Museum and got an emotional/spiritual lift weekly when I roamed the exhibits, nursed one affordable coffee in the cafe, and gazed out at the garden. Afternoons of heaven.

The car I had donated to Kars4Kids.

See, I couldn't shake the trauma of an accident in Michigan at the end of August 2019. The sound of the crash and the look in my dog's eyes when the accident happened, they dominated my consciousness.

In addition, State Farm, although it was my first accident and no one was hurt, more than doubled my insurance. After that, I yanked my homeowner's insurance and placed it with another insurance company. It also covers the trike for the replacement value.

Peddle by peddle, I worked up to making it to the Museum.

First it was the 40 minute bike ride to my support group meeting on Sylvania Avenue. Within a week I got that down to 30 minutes. Obviously, I was making progress. I also connected the dots on wearing layers. Also, I felt total cool with a backpack. 

Then last week there was the 90 minute peddling to the main shopping district and back. According to calorie calculators, that has lightened my calorie count for that afternoon by 805. On Facebook I asked my friends if I came across as thinner.

I made it my business to study city maps. Somehow I identified a shortcut from Lewis Avenue to Monroe Street. I took it, but didn't trust my directional instincts. 

For once, they were on the money. I arrived at the Museum parking lot. My member sticker was on the bike. That would allow me to park w/o the $8 fee.

Then, a wrench in the works.

"No bikes in the lot." That's what the attendant said.

My heart sank to the crusty envelope encasing planet earth.

Then, the attendant indicated there was a bike rack in front of the museum.

I backed up my trike (manually) and headed there.

There was a new exhibit on light and shadow. Because I was a member I didn't have to pony up the $12 bucks for a ticket.

Then I studied Andrew Wyeth's "The Hunter."

It reinforced for me the importance of angle in creative projects.

Wyeth approached the subject from on high in a Sycamore tree. The bark was peeling off. Since it was fall there were few leaves. That renewed my determination to go for out of the box angles in my ghostwriting, even if clients seemed to want (the issue is always: do they really want) platitudes. 

"The Hunter" stuck with me. I needed to think more about Wyeth's technique.

So, I took the long long way home. One stop was at an apartment complex closer to the action of downtown. Should I move there? 

The issue became: Maybe I needed as much peddling distance between me and what my soul craved. During the six weeks of triking the clinical depression I had struggled with since age 11 had gone into remission. 

Depression and other mood disorders among lawyers are well-documented. Along with seasonal bonuses in 2019, aging law partners might also get to get a limo ride to the bike store and choose their trike. They can peddle it home. The firm's legal marketing team can contact the media about a feature on green. 

Reflection: Harvard Medical School might do a global experiment on triking and putting a dent in the worldwide epidemic of depression. Instead of giving the world a Coca-Cola, give 'em trikes. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Degree-Getting & Imbalance of Power - MIT President L. Rafael Reif's Letter

MIT got pulled into the force field created by the legal scrutiny of the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Yes, that elite institution had accepted large amounts of money from him and those on his network and attempted to cover it up.

No question, MIT was and still is in crisis.

In these chaotic times, what is now almost a cliché is that adversity can be the platform for the extraordinary.

An example of that is MIT president L. Rafael Reif's response in terms of behavior and communications. Immediately, as is fundamental in crisis management, he took action and was highly visible.

Now, he has produced the kind of communications which could become a template for how to position and package negative findings. The format, content, and tone are, yes, extraordinary. Here is that letter.

Yes, in the letter there seems to be total transparency, a must in effective crisis management. For example, he presents the findings of surveys. Among 2,035 female students there was reported harassment so severe for 189 that it impaired their daily functioning and academic performance.

But that was the tip of the iceberg. Throughout the MIT community, Reif uncovered "misalignments and fractures." That included bullying by star faculty.

Could the Epstein fallout serve to change the culture of academia? The system operates on high stakes. Those matriculating get it that their futures are linked to the grades, recommendations, and mentorship of the faculty and heads of departments.

The power situation is profound. 

Among professionals, especially lawyers, there are probably myriad scars from the years and years usually invested in obtaining degrees, ranging from the basic undergraduate one to advanced schooling. Until recently, this had been mostly under wraps. With so much power involved, it seemed smart to absorb the oppression in silence. Careerism if the unofficial religion of America.

All that, from the abuse of power in academia to the extreme success ethos, might change. On the other hand, those realities might not.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Lawyers - The 5 Must-Ask Questions about Your Content Marketing

Too much of content marketing is ineffective.

That is, it doesn't motivate prospects to take the Call To Action (CTA).

The failure is occurring in all lines of business, including professional services such as law.

One major reason for the miss is this: The content marketing, in tone, organization, and text/visuals, isn't created to engage prospects.

Instead, it's about you.

And, selling isn't about you.

From the get-go, the serpent in the Garden of Eden knew that. He custom-made his pitch to persuade Eve. The fit was perfect. She responded to the CTA.

The classic example of the wrong everything in content marketing is the book intended to both brand the author as an expert and to sell the whatever. 

On the one hand, the tone and text are conversational. That kind of intimacy is a must in this era of social networks. Yes, continue to use the first-person "I" in most books.

