I've been thinking a lot lately about leadership, both in the context of businesses and communities. At times the concept makes me crazy, because many business leaders I know won't get involved in community leadership as they lack the patience to try to drive consensus. In truth when a friend suggested that I run for the legislature, I rolled my eyes and made some comment about not having the time to devote; this from the guy that drives corporate civic involvement home as being so important. This really got me going on an internal dialogue about what I have personally done in my community, and the importance of contributions, large and small.

It may surprise some of you to know that at one point in my life I was a registered Girl Scout. When my children (all girls) were younger my wife got involved as their Brownie Leader and later Junior Scout leader. I don't remember exactly what happened, but my wife needed to give up the leadership role and no other mothers from the group stepped up to take on the job. Faced with the choice of letting the troop dissolve or taking it on myself, I talked another father into co-leading the troop with me. To make a long story short the state and national scouting organization didn't know what to do with two men from Missoula, Montana who wanted to be Girl Scout Troop Leaders. After we got over the hurdles of ulterior motives of an unsavory kind we got down to making it happen and I had to become a Girls Scout to do it.

I had no idea what I had taken on. When I agreed to this responsibility I really had to juggle being a scout leader with growing my practice and finding time for myself and my wife. Interestingly this troop led by dads became the largest and most active in Missoula and everybody had a blast. It also ate a bunch of time. But to the positive it stands as one of the greatest leadership learning experiences of my life. I had to plan the impossible schedule, manage the unmanageable (thirty pre-teen girls) and organize an untrained sales team (contrary to popular belief cookies don't just sell themselves).

There is a family moral here that may well become an entirely different Blog post, but it's not the point of this one. While the time I spent helping set up wall tents for winter camping, teaching wood working, fire building, compass reading, outdoor cooking skills, knot tying and the like didn't contribute to the bottom line of my practice, it profoundly shaped my way of thinking about my work , community, civic commitment and the obligation to participate on a 24/7 basis. Giving back as a Girl Scout Leader challenged me to innovate. Along the way I rattled the cage of a longstanding institution, and in a very small way, advanced the cause of equality of the sexes. The process showed me the value of challenging conventions constructively to help people and organizations grow. Perhaps more importantly volunteering my time gave me a refreshed view of the real value of time.

Everything we do every minute of every day matters. What we do can move society and the people around us forward. Even our inaction matters. By doing nothing, we become part of the roadblock that makes up the status quo. In an era of streamlining and doing more with less, giving back gets pushed to one of the lower priorities for all of us. Especially in companies where time is money, corporate giving and community involvement seem like diversions from efficiency. In the interest of the bottom line they become a seemingly easy line item to cut. However it's times like these when charitable giving and community involvement become the most important. When times get tough, hours long, and staff short, the soul of a company gets cut in the interest of the bottom line and nobody will notice until it's too late to revive.

As federal and state budgets decline, non-profit organizations, not surprisingly end up having to do more with less and rely more heavily on private sector funding. Just as stable funding sources dwindle, the need for programs goes up. How do we promote the health of our society without promoting a level of equity in our communities? This remains a vicious circle that never ends, and at some level we all feel it. Whether it's the phone calls at dinner time asking for a donation, a massive increase in non-profit solicitation mailings or endless invitations to this gala event or that auction, at some point we all want to crawl in a hole and just not respond. That doesn't solve the problem either, individually or corporately. We must be part of the solution at some level. We as individual must allocate limited resources, and as corporate leaders we must not only do that we have to look at a public view of our organization. Even if we avoid or put off making a decision to help or be involved we make one; the decision to stay on the sidelines and not participate in society.

Despite the economic climate, corporate citizenship and charitable giving has a place. It says as much about the company as the quality of the services or products it offers. I find corporate citizenship and charitable giving, even when it's not publically recognized, builds a loyalty that transcends price and direct competition. People want to do business with companies that they trust and believe have a soul. Once you have these values fully integrated in the fabric of the company you would no more get rid of them than you would the sign on the door. Without these values the company identity vanishes.

At ALPS Corporate Citizenship and Charitable giving stand as one of the five pillars of our strategic plan. We encourage employees to volunteer their time (both on and off the clock) through our community involvement program. As a company we also give of our time collectively for various events. We provide a corporate match for our employees' private donations. ALPS also commits a percentage of its annual profits to charitable and community causes as determined by our senior management or our Charitable Giving Committee.

I have found that serving our community and serving our clients are not mutually exclusive activities. In truth, being engaged in our community helps us stay connected and creative. It keeps the staff motivated and engaged no matter what the daily crisis in the office might be. It also helps us attract people who care about people, which ultimately translates into caring about the integrity of our product and the level of service we provide to our clients.

I am proud of the difference ALPS has made over the years in the lives of people I will likely never know. In the end it is not about recognition, but rather peace of mind and soul. For me, it's about ALPS, to borrow from the Girl Scouts, leaving this "camp site" a cleaner and better place than we found it.

I look around Missoula and ALPS doesn't stand alone in this philosophy. A number of other companies, large and small step up every day to make a difference, however small. We need to get everybody on board for the benefit of their customers, the community and most of all their employees. Community involved employees have energy and drive businesses to success, which in turn drives the local economy, etc. In the end everybody wins.

As always if you want any information about ALPS corporate giving policies, community involvement policies, or just want to comment on this blog post, please e-mail me at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact a customer service team member who all have personally participated in ALPS corporate citizenship processes. They will be happy to share their experiences and provide any information you need. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (jpatterson@alpsnet.com), Kevin Beasley (kbeasley@alpsnet.com) or Keith Fichtner (kfichtner@alpsnet.com). Toll free: 1-800-367-2577.

Author's Note: I want to give special recognition to Laura Churchman from ALPS marketing team who inspired this blog by laughing at my girl scout leadership story and prompting me with ideas for content that really made this blog post what it is - really important for society.

Few people remember Dick Holler who wrote this song that Dion made famous in the late 1960s. His words represent a tribute to a century of Icons for social change. As I sit here thinking about Martin Luther King, Jr., I find it prophetic that a song wedges him between two equally incredible and perhaps circumstantial heroes of a common cause that began with the drafting of our Constitution, got swept under the table until the 1860s and simmered until the 1960s when our nation of laws finally decided to enforce the rights of people of all races, ethnic backgrounds and beliefs. Like the times before when rights of human dignity and belief surfaced before we raced to embrace them and then back slid to a state of comfort. Today, we grapple with rights of the unborn, rights of Gay, Lesbian and Transgender individuals, but there looms in the background the underlying issue of racial equality.

I wonder what Abraham, Martin and John would think if they could see America today. The targets have changed, the tactics more sophisticated, but the issues remain. We still have groups attempting to impose their will on the nation as they really believe, delusional or otherwise, that they know what's good for all of us. In addition, the new sophistication of poll manipulation, media promotion and "thought leadership" by special interest groups in Washington, DC and our State capitals brings a greater threat to our constitution and way of life that at any prior period in history.

