Get Off the Bike and In the Car to Drive Law Firm Growth

I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast Episode #273.

Welcome to The Law Firm Owner Podcast, powered by Velocity Work, for owners who want to grow a firm that gives them the life they want. Get crystal clear on where you're going, take planning seriously, and honor your plan like a pro. This is the work that creates Velocity.

Hey, everyone, welcome to this week's episode. Today we are going to talk about an analogy that tends to really stick with people. And it doesn't matter where they are in the journey of their firm, and with the growth and with the revenue and with the team size, everyone is actually able to use this analogy no matter where they are. So we're going to talk about that today.

The analogy is about the bike versus the car. Sometimes I will say to people, “Get off the bike and get into the car,” and they know exactly what I mean. It's usually in a conversation where they are fighting for their limitations, in terms of the constraints that they're experiencing, the capacity ceiling that they're experiencing.

And so when I say that to them, they always get it immediately. They know exactly what that means. They know exactly what they need to do. And so we're going to break it down here a little bit.

I want you to think about, for yourself, where with your firm or your life do you need to get off the bike and get into the car? In this analogy, the bike represents doing everything yourself, being heavily involved in every detail, exerting a lot of effort for incremental progress.

So think about yourself on a bike, and you're really huffing and puffing and trying to make everything go and you're not able to get the momentum that you could if you were in a car.

Now, the car symbolizes really leveraging tools and systems and your team. So people to accelerate progress, and it's a less direct effort from you. It's about working smarter, not harder.

And what comes with this typically, is a lot of anxiety and sometimes straight up fear around what it would mean to get into the car and the perceived risk associated with that.

Now while there may be risks, usually when you're thinking in that way, and you do have fear or some trepidation about “getting into the car”, usually your fears or your anxieties that are there, while they may have some merit, you are not looking at the upside of getting into the car.

Of handling everything with as much responsibility and grace as possible as you get off the bike and get into the car. And what that means to actually start to turn and really get serious about leveraging tools and systems and people in order to experience progress and in order to experience momentum.

The other reason I like this analogy is because our company name is Velocity Work. And the reason we named our company this is because we facilitate and do the work with law firm owners that creates velocity, velocity work. And I love this analogy because it's right in line with the company name and our whole ethos.

We do things that will create velocity. We do the work that creates velocity, and that does mean leveraging tools and systems and people to accelerate progress. So there's a lot to think of here and a lot to unpack.

This is one of those episodes that you can probably go back and listen to a year from now and you'll have different ideas that strike you because of what you listen to. Because your version of riding the bike is going to be different next year at this time than what it is right now for you, what is true right now for you.

And no matter where you are, there's a few things that I know to be true when we are thinking through how to get off of the bike and get into the car. So I'm going to cover some of those things now.

Generally speaking, what this comes down to is strategic delegation… and we're going to talk about that a little bit. Focusing on what truly matters… we'll talk about that a little bit. Relying on data and being willing to change. And if you can get your head around some of this… And this is not meant to be an episode where you're just going to nail every point in the next three months. This is growth. Growth is messy.

But these are the things that I notice people who do leverage what they have around them, and they do build in a sustainable way, they are so much more fulfilled, they're so much happier, and they really are playing the long game.

And for those of you who are saying, “Well, getting in the car sounds like the kind of growth that I don't actually want in my world. I'm not looking for that kind of growth,” because you associate getting in the car with building a bigger firm. And if that's you… bigger firm, meaning bigger than you want kind of firm... that's not true. That is not what this is about.

You can, you absolutely can do that, but that's not what this is about. So don't shut down when I say that. Just keep an open mind, and know that if you are willing to do some of the things that we talk about on this episode, you will improve your life, your quality of life, specifically as it pertains to your business, but then also outside of work.

Okay, so point number one, a major, major piece of this is delegation. Many of you listening to this are pretty good at delegation. Some of you listening to this are terrible at it and hang on to everything. And the reasons for that I'm actually going to be addressing here in just a little bit.

But let's talk just nuts and bolts about delegation for a minute. You cannot get into the car unless you learn to delegate and take it very seriously. You get things off your plate that don't have to be you. And you work to get things off your plate that don't have to be you.

I'm not talking just the administrative tasks that some of those things are very easy to delegate, but the more complex things. Once you get the easy stuff off, the low hanging fruit off of your plate, then you got to move up and you got to get the next layer. Which is tougher in many instances to get off your plate. It requires more training. It requires more checking and follow up. And then, eventually things are humming okay.

