The snow started when Big Jake and I crossed into Ohio, slowing traffic to a crawl and making the both of us more than a little nervous, since our ride – Jake’s 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier – wasn’t exactly what you’d call an “all-weather” vehicle. But the weather proved no deterrent: nothing would. For in Jake’s jacket pocket were two tickets to Super Bowl XXVI, between the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills, and come hell or high water (or blizzards for that matter), we planned to be sitting in the seats at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., for the kickoff.

(A Cavalier like Big Jake’s, though his car was white.)

That trip – back in January 1992 – gave me just a taste of the long-haul trucking life I’d be writing about. Covering around 945 miles in about 20 hours (we weren’t going 60 mph the whole time, with the weather so bad) we left on a Friday afternoon, plowed through the snow into Indiana by late Friday night, then got up and finished off the trip to Minnesota on Saturday. Sure wished we could have flown, but with all the flights booked by the wealthier denizens of Washington, D.C., we took the only other option available: Jake’s Cavalier.

(This is what the roads looked like as we barrelled our way north to Minnesota.)

Jacob Perkins, one of my best friends from college, died last year after a massive heart attack, so the memory of our road trip to the Super Bowl (the only one the National Football League ever held in a “cold weather” state … just our luck …) holds a special place in memory for me. Team driving all the way out to Minnesota over two days, then back in one shot (violating hours of service rules in the process) proved to be a lot more taxing than I thought it would be.

(The Metrodome … site of Super Bowl XXVI.)

One thing I discovered is just how brutal the deep winter is in Minnesota. Filling up outside of Minneapolis after we arrived Saturday evening, I had on every stitch of clothing I’d brought and STILL the cold cut through me like a knife. Local residents laughed at our Virginia license plates, and us, as they filled up their cars wearing just sweat suits. “This isn’t cold – wait until a clipper storm comes through,” they told us. “THEN you’ll see what cold is really like.”

(The city of Minneapolis at night … sans the snow and freezing cold, though.)

Fortunately, no such clipper materialized. Game day arrived with bright sunshine (though the mercury hovered around 15 degrees) and we couldn’t wait to get into the balmy 70-degree interior of the Metrodome. The Redskins dispatched the Bills in fine fashion (37 to 24) before the 63,130 packed in the seats. Quite something to see this worldwide event live, let me tell you.

On the Monday after the game, we left for Washington D.C., winding our way through Chicago traffic, past South Bend, Indiana (home of the University of Notre Dame, the ‘Fighting Irish,’ who we both rooted for despite attending Virginia Tech) and arriving back in Maryland in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. That kind of all-night driving I haven’t repeated since, for I still vividly remember how spacey I felt despite the hot coffee and frequent rest breaks.

Later on, as I started covering the trucking business, that all-night drive gave me vivid insight into the challenges big rig drivers faced piloting 80,000-pound tractor-trailers on dark roadways. Yet it’s also a treasured memory, one of a good friend no longer here, sadly.

“Despite a continuing weak freight environment, Landstar continued to increase its revenue … continues to generate outstanding returns.” –Henry Gerkens, Landstar’s president and CEO, from the company’s first quarter earning statement.

Are things getting better in trucking? Are we turning a corner, so to speak? Well, more than a few carriers seem to think so, according to some of things I’m reading.

Take the Evans Network of Companies, for example – a conglomeration of several regional trucking companies. Albert “Bert” Evans, Jr., the company’s president and CEO, recently said he expects Evans Network to realize a 15% to 17% increase in its trucking capacity this year – and is anticipating double-digit financial growth for 2008.

(Bert Evans thinks things are turning around in trucking … at least for his company.)

“The combination of technology enhancements, process improvements and dedicated employees fueled Evans Network’s growth in the past and will greatly influence the future of this company,” he noted.

”[We] opened 20 new service centers last year and we are on pace for the same growth in 2008,” added Matthew “Bo” Bates, vice president at Evans Network. He pointed out that in 2001, the Evans Network consisted of 600 independent contractors that today have more than doubled to 1,250.