Abraham would likely sit in wonder at how far society has scientifically advanced, how far it has spiritually decayed and how we have so misused and abused the scientific and communicative gifts we've been given. He would laugh at how some things have not changed; the fraud and corruption of today so resembles the profiteering of the Civil War era. Our ability to move it from the business to business and business to government has only been outstripped by our new use of technology to take it global and straight into our homes. Today, those inclined to prey on others have a much broader array of tools and much fewer hurdles to touch their ultimate marks. Abraham would have looked at our congress and political processes with enormous disdain. Politics in his day makes modern political disagreements seem like child's play. The difference and the disappointment comes in our use of "sound bite politics" to make it personal. In doing so, we put up roadblocks that bar the ability of individuals in leadership to let the process of compromise work for the good of the nation. We seem to have burned the bridges of civility that allow egos to be set aside and legitimate debate on principles to craft a conversation that brings solutions. He would so wish he could participate today to bring perspective to the opportunities we squander because of ideology and ego.

John would be proud of our younger generation who still hold idealistic views of being a force for change and finding ways to help others. Just as my generation did in the 1960s, today's youth represent the bright future of our country's position in the world as a leader for global change in a peaceful fashion. I know he wonders what happened to my generation and all the idealism of the 1960s and all the positive energy we demonstrated at the time. We staffed his Peace Corp, we embraced the Civil Rights Movement and we worked to put a dent in poverty and hunger. Somewhere along the way the idealism died for many of us and we checked out; why he wonders. He might conclude that the pace of life quickened, families needed to feed themselves and the modern political process sucked the life out of his young idealist. Even with that he would see today's technology for the opportunities it brings to stimulate enthusiasm across generations, marshal resources, and produce energy to further the common good. He would deplore its commercialization and use to track individuals and groups to prey upon for ideological fundraising and fear mongering. I wonder how he would view the incidents of 9/11 and the huge impact it had on freedoms in this country, and the military industrial complex's utilization of it to profiteer and create fear for fear's sake. If alive today he would build bridges between the factions and provide much more opportunity for both sides to move forward. He might even be Pro-Life, but not to a political end. He knew how to count votes to move an agenda and he would do it again.

I saved Martin for last even though it messed up the song title. He brought me a much more complex mental discussion. In his life he focused on rights for Americans of African heritage to be full participants in American life with an eye on schools, worship, housing, representation, jobs and freedom from fear. I've read most everything he's written and a lot of what others wrote about him and while a Black Preacher from the South, he represented much more. He brought a voice of hope to African Americans and the poor all over this country. He represented a voice against ignorance, racism and hate without regard for ethnic origin. Some say he was a modern day saint. History doesn't support that proposition-he was an ordinary human being, in the right place at the right time, with a compelling message and the ability to deliver it. He will go down in history as one of our country's greatest human beings. He would want it that way as he saw himself as a mere mortal with a God given gift to lead and preach. He did both with great skill and a style that even his detractors admired.

Were he alive today, he would wonder how he failed so badly. Not that the Civil Rights Movement didn't accomplish a lot but rather at how it has become part of the establishment, complete with its own profiteers. He wanted a movement that stayed the course until African Americans and even Caucasian and other ethnic minorities climbed out of poverty, got heard (even locally) and could stop making the process about catching up. He would abhor the current state of immigration in this country. We represent opportunity for all peoples and have for two hundred years been the melting pot of the world. Today, his cause lives on in even a larger scale than before. He dreamed of a society free of barriers to achievement and advancement where educational opportunities and scholarships didn't have a color, gender or language criteria. He had many dreams and today they are still mine. I will not live to see them fulfilled, but as long as I live they will remain a front burner work in process.

As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, let's remember his dreams and the dreams of Abraham and John. They and the framers of our constitution started something that remains unfinished-an America free from prejudices, with opportunities for all people to live in peace, and prosper. It's not a lot to ask,

Times do change and each generation creates a new paradigm of life expectations. I've been reading a lot lately about our current expectation that life should be fun and everybody should be happy. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against having fun and happiness. It certainly sounds like a worthy goal, but is it attainable? This whole train of exploration got me thinking about the fact that the level of PTSD (Battle Fatigue) in soldiers after WWII seems less than in current conflicts, and the large number of middle class young adults seeking help for depression, stress and anxiety has clearly increased. Why? What's different? Clearly our perspective, our life experiences, our level of formal education and, without a doubt, the advancement in medical science has given us a better vantage point from which to view the issues. In the end it raises a fundamental question for me. I wonder whether we can medicate or counsel our way to happiness without really understanding the root causes and the changes in society that may have forced us into a downward spiral to begin with.

I live in a rural city and deer make up the largest population of urban pests. Yesterday I watched a young doe with her late fawn munching on the flowers (remnants) in our front yard. She looked thin, tired and a bit mottled. I recognized her as a two-year-old who we watched as a fawn two years ago coming up and trying to eat from our bird feeders. Back then she was really cute, well fed, playful and learning everything she could about her new life as an urban deer. Life seemed exciting and fun. Her life changed every day as she learned, grew and aged toward adulthood. Yesterday I observed in her fawn many of the same characteristics, but in her I saw the responsibility of parenthood. The fawn ate, then she ate. She became protective when people came out to shoo her fawn away. She became anxious as the fawn scampered into the street, just as a bus approached. She was doing her job as instinct and nature dictated. This experience tracked me to the question of how I applied human cognitive reactions and responses to the deer as if it was human. To a great extent we do it with our family pets. I confess that I don't know how animals think and I recognize that to a degree all species have different powers, strengths and weaknesses. I do believe that we mere humans possess the power to reason and understand that surpasses the rest of the animal kingdom. If that's the case why do we so humanize animals? What does it matter how animals feel, or if they die, why are we sad? Simply; we see the whole world through our own unique human perspective based on our own unique mores and experiences.

As humans moved away from an agrarian economy and way of life so have our expectations. My grandparents would have looked at that doe as simply a source of food, with no concern about its life or what it thought or felt. That doe was no different than the chickens, pigs, cattle or sheep they kept. It was food and, to a degree, a source of income. In between the beginning of the Great Depression and the end of WWII the middle class grew very quickly and working for wages not sustenance became the norm. People moved from the farms to the cities and our agrarian roots began to disappear. We wanted more for our children, both materially educationally, and by way of life's possibilities. Before and during the Depression being a kid wasn't much better than being an adult, just on a smaller scale. Life wasn't all play and enjoyment. Kids worked, kids helped out on the farm, and when the cotton needed picking or the hay needed stacking everybody worked. Somewhere in my childhood I became a partial throwback. I had a paper route or some other job from the time I was about 10. It was peanuts stuff, but I learned to enjoy working, and play was for the weekends or the family vacation. I suspect that as the child of a WWII veteran, my life wasn't a lot different from most of my peers.

