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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2016)
FEATURES 6A Troubled by ofice slacker Dear Annie: I run a small real estate development irm with only three employees. I research and bring in the deals. My partner man- ages the day-to-day operations, and we have one general administra- tive assistant. At the same time, we work with and have relationships with everyone involved, includ- ing general contractors, architects, designers, Realtors and subcontrac- tors. At any given time, there are a lot of balls in the air, and attention to detail is critical, which brings me to my issue. One of our biggest investors has a nephew, and because he wants his nephew to get some experience, he asked whether his nephew could work as an intern for us. I talked to the kid, and he seemed nice enough, so we hired him for the summer. Since then, he’s been a bit of a disaster. The kid comes in late and leaves early. He is sloppy with his work, horrible on the phones and border- line illiterate through email. He’s the winning combination of entitled and incompetent. I don’t want to upset the investor, but we’re a small, scrappy irm and this degenerate is sticking out like a sore thumb and creating more work than he is producing. I don’t want Dear Annie By Annie Lane Creators Syndicate Inc. to bite the hand that feeds me, but I need to run my business. — Rock and Hard Place Dear Rock: You’re wise to be cautious. When it comes to fam- ily, objectivity tends to go out the window. If you complained to your investor, he might become defen- sive, even if his nephew has the work ethic of a trustafarian sloth. That said, he did want the boy to get work experience; surely, he can appreciate that constructive feed- back is part of that. So offer the intern some speciic pointers. His emails are terrible? Share examples he can model his after. He’s bad on the phone? Spend a few minutes each day role-play- ing calls. If he doesn’t improve, give him tasks that aren’t customer-fac- ing, such as scanning documents. In the meantime, work on a dip- lomatic response to have ready the next time an investor tries to get a relative a job at the irm so you’re not between a rock and a hard place again. Dear Annie: I work at a boutique consulting company with incredi- bly smart people who have different knowledge bases. The staff is truly diverse, ranging in age from 22 to 72, and everyone gets along, for the most part. We have a company dress code that says something like “no open- toed shoes, no jeans except on Fri- days, collared shirts must be worn,” etc. It’s essentially business casual from 1997. I’ve noticed a change recently, especially from the younger people. They have no regard for the dress code. Don’t get me wrong. They all look very put-together and extremely fashionable. — Not Anna Wintour Dear Not Anna: A dress code is part of company culture, but sometimes the culture evolves and the rulebook becomes outdated. Talk to management and ask for clariication. Maybe management will decide to revise the policy to allow more casual attire. Regard- less, try worrying less about other people’s jeans. THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 25, 2016 Tomorrow’s horoscope By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You keep saying that you could do better if you were given the right circumstances. Well, you’ll give yourself those circumstances through saying “yes” and saying “no” to things today. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You are not bored by other people, though you might be bored by the same people (possibly the person you live inside) in the same circum- stance you’ve seen again and again. You’ll most certainly do something about this. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The project be- fore you is exciting. Don’t let your excitement cause you to rush. Leave a good amount of space between the different stages of work. It will help you to refine and improve as you go. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Good news. Though you’ll be very out of your element for a period of this day, there is no need to study or watch another person in order to know what to do. The right answers come to you by nature. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The idea that was strange and wonderful will now show a dif- ferent side. The idea that was strange and horrible will seem to have its merits. These are merely signals that your mind is open. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). No one is ever alone in a feeling. However complex it may seem, someone else in the world has gone through or is going through something very close to your emotion, but you have reach out to know the truth of this. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The blue skies make you feel like you should run into them, arms open, confident and alone. The storms make you feel that you should huddle up and cling to another person. Both are just FRANK AND ERNEST BLONDIE THATABABY SALLY FORTH PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN B.C. LOLA DILBERT SIX CHIX BIZARRO MUTTS NON SEQUITUR BABY BLUES WIZARD OF ID ZITS ROSE IS ROSE weather and mood. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You gra- ciously acknowledge the favors you’re given, but you don’t use them all, as it would in- cur too much debt. Note: The favors from on high are generally lower priced than those from down low. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Some- times you think you sound like a broken re- cord, as the circumstances of your life seem to run you, and the “you” they seem to run has the same message, recurring. Flip it. Play the other side. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You don’t always like to admit it, but there’s comfort in a routine. By the way, you could really use some comfort right now. Instead of moving to the next excitement, consider setting a nice groove. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Will you deliver what you said you would? Proba- bly. And when the potential recipient is per- sistent, definitely. Furthermore, whatever is open to interpretation, you’ll interpret it. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your content- ment will rely on valuing the help you give. Don’t promise more. Even if you only help a person one time, being present in a moment of need will have a profound impact. TUESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 26). What you want isn’t always the best thing to get. You’ll get better in August: It may be exactly what you don’t want, and yet it will prove to be the very best thing to happen. Septem- ber brings a love breakthrough. You’ll meld with another and learn how to communicate on a level that makes 2017 smooth and fun. Cancer and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 29, 11, 22 and 18.