Why Your GC Shouldn't Be An Atheist

So here we are at the end of a long series of blog posts on what I believe to be the six characteristics of a great General Counsel (I started with seven but decided that I didn't like one of them). 

We’ve covered five so far:

1. More Sheriff Andy Taylor, less Wyatt Earp.
2. A businessman who knows a lot about the law, not a lawyer who knows a little about business.
3. Manages real risks, not theoretical ones.
4. Knows the best legal solution is not always the best business resolution.
5. Realizes that over-lawyering and under-lawyering are equally expensive.

But the sixth characteristic may be the most important of them all:

Actually believes that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

The key phrase here are “actually believes.”

There are whole industries out there preaching the gospel of preventative law – and almost all of us do it in some form or another – preach that is. But at the end of the day, it is unfortunately easier to get your number crunchers and C-suite people to pony up for actual litigation than it is to budget a smaller number of dollars to teach and train to avoid “theoretical” risks (the ounce of prevention).

I’ve never totally understood this other than to apply the old maxim that there are no atheists in foxholes; i.e., it’s easy to put off spending on prevention when there’s no complaint sitting on the CEO’s desk.

But of course an ounce of prevention really is cheaper than a pound of cure. A GC who believes in the practice of preventative law and is willing to fight for the dollars to actually do it is going to serve your company’s best interests in the long run.

This is why none of my six characteristics involve being a great litigator – not that a GC can’t or shouldn’t be a great litigator – but that can’t be the focus. 

You cannot be an atheist and a true believer at the same time...

That’s why the great GC already has already got religion. A little revival tent, a little legal philosophy and a ton of commonsense to bring the sheep into the fold.  She's willing to go door to door, department by department, budget by budget, VP by VP - ringing doorbells and preaching the gospel to those atheist number crunchers on the fifth floor and the godless CEO on executive row.

 So go ahead and ask.  This is one question on religious belief that doesn't violate Title VII!

Thanks for reading.

Richard Russeth

Why I Love TED!

My favorite TV show is still the Big Bang Theory on CBS.

But my favorite TV channel these days isn’t CNN, CBS, NBC or even the Comedy Channel (sorry, Jon and Stephen), it’s TED -  TED is a website. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It got it’s start as a conference on those very subjects but it long ago left for bigger territory with bigger dreams. TED has become a “clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers” and believes in “the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.”

TED provides access to hundreds and hundreds of short videos (usually 20 minutes or less) of brilliant (and sometimes famous) people, giving amazingly clever (and often humorous) lectures about challenging, thought provoking ideas that at the very least push you to reconsider your preconceptions, prejudices and weltanschauung.

If that all sounds Utopian, left-wing and boring, its not; at least, not as far as I can tell. And let me assure you in particular on that boring point. Yes, it may sometimes be a little quixotic, but the world could use a little dose of Don Quixote’s approach to life from time to time. Cynicism is one virtue I have yet to see expressed by anyone on TED.

Watching TED makes you want to go do something in the world, rather than buy something at the mall.  Just this week, I’ve had Dan Pink shake my faith in the power of rewards to motivate (i.e., corporate bonuses don’t necessarily drive the best results), learned that architecture helped drive the evolution of music (thanks to David Byrne) and found out about how a growing “cognitive surplus” might drive change in the world.

TED is the professor you wished for in college because TED makes you want to come back for more, do your own research and talk to other people about what you’ve learned (which usually scares the hell out of them: “you want to talk about ideas...?).

As you can tell, I love TED.  Give TED some of your cognitive surplus, just 20 minutes on the subject of your choice, and I think you will too.

Thanks for reading.

Richard Russeth

US Postal Service To Inaugurate New Alternative Billing

In a hastily called news conference that was sparsely attended due to all news media being focused on the Kagen hearing, the US Postmaster General announced that “...in order to make ends meet, the US Postal Service will have to move away from our current flat fee arrangements for first class delivery and move to an alternative billing model based on actual costs of delivery.”

He went on to state that “the hourly billing model that works so well for law firms will be our model. We know that this innovation might get some folks upset but we can’t live in the past – the 21st century is here and hourly billing for mail delivery is the future!”

When asked whether this approach would further reduce usage of the US Postal Service, the Postmaster said: “We will allocate our overhead across our client base so the actual number of people using our services won’t really matter all that much.”

When asked what it would cost to have a letter delivered, for example, from New York City to Bismarck, ND, the Postmaster said:

“That’s hard to say. We’ll deliver it and then send you a bill.”

