April 2022

First name / friend,

 

Time.  So much of our lives is driven by time.  In many law firms, an attorney's value is measured in time.  Sometimes time is positive - “I had a great time," but other times it's negative - “we're out of time.”  Either way, we never want to “waste” time.  But what does that mean?  

As lawyers, we wear our frenetic pace and long hours as badges of honor.  But just like athletes who need rest days, our minds need rest too, as this piece from Harvard Business Review explains.  Intentional silence is a catalyst for new ideas or new ways to think about old ones.  

The strategic use of silence can help us be better lawyers too.  Whether in a courtroom or at the deal table, we are constantly negotiating.  Turns out, this is the ideal time for a bit of silence.  Summarizing a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, this article  explains that well-timed silence shows deliberation and thoughtfulness and which leads to more productive negotiations and better results for our clients.

Meetings - their value or lack thereof - has been a hot topic since the pandemic.  Companies began implementing “no meeting” days and examining how we run meetings to make them efficient and purposeful.   From the title  “Stop Wasting People's Time with Meetings,” you may think this article is about getting rid of meetings.  Instead, the author makes a case for leaders to think about their strategy for meetings and what role they want to play.  This isn't a blanket decision for all meetings; it is a decision that is made every time you are about to enter that conference froom.

– Albert Einstein

Katherine Porter, Esq.

Advanced Matter Management | Service Design