Author Archive | David Fauss

Gone Fishin’

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On July 18, 2019

Category: Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

I recently went fishing – but without a fishing pole. It was a marketing trip and somehow, the analogy of marketing and fishing clicked for me. There are many forms of marketing, including advertising; direct sales calls on the phone, via email, or in person; and, increasingly, via the internet or social media. As entrepreneurs, […]

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David’s fishing analogy is a funny one! Unlike David, I neither fish nor hunt, however, I do appreciate his attempt to portray his hard work of marketing for Magnus as similar to fishing. In my part of this post, I will continue to use David’s fishing analogy to describe what we, at Magnus, do when […]

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Confirmation Bias, Part 2

In thinking about my prior post on confirmation bias, I thought about one aspect of being hired as a professional trial consultant. It happens that I recently saw an announcement of a bar association seminar on do it yourself (DIY) mock trials. I know that mock trials are often expensive when conducted by a qualified […]

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I’ll begin my part of this topic by saying that, if social psychologists, who study confirmatory bias and are, therefore, presumed to be experts on it, are subject to confirmation bias in their decision making, then almost anyone can engage in this type of biased information processing. Attorneys may be more educated and more intelligent […]

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Confirmation Bias, Part 1

I read an article recently about confirmation bias and how it negatively impacts social science research and progress. Confirmation bias is “the tendency to seek, interpret, and create information in ways that verify existing beliefs.” (Brehm & Kassin, Social Psychology, 1989. Which is, coincidentally, a textbook for which Melissa co-authored the Instructor’s Manual and Study […]

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David’s post is interesting to me in two regards. First, it is interesting that David, and not I, chose a topic related to my background as a social psychologist. Second, it is interesting that David focused his post on confirmation bias in social science research. Recently, the media have frequently mentioned confirmation bias, as if […]

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It’s all Marketing

I will admit, I probably have a bias. Both my undergraduate and graduate business degrees had a strong emphasis on marketing. Therefore, in the context of operating a small business, I am cognizant of details that create impressions. As a result, it seems to me that almost everything done in a business is marketing. The […]

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David is right. It’s all marketing. From the manner in which the telephone is answered, to the style of written communication used in an email, to the attire worn in the courtroom (or research facility, during a mock trial), to a brochure, to a website, to the report of research findings prepared for a client, […]

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Jury Consultants Are Not Just for Jury Trials

In the vein of prior posts, this is an attempt to clarify another misconception about what we do as trial or jury consultants. Usually in the context of an introduction, I hear what might be called “sales objections.” There are varieties of these objections, but one is this, if introduced as a “jury consultant” I […]

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I prefer the term, “litigation consultant” to other terms more frequently used to describe the kind of work I perform. When I am asked what I do for a living, I rarely say I am a “jury consultant” or a “trial consultant.” Few laypersons know the meaning of any of these expressions and surprisingly, some […]

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Trial Consultants Are Not Just for Trials

It happened again. I am introduced to a new, prospective client, a lawyer at a very large firm – one with a nationwide presence, hundreds of lawyers, and many offices. This is the kind of attorney whom I assume understands the concept of what a trial consultant does. But, no. I send an email introduction […]

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There are many people who believe they know more than they, in reality, actually know. Prospective clients who presume to know more than I know about the field in which I have been employed for the past 30 years are, in my opinion, rarely going to become Magnus clients. The misnomer “trial consultant” notwithstanding, it […]

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Be the Solution

One of the television shows Melissa and I watch is “NCIS.” The story line in a recent episode involved a young man telling about his father, who had died in another episode. The young man said that, before he died, his father attempted to teach him to “be the solution.” That is, don’t be the […]

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“Be the solution” is similar to “Be the change you want to see in the world” (with the latter saying commonly misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi, who, according to multiple sources, never said anything of the sort). The idea behind both of these statements is that, for positive change to occur, one must be an active […]

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Analytics

Melissa and I had lunch with a long time client recently during which he brought up a “new” thing he hears from his clients. That is, give us the “analytics” on the case. Analytics is a concept that gets lots of airplay in various contexts. The business world has long focused on numbers to indicate […]

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It is interesting to me that what is old to me is new to other people. And, it is also interesting that words have different meanings to different people. I have been analyzing scientific data since 1977. Analytics are, therefore, what I do; it is what I did in college and grad. school and what […]

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Small Business Ownership: Always On

One of the things I do when writing a blog post is to categorize it so that one can search for similar topics on our website. The list of categories has grown over time but has always included #WorkLife. Work Life is usually followed by “balance” as in work/life balance, meaning how to manage one’s […]

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Owning a small business is not for the faint of heart. Owning a small business with one’s spouse is only for the heartiest of individuals. David and I are fortunate, in that our jobs within our company do not overlap. David has expertise in many areas, such as business management, finances, accounting, etc. that I […]

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Tourniquets are Back

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 16, 2019

Category: Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Travel

I spent a recent Saturday morning taking a first aid class offered by an area hospital, in conjunction with the national campaign organized by several organizations, such as Stopthebleedingcoalition.org (search #stopthebleed to find a link). I attended the program to learn things I hope I never need to know or use. I’ve always been a […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 16, 2019

Category: Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Travel

The only thing I know about tourniquets is the song, “Tourniquet,” by Breaking Benjamin. I don’t share David’s zeal for being prepared, particularly when learning about being prepared occurs early on Saturday morning, at a hospital. David is more prepared for every situation than anyone else I know. Regardless of the situation, he is ready […]

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