And then there's this next layer of complexity, and the level of difficulty with delegating and really replacing you in some instances. It doesn't matter where you are, you have to keep looking at how you can keep creating more space for yourself.

Because the more space that you have, the better you can handle this business and the better business owner you can be. So delegation is a big deal no matter where you are or what level you think you are with it. It's a big deal.

Now, when we talk about delegation, there's a few things that I think everybody should know about and everybody should be doing. One of those things is using Loom. If you do not know about Loom, you should. It's screen sharing. It's video recording software of your screen, but it is set up for this specifically, for delegation, for training, for standard operating procedures. It is a true tool.

And now that they have AI built into it, it’s next level. It does things for you that are fantastic. It creates summaries. It creates chapters to your video. It removes the filler words, it removes silence. If you're stopping to think while you're recording yourself, it'll remove that because there's silence.

It's fantastic and very easy to share. So if you don't know about Loom, you should know about Loom. And the other thing… Many of you do use Loom… I'm going to offer one more tip that surprised somebody the other day as I was talking.

You can actually, when you're recording yourself doing a task so that you can show someone how to do the task, if they can watch it, they can ask a question in the middle of video. There's a way to leave a comment in the video. And they can do it through text, or it will record a video comment, so they can just ask the question.

Now what I like to do, is when my team records videos to show me something, or to make sure they're recording themselves so that I can see, “Oh, yeah, you did that well. Here's where you need some feedback,” I can push pause right where the feedback is and leave a comment right there. I usually do video comments; it's just faster for me to verbally articulate and show them something. And then they have it right at the right mark in the video.

Anyway, Loom is amazing. Loom.com So that is one major help when it comes to delegation. If you are not relying on it heavily, you should.

So Loom, and then follow up. You have to follow up with these things. But here's what I want to say, you should assign the follow up to the person that you want follow up from. It is not your job to chase these people down and to say, “Hey, whatever happened with that?”

And so what this should look like is, after you delegate and you make sure they have all the information that they need, and they maybe have even seen you do it because there's a Loom video with what you're handing them, then you can say, “Okay, I want you to follow up with me by…”

And there's a deadline that you put in the calendar. Let's say August 30 is when I want there to be a deadline. And you put an event on the calendar, that person is invited to it, and it is their responsibility to be prepared for that follow up.

Maybe they have recorded themselves actually executing the task. Maybe they have a list of questions prepared. But that meeting, that deadline, will be productive. And it won't be because you are poking people.

It will be because you set the expectation that, “Hey, I'm handing this to you. I'm giving you everything I think you need. And so by this day and time, I want you to be fully executing this on your own. So do whatever you need to do before then. On this day I want a follow up, I want a report, I want questions, I want a video of you doing it, so that we know that we're on the same page, and we can take the next step together.” And then you put the ball in their court. It's on your calendar, and they are invited.

This is a great way to make sure you're staying on things that you are handing off so that you can ensure that they are doing it the way that you would like it to be done. I think that's all I have to say about delegation. But this is a big deal, guys.

Especially if you've delegated quite a bit. Just like I was saying earlier, sometimes we get stuck again before our next wave of delegation because the next wave of delegation is a little bit tougher, it's a little bit harder to explain. They are higher level tasks, and we don't have trust. We have all these barriers… we're going to talk more about the barriers in a minute.

But you have to delegate, and you have to push yourself to keep delegating. Some of the greatest challenges that I've seen my clients put themselves through… They'll challenge themselves… maybe it's because we're doing a daily accountability sprint, or whatever we might be doing, and it will be to delegate one thing a day, period. Get one thing off their plate every single day.

And those have been some of the most productive, happiest months for clients, because they're pushing themselves to do the work that otherwise seems a little daunting. Or they're not exactly sure where to start, they keep kicking the can down the road, and they don't because they've made this challenge for themselves.

Watching them execute on that is pure delight. You see them literally transferring themselves into a car when they do that. So delegation is a big, big, big one. If you need to work here, you need to focus here, make time for it. You have to decide when you're going to put your attention on it. You have to put something in the calendar to give attention to delegation, if you need to push in that area.

All right, the next one I want to talk about is constraining your focus. Part of getting off the bike and getting into the car is focus. If you are all over the place with your efforts and your initiatives and your attention, and even if you can justify why that is, it doesn't matter. You will not get into a car. You will not create or leverage the things you have around you because you're all over the place.

So when I say “constraining focus”, you have to narrow your focus to the most critical areas that will have the most impact on progress and momentum as a firm. And that, many times, means for you also. So constraining your focus and deciding these are the things we're going to get done.

