Brainstorming: Techniques for Driving Innovation at Law Firms
David H. Freeman Presents LMA-LA 2010 February Program

By Amy Spach, AS Written Communications

If you’ve ever been in a relationship and wanted to change the dynamics, you know that quite often it’s not what you say but how and when you share your thoughts.

The same holds true for legal marketers’ attempts to introduce innovation and transformative opportunities in their firms.

“You need to finesse it so the lawyers want to participate,” shared veteran law firm leadership coach and consultant, David H. Freeman of David Freeman Consulting Group, LLC.

His workshop-style presentation at LMA-LA’s February professional development program provided a hands-on whip through brainstorming techniques that promote change within firms.   

Eat, Talk and Stay
From LEGO building to SWOT analysis, brainstorming approaches and options are plentiful. Depending on your goal, firm culture and personalities, different idea inducers will be more appealing or effective than others.

On a practical note, supplying food and wine during the sessions was deeply encouraged by Freeman.  Providing a plethora of multicolored post-it notes is also a good idea. You might also find it useful to conduct some advance research by engaging major rainmakers, thought leaders and opinion leaders in one-on-one sessions on their practices and clients.  A detailed listing of conversation-starter techniques is available here [insert link to David’s handout] A broad summary follows: 
 
Small Groups
• Come together in groups of 5-7 participants, pose a question and give 5 – 10 minutes to respond

Vision Mapping
• Use the Balanced Scorecard technique to identify the full range of issues inside a firm

Refresh Button
• If you could start from scratch, rebuild the firm from the ground up and discuss what your fantasy firm would look like 

Silent Brainstorming
• Silently write one idea per Post-it and later share with people in groups

Strawman
• Develop a first draft of a plan, invite lawyers to participate in refining it

Best Practices
• Look at other law firms and businesses and discuss what they like and don’t like about them

Speed Brainstorming
• Put questions on top of flip chart pages and engage in group discussions and action items

Memory Maps
• Have a central idea in the middle of a flip chart and generate word associations from that idea

100 Day Plan
• Identify best opportunities and concrete tasks for new business and after 100 days have a  “100 Day Plan Roundup” to report successes

LEGOS
• Structure an exercise using those beloved plastic blocks where grouped participants build representative constructs of client service, practice development and goals

SWOT Analysis
• Use the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats framework to evaluate the current state of the firm

Six Thinking Hats
• Useful for groups that are stuck, helps you look at important decisions from a number of different perspectives

Attendees at the LMA meeting broke into small groups to test drive preferred techniques – the Refresh Button proved to be popular.  By session’s end, the room was awash in a rainbow of post-it notes, lively chatter and the undeniably good feeling that comes from candid and honest discussions.

The Reality of Communication
In observing that “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place,” playwright George Bernard Shaw pinpoints the importance of real discussion in brainstorming.  This might even entail setting the proper stage by not calling the meetings “brainstorming” sessions at all. What does matter is starting meaningful conversations that lead to responsibility, action and shared purpose.

In the process of innovating at law firms, never underestimate the power of patience. As Freeman suggests, “Daily life at law firms doesn’t always allow for deep analysis of their operations, so make sure to give the people and process space for new thoughts to emerge.” 
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Amy Spach, AS Written Communications, writes custom Web content, articles and marketing copy for law firms. Contact her at www.aswrittencom.com or 323.876.6374.