One question I am asked a lot is, "What are the best practices for ___" or "What is the best way to accomplish this?" The question can be about the 'best' practice management software or the 'best' way to get associates to perform better or the 'best' way to avoid bad clients. But my regular readers know that I am not a big believer in "best practices."
Last week I read one of Harvard Business Review's "Management Tips of the Day" on the topic of best practices which noted that, "Best practices are alluring. If other companies have already determined the best way to do something, why not just do what they did?" But the article also warned that 'best practices' used by others may not be the 'best practice for you or your business. The authors recommended asking these three questions:
- What are the downsides?
- Is success truly attributable to the benchmark practice?
- Are the conditions similar at your firm?
It is important to remember that just because something works for another lawyer or law firm doesn't mean it is going to work for you or for your firm. How do you know that the one practice you observe is what achieves the result? How do you know that there aren't other elements to the plan that you cannot see? Maybe there is one person devoted to making sure this gets done on a daily basis. Maybe this other firm has more resources than you do, or has connections that you do not have.
As this article points out, for best practices to be transferrable, businesses need to have key similarities: strategy, business model, and workforce. Do you (or does your firm) have the same set of strengths and weaknesses, the same philosophy or way of doing business? Are you in a similar market?
The simple fact is that there are too many elements that work together to determine whether a law firm or a particular business strategy used by that firm is successful. Although it pays to be aware of what the competition is doing or what strategies firms outside of your practice area (or even businesses outside of law) are doing, blind copying is not the best strategy.
After you've analyzed the strategy in terms of your individual firm, your clients and your business model, you can make a more informed decision. But even then, you'll only know whether a strategy or tactic will work for you once you have attempted it in real life. Trial and error is the only true test.
Comments