Leaning Into Profitability
A few years ago, I came across an
article that presented a unique, albeit
unfamiliar concept; that to achieve
greater profitability we need to lean
into it. Although it sounded a bit esoteric, the face of it made enough sense to warrant peeling back the onion. What
an interesting find it turned out to be.
The premise relates to how the endless ticker of sensational acquisitions, big-ticket buy-outs and the like make the more modest milestones of the average business seem pedestrian by comparison. Surely an unfair perspective, but pervasive nonetheless. When the usual business challenges and daily activities take their toll, as they are wont do, it's easy to fall into the neutral zone about our very mission.
As an antidote, the article recommended taking a page from our behemoth corporate brethren by setting uncomfortable, if not downright unrealistic revenue goals. In other words, SET A BIG HAIRY REVENUE GOAL (BHRG) and reverse engineer it by working backward until you can quantify a methodology for getting there. Then flip the switch and see what happens.
Of course, this flies in the face of what I would recommend as an attorney with over 20 years of experience (I am careful by nature to begin with). However, the idea intrigued me to the point of examining how the concept might be applied to my
own firm. Low and behold, I will be adding a new practice in 2017! Quite a bit of leaning (as yet to be fulfilled), but it feels right and good and I appreciate refreshing
my perspective. How about you?
