TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

The expose novel   "The Partner Track" by Helen Wan will be coming to Netflix on August 26th.  It supposedly looks under the hood of the career as a lawyer in a prestigious firm and jumping through hoops for partnership. A subtext is diversity. The protagonist is Asian-American. On Subreddit Big Law, they is already buzzing about how the book will play out as a Netflix series. So far there are 21 comments. Here is the thread . The major question is if the series will be realistic about what the life of a junior lawyer is like in a larger elite law firm. I have doubts about the realism. After all the book had been published in 2013. Big Law has changed much since then. Heck, the world of work has changed much since then. For example, the career path in Big Law currently is more about leveraging a few years of experience into a credential to land something less stressful and with more reasonable hours. Not chasing partnership.  On Subreddit Big Law many of those posti...

 We don't think of Rupert Murdoch or Mick Jagger as "old." They present themselves in work and social life in ways that don't invite that kind of labeling. But, you may be making yourself a sitting duck to be experienced as, yes, old. That's because of how you're behaving. And that can be blocking promotions at work as well as ruling you out in your hunt for a job or even contract assignments.  The good news, and there is always good news in America the land of resets, is that your can take the bullseye off your back. Just stop doing these 5 dumb things. But, you have to stop all 5. No half measures.  Apologizing for being old.  First of all, no one wants to hear such a negative. It's a downer.  Secondly, there is no need for it. That's like someone saying they have brown eyes. Age is obvious.  And, third, you should be opportunitistic and position and package age as a platform for a message that will get the right attention.  Brilliantly, Paul Weiss C...

   "...  there's a lot that could happen between now and next May ..." - That's how Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp summed up for Insider where he and his law firm are. That is about whether or not he will re-up to continue being in that position post-May 2023. And in economic, political, and social times that will never be normal again, that's how smart players are shaping their public discourse. Fading is that traditional pontificating about how the future, even the near future, will unfold. Instead Karp admits that neither he, with his decades of experience, nor his firm, with all its resources, knows much about what realities will be. Not only are those digital front page predictions by supposed experts looking smirk-worthy. So are the "oughts." We must do this. We must not do that. Larry Summers and Henry Kissinger seem to me to be blowhards from the past.  Given his lack of certitude, Karp has prevented being labeled "old." That means h...

  "Elie Mystal Says GOP Likes Herschel Walker Because He Does What He’s Told: ‘That’s What Republicans Want From Their Negroes’" -  Mediaite, July 30, 2022. Elie Mystal, author of bestseller "Allow Me to Retort," got to be a prominent legal and political influencer by not being obedient. That could be a lesson for the ambitious. Or maybe not. Essentially Mystal launched his iconoclastic public persona on legal site Abovethelaw.com. He was unfiltered. Soon enough he was Editor-in-Chief there. Then he left, not obeying the traditional career advice of sticking with what is solid. But his move has brought him wild success. That's Mystal. He could take that risk. One reason is that his wife is a well-paid lawyer. Also, he seems to not be burdened with the layers of self-doubt that triggers excessive caution in strivers. The path more followed is obedience. That is, conforming. And it can be a critical professional strategy in lines of work dominated by power ...

Empathy is saluted as the  key trait of leadership. Essentially it is the intuitive ability to assess what people need at a specific time and then delivering that in an authentic way.  That was how former head of Disney Bob Iger steered the corporation through crises ranging from technology disruption to COVID.  It is also embedded in the effectiveness of Chairperson of law firm Paul Weiss Brad Karp in all aspects of the business, be it attracting star talent or adding 20 new clients annually.  And we gave former US President Bill Clinton forgiveness over and over again because he felt our pain.  But empathy can have a dark side. That's how the Netflix documentary "The Royal House of Winsdor" interprets Diana Spencer's initial hold on Prince Charles. At the time they met he had just lost his surrogate father Louis Mountbatten in a terrorist attack.  Diana, the documentary opines, picked up on the extreme vulnerabillity and zeroed right in. She wanted to ba...

