TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

 At one time Anne Ring was my sister Anne Genova. We grew up on the mean streets of pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey. The difficulty of that background created bonds. Over the years they frayed. But she remains the little girl, nine years younger than I, whom I struggled to protect. Up to now, Anne's life seemed to be one of safety and satisfaction. That's what I pick up from the internet. We haven't spoken since November 2023. During that time she transmitted one email and that indicated she was not "reaching out."  After a career in healthcare Anne retired a few years ago and could enjoy life full time with her husband Scott Ring, former publisher of the Jersey Journal (one-time must-read in Hudson County, NJ). According to the internet their house in Florida has the market value of about a million. Not Elon Musk wealth but comfortable. Jersey City Kid makes good.  Now this: With a Jewish last name, Anne, as well as her husband Scott, could be targets of a...

  Elite law firms such as Davis Polk which are committing to lots of NYC square footage are among the saviors of commercial real estate, documents  Bloomberg Law.  It is leasing 700,000 square feet at 450 Lex in Manhattan.  No surprise, Davis Polk is among the prominent law firms which have instituted RTO of 4-days-a-week. Given that employers certainly have the upper hand again there is much speculation that 4 will soon become 5. Seasoned associates have the option of resisting that, hitting the recruiters and going elsewhere. They are the most marketable. Essentially, though, very junior lawyers are stuck with whatever RTO configuration, including stiff monitoring and penalties for non-compliance, management creates.  So, the strategic question is: Can law firms such as Paul, Weiss which are currently RTO 3-days-a-week continue to position and package that as a perk? Such could entice senior associates to stay put. A recent rumor is that Paul, Weiss could be e...

 It's becoming standard: Members of the C-Suite, including the CEO, are being forced out. On Reddit Career Guidance, the poster who reported directly to that leader asks what to do. Anyone who has experienced that kind of transition understands the danger to job security. The odds are, as the responses indicate, that the new leader will bring in their own team. So, of course, start looking for another job. Also, there is the old-line dynamic of guilt-by-association. If the CEO's tenure had been associated with disappointing outcomes, the team could be perceived as subpar. On top of that there is the assumption that the team in-place will be trapped in the mindset and behaviors of the former regime. However, given that turbulence can mean opportunity, those left behind could present themselves to the new leadership as uniquely qualified to help them succeed. In that, you have to be aggressive: Pitch the value you can create. Be detailed. Use a slide deck? Maybe if it's brie...

Films are supposed to transport us into another dimension.  For some of us in the audience for "Killers of the Flower Moon" the only piece of that was being lifted into awe for the acting ability, right down to her eyes, of Lily Gladstone. She portrayed Mollie, a member of the Osage tribe who had, like her relatives, come into wealth because of oil. After an odd kind of flirting she marries white man Ernest Burkhart, played by a no-longer boyish Leonardo DeCaprio. Actually it was a turnoff that DeCaprio had porked up. We did accept his bad teeth, though, as symbolic of his dirt-poor condition in the beginning of the movie.  The storyline was all too familiar, especially in this era of a heightened consciousness about justice and genocide.  Academic powerhouses are signing petitions, published in The Wall Street Journal, about the conflict in the Middle East.  Progressive law firms  ranging from Kirkland & Ellis to Paul Weiss to Akin Gump have financially sup...

High interest rates, the housing market, inflation on the macro level and inside consulting firms the push to conserve cash. Those, weigh in posters on Fishbowl Consulting , portend more layoffs in management consulting on a continuing basis.  In general there is no optimism. The advice is to do what it takes to hold on to what you got.  If you lose what you got or seem on the way to that (e.g. have been PIPed) I recommend:  1) Ensure a stream of income by picking up temporary work and gig assignments. Don't have magical thinking that you will bag a new opportunity in consulting fast. Now out there is the grim number of 500 applications and not one job offer . Knowledge Work is getting hit hard.  Your new objective is to make ends meet and to prevent additional debt.   2) Consider a career change since management consulting seems to be a downsizing niche. That mirrors what had happened to middle management in Corporate America during the late 1980s. In addi...

  There are posters on professional anonymous network Fishbowl Big Law who seem behind the times. Some continue to vilify what used to be the Big Kahuna in most aspects of the business. That is, Kirkland & Ellis. Here is a recent example . It's singled out as among the worst in one kind of sandbox.  The ongoing reality is that K&E got the stuffing knocked out of it. Iconic were the three raids on its London talent by a competitor one-third their size in lawyer headcount. That was Paul Weiss.  K&E is no longer the only one with the large financial resources and the risk-taking to "throw money" at what it strategically wants. The expectation had been that law firms do a conservative game. Also how the leaders at K&E differentiate themselves through the Non-Equity Partner (NEP) tier is open to imitation. And that could happen. The rumor is that Paul Weiss might adopt that model in 2024. Meanwhile Paul Weiss is known, just like K&E, for doing plenty of hi...

