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GRAND RAPIDS — In forming a united front, the managing partners at 13 Grand Rapids law firms seek to aggressively diversify the local legal community in the years ahead.

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The Michigan Economic Development Corp. under Gov. Rick Snyder and CEO Mike Finney has begun to focus more on talent initiatives as part of both an internal and an external strategy to promote economic gardening in the state.

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WEST MICHIGAN — With scores of jobs going unfilled, unemployment remains high as disconnects between the region’s labor pool and employer needs persist.

Beyond some low-skill temporary manufacturing work, the region needs people to fill high-skill technical jobs as well as specific trades, such as welders.

What frustrates staffing and human resource service providers is the combination of a dwindling qualified talent pool and a market with outsized employer demand. According to a number of HR professionals, employers and employees are likely to face a paradigm shift as post-recession innovations in production continue and the base of low-skill manufacturing jobs gets even smaller.

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ADA — Chinese professionals present their business cards with reverence, holding the card with both hands so it can be read by the person receiving it. But Americans oblivious to Chinese business customs might shove the card in a back pocket and continue talking, a gaffe sure to sour any business meeting.

The correct response is to place the business card in a beautiful container or portfolio, shake the person’s hand —but not too vigorously — and then don’t pummel him with questions.

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WEST MICHIGAN — It’s the kind of message you won’t likely see in a job posting: “Unemployed need not apply.”

Even so, a growing number of employers quietly admit they are hesitant to hire people who have been collecting unemployment for an extended period of time.

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MICHIGAN — Ask Michigan business leaders about the benefits of workers’ compensation reform that’s winding its way through the state legislature, and you’ll likely get a laundry list: lower insurance costs, attracting new business, increased hiring, and fairness and clarity for employers and employees.

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WEST MICHIGAN — An employee with a good record commits a crime against a co-worker. A supervisor with past complaints of inappropriate sexual comments assaults an employee. A supervisor uses his authority and intimidates and harasses a subordinate.

These are the kinds of cases affected by a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling in the case of Hamed v. Wayne County, a decision that reversed a decades-old ruling holding companies liable for criminal acts by supervisors. The ruling overturns the court’s Champion v. Nation Wide Security decision in 1996.

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WEST MICHIGAN — When traveling on an airplane, a 20-something watches a movie, peruses Facebook and plays a computer game at the same time.

A worker over 60 is willing to do the same repetitive job for decades for the same company.

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GRAND RAPIDS — The best option for business owners looking to sell or transition their business may be an Employer Stock Ownership Plan because of the tax advantages for owners and retirement benefits to employees.

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For year I have been providing coaching for professionals who are learning how to find the right data about existing processes to support chartering projects to leverage Operational Excellence (OpEx), Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Lean Six Sigma (LSS) initiatives. One of the absolutely critical elements of that must be achieved is a very clear picture of the current state of operations in the organization before we begin mucking around changing things. This must include a careful assessment of what works, what doesn’t and why. At the same time we have to figure out the right process metrics and accompanying improvement objectives.