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Strategy Means ChoosingAuthor: Richard G. Stock, March/April 2003 issue of National
There
is never enough time to do everything that has to be done at work.
Sorting the urgent from the chronic leaves a person either hungry or
guilty a half-hour later. One article in a national newspaper
suggested that getting organized and throwing things out is the new
form of dieting. Drifting and stumbling along in professional
practice, or even in firm management is more hazardous than ever.
Clients are sophisticated and demanding, and competitive forces are
unforgiving.
The
essence of strategy is making choices about what to do and what not
to do. Professional practice, careers and firms must be actively
managed. Personal and firm goals should be set and aligned with each
other – and the firm comes first. Here are four sets of choices that can
help determine your own strategy.
The first set of choices are those that concern the clients and
their legal needs. Three questions need to be answered:
With which clients do
I want to work? How can I learn a great deal
more about these clients and their What type of legal work and advice
are they likely to need? The
second set of choices is about reaching the clients. Some would call
this "business development and marketing." Fundamentally,
legal services are still a relationship-based business, even for
price-sensitive practices like conveyancing and family law.
Individual
expertise or the firm’s brand count in getting the first file --
but after that, service and results are all that count, regardless
of experience.
Can I make and sustain 50 regular contacts every 90 days? Who, in the firm or elsewhere, can
I rely on to help do this? How will I manage to speak to five
new contacts every week? What is my plan to meet three new
or established contacts each week, even when I am busy?
The
third set of choices concerns the economics of professional
practice. Assuming that 50 hours are available most weeks of the
year, then choosing what to spend time on each week (not each month)
becomes critical.
The
first year of call, the next three as an associate, the first five
years of partnership, turning 40, 50 and 55 are all milestones. Each
stage requires its game plan.
Am I investing five hours a week speaking to clients
and prospects not related to a specific matter? Is my effective billing rate where
it should be, or am I "dumbing down" and not delegating Are there ways to replace hourly-based work Am I taking four weeks' vacation each year? The
fourth set of questions are designed to tap creativity and
innovation. This is a backdoor to living with change in a
rules-based and rights-oriented industry. Clients want solutions at
a reasonable cost – whether for an injury, to acquire a competitor,
or to solve a labor dispute. Predictability and risk management
command a higher price.
What specialty can I say that I have? Can it be defined by type or client as well as
by type of law? Is it possible to innovate in the solutions I
offer, in the way the service is delivered, and even in the pricing
for both? Am I spending two hours each week reading
non-legal materials about professional services, leadership, management and my clients' sectors? |