There are books, seminars, and even college courses dedicated to running better meetings. But there's an easier way to calibrate the effectiveness of your meeting process — a basketball "drill." Listen to this week's podcast for an unforgettable play-by-play.

You didn’t need to sit through all seven hours of the recent Bipartisan Health Care Summit to recognize the sometimes awkward and uncomfortable nature of the discussion.

Health care in America is a highly charged issue and it came through on our TV screens.

Despite the occasional jab or long-winded remark, we witnessed open and honest two-way communication in action. Even though the media positioned the summit as mere political theater, we saw four areas where the event succeeded.

Every year around this time, investors wait eagerly for Warren Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.

The Oracle of Omaha peppers his investment insights with refreshingly candid thoughts on his own performance over the previous year. Here are a couple of examples.

Regarding the company’s struggling NetJets business: “It’s clear that I failed you in letting NetJets descend into this condition,’’ Buffett wrote.

Have you caught the CBS program “Undercover Boss”?

The show debuted immediately after the Super Bowl and each episode follows a different CEO’s journey from the executive suite to the trenches – undercover, of course.

Certainly the program makes for compelling television but does it pass a reality check? Unfortunately not, at least in our view.

The fact is, it takes more than a new outfit and camera crew to be a star executive; it takes authenticity and it takes courage. But that’s just the start.

We’ve been following with interest the Census Bureau’s playbook for rolling out the decennial process and have been struck at how similar the bureau’s approach is to effective organizational surveys.

The fact is, every organization does its own census but most do it annually in the form of an employee satisfaction survey or engagement survey. And one thing the Census Bureau has in common with organizations is the goal of 100-percent participation.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways the Census folks are working toward that goal.

"The only way we find out anything about the crisis is through the media. Does Mr. Toyoda have the ability to lead? That's on every employee's mind."

This is a quote from a high-ranking Toyota chief engineer in Japan that appeared in The Wall Street Journal. And it the nightmare of every leader – and every communicator.

Unfortunately for Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda, the crisis seems to take on new dimensions every day.

Chances are, the company’s focus is so intense on customers, Wall Street and the media that employee communication is nudged to the backburner. But if the Toyota engineers quote is any indication, there’s much to be done to shore up confidence in the workforce.

After weeks of dramatic and furious competition, the 2010 Winter Games closed with a rousing ceremony showcasing the unity of our olympians. The Olympics have more to teach organizations than just the value of good sportsmanship, and on this week's podcast, Linda uncovers the the Games' collaboration lessons.

The new TV show "Undercover Boss" — where a high-ranking executive masquerades as a front-line employee — offers lots of warm and fuzzy workplace moments. But is it a best practice, or just clever editing? Linda uncovers the truth on this week's podcast.

The 2010 Census is a multi-million-dollar operation responsible for guiding billions of dollars, so it's safe to say that its scope is beyond the typical workforce engagement survey. However, on this week's podcast, Linda shares some strategies from the Census campaign's playbook to bolster your next employee measurement.