{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F50d7eaf2-3132-4dfd-8e3e-37acdb93af99","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"80 \u2013 Tim McKey \u2013 Peak Performance: Developing Systems for Optimum Success","description":"In this episode of the Trial Lawyer Nation podcast, Michael sits down for the second time with Tim McKey, co-founder of Vista Consulting. As a business consultant who works with law firms, Tim was welcomed back to the show to talk about the effects of COVID-19 on law firms, measuring success using KPI\u2019s, organizational culture, hiring, optimum vs. maximum, new trends in the industry, and transparency at your firm.\nMichael and Tim begin their conversation with a look at remote work and how to measure the performance of your team members when you can\u2019t see them. Tim\u2019s solution doesn\u2019t vary whether or not there\u2019s a global pandemic. He insists you should ALWAYS measure success using KPI\u2019s (Key Performance Indicators). This strategy focuses on the output of the employee, not the input. For example, a common KPI for a paralegal is to contact every client and conduct a meaningful check-in every month. Measuring this produces an objective number which can be used to evaluate performance and coach the team member on.\nMichael then speaks to his experience using the KPI dashboard, and how he used to struggle to stay on top of it. Tim explains how the highest performing firms have somebody assigned to it, such as an Operations Manager. Some firms find success in the owner managing KPI\u2019s, but Tim says it all comes down to what the owner is passionate about and good at. The goal is to remove as much of the other \u201cfluff\u201d as possible and hire great people to do the rest.\nA brief discussion about the merits of having daily meetings leads Michael to ask Tim how to maintain culture when many are still working remotely. Tim explains that it\u2019s even more crucial to intentionally develop culture when you\u2019re not meeting in person. You do this through daily meetings, social events, strong core values, and reminding everyone of their part in the firm. After sharing an enlightening example of a receptionist and their huge purpose in the firm, Michael proudly recites his firm\u2019s core values. He says them at the beginning of every meeting to remind his team members (and himself) of why they do what they do. This has also helped make decisions in the office and staying true to their values.\nTim adds that defining your core values makes the hiring process a lot easier, which leads Michael to dig deeper into Tim\u2019s advice for hiring good team members. Tim insists that finding a good cultural fit is even more important than finding someone with the right skills, because it\u2019s easier to train skills than values. His hiring process, which he calls \u201cintentional hiring,\u201d takes a LOT of time. He brings the prospective team member into the office, has them sit beside people, and explains to them in detail what their values and KPI\u2019s are. Even with this lengthy hiring process, Tim says, \u201cYou\u2019ll never bat 1000.\u201d But, as Michael agrees, you can\u2019t measure the cost of a bad hire. This thinking is why his firm is now creating an internal paralegal training program to help him continue to promote from within.\nAfter a conversation that tied culture to college football, which will resonate with Alabama and AandM fans alike, they move on to discuss Optimum vs. Maximum, first in the context of intakes. Most lawyers saw a downturn in intakes during the pandemic, but Tim shares how there are two ways to a grow a law firm – get more cases, or add more value to the cases you already have. Citing https://www.amazon.com/Dip-Little-Book-Teaches-Stick-ebook/dp/B000QCSA54 (The Dip by Seth Godin), Tim explains that while your reservoir of cases may be low, it\u2019s not dry. Work on pushing the cases you DO have over the dam. Michael then ties this in beautifully to how far you push a case. It makes sense to push certain cases all the way to trial, but on other cases it\u2019s better for the lawyer and the client to settle earlier on.\nAs a business consultant for law firms,","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/80de4db6-da18-41b8-9643-156c5d06db25/tln-logo-itunes-1400.jpg"}