Soundbites

Discovering honest work

In the 20th century most Americans spent their time pushing paper in offices or bashing widgets in factories. In the 21st century most of us are going to work with people, providing services that enhance each other’s lives....

We are going to have to discover the inherent dignity of work that is people to people rather than people to things. We are going to have to realize that engaging with other people, understanding their hopes and their needs, and using our own skills, knowledge and talent to give them what they want at a price they can afford is honest work. — Historian Walter Russell Mead in The American Interest

Brakes & toilets

The demand for middle-skill jobs — jobs that require a high-school diploma but not a university degree — is swelling. A USA Today analysis estimated that between 2014 and 2017, about 2.5 million new middleskill jobs — almost 40 percent of all job growth — will need to be filled. Baby boomers are retiring or dying faster than young people can replace our plumbers, electricians, and welders, prompting a serious labor shortage. These are manual services that will not be outsourced, since a worker in India can’t unclog a toilet or fix the car brakes of a New Jersey schoolteacher. — Sophia Lee, “Jobs of the Future” in World magazine

Loving it

The twentieth century was all about getting you to love the things we

JMX Brands

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO CEO: JMX Brands is looking for a highly organized individual who is willing to assist in a variety of clerical and administrative tasks. We’re seeking an individual who enjoys and excels in administrative support and has 3-5 years of relevant experience. It is essential that the candidate is comfortable in a fast-paced environment and good at managing many details. This position will require someone who is highly organized, efficient, detail-oriented, comfortable with ambiguity, technologically savvy, personable and highly trustworthy. Must have a positive attitude and strong work ethic. Must enjoy working with people and the challenges that come in working for a small company. Good communication skills and average quantitative abilities are required. Must have strong skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and moderate skills in QuickBooks and general technical troubleshooting. Must have equivalent of associate degree. BUSINESS MANAGER: JMX Brands is looking for a business manager who will be broadly responsible for business processes, accounting, financial management, budgeting, property management and human resource management at JMX Brands. The business manager will be a part of our management team and will proactively lead in financial performance, human resource development and business decisions, supervising a small team and reporting directly to the CEO. Qualifications include direct experience in managerial accounting and business management, strong analytical skills, and demonstration of leadership abilities. Demonstrated ability to think strategically and proven track record of savvy financial management is needed. We’re looking for someone with demonstrated ability to think outside the box, to carefully manage priorities for self and others in the context of a heavy workload and continuous change, and a desire to grow and drive change. Baccalaureate degree is required, graduate degree preferred. Contact: ceo@jmxbrands.com make. And the twenty-first is all about how to make the things you love. — Business visualization pioneer Tom Wujec

Third time a charm

I have tried to teach people that there are three kicks in every dollar: one, when you make it; two, when you have it. The third kick is when you give it away — and it is the biggest kick of all. — Legendary Kansas editor William Allen White

Clean addiction?

Work addiction is one of the most difficult addictions to face, because it masquerades as a positive trait and often receives the active support of our institutions. Workaholism is the pain others applaud. It is the cleanest of all the addictions. Yet I have encountered so many people who are literally dying of their workaholism that I cannot take this disease lightly. We have here a killer. — Diane Fassel, author of Working Ourselves to Death: The High Cost of Workaholism & the Rewards of Recovery

No 2nd chance

We could rebuild Europe after World War II, rebuild on the site of the World Trade Center, and even rebuild the economy after the 1929 and 2008 crashes. But if we cross Mother Nature’s planetary boundaries, there are things that can never be rebuilt. We cannot rebuild the Greenland ice sheet, the Amazon rain forest, or the Great Barrier Reef. The same is true of the rhinos, macaws, and orangutans. No 3-D printer will bring them back to life. — Thomas L. Friedman in Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations