Thanks to the graciousness of my good friend Kelly and the kind people at the CBS television network, I just returned from New Orleans where I attended my 11th Final Four in the last 15 years.

In many ways, the Final Four is much like the SHRM Annual Conference:

• Lots of talk about talent - Like SHRM, there is a lot of discussion of talent.  In this case, the teams playing.  Will Kentucky easily dispatch its opponents (YES!).  Who will be loaded next year? Is one and done good for the business?
• There's recruiting - in this case, the Final Four represents a huge market for coaches, as many assistants look to make the jump to a head coaching position
•  The parties - instead of Monster. com throwing a bask with Natasha Beningfield, Turner/CBS threw two private shows with Kid Rock and Sammy hagar
• Celebrity sightings - At SHRM, it might be OMG...there's The Cyncial Girl, Laurie Ruettimann.  At the Final Four, it was Leo DiCaprio in our suite (where he soon was whisked by Kid Rock to the suite next door) or Lil Wayne a few suites down.
• Networking - Like SHRM, the Final Four is an opportunity to catch up and talk with people you may have not seen the event the previous year.

Which brings to Chicago Jerry. 

Who is he?  I don't know.  Why is he called "Chicago Jerry?" Your guess is as good as mine

Does he deal in imports and exports?  Is he a superagent to the stars?  Is he a small businessman from Poughkeepsie who simply loves basketball?  I don't know.  However, much like Bill Brasky, we have come to believe Chicago Jerry "can eat anything, can tolerate any amount of drugs and alcohol, is superhumanly tough, possesses a variety of other superhuman powers, has cheated death on numerous occasions, has no regard for the well-being of others, and has caused the death and maiming of many people."  No one dares talk to him for fear of ruining his near mythic status.

 Since attending my first Final Four in 1999, one of the constants has always been the presence of Chicago Jerry.  In some years, he would be among the first people I'd see as I walked into the hotel lobby.  In other years, it might be a couple of days, but Jerry would inevitably turn up.  This year?  Jerry was absent.  Days had passed and no one had sighted Jerry.  Then, with mere hours to go before heading to the airport, we were merrily cruising down Canal Street and there was Jerry.

Another Final Four is in the books, and it simply wouldn't be the same without Chicago Jerry.  I raise my glass and say, "To Chicago Jerry."

Last weekend, I attended my 10th NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four in Houston, TX.  Here are some quick observations:

• Houston is not a great site for the Final Four.  It is very spread out, forcing attendees to rely heavily on cab rides to get around town.   Further, the cab drivers we had were very unfamiliar with the city, and at least 3 times I had to search my smartphone for the address, and even had to enter one address into the cab driver's GPS.  That did not convey a positive view of the city.   Further, the sprawl of Houston made for less of a Final Four feel.  When you are in San Antonio or Indianapolis, the event is much more compact and you see fans everywhere.  Thus, it creates much more buzz and excitement for the event.  Rotate the event in San Antonio, Indianapolis and New Orleans and be done with it.
• The stature of the Final Four attracts a number of current and former athletes.  Until you see professional athletes up close, you never get a sense of how different they are.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?  Tall.   Really tall.  Really, really tall.  Charles Barkley?  Huge - both vertically and horizontally.  Imagine if you could easily identify talent as easily as you could choose height.  Then again, Doug Flutie looks like a weekend softball player.

With sports on the mind, it is time to hype Thursday's HR Happy Hour at 7p.m. Central:

You can learn all you need to know about recruiting, talent management, effective team dynamics, managing star performers, aligning compensation with performance, and succession planning from studying the history of the National Basketball Association. Don't believe it? Where else but in big-time sports can you see the effects of talent assessment, recruiting, leadership, and employee engagement played out, in public, under the spotlight, every day of the year? What players to draft, which ones to develop, which ones to cut loose, and how to build the right mix of personalities and talent to achieve team goals are the primary concern of all sports franchises, and quite honestly, they are the same concerns of organizations in all types of industries. Sure, you might think this show is an excuse for Steve to assemble a bunch of his friends to talk about sports, and you'd be partially right. But sports offers a lens to most the of most critical issues you deal with every day in HR, Recruiting, and Management, so this week we'll try to make the connection. And we will also talk about the Final Four, the NBA Playoffs, and Moneyball. Joining us on the show will be The 8 Man Rotation dream team - Kris Dunn, Lance Haun, Tim Sackett, and Matt 'akaBruno' Stollak. It should be a great show and I hope you will join us.