By David Daggett on 2/25/2008 6:42 AM

Healthy Living Expo

     Last weekend our Lewis & Daggett team participated in the Healthy Living Expo at the Winston-Salem Convention Center. This is an annual event in town that brings out our large cross section of folks from our community.

     From the photo above you can see that members of our L & D team had a good time, and engaged a number of attendees in the fun of the event. As you know from our Values and Culture, we enjoy this sort of interaction and it makes us feel like we are furthering our law firm mission.

     The event is a good opportunity for all of us to improve our teamwork outside the office. We are always favorably impressed at the commitment of our folks to events like this that are strictly voluntary in participation.

     The last several years we have also used the Healthy Living Expo as sort of a kick off for our Safe Sober Prom Night activities. Prom season is just around the corner so we try to start raising awareness within the community.

   Planning, teamwork, and friends made the Expo memorable and enjoyable. We enjoyed the time we spent together and the fun the we had sharing with the community what we all like to do here at the firm!

     Each year at the Expo we meet new friends, and rekindle old relationships. If you dropped by our booth, thank you! We were glad to see you!

Read More »

By David Daggett on 2/18/2008 7:31 AM

The Unexpected

     How often do really face the unexpected? Of course, many times the unexpected is a pleasant surprise, or even something beautiful. Last Thursday morning we woke up to an unexpected covering of snow. While we may have had to adjust some plans, it certainly was a beautiful morning!

Early Valentine’s Morning

     Unexpected beauty, unexpected surprises, unexpected visits, and unexpected treats are all fun to experience. The unexpected is many times part of what makes life so much fun. Presents during the holidays are always better when unexpected.

     Of course, as with most areas of life, there are also unexpected things or events that are not quite so positive or pleasant. As humans, we just hope that the positives outweigh the negatives so we are able to keep a bright outlook.

     At Lewis & Daggett we help people who encounter a different type of unexpected. We many times work with folks who are dealing with the worst unexpected event of their lives. It is our job to deal with the unexpected and try to obtain the best possible result.

     An automobile accident that causes serious injuries can be devastating. An illness or other condition that turns into a lifelong disability changes everything. Or, getting hurt at work not only can threaten your job, and your income, but also the well being of your whole family.

     Children and families who suffer life changing injuries or events need our help. I am always amazed at the quality, caring concern of our team of lawyers and professional staff. We are proud of the way they really take care of those who need us.

     Our L & D team embodies a collective ability to assist people with the unexpected in ways well beyond just the law - they care and want a just resolution so folks can have dignity and respect to continue even with their difficulties. Perhaps in today’s world that is an "Unexpected" positive we can all appreciate.

Read More »

By David Daggett on 2/11/2008 7:44 AM

Values and Culture

     Do you consider what causes any organization or group to well? What motivates any group to perform successfully? This was an interesting topic of conversation at a recent lawyer conference. We spent a good bit of time just listening.

L&D Team members Gail Fisher and Elvis Horning

     To us it seemed interesting that a large percentage of the conference focused only on business, numbers, costs, and expenses. The bottom line was that these were all money matters. While we certainly believe it is prudent to be financially responsible, we felt deep down that we were a bit different.

     So, the curious side of us pulled back out some of our old books on motivation and leadership. We also looked at models of what makes organizations really effective and have meaning. Our reading, I suppose, confirmed what we already knew and felt deep down - the strongest organizations are based values and culture, not just money and profit.

     Organizations appear to work best when the core or fundamental values and ethics are the driving forces. The organization then surrounds itself with individuals who believe in those values. Those values then become the culture, or feel, of the organization. Interestingly, research shows that organizations with money as a driving force have lessor continuity and tend to burn out more quickly since this is a rather weak "value."

     Then, from a business point of view we develop strategic plans that support those values and the culture derived from them. We previously discussed our Lewis & Daggett strategic plan in Renewal of Purpose. This supports our values and beliefs so there is really no effort to get folks to buy into our firm mission.

     If you have been reading here over the past several weeks, or if you have come into our office, you may have a bit of a feel for our driving values and ethics. We are proud of our team’s concern for folks who are seriously injured, disabled, or hurt at work. Certainly our Safe Sober Prom Night campaign is consistent with our firm culture. This caring is just part of our overarching values of caring, concern, compassion and respect for individual dignity resulting in client service.