Monday Map is a really great tool to make sure that you are actually calendaring time, that you have time on your calendar, that you're going to spend on these areas of focus that you've created.

Now, inside of Velocity Work, if you've been listening long, you know that literally every person that we work with, every single person, every single law firm owner that we work with, they have to know what they're aiming for. They have to have a well thought out plan to get there.

Which includes the effort that needs to be put forth the projects they're going to get done. The things they're going to do in order to put themselves on the path they want to be on. We call these “Rocks”. So does EOS. So do some other organizations. But that's what we call them. They're key quarterly priorities.

And even though there are so many things you could do, you sift down and you pick 3-5, and that's it; three to five things you're going to get done in the quarter. And when you do that, and you're on the hook for it, and there's accountability for it, most are more likely to stay focused and not turn their heads to something else that's popping up and grabbing their attention.

They stay focused on what they say they were going to get done. And that is a really important piece of getting into a car. You have to constrain your focus. For those members or clients that have a quarter where they didn't do as well staying focused. They did constrain their focus at the beginning and then they lost focus. They didn't stay sort of honed in on those areas, they slow themselves up.

They don't feel the momentum that they want to feel. And again, it's easy to justify. This is not me saying you're worthless if you can't constrain your focus. It's not easy. It's simple, but it's not easy. But it is a big part of giving yourself an advantage, and creating momentum is being able to focus.

The next thing that came to mind as I was thinking through this and creating an outline is data, you have to track numbers. You do not have to track every number in your firm. You don't have to have this perfect set of KPIs.

You just have to know that with the effort that you are putting forth, with the focus that you're exerting… we were talking about constraining your focus… when you're doing that, what numbers will be affected because you're doing that? If you are focused heavily, if there's a project or an initiative around intake and sales, then your conversion rate is going to go up. That's the point, right? So then that is something you would track.

And getting used to tracking the result of all the work you're doing is very important. And here's why I'm adding this in. We all know that tracking is important. Many people feel like they could be doing a better job with it than what they're doing right now. And most of the time they create their own barriers to doing this work because they think that there’s supposed to be this pretty way that it's done, or very organized way that it's done, with this perfect tracker. And that's not true.

When you first get started with something, oftentimes it's messy and you need to let it be a little messy. And so if there are two numbers that you're going to start tracking, and you're not tracking anything currently… And for those of you that say, “Well, I'm not tracking, but I know my numbers.” No, you don't. That is not true. If you're tracking something, and you're watching the progress, and you're paying attention to the progress, then I would believe you.

But if the numbers are just in your software somewhere, and they aren't in a tracker, and you aren't looking at the amount with regular cadence, and you aren't able to see patterns over time, because it's just all stuck in software somewhere where you have to run a report every single time you want to see the number.

That is not the same thing as having a spreadsheet, for example, that has, down the side, the timeframe that you want. So maybe it's by month. So maybe the row is for “January”. And then across the top, there's a column for “Firm Income”. And every single month you put the firm income. Maybe the next one over is “Income by practice area”. So then you break it down. Maybe the next one is “Number of new cases” every month or “New matters”.

But you can start to see there's just some really simple things, that if you start tracking just to have a look at them and just observe them, you will see things over time. You will get curious about things over time, and it will help inform where your focus should be first of all. Like constraining focus, there are so many things we could focus on, if you want to affect a number, you decide something you're going to do in order to affect the number.

So it can help you with constraining focus. But it also will help you understand progress as you are moving through your effort, as you are doing things, as you are putting forth initiatives and executing on things and getting things accomplished. And you will see it result in the numbers. So you have to track, and you don't have to track perfectly, and you don't need to track everything, you just need to track a few key numbers.

Be curious about it. Be committed to it so that you are looking at it month over month over month. Or maybe it's more often than that, week over week. It depends on what you want to see, right? But just putting it in, putting it in, putting it in, and looking at it.

And you can delegate pieces of this, somebody else can drop in the data. But maybe you have a link to the spreadsheet in a calendar event once a week where you go check on that sheet, you see what's going on with it, you see the progress, but you've got to get a cadence around data.

As a business owner, if you want to get off the bike and get into the car, you have to start getting familiar and getting good at looking at numbers. And start with just a couple of numbers. And then, as you get really comfortable with those…  and those are just easy. It's easy to input, it's easy to look at, it's easy to glean insights… then add a number or two, and then add a number or two.

So as your comfort level increases, and as your capability and your competence increase when you look at numbers, you just keep going.

