Archive | Employment

GPS (orientation x3)

In medical settings, and in psychological assessments, patients are almost always asked 3 important questions: (1) Who are you/What is your name?; (2) Where are you, right now?; and (3) What time is it? People with cognitive impairment are often unable to answer these simple questions and sometimes, they become confused as to why they […]

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Oriented X3.  I’ve certainly seen this concept utilized in the medical arena, especially as it relates to cognitive testing.  But, in thinking of the broader context about which Melissa writes, it occurs to me that there is another way we commonly relate to this concept.  That is, “the lights are on, but nobody’s home.”  We […]

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Around by Tampa

As some readers of David’s and my posts know, I am a fourth generation Floridian who was “born and raised” in Fort Myers, on Florida’s Gulf coast. Fort Myers was a small town when I grew up and many things we needed, for example, specialty medical care, were not available there. My family spent quite […]

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I’m from the east coast of Florida, Jacksonville to be specific. Before I met Melissa, I had been to Tampa and a few other west Florida cities only a few times. I certainly knew the basic geography, but not necessarily the most efficient routes to get to places like Ft. Myers, or even Tampa. So, […]

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What is cognitive psychology?

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On August 30, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of perceiving, remembering, and thinking about the world.  Cognition includes all sensory inputs, such as vision and hearing.  In the early days of cognitive psychology, beginning with Ulric Neisser’s 1967 book, titled, Cognitive Psychology, sensations and perceptions were studied via experiments, skilled observation, and, to a lesser extent, introspection. […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On August 30, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

Similar to my learning curve when meeting Melissa regarding social psychology, I also had to try to understand cognitive psychology.  I am glad today that I have some degree of understanding of both fields, given how much impact they have in our trial consulting work.  The truth is that knowledge of both fields expands far […]

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What is social psychology?

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On August 23, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

When I tell people I am a social psychologist, I usually have to follow up with an explanation of what it means to be a psychologist who specializes in something other than counseling people with mental health issues (the purview of clinical psychologists). Social psychology is the scientific study of people in groups. Social psychology […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On August 23, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

I admit that when Melissa and I met, I did not know how to define the sub fields of psychology.  I took a general psychology course in college and considered minoring it psychology, but with 3 majors I didn’t have time to add it.  However, as I got to know Melissa and learned more about […]

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Sharpening the Saw

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On August 18, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Small Business Success

The last of the 7 habits discussed in the 1989 book by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is entitled “Sharpening the Saw.” This habit has been summarized as focusing on continuous growth and improvement. Dr. Covey focused on 4 areas of self-renewal: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. I read […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On August 18, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Small Business Success

It is an irony of modern litigation that “trial lawyers” rarely go to trial. In fact, many of Magnus’ clients, all of whom are trial lawyers, have not had a jury trial in several years. Not only are these attorneys in danger of losing their edge in the courtroom due to an absence of practicing […]

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Don’t rely on memory; make lists

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On July 28, 2016

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

It sometimes surprises me that things I find very basic are not obvious to new hires. I know that my brain cannot possibly keep track of all I need to do such that I have long used lists. I recall being very organized in college about classes, assignments, etc., and perhaps not everyone has to […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On July 28, 2016

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

People vary in their memory function, just as they vary on other personal dimensions. There are some people, like me, who remember most things, in great detail and with accuracy; then, there are other people who don’t (or can’t) remember much of anything. Most people, of course, are someplace in the middle of these two […]

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When employees become scrap paper

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 2, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

I have to start this post by saying that I hate to waste paper which kills trees, but I also hate to waste resources for which I have already paid. If there is some way to benefit, even at a reduced value level, I try to not waste green paper either. I was thinking about […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 2, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees

My mom was the first recycling aficionado I knew. She was also fond of the expression that something was “not worth the paper it was printed on.” I guess the paper referenced in her expression is money, meaning that whatever Mom was disparaging was, in her opinion, worthless. I would not go as far as […]

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What if client isn’t ready; good; prepared; is drunk

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 26, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

In a quarter century of working with attorneys as our clients, while conducting mock trials and other forms of research, we have observed some great attorney presentations, some average ones, and occasionally, fortunately rarely, some very poor presentations. One of the worst things that can happen in our world of conducting mock trials is that […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 26, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

Fortunately, the majority of attorneys who retain Magnus for one or more research services are professional in their conduct, including taking our role in their case seriously. These attorneys are the backbone of our existence and without them, we would not be in business. There are many more attorneys, of course, who are “average” in […]

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Are our Posts Negative? It is a matter of perspective.

Someone mentioned to me recently that, based on reading our posts, it seems like Melissa and I have had lots of negative experiences. My friend mentioned this out of a concern that it might reflect poorly on us that we have these difficulties. I see her point, but, in discussions with other small business owners, […]

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No one has ever accused me of being a Pollyanna. (For those readers who don’t know the meaning of this expression, it means someone who thinks good things will always happen and finds something good in all experiences. It originated in 1913, in a novel of the same name by Eleanor Porter.) I believe some […]

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Be nice to the Assistants and Associates

When we work with a trial team our client is the lead attorney. Though we own the company, we know the lead attorney is our boss, at least as far as that case is concerned. And, that boss is almost always the boss of many other people. Some trial teams have lots of lawyers, paralegals, […]

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I have never understood why some people have only enough niceness and courtesy to bestow on the people at “the top,” leaving none for the rest of those with whom they interact.  It is not the case, in my opinion, that there is a finite quantity of pleasant emotions, such that they have to be […]

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