My generation wanted better for our children so we raised the bar. They wouldn't have to work like we did. They attended play school to prepare them for elementary school. They got every opportunity in sports, music, drama and dance. They went to the best colleges we could afford. They actually had a social life like many of us never did, and when they grew up they would have a better life than we did. Somewhere between 1945 and today the system slipped the rails, and in the end we created an expectation and a lifestyle that may be unsustainable. It certainly seems unattainable to many of today's youth. Along the way we raised the bar both economically and emotionally to very high levels and then exported the opportunities for jobs that could sustain even our standard of living. Nobody intended it to happen. It wasn't part of a grand plan or a great conspiracy, it just happened. By the way, it's not just our country that has the problem. It occupies the minds of much of the western world.

A quick study of the economic situation in Greece gives us a clear picture of the dangers and the damage that instant gratification brings. Before the European Union, Greece had a very sustainable economy. Extended families lived together, home ownership came with inheritance not a mortgage, cars were indeed rare in the middle class, and the economy grew as did human expectations at a slow but manageable pace. Enter the Euro and the credit and debit cards that followed, and all of a sudden life moved to the fast lane and consumer debt rose at meteoric rates. People could buy now, pay later and live the good life. Now the Greek economy is near collapse, and the middle class roams the streets protesting against having to go back to the way it was or at least having to give back some of the lifestyle that they gained with the proliferation of credit.

This is not just a problem in Greece; we suffer from it just as badly. The difference comes in the size of the national economy relative to the debt levels. As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, our rate of debt growth pales in comparison to that of Greece. None the less the increase in debt subliminally wears on our people just like it does in the rest of the free world. Stress levels rise, and as a whole we become more about preserving our own piece of prosperity rather than being concerned with the common good. All this leads to a collective and an individual anxiety level above the normal curve. Hey, we all know we have a problem but are we willing to make a sacrifice to address the issue? It's pretty clear that we want the problem solved, but not at any individual or group's expense. Don't gore my ox or slaughter any sacred cows (social security, veteran's benefits, Medicare, union pensions). This new mentality brings with it a clash between values and desires that hurts us all.

I will finally get to my point. I don't wonder that the sale and use of psycho-pharmaceuticals rises by the year. It's no wonder that American job satisfaction has dropped to an all-time low and that many of our young people today don't believe that they will be able to attain a standard of living equivalent to that of the "Greatest Generation," let alone their parents'. All this leads to an attitude of dread, fear and anxiety, which further leads, when untreated, to a depressed state. I don't know the answer, but I do know that "it's the next generation's problem to solve" - OOPS! I didn't really say that did I? Yes I did, but only to make a point. We are all in this together and every living human being has a vested interest in fighting depression, and if that means making sacrifices we all must step up and do our part. We have to fix the underlying causes and we should, along the way, work on the mental health issues that society has wrought on many of us due to the attitude change from selfless to selfish. I am not making a value judgment with this point, but merely pointing out a reality. We shouldn't and can't play a blame game (too much sex and violence on TV and a moral disconnect). Each of us needs to do a self-assessment and see what we can do to change the future for ourselves and those around us. Guilt over past sins has no place (easy to say but hard to make happen) in our future.

How do we move forward in a positive way? The path will differ for all of us and will depend on where we start. If a person starts in a dark place their path will be longer than it will be for those of us who have a level of contentment. The focus will be very different. From the dark place we must look inward and upward to get to our place of contentment (at least equilibrium). From the place of contentment we must continue to look upward, but also around to see if we can extend a hand, provide a good listening ear, and provide positive directions or just reassurance to a fellow soul on life's journey. We need to recognize that we all belong to the "Family of Humankind" for which, in some small way, we all bear responsibility. It must be in our own different way, but we all must play a part.

I apologize for not providing a silver bullet or even a suggestion of where you should start. This problem developed over a span of many years and it will take many years to resolve, if it ever does. I do know that we all need to move forward with small steps, taking each day as it comes. I could write forever on suggestions and causes, but remember that global warming, global conflict, ethnic differences and unrest, population growth, debt, loss of a sense of community, and an endless litany of issues didn't cause the problem, human inter actions did. Likewise only human action can create the solutions that bring our society and the world to a point of equilibrium and balance that can reduce the stress, anxiety and depression that plagues the developed world.

With my post "The Dreaded "D" Word," I committed to driving the discussion on mental health and lawyer impairment issues. This one tracks that discussion well and certainly raises more questions than it answers.  I hope those of you that read this post will comment either directly to me or preferably by posting your comments publically by going to the end of the post and adding a comment., If you would like to have a more personal discussion, you can e-mail me directly at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team who all have a greater understanding of our policy form language and interpretation than their CEO. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com), Kevin Beasley (1-800-367-2577, kbeasley@alpsnet.com) or Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com ).

No matter what you call it or how you celebrate it (or don't) it's a day that turns us all into children for just a little while and ALPS is no exception; the place looked just plain bizarre. We transformed the company offices into a ghoulish habitat with departments decorating for the occasion, dressing to the theme of the department. We awarded prizes, had a party and all in all people forgot that ALPS was work for just a little while. Sometimes we need to step outside ourselves and let the world see us in a different light; perhaps it helps us all recognize our "inner child" and even for a day be something we're not. The beauty of living in the spirit of the day really shines in the productivity we see following these sorts of events. Even yesterday a lot of work got done and productivity increased. It all happened in the same number of hours.

Even our most conservative investment types got into the act with a jab at their own industry and showing their true working class (Irish) backgrounds. On this day you couldn't tell the difference between the trading clerk, the investment manager or the compliance office. By the way, the market fluctuation on Halloween had absolutely nothing to do with our Halloween festivities.

I believe that there is a little devil and a little angel in all of us that nurtures our creative side and gives us the faith that we can succeed. It's the part of us that allows us to take risks and have hopes and dreams. In our business we understand risks and have to constantly balance the benefit of the rewards with the exposure of the risks we take. So this staff member from our claims and underwriting administrative side got it just about right when she selected her costume. Although I must confess that in her real persona she clearly comes off as more angel than devil. I wonder sometimes about how others look at their darker side as they live their lives and understand that in real life it needs to be repressed for their own good and the good of society. Days like Halloween really give us the chance to act it out in a positive way without the down side risks of real life and the potential to hurt others. Halloween provides the fantasy world that really lets us enjoy a moment.

I had a bit of a problem with my assistant Kathy's pirate costume as it seemed to me to be totally out of character in one vein and perfect in the other. On one hand she is the doer and the giver in the organization; totally selfless and ultimately caring. On the other hand she represents the perfect First Mate; she holds my feet to the fire on deadlines and others in the office know that she speaks for me and that can be pretty intimidating. The point of all this really again comes down to balance between efficiency and charity. She epitomizes the balance I like to see in business. We want ALPS to be efficient and profitable but at the same time be seen as a caring organization that puts the needs of its insured lawyers and others out front. We really care about the people and the problems they face in their day-to-day practice of law or in their business lives.

