Here are some rainmaking ideas for patent practitioners who are starting out as solo practitioners or joining a new firm. Rainmaking is all about bringing in the business, that is, paying the rent. More than anything, business development is about being known and recognized.
Networking opportunities you might consider:
LinkedIn - a business networking portal where you enter details about yourself and build a network of connections
<http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=logo>
LinkedIn Questions and Answers, where you respond to queries. Here is the IP section:
<http://www.linkedin.com/answers/browse/law-legal/corporate-law/intellectual-property/LAW_COR_IPP>
Law Guru IP discussion Forum:
<http://www.lawguru.com/cgi/bbs/mesg.cgi?l=all&c=16>
Create a blog and establish yourself as a pundit in some IP area:
<http://www.blogger.com/start>
Respond to IP related blog entries:
<http://patentlaw.typepad.com/patent/>
<http://www.legalsanity.com/>
Patent Law Practice Mailing List:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PatentLawPractice/join%7C%5D%5D%5B%5Bhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/PatentLawPractice/join>
Troll the Craigslist Legal Services section:
<http://www.craigslist.org/lgs/>
Start your own newsletter.
Create a seminar for professionals. Teach them.
Publish a general interest article in local newpaper, IP trade magazine, Bar Assoc., etc.
Get a spot on local PBS radio station or another, talk about IP law, trolls, answer call ins, whatever.
Sponsor a local sports little league team, charity event, etc.
Speak at an IEEE, ACM, etc. local section meeting.
Do some related pro bono work for a charity, United Way, etc.
See also:
<http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/magazine/2003/jul-aug/stevens.html>
<http://www.coachingforchange.com/pub07.html>
Post articles you author on your web site. Make them a regular feature with real advice.
Meet with clients, prospects, on their turf, not yours.
Leverage LexisNexis:
<http://www.lexisnexis.com/associates/career/career0705.asp>
Read this book:
<http://www.rainmakingmadesimple.com/endorsements.htm>
Hire a legal marketing personal consultant:
<http://www.lawmarketing.com/pages/articles.asp?Action=Article&ArticleCategoryID=7&ArticleID=520>
<http://legalease.blogs.com/> - one of the best!
Refine your elevator pitch, e.g.,
"I’m John Smith, an attorney helping individuals and companies protect their intellectual property with an emphasis on valuing my clients assets and making the process as worry-free for all involved." [Note that no multi-name law firm was mentioned here. Stick to what people can remember!]
And finally, the ultimate marketing tool--write a book!
Showing posts with label Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Management. Show all posts
Friday, April 6, 2007
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Twenty Habits of Ineffectual Leaders
Since starting this blog I have resisted the temptation to rant about past jobs and the people I have encountered in these positions. Many blogs are a place for lots of sour grapes, or just living in the past to assign blame. But a recent article in Business Week, Bad Habits That Can Hold You Back, struck such a chord with me that I feel compelled to devote some words to it in this posting.
Below are the twenty bad habits of ineffectual leaders identified in the BW article.
Winning Too Much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations—when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point.
Adding Too Much Value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
Passing Judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
Making Destructive Comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these qualifiers, which secretly say to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
Telling the World How Smart We Are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
Speaking When Angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
Negativity: The need to share our negative thoughts, even when we weren’t asked.
Withholding Information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
Failing to Give Proper Recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
Claiming Credit We Don’t Deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
Making Excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
Clinging to the Past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
Playing Favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
Refusing to Express Regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
Not Listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
Failing to Express Gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
Punishing the Messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent, who are usually only trying to protect us.
Passing the Buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
An Excessive Need to Be “Me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they exemplify who we are.
I once had a boss that exhibited nearly all of these bad behaviors. It was one of the most debillitating experiences of my professional career. No matter how hard I worked or what I accomplished, I remained in the shadow of this person's ego and indifference. Yet I continued to work for this person because I labored under a naïve notion that he would be found out by the company and be summarily dismissed or demoted. My mistake was to not move onward as soon as I recognized these symptoms. I enjoyed the work I was doing but ignored the effect this boss was having on my personal and professional life. To this day my family and I cringe whenever this person's name is mentioned.
If you see your boss or company management exhibiting the behaviors above, it is time for you to start looking around for something better.
