Running a firm is often referred to as "herding cats." I believe an even better metaphor can be found in our annual May Day celebration: Running a Firm is a lot like running a drumming circle. Yes, a drumming circle, where people sit in a circle and pound out a rhythm. We host an annual "drumming party" on May Day each year to celebrate the end of rainy season and the start of summer planting. As you would expect, a good time is had by all. But even more important, there is a lasting effect that draws people back to the drumming experience again and again. The metaphor for team building is pretty obvious, but the comments from the participants add some insight that I want to share with you.

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Let’s assume you are too young to remember (or to have heard about) the 1938 infamous broadcast by Orson Wells based on the novel by H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds. Although the radio broadcast took place on Halloween, it could have easily been an April Fool’s Day prank. What made the broadcast so believable was the format; it involved a series of news bulletins detailing the invasion of planet Earth by Martians.  The broadcast led to varying degrees of public panic during the transmission followed by even more uproar afterwards. It took several days to debunk the prank since we didn’t have Twitter or newsfeeds to instantly clarify what was real and what was not. Orson Well’s prank could be viewed as an early example of a social media virus run amuck. Read more...

What do clients and daffodils have in common? Each year, we have purchased bulk bags of daffodils. Over the years we've planted thousands in our garden, but last year we were too busy and didn't get around to it. Spring comes early here in California and by March 1st nature's display is already starting to unfold. As I walked around the garden today, one thing became abundantly clear, our bulb population has suffered because we didn't make time to plant new bulbs.

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