This issue marks the beginning of a series of articles, on How to Create a Process Dependent Law Firm.
This may sound like a rather boring topic and, to be frank, it is. Processes are boring, things.
But read on because it is the implementation of them that it is to be celebrated.
If you don’t already know how important it is to have documented operating procedures in your firm, instructions that can be used for training and managing your employees, I highly recommend reading one of Michael Gerber’s E-Myth books; either The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to do About it, or The E-Myth Attorney: Why Most Legal Practices Don’t Work and What to do About it.
And if you’re not an avid reader of business books, watch this YouTube video, (https://youtu.be/r6hlYqgw-5jI). You can easily load it and listen to the audio. You don’t have to watch it as a video.
The key concept is to start thinking of your legal practice as a business that provides services, in your case, legal services. More specifically, how you can turn your law practice into a business that has a life apart from you – a living entity that you can intentionally design, mold and create, that doesn’t depend on you and yet still produces a high level of consistent and reliable services time after time. If you do it right, you shouldn’t even have to be there if you don’t want to be. You could be calling in for the numbers from the “British Virgin Islands.”
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Th ere are many books on this topic; Traction by Gino Wickman, Built to Sell by John Warrillow to name a couple. While they are all useful reads, not one of them explains how to do what they are all asking you to do – how to get your processes implemented in such a way that it’s easy for your people to use them.
That’s what I will do in this series. Every month I will help you walk through the steps of this process. And it is a process – one that cycles through 3 key stages;
1. Documentation
2. Implementation
3. Innovation
Documentation: The writing down of the instructions on how to do what needs to be done for everything in your firm; how to answer the phone, how to do an effective Client Intake process, how to do an initial legal consultation, etc.
Implementation: The training of the documented procedures. Once you’ve got the process documented, you need to be sure that everyone who will be using them knows how to find the instructions and understands exactly how to do what needs to be done.
Innovation: Keeping the processes current as well as making them better. You get feedback from those who are using the procedures. They let you know what works well, what could work better, and what has changed.
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It’s a cycle. When you get an innovation, you need to document the changes and implement them once again with those who need to know about the changes. Sure enough, things will change again, and the cycle will continue. A wise man once taught me; “Everything changes.” It’s a valuable key concept to remember when things are not going so well AND when things are.
Most attorneys we speak with, at least those who know they need processes, tell us they’ve tried to systematize their business but failed. They can’t seem to keep their processes current. They can’t get their employees to follow processes. The processes they do write are disorganized and saved on cloud drives or in file folders all over their network. They’re in all sorts of formats; Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Spreadsheets, checklists, videos audios…
The challenges are endless. Why is that?
We believe there are two key reasons:
1. The lack of a process development plan.
2. The lack of a process development tool.
The Lack of a Process Development Plan
There is no strategy, and there is no accountability for getting the processes written. You find that the task is overwhelming and endless. No matter how hard you try, how much effort you throw at it, it is simply ineffective. It doesn’t work, and you and everyone else in the firm are too busy to make it happen.
So, it never does. And the thinking goes something like this; “I know I need processes. But I don’t have the time to get them written. So, therefore, I don’t need processes.”
That is simply faulty logic.
There are steps that can be taken, and I’m going to share with you a 5-Step Plan for making it happen. It’s important to know that it is rarely one person’s job to make it happen. Rather it is one of the key responsibilities of the entire management team. You need to enroll your people to assist you with process development and implementation. You need to create a culture where everyone in the business understands why it is in their interest to have a set of documented instructions that they can use when necessary to achieve what they need to achieve.
The Lack of a Process Development Tool
There is no effective tool to organize the processes so they can be implemented.
Most business owners will try using a document management application like Google Docs, or Dropbox or create Microsoft Word files and store them on their servers in file folders.
Document management applications don’t work for organizing your processes. Processes are too complex for a document management software program. This may work if you have an HR department with a full-time document manager who can find the documents when needed. But I’m guessing most of you don’t have a fully staffed Human Resources Department.
You need a tool that is designed specifically for process implementation.
If you’re as PILMMA member, you have a powerful software tool designed for implementing your processes that comes as part of your membership. It’s called the TouchStone Business System, and it can be found in the PILMMA Members Toolkit.
You’ll be presented with a login screen. Use the email address you use with your PILMMA membership and enter your password.
There are libraries of pre-written processes you can download and either use as is or edit. There is a support team to assist you. Reach out to Darlene Hohn, office@pilmma.org, and she’ll be able to direct you to the best resources available.
In next month’s article, I will walk you through a 5-Step Plan for Building a Process Dependent Law Firm. If you can’t wait until next month, we do have an e-book that you can download. That e-book can be found on our website at www.BusinessDesignCorp.com. Til next month, here’s to creating the firm you deserve!
