Do you get your hands dirty, or keep your nails clean at all times?
As lawyers and business owners we are often focused on the bigger picture of running a law firm. Business booms and we hire people, client numbers take a nosedive and we start sacking employees. We outsource, insource, reallocate job duties and manage the workflow. It’s what we do, after all.
And there’s value to that, to be sure. We need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture so we can strategize and maintain excellent client service.
But along the way, it’s easy to come down with managerial memory loss. And that’s a shame.
What does the receptionist go through every day in furtherance of his or her job duties? How does the daily grind make it easier or tougher to get the work done reliably?
How about that paralegal who’s chugging away at a cubicle down the hall?
What could you learn by sitting at that desk for a few days and performing those job duties? Could you learn a thing or two about making workflow smoother?
This isn’t something that comes easily. We have our own jobs to do, our own task lists to get through in order to continue to serve our clients. But there’s a lot to be learned from the process of getting your hands dirty, to tilling the soil rather than using a gardening implement.
Over the past two weeks I got my hands dirty in a most unexpected way. By sitting in a different chair, performing a different job than I’d handled in quite some time, I was able to glean a ton of insights into my own firm. Things I thought I knew were proven wrong, and other matters were completely on target. But in the end, I was able to find ways to make things easier and better for my staffers as well as for my clients.
When was the last time you got your hands dirty around the office?
Image credit: timsamoff (Flickr)
Today! Haha. Our paralegal is out today, and she normally handles outgoing mail. I knew if I didn't do it that it wouldn't get done, and boy is that PITA job! And she already had the envelopes ready for me, and it still took almost half an hour. I spent the time wondering how I could expedite the process. Our intern, who's spent the entire summer scanning in old files so they can be closed and sent offsite, only managed to get halfway through, and I know the files won't be closed if I don't come in and do it. So I'll be here on a few weekends (or more) to finalize it. I don't mind though, as I'd much rather know how to do everything, so I can make the processes more efficient, than to just assume how long it takes to do. I don't own the practice yet, but I will next year. This is good training!