Most of the time you interact with ALPS on the phone or by mail, you get the ghostly experience of dealing with our reception staff headed by Nancy, ALPS ultimate specter. On the other hand some of you will talk to us electronically and utilize our Internet portal and social media options to do business with ALPS. Kiffin, our Indiana Jones, constantly seeks to educate our customers about the law practice's new and developing issues related to practice and practice management. He works his magic to make ALPS the industry leader that we are by providing so many connection and communication opportunities for our customers and prospective customers. As we move forward with our Internet portal and social media initiatives, contact opportunities at ALPS will remain pretty limitless. You can still call and our phone will be answered by a real person. You will be put through to real people to help you and only if you want to get to voicemail will you. On the other hand if you want to work on-line and avoid human contact you can do that with our web portal that soon will let you update information.

If you use the old fashioned method of personal contact you will principally deal with our ALPS Enterprise Marketing (AEM) Team pictured to the left. For the record they didn't dress up for Halloween; what you see is what you get, so you might want to consider using our portal (just kidding). They really let their hair down yesterday and I was not surprised that we had a very productive day. These folk are your personal tour guides for your ALPS experience. They represent you in the underwriting process, and God forbid that a claim rears its ugly head, will make sure that you get to the right people to handle the claim and make the process as painless as possible.

The team works together as a cohesive unit to make sure that all our customers and prospective customers get all the service they need and don't feel smothered or bothered by excessive phone calls or e-mail. We realize the importance of being a partner with our customers in creating as risk free an environment as possible for their law practices. It's not just about getting an application file underwritten and issued; it really involves getting to know the practice of each customer so that ALPS AEM staff can advise on coverage options, appropriate deductibles options, appropriate limits and risk management opportunities. ALPS is available for that particular client. For example, did you know that ALPS now offers on-line Ethics and Risk Management CLE for our Virginia Lawyers It's a trial project that we hope to have available nationwide later this year in all our jurisdictions. Stay tuned, there will be a lot more.

ALPS Finance Team makes up the other piece of our customer service advantage. As you can see they are a rag-tag bunch of accountants that haven't even figured out how to put a Rubix Cube together. And their costumes! WOW - the originality of all black utterly blew me away. All they needed were the green eye shades and sleeve protectors and they could have been mistaken for bookkeepers. Seriously, they deal with our customers almost as often as our AEM group as they keep the financial side of our customer relationships running like a well-oiled machine. If you need premium financing you deal with them. If there is a problem with premium crediting you deal with them. If you have deductible payments you deal with them. But most importantly, they track our statistics and at the end of the day they work with our actuaries and underwriters to make sure that we have the rate filing balanced properly to see that each insured only pays their fair share based on the risk profile of our overall book.

Sometime around here you might want to commit suicide for fear that you see our IT staff dressed up as Harry Caray with microphone in his hand. I listened to enough Cubs games as a kid on my short wave radio to last a lifetime. Truthfully, our IT staff keeps the whole place operating (except when the Internet goes down). I often wonder how often it really does. Seriously, ALPS has a level of sophistication with all our social media, web presence, paperless filing , our incomparable ALPSNET operating system and total system integration among all our operating units, that I marvel at how the IT team does so much with so few. The answer: "It's all in the proper use of technology." I wonder if they really understood my question.

Have you ever wondered how ALPS gets all the paper out of our office with a mailing list of over 50,000 potential customers and over 13,000 actual insureds. We have a back room with no windows that FedEx, UPS and USPS actually have key codes to where it all happens. It is the most mechanical room in our entire ALPS suite of offices. We use as much technology as possible and when that fails we fall back on a fishing guide to get it done. We do our own printing, mail sorting, document assembly and distribution. The responsibility for all this falls to "our Man Stan" and yes he really is a fishing guide when he isn't working for ALPS. His production center includes multiple high speed color and black and white printers, a sorter, and a postage meter that does everything but sing and dance. He has the capability to save us thousands of dollars each year by verifying mailing addresses against post office changes before we send them out. Stan and his staff of one full-time and one part-time employee keep ALPS flowing.

This blog post has been a bit of a kick to write. I don't often get to showcase the best working team in the world in a way that humanizes them beyond their job descriptions. Our insured lawyers ultimately benefit from our Halloween hijinks and the other things we do at ALPS to make it a great place to work. I am a firm believer that personal life and work life must be separable, but if one is fun and the other not, it can't help slop over. We work hard to make sure that ALPS is a happy place so as to make our employees' personal lives ever better.

This post isn't very intellectual and accordingly there won't be much meaty stuff to comment on, but just for fun if you recognize any of your friends at ALPS drop them an e-mail or post your comments for the world to see. As always if you want any information about ALPS, please e-mail me at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team who all have a strong understanding of how ALPS works for its policyholders. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com), Kevin Beasley (1-800-367-2577, kbeasley@alpsnet.com) or Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com).

A few days ago I heard that the Montana Supreme Court disbarred an old friend (someone I knew in my past life as a practicing lawyer) because of trust account irregularities. I felt bad for him and the fact that we had not stayed in touch over the years, so I called him to see how he was doing. Long story short, his life changed and he is moving on with his life in a positive direction. His faith has always been one of his strengths (maybe to a fault). He related that he made some bad decisions, based on personal values, intended to help others, and never intended to hurt anybody or take any money for personal gain. I believe him. Had the economy not crashed in 2008, his accounts would have likely been all right with the world and his bad decisions might never have been discovered. He tells me that he has been forgiven by his clients and most importantly by God. When I asked if he had forgiven himself, he responded "If God can forgive then I must as well." He has put his past behind him and made the decision to move forward with his life with a positive perspective and a focus on the future.

I have thought a lot about my friend and our conversation over the past couple of days and must confess to conflicting reactions: I'm happy for him as he has been able to move on, I have some confusion about how personal value-based decisions can go so wrong without raising flags, and wonder at how he has overcome the shame, despair and dread that has led others down a path of self-destructive behavior and even suicide. I have not resolved all these issues but I get enough to see a path out of the darkness that might be worth sharing.

First of all, I don't know many people with the depth and sincerity of my friend's faith. I confess that I wish I had his ability to simply dump all my troubles on a supreme power (being for the truly devout) and start over. I get the concept of Confession since I come from an Episcopal background and engage in the process of "General Confession" during services on Sundays. That however has never risen to the level of allowing me to engage in personal forgiveness to the degree that each day I can move forward without regard to past transgressions. While my transgressions pale by comparison to "significant trust account irregularities" I, like most of us, still carry my past with me into the future. On one hand I think my past helps me make better decisions; on the other hand the past can get overwhelming if we let ourselves get down over really tough current circumstances.

The point (actually two points) of all this really comes down to: (1) understanding principled decision-making as not a free pass to always being right; and (2) letting our past be a guide to our future (live in the future not the past) not a millstone around our necks that keeps us in fear of making good tough decisions on the off chance that we might be wrong.

My friend's wrong thinking came from his overriding principal of caring for others. He was a steward of money and resources from a number of sources, some clients and some not. Given the poor interest rates, his decision to place funds from one source with another (in his mind) served two purposes: improve the return on his trust funds for the benefit of the depositor and provide a source of funds for another depositor who needed a short term bridge. He stayed true to his principles and juggled resources he had stewardship over. The plan fails not because of lack of principle-based decision-making but because he failed to get sign off from the depositors, by circumstances beyond his control, the economy and his failure to remember the trust account rules. In the end, we all remain responsible for our decisions and he paid the price for his being wrong. In this case, I think the moral amounts to; when multiple principles come into play we need to understand and balance or prioritize the principles before we make decisions. Here the fiduciary obligations (principle #1) should have trumped personal principle of helping others in need. It's really pretty simple-as a fiduciary we must protect the assets we steward before we do anything else, unless and until we get relieved of the fiduciary obligation by specific and clear written instructions from the grantor of the asset and the beneficiaries for which we hold them.

My friend's ability to unburden himself and live in the future actually embodies a whole new (relatively) direction for some psychotherapy practitioners. The literature seems to indicate that unburdening oneself of guilt (so ingrained by history, churches and family) and ditching the past can get historically depressed individuals off medication and on a path to happiness. The concept that we cannot control (change) our past certainly isn't new or surprising, but focusing on the future seems to be gaining some ground. I thought about this last night and it seems to me that the concept has its underpinnings in AA's twelve step program and a lot of the chaplaincy work being done in prisons today. Giving yourself a fresh start with a clean slate makes a lot of sense in terms of reducing the stress and allowing the mind to become a productive force in the recovery process.

I don't know that I have any really good conclusions about either of these thoughts at this point, but both seem to me worthy of laying out for people to chew on. The relationship between a lawyer's (people's) mental health, their ability to manage stress, and making good decisions going forward gets complex even when the mistakes (bad decisions) are huge like my friends, and are not that easy to manage or reconcile. It takes daily work and assessment to keep priorities in perspective. For many, all they can hope for is to live one day at a time right now; what a concept if they could get a start over with a fresh, positive perspective.

A while ago in my post "The Dreaded "D" Word," I committed to driving the discussion on mental health and lawyer impairment issues. I hope this one continues that. Any comments you may wish to share about the topic, ideas, suggestions, and observations would be great. I encourage you to make your comment by going to the end of this post and making a public comment. In the meantime if you would like to have a more personal discussion, you can e-mail me directly at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team who all have a greater understanding of our policy form language and interpretation than their CEO. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com), Kevin Beasley (1-800-367-2577, kbeasley@alpsnet.com) or Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com ).

By way of simple disclosure, I am Episcopalian by practice and tradition, but hold a heartfelt belief that we of all faiths make up the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind. We should celebrate our traditions, customs and rites and we should honor the traditions, customs and rites of others as equally special and precious. Today is the eve of one of the holiest days of the year for Jews; one that marks the beginning of the High Holy Days and their tradition of embarking on the task of examining one's life and striving to be a better person. I wish all people of the Jewish faith a happy, yet introspective Rosh Ha-Shanah as you celebrate your New Year. May the year 5771 have brought you peace and prosperity and may 5772 be even better

A friend of mine shared a message that he received from Rabbi Michael Panitz of Temple Israel in Norfolk, VA. He knows my interest in religious history and their parallel paths. I found it enlightening and in many ways very profound as we all face the great changes that have and continue to take place in our world. I thought I would share it with my readers in the hope that you get as much out of it as I did.

ROUND ROSH HA-SHANAH CHALLOT, or, JEWS SHOULD LIVE AS JEWS, YET IN THE WORLD

Today, the last Sabbath eve before Rosh Hashanah, some of us will find that regularly shaped Challah is not available, and that the kosher bakeries we frequent are offering only round challot. Why? Because those commercial enterprises have already geared up for the "Rosh Hashanah rush".

In "Judaism 101", we all learn that the standard Sabbath loaf  (challah) is plaited:  three or more strands of dough braided before baking. Then, we learn, there are variations:  the Rosh Hashanah loaf is round. Why, the student asks, is there a difference? The teacher probably doesn't know, so he or she fakes it, with the reasonable surmise that we want the holiday loaf to be distinctive, in order to honor the holiday.

I have come to believe that the question is well-intentioned, but poorly framed, and that the answer, also generally on solid grounds, in this instance loses sight of the most intriguing aspect of the phenomenon. More concretely:  I have come to believe that the plaited, Sabbath loaf, not the round Rosh Hashanah loaf, is the variation from the older norm.

It's difficult to say how old the tradition of round loaves extends, but it is certainly ancient, because the process of turning flour and water into dough by hand tends to produce a lump, not a strand- that would require extra rolling. Intriguingly, food historians inform us that the braided challah is a medieval Ashkenazic borrowing from Gentile culinary customs: In the 14th and 15th centuries, Jews living in Central Europe observed their Gentile neighbors preparing braided loaves for their own (Sunday) Sabbath table.

This humble fact is, in its own way, remarkable. Inter-religious relations in 15th-century central Europe were poor. Catholics were persecuting Hussites, and Christians, as a whole, were on poor terms with the Jewish minority living only marginally in their midst. It was an era of massacres, blood libel, expulsions of Jews. The Jewish literature of that era contains, as would be expected from the literature of an oppressed people, negative impressions of Gentiles. And yet, even in that climate of remoteness, punctuated by hostility, Jewish bakers observed and internalized a Gentile cultural meme.

This process continues in all times and places. Just this morning, I watched a YouTube video of a young Hassidic bridegroom performing a Michael Jackson-style dance at his wedding reception. It was quite a sight: This young man donned an ornamented white glove and went through all the gyrations of the "moon walk". The crowd "gave it up", in n chorus of enthusiastic encouragement. His rabbi, an older and more conventional type, was visibly annoyed at the immodesty of the spectacle, and repeatedly attempted to yank the young man off the dance floor; but the groom's well-wishers restrained the older man. Only when the dance had ended did they allow their mentor to pass, whereupon he pulled the groom away- I imagine that he did not want to endure an encore.

If Hassidim in Brooklyn, whose official ideology places such great stress on modesty, can borrow a set of  moves that go well beyond the choreography of Elvis "the Pelvis" Presley, then it ought not be inconceivable that 15th-century Ashkenazic Jews would borrow the visually appealing kitchen customs of even despised Gentile neighbors.

The point of these cultural vignettes is this: People share a common humanity. What a person does to satisfy some need may prove to meet another's needs, too. It is quite natural to observe the cultural memes passed down through the behavior of society, and to import, perhaps unconsciously, those that work well for us. Even as Jews-heirs of a Bible that took a stand against much in its environment, and of a history that has emphasized our "otherness"- we learn from our neighbors all the time. That is not a bad thing. It is only bad when what we learn is itself a crystallization of bad values. Every potential import needs to stand or fail on its own merits.

