Once in a while, you stumble across the perfect employee. Every other hire before them pales in comparison. These people are your rockstars.

Rockstar employees finish work faster than you can think of tasks to give them. When their to-do list is empty, they don't just sit around killing time - they create new work that propels your firm forward.

While other employees feel owned by the business, rockstars act like they own your business. They don't just complete work, they find new ways to improve your systems. They incorporate long-term goals into their decision making.

Rockstars bring more than productivity. They are intuitive, resourceful, and passionate. They are the rocket fuel that supercharges the rest of your team.

Once you find a rockstar, make that person a priority. The best employees are in high demand - another firm is ready to poach. Or perhaps your rockstar will realize they're worth more and go off on their own.

Holding onto the very best employees takes effort. Their value far exceeds the monetary price tag of their salary. Here are 16 ways to keep them on your team.

Perfect Your Law Practice

Take the free course on law firm growth: Rosen's Rules.

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When you’re in survival mode, you’re just trying to get through the day.

Survival mode means there’s no long-term or medium-term plan. It’s all about getting through the next 24 hours. The end of the week feels like a long way off.

When you’re stuck in survival mode, you feel like you’ll never dig yourself out of the hole.

You barely have the resources to answer the phone, return calls, and meet urgent deadlines. In fact, you spend a lot of your time trying to extend those deadlines or coming up with bullshit excuses for having missed them.

How to Determine Whether You're in Survival Mode

Here are the eight signs of survival mode:

* Everything is urgent. The deadline is now. Your back is up against the wall.

* Meetings, calls, and other appointments are constantly canceled and rescheduled.

* Your team can’t help. You can’t allow them a reasonable amount of time to get work done, but even if you could, they wouldn't be able to get it done anyway because they’re in crisis mode too.

* The stress is overwhelming. Your sleep is disrupted, your breathing feels odd, your heart beats erratically, and you can’t think straight. You will yourself to calm down, but it doesn’t work.

* There’s no joy. Your goal is to avoid having a terrible day. Having a great day isn’t an option.

* Everything is a reaction. You’re never proactive. You react to clients, opposing counsel, and the court. You’re never one step ahead. You bounce from response to response.

* It’s all risky. You can’t get the document filed a day early. You’ve got to collect this fee or miss payroll. You have to to win this case. Everything matters way too much. There’s no margin for error.

* You can’t take the time for excellence. All work is “good enough.” There’s little going out the door of which you can be proud. This isn’t what you wanted for your career or your reputation.

How to Regain Control

You’re on the verge of a massive disaster. What’s happening now is not sustainable. Without a significant course correction, this gets worse - much worse.

It’s only a short jump from survival mode to splattering into an irreparable mess. Take an honest look at your situation right now.

Lawyers who end up in survival mode either (1) correctly assess the situation and change course, or (2) convince themselves this will pass as they slip deeper into chaos.

Those who believe their situation is temporary are lulled into the cycles of up and down. They imagine that everything is going to be okay when they get some momentary relief. They don’t realize that the low moments are getting lower.

This problem does not fix itself. This problem does not get better when the trial is over, or when the big case settles, or when the new associate starts. When you’re in survival mode, you’re always on the brink of failure.

It’s time to change things. It’s time to regain control.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Acknowledge it

Denial isn’t acceptable. The first step toward exiting survival mode is acknowledging that it’s happening. Tell yourself: This is not normal. This is not sustainable. This makes everything worse.

If you’re in survival mode, recognize it, own it, and pay attention to the damage it’s doing to your long-term growth. Things won't magically get managed. You have to dig yourself out.

Given that it took a while to dig yourself into this hole, it’s going to take some time to dig out. The situation won’t resolve overnight. It takes radical action over time to get yourself back on track. There is no quick fix.

2. Stop whining

Stop whining. That sort of talk slows you down. It invites others to complain, which will slow you down further.

When you’re in survival mode, you’re just trying to get through the day.

Survival mode means there’s no long-term or medium-term plan. It’s all about getting through the next 24 hours. The end of the week feels like a long way off.

When you’re stuck in survival mode, you feel like you’ll never dig yourself out of the hole.

You barely have the resources to answer the phone, return calls, and meet urgent deadlines. In fact, you spend a lot of your time trying to extend those deadlines or coming up with bullshit excuses for having missed them.

How to Determine Whether You're in Survival Mode

Here are the eight signs of survival mode:

Everything is urgent. The deadline is now. Your back is up against the wall.

Meetings, calls, and other appointments are constantly canceled and rescheduled.

Your team can’t help. You can’t allow them a reasonable amount of time to get work done, but even if you could, they wouldn't be able to get it done anyway because they’re in crisis mode too.