Below are the twenty bad habits of ineffectual leaders identified in the BW article.
Winning Too Much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations—when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point.
Adding Too Much Value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
Passing Judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
Making Destructive Comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these qualifiers, which secretly say to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
Telling the World How Smart We Are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
Speaking When Angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
Negativity: The need to share our negative thoughts, even when we weren’t asked.
Withholding Information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
Failing to Give Proper Recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
Claiming Credit We Don’t Deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
Making Excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
Clinging to the Past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
Playing Favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
Refusing to Express Regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
Not Listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
Failing to Express Gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
Punishing the Messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent, who are usually only trying to protect us.
Passing the Buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
An Excessive Need to Be “Me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they exemplify who we are.
I once had a boss that exhibited nearly all of these bad behaviors. It was one of the most debillitating experiences of my professional career. No matter how hard I worked or what I accomplished, I remained in the shadow of this person's ego and indifference. Yet I continued to work for this person because I labored under a naïve notion that he would be found out by the company and be summarily dismissed or demoted. My mistake was to not move onward as soon as I recognized these symptoms. I enjoyed the work I was doing but ignored the effect this boss was having on my personal and professional life. To this day my family and I cringe whenever this person's name is mentioned.
If you see your boss or company management exhibiting the behaviors above, it is time for you to start looking around for something better.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Three Things to Ask Your Manager Every Month
Yes, your annual performance review is behind you now and you are probably still basking in the glow of our previous year's accomplishments.
With the new year approaching I want to suggest you make a regular habit of specifically seeking feedback from your manager in your one-on-one meetings. I am not talking about vague generalities, e.g., "How am I doing?", but opening yourself up to being willing to hear detailed, performance review level, feedback.
I recommend you use the Start-Stop-Continue approach. Ask your manager,
1. What should I start doing?
2. What should I stop doing?
3. What should I continue doing?
Simple isn't it? But don't ask if you don't really want to hear the answers. And if you do, keep asking until you start to get the kind of feedback you expect. You may find that your manager to be hesitant at first to "go deep" on your performance. I suggest you give your boss a few days heads up that this area will one of your 1:1 agenda topics.
Now if we can get managers to pop the same three questions to their direct staff from time to time!
With the new year approaching I want to suggest you make a regular habit of specifically seeking feedback from your manager in your one-on-one meetings. I am not talking about vague generalities, e.g., "How am I doing?", but opening yourself up to being willing to hear detailed, performance review level, feedback.
I recommend you use the Start-Stop-Continue approach. Ask your manager,
1. What should I start doing?
2. What should I stop doing?
3. What should I continue doing?
Simple isn't it? But don't ask if you don't really want to hear the answers. And if you do, keep asking until you start to get the kind of feedback you expect. You may find that your manager to be hesitant at first to "go deep" on your performance. I suggest you give your boss a few days heads up that this area will one of your 1:1 agenda topics.
Now if we can get managers to pop the same three questions to their direct staff from time to time!
Intel's One Percent Solution
No doubt you have all heard the news of Intel's plans to let 1000 managers go from the company. As one of those managers I received the personal news by phone call in July.
If you are expecting a bitter rant about management nearsightedness or the loss of talented folks versus fixing the decision making processes at Intel, you will be disappointed. As I have noted in an earlier post I liked my job and working for Intel. I gave the seven years of my life and fully intended to give it another twenty or so more.
Once news of my impending departure spread, I received some very kind words of encouragement from friends and colleagues:
- Oh man. I’m sorry. You’re one of the good eggs.
- That is terrible news, not only for you and your family, but for those people who’ll remain after all the dust settles. We will miss your insight, vision, and contributions greatly here.
- A lot of my friends got tagged and it is a strange time as I feel they were very talented people as you are.
- I am very sorry to read that you are a victim of the ‘night of the long knives’. Doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to this purge. My immediate manager was discharged yesterday morning and is already gone. This action was executed just as the team he was brought in to lead last year, was finally becoming effective -- having a vision and a focus for the first time since I’ve been on it.
I’ve much appreciated your vision, insight and forbearance (especially) during my working career at Intel. You’ve certainly well role modeled the values of a successful entrepreneur and professional engineer (as well as those claimed by Intel). And we all have appreciated your willingness to mentor, counsel, and blog.
