WATCHING YOUR STEPS

Studying how you do the work in your law firm; from getting the business to getting paid, is a tool to help you acquire superior ways of doing business, make significant improvements which make your firm one of the fittest as you compete.
The way you do things is part of the series of steps designed to deliver a service, it is the space between input and output. And studying this process is a great opportunity to improve the speed and sharpness of your weapon. For example, Olympic hopefuls train for years to make it to the games and those who actually win medals are gods on earth. If you compared the training regimes they used in their preparation to taking a stroll in your neighborhood you would be comparing a 9 month old baby to a 25 year old US Marine.
Taking this example to your law firm, if your firm can take its work processes to Olympic level; by studying how it works now, by comparing it to law firms at the top of the lists in local and foreign territories, by exploring ideas from outside legal, by creating competitive advantages from what it learns then it can improve materially. This study shows you objectively, realistically where you are now. It is just like an exercise program, it only works if you have a realistic idea of what your physical state is at present.

The Mercedes S Class is built along entirely different processes and assumptions from the Toyota Camry in terms of mechanical input, intellectual capital content, craftsmanship and public presentation. So they are worlds apart and in the world of music the process John Coltrane used to make his music led to amazing sounds which he called Cathedrals of Sound. The point is that there was more to his music than just practising for one hour and getting on with it.

Your law practice is only as effective as its processes just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Take e-mail, some principals respond immediately while others set up a system that acknowledges the mail has been received and will be responded to within 24 hours. The point is to be prompt and responsive at all times and this creates a reputation for being reliable which will, in addition to the rest of the work the law firm does, give it an edge over the competition in the mind of the client and thus attract business because the firm can be depended on. But you have to believe in it, it has to be an issue with you as this is usually where the edge comes from. Another way to look at your law firm processes is to think of them as road networks; they are the fastest and most efficient way to get from point A to point B and better quality, well-kept roads mean things can move quicker, cheaper, difficult connections can be made.
Bad road networks always lead to wastes of time and resources on an industrial scale, they lead to seaports that take months to clear cargo. They also lead to diversions of business opportunities to places with better network advantages.