 There is that old joke about only one entity can occupy space at one time. In the psychiatric facility there can only be one Jesus Christ. That might be playing out in the dishing-the-dirt-about-Wall Street space. An expose about alleged greed and gender bias at Goldman Sachs is due out at the end of August. That's "Bully Market" by former managing director Jamie Fiore Higgins.  In presales it has plunged to 210,750 ranking on Amazon. Not good.  Simultaneously, after a strong run since its publication in March 2021 expose on Wall Street and Big Law "The Caesars Palace Coup" is finally slowing down in sales. On Amazon it had been in the teens in ranking. Then the 20s. Now it's stuck at 32,267. Not good, either. But it still owns the expose space. But before its coming down to earth, authored by Sujeet Indap and Max Frumes, it had made some of the money crowd uncomfortable. We enjoyed the juicy details of how they allegedly build their wealth.  However, tho...

 You learn the most from your clients. Mine for both my communications and my career coaching services both tell me this: "You know when it's time to let go of work. It's a feeling of DONE."  Chronological age has nothing to do with that. A 61-year-old woman left her administrative-assistant job and has never returned to any kind of employment. That's even though inflation has complicated her money matters. Actually, at 59 she knew she was well on her way to done.  Currently the Pope  is deciding if he is done. He is 85. If so he will retire. If not exactly done he will simply slow his pace.  According to my clients that state of done is in your head. Your thought processes no longer can travel from ambivalence about continuing to work to making the decision to do it. Instead they stop. Then they atrophy.  Some players such as Rupert Murdoch and Warren Buffett may never be done. Death will happen before retiring. For others, there will be ongoing ambivalenc...

" Tech giants that have often sailed above the economy's turmoil can't escape the current downturn's pain ..." -  Axios,  July 29, 2022. LinkedIn is keeping score on how many are being laid off in tech. More will become unemployed as the global slowdown deepens. The glutted market of those looking for work will make it increasingly difficult to find work. Recall the reductions-in-force in establishment media with the introduction of digital. Many journalists had to retrain for new career paths. During the heyday of tech, there was plenty of gleeful bullying of us over-50. They made it their business to use their in-lingo to exclude us from full participation in the conversation. A business model wasn't a business model anymore. It was a platform for growth. Revenue was so 20th century. Talk only about growth. No, don't even think about phoning them.  There was the gush about being recognized in something about something as among the 40-under-40. Of...

In the Pennsylvania US Senate race newbie to politics Mehmet Oz is stumbling. The same thing is happening in Ohio with J.D. Vance.  Power brokers in the GOP may be getting it: Don't risk elections on the unseasoned. Politics is a complex game, with even more volatility than we in business navigate. So, instead of positioning and packaging a race as one of those passing the torches to a new generation, stick with the proven-out politicos.  Sure, there is lots of media coverage of the need to clear government of the geriatric set.You know, the Donald Trumps kind who are in their 70s. But they know how to win elections.   The same raw recognition of the need for experience in other fields could slow down the current generational wars. Interestingly, in an article in Insider about being chairperson of law firm Paul Weiss at age 63, Brad Karp cites what the new generation - that is, junior lawyers - brings up in town meetings. Much of it screams a lack of understanding of...

  US, CHINA WARSHIPS FACE OFF IN SOUTH SEA THREAT TO SHOOT DOWN PELOSI PLANE 'PREPARING FOR WAR'

"’I'll have to figure out whether I have the energy and strength,’ [Brad] Karp said.” That had been in the July 25 th interview with Casey Sullivan at the Insider . The subject was if Karp, Chairperson for law firms Paul Weiss for about 15 years, would re-up after his contract expires in May 2023. The stunner. It admitted, well, human limitations. And that was by the symbol of tireless achievement for clients, the law firm, and the oppressed little people.  For me, there was the immediate Ah-Ha Moment: Karp is giving all of us driven strivers permission to assess if we can “keep it up.” Not if we should. But if we could.   That’s scary. If we answer “no” then, hell, so much in our careers could unravel. So could the whole world of work as it operates currently. This goes beyond the platitude of work/life balance. It cuts to the bone of society’s expectations of how much work should be done and perfectly. Consider also this: If we answer “yes,” then we are doomed to ...

