My last undergraduate lecture at OU was in Dr. Percupile’s class. He told us that he’d given us a solid foundation on how to derive the best plan, but that we must also become adept at implementing the plan to fruition within the organization. His words ring true. In manufacturing, too often the very best plan fails in the details of the handoffs from those who design to those who implement, and then to those who manage. Faced with survival in that reality, I was fortunate enough to work with and eventually for Ralph Morgan, a quality sciences professional who steered me to the wisdom and solutions of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Only by focusing on the process will the plan be fully realized.

The same barriers to success exist in achieving your organization’s legal objectives. In fact, to some extent the issues there are exacerbated because, frankly, all lawyers are adversarial by training and some are adversarial by nature as well. That’s not necessarily a fault, but also not an inherent trait of an effective manager of your valuable resources.

One difficult barrier can be the disruption associated with changes in your organizational structure, such as employee turnover or reorganization. Unless you have anticipated the change and publicly announced before-hand what the new chain of command will be, you will then be faced with the arduous task of bifurcating your efforts between the interim and the long-term. I’m sure your plate was full before being confronted with that.

A welcomed and growing part of my practice involves including me in filling the gap during the interim period. I can step in at any level and facilitate a seamless transition. At the very least, that would immediately take the heat off of you, giving you the breathing room to make the best long-term decision without the burden of urgency, and without creating any sense of entitlement among your other employees. Furthermore, to the extent that you are willing and able, we can take advantage of the circumstances to identify and fix any inherent deficiencies that may exist in your processes before the long-term successor takes the reins. Only by focusing on the process can you come out on the other side with a net sum gain. References are available if you are seriously considering this suggested strategy and it would help to hear more about the details.