The art of firing is much like the art of throwing a hand grenade -- it's rarely done right, and even when it is, the results include some chaos. When it's done wrong, a lot of good people can pay the price. (All this said, sometimes, only a grenade will do.) There have been countless articles written on the steps to take when firing (I'll save everyone the time of rehashing them here). I think that there are a few issues that need to be addressed in firing, though, that most

Just in case you haven't heard, most lawyers are a pain in the ass and all lawsuits suck. If this is news to you, get down on your knees and thank God that you haven't yet learned this lesson. One of the toughest truths in business is that you'll be involved in litigation. It's going to happen, no matter how cautious you are. I speak from experience. While we've only been involved in a few lawsuits, and it took seven years for our first, they've been difficult experiences for

I've spent almost my entire business life paranoid. It's not the most relaxing way to live -- I envy friends who walk around with a Zen-like smile and a picture-perfect Type-B personality. I'm just not that guy. My last year in college, I read Only the Paranoid Survive by Intel's Andrew S. Grove. The premise is simple -- get complacent and you lose. This theory, along with the stark reality that I am NEVER the smartest person in the room, keeps me on my toes. You can call it

Tony Alessandra, the author of The Platinum Rule, is a hall of fame professional speaker, a bestselling author, and is close friends with many of my friends. The first time we ever met was over the phone, when he called to let me know that I had quoted his book without his permission. Yikes. At that time, I owned a publishing company -- I should have know better. A bit of history. In 2000, I wrote a book called A Gentleman’s Guide to Etiquette. In the book I mentioned “The Pl