Besides being a cool seven-syllable word, ‘operationalizing’ is a word that packs a punch. When I speak with current or potential clients, I frequently have recourse to it and use it to make a great case for us (CSR), what we do, how we do it, and why.
[Client/potential client]: Tell me what you do.
[Me]: We create greater happiness and success for organizations and their leadership. The primary way we do this is via the creation, and if so desired, implementation of a strategic plan.
[C]: Ah. Well, we’ve done one of those before. Kind of a waste of time; spent a TON of time and money on a company that took us off-site for a weekend, made us get in touch with our feelings, ran us through the wringer to come up with a plan, and then we never saw it again.
[M]: I get it. Unfortunately, that’s not an uncommon experience. We end up cleaning up after a lot of these types of efforts. Care to hear how we’re different?
[C]: Sure.
[M]: We get really excited about our process because we truly offer a transformative experience to those organizations that seek it and want to be held accountable (and hold us accountable!). By taking our jointly-created work product and operationalizing it, we ensure that our work product doesn’t end up sitting on a shelf gathering dust.
Why is operationalizing something such a big deal? If the plan is written well enough, shouldn’t that be enough?
It’s a good question. Certainly, a well-written plan is key. It needs to be as jargon-free as possible and written as if we (CSR) are not going to be around to hand-hold after the session. Nonetheless, though all of our clients are top-notch, smart, driven experts, they are exactly that: experts. Experts in what THEY do versus what WE do. Though nothing says they couldn’t figure out how to take the plan and run with it on their own, the probability of success (with ‘success’ being defined as the use and implementation of the plan in the business to effect change and achieve transformational growth) drops precipitously when a leader elects to try and go it on their own. Reasons include:
They already have a (more than) full-time job without having to take on the task of implementing the strategic plan.
They are figuring it out as they go along versus knowing what they’re about and what needs to be done.
Typically, managing people is not what our clients excel at. Again, not that they CAN’T do it, they just haven’t been trained and had experience doing it. And the human piece is often a pivotal aspect of what we do.
Let’s look at an example of what operationalizing looks like in this context; it truly is eye-opening as to everything that goes into this.
Step 1: Begin at the beginning.
Even before we have the strategic planning session, our process has begun. We research our client, understand how they compare to others in their industry, and think about how this client compares to prior clients. We formulate a questionnaire tailored to this specific client and also request financials. As this data begins to come in, CSR team members selected for the session meet and begin to examine what is in play. As with programming, the stage–of much of what we seek to accomplish–is set before we even meet the client.
Step 2: Listen.
We prefer to present our clients with drafts of all work rather than challenging them with a blank page – “starting from scratch” has some benefits, however, we have found, for our clients, that time is of the essence and that they need an effective AND efficient process to get there. Before we do this, we elicit live, in-session content to inform and confirm our perceptions and preparation. Though not frequent, there are times when we have had to supplement and/or modify what we came into the session prepared to do; this willingness to stop and consider new/different inputs doesn’t happen without the patience to discern where the client is and what they are bringing with them into the session.
Step 3: Capture it all.
Through the questionnaire responses, understanding the client's “organizational DNA” (aka Mission/Vision/Values), listening live in session, and reviewing the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, a comprehensive understanding of the client and their organization is achieved. It is not uncommon to have 2-3 pages worth of opportunities captured as a result of this exercise. Many insights come from the SWOT (strengths to deploy, weaknesses to shore up, threats to defend against) and other session inputs while others emerge from our knowledge of other clients and/or the marketplace.
Step 4: Prioritize. Ruthlessly.
We like to remind our clients that they can’t have 15 “#1 Priorities”. Using the tools we have worked with them to develop, other pruning tools are deployed, and from a starting list of perhaps 100, a subset of 15-20 are generated. See below for a sample case from a law firm client with whom we recently worked and how starting wide, we narrowed down to the top, most impactful priorities:
The universe of options
Create Partnership Agreement
Update compensation methodology to ensure all Firm members understand how to maximize their earning potential
Ensure inclusion of means by which departing partners can monetize their equity
Secure agreement of all partners on the definition and implementation of accountability and measures to implement and reinforce it
Define what constitutes Partnership/Path to Partnership
Audit and update Legal Practice Management System (LPMS) with a focus on intake (onboarding and conflict checks) and billing improvements
Optimize internal communications to eliminate silo mentality
Perform staff DiSC assessment and explore leadership development coaching
Create and implement detailed five-year business plan highlighting path to desired profitability
Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and track actual to industry best practices:
Utilization
Realization
Conversion rate
Responsiveness (across all practice areas)
Marketing metrics and goals
Practice Area Profitability Analysis
Identify and delegate administrative duties off of retiring Founding Equity Partner
Documentation and workflow capture of administrative tasks
Succession planning
Focus/attention on work-life balance
Create transition plan for Firm administrator
Clarification of what it takes to be a successful Firm associate:
Implementing procedures to accurately evaluate associate contributions
Establishing clear expectations for associate performance
Creation and implementation of market research based marketing strategy that translates across all practice areas
Business development:
Coaching (Build a sales pipeline)
Build a strong referral network including cross-industry referrals
Identify ROI from networking groups
Mining of all partners’ databases
Communications
Internal and external reporting on firm achievements and recognitions
Implementation of regular detailed client surveys to inform marketing decisions
Development of contingency plan in the instance of partner loss
Identify weaknesses and implement procedures for time management optimization
Create a model/system to determine when additional capacity is needed
Cultivate opportunities for mentoring staff
Continued morale & team-building for staff
Incorporation of LLTs/maximizing use of non-attorneys
Create robust, unified satellite office strategy
With the above in hand, the first cut is applied and a prioritized list is broken out by functional area – this doesn’t mean the items discarded are not important. It means that the ‘survivors’ are more important and have a time-sensitive aspect to them that connotes a sense of urgency. We break these out by functional area:
First Cut
Operations
Create and sign a partnership agreement
Formalize and document all systems, processes, and procedures
Implement an LPMS
Create Operations Manual and update Employee Manual in sync with Firm growth
Benchmark business with industry best practices
Create a detailed Succession Planning Strategy that outlines procedures for ramping down departing attorneys involvement while mapping their responsibilities to designated recipients
Develop, refine, and implement Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as utilization, realization, etc.
