According to a recent study, Holland, Michigan is the happiest town in America.  Never heard of it?  Well, it's a small, sleepy town in western Michigan.  What's unusual about Holland residents' happiness is that the town has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, at 16%.  So, what is it that makes the residents of this town so happy in the face of a bad economic situation?  This video report by ABC News explains that Holland's residents are so happy because they rely on each other, believe in community, and participate in charitable projects.

The happiness in the face of adversity of the people of Holland teaches us some lessons for the corporate world. 

First, environments matter.  The atmosphere of Holland is pleasant, which makes its residents want to live there. Creating an environment in your business that is pleasant will yield similar results.  Employees will want to go to work, much like the residents of Holland like to live there.

Second, having outlets outside of work is beneficial.  Holland's residents are active in community philanthropic organizations.  The small town has over 100 philanthropic organizations.  This not only does a little good in the world, but also makes them happier people by giving them opportunities to do things that are non-work related.  Bringing this idea to a corporate environment yields similar results.  At Total Attorneys, we have a couple charities we support not only monetarily, but by the active involvement of employees.  For example, in June we're having an 80's hair contest to benefit the Total Impact House.  We also recently sponsored a successful fundraiser for the organization.

Finally, placing emphasis on community and working together creates a bond between people.  Holland residents rely on each other in times of need.  Creating a community (not just a group of people who happen to work together) will result in happier employees and more productivity. 

These simple lessons about happiness from Holland, Michigan are ones that all organizations should think about when assessing employee happiness.

At Total Attorneys, we are always looking for new and exciting ways to interact with the world. You see that mostly in our products and services and the way our company operates, but our goal does not stop there. We want to affect change not only in the legal industry, but anywhere it counts. In 2009, Total Attorneys partnered with Purse of Hope to create Total Impact House, a home in Uganda that helps victims of the sex trade live in safety, get counseling, return to school, learn trades and rebuild their lives.

While we really enjoy seeing the direct impact some of our efforts have had on the lives of the girls living at the Total Impact House, we also have a lot of fun raising awareness and raising money for our programs with Purse of Hope and the Total Impact House.

In a few weeks, we will be hosting an all-office contest, celebrating the outrageous fashion of the 80s and raising money for Total Impact House. On June 11, Total Attorneys employees are invited to channel their inner Madonna, Gene Simmons, Richard Simmons and other 80s icons for our first ever Hair for Hope.

Participants will compete to raise the most money for their style, and winners will be awarded one of four titles:

The Madonna Award for the Contestant Who Raises the Most Money

The Aquanet Award for Best 80s Hair Style

The Richard Simmons/Gene Simmons Award for the Best 80s Outfit

The 80s Doppelganger Award for the Best 80s Celeb Look Alike

Check back later this summer for pictures, and get ready to relive the age of slap bracelets, neon spandex, hair metal, MTV, Fraggle Rock, INXS, Pong and more with Total Attorneys. To help us prepare, leave comments below with your favorite 80s icons and fashion statements.

Yesterday, I watched a video on TED, featuring Simon Sinek, the author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. In the video, Sinek explained his theory on what makes successful innovators and leaders.

In his Talk, Sinek describes what he calls the Golden Circle, which is basically a visualization of the way organizations and people communicate to others. The visualization is made of up three concentric circles with “why” at the center, “how” at the middle ring, and “what” at the outer ring.

According to Sinek, most people communicate from the “what” to the “why,” but he suggests that successful innovators and inspiring leaders communicate from the inside out. He gives a great example, using Apple:

If Apple communicated like everyone else, they may say this: “We make great computers. They are beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Wanna buy one?”

Instead, Apple communicates like this: “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Wanna buy one?”

Can you see the difference in these two examples? With his examples, Sinek tries to show that people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. In other words, people don’t do business with someone because that product or service provider has what the consumer needs; they do business with organizations and people who believe what they believe.

With Twitter, Facebook, blogs, webinars, phone apps, television, direct mail marketing and countless other outlets for advertising and communications, attorneys are marketing their services in more ways and in more places than ever. However, like most people, these attorneys tend to focus on the “what” – what services they provide, what documents they can create, what they can get for their clients, etc.

