Improving Practice Group Profitability – The Five Big Questions

Posted on 24 February 2014 by tonyreiss

Do all the practice groups in your firm make an adequate margin? If not, what is being done to address the deficiencies?

I’ve been involved in several projects which have looked at how to improve profitability. Here’s my proposed approach, including:

  • The five key questions to ask – strategic and operational are both important,
  • What I do to answer the questions – both hard data (typically spreadsheets from Accounts) and soft data (beliefs held by partners and their behaviours) are needed
  • The actions to take to improve profitability – usually a mixture of quick wins and deeper changes to matter management.

Question 1 – Are we doing the right kind of work for the right kind of clients?

The easiest way to address this question is to review the financial data on profitability by work type and by client.

The output from this analysis is a strategy clearly stating what types of work should be focused on and what types of client to target.

Question 2 – Are the partners selling the value of the work well?

One of the reasons that the work isn’t profitable might be because the partners lack some skills to sell the work well. For example, are they communicating the benefits to clients of your firm doing the work, or are they stating clearly the risks that are being mitigated? Both of these conversations increase the value of the work in the mind of the client.

To investigate this issue I would analyse the financial data, in particular looking at matter profitability by partner. I usually find some partners outperforming other partners, because of their selling approach. I would also meet partners to capture their approach and produce a good practice guide. I would also recommend offering partners a workshop on selling skills.

Question 3 – Are the partners pricing the work properly?

To investigate this question I would meet partners to establish their approach and attitude to pricing. I would also review client engagement letters.

The output from this review could include:

  • A pricing manual (this is how much this type of work has cost before for these kind of clients )
  • Brainstorm some creative pricing propositions – perhaps offering risk sharing
  • A workshop on how to price legal work. 

Question 4 – Are partners negotiating well on fees?

There are two critical stages for fee negotiating:

  • At the outset when the work is scoped initially and
  • During the matter, fees may need to be re-negotiated when the scope changes (eg review all leases rather than a sample etc)?

To answer this question I would meet partners to establish their approach and attitude to fee negotiating and re-negotiating. This would help diagnose if partners need more skills in fee negotiating. If they do I would deliver workshops, perhaps using exercises and role-play.

Question 5 – Are partners managing the work efficiently?

To investigate this question I would meet partners to establish their approach and attitude to managing matters:

  • What and when do they typically delegate, and to whom?
  • How is work briefed and supervised?
  • How much work has to be re-worked?
  • Are checklists and protocols adequate?
  • How is legal risk managed?

It will probably be useful to verify the position by arranging meetings with associates. Do they have ideas for making the delivery of legal service more efficient? They usually do!

The output from this phase of work could be an improved matter management toolkit for each practice area.

Summary

Such a programme is relatively quick to deliver and improved results can start to be seen in around 6 months. Not only would you increase profitability, but client service is also likely to be improved.

Another question – the biggest one – what if you don’t do any of this and your rivals do?

Posted in Fee Negotiating, Managing Change, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How to Get Appointed as a Partner

Posted on 10 February 2014 by tonyreiss
How to get 10's from the panel!

How to get 10’s from the panel!

Lots of senior associates are going through a stressful time at the moment – putting together material to support the business case for their appointment as partners and preparing for interviews with partner selection panels.

I’ve coached several associates in the process to enhance their chances of success. Here are some tips.

1.      Find out what the selection process is in your firm.

Typically firms go through a selection process involving:

  • Nominations from department heads, with the business case – usually requiring input from the candidate
  • Evaluations of these nominations, involving a due diligence process, consultations with other partners and interviews of the candidates (see tips on this below)
  • Decision-making by equity partners based on summary reports (not much you can do at this stage)

2.      Read the partner selection criteria carefully.

In particular you need to clear what qualities and skills your firm is looking for. Some firms are better at communicating these criteria clearly. If you’re not clear, ask. Here’s a typical list of headings and criteria:

  • Technical legal expertise
  • Client relationships
  • Business development contribution
  • Matter management
  • Developing others
  • Personal qualities (such as integrity and decisiveness)

I also suggest you talk to recently-appointed partners – their personal experiences of the process can be helpful.

3.      Get yourself known.

Many associates, particularly those working in specialist areas, are not well-enough known in their firms. This can work against them when the selection panel takes soundings amongst the partners. So I recommend finding ways of meeting important partners outside your area, perhaps on cross firm internal projects.

