Reinventing Professional Services by Ari Kaplan

Reinventing Digital Marketing in Australia

Ari Kaplan — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:27:54 +0000

I had the chance to participate in the Law Firm Marketing Masters series and on a recent visit to New York City, I met with its creator, Dan Toombs, the founder of Grow Your Firm, an Australian web marketing company that assists professional services firms with enhancing their digital presence. We discussed the state of the Australian market and the benefits of leveraging Vizibility, among other topics. Watch our interview below:

A New Era in Raising Capital – Kickstarting with Kickstarter

Ari Kaplan — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:20:44 +0000

I have been reading various reports about the makers of the Pebble watch shattering fundraising records on Kickstarter (including this recent article from CNNMoney). At the time of this posting, Pebble had secured $8,892,610 from 59,100 backers (over $5 million more than the prior record holder, Double Fine Productions). Then I saw this discussion of 8 Tips for Raising Money Through Kickstarter and wanted to share its tips:

Set your goal lower than you think you need
Have a record of accomplishments
Look at successful and unsuccessful campaigns
Give good rewards
Make a short, well-produced video (I have included Pebble’s video below)
Offer updates (I have also included the update video from Tim Schafer, the founder of Double Fine)
Thank contributors as they donate
Promote your project everywhere

To study Pebble’s (record-breaking) stats or to pre-order a watch, visit it’s Kickstarter page here.

3-D Printers and Reinventing the Production Cycle

Ari Kaplan — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:30:54 +0000

I read this article in Fast Company about Brooklyn-based MakerBot Industries with great interest (not just because I am from Sheepshead Bay), as the idea of publicly available 3-D printers (albeit at a price of $1,749 each) captures the very essence of reinvention. The ability to create prototypes and small-scale models has the potential to launch an entire generation of visionaries. The article by Rob Walker details the company’s rise, profiles its founder, Bre Pettis, and offers this glimpse into how the printers work.

Advocating for Avvocating

Ari Kaplan — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:10:27 +0000

I will be speaking at the Avvocating Conference in Seattle on May 4th and had the chance to speak with Avvo‘s CEO and Founder, Mark Britton. We discussed the genesis of the event and what attendees can expect. Listen to our interview below:

Reinventing the Job Interview

Ari Kaplan — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:05:24 +0000

I had a chance to interview Todd Moster, the director of recruitment & placement for Moster Legal Placement in Beverly Hills, about his new book, The Underground Guide to Job Interviewing (CreateSpace, 2011), which he describes as “entertaining and funny as a teaching device to keep the reader’s attention.” He notes that “there is no silver bullet; the main rule is preparation in job interviews.” His tips include:

Think about whether you want to make a job move and if it is appropriate.
Find out as much information as possible about the position, e.g., day-to-day responsibilities, what happened to the last person in the role, and the reporting structure, among other elements.
Practice articulating highlights of your experience in a way that should be clear to the interviewer.
Think about questions to ask; not having questions could be fatal. That is a one-way ticket down the elevator shaft without an elevator.
Know the questions you should not ask, including what the position pays or the amount of training involved.

Listen to our interview below:

The Art of Wasting Time

Ari Kaplan — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:26:08 +0000

Interesting infographic from the team at OnlineCollegeCourses.com about who wastes the most time, how they do it, and why.

Brought to you by: Online Courses Resource

Lessons From Three Decades in One Profession

Ari Kaplan — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:03:02 +0000

I recently read “10 Lessons From 30 Years in the Law” by Mike Maslanka, the managing partner for the Dallas office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith and the author of Work Matters, a popular blog focused on labor and employment issues. Mike happens to be a lawyer, but his advice is just as relevant for accountants, architects, financial planners, and any other individuals who provide professional services. His ten lessons include:

Get the Facts
Stay in the Moment
Show, Don’t Tell
The Law is a Grind
Express Gratitude
Trust Actions
Hierarchy Kills
Do Not Fight the Frame
Be Gracious
Recognize the Limits of Control

You can read his full discussion in the Texas Lawyer here.

Reinventing Litigation

Ari Kaplan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:13:02 +0000

I spoke with Charlie Gollow, an investment manager with IMF Australia, a publicly traded Australian company that finances legal claims in excess of AUD $5 million, which recently launched a wholly-owned subsidiary, Bentham Capital, in New York City to fund large-scale cases in the U.S. We discussed IMF, its goals for 2012, the state of the litigation funding market, and the advantages/disadvantages of enlisting a financial partner of this type. Listen to our interview below:

Certified E-Discovery Specialists and the 2012 ACEDS Conference

Ari Kaplan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:05:31 +0000

I spoke today with Robert Hilson, the editorial director for the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, which is hosting its 2012 Annual Conference next week (April 2-4) at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida. We discussed the organization’s growth, its impact on the legal community, and his expectations for the upcoming event. Listen to our interview below:

mHealth – Reinventing Health Care

Ari Kaplan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:13:01 +0000

When I wrote Reinventing Professional Services, I spotlighted changes in many different fields, including medicine. I spoke with visionary leaders like Bryan Vartabedian, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine, who writes and speaks about the convergence of social media and medicine, and practitioners. I also profiled transformations in teleradiology and sleep medicine, as well as the promise of pharmaceutical vending machines and obtaining an online diagnosis, among others.

Adam Bluestein takes a comprehensive look at how mobile health care is revolutionizing the practice of medicine in Fast Company’s February issue: As Smartphones Get Smarter, You May Get Healthier: How mHealth Can Bring Cheaper Health Care To All, which includes this great infographic.