Truth in Humor: Words of Wisdom from Jay Leno

Published February 18, 2014

“The reason there are two senators for each state is so that one can be the designated driver,” said Jay Leno.

Although Leno is retiring, his words of wisdom, steeped in humor though they may be, continue to work.

Certainly, his words work in the context of the legal profession because a law firm, like a state, should have a “designated driver.” And it would be worth your while to consider choosing a designated driver that is a nonlawyer.

When General Motors, once regarded as the most successful company in America, had to file for bankruptcy and accept a government bailout due to its inbred management, the GM board in August 2010 did the unthinkable. It named Daniel Ackerson-not a “car guy” but a guy who instead had run telecommunications companies and a buyout firm-to be the new CEO.

Today, not coincidentally, General Motors under Ackerson’s leadership has returned to financial health, reshaped its organization, and is again earning a reputation for product innovation.

There is a lesson here for law firms. Senior firm leadership is inevitably carried out by the lawyers themselves. But are such lawyers always the best choices to improve client service quality, marketing performance, attorney training and development, and competitive effectiveness? The history of problems that major firms faced during the Great Recession suggests that the answer increasingly may be no. Lawyers think like lawyers, not businesspeople, just as “car guys” think in terms of reliably running automobiles, not running a large organization that does more than simply build cars.

The idea of having a business professional such as a coach at your side, or at least available by phone, works in industry. That same idea should be incorporated in the legal industry. This will enable lawyers to do what they do best -lawyering, while still running a profitable service business.

Categorized in: Coaching, Marketing and Business Development

Audience type: Administrators, Associates, Large Law Firms, Small Law Firms, Sole Practitioners