While I have no doubt that you will emerge from this event successful and better off than you have been recently with Intel, Intel has taken an unrealized substantial loss in its decision to do without your services. Certainly, looking back, if management had heeded your and other cellular leaders’ advice, they would not have found it necessary to sell off a money losing operation (because it would have been making money and in charge of its own destiny).
- Arrhh, matey – sorry to hear the news. It’s been a pleasure to have plundered witcha’ as a fellow pirate. May your bounty chest remain full ‘o gold pieces and the wind always fill your sails.
- Intel will surely be missing out on a great manager. I’d have to say that in my 10 years, you were up there at the top in terms of being the best manager I had the pleasure working with. Not sure if I ever told you that.
- Sorry to hear about that. Doesn't make sense to me really given your dual role as soldier / captain.
- This is indeed very sad news! It was fun and great learning experience working with you.
- Not sure if I should congratulate you or send my condolences.
- Oh my god, that is really sad to hear. Don’t know what to say. We’ll definitely miss you.
- This is a really screwed up place for letting people like you go. I met one of your previous direct reports here... We both agreed you had a unique management style and vision. OK, you were not the easiest to work for (smile), but both agreed that you were the best Intel manager we ever had.
Kind words indeed, and made the news that I would be leaving Intel even more bittersweet.
Intel's decision to start with managers in its long term plan to get leaner and more agile was a smart move. I think it sends a message to the company's employees and shareholders that Paul Otellini, CEO, is serious about taking the company to the next level. From what I have seen inside the company, there was a great deal of personal anguish and hand-wringing by those that had to made the decisions about who was going to be asked to leave the company.
Despite being on the receiving end of the news, I don't envy the individuals that made these decisions. The majority of managers at Intel were once very successful individual contributors, so the company is losing some serious learning curve experience in the 1000 managers being let go this month. That said, the move opens up opportunities for new blood in the ranks and goes a long way in reducing the decision making bloat that Intel has been wrestling with in the last five years of rapid employee growth.
If you are expecting a bitter rant about management nearsightedness or the loss of talented folks versus fixing the decision making processes at Intel, you will be disappointed. As I have noted in an earlier post I liked my job and working for Intel. I gave the seven years of my life and fully intended to give it another twenty or so more.
Once news of my impending departure spread, I received some very kind words of encouragement from friends and colleagues:
- Oh man. I’m sorry. You’re one of the good eggs.
- That is terrible news, not only for you and your family, but for those people who’ll remain after all the dust settles. We will miss your insight, vision, and contributions greatly here.
- A lot of my friends got tagged and it is a strange time as I feel they were very talented people as you are.
- I am very sorry to read that you are a victim of the ‘night of the long knives’. Doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to this purge. My immediate manager was discharged yesterday morning and is already gone. This action was executed just as the team he was brought in to lead last year, was finally becoming effective -- having a vision and a focus for the first time since I’ve been on it.
I’ve much appreciated your vision, insight and forbearance (especially) during my working career at Intel. You’ve certainly well role modeled the values of a successful entrepreneur and professional engineer (as well as those claimed by Intel). And we all have appreciated your willingness to mentor, counsel, and blog.
While I have no doubt that you will emerge from this event successful and better off than you have been recently with Intel, Intel has taken an unrealized substantial loss in its decision to do without your services. Certainly, looking back, if management had heeded your and other cellular leaders’ advice, they would not have found it necessary to sell off a money losing operation (because it would have been making money and in charge of its own destiny).
- Arrhh, matey – sorry to hear the news. It’s been a pleasure to have plundered witcha’ as a fellow pirate. May your bounty chest remain full ‘o gold pieces and the wind always fill your sails.
- Intel will surely be missing out on a great manager. I’d have to say that in my 10 years, you were up there at the top in terms of being the best manager I had the pleasure working with. Not sure if I ever told you that.
- Sorry to hear about that. Doesn't make sense to me really given your dual role as soldier / captain.
- This is indeed very sad news! It was fun and great learning experience working with you.
- Not sure if I should congratulate you or send my condolences.
- Oh my god, that is really sad to hear. Don’t know what to say. We’ll definitely miss you.
