Archive | Managing Employees

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

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 26, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

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 […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 26, 2021

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 […]

Patience

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 14, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success

“I appreciate your patience.” “Thank you for your patience.” How many times do we hear this when dealing with customer service? When dealing with problems with vendors, contractors, retailers, etc.? These are obviously trained phrases. That is, the customer service reps are trained to say these words. But, in my opinion, they are ill considered […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 14, 2021

Oh, the silly things people say! Here are some of my favorites, starting with David’s, “Thank you for your patience.” When someone tells me “Thank you for your patience,” I ask, “Why do you assume I have patience?”, particularly if I have been waiting for what seems like an eternity for the person to get […]

Things Back to Normal! Water Fountains, Crowded Elevators, Smiling Faces

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 12, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Business Travel, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Partnerships, Psychology, RoadWarrior, Small Business Success, Travel, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Hooray! Hooray! I had the privilege of selecting 2 juries, for 2 different clients, in 2 different courthouses, recently. Usually, this would be nothing to write about, however, these jury selections were noteworthy due to the fact that they were the first, and second, jury selections for me since the world shut down in March […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 12, 2021

As the one who watches the business side of our business, it is great for Melissa to be back in the courthouse again. Non functioning courts have been terrible for our business as clients have had little perceived need or motivation to hire a trial consultant if there can be no trials. So, having trials […]

Onboarding

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On September 16, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

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 […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On September 16, 2021

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 […]

Passive/aggressive behaviors

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On September 14, 2021

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Psychology

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 […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On September 14, 2021

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Psychology

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 […]

Output = Effort x Ability

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On July 20, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Jury Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

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 […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On July 20, 2021

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 […]

Work Life Balance

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On July 8, 2021

Category: Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Business Relationships, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Consultants, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Partnerships, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants, Work-Life

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 […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On July 8, 2021

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 […]

Thou shalt not smoke

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 24, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Common Courtesy, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success

Just when you think you’ve experienced it all…well, then, something new happens. Magnus moved into our current office a few months ago. We were in the old one for over 24 years and the new one is definitely an improvement over the prior office, in most ways. The new office is in a 2 story, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 24, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Common Courtesy, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success

Magnus’ former office building offered few opportunities for interaction with the other occupants of the building, which is a small, 1 story structure with 4 individual office suites. Although the on site property manager smokes cigarettes, he is always polite enough to smoke outside. For the entire time Magnus has been in business, we never […]

Happy Roofers

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 8, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success

On the day I am writing this post, David’s and my roof is in the third day of being removed, in preparation for a new roof to be installed. Although we have been through this process in the past, in 2005, when we lost the roof on our previous house during Hurricane Wilma, our current […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 8, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success

This whole re-roofing process has been an experience. The happy roofers part makes some of it into a positive one. I’ve never seen anything like it. The energy of these guys after 12 hours in the hot sun, on a roof, is inspiring. The work is incredibly hard. The materials are heavy, and what we […]

Social desirability

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 27, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Jury Behavior, Jury Consultants, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Psychology, Small Business Success

Social desirability has important implications in jury selection. Social desirability refers to the phenomenon of saying or doing something because “everybody else” does. For example, when an attorney or a judge asks a prospective juror whether he/she can put aside all biases, predisposed beliefs, and personal feelings and instead, be an impartial judge of the […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 27, 2021

Answering a question in a socially desirable way implies there is a “right” or expected answer, to some degree. In the basic courtroom questioning of prospective jurors as to whether they “can be fair,” it is pretty obvious that one is not expected to say “no”. Being fair is a fundamental trait that most people […]

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Archive | Managing Employees

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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