DO IT YOURSELF LEADERSHIP – PATRICK MCKENNA’S NEW BOOK
The mind of Patrick McKenna, an Edge International founder and partner, and one of the world’s leading consultants to law and other professional service firms, is a wondrous thing to watch. It goes bravely into the darkest recesses of practice and knowledge, and spreads light where no light has been seen before.
Recognizing that the new managing partner of any firm is about to have his or her life change, and that the new task is often addressed with anxiety and confusion, McKenna has assembled extraordinarily sound advice to guide the way to establishing domain and leadership in the first hundred days in office. This simple manual is real and practical. It’s a strong, clear, and knowing voice that rises above the usual leadership claptrap that abounds today.
It sometimes seems that writing books on leadership is a career in itself for a great many academics and consultants who see the leadership process only from the outside. The result is a flood of books by people who either have had no experience of leadership, nor access to really talented leaders. The result is untested theory or gibberish that serves no one but the authors of such books.
Patrick McKenna is no tail gunner academic, seeing the world from the rear of the plane. He and his Edge International partners, have been on the forefront of law firm guidance and 21st Century change for decades. He knows, and knows how to impart what he knows.
Thus, the value of his new book, First 100 Days: Transitioning A New Managing Partner. It’s available free, and only online. It’s a do-it-yourself book that actually works. The new managing partner who reads this short but very practical and sensible manual, and who follows its tenets, will have a very strong hold on his or her’s new position.
The no-nonsense content was assembled from McKenna’s extensive and practical experience, with input from some 20 high-visibility firms. Its strong content is highly focused in only 23 pages, and yet covers a treasure chest full of wisdom. It includes an appendix of guidance and comments from leaders of the largest and most successful firms in the country.
McKenna offers six basic tasks that, within a hundred days, will establish a foundation for a new managing partner to become successful firm leader. His advice…
1. Before the handoff
· Position yourself as a leader
· Build a working relationship with predecessor
· Create constructive dialogue with firm’s thought leaders and power brokers
· Tie up loose ends with key clients
· Try to deal with sensitive problems before you take office
2. Plug your gaps
· Figure out what you need to know and learn it fast
· Establish your advice network
3. Establish performance standards
· Negotiate your specific metrics for success
4. Seize your day
· Pay attention to personal habits
· Make symbolic gestures
· Convey basic information
5. Set your agenda
· Identify your one burning imperative
· Get critical partner buy-in
· Develop; action plan for initiative
· Launch a pilot project
6. Exploit early successes
· Identify something that would not have happened had it not been for your burning imperative
The text of the book fleshes out the comprehensive details of this outline meticulously and lucidly. Each page is down-to-earth, realistic and practical.
It’s a remarkable task, successfully accomplished, by a master. And, by the way, it’s useful to many more executives than just its target audience of new managing partners. Remarkable as well is its being offered at no charge online. How can you not read it?
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