RJon Robins

A lawyer’s guide to getting “un-stuck”

May 24, 2011 by RJon Robins

As lawyers we’re all pretty smart. But as a group we tend to have a hard time making decisons. Of course a big part of running any kind of a successful business (a law firm is a business) mastering the ability to make decisions. The problem is, our education ham-strings us when it comes to making decisions.

In our natural state as human beings we are good at making decisions. From the time we are babies until we get it taught out of us, we make decisions in a very natural way. We identify a desire. We decide to make it our goal. And then nature reveals the path to us. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” We all KNOW that to be true from experience. It’s equally true that when the decision is made, truly made, the way to make it happen suddenly appears.

That’s why & how some people are able to accomplish seemingly miraculous feats when faced with a life or death situation. They have no time and no distractions. The decision is clear: do or die. And then the way appears.

But law school teaches us to do exactly the opposite. As lawyers we are taught not to make a decision until we have a plan. And preferably a plan which accounts for every possible contingency.

The problem is that nature does not reveal all the ways to get things done until AFTER a decision has been made.

So the lawyer sits around letting years slip past trying to make a plan in order to have the confidence to make a decision when in fact if only a decision could be made then the plan would be so much easier to figure out.

This, incidentally, is why entrepreneurs complain so much about “deal killing” lawyers. Because the successful entrepreneur is practiced at making decisions with confidence enough in him or herself to know that once the decision is made the way to make it happen will become clear.

So, to get un-stuck from anything you’re dealing with today try this: Make a decision about what you want to accomplish. Make the decision clear, specific and for a definite and honest purpose. I’m not saying to then just jump off the cliff. You will STILL have to make a plan. But just see how much easier the plan is to make and how somehow, almost by magic, everything starts to fall into place AFTER you’ve made a decision.

Then send me an email at RJON@HowToMANAGEaSmallLawFirm.com to let me know how well it works out for you!

RJON

p.s. We still have seats available for two very exciting mastermind events in San Antonio & Atlanta. To learn more about these visit https://howtomanageasmalllawfirm.com/

But then be prepared to made a decision like all those other lawyers did who you’ll see in the videos! 😉

Is your staff screwing up your business?

May 14, 2011 by RJon Robins

I met two amazingly helfpful sales people today. But one almost blew the sale for his employer, while the other succesfully converted a customer into a client for life!

A big part of the reason I designed my business to run the way that it does is because I wanted to STOP travelling so much for business. After 4 years of nearly constant travel for The Florida Bar’s Law Office Management Assistance Service (LOMAS) and then 3 more years of way-too-much travel as a private law firm marketing consultant I was determiend to stay home as much as possible!!!

So the irony isn’t lost on me that I’m the one who goes around saying our businesses have to work for us, not the other way around and here I am living out of a suitcase again! But I LOVE getting out around the country to meet-in-person some of the lawyers I’ve been working with only by phone for these past several years. And I love meeting hundreds of new prospects at all these CLE presentations with local bar associations I’ve been conducting the workshops for, as part of the Tour. And besides, I’ve been around long enough to know that every wave eventually reaches the beach so you better “ride it” while you can which is just what Ale & I decided I’d do with this Lexis-Nexis/Microsoft-sponsored National-CLE-Tour.

If you haven’t done alot of business travel before you may not realize the “little things” you miss being out on the road. Like buying a new pair of running shoes. Or passing by the local electronics shop to pick up a few new gadgets/toys. Sure you can find stores that sell these things in any major US city but it’s not the same going shopping by yourself in a strange city where there are so many new & unique sights to see.

So now that I’m back in town for a couple of weeks I decided to go and pick up a few things that have been on my shopping list for far too long. Specifically, a new ipod nano, a new pair of running shoes and a set of Bose active noise-cancelling headphones to make the next 20 flights I’m scheduled to take between now and July 1st a bit more comfortable.

I’ll write again later to share a story about a phenomenal sales person who really demonstrated enormous value in my pursuit of a new pair of running shoes. In fact, by the time he was done price was literally no object and now I’m a client of that store instead of just a customer. I video’ed a few parts of the experience to share with you that I’ll assemble and share in the next day or two.

