Sam Mazzeo of Better apc On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Uncertain & Turbulent Times
Stay calm and collected. I launched my law firm on March 1, 2020, and then the global pandemic hit. I spent some time freaking out and worrying about what it meant for my new law firm, but I expressed my confidence and that our plans and processes were sound when working with my team. Providing that calming presence helped them stay calm and staying calm allowed us to be a resource for our clients during a very hard time.
As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Mazzeo.
Sam Mazzeo, Managing Attorney, Better apc, Most people like to think of Sam as an approachable renaissance man. Here are some things he can help you better understand: trademark, business formation & securities, contracts, Halloween party planning, how to do a standing backflip, and the proper pronunciation of the word “GIF.” When Sam isn’t providing legal advice and empowering his clients, he’s either outdoors adventuring or working on local policy and social justice initiatives, often through his volunteer positions with Business For Good San Diego. Sam also serves on several Boards of Directors, including A Reason to Survive (ARTS), Space4Art, and TEDxSanDiego. He leads with both heart and smarts.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Some places and some spaces aren’t meant for everyone. In one of the early years of my first law firm, I scheduled a meeting with a potential client at a university club in my city and when I arrived, I was refused entry…due to wearing shorts. If you’re reading this article and confused about me wearing shorts, my law firm is not your conventional law firm and we prioritize comfort, ease, and relatability, so suits aren’t in our regular rotation. Thankfully, the client thought it was funny and we both agreed that such a stuffy place wasn’t a great location of our meeting anyway and they ultimately became a client simply because we connected over this space that was exclusive, when we’re all about being inclusive.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My mom helped me both at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey and along the way. The remarkable aspect of this, since a parent helping is not super profound, is that my mom helped me while she was being laid off of her 30+ year career, while she was going through managing her multiple sclerosis, while she was undergoing a preventative double mastectomy, and while she was dealing with a divorce. She gave me a loan to start my first law firm, despite all of the things she was going through and she has stood by me proud as can be since.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose-driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your organization started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
When we started Better, we wanted to be a force for local connection, community, and change. Starting Better in March 2020, however, made connecting with people and building community extremely challenging during the start of the covid-19 pandemic. As we settled into the new shelter in place world, we realized that our purpose, as a law firm, is to provide relief and clarity to our clients and our communities. When people come to us, they are scared, confused, and overwhelmed by what they need to do for their organization or their business — we’re here to clear the confusion up and take those stressors off their plate.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?
The practice of law, by definition, is all about uncertainties. This is especially true when you work with innovative companies and organizations that like to push the boundaries of the black and white law we have. Since we started Better, we’ve encountered a once in a lifetime pandemic, a once in a lifetime recession, and a once in a lifetime flood in San Diego. The most important thing that our team focuses on during these uncertain times is our wellbeing, because if we don’t fill our cup, we cannot be our best and serve our clients. It’s very easy to fall into a reactive pattern of responding to urgent requests, disasters, once in a lifetime this or that, but we can only do so if we’re taking care of ourselves first.
Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?
Before starting Better, I co-owned another law firm that ultimately dissolved due to partnership differences. Between closing that firm and starting Better, I absolutely thought about giving up on the practice of law entirely. The idea of selling my book of business and riding off into the sunset was very appealing. Then I attended a leadership retreat with the goal of deciding whether I would open another law firm and within one hour of being there, I decided that I would. I sustain my drive by helping others, solving their problems, and being an advocate for what I believe in. Having a law firm allows me to be all of these things and because helping people, solving problems, and being an advocate inspires me, it allows me to sustain myself and my drive during the harder and more uncertain times.
I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
Most recently I read Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara and the book quickly became a folded page, underlined and circled mess because of how much inspiration I took from it. While the book focuses on the restaurant industry, my law firm is a customer service business at the end of the day and the approaches and perspectives in Unreasonable Hospitality inspired a lot of change for my firm. From things like establishing non-negotiables for ourselves and our clients, to creating welcome kits we send to new clients, to revising our messaging to better cater to the clients we have.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?
