Create Employee Evangelists
My friend Zane Safrit, offers up Zane’s 10 Rules for Creating EMPLOYEE Evangelists. Riffing a bit off of Guy Kawasaki’s 10 Rules for Creating Customer Evangelists, Zane offers these gems (I’d like to rip off all of them here, but go read Zane’s post):
* Niche Your Employee. Find the unique quality, the unique resource each employee brings. Then position them where they can utilize those talents making meaning for their colleagues and your customers. Each employee provides a niche of talent, perspective, wisdom and advice. Discover those resources. Use those resources for the employees' development, the company's development and the customers' satisfying experience.
You can't create a niche product serving a niche market while you ignore your employees' niche skills.
* Tell Your Story, Tell Your Whole Story. ("Open up the Kimono") Open up and share the mission, the path, the successes and failures with the employees. Seek their advice. Seek their solutions. It's ok to not have all the answers.
I gotta admit that's a tough one. It has to do with the whole command and control, vulnerability, "am I a strong leader if I'm asking for solutions, ie, help?"
Let's put it on the positive. The more solutions' providers you create in your company, from those that provide great big conceptual solutions to those that provide a line of html that's missing, you'll have a smarter and more responsive company with a group of people who are excited and engaged in the process of fulfilling its mission providing meaning to their lives and the lives of your customers. And in this economy you need as many solutions sources as you can find, especially the ones who have your best interest at heart.
* Test-drive their ideas. Your employees are asked to test your ideas out every day. And to answer for them. Why not test their ideas?
Everyone contributes to your shared mission. Everyone does whether you recognize it or not. So, you want their full and POSITIVE contribution. Let them contribute. Give them room to try a few of their own ideas. Respect them in the same manner and try theirs.
A few will fail just like with yours. But a few will win. And a few more next month. And next month. Before long you've got a buzz going on, a conversation taking place, within your company like you want to take place in the market about your company.
35 Questions
Take a look at Mitch Meyerson’s 35 Questions That Will Change Your Life (pdf).
Hangin' with the Patent Posse
I spent a bunch of Techshow hangin’ with the Patent Posse(tm) a.k.a. Doug Sorocco, Steve Nipper, and Matt Buchanan. I’ve know the guys virtually for quite some time, and was totally amazed to see them hanging out as if they’d known one another forever. In fact, their first face-to-face meeting was at Techshow.
The guys have started the rethink(ip) blog and are really taking the lead in reinventing IP practice. After they make their first million, I hope they remember me as the guy who introduced them (at least Doug and Steve) on my Think Tank Tuesday call.
And if you see Doug in person, ask him about his tattoo.
I wonder if this will fit in my garage?
That is, if I had a garage. Maybe when my wife and I start building our new home next year, we can make room for this.
In a similar vein, any golfers in L.A. area want to play?
More Ridiculousness - Not Family Friendly
Since I’m on a roll posting a bunch of non-nonbillable hour related stuff, here’s a hilarous conversation answering this question:
How many 5 year-olds could you take on at once?
The specifics:
- You are in an enclosed area, roughly the size of a basketball court. There are no foreign objects.
- You are not allowed to touch a wall.
- When you are knocked unconscious, you lose. When they are all knocked unconscious, they lose. Once a kid is knocked unconscious, that kid is "out."
- I (or someone else intent on seeing to it you fail) get to choose the kids from a pool that is twice the size of your magic number. The pool will be 50/50 in terms of gender and will have no discernable abnormalities in terms of demographics, other than they are all healthy Americans.
- The kids receive one day of training from hand-to-hand combat experts who will train them specifically to team up to take down one adult. You will receive one hour of "counter-tactics" training.
- There is no protective padding for any combatant other than the standard-issue cup.
* The kids are motivated enough to not get scared, regardless of the bloodshed. Even the very last one will give it his/her best to take you down.
(Link from alltheseideas.com).
Gotta Have More Cowbell!
When life gets you down, and you don’t know where to turn, just get yourself some more cowbell. (Thanks to Emlyn.net for the link). And if the cowbell doesn’t do the trick, maybe a Schweddy Weiner.
Ask Mr. Science
Now, the last thing that I am is a scientist, but I found this article in the NewScientist.com fascinating: 13 Things That Do Not Make Sense.
Dim the lights, put on some music, and make some dough.
Ankesh has these great suggestions at Marketing eYe for retailers:
2 very important small changes that lead to big profits:
Lighting: Change the lighting and you'll increase your profits. If you have a lot of women shoppers, use non-glaring white lights. Direct lighting makes skin look 5-10 years older. Indirect use of soft non-glaring white light makes women look younger.
Restaurants who have changed their lighting have seen profits increase by as much as 20%! Just like that! Indirect lighting changes the context and makes the food more delicious - magically!
Music: Soft classical music makes customers stay longer and spend more in your store.
Classical music changes the context and makes people believe that your store is an upscale one. And thus they spend more time and don't hesitate to buy even if your prices are higher than the competitor's.
What does your office look like? What music is playing?
Thinking Tool
Several months ago, I came across the Oblique Strategies web site. I always wanted to post about it, but was never able to completely describe the point of the “game.” Yesterday, I found this on-line version (requires flash) that makes everything a bit clearer. In short, think of a problem you have or a decision you must make. “Draw” one card at random and use its guidance to help you approach your dilemma from a different direction. A worthwhile look.
Something I think I knew once ...
Here is my favorite thing about the web: I can be surfing along, trying to do real work, and run across stuff like this. Fifteen minutes Two hours of wasted time later, I've now looked at the entire site, and almost woke up my daughter because I was laughing so hard. Now, I feel compelled to waste some of your time too. Consider yourself warned!
Powerpoint your way to writing success.
Cliff Atkinson (on his Beyond Bullets blog) has some excellent tips for writers. He suggests working through your idea first -- taking multiple opportunities to present it to others -- before commiting it to writing. He even goes so far to suggest writers prepare a powerpoint presentation before writing a word. Here's why:
This approach can actually reduce the risk that an idea will berejected, because it's been pre-tested in the marketplace of ideasfirst, and pre-qualified against 3 principles:
1. Your idea grows stronger as it moves from the abstract to the concrete.An idea in your mind doesn't do anyone else any good until youcommunicate it to other people. Get your idea out early and find outwhat the world thinks.
2. Whatever doesn't kill your idea makes it stronger. Askpeople what they think, and appreciate people who disagree -- they'rethe ones you can give most credit toward strengthening your idea. Getfeedback, find out what works, discard what doesn't, and keep movingforward.
3. Your excitement for your idea is what gets other people excited.As you share your ideas with other people in person, you have theunique opportunity to demonstrate the passion that will help youovercome the forces that will surely work against your idea. Withoutyour passion, no one else will become passionate.
I have been really struggling with my MoreSpace essay. I love my outline and ideas, but I am having a difficult time making it "flow". I'll give Cliff's ideas a try and you can be the judge when you read the essay -- if Todd doesn't fire me from the project first because I'm behind.
Fundamental Changes
I am a big fan of Report 103, a weekly newsletter from jpb.com (subscription information can be found at http://www.jpb.com/report103/). In the most recent edition, the author suggests writing down ten of the most fundamental changes you could make to your business without destroying it. Once you've completed this task, try to make an objective and convincing argument why you shouldn't make the change. If there are one or two fundamental changes you can't make a compelling argument against, give them a try.
Two "Wrongs" can make a "Right"
David Batstone, in the Worthwhile blog, tells us to Make Promises We Can Keep. One of his four tips:
Turn your mistakes into opportunities for invention. That is howAmazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos keeps his company on a creative edge. Bezossays that he reviews the Amazon site every Saturday and lists the 10things that are “wrong,” and that sets his agenda for Monday morning.“Perfect people” are boring...and delude themselves about theirimperfections.
I really like this idea. Ten "wrong" things are a bit overwhelming for a small organization, but maybe two or three. I think a perfect compliment to Bezos' method would be to identify three things that are "right" and take the week to make them incrementally better.
Chicago, Blogwalk, and Bloggers as Starving Artists.