- This is a really screwed up place for letting people like you go. I met one of your previous direct reports here... We both agreed you had a unique management style and vision. OK, you were not the easiest to work for (smile), but both agreed that you were the best Intel manager we ever had.
Kind words indeed, and made the news that I would be leaving Intel even more bittersweet.
Intel's decision to start with managers in its long term plan to get leaner and more agile was a smart move. I think it sends a message to the company's employees and shareholders that Paul Otellini, CEO, is serious about taking the company to the next level. From what I have seen inside the company, there was a great deal of personal anguish and hand-wringing by those that had to made the decisions about who was going to be asked to leave the company.
Despite being on the receiving end of the news, I don't envy the individuals that made these decisions. The majority of managers at Intel were once very successful individual contributors, so the company is losing some serious learning curve experience in the 1000 managers being let go this month. That said, the move opens up opportunities for new blood in the ranks and goes a long way in reducing the decision making bloat that Intel has been wrestling with in the last five years of rapid employee growth.
Why I Liked My Job at Intel Corporation
Last September, after seven good years at Intel Corporation I was, ahem, downsized, as part of a broad corporate restructuring. I am not bitter about this. On the contrary, I will miss my job.
I often read the posts to Intel internal web pages as well as many of the company blogs. I was always dismayed by the number of people around the company who appeared to be very unhappy. They are unhappy with their management, their co-workers, and their work. Some cross the line between just venting and become cynics. Frankly, as a manager, I think cynicism is a firing offense. A cynic will undermine anything a group is trying to achieve. Nothing anyone does satisfies these persons. All decisions made are candidates for revisitation and undoing. Cynics are a pernicious virus in any organization that should be eliminated. How do you know you are becoming a cynic?
I left work every day frustrated. I was frustrated that I didn't have enough hours in the day to do everything I would have liked to do. I was frustrated that I sometimes have to get out of the zone and put down my laptop to tend to the other demands of life, such as eating, running errands, and working around my home. My frustration was a positive outgrowth of my excitement for my job at Intel. It was a job that challenged all my mental faculties, forcing me to immerse myself in new domains daily, and I had the privilege of working with (and managing) very bright individuals. Sure, I had complaints, but they are mostly related to keeping me from being more effective. And yes, my boss and I clashed from time to time. This was more a symptom of two individual "take no prisoner" work attitudes repelling one another and not from some personal dislike.
To answer the question posed above, when you find yourself leaving work each day mad you are on the slippery slope towards cynicism. I sensed this in the many of the items I had been reading from others. These persons are mad at everything around them and don't mind telling anyone who will listen. To those individuals I would counsel, when you find yourself in this situation, the time has come for you to either find a new job within the company, or start looking elsewhere.
Leave work frustrated, not mad.
I often read the posts to Intel internal web pages as well as many of the company blogs. I was always dismayed by the number of people around the company who appeared to be very unhappy. They are unhappy with their management, their co-workers, and their work. Some cross the line between just venting and become cynics. Frankly, as a manager, I think cynicism is a firing offense. A cynic will undermine anything a group is trying to achieve. Nothing anyone does satisfies these persons. All decisions made are candidates for revisitation and undoing. Cynics are a pernicious virus in any organization that should be eliminated. How do you know you are becoming a cynic?
I left work every day frustrated. I was frustrated that I didn't have enough hours in the day to do everything I would have liked to do. I was frustrated that I sometimes have to get out of the zone and put down my laptop to tend to the other demands of life, such as eating, running errands, and working around my home. My frustration was a positive outgrowth of my excitement for my job at Intel. It was a job that challenged all my mental faculties, forcing me to immerse myself in new domains daily, and I had the privilege of working with (and managing) very bright individuals. Sure, I had complaints, but they are mostly related to keeping me from being more effective. And yes, my boss and I clashed from time to time. This was more a symptom of two individual "take no prisoner" work attitudes repelling one another and not from some personal dislike.
To answer the question posed above, when you find yourself leaving work each day mad you are on the slippery slope towards cynicism. I sensed this in the many of the items I had been reading from others. These persons are mad at everything around them and don't mind telling anyone who will listen. To those individuals I would counsel, when you find yourself in this situation, the time has come for you to either find a new job within the company, or start looking elsewhere.
Leave work frustrated, not mad.
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