On Lawyers, the World Cup and the fantastic energy of common causes
“y si estoy cansado de gritarte, es que sólo quiero despertarte. Rasguña las piedras, Sui Generis”.
Anybody who like myself has been in Russia for the World Cup (especially during the first two weeks) will probably agree with me of what a spectacular world event it has been. Soccer was really an excuse to mix thousands of people from all over the world to share a common cause: enjoy soccer above national preferences. The sight of Moscow´s streets flooded with groups wearing their national soccer shirts as normal outfits, singing, drinking, laughing, and basically celebrating all together the joy of soccer and life was an experience I will not easily forget.
It is interesting that in very cosmopolitan cities like New York, London or similar one people actually stay mostly absent and oblivious to each other, probably just to endure the overwhelming impact of large masses of people. It was different in Russia. We would walk down the streets waving to each other, wishing good luck in the next match or stopping to have a short conversation. It was a spontaneous brotherhood around a common cause.
Is it too farfetched to try to make any comparison between lawyers and the World Cup? Maybe, but not if you take a deeper look. To make my point I will use the help of a philosopher you have heard about: Immanuel Kant. Please allow me to quote a paragraph (I rarely do that) from Kant´s essay “Idea for a Universal History” that hits the tension I want to address
“The means by which nature employs to bring about the development of innate capacities is that of antagonism within society, in so far as this antagonism becomes in the long run the cause of a law-governed social order. By antagonism, I mean in this context the “unsocial sociability” of men, that is, their tendency to come together in society, coupled, however with a continuance resistance which constantly threatens to break this society up. This propensity is obviously rooted in the human nature. Man has an inclination to live in society, since he feels in this state more like a man, that is, he feels able to develop his natural capacities. But he also has a great tendency to live like an individual, to isolate himself, since he also encounters in himself the unsocial characteristic of wanting to direct everything in accordance with his own ideas.”
It appears then that this “unsocial sociability” is present in all of us (and not just a problem prevalent among lawyers). But my point is that when lawyers get together to work in a common project, namely, a law firm, the “unsocial” portion of the equation seems to get a disproportionate importance. The “low-trust environment” in law firms (as wisely described by David Maister) exacerbates the individual element and makes it more difficult to appreciate the advantages of a joint endeavour. It is true that professional services carry on a necessary individual component that needs to be protected, and even encouraged. The “co-opetition” concept mentioned in a previous article of mine addresses the reality of individual talent shining out in a context of both competition and collaboration. But I often repeat that the new market conditions, impacted by globalization and innovation, require a new collaborative perspective where solutions are provided and results are obtained by high-performance teams closely organized and coordinated.
My thoughts and recommendations on these topics are normally made from a strategic perspective based on the challenges that the new market is posing on law firms. But today, with the World Cup still fresh in my senses, I´d rather bring along a more intuitive, emotional and primitive sense; that of our social and gregarious nature. Projects and accomplishments are always nice and important in our lives. A lot of our dreams and energy are directed towards those horizons. When projects are shared with others from their birth, throughout development and completion, the thrill is different, the energy more powerful, and the joy of success much stronger. All the important and meaningful stories I have heard about law firms (including my own personal stories) are always shared experiences, both the difficult and the pleasant ones. I would even propose to affirm that nothing really important is accomplished alone.
As Daniel Pink, a motivation world expert indicates “The most deeply motivated people -not to mention those who are most productive and satisfied- hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves.” (“Drive, the surprising truth about what motivates us”). That larger cause does not need to be always a human race universal goal. It could be anything that gather wishes and energy in the same direction. If we just focus professionally the best of our personal energy and desires towards our own individual goals we will not only create poorer law firms and service to clients; even worse, we will lose the opportunity of experiencing the excitement and thrill of a truly common project with our colleagues, where the shared goals are the essence of our collective efforts and worries. We need to improve our cocktail of “unsocial sociability” to give more space inside and outside us to the shared aspect of our professional workplace and profession. The World Cup has reminded me in a simple and beautiful way how much better everything looks when human beings get together for a common purpose.
Yes, I know. I can get pretty insistent and even obsessive when I like an idea or want something badly enough. I try to find stories, movies, songs, or whatever I have at hand to make my point. Unlike the Sui Generis song, I don´t get tired and I try not to shout, but I will keep on doing it. I just want to wake you up!
