Digital White Papers

12 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER POTPOURRI Keeping Innovation Strategies On Track Across Global Cultural Lines This can be exacerbated by a lack of the strong top-down leadership necessary for any innovation strategy. There can be many bosses in a partnership, bringing to mind the old adage that "those who shout the loudest get their way." The potential danger is that strategy can become mired in personal agendas that dilute the firm's focus and execution. Corporations, on the other hand, have a clearer management structure. Proposals are judged by their potential to improve the boom line rather than by the power of the proposer. Some characteristics that can sabotage innovation include: » Underestimating the influence of individuals on decisions » A culture of avoiding failure » Limited or nonexistent fee relief to work on innovation streams » Bringing IT in only at the end of an innovation stream to provide limited-scope technology tools » A CFO with inordinate power in the organization » Using "What are other law firms doing?" as the leading innovation approach » Partners close to retirement who are risk-averse There are two things you can do to prevent obstacles that sabotage innovation. Stress the Profitability of IT: Focus on how technology can contribute to the bottom line to demonstrate that IT can potentially be a profit center. This allows you to initiate a conversation with the CFO that is not related to needing money. Make the relationship between the CIO and CFO symbiotic rather than antagonistic. CFOs want technology to help their teams perform their roles, so make sure the finance people know they are well-supported by the technology. Business service directors need a team approach to working together; if no one else initiates that "team" mentality then a thoughtful CIO will do so. That way ideas for new projects are discussed early, their associated costs come as less of a surprise and the projects themselves become shared objectives for moving the firm forward. Be in Front of the Pack…Sometimes: Staring like sheep ready to get in line behind the innovations of other law firms is a nightmare. Remember that someone must have the courage to be first. It can be scary, but sometimes the advantage of being first will have such a potentially positive financial effect that the firm can afford to take the risk. This is in part about building an internal profile that expects success and therefore lives with things being a bit tricky –– at least once in a while. You want to be in a position where other law firms are asking, "What is your firm doing?" rather than your firm asking what others are doing. Partners close to retirement can sometimes be nervous about large capital investments that could affect their profits. Changing operating expenses rather than capital expenses can help, as can having an evenly spread budget. Try to limit peak and trough years. For example, invest in one area –– network, servers and desktops –– each year on a three-year hardware cycle. In this way, even large projects such as replacement of a practice management system will be spread across at least three financial years, keeping the project viable in the eyes of all partners. As we move to a more virtual environment, this issue will affect technology less and less. ILTA 1 2 How To Prevent a Sabotaged Innovation by Janet Day, Consultant

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