Thanks for reading.

Richard Russeth

My Top Ten Rules For Job Search Success

1) NO WHINING.  NONE.

Don't be whiny, needy, pushy, petty, annoyed or irritated in your dealings with anyone who could help your job search; in other words, not with ANYONE.  Remember they are helping you...

2) SPEAK NO EVIL.  

NEVER speak ill of your former employer or co-workers to anyone EVER; at least not until you have your next job, then they are all fair game - though you'll probably just sound petty at that point.

3) IT TAKES WORK TO FIND WORK. 

A job search is a job. Treat it like one. Get up and go to work every morning (the italics are for a reason) for a set period M-F. That set period should be at least three hours.  It doesn't count if you are multitasking all kinds of personal stuff at the same time.

4) BE READY WITH ADVERTISING. 

Always carry resumes with you so you can hand them to anyone at any time. Get some business cards too. Nice ones please. Not that cheap paper stock.

5) ELEVATORS ARE GREAT NETWORKING SITES. 

Develop, practice and memorize your "elevator pitch" - see the book Rites of Passage by John Lucht and other resources. You need a 30, 60 and 180 second version. Practice until they don't sound like you practiced.

6) LINKEDIN. TWITTER. XING. BIZNIK. GIST.

Add everyone to your Linkedin profile. Join some groups on Linkedin.  Read about how to maximize Linkedin. Get involved in some law job chats on Twitter. Make sure the profile is spot on and perfect just like your resume presumably is. Track folks on Gist and give feedback. Try to build your network on Linkedin and Twitter before you actually, you know, need them. Facebook is fine, in my view, for actual friends. A blog never hurts.

7) KEEP IT IN PERSPECTIVE. 

Do some volunteer work not related to your job search or the law at least once a week. It will help put your situation in perspective and give you a sense of accomplishment that may be otherwise lacking when you enter your third week without so much as a nibble.  Give thanks you have the ability to do volunteer work for someone else instead of being the deserving recipient.

8) DON'T BE A BORE. 

Your being out of work is boring to other people. Don't overplay your hand.   Sometimes even ask other people how they are doing...

9) SAY THANK YOU. TO EVERYONE.  EVERY TIME.

Always always always send a handwritten snail mail thank you note to anyone who grants you some of their precious time in person or on the phone re an interview. Mail it the same day that they help you. Retweet them.  #ff them.  Keep them in mind.  See #10.  Its really not possible to say thank you too much.  And if they do something really really out of the line of duty, send them a little something.

10) GIVE IT AWAY. 

Nothing gets other peoples' attention more than not going after a job you know you don't have a prayer of getting but instead actually recommending or telling someone who actually has a shot. Give it away. What goes around, comes around - good and bad.  Recruiters remember people who help them. Get some good karma.

Bonus Rule: "Be silly. Be honest. Be kind." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks for reading.

Richard Russeth

Joe Torrre, General Counsel

Joe Torre would have made a great General Counsel. George Steinbrenner would have made a terrible GC. One makes it about the game, the other makes it about himself. The owner has that uxury but the manager does not.

When I lived in the New York area, the Yankees were on a roll and Joe Torre was the coach of the century. But I was always struck by how little he actually seemed to do in the dugout. This was especially true when I watched a game on TV. A nod. A finger to the side of his nose. Pick up the phone. Walk to the mound. Talk. Walk back to the dugout. Scratch. But each move seemed to have a purpose, a meaning, a goal. I doubt if Joe Torre even spit without meaning something - whatever he had in his mouth night after night.

Joe probably knew more about baseball than anyone in Yankee Stadium on any given night, but he never flaunted it. He just got it done. Time after time after time.

And what is a GC on any deal? A manager. And if he's going to manage the team effectively, he better know more than anyone else about doing deals or he's not going to have the respect of his team. This doesn't mean he's can pinch hit, be the DH or even throw a good slider. It does mean he knows when each of those skills are needed in the deal, and which of his people can deliver on it in the bottom of the ninth and down a run.

That's what a great GC does - he doesn't make the game or the team about him. He just gets it done. Like Joe, he knows who to put in and who to take out...

And when its time to curse out the umpire.

Thanks for reading.

Richard Russeth

[This is Pt. 6 of "Good GC or Great GC: The Seven Characteristics That Make The Difference", a series of seven weekly blog posts discussing what makes a great GC]