Peer to Peer Magazine

16 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | SPRING 2017 BEST PRACTICES Three Pillars of Success Pillar One: The Right People Three Pillars of Success — Pillar One: The Right People Experience teaches that successful organizations operate in environments where objectives are simple and straightforward. Despite the complexity arising from continuous changes in law firm technology, three fundamental pillars provide a reliable template against which to build business technology success: 1) the right people, 2) the right processes and 3) the right technology. This triad provides a framework for law firms to build their IT operations to support day-to-day business needs. The Three Pillars Overview To understand the three pillars in combination, imagine yourself at an amusement park looking at the towering structure of the roller coaster. The collection of roller coaster cars zooming around the tracks will be our metaphor for the technology pillar. Technology is a combination of tangible and intangible assets. Every organization has a set of tools and equipment –– purchased or borrowed, physical like servers and intangible like ideas and innovation –– and a resulting technology footprint. Processes can be thought of as the rails for the roller coaster track because they help make the ride predictable each time around the track. Official and unofficial processes, the most overlooked components in businesses, govern how people behave and how technology is used within an organization. Complex technology environments in law firms necessitate robust processes to ensure internal users of the firm's technology remain safely in motion. People are the custodians of the roller coaster. They examine and maintain the cars, understand the rails and see how the component parts of the system fit together. Without knowledgeable operators who can ensure a safe and predictable ride, the system is doomed. Even the best technology and most effective processes are destined to fail without the right people. Focusing on the Right People Regardless of recruitment tools or recommended staffing ratios, evaluating and hiring individuals requires the right fit. Consider the following four aributes: » Aptitude: The inherent technical and social capabilities with which a person is born » Aitude: A person's mindset relative to other people, processes and technology » Skills: Context-specific knowledge gained and applied to people, processes and technology » Experience: Know-how through doing; the aggregate practical contact a person acquires with people, processes and technology An IT organization with the right emphasis on aptitude and attitude is more agile than one with an emphasis on skills and experience. by Frank Ziller

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