Orchestrate Your Future

Are you tweeting yet? IMHO U shld be.

Lawyers are not what you call “early adapters.”  I’ve heard lots of stories over the years about the attorney who had a computer “just for show,” but never actually used it.  You’ve probably heard similar tales.  After all, the profession is based on precedent.  Attorneys focus on the past . . . a lot.  Well, here’s an answer for everyone who’s wondering whether they should . . . be on Facebook?  start Tweeting?  get LinkedIn?  The answer is a resounding YES.  These web-based services, and others like AVVO, are all part of social media marketing.  And if you don’t have a presence on these sites you are missing out on some great marketing opportunities.

What is Social Media Marketing?  Social media marketing is the equivalent of good old relationship-based marketing, with one big difference – the interactions occur on-line rather than face-to-face.  Think of developing your on-line presence in the same way you develop personal relationships with your referral sources and influencers.  Be genuine.  Be trustworthy. Give more than you take.  Be a “connector” – introduce colleagues who have mutual interests or who can assist each other.  Be professional, but friendly.  If you follow these simple guidelines as you grow your on-line presence, you’ll not only grow your practice, you just might have some fun in the process.  

If you’d like to dip your toe in the social media marketing pool, Twitter is a great place to start.  Before you get started, check out Twitter For Lawyers, by Charleston divorce and custody attorney, Melissa F. Brown.  Check out Melissa’s Twitter page, too: www.twitter.com/ComplexDivorce 

Is Your Firm at Risk for Fraud and Embezzlement?

The answer to that question is an unsettling, “Yes.”  A recent study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) found that increased financial pressures during the economic crisis have led to an overall increase in fraud.  The survey also found that “employees pose the greatest fraud thread in the current economy.”  And law firms are especially vulnerable.  An article in the June 8 issue of the National Law Journal reported that “law firms make easy pickings for embezzlers,” and embezzlement in law firms happens most frequently in solo and small firm practices.  Why?

Michael Downey, a partner in the St. Louis office of Chicago-based Hinshaw & Culbertson, whose practice focuses on legal ethics and professional services risk management told the National Law Journalthat “attorneys tend to delegate business matters to employees and provide too little oversight.” Does that sound familiar?  Moreover, according to Downey, “In small firms, one person often handles accounts payable and receivable. It's someone whom they rely on for almost everything," Downey said. Lawyers are more interested in practicing law and too seldom trained to run businesses, he said; they're eager to hand over financial responsibilities to staff.

According to ACFE President James D. Ratley, "Loyal employees have bills to pay and families to feed. In a good economy, they would never think of committing fraud against their employers. But especially now, organizations must be vigilant during these turbulent times by ensuring proper fraud prevention procedures are in place." 

Does your firm need a fraud prevention checkup?  Click here for free fraud prevention tools from the ACFE.

Understand Influence to Influence Your Influencers

One sure fire way to be more persuasive is to engage in not-so-random acts of reciprocity.  Reciprocity is the theory that one good turn deserves another.  In Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, by Robert Cialdini, with co-authors Noah J. Goldstein and Steve J. Martin, the law of reciprocity is defined as “the social glue that helps bring people together in cooperative relationships.” 

So how do you activate the law of reciprocity?  One simple way is to ask for favors.  By asking for favors, you’re giving people the opportunity to help you.  Having the ability to genuinely help someone makes us feel good.   So look for opportunities to ask for favors.  Be sincere and straightforward.  In D.A. Benton’s book, Executive Charisma, she suggests the following approach: “Would you do me a favor? . . . I’d be grateful,” and later, “Thank you.”

The key is sincerity.  If you are insincere or manipulative, people will know it.  For more on reciprocity, click here to visit the Harvard Business Blog.

Get Rapt

For years I’ve been telling my clients that each interruption they deal with during the day is costing them, on average, 10 minutes.  Well, it looks like I’ve been wrong.  It’s more like 20 minutes!  According to research in Winifred Gallagher’s new book, Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life, it can take the brain up to 20 minutes to recover from an interruption.  So, if you’re dealing with only six unnecessary interruptions during your day, you’re losing up to two hours.  Two hours – gone.  Two hours you could be working.  Do that math over the course of a year!  Two hours you could be spending with your loved ones or golfing or biking or on your boat.  You get the idea.  But there is something you can do about it. 

