The 80/20 Principle

In this episode, Ernie speaks with an anonymous associate at a large firm about resistance she faces in her attempts to get her firm to adopt technology. Ernie shares some strategies and tactics for getting buy-in. Human nature is a bigger factor than cold logic and well-pled arguments.

Show Notes

• The free preview to my Working Smarter course contains the discussion about using automated calendaring that we discussed.

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

We must learn to think sensibly about security in order to properly implement it and manage it. According to Bruce Schneier, a renowned security expert, there are 5 elements to consider when making security decisions.

Show Notes

• Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World, by Bruce Schneier

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

In my Systems Workshop, we begin by delving into the role of creativity in creating systems for improving a law practice. There are some common myths about creativity that need to be debunked, and that's where we start in this episode.

Show Notes

• Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide, by John Cleese
• The HBR Guide to Better Business Writing: Divide the Writing Process into Four Separate Tasks, by Brian Garner (where he explains his "madman, architect, carpenter, judge" model)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

You know your situation better than anyone else. Sometimes you should trust what your gut instincts tell you is best for you, and not what a supposed expert says. We'll talk about some things that experts say that need to be questioned, and we'll also talk about places where your intuition can be wrong. Interestingly, persuasion is one area where both supposed lawyer experts and your intuition are probably wrong —unless you closely study the books I'll recommend and discuss.

Show Notes

• To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, by Dan Pink
• Exactly What To Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact, by Phil M Jones
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini (New & Expanded)
• Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
• Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life, by Rory Sutherland
• Readwise (the app/service that makes it easy to revisit and learn from your ebook & article highlights).

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

Joe Emmerth is a family law practitioner in the Chicago area who left the firm he joined out of law school to start his own firm. After 15 years of practice, he knew a lot about being a lawyer, but suddenly he had to make sure he knew enough about running his own law business.

In this episode, he explains how he planned his move, and what tools he finds most essential in his new firm.

Show Notes

• Emmerth Divorce Law (Joe's firm website)
• Clio (practice management software)
• Gravity Legal (payment processor)
• Core Solutions (legal accounting software)
• Kofax PDF software
• Zoom (video conference software)
• Andy Stickle's YouTube channel (marketing tips)
• Maximum Lawyer Group
• Arrow Consultants YouTube Channel (North Carolina paralegal with great tips on using Microsoft 365 and other tech stuff)
• Microsoft Office 365
• Microsoft OneDrive (online file storage)
• Office 365 Planner
• DocuSign (e-signature software)
• Slack (virtual business collaboration software)
• Dragon Naturally Speaking
• Dropbox (online file storage)
• A Second Monitor (essential for modern knowledge workers)
• Google Chromebook (backup computer)
• Remarkable tablet (paperless tool)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

Warren Buffet nails it when he observes: "The interesting thing about business is that it's not like the Olympics. You don't get any extra points for the fact that something's very hard to do. So you might as well just step over one-foot bars, instead of trying to jump over seven-foot bars."

In other words, find the easy path and take it. Finding the easy path isn't so easy though. In this episode, we explore how to make it easier using concrete examples.

Show Notes

• What if it were easy? Tim Ferriss' insightful question
• The Four Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss
• The 80/20 Principle, by Richard Koch
• NASA space pen example (complexity is easy to fall into)
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown
• Tim Ferriss Podcast Interview with Greg McKeown (the first one)
• Ferriss' Podcast Interview with Greg McKeown (the recent one)
• Essentialism for Lawyers (YouTube video by Ernie)
• Recording of Podcast Webinar (Me & Danny Ozment)
• Danny's Podcast Accelerator (Expert guidance on starting a podcast)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

Creating radical improvement requires radical new ways of solving a problem, which requires radical new ways of thinking. And that radical thinking will inevitably feel like crazy talk at first.

But it's not, if you are willing to listen and open your mind and discover that some things that seem incompatible in what you want actually are not.

Show Notes

• The Power of Simplicity (2015 YouTube presentation by Alan Kay)
• A World Without Email, by Cal Newport
• Trello (a popular Kanban tool that's free for up to 10 boards)
• Systems Workshop (link to apply for next workshop)
• Book appointment to talk about Ernie about his new Working Smarter course)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

Melissa Shanahan coaches attorneys and insists that they define key benchmarks as a way of growing their practices. In this episode, she and I discuss whether Jason Fried's statement is crazy talk or whether maybe there is some wisdom behind it.

Show Notes

• "I've Never Had a Goal" (article by Jason Fried)
• Rework: Change the Way You Work Forever, by Jason Fried
• Remote: Office Not Required, by Jason Fried
• It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, by Jason Fried
• VelocityWork (Melissa Shanahan's website)
• Tom Shadyac (director of Bruce Almighty film who gave away most of his money) (article about Tom Shadyac, the famous Hollywood director who sold everything to live with less)
• How to Buy Happiness (Atlantic article about an economic study on the effect of higher income on happiness)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.

These books have been influential in helping many successful people learn to "work smarter." Study them carefully

Strive to absorb the key principles so they become part of your regular thought patterns. Once that happens, your massive success is virtually guaranteed.

Show Notes

• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck
• The Effective Executive, by Peter Drucker
• The Four Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss
• Super Thinking: Make Better Decisions with Mental Models, by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann
• The 80/20 Principle, by Richard Koch
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport
• A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, by Cal Newport
• Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, by Nir Eyal
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear
• The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael Gerber
• Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, by Gino Wickman
• Rework: Change the Way You Work Forever, by Jason Fried
• Remote: Office Not Required, by Jason Fried
• It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, by Jason Fried
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, Atul Gawande
• Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, by Sam Carpenter
• The Ultimate Law Firm, by Craig Kahn
• The Power of A System, by John Fisher
• Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts, by Annie Duke
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini
• Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, by Robert Cialdini

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly. The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started. Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today. And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast… Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro

Scaling your business in a sustainable way is possible, but the way to do it is counter-intuitive for many reasons. In this episode, I'll complete my 3-part discussion of this issue and recommend a sane, sustainable, and effective solution.

• Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler book
• Remote: Office Not Required, by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
• Rework, by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
• It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
• Basecamp (Jason Fried's web-based remote-work service)
• Hey email service (it's a $14-day free trial, then $99/year for the paid version)
• Excitement is a fleeting moment, not a steady-state (Jason Fried's blog post that I read in the episode)
• Melissa Shanahan's 30-Day Sprint (which I went through in March and will go through again in April)
• Timeblocking course from The Sweet Setup
• Mac Power Users podcast, with David Sparks (the California business attorney that Ernie is close friends with and recommends that you follow if you're a Mac user)

General Resources

• The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter)
• The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice
• The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

SweetProcess is a great way to document your important workflows. Doing so will help make your practice run more smoothly, and require less involvement on your part to keep things running smoothly.

The best way to understand how SweetProcess will help streamline your firm is to start using it. The company offers a 14-day free trial, but as a loyal listener of this podcast, you can try it for 28-days free of charge. And you don't even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Just navigate to SweetProcess.com/ernie to start your 28-day free trial today.

And thanks to the other sponsor of this podcast…

Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish.

If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of.

Plans start at just $140 a month for calls or chats. And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a free trial now (and learn more) at www.smith.ai.

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro.