I Wonder…
Something interesting has happened in my thinking lately that I thought was worth sharing. I’ve been having some fairly transformative insights into my own behavior and attitudes and mindsets, as well as those of others; some ideas that never occurred to me despite how obvious they now seem; breakthroughs through roadblocks; lightbulbs going off; A-Ha moments. Here’s what happened…
I was hanging out with my two-year-old and watching him get totally geeked out whenever a plane flew closely overhead, or whenever the garbage truck’s trash-compactor would crush all the bags in the back, or when someone did a backflip off our neighborhood diving board. These and a million other moments felt to my son the way I would feel if aliens suddenly landed in our backyard or if a genie offered me a hundred free wishes.
And yet, there was a time when I felt exactly like he felt about those same small things.
Until I didn’t.
And then I thought of my favorite entrepreneurs. Not the stressed-out ones who take themselves way too seriously and lose their minds when things don’t happen the way they want. My favorite entrepreneurs are the ones who act like kids when they’re working. Smiling, laughing, playing, exploring, excavating, and treating problems like games, all in the course of addressing monumental (and sometimes catastrophic) issues in their businesses.
Thomas Edison was supposed to have been like that. The story goes that when his lab exploded from a chemical fire and destroyed years of his team’s experiments and patent ideas and labor and effort, he stood outside, watched his dreams go up in smoke, turned to his son, and said, “Charles, go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.”
I previously wrote about the value of treating work like a game. In the past year, we’ve been incubating and building out a new, innovative service in our company that’s stretched our skills and talents, and knowledge beyond anything we have. There’s been a tremendous investment of time, money, and both physical and emotional energy from the team. There have been enormous highs and lows.
This “Kid Play” mindset has helped me weather these highs and lows really nicely.
We’ve tried to intentionally channel my two-year-old’s sense of exploration and freedom of thinking and wonder. Personally, I’ve inserted that phrase – “I wonder” – into my meditations, our brainstorms, and my journal.
- “I wonder what being the top place to work in Ohio, or in the country, would look like in our company.”
- “I wonder what incredible client service looks like.”
- “I wonder what 30 days of exercise would feel like if I targeted a different area or skill each day.”
- “I wonder what a four-day workweek in our company would be like.”
Etc.
Some of these “wonderings” have led to actions, and some haven’t. But the act itself, the mindset shift, has added tremendous value to me personally and, I think, to my team. Giving permission to yourself and to them to play at work, to expand their thinking, and to make mistakes is energizing. And super-fun.
What to Do if Law Enforcement Arrives With a Warrant?
BY ELEINA THOMAS, ESQ.
At best, having a team of law enforcement officers appear at your business or home with a warrant is unsettling. However, understanding what a warrant is, how one is obtained, and the best course of action when faced with one, can reduce stress.
Importantly, ODI requires all Ohio businesses with one or more full or part-time employees to maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Further, all businesses whose employees are required to use vehicles to perform their job duties must also have commercial auto insurance policies.
For more information on how to respond and best practices for handling the situation, click here.
When to Acquire a Competitor Versus Growing Organically
When a company achieves success, its next move is to try and increase its market share through a combination of strategic moves. These may include competitive innovation, expansion, and eliminating competitors—either purchasing them outright or obtaining market share to capture business. This article explains how your organization can grow by innovation, acquisition, or expansion and looks at some of the most, and least, successful mergers in recent years.
One of the most public examples of this is Google’s owner, Alphabet. The company is known for buying smaller companies whose operations can be easily integrated into its existing business structure. This allows Google to grow with minimal disruption. Some of the businesses acquired offer services that Google has never developed–for example, Fitbit. But Google has also purchased several direct competitors, including video platform YouTube and the Waze navigation app. Google bought YouTube a year after Google Video failed to compete.
Apple is known for using innovation to dominate the competition, regularly bringing new iPhone models to market. Like Google, Apple regularly acquires successful smaller companies, buying a new company every three to four weeks in recent years, according to CEO Tim Cook.
Click READ MORE to learn about large corporations using innovation and acquisitions to grow and if your company should consider acquiring in the near future.
Gertsburg Licata Expands With Three New Practice Areas, New Attorney Hires
In response to growing demand, we’ve added the Global Business, Cyber Security & Data Privacy, and Labor & Employment practice areas—advancing our capabilities as one of Cleveland’s fastest-growing, full-service business law and strategic advisory firms.
We are also delighted to welcome two new attorneys and a senior legal recruiter to the team! Meet our new team members:
Shawn Wilson, Esq., Senior Counsel, has been a practicing attorney for over 20 years specializing in commercial litigation, ethics and professional liability law, and will support our Labor & Employment Practice Group.
Jason Lorenzon, Esq., Senior Attorney, is an experienced lawyer in Aviation and Immigration Law. He is an FAA-licensed Airline Transport Pilot with multi-engine and instrument rating and an FAA-licensed Certified Flight Instructor, Instruments and Multi-Engine.
Mark Salem, Senior Legal Recruiter, began his career as a legal recruiter in 2011 with Marvel Consultants in Cleveland. His practice was focused on representing the world’s leading law firms, where he directly recruited attorneys that represent emerging and high-growth companies.
Click READ MORE to learn about our new practice areas and attorneys!
How to Recruit and Retain Exceptional Global Talent
The last few years have brought massive upheaval to job markets and reshaped hiring practices. The pandemic led to an upswing in remote work, and many employees began to reconsider the type of work they wanted to do and how and where they were willing to do it. Since then, even with the pandemic subsiding, HR teams have seen changes in many job seekers’ goals.
Simultaneously, rapid social, political, and generational changes have persuaded many businesses that, to remain competitive, they must adjust their corporate cultures to help attract a more diverse workforce.
Recruiters are closely following these changes and helping employers adapt to the new environment. With the growth of remote work, employers have begun looking beyond their local regions, and even their own borders, to fill open positions. They realize that tapping into an international labor market provides access to a larger talent pool and may help them expand into foreign markets.
Click READ MORE to learn best practices businesses owners should adopt when onboarding and retaining remote, international employees.
Ear Candy
I’ve recently acquired an addiction to two podcasts: Scott Galloway’s “The Prof. G Pod” and his collaboration with Kara Swisher on “Pivot.” Galloway is a college economics professional and a prolific investor. Swisher is a tech-insider and entrepreneur who knows everything about every big name in Big Tech. I’ve learned from them about modern tech company business strategies, about the guts and glory and failures in Tesla and Apple and Microsoft and Disney, and a thousand startups and every kind of company in between. Oh, and they’re pretty hysterical. Give them a listen, but not with the kids in the car.
