One of the most valuable things I’ve been involved in during my career is a group called Vistage –an executive peer advisory group whose members meet monthly to work on their collective businesses and leadership approaches. A large part of the value of the group involves processing issues with executives from different industries. Hearing the perspectives of a number of people smarter than I am, all gathered in a room with diverse backgrounds, is powerful. I always pick up something that I can take away from each session that I hadn’t thought of before – if not several things. But one thing strikes me over and over. As business leaders, we all think our problems are unique. We have a problem with Employee A, or we are trying to scale a business, down-size, find great talent, become more profitable, etc. Whatever issue we’re facing, we feel like it’s unique when we’re in it, and we feel like it has some “twist” that makes it different than other things we’ve heard of or experienced. It’s as if others won’t understand or can’t relate because they happen to be in a different industry or because they are part of a smaller or larger company than ours. For me personally, I am always in awe of large, institutional type companies for some reason - the ones that seem “too big to fail,” and look like they have their “stuff” together. But as I’ve learned over and over in Vistage, the truth is that no one has it all together. It is oddly refreshing to me that we are all struggling with the same issues at one time or another. I’ve yet to hear of a problem that is completely unique. And the good news is that, because that’s the case, there is so much collective knowledge amongst your peers from other companies. For example, the biggest companies may learn how to be more innovative and nimble from its smaller company counterparts, and a smaller company may pick up some great processes and best practices from a larger, more established company.

Regardless of the situation or the issue, I can guarantee that someone else has been there before – there is no uncharted territory when it comes to business issues. So take a deep breath and tap into your resources for some help when you need it.

The Culture Counts blog is a discussion of law firm culture and legal innovation, including topics such as effective leadership, employee engagement, workplace culture, ideal work environment, company core values, and workplace productivity.  

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Klemchuk LLP is a litigation, intellectual property, transactional, and international business law firm dedicated to protecting innovation. The firm provides tailored legal solutions to industries including software, technology, retail, real estate, consumer goods, ecommerce, telecommunications, restaurant, energy, media, and professional services. The firm focuses on serving mid-market companies seeking long-term, value-added relationships with a law firm. Learn more about experiencing law practiced differently and our local counsel practice.

The firm publishes Intellectual Property Trends (latest developments in IP law), Conversations with Innovators (interviews with thought leaders), Leaders in Law (insights from law leaders), Culture Counts (thoughts on law firm culture and business), and Legal Insights (in-depth analysis of IP, litigation, and transactional law).

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