I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Suzanne Donnels and Matt Bradley at Jenner & Block regarding a few of their strategies for success in running the firm’s marketing initiatives. It didn’t take long for me to understand Jenner’s philosophy regarding marketing and business development. I could say it’s “all about team” over there, but that wouldn’t quite do them justice. Here are three of their key strategies to success to building and keeping a great team. These points will be elaborated on when you attend their upcoming panel discussion on March 19th.
Key strategy #1: Hiring the right people. While this might seem obvious, their model for hiring is more sophisticated than it might appear. As Matt describes, “We are looking more for interpersonal skills, fit and project management skills.” He goes on to explain that hiring someone with prior law firm experience is lower down on their list of requirements. They can train people to work in the industry, so better to hire people who have the right attitude and will best fit the culture.
Key strategy #2: Critical thinking. With all of the day to day challenges that face the marketing department, Suzanne shares her thoughts on what’s really important. “Having laser focus on our goals and objectives” is the most important element to success. A good team must have the ability to think critically and effectively prioritize everything that comes across their door. Without the ability to align the goals of the firm with their team’s initiatives, it would be very difficult to get everything done and done properly.
Key strategy #3: It takes a village… A key component to Jenner’s marketing approach relates to their village mentality. No one is too big or too small for a given task as long as it aligns with the objectives of the firm. This may be stuffing envelopes, organizing a new event , developing a new marketing campaign or designing a targeted business development strategy. All of their people, both in marketing and business development, are cross trained to understand and actually do one another’s jobs. This not only helps the team to work more efficiently (and cohesively), but it creates a more fun and challenging environment for their team members. As Matt describes it, “There are no silos here.” With everyone working together on a wide range of projects, the hope is to create a work environment where their people are constantly engaged and put in positions to become better marketing professionals – individually and collectively, which lowers attrition.
Please join them on March 19th at the LMA Chicago Group event to hear their perspectives live and in person.