The First Fifteen Minutes

About the Book

The purpose of The First 15 Minutes is to teach you how to date strategically when you're ready to get married. I call this ZONING. The premise of this book is that it only takes 15 minutes to ZONE. Within The First 15 Minutes of meeting someone, you can determine whether or not the two of you have the potential for maximum compatibility. As discussed in greater detail in the following book, there are three ZONES of compatibility: 1) The RED ZONE (zero to minimal compatibility); 2) The YELLOW ZONE (moderate to high compatibility); and The GREEN ZONE (maximum compatibility).

The seven principles of Zoning outlined in The First 15 Minutes provide a road-map for simplifying the dating process. My goal in this short, but powerful book, is to encourage you to focus on the fundamentals of relationship building, including self-awareness, setting a clear standard from which you refuse to compromise, developing patience, maintaining a positive attitude, and exercising discernment throughout the development of your relationships.

Following the principles in this book will cause you to stop wasting your time with incompatible people. Not everyone you meet is a potential candidate for marriage. In fact, very few people fall within the category of those potentially "qualified" to share the intimacies of your life, dreams, and future.

A happy marriage is a result of just a few key choices, the most important of which is identifying someone with whom you have maximum compatibility. If you are willing to accept the principles of The First 15 Minutes, and change your approach accordingly, you will succeed in finding a person who will work with you to build the foundation necessary for a happy marriage.

About the Author

Jay A. Hewlin, Esq. is the author of The First Fifteen Minutes: For Those Dating With Marriage in Mind. The First Fifteen Minutes explains the concept and importance of Zoning. Zoning is the 15-minute process of identifying and eliminating from your dating life, individuals with whom you do not have maximum compatibility. The book is the by-product of Jay's personal experiences as a single person and later as a happily married man for the last 11 years.

Jay is currently a consultant and attorney specializing in employment law. The Business Management Institute ("BMI") is the company through which Jay consults businesses on employment law matters arising under Title VII, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, and USERRA. In addition, Jay trains managers on critical skills to avoid complaints of discrimination and its associated costs, and teaches managers how to be effective in a diverse work force. Jay also collaborates with management scholars on research examining selection, retention, employee satisfaction, and organizational culture. Jay teaches classes and serves as a guest lecturer at Georgetown University's Center for Professional Development and the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. His teaching areas include: employment law and managerial effectiveness, diversity and negotiation.

Most recently, Jay has partnered with a group of Ph.D.s, MBA's, and JD's that have formed an innovative consulting company that employs an interdisciplinary approach to solving strategic challenges faced by public and private organizations: Symphonic Strategies, LLC (http://www.symphonicstrategies.com). Symphonic Strategies offers its clients customized strategies that help them prioritize among competing challenges and ultimately make decisions that accelerate organizational effectiveness.

Prior to starting BMI and joining the Symphonic Strategies team, Jay counseled and represented the United States Senate offices in employment law matters, and researched the impact of particular provisions of the U.S. Constitution on workplace policy. Before working for the Senate, Jay was an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York City, where he investigated charges of discrimination for private and public sector clients. He counseled human resources managers and senior executives on a broad range of labor and employment issues arising under Title VII, FMLA, ADA, and other federal and state laws.

In addition to his legal experience, Jay is a seasoned manager and entrepreneur, having worked as an executive in private industry and managed his own corporation in New York.

Jay has an extensive background in music performance and production. He is a professional trumpeter, songwriter and singer, performing as soloist in major concert events in the U.S. and abroad. As a producer at WQXR, 96.3 FM (New York), he produced numerous radio commercials, live radio broadcasts and concert events featuring leading artists in the classical and jazz musical genres. Jay has won many international and national awards for excellence in broadcasting.

Jay received his juris doctorate from Columbia University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Boston University. He has articles published in The Corporate Counsellor, Columbia Law Review, and Ovation Magazine.