President's Page, 0921 ALBJ, Vol. 82 No. 5 Pg. 308 (September, 2021)

AuthorTazewell T. Shepard, III
PositionVol. 82 5 Pg. 308

PRESIDENT'S PAGE

Vol. 82 No. 5 Pg. 308

Alabama Bar Lawyer

September, 2021

Tazewell T. Shepard, III

I am honored to serve as the 2021-2022 president of your alabama State bar.

With this first column, I will focus on why the state bar exists (or rather why it should exist), and how assembling the right team will make this a very successful bar year.

During my year as president-elect, I had a lot of time to think about the core mission and goals of the state bar. My favorite author/lecturer on this subject is Simon Sinek, who devised the concept of the Golden Circle and the search for Why. I recommend that you take the time to watch his "How Great Leaders Inspire Action"on Ted Talks. You can find it at the TED Talks website, and it is free.

To understand Sinek's Golden Circle concept, visualize three concentric rings. The inner ring contains the word WHY, the next ring contains the word HOW, and the outside ring has the word WHAT.

Sinek points out that most profit and non-profit companies start with the outside ring, focusing on what they do and how they do it, but only a few begin with the innermost ring of why they do what they do. This is an important distinction because the companies that figure out why they do what they do are able to inspire their employees and their stakeholders to join them in pursuing their core mission and goals.

One of the examples that Sinek provides is the battle for the PC market between Apple and IBM. IBM had vastly more resources than Apple. However, Apple was able to position itself as a cool outsider with high standards of design and customer convenience, which happened to make personal computers. This led Apple to success not only with PCs but also iPhones, iPads, and related personal devices, whereas IBM eventually dropped out of the PC market and sold its PC division to Lenovo in 2005.

Applying Sinek's Golden Circle analysis to the Alabama State Bar can be more complex than one might assume. Is it to license lawyers in the state? No, that is only part of what and how. Is it to conduct the bar exam? Again, that is part of what and how.

I invite you to send me an email with your thoughts on what the core mission and goals of the state bar should be. But be advised-l am looking for someone who wants to do much more than just burnish their resume. I am looking for someone committed enough to finish a project on the weekend and who will volunteer to give time...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT