Archive | Entrepreneurship

Working in Changing Times

The times, they are a-changin’” said Bob Dylan, in a song of the same name. Oh yes, the times are certainly changing! The times are changing in ways most people could never have imagined. And, the times are changing whether we like it or not. At this point in my long career, I have suddenly […]

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Dylan may have sung that times were changing, but I’d suggest now, that things have changed.  Forever.  In some ways, there is no going back.  Hopefully, lessons we are learning now will make a difference going forward.  A big lesson is that invisible threats like viruses are more lethal than most any weapon of war […]

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Lost Productivity from a Disaster

Everyone has to find a way through disasters. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, these are some of the usual suspects. In 2020, it is a pandemic. I’m writing this in part just to vent about all of the extra work required to get through such things. We at Magnus have been through it multiple times with hurricanes. […]

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In the month since the world closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Magnus, like almost every business worldwide, has been negatively impacted in ways I would never have imagined.  Although we are certainly “all in this together,” I am finding that most people with whom I am in contact are focused on the […]

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Loners Like Alone Time

Some people live alone due to circumstances in their life, for example, the death of a spouse, divorce, being a single parent when the last child moves out of the house, etc. Other people truly like to be alone. George Harrison’s first song, written in 1963, was titled “Don’t Bother Me” and famously contains the […]

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In the current time of forced social distancing, it seems that some people have quickly become more distant than others.  I think of friends who live alone and who, most of the time are happy or comfortable with it.  But, forced isolation for many people has become more constricting.  Under “normal” or at least usual, […]

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Wellness Checks

Wellness checks is something normally thought about to only involve the “homebound” or the elderly, the sick, and the frail. Well, we’re all homebound now, in some way or another, and, while we may or may not be sick, elderly, or frail, we are cloistered in abnormal ways. Quarantine, sequestration, call it what you will, […]

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I am writing this post approximately one month into our social distancing, isolation, quarantine, and solitary confinement situations.  I am a person who has a lot of friends, but as of today, only ONE of my friends, including long time, childhood friends, has contacted me to check on my well being. (This doesn’t include people […]

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COVID-19 was Only One of Many Distractions

How I wish for a workplace free of distractions! On March 12, 2020, when the U.S.A. was still a relatively “normal” place, Magnus conducted a relatively large series of mock trials for a client. Conducting mock jury research requires many days of report writing for me, which necessitates highly concentrated efforts and high level thought […]

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It often amazes me how much work Melissa and I have to do that has nothing to do with being a trial consultant, things which are not productive, and don’t create any revenue.  On this fateful Monday, I found myself seeking out the property manager to report the plumbing problem, then working with him to […]

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If the cake is bad, what good is the frosting?

David and I become inspired to write our blog posts in a variety of ways, including by sources that many people would not find particularly inspiring. As an example, this post was inspired by a fortune cookie that was included in a recent delivery from a local Chinese restaurant. Many so called fortunes found inside […]

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If the cake is bad, what good is the frosting?  I guess this is similar to the adage about not judging a book by its cover.  The book cover, or the frosting, can cover up what is worn or rotten inside.  Cutting the cake, looking under the hood, or beyond a glossy cover, reveals what […]

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We Can’t Make our Clients Do Anything

David and I recently attended a meeting with attorneys and their clients regarding a case for which they were considering retaining Magnus. The clients of the attorneys are a group of wealthy, sophisticated people who are accustomed to getting their way in all aspects of their lives. These individuals are from a variety of professional […]

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Many years ago, after we had completed a mock jury project for a first time client and he had resolved the case, I made a follow up call to him to ask his impressions.  He said everything was great, but he did have one complaint, he said, “You should have made me do this sooner.” […]

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Chopstick solutions

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 2, 2020

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research

I recently had several opportunities to fix a few things around the house. Most recently, it was the flag on the mailbox. These things were small and required me to figure out how to fix them absent specific parts. As it happened, I had some chopsticks, which were part of a Chinese food delivery, available. […]

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David saves almost everything, “just in case” he might need it in the future.  I will give credit to David for his creative use of chopsticks, among other things he has used for non intended purposes.  I have little use for chopsticks.  I do not eat with them.  In fact, I have embarrassed David in […]

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Check SPAM for Treasure

I was recently reminded that email systems are far from infallible. I was purging email in my spam folder when I found an email from a prospective client asking for a proposal for mock jury research. The email was sent via OUR OWN WEBSITE through the “contact us” form. But, despite being sent from my […]

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Until this experience, I have never liked Spam.  When David and I have visited Hawai’i, we noticed the popularity of the canned meat type of Spam, which is prevalent in many restaurants.  But, the kind of Spam to which David refers is the computer variety that most computer users despise for its pesky intrusiveness.  Since […]

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Morning Routine

Woke up, fell out of bed Dragged a comb across my head Found my way downstairs and drank a cup…and so it goes in the daily life of many people. (Hopefully, the readers of this blog know the source for these famous lyrics.) For Melissa and me, there is no downstairs and we don’t drink […]

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Even though I am certain everyone who reads David’s and my posts know the lyrics David quoted at the beginning of today’s post were written by Paul McCartney (and credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney) on the song titled, “A Day in the Life,” I am compelled to give credit where credit is due.  […]

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