Earlier this semester, I was a guest lecturer for a marketing class at Manhattan College. The topic was my book on career choice and the book market in general, but the students spent a fair amount of time asking about setting a career path, especially in light of my own experiences. They were fascinated by the various twists and turns that my career has taken, and wanted to learn the implications for themselves.

Well, that old saw about the best laid plans of mice and men seems to apply to many people. Adaptability is key, and quickness in responding to challenges and opportunities as they arise. Surprising to some, the best opportunities sometimes arise as the result of layoffs. Follow the link for examples.

While the rating agencies remain a premier place to learn the art of securities analysis, they've been under fire for their role in the current financial crisis. In short, they've got a spotty track record, and conflicts of interest don't help. Follow the link for details, including a discussion of how the invention of the Xerox photocopier aided and abetted these conflicts.

This reminds me of an excellent 1978 BBC TV series on the history of science and technology called "Connections" that also aired on PBS. In each episode, host James Burke would trace some essential element of modern technology back to completely unrelated events or discoveries that occurred centuries ago. Burke's breezy, witty style made the show as fun as it was educational, and it's had a few brief revivals since.

Oh yes, as more than one observer has remarked, if the folks at rating agencies were really good forecasters, they'd actually be highly successful money managers instead.

A while back, I wrote about the J.D. Power and Associates survey of financial advisors and their job satisfaction. A subtext was their inability to get a clean mailing list of people who are or were financial advisors.

During my Merrill Lynch years, I had some (highly frustrating) involvement with marketing mail directed at our wealthiest clients. I was utterly flabbergasted at the pervasive flaws in our own internal databases of client names and addresses. Follow the link for details. Among the lessons: never assume anything, even something as obvious as that client statements are going out to the correct addresses.

The smart job hunter will look at multiple prospective employers and compare them across various dimensions. One of my most unforgettable experiences was when a prospective employer insisted that I look at the competition before accepting their offer.

This was a unique man bites dog type of story. Usually, if you are an attractive potential hire, a prospective employer will try to shut off any further contemplation of alternatives on your part. However, the forward thinking employer recognizes that the most desirable and marketable candidates are apt to be the most footloose, eager to bolt when the opportunity arises, if they see greener pastures elsewhere.