Heads of Pigs and Golden Rules
Posted By Rob Millard - 0 Comments -
Bruce MacEwen of the esteemed blog Adam Smith Esq points today in his post Sand Hill Road Brings You The Head Of A Pig to a presentation that is doing the rounds, originating from Sequoia Capital and now available for free on Slideshare, with a comprehensive collection of graphs and other graphics outlining not only the current state of the US economy, but also the prospects for recovery. Note the comments posted below the presentation .... full range from "idiotic presentation" to "brilliant presentation." Plain data, most of it, so apathetic to human emotion. Bruce's commentary is also well worth a read.
The slide presentation makes seriously sobering reading. If the reality has not dawned already, then this should make absolutely crystal clear that the response of any firm that is not fortunate enough to be benefiting from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 or its global equivalents, the flurry of bank mergers and acquisitions or the steadily increasing litigation, needs to be two-stage:
1. Conserve cash and chase debtors. Cut costs to the bone. Over-communicate with all in the firm so that everybody understands the need for extra effort to survive the next few years. Over-communicate with clients and step up client relationship initiatives with key clients. Produce better quality work and be more responsive than ever.
2. Start thinking about what the world will be like when the recession ends. The markets will not "return to normality" as in back to what was before, but settle into an entirely new pattern. As the old saying goes .... the "Golden Rule" is really that "he who has the gold, makes the rules." The gold is now is different places. To see where, click here although the most recent events will have certainly changed some of the data, perhaps dramatically. This will impact global power balances, client needs and will almost certainly accelerate the overall process of globalization.
Point two above, of course, applies equally to those fortunate firms that are thriving on the current turmoil. They simply have more resources to be able to attend to it and actually start crafting and executing new strategy.
If you'd like to chat about how this might impact your firm .... contact me. For nigh on the past year, working through the scenarios that might emerge through the process now under way, and their implications for western law firms in particular, has been the primary focus of my professional practice. There are both opportunities and threats out there .... if you haven't worked through these issues then the worst possible strategy right now might just be the one that you developed and started executing twelve to eighteen months ago. Worse, perhaps even, than no strategy at all.
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