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25 November 2010 / Joe Reevy
Issue: 7443 / Categories: Features , Profession , Marketing
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Challenge Churchill

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What would Churchill do to meet the threat of a new wave of law firms, asks Joe Reevy

Recently, the BBC journalists went on strike and the Today programme on Radio 4 was largely replaced with “filler” material. One of these was Lord Digby-Jones’ appraisal of the life of Churchill, whom he described as probably the greatest Englishman of all time. What struck me about the narrative was that it concentrated on the fact that Churchill wasn’t over-bright, wasn’t a visionary, made many mistakes and so on…but he was undoubtedly an extremely effective and able leader and absolutely the sort of person you need calling the shots when things are at their gloomiest, as they are now.

His career was also made by taking a view which was flatly contrary to the received wisdom of the day.

Valuing your people

  • was thinking about how if you were to look at him from the perspective that many law firms take to their people, ie valuing being error-free, bright and forward-thinking), then you wouldn’t have Churchill
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