Archive | Managing Employees

Introduce yourself to the property manager

Magnus Research Consultants has been headquartered in the same location since 1996. In the first few years in our office space, the owner of the building also had an office in the same building. He retired, then passed away, leaving his family in charge of his vast business holdings. When the building owner moved out, […]

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I wholeheartedly agree with Melissa.  Ray is an interesting guy and, as with many relationships, it is beneficial to spend time getting to know people who impact one’s life, whether on a regular or infrequent basis.  Running a business involves many moving parts, whether it is the property manager, the teller at the bank, the […]

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Can I have?

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 12, 2020

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

I frequently “observe” language and how I, and others, communicate, wondering why there is often a tendency to be less direct, and perhaps more wordy, than necessary. I caught myself today when I started an email with “I am writing to tell you…”. I stopped myself, deleted those words and started over by eliminating that […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 12, 2020

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

Added to David’s list of “Can…?” questions is my personal favorite, “Can you spell your last name?”.  When I call a client’s office, make an appointment with a medical provider, or deal with someone else who doesn’t know my name, I am often asked this, really stupid, question.  My answer to “Can you spell your […]

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Morning Routine

Woke up, fell out of bed Dragged a comb across my head Found my way downstairs and drank a cup…and so it goes in the daily life of many people. (Hopefully, the readers of this blog know the source for these famous lyrics.) For Melissa and me, there is no downstairs and we don’t drink […]

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Even though I am certain everyone who reads David’s and my posts know the lyrics David quoted at the beginning of today’s post were written by Paul McCartney (and credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney) on the song titled, “A Day in the Life,” I am compelled to give credit where credit is due.  […]

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Know when to ask for help

We, at Magnus, recently ventured into new technological waters and various challenges surprised us. This is not about the specifics of that situation, but rather, a more global commentary on the need to be open to asking for help. In this situation, we, or rather our most excellent research assistant – tech person, got bogged […]

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Any post that includes lyrics from a Lynyrd Skynyrd song is an excellent post, in my opinion!  This being said, as David mentioned in a recent post, there are times to “do it yourself” and there are times to obtain expert advice and/or turn over a task entirely to someone who possesses greater expertise than […]

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If someone isn’t nice to me, they won’t see me again, ever.

My time is valuable. It is valuable to me, if not to anyone else. (In that Magnus’ clients compensate my company, and thus, me, in relatively high amounts of money, I would argue that my time is perceived as valuable to someone other than me. But, I digress.) Because I value my time and my […]

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Fortunately, as we wrote in the prior related post, our clients are usually nice, professional, even kind and friendly.  We all know we’re working together for a common goal and egos usually stay in check.  But, there are exceptions. I used the example of a particularly toxic client we once had who, with our help, […]

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Most lawyers who hire me are nice to me

People are people, regardless of their profession. There are some people who are popular and well liked and there are others who are not well liked. Attorneys, of course, are people and, as such, there are some attorneys who are well liked and well respected by their colleagues and then, there are others, whom no […]

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Many of our clients are feared by their opponents, and sometimes, their own staff and litigation team.  I don’t know if the latter is a good thing, but I’ve seen it as an overall positive.  Being feared by the opposition is probably generally positive as long as the fear is because the attorney’s litigation skills […]

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What to do When Your Armor has Chinks

My last post mentioned the tendency among many people I know to search for chinks in my armor. I guess these people have their reasons for wanting me to be less intelligent, or less educated, or less cool, but so far, their attempts have fallen flat. This, related, post is about what to do when […]

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Repairing chinks in one’s armor is more difficult than deflecting the chink in the first place.  As with any fight or conflict, avoiding the confrontation is rule 1. Charlie’s innate reaction of avoidance minimizes chinks.  But some engagements are not as random, and one off, as a road rage incident.  Often, the chinking occurs over […]

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My Armor is Chink-proof

In the over 3 decades we have known each other, David has frequently remarked that some of my long term friends have a tendency to search for “chinks in my armor.” (For readers who are unfamiliar with this expression, it has been used since the 17th century to refer to a weak spot in a […]

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It is interesting that people “snipe” at others in an attempt, I guess, to make themselves feel better about their own situation.  Such behavior was first pointed out to me by a high school classmate, Steve, during our first years in college.   He told me that his roommate was always looking for chinks in his […]

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Fatal Resumé Flaws

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 14, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

I’m thinking back to the thousands of resumés I have seen over the years about several that doomed the applicant from the time it was received. The impression one makes with a resumé is critical. Standing out in a crowd can be difficult. Fundamentally, the resumé should be well structured, organized, and easy to read. […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 14, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

One’s resumé (or in the case of someone like me, one’s curriculum vita) should be a concise overview of one’s professional career and accomplishments.  However, due to the fact that things other than mere words can convey important information about a person, attention to detail when preparing one’s resumé is essential.  For example, a resumé […]

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Ask Me a Question, then LISTEN to My Answer

Recently, I have had several experiences in which someone asked me one or more questions, then constantly interrupted me while I attempted to answer the question(s). This has happened more times than I can count, however, it happened several times in the period of a few days, both in business and personal situations. One of […]

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I think part of the listening dilemma is an occupational hazard. Our clients are mostly attorneys and attorneys are paid to talk. Listening seems more difficult for some, not all, of them. This manifests itself during jury selection when some seem to have difficulty actively listening to the responses to the questions they are asking. […]

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