Dr. No #52 – What CEOs Say About You When You’re Not in the Room

Hey lawyer,

Let’s be blunt.

Your CEO isn’t promoting the hardest-working lawyer. They’re promoting the one whose name pops into their head when someone asks: “Who makes our lives easier?”

That invisible reputation is called Silent PR — what people say about you when you’re not around.

And if you don’t control it, someone else will.

1. Food for Thought

What do your CEO and CFO actually say about Legal when you’re not in the room?
And more importantly: would you like to hear it?

2. Silent PR – Five Moves for GCs (adapted from Jade Bonacolta)

1. Deliver on the Details
If you promise the board minutes Friday, send them Thursday.
In a world of missed deadlines, reliability is brilliance.

2. Make Others Look Good
In leadership meetings, say: “Building on Finance’s great insight…”
You’re not just Legal — you’re a force multiplier.

3. Respect Their Time
Update before they ask. Frame advice as bullet points, not essays.
GCs remembered for clarity always get invited back.

4. Solve Problems Early
Don’t drop issues on the CFO’s desk like a flaming bag. Say instead:
“There’s a bottleneck. Here are three ways to clear it.”
Now you’re the partner who removes friction.

5. Share 3 Wins in Every 1:1
Stop assuming they see your impact.
Don’t say, “We reviewed 40 contracts.” Say, “The contract simplification saved Sales 80 hours this quarter.”
That’s the kind of soundbite that travels into boardrooms.

3. Mental Model – Reputation Gravity

Buffett and Munger say reputation takes years to build, seconds to lose.
But here’s the twist: it also creates gravity.
Your name either pulls opportunities towards Legal… or pushes them away.
Silent PR is how you strengthen your pull.

4. AI Booster – Xavier

Generate McKinsey-grade decks in seconds with AI.
Perfect when you need to brief the board on compliance, risk, or data privacy without looking like you copied last year’s slides.
Because bad slides kill good Silent PR.

5. Quote to Reflect

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – Abraham Lincoln

P.S.
Want your Silent PR to work overtime? Free your team’s time for strategic work instead of corporate housekeeping.

Ámbar gives GCs fractional access to corporate law experts who can:

• Handle corporate secretary and bookkeeping duties.

• Review and update all your corporate documentation.

• Free up at least 30% of two FTE lawyers’ time each year.

So when your CEO thinks about Legal, they don’t think administration.
They think value creation.

Book a call with Ámbar — and let’s make sure the story told about you in the boardroom is the right one.

— Dr. No