Tips on office sharing and executive suites  (from chapter in ABA/Law Practice Management’s Flying Solo, Edition 4 Publication)

Other questions?  Either leave a comment or email me at nbj@nbjconsulting.com and I will be happy to respond as soon as possible. You may optionally use the Contact Nancy Byerly Jones form.

What's Your Brand?

Below are the initial sentences of a succinct and excellent blog post at www.biziboom.com by attorney Scott Gibson.  I encourage all my readers and clients to read and reread this well-written post on such a critical subject for us all.  If you’re on Twitter, don’t miss Mr. Gibson’s great tweets as well (@tradesecretlaw).

Everybody Has a Brand. What’s Yours?

Marketing experts talk about the need to develop your brand.  The process often sounds daunting, and you may wonder whether you should spend the time and money to brand your business.

Wonder no more.  You already have a brand…..(click here for Mr. Gibson’s full blog post…worthwhile reading that you will be glad you did!)

Thanks for stopping by and please give me and our readers the benefit of your comments, ideas and valued input.

All the Best,

Nancy

The ABA used to have some good books on mergers and if they’ve been updated recently, that would be one good source.  What’s not written about enough is the effects that mergers have on staff members and how to help your staff transition successfully (pre-merger, actual transition period and post-merger). You’ve probably already discussed this w/your client but if not I’d suggest that one of their primary goals be to keep in close touch w/their employees, get their input regularly re how merger is going for them, what’s working/what’s not, their suggestions on improving whatever needs attention, etc.  Also like to see firm-wide attorney/staff meetings held fairly regularly for a while that are focused solely on “How are we doing w/this merger, what’s needs attention, etc….”  If staff’s given plenty of private and “public” opportunities to share their input and/or concerns, but the partners learn they are nevertheless nay-saying the merger (and/or folks from the “other” firm) behind closed doors, then that too would need to be addressed promptly (and firmly) to avoid the spread of their venom.

My years of experience has shown that too often mergers are entered into haphazardly, too quickly, for the wrong reasons (or expectations) and without the proper preparation being made before the actual merger itself occurs.  When rushed through too quickly there are usually costly repercussions and lots of “clean-up/repair work” to be done office wide.   Mergers can be a very smart thing to do, but only if there’s careful pre-planning done not ony about the financial aspects but also the merging of two different workplace cultures and how to do so respectfully, professionally and successfully!

Let me know if you want me to write more on this subject and as always, thanks for stopping by my ever-evolving new blog!

With smiles & best wishes,

Nancy

• (a) jealous;
• (b) always looking for new “stuff” to stir up trouble in the office:
• (c) don’t trust that your are REALLY working at home (often because they wouldn’t be if the situation were reversed!):
• (d) busy bodies since birth; or
• (e) don’t trust leadership to be making good decisions

Of course, there are other reasons co-employees may not like the situation, but if they were helpful, friendly and courteous to you prior to your telecommuting and then attitudes shift south…wellllll, my bet would be it’s directly linked to your new situation. Now keep in mind I am talking about the disgruntled co-worker who is that way in spite of the successful, productive and economically-wise use of telecommuters. I am not talking about co-workers who have legitimate reasons for disliking the acts of a telecommuter who is abusing the situation.

Soooo…how do telecommuters minimize the chances of alienation from in-office co-workers?  First, pre-telecommuting preventive steps are always better than having to fix and repair relationships later.   Here are a few recommendations to get you started:

• Ask your employer how your co-workers will be notified of the change….by your supervisor or should you do it?…;
• Next, once the word is out, I’d discuss (sooner rather than later) the anticipated changes that will occur with fellow employees ….ask them:

• what, if any, concerns they may have about your telecommuting,;
• what you can do to ensure your telecommuting is not a burden on them in any way;
• would they be agreeable to scheduling regular lunches together to help keep all the advantages of in-person communications alive and well?….; and
• make sure you initiate similar conversations down the road as well….someone that may have seemed OK with your telecommuting at the onset may have decided they don’t like it now for an assortment of reasons…the telecommuter should ensure these types of healthy, “how is this working for you” types of discussions occur along with frequent in-person meetings.

The above lists are by no means all-inclusive, but just some of my on-the-fly thoughts about telecommuting opportunities…..I for one am all for them IF structured, monitored and lived in a manner that’s truly good for the whole team.  And, even in spite of the best efforts by a telecommuter, there are always some folks that we just can’t and aren’t going to please no matter what.  Give it a try with them because miracles do happen daily, but don’t take it personally if they are just determined to whine about it (or at least until they have new material to gripe over)!

That’s it for today…it’s hump day and another weekend looms ahead…check out my posts are exploring the treasures in our own backyards and on ensuring we make time for those special things in our lives in the midst of our all-to0-short weekend moments.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I leave you for now with smiles from me and one of our miniature donkeys (Miz Star),

Nancy

Smiles from Our Burro, Miz Star

Even today in spite of the drastic changes taking place within so many firms, some attorneys claim that practicing law is not a business but a profession.  And, some of these folks, unfortunately, have had the seniority to dilute or completely override others’ efforts to implement smarter business practices in their firms.  Put another way, far too many so called “leaders” have helped set their firms up for failure in times like these.  How?  Because they’ve refused to accept that what made a firm successful twenty years ago is far different than the business savvy needed to successfully lead and manage today’s law office.  For a law office consultant there is nothing tougher than witnessing the “veto” power of a few squash the progressive efforts of those who realize their firm’s survival is as dependent on smart business practices as it is on top legal skills.

Practicing law is absolutely both a profession and a business.  I believe among the silver linings arising out of today’s economic mess for our great profession will be: no more second class citizenship status for the application of smart business practices; no more “to be a real lawyer you must be a litigator” attitudes; no more will attorneys who oversee firm administration have to do so without fair compensation and; perhaps most importantly, firms will know that everyone from the most senior attorney to the newly hired file clerk must participate in the practice of smart business skills.  Attorneys and staff who refuse to change with an attitude of  “let someone else worry about it” will no longer be tolerated regardless of their title or seniority.  This realization in many firms is long past due.

With smart business practices in mind, the remainder of this post focuses on the value of short-term action plans.  The odds for achieving our objectives increase significantly when we make the time to create written strategic plans.  They help us realize our dreams, successfully accomplish the “must do” tasks and they help us avoid becoming stagnated (and ultimately overwhelmed) by procrastination, fear of failure or unrealistic expectations that someone else will “take care of it.”  The alternative is to keep wishing things were different while our chronic, unorganized and chaotic habits keep weaving their destructive threads into our lives.

While long-term plans are invaluable in helping ensure successful endings of “big picture” visions, during more challenging times short term plans for three months or less are well worth our efforts.  These smaller “road maps” can be adapted and revised more quickly than longer-term plans and they help us keep a steady foothold so that we  can move productively forward rather than stagnating or worse. (Click here to view the very simple beginnings – and samply only -  of a three month action plan)

With so many unknowns about when and how our economy will heal, all the more reason to keep control in our professional and personal worlds.  The fallout from procrastinating or expecting someone else to take care of us is more dangerous than ever in times such as these.  We must act calmly, smartly, timely and deliberately.  For some this means a change in attitudes, methods, systems, procedures, comfort zones and more in order to survive.

The use of action plans helps us stay in control so that we successfully achieve desired goals. Without the right “tools” to help remind us what we must do to, our best intentions all too easily get buried beneath a million other thoughts, tasks and distractions.

As lawyers, we know how to be resourceful and the value of digging as deep as necessary for solutions.  Now is the time to dig deep within ourselves for the strengths within and to have the courage to do things differently.  If we refuse to change, refuse to be apply the business of law and allow chaos to dominate, we greatly increase the odds for failure.

In closing, I truly believe as we look back years from now that some of the silver linings from today’s upside down world will be: (1) our profession survived admirably in spite of the hits it took and the naysayers who said we would not; (2) our professionalism and our excellent management and leadership skills have become the norm not the exception; and (3) our compassion and empathy for our clients’ tough times is more genuine and heartfelt than ever before.  Put another way, our great profession will indeed emerge stronger and smarter than ever.

Former practicing lawyer Nancy Byerly Jones is a regular contributor to Lawyers USA in which this article was published.  Nancy is the author of the ABA’s book “Easy Self-Audits for the Busy Law Office.”  She serves as a law office consultant and solutions coach for attorneys and staff and businesses.  Also, she serves as a certified mediator for employee/business disputes and family law matters. For more resources, information and contact information, please visit Nancy’s website at www.nbjconsulting.com.