Stretching past your current “reality” is the only way to achieving exponential growth. When I speak with law firms around the country I am constantly reminded that the biggest limitation to law firm growth is belief.
There are thousands of law firms in the U.S. Successful firms. Profitable firms. But many of them are not achieving exponential growth. You could model your firm after one of them and, with some intelligence and a lot of hard work, you will likely imitate their success. In fact, that’s probably what you’re doing now or were doing in the past.
But if you’re reading this, you already know that if you keep doing what everyone else is doing, you will never break away from the pack. You must separate yourself in order to beat your competition.
Think of it in Terms of Growth
It’s tempting to set a goal of 10 percent growth every year. Maybe even 20%. 10 percent is not overwhelming. It feels doable. Your team can probably manage it without anyone even grumbling. And 10 percent more is 10 percent more than you have right now, right? Besides, maybe you’ll do even better.
This mentality needs to stop.
Can you imagine an archer aiming for a target’s outer ring but hoping to hit the bullseye? The arrow will go where the archer aims. If you want a bullseye, you have to aim for a bullseye. If you aim for 10 percent growth, that is the absolute most growth you will get. But if you aim for 30 percent… Or even 50 percent…the possibilities become endless.
Ten percent is not a stretch. Your team can hit that goal right now. You already know it. A better goal is a stretch goal, one that will push your team to perform their best, without pushing so hard that you break them. And your team wants to stretch, they really do. Stretching is professionally invigorating. It’s exciting. It keeps people motivated.
The Best Stretch Goals are SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.
Specific – Who, What, When, Where, Why
Measurable – What metrics will you use to determine if you meet the goal?
Achievable –Do you have the tools and skills needed? If you don’t currently possess them, what will it take to attain them?
Relevant – Does this goal make sense when paired with your other business goals?
Timed – Set a specific, realistic deadline. Set periodic check-ins, and define what you want to see by those dates.
You know your team and your current situation. Think about where you really want to be next year. What’s it going to take for you to hit that bullseye? Plan for that.
To Your Continued Success,
Luis Scott
