Archive | Careers

3.8 Miles

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 13, 2023

Category: Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Research, RoadWarrior, Trial Consultants, Work-Life

I recently had fun attending Wings over Homestead 2023. It was an air show featuring the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Their amazing flying displays in F16 Fighting Falcons captivate me, and apparently, thousands of others who were in attendance. Other aircraft were flying showing off the pilots’ skills and the capabilities of the aircraft, new […]

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I’m glad David measures the distance he walks.  I walk for exercise as often as my schedule permits, but I have never measured the distance.  In the lovely neighborhood where David and I live, there are numerous areas where it is possible to walk, including many walking paths.  As long as we stay off the […]

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Constant Reinvention

Much of what we do as trial consultants remains constant over time. Social science research is well established in terms of methodologies such that the changes are in the margins. Technological changes are not a major factor in our world, yet, we constantly look at processes and technologies to improve our work. Among those have […]

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David and I are rarely on the cutting edge when it comes to adopting new technology and new ways of doing things, however, we are usually light years ahead of most people we know.  Recently, we have had the pleasure of hosting 2 of my friends/colleagues in our home for an extended period.  Both of […]

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I Don’t Write Paychecks

David and I have owned and operated Magnus for 30 years. We have employed countless people, including many whose names have faded into obscurity. During all the years we have been in business, David and I have had different job duties. David’s job includes the administrative, finance, human resources, vendor relationship, and client liaison roles, […]

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Terminating employees is one of the least pleasant tasks I have.  Even when an employee has done something blatantly wrong and is deserving of immediate termination, knowing the ramifications for the employee it is difficult, to do so.  I hope most people who have the power of termination feel that way.  Yet, we’ve had some […]

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Live a Little – Hawai’ian style

David and I have visited Hawai’i several times. It is one of our favorite places and somewhere I would enjoy making my home. I learned a lot on our trips to Hawai’i, including that the rainbows for which it is famous are possible only because, you guessed it, it rains a lot, daily it seems. […]

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Living a little is a concept some people don’t appreciate until it is too late.  The ability to live a little is probably one of the primary reasons Melissa and I enjoy owning our own company.  We frequently build a little “living” into our “working.”  Very often, this involves exploring a venue where we are […]

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Better Not Look Down

I had the privilege of seeing the late, great, B. B. King perform in concert on many occasions. He was a source of inspiration to me for many reasons, including his commitment to keeping the blues alive. One of my favorite songs of his, written by Will Jennings and Joe Sample, is “Better Not Look […]

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As anyone who reads our posts knows, song lyrics are a part of our outlook on the world.  When I read Melissa’s post, and comments of those who live their lives in the past, I immediately thought of “Living in the Past” (Jethro Tull) and Bruce Springsteen’s anthem “Glory Days.”  But more so, I thought […]

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Managing Expectations

This is the third post in a series on professionalism. This one is about making “keepable promises” with regard to deadlines and deliverables. We, at Magnus, work in a world with many deadlines; very often, these are deadlines beyond the control of our clients. That is, judges set trial dates and discovery deadlines with which […]

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I recently observed my 50th anniversary of employment.  Having lost my father at an early age, I had to work in order during high school to help my mother with our household expenses.  In 50 years of working, I can proudly say that I have never, ever, missed a deadline or failed to deliver my […]

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Be Professional

This is a topic I’ve had on my “to be written” list for a long time. I’m prompted to write it now based on having been on the client side of working with a lawyer. Having been the client of lawyers on several occasions, I can say I much prefer the relationship in which the […]

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What does it mean to conduct oneself with professionalism?  Professionalism, in my opinion, does not equate with wearing an expensive suit, working in a high rise office building with a scenic view, or many of the other outward, but superficial indicators of success.  Recently, David and I spent a few days in Merida, Mexico.  We […]

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Biggest Marketing Changes in 30 Years

Recently, Melissa and I have been talking with a long time client about an issue we have, and he has, identified as being a challenge for us, and him, as a trial lawyer/mentor. That is, the “new generation” of litigators/trial lawyers lack experience with trial consultants. In a recent, eye-opening, conversation that included his young […]

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The current generation of associate attorneys and their lack of awareness of the existence of trial consultants reminds me of the years I worked as an adjunct professor.  (As a side note, for many years after I earned my Ph. D., I had 2 jobs, a full time job in the corporate world and a […]

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Litigation Management Success Tips

I am a bit behind in my reading and I just finished a September 2020 CLM Magazine article by James McKeown entitled Rules of the Road: Five Tips for Successful Claims and Litigation Management. Mr. McKeown wrote this article aimed at claims professionals and the attorneys involved in the defense of claims. His 5 tips […]

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Magnus’ original slogan was “Reducing the uncertainty of litigation.”  There are numerous uncertainties in the world of litigation, however, an astute law professor, the late McKinley Smiley, advised us to change our slogan because many attorneys are not uncertain about anything.  They may be wrong, but they are certain.  This also applies to insurance adjusters, […]

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Why I’m a social psychologist

In my almost 4 decades of being a social psychologist, few people have asked me why I decided on a career in social psychology. Maybe it’s not too interesting to find out why people choose a career, maybe there’s something else to discuss, or maybe the topic never occurred to the people with whom I […]

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Melissa told me the story of why she chose social psychology not long after we met.  The number of social psychologists are but a fraction of the total number of psychologists and are not what one usually thinks of when thinking of psychologists.  Clinical psychologists, like TV’s Dr. Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) are much more […]

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