Wise Business Leader Blog

Project Management at a Law Firm

2010-05-14T14:34:49Z

For the most part I believe that project management programs are overkill for a small law firm, but all the concepts are valid. I tried to implement Microsoft Project at a law firm many years ago (you had to be there for that one - hey I was still new to law firms). It took me weeks to program in all the variables (cost, links, etc.) and within a few days of turning it on, my perfect plan and all the projects went "red". By the end of a week or so they tossed it all out. The people were not used to being tracked. They did not consider all the potential impacts to projects and they rarely planned. Trying to get a detailed strategic plan was very frustrating because they just did not seem to know what the potential impacts were. I doubt that they really knew what they wanted or why they wanted it.

My first solution was to decrease the level of detail as much as possible and only track the major milestones. This is not that easy because you actually need to understand as many impacts as possible to have a valid project end date. I have found that it is not unusual to have the end of a project look nothing like the original goal (go figure - it gives me the shivers). For these folks it is kind of like a dynamic process. So I had to compromise on that approach. What I do now days is to attempt to document as much as possible the ideas as they are developed and link them as best I can. OK, you said you wanted this but now you want this - why? Getting to the end of the project is not the primary focus for these folks (hard to believe). It turns out that thinking of all the potential impacts and planning for them is most important if you want to manage this fluid environment. So I like to develop a system that allows for clear documentation (or communications) of ideas with a focus on discussing all potential impacts. Of course I always like the idea of accountability - being an old ISO-9000 auditor. Here is another shock, they not only do not like to be held accountable but they believe that this is counterproductive.

There is no time for staff meetings to discuss issues, publish minutes, etc. We need to find a way to quickly incorporate our best guess on all the variables (technology, cost, skills, etc.). I look around and consider all this. I also look at what we already have installed. OK, we have a case management system, like most law firms. So why not use it to manage projects as well? You can record notes, task, documents, and run reports. You can track responsibilities, set up linkages between task, and quickly display status. Doesn't cost anything since you are already using the system for cases! So what is the problem? People may be held accountable for task - so get over it. By the way, I still have my old copy of Microsoft Project and it has only been used once for a few days.

Still living the dream?

2010-05-05T11:51:06Z

When we start our strategic planning sessions we talk about defining your vision or your dream for the future. Remember your dream? Perhaps you were going to retire and sail through the Caribbean on a tall sailing ship. Or turn your hobby into wildly successful business. I was sitting on my deck overlooking the ocean waiting for all my royalty checks to roll in.

Today, instead of sleeping under the stars on a clipper ship in the Caribbean your struggling to keep the bottom line positive and working twelve hour days. So, what the hell happened? Kind of a dumb question because we know the answer. Life happened. We had to work to pay the bills, you raised a family, you got that call from the doctors office, or maybe you had to care for someone sick. All sort of unplanned events happened and interfered with your dream. And along the way you got old. Damn, I hate it when that happens.

Today, you wonder if you still have time to dream. The problem is, once we stop dreaming we stop living. We kind of give up. That recliner starts looking better. We start to think back and realize that our earlier dreams perhaps were a bit aggressive. We talk ourselves out of ever dreaming again. I am betting that we all know someone who decided to sit in the recliner and give up on life believing that this is what retirement was all about.

I was reading the other day and the author pointed out that the only difference between a rut and a grave is the dimensions (This statement was made famous by Ellen Glasgow in the early 1900's). So, you give up on life, do nothing to enliven your spirits, and perhaps fill the air with complaints. Then you die, from boredom. Isn't it time for a new dream?

The first elements of self mastery

2010-01-30T15:27:31Z

The art of self-mastery deals with emotions and the control of these emotions. The catalyst for these emotions is the value which causes a reaction to an event. That is an introduction to self-mastery which we will expand on as we do future entries. We start with three new elements; your values, emotions and events. If you think about events, they are random and largely unpredictable. To start to establish self-mastery, define and understand your values. Once you know who you are you can focus on how you react to events.

Most books on self-mastery start with the idea that behind each person is a set of values or a set of beliefs that will drive their actions. Your values will influence how you are going to conduct your life. The question is, do they work in the real world. Your life is in chaos when you are surrounded by an environment that does not support your values. Every event, big or small, is causing a negative reaction. When you are conflicted you can't be successful.