And this sort of leads me to something else that I was really thinking about when you're trying to get off the bike and get into the car. Part of creating momentum is building on small wins. So many of you, and I am like this too, you are waiting for those big swings and those big wins. But turtle steps for the win. That's what we used to say a lot when we were doing the daily accountability sprints.

You have to start with small achievable changes. That builds confidence, not just in you, certainly in you, but your team too. It builds confidence and it builds momentum. And then as you experience the benefits of working differently, then it becomes easier to adopt more significant changes.

So this idea that people think it's so silly that they're only going to track a couple of numbers, well, this is what it takes. Because I'll tell you right now, if you start tracking 10 numbers, you are not going to get out of it what you should get out of it.

First of all, you probably aren't going to keep up with it. So start with two. Get really good at looking at those and get really curious about what drives those numbers and how to affect change with those numbers and get good at inputting. Get good at reviewing those two numbers. Prove it to yourself. Create that trust with yourself that you've got this, and then you can build on it.

Another important point when it comes to this analogy of getting off the bike and getting into the car, and this sort of goes hand in hand with delegation, but deeper than that, is that you have to realize that your job is to step into being a leader versus a performer or a doer.

You're still going to do things; I'm not saying that you're not going to be doing anything. But in organizations, there are doers and then there are leaders or managers. And you have to learn how to be stepping more and more into that.

Even if you only have a couple of people on your team, if you are not developing them, if you are not giving them opportunities to grow… Which means, by the way, delegating to them. Elevating them to be able to do things that would really help out, really help the firm. So it's almost like get their basic skill set when they come in. Or if you've had someone for a long time, are they really doing a fantastic job with the basics of the job?

When the answer is yes, and until the answer is yes, you work with them on this. You don't just throw things at them. You work with them. You make sure they have the tools that they need.

Now, there are times where it's not a great fit. You are really working with them and it's not coming around. Then you may have some tough decisions to make… It may not even be a tough decision.

But you work with them. You be a leader. You lead them to be able to do their job well. You give them the tools that they need. You give them the training that they need. And you are there for them with support when they need it. And you let them fly. That is your job, is to let people fly.

And the more and more that you grasp this, the faster you will move. The faster the car will go when you get into the car. But if you lose patience a lot, and you're not spending time with them, and you have this whole narrative about just how they're not good enough… If you repeatedly have that about people that work for you, there's a common denominator here that's worth looking at.

How do you need to be a better leader? This doesn't mean some… I talked last week about big “M” mentoring and little “m” mentoring. I almost feel the same about this; big “L” leader and little “l” leadership. It's not about being this leader that's awe inspiring and just hands people what they need. And because they're such good leaders, the people that you're handing the tasks to, they just fly.

No, in what world? That doesn't happen very often. What is true, and what's more real, is small “l” leadership. Give them what they need. Be supportive. Be, at first, a little micromanaging until you know that they've got it. And I don't mean micromanage because that's your MO. I mean, it's the right way to manage until you know that they've got it.

For instance, I just heard somebody give this analogy the other day and I thought this was brilliant. You don't just explain to a three-year-old how to pour their own milk into their cereal, you micromanage that. And as they get more developed, then they can start to handle more.

Well, in some ways, certain tasks that you hand people are the same. And there'll be a big spill if you do not micromanage. And eventually they've got it. They've got it. They've got it. Then you can create more space between you and them with the task.

So my whole point here is be a leader. Learn to be a leader. And if that word feels too airy-fairy… And I say that because I've had that before. I'm like, “I don't know how to be a good leader. I'm trying really hard.” I've had those thoughts before. It's a developer; that's how I think about it now. My job is to develop humans.

And we are all working for the same thing. We, inside this company, have created a love for our clients and for our members and for law firm owners, period. And we always look for ways to do that. As a team, the culture is really good and healthy in that way. And my job is to develop people to be able to elevate themselves in their roles. And when that happens, more momentum is created.

And so where can you do this in your world? I get to witness clients do this. I get to witness members do this. And I also get to witness when people don't do this. They don't embrace this, and they don't take this part seriously.

There's a lot to be said about looking at yourself as your job is to develop those within your organization. And the more you develop them, the less is on your plate and the faster the company can move.

Those are the main elements. If I had numbered points, those would have been it; that I just shared with you. And there are a few other things I think that will support what's already been shared here that might help as well.

The first one is that when you think about getting off the bike and getting into the car, you have to understand that that means. You have to slow down in order to speed up. It means that to get off a bike, you have to slow the bike down. You have to actually get off the bike. You have to get into the car. Then you have to find your car keys. And then you have to adjust the mirrors and the driver's seat. Then you have to familiarize yourself with the car. And then you can start to go.