Personally, I am a greater fan of braided challah than of Moonwalking, but, as my mother used to say, "To each his own, said the old maid, as she kissed the cow!"

Live in the world, so that you can make a difference in the world.

Please take a moment and pray about, meditate on or just contemplate what life might be like if every human being "Live(ed) in the world so that you (he or she) can make a difference in the world. The truth is that we can, so why don't we? I offer these thoughts wishing that all people in the world find a way to make it happen during this Rosh Ha-Shanah season.

Recently I had the privilege of honoring my former Dean at the centennial celebration for the University of Montana Law School. In preparing for my part, I took the time to look at his time at the school, and what the practice looked like from 1954 to 1979. Interestingly, not a lot changed either in the practice or at the law school during that time period. It was the era when stand-up scrivener's desks went totally out of vogue. By 1979 clerks of court were no longer accepting hand-written pleadings from lawyers, practicing law centered around the courthouse, and lawyers were there on an almost daily basis doing an assortment of legal tasks.

Fast forward thirty years-courthouse filings have become electronic, court documents are no longer only signed with fountain pens, the United States Post Office is going broke because e-mail has virtually replaced regular mail, carbon paper only gets used in workshops for tracing patterns, legal secretaries have been replaced by executive assistants, a range of specially trained non-lawyer legal assistants (paralegals, etc.) now serve lawyers and clients, the cost of legal education has skyrocketed, and, not surprisingly, the cost of legal services has significantly increased. Despite the dramatic increase in the number of attorneys, the vast majority of Americans can't afford to seek assistance from a lawyer. I am not longing for the good old days, but the world has changed and so has our profession. About a month after I started practice, I remember thinking that the secretary assigned to me - a talented individual with considerable experience working with lawyers - had much better legal skills than I did and I needed to learn as much from her as I could in as short a period of time if I was going to be a competent lawyer. Fortunately for me, she taught well and I learned quickly. Yesterday's experienced legal secretaries are today's paralegals and other specially trained legal assistants. The work they do, e.g., preparation of probate and litigation documents, is the work historically done by licensed attorneys. Given the use in the practice today of an ever-increasing range of non-lawyer assistants whose hourly rate is far less than that of a licensed lawyer, why has the total price of legal services risen so much faster than inflation?

I think the answer might be in the structure of the practice and what constitutes the practice of law. In theory, if lawyers charge less for legal assistant performed services, one assumes that the total cost should go down, but not so. In fact, it didn't reduce lawyer time at all; we simply started charging for time that legal secretaries never charged for before. Granted it was work that didn't necessarily require a lawyer to do (supervise yes). Ah yes supervision-before we supervised our secretaries by checking their work and they in turn checking and frequently correcting ours, all as part of the cost of a lawyer's time. Now we see "review," "supervise," and "check" scattered throughout legal bills. This is stuff we never charged for directly, and now it has become a large part of a lawyer's work. I am aware of several good firms with a couple (two) of lawyers and lots (twenty or so) of legal assistants where the bulk of the real legal work comes from the legal assistants. Here the lawyers assume a quality control role and the system works very well. I am aware of trial lawyers that may not even meet the client until it's actually time for them to go to court together. Again, this system works well and, in fact, allows the high priced legal talent to be very efficient. I believe the future of legal service, lawyering, and legal education stands at the edge of a vast sea with an outgoing tide which will carry away the sands of historical legal dealing.

2011 saw a significant decline in the number of students sitting for the LSAT. New graduating lawyers discover it is much harder to find traditional legal jobs, graduating lawyers carry more student loan debt into their new careers than at any point in history, young lawyer mobility (except into solo practice) has slowed to a snail's pace and, if all of that is not bad enough, starting wages for new lawyers have fallen significantly both at the top and the bottom of the hiring chain. What does this mean for law schools? Do we have enough lawyers? Have we positioned lawyers properly to meet upcoming demand? Have we structured legal education to meet this demand? Are there other structures that we need to design and implement to meet society's needs? The questions are many; the answers are few.

Today's practice of law is not my grandfather's practice, or even the one I knew in 1973, and to a degree access to justice has become more constrained as a result of changes within and outside the profession. We formed legal services organizations and hired public defenders to increase access, but the resulting reduction in Pro Bono legal work by the practicing bar pretty much nullified any benefit from their creation. We adopted new technologies (faxes, e-mail, PC word-processing, calendaring conflict checking, instant messaging, on-line legal research, and smart-phone communication) only to find that our lives became more stressful, relationships less personal and discovery processes much more burdensome. The practice has become much less people intensive and more process driven and for many the joy or satisfaction seems elusive. Dissatisfied lawyers leave the practice in far greater numbers for reasons that transcend income levels. Solutions have proven illusive.

With pending enrollment down, how will law schools with fairly fixed costs manage to maintain quality? Reducing the number of students seems too simplistic. While a few schools (typically those that are higher ranked and relatively well-endowed) have modestly reduced the size of their entering classes, a reduction in enrollment for most law schools would result in cuts in faculty, staff and other resources that, if significant enough, could threaten accreditation. So what to do? We could simply change accreditation standards to accommodate, or perhaps employ a more thoughtful approach, look at the role of law schools and the definition of what constitutes law practice and the unauthorized practice of law from a licensing perspective. In other words, must all legal matters be handled by an individual who has been admitted to the practice or are there categories of transactions, etc., that could be handled by individuals who are not lawyers or are individuals who, while not having a J.D., have some specialized training and, as a result are licensed to represent clients in a limited range of transactions?

I don't want every small town lawyer taking me to the woodshed for this suggestion, but how about unbundling some of the parts of the practice and deciding that a three-year law degree and a full license to practice might not be necessary to perform certain functions. H&R Block has been doing it for years and the accounting profession still seems pretty healthy. It seems to me that in the areas of family law, probate, residential real estate law, and business law, there are a range of transactions where a one or two year certification program might just suffice to allow those transactions to be performed by non-lawyers. Such certification programs could be offered by law schools or two year colleges. Law Schools could offer such programs in conjunction with the regular three-year curriculum thereby enabling attendance of specific classes not only by students seeking a regular law degree but also by those students seeking only the specialized certification. By the way, I don't claim any of this to be completely original thought; law school faculty, practicing lawyers, and others have already been pondering possible alternative models for the education and licensing of professionals providing legal services.

What I hope to do in this post is simply to engage the practicing bar in the discussion of what their future might hold. If I have learned nothing in my thirty-eight years as a lawyer, it is that I (we) don't have all the answers and often don't even know the questions that will profoundly impact our lives. We must charge this debate and look to make legal education affordable, make a legal career rewarding again, make legal services available to all who need them at a price they can afford, see that our Bar's or court administrations have appropriate licensing in place to protect the public and create a model to allow our local law schools to continue providing high quality legal education in those areas of the law practice demanding the breadth and depth of traditional J.D. education.

