November 22, 2005
Six Sigma in Law Firms
The lower case sigma (s), the 18th character in the Greek alphabet, is used to represent standard deviation—the spread of data about the mean value. In other words, sigma is the measure of the degree of variance of events around their “standard value”. If sigma is carried to the sixth place, you have, for all practical purposes, zero errors—zero variations from the norm.
“Six Sigma” has come to represent a highly desirable vision around which the leaders of organizations can align all of their employees. It is the message to seek out and eliminate the cause of all errors. In application, it adds another essential component. Six Sigma’s focus is on the customer. Under the flag of Six Sigma, an organization’s purpose is to determine what the customer wants and to deliver it each and every time with no measurable exceptions.
Can Six Sigma work in a law firm? The answer is, of course. But a Six Sigma vision can only come from the firm’s recognized “leader”. It can only thrive in an environment of constant change—recognition that excellence can only be achieved through change. It must place the client’s wants and desires first. It must believe to its very core that when the firm improves the success of their customer, it improves the law firm’s success as well. It must be willing to honestly determine what its clients want and be prepared to deliver it. Those wants may be at odds with the law firm’s traditions but if you break those traditions in favor of the client—you will have a superior competitive advantage. If you do so while eliminating deviations from client expectations, your competitive position will be unassailable.
If your clients had a Six Sigma choice, that choice would get all their business. Customers rarely or never have such a choice. Without such competition, we tend to hang on to traditions and inefficiencies that do not serve our clients best. Nevertheless, do not forget that you risk losing your clients to someone who listens better and changes as a result.
Focusing on what your clients consider “good service” versus “what you consider good service” is a valuable start toward a Six Sigma mindset.
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Filed under Management by Tom Collins