My best friend happens to be an exceptional manager and leader. Recently, she confided that she believes an employee is lying to her. It's certainly possible, given that on any given day, each of us is lied to from 10 to 200 times. And it's not easy to spot these deceptions. Fortunately, author Pamela Meyer helps make it easier in her book, Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception.

As I started reading the book, her style and wit immediately captured me. She provides research on the science of deception in a way that makes you hungry for more.

I went to her website where she gives you the opportunity to Test Your Lie-Q. I suggest you take it before you get too far into the book. Scoring as "competent", I have to admit some of my correct answers were "educated" guesses. The book confirms some things I already knew while also providing me with new information. Click on the title above to take the quiz.

I also watched Meyer's Ted Talk video, How to Spot a Liar. It's 18 minutes of fascinating information about human behavior. She takes you from "lie spotting to truth seeking and, ultimately, to trust building."

I believe the information in this book will help my friend with her problem employee. Whether dealing with a performance issue, job interview, strategic planning or accountability in the workplace, all leaders can use insight into detecting deception. This book and video certainly are changing my "see". I can't wait to get to the 10 questions that get people to tell you anything!

A Fascinating Affair - Edison and 40 Winks 

Curated by Kris Campbell, Managing Partner at BoldWork

There are so many topics about being human and living a vital and healthy life that captivate me. One of them is the whole idea of sleep. What is its purpose? Why do we dream when we sleep? Is it good to not sleep so much? What happens when we ignore sleep? Why can't I sleep?

Another source of fascination for me is the life of Thomas Edison. The fourth most prolific inventor in the history of humankind, Edison holds 1093 U.S. patents and many more in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Oh, and he added to these amazing accomplishments by founding 14 companies, including General Electric, currently ranked as the fourteenth most profitable company in the U.S., the third largest company in the world and ranked the fifteenth most admired in the world.

Yes, I know Edison had his light side (no pun intended); he also had a compulsive dark side. He did kill that elephant to prove a point and win a war of ideologies against his nemesis, George Westinghouse. I struggle to keep the elephant story in the context of the times.

"Sleep" is profoundly bundled together with my fascination with Edison. I get to feed my curiosity regarding both in one fix, via last February's Brain Pickings. Maria Popova published a detailed, rich article about Edison's storied, adversarial courtship with sleep. For Edison, sleep just got in the way of doing more of what he called his "great scientific adventures"! Right up until his death at the age of 84, he managed his work and life around a phenomenal ability to "power nap"; he elevated the practice to one of both art and science. Good or bad, healthy or detrimental, Edison seemed wired differently than the average person when it came to his cycles of sleep and wakefulness. Every time I read stories about the makings of an average day for Thomas Alva Edison, I can only shake my head and wonder what my own life might be like if I could tap into only a mere fraction of his supreme focus and total commitment to his Work.

As a final aside, Henry Ford reportedly convinced Edison's son, Charles, to seal a test tube of air from the inventor's room shortly after his death - as a memento. This test tube containing Edison's last breath resides at the Henry Ford Museum.

Fascinating.