4.      Find out what your perceived weaknesses might be.

The selection panel will find these out from talking to partners. So you’re bound to be asked about them and what you’re doing to address these weaknesses. You won’t have to be perfect as a partner, but they will want you to show that you’re self-aware and be working on coping mechanisms. Being honest will be important as well.

5.      Provide evidence you have the qualities and skills.

This evidence is most easily provided from giving examples (ie telling stories). But try to avoid long and rambling ones. A good structure for your stories is:

Situation – describe the challenge you faced

Action – tell your audience what you did (and it helps if you can use the word ‘I’ rather than ‘we’)

Result – describe briefly what the outcome was as a result of your action.

6.      Prepare your answers for the interview.

Most candidates will not have had much recent interview experience so you might be a bit rusty. Some questions worth preparing for are:

  • Why do you want to be a partner?
  • Can you describe your practice area for us?
  • What are your thoughts about how the firm is managed?
  • What do you see as the firms key strengths and weaknesses?
  • How do you think we can improve recruitment/attrition rates/diversity etc?

My main tip here is to think before you speak – in particular, to think of a structure for your answer. Structures that tend to work well are:

  • Pros and cons
  • Three key areas
  • Before, now and after (ie chronology)

Good luck to all of you currently involved in this process and I hope you find these tips useful. Oh, and another thing, rehearse!

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Getting Best Value from Business Support Functions

Posted on 7 February 2014 by tonyreiss

Many firms have slashed their support functions (ie Finance, BD, HR, IT etc) in the downturn. I can understand why firms have done this in the short term, but I’m not at all sure that’s the right thing to do long term. Do you really want your partners spending time on administration?

I offer an approach to ensure getting best value from the business support functions. It’s based on a major post-merger project I’ve worked on, to improve the efficiency of the service functions in a major professional service firm. And what a fascinating and challenging experience it was.

All the options were available to us:

  • Keep the services as they were, perhaps tweaked in certain ways
  • Re-shape ( eg to a single central service)
  • Outsource some of the services

So how should firms go about ensuring they have the right support and that it’s delivered efficiently? Here’s a suggested four step process.

Step 1 – Establish what the firm needs

Most of the work in this phase involves interviewing the partners ( the internal clients). A checklist is important to ensure asking consistent questions. But be prepared to receive a range of answers. Some partners will highly rate the support they get from the BD team and others will think it’s rubbish. That’s life! The outliers need to be listened to, but the salt cellar should be available and used! Go with the majority view.

What can make it harder is that the partners aren’t usually sure what they want. And, of course, what they want isn’t usually what they need! So it can help to provide some options, making it clear what are the higher and lower cost options.

Senior members of the support teams also need to be listened to. They will also have a view about what the firm needs. It may also be helpful to consult some outside commentators, such as recruitment specialists, legal journalists and technology specialists. They can provide valuable insights into industry trends, which seem to be  fewer, lower level support staff and more senior, strategic advisers. Higher cost – yes. But potentially greater value-added.

Step 2 – Assess whether the current service meets this need

Consider both the cost and value-added from each of the activities provided. I don’t recommend crunching lots of numbers here – a simple grading of H, M or L for High, Medium or Low is sufficient. High cost and low value-added services should obviously be addressed as a priority.

Step 3 – Review other service options

Ask yourself, is there a better way? At certain stages of a firm’s evolution it appears that a central support department is best. As a firm grows and specialises in different business-generating activities it usually makes sense to streamline down most of these functions (particularly, HR, BD) and provide account managers sitting with the fee earners. The role of the centre might be to provide specialist services (eg Events, Recruitment, PR/Comms, L&D etc).

There are a lot of misunderstandings about the outsourcing option. With a clear service level agreement in place, I believe this would be a good solution for many firms.

There are also potentially interesting developments for the ongoing use of secretaries. Most junior fee earners can do their own typing, so there is an interesting potential role for partner PA’s to support the key account teams to build closer relationships with clients. One firm is famous for encouraging their PA’s to build relationships with the PA’s of directors at major clients.

Step 4 – Establish new systems, processes and skills to deliver

Many of the inefficiencies in delivering the services inside professional firms are caused by the lack of discipline in what might be called the contracting process of the projects. Outside agencies are usually more rigorous and disciplined about this because they have to get the service right to get more ongoing work. Internal departments admit that they are often not sure what the partner needs and by when – because they weren’t told clearly, and they didn’t ask!

