Archive | Managing Employees

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 […]

I’m a Professional Judge of Character – Trust my 1st Impression

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 30, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Business Relationships, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

There have been several notable examples of my, and others’, questioning my first impressions of someone. On all of these occasions, my first impression was correct and unfortunately, questioning it caused negative turns of events. In that, as a psychologist, I am what most people would consider “a professional judge of character,” I have tried […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 30, 2021

One aspect of owning a business never gets easier – hiring. I feel like it is always a gamble. And, I’m apparently not a good gambler because I’ve taken chances on hiring people who turned out to be ill equipped to do our work, or worse, a really bad fit, a bad choice, maybe a […]

Tribute to Willy

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 16, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Business Relationships, Careers, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Work-Life

I am writing this on March 3, 2021, one of the saddest days in the long history of Magnus Research Consultants. Last night, our beloved office dog, Willy, passed away of a brain tumor. Willy was the dog of David’s and my wonderful employee and friend, Megan. For the past 7 years, Willy worked in […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 16, 2021

As you can tell, this dog, Willy, was truly hu(mans) best friend. Willy and Megan were tight – she trained him well. And, he trained her well also. She communicated with him in his language – she knew what he was trying to tell her. Usually things like, pay attention to me, feed me, walk […]

Juggling

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 4, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

I shot a photograph of a juggler a couple years ago when I was wandering the streets of New York City while there to work on a client’s case. My eye was drawn to the colorful balls flying in the air so I walked toward the area behind the main NYC library. Turns out, several […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 4, 2021

Most people have a difficult time “walking in someone else’s shoes.” We live our daily lives, caught up in dealing with our personal issues, rarely giving much thought to what other people are going through. David and I have a dear friend who, for as long as we have known her, has been battling a […]

Ok Boomer

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 26, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Psychology

I have written in previous posts about my experiences with sexism, including the bias that has been expressed toward me as a female bass guitar player. As I have stated, sexism is alive, but not well. I have also mentioned social psychological research on racism and racial prejudice and the negative impact these forms of […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 26, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting Through Life and Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Psychology

It is interesting to think about “Ok Boomer” in the concept of discrimination. Certainly, sometimes it is said in a joking way, light heartedly, but there is an underlying dismissal of the boomer in saying it no matter how funny the speaker thinks it is. And, of course, sometimes it is not said in jest. […]

I’ll ask my parents

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 24, 2020

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, RoadWarrior, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

One source of material for these posts over the years has been the things Melissa and I have heard from employees that took us by surprise. This one is among my favorites, after the fact. We usually hire recent college graduates for our Research Associate position. Many years ago, we hired a typical, fresh from […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 24, 2020

Many people have asked me if I have any kids. I don’t know why they ask this personal question, but I always respond with, “Yes, I have had between 40 and 50 kids; they are of were my employees.” As David said, recent college graduates have been Magnus’ Research Associates since we founded Magnus in […]

Muster in an Emergency

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 15, 2020

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Jury Research, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, RoadWarrior, Small Business Success, Travel, Trial Consultants

After many, many years of doing trial consulting work all over the place, we have amassed our share of travel war stories. One detail that readers of our posts will have noted is that we try to learn from everything that happens in order to do better the next time and we try to train […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 15, 2020

The concept of what it means to be a member of a team is lost on some people. In today’s world of “it’s all about me, myself, and I” or, as George Harrison wrote, “I Me Mine,” some people are too busy thinking about maximizing their best interests to realize that other people are depending […]

Panic codes – “Buddy”

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 8, 2020

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Getting the Job Done, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

This is the 3rd and final post about panic at the mock jury research. Things happen. Bad things. Some are technical, some may involve the client, and some may involve the mock jurors. But, there are things about which some people would panic, which are better discussed outside the presence of the clients or mock […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 8, 2020

As David mentioned, we at Magnus had the privilege to work with the late Buddy Payne first, as a client, and then, upon his retirement from the practice of law, as our very own advisor. Although Buddy passed away many years ago, his spirit is still among us, from the beautiful ring he gave me […]

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Archive | Managing Employees

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

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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.

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.

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