In general, I'm not much into etiquette and am a rule-breaker and rebel by nature.

I do interview senior candidates at the home office or many of our hotel or restaurant General Manager candidates. My two favorite questions are "Tell me about a failure in your career, what you learned from it, and how you've leveraged this lesson" and "All of us are misperceived at one time or another. What's the most common way you're misperceived in the workplace and why?" Both of these questions require a certain amount of self-awareness and a willingness to not give pat, normal answers that we offer experience in interviews.

Curiosity has ... proven to be a great ingredient in resilience, a trait particularly valuable in an extended economic downturn. Resilient people aren't made of steel; they just provide themselves with more options, and those options come from a curious mind.

Great leaders help their people see how they can directly impact the company's objectives and their own personal goals.

Companies and leaders are role models - not just with the business community - but in the broader world.

Isn't it ironic that pay, perks, and benefits all cost your company at the bottom line, but authentic recognition, especially when it's most unexpected, costs very little and gives the most impressive return on investment.

Feeling good about your life, but not expressing a heartfelt 'thank you,' is like wrapping a gift for someone and never giving it to them.