What is the ethosphere of your law firm?

We read and hear much discussion about the ecosphere ("global ecosystem of the planet"). Perhaps we should also be talking about the ethosphere. A quote from Dr, Jeffrey M. Schwartz from his book Dear Patrick: Life is Tough - Here's Some Good Advice explains the ethosphere . . .

The fact is, we don't only live in an "ecosphere," a shared realm of air and woods and water.  We also live in an "ethosphere," a shared realm of attitudes, behavior, and ethics. [...B]ad thoughts, harsh words, and irresponsible actions are every bit as real and damaging as toxic fumes or nuclear waste.

I picked up this quote from a post by Annie Gottlieb at her blog AmbivaBlog. Gottlieb is the coauthor of Dear Patrick.

The concept of ethosphere ties into many discussions on the blogosphere, including Bob Sutton's posts (be sure to scroll down to read them all) about his wildly popular book The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't, my posts about law firm dragons and snake consent, Julie Fleming-Brown on being nice, many a post at Arnie Herz's Legal Sanity, and Rob Millard's post about jerks, just to mention a few.

Since the ethosphere of a law firm has a direct impact on client satisfaction, client development, employee and partner satisfaction, health, and performance; and law firm reputation and branding, its measure is not wisely ignored.

With the goal of measuring, I have begun to create a list of questions to ask about a law firm's ethosphere. Please let me know what questions you would add to an ethosphere inventory. Together I think we can come up with a comprehensive and useful questionnaire. I look forward to hearing from you either by e-mail or in the comments below. Thanks.

Note (added Julu 22, 2007, 9:45 AM Mountain): A longer quote about the ethosphere, also from Dear Patrick, and picked up at another post on AmbivaBlog . . .

The fact is, we don't only live in an "ecosphere," a shared realm of air and woods and water. We also live in an "ethosphere," a shared realm of attitudes, behavior, and ethics. Yet people seem oblivious to the fact that bad thoughts, harsh words, and irresponsible actions are every bit as real and damaging as toxic fumes or nuclear waste -- and that good thoughts, kind words, and responsible actions are as protective as the ozone layer.

Comments

[Julie Fleming-Brown]

Stephanie, this is a brilliant idea. After all, it's impossible to make a change -- or even decide whether a change is desirable -- unless and until it's clear what's currently existing. And being able to recognize a firm's ethosphere is also important for someone interviewing for a position at the firm. Very promising work, and I'll look forward to sending some thoughts your way.