On the other hand, the author takes over the narrative with excessive intrusion of the self. Unfortunately, the surge of narcissism also is part of the shift to conversational communications.

To keep the tone, format, and text/visuals of content marketing on-track filter ever strategy and tactic through the 5 questions:

• Am I helping prospects to solve their challenges?
• Is the package customized for each target, such as iGen or Baby Boomers?
• Am I doing this in as brief a manner as possible? Or is there excess whatever, including commentary from me?
•  What is blocking prospects from buying, be that a point of view, product, service, or fundraising campaign? 
• Am I continually editing the content marketing to align with results? Yes, it's all a work in progress. 

The good news is that there is time to retrofit content marketing before the next downturn, which signs indicate is on its way.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Next Downturn - If You're Over-50 & Career Goes to the Dogs

The pet-service enterprise Wag is well-organized. 

For example, it makes it easy for clients - that is, pet parents - and its contract employees to facilitate the common service of the dog walk. A lock box is attached to the door. 

As Recode reports, though, Wag, as it typical of many startups, aimed to grow too quickly. That got it into trouble and now sources say it is in talks to sell itself. Interestingly, just like fast-growth failure WeWork, Wag is backed by SoftBank. You bet, the SoftBank brand is taking a beating.

But, Wag's troubles shouldn't stand in the way of older folks looking for work trying out walking dogs. In my former Youngstown, Ohio neighborhood, several over-50 Wag dog walkers told me that the gig helped them connect the dot about how to start earning some serious money. 

According to them, Wag bills the client about $14. They get around $9, plus a tip. Since pet parents want their four-leggers treated well they are likely to also tip well.

One 56-year-old teacher who anticipated she would be forced out (she was) found dog walking in the evening and weekends showed her how much growth there was in the pet niche. She began developing a portfolio of articles published in third-party media about pet issues. When she is ready she will launch her own pet-care brand. 

The rub on that, of course, is that it requires supreme belief in one's ability to go from point A to Point B, then Point C in struggling to make a living when aging. Here, free to click open, is my book which can get that mindset started Download Outwitting ageism

The reality is the more than one-half of the over-50 will be forced out of their jobs. If they land on their feet and are able to get another job, only one out 10 will make comparable money.

In 2003, after my business collapsed, I did a holiday gig job in Sephora as a security guard. That led to a full-time job in loss prevention, including health benefits, with then Allied Barton Protective Services. Soon enough I regained the confidence to launch another enterprise. Actually that turned into two: both communications and career coaching. 

Takeaway: Working at a paid something, anything, brings more and better paid work.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Black Turtlenecks, Old White Men, The Superlawyer - Halloween (hopefully) Ends an Era in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is classy enough to laugh at itself.

That self became a caricature when supposed The Great Innovator Elizabeth Holmes imploded. Her trial will be coming up and after that she could spend lots of time in the slammer. There her work detail could be in the prison infirmary taking blood.

How Silicon Valley is enjoying this ugly play out of the tech promise to change the world is costuming itself as Holmes this Halloween. That means, reports BusinessInsider, retail is running out of her signature black turtleneck. 

The irony about that turtleneck is profound.

Anyone who was connecting that dots wouldn't have invested funds or hope in Holmes' enterprise Theranos. That was positioned and packaged as revolutionizing the blood testing process - and, therefore, the business. Old white men like Henry Kissinger and George Shultz sat on its board. Superlawyer David Boies represented Holmes (until they had a falling out over how to manage a regulatory issue).

What the dot-connectors would have put together was that anyone imitating Steve Jobs was never going to accomplish what Jobs had accomplished.

In his iconic book for entrepreneurs "Zero to One," venture capitalist Peter Thiel makes clear not to set out to do the next Facebook. There already is a Facebook. Try something new.

Yesyesyes, the black turtleneck is a symbol of how things can go very wrong when those not truly innovative play in the tech sandbox. 

Post Halloween the black turtlenecks should be collected and shipped to the Smithsonian. Laid out with imagination, they can make quite an exhibit. That could be a cloth monument to a specific time in the tech industry in America. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Webselenese - Failure to Warn

On ProBlogger today, Webselense is recruiting content writers for the long term. Here is that help-wanted.

To apply, the applicant has to fill out that business' customized form. There is no warning in the text of the help-wanted on ProBlogger or in the beginning of the application that unpaid work will be required. 

By the time the applicant arrives at the box with the unpaid assignment, he or she has already keyed in a variety of information. That includes pasting in links to three appropriate samples.

Then, there it is: the box mandating the submission of about 200-words on a particular subject. There is no offer of payment for that work. 

Already, of course, the applicant has invested time (and hope) filling out the application.

This "failure to warn" about required unpaid work seems to be a blatant example of a lack of transparency. Does this also represent a breakdown of standard business ethics?

As a career coach for the over-50 I feel for the older applicants who went as far as the "must-work" box and then had to decide if they wanted to play in that sandbox or not. My recommendation would have been this: There are many organizations which operate with total transparency in the recruiting process. Stick with them. Cut your losses now.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.