But right now I have to report on an enormously knowledgeable and helpful salesperson I encountered at the Best Buy who, despite himself, nearly blew a $1,000 sale . Here’s what happened. I’m sure you’ll see the parallels to your law firm too. . .

I went to the Best Buy to buy an ipod nano, a set of running heaphones for it and the aforementioned Bose noise-cancelling headphones plus we had to pick-up two new external hard drives to store videos on. All-in-all I walked in figuring I was going to drop about $1,000.

The only problem was, the sales person. You see, Best Buy is obviously running a promotion with their staff getting them to push the Best Buy credit card. And that’s exactly what this very nice and quite knowledgable sales person was determined to do. Talk about losing the plot!

Me: “OK, so you make a very compelling case for why a Nano is the best choice for me. I’ll take one of those orange ones.”

Him: “OK, how are you going to pay for this? Because if you apply for a Best Buy card today you can get $10 off and no interest for blah, blah, blah.”

Me: “OK, thanks for letting me know but what I’d really prefer to know about is those noise-cancelling headsphones over there. Can you tell me about the differences between the Dr Dre’s vs the Bose and the different Bose models?”

Him: “Sure [insert some very helpful technical knowledge and some very compelling reasons why I should buy the most expensive Bose headphones rather than compromise to save a buck]. So about that credit card, did I mention you can save $10 today if you apply for it?”

Me: “Yes, you did. Thank you. But what I’d really like to know is if you can offer any guidance about the best headphones to use with the Nano if I’m going to be running with it?”

Him: “I sure can! [Insert some more very helpful technical information and he even pulled out a pair of his own running headphones from his pocket to show me blah, blah, blah]. So about that credit card…”

Me: “You know, I really appreciate that you’re trying to save me $10 but I’m much more concerned with gettting what I came here to get and making the best decision I can so I don’t have to think about these things again. Can you help with external hard drives?”

Him: “Yes. Are you going to be using it for blah, blah, blah, or yadda, yadda, yadda? Because if it’s for [insert even more great and helpful information here].”

Me: “Thanks. You know, I really appreciate all of your help here today, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had the patience to figure all of this out without your help. Are you going to get commission or credit for this?”

Him: “No, just go to any of the cashiers. But you know, with that ipod you really should consider the Best Buy warranty on it because blah, blah, blah”

Me: ” Thanks! That’s great advice, good bye.”

Now let’s examine what happened. The store incentivised their most valuable people to focus on the wrong things. (Sales people & rainmakers are the most valuable people in any business). So There was this very knowledgable sales person who instead of focusing on the core products and helping me figure out how to use them to satisfy all of my needs, he kept disrupting the process with information about how to save $10 on a $1,000 shopping day.

What incentives, rules and/or restrictions are you putting on YOUR staff that may motivate or even force them to work at cross-purposes to the business of your law firm?

Some common culprits you may want to think about include:

Overtime policies
Lack of access to your calendar
Mis-training your “inbound sales” team to be “gate keepers” instead
Failure to properly define the word “emergency” in your practice
Failure to properly delineate between the job of a receptionist vs. secreatary vs. legal assistant vs. paralegal, etc.
Hourly quotas (vs. value-based billing)
Over-emphasis on cost savings vs. revenue generation

“But I’m too busy” – This is a common cop-out amongst not-so-successful lawyers as to why they don’t run a better law firm. Don’t let yourself catch yourself saying it!

The art of starting, marketing & managing a successful law firm

April 28, 2011 by RJon Robins

I was speaking with my painting teacher today about the parallels between painting and my business of helping my fellow lawyers start, market & manage highly successful law firms.

We were talking about the “style” that's evolving in my painting, which is remarkably-similar to the style of my metal sculptures as well. Because the style is what comes out of me naturally and authentically. Does it require that I learn & practice certain skills? Of course. But regardless whether you love it or hate it, what you see is what you get. And that's exactly how the owners of the most successful law firms approach their businesses too. (continued below…)

You see, too many lawyers make the mistake of trying to create a distinction between who they are vs. what their law firm stands for. The trouble with that is it's alot like driving a car by mashing the accelerator and then letting it coast. Mashing the accelerator and then letting it coast. Mashing the accelerator and then letting it coast.

