How To Stop Dancing With Yourself - A Guide For Client-Centric Innovation
A guide for lawyers to create client centric innovation
By Michele deStefano and Sue-Ella Prodonovich
Why does so much innovation introduced by law firms stumble on takeup?
You all know the examples, from the new ‘tech’ focussed titles, to the quietly abandoned client-interactive websites that take years to build and months to be shown as largely useless.
I was lucky enough to work with Professor Michele DeStefano in Australia last year where we discussed this issue. Her observation was that disappointments are often because professionals are ‘dancing with themselves’ when it comes to innovation, even when they believe they are delivering for clients.
Michele is Professor of Law at the University of Miami in Florida, and visiting professor at Harvard Law School and Executive Education Chair in Strategic Influencing, where she has taught the leaders of legal business from throughout the world.
She believes the way many lawyers think and communicate is a major barrier to adopting truly client-centric innovation, but they can learn to ‘dance with the client’ and deliver experiences that don’t just meet expectations, but exceed them.
For many firms, this idea can seem challenging when they already dedicate resources to client seminars, surveys and what they see as collaboration.
However, Michele says that while this can be perceived as ‘great service’ this is not enough to be ‘co-collaborators’ and is only surface level client-centric.
Real client centricity involves a deep involvement, understanding and empathy with clients where you don’t just understand their business, but also their clients and customers’ business.
Michele’s Professional Skills Delta is a sense-making framework that views innovation as a skill set built on two other skill levels.
The first level is Concrete Organisational Skills, which includes elements such as ‘client service; then Collaborative, Creative & Problem Finding skills; and finally - Innovation skills.
To master the final level, lawyers move beyond a business funnel or pipeline and achieve true client centricity.
Michele suggested five initiatives to help build innovation skills.
1. Ask Questions Like An Innovator
The way many lawyers ask questions differs from innovators, because lawyers often question with a mindset of already knowing the answer. True innovators have an open mind and come at conversations with curiosity. This especially involves asking ‘why?’ rather than ‘what? questions.
2. Measure CPIs Rather Than KPIs.
We all know Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) but what about Client Performance Indicators? We can only know CPIs if we really know our clients enough to ask them.
An example of this is courier deliveries. Couriers had KPIs of arriving quickly, but when investigated it turned out that customer CPI was receiving parcels that weren’t broken. The business had measured the wrong thing.
3. Attend Your Client’s Team Meetings
While this can be difficult to arrange, the amount of insight that can be gleaned from such meetings is extraordinary. It also helps clients see their advisers as part of their team, co-collaborating, not outsiders who turn up to solve problems.
4. Learn Your Client’s Mission, Vision and Culture Statements
Really understanding client culture is always challenging and assumptions can often be wrong. However, the first element is to read its public pronouncements because this points to the image it hopes to present to the world.
5. Measure in Inches Not Miles
Innovation is rarely huge breakthroughs that change the world and it is also rarely a result of a single genius forcing change. It is usually incremental change that delivers value for the client and above all else it is change sparked in individuals and teams rather than processes.
For more ideas like this check out Michele’s book, Leader Upheaval: A Guide to Client-centricity, Culture Creation and Collaboration (2024) and also have a look at my other post about Professor DeStefano’s tips on developing a leadership mindset.
References and Further Reading
DeStefano M., (2023) Chicken or Egg: Diversity and Innovation in the Corporate Legal Marketplace, 91 Fordham L. Rev. 1209 (). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol91/iss4/7
De Stefano M. (2024) Leader Upheaval: A Guide to Client-centricity, Culture Creation and Collaboration available in Australia through the LIV Bookshop or https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/438283569/
Andrew McKenzie (2024) Can Lawyers Be too Client Centric?
Articles by Sue-Ella
Leadership Foundations: Essential Mindset Shifts for Lawyers (2024)
Seven Things Professionals Can Learn From Creatives (2016)
Addressing The Client’s Pathway and Client Experience (2016)
And a throwback to hum along to in your next innovation meeting … Billy Idol / Generation X Dancing With Myself (1981).
Sue-Ella is the Principal of Prodonovich Advisory, a business dedicated to helping professional services practices sharpen their business development practices.
She works with Law Firms and Business Advisory Organisations that focus on positive client relationships, and with individuals who want personal, intelligent support.
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/sueella-prodonovich/
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