Really ? (No.)
Really ? (Yes.)
How refreshing for Forbes to offer us 26 Lessons from a 26 Year Old CEO, Shama Kabani. Her wisdom is well-suited for consideration by Managing Partners of the most significant law firms. Her ideas are extraordinarily mature for her age which may explain her phenomenal business success. Here are a few examples:
…planning (#1):
- A written vision of what you want your company to look like in 3 years is important. The pen (or keyboard!) has power. It isn’t enough to envision your goals in your mind. You must have a blueprint on paper. Every decision you make, ask yourself: does this help me get closer to my vision?
…listening (#2):
- Learn to listen to your clients. When we started, we were only offering social media consulting services. But, clients quickly demanded more. We eventually ended up serving as their web marketing department. The marketplace will tell you what it needs. You have to listen, and then deliver.
…and #15 (who would expect a 26 year old to remind us to dress appropriately):
- Appearances matter. I just interviewed an intern who showed up in an outfit more appropriate for an 8 a.m. class. I had to wonder how he would represent us in front of clients. Whether we like it or not, appearances matter. Dress appropriately.
…and #26 (think "Managing Partner" rather than CEO and "firm" rather than company):
- Being a CEO means being a CVO. CVO stands for Chief Value Officer. Always ask yourself: How can I create value for our clients? Our prospects? Our internal team? The answers will guide you to building a better company.
My opinion: Except for #18 (decide for yourself), I think every single one of the 26 lessons is worthy of consideration by every law firm leader
Read all 26 lessons at Forbes: 26 Lessons from a 26 Year Old CEO
Shama Kabani is the award winning CEO of The Marketing Zen Group, a full service web marketing firm in Dallas. She is also the author of the best-selling, The Zen of Social Media Marketing; and hosts her own web TV show at Shama.Tv. Her photo is courtesy of the Young Entrepreneurial Council. Thank you to Annie Colbert of Guy Kawasaki’s ALLTOP for bringing this Forbes Blogpost to my attention.