Miami Legal Business Development | Branding | Lawyer Coaching | Paula Black

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Imagine taking on one of the most difficult positions of your career and having someone whisper in your ear... sage advice as you begin your journey. That is exactly what happened in Chicago last week for several new managing partners.

Last Thursday I participated in a program The Managing Partner Forum put on in Chicago... Master Class: The First 100 Days.The program is exclusively for new managing partners in law firms with 40 or more lawyers. It was an extremely informative, practical and inspiring program given by Patrick McKenna, a law management practice expert and Brian Burke, former Managing Partner at Baker Daniels. The purpose of the program is to give managing partners a solid foundation that will ensure success early on in one's service as managing partner. One of the attendees brought his new COO... imagine how beneficial that will prove to be down the road! 

The dynamic duo addressed those unspoken concerns most new Managing Partners have and here are three that any lawyer can relate to...

• How will I manage the competing demands of work and home?
• After years of career success, is this the one I'm going to fail at?
• Will I be able to satisfy my partners' expectations?

Their advice is relevant for anyone who is taking on a new position, new initiative or simply trying to improve in your current position.

The advice...

Listen, listen and listen! Ask probing questions... then figure out what the person is really trying to communicate. It's not easy, but if you don't listen first, you will never get to the core of what someone is thinking.

You cannot communicate enough! REPEAT your message often and in a variety of ways... email, memos and face to face. And when you think it is clear... do it again, because it most likely isn't. 

Have a vision vs. aspirations.  And that vision should be simple clear and easy to communicate. Brian recommends that if it can't be said in one concise sentence and fit on a 3x5 card... it needs work.

This applies to all of us who are growing a firm OR a book of business.

Pearl of Wisdom: Want more on the subject? You are in luck... McKenna and Burke have a new book out... Serving At The Pleasure Of My Partners: Advice to the new firm leader.

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I was working with a client today and I gave her an assignment to make a list of relationships that could help her in developing business. She asked... "you mean that could give me business?" And I realized that to me the distinction is very clear, but that I should define it.

There are many circles in which we have relationships and in each of those there are different ways that people could help us develop business.

First, let's explore the ways...

• Obviously there is the category of a client that has the authority to send us work.
• There is the person that can recommend to someone that they call you.
• There is the individual or group that has influence over what a larger group of people might think... like clergy or an executive director of an organization.
• There are suppliers that can help make you look good... you get work, they get work.
• There are people that you can learn from... to be a better lawyer, business person or business developer.

Second, there are all the circles that exist in your life...

• Your family and friends... you would be surprised how many lawyers never tap into this group. Who knows you better and has your best interest at heart more than your family and friends?
• Business colleagues... from various places of employment, organizations, etc. where do you have relationships that you could cultivate? Could they introduce you to others?
• Law school classmates... stay in touch, grow together and meet their friends and colleagues, grow the circle.
• Civic and religious circles... where do you spend your time? Do you have deep relationships or and they simply people you just say hello to? 
• Hobby circles... if you love things like playing music or ride horses, etc. this circle could be what fuels your passion... and creating a bridge to your legal practice could take your work to a whole new level.

You get the idea. I bet if you give it some thought you can come up with several more. 

Business is about relationships and it couldn't be more true in the legal profession. You need to focus on those circles and look for people that can help in various ways. And you need people helping in all those ways. Just because someone isn't in the position to send you work doesn't mean they can't contribute to your success in some other way. 

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How do you know if you have arrived if you don't know where you are going? Well, you don't!

A business development plan is essential to grow your business, or grow personally. Yes, a plan should be specific and measurable. But... it's a plan, not a straitjacket. It can't be so rigid that you can't handle unexpected opportunities... or react when life throws you a curve.

I just read an article in the Harvard Business Review by Peter Bregman... Three Steps to Handling the Unexpected. He tells a great story and gives us this advice... In the face of the unexpected:

1. Stop the boat. If momentum is driving you to make decisions quickly, then... turn the bow toward the wind and let the sail go slack. If you are in a meeting take a bathroom break. In your office, get up and take a walk. In other words, do what we so rarely give ourselves an opportunity to do: think.
2. Assess your actual options. Don't waste time wishing things were different or trying to force-fit your previous plan to the new, unforeseen situation. Start with a blank slate: think about the outcome you want given the new situation, the information you have at hand, and the resources available. Then lay out your options.
3. Sail. Based on your new assessment, make a decision, and commit. Even if the decision isn't ideal, even if it's not giving you everything you hoped for originally, accept that it's the best under the circumstances and move forward without hesitation.

We can plan and plan again but  "life happens"... having the confidence and skill to handle whatever life holds is to your advantage.

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TIME... where to find it.

