At my workshop next month in Miami Beach, I’ll go over what I refer to as the “New Rules.” It’s a list of 10 rules I believe you should follow in order to run a successful practice.

Rule #10: Experiment

One of the rules, and it’s probably my favorite, requires experimentation. You’ve got to try new things and figure out what works and what doesn’t. If you’re not experimenting, you’re not growing. Experiments can be simple or complex. They can be cheap or expensive. They can be quick or they can take a very long time.

We ran an experiment for a couple of weeks over the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015. We extended the hours for our intake team by an extra four hours per day. Normally, we take incoming calls from prospective clients from 9 to 5. For a few weeks, we took calls up until 9 PM.

I guess I should say we attempted to take calls until 9 PM because we didn’t really take calls after 5 PM. You see, we didn’t get many calls between 5 and 9. In fact, some evenings we had zero calls during those hours. Our intake folks spent their time twiddling their thumbs. The phones simply didn’t ring much, and when they did ring, it was usually a call from someone behaving wackier than usual.

The bad news is the experiment failed. The good news is we know something now that we didn’t know before. Every experiment is good: it’s either successful or it’s a learning experience. I’m glad we did it.

What should you take away from my experiment? Probably nothing substantive. My circumstances may differ from yours. You may be in a different city, be in a different practice area, or have a different type of client. You should run your own experiment if you’re curious.

However, there is something you should take away from my effort. You should commit to doing experiments. You should always have something in the works. You should endlessly change things in a controlled manner so you can determine what works in your practice.

Experimenting is essential. It’s the root of all growth. Every hire is an experiment. Every new form is an experiment. Every change is the lobby background music is an experiment. You either maintain the status quo, or you grow. Growth is about experiments.

Follow Rule #10. Do an experiment. Start now.

What learning experience are you having today?