What does ‘being more businesslike’ actually mean in the context of a modern barristers’ chambers?
Over the last 10 years during which we have been doing consulting work with the Bar, the expression ‘being more businesslike’ has been uttered dozens of times. It is usually mentioned by Heads of Chambers, members serving on management committees or Senior Clerks (rather than by us to them with the word ‘ought’ attached somewhere in front of it). And the speaker’s tone of voice will sometimes reflect eager anticipation and sometimes a sense of dread.
What is it that these starry eyed optimists and despondent pessimists (occupying either ends of the spectrum) think of when they long for and fear (respectively) ‘being more businesslike’?
The optimists hope, among other things, that:
- Decision making within Chambers will become fast, decisive and pain free
- People (and particularly underperformers) can be ‘dealt with’ and ‘sorted out’ with minimum fuss
- Computers will do lots of useful things really quickly (implicitly without much need for training)
- Making someone responsible for marketing will create lots of interesting and highly paid new work
The pessimists fear that, at the very least:
- Chambers will be turned into a large law firm – or even worse a consumer goods company of the baked-bean manufacturing variety
- Their autonomy as self-employed professionals will be squashed by corporate policies and restrictions
- Influence and control of ‘their’ Chambers will be wrestled away from them and put into the hands of bean-counters and jargon-spouting ‘management’ experts
- They will find themselves forced to engage in a series of tacky marketing stunts (probably involving random advertising and paint-balling ‘away-days’ with unpalatable strangers who are expected to become clients overnight)
Yes, of course, we are exaggerating slightly, but it is noticeable how people do tend to lurch to one end or the other of the ‘businesslike’ spectrum.
Perhaps predictably, we think there is a realistic and pragmatic middle way. ‘Being more businesslike’ does not promise instant Nirvana, but is not the end of the traditional and civilised world as we know it. And, of course, many successful chambers are well along that way.
Our suggestions below are offered as ideas to stimulate discussion within chambers. Which make most sense for you to be discussing and perhaps doing something about?
We think being ‘more businesslike’ in today’s world means:
- Being aware of the culture within chambers This means having an understanding about the unwritten norms and patterns of behaviour that shape what makes your chambers different from another. Modern organisations need to be self-aware to appreciate what is going to be consistent with their style of doing things. Sometimes they consider whether they want to change their culture if it is getting in the way of what they want to achieve.
- Working out if it is helpful to have a long term sense of direction (or a ‘strategy’ if you prefer to call it that). It is not as simple as ‘every chambers must have a clearly defined strategy’, which is why the point above is first in this list. However, if you do think your chambers is more than a collection of self-employed individuals exclusively concerned with their own interests, then the question of ‘what are we trying to achieve here?’ needs to be addressed.
- Accepting, and in fact, welcoming, change Doing things differently is part of life – whether that means a new physical layout of chambers, or clerks not calling people ‘Mr’ or ‘Mrs’ or ‘Sir’, or accepting that not every decision in chambers can involve every member. Stability will often have been the hallmark of many individual members’ own careers. Many chambers (although an increasingly fewer number) will have been used to ‘doing things the way we always have’. It is always uncomfortable when that stability is challenged, but ‘being businesslike’ is about being good at change, not wishing it away or underestimating the challenge.
- Recognising the need for professional management skills as well as professional legal skills, and flexing chambers’ structure to accommodate both.
- Understanding the economics of practice at the Bar and having relevant, reliable and intelligible financial information in order to make sensible decisions.
- Being ‘market aware’ in a structured way that can influence discussion and decision making. This involves asking questions such as: What is going on in the outside world that we need to be able to react to, or, even better, anticipate? What new services are our clients likely to want? What are our competitors up to? Have we got new competitors that we have never really thought about before?
- Moving away from a belief that management (especially people management) is about sorting out problems Effective managers are not just skilled fire-fighters. In fact a sign of a good one is that they spend a substantial part of their time dealing with matters that are important but not urgent.
- Having a people management style that emphasises ‘trying to catch people doing something right’ rather than wrong This means recognising and valuing the different ways of helping people (whether members or staff) develop – for example, informal feedback, formal appraisals, coaching and mentoring, planned development and training.
- Seeing the value of learning new skills across chambers and being prepared to invest in that process.
- Having systems, policies and procedures that are consistent with common sense and flow out of existing good practice, rather than ones into which people are shoe-horned unwillingly.
- Good communication up and down the organisation. The benchmark for ‘good’ is quality and timeliness as well as quantity.
- Understanding the range of what is involved in marketing The textbook definition of the Six P’s that make up the ‘marketing mix’ is a good starting point and checklist. The Six P’s are:
- Product (what services to offer)
- Place (where to offer them)
- Price (what to charge for them)
- Process (how to deliver those services)
- People (who is involved in selling and delivering those services and the skills and attitudes they need)
- Promotion (how to get our message across i.e. using tools such as seminars, newsletters, websites, brochures, PR, etc.)
(And remembering that Promotion comes last in this list deliberately.)
- Taking care of and managing the resource that chambers and individuals ultimately sell – knowledge
For many chambers ‘being more businesslike’ will mean other specific aspects of running their organisation, but we hope this is a helpful starting point. And if you are pleased that our list puts more emphasis on people than spreadsheets then we are pleased as well.
Contact Simon McCall or Kate Blackburn