(Matthew “Bo” Bates also has confidence in trucking’s turnaround, where Evans is concerned …)

Evans Network, a $185 million revenue operation with 80 service centers across the U.S., is growing in a couple of ways, expanding current operations while buying up some companies, too. The network acquired four companies in the last several years – West Motor, All Points, Hale Intermodal, and the most recent last year, Sanger – and has partnered with DW Whitebread and Bucks Inc. to offer more capacity and resources to their customers.

Henry Gerkens – Landstar’s president and CEO, whose quote started off this entry – is also on the confident side of things. He noted that his company posted 6% consolidated revenue growth in the first quarter this year versus the same period in 2007. He added that revenue hauled by the company’s truck brokerage carriers increased 11%, revenue hauled by rail carriers increased 25%, and revenue hauled by ocean cargo carriers increased 41%.

Landstar also improved its operating margin to 6.7% in the first quarter compared to 6.4% in the same period last year, said Gerkens – not too shabby, considering how fast the price of diesel has gone up.

Gerkens also pointed out that Landstar’s trailing twelve month return on average shareholders’ equity remained high at 53% and trailing twelve month return on invested capital, net income divided by the sum of average equity plus average debt, was 33%. The carrier also reduced debt by $17 million in the first quarter and increased cash and short-term investments by $21 million, ending the quarter with $105 million in cash and short-term investments on hand.

“I anticipate the second quarter to be similar to that of the first quarter of 2008,” he noted in the company’s earnings release. “As such, I would anticipate revenue for the second quarter of 2008 as compared to the second quarter of 2007 to increase in the mid to upper single digits.”

That’s a pretty bold statement, I must say. But Gerkens, like Evans, wouldn’t be saying these things in such a public manner if there wasn’t some pretty good data behind them – data that shows that things are improving out there in the freight world. Let’s see if this confidence is borne out by reality.

“Given the extremely high gas prices and life-saving benefits of slowing down, we urge the public to ease off the accelerator.” –Christopher J. Murphy, chairman, Governors Highway Safety Association

Truckers large and small are doing it … but the general public isn’t. And therein lies the problem we’re going to face in terms of trying to get motorists in this country to come together in the name of highway safety and energy security.

The issue is, of course, vehicle speed. As we all know, slowing down to 60 mph or even 55 mph (which, if we strain to look through the fog of history, used to be the speed limit for ALL highways in this nation 14 years ago or so) not only saves lives, it saves on fuel … big time. For cars and light trucks typically get their best fuel economy around 55 to 60 mph on the highway. Above that, physics takes over, and it costs you more fuel to overcome the resistance of the air around you.

With trucks, it’s a little different – but not much more. OEMs spent the last several years tweaking aerodynamics, engine sweet spots, gears, and axle ratios to give fleets good fuel economy between 60 and 65 mph. But again, above that number, fuel efficiency goes overboard in a hurry. With diesel now well over $4 a gallon throughout much of the U.S. (and approaching $5 in California!) saving fuel by slowing down means major bucks.

Take Con-way Truckload, for example. They just finished reducing the maximum governed speed of its 2,700-tractor fleet from 70 to 65 mph – an effort that started back in November 2007 and just finished up this April. By adjusting its fleet to run at the lower maximum highway speed, the company expects to save 2.8 million gallons of diesel fuel per year. At $4 a gallon, you’re talking about saving $11.2 million smackers annually, folks.

(Con-way Truckload’s speed reduction efforts are going to save it some big, big money over time.)

“Lowering our speed governors is a major step for us, and one of many that we’re taking toward conserving fuel and supporting Con-way’s enterprise-wide sustainability initiative,” said Herb Schmidt, president, Con-way Truckload.

Yet the message isn’t getting to the four-wheelers out there. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), aggressive driving – speeding, rapid acceleration and braking – can lower gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and 5% around town. The agency also estimates that, as a rule of thumb, drivers can assume that each 5 mph they drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas.

But despite the benefits of slowing down, the public has not yet gotten the message, according to an informal poll conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). A survey of state highway safety agencies by GSHA found that only Wisconsin reports a noticeable trend of reduced speeds as a result of high gas prices.

It’s worthy to note, too, that Wisconsin state troopers told GSHA that speeds along the freeways are moderating especially with commercial vehicles, many of which have slowed to travel at or even below the speed limit. A handful of other states note the reduced speed of commercial vehicles, likely resulting from more trucking companies setting policies that require their drivers to stay below a set speed, such as 67 mph. (And the public still says TRUCKERS are the problem, do they?)

