the pandemic actually brought us a positive.
my experience has been that firms suffer not only economically, but also professionally. clients and staff also suffer because the following behaviors hurt client service and staff development.
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if you notice any of these in your firm, act today to change the culture.
- lack of trust. trust is the building block of every solid firm and relationship. when there is a lack of trust, there is no firm – just a group of people trying to get the most for themselves.
- afraid of change. we all know the saying, “i love change as long as i don’t have to embrace it.” one positive thing from the current pandemic is that we all have had to change. maybe we realize that change is not necessarily the end of the world and there are different ways to do things.
- no embedded core values. values show us what behavior is acceptable in an organization. strong organizations sweat the soft things. every firm and organization that has closed its doors usually has done so because of a value issue – enron, arthur andersen, etc.
- weak strategic leadership. as yogi berra said, “if you don’t know where you are going, you will surely get there.” a strong leader sets the tone and vision for the firm and lays out a map on how to accomplish the vision.
- lack of a shared vision. aren’t we in this thing together? a shared vision gets the partners to rally around the flag. if your firm does not have one, then partners go in their own directions.
- lack of partner standards. partners set the tone of the firm. if they have no standards to follow, then there is ultimately chaos. i remember hearing a partner say, “i’m a partner, now i can do anything i want.”
- lack of a performance culture. partners need to have goals and know how they will be evaluated. not all partners are created equal and compensation should be based on how a partner creates value for the firm.
now what? the choice is yours. you can continue to suffer from these deadly sins, from lack of accountability and complacency, and mediocre success, or you can improve performance and profitability. the choice is yours!