January 30, 2006
A Law Firm's Future Depends on How Well It Can Change
I’ll take the future! That is what my wife said the other morning. I wish I had said that.
She had been listening as talking heads on TV bemoaned the changes man is causing to our environment and the need to preserve the species, etc, etc, etc. Like Peter Pan, they want to never change. I was half listening to the TV and at the same time reading McKinsey’s 10 Trends to Watch highlighting changes already afoot that will present you with either opportunities or problems.
Except for change, we would not even be here. We are living on a piece of explosion debris warmed by the tip of a burning match. According to the evolutionists, we are simply the current iteration of primordial slime. You don’t have to look far into the past to realize that the future is a worthy goal.
The point is you can’t stop change. Change is constant. It is one of the two certainties in life and business—change is constant and we are always judged by others. That pretty much sums up the laws of economics as well. You can be temporarily successful accidentally. However, Long term success depends on how well you can change, and how well you do it is determined through the eyes of those who judge you. In the case of a law firm, that includes the consumers of legal services and the talent pool you compete for.
Success depends in part on making intelligent assumptions about the future and changing to take advantage of those trends. Assumptions are, by nature, inaccurate. Assumptions are mere temporary targets that you must adjust and refine constantly, narrowing your focus as the future gets closer and closer.
Assumptions are the starting point for strategic planning. Without assumptions as the starting point, it is not possible for effective strategic planning. Your plans should include assumptions about all of the following and anything else your business depends on:
Economics
Labor force and Talent Pool
Technology
Governmental impacts
Professional Rules and Regulations
Nature of market and trends
Pricing constraints
Buying methods of prospects
The internet is a great hunting ground for tapping the insight of futurists and business experts like McKinsey & Co., that spend a lot of time and resources researching trends and thinking about the future. McKinsey offers a free registration for their McKinseyQuarterly online Journal. Your membership includes access to an extensive library of McKinsey articles and white papers.
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Filed under Planning by Tom Collins