  There's an expertise in increasing demand. That is the ability to put together a pitch deck, with both text and graphics, that provides value in business development. Once called "Power Point" and once a kind of a joke (as in Save Us From Power Point or Death By Power Point) it has become a most serious business. NO JOKING AROUND Although management consultants seem to be the most vocal in groaning about having to put together another pitch deck, players in other professions also have had to master that task in communications. It is a safe bet that many Knowledge Work positions require advanced skill in crafting slide decks. That may be assumed, that is not made explicit in a help-wanted or criteria for promotion. Or it will be listed as a must-have on a job board. For example, there is a help-wanted on the Paul Weiss law firm job portal for an  ESG Client Program Manager,  posted June 20, 2023. The job description includes creating pitch decks. Compensation ranges from...

  X, which used to be known as Twitter, celebrated its first anniversary this month. CEO  Linda Yaccarino  toasted that with a  gush blog post  that things were ducky fine, especially with the return of advertisers. She puts that number during Q3 at 1,700. BEYOND THE GUSH (including in general) However,  Insider  reports different numbers: " ... data from  marketing consultancy Ebiquity , which was shared with Insider, suggested that most big advertisers have stopped spending on X. The company works with 70 of the top 100 advertisers, only 2 of which advertised on X last month, the data found." ASSESSED AS NOT MAKING THE POINT This is the second time that Yaccarino is assessed as not making her point. The first was last month at the Code Conference. Her performance was so much on the defense and she seemed to know it that she eliminated Q&A, which is standard in that setting. Given that how the CEO sizes up things at X isn't percei...

  It's an old-line buzzword to put a positive spin on change that has negative effects on too many constituents. That's "Creative Destruction." It's being resurrected to capture the extent of change because of the confluence of high interest rates, geopolitical issues and, of course, generative AI. Unfortunately, the majority of employees, reports LinkedIn , are not aware of the Creative Destruction happening at their workplaces because of the latter - generative AI. "More than half of workers — 54% — don't know how their employers are leveraging artificial intelligence ...  nearly 8 in 10 C-suite respondents said they're already using AI, and 68% acknowledged their companies' AI moves haven't been in their rank and file's best interests." That means that employees are not absorbing the scope of possible and probable disruption in how they work or, more importantly, if they will have work. Already the Creative Destruction has reduced ...

  On Reddit Career Guidance, there is the usual discussion if LinkedIn is overrated or even professionally useful. Here you can scroll through. Essentially, it remains useful for two purposes.  One is job search. Recruiters go there. In addition, LinkedIn sends to your email openings which might be a fit. If you present yourself well in your Profile section you will get attention. In a sense the Profile is a living resume, along with the graphics touch of a photo. Posters document that they have received  job offers via LinkedIn. The other is networking. That territory is broad. You can keep up with established contacts. It is possible to make new ones simply by sending an invite from them to be part of your network. You can also follow them and make thoughtful comments on their postings. Jobs and contract assignments can come through these contacts.  Of course, LinkedIn can be annoying. Its Updates section has defaulted into a kind of personal network for professio...

  This is the post on Fishbowl Big Law: "Paul, Weiss is clearly on a different level at this point. Should be v5" It is followed by responses such as: "100% agree. P,W taking over!!!" "They’re so hot right now" "They’ve poached several associates from my group. Crazy." Not so long ago the law firm was a target of bad press. A bad spot to be in. My hunch is that back then they chose to lay low, not only in branding but also in operations. A kind of  bunkering. Then, the cloud seemed to lift. The media moved on to issues such as the slowdown in M&A which triggered layoffs and hiring freezes. On those influential professional social networks Kirkland & Ellis became the joke. In May the partners voted Brad Karp back in. The rest is history. Karp is in his early 60s. That's young currently. So he can keep up this torrid pace of outpacing that big kahuna Kirkland & Ellis in innovation, landing major brandname accounts, poaching talent, ...

My my. Paul Weiss could be getting to look more and more like its competitor Kirkland & Ellis. As the latter, it has been investing major bucks in poaching star talent.  And, now this rumor, thanks to Abovethelaw.com The unconfirmed buzz is that as early as 2024, Paul Weiss could establish, just like Kirkland & Ellis, a category known as NonEquityPartner.  That has grabbed plenty of attention for Kirkland & Ellis. Thanks to that creation the law firm made over 200 partners recently. It also serves as a retention device since more associates will stick around to become a partner. Nice title, after all. And your neighbors probably don't know the difference between an equity partner and a salaried one.  The professional anonymous networks are likely to jump on this rumor. For about six months posters have been observing that Paul Weiss seems to be following the Kirkland & Ellis playbook.  My observation? In the leadership the chair Brad Karp seems to ha...

As some may recall in Leon Black's continuum of legal actions, the former CEO of Apollo filed for sanctions against Wigdor law firm. It is representing Cheri Pierson in a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Black. However, New York Supreme Court Judge Suzanne Adams ruled against that. She determined it is too early in the proceedings to issue sanctions. Public relations is a subjective field. However, from in that school of thought some might view Black's sustained legal actions as impeding reputation restoration.  If he simply had done a "lay low" and embraced worthwhile causes the past might have receded in the collective consciousness. Others such as Bill Gates who had friended Jeffrey Epstein, as had Black, were able to shake that association off with a "regret doing that." Already the lawsuit filed against him by his former mistress had been dismissed. That was a victory for his credibility.  One wonders who, if any entity, is guiding Black in public affa...

