When Polly set sail on the Smooth Jazz Cruise out of Miami recently, she set an intention.  Specifically, she had in mind a picture of a person she would meet.  She visualized their meeting.  She scripted their conversation.  Then she threw the whole thing up into the universe on a prayer.

With that kind of goal in mind, a person will get an answer.  It might not be the expected answer, but it will be one of these:  yes, not now or infinitely better.  This week, my recruiting desk watched with interest as three people with clear intentions heard back from the universe.

(Disclaimer to my current boss, who reads this newspaper, this isn’t about you.)

37% of all workers have been bullied on the job.  According to one survey, bad bosses come in every shape and color.  Most bullies are male; however, among female bad bosses, 71% choose victims who are also female.  What makes a bad boss?  And what can be done to stop  him or her?

Unfortunately, a bad boss cannot always be redeemed.  Often, it’s the boss who stays, and everyone else has to leave.  Employees caught in a bad boss conundrum would be wise to see it for the minor irritation it usually is, and work around it until the situation changes.

If tomorrow’s calendar says job interview, sales meeting, big game or major presentation, giving a toast or initiating a tough conversation, then the cold sweats that wake you up tonight are not going to make tomorrow go more smoothly.  It’s just nerves.  Nerves are a normal part of anticipating something important coming up.  However, it should be only that – a part of what you are feeling – not a paralyzing, sleep-stealing obstacle that keeps you from succeeding on the big day.  The antidote to nerves is the Three Point Strategy, a way to prepare by looking at your situation from three points of perspective.

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama told America we are poised for progress. He said, “What America does better than anyone else is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We’re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.”

I know an architect who designed a working model of equipment that would have cleaned up the BP Oil Spill in weeks instead of months. There is a man in Northeast Minneapolis who thought a minivan could be improved if it had a convertible top… and then he built one. It’s in his garage now, you can see it if you want to. If you have been sitting on an innovation, now might be the right time to take steps to turn your good idea into a marketable product or service. The question is, will the effort required to move from concept to commerce be worth the investment?