2's Company - MagnusInsights.com

About this blog

After more than 25 years operating a trial consulting practice together as co-founding partners of Magnus Research Consultants, Inc. and Magnus Graphics, Inc., and more than 30 years of marriage, Dr. Melissa Pigott and David Fauss decided to share some of their thoughts, experiences, pet peeves, and perspectives on operating a small “mom & pop” business. The intended audience for their writings is other business owners, as well as employees of small businesses. Trial consulting is a professional service business, as was David’s photography business. There are many unique issues faced by professional service providers; Melissa and David share some of their insights on running a successful business.

Dun & Bradstreet

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 14, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Small Business Success

Dun & Bradstreet is a familiar name within the business world. I really don’t know much about D&B, but not long after being in business I was told I needed a D&B DUNS#. I think it must have been needed for some government related work we were doing. The process to register for it was […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 14, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Small Business Success

Dun & Bradstreet is not a familiar entity for many people, including me, who are not “business types” like my partner. In fact, in order to be able to write my part of this post, I had to ask David to explain the purpose of Dun & Bradstreet to me. My familiarity with certain large […]

Boozing it up before lunch – jurors wondering what’s wrong

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 12, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

The vast majority of my clients conduct themselves in a professional manner when we are working together. Then, there are the others, who are anything but professional. My company, Magnus, works with highly skilled attorneys who pay us a handsome amount of money for our consulting services. Usually, they want to take full advantage of […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 12, 2016

Category: Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

I don’t know if there are any jobs for which drinking on the job is appropriate. Maybe wine taster, beer maker, etc., but certainly not anything that requires concentrated effort and attention to detail. And, a mock trial may be a day out of the office and to some, just a play acting exercise, but […]

Sick Hotels

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 7, 2016

Category: Business Travel, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Small Business Success, Travel, Trial Consulting

The majority of our mock jury research is conducted in hotel conference space, or occasionally, a market research facility. Whether or not travel with overnight stays is involved, we conduct mock juries and focus groups in all sorts of venues. Some of these conference rooms are first class grand ballrooms, others are musty meeting rooms […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 7, 2016

Category: Business Travel, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Small Business Success, Travel, Trial Consulting

The original title of this post was “candles and hotel sickness.” David broadened the topic by including other remedies for what we have labeled “hotel sickness,” but I will limit my remarks to the benefits of travel candles. A dear friend of mine, Margie, is married to a wonderful man who, like me, travels frequently […]

Mistrial of mock trial

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On January 6, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

Many people, when I tell them what I do for a living, inform me that I should write a book about my experiences, some of which are funny, others of which are scary, and still others of which are odd, strange, and curious. In this series of posts, I will describe some of my experiences […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On January 6, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting

The role of the “opposing counsel” is critical to our work. We want them to become strong advocates for the other side’s case. They must be strong advocates of the opposing position – a true devil’s advocate in the mind of the actual client. If they are not, the whole process suffers. But, in this […]

Naming the company

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 17, 2015

Category: Business personalities, Getting the Job Done, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success

We are occasionally asked “How did you come up with the name Magnus Research”? The answer is that we struggled for a while with many options. We had lots of factors that played a role in coming up with a name. And, I suppose for many companies, this is an early decision that takes much […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 17, 2015

Category: Business personalities, Getting the Job Done, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success

Although “Pigott Research Services” has a nice ring to it, I shudder to think of the number of times I would have to correct clients’ and vendors’ pronunciation of my last name if David and I had chosen to include it in our company’s name! We gave careful consideration to selecting a name for our […]

Story telling

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 15, 2015

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

One of my responsibilities when helping my clients (all of whom are trial lawyers and litigators) is to suggest ways in which they can tell the story of their case, to captivate the attention of the jury, mediator, arbitrator, or judge. Almost everyone is familiar with story telling as a way of conveying information, but […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 15, 2015

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Trial Consulting, Work-Life

Unfortunately for the characters in the very real life stories surrounding many of the cases we handle, the endings do not result in living happily ever after. Thus, the stories told to our mock jurors are often tragic. But, regardless of the facts of the situation, the way in which the story is told by […]

Organize & Label The Equipment

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 10, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

My years working as a photographer taught me many lessons, some I learned on my own, some I learned from others. I’ve written about one of my photography mentors, Jon Peters, but he was a mentor about small business as much as anything. He also loved his label maker. He labeled everything and numbered duplicate […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 10, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success

I am an extremely organized person. I believe one of the keys to my success is my level of organization. I like my office to be organized, including all of the equipment I co-own with my spouse/business partner, so that it can easily be accounted for. We take inventory of all our office supplies and […]

Adventures

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 8, 2015

Category: Business Travel, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Travel, Work-Life

There are all kinds of adventures in life. Some adventures require travel to faraway places; others take us nearby, to places that are sometimes easily overlooked; while others happen in our back yard. I love adventures and I enjoy planning them, as well as reminiscing about them years afterward. One of the most exciting adventures […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 8, 2015

Category: Business Travel, Careers, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Travel, Work-Life

Starting with the premise that life is an adventure, the question is how adventurous do you want to be? The boating adventure taught us a lesson in planning (and, in our boating skills which were not very strong at the time causing delays in getting underway). But the lessons from being adventurous are a big […]

Watch how many paper clips they buy

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 3, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Travel

Building on my recent post about employees’ shopping issues, I am adding another scenario that has never faded from memory. Again, some things seem so obvious to me, but alas, they are not really obvious to everyone. Many years ago, some of our promotional materials were held together using a paperclip. Because this clip was […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 3, 2015

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Travel

David and I evidently harbor strong resentments against some former employees, particularly those who have wasted our time, money, or both. I am saying this because, years later, we both remember having spent too much money for, of all things, paperclips! Not only did we waste money on paperclips, but we also had another employee […]

My mother

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 1, 2015

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Work-Life

Given that my last post was about my dad, it is logical for this one to be about my mother. The first thing the astute reader will note is my reference to each parent, the informal “dad” and the formal “mother.” Mother was, at most times, a formal person. She considered herself to be a […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 1, 2015

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Work-Life

While I never met Melissa’s father, I met her mother, Leola, very soon after meeting Melissa. And, Melissa’s description of her as formal was certainly on display then. She not only considered herself a “lady,” but a “southern lady” whose routines included daily naps and never wearing pants. Closer in age to my grandparents than […]

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About this blog

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

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

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

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

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.

About Magnus