I don't know a single attorney that doesn't tell me they don't have time, to one degree or another. Some use it as an excuse as to why they are not developing business, others say it because they feel it... but do what they need to do in spite of it.

The other day I read a blog post by Seth Godin that I have to share with you. It was short and sweet...

Time for a workflow audit

"Go find a geek. Someone who understands gmail, Outlook, Excel and other basic tools. Pay her to sit next to you for an hour and watch you work. Then say 'tell me five ways I could save an hour a day.' Whatever you need to pay for this service, it will pay for itself in a week."

BRILLIANT... isn't it? We all struggle with processes that we are not proficient at and waste time... so spend the hour that Seth suggests and become EFFICIENT. I am!

I have several small firm clients that do their own bookkeeping. They are smart and figured it out... but they are not EXPERTS. Spending time on the books takes them from legal work and business development, which are two very lucrative tasks. Hire a bookkeeper (and make sure they have experience with law firms). It will be more cost effective and they will be able to help you manage your firm by the numbers... and believe me, they will pay for themselves in short order.

Take a look around... there may be other things you could outsource... which would save you time and money.

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Legal business development ideas and insights can come from anywhere and any industry. I just listened to an audio download of Derek Sivers' new book, Anything You Want.

For those who aren't familiar with Derek he is the founder of CDBaby.com. He started his business in 1998 with $500 and sold it for $22 million in 2008 when he realized that it had demands that he was no longer willing to do. Prior to the sale he set up a charitable trust for music education... which was the beneficiary of the sale. How appropriate since from day one... his mission... his focus... his passion... was to help musicians distribute their music. 

He tells an incredible story of his many unconventional business philosophies. As you read them I'm sure many will resonate as they did with me.

Stay true to your passion. We can always use a reminder that our passion is what we are born to do... so DO IT!

Be lean and mean. Bigger isn't always better as the past few years have taught us. When you're lean you are more agile and like a palm tree... able to bend with the wind... and stay focused. Derek refused investors because as he writes "none of your customers will ask you to turn your attention to expanding. They want you to keep your attention focused on them". Duh!

Delegating is a must. It's easier said then done, right?  Derek's method? When people had questions he didn't simply answer the question, he explained the thought process behind the answer. He had them write it down and put it in a manual. Clever!

Derek's book is a fast read... less than an hour (like all three of my books... shameless plug!) And it's full of fresh perspectives to common business issues and YES they are applicable to law firms... you just have to think outside the box.

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Networking... to some just the mention of this word makes them tense up and break out into a cold sweat. Others? Well they make sure they have business cards. I have to admit that I have never been the latter... until I shifted my thinking.

I stopped thinking about networking and started thinking about... building relationships with no other agenda than to get to know THEM. Not... can this guy give me business or can this lady introduce me to more important decision makers? That's easier said than, done, I know because we are taught that in order to get business we have to NETWORK... so what do we do? We work our way through the room handing out cards and looking over each persons shoulder for our next prospect. Sound familiar? If you haven't done it you know someone who has.

So what's the alternative? Go to events with the intention to meet 1 or 2 people... and get to know something about them. Find a connection, something that will create another encounter - an email, a phone call or a lunch. You never know where a relationship could lead. Then you must follow-up... period. That won't be so difficult since you are only going back to your office with 1 or 2 cards... not a handful that will sit on your desk that you never follow-up with. 

Next I stopped attending 1 or 2 events a year of MANY organizations and started being a regular attendee to only 2 organizations... I went every month. My circle of new friends started to expand and people introduced me to others. Repetition... Repetition... Repetition! It works.

Build relationships by listening and getting to really know people. Shoving business cards into people's hands will never work no matter how often you do it. YOUR card will be the one sitting on someone's desk gathering dust.

Black Pearl: For those who need a little help thinking of questions that start conversations my colleague Cordell Parvin has a fabulous list of 19 questions that are sure to get you started.

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Yesterday being "The 4th Of July" ... our day of Independence, got me thinking. What does independence mean to your work, your profession and to your everyday business life? 

I'll tell you what it means to me. It means getting to work with people I LIKE. Doing work I LIKE. And doing it where I LIKE. That is what independence means to me.

• I spent too many years working with people that I did not see eye-to-eye with... it wasn't right or wrong... just different.
• I can't tell you how many projects I took on because I needed to make payroll. Not because I wanted or liked the work but because I had to.
• I also spent a lot of time "longing" to travel and experience other places... but I was stuck "minding the store."

I have clients for whom independence means...

• Doing their legal documents from the deck of their BOAT.
• Having enough work flowing in so they don't have to WORRY about it.
• Having the niche she loves so defined that clients FIND her easily.

So my friend... what does independence look like to YOU? Now the big question... What are you going to do about it?