We all know firms that spend weeks crafting a strategic plan that lands in a drawer by February. The problem isn’t that the plan is bad. It’s that execution gets lost in the daily grind.
Strategy is what you intend. Execution is what you do. The gap between the two is where many firms stumble.
Why Execution Fails in Law Firms
In legal practice, there’s always something more urgent than a strategic goal. A demanding client. An urgent filing. A deadline that takes priority over a team meeting. This isn’t laziness – it’s the nature of the work. But if you don’t account for it, strategy becomes a wishlist.
What makes execution hard isn’t just competing priorities – it’s the lack of a system that keeps priorities in view without becoming yet another admin burden. Many firms try to compensate with more meetings, more reminders, and more dashboards. But without buy-in and simplicity, these too become noise.
Make Strategy Practical
To close the gap between planning and doing, start by shrinking the scope:
- One-Page Strategy: Write your key goal and the three most important actions for the next 30 days. Keep it visible and update it regularly. Invite feedback and ownership from the team.
- Weekly Conversations: Create space in your Monday or Friday huddle to ask: What moved us forward this week? What blocked us? These check-ins don’t need to be long – just honest.
- Celebrate Small Wins: Progress is fuel. If you want people to keep executing, make wins visible. Whether it’s a client milestone, a new process working smoothly, or an internal goal met – mark it.
- Assign Ownership: Don’t let strategy become a ghost everyone talks about but no one owns. Assign champions. Create visibility. Track progress in a way that fits your firm’s rhythm.
Your Firm Doesn’t Need Another Strategy Meeting
It needs movement. Momentum. A shift from talking about what should be done to showing what is being done. That’s what execution looks like.
Execution also benefits from consistency – not pressure. Gentle prompts. Human encouragement. Reminders that are more coaching than compliance. I’ve been working with other coaches and directors to explore ways of achieving this without adding to anyone’s admin load. Sometimes the smallest signals can help firms keep sight of what matters, even when everything else is shouting for attention.
Because strategy doesn’t fail in the planning phase. It fails quietly – between the moments. And that’s exactly where we need to pay attention.