 

The research in Gallagher’s book makes crystal clear that the idea of multi-tasking is a myth.  Our brains cannot multi-task.  They can only focus on one thing at a time.  And as we age, our ability to jump quickly from one task to another diminishes.  Maybe you’ve experienced this myth first-hand by hitting accidentally hitting “Reply to all” while talking on the phone and returning emails.

 

According to Gallagher, one of the first steps in gaining the laser-like focus we need to be most effective is to start our work day by concentrating for 90 minutes on our most important tasks.  Instead of a Power Hour, think Power 90.  After 90 minutes, you need a break, so you can answer emails and return phone calls. Schedule another Power 90 in the afternoon, if you can.  Gallagher also suggests wearing ear plugs during your Power 90 if you are easily distracted by voices or sounds.  I began using ear plugs to block out distractions when I was studying for the bar in 1992.  I recommend this strategy to my clients, as well.  These two strategies alone can dramatically improve your focus and productivity.

 

Gallagher says that attention is a finite resource, like money. The bottom line is that we have to make choices about where we “spend” our attention.  As William James said, “My experience is what I attend to.”  So get really clear about what’s most important to you and spend your attention on those things.

 

Check out Rapt for other strategies on gaining more focus and effectiveness in your work and life.

Does your team ROCK?

Before I went to law school, I was a professional musician.  I played the guitar and sang.  Still do – sometimes.  Music has always been a really big part of my life.  In fact, my first TV memory was when the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show. (I was only four years old, and after the show my dad bought me the “Meet the Beatles!” album.  I still have it.)  I think of just about everything in terms of music.  So when I think of a law firm, I think about it in terms of a band and all the “players” in the band.  So how’s your band?  Are you totally awesome or would Simon Cowell shame you off the stage of American Idol?  I hope you’re thinking, “We are totally awesome! We ROCK!”

But if you’re thinking, “Geez, we’d be laughed off the stage,” it’s time to do something about it.  Here’s what you can do to get started moving from laughing stock karaoke wannabes to rock stars.

First: Start paying attention to your players.  Do you have the right people in your band?  I can’t stress how important this is!  Think of the Beach Boys backing up Mick Jagger or anybody other than The Boss fronting the E Street Band.

Second: As the leader of your band, you get to write the songs and pick the playlist.  You decide who plays a solo, and when.  You even get to demand only green m&m’s in your dressing room. You get the picture.  You’re the leader.  You set the stage for success. You’re The Boss . . . literally.

Third: Practice, practice practice.  No matter how good the players, the band will never be awesome without lots and lots and lots of practice.  That means you, too, Boss. So, meet with your band every day.  Make sure everybody knows their part. Make sure the bass player is in step with the drummer and everybody is playing the same song at the same time.

Start doing these three things on a really consistent basis.  Then give your band a “shout out,” or raise your lighter (or your cell phone, depending upon your generation) in the air because you’re on your way to stardom.

Of course, like any great band, the practicing never stops.  But taking these first three steps will get you moving in the right direction.  Rock on.

Who are you . . . really?

When you envision yourself and your law practice, what do you see?  Your answer to this question will have a dramatic impact on how well you fare during these scary times.  Are you creating your firm or are you just re-creating what thousands of lawyers before you have done?  If you’ve never thought about these things, now is the time.  You can hum the same tired tune or you can orchestrate your future.  Now is the time, and the choice is yours.  You can do this.

The lawyers who will thrive in the coming years are those who have created their own vision of what their law firm can be.  And who then get busy making that vision a reality.  Those that thrive will bring a true spirit of entrepreneurship to their firms.  They’ll wake up every morning with one burning question: “How can we serve our clients better?” 

So get busy.  Start by asking yourself and your team the question: “How can we serve our clients better?”  Make a list.  Get going.  Start renewing.  Start reinventing.  Take it one step at a time.  You will get there. 

Don’t be overwhelmed by the work that you discover must be done.  One step at a time.  Symphonies aren’t written overnight.  They are written note by note, line by line, measure by measure.  Your life and law practice can be that symphony or samba or rock 'n roll anthem.  Just start.  Now.

Is email driving you crazy?

That’s what they call a rhetorical question – according to Webster’s “a question to which only one answer may be made.”  And I know the answer to this question is a resounding, YES!  Every lawyer I talk to is driven to distraction by email.  - Too many, not enough time to deal with them, an overflowing inbox.  One tip: Your inbox is not your to do list.  It’s not the place to leave emails thinking, “I’ll get to that later.”  If you treat your inbox like your to do list, you’ll soon have hundreds (dare I say thousands?) of emails staring at you each morning just screaming for your attention.

