P2P

56 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | F A L L 2 0 2 2 Make the least change the best change. We've all experienced an unusual amount of change over the past 2+ years, both personally and professionally, and we're overwhelmed. How do we use tech to move legal from a culture of communication to one of collaboration? In short, keep your approach simple, measured, and engaged. Here are my tips for getting it right: • Decrease your tech stack. I know, it's blasphemy for any technologist to suggest less tech. But I'm 100% positive you own tech that no one (or virtually no one) is using. Why's that matter? Think of your tech stack like hoteling in a colleague's office for the day. If you can't find the pens, have to call down to ask for some Red Welds (letter or legal size?!), and then wait for them to be dropped off, you've started your day off track. It's hard to recover from that loss of focus. Your tech stack is no different. Research tells us that offering customers (i.e., your professionals) a variety of tools to choose from may have the opposite of the intended effect. In his article "More Isn't Always Better," psychologist Barry Schwartz found that, "More [choice] requires increased time and effort and can lead to anxiety, regret, excessively high expectations, and self-blame if the choices don't work out." In an industry already known for high expectations, anxiety, and regret, our tech should not add to the problem. So, find an underused tool and get rid of it. Everyone will thank you for it. Pro Tip: If you find that you really do need four project management tools, you can reduce the stress of choosing the right tech by creating a decision tree or wizard. For example, you might have three collaboration tools: one that can only be used internally, one that's pay-per-use, and one that can be used internally or externally. Make it easy for your professionals to know that there is only one tool they can use to collaborate with external users without a cost. • Talk to your people – all of them, not just the 'important' ones. We so frequently select technology with only the most senior or influential people in mind. The problem is that even if all your senior people adopt the new tech, process, or change, it will fail miserably if the other professionals can't make it work. Worse yet, professionals who don't feel represented in decision-making often actively challenge your efforts. The key thing to keep in mind when seeking out opinions is that they must be diverse on all levels. You'll need to get input from all sorts of people – hourly staff, people of color, people in 'satellite' offices, people who love tech, AND people who hate tech. Yes, you must talk to people who resist tech every chance they get. While you can't satisfy everyone (nor should you try), understanding the benefits as well as the objections gets you closer to something that works within your four walls. Pro Tip: Assemble an informal advisory group. In one of my previous roles, I created a legal secretary and paralegal tech committee. This team weighed in on everything from defining the new tech we'd pursue (based on their pain points) as well as helped me understand how they work today. • Integrate your existing systems. According to Ben Hengels, VP of Business Development and Partnerships at software provider Ligl.io, "Customers Q 3 W H I T E P A P E R S

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