Archive | Business personalities

Busy is Good!

Being busy is a good thing when you own your own business, law practice, etc. I find it interesting, though, that other people do not share my perspective. From time to time, when speaking with someone who doesn’t quite appreciate that busy is good, I try to understand why. When this happens, the person to […]

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Busy is good. In fact, being busy is great! As the co-owner of a business, I am keenly aware that the only way we can survive, in the long term, is by being busy more often than not having work to do. Of course, as in most businesses, our work volume ebbs and flows, often […]

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Cream & Sugar

Recently, I met a client/friend, or perhaps friend/client for “coffee.” Coffee is in quotes because I rarely drink it; I ordered iced tea. Here’s what went down. Robert asked for a coffee, with a little room for cream. The barista dude said “We only provide milk products for our lattes and cappuccinos. Our brewed coffee […]

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Readers of David’s and my posts often remark to me that they wonder when, or if, we will ever deplete our supply of topics about which to write. I believe this is highly doubtful, due to the colorful lives we live and our unique ways of looking at the world around us. Who would have […]

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“You’re Not Cheap!”

I recently attended a meeting with an attorney, who is a client of mine, and the attorney’s client, the person who paid for my services. It is rare in my world of jury/trial consulting to attend a meeting that involves the “end client,” that is, the party to the litigation, as opposed to his/her/its attorney. […]

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Melissa was still laughing about this encounter when she returned from this meeting. We both chuckled about it after she shared it. She is clearly not cheap. I can attest to that! But, in the context of business, we have never had the goal of being cheap. We are often not the most expensive trial […]

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My Favorite lawyers are Gators: Kim, Pat, Charles, Suzanne, Buddy

As anyone who knows me, even slightly, will attest, I have never been a “school spirit” kind of person. No “rah rah, go team, go” for me. It’s just not who I am. When I decided to pursue my doctorate degree in psychology, I applied to 10 schools and I was accepted for admission to […]

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Melissa came to this realization not that long ago, and she had to admit the University of Florida must not be all bad. It is not that she is a “rah rah” Seminole fan, instead, it is only an ironic realization that these 5 attorneys, as well as others who are double or single Gators, […]

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The Social Psychology of Etiquette

This third post in a series about good manners, courtesy, and kindness combines my education, training, and experience as a social psychologist with something with which I have always been fascinated: etiquette. Unlike almost everyone else I know, I love the rules of etiquette and I try, diligently, to follow them in everything I do. […]

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Melissa is much more of a student of, and teacher of, etiquette than am I. And she has taught me a thing or two in this regard over the past 30+ years. But, I had some other good teachers, including my mother, and another person about whom I wrote previously, Jon Peters. Jon corrected me […]

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Life and Work – Have Fun When You Can

This concept presents itself in many ways. The saying “life is short, eat dessert first” is one way. But, aside from that, building fun into “the plan” is one benefit of operating a small business. While we’ve written things along these lines in the past, recent discussions with family and friends are reminders of the […]

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I can’t begin to count the number of times David’s mother, Carole, said, “Have fun!” when David and I were leaving her house to meet with a prospective client (the opposite of having fun, in my opinion); conducting mock jury research (very stressful and hard work, involving long hours); selecting a jury (the ultimate stressful […]

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Return calls, Reply to emails, Be courteous

Many things in the lives of adults are related to the way in which we were brought up as children. If, for example, someone was taught by his/her parents to prefer Fords over Chevys, or to cheer for the Pittsburgh Pirates instead of the Boston Red Sox, these long standing habits are likely to be […]

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Melissa approaches the topic of “Return calls, Reply to emails, Be courteous” as an etiquette issue, and it is. Working for and with trial lawyers is challenging, sometimes. The general public’s impression of attorneys is not always the most favorable, to put it simply. The perceived lack of courtesy may explain part of that. And, […]

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David Cassidy or Jimi Hendrix?

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 17, 2018

Category: Business personalities, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work

At the time of this writing, David Cassidy has recently passed away. (For the reader who does not know who David Cassidy was, I urge you to use your computer search engine to find out.) David Cassidy was a singer and TV star who was, for many people, mostly teenaged girls, the embodiment of a […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 17, 2018

Category: Business personalities, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work

Melissa does like it loud! Some of her favorite things are loud, including the Corvette she drove for many years. Both its engine and sound system were loud (the latter had to be to be heard over the engine of the former). She plays bass guitar, loud, and seeing/hearing loud rock & roll shows is […]

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Buddy Payne

We’ve met some wonderful and interesting people in our years working with trial lawyers. One of those was R.W. Payne, Jr., better known as Buddy. Buddy was a true southern gentleman, hailing from North Carolina, then Virginia. He took control of the room when he entered, walking with the swagger of the former Marine and […]

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I have met few people throughout my life who possess the charisma and charm of the late Roland W. “Buddy” Payne, Jr.  Buddy was one of the most successful attorneys in the U.S.A. during his many years of practice as a trial lawyer.  Buddy was a trial lawyer in Miami at a time when trial […]

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Horn Blowing

Horn Blowing is a topic I’ll always associate with the late, great, Buddy Payne, Esq. Buddy was one of the top trial lawyers, anywhere, ever, and was from the plaintiffs’ old school in Miami (or as he said “Mia ma” – even though he was from Virginia). After he retired, Buddy coached Melissa and me […]

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I will begin my part of this post by thanking David for reminding me to write a post dedicated to Buddy Payne. Buddy taught David and me a lot of things, most important among them, that if we don’t tell potential clients about how wonderful we are, they might never realize it. Our clients are […]

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