Vol. 95 November, 2008
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A Message from the President
I love birthdays. My own is in November and even though the count is getting to be a pretty high number I still relish "my" day. Likewise, with two more months to celebrate McElroy's 40th anniversary (1968-2008), our company continues to laud the occasion. Our feature article "40 Lessons Learned" was compiled from suggestions from staff. McElroy writer and PR specialist Rebecca Petras reports that it was a challenge to narrow the content down to the "top 40." Also, as part of the celebration, this month we collected "translator stories" at our booth at the American Translators Association National Conference. Final decisions are still being made on what form these stories will take and how we will share them. But we know we want to continue beyond 2008 archiving these personal memoirs. These stories (1) demonstrate McElroy Translation connections to contractors, (2) highlight that even as technology advances our industry it is humans that add unique value, and (3) show the passage of time, 40 years, in a very interesting way!
Shelly Priebe, President
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Lessons Learned in 40 Years of Translation Service
By Rebecca Petras, published in The Link Newsletter, November 2008
This year McElroy Translation reached a major milestone not seen by most in the industry: Forty years of profitable business. The company was founded in 1968 by its namesake, Ralph McElroy, who saw an opportunity to improve standards and institute quality controls in the translation business.
So what have the folks at McElroy learned in forty years of successful translating with a large and stable group of customers? An internal team posed that question to staff members throughout the company and compiled a list of Forty Lessons Learned. Many of the lessons are good ingredients for any successful business in any industry, such as giving staff as much guidance and assistance as needed, but no more; and, treating a client complaint as a business opportunity. But ten of the lessons are specific to the translation industry. McElroy shares its recipe for success in the translation business here.
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“
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
”
—President-elect Barack Obama
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Jamie Smith
Document Specialist
Jamie was born and raised in the great state of Texas—going from Kemah to Bertram to Spring to Humble (don't worry if you haven't heard of them), she took what would appear to be the scenic route around the small town tour of her state, finally putting roots down in Austin, where she lives with her boyfriend and their megalomaniacal tabby cat, Monster.
Her hobbies include photo editing, gardening, reading, knitting, drinking too much coffee, and being as cheeky as she can get away with. She has been addicted to Photoshop for ten years now and has been running a successful textures, graphics, and 3D modeling business out of Second Life, a popular online game, for the last three years. She lovingly refers to it as her cartoon company.
Jamie is currently a student at the University of Texas, studying government and foreign language. She is also working toward a certificate in digital arts and media, and just to make sure she has as little free time as possible over the next few years, she also plans to earn a secondary education certificate for government and social studies, in hopes of one day inspiring young minds to become passionate about the world around them.
Before coming to McElroy Translation, she could typically be found charming customers at local coffeehouses or hiding behind her laptop helping to build websites for her friends.
This month, Jamie will celebrate her first anniversary as a document specialist with McElroy. If you hear mischievous giggling coming from the second floor of the McElroy building, you can safely assume it is coming from her.
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Point/Counterpoint: Which Constraints Keep You Up at Night?
By Tina Cargile and Erin Vang, published by MultiLingual Computing, October/November 2008
Tina and Erin are back for another edition of Point/Counterpoint, this time discussing project management constraints and how these constraints can be visualized from the vendor/client prospective. The five major constraints that project managers across the board are up against are cost, time, quality, scope, and risk. Erin is able to manage cost and risk over the long haul, making time, quality, and scope her largest constraints, whereas Tina, who is on the vendor side, handles these five constraints in different proportions that vary by client and project.
Check out this month's Point/Counterpoint article at Multilingual.com or click here.
Finnish
McElroy is continuing this series of interviews that highlight some of the characteristics of languages used in doing business globally. This month, we look at Finnish.
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92 percent as of 2006) and by ethnic Finns worldwide. It is one of the official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken. The Kven language, which is closely related to Finnish, is an official minority language in Norway.
This month we dive into this language and learn some of the characteristics that are unique or different from English and/or other languages, pitfalls to avoid, and five tips for assessing professionally qualified translators.
Read full Translator interview.
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
Have you been itching to upgrade to astounding HD clarity with your movie-watching experiences, or wondering how you will be able squeeze that PERFECT gift into your holiday budget this year? Have we got the promotion for you! This month we bring you the BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray disc player by Sony. The most noticeable additions to this year's model are the Ethernet port that lets you download firmware updates directly to the player, and—with one of those firmware updates—access web content encoded to Blu-ray discs via BD-Live, compatibility with the Bonus View feature of select Blu-ray movies, and a USB port that allows you to add more storage to access the growing number of special features that will be available given the immense storage capacity of Blu-ray discs themselves.
In layman’s terms—AWEsome! And for the best news, we will pick a winner by the end of the month, and get this fabulous prize in your hands with plenty of time to spare before the holidays!
Enter here for your chance to win a Blu-ray disc player, courtesy of McElroy Translation. As a courtesy to all promo entrants and winners, your privacy is respected and winners will always be given an opportunity to choose where their prize is delivered.
Anniversaries
McElroy Translation appreciates the business of the following clients and announces the anniversaries of these client relationships:
15 year
- Keller & Heckman
- Westman Champlin & Kelly
10 year
- Amgen
- Priest & Goldstein PLLC
5 year
- Andrews Kurth LLP
- Cargill
- Cooley Godward LLP
- Mission Pharmaceutical
- Skye Pharma
- Texas Instruments - Ethics and Compliance
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McElroy’s Vision Statement
Setting the industry standard in customer satisfaction
McElroy’s Mission Statement
McElroy Translation provides translation and localization services in all languages to business and government clientele enhancing their ability to compete in global markets.
McElroy Gives Back—National Public Radio (KUT 90.5 FM)
McElroy Translation recently made a donation to our local NPR radio station at the Business Circle level. KUT is essential to our commutes, our workdays, and our private lives. Beyond the standard NPR offerings—A Prairie Home Companion, All Things Considered, Fresh Air—are the uniquely “Austin” offerings such as Blue Monday, Paul Ray’s Jazz, Eklektikos, Twine Time, and many others.
Their Mission
To be the most trusted radio source for news and music in Central Texas.
Their Music
Their Music
KUT plays music that matters to Austin. Music that is hand-picked for the qualities of substance and integrity; music that is as innovative, authentic, and passionate as the city itself.
Their Operating Principles
Public Service Committed: They strive for excellence in the quality and credibility of the programs they acquire and produce, as well as the reliability of their broadcast service. They organize work processes, procedures, resources, and priorities around audience service.
Outcome Driven: They approach every task with a clear goal in mind and habitually ask the question, “What is the outcome we are looking for?” They recognize that every action, activity, and communication produces an outcome, and they are purposeful about the outcome they seek.
Performance Focused: They focus on quality performance and optimal efficiency by setting clear expectations, providing needed resources, establishing goals, structuring their work habits, and prioritizing their tasks. Each person is held accountable for his or her outcomes and is recognized for achievements.
For more information, please visit www.npr.org.
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