Fit for Purpose?

“I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one.” Confucius

As firms face the twin challenges of continued economic uncertainty and deregulation, those best equipped to prosper demonstrate clear alignment of vision, strategy, market positioning, target clients, internal structures and operational processes.

They know what they want to be but, more importantly, they have an ambitious yet realistic view of what they can hope to be. Armed with this insight they are prepared to say no to opportunities that do not fit, instead building the practices which will be needed by the clients they are targeting for future growth. They are adopting business models which reflect a fundamentally changed legal services industry.

The leading firms build their strategies inside-out and outside-in simultaneously; they make decisions about the future which reflect their inherent strengths mapped onto market opportunities rather than attempting to conjure expertise from the ether. They are concerned with building a firm that is fit for purpose – what that purpose is, or should be, is the key question. The answer lies as much within as without their walls.