While traveling for client work recently, my wife answered the doorbell.

A kindly octogenarian Marlboro Man doppelgänger stood there, smiling.


Cowboy hat.
Cigarette.
Belt buckle the size of a dinner plate.


“Is Brad home?”
“No, he isn’t. Can I help you?"


“Are you his wife?”
“Yes.”


“Well, ma'am, all y’all been officially served.”


When it comes to lawsuits, I have a three-pronged defense strategy.


Defense 1: The Shaggy Defense
“It wasn’t me.” Those three words are the extent of this initial defense. I cannot include a link to the song because it’s rather lewd, but if you know your pop culture, you know the song.


Defense 2: The Chewbacca Defense
Only slightly more sophisticated than The Shaggy Defense, this defense is from the (in)famous South Park episode where Johnnie Cochran deliberately attempts to distract and confuse the jury.

Johnnie Cochran
Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense!


Gerald Broflovski (Chef’s attorney)
Dammit! He's using the Chewbacca defense!


Johnnie Cochran
Why would a Wookiee, an 8-foot-tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of 2-foot-tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen . . . If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.

Defense 3: The JoAnne Galloway Defense
If defenses 1 and 2 fail, I retreat to the greatest legal film of all time, A Few Good Men. (Just kidding, that would be To Kill A Mockingbird followed by A Time To Kill.)


Lieutenant Commander Galloway, played by Demi Moore, strenuously objects after being overruled—twice—by the honorable Judge Randolph.

Her trial partner, Sam Weinberg, is not impressed.
 

Sam Weinberg
'I strenuously object?'
Is that how it’s done? Hmm?

'Objection, your Honor!'
'Overruled.'

'No, no. I STRENUOUSLY object.'

'Oh! You strenuously object.
Then I’ll take some time and reconsider.'

If all three defenses fail, I turn to my Personal Board of Directors.


A board of directors, in the corporate setting, exists to help executives identify goals, develop strategy, and evaluate risk. In short, the board helps the CEO think through and lead the business intelligently.


The role of a Personal Board of Directors is similar, but it’s just for you.


It’s comprised of talented people you know and trust who can help YOU think through and lead your life intelligently.


Here’s mine:


Legal
JP Sherry, Esq. He’s the pit bull I turned to for my lawsuit. He was the guest on episode 82 of The Construction Leadership Podcast.


Financial
My brother. He understands our goals and the game my wife and I are playing.


Personal
Bobby Krueger. Great listener, withholds judgment. Guest of episode 241 of The Construction Leadership Podcast. (No, not all my directors join the podcast, but many have.)


Medical
Bobby’s better half, Katie. Her advice has been vital as my family has grappled with breast cancer, strokes, and the occasional wart.


Sales
When I need to think through my thinking when it comes to sales, I call Tim Rethlake. Now, you can too. He just opened his own shop, TRaction. He’s the only person ever to take my place as the host of my own podcast (episode 137).


Design
Jason Hines. His work—and his referrals to other talented designers like Laurel Lunsford—have shaped our business since 2011.


Leadership
“Tricky” is the word my friend and co-author, Carl Moyer, HR Director at Parr Lumber (guest of episode 217), uses to describe the act of leading and managing people. Carl’s thoughtful advice has been invaluable over the years to my personal leadership thinking. Yesterday's podcast episode featured a chapter from the new book Carl and I will be publishing next year.

It appears Ben Affleck and Matt Damon read our chapter and turned it into a new movie, titled Air. (Spoiler alert: Nike lands Jordan.) 


Business
Luck is the flip side of risk. My understanding of both has been deepened through my relationship with strategy guru Rich Horwath. I lucked into having Rich as a strategy professor in my MBA program in 2008. He’s been a mentor ever since.


Rich is launching a new SQ Assessment. 

IQ = intelligence quotient
EQ = emotional quotient
SQ = strategy quotient 

His goal is to help leaders be more strategic. I took his SQ Assessment and it immediately helped me refocus our projects.


For a limited time, you can take it here for free: https://strategyskills.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_23sWNeXrOJUuEDQ

Password: Allocation

The combination of JP Sherry, a few weeks of barrister bureaucracy via email, and some common sense has allowed me to evade the lawsuit.


The Shaggy Defense is the truth: It wasn’t me.


Some Brad Hartman (only one N) out there will get served soon for his supposed role in some Florida Homeowner’s Association case.


For his sake, I hope he has created his own Personal Board of Directors.


You should too.