Here is a link to an interesting interview with Dan Rosensweig, President and CEO of Chegg, texbook rental online & via mail, which appeared in the NY Times' Sunday Corner Office column by Adam Bryant on July 8, 2010.
Rosensweig talks about how he uses management teams to set priorities for the company and create a clear definition of success, how he runs meetings, how he acknowledges star performers, what he looks for when interviewing and hiring, and how he approaches difficult conversations with employees who are not doing the things they need to do to succeed in their jobs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/business/11corner.html?pagewanted=1&ref=jobs
Take a look and see whether you might apply some of Rosensweig's leadership and management practices to your law firm or company or even simply to managing your legal career.
Showing posts with label meetings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meetings. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Common Sense in Conference Calls: Etiquette & Other Tips
I'm no Miss Manners when it comes to etiquette, but a couple of conference calls with groups of lawyers today reminded me that "common sense isn't common." (Will Rogers)
1. Identity Issues. Say your name before you speak. Say it every time until you are certain that everyone recognizes your voice. "This is Elizabeth. I understand that . . . . " "This is Elizabeth again. My question is . . . . "
2. Identity Issues II. If you welcome someone else to the call by saying "Hi Kathy!" be thoughtful. Identify yourself. "Hi Kathy! This is Scott. How is your new year?" If "Hi Kathy!" is followed by a pause then a "Hi", it's a sure bet Kathy didn't recognize your voice or wasn't certain.
3. Breathing Space. Give others on the call room to speak. Think of it as breathing space after they speak. Listen when others are speaking and don't jump in while they are still talking. You certainly notice when other people do that to each other. If you are actively listening, you'll hear what they are saying and know when they are done. You'll acknowledge what they said, add your thoughts and move the discussion forward. If you jump in the second someone finishes, you can be sure they know you weren't listening. Instead you were thinking ahead to what you want to say.
4. Noise. Put your phone on mute when you are not speaking, especially if there is background noise at your end. Be sure to do this if you can't break your habit of allegedly "multitasking".
5. Connection. Call from a land line whenever possible.
6. It's a Meeting. Treat the conference call like a meeting. Start on time. Sign in on time. Introduce yourself. Be gracious and professional with others. Assist the organizer and the note taker. At the end, if appropriate, be clear about who is going to do what by when. Thank people. End on time.
A tip for setting up conference calls: I like to use http://www.freeconferencecall.com/. I don't have any affiliation with this company. I started using it a few years ago and it works for me. It doesn't cost me a thing. The call-in number and my access code always remain the same. I give out the numbers when I organize calls. No reservations are necessary. There is no charge other than each caller pays whatever cost, if any, their carrier charges them for the call. Since most lawyers and groups I work with have monthly calling plans that don't charge for individual calls, there is no separate charge for the call. I or the groups I'm part of don't have to pay an expensive conference calling service fee.
A tip for scheduling conference calls or other events: try http://www.doodle.com/ or http://www.meetingwizard.com/. I've used doodle.com and it has worked well to get lawyers to provide their availability for various potential event dates. As the event organizer, you state the potential dates and poll the participants on the dates. As the participants respond, they can see who is available on which dates and you can all identify the best date more quickly. It's easy, I promise.
Good luck with your conference calls.
1. Identity Issues. Say your name before you speak. Say it every time until you are certain that everyone recognizes your voice. "This is Elizabeth. I understand that . . . . " "This is Elizabeth again. My question is . . . . "
2. Identity Issues II. If you welcome someone else to the call by saying "Hi Kathy!" be thoughtful. Identify yourself. "Hi Kathy! This is Scott. How is your new year?" If "Hi Kathy!" is followed by a pause then a "Hi", it's a sure bet Kathy didn't recognize your voice or wasn't certain.
3. Breathing Space. Give others on the call room to speak. Think of it as breathing space after they speak. Listen when others are speaking and don't jump in while they are still talking. You certainly notice when other people do that to each other. If you are actively listening, you'll hear what they are saying and know when they are done. You'll acknowledge what they said, add your thoughts and move the discussion forward. If you jump in the second someone finishes, you can be sure they know you weren't listening. Instead you were thinking ahead to what you want to say.
