Bill Knight, Senior Partner, Simmons and Simmons
Bill Knight is Senior Partner of the international law firm Simmons and Simmons and a former Chairman of the Law Society's Company Law Committee. In 1995 he was a participant in the Common Purpose North London programme and he sent the firm's Managing Director on the programme the following year. He explains what he gained from the experience
For a start, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I made a couple of lasting friendships and it did, indeed, broaden my view of the world. I found that a moment's observation could change the opinions of a lifetime. It's very useful for a senior manager to see other organisations, to try to work out what's good and bad about the way they operate and find ways of bringing the best methods into one's own company.
"There were two motivations for putting myself forward as a Common Purpose programme participant in 1995.
The first was feeling that, at 49, I wasn't seeing enough of the world. I've spent my whole career in law and most of it in the City of London. Everyone I met had the same shared set of assumptions, attitudes and approaches to life. It's very easy to become insulated by that. I wanted to shake it up a bit and see what was going on outside the cocoon.
The second reason was a sense that the Common Purpose programme might somehow have potential value for the business.
On both accounts, I have not been disappointed.
For a start, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I made a couple of lasting friendships and it did, indeed, broaden my view of the world. I found that a moment's observation could change the opinions of a lifetime.
There were some impressive people on my programme too, none more so than Usha Sahni. She's the headteacher of Argyle School in Kings Cross. She has very clear views on racial and cultural issues and speaks with great passion about them.
Two practical things came from meeting her on the programme. I'm now a governor of the school and I am arranging for a number of our firm's younger Indian lawyers to visit the school to chat to the girls and show them what can be achieved.
That said, the main benefit I gained from Common Purpose was the ability to relate more effectively to people in my own office. I learned that what I had always regarded as "left-wing" issues were central to many people's lives. I learned how to deal with race as an issue and I would like to think that has had a beneficial effect throughout the firm, from the way we recruit graduates to the way we deal with our clients.
Our company needs to go to the outside world and bring business in. In order to do that effectively, we need to deal with the world as it really is. For me that means finding new approaches, new ways of thinking and a broader attitude to the community in which we operate.
That's what I learned. And that's why I wanted our Managing Director to go on the programme too. I thought we should have the same outlook and common points of reference. He really enjoyed the experience and we both feel it has made a real contribution to the way we run the firm."
