Imagine you’re on an episode of Shark Tank (the Lawyer Edition) and you’ve got one minute to explain exactly what your firm does. What would your pitch sound like? Could you recite your mission statement? And would your mission statement adequately describe your firm?

You need a pitch with depth and a mission statement that doesn’t lose listeners with vague statements and complicated jargon. If you’re stuck or confused as to what to say, that’s a clear sign that you didn’t put enough effort into your mission statement. But without one, you're flying blind.

Welcome to Gimbal’s Tip of the Week, where you get practical, actionable advice you can use right away to start building a more productive and profitable legal practice.

In tip #99 we talked about developing your firm’s guiding principles and how they can help inspire your teams and clients. A big part of establishing these principles is having a mission statement that creates interest and clearly defines your story. It can’t be uninspiring or worse, interchangeable. If the main thing separating your mission statement from another firm is the name, then you won’t stand out from the competition.

So this week’s tip is to invest time into optimizing your mission statement.

Think about it like a flight plan. No airplane ever takes off without a flight plan. It’s a requirement.

Similarly, no business should operate without a mission statement. A strong mission statement will:

•  Improve focus
•  Create alignment and unity across your team
•  Increase engagement with your clients
•  Enhance your ability to recruit and retain top talent
•  Increase productivity across every aspect of your law firm business, and
•  Create the foundation for all of your marketing and communications

When you clearly define an important mission, everything changes. It's so much easier to get somewhere when you know exactly where you're going. To paraphrase Lewis Caroll in Alice in Wonderland, ‘All roads lead somewhere’ but if “somewhere” isn't where you want to go, it’s not much help. As the leader, it’s up to you to steer your firm in the right direction.

This week’s action item: Look at your existing mission statement. Does it help you achieve the 6 benefits listed above? If not, then set aside time to improve it.

Decide what makes your firm unique. Write variations of your mission statement. Read it aloud. Get advice from your team.

Legal professionals who establish a clear mission statement will motivate themselves and their team by aligning around a singular focus. They’re much more likely to stand out from the competition and achieve success.

Creating a compelling mission statement is just one thing we coach lawyers to do inside our exclusive Practice Accelerator small-group coaching program.

If you need expert guidance to achieve clarity, eliminate inefficiency, and accelerate your results—if you want to grow your practice (and your revenue) faster than you ever could on your own—this program is for you. Join now! We have a few spaces available.

See you next week for more