Archive | Managing Employees

Don’t rely on memory; make lists

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On July 28, 2016

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

It sometimes surprises me that things I find very basic are not obvious to new hires. I know that my brain cannot possibly keep track of all I need to do such that I have long used lists. I recall being very organized in college about classes, assignments, etc., and perhaps not everyone has to […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On July 28, 2016

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

People vary in their memory function, just as they vary on other personal dimensions. There are some people, like me, who remember most things, in great detail and with accuracy; then, there are other people who don’t (or can’t) remember much of anything. Most people, of course, are someplace in the middle of these two […]

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Optimism is Hard Work

I recently attended a 99th birthday celebration for a wonderful woman who has blazed trails her entire life. Her name is Dr. Frances Bartlett Kinne; she is Chancellor Emeritus of Jacksonville University, my alma mater. I have written about Fran in the past, probably more than once. But, a point made during the celebration of […]

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My late mother, who lived until the age of 93, frequently said, “You can choose to be happy or you can choose not to be happy.”  She also had a scrap of paper, attached to her refrigerator door, on which she had written, “I am alive. Life is good. God is with me. I am […]

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When employees become scrap paper

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 2, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

I have to start this post by saying that I hate to waste paper which kills trees, but I also hate to waste resources for which I have already paid. If there is some way to benefit, even at a reduced value level, I try to not waste green paper either. I was thinking about […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 2, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

My mom was the first recycling aficionado I knew. She was also fond of the expression that something was “not worth the paper it was printed on.” I guess the paper referenced in her expression is money, meaning that whatever Mom was disparaging was, in her opinion, worthless. I would not go as far as […]

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Are our Posts Negative? It is a matter of perspective.

Someone mentioned to me recently that, based on reading our posts, it seems like Melissa and I have had lots of negative experiences. My friend mentioned this out of a concern that it might reflect poorly on us that we have these difficulties. I see her point, but, in discussions with other small business owners, […]

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No one has ever accused me of being a Pollyanna. (For those readers who don’t know the meaning of this expression, it means someone who thinks good things will always happen and finds something good in all experiences. It originated in 1913, in a novel of the same name by Eleanor Porter.) I believe some […]

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Be nice to the Assistants and Associates

When we work with a trial team our client is the lead attorney. Though we own the company, we know the lead attorney is our boss, at least as far as that case is concerned. And, that boss is almost always the boss of many other people. Some trial teams have lots of lawyers, paralegals, […]

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I have never understood why some people have only enough niceness and courtesy to bestow on the people at “the top,” leaving none for the rest of those with whom they interact.  It is not the case, in my opinion, that there is a finite quantity of pleasant emotions, such that they have to be […]

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If you look weird, we’ll think you are weird

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 3, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

Anyone who has read David’s and my posts knows I am a psychologist and a musician. These two avocations, alone or in combination, tend to create an open minded acceptance of other people, including those often described as “weird.” This being said, although I am more tolerant of weird people than almost anyone I know, […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 3, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

Given that I worked as a photographer for several years, I’ve seen some creative people who like to express themselves for art’s sake.  And, when it is for art’s sake, perhaps that is fine.  My photography clients were, however, mostly corporate clients and while I had longer than average hair then (and more of it […]

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The boss doesn’t want to see your: tattoos

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 26, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

Tattoos are not for everyone and not for every workplace. Just as I am fond of piercings, I am fond of tattoos. But, similar to piercings, I am not fond of tattoos in a professional office environment such as the company I co-own. My fondness for tattoos probably stems from growing up in Southwest Florida, […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 26, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

As with the piercing issue, we had the foresight to address tattoos in our earliest policy manual.  Thus, we had the ability to address this issue with new hires, or prospective employees, from the beginning.  And, as with several of these issues, it was not the case that we were “old farts” or “uncool” about […]

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The boss doesn’t want to see your: piercings

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 19, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

Some people tell me I am stuck in the 1970s, or “old school,” or “retro.” I thank these people for recognizing this characteristic. I may be retro, but I am up to date on the latest fashions even though I choose not to partake in many of them. One of these fashions is multiple piercings, […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 19, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

Piercings.  Again, not something I gave much consideration to other than when purchasing some earrings for Melissa with some regularity.  However, this was one detail that we did cover in our original policy manual; the issue was on our radar in 1993 at the beginning of Magnus.  What was, perhaps, not on the radar was […]

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Traveling as a team

Like Palidin, the adventurous, “gentleman gunfighter for hire,” played by Richard Boone in the TV series from 1958 to 1963, whose calling card said, “Have Gun will Travel”, as trial consultants, we go where the action is. The action is the case; we travel to the trial venues. Members of the Magnus team have worked […]

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I met a naive young person recently who, upon learning I travel with a team of people for work purposes, remarked, “That must be great not to travel alone!”, to which I replied, “It depends on who is traveling with me.”  I have traveled far and wide in the performance of my job on behalf […]

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The boss doesn’t want to see your: belly

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 12, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

The world of workplace fashion is constantly evolving. I never thought I would be working someplace where I had to counsel employees on what to wear to work, but I have spent a lot of time doing so. Some people, it seems, believe that what is acceptable attire in their personal life is also acceptable […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 12, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Managing Employees

Fortunately, today we can laugh about some of these topics related to dress code.  When the problems arose, however, we had some moments of distress trying to reconcile the notion that we were going to have to discuss such things as underwear, exposed bellys, etc.  The manly part of me admits such sights were sometimes […]

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