Christopher M. Avery, Ph.D. is president of Partnerwerks and developer of the acclaimed Being Powerful in Any Team seminar for technical professionals (www.beingpowerful.com). He is a guest columnist for the 3M Meeting Network (www.3m.com/meetingnetwork). Avery serves as "co-dean" of the Leadership Department at Austin Software Council University. He has consulted with such organizations as Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials, Charles Schwab & Company, IBM, Motorola, Nokia, and Wells Fargo Bank, among many others. For more information, visit www.partnerwerks.com.