When you're working “hard” to market and manage your law firm it's like you're mashing the accelerator. But then when you get to do what you love to do, what you're probably best at, you don't have to work very hard and then running your law firm is actually FUN!

My art teacher was telling me that lots of artists make the same mistake. They try to make their art into “something” instead of just letting it be a reflection of who they are. She says that's why some very skilled artists are never able to create a collection while others sometimes even newcomers are able to find and explore their own unique style right away and soon find a market for their work.

I want to encourage you to think about what your law firm really stands for? What do YOU really stand for? Are the two in synch?

The Power of the Mastermind Principle: Napoleon Hill Explains

April 21, 2011 by RJon Robins

It’s not a coincidence that throughout history from biblical times and today, the most successful human beings on the planet have all drawn power from the “master-mind”.

In the video clip below Napoleon Hill, author of “Think and Grow Rich”, arguably the most influential business book in history, tells us in his own words of the power of the master-mind principle. And below the video I’ve included a copy of Chapter 10 in which Hill defines the “master mind” as he coined the phrase (the book was published in 1937 and is in the public domain).

It is my opinion, based on experience in my own life that, if you take your business at-all-seriously then you owe it to yourself to get yourself involved in a master-mind group.

Indeed, every-single-one of the lawyers I have known who owns or manages a highly-successful law firm, I believe would agree with me that one of the “secrets” to their success has been the power derived from participating in an organized masterminding group.

The group you avail yourself of, need not be made-up of only of lawyers. Of course, there are times when you may want to mastermind with a group where you are amongst only other owners of solo or small law firms. But then at other times, you will benefit-greatly by masterminding with non-lawyers.

The reasons for the benefits of masterminding are plainly-obvious to those who regularly mastermind. In fact we are often amazed that so many of our fellow attorneys overlook this time-tested and proven method of business, professional and personal advancement. I hope now that you have read this blog post YOU won’t be one of them.

Download Chapter 10 – complete with highlights

Dangerous daydreams

April 18, 2011 by RJon Robins

Dangerous Daydreams For Lawyers

Do you daydream about the sort of law practice you want to have “someday”?

Or howabout the kind of life/lifestyle you want to enjoy “someday”?

For the time being let’s set-aside the fact that the lifestyle is driven by the law firm and please allow me to warn you about a dangerous mode of thinking I hear too many lawyers talking about, far too often.

“In 10 years I’d like to have a X practice doing Y work for Z clients.”

This is not a goal. This is a daydream.

Daydreams are perfectly harmless, so long as you don’t call them “goals”.

Because daydreams that are mislabled as “goals” can be – and most often are – quite distructive to a law firm. (Unless you’re talking about the mislabeled daydreams of clients because when you get right down to it, that’s where a ton of legal work actually comes from in most litigation, bankruptcy, dissolution practices).

The difference between a daydream and a goal is the commitment that we’re prepared to make to turn it into reality.

Daydreams require no action because they’re not “real”. They don’t have a lot of emotion behind them to give them force. There’s no sense of loss or disappointment if our daydreams don’t come true. Because we don’t actually do anything to make our daydreams come true. So our ego is never put to the test.

I’d be excited to win the lottery. But I have no way to improve my odds of winning the lottery. So not-winning the lottery doesn’t force me to re-evaluate any part of my life, nor should it. Because winning the lottery is just a daydream.

Here’s what a lawyer’s daydream looks, sounds and feels like. Go ahead and try saying this out loud:

In 10-15 years I’d I’d be thrilled to double my practice and transition from X to Y practice area with no less than 75% of my cases and clients being what I’d consider to be “A” or “B” level cases or clients.

How does that feel? Sort of soft and cuddly, right? Afterall, 10 years is a long time away so there’s no real sense of urgency.

Now compare that to what a real goal looks and feels like. Try saying this out loud:

I’d be thrilled to double my practice in 18 months and transition from X to Y practice area with no less than 75% of my cases and clients being what I’d consider to be “A” or “B” level cases or clients.

Feels a lot different doesn’t it?

