Change!
Welcome to this month's article of Let’s Be Frank, a monthly newsletter series hosted on LinkedIn and authored by our founder Digby. If you are interested in following along pop over to the Let’s Be Frank LinkedIn page here and hit the subscribe button to have these articles sent straight to your inbox.
Take the shot. Make the change!
Often in business, we find ourselves reacting to whatever comes our way, like a hockey goaltender, blocking or deflecting shots on goal. To make a change, you need to be more like a forward - proactive, looking to create opportunities.
Change in business is often met with resistance. People are challenged to see change as an opportunity. Safe in the status quo, it is easier to follow and wait until new ways of doing things have been tried and tested, before taking a shot and looking to score.
I have spent a lot of time communicating with people about changing away from hourly billing, and it is extremely rare that I hear that it is a bad idea. So why then, is there not more significant change in the legal industry? When does fundamental change occur?
The answer - change occurs when the fear of the status quo exceeds the fear of changing.
When considering the move away from hourly billing, change will occur when the following fears or pain points exceed the fear of making the change:
Fear of losing clients who demand more fee certainty
Fear of having lawyers and paralegals leave the firm or industry completely
As technology explodes, the risk of not building great systems that significantly affect how efficient you are in delivering legal services
You get tired of justifying how every six minutes have been spent
You tire of chasing receivables
Internal demand for change persists and grows, as values and expectations shift around work-life balance
You experience burnout as you try to squeeze in 16 hour work days, while also being truly part of a family.
Seeing beyond the transition to what change can mean is not always easy, even when that change brings opportunities, innovation, efficiencies, and improves competitiveness. I challenge you to be more like a forward with their line, looking to create opportunities, and less like a goaltender deflecting whatever comes at you. Focus on what is important, not just what is urgent.
Perhaps you have a forward’s mentality already, but if not, I hope that after reading this you are encouraged to take the shot and make a change!
Until next time,
