Dr. No # 42 – Why Logic Alone Will Kill Your Legal Strategy

Hey lawyer,

Most legal teams try to be the smartest people in the room.

But sometimes, the smartest thing you can do...
is stop trying to make sense.

This week’s issue is a masterclass in bending logic, trusting instincts—and using psychology to lead smarter.

Food for Thought
What’s one idea you rejected because it "didn't make sense"?

Now ask yourself: Did it not make sense—or just not match your assumptions?

In most legal departments, good ideas die not because they’re wrong—but because they’re weird.

And weird for lawyer’s standards… is often where the value is.

Book Insight — Alchemy by Rory Sutherland (Vice Chairman, Ogilvy)

Vice Chairman of Ogilvy. Mad genius of marketing. Lover of weird ideas.

In Alchemy, Sutherland argues that logic is overrated—and that most breakthroughs come from people willing to test what doesn’t "add up."

So if your legal advice is built for robots, don’t be surprised when humans ignore it.

Top insights for GCs:

• The opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea.
  Dyson built a beautiful vacuum no one asked for. Everyone said it would flop. It didn’t.

  GC Takeaway: What if your contracts were… easy and user friendly for business? Or your intake form was fun? Don’t kill magic with logic.

• Everyone is being logical. That’s why logic doesn’t help.
  Want cheap rent in London? Don’t look by the tube—look by train stations.

  GC Takeaway: Where are you positioning your department like every other C-Level in the company? Find the blind spot. That’s your edge.

• Expectations shape experiences.
  A Berlin hotel in an old prison? Terrible… unless you market it as "edgy post-Soviet chic." Now it’s cool.

  GC Takeaway: Is Legal framed as helpful or obstructive? Reframe the story and watch behavior shift.

• Weird wins. But only if you test it.
  Apple killed buttons. Everyone laughed. Now we tap glass all day.

  GC Takeaway: Run irrational experiments. One GC created a “crazy brainstorming hour” once a month. Most ideas flopped. One—redflagging DD risks with emojis—spread company-wide.

  Bottom line:
  Don’t just run Legal. Design it.

  Test counterintuitive solutions before you kill them with logic.

Mental Model — Munger’s “Lollapalooza Effect”

Big changes don’t come from one force—they come from many working together.
Social proof + incentives + commitment + framing = massive behavior shift.

Want legal to gain influence?
Don't push one big idea.
Create a mix of small, compounding forces that change how people feel about Legal.

Example:
A GC client of ours rebranded last year Legal as the “Greenlight Team” (not the “Risk Gate”).
Contracts moved 25% faster within a month.

AI Tool of the Week — Genspark
Forget Google. Try Genspark: a new AI-powered search engine that gives you trustworthy, balanced, and unbiased answers.

Smart for:

• Market comparisons

• Legal research

• Staying updated without doomscrolling

Find answers without the algorithm guessing what you want to hear.

Quote to Reflect
“A flower doesn’t compete with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
– Zen saying

PS – Want to bring the “Alchemy” mindset to your team?
Ambar helps GCs inject creativity, speed, and fresh thinking into legal work.

• Need an expert in a hyper-specialised area?

• Want fresh eyes on a thorny legal project?

• Tired of chasing in-house capacity for business-critical work?

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Let’s talk — we’ll show you how GCs like you are building agile legal departments without adding headcount.

See you next week,
Dr. No