Finance & Administration
The Development and Implementation of a Firm Budget
Review Firm compensation model options to link compensation to performance
Create detailed 1-3-5-year strategic objectives with quantified benchmarks
Implement systems to accurately capture data for detailed practice area profitability analysis
Track profitability across practice areas
Human Resources & Staffing
Publish and communicate Firm Mission, Vision, and Values in a practical, intentional manner
Audit and examine overall Firm human resources practices
Ensure staff adherence to Firm’s culture standards
Disseminate Operations and Employee Manuals once they are reviewed and updated
Recruit and retain talented attorneys with an eye on formalizing a Path to Partnership that will excite and engage the future leaders of the Firm
Marketing
Fine tune and automate existing marketing strategy
Identify and onboard marketing resource to implement Firm’s marketing vision
Track sales pipeline and conversion rates based on interactions with marketing campaigns
Business Development
Refine overall business development strategy and prioritize implementation plan
Update Ideal Client and Referral Profiles
Review all Partner Rolodexes and confirm procedures to keep KSLN top of mind with all relevant contacts
Refine and implement a plan to target ideal client and referral sources
Identify additional avenues for networking efforts and form strong referral relationships
Fully leverage membership/leadership in existing networking groups and explore additional networking groups
There’s still a lot of objectives present – what next? Applying the final cut – what do the Firm and its owners need RIGHT now – allows us to propose the right objectives to achieve maximum impact. This subset is then fleshed out at a top level to flag the types of work and effort necessary to achieve success. Through this effort, which still requires significant drill down to generate an actionable project plan, the client sees what is necessary to translate theory into practice:
Objective 1: Create and File a Firm Partnership Agreement - (Phase 1)
Review all partner roles and responsibilities within the Firm
Explore conflicts and crises that may have existed due to the lack of a partnership agreement
Determine inefficiencies in the compensation structure that may be limiting growth opportunities
Explore options to perform partner DiSC analysis
Review Capital Contribution Requirement
Determine voting structure (weighted vs per capita)
Establish Profit Distribution Protocols
Determine need for Retirement, Death and Disability Clauses
Review/confirm current Path to Partnership documents and revisit employee growth charts
Review current Firm compensation model and suggest recommendations to promote productivity
Establish framework for Firm succession planning
Objective 2: Legal Practice Management System Vendor Onboarding
Determine Firm management system needs
Identify must-haves and like-to-haves
Define what is working effectively and what needs improvement
Identify practice area needs across Firm offices
Confirmation of desired needs from Firm Partnership Group
Create weighted matrix
Determine the 4-5 essential characteristics for evaluation
Assign a weight to each category
Approval of matrix by Firm
Research top providers of identified management systems
Check with Firm and local contacts for vendor recommendations
Leverage CSR’s network and referral partners for potential vendors
Carry out research for potential vendors
Request proposals and fill in matrix
Request proposals from each vendor to obtain more specific information
Confirm timeframe for vendor meetings/calls with CSR
Complete matrix based on information received and perceived
Review matrix with Firm
Discuss pros and cons of each identified vendor
Select top options with Firm for in-person meetings
Meet with top vendors (and Firm)
Selection & hiring
Determine contracting arrangement and negotiate acceptable terms
Firm Partnership Group agrees upon a vendor
Sign contract
Onboarding & training
Establish cutover timeline
Coordinating meeting between Firm office administrators and vendor
Establish workflow for inputs (bills, invoices, etc.)
Define checklist of regular activities
Establish regular check-ins during update meetings
Objective 3: Establish a Satellite Office Management and Growth Strategy (Phase 1)
Review all satellite office revenue, expense, and projection reports
Audit uniformity of systems and procedures across all Firm office locations
Meet with satellite office partners to review individual office yearly goals
Review Welch Grid analysis for satellite office employee misalignment
Explore each office’s contribution to the overall Firm reputation
Work with satellite office resources to create yearly office specific business plans
Incorporate Firm MVV’s throughout all office locations
Identify top performers for possible promotion to Firm leadership roles
Identify underperforming attorneys for revaluation of current roles
With an actionable level of objectives, in line with the Firm’s organizational DNA as well as market needs and growth targets, these top strategic objectives are positioned to be implemented.
Step 4: Are we there yet?
Almost. With these prioritized objectives in place, we work with our clients to break them down and implement. This operationalization of the strategic plan allows for a direct connection between the plan as it was written and its activation. Equally, or perhaps MORE importantly, it also enables the strategic plan to stay alive and relevant, and not “gather dust on the shelf”. As objectives are completed, the original list (supplemented by new objectives that may have been noted and captured during the course of work) is re-prioritized and the next item that has been flagged for work gets tagged and worked. In this way, the client’s needs and priorities are constantly monitored and taken into account. The strategy remains relevant and implementable.
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About Author
Alex Muñoz, Principal & Co-owner at CSR, is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in driving strategic growth. Known for challenging norms and fostering significant ROI, Alex's diverse background spans from manufacturing to non-profits.