As law firm administrators, we are responsible for guiding our firm staff and attorneys as we navigate a rapidly changing landscape. New technology, new processes and new challenges pop up daily, and our job is to filter through all the noise, identify the best path forward, chart the course, acquire the resources and make it happen. Too often we attempt to make these decisions in a vacuum rather than meeting with our clients and listening first to make sure we understand the problem.
Innovative technology can be exciting and sound like it will cure all our problems except for the common cold. However, it is never a good idea to implement technology for the sake of implementing technology. As Steven Covey said so well, “Begin with the end in mind.” In other words, start by identifying the problem we are trying to solve. How do you know what problem you are solving? You talk to the person behind the process. This prep work is hard, time-consuming and sometimes uncomfortable. But the return on your investment of time and energy is immeasurable.
In Lean Six Sigma, we called this process finding out what is critical to quality for the customer, or CTQ analysis. While there are tools and techniques that you can employ, it can also be as simple as sitting down and talking to the attorneys and staff in your firm and asking them to talk about their pain points. It might involve you watching them perform a task or walking you through all the steps of a process. That investment of time and attention will direct your next steps.
Without this preparation, you may find yourself trying to use technology to improve a process only to create a suboptimal outcome. This happens when the bells and whistles of technology create an incorrect perception that it should be used to fix all problems. It is like trying to use your air fryer to cook Thanksgiving dinner. It might be possible, but it is not optimal.
