Does your firm battle with keeping women lawyers? Do you have a transition plan when your lawyers go on maternity leave?

Here is a link to a recently published article on the topic.

http://gemcommunications.ca/articles/TLW June 2010 Leave_Absence.pdf

In order to transform something you must be innovative. Being innovative means doing something first, ahead of your compitition. Lawyers and Law Firms are not known for being first for much. Two books you must read now are "Blue Ocean Strategy", by W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, and "Our Iceberg is Melting", by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber.

In the first book, "Blue Ocean Strategy", it paints a vivid picture of what is possible when you go out and get ahead of your competititon. The second, "Our Iceberg is Meltin" is a very clever story about how to get people to move with you into uncharted territory. The are both quick and valuable reads-enjoy!

Over the last couple of years I have had numerous lawyers approach me after presenting webinars or writing articles. They were looking to take their business development efforts to the next level and wanted to get on our coaching program. After interviewing them and finding them to be ideal candidates, they would approach their firm’s only to get a ‘no’. What? A senior associate or junior partner is willing to invest their time outside of billable hours to build a bigger practice and the firm won’t support this? I would suggest those lawyers take their talent and ambition and find another firm who will value them.

In business it is right to treat marketing as an investment. But is it all the time? Lavish parties and extravagant dinners may not be providing the return on investment that you need. How are you measuring your results? Are you measuring your results? Are your marketing and business development efforts moving people from leads to clients? The answers to these questions will help you determine if your marketing efforts are an expense or an investment.

A while back a client of mine was on the partner track and we were asked to give a presentation to the Canadian Bar Association on how to make partner.

Cut and paste this link into your browser to watch the webinar.

http://cbanational.na3.acrobat.com/p867614671/

Recently I have been in talks with two National Canadian firms. One is investing in their people this year the other is not. Can you guess what the next few years are going to look like for the firm that is investing? Here are some hints: better retention, higher revenues, increased client loyalty, and on it goes. So ask yourself is 2010 going to be the year you go for it or are you going to let the other guys get there first?

With most law firms frozen in their tracks and budgets cut or illiminated, it would be so easy for those who have even just a bit of courage to stand out in the marketplace.

 Want to know how? Email me for our White Paper on Law Firm Innovation. gary@gemcommunications.ca

Change does not happen by itself. It must be planned for and led. That takes leadership. So if you wish to lead a change effort at your firm, here’s the condensed version of what you need to know about leading change. First let’s look at the various roles required in leading change. Ask yourself  "Where do I fit in? "Where am I best suited to lead?"

I like to call this first part "The set up"

The lobbyist

Before you begin to suggest a change effort at a committee or management meeting, spend some time talking to like minded people in your firm, both lawyers and management. Get consenus and support for your idea from a number of power weilding brokers. Get their agreement that they will support you when you bring this idea forward.

The vision

Clearly articulate the sense of urgency and opportunity. Why should we do this? What is it going to mean to individuals, the firm and our clients. What are the positive outcomes of this effort? Once people have a clear understanding of how your effort will positively impact them and their practice or role, they are much more likely to go along for the ride.

Owners

Identify at the outset who is going to own this change effort? The one person whose role it is to see this effort from inception through to immplementation. Is it you? This is the person who will tactically make it happen. They will remain in the trenches until the effort has been completed.

Champions

These are the people who will champion the cause and support the owners of the effort. One innovative strategy here is to create a ‘working group’ of champions whose purpose is to champion the effort and support the owner. Recruit those with highly developed creative, analytical, technical, business, leadership, and communication skills. Populate this group with both left brain (analytical) and right brain (creative minds). Harvard Business Review refers to this as taking a ‘both brain approach’. This group’s members should be very well respected, hold authority among the ranks, and represent a cross section of personality styles. When people can identify with at least one member of this working group, then the responsibility of gaining investment among the ranks is shared by all group members leading to a greater probability of success.

Stay tuned for Part Two

What your clients want, in fact what they need more than anything else is for you to create value based relationships with them. That means fully understanding their business and their needs. It’s nice to take them out for lunch however you should be spending your time with them asking them questions and finding out everything you can about them, their challenges, goals, structure and what keeps them up at night.

Talk to them. Ask them for feedback on your work. BTI Consulting Group research shows that 63% of your clients are not providing you with feedback so that means you have to ask for it. Either go on site or invite a team of people from your client organization to come and present to the group of lawyers working on their files. Learn everything you can about them. In fact your clients will tell you everything you need to know in how you run your practice or at the firm wide level. Yes it is that simple. Work now to create and maintain value based relationships.

Did you know that the physiological reaction to fear and excitement produce the same bodily sensations? That’s right- (rise in body temperature, hair stands on end, you feel the pit of your stomach). So if the physiological response is the same, how do you differentiate between fear and excitement? Your thoughts! The way you think about omethings defines how you respond to it. It’s your choice. You choose what to make of it.

So ask yourself the following questions:

What does this current economic cycle mean to me?

Am I looking at it from a negaitve point of view and therefore only seeing doom and gloom? Or do I see it from a positive perspective and recognize its opportunities?

The fact is most will only see doom and gloom. That leaves a lot of room on the table for those of you who choose opportunity. I believe that there has never been a better time or set of conditions to embrace innovation and propel your practice or your firm way out in front of your competition.