Author Archive | David Fauss

Help the boss – it is why you have a job

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 17, 2016

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

Over the years we have had a few employees who failed to comprehend that Job # 1 was helping the bosses help the clients. Regardless of what we as bosses are doing, we need the employees to be “support staff.” More than 1 employee has been fixated on a task to the point that we […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 17, 2016

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

I have never understood why some employees fail to realize their only purpose is to work for their employer.  And further, I do not understand why some employees fail to realize that working for their employer means performing job duties requested by their employer.  For me, the only point of going to work is to […]

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Not your first gig; Not your first day on job

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 10, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

Everyone who works had a first day on the job. A first time to interact with customers, a first sale, a first something. For my partner and me, when new employees are hired, they are trained and they ultimately participate on their first jury research project. New employees cannot be expected to know enough from […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 10, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

Magnus Research Consultants has employed many people who are working in their first professional job following their graduation from college.  Some of our employees have worked during high school and college, while others have never been employed prior to working for Magnus.  David and I have spent considerable time over the years coaching these eager, […]

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Make ‘em look good

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 3, 2016

Category: Business Relationships, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

One aspect of our work as trial consultants is to evaluate cases so that our attorney clients learn how their case will be perceived by jurors, judges, arbitrators, or mediators. We always learn things that the attorneys and our other clients did not know or did not anticipate. The truth is, we may not have […]

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There are many ways an employee can help his/her boss look good.  In the days when I worked for a large corporation and did not perform administrative tasks, I had a secretary.  (I actually had a series of secretaries in the early days of my career, which dates back to the time when being a […]

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It’s obvious to you, it’s your company

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 25, 2016

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

In our posts we have often written about things some of our employees have said, without thinking first. Or, maybe in some instances they didn’t think enough. One such utterance was this: “It’s obvious to you; you own the company…” said in defense of an employee’s mistake when she attempted to deflect blame from herself […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 25, 2016

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

A lot of things are obvious to me when they are not obvious to other people.  There are several fundamental differences between many people and me.  Most people spend too much time: (1) being self absorbed; (2) not paying attention to their surroundings; (3) using only one of their five senses, to the exclusion of […]

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Dun & Bradstreet: Part 2

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 18, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

As I have come up with topics for this blog I have found that often a brief title triggers multiple thoughts. Dun & Bradstreet was the subject of a prior blog which related my distaste for fear based marketing. But, it is because Dun & Bradstreet has a well known name that it can engage […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 18, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

Sometimes, despite our best efforts in preventing disasters, disaster strikes, usually, without warning.  The Dun & Bradstreet / Dun and brad street debacle was, at the time it was perpetuated on Magnus, well known within the computer industry, to the point that Magnus’ long time computer consultant held a special meeting with David, me, and […]

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Being ethical can be expensive

I have always enjoyed the intellectual aspects of considering the ethical aspects of life and work. One of my favorite graduate school courses was business ethics and I had other classes on the subject in college, and decades ago, in a church youth group. The topics often were mind opening – considering what to do […]

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People have often criticized me for being too goody, goody; too prim and proper; and for taking an unpopular stance by not going along with the crowd.  Upon receiving this criticism, I usually remark that I am not working on a popularity contest; I am working to do the right thing. As an example, I […]

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Either you are wrong or I am right. Part 2: Clients

As I was writing the post, “Either you are wrong or I am right,” I thought that, like the album title from which it came, About Face (by David Gilmour) there are perhaps more than 1 way to contemplate this lyric. In the first post I wrote about the implications of behaving, in a personal […]

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I admit to being frustrated by some clients’ insistence that they know everything there is to know, including in an area in which they have zero expertise.  However, I am somewhat entertained by their willingness to set themselves up for failure, when something happens to disprove their incorrect assumptions, and I usually ask them to […]

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Either you are wrong or I am right. Part 1: Business Partners

One of the songs from David Gilmour’s 1984 Album About Face was titled “You Know I’m Right.” I enjoyed the entire album by Pink Floyd’s vocalist and (extraordinary) guitarist, starting with the album title which seemed so clever in its dual meanings. But, the lyrics of this song were particularly compelling to think about how […]

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I am not sure whether this statement, “Either you are wrong or I am right” was aimed at a particular person, nor do I know whether it was intended to be interpreted in a tongue in cheek manner.  I am certain, however, that it made a lasting impression on David because he frequently quotes it […]

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Is it worth getting up at 6 a.m. for that Chamber meeting?

To quickly answer the question in my title, I don’t know. But, I am getting ahead of myself. When we started Magnus in 1993 it seemed like it might be worthwhile to network in certain ways. One of them was to join the Chamber of Commerce and go to the early morning breakfast meetings. It […]

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A long time client of Magnus recently told David that David has the hardest job in our company, in that it involves performing many tasks people often consider undesirable.  One of these tasks is attending networking functions, including those disguised as “social events” because adult beverages are served.  Of all the networking events David has […]

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Dun & Bradstreet

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 14, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Small Business Success

Dun & Bradstreet is a familiar name within the business world. I really don’t know much about D&B, but not long after being in business I was told I needed a D&B DUNS#. I think it must have been needed for some government related work we were doing. The process to register for it was […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 14, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Small Business Success

Dun & Bradstreet is not a familiar entity for many people, including me, who are not “business types” like my partner.  In fact, in order to be able to write my part of this post, I had to ask David to explain the purpose of Dun & Bradstreet to me.  My familiarity with certain large […]

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