Read More »

By David Daggett on 2/4/2008 6:54 AM

Always Under Construction

     Are we always working on something in our lives? Are we building for a better future? One of the exciting things about our work at Lewis & Daggett is that we are always working and improving how we do things, on each client we represent, and every case we work on.

     This past week was a bit of a tough week in our Lewis & Daggett family. We had two extended relatives of folks here at the office pass away. Those sorts of times are always difficult. At the same time, we are always impressed how we all come together in support of each other.

     The pastor at one of the funerals delivered a very interesting, heart warming, and even motivating message. He used construction as a metaphor for building in our lives. The lessons are worth sharing.

     All good construction begins a plan or blueprint to guide you along the way. Just like building a house, we need a plan or blueprint in life to guide us along the way. The plan is something we can refer back to and use to keep us on track. Perhaps that is one of the benefits of the resolution journal we are offering.

     Of course, all quality construction begins with a strong foundation. Our personal foundation is the principles and values upon which the rest of our lives are built. Our foundation usually includes our families, physical self, spiritual self, and our work. Supporting and building a strong foundation seems to allow us to have strong structures like friendships and relationships that we can build upon and continue to work on.

     Quality construction requires us to use good material, equipment, and tools. For example, at Lewis & Daggett we believe we have built a strong team of good people who use technology and processes to make us as strong as possible.

     As a building progresses, it is important to continually measure to make sure we are on track and that everything fits together properly. Likewise in life it is prudent to take time to measure to make sure our pieces are correct and that they fit together properly. I've noticed that successful people tend to measure and adjust frequently.

     On construction projects everyone works together. Of course there's a foreman or leader, but everybody works together with scheduling, timing, and doing their separate roles. That spirit of cooperation certainly makes our own personal and professional lives more fulfilling and more successful.

     There are always things that are not in our control, like the weather, that can affect our construction projects. Just like in construction, success in life will be dictated by how we react to unforeseen problems. Our ability to adapt and make good decision when the unexpected arises certainly applies to our legal profession. As things change, or we find new evidence, we adjust the plan so that the project will continue to be successful.

     Life, unlike a physical building project, is always under construction. However, having good plans, building a solid foundation, working with good materials, remembering to measure, and being able to adapt will allow our lives, careers, and relationships to be strong. The improvement and growth of the building process is exciting!

Read More »

By David Daggett on 1/28/2008 6:57 AM

Play Doubles Tennis

     How well do we adapt to different and complementary roles in various aspects of our lives? Are we able to be flexible, cooperative, supporting, or yielding as the case may be? Perhaps these are some areas we can all work on.

Mike & Dave - Safe sober Prom Night Event

     Mike Lewis has been an avid tennis player for as long as I’ve known him. In fact, he and his wife Kathy have been among the top players in the Southeast since before I joined Mike in 1985. Their specialty is doubles tennis, and mixed doubles in particular. They play really well together as a team.

     During the recent conversation with Mike he used the term "doubles tennis." Crack! The term and the concept were metaphorically ingrained in my mind. He might not have realized the significance at the time, but I think he hit a winner!

     So, another goal for our firm in 2008 is to continue playing better "doubles tennis." For example, we have a buddy system at L & D so we are there to cover for each other. We also need to continue to work to recognize the ideas and accomplishments of others.

     Our law firm is full of fast paced, self confident, results oriented, effective people that get things done. Most of the folks on our team are already pretty good at playing "doubles tennis." We have discussed some of this previously when the subject was Teamwork.

     To continue to play better doubles tennis we will need to actively work on not always taking the lead, recognizing areas to be more complementary in action, perhaps yielding at times, and help the other person to better get the ball over the net when in the best interest of the team.

     "Doubles tennis" probably ends up being more fun, makes other people better, encourages team work, and maybe even helps us become better people along the way. Most importantly, it makes us better at serving our clients who are injured, disabled, or out of work.

     Thanks for joining us. We look forward share our "doubles tennis" experience with you!

