Archive | Employment

Everyone you meet knows something you don’t know

“Everyone you meet knows something you don’t know.” This was the text of Facebook post I saw recently. And, my first thought was, of course they do, they know their name, address, hometown and many other personal details. But, as I thought about it, I realized how true this is on many levels. Everyone has […]

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David’s writing reminds me of the childhood taunt, “I know something you don’t know.”  It’s true; I do know something, many things, you don’t know.  It is equally true that you know something I don’t know.  It isn’t possible for any of us to know everything about everything.  Meeting someone in one’s field of study […]

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Lesson from a Roofer: “I just do my job”

I have learned some things while observing the roofers who worked on David’s and my roof for 4 months (that seemed like an eternity). I have written past posts about some of my observations, including my amazement at how happily the roofers perform their jobs. On the last day of the 14 day installation of […]

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Sebastian told me something similar when I told him it seemed unfair to make him work on a (dangerous) roof by himself.  He shrugged and said “It’s a job.”  He seemed indifferent to which roof, which tile, how many co-workers he had.  He just knew what needed to be done and went about it without […]

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Making Friends

A recent email conversation with a friend, Tom, made me think about a fact of life that has some unfortunate consequences. As adults in the working world, we typically relate to each other on a single dimension, that of work. Whatever the work relationship, co-workers, client/consultant, or otherwise, our interactions are narrow in comparison to […]

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Luckily for me, I have always made friends in every kind of situation.  David’s friend, Tom, is an attorney at a large law firm, but neither David or I knew this when we met him while sitting next to each other at a RUSH concert.  David and I also met another, prominent and high profile, […]

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Onboarding

We at Magnus been working with a new employee recently to get him up to speed so that he can work effectively. Because Megan has been with us for quite a few years, I haven’t had to train anyone in some time, so it is an interesting experience to look at our training list and […]

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No offense to any of Magnus’ wonderful employees, but hiring, training, and supervising employees is my least favorite part of owning and operating a business.  I know what I am doing, I always get my work done correctly and on time, and it slows me down anytime I have to deal with the latest issue […]

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Passive/aggressive behaviors

Many people believe they know someone who is passive-aggressive. But, does the average person, without a psychology background, really know what the term, “passive-aggressive” means? Within psychology, there exists a psychological disorder known as passive-aggressive personality disorder, also known as negativistic personality disorder. This disorder has the following characteristics: overall negativism; persistent feelings of being […]

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I struggle in responding to Melissa’s post about this one because I don’t think I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with someone who is totally passive aggressive.  Instead, my point of reference to someone exhibiting passive aggressive behaviors is my own mother.  She was quiet, sweet and kind to everyone to such a degree […]

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Pride v. Humility

Certain words or phrases catch my attention depending on their usage. I’m thinking today about how often one hears “I’m humbled to win this award…” It could be an athlete, musician, actor, or anyone whose work is recognized. What strikes me is what I perceive as a false sense of humility. Winning recognition should make […]

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When I think of the word, “proud,” I smile and think of Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, known professionally as the character she played onstage, Minnie Pearl.  Minnie Pearl usually opened her stage appearances with a signature phrase: “How-dee! I’m so proud to be here!”.  Never did I hear her say, “Hello!  I’m so humbled to […]

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Now I get it…

I’ve noticed a phenomenon when working with clients who have never utilized a trial consultant. The only thing I can think of as a way to describe this is “Now I get it…” Attorneys/clients do not always hire us because they want to. There are times they are “encouraged to,” told to, or forced to […]

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Some people find it difficult to understand things unless they have directly experienced them.  One might say these people lack imagination or perhaps, foresight, however, when it comes to understanding the services provided by trial consultants, it is often hard for the average attorney to comprehend how we do what we do.  Some of Magnus’ […]

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Output = Effort x Ability

Social psychologists, as well as other types of psychologists, have studied achievement motivation for many decades. In goal directed situations, there are several ways in which someone can achieve the desired outcome: ability, effort, and luck. Success and failure also depend, of course, on the difficulty of the task being undertaken. When considered together, these […]

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I clearly remember that early employee to whom Melissa referred.  How could I ever forget her?  She tried so hard; she really gave it her all.  But, often, that was not enough.  This made it difficult to manage her without deflating her sense of self.  Reacting to “I tried so hard,” by pointing out her […]

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Exude Competence

Many years ago, when I was working for another trial consultant, one of the clients spoke to my boss and told her that I “exuded competence.” The boss was happy to hear this and to tell me. I took it as a high compliment because it reinforced my goal of doing what I say I’m […]

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David is right.  We have to exude competence if we are to convince others that we possess the expertise necessary to perform a job.  When I first became a trial consultant, way back in 1989, the person who trained me was a particularly tough task master.  He greatly disliked my psychologist’s way of pensively contemplating […]

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Work Life Balance

The term “Work Life Balance” seems to have existed for a long time. In writing this post, I did a bit of quick research and found the concept was not well defined until the last 20 years. Researchers have identified 3 key balance components: time, involvement and satisfaction. When work or life (family) demands are […]

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Due to the lasting impact of COVID-19 on our nation’s workplaces, the issue of work/life balance has taken on a new urgency.  Although many corporations are requiring their employees to return to the office full time, and some workplaces, such as hospitals, never allowed remote working, other employers are struggling for ways to keep their […]

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