But until all of those things happen… And I know we're sort of deep in this analogy, but it isn't a switch that's just flipped. When I say ‘get off the bike and into the car’, it's not a switch that's flipped. Mentally it is, so that's true. Mentally, it is a switch that's flipped.

But when it comes to execution, there's a sequence of things. And what it requires is commitment to getting in that damn car, turning the car on and going. Because it's so much easier, because anxiety and fear will prevent you from leveraging the tools and the systems and the people around you.

The only thing that holds you back from that is anxiety and fear. And everybody has their own anxieties and fears. So whatever they are for you, no matter how they're presenting, it is resistance. You feel resistance.

If you've ever read Steven Pressfield's book The War of Art… It is so good. He talks about resistance. And the way he describes it is as an invisible force that prevents us from taking action on our most important endeavors. So resistance is that internal pushback that you feel when you attempt to make significant changes.

So moving from a doer to a leader or a developer. From delegating and really working hard to continue to delegate. And to push yourself to delegate more and more and more in a responsible way. There's resistance to tracking, or taking your next step with tracking.

Whatever that looks like, all the things we've talked about already on this, there are a slew of things that internally will come up. They're internal barriers. And this is what he calls “resistance”. So if you are experiencing this, it is an awesome book to read. It'll pull you out of your own way.

The way that he suggests overcoming resistance, in his words, it's by turning pro, showing up consistently, and treating your work with dedication and commitment. And the word there that feels very true to me.

After witnessing many, many, many, many, many people get off the bike and get into the car, is that their level of commitment to getting in that car and getting it going, creating momentum to where they can really speed up, in ways that feel good to them and create more freedom and a larger margin of time and money, that requires that they are committed to getting in the car.

Because when you get off the bike and you get into the car, there are all kinds of barriers. Some are internal barriers, like we've been just talking about just now, and some are external barriers. Maybe you don't have the right fit for a team. Maybe you need to niche down. Maybe you need to expand. It depends on where you are. Maybe it's not just one practice area, maybe you need to open up to a couple. If you're in a super rural area, many times that makes sense. You have to decide.

There are barriers. There are going to have to be real things that you're thinking through, you're overcoming and deciding. We talked about constraining focus. Sometimes it almost feels like you don't have room to constrain your focus because you've got so much on your plate already. These are barriers. They are all over-come-able, but these are barriers.

So when you are thinking about getting off the bike and getting into the car, this is not a cakewalk. Your attitude does matter a lot. It'll be easier the more positive or neutral you feel about it all. But if you have a really strong narrative that pulls you into the dark and is negative or works against you, it's tougher. Still over-come-able.

All of this about getting off the bike and getting into the car. It's for you as the law firm owner. Everybody wins when you get off the bike and you get into the car. Make no mistake, your clients win, your team wins, you win. The business's health wins. Everybody wins.

And the final point I'll make when it comes to this analogy is understanding that by making this transition, you set yourself up for sustained growth rather than short bursts of progress that end up being followed by burnout. This shift in your approach, getting off the bike and getting into the car, allows you to maintain higher quality, higher performance, and it doesn't sacrifice well-being. It's the long game.

Getting off the bike and getting into the car is playing the long game. And so much of the time we fool ourselves into thinking that we are endurance athletes and we can just ride that bike and it's all going to be good. This doesn't end well.

Getting off the bike and getting into the car, leveraging the tools and the systems and the people around you to create a better experience from top to bottom, is it a cakewalk? No. Are there going to be bumps along the way? Absolutely. Are there going to be mistakes? Are there going to be moments where your fear is realized? Yes.

But then there are many more moments where your fear is totally overcome, and things are smooth and they are working the way that they're supposed to work. It's playing the long game.

If you make decisions to stay on the bike because you don't want to experience a mistake or you don't want to experience anything, any of the fears that you have, you don't want to experience any of that, well, okay. Yeah, getting into the car means you're probably going to have to experience some of that.

Guess what? You can handle it. You can totally handle it. It may require some deep breaths and a visit to your therapist, but you know what?... I'm being funny, guys… You got this. That's my point. You've got this.

Being inside of a community like Velocity Work is something that can be really helpful as you're making that transition. I don't want to help people stay on a bike; I want to help them get into the car. And like I said, that is not at the flip of a switch. Mentally, it can be, but it’s through execution. And it's going to take some time, but the payoffs are huge.

All right, everybody. Have a wonderful week. I'll see you here next Tuesday.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/Friday Wrap. If you go to VelocityWork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So, that week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to VelocityWork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to VelocityWork.com where you can plug in to Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.