Leadership and change

PETER SCOTT CONSULTING

Leadership and change


Adapting to change

‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change’

Charles Darwin ‘Origin of species’


Developing your ‘vision’

‘Vision is the art of seeing

things invisible’

Jonathan Swift


Today is about challenging your thinking


Challenging everything about your firm as it is today


However something needs to be present first…

Leadership


Leadership…

Thinking and visionaryChallengingInspirationalAbility to take partners with youA determination to implement change


Challenging leadership

That challenges everything Above all leadership that is prepared to face up to a firm’s SACRED COWS

Your Firm?


Do you recognise any of these?


Are you forever pushing at a closed door?


Is this one of your major problems?

This will happen to your talent unless………

TALENT£


Do you have partner behaviour issues?


“That’s a great idea …for the rest of you!”


“Heavyweight gorilla”

“You can’t manage me.

I’m a big biller!”


“Ahh…only five more years to go”

Can you answer ‘YES’ to the following questions?


Is your firm firing on all cylinders?

Answer – Yes / No


Are all your partners hungry?

Answer – Yes / NO


Do you have the ‘right partners’ on board to help you achieve your goals? Answer – Yes / No


Are all your partners prepared to be managed?

Answer – Yes / NO


Are all your partners prepared to be accountable?

Answer – Yes / NO


Do your partners have sufficient financial discipline?

Answer – Yes / NO


Can you say your firm has no under performing partners?

Answer – Yes / NO


Should all your equity partners really be equity partners?

Answer – Yes / No


Are there sanctions on a partner who refuses to comply?

Answer – Yes / NO


Is it clear who is running your firm?

Answer – Yes / NO


Are you prepared to change every ‘NO’ to a ‘YES’?

Answer - ?


Are you prepared to provide the LEADERSHIP required for change?


Developing the vision - where to start?

Strategic planning is a process of:Logical analysis of internal / external forcesPlanning and decision-making based upon that analysis


We need to understand the meaning of ‘strategy’

‘A realistic plan or course of action to gain competitive advantage;

Which has clear and achievable objectives; and

Uses available (but scarce) resources (existing or to be generated)


Differentiate strategy from…

An unrealistic and unachievable wish list


Strategy is a continuous journey…

focus on BIG ISSUES make decisions

implement decisionsbank progressmove on


Factors influencing change

Changing needs of clientsTechnological advancesEconomic and political forcesCulture of firms


In partnerships there is a particular need to focus on…

Internal attitudesExternal perceptions

in order to formulate a realistic plan


Testing the strategy

Internally – with partners and staffExternally – with clients and referrers

(it is good client relationship management to talk to your clients)


Internal attitudes

CultureValuesBehaviour

What kind of firm do we want to be?


Take an internal reality check

Issue a confidential partner / staff questionnaire to find out what your people REALLY think about your

firm.


External perceptions

Do you know what your clients think about your firm?Do you know what they want from your firm?

Often a perception ‘gap’


Take an external reality check

Commission an external survey of:Client/referrer opinionsClient/referrer reasons for using othersAnalysis of firm’s performance viewed by clients/referrers Benchmarking against competitors


What can a law firm learn from a client perception survey?

Highlights issues that need to be addressedPartners should not go into ‘denial’

‘they are not talking about us’! or ‘its not true’!


For example….

Which parts of our firm are we going to:

Grow / invest in?Dispose of?


What should be our realistic objectives in….

2008 / 9?

2009 / 10?

20010 / 11?


2008 / 9?

WE ARE GOING TO earn PEP of£[ ]K

Is this realistic? – must be testedDo we all want this?


Above all…

Be realistic


Differentiate strategy from…

Implementation – ‘the making it happen’


A continuous journey…

focus on BIG ISSUES make decisions

implement decisionsbank progressmove on

‘A little less conversationa little more action please’

Elvis Presley


Implementing decisions

Question Why do many partnership strategies

fail?Answer?

Failure to implement agreed plans

Why?


Why?

The nature of partnershipsPeople businesses

Need to take your people with you on the journey


Ideas to help you on the journey

SkillsKnowing your partnersAccountabilityTiming Leading by exampleUsing the TEAMJust doing itSanctions


Are your skills up to the task?

Your people skillsInternal resource?

orExternal advice?


Knowing your partners

What makes them ‘tick’?What makes them insecure?How will they react?How do we limit ‘fall-out’?


Partner accountability

‘We have no room for those who put their personal agenda ahead of the interests of the clients or the office’

David Maister


Accountability

Do your partners just pay ‘lip service’ or do they live it? Consider an ‘accountability statement’


Timing

Strike while the iron is hotTurn decisions into action – fastAssign tasks and responsibilities


Leading by example

Leadership is crucial for changePractice what you preachLive the strategy


Use the ‘power of the team’

TEAM?

TogetherEach Achieves More


Harness the ‘power of the team’

Create ‘champions’

Use ‘task forces’


Just do it!

Judgment Knowing your partners80 / 20 ruleNeeds courage


Sanctions

Necessary?Choice of sanctions?Do they work?


Bank progress – move on

Incremental journey? or

Quantum leap?

Knowing your partners


A final thought…

“Change before you have to”

Jack Welch

Any questions?

Date post:	30-Dec-2015
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Leadership and change

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