Every two weeks, the business development tactics top lawyers use are free at therainmakingmagazine.com
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Most law firm mergers fail to deliver on their promise. Not because the financials were wrong — but because nobody did the cultural due diligence.
Dr. Heidi Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School, former Harvard Business School professor, McKinsey consultant, and author of two best-selling books — Smart Collaboration and Smarter Collaboration — both published by Harvard Business Press. She leads Gardner & Co., a research and advisory firm that helps professional services leaders turn collaboration into client growth. In this episode, Dr. Gardner joins Scott Love to break down exactly why post-merger trust and collaboration fail — and what leaders must do differently before, during, and after a combination.
What you'll learn:
Why mergers fail more often than not — and what "working" actually means from a client's perspective
The cultural due diligence most firms skip entirely — and the data you should be asking to see before signing
The two flavors of trust that are both essential for collaboration: competence trust and character trust
Why homophily — the instinct to affiliate with your own tribe — is the silent killer of post-merger integration
How to use data to identify collaboration leaders vs. islands — before and after a merger
Why "not every dollar is a good dollar" — and what a sticky, strategic dollar actually looks like
The difference between leading and lagging indicators of merger success — and which ones to track quarterly
Why hero-worship success stories backfire — and the less sexy story that's actually more valuable to tell
What the Smarter Collaboration Profile psychometric reveals about partnership blind spots and bifurcated cultures
Why law firms absolutely do not invest enough in leadership development — and what that costs them
3 action steps: visit SmartCollaboration.com, get curious about your clients, and examine your collaboration network
Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/
YouTube: https://youtu.be/td3QJm__7Ig
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If you are a successful law firm partner or law firm founder and want to hear about other options, please book a time on Scott Love's calendar here:
https://attorneysearchgroup.com/schedule
Or email Scott to connect with him at: scott@attorneysearchgroup.com
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This podcast is sponsored by SurePoint Legal Insights (formerly known as Leopard Solutions)–turning legal intelligence into opportunity.
For a free demo, visit this link: https://surepoint.com/legal-insights/
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About Dr. Heidi Gardner:
Dr. Heidi Gardner authored two best-selling books Smart Collaboration and Smarter Collaboration, published by Harvard Business Press. A Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School, she was previously a professor at Harvard Business School, a consultant at McKinsey & Co., and manager at P&G. She presently leads the research and advisory firm Gardner & Co., and has lived and worked on four continents. She helps professional service firm leaders turn collaboration into client growth and sustained performance.
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-k-gardner-ab5b825/
smartercollaboration.com
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=smarter+collaboration&crid=3AHLKBDCRF21B&sprefix=smarter+collaboration+%2Caps%2C122&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
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