Orchestrate Your Future

Does your team know what it takes to be an “A” player?

I talk with my clients a lot about the importance of working with “A” clients.  Why?  “A” clients are a pleasure to work with, they listen to your advice, they pay their bills, and they refer other “A” clients to you.  “D” clients on the other hand . . . well.  The other great thing about “A” clients is that you love working with them.  While there are some universal truths about “A” clients, like the ones I’ve listed above, every attorney can add to the list with specific characteristics that are key for their “A” clients.  One more thing: “A” clients also generate most of your firm’s profit.  It is very important for you to know what constitutes an “A” client for your firm.

It’s equally important for you to know what constitutes an “A” player on your team.  And you need to let your team members know what you expect – clearly and unambiguously.  Why not create specific, written criteria for A, B, C and D players?   Let your team know what it takes to be an “A” player.  Create a written agreement, ask them to sign it, and commit to being an “A” player.  Then, if they should start to fall short of the mark, you can pull out the agreement and use it as a coaching tool to get them back on track. 

People cannot excel if they don’t know what’s expected of them.  Let your players know what you want from them, and they will either hit the target or they won’t.  But at least they’ll be able to see it.

Does your team ROCK?

Before I went to law school, I was a professional musician.  I played the guitar and sang.  Still do – sometimes.  Music has always been a really big part of my life.  In fact, my first TV memory was when the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show. (I was only four years old, and after the show my dad bought me the “Meet the Beatles!” album.  I still have it.)  I think of just about everything in terms of music.  So when I think of a law firm, I think about it in terms of a band and all the “players” in the band.  So how’s your band?  Are you totally awesome or would Simon Cowell shame you off the stage of American Idol?  I hope you’re thinking, “We are totally awesome! We ROCK!”

But if you’re thinking, “Geez, we’d be laughed off the stage,” it’s time to do something about it.  Here’s what you can do to get started moving from laughing stock karaoke wannabes to rock stars.

First: Start paying attention to your players.  Do you have the right people in your band?  I can’t stress how important this is!  Think of the Beach Boys backing up Mick Jagger or anybody other than The Boss fronting the E Street Band.

Second: As the leader of your band, you get to write the songs and pick the playlist.  You decide who plays a solo, and when.  You even get to demand only green m&m’s in your dressing room. You get the picture.  You’re the leader.  You set the stage for success. You’re The Boss . . . literally.

Third: Practice, practice practice.  No matter how good the players, the band will never be awesome without lots and lots and lots of practice.  That means you, too, Boss. So, meet with your band every day.  Make sure everybody knows their part. Make sure the bass player is in step with the drummer and everybody is playing the same song at the same time.

Start doing these three things on a really consistent basis.  Then give your band a “shout out,” or raise your lighter (or your cell phone, depending upon your generation) in the air because you’re on your way to stardom.

Of course, like any great band, the practicing never stops.  But taking these first three steps will get you moving in the right direction.  Rock on.

Rethink Hiring

I just finished reading The War for Talent.  If you've ever had any hiring or staffing problems, I would highly recommend that you read this book.  OK, so I'm recommending that everyone reading this post should read it. 

Aside from numerous references to Enron – it was written before Enron's collapse – it’s full of so much great stuff, I know I'll be blogging about it again in the near future.  But for today, chew on this quote from the founder of Visa.

"Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind.  Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to use by people with all the other qualities."
- Dee Hock, founder and CEO emeritus of Visa

Are You Creating Your Team by Design or Default?

OK.  I admit it.  I’m a total Starbucks addict.  I'm sipping a grande bold as I write this.  And I know that my last post was also about Starbucks.  But I just bought The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary, by Joseph A. Michelli.  (By the way, did you know that if you’d invested $10,000 in the Starbucks IPO in 1992, your investment would be worth about $650,000 today?)

As I read the book last night, I reflected on attorneys I’ve known over the years, and the ongoing staffing issues they've faced.   Here's what Starbucks International President Martin Coles has to say about creating a positive, team-oriented workforce:  It doesn’t happen by accident.

"We've spent a lot of time with our partners (all employees are referred to as 'partners'), both in the selection process and in helping them understand what we stand for as individuals, and what the company stands for as a whole, and the difference we intend to make,” says Coles.

According to Michelli:  "It is by design, not by default, that Starbucks leadership creates a powerful experience for its partners.  It is expected that partners will pass on the dignity and respect that they are afforded into interactions with their customers."

Are you creating your team by design or by default?