Norman Bowley

Norman Bowley

JD, LLM

ON, CANADA
Using the wisdom and insights gleaned in fifty two years as an educator and business lawyer, I help you create the professional practice that you (and your clients) deserve.

I finished high school at sixteen, a quiet and intellectual country kid. One year later I had finished teacher training and was thrown to the wolves in the form of the toughest gang of non-academic army brats who ever were forced to sit in a classroom.

Ten years after that I cashed in all my chips and went off to law school, graduating Cum Laude with a handful of prizes, and again was thrown to the wolves-- this time in the form of the imploding economy of 1981.

Thirty-seven years later, most of it including hands-on management of the firm, I retired to collect my thoughts about professional life, what worked, and what didn't. Here is what I've distilled, both from my own experience and from having observed hundreds of clients who were professionals:

The Alignment Doctrine: When the professional's unique giftings and the client's unique wants and needs are in perfect alignment, magic happens.


The Client Code: your success or failure as a professional is determined at least as much by your clients as by you. Learning to find, manage, triage and cultivate your best clients is key to both financial success and professional enjoyment.


The Harmony Principle: the highly successful professional firm is built around the Alignment Doctrine, the Client Code, and the ideal professionals to deliver the service. When the right people are assembled to serve the right clients, the magic that happens in terms of money, reputation, and satisfaction is marvellous.

I finished high school at sixteen, a quiet and intellectual country kid. One year later I had finished teacher training and was thrown to the wolves in the form of the toughest gang of non-academic army brats who ever were forced to sit in a classroom.

Ten years after that I cashed in all my chips and went off to law school, graduating Cum Laude with a handful of prizes, and again was thrown to the wolves-- this time in the form of the imploding economy of 1981.

Thirty-seven years later, most of it including hands-on management of the firm, I retired to collect my thoughts about professional life, what worked, and what didn't. Here is what I've distilled, both from my own experience and from having observed hundreds of clients who were professionals:

The Alignment Doctrine: When the professional's unique giftings and the client's unique wants and needs are in perfect alignment, magic happens.


The Client Code: your success or failure as a professional is determined at least as much by your clients as by you. Learning to find, manage, triage and cultivate your best clients is key to both financial success and professional enjoyment.


The Harmony Principle: the highly successful professional firm is built around the Alignment Doctrine, the Client Code, and the ideal professionals to deliver the service. When the right people are assembled to serve the right clients, the magic that happens in terms of money, reputation, and satisfaction is marvellous.

The Alignment Doctrine

The Alignment Doctrine is the missing link in all professional formation. As important as subject-matter expertise may be, the highest and best experience for the professional and for the client only occurs when a certain alignment is in place.

The Alignment Doctrine teaches that every professional has a unique gifting, that every client has unique needs and wants, and that when these are in perfect alignment, magic happens.

Perfect alignment means, for the clent,...
Business GrowthEducational / InformativeTechnical / SpecificInspirational / Life-changing

The Client Code

The Client Code is about identifying, moulding, managing and evangelizing your clients. 

The key is understanding which clients, with which wants and needs, are your ideal client. This requires some understanding of the Alignment Doctrine. 

We investigate how to determine your ideal client and how to "grade" your client base. Who do you cultivate, who do you fire? How do you and staff constantly monitor the quality of each client? How do you build the ideal...
Customer LoyaltyAudience ActivityEducational / InformativeTechnical / SpecificInspirational / Life-changingHumorous / Funny

The Harmony Principle

Deliverable as keynote, breakout, seminar, webinar, training or coaching, this program is designed to enable professionals create the Stanley Cup team. Ideally this is understood in conjunction with the Alignment Doctrine.

All too often teams are built on the fly and in a reactionary fashion, responding to a momentary need for a skill set, a fad, to fill an empty office, or respond to a flattering opportunity. And then they don't work, because they were never meant to be. And...
Corporate CultureEducational / InformativeTechnical / SpecificInspirational / Life-changing

Did the Earth Just Move? How to profit from change.

Sometimes your world gets turned upside down. But that doesn't mean the world has ended-- it just changed dramatically. What comes next is up to you.

Surveying examples in history, nature and technology, we see that change is inevitable, but invariably creates opportunity for the nimble and the creative.

This is not only an upbeat message of encouragement, but a pragmatic look at the art of making lemonade when you're handed lemons.

This message can be...
Educational / InformativeInspirational / Life-changingHumorous / Funny

The Eight Keys of Trust-- what you need to know if you want your message to be accepted

If your audience is to follow you they must first trust you. Trust isn't automatic-- it must be earned. Here we consider the ageless principles of earning and keeping trust.

This message can be delivered as keynote or breakout, but is also perfect in webinar, seminar, training or coaching settings.
Audience ActivityEducational / InformativeTechnical / SpecificInspirational / Life-changingHumorous / Funny

The Art and Science of Referral-- how to grow your business, your reputation and your expertise.

Compared to advertising, cold-calling or buying books of business, referrals provide a stream of clients who are (generally) pre-qualified as to economic and professional value; that is to say, referrals tend to pay their bills and provide interesting work which can enhance your reputation.

The problem is that the ecology of referrals is a very delicate one and the management of referrals received and sent is very sensitive.

Join us as we look at the etiquette of referral in,...

Educational / InformativeTechnical / SpecificInspirational / Life-changingHumorous / Funny