Thursday, December 14th, 2006
There’s a firm in Texas I’ve had my eye on for a while – Munsch Hardt Kopft & Harr. I met their talented Marketing Manager, Maria Lianez, at a TAGLaw legal network conference earlier this year. What struck me about the firm is their fresh approach.
This morning I took a moment to visit their site and came across an excellent article by their chairman and CEO Glenn Callison that was published in the Texas Lawyer journal. The title “Five Lessons For New Managing Partners” caught my attention. Here is a quick summary of Callison’s top top five points:
1. Know who you are – conduct a complete evaluation of the firm’s two key assets: people and relationships.
2. Determine where you are going – engage in top to bottom strategic planning.
3. Understand how the firm measures success – use several measurement tools AND examine subjective elements such as client statisfaction and firm morale.
4. Realize leadership is by consensus and example – in law firms, in particular small to mid-sized firms, effective leadership comes through continuous communication and leading by example “rather than any power inherent in the CEO or managing partner position”.
5. Accept that change is constant – the non-stop stream of change is what quickly fills a managing partners cup to overflowing. Associates leaving the firm, associates joining the firm, compensation issues, technology issues, and 101 other necessary and time consuming bits of business can rapidly overwhelm new managing partners. Callison’s advice for the new managing partner? “Manage by looking forward, not by looking in the rear-view mirror.”
One of my favorite sections of the article is point three. It is often easy to confuse the measurement with the object measured. Law firms are complex organisms. To really begin to understand how they are working, it is crucial to measure them in a variety of ways and over at least a five year period of time (if possible), and to consider these results along with more subjective information such as client satisfaction, retention issues, office morale. Look for the gaps between what is being said and what is actually being done.
My thanks to Glen Callison for sharing these gems with us.
Posted in Leadership, Strategy | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006
‘Tis the season for client entertaining, gift giving, and social functions. Here’s a quick list of some great resources for anyone looking for pointers on how to make the most of the season.
First, visit Allison Shield’s holiday networking tips.
Next, take in Tom Kane’s Holiday Gift Ideas.
And finally for holiday card innovation read Seth Godin’s post on the Young Issac cheque is in the mail holiday cards – truly an innovative approach to the season of giving!
Posted in Client Relations, Marketing | Permalink | 1 Comment »Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
When it comes to clients the question to ask yourself at each point of interaction is: “How am I showing this person that I care about them, and appreciate their business?”
I just received a great email from a lawyer I know about holiday cards. Of all the lawyers at his firm, his stack of cards is the tallest. He sends out hundreds of cards. Even though he has so many, he takes the time with each and every one to write a few personal lines, extend an invitation, and wish the family well. Every year he gets calls from his clients and contacts thanking him for his card. And every year he receives a number of new files as a result of the holiday card contact.
It’s easy at this time of year to think of cards as a meaningless ritual, another chore to be dealt with, but it is essential to keep the purpose in mind. These cards are about showing our contacts, clients, and friends that we care and appreciate them. Make the most of the opportunity!
Posted in Client Relations | Permalink | No Comments »Friday, December 8th, 2006
David Maister’s December 6, 2006 post shines a bright light on the value of caring when it comes to leadership. He quotes Craig Weatherup, former Chairman and CEO of The Pepsi Bottling Group:
“People trusted me, he said, because they knew me. They knew I cared about them. You can’t fake that, he said. That’s what gave me the power to lead.”
Reading Maister’s post I immediately thought of a senior associate at a big Canadian firm who I had dinner with this week. She’s quiet, soft spoken, and a highly sought after deal maker.She described to me her approach to legal work, caring about her clients. Connecting with her clients. Listening to her clients. She doesn’t network much, nor take her clients to hockey games, instead, her caring and authentic approach (and hard work!) earns her their trust and, no surprise, the deals flood in.
Naturally she is a skilled mentor too.
We all have our own personal style when it comes to marketing and business development but it is our values that make up the hard foundation that our professional careers are built upon.
Fake it and you will never make it.
Posted in Leadership | Permalink | No Comments »Monday, December 4th, 2006
When I think about the successful people I know, I find they share something in common, they love what they are doing. My next door neighbor is John MacDonald, one of Canada’s great artists. He’s one of those artists who art dealers line up to represent. I visited him on the weekend and he talked about painting. And about how when he’s working in the studio, he becomes utterly focused on painting, the painting, the oil paint and the brush stroke and the moment where they meet with the canvas. Everything else drops away. That’s passion.
Then I think about some of the great lawyers I know, and the passion that underlies their practices. For one partner it is working out the complexities a deal. For another it is defending a complex case.
Adam Pekarsky at Fraser Milner Casgrain said it best. At the LMA Vancouver’s September event, Adam talked about the vital connection between passion and success. He told us the story of when he was an up and coming associate. Late one night, he and some others were hard at work on a particularly thorny deal, when the lead partner called in from home in the dead at night. The partner was excited. He had been lying in bed thinking about the deal and had come up with a creative solution. Adam could hear the passion in his voice. And in that moment Adam realized that he would never feel that excited about a deal, not even close. He understood in that instant that he would never become a star securities lawyer. Not because he wasn’t smart enough, or couldn’t work hard enough, but because he would never care enough.
That realization took Adam on a journey that lead him to what he does today. He is the Director of Professional Development and Recruiting for Western Canada for Fraser Milner Casgrain and his passion is for helping associates to succeed.
If you don’t know where your passion lies, don’t worry. It takes most of us many decades to figure it out. Watch for the sign posts, those moments at work when you feel the most engaged, when the rest of the world drops away. Examine those things you value most in life. Have a look at Peter Senge’s book The Dance of Change: The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations, and his section on personal mastery. He has some useful exercises for discovering passion and purpose.
Passion leads to excellence. Without it you can still succeed. With it you will shine.
Posted in Passion | Permalink | 1 Comment »
