At the upcoming Secrets of Successful Professionals Revealed seminar you’ll get your chance to hear from Tre Critelli.  Tre and his father, Nicholas Critelli, have the only law firm within the United States that features a pair of English barristers and U.S. trial lawyers. 

The use of technology in Critelli’s office is innovative and the envy of lawyers (and small office professionals) across the United States.  In an effort to keep clients fully engaged they have created a virtual law office where clients may enter a password protected site at any time and receive case updates, enter into a discussion or dialogue concerning their case or access documents, video presentations and deadlines.  In addition, the firm hosts a virtual conference room where clients attend case briefings.

At the seminar though Tre will concentrate on networking beyond artificial boundaries.  Choosing the right mix of professional networking, social networking, blogging, technology and real world connections is what Networking 2.0 is all about. Tre will help you take your career from being the small fish in one big pond to being the big fish in lots and lots of of small ponds.

As you might expect from someone with such a diverse background, Tre is an entertaining and creative speaker.  Come join us for the seminar on July 20th.

For more information on the LAWpportunities seminar and the other speakers check out our Events Page.

Questions?  Email Brett Trout at trout@bretttrout.com or Rush Nigut at rnigut@sullivan-ward.com.

The lawyers at Stark & Stark continue to produce helpful information on their law blog for clients and lawyers alike.  The latest article worth reading is from Stuart Mickleberg the Buy-Sell Agreements in Closely Held Business.  Stuart says a good Buy-Sell Agreement should accomplish at least four important objectives:

  1. Providing mechanism for the orderly transfer of the business;
  2. Establishing a valuation mechanism which avoids disputes between owners as well as possible disputes with the Internal Revenue Service;
  3. Reducing possible disputes between owners, an owner’s heirs, and possible unwanted business partners to whom an ownership interest in the company may otherwise be transferred; and
  4. Providing financial security to a deceased or disabled owner’s family.

As I have indicated in the past, the formation of an Iowa business should include a Buy-Sell Agreement.  Unfortunately it is an agreement that is often neglected by business people because they want to save on initial start-up costs.  As my friend Imke Ratschko says, "Buy-Sell Agreements are like prenuptial agreements for people in business… As with prenuptial agreements, people tend to overlook their importance or simply don’t want to deal with the subject; after all, they are in love!"

But the time to enter into a buy-sell agreement is at the beginning of the business relationship when everyone is excited and getting along. It is often very difficult to negotiate a deal when something has gone wrong.  Without a buy-sell agreement, owners may end up in court and the business may suffer.

Victoria_herring Bigger isn’t always better. Victoria Herring is a successful sole practitioner who practices in the areas of civil rights and discrimination law in Des Moines. She is a believer in cutting-edge technology including the latest Apple technology, Web-based communication and online research. She will lend her expertise in how professionals can start their businesses on a shoe-string and use technology to gain an advantage over the slower moving “big boys.”

Victoria is an accomplished speaker who provides consulting services for employers and has successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in civil trials. As with most things, the Internet has changed the landscape for professionals.  Victoria has embraced new technologies and believes that personal service and the ability to treat each client as an individual is what separates many small firm professionals from the pack. 

For such an accomplished lawyer, Victoria’s office is a little different than you might expect.  She does not work from an ivory tower but instead chooses to work from home.  Today’s technologies allow her to remain responsive and competitive and she will show you can do it too.

The expectations of our clients are changing and professionals like Victoria Herring are listening.  Are you?

For more information on the LAWpportunities seminar and the other speakers check out our Events Page.

Questions?  Email Brett Trout at trout@bretttrout.com or Rush Nigut at rnigut@sullivan-ward.com.

Penny J. Ummstattd-Cope of the Joplin, MO Business Blog points out that today’s women need to be just as concerned about protecting their assets as men.  Penny says:

Women should start thinking about protecting their assets before they get married or even enter into a living arrangement with a man.  Why?  More and more women are seeing an increase in their income due to owning their own business, working their way up the corporate ladder, etc.  In many cases the woman’s income will be more than the man.  Women need to start thinking about protecting their assets just like the men have always done.

It is sound advice from Penny.  I am seeing more and more women starting businesses than ever before.  It is also my impression that more women are becoming professionals such as lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, and accountants than ever before.  These women definitely need to consider asset protection.

Penny’s post on Prenups for Women has lots of good information.  Be sure to check it out.

Timothy_johson All politics are local.  Including the office.  Do you know how to play the game or is the game playing you?

Timothy Johnson is a business consultant, author and adjunct professor in the MBA program at Drake University in Des Moines.  We are excited to have Timothy share his insight, wit and wisdom on office politics at the upcoming Secrets of Successful Professionals Revealed seminar. 

Timothy is the author of GUST – The Tale Wind of Office Politics.  Check out Drew McLellan’s review of the book.  As Drew says, "Without the ability to spot office politics and do the necessary analysis to identify the motives behind the behavior, we don’t stand a chance of being successful."

Learn more about Gust and Timothy on his blog, Carpe Factum.  If you don’t know what Carpe Factum means it is the Latin equivalent of "Git’er done!".   So come have fun and learn valuable skills in how to deal with office politics at the same time.

For more information on the seminar and the other speakers check out our Events Page.

Questions?  Email Brett Trout at trout@bretttrout.com or Rush Nigut at rnigut@sullivan-ward.com.

When the Don of the Central Iowa Blogga Nostra asks you to do something – you oblige.  So here is my addition to the conversation Liz Strauss started on blogging as a metaphor.

Baseball For me, baseball is life.  Steve Rubel once compared blogging to baseball when he said:

Baseball is a good metaphor here. A blog link/mention combo is like a home run – a four bagger. You get attention, Google Juice, traffic and branding. Blog links without mentions and plain old mentions are like doubles because in either case you get two out of these four bases.