I don’t think there’s a one size fits all solution to how to structure the back office of professional firms. The answer lies in being really clear where your firm gains its competitive advantage and then equipping the services to deliver.

What happened on the post-merger project to build a more efficient back office? A few functions stayed the same – they were already offering a good service and value. Others were streamlined and some were outsourced. In the end, the project team saved the firm literally millions of pounds.

Should your firm look at your back office services more closely? Are you sure you’re getting best value?

 

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Do Partners Really Buy-in to Change at Your Firm?

Posted on 30 January 2014 by tonyreiss

resistance to changeMost organisations are not good at implementing projects that require people to work differently (eg new appraisal processes, mentoring programmes, key account programmes, new IT add-on systems etc). Programmes get initiated, but often fizzle out  before any great added value is achieved.

My own view is that firms take on too many projects  and that few of them are really committed to or done properly. Staff become cynical and resistance to change builds up.

So what can we learn about successful change projects from the experts? Eminent professors at Harvard and elsewhere have studied change programmes in successful companies and have come up with their recommended processes. Here is a distillation of the themes that are broadly agreed.

The Beer, Eisenstat and Spector Model 

Beer, Eisenstat and Spector reviewed change programmes in six large firms over a four year period and proposed a six step change model as follows:

  1.  Mobilise energy and commitment through joint identification of business problems and their solutions – greater mobilisation occurs by helping staff develop a shared diagnosis of what is wrong.
  2. Develop a shared vision of how to organise and manage for competitiveness – this can be successfully achieved by setting up task forces, consulting widely and arranging retreats to agree roles and responsibilities
  3. Foster consensus, competence and cohesion – strong leadership is required and support is needed for the project team to deal with those who are less committed to the change
  4. Spread revitalisation without pushing from the top – change works better if each unit finds its own way rather than being forced to adopt a certain approach
  5. Institutionalise success through formal policies, systems and structures – if change is delicate and like an egg, then what is needed is an egg cup, in the form of new processes, systems, measurement and reward procedures etc
  6. Monitor and adjust strategies in response to problems in the change process – change is invariably a ‘suck it and see’ process, involving trial and error and gradually zeroing in on improved performance.

The Kotter Model

Kotter has an eight step process for successfully managing change, as follows:

Set the Stage

1. Create a Sense of Urgency – help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately

2. Pull Together the Guiding Team – make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change – with leadership skills, credibility, communications ability, analytical skills and a sense of urgency

Decide What to Do

3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy – clarify how the future will be different from the past and how you can make that future a reality

Make it Happen

4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy-In – make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy

5. Empower Others to Act – remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so

6. Produce Short-Terms Wins – Create some visible unambiguous successes as soon as possible

7. Don’t Let Up – press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with initiating change after change until the vision is a reality

Make it Stick

8. Create a New Culture – hold on to ways of behaving and make sure they succeed until they become strong enough to replace old traditions

Summary

What do these models have in common? They show successful change programmes require real commitment from those affected by the change and that to gain that commitment, it’s best to:

  • create an attractive vision
  • get buy-in through consulting widely to see how this vision can be realised
  • build a guiding coalition of supporters of the vision
  • be merciless in ensuring actions get taken
  • stabilise the change (ie make it stick) before moving on to the next project
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How to Assess the Talent of a Trainer

Posted on 27 January 2014 by tonyreiss

Lots of people underestimate how difficult it is to be a really good trainer. Reviewing the ‘tick sheets’ after a programme doesn’t really tell you how good the trainer was. It tends to tell you more about how much the participants enjoyed the programme. Enjoyment is good – but not enough.

Why not invite the trainers to deliver a sample workshop, look out for a few things and ask them some questions, as follows:

1. Getting Attendees to be Participants

There are thought to be four types of people who turn up to training workshops:

  • Prisoners –have been made to attend. They don’t want to be there and don’t play much of a role. They are saying to themselves ‘Get me out of here!’
  • Protesters – don’t want to be there and are closed-minded. They make this known by frequently checking their Blackberries and challenging with ‘But that doesn’t make sense’
  • Passengers – are going along for the journey, though are somewhat sceptical and don’t contribute much
  • Participants – are fully engaged

Effective trainers have a strategy for all these types. Ask them how they do this.

2. Getting Participants into the Learning Zone

Bearing in mind the likely mix in the room, effective trainers put a good deal of emphasis on getting maximum buy-in at the start of workshops. You can’t make anybody learn and it’s not easy, particularly for experienced participants, to change the way they think and behave.

