Year-end is the time for performance evaluation and planning. How would you feel about the employees described in the following sentences?

• "He's really smart, but he's not a good team player."
• "She's really smart, and she shows great judgment in crises."

There are a lot of smart people in the world. The key is identifying and developing smart people who have the and not the but.

Career consultant Karyl Innis uses the example of "smart, but" to highlight the difference between initial career skills and continuing career skills. Intelligence is an initial career skill; it gets a person in the door. Impact is a continuing career skill; it creates respect and opportunity.

The following table shows just some of the terms Innis uses to classify the different skill sets. We hope they are useful as you conduct performance planning for 2004.

You've most likely heard the story about the executive ranting and raving at a meeting about why his company's scientifically engineered dog food is not selling as projected. Other executives speculate about far-flung reasons until one young salesperson in the back asks, "Um, sir, do dogs like it?"

That is the power of great questions. They make brainstorming more productive. They set the stage of constructive debate. They inspire.

• Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
• To be or not to be? That is the _____.

Our New Year's resolution for 2004 is to ask better questions.

According to creativity expert and author Michael Michalko, the key to better questions is transforming them into a challenge using the phrase "in what ways can we..."

How can we increase sales? might become In what ways can we reward our best customers and increase their business? Instead of How do we improve employee morale?, you might use In what ways can we motivate employees during stressful peak periods?

The CEO of Winter Garden Salads most likely used a similar train of thought when he decided to give employees a $50 bonus before the holiday rush. The change in philosophy led to a 50 percent increase in productivity.

In what ways can you use the power of questions to improve your business in 2004?

Case studies have always been a popular way to showcase a company's skills and services. Good case studies grab attention and create a call to action. Next time you have to write a case study, try these tips:

• Begin strong with a statement or idea that is direct, relevant, and engaging to the target audience.
• Entertain as much as you educate. Add zest with articulate, creative writing.
• Concentrate on one strong marketing message. Focus on one key capability rather than diluting a case study with too many thoughts.

www.atkinsonpr.com/eletters/brand.pdf

Power, Privilege and the Post: The Katharine
Graham Story by Carol Felsenthal

The biography of the late Katharine Graham makes a great holiday gift for those who like to soak up Washington politics and the behind-the-scenes history at The Washington Post. Especially fascinating is her role with Ben Bradlee, John Woodward, and Carl Bernstein in the decision to run the Watergate story.

What makes her story even more compelling is her candor about the obstacles she had to overcome in becoming one of the world's most admired women. She was a sheltered, subservient daughter of powerful, wealthy parents and then a dutiful wife to a manic-depressive who took over the newspaper her father had owned. Following Phil Graham's suicide in 1963, she bravely stepped in to take over the Post and lead it to new levels of journalistic excellence and performance.