We know you’re interested in learning. Why else would you be here? If your brain merely chews up printed text and spits it out, you’ll especially love this week’s Friday Five. We’re serving up five alternatives to the written word when it comes to practice management know-how. Check out these online audio and video files to charge up your skills.
1. Make it Rain! Canadian Lawyer TV offers a great, free little video series called Making Rain. Debra Forman, an executive coach and management consultant, offers quick and clear lessons in all aspects of personal business development. Right now, she’s up to unit 15—project management—but there’s a new one every month. So far, she’s covered a range of topics including “Leveraged LinkedIn,” “Networking” and “Balancing Expectations.”
2. Manage Better. Ed Poll has gained a wide reputation for books and tapes on law practice management topics like building your practice, profitability, collecting fees and compensation. But you can also watch Ed on video or listen to his frequent podcasts online. The podcasts, available at no charge through his website, cover topics like technology, ethics, client relationships and marketing, in both lecture and interview formats.
3. Get Your Marketing Chops. The Legal Marketing Association was formed 30 years ago to support and serve as a resource to marketing staff working inside law firms. Today it provides numerous learning opportunities to law marketing professionals, many online. Check out the replays of LMA’s webinar series in categories like business development, public relations and technology. Some are complimentary, others require payment before downloading the file.
4. Be Hip to Technology. Every week, legal technology experts and popular bloggers Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the latest in legal technology on the Legal Talk Network’s Kennedy-Mighell Report. But it’s not just about products! Manners for the digital age. Key word searches. Backing up. LinkedIn. You name it, if it’s technology related, Dennis and Tom will take it on in a casual, radio-style half-hour.
5. The Quirkier Side of Tutorials. Sure, there’s Lynda.com and Total Training to guide you through the serious task of learning popular software programs, but it’s hard to resist Donnie Hoyle’s hilarious online tutorials, You Suck at Photoshop. Who is Donnie Hoyle? No one is really sure. But the final episode of this infamous series seems to reveal he is comedian Dane Cook. You can find the videos on Laughing Squid, an online resource for art, culture and technology. For the back story and to enjoy the full effect, watch all 20 in order.