Archive | Workplace Technology

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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Technology and Workplace Violence

In this, final, post about workplace violence that was inspired by my recent mediator re-certification training, I will discuss another reality of life in the modern world, workplace violence involving employees who work remotely. Workplace violence is not limited to in person interactions; in fact, cyber violence is commonplace. The pandemic that began in early […]

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It is somewhat overwhelming to consider the lengths to which “bad actors,” a/k/a criminals, in some situations, will go to in order to attempt to bully, harass, or perpetrate violence.  We at Magnus, are somewhat sheltered in our work environment.  But, to consider the ramifications of remote working, telecommuting, etc. and how that pandemic forced […]

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Technical Difficulties

Many of us are old enough to remember when one of the 3 television networks (yes, there were only 3 at one point) had technical difficulties and the screen went gray with a sign that said something like, “Please stand by. We are having technical difficulties.” The world has changed; now we have lots of […]

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I can’t believe we are writing a blog about a blog!  Things have gotten so bad with our blog that, after 8 years of bi-weekly posts, I’m close to throwing in the towel.  There are lots of things that happen behind the scenes after David and I write our respective parts of each post.  One […]

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

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 […]

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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 […]

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Technology is Great…until it isn’t

We rely on technology in today’s world. Some tech is life or death; some of it just seems that way. After my last post, one might understand my frustrations with technology – the loss of data with a server crash is very painful. And, even after supposed recovery of the data, we find ourselves spending […]

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One of my friends recently asked me to fix her computer.  She was surprised when I told her I have absolutely no idea how to fix computers, phones, tablets, or any other electronic devices.  She remarked that, because I am so smart, she thought fixing a computer must be simple for me!  I wish!  Given […]

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Colossal Technology Failure

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 10, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

When you run a business, no matter the size, it is almost impossible to “do it all.” For Magnus, that means hiring someone with expertise to manage, process, and report things beyond my, or our, capabilities. A simple example is bookkeeping and accounting services. Another critical service is “Information Technology,” that is, IT. We have […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 10, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

The “colossal technology failure” was, in my opinion, a customer service failure.  The relationship of Magnus Research Consultants and its IT provider is a customer-vendor relationship, such that, as the IT’s provider’s customer, Magnus is entitled to have its concerns addressed.  This being said, in the almost 30 years Magnus has been in business, the […]

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PowerPoint Exhibits: Good-Bad-Ugly

I had an interesting conversation today with a client who was preparing a PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming mock trial. As we discussed his plan, he mentioned that he was planning to use 20 slides for a 10 minute presentation. I tactfully suggested that 1 slide every 30 seconds is too many. This led to […]

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Death by Powerpoint.  That’s what I call the majority of Powerpoint and other, similar, electronic presentations.  I have witnessed countless attorneys “kill” their audience with electronic presentations that contain words, then more words, then even more words.  These well meaning attorneys, in their quest to educate the jury about their case, put everything they can […]

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Technology simplifies our lives, right?

Another clean out story. In purging the old equipment to prepare for the Magnus’ move to new office, we came across VCRs, VHS tapes, cassette recorders, cassette tapes, DVD duplicators, and more. These are a history of the technology evolution in our lives. Yet, it was also a reminder of simpler times. When we first […]

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I don’t endorse the premise that technology simplifies our lives. Sometimes, it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes, there is no noticeable difference between old and new technology within the realm of simplicity.  I don’t mind change; in fact, I thrive on it.  And, it is relatively easy for me to learn new ways of […]

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Show Don’t Tell

Trial exhibits are a big part of all properly conducted litigation. Most lawyers learned long ago that showing, and not just telling, is important. Some lawyers are more effective than others with this but most of them seem not to think visually. Once again, it’s Rush to the rescue. The first track on their 1989 […]

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Remember when we, as children, were subjected to “show and tell” by well meaning teachers?  I had little use for these trivial displays, finding most of my classmates’ showing and telling dreadfully boring.  However, this being said, the “show and tell” experiences from many people’s childhood illustrates the fundamental concept that a visual representation of […]

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Chokehold of Technology

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 12, 2020

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

Technology is great, except when it isn’t. As written in a prior post, Magnus relocated its office. Moving furniture and artwork is one thing, moving computers, phones, etc. is quite another. We were fortunate in that our new office space was pre-wired in a way that was easily adaptable. What was unanticipated was the degree […]

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Although I am certainly not a Luddite (or, for that matter, a Neanderthal!), I am not particularly fond of technology.  In my opinion, many so called “high tech” devices are unreliable and tend to break far more often than the old devices they replaced.  For example, when Magnus moved into its original office in 1996, […]

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