How to be a gamechanging law firm leader

After much research work, interviewing a considerable number of highly successful business leaders such as Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and James Dyson, I believe there is a great deal that senior leadership teams in law firms can learn from these inspirational figures in order to produce the kind of growth, success, authority, and loyalty that they have demonstrated in their companies.

But what are the key lessons that can be carried across and applied in the upper reaches of law firm management?

The law firms that are doing best and becoming biggest in today's increasingly competitive global market are those that are moving out of the traditional conservatism that pervades the law sector. They are innovating - developing new models for the way they do business, embracing new developments such as AI, learning from best practice and importing expertise from other business sectors. They are becoming less institutionally averse to risk, and better at managing risk productively.

Something can be learned, I believe, from each of the 30 or so executives that I have interviewed. Some of these are trailblazers who have struck out in radically new directions. Some are disruptors who have shaken up the way things are done in their particular market area. Some have worked with traditional ways of doing business, but executed crucial strategies and measures that have produced extraordinary success. All have become highly influential, and all have provided lessons that can be applied broadly in business. Although there is a degree of distinction which one would expect between their different approaches, there is also a remarkable quantum of guiding principle that they hold in common.

Let's look, then, at what some of these influential and inspirational figures have to say in terms of corporate lessons, in particular, looking at learning points that have relevance to the field of legal services - and how to be a gamechanging leader in that field.

What the business influencers
are saying

Richard Branson has said: 'You can never go too far wrong by thinking like a customer who's new to the business.' Throughout his career, Branson has consistently been able to bring a fresh approach to market areas that were dominated by an established way of doing things, and brought a new and customer-oriented approach to deciding what is being delivered.

James Dyson likewise encourages: 'Don't be limited by the constrained thinking of your competitors.' When the competition is behaving in a collectively restricted way in terms of services and ways of delivering them, there is an opportunity to think differently - and initiating such change moves the goalposts for everyone. This was illustrated by Dyson revolutionising the vacuum cleaner marketplace, where all the products available depended on using disposable bags until he created his product. In a related vein, Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, said: 'To be innovative, don't be overly preoccupied with what your competitors are doing - strive after excellence by going back to first principles, without reference to others' results.' Jacqueline Gold of Ann Summers agrees: 'Fear of competition can lead to poor decisions - better to focus on being the best at what you do.'

Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post, opines: 'Don't necessarily stick to the strategies that enabled you to succeed in the earliest days of your venture - be prepared to sometimes disrupt your own patterns, and you will avail of many more opportunities'. Just because an initial set of strategies worked for a while doesn't mean that you have to follow those strategies for ever.

Jamie Oliver says: 'Unexpected opportunities can transform your career - grab them.' He calls for alertness to detecting latent potential in the surrounding business environment, readiness to react to the opportunities offered, at all times. Craig Sams, founder of Green & Black's chocolate, adds: 'Watch out for opportunities that might be slipping by unnoticed. The bigger companies get, the more they struggle with ability to innovate.'

One of Steve Jobs' favourite strategic guidelines was: 'Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has just been.' This forward-looking attitude and keen instinct for what customers will appreciate next enabled him to constantly be ahead of the game, designing radical new products - which would then become the new norm.

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, offers wisdom on growth strategy: 'Only grow as fast as you can develop your people. Expansion behind growth is more sustainable than expansion ahead of growth.' And Gordon Roddick, husband of Anita and the financial brains behind The Body Shop, points out: 'Your greatest asset is your people; pay attention to their needs, make them feel involved, and listen when they have something to say - then you get better results from them, and they provide you with valuable ideas.' The Body Shop perpetually enshrined this principle in the way it did business - it was one of the key reasons for its success.

On the subject of defining overall strategy and direction, brand guru Rita Clifton says: 'You need to be very clear where you're going if you want other people to be part of your journey.' Likewise, Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of
lastminute.com and later the UK government's strategist for digital development of the nation, encourages: 'As a leader, clarity of communication, relentlessly reiterated communication is crucial: what are we doing, why are we doing it, how are we going to do it?' In a similar vein, Dave Brailsford, boss of the phenomenally successful Team Sky cycle racing team, urges: 'These are the key questions: what are we trying to do? How are we trying to do it? And why are we trying to do it? Alignment of the whole team behind the answers to these questions is essential.' This kind of clarity and then communication is crucial to taking the company forward in clearly directed unity.

Attributes of business gamechangers

In the course of our interview-based research, a number of attributes and characteristics have been noticed as consistently recurring among influential business leaders - pointing to qualities and behaviours which can be cultivated to advantage among leadership teams of legal firms. Here is a selection of the most significant.

