Here’s a quick quiz. Count your “yes” answers.
- Are some of your team members independent contractors?
- Do you work remotely some of the time?
- Are you as productive remotely as you are at the office?
- Are you learning new things using online resources?
- Do your team members provide their own phones?
- Are your client data and internal data secure?
- Do your team members provide their own computers?
- Are you using cloud applications instead of on-site servers?
- Are you instantly available for video conference?
- Can you access all client data from anywhere?
- Can you add to the team dialogue 24/7/365 if you wish?
- Have you cut real estate expenses by implementing hot desks or hoteling?
- Have you eliminated offices?
- Do you accept payments online?
- Do you have instant access to your constantly updated financial dashboard?
- Have you outsourced document handling?
- Have you outsourced human resources?
- Can you monitor up-to-date task and project status information?
- Are you using hosted document management?
- Are your documents assembled with intelligent, online systems?
- Do your reward your team for collaborating online?
How many of your answers were “yes”? How many were “no”?
How do you score the quiz? You don’t. You think about what’s happening in your practice and how well it matches with the changes happening in the arena in which we play. Are you keeping up? Or are you falling behind?
There are always those naysayers who tell us the future of our industry will remain unchanged. Yet, it’s changed dramatically over the past few years. Things are changing constantly. They’re changing faster now than in the past. The lawyers who keep up are the winners. The lawyers who fail to keep up… Well, they know their fate. They’re frustrated, are sometimes angry, and are rarely achieving what they believe they deserve.
I’d argue that not every question above necessarily deserves a “yes.” But every question is worth thinking about as you evaluate the future of your business, the needs of your clients, and the resources required to meet those needs. Each question is worthy of consideration.
There are fewer and fewer “no” responses among lawyers. We’re moving increasingly faster toward “yes.” The question for you is, are you moving toward “yes” on the questions that matter?
