I have been training our 6-month-old Siberian kitten. I had no idea you could train a cat, but it is amazing what you can do with patience – and treats! For example, he lives indoors but has learnt to wear a harness so he can go outside in the garden on an extending lead. He loves climbing trees, a characteristic of his breed, but coming down can be rather haphazard and sometimes involve a bit of a leap of faith. Hence the photo which my son created with some help from ChatGPT, which I must say is excellent at “creatively” editing photos. This week I used this image in a presentation I was privileged to make in London to the LILAC lawyers which is a supportive community designed for in-house legal advisers working in the life sciences sector. It was created by the law firm VWV and various in-house lawyers and encourages a community with common interests. I can really relate to this with my long time involvement with the SCLwhich “works to promote ideals of best practice, thought leadership, and the fostering of a global tech law community”. My topic was the relationship between in-house counsel and private practice lawyers and how this can be improved. It consisted of a talk followed by leading an interactive discussion. The session went well and I received positive feedback.
However, on the train home I kept thinking how I had missed a couple of cues for questions I asked around various slides. I had notes in PowerPoint but was moving around the room and could not see these. Anway they were in very small print which I discovered PowerPoint won’t let you enlarge. Then I realised I was falling into a typical trap common to professionals. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, I should have been thinking more about, and learned from, why the session went so well. Then I came up with the following positive lessons I can take forward to future sessions, which may also help other presenters.
1 Practice. Rehearsed and improved presentation (even though my only audience was the cat!)
2 Subject Matter. Ideas already formed and set out in an article - International In-House Counsel Magazine Herding Cats – Engaging External Counsel.
3 Research. Read up on LILAC and VWV and researched attendee profiles.
4 Plan for the Day. Organisers clearly conveyed needs for a structured interactive session which I followed.
5 Early Bird. Arrived early and made last minute changes in Starbucks to make the start (which is when you engage or lose your audience) more impactful.
6 Technology. Set up laptop with IT function before the session – backup slides sent by email.
I am not by the way writing this to extol my virtues or otherwise as a presenter, but rather to make the point about the benefits as professional practitioners of learning from the positives as opposed to dwelling on the negatives. AI suggests “Learning from positives rather than negatives involves consciously shifting focus toward strengths, successes, and desired outcomes, rather than dwelling on mistakes or failures. This approach, often rooted in Positive Psychology, leverages the brain's ability to rewire itself through deliberate focus.” See this blog about Positive v Negative Thinking which discusses how being positive affects how our brain works – “when we think positively, we feel good about situations, life and ourselves, this in turn allows our bodies to release hormones like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins.”
I also like this blog Why a Positive Attitude Is Your Secret Weapon at Work which comments “Research shows that people with a positive mental outlook enjoy better physical health, improved mental wellbeing, and tend to live longer . The University of Pennsylvania tracked 350,000 people over 22 years and found that top performers kept their focus on goals and ways to achieve them.” It makes the good point that if you are positive then challenges are seen as opportunities and also “creates a ripple effect that changes entire organizations”. A number of “micro-actions” to achieve this are set out including:
This all seems to be rooted in the concept of “positive psychology`’ which once again AI suggests is “the scientific study and application of strengths, positive emotions, and resilience to help employees flourish.” See this article from the Harvard Medical School which observes “The history of positive psychology reveals that though ancient philosophers promoted different pathways to happiness, they believed it begins with knowing your true self, and acting in accordance with your virtues.” and “A more modern definition of positive psychology disavows the fleeting pleasures of materialism and "winning," to focus on the act of cultivating satisfaction and contentment.”
I think this challenge is particularly relevant to my own profession as a lawyer where we are sometimes known as professional paid pessimists! We have to be seen to be in control and very serious minded to do our jobs. When reviewing and negotiating say an IT outsourcing contract we focus on looking for risks and what can go wrong, instead of how we can formulate an agreement to foster and encourage a successful delivery of the required service. I firmly believe that lawyers and other professionals can make this more advanced contribution and not just cross the i’s and dot the t’s. We should be positive and “learn to fly” not staying down in the weeds.
