In 2013, Gregory Jordan left his position as managing partner at the international law firm Reed Smith to work as general counsel at PNC Financial. At a recent Law Firm Leaders Forum hosted by Thomson Reuters, he was invited to share his thoughts on effective law-firm management from his new perspective as general counsel to
Listen up!
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Many of the thousands of lawyers we have trained in client relations skills, or coached to enhance their book of business, have told us that listening is the most important skill they can possess.
Invest 7 minutes and 47 seconds to listen to this TED Talks episode by sound expert Julian Treasure, and learn
Icebergs and Sea Monsters in Treacherous Legal Seas
I was privileged to have been asked by the American Bar Association to write an article about the future of the legal profession for “The Annual Big Ideas Issue” of Law Practice Magazine (July/August 2014). Click on the image to read the article in full.
I hope you enjoy it.
Gerry
Don’t Let “Age Profiling” Slow Your Firm
I recently wrote a post for Edge International Communiqué on the perils of making age-based assumptions about our legal-profession colleagues. I share it here for those who missed it.
Both older and younger lawyers can let all kinds of intergenerational nonsense get in the way of clear thinking. The misunderstandings that result can do actual
Can You Be Too Nice?
To most of us, courtesy and consideration are almost second nature. However, Michael Fertik — founder of reputation.com — says that when we assume a leadership capacity, being “too nice” can actually be detrimental to our organizations.
In a guest blog for the Harvard Business Review, Fertik says:
Many yield to [the instinct to
Asking the Right Question
In a recent Harvard Business Review blog post, journalist Warren Berger discusses the importance to effective leadership of asking the right questions – with the emphasis on the word “right.”
“How you question is critical,” says Berger. “Questions can be great for engaging and motivating people, but they can just as easily be
Want to Influence Others? Tell Them a Story
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“Recent research from Carnegie-Mellon University indicates that our unconscious minds actually make better decisions when left alone to deal with complex issues.” – Nick Morgan, communications consultant, president and founder of Public Words
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According to communications expert Nick Morgan, merely presenting data is no way to convince people of anything – no
Should You Ban PowerPoint from your Meetings?
According to a recent article in Philanthropy Daily, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has banished PowerPoint presentations from meetings of his staff.
Instead he requires speakers to prepare six-page summaries of what they want to say. His meetings begin with quiet periods, during which other meeting attendees read the summaries. In a 2012 interview with
Giving Your Apologies the “MIDAS” Touch
How often has someone apologized to you in a less than sincere manner, leaving you feeling more upset than if there had been no apology at all?
How can we ensure that our apologies provide those we may have wronged with the kind of closure we intend?
Jathan Janove at the labor and employment law
Emails That Get Results
I recently came across an excellent article in Inc. by Geoffrey James about writing effective emails. Lawyers have not traditionally been known for economy of language, but that is a skill we all must hone and put to use if we want to get results from digital communication.
The Geoffrey presents six practical and