Low-hanging fruit? It’s a myth

Well, okay sure. Let me be more accurate.

Yes, there IS some low-hanging fruit —both literally and figuratively.

Yes, there are some ‘quick wins’ you can get that will improve your practice.

But…

If you set your sights on always looking for quick wins —and low-hanging fruit— you’re like the proverbial guy with a hammer who only sees nails.

You don’t want to be that guy, right?

I’m guessing you’d rather make massive improvements in your practice.

Improvements that make your law practice EXPONENTIALLY easier to manage, right?

And I’m guessing you’d rather have a marketing system that’s cost-effective AND helps you get you great clients with clockwork consistency.

Would you also like it so that you could take a two-week vacation each year without worrying that stuff was blowing up back at work?

Yes, of course you would.

Well, okay so fine…

Let me tell you what will NOT help you create that kind of practice.

Low-hanging fruit, and quick wins.

These shiny objects won’t help you, but…

You probably have a strong attraction to them. Don’t feel bad, because most people do.

You probably have experienced this realization from time to time…

Some shiny objects turn out to be useless duds. Some wind up being disasters.

And yet you keep chasing them.

Why do you think that is?

Well, it’s because that’s the easy, quick stuff. And it’s also free (or cheap).

You think ‘let me take a stab at this, and see if I can pick up steam.’

But you LOSE STEAM, and you lose momentum, and you WASTE TIME (maybe even money) trying to get these quick wins.

Listen closely…

The low-hanging fruit has a hidden cost. But it’s not the cost of reaching for it once.

It’s the cumulative cost of always looking for the quick win, the quick fix, the fast client-getting scheme.

That is, while you’re walking around with that figurative hammer looking for “quick-win nails” to hit…

You’re walking right past the BIG opportunities for revolutionizing your practice.

You see, here’s the deal…

Creating your ideal practice takes a special kind of focus.

You have to zero in on the few key things that will make a MASSIVE improvement.

Quick wins and low-hanging fruit never produces massive improvement.

That’s an absolutist statement, I know. But it’s true.

Never. They never produce a significant improvement.

And the notion that they might is a dangerous myth.

But it’s a myth we are drawn to in a powerful way.

We’d all love to believe that there are a few simple, easy, low-cost things that might catapult our practice up to a new level.

And yet, that never seems to happen does it?

Especially with technology, right?

Technology is vast emporium of shiny objects.

All of which seem to promise quick wins and transformative change.

The sad truth, though, is most lawyers find technology more frustrating than helpful.

Technology by itself isn’t going to bring about massive change. Using it sensibly can help.

But that’s not what most lawyers do (or most small business owners in general, for that matter).

Connecting the dots takes time. That’s true of using technology, and it’s true of figuring how to market your practice.

It takes that special focus I mentioned earlier, where you focus most of your time, energy and money on the vital few things that will lead to massive transformation.

But, here’s the trick…

You not only have to know what to focus on, and then focus on those things…

You also have to SUSTAIN YOUR FOCUS over time. (Not over a few hours of time)

I’m talking over months, and years.

If you can focus on the few key things that will have the biggest impact then you’re guaranteed to transform your practice.

Yes, I said “guaranteed.”

I feel confident saying that because I’ve seen hundreds of lawyers who’ve made big changes to their practices…

And the common element to their success is what I’m telling you about.

They didn’t get obsessed with low-hanging fruit, or bogged down chasing quick wins.

They buckled in, and developed sustained focus on those vital things (i.e. the ones that Richard Koch talks about in this book).

Is it challenging to maintain sustained focus on improving your law firm (at the same time you’re busy doing the work of helping your clients)?

Yes, it’s challenging.

But you knew that already.

What you might have forgotten, though, is the brutal truth of what it will take to improve your practice…

So that you get the same results as those hundreds of lawyers I’ve known have gotten.

You can improve your practice in a radical way.

But it’s all a matter of choice, and focus.

So, let’s recap..

You have several options.

1. You can keep doing things the way you’re doing them, spending time, energy and money taking random stabs at improving things.
2. You can decide to be methodical and create sustained focus on the vital few things that really matter (you’ll have to also spend time figuring out what those things are, which I recommend you do by something other than trial-and-error approaches)
3. You can seek guidance from someone who can help you identify the vital few things, and then help you maintain focus over time as you leverage those things.

You decide what’s the best option.

You can figure out for yourself what’s easier.

But, if you decide you want my help, then check out the Co-Pilot program.

Remember, you can’t change your practice overnight, but you can change the direction you’re taking to improve it.

 

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Learn how to completely transform your practice with the Smart Lawyers Tech Guide.