Your people, both lawyers and staff, are going to leave you. They’re going to move on for one reason or another. As Anne Lamott says, “100 years, all new people.” They’re going to go, I promise.

That’s okay. It’s just reality.

The question for you is this: how are you preparing for their departure? When they leave, will it be a setback for you, or will your firm keep humming along?

The only way you’re going to avoid disruption is to build a culture where people are both doers and teachers. They need to be willing to take the time to teach others how to do the things they do. If it’s just you and one staff person, then the staff person needs to teach you what he or she does.

It’s annoying to constantly be teaching. It’s time consuming, and it’s easier to just do it yourself. Most people lack the patience to teach others and aren’t willing to document the systems and procedures they follow.

Teaching won’t happen unless you drive it. You’ve got to make it an essential element of your culture, and then you’ve got to reinforce it at every opportunity. If you don’t pay attention to encouraging teaching, it will stop as fast as it starts. It just isn’t going to happen without keeping it near the top of your list of priorities.

If you can have everyone prepare someone to step into their role in their absence, you’re going to experience several benefits. Obviously, you’re going to be better prepared in the event of an absence or departure. You’re also going to find the teachers improving the process as they think about how to teach. Beyond that, you’re going to breed a culture in which employees know there’s an opportunity to learn and improve. Creating that opportunity for growth will help you keep you people longer—not 100 years longer, but longer.