In the olden days we weren’t allowed to say the M word (marketing) within 50 meters of a law firm because it was considered too unprofessional and trendy. Now, Partners throw around the B word (branding) like there’s no tomorrow! Yet in my experience, very few lawyers understand what branding is, why it works, and [...]
The ability to rise in a law firm is – let’s face it – very closely related to productivity. But to move into the real power positions of any organization, including a law firm, you need to show that you can think and act strategically. What would this look like in practice? At a recent [...]
Have you ever been frustrated by not being able to do everything you set out to do in a given day? Einstein might have the answer to your problems. As I’ve mentioned here before, in my coaching practice I predominantly help clients to understand and fix self-sabotage: the many ways in which they are causing their [...]
(A guest post from PR expert Deborah Folka). “So, what is PR exactly?” This is a question that can confound even the most articulate and experienced public relations practitioner. And that’s because it means different things to different people and PR is a very broad field. But let’s try to get some easy definitions into [...]
Social Media Camp is the national conference on social media that attracts international speakers and attendees. At this year’s event, virtually all presenters agreed that images and video are taking over the internet. What do they mean by this? Consider the following: YouTube is now the second largest search engine - just behind Google [...]
What does a musical suite have to do with coaching? As the Beattles would say, it's all about a little help from your friends. My clients are very capable and intelligent lawyers, so they don’t engage me because they are unable to run a business. They simply want their efforts to result in a better business. [...]
Many lawyers don’t have a productivity problem, they have a discipline problem. Here’s how to overcome it. Ancient Greek philosophers focussed on understanding how the mind and body works developed special words to describe unique human states. For example, the word “Akrasia” refers to the state of knowingly acting against one’s best interests. It’s that [...]
Better business results can only be achieved by a change in process or behaviour, so change management is mandatory in law firms. Yet ironically, partners are the ones who most often stand in the way of change. Law firms hire me to help create a strategic plan for their future. They also hire me [...]
For those who have to do BD but don’t like it (or don’t do it well), here are seven steps to help you do it better. Some of my coaching with lawyers is around business development techniques, which is essentially “selling”. Many lawyers hate that word and the concept generally, but most admit that it’s a [...]
A guest post from PR and communications expert Deborah Folka - on how to deal with particularly difficult external communications issues... While there are many times you seek attention from your community, the media and the greater public, there are also times when you just don’t want to talk about it. When your organization has a situation [...]