With a new year approaching, it is appropriate to objectively look at the firm from a SWOT perspective. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. Going through a SWOT exercise is one of the steps in a structure planning process. Even without the formal planning process, it provides a framework for objectively considering how prepared the firm is for the future.
One of the threats many firms face is the indispensible man or woman. It is often a rainmaker. But yours might be a tax attorney or some other member of the legal team. It could be the firm’s office manager or billing clerk who is the only person with the knowledge to get the firm’s bills out the door.
The question always arises, what do we do about the indispensible person? Money is usually the response. “We have got to increase their income because we can’t afford to lose Jim (or Betty).” The problem is money will not stop a Mack Truck! The point being, any of us can be run over by a truck on the way home.
If the loss of a single individual is so serious as to threaten the survival of the firm, there is only one sound solution to that threat. Make them dispensible!
You do that by hiring, training, or grooming their replacement. Or you do it by disseminating their knowledge more widely with the firm. You document their critical knowledge so that it can be handed off or shared with others.
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Posted
Wed, Oct 10 2007 1:39 PM
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