Ahh, but what about RSS? RSS is opt-in and it’s attention. What if you score a blog link/mention combo in a popular feed you know has a high degree of attention among your target audience? Then we’re talking about a Grand Slam, right?

Although we probably hate to admit it most bloggers are really singles hitters.  Bloggers who make contact with their audience on a day-by-day basis rather than the big splash of the home run.  No, its not always glamorous or pretty.  But in a game where the home run hitters receive all the attention it is often the singles hitters that provide the all-important margin of victory. 

In other words, blogging is a whole lot more like Tony Gwynn than it is Barry Bonds.  So hit singles and you just might end up in the Hall of Fame. 

Photo on Flickr by Scott Ableman.

Mitch_mathews Are you a professional in need of a kick in the pants?  If so, you won’t want to miss the upcoming Secrets of Successful Professionals Revealed Seminar in Clive, Iowa on July 20th to hear Mitch Matthews talk about Life/Work Balance along with some great motivational messages.  Mitch is the Head Coach of a Kick in the Pants Personal Coaching.

Mitch is one of those guys everyone loves to be around.  He has an infectious personality and someone that spends a great deal of time helping others connect.  His recent BigDreamGathering attracted hundreds of participants and his game Q is taking off like wild fire.

Mark True of Stories By REL wrote a great blog post describing Mitch Matthews.  It’s worth a read.  If it doesn’t make you want to hear Mitch speak then nothing probably will – except perhaps a kick in the pants.

For more information on the seminar and the other speakers check out our Events Page.

Secretsbanner Come join us for the LAWpportunities sponsored "Secrets of Successful Professionals Revealed" business conference on July 20, 2007 at the Professional Solutions Insurance Services Center in Clive.  It is a seminar you won’t want to miss featuring many of Central Iowa’s top professionals and renowned law blogger and entrepreneur, Kevin O’Keefe of Seattle, Washington.  Kevin is the President and founder of LexBlog, the leading provider of provider of marketing blogs for lawyers and other professional service firms.

Today’s professionals have at their fingertips the tools and ability to make networking better, faster, cheaper and more effective than their predecessors ever could have imagined. LAWpportunities offers you the strategies, insights and secrets of successful professionals, showing you how to fill the gap left by businesses unwilling to adapt.

Topics include:

  • Brand Strategy
  • New Networking
  • Blogging for Business
  • Crucial Conversations
  • Managing Office Politics
  • Business Mobility
  • Leveraging Technology
  • Making Work Fun Again

This seminar is designed to help any professional including lawyers, accountants, bankers, insurance agents, real estate agents, mortage brokers, financial planners and more.  (Yes, we’re lawyers but other professionals will benefit from this conference just as much). The seminar itself offers a tremendous networking opportunity and the speaker lineup is sure to be one of the best in Central Iowa this year.

Our A-list of speakers include:

Kevin O’Keefe – law blogger extraordinaire and successful entrepreneur

Drew McLellan – marketing and branding

Mike Sansone – changing how businesses talk with their clients and customers

Adam Steen – networking for the professional

Jim Goodman – Bring your clients success and your success will follow

Shirley Poertner – Crucial conversations and communication

Tre Critelli – lawyer and online networker

Victoria Herring – lawyer and expert on solo professional practices

Timothy Johnson – Author, consultant and office-politics expert

Mitch Matthews – Life / business coach and entrepreneur

Check out the Events page of the LAWpportunities site for more details and seminar information.  We will have our online registration up and running very soon but if you just can’t wait to register you can feel free to email Brett Trout (trout@bretttrout.com) or Rush Nigut (rnigut@sullivan-ward.com) for registration information. 

We look forward to seeing you on July 20th!

On the Apprentice Donald Trump always says with such gusto, "You’re fired!"  The board room discussion usually focuses on what went wrong and the faults of the candidate.

But is it more important to organizational success to know how to fire or how not to fire?  If a problem arises with an employee do you always focus on what went wrong?  Or instead, do you focus on how changing behaviors and performance could have a positive impact on the organization and the employee?

Inc.com has a series of slides on the Dos and Don’t of firing and an article with tips on how to fire employees. Chris Musselwhite, a consultant and columnist with Inc. says:

Despite the discomforts, dismissing an employee can be one of the most important tasks of leadership you’ll face. It can be an opportunity to strengthen or build a culture of respect, accountability and trust–especially in an entrepreneurial environment–or it can foster a culture of fear and secrecy at all levels. Other employees are watching, and how you deal with the problem will set standards or norms in the organization. You are shaping your organization’s culture whether you take action or ignore the problem. The real question is, what do you want your organization’s norms related to competent performance to be?   

Musselwhite cites the three most common mistakes leaders make with a potential firing:

  • To treat it as a legalistic, mechanical problem. If you only are worried about having filed the right paperwork and getting through it without having to call the security guards, you’ve probably been thinking of it as a chance to get rid of a thorn in your side, instead of thinking about the best way to solve the problem for everyone’s benefit.
  • To wait until a crisis occurs before taking action. If you can address the problem early, before frustration and resentment are high, the chances for success are exponentially greater.
  • To make decisions based on emotions rather than facts. We can’t fire people based on personality clashes or annoying behaviors. It’s got to be about the impact on the organization, accountability and getting the job done. When the decision is fact-based, you remove many of the emotional stressors that arise when sitting down to consider your options.

I agree with Musselwhite that dismissal should be the last step in a postive process for your organization, leader or employee.  Be sure to set out clear performance expectations for employees and provide them with training, mentoring and other opportunities for success.  If it doesn’t work after attempting this approach you are more likely to avoid litigation if you end up firing the employee.

Thanks to Mike Colwell of the Des Moines Partnership’s new business accelerator for pointing out the articles.