“So how does your team know what’s happening? What’s important? What matters to you?” I asked.
“It happens through osmosis,” she says. We keep an eye on the calendar, we message back and forth, and they’re all involved in most of the cases.
I guess “osmosis” explains why the firm’s revenue has been flat for the past three years. It might also explain the turnover, the missed deadlines, and the general sense of “out of control” that this lawyer is experiencing.
I knew she was on to something when I noticed the latest business book called Management by Osmosis. Um, just kidding—there is no such book. Why? Because management doesn’t happen by osmosis.
How to Manage If You Want to Grow Your Business
Management is communication. Management is behavior. It’s something that happens because someone does something. It happens because people communicate and understand one another. It only works when it’s deliberate.
Sure, I’ve met solos who manage their assistant by osmosis. They’ve been together for 20 years, and they read one another’s minds. They’ve done it all before, so they know what to do next.
Of course, they remain solo forever. They can’t grow the practice. That’s fine, if that’s your choice.
But, if you want to scale the practice toward growth, you’ve got to communicate. That means you’ve got to build a management system. You’ve got to explain, discuss, and get on the same page. That happens with regular, scheduled, daily communication. It’s critical to growth.
Where Do You Start?
You start by talking each day. You force it. You make it happen. You do it when you have something to discuss, and you do it when you don’t. You create a system that creates an expectation that you’ll communicate. Then you manage that system by doing what’s expected each day.
Daily meetings need to happen in some form or fashion. Communication needs to take place whether you’re in court, at the dentist, or at breakfast with a referral source. It need not take much time, but it needs to happen. It needs to be as regular as drinking coffee, taking amphetamines, or whatever it is you do to get going. Make it happen.
Can you do it in person? Yes. Can you do it by phone? Yes. Can you do it via video call on Skype? Sure. Can you do it at 8 AM? Yep. How about 4 PM? Absolutely. Can you do it via text/chat/Slack? Do what you need to do, but recognize that each layer reduces the personal connection, and you’ll pay a small price for that.
The foundation for managing your team is communication. Doing it daily, in an orderly, structured, predictable way, is the behavior required to get your team aligned and headed in the same direction.
Create your system. Communicate how it’s going to happen, communicate the importance, and then demonstrate your commitment by executing on the behavior. Meet, talk, share, explain, resolve, and communicate each day. That’s how you manage. It doesn’t happen by osmosis.