The stress is overwhelming. Your sleep is disrupted, your breathing feels odd, your heart beats erratically, and you can’t think straight. You will yourself to calm down, but it doesn’t work.

There’s no joy. Your goal is to avoid having a terrible day. Having a great day isn’t an option.

Everything is a reaction. You’re never proactive. You react to clients, opposing counsel, and the court. You’re never one step ahead. You bounce from response to response.

It’s all risky. You can’t get the document filed a day early. You’ve got to collect this fee or miss payroll. You have to to win this case. Everything matters way too much. There’s no margin for error.

You can’t take the time for excellence. All work is “good enough.” There’s little going out the door of which you can be proud. This isn’t what you wanted for your career or your reputation.

How to Regain Control

You’re on the verge of a massive disaster. What’s happening now is not sustainable. Without a significant course correction, this gets worse - much worse.

It’s only a short jump from survival mode to splattering into an irreparable mess. Take an honest look at your situation right now.

Lawyers who end up in survival mode either (1) correctly assess the situation and change course, or (2) convince themselves this will pass as they slip deeper into chaos.

Those who believe their situation is temporary are lulled into the cycles of up and down. They imagine that everything is going to be okay when they get some momentary relief. They don’t realize that the low moments are getting lower.

This problem does not fix itself. This problem does not get better when the trial is over, or when the big case settles, or when the new associate starts. When you’re in survival mode, you’re always on the brink of failure.

It’s time to change things. It’s time to regain control.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Acknowledge it

Denial isn’t acceptable. The first step toward exiting survival mode is acknowledging that it’s happening. Tell yourself: This is not normal. This is not sustainable. This makes everything worse.

If you’re in survival mode, recognize it, own it, and pay attention to the damage it’s doing to your long-term growth. Things won't magically get managed. You have to dig yourself out.

Given that it took a while to dig yourself into this hole, it’s going to take some time to dig out. The situation won’t resolve overnight. It takes radical action over time to get yourself back on track. There is no quick fix.

2. Stop whining

Stop whining. That sort of talk slows you down. It invites others to complain, which will slow you down further. Stop consoling yourself with “I tried my best.” Trying doesn’t matter. There will be no A for effort.

Something is broken in your firm. Odds are it’s rooted …

Life is good. You aren't hurting for clients, you have a surplus of cash, and maybe even some happy associates. But growth is slow, and the stagnation is painful.

You see others living your dream. You follow the experts, watch your role models and implement new strategies. You feel as though you've tried everything; in spite of it all, you never step any closer to success.

The businesses you want to outpace all have one thing in common. Interested in learning their secret? Press play.

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“Which marketing approach works best?”

Here’s what I tell them: It ALL works!

Naturally, telling a good story makes marketing work better, but seriously, it all works.

That’s true, however, only if you make a plan and stick to it.

It never works if you turn it on, turn it off, shift to something new, turn that on and off, and generally execute inconsistently.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed two estate planning lawyers take two very different approaches to building their businesses. I’m going to share their stories.

Here’s What Didn’t Work

Here’s how one small firm lawyer approached marketing.

He tried networking, but stopped when the referrals didn’t come fast enough.

He invested in an educational website, but stopped creating content when his traffic wasn’t as high as he wanted.

He wrote a book, but put it on a shelf when the reception was poor.

He gave seminars, but stopped when they didn’t immediately create sales.

He turned his seminar into a webinar, but he stopped that too when it didn’t make him busy.

He ran Google AdWords, but stopped when no one clicked.

He tried Facebook ads, but stopped when they didn’t convert new business.

This lawyer was never satisfied. He’d get a little traction, see a small impact, but it was never as much or as fast as he wanted, so he abandoned each approach in favor of something new. I didn’t bother to mention his adventures with custom-printed pens, radio ads, blogs, bus benches, and posters above urinals in bars.

He toiled for years, but never built a strong reputation. His business never saw the steady, incremental growth he desired.

Here’s What Worked

This is the story of a different small firm lawyer…

He ran a small newspaper ad in the business section of the local paper, three days a week for thirty years. He got a great price because he signed year-long contracts. He spent nothing on design because he let the paper do it for him. He NEVER changed the copy. Never.

It was slow going at first. But it grew over time. Clients came, he served them, he did a good job, and they referred more business.

I once overheard a conversation where one of his clients referred a friend. “He’s the guy with the little ad in the business section,” she said.

The lawyer didn’t spend his time researching tactics. He didn’t spend much money on marketing. He spent his energy servicing the people who called because of his little ad and his growing reputation.