(Props are coming from Wisconsin’s state troopers for the efforts of truckers to slow down.)

In addition to helping fight the cost of record-high gas prices, slowing down also increases the likelihood of surviving a crash, GSHA stressed. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in a high-speed crash, a passenger vehicle is subjected to forces so severe that the vehicle structure cannot withstand the impact of the crash and maintain survival space in the occupant compartment.

And in a 2005 report, published in the Transportation Research Record, author Rune Elvik found that just a 1% decrease in travel speed reduces injury crashes by about 2%, serious injury crashes by about 3% and fatal crashes by about 4 percent. These reductions are critically needed, as speeding remains a serious highway safety problem, said GSHA, noting that nearly 13,500 people died in speed-related crashes in 2006.

It shows that we still have a long way to go in terms of getting folks to slow down out there on the road – but not so much with truckers. Isn’t it interesting that truckers are the ones changing their habits to adjust to new economic realities, while the average motorist is not? You won’t see that in the papers, I guarantee you.

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.” –Michael J. Fox

Here’s a touchy subject: setting boundaries for behavior in the workplace, all the more difficult when that “workplace” is spread out over thousands of miles in hundreds of truck cabs staffed with one or two people at the most.

Yet boundaries are critical, despite how far-flung the trucking industry is on a day-to-day basis. Knowing what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t helps to only strengthen the professionalism behind the wheel, not hinder it. Let’s face it: truck drivers and people working in this business as a whole don’t get much respect from the general public. Throw in profanity or rude behavior and “little” turns into “zero” faster than you can say “Jack Rabbit.”

Let’s be honest, too, about the high level of discourtesy and rudeness displayed by four wheelers every day on the highway … yet let’s be forthright enough to realize mimicking that behavior won’t help the situation. “Professional truck driver” is state of being that must be displayed day in and day out, whether folks are watching or not, to truly take root.

With this in mind, I am going to turn my blog over to the ever-thoughtful Professor Jerry Osteryoung in the college of business at Florida State University, whose experience teaching and working with entrepreneurs gives a lot better insight to this issue than I have. Professor Osteryoung, the floor is yours:

“Setting boundaries in the workplace governs employee behavior, drawing a very clear line between what is acceptable and what is not. I believe that many entrepreneurs have difficulty setting boundaries because we all want to be liked. Additionally, many just do not like or want to deal with the thought of hurting others. However, by establishing clear boundaries it then becomes less of a personal issue but more of a rule or policy.

One of the more common boundary issues involves language in the workplace. Whether by a man or a woman, swearing and raising voices just cannot be tolerated in any communications. If staff members cross that boundary and begin to swear or raise their voices, you just have to say that this type of language is unacceptable, and that the conversation will be over the next time they swear or raise their voice.

Another issue critical to setting boundaries is learning that it is okay to say ‘no.’ For many reasons, entrepreneurs have a tough time saying ‘no’ as they feel guilty for it. In the workplace, however, saying ‘no’ is essential. The word ‘no’ is a very strong boundary that says that you just cannot cross this line. If you say no, you are not saying no to the person but just no to their action or proposed action.

One of the most important workplace boundaries involves bad behavior. This boundary should be clearly established and consistently monitored because bad behavior should never be tolerated. This involves more than just passively choosing not to reward bad behavior. For instance, if a worker shows up late (clearly unacceptable behavior by most workplace standards), and you let it continue without consequence, it will break down boundaries that are frequently very hard to rebuild.

Boundary challenging situations involve a balancing act of power. You control the situation simply by not taking things personally and not reacting to other people. Once you lose your cool, all sense of boundaries is out the window, and your power is lost.

Boundaries are critical to each and every business as they clearly identify what is good and what is bad behavior. The key is that, in order to run an organization, it is essential that you have boundaries both to protect you as well as your organization. Once you identify them, it is fairly easy to ascertain what acceptable workplace behavior is and what is not.”

Interesting points to think over for any manager, if you ask me. As always, you can reach Professor Osteryoung by e-mail at jerry.osteryoung@gmail.com or by phone at 850-644-3372.

