♫ Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words!
First from him, now from you!
Is that all you blighters can do?
Don’t talk of stars burning above;
…If you’re on fire, Show me! ♫
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe, from My Fair Lady.
Simon Chester, a good friend of mine, put me onto The 10 1/2 Commandments of Visual Thinking - the “lost chapter” from The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam.
In a nutshell (and I recommend reading the ‘lost chapter’ - it doesn’t take long!) Dan states that we need to ‘rediscover’ the art of visual thinking that we first started to use in Kindergarten - and somehow lost along the way to higher education. His thesis is one to which I can particularly relate , as I studied mathematics before law - and math is heavily reliant on manipulating symbols. The symbols used in math - from algebraic operators to integrals and others - comprise a formal symbolic language that is capable of expressing very complex ideas in a simple and straightforward fashion that is understood by those trained in the notation.
But Dan Roan’s point is that symbolic language (i.e. pictures!) are capable of being used by everyone - and indeed, should be! He states that you should start out by deciding which of the Basic Six” pictures (Who/What, How Much, Where, When, How and Why) is the best one to fit your thoughts - and then anthropomorphize everything - thereby “drawing” people into the problem-solving process.
Litigators have know for some time that graphical evidence is worth its weight in gold when it comes to persuading the trier of fact. Marketers know that brands that have a strong visual element are easily recognized by shoppers (just think of the Nike “Swoosh” or the Macintosh Computer “Apple“). Computer desktops are littered with icons that stand for common applications that we all use every day. Drawing on the “right” side of the brain, pictures and symbols can awaken different pathways in our minds and delve deeper into our consciousness. They can help us reach down and grasp logical relationships that may not be apparent by using words alone. And they can serve as a shorthand for expressing ideas and communicating the need for action.
So the next time you need to work on a problem, rather than using words, draw a picture and show that you are on fire!
♫ So you got the looks but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much…♫
This week I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of distinguished corporate counsel for the Legal Marketing Association - Vancouver Chapter speaking on: How in-house counsel view their lawyers, law firms and their marketing and business development efforts.
Panelists were Marie-France Leroi, Senior Counsel at Terasen Inc, Gigi Chen-Ku, General Counsel for Translink, Heather Northrup, Senior Counsel with RBC Financial Group and Sue Doi, Counsel for Intrawest ULC. There was a great deal of discussion on the topic on how outside counsel can best work with in-house counsel. During the presentation we had a question from the floor that opened up a whole new area of discussion …and that was novel and interesting as well.
The question was in the context of the corporate client wanting to provide feedback to the outside firm - but the outside firm never appearing open or willing to hear the message. Worse, the danger signs are there for the outside law firm - calls by in-house counsel are not being returned promptly, the invoices appear to include ‘education time’ for the associates, the firm now appears to have an attitude of ‘entitlement’…among others. So the question is - what is the best way for the outside firm to hear the message early enough to prevent the loss of the client?
The solution that was proposed from the audience (some of the best tips come from the attendees during presentations!) was for the marketing department to establish one person…call them a client concierge…to establish a line of communication with the client. The client concierge would be there to act in a similar manner to a concierge in the best hotels…to ensure that the questions and needs of the hotel guests are being met. The client concierge can hear the concerns and questions of the client - and ensure that they are directed to the right people in the law firm - and act as an early-warning system to ensure that the law firm is not only attentive to the client but is seen as being proactive and open. This implicitly recognizes that while the legal services may be top-notch, the service levels surrounding the delivery of those legal services may not be.
It is an interesting concept and one that recognizes that the firm as a whole is a team and the team has an overarching reason (*or reasons*) to ensure that the client is happy and has an open channel to raise small concerns before they jeopardize the entire client relationship. It is really a question of client ‘handling’ and ensuring that the firm has the right ‘touch’ for the client and continues to impress the client with all that they do.
♫ Must I forever be a beggar
Whose golden dreams would not come true
Or will I go from rags to riches
My fate is up to you.. ♫
Words and music by R. Adler & J. Ross, recorded by Elvis Presley.
History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives, according to Abba Eban. By reviewing the alternatives that others have exhausted before us, the hope is that we can then learn from their wise advice. Here then, are further tips in the history of legal financial management:
- Establish an adequate credit policy
Always, always take trust deposits (advance fee retainers) and never work once your advance fee retainer is exhausted. Have a client engagement letter that clearly sets forth that a client’s trust balance must be in the black at all times or a firm will cease work, will seek to be removed as counsel of record and will return files back to clients (always check on the ethics of withdrawal in your jurisdiction in any particular circumstance for non-payment of your fee). Do not make exceptions. Have your practice management system set up to warn you well in advance of the exhaustion of retainers so that you can write to the client and tell them of what must be done and by when on their part in order that you continue with the file on your part.
