“The whole group left the firm? Unbelievable!”
By Adam Radzik
Consultant to Professional Firms

However, at 8:45 am, a two-year employee reported with alarm that the seven offices at the end of the hall were completely empty— save assorted scraps of paper strewn about the floor. Partners, employees, secretaries and client files were gone. Everyone who still worked at Miller & Madera had to come and see for themselves and shake their heads. “Why did they leave, especially Mathews?” The shock was palpable. The firm’s leadership convened quickly to deal with the crisis, but no one seemed to really know why seven of the top partners had withdrawn over the weekend.

An hour later, Lee Mathews telephoned and coolly informed Wendell Miller that there would be no discussion— the group would not be returning and they hoped rational minds would prevail to avoid lengthy litigation. What’s more, the attorneys that would be representing their interests would be Leahey & Leahey, the arch competitors of Miller & Madera. When Wendell Miller inquired as to why this defection had occurred, there was a pause before Lee Mathews proclaimed as he hung up: “Of all people, Wendell, you should know!”
 
The leadership felt they had to take the position that the defectors were somehow intrinsically defective; that the defectors would find that the grass is not greener and would soon regret departing; that within the year the defectors would be pleading to return; and that the exit of the group was actually a positive event, giving the firm the opportunity to build a much stronger department. However, no one— but no one— at the firm believed any of that.

Several significant problems now faced Miller & Madera. They didn’t really know or understand why the Mathews group had left the firm; therefore, they could not fix the cluster of problems (and it usually is a cluster) that had provoked the exodus. In fact, the problems continued to brew , and within six months another group of four partners left the firm. The remaining members of the firm began to wonder why they were staying if everybody was leaving. Miller & Madera began worrying that it might have to close its doors after serving the public for twenty-three years.

The moral of the tale is that when defections occur— or even when they are threatened— firms need to be able to correctly diagnose the source of the conflict and take steps to resolve the frustrations. The problem is that this task is difficult to perform on oneself—this is akin to the scenario in which a doctor attempt s to “self-diagnose .” Good doctors seek the help of other doctors when they experience illnesses. Firms need to hire outside professionals who know their industry, who are familiar with the complaints, and who can ferry the firm to calmer waters. Partners need to be interviewed and even defectors should be asked for their views (if they are willing to share— and they usually are). Root causes need to be identified, practical solutions implemented, and the healing process given time to restore trust and goodwill.

More and more, professional firms are not waiting for problems to surface. They regularly have their employees interviewed, in order to determine how life at the firm can be improved. Shouldn’t this initiative be something your firm should be considering?

*The names in this narrative are purely fictional.

For more information on how to resolve internal conflicts, please contact Adam Radzik, author of How to Act Before, During and After the Argument.

Barbara Walters, of television ’s 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the Afghan conflict. She noted that women customarily walk five paces behind their husbands there.

She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. From Ms. Walter s’ vantage point, despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to walk even farther back
behind their husbands and are happy to maintain the old custom.

Ms. Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, “ Why do you now seem so happy with the old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?”

The woman looked Ms. Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, “ Land mines.”

Moral--BEHIND EVERY MAN IS A SMART WOMAN.

We are indebted to Verona Faro for this humor.

Many of my sales coaching clients have asked how I go about writing books. I point out to them that a novel is just a collection of related short stories and a nonfiction book is a collection of articles with a unifying theme. Writing a book often appears daunting, but if the project is approached as a compendium of articles, the project is less overwhelming. Specifically, whenever one is writing an article, he or she should avoid writing on a wide range of disparate subjects. Instead, he or she should concentrate on establishing credibility in one area. Using this approach, many articles can be adapted to be chapters of a book. As someone once said, “It’s such a shame not to write down what you know.”