Leadership for Lawyers

#76 Blawg Review: David Maister

Thank you, David, for covering Leadership For Lawyers in the most recent Blawg Review.  David covered many blogs which deal with law firm management, leadership, marketing and strategy in Blawg Review #76.   It is a wonderful compilation of leadership and strategy blogs, with insightful commentary by David.

Marketing Partner Forum 2007

West Legal Works has announced the date of the 2007 Marketing Partner Forum to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Carlsbad California on Jan 25 and 26, 2007.  Read the press release and go to West Legal Works for more information.  I'll be speaking on a panel or two on leadership and innovation.   The keynote speaker is Alan Webber, founder of Fast Company Magazine and editor of the Harvard Business Review.

Marketing Directors Institute 2006

The Marketing Directors Institute will be held Oct 12-14 in Phoenix Arizona.  MDI is the best training for marketing directors, managers, and coordinators around.  Wendy Bernero is the course director.  Every year she enlists the best faculty imaginable to mentor a tutor an intimate group of participants.  MDI is based on a case-study model, interspersed with insightful instruction on law marketing core skills.  Small groups develop a marketing plan for an imaginary firm, and present it to a fake management committee. 

For registration and more information, go to http://www.marketingdirectorsinstitute.com.

Did I mention the Institute is at the famous Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Biltmore Hotel?

Teaching and Leading

Noel Tichy writes about "The Mark of a Winner" in the Fall 1997 edition of Leader to Leader.  In his article, he connects good teaching with effective leadership.  Here are three of his suggestions.

"The ability to develop the leadership of others requires three things: a teachable point of view, a story for your organization, and a well-defined methodology for teaching and coaching."   Read the article here.

Another failing grade

I don't know what people are trying to tell me, but this afternoon I received more than a dozen emails with a link to an new ABA article on client satisfaction.  The article quotes a recent BTI survey stating that only 30% of in-house counsel are satisfied with their outside counsel:

"Some 70 percent of corporate counsel surveyed—most from Fortune 1000 companies—were dissatisfied with their primary law firms. A little more than half of the corporate counsel reported they had replaced or demoted at least one of their primary law firms in the 18 months prior to the survey—largely without any more notice than a reduction in assignments.

The survey was conducted by BTI Consulting Group, a Wellesley, Mass.-based market research and management consulting firm. The results were drawn from more than 200 interviews between July and October 2005 with corporate counsel at large and Fortune 1000 companies across more than 15 sectors, including banking, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and high-tech. "  - ABA Journal e-report

Doubt the numbers?

According to the 2005 ACCA/Serengeti poll of GC's:

"If outside firms do not meet expectations, in-house counsel are prepared to take action, with more than half of respondents (50.7%) indicating that they terminated relationships with at least some of their law firms during 2004. The primary reasons for termination remained the same as previous years: lack of responsiveness, too high fees/costs, and poor quality work/results." -- Serengeti Web site

On the ACCA.com web site, I found a recent (2005) survey illustrating 87% of in-house counsel have retained NEW counsel over the past year and 60% have fired primary counsel over the past year.

Let's check in with Inside Counsel (formerly Corporate Legal Times) for their survey of GC's:

"21% gave their law firms an "A".
70% gave them a "B".
8% gave them a "C".
1% gave them a "D".

Then, Inside Counsel asked law firms how they rank their relationship with inside counsel:

"52% rated it an "A"
25% rated it a "B"
7% rated it a "C".

What we have here, is a failure to communicate.

It gets better.  IC asked both inside and outside counsel if they thought client service has improved over the past five years.  68% of law firms said they agreed that service has improved, but only 32% of inside counsel saw improvement.   34% of in-house counsel plan on firing one or more of their outside firms in 2006. 

Marcie Borgal, a principal with BTI, shared her thoughts on the recent survey in an article in the Complete Lawyer.  It's worth reading the whole article.  She concludes with:

"What Clients Want In 2006:

The following is a list of clients’ most pressing needs and concerns, based on BTI’s research with more than 400 corporate counsel at large and mid-sized organizations nationwide. Keep in mind that client needs change every 18 – 24 months and be sure to stay in tune with your clients’ specific demands to avoid the pitfalls of declining satisfaction.

1. More value from law firms
2. Be in compliance
3. Preventative legal strategies
4. Streamlined operations
5. Alignment between business and legal goals
6. Document management solutions
7. Proactive education and advice
8. Litigation management improvements
9. Reduced risk
10. Practical business advice

The key to improving client satisfaction is in every client interaction. The professional services firms (including a handful of law firms) that have mastered client service successfully embed the above principles and tactics into their culture and daily lives.

Start small, add as you can and always remember the age-old truism, clients first."
-  TheCompleteLawyer.com

So, what does this have to do with leadership?

All of this news would be shocking, if we didn't hear the same feedback year after year, report after report.  The solution to improved client service won't be found in creative ideas, radical innovation, or technological improvements.  It can only improve through cultural change in law firms, instigated and led by visionary and strong leaders who are willing to challenge the 'silo' mentality of most firms and re-align EVERYTHING the firm does to serve the client.   

What are you going to do to change your culture, and align it to your clients?

David Whyte in Denver, again

Corporate poet and leadership guru David Whyte will speak in Denver on Sept 21, 2006.  Go to montview.org  for more information. 

If you are in Colorado, it is worth hearing and seeing David in person.

Giving & Receiving Feedback

Peter McLaughlin has a wonderful article on giving and receiving feedback.

