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About this blog

After more than 25 years operating a trial consulting practice together as co-founding partners of Magnus Research Consultants, Inc. and Magnus Graphics, Inc., and more than 30 years of marriage, Dr. Melissa Pigott and David Fauss decided to share some of their thoughts, experiences, pet peeves, and perspectives on operating a small “mom & pop” business. The intended audience for their writings is other business owners, as well as employees of small businesses. Trial consulting is a professional service business, as was David’s photography business. There are many unique issues faced by professional service providers; Melissa and David share some of their insights on running a successful business.

Trials and Photography

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 18, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Deliberations, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

I was writing a report recently and recommended that a client “focus” the jurors’ attention on a certain point. Given my 40+ years of photographic experience, I decided to test myself with this post to see if I can come up with analogies and metaphors between photography and litigation/trials. Focus is the starting point because […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 18, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Deliberations, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

David’s comparisons of photography and trials is an interesting perspective on two, very different, things. I will continue using his analysis with my interpretations of these areas of David’s interest by saying, from the outset, that photography and trials have one thing in common: they are not very interesting to people who are not photographers […]

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Feed the mock jurors

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 16, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Conducting mock jury research, or other research involving human participants, involves many things unrelated to collecting data. Food and drinks are an important part of the work we do on behalf of our clients. Not only do we compensate our research participants for their time and effort in attending our mock juries and focus groups, […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 16, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

I’ve previously written about my experiences as a photographer and having inconsiderate clients who did not think to provide me with a dinner on a job that lasted 6 to 8 hours (see Feed the Photographer February 2019). The amazing thing to us, with regard to the mock jurors, is how something like lunch or […]

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Chris’ Dad

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 11, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Work-Life

This morning I learned of the death of the father of one of Melissa’s lifelong friends. Chris and Melissa have known each other since childhood. Melissa provided guidance to Chris in recent years as he and his family dealt with health and end of life issues related to his father. These included those issues related […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 11, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Work-Life

The power of human touch cannot be underestimated. Pioneering psychological research, conducted by Dr. Harry Harlow and his colleagues, beginning in the 1930s, established that physical contact is an essential part of human development. Although Dr. Harlow’s studies were primarily focused on the establishment of a bond between mothers and their offspring, it is well […]

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In some ways faster than I was

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 9, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights

In my previous post about speed, I mentioned I am not as fast as I once was. This post may seem contradictory in that, in many ways, I am faster than I have ever been. Despite limitations related to the aging process, experience in doing what I do has made me highly efficient, not to […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 9, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights

Now this is more like what I’d expect to hear from Melissa. As we’ve noted before, we each write our posts based on a topic list which we create individually. This means neither of us know what the other has up a sleeve until we read a post the other has written. So, though I’m […]

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Confabulation

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 4, 2019

Category: Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Jury Consultants, Jury Deliberations, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology

I recently learned a new word, confabulation. I learned it in the context of a memory test I observed. The test was to listen to a short story about a woman who was grocery shopping, lost her wallet, couldn’t pay at checkout, then a little girl found the wallet and called the woman who lost […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 4, 2019

Category: Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Jury Consultants, Jury Deliberations, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology

Just as David makes a musical reference, followed by an apology, to Carly Simon, I will first reference, then apologize to, the great band, The Traveling Wilburys. (For the reader who does not know, the Traveling Wilburys was a “super group,” that is, a band comprised of immensely famous musicians. Its members were George Harrison, […]

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Not as fast as I once was

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 2, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights

It was a sad day when, for the first time in our lives, my nephew, Frank, Jr., beat me in a foot race. I was always a very fast runner, usually beating boys and girls of all ages in races. I enjoyed accepting all challengers and I enjoyed winning because running fast was about the […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 2, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights

Melissa’s post started focusing on a physical speed issue, and I guess we all experience some level of being defeated by someone faster or better at something. But, as they say, with age comes wisdom. The “they” in this case was Oscar Wilde and full quote is, per the ever wonderful internet, “With age comes […]

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Dodged Bullets

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 28, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Mental Health, Small Business Success

We’ve all heard the expression, “I dodged that bullet” to indicate that one missed something that, in hindsight, would have been bad, or at least, less than positive. I was recently reflecting of at least 3 bullets that I have, or Melissa and I have, dodged. Two of these involved the beginnings of Magnus, way […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 28, 2019

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Mental Health, Small Business Success

As John Lennon famously wrote in the lyrics of his song, “Beautiful Boy,” “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” It is interesting to see where our lives take us, including when it takes us in directions different from those we had planned. David and I founded Magnus in 1993 with big […]

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Speed reading

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 26, 2019

Category: Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research

Thank goodness for speed reading! In the mid 1970s, when speed reading was all the rage, I worked at the American Speed Reading Academy in my hometown of Fort Myers, Florida. My job was to cold call potential customers in an attempt to sell them a speed reading class. After working at the speed reading […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 26, 2019

Category: Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research

Melissa’s brain does work fast in many ways. But the way she gets up to speed on a new case is impressive. We’ve gone through various iterations of ways to facilitate her reading, settling on her reading on a large iPad after going through loads of paper, then on to computer screens, then regular iPads […]

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Freed to Run

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 21, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research

That’s Mike Freed, client, friend, and fellow alumnus of Jacksonville University. We’re proud to boast about his efforts to raise awareness and funds for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. His first marathon of marathons (6 days, 1 marathon per day, from Tallahassee to Jacksonville along U.S. 90) garnered attention. His 2.0 version in 2018 included teams […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 21, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research

Congratulations to Mike Freed! David and I are proud to know such a wonderful person. I know a lot of people who jog, who are marathon runners, and who run various other types of races (including mud runs), however, I have never known anyone, other than Mike Freed, who has found a creative way to […]

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Celebrate all occasions of importance

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 19, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Partnerships, Psychology, Work-Life

I recently wrote about my mom’s philosophy, “Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.” This post is a follow up and a continuation of the theme that I choose to live my life as joyfully as possible. Once again, credit is due to Mom, who believed each day should be lived to its fullest. When […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 19, 2019

Category: Business personalities, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Partnerships, Psychology, Work-Life

Too often, life seems dominated by the negative. We live in a time of stress and strife. As readers of this post know, Melissa and I have dealt with, or are dealing with, difficult issues with the aging and illness of family and friends. But, we have to have some rays of sunshine in life, […]

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