- Become comfortable discussing fees with clients
Quick question: What should always be found at a birthday party and never on a legal file? Answer: A surprise. Clients do not like surprises, especially if they relate to the size of an account. This can be avoided by telling the client at the first meeting what you charge, how you charge and when you charge and what you expect from the client. Do not be afraid of scaring off the client – a client who is unwilling to face the cost of a legal procedure at the outset is not likely to change their mind at the end of the file. Better to put your time into marketing and attracting the type and class of client that will pay your accounts than putting that time into a file on which you are not going to get paid.
- Track your time
The first step in determining whether you were profitable on a sale of a service is being able to determine the costs of services delivered. To do that, you need accurate costing mechanisms that can include both direct and allocated (or fixed) costs. Direct costs are your time, and any direct disbursements incurred for the file (court reporter fees, filing fees etc). Allocated costs are the file’s share of the office overhead – staff salaries, rent, insurance fees, electricity rates etc. Since the biggest direct cost is the time that you put into the file, you cannot determine what a file cost you to produce unless you can track the time you put into the file – billable, non-billable, written-off etc. Why is this important? When it comes time to distribute funds among partners, not knowing the true costs of the files worked on can lead to gross inequities. For example, let us look at two files, each of which generated $100,000 in revenue (after disbursements). File A took three years and involved 400 hours of legal time (at $250/hr = $100,000) + hundreds of hours of staff time. File B took six months and 100 hours of legal time (at $250/hr = $25,000) and the same amount of staff time. Which file was more profitable? Not only was B more profitable, you could argue that File A resulted in a net loss to the firm since the total of legal and staff costs exceeded revenues. Yet, in most eat-what-you-kill systems, each file would be treated equally when it comes to determining partner compensation! Financial cost analysis can help you determine which files and practice areas yield the greatest return to the firm and which are black holes
- Use current and former clients as marketing tools
It is well understood that the best source of repeat and referral business is from existing satisfied clients. What is needed is a communication method to make past clients still feel like they are part of the firm and inform them of the services that can be rendered by every member of the firm. A newsletter – hardcopy or electronic, that provides updates on the firm and topical news on areas of law that are of interest to the readers – is a very good way to continue to foster the relationship. The readers will then have you and your services somewhere near the top of their minds and will be able to provide a quick recommendation when the need arises. There are of course, many other ways of marketing your services to your past and current clients. A good source of information and tips are: the Legal Marketing Canada Blog by Doug Jasinski, the Law Firm Web Strategy Blog by Steve Matthews and The Lawyer Coach Blog by Allison Wolf, who is the past-Chair of the Legal Marketing Association, Vancouver Chapter (*and of course, the LMA itself!).
- Establish your own financial nest egg
There are ways to ensure your financial future – today. Set up at least one financial institution to automatically pull and invest money from your checking account every month. It will take perhaps a few hours in total to establish and then you’ll be investing, in good times and bad, without doing any work at all. You can set up instructions on how those funds are to be invested – in stocks, mutual funds, term deposits – but the important fact is to start planning for your retirement – now. Once the account is established – take an interest in it and check it daily – to find out how you are doing. Measure your return against stated goals – determine if you are being well served by your financial advisor. Remember that you may lose in the short term – but over the long haul you will be adding to your financial stability and resilience.
- Don’t use the Lottery as a partnership retirement plan
One of the major issues facing smaller firms is dealing with the introduction of new partners and the funding of the buyout of existing but aging partners. Not having a succession plan in place that compensates the aging partner over time by establishing a retirement fund leads to the firm being unable to attract new partners - as any interested new partners who are on the upswing are most likely unwilling to contribute their billings to fund the exit of a diminishing partner. Furthermore, the lack of any retirement planning results in partners staying on in practice simply to maintain a cash flow and not for any compelling business reasons.
- Don’t forget how to Smile!
How do you greet your clients? Recall that attitudes are contagious – does your reflect that you are busy, happy and looking for more? Clients desire lawyers that are successful – and look for lawyers that act that way. Being glum about the stock market or your finances and the state of the economy etc may reflect the way you feel, but it may not be the best client development and retention tool. It also may not be a great way to approach your finances and your financial planning. Being cautiously optimistic allows you to keep your cynical side on alert while also exuding an air of confidence and competence to those around you. It may also be beneficial to reflect that notwithstanding the downturn out there, our predecessors have faced worse (the ‘29 crash was much more personally devastating and longer lasting).
Ambrose Bierce, never known as an optimist, said that history was: “An account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools.” However, Johan Huizinga said that: “History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us.” Whether we are an optimist or a pessimist, our fate, whether rags or riches, lies in our hands.
(this post is based on a column originally published in PracticeTalk in the Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch’s newsletter BarTalk)
♫ Make it easy (easy)
Easy to be with you…♫
Words and Music by Steven Page and Ed Robertson, recorded by The BareNaked Ladies.