4. Noise. Put your phone on mute when you are not speaking, especially if there is background noise at your end. Be sure to do this if you can't break your habit of allegedly "multitasking".
5. Connection. Call from a land line whenever possible.
6. It's a Meeting. Treat the conference call like a meeting. Start on time. Sign in on time. Introduce yourself. Be gracious and professional with others. Assist the organizer and the note taker. At the end, if appropriate, be clear about who is going to do what by when. Thank people. End on time.
A tip for setting up conference calls: I like to use http://www.freeconferencecall.com/. I don't have any affiliation with this company. I started using it a few years ago and it works for me. It doesn't cost me a thing. The call-in number and my access code always remain the same. I give out the numbers when I organize calls. No reservations are necessary. There is no charge other than each caller pays whatever cost, if any, their carrier charges them for the call. Since most lawyers and groups I work with have monthly calling plans that don't charge for individual calls, there is no separate charge for the call. I or the groups I'm part of don't have to pay an expensive conference calling service fee.
A tip for scheduling conference calls or other events: try http://www.doodle.com/ or http://www.meetingwizard.com/. I've used doodle.com and it has worked well to get lawyers to provide their availability for various potential event dates. As the event organizer, you state the potential dates and poll the participants on the dates. As the participants respond, they can see who is available on which dates and you can all identify the best date more quickly. It's easy, I promise.
Good luck with your conference calls.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Who's That? Self-Introductions At Meetings
I went to two different bar association related events this week. One before work and the other at lunchtime. They both had 20 or so lawyers present. One was a collaborative meeting of various bar groups on diversity issues. The other had a speaker. At the start of the diversity meeting everyone was asked to introduce themselves to the group. When people came in later, they were asked to introduce themselves.
The speaker lunch program started without self-introductions. I know the reason was related to time - - that it would take time away from the hour available for the program for everyone to introduce themselves to the group. However, the difference in the effect on the subsequent discussions was palpable.
Introductions help people connect and relate to each other better. Even when you can't remember the person's name or position, it still helps that you heard it. You know that someone down at the other end of the table does some kind of municipal finance work. Or you've listened and perhaps realized someone else is the person you've been wanting to meet. You've listened and perhaps realized this is the person you've exchanged emails with or read about in the paper. Now you can put a face to a name.
Introductions at this sized event can take as little as 7-8 minutes total with as much as 20 seconds per person. Yet the effect on the membership present can be huge. People will start to get to know more people. A community feeling will develop more quickly. Using greeters or hosts ensures that new members will feel welcome and acknowledged. Then they'll be more likely to return, get active, bring other potential members, etc.
These suggestions aren't new and the benefits aren't limited to association type events. A few years ago self-introductions were used for the first time to start a meeting of partners from multiple offices who were all in the same good sized practice group in a firm. Not surprisingly, this new twist loosened everyone up and set a good tone for an open discussion of strategies for the group. It took a few minutes and perhaps seemed unnecessary to some, but it definitely made a difference to those people who didn't know everyone.
The speaker lunch program started without self-introductions. I know the reason was related to time - - that it would take time away from the hour available for the program for everyone to introduce themselves to the group. However, the difference in the effect on the subsequent discussions was palpable.
Introductions help people connect and relate to each other better. Even when you can't remember the person's name or position, it still helps that you heard it. You know that someone down at the other end of the table does some kind of municipal finance work. Or you've listened and perhaps realized someone else is the person you've been wanting to meet. You've listened and perhaps realized this is the person you've exchanged emails with or read about in the paper. Now you can put a face to a name.
Introductions at this sized event can take as little as 7-8 minutes total with as much as 20 seconds per person. Yet the effect on the membership present can be huge. People will start to get to know more people. A community feeling will develop more quickly. Using greeters or hosts ensures that new members will feel welcome and acknowledged. Then they'll be more likely to return, get active, bring other potential members, etc.
These suggestions aren't new and the benefits aren't limited to association type events. A few years ago self-introductions were used for the first time to start a meeting of partners from multiple offices who were all in the same good sized practice group in a firm. Not surprisingly, this new twist loosened everyone up and set a good tone for an open discussion of strategies for the group. It took a few minutes and perhaps seemed unnecessary to some, but it definitely made a difference to those people who didn't know everyone.
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