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New edition of the ABA's Law Practice is now online

The theme of this edition of Law Practice is diversity. Articles include:

"Building the Bridge to Inclusion: The Work of Law Firm Leaders" by Martha Fay Africa

Diversity is everywhere, and unavoidable, in our culture. So who will teach us how to thrive by embracing it in our law firms? Enter the inclusive leader.

"Achieving Sustainable Diversity: Colorado’s Approach to the Diversity Dilemma" by Kathleen B. Nalty

Clients are demanding greater diversity, minority associate attrition rates are climbing, and fewer minorities are entering law school. Some say dramatic change is needed, and Colorado’s legal community is taking up the challenge.

"Look in the Mirror: Is Your Diversity Program Really Making a Difference?" by Roland Dumas

Despite the activity and publicity centered on diversity, the participation of minorities in the senior levels of law firms still lags. All the while, firms keep going to extreme efforts to show the investment they have in structured diversity programs. Why the difference between efforts and results?

"How Diversity Can Play a Role in Your Firm’s Business Development" by Sally J. Schmidt

Efforts to build a diverse law firm can offer distinct advantages in attracting and retaining clients.

And my "Reading Minds" column featuring summer reading.

The summer solstice is nearly here, ushering in the season of vacations, which for many of us brings extra reading time. So in this issue, our Reading Minds suggest their favorite books for fun and pleasure. Take a look at this medley of alluring recommendations from Anne Castle, Dean Donald Polden, Nancy Sher Cohen and David Maister before you head to the beach. Even if you are not traveling, these books will take your mind to new places.

Much more for you to read at the new edition. Read now as the current edition is only available to non-subscribers until the next edition goes online.

Lighter Wisdom: TEAR THOSE WORDS OPEN! LAY THEM BARE!

Words are important messengers of both comfort and combat. Words can energize. And they can numb; they can create robots and zombies. They are a tremendous tool or they can make you a fool. Are you a fool for words?

Don't Self-Help Yourself to Sleep

In his book Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing, Mark Levy gives us an effective filter for the many words that enter our senses each day. This filter gives us a fresh way of seeing our world, as well as a dose of critical thinking.

Levy talks about “opening up words.” If we are under the spell of unexamined and lulling, lullaby words, the process of opening up words wakes us.

As an example of what Levy means, let’s apply his method to one genre of information. Many of us read motivational and inspirational literature and listen to gurus of self-help and incentive. What do their words really mean? Much of the motivational and inspirational vocabulary is becoming trite and tired.

We can learn how to freshen the words up or throw out the stale bread. If the words are just stale bread, they may be getting moldy and may be molding you into a sleepwalker.

The Inner Recesses of Your Expression

Levy says:

When you open up a word, you re-define that word so it has personal meaning. You become an explorer within the word, forsaking the sleepy meaning others have given it, and discover for yourself if the concepts embedded within it are still valid.

He gives the example of the word “empowerment.” How many times do you read and hear that word? Are you giving it a “sleepy meaning” and thinking, “Oh yeah, that’s a great word. Give me more of that” without ever looking inside the word to see what, if anything, it means to YOU.

Levy suggests a four-step process to examine words and see if they fit for us.

First, pick the word or phrase you want to dissect for

April, 2008 edition of LAW PRACTICE TODAY now online

Click to read the April edition of Law Practice Today. Some of the included articles:

• Beyond Diversity: Inclusion In the Legal Workforce by Janet Ellen Raasch

  Law firms are falling behind other professions in hiring diverse workforces. How can the legal community create an atmosphere of inclusiveness and attract diverse employees? Janet Allen Raasch outlines the steps law firms. Law schools, and universities must take to catch up.

• The Power of Storytelling in Your Legal Practice by Paramjit L. Mahli

  How do attorneys connect with their audience without losing themselves in legal-speak? The art of story telling can help lawyers communicate in a way that is captivating and easily understood.

• April-May Marketing Brief by Bob Weiss

  Your logo may be more important than you think. Bob Weiss explains how your company’s brand can make you stand out.

• Is the Check REALLY in the Mail? Only If You Bill the Right Way! by Edward Poll

  Don’t let worrying about payments stress you out. Here are some tips on how to manage billing so that you and your clients are happy.

Upcoming Colorado event: April 23, 2008

Click to read all about Networking for Skeptics and Procrastinators: Using Your Brain to Create More Business.

Dr. Tammy Lenski is on virtual book tour for her new MAKING MEDIATION YOUR DAY JOB

Lot of excitement over at Tammy Lenski's Mediator Tech. She has released her book Making Mediation Your Day Job: How to Market Your ADR Business Using Mediation Principles You Already Know. To celebrate the release, she is throwing a Book Launch Virtual Party at which you can enter a drawing to win one of many excellent prizes. Don't wait because the entry deadline is 5PM EST on March 15.

More! Lenski is also on virtual book tour. Of course, that tech-savvy strategy is what we would expect from a "confessed technophile."

“The book tour of today is very different than the book tour of yester-year,” says Lenski. “Today’s book tours tap the power of the Internet and telephone technologies to spread the word and engage readers.” Lenski’s book tour includes complimentary teleconference seminars with ADR associations and groups, blog and Podcast interviews with fellow ADR professionals, and an online prize drawing for mediation marketing services and products relevant to mediators who want to jump-start their practices.

Lenski founded her successful full-time ADR practice a decade ago and built it using the principles and processes she now shares in her book. A core faculty member in Woodbury College’s master’s in mediation program for many years, Lenski has trained and educated hundreds of practicing mediators and seen first-hand what differentiates those who have business success from those who aren’t yet able to make mediation their day job. She blogs about the intersection of ADR, technology and marketing at MediatorTech.com.

