Archive | Careers

Hard Work

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 15, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

Always learning – that’s the reality of life, and in operating a business. A lesson learned many years ago happened when we hired a young woman as a research associate. She fit all of our hiring criteria for education, background, etc. She was attractive and well dressed. Her appearance was important to her as evidenced […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 15, 2021

Hooray for Jessica! As David mentioned, after our experience with one of our former employees, who resigned over too many broken fingernails, we were delighted to hire Jessica Nurek (now Jessica Palomino) because, not only was she qualified for the research associate job, she was not afraid of performing hard work. Cleaning animal stalls is […]

Templates – Creating and Using

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 8, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Research, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

We spent some time recently updating the templates we use at Magnus. From day 1, I’ve worked on developing templates and, over the years, modifying them to keep up with changes as necessary. We have templates for reports, for contracts, and countless forms that help us keep track of our work. The only thing standardized […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 8, 2021

David likes forms and templates more than anyone I have ever known. When we are in the process of developing a new service, David routinely advocates for using a template to ensure things are standardized. Although all of my questionnaires are custom designed to assess mock jurors’, survey respondents’, and other research participants’ attitudes about […]

Hiding behind Email

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 1, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Relationships, Careers, Common Courtesy, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

Prompted by my posts about “different direction” and “ghosting,” a related phenomenon is hiding behind email, especially as a way to deliver bad news. Maybe it is just me, but it seems a matter of professionalism and fairness that, if one asks someone else to do something like prepare a proposal for consulting services, the […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 1, 2021

I love to discuss, and write about, etiquette. As a social psychologist, I am keenly aware of the social norms involved in etiquette, which involves far more than knowing which fork to use. There is a certain etiquette involved in communicating with others, in both professional and personal settings. This includes “responding in kind” to […]

Why be Snarky?

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 23, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Psychology

Why be snarky when being snarky is unnecessary, particularly in the business world? One of Magnus vendors is a company with whom we interact on a frequent basis. The principal of this company, which will remain nameless, uses the most insulting tone imaginable when writing emails to me, the client. This person never misses the […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 23, 2021

Any human to human interaction involves personalities, of course. Most of the time one doesn’t give that much thought unless there is something that causes friction, something that isn’t comfortable. Snarky or snide comments are one of those things. It seems like the “snarker” is just picking, for whatever reason, at minor details. Life and […]

Choose not to decide

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 18, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” This is a line from the RUSH song Freewill (on 1980’s Permanent Waves album). That line has stuck with me since I first heard it. Perhaps, in keeping with a few recent posts on ghosting, different directions, etc., but first, in my career […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 18, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology

Indecision is something that is not part of my personality. I like to get it done, move forward, press on, and go onward and upward. People who stare, seemingly endlessly, at a restaurant menu because they can’t decide what to eat are near the top of my pet peeves list. It’s really not that important: […]

Tribute to Willy

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 16, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Work-Life

I am writing this on March 3, 2021, one of the saddest days in the long history of Magnus Research Consultants. Last night, our beloved office dog, Willy, passed away of a brain tumor. Willy was the dog of David’s and my wonderful employee and friend, Megan. For the past 7 years, Willy worked in […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 16, 2021

As you can tell, this dog, Willy, was truly hu(mans) best friend. Willy and Megan were tight – she trained him well. And, he trained her well also. She communicated with him in his language – she knew what he was trying to tell her. Usually things like, pay attention to me, feed me, walk […]

Always Take First Watch

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 9, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Business Travel, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, RoadWarrior, Travel, Trial Consultants

Always take the first watch. I received this sage advice many years ago, from a friend who spent most of his life in the United States Navy. The rationale is that one will be less tired during the first watch than in later shifts. First watch, of course, is usually the daytime hours, such as […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 9, 2021

Always take first watch, unless Melissa beats you to it! After that, I’m not sure which is better, 2nd or 3rd watch. It might depend on whether it is night or day, and whether sleep is possible. Though I wasn’t onboard for the hurricane avoidance drive, I remember it well. I had the outsider’s view, […]

Better Than “Different Direction”

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 2, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

As a follow up to David’s last post regarding the soul killing phrase “We have decided to move in a different direction,” I will provide alternative phrases that are more appropriate forms of rejection. Keeping in mind that David, and other consultants, spend considerable time and money speaking with prospective clients, preparing proposals outlining the […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 2, 2021

I like that-“vapid euphemisms.” In my most recent vapid encounter, vapid also seemed to apply to the paralegal who called me. Whether it was her fault or not, she not only had insufficient information to give me as to what the attorney purportedly wanted (which was an inappropriate research design, given what she did know), […]

Different Direction

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 25, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

Last week I got a call from a paralegal who asked me to provide a proposal for a mock trial for a commercial case. She told me that, although she’d been a paralegal for 25 years, she had never shopped for a trial consultant. I walked her through the process, provided her with information on […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 25, 2021

If you think about it, and I certainly have, “We are moving in a different direction” or “We are moving in another direction” is meaningless drivel. This statement has somehow become common when it comes to rejecting job applicants, consultants’ proposals, and people, in general. In preparing for my part of David’s post, I have […]

Juggling

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 4, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

I shot a photograph of a juggler a couple years ago when I was wandering the streets of New York City while there to work on a client’s case. My eye was drawn to the colorful balls flying in the air so I walked toward the area behind the main NYC library. Turns out, several […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 4, 2021

Most people have a difficult time “walking in someone else’s shoes.” We live our daily lives, caught up in dealing with our personal issues, rarely giving much thought to what other people are going through. David and I have a dear friend who, for as long as we have known her, has been battling a […]

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Archive | Careers

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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