In the frenetic environment that lawyers and legal sector managers inhabit, it can be difficult to raise one’s head from client and work demands to focus on the future of the business.
It is important therefore to take time away from the office and work environment to focus on the needs of TOMORROW’s business.
The word “strategic” suggests that what you are planning for is just out of sight and over the horizon. This makes strategic planning more challenging than creating a costed Business Plan for the next 12 months.
- What will your firm look like in 10 years’ time?
- What is your vision for the firm in 5 years’ time?
- Will key personnel retire within that time?
- Is succession planning needed?
The FORMATION of the plan is not a matter of just drafting a document and putting it away in a drawer, only to be produced at audit.
There needs to be a (ideally facilitated) discussion about where the practice is headed and what issues arise that need to be addressed.
The firm should then identify what it needs to be really good at to make that plan a reality (aka what are the firm’s CRTICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSFs)
Having identified its CSFs the firm should be able to distill and narrow down its KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs). These are the key measures that the senior management team need to focus on and actively manage on an exception basis.
Having formed and agreed the Strategic Plan, the senior team will need to decide on how to effectively DEPLOY the strategy through the business e.g. to Departments/Teams; and then down to Individuals e.g. through the appraisal process.
Strategy Deployment is therefore a dynamic exercise rather than a once-a -year static business plan review. The use of the SWOT analysis at all levels of deployment is beneficial.
Cpm21 can help you by:
- Facilitating a Strategic Business Planning session
- Assisting with identifying CSF and KPIs
- Assisting with design and implementation of a management process that will enable effective deployment to Heads of Department/Team Leaders
- Conducting Appraisals
- Coaching & Mentoring the appropriate managers and leaders
Evaluate our approach by booking an initial facilitated strategic planning session today.
What have you got to lose?
Contact us today while you are thinking about it and arrange a provisional date.
We are confident that you will not regret it.