Here are his suggestions:

Giving Feedback

• Ask permission to give feedback. If appropriate, set a favorable time and location. Allow no distractions or interruptions.
• Set a tone of energy and optimism. Consciously assume an attitude that embraces both candor and sensitivity. If it’s going to be a difficult conversation, plan for it by gathering all necessary information and rehearsing what you want to communicate. Cultivate a positive emotional state by straightening up your posture, breathing deeply, and speaking in a natural tone of voice.
• When sharing feedback, focus on specific situations and behavior, rather than delving into psychoanalysis. Talk to your direct report or co-worker (or boss!) how their decisions affect other people, and how their actions affect business results.
• Show appreciation and say thank you. Yes, your colleagues and employees are adults who get paid to do their job. But to believe that expressing praise isn’t important is to vastly underestimate the human craving for appreciation.
• Confront non-performance. Take a hard look at reality together, and make it clear that change is necessary. Get them talking about how they intend to improve. Agree on outcomes and timelines. Set different consequences for different levels of performance.
• Remember it’s a dialogue, not a monologue. Ask questions and listen attentively to answers. Offer suggestions and support. Jointly consider options. Pay attention to the unique talents of those you’re giving feedback to, and if possible, frame solutions that leverage their strengths.
• Encourage and energize. Some feedback discussions won’t turn out to be fun encounters. But if managed skillfully, the majority of feedback conversations can leave people feeling fired up…rather than beaten up.

Receiving Feedback

• Ask for feedback. Top performers are hungry for feedback – even critical feedback – because getting feedback on your work performance is essential for your learning and growth. Make a habit of asking: “how’m I doing?” Help build a feedback-rich environment within your team and department.
• Recognize personal feedback preferences. Each person has a different style of giving and receiving feedback. Pay attention to the person offering feedback, and frame your response in the most effective way possible.
• Set your attitude and emotions. Many feedback conversations can be difficult – especially when you’re receiving feedback that is critical of your performance. Consciously adopt an attitude of openness and composure. Drop the anger and defensiveness. View feedback as a gift. Make it your motto: I Love Feedback.
• Practice effective listening. When receiving feedback, give your full attention to the person you’re conversing with. Listen wholeheartedly, ask questions, clarify ambiguous matters, make sure you understand their points. Don’t interrupt the person speaking, or shut down because you don’t like what you’re hearing.
• Handle feedback effectively when you disagree. Decide if you want to think about the feedback you receive, or if you want to discuss it right away. Don’t shy away from tough conversations. Focus on facts and specifics, discuss potential options and resolutions. If the disagreement is serious enough, seriously consider alternative roles or positions.

Peter McLaughlin is the author of CatchFire and a renowned speaker on performance topics. This article is copyright Peter McLaughlin, all rights reserved. For free articles, visit www.petermclaughlin.com

InnovAction 2006

Long weekend reading:

InnovAtion 2006 is Out!  The College of Law Practice Management has published the inaugural issue of InnovAction, a 100 page online book on innovation in law firms. 

The book features articles by
-  David Maister
-  Silvia Coulter
-  Bruce MacEwen
-  Patrick McKenna
-  Gerry Riskin

A Roundtable on Innovation in Billing, Client Relations, Management, Marketing, and Talent with:

-  Merrilyn Astin Tarlton
-  Simon Chester
-  Matt Homann
-  Dennis Kennedy
-  Dan Pinnington

And success stories of:

-  Blank Rome
-  Bowman & Brooke
-  Bryan Cave
-  Nicholas Critelli
-  DLA
-  Halleland Lewis Niland & Johnson
-  Holland & Hart
-  Morrison & Foerster
-  Pinsent Masons
-  Simpson Grierson
-  Sughrue Mion
-  Wragge & Co. 

It  is beautifully produced by Greenfield/Belser and edited by Jordan Furlong, editor of the Canadian Bar Journal. 

Read it here:             http://www.colpm.org/pdf/innovaction_emagazine.pdf

Ideas

Maybe you are seeking an irresistible marketing hook or a knock-your-socks-off client service concept. Perhaps your ambitions are more practical, like how to totally reenergize your staff after a four-month trial or a never-ending closing. You need more than a typical thought. You need a really good idea. No, you need a great idea. But where do great ideas come from? And how can you get more and still better ones? Great ideas have three important components:

Ideation
It’s the concept, the spark and the “idea” of the idea.

Inspiration
It’s the motivation, the energy or the creative force that moves the idea through to completion.

Implementation
It’s the only way to realize the idea, even if it entails—which it often does—a series of failures before the idea sees the light of day.

GoCakeGo.com

A while back we got a phone call, "Help!  I need to send a birthday cake to someone in Miami TOMORROW.  And it's got to be a great cake, too."

We went to GoCakeGo.com to order the cake.  They will ship a cake and a mini party anywhere in the United States (stay tuned for global delivery).  In the trademark green box you will get a cleverly wrapped cake, confetti, matching plates and napkins, and even a knife to serve the cake. 

The cakes are delicious, big enough for ten people or so, and rich enough so that even small slices are satisfying.  The website also has a unique feature. In an e-vite sort of way, you can invite other people by email to send a birthday (or congratulation, etc...) greeting to your special person.  The birthday recipient will get an email with a link to a custom web page full of well wishing and congrats.  Mix the two - a great cake and an on line party - and you get a unique way to make someone's day. See this example.

I think this would be a great way to say 'thank you' to a client, referral source, fellow attorney, managing partner, or, say, a marketing person who just helped you with that big RFP.

"It's not a party until the green box shows" claims the web site.