Noted Bloggers Build On Lake Wobegon Post
I recently posted (again) on the Lake Wobegon effect, the phenomenon that results in law firms chronically overestimating the quality of the relationship the firms have with their clients. (See This Just In: General Counsel Less Than Thrilled With Their Outside Counsel.) I am honored that two noted bloggers have picked up on the post and added some suggestions that those who wish to combat the phenomenon should study.
Edge International partner Rob Millard suggested that "when contemplating a law firm strategy formulation process, [firms] go out into the market and test empirically what your clients' perceptions of your services are." Rob further suggested that the testing be both qualitative as well as quantitative, and that any reliance on internal perceptions be heavily discounted in light of the data on the Lake Wobegon effect. Rob's full post is his terrific blog, The Adventure Of Strategy. Those who read my blog regularly know that there is no bigger fan of Edge, and I am humbled by Rob's reference to my post.
Arnie Herz (Go Blue!) writes the insanely great legal sanity blog. His post, "how can law firms fix their client service problems?," also offered some solutions to the Lake Wobegon effect discussed in my post. Arnie notes the most difficult problem is admitting that a problem exists. Arnie then references a series of questions (here and here) posted by friend Jim Hassett, who writes Legal Business Development. Thanks, Arnie, for using Jim's posts to bring focus to possible solutions.