The Last Generalist

Thanks Richard. Very sage and mature advice which ...

2011-03-07T15:32:40.085-07:00

Thanks Richard. Very sage and mature advice which I'm sure will help to keep me a much more sane and civil person on the road.

Although I do have one nagging thought that wasn't quite addressed: We can't control how others drive, but we CAN honk loudly and display familiar gestures with certain of our extremities in the unlikely chance of making the culpable party equally angry and frustrated. But that would, of course, be the silly, immature response.

Just stumbled upon your post. Excellent thoughts. ...

2011-01-04T13:08:08.092-07:00

Just stumbled upon your post. Excellent thoughts. I try my best to conduct my practice according to those principles. I find it amazing that not everyone does. Keep up the great posts!

Love the yoga and law posts. Yoga is my antidote ...

2010-12-23T20:10:25.280-07:00

Love the yoga and law posts. Yoga is my antidote too. I wish I could practice solo, but I find I enjoy the social aspect of being around others (and it makes me try harder and focus better).

What a great post! I think many careers require a...

2010-12-21T20:50:15.489-07:00

What a great post! I think many careers require an antidote but law seems particularly stressful. It's great that you maintain your dedication to the yoga practice -- I've been yoga AWOL for months and I do notice the difference, mentally as well as physically.

Rich, you raise excellent points that we try and e...

2010-10-26T12:05:52.312-06:00

Rich, you raise excellent points that we try and educate our injured consumers about every day. When going into a hospital, you must act as your own advocate and have a family member watch constantly. They are frequent miscommunications, mistakes and careless errors made simply because an instruction was never followed or heard.

Thanks for this informative post.

Gerry
Law Office of Gerald Oginski, LLC
http://www.oginski-law.com

A great post. We can only take care of ourselves; ...

2010-10-19T10:42:22.354-06:00

A great post. We can only take care of ourselves; the rest of the world...well they are on their own. It really is a matter of pride. But I do agree with the turn signal thing.

My experience exactly at Beth Israel a few years a...

2010-10-14T20:15:55.248-06:00

My experience exactly at Beth Israel a few years ago with my Dad, who died there at the very ripe old age of 90. Not a lot of attention to detail I'm afraid. Here's a major rule to observe: Do not wind up in a general hospital in the city of New York with the back-up doctors over Christmas weekend. Really risky. Things won't go well.

I'm so glad your son is doing so well!!!

On the money Richard. I remember when my banking c...

2010-10-14T20:07:31.666-06:00

On the money Richard. I remember when my banking clients asked whether two or three months was too aggressive a pace for a new financing. Now a couple of weeks is sometimes all one has to document a complex, bet the company, transaction. Ridiculous.

Good post! #1 seems to be a good one for patient a...

2010-10-14T09:55:07.147-06:00

Good post! #1 seems to be a good one for patient advocates to remember too.

If only all hospital staff would read this post! ...

2010-10-12T17:34:40.162-06:00

If only all hospital staff would read this post!

Glad your son is okay!

Great post! I am glad that your son is doing bett...

2010-10-12T06:12:46.039-06:00

Great post! I am glad that your son is doing better.

Very well put. Number 5, being fast and polite is...

2010-10-07T21:30:59.226-06:00

Very well put. Number 5, being fast and polite is right on. Watching associate time might also be helpful.

You present two ideas here, and I'm not sure t...

2010-09-27T13:16:58.556-06:00

You present two ideas here, and I'm not sure they are altogether in conflict.

The first idea is that your life shouldn't be a mathematical equation where you add up the places you've been and things you've done to have a sum that validates your life. This is certainly a valid point, but I don't think it is in conflict with your second idea of enjoying the moment or mindfulness or whatever you want to call it.

One very memorable time of meditation for me was sitting on a rock outcrop from the Great Wall of China. I sat there for over an hour and just looked out across the skyline. It was a great moment- and it served two purposes for me, checked off an item from my list but also provided me with something far greater.

I had a similar experience a few years earlier when I visited the Louvre in France. I spent about an hour with a painting by Jacque Louis David that I love. I was in the moment, but it helped to be experiencing it somewhere and with something special to me.

Can't you have it both ways? (sorry for the LONG comment)

No list for me. Today I made sweet pickles using G...

2010-09-26T16:21:22.536-06:00

No list for me. Today I made sweet pickles using Grandma Coakley's recipe. The house smells like sweet vinegar. That makes this day wonderful in many ways.

The simplest teaching is the shortest. The Tao set...

2010-08-31T11:57:23.988-06:00

The simplest teaching is the shortest. The Tao sets the metric on that. The Kybalion (Western/Hermetic) sets a little more verbose measure for Western spirituality.

Experts simplify.

I particularly love "The Tao that can be spok...

2010-08-30T22:51:13.924-06:00

I particularly love "The Tao that can be spoken is not the Tao."

Excellent piece - I've sent it around at my fi...

2010-08-25T15:32:16.932-06:00

Excellent piece - I've sent it around at my firm and to some of my networking partners. Hard to believe some people just don't get it - especially when a good relationship with a GC is the brass ring of being outside counsel.

Excellent observation. My experience is similar to...

2010-08-24T20:28:03.431-06:00

Excellent observation. My experience is similar to yours, unfortunately. I often email journalists or authors of articles or posts to compliment them, and almost invariably all I receive in return is "thanks, I appreciate your kind words," or something similar.

I realize print journalists may be in a different position than those of us who do not -- at least technically -- write for a living, but I am surprised that people don't demonstrate some follow through (or follow up) when someone responds positively to an article or blog post.

I'm curious if it was only "Thanks",...

2010-08-20T08:40:01.771-06:00

I'm curious if it was only "Thanks", or did the author at least include a throw away "If I can ever do anything for you" or "If you have any questions about it" etc ? The reason I ask is that I know outside counsel (including me) worry about being too much of a pest to in house counsel.

He probably thought something like--"Now that he knows I know my stuff, he'll keep me in mind for future needs." I agree it was not the best marketing practice, but I'd love to see a post about how to follow up on those social media opportunities with in house counsel w/o becoming a pest.

Love this post. I may have to use your Nordstrom&#...

2010-08-10T11:01:04.728-06:00

Love this post. I may have to use your Nordstrom's example, perfect and so true. I am always flored when outside counsel fights me on a bill. Really?

I have a regional counsel who always accepts my billing changes with a cheerful "sure, no problem" and accepts all changes, then calls to see what they can do better. When ever I can use them I do. I just wish they were a national firm.

Excellent post. I'm sending this to all of my...

2010-08-04T10:32:46.653-06:00

Excellent post. I'm sending this to all of my partners today. It's something we all *know* but sometimes fail to execute properly.

Excellent points Richard. Nordstrom's is just ...

2010-08-03T07:47:54.205-06:00

Excellent points Richard. Nordstrom's is just one of the few companies that spends months training their staff in customer service before they even let them on the floor. It's definitely a concept that we all need to embrace more. Thank you for your thoughtful post.

Absolutely! I would add: Don't assume that you...

2010-08-02T13:39:52.955-06:00

Absolutely! I would add: Don't assume that you're smarter than your client - we use external counsel for lots of reasons, not just because we don't know the answer, and we don't pay $500 an hour to be patronised.

I really dig this post. I'd like to remark on...

2010-08-02T08:19:15.661-06:00

I really dig this post.

I'd like to remark on a couple:

1) With today's smartphones and the pace of business, many people review their e-mail messages on their mobile device. If the phone number is included in the message, the recipient can touch/click/select the phone number within the message and immediately place the call. Very convenient.

3), 5) and 6): I met with a potential new client who currently hires what may be the largest law firm in the world for his business. He said that he was considering alternatives because it took too long to get what he wanted, it wasn't, in his opinion, a finished product, e.g., typos, mistakes, general appearance, and he didn't like feeling unwelcome. He went on to say that in his experience 50% to 70% of people are not good at what they do. That blew me away.

4) 100% agree. I will also never understand how people can become successful when they fight their customers.

Great post. Solid tips. Probably good to keep th...

2010-08-01T19:36:09.174-06:00

Great post. Solid tips. Probably good to keep these in mind in a lot of client/customer/employer situations.