Opportunity Knocks?

Published in KM Legal Magazine   The support departments in major law firms have proved as effective as their practice group counterparts at building edifices and creating silos. In many firms, overt yet inflexible organisational structures together with covert Machiavellian behaviour have conspired to ensure that the walls between support functions are high with cross-communication […]
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Balancing the business

Opinion Piece published in Managing Parner Magazine   The ‘balanced scorecard’ has taken its place in the glossary of management terminology to such an extent that it is easy to assume all managing partners are fully conversant with the theory and are applying it to their firms on a daily basis. Neither of these assumptions […]
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More Than Embossing The Wallpaper

Published in Professional Marketing Magazine   The twelfth annual PM Forum Global Conference in September will address one of the biggest challenges facing professional service firms today; how does a firm create an environment in which innovative thinking can flourish, that allows clients and firms to create deep bonds and where the best ideas are […]
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Birds of a Feather?

Cover feature of Legal Marketing Magazine   A perplexing question: Are business development and knowledge management strange bedfellows or birds of a feather? The insightful answer: When boiled down to its base elements, all that a law firm does is leverage knowledge and leverage relationships. What about the knowledge embedded in the relationship with the […]
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It’s my ball and you can’t play with it!

Published in Legal Marketing Magazine   “It’s my ball and you can’t play with it!” is both the mantra of the incorrigible infant and the modus operandi of the petulant professional. Behind the phrase lies an implicit understanding, “we can play together, perhaps even playing the game that you want to play, but only if […]
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Innovate or Die!

Innovation is like managing a football team, everyone thinks that they can do it, a few people actually do it, but only a handful make a success of it.  It is also widely recognised as being one of the most important pre-requisites for building a sustainable business in the 21st Century.  But what is it? […]
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What can knowledge management contribute to business development?

Published in Know-How in the Legal Profession, Managing Partner Best Practice Management Series   A perplexing question: Are business development and knowledge management strange bedfellows or birds of a feather? The insightful answer: When boiled down to its base elements, all that a law firm does is leverage knowledge and leverage relationships. What about the […]
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Differentiation: Developing the right approach for you

Published in Managing Partner Magazine   The strategic approach that you adopt for your firm is unlikely to provide a complete solution to the differentiation challenges that you face. This is because you will have to decide a practical path that reconciles your strategic theory with the reality of your firm and all of its […]
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Differentiation: Choosing the battles to fight

Published in Managing Partner Magazine   In any business situation, it is crucial to make active choices about the battlefield on which you wish to compete. These choices also direct the investment of scarce resources within a firm, which need to be prioritised and aligned with clear strategic objectives. Considering the spectrum of legal services, […]
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Differentiation: Why does it matter?

Published in Managing Partner Magazine   The theme of this series of articles is the role that differentiation and positioning plays in the development of successful strategies within professional-service firms. Much of the series will concentrate on the importance of a clear framework in allowing coherent decisions to be made about the future direction of […]
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