Shaping your culture to support marketing
Since joining the PM Forum three years ago, Robbie Book, of Carter Backer Winter, has regularly represented the smallest firm at most meetings, and has always been sure that the problems in a ten-partner firm were the same as those for his counterparts in an 800 partner firm, only theirs were multiplied. His theory was shattered at the annual conference in September.
The speakers showed how mistaken I was. Time after time I could perceive that the larger firms had a culture into which new employees and partners 'bought in' at inception, whilst in smaller firms, the culture had to be built and shaped by a partnership which may not have recognised the need or had the will.
From the moment
Richard Chaplin
outlined the agenda by reminding us of the excuses used by partners for not being involved in marketing, the die was cast for a day of informative ideas and provocative comment from speakers with a vast range of experience. The first speakers showed how weak client relationships can ruin the reputation of a firm and
Simon Slater
, of Taylor Wessing, gave graphic examples of how to lose and win reputation with a single act. No one mentioned the loss of a brand in six days (Enron) but it was in our minds. The antidote to loss of reputation rests with a leadership who promote development and embrace a culture, both visionary and visible. Imbuing this culture through the firm from top to bottom creates 'values' which define 'beliefs' which, in turn, influence and cause 'behaviour'. Although not completely interchangeable, these three drivers were repeated by speaker after speaker in very similar contexts.
It must say something about the general perception of marketing people about partners, that the recurring theme of education and motivation seems never- ending.
Mike Jones
, Intrinsic Values, and
Michael Wellin
, Business Transformation, gave a double act showing how the personal deal (the knowledge that expectation and anticipation affect every transaction) needs to be inculcated by leaders into the firm's culture, but I had the distinct impression that the leaders we were talking about were not necessarily the partners themselves. Perhaps the idea that non-equity partners have an expectation, mostly unfulfilled, of leadership from above might account for the movement of middle management from firm to firm.
Starting the second theme of the "what's in it for me" partners excuse,
Sasha Hardman
, from the Reward and Recognition team of PwC, showed that the carrot can be effective but a solely financial reward is insufficient. A flexible package covering life-work balance is much more attractive.
On the same theme,
Paul Smith
, CEO of Keoghs, a non-lawyer, proved that smaller firms can do the necessary by motivating without money, but that the continuous involvement of leaders is an absolute requirement. I found myself asking why partners are so incapable of saying "thank you" and "well done". Amazingly, a century after "play up, play up, and play the game", team spirit is the modern rallying cry!
Steve Blundell
, of Gracechurch, in his usual robust style, and
Shirley Jackson
, from E&Y, finished the morning session by covering the excuse "I don't know enough about..." with an explanation and a justification for the development of a knowledge management system within the firm. Taking away the "knowledge is power" from the individual, and passing it to the firm gives more muscle, not less, to the firm. I am sure that many of us recognised the illustration of the "weak brand" with partners in their silos, on the outside looking in, as opposed to the "strong brand" with the partners within the system. US President Johnson's comment about his colleagues being outside of the tent seemed most apposite! Jackson's point that a process is necessary to keep the knowledge circulating by motivation and incentive seemed to gain general favour, and the idea that technology is only part of the answer also rang a bell.
The peripatetic
Jolene Overbeck
, of Shearman & Sterling, and
Georgina Noakes
, Bright Side Productions, gave an insight into the role of training and coaching to build sales and marketing success. Overbeck's case studies proved her point - by planning and working towards a goal, with a re-evaluation of progress on a regular basis, the training programmes will always be effective. Noakes' one-to-one 'conversations' develop the theme that creativity and communication go hand in hand, and while one good word is bread for a thousand, the three 'c's of conversation, connection and confidence allows us to succeed.
David Syed
, CEO of the European arm of US based lawyers Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, gave a round-up of how all these ideas played a part in the establishment and development of his various practices across the continent and made it clear that major development was only possible if the culture was right, but that adapting to the nuances of the market does not mean changing overall values.
Finally, and memorably, some of the speakers were joined by the eponymous
Alan Hodgart
,
Jonathan Bond
of Allen & Overy, and
Kim Tasso
, marketing guru to the professions, for a Q & A session, under the eagle eye of Simon Slater. In a nutshell, they brought the day's themes together and came to the inescapable conclusion that values and behaviour must go across the whole firm, that this drives better value, and that alignment of these values and drivers are the key factors.
I await the next conference with anticipation.