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Welcome to the Spring issue of HedsUP!
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Winning hearts
as well as minds
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“Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I will remember.
Involve me and I will understand.
Step back and I will act.”
Chinese proverb
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Winning hearts and minds is an idiom which carries significant import for those concerned with becoming more effective leaders of their firms.
Too often I work with talented people who have taken a wholly academic approach to the opportunities and challenges with which they and their organisations are grappling. They have evolved visions, strategies and change initiatives which present powerful intellectual arguments. They have won minds but ignored hearts.
Yet it is only by painting a convincing picture of the future, building a strong consensus, engaging our people, empowering action and motivating performance that we can bring about the sort of change which is both significant and enduring. To achieve this we need emotional as well as intellectual commitment. We need to win hearts as well as minds.
What this means in practice is the creation of a strategic narrative which is clear, compelling and easy to communicate. People need to understand the part that they each play in their firm’s strategic journey if it is to be successful. They will only truly change their behaviours and approach because they want to do so not because they have been told to do so. They must believe in what they are doing at both an intellectual and emotional level.
I hope that you enjoy this issue of HedsUP! If you have any questions or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best wishes,
Andrew Hedley
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On your desktop
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Using a Competitive Perspective to Chart Your Law Firm’s Strategy
The core purpose of any strategy is to create sustainable competitive advantage. A critical strategic discussion centres on the choice of markets in which to compete and the kinds of activities which are involved in such markets. Several models exist to chart market attractiveness and these tend to map the size and future potential of a market against the firm’s relative competitive strength (i.e. its ability to take advantage of latent opportunities). What this means in practice is that the strategy team needs to be building a picture of the firm’s ability to perform in the context of others targeting the same markets.
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Becoming Change-able is the Key to Law Firm Success
I am often asked ‘what is the most important capability that any management team should focus on developing in its people?’ My answer is always the same: it is the means to bring about change – to behaviours, to practices, to systems and structures. Having the ability to adapt to a new set of opportunities or challenges places a law firm in a position to control its environment. An inability to change means that the organisation is beholden to the market.
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Using Scenario Planning to Map Your Firm’s and Your Clients’ Risks and Opportunities
We live in an increasingly uncertain world. In order to survive and prosper, firms must be nimble and adaptive. They need to develop the capability to anticipate the future in a dynamic way in order to shepherd their resources to maximum effect and select the best-fit markets on which to focus. An acid test of the efficacy of any strategy is the way in which it is able to accommodate and respond to uncertainty and unforeseen risks as they emerge over time.
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A Knowledge-led Approach to Business Development is Key to Law Firm Resilience
There is a nexus between business development and knowledge management that few firms exploit to the maximum; indeed, in many cases, they do not actively exploit at all. When boiled down to its base elements, all that a law firm does is leverage knowledge and relationships. The key strategic question is how to unearth and use the latent knowledge embedded in the relationships between the firm and its clients, prospects, contacts, intermediaries, people and wider stakeholders.
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News bytes
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The Lawyer Leadership Summit Advisory Board
Andrew Hedley has been invited to join the advisory board for The Lawyer Leadership Summit which is to be held on 28th and 29th September 2016 in London. The summit offers law firm leaders the opportunity to network with senior thought leaders from the legal services industry along with other professionals from across the rapidly changing legal services market. Delegates will include managing and senior partners from the world’s top firms along with C-suite professionals and other business services group leaders.
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Growth Strategies for Legal Services 2016 Conference
Andrew Hedley will be chairing the second annual Growth Strategies for Legal Services Conference, having facilitated a high-profile panel discussion at the inaugural event in 2015. The conference will be held in
central London on 30th June 2016.
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Mergers: Joined-Up Thinking
Andrew Hedley was invited to contribute some of his views to a Law Society Gazette analysis of merger strategy in the legal sector.
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Law Management Section Merger Toolkit
The Law Management Section Mergers Toolkit, with two chapters contributed by Andrew Hedley, is designed to help firms gain a better understanding of the merger process and provides practical guidance throughout. Andrew Hedley's chapters consider the strategic drivers for merger and how to unlock the merger dividend.
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The Cambridge Chartered Programme
Andrew Hedley is a specialist tutor on Cambridge Marketing College's new Chartered Programme. This is a unique initiative aimed at helping delegates gain and maintain their Chartered Marketer status through a structured range of activities from networking events, through courses to self-study materials.
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Client Strategy in a Changing Legal Market Report
Andrew Hedley’s Client Strategy in a Changing Legal Market report has now been published and is available to purchase online. Client strategy sits at the heart of all strategy. Without the ability to attract and retain clients, at a price which delivers an acceptable level of profitability, no business can be viable in the longer term.
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Developing Strategic Client Relationships Report
Andrew Hedley’s comprehensive report, Developing Strategic Client Relationships, published by ARK Group, continues to attract purchasers from around the world. Running to over 150 pages, with case studies of leading firms and ground breaking initiatives in this area, the report brings a much needed strategic perspective to client development and relationship management. For more information about the report email enquiries@hedleyconsulting.com.
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