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December 17, 2012 Practice Management
Not Enough Hours in a Day
Peggy Hoyt, JD The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel This time of year is especially busy. There just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Yet, we each get the same allotment – twenty four hours for me, twenty four hours for you. How we use that time will predict our success and productivity. I’m often asked how I manage to do so much. Part of the answer is – I don’t do it. There’s no way one person can accomplish everything. You have to become adept at delegating those tasks that are not your unique ability to a team member who can help. I watch so many people I know struggle each day. They are trying to do everything themselves and the primary result is th... Read More
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December 4, 2012 Practice Management
Do You Know Where Your Business Is Coming From?
Morgan Law Group Member of WealthCounsel As business owners, we’re naturally trained to keep an eye on our financial data and profitability stats each month. But I’d venture to say that less than half of practice owners are actually monitoring their marketing stats to determine exactly how their income is coming in and where improvements can be made in the future. Why Keep Track? I’ve never been a fan of “spray and pray” marketing-- in other words, buying expensive ads or online real estate and just hoping for great results. I’ve even heard ad reps and gurus call this type of marketing “branding,” claiming that you just have to keep your name out there, regardless if the phone ever... Read More
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September 24, 2012 Practice Management
Can You Procrastinate Your Way to Productivity?
Peggy Hoyt, JD The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel I was preparing for WealthCounsel's Symposium and I was straightening my home office when I picked up the book, "Time Management for Attorneys: A Lawyer's Guide to Decreasing Stress, Eliminating Interruptions & Getting Home on Time" by Mark Powers and Shawn McNalis, partly read, but for now in the way. It makes me wonder whether by procrastinating and not reading this particular book today, can I actually accomplish more? I'm hoping the answer is, "Yes." The Urban Dictionary defines "procrastivity" as the act of being productive in something you don't actually need to be doing in order to put off the work that you should be doing. A good exampl... Read More
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June 27, 2012 Practice Management
Go Forth and Clarify
Carol Clasby, J.D. Style Editor, WealthCounsel You know you’re in the right place when you attend a conference and have trouble deciding which breakout sessions to attend, truly lamenting the fact that you can’t attend them all. Imagine impromptu table discussions about whether or not to bump the em dash; spirited international debates over the use of their as a gender-neutral singular possessive pronoun; and one presenter challenging another over the fundamental nature of communication—verbal or visual—while a palpable tension fills the air. My brethren. This spring, I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Clarity 2012 conference. Clarity describes itself as “a worldwide group of lawyers and others who advocate usi... Read More
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June 19, 2012 Practice Management
How to Resign from a Job—Dos and Don'ts
The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel There must be 50 ways to leave your employer. As the Paul Simon song so aptly says, “Slip out the back Jack, make a new plan Stan, you don’t have to be coy Roy, just get yourself free.” I’m fascinated by the number of ways people leave their employers and/or end relationships, which sometimes can be one and the same. Is there a right way or a wrong way to disengage from employment? I believe there is. I posed this question to Chuck Csizmar, CCP, Principal of the CMC Compensation Group who gave this sage advice: “One of the safest ways to resign is to say that you're leaving for more money. Most folks do receive more compensation from their next emp... Read More
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May 22, 2012 Practice Management
Lists—the Danger and Utility
Jan Copley, Attorney at Law www.copleycoaching.com Member of WealthCounsel Listing, Listing No, I am not talking about leaning sideways! I’ve been writing about checklists and processes. I thought I would spend one more blog posting talking about the danger and utility of one of the most humble of thought documents: the list. Lists can be useful. I think there are two major reasons to use lists: (1) as a brain dump; and (2) as a clarifying tool. The list as brain dump. Are you worried that you can’t remember everything you should be doing? Do you have the nagging feeling that you are forgetting something? Then write it down! You can refer back to the list; you can add things to the list; you’ll fee... Read More
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May 10, 2012 Practice Management
You Can’t Move Forward Looking Back – Part Three
Peggy Hoyt, JD The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel [Part 3 in a series of 3 articles.] This is the third and final installment of ideas gleaned from the Millionaire MBA. It’s important to take time to reflect on some of these issues. 21. Get in the groove. Essentially what this means is you have to create a routine that works for you. It will help you to organize your time and your day for maximum productivity. What does your “typical” day look like? Is there any structure to it at all? Do you have a time map for what to do and when? Are you allocating your time to your highest and best uses? My days all look pretty similar. I have to have a routine or I wouldn’t be... Read More
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May 1, 2012 Practice Management
Lists, Checklists and Processes — Oh My!
Jan Copley, Attorney at Law www.copleycoaching.com Member of WealthCounsel Many of my coaching clients struggle with protocols in their practices. As a result, it seems they continuing reinvent the wheel, and they have to put out fires when seemingly routine matters go bad. My coaching involves telling my clients about the importance of creating written processes in their offices and I try to give them hints on how to do it. Late last year, I read Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto. The book got me thinking about the various tools we create to remember things and to get things done. I’ve decided that we use three different types of devices: lists, checklists, and processes, with subtle differences between them, but all very useful. C... Read More
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April 24, 2012 Practice Management
Are You A Situational Extrovert?
Mark Powers Atticus, Inc. Shawn McNails Atticus, Inc. At its simplest level, marketing yourself requires you to cultivate relationships. Lots of them. With other attorneys, other professionals and often with clients. For those of you who delight in socializing, this is easy. You’re energized by being with groups of people and crave social contact. Your only worry is how to manage your time to fit in all the socializing you’d like to do. But it’s a different story for those of you who think of yourselves as shy. No matter how old you are, or how long you’ve been in practice, you may notice that you limit marketing y... Read More
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April 10, 2012 Practice Management
The Peter Principle – Alive and Well
Peggy Hoyt, JD The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel The concept behind the Peter Principle is that people get promoted until they reach a level of incompetency. This makes sense. As long as I’m doing well, learning, and performing, my efforts may be noticed and if there is an opportunity for advancement, I’ll get promoted. Ultimately, I’ll be promoted to a level where I’ve exceeded my capabilities to learn and grow - hence, the idea that I’ve reached the outer realm of my competency. We’ve probably all seen the Peter Principle in action. These are people who are not competent to carry out the responsibilities they’ve been given or in some cases, responsibilities they’ve assumed on their own. As an entreprene... Read More