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... , we should focus on cooperation, not competition. We can compete against those outside the team, but certainly not within it. Again, this doesn't mean that all team members have all the same responsibilities or the same compensation structures; it does mean that they should receive equal, and respectful, treatment. After all, they're teammates! 3. Be clear up front about your commitments. Assuming that everyone will follow team rules is guaranteed to produce failure and resentment. For example, if you've played team sports for your entire life, your perception of what constitutes team play will differ from that of someone who has never played on a sports team. Build mutual rules, commitments, values, or understandings through dialogue and consensus. In game theory, there's a classic story of the Prisoners' Dilemma. For example, assume that two men are arrested for robbing a bank. The police separate them immediately and offer each one a deal, saying, "we'll let you go or give you a lighter sentence if you rat out your partner." Because the prisoners failed to define their commitments under such circumstances up front, they now find themselves wondering what the other guy will do. Inevitably, one or both will crack, believing that they're more committed to the relationship than the other person is. If your team members are to trust each other, they must define and honor their commitments up front and in writing. 4. Treat every team member with equal respect. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, graduate students were able to define with 90% accuracy the success ...

... , we should focus on cooperation, not competition. We can compete against those outside the team, but certainly not within it. Again, this doesn't mean that all team members have all the same responsibilities or the same compensation structures; it does mean that they should receive equal, and respectful, treatment. After all, they're teammates! 3. Be clear up front about your commitments. Assuming that everyone will follow team rules is guaranteed to produce failure and resentment. For example, if you've played team sports for your entire life, your perception of what constitutes team play will differ from that of someone who has never played on a sports team. Build mutual rules, commitments, values, or understandings through dialogue and consensus. In game theory, there's a classic story of the Prisoners' Dilemma. For example, assume that two men are arrested for robbing a bank. The police separate them immediately and offer each one a deal, saying, "we'll let you go or give you a lighter sentence if you rat out your partner." Because the prisoners failed to define their commitments under such circumstances up front, they now find themselves wondering what the other guy will do. Inevitably, one or both will crack, believing that they're more committed to the relationship than the other person is. If your team members are to trust each other, they must define and honor their commitments up front and in writing. 4. Treat every team member with equal respect. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, graduate students were able to define with 90% accuracy the success ...

... "Well, the customer just needs to understand that." No matter what we might think, that's a killer comment, as are these: "We can take care of that tomorrow" or "Do we really need to do that?" Urgency is often the edge that attracts customers. Never listen to people who think they have all the answers. Anyone wanting answers should spend their time listening to talk shows. What they won't hear, however, is anyone asking questions and it's questions that uncover problems and help make improvements. Doubt your perspective. When urged to change General Motor's corporate deeply inbred culture, former CEO Fritz Henderson, is reported to have said, "But that's all I know." This candid response told the story. He and his management team were prisoners of their own perspective. Under a new CEO from outside GM, they were quickly replaced. To one degree or another, we're all prisoners. To make meaningful contributions, we need to set ourselves free. Watch out for the subversives. These people are skilled at undermining and derailing action. They'll do just about anything to avoid getting things done. Using clever delaying tactics, they put on the brakes and they always find an excuse for not getting around to reviewing a project, preparing a proposal, or following up. They're in every organization, from top to bottom, and particularly in between. They call meetings, not to get things moving, but to stop anything from happening. The best solution is to help them find a job with a competitor. Encourage customers to ...

... for crooks because a high volume of cards passes through these locations. Recently, a 60-member credit fraud ring was broken up through the joint efforts of U.S. Postal inspectors and the Attorney General's Office. The five leaders were charged with organizing a credit fraud scheme by which postal employees in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, and other U.S. cities stole hundreds of credit cards from the mail. The five leaders first activated the credit cards by telephone, then manufactured counterfeit identification documents, which they gave to runners. The runners, in turn, obtained cash advances at banks throughout the United States. Most ring members pleaded guilty to charges that included conspiracy to possess stolen mail, wire fraud, and fraudulent use of credit cards. The five main organizers each faced a maximum possible prison sentence of five years and a fine of $2 ,500,000. Unfortunately, this case points out one of the problems inherent in the prosecution process: prison sentences that many feel are too light for the financial ramifications of the crime. The government estimated that the organization described defrauded financial institutions of more than $2.5 million over a three-year period. What message does a five-year maximum sentence send to the criminal community at large? To remedy this situation, meetings with the Department of Justice are now taking place in an effort to increase the sentencing guidelines for financial crimes. Another problem is with the thresholds for prosecution. It's tough to get a U.S. attorney to accept a case in which the amount of the theft isn't extreme. This varies by jurisdiction, but the answer ...

