Quite often I converse with
attorneys who start their sentences with the phrase "The right answer
is...” It's absolute and it feels
reassuring and neat; for every problem, for every question, there is a
perfectly right answer. This phrase always
gets me wondering: who are they trying to convince, me or themselves? Are they giving me the right answer, or are
they just forcefully making the case that it is not the wrong answer? Or more to the point, that they are not wrong.
I got to thinking about being
wrong, and the fear that we all have about being wrong after watching an interesting TED Talk. Kathryn Schulz lays out what we all know and
see every day; we have been trained not to be wrong. As an attorney, you are indoctrinated even
deeper into a code of always being right.
It is generally a good instinct to possess as an attorney; clients do
not like to work with lawyers who provide incorrect advice or work product that
contains mistakes.
As a small law firm owner, or an
aspiring one, you need to wear another hat that is critical to your success: that
of an entrepreneur. Successful
entrepreneurs take risks, try new things that are uncertain and yes, they make
mistakes. Successful entrepreneurs make
lots of mistakes. Often, doing it wrong
is the only way to figure out how to do it right.
How can you start taking calculated
risks when it feels so uncomfortable?
The answer is planning. By leveraging
the best available information to determine possible outcomes, comparing risks
of action against no action and establishing ways to measure success, you will
feel empowered to take smart calculated risks and make good decisions.
To get started, focus on the following:
To get started, focus on the following:
-You are never going to have perfect clarity. At NexFirm I spend my days helping aspiring
founders and managing partners of small firms launch and grow their
businesses. We look at critical
decisions from every angle and bring to bear all of the information we can put
our hands on. In the end, we determine
the probability of potential outcomes and make the best decision we can. Often it comes down to one simple point, can
we live with this decision if the worse (not worst) case scenario plays out. You will never have perfect information or
the “right” answer; if you wait until you do you will never affect change.
-You are likely to overestimate the risk of the unknown, and
underestimate the risk of no action.
If you are working at a BigLaw firm and you think that you will
“probably” make partner, the odds are against you. If you think you can’t do better for yourself
as a small firm founder than as an associate, you are again playing against the
odds. Staying with the status quo always
seems more comfortable, and the unknown feels risky. Planning levels the field, allows you to
measure the risk of no action fairly against proactive decisions and move
ahead.
-In the small law firm business, the odds favor those who pursue
growth. Many small law firms tend to
suffer from the same problem; when they are busy they don’t have the time to
engage in business development, when the work ends they starve while they
feverishly work on bringing in billable hours.
Growth brings diversification and richer financial resources, and it is a
key to longevity.
Try to step out of your comfort
zone and seek out some calculated career risks, investigate and quantify all
that you can to make the best decision possible and don’t focus so much on not
being wrong. You may not get the right
answer, just the best answer.
David DePietto is the founder and CEO of NexFirm. He can be reached at dd@nexfirm.com.