If you want to know what your values are just think back to a time when you were really upset. What you are remembering is most likely a time when your values were being violated.

Your values should support a balanced life. Another test of your set of values is to take the five areas of your life (Financial, Relational, Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual) and find out what it takes to address these five areas and how your values apply. These areas must all be addressed but they do not have to be in balance. They must be in harmony. Learning to validate your values means learning to place them in real life situations and start thinking about how strong these values are. Here are some examples:

· I will lead a balanced life with my family. You are asked to stay late at work most nights. You are afraid you will be fired if you do not work long hours. You need the money to pay your bills. Perhaps the solution here is to be more definitive about what your values mean. For example, leading a balanced life with your family may mean that you will carve out time each week that is focused on just family. If you think through this secnario you may also decide that this is not really a value but a policy. With a policy you conditionally apply based on the circumstance.

· I will be respectful of others. You are in the break room and people are gossiping about others at work or expressing anger at people within the firm. Being respectful of others may mean that you will not engage in gossip and you will remove yourself in a polite way from any conversation that is disrespectful.

· I will get satisfaction from my work. I do not like my job but it pays well and I can't give it up right now. I can't tell my boss because he will just replace me. When you go around feeling unsettled it is because somewhere something is violating your values. To understand what is going on you have to understand your values not just put words down on the paper. It could be that the business you work for has a conflicting set of values.

As you go about your work, watch the people you work with. Who are the ones you have great respect for? Who are the ones you go the extra mile for? Normally these are people who share your values. When you are at your most joyous, look at what is driving that joy. It is probably a set of circumstances that are supporting you and your beliefs with no inhibitions.

Can we create a ROWE

2010-01-23T15:52:04Z

For those of you following the latest in business philosophy a ROWE is a Results Oriented Work Environment. At a high level this is a work environment with lots of autonomy. For example there is no time clock or set start time. My question is, can you really have a ROWE and still maintain control over your business? Let's take a real example - like a law firm. Can you develop a work culture where the only performance factor is results? Considering some of the hot buttons - no dress code, no start or stop time, no requirement to even be in the office.

Leadership vs. Management

2009-12-21T12:55:25Z

I have found that business managers are focused on day to day operational problems - no big surprise there. When I stop in I try to push them towards a vision for the future and to move their focus on to their passion. Their problems have a big pull and they quickly snap right back. It makes no difference how fancy the presentation is or how many proofs I have saying that strategic planning and leadership is the way to go.

If I want to sell the business manager on leadership principles I have to help address his or her concerns. Numbers and graphs do nothing if they do not address the day to day concerns of running the business. So step one is always - find out what the management team is worried about and then address those concerns. If the building is on fire they do not want to listen to a presentation on developing a vision statement.

Here is the bigger problem - what if there are so many concerns that you can never resolve them to a degree that would allow for that leadership presnetation. Your only hope now is to convince the management team that fighting forest fires is a job for the fire fighters and their job is running a business. Now, before they soak you with the fire hose show them how some strategic planning could have avoided the whole mess to begin with.

Clarify your goals

2009-09-29T19:28:41Z

I often wondered why theories like the law of attraction work. The only explaination I came up with is that we all have a limited ability to focus on ideas. I always have many distractions floating around in my head. Anyway these theories tend to focus our thoughts. Whatever the reason, these theories seem to work most of the time, but not all the time.
For example this weekend I wanted to install new air valves on the motor home, set up my reading room and correct some templates for one of my clients. My partner wants to clean the house, go shopping and get the car washed. I only have time to do three activities. Now I am in compromise mode trying to re-plan my day. So what really happened here?
A lot of effort went into our passion list and lifetime plan. The first test I need to do is determine which of the six items align with our goals and toss out those that do not match or find more time. Next I have to prioritize the items. On the first pass I toss out the reading room and house cleaning or put them way down on the priority list. This is where you discover that there is no real agreement on the goals and priorities even if you think the lifetime plan is agreed to. What you find out is that there are different visions attached to the lifetime goals. Let's say that one of the lifetime goals was to enjoy music. One person visualizes a Christian music festival and another visualizes an opera. You must make your lifetime goals clear as well as obtain agreement. Often people keep goals hidden believing that they are understood. Do not assume.

