Friday Cocktail Leadership

Welcome to the next Friday Cocktail Leadership posting, where Janders Dean scribbles about our week, rather than giving you tips, hints and information on leadership within KM and IT practices across the law firm world....phew...

Today we congratulate the beautiful Cat Wirth, Marketing Director from Blake Dawson Waldron (soon to be Blake Dawson) and all the Kokoda Chicks for completing the trek to Kokoda and raising huge funds for Australian breast cancer charities. The group reached their target destination this Tuesday night and spent the evening in the village before preparing to fly back to Australia later this week. For those of you who still wish to congratulate cat – say it with cash, and contribute to the fund raising here.

We’ve been very busy here as usual, but we’ve not forgotten to have fun and celebrate. We’re all off to Derby Day in Melbourne next week to do just that, and then London to celebrate our latest project win and host a Friday Cocktail Leadership event with our new friends (oh…and finally finish our London office planning).

For Cocktails this week we like anything Parisian.

Our thought leadership this week extends to the new scientific fact that one of the only single pieces of music where it is clinically proven (and not in the same clinic where they prove that jojoba extract strengthens your hair) that you cannot get stressed if you listen to it is Pachelbel's Canon in D. We took time this week to take a fresh listen to this and must indeed agree. We also took the time to find one person on the globe (as there always is) who bucks the trend.

Thanks to those who crowded in for the first Janders Dean KM Leadership Roundtable this morning - Australia's senior Knowledge Management thought leaders representing firms such as Freehills, Blake Dawson Waldron, Gilbert+Tobin, Baker McKenzie, DLA Phillips Fox, Minter Ellison, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Clayton Utz, Ebsworth & Ebsworth and Sparke Helmore gathered for breakfast and an open discussion on the issues around Enterprise Search and how/if there is a current problem within knowledge management working practices in this country that such a product and subsequent investment can address.

A shout out to our new pals at Deacons, to Jason Newman of TressCox (Captain Smash Sparrow) for the Derby Day treasure hunt, David at Suncorp, and to our new friend Kate from Headshift as she prepares to welcome her own Kate2.0. There is one last person who needs a special mention, and without her we could not have survived this week – she is the maker of muffins, the bringer of coffee, the giver of spontaneous hugs (and left overs) when she thinks we look stressed. Varvara rocks our world!!

We also say a great big Janders Dean “how you do’n” to the CC&T Practice Group at Gilbert+Tobin who invited us to share their Thursday evening this week – if you are reading this CC&T members, then funky Jamiroquai hats off to you for joining the revolution. Remember, as your very own leader told me this week, “in any revolution you have to eventually choose a side and pick up a gun”. We’re glad that you chose our side, but we would rather you pick up a flower or maybe some litter instead (sorry Peter). Wiki wiki wiki ning ning ning…. wiki wiki....

Those in the know keep a regular eye on our email disclaimers – and to those of you who asked about our current buns this week ,you can be safe in the knowledge that they are hard as steel, and reserved for the middle of the matrix.

Have wonderful weekends friends, and please do us one small favour over the coming days – spontaneously compliment someone for something. It makes them (and you) feel wonderful, and is not done nearly enough. Try it, you’ll see what we mean…..by the way, you look awesome in that outfit. Is it new?