Archive | Entrepreneurship

Musical Friends

I have been a musician since 1964, when I began playing the piano, and following that, the organ. I learned a lot about music from my wonderful teacher and friend, Corella Johnson. Although Corella was an adult, who was married with children, she and I became close friends over the 12 years I took piano […]

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I had no way to anticipate what would happen when I went shopping for a bass guitar and accessories to give to Melissa.  All I knew was that she’d been interested in playing bass for quite a while and it was time to give her that chance.  I figured, and as it turns out, I […]

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By the Numbers

Periodically, I evaluate Magnus’ “numbers” on case types, history, venues, and clients. By this, I mean I classify the cases on which we’ve worked since the last time I “ran the numbers.” I, long ago, created spreadsheets for this purpose and I simply tally the new cases by client, category, venue, etc. It is relatively […]

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The number crunching that is part of David’s job is vastly different from the number crunching that is part of my job.  David’s analyses of our business sources and their associated revenue provide a good foundation for our marketing efforts as we forge ahead into another year.  It is interesting to see how our business […]

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Work Tasks Can Become Life Skills

I have written before about learning how to fold towels properly, a skill I acquired (after some initial difficulty) while working in a department store during high school. Never did I imagine that learning how to fold towels would come in handy for the rest of my life! I also learned, at the same department […]

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I never had a job which required folding towels or wrapping presents – thankfully!  I do plenty of both, with supervision for the last 30+ years of an expert, but I don’t think I would have fared well in that kind of retail environment.  As I thought about Melissa’s post, I asked myself what have […]

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Nothing To Do Except Write a Book

With Magnus’ long term business downturn related to the pandemic and its hugely negative impact on the court system in the U.S.A., I have found myself with little work to do. Although David is busy trying to find new clients and cases, handling routine administrative duties, and operating our business, my job consists primarily of […]

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Melissa stayed home recently to get a few things done, work and otherwise. I had little idea what she was planning to do that day so, when I asked what she’d been up to that evening, I smiled when she responded that she’d been planning her latest book.  Not many people can say that, but […]

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It’s Okay to Have Regrets

I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal that focused on the “no regrets” philosophy that has become a cultural goal for many Americans. Supposedly, a life without regrets has been touted as a goal for people to attain, much like the concept of “bucket list” (of things we must achieve before we […]

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In his signature song, My Way, Frank Sinatra sang the words written by Paul Anka: Regrets, I’ve had a few But then again too few to mention I did what I had to do And saw it through without exception Paul, and/or Frank, claimed to only having a few regrets having achieved what each of […]

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10 Things I Love About My Job

I love my job! I truly do! My dear friend, Bob, has called me a workaholic since we met in 1980. I am a person who really likes to work! Being bored is not for me. I decided to think about the top 10 things I like about my job as a jury/trial consultant, which […]

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All non volunteer or pro bono jobs have extrinsic rewards – a paycheck.  Melissa and I are fortunate that our jobs also have intrinsic rewards.  That is, the personal rewards Melissa mentions of helping people – individuals and those collectively or in groups/companies – who are impacted by the lawsuits in which we are involved.  […]

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Rust Never Sleeps

The trigger for this post was my need to prepare some paperwork for a client recently. It had been a few months since I had done this particular paperwork and, I’ll admit, I felt rusty. Rusty in the sense that it wasn’t as smooth a process as I would have preferred. When I realized it […]

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I like David’s reference to a Neil Young song!  “Hey hey, my my.  Rock and roll will never die.”  What great lyrics!  However, to get to the point of David’s post instead of singing along with Neil Young, I will pose a rhetorical question: How does one hone trial skills without practicing?  Sitting around, resting […]

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Pay to Play

I’m writing this post after having recently received a solicitation from an attorney group asking for speakers for a big annual event. The “invitation” included a price list of what they expected speakers to pay. Despite the fact the audience would be perfect for us, marketing wise, Melissa immediately rejected the idea as something prohibited […]

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Psychologists are expressly prohibited from paying anyone to publish their research, lecture to any audience, or endorse their services.  Although attorneys and other professionals have different codes of conduct than psychologists, as a psychologist who works with attorneys, I am bound only by my profession’s ethical code of conduct.  It is abhorrent to me to […]

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Those little annoyances

Someone told me long ago that he lacked the personality characteristic to be able to tolerate performing mundane tasks, including dealing with automated telephone systems; working out problems with a bank; balancing a checkbook; etc. I share this absence of the personality trait that obviously includes having patience to handle being placed on hold for […]

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It’s not easy being OK to Handle.  I think we’ve written about that story before.  But, in the recent example, I was dealing with one of our banks.  I don’t enjoy that kind of experience, but I know I can get through it; I have to.  Melissa could not.  I just have to persevere.  This […]

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Ramifications of “You’re Fired”

I’ll start with the obvious: anyone can be fired. As long as someone works for someone else, they can be fired and, in many states, with or without reason. (If someone is self employed, they can be fired by clients, but that is a different situation.) Some people seem to think, so what if I’m […]

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This topic has been on David’s list of things to write about for many years, however, recent events evidently inspired him to write about it.  During the almost 30 years Magnus has been in business, David has always performed the human resources functions in our company, including hiring, training, disciplining, and firing employees.  More people […]

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