“Backwards” Planning
Oscar-Claude Monet, Argenteuil, the Bridge under Repair (1872)
"We are great at making plans, but we can never implement them.”
This is a common observation by partners and managers at many law firms. Their firms invest substantial amounts of time, effort, and money on planning, but most of the plans never achieve anything.
Or, if they do, the results are far less than what the firm had hoped.
In most instances, a principal reason for the failure to execute plans — whether strategic plans, marketing plans, business plans, or plans for a new practice area — is the lack of the infrastructure that the firm needs to support the implementation efforts. The firm's internal management systems and support are inadequate, outdated, or, in many cases, non-existent.
For example, if your firm has never managed the individual performance of your fee earners, using tools such as individual performance reviews and structured feedback, is it realistic for you to expect to achieve even modest strategic goals or to meet your business targets?
Why the classic approach to planning sometimes fails
The classic approach to planning in law firms is to identify and define the objectives first, and then to align the firm's management systems, structures, and procedures to support the plan. This works well in firms that are basically well-managed.
However, the traditional approach frequently fails in firms that have weak or non-existent management infrastructure. They lack a “bridge” to success or, if they have one, it is in bad need of repair. Moreover, most small and midsize law firms do not have the resources — especially partner time and attention — to pursue strategic objectives, lead strategic change, and fix the firm's infrastructure — all at the same time.
The "backwards" approach
This is why sometimes my colleagues and I recommend that, before a law firm embarks on a major planning project, it first should conduct a realistic assessment of whether it has the management systems, structures, and practices that it will need to accomplish any significant and worthwhile objective. This will give the firm's planners — usually the partners and managers — a clearer and more realistic idea of the capacity and ability of their management systems to support the efforts to achieve the goals. This will make the planning process more efficient, because the firm will know what they can realistically achieve, and they also will have a better idea of how to achieve it with a reasonable investment. It will also make them more aware of the full range of the investments that they must make — especially in the area of improvements to management infrastructure — in order to reach their goals.
A goal that is not realistic is not worth pursuing.
At the same time, a thorough review of the major management systems of the firm also can produce quick and sometimes very dramatic improvements in efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
Not happy with your results from strategic planning or in delivering the results you want from your business plan?
Try doing it "backwards."