If you are focused on the business of law, in other words, growing your practice or firm, I’ve introduced a podcast series you won’t want to miss. Law- It’s a Business. Each month I look at another angle of the business of law and provide proven and practical strategies aimed at helping you grow. Click on the play button below to watch.
Join me for a live streaming coaching pod-cast entitled, “Law-It’s a Business”. Part one of this series starts tomorrow, Tuesday May 7th,at 4pm EST. If you are unable to attend live, a recording of each podcast will be available for you to view anytime.
This series is primarily designed for small firm owners and managing partners. However if you are a lawyer focused on growing your practice or firm, you will find highly valuable content throughout.
To sign up go to: Law-It’s a Business
Bring your business development and marketing questions to get the maximum value from this series.
Law-it is a business after all.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Whether you are growing beyond solo practice to creating a firm, a partner growing your team, or a managing partner growing your firm, this simple formula can help you navigate the way forward with respect to growth and staffing.
It’s far too common for lawyers to wait until they are at maximum capacity and beyond to bring in help. Managing growth is a good problem to have, however, it does pose new challenges.
So here it is. When you are at about 60% capacity, start looking to recruit. That gives you the luxury of time to find the right people. You can be selective and not panic. You can take your time to find the right people and fit. And, that way, by the time you are at 80% capacity, you will still have time to groom, mentor, train, and get your people up to speed before you hit your wall.
If you wait until later, you may, as is often the case, find yourself in a never-ending cycle of chicken and egg. Where is the time to train? Who do you bring on? “Oh, I might as well just do it myself-even though that means long nights and weekends.” Think forward. don’t get caught thinking I can’t afford to bring someone in right now. Can you afford not to?
Sure, there are many other factors here: Letting go of the reigns, quality control, consistency, profitability. But they are all better managed when you are proactive and plan ahead. Think forward!
Recently I’ve been working with two very different clients that have exactly the same challenges-incompetent staff. One is a partner at a national firm, and the other is a small firm owner. If you follow my writing you will note that I have been a very vocal advocate for lawyers and staff in that I believe in giving them everything they need to succeed in the way of development and support.
This however is one of those times where I am clearly on the side of ownership/management.
Their perspective is limited while mine is broad working with lawyers, paralegals and mgt across Canada. And from my perspective there are some pretty talented and amazing people out there. So there is no good reason to settle for incompetence whatsoever!
When they don’t show up, show up late, or constantly produce inadequate work? When they constantly complain. When they… Time to let them go. Don’t settle for less than excellent. Your clients won’t.
In addition to performing poorly, these people will drag the rest of your team down to their level. When you settle with the bar so low, other people will follow. Be firm. Be clear on expectations. Give them support and encouragement. But sometimes it doesn’t work out and you need to let them go. Don’t worry-there are great people out there who would love to work for a great boss like you!
This post is a collection of some of my favorite quotes with respect to business and life. I hope they inspire.
“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines
on things, they are transformed.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
“The primary wisdom is intuition.”
Emerson
“All successful people, men and women, are big dreamers
They imagine what their future could be,
ideal in every respect,and then they work
every day toward their distant vision,
that goal or purpose.”
Brian Tracy
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
Peter Drucker
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
Napoleon Hill
“We have found that by reaching for what
appears to be the impossible, we often actually
do the impossible; and even when we don’t quite make it,
we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done.”
Jack Welch
“The greater danger for most of us
isn’t that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it.”
Michelangelo
“We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone.”
Sandra Day O’Connor
“Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Ryun
“The past has no power over the present moment.”
Eckhart Tolle
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life”
Henry David Thoreau
And my favorite…
“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Aristotle
Many of my clients struggle with this question when taking a look at ways to grow their practice or firm. Whether you are in solo practice or heading a large international firm, my answer remains the same. Here is how I help them determine the difference.
A “cost” is something that does not directly impact your growth or generate higher revenues. Your office space is a cost. Paper clips, paper, photocopiers, desks, chairs, rent and so on, are all costs. They are the costs of doing business. You need them to run your firm or practice. That money going out does not come back. While they are essential, they don’t directly impact your ability to grow, increase revenues or profits and therefore are “costs.”
Read more here.
Over time little drops of water accumulate and form a puddle; growing into a stream, flowing into a river and eventually creating a lake, rushing into the ocean. And that’s exactly how growing your practice or firm works. New habits take time, and with repetition create lasting and impactful results. It all starts with that first drop; or in your case, first step.