... not. They feel responsible for their clients' well-being and guilty when things don't get accomplished. In analyzing their activities, we find that they feel like gerbils in a cage — running as fast as they can and never realizing that they're running on a never-ending wheel. These agents are "running in place." This process has three phases: dying gerbils, energetic gerbils, and recognizing the cage. A fourth phase refers to agents who avoid these problems by "running the race." PHASE IV AGENTS — THE DYING GERBILS Some of these agents are already burnt out. They're working hard to plug the holes in the dike and to minimize problems that are slowly spiraling out of control. For these agents, their careers have turned into a sentence and their agencies have turned into their prisons. Yes, they might make a good living (or not), but life isn't worth living if they're told that they must continue on the same path. Phase IV agents make good acquisition targets. PHASE III AGENTS — THE ENERGETIC GERBILS Other agents aren't yet at the point of burnout, but they're heading in that direction. For a few decades, the headiness of managing crises and putting out fires keeps them exhilarated. They go home dead tired every night. They sometimes feel that they haven't accomplished much but convince themselves that if it weren't for their efforts, the agency's performance would suffer. They begin blaming their employees for not doing their jobs and not caring for the clients. They feel that they're the only people who care enough to keep clients satisfied. These agents have ...

... , 14 of them were in financial trouble. After five years, 29 of them were in financial trouble, and only 14 of them were financially solvent. The reason: failure to react and respond to change." I believe these companies were less likely to react to change because of the Icarus Paradox. In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedalus, who had imprisoned by King Minos of Crete within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth. Refusing to be held captive, Daedalus made two pairs of wings by using wax to attach feathers to a wooden frame. Daedalus put on one pair and gave the other pair to his son Icarus, warning him not to fly too near the sun. The wings worked, and the father and son flew away from their prison. But Icarus, ecstatic about his ability to fly, forgot his father's warning. He lost his gift. The sun melted the wax, the feathers came loose, and Icarus plunged to his death into the sea. Putting this in the context of today's business environment, the more successful a company is, the more it's blinded to the urgent need for change. Many companies move into new marketplaces assuming that their past successes will continue. So they continue to repeat what has made them successful until the forces and opportunities of change have passed them by. It's human nature to rely on past successes and repeat what worked well in the past. Paradoxically, however, the seeds for failure lie in that very success. Consider Wang, U.S. Steel, Greyhound, New York Stock ...

...osure are health-care facilities, prisons, elderly care facilities, homeless s...

... agencies have turned into their prisons. Yes, they might make a good living ...

... . Offer employees sabbaticals for work on major community projects; Invite community organizations to speak to employees about their needs; Donate fundraising help, equipment, money to nonprofit groups; Get company retirees involved in community volunteering; Donate time to Boys & Girls clubs, Big Brothers and Little Sisters programs; Adopt a school; Hire high school or college interns; Contribute to a local area community foundation, United Way or non-profit group; Get involved with Junior Achievement; Plant trees, flowers and shrubs in public parks or other public areas; Sponsor a Little League or Bobbie Sox team; Volunteer at your local ASPCA or other animal help agency; Volunteer at a local children's hospital or AIDS hospice Donate time, materials or services to Habitat for Humanity; Help develop a business for inmates within the local prison system; Develop a hiring/training program for ex-inmates; Collect clothing and food on an on-going basis and deliver them to needy families in the community; Provide the elderly with telephone reassurance and check-ups' 1998 Phin Enterprises. Donald A. Phin, Esq., CPCM. No portion of these materials may be reproduced by any means without the express written permission of the author. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of time & money when you use our directory of carriers, wholesalers and service providers. Negotiate lucrative contracts with carriers and wholesalers. Net result. More revenue for your agency! Clients ...

... Act of 1996 (EEA) provides severe punishment –including imprisonment, fines, and criminal forfeiture of property – for major cases of theft of trade secrets. It protects all forms of business information, tangible or intangible, no matter whether or how stored if the agency has taken reasonable measures to keep this data secret and the information generates independent economic value through being not generally known or readily ascertainable to the public (a standard that's easy for agencies to meet) . The EEA defines theft of a trade secret as the intent to take it, knowing that such taking will injure the owner, taking, diverting or receiving it, knowing that it was misappropriated without authorization. The EEA provides that whoever is guilty of stealing trade secrets can: face up to 10 years in prison; If it's an organization, be fined up to $5 million; and/or forfeit the stolen trade secrets, or anything derived from them, as well as property "used, or intended  to be used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of such violation." Under other federal statutes that include similar language regarding criminal forfeiture of property, such as RICO (commonly referred to as the "racketeering act") courts have ordered forfeiture of an entire business, even though only its storage area was used in violation of this law. The courts have also determined that the criminal forfeiture provisions of RICO are mandatory. If the Justice Department chooses to enforce this federal law vigorously, staff, employees, other agencies and/or their ...