Management

Law School Grads — Where Did Our Drive Go?

Posted by on Apr 29, 2010 | 0 comments

  “I don’t expect to love my job. There’s a reason they call it ‘work.’ That’s why they pay me for it,” my friend said to me at lunch yesterday. She is a senior associate at a big San Francisco law firm, and like many in her position, she is overworked and stressed but doesn’t know how else she can support her family. What has happened to all of those bright-eyed, eager law school graduates who were intellectually excited by their work, who wanted to make a difference, who loved the challenge and the puzzle of figuring things out? Far too...

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What Are The Hard Questions?

Posted by on Sep 23, 2009 | 0 comments

  On my home page I refer to “hard questions,” but what do I mean? Hard questions are the ones that we politely avoid most of the time. They are the questions that, when asked, upset the apple cart, demand that we change. They challenge assumptions, require honesty, make us sit up straighter, and bring us together. For example: You are leading a meeting at which you are discussing implementation of Plan A. There is no energy or enthusiasm in the room as you assign action items. Suppose, instead of forging you asked, “What are we really trying to achieve and will Plan A get...

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