What keeps your clients awake at night?

What keeps your clients awake at night?

If you had to write down the top 3 things that keep your client awake at night could you do it?  Before you read further write them down …

If you were able to do it, then question yourself whether you have tested your view, and if you couldn’t then you are not alone.

In a recent meeting with a FTSE CEO we asked what were the big decisions that he had to make this coming year.  In his mind, there were only two, and they could be articulated in an elevator pitch.  That’s not to say that these were the only vexing decisions that he and his board would make this year, but the two were the ones that were fundamental to the future success of the organisation.

Nothing we were told was confidential or secret, but by asking the question, we were able to get an insight that is immensely valuable. An insight that not many people, probably including most of the organisation’s employees, would have access to.

So why is this insight so valuable?  In short, as a professional services adviser, it gives us contextual insight which will, if we use it well, allow us to provide more ‘commercial’ advice.  For example, if we were advising on the structure of a new business venture for the client, then we may be able to use this insight in recommending which solutions would support and hinder the strategy.

The secondary value in the above example is that whilst you may have been able to identify the same issues from other publicly available material, having it from such a direct source adds credibility to the knowledge.

In addition to the direct benefit of allowing for more ‘commercial’ advice, there is also an indirect benefit. If we know the most important issues for our client and if we marry this with our ‘thirst for knowledge’ discussed in an earlier article [Do you have a thirst for knowledge?], then we can make connections between knowledge that we gain and our client’s needs, which may allow us to build the client relationship outside of specific engagements with relevant knowledge and discussions.

So when was the last time that you asked your client what keeps them up at night?

Do you have a thirst for knowledge?

There has been a fair bit of research done on the behavioural and intellectual traits of professionals and in particular lawyers.  One of the traits that often rises to the surface is that there is a high level of intellectual competitiveness.

Professional training both leading towards, and post, qualification leverages this to ensure that qualified individuals have a deep and robust technical understanding.

Increasingly, the progressive professional services firms, in particular legal firms, are marrying this up with investments in putting lawyers through ‘mini-MBA’ programmes to help provide a wider context to the business world.  Whilst this is a major help to increasing the commerciality of practitioners, it isn’t the whole solution.

In the world of L&D there’s a much used ratio of 70:20:10, in that raising competency comes from:

  • 10% – courses & reading (formal learning)
  • 20% – from people – mainly the boss (peer to peer learning)
  • 70% – from taking on tough tasks (experiential learning)

In successful people, one thing that runs through all three of these is an inquisitiveness, and a ‘thirst for knowledge.  It’s this that drives them to deliver success.

Having undergone a formal piece of training, they will look for people and opportunities that will allow them to apply and test their learning.  Or maybe if they get put on a new client account, they again look for people and knowledge that will build their understanding of the sector or the client.

For these people gaining knowledge is something that never stops, they are always looking for new insights and opinions, making connections, and questioning.

This ‘thirst for knowledge’ is a key attribute of commerciality, the world in which we live and work in is constantly evolving.  Irrespective of whether your clients are: individuals; corporates; or 3rd sector organisations, they all inhabit dynamic worlds and for you to be able to give advice in context, ‘commercial’ advice, you’ll need to understand their worlds as well as they do.

Arguably, you need an even greater ‘thirst for knowledge’ as you have to remain a technical expert as well as a client context expert.  It’s lucky therefore, that as a professional you’ll have a relatively high level of intellectual competitiveness.  If you can focus this and balance it between the professional/technical, and the business/client context areas, then you stand a good chance of success.

The challenge is can you unleash your inner thirst for knowledge?

[Infographic] The changing role of general counsel

The changing role of general counsel in infographic form:

The changing role of general counsel

The changing role of general counsel