3 Steps to Make it Work for You

Here’s how to make consistent marketing work for you (without spending a lot of money or dealing with a lot of stress.

1. Pick your favorite place to tell stories.

The newspaper is (or in many markets was) a good place to tell a story. Today we can tell stories on websites or blogs, in ads on Google and Facebook, in podcasts, on the radio, on TV, and many other options.

It’s easier than ever in our internet-enabled world. We can target specific people (the people who might need us) and tell them stories they find interesting and useful.

It’s essential, however, that you pick your favorite place to tell your stories. Don’t force yourself to tell stories in a place, or in a way, that doesn’t work for you. Be comfortable, have fun, and enjoy explaining things to prospective clients.

Some of us love writing, some love video, and some love talking into a microphone. Some of us love teaching, some prefer answering questions, and some enjoy telling stories in person.

You will only succeed in telling your story if you do it in a place, in a manner, and at a time that makes you feel good. If it doesn’t feel good, you’ll find a way or a reason to quit.

If you plan to tell a story for thirty years, you have to pick a place that feels right – a place that lifts you up – instead of a place that wears you down.

2. Tell two goo…

My wife, Lisa, and I have been traveling and working from the road for over two years now; the experience only gets better with every new place we visit.

Limited to a single carry-on bag, we move every few weeks to a new city or country or continent, settle into an Airbnb, and call it 'home.' Every destination delivers its own sense of excitement, adventure, and enlightenment.

No amount of research (we were excessive) could have prepared us for the life we lead today. From communication barriers and relationships to the right equipment for nomadic travel, these are the things we've learned, two years later.

Plans to stop? Not even a thought–we're more committed than ever.

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If there's a new app that catches my attention, I'm signing up for the trial. I get alerts for unreleased software, I subscribe to a multitude of newsletters, and I'm always on the hunt for something better than the tool I'm already using. I register for so many trials, I had to create a system that reminds me to cancel the ones I'm not using.

Finding the tools that function like they promise and make work more efficient is exhausting; they number in the millions and are constantly evolving.

After years of searching and experimenting, these are the twelve best tools I use and love:

Search Engine News

Ruby Receptionist

SweetProcess

Register for the 14-day free trial.

Send an email to [email protected] and mention our special code “White Oak.”

WPEngine

CoSchedule

Stamps.com

Zoom

Salesforce

LastPass

Freedom (Website Blocking App)

VyperVPN

ConvertKit

BONUS: Press play and listen.

Continue tinkering on your own. Find new tools that solve problems more efficiently than you're able to alone. You'll be on your way to achieving your vision at a much faster pace.

Don't sign up for twelve all at once. Take time to analyze each one; cancel what you don't like and keep the ones that grow your business.

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In a law firm, complexity is the nature of the game. Things can get out of hand fast.

In our attempts to make life easier, we buy gadgets, software, or services, then layer them on top of one another.

A simple task like mailing a letter can turn into a 14-step process involving multiple printers, different envelopes, cover sheets, Stamps.com, a courier service, a copier, a scanner, two people in your office, a virtual assistant in the Philippines, and a workers’ comp lawyer when one of those parties gets a tongue injury.

If you think mailing a letter is complicated, don’t get me started on depositing a check. I get queasy when I think about it.

Complexity is expensive. It creeps up and takes hold over time. Often we don’t realize it has happened.

Then one day, an employee quits.

We’re sucked into helping with whatever needs doing. It becomes obvious that the business is no longer capable of getting things done quickly and efficiently.

We dig in, drill down, and find ourselves stuck. It’s like stepping in chewing gum. We can pull it, twist it, and yank it, but it’s not going away easily.

Complexity is the enemy

Complexity is the reason we end up with systems documentation, managers and supervisors, and a team of people who can’t be easily replaced.

A certain level of complexity is inevitable and necessary. The things we accomplish each day aren’t supposed to be easy. But we don’t have to make everything more difficult than it needs to be. We can have some simplicity.

How to Simplify Your Law Firm

Try these steps to reduce complexity in your firm. Use this advice to strip away the layers, thin the process, and get things done without hiring a team of engineers and consultants.

1. Cancel it

We’re good at starting new things, but we’re bad at ending them. We can see it in the storage cabinet. We buy a new laptop and put the old one in storage instead of selling or recycling it.

Get rid of the old projects, subscriptions, obligations and commitments. Unsubscribe from magazines, quit groups, drop memberships, and cancel auto-renew services. Abandon the things you don’t need anymore.

You can identify these hangers-on in your checking account ledger. You’ll find recurring software fees, publications you aren’t reading, and monthly minimums you’re paying. Get rid of it all.

