Heard on the Street

Gov. Mel Carnahan's sudden death and the legal quagmire of whether a deceased person can win a U.S. Senate seat was No. 1 on the list of the top 10 legal stories of 2000 compiled by Missouri Lawyers Weekly. The editors of the legal newspaper and its Web site selected the top legal stories, events and cases of 2000 that most affected the lives of all Missourians. Other top legal stories of 2000 were "Gun owner not liable in shooting death of daughter's friend," "Woman can sue man who gave her herpes" and the Laclede Gas settlement story, in which Laclede Gas Company paid an $8 million settlement to the family of a 78-year-old man who died in a natural gas explosion in his home. The Laclede Gas story revealed the existence of more than 80,000 copper lines in eastern Missouri that are susceptible to corrosion and leakage, according to Missouri Lawyers Weekly. The newspaper ranked the election night voting extension case in St. Louis No. 7 on the list and No. 10 on the list was the World Wrestling Federation's record $18 million wrongful-death settlement in the case of wrestler Owen Hart, who fell 78 feet to his death in a stunt entrance before a match in Kansas City. |ret||ret||tab|

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STAYING POWER|ret||ret||tab|

A new survey of chief financial officers suggests that success breeds longevity for CFOs. Forty-one percent of executives said the average tenure of a company's top financial executive is seven or more years. The executives' mean response was eight years. The survey was developed by California-based RHI Management Resources and includes responses from 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies with more than 20 employees. "For accounting and finance professionals, achieving CFO status is a career apex," said Paul McDonald, RHI executive director. "Not surprisingly, tenure tends to be more established at this level. In fact, it's not uncommon for a company's top finance executive to eventually assume the CEO post."|ret||ret||tab|

SPAM, ANYONE?|ret||ret||tab|

Executives spend an average of 108 minutes a day reading and sending e-mail messages, according to a survey developed by Accountemps, a temporary staffing service for professionals. "E-mail is among many technologies that are increasing the pace of business and creating expectations for faster turnaroundironically, the very tools designed to save time might actually be adding to the number of hours we spend working," said Accountemps Chairman Max Messmer. To reduce time spent reading and sending e-mail, Accountemps offers the following guidelines:|ret||ret||tab|

Organize incoming e-mail into folders that are labeled for easy retrieval and don't leave old messages in your inbox.|ret||ret||tab|

Keep your writing clear and concise. If your message is too complicated for a brief e-mail, consider another form of communication.|ret||ret||tab|

Resist the urge to read each new e-mail as it arrives. Instead, read and respond to messages several times throughout the day.|ret||ret||tab|

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CAREER PATH OR WARPATH?|ret||ret||tab|

Although the elections are finally behind us, political momentum remains strong on at least one front the office. A survey conducted by staffing service OfficeTeam indicates that 19 percent of an executive's time is spent dealing with office politics. Overbooked schedules may contribute to the problem, according to the survey. "Recognizing and confronting politically charged situations early on is the key to preventing them from escalating. Unfortunately, as managers spend more hours in meetings or traveling on business, they miss possible red flags," OfficeTeam Executive Director Diane Domeyer said. Politically charged situations around the SBJ office include leaving a tablespoon of coffee in the coffee pot without brewing more and hoarding legal pads. [[In-content Ad]]