Archive | Careers

High Anxiety

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 27, 2021

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Magnus’ clients are attorneys involved in high stakes litigation. Whether they represent the plaintiff(s) or defendant(s), they are under a great deal of pressure to get the best result for their clients. Even when they don’t show it, we know this is a high stress situation. Putting together a mock jury research project is intense. […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 27, 2021

David’s title, “High Anxiety,” instantly reminded me of the 1977 Mel Brooks movie of the same name. However, that’s where the similarity both begins and ends. While Mel Brooks’ movie was a farcical comedy, Magnus’ cases are anything but comedic. Many of our cases are tragic and all of them involve high stakes. The attorneys […]

The Major League

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 25, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

My family is a baseball family. My dad, the late Park T. Pigott, Sr. played baseball, coached baseball, and generally speaking, lived much of his life for baseball. I am not usually fond of sports analogies, however, recent experiences with clients of Magnus Research Consultants have reminded me of baseball. Almost all of Magnus’ clients […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 25, 2021

This minor leaguer experience was one of the strangest situations we have had in years. We had been, to keep up with the baseball analogy, “scouted” by the end client (that is the entity/person paying our bill). Our ability to work with the lawyer was limited until that scouting was completed. Admittedly, this process was […]

Don Williams

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 29, 2021

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Giving Back, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success

Recently, I was “chatting” with a family friend, Don Williams. (Don and my parents have been friends for longer than I’ve been alive. Don calls my Dad “Humman” – his southernized version of Herman.) Our chat was via email and, though it was on an unrelated topic, I starting thinking about how he helped me, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 29, 2021

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Giving Back, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success

David’s parents, Carole and Herman, have (or in Carole’s case, had) some wonderful friends. Herman, like me, has many friends from childhood, including someone with whom he attended kindergarten. Among Carole and Herman’s friends are a tight knit group fondly referred to as “the dinner club.” This group of friends used to go out once […]

Social desirability

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 27, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Jury Behavior, Jury Consultants, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Psychology, Small Business Success

Social desirability has important implications in jury selection. Social desirability refers to the phenomenon of saying or doing something because “everybody else” does. For example, when an attorney or a judge asks a prospective juror whether he/she can put aside all biases, predisposed beliefs, and personal feelings and instead, be an impartial judge of the […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 27, 2021

Answering a question in a socially desirable way implies there is a “right” or expected answer, to some degree. In the basic courtroom questioning of prospective jurors as to whether they “can be fair,” it is pretty obvious that one is not expected to say “no”. Being fair is a fundamental trait that most people […]

Your Momma Doesn’t Work here…

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 22, 2021

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

This topic has been on my list for a long time. It is another example, among many, where Melissa and I have been surprised at the actions of employees and we have learned something along the way. “Your momma doesn’t work here” might be the start of certain admonitions, such as “Your momma doesn’t work […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 22, 2021

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

Readers of David’s and my post may think we sometimes “color the truth” to exaggerate the experiences we have had as employers, small business owners, and consultants with attorneys as clients. We don’t. It’s all true. The truth is, in many instances, more wacky than any story I could invent! I often think of my […]

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: […]

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Archive | Careers

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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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

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

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.

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.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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