I just had an amazing weekend in Chicago. Dennis (the Dennis Kennedy Blog) Kennedy and I drove up together (while holding our combined law firm retreat) and beat the 18 inches of snow by about an hour. The purpose of our trip was to check out in person the Catalyst Ranch space where we are holding LexThink! Chicago and attend BlogWalk Chicago.
As excited as I was about LexThink before traveling to Chicago, after seeing Catalyst Ranch, I am even more enthused. Eva, the Catalyst Ranch owner showed us around, and words can’t describe how perfect the space fits our vision of LexThink.
The best part of the weekend, however, was BlogWalk Chicago. Dennis and I joined these amazing bloggers and visionaries for a day of free-ranging discussions using the same OpenSpace method we will be relying upon for LexThink. Here is the who’s who:
- Jack Vinson
- Lilia Efimova
- Jim McGee
- David Burn
- Steve Dembo
- AKMA
- Denham Grey
- Tom Sherman
- Al Delgado
- Stuart Henshall
- Mark Bernstein
- Shannon Clark
- Martin Geddes
- Phil Wolff
I’m still trying to collect my thoughts for a more detailed post, but one concept that really crystallized for me is that bloggers are the the new starving artists — we allow our passion for producing our product (the information in our blogs) to adversely impact our ability to rationally place a value upon it. In the room in Chicago, I was humbled to be in the company of big-thinking people who really “get” the way blogging can change the world. There must have been 500+ GREAT ideas thrown out by the collective. Many of the ideas could support a small business of ten employees for a year or more. Only a few of us, however, had made any money directly from blogging (and I’m not retiring anytime soon on my first Law.com revenue sharing check). What this means to me is that there is no better time to be a buyer of blogging talent — not for the blog per se, but for the incredible, inventive talented mind behind it (more on this later).
LexThink! Chicago Invites on the Way!
Well, we’ve made our list and checked it twice and the first round of invitations to LexThink Chicago will go out in the next 24 hours. Dennis, Sherry and I have winnowed the list down from almost 200 candidates to the 50 or so who will receive invitations tomorrow morning.
Some important points:
1. There has been an incredible response to LexThink, and we were amazed at the number of people who requested invitations. Though we are not positive at this point, there is a real possibility of another LexThink later in the year.
2. The informal discussions we’ve had with people to gauge their interest have been very, very positive. We already have received preliminary commitments from a number of “A-Listers” from the worlds of technology, customer service, marketing, and law.
3. We will keep the cost for the first LexThink down under $200.00. This first conference is an experiment. We are not trying to profit, only prove that a mixture of incredibly smart and motivated people from varied backrounds can come together to build a better professional services firm.
4. We will ask everyone who gets an invitation to respond quickly with a “yes” or “no” so we can send invitations to people on the waiting list as soon as possible.
5. If you don’t get an invitation, even though you asked for one, don’t despair. We are going to include you in the LexThink community in a number of ways — including giving you access to the LexThink Blog/Wiki (now in development) and giving you a priority invitation to the next LexThink.
6. We are finalizing the “agenda” for the first LexThink, but are seriously considering using OpenSpace Technology as a framework for running the collaborative brainstorming sessions. There will be no long speeches, no boring presentations, and no PowerPoint!
Continue to watch this space for future information. See you in Chicago in April!
More Space
In my Nice Things post, I hinted at an essay I was working on. Now, its official. I’m one of nine (soon to be ten) contributors to the More Space project. For my part, I’m contributing a 10,000 word essay on customer service and innovation in professional services firms. Here are the others involved:
Evelyn Rodriguez from Crossroad Dispatches
Rob May from Businesspundit
Johnnie Moore from johnniemoore.com
Curt Rosengren from Occupational Adventure
Jeremy Wright from Ensight.org
Andrea Learned from Learned on Women
Lisa Haneberg from Management Craft
Todd Sattersten from A Penny For...
Todd Sattersten is putting this all together. There will be a book, as well as on-line access to all of the essays. For more info, check out the blog. I’ll have more on my progress when I start making some.
