An author in Historically Speaking, Vol. 8, May/June 2007 at 10, admonishes us not to overly simplify complicated terms such as “religion” and “science.” “[T]hose who like to speak of the relations between science and religion need to be reminded how easily, how misleadingly, these become singularized, hypostatized terms, concealing…
Everyone who cares about innovation by lawyers should read the article in Cal. Mgt. Rev., Vol. 50, Fall 2007 at 174. It usefully and lucidly explains why innovation – “the combination of creativity and implementation” – by services providers differs from innovation by product providers. The latter get much more…
Waiting to speak at a conference a fortnight ago, I looked around the room as a speaker offered her best and counted the number of attendees who were doing the “Blackberry prayer” – heads bowed, brows furrowed, thumbs tapping or eyes reading. Toss in a few others who had laptops…
An article in the NY Times, Nov. 24, 2007 at C5, made some disturbing points about out attitudes toward our own mistakes. Here’s how I applied the observations to law departments. Nearly all lawyers have somewhere along the educational line been told they are smart. People who view themselves as…
By contributing author Jane DiRenzo Pigott, R3 Group LLC I was at an event recently where attorneys from any different firms were in attendance. One of the panels presented had general counsel from four companies talking about client relationship management and business acquisition. During the Q&A session at the end,…
Since my article on lawyers and creativity was published in the Legal Times, Vol. 30, Jan. 22, 2007, I have written a few posts that supplement it. Trying to role model creativity, my thought is to keep the article ever-green by publishing this mashup of articles and blog posts –…
Research by Michel Tuan Pham, a professor at Columbia Business School, is discussed in Columbia Business School Ideas , Nov. 15, 2007. His findings jibe with other findings that lawyers, in comparison to the general public, tend to be skeptical, risk averse, cautious and worried. “Generally, sad moods tend to…
An article in the Harv. Bus. Rev., Vol. 85, Nov. 2007 at 69, proposes a framework for leadership and decision making. The framework consists of five contexts defined by the nature of the relationship between cause and effect and the teachings of complexity science. I will skim the surface of…
Cognitive theory can explain several of our mental predelictions and help us avoid some that are deleterious. A handful of examples come from an article by Michael Maslanka, in the Texas Lawyer, March 28, 2007. Maslanka explains the fundamental attribution bias and how easy it is for us to be…
Cognitive errors by professionals confound our notion that those highly trained specialists – doctors, architects, scientists, experienced general counsel – reason rationally on a bedrock of solid beliefs. They don’t – none of us do – so we had best be on our guard against cracks and gaps in the…