*Pay the IRS First--In a new case, the chief executive officer (CEO) of a restaurant franchise found out that the company's accountants did not make the required employer tax deposits on time. But the CEO let six months go by before he fired the accounting professionals. In the meantime, company funds were used to pay off other debt. Result: The CEO was held personally liable for the unpaid employment taxes.

 *Creative Meetings--Business meetings are often boring. Here are some ideas that have been used to liven things up: (1) Crayons and construction paper were used to draw up new ideas. (2) Naysayers were sprayed with water pistols. (3) Workers submitted anonymous thoughts on Post-it notes. Then the suggestions were put on a wall to be read. The point is: Be creative about stimulating ideas and making meetings more productive.

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