Lead, Follow, or Get the F&*! Out of the Way

I wish I'd come up with the title of this post, but I didn't. I stole it blatantly from "Both Sides of the Table" an entrepreneurship blog that I frequently read. I stole the title because I think it says everything that needs to be said on the subject (although I guess, not really, since I'm saying more about it right now). The post had some great insight into what we do as business owners that I thought I'd share on here.

Leadership Isn't Easy

Two paragraphs about leadership that I thought were great for us to think about:

It’s hard to be a real leader. To do that you need to be saying & doing what most people think is wrong. If you think you’re on to a really big idea and everybody else thinks so, too, then most likely it’s already conventional wisdom and you’re too late. When Steve Jobs decided to open retail Apple stores people thought he was crazy. When he launched the iPad many people were saying, “I don’t get it, it’s just a big iPhone” or similar.

Leaders need to be early, have conviction, be persuasive and get others to follow when rational people should not. And trust me, the world is FILLED with naysayers. Whether they succeed or not does not defeat their leadership and willingness to try.

I really like these two paragraphs because that's where I want to be with my firm. I want to revolutionize the practice of DUI defense. I want to change the way that things are done so that my clients get better results, so the cop's jobs are harder when they are out on the street, so innocent people aren't charged and forced to fight a DUI charge they never should have received.

It's easy to want that, but to actually go out and do it is an entirely different story. I've got some ideas for some things to do, but they are a bit controversial. At the end of the day my ideas center on educating the public before they find themselves in their car with flashing lights behind them. They also center on streamlining the DUI defense process so that all of my clients get the kind of representation they deserve (which often requires expert witnesses).

When it comes to just starting a law firm in general, there are always going to be naysayer. "You're going to do what?!" is a typical response from people. You've got to have some conviction for what you are doing, some drive to be better, and then you've got to go after that with passion. And remember, just because people think you're crazy doesn't mean you have a bad idea.

Being a Leader Means Getting Some Followers

Another great paragraph from the article on followers:

There truly aren’t many leaders. It’s a thankless and stressful job. And leaders aren’t always right of when they are they don’t always win. But in every team you need the majority of people who excel at their job functions. They are great at their respective fields whether they be marketing, sales, programming, PR, whatever. People in these job functions are also leaders – don’t get me wrong – but on each team you still need leaders & followers. You simply can’t have a team of people all pulling in different directions.

When you read that paragraph, it becomes clear that being a follower isn't a negative label. In any business you have certain roles to fill. Not everyone can be the person that directs the company in the future or is charge of the vision for the company. People need to be there to execute this vision. In the law firm context, this is your team.

When I first started, my team was me. I did everything. But, as I've become more successful I've begun to see the value in having people that can fulfill certain roles and fulfill them extremely well. For example, I don't do the books anymore - I have an accountant that handles that aspect of the business. Very soon I'm going to have someone acting as a CFO (not just for me but for others) to help direct me on the state of the firm from a cash flow and growth point of view. Just last night I talked to a new website guy who's also got a great background in marketing, website design (from a user standpoint), and website analytics. He's going to help me make sense of what I've got going on with my marketing. And obviously I've got my assistant, who keep the ship running.

The great thing about these people, these "followers" is that they are all able to be unleashed to fulfill their roles in great ways. All successful law firms have these roles to fill, and the more successful you are at filling those roles with people suited to those roles, the better off your business is going to be.

Get the F@$! Out of the Way

Here's his take on these type of people:

But too many people are “back benchers” – the people who are in the back of parliament and get to throw out their opinions in public time but aren’t having to lead. I learned early in life about the destructive nature of back benchers.

Throughout life I’ve realized that many people are back benchers. “That will never work” is their motto. They like to criticize but they don’t have strong ideas of their own. They “know” what’s wrong but they never do anything about it. They never lead. Yet they don’t follow.

When you spot people like that in your company you shoot them. If you wake up one day in any organization and you realize that you’re no longer “part of the solution” it’s time to get the fuck out of the way. This is especially true when you’re senior and too many people are looking at you or when your disbelief undermines the confidence of others.

In work I find nothing more irritating than people who always have their three critiques of your plan but never do anything themselves. I don’t hide it well. I have “get the fuck out of my way” written all over my forehead. It can be a weakness, sure. It makes me less of a politician. But I sleep better at night.

Here's the thing about criticism - I'm all for it. Critique my ideas. Tell me they suck. But if you tell me they suck, you better tell me why you think so and what you think will work better.

In some ways these are the people that fall back on the old "this is the way we've always done it" when new suggestions for things are made. I don't care how it's been done forever - maybe it's been done forever wrongly. If you have these people around you, get rid of them. They aren't giving anything to you, your business, or those around you.

I strongly urge you to check out the whole article, it's really good. And then get moving on your own company - there's always work to be done!