Common Sense

Alright, before you read any further get a pencil and paper and write down your definition of common sense.

Finished? Then read on!

I thought this would be a good way for us to compare notes about something that frankly I found embarrassingly difficult. That is until I began a search for the meaning of common sense and discovered I may not be the only one having trouble putting into words what common sense is.

This whole thing was spawned by my recent assignment to jury duty when I sat listening to the defense attorney asking prospective jurors to explain common sense. I had already answered some questions and was praying that he wouldn’t get back to asking me that question because, just like the other jurors, I was having trouble coming up with anything meaningful and I didn’t want to be embarrassed as they seemed to be.

One definition of the term as given in Wikipedia is;

Common sense on a strict construction of the term, is what people in common would agree; that which they "sense" in common as their common natural understanding. Some use the phrase to refer to beliefs or propositions that in their opinion they consider would in most people's experience be prudent and of sound judgement, without dependence upon esoteric knowledge or study or research, but based upon what is believed to be knowledge held by people "in common". The knowledge and experience most people have, or are believed to have by the person using the term.

Einstein once defined common sense as the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen, which I think affirms the thinking that common sense is a detriment to logical thinking.

Since we are not born with common sense it must be something that we acquire through life experiences. To say that common sense is learned is only partially correct, although we need learned skills to have common sense we must also apply intuition to the learned in order to deduce what others commonly believe or understand.

So the next time you say to someone it is only common sense, you may have a whole new understanding of what you mean.

I wonder what the attorney would have done if I had laid this on him?

My book - Foreword

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Foreword

When I first thought about writing this book I thought I would only write about how seven of us bolted from the company to form our own business hoping to be able to control our own destinies. In a way that’s how it turned out but the control we exercised was minimal, we lacked the knowledge and leadership ability that might have made the eventual outcome different.

But then after thinking about it, that is only a part of the story. So I decided it would be more complete and understandable if I started at the time I became involved with the project, several years prior to the breakaway.

This is a story told by someone in a position to know how it really was in the trenches, not by someone in a high place that would bore you with all of the business jargon. If you want to read about how to succeed in business you won’t find it here. If you want to learn about the difficulties and heartburn experienced in bringing a new technology to market and making it a success, I think you will enjoy this story.

There is something for everyone here. If you are in the healthcare industry you should enjoy the insight into the way the first complete mass spectrometer based anesthesia monitoring system came about. If you have manufacturing or engineering experience at any level you can probably identify with the many different problems we had to deal with on a day to day basis. If you have a business or marketing background you may find that the way the business was run goes against your every fiber. If you are the least bit technically inclined it might be interesting to see how we dealt with the technical challenges of the project. If you have entrepreneurial tendencies you may want to check this out before you take the leap. Even the scientist might find the application of a highly scientific instrument to be unusual and interesting.

Throughout the book when ever I introduce things technical I include [an explanation] to keep the non-technical from getting lost. To those that might not require such an explanation skip it if you like.

You will also find that at times I am critical of they way things are done in the organization. During my early involvement it was not easy to recognize our faults. Later, after learning from some of the best, I became a project leader. With my new found knowledge and skills it was easy to look back and see the many things we did wrong. I pull no punches with my criticisms and make no apologies for them. I believe them to all be valid.

In the end we were all better for having had the opportunity to serve the anesthesia community with some of the most exciting breakthrough technology they have ever experienced.
As for controlling our own destinies – well, that is for the reader to decide.

Max Out the 401k – Not!

We have all heard it before, max out your 401k! What used to be good advice is now out of date. Assuming max out means contribute the maximum possible then perhaps you need to take another look at what that means to you.

I say you need to look at the numbers before you “max out” that 401k. Here’s why.

What part of the contribution does you employer match and up to what limit. Only if your employer matches up to the maximum contribution should you consider contributing the maximum.

Contribute only the amount that your employer will match and put the remainder in a Roth IRA. Yes, I know that you will be losing the tax deferment on the money invested in a Roth, a one time event, but with the Roth you can leave the investment grow tax deferred for as long as you like. Unlike the 401k and the standard IRA there is no MRD (minimum required distribution).