“It looks like a war zone. Some homes have fallen in, some homes have lost roofs and some are now just slabs.” –Michelann Ooten, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, as quoted by CNN.

So here we are, dealing with diesel prices up over $4 a gallon in the U.S. (in some places nearing $5 a gallon), a sluggish freight environment, a housing crisis, a weak dollar, and $9.5 trillion worth of debt racked up by the federal government. Fleets are also watching health care costs explode, their employees’ 401 K retirement funds drop in value, and insurance costs cthat keep spiraling upward.

Yet that’s only all the manmade stuff. Mother Nature is still out there, of course, always ready to land a real heavy-duty sucker punch.

(Formation of a tornado funnel cloud — a sight you NEVER want to see up close …)

I got a big reminder about that this weekend after six inches worth of rain dumped on Fairfax County, VA, turned my basement into something resembling the tidal flats out at the Chesapeake Bay. Sheets of water, accompanied by mud and silt, forced itself through over-saturated clay soil, through our cinderblock foundation, and then into our nice (if old fashion) basement. Say, goodbye, wall-to-wall carpeting: we only knew you less than seven months. Not sure if we’ll ever see your like again down here, either.

Frantically running around bailing water by the minute while hoisting computers, wires, and other perishable gear high above the lapping liquid, I couldn’t help but realize I had it easy. This same storm system clawed its way first through Oklahoma, Missouri, and Georgia, touching off tornadoes and killing at least 22 people … so far. Thousands of homes are gone – no worries about basement clean up there. They don’t even have family photo albums anymore, ripped to pieces by the high-pitched winds. (Oh, but don’t you worry: the banks will still demand their mortgage payments, even though the houses they are for don’t exist anymore.)

Truckers are having are hard time of it, as well, with roads flooded out or closed due to falling trees, along with the ghastly irritation of traffic signals gone dark and useless. The whole Northern Virginia area is being choked by worse-than-usual traffic this morning, due to all of those issues and more.

(Trucking in the rain isn’t fun … to say the least.)

Yet this is light stuff, compared to what’s in Mother Nature’s arsenal. It’s not even hurricane season yet, nor have the conditions for wildfires out west ripened, nor twister time really kicked off across the plains. Drought plagued my neck of the woods the last three years – now we’re soaked with too much rain, tripping off floods of all sizes and shapes.

Look what happened in Burma and China, too. A cyclone roared in from the Pacific killing over 100,000 people in Burma last week, while an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale left a widespread path of destruction and death in its wake across much of central China.

And the real clincher is that all of this damage happens so FAST! Earthquakes, storms, and the like roar up and wreak havoc, causing damage that takes months if not years to repair, in little more than a few hours time. It’s frustrating and frightening all at the same time.

(Pike Electric crews getting ready to help Oklahoma recover from storm damage.)

Then again, what can you do? The mess never gets cleaned up by itself, does it? So, once I file this story, me and my puny two-gallon Craftsman wet/dry vacuum are going to be headed back to work … while keeping one eye on the Weather Channel, just in case Mother Nature might try to uncork another haymaker before the day is done.

“The cat has too much spirit to have no heart.” –Ernest Menaul

For years, I’d always thought dogs were a trucker’s best friend – a view borne out by the many different canines I’ve met over the years riding shotgun with drivers. Yet this year at the Mid America Trucking Show, I got an eye-opener of sorts as I stumbled upon quite a few trucks that were homes away from home for plenty of cats.

(Pee Wee, perched high in the cab for a great view of the road.)

Shaun Flowers, a driver for Roady Trucking of Marysville, Kansas, introduced me to his feline highway companion, sporting the handle “Pee Wee” and resting comfortably on the dashboard. “He’s been with me for three years and goes everywhere I go,” Shaun told me. “Best thing is, I don’t have to stop and take him for a walk.”

(Pee Wee is ALWAYS ready for a close up.)

But it’s more than that, of course. Cats are very different from dogs psychologically as well as physically, content to seek out affection from humans when they need it, then quick to saunter off for a nap or ritual fur cleaning without so much as a backward glance. I know this for a fact, having spent the last 12 years in the company Woody, our resident grey tabby feline.