2. Get rid of part-timers

Hiring comes with a hidden cost: Management. Anyone with hiring experience knows that keeping new team members operating is expensive. It’s also frustrating, exhausting, and it sometimes makes you want to replace everyone with a “virtual” assistant.

Supervising people is expensive. The cost doesn’t vary much whether the person is full-time, part-time, or a free intern. Smaller teams have smaller management costs. The savings can be significant when you replace two or three part-timers with a full-time person. That’s true even if it means paying for more benefits.

Some lawyers like the energy of a bustling office with lots of part-timers and interns scurrying around. But they aren’thappy when they see the bottom line results. Fewer people usually means more profit for the same work.

3. Fire the client

You already know who I’m talking about, don’t you?

Just reading those words - FIRE THE CLIENT - releases a flood of energy and emotion. There’s always a client you’d like to release.

But you’re ambivalent. There’s the money, the upset, the threat, the complexity of the situation… It’s never easy.

But that client is making a mess of your practice. You’ve already promised to avoid clients like this one in the future. You’ve promised to change the way you pick your fares.

Don’t trust your far-off promises. You’ll always have a client you’ll want to fire until you resolve to aggressively prune the roster when you see what’s happening. They can’t all b…

Basic. The very word connotes dull boredom.

Innovation–on the other hand–is enticing. Apps that promise increased sales, decreased payroll and happier clients steal our attention from the basics of business. We forgo the fundamentals that account for a majority of success in favor of the shiny and promising; that's marketing hard at work.

Learn to control your appetite for diversion and focus on building a strong base.

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"We had a meeting,” a colleague explained. “We worked through our long-term vision, our goals, our values, and our mission statement.” Her team had spent a day and a half at a resort. A consultant helped them discuss the issues.

“It was awesome,” she said. “We have a strong culture here. The work at our retreat cemented our bond.” It sounded like they had an emotional, productive discussion.

The mission statement was hung on the wall in the breakroom. The values were printed on posters with motivating images. The vision and goals were circulated to everyone.

The retreat was eight and a half months ago. I wonder how much the team members remembered about what they decided. I wonder whether today’s decisions were consistent with the values and mission. I’m curious whether the team is taking action to move the firm toward those long-term goals and vision.

Ask the Big Question

Do the things you’re doing right now lead toward your vision? Or are you doing whatever is expedient to solve this moment’s crisis?

You already know how this turns out. You may have been through it with your team. It doesn’t take eight months for the enthusiasm to fade. In many firms, it’s more like eight minutes.

Is the vision alive? Are decisions consistent with the firm’s values? Is each member of the team serving the objective?

Go ahead. Ask them.

Ask “What’s our objective?” Push for an answer. “What’s the vision? Where are we going? How will we get there? What are we trying to accomplish?”

The Vision Retreated Right After the Retreat

When you ask questions like those, you probably get a mix of “Here’s what I need to get done right now” and blank stares.

The posters on the walls have become part of the wall. No one knows the words. Most don’t remember the original exercise that produced the ideas. It’s possible that some of your team wasn’t part of your firm eight months ago when you created the goals and the plan.

Don’t feel stressed by the realization that you wasted your time and energy on the exercise. In fact, some of that time was likely well spent as your team members drew closer and their working relationships improved.

The reality is that in most firms, the work being done right now is disconnected from the overall objectives. That’s hard to avoid when most of the team has lost sight of the objective and has no idea about the overall direction of the business.

You are not alone if your team is flying solo, doing only what’s waiting to be done so that everyone makes it through the day.

Here's How to Resuscitate the Vision and Grow Again

How do you align everyone? How do you get everyone communicating? How do you start the team moving in the same direction toward the objectives?

Here’s what you do…

1. Keep the Vision Alive

Your vision is competing with the baby crying, the father dying, and the washer/dryer flooding the laundry room. Your vision is competing with the car breaking down, the tooth that just cracked, and the birthday party for 12 toddlers scheduled for Saturday morning.

When your law firm’s vision competes against practically anything, the practically anything wins every time. The vision fades quickly. It’s on life support as soon as you create it. It needs love, care, and attention to keep it breathing.

You need to ENERGIZE it. You need to breathe life into it. You need to keep it front and center, in focus, and discussed.

You keep the vision alive by talking about it, acting upon it, and celebrating progress toward it. You’ll need themes, discussions, debates, competitions, and celebrations. The pieces need to be explained. The big picture needs to be projected. The vision requires a constant stream of energy.

2. Break It Down

Knowing your destination is essential to getting there. But the long-term vision (whether it’s one year, thre…