Hi there,
What does it mean to “control your narrative?” 📖
And more importantly, why does it matter for today’s GCs?
It’s a question I was recently asked in the context of helping a GC understand some of the problems that PERSUIT is helping in-house teams address.
Here’s what I told her.
Most in-house legal leaders are facing these fundamental truths.
1. The role of a GC is filled with uncertainty.
There is no "typical day" for a GC. 😵💫
Chances are that what you spent the most time on today was not anything that was on your radar the night before.
And everything you do forms the fabric of the horizon scanning in trying to anticipate the next major disruption to your organization — election outcomes, global conflicts, the looming threat of another pandemic, the next inevitable cyberthreat.
2. In-house teams are one of the most overworked, under-recognised segments of the legal profession that exists today.
At the same time, in-house teams are facing increasing pressure to trim their budgets.
And when your legal cost center is made up of external legal spend and your own people, every effort that helps you do more with less is critical to ensuring those budget cuts don’t reach your own people.
3. You take your role as a leader very seriously.
You didn’t stumble your way into the role of a GC. You want to make an impact.
You grade yourself hard on how you show up for your people and the strategy you’re leaning on to give your people and company what they deserve.
With all of these pressures, it’s understandable that the last thing on a GC's mind is “How do I take control of my narrative?” 😣
But here’s what else I know to be true.
We're on the precipice of fundamental change in the legal ecosystem.
- Every GC in the world is being asked, “What are you doing with AI?” 🤖
- Firm pricing strategies are quickly evolving as bar associations require them to disclose how they are using GenAI for client work 💸
- In-house teams are now held to the same standard as their functional counterparts when it comes to executing data-driven decisions in support of business objectives 📊
That’s why today’s GCs can’t afford to ignore how they are controlling their own narrative.
The single most important story you must tell to your management team and board is how efficiently you are using your company's resources to optimize outcomes and reduce risk.
A story that shows:
- You are getting more done with less 💪🏽
- Your spend line is growing with the impact that your firms are having on your team, rather than growing with rate increases 💡
- You’re leveraging GenAI and technology across all aspects of your function 🤖
- Your decisions are backed by data 📊
Or…you can let somebody else write that story for you.
Whatever the case, a story will inevitably be told.
The only question is how will yours end?
Cheers,
Jim
P.S. If you’re a GC who wants to make sure you’re crafting the right GC narrative, you won’t want to miss us at next week’s Economist GC Summit.
On Thursday, September 5th, I’ll be joined by Moderna CLO Shannon Thyme Klinger to talk about how GCs are approaching AI to innovate and redefine their function’s relationship with the C-suite.
You can find all the details here.
