High potentials, but potential for what? Information processing, which good lawyers do well

Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!, writes in the Economist, The World in 2010 at 128, about leadership in the information-overload age, Bartz observes that “hi-Po’s” have traditionally meant standout employees “who could climb the next rung of the management ladder.” The honor now should go to “those employees who, though perhaps not the best managers, have the ability to digest and interpret information for others.” She sees them as “thought leaders.” More jargon, I say.

Lawyers inside a company may not be all that terrific as managers of people, but they had better excel at digesting facts and interpreting them in a legal framework. Legal teams should be full of this kind of high potentials (See my post of July 29, 2007: high potentials with 10 references.).