Vote Early, Vote Often
My write-in candidacy for Legal Affairs Magazine's "Top Twenty Legal Thinkers in America" award is picking up steam. I have a campaign manager on board and Evan has agreed to be my speech writer and to advise me on matters of tort reform. I've chosen Dennis to serve as my chief of staff. Heck, I've even got my head of the patent office on board.
I'd really like your vote. Vote for a practicing lawyer. Vote Homann!
LexThink! Update
The response to our LexThink! Chicago announcement has been overwhelming. Dennis, Sherry, and I will be sending out our formal invites by the end of the week. The feedback I have received (in person and by e-mail) has been incredibly positive, and everyone (and I mean every single person) I’ve talked to about the conference has expressed interest in attending. We were even Scobelized.
If you’ve e-mailed me and haven’t heard anything yet, just wait a few more days. I’ll be in touch before the end of the week to everyone who expressed interest.
Savvy Bloggers Panel
My friend Bruce MacEwen (Adam Smith, Esq.) asked me to join some amazing bloggers on his Savvy Bloggers Panel. He asked us, "Looking out five to ten years, what will the single most significant change be in terms of how sophisticated law firms (think AmLaw 200) are managed, on the 'business side'?" All of the responses are here. This is what I wrote:
A: I have spent all but two years of my legal career as a solo practitioner or as a member of a two-lawyer firm. Because I’ve never worked for a “sophisticated” AmLaw 200 (or even AmLaw 20,000) firm, I’m afraid I can’t give a meaningful answer to Bruce’s question. Instead, I’ll answer a different question: What is the single most significant change small firm lawyers hope AmLaw 200 firms don’t implement in the next ten years?
The single greatest competitive advantage small firm lawyers have over their big firm counterparts is the ability to quickly adopt and implement innovative practice methods. Though many small firm lawyers have fallen into the billing-by-the-hour business model practiced by most large firms, I would suggest that a significant amount of the alternative pricing of -- and value billing for -- legal services comes from the small firm lawyers in this country. In my firm, for example, we have completely abandoned the billable hour and have moved to a service-pricing model that gives our business and transactional clients a range of services (including “free” telephone calls) for a monthly fee or a flat per-project cost. In doing so, we’ve managed to make our clients happier, increased our margins, and decreased the time we spend in the office. My greatest fear is that AmLaw 200 firms will adopt and embrace a similar business model.
In contrast to small firms, large firms have an unbelievable amount of institutional knowledge. For any given legal project, large firms have likely completed a similar (or the exact same) task hundreds of times. Their “inventory” of documents, memos, briefs, complaints, and opinion letters dwarfs the resources available to small firm lawyers. My fear is that if a large firm decides to couple that “huge selection” with “everyday low prices,” the WalMartization of the legal business will begin.
In short, if large firms were to apply the “Big Box” retail concept to the delivery of professional services, small firm lawyers would disappear like Main Street retailers when Wal Mart comes to town. Just think, the complex, expensive legal work most big firms seek is only a very small tip of a very large iceberg. Most business and transactional work is of the garden variety. There is no reason a large firm couldn’t set aside a team of associates and partners to do that kind of work for hundreds or thousands of small businesses for a low monthly or annual fee.
Doing quality work is just a small part of the equation. The big firms would have to deliver an improved customer-service experience as well. Instead of locking young associates away in the library for years, have them be the first point of contact for small business customers (even better, hire retired lawyers as “greeters” for new clients). Train these lawyers to answer the basic legal questions on the fly, perhaps by consulting a firm-developed knowledge base, and promise an answer to more complicated questions within a day or so. Guarantee telephone calls returned within 60 minutes – or that month’s service is free. Designate a chief client-service officer, and make that executive’s compensation dependent upon customer satisfaction levels. In short, take a look at what non-legal companies that excel at customer service are doing, and improve upon it.
Finally, to make this model a sustainable one, firms must hire the best and brightest students. Instead of focusing on the top five percent, recruit and hire law students based upon their capacity for creative and innovative thinking, people skills and business acumen. If law firms concentrated on hiring the best lawyers (instead of the best law students) schools may be forced to actually prepare students to practice law, instead of giving them the esoteric theory-based education most law students get now.
Do I think that most big firms will take these suggestions to heart? Not really. And for that I am thankful.