Play Nice But Win

Following up on last week’s post, which received lots of positive feedback from subscribers (thank you!), I would like to draw on another business book to examine some parallels with the lives of law students. 

“Play Nice But Win” is the recently released autobiography (of sorts) by Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies. In essence, Dell walks the reader through his journey of revolutionizing the personal computer industry. This digital-age memoir is certainly worth a read in its entirety, but what I would like to focus on is the book’s title and the story behind it. 

In essence, “play nice but win” is the book’s leitmotif. It was the piece of advice that Dell’s parents would give him and his siblings when they were about to play sports or participate in other competitive activities. 

Both parts are important. First, play nice: in other words play in a way that is fair, considerate, conscientious and respectful. Still, don’t forget to win: you’re not merely playing to participate and be beaten by others. You are there to play competitively and prevail. 

The fact that both parts are possible is, in my view, the key takeaway. The same applies to the endeavours of law students. 

It is both possible (and imperative!) to “play nice” as a law student, while also “wining”, i.e. outperforming your past self and your fellow students. However, this is not always what happens. Having participated, as a board member, in numerous academic misconduct boards, I have come to experience first-hand the pressure law students feel to “win”, and the extremes to which this can lead them. 

By way of example, I need only mention flagrant plagiarism (e.g. copy pasting others’ work without citing the source), hiring law tutors to write their assignments, or even sabotaging the work of fellow students. We can all agree that such behaviours are totally unacceptable, but I’m sorry to say that they have proliferated since the start of the pandemic, mainly because it has become more difficult to invigilate exams and ensure fairness. 

So, to take a page out of Dell’s book, please remember: play nice but win. It’s possible. And it’s the only way to actually experience the full satisfaction of “winning”.