The Art of Lawyering Podcast 068: How to Crush Your Law Firm Goals

It's that time of the year again! The quarter ends next Wednesday, so we need to check in, revisit goal setting for law firms and make sure you are on the right track.

I think before we get going it's important to remember why we are even setting law firm goals: the main reason is that if you don't know where you want to go you'll never get there.

Whether you are thinking in terms of where you want to go in life or just getting a new car, setting law firm goals is critical to success.
SMART Law Firm Goals
Mostly because I butchered this in the actual podcast, I wanted to take a second to go through what SMART goals are really quickly.

SPECIFIC - like I said in the podcast, a specific goal is simply defined very precisely.

Becoming a better networker is not specific. Being able to enter into a room where you don't know anyone and have a plan of action is.

MEASURABLE - a goal is no good if you can never know if you met it. Measurable goals are often tied to numbers.

You don't want to make a lot of money this quarter, you want to make $50,000.

ACHIEVABLE - a goal is also no good if it's so far out of the stratosphere that there is no chance you can reach buy valium mastercard it.

If you made $100,000 last year, making $200,000 this year is an achievable law firm goal. If you made $20,000, it's probably not.

RESULTS-FOCUSED - goals that are focused on results make it all the easier to tell if they have been reached or not.

If your goal is centered around a "feeling" then it's going to be tough to know when you've reached it. The networking example above is a great example of a goal that is not results oriented and then one that is.

TIME-BOUND - law firm goals that have a specific deadline are much more likely to be reached than those that don't.

There is something about deadlines that force us to take action, even if they are self-imposed.
Law Firm Goals Success is a 3 Step Process
Step 1 is to simply look at where you are right now with your current goals. Are you on track to meet them? Think about why or why not.

Step 2 is to identify what you've been doing that is working toward your goals and what you've been doing (or failing to do) that is preventing you from reaching your goals.

Step 3 is to write down your goals for the quarter, adjusted for past performance, so you can be that much more likely to hit them this time.

It’s that time of the year again! The quarter ends next Wednesday, so we need to check in, revisit goal setting for law firms and make sure you are on the right track.

I think before we get going it’s important to remember why we are even setting law firm goals: the main reason is that if you don’t know where you want to go you’ll never get there.

Whether you are thinking in terms of where you want to go in life or just getting a new car, setting law firm goals is critical to success.

SMART Law Firm Goals

Mostly because I butchered this in the actual podcast, I wanted to take a second to go through what SMART goals are really quickly.

SPECIFIC – like I said in the podcast, a specific goal is simply defined very precisely.

Becoming a better networker is not specific. Being able to enter into a room where you don’t know anyone and have a plan of action is.

MEASURABLE – a goal is no good if you can never know if you met it. Measurable goals are often tied to numbers.

You don’t want to make a lot of money this quarter, you want to make $50,000.

ACHIEVABLE – a goal is also no good if it’s so far out of the stratosphere that there is no chance you can reach buy valium mastercard it.

If you made $100,000 last year, making $200,000 this year is an achievable law firm goal. If you made $20,000, it’s probably not.

RESULTS-FOCUSED – goals that are focused on results make it all the easier to tell if they have been reached or not.

If your goal is centered around a “feeling” then it’s going to be tough to know when you’ve reached it. The networking example above is a great example of a goal that is not results oriented and then one that is.

TIME-BOUND – law firm goals that have a specific deadline are much more likely to be reached than those that don’t.

There is something about deadlines that force us to take action, even if they are self-imposed.

Law Firm Goals Success is a 3 Step Process

Step 1 is to simply look at where you are right now with your current goals. Are you on track to meet them? Think about why or why not.

Step 2 is to identify what you’ve been doing that is working toward your goals and what you’ve been doing (or failing to do) that is preventing you from reaching your goals.

Step 3 is to write down your goals for the quarter, adjusted for past performance, so you can be that much more likely to hit them this time.