(The indefatigable Woodrow Wilson Kilcarr the First.)

This isn’t to denigrate the stalwart canine companion in any way, shape or form, I stress! In all honesty, I was a dog person my whole life, growing up with a wide variety of breeds, from cocker spaniels and a Collie-German Shepard mix to outright mutts. (We had three dogs at one point – meaning I probably qualify as a “Redneck” according to some of the rules laid down by the great Jeff Foxworthy). I spent countless hours in their fine company and at some point still plan to bring a Chocolate Labrador into my home

Yet cats – especially those that like to display their social skills – are more than great companions at home and on the road. They provide to us humans comfort, unquestioning friendship, and probably best of all a calming influence. After many a long day, I can tell you, there’s nothing like sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate and Sir Woody by my side, his rhythmic purrs leaching away the stress in large chunks.

(A whole gaggle of cats finds this trucker’s dashboard a fine place to keep warm.)

That soothing presence is a great boon to me, as well as to truckers plying the long highways day after countless day.

“Too many new drivers are involved in road accidents and are not properly prepared for driving alone. It is time for a new approach to learning to drive.” –Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for transport, United Kingdom

Though roadway deaths and serious injuries dropped by 33% in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, and Scotland … oh, all right, we’ll throw Northern Ireland in there too for now, much as I’d rather not) since the mid 1990s, the casualty rate for young drivers has not changed – and that’s promulgating a new effort spearheaded by Ruth Kelly, the U.K.’s transport secretary, to totally revamp driver training processes.

“The aim … is to create safer drivers for life by strengthening the current learning and testing procedures and creating a culture of extended and advanced learning,” she said in a statement to the press kicking off this new program. And it’s a program we in the U.S. should take a close look at ourselves, suffering as we do from some 43,000 highway deaths every year.

The problem in the U.K. is simple and brutal: One in five people get into an accident within six months of passing their driver’s test, with another 70% reporting near-misses in the same period. Newly qualified drivers and their passengers also account for one in five of all car deaths in Britain as well.

Note some of these statistics: Two million people take a car driving test every year in the U.K. but only 750,000 end up qualifying for a license. That means the pass rate is 44%, meaning the average learner takes more than two tests before passing. Three quarters of those 750,000, by the way, are under the age of 25, according to the U.K.’s department of transport.

“We must make sure that novice drivers are safe drivers when they have passed their test,” Kelly added. “We must also create an expectation of lifelong learning, so that people continue advanced learning after their test. That is why I am publishing proposals that offer new drivers more opportunities to learn both before and after the test, including at school.”

Her plan is to create a foundation course in safe road use for under 17 years olds to be piloted in schools and colleges in Scotland from this Autumn – leading to a qualification program available across Great Britain by 2009.

For the first time, Kelly said, there will be a syllabus to ensure more effective and comprehensive training is offered to learner drivers. This will set out more clearly the necessary steps to driving safely – beginning with the basics of car control, progressing to skills such as driving in difficult weather or at night and culminating in ensuring driver awareness is enhanced, to help novice drivers predict the intentions of other road users.

Here are some of the key points of her proposal:

* A more focused and thorough learning process before the driving test that focuses not just on vehicle control but also the wider skills needed to be a safe driver, from driving in difficult conditions (for example at night or in poor weather) to learning to predict and respond to other road users’ intentions;

* A new training syllabus to ensure learners understand what is required of them to become a responsible driver, enable them to undertake structured and efficient learning and accurately assess when they are ready to pass their driving test;

* An improved driving test which requires the driver to demonstrate independent driving skills and clear understanding of different situations on the road, with the option of modular assessment;

* New opportunities to take extra training post test; working with the insurance industry and employers in the driving for work sector we will develop new courses and qualifications to be taken after the driving test that could lead to lower premiums and a better chance of securing a career in the driving for work sector;

* A star-rating system for driving instructors so that learners can make an informed choice based on pass rates and the level of training instructors have undergone;

* A review of driving instructor training and testing to ensure they provide a quality service and are focused on those areas of driving performance that are closely linked to safe driving.