Trainers need participants to take a step or two outside their comfort zone to ensure they’re in the learning zone. Look for trainers who are good at encouraging and supporting participants to do that. Ask the trainers how they do this.

3. Importance of Credibility, Rapport and Trainers Being Trusted

To achieve this learning state trainers need to establish their credibility at the outset (‘we understand your world…have been there….got the tee-shirt’) and build rapport with the group (‘we know what it’s like for you, and we’re with you and on your side’) and establish trust (‘we’re not here to catch you out or make you feel foolish’).

It’s a positive sign if trainers build a learning contract with the participants to create workable ground-rules. They then need to enforce these rules.

4. Relevance of Training Material

Effective trainers need to put training into a practical context. It helps if the trainers have got appropriate industry experience. They should know how quickly participants ‘switch off’ if they do not perceive the practical relevance of what is being discussed. Trainers need to also be realistic about the constraints (time, risk and client) within which the participants operate.

Good trainers should start a session by getting the participants to engage with the topic, get them interested and see the relevance as quickly as possible. This can be done by posing some engaging questions and setting up buzz groups to discuss their answers.

Where possible trainers should ask participants what in particular they would like to be covered on the programme and write these up on a flipchart to make sure they are not forgotten. These should be cross-checked towards the end of the programme to ensure they have been covered adequately.

As progress is made through the programme, it is good practice to summarise the concepts, models or frameworks underpinning the behaviours and techniques that you are encouraging the participants to try out. Frameworks should be provided to help the participants to analyse their experience and to draw transferable lessons from it, as well as to enable them to talk to others about what they do and why it works.

5. Using a Variety of Learning Stimuli

Good trainers are aware of the different learning styles (Kolb, Honey & Mumford etc) and design programmes with elements that would appeal to each style (reflection, trying something out etc).

Typical formats to appeal to different learning styles and to provide a variety of learning stimuli are:

  • Discussions in pairs/buzz groups
  • Reacting to stimuli (quotes, pictures, video clips etc)
  • Using affinity diagrams to cluster thoughts, perhaps using post it notes
  • Group role-plays (with group members observing and giving feedback)
  • Case studies in groups
  • Forum theatre to demonstrate techniques
  • Quizzes
  • Extended simulations (dealing with a sequence of events over time)

Ask potential suppliers for sample designs to see if they contain a variety of stimuli.

6. Trainers Modelling Different Styles

Trainers should be expected to model different styles during the programme, such as teacher, coach, modeller, facilitator as developed by Champion, Keil and McLendon.

7. Check Out The Trainer’s Beliefs About Effective Training

The following is a list of widely held beliefs about effective training:

  • be clear at the outset as to what the participants should expect ( perhaps by asking participants to do some reading or thinking before they arrive)
  • encourage participants to describe what challenges they face in a certain field (eg giving feedback or dealing with more demanding clients etc)
  • provide short inputs on frameworks/models that others have found helpful
  • ask for reactions or perceived difficulties using the approach and discuss these
  • encourage the participants to give it a go – real live situations can work better than hypothetical situations, though this is not always possible
  • provide on-going support back in the workplace (either from us or from other lawyers or senior support staff)

During the practical exercises, emphasis should be given to providing constructive feedback so the participants are clear as to what they did well (and repeat) and what they could do differently. It can be useful to use professional role players to avoid the participants having to role-play (which some find uncomfortable).

Ask potential suppliers how they deal with any push-back (probably from the protesters). Best practice is to be respectful but challenging and allow the group to resolve such challenges. Good trainers should be able to win over most dissenters by the end of programmes (at least to some extent).

8. Being Passionate About Transferring the Learning to the Workplace

It isn’t easy for participants to transfer the learning from the workshop back to the workplace. Here are some ways of delivering this, which good trainers will know about:

  • encouraging the use of learning logs for participants to capture their reflections, feedback received or thoughts about using our material on future engagements
  • emphasising the importance of action planning at the end of a programme
  • emphasising the importance of developing an action learning mindset, so that participants can continue to develop their skills and knowledge after the formal training has ended
  • encouraging the provision of support from internal coaches (who can be trained as coaches)
  • encouraging  the continued support from the trainer team, perhaps through sending reminders about course content and about commitments
  • inviting appropriate members of your staff to be co-trainers with the external trainers
  • encouraging the use of ‘buddies’ to support each other and keep the participants honest in terms of implementing their action plans
  • emphasising the usefulness of participants having pre-meetings and post-meetings with ‘sponsors’ in their team so that the participants are ‘aligned’ with the strategy in their groups and any actions they take are coordinated
  • providing simulated real-life situations at the end of the programme to try out the learning, perhaps using actors and video playback.