Strategic ability

The strategies which gamechanging business leaders use for overcoming obstacles they encounter vary widely - some by rail-roading their way through, some by skirting around, others by changing plans and taking a completely new direction. But all of these people are resilient, and able to bounce back from catastrophe; they consistently learn and draw value from difficulties or failures. They are good at reflecting and deriving lessons from their actions and experiences, whether these have been successful or not. They are visionary individuals who possess strong forward-thinking ability - who picture what success is going to look like and who then determine the steps required to get there.

Attitude

Gamechanging business leaders are not afraid to challenge the status quo - indeed, they often go out of their way to do so. They are not generally averse to controversy, and often use it to their advantage. They are competitive, but not necessarily in terms of the quest for financial success - they are often keen to stand out in other ways. They are often 'outlaws' in the sense that they do not accept or follow the existing rules of the game. They are more daring than average, and not inherently averse to risk. They want to be in charge: loss of control can be devastating to them - having control can be more important than making money.

Clarity

The most successful and influential business leaders are clear about what they want to do, and their influential success requires this clarity. They pursue their vision with commitment and persistence, and do whatever it takes to achieve their primary objective.

They have a strong sense of focus and unswerving drive once they have decided on the right course of action. However they are also flexible, adaptable and able to respond, so that ideas of what they wish to achieve tend to evolve throughout their careers. They work with whatever they have got, and they turn the result from whatever they do to their advantage. They are skilled at recognising, creating and taking advantage of opportunity.

'People' people

Gamechanging business leaders are able to connect and engage with other people, motivating them to believe in their own personal vision and to join their cause; they are persuasive. They build a culture that is right for their business, and attract people who fit into that culture; they enrol people in their mission. They are realistic enough to know that in order to be successful, you have to surround yourself with the right people. They don't tolerate people who are not 'on the bus', going in the right direction - and they let those people go.

They are articulate about communicating what they are trying to do. They are also good at stakeholder management - building relationships both inside and outside their organisation in order to win over hearts and minds and make things happen.

Top learning points

Here's a selection of the most frequently recurring learning pointers offered by the business figures spoken to in the course of our research, applying to certain key business areas.

Entering the market

• See what's missing in the market place, and provide it.

• Offer services and products that improve life for as many people as possible.

• Give people value for their money.

• Start with the desired customer experience and work back towards what the solution is going to be - not the other way around.

• It's crucial to know what your USP is.

Strategy and objectives

• The key questions are: what are we trying to do, how are we trying to do it, and why are we trying to do it? Make a plan, then communicate and empower staff to execute it.

• You need to be very clear where you're going if you want other people to be part of your journey. Do not lose clarity of vision. Never lose sight of whatever it is you're trying to deliver.

• To build something that has financial value, focus on the analytics of the business you're trying to build - the financial drivers, the numbers to track - and challenge the status quo when these are not satisfactory.

• To be innovative, don't be overly preoccupied with what your competitors are doing, or be limited by their constrained thinking.

• For every meeting or encounter, have a clear strategy and a clear outcome
  in mind.

Leadership, partners and staffing

• A company is people. Get great people around you; surround yourself with positive people. Having the right people on board is crucial to success; decisions about who you work with are key; if people don't fit, you have to let them go. Create a fully committed team that will invest all into the project. Employ people who share your vision with enthusiasm.

• Build teams that include diverse rather than similar attributes. You need a combination of people with a similar ethos and set of values, to cover all bases. In recruitment, cultural fit is as important as skills or experience.

• Get the best people you can find in and around the industry you're in. Make sure they are 'team players'.

• Seek to align the interests and motivation of the staff with the interests of the company.

• Employees want to know: am I being listened to, or am I a cog in the wheel? To get the best out of people, give them ownership over what they
  are doing.

• Have good friends outside the business that you can talk to.

Improvement, failure, and mistakes

• Constantly think of ways to make your products or services better. View product and service improvement as incremental rather than a one-step process. Think about continuous improvement rather than worrying excessively about making the danger of making mistakes.

• When something negative happens, there may be a way to turn it into a positive. Learn from your mistakes, and encourage staff to do the same. Regard obstacles and challenges as prompts to potential progress.

• Keep on evolving; embrace innovation and change. Have the courage to break with tradition.

Branding, publicity, and promotion

• Guard your brand. Your brand is your company's most important and valuable asset. The brand is all about who you are, what you are, and what the customers can expect.

• Talk widely to people about what you're trying to do.

• Avail of new marketing opportunities that are arising through digital and technological progress. Those who ignore social media do so at their peril. Take the time to listen to a very powerful social media audience, and then react speedily to what you hear.

Connecting with customers

• Engage with your customers; take action to win them over in order to become a trusted brand

• Customers who support what you're doing are the most motivated and most loyal; engage their support.

Gerry Thompson is lead author of the book Inspirational Gamechangers: How the Best Business Talent Create Astonishingly Successful Companies (www.ftgamechangers.com)