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Tag: experience

Michigan Business Done Right - The Chamber Experience

By JGillman, Section News
Posted on Thu Jan 28, 2010 at 09:33:24 AM EST
Tags: Business, Chamber of Commerce, EFCA, Experience, Michigan, Traverse City (all tags)

There is something to be said for experience. A long lived worker is unlikely to make the kind of mistakes that can be devastating to business and relationships that business may have in its community and abroad. As most people will learn from their mistakes, a few made early in life will lead to better handling of similar situations later. The older the worker, the longer work history, the more experience to draw from.

Its common sense, and actually, I prefer the older worker for that reason, but also for a few more.

The miserable failure of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce annual dinner for 2009 to produce a top notch entertainment for our $1000 table, instead brought in David Stillman founder of Bridgeworks. While his presentation was interesting to a point, it became a seminar at best, lacking in the true entertainment style the annual affair had become locally famous for. We have had noted speakers Tony Snow, the Variety group "Capitol Steps" and other great acts over the years, but never a dry presentation as was last year's.

After seeing five of my guests get up to leave halfway through his presentation, the remainder of us decided a redeeming event that would have saved the evening was likely not going to happen. The rest of us emptied the table as well, and went home, joining a few others in the room who felt as we did.

There is something to be said for experience.

(2 comments, 869 words in story) Full Story

Politics and Puffery

By The Wizard of Laws, Section Multimedia
Posted on Tue Sep 15, 2009 at 10:14:40 AM EST
Tags: attorney general, courts, experience, Gretchen Whitmer, litigator, puffery (all tags)

Cross-posted in The Wizard of Laws

We have all experienced puffery, although some may not be familiar with the term itself. "Puffery" is an exaggeration or statement that no reasonable person would take as factual. Typically occurring in advertising and sales, the fact that a statement is not believable means that you cannot sue someone for saying it. For example, "This is greatest car ever made" is puffery, and if you buy the car and discover it isn't the greatest car ever made, you cannot sue over it.

The most common example of puffery besides sales is in resumes and job applications. There was an attorney who left our firm and, applying for other jobs, billed himself as experienced in ERISA transactions. Technically true, but the experience consisted of getting COBRA notices after being canned.

Among resumes and job applications, the worst subset has to be political biographies. These magnify every kid with a lemonade stand into a "job-creating small business owner" and anyone who flips off a light switch into a "green energy activist."

With the 2010 election season beginning to form like a high pressure system over the Rockies, we're going to hear a lot of biographical puffery from candidates.

Gretchen Whitmer? No exception.

(1 comment, 736 words in story) Full Story