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by Cyrus Farivar
Is your meeting style a good match for the needs of your team? What kind of rapport or atmosphere do you want to create? If your meetings aren't getting the results you want, take a tip from experienced companies that have developed clever ways to bring people together. Here are five creative and effective meeting techniques, ranging from short stand-ups gatherings to conversations that take place in a three-dimensional online world.

Ritz-Carlton
Meeting Technique: Start each shift with short stand-up meetings
Pros: Quickly disseminates critical information
Cons: Not long enough to go in-depth on any subject
At each of its luxury hotels around the world, Ritz-Carlton holds a 15-minute stand-up meeting at the beginning of every eight-hour shift. The company uses these "line-ups" as a way to reinforce corporate values, to inform employees of new products and services that Ritz-Carlton may be introducing, and to communicate breaking news. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region in 2005, the company was able to tell each of its 34,000 employees within 24 hours what had happened to the branch in New Orleans and how they could contribute to relief efforts.
On a day-to-day basis, department heads like Richard Arnoldi, executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C., use the line-up meeting as a way to fine tune customer service. Arnoldi reminds his culinary team of food items that repeat and VIP customers prefer: vegan cuisine, certain vintages of wine, or even comfort foods. "If someone likes Butterscotch Tastykakes, we'll move heaven and earth to make sure that we have Butterscotch Tastykakes on hand when they arrive," he says.

Wal-Mart
Meeting Technique: Get employees to meet during off-hours
Pros: Reinforces corporate loyalty
Cons: 7:30am? On a Saturday?
In the 1960s, when Wal-Mart was a young upstart, Sam Walton implemented a policy of one- to two-hour Saturday-morning strategy meetings that begin at 7:30 a.m. at the home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. Though the choice of time has shades of corporate hazing, the meeting has become a touchstone for Wal-Mart's management-level employees. Today, more than 1,000 members of the management team attend in person, along with regional managers from around the country who dial in or link via videoconference. Wal-Mart says that meeting early on the weekend allows new business improvements to be implemented that same day, in some cases — just in time for the weekend shopping rush. "Improvements could be anything from the placement of merchandise to the way we handle freight to something customers are telling us we can do better," says Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman.

Yahoo!
Meeting Technique: Informal Friday meetings with cocktails and snacks
Pros: Promotes an open and relaxed environment
Cons: Booze consumption and group focus are inversely related
One business group inside Yahoo has an informal but strictly regular Friday afternoon meeting. Greg Arnold, the senior director of engineering in the Premium Services Infrastructure unit, which powers billing and payment processing, holds what he calls the "Friday Afternoon Club" every week. In an open aisle between cubicles, 80 employees gather over beer, wine, and snacks. For 20 to 30 minutes they discuss the current status of projects, how to take advantage of business challenges and opportunities, and what the unit should be looking forward to in the future. "This is a forum where you're trying to get people to connect," he says. "You want it to be more interactive and personal, and you don't want to pull people into a conference room."
"We have a fairly regular script that keeps the meeting focused and productive," Arnold adds. He begins by welcoming new hires, then introduces presentations from guest speakers, gives a review of significant events from the prior week, identifies upcoming events, and closes by asking for special announcements. Afterwards, he says, employees are welcome to hang around and socialize with coworkers — and they often do.

Old Navy
Meeting Technique: Gather for ad-hoc chats in a lounge environment
Pros: Provides face time between departments when they need it most
Cons: Don't get too comfy on that couch
In Old Navy's new corporate headquarters in the Mission Bay district of San Francisco, the company's merchants and clothing designers keep offices on opposite sides of the building. While the two teams don't work together on a regular basis, they require the ability to coordinate their efforts when needed. To nurture this, three floors of the building are linked by large hallways — imagine the middle section of the letter "H" — that bridge the two sides. The hallways, or "Link Living Rooms" as they're called, contain sofas, coffee tables, and WiFi, and they allow merchants and designers to have ad-hoc, one-on-one meetings in a comfortable space that's convenient for both sides.

