Why Culture and Values Offer a Strategic Advantage to Law Firms

First published in The Legal Week

Sitting in a packed lecture hall at London Business School 15 years ago, I heard a talk that fundamentally changed how I think about management. Sumantra Ghoshal—one of the world’s most influential thinkers on management—explained why the role of top managers needed to evolve. The session focused on moving beyond strategy, structure and systems to purpose, processes and people. It made perfect sense.

Traditionally, organisations benefited from having a clear strategy and structure supported by systems. This model minimised the unpredictability of human behaviour—people performed defined roles, and if one person left, another could step in.

But in today’s environment—shaped by technology, intense competition and rapid change—this approach is no longer sufficient. The larger the organisation, the more formulaic strategy can become.

That is not to say strategy no longer matters. But as Ghoshal and his co-author Christopher A. Bartlett argued in their seminal Harvard Business School article “Changing the Roles of Top Management: Beyond Strategy to Purpose”, leaders must look beyond carefully constructed plans to what is happening on the ground. The scarcest corporate resource is not capital—it is the knowledge and expertise of people at the frontline.

The ability of organisations to continually reinvent themselves now depends less on rigid strategic plans and more on cultivating a meaningful and engaging purpose.

The Shift in Law Firms

Today, law firms are increasingly recognising the need to define and communicate their purpose. To attract and retain top talent, it is no longer enough to offer competitive salaries and bonuses.

There is growing pressure—particularly from younger professionals—to articulate why the firm exists and what it stands for. At the same time, increased mobility across firms means that loyalty can no longer be assumed.

This presents an opportunity. Firms that create environments where people can learn, grow and feel aligned with a strong culture will stand out. Understanding what motivates individuals—and responding to those motivations—is critical to retaining talent.

From “I” to “We”

Sustainable success requires a shift from individualism to collective purpose. Moving from “I” to “we” means recognising the interests of clients, colleagues, stakeholders and wider society.

Culture plays a central role in this transformation.

Actions and behaviours shape culture—and values shape those behaviours. Values provide guidance when individuals face complex or ambiguous decisions. Research consistently shows that value-driven organisations achieve more sustainable performance because employees feel engaged and connected to a broader purpose.

The Challenge of Living Values

Many firms have embraced the language of values. However, translating those values into everyday behaviour remains a challenge.

Too often, values are developed for branding purposes or imposed without meaningful consultation. As a result, they can feel disconnected from reality. This has led to the rise of “values cynics”—employees who see values as abstract concepts rather than lived experiences.

Refreshing values is not enough. The real challenge is embedding them into the daily fabric of the organisation.

Making Culture Measurable

Once values are defined, the key question becomes: how do you bring them to life?

Employee engagement surveys are often used as a starting point. While they can provide useful insights, they do not always correlate clearly with performance outcomes. Much of culture management still relies on intuition or “gut feel”.

But it doesn’t have to.

Advances in culture analytics now allow firms to assess both current and desired cultures more objectively. These tools can identify the drivers of behaviour, highlight untapped potential, and uncover blind spots that may be holding individuals or teams back.

Importantly, they can also be linked to performance metrics—providing evidence-based insights rather than subjective impressions.

The process of gathering this data typically involves all employees. It is efficient, cost-effective and, when done well, highly engaging. It moves culture from being an HR initiative into a core business priority—aligning purpose, people, values and processes.

In one firm I am aware of, the level of engagement was so high that participation in follow-on initiatives had to be capped.

Culture as a Competitive Frontier

Culture has always mattered—but in today’s fast-changing world, it has become a critical competitive differentiator.

Firms that actively manage and align their culture with their purpose will be better positioned to achieve sustainable performance. Those that neglect it risk falling behind.

Culture is no longer a “soft” concept. It is fast becoming a form of capital—a source of competitive advantage.

Conclusion

An organisation with strong values but no clear purpose lacks direction.

As Ghoshal and Bartlett observed, the ultimate goal is “to convert contractual employees of an economic entity into committed members of a purposeful organisation.”

Fifteen years on from that lecture at London Business School, those words remain as relevant as ever.

Jenny Jones