What are the results that Kelly hopes to achieve with all of this? Pretty straightforward:

* A driving test that gives a more realistic and rounded assessment of whether someone is fit to drive alone;

* More focused and efficient learning, with greater clarity about what is required, so learners should not face any increase in costs;

* Better training and testing of driving instructors and better information for the public on instructors’ qualifications and performance

* A wider range of opportunities for drivers to acquire skills and demonstrate that they have done so, both before and after they qualify, creating a culture of lifelong learning and driver development.

* Lower numbers of accidents;

* More opportunities and greater incentives for post-test learning, with this becoming increasingly common;

* Higher levels of employer confidence in the driving test and driving qualifications;

* Lower insurance costs for drivers who have taken advantage of a wider range of learning options, both pre and post test, to improve their competence.

It’s bold stuff, what the U.K. is attempting to put in place here, as it will require a lot of time, effort, money, and above all patience. But if this program results in fewer highway deaths and better drivers for the long term, it will be well worth it – and may be something we need to look at copying here in the U.S.

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake . . . by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.” –Henry David Thoreau, from “Walden: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.”

If there’s one four-letter word that rules the trucking industry with a hammer, most would think it would be “fuel.” I mean, with diesel prices up over $4.21 per gallon across much of the country, trucking companies are on track to spend $135 billion on fuel this year, up from $113 billion in 2007.

Yet fuel costs can be managed to a degree, if carriers spec their equipment to get the best fuel economy and their drivers operate in the most fuel-efficient manner. And don’t forget fuel surcharges – the industry collected $65 billion worth of fuel surcharges last year, which knocked its out-of-pocket fuel bill down to $48 billion – significantly less than the $53 billion this industry paid for fuel back in 2003, when diesel cost half as much as it did today.

No, the four-letter word that really dominates this industry is “time.” Because that’s what shippers of all shapes and sizes are focused on: how long does it take to get my goods from here to there. Some may be willing to wait longer than others, but not too many. That’s the reason “just-in-time” and its ubiquitous acronym JIT permeate this industry top to bottom.

Yet “time” doesn’t just relate to freight pickup and delivery – it’s also a key component in the back office functions (witness the rapid rise of real-time electronic billing and the use of telematics to enhance this capability for truckers) and in the individual manager’s workday. One reason so many paper-driven processes in trucking are going electronic is to free up the manager’s work schedule so he or she can have more time on more pressing issues.

Professor Jerry Osteryoung of the college of business at Florida State University has some thoughts on this subject, based on his long experience working with entrepreneurs from across the business spectrum, so I am going to let him share those with you today. Professor Osteryoung, the floor is yours:

“The most limited resource all of us have is time. Time is something that is so precious in our lives, yet we just do not appreciate it enough. In my case, what surprises me the most is how fast I have come to be 66. I feel as if I have missed so much in my life – both in terms of business and personal – just because of poor time management.

I could go on and on about various techniques for improving time management, such as dealing with interruptions, setting priorities, etc; however, I think time management is a much deeper subject. After having given a myriad of seminars on the topic, I have learned that people can improve their time management techniques for a short period of time, but very rarely have I seen long-term changes.

If you are going to change how you manage your time, it will take much more than just trying a new technique. Rather, you are going to need to take a conscious approach to time management.

All of us use habits to cope with life. In this complex world, we form them to allow us to deal with the many things that need our attention. Some of these habits are good (exercising), but others are not (overeating). Having habits is not a bad thing, but not being aware of when you are operating in habitual mode is not good.

Unless we are consciously aware of our time management, we tend to go after the urgent items rather than the most important. Which would you look at first: a new email or some old-fashioned snail mail? Most folks would look at the new email even though the regularly mailed letter might be much more important. I think this is because we are just not conscious of how we are responding to both important and urgent items.

While it is glib to say that we should pay more attention to the important items rather than the urgent, it is really not as simple as it sounds. We are frequently totally unaware of our decisions and behaviors. Our habits drive us towards those urgent items every time.

So many spiritual leaders, such as Buddha and Gandhi, have talked about the importance of consciousness in our lives and how to go about achieving it. However, very little has been written about conscious decision-making in business. I believe that consciousness applied to time management is the secret to making real changes in how we manage our time and our lives.

