Dateline:  08/31/97

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Take this quiz.  Rank your firm heirarchically on the following. Put a 10 on the one that causes the most problems in profitability in your own firm, and give a 1 to the one that causes the least problem.  You may want to copy this quiz and ask several different partners to give their opinions.  Compare the different answers and use them to open a discussion about ways to increase profitability. The higher the score each item gets, the more important it is to take action to improve it.  See the links below for good ideas.

_____  Not enough new business coming in

_____  Low productivity among associates and staff

_____  Outdated technology

_____  Competition

_____  High Write-offs/Low utilization

_____  Unproductive partner(s)

_____  Too many administrative personnel

_____  Inefficient firm administration

_____  High overhead

_____  Weak collections

Take the three top scorers and see if there is a common thread that unites them.  Perhaps you need to focus on gaining more clients with year ends in a different season or in a different industry.  Or perhaps you need to consolidate several smaller, non-performing offices into one larger centralized location.  Or hire a marketing director.  Maybe some training in time management or marketing techniques or social skills will resolve the people-related problems.   Keep in mind what Norman Vincent Peale said, ``Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds."  Want to bounce some ideas off an outsider? Or get some suggestions for what others have done?   Drop me a note. 

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A Profitability Quiz
How well does your firm stack up in these areas?

Where Should Partners Focus Their Efforts to Improve Earnings in
1996?
Seven options for ways you can apply that continual effort needed to succeed.

10 Ways to Get Paid More Promptly
Are you making it as easy as possible for your clients to pay your bills?

What Are the Best Ways To Improve Your Credit & Collections Operations?
One of the best ways to figure out where to focus your attentions is to copy the success of your peers.  Very helpful article providing detailed survey results.

Technology Budgeting Is Difficult; Prices Fall, But Hidden Costs Rise
Several firms discuss what they spent on technology and point out unexpected costs you might avoid.

How to Outsmart, Outmarket, Outsell and Outdistance the Competition
In a nutshell, do good work, think long term, establish your identity and never get comfortable.  This article tells you how.

Are You Doing All You Can to Make Work Fun in Your Law Firm?
Feel like the business is getting to be too competitive and too much like a business?  Personal stress can take a real toll on a firm's profitability.  Read how you can make work fun again.

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Copyright 1997 by Kaye Vivian (kvivian@cloud9.net).  All rights reserved.  Permission to reprint is granted provided this article is not altered and the copyright notice remains attached