Fringe Legal #11: data-driven decision making with PwC / No Meetings Friday / Talking roads

Here are four things that were worth sharing this week:

1. LISTEN

I'm excited to publish my conversation with Mick Sheehy, Partner at PwC Australia. We spoke following the work PwC produced on how metrics can be used to support decisions, but the conversation soon expanded to a lot more. It started with the pains Mick felt during his 14 year stint as a GC for a major corporation:

I felt that all the other departments were so adept at using numbers and metrics, in particular, to go and fight for internal funding. Whereas the legal department is hopeless at it. In fact, we weren’t even part of the conversation. So I really felt that there was a real problem here that we needed to solve.

The central theme remained around data-driven decision-making. In discussing that we cover the three phases of legal operations, understanding when what, why, and how to capture the right data, and even dig into examples of how this could be applied in a law firm or in-house.

We deep dive into three functional examples:

1. Business strategy;
2. Technology and innovation; and,
3. Knowledge management.

You can listen to the teaser (2 mins), or grab the full episode.

2. READ

"Zoom fatigue" is real, and companies are working hard to find a balance between reducing meetings and keeping productive.

One approach I came across (from Twilio) is to have 'No Meetings Friday'. Other options include having a day without "on camera" meetings and going for a 4-day workweek. The latter doesn't mean cramming a weeks' worth of work into four days!

Ultimately, better-rested employees are more productive and happier. How are you tackling this?

Discovered through Susan Packal

3. QUOTE

The most interesting part of any market is its end. Why does the market stop at this point? There are lots of customers who would presumably purchase products if they could afford to, but they don’t. And there are presumably lots of companies that would love to sell products to these consumers if they could do so profitably. But at some point, the market just ends. This is also the point where entrepreneurship begins.

-Jim McKelvey The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time

Jim talks about creating opportunities outside of the currently known market e.g., the known market for buying a new car is $15k+. By imagining a solution for this invisible market, you end up creating a new market or expanding the market beyond what others thought possible (what if you could create a car that sells for less than $15k?).

4. FUTURE TECH

A new technology called vehicle-to-every (V2X) is being tested in parts of Utah, Georgia, and Michigan. This tech allows your car to communicate with the road about things like speed and tire traction.

There are many applications of this from being able to send warnings, collect tolls, and guided cars to your exact location.

Can talking roads end car accidents?

Until next time. Stay well.

Ab

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