In an attempt to channel our elementary school education, I had Lawline split into small groups with some brave individuals standing alone. Each group and individual received a pen and paper and was instructed to write down, as fast as they could, all 50 states.
My reasoning behind this was 2 fold;
- Don’t be afraid to go back to basics, i.e. channeling songs you learned in grade school or little tricks teachers showed you.
- 2, 3, 4 etc heads are better than 1. Emphasizing the importance of team work.
Something as simple as naming all of our countries’ states can seem to be difficult and this activity reminded us how its okay to keep it simple and start from the beginning.
What does Lawline mean to you? Today’s activity, thought of by yours truly, was to brain storm an acronym for Lawline. This acronym could be a series of different words or a sentence. Either way the acronym must represent how each employee feels about or views Lawline. Some were funny, some were heartfelt, all were appreciated.
Here are some examples of our fine work:
Lovable
Appreciative
Wacky
Lawyers
Interested in
Needing to know
Everything
Laughs
Amazing
Worry-free
Legal
Innovation
Never a dull moment
Excellent
Let’s get together
Actively Learning
Winners
Lively
Initiative
Next Lever
Energy
I am pleased to announce that Lawline has made the list for the 2012 Best Companies to Work for in New York State. Last year we were nominated by Crain’s, where as this year it is by the New York State Society for Human Resource Management. Lawline is proud to start a new tradition of such an award.
On April 26, 2012 a ceremony will be held in Albany, New York where all companies awarded will gather for a night of honor and celebration of this accomplishment. As a small company prospective, Lawline was required for each employee to fill out a survey. This survey gave the NYSSHRM a true picture not only of the individual employees but their view and impression of Lawline as an entire company. It’s safe to say that Lawline loves its employees and its employees love Lawline back.
Last week Frank was giving away some free gifts before the Black Friday sales started: Free Hugs!
Frank started the morning holding up a “Free Hugs” sign, inviting anyone from the company to share a warm greeting to get the day started. Inspired by Juan Mann’s
campaign for happiness and his own personal defeat of depression, Frank told the story of the “Free Hugs” and how it went from one man trying to make the world a better place to a viral video viewed by more than 70 million people.
Frank also introduced the team to a social experiment called the Dance Floor Theory; creating a network of people to join you in the middle of the dance floor as opposed to just a few people dancing while rest standing and watching.
Lawline capped off Frank’s presentation with a dance session to get the creative juices flowing and an energetic mindset going. Between the Free Hugs and sporadic dances moves (i.e. the sprinkler, the shopping cart, even a little running man) it was a great way to get the day started for the company.
As part of her senior project in college, CLE consultant, Stephanie helped construct a website including video, articles and links informing the public about PTSD. One of the components was a military personal story. Its featured video described an unfortunate story about Marine Combat Photographer Jordan Sherwood. Jordan was wounded in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated, leaving him with extensive wounds and months of recovery. His story was both heartbreaking and inspiring because he demonstrated a great ability to be take his injuries and turn them into a new, positive way to look at life. He is one of the few that survives incidents like this. Despite his injuries, Jordan looks at life in a positive light and as a way to overcome his hardships. Jordan shows that there is always a way to make things better for yourself even when faced with extremes and this is the message I wanted to convey to Lawline. That there is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark it may seem.
To view the website and its contents, click here.
