Archive | Magnus Research

Just Ask

Some recent business dealings have reminded me that asking can result in rewards. This is a lesson long ago imparted by the late Ron Lit. Ron was a wheeler dealer (really – he was a car wholesaler, among other things, as we wrote about in an early post, way back in 1994 https://magnusinsights.com/connections-ron-lit/). Ron told […]

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Ron Lit passed away on Friday, July 13, 2005.  He was also born on Friday the 13th , May 13, 1938 to be exact.  Ron was an enigma; for example, his actual name was neither Ron nor Lit. He had a tremendous impact on both David and me in the years we knew him.  From […]

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12 Digits

Many of the posts we write are inspired by recent events, though our list has many titles we created as far back as 10 years ago at the inception of the Magnus Insights, 2’s Company blog. I’ll admit that there are many DF titles I haven’t written yet. I’m writing today, while smiling a bit, […]

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David is right.  We have a long list of topics to write about, including some that have been on our list for many years.  But lately, it seems that David writes about new things that inspire him instead of writing about something that inspired him years ago.  This being said, I never imagine we would […]

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Don’t Make the Boss’ Job More Difficult

In the 50 years since I started my first job, I have been an employee for 20 years and an employer for 30 years. In my roles as employee, then employer, I have often marveled at some people’s absence of awareness of a fundamental workplace principle: Don’t make the boss’ job more difficult. There are […]

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I knew Rosemary, Melissa’s assistant at the hospital where they worked.  Rosemary was the epitome of professionalism and did her job in an excellent fashion which is why it was not long that she went from working for Melissa to working for Melissa’s boss.  In the 30+ years of Magnus we have, fortunately, had team […]

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The Balancing Act Continues

As I was standing in line this morning, a Friday morning, at Walmart (don’t judge me), I thought about how odd it was to be shopping on “work time.” And, further, I thought about the list of categories we have on this blog, one of which is “WorkLife.” We previously wrote about work life balance […]

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As I mentioned in one of David’s and my recent posts, we recently had lunch with 2 of my childhood friends, a married couple, who are retired.  Their enthusiastic advocation of retirement included the statement, “Melissa, when you retire, you can do whatever you want”! I replied, “That’s not a motivation for me.  I already […]

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Be Nice

Be nice. That’s easy to understand, but sometimes, difficult to do. What does it mean to “be nice”? I never gave it much thought until I had lunch at a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale several years ago. The restaurant’s slogan is “be nice” and they have bumper stickers with this motto for anyone to take. […]

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The opposite of being nice, that is, being mean, seems to have a much higher degree of visibility.  Mean sells, mean makes the news.  The increased political polarization of our United States seems to increase meanness, and decrease niceties.  For some, the example of “leaders” behaving badly translates into a belief that those behaviors are […]

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If in Doubt, Ask.

It is okay to ask questions in life, in work. In the work environment, as an owner, manager, supervisor, or whatever I may be, whatever hat I may be wearing, I want to hear questions. I dislike it when an employee does not ask a question, for whatever reason, then does something wrong, or does […]

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Here’s a question for David: Why was your part of this post so short? But, to get to the point, I agree with David about asking questions, up to a point.  We recently terminated an employee who spent more time asking us stupid questions than using her brain.  This employee seemed, to me, to ask […]

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The Ability to Understand Others’ Perspectives

I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion. This includes me. When conducting mock jury or other social psychological research, I almost always encourage the open expression of differing views by informing our research participants that “There are no wrong opinions or points of view.” I know some people who enjoy verbal sparring, however, I […]

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In our often politically polarized world, it appears difficult for some people to accept that other people have valid, opposing, opinions.  Our work involves watching “regular people” who are recruited to participate in our mock juries or focus groups express their opinions.  Clearly, some people are more adamant about their own opinions than others.  Some […]

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One of Us Must Be Wrong

One of our first marketing trips when Melissa and I started Magnus was to my hometown of Jacksonville to call on family friends and referrals. I will always remember visiting one of those attorneys, Carl, who told us that he and his client, an insurance adjuster, disagreed on the value of a case. It was […]

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David’s post reminds me of a song; of course it does! The song is titled, “You Know I’m Right” and it was written by David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd fame). One of the lines in the song is “Either you are wrong or I am right.” Another is “Why should you bother with the other […]

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When Not to Wear Shorts

I live in Florida. I have lived in Florida almost all my life, with the exception of living out of state for a couple of years for employment reasons. I know it’s hot in my home state of Florida. I live here and if you’re hot when we are together, I am probably hot too. […]

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In my mind, there are many “costumes” which are appropriate in different situations.  As a photographer, I dressed to blend into the environment where I would be shooting.  If it was a business event, I would wear a shirt/tie or sometimes, a tuxedo, to seem to be a part of the event.  Casual events, like […]

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Pay Your Own Way Marketing

Marketing is a big topic. It covers many things including advertising, sales, strategy, research and more. It was one of my 3 undergraduate majors and though some things have changed, for example, the transition from traditional advertising to social media advertising, the basics have long been the same. Getting yourself or your company known for […]

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My first job upon completion of my Ph.D. was Director of Marketing Research at a large hospital in Jacksonville.  I don’t know what the marketing department’s budget was, but the amount of money it spent on marketing and public relations must have been in the multi millions.  I can’t begin to imagine what this hospital, […]

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