It's A Wrap

As each year comes to a close, we reminisce about the days gone by: the opportunities missed, the people that have passed away, the jobs we've left, the deal that fell through, the love lost, the song unsung, or the miracle that never came to pass. Surely "a year in review" is a necessary part of the process for closure. It helps us tie up the loose ends, or at least declare that we'll complete the process when we make our New Year's resolutions. By instant replaying the last twelve months, we pay homage to those people and events that inspired us or defeated us. The process also allows us to tally up our wins and losses.

At The Network Journal, we also use this time to conduct our own s.w.o.t. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. But for the purposes of this issue, we highlight the articles and issues that we believe you've found most appealing. If we failed to feature one of your favorite articles, feel free to drop us a line to let us know which one we left out. We appreciate the feedback.

We also encourage you to check out our feature story on the newest technological gadgets that can help you upgrade your performance in an article entitled "The Need for Speed." In this piece, we cover a number of areas from handheld palm pilots to the Web so you can work more efficiently while doing everyday tasks. If you need further assistance in this area, see the featured sidebar for additional resources.

Also see our Q&A featuring Johnnie Cochran (page 46). He talks about his new book, A Lawyer's Life (St. Martin's Press, $25.95), as well as the lessons he's learned during the course of his career. Although we tried to get him to tell us what "new" material readers will discover about him by reading the book, he simply responded, "There are so many unknown things about my career that there is not enough time or space to tell them all, so I have to respectfully suggest that people buy the book and read it for themselves." We suggest you do just that.

And if you haven't finished your holiday shopping, please consider some of the products highlighted in our article on ethnic gifts. If you choose to shop this holiday season, we hope you'll use your financial resources to acknowledge the people that you care about, as well as invest in minority businesses.

Moreover, we hope you'll use the year-end to plan for the future, because no matter how many times you review the past, you can't turn back the hands of time. In fact, the best way to commemorate 2002 is to make plans for building a better tomorrow. We look forward to helping you do that by providing you with the latest information and education to help you make wiser decisions in your personal and professional lives. And if at anytime you find that we're not doing that, we invite you to let us know so we can exceed your expectations.

That said, we wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous 2003! And that's a wrap. The Editor