Ep. 40 - Beyond the Briefs: Business Books Every Lawyer Should Read

 Marc’s Top 10 Books, Ten Books for a Better Law Practice (And Business), Ten Books to Grow Your Firm

Are you taking business advice from outside of the legal world? In today’s episode, Marc presents his top ten books for growing your law firm. True to character, he has broken his own rules and covers fourteen books in the episode.  Some cover the legal field specifically, while others focus on business more generally – your firm will benefit from both. Find out Marc’s favorite books and key takeaways, and decide for yourself whether his list or Diana’s list is better. 

For detailed show notes, navigate using the time stamps below:

[1:30] Today’s episode is about Marc’s top ten books, but he has characteristically ignored the roles and has chosen fourteen. 

[5:27] Marc’s first book is Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia. His theory is about expanding your health-span: or, the number of healthy years that we live where we can live our lives to the fullest. 

[13:06] Marc’s second book is the Lean Law Firm by Dave Maxfield and Larry Port. The book centers around minimizing waste, from wasted time to wasted capitol. 

[18:07] The third book is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, which came out in 1937. Napoleon interviewed successful people to uncover key strategies and came up with seventeen common traits. He coined the term “mastermind,” which he used to describe getting a group of like-minded individuals together to share ideas. 

[22:19] The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is Marc’s fourth book. The book is a classic for a reason; some of Marc’s favorite ideas from the book are “begin with the end in mind” and the Eisenhower Matrix. 

[27:00] Marc’s next two books are Traction by Gino Wickman and Scaling Up by Verne Harnish. The books share similarities, and both are operating systems to run your business. Gino Wickman conceptualized his Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) in Traction. 

[33:22] Marc’s next book is E Myth Mastery by Michael A. Gerber. Marc had always conflated marketing and intake, or sales and marketing. However, E Myth Mastery separates them in a clear way and explains why they have to be handled differently.

[37:00] Marc recently covered his next book, The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling, in a Successful Barrister episode. The book explores the idea that great ideas do not count if you cannot execute them, and the idea of the “whirlwind.” 

[38:55] Marc’s final book before the break is You Can’t Teach Hungry by John Morgan. Morgan talks about building a client-centered practice, which is key to success in a client-centered industry. 

[44:25] Marc’s next four books cover his “four pillars” of running a successful firm, and are all by Mark Powers and Shawn McNalis for Atticus. They are Time Management for Attorneys, Cashflow & Productivity, Hire Slow, Fire Fast, and How Good Attorneys Become Great Rainmakers. There are lots of time management books out there, but Time Management for Attorneys focuses specifically on lawyers.

[51:52] Hire Slow, Fire Fast introduces the concept of thinking of your teams as profit centers and investments rather than expenses, specifically by using the 3:1 concept.

Visit the Successful Barrister website: https://www.successfulbarrister.com/ 

Visit the Marc Whitehead & Associates website: https://disabilitydenials.com/ 

Email Marc Whitehead for his full list of favorite books: marc@marcwhitehead.com