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Strunk and White’s Elements of Style (originally published in 1918) identifies clear guidelines and recommendations for clear writing. They also have a list of commonly misused words and expressions. At the top of the list:

-ize. Do not coin verbs by adding this tempting suffix. Many good and useful verbs do end in -ize: summarize, fraternize, harmonize, fertilize. But there is a growing list of abominations: containerize, prioritize, finalize, to name three. Be suspicious of -ize; let your ear and your eye guide you. Never tack -ize onto a noun to create a verb. Usually you will discover that a useful verb already exists. Why say “utilize” when there is the simple, unpretentious word use?

More and more of these ‘-ize’ terms are constantly being added to the modern business lexicon. Perhaps they were created as a catchier, more intelligent technique to state the obvious…

Here are five common terms that overused and some suggestions on replacement terms.

Finalize

‘Finalize’ is one of the most commonly used fake terms. “We can finalize the deal only after both teams agree on the scope.” Also: finalizing, finalization.

• Use instead: ‘Complete’: We will complete the requirements document only after expectations have been defined.”

Strategize

How many times have you heard this one in meetings? “The team needs to meet so we can strategize the elements of the project.”

• Use instead: ‘Assess’ or ‘Define’: “The design team met to assess the creative approach.”

Conceptualize

Somewhat similar to “strategize”, this term is frequently used as an element of the creative process. It’s an ugly word with a number of simpler options. “After the wireframes are completed the designers will conceptualize the creative approach.”

• Use instead: ‘Plan’ or ‘Address’: “The creative director used mood boards and case studies to plan the design strategy.

Templatize

This is an awful term that indicates that something is converted from custom to repeatable. “We can save time if we templatize all the pages.”

• Use instead: ‘replicate’: “The information architecture needed to replicate the structure to maintain consistency.”

Incentivize

A truly cringe-worthy term. “Free water bottles should be enough to incentivize users to fill out the survey.”

• Use instead: ‘motivate’ (or simply ‘incent’): “We can motivate employees if we offer additional personal days.”

I was initially skeptical about The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. While a number of friends had recommended the book, I generally try to avoid preachy lifestyle books—especially the ones about food. I’m not interested in the politics of food and subscribe to the “if it tastes good, eat it” school of food theory. Then I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma…

The basic message of The Omnivore’s Dilemma is that we need to begin thinking more about the foods we eat—we have become far too removed from our meals as a society. Relatively new advances in technology have created a bounty of cheap and readily accessible food sources. The growth of food supply chains, agribusiness, and transportation has created this boon, but it has come at a huge cost to our natural resources and health. To demonstrate this, the author takes us through four meals – a fast food meal on side of the scale and a completed hunted and gathered meal on the other.

The most compelling (and disturbing) part of the book is the in-depth investigation of the industrial food chain. Pollan traces the creation of a McDonald’s dinner all the way back to the corn fields of Middle-America, where farmers grow massive crops of genetically-engineered corn, most of which is consumed by cattle or chickens inside industrial feed lots. In addition to corn, these animals are fed a number of antibiotics, hormones, and steroids that fatten them up faster and quicken their journey to the slaughterhouse. After being process and treated with more chemicals and preservatives, the meat is shipped across the country to fast food joints and readily consumed by millions of people every day.

Get the picture? By deconstructing the industrial food chain, Pollan gives us alarming insights into the true cost of our meals and the stress it puts on natural resources and the health or our nation.

Pollan also analyzes meals originating from “industrial organic” and sustainable farms. He also creates a meal that is made from food he hunted and gathered in his community.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is not a preachy or political book. The author is a true food lover and he takes care not to criticize the choices of others. The book informs and avoids sermonizing. Pollan’s simple process of meal deconstruction is incredibly compelling.

Related links:

• Michael Pollan’s website
• Omnivore’s Dilemma Wikipedia Entry

Woody Allen said, “Most of the time I don’t have much fun. The rest of the time I don’t have any fun at all.” That’s how I feel about 2007. It was a tough year, mostly defined by long work hours, business trips, and tough decision but…as a whole, turned out to be an exceptionally positive year with lots of both professional and personal growth.

