Do you know the difference between an idle threat and a serious one?

Your kid plays a joke on you, and you respond, "I'm gonna kill you" while laughing at the joke. Idle threat, or serious?

A co-worker tells you she will slash your tires if you vote against the union. Idle threat, or serious?

A co-worker tells you that she heard from ...

Yeah, yeah - I know it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but you are planning your holiday party now, and you want answers to your burning questions while you still have time to do something about it.

And, as luck would have it, I presented a webinar on Wednesday with David Weisenfeld of XpertHR on "How to Make Your Workplace Holiday Party Sparkle ...

An article by Lauren Weber and Rachel Feintzeig in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal caught a lot of attention -- it was about companies that have made the decision to do without a Human Resources function.

The idea drew some positive response on Twitter:

HR stifles innovation and bogs down businesses with inefficient policies and processes. http://t.co/5cGRIwHaxR

— Mike Brice ...