“Strategy is deciding whose business you are going to turn away.”“If you never say “no,” you will just be one more undifferentiated firm, trying to do a little bit of everything and…will almost certainly be superb at none of them.”
This week we’re talking about the “Strategy means saying no” article by David Maister. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and is still as spot on today, as it was when it was written.
You can read the full article here – it’s brilliant.
But here’s our take.
Most law firms want to have that thing they’re known for, in fact, it’s essential in today’s super competitive market.
Maister suggests that to achieve this, you can’t (and shouldn’t!) try to be good at everything at the same time.
It means deciding what you want to be known for and what type of clients you want to be working for creating an actionable strategy around this.
The article suggests that saying “no” to some opportunities that don’t fit your focus is okay. More than that, it’s encouraged.
It might seem hard, especially when you’re starting or if someone offers you a lot of money, but it’s crucial for building a strong and unique reputation.
How does this translate to you?
It’s about understanding that being really good at something specific is better than trying to do everything for everyone.
It’s about finding your competitive edge in a seriously competitive landscape.
It’s about not taking on every enquiry that comes in, rather focus on those that relate to your niche and keeping track of how well you’re sticking to your plan.
It’s about making sure everyone in the firm understands and supports the strategy. It’s also about building a brand.
Practical pointers
- Embrace your niche: Choose a niche, a focus area, and/or a target client and actively seek opportunities that align with it.
- Choose relevant events: Choose a few conferences or seminars that are relevant to your focus and prepare for them.
- Write and speak strategically: Grab opportunities to write articles or speak at events about your focus area and avoid unrelated topics.
- Optimise your LinkedIn profile: Build a focused network related to your expertise, engage in relevant conversations and post regularly. Be selective in your connections to build a network aligned with your expertise.
- Practice mindful networking: Attend events purposefully, avoiding excess networking for the sake of it.
- Decline unaligned work (if you can) and start referring: Politely say “no” to work outside your expertise, maintaining focus on your strategy. Have someone else in mind to refer the work to internally (though we know there isn’t always a choice in the matter!).
