Great employees are always being lost, so prepare from the start.

The best candidates continue to grow and learn, pushing themselves and their boundaries. They’re always striving to improve; to move forward; to move upward. As a result, they’re hard to keep, hard to see leave, and hard to replace.

Instead, accept that you’ll lose them some day, either externally to another company or internally to another position. Instead, view how you can help them during this time to eventually leave, and use them to the most while they are there.

Since employees will always be moving up, we must grab these individuals at the lower level and use them the most throughout their upswing to next level. This is a win-win situation: they get to that next level, and you get the best and brightest (if only for a limited time). After that cycle ends, find that next candidate, and get that knowledge...

Not: Are you? Have you ever? Would you ever? Because you should be. Often.

How else will you know if it works; is good; has the same quality as before?

You must be using your own product, since you are the one who must know it best.

Once you do, answers to customer questions that once alluded you will seem obvious.

You are now your customer, and it’s hard to fool you into buying a subpar product - right?

1. Most people mean well.

2. People think in stories.

3. People decide emotionally, then justify intellectually.

4. People need to be heard.

5. People crave strong relationships.

6. People avoid pain first and only then seek pleasure.

7. People haven’t changed much.

8. People want to leave a legacy.

Thanks, Geoffrey James

by William Drenttel

1. Focusing on making a partnership work is more profitable than focusing on making money.

2. Love your employees more than you love your clients. 

3. The best new business is your current business.

4. Price projects by asking yourself what the client’s lawyer would charge.

5. It’s better to be hired for your work than for your price. 

6. When it comes to getting paid, the first of the month is better than the thirtieth. 

7. Making money off mechanicals, printing and computers turns your business into a commodity. 

8. The books in your library are more important than the numbers on your balance sheet. 

9. In order to love your work, take vacations.

10. Power, in business, comes from sharing money and valuing love. 

Words to live by. Thanks, William.

via Michael Bierut

Quarterly evaluations are meta-scrums.

Managers should be guided by the simple principles of scrum when assessing each of their team members, which are:

• What did you do yesterday?
• What will you be doing today?
• What are your roadblocks?

If you’re reading off of an elaborate, lengthy list of file folder filler, instead ask:

• What did you do last quarter?
• What will you do this quarter?
• What are your roadblocks?

Then comes you: manage from this point, and evaluate on these at next quarter’s end.

Here’s a few bonus questions to learn more about what they thought about their work:

• What did you do best?
• What can you do better?

Consider highlighting each member’s personal wins at your quarterly dinner.
(Yes, that does set a goal for you: complete all evaluations between quarter end and quarterly dinner.)
It’s good to have goals.

Now you’ve learned more about them, their goals...

Have you ever awoke before dawn, feeling refreshed and full of energy? That was my beginning; and since my girls were still fast asleep, I had a couple hours to myself. (What to do?!)

Not wanting to waste it, I quickly checked my surf conditions app and, to my delight and great fortune, it would be perfect conditions for this beginner in 30 mins at sunrise. I rushed to take advantage of it, and got down to the beach to find the best free parking spot waiting for me. (Score!)

It was then that I looked up to see the full moonset at sunrise with stunning shades of lavenders, oranges and blues. The water was like glass with a perfect, easy break every 10-15 mins. It could not be better!
As I waited for waves, (and practiced just staying on my board!), pelicans swooped down in long lines from my far left to my far right at a few inches off the water — and passed ten feet off the tip of my...