9. Being Flexible About Programme Designs

In terms of designing programmes, you may appreciate some flexibility from your trainers. There is a trade-off between depth of learning and convenience or lack of disruption.

A series of short sessions can be effective for dealing with specific skills but they are often less effective for developing the deeper appreciation as to why it is important for participants to be effective leaders and how they can change their way of thinking and behaviour, especially when attendance is intermittent. On the other hand, there are indeed practical constraints if we need participants to give up longer periods of time to attend workshops.

Combining participants from different countries provides further logistical challenges. There are advantages in using neutral and cheaper venues for such programmes (rather than head office).

Lots to cover here. But it will help you select trainers that will add value and make a difference.

 

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How to be More Emotionally Resilient

Posted on 19 January 2014 by tonyreiss

Work life seems to be getting more challenging. You may find yourself in the middle of a merger and get a new boss you find difficult. For all kinds of reasons, we can end up feeling we have more bad days than good days.

Emotional resilience refers to our ability to adapt to stressful situations or crises. More resilient people are able to roll with the punches and adapt to adversity without lasting difficulties. Less resilient people have a harder time with stress and life changes.

Resilience is not a quality that you either do or do not possess. There are varying degrees of how well a person is able to handle stress. Still, there are certain characteristics that resilient people tend to share, such as:

  • Emotional Awareness: They understand what they’re feeling and why.
  • Perseverance: Whether they’re working toward outward goals or on inner coping strategies, they’re action-oriented — they trust in the process and don’t give up.
  • Control: They believe that they, rather than outside forces, are in control of their own lives.
  • Optimism: They see the positives in most situations and believe in their own strength.
  • Support: While they tend to be strong individuals, they know the value of social support and are able to surround themselves with supportive friends and family.
  • Sense of Humour: They’re able to laugh at life’s difficulties.
  • Perspective: Resilient people are able to learn from their mistakes (rather than deny them), see obstacles as challenges, and allow adversity to make them stronger. They can also find meaning in life’s challenges rather than seeing themselves as victims.

How to Develop Greater Emotional Resilience

Develop The Right Attitude – Resilient people tend to view life’s difficulties as challenges and respond accordingly with action, rather than with fear, self-pity, blame or a “victim mentality.” While life can be very challenging, an important step in becoming more resilient is to remind yourself that you are strong and can grow stronger and more wise as you handle life’s challenges.

Become Aware – Part of resilience is emotional awareness. It’s important to understand what you’re feeling and why. Sometimes people feel overwhelmed with their emotions, and this frightens and immobilizes them. Knowing why you feel upset can provide valuable information about what needs to change in your life. It’s also important to do research on how to meet the challenges you face. Maintaining a journal can help you explore your inner world and come up with a plan of action.

Develop a Sense of Control – Resilient people believe that they’re in control of their lives, and it’s true. While we can’t control our circumstances, we can control how we respond to those circumstances, and that makes a big difference in our attitudes and in the course our lives take.

Cultivate Optimism – Being an optimist is more than looking on the bright side (though that helps). It’s a way of viewing the world where you maximize your strengths and accomplishments, and minimize your weaknesses and setbacks. Developing a more optimistic world view can help you become more resilient.

Rally Social Support – While we ultimately face our own challenges, a supportive friend or group of friends can help lighten the load. Those with strong networks of social support tend to stay healthier and happier throughout life, and tend to cope well with stress. Conversely, those with little support may find themselves more vulnerable, and those with conflicted and unsupportive relationships tend to fare even worse.

Maintain Your Sense of Humour – If you’re able to laugh at life’s frustrations, you can have increased immunity, if you will, to stress and adversity. Those with a sense of humour about life tend to experience life as less stressful, are able to bond with others during difficult times, and experience the numerous benefits of laughter. If you can take a step back from difficult situations long enough to maintain your sense of humour, you will be more resilient, too.

Exercise – Exercise has been correlated with stronger levels of resilience. This may be due to the effects of endorphins on one’s mood, or the physical health benefits to those who exercise, or both. Regardless, adding a regular exercise habit to your lifestyle can benefit you in more ways than one.

