Protecting the Culture of Your Firm: Conflict Between Rainmakers

It is an obvious fact that any one person cannot get along with everyone. In most instances it is relatively easy to navigate these differences--that's life. But sometimes we are thrown together (in work and away) with people we would choose to avoid. As in any workplace a law firm is no different. The larger the firm the greater the possibility. If the people in conflict are senior rainmakers the impact can be devastating to say the least.

This morning I participated in a roundtable of senior leaders in my business community as they discussed this very issue. One of the most revealing comments came from one gentleman I particularly respect. His comment was, "In any firm/company culture the people will sink to the lowest bar." An amazing insight!

As a marketer I am always working on creative ways to motivate people to higher goals--I look at the top rung and try to bring everyone with me. I know that most management teams are doing the same thing. Set a goal and shoot for over-the-top.

But, to protect the culture of a firm (and therefore its reputation in the market) marketers and leaders need to also concern themselves with what is the lowest line of expectation. What is the minimum of behavior that can be tolerated? Then, once that line is drawn, stand up to anyone and everyone about that line in the sand.

While differences will always exist, being disciplined about standards of conduct will always produce the best long-term result.

Speaking Engagements for Attorneys--Don't Just Speak on Lawyering

One of the most commonly discussed business development tactics for attorneys is to secure speaking engagements and panel seats. The search is for groups and events that want to hear about a legal topic, preferably something that demonstrates the expertise of the lawyer talking.

To this kind of thinking I say a hearty, "Nay" (well--kind of hearty). While it goes without question that lawyers are the best experts to talk about legal stuff, there is so much more a lawyer could talk about to win alliances and new business opportunities. Try to stick with me on this. Lawyers are renowned for much more than performing legal tasks. Lawyers are seen as:

• Business counselors and coaches - "Here are my choices. What do you think?"
• Connected VIPs - "You know so many people. How do you do it?"
• Mentors - "How can I advance my career and climb the ladder as you have done?"
• Business leaders - "How can I run my business in a better way?"
  
• Philanthropists - "How can I get involved in my community and make a difference like you?
• Teachers - "Help me understand this trend or that" and, "Could you offer me your insight?"

When in search of speaking engagements do not limit yourself (lawyers) to sharing the knowledge of what you bill for. Think also about the topics you've become adept at in the course of serving your clients and developing new business. Venture this little bit outside your "box" and you'll find engagements galore and an immediate spike in opportunity.

Law Firm Marketer Visits the Eighth Grade

Next week I'm scheduled to appear at Career Day at the McFadden Intermediate School in Santa Ana, CA to give a presentation to students about the job I do--legal marketing. I envision a room full of eighth graders looking at me and thinking, "OK suit-guy, this better be good."

It would be different if my career was as a stand-up comedian (just do a routine), or a juggler, or sports player, or a police officer, but I'm a marketing guy. What I do is fun for me but can I communicate my passion in any way that will be interesting and engaging to eighth graders?

For the next several days my head will be cooking as I mull this over and put something together. What I come with I will share here. If anything it might provide a good chuckle for my MC readers. And of course, if you have ideas feel free to share!

Large or Small, the View From the Middle of Any Herd is Holistic

I was reading post comments about Maxthon (a new IE-based browser) at digg this morning, and well down the string was this wonderful comment; "Besides the fact that it uses the IE engine, it only runs on Windows. A big limitation with many people migrating to Linux/Mac." What a wonderful illustration of shouting from the middle of the herd! Currently the Linux/Mac market share is somewhere between 2% and 4% against the 96% plus machines running Windows-based platforms.

The commenter, based on what he/she can see from their seat is amazed that anyone would consider switching to a browser not supporting Linux/Mac users. This is one illustration of how we use limited experiences within our "bubble" to project expectations holistically.

This phenomena has huge implications for law firm marketers and is a valuable lesson to be learned in moving our firms forward. It is human nature to make broad assumptions based on narrow experiences. When attorneys do not comprehend expansive new programs it is because they have no point of reference outside of their own experience. The same is true for marketers trying to comprehend an attorneys passion to do things a certain way and not consider other "fresh" alternatives.

