Are You A Coyote Or Road Runner?
What first impression would someone form if they saw how you work and how run your firm? Would you be proud of the impression you make?
We are all coached from the very beginning about how critical it is to make a good first impression. In a matter of seconds, you are evaluated on your appearance, body language, eye contact, handshake and many other things. Because of this we are self aware and do our best to put our best foot forward when meeting with new, respected or influential people in our work life.
But, behind closed doors what type of lawyer are you? What first impression would someone form if they saw how you work and how run your firm? Would you be proud of the impression you make?
Many attorneys fall into the mindset of “my clients don’t care how I get the work done, they only care that I get the work done right.” This mindset is a trap because how you work directly impacts what work you are able to get done. If instead, you shift your mindset to improve the way you get work done so you that you are more efficient and minimize errors you will have more time to focus on the right work — such as your case strategy — and therefore increase your ability to get your work done right and satisfy your clients.
What Type of Lawyer Are You?
A coyote and road runner can be our example. The coyote works extremely hard, albeit inefficiently, to catch the road runner, often times employing the same or similar approaches over and over every time. But the attempts never end with success. On the other hand, a road runner employs a smarter approach in each situation, depending on its speed and agility, to achieve success and outsmart the coyote.
What if you take this same thinking into your law firm? Are you stuck in your old school ways doing manual, redundant work? And, are you sticking with old processes because it’s just what you know (like the coyote)? Or are you working Like a Boss by using a different approach to work smarter with speed and agility like a road runner?
Client Responsiveness
Clients are demanding more for less and want answers quickly. In fact, according to Forrester Research, Inc., consumers want a response to a question within 6 hours. In the shoes of a lawyer that pressure can be even greater as in those 6 hours, clients expect you to know answers to their questions and provide an almost immediate response. Are you able to respond to clients Like a Boss?
Administrative Tasks
Did you know that up to 40% of small law firm time is spent on administrative tasks? Think about your administrative duties and where you could make improvements — Matter management? Time and billing? Client communications? Managing deadlines? Are your admin tasks weighing you down or are you tackling them Like a Boss?
What type of lawyer are you and what type of lawyer do you want to be? Take the Like a Boss challenge to see how you measure up and get helpful tips to improve how your firm is run so you can be more like a road runner and less like a coyote.
