So, here are my three simple rules for managing the smart guys.

No. 1: Hire really good people

What is a "good hire"? That varies depending on what you want. I want people I can trust. Trust implies all kinds of things: commitment and dedication to the job, to the agency, to the project and to the team. I want to be able to trust that my employees are going to show up every day, work hard and stay all night when the network goes down.

I want my employees to be dedicated to teamwork, meaning that I can trust them to help out a colleague and not undermine others' work. They must tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be.

How do I determine that someone is trustworthy? Job history tells a lot. References are helpful. But most of all, I rely on looking the applicant squarely in the eye and evaluating what I get back. Is that fuzzy logic? It certainly is a gut-instinct thing.