You may have even resisted and refused to say it out loud. That’s because you have integrity. That’s also exactly why it’s dangerous to mislabel daydreams as goals.

Because each and every time you fail to achieve a goal, you are teaching yourself a negative lesson. And the next time you want to achieve anything, you know it’s going to be that much harder to accomplish. Because your ego has a memory. Probably a better memory than your mind. Your ego remember every disappointment in your life – even the long-forgotten ones.

So what’s the solution?

The solution is to get real about your goals and be honest with yourself and be honest with your family too, if the improvements you’re talking about making in your business are just daydreams.

As for me, I have the following goals and the following daydreams (amongst others and subject to change as opportunities enter my conscious-awareness 🙂

Goals:

I have a goal to enroll 100 new members into my various coaching programs by December 31, 2011.

I have a goal to lose 15 pounds by December 31, 2011.

I have a goal to make myself sufficiently-redundant in my business by December 31st so as to be able to take-off for 30 consecutive days with only “emergency access” to me.

By July 2012 I have a goal to be seriously in the market for a new home that we can not-outgrow for at least the next 5 years.

Before August 2011 (this year) I will host a snorkeling/dive trip/mastermind event for 12 awesome lawyers to seriously-supercharge their single-shareholder solo or small law firms.

Daydreams

I would love it if Minidog was sufficiently-trained that I could take him with me for walks “off leash”.

It would be fun to get a new boat this year.

I would feel great about myself if I could complete the next Miami Half-Marathon.

I have this neat idea for a new business that would be like an incubator service for start-ups in South Florida and then we’d replicate it in other markets around the Country.

I’d like to find an agent to rep my sculptures to galleries and collectors.

I invite you to leave a comment and share some of your goals and some of your daydreams too. Daydreams are fun. Daydreams are even productive. Some of my best goals are an outgrowth of some of my best daydreams (witness: www.National-CLE-Tour.com) . What are yours?

How to Start a Law Firm (part 2)

March 10, 2011 by RJon Robins

Steps

Define your goals:

Financial – How much money does the firm have to ‘gross’ in order for you to ‘net’ enough to live the way you WANT to live? ;

Personal – How many hours do you WANT to invest on a daily, weekly and monthly-basis?;

Professional – What types of cases, clients do you WANT to work with in your practice? Remember starting a law firm is an opportunity to create the life you WANT. Don’t settle.

2. Inventory your skills and resources. If you know a particular practice area very well that’s probably the best practice area to concentrate on in the beginning rather than having to learn a new practice area at the same time you’re learning how to run the business of a law firm.

What kind of hands-on business management & marketing skills do you have?

What kind of budget do you have to cover living expenses while the firm gets established, working capital for start-up and operating expenses and to invest in educating yourself about the business of how to start, market & manage a law firm so you don’t waste years of your life & career learning these critical skills the hard way

There are many free resources available to help you. Including many provided for free by me.

But consider the hidden ‘cost’ of free in terms of the time required to piece everything together vs. just enrolling in a course.

Imagine the difference between the student who chooses to enroll in a well-organized course in law school with discussions lead by a supportive and experienced professor vs. the law student who simply takes the course syllabus and endeavors to spend the whole semester on his own looking up and studying all the cases in the library by himself or with a few of his buddies. Who is going to do better on the exam?

3. Make a plan and put that plan to budget and time-table to acquire the skills you find yourself lacking in.

Do this BEFORE you start trying to follow anyone’s advice about writing a business plan or how to create a law firm website that actually generates business, etc. The root cause of the successful law firms isn’t what you can see from the surface from a casual conversation with another lawyer in passing, or in a blog.

Warnings

If you’re reading this and you’re a lawyer I’m going to assume you’re a pretty smart person and you want to be successful. So I’m going to skip the usual and obvious warnings here. Instead, the biggest danger to look out for is advice from other lawyers.

Some aren’t nearly as successful as they’d like you to believe.

Some are in fact very successful but may not have traveled a deliberate and replicable path and so their well-intentioned advice can be a real distraction.

And sad to say, some lawyers are just jerks who would rather have company in their misery and can be quite persuasive in their efforts to recruit you into their merry band of losers.

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