Linden Lab
Meeting Technique: Meet coworkers in a virtual environment
Pros: Allows for gestures and modes of communication that are not possible in a conference call
Cons: Requires familiarity with virtual environments and a fast Internet connection
Not surprisingly, some meetings at software-development firm Linden Lab are held within the company's 3-D online world, Second Life. Jeska Dzwigalski, a community developer at Linden Lab, holds many of her meetings with the online community in-game, which allows her to interact with coworkers and "residents" alike. Whereas long-distance coworkers are invisible on a typical conference call, Linden Lab employees can use their on-screen "avatars" to gesture and express themselves across time zones. "Having that physicality adds to the conversation," Dzwigalski says.
While some managers complain that employees on a conference call are distracted by email and instant messages, Second Life capitalizes on different types of communication and encourages multiple conversations at the same time. For instance, Dzwigalski says that instead of turning to a coworker for a side conversation, in Second Life, she can simply send a private message that doesn't interrupt the rest of the meeting.

by Jennifer Alsever
http://www.bnet.com/2403-13056_23-59303.html

Before letting someone go, it's important to understand the laws that protect workers from wrongful terminations. Be cautious before firing anyone, and consult an attorney if an employee or ex-employee so much as voices a complaint that he or she has been treated unlawfully in the workplace.
According to the seven lawyers we consulted, the following are the most important laws employers should know when thinking about firing a worker. A few simple rules apply in abiding all of them: treat everyone equally and fairly, document employee performance, and carefully follow company policies.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Also known as: Title VII
What the law says: Companies cannot discriminate against workers on the basis of race, religion, national origin, and gender. Various state and local laws also protect workers on the basis of sexual orientation and marital status.
What employers should know: Treat all employees the same and never allow special circumstances. For example, if company policy says that five unexcused absences results in termination, then all employees with five unexcused absences must be terminated.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Also known as: ADEA
What the law says: Companies cannot discriminate against employees over age 40.
What employers should know: If a termination involves a severance package, workers over 40 get more time to review and rescind the offer. For individual severance packages, an over-40 worker gets 21 days to review the deal and seven days to rescind after accepting. For group layoffs, those older workers get 45 days to review and seven days to rescind.

The Americans with Disabilities Act
Also known as: ADA
What the law says: Companies cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of physical or mental disability.
What employers should know: Not every illness and disease necessarily qualifies as disability. The law says a disability must substantially limit major day-to-day activities, such as waking, sleeping, eating, or concentration. Still, people with disabilities are not exempt from losing their jobs for related reasons. For instance, a company can fire a worker if that person's condition causes them to be disruptive and violent in the workplace.

Retaliation Laws
Also known as: whistle-blower laws
What the law says: Companies cannot fire someone out of retaliation for lodging complaints of discrimination. Anti-retaliation statutes are included in many laws, including occupation safety laws and the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which says a person cannot lose their job because they report such problems as misconduct, illegal activity, unsafe conditions, or accounting irregularities.
What employers should know: If a worker has a complaint of wrongdoing, have your HR department do a thorough investigation of the accusation. Just because a worker reports such a problem doesn't mean an employer can't fire him for legitimate, documented reasons, such as failing to show up to work. But the closer in time the firing is to when the person filed the complaint, the more the firing looks like retaliation, and the bigger the legal problem the company might have.

