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SMART COLLABORATION:
How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by
Breaking Down Silos
Prof. Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, Distinguished Fellow,
Center on the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School
hgardner@law.harvard.edu
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Increasingly deep, narrow, specialized
Professional expertise
Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous
Client needs
Specialization vs. VUCA Demands
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Top-Ranked VUCA Concerns
Regulatory &
compliance
Cybersecurity
Globalization
Don
ald
Tru
mp
Sector
Convergence
Brexit
Digitalization
Currency swings
Inflation
Deflation Corruption
Climate change
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Research conducted Feb-Mar ’16
Collaboration: What It’s Not
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Collaboration: Top Reasons Clients Care
1. Access to best knowledge and experts in firm – because clients are increasingly sophisticated & well-equipped
2. Deep understanding of client business & sector
3. Innovation
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017 © Heidi K. Gardner, 2017 © Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Benefits of Cross-Practice Collaboration
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Actual, disguised data from 2 global PSFs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Firm A Firm B
Number of practices serving client
Average $$/client from cross-selling (illustrative)
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
1 2 3 4 5 6
Average $$/client from collaboration (actual data)
“Margins rise with complexity.”
Fortune 100 CFO
Collaboration and Business Performance
Two (nearly) identical professionals: same practice, graduation year, time with Firm, annual hours billed.
Twin 1
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
$ $ $ $ $
Twin 2
Business Outcomes
“If your relationship partner departed, would you seek another provider?”
28%
Remain with Firm Seek another Provider
Single-partner clients Multi-partner clients
90%
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Survey of top 300 clients, major U.S. accounting firm
“If your relationship partner departed, would you seek another provider?”
28%
Remain with Firm Seek another Provider
Single-partner clients Multi-partner clients
90%
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Survey of top 300 clients, major U.S. accounting firm
Reality of Client Teams
Solo Lead Partner – 84%
Dual Partners – 13%
Multi Partners – 3%
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016 © Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Source: Representative U.S. law firm
If collaboration
is so great,
why aren’t we
doing it
more?
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
Two “Types” of Rainmaker –Different Concerns
Solo Specialist
Seasoned Collaborator
• Competence trust • Interpersonal trust • Self-confidence • Self-defense /Mobility • Time pressure
• Awareness of others’ expertise • Building a committed team • Demonstrating
trustworthiness • Institutional patience
What can you do
to lower the
barriers
that inhibit
collaboration?
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016 © Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
Source: Morse & Fitzgerald
AmLaw Leaders Compared to Clients
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Silents Boomers Gen X
AmLaw 100 leaders
Fortune 100 CEOs
Fortune 100 GCs
Nasdaq CEOs
Nasdaq GCs
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016 © Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
Client Lead Partners: Typical Succession “Plan”
“My CLP is aging in place. He’s now more of a gate-keeper than advisor.” Client GC
“They ‘introduced’ me to my new CLP. Is that a joke?” Client GC
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016 © Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2016
CLP Succession – “How To” Example 1
10 years
Typical retirement
age
$
Getting Through the Pain Barrier
Experience with collaboration
Costs
Benefits
Collaboration becomes “normal”
way of working
Leap of faith: Costs and risks easy to
identify, but benefits accrue slowly
Costs drop as people gain experience
collaborating
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
© Heidi K. Gardner, 2017
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