 Featured on Netflix the documentary "Life Overtakes Me" describes Resignation Syndrome which is afflecting children of trauma. The setting is Sweden in which immigrant families from Russia and a few other locations seek refuge. The uncertainties are extreme, with some families facing deportation from Sweden after they arrive.  Meanwhile, a number of the children fall into a coma state. That starts out with a disinterest in eating. Medical doctors ascribe it to the children's picking up on their families' anxiety and declining hope. The condition, which requires tube feeding and manual excercising of the body, can last more than a year. Gradually the child recovers and eventually resumes normal activities.  In addition to Sweden, cases are now being observed in Australia.  With the escalating trauma in the Middle East we might anticipate Resignation Syndrome overtaking the children impacted directly and indirectly by the conflict. That includes fleeing their homeland...

  This rumor is posted on professional anonymous network Fishbowl Consulting: 'Bottom 5-10% at Accenture getting laid off within the next month or so. 8 weeks straight on the bench also equals layoff. Tough times in the industry." Unfortunately, speculation about and confirmation or discussion of layoffs or fear of layoffs have become the norm in management consulting. Usually, like much of professional services, its dynamics have been cyclical. Following reduced demand it has been expected there will be upticks, then a possible boom. Maybe not this time. The pricey services of management consulting could be among the fields which aren't going to bounce back from the current slowdown. Only the top brandname firms could be left standing and they will likely hire fewer of those erudite Knowledge Workers. In management consulting the primary challenges are the new confidence and cost-consciousness  of businesses. If they are hitting a wall they are more apt to focus on the s...

" Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hess in an all-stock transaction valued at $53 billion, or $171 per share based on Chevron’s closing price on October 20, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Hess shareholders will receive 1.0250 shares of Chevron for each Hess share. The total enterprise value, including debt, of the transaction is $60 billion." -  Business Wire , October 23, 2023 MAJOR DEALMAKING ACCOUNT FOR PAUL WEISS It is law firm Paul Weiss which gets to handle the Chevron part of the deal. It has a long relationship with Chevron. So connected the two have been that the  SEC  questioned if Paul Weiss could be independent enough in a racial audit. But that issue is small potatoes compared to the high financial and branding stakes for Paul Weiss in overseeing the legalities of this dealmaking.  Overall, there is s...

"ESG is beyond redemption, a testimonial to the consequences of letting good intentions overwhelm good sense and allowing the selling imperative to define and drive mission. May it RIP."   October 22, 2023, Financial Times. Actually Financial Times is a little late to the game of declaring ESG, including the investment part, dead. Already we are in, as I detail in  O'Dwyer's Public Relations , the Post-ESG era. Those determined to tame capitalism, as had the noisy advocates of ESG initiatives, have to come up with very different models.  Meanwhile, as we bore witness, hedge fund Engine #1, which put three ecos on the Exxon board, didn't balk at the corporation's recent mega  acquisition of Pioneer.   Legal experts speculate that the Department of Justice, along with several states, will lose the antitrust case against Google ("US, et al. v Google"). Here is a  copy of the complaint . That win could discourage the filing other such antitrust law...

"Car Owners Fall Behind on Payments at Highest Rate on Record"   Bloomerg , October 21, 2023 Among the preventive measures for a visit from the Repo Man is to buy a SmartCar.  Although they are no longer produced by Mercedes-Benz there are plenty of them around. Most have found their way to dealerships through trade-ins. Also individuals are putting them on the market as they trade up. SmartCars are available locally and throughout the US. For the latter, just start a search on the Internet and it will be shipped.   For pricing, check Kelly Blue Book for SmartCars. They come in EV, hybrid and gasoline versions. The price ranges from the high end of about $15,000 to about $7,000 or less. You bet, you could wind up paying cash, not taking a car loan. About three years ago I ponied up $7,200 in cash for a 2013 two-door roaster with sun roof. The miles on it were about 50,000. That was in Michigan, near Ann Arbor. Miles per gallon of gasoline is about 40. So far no majo...

  When the Puritans founded Harvard in 1636, the role of that institution of higher education was clear: It was to train clergy. Those founders of America took their religion seriously and didn't intend to run short of ministers in the new world. Today, the purpose of The University is hardly clear. In the process of figuring that out, especially as it pertains to the big brandnames like Harvard, the Ivory Tower can come tumbling down. Driving the scrutiny are issues associated with the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel. As  Financial Times  reports, the ambiguity is costing major universities millions in donations. Apollo CEO Marc Rowan set up that movement of warning about shutting down contributions and requiring leadership to resign if the institution isn't strong enough in its support of Israel.  Essentially the question is: What is the public responsibility of The University. No, it appears it can't position and package itself as a neutral entity. An...