Ted Theodoropoulos

CEO of Infodash

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

Different niche, same principles: what sales leadership taught me about legal innovation content.

Spent the weekend at my EO forum retreat in Scottsdale.

I got to hangout with @thescottleese over dinner and drinks.

130K+ followers on LinkedIn.

Hundreds of podcast episodes.

A thought leadership platform I admire.

What I didn't expect was how generous he'd be with the playbook.

Over dinner and drinks we got into what it actually takes to execute a thought leadership strategy at scale.

The discipline. The consistency. The willingness to keep showing up when the algorithm doesn't reward you.

A few things stuck with me.

Reach follows reps, not hacks.

Your podcast is your relationship engine.

Trust compounds. You can't shortcut it.

I've built my audience around legal innovation. Scott built his around sales leadership.

Different niches, same principles.

I left with a notebook full of ideas I'm already working into my own approach.

If you're not following Scott Leese yet, fix that.

He's the real deal.

Grateful for the conversation, Scott. Looking forward to the next one.

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

Gen AI is 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 ��𝗮𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 and not all firms are poised to make the leap.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁 for traditional legal services 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 as we speak.

The current law firm business model was as solid as bedrock 3 years ago but that's no longer the case.

This isn't a Chicken Little moment because 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 to capitalize on the transformation.

There is 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀.

𝗦𝗼����𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 necessary fast enough and lose market share to those who do.

There are fundamentals in the legal industry that create innovation headwinds:
• 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 slows rates of change
• 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 of lawyers inhibits long-term investment
• 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 make the status quo sticky
• 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 and 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻𝘀 impair capital expenditures
• 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 aren't keeping pace w/change (roughly half offer AI classes)
• 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 sufficiently can be a struggle
• 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 can create friction towards fundamental change
• 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘃���𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 ranks of many firms limits OOB thinking

So, is the law firm world doomed?

No...but 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 associated with this transformation.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲��𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗻 market share and those who don't will lose it.

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 but almost 𝟱𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟲𝟭-𝟳𝟵 and are 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝘃𝘆.

The AI transformation in legal 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.

It requires a 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 of the firm.

That means the shift needs to be 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 of the organization.

Standing up a steer co or 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵.

Shifts this foundational have to be 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 in the org.

Changes will need to be made to 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴, the 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 model, the 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺��𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 model, the 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 model, the 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 strategy of the firm, etc.

Only the 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 have the 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 to 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 in fundamental ways.

As you can see from the McKinsey & Company chart below, 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 and are the most motivated to deploy it.

𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 to have 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 throughout this transformation to maximize success.

According to legal industry data provider Leopard Solutions, 40% of law firm CEOs and chairs are estimated to be 61 to 70 years old and 8% are 71 to 79 years of age.

That's almost 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 with the technology that's responsible for what might be the most significant transformation the industry has ever seen.

We need to 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 to help us navigate this journey.

𝗧𝗵�� 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁!

[Maria Chappelle-Nadal🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺 @HoundingClayton]

On a fact finding mission. Upon entering House of Pain, my temperature was taken. Answered several questions (like the Capitol). Wore 2 face masks. Wore gloves. Brought homemade sanitizing elixir & clothe for disinfecting equipment before & after use. Nice staff at House of Pain.

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

@repdottieb4mo I want to thank you for supporting House of Pain. I own 3 gyms in St Louis and employ 65 people and this closure is killing us. I stay in touch with other gym owners and several won't be able to reopen...ever. Thank you!

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

@carsoneisenhart Then stay home

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

@DrSamPage Based on what model? IHME has us peaking 3 days ago. According to DHSS we have 748 ICU beds. How many are full right now? We need transparency about what data/models are being used to make decisions!

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

@ChiefTimFitch @Eric_Schmitt @GovParsonMO The solution MUST strike the balance between minimizing the public health AND economic crisis. We can't afford to stay closed indefinitely. We must reopen in early May 4th or we risk an economic crisis we don't have the resources to fix #reopenmissouri

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

@DrSamPage As a business owner with 65 employees to care for I'm telling you that this is unacceptable. The solution MUST strike the balance between avoiding a public health AND economic catastrophe. At least half don't present symptoms. This thing is likely everywhere already. #reopenMO

[Tim Fitch 🇺🇲 @ChiefTimFitch]

Regarding the newest stay-at-home extension: Let's consider our options: During Ferguson, Gov. Nixon issued an Executive Order removing St. Louis County from command. Can Gov. Parson issue a similar EO overriding the County Executive's Order? @Eric_Schmitt @GovParsonMO

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

@nest Is it possible to get an update on seeing the humidity history for a Nest thermostat? The feature was requested as far back as 2016 at least. Thanks!

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

Fish & Richardson Receives ILTA’s 2016 “Innovative Project of the Year” Award | Fish https://t.co/n2A0ln4BZA

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

Embracing Change at ILTACON, and Everywhere. https://t.co/Er1E8oyPCN

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

An early release of SPFx is now available... https://t.co/0JqgUGre1X

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

I'll be presenting with Brian Gough tomorrow at 12-1PM EST. Register, attend and ask lots of questions! https://t.co/go6IfB60GH

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

“Siri, Can you please introduce Microsoft?” https://t.co/oQTNLOAp6g

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

Webinar: 10 Tips for a Healthy SharePoint Environment https://t.co/URB2UOasFw

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

Why IT can’t handle data breaches alone https://t.co/dAf6PGlGxJ

[Ted Theodoropoulos @tedtheo]

SharePoint Meets Office 365 https://t.co/Tp46zoBDqO