The ONLY way to deal with this is to educate first, then propose. Stop using only the experiences of the legal industry to illustrate and measure. Stop relying on, "this is what other law firms are doing" and start sharing strategies and stories from other industries and professions. Start finding ways to show what other "herds" are doing--don't go to 10,000 feet, or 20,000 feet -- go to 100,000.

In the movie, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" a Sho (African origin) in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle. He takes it back to his people, and they use it for many tasks, none of which have anything to do with the designed purpose of the bottle. In the larger quest of the movie the Sho encounters Western "civilization".... A lesson for marketers and attorneys.

It is important to establish a common reference before different "herds" can establish common goals.

Truth and Perception - Be Careful About What People Might Perceive

I am running a testimonial advertising series featuring some of my firms many wonderful clients. One such client offers secure document destruction as one of the many services they provide corporate clients. Document destruction is becoming more and more important as an ethical necessity and often a legal requirement. However, to feature a law firm in an advertisement that implies destroying documentation might not be the best path -- in consideration of the current environment of public opinion about corporate wrong-doing.

As a non-attorney I am not nearly as sensitive to the pain of mistrust that my attorneys are feeling in this environment. While I see the good of a service that protects rightful privacy my attorneys feel the imaginary bullets of jaded stakeholders and storming advocates.

In the case of this particular advertisement I am glad my attorneys feel free to express their fears and open my eyes to a potential PR nightmare. While the truth of the clients service is accepted as a great thing, the perception of a law firm needing that service is still open to suspicion.

Remember that to some of your audience, perception garners greater belief that the truth itself.

Get to Know People Like an Eight Year Old Would

When my youngest daughter was 8 years old we were living in a small complex of townhomes. I knew very few of our neighbors except what might be detected when driving by and seeing them coming and going (very SoCal unfortunately). My daughter on the other hand knew just about every person, young and old, and would regularly check in with all of the news from our neighbors. Simply amazing! She had no fear of walking up to fellow residents and asking, "So... what are you doing -- what's your name?"

All of my 8 year old's were just that way -- satisfying their curiosity was a far greater impulse than any internal fear of feeling silly in front of a stranger.

Two weeks ago I was at the annual LMA conference attending a dinner of legal marketers from the West Coast. Between the salad and main course I could no longer resist the temptation to get up and say hello to all of the many people I did not know. So, turning my own 8 year old loose, I walked around all of the tables and one person at a time I introduced myself.... Being curious is MUCH more fun than being fearful. Since that evening I have gotten several emails from individuals at that dinner. Totally COOL and TOTALLY connected!

The lesson here is ginormous for marketers and attorneys alike. Honor your urge to act curious and you will be miles ahead of your competition. The simple act of being curious will win you friends, information, and a larger community of people that know whom you are.

Do You Honor Your Law Firms Street Name?

When I was at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP we accepted how "the street" (our clients and referral resources) acknowledged us and changed the logo, not the name, of the firm to simply, "BROBECK". Unfortunately, the tag line came back to haunt the ragged survivors - "When your future is at stake". At Deloitte & Touche LLP the street name we honored in the logo change of 2003 was "Deloitte." It was the name all of our clients and business community used to talk about us.

At Rutan & Tucker LLP we were known verbally as just, "Rutan". The logo change was easy. Oddly enough, in historical archives I've discovered that in 1965 (or thereabouts) the firm seriously considered shedding all of the partner names (seven at the time) to just be "Rutan", but it was voted down in favor of a two-name moniker.

It seems that a lot of attorneys like big, long, multi-part names for their firms. While the legal name of a firm can be as big and bodacious as you please, creating an identity has always been about keeping the message simple.

As a competitor I appreciate that so many firms keep their long name as their street face -- it helps my efforts to stand out with a strong and community friendly identity. But just in case you're listening and hope to create meaningful change in your brand, dump the "alphabet, LLP". Let the street know you're listening.