So, if you’re an owner, that’s fantastic and you can sit in the owner’s box and you can have your own meetings and talk about owner’s things, but make no mistake, when you are in the business and you are wearing that hat and sitting in that seat, that you’re not the owner, you’re an employee, and that is completely separate and distinct from the other.” – John Nachezel, (4:50)
The first step that law firms need to take to solve their issues is to have an awakening and become aware that there is something that needs to be changed. It’s recognizing that they didn’t go to business school, they went to law school, so they simply have no training on how to run a business. Unfortunately, many of them are late to the game and realize too late that yes they are a professional services company, but they are also running a business. It’s changing the mindset that they are only lawyers and realizing that they have an equally important responsibility of being the CEO and running the business. Being a lawyer requires a certain tenacity and ambition, but just because you went to law school doesn’t mean you know how to manage people and are equipped to run a business, it just means you’re now a lawyer.
Having this awareness is helpful when firms start to add more partners and there are more and more people to coordinate with. This is where the EOS system greatly improves a CEO’s life. John did not come in guns blazing when he was hired on as an EOS implementer because it would have been easy for people to question why they should listen to him when he’s not a lawyer himself. He came in with the much softer approach of I’m here to help you instead of being a threat to you. He made it clear that he doesn’t have the certain skills that lawyers do, but he does have something from his background and his experiences that he could share with them. Both the roles of a lawyer and an EOS integrator are equally important, but just because someone is a good lawyer does not mean they will make a good manager.
Employees Living the EOS Life
When people question how the Mike Morse Law Firm is so successful or why they are structured the way they are, the answer is always that they have done a wonderful job of putting people in their sweet spot. If someone is supposed to be good at eight things in their job, but they’re terrible at six of them and truly outstanding at two of them, the firm doesn’t see them as a failure, they praise them for being able to do two things exceptionally well and then make use of that. Then if they allow that employee to do those two things that they are really good at, that employee is happy, which makes the firm happy. They delight in their differences and encourage employees to focus on their strengths so they can contribute in the best way possible.
Transform Your Business Today!
For more conversations like this, check out other episodes of Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way, where Will Crist talks with entrepreneurs and business leaders about the life-changing effects of the EOS model. For more information on how you can transform your business, schedule a call with Will today!
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