As law firms navigate the uncertainties impacting the business of law, leaders must be more intentional about driving consistent and sustainable growth. Unfortunately, most strategic plans fail because they are either too aspirational or too tactical. Aspirational strategic plans are heavy on vision but light on concrete action; tactical strategic plans focus on box-checking but struggle to achieve measurable outcomes.
Firms have the opportunity to overcome these challenges by being more deliberate in navigating the multi-year process of implementation.
A 3-Stage Strategic Growth Roadmap
A Growth Roadmap should have enough structure to guide implementation while being flexible enough to allow leaders to navigate and adapt to the unanticipated issues that will most assuredly arise.
Every plan should identify strategic priorities around the growth drivers of Profitability, Client Loyalty, and Talent Engagement. Every plan should be specific, measurable, and actionable. But beyond clarity on what needs to be done, high performing firms put equal focus around how they will do it.
Law firms can increase the likelihood of successfully achieving a strategic plan by focusing on three distinct phases of implementation:
Phase 1: Growth Readiness
During the initial launch of a strategic plan, an important element of success is growth readiness – arming talent with the information, resources, and training that will be essential to success. Leaders need to build in time for people to embrace and adapt to new behaviors.
Phase 2: Growth Activation
Armed with the skills and tools to be successful, Phase 2 is where momentum starts to build. This is a good place to make accountability a priority, focusing first on establishing team expectations aligned with the bigger picture firm vision.
Phase 3: Growth Acceleration
Once new behaviors are mastered, firms are well positioned to put their foot on the gas to push through the finish line. By this phase, all stakeholders should be fully engaged in ensuring their individual efforts are aligned with the bigger-picture vision (and vice versa). In addition to team accountability standards, clarity on what and how to hold individuals accountable should be a focus.
Keeping Grounded While Taking Flight
As the implementation of the plan progresses, it is important to continue to balance the big-picture aspirations with actions to drive better outcomes. An annual review of top priorities and the specific horizon plan will allow firms to stay focused on their vision while still providing flexibility to adapt actions based on changing circumstances.
During these annual reviews, leadership teams can use the following checklist to pressure test where they are and how they are doing:
- Are we still clearly communicating what success looks like and why?
- Are we focused on a limited set of initiatives (growth pillars) with defined roles for each?
- Are we using a triple-bottom-line scorecard (i.e., one that assesses profits, clients, and people) to measure and manage progress?
- Are we continuing to leverage data (including financial data, client/market intelligence, and stakeholder feedback)?
- Are we using a common language and shared approach to making decisions about how to adapt to changes and maintain accountability?
- How well are we promoting teamwork and collaboration using growth mindset principles to engage and energize the firm around its potential?
Strategic planning isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it process. It requires a holistic approach to growth via sales, revenue generation, and talent recruitment and retention. It needs to balance vision with action, making room for adjustments and refinements along the way. By developing a multi-year roadmap, firms can develop – and, more importantly, execute – a successful strategic plan.
