ACCELERATOR 1
Strengthen Individual Business Generation Capacity
THOUGHTS
Here’s a question I think about a lot:
Why aren’t all lawyers actively doing business development?
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After all these years, I’ve learned there are many answers. The one that stays with me most is that many lawyers simply don’t know how to pursue business development in ways that feel natural, achievable, and enjoyable, while fitting within the realities of everything else important to them, including their work.
Then I ask another question:
If law firms want to grow revenue, and lawyers want to grow revenue and have careers they enjoy, can’t both happen?
I always come to yes.
Here are five approaches I’ve found especially effective.
ASSESSMENT
Before investing in business development initiatives, understand what will move lawyers to action. Diagnosing before prescribing gives the firm a stronger foundation for deciding where to invest its resources.
SEMINARS AND RETREATS
New behaviors often begin with exposure to new possibilities. Seminars and retreats introduce lawyers to different approaches to business development and give them space to consider what might work for them.
BUILDING A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CULTURE: A PROGRAM FOR LEADERS
Business generation accelerates when creating opportunities for one another becomes part of how the firm operates. Leaders can make sharing intelligence, making introductions, spotting opportunities, and bringing colleagues into client relationships part of the air people breathe.
FIRM-WIDE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
A firm-wide curriculum creates a shared understanding of how the firm develops business and what that looks like at each career level. Lawyers gain a clearer path for how to participate and advance, while the firm builds greater collective capacity to generate business.
INDIVIDUAL COACHING
Coaching gives lawyers focused attention to discover and develop approaches that fit who they are, what they want to accomplish, and the realities of their practice. When business development feels more natural and achievable, individual contributions to firm revenue can grow.