In 1973, Alan Lakein wrote a book detailing a process he invented for bringing consciousness into our time management. This process consists of two main elements that you repeat many times (at least 10 times) throughout the day. First, take a deep breath, and second, ask yourself, ‘Is this what I want or need to be doing right now?’ This process takes you out of the habitual mode and gives you a much more holistic approach to time management. I have been using this process for a while, and I can personally attest to how effectively it works to make sure that I am focusing less and less on the urgent items in my life.

So take a breath, then ask yourself, ‘Is this what I want or need to be doing right now?’ Your life and so many others are going to be improved by using this simple technique to bring consciousness into your time management.”

As always, Professor Osteryoung can be reached by e-mail at jerry.osteryoung@gmail.com or by phone at 850-644-3372.

“Shutting down the ports in defiance of the contract and the arbitrator’s order in no way benefits an already-fragile U.S. economy.” –Steve Getzug, spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, the group representing 29 ports on the U.S. west coast.

In case you missed it, there was a “May Day” work stoppage at all the ports on the U.S. west coast last week on May 1, as 15,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) stayed home between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ostensibly to protest the ongoing war in Iraq. However, the May Day work stoppage is in actuality an annual event conducted by the ILWU and it shows that labor still has some pretty big muscles to flex, especially in the transportation industry.

It’s also worthy to note that the union went ahead with its plans despite a ruling by the Coast Arbitrator – essentially the Supreme Court on the waterfront, according to Steve Getzug, spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents the ports – that ordered the ILWU to treat May 1 today as a normal work day.

“This work-stoppage, illegal under the ILWU-PMA contract, comes just two months prior to the expiration of the current labor agreement,” noted Getzug in a press statement last week. “Today’s actions raised the question of whether this was an attempt to leverage contract negotiations.” He also expressed concerns that the ILWU might use slowdowns as a negotiating tactic when the current six-year labor contract expires on July 1 this year.

This is a bog deal because the west coast ports represent a critical linchpin in the U.S. economy. Since 2002, overall container volume is up 45% and as a result, west coast port operations (including non-containerized cargo such as bulk and autos) now support eight million U.S. jobs and contribute 11% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The domestic business impact of West Coast port trade is $1.3 trillion – roughly equivalent to the GDP of Canada or Mexico.

Needless to say, the longshoremen have some serious clout out there on the west coast – and good pay to boot. The average full-time wages for fully registered port workers are $136,000 a year, and their benefits package, including pension and health care, costs more than $50,000 per worker. Why, you may you ask, do they get so much? Answer: necessity. These folks unload all the goods coming from Asia into the U.S. – goods that are partly the result of efforts to outsource manufacturing to cheaper locales overseas. Without the longshoremen, commerce grinds to a halt – as do many of the global supply chains many companies here in the U.S. rely upon.

The need for labor – and the need to treat it well – is occurring in trucking as well, to an extent. More than 7,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, for example, just ratified a new labor contract with DHL Express – a company owned by German giant Deutsch Post. That follows a pact approved at UPS Freight – the former Overnite Express – covering 10,700 Teamster members this past April. Both of these deals are the first new national pacts negotiated by the Teamsters in more than 30 years, the union noted.

We’ll be seeing more of this, I think, as labor gets scarce not only in trucking but in the U.S. as a whole as the “baby boom” generation retires and is replaced by the far smaller “Generation X” population.

“Look at the overall demographic shift here – you have 78 million baby boomers that start retiring in 2008 being replaced by Generation X, which is comprised of only 45 million workers,” says Richard White, VP-marketing and communications for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Assn. “Basically, you have a lot of people retiring very soon and not enough people to fill the jobs they are leaving.”

Trucking is especially feeling this pinch. According to the American Trucking Association (ATA), the industry is short 20,000 drivers annually right now compared against the amount of tonnage it hauls – which will grow to 114,000 by 2014 if current conditions remain unsolved.

This is but one reason why the balance of power may shift to the labor side of the ledger fairly soon in this industry – and none too soon for many drivers in the long-haul segment of the market. Yet it also may not be a huge negative for trucking, if handled correctly: lord knows, UPS has managed to become a more than nimble competitor in the freight world with its unionized workforce. Look at the Teamsters deal with DHL Express, also: it’s five-year contract (which expires on March 31, 2013) offers annual wage and benefit increases, including $8.35 over the term of the contract for pick up-and-delivery and clerical workers; all health-and-welfare and pension funds are maintained for current employees; and a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, applies to all employees.

The Teamsters added that the deal should help save DHL money, as its lost billions since purchasing Airborne Express in 2003, including $900 million last year. “Creating a national contract was a complicated undertaking and our members have shown that it was worthwhile work,” said Brad Slawson, co-chair of the Teamsters national negotiating committee. “Not only were we able to negotiate significant economic gains for members, this agreement provides job security by allowing DHL to better compete in this tough industry.”

And the freight market is only going to get tougher in the months ahead.

“We are not asking trucking companies to do anything differently than they are doing it now – we’re just offering them an opportunity to do their work at a lower cost … using offshore resources.” –Anthony Aliengena, CEO of Aliengena Inc., parent company of Aliengena Outsourcing Pvt. Ltd.

OK – even this is catching me off-guard. I mean, outsourcing routine back office functions to workers overseas is one thing (and I think it’s a bad idea to start with), but then move DISPATCH overseas? TO INDIA????

I mean, PLEASE! We all seem to be forgetting that trucking is a PEOPLE business here. Sure, it’s all about getting freight from point A to Point B as fast and as cheap as possible. But there are human beings behind the wheel, mapping out the route, making sure the equipment is safe, and making sure if there’s a problem they can take care of it – fast. Do you REALLY think a dispatcher based in INDIA is going to manage drivers rolling in the southwestern U.S. BETTER? Sure, it’ll be done CHEAPER, but does that improve the service?

Look, all regards to Anthony Aliengena, CEO of Aliengena Inc. of Pune, India: he’s trying to solve cost issues for trucking companies here in the U.S., suffering under the weight of $4.21 per gallon diesel. He believes that in tough times, companies can outsource their non-core jobs for significant savings without losing their focus or their industry-specific skilled work force.

But is this really a good idea in the long run? To have all your back-office functions – the folks writing the checks and dispatching trucks – based halfway around the globe? What if servers and phone lines go down? What if DOT inspectors show up asking for records? Are you going to book them on Air India and say “good luck”???

Of course, it’s all about the money. Aliengena Outsourcing admits right up front that the big savings come from salaries, taxes, insurance, vacation time, overhead and infrastructure costs can add up quickly. For an employee earning $15 per hour in the U.S., the benefits and other items can easily tack on another $6.50 or more per hour, the company noted in its press release. That means an employee earning a base salary of $31,200 a year might actually cost the company approximately $45,000, the company noted.

The same job in India could cost half that amount. By shifting just 10 jobs offshore, a company could save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, Anthony Aliengena said. “Savings like that can mean the difference between riding out this economic storm and not making it,” he added. By moving much of their routine work overseas – jobs like auditing, credit, collections and even billing and posting checks – companies realize significant savings, Aliengena noted.

Look, I am not knocking India here – let’s be clear. That nation is investing in technical infrastructure – dedicated Internet lines, servers, etc. – like crazy and they have a HUGE well-trained English-speaking workforce. We should be hanging our heads in the U.S. when we see things like this because OUR workforce for decades has never even been close to the multi-lingual capabilities of our countries. (That includes me: I practically flunked Spanish in high school.)

And Aliengena isn’t just theorizing here – he actually pilot-tested his overseas staffing idea with two truck companies in Utah, not far from his American HQ in Heber City, UT.

“Our pilot companies found that by moving non-mission-critical jobs to a lower-cost market, they were able to focus on their core business. More importantly, they were able to make more money while maintaining customer service levels with their current home office management staff,” he said. Now they are intent on expanding this effort to other jobs, such as dispatching.

“Overseas staffing gives companies the flexibility to add or remove people quickly and easily as their needs fluctuate, allowing them to better weather the industry’s ups and downs. In our pilot testing, the average savings per worker has been between 33% and 50%,” he noted.

Look, we live in a global economy now, so we’re competing with everyone for jobs and business. But it just seems to me it would be a strategic liability to have the guts of a trucking business thousands of miles away on another side of the world. That’s my take at least.