Archive | Magnus

Why do I wear a KC shirt?

I have several Kansas City Royals t-shirts and baseball hats. Given that I am not a sports fan, this may come as a surprise to those who don’t know me well. Why would I, a person from Fort Myers, Florida, like a baseball team from Missouri? The answer is quite simple. From its inaugural season […]

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I will say that it took me a while to comprehend Melissa’s love of the Royals, including certain of their players.  I was able to attend a few games with her while they were in Ft. Myers at “her dad’s” stadium.  It was fun, but the depth of the connection was something that took a […]

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All the World’s a Stage

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players… (William Shakespeare, As You Like It). All the world’s indeed a stage and we are merely playersPerformers and portrayers, Each another’s audience outside the gilded cage (Neil Peart, RUSH, Limelight). I know the origin of this thought was the Bard, but it […]

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David ended his part of this post by saying, “Let the show begin,” which reminds me of a song written by Rolf Kempf, sung by Judy Collins, then popularized in 1973 by one of my all time favorite bands, Alice Cooper.  The song is “Hello Hooray” and it begins with the lyrics “Hello.  Hooray.  Let […]

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DHTs

I’m not sure when David invented DHTs, but I think it was during the time we lived part time in my hometown, Fort Myers, to help care for my mother during the final years of her life. For David and me, who own and operate a small business that requires frequent travel, commuting to and […]

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There is an extra tension in a marriage when one also works with one’s spouse as we have for 30+ years.  It is a 24/7/365 lifestyle unless one of us is traveling for business, and that is often a together activity for us.  Inevitably, there will be tensions and stresses that become personal even if […]

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Now I get it…

I’ve noticed a phenomenon when working with clients who have never utilized a trial consultant. The only thing I can think of as a way to describe this is “Now I get it…” Attorneys/clients do not always hire us because they want to. There are times they are “encouraged to,” told to, or forced to […]

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Some people find it difficult to understand things unless they have directly experienced them.  One might say these people lack imagination or perhaps, foresight, however, when it comes to understanding the services provided by trial consultants, it is often hard for the average attorney to comprehend how we do what we do.  Some of Magnus’ […]

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Is your consultant a criminal?

This is a strange topic: Is your consultant a criminal? In this context, it is related to your trial consultant. When one hires a new employee, most often, a variety of background checks are conducted. A lawyer’s criminal history is policed by Bar associations; similarly, other licensed professions are vetted. But, what about professions not […]

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In the decades Magnus has been in business, we have found out many things about our employees, vendors, and prospective employees that, absent our checking into them, would have remained hidden.  Often, these secrets were nothing serious, for example, the office administrator we hired, even though we knew she had been arrested for D.U.I.  Then, […]

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Output = Effort x Ability

Social psychologists, as well as other types of psychologists, have studied achievement motivation for many decades. In goal directed situations, there are several ways in which someone can achieve the desired outcome: ability, effort, and luck. Success and failure also depend, of course, on the difficulty of the task being undertaken. When considered together, these […]

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I clearly remember that early employee to whom Melissa referred.  How could I ever forget her?  She tried so hard; she really gave it her all.  But, often, that was not enough.  This made it difficult to manage her without deflating her sense of self.  Reacting to “I tried so hard,” by pointing out her […]

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Exude Competence

Many years ago, when I was working for another trial consultant, one of the clients spoke to my boss and told her that I “exuded competence.” The boss was happy to hear this and to tell me. I took it as a high compliment because it reinforced my goal of doing what I say I’m […]

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David is right.  We have to exude competence if we are to convince others that we possess the expertise necessary to perform a job.  When I first became a trial consultant, way back in 1989, the person who trained me was a particularly tough task master.  He greatly disliked my psychologist’s way of pensively contemplating […]

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Leadership styles

Many people wonder how leaders emerge. Some people endorse the view that certain people are “born leaders,” while others believe leadership is a skill that is acquired. Organizational psychologists have studied leaders, leadership, and leadership styles for decades to determine what traits separate effective leaders from leaders who lack effectiveness, the situations in which leadership […]

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I often learn new things in reading what Melissa has written.  As someone whose graduate work was in the Organizational Behavior field (the business school version of I/O psychology), leadership is a familiar topic.  But, considering her perspective on how leadership plays out in the jury decision making process is enlightening.  Melissa is the expert […]

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The Last Thing Said to a Loved One

As our family and friends know, both of David’s parents passed away recently, within a few months of one another. And, as almost everyone who knows David and me is aware, I adored both of David’s parents. I will go as far as saying that both David’s mother, Carole, and father, Herman, were nicer and […]

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It has been a rough year for me, my brothers, and Melissa with the loss of my parents, 106 days apart.  Their decline was long and difficult.  Collectively, we did many things to manage their care and quality of life.  That fact that they had made similar efforts to care for their parents or other […]

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Price based decisions

Melissa and I recently made a big purchase. A roof. It was not something I’ve shopped for willingly. The failure of the old roof after storms made it a necessity. It is a big purchase, bigger than anything we’ve ever bought, other than a house. Shopping for a roofing company was a reminder of how […]

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When it became necessary to shop for a roofing contractor, I went about it in the same way I search for just about anything.  I researched local roofing companies, asked people for referrals, and checked ratings from various sources.  I eventually obtained 4 bids and 1 refusal to bid (due to the complexity and danger […]

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