Managing partner, Top 10 law firm
Q14: As a managing partner of a law firm, I often feel that my emails are not read by everyone in the firm (including partners). Have any firms/managing partners had experience of their own 'blogs' and have they been successful?
RESPONSES
11 December - Senior partner, top 20 accountancy firm
No doubt your partners & other fee earners are already overwhelmed with e-mails, which, in their view, get in the way of doing their job.
If you are adding to the e-mail/internet traffic:
- what are you saying that will make partners 'want' to read it? (which is not the same as you thinking they 'need' to read it)
- what are you doing about reducing e-mail traffic generally in the firm to more than compensate for your addition (and the example you are setting in generating yet more e-mail with a 'blog')
- hopefully the 'blog' is not instead of actually talking to partners face-to-face individually and in small groups
11 December - MP, regional accountancy firm
To see if people are reading your e mails try where they are important to end them with a response requirement but one which only needs a yes or no or other short response that way you can at least resend to those who don't respond.
11 December - MP, mid-sized law firm
I do not have a blog. However, welcome to my world. It's not just the emails that are not read. Conversations are also not properly listened to. A wise senior partner of mine says that people will only take from communications what they want. Another says it's just the additional burden of being the MP. You won't win on this!
11 December - MP, regional law firm
No, but I have recently thought of doing exactly this, to the point of circulating a few samples to senior colleagues, for their views (which have been favourable to date). We also use 'intraviews' - eg. the managing partner being "interviewed" on our intranet - as a means of getting "soft" messages across. Similar to a blog in practice? Works well, as less direct/dictatorial.
11 December - Management consultant
From my experience of working with more than 45 law firms and their clients over 23 years, there is a key question that people as before reading anything: WIIFM? What's In It For me?
Therefore, your emails or blogs need to answer this and thus demonstrate that they will be of relevance and of value to the reader value. You can demonstrate your understanding of this need, by having a curiosity-grabbing subject heading. Remember the "I love you" virus which was so successful because everybody opened it because they wanted to know who loved them?
In addition, you need to ask:
- Is an email or blog the correct or appropriate form of communication, anyway?
- Who will be reading it?
- When?
- How long will they have?
- What other things will be on their mind?
- How many emails do they get a day?
- How do they time-record reading your email?
There are other tips and hints which ensure that people read what they need to and I should be happy to talk about that in person.
11 December - MP, regional law firm
I've never thought to use a blog, but it depends what you mean by a blog. If you mean a sort of 'day in the life' diary then I don't think that would be useful or successful, but if you mean a place on the intranet where you accumulate (for future reference) copies of news / emails, etc, which have already been sent round, then yes that is sensible, though it does not get round the need to circulate emails. Only putting them on a blog could mean a majority of partners and staff end up completely avoiding reading them.
11 December - MD, financial services consultancy
We have two parts of our Intranet which allow for comments and questions to be raised to me as MP but we decided against a blog.
The first is an ideas forum called the "The Light Bulb" for individuals to post better ways of doing things which contributors leave their comments which are attributable to them and others are able to reply and I give a management comment once a week to all posts and follow up comments. There is also a totally anonymous "Ask Alan" blog which individuals post questions and comments to and I also answer at least once a week.
Whilst I was apprehensive at first it has worked very well and both are well used and not abused.
11 December - Partner, top 20 accountancy firm
I'm not author of the blog itself but I do publish weekly briefings and also have to consider how to communicate periodically and effectively with my team nationally. That team has some 62 partners and approximately 420 employees.
I've learned three lessons from this.
First, while it will evolve over time, the message must remain consistent.
Second, changing from one medium to another, or using a range of media over a period of time, secures a higher degree of attention. Persisting too long with the same medium is not wise; a change of medium may secure more attention for you.
I've also learned that the language of the communication must be appropriate to the topic. Purely visionary pieces have a place in the communication spectrum, but I find that I engage best with the highest proportion of recipients if what I say is easily understood, relevant to our business and day-to-day activities. Most of all, the recipient should quickly be able to identify "what's in this for me".
13 December - Chairman, US law firm
My thought would be to send fewer and shorter emails. If for some reason it has to be a long email, put a caption on it that makes people realize that it is of interest to them and important to read.
If he is talking about a blog, he is wasting his time. Many people have enough to do w/o reading blogs.
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