Instead, create folders that work for you.  Create folders for each client, with sub-folders for specific matters or projects.  You may also want to create folders for administrative tasks, volunteer or bar association work, and other projects. And for each email in your inbox decide whether to: 1) Do it – Answer it, if you can “do it” in two minutes or less. 2) Defer it – If it is something that requires more thought or research, file it in an appropriate folder for follow-up. 3) Delegate it – If it is something someone else can handle for you, then delegate it. 4) Delete it! 
 
Block time to work through your inbox applying these rules. I like to refer to this block & tackle time as "trashing my inbox" because that's where so many emails land. Then set a magic number for yourself: “No more than 15 (or some other relatively low number) emails in my inbox.”  Of course, sometimes (most days) you’ll exceed this.  But make it your goal to get back to 15 as soon as you can, and don’t let email creep take over your inbox.  Block at least one hour each week to trash your inbox.  Make it a game, and reward yourself with something fun when you back to your magic number.

Success is Sticky

What makes a successful attorney?  Successful attorneys all have one thing in common.  They can talk about themselves and their practices and how they help their clients in ways that make an impact on us.  Their stories stick with us.  And the “stickier” the stories the more successful the attorney.  In their book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, brothers Chip and Dan Heath examine just what makes an idea sticky.  Their analysis is savvy, simple, and brilliant. 

The brothers’ formula for maximum stickiness will help you transform how people think, and ultimately, how they respond to your ideas.  Here are the six key qualities of a truly sticky idea:

Simplicity: Get to the crux of your idea without turning it into a meaningless sound bite.

Unexpectedness: Capture people’s attention with the unexpected.

Concreteness: Use examples and illustrations that are concrete and easy to understand.

Credibility: Credibility gets to the core of why people believe you.

Emotional: People won’t remember your idea unless they care about your idea.

Stories:  The right stories motivate people to act on your idea.

Made to Stick is now in its second printing, and the authors have added 30 pages of new material.  So, if you’ve not read it yet, now is the time.  You owe it to yourself to read this book.  P.S. If you are a litigator, you must read this book.  It will give you a completely new perspective on how you tell your client’s story to a jury.

Check out the Made to Stick web site for more sticky resources.

Recession-Proof Your Practice

In uncertain times, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.  It’s easy to focus on getting from one day to the next without really thinking strategically about your practice.  Don’t fall into this trap.  Instead, start now to recession-proof your practice for 2009 and beyond. 

Regardless of your practice area, your clients are looking to you now more than ever to be a source of confidence for them.  The more you work to build confidence in yourself and your future, the more confidence you can provide for your clients.  (Hint: You can become a source of confidence for everyone in your life – not just your clients.)  

In her recent article for the ABA Journal, Susan A. Berson outlines 10 Tips to make your practice recession-proof.  Some of her tips are simply good business practices: manage your cash flow, maintain a good credit rating, and keep your accounts receivable in check.  Some suggest rethinking your entire practice: don’t label yourself, be willing to change/rethink your practice area, understand/redefine your market (then get out there and market!).  For example, start using professional networking sites liked LinkedIn.  If you don’t have a profile on LinkedIn, you should.

Bottom line: We tend to get what we focus on.  So, focus on making your practice better than it’s ever been.  You will be amazed at your results.

Click here to read Berson’s entire article at the ABA Journal online.

“Would you like an espresso with that?”

The Los Angeles-based law firm of Quinn Emanuel is shaking up the practice of law.  According to the September issue of Fast Company magazine, “Quinn Emanuel has adopted the strategy, attitude, and accoutrements of a Red Bull -- fueled startup. It focuses only on business litigation: no tax, real estate, or other common corporate practices. Even more galling to the tradition-bound large full-service firms that are its competitors, the firm takes some cases on contingency, meaning that it doesn't get paid if it doesn't win.”

 

Business litigation on contingency?  That’s definitely not your traditional law firm.    But that’s not the only thing that Quinn Emmanuel does differently.  Dress at the firm is casual, and there is a “Starbucks-style” coffee room just off the reception area.  Their style appears to be paying off.  Total gross revenues last year were $384.5 million.  Could your firm learn something from Quinn Emmanuel?

 

Click here to read the entire article at Fast Company.