Read More »

By David Daggett on 1/21/2008 7:49 AM

Ask More Questions

     Do you ever feel exuberant? Are you ready to jump right in and give answers? Perhaps it would serve us well to ask more questions. We are reminded of this at Lewis& Daggett every time we make a presentation at a school - the students love to ask questions!

Students naturally ask questions    

     First thing this morning, right after I got out of bed, my wife told me I was "exuberant!" Exuberant! I had not even gotten started yet… I hadn't had a workout, I hadn't begun working, I hadn't even gotten going and I was already exuberant. Perhaps this exuberance is related to Slow Down! and Take a Chill Pill.

     At Lewis & Daggett our exuberance has us always ready to go, and we help people with answers very quickly. Folks at a law firm are probably more inclined to give answers than the average person. We are always moving very fast, ready to go, and are "exuberant" in our willingness to answer questions.

     So, our next resolution is to ask more questions. Do you ask more questions or do you give more answers? The truth is, we all sometimes act like we know more than we really do. Of course, none of us knows everything, and one way we learn is by asking questions. In fact, children learn how to ask questions at a very early age.

     Our own children can get us trapped in the "why?" game very quickly. They always want to know more. Perhaps we can learn from children that we learn more when we ask more questions.

     Asking questions instead of giving answers (or even direction) is probably a more effective form of leadership. Asking questions gets others involved and participating in achieving a result. Perhaps the results are even more meaningful.

     The art of asking more questions will probably take some practice and some patience, so we will need you to help us along the way. The good part is we will probably become more interesting, more effective, and learn more along the way.

     Can you help us ask more questions?

Read More »

By David Daggett on 1/14/2008 7:44 AM

Renewal of Purpose

     In last week’s article we indicated that we would be writing about L&D goals or resolutions in future postings. Does the firm have some that can be made public? Of course we do - we can start with reviewing our firm philosophies and renewing our efforts in pursuing them.

Birthday Lunch - Tomisha Gladman, Susana Muniz, and Stephen Hamilton

     One thought we have about goals or resolutions in 2008 is tied in with that whole concept of newness, or starting fresh. After the stress of holidays some people experience the post holiday blues, a real let down from the busyness of November to December. Instead, we can look at the opportunities we have to start again on whatever we are working toward. We have a clean slate, a fresh page, to paint on how we picture our law firm, or our lives.

     Our L & D strategic plan attempts to summerize our purpose. We use this plan as a way to bring us back to the items that are important as we go about our daily tasks. We also believe this makes us unique amongst law firms in our goals and our focus. So, let’s quickly review them.

     First, we need to make a profit to stay in business. This isn’t a greedy goal; rather, it is a reminder that we need to be financially responsible to our employees and to stay in business. We are proud that in the history of our firm we have never had layoffs or cutbacks. This is important to you because our employees have confidence in the continuity of our firm.

     Next and probably most importantly is client service. Client service is a hallmark of our firm. We focus on it and review it every week. We do surveys, and sometimes these surveys present learning opportunities. This is something we pledge to always work on and always keep foremost in our pursuits.

     A close corollary to client service is our internal service and development. This means that we help each other, and help each to become better people along the way. We believe this makes us better at what we do, and better at serving our clients.

     Lastly, we strive to take advantage of processes and technologies. Our adversaries are bigger, better funded, and more powerful. So, to equal the playing field so that we can stand toe to toe with them in representing our clients we have to be smarter and more efficient. We not only do this as a team, but also by taking advantage of tools that can make us better and faster.    

     To help make resolutions have more meaning as we go throughout the year we invite you click through and leave comments on our Blog. We are also offering a Lewis & Daggett Resolution Journal. It is not fancy, but it may help you keep track of goals and resolutions. We’ll send it to you for free....all you have to do is click here, on the front page of our website, call or send an e-mail.

     Whew! That is quite a review. If we can accomplish this renewal, our resolutions, and purpose, will certainly be successful! Thank you for joining us!

Read More »

By David Daggett on 1/7/2008 6:53 AM

Resolutions

     Do you ever make resolutions for the New Year? Every year for the past 20 years or so I have done my annual "Resolution Ride" on my mountain bike. I leave home very early New Year’s morning so that I can sit on the little hill on the west bank of Salem Lake and watch the sun rise. I have been out in cold, snow, rain, and everything in between. The last couple of years have been cloudy and/or rainy, but this year was spectacular!

