Archive | Entrepreneurship

What’s the Rush?

Lately, it seems that we have one rush job after another. On the one hand, I’m glad we have jobs of any sort, especially after the impact COVID-19 related chaos on the legal system, and as a result, our business. But, it is a frustration that never diminishes when clients wait to the last minute […]

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As usual, David’s post has reminded me of a song.  As soon as I read the title, “What’s the rush?” I thought of a song by Leon Russell and Marc Benno called “Learn How to Boogie.”  It’s lyrics include:   What’s the hurry? What’s everybody hurrying for? Don’t worry What’s everybody worrying for?   If […]

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Give Someone a Chance

John Lennon wrote a song called “Give Peace a Chance.” It is a great song and it has provided me with considerable inspiration over the years. This post is not about giving peace a chance, however. Instead, it is about giving someone a chance. Who is that someone? It could be someone who is young, […]

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In the early days of Magnus, we made lots of calls on people, never knowing where they would lead.  The visit to Charlie Stiles was one of those and, given Melissa’s connection with him, he was very supportive.  Despite the fact that, as Magnus has evolved, most of our work has been litigation related, in […]

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Exude Confidence/Lean In

I’ve had a few instances in my working life when clients or customers reported to me, or my bosses, that I exude confidence. They were reporting that my performance stood out to them in some way. I’ve had similar experiences with particularly good workers in numerous settings. I suppose, by definition, most people are average, […]

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I am a lot of things, but “average” is not one of them.  Never has been.  Never will be.  I can’t relate to how it must be to be average.  (People who have heard me play the bass guitar may disagree with my statement that I am not average, however, my long time teacher, a […]

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Live Your Life Like Someone Left the Gate Open

I don’t remember where I saw this quote for the first time, but I instantly liked it: “Live your life like someone left the gate open.” I guess there are multiple interpretations of this sentence, however, my view of it is that, as David’s late mother used to say, we should try to “have fun” […]

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For reasons I won’t go into, the timing of my reading of Melissa’s post was, well, timely.  We sometimes have to remind ourselves, and each other, to have fun, find fun where we can, and to leave that gate open to get out and enjoy what there is to enjoy in life.  It might be […]

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Share The Positives

I observed Melissa do something today that is worth comment. She complimented our clients for the professional and supportive ways they have worked with us, and as a team, to prepare for a jury research project. The clients seemed taken aback to hear a compliment, and they were surprised their behavior was noteworthy. It is […]

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I believe in giving credit where and when credit is due.  When I notice something good, I usually say something about it.  In fact, I try, diligently, to compliment people and situations more than I complain.  I have found complaining rarely results in positive attitude or behavior change.  (If you don’t believe me, ask yourself […]

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Fronting Money for Clients

One thing we learned the hard way, many years ago, is that advancing money on behalf a client is risky. On one of our first cases, we were given the verbal go ahead by an associate level attorney whose boss had told him to do so. We were very excited to work with this attorney, […]

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The majority of Magnus’ clients are large corporations, such as insurance companies, financial institutions, and health care conglomerates, all of which have “mega bucks,” especially when compared to our small business.  Because of this, it is quite irksome when Magnus is expected to advance funds to pay our clients’ expenses.  Every time we conduct focus […]

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Old School

In many ways, I, and people like me, are considered “old school” or “retro.” Someone recently complimented me on an Alice Cooper t-shirt I was wearing, saying he really liked its “old school” look. I still use expressions from “back in the day,” such as groovy, psychedelic, cool (instead of hot, meant to describe something […]

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I don’t know when a part of one’s life, bell bottom pants for example, take hold as the norm such that later they become old school.  And, while Melissa is more retro that I am in terms of fashion, etc., she’s newer school in keeping up with modern rock music than am I.  She does […]

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Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I make mistakes, a lot of them. A few minutes ago, David pointed out my most recent mistake, for which I apologized. I almost always take responsibility for my mistakes and I try to correct them when it is possible to do so. Fortunately, none of my mistakes have resulted in seriously negative outcomes for […]

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Some of the lessons learned at the top of my list are not really mistake driven, but lessons learned due to many of the unique aspects of doing trial consulting work, including working with highly successful, demanding clients (attorneys) on difficult and complex cases.  And, further, while we are not doing “rocket science,” there are […]

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Run of the House

I booked a hotel room recently and, while navigating the rates, I came across one that said “run of house.” I know this means “you get what we’ve got left.” It is doubtful that this would ever be an exciting upgrade, but maybe. In my experience, upgrades rarely happen even when I’m paying higher rates. […]

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The expression, “run of the house” does not have a positive connotation for me.  I prefer to know what I am getting and even more than that, I prefer to know I am getting the best I can possibly get.  I dislike most surprises because many people are not as discerning as me, therefore, what […]

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Modern Communications

Writing this post in mid 2022, I want to comment on modern communications technologies. Especially due to the pandemic, the “modern” technologies of cellular telephones and virtual meetings (Zoom, etc.) have become more common in the world of business. This is for better or worse, depending on point of view. These technologies are great because […]

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David spends significantly more time talking on the telephone than I do, but I share his frustrations.  The poor quality of some people’s internet connections make it difficult to have a meaningful telephone conversation.  This is compounded when the conversation is via a platform, such as Zoom, that includes both audio and video components.  Constant reminders […]

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