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The perils and pitfalls of business development
Modern Lawyer
Vol. 1 - Iss. 1 pp. 45–52
Apr 2017
About 15 years ago I was asked to advise a law firm about business development. As part of the consulting agreement the firm wanted me to sign a restrictive covenant preventing me from sharing with their competitors, for at least six months, any magic, innovative or unique idea arising from my time there. I told them that I was flattered if they thought that I could offer them anything new in relation to business development. But in fact it was almost certain that I would not come up with anything that they couldn't find out for themselves by reading most books on business development and marketing for professional services firms. However, they would not get a competitive edge by reading all those books, or hiring consultants like me - that's easy. What would give them the edge was actually being willing to accept and apply what they read or were advised - that's hard.