Archive | Small Business Success

Do You Still Need to Practice?

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 29, 2021

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Research, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

Recently, I remarked to my bass guitar teacher, Phill Fest, that many of my friends question my need to take bass lessons, due to the fact I have been playing the bass guitar for over 20 years. (This was the subject of a previous post, in which I mentioned that, although I have been playing […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 29, 2021

I took piano lessons as a child, but fishing seemed much more fun than piano, so I didn’t play piano long! But, call it what you want, practice, playing, fishing, getting better, and staying strong at anything takes time and effort. I’ve written about Dr. Fran Kinne before. She started playing piano at age 3 […]

Thou shalt not smoke

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 24, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Common Courtesy, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success

Just when you think you’ve experienced it all…well, then, something new happens. Magnus moved into our current office a few months ago. We were in the old one for over 24 years and the new one is definitely an improvement over the prior office, in most ways. The new office is in a 2 story, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 24, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Common Courtesy, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success

Magnus’ former office building offered few opportunities for interaction with the other occupants of the building, which is a small, 1 story structure with 4 individual office suites. Although the on site property manager smokes cigarettes, he is always polite enough to smoke outside. For the entire time Magnus has been in business, we never […]

The Destruction of Goodwill

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 22, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success

Negativity bias has a long history of research within social psychology. Negativity bias refers to the tendency of many people to assign greater importance to negative information than positive information. Considerable research has revealed that negative adjectives and descriptions contribute more to people’s overall impressions of others than positive adjectives and descriptions. It is important […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 22, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success

Goodwill can be fleeting. I am thinking about some other recent interactions and encounters where it has disappeared quickly. A fast food restaurant which forgets to include the dipping sauces, or hands out sub standard (for them) food comes to mind. Another restaurant which has great Vietnamese food but frequently gets the take out order […]

Technology is Great…until it isn’t

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 17, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

We rely on technology in today’s world. Some tech is life or death; some of it just seems that way. After my last post, one might understand my frustrations with technology – the loss of data with a server crash is very painful. And, even after supposed recovery of the data, we find ourselves spending […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 17, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

One of my friends recently asked me to fix her computer. She was surprised when I told her I have absolutely no idea how to fix computers, phones, tablets, or any other electronic devices. She remarked that, because I am so smart, she thought fixing a computer must be simple for me! I wish! Given […]

Colossal Technology Failure

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 10, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

When you run a business, no matter the size, it is almost impossible to “do it all.” For Magnus, that means hiring someone with expertise to manage, process, and report things beyond my, or our, capabilities. A simple example is bookkeeping and accounting services. Another critical service is “Information Technology,” that is, IT. We have […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 10, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success, Workplace Technology

The “colossal technology failure” was, in my opinion, a customer service failure. The relationship of Magnus Research Consultants and its IT provider is a customer-vendor relationship, such that, as the IT’s provider’s customer, Magnus is entitled to have its concerns addressed. This being said, in the almost 30 years Magnus has been in business, the […]

Happy Roofers

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 8, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success

On the day I am writing this post, David’s and my roof is in the third day of being removed, in preparation for a new roof to be installed. Although we have been through this process in the past, in 2005, when we lost the roof on our previous house during Hurricane Wilma, our current […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 8, 2021

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success

This whole re-roofing process has been an experience. The happy roofers part makes some of it into a positive one. I’ve never seen anything like it. The energy of these guys after 12 hours in the hot sun, on a roof, is inspiring. The work is incredibly hard. The materials are heavy, and what we […]

Hire a Great Attorney

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 1, 2021

Category: Business Relationships, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success

Here is some free advice: When you, or someone close to you, is in serious trouble, legally speaking, hire a great attorney. This seems pretty straightforward, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Hiring a great lawyer is different from hiring a good lawyer, or a lawyer who advertises on the nightly […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 1, 2021

Category: Business Relationships, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Small Business Success

Hiring an expert, a professional of any sort, has a degree of risk. For finding and hiring plumbers and air conditioning businesses, there are resources like Yelp and Angi (formerly known as Angie’s List). For lawyers, doctors, and trial consultants, these resources, including review based processes, are limited, or non-existent. In the case of hiring […]

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 […]

Retainers

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 13, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Relationships, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Call it a deposit; call it a retainer. Magnus doesn’t start work without one (except in rare circumstances beyond the scope of this post). We need money, we want money; importantly, other people want money. We learned, the hard way, that clients need to “show us the money.” One of our first cases blew up […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 13, 2021

No one works for free. By definition, work is performed in exchange for compensation. (The obvious exceptions, such as slavery, human trafficking, etc., are beyond the scope of this post.) The fact that one of the largest law firms in the U.S.A., as well as its client, one of the largest corporations in the world, […]

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 […]

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Archive | Small Business Success

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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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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