We all know inventor, scientist and all around genius Albert Einstein was one successful guy, but what most of us don’t realize is that it took a lot of hard work for him to get there. Einstein was a classic late bloomer and didn’t come into the success that we all know him for until he was near middle age. Einstein’s success is a story of perseverance and the belief that you have something to contribute to the world, no matter how many times others tell you that you don’t. Let’s take a look at some of the lessons today’s business community can take from the life of one Albert Einstein.

Thinking outside the box

Einstein is well known for his incredible scientific theories that literally invented whole new fields of science, but what made Einstein such an incredible mind around his peers was the fact that he could look at a problem that had baffled scientists for generations and almost immediately look at the problem from a new perspective. He might not come up with the answer right away, but he could break start the journey down a new path. Today, we call this ‘thinking outside the box.’ While we may never accomplish something so grand, the ability to look at problems from new and interesting perspectives is incredibly valuable in today’s workplace. Every day, businesses both big and small take on problems that they have been wrestling with for years, and if you can inject something new into that conversation, you will prove yourself to be an asset your company can’t live without.

Don’t ever give up

Just like Thomas Edison, success didn’t come right away for Albert Einstein. He tried to forward some rough drafts of his scientific theories earlier on in his career, and they were either summarily ignored or brushed off as incomplete or just plain impossible. The truth is that most professors and “experts” who viewed his early work were likely terrified by it or they simply didn’t have the capacity to understand it. Instead of giving up, Einstein went back to the drawing board and refined his theories. When he was done, they were simply irrefutable and are now known verbatim by most of the earth’s population. This incredible commitment to his work should serve as inspiration to not only businessmen and women, but to anyone who has ever tried and failed at anything. Although we may never have an idea as grand as the ones he did, that doesn’t mean we can’t impact society with our work if we just try hard enough.

Sense of humor

Probably the best known picture of Einstein features him with his tongue out. It showed that even someone labeled the smartest person in the world can have a sense of humor and not take themselves so seriously. In the highly competitive world of business, it is extremely important to know when to push yourself away from your desk and have a good time. Besides, what good is the good life if you are constantly at work?

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A careful analysis of your discovery needs and available discovery tools can protect your client against undue expense. First decide what you hope to achieve through discovery: Do you want to push the case to trial, or are you simply trying to force a settlement? How you answer that question will determine the scope and thrust of your discovery. Also carefully analyze your information requirements. What type of information do you need from the other side? Are there sources of that information other than your opposition? How much will it cost to get the information?

The most obvious way to minimize the cost of collecting information is to draw upon sources that offer no resistance, such as your client, readily accessible files of government agencies, or publications from business groups and trade associations. When these sources of information have been exhausted, you can still protect your client against excessive costs by selecting your discovery tools carefully.

When properly used, carefully honed interrogatories can be a relatively inexpensive method of significantly advancing your information development. For instance, interrogatories are usually the ideal discovery tool in cases involving accounting data, complicated damages, technical information, or statistical data. By contrast, many hours can be wasted in a deposition attempting to obtain such material. As well, interrogatories are important for discovering the identity of experts the other party intends to call at trial, the subject of the expert’s testimony, and the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert will testify.

Effective interrogatories must be carefully drafted. You can achieve clarity and precision by preceding the interrogatories with a carefully drafted set of definitions and instructions. You may also wish to issue several sets of interrogatories, with each set limited to specified areas of inquiry. Be careful though, because interrogatories can be counterproductive and sometimes even harmful to your position. For example, if you have substantial knowledge of the facts of the case, you must consider whether interrogatories that go to the merits might be of more benefit to your opponent than to you.

The request for production of documents is a second low-cost discovery tool that can yield high dividends. In complex cases, requests for document production are often the starting point for discovery. These requests can be used in conjunction with interrogatories to obtain all the important documents for your case.

Finally, requests for admissions can be used to obtain valuable information from the other side. This discovery tool allows an attorney to garner admissions of fact and identity from the opposing party without having to take depositions or draft long interrogatories. Again, carefully draft Requests for Admission to achieve the quick result you are looking for.

In sum, it is best to obtain legal documents through informal exchange between lawyers. This, in the long run, will save your clients the most time and money. When it is not possible to obtain documents through informal exchange, carefully drafted interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions are useful tools to obtain necessary information in a relatively cost effective way.

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Employers often design and implement Employee Bonus Plans to motivate employees to work hard and achieve company-set goals, be it sales targets, high marks on customer satisfaction surveys, or any other system of measuring achievement. Employee Bonus Plans are also a tremendously effective way to improve worker morale. Often, employers retain employment attorneys to draft these bonus plans in order to maximize effectiveness and to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws. In order to accomplish those goals, attorneys should pay careful attention to the following provisions.

• Purpose / Objectives: The purpose or objectives of the employee bonus plan should be laid out at or near the top of the plan. It is important to let employees know that the bonus plan is designed to reward employees for their contributions to the successful achievements of corporate goals and to share the success of the business with employees.
• Administration: The Employee Bonus Plan should let the employee know who is administering the plan and who will be setting the performance objectives, be it the Chief Executive Officer, the Director of Human Resources, or a team of executives.
• Eligibility: This provision should let the employees know which categories of employees are covered. Is this a bonus plan for the rank-and-file workers or for executives? Is it only for full-time employees, or are temporary and part-time employees, interns, and independent contractors involved as well? This provision should clarify which employees are eligible for the incentives described in the bonus plan.
• Confidentiality: Employers may want to include a confidentiality clause in their bonus plan. If so, this provision should state that participation in the bonus plan and all related discussion and documentation should be considered fully confidential between the company and the employee. All employees should be expected to honor this agreement and promise not to discuss or disclose bonus plan matters with any persons other than his or her manger or human resources.

As far as the substance of the bonus plan, it is important for employers in California to be cognizant of state law. The following categories of incentive plans should be considered in compliance with California law:

• Bonus Plans Based on Gross Sales: Bonuses not reduced by any cost factor, e.g., based upon a gross sales goal or productivity in terms of units produced, hours worked, etc., should be acceptable because such bonuses are not affected by the costs of doing business, such as shrinkage or workers compensation costs.
• Bonus Plans Based on Certain Margins: Bonuses may be based on some portion of a company’s profits, excluding impermissible expenses discussed above. Thus, for example, a bonus based on a gross margin or contribution margin will be acceptable.
• Profit Sharing Plans: ERISA authorizes employers to implement profit sharing plans, and generally does not restrict how profits are calculated, except that amounts accrued must be determined under a definite ERISA-compliant pre-determined formula.
• Discretionary Bonuses: Truly discretionary bonuses are legal, but a bonus is discretionary only if: (1) the fact and the amount of the payment are determined in the sole discretion of management; and (2) the payments are not pursuant to any contract, agreement, or promise causing the employee to expect such payments regularly. However, note that a “discretionary” bonus regularly paid each year, e.g., a holiday bonus, may lose its discretionary character after some period of time if employees come to expect such payments.

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