WHAT IS THE REAL STATUS OF THE PROJECT?

2009-09-09T21:01:45Z

Have you ever been in a project management position when it comes time for the popular status report and you are 180 degrees apart from everyone else? As a project manager when this happens I am absolutely astounded that I am the only person in the group who sees the project in trouble. I got a clue when I tried to put a law firm under project management using Microsoft Project (don't try this at home unless you are a professional). Within the first month I had every schedule in the red. I was ready to deliver the doom and gloom speech. The lawyers, on the other hand, were smiling and ready to claim victory. Every schedule on the sheet was missed but in their mind they were still on track. I determined that the interim dates that they put in the plan were not really critical to them. They did not recognize the true impact on missed dates to the end date. I had no knowledge of the actual complexities of the project. All I had were a set of dates that represented the project. I also determined that they were not in any way focused on the internal dates, just the end date. I had developed this non-existent sense of importance when it came to these interim dates. The lawyers thought, even if the dates were missed, they could still meet the end date.

There are valuable lessons to be learned in this situation. First, don't assume that the first set of dates represents the full project or are representative of critical dates. Second, don't expect that everyone understands project management and the importance of meeting internal dates. If you are in charge of a project or just want to track one, make sure that the plan is complete, the relative importance of the task are understood and that the impact on the end date of each line item is real. More importantly make sure that the team or group understands what project management means and agree that the interim dates are a need that forces the group to meet the critical end date.

Can you have multiple visions?

2009-09-09T10:23:49Z

I do not see a problem with multiple visions as long as they support each other in some way. I do not think they can be totally isolated and definitely can not be a negative influence on each other. I do not see a problem with having a vision for my life, a vision for my business and a vision for my relationship or family. If you go through the long range planning and do not discover any conflicts that should be fine. The only caution I would raise is the amount of time dedicated to each and the priority assigned to each. You will probably have one predominant vision and that I suggest will be your life or your own personal vision. I would assume that your values are constant or the same for each vision.

I would think through how these visions support each other and how they will work together. One of the activities you will get involved with is looking at time allocated to see if you are on track. One of the problems that will frequently come up is that the days and weeks go by and you have not allocated any effort on your vision. Remember that a vision contains a purpose and a destination. If you do not allocate any effort you will not fulfill your purpose. If you have multiple visions you could dilute your time so much that you don't fulfill any of them. So you need to do some time management. With multiple visions this task becomes even more important.

THE PUZZLEMENT OF FAITH

2009-09-07T20:45:04Z

There a lot of things I wonder about in this life and one of those things is faith. I had thought that faith meant a belief in something as being true without any proof. As I get older this definition has changed for me. I now believe that faith is a belief that life is worth living for many reasons based on my life experiences. If I have faith I say to myself, I'm going to go for it. After I explained this to someone I got the question; faith in what? That got me thinking again. My faith could be based on faith in myself, faith in my friends, or faith in a higher power. At some level I believe that it is all of the above. I have faith that my life has a purpose and that if I am true to myself, life will be worth living. I think that in most cases a person's faith is really not blind. Their faith is based on their understanding of life and their experiences.

Faith goes hand and hand with your belief. If I see someone that is very frustrated or in despair, I would say that they have lost their faith. This could be because they have doubts about their belief or because of experiences that have violated their faith. Life does not guarantee that we will only have pleasant experiences. What I believe is that faith promises that each experience has a purpose and ultimately that purpose is positive.

We have a great luxury that allows us to build our faith based on our understanding of life and that would allow for a positive view. We can get all tangled up in religion but there is no need for that. You just need to affirm what faith means to you. Start with faith in yourself and build a support structure. It is ultimately your decision if this will be a positive or a negative influence. Now we get to where the rubber meets the road, or as my father would say - the bottom line. You and you alone are accountable for your life.