" Our daycare is $1950 (for 3 year old) and $2300 (for 9 month old) per month." - That snippet is from a thread on Subreddit Big Law. But it could be part of any public or private conversation about the cost of childcare. Also, it doesn't include the logistical catastrophes that can play out when the childcare arrangment falls through. Clearly the decision to have a family involves serious matters of budgeting and work/life balance. This is not new with the more demanding work schedules of today. For most well-paying jobs and contract assignments, there is no 9-to-5 and no weekends off.  But, back in more normal times when I had been a ghostwriter/speechwriter for the executives in the auto industry, managing childcare was still problematic for professionals. At that time, I was doing soul-searching about adopting a baby or a toddler. My mentor jumped right in. He pointed out that, since I didnt have family in the area, the logistics could be a nightmare. What about if th...

"I'm not a lawyer. And, I don't have any legal stuff going on." That was the reaction of a client for whom I was doing a Tarot reading. The Justice card came up. And he was annoyed. He had contacted me for a Tarot reading because he had missed out on a promotion at work. His focus was totally on career. "Creating a sense of fair play in our professional lives involves listening. The Justice card is about listening to all those other 'sides of the story.'"  That's what I explained. Gently. The Tarot is gentle in the lessons it extracts from our individual unconscious and the collective unconscious. Together, he and I took a look at how willing and how effective he has been at listening in his office, in networking, and when just having those conversation snippets with neighbors. (The latter can be significant in a career because, as sociologist Mark Granovetter documented, unique career information and opportunities come from  "weak ties...

 The traditional way of distributing work in Big Law can make for inequality. At Paul Weiss the Chairperson Brad Karp has changed that. Called the "Free Market System," the conventional system consists of partners making the assignments to associates. All the decision-making is up to the partners. And that's that.  If partners don't choose to filter work to associate X or associate Y that associate could wind up without the expected number of billable hours. As a result there could be a negative performance review and eventually the loss of the job. Obviously, also, there will be no shot at upward mobility within the law firm. Inherent in that system could be biases of all kinds. Documented over and over again is that the men and women in power choose to work with those who remind them of themselves. That brings a sense of comfort. And, of course, that can mean that the white male who had attended a New England boarding school and loves a tough game of squash will pa...

  It was palpable. In the 28 months I have been following the head of Paul Weiss ( a top 10 elite law firm) Brad Karp what was coming through was this: This man is getting tired. Oh, it was subtle. He continued responding in real time with detailed responses when I sent an email at midnight Pacific time but 3 AM New York Time. The passion was a bit depleted, though. It was as if his internal wiring was flicking on a lower wattage. Now, Casey Sullivan is reporting in Insider that Karp, a legend at Paul Weiss, might retire when his contract expires in May 2023. He is 63 years old. The firm’s retirement age for that position is 67. Right now, Karp has indicated that the decision is really in the hands of the partners. And the partners might put the squeeze on Karp to re-up. The reality of a Karp departure is this: That could be a severe challenge for the firm. To the world Karp is the face of Paul Weiss. He is a key rainmaker (bringing about 20 new accounts annually). ...

  "Rough day for tech giants: Amazon posts $2 billion loss with a huge drop for the second straight quarter as shoppers return to stores - while Apple profits fall 11% due to supply chain crisis and COVID lockdowns in China" - Daily Mail, July 28, 2022. Should tech have seen this coming? Investors, especially the activist ones, will be putting that question to both the leadership and those on the board of directors.  That's about money, as in the stock price.  There's also the human issue of those who could lose their jobs.  For them, the message should be that they have to look out for themselves. They cannot depend on experts or internal management to tell them how tech or their own corporation is doing. And then, based on their ongoing analysis, they have to change before they have to. That will give them the edge in identifying the opportunities they need. Once the game changes, the market is glutted with similar talent.  Purpose-driven intuitive career coa...