Get In Touch With Your Spiritual Side – Studies have shown that those who are more spiritual tend to be more resilient as well. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be resilient if you are atheist or agnostic. But if you are open to it, reconnecting or strengthening your connection to your spiritual side can provide you with strength.

Don’t Give Up – While many people know of coping strategies that can help with stress, as with diets and exercise programs, the most successful individuals are those who maintain the effort for the long term. Don’t give up on your situation; don’t stop working toward getting through it. Trust the process.

Overall Tip – Be patient with yourself, and just do your best.

For more thoughts on a related theme see https://tonyreiss.com/2012/02/18/changing-how-we-think-feel-behave-to-be-more-effective-the-art-of-cutting-a-new-groove/

Sources:

Bonanno GA, Galea S, Bucciarelli A, Vlahov D. What Predicts Psychological Resilience after Disaster? The Role of Demographics, Resources, and Life Stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. October 2007.

Southwick SM, Vythilingam M, Charney DS. The Psychobiology of Depression and Resilience to Stress. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 2005.

Posted in Coaching and Training, Leadership and Management, Managing Change | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Business Development Training in Law Firms Isn’t Working!

Posted on 2 January 2014 by tonyreiss

This stark headline is based on an online survey with 29 partners and 17 BD directors in different firms.

Rather disturbingly, 50% of the partners said they either received no training in business development or said the training wasn’t effective. A further 39% said the training was OK, but that there wasn’t enough follow up after the training. Only 11% said the BD training was excellent.

As one of the consulting firms delivering such training, I’m obviously disheartened to receive this feedback. Though I think I know what the problem is (see below).

The survey also looked into experiences with mentoring or external coaches for BD-related issues. The results here are more positive with 40% of respondents saying they had benefited from an external coach or internal mentor. 21% said they would appreciate receiving more coaching/mentoring support and 39% replied saying that their firm either didn’t offer coaching/mentoring or they weren’t sure how to get such support.

A quote from one partner suggests where the problem with BD training may lie:

Trainers can contribute in good faith, but people are not good implementers, or at least not enough of them.

So the training itself may be doing its job and contributing some value. Typical objectives from Sherwood BD workshops are to:

  • communicate the knowledge required by partners
  • raise the skill levels (through demonstrations, exercises etc)
  • shift the mindset so partners realise it’s an important part of their role.

The problem lies after the training – with putting it all into practice.

I’m reminded of the wise words from the David Maister in his book The Fat Smoker. In it he says:

The primary reason we do not work at areas in which we know we need to improve [eg business development] is that the rewards (and pleasure) are in the future; the disruption, discomfort and discipline needed to get there are immediate.

To reach our goals, we must first change our lifestyle, our daily habits, now. Then we have to have the courage to keep up the new habits and not yield to all the old familiar temptations. Then, and only then, we get the benefits later.

As human beings, we are not good at such decisions. We start self-improvement programs with good intentions, but if they don’t pay off immediately, or if a temptation to depart from the program arises, we abandon our efforts completely—until the next time we pretend to be on the program.

That’s our pattern. Try a little, succumb to temptation, give up. Repeat until totally frustrated. Unfortunately, there is rarely, if ever, a benefit from dabbling or trying a little on a new strategy.

So what needs to happen? Here are some suggestions for better follow up after BD training and getting partners into the new and better BD habits now:

  1. Lawyers returning back from BD training workshops could set some goals – some achievable goals – climbing some foothills which can be achieved and be confidence-inducing, rather than attempting Everest and potentially failing!
  2. These goals could be communicated and agreed with the practice group leader to ensure they fit with the team’s objectives.
  3. The goals could be added to the personal objectives for the year so they are part of the annual review and therefore measured and taken seriously.
  4. Somebody else in the firm could support the partner, either by helping generate ideas of helping with implementation if they get busy. It’s much more effective working on BD in pairs or even larger groups.
  5. The line manager could be there checking on progress – cajoling and supporting as necessary
  6. The BD function should also be there checking on progress – cajoling and supporting as necessary

I’m sure that with appropriate follow up measures in place, BD training will have a greater impact and help firms get more BD bangs for their BD-investment  buck.

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It Can be Stressful at the Top – Here’s to a Happier 2014!

Posted on 1 January 2014 by tonyreiss

New Year – a time for reflection. What will 2014 bring for senior executives? Well, it has to true that if you approach the year in the same way as you did 2013 you’re highly likely to get similar results. If you didn’t find 2013 a totally positive experience, full of personal growth, read on…

An important aspect of our approach to work is what we might call our outlook or attitude. You can describe this as how we choose to see things and how we choose to react to situations and people.