Leading. A leader has a lot of roles and wears a lot of hates, but during challenging times the leader needs to be calm, collected, and focused on leading their team. This can take many shapes. A leader may need to be there for a team member, may need to let someone take some time off and fill in for them while they do, or a leader may need to provide critical feedback (privately) and redirect team members that are getting overwhelmed or distracted. Ultimately, a leader should be the person who keeps it together (at least outwardly) and leads my example during challenging times.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
I’ve found that the best thing a leader can do for their team is to lift them up whenever possible and ensure that they are taking care of themselves. A leader can lead by example, but they can also encourage their team to take a day off for self-care, they can recommend ways to take care of yourself, and help ensure that no one feels bad about taking some time from work to recharge and stay engaged. At the end of the day, work is going to be work, but we can shift our perspective on how we feel about our work and in turn, we can provide even better service by having a better outlook on the things that can get us down with work.
What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?
Clearly and quickly, with kindness and respect. If our firm has made an error or a situation doesn’t turn out the way we hope for a client, our practice is to notify them as soon as possible, be very clear about the situation, own any mistakes that we have made, and ask how we can make it right with the client (which is usually waiving any fees if we made a mistake). Clarity is kind and kindness is one of our non-negotiables.
How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?
I’m not a huge planner when it comes to my business, which might sound reckless or careless. What I am big on for my law firm is ensuring that we have systems in place and that we have non-negotiables in place that allow us to funnel each decision we make through, in order to ensure that we’re on the right path. If we do right by each other and if we do right by our clients, whatever the future holds, we’ll be well situated and proud of how we got there.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
It’s not the end of the world. It may feel like it is, but if your business suffers or even fails, you are still alive and (hopefully) healthy. Your value as a human being is much more than what you do with your business.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
This first one might be considered a hot take, but don’t take government loans and handouts during emergency periods. These loans and handouts almost always have strings attached and we’ve seen many businesses severely limited by the conditions on the funding received during the pandemic. Second, don’t get away from what you’ve done that made you successful just because things are hectic or uncertain — stick to what you did and keep doing it, the world will always be changing around us and will always be uncertain. Don’t assume things between your partners, your staff, and your customers — communicate communicate communicate!
Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.
Stay calm and collected. I launched my law firm on March 1, 2020, and then the global pandemic hit. I spent some time freaking out and worrying about what it meant for my new law firm, but I expressed my confidence and that our plans and processes were sound when working with my team. Providing that calming presence helped them stay calm and staying calm allowed us to be a resource for our clients during a very hard time.
Support your team in having boundaries and taking care of themselves. When emergencies and other uncertain times strike, clients typically need help ASAP and sometimes that will be at odds with our schedule or our personal lives. My team is very intentional about hearing our clients and being available for them, while also maintaining a schedule and personal life that hopefully prevents burnout. If we’re burnt out, we can’t help our clients.
Stick to the systems, values, and processes that got you where you are. We were fortunate in launching this firm that we spent many hours setting processes, systems, and an infrastructure to help us manage client requests and keep things running smoothly. Had we not had these in place, it could have been very chaotic with how many requests and urgent requests we received during that time.
Be generous. As a law firm, many of the requests we receive during uncertain times are for clients that are suffering significantly in some way due to the emergency or uncertainty. Recently we saw devastating flooding in San Diego and our clients needed immediate guidance on their leases and insurance coverage — we did not charge our clients for advising them during this emergency. This doesn’t help out bottom line (immediately), but it helps our community, and our community is who ultimately supports our business and our bottom line.
Contribute. If you’re physically, financially, or emotionally able to volunteer or otherwise help out during uncertain times, do it. Not only will you feel a sense of pride for doing so, you will be helping directly. People will remember those that helped and those that didn’t and we live in a world where people will make their business decisions based on who they want to support.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Their perception is our reality”
How can our readers further follow your work?
Better APC on YouTube
@inbetterwetrust on IG
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Sam Mazzeo of Better apc On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Uncertain &… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.