FROMTHE EXPERTS
FROMTHE EXPERTS
Great Vision Without Great People Is Irrelevant
By Ken Hardison “ No great law firm was ever built on the backs of average people .”
– according to Verne Harnish , business growth expert and author of Scaling UP and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits . And after many years of working with law firm owners and facilitating Legal Mastermind Groups , I wholeheartedly agree with Verne on this matter . Similarly , business expert Jim Collins , in his classic book Good to Great , puts it this way : “ Great vision without great people is irrelevant .”
Over the last 15 years , I ’ ve had the opportunity to observe the growth paths of a wide variety of law firms . Some firms experience dramatic fast-tracked growth while others seem to tread water , despite their best efforts to get ahead . The one thing I can say from watching and working with so many law firms is this : The law firms that experience rapid and sustainable growth – the ones that are doubling , tripling , or quadrupling their cases and profits over time typically have two key components at play :
24 The Trial Lawyer
1 ) A high percentage of what I term “ A players ,” in key positions , and 2 ) A great culture where employees and clients are highly valued .
You are probably familiar with the business / bus analogy – that a business is like a bus , and in order to get to your destination , you need the right people on the right seats based on their skills , and the wrong people off the bus . Otherwise , your bus is constantly breaking down and you waste time and resources with dead ends and detours .
Having the right people in the right seats is one of the key metrics that catapult good law firms to greatness . Unfortunately , many firms don ’ t have the right seats in place , meaning they ’ ve not yet identified the key positions that need to be filled . Other firms have the right seats in place , but the wrong people in them . Sometimes law firms simply have a shortage of great employees , while other firms have great employees , but they are in the wrong seats / positions , so the employees are not working at their full potential .