A while back, I had lunch with a good friend of mine named Hollis Haff who is the Pastor Emeritus at New Community Church in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Hollis is also an old Athletes in Action guy, and he was the minister to the Pittsburgh Steelers back in the 70’s. As a matter of fact, he delivered the eulogy when Hall of Fame quarterback Mike Webster passed away back in 2002. He is really a great guy, an avid learner and very much a student of leadership.

When I was growing up, my mom absolutely loved the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There is this great scene where a group of workers are walking through a medieval town and yelling, “Bring out your dead!  Bring out your dead!”  As a worker is throwing a guy onto the cart the he says, “But I’m not dead yet!” and the worker says something like, “Shut up!  You will be soon.” 

We all have bad habits that can emerge at meetings: shredding paper coffee cups, pencil tapping and nodding off. Our restless fidgeting usually starts when we’re bored, uncertain of why we’re present at the meeting, and unsure of our role. However, it’s easy to ward off these distracting behaviors by following a few simple guidelines.

Lately I’ve been talking a lot about the concept of solopreneurship, and I’m all over it for a number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is because I really, truly, in my heart of hearts believe our economy will continue to sputter until we find a way to get all of this knowledge capital back in the marketplace. I’ve talked before about how the hiring model has changed.

In my last post, Part One: Are the Happiest Employees REALLY the Most Productive Ones?, I explained the truths of employee satisfaction surveys and pointed out three elements that help create a motivational environment: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Let’s start off with a quiz. True or false: Happy employees are productive employees? Of course, it really doesn’t matter how you answer that question because your answer determines your approach to managing people.

I’d like to make a point to both employers and prospective employees: It is time for all of us to evolve. I focus a lot on the mid-career professional; however, both sides of this equation need to adjust their models. I would really like to stress this point because I want people to understand that there is a new normal in talent acquisition.

Here's a little piece of trivia for you: Do you know the name of Warren Buffet’s private jet? He has cleverly named this amazing piece of machinery “The Indefensible.”  His point being that not even he can defend the expense of having a private jet. 

When a need arises within a small to medium-sized company that requires legal expertise, it is very rare to have a permanent in-house counsel. Most of you do not hire people full-time to purely to focus on your company’s legal issues. When a need arises, you will call your attorney and will be billed for their time.