STRATEGIC PLANNING GETS A BUM RAP

2009-09-07T14:53:10Z

I have seen people cringe at the mention of strategic planning. I think that this process is getting a bum rap. Strategic planning is made up of 4 critical sub-processes; i.e. (1) A GAP Analysis to determine weaknesses, (2) Documenting the vision to define your goal, (3) Identifying resources needed (based on the GAP and the vision), and (4) Defining the balanced score card to understand how to track progress.

Most of the time there is one of these elements that is not understood and therefore causing the fear. These four elements are all needed to create a strategic plan. It can be that the group does not want to spend time doing one or more of the elements or that they do not see the need for one of them. Without some attention on all four elements the strategic plan will not be complete. Instead of a five or ten year plan you get a plan that is obsolete in a few weeks or never followed at all.

Skip the strategic plan (or any one of the four elements), and you are doomed before you begin. To have a plan that produces a positive return on investment you have to design it and then implement it. This should be a long range plan with a useful and valid set of defined goals and measurements. There is nothing wrong with refining the plan as new information is generated, but don't waste time creating a notebook that will never be opened.

Busy Work

2009-09-06T11:46:50Z

After a discussion about strategic planning I had someone tell me "Our purpose is not about plans or execution of plans. That is simply busy work." That did not mean that this person was not interested in planning, it was just not their focus. The problem is that without the focus you lose the passion for the vision. Your focus is quickly drawn to everyday problems and in a short time you are off the path. You have to step back and look at the bigger picture. You can't put all your focus on the planning and you can't put all your focus on the problem of the day. You need a balance. To have a passion for the plan does not mean that you do not look at daily opportunities. You need a passion for the big picture - a passion to develop the plan and to implement the plan. If you think any aspect of the process is "busy work" you will lose the passion. The power you receive by having passion for your vision and a focused intention will produce spectacular results.

Strategic planning develops a focus for your vision and a clear path to realize it. The awareness you have when you are certain of your vision will show you the path to success. Everything you do will brighten that picture of success. All your energy will be focused on the plan you have developed.

Busy work is a term for work or assignments that are felt to be time consuming, but not useful. Busy work is work which will keep someone occupied without being constructive or productive. I would say that busy work is any work that does not contribute in some way to the strategic plan. This usually happens when a person does not understand the plan (poor leadership) or they just do not buy into the plan. If you have no passion for the plan then just about any work associated with that plan will be thought of as busy work. When you hear someone say something like - this is all busy work, you have a disconnect.

The "Bucket" list

2009-07-27T16:38:42Z

One of the popular questions we get at our seminars is; why do I run out of time each week? They will tell us how they set up goals and priorities but still run out of time. The simple answer is, that they did not factor in the standard list of priorities (basic needs and relationships). You can do a great job is creating your bucket list or passion list but that is not all there is. You spend time on basic needs like food, housing, finances, health, etc. And you spend time on your relationships. So your top priority listed item may be feed the whales but you spent all your time recovering from an illness, fixing your home, or developing a relationship. Most people recognize this but do not realize the amount of time these items may take. For example I scheduled a camping trip for all day Friday and some time on Thursday to clean up the camper. That same week I had to repair the car, fix somethi ng on the house, my partner was sick, and I had physical therapy. While all these things were somewhat schedules I was no where close to the amount of time it took. A further example, I had one houre for physical therapy. In reality it took over two hours to get ready, drive there, do the activity, and drive back. The next thing I know I am at the end of the week and nothing on my "bucket" list got done and camping on Friday was canceled.
Factor in those default activities along with "reality" time for each. You should expect that these activities will sometimes take more time than you estimated. The real problem is when you discover that every week you run out of time. You are spending all your time on basic needs and no time on your list. Now it is time to re-look at what you want to accomplish.
The same think that happens in lifs will happen in business. You spent some time doing strategic planning (that is your business bucket list) and at the end of the year you did not realize any of your business goals. Take another look at what is important and factor in some realistic time spent on the basic hidden needs.

What was the study recently done on strategic planning?

2009-06-22T16:24:19Z

I saw your message on Facebook and will put this on the blog. You were looking for the industry survey that showed why strategic planning was a good thing. I think you are referring to the Evergreen project. That is the most popular reference I see. The best overview of the study is in a book called What Really Works by William Joyce, Nitin Nohria and Bruce Roberson. They had some good evidence that four key elements were responsible for success (strategy, execution, culture and structure). Most of the programs out there only had short term success (like total quality management, six sigma, and a few others).

