No Frills No Fluff™

Here is our last strategy for a successful in-house mentoring program:
Remember that successful mentoring relationships take effort. Both the mentee and mentor must put significant effort into the relationship. Treating scheduled meetings as a priority and coming prepared to discuss certain topics will allow the relationship to prosper.
These are just a few of the things [...]

Another example of something a firm can do to implement an effective in-house mentoring program:
Encourage young attorneys to get out from behind their desks and learn. New experiences for associates should be encouraged and being able to shadow a partner at a trial or deposition should be a part of the program. Obviously, these opportunities [...]

Continuing in our series of strategies for in-house law firm mentoring programs:
Require participants to provide feedback on a regular basis. Constant feedback is necessary from all parties in order to make the system work and allow for adaptations. Feedback can provide opportunities to switch partners before participants become demoralized. If a relationship is not working, [...]

Following from last week’s posting, here is another strategy for a successful in-house mentoring program:
Establish specific guidelines for each mentoring relationship. Most effective structures are formed for three to five year periods and roles, expectations, procedures and responsibilities must be established at the outset. Provide this information to the participants in writing at the beginning [...]

While the mentor-mentee relationship in the legal profession gets plenty of lip service, the reality is that poor or non-existent mentoring programs significantly affect law firms’ bottom lines, prevent strategic growth, and limit firms’ abilities to recruit and retain star talent. J.Ferm interviewed partners, associates, and staff members at more than 30 law firms to [...]

Here is part four of our strategic planning techniques series:
Set dates for completing each goal: Divide your note pad into 12 columns (one for each month) and begin mapping out when you want each goal or action step to be completed. If you manage a team, it may be helpful to also allocate responsibilities among [...]

Following from our last post, here is part two of our strategic planning techniques to increase your energy and rekindle your passion.

Begin organizing your thoughts and ideas: Once you have collected your ideas, begin looking for common themes or patterns.  Group them into categories such as: financial, personnel, product development, personal development, operational, etc.

Check back [...]

Our next series of tips relates to strategic planning techniques. The concept of “strategic planning” is rarely associated with increased energy and rekindled passion.  But that is often because of how we do strategic planning rather than the planning itself.  We lock ourselves and our management teams into stuffy conference rooms expecting to somehow magically [...]

Staying “connected” in business can be challenging, and many professionals and entrepreneurs use Twitter to keep up with the latest news.  Continuing from our last post, here is another tip to help with the process:
Download a free organizing system: There are several social media organizing software programs on the market.  We recommend TweetDeck, which you [...]

Many of the executives we work with are accustomed to giving orders and making directive statements. These can be powerful and memorable. They can also be a turn off and cause a great deal of trouble. Practice asking questions FIRST and making statements later. Here are some great questions that work in management and leadership [...]