legal sanity

Service professionals often find it challenging to connect with clients on a human-to-human level. That’s because we’ve been trained to cultivate a business persona that’s distinct from the person we are in our down time with family and friends. The business face we put on typically reflects just how seriously we take our role as an advisor and advocate to people who don’t know as much as we do …. about the law.

I’ve written a number of posts on the importance of bringing ourselves to our work, including these:

• Finding ourselves in our work

• What lawyers can learn about the power of authenticity

• Self-awareness in the practice of law

• Likeability and the business of law

So, I was very happy to read the practical wisdom and guidance that communication skills coach Joey Asher offers in an article titled Faking the ‘Real You.’ Although he’s writing about public speaking, Asher’s advice applies just as well to any kind of live or written communication. His premise is that people who tend to come off as stiff, formal and standoffish when they communicate have to learn how to “fake [their] own authentic communication style.”

In presenting this “authenticity paradox,” Asher states: “Great speakers know how to fake their own "natural style" even when they don't feel natural at all. It's learning how to act like your real self.” So, instead of being formal, cool and distant when communicating with clients and other business contacts, we need to mimic our “natural personality” – the friendly cadence, rhythm and energy of the communications we have with people that we feel close to and comfortable with.

There’s no doubt that lawyers and other service providers can use Asher’s approach to foster successful business connections. I’ll be sure to incorporate his advice into learning programs I present on the building blocks of successful business relationships. My next offering on this front, a program called the Key to Workplace Success: Building Critical Relationships, will take place on March 12, 2008 at Harvard Law School. You can learn more about it here.

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My vacation presented me with another opportunity to inventory the contents of my blog hopper. I found that much of it pertained to the ins and outs of lawyering. So, I decided to offer it to you here as a chain of related topics:

The top link in the chain is this article addressing why associates bail out of law firm life. Among the reasons cited are the:

• Absence of management expertise and meaningful feedback

• Law students’ misunderstanding about the practice of law

• Lack of work-life balance

The article goes on to outline steps that firms can take to remedy the problem of attrition, including:

• Mentoring Programs

• Hiring in-house professional development directors

• Providing business development training

Logically linked to these points is a post about coping with the anger and resentment that often accompanies career change and this piece questioning the sanctity of, and potential power imbalances in, the law firm mentor-mentee relationship.

The chain continues with information geared to helping young associates build their book of business. Pam Slim explains the business benefits of being a matchmaker and offers some concrete ways to take on that role, such as:

• Introducing like-minded people

• Forwarding information and resources to people who can use them

• Connecting people who have complementary interests, products or services

On a related note, in companion posts, Robert Middleton gives us some practical tips and tactics for quelling our marketing fears (and Part II ).

Jim Hassett rounds off the roundup links with a post profiling one firm’s efforts to help associates hone their relationship-building and business development skills. Noting the win-win nature of these initiatives, the article states: “business development training produces greater associate satisfaction, more satisfied clients and more interesting business opportunities.”

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I'm no Luddite. Some have even suggested that I’ve hot glued my Blackberry to my hand. Still, I’d be stretching it more than a bit if I called myself a techie. It’s my general belief that people should connect more with one another and less with their gadgets.

Nonetheless, yesterday, I found myself happily taking in the sights and sounds of LegalTech New York. Although there was a free breakfast offer, I was actually drawn there to share the company of fellow law.com bloggers, including:

• Carolyn Elefant
• Rees Morrison
• Robert Ambrogi
• Monica Bay

(I held back on engaging Monica in a conversation about Mets newcomer Johan Santana. She's a Yankees fanatic.)

After eating and chatting, I went to the exhibition floors and was pleasantly surprised.

I first stopped at C2Legal (e-discovery and document management tools) where I interacted with a gizmo of interlocking nails that mocked me as I tried to disentangle it. After way too much time, I caved and asked Jeffrey Stolter, the consultant manning the table, for help. He kindly obliged and I was delighted that something so simple could so engage me and a lot of other people. I asked Jeffrey about the importance of relationships in a technical world. He said, "software is software, but the relationship behind using the software effectively creates a bond of trust with your client. This bond is what sells the product." Wow. Who knew software could be so human.

From there I visited probono.net (resources for pro bono and legal services attorneys and others working to assist low income or disadvantaged clients). Their case management tool facilitates information sharing on pro bono matters. Four big firms have already signed on to use it. What a fantastic channel for technology -- helping law firms more effectively help people in need of free legal services. While I was checking out their wares, one of the reps asked if I know of any disgruntled lawyers who’d like to employ their legal knowledge in a non-legal/tech capacity. If you’re ready for a career move, here’s a link to the company’s job openings page.

Navigating the sea of information, people and booths at this event can be overwhelming and exhausting. So, you can imagine how happy I was when RVM, Inc. (e-discovery and litigation support solutions) invited me to kick up my feet in one of their massage chairs. Ten minutes later, I was refreshed and ready to learn about their products and services. Taking steps to first restore the depleted energy stores of potential buyers is a great sales tactic. It fits nicely with the XE Factor model I often write and speak about.

I met a lot of other great folks and learned quite a bit about their business offerings. I found that, even in the technology world, it’s all about people. The better you are at engaging them, meeting their needs and improving their lives, the more likely it is that you'll successfully sell your products and services and feel good about what you’re doing.

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The FC Experts Blog recently featured a three-part interview with Mike Dulworth (part two and part three), the author of a new networking book called The Connect Effect: Building Strong Personal, Professional, And Virtual Networks.

Dulworth, the head of a professional networking business, defines The Connect Effect as “the positive outcome derived from having a strong, vibrant, diverse network.” He also describes a complementary concept of entering The Network Zone. Like an elite athlete who achieves flow during a game or competition, business people enter the network zone when their “network is so broad and deep that almost anything can be accomplished more efficiently and effectively through” it.

According to Dulworth, we can cultivate this kind of peak networking performance by assessing our NQ (yup, that stands for Networking Quotient). Like our EQ (emotional intelligence) and MQ (moral intelligence), our networking intelligence isn’t fixed. We can raise it. The first step is to honestly appraise the “scope and strength” of our network and our networking activities. Beyond this candid assessment, Dulworth says, the key “is to find a way to build and maintain your network that is comfortable for you.”

I’ve addressed the importance of charting our own networking paths in posts like this one on re-connecting with your business network and this one discussing how to grow an organic business network . My friend Curt Rosengren adds to this point – and does us a major favor -- by publishing this extensive compilation of articles on networking for shy people.

For more insight into the art and science of building strong business connections, you can take a look at lawyer/marketing consultant Cole Silver’s new Expert Audio Series. I’m one of the contributors, along with a host of other legal bloggers, including:

Stephanie West Allen
Larry Bodine
Carolyn Elefant
Jim Hassett
Daniel Hull
Dennis Kennedy
Patrick Lamb
Susan Cartier Liebel
Ed Poll
Gerry Riskin

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