Sterling Strategies’ principals have been helping law firms – as well as other professional service firms – develop and implement strategy for well over 20 years. We have seen booms and busts before, watched the legal industry gradually adopt proven management principles, and helped firms to develop broad-based consensus among their partners on firm wide strategic plans and on specific strategic issues.
The unique nature of law firms – in which the primary leaders of service delivery are also the primary business development and sales people and are also the owners of the business and are also the principal managers of that business – requires consulting assistance that builds mutual understanding and agreement among the partners. Doing that calls for a combination of skills relatively few consultants bring to the table, namely:
- An ability to gather, analyze and synthesize information to create an intellectual (rather than an emotional or political) foundation for strategy development and planning
- An ability to structure discussions among partners in a way that leads to real decisions about strategic issues and the trade-offs those issues demand (i.e., proven tools and methodologies)
- An ability to listen and facilitate discussions so that points of agreement and smart solutions are captured and are articulated in ways that build momentum behind that agreement
- Experience in the industry to ensure credibility with professionals trained to respect precedent
- Experience outside the industry to ensure resulting strategies are not merely mimicking prevailing law firm management dogma (i.e., that the firm is pursuing a genuinely unique strategy)
Sterling Strategies brings that unique combination of skills and capabilities – proven methodologies, deep intellectual rigor, strong facilitation skills, and extensive strategy development qualifications both within and outside the legal industry. We welcome your inquiries on strategic planning and strategy related assignments of all kinds.
Contact us at info@sterlingstrat.com or (312) 543-6616.