I’ve never really liked “New Year’s Resolutions.” I’m the kind of person who looks at a change that needs to be made in my life/behaviors/habits and says, “Let’s do something about that now.” Waiting until an arbitrary date like January 1 has always seemed a little silly.
And yet, I recognize the value of having a fixed date for starting work on a new goal or project. An essential part of business success is the development of achievable goals and implementing them, often on a schedule. So, even though I don’t need the new year in order to start or change a habit, I’ve settled on two main goals for The Huizenga Law Firm in 2015: increased productivity and increased giving.
Getting Things Done (yes, like the book)
In any law office, efficiency is critical. At Huizenga Law, our processes are designed to provide a structure for getting our clients’ work done, creating a calendar of tasks simply based on the nature of your matter. You don’t want your work to take several months, so we pre-schedule your meetings, paring down a complicated estate plan from several months of work to an average of 7-8 weeks from start to finish.
But I think we can do better. We’re dedicating 2015 to better efficiency and even better service. We’ll achieve this through a variety of strategies, including:
- Faster/better intra-office communication;
- Detailed process tracking (David Allen’s book is our preferred approach);
- Your input and feedback.
Yes, you read that right. We want you to tell us when and how we can improve what we’re doing. After all, it’s your work that we’re doing. Client feedback is critical to our client-driven services.
#PlanitForwardIowa
We celebrate five years in existence on April 19 this year, and I, personally, feel blessed to have made it in practice for this long. God is good all the time!
But now it’s time for us to focus more on paying it forward with our #planitforwardiowa campaign. We were overwhelmed by the participation in our first community event last September. After more than 1500 votes, we were pleased to be able to raise funds for the winner of our online voting: Bethany Christian Services, who received 47% of the votes. We’re excited for what 2015 holds as we seek to get more involved in Orange City, Sioux County, and all of Northwest Iowa through our own events and through partnerships with area organizations.
And lastly, we want to encourage and enable our clients to “Plan it Forward” as well. Watch for announcements over the next six months about donation-matching and opportunities to give the gift of estate planning to your loved ones.
It might seem crazy for a lawyer to publish their business goals for the whole interwebs to read. But we aren’t just talking about this “in-house.” Since our launch in 2010, I’ve talked consistently about being different from the stereotypical law firm where the approach and methods used to perform your work are held close to the vest. At Huizenga Law, your planning is our passion. So, tell us what we need to do to perform your planning. And join us as we work to “Plan it Forward” in 2015 and beyond.