Not being one to ruminate, my year in review is presented in list format…

Work Highlights:

• Growth, growth, growth…RDVO grows by nearly 40% (for the third year in a row).
• New people. We were able to attract and retain some great new team members in ‘07. The company nearly doubled in size and only one person left the company in 2007.
• Great work. We had a number of awesome website and product launches in 2007. Our work for MBTA.com was recognized as one of top websites of 2007. RDVO did some innovative work for Microsoft and Oxfam America.
• New services and focus. We grew our research and strategy capabilities and team. I believe this is a critical piece of RDVO’s future success (and our industry in general). In 2008 we plan to continue to grow in the area and plan to establish the company as a leader in this area.
• Awards. RDVO won more awards than any year in our history. We won a Webby for the MBTA website, as well MITX Awards for MBTA, Gillette Young Guns, and PHT Corporation. We also took part in Microsoft’s Phizzpop challenge and were nominated for a technology award at South by Southwest.

Life Highlights:

• New home. I bought a new place in Boston’ South End, housing market be damned! I moved into a parlor level on Union Park. The move was generally painless although actually “moving in” has taken much more time and energy than I thought. Should there still be boxes laying around six months after the move? 2008 will be marked by home improvements, including new kitchen, bathroom, and a number of other small projects…
• Traveling man. I spend well over a month on the road this year. Most of the travel was work-related, with a number of trips to Seattle. Ilisa and I took a nice (albeit short) vacation to Mexico. I also had visits to New York, Chicago, Austin, and San Francisco. Numerous frequent flyer miles were obtained!
• Red Sox. Saw one of the playoff games in their historic championship run!

I also saw a number of great movies, dined at a few great restaurants, and read some wonderful books. Here’s my quick “best of 2008″ list.

• Best Meal – a toss-up this year. I had an amazing meal at Café Juanita in Seattle while traveling on business. In Boston, the best meal I had was the amazing Ribeye at Boston’s new Ruth’s Chris steakhouse. Yeah, yeah – Ruth’s Chris is a big chain, but I’m not embarrassed—I was generally underwhelmed by Boston restaurants. Two new restaurants in my neighborhood – Gaslight and Rocca were both extremely disappointing.
• Best Movie – I can’t recall a year where I saw fewer movies than in 2007. I was blow away by No Country for Old Men, which was definitely my movie-going highlight of the year. I also enjoyed Eastern Promises and Ratatouille.
• Best Book – I read a number of books this year, but nothing really stuck with me. I enjoyed Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth. I also re-read a couple of classics, including I, Claudius, Ragtime, and The Autobiography of Ben Franklin. Most entertaining, however, was Edmund Morris’s Theodore Roosevelt biographies, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex. America could certainly use Roosevelt today!

By Michael Chabon

I’ve read pretty much everything Michael Chabon has written. I am in awe of his evocative writing style and enjoy the whimsical nature of his story lines. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is his follow-up to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, a book I completely enjoyed from cover to cover. While equally ambitious and enjoyable, Union ultimately runs out of steam and fails to engross the read like Kavalier.

The premise is inventive and engaging. Imagine if the Jews ultimately failed to establish the State of Israel after World War II and instead were given a small swath of land in coastal Alaska to settle. Instead of Tel Aviv, Jews in this alternate universe have Sitka as their capital and have established a large Jewish community in the far Pacific Northwest. As the book begins we learn that Sitka will soon lose sovereignty as an independent territory and, not unlike the last two thousand years, Jews will again have to seek a new homeland.

Enter Meyer Landsman, a Sam Spade (Spadestein)-like detective down on his luck. The run-down hotel where he lives is the scene of an execution-style murder of a junky chess master who turns out to be much more than he appears…

The novel unfolds as a class murder-mystery with a number of surprises and turns of fate. Along the way Chabon introduces the reader to the large cast of beautifully drawn characters who inhabit the strange world of Sitka, including Mafia-like Hassidic Jews, Filipino Donut kings, and Tlingit Indian lawmen. Chabon’s writing and narrative brings the sights, sounds, and smells of this imaginary Kosher wasteland to life (although his copious use of Yiddish may be confusing to some readers).

Ultimately, I found that the novel ran out steam about three quarters of the way through and ends up limping to the conclusion. Creating a compelling murder mystery against the backdrop of such a lavishly fantastic setting must have been challenging for the writer. While it works on a number of levels, I thought all the competing elements of story became exhausting and I limped through the last fifty pages or so. The mystery becomes more complex and far-reaching as it unravels (and quite difficult to follow!)

I would recommend The Yiddish Policemen’s Union to Chabon fans and readers who enjoy thick and juicy power-fiction. It’s a must read for anyone who enjoys Chabon’s work. However, I would try Kavalier or Mysteries of Pittsburgh if you haven’t read any of his work.