Like our primitive ancestors, adrenaline kicks in when emergencies occur. We fight figuratively or literally for survival, latching onto often blunt instruments to help us meet the crisis. Those blunt instruments at law firms include pulling personnel, compensation and expense levers. Having pulled all those levers, it begs the question of “Now what?”
As we edge back into the office and other venues, the economic terrain looks awfully different than it did when our collective doors slammed on the ensuing pandemic. Employees are traumatized, parents have kids at home full time, most of us are still far more isolated than in the past, virtually all of our clients and companies have their own economic puzzles to decipher, and the political environment promises to boil through the fall elections.
It is all a bit surreal and eerily reminiscent of Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole: Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end! (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 1865) And, as the King later instructs the White Rabbit, the best place to begin is at the beginning. For a law firm, or any organization for that matter, the beginning in such a chaotic environment as this one necessarily includes a real-time, on-going economic assessment of the organization and its key performance metrics.
The next step is a frank inventory of the organization’s greatest weaknesses because they can easily morph into full blown fissures as market conditions deliver continued stresses and surprises in the months ahead. Drafting a few concise game plans to address the weakness short list needs to happen quickly if it has not already. Longer term, the goal is to identify the routes the firm will take in the next 12-24 months to outdistance the competition and increase the odds of thriving. These routes might include:
- a client relations, feedback and analysis initiative;
- a concentrated internal lawyer and employee relations effort focused on relationship building, two-way communication, rumor control and collaboration;
- actions to differentiate and elevate the firm in the eyes of clients, prospective clients, employees (including the firm’s lawyers) and laterals;
- a compensation “Be Prepared” matrix that includes compensation scenarios for doing better, as expected, or worse at year-end;
- a to-do list for growing (or perhaps right-sizing) the organization;
- real-time analytics and metrics reporting in support all of the above; and
- a short list of new stuff to try.
There are a couple of common threads running through these activities -- communication and change management. Stresses born of upheaval are affecting all of us as we struggle to find our footing for what lies ahead. Thus, striking the balance between trying new stuff and relying on the familiar can be tricky. Best to embrace a few good ideas using a task force approach, do the research, run beta tests, gather feedback, and sort out what to pursue, alter, or drop.
Much has been written about great crises leading to innovation and opportunity. Agreed. There are certainly opportunities out there, but rough seas still lie ahead. No one can see around the corner of what the next year or so will bring, but we can be certain that the organizations that thrive will do so because they are doing something inherently difficult – battening down the hatches to weather the storm, while also applying creativity, enthusiasm and commitment to their plans for the future.