BOUNCE BACK FROM ADVERSITY

Today marks the third anniversary of the collapse of Heenan Blaikie, in its day, one of Canada’s prominent law firms. I grew up in the firm from student, to lawyer, to partner, to leader. Perhaps to a Millennial this might seem outdated - that anyone would spend their entire adult life in one job. Except that wasn’t really the case. Over the course of 35 years I had the opportunity to pursue all kinds of different dreams and opportunities.

I began as a ‘wet behind the ears’ student who knew nothing but some law school theory and absorbed as much as I could about how to practice law. It really had no connection with what I studied in law school. Learning how to be a professional was not always easy. Long hours, having to answer to others, occasional periods of drudgery. There were days I thought I wanted to quit or to try something else: I decided to stick with it. Over time I learned the art of managing clients, again a far more important skill than mastery of the law. I discovered that to succeed as a professional you need to learn how to sell and occasionally you need to play the role of an actor.

 I moved from Montreal with a young family and opened a small office in Toronto. There I had to handle the issues of running a small business. Imagine my angst the first time I had to fire someone. I was barely 33 years old at the time. Eventually I took on the role of national managing partner and had to master the skills of listening to people. I also had to learn how to lead - which is really a series of skills. It was on the job training and  I learned most of my lessons the hard way:  from success and often from failure. I had many mentors along the way, though many had no idea they were teaching me, as I observed their behavior.

Two years ago, long after Heenan Blaikie had disappeared from the landscape, I decided to capture the many things I learned along the way.  Today “Breakdown” is being released in bookstores across Canada and online. It's not just a story of failure and collapse, though that is how the story must end.  It’s a three-part case study and some of its lessons are timeless. For students considering a career in a professional organization, it tells the story of how to grow, the choices you need to make, how to survive the mistakes, and how to position yourself for success. I examine the importance of adhering to values in building a business. Finally, it’s a business study in leadership, filled with great success and crushing loss.

When I was an aspiring student and lawyer there were plenty of texts and lessons about the law and about how to behave ethically and professionally. There was virtually no case study  about how to build a career. Until now, there still hasn’t been. Many have written about the theory. No one has shared their life experience.  Breakdown takes a look over my shoulder at what was going on at Heenan Blaikie through my eyes from the day I joined to the very end. It’s filled with real people, aspirations and visions of a future, and a philosophy about carrying on business that worked exceedingly well for so many years.

What this story might mean for you as a student or young lawyer, or as an aspiring leader, I leave to you to discover. There is no other story like it in the market. Many people have asked me over the past year what the single most important lesson is in the book. What was the key reason that Heenan Blaikie failed so dramatically? The first thing I tell them is to read the book. Hopefully you will get as much out of reading it as I got in writing it! The book marks one more step in my own bounce back.

Go to www.Normanbacal.com to see the reviews and how to order your copy; or get it in person or online at Indigo or Amazon.