Daybreak 2008!

     We also work on goals, resolutions, here at Lewis & Daggett. Interestingly, I had never looked up the definitions of "resolution" previously, but one of the members of our management team presented them to us this past week. Resolution is a decision to do, a commitment. Commitment is a sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose; binding yourself emotionally to a course of action; or, to make a pledge or dedication. Wow, these are powerful words!

     So, let’s spend some time reviewing resolutions. Resolutions can take many forms. They seem to divide into two big categories of pragmatic and aspirational. Pragmatic are specific such as a goal to lose ten pounds. Aspirational goals are not as empirical rather more like becoming more patient, a better dad, or strengthening relationships.

     Resolutions typically fall into categories like weight loss and health, personal betterment, professional development, volunteer more, educational advancement, and spiritual growth. Many people make more than one resolution every year. Interestingly, folks rarely actually keep their resolutions.

     So, how do we make resolutions stick? Find a partner to make a similar resolution so you can help keep each other on track. Experts say it takes about 30 days to break a bad habit and form a new one, so stay at it. Post your resolution in a place where you will see it often such as your bathroom mirror, dashboard, or computer screen. Most of all, be your own cheerleader.

     Over the coming weeks we’ll be discussing some of our law firm goals, or resolutions, that we’ll be working on for 2008. We invite you to join us with some resolutions and to feel free to share them with us. I will also be sharing some of my own here.    

      Together, we can make 2008 a great year. Please join us in taking positive steps forward.

Read More »

By David Daggett on 12/31/2007 9:49 AM

Top 10 Posts of 2007

     2007 was a great year! Thank you for joining us. We have some interesting topics in the works to start 2008. We have some L & D firm goals for 2008, and I will also be working on some personal resolutions here.

Wake Forest Quad Shortly After Bowl Win!

     Below is a Top Ten List of our top blog posts for the year. Click through to enjoy them again. Thanks for being part of our growing little community.

     10. Our Future Looks Bright!

      9. Encourage Child Safety

      8. Momentum Shift

      7. Commitment!

      6. Teamwork

      5. Completion

      4. Do Good Things . . .

      3. Collective Impact!

      2. Internet Safety In Your Own Home

      1. A Piece of Our Heart

     Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate your being part of our team and look forward to our relationships continuing in 2008.

     All the best for the New Year!

Read More »

By David Daggett on 12/24/2007 6:42 AM

Safe, Happy Holidays!

     Holidays can be the happiest of times with family and friends. Please join with us in using our best efforts to keep your holidays safe and happy.

     Over the years we have seen holidays turned into instant tragedy by causes that should have been prevented. Perhaps one of the worst and most frequent tragedies are those caused by drunk drivers. We know – for years we’ve been helping the victims of drunk drivers.

     Other areas of safety concerns fall into categories of fire safety, food safety, child safety, and driving safety. Each of these areas can produce increased risks over the holidays.

     Fire safety includes taking appropriate precautions with Christmas trees and Christmas lights. Christmas decorations can also present hazards we usually don’t have around the house. Lastly, don’t forget fireplace safety as your family gathers around the living room fireplace.

     Certainly the holidays are a time for good food and fellowship. Be sure to be particularly careful with fully cooking meats and poultry. There are also lots of leftovers around the holidays that need to be properly and promptly wrapped and refrigerated.

     We all enjoy children around the holidays, and perhaps the holidays are the most special time of the year for our little ones. Use care in buying and selecting toys for small children, including watching for small parts and choking hazards. Also, children tend to be very curious of all of the additional decorations and holiday items in our houses. So, we need to keep a watchful eye and help them to have a safe, happy holiday too.

     Lastly, as mentioned above, safety on the roads and while driving is perhaps the most frequent danger we face. Above all, please don’t drink and drive. Call a cab or use a designated driver if you need to make your trip home a safe one for you, and for everyone on the road.

     Please join us in preventing accidents at this special time of year. From our Lewis & Daggett family to yours, happy holidays!

 

 

Read More »