Much of my practice is coaching Managing Partners, so believe me when I tell you I’ve heard and seen it all. This includes helping MPs to deal with the many different tactics their Partners and Associates might throw at them. On reflection, it struck me that sometimes, managing a law firm is a bit like [...]
I recently listened to a podcast called “Fail Better” featuring actor David Duchovny interviewing accomplished individuals and talking about how important failure can be. In this episode, he was interviewing Freakonomics writer and podcaster Steven Dubner and they posed the question: why is it that failure is the best lesson; why do we seem to [...]
Biden held onto leadership as long as he could. But when it became apparent that he had lost the faith of his party, and that he couldn’t possibly beat Trump in the Presidential election, he was convinced to step down. There can be tremendous strength in quitting a strategy, and trying something different. Lawyers, and [...]
Currently, Prime is running a documentary on this famous flight demonstration team from the US Navy and Marine Corps. You might have seen them (or their Canadian counterparts, the Snowbirds) perform at an airshow. The documentary highlights the selection process, training, and performance pace of the team over a one-year period. Around the same time [...]
A client once asked me for the best piece of advice I could give a client and I said “listen to me”. But the reality is that my clients probably follow the rule of thirds: one third absolute listen and do what I suggest, a third try it for a while but eventually let their [...]
Aficionados of medical dramas (like me) will recognize this as the adage of the surgeon. It’s their learning curve. See a procedure. Do the procedure. Teach the procedure. They believe that this is the strongest way to learn a new skill in their profession. I think this method would work for lawyers as well, but [...]
I recently heard about this theory from the tech world, but I think it has relevance in the legal environment, as well. When a business first starts, it aims to produce a product or service that its members can feel good about. They want to be proud of what they have created, and the service [...]
Years ago, when I served as the President of the Legal Marketing Association, I would get antsy if I looked around the table during board meetings, and all 12 of us were completely on-side with a new idea or project. I knew it probably meant that we weren’t being critical enough. So, I would stop [...]
When I give presentations, I’m often asked “what is the biggest contributor to a law firm’s business success?” There are so many possible answers to that question, but I know those who know me would guess I would say “planning”. Yes, I do heavily endorse personal and business planning. But that wouldn’t be my answer. [...]
(This article first appeared in SLAW). The other day, an international client of mine thinking about re-entering the Canadian marketplace asked me why there was so little loyalty in Canadian law firms these days. He was referring to the amount of lawyer churn in most law firms. I don’t believe this issue is limited to [...]