Family Medical Leave Act
Also known as: FMLA
What the law says: Full-time employees with a year of service get 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with their own or a relative's serious health condition.
What employers should know: Employers cannot discharge a worker because she has taken FMLA leave or to prevent her from taking a leave. When she comes back to work, the worker must get her same position or an equivalent job. Just because a worker is on FMLA leave does not give him a greater right to a job than a person who is not. For example, a worker on leave can still get laid off if it's for good faith business reasons.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
Also known as: ERISA
What the law says: Employers cannot suspend, discipline, fire, or discriminate against an employee to interfere with their rights to receive benefits from a 401(k) retirement plan, pension, severance package, healthcare plan, or long-term disability.
What employers should know: Just because a person loses their job and incidentally loses benefits, it doesn't spell legal trouble for an employer. But an employee can claim the company fired him specifically to keep him from attaining a plan benefit or in retaliation for exercising ERISA rights. For instance, a company will run into problems if it let someone go the day before he was to be fully vested in a 401(k) plan or if it fired a worker and the next day laid off his department but gave those workers severance packages. Check an employee's benefits before you terminate them, and once again, be sure there's a legitimate, documented business reason for letting them go.

Sources:
Paula Champagne, Margaret Hart Edwards, and Greg Keating at Littler Mendelson in San Francisco; Dean Schaner at Haynes and Boone LLP in Houston; Paul Mickey at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington D.C.; Allegra Lawrence-Hardy at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP in Atlanta; Lew Clark Jr. at Squire Sanders & Dempsey in Columbus, Ohio

Five Myths of Managing Up
by Geoffrey James

http://www.bnet.com/2403-13056_23-57173.html

Like just about everything else in the workplace, the conventional wisdom about how to manage the boss has evolved considerably in recent years. If you hope to climb the career ladder by impressing your boss, these are the new and revised rules of the road.

Myth #1: Always be in the office before your boss arrives.

Conventional wisdom:
If you're even five minutes late, the boss will think you're a slacker.
Why it's a myth:
In an age of flex time, telecommuting, Blackberries, and instant messages, bosses care more about whether you're getting the job done than whether you're warming your seat.
Try this instead:
Make sure the boss knows you're putting in extra hours at home or on the road, both by maintaining a rapid-response email or instant message presence, and by hinting at when you're putting in those extra hours.
Example:
"I had to work over the weekend on this report, but I think you'll agree the extra effort was worth it."

Myth #2: Ask for permission before bringing up difficult issues.

Conventional wisdom:
You want your boss to be in a good mood when you deliver bad news.
Why it's a myth:
Thanks to email and cell phones, word travels faster than ever. If you don't tell your boss the bad news, somebody else will, and then you'll look evasive or stupid—or both.
Try this instead:
Deliver bad news in the context of what you're doing to fix the situation or make it better.
Example:
"The Acme sale fell through, so we're launching a quick sales campaign with the other customers to make up the revenue loss."

Myth #3: Suggest ways to make the boss more popular with the team.

Conventional wisdom:
The boss will appreciate your efforts to improve morale and teamwork.
Why it's a myth:
If your boss is unpopular, there's very little you can do to change that perception.
Try this instead:
When boss-bashing takes place beyond his earshot, don't join the fray. Instead, give the boss credit for things he does well. When the department spy (there always is one) reports back to the boss, he'll learn that you're an ally.
Example:
"Yeah, Joe loses his temper sometimes. But he's really good at defending our interests in front of the budget committee."

Myth #4: Protect your boss from your underlings, and vice versa.

Conventional wisdom:
If your boss talks directly to your team members, information could be revealed that you'd rather keep under wraps.
Why it's a myth:
Attempting to control the flow of information inside today's wired-up corporations is utterly pointless.
Try this instead:
Cue your underlings to reinforce the message you're giving the boss.
Example:
"When the big boss asks what you're doing, be sure to point out how well you're supporting our group's quarterly sales goal. She likes that kind of thing."

Myth #5: Never say anything to the boss when you're angry.
Conventional wisdom:
If you're hot under the collar, you're likely to say things you'll later regret.
Why it's a myth:
Your emotions aren't the problem; the issue is how you express them.
Try this instead:
Don't lose your cool. When you're frustrated or angry, say so—but without blowing up or exploding. Avoid whiny complaining. Instead, focus on fixing the things you want to change, and ask for the boss's help in changing them.
Example:
"Okay, I understand we need to get the report done. But let's come up with a plan that doesn't involve everyone working over the holiday."