And more generally outside of the workplace here is a fascinating YouTube video on an 85-year Harvard Study of Adult Development which found that positive relationships are the most important factor in maintaining long-term physical and mental health, often surpassing IQ, wealth, or social class in predicting life satisfaction.
Abraham Lincoln advised “Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.”
While Theodore Roosevelt said “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
And Barack Obama put it very simply: “Yes We Can”.
However, on the train home I kept thinking how I had missed a couple of cues for questions I asked around various slides. I had notes in PowerPoint but was moving around the room and could not see these. Anway they were in very small print which I discovered PowerPoint won’t let you enlarge. Then I realised I was falling into a typical trap common to professionals. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, I should have been thinking more about, and learned from, why the session went so well. Then I came up with the following positive lessons I can take forward to future sessions, which may also help other presenters.
1 Practice. Rehearsed and improved presentation (even though my only audience was the cat!)
2 Subject Matter. Ideas already formed and set out in an article - International In-House Counsel Magazine Herding Cats – Engaging External Counsel.
3 Research. Read up on LILAC and VWV and researched attendee profiles.
4 Plan for the Day. Organisers clearly conveyed needs for a structured interactive session which I followed.
5 Early Bird. Arrived early and made last minute changes in Starbucks to make the start (which is when you engage or lose your audience) more impactful.
6 Technology. Set up laptop with IT function before the session – backup slides sent by email.
I am not by the way writing this to extol my virtues or otherwise as a presenter, but rather to make the point about the benefits as professional practitioners of learning from the positives as opposed to dwelling on the negatives. AI suggests “Learning from positives rather than negatives involves consciously shifting focus toward strengths, successes, and desired outcomes, rather than dwelling on mistakes or failures. This approach, often rooted in Positive Psychology, leverages the brain's ability to rewire itself through deliberate focus.” See this blog about Positive v Negative Thinking which discusses how being positive affects how our brain works – “when we think positively, we feel good about situations, life and ourselves, this in turn allows our bodies to release hormones like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins.”
I also like this blog Why a Positive Attitude Is Your Secret Weapon at Work which comments “Research shows that people with a positive mental outlook enjoy better physical health, improved mental wellbeing, and tend to live longer . The University of Pennsylvania tracked 350,000 people over 22 years and found that top performers kept their focus on goals and ways to achieve them.” It makes the good point that if you are positive then challenges are seen as opportunities and also “creates a ripple effect that changes entire organizations”. A number of “micro-actions” to achieve this are set out including:
- Avoid gossip and workplace negativity. Gossip creates toxic environments, reduces employee engagement, and breeds conflict.
- Set small, achievable goals. Large projects become manageable when broken into smaller chunks that give you regular wins.
- Celebrate others' wins. Team collaboration and creativity thrive when you recognize your colleagues' achievements
This all seems to be rooted in the concept of “positive psychology`’ which once again AI suggests is “the scientific study and application of strengths, positive emotions, and resilience to help employees flourish.” See this article from the Harvard Medical School which observes “The history of positive psychology reveals that though ancient philosophers promoted different pathways to happiness, they believed it begins with knowing your true self, and acting in accordance with your virtues.” and “A more modern definition of positive psychology disavows the fleeting pleasures of materialism and "winning," to focus on the act of cultivating satisfaction and contentment.”
I think this challenge is particularly relevant to my own profession as a lawyer where we are sometimes known as professional paid pessimists! We have to be seen to be in control and very serious minded to do our jobs. When reviewing and negotiating say an IT outsourcing contract we focus on looking for risks and what can go wrong, instead of how we can formulate an agreement to foster and encourage a successful delivery of the required service. I firmly believe that lawyers and other professionals can make this more advanced contribution and not just cross the i’s and dot the t’s. We should be positive and “learn to fly” not staying down in the weeds.
And more generally outside of the workplace here is a fascinating YouTube video on an 85-year Harvard Study of Adult Development which found that positive relationships are the most important factor in maintaining long-term physical and mental health, often surpassing IQ, wealth, or social class in predicting life satisfaction.
Abraham Lincoln advised “Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.”
While Theodore Roosevelt said “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
And Barack Obama put it very simply: “Yes We Can”.
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