I had the honour to meet with the Solo and Small Practice Section of the Washington State Bar Association this weekend and participate in their annual strategic planning retreat and renew my contact with friends such as Pete Roberts, the Practice Management Advisor for the WSBA, the Solo and Small Firm Section Chair Dirk Bartram, and the rest of the Executive Committee.
During the meeting, Julie Fowler introduced me to Constant Contact, a newsletter and survey website that is quite simply, a wonderful service for any lawyer looking at developing and sending out an electronic newsletter. Not only is the interface straightforward and easy to use, it is also very powerful and cost-effective. It has many tools that makes the entire process of creating, editing, uploading of images and the creation of links, the sending of the emails and the collection of data following the sending of the email newsletter very straightforward.
These days lawyers need to develop methods to reach out to their clients and potential clients in ways that are user-friendly. While blogs and Web 2.0 tools are receiving a lot of attention lately, there are many clients for whom email is about as far as they wish to go with technology. RSS feeds and such may be too overly complex for many clients. However, meeting these client’s needs by sending out an electronic newsletter is a great way to push out information on you and your practice in a form that is easily understood and read by most clients. I believe that tax, estate planning, wills and estates practices would be a natural for this type of marketing, along with other practice areas.
Tools that makes it easy for clients to be in constant contact with you are always welcome!
♫ How do I feel by the end of the day
Are you sad because you’re on your own ..
No, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends…♫
Words and music by Lennon-McCartney
It seems I am on a roll lately with The Beatles…and with a little help from my friends Allison Wolf and Doug Jasinski. It seems we are sharing a 2007 CLawBie award in the area of Practice Management Blogs! In addition I seemed to have snagged a runner-up award for Best New Law Blog along with Donna Seale’s Human Rights in the Workplace and Dan Michaluk’s All About Information.
I am humbled by this recognition. Blogging seems a solitary affair and it is gratifying to find your work recognized. I also wish to thank Steve Matthews and his work in developing the CLawBies …he is indeed a leader in the whole area of Canadian Legal Blogs and moving law into the world of Web 2.0. Steve deserves the most recognition of all!
And in reflection, you realize that as a blogger, you are not alone…you are part of a community of like-minded individuals - and we all get by with a little help from our friends.
♫ Only night will ever know
Why the heavens never show
All the dreams there are to know
Paint the sky with stars...♫
Music by Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, lyrics by Roma Ryan, recorded by Enya.
It is nearing the end of the year…time to look back on the year and reflect on what is past…and what is yet to come. You recall your earnest resolution at this time last year that “things were going to be different next year!” Reflecting for a moment you realize that not much has changed, people are more or less performing as they were last year. Your own performance has fallen into a predicable range – or rut. You ask yourself “How do other businesses manage to achieve better-than ordinary results?” What is their magical formula? Short of cracking a whip, how do you motivate yourself, and others, to excellence?
The high art of achieving extra-ordinary results from people has been clearly demonstrated time and time again. However, it is an inexact science with many factors and ingredients. Let us examine the tips and techniques that have been put forward towards achieving lofty goals:
- The Oracle at
- In doing some research into this matter, the April 2002 issue of Fast Company had an article on the
- So what motivates people to perform? Money? Study after study show that while employees desire money, they are motivated by intangibles: challenge, recognition, opportunity for growth, involvement, meaningful work and pride. Money is a way of determining success – keeping score, so to speak, and is therefore the result of doing excellent work, not the inducer. What is the world’s most powerful motivator? Achievement. “I do because I can”. Motivation is tied to “internal matters” – grey matter, ultimately..
- Assume full accountability for your future. Now surround yourself with other high-achievers. Place yourself in a high-nutrient mix – where the peers with whom you associate will radiate higher expectations and their own pursuit of excellence. We tell our kids not to associate with certain crowds – do we drink of the same medicine?
- Acknowledge other’s successes. Don’t dwell on errors – praise results in public and deal with problems in private. Listen to your staff and their suggestions and act on good ideas. Whenever possible, give immediate feedback (shortens the learning cycle) and positive reinforcement. Give staff greater autonomy and encourage them to be confident and responsible. Do the annual performance reviews – and let the staff member verbalize their own strengths and weaknesses – and set their own methods on how they are going to grow. Let each staff member know why each person is put in their position. Let each individual know what skill development is required for them to go beyond their present job. Be clear on what it is that you expect them to accomplish in their present position. Make sure that the people with whom they work know this, too. Most of all, be consistent – be seen to be dealing with the deadwood as a way of communicating that low performance is not tolerated.
- Offer to pay for skill development (job-related, interpersonal and communication skills). Encourage staff to seek out managerial responsibilities in social settings – community groups, schools, social institutions, non-profits etc. – for the skills that they learn in those settings will come back with them into the work environment – as well as the recognition for a job well done.
- Model the behaviour you want. Care – passionately – about results. The test of anyone’s character is when the going gets tough. Keeping firm hold of the basics – grace under fire – tells volumes to the world and keeps the troops going. Edith Wharton said: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Churchill went further and said: “In the past we have had a light which flickered, in the present we have a light which flames, and in the future there will be a light which shines over all the land and sea.”
- Bring people into big projects. Let them feel and be part of the action. They can learn from their involvement and you can benefit from their energy.
- Eliminate bottlenecks and Red Tape. Process is important – except where it becomes an inhibitor of performance and new ideas. Recognize where your own procedures could be putting the stop to greater things.
- Have fun. Go to: www.spacecamp.com and read the testimonials from the alumni. Operated in conjunction with NASA, these programs challenge kids and adults to be, in effect, rocket scientists. (There is a Canadian version as well: www.spacecampcanada.com). Comments from those who went through the camps (The 500,000th camper, Samantha Rice, graduated June 15, 2007) consistently state that it was the experience of a lifetime. Achieving excellence and mastering new ideas does not have to be a slog. The evidence is clear – people who are having fun outperform those who are not.
Moving to higher ground may ultimately depend on ignoring the glitter and concentrating on that quiet place inside all of us where dreams are made and a candle glows on what might yet be.
(this post is based on a column originally published in PracticeTalk in the Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch’s newsletter BarTalk)
♫ Don’t let nobody take care o’ your business better than you do,
Do what he wants, give what he wants expect ‘em come to you ♫
Words and music by James Brown.
The ABA has recently published a little gem of a book entitled: The Lawyer’s Field Guide to Effective Business Development. Written by William J. Flannery, Jr. and only 150 pages in length, it is a very practical guide to implementing business development into your day, your practice and your life. Bill has a background as a lawyer and marketing consultant and has worked extensively with such companies as IBM and the Association of Legal Administrators and the American Bar Association. This book is all about growing your skills in building and managing a profitable book of legal business (it is billed as a ‘success guide’). Bill uses a five step process (Plan, Interview, Design, Solutions and Decision) to retain and recruit new business. I was immediately impressed when I started reading it and now carry it in my backpack along with a yellow highlighter, in order to read another snippet when I have a moment. Furthermore, I came across this endorsement and I couldn’t resist reprinting it here:
“Soul music had James Brown, the ‘Godfather of Soul.’ Law firms have Bill Flannery, a true pioneer in business development for our industry. The Field Guide provides a comprehensive road map for business development strategy. Like the best soul sound, the Field Guide’s straightforward prose will resonate with your lawyers.”
Kathleen H. Hilton, Director of Client Services, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
The Field Guide is $59.95 (USD) and available from: http://tinyurl.com/2ubkg7.
After all, no one takes care of your business better than you do – by doing what your clients want and giving them what they want, you can expect them to come back to you.
(originally appeared in The Verdict, the publication of The Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia)
♫The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That’s her destiny…♫
Words and Music by: Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, recorded by Abba.
I have come across a very interesting blog by Bob Warfield called: SmoothSpan Blog whose goal is to “combine radical technology innovation with equally radical business model innovation to literally reinvent and extend SaaS.” He has some great thoughts and observations on the implications of the Web 2.0 model as it evolves. One of his latest posts - Oct 4, 2007 is entitled:
“What is a Social Network, Anyway? (Hint: It’s Not Geocities!)“.
I think that Web 2.0 is one of the most important technological developments in the last little while. I believe lawyers have yet to fully appreciate the implications of web 2.0 and its importance for them.
David Maister in his blog, has started a discussion (Wed. Oct. 3, 2007) entitled:
“Relationships: What’s the Problem? “
where he is exploring the difficulties in lawyers forming relationships with clients. This leads to the question: How many lawyers have incorporated the power of Web 2.0 in thinking about their relationships with their clients? How many law firms have considered how to use Web 2.0 to reach out to their clients? Where is the overlap between Web 2.0, lawyers and the new business model?
This is an interesting discussion and competition and one that is certainly being crafted as we speak. And my sense is that whoever figures it out first, the winner takes it all…that’s her destiny.
♫ In the summertime when the weather is hot
You can stretch right up and touch the sky…♫
Words and music by Ray Dorsey, recorded by Mungo Jerry.
Robert Denney of Robert Denny Associates, Inc. has just released his Midyear update on What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession. Robert has been writing the trendsreport in Law Practice Magazine for some time, and his Midyear update is well-worth the time invested in reading it. He looks at hot practice areas (Maritime Law for example) and what is getting hot (Environmental law) and business development trends. I find his analysis of the issues facing law firms to be invaluable. You can obtain a copy of his report (free!) by filling out the email form at:
http://www.robertdenney.com/contact.html
The report is interesting reading for anyone thinking about their practices in the summertime and looking to stretch…