The choices made by many executives leave them feeling somewhat flat, pessimistic, anxious or simply too burdened to be really happy in their roles.

You might argue that these feelings are realistic and normal. After all, there’s all that pressure to hit targets, all that responsibility and all those decisions that have to be taken without enough information. Then there’s so little feedback on your performance – that’s bound to lead to some anxiety.

But I sense that many senior people spend too much of their time thinking about negative things – about all the things that aren’t going right, such as a star associate leaving or a client making you re-tender for work. Then there’s all the things that could go wrong – that’s an endless list!

In my one-to-one coaching work I find it helpful to think about each of my clients as two people. There’s the person and there’s the voice in their head!

The voice in their head says things like:

  • “The others are better at me at X, Y, Z”
  • “I should be more knowledgeable or skilled to do this work better”
  • “I ought to get more profitable clients, otherwise my position in the firm will be weakened”
  • “I might mess this negotiation up and get blamed”

If you’re wondering what I mean about the voice in the head – it‘s that voice!

All these ‘oughts’ and ‘shoulds’ and focus on blame and faults create a negative spiral. It takes the spring out of your step. Frankly it can make you less fun to be around! And much less of a successful leader, with fewer committed followers.

So what is the alternative? Here are some suggestions – all of which have made a huge difference to senior people I have worked with.

  1. See the glass being at least half full – not half empty! Focus on what’s good and one your strengths.
  2. Take yourself less seriously. When you hear that inner voice whispering in your ear, don’t beat yourself up, but have a little chuckle to yourself.
  3. See all that wonderful potential in your associates. Praise people whenever you can. Say ‘well done’ to yourself. As Michelangelo said: ‘Inside the slab of marble is a beautiful statue – my job is simply to chip away all the unwanted stone’.
  4. Lead by example. If the leaders are going around being miserable, it’ll be contagious. The whole firm will become infected
  5. Challenge all the assumptions you’ve made about who is good and who isn’t – about who likes you and who doesn’t. Most of these assumptions are likely to be stories you initially made up and have sought to reinforce. Be open to the possibilities that there is more good and more potential out there.
  6. Have a vision for your team. Everybody wants to know where you’re sailing the ship – particularly those more junior than you working in the equivalent of the engine room.

As Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, says about teaching: ‘If the eyes of your students aren’t shining, as yourself the question – how am I being that stops their eyes shining?’

Finally, remember that you do have a choice!

Here’s to a better, more rewarding, more positive, more uplifting 2014 with many more possibilities!

Posted in Coaching and Training, Leadership and Management | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

BD Survey Reveals Partners are from Jupiter and BD Directors from Saturn

Posted on 17 December 2013 by tonyreiss
Are BD Directors from Saturn?

Are BD Directors from Saturn?

 An online survey reveals that partners in law firms and BD directors have very different views of the world of business development. It’s as if they’re from different planets. Here are three stark examples:

  1. How much time should be spent on BD activities? Partners think they should spend many more hours than BD staff do!
  2. How much time is actually being spent on BD activities? BD directors think it’s much less than the partners say!
  3. Do partners need more support to carry out their business development? Partners say yes and BD directors think this isn’t a key challenge for partners

One area where partners and BD directors agree is on the main challenges facing partners which, if addressed, would improve marketing performance. They agree that the main challenge is partners being better organised to do follow up BD activities.

Here is the data on the time that partners and BD directors think should be spent on BD activities:

How many hours/ week should be spent on BD activities?

Partners

 

BD Directors

Difference

Partners vs BD Directors

%

%

Less than 2 hrs

7

7

0

3-4 hrs

24

40

-16

5-7 hrs

24

33

-9

8+ hrs

45

20

+25

100

100

0

There are surprising discrepancies and I would have expected the BD directors to have had higher expectations for the time spent by partners on BD activities. Is this just being pragmatic and realistic? Can anybody offer any suggestions to explain these findings?

Here is the data on how much time partners and BD directors thought was actually being spent on BD activities:

How many hours/ week are actually spent on BD activities?

Partners

 

BD Directors

 

Difference

Partners vs BD Directors

%

%

Less than 2 hrs

41

40

+1

3-4 hrs

14

33

-19

5-7 hrs

24

20

+4

8+ hrs

21

7

+14

100

100

0

Firstly we should note that partners spend less time on BD than they think they should. Maybe no surprises there!

