Star Women

I was having lunch with some of my fellow female lawyers and the issue of women’s versus men’s networks came up (and of course the fact that women will always, to some degree, be excluded from our male colleagues’ bonding sessions, whether sporty or social). This reminded me of a Harvard Business Review article that I’d once read, which I looked up again. (How Star Women Build Portable Skills by Boris Groysberg.) In the article Groysberg makes the argument that star women build better portable business because most women’s networking is done by building on external relationships—with clients and contacts—which brings them portable business.

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Cross-selling made as simple as burgers and fries

The best-known example of cross-selling is the inevitable question arising upon ordering a cheeseburger: ('Do you want fries with that?') For us, as lawyers, it’s really just that simple, but we must remember to first ask our clients whether they’re interested in that extra service, which means we must start out by genuinely collaborating with our colleagues to understand their practice areas and how they synergize with ours.

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Don't be shortsighted about networking

This morning I gave a talk to the Association of Women Solicitors about personal branding (around the format of a networking breakfast). It was a well-attended event composed mainly of senior private practice women working in the City. Yet afterwards I found myself considering those invitees who chose not to come (no one being hugely specific as to whom they might be). I asked myself, “Did they stay home because, as fellow private practice lawyers, they felt that their networking opportunities were limited?” and: “Had they had thought General Counsels or other potential clients had been there, would they have come?”

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Self-awareness is THE key towards developing leadership potential

I came across this quote this morning:

"Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, 
like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming."

—Jim Rohn, an entrepreneur, author, and speaker

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Is that criticism necessary?

Having dinner last night in a restaurant, on my way to the ladies room, I heard the manager criticize one of the waiters (obviously oblivious to me being behind them). The criticism was anything but beneficial, and, in fact, was just de-motivating, and only served to make the waiter angry.

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