Lenski is definitely a guru of ADR marketing. Buy her book and learn from a master. And don't forget to enter that prize drawing at the Book Launch Virtual Party.

"Just tell stories and forget the rest."

In his book The Journey toward Reconciliation, John Paul Lederach presents the excellent advice of his daughter:

Before I spoke at one meeting, my daughter, Angie, gave me the most solid piece of advice I had received in some time: "Daddy, just tell stories and forget the rest."

Lederach adds:

Stories are different from definitions, exegeses, or theoretical explanations. They can take on the qualities of a person, someone we interact with and learn from, someone we struggle and disagree with, someone who affirms and challenges us. Stories engulf both our hearts and minds. We talk a lot about stories in mediation and the work of conflict transformation. We work to create a space that honors the experience shared in people's stories.

I have posted before about how stories influence. For more, you may find useful "Why vivid storytelling inspires giving," an interview on that topic by Perla Ni, JD, in Stanford Social Innovation Review. An excerpt:

I had read of Wharton marketing professor Deborah Small’s groundbreaking research on how statistics can suppress giving.  I followed up with her by phone with this interview about how nonprofits can use her research to more effectively fundraise.

Q: There are so many nonprofits trying to figure out how to fundraise better.  Your research on appealing to emotion is path-breaking. Can you elaborate on how people can appeal to emotion?  I know you use the example of one child, and you say it should be a “vivid” story.  Can you elaborate on that? 

A: The more vivid the story – through narrative or through imagery – the more emotionally arousing. And emotions are what triggers the impetus to help.  The more surprising finding is that showing statistics can actually blunt this emotional response by causing people to think in a more calculative, albeit uncaring, manner.

Good advice for anyone in the business of persuasion.

New edition of ABA's LAW PRACTICE: Marketing technology trends

The January issue of the ABA's Law Practice is now online. This edition includes the following articles:

• "Marketing Technology Trends" by John D. Bowers

  Today’s marketing arsenal features a vast array of tools—as well as technology practices that range from the truly cutting-edge to the archaic. Where does your firm fall on the scale? Here’s a look at some technologies that can really boost your business development efforts.

• "Tracking Law Firm Marketing Technology" by Sue Stock Allison and Leslie Meagley

  What are the technology needs of today’s law firm marketing departments? What technology is working—and what is not? The recently released Law Firm Marketing Technology Survey tapped the collective knowledge of firm marketers.

• "What Can Marketing Directors Teach You?" by Merrilyn Astin Tarlton

  Even if you are in a small firm or solo practice, knowing what technologies the larger firms are using will help you leverage your marketing.

• "Online Networking for Fun and Profit" by Christopher Batio

  Quick tips for lawyers looking to dive into networking on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.

• "Ins and Outs of Social Networking for Lawyers: How Tough Is It to Cast Your Profile into Infinity?" by Denise Howell and Ernie Svenson

  Renowned legal bloggers and Web mavens Denise Howell and Ernest Svenson interact in a conversation that explores the dynamics—and the potential—of these sites.

• "Cell Phone and BlackBerry Etiquette: A Short Refresher" by Dan Pinnington

  Advice on avoiding raucous ringtones, beeping keyboards and other annoyances.

And many more articles waiting for you here at Law Practice.

Know any long-winded lawyers? Get them to try Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha is spreading around the world like wildfire. No wonder! It is a great idea and an antidote to presentations causing death by PowerPoint. Here's how Pecha Kucha (Japanese for "the sound of conversation") works. Presenters each get 20 slides and each slide can only be up for 20 seconds. So each presenter is able to talk for six minutes and 40 seconds. Nice way to ramp up conciseness and organization.

Seth Godin writes:

I love this idea to pieces. . . .

If you are really and truly having a meeting to discuss something, then the Pecha Kucha approach is brilliant. 20 slides, 20 seconds each. Then the PPT gets turned off.

Click here to see Dan Pink's example of Pecha Kucha. Read Pink's Wired article "Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 Slides Then Sit the Hell Down" for more about the process, including its origin.

Matt Homann in his post about Pecha Kucha provided a link where can you view other examples. Matt, how was that PK presentation you mentioned?

Anyone out there using Pecha Kucha? I bet it saves time—and reduces boredom and irritation. And I imagine that getting good at this technique would improve all your presentations, not just those in the PK format. Can you imagine a firm where many meetings used PK?

I can think of several loquacious people (yes, some are lawyers) to whom I would like to say, "Would you please go Pecha Kucha that and get back to me?"

Hat tip to MovingFromMeToWe

Newest edition of LAW PRACTICE TODAY is online

A new edition of Law Practice Today is up and available. Articles include

• "Marketing and Sales: Different Roles in Support of a Common Goal" by Janet Ellen Raasch
• "To Engage or Not To Engage – That is the Question" by Edward Poll
• "8 Keys to Client Relationship Management Success" by Milton W. Zwicker
• "Your Office: Don't Leave Home Without It" by Brett Burney & Adriana Linares

Read the top 10 articles then vote for your favorite

Top 10 Sales Articles has posted what they think is the best of the year. You may vote there at the site for your favorite. The contestants include

• "How to Use Hidden Psychological Triggers & Sell More Products and Services" by Yank Silver
• "Follow Up Focus" by Diane Helbig
• "Why Should I Talk to You?" by Keith Rosen
• "The Power of a Symbol" by Kevin Eikenberry
• "10 Ways to Build a Referral-Only Business In Less Than Ten Minutes a Day" by Laurie Hayes