This has been a fun piece to write because my mind won't shut down contemplating the next question or the possible issues and answers. Please engage and comment by posting directly to my blog or if you wish you can e-mail me directly at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team who can get you to our Risk Managers or others with information about this issue. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com), or Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com).

What in the world is PIAPRO? A very good question with a very simple answer - a new product offering brought to you by a member of the ALPS Family of Professional Service Companies. I've talked a lot about lawyers' issues and lawyers' insurance policies but not a lot about the rest of ALPS. ALPS offers so much more than just legal malpractice. We have a number of subsidiaries all designed around making life better for our lawyer owners and helping them serve their clients in better and safer ways.

A few years ago A.M. Best suggested ALPS should consider diversifying its risk profile either by getting into non-risk bearing opportunities or by insuring risks other than lawyers. Well, we listened and we diversified and we built the ALPS Family of Professional Service Companies. Along the way we formed ARIS (ALPS Risk and Insurance Services), formerly known as Big Sky Captive Management, to help our lawyers help their clients form their own Risk Transfer mechanisms like ALPS without making ALPS RRG the risk bearing entity. ARIS applies the ALPS way of doing business to other people's problems and finds solutions.

I am particularly pleased with the latest ARIS effort - Professional Insurance Agents Professional Liability RRG (PIAPRO). It really focuses on an insurance industry high profile need (insurance agents' E&O) and dovetailed well with ALPS sphere of expertise. By creating a unique partnership with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and their state affiliates, ALPS level of service, product superiority, and claims expertise will soon be available to PIA members. At the same time, ALPS reduced its operational cost of its LPLI program to ALPS insured lawyers by creating economies of scale.

This all started a few years ago over a beer with a good friend of mine, Fred Thomas, the then treasurer of PIA. He had questions about E&O coverage and tapped me for some answers. One thing led to another and pretty soon we both had more questions than answers. We proposed PIAPRO to the PIA and asked them for a lot of data and the rest is history. As part of the due diligence process in forming a captive you need to get customer buy-in. Roger McGlenn, our in-house PIAPRO affiliate liaison, and Dan Seman, ARIS Client Services Director, conducted a survey of PIA state affiliates and received very positive feedback about the potential for the PIAPRO program. The data indicated that PIA members have historically encountered difficulty finding E&O coverage, particularly coverage at an affordable rate. The PIAPRO program allows owner control (just like ALPS) by offering agents (PIA members) the opportunity to "control their own destiny" via tailored coverage with custom-written E&O policies to fit their liability needs. In the long term the program will offer greater coverage at market pricing and produce stability in the Insurance Agent E&O market, with the side benefit of potential for future dividends

PIAPRO took almost a year and a half to get properly funded, formed and licensed. It received its Certificate of Authority (captive RRG) from the Montana Department of Insurance on May 5, 2011. With its license in hand and all Risk Retention Group registration packets distributed to state insurance departments, PIAPRO opened for business. In fact, PIAPRO received its first application in mid-August from Louisiana. The very active and continued support of PIA members and affiliates all but assures the long-term success of this exclusive PIA program, making it the preferred choice of PIA agents around the country.

PIAPRO formed right, with good input from consumers, industry leadership and strong actuarial data. It is designed to be a program for the long haul:

1. PIAPRO provides flexible policy forms and coverage limits, strong out of the gate staff underwriting (ALPS), claims (ALPS), administration (ALPS) and marketing (PIA Affiliates).

2. PIAPRO garnered enthusiastic support of the worldwide reinsurance market with the assistance of ARI (ALPS Reinsurance Intermediaries). With an outstanding reinsurance lineup, PIAPRO will provide its insured agents with higher policy limits and stronger coverage options than it could by retaining the whole risk.

3. PIAPRO coverage with limits in excess of $1,000,000 will come at a cost much lower than generally available when buying this extra coverage through traditional Excess and Surplus Lines Markets.

Like everything else in life that's good, this project took a lot of work, coordination and time. Thanks are extended to the leadership that Len Brevic, PIA Executive Director; Larry Willis, President of PIA Services; and most importantly Fred Thomas, now the PIA's current President, provided in working with ARIS staff as well as to the tireless PIAPRO board of directors. You made all this possible.

We are excited for what the next few months will bring with PIAPRO and we're standing by to assist program participants in any way possible.

If you want information about ARIS, ARI or how PIAPRO operates, contact me by email at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800 367-2577. For questions about the PIAPRO program, contact: Roger McGlenn, PIAPRO Affiliate Liaison, rmcglenn@alpsnet.com; or Dan Seman, Client Services Director, dseman@alpsnet.com.

For more general questions you can also contact our customer service team who all have a greater understanding how all the moving parts at ALPS work than their CEO. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (jpatterson@alpsnet.com) or Keith Fichtner (kfichtner@alpsnet.com). Toll free: 1-800-367-2577.

ALPS started in the 1980's as an exercise in social engineering to see if diverse Bar Associations could (would) support a mutually beneficial effort to provide stability to the lawyers' professional liability market in small rural states. Twenty-four years later ALPS continues to beat everyone's wildest expectations by both stabilizing the market and innovating for the benefit of our insured lawyers and now a diverse group of customers who do business with our related subsidiaries.

Every two years we return to our roots and bring our associated Bars to the table to help us stay in tune with our quickly changing world. Last week 30 Bar Association leaders from all over the world, as well as some of their spouses and family members descended upon Missoula, Montana for the ALPS bi-annual Bar Leaders Retreat. ALPS has always been active in both state and local Bar Associations, by providing continuing legal education opportunities to members, helping with Bar Insurance needs , assisting them with planning, providing risk management assistance, and consulting with Bars on complex professional liability issues. The exchange of knowledge and ideas through the Bar Association channel has helped ALPS keep our finger on the pulse of the legal community and further lawyers' interests. We listen and learn about their needs in a changing industry. And we offer solutions to enhance the legal profession.

Whether they come from West Virginia or South Dakota, the Virgin Islands, Guam or Saipan the issues and concerns that we heard from these Bar Leaders impact the legal profession throughout ALPS universe. How do we continue to attract new members to join our Bar Association? How can we be innovative with our member offerings? How do we adapt to meet the challenges of rapidly changing technology and a shrinking economy? How do we help our lawyers deal with stress and life balance?

We had a very busy agenda at this three-day retreat and balanced a lot of education with good dialogue and some good family fun and recreation. In the conversations that occurred in each part of the retreat, we addressed these common issues and a lot more. For ALPS part, we inform Bar Leaders about ways ALPS can help them grow as well as complement their organizations. We also bring in fresh perspectives on a variety of topics affecting our lives on a more global level - from developing a better understanding of the Middle East to delving into the ecological implications of a declining bee population. Often, we find that when we step outside of our day-to-day lives, we gain clarity to tackle our challenges with renewed enthusiasm and ideas. In short, the Bar Leaders Retreat brings our partners together and gets them away from their day-to-day in one of the world's most inspiring places - western Montana.

