Archive | Workplace Technology

Lawyer Egos

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 9, 2017

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

When writing the post about “It ain’t bragging if it is true,” I paused for a minute thinking about how a high impression of oneself – a big ego – is necessary in some settings. Mick Jagger would not be strutting his stuff in front of thousands of people if he didn’t have the ego […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 9, 2017

Category: Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Although my job working for lawyers with big egos can sometimes be challenging, it also provides me with many fun experiences. When I am in the presence of attorneys who have over sized egos, I search for ways to find common ground, as a way to foster rapport with them so that they will know […]

Generational Work Ethics

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 26, 2017

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Managing Employees, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Digressing before I get started, I begin this post by reporting that Melissa and I read many newspapers, magazines and professional publications to stay current. Melissa subscribes to and promptly reads many psychology journals and publications. This post was prompted by a January 2017 Monitor on Psychology article synopsis reporting findings from a meta-analysis of […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 26, 2017

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Managing Employees, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Stereotyping, although it is commonplace, is never a good idea. I will repeat: Stereotyping is never a good idea. Social psychologists, beginning with Dr. Gordon Allport in 1948, have studied stereotypes and their negative impact on decision making in a multitude of contexts. Research on stereotyping has, in general terms, revealed that stereotypes contain a […]

Insights for Success

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 15, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

For many years, Magnus has used “Insights for Success” as a tag line in many of our marketing materials. We have recently reevaluated this concept in the process refining our materials. “Insights for Success” has much meaning, and history, to us. We at Magnus firmly believe that the trial consulting work we do helps clients […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 15, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

As David wrote, “insights for success” has a long history in our company. We have been asked, countless times, for our success rate over the years we have been in business. Although it may appear, on the surface, that measuring our success is an easy task, in reality, defining success has proven to be quite […]

The Psychology of Litigation

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 8, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

This is a topic I came up with because I’ve been thinking about what is it Melissa and I really do as trial consultants and in our company, Magnus Research. We know what we do, but it is sometimes difficult to come up with ways to explain it. And, especially as we encounter lawyers who […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 8, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

My education and training in social psychology was aimed toward the pursuit of a career in academia. However, experiences in graduate school led me to the realization that I would be more suited for a career in applied social psychology (in the “real world”) than becoming a college professor. My skill set is broad, such […]

What have you got to lose by doing mock jury research?

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 1, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Advance warning, this post is positively self serving to our means of earning a living – trial consulting. Every once in a while, and more often than I think it should happen, I hear comments from prospective clients who say something like “my client or my co-counsel doesn’t think doing mock jury research is really […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 1, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

It is a well known social psychological phenomenon that most people prefer schema congruent information over information that is incongruent with their schemata. (The reader is probably asking himself/herself, “What does this mean, in laypersons’ terms?”.) Most people have a certain way of viewing the world that, for them, is more important than reality, the […]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 24, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Partnerships, Psychology, Small Business Success, Travel, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

This expression which is the title of this post is credited to English author Charles Caleb Colton’s writing in 1820. I don’t feel flattered. To explain, Melissa and I formed Magnus Research Consultants, Inc. in 1993. We worked hard to come up with a name that fit many criteria we established for our new, nameless, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 24, 2016

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Colton about being flattered by imitation. Think about it. Is imitation leather flattering to real leather? Is eating imitation cheese ever a good idea? What exactly is imitation crab imitating? I could go on. When David and I discovered that one of our competitors had copied our name, we were […]

The Psychology of Medical Malpractice

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 17, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

In the September 2016 Monitor on Psychology, there was an article entitled “Medical Errors are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the United States.” My reaction was “WOW”; it’s hard to believe medical errors are responsible for more deaths than respiratory ailments, strokes, Alzheimer’s Disease and are only surpassed by heart disease and cancer. […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 17, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Psychologists who have analyzed data from numerous adverse medical situations have identified 5 types of errors that cause medical mistakes: (1) errors of commission; (2) errors of omission; (3) errors of communication; (4) errors of context; and (5) diagnostic errors. The underlying problems that lead to medical errors have been studied by psychologists because many […]

Working through a hurricane.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 27, 2016

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Here we go again. Water, check. Gasoline for generators, check. Food-Publix, check (store was packed). Propane for grill, check. Checklist checked, check. More to do, check. The waiting begins. As I’m writing this, a tropical storm watch has been issued for our geographic area – the next 3 days will tell what Hurricane Matthew has […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 27, 2016

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Fortunately, South Florida was spared from a recent hurricane. All of the planning, preparing, and shopping were, thankfully, a huge waste of time, in that nothing more than a little wind and rain came our way. David calculated that we each spent 30 hours, 60 hours between the two of us, and probably 20 to […]

Speaking Engagements; You Never Know

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On August 4, 2016

Category: Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

The 1997 book by Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible, is about the differences in marketing a tangible product, the good old generic widget, as compared to selling an intangible product – a service. It is a wonderful book for those of us selling services, like we do as trial consultants. As a working photographer, this […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On August 4, 2016

Category: Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

In the time David and I have co-owned Magnus, I have given hundreds of presentations to audiences ranging from a handful of people in a law firm to hundreds of people in huge hotel ballrooms. Thus far, I have never received any compensation for making one of these speeches. On some occasions, the law firm […]

Educating clients, without alienating them

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On July 14, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

An aspect of our trial consulting business that is sometimes difficult to address is that, as noted in other posts, we have competitors with a wide variety of qualifications, from those like us, with extensive educational backgrounds and degrees, to those with no education beyond high school. Further, some of our competitors are so uneducated […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On July 14, 2016

The title of this post is “Educating Clients, without Alienating Them,” however, there are some clients who, in my opinion, have no hope of becoming educated about the reasons why they should hire my company over one of our unqualified competitors, such that I wish the title could be, “Alienating Clients without Educating them.” Some […]

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Archive | Workplace Technology

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Another View

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