There is that brutal business adage: Nothing fails like success. Yet, it took too long for the concept of “a sustainable competitive advantage” to be mocked. In 2021, Forbes did a good job smashing that to bits. In terms of individual careers, it’s painfully obvious how success can be snatched away or simply fade out. The coming of a new generation in entertainment, such as Lady Gaga, abruptly made the stylistics of Madonna embarrassingly out of the date. An example of fade-out had been Meta head Mark Zuckerberg. No longer does he “own” the social network space. A comeback to his former influence seems unlikely. But there are those who have managed to not only hold onto success. Their careers have been on a growth trajectory. What they frequently have in common is this: the ability to navigate crisis. Let’s look at four of them. Bob Iger. Former chief executive officer of Disney and current player in artificial reality , he led Disney through a turbulent era. From the get-go...

 " The U.S. economy shrank for a second quarter in a row—a common definition of recession—as businesses trimmed their inventories, the housing market buckled under rising interest rates, and high inflation took steam out of consumer spending." -  The Wall Street Journal,  July 28, 2022. The layoffs have already been underway. They have spread from tech to other sectors such as media and autos. Financial experts can pontificate about the length and severity of the downturn but no one really knows. My experience analzing business and manpower patterns, though, makes me assume we are in for challenging times.  Yet, what I am observing is that those out of work haven't shifted into an urgency mindset. It could be that they are exhausted from all the trauma of the 21st century. That ranges from 9/11 to COVID to inflation. An especially puzzling development, though, is that there are those who have taken refuge in spirituality. They are operating on the platform that if th...

  “Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized ESG investing and companies including  PayPal Holdings Inc. , saying he would work with the state legislature to battle what he called a 'woke ideology' being promoted by Wall Street banks, asset managers and big tech companies.” –  Bloomberg , July 27, 2022. As both parties know, DeSantis is emerging as the conservative who could win the US presidential race in 2024. Even Donald Trump loyalists are wary of his electability. His age and increasing amount of baggage are against him. The conservatives I speak with here in southern Arizona are focused on who could win.  And, that is DeSantis.  Obviously, DeSantis has influence. His campaign against progressive stances by corporate leaders could pile on ESG controversies chief executive officers hadn’t anticipated. One wonders this: If even the visionary Paul Weiss’ Brad Karp had projected this added layer of complexity when he launched the first-ever ESG law-firm practice...

 The legal media has shifted attention from long-form coverage of poaching to who has the work. For example,  Bloomberg Law  has an extensive feature on the three law firms picking up assignments with 3M. They are Wachtell, White & Case, and Kirkland & Ellis. Paul Weiss landed the Revlon bankruptcy . That media noise about new business development is a sign of the growing anxiety about the global economic slowdown. The jitters could spread from the concern about the decline in dealmaking to other transactional-law practices. Of course, the firms' leadership has to ward off any indication of financial distress because of softening demand. That sends the wrong signal, which could drive away the new business which could save it.  But also in the worry loop are employees at all levels. As we know, partners not bringing in business and not piling up the hours can be forced out.  Abovethelaw  does warn lawyers to not get cute and leave early and b...

 According to the American Lawyer , here are the top 10 elite law firms: Munger Tolles (91.2) Ropes & Gray (91.2) Orrick (90.3) WilmerHale (89.4) O’Melveny & Myers (87.8) Paul Weiss (87.5) Skadden (87.4) Morgan Lewis (86.3) Debevoise (86.1) Morrison & Foerster (84.9) But, prestige isn't necessarily the  factor in achieving, holding onto, and enhancing success.  In more traditional times in professional life, having a major brandname on a resume was the edge so many chased. For the second phase of my career that played out. I was there, in the magic circle. Then came the era of entrepreneurship. What could open more doors was being associated as a vendor for a cool startup. On interviews for other assignments for my boutiques I would share insights about how a startup was operating.  More recently what has evolved is the interest in what I am doing in popular niches such as the ability to change. The clients might not be brandnames. But expertise in the su...