Strategy isn’t always what’s in the playbook.
Sometimes, it’s what you notice on a Tuesday morning when things feel just a little… off. These are short takes on the patterns, problems, and moments that shape good leadership.
A partner discovers the other has a competing side business. Undeclared conflicts and blurred duty of loyalty.
How to deal with the issues without resorting to litigation - Implement a written related-party and outside-interests register, reviewed quarterly.
Every firm has a reactor in the room. One angry email. One upset client. By 8.15am the partner meeting has been hijacked. Hiring, pricing, succession – all pushed to “next week” so everyone can “fix this now”. That pattern is Emotional Governance. The most reactive person in the room sets the agenda. Incidents drive structure, margin, and staffing decisions. When you separate incident response from governance, decisions move from mood to sequence. You get fewer reversals, clearer promises to clients, and staff who trust the run-sheet.
Senior staff have been “promised” equity for years.
The cap table for a sale or merger appears. Their names are missing.
This week’s Unhappy Mondays looks at Implied Ownership (unfunded promises that turn high performers into claimants) and the simple audit to clean them up before a deal.
When CC Means Conflict
In this piece, I unpack how routine emails between business partners quietly turn into legal battlegrounds; long before a dispute is formally declared. It’s not about poor communication. It’s about communication weaponised. If your inbox feels more like a litigation file than a leadership tool, this one’s worth a read.
Every firm or business has that director who replies “approve” from their phone and calls it governance. Their name carries legal risk and comfort for banks and buyers, but they no longer act as a live director.
This issue of The K Advisory Notes maps the silent partner pattern and sets out an Assess → Align → Act checklist for repairing it.
Absence of defined authority creates emotional waste. It turns competent people into interpreters of mood. Partners start measuring influence instead of outcomes. Staff hide behind “waiting for approval.” The business slows without noticing.
Every partnership reaches a moment of quiet strain. This white paper examines why professional service firms often miss early warnings, how the cost of waiting compounds, and what practical interventions — like The Fix and The Second Brain™ — can restore clarity, confidence, and calm profitability before the lawyers ever need to step in.
Every partnership ends. Only timing is negotiable. When leaders postpone that conversation, value bleeds quietly—through stalled decisions, rising staff attrition, and reputational fatigue. By the time lawyers are called, half the damage is already sunk cost.
Most succession conversations stall because they try to solve everything at once. The result? Paralysis disguised as planning. This article shows you how to cut through the fog in 90 minutes by mapping the actual territory before you build the plan. No false promises of clarity. Just a method for converting open-ended anxiety into classified constraint.
Strategic advisory structuring in pre-sale environments. When governance meets commercial reality.
Strategic structuring of partnership transitions and equity restructures. When ownership meets operational reality.
Why do promising deals stall?
Not because of complexity but because no one holds the centre. In this piece, Kyle Kimball outlines the quiet mechanics of drift, why momentum fades, and how clarity, not pressure, brings deals to completion.
Most shareholder exits stall because the people can't agree on what the numbers mean, not because the numbers don't work. This article breaks down a four-step alignment play that turns deadlock into decision. It covers how to establish real constraints, separate positions from interests, design a trusted decision process, and test agreements before they're formalised.
This study examines how top-performing law firms achieve up to 40% higher profits per partner through enhanced operational efficiency. It highlights the pivotal role of technology-driven automation, strategic resource allocation, and innovative financial models. By adopting cloud-based practice management, data analytics, and alternative fee arrangements, firms streamline processes, reduce costs, and boost productivity. The findings underscore that even small efficiency improvements can yield substantial financial gains, offering actionable insights for firms aiming to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
Despite the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise legal practice, a recent Harvard study reveals significant challenges in adoption. Over 65% of legal professionals report struggles with effective implementation, citing barriers like security concerns, technical complexities, and cultural resistance.
This article delves into the current state of AI adoption in law firms, presenting key findings from the Harvard study, including adoption rates, practice areas leading the charge, and persistent challenges. It explores the organisational, technical, and ethical hurdles law firms face, while offering practical strategies for successful AI integration. From governance policies to training frameworks and measurable success metrics, this comprehensive analysis equips legal professionals to navigate the complexities of AI adoption while maintaining the profession's ethical and client-focused standards.
Navigating the complexities of ownership transition can be a daunting endeavor for any business owner. At K Advisory, we specialize in facilitating smooth transitions by providing tailored solutions that address the unique challenges each business faces. Our expertise in mediation, strategic advice, and negotiation equips us to guide you through the intricacies of ownership transfer, ensuring that all parties involved are aligned and informed. In this blog post, we will explore key considerations for successful business negotiations during the ownership transfer process, empowering you to make confident decisions that pave the way for a prosperous future.
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