During meetings with Law Firms, one of the phrases I’ve found myself using more and more is “The New Economy” (TNE) and more specifically, how things will be different in the New Economy (TNE). This difference will require different thinking, a different approach and different tactics; but done properly, it can result in different profits. Different bigger profits.
I’m not just talking about the new “Legal” Economy, there is also that to consider, but the whole Economy has changed and that has to be reflected in the way The Firm of The Future will do business.
To do business in TNE a business has to be relevant and being relevant requires constant change. At the moment many firms have a serious problem with any change never mind constant change but TNE will not tolerate you being irrelevant. And an old style law firm is increasingly becoming irrelevant to the needs of TNE consumers.
A decision to change should be followed by action. The marketplace won’t tolerate inaction. Nor will it accept lame excuses for inaction. Most old style law firms are defined by their list of excuses as to why they don’t need a ( add in your favourite) website, 24hr human answering service, twitter account, LinkedIn profiles, e-books, VOIP, legal docs, integrated cashroom, cms, files accessed through the cloud, customer lists, fixed price agreements and so on .
A resilience to constant change and an acceptance of it will be the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful firms, because in this New Economy, the internet, mobile devices and a demand for instant gratification (for a thing or knowledge) will cause more challenges, more disruption and more crisis to occur more often and quicker than ever before.
So if you’re in a firm that can make decisions (or makes them too slowly) or comes up with excuses instead of action, then be prepared for a shock because you aint seen nothing yet!
I’m not just talking about the new “Legal” Economy, there is also that to consider, but the whole Economy has changed and that has to be reflected in the way The Firm of The Future will do business.
To do business in TNE a business has to be relevant and being relevant requires constant change. At the moment many firms have a serious problem with any change never mind constant change but TNE will not tolerate you being irrelevant. And an old style law firm is increasingly becoming irrelevant to the needs of TNE consumers.
A decision to change should be followed by action. The marketplace won’t tolerate inaction. Nor will it accept lame excuses for inaction. Most old style law firms are defined by their list of excuses as to why they don’t need a ( add in your favourite) website, 24hr human answering service, twitter account, LinkedIn profiles, e-books, VOIP, legal docs, integrated cashroom, cms, files accessed through the cloud, customer lists, fixed price agreements and so on .
A resilience to constant change and an acceptance of it will be the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful firms, because in this New Economy, the internet, mobile devices and a demand for instant gratification (for a thing or knowledge) will cause more challenges, more disruption and more crisis to occur more often and quicker than ever before.
So if you’re in a firm that can make decisions (or makes them too slowly) or comes up with excuses instead of action, then be prepared for a shock because you aint seen nothing yet!
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