How to develop Commercial "Curiosity"

Since the start of my degree, there has been a key term that has either scared or confused students. That term is "commercial awareness". Do I study for it? How do I develop it? Is it a part of my modules? Does it just mean understanding business terms? Would watching finance-related movies such as Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short give me a better idea? These are some out of the many...many questions most students have had when battling with the concept.

Before I go into some of my favourite resources on how to develop commercial awareness (I'll get into the curiosity part later), let's find out what you should not do. During my first year, I partook (with a few other law students) in the annual Aspiring Solicitors Commercial Awareness Competition. I was excited and I was eager to get involved and get to the second round. The day before the competition I went on my laptop and opened up several tabs to start my commercial awareness cramming session. I opened up the Financial Times and I started reading articles upon articles of pretty much gibberish. Financial gibberish. Fast forward 24 hours later and we did terribly. This was because the way I defined and perceived commercial awareness to be was completely wrong. Commercial awareness isn't like memorising the lyrics to your favourite song. Commercial awareness is a mindset. It is the way you think and analyse. To be commercially aware you must understand how a business works. Arguably, more importantly, understanding what and why that business is successful (or unsuccessful). You should be able to understand how different industries work and what affects those industries. A good starting point would be to look at how the current COVID crisis has disrupted supply chains and the impact that could have on businesses and law firms.

Here are my top tips and resources on how to develop commercial awareness

1. Be commercially curious This relates to when I was preparing for the Commercial Awareness Competition and stated reading the FT and as much as I tried to retain and understand the information, it was financial gibberish. As hard I tried, I just could not force myself to be interested in the articles I was reading. The more effective approach is to read the articles that interest you. If you start by reading with what interests you it will become much easier for you to understand and retain the information. Reading about the S&P 500 would put me to sleep, but reading about the escape of the former CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, and the $1.9 billion Wirecard accounting scandal were both exciting and interesting. When you are curious you ask questions. What does this mean for shareholders? What impact does this have on the sector?

2. Analyse what you read Whilst it can be important to read and retain the information, it is even more important to analyse the information. By analysing the articles you read, you better understand the information given and develop your thought process by looking at the external and internal factors that can impact a business. I like to use the PESTLE (Political Economic Social Technological) and SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) technique. By analysing what you read you can make connections between industries. For example, if you are looking at an article that looks at the demise of high street retailers and then read another article that talks about a rise in insolvency, you might be able to establish a link there. By doing that you are thinking commercially! https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/careers-new/information-for-students/application-and-selection-process/commercial-awareness

3. Listen to Podcasts

Podcasts have been my go-to tool for developing commercial awareness. There are loads of different types of podcasts that help you understand how businesses and their respective industries work. Some of the podcasts are short so they give you a brief introduction of the important business news of the day (or week). Podcasts such as the Wake up to Money are extremely useful as they regularly have experts talking about the current problems and successes different industries are having. Some of my favourites are: 1) Think Commercial by The Business Update 2) FT News Briefing 3) Global News Podcast by BBC World Service 4) BBC World Business Report 5) The Economist 6) BBC Radio 5 Live - Wake up to money

4. Work experience Work experience is incredibly useful for understanding how a business operates, what makes it successful and the impact different types of internal/external factors can have. This does not mean that you have to have your work experience in a law firm to develop commercial awareness. For example, by working part-time in Starbucks you are dealing with clients face to face, you are helping the business operate and grow and you are in a commercial environment. When working, be commercially curious! Think about Starbucks's competitors and the services on offer. Have any political or trade tensions disrupted their supply chain? Have any environmental problems damaged their inventory?

5. Websites and newsletters There are many websites and newsletters that you can subscribe to and get relevant commercial news straight to your inbox. Some of the websites below go into detail about commercial awareness and have blogs that discuss the relevant and current topics. 1. https://www.thelawyerportal.com/ 2. https://www.lawcareers.net/ 3. https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/ 4. https://www.watsonsdaily.com/ 5. https://www.littlelaw.co.uk/ 6. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-business-update/

You won't be able to tick the commercial awareness box in your CV overnight or even after a month. It will take time and patience but by getting into a habit of listening to a podcast, attending webinars and workshops and reading the news you will soon be commercially aware. If you have any other top tips or questions please do not hesitate to comment below or contact me!