Strategic planning

2009-06-14T20:59:54Z

Before you get lost in the details, take a step back. Outline a clear vision and a coherent set of values for your new business. Develop a mission statement and use it to define some short-term goals and priorities. There are three elements needed in advance of you developing a plan and throughout your life you will need to constantly re-think and redefine these elements.
The first are your values. Values are non-negotiable characteristics that you and ultimately your business will reflect. Values could include respect, honesty, joy, forgiveness, patience, humility, commitment, love, generosity, righteousness, etc. We personally believe each person should have a core set of values. These are values that you have learned throughout your life that guide you in everything you do or say.
Next, a Vision is a clear mental portrait of a preferable future. Vision involves change and focuses on what you want the future to be like. Vision provides direction. We challenge anyone who wants to change the direction of his or her life to take a weekend and think about his or her vision of where he or she wants to be down the road. Think about your personal needs and your professional goals. The two better mesh or you have set yourself up to fail.
Are you living as the person you want to be? What is the point? Building any business involves hard work. But it should also include a clear set of rewards. What do you want? Besides all that, you need to define some concrete motivation that goes beyond the satisfaction of a job well done.
Now, how about a mission for your business? A mission is the grand purpose for which you or your business exists. Be careful not to make this too narrow. Your mission statement is a reflection of who you are, and guides your business. We visited a law firm that had a mission to serve the legal needs of an entire state. Well that is pretty broad based. They wouldn't take any cases from the mountains and they wouldn't do real estate. That doesn't sound like "serving the legal needs of the state".
You are ready to start strategic planning. This is nothing more than a map showing you how to achieve your vision without violating your values. Once you have a clear road map for your business, you can plan your journey with more confidence.

Should we stop measuring customer satisfaction

2009-06-07T13:30:51Z

I am going to make a rash assumption that you have already defined yourself (your beliefs, values and purpose for being). How about your business (OK, another assumption is that you own or help run a business)? Have you defined what values will drive your business? What is the purpose of your business? Before we (the Catalyst Group) get started on a strategic plan I always ask and I am frequently amazed at the answers. Following my question I usually get a question in response - why does that make a difference?
Let's look at some possibilities. You have or a partner in a law firm. What do you deliver and who or what creates that deliverable? The answer to that question is usually several different things. One way to prioritize your list is by using the relative return on investment expected from each. One segment of your business is driven by cases referred to you by other law firms that they retain some ownership in. Another aspect of the business would be cases that you own. In both aspects of the business your goal would be to provide client satisfaction. In the first example the "client" was the referring law firm and in the second the client was the person referred within the case.
Now we get to the route of the concern when it comes to strategic planning. Who or what creates the deliverable? Is it a single person (as in the lawyer) or is it a combination of lawyer, case management and paralegal staff support (as in the firm). When you look at the primary provider (lawyer or firm) is it the reputation, the skill, the visual effect, the efficiency, or something else that provides the best return on investment?
When you look at client satisfaction I would suggest that you are better off looking at client dissatisfaction keeping in mind who or what creates your deliverable. If you can address all the potential sources of dissatisfaction I suspect you will have met your goal. Knowing what concerns to address and what processes produce your deliverable is the second input needed to do a good strategic plan.
The next time you get asked: what do you deliver (what do you do, what do you sell, etc.) be ready with an answer that your true "client" can relate to. After our seminars I have seen many creative answers to that question. Here are a few I liked.

We (our firm) provide peace of mind. This was a personal injury law firm dealing directly with plaintiffs.

We (our firm) provide the best return on investment in terms of revenue, time and quality. This was a law firm that handled referred cases where the ownership was fully or partially kept by the referring law firm.

I provide personal attention, integrity and an honest outcome for my clients. This was a single attorney handling domestic cases.

A strategic plan is nothing more than gathering your wish list, looking at your resources, identifying where you are now and defining the best course of action to get to where you want to be. Oh, and lighten up out there. Add some joy into that plan along the way. So far I have not seen any composite deliverable that had any mention of having fun, being a source of a smile, or a we brighten your day statement.