Archive | Managing Employees

Common Sense (fill in the blank)

A growing pet peeve of mine is the use of phrases like “Common Sense” as in “Common Sense Legislation” or “Common Sense Rules.” (Fill in the blank after common sense with immigration reform, gun control, tax reform, health care reform, etc. and you’ll get an idea of the topics I’m thinking about when writing this.) […]

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I’m not sure what sparked David’s sudden interest in common sense. Many people I know believe they possess common sense, defined as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” Upon close examination of this, dictionary, definition of common sense, I will agree that many people have a simple […]

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If You Break it, Speak up!

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 28, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees

When writing these posts, Melissa and I work from a list of ideas that have come to mind over time. We often do not write them, however, in the order in which they are added to the list. This post is one of those. Knock on wood, with our current staffing, the issue I’m writing […]

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My mom used to enjoy browsing in antiques stores. I remember one store that had annoying little signs all around that said, “You break it, you bought it.” As annoying as those signs were to me, I learned, as a young child, not to touch anything, lest I break it, due to the fact I […]

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Crazy Courthouse Story #3 Bombscare

My first crazy courthouse story happened in the Lee County Courthouse in my hometown, Fort Myers, Florida and this post, the third in the series, is also about an event that happened in the Lee County Courthouse. As with rental cars, airplanes, hotels, and other places and things I frequent, I spend a lot of […]

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Melissa’s courthouse experiences have run quite the gamut. I’m sure our clients have many crazy stories to tell as well. As for me, all I can add is that I’m glad in instances like the bombscare, or the 9-11 attacks, that those who work in the courthouses are well trained. I’m sure that, in today’s […]

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Hotel Fires Reveal Personalities

I have been traveling for work, and, therefore, staying in hotels across the USA, for many years. I have lost count of the number of nights I have spent in hotels, however, I know this number must be in the thousands by now. I have a “been there, done that” attitude when it comes to […]

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Melissa’s travels for work are far greater than mine, yet, on one occasion, she and I were together when the fire alarm sounded. Fortunately, we were in a much warmer climate and our response to the alarm had the benefit of learning from her prior experience. We dressed for the weather, which though warm, was […]

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Reflections on Technology Changes

I was thinking about my iPhone recently in the context of how that small, but complex, device has made changes to my daily routine, to my work pattern. It did not happen over night, nor with the iPhone alone. I have had a car phone since the early 1980s. My first was a radio-phone which […]

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I am constantly amazed at the numerous ways technology has changed our ability to perform work on behalf of Magnus’ clients. David and I have been in the trial consulting business for a long, long time. I used to marvel at the efficiency of sending a fax to a client instead of mailing them a […]

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Priorities as Hot Potatoes

I was recently thinking about how our report production process resembles the childhood game of Hot Potato. That’s the game where a group of children passes a hot potato, or some other object, with music playing. When the music stops, someone is left holding the hot potato. Kind of like musical chairs, without walking around […]

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I must admit that I enjoy playing “hot potato” as it relates to the process of preparing a report on behalf of a client far more than I enjoyed playing the game as a child (for that matter, the game of musical chairs was not for me, either). The concept of hot potato or passing […]

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The problem isn’t the problem. The problem is the response.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 1, 2018

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

Stuff happens (you may have seen this phrase as a bumper sticker with a different “S” word). That’s right, things happen. Lightning strikes. Gremlins materialize. In our trial consulting work, there are frequent technical issues that lead to problems. With competent staff, they are kept to a minimum, but there are times when, for example, […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 1, 2018

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

Things can, and do, go wrong. People have bad days. Machines break (particularly, my computer, when I seem to need it the most!). Glitches happen to supposedly “foolproof” plans. Living life according to Plan B, and sometimes, Plan C, is part of most people’s everyday existence. What differentiates us is the way in which we […]

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When to break rules

I am not a “Goody Two Shoes” by any means, however, I usually play by the rules, regardless of the situation. I would never, ever, park in a disabled parking space unless I am transporting a disabled passenger, I do not try to outrun trains at a railroad crossing, and I clap my hands along […]

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It is probably because of my schooling from 6th to 12th grades which, while not Catholic school, was very strict. Lots of rules, and at some point I started asking “why?”. I did not ask “why” to be obstinate. Rather, when things seemed arbitrary, it seemed like a fair question. Some things were clearly safety […]

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Act like the cat

As everyone who knows me will confirm, I love cats! I have spent a lot of time with a lot of cats, including my own cats, other people’s cats, and the cats who were available for adoption when I worked at the Humane Society in Miami during college. Cats, unlike humans, rarely appear to make […]

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I kicked our cat the other night. It was an accident, really it was. One thing about many cats, ours included, is that they can be stealthy when they want to be – it’s all about survival. Rex sneaked up behind me when I was packing – an activity he has learned to dislike because […]

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Don’t give them a freebie

The title of this blog is a something I tell new Magnus staff when trying to explain the need to do their job with as near perfection as is humanly possible. Don’t give the client anything to complain about – that’s the goal. Not that there won’t be any complaints, but make them about things […]

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Decades ago, Magnus had an employee who believed she could learn only as a result of making mistakes. She assured David and me, upon making mistake after mistake, that she never made the same mistake twice; rather, she made new mistakes that she truly believed were acceptable. Needless to say, we were quite relieved when […]

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