Then there is a marked difference of opinion with BD directors, who believe that significantly less time is being invested in BD activities than the partners!

A similar survey carried out within one particular firm enabled us to check individual responses against timesheets. This showed that less time was invested in BD activities than partners thought – though who knows whether we can believe timesheets!

I then wanted to shed some light on partners’ perceptions as to what they found easy and challenging for them on business development. I was keen to cross-check what BD directors thought, to see if the challenges that partners were facing were appreciated and understood by them.

From the higher scores we can see that BD directors thought that partners found most aspects of BD more challenging than the partners did. The marked exception was on whether partners had sufficient support. BD directors ranked this as the least challenging, yet partners scored this much higher (see table):

Business Development Activity

Partners

How challenging

Score (out of 4)*

BD Directors

How challenging

Score (out of 4)*

Difference

BD Directors vs Partners
Being organised to do follow up BD activities

2.8

3.5

+0.7
Finding the time to do BD

2.8

3.0

+0.2
Finding someone to support them

2.6

2.2

-0.4
Remaining enthusiastic after setbacks

2.5

2.9

+0.4
Knowing what to prioritise

2.4

3.1

+0.7
Knowing what to do

2.4

2.5

+0.1
Knowing how to do BD

2.3

2.6

+0.3

*1 = easy – not a problem, 2 = not much of a problem, 3 = some problems, 4 = I find this really challenging

Key conclusions from this table:

  1. Partners and BD directors agree that being organised to do follow up BD activities is the biggest challenge for partners, though BD directors judge this is an even bigger challenge than the partners do
  2. BD directors believe that prioritising what to do is a bigger deficiency than partners do
  3. Partners commented on a lack of support being a problem. BD directors don’t see things that way. This was the only category where BD directors thought it was less of a challenge than the partners did!

Overall Conclusions

This was a relatively small survey – 39 partners and 15 BD directors replied which represented 6% and 14% of the respected samples. I think these responses raise yet further questions (as such surveys often do) than they answer. In particular, I’m surprised firms aren’t doing more to encourage a greater level of BD activity. Partners can’t all be overloaded with chargeable work! What else are partners doing with their time?

Having said that, there is evidence from the survey to reinforce my own belief that lawyers and BD specialists are from different planets!

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Not Investing Enough Time in Business Development – Survey Reveals

Posted on 12 December 2013 by tonyreiss
Partners needing to juggle their time better?

Partners needing to juggle their time better?

Benchmarking Study on BD Practices in Law Firms – Main Findings

Here are some initial and somewhat disturbing findings from a survey amongst 30 partners in law firms.

Firstly partners admit that they are not spending as much time as they should on business development activities, such as profile raising, networking and client entertainment. Approximately half the partners thought they should be spending more than 8 hours a week, but only 21% were doing so.

Furthermore, 41% of partners admitted to spending less than 2 hours a week on business development activities! Here are the results:

Hours/week

Should be spent on BD activities

Actual time spent on BD activities

%

%

Less than 2 hrs

7

41

3-4 hrs

24

14

5-7 hrs

24

24

8+ hrs

45

21

100

100

I then asked partners how easy or challenging they found various aspects of their business development role. It seems that most are comfortable knowing what to do and about half think they have the skills. The biggest challenges are:

  • Being organised to do the follow up
  • Finding the time to carry out their BD

Here are the results:

Business Development Activity

How challenging

Score (out of 4)*
Being organised to do follow up BD activities

2.8
Finding the time to do BD

2.8
Finding someone to support them

2.6
Remaining enthusiastic after setbacks

2.5
Knowing what to prioritise

2.4
Knowing what to do

2.4
Knowing how to do BD

2.3

*1=easy – not a problem, 2 = not much of a problem, 3= some problems, 4 = I find this really challenging

These findings suggest to me that partners still don’t see the importance of investing their time in business development to generate a sustainable flow of future income. Are they too distracted by current matters? Can they delegate more responsibility to senior associates to free up some time? Surely the average partner could find at least 10% more time by doing this.

Furthermore, is there anything further that the internal BD team can do to help partners design longer-term campaigns to develop future work streams?

If any representatives from the BD functions are interested, I can send a copy of the questionnaire. More findings from this survey to be published soon.

Posted in Business Development and Selling, Leadership and Management | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment