Archive | Managing Employees

Organize & Label The Equipment

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 10, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

My years working as a photographer taught me many lessons, some I learned on my own, some I learned from others. I’ve written about one of my photography mentors, Jon Peters, but he was a mentor about small business as much as anything. He also loved his label maker. He labeled everything and numbered duplicate […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 10, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

I am an extremely organized person. I believe one of the keys to my success is my level of organization. I like my office to be organized, including all of the equipment I co-own with my spouse/business partner, so that it can easily be accounted for. We take inventory of all our office supplies and […]

Watch how many paper clips they buy

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 3, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Travel

Building on my recent post about employees’ shopping issues, I am adding another scenario that has never faded from memory. Again, some things seem so obvious to me, but alas, they are not really obvious to everyone. Many years ago, some of our promotional materials were held together using a paperclip. Because this clip was […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 3, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Travel

David and I evidently harbor strong resentments against some former employees, particularly those who have wasted our time, money, or both. I am saying this because, years later, we both remember having spent too much money for, of all things, paperclips! Not only did we waste money on paperclips, but we also had another employee […]

Shop price – Employees probably won’t

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 25, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Travel

Having run my own photography business, mostly by myself, I co-founded Magnus with one of my roles being managing the business and staff on administrative tasks. This includes shopping to buy everything from computers, video cameras, to pens and paper. We ran Magnus without employees for a couple of years and I knew the price […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 25, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Travel

It is a fact of owning a small business that some employees “get it” and some do not. When it comes to buying things, I always remind Magnus’ employees to look around at everything in the office. Everything, that is 100% of what they see, was bought by David and me. There is nothing, absolutely […]

Think before you speak.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 19, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

Think before you speak. This is an old adage that resonates loudly when managing employees. Two examples of the failure of employees have haunted us for years. The first was with our first employee. She was caught off guard when an attorney/client asked her, after discussing Melissa’s academic background with Melissa, “What’s your background?” Mindlessly, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 19, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

I suppose there is a time in many girls’ and women’s lives when they dream of becoming a princess. Unfortunately, however, few people ever realize their princess dream, such that, at some point, they are living in a fantasy world if they persist in their search for Prince Charming. (As an aside, I have met […]

Apologize, take ownership, fix it – say I’m sorry

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 12, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

Mistakes happen. In our trial consulting work, some of the tasks employees must undertake are technical and sometimes difficult. Some tasks are more routine, but nonetheless, due to inexperience, careless work efforts, or for reasons beyond anyone’s control, mistakes happen. That is a given. But, how employees react when informed about the problem varies tremendously. […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 12, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

When did apologies cease to exist? And, by “apology,” I don’t mean saying “Sorry” instead of “Excuse me” when bumping into someone in the grocery store. When referring to apologies, I mean owning up to one’s mistake, taking positive steps to ensure it is corrected, and being proactive in ensuring the mistake will never happen […]

“I cry when something bad happens.” Really?

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 29, 2015

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

We have long asked prospective employees what they do when they encounter a work crisis, when something goes drastically wrong, and when the pressure is on them to fix it. Some candidates report that they have never faced a crisis; these candidates are mostly those who are interviewing for their first job. Most of us […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 29, 2015

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

As regular readers of David’s and my posts certainly know, David’s favorite band is RUSH. There is an album, released by RUSH in 1984, entitled “Grace Under Pressure.” This expression, having grace under pressure, is something that is required of everyone who works for Magnus. Inevitably, during a mock trial or other research day, something […]

Quittin’ time

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 22, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Work-Life

When working in the office, that is, when we are not working a “research day” conducting a mock trial or focus group, we work “normal” hours – 8 hour days. For a time, we had employees who only worked in the office and those who also worked in the field. It became apparent after a […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 22, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Work-Life

Quitting time is, in my world, not a time of day but a time that depends on the amount of work to be done. If work remains to be completed after “the end of business,” “closing time,” or any other pre-defined hour, then I finish it. Furthermore, I expect my employees to finish their work, […]

And the beat goes on

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 20, 2015

Category: Business Partnerships, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

As Sonny and Cher famously sang in a song, “The beat goes on…” I am a firm believer in this axiom. Think about it. Life goes on, the beat goes on, and each of us can choose to keep the beat or, literally, march to a different drummer. There is only so much each of […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 20, 2015

Category: Business Partnerships, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

The beat is clearly different for each of us. I observe people whose beat is veryyyy slow. Then there are some whose beats are like Neil Peart’s – rapid fire. My energy level is in between so I try to keep it steady. In a business like ours, with spouses as co-workers/owners, being in sync […]

Who really pays your pay check?

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 15, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Managing Employees, Trial Consulting

Employees work for that regular paycheck they receive weekly, biweekly, or on some other pre-determined schedule. They earn it, they deserve it, but clearly some do not understand how it ends up in their hands (or bank). Yes, the check has the company’s name on it, and in small companies like Magnus, I usually hand […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 15, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Managing Employees, Trial Consulting

I have been working for a living since the age of 15. I learned, early in life, that money does not grow on trees and that, at least in my case, it results from hard work. Unlike some of Magnus’ employees, when I worked for other people prior to co-owning my own business, I realized […]

Working like a Dog

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 8, 2015

Category: Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Work-Life

Recently I posted about our star employee. She came to us as an “employee with benefits.” The benefit is her best buddy, Willy the Schnoodle. Our office environment is casual, but we have never had an office pet. We thought we’d try it. Willy keeps his own schedule; he does not work 40 hour weeks. […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 8, 2015

Category: Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Work-Life

Giving credit where credit is due, “working like a dog” is part of the lyrics to a song called “Hard Day’s Night” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The first line in the song is, “It’s been a hard day’s night and I’ve been working like a dog.” Since 1964, when the song, album, […]

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Archive | Managing Employees

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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