Here are the Roth IRA advantages:

1. It has a tax structure unlike that of any other IRA: contributions are post-tax, but growth is tax-free; once you put your money in, you never pay taxes again.
2. It's more flexible: since you have already paid taxes up front, there are no minimum distribution requirements.
3. Since withdrawals are not reportable income, they won't affect your adjusted gross income during retirement.

Another advantage for a savvy investor is that your choice of investments is not limited to the few that a typical 401k might have. Your investment choices are essentially unlimited and that can mean big dollars in the future.

Some day after you are retired wouldn’t it be nice to take that trip around the world using tax free money that you grew from those excess payments to the 401k you redirected to a Roth and not have to worry that there is any impact to your tax status?

What Did They Say?

I’m sure everyone that has ever flown has heard these things but maybe you didn’t pay that much attention, so I’m going to examine them in more detail.

You have arrived at the airport early and made it through security with an hour or so to go before your flight leaves. After a brief walk to the gate you scrounge around for a newspaper that a traveler before you might have left. You find one but it’s missing all the good sections. Finally you give up on free reading material and decide to tough out the next 40 minutes without something to read.

After repeated glances at your watch you see that it should be time to begin boarding. Then comes the announcement, ladies and gentlemen flight 123 to the middle of nowhere has been delayed and will be rescheduled!

What you say as you race to the counter to ask about the delay. You can see the airplane sitting at the gate right there at the end of the jet way, a jet way clearly marked with the gate number you are supposed to leave from. How long will the delay be you ask? Here it comes, the attendant says 15 minutes. What you may not know is that the airlines clocks are marked in 15 minute increments. I can’t remember ever being delayed less than 15 minutes. It’s the standard reply for delays.

You don’t feel too bad because, heck you managed to wile away the last 30 minutes doing nothing the next 15 should be a piece of cake! Soon you begin glancing at the old chronometer again thinking the 15 minutes should be up by now. Believing you have correctly identified the passing of at least 15 minutes you return to the counter to ask what’s up. Again you get the 15 minute song and dance but you say 15 minutes have already passed only to hear, oh this is another 15 minutes the first one wasn’t enough!

This process is repeated several times, to the point that you forget how to read your watch. Why didn’t they just say it would be an hour and half delay? I know if they had told us the truth there would have been a passenger uprising, but by milking the 15 minutes delays they figure everyone can make through 6 short delays but not one long one!

Finally pre-boarding is announced. Ladies and gentlemen will begin pre-boarding flight 123 to the middle of nowhere (now 1 ½ hours late). If you need assistance or are traveling with small children please pre-board now.

Ok what is pre-boarding, pre is before and boarding is, in this case, getting on the airplane. So are we to get on the airplane before we get on the airplane.

Once aboard (if you pre boarded I’m not sure exactly how you did it) you settle into your seat, fasten the belt and await departure.

Shortly after take off you are expecting the seatbelt sign to go off but instead they announce the following. Ah, we are experiencing a little turbulence; the captain has asked that you continue to observe the seat belt sign until we are clear this bad spot. Right away you suspect this will take at least 15 minutes!

Now I don’t know about you but I plan to cheat this one, I’m not watching a seatbelt sign for any amount of time! You know I don’t think that’s what they meant. I’m beginning to think that airlines are not good communicators.

The flight progresses nicely and with only a handful of passengers still following the unreasonable instructions, their eyes firmly focused on the seatbelt sign, we are getting ready to land.

Ladies and gentlemen will be landing in approximately 15 minutes; I could have guessed that one, after we have landed please keep your seatbelts fastened until we have come to a complete stop at the jet way. Please continue observing the no smoking sign until you are well into the terminal.

Ok two things here, what is a complete stop, the plane will either stop or not. How am I going to continue to observe the no smoking sign until well into the terminal, I can no longer see it after I get of the plane? Oh and there those few passengers who haven’t yet stopped observing the seatbelt sign.

I think I’ll cheat this one too!

Guess how long I waited for my bags at the baggage carousel!