Use the five 'Ws' to increase innovation in your legal practice

In the face of shifts in legislation, economic pressures, technology and competitive pressures, it's clear that even the most conservative legal practice must evolve to meet these challenges and prosper.

There's no shortage of ideas for business model innovation for legal practices. The challenge is figuring out what type of innovation is best suited to your own practice. This type of strategic thinking can reduce unintended consequences down the road.

Take this example as a cautionary tale. Inspired by a seminar they attended, leaders of one organisation decided to adapt their business model and simplify workflow by encouraging everyone to do away with unnecessary tasks. Unfortunately, the effort was not coordinated across the organisation.

Challenges multiplied as staff in one area simplified their workflow and staff in another area found that their responsibilities were complicated by information that was now missing. This resulted in escalating mistakes, excessive conflict, rework and increased costs, as everyone was spending time sorting out problems instead of efficiently and effectively responding to clients.

The five 'Ws'

The most important part of business model innovation is ensuring that it's the best for your organisation. Challenging your assumptions about how the firm carries out its essential functions, and thereby creating more possibilities for innovation leadership, starts with exploring the five 'Ws' of what, why, who, where and when.

1. What needs to happen? For example, are you primarily focused upon increasing competitiveness in your current market? Are you expanding your client base in new markets? Or, are you seeking to control efficiency and costs? The clearer you and your partners are about the outcomes you need, the more likely it is that new options will appear to address the issue.

2. Why does this need to happen? Are you experiencing a market downturn? Are you capitalising on emerging opportunities? The answers to the remaining 'W' questions depend on the answers to the 'why' question. For example, one firm was faced with a major downturn in its local market. To survive, it realised that its best alternative was to develop clients in a closely-related market located in another geographic region that impacted its answers to the questions below.

3. Who needs to make it happen? For instance, could outsourcing providers or alliance partners be more effective and efficient for some work if you're breaking into new geographies? Does routine work really need to be done by a senior partner, or could someone else do the work just as effectively and efficiently? Keep in mind that, as more competitors are emerging with models that handle different types of client requests by different levels of staff at lower prices, how might your clients perceive your firm?

4. Where will work be done? Does all client work need to be done on your premises? With technology options and mobile apps increasing by the day, where else could the work be done and what could be the advantages to your firm and clients?

5. When (and how) does work need to be done? Many organisations fall into ruts of developing business processesthat depend upon certain steps and timing. When leaders and staff are challenged as to whether the specific timing or sequence is really necessary to achieve the necessary business outcome, people magically 'find time'.

Surprising alternatives

Going through the five 'Ws' with as many stakeholder perspectives as possible can lead to surprising alternatives to your firm's business model, practices and processes. To ensure dialogue is meaningful, it's critical to ensure the conversation is focused and that there is sufficient trust as well as give and take between all who are involved in the conversation.

Just as important as meaningful dialogue is everyone's commitment to apply these insights to make new decisions and to coordinate action steps so that they are best suited to your firm's culture and capabilities.

Investing in this level of strategic thinking on a regular basis can make your firm significantly more profitable and competitive, while preserving or even increasing your ability to provide high-quality services to your clients.

Pamela S. Harper is CEO at Business Advancement (www.businessadvance.com). She gratefully acknowledges the contributions of D. Scott Harper to this article.