Maybe it is time for lawyers to start thinking more about the “why.” Why did you become a lawyer? Why did you start your own law firm? Why do you provide legal services? If you want to be the type of lawyer that stands out as a leader among the thousands of people offering similar legal services, the answer to these questions should be an answer that speaks not to what your clients want but instead to what your clients believe.

Last year, Total Attorneys partnered with Purse of Hope to create the Total Impact House in Uganda.  It's a shelter that provides resources for women who were caught in the human sex trade.  Recently, I traveled to Africa and visited the girls who live in the house. Seeing firsthand the start of a huge change in the girls' lives; their hope; their laughter; and their appreciation made a profound impact on my wife and me.

I've been thinking a lot about why philanthropy is so important.  As a CEO, I am best able to help the world through encouraging corporate social responsibility.  Basically, this concept means relying on corporations and businesses to do the right thing. It includes conducting business in an ethical way, as well as encouraging or even beginning philanthropic projects outside of the business.

Of course, corporate social responsibility has always been an important idea, but it's even more relevant in the 21st century.  First, technology is making things possible that were never imaginable before.  Because of technology, international connections between those who are helping and those who are being helped are possible.  This connection is incredibly powerful, makes philanthropy more meaningful, and promotes cross-cultural learning.  The girls at the Total Impact House in Uganda made this video postcard for the Total Attorneys employees in Chicago.  Everyone really enjoys getting to know the girls, and they like learning about us, too.  Second, acting socially responsible is just the right thing to do.  One of our core values at Total Attorneys is to "do the right thing."  We need more people in the world who believe in social justice.

Finally, corporate social responsibility is important in the 21st century because it lends itself to the idea of a global economy.  Countries are becoming increasingly global, in terms of economics.  Paul Collier, in his TED talk on "The Bottom Billion", says that because of the global nature of our economy, both governments and businesses have self-interest in the development of the bottom billion.  Collier says that a combination of compassion and 'enlightened self-interest' will solve the problem of global poverty.  Enlightened self-interest is realizing that the economies of other countries (including underdeveloped ones) affect our own businesses/economies.  The net of people defined as 'stakeholders' in the development of countries such as Uganda is getting wider and wider as the world gets smaller and smaller because of technological advances.

How does Collier's idea relate to corporate social responsibility?  He says that until we have a critical mass of citizens who are informed about global poverty and human rights issues, we will not be able to get serious about developing third world countries.  Change comes in many ways.  As a company, Total Attorneys bought a house in Uganda to help women in the sex trade.  A side effect of this was the education of our employees and their friends, family, and social network about aid to Africa, human trafficking and empowering women worldwide. Important issues they might not have known about before.

Businesses are in a position to help employees become global thinkers/citizens.  Acting responsibly is the first step to this.

On May 21st, 2009, over 30 Total Attorneys runners laced up their running shoes and raced to the finish line to promote fundraising for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Overall, more than 60 employees attended the event and showed their support. With drinks, games, and catering by Sweet Baby Rays, the Total Attorneys tent was the envy of the Grant Park crowd.

Over 17,000 runners and 500 companies participated in the 5k race through Grant Park in the heart of Chicago, IL. See our recap video below:

 

On a sunny and beautiful Saturday, September 19th, Total Attorneys employees set out to compete in the annual golf tournament. Hosted by Marovitz Golf Course in Downtown Chicago, IL, 40 golfers competed in teams of 4 using the “4-ball scramble” style tournament rules. The event also featured catered food, drinks, and a bags game. Congratulations to Andrew, Larry, Jay, and Karl for being this year’s Total Golf Champions! Check out the video below to catch the action!

 

“Total Talent Throwdown” was a 21+ show and featured five musical acts from our very own talented base of employees. The acts served up something for all musical tastes, including Classic Rock, Punk, and even Bluegrass Rap (yes, that’s right).

The event helped to raise money for the Chicago Youth Centers’ Fellowship House.

Check out a video of the festivities below!