What's my phone number?

One of my favorite anecdotes about Albert Einstein:

One of Einstein's colleagues asked him for his telephone number one day.
Einstein reached for a telephone directory and looked it up.

"You don't remember your own number?" the man asked, startled.

"No," Einstein answered. "Why should I memorize something I can so easily get
from a book?"
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Seriously, what a great life lesson.

I am no savant. Idiot or otherwise. I cannot recall my phone number from my first apartment (I know the last four digits spelled ACES). I have trouble sometimes remembering when an injury has to be recorded on the OSHA 300. I refuse to memorize the list of items you can purchase with your Flexible Spending Account. I kind of fear that if I do, it will make me boring.

However, what I do know is how to find information. For one, I know how to search government sites (while I admit they are easier now than 4 years ago, they can still be a maze). I know where to get information, and maybe that makes me Einstein. To be sure, in this case "Einstein" is pronounced without sarcasm.

I frequently get questions regarding employment law. When possible, my response is always supported by documentation, even when I know the answer. If the question is asked in person, and I cannot supply documentation immediately, I add the caveat that I will pull the information and submit the documentation later. The truth is, I just don't trust myself enough to go off only my knowledge.

Presumption sometimes masquerades as knowledge, and I have trouble differentiating between the two.

Recently, a member of the Athens Area Society for Human Resource Management asked me a question about required leave for an employee attending a military graduation. The employee indicated the leave was required, but the member was not sure. She asked me, and my response was four-fold.

The first portion of my response consisted of tips for finding information, including links to various governmental sites and contact information for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserver (ESGR). The second portion included references to the law and my opinion (clearly stated as opinion) that there was no obligation. Then I encouraged her to follow up with the ESGR and to document the information she received. The final step was to encourage her to allow the employee time off, if possible and so long as it did not interfere with their standard practices (it shows good faith dealings and supports the employee - always a good step).

In adage form, I both fed her a fish and taught her how to fish.

It is valuable to know information, and I do know information. However, I value the information I know less than my ability to find information. I consider my ability to research information my real strength.

Just ask any of my friends who cringe anytime a question comes up when I am around.