I really like this bi-annual event for another reason; it gives me a chance to really showcase ALPS extraordinary staff. Every member of the staff gets involved in some aspect of the great interaction, and this event lets me watch my people work and play in a way that few CEOs get to. ALPS 2011 retreat reinforced my belief that I am really blessed to have such a great group of individuals to work with. From Chris Blackstun (ALPS Education Coordinator) who brought it all together, Chris Newbold (ALPS Executive Vice President for Strategic Development) who emceed the programs, Nancy Hinckley and Kristine Redli (ALPS Receptionists) who made sure everybody got to the right places at the right times to all the rest of the ALPS staff who served as tour guides, drivers, and recreational companions-it was a real team effort. I am proud of all of them. However, I expected nothing less, because I know what they can do and their character - they can do anything and do it better than anybody in our industry. If I sound a bit like a proud parent, I must plead guilty.

To say that this year's retreat succeeded understates reality. We got deep into a lot of issues, and ALPS came away from the process with a wondrous laundry list of new ideas, legal profession issues to grapple with and a rejuvenated spirit for why and how we serve the legal profession and all our diverse customers. If you have any comments you may wish to share about the ALPS 2011 Bar Leaders Retreat, I encourage you to add a comment by going to the end of the very small print line at the bottom of this post and click on the blue line "post a comment." In the mean time, if you would like more information about the retreat or any of its related topics, you can e-mail me directly at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team who has a greater understanding of our policy form language and interpretation than their CEO. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com), or Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com).

I understand that this seems like an odd title even for me, but in continuing the theme of my last post on finding balance in life, I think it really gets to the essence of balance (equilibrium) and where that balance all started - in childhood.

As I drove to my daughter's house on the 4^th of July (sun shining, 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky) to do some fatherly repair, I tuned the radio to our local NPR station (KUFM, 89.1 on your radio dial) only to hear a lovely melody that really caught my attention. As I listened I recognized it as a children's song and realized that I had tuned into "the Pea Green Boat" KUFM's after school children's program. Like magic the music and the memories transported me to a very happy place within my own mind. I thought of my own childhood and afternoon radio and TV programming (yes we had some TV back then) and to a time when Bonnie and I read to our children, played children's records, sang children's songs and even watched Sesame Street with them. Memories being magical, my mood stayed elevated the rest of the day as I thought about all my many blessings and the good fortune of being part of my family and growing up when I did in our wonderful country. The moral to this story: tune into your local NPR children's program and you will be happy.

Being happy should be that simple and eternal (as my childhood). Maybe being happy is really that simple. Most of us were happy at some point in our childhood. Yea, I know being a kid was tough as well, but can you think of another time in life when you experienced pure joy like you could as a child. What changed? Well for starters we grew up and had to become responsible for our own lives and the lives of others. Our perspectives changed, big decisions and responsibilities and a new reality (perceived) replaced some of our dreams and aspirations. Along the way the scales seems to tip and the fun times and enjoyment, while still there, became less frequent and somehow less intense. Hey folks, this is life as an adult, right? Only if we let it become our reality, which by the way most of us do. As I realized, listening to the "Pea Green Boat" it doesn't have to be, we just assume the imbalance so it becomes our reality.

I believe we can change the balance and put the frequency and intensity back in our happy time. We just need to adjust our inner dial a bit and not let the "FM band drift" take control. For you youngsters out there who never had the privilege of listening to an FM radio that had tubes rather that transistors and resisters, in the day of tube radios, FM stations used to drift slightly in and out of tune for reasons that only an engineer can explain. In any case you learned to constantly adjust the radio dial or lived with some degree of static with your music. Think of life's frustrations, the pressures, the stressors as static. We just need to tune the station (happiness) back in. First and foremost, I don't advocate going back to being a child. First it is physically not possible and secondly, if we really think about it, being a child had a lot of pain and many times the world was coming to an end as relationships ended, pets died. Why then do we look fondly at our childhood? Simply, for me, the good times have filtered to the top. Yes, I still remember the difficult stuff, but I realize that they have little future utility for me except in remembering not to make any mistakes twice. The good stuff on the other hand helps me focus on the good things happening in my life now.

Each of us has a happy place, regardless of our age. For the younger among us don't ever lose sight of it. For those of us with a little gray hair we should all dig it out of the debris, dust it off, polish it up and put it back to good use. This place in our mind is ageless and like a family photo album, continues to grow as long as we put good memories in it. Like the photo album, for many of us, it contains a lot of early memories, but as we got busier we stopped taking the time to create (catalogue) the memories. However, the memories are there, and unlike the photo album where you can't go back and take the picture, you can resurrect the memories and pull them into your happy place.

How do we recognize and find (create) our happy place? Start with a single fond memory and a notebook (journal), remember all you can about the fond memory and write it down. It doesn't need to be much at first, as much as you want. Now go about living your life but find time every day to go to your journal and write down something fun or positive that you remember, write in the journal every day for a while. Take time to read back through what you've written and even supplement each memory with newly remembered stuff. If you do this regularly, pretty soon you will have a happy place (positive frame of mind) of your own and the journal will just be a tool you used to populate it. Sometimes you will need to go back to the journal just to renew the discipline and keep a good eye on the location of your happy place. Don't despair if you need a lot of tuning up, it takes time to build habits and being happy is no different- it takes practice.

I've spent a good part of this post writing about "happy places" and stuff that seems pretty juvenile (child like). I intended to - thinking like a child keeps us young and to a degree fosters a carefree sense of ourselves. I see nothing wrong with that. I've always believed that "aging is inevitable but growing old is totally optional." Keep your mind young, promote a carefree attitude, build on your vast library of good memories and you forget about the option of getting old or being unhappy (long term). Being unhappy, upset, angry or resentful happens to all of us most days. Not dwelling on what caused it other than in the moment makes the difference. Get over it and move on to your happy place where you can find long term inner peace and a sense of serenity.

As ALPS continues to drive the life balance agenda for lawyers any comments you want to share about this topic, life balance in general, article ideas ideas, suggestions, and/or observations "the View From the Corner Office" will be greatly apprciated.. I encourage you to hit the comment by going to the end of the very small print line at the bottom of is post and clicking on the blue line "post a comment" In the mean time if you would like to have a more personal discussion, you can e-mail me directly at rminto@alpsnet.com or call me at 1-800-327-2577. You can also contact our customer service team who all have a greater understanding of our policy form language and interpretation than their CEO. ALPS policyholders can call or e-mail their Account Manager and the rest of the world can call or email Julie Patterson (1-800-367 2577, jpatterson@alpsnet.com) or Keith Fichtner (1-800-367-2577, kfichtner@alpsnet.com).