Once you’ve conquered your life’s story, how would you use six words to share your firm’s purpose?

Here’s mine:

Helping smart people think together better.

Give it a shot, and leave your six words in the comments below.

From the site The World’s Longest Invoice:

In just one week, thousands of freelancers found out that they’re not alone — and that they’re still owed over $15 million for their work. If you’ve been stiffed by a client, post your story to put a face on the staggering numbers.

Wonder how many unpaid legal bills we could add up in one week?

One of the panelists, Tyson Snow, wrapped up the first day of the conference on his blog and had these nice things to say about me:

Matt Homann is one of the best presenters I have ever seen. That guy is nails on stage. The combination of humor, entertainment, and quality content mixed with his presentation style and skills went unmatched. I would recommend him to any firm or organization looking for a consultant or a speaker for any event. This guy is legit. I can’t wait to see him present again.

Thanks, Tyson!

Check out all of Tom Fishburne’s tremendous work-themed cartoons and blog posts.

Be Pleasant, Don’t Be Nice

We once received a call from a gentlemen who said, “[redacted] referred me to you. He said that you wouldn’t be shy about telling me I was wrong, you’d probably piss me off, and that I should listen to everything you said because it would work.”

I was delighted.

That said, you should aim to be pleasant to work with, as everyone would rather work with someone pleasant than with an asshole. But no one wants to work with someone who’s faking it. Doing good work often requires a few hard conversations.

There’s a difference between being enjoyable to work with and being “nice.” Being nice means worrying about keeping up the appearance of harmony at the expense of being straightforward and fully engaged. Sometimes you need to tell a client they’re making the wrong call. Part of client services is being able to do that without coming off as a dick. But being afraid to do it because you’re too invested in being “nice” is worse than being a dick.

No one is hiring you to be their friend. They’re hiring you to design solutions to problems. But if they can get the same solution from someone who’s pleasant and someone who’s a jerk, they’ll go with the former.

Check out the entire article.  It is an excerpt of the book Design is a Job by Mike Monteiro (his presentation F*uck you. Pay Me. is NSFW, but worth a listen).

and my slides from the presentation:

Let me know what you think!

The videos from last month’s LexThink.1 are up and you can see them all here.

Bob Sutton, author of the The No Asshole Rule shares a simple diagram that lawyers could easily use with their clients.

If you’re doing something innovative in the law practice arena, you need to know about the InnovAction Awards:

The InnovAction Awards is a worldwide search for lawyers, law firms, and other deliverers of legal services who are curretly engaged in some extraordinary innovative efforts. The goal is to demonstrate to the legal community what can be created when passionate professionals, with big ideas and strong convictions, are determined to make a difference. Each year, we present the coveted InnovAction Awards to those unsung heroes and rising stars within the legal profession who dare to think differently and succeed by doing so.

The entry deadline is June 1, 2012.  You can learn more and download an application here (.pdf).