Leadership Under Fyre—What Law Firm Leaders Can Learn From the Infamous Music Festival
Emily Griesing
In January, Netflix and Hulu both launched documentaries on the demise of the Fyre Festival, a deluxe and exclusive music festival geared toward millennials that appeared to blow Coachella and Burning Man out of the water. Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland promoted the seemingly groundbreaking event through an elaborate smoke and mirrors act involving social media influencers like models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, luxury lodging on a private island in the Bahamas previously owned by Pablo Escobar and a musical lineup that included acts such as Major Lazer and Blink 182. After spending thousands of dollars on what appeared to be the festival of a lifetime, attendees arrived to the Bahamas location (which was not a private island) and were greeted by yellow school buses, bagged lunches and accommodations that included emergency tents remaining from a recent hurricane.
Coverage of the failed event immediately went viral as guests blasted their disappointment and frustration on social media, which led to an onslaught of negative press coverage and humiliating memes. But what transpired went far beyond a PR nightmare for the Fyre team. What ultimately resulted from this catastrophe was a $100 million class action lawsuit against McFarland and the rapper Ja Rule (a co-founder of the festival) for fraud, breach of contract and numerous other claims. McFarland also faced federal wire fraud charges and was sentenced to six years in prison for the scheme, which he is currently serving.
The recent documentaries delve into the birth and subsequent unraveling of the festival as well as the background and motives of its leader, McFarland, who was able to deceive and cajole investors, contractors and staff into partaking in his elaborate ploy. While McFarland and the Fyre Festival are an extreme example of leadership gone awry, there are lessons to be taken from his missteps which can be applied to anyone in a C-Suite role. In the case of a law firm, honing leadership skills is particularly relevant as the executive committee includes partners who wear many hats within the organization, including serving as owners and managers at the firm. Therefore, understanding the role of a leader and how to lead successfully can be an overlooked yet critical exercise at law firms. Here are some strategies for law firm leadership to consider to avoid being under Fyre:
Set Reasonable Expectations and Follow Through
The Fyre Festival is a classic example of what can occur when you over-promise and under-deliver. In McFarland’s effort to create an unforgettable event (which it ended up being for very different reasons), he continuously made false assurances to investors, contractors and his own team. To compound his grandiose claims, the Fyre Festival team also lacked the necessary support to follow through on any of these goals, even those that may have been doable.
This flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach can often be found at a law firm. With origination credit still dominating at most firms, partners are striving to “make rain” by attracting and retaining clients, and are thus likely to set expectations for themselves and their teams that are difficult if not impossible to meet. Further, with billable-hour targets to meet, legal teams run the risk of billing client matters well behind the estimate that was touted to bring in the work.
Daniel Cable, the author of “Alive at Work,” describes this pattern in a recent article for Harvard Business Review: “Power … can cause leaders to become overly obsessed with outcomes and control, and, therefore, treat their employees as means to an end. … This type of top-down leadership is outdated, and, more importantly, counterproductive. By focusing too much on control and end goals, and not enough on their people, leaders are making it more difficult to achieve their own desired outcomes.” Therefore, in an effort to secure clients, law firm leaders are lured into telling them what they want to hear and dealing with the consequences of that later (or perhaps not dealing with them themselves at all). This can result in eventual client complaints regarding the discrepancy between what was promised and their actual bill, as well as high burnout rates from team members who have been handed a lose-lose situation.
Get Input From Your Team and Listen to Them
In the Netflix Fyre documentary, McFarland’s team members comment that due to minimal communication and direction from the leaders, there was endless confusion around project goals and the status of various pieces that were in motion. In addition, as the festival date approaches, they also recount expressing their concerns around the mishandling of planning and the impending doom they anticipate. However, despite these efforts, they are frequently ignored, rebuffed or fired. McFarland’s dismissiveness allows the Fyre Festival train to stay on the track despite the warning signs, resulting in continued engagement in risky business practices and a dwindling support staff to execute his vision.
While perhaps unintentional in a law firm setting, communication is a common challenge. As Tim Corcoran of Corcoran Consulting Group points out, “In many law firms, they don’t have a cohesive organization, but what they have is a bunch of silos that share a logo.” With practice groups and departments operating separately, it’s virtually impossible to have teams on the same page when it comes to achieving goals set by the firm. To combat this, the leadership team should open up firm policies to discussion, receive input and adapt accordingly. Corcoran adds that, “Leaders may have a great vision, but if you just tell the people what they want, you’ll never get the same level of adoption as you would if you socialize the ideas that you want to implement and they chime in.”
However, establishing an open line of communication is not the end all be all—it is useless if the input is disregarded. Instead, leadership must consider and respond to feedback from their employees of all levels to get a true gauge of what’s working and what isn’t in the day-to-day operations of the firm. Cable advocates for taking on a servant leader mentality: “Servant leaders view their key role as serving employees as they explore and grow, providing tangible and emotional support as they do so … Servant-leaders have the humility, courage and insight to admit that they can benefit from the expertise of others who have less power than them. They actively seek the ideas and unique contributions of the employees that they serve.”
Pay Your Dues and Pay It Forward (Literally)
Like so many leaders who fall from grace, greed seems to be at the root of McFarland’s actions. His desire to create a jet-setting celebrity persona completely overtakes any rational and responsible decision-making on behalf of the festival, his team and his stakeholders. His actions had reverberating effects far beyond his immediate team, including impacting the livelihoods of thousands of people to whom he made financial commitments. Unfortunately for McFarland, his monetary tunnel vision left him with a permanently tarnished business reputation and a rap sheet to boot.
There is no denying that law firms will always focus on revenue generation, in fact, they need to in order to survive. But leadership with a singular focus on the bottom line is unsuitable in the majority of businesses, especially one offering industry-based expertise like a law firm. As Erika Anderson, the author of “Leading So People Will Follow,” shares in Forbes: “If a leader needs to build a sustainably growing and profitable enterprise in an industry that requires a high degree of innovation or creativity and/or must provide excellent customer service—then the money-only approach will not work. I’ve seen profit-only leaders fail time and time again under such circumstances.” Since law firms are knowledgeable, problem-solving entities, with a direct line to their customers, overlooking the needs of your human capital and clients can be detrimental.
Instead, establishing a more collaborative and equalitarian approach to firm compensation can actually boost earnings across the board. In fact, as Heidi Gardner, a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, describes in The American Lawyer: “When firms get collaboration right—that is, do complex work for clients that spans practices and offices within the firm—they earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, gain access to more lucrative clients and attract more cutting-edge work.” Corcoran further builds upon that trend, sharing that “changing the leadership team focus and showing that there is a piece of the pie for everyone” is a cultural shift that will benefit the firm down the line. When it comes to succession planning, the more access and opportunity (financial and otherwise) leaders can provide to their teams, the more likely their team members are to stay and the more apt they will be to take on an executive role in the years to come.
While the fall of McFarland and the Fyre Festival could just be the headline of the month, executives will continue to fall into similar traps that he did, which can cause a domino effect of casualties for those around them. Instead, law firm leadership has the opportunity and obligation to shape their firms for the better—not only today, but well into the future.
Emily Griesing is the marketing manager at Griesing Law and the chief strategy officer at Bossible, a marketing and business development consultancy. She serves as the strategic arm of Griesing Law and is responsible for promoting the team of attorneys by building brand awareness, growing reputation and driving new business. She also works with entrepreneurs, professionals and small businesses to build and execute marketing plans that develop them as thought leaders and elevate exposure in their industries. Contact her at egriesing@griesinglaw.com.
